Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis = Hen Gates Shock!!!

Thanks to “Hamfat” who commented on the Hen Gates and His Gaters “Rock and Roll” post, we now know that a couple of the tracks on that album are not old Freddie Mitchell masters bought from Derby, but are in fact Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis tracks recorded for Lenox in 1947.

The tracks in question are “Back Bone” and “Look and Listen.” Hamfat suggested that they were in fact “Leapin’ On Lenox” and “Lockjaw’s Bounce.” My thoughts after listening to the Lenox tracks on the excellent Chronological Classics CD “Eddie Lockjaw Davis 1946 – 1947” are that “Back Bone” is “Minton’s Madhouse” and “Look and Listen” is indeed “Leapin’ On Lenox.”

I am still not totally convinced that all the tracks on the “Let’s All Dance To Rock and Roll” LP are Freddie Mitchell masters from Derby. The only two tracks I could identify for sure as such are “Great Gates Rock” and “Lose” which are “Cold Heat” and “Doby’s Boogie” respectively. These are the two tracks which aren’t listed on the LP sleeve and in my opinion the remaining 12 tracks sound different, more like mid 50s tracks than recordings from 1949 – 1952 which were the years Freddie Mitchell was at Derby. The two definite Mitchell tracks also turn up again on the “Rock and Roll” LP. Here is an update on the list of tracks from “Rock And Roll” whose origins are now known:

Track 1, “Stop” is “Pony Express”, recorded 1950/51, originally released on Derby 725

Track 3 "Look Out" is "Lockjaw's Bounce" (Lockjaw Davis), recorded in 1947, unreleased on single

Track 4 “Hold It” is “Hot Ice” (minus intro), recorded December 1951, originally released on Derby 777

Track 5 “The Creep” is “Doby’s Boogie”, recorded in 1949, originally released on Derby 713

Track 8 “Rockin’ and Rollin’ Hop” is “Madera Hop”, recorded in December 1951, originally released on Derby 807

Track 9 “Back Bone” is “Minton’s Madhouse” (Lockjaw Davis), recorded in 1947, originally released on Lenox 515

Track 10 “Look And Listen” is “Leapin’ On Lenox” (Lockjaw Davis), recorded in 1947, originally released on Lenox 502

Track 11 “Bunny Rock” is “Cold Heat” (minus intro), recorded in 1952, originally released on Derby 793

Track 12 "Bear Walk" is "Lockjaw's Bounce" (Lockjaw Davis), recorded in 1947, unreleased on single

The Chronological Classics CD lists several Lockjaw Davis tracks recorded for Lenox being released on Remington and Plymouth. See the comments section on the “Rock And Roll” post for details. Can anyone add any more information which could help us nail the mystery of Hen Gates for once and for all?

PS - sorry for the slightly misleading and sensationalist headline. I'm hoping to get a job on "The Scotsman" newspaper. Or failing that, a position with BBC Scotland.