Country Music, Rockabilly & Hillbilly

Charlie Thompson & Miss Mary Ann

2012-01-24T22:42:00.001+01:00

Charlie Thompson and Miss Mary Ann doing a nice country song, "Don't Laugh." It's a Louvin Brothers original and their version is awesome. Both of them are leading singers in the European rockabilly field, playing original 1950s rockabilly and country. Backing by the Rhythm Wranglers.

Bobby Hollister on Pike

2012-01-22T22:24:00.000+01:00

Bobby Hollister with the Rialtos - Love's Gamble (1961), Pike 5910
Following my recent post on Pike Records, bobsluckycat came up with some real interesting memories of Pike recording artist Bobby Hollister. Bobsluckycat was stationed at a Naval Air Station in Lemoore, California, in the early 1960s and was able to see Hollister perform and also to talk with him back then.

According to the Social Security Death Index, Robert Harold Hollister was born on September 11, 1942. Rumor goes that his familiy name was actually Cox but later got adopted by a man called Harold Hollister. I'm quite sure this is our man, although I have no verification.

Hollister founded his band in 1959 in Tulare, California, calling themselves "Bobby and the Rialtos." Members included Hollister on vocals and electric rhythm guitar, Freddie Thomas on lead guitar, and Mike Nolan on drums. It was the year 1961: Bobby Hollister and the Rialtos performed at teen dances around the Bakersfield/Lemoore//Tulare/Visalia area (Central Valley). He still attended high school and because of their age, Hollister and the Rialtos weren't allowed to work places where alcohol was served. They had a short list of songs the teenagers at that time wanted to hear, including such pieces as "Money (That's What I Want)" and "Last Night."

Bobsluckycat remembers:

Hollister told me they had cut a record in Bakersfield in a garage, but that they couldn't afford to bring it out because they couldn't afford to pay for the pressing. He would tell the people at the dances that he had a record coming out, but it never did, in so far as I know. I found a copy a year or so later in Columbus, Ohio, in the cut-out bin of a local Woolworth store for 5 cents. I bought it just for curiosity sake.

Apparently, Hollister and the Rialtos had a record out. In fact, it were two records on Bakersfield's Pike record label. Both appeared in 1961, the first one being "Like Thunder" b/w "Breakin'" (Pike 5907), two surf instrumentals featuring a guy called Freddie Thomas. No information on Thomas survived. The second single was released later that same year on Pike 5910, featuring the teen ballad "Love's Gamble" and the rock'n'roll song "Ring Around Your Neck." Both credit Hollister, Freddie Thomas and M. Nolan as composer. Were they the two other Rialtos? Anway, bobluckycat recalls the record as follows:

The record was pretty bad. "Love Was A Gamble" was a slow almost dirge like recording where Hollister tries to sound a little like Jack Scott, but fails miserably. "Wear My Ring" was a much faster nearly rockabilly song, but Hollister couldn't match the Elvis Presley/Conway Twitty style vocal that was needed.

By the fall of 1961, Hollister disappeared from the Central Valley music scene. He probably went to college, as bobsluckycat assumed. Hollister was drafted into the Army on February 27, 1963, and probably fought in Vietnam. He got out of service in 1966 and upon his return, he restarted his musical career. Hollister replaced Jim Mellick in early 1967 as vocalist and lead guitarist in a garage band called "The Brymers," which was quite popular in California. Hollister and band member Bill Brumley for example would do a set consisting of Righteous Brothers songs because they sounded very similar to them. Band member Dick Lee remembers one crazy happening with Hollister:

Another crazy time occurred while the group was booked into a San Francisco venue in 1967. Bobby Hollister (lead guitar and vocalist) had hooked up with this beautiful young blonde after a concert. He proceeded back to his hotel with the young lady and both entered his room. The rest of the group was next door playing poker and having a few beers to unwind. At one point, we heard Bobby yell and run out of the room. We instantly went to the door to see what the problem was. Hollister came running into the room yelling, “It’s a guy! It’s a guy! She has a penis.” To his surprise, he had hooked up with a transvestite who was a working female impersonator in a North Beach nightclub. Needless to say, Bobby was always ribbed about the incident and always checked that future women did not have a “package.”

Though the Brymers had a busy touring schedule and a recording contract with Diplomacy Records, the band members decided to disband in late 1967. They were tired of being on the road. Hollister married Sandra J. Thomas in the late 1960s and they had three children. The marriage did not last long and they were divorced in November 1968 (according to the California Divorce Index). Hollister then vanished from the scene. He died on March 23, 1993.

The Brymers at "Piere's" in San Francisco, 1967. Wich one is Bobby Hollister?

Special thanks goes to bobsluckycat for providing me with some info and nice memories of Bobby and the Rialtos. Other sources: Rockin' Country Style, Find a Grave Forum, "The Brymers: Bigger (and Balder) Than Any One Individual" by Dick Lee

Story of Pike Records

2012-01-18T23:36:00.000+01:00

Pike Records was founded in 1959 by Roy Flowers in Bakersfield, California. The first release of the label shows Arvin, California, as location but all subsequent singles show Bakersfield. In 1961, the label was purchased by Leon Hart. While under the leadership of Flowers, only about four singles were put out, the label's releases really took off after Hart became the owner.

Vancie Flowers was probably Pike's most active artist, releasing at least four singles on Pike. By 1961 she was under contract with the publishing company American Music, Inc. from Hollywood (Jerry Capehart and Terry Fell worked for this company, too) while recording for Pike. Flowers recorded for example a cover of the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" (written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon) and an answer song to Dave Dudley's 1963 hit "Six Days on the Road" entitled "Six Days a Waiting." She also had a single out on Crest. Since she had the same family name as Roy Flowers, I assume they were somehow related to each other.

Other artists were Al Hendrix and Bill Bryan, both cut nice rockabilly songs for the company. More info on Pike is appreciated. I tried to contact Pike recording artist Al Hendrix but this attempt failed somehow.

Discography
5901: Vancie Flowers - What a Man / I Threw My Orchid in the Water (1959)
5902:
5903:
5904: Ronnie Sessions - Bunny Rabbit / ? (1961)
5905: Dickie Garland / Music by the Rialtos - Shake Bop / You're Gonna Be Sorry (1961)
5906:
5907: The Rialtos featuring Freddie Thomas - Like Thunder / Breakin' (1961)
5908: Ronnie Sessions - Keep a Knockin' / ? (1961)
5909:
5910: Bobby Hollister with the Rialtos - Love's Gamble / Ring Around Your Neck (1961)
5911: Leon Hart - Long White Line / ? (1962)
5912: Al Hendrix - Monkey Bite / For Sentimental Reasons (1962)
5913: Bill Bryan and the Goldtones - Rocking Chair / Wasted Words (1962)
5914:
5915: J.R. LaRue & the Goldtones - Three Hearts / I Know Better
5916: Vancie Flowers - Orchid / What a Man (1963)
5917: Tommy Dee - Look Homeward Dear Angel / Tommy Dee with Bonnie Owens - Missing on a Mountain (1963)
5918: Highlanders - Hot Hot Sun / Penny-Penny (1963)
5919: Tommy Lewis - Go Where You Wanna Go / ?
5920: Vancie Flowers - I've Just Got to Tell You / Foot Prints in the Dust
5921: Vancie Flowers - Thick and Thin / Six Days a Waiting (1963)
59022: Vancie Flowers - Can't Buy Me Love / Private Part
5923-5928:
5929: Flowers & Hart - Remembering Patsy / ? (1963)
No#: James Gilreath - Lollipops, Lace, and Lipstick / ?

Thanks to: Rocky Lane, DrunkenHobo, Steve Hathaway

Davey Jones

2012-01-06T15:24:00.000+01:00

Davey Jones - The Real Thing (1959), Dade 1801
I felt it is time for another 45 record. Davey Jones presents us a nice late 1950s rock'n'roll effort here on the Dade label. I know nothing on both label and artist except that this is believed to be a Miami, Florida, record from 1959. The flip is a slow early soul ballad. Information is appreciated!

Will Glahe on London

2012-01-04T18:34:00.000+01:00

Will Glahe and his Orchestra and Chorus - Schweizer Kanton - Polka (1957), London 45-1755

WIll Glahe and his Orchestra and Chorus - Liechtensteiner Polka (1957), London 45-1755

In the new year, another nice find of bobsluckycat has found its way onto this blog. Will Glahé is also familiar with many listeners in the USA, being the "King of Polka" there for several years. This record, released on London Records, is from 1957 and was one of his last big hits.

Born on February 12, 1902 in Elberfeld, Germany, Will Glahé began to make personal appereances in the 1920s in Cologne while studying. He played accordeon and piano and soon became a favorite with the listeners at the cafés. In addition, he also worked as a session musician for German record labels. In 1929, he became a member of the Dajos Béla Orchestra as one of the formations' two pianists and three years later founded his own orchestra, which became the house band of the Delphi Palace in Berlin. That same year, he started recording for the Gloria label and switched to Electrola one year later. Eventually, he would go on to record for Columbia. The 1930s saw him becoming one of the most popular and succesful orchestra leaders and accordeon players (along with such artists as Heinz Munsonius or Albert Vossen).

In 1936, Glahé had his first big hit with "Rosamunde." This up-tempo polka piece was composed by the Czech Jaromir Vejvoda and was also gaining much popularity in the USA under the title of "Beer Barrel Polka." During this days, his repertoire was heavily influenced by folkish polkas, which became often big sellers in Germany. Though, the Big Band sound was also part of his career and was played by him and his orchestra regularly.

After World War II, Glahé found much succes in the USA with his polka hits and became known as "Polka King." In 1947, he signed with Decca/London Records and travelled over the Atlantic several times. Through the years, he appeared with such artists as Glenn Miller, Fats Domino, Patti Page, Pat Boone, and many others. Today's choice came from November 1957, which was the last hit for Glahé. "Lichtensteiner Polka" reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100. From the 1960s onwards, he recorded many LPs featuring renditions of old hits, new songs and classics of different musical genres. Glahé died in 1989.

Sonny Fisher & the Rocking Boys

2012-01-02T17:11:00.001+01:00

Hello and a Happy New Year! It has been a while since my last post, so here we go again. Great stuff to come this year, more compilations and also great stories in the can. Today I thought it's time for another re-post because it seems this blog is getting more visitors everyday, so also the new ones should be introduced to Sonny Fisher's great music. This is actually my second comp I ever made gathering Fisher's complete Starday recordings.

Download

track list:

1. Rockin' Daddy
2. Hold Me Baby
3. Sneaky Pete
4. Hey Mama
5. Rockin' and a-Rollin'
6. I Can't Lose
7. Pink and Black
8. Little Red Wagon
9. Rockin' Daddy

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T14:15:00.001+01:00

A Merry Christmas to you all! Hope you will enjoy the next couple of days with your family and friends and have a really nice time. I will be off for some days but back before the year's end. Merry Christmas!

Christmas with Karling

2011-12-19T22:36:00.001+01:00

The Christmas time and the Holiday season is coming nearer and nearer and it is the same procedure as every year. Artists releasing albums, recording the 1000th version of "Jingle Bells" trying to cash in. One of South California's leading rockabilly singers, Karling Abbeygate, is no exception here. She also recently released her Christmas longplayer "Christmas with Karling." Many of the songs she presents on this album were written by herself.

A voice more comparable to rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson and a band like fire on many tracks, I couldn't imagine her singing sweet christmas songs. I have to admit that I was not very excited after listening to the first two songs on the record. "What's in the Box" is definitely not my taste of music at all and in my opinion, it doesn't fit to the spirit of christmas. Her cover of "Jingle Bells" is at the average, not an outstanding performance. The backing band is nice here. Track three, "Christmas Party," however, is a really rocking performance with the Christmas theme. Abbeygate is in good form here and the band supports here with a great backing. Another good song is the up-tempo "Honey's Coming Home for Christmas" with a typical slap bass. Abbeygate has the chance to present her good voice on the track "The First Noel," which is a really good performance. "Deck the Halls" features a nice electric guitar and pleasant piano work, while the album closes with two okay versions of "Silent Night" and "Auld Lang Syne."

In my opinion, this is really not one of the best Christmas albums. However, Abbeygate recorded some good tracks which can be enjoyable during the Christmas time. The album gets better with the later tracks. Abbeygate's voice is not made for pleasant Christmas songs but I really look forward to upcoming albums in the typical rockabilly style. I think she can really tear up the floor with her voice - but not during the Holiday season.

Visit Karlin Abbeygate's website

Guest essayist's thoughts on the American musical melting pot

2011-12-17T21:43:00.000+01:00

Folk musicians from different countries: "Urfideles Oberbayrisches Schrammel-Quartett" under the direction of Hans'l Lahl from Germany (left) and two unidentified old-time musicians from the USA, possibly 19th century or early 20th century. American folk music was not only the product of Irish, English and Scottish musical traditions melted with the Afroamerican influences, but also borrowed many elements from Middle European folk music. The polka style for example is a traditional musical style from Germany, Poland, the now called Czech Republic and other countries. The following essay about European and American folk music was written by a guest writer of this blog, known as bob'sluckycat. I hope you all enjoy reading it.

The writer of this blog in his first two posts in the series concerning Germanic origins of American folk/country songs states that "She'll Be Coming Around The Mountain" sound to him a lot like "Von den blauen, blauen Bergen" and it may very well could be that it is. American tracings of the song date back to an old, mainly, Negro Spirtual entitled "When The Chariot Comes," but with very different lyrics from the later, mid-19th century, version in the Southern US of A. version. However, it's just possible that a Germanic cleric wrote the original hymn and lifted the melody from the original folk song just as easily. We'll never know.

"Under The Double Eagle" is easier to trace. It was composed as a march by Josef Franz Wagner in the late 19th Century as "Unter dem Doppeladler". Wagner was an Austrian composer and bandmaster and the title of his composition refers to the "double eagle" on the coat of arms of Austria-Hungary under Emperor Franz Josef. Americans on the other hand, took "double eagle" to mean a slang term for the American $20.00 gold coin in common use at the time, which made it a more acceptable premise. John Philip Sousa, American bandmaster and noted march composer considered this tune to be one of his favorites and his various recordings as well as public performances spread the song far and wide. It was easily adaptable to the rural groups and instruments of the day, especially the fiddle (violin), piano and many other instruments as well. The song is now considered a country music classic and has evolved into Bluegrass, Western Swing, and other Country music styles over the years. Where Herr Wagner got his original inspiration for the song is anybody's guess.

The United States Navy Band - "Under the Double Eagle (Sousa arrangement)Hank Thompson and his Brazos Valley Boys - "Under the Double Eagle" (1961)Don Reno & Red Smiley - "Under the Double Eagle (1962) The traditional Sousa arrangement by The U.S. Navy Band is pretty much exactly as you would have heard it one hundred years ago. The Bluegrass version is the best in that genre, as is the Western Swing version which features Merle Travis on lead guitar and joined by Hank Thompson, himself, on the twin guitars part.

If I had to pick what is the most famous Germanic folk song ever written, my pick would have to be "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht" or simply in English "Silent Night". This Christmas carol written between 1816 and 1818 by Fr. Josef Mohr and Franz Gruber in Orbendorf Austria is so simple and yet so sweet, reverent and uplifting all at once, sung in any language. It is the true spirit of Christmas. The superior German language version by Herr Herbert Ernst Groh (1905 - 1982), a very popular Swiss tenor in Germany and throughout Europe, in his day, is posted in the previous post and can be heard there to great advantage. I submit a powerful 1963 version by Jim Reeves to showcase what a superior English language version can sound like.

Jim Reeves - "Silent Night" (1963)
Prior to 1877, when Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, music across America, while always important enterainment at various gatherings, was mostly not written down and played by ear and spread by itinerent musicians to each other or handed down from one family member to another. Of course as that happened, melodies and lyrics got changed along the way and expanded upon. In the 19th Century and well into the 20th Century, and especially in the rural enclaves far flung across the land the most important places that music florished was in the home, Churches and various hymnals (where some formal traing could also be picked up), saloons and taverns and whorehouses. It sounds cliché now, but the music progressed mainly by people asking the musicians "Do you know so and so?" and the reply being "Sing or hum a few bars and see if I know it or can play it." The "so and so" could have been anything from anywhere and much could also be lost or added in the translation. However, once it was learned it stayed in the repetoire as is, especially if it got popular. Later commercial American songs coming out of "Tin Pan Alley" in New York were being written by immigrants, mostly, from Europe and Russia, Irving Berlin being the best example, these songs put all sorts of old folk song melodies to use in various new songs. Those earliest mechanical sound recordings did not lend themselves to subtle music, but did work with brass bands, pianos, loud voices and music hall type music. Rural recordings were almost non-existant until July of 1922, when E.C. "Eck" Robertson and Henry C. Gilliland, two Confederate Civil War veterans and by now very old men, came to New York to record for Victor Records. Robertson's version of "Ragtime Annie" was a certifiable hit in it's day and his fiddle playing was a major influence. Listen to Asleep At The Wheel's version to see how far the song evolved by 1975.

