Be Bop Wino

Johnny Otis and Etta James

2012-01-22T01:07:00.000Z

Johnny Otis

What a sad week for fans of R&B with two of the all time greats gone. There have been plenty of tributes and appreciations elsewhere so Be Bop Wino marks the passing of Johnny Otis and Etta James with a couple of streamed audio playlists.

The Johnny Otis tracks date from his big band days of the mid 1940s (with his first hit "Harlem Nocturne" plus the raunchy "My Baby's Business" with Jimmy Rushing) to the jump and boogie of his smaller groups of the late 1940s and early 1950s (with great contributions from the likes of Big Jay McNeely and Pete "Guitar" Lewis).

My first Etta James record - the Ace 10 inch LP from the early 1980s

The tributes to Etta James have tended to concentrate on her great soul sides for Chess such as "I'd Rather Go Blind" but my little playlist is made up of some of her 1950s sides for the Bihari Brothers' Modern label, starting with her first ever release - "Roll With Me Henry" - an answer record to The Midnighters' "Work With Me Annie." Recorded towards the end of 1954 (and subsequently renamed "The Wallflower") it was a big hit for the young Etta James who had been introduced to the Biharis by Johnny Otis. The list also includes "The Pick-Up" which is one of my all time favourite R&B records.

Thanks to Joan for the two Crown LP covers shown below.

Joan Spins Again! - Volume 1

2012-01-04T23:14:00.004Z

Side 1
1. Get With It - The Flamingos
2. Night After Night - The Derbys
3. Angel Of My Dreams - The Sonnets
4. Can This Be Love - The Winners
5. 535 - The Dreamers
6. The Bells Ring Out - The L' Captans
7. Dreamin' and Dreamin' - The Scale-Tones
8. I Dream Of You Night After Night - The Senders
9. You For Me - The Hollyhocks

Side 2
1. Is It Right - The Castros
2. Ain't Got The Money To Pay For This Drink - The Thrills
3. You Belong To Me - The Radars
4. Little Island Girl - The Goldentones
5. Will You Be Mine - The Swallows
6. Rock, Lilly, Rock - The Corsairs
7. Joyce - The Radiants
8. Native Girl - The Native Boys
9. What Makes You Do The Things You Do - The Wrens

Joan K makes a welcome return to the blog with a stack o' rockin' records. If enough people like this, then there may well be another series to follow the great "Joan Selects." Let's listen to some words of wisdom from the lady herself while she spins the platters that matter:

The Joan Selects series is BACK! We launch into the New Year 2012 with a brand new volume of great obscure doo-wop harmonies. In this first volume we find several familiar groups and lots of really non-mainstream cuts.

The Flamingos open Volume One with "Get With It" recorded in November 1954. Members of the Flamingos were: Nate Nelson (lead), Johnny Carter (first tenor and falsetto), Zeke Carey (second tenor), Paul Wilson (baritone), and Jake Carey (bass). As on their later Chance sessions, the group was backed a combo led by bass player Al Smith and a four-horn front line Sonny Cohn, trumpet; Harlan “Booby” Floyd, trombone; Red Holloway, tenor saxophone; and Mac Easton, baritone sax. Shortly after this second Parrot session the Flamingos departed for Chicago's Checker Records.

There is a mix of up tempo and slow ballads in this first volume of Joan Spins Again. The Derbys recorded "Night After Night" for major label Mercury Records. The Winners were a late doo wop addition to the Bihari Brothers repertory of artists signed to their Modern, Flair, RPM and Crown marquees, this recording being issued on their Kent label. Also an up-tempo high-light in this volume is "535" by the Dreamers on Philadelphia's Grand Records; this one is evocative of the unreleased masterpiece by Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters in their great up-tempo "333".

The Hollyhocks were one of the first doo wop groups to issue a 45 for the Nasco Label, and sounded to some degree like label predecessors, the Marigolds, with their calypso tempoed "You For Me". The rarest recording in this first volume is The Thrills - "Ain't Got The Money To Pay For This Drink" recorded and issued on JAB 103 in June 1956.

The Radars and the Swallows represent harmonies from the very early 1950s, actually 1951. Junior Denby was lead vocalist for the Swallows: "Will You Be Mine" recorded on King 4458. The Native Boys issued "Native Girl" for Los Angeles based Modern Records in mid 1954. Soon thereafter, on the Combo label the Native Boys recorded "Strange Love", "Oh Let Me Dream" and "Laughing Love" during 1955. Volume One closes with New York’s fantastic Wrens from December 1955 on Rama 184, featuring the lead vocals of Bobby Mansfield, in "What Makes You Do The Things You Do".

Ripped from vinyl at 128 – 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

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01 The Flamingos - Get With It - Parrot 811 1955
02 The Derbys - Night After Night - Mercury 71437 1957
03 The Sonnets - Angel Of My Dreams - Lane 501 March 1958
04 The Winners - Can This Be Love - Rainbow 331 1956
05 The Dreamers - 535 - Grand 131 1955
06 The L' Cap-Tans - The Bells Ring Out - Hollywood 1092 1958
07 The Scale-Tones - Dreamin and Dreamin - Jay-Dee 810 1956
08 The Senders - I Dream Of You Night After Night - Kent 320 1959
09 The Hollyhocks - You For Me - Nasco 6001 1957
10 The Castros - Is It Right - Lasso 502 1959
11 The Thrills - Ain't Got The Money To Pay For This Drink - JAB 103 June 1956
12 The Radars - You Belong To Me - Abbey 3025
13 The Goldentones - Little Island Girl - Hush 101 1959
14 The Swallows - Will You Be Mine - King 4458 1951
15 The Corsairs - Rock, Lilly, Rock - Hytone 110 1958
16 The Radiants - Joyce - Chess Demo, unreleased 1962
17 The Native Boys - Native Girl - Modern 939 1954
18 The Wrens - What Makes You Do The Things You Do - Rama 184 1955

Hope y'all dig this selection. I certainly do - it's been blasting out on my PC media player for a couple of days now. Thank you Joan!

Varetta Dillard - Double Crossing Daddy

2011-12-31T18:44:00.000Z

Side 1
1. Them There Eyes
2. Please Come Back To Me
3. Love And Wine
4. Double Crossing Daddy
5. I Love You Just The Same
6. Getting Ready For My Daddy
7. Love
8. (That's The Way) My Mind Is Working

Side 2
1. Send Me Some Money
2. You're The Answer To My Prayer
3. I Can't Stop Now
4. Got You On My Mind
5. Skinny Jimmy
6. One More Time
7. I Don't Know What It Is But I Like It
8. Scorched

There’s just time to squeeze in a last post for the year 2011. So here’s a 1984 Mr R&B compilation of Varetta Dillard sides: a mix of blues, ballads and the big beat!

In the early 1950s, a number of big voiced female R&B chanteuses followed in the wake of the great Dinah Washington. There was Ruth Brown, Big Maybelle, Marie Adams, Lavern Baker, Faye Adams and the subject of this post, Varetta Dillard. She was born in Harlem, New York, in 1933. A congenital bone disease left her with a disfigured leg and a lifelong limp but she dealt with these difficulties by throwing herself into a showbiz career, starting by entering local singing contests. She went on to win the prestigious Amateur Hour contest at the famed Apollo Theatre where she was spotted by Lee Magid who signed her to Savoy Records in 1951.

Her biggest hits for Savoy were “Easy, Easy Baby” (#8 R&B in 1952), “Mercy, Mr Percy” (#6 R&B in 1953) and a tribute to the late, great Johnny Ace – “Johnny Has Gone” (#6 R&B in early 1955). In 1956 she signed for the RCA subsidiary Groove, moving over to the main RCA label in 1957. Her contract was not renewed in 1958, and thereafter she had a few releases on Triumph and Cub, with her recording career ending in 1961.

Varetta’s forte was the big beat ballad, and there are some good examples on this excellent LP. “Love” is perhaps the pick of the bunch, with yours truly reaching for the whisky bottle (again!) when it blasts forth from the be bop wino music machine. “Double Crossing Daddy” is a more bluesy performance and just about worth the price of admission alone. “I Love You Just The Same” is another good weepy performance and “Getting Ready For My Daddy Tonight” (with the T.J. Fowler band) is a great sassy “let the good times roll” blaster. A lot of the Savoy material was recorded under the supervision of Leroy Kirkland and features top notch NYC session musicians.

I would go so far as to say there isn’t a weak track on the album. You can hear some of the tracks on the playlist featured below which also includes a couple of tracks not on the LP. The download includes good biographical notes by Glenn Slade. Varetta Dillard died in 1993.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

https://rapidshare.com/files/742308413/Double_Crossing_Daddy.rar

Or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HRPOSBK3

1. Them There Eyes
Recorded in New York on July 18th, 1952
Personnel: Varetta Dillard (vcl) acc. by unknown ts, bar, p, prob. Mickey Baker (g) unknown b and d
Released on Savoy 859

2. Please Come Back To Me
Recorded in New York on September 18th, 1951.
Personnel: Varetta Dillard (vcl) acc. by Leroy Kirkland Orchestra: Nathaniel Allen, Emile De Villia (tb) George Kelly (ts) Sol Moore (bar) Fletcher Smith (p) Wally Richardson (g) Prince Babbs (b) Bobby Donaldson (d)
Released on Savoy 822

3. Love And Wine
Recorded in New York on September 18th, 1951.
Personnel: Varetta Dillard (vcl) acc. by Leroy Kirkland Orchestra: Nathaniel Allen, Emile De Villia (tb) George Kelly (ts) Sol Moore (bar) Fletcher Smith (p) Wally Richardson (g) Prince Babbs (b) Bobby Donaldson (d)
Released on Savoy 822

4. Double Crossing Daddy
Recorded in New York on July 18th, 1952
Personnel: Varetta Dillard (vcl) acc. by unknown ts, bar, p, prob. Mickey Baker (g) unknown b and d
Released on Savoy 871

5. I Love You Just The Same
Recorded in New York on July 1st, 1953
Personnel: Varetta Dillard (vcl) acc. by Buddy Tate's Orchestra: Bobby Johnson (tp) Buddy Tate (ts) Haywood Henry (bar) Skip Hall (p) unknown g, Carl Wilson (b) Billy Smith (d)
Released on Savoy 1107

6. Getting Ready For My Daddy
Recorded in Detroit on January 16th, 1953
Varetta Dillard (vcl) acc. by T.J. Fowler & his Orchestra: Dezie McCullers (tp) Frank Taylor (as) Walter Cox (ts) T.J. Fowler (p) Henry Ivory (b) Clarence Stamps (d)
Released on Savoy 884

7. Love
Recorded in New York on August 20th, 1954
Personnel: Varetta Dillard (vcl) acc. by Leroy Kirkland Orchestra: unknown ts, bar, p, Mickey Baker (g) unknown b, prob. Bobby Donaldson (d)
Released on Savoy 1137

8. (That's The Way) My Mind Is Working
Recorded in New York on November 4th, 1953
Varetta Dillard (vcl) acc. by Sam Taylor (ts) Haywood Henry (bar) Mal Waldron (p) Wally Richardson (g) John Williams Sr. (b) Bobby Donaldson (d) Leroy Kirkland (arr)
Released on Savoy 1118

9. Send Me Some Money
Recorded in New York on August 20th, 1954
Personnel: Varetta Dillard (vcl) acc. by Leroy Kirkland Orchestra: unknown ts, bar, p, Mickey Baker (g) unknown b, prob. Bobby Donaldson (d)
Released on Savoy 1137

10. You're The Answer To My Prayer
Recorded in New York on May 3rd, 1955
Personnel: Varetta Dillard with The Roamers: Varetta Dillard (vcl) acc. by Jerome Richardson, Sam Taylor (ts) Budd Johnson (bar) Ernie Hayes (p) Mickey Baker (g) Milt Hinton (b) Dave Bailey (d) The Roamers (vcl group) Leroy Kirkland, Kelly Owens (arr)
Released on Savoy 1160

11. I Can't Stop Now
Recorded in New York on May 3rd, 1955
Personnel: Varetta Dillard (vcl) acc. by Jerome Richardson, Sam Taylor (ts) Budd Johnson (bar) Ernie Hayes (p) Mickey Baker (g) Milt Hinton (b) Dave Bailey (d) Leroy Kirkland, Kelly Owens (arr)
Released on Savoy 1166

12. Got You On My Mind
Recorded in New York on June 26th, 1956
Personnel: Varetta Dillard (vcl) acc. by King Curtis (ts) Haywood Henry (bar) George Berg (bassax) George Rhodes (p) Mickey Baker (g) Lloyd Trotman (b) Panama Francis (d) unknown (vcl group) Leroy Kirkland (arr)
Released on Groove 4G-0159

13. Skinny Jimmy
Recorded in New York on June 26th, 1956
Personnel: Varetta Dillard (vcl) acc. by King Curtis (ts) Haywood Henry (bar) George Berg (bassax) George Rhodes (p) Mickey Baker (g) Lloyd Trotman (b) Panama Francis (d) unknown (vcl group) Leroy Kirkland (arr)
Released on Groove 4G-0159

14. One More Time
Recorded in New York on October 23rd, 1956
Personnel: Varetta Dillard (vcl) acc. by King Curtis (ts) Belford Hendricks (p) Eddie Thomas (g) Russ Saunders (b) Panama Francis (d) The Nightcaps (vcl group) Ray Ellis (arr)
Released on Groove 4G-0177

15. I Don't Know What It Is But I Like It
Recorded in New York on March 7th, 1961
Personnel: Varetta Dillard (vcl) with unknown acc. incl. vcl chorus
Released on Cub 9091

16. Scorched
Recorded in New York on February 24th, 1959
Personnel: Varetta Dillard (vcl) with unknown acc.
Released on Triumph 608

Chess Doo-Wop

2011-12-26T19:45:00.002Z

Side 1
1. White Cliffs Of Dover - The Bluejays
2. Darling I Know - The El-Rays
3. Shoo Doo Be Doo (My Loving Baby) - The Moonlighters
4. Newly Wed - The Orchids
5. Show Me The Way - The Five Notes
6. Give Me (A Simple Prayer) - The Ravens
7. Nadine - The Coronets
8. Ding Dong - The Quintones

Side 2
1. 4 O'Clock In The Morning - The Tornadoes
2. I Want To Love - The Sentimentals
3. Teardrops - Lee Andrews & The Hearts
4. Soft Shadows - The Monotones
5. I'm So Young - The Students
6. So Far Away - The Pastels
7. This Broken Heart - The Sonics
8. False Alarm - The Ravels

Ah, the age-old question - what becomes of the broken-hearted? Well, I’ll tell ya what becomes of the broken-hearted. First of all we (I mean THEY) pull out this old doo-wop comp from a pile of mouldering vinyl and slap side 2 down on the turntable. Then we (no, THEY) reach into the drinks cabinet for a bottle of the real hard yet mellow stuff. Twelve-year old Scotch single malt should do the trick. This isn’t a job for mere wine. Pouring ourselves (no, themselves) a more than generous dram with a wee sensation of water to release the flavour, we (oh, I give up) return to the turntable, glass and bottle in hand and drop the tone arm straight on to “4 O’Clock In The Morning” by the Tornadoes. “It’s four o’clock in the morning, where can my baby be?” pleads our lovelorn, two-timed sufferer. That sets the mood.

Now we’ve gotta remain on the floor by the hi-fi on turntable duty ‘cos we’re going to skip a few tracks here. ‘Scuse me while I take another sip. Forget The Sentimentals, they’re sub Frankie Lymon pre-pubescent strictly for the kids merchants, so just go straight to the phenomenal Lee Andrews & The Hearts. “I sit in my room looking out at the rain …” He’s thinking of a lost romance. I gotta pour me another one.

“Soft Shadows” by The Monotones is another pleader “I’m crying, my poor heart is dying … Please don’t leave me, don’t ever go …” Lord have mercy. “I’m So Young” by The Students is another slow, but it’s more kids stuff, so we’re gonna skip it and go straight to the coup de grace, two absolute killers if you’re feeling emotional, guaranteed to finish me (them, we, you, the bottle, what the hell) off for once and for all. “So Far Away” by The Pastels which reeks of soulful longing and then just when you think it can’t get any deeper you get hit by “This Broken Heart” by The Sonics. “But no other heart will love you like this broken heart of mine.” Too late, she’s gone off with another guy.

The bottle’s nearly empty and I’m face down on the carpet. Just gotta raise enough effort to push the tone arm past the final track by The Ravels as it doesn’t fit the mood. I guess that’s why God invented PCs, media players and playlists. You can stay in your armchair with the bottle by your side, have your selections on repeat play and listen to the same tracks hour after hour before passing out. And they’ll keep on playing …

Ripped from tearstained vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download the LP from here:

https://rapidshare.com/files/1743247465/Chess_Doo-Wop.rar

Or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WQLZQ78W

And some streaming with tears highlights:

White Christmas - The Drifters featuring Clyde McPhatter and Bill Pinckney

2011-12-24T00:50:00.000Z

Christmas has crept up on Be Bop Wino again, so there is nothing for it but to repost my favourite vocal group festive track - thanks to Joan K.

And of course we can't let Christmas go without reposting the link to the most popular of the Joan Selects collections - the Christmas Special.

Download from here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=G6F7Q0R1

Password = greaseyspoon

My thanks to all of you - contributors, commenters, followers, readers and email correspondents. It's you folks who really keep this show on the road. More rhythm and bluesin' goodies are in the pipeline so here's hoping we can all keep rockin' through what remains of 2011 and right through 2012.

Have a Merry Christmas, all of you out there on the hepcat internet.

Everything I Do Is Wrong / Don't You Want A Man Like Me - B.B. "Blues Boy" King And His Orchestra (RPM 411)

2011-12-22T00:22:00.001Z

Both tracks recorded in Los Angeles in February / March 1954. Released on RPM 411 in June 1954.

We're back with another El Enmascarado "Blues on 78" post. Sound quality is a bit rough on these shellac rips but the Masked One has performed a minor miracle to fashion listenable mp3s, especially on "Don't You Want A Man Like Me" which had a persistent sticky on the disc surface. Over to the Masked One who has consented to address his adoring R&B public in between suffering horrendous defeats in the wrestling ring, usually at the hands of tag teams consisting of small shrieking girls:

Don't You Want a Man Like Me has a bit of the dreaded Victrola Tonearm syndrome, but I went with it. B.B.'s chords behind the tenor sax solo are interesting- on first listen I thought it was a steel guitar of some sort. Notice how much the band speeds up at 1:58 when they shift back to the Latin feel. You gotta love old school Everybody In The Room At Once-style recording!

"Don't You Want a Man Like Me" was a rerecording of a number first recorded by B.B. in 1951. The title harks back to Walter Brown's "Confessin' The Blues" recorded with the Jay McShann Orchestra in 1941. The line also occurs in another 1941 recording, "Take Me Back Baby" sung by Jimmy Rushing with the Count Basie Orchestra.

1954 was a good year for B.B. King. He had two big hits with "You Upset Me Baby" and "My Heart Beats Like a Hammer." This disc wasn't quite up there with the other two, but still sold well in some locations.

Bill Haley And His Comets - Rock Around The Clock EP (Brunswick OE 9250)

2011-12-20T00:59:00.001Z

Side 1
1. (We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock
2. Mambo Rock

Side 2
1. R-O-C-K
2. See You Later, Alligator

Thanks again to donor Allan for contributing this Bill Haley EP which was released in the UK in June, 1956.

All 4 tracks were recorded at the Pythian Temple, New York City in 1954 – 55.

“Rock Around The Clock” was recorded on the 12th April, 1954. The Comets were:

Bill Haley (vocal and rhythm guitar); Danny Cedrone (lead guitar); Billy Williamson (steel guitar); Joey d'Ambrosio (tenor saxophone); Johnny Grande (piano); Marshall Lytle (double bass); Billy Gussak (drums)

“Mambo Rock” was recorded on the 5th January, 1955. The Comets were:

Bill Haley (vocal and rhythm guitar); Franny Beecher (lead guitar); Billy Williamson (steel guitar); Joey d'Ambrosio (tenor saxophone); Johnny Grande (piano); Marshall Lytle (double bass); Cliff Leeman (drums)

Scan courtesy Joan K

“R-O-C-K” was recorded on the 22nd November, 1955. The Comets were:

Bill Haley (vocal and rhythm guitar); Franny Beecher (lead guitar); Billy Williamson (steel guitar); Rudy Pompilli (tenor saxophone); Johnny Grande (piano); Al Rex (double bass); Cliff Leeman (drums)

“See You Later, Alligator” was recorded on the 12th December, 1955. The Comets were:

Bill Haley (vocal and rhythm guitar); Franny Beecher (lead guitar); Billy Williamson (steel guitar); Rudy Pompilli (tenor saxophone); Johnny Grande (piano); Al Rex (double bass); Ralph Jones (drums)

Ripped from vinyl at 256 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

https://rapidshare.com/files/3768526682/Rock_Around_The_Clock_EP.rar

Or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZXE86Q1V

Review: Wailin’ Daddy – The Best of Maxwell Davis (1949-1959)

2011-12-18T16:28:00.001Z

Normally any CD reviews on Be Bop Wino are to be found at the end of posts on the artist or artists featured on the said CDs. However, this recent 3CD set released on Fantastic Voyage deserves its own post for 2 reasons – (1) it’s a superfine collection which fits right in with the kind of music so beloved of your blog host and many of the collaborators and followers of BBW and (2) it centres on an artist about whom I posted way, way back and therefore many blog followers would miss out if the review of “Wailin’ Daddy” were to be buried deep in the BBW archive.

Maxwell Davis is truly an Unsung Hero of Rock and Roll and the compiler of this set, Dave Penny, has set about rescuing his name from undeserved obscurity with the true fervour of an evangelist of rhythm and blues. For those of you who have missed out on the previous Maxwell Davis posts on Be Bop Wino and are wondering what all the fuss is about, he was one of the most important figures in the development of West Coast rhythm and blues in the 1940s and 1950s. He was an accomplished tenor sax player (listen to his brief but brilliant solo on “Safronia B” by Calvin Boze) but his importance really lies in his abilities as a bandleader, arranger, producer and song writer which saw him play a vital background role on many, many hit R&B records, especially a series of fantastic recordings by Amos Milburn, Percy Mayfield, Charles Brown, Peppermint Harris, and B.B. King.

He performed a role similar to that of Jesse Stone at Atlantic, Dave Bartholomew at Imperial and Willie Dixon at Chess. They were multi talented instrumentalists, songwriters, producers and arrangers who shaped the sound of post World War II Afro-American music, forging the new form of rhythm and blues and in its turn rock and roll. What makes Maxwell Davis different is that he worked for many labels in the Los Angeles area, most noticeably at Aladdin but also for Specialty and the Bihari brothers’ Modern / RPM set up. Those three are just the tip of the iceberg, for “Wailin’ Daddy” also includes recordings for Black & White, Pacific, 4Star, Excelsior, Capitol, Torch, Atomic, Down Beat, Miltone, Exclusive, Supreme, Swing Time, Imperial – I’ll just stop there, but there’s plenty more.

This mid price set covers his career from 1945 to 1959. CD1 (subtitled “Bluesville: The Best of Maxwell’s Singles) is a collection of recordings Maxwell made under his own name. Included are some of the poppy instrumentals he recorded at Aladdin in the 1950s, some of which you can find on this post, plus the harder hitting instrumentals he cut for Modern and RPM, some of which you can find on this post. There’s also a whole bunch of mid to late 1940s jump blues cuts from the likes of Black & White, 4Star, Swing Beat and Modern many of which have probably never been compiled on CD or vinyl.

