Rock'N' Roll Versus Rhythm And Blues (Dooto LP DL 223)

Side 1:
01) Wet Back Hop - Chuck Higgins
02) Tonky Honk - Chuck Higgins
03) Fools Are Getting Scarcer - Roy Milton
04) I Can't Go On - Roy Milton
05) Oh Yeah - Chuck Higgins
06) Don't You Know I Love You - Chuck Higgins (Vocal by Frank Dunn)

Side 2:
01) Reelin' And Rockin' - Roy Milton
02) Nothing Left - Roy Milton
03) The Itch - Chuck Higgins
04) Looking For My Baby - Chuck Higgins
05) Baby I'm Gone - Roy Milton
06) Cry Some Baby - Roy Milton

Rock'N' Roll Versus Rhythm And Blues (Mega)

Rock'N' Roll Versus Rhythm And Blues (Zippy)

12 Hits! Battle of the Bands! Chuck Higgins versus Roy Milton! Released in 1956, this 12 tracker is an irresistible collection for fans of West Coast Honk and West Coast Jump. Brought to you by regular contributor Marv, these waxings encapsulate the two generations of  Los Angeles R&B: the jump blues of the 1940s and the R&B / rock and roll of the 1950s.

Roy Milton, of course had been enjoying hit record success since 1946 when his "Milton's Boogie" and "R.M. Blues" soared towards the top of what was then called the Race Music charts. These discs were released on Art Rupe's Juke Box label which soon became Specialty. Roy had a total of 19 R&B chart hits for the label, his last "biggie" being "Night And Day" in 1952.

Roy's last session for Specialty was in October 1953, although that label still issued his material into 1955. His next recording session was for Dootone when he laid down the tracks on this LP in April or early May 1955. By then Roy's jazz, swing and boogie based form of R&B was decidedly old fashioned but the tracks here are all good, with "(You Got Me) Reelin' And Rockin'" and "Baby I'm Gone" rocking along nicely.

 The Cash Box, 21st May 1955

If Roy's spectacular record sales were long gone by 1955, Chuck Higgins was still hanging in there as regards West Coast teen appeal in the same year when he recorded a session for Dootone. His big success had come early in his recording career in 1952 with "Pachuco Hop" / "Motorhead Baby" on Combo which was a strong seller on The Coast. For the next few years he label hopped around LA diskeries with sessions for John Dolphin, Aladdin and Specialty.

Unlike Roy Milton, Chuck's popularity remained entirely local to the LA area. However, the good will he had built up among LA's Mexican R&B followers with "Pachuco Hop" was thrown away with the release on Dootone of the spectacularly badly named "Wet Back Hop." Ouch.

Setting aside that dreadful faux pas, the Higgins sides here are good strong mid '50s R&B with great guitar work by Jimmy Nolen who manages to sound like T-Bone Walker on "Don't You Know I Love You" and like Chuck Berry on "Looking For My Baby."

The Story Behind The Tracks:

Roy Milton - all sides recorded in Los Angeles circa April 1955. Personnel: Roy Milton (drums, vocals) with - Charles Gillum (trumpet); Jackie Kelso (alto sax); Eddie Taylor (tenor sax); Floyd Turnham (baritone sax); Camille Howard (piano); Jimmie Davis (guitar); Lawrence Kato (bass).

Fools Are Getting Scarcer / I Can't Go On - Dootone 363 - May 1955

You Got Me Reeling And Rocking / Nothing Left - Dootone 369 - July 1955

Cry Some Baby / Baby I'm Gone - Dootone 398 - July 1956

Chuck Higgins - all sides recorded in Los Angeles on an unknown date in 1955. Personnel: Chuck Higgins (vocal, tenor sax); with - Danny Crisp (trombone); Kenny Battle (tenor sax, baritone sax); Frank Dunn (vocal, piano); Jimmy Nolen (guitar); Roy "Candy" Johnson (bass) James Lee (drums)

Here I'm Is / Tonky Honk - Dootone 361 - April 1955

Wetback Hop / Don't You Know I Love You Baby - Dootone 370 - August 1955

Looking For My Baby / Eye Ballin' - Dootone 376 - November 1955

The Itch / Gambling Woman - Dootone 387 - March 1956

Oh Yeah / I Need Your Love - Dootone 396 - June 1956

Information from 45cat.com, bsnpubs.com, and The Cash Box. Album art adapted from discogs.com. Sound files from Marv.

