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The Angels was one of the girl groups of the 60’s that had some lesser-hits like “Til” and “Cry Baby Cry,” The “Cry Baby Cry” single on Caprice Records can now sell for $40.00. But it’s their 1963 number 1 smash, “My Boyfriend’s Back,” that solidifies their place in Rock N Roll history. A mono copy of the “My Boyfriend’s Back” album, released on Smash Records, is worth up to $75.00 while a stereo copy can get you up to $100.00 today.

The first charted single for the Rolling Stones in the U.S. came in 1964 with a cover version of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away.” It wasn’t a big hit for the Stones, reaching only number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, it’s a hit with record collectors especially when a copy is found with its picture sleeve as shown here. It’s worth up to $500.00 today.

In 1959 a young Neil Sedaka first broke into the top-10 with a song about his girlfriend, Carol Kline. She would later change her name to Carole King and go on to have one of the greatest musical careers of all time. Neil’s song about her, “Oh Carol,” released by RCA, is worth no more than $20.00. But her song about him, “Oh Neil,” released on Alpine Records in 1960, is worth up to $500.00 today.

On January 14,1973, “Aloha from Hawaii” was an Elvis concert broadcast live via satellite from the Honolulu International Center, but wasn’t shown in the U.S. until April 4, as the original date was the same as the Super Bowl. Most copies of the album are worth no more than $50.00, but on some copies there was a special “sneak preview sticker” from “Chicken of the Sea,” sponsor of the TV special. The sticker, shown here on the lower right of the cover, jumps the value up to $4,000.00.

Sam Cooke set the pace for the soul singers to follow. His first hit, “You Send Me,” went all the way to number 1 in 1957. Then a deluge of smashes followed like “Only Sixteen,” “Wonderful World,” and “Chain Gang.” In January 1962, Cooke was on top of the charts with “Twistin’ The Night Away,” which he had also written. The 45, released on RCA, is worth up to $25.00 today. Up to $100.00 for the album. Both are shown here.

Not every Surf music record is worth money but many are, especially from the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, the Surfaris, and the Astronauts. One of the lesser-known Surf music albums is “Surfin’ Wild” by Jim Waller and the Deltas. They formed at Fresno State in 1961. The album, released in 1963 on Arvee Records, is worth up to $400.00 today in mono and up to $600.00 in stereo.

Although Roy Orbison had some minor success with Sun Records it wasn’t until he signed with Monument Records that he gained superstar status. On Monument, the hits came fast like “Only the Lonely,” “Crying,” and the monster smash, “Pretty Woman.” His first album for Monument, “Lonely and Blue,” featured other Orbison hits like “I’m Hurtin,” and “Blue Angel.”  The 45 of “I’m Hurtin’” with its picture sleeve is worth up to $50.00. A 1961 mono version of the “Lonely and Blue” album is worth up to $200.00. A stereo copy can sell for up to $600.00 today.

Ruth Brown was one of the most popular and successful female Rhythm & Blues performers of the 50’s. Her 11 years of record sales for Atlantic Records made the label known as “The house that Ruth built.” Her first big pop hit, “Lucky Lips,” was released in 1957. It can now sell for $50.00. Her debut album for Atlantic Records, “Late Date with Ruth Brown,” released in 1959, is worth up to $500.00 today.

The 4 Seasons with Frankie Valli had some of the biggest hits of the 1960’s beginning with “Sherry.” Other classics followed like “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk like a Man.” The “Sherry” album, released on Vee Jay Records in 1962, is worth up to $75.00 today. But before Frankie Valli was with the 4 Seasons, he was part of the Four Lovers. Their 1956 album, “Joyride,” released by RCA in 1956, is worth up to $500.00 today.

Sam Phillips, the man who unleashed Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash on an unsuspecting world in the 1950’s, was big into singles but not so much albums. He issued only 8 albums on Sun Records’ sister label, Phillips. The last album released on Phillips Records was “Rhythm-Blues Party” by Frank Ballard and the Phillips Reynolds Band. An original copy from 1962 is worth up to $2,500.00 today.