A few weeks back Brownie Guest, lead singer for the Shelby, NC band the Constellations, called me at work, quite a pleasant surprise. Mr. Guest had spoken to David Lee, with whom We Bachelors are working to release a vinyl compilation featuring the finest cuts written by Mr. Lee and issued on his Impel, Washington Sound, and SCOP labels c. 1965-1988. Likely the David Lee Legacy LP–as-yet untitled–will become the inaugural Paradise of Bachelors release, POB 001.

Since few master tapes are extant, our generous and patient brother A.S. has been experimenting with various methods of transferring the cleanest records among the Impel/WS/SCOP oeuvre, and here’s a fresh-sounding digital copy of a Constellations track that likely won’t make the final release, “How I Love My Baby,” B-side to the instrumental “Dumb Dee Dumb” on the Impel R-2119 45. Like all the records Mr. Lee released, it’s still supremely worth hearing, and we’ll continue to post outtakes from the compilation over the next few months. Mr. Lee describes the Constellations, a teenage band that included Brownie’s brother Benjamin Guest and which nurtured a friendly rivalry with fellow Cleveland High band the Ambassadors (featuring the London brothers and Bunny Clyde), as “salt and pepper,” i.e. mixed race.

Brownie reckons he was in eighth or ninth grade when he recorded this tune. What were you singing when you were 13?