A.C. Eck Robertson - "Ragtime Annie" (Victor 19149), 1922
Asleep at the Wheel - "Ragtime Annie", 1977 With the coming of the electric, carbon microphone and electric recording techniques in the mid-1920's the lid was off. Engineers and producers fanned out across the entire US of A searching for rural musicians to record and issue records of. Other musicians bought and listened to those recordings and learned the music more note for note than ever before. Radio was also a major factor. Reams and reams have been written about the origins of the songs that American musicians and singers recorded, most of it by scholars who connect a large part of it to older Anglo-Saxon and Irish origins, so I won't go there. America is a great melting pot in many ways including music. I'll leave it at that.

Footnote 1: I use the word "Germanic" to cover old German states such as Prussia, Bavaria, and others as well as Austria, Hungary and Switzerland.
Footnote 2: The songs used in this essay are from my personal collection.
Footnote 3: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all from bobsluckycat@att.net in the USA.

Billie Jo Spears RIP

2011-12-16T16:31:00.001+01:00

Female country music singer Billie Joe Spears died December 14, 2011, at her home in Vidor, Texas. She started her career as a 13 years old teenager and was brought to Nashville by Jack Rhodes later. She had her first hit recordings in the late 1960s and had her biggest hit in 1975 with "Blanket on the Ground." She was 73 years old and was diagnosed with lung cancer recently.

Read more at hillbilly-music.com.

Herbert Ernst Groh on Odeon

2011-12-13T22:50:00.002+01:00

Herbert Ernst Groh (Tenor) mit Orgelbegleitung und Glocken des Mainzer Doms - "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht" (Odeon Be 11136 / O-25569a), poss. 1930s

My postings have slowed down recently, so here's a short christmas greeeting to y'all out there. "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht," or also famous as "Silent Night" in English, is probably the most popular christmas song all over the world. It ranks also among my top ten favorite christmas songs. This version comes probably from the 1930s, recorded by tenor Herbert Ernst Groh in Germany. Groh was a singer and actor who rose to fame in the late 1920s as a radio singing star. He was successful with recording opera compositions but actually also recorded other material like this cut.

German Folk Songs: Lore, Lore

2011-12-01T22:01:00.000+01:00

Musikzug der SS-Standarte 42 - "Lore, Lore" (Gloria G.O. 10870)
This is the first post of a series I call "Out in the Westerwald: German Folk Songs." I want to present you back then popular German folk songs that have been around for many years and were popular well into the 1960s and 1970s. All recordings I will present are original, historical cuts from the 1920s up to the 1940s or 1950s in order to show the authentic tunes and lyrics as they were sung back in the old days.

I choose German folk music not only because I live in Germany and I like the music a lot but also because of the fact that American folk music, in particular old-timey, has many sources in middle-European folk music styles. German folk has a couple of different styles: there are marches, polkas, waltzes, ballads, so-called Schrammel music (which will be explained in future posts) and some more. This can be compared to Irish and American folk music culture, some examples are blues, breakdowns, ballads in America, jigs and reels in Ireland. The influence on old-time can be seen in various songs, such as "Under the Double Eagle" or "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain." The latter has nearly the same tune as a song called here "Von den blauen, blauen Bergen."

Today's tune of German folk music also bears some slight similarities to "Von den blauen, blauen Bergen." This song is called "Lore, Lore" and is also known sometimes as "Im Wald, im grünen Walde." It's a march and was known widely in Germany. Marches derived from military bands because the 4/4 meter is perfect to march with and they are still played a lot here. The lyrics are traditional and although this recording is political motivated, tune and lyrics differ not much from other recordings. The marching band here is the "Musikzug der SS-Standarte 42", conducted by Alexander Heinz Flessburg with vocals by the SA-Sturm 25/10. The recording was made in the mid-1930s for Gloria, a label that was owned by the Carl-Lindström-AG.

Other historical recordings of "Lore, Lore" were made by Carl Woitschach's orchestra with vocalist Kurt Mühlhardt (Kristall 2088) and by the 11 Batl. Inf. Regt. 17. Göttingen Musikkorps with the 7. Kompagnie on vocals, conducted by A. Muhs (His Master's Voice E.G. 2843). As with many other German folk songs, its popularity waned after WWII because the national socialists heavily used folk songs for their propaganda. Altough it is still familiar with older people and the military, "Lore, Lore" is mostly forgotten today.

Lonnie Glosson on Vaden

2011-11-29T23:09:00.000+01:00

Lonnie Glosson - "I Want My Mama" (Vaden EP-106), 1958 Here's another nice piece of country music by our friend bobsluckycat. Lonnie Glosson had worked with Raney for many years when he recorded "I Want My Mama." His first recordings were done in the early 1930s for Broadway Records and he later teamed up with another harmonica player from Arkansas: Wayne Raney. He and Raney built up a successful harmonica mail-order business and sold millions of instruction books and instruments all across the United States. They later sold the company and Raney switched to record producing.

Glosson recorded "I Want My Mama" circa 1957 possibly at WCKY in Covington, Kentucky. Arlen Vaden somehow acquired these masters (he was also on WCKY for a time) and issued them on his Vaden label in Trumann, Arkansas, on an EP. The record was released in 1958 with only few attention by the public. WCKY was a very powerful station back then with stars like Glosson and Raney, selling all sorts of mail-order products. Nelson King was the most popular DJ there. He hosted the WCKY Jamboree and also sold many Big 4 Hits soundalike EPs that were produced by Carl Burckhardt's Rite Record Productions in Cincinnati just across the Ohio River.

A complete discography of Vaden Records can be found at Arkansas 45rpm Records.

Jeanette Hicks RIP

2011-11-28T18:24:00.001+01:00

Country music singer Jeanette Hicks died November 23, 2011, at her daughter's home. She was 78. Hicks, born in 1933, was a member of the Louisiana Hayride in the 1950s and recorded for such labels as Starday and Columbia. Her early recordings included duets with a young George Jones. She was originally from Texarkana, Texas, and also lived there at the time of her death. She was a member of the Louisiana Hayride Hall of Fame.

Read more at hillbilly-music.com.

Old Banners review

2011-11-23T17:10:00.000+01:00

When I first listened to this album, I thought that I have heard the singer's voice before. But it was not until I listened to the track "Banners and Ceiling," when I noticed: "Oh well, Andrew Bailman sounds like the Decemberists' singer!" (For all people who do not know who Andrew Beilman is: he's the singer of Old Banners.) I even believed he is the singer until I looked it up and my sharp witted conclusion was destroyed. But I don't want to compare them to the Decemberists, because I'm sure these boys from Dallas don't intend to copy anybody's music - and they don't do. They have a brand of music on their own.

Old Banners, that is Andrew Beilman (vocals/guitar/banjo), Tanner Enloe (bass/vocals), Daniel Beilman, and James McFadyen. All tracks were written by Andrew Beilman.

The first track is not longer than a minute and presents some banjo playing. This gag is repeated one more time on the album, which really starts with the second song "2nd Gnome Eats for Free."The harmony background singing adds to the soft and dreamy melody and makes this ditty a really good folk piece. If you listened to this song, you know what you can expect for the next nine tracks: dreamy, soft, slow melodies with thoughtful lyrics and typical folk instrumentation. "Banners and Ceiling," done in the Decemberists vein with banjo and harmonica, is the best song on the album in my opinion. This is really music for a cold winter evening to sit in front of the fireplace - listening to "Old Banners."

A recommandation from me: If you come home from a hard working day, throw this album in your CD player and listen to some real good folk stuff.

Visit Old Banners at reverbnation.com

One Eyed Sam

2011-11-22T22:43:00.001+01:00

A really nice version of the ragtime song "One Eyed Sam" by Carl 'Sonny' Leyland. Leyland played piano with Big Sandy and the Fly Rite Boys and currently plays solo or with the Sonny Leyland Trio.

Petunia & the Vipers review

2011-11-14T16:22:00.001+01:00

I guess you know all about the "usual" modern rockabilly band: slap bass, lots of echo and songs that have been covered by hundres of bands before. No offense against those groups but when you are listening to Petunia and the Vipers' new album, you have to expect different music. Their music is a mixture between jazz, country, and rockabilly.

The opening track for their selftitled debut album is a nice country ballad with a jazzy steel guitar intro and a fine Slim Whitman styled yodel offering by vocalist Petunia. It's a waltz and you sure can imagine two sweethearts dancing to this tune out in the moonlight. The nect track, "Mercy," is a bit faster and a smocking country honky tonk song that creates a dark, dusty atmosphere. Again, steel guitarist Jimmy Roy adds some nice solos. "Maybe Baby Amy" now really kicks it off with a slappin' rockabilly song with powerful lead guitar licks by Stephen Nikleva. Other fine tracks are the swingin' "Yes Baby Yes" and "Gitterbug." I really love it when Petunia belts out "Gitterbuuuuug" with a raspy voice.

Petunia & the Vipers is an album full of different sounds and styles but all done in a remarkable way by the band. There are beautiful country songs, hot rockabilly tunes, and really great jazz tracks. It's the mixture between all threee musical direction that makes this album to an outstanding record, being not one of the "usual" rockabilly offferings.

Visit the official website

Early Country & Western Rock...

2011-11-06T14:25:00.002+01:00

...by Dave Dudley, of course! Finally, I finished the second volume of early Dudley tracks. This comp features great songs from the period 1955-1966. Many rare songs before he went to Mercury and also three smokin' Mercury recordings. Hope y'all enjoy these selections. Special thank to bobsluckycat for providing some of the tracks.

Download

track list:
1. John Henry
2. Barbara Allen
3. Last Day in the Mines
4. Ink Dries Quicker Than Tears
5. I'll Be Waiting for You
6. Cry Baby
7. Where There's a Will (There's a Way)
8. Under Cover of the Night
9. Lonely Corner
10. Oh Lonesome Me
11. Last Day in the Mines

Buddy Meredith on Rice

2011-11-01T22:32:00.000+01:00

Buddy Meredith - "Flop Top Beer" (Rice 5026), 1967

Buddy Meredith - "We Let Love Go to Sleep" (Rice 5026), 1967
Thanks to bobsluckycat, who sent me one of Buddy Meredith's Rice 45s. This one features Meredith's theme song "Flop Top Beer" along with "We Let Love Go to Sleep." "Flop Top Beer" was recorded around September 1967 in Nashville with Jimmy Key producing the session. It was the only song from that session, so Rice used the 1964 recording of "We Let Love Go to Sleep" for the flip (which had been released with "Sugarland, U.S.A." on October 3, 1964, on Rice 5014)
By the way: the Dixie songs by Meredith I posted recently were recorded circa 1960 in Nasvhille. His first session was cut in 1958 for Cullman ("Let Me Know" b/w "Tears", Cullman 6411).

Billy Barton R.I.P.

2011-10-31T11:23:00.001+01:00

Country/rockabilly singer and songwriter John Grimes, better known as Hillbilly Barton, Billy Barton, or Billy Boy Barton, died October 8, 2011. He was born in 1929 in Kentucky and at age 21, moved to California where he appeared on KXLA and recorded for Abbott Records. He later also recorded for King, Radio, Gulf Reel, and Sims among others. He was the composer of "A Dear John Letter," a #1 hit for Ferlin Husky and Jean Shepard.

Read more at hillbilly-music.com.

Buddy Meredith on Dixie

2011-10-26T20:20:00.000+02:00

Buddy Meredith and his Dokato Cowboys - "So Long Goodbye" (Dixie 900) Although mostly forgotten today, the "maestro of music" Buddy Meredith was quite a popular entertainer back in the early 1960s. This post features one of his early recordings, which probably dates back to the mid to late 1950s. The flip side to this Dixie single was "Moon Song." This record company should not be confused with the many other labels that went by the name of Dixie. It's neither one of the Starday custom, budget and full-fledged subsidiaries nor is it the one from Maryland, Kentucky, or wherever. Since this record shows no location, it is pretty difficult to locate it. Fred Netherton's Wildwood Trio also recorded for a Dixie record company, whose label design shows some similarities to this one.

Buddy Meredith was born on April 13, 1926, and hailed from South Dakota. "So Long Goodbye" b/w "Moon Song" was perhaps his first release. In the early 1960s, he and the Kota Cowboys appeared on KOTA-TV and around the same time, he was a DJ on KRSD in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Kota Cowboys featured Bob Haley, Stringbean Svenson, and Lowell Sterling. Meredith and the band could be seen every Saturday night on KOTA's Hoedown Jamboree during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Meredith began to record for Nashville Records (another Starday subsidiary) in the early 1960s and had a chart entry with "I May Fall Again" (Nashville 5042) in 1962. It reached #30 on Billboard's Hot C&W Sides in May 1962. On May 25, 1962, Meredith cut his first session for Starday and that same year, "Secret Sin" b/w "I Miss You All Over" appeared. He was one of the few artist who were transfered from Nashville to the Starday main label. A second single followed in 1962 and Meredith cut a whole album for Starday entitled "Sing Me a Heart Song."

Around 1964, Meredith switched to Rice Records and moved his family from Rapid City to Nashville and was signed to the mighty Jimmy Key's Key Talent, Inc. He recorded his signature song "Flop Top Beer" for Rice and was later signed to Guyden Records. Meredith remained a successful live act during this time, heading a country music festival along with Waylon Jennings and Dottie West. He also appeared at the Navajo Hogan in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that year.

Meredith was inducted into the South Dakota Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.

Buddy Meredith, ca. 1963. This photo was also used for his Starday LP in 1963.

Sources: various Billboard issues, Hillbilly-Music.com, Nathan D. Gibson: The Starday Story, South Dakota CMHoF

Fly Around My Blue Eyed Miss

2011-10-25T17:33:00.002+02:00

This is a jam session by West Virginia old-time musicians. The tune is "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss," also known as "Western Country." The best version in my opinion, apart from the Skillet Lickers' recording, of course.

Jim Harless on Shadow

2011-10-19T17:52:00.002+02:00

Jim Harless and the Lonesome Valley Boys - "Rock & Roll Fever Ain't Got Me" (Shadow 104)
Here's a good bluegrass song by Jim Harless, backed by the Lonesome Valley Boys. I virtually know nothing about this group, which was presumably from Bristol, Tennessee. The banjo player on these sides was Ray Jones. "Rock & Roll Fever Ain't Got Me" was the flip to the instrumental "Banjo Bells," some kind of a christmas record.Harless is listed in Terry Gordon's Rockin' Country Style database and fits perfectly to the Denver Duke & Jeffrey Null track "Rock and Roll Blues." I first intended to put this one on the new volume of "Tennessee Rock" but since it's really no rock'n'roll style, I decided it to post it this way. The flip will be pop up here in December.

On the Tennessee Line

2011-10-13T18:09:00.000+02:00

Here's a real nice LP from old-time musician Virgil Anderson (1902-1997). Anderson was a banjo picker from Kentucky and had a very unique way of playing, mixing blues, ballads, and breakdowns. I got this LP from the web, thanks to Eli Smith for providing it - it's a real gem. This was issued in 1980 on County Records, although the material was likely recorded in the late 1970s during a field recording session organized by Bobby Fulcher. You can find a lot of info on the back cover, which is included in the download folder as usually.

Download

track list:
1. Wild Bill Jones
2. You Been Gone So Long
3. Rainbow Schottische
4. Bed Bug Blues
5. Station House Blues
6. Muskrat
7. Wild Goose Chase
8. Trouble
9. I'm Leaving You Woman
10. Miner's Dream
11. Green Ford Blues
12. Cincinnati Blues
13. Jenny Hang the Kettle On

Jimmy Stayton

2011-10-12T00:16:00.000+02:00

Jimmy Stayton & Country Cats - "You're Gonna Treat Me Right" (Blue Hen 224), 1956

Jimmy Stayton recorded this great historical piece of New England rockabilly probably in 1956 after releasing his first single on Blue Hen, "Hot Hot Mama" b/w "Why Do You Treat Me This Way" earlier that year. Stayton was born in 1937 in Delaware and was caught by the new rockabilly sound when he visited his sister in Virginia in 1955. By then, Elvis Presley was already a household name in southern musical circles and Stayton instantly fell in love with rockabilly music. Back in Delaware he put together a band and in 1956, began recording for Blue Hen. "Hot Hot Mama" and "Why Do You Treat Me This Way" were recorded in Harrington, Delaware, in April 1956 with a band consisting of Stayton on vocals and rhythm guitar, a lead guitarist (possibly Morton Walker), and a drummer. "You're Gonna Treat Me Right" b/w "Midnight Blues" was released in late 1956 as his second single and Billboard gave it a promising review:

You're Gonna Treat Me Right
In this upbeat material, Stayton essays a rather successful Elvis Presley styling. Not many of these imitations have succeeded commercially; if any could, this one might.
Midnight Blues
A traditional-style blues plaint to steady, restrained beat. The harmonizing of the duo is competent but a little old fashioned. Guitar backing is excellent.

While Stayton's band was known as "The Rockabye Band" around the time of his first Blue Hen release, the second one was credited to "Jimmy Stayton & Country Cats." In addition, Stayton was joined on vocals by band member Morton Walker on "Midnight Blues." Another musician in his band was a person called "Honey," whose identity is still a mystery.

Jimmy Stayton (center) and his band

Stayton became a quite popular entertainer in the area. A contemporary witness remembered him doing barn dances in the Armory Hall in Milford, Delaware, which were attented by teenagers. He was some kind of a "local rock star" back then. Stayton was also one of the featured acts at the Cumberland County Co-Op Fair in Bridgeton, New Jersey, during November 1957. In the early 1960s, he recorded "The Hep Old Frog" b/w "The Only One (for Me)" on the Dover, Delaware, based Del-Ray label, which was partially owned by regional musician and producer Howard Vokes. While "The Hep Old Frog" was a rock'n'roll novelty song, the flip was a nice country ballad in the style of Don Gibson.

