The Hollywood Flames - The John Dolphin Sessions

Side A:
01. Clickety Clack I'm Leaving - The Hollywood Flames
02. Let's Talk It Over - The Hollywood Flames
03. Fare Thee Well - The Hollywood Flames
04. I Know - The Hollywood Flames
05. Wagon Wheels - The Original Turks
06. One Night With A Fool - The Hollywood Flames
07. Oooh-La-La - The Hollywood Flames
08. Peggy - The Hollywood Flames
09. Young Girl - The Hollywood Four Flames
10. The Glory Of Love - The Hollywood Four Flames

Side B:
01. Hey Now - The Voices
02. Ride Helen Ride - The Hollywood Flames
03. It Can't Be True - The Turks
04. Santa Claus Baby - The Voices
05. Emily - The Turks
06. Why - The Voices
07. The Truth Hurts - Bobby (Baby Face) Byrd And The Birds
08. I've Been Accused - The Turks
09. I'm A Fool - The Turks
10. My Love Grows Stronger - The Voices

The John Dolphin Sessions (Mega)

The John Dolphin Sessions (Zippy)

It's one of those posts that you dread trying to write. A convoluted tale of a vocal group with shifting personnel, various group names and a phenomenal amount of label hopping around the diskeries of Los Angeles. Luckily we have sleeve notes by Jim Dawson, and an article by Marv Goldberg which you can find here:

http://www.uncamarvy.com/HollywoodFlames/hollywoodflames.html

... but I think we'll concentrate mainly on the sides they recorded for the various John Dolphin labels.

The Hollywood Flames, or The Flames, or Hollywood's Four Flames, or The Four Flames, to give them the names they recorded under between 1950 and 1953 for a multiplicity of LA labels, were basically mainly about leads Bobby Byrd (who later had success as Bobby Day) and David Ford. Formed in 1949, the group won talent contests at The Barrelhouse - Johnny Otis's club, and had their first record issued on Selective in January 1950 ( as The Flames). Two more Selective releases followed, then in short order came discs on Unique, Fidelity and Specialty before their first releases for a John Dolphin label, "I'll Always Be A Fool" / "She's Got Something" and "Young Girl" / "Baby Please" on Recorded In Hollywood, both released in August 1952.

"Young Girl" was hastily re-released a month later, this time backed with a version of "Glory Of Love" as Dolphin attempted to cash in (in vain) on the success of The Five Key's smash hit. By the end of '52 they were on Aladdin and its 7-11 subsidiary (they had a release under the name "The Jets") where they stayed through 1953. At the end of that year and the beginning of 1954 they had a couple of releases on Jack Lauderdale's Swing Time label but in March 1954 they were back with John Dolphin.

By this time the group had acquired another formidable vocal talent in Gaynel Hodge. David Ford and Bobby Byrd took the leads respectively on "One Night With A Fool" / "Ride Helen Ride" on Lucky 001, the first release of their second spell with Dolphin in March 1954. Their next release, in July 1954, "Peggy" / "Oooh-La-La" (Lucky 006) featured Gaynel Hodge on lead vocal on "Peggy" and Bobby Byrd and David Ford leading on "Oooh-La-La." The disc generated enough sales to earn it a re-release on Decca in October 1954.

In September 1954 there were two Hollywood Flames discs released on John Dolphin labels. "Let's Talk It Over" / "I Know" on Lucky 009 (these were originally Swing Time masters) with David Ford and Gaynel Hodge on lead respectively. In the same month there was another Dolphin release, this time on Money - "Fare Thee Well" / "Clickety Clack I'm Leaving" (Money 202) with David Ford and David Ford / Bobby Byrd on respective leads.

Decca also re-released "Let's Talk It Over" / "I Know" in January 1955.

Now things get complicated with a slew of John Dolphin releases in 1955 - 1956 by The Voices and The Turks. The Voices were a vehicle for Bobby Byrd with a shifting lineup usually featuring duets either with himself (double tracked, natch) or with Earl Nelson. The Turks were a group led by Gaynel Hodge, but just to complicate matters, a couple of Turks releases were actually Hollywood Flames recordings. Marv Goldberg has a separate article on The Turks here:

http://www.uncamarvy.com/Turks/turks.html

According to Marv Goldberg, "Emily" released in February 1955 on Money 211 as by The Turks is in fact a Hollywood Flames recording with Gaynel Hodge on lead. However, "I'm A Fool" / "I've Been Accused" released on Money 215 in February 1956 are genuine Turks recordings. The third and last Turks release on a Dolphin label was "It Can't Be True" / "Wagon Wheels" in July 1956 on Cash 1052. "Wagon Wheels" was credited to "The Original Turks" but was actually a Hollywood Flames recording with a lead vocal by Bobby Byrd.

