The interestingly named James K-Nine was thought to be a pseudonym for the prolific New Orleans artist Eddie Bo, given that he is the artist on the highly sought after flip to this, Live It Up. However Larry Grogan has recently confirmed that James was a real singer. The terminally obscure label on which this cut originally appeared, Hot Hit, was one of the large numbers that Eddie Bo was involved in one way or another. Despite the popularity of the funk side, for me this ballad Counting Teardrops is the one to go for. A simple, almost sparse production gives the song a rather charming air. How it eventually appeared on Federal is anybody’s guess!

UPDATE ~ This great track was first recorded by Doug Anderson for USA (with completely different writer's credits) in 1965.