The Peaceful Protest Of Charlie McDig

Linda Manning

The Peaceful Protest Of Charlie McDig

Mercury

1969

Linda Manning was born on Nov. 24, 1946, in Cullman to James Arlander and Fannie Roberta Bradford Manning. She was a 1964 graduate of Cullman High School, where she was elected “most talented” every year. She also attended Calhoun Community College in Decatur. While working in California, she also studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse.

After high school, she entered the entertainment business, with her own television program, “The Linda Manning Show” on WLW-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio. She also appeared on other shows as a musical guest. Linda was also a regular at the Palomino Club in Hollywood, and performed at numerous music festivals, including both international venues.

During her entertainment career, she was managed by Jimmy Keys of NewKeys Music in Nashville, Tenn.

Her single, “Shade Tree Mechanic,” written by frequent collaborator Tom T. Hall, was certified as a “gold record.” .

After her entertainment career, Linda returned to Cullman and opened a jewelry store with her husband, David. Together they owned and operated Wholesale Jewelers International for 25 years in Cullman. After retiring from the jewelry business in 2003, Linda managed her commercial business space rental company, Diamond Plaza Properties, until her death.

She died Dec. 18 2005 of a heart attack at her home in Cullman.



Discography

Doke (1960)
105 I Don’t Want To Say Goodnight To You / Puppet Lover - 59
106 Boy, I Can't Forget / Walking On A Cloud - 60
108 Gotta Run / ? – 09-60

Bulletin (1961)
1000 Our World Of Rock And Roll / Sweeter Than Sweet – 07-61 (rev. July 31)

Fraternity (1962)
F-895 Lovin' Kind / Completely Lose Control – ca. 08-62

Gaylord (1962-63)
GR 6425 Johnny Kiss And Tell / Thanks A Lot For Everything – ca. 12-62
45-6429 Hello, Little Lover / Turning Back The Pages – 18-06-63

Rice (1964)
5010 The Girl From Saginaw, Michigan / Boo On You - 64
5012 Au Revoir / I Feel A Cry Coming On – 64

Roulette (1965)
R-4638 You're Loving Me To Death / Shade Tree Mechanic – 65
R-4675 Downtown Lonely Girl Blue / Buy Me Something Pretty

Rice (1966-67)
5020 Only For A Moment / Smoking In Bed - 66
5022 Life Keeps Movin' On / You Wouldn't Know What To Do With It – 67
5024 No Thanks To You / Bon Jour Tristesse – ca. 08-67

Mercury (1968-70)
72803 Hurt Me Now / Someone Up There Still Loves Me – ca. 04-68
72875 Talk Of The Town / Since They Fired The Band Director (At Murphy High) 11-68
72906 Billy Christian / The Peaceful Protest Of Charlie McDig – 02-69
73016 If There's Not A Heaven / Old Memories Don¢t Die - 01-70
73135 When They Burned Down The Local Motel / Riverboat Queen – ca. 10-70




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Johnny Be Good

Chuck Howard

Johnny Be Good

Garrett Records

Chuck Berry cover [instrumental] - 1963

The first release on the label, out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The label was owned by George Garrett,also proprietor of the Uncle George's Record Shop and of the Bangar and Twin Town labels.

Chuck Howard was born in rural Kentucky but like many of his peers migrated to the bigger cites across the Ohio river. He cut his first 45 on Nashville for the Sand label, an interesting operation that was a local (Cincinnati area) affiliate of Sage and Sand labels from California.

Chuck recorded two more 45s for Cincinnati labels, "Joy Gray" on ESV and "Gossip" on Flame. All three of these 45s are great rockers and some of Ohio's best recordings of the time.

Around 1960 Chuck relocated to Columbus. He helped start a label, Kim records, and recorded a couple records himself along with writing many songs recorded by a variety of artists including Cliff Nash and the Shilos. The Kim label recordings are in the 'countrypolitan' style (RCA records/Nashville) that was popular at the time.

He was also on Port, Do-Ra-Me, Allison, Fraternity, Columbia, Monument, Boone, etc.

He passed away in 1983.



[Bio notice from Buckyebeat.com]
Chuck Howard picture : from YouTube (Thanks Bruce!)




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Southern Hospitality

Perry Brice

Southern Hospitality

Plaid Records
Greenville, S.C.

March 1961

A cover of the Moon Mullican song (King Records, 1950).

Produced by Charles Rush (owner of Plaid Records) and Alan Riddle (Plaid Records A&R).

Perry Brice was from Vero Beach, Florida where he worked for WTTB radio.



