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CHRIS BARTLEY - VANDO - SWEETEST THING - LISTEN

	The Sweetest Thing This Side Of Heaven by Van McCoy. Play grade is VG+. Flip is Love Me Baby by McCoy, VG+. Produced by Van McCoy. Born in New York's Harlem in 1947 (some sources say 1949), Chris Bartley grew up practically in the shadow of the Apollo Theater and spent much of his childhood absorbing the sounds around him, both in his actual vicinity and on the radio. His greatest inspiration as a teenager was reportedly Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, who came from his neighborhood and had scored huge hits in the middle/late '50s during the three years before Bartley formed his first group, the Soulful Inspirations, with William Graham, Henry Powell, Sam Nesbitt, and Ronald Marshall. The quintet underwent numerous personnel shifts and name-changes over the next six years, evolving into the Mindbenders (no relation to the U.K. group). At one point, Bartley and Marshall were performing as a duo and their big break came when they auditioned for Van McCoy. Rather than signing the group, however, McCoy signed Bartley to his newly formed Vandor Records label. Bartley and the label scored a Top 40 pop hit and a Top Ten R&B hit their first time out with the McCoy-authored "The Sweetest Thing This Side of Heaven," an achingly beautiful soul ballad. The song was successful enough to get Bartley national exposure and even some performing engagements in England and is one of the more findly remembered one-shot soul hits of its period, but it was only a one-shot -- he was never able to duplicate its success despite several tries, including the excellent Motown-styled "Baby It's Wonderful." He lasted long enough on Vandor to get out an entire album, which was a good tour through the Van McCoy songbag going right back to the end of the 1950s. Bartley was signed to Buddah Records after McCoy shut down Vandor in 1968, and he cut a version of McCoy's "Baby I'm Yours" for the new label, which also failed to chart. Bartley reportedly left the music business in the mid-'70s, after his mother fell seriously ill, and hasn't been heard much from since, though "The Sweetest Thing This Side of Heaven" keeps turning up on '60s soul reissues and oldies playlists on radio and his Vandor sides have been reissued on a very good Collectables CD.   I'm on the road quite a bit, so I'm in no great hurry for payment. I would appreciate a confirming email with your intentions, or if you need more time to pay. I'm very easy to get along with. Postal administrations in several international countries have contacted the United States Postal Service about the declaration of value placed on customs forms. They have noted that in many cases, the declared value is understated when compared to the actual invoice or known value of the item, especially for sales conducted over the internet. While this applies to sellers both on and off eBay, the USPS has asked us to remind our sellers to declare the proper value on all customs forms. The correct value of each item is required on customs forms as it helps determine the proper duties and taxes, and whether they should be applied. Some countries will soon begin taking steps to address this issue, such as levying fines on the addressee when the declared value is determined to be lower than the invoice. To make sure you're complying with international regulations, please make sure the stated value on your customs declaration is supported by your invoices or other documentation. Due to some recent sales, shipping insurance is mandatory to Italy & Belgium. All other countries will have the insurance option as required, but I will send an invoice where the option is optional.   Beginning in October, 2008, in order to be in compliance with a new Ebay rule, I will be able to list only Paypal as a viable payment option. If this is offensive to you, as the buyer, please let Ebay know how you feel. ?International Buyers ? Please Note: Import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping charges. These charges are the buyer?s responsibility. Please check with your country?s customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding/buying.?   I ship in standard 45, LP & 78 mailers made specifically for this purpose. I can ship 4 45's in one box. If you purchase more, I have a larger box, and the postage will be slightly higher. I won't "screw you" on the postage as some do. If I ever over-charge, I will make it right with a Paypal refund. I will leave positive feedback as soon as payment is received and I am home. I would greatly appreciate the same courtesy if you feel my efforts meet with you satisfaction. Please email before taking any negative or neutral actions, and I am sure we can come to a mutual understanding. This is mainly for non-US buyers. Please wait for the invoice before paying, especially if you don't want to add the insurance cost. Ebay doesn't let me pick which countries I require insurance for, therefore, I must use a generic template for all countries. If you wait, I will give you the option of not buying insurance if you are not in a country that I do require insurance for. I travel the country driving my truck. I'm always finding new records, so check back whenever you can. Here's a little breakdown on how I grade the records. It's based on the Goldmine standard, just tweaked a little bit. I get so tired of going to sites that describe the record as M-, and you listen to the clip and it has pops and crackles. I guess by their reasoning, everything below Mint is M-. Except for sealed albums and extraordinarily pristine singles, the highest grade I'll use is EX. VG+ is the next grade. These records may have a pop or two, or some very light distortion in soft passages. VG will have more of the same, only it will be a lot more noticeable. VG- will verge on becoming distracting from the music, but will play with no skips. Lower grades will only be put up for sale in the case of rare records. I can make an MP3 of the record and email it to you for $1.00 extra. I can also burn it in .wav format on a CD for $2.50 extra and send it along with the record. Just let me know before check-out and I'll adjust the invoice. If you need to personally contact me, just email me and I will forward my phone number to you.