Rock 'n' Roll (Regent MG-6015) - Re-up!

Side 1:

01. Rockin' Boy - Chuz Alfred Combo

02. Hot Rod - Hal Singer

03. Blues For Everybody - Bobby Banks Orch.

04. Playboy Hop - Rockin' Bros. Orch.

05. The Grinder - Rockin' Bros. Orch.

Side 2:

01. You Gotta Rock And Roll - Bob Oakes Orch.

02. Backbiter - T.J. Fowler

03. Wine Cooler - T.J. Fowler

04. Rooster Boogie - Paul Williams Orch.

05. Frog Hop - Hal Singer Orch.

Download from:

http://www20.zippyshare.com/v/DcKsy6Em/file.html

Original Post (1st May, 2010) is here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/rock-n-roll-regent-mg-6015.html

In response to a re-up request, here's a genuine 1950s LP which was sent in to the blog by an anonymous donor back in 2010.

A theme which has occasionally reared its head on this blog is "exploitation" and this is as fine an example of cashing in on the rock 'n' roll phenomenon as you could hope to see. The LP was issued on Regent in 1956 (probably in the second half of the year) and it consists of tracks recorded in 1954-56 as rock 'n' roll tracks, plus R&B tracks from 1951-52.

The repackaging of early 1950s and even late 1940s R&B as "rock n' roll" was a common practice of record labels as they tried to achieve sales among the burgeoning teen market of the second half of the 1950s. There have been several examples posted on this blog, including some LPs on Atlantic, and the whole "Hen Gates" saga on various budget labels. Of course the Twist craze of the late 1950s and early 1960s provided another opportunity for record companies to pitch old material at a new market. We had a fine example on this blog - A Crown LP of old Jimmy McCracklin tracks presented as "Twist" tracks. Ludicrous, but nevertheless a fine blues album!

Regent was a subsidiary label of Savoy, so they had access to a strong R&B back catalogue. Here's the deal on the contents of this LP:

01. Rockin' Boy - Chuz Alfred Combo - originally released on Savoy 1175 b/w "Rock Along." Recorded in Cincinnati, March 30th, 1955. Personnel: Ola Hansson (trombone); Chuz Alfred (tenor sax); Chuck Lee (piano, drums). Here are the Chuz Alfred Combo, the wild men of rock 'n' roll:

02. Hot Rod - Hal Singer - originally released on Savoy 1179 b/w "Rock And Roll." Recorded in NYC, October 27th, 1955. Personnel: Buddy Lucas, Hal Singer (tenor saxes); Kelly Owens (piano); Mickey Baker (guitar); Leonard Gaskin (bass); Panama Francis (drums). Hal Singer was a genuine rock 'n' roll wild man. His 1948 recording of "Corn Bread" (Savoy 671) contains every rock 'n' roll riff known to humankind.

03. Blues For Everybody - Bobby Banks Orch. - originally released by The Bobby Banks Trio on Savoy 1186 in 1956. B side of "Shangri La." Recorded in NYC, December 29th, 1955. Personnel: Henry Durant (tenor sax); Bobby Banks (organ); Jimmy Schenck (bass); Rodney "Red" Alcott (drums).

04. Playboy Hop and 05. The Grinder - Rockin' Bros. Orch. - originally released on Savoy 1144, credited to The Rocking Brothers. Recorded in October or November 1954. Location and personnel unknown. "Playboy Hop" features excellent baritone sax while "The Grinder" is a fine example of striptease sleaze. A very good disc.

06. You Gotta Rock And Roll - Bob Oakes Orch. - originally released on Regent 7502, credited to Bob Oakes and his Sultans. B side of "Church Bells May Ring." Recorded NYC, April 13th 1956. Bob Oakes (vocals) with unknown personnel. Standard "rock and roll" vocal from Bob Oakes, but the band really cooks. Great wailin' tenor sax backing.

07. Backbiter and 08. Wine Cooler - T.J. Fowler - originally released on Savoy 857. Recorded in Detroit, Michigan, July 25th, 1952. Personnel: Elliott Escoe (trumpet); Lee Gross (alto sax); Walter Cox (tenor sax); T.J. Fowler (piano); Calvin Frazier (guitar); James Murphy (bass); Clarence stamps (drums). The real deal - good early 1950s R&B instrumentals. Also on the blog - "Early Detroit R&B" by T.J. Fowler

09. Rooster Boogie - Paul Williams Orch. - unissued Savoy track. Recorded February 26th, 1951. Location unknown. Paul Williams (baritone sax) with unknown personnel.