You Gotta Buy These:

For Dootone sounds straight from the master recordings, Ace (UK) is your one stop shop. If you liked this album, then these fine platters will get your toes a tappin' -

 Dootone Rock'n' Rhythm and Blues (Ace CDCHD 839)

Well, it's pretty obvious where they got the idea for the cover from! This CD could be regarded as a greatly expanded version of the LP on this blog post. But not quite, as it doesn't have "Oh Yeah" by Chuck Higgins. Every other track on the LP is present on this 28 tracker which features more Roy Milton and Chuck Higgins, Mickey Champion (backed by Roy Milton), Lorenzo Holden, Ernie Freeman, Helen Humes, Claude McLin and Joe Houston. A must buy.

Honk! Honk! Honk! (Ace CDCHD 781)

"Oh Yeah" is on this one. I've sung the praises of this one many times before. 30 sides mainly from Combo but with a smattering of Dootone sides. Features Joe Houston, Chuck Higgins, Roy Milton, Jack McVea, Lorenzo Holden, Louise Beatty and other cool West Coast cats. Be there or be square. Capiche?

Many thanks to Marv for sending in this Dooto LP. I'm gone man, solid gone.

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/

Roy Milton Special!

Happy New Year to all you movers and groovers! There's a brief lull in the festivities so now's the time for the first post of 2016. We kick off the new year with a mixture of some new and previously posted stuff on Roy Milton, one of the most important figures in 1940s / early 50s rhythm and blues.

So let's start with the new - a further collection of Roy's late 1950s tracks. Here you go -

1 - You're Gonna Suffer Baby

2 - Rockin' Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu

3 - Skid Row

4 - Early In The Morning

5 - Bless Your Heart

6 - Best Wishes

7 - R.M. Blues

Download from:

http://www87.zippyshare.com/v/XdbPHoSA/file.html

Here's the lowdown, strictly on the QT, very hush-hush:

Roy's band line up for his King sessions (October 1956, February and July 1957) was as follows:

Walter Williams (tp); Harvey Braxton (as); Cliff Solomon (ts); Oscar Estelle (bar); Emmanuel Kennebrew (p); Johnny Rogers (g); Lawrence Kato (b); Roy Milton (d,vcl); Mickey Champion (vcl)

"You're Gonna Suffer Baby" was recorded in October 1956 and released in December 1956 as the B Side of "One Zippy Zam" on King 4993. Bruyninckx credits the vocal to Inez Coleman but the contemporary Billboard review says: 'Mickey Champion is the songstress on this side, and she styles a slow, groovy blues to a "T." Easy on the ears.'

"Skid Row" was recorded in February 1957 and "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" was recorded in July 1957. Both sides were released on King 5069 at the end of July 1957. Mickey Champion shares vocals with Roy on the A side, "Rockin' Pneumonia", a cover of the hit on Ace by Huey "Piano" Smith and the Clowns. Billboard review (July 22nd 1957); 'A late cover of the Ace hit, this side has a swinging beat and a solid blues feeling. Vocal includes occasional wild screams. Effective.'

I posted on "Skid Row" back in April with background details and streaming audio. The original post is here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/skid-row-roy-milton-king-5069.html

"Early In The Morning" and "Bless Your Heart" were recorded in 1960 in Los Angeles and were released in May that year on Lou Wa 1002 and Warwick M 549.

Back in June 2015 I posted on these two Warwick sides. For mucho further info, without which your life will be completely meaningless, click on this link to the post:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/roy-milton-early-in-morning-bless-your.html

If you have followed the above links you will know that we have Corky to thank for sending in "Skid Row", "Early In The Morning" and "Bless Your Heart". He also kindly provided two further sides on the Warwick label: "Best Wishes" and "R. M. Blues". These were recorded in 1960 and released on Warwick M 591. These were both re-recordings of earlier hit material from 1951 and 1945 respectively, which I guess brings us full circle, back to the beginning of Roy's career at the start of the boom in jump blues and R&B in mid-40s Los Angeles.

