VONGLO AND GLOVON
The credit "Glovon" as producer of the Don Covay & the Goodtimers` Mercy! -lp was a small but persistent headache as absolutely nothing about a person or entity called "Glovon" could be found anywhere. The puzzle is now almost completely solved thanks to Ben Slater and DJ Honey getting the ball rolling 1
"Glovon" is not a person but an anagram of "Vonglo" (or the other way round...), and though this sounds like a fun wordplay from a children`s book BMI affiliate "Vonglo Music Pub. Co." was in fact a publishing company very likely co-owned / run by Covay and Horace Ott.
All of the songs either written or co-written by Don Covay for the two 1964 Rosemart singles and the 1965 Mercy! -lp on Atlantic were co-published together with Cotillion by:
Vonglo Music Pub. Co.
1674 Broadway, New York City. 2
The only exception seems to be "Come See About Me". The version on Mercy! is Don Covay`s re-recording of the song first copyrighted and released (as "See About Me") by him in 1961 (Vonglo apparently started in 1963) and also released by Gladys Knight in 1962 5 on Fury Records as "Come See About Me" (with the arrangement credited to Horace Ott).
PUBLISHED DON COVAY SONGS 1961-1966
All of the songs published by Vonglo either involved Don Covay, Ronald Miller or Horace Ott as (co-)composers or were new songs written by others but first recorded by Don Covay. The company seems to have been operational in 1963-1966, I couldn´t find any songs first published by Vonglo prior to 1963 or after 1966.
I started out by just compiling a list of songs published by Vonglo, then decided to expand it to include all songs composed by Covay during 1961-1967, then decided to roll back to just Vonglo after reading the Mercy! -lp liner notes claim that Covay had by 1965 composed "more than six hundred songs"...
So, on this page I`ve compiled a listing of all songs either composed, co-composed or first recorded by Don Covay 1961-1966 and (mostly) published by Vonglo. I didn`t find a single Vonglo published song that wouldn`t have been directly associated with Covay in one way or another so it seems clear that Vonglo functioned purely as an outlet for the work of Don Covay and his associates.
Also included are some songs that were not published by Vonglo but which are relevant to the period, like double registrations of songs included on the Mercy! -lp. Don Covay of course made music before and after 1961-1966 but I`ve restricted the time frame to songs relevant to the subject matter of this website.
A listing of copyright registrations doesn`t make for terribly exciting reading but it does give some insight into how Don Covay was going about with writing, recording and publishing his songs around the time of his brief association with Jimi Hendrix.
There are sure to be errors and omissions as this is a very broad subject, if you find any please let me know at
1961
No songs published by Vonglo
Songs listed in the Library of Congress Copyright Office January - June 1961 -catalog: 11
COME SEE ABOUT ME; w & m Don Covay &
Charlie Partee. © Don Covay; 5Jun1961;
EU674063
Issued by Don Covay & The Goodtimers on the single "See About Me / Hand Jive Workout" (Columbia 4 - 42058) released in July 1961 10. Also released as a "Single 33" pressing (Columbia 3 - 42058) as part of Columbia`s line of 33 rpm singles. Composer credit on the single label is D. Covay - C. Partee as per the copyright registration.
The Mercy! -lp (which featured a re-recording of the song) credits Don Covay as the sole composer. The publisher was credited as "Morning Sun Pub. Co., Inc. (BMI)" on the original 45 and as "Morning Sun" on the Mercy! -lp.
1962
No songs published by Vonglo
1963
1 song published by Vonglo
Songs listed in the Library of Congress Copyright Office July - December 1963 -catalog: 12
YOU`RE GOOD FOR ME; w & m Horace Ott &
Donald Covay. © Cotillion Music,
Inc. & Vonglo Music Co.; 14Oct63;
EU794389.
A-side of the Solomon Burke 45 "You`re Good For Me / Beautiful Brown Eyes" (Atlantic 45-2205) released in October 1963. 18 Covay - Ott are credited as composers on the single label and the publisher as Cotillion-Vonglo, BMI, as per the copyright registration.
Covay released his own version of the song the following year in 1964 with "Don Covay" credited as the sole composer on the single label and publishing credited to Check-Colt, Inc. & Mary Hill Music.
When the song was re-recorded and released on the Mercy! -lp in 1965 the writing & publishing credits reverted to the original 1963 copyright registration with Don Covay & Horace Ott listed as composers and Cotillion-Vonglo as the publisher.
1963 single releases
These titles don`t show up in the copyright registrations but the record labels do credit Vonglo as the publisher.