Not much else is known about Jimmy Stayton's career. There was a release by the European Dee-Jay Jamboree label entitled "Jimmy Stayton and his Rock-a-Bye Band," most likely containing a couple of his 1950s recordings. More information is appreciated!

Sources: Adam Komorowski, Rockin' Country Style, various Billboard issues, thanks to a Milford resident

Country Johnny Mathis RIP

2011-09-28T23:40:00.001+02:00

Singer and songwriter "Country" Johnny Mathis died Tuesday September 27, 2011, at the age of 80 year in Nashville. He started his career in the late 1940s and was one half of the country/rockabilly duo Jimmy & Johnny. They had a top ten with "If You Don't Somebody Will." After the duo split up, Mathis continued his solo career and recorded for Columbia, Mercury, Little Darling, D, United Artists, and many others. He penned over 400 songs, some of them were recorded by stars like George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, Webb Pierce, Charley Pride, Tammy Wynette, and others.

Johnnie Wright RIP

2011-09-27T23:12:00.002+02:00

Country music star Johnnie Wright died at the age of 97 on September 27, 2011, in his home in Madison, Tennessee. White was married to female country superstar Kitty Wells for nearly 74. Wright was one half of the famed Johnnie & Jack duo, the other being Jack Anglin, who died in 1963. They had such hits as "(I Get So Lonely) Oh Baby Mine," "Poison Love" or "Goodnight Sweetheart." After Anglin's early death, Wright continued his solo career and had a number one hit with "Hello Vietnam" in 1965. He kept on performing with his wife until 2000.

Read more at tasteofcountry.com.

Miami's AFS label

2011-09-26T13:58:00.000+02:00

courtesy of Rockin' Country Style

AFS Records was a short-lived label founded by Miami record producer Harold Doane and Mitch Lebow. Doane had set up his American Recording and Transcription Service in 1945 at the Cadillac Hotel and moved his studio several times, before he finally settled on 119th Street in Miami. The first records on Doane's label Art appeared in 1951 by Blind Blake Higgs, a black calypso musician from Nassau. Art was the first record label to release calypso (then called "goombay music").

Doane extended his operation in the mid-1950s and founded two new labels: Perfect in 1955 and AFS 1957. AFS was a label who exclusevly signed artists and songwriters who were members of the American Federation of Songwriters (shortcut AFS). At least six records were released on the label between 1957 and 1958 but none of them were able to stimulate any success. Doane seldom pressed more than 1000 copies of a record and did not send out promotional records to radio stations as well as Billboard, which was probably the reason for the disappointing sales.

Wesley Hardin and Roger Smith were two of the artists that recorded for AFS. Rockabilly Wesley Hardin singer had previously recorded for Perfect and waxed the pounding single "Anyway" b/w "A Thing Called Love" in 1957. He was accompanied by the Roxsters, who recorded a single on their own in 1958 on Art. "Be-Bop Boogie" was Roger Smith's first rock'n'roll recording and it sounds almost absurd when he tries to copy the vocal style of young rock'n'rollers. He probably came from another musical direction and went with the rock'n'roll craze in 1958. Air Records, another Miami label, eventually re-released "Be-Bop Boogie" and Smith went on to record for the label at least until 1960.

In 1958, Doane closed down AFS Records. Between 1979 and 1981, the label was revived to issue three collector oriented LPs with Miami rockabilly recordings, which were later compiled by Ace Records. In 1999, Harold Doane sold his entire master catalog to 2Tribes Entertainment, including all Art recordings and probably also the AFS masters.

Discography
300:
301: Three-Thirds with the Marlins - Kisses Sweeter Than Wine / Lonely Blues (1957)
302: Wesley Hardin with the Roxters - Anyway / A Thing Called Love (1957)
303:
304:
305: Roger Smith with Orchestra - Be-Bop Boogie / Stay Awhile with Me (1958)
306: The Stereos - Hot Rod / Poison (1958)

Sources: Rockin' Country Style, Rob Finnis, various Billboard issues

Deutsche Trucker Hits

2011-09-23T13:28:00.000+02:00

Here's a nice CD issued probably in the 1980s by the CD Music label in Germany. It's a budget album (yes, also in Germany the budget LPs were very popular) containing cover versions of popular German so called "Trucker Hits." Country music here is played by many bands but I always prefer authentic American music because the German singers and bands often sound like a cheap imitation. However, these songs here are really nice. My favorites are "Easy Rider" (originally by Truck Stop) and "Intercity Linie 4" as well as "Ohne Moos nichts los" (both originally by Gunther Gabriel). Hope you enjoy it!

Download

track list (original artists in brackets):
1. Easy Rider (Truck Stop)
2. Intercity Linie 4 (Gunther Gabriel)
3. Oh My Darling Caroline (Ronny)
4. Manta (Norbert und die Feiglinge)
5. Ohne Moos nichts los (Gunther Gabriel)
6. Der Tramp (Truck Stop)
7. Addios amigo (?)
8. Alle Mädchen ab 30...(lieben am besten) (Gunther Gabriel)
9. Ich schlaf nicht gern allein (Gunther Gabriel)
10. Laß die Mädels wissen (Truck Stop)
11. Rocky (Frank Farian)
12. Mississippi (Pussycat)
13. Fürstenfeld (S.T.S. - thanks to countryhank)
14. Im Wagen vor mir (Henry Valentino & Uschi)

Wake Up, Sinners review

2011-09-16T11:27:00.001+02:00

One might expect an album full of wonderful gospel songs and beautiful group harmony. But the Dirt Daubers play authentic, rough and speeded up banjo-driven folk/americana music. The group consists of J.D. Wilkes (banjo/harmonica/piano/kazoo/vocals) who has previously played with Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, his wife Jessica on mandolin and vocals, and Mark Robertson on bass. In 2009, they released their self-titled debut album. "Wake Up, Sinners," their second long-player, was released recently on September 13, 2011.

When I began to listen to the album, I expected something different. Well - in fact, I did not know what to expect but I sure expected something else. The tracks on the album are often dominated by Wilkes' banjo but also borrow elements from various other southern music styles. The opening track, the traditional "Wayfaring Stranger" is a good intro to the musical world of the Dirt Daubers. I always felt fascination for this song and their version is no bad one either, a great track to begin with. Some of the songs have a "spicy" sound, for example "Devil Gets His Due," "Get Outta My Way," some sound more folkish like "Angel Along the Tracks" or "Say Darlin' Say" and some in turn sound like the devil was right in the studio ("I Can't Go to Heaven"). The Dirt Daubers also do a great job on "Single Girl," a popular tune from the 1920s recorded by such artists as Riley Puckett and Vernon Dalhart.

What strikes me most is the incredible speed of the band on almost every song. Though, none of the songs are boring or redundant. Everyone has its own charm, borrows elements from different styles and is great to listen to. Sure one of the best albums released in the folk/americana field this year.

You can obtain a copy here.

Wade Mainer RIP

2011-09-15T12:12:00.000+02:00

Legendary banjo picker and old-time musician Wade Mainer died on September 12, 2011, at the age of 104 in Flint, Michigan, where he had lived since 1953. Mainer was one of the most influential persons in bluegrass music. In the 1930s, he played with his brother J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers and with his own band, the Sons of the Mountaineers, and recorded for Bluebird. He also played with the Monroe Brothers and influenced such people as Reno and Smiley, Flatt and Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe and many others.

Read more here.

The Night Cappers on Lovelady

2011-09-14T13:12:00.000+02:00

Earl Smith and the Night Cappers - "Black River Bay", Lovelady 201 (1962)

Not very much is known about Earl Smith, except that he was the vocalist and guitarist of the Night Cappers from Arkansas. Smith got to known the three siblings Randell, Carrell, and Laveral Rogers from Beech Grove, Arkansas, around 1958 and began to play with them. Smith, who hailed from Stanford, was a good guitar picker and liked to play like Luther Perkins. During these early years, he and the three Rogers siblings played on private house jam sessions but hadn't organized a band yet.

It was probably in the late 1950s when the Night Cappers were founded. The band members were Earl Smith (vocals/electric lead guitar), Randell Rogers (electric rhythm guitar/vocals), Earnest Stracner (acoustic rhythm guitar/vocals) and Laveral Rogers (drums). Stracner was a cousin of the Rogers and was said to sound like Ernest Tubb. Although still in their teens, the Night Cappers played clubs and bars every night well into the morning hours, mostly with Smith's older brother James as the overseer. The next day, Smith and the other band members went to work on the cotton fields again (except for Laveral, who went to school). The group played in Northeast Arkansas and Southeast Missouri, including the Bootheel Club, Wink's in Paragould or the Cozy Corner in Delaplaine and many others.

In late 1961 or early 1962, the Night Cappers were discovered by Iva Sue Lovelady, an older woman who was in the music business for some years then. She was born on May 26, 1917, and married Homer James Lovelady. She died on July 4, 1999. One of her earliest efforts in the music business was her song "Please Come Back," which was copyrighted in 1938. She owned the record label Lovelady Records in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, and composed "Black River Bay" as well as "Silly Quarrell" for the Night Cappers, who cut both songs in the spring of 1962 at Joe Lee's Variety Recording Studio in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The record was a good seller in the region and soon, Sam Phillips was interested in the group but somehow, nothing came of it. Even if Phillips would have arranged a session for them in his new recording studio in Memphis, success probably would have eluded the Night Cappers, considering that Phillips golden years as a producer were over by 1959.
Eventually, the Night Cappers disbanded. No information seems to have survived on what happened to Earl Smith, while the Rogers family still made music for their private pleasure. "Black River Bay" has been compiled on three different rock'n'roll compilations, first time in 1980 on the White Label LP "Rock from Arkansas."

Sources: Rockin' Country Style, Lawrence County Memorial Park Cemetery data, Catalog of copyright entries - musical compositions (Library of Congress), "The Music Years" by Laveral Rogers

Bill Monroe day

2011-09-13T15:03:00.000+02:00

Byron Berline, Bill Monroe,James Monroe, and
Lamar Greir at the Barn atBean Blossom Jamboree Park in
Bean Blossom, Indiana, 1967

Today 100 years ago on September 13, 1911, Bill Monroe was born on a farm outside the small community of Rosine, Kentucky. He is considered to be the "Father of Bluegrass," starting his career with his brothers Birch and Charlie. I could write a thousand things and details about his life, career, and music but I think y'all can read it on the web. I have compiled a couple of Monroe's recordings, many of them are my personal favorites.

Download

track list:
1. Cheyenne
2. Wayfaring Stranger (live)
3. Shady Grove (live)
4. It's Mighty Dark to Travel (live with Jim & Jesse)
5. Scotland

WSM George Jones day

2011-09-09T12:34:00.000+02:00

George Jones, who will turn 80 years old on September 12, will be honored by legendary country music radio station WSM from Nashville, home of the Grand Ole Opry, by presenting a special George Jones day on air. "The party is set to include Jones classics every hour 12 midnight – 7 p.m., listener birthday greetings and requests throughout the day, and a special edition of “The Eddie Stubbs Show” 7 p.m. – midnight featuring nothing but George Jones recordings," says an official Lotos Nile press newsletter. Also, there will be a special Grand Ole Opry show on next Saturday to celebrate Jones' birthday.

"Orangie" Ray Hubbard RIP

2011-09-06T22:54:00.002+02:00

Country and rockabilly singer "Orangie" Ray Hubbard died on September 1, 2011. Hubbard is famous for his 1957 recording of "Sweet Love" on the Dixie label and has remained a part of Cincinnati's music scene for many years.

Source: Deadwax

Roy Hall on the Opry

2011-09-06T12:17:00.001+02:00

Webb Pierce introduces his pianist Roy Hall on a Grand Ole Opry TV show, ca. 1955-1956. Hall does a version of Bill Haley's hit song "See You Later, Alligator," which he also recorded for Decca. Pierce owned a club in Nashville and played in Pierce's band for many years. This is one of the few videos showing him.

Jimmy Evans on Clearmont

2011-09-01T00:26:00.000+02:00

Jimmy Evans - "The Joint's Really Jumpin'", Clearmont C-602 (1962)

Many musicians from Arkansas came across the river to Memphis in order to try their luck in the lively music scene, hoping to get as famous as the young boy named Elvis Presley, who found success at Sun Records and rose to stardom at RCA Victor from 1956 on. When Jimmy Evans came to Sun, he was in good company. Billy Lee Riley was on Sun as well as Sonny Burgess, Johnny Cash, and others such as Charlie Rich would follow.

Born either in 1936 or 1938 (neither 1936 nor 1938 are confirmed) in Mariana, Arkansas, Evans began to sing at an early age. He first auditioned at Sun in 1954 when his aunt arranged a meeting with Sam Phillips but Evans was turned down, because he was too young and his voice was too high. Evans then returned to Arkansas and formed a band, which had a radio show on local KXJK in Forrest City, Arkansas. When he finished high school, Evans came back and Phillips hired him as a studio musician because of his ability to play lead guitar, bass, piano, drums, and steel guitar. He became friends with another Sun musician, piano player Jimmy Wilson, and moved with him into an apartment over the Sun Café, not far from the Sun Studio on Union Avenue.

Evans was mostly used as a session musician for singers who stepped into the studio to cut audition tapes. Evans was hoping to get a record release on Sun on his own but at that time, he was still singing country music and Phillips concentrated on rockabilly. He also played bass in Mack Self's band and in Harold Jenkins' Houserockers. When Jenkins moved to MGM and became Conway Twitty, Evans went with him on the road and stayed with his band until 1958. Evans then joined Ronnie Hawkins' background group, the Hawks and toured with them for another two years.

Finally, Evans issued his own record in 1962. At the advice of singer Gene Simmons, who had also recorded for Sun, Evans took his song "The Joint's Really Jumpin'" to Clearmont Records, a small label in Memphis, and cut it along with "I Just Don't Love You." On the recordings, Evans was backed by Gene Simmons' brother Carl on lead guitar, Jimmy Wilson on piano, Jesse Carter on bass and an unknown drummer. All the information concerning the Clearmont record came from this site. Actually, there are some inconsistences about the single. Jimmy Wilson left Memphis for California in 1958 and nobody knows what happened to him and nobody ever claimed he came back to Memphis in the 1960s. Also according to this site, Evans cut the record before he joined the Hawks, thus around 1958. But the record was released in 1962, which is confirmed by a Billboard review on November 17, 1962.

"Moderate Sales Potential," Billboard review November 17, 1962. Note the wrong record number - 491 was the matrix number, not the catalogue number.

However, the songs somehow appeared on the Caveman label from Illinois (with the same catalogue number as the Clearmont release). The cirumstances are unknown and possibly, we will never know exactly when it was recorded and how it got released on Caveman. Evans continued to record for such labels as Shimmy, Rebel Ace, and others. In the 1980s, he released his classic "Pink Cadillac" and was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2000. Sadly, he passed away in 2011.

Sources: Rockin' Country Style, Blackcat Rockabilly Europe, Billboard, RHoF

Smokey Joe's Piano

2011-08-24T10:48:00.000+02:00

In my opinion, Smokey Joe Baugh was one of the most fascinating musicians at Sun Records. He not only recorded solo but was some kind of a session man and had a style on most of his recodngs you can clearly identify. I started this project possibly a year or so ago but never finished it. I included not only his solo recordings, also some of his recordings as a backup piano player are featured here. I also can recommend you listening to his work with Brad Suggs, Eddie Carroll, Warren Smith, and others. He was one of the greatest!

Download

track list:
1. Lonely Sweetheart (by Bill Taylor with the Snearly Ranch Boys)
2. Split Personality (by Bill Taylor & Smokey Joe with the Snearly Ranch Boys)
3. The Signifying Monkey
4. Listen to Me Baby
5. Perfect Girl
6. Start All Over Again
7. She's a Woman (version 1)
8. Hula Bop (version 1)
9. The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
10. She's a Woman (version 2)
11. Hula Bop (version 2)
12. She's a Woman (version 3)
13. Rock'n'Roll Ruby (by Warren Smith)
14. I Need a Man (by Barbara Pittman)
15. That's the Way I Feel (by Jimmy Pritchett)

Jerry Leiber RIP

2011-08-23T13:37:00.000+02:00

Legendary songwriter Jerry Leiber passed away on August 22, 2011, at a hospital in Los Angeles. In the 1950s and 1950s, he penned more than 170 songs with Mike Stoller, for example Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock" and "Hound Dog," "Yakety Yak" by the Coasters or "Kansas City," which was covered by numerous artists. Musicians like Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, and many more covered their songs.

Alley Records story

2011-08-22T22:08:00.002+02:00

Probably one of the most famous recording companies in Arkansas, Alley Records was based in Jonesboro, Arkansas, home to many local musicians and labels. The person who was behind Alley was Joe Lee, a jazz musician who had extended experiences in the music business.