The remaining two CDs follow Maxwell’s career as a producer / arranger through the 1940s and 1950s, being titled “Swingin’ An Echo: Blowin’ Through The ‘40s” and “Blow, Man, Blow: Rockin’ Through The ‘50s.”

Now it would have been the easiest thing in the world to throw together a collection of the big hits like “Bad, Bad Whiskey” or “Please Send Me Someone To Love” or “Black Night” or “You Upset Me Baby” but our indefatigable compiler has dug real, real deep to bring us a mix of the unexpected, the not so well known and the long forgotten. Sure the big names are there – on CD2 you get Lowell Fulson, Amos Milburn, Percy Mayfield, Lloyd Glenn and Jimmy Witherspoon among others, but there’s also Big Speed McDaniels, Felix Gross, Effie Smith, Mary De Pina and Geechie Smith. CD3 also has its share of well known names such as T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, Floyd Dixon and Joe Liggins but you also get La Melle Prince, Rock Heart Johnson, The Cocoas, and Rusty McDonald. As for unexpected big names there’s Ray Anthony (on a version of “Blow Man Blow”) and June Christy.

With such a selection this 3CD set should appeal to both the long time R&B fan and the newbie. It’s not only a history lesson, it’s real fun to listen to with loads of jumpin’ and rockin’ goins on for you hepcats out there. Those short but always on-the-money sax breaks by Maxwell are simply superb with their big warm tone, and where required, buzz saw rasping. Give ‘em a big ending is a basic rule for compiling an R&B mix and the sequence on CD3 from track 24 through to track 30 certainly does that with blasters like “Flip Your Daddy” and “Hot Banana” guaranteed to fill the dance floor or at least get you bouncing round your living room.

In the UK “Wailin’ Daddy” should cost you about £12. Packaging is good with the discs coming in a digi box similar to those old Capitol Blues Collection sets. You get 89 tracks and a 20 page booklet with photos (including a basketball team featuring Charles Mingus and Maxwell Davis), label shots and the usual informative essay by Dave Penny. That’s pretty much a bargain. This is the first issue of a series called “The Architects of Rock ‘n Roll” which may well include more Be Bop Wino heroes. I’ll keep you posted.

Wailin' Daddy: The Best Of Maxwell Davis (Fantastic Voyage FVTD130)

See also these Maxwell Davis posts where you can grab some tracks and read some info:

Maxwell Davis - Father of West Coast R&B

Maxwell Davis And His Tenor Sax

Rockin' And Rollin' / Peace Breaking People - Lil' Son Jackson (Imperial 5113)

2011-12-11T23:00:00.000Z

Recorded on the 16th December, 1950, in Houston, Texas. Personnel: Lil' Son Jackson (vocal, guitar).

Blues on 78 is back with another El Enmascarado offering, ripped from the original 78 rpm shellac disc.

Released in March 1951, "Rockin' and Rollin'" was a territorial tip in Billboard for the Dallas area. Although it wasn't a big hit, this record became very influential, generating a good cover version by Jesse Allen in 1954 and various versions by Muddy Waters throughout the 1950s, including "I Want You To Love Me" in 1954 and "Rock Me" in 1956.

The best known version is probably "Rock Me, Baby" by B.B. King which was a hit in 1964. The relaxed but insistent beat also inspired several Slim Harpo recordings such as "I'm A King Bee" and of course Jimi Hendrix performed a 100 mph version at Monterey.

Billboard, May 5th, 1951

It's probable that Lil' Son Jackson had a 1944 recording of "Rock Me Mama" by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup in mind when he composed "Rockin' and Rollin'. Anyway it's a great blues which has little to do with what we think of as rock and roll music but leaves us in little doubt as to what that phrase really meant.

With thanks once more to El Enmascarado.

Bill Haley And His Comets - Rock ‘N Roll EP (Brunswick OE 9214)

2011-12-09T22:52:00.000Z

Side 1
1. Razzle Dazzle
2. Two Hound Dogs

Side 2
1. Burn That Candle
2. Rock-a-Beatin’ Boogie

With the help of generous contributor Allan we continue to rock and roll with Bill Haley And His Comets as we present the first of a series of original UK issue EPs.

“Rock ‘N Roll” was issued in June 1956 and was the second Bill Haley EP to be released in the UK, the first being “Dim, Dim The Lights” which was released in July 1955. The tracks on “Dim, Dim The Lights” were “Shake, Rattle And Roll,” “ABC Boogie,” “Happy Baby” and “Dim, Dim The Lights.”

The tracks on “Rock’N Roll” were split evenly between the two Comets line ups with “Two Hound Dogs” and “Razzle Dazzle” being recorded by The Comets Mark I which had Joey D’Ambrosio and Marshall Lytle who, along with road drummer Dick Richards left to form the Jodimars in September 1955.

Scan courtesy Joan K

“Rock a-Beatin’ Boogie” and “Burn That Candle” were recorded by the Mark II version of The Comets which included Rudy Pompilli on tenor sax and Al Rex on bass.

Two Hound Dogs and Razzle Dazzle were recorded at the Pythian Temple, New York, on the 10th of May 1955.

Personnel: Bill Haley (vocal and rhythm guitar) ; Franny Beecher (lead guitar) ; Billy Williamson (steel guitar) ; Joey d'Ambrosio (tenor saxophone) ; Johnny Grande (piano) ; Marshall Lytle (double bass) ; Billy Gussak (drums)

Rock-a-Beatin’ Boogie and Burn That Candle were recorded at the Pythian Temple, New York on the 22nd and 23rd of September 1955 respectively.

Personnel: Bill Haley (vocal & rhythm guitar) ; Franny Beecher (lead guitar) ; Billy Williamson (steel guitar) ; Rudy Pompilli (tenor saxophone) ; Johnny Grande (piano) ; Al Rex (double bass) ; Cliff Leeman (drums)

Ripped from vinyl at 360 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

https://rapidshare.com/files/4188688680/Rock_N_Roll_EP.rar

or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E6M7IJOS

With thanks to Allan.

Swingin' Saxophones Volume 2

2011-12-06T22:30:00.000Z

Side One
1. Breaking The Blues - James Moody
2. No Dues - Arnett Cobb
3. Cozy's Beat - Cozy Eggleston
4. Red Top - Gene Ammons
5. Serenade - Earl Bostic
6. Harlem Nocturne - Willis Jackson

Side Two
1. A La Carte - Roland Kirk
2. Groovin' - Illinois Jacquet
3. Fuzzy - Gene Ammons
4. Weary Blues - Illinois Jacquet
5. The Way You Look Tonight - Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
6. Triple Threat - Roland Kirk

At last, a follow-up to “Swingin’ Saxophones” on the mysterious Saarland based “Bop und Rhythm” label has arrived in my inbox. There was obviously a gap of a few years between the issues, with the second volume covering tracks recorded between 1950 and 1956, a period when the swing era was receding into the past, thus perhaps rendering the title of the LP somewhat anachronistic (translation – outta time).

Our compiler was obviously a fan of the “big hitters” of the saxophone and wasn’t too concerned about any differentiation between jazz and r&b. In fact you can dance to most of the tracks on here. Let’s call it juke box jazz. Not so much an album, more a state of mind.

There are no discographical details on the cover, but I’ve done a bit of research and listed the date of recording, personnel and original release of each track below. It’s obviously a bootleg, judging by the background noise on most tracks, but sound quality is good. Download and groove to these hiptastic vibes. Or just click your fingers by the virtual juke box.

Download from here:

https://rapidshare.com/files/2020406245/Swingin__Saxophones_Volume_2.rar

Or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=925408Y1

Password = greaseyspoon

1. Breaking The Blues by James Moody was recorded in Chicago in November 1956. Personnel: Johnny Coles (tp); William Shepherd (tb); James Moody (ts); Numa "Pee Wee" Moore (bar); Jimmy Boyd (p); John Lathan (b); Clarence Johnson (d)
Originally released on Argo LP 603, “Flute ‘n’ the Blues.”

2. No Dues by Arnett Cobb was recorded in Chicago on February 17th 1956. Personnel: Ed Lewis (tp); Al Grey (tb); Arnett Cobb (ts); Harold Cumberbatch (bar,as); Lloyd Mayers (p); Jimmy Mobley (b); Al Jones (d)
Originally released on Vee-Jay 190.

3. Cozy's Beat by Cozy Eggleston was recorded in Chicago on August 23rd, 1952.
Personnel: Marie Eggleston (as); Cozy Eggleston (ts); Jimmy Boyd (p); Ellis Hunter (g); Curtis Ferguson (b) Chuck Williams (d)
Originally released on States 133.

4. Red Top by Gene Ammons was recorded in Chicago on April 15th, 1953.
Personnel: John Coles (tp); Lino Murray (tb); Gene Ammons (ts); Mack Easton (ts,bar); John Houston (p) unknown (g); Benny Stuberville (b); George Brown (d)
Originally released on United 149.

5. Serenade by Earl Bostic was recorded in New York on March 23rd, 1950.
Personnel: Earl Bostic (as); Count Hastings (ts); Gene Redd (vib); Clifton Smalls (p); Al Casey (g); Kester Betts (b); Joe Marshall (d)
Originally released on King 4369.

6. Harlem Nocturne by Willis Jackson was recorded in New York on July 9th, 1951.
Personnel: John H Russell (tp); Walter “Phatz” Morris (tb); Otis Sutton (as, bar); Willis Jackson (ts); Jimmy Evans (p); Leonard Swain (b); Emmanuel Sims (d)
Originally released on Atlantic 946.

7. A La Carte by Roland Kirk was recorded in New York on November 9th, 1956.
Personnel: Roland Kirk (ts); James Madison (p); Carl Pruitt (b); Henry Duncan (d)
Originally released on the King LP “Triple Threat”, King LP539

8. Groovin' by Illinois Jacquet was recorded in New York on May 24th, 1951.
Personnel: Illinois Jacquet (ts); Hank Jones (p); John Collins (g); Gene Ramey (b); Art Blakey (d)
Originally released on Clef 8968.

9. Fuzzy by Gene Ammons was recorded in Chicago on April 15th, 1953.
Personnel: John Coles (tp); Lino Murray (tb); Gene Ammons (ts); Mack Easton (ts,bar); John Houston (p) unknown (g); Benny Stuberville (b); George Brown (d)
Originally released on United 185.

10. Weary Blues by Illinois Jacquet was recorded in New York on May 24th, 1951.
Personnel: Illinois Jacquet (ts); Hank Jones (p); John Collins (g); Gene Ramey (b); Art Blakey (d)
Originally released on Clef 8968

11. The Way You Look Tonight by Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis was recorded in Cincinnati on August 16th, 1955.
Personnel: Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis (ts); Doc Bagby (org); Charlie Rice (d)
Originally released on King 4904.

12. Triple Threat by Roland Kirk was recorded in New York on November 9th, 1956.
Personnel: Roland Kirk (ts); James Madison (p); Carl Pruitt (b); Henry Duncan (d)
Originally released on the King LP “Triple Threat”, King LP539

See You Later, Alligator

2011-12-02T23:45:00.000Z

US 78 rpm issue courtesy El Enmascarado

“See You Later, Alligator” was a catch phrase which I remember my parents using back in the 1960s. No doubt they first heard it on the big selling Bill Haley record of that title.

The Haley opus was a cover of “Later, Alligator” a record released on Chess by a Cajun R&B singer, Bobby Charles (real name Robert Charles Guidry). He had recorded it in New Orleans in October 1955. In his turn Bobby Charles had no doubt been inspired by an earlier recording by Guitar Slim (real name Eddie Jones), entitled “Later For You Baby” which had been recorded in Chicago in April 1954 and released on Specialty.

Bill Haley (real name Bill Haley) And His Comets recorded “See You Later, Alligator” in New York on the 12th of December 1955. One other track was recorded at the session – “The Paper Boy (On Main Street, USA)” which became the B-side of “See You Later, Alligator.”

By now it was the second version of The Comets who were recording, Dick Richards, Joey D’Ambrosio and Marshall Lytle having left in September 1955 to form the Jodimars. The personnel on the record were: Bill Haley (vocal and rhythm guitar); Franny Beecher (lead guitar); Billy Williamson (steel guitar); Rudy Pompilli (tenor sax); Johnny Grande (piano); Al Rex (bass) and Ralph Jones (drums).

This was the second recording session for The Comets Mark II, their first session having been on the 22nd September 1955, when they recorded “R-O-C-K”, “Rock-a-Beatin’ Boogie”, “The Saints Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Burn That Candle.”

US 45 rpm issue courtesy Joan K

“See You Later, Alligator” entered the US pop charts on the 14th January, 1956, where it spent a total of 15 weeks, peaking at number 6. This was Bill Haley’s last top ten hit in the USA, with only “R-O-C-K” / “The Saints Rock ‘n’ Roll” subsequently getting in to the US top twenty in July 1956.

In the UK “See You Later, Alligator” charted twice, reaching number 7 in March 1956, and number 12 in September 1956. Bill Haley records continued to sell strongly in the UK through 1956 and into 1957. “The Saints Rock ‘n’ Roll”, “Rockin’ Through The Rye”, a reissue of “Rock Around The Clock” and “Rip It Up” all made it into the UK top ten in 1956, and “Razzle Dazzle” made it to number 13. “Don’t Knock The Rock” reached number 7 in February 1957, but this was Bill Haley’s last UK hit of the 1950s. “Rock Around The Clock” made it to the top twenty when it was re-issued in 1968 and again in 1974.

With thanks to Joan and El Enmascarado for their scans.

Rock Around The Clock

2011-11-27T21:06:00.004Z

UK 45 rpm issue of Thirteen Women / Rock Around The Clock

Rock Around The Clock, or To The Pythian Temple. Or how Bill Haley finally achieved rock and roll immortality. Or, as Little Richard was wont to say, “He got what he wanted, but he lost what he had.”

In “Destination Rock And Roll!” we had a look at how Bill Haley And His Comets evolved from a country band into a rock and roll band while recording for the Philadelphia based Holiday and Essex labels owned by Dave Miller. Having scored a hit on the national pop chart with “Crazy Man, Crazy” in May of 1953, the band’s further releases on Essex failed to match this unexpected success and in the spring of 1954 Bill and the boys signed for Decca after their contract with Miller had lapsed.

And so we arrive at the Pythian Temple in New York City. This imposing art deco building was the headquarters of the New York chapters of the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal order bearing similarities to the Freemasons. We shall ignore, if that is possible, the honeycomb of hidden chambers in which secret and no doubt dreadful ceremonies took place and pass further in to the building to a ballroom in which Decca had installed a recording facility in the 1940s.

And there, on the 24th April, 1954, Milt Gabler, who had produced many Louis Jordan hits at the same venue in the 1940s, awaited Bill Haley And His Comets who were due for their first Decca recording session. Two songs were lined up: the A-Side was to be a cover of a minor R&B novelty “Thirteen Women And One Man” which had been written and recorded by Dickie Thompson. Released on Herald in March, 1954, the song had been the subject of a radio ban due to unfortunate implications in the lyrics. The less than pure of mind may have concluded that the song was a description of a sportin’ dude living off the earnings of a group of affectionate ladies but it is unlikely that this was the intention of the songwriter.

However, Milt Gabler had taken the precaution of rewriting the lyrics to give the one guy and a load of dames scenario a new and more innocent context – they were now the happy survivors of a nuclear holocaust. And anyway the whole thing was a dream.

The B-Side was to be “Rock around The Clock,” a number which had been part of the Comet’s live repertoire since the summer of 1953. Co-credited to Max Freedman and Jimmy DeKnight (real name Jimmy Myers), “Rock Around The Clock” borrowed the melody of Hank Williams’ “Move It On Over” and allied it to lyrics on a theme that had emerged in R&B a few years back – round the clock jivin’ (in the shape of dancing or romancing) – especially in various versions of “Around The Clock Blues” recorded by Jimmy Rushing, Wynonie Harris and Big Joe Turner. Let’s be honest here - these guys weren’t singing about dancing, but Bill Haley was.

Unfortunately, the Comets had been unable to record “Rock Around The Clock” owing to a dispute between Essex Records owner Dave Miller and the song’s co-writer Jimmy Myers. Thus the first recording of the song was by another Philadelphia based combo, Sonny Dae and His Knights, on a small local label, Arcade Records.

The Comets’ move from Essex to Decca cleared the way for them to finally make their own recording of “Rock Around The Clock.” The personnel who arrived somewhat belatedly at the Pythian Temple (due to a ferry breakdown) to record what would eventually become the number which most people now think of as THE 1950’s rock and roll hit were the Comets regular line up of: Bill Haley (vocals, guitar), Joey D’Ambrosio (tenor sax), Johnny Grande (piano), Billy Williamson (steel guitar), Marshall Lytle (bass) and Dick Richards (drums). Danny Cedrone, who had played on earlier recording sessions with the band, was drafted in once more to play lead guitar. Dick Richards made way for session drummer Billy Gussak but stuck around to help familiarise the session man with Haley’s preferred drum parts on “Rock Around The Clock.”

Not being part of the regular Comets line up, Danny Cedrone was unfamiliar with “Rock Around The Clock.” As the session was somewhat rushed, he had no time to work out a new solo part, but opted to reproduce note for note the solo he had recorded on Haley’s cover of “Rock the Joint” a couple of years back, this time to even more brilliant effect.

1954 US release of "Rock Around The Clock"

Thirteen Women (And Only One Man In Town) / (We’re Gonna) Rock Around The Clock (Decca 29124) was released in May 1954. It quickly became obvious from deejay plays and retail re-orders that “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around The Clock” was the side that people preferred and so Decca quickly switched to promoting it as the de facto A-Side. But it was to no avail, for despite strong sales in some locations, the record peaked at number 23 in the national pop chart at the end of May and then rapidly dropped out of sight.

A few months later Bill Haley And His Comets finally got that follow up hit to “Crazy Man, Crazy” when their cover version of Big Joe Turner’s R&B hit “Shake, Rattle And Roll” crashed into the pop charts in August 1954, reaching number 7. Towards the end of the year the record reached number 4 in the UK pop charts, spending 14 weeks in the Hit Parade. A quick follow up UK release of “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around The Clock” was much less successful, reaching number 17 and only spending 2 weeks in the chart in January 1955.

“Shake, Rattle And Roll” was recorded on the 7th June 1954 at the Pythian Temple with the same personnel as the “Rock Around The Clock” session with the exception of session drummer Billy Gussak, who was replaced by Panama Francis. Tragically one of the musicians didn’t live to see the success of the record. On 17th July 1954 guitarist Danny Cedrone was killed in a bizarre accident when he fell down the stairs of a Philadelphia restaurant where he had gone to buy his wife a sandwich.

The credited composer of the original version of “Shake, Rattle And Roll” which had been an R&B hit for Big Joe Turner in April 1954 was Charles Calhoun, a pseudonym for Atlantic Records producer Jesse Stone. The song consisted of a series of standard and at times raunchy blues verses of the kind which Big Joe had been belting out since his barroom bawling days in Kansas City way back in the 1930s.

For the Bill Haley release some of the raunchier lines were dropped. Stuff like “Wearing low dresses, the sun comes shining through … I can’t believe all that mess belongs to you” and “Over the hill, way down underneath … you make me grit my teeth” was dropped in favour of much more innocuous lines – have a listen for yourselves. Yet somehow the most graphic line of all was left in – “I’m a one-eyed cat peepin’ in a seafood store.” Rock and roll historians usually say that the line survived because no-one at the Comets session understood it. I prefer to think that it was left in because Bill Haley was a one eyed cat – thanks to botched eye surgery when he was a kid.

In the meantime “Rock Around The Clock” was on the first Bill Haley LP and EP which were released in late 1954. The next single release, “Dim, Dim The Lights” entered the US pop charts in November 1954, reached number 11 and spent 15 weeks in the charts. In the spring of 1955 the two sided hit “Mambo Rock” / “Birth Of The Boogie” was less successful, with the bigger seller of the two, “Mambo Rock,” reaching number 17 and spending only 8 weeks in the chart. However in May 1955, more than a year after being recorded, “Rock Around The Clock” was back and it was an enormous hit.

1955 US re-issue of Rock Around The Clock

The factor which caused such a dramatic turn around in the disc’s fortunes was of course its inclusion in the soundtrack of the film “Blackboard Jungle,” a hard hitting expose of conditions in an inner city school. Well, I assume it was hard hitting, but I’ve never actually seen it. Whatever may be the case, the combination of juvenile delinquents and rock and roll proved irresistible to teenage audiences. The record re-entered the Billboard pop chart on the 14th of May 1955 where it spent 24 weeks, 8 of them at number one. In the UK “Rock Around The Clock” re-entered the pop chart in October 1955 reaching number one by November and staying in the chart for a total of 17 weeks. By this time the Comets line-up which had recorded “Rock around The Clock” was no more.

By September 1955 The Comets not only had two million selling records to their name, they were playing to huge audiences in big venues. The money was pouring in, but now the financial structure of the band caused an inevitable break up. As mentioned in “Destination Rock And Roll,” The Comets consisted of four business partners and the rest were salaried employees. The partners who shared in the financial good fortune were Bill Haley, Billy Williamson, Johnny Grande and manager Lord Jim Ferguson. The other members of the band – Joey D’Ambrosio, Dick Richards and Marshall Lytle were on salary and even after the band hit the big time no proportionate salary increase was forthcoming. This was particularly hard on Marshall Lytle who had been in the band since they were The Saddlemen.

The three non- partners left The Comets and formed a new band, The Jodimars (JOey, DIck, MARShall), which immediately secured a contract with Capitol Records. Bill Haley, Johnny Grande, Billy Williamson and recently recruited lead guitarist Franny Beecher remained as The Comets. Tenor sax player Rudy Pompilli, bass player Al Rex (who had been in The Saddlemen before Marshall Lytle) and drummer Ralph Jones were recruited to replace the departees.

The Comets story continues in a series of upcoming posts, thanks to a generous donor of EPs. I promise less words and more music. Honest injun.

Thanks to Joan K for the US scans and the Lawson Family for the UK scans.

It’s already been recommended, but here it is again – a book which every fan of early rock and roll needs to have:

“Rock Around The Clock” by Jim Dawson. It was the main source of info for this post, along with “The Billboard Book of USA Top 40 Hits”, “The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles” (New Musical Express charts), “The Top Twenty Book: Thirty Years of Hits” compiled by Tony Jasper (Music Week charts) and last but far from least, Chris Gardner’s Bill Haley Database.

Blues on 78 - the album!

2011-11-13T16:24:00.001Z

By popular demand - the seven shellac 78 rpm discs sent in by El Enmascarado have now been collected into LP form for downloading, complete with album art! As well as the music in mp3 format, the download contains a folder of the label shots of each side. Carefully programmed for your listening pleasure, this virtual LP will delight both the discerning connoisseur and the drink sodden. It's been played continuously on my Windows Media Player (with cross fading switched on) for the last week.

Track details are on the blog posts for each disc, so go copy and paste. Let's just sum up the "album" as a cornucopia of "real" blues, a style which was an important ingredient in the R&B scene of the 1940s and 1950s.

El Enmascarado has supplied enough shellac rips for a second volume of "Blues on 78" but before we embark on another blues session we have a rendezvous at the Pythian Temple ...