CROSSFIRE TIME
Composers: Don Covay and Horace Ott
I`M GOING HOME
Composers: Don Covay and Horace Ott
Both sides of the Dee Clark 45 "Crossfire Time / I`m Going Home" (Constellation Records, Inc. C-108) released in October 1963 21 were composed by "D. Covey-H. Ott" and published by Vonglo Music-Joni Music-BMI. Both sides were also a "A Don Covey & Horace Ott Production".
1964
4 songs published by Vonglo
Songs listed in the Library of Congress Copyright Office January - June 1964 -catalog: 13
DON`T PLAY WITH LOVE; w Jerry Butler,
m Don Covay. © Curtom Pub. Co., Inc.
& Vonglo Music; 13Mar64; EU815268.
"Don`t Play With Love" was copyrighted but apparently never released on a record. The song is listed at Warner Chappell Music but with "no masters available".
MERCY! MERCY! MERCY! w & m Don Covay
& Ronald Miller. © Don Covay &
Ronald Miller; 15Jun64; EU830294.
This is a registration for the song that ended up being titled "Mercy, Mercy". Some Rosemart single pressings and the Mercy! -lp list Don Covay & Horace Ott as the composers, other pressings credit Don Covay & Ronald Miller.
The original copyright registration didn`t list a publishing company instead just crediting "© Don Covay & Ronald Miller", the Rosemart single releases and the Mercy! -lp both credited the publishing to Vonglo - Cotillion.
The correct writing credit for "Mercy, Mercy" is Don Covay & Ronald Miller, it would seem that in reality Horace Ott had nothing to do with the song. See the Who Wrote "Mercy, Mercy"? -page for more information.
The same swapping of credits on the labels applies to the B-side of the Rosemart single: copies that have a Covay - Miller credit for "Mercy, Mercy" also have Ronald Miller co-credited for "Can`t Stay Away", copies that credit Covay - Ott also co-credit Horace Ott for "Can`t Stay Away".
One clue for the reason behind the changing writing credits for "Mercy, Mercy" might be the original copyright registration for the song. "Mercy, Mercy" was originally copyrighted to "Don Covay & Ronald Miller", there was no publisher listed. When the Rosemart single was released the publishing for the song was assigned to Cotillion-Vonglo. If Horace Ott was Covay`s main partner in (or sole owner of) Vonglo that might explain why the songwriting credit was changed to Ott, it may have had something to do with the song`s publishing being moved to Vonglo. But this is just speculation on my part.
Songs listed in the Library of Congress Copyright Office July-December 1964 -catalog: 14
YOU`RE GOOD FOR ME; w & m Don Covay.
© Check-Colt, Inc. & Mary Hill Music;
30Oct64; EU851128.
"You`re Good For Me" had already been copyrighted the previous year in 1963 with different writing & publishing credits when it was released by Solomon Burke. This time the song seems to have been copyrighted again because of it`s release as the A-side of the Don Covay 45 "You`re Good For Me / Truth Of The Light" (Landa Records 704) circa November 1964 4. The composing and publishing credits on the Landa single label match this 2nd 1964 registration of the song.
"You`re Good For Me" on the Landa 45 is a completely different recording than the one released on the Mercy! -lp. The B-side "Truth Of The Light" has the same writing and publishing credits as the A-side, there is no mention of Vonglo anywhere on the single.
It seems that being published by Vonglo again had an effect in the writing credits, this time for "You`re Good For Me". When the song was first copyrighted for the first time the previous year in 1963, the registration listed Vonglo as the publisher and Horace Ott as a co-composer together with Covay. This new 1964 registration however changes the publisher to Check-Colt and removes the Horace Ott co-writing credit.
1964 single releases
These titles don`t show up in the copyright registrations but the record labels do credit Vonglo as the publisher.
PLAYBOY (PLEASE SETTLE DOWN)
Composer: Horace Ott
Arranged and conducted by Horace Ott
Both sides of the Denise Germaine 45 "Playboy (Please Settle Down) / Little Lost Lover" (United Artists UA 707) released circa April 1964 6 were arranged and conducted by Horace Ott. The A-side was also composed by Ott and co-published by Stride Music Corp. and Vonglo Music Company.
TEARDROP AVENUE
Composers: Don Covay and Horace Ott
The A-side of the Bette Booth 45 "Teardrop Avenue / Right On Time" (Falew! FAL 103) released circa April 1964 7 was composed by Don Covay and Horace Ott and published by Vonglo Music.
