Joey & The Lexingtons, The Swinging Hearts and A Doo Wop Christmas (again)

We are now well into the traditional Be Bop Wino pre-Christmas panic. This is the bit where the blog collapses because your host throws himself into the annual round of present buying, desperately tacky parties, last minute Christmas card posting, visits to relatives, and with a bit of luck an occasional football match (Queen’s Park forever!) and with even more luck a rugby game or two (Glasgow v Edinburgh double header coming up.)

So here’s the first bit of business. Joan has kindly sent a better cut of Joey and The Lexingtons’ magnum opus “Tears From My Eyes” to replace the kinda slightly trashed version which appeared on “Joan Selects, Encore Appearance, Volume 1.”

Download from here:

http://rapidshare.com/files/323859857/Joey___The_Lexingtons_-_Tears_From_My_Eyes.rar

Or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HL1K3WO3

By popular request (that’s you, JJ!) here is the link to last year’s Christmas selection from Joan, “Joan Selects Volume 11 – A Doo Wop Christmas” –

https://rapidshare.com/files/329639692/Joan_Selects_Volume_11.rar


The original post has been transferred to the new Be Bop Wino Done Gone blog and can be seen in all its glory here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2008/12/joan-selects-volume-11-doo-wop.html

Now a plea from Joan and me – does anyone know anything about The Swinging Hearts? They’re on track 35 of the latest Joan Selects with “How Can I Love You,” but Joan has no background info whatsoever. She can’t even dig out the original 45 as the record collection is currently in storage.

And that brings me to a brief look back at a rather eventful Be Bop Wino year. It could have been the end of the blog when the whole darned shootin’ match was booted into webular oblivion following a third strike and you’re out complaint. Luckily many of the posts were backed up in a private blog, so the Be Bop Wino show was soon back on the road again, although this time round in a strictly vinyl/cassette form.

There are still quite a few old posts to be revived. I intend doing new cover scans for them now that I’ve got the hang of stitching together complete LP covers. There are also some posts that weren’t backed up but I have the raw material to reconstitute them, so keep an eye open for some old favourites like Billy Wright and Hunter Hancock’s Midnight Matinee turning up again, although in a slightly rewritten form.

Of course I’ll be adding new posts too, and perhaps Joan could be persuaded to prolong her encore. I’ve said it before – Joan’s contributions, especially Joan Selects, have taken this blog to a level I simply could not have imagined when I started out back in 2007. There are several other occasional contributors who remain anonymous or totally pseudonymous and I thank them for their fine efforts which add so much to the blog. If any of you out there in rock and roll land wish to contribute vinyl rips of vintage R&B, rock and roll or jazz (1940s -50s) then please get in touch. Scans of vintage LP or EP sleeves are also very welcome.

I would like to thank everyone who has dropped by and taken the trouble to read Be Bop Wino’s humble offerings. I must give a special thank you to those of you who send in comments. I am very grateful to you for sharing your opinions, experiences and insights. Have a rockin’ good Christmas you naughty kids!

(Langside Monument, Glasgow, in the snow)

STOP PRESS - Since I started writing this post there have been developments in the world of rock and roll mp3 sharing. Several blogs have disappeared, some are changing their policy regarding uploading of CDs and others have cleared out old posts. The Rock Hall forum has also closed down. It looks like certain reissue companies have realised what was available on the web and have decided to crack down. These are worrying times for rockin’ bloggers, but here’s hoping that Be Bop Wino will still be around after Christmas to bring you more selections of honkin’, hootin’, bootin’ vinyl rips.