Side One
1. Rockin' With Red - Piano Red
2. Possum Hunt - Smokey Hogg
3. Off The Wall - Little Walter
4. Don't Start Me Talking - Sonny Boy Williamson
5. Boogie Chillen' - John Lee Hooker
6. Honey Honey Blues - Lightnin' Hopkins
7. Walking The Blues - Willie Dixon

Side Two
1. If You're Mine - Willie Dixon
2. Tell Me Mama - Little Walter
3. Sally Mae - John Lee Hooker
4. Moonrise Blues - Lightnin' Hopkins
5. Red's Boogie - Piano Red
6. Let's Get Together And Drink Some Gin - Smokey Hogg
7. All My Love In Vain - Sonny Boy Williamson

Ripped from shellac at 128 kbps by El Enmascarado

Download from here:

https://rapidshare.com/files/1178861436/Blues_On_78.rar

or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RD372XTO

Let's Get Together And Drink Some Gin / Possum Hunt - Smokey Hogg (Modern 20-783)

2011-11-12T20:22:00.001Z

Recorded in Los Angeles on July 18th, 1950. Personnel: Smokey Hogg (vocal and guitar); Dorothy Broyles (piano); Bill Davis (bass); Edward Hall (drums).

Released in December 1950. The Billboard review on the 9th December 1950 was less than enthusiastic: "Hogg does a so-so southern shout blues in slow tempo. Melody is in the "How Long" vein, lyric not especially strong."

However there was a much more enthusiastic review for the B-side, "Possum Hunt": "Romping boogie blues in the old tradition. Material is real southern back country stuff, honest and earthy. Hogg and combo do a zestful, happy job."

Billboard, December 9th, 1950

Fans of Young Jessie will recognise that "Possum Hunt" is the same song as "Rabbit On A Log" which was released by The Hunters on Flair in 1953. The country blues song was transformed into a frantic R&B rocker with stand out vocals by Richard Berry and Young Jessie, plus yelping hound dog sound effects and disorderly yelling by the rest of the group. It's hard to imagine a more different interpretation of the song which Smokey Hogg performs here.

Modern 20-783 didn't make any chart noise although "Possum Hunt" was a territorial tip in Atlanta in the January 27th 1951 edition of Billboard. In February 1951 Smokey left Modern and signed up with Mercury Records.

And with this disc my bluesin' and boozin' friends, we come to the end of the first round of El Enmascarado's "Blues On 78." I hope you've enjoyed these sounds as much as I have. Many thanks, oh masked one!

Honey Honey Blues / Moonrise Blues - Lightnin' Hopkins (Aladdin 3077)

2011-11-06T23:35:00.000Z

Both sides were recorded in Houston, Texas, in February 1948. This single was released in February 1951.

This is another in the "Blues on 78" series where we showcase rips from original shellac 78 rpm discs provided by El Enmascarado, and this time we're really going "down home." These sides are probably the rootsiest sounds to hit the blog so far. Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins' musical career began in the 1920s with Blind Lemon Jefferson and Texas Alexander. In 1946 he was discovered by Lola Anne Cullum who got him signed to Aladdin Records out in LA - she had already scouted Amos Milburn for the same label.

Although Lightnin's style harked back to the rough country blues of the 20s and 30s, he had a series of entries in the R&B charts in the late 1940s and early 1950s for Aladdin, Modern, Gold Star and Sittin' In With. This disc didn't chart, but it's a belter - with "Moonrise Blues" being an especially powerful doom-laden performance.

Says El Enmascarado: "A listen to the lyrics of Moonrise Blues makes it easy to guess that the song Bad Moon Rising "borrows" from it. It's one of the darkest Lightning Hopkins songs I can remember. He must have had a big fight with his girlfriend before leaving for the studio."

By way of contrast, "Honey Honey Blues" is an attractive little pleader with lovely guitar playing. There's more Lightnin' coming up in the series, so keep looking in on Be Bop Wino, the blog where the blues reigns!

Don't Start Me Talkin' / All My Love In Vain - Sonny Boy Williamson (Checker 824)

2011-11-02T23:05:00.002Z

Recorded in Chicago on August 12th, 1955. Personnel: Sonny Boy Williamson (vcl and hca); Otis Spann (p); Muddy Waters (g); Jimmy Rogers (g); Willie Dixon (b); Fred Below (d).

Recorded at Sonny Boy Williamson's first session for the Chess label, and released on the Chess subsidiary Checker, "Don't Start Me Talkin'" hit the R&B charts in October / November 1955. On the November 12th issue of Billboard, it stood at number 9 in the retail sales chart, number 3 in the juke box plays chart and number 5 in the disc jockey plays chart. The record didn't start slipping down the charts until early December, so Sonny Boy's Chess debut was a considerable success.

1955 was an excellent year for Chess with a whole heap of hits for Sonny Boy, Little Walter, Willie Mabon, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley and of course Chuck Berry whose "Maybellene" was the third top selling R&B disc of the year.

Many thanks to El Enmascarado for this post. Special mention must be made of his sterling persistence in getting a decent rip from the Victrola - worn shellac disc, especially from skip-skip afflicted "All My Love In Vain." Luckily for us El Enmascarado has a hi-tech solution to such problems - increase the tone arm weight. Back when a record was a record and not a mere intangible concatenation of bits and bytes, I used to sellotape coins to my tone arm so that it could plough through skips. Happy days.

Off The Wall / Tell Me Mama - Little Walter And His Jukes (Checker 770)

2011-10-29T11:52:00.001+01:00

This double sided hit for Little Walter was recorded in Chicago in March 1953. The personnel were: Little Walter (harmonica, vocal); Louis Myers (g); Dave Myers (g); Willie Dixon (b); Fred Below (d).

"Off The Wall" / "Tell Me Mama" was one of a series of chart successes for Little Walter in 1953. In May 1952, while still a member of the Muddy Waters band, he had recorded the instrumental "Juke." Released as by "Little Walter and his Night Cats," it became a massive R&B hit in the autumn of 1952, spending two months in the number one spot. Little Walter left the Muddy Waters outfit to launch his own solo career, recruiting a band he christened "The Jukes" with Louis Myers on lead guitar, his brother Dave Myers on bass and Fred Below on drums.

"Juke" was no one off hit, for further success came in late 1952 and early 1953 with "Mean Old World" / "Sad Hours", both sides of which charted. The band toured intensively in the spring of 1953, returning to the studio in March. "Off The Wall" / "Tell Me Mama" was another double sided hit for Little Walter, with "Tell Me Mama" charting in April 1953 and "Off The Wall in May. In the autumn of 1953 there was another double sided hit for Little Walter with "Blues With A Feeling" / "Quarter To Twelve." As 1953 turned to 1954, "You're So Fine" continued the run of hits.

Ripped from the original 78 rpm shellac disc. Many thanks to El Enmascarado for this latest post in the "Blues On 78" series. There's even more in the pipeline!

Rockin' With Red / Red's Boogie - Piano Red (RCA Victor 22-0099)

2011-10-21T13:34:00.001+01:00

Both sides recorded in Atlanta on July 25th, 1950. Willie Lee Perryman (aka "Piano Red"), piano and vocal; William Jones, bass, William Green, drums.

Imagine my deep joy when I wended my way home from the pub last night (with a belly full of Deuchar's IPA) to find this gem in my email inbox courtesy of El Enmascarado. Piano Red has been a longtime favourite of mine and pretty soon I was regaling the neighbours with multiple plays of "Rockin' With Red." Both sides of this disc were big R&B hits in early 1951, with "Rockin' With Red" reaching number 5 and "Red's Boogie" reaching number 4. Piano Red had three further chart hits in 1951, including the immortally risque "Right String But The Wrong Yo-Yo."

It's not just a cliche to say that this kind of music is timeless. Piano Red's musical career stretched back to the dawn of the 1930's and carried on through the R&B era into the early Rock and Roll period when he attracted a big following of rockers and then on into the early 1960s when he was reincarnated as Doctor Feelgood. He was still recording in the 1980s almost up until his death in July 1985.

You can imagine Piano Red pounding out these tracks in a saloon or bordello in the 1890s, never mind the 1950s!

Thanks to El Enmascarado for theses rips from a 78 disc and the label scans. I've added some 1950s EP covers on RCA and its subsidiary Groove sent in by Joan K. Thanks Joan.

And lastly we've just got time for another visit to El Enmascarado's record room where we can admire a heap of his latest shellac acquisitions - a sight to gladden the eye.

Walking The Blues / If You're Mine - Willie Dixon and The Allstars (Checker 822)

2011-10-19T23:31:00.000+01:00

Our "Blues on 78" series continues with this latest gem from El Enmascarado.

Released in July 1955, this disc was Willie Dixon's first solo disc. "If You're Mine" was recorded in May 1955 with Harold Ashby (tenor sax), Lafayette Leake (piano) and Fred Below (drums). "Walking The Blues" was recorded in June 1955 with Lafeyette Leake (piano) and Fred Below (footsteps).

"Walking The Blues" was a cover of the Champion Jack Dupree single on King, which had Mr. Bear doing the walking sounds. Champion Jack's version was the more successful, reaching number seven in the R&B best seller charts, and number six in the most played R&B records on juke boxes at the end of August 1955. In the same week the Willie Dixon version made it to number nine in the juke box plays chart.

Many thanks to El Enmascarado for these rips from the original 78 rpm shellac disc and also for the label scans.

Boogie Chillen’ / Sally May – John Lee Hooker (Modern 627)

2011-10-16T01:03:00.004+01:00

Recorded in Detroit in the second half of 1948, and released just before New Year, this primitive solo blues stomper by John Lee Hooker reached the number one spot in the R&B charts in 1949. It stands in complete contrast to the jump blues combos of Paul Williams, Louis Jordan and Amos Milburn who dominated the R&B scene at that time.

The good news for blues fans is that El Enmascarado has taken a break from getting his ass kicked in wrestling rings the length and breadth of Mexico and has devoted his time to acquiring even more 78 rpm shellac discs which he is working round the clock to convert to a bloggable format. This is the first in a series of "Blues on 78" posts which will feature streaming audio ripped directly from battered 78s. Don't expect hi-fi sound quality but do expect the REAL blues.

Many thanks to El Enmascarado for the sounds and label scans. There hasn't been much activity on the blog lately as real life has kept me from the keyboard. Not only have there been no posts, but I've let a pile of unanswered blog related emails and comments build up. I'll get back to you all, I promise. A special thanks to the son of Calvin Boze for taking the time to leave a comment on "Choo Choo's Bringing My Baby Home." That certainly came as a very pleasant surprise!

Four Years Of Bop And Wine

2011-09-23T17:28:00.001+01:00

This weekend marks the fourth anniversary of Be Bop Wino's appearance on the rocking interweb. The first music post (a cassette of Savoy and National movers and groovers) went up on Sunday, the 23rd of September 2007. A couple of years down the line the blog got taken down but reappeared in its current vinyl-only format, which I think is preferable to the old blog. I would like to thank all contributors and collaborators who have done so much to turn Be Bop Wino into something that I never anticipitated it would become when I started it four years ago.

Many thanks to those of you who take the trouble to comment. I've learned a lot from many of those comments. And thanks also to those of you who have corresponded via email over the years. It's been fascinating to hear from fellow bloggers, deejays (both club and radio), musicians from R&B revival bands, record retailers, relatives of the original 1950s musicians, journalists, researchers and fellow enthusiasts.

Here's the Be Bop Wino anniversary playlist. Some of these tracks may still be found somewhere on the blog, but others have been and gone. So for your listening (but not downloading) pleasure we present a round dozen platters from back when R&B was R&B.

Imperial R&B All-Stars

2011-09-19T23:16:00.004+01:00

Side One:
1. The Fat Man - Fats Domino
2. Rootin' And Tootin' - Smiley Lewis
3. All That Wine Is Gone - Big Jay McNeely
4. Fats' Frenzy - Fats Domino
5. An Old Cow Hand From A Blues Band - Dave Bartholomew
6. Don't Cry Baby - Big Jay McNeely

Side Two:
1. Ain't Gonna Do It - The Pelicans
2. '44' - Fats Domino
3. Shame, Shame, Shame - Smiley Lewis
4. Good News - Dave Bartholomew
5. I Don't Need You - James "Sugar Boy" Crawford
6. Don't Leave Me This Way - Fats Domino

Here’s the second compilation in the “R&B All-Stars” series. This time round it’s the turn of Imperial Records out of Hollywood, California, although you’d think it was a New Orleans label when you look at the track list and listen to the rollicking rhythm and blues contained within the bits and bytes available for your downloading pleasure.

This is definitely a case of “all killer, no filler.” The Fats Domino tracks date from before “Ain’t It a Shame” and “Blueberry Hill” and are raw roughhouse R&B, with his first ever recording, “The Fat Man” kicking off the whole shebang in a welter of stomping piano. There’s a couple of belters from Smiley Lewis while Dave Bartholomew not only contributes recordings under his own name, but also arranges and plays on just about every other track in the collection. The two Big Jay McNeely tracks are the only reminder here that Imperial was in fact a West Coast label. Don’t worry – they fit right in with the good time rockin’ and rollin’ from New Orleans.

So play it LOUD, with a little bit of cross fading, and be prepared to dance, jump, howl and play air piano as the rhythm takes a hold of you.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

https://rapidshare.com/files/467507171/Imperial_R_B_All-Stars.rar

Or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=J7FQ0RN6

Listen to some highlights from "Imperial R&B All-Stars" here:

With thanks to "Spyder John" for pointing me towards the great Dave Bartholomew instrumental "Good News." Thanks also to Joan K for the 45 rpm record sleeve scan, and to "Brian with a B" for the "R&B All-Stars" idea.

Calvin Boze – Choo, Choo's Bringing My Baby Home

2011-09-12T14:15:00.000+01:00

Side 1:
1. Choo Choo's Bringing My Baby Home
2. My Friend Told Me
3. Good Time Sue
4. Stinkin' From Drinkin'
5. Slippin' And Slidin'
6. I Can't Stop Crying
7. Beal Street On A Saturday Night
8. Hey Lawdie, Miss Claudie
9. Have You Ever Had The Blues

Side 2:
1. Waiting And Drinking
2. Blow Man Blow
3. Safronia B
4. Angel City Blues
5. Baby You're Tops With Me
6. I'm Gonna Steam Off The Stamp
7. Looped
8. Look Out For Tomorrow Today
9. Fish-Tail
10. I've Got News For You

I first came across the music of Calvin Boze back in the early 1980s via the old Pathe Marconi compilation “Aladdin’s Rock’n Roll Sock Hop.” When I heard his “Hey Lawdy, Miss Claudie” on Side One of the LP, three thoughts raced through my mind:
(1) Nope, that’s not the Lloyd Price song which was brilliantly covered by Elvis
(2) That guy sounds just like Louis Jordan
(3) What’s this old 1940s jump blues doing on a rock and roll album?

Not that I didn’t like “Hey Lawdy, Miss Claudie,” mind you. There was another Calvin Boze track on Side Two, “Good Time Sue” which wasn’t quite as good, but it had the same eerie resemblance to the sound of Louis Jordan. And it turned out that both tracks were from the early 1950s rather than the 1940s. Apart from a 1949 Amos Milburn opus (“Bow Wow”), the rest of the tracks on the album WERE rock and roll by the likes of Gene & Eunice, Thurston Harris, Shirley & Lee, The Jivers, Lee Allen and Little Wilbur and the Pleasers.

In the late 1980s two Calvin Boze compilation LPs appeared. “Havin’ A Ball” was issued on Moonshine. The LP had indifferent sound quality, having been obviously mastered from shellac or vinyl records. The LP on this post, “Choo, Choo’s Bringing My Baby Home” was issued by Route 66 in 1989. As with the Moonshine LP, the tracks are mastered from old records but with slightly better sound quality.

Some Calvin Boze tracks turned up in pristine sound quality on the great Billy Vera double CD compilation on Capitol, “Jumpin’ Like Mad: Cool Cats & Hip Chicks.” The second track on the first disc was the unforgettable “Safronia B” and there were three more gems on the set: “Looped,” “Blow Man Blow,” and “Keep Your Nose Out Of My Business”. How could the last track not be by Louis Jordan? Heck, even the song title was pure Louis. “Safronia B” also turned up on the terrific “The Aladdin Records Story” double CD set.

What was noticeable from these reissues was that very little was known about Calvin Boze. Indeed there seemed to be only one photograph of him, the photo that’s on the front of this Route 66 LP. “Rock and Roll Sock Hop” used a drawing of him that originally appeared on Aladdin record sleeves of the 78 era and this drawing was adapted for the illustration on the front of “Havin’ a Ball.” The most thorough notes on him were by Dave Penny for “Choo, Choo’s Bringing My Baby Home” and even at the time of the writing of these notes in 1989, Calvin’s place and date of birth were unknown.

However, time moves on and more facts about Calvin Boze have come to light. He was born in Trinity County, Texas on October 15th, 1916. He was educated in Houston and in the 1930s he played trumpet and led the Wheatley High School band which numbered Tom Archia, Russell and Illinois Jacquet, and Arnett Cobb among its members. Thereafter Calvin attended Prairie View College where he led the Collegians who included his old school band mate Tom Archia and Charles Brown.

At some time in the mid 1940s Calvin relocated to Los Angeles, possibly after his military service. His first recording was for Globe Records in LA in 1944-45 with Russell Jacquet’s band which included Teddy Edwards on alto sax, Charles Mingus on bass and Chico Hamilton on drums. Two sides were issued on Globe 105 – “Penny’s Worth of Boogie” and “Look What You’ve Done To Me.”

Calvin’s next recordings were as vocalist with Marvin Johnson and his Orchestra (in reality a seven piece jump band) on November 2nd, 1945, for the G&G label. Billed as Calvin Boaz, he sang on “Just A Dream” and “Saffronia Bee,” which he would re-record several years down the line for Aladdin.

In August 1949 Calvin signed for Aladdin Records for whom he recorded a total of seven sessions, commencing on August 15th, 1949 and ending on August 15th, 1952. The recordings, under the supervision of Maxwell Davis, showed a remarkable resemblance to the jump blues hits of Louis Jordan. Not only was Calvin’s singing voice very like that of Jordan (perhaps with the exception of a couple of the slow blues numbers), but the material itself can be described as Jordanesque. It was mostly melodic good humoured jump and jive with “Beal (sic) Street on a Saturday Night” being similar to Jordan’s “Saturday Night Fish Fry” with its description of street life and rambunctious goin’s on – in Memphis in Calvin’s song, as opposed to New Orleans in Jordan’s number. There’s lots of fun for jump blues fans here in spotting the similarities between Calvin’s songs and various Louis Jordan numbers.

As we’ve seen in a previous post, only “Safronia B” had a brief brush with the national R&B chart. However it has stood the test of time and has featured in numerous official and unofficial jive compilations and to this day remains a favourite at jumpin’ record hops. Calvin and his road band were a successful live act, with residencies and appearances in the LA area and several national tours supporting Dinah Washington. Aladdin promoted Calvin’s sides well and even featured his likeness on their record sleeves, but after his final session in August 1952, Calvin faded from the music scene.

Back in the 1980s and early 90s his disappearance from the entertainment world was seen as another aspect of the Calvin Boze mystery. In fact we now know that he took up a career in teaching.

A few years back I posted the Moonshine LP “Havin’ A Ball” and last year I received an email from a former pupil of Mr. Boze. I can’t say how long a gap there was between Calvin Boze’s final recording session in 1952 and the start of his new career as an elementary school teacher. According to our anonymous correspondent he was teaching at George Washington Carver Elementary School in the Willowbrook district of South Los Angeles by 1963.

In a short series of emails our informant has painted a picture of a dedicated and very effective teacher. Mr. Boze was able to guide his young charges through the difficult days in the aftermath of the assassination of JFK. In a lighter moment one Friday afternoon he gave his class a demonstration of how to do “The Mashed Potato” much to their noisy delight. Once a hep cat, always a hep cat.

Sadly Calvin Boze passed away in June 1970 at the comparatively young age of 53.

Further information:

The J.C. Marion website has a page “Remembering Calvin Boze” at this link:

http://home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/cboze.html

The article has interesting information about his live appearances.

“Spyder John” has informed me that issues 9 and 10 (volume 1) of ‘Fessa John Hook’s “Dancing on the Edge Journal” contain a two part article on the origins of “Safronia B.” There is an exploration of the California big band scene of the 1930s as well as info on Marvin Johnson and Calvin Boze. See:

http://www.beachshag.com/

in order to subscribe to “Dancing on the Edge (Explorations in Beach and Shag History)”

There is a brief entry in the Texas State Historical Association online handbook here:

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fboaq

Further listening:

“Calvin Boze: the Complete Recordings, 1945 –52 (Blue Moon BMCD 6014) was issued in 2007 and is still available.

“Marvin Johnson: Jumpy Rhythm Jive, the Complete Recordings, 1946–51 (Blue Moon BMCD 6050) was issued in 2006 and is also still available at mid-price if you look around.

I’ve ordered my copies of the Blue Moon CDs from Amazon.co.uk marketplace. So much for the argument that blogs discourage CD sales.

There are twelve of Calvin Boze’s Aladdin sides on the previously recommended 4 CD collection on JSP “Rare West Coast Jump ‘n’ Jive 1945 – 1954.” Tip - search around for a reasonable price on this set. The people at Amazon.co.uk are doing it for £9.99. Don’t go paying around £20 for it!

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

https://rapidshare.com/files/4248658624/Choo_Choo_s_Bringing_My_Baby_Home.rar

Or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Q27ZD4FK

1. Choo Choo's Bringing My Baby Home (13th January, 1950, Aladdin 3079)

2. My Friend Told Me (23rd October, 1951, Aladdin 3122)

3. Good Time Sue (23rd October, 1951, Aladdin 3132)

4. Stinkin' From Drinkin' (24th July, 1950, Aladdin 3072)

5. Slippin' And Slidin' (15th January, 1951, Aladdin 3086)

6. I Can't Stop Crying (15th January, 1951, Aladdin 3100)

7. Beale Street On A Saturday Night (15th January, 1951, Aladdin 3079)

8. Hey Lawdie, Miss Claudie (23rd October, 1951, Aladdin 3122)

9. Have You Ever Had The Blues (15th August, 1949, Aladdin 3045)

10. Waiting And Drinking (15th August, 1949, Aladdin 3045)

11. Blow Man Blow (15th August, 1952, Aladdin 3147)

12. Safronia B (13th January, 1950, Aladdin 3055)

13. Angel City Blues (13th January, 1950, Aladdin 3055)

14. Baby You're Tops With Me (13th January, 1950, Aladdin 3086)

15. I'm Gonna Steam Off The Stamp (23rd October, 1951, Aladdin 3110)

16. Looped (15th August, 1952, Aladdin 3147)

17. Look Out For Tomorrow Today (24th July, 1950, Aladdin 3072)

18. Fish-Tail (23rd October, 1951, Aladdin 3110)

19. I've Got News For You (24th July, 1950, Aladdin 3100)

With thanks to Joan K and El Enmascarado for label scans. And many thanks to a former pupil for memories of Mr. Boze the teacher.

Let’s listen to “Blow, Man Blow.” Take it away, Calvin!