THE RIGHT KIND OF LOVIN`
Composer: Horace Ott
Arranged and conducted by Horace Ott
The A-side of the The Cadillacs 45 "Fool / The Right Kind Of Lovin`" (Arctic Records A 101) released circa December 1964 8 was arranged and conducted by Horace Ott and published by Lu-Mar Music Co. The B-side, "The Right Kind Of Lovin`" was also composed by Ott and co-published by Lu-Mar Music Co. and Vonglo Music Co.
1965
8 songs published by Vonglo
An interesting news item was published in the 27 February 1965 issue of Cash Box:
Covay To Atlantic Covey
NEW YORK - Don Covay inked an exclusive recording contract with Atlantic Records specifying that his future releases are to be on that label. The "Mercy Mercy" man`s hit single was distributed through the firm`s channels, and his current album appears under the Atlantic banner. Covay is shown (left) with executive veep Jerry Wexler at the recent pacting. The artist`s first single for the company, "Boomerang," is about to be released.
Songs listed in the Library of Congress Copyright Office January - June 1965 -catalog: 15
TAKE THIS HURT OFF ME; w & m Don Covay
& Ronald Miller. © Cotillion Music,
Inc. & Vonglo Music Pub. Co.; 9Mar65;
EU870584.
PLEASE DON`T LET ME KNOW; w & m Johnny
Terry & Wilbert Smith. © Cotillion
Music, Inc. & Vonglo Music Pub. Co.;
9Mar65; EU870585.
Released by Don Covay on the Rosemart 45-802 "Take This Hurt Off Me / Please Don`t Let Me Know" in early / mid November 1964 9. Note that the two songs have consecutive registration numbers and the same registration date, 9 March 1965. The Rosemart 45 and the Mercy! -lp both use the same writing and publishing credits as the original copyright registration. Although "Please Don`t Let Me Know" isn`t a Don Covay composition the song was originally copyrighted by Cotillion-Vonglo so Don Covay`s version probably is the first recorded version.
PLEASE DO SOMETHING; w & m Ronald Miller
& Don Covay. © Cotillion Music, Inc.
& Vonglo Music Co.; 17May65; EU882488.
Released as the A-side of a Don Covay & the Goodtimers 45 "Please Do Something / A Woman`s Love" (Atlantic 45-2286) in May 1965. 19 The B-side "A Woman`s Love" was copyrighted to following year in 1966.
CAN`T FIGHT IT, BABY; w & m Don Covay
& Horace Ott. © Cotillion Music, Inc.
& Vonglo Music Pub. Co.; 10Jun65;
EU886880.
COME ON IN; w & m Don Covay. © Cotil-
lion Music, Inc. & Vonglo Music Pub.
Co.; 10Jun65; EU886879
DADDY LOVES BABY; w & m Don Covay.
© Cotillion Music, Inc. & Vonglo
Music Pub. Co.; 10Jun65; EU886881.
I`LL BE SATISFIED; w & m Don Covay &
Ronald Miller. © Cotillion Music,
Inc. & Vonglo Music Pub. Co.; 10Jun65;
EU886878.
These four new, at the time previously unpublished, original songs included on the Mercy! -lp (Atlantic 8104) also have consecutive registration numbers and the same registration date, 10 June 1965. Additionally the registration numbers also follow the lp track list running order (the alphabetical order of the titles is different) so the registrations were clearly applied for after the lp tracks had been sequenced.
The writing & publishing credits for the four songs stayed faithful to the original copyright registrations when they were released on the Mercy! -lp with two exceptions:
"Come On In" had Horace Ott added as a co-composer
"Daddy Loves Baby" had Ronald Miller added as a co-composer
Songs listed in the Library of Congress Copyright Office July - December 1965 -catalog: 16
THE BOOMERANG; w & m Horace Ott, Don
Covay & Randolph. © Cotillion Music,
Inc. & Vonglo Music Co.; 29Oct65;
EU911006.
The A-side of the Don Covay single "The Boomerang / Daddy Loves Baby" (Atlantic 45-2280) released in March 1965 3. According to bmi.com the composer credit "Randolph" refers to Leroy Randolph. Don Covay`s real name was James Donald Randolph, Leroy Randolph was his brother. 17 Leroy released singles in the 70s, some of these produced by Thomas and Eddie Randolph - all four "Covay" brothers were in the music business.
