Panama Francis All-Stars 1949

Side 1:
01) Jitterbug Jump (unreleased)
02) Honey Blues - Gotham 243
03) The Crackerjack - Gotham 225
04) Panama's Jump (unreleased title)
05) Peach Tree Shuffle - Gotham 225
06) Satchel Shuffle - Gotham 214
07) Pussycats At Midnight - Gotham 214
08) Out Of Nowhere (unreleased take)

Side 2:
01) Jitterbug Jump (unreleased take)
02) Honey Blues (unreleased take)
03) The Crackerjack (unreleased take)
04) Panama's Jump (unreleased title)
05) Satchel Shuffle (unreleased take)
06) Out Of Nowhere (unreleased take)
07) Scrambled Eggs - Gotham 243

Panama Francis All-Stars 1949 (Mega)

Panama Francis All-Stars 1949 (Zippy)

This LP was originally posted back in 2008 but the post remained "unre-upped" after the first takedown of the blog so here it is with all new complete artwork and a little bit of additional incomplete information on the first release of the tracks.

The notes on the back cover are very comprehensive and are a must read on the background of Panama Francis. Anyway here's what I wrote on the original post _

This Krazy Kat LP (KK 813) from 1987 collects tracks recorded by drummer Panama Francis and a small band for Gotham Records over two sessions in 1949. Panama Francis had played in the bands of Roy Eldridge, Lucky Millinder and Cab Calloway. A small unit of the Lucky Millinder group recorded for Queen (King subsidiary) under the name of Panama Francis and his Miamians while Millinder was under contract to Decca (other Millinder sessions were recorded for Queen by a group led by Bullmoose Jackson). Panama led his own group for a short time before joining the Willie Bryant band and then moving on to the Cab Calloway outfit.

It was while he was with Calloway that he recorded his first session for Gotham in 1948, leading a small group of musicians from the Calloway band under the name of the Panama Francis All-Stars. In the 1949 New York City sessions featured here, Panama led a different group of musicians which probably had Danny Turner on soprano, alto and baritone saxes, George Kelly on tenor sax, Doc Bagby on piano and Herb Gordy on bass.

The music is that mixture of jazz and early R&B which is the very stuff of the bebopwino blog. Only six of these sides were ever released, on 3 Gotham singles. The final track, “Scrambled Eggs”, is a real oddity. It is a take of “Jitterbug Jump” with loads of added echo and dubbed on sax and organ. To my ears it sounds ghastly, while the original undubbed track is a fine piece of sax-led proto-R&B.

Panama Francis, of course, went on to become one of the top session musicians in New York, playing on many R&B and Rock’n’Roll hit recordings.

Original Releases:

Satchel Shuffle / Pussy Cats At Midnight - Panama Francis and His All Stars - Gotham 214 - 1950

The Crackerjack / Peach Tree Shuffle - Panama Francis and Orchestra - Gotham 225 - July 1950

Billboard 1st July 1950

Scrambled Eggs / Honey Blues - Panama Francis All-Stars - Gotham 243 - 1950

You can listen to "Stompin' With Panama" which was recorded for Gotham with musicians from the Cab Calloway band in 1948 or early 1949 on the Internet Archive here:

Stompin' With Panama

Mucho rockin' rhythm to come on Be Bop Wino!

Earl Bostic Blows A Fuse (re-up)

Side 1:
01) Night Train
02) 8.45 Stomp
03) That's The Groovy Thing
04) Special Delivery Stomp
05) Moonglow
06) Mambostic
07) Earl Blows A Fuse
08) Harlem Nocturne

Side 2:
01) Who Snuck The Wine In The Gravy?
02) Don't You Do It
03) Disc Jockey's Nightmare
04) Flamingo
05) Steam Whistle Jump
06) What! No Pearls
07) Tuxedo Junction
08) Seven Steps

Earl Bostic Blows A Fuse (Mega)

Earl Bostic Blows A Fuse (Zippy)

A delayed continuation of the Earl Bostic re-ups. As you can see on previous posts there is a problem with images disappearing seemingly in a random fashion from posts going back into March. I've re-upped the images for "Sax "O" Woogie" and so far they have stayed in place. Uploading images for this post has been problematic as they quickly disappear from the image upload facility, so we'll see how this pans out.Here's hoping that the front cover which is another of those great Dave Gibson at Nozbig designs stays up, at least!

The previous post of this album, with short summary of Earl Bostic's career is here:

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2009/12/earl-bostic-blows-fuse-crb-1091.html

More Bostic on the way.

Earl Bostic - Sax "O" Boogie re-up

Side A:
01) Bostic's Jump
02) Earl's Rhumboogie
03) Hot Sauce Boss
04) 8:45 Stomp
05) Bar Fly Baby
06) Bostic's Boogie Blues
07) Blip Boogie
08) From Midnight To Dawn

Side B:
01) Swing Low Sweet Boogie
02) Nay, Nay, Go Away
03) Sugar Hill Blues
04) Choppin' It Down
05) No Name Blues
06) Way Down
07) Don't You Do It
08) Rockin' And Reelin'

Sax "O" Boogie (Mega)

Sax "O" Boogie (Zippy)

Kicking off the requested Earl Bostic season of re-ups. I'll start with a couple of comps before throwing myself into the fraught matter of all those 1950s LPs and the stereo re-recordings, plus there will be a look at Bostic's wild years - the sides he recorded for Gotham before he went on to King Records and hit the formula which brought chart success and a veritable avalanche of LPs.