King R&B All-Stars

2011-09-03T01:01:00.001+01:00

Side One
1. Tell The Truth - The 5 Royales
2. I'll Go Crazy - James Brown & his Famous Flames
3. Driving Sideways - Freddy King
4. Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong - Albert King
5. Over The Rainbow - The Checkers
6. Cherry Wine - Little Esther

Side Two
1. I'm Tore Up - Billy Gayles
2. Goofy Dust Blues - Little Willie Littlefield
3. Tonk Game - Hank Marr
4. It Won't Be This Way Always - The King Pins
5. Teardrops On Your Letter - Hank Ballard & The Midnighters
6. Need Your Love So Bad - Little Willie John

I hope this will be the first in a series of "R&B All-Stars" posts which will present short label based compilations of 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues sides. As I believe in the old adage that "less is more", these compilations will be presented as 12 track LPs complete with front and back covers. The tracks may be few in number but I like to think that "all killer, no filler" is an apt description for these mythical 12 inchers. Every selection is a gem, says I, chosen from well-worn vinyl.

The LP covers will be based on scans of original 78 rpm and 45 rpm record sleeves supplied by Joan K and El Enmascarado. The idea for these covers originated with our photoshopper "Brian with a B" although the covers on this post are by myself, so all complaints should be directed to me!

"King R&B All-Stars" is a mix of mainly mid to late 1950s sides, most of which were originally released on Federal, a subsidiary label of King. Soul fans should be pleased by the impassioned gospel-style pleading on the sides by James Brown, The 5 Royales and The King Pins. Hank Ballard and Little Willie John get deep down in the two classic weepers "Teardrops On Your Letter" and "Need Your Love So Bad" and there's some raunchy blues guitar on the tracks by Freddy King, Albert King and Billy Gayles (with the Ike Turner band).

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WMMHYCU6

or here:

https://rapidshare.com/files/3792344300/King_R_B_All-Stars.rar

Listen to some highlights from "King R&B All-Stars" here:

Bill Haley – Destination Rock and Roll!

2011-08-16T21:23:00.003+01:00

Side One
1. Rocket 88
2. Green Tree Boogie
3. Rock The Joint
4. Rockin' Chair On The Moon
5. Real Rock Drive
6. Crazy Man, Crazy

Side Two
1. Wat'cha Gonna Do
2. Fractured
3. Live It Up
4. Farewell, So Long, Goodbye
5. I'll Be True
6. Chattanooga Choo Choo

With thanks to Joan K for the pics and audio. A couple of years back Joan sent in a whole heap of Bill Haley vinyl rips and label scans. I’ve distilled the material down to this twelve track compilation of his Holiday and Essex sides which I hope shows his importance to the development of early rock and roll. Aside from the history, it’s good entertainment. I just can’t get “I’ll Be True To You” and “Rockin’ Chair On The Moon” out of my head!

These are rips from 1950s vinyl, so there is more than a little surface noise. But what care we, the fans of true rock and roll? But to our tale ...

He was Yodelling Bill Haley back then in the years before he became the first King of Rock and Roll. A country-music crazed kid who lived in Chester, Pennsylvania, about 15 miles from Philadelphia, he worshipped at the altar of Gene Autry the singing cowboy. By the mid 1940s Bill had his own ten gallon hat and the rest of the required cowboy costume as he embarked on a country and western career. His first full time professional gig was as singer and rhythm guitarist with Shorty Cooke’s Down Homers in early 1946. A salary dispute led to Bill and several other group members leaving to form their own four man country combo called the Range Drifters.

It ended in tears a few months later with Bill heading back home to Pennsylvania tired, broke and busted before the summer of ’46 had run its course. It was time for a career change, and Bill heeded the call of the turntable, becoming a radio disk jockey initially in New Hampshire, then Connecticut, and moving ever nearer to Chester, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

When a new station, WPWA, opened in Bill’s home town he landed the job of musical director and instituted a policy of programming “specialist” forms of music such as R&B, Hillbilly, Polka and Jazz. He formed a new musical group called the 4 Aces of Western Swing but once more this turned out to be a short lived band as Bill buckled under the strain of managing a radio station while at the same time playing the honky tonks and bars with the Aces. He disbanded the group and apparently gave up on his dream of being a musician.

The dream was revived in late 1949 when Bill was approached by pedal steel guitarist Billy Williamson and accordionist / pianist Johnny Grande with a view to forming a new group. Bill was persuaded and the three became partners in The Saddlemen. This time round there was a determined effort to succeed, with the band rehearsing every day at the WPWA studio as they worked on developing a danceable sound with a heavier than usual beat (for country music, that is.)

In 1950 bassist Al Rex was brought in as a non-partner salaried member of the Saddlemen. The band did acquire a fourth and final partner, a part-time WPWA announcer, ex-carney and pal of Colonel Tom Parker, one “Lord Jim” Ferguson who became the group's manager. These arrangements would bear bitter fruit a few years down the line. The boys recorded some sides for Atlantic, including a cover of Ruth Brown’s “Teardrops from my Eyes” but the sides remained unreleased.

Local record label owner Dave Miller approached Bill in June 1951 with a view to the Saddlemen recording a cover version of the year’s big R&B hit, “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats who, as followers of Be Bop Wino know, were really Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm with sax player Brenston on vocals and a crazily distorted electric guitar by Willie Kizart buzzing frantically throughout the disc. Of course the whole shebang was just a slightly updated rendition of the 1947 Jimmy Liggins jump blues “Cadillac Boogie” but that is by the by and may distract us from the thread of our tale.

For “Rocket 88” The four Saddlemen were augmented by electric guitarist Bob Scaltrito who provided tasty lead guitar licks over Al Rex’s slap bass, Bill’s rhythm guitar and Billy Williamson’s steel guitar. The resulting opus, complete with automobile sound effects, was released on Miller’s Holiday label and sold well enough locally. Bill’s next stab at R&B wasn’t until April 1952 when the band recorded a cover of fellow Chester PA musician Jimmy Preston’s wild “Rock The Joint.” Although the Saddlemen had released several records on Holiday after “Rocket 88” they were pure country with the more uptempo numbers such as “Green Tree Boogie” and “Sundown Boogie” being in the hillbilly boogie style.

By the time the band came to record “Rock The Joint” Al Rex had left and had been replaced by Marshall Lytle on bass. The recording featured a blistering guitar break by Danny Cedrone who would play on many of the boys’ subsequent recordings. As he was leader of his own group, The Esquire Boys, Danny never became a permanent member of the Saddlemen. “Rock The Joint,” released on another Dave Miller label, Essex, was even more successful than “Rocket 88” and although it failed to chart nationally it sold strongly in several territories in the States.

“Rock The Joint” was the B-side of the disc, the A-side being a Hank Williams rip off called “Icy Heart.” It was the rocker that sold, and this was as strong an indication as Bill could get that the way ahead lay down the road of heavily R&B tinged music rather than country. The next issue on Essex in August 1952, “Dance With A Dolly” b/w “Rockin’ Chair On The Moon” was the group’s last release as the Saddlemen. On their November 1952 release, “Stop Beatin’ Around The Mulberry Bush” b/w “Real Rock Drive,” they were billed as Bill Haley with Haley’s Comets. On these sides session drummer Billy Gussack was brought in as the band’s sound moved further away from country. He would play on most of the subsequent Essex records although he didn’t play with the band on the road.

It all came together on their next release, “Crazy Man, Crazy” which is a strong candidate for the title of the “first rock and roll record.” Well we can argue about that all day, but “Crazy Man, Crazy” with its teen hep talk title and shouted chorus of “Go! Go! Go, Everybody!” is most definitely rock and roll. It reached number 12 in the Billboard pop chart in May / June 1953. “One for the Money, two for the show, three to get ready, and here I go!” shouted Bill on the intro to the B-side, “Wat’cha Gonna Do” which was another good rocker.

The next release on Essex, in July 1953, was a weaker effort with an annoying “nursery rhyme” rocker “Pat-a-Cake” backed with a not-so-good original “Fractured.”

The Comets release in October 1953 was a considerable improvement – “Live It Up” b/w “Farewell, So Long, Goodbye.” On these numbers baritone sax player Tony Lance provided strategic honking blasts. He was also on the December release of a good cover version of the Faye Adams R&B stomper “I’ll Be True To You.” The B-side was another rock and roll nursery rhyme, “Ten Little Indians.” God help us. It was on this record that the band was first billed as Bill Haley and His Comets.

The final release on Essex was in March 1954. It had a so-so version of the old Glenn Miller favourite, “Chattanooga Choo Choo” while the reverse side “Straight Jacket” was notable for having Joey d’Ambrosio on tenor sax as the band chanted the song title in a manner similar to the Big Jay McNeely number “Mule Milk.” Billboard gave it an optimistic review: “The younger set could go for this novelty with its crazy lyric: two words repeated hundreds of times before the end is reached.” They didn’t go for it. The success of “Crazy Man, Crazy” was now but a memory. Something new was needed to revive the band’s chart career. Dave Miller let the Essex contract lapse and major label Decca moved in for the Comets. Would this move return our heroes to the charts? Stay tuned for further posts on Bill Haley and His Comets!

Ripped from ‘50s vinyl at 192 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

https://rapidshare.com/files/2974960937/Destination_Rock_and_Roll.rar

Or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=B02HYAH2

1. Rocket 88
2. Green Tree Boogie
3. Rock The Joint
4. Rockin' Chair On The Moon
5. Real Rock Drive
6. Crazy Man, Crazy
7. Wat'cha Gonna Do
8. Fractured
9. Live It Up
10. Farewell, So Long, Goodbye
11. I'll Be True
12. Chattanooga Choo Choo

Recommended listening:

For Dancers Only (Rev-Ola CR Rev 95). This is probably the most accessible and affordable comp of Bill’s Holiday, Essex and early Decca sides. 25 tracks from “Rocket 88” to “Dim Dim The Lights” with liner notes by Dave Penny. Midprice and easily available in the UK.

From Western Swing to Rock (Properbox 118). 4 CD set charting Bill’s progress from hillbilly yodeller to rock ‘n’ roll star. Includes some Jodimars tracks.

The Real Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll (Bear Family – Rollercoaster). Astonishingly thorough 5 CD exploration of Bill’s early career with all sorts of rarities (including those Atlantic sides.) Also astonishingly expensive. The Rollercoaster label released comps of Bill’s Holiday and Essex sides years before any other reissue company in the UK. Their definitive “Rock The Joint” collection is still available as a 22 track CD.

Recommended Reading:

“Rock Around The Clock: the record that started the rock revolution!” by Jim Dawson. Backbeat Books, 2005. Entertaining and detailed account of Bill’s rise to rock and roll fame. Loads of great background info. Every fan of 50s rock and R&B should have this book.

Chris Gardner’s Bill Haley Database is the web site for all the facts on Bill’s recordings. Where, when and who. The product of years of hard work.

And to complete this post, here’s a selection of Bill Haley EPs released on Essex, probably around 1954. The resemblance to the posted LP cover is of course purely coincidental. Many thanks to Joan for making this post possible.

Swingin' Saxophones

2011-07-31T22:26:00.004+01:00

Side One
1. Cotton Tail - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
2. Flying Home No 2 - Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra
3. Honeysuckle Rose - Ben Webster
4. Blowing The Blues Away - Billy Eckstine & His Orchestra
5. Lunatic - John Hardee
6. IQ Blues - Ike Quebec

Side Two
1. Riffin' At 24th Street - Illinois Jacquet
2. I'm Confessin' - Lester Young
3. The Spider - Joe Morris
4. Long Tall Dexter - Dexter Gordon
5. Hot In Harlem - Tiny Grimes
6. Cole Slaw - Frank Culley

My thanks to the anonymous donor who sent in this comp. It’s a good collection of 1940s tenor sax sides, beginning with some big band swing, and ending with some jazzy R&B combos via detours into boppish small group jazz. However you want to label it, it makes for some mighty fine listening. In fact never mind the label thing, just call it good music.

The sleeve notes are pretty uninformative as you would expect from a bootleg. I’ve looked up the recording details of all the tracks on the LP and listed them at the end of the post. Ben Webster is the soloist on “Cottontail,” Arnett Cobb is on “Flying Home No. 2” and Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons serve up an early example of a tenor sax “chase” on “Blowing The Blues Away.”

On Side Two, Johnny Griffin delivers the most frantic performance of the set on “The Spider” while Red Prysock is the tenor man on “Hot in Harlem.” Ike Quebec’s “I.Q. Blues” on Savoy is really just another version of “Blue Harlem” which he had previously recorded for Blue Note in July 1944. I think I actually prefer the Savoy version for its gorgeous piano break by Johnny Guarnieri. The Blue Note original does have some nice guitar from Tiny Grimes, though.

Listen to “Blue Harlem” and “I.Q. Blues” here:

As for the origins of this comp – there is no label number on the front or back cover, although the back cover does bear the legend “Bop u Rhythm Schallplatten, Saarland.” The sleeve notes are written pseudonymously and claim to date from 1952. I think this is probably a bootleg of a bootleg, or a reissue of an album which originally appeared in the mid to late 1950s on the legendary Bop-Rhythm label. I’m sure that the original release would have had a different front cover from the one which was sent to me. It doesn’t look like a 1950s style cover at all.

Bop-Rhythm was a strictly “underground” label whose issues of jazz, R&B and even some early rock and roll were much coveted by hopheads and beatniks around Europe. Their operation was based in the Saarland which for much of the 1950s was detached from the German Federal Republic and thus provided a haven for a motley group of jazz fanatics and dope fiends who were zealous spreaders of the gospel of groove. They took advantage of the Saarland’s unique status of being beyond the reach of German civil law and set up a record pressing plant from which they distributed all kinds of bopmungous vinyl goodies to adjacent countries. The music was sourced from records provided by American service personnel based in West Germany.

When the Saarland was incorporated into West Germany in 1957, Bop-Rhythm Records was doomed, although they managed to keep going until 1960 when their pressing plant (situated in the basement of a house of ill repute in Fraulautern, Saarlouis) was raided by an Interpol organised task force of police from three different countries – France, Germany and Belgium – plus a contingent of US Military Police. I hope that at the last, the stoned jazzers of Bop-Rhythm went down swinging as the forces of law and order stormed into their HQ.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

https://rapidshare.com/files/1437954524/Swingin__Saxophones.rar

Or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AQGWL54Q

Recording Details:

1. Cotton Tail - Duke Ellington & His Famous Orchestra

Recorded in Hollywood CA, 4th May, 1940. Released on Victor 26610
Personnel: Rex Stewart (cnt) Cootie Williams, Wallace Jones (tp) Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol, Lawrence Brown (tb) Barney Bigard (cl,ts) Johnny Hodges (as,sop) Otto Hardwick (as, bassax) Ben Webster (ts) Harry Carney (bar,as,cl) Duke Ellington (p) Fred Guy (g) Jimmy Blanton (b) Sonny Greer (d )

2. Flying Home No 2 - Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra

Recorded in New York City, 2nd March, 1944. Released on Decca.
Personnel: Cat Anderson, Lamar Wright Jr., Roy McCoy (tp) Joe Morris (tp,arr) Al Hayse, Michael "Booty" Wood, Fred Beckett (tb) Earl Bostic, Gus Evans (as) Al Sears, Arnett Cobb (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Lionel Hampton (vib,p) Milt Buckner (p) Eric Miller (g) Vernon King (b) Fred Radcliffe (d)

3. Honeysuckle Rose – The Ben Webster Quartet

Recorded in New York City, 17th April, 1944. Released on Savoy 506.
Personnel: Ben Webster (ts) Johnny Guarnieri (p) Oscar Pettiford (b) David Booth (d)

4. Blowing The Blues Away - Billy Eckstine & His Orchestra

Recorded in New York City, 5th September, 1944. Released on Audiolab.
Personnel: Dizzy Gillespie, Shorty McConnell, Gail Brockman, Boonie Hazel (tp) Gerald Valentine, Taswell Baird, Howard Scott, Chips Outcalt (tb) John Jackson, Bill Frazier (as) Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons (ts) Leo Parker (bar) John Malachi (p) Connie Wainwright (g) Tommy Potter (b) Art Blakey (d) Billy Eckstine (vcl)

5. Lunatic – The John Hardee Quintet

Recorded in New York City, November, 1947. Released on Savoy 703.
Personnel: Joe Jordan (tp) John Hardee (ts) Billy Kyle (p) John Simmons (b) Cozy Cole (d)

6. I.Q. Blues – The Ike Quebec All Stars

Recorded in New York City, 7th August, 1945. Released on Savoy 570.
Personnel: Ike Quebec (ts) Johnny Guarnieri (p) Bill De Arango (g) Milt Hinton (b) J.C. Heard (d)

7. Riffin' At 24th Street - Illinois Jacquet & His Orchestra

Recorded in New York City, 18th December, 1947. Released on Victor 20-2702.
Personnel: Joe Newman (tp) Russell Jacquet (tp) Jay Jay Johnson (tb) Illinois Jacquet (ts) Leo Parker (bar) Sir Charles Thompson (p) John Collins (g) Al Lucas (b) Shadow Wilson (d)

8. I'm Confessin' - Lester Young & His Band

Recorded in New York City, 2nd April, 1947. Released on Aladdin 212.
Personnel: Shorty McConnell (tp-1) Lester Young (ts) Argonne Thornton (p) Nasir Barakaat (g) Rodney Richardson (b) Lyndell Marshall (d)

9. The Spider - Joe Morris & His Orchestra

Recorded in New York City, 23rd December, 1947. Released on Atlantic 859.
Personnel: Joe Morris (tp) Johnny Griffin (ts) Bill McLemore (bar) Wilmus Reeves (p) George Freeman (g) Emmett Dailey (b) Leroy Jackson (d)

10. Long Tall Dexter – The Dexter Gordon Quintet

Recorded in New York City, 29th January, 1946. Released on Savoy 603.
Personnel: Leonard Hawkins (tp) Dexter Gordon (ts) Bud Powell (p) Curly Russell (b) Max Roach (d)

11. Hot In Harlem – The Tiny Grimes Quintet

Recorded in Cleveland, 1st May, 1948. Released on Atlantic 869.
Personnel: Red Prysock (ts) Jimmy Saunders (p) Tiny Grimes (g) Ike Isaacs (b) Jerry Potter (d)

12. Cole Slaw - Frank “Floorshow” Culley

Recorded in New York City, 17th January, 1949. Released on Atlantic 874.
Personnel: Frank Culley (ts) Harry Van Walls (p) Tiny Grimes (g) unknown b and d.

Safronia B – Calvin Boze and his All-Stars

2011-07-29T16:07:00.000+01:00

Scan courtesy Joan K

Recorded on January 13th, 1950, in Los Angeles. Personnel include Calvin Boze (trumpet and vocal), Maxwell Davis (tenor sax), and possibly Marshall Royal (alto sax), Don Wilkerson (tenor sax) and Willard McDaniel (piano).

Listen to “Safronia B” here:

Released on Aladdin 3055, b/w “Angel City Blues” in May, 1950. In Billboard, 10th June 1950, the record reached number nine in the most played juke box rhythm & blues records chart. It failed to appear in the record sales chart. By the following week “Safronia B” had dropped out of the juke box chart. This was in fact the only chart appearance by any Calvin Boze recording.

Scan courtesy Joan K

Nevertheless, it’s a fine catchy jump blues which has stood the test of time. It was included in two of the best CD compilations of Aladdin material: “The Aladdin Records Story” and “Jumpin’ Like Mad – Cool Cats & Hip Chicks.” It also appeared on the two vinyl Calvin Boze collections – “Havin’ A Ball” and “Choo Choo’s Bringing My Baby Home.”

2 CD comp presented as a mini-78 rpm album

Well worn copy of classic 2CD set compiled by Billy Vera

However, this wasn’t the first version of “Safronia B” recorded by Calvin. In 1946 he sang on “Saffronia Bee” with the Marvin Johnson Orchestra on the small G&G label. He was billed as “Calvin Boaz” on the disc. The song itself is in some ways a throwback to the swing era with phrases like “I’se a muggin’” and “Shoot the liquor to me John boy,” both of which refer to 1930’s hits. The 1950 Aladdin version is very much a Louis Jordan style jump blues with a romping backing arranged by Maxwell Davis who manages to get a sly quote from “Buttons and Bows” into his sax break.

Aladdin's big seller - Amos Milburn gets promotion in Billboard, June 1950

For decades Calvin Boze remained a somewhat mysterious figure to fans of jump blues, with the date and place of his birth being unknown and his musical career suddenly stopping in 1952. A lot more is now known about his background and you’ll be able to catch up on more about Calvin in a soon-to-appear post. Stay tuned!

So what else was happening in the R&B charts in June, 1950? “Safronia B” may have had only the most fleeting appearance amongst the platters that mattered back then, but I’ve compiled a little playlist based on the real “stayers” in the R&B charts that month.

First up is the top selling R&B record of 1950 – “Pink Champagne” by Joe Liggins on Specialty Records. Easily the top selling R&B act of the year was the Johnny Otis Revue on Savoy, thanks to his sensational female vocalist Little Esther. Three of her smashes are in the June playlist – “Double Crossing Blues,” on which she was accompanied by The Robins, and “Cupid’s Boogie” and “Mistrustin’ Blues,” both of which were duets with Mel Walker.

Scan courtesy Joan K

There was more hot jump action from Tiny Bradshaw on King with “Well Oh Well” and two classic blues tracks also sold very well at this time – Lowell Fulson (with the Lloyd Glenn band) on Swing Time with “Every Day I Have The Blues” and Roy Brown’s “Hard Luck Blues” on De Luxe which crashed straight into the charts at number six towards the end of the month. Of interest to those of us who like jazz flavoured R&B is an advert in Billboard from June 1950 in which Prestige Records attempt to market jazz sides as rhythm and blues. Among the discs billed as “America’s newest - hottest rhythm - blues records” are sides by James Moody, Stan Getz, Sonny Stitt, Gene Ammons and Wardell Gray.

Anyway whether you’re an R&B fan or a jazzer, or preferably both at the same time, here’s the playlist for June 1950. Keep checking back for more on Calvin Boze!

I Ain't Mad At You - Update

2011-07-24T22:28:00.002+01:00

Buddy Johnson - originator of "I Ain't Mad At You?"

Back in March of this year I posted a short 4 track playlist based around the songs "I Ain't Mad At You" and "I Ain't Mad At You Pretty Baby." It kicked off with the 1945 Gatemouth Moore release on National - "I Ain't Mad At You Pretty Baby," and continued with "Jesse Price's "I Ain't Mad At You," released on Capitol in 1946. This track generated a cover version by Count Basie which had a scat style vocal by Taps Miller. The playlist was rounded off by a wild version by the Jones Boys which was recorded for Gotham in the early 1950s but was unreleased at the time.

Move over Buddy Love, here comes Gatemouth!

Comments with more info were kindly sent in by davep369. The Gatemouth Moore track which is from the Savoy Jazz 2LP set "The Shouters" was in fact an alternate take to the released version. There was also a later version by former Cootie Williams Orchestra trumpeter and vocalist Bob Merrill (actual surname Merrell). This version was recorded in New York in 1960 or 1961 and was issued on the Bargain label by Bobby "Mr Blues" Merrell. It's a rough and rowdy piece of rock 'n' roll which I've added to the end of the playlist.

And now davep369 has pointed out a version which was recorded 3 years before the Gatemouth Moore recording. On January 26th 1942, the Buddy Johnson Orchestra recorded "I Ain't Mad With You," with a vocal by trumpeter Chester Boone. It's an obvious influence on Gatemouth's song, but he has added his own lyrics which explore the subject of a two timin' dame in much more depth than the one verse sung by Chester Boone could possibly do.