1966
1 song published by Vonglo
The Don Covay lp See-Saw was released in February 1966 20. It contained only four Cotillion-Vonglo published songs all of which had already been released as singles in 1964 - 1965:
The Boomerang
Please Do Something
A Woman`s Love
Mercy, Mercy
Also, significantly, of all the songs on the lp only the previously released tracks "The Boomerang" and "Mercy, Mercy" had Horace Ott co-writing credits. So it seems both Don Covay`s active affiliation with Vonglo AND his writing partnership with Horace Ott ended in 1965 with no more new music published.
Only "A Woman`s Love" would be copyrighted by Vonglo in 1966, and the track had already been released on a single in 1965. The single label listed Cotillion - Vonglo as the publisher so for one reason or another the copyright registration seems to have been delayed until 1966 (or possibly there was a previous registration that I haven`t been able to find). It`s not uncommon for the copyright registrations discussed here to be dated months after any given song`s commercial release date, in fact it´s the norm, but it is uncommon that a track was copyrighted closer to a year after it´s release on record.
Songs listed in the Library of Congress Copyright Office January - June 1966 -catalog:
A WOMAN`S LOVE; w & m Don Covay.
© Cotillion Music, Inc. & Vonglo
Music Co.; 15Mar66; EU937032.
Released as the B-side of a Don Covay & the Goodtimers single "Please Do Something / A Woman`s Love" (Atlantic 45-2286) in May 1965. 19
1967
No songs published by Vonglo
1968
No songs published by Vonglo
MERCY!
For easier reference, here`s a comparison between the original copyright registrations for the songs included on the Mercy! -lp and how they were credited on the album sleeve. I haven`t been able to find a copyright registration for "Can`t Stay Away", hopefully some else will have more luck digging one up.
Side A
MERCY, MERCY
Original registration: Don Covay & Ronald Miller - Copyright Don Covay & Ronald Miller
LP credit: Don Covay & Horace Ott - Copyright Cotillion-Vonglo
- replaces Ronald Miller with Horace Ott as composer
I`LL BE SATISFIED
Original registration: Don Covay & Ronald Miller - Copyright Cotillion-Vonglo
LP credit: Don Covay & Ronald Miller - Copyright Cotillion-Vonglo
COME ON IN
Original registration: Don Covay - Copyright Cotillion-Vonglo
LP credit: Don Covay & Horace Ott - Copyright Cotillion-Vonglo
- adds Horace Ott as composer
CAN`T STAY AWAY
Original registration: missing
LP credit: Don Covay & Horace Ott - Copyright Cotillion-Vonglo
CAN`T FIGHT IT, BABY
Original registration: Don Covay & Horace Ott - Copyright Cotillion-Vonglo
LP credit: Don Covay & Horace Ott - Copyright Cotillion-Vonglo
YOU`RE GOOD FOR ME
Original 1963 registration:
Horace Ott & Don Covay - Copyright Cotillion Music,Inc. & Vonglo Music Co.
Second 1964 registration:
Don Covay - Check-Colt, Inc. & Mary Hill Music
LP credit: Don Covay & Horace Ott - Copyright Cotillion-Vonglo
Side B
TAKE THIS HURT OFF ME
Original registration: Don Covay & Ronald Miller - Copyright Cotillion-Vonglo
LP credit: Don Covay & Ronald Miller - Copyright Cotillion-Vonglo
DADDY LOVES BABY
Original registration: Don Covay - Copyright Cotillion-Vonglo
LP credit: Don Covay & Ronald Miller - Copyright Cotillion-Vonglo
- adds Ronald Miller as composer
COME SEE ABOUT ME
Original registration: Don Covay & Charlie Partee - Copyright Don Covay ("Morning Sun" listed as publisher on the Gladys Knight single from 1962)
LP credit: Don Covay - Copyright Morning Sun
- removes Charlie Partee as composer
YOU MUST BELIEVE IN ME
This is a cover of a Curtis Mayfield song
PLEASE DON`T LET ME KNOW
Original registration: Johnny Terry & Wilbert Smith - Copyright Cotillion-Vonglo
LP credit: Johnny Terry & Wilbert Smith - Copyright Cotillion-Vonglo
JUST BECAUSE
This is a cover of a song by LLoyd Price & Harold Logan
EPILOGUE
Exactly why the Mercy! -lp was credited as being produced by "Glovon" is unknown. Glovon probably stands for either Don Covay or Horace Ott or both, but why did they use the pseudonym "Glovon" instead of "Vonglo", or their real names? Still, though there isn`t a contemporary source to confirm it, the origins of the "Glovon" producer credit seem pretty clear now.