1955 also saw a spate of releases on Cash by Bobby Byrd's The Voices, starting with "Why" / "Two Things I Love" (Cash 1011) in May. "Hey Now" / "My Loves Grows Stronger" (Cash 1014) came out in August. "I Want To Be Ready " / "It Takes Two To Make A Home" (Cash 1015) was reviewed in Billboard on 31st December 1955, although Cash 1016, "Santa Claus Boogie" / "Santa Claus Baby" had already been issued in November.

All of which leaves just one track from this LP, a Voices track, "The Truth Hurts" released as by Bobby (Baby Face) Byrd and The Birds in April 1956 on Cash 1031, b/w "Let's Live Together as One."

In 1957 The Hollywood Flames (Bobby Byrd, David Ford, Earl Nelson and Curlee Dinkins) signed up with Class, and a couple of name changes ensued as Bobby Byrd became Bobby Day, and The Hollywood Flames became The Satellites. They had a hit with "Little Bitty Pretty One" which was unfortunately outsold by a cover version by Thurston Harris. In the meantime the group recorded for Ebb as The Hollywood Flames. They had a hit with the Bobby Day composition "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz" and then Bobby left to concentrate on his own career, although Bobby and The Flames (as The Satellites or incognito) would still record together on Class.

Also in 1957-58, Bobby Day and Earl Nelson issued singles on Class as "Bob and Earl," a duo that kept going after Bobby Day left and was replaced by Bob Mark II - Bob Relf. Bob Relf and Earl Nelson had the hit "Harlem Shuffle" in 1963.

In 1958 Bobby had a huge hit with "Rock-In Robin" and The Flames were the uncredited backing group. Although they didn't have the level of success achieved by Bobby, The Hollywood Flames (led by Earl Nelson, although David Ford was still with them) did record a couple of great rock and roll sides for Ebb - "Frankenstein's Den" and the absolute classic "Strollin' On The Beach."

The Flames kept recording for Ebb until 1959 and then started a period of label hopping and personnel changes (with the last original member being David Ford) before finally breaking up in 1967.

The Fax on the Trax - Original Release Information

01. Clickety Clack I'm Leaving - The Hollywood Flames - Money 202, September 1954
02. Let's Talk It Over - The Hollywood Flames - Lucky 009, September 1954
03. Fare Thee Well - The Hollywood Flames - Money 202, September 1954
04. I Know - The Hollywood Flames - Lucky 009, September 1954
05. Wagon Wheels - The Original Turks - Cash 1042, July 1956
06. One Night With A Fool - The Hollywood Flames - Lucky 001, March 1954
07. Oooh-La-La - The Hollywood Flames - Lucky 006, July 1954
08. Peggy - The Hollywood Flames - Lucky 006, July 1954
09. Young Girl - The Hollywood Four Flames - RIH 165, August 1952; RIH 165, September 1952
10. The Glory Of Love - The Hollywood Four Flames - RIH 165, September 1952
11. Hey Now - The Voices - Cash 1014, August 1955
12. Ride Helen Ride - The Hollywood Flames - Lucky 001, March 1954
13. It Can't Be True - The Turks - Cash 1042, July 1956
14. Santa Claus Baby - The Voices - Cash 1016, November 1955
15. Emily - The Turks - Money 211, February, 1955
16. Why - The Voices - Cash 1011, May 1955
17. The Truth Hurts - Bobby (Baby Face) Byrd And The Birds - Cash 1031, April 1956
18. I've Been Accused - The Turks - Money 215, February 1956
19. I'm A Fool - The Turks - Money 215, February 1956
20. My Love Grows Stronger - The Voices - Cash 1014, August 1955

Elsewhere On The Blog

Bobby Day LP "Rockin' With Robin" issued on Class in 1958. Reconstituted with rips and label scans from Joan. Original post now augmented with covers from 45worlds.com. Originally posted in May 2008. The post is here - 

Bobby Day - Rockin' With Robin

New download links for Rockin' With Robin -

Rockin' With Robin (Mega)

Rockin' With Robin (Zippy)

Recommended Purchase -

Ace CDCHD 420 - The Hollywood Flames

A 28 track collection from Specialty which includes early 1950s issues on Specialty and Fidelity plus the late 1950s releases on Ebb. A must for any fan of the West Coast vocal group sound. Liner notes by Billy Vera. Great R&B and rock 'n' roll.