First off - this Oldie Blues collection has a great selection of early Bostic, mastered from 78s by the sound of it. Boptastic!

For some more details on these tracks, see this post of the LP from 2016:

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2016/04/earl-bostic-sax-o-boogie.html 

 Stay slick, groovers.

Leo Parker and Sax Gill - Back To Back Baritones

Side A:

01. Woody - Leo Parker

02. Rolling With Parker - Leo Parker

03. Leo Leaps In - take 2 ** - Leo Parker

04. Solitude ** - Leo Parker

05. Rolling With Parker * - Leo Parker

06. Leo Leaps In - take 1 ** - Leo Parker

07. Leo Leaps In - take 3 ** - Leo Parker

Side B:

01. Crisco Jump ** - Sax Gill

02. Dancer's Delight - Sax Gill

03. Shortning Bread ** - Sax Gill

04. Bull Frog Bounce * - Sax Gill

05. That's The Groovy Thing * - Sax Gill

06. Mel's Jump ** - Sax Gill

07. That's The Groovy Thing * - Sax Gill

* = unreleased take
** = unreleased title

Back To Back Baritones (Mega)

Back To Back Baritones (Zippy)

Here's a blast from the past! This compilation of sides recorded by baritone sax men Leo Parker and Sax Gill for Gotham was on the original Be Bop Wino blog about 10 years ago but with incomplete cover scans. Situation remedied for this re-up - there are new cover and label scans to go with the sound files.

Dave Penny's notes on the back cover are very thorough so there's little for me to add, except some links to other posts on Be Bop Wino where you can find more music featuring Leo Parker.

Of the two featured artists on the LP Leo Parker is by far the better known, being a major figure in the development of be bop who recorded with many of the well known musicians of the time. Originally an alto sax player, Leo shifted to baritone while with that nursery for bop, the Billy Eckstine band. He was with Eckstine from 1944 - 1946. Also in 1946 he recorded with Tadd Dameron and Sarah Vaughan for Musicraft and had a spell with Dizzy Gillespie.

1947 - 1948 was a very prolific spell for Leo who recorded for Savoy under his own name and also for various labels in groups led by Illinois Jacquet, Gene Ammons, Sir Charles Thompson, Fats Navarro, Dexter Gordon, J.J. Johnson and Russell Jacquet.

In January 1947, Leo featured on an Illinois Jacquet session for Aladdin, soloing on "Jivin' With Jack The Bellboy." You can hear that track on this LP - "Illinois Jacquet And His Tenor Sax" On the same LP Leo also solos on "For Truly" which was recorded in December 1947.

At the end of January 1947 Leo featured on a Fats Navarro Savoy session. In May and September he was with the Illinois Jacquet band for sessions on Apollo. During the summer of 1947 Leo was on a Sir Charles Thompson session for Apollo, featuring strongly on "Tunis In" and "Mad Lad." In September 1947 Leo was on a Gene Ammons Quintet session for Aladdin and on October 4th he recorded four tracks for Savoy under his own name - "El Sino," "Ineta," "Wild Leo" and "Leapin' Leo." The Savoy tracks are on this LP - "Gene Ammons - Red Top - The Savoy Sessions."

On December 11th 1947 Leo recorded three sides for Savoy with the Dexter Gordon Quintette - "Settin' The Pace," "So Easy" and "Dexter's Riff." These can be heard on the LP "Dexter Gordon Master Takes."

On December 19th 1947 Leo was with the Illinois Jacquet band for a Victor session. He solos on "Embroyo," "Mutton Leg" and "Symphony In Sid." These tracks are on the LP "King Jacquet."

In December 1947 Leo recorded sides for Savoy under his own name and also as part of a band led by J.J. Johnson. Leo was back for another Savoy session in March 1948. In May he was on a Russell Jacquet session for Sensation. You can hear two of these tracks on streaming audio on the post "Suede Jacket" / "Lion's Roar" which features two of the sides on a 78 rpm disc sent in by El Enmascarado.

You can also find these sides on the homemade compilation "Jump & Jive On 78 Volume 3."

In July 1950 Leo recorded for Prestige and in December of that year he recorded a session for Gotham as featured in this post! Only one single resulted from the Gotham session - "Woody" / "Rolling With Parker" (Gotham 262).

In July 1951 Leo recorded for Chess and in November of 1952 he cut a single for United - "Cool Leo" / "Leo's Boogie" (United 141) which you can find on the compilation LP "Screaming Saxophones Have A Ball."

Leo was back at Chess in August 1953. The effects of a long standing heroin addiction were badly affecting his career and his next session was not until July 1954 when he cut an LP with guitarist Bill Jennings for King - "Billy In The Lion's Den." In December of that year he recorded with Illinois Jacquet for Clef and then ill health took over, stopping his recording activity for nearly seven years.

In September and October of 1961 he had an all too brief comeback with Blue Note - recording two albums - "Let Me Tell You 'Bout It" and "Rollin' With Leo." The latter album was not released until 1980. He was scheduled to record a Blue Note LP with Dexter Gordon in early 1962 but in February of that year he died of a heart attack.

Sax Gill had three singles released on Gotham, but of the six sides, only one is on this LP in its original release take - "Dancer's Delight." The singles were -

"Drigo's Serenade" / "Bull Frog Bounce" (Gotham 192), released in September 1949.

"Snaperoo" / "Rhythm Fantasy" (Gotham 205), released in November 1949.

"Dancer's Delight" / "That's The Groovy Thing" (Gotham 217), released in January 1950.

