Suzanne with the Band-Aides

Suzanne with the Band-Aides - You May Never Know (Liberty F-55313), 1961

Obscure and certainly an oddball in recorded music, Suzanne Mullins' "You May Never Know" is nevetheless a fascinating piece of rock'n'roll. Not much is known of Suzanne Mullins, whose soprano voice didn't fit the rock'n'roll genre very much. Though, the strange mix of the great backing and her unusual voice makes "You May Never Know" such a great recording.

It was probably in 1960, when Mullins cut her two compositions "Unchained But Unforgotten" and "You May Never Know" for the Atlanta based Trump record label. At that time, she was still in her teens. Both tracks were produced by J.H. Mullins, who was - referable to her age - likely her father. "Unchained But Unforgotten" b/w "You May Never Know" was released in late 1960 on Trump #002, credited to "Suzanne with the Band-Aides." The identity of these musicians remain unknown.  Billboard mentioned the disc in its December 31, 1960, issue in the "Limited Sales" segment of the pop review field. 

Although the single only received a moderate rating by Billboard, it seems it was a good seller at least locally. Soon it caught the attention of Liberty Records and saw national release on the label in early 1961 (Liberty F-55313). Billboard reviewed it again on April 3, 1961, this time with a better rating. Despite its early signs of success, the record went nowhere.

Trump gave Mullins another try and released "Cryin' Room (I'm Gonna Get a)" / "They Said I'd Recover" (Trump #005) in December 1961, this time under the name of "Suzanne and the Full-House." Even a third single, "Absence Makes the Heart Forget" / "I Won't Stay," appeared on Trump. Nothing came of it and Mullines vanished from the scene.

In 2014, about 40 tapes by Mullins and the original masters of Trump #002 were discovered by anonymous guys, who call themselves "odysseysoundstudio" on the internet. My attempt to contact them and find out more about the tapes failed, unfortunately. There is a Odyssey Sound Studio located in Chicago but I wasn't able to contact them. The national Liberty release was pressed by Sheldon in Chicago, so there's a good chance the master tapes were still stored away somewhere in the Windy City. On my copy of the record, the Liberty matrix number is stamped next to the original Trump matrix number, etched into the wax (T-136/T-137).