It was the year 1961. Joe Lee, Bill Keisker, Ed Cooper, and Charles Moyers set up the Variety Recording Studio on 213 East Monroe Street in Jonesboro and created the Alley label. Keisker, who was a retired physician from Jonesboro, built the studio's control board himself. Eventually, Joe Lee became the sole owner of Alley and Variety. Previously, he had recorded and worked as an A&R manager for Fernwoord Records out of Memphis. Lee later also recorded for his label. Apart from Alley, Lee also ran Jon-Ark and the Papa Joe's label. Variety also served as a custom recording service for other musicians who did not recorded for Lee's record labels.

Billboard review from May 26, 1962

The first Alley single was also the most successful. Bobby Lee Trammell, who had returned from California and now lived in his hometown Jonesboro, came in and asked Lee to record him. Trammell still performed wild rockabilly and rock'n'roll, although the time for hard rocking cats faded. Although the studio wasn't even furnished completely, Trammell insisted to do the session. The product was "Arkansas Twist" b/w "It's All Your Fault," which quickly became a hit. Even before its release, it sold 4,600 copies and before it was played on radio, 8000 exemplares were sold. On June 9, 1962, Billboard reported that "two other disks [that] are breaking well in the area [Memphis/Mid-South] are 'Arkansas Twist' by Bobby Lee Trammell on the Alley label, [...]." The song became Trammell's signature song and Alley's most popular record.

Others who recorded for Alley were Arkanas rockabilly singer Larry Donn, Kenny Owens, Jimmy Doyle Payne (Trammell's bass player), Ray Coble, the Exquires, and many others. The Folk Swingers, who made a guest appearance on the WSM Grand Ole Opry, had a single on the label as well as the Pacers, who were under contract with Razorback from Newport. Bobby Crafford, owner of Razorback and a member of the Pacers, had leased the masters to Alley. From 1962 on, 146 singles were released on Alley. In the 1990s, the studio burned down and many of the tapes were destroyed. By that time, Alley was already closed down. In 2006, Ram Records issued a compilation with 18 Alley recordings.

A detailed discography can be found on Arkansas 45rpm Records.

Sources: Delta Boogie, Sheree Homer/Ken Burke: "Catch that Rockabilly Fever"

The Santo label

2011-08-14T22:29:00.004+02:00

Santo Records was a record label based in Memphis, Tennessee. It was one of these small companies that popped up after Sun hit with Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and other rockabilly singers. It was started in the early 1960s by singer Wayne McGinnis. McGinnis was originially from Mississippi County, Arkansas, and moved to Memphis around 1953. There he performed in a band with guitarist Billy Joe Miller, playing a mixture between jazz and country. He later joined Slim Wallace's Dixie Ramblers along with Billy Lee Riley, Jack Clement, Bob Deckelman, and Ramon Maupin.

When Wallace set up his label Fernwood Records in 1956, McGinnis was amongst those who recorded a couple of songs in Wallace's garage studio, which remained unissued. He then unsuccessfully auditioned at Sun Records before finally signing with Lester Bihari's Meteor record label, also based in Memphis. There he formed the Swing Teens with Billy Joe Miller on lead guitar and Curley Wilson on bass, recording "Rock, Roll and Rhythm" b/w "Lonesome Rhythm Blues."

He continued to play with the Swing Teens for a while, before he moved into record production and promotion. The first record on his Santo label came out in the summer of 1961 by the Holidays with Darrell Tatum on guitar, who also recorded solo for Santo as well as for Fernwood later on. From the many recordings done for Santo, there were remarkable many artists of note. Anita Wood, who was at some point Elvis Presley's girl friend, recorded at least two records for Santo. Harold Dorman, who had a hit with "Mountain of Love" on Billy Lee Riley's Rita Records, also recorded for the label as well as Thomas Wayne, who charted with "Tragedy" in the 1950s on Fernwood. Bobby Lee Trammell, famous for his wild stage appearances and songs like "Shirley Lee," "You Mostest Girl" or "Arkansas Twist," had one release on the label. Sylvia Mobley, a country singer, had also several records on small Memphis and Arkansas based labels in the 1960s and 1970s.
Santo had also a sublabel called San Wayne Records.

Wayne McGinnis also had other business interests and eventually concentrated on his work as a business man, retiring from performing. What has happened to Santo and McGinnis? Well, one of those many questions in rockabilly history. The last known release on Santo was by David Wilson in 1964 or 1965. Discographical info came mostly from here. Note that this site states that Santo was a subsidiary of Fernwood. In fact, McGinnis bought Fernwood Records after the label's home on North Main Street was destroyed in 1968. Eventually, he sold the Fernwood and Santo master tapes to Dave Travis, owner of the reisssue label Stomper Time Records. Concerning Santo recording artist Darrell Tatum and the label itself, Larry Manuel said:

I've checked all my sources here in Memphis and have come up with almost nothing. Stan Kessler remembers a Santo label but never heard of Darrell Tatum.
(from Dead Wax blog, thanks to Bob)

"Moderate Sales Potential", review in Billboard July 3, 1961

You can listen to Red Williams' single here and to Eddie Carroll's single here on Some Local Loser.

Billboard ad from December 5, 1970.

Billboard ad from April 7, 1962

Discography
500: Holidays (feat. Darrell Tatum's guitar) - Dark Valley / Desperate (1961)
501: Darrell Tatum - Battle Hymn of the Republic / Dixie (1961)
502: Sylvia Mobley - All By Myself / If I Had You Again (1962)
503: Ace Cannon - Sugar Blues / 38 Special (1962)
504: Eddie Carroll - I'm Sorry / Wait Eternally (1962)
505:
506: Ace Cannon - Rest / Big Shot

750: Eddie Lanehart - Georgia Sun / Bad Weed

9001: Larry Wayne - Tag-a-Long / Dialing Your Number
9002:
9003:
9004:
9005: Harold Dorman - There on Yonder Hill / In an Instant (1962)
9006: Red West Combo - My Babe / Bossa Nova Bomsa (1963)
9007: Red Williams - With the Wind / ?
9008: Anita Wood - Two Young Fools in Love / Memories of You
9009-9049: [possibly there were no records released with these numbers]
9050: Red Williams - I Can't Believe (This Has Happened to Me) / Love's Not Worth It
9051: Harold Dorman - Ain't Gonna Change / What Comes Next (1963)
9052: Bobby Lee Trammell - Hi-O Silver / Don't You Know (I Love You) (1964))
9053: Thomas Wayne - Stop the River / 8th Wonder of the World (1964)
9054: Anita Wood - Dream Baby / This Has Happened Before
9055:
9056:
9057:
9058: David Wilson - Jamie / With All My Heart

Sources: Adam Komorowski, Rockin' Country Style, Santo Records discography, Bob

Thank you!

2011-08-12T14:23:00.000+02:00

Thank you for all 200.000 visits since November/December 2010. Keep on visiting!

Billy Grammer dies

2011-08-11T10:57:00.000+02:00

Country music star Billy Grammer died on August 10, 2011, at the age of 85 in Benton Illinois. He was a longtime member of the Grand Ole Opry and had such hits as "Gotta Travel On" or "Jesus Is a Soul Man." Born on a farm in Illinois in 1925, Grammer started his career as a guitarist for Hawkshaw Hawkins, Jimmy Dean, and Grandpa Jones. Eventually, he signed with Monument and later also recorded for Decca, Rice, Epic, and Mercury.

A message from one of our readers...

2011-08-10T11:13:00.004+02:00

Please help him if you can:

If anyone here has the recording in a digital format, or would be willing to sell me the record, I would really like to own a copy of my great-grandfather's record: 5-121 – Crystal Mountain Boys: Homin' Heart / A-Hangin' on the Vine. I can be contacted at shmorglegorf@gmail.com

Thank you!

Or write me! Record label: United Southern Artists, Inc. from Hot Springs, Arkansas
Thanks in advance.

R.I.P. Jimmy Evans & Marshall Grant

2011-08-09T15:06:00.001+02:00

Two great musicians recently passed away. The more famous one of course was Marshall Grant, member of the Tennessee Two/Three and bass player for Johnny Cash. Grant and guitarist Luther Perkins met Cash in 1947 in Memphis, where they began their phenomenal career at Sun Records. Grant was also Cash's road manager until 1980. He managed the Statler Brothers until his retirement in 2002. Grant was residing in Hernando, Mississippi, but visited the Johnny Cash Music Fest in Arkansas when he died at St. Bernard's Medical Center in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Jimmy Evans was a staff musician at Sun and played with such artists as Ronnie Hawkins, Bobby Darin, and Conway Twitty. Some of his recordings include "The Joint's Really Jumpin'" and "Pink Cadillac" as well as other great rockabilly songs. He passed away recently in 2011.

Tennessee Thompson story

2011-08-05T14:52:00.000+02:00

Tennessee Thompson with the Boomerangs
"Slippin & Slidin" b/w "Saturday Ball"
RCT 7033/4 (1959)

Loyal visitors of this blog will recognize this singer, which was presented on this blog some years ago. Tennessee Thompson is best known for recording a rocking rockabilly two-sider on the RCT label out of Indiana.

Edward R.C. "Tennessee" Thompson was the son of Jesse Frank Thompson and Elvie Thompson (Capps). Not much is known about his private life, so we continue with his musical efforts. Thompson's nasal voice suggests that he was a country singer before rock'n'roll conquered the musical world but that's only a guess.

Tennessee Thompson and the Boomerangs in a Chicago recording studio, 1959. From left to right: unknown, Aubrey Cagle, Jerry Williams, Tennessee Thompson, "Boomer," unknown

In 1959, he and his band went into a studio in Chicago to record two songs: "Slippin & Slidin" and "Saturday Ball." Both were fine rockabilly pieces with a driving guitar work and slap bass. On this day, Thompson was accompanied by Aubrey Cagle (guitar), Jerry Williams (lead guitar), a guy called "Boomer" (guitar) and two unidentified musicians (bass/drums). Thompson played rhythm guitar and sang. Both songs were released in 1959 on the RCT record label out of Indianapolis, Indiana. The fact that Aubrey Cagle and Jerry Williams played on his record as well as the label's location indicates that Thompson was also from Indiana. RCT Records was probably owned by Thompson (R.C. Thompson). However, the record had not much impact on the record buying public in 1959.

Thompson possibly went out of the music business eventually and founded a family. He was married at least two times and had several children. He married in 1956 and lived together with this woman the rest of his life. Tennessee Thompson died in 1992.

Tennessee Thompson, ca. 1950s

Sources: Rockin' Country Style, Family geneology website, Special thanks to Thompson's granddaughter

Prayers from Hell

2011-08-04T19:12:00.000+02:00

I remember posting this one year or so ago. Since it was deleted, here it is one more time! "Prayers from Hell" is a wonderful collection containing white old-time music gospel. Many of the artists are well-known in the old-timey field, for example the Monroe Brothers, Dock Boggs, or the Carter Family. The man on the front cover standing with the dog is Frank Hutchison by the way, while the other photo shows the Dixon Brothers with an unknown radio announcer. Two of the most outstanding songs here are Dock Boggs' "New Prisoner's Song" (the sadest song I ever heard) and "I Didn't Hear Nobody Pray" by the Dixon Brothers, which became later known as "Wreck on the Highway." I recommend this disc to everyone who is listening to old-timey and all those who did not give it a listen: try it!

Download

track list:
1. Carolina Ramblers String Band - That Lonesome Valley
2. Monroe Brothers - Am I Ready to Go
3. Carter Family - Church in the Wildwood
4. Dock Boggs - New Prisoner's Song
5. Dixon Brothers - I Didn't Hear Nobody Pray
6. Bill Carlisle - The Heavenly Train
7. Frank Hutchison - Hell Bound Train
8. Byron Parker and his Mountaineers - Shall We Rise
9. Dock Boggs - Down South Blues
10. Edith and Sherman Collins - What Will You Take in Exchange
11. Dorsey & Beatrice Dixon - Shining City Over the River
12. Rodgers & Nicholson - Worried Man Blues
13. Carter Family - It Is Better Farther On
14. Dock Boggs - Country Blues
15. Monroe Brothers - What Would the Profit Be
16. Bill Carlisle's Kentucky Boys - Unclouded Sky
17. Frank Hutchison - Stackalee
18. Dixon Brothers - When Gabriel Blows his Trumpet for Me
19. Byron Parker and his Mountaineers - I Love My Savoir
20. Dock Boggs - Sugar Baby
21. Bill Carlisle - He Will Be Your Savior Too
22. Ledford & Daniel Nicholson - Ninety Nine Years
23. Dorsey & Beatrice Dixon - When Jesus Appears
24. Dock Boggs - Pretty Polly
25. Edith and Sherman Collins - I Can't Feel at Home in This World Anymore

The Pearl River Valley Jamboree

2011-08-04T00:17:00.001+02:00

The Old Redwood Theater on Columbia Road (photo by Ken Roberts)

If you never heard of a country stage show by the name of "Pearl River Valley Jamboree," you will probably not be the only one. This local show near Bogalusa, Louisiana, and Rio, Louisiana, was one of the approximately over 600 other barn dance shows that aired during the "Golden Age of Country Music." Similar to its more popular equivalents Grand Ole Opry, Louisiana Hayride, Big D Jamboree, or the Midwestern Hayride, the Pearl River Valley Jamboree was the main form of entertainment on Saturday nights for the rural population in the 1950s in the area of Bogalusa.

The Jamboree began its run probably in 1955 outside Bogalusa on Avenue F near the small community of Rio in a barn. Because of several problems with the barn (it wasn't air conditioned, had no proper light and sound facilities, and only benches), the show moved to the Redwood Theater on Columbia Road in Bogalusa. Host of the show was a guy called Barney, whose opening call prepared the audience for the upcoming show, as one of the regular show attendee remembers:

"He would start each night off by saying, as the curtain was opening... 'Now, live, from Bogalusa, Louisiana, the center of farms, forrests and factories... the Pearl River Valley Jamboree!'"

One thing made the Pearl River Valley Jamboree special. It was custom in those days that the shows were broadcasted live over the radio right into the listeners' homes. But the first hour of the Pearl River Valley Jamboree was recorded and broadcasted the next morning at 10am over WHXY out of Bogalusa (later known as WBOX).

Vern Pullens

The house band of the show was made up of local Louisiana musicians. Lead guitarist and Bogalusa native Vern Pullens is now famous for his Rockabilly recordings he made over the years. His "Bop Crazy Baby" b/w "It's My Life" on Spade Records from Houston is now a minor Rockabilly classic. Pullens was a member of the Jamboree from 1957 to 1959.
Singer and guitarist Shirkee Samford was also a member of the show. Samford came from Louisiana and had a release on the IS-HIS label with "Pack Your Bags" b/w "Her Story Has No End." He and his brother Zarnoff had a local rock'n'roll band called "The Blue Notes" in the area and joined the Jamboree in 1955, shortly after their first gig. They went to the military in 1957 and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Other musicians were bass player Andrew Sprehe (also a member of the Blue Notes) as well as guitarists Everett King and Rick Buras. Also B.J. Johnson, who recorded for Spade with Vern Pullens in 1957, was a member of the show.
The theme song of the show was the famous "Steel Guitar Rag," which was played (of course) by the steel guitarist. Pullens would also throw in one verse of jazzy guitar picking.

"Pack Your Bags" by Shirkee Samford (IS-HIS A 1000)

The Samford Brothers with the Blue Notes, 1955. From left to right: Harlan White, Shirkee Samford, Zarnoff Samford, Andrew Sprehe

It's not known to me, when the Pearl River Valley Jamboree came to its end, but I guess the late 1950s or early 1960s are the most probable date. The Redwood Theatre still exists in Bogalusa but is now bedraggled. Lead guitarist Vern Pullens died in 2001.

Sources: Special thanks to Ianric16 for most of the information, Marcelle Hanemann: Local musicians part of area's rich musical heritage

Webb Foley

2011-07-24T17:33:00.001+02:00

Webb Foley - "Bee Bop Baby" (Emerald 2013), 1956

Webb Foley is today best remembered by rockabilly lovers for songs such as "Little Bitty Mama" or "Makin' a Plan," but outside the hardcore collector circle, Foley is commonly unknown. He recorded numerous singles for Indiana based labels during the 1950s and 1960s, but never really found commercial success with music.
Foley's real name was Gabby Horman and he was originally a baseball player - and quite a talented, too. He played for the Winona Chiefs in the 1950s, that's were he probably enjoyed his most popular years. Also a talented show man and singer, he decided to start a career in country and rockabilly music and took the stage name Webb Foley (combining Webb Pierce and Red Foley). In 1956, he began recording for Cliff Ayers' Emerald label out of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Ayers was a famous pop singer back in the 1940s, touring Europe with great success. In the 1950s, he went into record producing and founded his own label, Emerald (later called M Erald and then shortened to M). Foley was one of the few artists to record rockabilly on the label and in 1956, Ayers released Foley's "Bee Bop Baby" b/w "You Oughta Make Records." An EP featuring "Little Bitty Mama" and the Johnny Cash soundalike "Makin' a Plan" followed in 1957.

During this time, Foley played a lot with another young rockabilly singer by the name of Dennis Puckett. Puckett and his band, the Rockets, recorded for Emerald around 1957 and had a regional hit with "Rockin' Teens" b/w "By By Blues." Dubbed the "Indiana Elvis" by Ayers, Puckett became quite popular in the Hoosier state. He and Foley toured the country together for some time. Foley arranged the appearances and they played nearly everthing they could get. Eventually, Foley's band backed Puckett up on his second Emerald release, which was recorded in 1958 at radio WOWO.

