Howdy y’all, folks. A little bit late, back from holidays. Here is my new choice of favorites. As usual, a selection of tunes of the great era. HARRY HANSON on the Louisiana Empire label (# 795, a Starday custom) with “Just remember” from 1959. Fine primitive hillbilly bop which could well have been cut 3 or 4 years earlier.
From Detroit on Fortune 185, CAL DAVIS and rockabilly “Partnership love affair“, complete with steel and guitar. Two sides by the very good EUEL HALL from Texas, on the Towne House label (# 11). Lazy vocal, assuring guitar for “Blue feeling” and “Stand in line“. Cross between hillbilly bop and rockabilly.
Howdy, folks! En route for the new cartload of bopping Hillbillies/Rockabillies and white rockers (this time), plus the usual R&B rocker. First two tunes are by WEBB FOLEY, from Fort Wayne, Indiana it seems. He had “Bee bop baby” on Emerald 2013 in 1957 (flip side is “You ought make records“, listed as “C&W”, alas I didn’t track it down). Rockabilly and that’s all, topical lyrics, good rhythm. Next year he was to have a white rocker “Little bitty mama” (Emerald EP 750), a good one. BUT, beware of his sides on the M label (“Strange little girl/One by one” and “Little town Xmas”), they’re awful! More on Emerald next fortnight.
Next artist must have been a local one, as his label: Royal 100, for COUSIN KEITH LOYD (sic). He cut “Dangerous crossing” (1955?) certainly having in mind Billy Strange’s “Diesel smoke” from a pair of years earlier. Cousin Keith Loyd “Dangerous crossing“
I return to MARVIN RAINWATER. I did celebrate his death last month with one of his most known tracks, “Mr. Blues“. Now I’ve chosen “So you think you’ve got troubles” (MGM 12420), cut a coupe of years later, and a fast good side of its own.
Marvin Rainwater “So you think you’ve got troubles”
BILL LOWE was from West Coast, and cut for the interesting small label Sundown. There he had at least two issues, the one here (# 117), “You set my heart on fire“, a very nice late ’50s hillbilly. Lowe had a duet with TOMMY GUESS, also on Sundown, “Foolish heart” (# 106 – I include it in the podcasts, having copied it from an old Tom Sims’ cassette).
Finally a great R&B Rocker by FLASH TERRY, “ She’s my baby” on the Southbay label (# 500), obviously a S.F. issue. Just take a look at the logo: Southbay must have been inspired by Starday (3 stars). Flash Terry “She’s my baby”
Note (Nov. 30th, 2015) from Steve Gronda: “The Flash Terry on Southbay was bootlegged from my original 45 on Suncoast, a Tampa label run by Doc Castellanos, a local bar owner. Southbay, was based in South Pasadena Florida, about 30 miles from Doc’s bar in Tampa and released this record around 1979.. About 1,000 copies were pressed. The original owner of Suncoast records had no memory of Flash Terry, nor any records or tapes when approached in the early ’70’s by collector Lynn Burnette.”
Enjoy the selections. Any comment or addition/correction welcome!
arkansas 45s