 

Joe Houston - Rockin' 'n' Boppin'

Tracklist:

Side 1

01. Rockin' 'n' Boppin'

02. Flying Home

03. Walking Home

04. Earthquake

05. Waycross Mama Blues

06. Moody

07. Hurricane

08. Go Joe Go

Side 2

01. Cornbread & Cabbage

02. Jay's Boogie

03. Doin' The Lindy Hop

04. Boogie Woogie Woman

05. Hog Maws Part 2

06. Dig It

07. Shtiggy Boom

08. Joe's Gone

09. The Hully

Download from here:

Joe Houston - Rockin' 'n' Boppin' (Mega)

Joe Houston - Rockin' 'n' Boppin' (Zippy)

Bought second hand. There is damage to the inner sleeve which renders a small part of the notes unreadable.

We continue our tribute to the late Joe Houston with a Saxophonograph LP which hasn't been on the blog before.

I was saddened to read in the March edition of "Blues & Rhythm" that Joe Houston had passed away last December after a long period of ill health. One of my favourite LPs of the 1980s R&B reissue craze was "Rockin' At The Drive In" on Ace. This was a reworking of an LP originally issued on Combo in 1956. The honking sax was awesome, relentless even, and as for the cover art, ye gods! There in the car park of a Googie architecture drive in restaurant was the man himself, blowing his sax to an admiring crowd of teens plus DJ Art Laboe and, artfully placed in the picture, a couple of open top cars each about the size of a small house (by UK standards). 1950s California seemed impossibly cool to somebody living in gloomy, rain soaked Glasgow in the 1980s.

"Rockin' 'n' Boppin'" provides a good overview of Joe's 1950s recording career. The gatefold sleeve contains notes by Ken Mills which at times could be called "fervent" as he preaches the glories of the Southern California R&B scene and Joe's contribution thereto. Included in the notes is a section on another LP already on this blog, "Earthquake," which was released by Pathe Marconi in the early 1980s. This was a compilation mainly consisting of sides originally recorded for Imperial. Unfortunately some of the tracks were wrongly titled and the original versions of "Hurricane" and "Earthquake" were not actually on that LP. However, they are here on "Rockin' 'n' Boppin'!" Read Ken Mills's notes for the full story.

Original release info plus reviews culled from the pages of Billboard:

01. Rockin' 'n' Boppin' - Cash 1018, late 1955.

02. Flying Home - Cash 1013, c September 1955.

03. Walking Home - Cash 1013, c September 1955.

Billboard, 1st October 1955

04. Earthquake - Imperial 5201, 1952.

05. Waycross Mama Blues - Freedom 1526, late 1949 /early 1950.

06. Moody - Bayou 004, May 1953. "Houston is the honking tenor type as he and the ork read off a riff-built instrumental for a good side."

07. Hurricane - Imperial 5196, July 1952. "The ork under Houston drives hard on a rhythm instrumental cleffed by the leader. Results are adequate."

08. Go Joe Go - Lucky 004, May 1954.

09. Cornbread & Cabbage - Hollywood 423, May 1953. "Houston shows a lot of sax on this side, a dynamic riff effort."

10. Jay's Boogie - Hollywood 423, May 1953. "More sax work with abandon by Houston, this time to a boogie beat by the ork."

11. Doin' The Lindy Hop - Modern 863, April 1952

12. Boogie Woogie Woman - Modern 879, August 1952. "A jump boogie gets a solid go from the ork and Lois Butler helps it along with her vocal. Material is not impressive."

13. Hog Maws Part 2 - Magnum 45-723, 1964.

14. Dig It - Modern 879, August 1952. "The ork enjoys itself jamming away on this riff item with lots of solo work featured thruout. Tune builds a bit, but not as much as it could. Jazz fanciers may like."

15. Shtiggy Boom - RPM 426, February 1955. "Swingy new rocker that has all the West Coast record firms excited is handed a driving reading by the Houston ork, with the sidemen on the vocal. Houston turns in some solid work on sax, and the side builds all the way. This could happen."

Scan from Joan K

16. Joe's Gone - RPM 426, February 1955. "And Joe Houston does go in this swinging instrumental side. Both jazz and blues fans will be interested in this wild cutting. Houston comes thru with excitement. Two potent juke sides."

17. The Hully - Combo 157, August 1959. "A blues-oriented instrumental with a rocking rhythm. Some good horn passages and interesting musical figures."

Recommended site:

http://www.colorradio.com/joe-houston.html

Now somebody get me a time machine. I gotta get back to 1950s LA!