10. Frog Hop - Hal Singer Orch. - originally released on Savoy 861 in September 1952 as B side of "Indian Love Call." Recorded in NYC, August 21st 1952. Personnel: Hal Singer and Sam "The Man" Taylor (tenor saxes); Dave McRae (alto and baritone sax); Kelly Owens (piano); Mickey Baker (guitar) plus unknown trumpet, bass and drums. A rousing end to this compilation!

The original post ended with a plea for anyone who could send in a copy of the companion LP to this compilation. In 1957 Regent issued an LP "Rock and Roll Party" (MG-6042) with tracks by Nappy Brown, Little Esther, Big Jay McNeely, T.J. Fowler, Paul Williams, The Hot Shots, Hal Singer, and Heywood Henry. Can anyone out there help? Millions of rock 'n' roll fans would be eternally grateful (as would I).

T.J. Fowler - Early Detroit R&B

Re-up as requested by you jumpers and jivers out there, complete with a new front cover scan plus label scans. Sorry, I forgot to do a new back cover so you'll have to get along with the old one.

Download from here:

http://www55.zippyshare.com/v/SPxEnQcG/file.html

Tracklist:

Side 1

1 - T.J. Boogie

2 - What's The Matter Now

3 - Midnight Clipper (pt 1)

4 - Midnight Clipper (pt 2)

5 - Harmony Grits

6 - Red Hot Blues

7 - Hot Sauce

8 - Blue Lullaby

Side 2

1 - Night Crawler

2 - Fowler's Boogie

3 - Back Biter

4 - Wine Cooler

5 - Camel Walk

6 - Gold Rush

7 - The Queen

8 - Tell Me What's The Matter

Boogie pianist and bandleader T.J. Fowler (and T.J. was his given name) was a stalwart of the post-war Detroit R&B scene who never enjoyed chart success but nevertheless did record a number of very good sides on his own account as well as providing backing for big names like Paul Williams and Varetta Dillard. Born in Georgia in 1910, he was raised in Detroit where he attended the local conservatory of music. His professional music career started when he played piano at a poolroom owned by his father and then he joined a band led by alto sax player Guy Walters. From there he moved to another Detroit band led by Clarence Dorsey where he played alongside Paul Williams.

In 1947 T.J. formed his own jump band which provided the backing for Paul Williams on his big 1948 seller "35-30". T.J.'s own first disc was recorded for local label Paradise - "Sultry Moon" / "Mango Blues" which does not feature on this collection. During 1948 - 49 T.J.had discs released on both National and Sensation. These form the side one of this comp and are mostly rousing boogies and stompers. "Midnight Clipper" is in the style of Sonny Thompson's moody hit "Long Gone" while "Blue Lullaby" is as its title indicates - an attractive mood piece with an outbreak of bluesy piano in the middle section.

The first six tracks of side two are instrumentals recorded for Savoy in 1952-53. They have a punchier sound than the 1940s sides, particularly when blues guitarist Calvin Frasier weighs in. The last two sides of the compilation were recorded in Chicago at the end of 1953 for the States label. "The Queen" is another good instrumental while the vocal side "Tell Me What's The Matter?" rattles along nicely enough. T.J. continued to play live gigs around Detroit  through the 1960s with small groups but gradually his non-musical business interests took up more of his time. He died in Detroit in 1982.

Recommended purchase and the source of the above information is the 25 track Classics Blues & Rhythm Series CD "T.J.Fowler 1948 - 1953." Compiled and annotated by Dave Penny who acknowledges the Jim Gallert book "Before Motown: A History of Jazz in Detroit 1920-60" as a source of information.

Listen to the sensational "Red Hot Blues":

Listen to "Camel Walk":

Rock 'n' Roll (Regent MG-6015)

Side A
1. Rockin' Boy / Chuz Alfred Combo
2. Hot Rod / Hal Singer
3. Blues For Everybody / Bobby Banks Orch.
4. Playboy Hop / Rockin' Bros. Orch.
5. The Grinder / Rockin' Bros. Orch.

