Ken Stella & The Sliders - Valerie

Описание: When I originally found this 45, there was zero trace of it on the internet to be found. I've since added it to both 45cat and Discogs, so when you search for it, you'll find it both places, thanks to me. It was released on a label called Riding Whip, and was also published by Riding Whip Music. It still seems to be, to this day, though the information on the BMI website is outdated by a few years. One thing I didn't know until recently is that there was also a 12" single that came out with the same coupling that was on this 45 (though likely not in the same versions as heard on this 45 as the timings are different), issued under the name KZ Stella, on the Exxys label (but still published by Riding Whip Music). That seems like a weird artist name choice to me, considering his full name was Kenneth Edward Stella.

Aside from this single, which seems to have been issued in the early to mid 1980's (if the 12" single from 1986 is anything to go by), the career of Ken Stella in the music industry seems to have been very brief, with songs he had written or co-written having been recorded between 1966 and 1974, and his only solo release as an artist prior to this one on the Decca record label (the utterly stupendous "I Wanna Spend My Whole Life Loving You"    • Ken Stella - I Wanna Spend My Whole Life L...  ) being released in the middle of that, in 1969.

Ken's co-writer and co-producer on this record, Bobby Susser, was a songwriter and producer who also got his start in the mid 1960's, but he found a later-in-life career in the children's music industry, recording several albums for the Smithsonian Folkways label. Bobby passed away in 2020 at the age of 78, while everything I've found while trying to research anything I could about Ken Stella and his musical career shows me that he passed away in December of 2008, just shy of his 64th birthday. So, it makes me sad that I can't let him know that I enjoy the music I've heard of his that he's been a part of, but I'm glad I get to at least be able to share it with you.

My wife and I have a friend who named his daughter Valerie, so, Steve, this one is for you. Enjoy!