The Rare Breed - Beg, Borrow And Steal

A riff on "Louie, Louie", "Beg, Borrow and Steal" was written by Lenny Zerato & Sly Bradford and was first recorded as [m917535]. The Super K Productions team (Jeffrey Katz & Jerry Kasenetz) recruited Brooklyn-based cover band The Conquests to record another version of it. This version, mixed in mono, was released under the name The Rare Breed and is the version in this master release. It was a modest hit in Ohio & the UK in 1966. The instrumental B-side, "Jeri's Theme", was recorded by a different group, the same band that recorded the followup single, [r=7408519]. It is unknown what that band's name originally was; some speculate that it was the original Rare Breed.

The Super K team renamed Ohio-based band Sir Timothy & The Royals to The Ohio Express in 1967 and planned another release of the song. Rather than using the new band for it, they just lightly remixed and re-released the original recording as [m712721]. The stereo LP version included a steam train intro. This release became a US hit in late 1967. The B-side was a recording made by The Measles, an Ohio-based band. Meanwhile, the recently renamed Ohio Express began performing the songs live, as well as recording new hits.