I found the Buddy Johnson version which was originally released on Decca 8640, lurking deep down in my hard disk, so now it kicks off the extended playlist. Also to note - Gatemouth Moore first recorded "I Ain't Mad At You Pretty Baby" for the small Kansas City label Gilmore's Chez Paree early in 1945. The Jesse Price song differs significantly from Gatemouth's exasperated litany of accusations against the object of his affections. Price's "I Ain't Mad At You" is a gentle, almost wistful plea for his woman to come back. I prefer the Jesse Price approach, sentimentalist that I am.

Here is the extended six track playlist:

You can read the original "I Ain't Mad At You" post here.

You can read more about Bob Merrill and download some of his work with Cootie Williams on the post "Typhoon."

With thanks to davep369.

Rock The Joint!

2011-07-18T16:17:00.004+01:00

Jimmy Preston - Wild Man of Rock 'n' Roll

It’s time for another Be Bop Wino playlist post. The tracks listed below are for your listening pleasure only. Downloading is not available. As you can see from the length of the post below the playlist widget, I kind of got carried away by the exuberance of my own verbosity ….

It was a wild and raucous jump blues recorded in May 1949 by Jimmy Preston and his Prestonians. It was covered by Bill Haley and the Saddlemen in 1952, and thus became a milestone in the development of rock and roll. That’s what most fans of R&B and early rock and roll know about “Rock The Joint.” But there’s much more to the story of this record than that short summary.

Our playlist starts with three records which influenced “Rock The Joint.” They were recorded within a few days of each other at three widely separate locations. There’s also the first cover version by a white band, which preceded the Bill Haley version, and that brings us to a whole music and dance scene which was a conduit for white kids picking up on R&B but which is rarely mentioned in histories of rock and roll, at least not the ones I’ve read.

Let us go back to December 1947, a year and a half before Jimmy Preston recorded “Rock The Joint.” With the second American Federation of Musicians recording ban due to start on the first of January 1948, the final weeks of 1947 saw frantic recording activity by diskeries all across the U.S. of A. On December 18th, in Detroit, the Wild Bill Moore Sextette laid down the primitive honker “We’re Gonna Rock” for Savoy Records. Underpinned by the boogie piano of T.J. Fowler, beefy baritone sax blasts from Paul Williams, and a band chant of “We’re gonna rock, we’re gonna roll,” Wild Bill’s down in the alley tenor sax growled and squealed high, wide and handsome over the whole glorious shootin’ match.

On December 23rd, in Los Angeles, the little known Nelson Alexander Trio recorded “Rock That Voot” for Specialty Records. They were a standard piano, guitar and bass group of the kind which became popular in the wake of the success of the King Cole Trio. This driving little number is structurally close to “Rock the Joint,” although in spirit it remains closer to the jive groups of the late 1930s and early 1940s with its unison vocal chorus of “I wanna rock that voot, baby all night long!” The lyrics are racy, to say the least, as it’s pretty clear that the singer’s intense desire to “rock that voot” can mean only one thing, and it doesn’t involve listening to a Slim Gaillard record. The Trio’s members were Edgar Rice (guitar), William Regan (bass) and Nelson Alexander (piano).

Dig those ties! The Nelson Alexander Trio

The King Record label’s new signing Wynonie Harris was busy recording in December 1947. On the 13th and 16th of the month he was in a studio in New York and on 23rd December he was recording in King’s home city of Cincinnati, backed by a group of top notch musicians led by Oran “Hot Lips” Page. On the 28th December he was back in the Cincinnati studio with much the same set of musicians for a session which would yield two big R&B hits – “Lollipop Mama” and “Good Rockin’ Tonight.” It is of course the latter recording which concerns us in our eternal quest for the true origins of rock and roll.

Wynonie’s “Good Rockin’ Tonight” was a cover of the more sedate original version by the composer of the song, Roy Brown. The Harris version had a squawking sax solo by Hal Singer and a heavier beat reinforced by gospel style handclapping, a feature which would also be used by Jimmy Preston on “Rock The Joint.” The lyrics included mention of the more temporal interests of Deacon Jones and Elder Brown whose boozy misadventures had been the subject of Wynonie’s first hit “Who Threw The Whiskey In The Well,” a few years back.

Of those three “rockers” recorded in the dying days of 1947, it was “Good Rockin’ Tonight” which was released first, in February 1948. It was easily the most successful of the three records, reaching number one in the R&B chart. “Rock That Voot” was the next to be released, in April 1948, but the record buying public remained indifferent to its charms. Wild Bill Moore’s “We’re Gonna Rock” was released in June 1948 (on Savoy 666 – proof that the Devil was at work), climbing to number 14 in the R&B charts.

Billboard, June 1948

From the same edition of Billboard - Nelson Alexander not getting much of a push from his label

Still June, 1948 - Mr Blues rules race retail sales chart

Of the three discs, it is “Good Rockin’ Tonight” which remains the best known, being generally credited with starting the “rocking R&B” trend which gradually transformed jump blues into something rather different from its small group jazz origins. Of course the Elvis Presley cover version has ensured that the song is still widely known today, although how many latter day rockabilly fans are aware that Link Davis covered it on Goldband years before Elvis walked into the Sun studio?

We now find ourselves in a recording studio in Philadelphia in May 1949, where jump band leader, alto sax man, and vocalist Jimmy Preston is about to record “Rock The Joint” for Gotham Records. Preston was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Philadelphia. His band, the Prestonians, had started recording for Gotham in 1948.

At their second session for the label in early 1949, the band had recorded “Hucklebuck Daddy,” a fast and rowdy jump blues with shouted band vocals, moronically honking sax and a subtle chorus of “She said: ride, Jimmy, ride!” In this opus “Hucklebuck” was very plainly not a dance, but something much more intimate and energetic. By the end of April the record had reached number 6 in the Billboard Race Record chart but by early May it had already fallen back to number 13.

A follow up in the same vein was obviously called for and Gotham A&R man Doc Bagby brought along “Rock The Joint,” a song he had co-written with his band assistant Wendell Keane and his band singer Harry Crafton. He also brought along instrumental reinforcement in the shape of tenor sax player Danny Turner.

The resulting performance was even more frantic than “Hucklebuck Daddy,” but without the single entendre lyrics. “Rock the Joint” was a clarion call to have a whale of a time with its pounding beat, squealing saxophones and drunken yelling. It sounded like a small riot (not many injured) was taking place in the studio. The disc achieved the same success as "Hucklebuck Daddy,” peaking at number 6 in Billboard’s renamed Rhythm and Blues chart.

On September 22nd, 1949, Columbia Records recorded a cover version by another Philadelphia jump band, Chris Powell and the Five Blue Flames. “Combo pitches a mad ball in the “Good Rockin’ school. Gangbuster tenor, handclapping, unison chanting and a live beat add to a solid side,” noted Billboard in its issue on the 12th November, 1949. Danny Turner was on this version too, blowing alto sax with the Blue Flames, but perhaps the outstanding feature of this version is the superb playing of Eddie Lambert on electric guitar.

On September 29th, 1949, way down in Dallas, Texas, the original good rockin’ man, Roy Brown, was in the studio with his Mighty-Mighty Men recording the wildly blasting “Boogie At Midnight” which was very much in the “Rock The Joint” mould. “Well, you wanna get drunk, you got a good point, let’s get together, gonna rock this joint,” howled Roy over the unholy sax shrieks of that mightiest of the Mighty-Mighty Men, the great Johnny Fontennette. Released in November 1949 on the DeLuxe label, this apocalyptic rocker, along with “Hard Luck Blues” and “Love Don’t Love Nobody” helped Roy to become the fourth top selling R&B artist of 1950.

Good Rockin' Roy Brown

And that appeared to be that, until 1952, when a country singer called Bill Haley, who happened to live and work in Jimmy Preston’s hometown of Chester, covered “Rock The Joint” and more or less invented rock and roll, or so the story used to go. But Bill Haley and the Saddlemen weren’t the first white musicians to cover the Jimmy Preston record. The previous year a version appeared on the tiny BSD label out of Auburn, New York, performed by Jimmy Cavallo and his band.

Unlike the Bill Haley version, this was a straight rhythm and blues performance with no trace of country or pop. Jimmy Cavallo had been singing and playing R&B tenor sax since 1946, at which time Bill Haley was recording with The Downhomers, prior to recording with The Four Aces of Western Swing and (in 1950) forming The Saddlemen.

Born in Syracuse, New York, Jimmy started playing alto sax in his school band but soon shifted to tenor sax. He started listening to what were then called “race” records by Louis Jordan and other jump bands. In 1946 naval service took him to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he not only furthered his jump blues education by hanging around black clubs, he also formed his own R&B band. Meanwhile on the Carolina coast white kids were turning on to R&B in a big way as juke box owners in the white patronised resorts started to stock their machines with jump blues 78s.

This was the kind of music that was ideal for shagging to. For the benefit of UK readers, “shag” in this context refers to a form of swing dancing which had been developing in the Carolinas since the late 1920s. I hope that clears up any unfortunate misunderstandings. Soon artists such as Paul Williams, Paul Gayten and Earl Bostic were playing the resorts. Jimmy Cavallo’s band spent the summers of ’47, ’48 and ’49 playing their brand of R&B to an ever increasing following at resorts such as Carolina Beach, Ocean Drive and Myrtle Beach.

At the end of the 1949 summer season Jimmy disbanded his group, returned to his hometown of Syracuse, recruited a new band and started playing dates at his uncle’s club where he gradually weaned the audience over to R&B. In 1950 the band took their rockin’ music to the nearby lakeside resort of Sylvan Beach where once more they built up a big following. In 1951 they recorded a session for the small BSD label of Auburn, New York. Owned by Angelo Pergolito, the recording studio was the basement of his house and the distribution was strictly local.

Scan courtey Joan K

Scan courtesy Joan K

At the recording session, the precise date of which remains uncertain, Diz Utley, the tenor sax player from Jimmy’s Carolina band was brought in to beef up the sound. Two singles were released – “Ha Ha Ha Blues” / “I Got Eyes For You” and “Rock The Joint” / “Leave Married Women Alone.” As you can hear from the playlist above, this version of “Rock The Joint” packs quite a wallop. It starts with Jimmy declaiming: “Well, rock-a-bye baby in the tree top, don’t need no wind for Mr. Blues to rock!” Of course he borrowed that from the intro to “Rock Mr. Blues” by Wynonie Harris. There’s nothing like nailing your colours to the mast right from the off. Then we’re into a suitably rockin’ rendition of the Jimmy Preston hit.

And now we enter the realms of “what if.” For instance, “what if a bigger label had picked up on the disc and given it national distribution?” Or alternatively “what if Jimmy had recorded more discs like this and that elusive bigger label had picked up on them?” Would Jimmy Cavallo have gone down in history as the founder of rock and roll instead of Bill Haley or Elvis Presley? Would rock and roll have broken big in 1952 instead of 1955?

It wasn’t to be. Jimmy didn’t record again until 1956 by which time rock and roll was already well on its way to becoming a world wide phenomenon. At least he had a few years in the sun. By this time he was fronting sax player Joe Morelli’s band, but they were billed as Jimmy Cavallo and the House Rockers. They auditioned for Alan Freed who was impressed enough to take them under his wing.

Jimmy "Cavello" in "Rock, Rock, Rock."

Twin sax threat - Jimmy with Joe Morelli in "Rock, Rock, Rock."

The association with Freed brought a recording contract with Coral, appearances in two Freed produced films – “Rock, Rock, Rock!” and “Go, Johnny, Go,” regular spots in Freed’s live rock and roll stage shows and a footnote in history as the first white rock and roll band to play the famed Apollo Theater. Unfortunately Freed got Jimmy’s surname wrong and they were now Jimmy Cavello and the House Rockers. Such is the price of stardom.

But let us roll back the years to the spring of 1952 and once more we find ourselves in the vicinity of Philadelphia: Chester, Pennsylvania, Jimmy Preston’s home town. There in the studio of radio station WPWA we find station musical director and would-be country and western star Bill Haley who leads a small band with a suitably cowboyish name – The Saddlemen. They’re recording a cover of “Rock the Joint” for release on small local label Essex.

Although steeped in country music, Bill was open to other musical influences. “Rock The Joint” was in fact the third R&B cover recorded by The Saddlemen. In 1950 they covered Ruth Brown’s “Teardrops From My Eyes” for Atlantic but it remained unissued. In the spring of 1951 they covered Jackie Brenston’s “Rocket 88” for Holiday, the predecessor of Essex. Both of these recordings were heavily countrified versions of the R&B originals. It was a common practise of the time for record labels to issue country versions of R&B songs and vice versa, and what Bill Haley and the Saddlemen were recording wasn’t particularly innovative.

Scan courtesy Joan K

Their version of “Rock the Joint” was another example of an R&B original being countrified. Billy Williamson’s steel guitar plays throughout and there’s solo space for him too. The lyrics had been bowdlerised, with booze references dropped and the Jelly Roll, the Hucklebuck and the Jitterbug being replaced by country dances like the Sugarfoot Rag, the Paul Jones and the Virginia Reel. But what this version does have is a brilliant guitar solo by Danny Cedrone which he reproduced note for note two years later on “Rock Around The Clock.”

“Rock The Joint” sold pretty well, at least well enough to convince Bill and the boys that R&B could be a fruitful direction for the band to take. Before the year was out they were no longer Bill Haley and the Saddlemen, but instead they were now Bill Haley and Haley’s Comets. Their music moved towards rhythm and blues with the addition of a drummer and later a sax player. In an upcoming post we’ll be taking a closer look at Bill’s musical transformation from country to rock and roll.

In July 1952 R&B band the Jackson Brothers Orchestra recorded five tracks for RCA Victor. Two of them were real belters– “There’s No Other Way” (Vic 20-5446) and “We’re Gonna Rock This Joint” (Vic 20-5004). The latter was reviewed in the November 1st, 1952 edition of Billboard: “One of the best sides from the label recently. It’s a joint-busting item that really rolls. Billy Henderson, showing a lot of presence, adds a screaming vocal. Should pull a lot of coin into boxes.”

“We’re Gonna Rock This Joint” although obviously influenced by Jimmy Preston’s “Rock The Joint” was a sufficiently different song to allow composer credits to be given to Wilfred Jackson. It resembles a sort of hybrid between “Good Rockin’ Tonight” and “Rock The Joint.” It was the powerhouse vocals of Billy Henderson which really lifted both “There’s No Other Way” and “We’re Gonna Rock the Joint” above the rest of the rockin’ R&B sides which were coming out at this time. Unfortunately for the Jackson Brothers Orchestra it all came to an untimely end when Billy Henderson was arrested in a show stopping onstage drugs bust. You can’t get more rock and roll than that.

And what of the rest of our rock and roll pioneers? Wild Bill Moore’s solo recording career was somewhat sporadic. His biggest hit was “Bubbles” on Savoy in 1948. He recorded good R&B sides for Regal and King in the 1950s and a couple of jazz LPs for Prestige in the early 1960s. He then went on to become a successful session musician with Motown. Of Nelson Alexander I know nothing of whence he came and whither he went. Doubtless the trio are still bashing out their jive novelties in the celestial cocktail lounge.

Wynonie Harris was a blues superstar in the early 1950s with a series of R&B hits on King. By the mid 50s it was all over, the hits dried up, the money vanished and he was all but forgotten when he died in Los Angeles in 1969. Drummer / vocalist Chris Powell continued to record for Columbia and its subsidiary Okeh until 1952. He then recorded for Philadelphia label Grand and thereafter for Groove until 1956. And then he was gone.

Bill Haley became a global superstar. His “Rock Around The Clock” is the top selling rock and roll disc of all time. But fame and money and reputation are transitory and wilder and more youthful rock and roll acts pushed him aside. Although the hits soon petered out (his last Billboard Top Twenty placing was in 1956) he remained a big name, especially in the UK. He was served poorly by many rock and roll histories but on this side of the pond anyone dissing Bill ran the risk of being stomped on by a six foot tall razor scarred former Teddy Boy. When he died in 1981 it was in the saddest of circumstances, wracked by the effects of a brain tumour and alcoholism. He deserved much better.

Jimmy Cavallo got it right. Today he enjoys a reputation as a founder of rock and roll thanks to his 1951 recordings. He enjoyed a few years in the big time in the second half of the 1950s and thereafter remained none too bothered by what might have been. He’s still rocking, having been “rediscovered” by new generations of R&B and R&R fans.

Jimmy Preston? His biggest hit was a 1950 cover on the Derby label of Louis Prima’s “Oh Babe.” In a Joe Lutcher style moment of clarity or madness, depending upon your point of view, he gave up music in 1952, having decided to go about the Lord’s work. He died in Philadelphia in 1984.

Digging deeper:

Listening Pleasures:

Wild Bill Moore: The Complete Recordings Volume 1 1945-1948 (Blue Moon BMCD 6042)

Specialty Legends of Boogie-Woogie (Ace CDCHD 422) – this Billy Vera comp has The Nelson Alexander Trio’s “Rock That Voot.”

The Black and White Roots of Rock ‘n’ Roll (Indigo IGODCD 2549) – a 2CD compilation by Dave Penny which looks at the interaction between mostly country and R&B in the years leading up to rock and roll. It includes the Jimmy Preston and Bill Haley versions of “Rock The Joint” as well as more Haley-esque originals and covers (it worked both ways) of “Rocket 88,” “Crazy Man Crazy,” and “Thirteen Women and One Man.” There's a host of other hepcats and hillbillies on board including Wynonie Harris, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Hank Williams, Ruth Brown, The Clovers, Moon Mullican, etc.

Rare Rock’N’Roll Rampage (Properbox 146) is a 4CD collection of the music that the late Charlie Gillett labelled “Northern Band Rock and Roll.” It has 3 of Jimmy Cavallo’s early 50s BSD sides as well as a selection of his Coral sides. Other featured artists include Freddie Bell & The Bellboys (including his version of “Hound Dog” which Elvis, er, borrowed), Dave Appell & The Applejacks, The Treniers, Eddie Fontaine, Boyd Bennett & The Rockets, Danny & The Juniors, Jimmy Daley & The Ding-A-Lings, etc. Sleevenotes by Adam Komorowski.

Reading Pleasures:

Jim Dawson and Steve Propes – What Was The First Rock’N’Roll Record? (Faber and Faber, 1992) is the bible of every fan of early rock and roll. It tells the stories behind 50 R&B, Jazz, Country and Pop records of the 1940s and 1950s which might be candidates for that elusive title. And the winner? Well the pleasure is in the journey rather than the arrival. There’s no Jimmy Cavallo, though.

‘Fessa John Hook – Shagging in the Carolinas. (Arcadia Publishing, 2005) A pictorial history of the music and dance scene of the Carolina beach resorts. That’s the Jimmy Cavallo band playing in the background on the front cover picture. It’s available at a very reasonable price from amazon.co.uk. John Hook has a website at http://www.beachshag.com/ which includes a link to his subscription journal “Dancing On The Edge.” In downloadable pdf format, the journal has articles based on interviews with dancers and musicians who made up what was to become known from the late 60s onwards as Beach Music. There is much to interest fans of 40s and 50s R&B and early rock and roll.

Morgan Wright’s http://www.hoyhoy.com/ website is the place to find out about the rise of rockin’ R&B. It has fascinating articles on the artists and records which were so important to the development of rock and roll. There is an article on Jimmy Cavallo based on an interview with the great man himself.

Chris Gardner’s Bill Haley Database is the ultimate point of info on the recordings of Bill Haley. Every recording he ever made, both as sideman and bandleader. An epic piece of work.

My thanks to Joan K for the scans and sound files of records by Jimmy Cavallo and Bill Haley. And finally my thanks to spyder john for educating me on the Beach Music scene and providing links to further information on this aspect of the history of rock and roll.

I solemnly swear on my copy of Arnold Shaw’s “Honkers and Shouters” and my ancient Savoy 2LP set of “Honkers and Screamers” that this is the last blog post of such a length that I will ever post. From now on, more music and less words.

One-Nighter Boogie - Illinois Jacquet

2011-07-02T00:04:00.000+01:00

Once more El Enmascarado sweats blood to bring us a rip from one of his collection of 78 rpm discs. And as if that weren't enough, he has also made a "mash up" video using public domain footage from the Internet Archive to provide atmospheric visuals for the cool sound of "One-Nighter Boogie" by Illinois Jacquet.

"One Nighter-Boogie" was recorded in New York on the 24th May 1951. The band consisted of: Illinois Jacquet (tenor sax); Hank Jones (piano); John Collins (guitar); Gene Ramey (bass); Art Blakey (drums). It was released on Mercury as the B-side of "Port of Rico" which was an R&B chart hit in 1952.

It's a cool, insistent little instro from a year when there were several big instrumental hits including Jimmy Forrest's "Night Train," Earl Bostic's "Flamingo" and Sonny Thompson's "Mellow Blues (1 & 2)." At this time Illinois was recording and performing with a large group, but at this session he opted for a stripped back lineup which in my opinion provides a better backing for his tenor sax. I first came across "One-Nighter Boogie" on the LP "Groovin with Jacquet" and I have also included a vinyl rip from that album, so that you can enjoy both the shellac and the vinyl experience (via mp3, though).

Listen to both versions here:

So that you can appreciate the work that El Enmascarado puts into producing listenable rips, here's a photo of the disc, which as you can see is in pretty poor condition and therefore required a considerable amount of TLC via Audacity in order to render the mp3 rip listenable.

And last, but far from least, here is El Enmascarado's video mash up which incorporates footage from the 1948 cheapo exploitation movie "Killer Diller." The band is the Andy Kirk Orchestra which was at that time on the verge of breaking up. The sax players out front with bandleader Kirk are Ray Abrams and Shirley Green. You can see the full movie (which also includes the King Cole Trio) at http://www.archive.org/details/killer_diller

And here's the "One-Nighter Boogie" video:

Detour Records

2011-06-26T21:47:00.045+01:00

Some time ago I posted a couple of LPs from the UK Detour Records reissue label – “Groove Jumping!” and “The Best of Doo Wop Classics Volume 2.” The “Groove Jumping!” post kicked off speculation among blog followers concerning the identity of other Detour releases, with The Hound reminding us of the follow up to “Groove Jumping!” and a couple of 45 rpm issues, dbtb weighing in with the info that volume 1 of “The Best of Doo Wop Classics” was a Du-Droppers LP and most recently Grant informing us that there was a Champion Jack Dupree LP on Detour.

Recently I came across an obituary for mastering engineer and founder of Detour Records, Bob Jones, in the June 2009 issue of Blues & Rhythm magazine. Written by Tony Burke, it includes a list of releases on Bob’s Detour label and I have taken the liberty of extracting the list from the very informative article.

"Boppin'" Bob Jones worked initially for Decca, then later for Pye where he was involved in re-mastering tapes for specialist reissue labels. For many years he was involved with Ace and also worked on Bear Family reissues. In the early 1980s he set up his own reissue label, Detour, releasing a limited number of LPs and singles which were distinguished by superb sound quality. Most of the material consisted of R&B and Hillbilly / Rockabilly from Groove and RCA, with issues being concentrated in two time periods, 1982-83 and 1987-89.

Juke Blues No. 11 Winter 1987/88

Ten LPs were issued:
In 1982 – “Ballroom King” by Pee Wee King. In 1983 – “Skeeter Davis Sings Buddy Holly,” and “Groove Jumping!” In 1987 – “Just Keep A-Movin’” by Hank Snow, “More Ballroom Kings” (a Hillbilly compilation), “Still Groove Jumping!” and the Champion Jack Dupree set “Shake Baby Shake.” In 1989 – “Hillbilly Hound Dawgs And Honky Tonk Angels,” “The Best Of Doo Wop Classics Volume 1 featuring The Du-Droppers (Bambalam!)” and “The Best of Doo Wop Classics Volume 2 featuring The 5 Keys and The Nitecaps.”