The first collection of Roy's later sides, made after his style of jump blues had given way to harder rockin' R&B and rock 'n' roll, can be downloaded from here:

http://www52.zippyshare.com/v/S5ZN30Vi/file.html

For the January 2009 post featuring label scans and rips from Joan K and much more of interest follow this link:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/roy-milton-later-roy-milton_26.html

Tracklist:

1 - Baby, Don't Do That to Me
2 - Tell It Like It Is
3 - Fools Are Getting Scarcer
4 - I Can't Go On
5 - You Got Me Reelin' & Rockin'
6 - One Zippy Zam
7 - A Brand New Thrill
8 - Jeep's Blues
9 - Driveway Blues
10 - I'm Forgetting About You

The post was re-upped in March 2015 and attracted a few comments. Link here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/the-later-roy-milton-re-up.html

Way back in the blog I posted a couple of  classic Jukebox Lil LPs of Roy's earlier material when he was one of the best selling artists in R&B. The original download links were lost in the great rapidshare fiasco but I've now got new links available. First up, "The Grandfather of R&B" which includes his very first recordings for HampTone in 1945:

Tracklist:

01 - Burma Road Blues (part 1)

02 - Burma Road Blues (part 2)

03 - Red Light

04 - It Should Never Have Been This Way

05 - Them There Eyes

06 - When I Grow Too Old To Dream

07 - My Blue Heaven

08 - I've Had My Moments

09 - Hop, Skip And Jump

10 - Everything I Do Is Wrong

11 - Sympathetic Blues

12 - My Sweetheart

13 - Junior Jives

14 - Where There Is No Love

15 - Playboy Blues

16 - Cryin' & Singin' The Blues

17 - Short, Sweet And Snappy

New Download Link:

http://www90.zippyshare.com/v/k0uw27GH/file.html

Original post here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/roy-milton-and-his-solid-senders_16.html

And to finish off this marathon post, that other re-upped LP:

Tracklist:

01 - Rhythm Cocktail
02 - Big Fat Mama
03 - I'll Always Be In Love With You
04 - Little Boy Blue
05 - So Tired
06 - Thelma Lou
07 - Someday
08 - Roy Rides
09 - Blue Turning Grey
10 - Believe Me Baby
11 - T-Town Twist
12 - Am I Wasting My Time?
13 - Don't You Remember Baby?
14 - Let Me Give You All My Love
15 - I Stood By
16 - A Bird In The Hand

New download link:

http://www63.zippyshare.com/v/bN7pbaiD/file.html

Original January 2009 post is here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/roy-milton-and-his-solid-senders-big_18.html

And that's that. I'm all Royed out! More stuff, new and old, in the pipeline! Keep a knockin'!

Roy Milton - Early In The Morning / Bless Your Heart (Warwick M 549)

Recorded in 1960. Released in May 1960. Probable personnel: Roy Milton (vocal) accompanied by possibly Vernon "Jake" Porter (cornet); John "Streamline" Ewing (trombone) Jackie Kelso (alto sax); Jack McVea (tenor sax); John Creach (violin); Robbin Webb (piano); unknown (organ); Billy Hadnott (bass); Oscar Bradley Jr. (drums); female vocal group (The Tiaras?) on "Bless Your Heart"

Billboard review, 20th May 1960:

"Early In The Morning - Here's a tune written by Milton himself and it's done to an old-style big band arrangement. Milton sounds good on the blues message, however."

"Bless Your Heart - Here's a fine tune sung in hip style by Milton, the blues singer. Fem chorus and a slightly swinging violin add interest. This can get spins because of its offbeat touches."

Releases: Lou Wa 1002 in 1960; Warwick M 549 in 1960; Sue (UK) WI - 4021 in 1966, but wrongly attributed to Little Milton. "Early In The Morning" was originally recorded by Roy Milton in 1953 and released on Specialty 464 (B Side was "Let Me Give You All My Love").