Foley left Emerald after 1957 and recorded for Fox and Goldcrest. In the 1960s, he started working with Cliff Ayers again and recorded a couple of country singles for his M label. Then, Foley vanished from the music scene. Recently, he lived in Nashville, Tennessee, but no one was able to track him down yet.

You can hear one of Foley's M singles at the Some Local Loser blog.

Sources: Rockin' Country Style, Indiana45s.com, Dennis Puckett: "Rockin' Teens" (interview by Steve Kelemen), "The Secret Life of Gabby Horman" by Bryan P. Heilman,

1950s Radio in Color

2011-07-22T19:16:00.001+02:00

Chris Kennedy, author and musician from New York, discovered Cleveland DJ Tommy Edwards' photo collection in 2006, containing rare pictures of 1950s and 1960s stars, ranging from Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Link Wray, Doris Day to Johnny Cash, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Sonny James and many more. Now the Kent State University Press has published his book he wrote about Edwards' private photo collection. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, visit this site.

Another version of the Friesenlied

2011-07-20T12:14:00.003+02:00

Lale Andersen - "Wo die Nordseewellen"

Here is another version of "Where the North Sea Waves" or "Friesenlied." This version was recorded by Lale Andersen, probably in 1961. Andersen was born in 1905 and became very famous in 1939 with their hit recording of "Lili Marleen," a soldier song originally written as a poem in 1915 by the German soldier Hans Leip, before he went into war. In 1937, Norbert Schultze composed a tune to the text and Andersen cut the song in the summer of 1939 in Berlin for the Electrola label.

When Andersen cut "Wo die Nordseewellen," she was still very popular in Germany, although her hit making days were over. I couldn't find any information on the recording details, but I guess this version was cut for Polydor. Andersen also sings one verse in Low German.

If you are interested in more traditional German songs, please let me know!

Rubber Knife Gang - Tennessee Mountain Girl

2011-07-12T12:32:00.000+02:00

The Rubber Knife Gang plays the song "Tennessee Mountain Girl" from their 2010 album "Drivin' On." I reviewed it on this blog, one of my all-time favorites album. Sadly, I had it only on my computer until it crashed!

Shoot Grandpa!

2011-07-04T15:01:00.001+02:00

At first I want to make clear that I do not want to shoot any grandpaw. In fact, my grandpa is still living and I like him alot, so don't get me wrong! I wanted to do such a compilation for some time now and last week I finally did it. On this comp, you will find many instrumentals, which is not unusual for late 50s and early 60s Rock'n'Roll combos. However, I hope you enjoy it!

Download

track list:
1. Willy Tremain's Thunderbirds - Midnight Express
2. Bobby Wayne and the Swing Trainers - Swing Train twist
3. Doug and the Inn Truders - What's Up
4. The String Kings - The Bash
5. Bill Logsdon and the Royal notes - Spitfire
6. The Swing Rayes - Ramrod
7. Rhythm Rockets - Donny's Boogie
8. Mickey Hawks and the Night Raiders - Cottonpickin'
9. Night Rockers - Let's have a party
10. The Swing Rayes - Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
11. bBill parker with the Tunes & House Rockers - Boogie Beat Rock & Roll
12. Rel Yea's - Round Rock Boogie

Thank you...

2011-07-01T12:09:00.000+02:00

...for all the comments you left since I started this blog. I really appreciate them and it is good to know that there is someone out there reading the write-ups and listening to the music. As I always say, please feel free to make requests or additions, they are always welcome. What thrills me most is when original artists or their realtives read one of my posts about them and leave a comment or even contact me to provide more information - it makes me happy! So I hope y'all enjoy this blog and keep visiting!
(By the way: the next CRH comp is under way!)

Ramsey Kearney on Jaxon

2011-06-29T12:14:00.000+02:00

Jimmie Martin Combo / Vocal by Ramsey Kearney - "Rock the Bop" (Jaxon 501), 1957

Jackson, Tennessee, has been the home for several Tennessee Rockabilly musicians, most notable Carl Perkins. Local record companies, e.g. Jaxon and Lu recorded local artists just as Kenny Parchman, Curtis Hobock, Carl Mann and others. Today, we spotlight a young Ramsey Kearney, who also was part of the Jackson music scene and recorded for Jaxon.

Ramsey Kearney was born on October 30, 1933, in Bolivar, Tennessee, where he attended high school with his friend Bobby Sisco, who eventually moved to Michigan and became a Rockabilly singer in his own right. Kearney became interested in music at the age of 13 and took part in a talent contest, which resulted in a radio spot on WDXI (Jackson, TN) in 1948. It was there that he met Carl Perkins, who was a guest on Kearney's show several times. In 1952, Kearney gave up his show and joined the Snearly Ranch Boys in Memphis, Tennessee, a local country band led by drummer Clyde Leoppard. This group also included such persons as Smokey Joe Baugh, Stan Kesler, and Bill Taylor. One year later, Kearney served in the US Army and upon his discharge, he recorded some songs for Sun Records, which remained unissued.

Ramsey Kearney (bass) with Ed Cisco and Carl Perkins at the Knick Knack Café in Jackson, Tennessee, 1949

As the vocalist of the Jimmie Martin Combo, he recorded two songs for Jaxon Records, "Rock the Bop" b/w "Red Bobby Sox" in 1957. Jaxon was founded by Martin himself and his group was the first to appear on the label. It was a small company that gave local talents the possibility to record their first single, for example Carl Mann. It was Kearney's first record release; however, the record went nowhere due to missing promotion and distribution.

Kearney later moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, where he became a member of WNOX's Tennessee Barn Dance. It was not until he moved to Nashville that he enjoyed some success both as a musician and as a songwriter. During 1961-1963, he recorded for Hickory and penned such titles as "Emotion," recorded by Brenda Lee, Juice Newton, and Mel Tillis. Kearney is still active as a musician and records for the Safari label at the moment.

Visit Ramsey Kearney's website

Lost John Boogie

2011-06-25T21:38:00.000+02:00

Wayne Raney - "Lost John Boogie" (King 719), 1948

Download link for "Lost John Boogie" by request. Original post here.

Gene McKown dead

2011-06-22T13:28:00.001+02:00

Musician and songwriter Gene McKown passed away on May 18, 2011, due to a heart attack. He was 78 years old. McKown originally came from Osceola, Missouri, but moved to California in the 1950s where he started his musical career. He appeared on such shows as the Town Hall Party or "Country America" and recorded for he Aggie label, including the song "Rock-a-Billy Rhythm." Eventually, he moved to Kansas City where he continued his career. He spent his last years in Osceola.

Read more

New blog

2011-06-17T13:22:00.000+02:00

Yesterday another blog caught my attention. Check out Can't You Hear Them Calling? with lots of great old-time, blues, and gospel records.

Also, look at Arkansas 45rpm Records, my new project covering Arkansas based record labels. Hope everybody has a great weekend!

Friesenleed

2011-06-13T22:01:00.001+02:00

Die 5 Gloria Gesangs-Gitarristen - "Friesenlied" (Gloria Bi-2790-2 / G.O. 27400a)
Here's one song not many of you will recognize. I always loved German folk songs and did some research on this wonderful piece of music. The "Friesenleed," also known as "Wo die Nordseewellen" ("Where the Norh Sea Waves"), is very popular here in Northern Germany, although it is mostly remembered by older folks. I recall my great granduncle always asking his son to play this song on accordion because it was his favorite song.

"Wo die Nordseewellen" is based upon the 1907 published Low German poem by Martha Müller-Grählert "Ostseewellenlied," who described her home in it, Western Pomerania, which also belonged to Germany before the war. Simon Kranning composed a melody for the lyrics, which were varied in differend North Germany areas. The most famous varition is the "Friesenleed" or "Wo die Nordseewellen." This one was recorded by many different artists, most notable Lale Andersen. However, this recording here by the Fünf Gloria Gesangs-Gitarristen on the Gloria label probably dates back to the 1930s.This group recorded several other German folk and soldier songs but I did not find a thing on the group itself.

Delbert Barker on Gateway

2011-06-07T22:37:00.001+02:00

Delbert Barker - Yonder Comes a Sucker (Gateway Top Tune 1145), 1955

This Jim Reeves hit was recorded by Delbert Barker probably in 1955 with the Country All-Stars and issued by Rite around the same time on its Gateway label. Rite Record Productions was a company in Ohio that recorded low budget cover versions of the hits of the day to offer them for a lower price than the original hit recording. Between 1952 and 1956, Delbert Barker cut countless country and rockabilly cover versions for the company, before he moved to King in 1956.
Svein Martin Pedersen and I are working on a project dealing with Delbert Barker, aiming to document his career as good as possible. We are collecting all his recordings but still there are many missing. If anyone has one of the songs listed below, please contact us.

DELBERT BARKER – the missing songs (61): First release?

ALMOST Big 4 Hits 11 (EP)

AMANDA King 5031

AMAZING GRACE Big 4 Hits 32 (EP)

ARE YOU TEASING ME Big 4 Hits 11 (EP)

BACK UP BUDDY Gateway Top Tune 1080

BIRMINGHAM JAIL Big 4 Hits 123 (EP)

BLUES COME AROUND, THE Kentucky 558

BREAKING THE RULES Big 4 Hits 88 (EP)

BURY ME NOT ON THE LONE PRAIRIE Big 4 Hits 122 (EP)

CALLING YOU Big 4 Hits 77 (EP)

CATTLE CALL Big 4 Hits 122 (EP)

CHOO CHOO TRAIN Big 4 Hits 171 (EP)

CRY, CRY DARLING Gateway Top Tune 1080

DEATH IS ONLY A DREAM Big 6 Records 522 (EP)

DON'T JUST STAND THERE Big 4 Hits 12 (EP)

DON'T STAY AWAY Big 4 Hits 12 (EP)

DON'T TAKE IT OUT ON ME Big 4 Hits 180 (EP)

EASY ON THE EYES Big 4 Hits 13 (EP)

EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY (flip by Eileen Nunn) Gateway Top Tune 1155
FOOLER A FAKE, A Big 4 Hits 89 (EP)

FROM NOW ON Kentucky 571

GOOD DEAL LUCILLE Big 4 Hits 90 (EP)

HALF AS MUCH Big 4 Hits 11 (EP)

HOLD TO GOD'S UNCHANGING HAND Big 4 Hits 28 (EP)

I CAN'T ESCAPE FROM YOU Big 4 Hits 69 (EP)

I DREAMED ABOUT MAMA LAST NIGHT Big 4 Hits 77 (EP)

I OVERLOOKED AN ORCHID Kentucky 534

I WENT TO YOUR WEDDING Big 4 Hits 17 (EP)

I'LL SAIL MY SHIP ALONE Kentucky 535

I'M A PILGRIM Big 4 Hits 27 (EP)

IT'S A LOVELY, LOVELY WORLD Big 4 Hits 11 (EP)

I'VE LIVED A LOT Big 4 Hits 178 (EP)

JESSE JAMES Big 4 Hits 122 (EP)

JUST MARRIED Gateway Top Tune 1067

MAMA BLUES, THE Big 4 Hits 171 (EP)

MY HEART WOULD KNOW Big 4 Hits 79 (EP)

MY LITTLE BUCKAROO Big 4 Hits 123 (EP)

MY LONELY HEART'S RUNNING WILD Big 4 Hits 33 (EP)

MY SON CALLS ANOTHER MAN DADDY Kentucky 557

OLD LONESOME TIMES Big 4 Hits 142 (EP)

RED RIVER VALLEY Big 4 Hits 123 (EP)

RYE WHISKEY Kentucky 539

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED Big 4 Hits 54 (EP)

SATISFIED MIND Gateway Top Tune 1122

SHE'S DONE GIVE HER HEART TO ME Big 4 Hits 115 (EP)

SOMEDAY Kentucky 535

STEEL GUITAR RAG Kentucky 571

TALK TO YOUR HEART Big 4 Hits 13 (EP)

THAT CRAZY MAMBO THING Big 4 Hits 118 (EP)

THAT HEART BELONGS TO ME Big 4 Hits 16 (EP)

THAT'S THE KIND OF LOVE I'M LOOKING FOR Big 4 Hits 33 (EP)

THEY LOCKED GOD OUTSIDE THE IRON CURTAIN Big 4 Hits 32 (EP)

TWO FACED CLOCK Big 4 Hits 16 (EP)

UNCLOUDED DAY Big 4 Hits 28 (EP)

WEAPON OF PRAYER Big 4 Hits 27 (EP)

WEDDING BELLS Kentucky 560

WHAT AM I GONNA DO WITH YOU Gateway Top Tune 1058

WHAT WOULD THE PROFIT BE Big 6 Records 522 (EP)

WHEN GOD COMES AND GATHERS HIS JEWELS Big 4 Hits 76 (EP)

WHO'LL BUY MY HEARTACHES Big 4 Hits 69 (EP)

YES I KNOW WHY Gateway Top Tune 1161

Dixieland Blues, Volume 3

2011-05-27T15:23:00.000+02:00

Another volume of the "Dixieland Blues" series, which is quite popular among the visitors of this blog. A special thanks goes to the Hillbilly Researcher blog, from which I got most of the songs. I have compiled 14 new tracks from times gone by. I hope you like the music as well as the liner notes I put together.
I will be in holidays next week, so expect no posts during this time!

Download

track list:
1. Tommy Sargent - Night Train to Memphis
2. Tex Daniels - It Can't Rain Every Day
3. Ramblin' Tommy Scott - Mountain Music
4. Jimmy Saul - My Long Tall Gal from Tenn.
5. Buchanan Brothers - Don't Dog Me 'Round
6. Buchanan Brothers - Hootin-Nanny Papa
7. Odell Johnson - Dizzy Lizzie from Gismo St.
8. Sons of the Range - The Texas Cannonball
9. Bill & Mary Reid - The Bloom Has Left the Roses
10. Jim Hand - Columbus Stockade Blues
11. Bill Freeman - Separate Ration Blues
12. Hardrock Gunter - At the Jamboree Saturday Night
13. Billy Hughes - Rose of the Alamo
14. Johnny Hicks - Rainy Night Blues

Mean Eyed Cats

2011-05-20T10:59:00.000+02:00

I'm getting messed up with my weekly schedule of posts I used in the past (Monday download, Thurday's "day post", weekend no post) and I am also posting not as often as I did in the past. So I decided to break with it and post whenever I have something to post. So here we go with a new compilation of Cashalikes. Again and again I find new Johnny Wannabes on record, so I am pretty sure more volumes will follow. I believe none of the tracks on this disc have been used by Cactus Records for their "House of Cashalikes" series (by the way, get when you can - they're great!). Hope you enjoy it!

Download

track list:
1. Lloyd Dockery - Dream Girl
2. Wesley Hardin - Cry Cry Cry
3. E.C. Beatty - Ski-King
4. Nite-Cappers - A Heartbeat
5. Ray Pridie - Lonesome Broken Hearted Me
6. Red Kirk - It's Nothing to Me
7. Cliff Johnson - Twenty-Four Hours a Day
8. Lloyd Dockery - There Goes a Fool
9. Nite-Cappers - T.R. Special
10. Lonnie Smithson - Will You
11. Hal Smith - The Ballad of the Travelin Kid
12. Warren Smith - Black Jack David

Don Gibson on RCA Victor

2011-05-13T19:47:00.000+02:00

Don Gibson - I'm Movin' On (RCA Victor 47-7629), 1959

There are countless versions of Hank Snow's "I'm Movin' On". Don Gibson's 1959 recording is one of those version that struck me most (another candidate is Warren Smith's rendition). Snow composed and originally recorded the song in 1950 for RCA Victor. The record became one of Snow's biggest hits, reaching the Billboard number one position for 21 weeks and was the first of seven other Snow number one hits.

Don Gibson had a couple of hits on his own when he recorded "I'm Movin' On," most notable "Oh Lonesome Me" and "I Can't Stop Loving You." He had been with RCA for some years at that point and found his sound in the new Nashville pop influenced style. He recorded Hank Snow's classic tune on October 8, 1959, at the RCA Victor Studio on Hawkins Street in Nashville, produced by Chet Atkins. During the session, he was backed by famous Nashville session musicians Hank Garland (ld gtr), Jimmie Selph (gtr), Junior Huskey (bs), Buddy Harman (dms), Floyd Cramer (pno) and the Anita Kerr Singers as background vocalists. Also recorded were "Big Hearted Me," "Maybe Tomorrow" and "Everybody But Me."

Billboard spotlight review on October 19, 1959

Gibson's version was released soon afterwards coupled with "Big Hearted Me" on RCA Victor 47-7629 and got a good review in Billboard. The single proved to be a strong seller and reached #14 on Billboard's C&W charts. Surely not one of Gibson's biggest hits but though a respectable success.

For me, Gibson's more pop influenced sound gives "I'm Movin' On" a completely different feeling. Don't get my wrong - I like Hank Snow's version very much, but Gibson turned it into a even rocking direction with Hank Garland's great guitar work. One of Gibson's best recordings, if you ask me!

