Updates

• Added info on Jimmy Ford, thanks to Volker Houghton. • Extended and corrected the post on Happy Harold Thaxton (long overdue), thanks to everyone who sent in memories and information! • Added information to the Jim Murray post, provided by Mike Doyle, Dennis Rogers, and Marty Scarbrough. • Expanded the information on Charlie Dial found in the Little Shoe post.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Miami Rockabilly, Volume 1

Here's a the first volume of an LP series you'll like very well I think. This put out by AFS Records in 1979 and featured Rock'n'Roll and Rockabilly recordings from the vaults of Miami labels cut in the 1950s and early 1960s. AFS was a sublabel of Art that recorded many of the songs featured here. AFS was re-activated for re-issuing these treasures - you will like it. Highlights are Wesley Hardin's "Anyway", the Roxsters with "So Long" and Buck Trail's outer space hymn "Knocked Out Joint on Mars". Many thanks to Uncle Gil for supplying the LP and Willie, the original ripper. Have fun!

Download

track list:
1. Wesley Hardin - Anyway
2. Buck Trail - Knocked Out Joint on Mars
3. Roxsters - I Was Doint It, Too
4. Mike Shaw - Long Gone Baby
5. Tommy Spurlin - No Time for Heartaches *
6. Kent Westberry - My Baby Don't Rock Me Now
7. Tommy Spurlin - Hang Loose
8. Roxsters - So Long
9. Wesley Hardin - Honky Tonk Man
10. Buck Trail - The Blues Keep Knockin'
11. Mike Shaw - Frankie and Johnny
12. Tommy Spurlin - One-Eyed Sam
13. Kent Westberry - No Place to Park
14. Tommy Spurlin - Heart Throb *

* Although they are marked as "unreleased" on the back cover of this release, both songs were released in 1957 on Perfect, another label associated with Art.

6 comments:

oldrockboy said...

Great post, thank you

Anonymous said...

Great stuff here.....from memory, I seem to recall 3 LP's in this series....thank you.

Mellow said...

You're right. The other volumes will come the next two weeks.

Donald said...

Hello Fans Of The Roxsters, This is Don Ward
Originator of the Roxster Name and the person who formed the Band. The original members of the Roxsters from West Palm Beach are known by myself and of course other Members of the group.( I came up with the Roxster name and spelling and only I know how the spelling came to be. Jerry Johnson and myself registered the name (THE ROXSTERS) as a DBA in the Palm beach Post Times in 1957.That was shortly after Jerry and I began looking for a Drummer.We Found him, David Hieronymus living in Lake Worth ,Florida,A Sax man was added after a long search turned up Keith McKindricks and Guy Brown, Guy was a tenor Sax man and Keith Played Alto Sax . There was another Sax man we listned too,but not as good as Keith,But hold on, I'm getting ahead of myself. I have a Photo of the Roxsters with Myself,Keith,Jerry,Bill Rinehardt(Base Player) and Chuck Irwin on Drums, Bill was acutally the 1st base man the Roxsters had in the Group, There was also another Drummer, Jack Hubbard- From around the Lantana, FL area I think his father owned a hardware store in Boynton Beach, FL. Jack played with us for quite awhile before chuck joined the Band. Originally there was myself Don Ward,Jerry Johnson,Butch Watts on Lead Guitar,David Hieronymus on Drums, and for a short while Bob Porter was on Vocals also both Bob and Jerry were good vocalist. I also Sang and played Acoustic Guitar fronting the group for a long time, eventually we settled on Jerry as lead Vocalist for the group, and things really took, We cut a few Records down in Miami for ART Records, we also backed Wesley hardin on a few songs he recorded for Art Records. The Roxsters had a good run at it and i have Lots of good memories I am willing to share. I still play and have never stopped. I and my late wife Nina have written many songs together and I'm still writing and will continue to write and play as long as i can hold a Guitar and still sing. "LIFE IS A SONG AND LOVE IS THE MUSIC". You can quote me on that. I have just written a Song in memory of my Wife of 42 Years ,she just passed on Feb 5th(2011) this year. The song is entitled,"LIFE IS LIKE A SONG"(Still beside ME) well I've ratteled on long enough I will sign off now. Musically Yours, Don Ward in Sunny- Garden Grove California California. I"m on Facebook look me up, and my email address is doninaward@gmail.com

the bassest said...

Russ Samuel and the Vanguards should have been included. They recorded for AFS 45's in 1960 and actually had the top selling AFS 45's recording. "When You Were My Girl" was certified as selling 35,000 in 1961. Not bad when distribution was mainly in the south east.

Mellow said...

You're right. I have that record in my collection, it's a great one!