Saturday, October 29, 2011

Rock & Roll Story



The Definitive Rock and Roll History ?
Courtesy of Kicks Magazine



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Thursday, October 27, 2011

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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Tuesday, October 25, 2011

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.





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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Monday, October 10, 2011

My Baby's Gone Away

Eddie Riff

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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Sunday, October 9, 2011

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

<---

Saturday, October 8, 2011

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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Friday, October 7, 2011

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

Thursday, October 6, 2011

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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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

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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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

"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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Monday, October 3, 2011

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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Saturday, October 1, 2011

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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