Theme from "The Horse Soldiers"

2011-05-10T00:32:00.002+02:00

"I Left My Love"

Yesterday evening I watched one of Howard Hawks' masterpieces for fun again. "Red River" is one of the best western movies ever made, of course because John Wayne starred the movie. The music at the beginning inspired me to do this post. I love the dramatical orchestra music with beautiful singing men choruses. This here is not the "Red River" theme but from another John Wayne movie, "The Horse Soldiers" from 1959. In Germany, the movie was released as "Der letzte Befehl" ("The Last Command").

This is a rare acetate with the original theme song from the movie, which was played at the beginning (another version, though). The song is called "I Left My Love" and was composed by Stan Jones, I think. The acetate contains a slightly different studio version. Hope you like it, although it's not the usual style of music I post.

"Born Fancy" review

2011-05-02T17:29:00.000+02:00

During the last two weeks, my record collection was expanded by three new albums. Apart from Steve Martin's new bluegrass album, there were two CDs by a band called "The Fancy Dan Band." I guess most of you folks never heard of Fancy Dan Nordheim and his group but that doesn't matter at all. The only thing you have to do is: give 'em a listen.

The Fancy Dan Band is based in San Francisco and plays a mixture between country, rock'n'roll and blues - so to say some of the most important musical genres in one style. "Born Fancy" was recorded in a three-day session in Nashville in 2008 as the group's debut, which will be the subject of today's review. The album kicks off with "Wake Up Fancy", a bluesy, smoking tune that clarifies the sound of this album. Group leader Fancy Dan's relaxed vocals, simple arrangements, a solid rhythm section and nice guitar licks from lead guitarist Michael Loebs. All in all, a down-home country and blues rock'n'roll.

The second track is a little bit slower but still has a nice rock'n'roll sound to it. The rhythm guitar intro really reflects the band's blues influence. "So Long", the third track, is a slow number with a country-pop influence. The remaining nine tracks follow the scheme of the first three songs, which makes "Born Fancy" a groundstanding, enjoyable album. Other highlights for me are "By the Shore," "Use Me," "Poor Rich Man" and "I Wanna Be Born." In my opinion, the Fancy Dan Band is a good alternative to the usual rockabilly bands - you can imagine sitting in an old honky tonk, listen to Fancy Dan and his band playing on the stage and drinking a cold beer.

Go to the Fancy Dan Band's website

Wayne Raney's Lost John Boogie

2011-04-20T11:38:00.001+02:00

Wayne Raney - "Lost John Boogie" (King 719)

The origins of the folk song "Lost John" have been discussed for a long time. Although not as popular as other early folk songs, "Lost John," "Long Lost John," or "John Dean from Bowling Green" (as this tune is also called), it was recorded by a number of different artists. Famous blues composer W.C. Handy published a version in 1920 on sheet but it's probable that the song dates back to the 19th century and originated as a negro folk song. The story of a prisoner, who was chosen to be a victim for a test of new blood hounds but ran too fast for the dogs obviously seemed to had a bearing on the song's lyrics. Handed down through generations of black prisoners and farmers, many lyrical variations developed.

Wayne Raney possibly learned it in that way. "Lost John" was a popular tune among the black and white rural population in Raney's home state Arkansas and his mentor Lonnie Glosson also cut two or three versions of the song during his career. The first recording was probably made by the duo of Dick Burnett and Leonard Rutherford, an old-time duo from Kentucky (where the song was even more popular), in 1926 for Columbia. Blind Dick Burnett was a folk song collector and learned it likely from other musicians. After their recordings, other versions followed by Bascom Lamar Lunsford, DeFord Bailey, the Allen Brothers, and other both old-time and blues musicians.

Wayne Raney

Raney cut his rendition of "Lost John" on December 30, 1947, at radio KWEM in West Memphis, Arkansas, accompanied by Alton Delmore (vcl/gtr), Rabon Delmore (vcl/gtr), Roy Lanham (gtr), and the Lunar Sisters. It was a new, over-worked country boogie version entitled "Lost John Boogie." Raney and the Delmores had taken the old material and re-worked it as a faster boogie with new lyrics. On that same session, also the famous "Jack and Jill Boogie" was laid down by Raney. The song was issued on King 719 with "Jole Blon's Ghost" as the flip side and went on to become one of Raney's most successful singles, cracking the Billboard Top 15 C&W Charts in the fall of that year. It was not until 1949, when Raney hit the number one charts position with "Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me."

"Lost John" is today a not as popular as other folk songs and was forgotten during the folk revival. Merle Travis recorded another version of "Lost John Boogie" in 1951 on Capitol, while Arkansas native Kenny Owens released a rock'n'roll version in the 1960s. Even the Beatles did an unissued version, but somehow "Lost John" was left by the roadside.

Rockabilly Boys

2011-04-19T16:35:00.001+02:00

Here's a good compilation with some very nice tracks. We have Aubrey Cagle here, Delbert Barker, Ray Pate & the Rhythm Rockets, and many more. Hope you like it.

Download

track list:
1. Aubrey Cagle - Rock a Billy Boy
2. Lloyd McCollough - Hang Out
3. Parker Cunningham - Dry Run
4. Bobby Hardin - Dreamer Boy
5. Burrie Manso - My Woman
6. LaVerne Stovall - Left Behind
7. Gray Montgomery - Right Now
8. Tooter Boatman - Life Begins at 4 O'Clock
9. Hank Davis - One-Way Track
10. Orbits - My Rosa Lee
11. Jim Wilson - Have a Tear on Me
12. Kenny Smith - I'm So Lonesome Baby
13. Buddy Miller - I Got Me a Woman
14. Jack Cochran - Pity Me
15. Sabres - Little Miss Ivey
16. Carl Trantham - Where There's a Will (There's a Way)
17. Ray Pate & the Rhythm Rockets - My Shadow
18. Herrold White - You're Not Mine
19. Aubrey Cagle - Bop'n'Stroll
20. Boppers - Little Bitty Rockabilly
21. Norman Bullock - Moanin' the Blues
22. Rusty York - The Girl Can't Help It
23. Delbert Barker - No Good -- Robin Hood
24. Huelyn Duvall - Let's Make a Block
25. David Ray - Lonesome Baby Blues

Randy Wood R.I.P.

2011-04-14T11:08:00.000+02:00

Record producer and label owner Randy Wood died on April 9, 2011, at the age of 94. Wood founded the successful independent label Dot Records in Gallatin, Tennessee, not far from Nashville. In the early times of Dot, Wood concentrated in country music recordings but hit the charts in the mid-1950s with teenage rock'n'roll singers like Pat Boone, Jim Lowe, and Tab Hunter. He moved Dot to Los Angeles in 1956, one year later the label was bought by Paramount Pictures, though Wood still worked as the president for the company. In 1974, he finally called it a day and Dot was bought by ABC-Paramount.

Ricky Coyne story

2011-04-13T11:01:00.001+02:00

I featured Boston Rockabilly singer Mel McGonnigle in a post last year and here we have the guy whose band backed up McGonnigle on his famous song "Rattle Shakin' Mama:" Ricky Coyne. Coyne had a string of Rock'n'Roll releases on the New England based Event record label, which are by now collector favorites. Here is his story.

Ricky Coyne was born in 1943 in Newton, Massachusetts, but grew up in Waltham and Watertown. He became interested in music in the early 1950s and was influenced by Country artists. When the Rockabilly sound came from Memphis, Tennessee, in 1956 and the famed Sun Records artists like Carl Perkins, Sonny Burgess, Warren Smith, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Bill Justis rose to fame with this new brand of music, Coyne was amazed. Another big influence on him was Johnny Burnette's Rock'n'Roll Trio that recorded for Coral Records.

Ricky Coyne (standing) and his Guitar Rockers

That same year, he formed a Rockabilly band at the age of 13 with himself on vocals and lead guitar, Rich Valletta on rhythm guitar, Brian Duffy on drums and Randy Martin on piano. Coyne recalls: "[...] It seems [it was] the day after I began hearing the amazing music of blues and country mixtures, i.e. Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, early Ray Charles on Atlantic etc." He called his band "The Guitar Rockers", named after Bill Flagg's 1956 hit "Guitar Rock" and soon they were performing a lot of local dances with then popular DJs in Boston. One of the young vocalists that appeared with the band sometimes was Mel McGonnigle, who used the Guitar Rockers as his backing band when he recorded his first single at the Ace Recording Studios in 1958. Coyne and the Guitar Rockers caught the attention of Event Records' executives and were signed to a contract. Their first single was "Rollin' Pin Mim" b/w "I'll Love You Forever." He remembers his first record as follows:

The ass-backwards story I've gotten over the years is the Fenwick story that "Rollin Pin Min" (or "Mim") was released on Fenwick before Event. I remember it in the opposite. Fenwick became aware of the Event release and perhaps test marketed in Philadelphia."

Fenwick was a local Philadelphia label owned by Dick Clark, who hosted the popular music show "American Bandstand" in Philadelphia. Perhaps we will never know which single was released first. However, two more records followed on Event, including the songs "Little Darlene" and "Angel from Heaven." The latter was originally written by Mel McGonnigle but he gave it to Coyne because McGonnigle had no more interest in a music career. After the first Event record, piano player Randy Martin was replaced by Dave Randall, while Kenny Paulson played lead guitar on "I Want You to Know." Coyne's singles became local hits in New England and he and his band had the chance to play at the Boston Ballroom and perform on some TV shows like the Record Shop Hop and the Gerry Kearney Show from Manchester, New Hampshire. They also shared the stage with such acts as Frankie Avalon, Jimmy Clanton, Lillian Briggs, Freddy Cannon, Conway Twitty, Link Wray, Bobby and the Orbits, Sleepy LaBeef, and many more.

Billboard review on May 4, 1959

After the Guitar Rockers split up, Coyne kept his solo career running. In 1966, he held a session in Nashville, which produced a couple of singles that were released on MGM Records in 1967 and 1968. He charted at #72 on the Billboard country charts with his only release on the San Antonio based BGM label in 1988.

Two of the original Guitar Rockers already passed away. Dave Randall died at the young age of 27 in 1969 in an automobile accident, while Rich Valletta died around 2006 in Arizona. Coyne is still well alive and from time to time he can be seen on stage. With a string of records out, he is perhaps the most successful New England rockabilly artist that emerged from the 1950s local Boston scene.

Sources: Rockin' Country Style, Billboard, special thanks to Mr. Ricky Coyne and his son

The Poor Boy label

2011-04-08T15:09:00.002+02:00

Norman Witcher - Somebody's Been Rocking My Boat (Poor Boy 45-102)
Poor Boy Records from Muncie, Indiana, was harmonica legend Wayne Raney's attempt to get into the record bussines as an entrepreneur. He had been a recording artist since the 1930s and had waxed numerous sessions for King with the Delmore Brothers as well as operating a mail order business to sell harmonicas and instruction books. But in the late 1950s, his popularity as a musician faded and he began to work as a DJ on WCKY again (a station he had already appeared on in the early 1940s) and founded the Poor Boy label along with Jimmie Zack in 1958.

The first record release was by Raney himself, comprising "We Need a Whole Lot More of Jesus (and a Lot Less Rock and Roll)" b/w "Don't You Think It's Time." Especially the A side brought Raney to the attention of the young folk music scene. Poor Boy was active until around 1960, when Raney closed down his harmonica mail order business and moved to Concord, Arkansas, where he built up a big record business, including a recording studio, his label Rimrock Records, and a pressing plant. Most of the song material was written by Raney and Zack, published by Oletta Publishing, later associated with a lot of Rimrock material.

Discography
100: Wayne Raney - We Leed a Whole Lot More of Jesus (and a Lot Less Rock and Roll) / Don't You Think It's Time (1958)
101: Acorn Sisters - ? / ? (1958)
102: Norman Witcher - Somebody's Been Rocking My Boat / Wake Me Up (1958)
103: Gay Brothers - Did You Know / ? (1959)
104: The Gays - Don't Rush Me / You're Never There (ca. 1959)
105: Les & Helen Tussey and the Golden Hill Boys - They Went Around / Married to a Friend
106: Les & Helen Tussey - We've Got to Answer / ? (1959)
107: Danny Brockman and the Golden Hill Boys - Stick Around / Don't You Know It's True (1959)
108: Connie Dycus - Same Old Thing / Hand Full of Ashes (1960)
109: Wayne Raney - Everybody's Going Crazy / Simply Wonderful (1960)
110: Originales - Bandstand Sound / Lend Me Your Ear (1960)
111: Van Brothers - Servant of Love / Sweet Marie (1960)
112:
113:
114: Sonny Parker - Ragged Kingdom / ?

Sources: Rockin' Country Style, Indiana45s.com, various Billboard issues, thanks to the DrunkenHobo

"It's Me Baby"

2011-04-07T21:05:00.000+02:00

Here's a short documentary about Sun recording artist Malcolm Yelvington by Devin Miller, entitled "It's Me Baby." I think Miller did a great job on that and I was really surprised when discovering this recently. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Carl Bunch dies

2011-03-30T18:46:00.000+02:00

Carl Bunch, drummer for Buddy Holly and other local Clovis music artists, died on March 26, 2011, from diabetes. Bunch was a member of the Poor Boys (Ronnie Smith's backing band) and recorded at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico. He had also connections with Texas rockabilly singer Derrell Felts. Bunch was a part of Buddy Holly's band on the "Winter Dance Tour" but was hospitalized when the horrible air plaine crash occured.

He was 71 years old.

Country Hicks, Volume 7

2011-03-28T14:04:00.000+02:00

This outstanding compilation on the Bark Log label was given to me by our friend Werner. This disc has some true gems on it. Most tracks were recorded by obscure country artists. Exceptions are Black Jack Wayne, Lucky Hill and Bobby Boyle, who recently passed away. The others did not found much attention in the country/rockabilly research field. Notable tracks here are the version of "Honky Tonk Blues" by an unknown artists and Dale Davis' "Crazy Little Guitar Man," later recorded by Red Foley. Hope you enjoy it!

Download

track list:
1. Glenn and Vivian Watson - Just Keep on Going
2. Ray Baker - Gotta Have Your Lovin'
3. Tommy Castle - I've Done More Accidentally
4. Bill Chambers - She's Treatin' Me Bad
5. Black Jack Wayne - Shallow Water Blues
6. Bro. Charlie Hendrickson - The Old Gospel Ship
7. Whitey Gallagher - Searchin'
8. Bobby Boyle - Ricky the Record Hound
9. Unknown artist - Honky Tonk Blues
10. Lucky Hill - I'm Checkin' Out
11. Carolina Drifters - Don't Monkey Round My Widder
12. Dale Davis - Crazy Little Guitar Man
13. Whitey Gallagher - Gotta Roam
14. Dreamy Joe - Sweetheart Boogie
15. Mack and Gwen - Baby I Want Another Date with You
16. Ralph Hart - Thee Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down

The Dixie Play Boys on Still

2011-03-24T13:54:00.004+01:00

"Got Your Love on My Mind"

"Hillbilly Banjo"

The Dixie Play Boys on Still Records from Markham, Illinois. The labels have "WARN" written on it, possibly a radio station.
Good Bluegrass here but I did not find much info on the Dixie Play Boys, there surely were many bands of the same name. Group members included the Sloas Brothers with Kenny Sloas on banjo. Both tracks were written by Johnny Sloas. Both also played in another Bluegrass band called "The Sloas Brothers." Another brother, Dave Sloas, was also a member of this group. The three Sloas brothers also wrote the song "I'm Going Home Again," which was recorded by the band Longview on their second album.

Tennessee Trio - Track Down Baby

2011-03-21T17:35:00.001+01:00

This is the first download post for a relatively long time. This album was send to me by Werner, I'd like to express my gratitude to him for posting this. The Tennessee Trio is a Rockabilly band of the "new generation" with the classic line-up of lead guitar, rhythm guitar and upright bass. This album, which is now out of print, consists of cover version of classic Rockabilly songs. I'm sure you will recognize many of them. Hope you enjoy it!

Download

track list:
1. Track Down Baby
2. Country Hicks
3. Have Myself a Ball
4. Burnin' the Wind
5. Roses are Bloomin'
6. If You Don't Know
7. Mountain Guitar
8. Don't Shoot Me Baby
9. Old Moss Back
10. Ain't No Sign (I Wouldn't If I Could)
11. Rock and Roll on a Saturday Night
12. Servant of Love
13. Real Gone Daddy
14. You'll Never Come Back

Buddy Miller on VEM

2011-03-20T15:07:00.000+01:00

Buddy Miller - "Teen Twist" (1960) on VEM 2226

Buddy Miller is one of those Rock'n'Roll artists that did not get the recognition they deserve. Miller cut incredible rockin' records in the 1950s and 1960s, including "Little Bo Pete" and "The Twist." Not much information surfaced on Miller - the following write-up contains all info I was able to gather.

Buddy Miller around 1963

He was born as Doyle Stone and took the name "Buddy Miller" probably as a professional name in music business. Miller's first record for the small Security record label out of Mt. Pleasant, Texas, was produced by Burton Harris, who had been in the local recording business for some years when Miller approached him. Harris was not very keen on recording Miller and his band, the Rockin' Ramblers, but did it, though. Miller also brought in a female vocal group called the Starliters (actually a bunch of girls who couldn't sing) and Harris placed one microphone in the center of the studio. The session produced "I Got Me a Woman" b/w "Rock and Roll Irene", which was issued in 1958 on Security. Another single followed on the label, comprising "Little Bo Pete" b/w "I Found My Love." Both titles were also issued by Gem Records out of Dallas. Billboard reported in its October 13, 1958, issue that "I Found My Love" was "breaking out" in Kilgore, Texas. Around the same time, Miller was finishing a tour through Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas in order to promote his Security single.