For the Melvin "Sax" Gill story, read Dave Penny's notes on the cover of this LP.

If you follow all the links above you are now in a position to make up your own Leo Parker compilation. Have fun!

Leo Parker discographical information from JazzArcheology.com:

http://www.jazzarcheology.com/leo-parker/

Rockin' The Room!

Side 1:
01. Ha Ha Ha Blues - Jimmy Cavallo And His House Rockers
02. Little Rock Special - Pat The Cat And His Kittens
03. Yes, Indeed! - Bill Haley And Haley's Comets
04. Poison Ivy - Boyd Bennett And His Rockets
05. My Baby Loves Me - Charlie Gracie And The Wildcats
06. Hound Dog - Freddie Bell And The Bellboys
07. Shake A Hand - The Mike Pedicin Quintet
08. Boogie At Midnight - Boyd Bennett And His Rockets

Side 2:
01. Wildwood Boogie - Charlie Gracie And The Wildcats
02. Ooh Baby Ooh - Dave Appell And The Applejacks
03. Dim Dim The Lights (I Want Some Atmosphere) - Bill Haley And His Comets
04. Move Me Baby - Freddie Bell And The Bellboys
05. Disc Jockey's Boogie - The Mike Pedicin Quintet
06. Head Home Honey - Charlie Gracie And The Wildcats
07. The Most - Boyd Bennett And His Rockets
08. Giddy Up A Ding Dong - Freddie Bell And The Bellboys

Download from:

http://www27.zippyshare.com/v/Oprs7K0m/file.html

In recent posts I mentioned in passing that The Treniers were an acknowledged influence on early rock and roll bands who played a style of music which Charlie Gillett in his ground breaking book "The Sound Of The City " labelled "northern band rock 'n' roll." The sax driven bands which played this music mostly hailed from the Philadelphia area, but we start off our home made comp of this early form of rock 'n' roll with two bands whose roots lay further north, in upstate New York.

Jimmy Cavallo was featured in a previous post, "Rock The Joint" in which I looked at the development of early rock 'n' roll from rockin' R&B via the history of the song "Rock The Joint" which was originally recorded by the jump band of Jimmy Preston in Philadelphia in 1949. A Philadelphia based cowboy band, Bill Haley and The Saddlemen, recorded a countrified version in 1952, but the honour of being the first white artist to cover Preston's wild recording probably goes to Jimmy Cavallo who had been playing R&B in the clubs and dance halls of the North Carolina beach resorts in 1948 and 1949. A move back to his hometown of Syracuse, New York State, and subsequent gigs at the Oneida Lake resort of Sylvan Beach saw his brand of R&B gain an enthusiastic new audience and the chance to record for the tiny BSD label of Auburn, NY in 1951 or thereabouts, the precise dates of his recordings being somewhat in doubt.

Our comp features his first record for BSD, "Ha Ha Ha Blues," an adaptation of "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" which was the B Side of an Atlantic disc by Joe Morris, "Jump Everybody Jump." The Morris record was released in March 1951, so a date sometime later in the same year for the Cavallo version is perfectly feasible.

Another upstate New York group to feature on BSD was Pat The Cat and His Kittens. Tenor saxman Pat "The Cat" Monforte and his drummer brother Tony came from Binghampton, NY. Again, the precise year of his recording of "Little Rock Special" is in doubt. Tony Monforte posited 1952, but some websites give the year as late as 1956. Whatever the reality, it's a rousing piece of rock'n'roll with a vocal by Vic Fontaine. Apologies for the sound quality on this track which I ripped from a bootleg LP.

Most of the remaining acts on this comp are Philadelphia bands, with the exception of Southerner Boyd Bennett. Of course the best known band is that of Bill Haley, about whom there have been several posts on the blog. "Destination Rock and Roll" (and here) traces the development of his sound from country to R&B and rock and roll through his recordings for small Philadelphia labels Holiday and Essex from 1951 to 1953. For this comp I've chosen an Essex recording from 1953, "Yes, Indeed!" which remained unreleased until 1957 when it was used as the B Side of a London UK issue of "Rock The Joint." I've also added a Decca recording from September 1954, "Dim Dim The Lights" which hasn't featured on any of the previous Bill Haley posts.

Freddie Bell And The Bellboys had the rather surreal distinction of failing to chart in the U.S. while reaching number 4 in the British top ten with "Giddy Up A Ding Dong" in September 1956. Freddie and the boys (reinforced by Mickey "Guitar" Baker) had recorded the track for Mercury in New York City in February 1956. Almost exactly a year before that The Bellboys recorded some sides in their hometown of Philadelphia for the small Teen label. Among the sides were covers of Ruth Brown's "5-10-15 Hours" and Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog." In April 1956 Elvis saw The Bellboys performing the latter number in Vegas and borrowed their arrangement for his own hit version.

In the early 1950s Philadelphia's top R&B independent label was Gotham. Mike Pedicin and Charlie Gracie both recorded for the Gotham subsidiary 20th Century. Native Philadelphian Charlie Gracie was a blues influenced guitarist and singer who recorded some sides for the NYC based Cadillac label in the early 1950s, including a track called "Rockin' and Rollin'." In 1955 he recorded 2 singles for 20th Century - "My Baby Loves Me" / "Head Home Honey" and "Honey Honey" / "Wildwood Boogie." Charlie went on to greater popularity on the Cameo label in 1957 with "Butterfly" and "Fabulous." Both of these discs were also hits in the UK along with "I Love You So Much It Hurts," "Wanderin' Eyes" and "Cool Baby."