Once more we have Corky to thank for another Roy Milton single from late in his career. "Early In The Morning" (not to be confused with the Louis Jordan song with the same title) is a good blues which grows on you after a few plays. Roy originally recorded this tune for Specialty back in 1953. You can hear the original version on YouTube by clicking on this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iANFnRnaveg

The original version was posted by RPMmanToledo Ohio. He has a whole load of rips from 78 rpm discs and his posts are well worth checking out. The contrast between the two versions of "Early In The Morning" is interesting especially as the 1953 cut has some neat guitar licks.

The Sue Records issue features in this post on Paul's Sue Records UK blog -

https://suerecordsuk.wordpress.com/2013/09/12/little-milton-early-in-the-morningbless-your-heart/

There's a label shot complete with the mistaken attribution of the disc to Little Milton!

"Bless Your Heart" is a rather more sentimental offering complete with violin played by Papa John Creach. Sounds ominous, but it works out OK!

Many thanks to Corky for ripping the sound files from the original Warwick 45 rpm and also for the label shots. There's a couple more late Roy Milton tracks in the pipeline! Stay tuned, fellow hipsters.

Skid Row - Roy Milton (King 5069)

Listen to "Skid Row"

Recorded in Los Angeles, February 27th 1957. B Side of Roy's cover of "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu". Released in mid-July 1957.

Personnel (probably): Walter Williams (trumpet); Harvey Braxton (alto sax); Cliff Solomon (tenor sax); Oscar Estelle (baritone sax); Emmanuel Kennebrew (piano); Johnny Rogers (guitar); Lawrence Kato (bass) Roy Milton (drums).

Billboard review, 22nd July 1957: "Fine blues instrumental with a lot of mood and feeling, and a modified Yancey bass in the arrangement. Satisfying wax for the savants."

Ask and ye shall be given ... I must thank Corky who answered a request on the blog for this rare Roy Milton B side. As he said in his email "the disc was pretty trashed" but he has done a stand up job in removing the scratches, plus he has also supplied a label scan. Many thanks, sir.

The Billboard review sums up the record quite nicely - a moody bluesy instro with nice solos on guitar and alto and tenor saxes. The writer credits are to Roy Milton, trumpeter Walter Williams, tenor sax man Cliff Solomon and baritone sax player Oscar Estelle, so this may well be a little something cooked up during the recording session. Only one other side resulted from this particular session - "I'm Grateful" (King 5035) which featured a vocal by Roy.

You can download "Skid Row" (320 kbps mp3) plus label scan from here:

http://www89.zippyshare.com/v/Any90yMo/file.html

Grab it and add it to your download of "The Later Roy Milton" which is doubtless featuring strongly on all your current playlists. Have fun, folks, and thanks again Corky.

The Later Roy Milton (re-up)

Re-upped by request, this time with a front cover! Original post here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/roy-milton-later-roy-milton_26.html

New download link:

http://www52.zippyshare.com/v/S5ZN30Vi/file.html

From the original post:

Although Roy Milton’s chart career ended in 1952, his recording career rolled on. As the sound of rhythm & blues changed and rock ‘n’ roll loomed on the horizon, Roy’s records got tougher and bluesier. His last recordings for Specialty were made in 1953, with some of this material being released through 1954 and 1955. “Baby Don’t Do That To Me” and “Tell It Like It Is” were recorded for Specialty in April 1953 and released in February 1955 and October 1954, respectively.

Walter “Dootsie” Williams, the owner of DooTone Records and a former trumpeter with Roy’s band The Solid Senders, signed Roy to his label in 1955. There was only one recording session  for Dootone, in October 1955 which produced a few classic rockin’ numbers, especially “You Got Me Reelin’ & Rockin’”. “Fools Are Getting Scarcer” and “I Can’t Go On” are also from this session.