After one single by the New York City based Felsted label, Miller had one release on Eko Records and then switched to VEM Records from Batavia, Illinois. No mentions of the Rockin' Ramblers were made from that point on, so I assume Miller and the band had departed. On VEM, Miller had three singles out, including a remake of "Little Bo Pete" and the wild "Teen Twist." His style had changed from southern Rockabilly to mainstream Rock'n'Roll, an unconscious transition many Rockabilly artists made in the late 1950s because of changing musical tastes in the record buying public. Miller's last known records were made for Band Box out of Denver, Colorado. His third single on the label, "Walking Slowly from You Darling" b/w "With Tears In My Eyes" was "arranged and directed by Conway Twitty," as the label said. The A side was a Earl King composition from Louisiana (although the label credited the song to "unknown"), which was also recorded by Sleepy LaBeef in the early 1960s for Wayside.

Billboard review of VEM 2226 - February 22, 1960

After his singles on Band Box, Buddy Miller vanished from the music scene. Rumor goes that he is now deceased. Many of his songs have found their way onto compilations since 1980.

Sources: RCS, various Billboard issues, Rockabilly Hall of Fame

Dead links

2011-03-16T13:33:00.000+01:00

Just like Harlan reported on his Visit Me in Music City blog, I have a couple of dead download links on my blog. Thanks to Thomas, who brought my attention to this issue. Affected is the "Grand Daddy's Rockin'" series, which I am at the moment unable to repost. If any other downloads were removed, too, please contact me.

Sleepy LaBeef in Spain

2011-03-16T10:53:00.001+01:00

Sleepy LaBeef in 1992 in Spain. It's amazing for me how a singer could create such a vital und full sound with only a bass player and a drummer as backup musicians. LaBeef on lead guitar and vocals is the real deal. He does a good version of "Walkin' Slowly", which he recorded in the early 1960s, and a version of Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love", which is the better song for me here. Nice driving beat and great guitar work by the Human Jukebox!

Earl Epps in the 1950s

2011-03-01T15:59:00.001+01:00

Earl Epps - "Be Bop Blues" (Minor 103)

There has been a question mark behind the name Earl Epps for more than fifty years after the recording of "Be-Bop Blues" in 1956. In 2009, journalists from the Swedish American Music Magazine were finally able to track down Epps in Houston, Texas, through the help of Dave Westheimer. The result was a detailed article in the American Music Magazine in 2010 but still Epps' career is commonly unknown to a wider audience. This write-up will deal with his career in the 1950s in Houston, the remaining fifty years of Epps career can be read in the above mentioned article.

Earl Epps

Epps, who was born in 1930 in Texas, left the US Navy in 1956. In the previous years, he had collected stage experiences by entertaining the troops with a country band and as a disc jockey. In 1956, Epps went out of service and returned to Houston, where kept on performing on a local base. He played night clubs, bars, several radio shows, and large ballrooms. He appeared on KNUZ's Houston Hometown Jamboree a few times and was also seen on Utah Carl's Gulf Coast Jamboree on KGUL-TV out of Galveston, Texas. Epps was a very busy artist at that time in Houston, so naturally that he appeared on such venues as the Esquire Ballroom.

While performing all around Houston, Epps got to know a fellow by the name of Joe Collins during his work as a storekeeper at daytime. Collins had written a few songs and pitched "Be-Bop Blues" and "There's Two of Us Waiting" to Epps, who recorded both titles around July 1956 at Bill Quinn's Gold Star Studio in Houston. He was backed by his regular band, consisting of Epps (guitar/vocals), Carl Ball and Herby Treece (guitars), George Champion (piano), Don Cathey (steel guitar), an unkown fiddler, and an unknown bassist. While Don Cathey and the unknown fiddler only played on "There's Two of Us Waiting", producer and label owner Danny Ross joined the band as a guitarist on both sides. The songs were released on Minor Records (Minor 103) in 1956. "Be-Bop Blues" was featured on several compilations and has become a minor Rockabilly classic in Europe since.

"Be-Bop Blues" remained Epps only Rockabilly outing. He always considered himself as a straight Country artist and has stayed true to his style the rest of his career. He kept on performing around Houston for the next decades, appearing with such artists as Link Davis, Earl Aycock, Jimmy Heap, Eddie Marshall, Kitty Wells, Ray Price, Johnnie & Jack, among others. He still performs today and can be seen regularly at the Alvin Opry, the Texas Opry, and the Liberty Opry.

If you want to know more about Earl Epps' whole career, I recommend the article written by Kent Heineman, published in the American Music Magazine in 2010.

Sources:
- Kent Heineman: "Who's Earl Epps?" (September 2010), published in American Music Magazine #124
- Rockin' Country Style
- Special thanks to Dave Westheimer and Earl Epps himself, both assisted me and answered several questions.

Golden Wing Records story

2011-02-21T17:55:00.008+01:00

The Golden Wing label out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is most famous for releasing Dave Dudley's first real hit "Six Days on the Road". Dudley had recorded before and also had chart entries in the early 1960s but Golden Wing gave him his breakthrough.

More lesser known is the story behind Golden Wing. Many biographies of Dave Dudley state that he owned the label or even founded it with Earl Green and Carl Montgomery (writers of "Six Days on the Road") but actually, it was owned by Jim Madison (possibly founded in 1960). In 1960, Dave Dudley moved to Minneapolis, where he led the Country Gentlemen and was a regular on KEVE and at the Gay 90's Club. He joined Madison's business as a record producer and A&R manager. That may have caused the rumor of Golden Wing being Dudley's own label - at most he partially owned it.

Dave Dudley

During the first two years, there were many different artists on Golden Wing, most notable Texas Bill Strength, who had already enjoyed a long recording career. The only known Golden Wing LP from that period was an album by Jerry Smith, released in January 1963. Dudley, who had recorded in 1960-1962 for Jubilee and Vee, held his first session for Golden Wing in the fall of 1962 and recorded "John Henry" / "Barbara Allen", two traditional country songs that became his first single on Golden Wing. After releasing it, he recorded his legendary "Six Days on the Road" in April 1963 and it was because of the national distribution by Soma Records that the song rose to number three on the Billboard country charts. His follow-up, "Cowboy Boots", was recorded at his first session in 1962 and was also a success (#3 on the country charts).

The success of Dudley's records brought him and the label to the attention of Mercury Records. Mercury had a subsidiary called Wing Records, so Golden Wing had to change its name to "Golden Ring" because Mecury was afraid people could confuse both labels and threatened Golden Wing with legal consequences. "Cowboy Boots" was already released under the new name. Around that same time, the managers of Golden Ring put on a subsidiary called Rosie Records.

Mercury also signed Dudley to a new recording contract, which was the best thing Dudley could do. The next decade saw him releasing several top ten hits, inlcuding the number one single "The Pool Shark". Golden Ring, on the other side, lost its cash cow. I don't have much information of Golden Wing/Ring after 1964. Billboard reported in its June 27, 1964, issue that Jerry Byers' "Red, White and Blue" was still going strong in juke boxes, although Byers died in 1963. He had previously also recorded for the subsidiary Rosie. For now, this is the last hint I was able to find about Golden Wing.

You can hear Dick Van Hale's Golden Wing record here on Some Local Loser. Van Hale was apperently the bass player for the Flame Cafe house band in Minneapolis, which was open until around 1977. Also on Some Local Loser is Jerry Byers' Rosie single.

Golden Wing/Ring Discography
Singles
3001: Barbara Lee Mac - Careless Fool / Memories of You
3002: Johnny Long - The Other Side of Love / As Much
3003: Woody Sorenson - Polka on a Piano / Life in the Finnish Woods
3004: Ralph Beebeau, the Singing DJ - The 601 / River of Broken Dreams
3005: Dick Van Hale - Lonely Hours / Much Too Much
3006: Betty Lee - Crying Out Loud / Foggy River
3007:
3008:
3009:
3010:
3011: Len Gale - What Did I Do / Don't Awaken Me
3012: Tony Wolf - Black John Polka / Alpine Leander
3013: Texas Bill Strenght - Foolish Pretender / Let the Chips Fall
3014:
3015:
3016: Deutschmeisters - Silver Bells Polka / Bunny Hop Schottische
3017: Dave Dudley - Barbara Allen / John Henry (1962)
3018:
3019: Rene Waters - Hurry Up Hollywood / Stop Sending Me Forget Me Nots
3020: Dave Dudley - Six Days on the Road / I Feel a Cry Coming On (1963)
3021: Jack Barlow - All I Need Is You / A Day Late and a Dollar Short (1963) [first Golden Ring pressing]
3022: Brooks Twins - Big Love / Love Comes Easy (1963)
3023: Deutschmeisters - Johnny's Polka / Honey Bee Polka (1963)
3024: Texas Bill Strength - Tears In My Beer / Let's Make Love (1963)
3025: Jerry Byers - Red, White and Blue / Bonnie By the Sea (1963)
3026:
3027:
3028:
3029:
3030: Dave Dudley - Cowboy Boots / I Think I'll Cheat (A Little Tonight) (1963)
3031:
3032:
3033:
3034:
3035: Rene Waters - Pass a Bale Down / Sleepy Time (1963)
3036:
3037:
3038:
3039:
3040: Bobby Hodge - Taxi Cab Driver / Alligator Man
No.#: Bobby "Roscoe" Wharton and the Little Green Men - I'll Cry / You Don't Believe Me (1962)

Albums
No.#: Jerry Smith - Start Each Day with a Hymn
103: Various artists - Midnight in Minneapolis
110: Dave Dudley - Sings Six Days on the Road (1964)

Rosie Discography
Singles
5001: Jerry Byers - Loves Been Good to Me / Face in the Crowd (1963)

Special thanks to: The Directory of American 45 RPM Records (by Ken Clee), Bob, Mr.TeenSwe

Taylor's Kentucky Boys day

2011-02-10T15:25:00.000+01:00

Dennis W. Taylor, a farmer and talent scout for the Starr Piano Company in Kentucky, came up with the name of this band. Taylor also introduced Fiddlin' Doc Roberts and Welby Toomey to the record business and discovered Red Foley. Although he was not a musician, he liked Old-Time music and began to manage a local string band in the mid-1920s he called "Taylor's Kentucky Boys." This group played on local dances, at school houses as well as at social events and eventually, Taylor got them a recording contract with Gennett Records. On April 26, 1927, Taylor's Kentucky Boys made their first recordings in Richmond, Indiana. The line-up consisted of Jim Booker on fiddle, Marion Underwood on banjo, and Willie Young on guitar. More sessions during the year of 1927 followed with various line-ups including Aulton Ray, Doc Roberts, Jim, John, and Joe Booker among others. Notibly, the Bookers were black musicians and perhaps some of the few black Old-Time musicians to record.

Here's one song from their first session:
1. Grey Eagle

The Inn Truders story

2011-02-09T16:41:00.002+01:00

Doug and the Inn Truders, poss. in the early 1960s

While not much information on Doug and the Inn Truders (or: Inn-Truders) survived, we should be glad that this band did a record so we can enjoy their style of late 1950s/early 1960s Rock'n'Roll. Their instrumental piece "What's Up" is dominated by the bands' lead guitarist, the drummer does a fine rhythm and band members are shouting the song's title from time to time. This type of instrumental pieces were common in those days because they were relatively easy to play, so every local teenage Rock'n'Roll band was able to do some songs.

Doug and the Inn Truders were a Minnesota based Rock'n'Roll band. They recorded "What's Up" in 1964 for the Wichita, Kansas, based Aircap Records. Although not nationally successful, they must have build some reputation as a enjoyable group, since they were featured in band contests in Wichita, Kansas. One time band member Rick Meyer remembers playing at the Joyland, the Seneca Lounge, and the Cotillion.

Neal McGaugh, a band member of the Outcasts, remembers the Witchita band scene:

"When the battles moved to the Cotillion, that's when all the big rivalry started--'65, '66. We always ended up battling big horn bands, The Red Dogs, Doug and the Inn-truders. We didn't get too far against them. We didn't have the kind of music that the judges liked."

It seems that the Inn Truders were quite popular. Rick Meyer joined the band on sax around 1964. The only photo I have of the Inn Truders shows no saxophone player, which suggests that it was taken before 1964. It's not known to me where Doug and the Inn Truders ended up. Their "What's Up" was featured on the 1983 White Label LP "Minnesota Rock-a-Billy-Rock, Volume 3." You can listen to it on Youtube since I have some trouble uploading files at the moment.

Sources: Pat O'Connor: Moody's Skidrow Beanery, Rowfant Press 1999

Greenback Dollar

2011-02-07T16:44:00.000+01:00

Here's a repost of ab earlier compilation dealing with Ray Harris. Actually, it was my first selfmade compilation. I think Harris is often overlooked as a Sun artist, so I hope this gives him and his music more exposure. Here's the original post:

Finally, my first home-brew comp is here! I noticed that that there is no disc featuring all of Ray Harris' Sun recordings, so I put together one on my own. It includes all tracks Harris cut in the Sun Studio between 1956 - 1958, including alternative takes and also three songs by Wayne Cogswell, Harris' guitarist.

Download

track listing:
1. Come On Little Mama
2. Where'd You Stay Last Nite
3. Greenback Dollar, Watch and Chain
4. Foolish Heart
5. Come On Little Mama
6. Greenback Dollar, Watch and Chain
7. Lonely Wolf
8. Love Dumb Baby
9. I'm Winning Now
10. Point of View
11. My Love Song
12. What Will I Do

On the Street Where Blues Were Born...

2011-02-03T14:35:00.002+01:00

Many people will recognize the title "Home of the Blues" as a Johnny Cash song, which reached the Country charts in 1958 and was also performed by Joaquín Phoenix in the Cash biopic "Walk the Line." Lesser known is the story of a label called Home of the Blues Records - "On the Street Where Blues Were Born".

Ruben Cherry operated a record shop on 107 Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. The shop had all kinds of records, ranging from Country to Rhythm and Blues, from Jazz and Popular. The Beale Street in Memphis was known as the hot bed for rural Blues and urban Rhythm and Blues with its many juke joints and bars. Cherry's shop was active as early as 1946 and was still open in the 1960s. The "Home of the Blues" shop was also Johnny Cash's favorite spot when he bought new records and it is not surprising that his song "Home of the Blues" traced back to this shop.

In 1959, Ruben Cherry founded his own label, entitled Home of the Blues Records, which he operated from the back of his record shop. The first known release was by R&B singer Roy Brown coupling "Don't Break My Heart" b/w "A Man with the Blues" from 1960. There may have been earlier releases but they are still unknown to me. One might be surprised of the great amount of famous Rhythm and Blues artists in the label's catalog. Apart from Roy Brown's singles, Cherry also recorded Willie Mitchell (who also worked as a producer for HOTB), Willie Cobbs, and the 5 Royals. In fact, the 5 Royals probably gave the label the one single nearest to a hit. Their "Not Going to Cry" b/w "Take Me with You Baby" was picked up by Vee-Jay and ABC-Paramount for national distribution. The group had several top hits for Apollo in the early 1950s but found no success at HOTB. Billy Lee Riley recorded for the label, too. His "Flip, Flop, and Fly" b/w "Teenage Letter" appeared in 1961.

None of the singles released by Cherry on his label achieved national success. I guess Home of the Blues went out of business in 1962 or 1963, leaving behind much more releases than many other local Memphis labels would do.

The 5 Royals - I Got to Know (1960)(clip)
Home of the Blues 112

You can see a nearly complete discography at GlobalDogProductions. Howdy at his 45 blog has also two songs by Larry Birdsong on Home of the Blues. See here and here.

Doc Williams dies

2011-02-01T13:31:00.001+01:00

Country music singer and star of the WWVA Jamboree Doc Williams died on January 31, 2011, at his home in Wheeling, West Virginia. Williams, who was born in 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio, started out as a singer in Wheeling, West Virginia, where he led the Border Riders together with his wife Chickie. The couple soon became Wheeling's country top stars, appearing on WWVA and the station's Original Jamboree. Williams was 96 years old.

Read more at hillbilly-music.com.

Charlie Louvin dies

2011-01-27T12:39:00.000+01:00

Country music legend Charlie Louvin died on January 26, 2011 in Wartrace, Tennessee. Louvin was one half of the Louvin Brothers, the other being his brother Ira Louvin. They had several hits in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s with such songs as "Atomic Power," "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby" or "My Baby's Gone" in the traditional harmony siniging style. Their music inspired artists like Emmylou Harris or Allison Krauss. After Ira's death, Charlie started a successful solo career and was a member of the Grand Oley Opry until his death. He was 83 years old.

Read more at hillbilly-music.com.

New CD release & new blog

2011-01-24T19:36:00.000+01:00

The month of January brings us two more great news. First of all, Smith&CO has announced the fifth volume of its "Great Rockabilly - Just About As Good As It Gets" series. These reissue CDs became something of a standard for rockabilly fans in the last few years. The two disc set will appear on January 28.

I also want to present you a new blog. P. Koskela already uploaded numerous rare country singles on YouTube and now he has started his own blog: "Too Much Noise." The recent posts include a little write-up of Dee & Patty (I'd been seeking info very long on this duo!) and a country EP produced by the Adelamn Studios in Washington, DC. Check it out at Too Much Noise blog.