I have a vague memory that a Piano Red LP was in the pipeline, but it seems to have never been released.

Blues & Rhythm No. 38 August 1988

There were also some 45 rpm singles:

Cecil McCullough And The Border Boys - “Pick ‘Em Up And Shake ‘Em Up” / “Nothing Else,” Laura Lee Perkins - “Gonna Rock My Baby Tonight” / “Come On Baby,” Clarence Garlow - “Route 90” / “Crawfishin’” and Benny Barnes – “You Gotta Pay” backed with Les Cole – “Be Boppin’ Daddy.”

The Clarence Garlow single was a reissue of a Flair disc from 1953. Both sides were also on the early Ace (UK) LP “Texas Rhythm & Blues.”

Here’s a playlist in streaming audio of some of the fine music released on Detour. For your listening but not downloading pleasure.

Sources:

Tony Burke – Bob Jones obituary, Blues & Rhythm Magazine number 240, June 2009.

“Jump Man Jump” and “Midnight Hours” were downloaded from a posting of the "Still Groove Jumping!" LP on the cool “Twilightzone!” blog.

The Clarence Garlow tracks are from the Ace LP "Texas Rhythm & Blues." Both are now available on the Ace CD "Long Gone Daddies," a top notch comp of R&B and Rockabilly from the Bihari group of labels.

Juke Blues No. 12 Spring 1988

T-Bone Walker - T-Bone Walker Sings The Blues

2011-06-15T23:33:00.003+01:00

It's not my name written on the cover - I bought the LP 2nd hand many years ago!

Side 1:
1. Strollin' With Bone
2. You Don't Love Me
3. You Don't Understand
4. Say! Pretty Baby (Welcome Blues)
5. Tell Me What's The Reason
6. Blue Mood
7. Railroad Station Blues

Side 2:
1. The Sun Went Down
2. The Hustle Is On
3. Evil Hearted Woman
4. Cold Cold Feeling
5. I Got The Blues Again
6. Blues Is A Woman
7. Get These Blues Off Me

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

https://rapidshare.com/files/2540860470/T-Bone_Walker_Sings_The_Blues.rar

Or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Y614W346

After his successful spell with Black and White Records, T-Bone Walker’s next recording contract was with Imperial Records for whom he recorded between April 1950 and June 1954. This 1983 Pathe Marconi release of an LP originally released by Imperial in 1960 (with 12 tracks only) finds T-Bone at the very top of his game. The April 1950 session used his road band, that of Big Jim Wynn, as backing musicians.

With Eddie Davis on tenor sax and Big Jim Wynn on baritone sax, from the very first session T-Bone’s Imperial sides delivered a far greater punch than his Black and White recordings of 1946 – 1947. The rollicking opening instrumental “Strollin’ With Bone” sets the tone and then it’s straight into the blues with “You Don’t Love Me.” Try listening to this LP with your media player on cross fade and hoo boy are you in for one hell of a musical treat.

Subsequent Los Angeles sessions through to March 1952 used musicians from Big Jim Wynn’s band mixed with former T-Bone cohorts such as Willard McDaniel, Billy Hadnott and Oscar Lee Bradley, with Maxwell Davis coming in on tenor sax. In March 1952 T-Bone’s nephew R.S. Rankin came in on second guitar. The Imperial label had established a strong New Orleans connection in 1949 – 1950, most notably with Fats Domino and Smiley Lewis, and in March 1953 T-Bone travelled to the Crescent City to record with the top local session men such as Lee Allen and Herb Hardesty. This LP features one side from those sessions – “Railroad Station Blues.”

There were further recordings with the New Orleans gang through to November 1953. Meanwhile in October 1953 T-Bone recorded in Detroit with the T.J. Fowler band which also backed him in his final recordings for Imperial in June 1954.

So download, sit back and savour R&B at its best with these great, great recordings which are probably the last sides T-Bone recorded with the rhythm and blues market in mind. Ill health brought a temporary hiatus to T-Bone’s recording career. In 1955 through to 1957 he recorded intermittently for Atlantic. Most of the sides made their first appearance on the LP “T-Bone Blues.” T-Bone’s career picked up in the 60’s when he became part of the blues revival. His subsequent recordings were all for the LP market, his final sides being recorded in 1973. He died in March 1975 at the comparatively young age of 64.

1. Strollin' With Bone
2. You Don't Love Me
3. You Don't Understand
4. Say! Pretty Baby (Welcome Blues)
5. Tell Me What's The Reason
6. Blue Mood
7. Railroad Station Blues
8. The Sun Went Down
9. The Hustle Is On
10. Evil Hearted Woman
11. Cold Cold Feeling
12. I Got The Blues Again
13. Blues Is A Woman
14. Get These Blues Off Me

All sides recorded in Los Angeles, 1950 – 1952, except “Railroad Station Blues.” T-Bone Walker, guitar, vocal on all tracks with:

April 1950 sessions personnel:

Eddie Hutcherson (tp); Edward Hale (as); Eddie Davis (ts); Big Jim Wynn (ts and bs); Zell Kindred (p); Buddy Woodson (b); Robert “Snake” Sims (d):

“Strollin’ With Bone,” “The Sun Went Down,” “You Don’t Love Me,” were recorded on April 5th, 1950. “Travelin’ Blues” and “Evil Hearted Woman” were recorded on April 6th, 1950.

August 1951 sessions personnel:

Unidentified (tp); Edward Hale (as); Maxwell Davis (ts); Willard McDaniel (p); Billy Hadnott (b); Oscar Lee Bradley (d):

“You Don’t Understand” and “Welcome Blues” (aka “Say Pretty Baby) were recorded on August 15th, 1951. “Tell Me What’s The Reason” was recorded on August 20th, 1951.

March 1952 sessions personnel:

Unidentified (tp); Edward Hale (as); Maxwell Davis (ts); possibly Big Jim Wynn (bs); Willard McDaniel or Zell Kindred (p); Buddy Woodson (b); R.S. Rankin (g); Oscar Lee Bradley or Robert “Snake” Sims (d):

“Cold, Cold Feeling,” “Get These Blues Off Me,” “I Got The Blues Again,” “Blues Is a Woman,” and “Blue Mood” were recorded in March, 1952 (exact date unknown.)

The March 1953 session was recorded in New Orleans. Personnel:

Dave Bartholomew (t); Wendell Duconge (as); Lee Allen (ts); Herb Hardesty (bs); Walter Nelson (g); Frank Fields (b); Cornelius Coleman (d); unidentified (p) Baby Davis or Tiny Brown (vocal):

“Railroad Station Blues” was recorded on March 20th, 1953 in New Orleans.

Sources: Pete Welding – liner notes to “The Complete Imperial Recordings, 1950 – 1954."

Recommended purchase:

“T-Bone Walker – The Complete Imperial Recordings, 1950-1954” is a double CD set issued in 1991 in the EMI Blues Series. Compiled by Pete Welding. 52 brilliant tracks.

T-Bone Walker - T-Bone Jumps Again

2011-06-05T01:53:00.001+01:00

Side 1
1. Hypin' Woman Blues
2. Too Much Trouble Blues
3. I Got A Break Baby
4. Mean Old World
5. Bobby Sox Blues
6. I Know Your Wig Is Gone
7. T-Bone Jumps Again
8. Call It Stormy Monday

Side 2
1. You're My Best Poker Hand
2. First Love Blues
3. She's My Old Time Used To Be
4. On Your Way Blues
5. I Wish You Were Mine
6. Wise Man Blues
7. Born To Be No Good
8. T-Bone Shuffle

This is a glorious Charly collection of pioneer of the electric blues guitar T-Bone Walker’s classic 1946-47 sides which he recorded for LA indy label Black and White, plus two sides he recorded for Capitol in 1942 while with the Freddie Slack Orchestra. I bought it way back in 1981 at a time when my jump blues collection consisted of little more than a handful of Swing House LPs, a best of Louis Jordan compilation on MCA, a scratched second hand Amos Milburn comp on United Artists and some imported King releases on Gusto. So you can imagine the impact these jumpers, jivers, shuffles and blues had on the as yet youthful Be Bop Wino.

Oh sure, I could write at length about the importance of T-Bone Walker in the history of R&B. About how every blues guitarist and (shudder) blues-rawk axeman owes him a debt of gratitude. Or perhaps I would be better looking back to the influences and experiences that shaped T-Bone’s music and stage act, influences that reach back through string bands, Blind Lemon Jefferson, medicine shows, classic blues divas, chumming around with Charlie Christian, big bands, jamming all night with Lester Young, and just corny old showbiz in the shape of musical reviews and song and dance acts. But what this post is really about is the fantastic music contained in these sixteen tracks. They may be slightly crackly and scratched but I’ve had the LP for around thirty years, so what do you expect?

Quite simply this is probably the coolest music you’ll ever hear. It’s real relaxed West Coast Rhythm ‘n’ Blues with small jump bands led by Jack McVea and Bumps Myers providing subtle accompaniment to T-Bones’ smoky vocals and tasteful guitar licks.

Texan T-Bone arrived in California sometime in the mid 1930s. Big Jim Wynn remembered him in the Little Harlem Club in Watts in 1936: “He was dancing and picking up tables with his mouth. He’d dance on a table and then grip it in his teeth and whirl it around. That’s what Miss Brown booked him for, as a dancer. He started singing with the first small band I had and the people went mad about him. He had a funny little box he’d play, a contraption he had made himself …” Sounds like T-Bone was already experimenting with an amplified guitar.

In 1939 T-Bone joined the big band of Les Hite as a vocalist. In fact this was a new edition of the long established band as in September 1939 Hite had dismissed his own band and taken over that of Floyd Turnham. The band went on an extensive tour, opening in Dallas at the end of September (they may have picked up T-Bone in his old home town), and in January 1940 arrived in New York. “Downbeat” noted that “his new star is T-Bone Walker with choruses on ‘I wonder why she don’t write to me.’” While in New York, the band recorded for Varsity with T-Bone’s vocals (but not guitar) being showcased on “T-Bone Blues.”

During the tour T-Bone experimented backstage with a Gibson electric guitar and on his return to LA he developed a sensational crowd pulling act with his new instrument. He had the tricks which in later years would be used by Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix – playing the guitar behind his head and while doing the splits. Club success brought him to the attention of new label Capitol Records. In July 1942 T-Bone was on several Capitol sessions with the Freddie Slack Orchestra, a boogie based big band which had the fabulous Ella Mae Morse on vocals (along with Johnny Mercer).

At the end of his first session with the full band (having recorded “Mister Five By Five” and several other tracks), T-Bone was backed by a rhythm trio from the band (including Freddie himself) on “Mean Old World” and “I Got A Break Baby.” This was the first time that T-Bones’ by now fully developed vocal / guitar style was recorded. However, the first Petrillo recording ban brought a temporary hiatus to his recording career. It would be over two years before T-Bones’ electric blues guitar would be captured on wax again, this time for the Chicago based Rhumboogie label, which was a promotional tie-in for the successful Chi-Town Rhumboogie night club.

The Rhumboogie opened in April 1942 with a show headlined by the Tiny Bradshaw band. In August 1942 T-Bone opened at the club as the headliner in “The Dream Revue,” a show which featured singers, dancers, chorus girls and the Milt Larkin band with Arnett Cobb and Tom Archia on saxes. The Revue, which ran until October, was a massive success and in January 1943 T-Bone was back at the club, once again with the Milt Larkin band providing backing. T-Bones’ 1944 run at the club was another success, being repeatedly extended until Wynonie Harris took over as the headliner.

As T-Bones’ 1944 spell at the Rhumboogie drew to an end at the beginning of October, he recorded six tracks for the new Rhumboogie record label backed by the Marl Young band who were by now the house band at the club. “Sail On Boogie” in particular was a storming showcase for T-Bones’ electric guitar. Three singles were released from this session, and a further session of four songs was recorded in December 1945, but none of these later recordings was released on Rhumboogie. However, two of the tracks were released as a single on Mercury.

In September 1946 T-Bone signed up with the Los Angeles based Black and White label for whom he recorded under the supervision of Ralph Bass until the end of 1947. At the two 1946 sessions T-Bone was backed by label mate Jack McVea’s band, with trumpeter Al Killian being added on the second session in December 1946. For the 1947 sessions, studio bands centred on tenor sax man Bumps Meyers and former Les Hite drummer Oscar Lee Bradley provided sterling support. Other musicians involved included pianists Lloyd Glenn and Willard McDaniel, trumpet players Teddy Buckner and George Orendorff and bass player Billy Hadnott.

The Black and White recordings had considerable commercial success with “Bobby Sox Baby,” “Stormy Monday,” “Long Skirt Baby Blues,” “I Want A Little Girl,” “I’m Waiting For Your Call,” “Midnight Blues,” “West Side Baby,” “Description Blues” and “T-Bone Shuffle” all entering the R&B charts between 1947 and 1949.

Despite achieving good sales for records by Jack McVea and T-Bone, Black and White ran into financial problems during 1948, eventually going out of business. The T-Bone masters were bought up by Capitol in April 1949. Their new owners remastered and renumbered the tracks and reissued many of them, leading to considerable discographical confusion, which is reflected in the sleevenotes to this LP. When T-Bone resumed his recording career in 1950, he had signed with Lew Chudd’s Imperial label. That story, however, is for another post and another day.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

https://rapidshare.com/files/2949753638/T-Bone_Jumps_Again.rar

Or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6D047LC6

1. Hypin' Woman Blues
2. Too Much Trouble Blues
3. I Got A Break Baby
4. Mean Old World
5. Bobby Sox Blues
6. I Know Your Wig Is Gone
7. T-Bone Jumps Again
8. Call It Stormy Monday
9. You're My Best Poker Hand
10. First Love Blues
11. She's My Old Time Used To Be
12. On Your Way Blues
13. I Wish You Were Mine
14. Wise Man Blues
15. Born To Be No Good
16. T-Bone Shuffle

“I Got A Break Baby” and “Mean Old World” were recorded in Hollywood on July 20th, 1942, with Freddie Slack and His Orchestra, rhythm section only. Freddie Slack (p); Jud De Naut (b); Dave Coleman (d)

“Bobby Sox Blues” aka “Bobby Sox Baby” was recorded in Hollywood on September 30th, 1946 with the Jack McVea All Stars. Joe “Red” Kelly (tp); Jack McVea (ts); Tommy “Crow” Khan (p); Frank Clarke (b); Rabon Tarrant (d)

“I Know Your Wig Is Gone,” “T-Bone Jumps Again” and “Call It Stormy Monday” were recorded in Hollywood on September 13th, 1947. Teddy Buckner (tp); Bumps Myers (ts); Lloyd Glenn (p); Arthur Edwards (b); Oscar Lee Bradley (d)

“She’s My Old Time Used To Be” and “Too Much Trouble Blues” were recorded in Los Angeles on November 6th, 1947. “Hypin’ Woman Blues” and “On Your Way Blues” were recorded in Los Angeles on November 7th, 1947. Teddy Buckner (tp); Bumps Myers (ts); Willard McDaniel (p); Billy Hadnott (b); Oscar Lee Bradley (d)

“First Love Blues” was recorded in Los Angeles on November 12th, 1947. George Orendorff (tp); Bumps Myers (ts); Willard McDaniel (p); Billy Hadnott (b); Oscar Lee Bradley (d)

“T-Bone Shuffle” was recorded in Los Angeles on November 13th, 1947. George Orendorff (tp); Bumps Myers (ts); Willard McDaniel (p); John W. Davis (b); Oscar Lee Bradley (d)

“Wise Man Blues” and “I Wish You Were Mine” were recorded in Los Angeles on December 17th, 1947. “Born To Be No Good” was recorded in Los Angeles on December 18th, 1947. Jack Trainor (tp); Bumps Myers (ts); Willard McDaniel (p); Billy Hadnott (b); Oscar Lee Bradley (d)

“You’re My Best Poker Hand” was recorded in Los Angeles on December 29th, 1947. George Orendorff or Jack Trainor (tp); Bumps Myers (ts); Willard McDaniel (p); Billy Hadnott (b); Oscar Lee Bradley (d)

Sources:

Mark Humphrey – liner notes to the Capitol Blues Collection 3CD set “T-Bone Walker: The Complete Capitol / Black & White Recordings”

Helen Oakley Dance – “Stormy Monday: The T-Bone Walker Story”

Robert Pruter and Robert L Campbell - "The Rhumboogie: the rise of a great black and tan" in Blues and Rhythm, number 190, June 2004

Bill Millar – “Let The Good Times Rock!”

Albert McCarthy – Big Band Jazz

The Bruyninckx Discography

Arnold Shaw: Honkers And Shouters

Big Al Pavlow’s R&B Book

Cliff White: sleevenotes to Charly LPs “The Natural Blues” and “Plain Ole Blues.”

Mo’ T-Bone:

“The Complete Capitol / Black & White Sessions” – a 3CD set issued in the Capitol Blues Collection series in 1995. It includes the 48 recordings made for Black & White in 1946 and 1947, the 2 recordings with Freddie Slack for Capitol from 1942, and “T-Bone Blues” made with the Les Hite band for Varsity in 1940. There are 75 tracks in total on this set with the balance being made up of alternate takes of many of the Black & White tracks. Immaculate packaging and sound quality. Indispensable but almost impossible to find.

You might have a better chance of finding the Proper 4 CD set “The Original Source” which has 90 tracks recorded between 1930 and 1951.

Don't Move A Vip Till I Say Vop - Doles Dickens Quartet

2011-06-01T20:42:00.000+01:00

El Enmascarado has edited another cool YouTube video to accompany the B-Side of "Sing Re-Bop." The Doles Dickens Quartet are in hepcat jive mode once more with "Don't Move A Vip Till I Say Vop," a piece of advice with which I find it hard to disagree.

I recommend that you watch the video in full screen mode by clicking the right hand button on the control bar below the video screen.

The video incorporates sequences from "Jivin' in Bebop" and "Juke Joint." Both of these films can be viewed on the Internet Archive. Go to http://www.archive.org/ then select "moving images." Put the movie title into the search box and wham bam, thank you ma'am, you can watch or download the complete movie.

Despite the impression given by El Enmascarado's video, Dizzy Gillespie is NOT playing on this record. See the previous "Sing Re-Bop" post for the Doles Dickens story.

And lastly you can listen to "Don't Move A Vip Till I Say Vop" on streaming audio here:

Audio clip ripped by El Enmascarado from the original 78 rpm disc. Thanks to our benefactor for taking us down the road to an obscurer corner of R&B history.

Sing Re-Bop – Doles Dickens Quartet

2011-05-29T16:53:00.004+01:00

Scan courtesy El Enmascarado

Recorded in New York City, 1946. Herbie Scott (trumpet); Reuben Cole (piano); Dickie Thompson (guitar); Doles Dickens (bass).

Released in May 1947 with “Don’t Move A Vip Till I Say Vop” on the B-side.

Listen to “Sing Re-Bop” on streamed audio here:

Ripped by El Enmascarado from the original 78 rpm disc.

This jive novelty was reviewed in the May 10th 1947 issue of Billboard Magazine along with another platter by the group – “I Cried For You” / “Half Time Boogie” on Super Disc.

The Billboard review of “Sing Re-Bop”:

“For their efforts on this label, the Dole (sic) Dickens Quartet make it a swing thingy for both of these Harlemese jive ditties of their own origination. It’s the re-bop phrasings for the solo voice for “Sing Re-Bop” with the piano, trumpet and guitar also phrasing it that way. And for the mated “Vip” side, it’s the same vocal re-bop style, with all the boys joining in on the song. Harlem jump locations will lay in coins for this cutting.”

Scan courtesy El Enmascarado

New York based double bass player Doles Dickens had a long career in recording from the early 1940s into the 1960s. His recording debut was in December 1940 while he was with the Eddie South Orchestra. This was an eight piece jazz band fronted by violinist Eddie South and featuring Ginny Simms on vocals. Band members included Charlie Shavers on trumpet and Russell Procope on alto sax. From this session two singles were released on Okeh and a further session in March 1941 produced a single of “Oh Lady Be Good” / “Stompin’ At The Savoy,” released on Columbia.

Eddie South - "The Dark Angel Of The Violin"

In 1943 and 1944 Doles was a member of Steve Gibson’s 5 Red Caps who at that time were recording for the Joe Davis owned NYC indy label Beacon. He was also a member of the Red Caps “side project” The Red Caps Trio (Steve Gibson – guitar, Romaine Brown – piano, and Doles on bass) which also recorded for Joe Davis. In November 1944 Doles left the Red Caps to join the Phil Moore Four.

The 5 Red Caps in 1944 - Doles Dickens on double bass

Red Caps publicity shot clumsily doctored after departure of Doles

The Phil Moore Four were actually six – Phil Moore (piano, vocal); Remo Palmieri (electric guitar); Eddie Gibbs (guitar); Doles Dickens (bass); Wallace Bishop (drums) and Billy Daniels (vocals). They were contracted to RCA, recording their first session on November 24th, 1944 and they recorded for the label until the end of July 1945.

In 1946 Doles formed the Doles Dickens Quartet with the line up as listed at the top of this post. Their first recording session was for Continental sometime in 1946. The four sides recorded were released on two singles – “Hey Honey” / “Holiday For Slang” (Continental 6046) and “Sing Re-Bop” / “Don’t Move A Vip Till I Say Vop” (Continental 6047). The next recording session for the quartet was for Super Disc, probably in early 1947, which resulted in one single, “I Cried For You” / “Half Time Boogie.”

In January 1949 the Doles Dickens Quintet made its recording debut for Gotham, recording four sides released on two singles – “Cabaret” / “Sam’s Boogie” (Gotham 176) and “You’re The One” / “Arnold Fine” (Gotham 185). The latter disc was reviewed in Billboard on July 9th, 1949. “You’re The One” was categorized as “an easy little ballad tune” while “Arnold Fine” intriguingly received a rather barbed review: “from the import of the lyric, Mr Fine is a journalist for whom the Doles Dickens Quintet have the highest regard. This nice thought is framed in a jump boogie arrangement with a touch of bop. With a different lyric, or none, it would have been a pretty piece.”

The Doles Dickens Quintet which signed up with Decca was a completely different group from the Quartet which had recorded for Continental and Super Disc back in 1946 / 1947. The group’s first Decca session was on June 23rd, 1949, and the line up was: Louis Judge (tenor sax); Clarence Harmon (piano); Sam Hendricks (guitar); Doles Dickens (bass); Jimmy Crawford (drums); Joe Gregory (vocals).

Doles Dickens Quintet

And it is at this point that Doles Dickens enters rock and roll history, for one of the four sides the group recorded at that session was a cover of the Wild Bill Moore opus “Rock And Roll.” Wild Bill’s original version, released on Modern 674, was reviewed in Billboard on the 9th of June, 1949 as “another frenetic instalment in the pounding ‘good rocking’ serial. A potent platter of its kind.” In other words tenor sax honker Wild Bill’s “Rock And Roll” was seen as one of a number of rocking R&B records which followed in the wake of the 1948 hit version of “Good Rocking Tonight” by Wynonie Harris.

The Doles Dickens version is a slightly speeded up, slightly smoothed out adaptation of Wild Bill’s rough house waxing. Otherwise it sticks pretty closely to the arrangement of the original. It’s a damned fine dance record as you can see on this YouTube video.

