to preface,,,,,this is a question that NO ONE hasbeen able to
answer....not music gurus....not avid collectors....not record shop
owners.

in the early 60's there was a pop, bubble-gummy version of the song
"gina". I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE JOHNNY MATHIS VERSION!!!!!!  this
version was sung by a guy with a backup group. kind of a "bobby
vee"-type singer.

all i know is,,,,,it was early 60's. it must have hit the charts and
had good play time because my wife remembers this version, and she
lived on the east coast while i was raised in the west. she seems to
feel that this version came BEFORE the johnny mathis version.

who sang this song version and do i get a refund if you don't satisfy
my question?

---

Request for Question Clarification by bcguide-ga on 11 Nov 2002 02:24 PST

Hi,

I'm thinking Bobby Vinton, but not I'm positive. I think I remember
him singing it and he definitely sang Blue on Blue writen by the same
song writing team. That might also be why Bobby Vee comes to your
mind. I sent an email to "his people". If it's right, I'll post it. If
not, we'll have to keep on searching...

bcguide-ga

Hello, Mikomiki,

Your description of the song as being "sung by a guy with a backup
group," and the time-frame you indicate, suggests that the version of
"Gina" you are remembering was recorded in 1965 by the California soul
group, The Vibrations, and was included on their release of cover
versions of standards, "Misty". For more information on this album,
and on The Vibrations, go to:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=SEARCH&sql=Ao268mpzh9fco

Search Strategy: I used the excellent All-Music Guide web site,
entering "Gina" in the "Songs" search field.

http://www.allmusic.com/

---

Clarification of Answer by dhalgren-ga on 13 Nov 2002 10:55 PST

Mikomiki,

I should have indicated that my confidence in this being your song,
besides its match to your information ( and without having heard it)
is based on the fact that, out of many songs titled "Gina," the
popular Johnny Mathis version was written by the team of Carr and
Vance, as was The Vibrations' 1965 version.

dhalgren-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by mikomiki-ga on 18 Nov 2002 02:43 PST

going through procedure, i am asking for a clarification. however, the
fact is, the answer given is wrong.

---

Clarification of Answer by dhalgren-ga on 18 Nov 2002 08:28 PST

Mimoki,

I have no further clarification to give. Further searching has turned
up no other alternative. I can only suggest that you accept my
apologies, and apply for a refund.

For my own peace of mind, and to avoid similar problems in future, I'd
be interested in knowing how you were able to ascertain that the
answer provided is in fact completely wrong. This would be enormour
help to me as a researcher. Thanks very much.

dhalgren

i am asking for a refund because the answer given is incorrect. i
listened to it, but this is not the version of the song i seek. this
version is by a black group, the version i seek is by a white single
or group.

i have checked on the other versions offered as possibilities, and got
nowhere.

i am not sure if i am supposed to wait the full time period or not,
but there doesn't seem to be any further activity on it.

Hello mikomiki, just a quick comment about refunds etc.  Firstly,
whatever happens, you will have to pay the $0.50 listing fee. 
However, you will only have to pay the question fee that you offered
if someone gives you an answer in the answer field.  Whatever
information comes to you in comments like this one is free.  Be aware
that any user of Google Answers can make a comment, but only
Researchers have access to the answer field.  If you get sufficient
information given to you in the comments, you may wish to consider
closing the question.  That way, you will not pay anything more than
the listing fee.  If you do get an answer as opposed to just comments,
you are charged the full fee.  However, you are entitled to request a
refund from Google Answers if you think the answer is unsatisfactory. 
Before you do this, please ask the researcher to clarify the answer,
saying what was wrong with it.  This gives the researcher a second
chance to try and provide you with the information you need.

More information is available in the FAQ:
https://answers.google.com/answers/faq.html

The information you provided is not enough to be sure. So I post this
as a comment, not as an answer. However I found a song that could be
the one you are looking for. Itīs by THE RUGBYS and is called JUDITHA
GINA.

Please visit:
http://www.burnsy.totalserve.co.uk/rugbys2.ram
and listen to the song in you real player.
A cover of a RUGBYS LP can be seen at
http://www.geocities.com/punkpsych/Rugbys.jpg


till-ga


Remark:
As mentioned by my colleague tehuti-ga this is a comment, not an
answer. This comment will not cost any fee besides the one tehuti-ga
already mentioned.

well i hope the "bill" on this query doesn't pile up in unexpected
ways. i'm assuming i should let this question go on for the remainder
xx days, after which it goes away by itself???

anyway,,,i just talked to another friend, AND SHE doesn't even
remember the mathis version, but does remember mine. she also
remembers an up-tempo, frankie avalonish, bobby veeish interpretation.

this REALLY  makes no sense because clearly the version i remember was
well known. and yet no knows about it. even I don't remember the
mathis version from back then. i only heard the mathis version decades
later on an oldies station.

btw, to answer the person who mentioned bobby vinton,,,,i wnet to a
bobby vinton fan site and i saw no version of "gina" either in 45's or
on the LP track.

Is there any chance you might be thinking of "Venus," by Frankie
Avalon?

http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:a-vGxp-7s-oC:www.clinton.net/~sammy/venus.htm+%22venus+o+OR+oh+venus%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

markj-ga

Hi mikomiki-ga !
You did not mention my comment. Was I wrong with my guess then ?

till-ga

it was DEFINITELY "gina". up tempo,,,not the slow like the mathis
version.

i do not believe the answer given, bobby vinton, is correct, because i
did not see it listed in any anthology of his performances. but it was
a good guess. (same type singer)

the best answer i was ever given was that back then many songs were
redone by various groups, and that this might have been one of them.
howeve,,,,, that i heard it often, and my wife heard it often on the
other side of the USA, tells mt this version was big enough to be
charted. mathis tended to redo songs as i recall, and the version i
remember was reminiscent of pre-'64 stylings. i would say a solo
singer with a backup, but it might have been a group.

dhalgren...i will try it. though if this is a "soul" version, i don't
think it will be.

mimoki,

The description of The Vibrations as a "soul" group shouldn't be a
factor here; the fact that they did a collection of cover tunes
indicates that, like most musicians, especially in the 60s, their
range most likely transcends labels such as "soul", which were
essentially inventions of record company marketing departments. I
believe (and hope) that it will check out. If not, you of course have
access to Google's Refund procedure!

Cheers,
dhalgren-ga

it's not the vibrations. i thought i had heard this one long ago. it
was suggested at an oldies message board.

upon further search, i found a site that listed all the charted songs
over a 20 year period. i did not find another version of gina,,,,only
the mathis version. this tells me that this version that i remember,
and that was given some play time, must have been recorded by someone
well known, otherwise it would never have been given air
time.......and that it was either a "B" side recording or a track from
an LP of a popular singer.