"Wildwood Boogie" was a tribute to the New Jersey resort which hosted many Philly holidaymakers and where many of the bands on this comp had regular seasonal residencies. When saxman Mike Pedicin covered Fay Adam's R&B hit "Shake A Hand" b/w "Disc Jockey's Boogie" on 20th Century in 1954, he was already a music business veteran who had been organising small swing bands to play Philly and New Jersey venues since the early 1940s. In 1955 he signed up with major label RCA Victor for whom he recorded until 1957 but was unable to see any chart action. In 1958 his re-recording of "Shake A Hand" for Cameo did have a brush with the lower reaches of the charts (number 71) but that was that as far as the hit parade was concerned. However Mike Pedicin continued to record and feature as a live act for decades.

Dave Appell was a member of one of Mike Pedicin's early bands, playing rhythm guitar in The Four Sharpes. After leaving the Pedicin outfit he worked as a big band arranger and then formed his own group The Dave Appell Trio. The group recorded for London in 1950 and then as Dave Appell and The Applejacks for Decca in 1954. "Ooh Baby Ooh!" was recorded for the small President label in New York in August 1955. The Applejacks made it to Vegas but soon headed back to Philly where they inked a pact with Cameo for whom they produced a string of releases in 1957-59. Dave Appell moved to arranging and producing side of the business, providing backing on Cameo discs by Chubby Checker and Bobby Rydell.

Boyd Bennett was a son of the South, born in Alabama and raised in Tennessee. His band was originally called The Southlanders and they started recording under that name for King in 1952. Bennett played as a drummer on some King R&B sides and started moving his band from country to a more R&B based sound at the beginning of 1955, changing the band's name to The Rockets which was more in keeping with the new rock and roll craze.

At a session in early January 1955 Boyd and his band recorded their biggest hit "Seventeen" (number 5 in July 1955) which was squarely aimed at the teenage market. Of more interest to blog followers are the R&B cover versions which Bennett recorded at the same session. I've included two of them - Willie Mabon's "Poison Ivy" and Roy Brown's "Boogie At Midnight." Also recorded at the same session but not included here was a cover of B.B. King's "You Upset Me Baby." Also on this comp is a track from an October 1955 session - "The Most" - a more mainstream rock and roll record which features a vocal by "Big Moe" Joe Muzey.

Recommended listening:

"Rare Rock'N'Roll Rampage" (Properbox 146). Jimmy Cavallo, Boyd Bennett, Freddie Bell, Eddie Fontaine, Dave Appell, The Treniers, Joe Bennett & The Sparkletones, and others. 4CD set of band rock 'n' roll, ranging from genuinely hip to kinda square.

"Have Yourself A Ball" a compilation of  rock 'n' roll sides from Gotham subsidiary 20th Century. Appeared as an LP on Krazy Kat in the UK in the 1980s and has reappeared in various guises as a CD. Mike Pedicin, Charlie Gracie, Don Haven and The Hi-Fi's, The Playboys, The Nu-Tones, Bobby Boyd's Jazz Bombers.

Lowell Hastings, Danny Turner, Eddie Woodland - Count "Red" Hastings

Tracklist:

Side A:

01. Diga Diga Do - Count Hastings

02. Sugar Cane - Count Hastings

03. Minor In The Diner - Count Hastings*

04. She's Funny That Way - Count Hastings

05. Patches - Count Hastings*

06. Begin The Beguine - Count Hastings

07. Candied Yam - Count Hastings

Side B:

01. Patches - Count Hastings

02. Baboo - Count Hastings

03. Minor In The Diner - Count Hastings*

04. Midnight Moan - Danny Turner*

05. Snap Case - Eddie Woodland*

06. Jumpin' With Pio - Eddie Woodland*

07. Danny's Jump - Danny Turner **

* = previously unreleased take
** = previously unreleased title

Download from:

http://www9.zippyshare.com/v/V0JcrxOp/file.html

Re-up of an LP originally posted on the 18th November 2007, back in the first few months of  Be Bop Wino. I've added new scans of the back and front covers plus the labels.

This is where R&B meets jazz or vice versa. Cool and jumping sax workouts from 1948 / 1949 for the Gotham label. The notes by Tony Burke explain all and include complete lists of all recording sessions by Lowell "Count" Hastings and Danny Turner. Count Hastings in particular had an extensive R&B career including sessions with Lucky Millinder, Illinois Jacquet, Wynonie Harris and Little Willie John. He was also a member of the bands of Earl Bostic and Louis Jordan.

The only sides on this LP which were released as a single were "Begin The Beguine" / "Candied Yam" on Gotham 171. These sides were recorded in New York on 29th November 1948. The rest of the Count Hastings tracks were recorded in New York on January 4th 1950 but remained unreleased at the time.

Danny Turner had one release on Gotham - "Give Me Some More Of That Real Fine Loving" / ""Midnight Moan" on Gotham 183, from his only session for Gotham under his own name in June 1949 in Philadelphia. The released take of "Midnight Moan" was different from the one presented on this album.

Eddie Woodland had one release on Gotham under his own name, Gotham 194 "Snap Case" / "Jumpin' With Pio" recorded on May 20th 1949 in Philadelphia. Again, these were different takes to the ones presented here.