From that first session for Decca in June 1949, two singles were released – “Hold Me Baby” / “Rock and Roll” (Decca 48110) and “Find ‘Em, Fool ‘Em And Forget ‘Em” / “Choo Choo Hop” (Decca 48115). Billboard’s comment on “Find ‘Em …” was “Thumping shuffle rhythm sets the pace for a rousing performance of an amusing novelty.” The reverse side of the platter was also praised as a sequel to Louis Jordan’s hit “Choo Choo Ch’boogie.”

The Quintet’s next Decca session wasn’t until January 1951. Meanwhile on July 8th, 1950, Billboard noted that “Doles Dickens and His Whispers” were about to take up a residency at the Ceders Inn, a new roadhouse near Atlantic City. A group called The Whispers had a record out on Apollo (1156) in March 1950 – “Your Ever Lovin’ Slick” / “Got No Time.” Was it the Doles Dickens band? We hope not, for according to Billboard, the A-Side featured “mediocre warbling, unexciting tenor and rhythm,” while the reverse side was dismissed as a “dull ballad opus.”

Another two Decca singles were cut from the January 1951 session: “All Alone” / “Blues In The Back Room” (Decca 48199), released in March, 1951, and “Blues In The Evening” / “I Only Have Eyes For You” (Decca 48242), released at the end of September, 1951. The latter disc, which was the Quintet’s final release on Decca, received a less than enthusiastic review in Billboard on October 6th, 1951, with the A side being summed up as a “slow blues … effect is on the cold side,” while “I Only Have Eyes …” was dismissed as a “routine entry.” The same edition of Billboard was rather more enthusiastic about “Because Of You” by Tab Smith (“stacks up as a money making proposition”) and “Riding In The Moonlight” by Howling Wolf (“ok for rural market”).

The Doles Dickens Quintet’s final session for Decca was held in New York on April 25th, 1951. The two resulting singles were: “Woogie” / “Can’t Let Your Lovin’ Go” (Decca 48124), released in June 1951, and “Gonna Rock This Morning” / “Won’tcha Tell Me Where She Went” (Decca 48229) which was released in August 1951.

“Gonna Rock This Morning” turned up many years later on the 1984 Ace LP “Jumpin’ The Blues Vol. 1” (CH94) which was where I first encountered Doles Dickens. Back in September 1951, Billboard summed up “Gonna Rock This Morning” as “… a standard rocking blues. It’s good but nothing special.” In this case the Billboard reviewer was probably erring on the side of kindness. The other side of the disc was summed up as “routine blues.”

“Woogie” also turned up on the Ace “Jumpin’ The Blues” three volume set of LPs of Decca and Coral sides. It featured on Volume 2 (CH135) along with such notable efforts as “Take Out Your False Teeth Daddy” by Margie Day, “Sit Back Down” by Little Esther and “Block Buster Boogie” by baritone sax man Cecil Payne. “Woogie is a nice little shuffler as you can hear on streamed audio below:

With the Decca contract not being renewed, this was the end of the Doles Dickens Quintet as a recording act. In July 1952 Doles signed a contract with deejay Ray Hudson to record six sides for his Lion label, but no recordings ever surfaced. The last session featuring Doles as the named artist appears to have been for Dot in 1958. In September of that year “Pia-Kuka-Ung-Cung” / “Our Melody” (Dot 15745) by “Doles Dickens and the De Costa Choir” was released.

The A side (I’m not gonna type it again) must have been something else according to Billboard – “This has the sound of hysteria with guitars, piano and soprano sax and big choral sounds contribute to the wild effects. Has the quality of a jungle war dance.” What about the other side? “A bit of offbeat cacophony that builds and builds.” Sounds like the kind of thing that would turn up on “Jungle Exotica” or “Las Vegas Grind.” It did have a UK release on the London label. I wonder if anyone actually bought the darned thing.

However, this was not the end of Doles Dickens’ recording career. Throughout the 1950s he was an in-demand session man on the New York R&B scene. In November 1952 and March 1953 he was on sessions by Piano Red for RCA. In 1954 he worked for Savoy on sessions for Doc Jones and Wilbert Harrison and the Roamers. In early 1955 he was on a Varetta Dillard session for Savoy. In August 1957 he was on another Piano Red session for RCA and in October of that year he was in the studio with Jimmy Witherspoon, again for RCA. In 1958 he was on a Mahalia Jackson session for Columbia. He popped into Atlantic for a Lavern Baker session in 1959, and in early 1962 along with Charlie Singleton, Buddy Lucas and Sam “The Man” Taylor he cut a series of Twist tracks for Camden. As the 1960s wore on Doles moved into music production and direction. Doles Dickens died in New Jersey on May 2nd, 1972.

And now it’s over to El Enmascarado’s record room to see that original Doles Dickens 78 rpm disc a-spinning on the vintage turntable. But hold! What do we have here? The record room is now doubling as a video editing suite and there are images culled from old films to accompany the crackly sounds. Be Bop Winos will recognize the source of the suitably hep re-bopper visuals on display here. It’s the famous nightclub sequence from the classic film noir D.O.A. Edmund O’Brien is confronted by the latest musical craze in a club called “The Fisherman.” I’m there – I’m the cat in the beret and goatee. Far out!

In his book “Nervous Man Nervous: Big Jay McNeely and the Rise of the Honking Tenor Sax!” Jim Dawson reveals just what is going on musically in the original sequence in D.O.A. On screen the showboating tenor sax man is James Von Streeter and the other musicians are Teddy Buckner (trumpet), Ray LaRue (piano), Shifty Henry (bass) and Al “Cake” Wichard (drums). However the soundtrack features a different set of musicians led by tenor sax man Maxwell Davis. Confusing? Yep.

Sources:

Billboard Magazine, available free to read on Google Books.

Marv Goldberg’s online article on The 5 Red Caps

Albert McCarthy – Big Band Jazz

Bruyninckx Discography

Bruce Bastin – sleevenotes to Krazy Kat LP KK779 “The Red Caps – Lenox Avenue Jump.”

Ray Topping – sleevenotes to Ace LP CH94 “Jumpin’ The Blues Vol.1”

Galen Gart – First Pressings – The History of Rhythm & Blues Volume 2:1952

Jim Dawson – Nervous Man Nervous: Big Jay McNeely and the Rise of the Honking Tenor Sax!

And most of all - thanks to El Enmascarado for "Sing Re-Bop" and its accompanying video.

Lloyd Glenn - After Hours

2011-05-02T21:00:00.001+01:00

Side A
1. Chick-A-Boo
2. Tiddly-Winks
3. Sunrise
4. Still Waters
5. Nite Flite
6. Old Time Shuffle
7. Southbound Special

Side B
1. After Hours Part I
2. After Hours Part II
3. Rompin’ Rhumba
4. Strollin’
5. Blue Ivories
6. Love For Sale
7. Petite Fleur

Born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1909, pianist Lloyd Glenn started playing for South western territory bands in the late 1920s. From 1930 until 1932 he was pianist / arranger in the Oklahoma based Terrence Holder band which included Buddy Tate and Earl Bostic in its line up. In 1934 he joined the San Antonio based Don Albert Orchestra which billed itself as “Don Albert and his Music, America’s Greatest Swing Band.” Lloyd’s recording debut came in November 1936 when the Albert outfit laid down eight sides for Vocalion at a session in San Antonio.

The band toured extensively throughout the United States on a punishing schedule of one nighters and in 1937 even crossed into Canada and Mexico. Later that year the band broke up and Lloyd was not in the line up when it reformed in 1938 (although sax man Jimmy Forrest was). At this point Lloyd seems to have left the music business for a job in teaching.

In 1941 he relocated to California, settling in Los Angeles in 1945. He soon started building a reputation as a pianist and arranger in the burgeoning LA jump blues scene. In 1946 along with guitarist Gene Phillips, trumpeter Vernon “Jake” Porter, alto sax player Marshal Royal, bass player Arthur Edwards and drummer Bill Streets, Lloyd was in the group billed as Gene Phillips and his Rhythm Aces which recorded four sides for Modern. The band continued to record for Modern through to 1948.

Meanwhile in a series of sessions in December 1947 the same band recorded for Imperial as Lloyd Glenn and his Joymakers and also as King Porter and his Orchestra. These sessions may have been aimed at stockpiling recordings in the face of the impending AFM recording ban, but most of the tracks were subsequently released, although to little commercial success.

In mid 1947 Lloyd played on the T-Bone Walker session for Black and White Records at which “Call It Stormy Monday” was recorded. From 1949 until late 1952 Lloyd was with Swing Time Records, acting as A&R man, producing hits for Lowell Fulson, such as “Everyday I Have The Blues.” He formed a trio with bass player Billy Hadnott (who had played on many of T-Bone Walker’s Black and White sessions) and Bob Harvey on drums. With this trio Lloyd had the biggest hits of his career, “Old Time Shuffle Blues” and “Chica Boo,” both in 1951.

scans courtesy El Enmascarado

Lloyd moved to Aladdin Records in late 1953 or early 1954 where he stayed until 1960. And that brings us to this excellent 1983 Pathe Marconi selection of his Aladdin recordings.

The majority of these mid 1950s instrumentals were recorded by the trio which had been successful on Swing Time, with Billy Hadnott on bass and usually Bob Harvey on drums, although Harvey is replaced by Russell Lee on the 1955 session and by Johnny Kirkwood on “Petite Fleur” which was recorded in 1959. On “Still Waters” and “Nite Flite” the trio is augmented by guitarist Jesse Erwin. Tenor saxman Jack McVea provides restrained accompaniment on the October 1956 session which produced reworkings of Lloyd’s old hits “Old Time Shuffle” and “Chica Boo,” plus a great two part version of the old Avery Parrish / Erskine Hawkins piece “After Hours”.

courtesy Joan K

another from Joan!

This 1983 version of the “After Hours” LP is not a straight reissue of the LP of the same title which first appeared on Aladdin’s Score subsidiary in 1958 and was subsequently reissued on Imperial 1962. The Pathe Marconi issue mixes tracks from the original “After Hours” LP with tracks from Lloyd’s first LP “Chica Boo” which was issued on Aladdin in 1956 and reissued on Score in 1957 with the new title “Piano Stylings” and subsequently reissued again on Imperial in 1962 with its original title restored. The rather complicated story can be teased out from the wonderful Both Sides Now discographical website.

In the early 1960s Lloyd had a couple of recording sessions for Chess and Imperial. Although the era of classic R&B was over, Lloyd remained active in music, producing B.B. King’s LP “My Kind of Blues” and continuing to record and make live appearances into the 1980s. He died of a heart attack in May 1985 in Los Angeles.

Many thanks to Joan K for the 45rpm label shots. Thanks to El Enmascarado for the 78 rpm label shots.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

https://rapidshare.com/files/457829908/Lloyd_Glenn_After_Hours.rar
Or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=U2VNZZ4A

1. Chicka-Boo
2. Tiddly-winks
3. Sunrise
4. Still Waters
5. Nite Flite
6. Old Time Shuffle
7. Southbound Special
8. After Hours part 1
9. After Hours part 2
10. Rompin’ Rhumba
11. Strollin’
12. Blue Ivories
13. Love for Sale
14. Petite Fleur

Recommended purchases:

There are two CDs in the Classics series available –

The Chronological Lloyd Glenn 1951 – 1952

The Chronological Lloyd Glenn 1954 – 1957 which has more of his Aladdin sides.

JSP has a 4 CD collection which I can personally recommend – “Rare West Coast Jump ‘n’ Jive 1945 – 1954.” It has 8 Imperial tracks by Lloyd Glen and his Joymakers, 10 Imperial tracks by King Porter and his Orchestra and 8 tracks from Modern by Gene Phillips and his Rhythm Aces. All of these tracks were recorded by what was substantially the same group of musicians in 1946 and 1947. Other artists on this 4 CD set are Jimmy Liggins, Joe Liggins, Roy Milton, Calvin Boze and, oh joy of joys, the much lesser known Charlie “Boogie Woogie” Davis, Poison Gardner, and Dick Lewis.

Still Waters / Nite-Flite - Lloyd Glenn

2011-04-30T23:20:00.000+01:00

It's the return of Be Bop Wino after a two week break and back we come with another 78 rpm disc from the collection of El Enmascarado - Texas born but West Coast based piano man Lloyd Glenn's instrumentals "Still Waters" and Nite-Flite." These sides were recorded for Aladdin in October 1954, at Lloyd's second session for that label.

The musicians on these sides include Billy Hadnott on bass and Bob Harvey on drums. Both of these musicians had accompanied Lloyd on his most commercially successful sides which were recorded for Swing Time between 1949 and 1952. On the sides in this post the trio is augmented by guitarist Jessie Erwin who turns in sterling performances, particularly on the bluesy "Still Waters." The rocking "Nite-Flite" ain't too bad either, with some nice interplay between Erwin and Glenn.

Listen to a streamed vinyl rip of "Still Waters" here:

If you've been following the blog recently you'll have realised that many of these joint El Enmascarado / Be Bop Wino posts serve as tasters for an upcoming LP. If you've been following the blog for a few years you'll probably remember that an LP of Lloyd Glenn's Aladdin sides has already been posted. I'm working on a revamp of that post with new scans and more information, so stand by for a re-up of that Pathe Marconi LP "After Hours" in a few days.

Listen to a streamed vinyl rip of "Nite-Flite" here:

And now over to El Enmascarado's record room where that original big ten incher is spinning on the vintage Sparton turntable. Dig the bluesy "Still Waters" here:

Get your toes a-tappin' as "Nite-Flite" takes off:

Thanks to El Enmascarado for the label scans and YouTube videos.

Amos Milburn - Chicken Shack Boogie

2011-04-09T19:40:00.011+01:00

Side A
1. My Baby's Boogying
2. Amos’ Boogie
3. Bye Bye Boogie
4. It Took A Long Long Time
5. Chicken Shack Boogie
6. Pot Luck Boogie
7. Jitterbug Fashion Parade

Side B
1. Roomin' House Boogie
2. Johnson Rag
3. Boogie Woogie
4. Sax Shack Boogie
5. Roll Mr Jelly
6. Grey Hound
7. House Party

This is the fifth of the Pathe Marconi Amos Milburn LPs to be posted on the blog and I believe that the set is now complete. I can say that I’ve saved the best till the last, for this collection of classic tracks rocks, rolls, pounds and boogies in a merciless onslaught of the finest rhythm and blues you’ll hear anywhere.

The only break is provided by the slower “It Took A Long Long Time” at track 4. From track 5, which is the original hit version of “Chicken Shack Boogie,” there is simply no letup as Amos shouts the blues and pounds that piano to the blasting tenor sax accompaniment of studio bands led by the great Maxwell Davis or else his road band, The Aladdin Chicken-Shackers.

This is a collection which spans Amos’ successful years with Aladdin, beginning with his first session for the label in September 1946 and ending in 1955, by which time the hits had dried up. He was born in Houston, Texas, in 1927, into a family of twelve children. After war service in the Pacific, he became the main breadwinner for the family and took up music professionally, forming a small combo which played the clubs around the Houston area. While playing at the Keyhole Club in San Antonio he was spotted by Lola Anne Cullum (the wife of a Houston doctor) who was something of a promoter on the local music scene. Taking the young Amos under her wing, Mrs Cullum soon had him relocated to Los Angeles and signed up with Aladdin Records.

From that first session under the supervision of Maxwell Davis, “My Baby’s Boogying” achieved good sales locally. In the next year or so Amos laid down a mix of boogies, salacious double entendre blues and the occasional ballad which sold well enough but it wasn’t until November 1948 that real success came along when “Chicken Shack Boogie,” which he’d recorded in late 1947 just prior to the AFM recording ban, stormed to the top of the R&B charts. This kicked off a remarkable series of hits for Amos which lasted from 1949 through to 1954 when “Good Good Whiskey,” the last in a series of drink related hits, (“Bad Bad Whiskey,” “One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer,” etc.) charted.

Like many of his contemporaries, Amos was left behind by changing fashions in R&B and the advent of rock and roll. In 1956 he recorded in New Orleans with top musicians such as Lee Allen and Earl Palmer in an attempt to reboot his flagging career. This session produced one of the greatest rock and roll records of all time – a searing remake of “Chicken Shack Boogie” but it didn’t sell. The Aladdin contract was not renewed in 1957.

Towards the end of the 1950s Amos hooked up with his old buddy Charles Brown for live appearances and a single on Ace, “I Wanna Go Home,” / “Educated Fool.” Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home To Me” was heavily based on “I Wanna Go Home,” but for Brown and Milburn there was to be not a hint of the success that Cooke would have with his version.

Listen to Charles Brown and Amos Milburn sing "I Wanna Go Home" here:

Amos recorded for King and Motown between 1960 and 1967, but nothing sold. As the 60s became the 70s, increasing ill health including two strokes and a leg amputation blighted the remaining years of his life which came to a close on January 3rd, 1980.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

http://rapidshare.com/files/456152181/Chicken_Shack_Boogie.rar

Or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OY5G8UUN

Amos Milburn (piano and vocal) on all tracks.

Los Angeles, September 12th, 1946. Unknown g, b, dm. Maxwell Davis (ts) present at session:

1. My Baby's Boogying (Aladdin 160)
2. Amos’ Boogie (Aladdin 173)

Los Angeles, October 27th, 1947. Maxwell Davis (ts), possibly Gene Phillips (g), unknown b and dm:

3. Bye Bye Boogie (Aladdin 206)
6. Pot Luck Boogie (Aladdin 3026)

Los Angeles, November 19th, 1947. Maxwell Davis (ts), unknown g, b and dm:

5. Chicken Shack Boogie (Aladdin, 3014)

Los Angeles, December 18th, 1947. Maxwell Davis (ts), probably Frank Heywood (g), unknown b and dm:

4. It Took A Long Long Time (Aladdin 3014)

Los Angeles, February 28th, 1949. Maxwell Davis (ts), Gene Phillips (g), Ralph Hamilton (b), Jesse Sailes (dm):

7. Jitterbug Fashion Parade (Aladdin 3023)

Los Angeles, July 13th, 1949. Maxwell Davis (ts), Chuck Norris (g), Ralph Hamilton (b), Lee Young (dm):

8. Roomin' House Boogie (Aladdin 3032)

Los Angeles, December 19th, 1949. Amos Milburn and his Aladdin Chicken-Shackers – Don Wilkerson (ts), Billy Smith (ts), Willie Simpson (bs), Johnny Brown (g), Harper Cosby (b), Calvin Vaughan (dm):

9. Johnson Rag (Aladdin 3049)
10. Boogie Woogie (Aladdin 3105)

Los Angeles, January 4th, 1950. Amos Milburn and his Aladdin Chicken-Shackers – Don Wilkerson (ts), Billy Smith (ts), Willie Simpson (bs), Johnny Brown (g), Harper Cosby (b), Calvin Vaughan (dm):

11. Sax Shack Boogie (Aladdin 3064)

Los Angeles, January 30th, 1952. Willie Smith (ts), Bill Hill (ts), Leroy Robinson (as and bs), Wayne Bennett (g), Leonard Sonny Williams (b), Eldeen McIntosh (dm):

12. Roll Mr Jelly (Aladdin 3133)

Los Angeles, August 21st, 1952. Maxwell Davis (ts), unknown bs, g, b and dm:

13. Grey Hound (Aladdin 3150)

Los Angeles, July 25th, 1955. Amos Milburn and his Aladdin Chickenshackers – Arnett Sparrow (tb), Eddie Chamblee (ts), Joe Evans (bs), Irving Ashby (g), possibly Red Callender (b), possibly Rufus Jones (dm):

14. House Party (Aladdin 3306)

Featured track – listen to “Greyhound” here:

Mo’ Amos –

On the blog – the other 4 Amos Milburn Pathe Marconi LPs are shown below:

That gives you quite a helping of Amos but there is much more to explore. Try to hunt down and purchase the following CDs:

"Amos Milburn Rocks!" (Bear Family) is probably the current best single CD overview of his career:

The Revola CD "Let's Have A Party" is a compilation of 1950s sides recorded for Aladdin:

If you wish to explore the career of Amos Milburn in depth (and who wouldn't?), then the Chronological Classics series covers 1946 - 1953 in 5 CDs. The first CD, 1946 - 1947, may be hard to obtain. The succeeding four are available at Amazon.co.uk, some as mp3 downloads.

Now sadly out of print, but still one of my all time favourite R&B CDs, is the Capitol Blues Collection 3CD set ""Blues, Barrelhouse & Boogie Woogie." 66 tracks and superb liner notes by Mark Humphrey. Still available as a surprisingly cheap mp3 download from Amazon, but if you find a second hand copy at a reasonable price, buy it.

Bow Wow! - Amos Milburn and his Aladdin Chicken-Shackers

2011-04-04T16:47:00.001+01:00

There's good news for shellac fans: El Enmascarado has uploaded more 78 rpm discs to his YouTube channel over at tubeseventyeights1 and among the latest platters is this little instrumental stormer from Amos Milburn and his Aladdin Chicken-Shackers. Recorded in Los Angeles on the 1st of October, 1949, "Bow Wow" was the B-Side of "Let's Make Christmas Merry, Baby" which reached number 3 in the R&B chart in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

1949 was a peak year in the career of Amos Milburn. He had a string of big R&B hits and according to Billboard he was the top selling rhythm and blues artist of the year. He was also voted "Best Blues and Jazz Star of 1949" in Downbeat magazine. In the wake of his biggest hit "Chicken Shack Boogie," his road band was named the Aladdin Chicken-Shackers. Up until July 1949 Amos recorded with small studio groups led by Maxwell Davis. At the recording session of July 13th, a Davis-led studio combo was billed as the Aladdin Chicken-Shackers on "Roomin' House Boogie" and "Walkin' Blues."

At the next recording session on October 1st, 1949, Amos was backed by the real Chicken-Shackers, his road band, which featured a much heavier sax sound thanks to two tenor saxes and a baritone sax. Five sides were recorded: "Bow Wow," and "Let's Make Christmas Merry Baby," both released on Aladdin 3037, "Drifting Blues," and "Real Pretty Mama," both released on Aladdin 3038 and "Untitled Boogie," which remained unreleased until Capitol issued the 3 CD set "Blues, Barrelhouse and Boogie Woogie" in 1996.

The Aladdin Chicken-Shackers on this session were: Don Wilkerson and Willie Smith (tenor saxes), Willie Simpson, Jr. (baritone sax), Amos Milburn (piano, vocal), Johnny Brown (guitar), Harper Cosby (bass) and Calvin Vaughan (drums).

Amos recorded with this line-up until April 1951, occasionally alternating with Maxwell Davis led studio groups. "Bow Wow" is a good instrumental workout, although one cannot help but feel that it is a bit of "filler" for the B Side of the intended Christmas hit.

Billboard ad

Listen to a streamed vinyl rip of "Bow Wow" from the LP "Aladdin's Rock'n Roll Sock Hop" where it sits rather uneasily alongside tracks by Gene & Eunice, The Jivers, Thurston Harris and Shirley & Lee, among others -

And now over to El Enmascarado's record room for the original 78 rpm disc, and a new "retro" look video -

With thanks to El Enmascarado.

Sources: liner notes by Mark Humphrey from the Capitol 3CD set "Blues, Barrelhouse and Boogie Woogie: The Best Of Amos Milburn, 1946-1955", and Billboard Magazine which is available free via Google Books.