James O'Gwynn dies

2011-01-19T16:56:00.000+01:00

Country music singer James O'Gwynn died on January 19, 2011, at the age of 82 years. Born in 1928 in Mississippi, he was a member of the Louisiana Hayride and the Grand Ole Opry. During his career, he recorded for such labels as Starday, D, Hickory, Mercury, and others and had several country chart hits between 1958 and 1962.

Rock from Bakersfield

2011-01-17T17:07:00.000+01:00

A cottonfield island disk that offers an outstanding listen to great, raw, raucous rhythms from back in Bakersfield's glorious early commercial music years. Mellow has captured it well here."
-- Bryce Martin, pioneer country music columnist for the Bakersfield Californian daily newspaper.

This compilation was created with the help of Bryce Martin, to whom I want to express my gratitude. This disc deals with Rockabilly and Country Rock'n'Roll recordings out of Bakersfield before it was known as the capitol of a certain Country music style known as "Bakersfield Sound."

Download

track list:
1. Al Hendrix - Rhonda Lee
2. Bonnie Blue Bell - Let's Go
3. Dusty Payne - Long Time Gone
4. Dusty Payne - My Walking Shoes
5. Bill Woods - Bop
6. Clif Crofford - There Ain't Nothin' Happenin' to Me
7. Bill Carter - I Wanna Feel Good
8. Duke Dickson - Walking Shoes
9. Al Hendrix - Monkey Bite
10. George Weston - Hold Still Baby
11. Cousin Herb Henson - Lose My Mind
12. Corky Jones - Hot Dog
13. Custer Bottoms - Stood Up Blues
14. Bill Woods - Phone Me Baby
15. Sid Silver - Bumble Rumble
16. Johnny Bond - Three or Four Nights

Gully Jumpers day

2011-01-13T12:58:00.000+01:00

Paul Warmack and the Gully Jumpers were one of the earliest stars on WSM's Grand Ole Opry. They played the Opry from 1927 up to the early 1960s but never found the recognition other musicians like Uncle Dave Macon did.
Warmack, who was born in 1889 in Whites Creek, Tennessee, worked as a auto mechanic in Goodlettesville and played mandolin and guitar. In May 1927, he had his first appearance on WSM and shortly afterwards formed the Gully Jumpers with Charles Arrington on fiddle, William Roy Hardison on banjo, and Bert Hutcheson on guitar. Their first Grand Ole Opry broadcast was on June 30, 1927, under the name of "Paul Warmack and his Barn Dance Orchestra". By December 1927, manager George D. Hay had named them "The Gully Jumpers" (Hay often renamed the Opry bands to give them more rural sounding names). In the fall of 1928, Warmack and his band held one session for Victor, which produced two singles. These recordings were the first to come out of Nashville, later known as "Music City, USA." No further recordings followed and the band did not enlarge their musical activities. They played the Opry on Saturday nights and lived their life one might say. Warmack died in 1954 and in the early 1960s, the band dispanded.

Here is one recording from the 1928 Victor session:
1. Robertson County (written by Oscar Stone, fiddler for Dr. Humphrey Bate's Possum Hunters)

New Johnny Cash CD

2011-01-12T18:24:00.000+01:00

The Columbia-Legacy label has announced a new CD release by Johnny Cash. Coming out this year, it is the first record since last year to contain unissued material by Cash, whose last studio album "American VI: Ain't No Grave" appeared in 2010. The new CD, entitled "Bootlegs 2: From Memphis to Hollywood" contains unissued takes, rare singles and a radio show from Cash's early years at Sun and Columbia.

Dwain Bell story

2011-01-05T16:02:00.002+01:00

Listen to "Rock and Roll on a Saturday Night" (Summit 45-110)

Dwain Bell's record "Rock and Roll on a Saturday Night" b/w "I'm Gonna Ride" has become a collector's item since its first reissue in 1978 on the White Label LP "Kentucky Rockabilly." Although his songs are very popular in the rockabilly scene, Dwain Bell himself managed to leave behind no whole biography except some snippets of info. Last year in October, I had a short correspondence with Keith Turner's daughter, who was so kind to gave me some more details on Bell's short career.

Dwain Bell was born in Central City, Kentucky, and presumably lived most of his life in the Blue Grass State. In the 1950s and 1960s, Bell often played with the Turner Brothers at local dances. In addition, sometimes the Turners' father (fiddle) and mother (drums) as well as a great uncle (dobro) joined the trio on personal appearances. By the time of his Summit recordings, he lived in Evanston, Indiana. Summit Records was based in Central City and recorded mostly obscure Kentucky artists. The first record was released by Eddie Gaines in 1958 and the label was active at least until 1960. The records were pressed by Rite and Southern.

Dwain Bell (right) during a personal appearance at a talent contest. The guitarist is Kenneth Turner.

"Rock and Roll on a Saturday Night" (written by Dennis Little) and "I'm Gonna Ride" (written by Bill Springer of Whits Plains, Kentucky) were recorded probably in 1959 in Central City with Dwain Bell on vocals and rhythm guitar, Keith Turner on lead guitar, and Kenneth Wayne (only called Wayne on the record label) on upright bass. Actually, "I'm Gonna Ride", the more country-ish side, was intended for the A side but today, it's mostly overlooked. One might wonder about this straight and sparse rockabilly, for it was 1959 and rockabilly was vanishing. Most artists used saxophones, pianos, and electric bass guitars on their recordings but Bell stuck with the rural rockabilly sound. It was probably not until the 1960s that Kenneth Turner switched to electric bass.

Billboard review on April 6, 1959

To me, it is not known if the record sold well but it is a fact that neither Bell nor the Turner Brothers made a living out of music. Keith Turner still playes guitar at local dances while Bell had some health problems during the last years. His son is also playing guitar and sings gospel music.

Sources: Rockin' Country Style, Billboard issues April/6/1959 and April/20/1959, Buffalo Bop 55189 "Hep Cat Rockabilly", special thanks to Keitha Turner

2011!

2011-01-02T12:37:00.002+01:00

A Happy New Year to everyone and all the best for 2011!

Christmas post

2010-12-22T19:46:00.000+01:00

Hello folks! This will be the last post before Christmas and possibly the last this year. I have compiled some great Christmas tracks for. As you may know Jazz/swing fits in my opinion perfectly to Christmas, that's why I included tracks by Bing Crosby and Dean Martin.
I hope you have great holidays and a happy new year. I'd like to thank everyone who has visited this blog and especially those who have left comments and contributed a lot to the write-ups. Have a Merry Christmas everybody!

Download

track list:
1. Billy Thomas - Here Comes Santa Claus
2. Bing Crosby - Round and Round the Christmas Tree
3. Bing Crosby - Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
4. Bing Crosby & Ella Fitzgerald - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
5. Dean Martin - Let It Snow
6. Gene Autry - Frosty the Snowman
7. Gene Autry - Silver Bells

The Jim Dandy label

2010-12-21T12:52:00.010+01:00

The Jim Dandy record label was based in Newberry, South Carolina, although also Charlotte, North Carolina, appeared as an adress. Jim Dandy Records is a very obscure label and only few releases are known.

In 1953, a child music 45rpm by Ray Heatherton called "Allagazam the Magic Man" b/w "Popo the Playful Pop" appeared on a Jim Dandy label. I doubt that this is the same label because the label design is completely different and it seems improbable that over a stretch of almost ten years no other recordings appeared on the label. So we forget about this single and begin the Jim Dandy record label story in 1961.

1961 saw probably the first release of a South Carolina Jim Dandy record. A rock'n'roll band called the Saxons appeared on the label with "You Are the One" b/w "The Power of Love" in October 1961. Another single by Fred Thompson turned up on the label, which differed from the label's standard numerical catalog. A Billboard article from December 11, 1961, indicates that the label searched for new talents and sent out promo copies to radio stations. Jimmy Price was called a "label executive."

Jim Dandy 1007 was by a duo called "Buck & Tommy." Buck Jones and Tommy Hagen were from Wilson, North Carolina. Hagen joined up with Charlie Louvin about eight months after the Louvin Brothers split in 1963. He played mandolin and sang the high harmony parts that Ira used to provide. Buck Jones remained in the Wilson area, recording some more 45s for small local labels as well as working in the radio, television, nightclub business.

In 1962, Bill Haney and the Dixie Buddies had at least two releases on Jim Dandy. While "Oh! How I Cry" (Jim Dandy JD-1012) was a bluegrass song, his version of the "Crawdad Song" on Jim Dandy JD-1013 is a country outing with rock'n'roll elements. About Haney is not much known. He was born in Haywood County, North Carolina and in 1957, Haney was part of Curtis Lee and the Dixie Buddies, with whom he appeared on the WRVA New Dominion Barn Dance out of Richmond, Virginia. His first record was made for the Atlanta based Super label. He toured the east coast in the 1950s and 1960s, playing country, bluegrass, and rock'n'roll, and also recorded for Dee-Dee and JFI. There was a Bill Haney reportedly from Blytheville, Arkansas, who led a band called the Flares around Memphis. He toured as an Elvis impersonator from the 1960s on and still performs. His website doesn't mention the Jim Dandy recordings nor the Super / Dee-Dee singles, so I doubt this is the same Bill Haney. There was also another Bill Haney from Atlanta, Georgia, who was a Soul music singer.

Bill Haney (seated) and the Flares, circa 1959. This group played in the Memphis area during the late 1950s. Haney later performed as an Elvis impersonator. It's not known if he is the same Bill Haney who recorded for Jim Dandy Records.

Jim Dandy had also releases by Melvin Morris, Jim Stocks, and the Castaways. The Castaways were formed in 1961 and became a garage rock band later, having a massive hit with "Liar, Liar" on the Soma label. After 1963, the label's trail grows cold. Any information is appreciated.

Discography
Singles
JD4501: Fred Thompson - Please Be Fair / Destiny and Desire (1961)
JD-1000:
JD-1001:
JD-1002: Saxons - You Are the One / The Power of Love (1961)
JD-1002: Judy Wright with Musical Accp. - Stop / The City of Despair
JD-1003:
JD-1004: Melvin Morris - Charlie's Got a Horn / Remember You're Mine (1961)
JD-1005: Jim Stocks - Knock on Another Door / Shadows (1961)
JD-1006: Jim Hardin - It's a Shame / Blue Eyes
JD-1007: Buck & Tommy - A Lost Love / Never Love Again
JD-1008:
JD-1009: Eddy Kirkley - ? / Ole' Blues (1962)
JD-1010:
JD-1011:
JD-1012: Bill Haney - Oh! How I Cry / ?
JD-1013: Bill Haney & the Dixie Buddies - Crawdad Song / Lookout, I See a Heartbreak (1962)
JD-1014: Castaways - Caravan / Carol's Theme
JD-1015: Ideals Combo - Lift-Off / Double Shot
JD-45-962: Bill Trader and the Castaways - Cherokee Call / Bitter Harvest

Note: The number JD-1002 was apparently used twice.

EPs
EP 101: Lulu Belle & Scotty -
Tenderly He Watches Over Me / When They Ring the Golden Bells / Have I Told You Lately That I Love You / Spanish Fandango

Albums
JD-LP-963: Bill Trader & the Castaways - Bill Trader Sings his Songs

Sources: Billboard, RCS, Country & Western blog, eBay, Bill Haney's website, Jerry Kendall, Bob, Kay Bank Custom Pressings, Mr. TeenSwe, Lightnin', The Directory of American 45 RPM Records (by Ken Clee)

Carter Brothers & Son day

2010-12-16T13:31:00.000+01:00

I must admit that I don't know too much about the Carter Brothers. The photo on the left circulates widely on the internet entitled "Carter Brothers & Son", showing a rural family. The father is holding a fiddle, one son a guitar and another one probably a different instrument. They came from Mississippi I think and recorded in the 1920s for OKeh and Brunswick. One of their recording was the fiddle tune "Nancy Rowland", which I presented to you a couple of weeks ago.

Here two recordings of the Carter Brothers & Son:
1. Jenny on the Railroad
2. Nancy Rowland

Jimmy Smith on Wonder

2010-12-15T21:54:00.001+01:00

"Pinch Me Quick", Wonder 110 (1958)

Jimmy Smith was primarily a country/western swing musician working around the Atlanta area. In late 1958, he tried his hand at the new music called rock'n'roll. He probably thought that an up.tempo western swing song with hep cat lyrics is all you have to throw in to get a good rock'n'roll record - judge yourself if you succeeded.

Smith was born on April 8, 1914, and was influenced by the Singing Brakeman, Jimmie Rodgers. Before becoming a musician, Smith worked in the construction business. Around 1937, he decided to start a career and music and eventually became a member of the WSB Barn Dance out of Atlanta, Georgia. On this show, he also sang with his wife.

In the fall of 1953, he founded a new group, billing it "Jimmy Smith and his Texans". Johnny Tyler (of "Oakie Boogie" fame) and Smith's wife were also partially members of this group. Smith played around the Atlanta club scene most of the 1950s, including the Silver Slipper and the Joe Cotton Rhythm Ranch. Smith also appeared on WSB-TV and WGST in Atlanta. John Elder got him a recording contract with RCA Victor, which issued a couple of country outings by Smith.

Smith's 1958 Wonder recording of "Pinch Me Quick", written by Smith and Atlanta musician Ray Pressley, was his only rock'n'roll record. Wonder Records was owned by Bill Lowery, who was the most powerful man in the Atlanta music business at that time. Lowery also operated the much bigger National Recording Company and the NRC label, which also distributed the Wonder singles. "Pinch Me Quick" has a very catchy western swing feel to it, with a freewheeling piano style and great guitar work. Unfortunately, this outstanding song never became a hit for Smith. Billboard rated it as a one-star single in its December 29 issue:

Routine rock & roll blues is handled nicely here.

Although Smith never rose to national fame, he was nonetheless a popular and important figure on the Atlanta country music scene. He was inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame in 1985.

Sources: Hillbilly-Music.com, various Billboard issues, Rob Finnis

The Country Rock Sound of...

2010-12-13T17:14:00.000+01:00

... Dave Dudley! Here's one I worked on for a very long time. It was very difficult to find Dudley's early recordings and still there are songs I wasn't able to locate, so there might be a second volume. For now, we have his very great sides for King, Starday, and Golden Wing among others. Some of them aren't real Country & Western Rock, for example the wonderful country ballad "Where Do I Go from Here" but I included them because they are flip sides of C&W rock songs and they are very hard to find. You can read the story of Golden Wing here. I hope you enjoy!

Download

track list:
1. Rock and Roll Nursery Rhyme
2. Nashville Blues
3. Careless Fool
4. It's Gotta Be That Way
5. Where Do I Go from Here
6. Six Days on the Road
7. I Feel a Cry Coming On
8. Cowboy Boots
9. Taxi-Cab Driver
10. Two Six Packs Away
11. Hillbilly Wolfe
12. Six Days on the Road

Charlie Oaks day

2010-12-09T13:21:00.002+01:00

Recently, a Charlie Oaks 78rpm popped up on Allen's Archive of Old and Early Country Music, so I decided to give you some information on Mr. Oaks. Although Charlie Oaks was living in Tennessee most of his life, he was perhaps born in Kentucky. Like his fellow Vocalion buddy George Reneau, Oaks was a minstrel singer, appearing on street corners in Knoxville, Tennessee, with guitar and harmonica. In 1925, he made his first recordings for Vocalion and cut numerous sides for the label. He was one of those performers who specialized in "event" songs about train wrecks, murders, and storms. "The Death of William Jennings Bryan", "The John T. Scopes Trial", "The Death of Floyd Collins", and "Little Maggy Phagan" were such songs recorded by Oaks. The last two songs were extremely popular, for "Floyd Collins" was composed and recorded by Andrew Jenkins while "Little Maggy Phagan" was a Moonshine Kate original. Oaks later also cut some sides for Victor as the "Oaks Family". Eventually, he ended up playing on the streets of Knoxville with his wife. Although he had an extensive recording ouput, he never rose to fame. It's not known to me when he died.

Here is his recording of "The John T. Scopes Trial"

"Ironto Special" review

2010-12-08T18:09:00.000+01:00

I have to admit that I recognized the charme and magic of "Ironto Special" by the Black Twig Pickers not until the second time listening to it. Maybe that's the way old-time music captures today's audience's ear - being unfamiliar to our ears bonded with electronic beats and pitched voices.

The Black Twig Pickers are an old-time band from Ironto, Virginia, founded in 1999. They play traditional mountain music with fiddle, banjo, guitar, and washboard. Every song on their latest album has something special and captures the attention of the listener. What I like the most are the traditional fiddle songs such as "Don't Drink Nothing But Corn", "Lay Ten Dollars Down", "Craig Street Hop", or "Bonaparte's March Into Russia". But also such pieces as "Saro O Saro" with raw vocal style, banjo, harmonica, and jew's harp are great. If you are listening to such songs, you feel like being way out in the mountains on the front porch of a log cabin, watching a bunch of musicians playing in the evening sun.

Probably the most amazing thing about "Ironto Special" is the fact that this is real authentic old-time music. Apart from the sound quality, these songs could easily have been recorded in the 1920s by string bands. You don't get such good music every day, this is really worth listening.

Visit the Black Twig Pickers' myspace site