The original 2007 post on this LP can be found here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2007/11/lowell-hastings-danny-turner-eddie_5596.html

Earl Bostic - Sax "O" Boogie

Tracklist:

Side 1:

01. Bostic's Jump

02. Earl's Rhumboogie

03. Hot Sauce Boss

04. 8:45 Stomp

05. Bar Fly Baby

06. Bostic's Boogie Blues

07. Blip Boogie

08. From Midnight To Dawn

Side 2:

01. Swing Low Sweet Boogie

02. Nay, Nay, Go Away

03. Sugar Hill Blues

04. Choppin' It Down

05. No Name Blues

06. Way Down

07. Don't You Do It

08. Rockin' And Reelin'

Download from:

Sax "O" Boogie (Mega)

Sax "O" Boogie (Zippy)

This is a re-up of an LP which was originally posted in the very early days of the blog , the 17th November 2007, to be precise.

The original post is here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2007/11/earl-bostic-sax-boogie_4519.html

In those days I hadn't worked out how to do a complete scan of an LP cover, so the original upload had scans that missed out parts of the front and back covers. For this re-up I've replaced the old cover scans with new ones plus I've added label scans.

The tracks on this LP date from a 1948 session for Gotham and sessions for King in 1949, 1950 and 1951. They may come as a surprise to those who are familiar only with Earl's 1950s hit singles and the series of "dance" LPs issued by King during that decade. There is no sign here of Earl's hit formula - the swinging, sophisticated, big toned alto sax backed by vibes, but instead we have a series of wild and raucous jump numbers. Full sessions details are on the LP back cover.

Original release information:

Earl's Rhumboogie / 8.45 Stomp on Gotham 154

Bostic's Jump / Hot Sauce Boss on Gotham 155

Bar Fly Baby / Bostic's Boogie Blues on Gotham 161

Blip Boogie on King 4302 (other side was Earl's Blues)

From Midnight To Dawn on King LP 528 "After Hours" (Various Artists)

Swing Low Sweet Boogie on King EP 200 "Earl Bostic And His Alto Sax Volume 1"

'Nay, 'Nay Go Away / Sugar Hill Blues on King 4328

Choppin' It Down / No Name Blues on King 4343

Way Down on King 4420 (other sides was Merry Widow Waltz)

Don't You Do It on King 4683 (B Side of "Off Shore") but without the introduction on the version on this LP. Vibes are also prominent on the single version. The version on this LP is the same as the version on Charly LP "Earl Bostic Blows a Fuse."

Rockin' And Reelin' on King 4437 (other side was "I Can't Give You Anything But Love")

Further reading about Earl is on this post on "Earl Bostic Blows a Fuse.":

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/earl-bostic-blows-fuse-crb-1091.html

Coming soon - re-ups on Lowell "Count" Hastings (who is on many of the tracks on this LP) and "The Paragons Meet The Jesters".

Creepin' & Peepin' / Just Before Sunrise - Jesse Price / Buddy Floyd (Miltone 5250)

In response to a request on the Brown Gal post by "sunman" for "the two tracks Buddy Floyd recorded under his own name" I can only come up with one track - "Just Before Sunrise." This was released on the B side of Miltone 5250 in June 1949, advance notice of the release being listed in the June 18th 1949 issue of Billboard.

The A side was "Creepin' & Peepin'" by Jesse Price and His Jump Jivers. "Just Before Sunrise" was credited to Buddy Floyd with Maxwell Davis and the Miltone Orchestra.

And for those of you who are wondering who Buddy Floyd was, he was the tenor saxman in Roy Milton's Solid Senders. See "Brown Gal" and various other Roy Milton posts on the blog.

This disc was re-released on Gotham 236 in 1950 credited to "Jesse Price and The Jump Jivers."

Now can anyone help with any further recordings by Buddy under his own name? All info, and / or sound samples would be gratefully received.

Anyway, on with the show. "Creepin' & Peepin'' and "Just Before Sunrise" make an excellent instrumental pairing. Both sides are moody slow blues and excellent late night listening.

Creepin' & Peepin' :



Just Before Sunrise:



Click on the little down arrows on the players to download. Enjoy the rest of Sunday, moovers 'n' groovers!

Brown Gal

Side A

01. R.M. Blues - Roy Milton

02. Groovy Blues - Roy Milton (vocal - Camille Howard)

03. When I Grow Too Old To Dream - Roy Milton

04. Sometimes I'm Happy - Jimmy Grissom

05. Mr Fine - Roy Milton (vocal - Camille Howard)

06. If I Had You - Dorothy Donegan

07. Milton's Boogie - Roy Milton

Side B

01. Rock It - Lil Armstrong

02. The Piano Player's Blues - Dorothy Donegan

03. Brown Gal - Lil Armstrong

04. Joogie Boogie - Lil Armstrong

05. Baby Daddy - Lil Armstrong

06. Baby Daddy (alt take) - Lil Armstrong

07. Rock It (alt take) - Lil Armstrong

Download from here:

http://www19.zippyshare.com/v/oqipNxAB/file.html

Red hot and fine as wine jumpin' comp of Gotham sides released on Krazy Kat in 1986. Side A keeps our ongoing Roy Milton theme to the fore as all the sides except Dorothy Donegan's "If I Had You" were originally recorded for Roy's own labels - Roy Milton and Miltone. The discography of Roy Milton's early sides can be confusing as he recorded some of his big hits several times and there were multiple issues of these recordings.

Roy Milton & His Solid Senders first recorded for Lionel Hampton's Hamp-Tone label in September 1945. 4 sides were recorded which were issued on 2 singles: "I'll Always Be In Love With You" / "To Be Alone Blues" (Hamp-Tone 101) and the 2-parter "Burma Road, Parts 1 and 2" (Hamp-Tone 104). These singles were not released until June and July 1946, by which time Roy had recorded for Art Rupe's Juke Box label with great success and was in the midst of setting up his own label, Roy Milton Records.