In October 1956 Roy recorded a session for King Records in Cincinnati. The hip stomper “One Zippy Zam” which includes terrific electric guitar from Johnny Rogers is from this session. “A Brand New Thrill” and “Jeeps Blues” are from Roy’s final session for King in July 1957. Thereafter there was no more recording by Roy until 1960 when he started making discs for a series of small obscure labels through to 1964. “Driveway Blues” and “I’m Forgetting About You” were recorded in Los Angeles for the Thunderbird label in 1962.

Many thanks to Joan for some obscure vinyl rips and label shots!

Ripped (mostly) from vinyl (except the Specialty sides) at hugely varying bitrates.

1. Baby, Don't Do That To Me (Specialty 545)

2. Tell It Like It Is (Specialty 538)

3. Fools Are Getting Scarcer (Dootone 363)

4. I Can't Go On (Dootone 363)

5. You Got Me Reelin' & Rockin' (Dootone 369)

6. One Zippy Zam (King 4993)

7. A Brand New Thrill (King 5074)

8. Jeep's Blues (King 5074)

9. Driveway Blues (Thunderbird 104)

10. I'm Forgetting About You (Thunderbird 104)

An appeal - there was a request a few weeks ago for a source for Roy Milton's King recording "Skid Row." Does anyone have a copy they could share?

Roy Milton - The Later Roy Milton

Although Roy Milton’s chart career ended in 1952, his recording career rolled on. As the sound of rhythm & blues changed and rock ‘n’ roll loomed on the horizon, Roy’s records got tougher and bluesier. His last recordings for Specialty were made in 1953, with some of this material being released through 1954 and 1955. “Baby Don’t Do That To Me” and “Tell It Like It Is” were recorded for Specialty in April 1953 and released in February 1955 and October 1954, respectively.

Walter “Dootsie” Williams, the owner of DooTone Records and a former trumpeter with Roy’s band The Solid Senders, signed Roy to his label in 1955. There was only one recording session for DooTone, in October 1955 which produced a few classic rockin’ numbers, especially “You Got Me Reelin’ & Rockin’”. “Fools Are Getting Scarcer” and “I Can’t Go On” are also from this session.

In October 1956 Roy recorded a session for King Records in Cincinnati. The hip stomper “One Zippy Zam” which includes terrific electric guitar from Johnny Rogers is from this session. “A Brand New Thrill” and “Jeeps Blues” are from Roy’s final session for King in July 1957. Thereafter there was no more recording by Roy until 1960 when he started making discs for a series of small obscure labels through to 1964. “Driveway Blues” and “I’m Forgetting About You” were recorded in Los Angeles for the Thunderbird label in 1962.

Many thanks to Joan for some obscure vinyl rips and label shots!

Ripped (mostly) from vinyl (except the Specialty sides) at hugely varying bitrates.

Download from here:

http://www52.zippyshare.com/v/S5ZN30Vi/file.html

1. Baby, Don't Do That To Me
2. Tell It Like It Is
3. Fools Are Getting Scarcer
4. I Can't Go On
5. You Got Me Reelin' & Rockin'
6. One Zippy Zam
7. A Brand New Thrill
8. Jeep's Blues
9. Driveway Blues
10. I'm Forgetting About You

The photograph at the top of this post is by San Francisco based photographer David Johnson. It was taken in the Primalon Ballroom. It is one of many evocative photographs included in the excellent book "Harlem of the West: the San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Era" by Elizabeth Pepin and Lewis Watts. Oddly enough the accompanying caption in the book merely states that is of "A drummer in the Primalon Ballroom, late 1940s." All bebopwinos immediately recognise Roy Milton, of course, plus in the background Camille Howard and Jackie Kelso are also easily recognised.
STOP PRESS: the authors of "Harlem of the West" have kindly left a comment below explaining how it came about that Roy Milton's name wasn't in the original edition of the book. The current edition has been corrected. Check out "Harlem of the West" at your favourite bookdealer - it's a must-buy for all lovers of 1950s R&B and jazz.
More David Johnson photos (including more taken at the Roy Milton gig) can be viewed here:
https://ucmshare.ucmerced.edu/docushare/dsweb/View/Collection-30944
Check out Harlem of the West here:
http://www.blogger.com/www.harlemofthewestsf.com

Roy Milton and his Solid Senders - Big Fat Mama

The second Jukebox Lil compilation of Roy Milton sides was issued in 1985, two years after he passed away. The jumping instrumental “Rhythm Cocktail” was the B side of his huge hit on Jukebox, “R.M. Blues”. “I’ll Always Be In Love With You” was released on Roy’s own label (called Roy Milton) and the rest of the sides on this fine album were released on Specialty.