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Sandy Reid on Ac'cent

Sandy Reid
Ac'cent AC 1054

Billboard, July 8, 1957

Lemonade
Young artist attractively presents a cute tale about kiddie lemonade stands as a source of movie money. Fair possibilities (Kord, BMI)

Put the Beat Behind It
Pleasant rocker with a very danceable beat is agreeably presented, but flip is stronger. (Kord, BMI)

Later in 1957, Sandy Reid had a second release on the Bakersfield located Tally Records (Tally 114 : Wotcha’ Doin’ Tonight / What A Boy). Her two records were almost certainly arranged and/or produced by Ralph Yaw.

According to Chris Kelsey :

Ralph Yaw wrote arrangements for a great many swing-era bandleaders during the '30s and '40s, including Isham Jones, Cab Calloway, Eddie Barefield, Count Basie, and Les Brown, but Yaw is best-known for his work with Stan Kenton, for whom he wrote and arranged in the early '40s.

Yaw ceased his jazz activities around 1947 and subsequently embarked on a career in country music. His "No Longer a Prisoner", a song on the Korean War theme, was a hit for singer Hank Snow (RCA Records, 1953).

He wrote straight away a follow up to the Hank Snow hit, "I’m Still A Prisoner (Of Love)" [The first armistice song", claimed the ad published by Billboard] which was released on his own Kord label. (Billy Mize sung it, backed by Bill Woods And His Orange Blossom Playboys).



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Cash T. Woodson

Cash T. Woodson

Maxime

Shirley

Harvey Records
Mansfield, Ohio

King Records custom pressing
1959

Of Cash T. Woodson nothing is known.

Writer of both sides (and also perhaps producer of the record) is Harvey E. Connell.

As singer, Harvey had a single on Fraternity Records (Autumn Heart / Sentimental Journey, Fraternity 891, 1961). He recorded again Autumn Heart, song issued on Tri-City in 1966.

As producer, Harvey Connell recorded Fred Gartner and the Ferraris from Mt. Vernon. That's was one of the first rock-n-roll records cut at the Mus-i-col studios in 1965.

He had also a studio in Columbus for a short period of time but did not make any money so it was closed down. Harvey later owned a bar and lived in Mount Vernon Ohio.



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Graphomania or Typomania?

A sample of obsessive writing urge
(Subject : Joann R., year unknown)

Graphomania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Graphomania (from Greek γραφειν — writing,and μανία — insanity), also known as scribomania, refers to an obsessive impulse to write. When used in a specifically psychiatric context, it labels a morbid mental condition which results in writing rambling and confused statements, often degenerating in a meaningless succession words or even nonsense and called then graphorrhea. The term 'graphomania' has been used in early 19th century by Esquirol and later by Eugen Bleuler, becoming more or less usual. Graphomania is near condition to typomania - obsessiveness with seeing one's name in publication or with writing for being published, excessive symbolism or typology.

Outside the psychiatric definitions of graphomania and related conditions, the word is used more broadly to label the urge and need to write excessively, whether professional or not.



.

You're Right

Don Winters - You're Right - Robbins Records - 1966

This record is listed in Rockin' Country Style HERE

Country music singer Don Winters, known to fans as ''The Yodeling King,'' died in 2002 at his home in Nolensville after a yearlong battle with liver cancer. He was 73.

Born in Tampa, Fla., and raised in southern Georgia, Mr. Winters began his musical career with his father's band, Pop Winters and the Southern Strollers, in the late 1940s.

He moved to Nashville in the 1950s to launch his solo career, recording on RCA and Decca Records labels. He showed up on the Billboard charts with songs Too Many Times and Shake Hands with a Loser.

In 1960, country music legend Marty Robbins asked Mr. Winters to join his band, a move that launched a lifelong friendship between the two entertainers. Together they serenaded audiences, along with Bobby Sykes, as the Marty Robbins Trio. Mr. Winters and Robbins collaborated until Robbins' death in 1982.


The Robbins label was owned in Nashville by Marty Robbins Enterprises.


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Country Guitar Girl

Don West and Rose Lee
with the Sunset Playboys

Country Guitar Girl

Sioux Records

1966

<-- Country team of Don West and Rose Lee had a TV show in the mid-seventies on Channel Seven, Bangor, Maine.












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Jonny B. Good

The Rockets
Vocal Johnny Vosdos

Jonny B. Good

Wide Records AF 935
RB-391
(Capitol custom pressing RB= 1964)

A great unknown Chuck Berry cover sung by one Johnny Vosdos. Nothing is found about this band or this singer. The record is out of Reading, Pennsylvannia.