Well Oh Well - Tiny Bradshaw

2011-03-26T13:29:00.001Z

Scan courtesy El Enmascarado

Listen to a streamed vinyl rip of "Well Oh Well" here:

Call it synchronicity or coincidence or karma or fate or whatever, but there was your old Be Bop Wino wending his weary way home of a Friday afternoon after a hard week at the grindstone when a last minute decision to pop into one of Glasgow's few remaining second hand record shops resulted in the triumphant purchase of a used copy of the Proper 2CD Tiny Bradshaw set, "Breaking Up the House," for the very reasonable price of £4. OK, I already have most of the tracks on the second CD which deals with his first year or so at King Records, but I'm looking forward to listening to the first CD which goes way back to his first recordings for Decca in 1934.

And coincidentally I was already mulling over a post based around El Enmascarado's YouTube videos of "Well Oh Well" / "I Hate You" so it's time to pay another visit to that record room with its piles of 78 rpm shellac discs and its vintage Sparton radio / record player console.

Followers of the blog know the formula by now - videos of the original 78 rpm disc and label scans supplied by El Enmascarado, streaming audio of the same track from a vinyl rip uploaded by your humble scribe, and as a bonus some more vintage scans supplied by Joan K. The downside is supplied by my interminable ramblings, so let's get to the point.

"Well Oh Well" was recorded in Cincinnnati on February 8th, 1950. Tiny Bradshaw had inked a pact with the King diskery in late 1949 and his hard blowing combo was ideally suited to the rise of rocking R&B which was elbowing aside the more subtle forms of jump blues at that time. Blaring sax histrionics were perpetrated by Rufus Gore and Orrington Hall, the dynamite rhythm section of Calvin "Eagle Eye" Shields (drums), Clarence Mack (bass), Leroy Harris (guitar) and Jimmy Robinson (piano) supplied the propulsive beat, the trumpet of Leslie Ayres is in there somewhere, and holding the whole thing together is a magnificent blues shouting vocal by the captain of the side, the leader of the pack, the great showman himself, Tiny Bradshaw.

"Well Oh Well" made it to number two in the R&B chart in May 1950 and has featured in just about every Bradshaw compilation since then. Let us pause to weep with pleasure over Joan's scans of a 1950s King EP which not only has "Well Oh Well," but presents other Bradshaw greats "Soft" (with Red Prysock), "Heavy Juice," (ditto) and future rock and roll classic "The Train Kept A-Rollin'" (more Red and a stonkingly good vocal from Tiny.)

All EP scans by Joan K

Thanks to El Enmascarado's You Tube channel we can now hear (and see) the other side of "Well Oh Well" - "I Hate You" which hasn't been included in any Tiny Bradshaw compilation that I've come across.

Watch the original 78 rpm disc of "Well Oh Well" here:

And the other side, "I Hate You" here:

Mo' Tiny -

On the blog:

A Tribute To The Late Tiny Bradshaw, The Great Composer has a full account of his career.

Stomping Room Only is an excellent mix of blues shouting vocals and jazzy instros

Recommended purchases:

Breaking Up the House (Proper PVCD101) - the 2CD set charting his career from the big band days of the 1930s to the first year of his spell with King Records.

Heavy Juice - The King Recordings 1950-55 on Rev-Ola. Wild and wooly, jazzy and bluesy.

The EP Collection (See For Miles) is long out of print. If you see it going second hand, grab it. Twenty-nine King tracks from 1950 - 1955 in superlative sound quality.

I Ain’t Mad At You

2011-03-20T11:37:00.003Z

Gatemouth Moore - before he saw the light

Recently I came across the Jesse Price version of “I Ain’t Mad At You” and it immediately went straight into my all time top ten favourite R&B discs. Well, make that top thirty. It’s a beautifully relaxed and subtle performance of what I thought was the classic song by blues shouter Dwight “Gatemouth” Moore, a track which has been lurking in my collection for about two and a half decades.

After a search through the vinyl cupboard I retrieved Gatemouth’s track on my beat up copy of the double LP “The Shouters,” which was part of the “Roots of Rock ‘N’ Roll” series on Savoy Jazz. The Gatemouth Moore track which dates from 1945 is not the same song which became a modest hit for Jesse Price in 1947. The full title of the Gatemouth song is “I Ain’t Mad at You, Pretty Baby.” However there are similarities between the two, particularly around the shared refrain of “I ain’t mad at you!”

Price’s “I Ain’t Mad At You” was in its turn covered by Count Basie but that version is wildly different from the Price disc as you can now hear by clicking on the playlist. To round off our little wander along the back roads of early rhythm & blues, I’ve added an unreleased version by The Jones Boys which they recorded for Gotham at an unknown date. This frantic version is very different from anything else on the playlist, so despite the shared song title (well, almost) there are four very different performances.

Click on the playlist widget below for some Sunday afternoon rhythm’n’ bluesin’:

Track 1 – “I Ain’t Mad At You, Pretty Baby” (National 6001) by Dwight “Gatemouth” Moore with Dallas Bartley and his Small Town Boys. Recorded in Chicago on May 10th, 1945.

Kill 'em Gatemouth!

Gatemouth Moore is a performer whom we must investigate further here on Be Bop Wino. Like Jesse Price he had deep jazz roots in Memphis and Kansas City. While singing with Walter Barnes and his Royal Creoles he survived the appalling Natchez Rhythm Club inferno of April 23rd, 1940 which killed some 200 dance hall patrons as well as most of Gatemouth’s bandmates. In 1949 he had an onstage religious experience and immediately gave up screechin’ for preachin’.

Track 2 – “I Ain’t Mad at You” (Capitol 348) by Jesse Price. Recorded in Los Angeles on October 17th, 1946.

This is the track that got me searching through the vinyl vault. It's a nicely relaxed performance from a small studio jump group led by drummer and singer Jesse Price who is another performer whom we must revisit on Be Bop Wino. He was part of the booming Kansas City jazz scene of the 1930s – being drummer in the Benny Moten band and, after Moten’s death, in the Count Basie led version of that aggregation.

When Basie and the boys left KC for greater things, Price opted to stay on in the wide open city and ceded the drum chair to his friend Jo Jones. In 1939 the booming KC music scene came to an end with the arrest of mayor Pendergast and Price left with Harlan Leonard’s Rockets, one of the last bands to leave the now cleaned up, reformed and God fearing former Sodom of the plains. A brief spell as drummer in the Ella Fitzgerald led Chick Webb Orchestra (Chick having shuffled off this mortal coil) brought Jesse to Los Angeles, the Gomorrah of the Coast, where he settled down to take part in countless R&B and jazz sessions across the ensuing decades.

Track 3 – “I Ain’t Mad At You” (RCA Victor 20-2314) by Count Basie and his Orchestra. Vocal by Taps Miller. Recorded in New York on May 22nd, 1947.

This is an almost unrecognizable version of the Jesse Price disc. Taps Miller provides a scat vocal over the ensemble vocals and big band arrangement. The band includes Preston Love on alto sax, while the tenor saxes are wielded by Paul Gonsalves and Buddy Tate. A Google image search uncovers an unfortunate run in with the drugs squad for singer / dancer Taps Miller. But he was young and foolish back then. Try it for yourselves. The search, not the drugs.

Track 4 – “I Ain’t Mad At You” (Gotham, unreleased) by The Jones Boys. Unknown date – possibly around 1952 - 1953.

Who let 'em loose on this? It's a howling, blasting deconstruction of the Jesse Price opus, or maybe of the Gatemouth Moore song, it’s hard to tell. I don’t know anything about the Jones Boys. There was a vocal / jive group of the same name in the 1930s and early 1940s. There was also a loose mid 1950s jazz aggregation whose members shared the surname Jones. Quincy Jones, Eddie Jones and Jo Jones were in that group.

I have no idea if either of these groups is related in any way to the performers on this track. All I know is that whoever the Gotham Jones Boys may be, they carried out a similar assault on “Night Train.”

Eddie Chamblee - The Rockin' And Walkin' Rhythm Of Eddie Chamblee

2011-03-13T14:32:00.005Z

Side 1
1. Back Street
2. Last Call
3. Song Of India
4. Dureop pt 1
5. Dureop pt 2
6. Cradle Rock
7. Lazy Mood
8. Blue Steel
9. All Out

Side 2
1. Wooden Soldiers Swing
2. 6 String Boogie
3. Walkin' Home
4. Lonesome Road
5. Come On In
6. La! La! La! Lady
7. Goin' Long
8. Back Up

“Rockin’ rhythm is what Eddie (Long Gone) Chamblee and his combo call it … It combines blues, bop and swing in a manner fit for the most severe critic of present day music. A favourite on the juke box, Eddie has hit the top with his sax solos on “Long Gone” and “Late Freight” (quoted from The Chicago Defender on The Red Saunders Research Foundation Website.)

I guess the above quote neatly sums up my favourite kind of music – the sax led R&B or jazz of the 1940s and early 1950s when the boundary between the two kinds of music wasn’t as rigid as it would become as the ‘50s wore on. Eddie Chamblee was one of many musicians who were comfortable in both spheres. He played on some of the biggest R&B hits of the day and also played tenor sax in the Lionel Hampton big band in the mid 1950s.

He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1920 but grew up in Chicago. Although he had been playing tenor saxophone since the age of twelve, he really learned his chops while playing in Army bands during his war service from 1941 to 1946.

On his return to Chicago, Eddie started gigging around local clubs such as The Blue Heaven Lounge and was soon involved in sessions for a new label, Miracle, for whom he would record until 1950. In June 1946 he was in the Dick Davis Sextette session at which “Tenor-mental Moods” was recorded – an instrumental which boasted a triple tenor sax line up of Davis, Chamblee and Tommy “Madman” Jones.

In October 1947 Eddie was back at Miracle, this time recording a session under his own name, backed by a basic guitar, piano and bass trio. “Last Call,” a competent enough instrumental, dates from this session. The other side of the disc (Miracle 119) was “Certain Other Someone” a vocal performance featuring Browley Guy.

A month later Eddie joined Sonny Thompson and The Sharps and Flats to record the side which was to be his most successful – “Long Gone, Part 2.” Before the end of 1947 Eddie featured on more Sonny Thompson sides as Miracle stockpiled recordings in the face of the looming AFM recording ban. Among those sides was “Late Freight” which like “Long Gone” would be another huge hit in 1948.

Scan courtesy of El Enmascarado

Eddie’s second session for Miracle under his own name took place in July 1948. This time he was backed by a larger band which included baritone sax player Andrew “Goon” Gardiner who features prominently on the rollicking “Back Street.” The fiery version of “Song of India” also dates from the same session as do the two part jam session “Dureop” and the easy going “Cradle Rock.” The nice and bluesy “Lazy Mood” was recorded a month later at the tail end of a St. Louis Jimmy Oden session.
Listen to "Back Street" -

In 1949 Eddie was a big name thanks to his work on the Sonny Thompson hits “Long Gone” and “Late Freight.” Eddie was featured on another Sonny Thompson session in April 1949, laying down solos on “Still Gone, Part 3,” and “The Fish” aka “Jam, Sonny, Jam.”

1950 was the year that Miracle went bust. On January 25th, Eddie Chamblee was the leader at the second last recording session held by the doomed label, laying down “Blue Steel” and “All Out,” the latter featuring good interplay between Eddie and baritone sax player Charles Stewart.

In May 1950, Lee Egalnick, the founder of the failed Miracle label started a new label, Premium. In July 1950, Eddie recorded four sides for the label, with two being released on Premium 856 – “Sweet Lucy” and “Every Shut Eye Ain’t Sleep,” the latter featuring Danny Overbea on vocal. In early 1951 Eddie cut another couple of sides for Premium – “Laughing Boogie” and “This Is It.”

In the summer of 1951 Premium went the way of Miracle. One of the honchos at the latest failed label, Lew Simpkins (he had also been with Miracle) quickly helped to found a new Chicago diskery – United – which signed up several former Miracle and Premium acts, including Eddie Chamblee.

The next session under Eddie’s name was in 1952 for Coral. Two excellent tracks from the session are on this LP – “Wooden Soldiers Swing” and “6 String Boogie” with the latter track being a showcase for some great guitar work by “Sir” Walter Scott. In the meantime Eddie was backing jive group The Four Blazes on United at several sessions between January 1952 and August 1953. Eddie was on the group’s biggest hit, “Mary Jo” which was recorded in January 1952 and reached number one in the R&B charts in August 1952.

Listen to "6 String Boogie" -

United had a particularly strong roster of R&B leaning jazz artists, or should that be jazz leaning R&B artists? Eddie Chamblee, Tab Smith, Jimmy Forrest, Paul Bascomb, Cozy Eggleston, Jimmy Coe, Leo Parker, Gene Ammons and Tiny Grimes all recorded for United (or its States subsidiary) at one time or another. The label’s policy of aiming jazz oriented releases at the R&B market provided it with two massive hits – “Because of You” by former Lucky Millinder alto sax man Tab Smith and “Night Train” by Jimmy Forrest who adapted a riff he picked up while with Duke Ellington to fashion one of the all time great tenor sax instrumental numbers.

Tab Smith - "Because of You"

Jimmy Forrest - "Night Train"

Unfortunately there was to be no such success for Eddie Chamblee. His first recordings for United as the named artist came at the end of a Four Blazes session on August 17th, 1953. “Walkin’ Home” and “Lonesome Road” were released as United 160, with Eddie billed as “The Rockin’ and Walkin’ Rhythm of Eddie Chamblee.” Both are good performances with “Walkin’ Home” being a growler very much in the vein of “Long Gone” and “Lonesome Road” being a fine slow ballad.

Eddie’s next and last recordings for United came at the end of a session backing the Five C’s on July 30th 1954. “Come On In” and “La! La! La! Lady” were released as United 181. Both feature vocal performances by Eddie. “Come On In” is a good swinger with tasty guitar fills by Leo Blevins as well as the expected driving sax work from Eddie. “La! La! La! Lady” is another great combo performance - a sly, hip shuffler with Eddie in particularly good vocal form.

In 1955 Eddie did some band leading work for a new label, Club 51, and some session work for Chess. He then toured and recorded with the Lionel Hampton big band into 1956. The tour took the band to France, where a concert at The Paris Olympia was recorded, which you can find here.

In 1957 Eddie was back in Chicago and married to his former school friend Ruth Jones, better known as Dinah Washington, the queen of R&B. He joined his wife on the Mercury label, recording a session under his own name in New York on March 7th, 1957. “Goin’ Long” b/w “Back Up” was released as Mercury 71107. “Goin’ Long” was another “Long Gone” retread while “Back Up” was a more up-tempo swingin’ jazz instro.

In early October Eddie was busy at Mercury – backing Dinah Washington in a studio orchestra credited as the Ernie Wilkins Orchestra on October 1st and 2nd and on the 4th of October with a similar group of musicians billed as the Eddie Chamblee orchestra. The following day he recorded tracks for an LP with a small group of musicians from the big band, billed as the Eddie Chamblee Septet. The album appeared on EmArcy as “Chamblee Music.”

Eddie continued to back Dinah on Mercury on several more sessions in late 1957 and recorded two tracks under his own name, “One for Dinah” and “Body and Soul,” which remained unreleased. In January 1958 Eddie was back in the studio, recording tracks with his septet which would appear on the EmArcy LP “Doodlin’” and also backing Dinah. Her presence at the sessions allowed “Doodlin’” to be billed as by “Eddie Chamblee and Friend” with Dinah featuring on the front cover photo and also on the back cover.

Scans from anonymous donor - restored by "Brian with a B"

The marriage lasted two years and Dinah’s subsequent sessions for Mercury were without Eddie, and he moved to New York where he based himself for the rest of his life. In 1964 he recorded an LP with an organ combo for Prestige, “Rockin’ Tenor Sax,” but his next and last recordings as session leader were not until 1976 when he recorded the album “Twenty Years After” for the French Black and Blue label with Arnett Cobb, Milt Buckner and Panama Francis. He continued to make live appearances with a jazz combo in New York in the 1980s, eventually dying in a nursing home in the city in 1999.

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1. Back Street
2. Last Call
3. Song Of India
4. Dureop pt 1
5. Dureop pt 2
6. Cradle Rock
7. Lazy Mood
8. Blue Steel
9. All Out
10. Wooden Soldiers Swing
11. 6 String Boogie
12. Walkin' Home
13. Lonesome Road
14. Come On In
15. La! La! La! Lady
16. Goin' Long
17. Back Up

Mo’ Eddie to buy:

Honkers and Bar Walkers Volume Three (Delmark DE-542) has ten tracks recorded for United by Eddie -the four that were released, plus some unreleased tracks and a couple of Four Blazes tracks. Also on the CD – T.J. Fowler, Floyd Taylor, J.T. Brown, Sax Mallard, Wild Bill Moore, Swinging Sax Kari, and Jim Conley.

The other two volumes in this series are highly recommended and a visit to the Delmark website is a must for those of you who like your R&B jazzy or your jazz with an R&B sensibility. They’ve got CDs by Tab Smith, Jimmy Forrest and J.T Brown. Well worth a look.

The Four Blazes – Mary Jo (Delmark DE-704) has lots of slinky sax fills by Eddie Chamblee, all in fantastic sound quality.

For those who like to dig deep:

Eddie Chamblee – The Complete Recordings 1947-1952 (Blue Moon)

Eddie Chamblee, Julian Dash, Joe Thomas – The Complete Recordings (Blue Moon) has Eddie’s sides from 1953-54.

Sources: The Red Saunders Research Foundation website; The Jazz Discography website; sleevenotes from “The Rockin’ and Walkin’ rhythm of Eddie Chamblee” – Dave Penny; The Bruyninckx Discography; sleevenotes from “Honkers and Bar Walkers, Volume Three” – Bob Porter; sleevenotes from “Mary Jo – The Four Blazes” – Peter Grendysa.

The Sidewalks Of New York - Tiny Grimes' Quintet

2011-03-10T19:18:00.002Z

Once more the Be Bop Army assembles in El Enmascarado's record room, where there are Joe Houston LP covers on the wall, several crates of 78 rpm discs, and a vintage Sparton radio / record player. The fridge is well stocked with beer and there's a disc on the turntable - and it sports a familiar red and black label. Yep, it's an early Atlantic record and oh joy, it's the Tiny Grimes band with Red Prysock on tenor sax.

There'll be more of Tiny on the blog soon. In the meantime enjoy this performance which was recorded in New York on March 16th, 1949. The band consisted of:

Tiny Grimes (guitar); Red Prysock (tenor sax); George Kelly (piano); Ike Isaacs (bass) and Sonny Payne (drums).

Listen to "The Sidewalks Of New York" here:

And now over to the record room via YouTube. Listen to the original 78 rpm disc:

Bull Moose Jackson - Moose On The Loose

2011-03-05T12:59:00.001Z

Side A:
1. Chittlin' Switch (Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra)
2. Hold Him Joe
3. We Ain't Got Nothin'
4. Just In Case You Change Your Mind
5. Jammin' And Jumpin'
6. Bad Man Jackson, That's Me
7. Moose On The Loose
8. Sometimes I Wonder

Side B:
1. Houston Texas Gal
2. Moosey
3. We Can Talk Some Trash
4. Oh John
5. End This Misery
6. Bearcat Blues
7. Big Ten-Inch Record
8. Hodge-Podge

Back in September 2009 I posted the Route 66 LP “Big Fat Mamas Are Back In Style Again” which is a humdinger of a collection of jumpin’ and jivin’ rhythm and blues by singer and saxman Benjamin “Bull Moose” Jackson. Looking back in the blog I see that it attracted just one comment which is a bit depressing. But nil desperandum, and on we go with the second Bull Moose LP issued on the Mr R&B group of labels: “Moose on the Loose,” a 1985 helping of jumping instrumentals, bluesy vocalisations, and probably the best example of early 1950s double entendre R&B – “Big Ten Inch.”

Scan courtesy Joan K

The career of Mr Jackson was briefly outlined in the “Big Fat Mamas” post. Suffice it to say that “Bull Moose Jackson and his Buffalo Bearcats” started out as a front for getting recordings by the Lucky Millinder Orchestra released on the Queen / King label as Millinder was under contract to Decca for most of the 1940s. This collection has one Millinder side, “Chittlin’ Switch” which features Bull Moose, who remained a member of the Millinder outfit until around 1948.

Another naughty scan from Joan K

A much more respectable scan from El Enmascarado

During 1948 and 1949 Bull Moose enjoyed huge record sales with a series of ballads such as “I Love You, Yes I Do” and “Little Girl Don’t Cry.” However on this LP it’s the jumping side of Bull Moose that is to the fore, with instrumentals such as “Hodge Podge,” “Moose on the Loose” and “Moosey.” Two easy swinging vocal efforts have long been among my favourite Bull Moose tracks: “We Ain’t Got Nothin’” and “We Can Talk Some Trash.”

“Big Ten Inch (Record)” is of course one of the all time favourites among fans of real R&B. Recorded with the Tiny Bradshaw band in 1952, it not only has wickedly salacious “leerics” but also equally brazen sax solos by Rufus Gore and Red Prysock.

As the 1950s wore on, Bull Moose’s fortunes faded and his King contract ended in 1955. Thereafter he had a few recordings issued on small labels, including a rerecording of “I Love You, Yes I Do” which had some modest sales in the early 1960s, but like so many of his R&B contemporaries he slipped into obscurity and a job outside music. However, when interest in 1940s jive and jump revived in the 1980s, Bull Moose was brought back from musical limbo for a series of festival appearances and new recordings. He died of lung cancer in July 1989.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

http://rapidshare.com/files/450486535/Moose_On_The_Loose.rar

Or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7QV3YZAE

1. Chittlin' Switch – Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra (New York, February 26, 1946, Decca 18835)

2. Hold Him Joe (Cincinnati, August 1945, King 4100)

3. We Ain't Got Nothin' (Cincinnati, August 1945, King 4102)

4. Just In Case You Change Your Mind (New York, December 20, 1945, Queen / King 4109)

5. Jammin' And Jumpin' (New York, December 20, 1945, Queen / King 4107)

6. Bad Man Jackson, That's Me (New York, December 19, 1945, Queen / King 4116)

7. Moose On The Loose (New York, 1947, Super Disc 1056 / MGM 10234)

8. Sometimes I Wonder (Cincinnati, April 18, 1950, King 4373)

9. Houston Texas Gal (New York, August 1947, King 4305)

10. Moosey (St Louis, February 18, 1949, King 4288)

11. We Can Talk Some Trash (New York, September 15 or 17, 1947, King 4250)

12. Oh John (New York, September 15 or 17, 1947, King 4280)

13. End This Misery (New York, May 4, 1951, King 4462)

14. Bearcat Blues (New York, February 6, 1952, King 4551)

15. Big Ten-Inch Record (Cincinnati, October 6, 1952, King 4580)

16. Hodge-Podge (New York, May 27, 1953, King 4655)

Mo’ Bull Moose

On the blog:

“Big Fat Mamas Are Back In Style Again”

“Moosey / “Little Girl Don’t Cry”

Recommended Purchases:

“Bad Man Jackson That’s Me” has been around since 1990. The 1997 Nestshare issue of this 22 track comp of the best bluesers and jumpers by Bull Moose has very informative liner notes by Dave Penny.

More recently there was a similar comp in the Proper Introduction series – “Bad Man Jackson” with a few extra tracks.

Those of you who wish to immerse yourself in the waxings of Bull Moose can seek salvation in the Chronological Classics series. Three CDs cover his output from 1945 to 1953.

At the time of writing all of the above were available as CDs from Amazon.co.uk and some were available as mp3 downloads.