This compilation takes us up to the end of his Specialty career in 1953. While Roy’s style of jump blues which had brought him so much success in the 1940s and early 1950s was out of fashion by 1953, some of his later recordings for Specialty and also his subsequent waxings for Dootone in 1955 were great examples of thumping rocking rhythm and blues, as can be heard on “A Bird In The Hand.”

Tracks recorded between 1945 and 1953.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps.

Download from here:

http://www63.zippyshare.com/v/bN7pbaiD/file.html


1. Rhythm Cocktail
2. Big Fat Mama
3. I'll Always Be In Love With You
4. Little Boy Blue
5. So Tired
6. Thelma Lou
7. Someday
8. Roy Rides
9. Blue Turning Grey
10. Believe Me Baby
11. T-Town Twist
12. Am I Wasting My Time?
13. Don't You Remember Baby?
14. Let Me Give You All My Love
15. I Stood By
16. A Bird In The Hand

Roy Milton and his Solid Senders - The Grandfather of R&B

Roy Milton was one of the most important figures in the development of rhythm and blues. He is often thought of as the “West Coast equivalent” of Louis Jordan. Like Jordan his musical roots lay in the big band era, and also like Jordan he formed a small jump combo in the 1930s which went on to great chart success in the 1940s and early 1950s. Milton’s combo, The Solid Senders, developed a tougher, more bluesy sound than the Tympany Five, thanks in part to Milton’s voice being hoarser than Jordans, and also thanks to musicians like pianist Camille Howard, alto sax player Jackie Kelso, tenor sax players Buddy Floyd and Ben Waters (and briefly Red Prysock) and guitarist Johnny Rogers.

Oklahoma-born Roy Milton’s professional career started in 1931 with The Ernie Fields Orchestra in which he sang and played drums. In 1935 he left the band and move to Los Angeles where he formed The Solid Senders. This Jukebox Lil compilation kicks off with both sides of “Burma Road Blues” from Roy’s first recording session in September 1945 for Lionel Hampton’s Hamp-Tone label. There was to be no success for any of his Hamp-Tone material and in December 1945 Roy started recording for Juke Box, a Los Angeles label part-owned by Art Rupe. The Milton-Rupe team struck it big with “Milton’s Boogie” and then had even greater success with “R.M. Blues”. In late 1946 Rupe struck out on his own by founding the Specialty label, which Roy joined in March 1947. There followed 5 years of hits on the national R&B chart including “Thrill Me”, “Hop, Skip and Jump”, “The Hucklebuck”, “Information Blues”, “Oh Babe”, “Best Wishes”, and “Night and Day”.

There are few of Roy’s big hits on this 1981 LP, with the exception of “Hop, Skip and Jump” (number 3 in 1948) and “Where There Is No Love” / “Junior Jives” (number 10 in 1950). The selected tracks are a marvellous illustration of the transformation of swing-influenced jump music into rhythm and blues. There is a world of difference between “Burma Road Blues” and the driving guitar-led instrumental “Junior Jives”.

Tracks recorded from 1945 to 1951. Surface noise on most tracks.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps.

Download from here:

http://www90.zippyshare.com/v/k0uw27GH/file.html


1. Burma Road Blues (part 1)
2. Burma Road Blues (part 2)
3. Red Light
4. It Should Never Have Been This Way
5. Them There Eyes
6. When I Grow Too Old To Dream
7. My Blue Heaven
8. I've Had My Moments
9. Hop, Skip And Jump
10. Everything I Do Is Wrong
11. Sympathetic Blues
12. My Sweetheart
13. Junior Jives
14. Where There Is No Love
15. Playboy Blues
16. Cryin' & Singin' The Blues
17. Short, Sweet And Snappy