On the same label : The Del-Rays and Little Johnny Poole (the latter listed in Rockin' Country Style with address in Chester, Pa.).

I suspect that the Wide label is related in some way to Kingston Records.



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Back To School Again Blues

Andy Quinn -"Back To School Again Blues"

Quinn Gets Decca Pact :
Decca Records has signed Andy Quinn, a 25-year- old warbler-cleffer to an exclusive pact. With his first releases next week, Quinn will leave on a seven-city promotion trip (BILLBOARD, September 2, 1957)

Andy Quinn performed the flip side, "Rock-A-Boogie" on The Ed Sullivan Show" on October 27, 1957. He had three releases on Decca Records, all listed in Rockin' Country Style.

That's all I can't find on this "warbler-cleffer".


Post-Scriptum : "Rock-A-Boogie", that's a song I would like to hear!


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Wrong Line

Gene Barnett

Wrong Line

Wheel Records

1971

Gene Barnett started his musical career playing bass for Bobby Lee Trammell shortly after Trammell's hit record, “Arkansas Twist” was recorded. Barnett moved-on to play with Kenny Owens, a local singer who had a large following in the Jonesboro area. Barnett appeared on Owens' TV variety show on KAIT Jonesboro in the late 60's.

Gene Barnett is now member of The RetroRadio Band, a four-piece Jonesboro-based musical group that plays a variety of music to include 50's and 60's, R&B, Mototown, Country Rock, and Disco.

G. Barnett (recent) picture is from MySpace Retro Radio Band



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Oh Well-A-Watcha-Gonna Do

Gerry Granahan

Oh Well-A-Watcha-Gonna Do

Mark Records

1958

This is perhaps his best rocker. Written by Jack Hammer, the song was previously recorded by Harry Douglass and the Deep River Boys (RCA 47-7195, Billboard March 24, 1958). You can hear the RCA version HERE.

The Granahan story is told by various websites. I've tried to resume his story but the various sources are showing a lot of discrepancies. there is no mention of his (first?) record on Eldorado Records in 1956, a label owned by Buchanan and Goodman. The Eldorado record is only mentionned by Terry Gordon on his Rockin' Country Style, but no flipside is shown and no label scan found.

When the Mark record was released (April or May 58), Gerry Granahan had already records out on Atco Records (as Jerry Grant) and, as a member of Dicky Doo and the Don'ts, on Swan Records, one of the first release on the label.




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Tick Tock Rock

Eddie L. Davis & The Bureaucats

Tick Tock Rock
(Wayne Corps-Davis)

Fable Records 637

Edward LouisDavis had been a child actor. He did a lot of films. Then he became a restaurant owner in 1953. It was called the Eddie Davis Parkway Grill. He became very financially secure. From there he bought another restaurant, the Eddie Davis Steakhouse Supper Club. Then he got into music.

He decided to cut his own records :

On Vita 170 : Heart Of Ice / To Be Or Not To Be (57)

On Fable 637: Eddie L. Davis & The Bureaucats : Teen Age Brain Surgeon / Tick Tock Rock ('58)

and on Faro 596 ('59) : Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea / Love Me As Though There Were No Tomorrow (duet with Connie Stevens, as by Ed Davis)

He realized he didn't have the talent to make it as a singer and decided to move into record production and label ownership. In 1958, by selling his restaurants and other businesses, Davis accumulated the necessary capital to incorporate his own record firm, Faro Productions.

As a producer and owner of the Faro, Linda, Rampart, Valhalla, Prospect, Boomerang, and Gordo labels, Eddie Davis was a major figure in the East Los Angeles rock scene of the 1960s and early '70s. (He was dubbed "the Barry Gordy of East L.A.").

Davis produced and released records by a bunch of Mexican-American East L.A. bands, including the Romancers, Cannibal & the Headhunters, the Blendells, and the Premiers. ..

He died in 1994.

Eddie Davis (circa 1958) Parkway Grill Restaurant, Hollywood

Eddie quote :

"If anybody thinks I got rich over my East Los Angeles music, they're wrong. I cooked a lot of hamburgers to make those records."


Further reading: Eddie Davis bio by Richie Unterberger.

Fable label shot : Terry Gordon (Rockin' Country Style)



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Go Devil Go

Al Corsal
Music by the Regal-Airs

Go Devil Go

Star-X Records



Sight and sound courtesy of colnel (e-bay)




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Rock & Roll Story

The Definitive Rock and Roll History ?
Courtesy of Kicks Magazine



.