We do, however, have a new mystery to solve: what does "Vonglo" stand for?
SOURCES
1 I posted a question about the identity of "Glovon" on the EarlyHendrix Facebook page on 22 July 2019, Ben Slater was kind enough to share the problem with DJ Honey who in turn noticed the Vonglo credits on a Rosemart single and realized that "Glovon" was an anagram of "Vonglo".
2 Cash Box 15 August 1964 and 14 August 1965, address listed under "BMI Publishers" in both issues
3 "The Boomerang" is mentioned in a 27 February 1965 Cash Box news item: "Covay To Atlantic Covey ... The artist`s first single for the company, "Boomerang," is about to be released." and the single is reviewed in the 20 March 1965 Cash Box issue.
4 Listed under "Records To Watch" in Billboard issue 21 November 1964
5 reviewed in Billboard issue 12 January 1963. Given that Christmas and new year had just passed, Billboard being published roughly one week in advance of the cover date the single is likely to have been released in December 1962 or even earlier.
6 reviewed in Cash Box issue 11 April 1964
7 reviewed in Cash Box issue 25 April 1964
8 reviewed in Cash Box issue 12 December 1964
9 reviewed in Billboard issue 21 November 1964 and Cash Box issue 21 November 1964
10 reviewed in Cash Box issue 15 July 1961, full page ad published in the 31 July 1961 -issue of Billboard. The ad also confirms that "See About Me" is the A-side of the single.
11 Catalog of Copyright Entries 1961 Music Jan-June 3D Ser Vol 15 Pt 5
12 Catalog of Copyright Entries 1963 Music July-Dec 3D Ser Vol 17 Pt 5
13 Catalog of Copyright Entries 1964 Music Jan-June 3D Ser Vol 18 Pt 5
14 Catalog of Copyright Entries 1964 Music July-Dec 3D Ser Vol 18 Pt 5
15 Catalog of Copyright Entries 1965 Music Jan-June 3D Ser Vol 19 Pt 5
"Vonglo Music Co." and "Vonglo Music Pub. Co." have separate entries in the catalog index. It seems, however, that this is just a question of misspelling the company name. The only song listed for "Vonglo Music Co." is "Please Do Something" and this is a song written by Ronald Miller & Don Covay so the two Vonglos are clearly the same company.
16 Catalog of Copyright Entries 1965 Music July-Dec 3D Ser Vol 19 Pt 5
17 obituary published in the New York Times "Don Covay, Performer and Writer of R&B Hits, Dies at 78" by Bruce Weber https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/07/arts/music/don-covay-performer-and-writer-of-rb-hits-dies-at-78.html
18 reviewed in Cash Box issue 12 October 1963, Atlantic records ad published in Cash Box 26 October 1963, entered the Cash Box TOP 100 -chart at 97 in the 2 November 1963 -issue.
19 listed under "NEW ACTION R&B SINGLES" in Billboard issue 5 June 1965, listed at number 23 in the Cash Box "LOOKING AHEAD" -chart in issue 19 June 1965. As Billboard was published roughly one week in advance of the cover dated the single probably was issued in May 1965. The fact that the A-side, "Please Do Something", was copyrighted in 1965 and the B-side, "A Woman`s Love", in 1966 is a bit confusing but "Please Do Something" definitely was the A-side, white label promo copies of the single list it as the "PLUG SIDE". According to the Atlantic logs (info on the website probably taken from Atlantic Records Discography Vols. 1 & 2 compiled by Michel Ruppli but I haven`t checked how the website info compares to the book) both tracks were recorded in the same session on 27 January 1965.
20 The See-Saw -lp is listed as a February release in a news item published in the Cash Box 5 February 1966 -issue with the headline "7 LP Issues From Atlantic":
"Atlantic-Atico`s Feb. album release program, which consists of five Atlantic, one Stax and one Volt LP, will be shipped to the firm`s distributors this week." ... "On the pop side is "Seesaw" by Don Covay and "Solid Gold Soul" which features Solomon Burke, Wilson Pickett, Ben E. King, Otis Redding, Joe Tex and Don Covay." The See-Saw -lp was reviewed in the Cash Box 19 February 1966 -issue. Both stereo (Atlantic SD 8120) and mono (Atlantic 8120) versions of the lp were released simultaneously.
21 listed under "SINGLE REVIEWS" in Billboard issue 26 October 1963, also listed at number 6 in the Cash Box "LOOKING AHEAD" -chart in issue 16 November 1963.