Art Rupe signed Roy up to his Juke Box record company in November 1945. On the 11th December 1945 Roy recorded 4 tracks which remained unissued and then re-recorded the same tracks on the 22nd December. These were issued in early 1946 on 2 singles: "Milton's Boogie" / "Groovy Blues"(vocal- Camille Howard) on Juke Box 503, and "R.M. Blues" / "Rhythm Cocktail" on Juke Box 504. "Milton's Boogie" sold heavily but "R.M. Blues" was a massive hit, being the 5th best selling "race" record of 1946. In August 1946 Art Rupe decided to leave his Juke Box partners and before the year was out he had started Specialty Records which would become one of the top independent R&B labels in the U.S.

In the meantime Roy Milton had also decided to strike out on his own, going into partnership with Ben Waller and Forrest Perkins to set up Roy Milton Records in mid 1946. Roy re-recorded the tracks he had laid down for Juke Box for issue on his new eponymous label. At an unknown date in 1946 the following Solid Senders recorded sides for Roy Milton and its successor label Miltone: Hosea Sapp (trumpet), Caughey Roberts (alto sax), Buddy Floyd (tenor sax), Camille Howard (piano, vocals), David Robinson (bass), Roy Milton (drums, vocals).

All of which brings us to the tracks on Side A of "Brown Gal." The original issue of these tracks was as follows: "Mr. Fine" and "Milton's Boogie" were issued on Roy Milton 103. "R.M. Blues" and "Groovy Blues" were issued on Roy Milton 105. "When I Grow Too Old To Dream" was issued on Miltone 202, with a Jimmy Grissom number, "Do As I Say" on the B side. "Sometimes I'm Happy" is by Jimmy Grissom who recorded a couple of sessions for Miltone. He was backed by the Solid Senders on one session and by Maxwell Davis and His Blenders on the other session. I can't find which session this track is from.

Many issues on Roy Milton and Miltone featured featured hip cartoons by New York cartoonist William "Alex" Alexander as can be seen by the above examples. Roy himself went back to Art Rupe, signing for his Specialty label in March 1947. The Miltone label carried on, issuing material by Roy, Camille Howard, Jimmy Grissom, Maxwell Davis, Jesse Price and, through a deal with De Luxe Records, material recorded in New Orleans by Roy Brown, Paul Gayten, Annie Laurie and Chubby Newsome.

The original Roy Milton Juke Box masters had meanwhile been inherited by Specialty and it is possible that some Miltone masters also went with Roy to Specialty. His two Juke Box singles were reissued as Specialty singles, and further Specialty singles included titles originally issued on Roy Milton / Miltone. These may have been re-recordings or reissues of the original Roy Milton / Miltone masters. Roy continued to record for Specialty until 1953, achieving considerable success with hits such as "True Blues", "Everything I Do Is Wrong","Hop, Skip And Jump", "The Hucklebuck", "Information Blues", "Oh Babe" and "Best Wishes."

The Miltone label continued for a few years under the "colourful" leadership of Forrest Perkins. It was a tale of lawsuits and a flight to the Phillipines to set up a recording plant. Much greater detail of the saga is available in an article by Louis Opal Nations in "Blues & Rhythm" Magazine no. 235, Christmas 2008.

In June 1950, Billboard announced that Ivan Ballen, head honcho of Gotham Records, had purchased 300 Miltone masters, including sides by Roy Milton, Camille Howard and Jimmy Grissom.  Sides were released on Gotham in 1950 as follows:

Gotham 258 - "Mr Fine" / "Milton's Boogie" ("Mr. Fine" was credited to Camille Howard, "Milton's Boogie" to Roy Milton & The Solid Senders);

Gotham 260 - "R.M. Blues" / "Groovy Blues" ("R.M. Blues" was credited to Roy Milton & The Solid Senders, "Groovy Blues" was credited to Camille Howard & The Solid Senders);

Gotham 261 - "When I Grow Too Old To Dream" / "Sometimes I'm Happy" both sides credited to Camille Howard despite the fact that Roy Milton sings on Side A and Jimmy Grissom sings on Side B.

Dorothy Donegan was a Chicago born jazz pianist who enjoyed a long recording career. Her early recordings (starting from 1942) included issues on Continental, Plymouth and Miltone. Her only release on Gotham, "Piano Player's Blues" / "If I Had You" was recorded in 1950 and issued on Gotham 257. She went on to record for labels such as Roulette, Jubilee, MGM and European labels Four Leaf Clover and Black & Blue. Her last recording was of a concert in the Caribbean on board the SS Norway in 1992. A stylish way to sign off!

Lil Armstrong was born Lil Hardin in Memphis. She joined King Oliver's band where she met and married Louis Armstrong. Although the marriage lasted only seven years she kept the name and continued to record with Louis as well as building a long and distinguished career in her own right. Of particular note is her stay at Decca from 1936 to 1940 where she recorded her best known song "Brown Gal" which was later adapted by Clarence Palmer as "Brown Boy" and later as "Bad Boy."

She had a session for Gotham, probably in 1950, which resulted in two singles, "Baby Daddy" / "Joogie Boogie" (Gotham 241) and "Rock It" / "Brown Gal" (Gotham 256). These are excellent recordings backed by a tight combo (personnel unknown) and featuring great blues and boogie piano and strong vocals from Ms Armstrong. "Baby Daddy" is a suggestive and salacious paen to a well built toy boy. "Rock It" is unmitigated filth which simply has to be heard to be believed.