I Tried

Howard Boone
and
the Rhythm Five

I Tried

Tifco Records

The flip side, "Baby Please Don't Go" by Jimmy Jeens & The Rhythm Five is readily available on the net.

Second issue. Was first on Bomac as by The Rhythm Five feat. Howard Boone. See Rockin' Country Style. website.

Tifco Records discography HERE



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The Golden Pear

That's the only known picture of the young Tommy Rowe
(exclusively on Dead Wax!)
(yes, the day was foggy)

Here is an interesting teen rocker about which I can't find much information. It's from "Rebel Rockabilly Rock, Vol. 6" (LP compilation from 1994). The song was written, according to the back cover, by Sehorn [Marshall Sehorn?] and published by Selma Music.

The only information that I can find (in my computer files, not on the net) is that "The Golden Pear" was released on Tel Records, probably in 1959 or perhaps in early 1960.

The Golden Pear

Billboard (March 16, 1959) inform us of the formation of Tel Records :

Morty Craft, colorful disker, officially became a record company president this week, with signing of final papers establishing United Telefilm Records, Inc. The new Craft set-up aligns him with the Canadian firm, United Telefilms, Ltd., of Toronto, which owns 85 per cent of the stock of the new diskery with Craft holding the balance of 15 per cent. There will be two labels, Tel Records and Warwick Records.

For a Morty Craft biography, see Black Cat Rockabilly


TEL RECORDS LISTING

1959-1960

1000 Bill Farrell
1001 William S. Allen
1002 The Sounds
1003 The Squares
1004 Bill Kenny
1005
1006 The Cavaliers
1007 The Page Boys
1008 Marty Wilson & The Strat-O-Lites
1009
1010 Cammy Carol
1011 Bill Kenny (Of The Ink Spots)
1012 The Big Beats
1013 Tommy Rowe
1014 The Nutmegs
1015 Ethel Smith
1016
1017 Junior Barnes

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My Baby's Gone Away

Eddie Riff

My Baby's Gone Away

This is Edward Nehemiah 'Riff' Ruffin. He recorded as Mister Ruffin, Riff Ruffin and Eddie Riff for Spark and Mambo (55), Cash (56), Middle-Tone (56), Ebb (57), Ball (58), Atlantic (58, unissued), Fire (60), Fury (61), Enjoy (64-65) and Duke (66), as well as a session guitarist backing Elmore James and other artists on Fire and Fury records.

This Dover release was recorded in 1956. The New-York label was owned by two songwriters, Al Lewis and Larry Stock.

Larry Stock (1896– 1984) co-wrote "Blueberry Hill" (the Fats Domino hit) in 1940, which was first recorded by Gene Autry in 1941.

One of his sister's grandsons became well known and was one of the founders of Atlantic Records : Jerry Wexler.






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Crazy Man Crazy

<---
Leonard "Lucky" Enois

pic found here :
http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col/local627/generation/home.asp
(University of Missouri - Kansas City)






LUCKY ENOIS QUINTET
Crazy Man Crazy
MODERN 905 – Side cut at a concert is full of infectious excitement. Jimmy Waters chants in unhibited style as the group backs him wildly. Could be a loot catcher. (Eastwick, BMI)
Billboard, May 30, 1953

<---

Kentucky Home Boogie

Marvin "Lefty" Wright and his Rhythm Kings

Kentucky Home Boogie

X Records

MARVIN (LEFTY) WRIGHT
Kentucky Home Boogie…………………69
« X » 0063 – The efforts of Wright on piano, backed by guitar and rhythm, result in some highly imaginative music-making here. Combining technical finish with bold ideas and lively spirit bring about a pleasing platter. (Billboard October 30, 1954)


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Fishtruck Boogie

Kitty Kaye and the Cats

Fishtruck Boogie

Hawk Record Co.
Cleveland, Ohio

1953

<-- Bill Hawkins

Hawk Records was owned by "Walkin' Talkin' Bill Hawkins. He was the first black DJ in Cleveland in the late 40s and may have been one of the first in the country playing blues and R& B records on the radio.

The record probably did not have national distribution, Hawkins owned a record store on East 105th street and sold his records there as well as some local record stores.

SEE : http://www.walkintalkin.com/bios2.html

Blue Suede Shoes

Blue Suede Shoes

Gospel singer Brother John Sellers (1924-1999) doing the Carl Perkins song. Recorded in Paris (France) in 1957.



