"Rockin' with Chuck Willis" - The Atlantic Years

I should really have called this “Strollin’ With Chuck Willis”, but it’s too late now! Thanks to Joan for providing these rips from 1950s 45 rpm singles and EPs. There are 15 tracks here from Chuck’s all too short (two years, 1956 – 1958) tenure at Atlantic Records. There was one track lacking to reconstitute Chuck’s 1958 Atlantic LP “King of the Stroll”, so I’ve used Joan’s rips to make up a Bebopwino comp of the “Sheik of Shake”.

Chuck’s time at Atlantic saw him reach the national pop charts with 3 discs: “C.C. Rider” reached number 12 in May 1957, “Betty and Dupree” reached number 33 in March 1958, and the ominously titled “What Am I Living For”/ “Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes” reached number 2 in May 1958, by which time Chuck was dead following surgery for a perforated ulcer and the disc was a posthumous hit.

In the second half of the 1950s Atlantic were adding girly choruses and sometimes strings to their R&B productions and many sides cut at this time haven’t worn well with the passing of the years, sounding rather corny to modern ears. However Willis’ performances and songwriting are strong enough to overcome this kind of backing, although I can’t help but wish that he’d been allowed to cut more discs like “What’cha Gonna Do When Your Baby Leaves You” where there are no unnecessary embellishments.

Thanks to Joan for the rips and scans. And of course you’ll find some crackling and hissing on these 50 year old discs.

Ripped at 192 kbps (from m4a files which are included). Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

http://rapidshare.com/files/158130898/Rockin__With_Chuck_Willis.rar

Or here:

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

1. Betty And Dupree
2. That Train Has Gone
3. Love Me Cherry
4. Juanita
5. It's Too Late
6. C.C. Rider
7. My Life
8. What'cha Gonna Do When Your Baby Leaves You
9. Kansas City Woman
10. You'll Be My Love
11. Ease the Pain
12. Thunder And Lightning
13. My Crying Eyes
14. Keep A-Driving
15. What Am I Living For