Sources -

The Roy Milton and Miltone Record Labels by Opal Louis Nations, Blues & Rhythm magazine no. 235, Christmas 2008.

Global Dog Productions website, http://www.globaldogproductions.info/

Notes to "Brown Gal" LP, Krazy Kat LP 808, by Tony Buke, 1986.

Big Al Pavlow's The R&B Book, Music House, 1983.

For subscriptions / back issues, info, see:

http://www.bluesandrhythm.co.uk/

Jump Man, Jump!

Side 1

1 Gene Phillips - Hey Now

2 Bobby Smith - Don't Shake Those Hips At Me

3 Frank Culley - Hop 'N' Twist

4 Dave Bartholomew - Cat Music

5 Varetta Dillard - Mercy Mr Percy

6 Camille Howard - Bangin' The Boogie

7 Harry Crafton - Big Fat Hot Dog

8 Little Esther with Little Willie Littlefield - Turn The Lamps Down Low

Side 2

1 Big Maybelle - New Kind Of Mambo

2 Jimmy Preston - Estellina Bim Bam

3 Pee Wee Crayton - Huckle Boogie

4 Kenzie Moore - Let It Lay

5 Benny Brown - Pappa

6 Paul Williams - Spider Sent Me

7 Gay Crosse - Fat Sam From Birmingham

8 Lil Armstrong - Rock It

All tracks ripped from vinyl @320 kbps

Download from:

http://www6.zippyshare.com/v/26187579/file.html

It's time for another Be Bop Wino compilation of late 40's and early 50's R&B, mainly drawn from the stash of vinyl I digitized during my recent long absence from posting.  The "Juke Joint Jukebox" blues comp was drawn from tracks digitized during the same period but now we find ourselves back in the Boogiewoody comfort zone with this selection of jump blues, boogie, and sax driven rockin' R&B. Mind you, there's a smattering of West Coast style blues guitar courtesy of Gene Phillips and Pee Wee Crayton on LA's Modern label.

Basic track details are listed below but here are a few observations on some of the tracks, in no particular order.

Guitarist, blues shouter and songwriter Harry Crafton recorded for Gotham in the late forties and early fifties. He was also a member of the semi legendary Nite Riders Orchestra along with Doc Starkes, Harry Van Walls and Melvin Smith. Dripping with double entendre, "Big Fat Hot Dog" features a fine vocal performance by Agnes Riley.

Boogie pianist Camille Howard was a mainstay of Roy Milton's Solid Senders, but also had her own parallel solo recording career. In a similar vein, Erskine Hawkins Orchestra alto saxman Bobby Smith had a parallel recording career in which he led a small band of Hawkins sidemen which recorded for Apollo in 1949-50. "Don't Shake Those Hips at Me", recorded after the Smith band moved over to the Ruby label features the tenor sax of Sam "The Man" Taylor. Benny Brown's "Pappa" is an answer record to Ruth Brown's big 1953 hit on Atlantic "Mama (He Treats Your Daughter Mean)".

And so to Jimmy Preston's "Estellina Bim Bam". Anyone up for a humorous take on habitual domestic abuse? It has a very catchy melody but to my ears the lyrics are extremely unsettling. Perhaps back in 1950 many people would have considered the record to be comedy but nowadays it would be the subject of a thesis on its underlying subtext of misogyny and possible racism. However, on Be Bop Wino we present the recordings of the 1940's and 1950's as they were, rather than as we would like them to have been, so despite my doubts the recording is included on the compilation.

Pianist, bandleader and singer Lil Armstrong (Lil Hardin) was a member of King Oliver's band where she met and married Louis Armstrong in 1924. They divorced in 1932 and Lil went on to build a successful career as an accompanist and bandleader, recording for Decca from 1936 to 1940. Her theme tune was "Brown Gal" (Decca, 1936) which she rerecorded for Gotham in 1947. At the same session she recorded "Rock It", a frantic piece of double entendre, the final verse of which is the unforgettable:

"Yeah, he rocked me sittin', he rocked me lyin',
If I'd a had wings, he'd a rocked me flyin'."

Nothing can follow that.


The tracks (artist, title, original issue, year of recording):

1 Gene Phillips - Hey Now: Modern 20-558, 1948

2 Bobby Smith - Don't Shake Those Hips At Me: aka Shake Your Hips, Ruby 102, 1951

3 Frank Culley - Hop 'N' Twist: aka Fish Tail, Atlantic 902, 1949

4 Dave Bartholomew - Cat Music: Imperial 5308, 1954

5 Varetta Dillard - Mercy Mr Percy: Savoy 897, 1953

6 Camille Howard - Bangin' The Boogie: Specialty 404, 1951

7 Harry Crafton (w Agnes Riley) - Big Fat Hot Dog: Oscar 106, 1954

8 Little Esther with Little Willie Littlefield - Turn The Lamps Down Low: Federal 12115, 1952

9 Big Maybelle - New Kind Of Mambo: Okeh 7069, 1954

10 Jimmy Preston - Estellina Bim Bam: Gotham 240, 1950

11 Pee Wee Crayton - Huckle Boogie: Modern 20-742, 1950

12 Kenzie Moore - Let It Lay: Specialty 456, 1953

13 Benny Brown - Pappa: Gotham 293, 1953

14 Paul Williams - Spider Sent Me: Savoy 670, 1948

15 Gay Crosse - Fat Sam From Birmingham: alternate take of Gotham 279, 1952

16 Lil Armstrong - Rock It: Gotham 256, 1947

Earl Bostic Blows a Fuse (CRB 1091)