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The Centurys on Mark C

The Centurys

Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On

Gandy Dancer

Mark C Records

(San Antonio, Texas)

WILL BELLAMY Remembers ......

"The Centurys" started in 1963 at Alamo Heights High School at the annual Howdy Night Fiesta. Tony Volz and Bill Bellamy had taken guitar lessons at Caldwell Music Co. from Ed Fest over the summer. Tony had a National fat body electric guitar and I had a Fender 3/4 Musicmaster solid body. We shared a Silvertone Twin Twelve Amplifier with reverb and tremolo. Our passion was instrumentals by The Ventures and Freddy King. So we played almost unnoticed at Howdy Night as the music of choice then was country western and the best band was Peyton Starr and The Drifters featuring Johnny Witherspoon. One fellow noticed, a different kind of guy from New York with Brylcream hair named Pat Wellberg. He asked if he could sit in and produced a white Fender Stratocaster with an Ampeg fliptop amplifier. What proceeded was an outrageous version of Gandy Dancer by The Ventures executed with flawless double picking. We recruited Pat instantly and a fellow nearby said he was Jimmy Taylor and could play drums. Jim had a white pearl Ludwig set and could play Wipeout. Pat's brother, Ed had played with Joey Dee and The Starlighters at the Peppermint Lounge in NY. Remember the Peppermint Twist? Ed told us at practice that we'd be more professional if we did steps (choreography) And wore black and gold lamme tux jackets which he happened to have. So we did.

Read more HERE

In 1966, with the departure of Tony Volz, they changed name and were The Pandas, recording one single on Swingtime Records.

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"Yaba Da Ba Do"

"Yaba Da Ba Do"

Andy and the Classics

The band began it's rock life as the Premiers in 1959. Performing at many local nightspots and high school and college concerts. The Premiers soon changed it's name to Andy and the Classics.

During the early 1960s the band frequently played before large audiences at DiCastro's in Sylvan Beach a club that during those days, was one of the "hottest" of local establishments.

The group comprised of Andy Cittadino (sax, vocals), Mike Carletta (guitar, vocals), Joe DePalma (drums, vocals) and Tim Maggiolino (bass, vocals).

Source : Stephen Roberts


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Goodbye Little Sylvia

Sylvia Vanderpool died on September 29, 2011.

Born in New York on March 6, 1936, Sylvia Vanderpool recorded as Little Sylvia for Columbia, Savoy and Jubilee before teaming with guitarist Mickey Baker in 1955.


Links :

Remembering Sylvia Robinson, Justin Kantor

Sylvia (and Mickey & Sylvia too) label shots HERE

A Little Boy

Fine Love



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One-Man Band

One-Man Band (circa 1890) Charles Wallace Jacob Johnson

Charles Wallace Jacob Johnson was a miner, photographer, musician, and dance instructor, born in Maryland August 3, 1833, the son of George M. and Matilda Johnson. He came to California and was on the North Fork of the Feather River in 1857 and in Grass Valley in 1863. He went to Nevada in 1863 where he worked as a one man band and taught dance and returned to San Francisco in 1868. In Eureka and Arcata he went into the photography business with William N. Tuttle. He moved back to San Francisco with Tuttle. Later, he moved to Watsonville and went into partnership with T. Al Sullivan and married Sullivan's sister, Mrs. Norah Pardon on Dec. 2, 1875. He moved to Monterrey and continued his photography business from 1881-1898. He died in Salinas, January 17, 1903.

Credit : California State Library.

For a list of one-man bands see Dave Harris' blog HERE




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Filling the hole

The significance of the hole in art goes back to antiquity, particularly Aztec and Mayan sculptural work as well as Celtic stone sculpture. ... ``There is an enduring fascination for creating lightness in practical structures and architects and designers are always flirting and experimenting with it.[1]

The mind of the inventor of the record's big hole (RCA Records) was not at all fascinated by such artistic aspect of the round emptiness in the middle of the plastic matter, but rather by the technical or commercial aspects :

The generally-accepted theory is that the large center hole on 45s made it easier for jukeboxes to handle them. The reality was that RCA did everything they could to try to create a radically new format to thwart CBS -- different-sized record, different hole, different rotational speed, etc. -- just for spite. [2]

Few record labels tried to use the hole as part of the design. The various designs that i've found belongs to the following categories :

1 - the hole is to be seen as matter : bagde, bomb or sun

2 - the hole is an entry : cavern, igloo

3 - the hole is a mouth : human, shark, whale (my favorite!)

4 - the hole is a hole : ring

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