Hello folks. This blog was launched exactly 9 years ago. Already 438 articles later, and still alive and well ! Thanks for visiting. This is the early March 2018 fortnight’s favorites.
First an almost certainly late ’40s recording done in Nashville, « Hillbilly City, Nashville Tenn. » by ERNIE BENEDICT & his Range Riders (vocal: Roy West). It’s a fast moving tune – fiddle accompaniment and handclaps item. Full of energy. Issued even in Nederland on the Continental label # 8034!
AL CLAUSER& The Oklahoma Outlaws for the next two tracks was not a newcomer. His career dates from the mid-30s. Here « Move it over Rover » (Dog House Blues) on the Bullet label # 720 from 1950 is an uptempo bopper. Half-spoken (vocal Norman Hart) upon a call-and-response format, indeed based on Hank Williams’ « Move it on over » (which was itself a revamp of an old traditional). The flipside « My sweet mama » is a medium shuffler with steel.
The remaining tracks of this fortnight are all by LLOYD WEAVER, another artist originally out of Texas (KTUL, Waco). His first record was “Virginia (of West Virginia)” on Blue Bonnet 110 from 1947: a very Western swing styled record. later on the Bullet stable, as « Cowboy Pal » Lloyd Weaver ( # 663). The recording was first issued on Dude 1600, in Dallas. « Kue-Tee-Kue » is an utempo in the Tex Williams style, on a banjo rhythm (solo) backed by a steel. The flipside « Too many tears » is a medium weeper, with an extrovert vocal – a trademark of Weaver – over a rinky-dink piano. Then on # 1607 a fine uptempo “Like the leaves (I fell for you)” backed with a romping, fast “My Honey Bee“. Note that both Dude and second Coral records were credited to ‘Loyd’ with just one ‘l’.
The second Coral offering (# 64155) has the fine bluesy medium « Woman trouble blues » with even some yodel à la Hank. Reverse side is « After my love has turned to hate », a good vocal medium fiddle led tune.
Howdy, folks ! This is the early June 2017 bopping fortnight’s selection, between 1937 and 1947, with some projections in the very early ’60s.
Here we go before WWII with BILL NETTLES & his Dixie Blue Boys for his first recording session, held in Dallas, TX on June 22nd, 1937 (nearly 80 years ago…) His story has already been written in this site, and I will focus on one track, « Oxford (Miss) Blues », described on the label as « hot string band with singing ». Really hot fiddle (Dock Massey, who’s also singing, among cheers and yells) and strong slapping bass (by Nettles’ brother Luther). They didn’t do such great tracks so often, even in the ’40s and ’50s.
ALSIE « REX » GRIFFIN (1912-1959) made most of his career during the ’30s on Decca, as a follower of Jimmie Rodgers, and a fine yodeler too. Here on the decline (one of his last records) in Cincinnati on King 584 (February 1947), I chose « I’m as free as the breeze » : nice hot guitar player (obviously inspired by the late Django Rheinhart) and a discree steel for a good mid-paced bopper.
Griffin was also responsible for three classics, « Everybody’s trying to be my baby » (one feature in this site is devoted to this song and its continuation), « Won’t you ride in my little red wagon » (the signature song of Hank Penny), and the morbid « The last letter ».
HANK STOLLINGS went on the RCA-pressed 1961 Versatile 101 « Date with the blues » (vocal Chuck Louis) with a deep-voiced country rocker ; 2 fine fiddle solos, and a good loud guitar too.
From the same or similar era (late 1959) we find also BEN JACK & Country Boys for «I’m entitled to your love», a mid-paced light country rocker with fiddle emanating from Tulsa, OK, to be found on the Cimarron label # 4048. This label was owned by Leon McAuliffe, former steel player in the Bob Wills’ Playboys.
Back to TOMMY FAILE (reviewed early May with « That’s all right » on Lawn 104, NYC label) and the flipside of this December 1960 issue, « The rest of my life ». Arthur Smith is seemingly on lead guitar (on bass chords) for this baritone-voiced, female chorus backed (unobstrusive) country rocker.
Indiana born, on a Chicago label, comes BOB PERRY for two tunes. First a famous small Rockabilly classic,« Weary blues, goodbye » on the Bandera label (# 1303, from 1959), valued at $ 150-200, it has a very strong rhythm guitar (obviously played by Perry himself) and a fantastic steel guitar solo . So tame in comparison is the second Perry issue on Cool 158, « Gone with the wind », which is a gentle Rockabilly/rocker (all the same attaining $ 75-100). Perry went later on Top Rank and BandBox.
Jimmie Dale got his start in hillbilly music with the guidance of Dave Miller, who was a famous New Jersey-Newark disc jockey.
He organized his own band and they made personal appearances in the New York night club circuit. Jimmie also appeared at Carnegie Hall, Frank Daly’s Meadowbrook and the top spot on Dave Miller’s television show. By 1953, he was being heard over radio station WAAT in Newark, New Jersey.
Dale had other boogies in the same style.
Sources : 45cat and 78rpm-worlds, YouTube (e.g. Rockin’ TomKat for Bob Perry on Cool) ; Hillbilly-Music.com (picture of Rex Griffin and Jimmie Dale) ; also Wikipedia for Rex Griffin bio. My own archives.
arkansas 45s