Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Brain Blood Volume

 

 


Brain Blood Volume

This is from Julie Felix' second album, "Changes", from 1966 (Fontana Records)

 

Julie Ann Felix (1938–2020) was an American-British folk singer and recording artist,  eager to promote the doctrine of trepanation (see below) and recorded some of the propaganda songs which Joey [Joey Mellen, Amanda Feilding's companion] had composed,

On the subject, see Eccentric Lives & Peculiar Notions, a book by John Mitchell from 1984, reprinted HERE

I quote :

Amanda Feilding lives in a charming flat looking over London's river with her companion, Joey Mellen, and their infant son, Rock. She is a successful painter, and she and Joey have an art gallery in a fashionable street of the King's Road. Another of her talents is for politics. At the last two General Elections she stood for Parliament in Chelsea, more than doubling her vote on the second occasion from 49 to 139. It does not sound much, but the cause for which she stands is unfamiliar and lacks obvious appeal. Feilding and her voters demand that trepanning operations be made freely available on the National Health. Trepanation means cutting a hole in your skull.

The founder of the trepanation movement is a Dutch savant, Dr Bart Hughes. In 1962 he made a discovery which his followers proclaim as the most significant in modern times. One's state and degree of consciousness, he realized, are related to the volume of blood in the brain. According to his theory of evolution, the adoption of an upright stance brought certain benefits to the human race, but it caused the flow of blood through the head to be limited by gravity, thus reducing the range of human consciousness. Certain parts of the brain ceased or reduced their functions while others, particularly those parts relating to speech and reasoning, became emphasized in compensation. One can redress the balance by a number of methods, such as standing on one's head, jumping from a hot bath into a cold one, or the use of drugs; but the wider consciousness thus obtained is only temporary. Bart Hughes shared the common goal of mystics and poets in all ages: he wanted to achieve permanently the higher level of vision, which he associated with an increased volume of blood in the capillaries of the brain.

(...)

Bart Huges's ideas had their best reception among artists and bohemians. Among those impressed was Heathcote Williams, who published a dialogue between Joey and Bart in the literary Transatlantic Review and made a trepanation scene the climax of his award-winning play, AC-DC. An important convert was Julie Felix, a world-famous (in London) American singer in the style of Joan Baez. She was eager to promote the doctrine of trepanation and recorded some of the propaganda songs which Joey [Joey Mellen,Amanda Feilding's companion] had composed, including Brainbloodvolume, The Great Brain Robbery and Sugarlack.read more....

read more.....

and also see Lost Footage: Amanda Feilding Self Trepanning


Thursday, May 8, 2025

Make A Record, Man

 


 The Markeys
featuring George Morton


Make A Record, Man 

Morton, M.Monaco, J. Monaco
Norma Music Co, Inc. BMI

1958

In 1957 George Morton formed a vocal group with friends Marty Monaco, Tony Giannattasio, Victor Eusepi and Sal DiTroia.  Marty Monaco's mother had a basic recording studio in her basement in nearby Levvitown, where the guys wrote, rehearsed and taped demos of their songs. The owner of a local record store took a liking to the young quintet and helped arrange for them to audition for RCA.

The group made their recording debut with "Hot Rod", released on RCA in the summer of 1958. Later that year, RCA released their second 45, "Make A Record, Man"

Information above and photo are from "Sophisticated Boom Boom! - The Shadow Morton Story", a
compilation and notes by Mick Patrick issued by Ace Records (UK) in 2013.

 

 

 

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Faded Levi Jacket

Major Hicks and The Mountain Cats
 

 

(I.W. Hicks, Renda Music, BMI) 

SUN VALLEY
2207 S. 15th St., Phoenix, Arizona

1961

Major Hicks had four releases on Sun Valley in 1961. Tribute To A Great Man is a tribute to the late J. F. Kennedy
 
13 Faded Levi Jacket / Honky Tonk Of Sorrow
14 My Lips Will Smile / Brick Layin’ Man
15 By Your House Last Night / Little Spark Of Love
16 Tribute To A Great Man / Help This Child    

Ishmael W Hicks (1916–1989) was born in Hawaii. He is listed at the same address (2207 S. 15 th. Phoenix) in 1958 in the Directory of Arizona Contractors.  He died in 1989. His grave is in theMiller-Woodlawn Memorial Park, Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington,  That's all about I can find on this artist from whom I would like to hear more....

Once the home of Major Hicks and His Sun Valley label, the place is now a vacant lot

Friday, May 2, 2025

Knock At The Door (Of Your Heart)

 



Knock At The Door (Of Your Heart)

Rocky Hollman

Althea Records 001
Produced by Bridges Records
date unknown but probably from 1961 or 1962, when the Bridges label was active

Undocumented artist. who neverthless released at least 14 singles on various labels, mostly Texas labels, between 1959 and 1980 after a start in California. Born William Henry Holeman in Oklahoma in 1935. After a stint in Korea with the US Air Force, he probably started a career in music upon his return in the USA, in country & western music precisely, if we judge by the photography below found at Find A Grave :


At some point in the late fifties, Rocky was vocalist with Mort Wise and the Wisemen, a rock ‘n‘ roll sextet formed around 1956-1957. They were gigs around Hollywood and Las Vegas before the recording of Wild Boy a song penned by Eden Ahbez and issued on Charles Mish's tiny label named Sierra located at Sierra Bonita, Hollywood. Rocky left the Wisemen in 1960 to pursue his career, recording two more singles in California, for Flip ad for Althea, before moving to Texas.

They were records in the sixties and the seventies for various Texas labels such as Kool, Capri, B&G, Rampart Street, POW MIA, Injun and Juke Box. Also, two singles were issued on Memphis labels (Pixie and Casino) in the seventies. Billy Holeman died in 1996.

discography

59 - Sierra 1502 - Wild Boy / Broken Love (Rocky Holman - Mort Wise And The Wisemen)
61 - Flip 355 - Love Me All The Way / My Precious Love (Rocky Hollman And The Romancers)
xx - Althea 001 - Knock At The Door (Of Your Heart) / "Tammy" Tell Your Daddy (Rocky Hollman)

(from there, all records are as by Billy Holeman)

62 - Kool 1020 Lana Jean / Knockin' At The  Door
64 – Capri 503 – Billy Holeman – The Other Side Of Me / Where Broken Hearts Live
66 – Capri 519 – Billy Holeman – Flip Flop & Fly/Running
68 - B&G 001 - I Can't Stand The Hurt (No More) / One Lonely Heart
70 - Pixie 002 - The First Thing I Tried / Louisiana (Lover) Man
71 - Rampart Street 0336 - Louisiana Lover Man / One Last Time
73 - POW MIA - Prisoner Of War (Welcome Back Home) / They Want To Know
75 - Casino 112 - Here I Am / Sweet On My Mind
75 - Injun 586 -  Sentimental Journey / I'm A Kicker And A Guitar Picker
75 - B&G 101 - Sentimental Journey / I'm A Kicker And A Guitar Picker
80 - Juke Box 135 - Peace Of Mind / Special

You can hear 12 of these songs at YT in a playlist I created in my channel HERE or download them in the audio format at the link below :

Rocky Holman

 

Rocky in 1959