AN EXPENSIVE BOGUS OBSCURITY - ANN BOGUS

    Every month, DISCOGS lists the highest prices paid for vinyl in the “Discog Marketplace.” A few months ago, there was a Bogus listing. It was Ann Bogus, who made the Top 20 for...are you kiddin...somebody paying $1319.00 to get her Statue Records single.

    This leads to several questions that really can’t be answered with any kind of logic. One of them is…who the FUCK would be spending over a THOUSAND dollars to get a 45 rpm? Somebody who thinks he’s immortal? Somebody who doesn’t know that the song (like most songs) is available in perfect listening condition on YouTube? That a quick shout to a forum or blog could get a happy sharer to post it? What ulterior motive had somebody spend such a high price for THAT single? Maybe somebody who wanted to stick his scrawny dick in the spindle hole and pretend to be fucking Ann Bogus? Maybe a sadistic collector who HAS to HAVE everything to boast to some masochistic friend with the same affliction but not enough money?

    Mostly, as every record dealer knows, the vinyl market sucks. The perfect storm isn't just Internet piracy; fewer and fewer people want or even like turntables. They hate shelves warping under the weight of vinyl. They don’t like having to buy new needles or cartridges periodically. They deplore how easily vinyl can be scratched just by taking it out of the fucking sleeve. And they’d much rather have the convenience of a computer jukebox and all songs at their fingertips. And they’re cheap. CHEAP has always been the underlying grumble. Groucho Marx, in the preface to one of his books, groused that people don't think they're getting their money's worth on a book. They'd pay the same for a lunch that's in the toilet a day later. The undeniable fact is that most people don’t spend $5 or $10, much less over a THOUSAND to actually own a 45 rpm. Not when a digital version is available.

    Another question: WHO is ANN BOGUS? All that seems to be known about her is that she was once part of an obscure group called The Fabulous Dominoes. The billing on her debut solo single, “Don’t Ask Me To Love Again,” is: “Ann Bogus of the Fabulous Dominoes." The label also tells us that the single was produced by John Mihelic, who owned Statue Records in Tupelo, Mississippi. Mihelic had been in the group The Nite-Liters. His Statue label, active in the late 60’s and early 70’s, released tracks by Sonny Holley and James Gilreath. Gilreath’s “Little Band of Gold” became a semi-hit when Mihelic sold the rights to the slightly bigger Joy Records label in New York City.

    As for Ann Bogus, following Statue #256 (“Don’t Ask Me To Love Again” b/w “You Got it Wrong”), nobody would hear from her for another four years. In 1974, she got a deal with 20th Century. With producer/drummer Joseph Wilson and his “Faux Noir” band, and now calling herself Annie Blue, she cut “Bottle Of Wine” b/w “Lay Me Down,” and then in 1975, “Do You Wanna Do A Thing” b/w “Loving Kind of Woman.” 

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