Ah, Earl Bostic! The maestro of the alto sax whose rasping big-toned sax stylings shifted hundreds of thousands of singles, EPs and LPs throughout the 1950s. And not only in the US of A, as my uncle used to reminisce about dancing to a café juke box stacked with Bostic platters in the south side of Glasgow back in the ‘50s. The first time I heard the man himself was towards the end of the 1970s on his version of “Harlem Nocturne” which turned up on one of the Old King Gold LPs. It’s a masterpiece of moody sleaze which immediately transported me (in mind, if not in body) to an exotic strip club. If you’re looking for an instrumental record to set a mood or get the dancers a-swingin’ and a-swayin’ then you can’t go wrong with Bostic.


Vintage EP cover courtesy Joan K.

Like so many Be Bop Wino heroes, Earl Bostic came from a solid big band background, most notably with a 1943/44 Lionel Hampton line up that included fellow future R&B luminaries Joe Morris, Big Al Sears and Arnett Cobb. But back in the early to mid ‘40s Earl wasn’t only swingin’ with the big bands, he was also going along to those after hours jam sessions in NYC which were the birthplace of bebop.

In Ira Gitler’s book “Swing to Bop”, Allen Tinney remembered the sessions at Clark Monroe’s Uptown House, where Charlie Parker and Earl Bostic squared off against each other:

“And a guy named Earl Bostic used to come in and watch him [Charlie Parker]. You know it’s like gunslingers, and one night they hooked up. I don’t really know who won because it was too tremendous, but Bostic had been scouting him, and they really hooked up, and it was tremendous.”

In the same book Hal Singer talked about Sunday afternoon jam sessions at a club called The Heatwave:

“Then for the jam session Bird called ‘Cherokee.’ The two horns were Bird and Bostic. Both of them were great and they had a great feeling towards each other. There was a great admiration for each other’s drive and technique.”

Notwithstanding his ability to hold his own against the up and coming beboppers, Earl’s musical career followed the path of swing, jump, rhythm and blues and even pop, but his amazing technique which was widely acknowledged by fellow musicians such as Art Blakey and John Coltrane always meant that there was something in his work to interest jazz fans. At the height of his commercial success with King Records in the 1950s his bands included future jazz legends like Coltrane, Stanley Turrentine and Benny Golson.

In 1945 Bostic formed his own big band which included Don Byas and Tiny Grimes and cut a couple of discs for Majestic. In 1946 he signed with Gotham records which at that time was based in NYC and over the next two years he recorded a series of small group jump (occasionally very wild!) and swing sides, gaining success with “Away” and more notably “Temptation.”

Towards the end of 1948 he signed with the larger King Records. Within a couple of years he had moved away from the jump sound he favoured at Gotham and with the addition of Gene Redd on vibes had developed a fuller sound which brought a series of hits such as “Sleep,” “Moonglow” and the chart topper “Flamingo.” Single success lasted from 1951 through to 1954. The formula for this success was to take a swing standard and give it a danceable big beat treatment with a dash of echo included. Just the thing for the juke boxes!

From 1956 onwards Earl Bostic’s King recording sessions were aimed at the growing LP market and a veritable avalanche of big 12 inchers was released over the next few years with titles such as “Dance to the Best of Bostic,” “Earl Bostic For You,” Alto-Tude,” “Dance Time,” “Let’s Dance with Earl Bostic,” “Invitation to Dance from Earl Bostic,” “C’mon and Dance with Earl Bostic,” “Bostic Rocks,” “Alto Magic in Hi-Fi,” and “Bostic Showcase of Swingin’ Dance Hits.” There may be a theme to these titles. Some of these LPs are still available as King CDs with the original front cover art still in place. Below are a couple of examples I bought through Amazon marketplace.





The 1985 Charly LP I’ve posted here provides a 16 track overview of Bostic’s career from his 1940s Gotham and early King jump sides (with hissy sound quality), through his early 1950s big selling singles (much better sound quality) to his mid to late 1950’s dance LP sides.
Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps.

Download from here:

Earl Bostic Blows A Fuse (Mega)

Earl Bostic Blows a Fuse (Zippy)

1. Night Train
2. 8.45 Stomp
3. That's The Groovy Thing
4. Special Delivery Stomp
5. Moonglow
6. Mambostic
7. Earl Blows A Fuse
8. Harlem Nocturne
9. Who Snuck The Wine In The Gravy?
10. Don't You Do It
11. Disc Jockey's Nightmare
12. Flamingo
13. Steam Whistle Jump
14. What! No Pearls
15. Tuxedo Junction
16. Seven Steps

Recommended purchases include the 4CD Properbox set "The Earl Bostic Story" which follows his career from his earliest sides for Gotham in 1946 to his King period in 1955. Rev-Ola have issued a CD, “Let’s Ball Tonight,” which has 28 Gotham and early King sides.



Collector’s corner. Proper had a good 2CD set called “Flamingo” which followed Bostic’s career from his Hampton days up until his 1951 sides for King. A good collection with excellent notes by Joop Visser. The See For Miles label had two Earl Bostic collections in their “EP Collection” series. Both are excellent, but the first volume is simply outstanding with every track a standout and all in superb sound quality. If you see this (or the other two out of print CDs) going secondhand at a reasonable price, then buy with confidence.