Side B
1. You Gotta Rock And Roll / Bob Oakes Orch.
2. Backbiter / T.J. Fowler
3. Wine Cooler / T.J. Fowler
4. Rooster Boogie / Paul Williams Orch.
5. Frog Hop / Hal Singer Orch.


The anonymous donor who sent in the Plymouth LP “Rock and Roll No. 2” also sent this 1950s LP on the Regent label. The album was released around 1956 and it’s another fine example of a record company using old R&B sides to exploit the rock and roll craze. The tracks on offer here range from early 1950s R&B honk and jump to a couple of jazz groups recording in an R&B / rock and roll style in the mid 1950s. Don’t get me wrong, this is a very listenable collection of sax dominated rockin’ music which is guaranteed to tickle the musical taste buds of Be Bop Wino fans, especially as it is sourced from the vaults of Savoy, home of the big fat tenor sax sound.

Founded by Herman Lubinsky in 1947, Regent was a sister label to his renowned Savoy label. In the early 1950s Regent released singles by established Savoy R&B names like Johnny Otis and the various artists associated with his group such as Mel Walker, Redd Lyte and Little Esther. Around 1952 it was unsuccessfully relaunched as a vehicle for pop releases. Throughout its existence Regent was always overshadowed by the longer established Savoy.

In the mid-50s Regent started releasing a line of LPs, the Regent 6000 series. Titles included classical, gospel, cocktail jazz and the kind of thing that the Schadenfreudian Therapy blog would thrive on – Mexican folk, polkas, hot harmonicas, swingin’ organs, military marches, Rudy Vallee, banjo music, Fingers Finnegan, Dixieland jazz, ye gods, I’m getting a headache just thinking about it.

But in amongst the cheese was a smattering of jazz and early R&B from Savoy, National and DeeGee – Billy Eckstine, Don Byas, Art Pepper, The Ravens, Dizzy Gillespie, live cuts by Wardell Gray and Dexter Gordon recorded in 1947, and another “rock and roll” LP with the imaginative title “Rock and Roll Party No. 2.” Like the LP featured here, it was very much a recycling of old Savoy R&B material including sides by Big Jay McNeely, Paul Williams, Hal Singer, T.J. Fowler, Little Esther and Nappy Brown. It would be very good listening for Be Bop Winos, if anyone out there has a copy they would like to donate.

Thank you once more to our ever generous anonymous donor for this vintage LP!

Ripped from vinyl at 128 kbps.

Download from here:

http://www20.zippyshare.com/v/DcKsy6Em/file.html

1. Rockin' Boy / Chuz Alfred Combo (1955)
2. Hot Rod / Hal Singer (1955)
3. Blues For Everybody / Bobby Banks Orch. (1955)
4. Playboy Hop / Rockin' Bros. Orch. (1954)
5. The Grinder / Rockin' Bros. Orch. (1954)
6. You Gotta Rock And Roll / Bob Oakes Orch. (1956)
7. Backbiter / T.J. Fowler (1952)
8. Wine Cooler / T.J. Fowler (1952)
9. Rooster Boogie / Paul Williams Orch. (1951)
10. Frog Hop / Hal Singer Orch. (1952)

T.J. Fowler and his Band - Early Detroit R & B

Detroit pianist T.J. Fowler (that was his full name, the initials didn’t stand for anything) started his jump band in 1947. They backed Paul Williams in his early Savoy sessions, then recorded on their own account from 1948 onwards, firstly for Paradise, then for National and Sensation. In 1952-53 they recorded several sessions for Savoy, before moving to States at the end of 1953.

The music on this collection is arranged in chronological order, with the first 8 tracks being from National and Sensation sessions and the remaining tracks being from Savoy and States. The music is mostly instrumental R&B, moving from jump to early rock ‘n’ roll in some of the 1952-1953 tracks.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon.

Download link:

http://www55.zippyshare.com/v/SPxEnQcG/file.html

1. TJ Boogie
2. What's The Matter Now
3. Midnight Clipper (pt 1)
4. Midnight Clipper (pt 2)
5. Harmony Grits
6. Red Hot Blues
7. Hot Sauce
8. Blue Lullaby
9. Night Crawler
10. Fowler's Boogie
11. Back Biter
12. Wine Cooler
13. Camel Walk
14. Gold Rush
15. The Queen
16. Tell Me What's The Matter