Today’s classic song of the day is an obscure soul stomper by an equally obscure group called the Sharpees. The song is “Do the 45” and, when it was released in 1965, it got to #40 on Cash Box’s R&B chart, although it failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100.
“Do the 45” was written by Andrew McKinney and Eddie Silvers. The single was recorded at Oliver Sain’s studio in St. Louis and released on Chicago-based One-derful! Records. It sounds a little like something you might hear from Jr. Walker and the All-Stars.
The Sharpees were a St. Louis-based R&B group, originally called Benny Sharp and the Sharpees. The group consisted of vocalists Vernon Guy, Herbert Reeves, and Horis O’Toole, along with Benny Sharp on guitar.
While “Do the 45” went mainly unnoticed except in certain markets (it did pretty good in Chicago), the song itself was revived in the year 2000 when neo-soul singer Ryan Shaw included it on his debut album, This is Ryan Shaw. That recording is today’s daily bonus track of the day.
