First we have TROY JORDAN & his Cross-B-Boys from Midland, Tx. There’s a joyful uptempo with piano – steel barely audible, plus a fiddle solo : « Who Flung That Mater » on Tred-Way 100.
Now here’s JIM HAND with the Mountain Ramblers – although the disc comes from NYC. A bit crooning 1947 goodie ; discreet steel and an accordion solo for « There’s No One Home » on Crown 156. Jordan had also « Columbus Stockade Blues » on the flipside (untraced).
ARCHIE JEFFERIES and the Blue Flame Boys, probably from the West coast, are doing on a 4* Custom Blue Flame (OP-107) label, « G. I. Talking Blues », a decent bopper from 1950 with rinky-dink piano and steel. Flipside « One For The Money, Two For The Show » is a good mellow bopper.
TOMMY KIZZIAH & the West Coast Ramblers give us « Two Timing Kind », an uptempo bopper, a good guitar throughout and a lot of fiddle on another 4* custom, Pearl label (# 203).
« Red’s boogie » is done by OZARK RED (rn. Red Murrell) and his Ozark Mountain Boys : a very good instrumental, a bit Western in style – agile guitar and good piano backing. It’s to be found on Cavalier 811.
Finally SMOKEY WARD and « Dog Bite Yo’ Hide » : prominent fiddle and forceful Bluegrass vocal (chorus), a nice and fast mandolin solo, on Barrel Head Gang 1001 released June 1951.
Sources : YouTube mainly ; also photograph of Tommy Kizziah from the book « A star that winkled but never got to shine » (Sharon Kizziah-Holmes)
MERLE KILGORE is not a newcomer. He met in the ’60s and ’70s a lot of success as a songwriter in Nashville : wrote « Ring of Fire » for Johnny Cash, and « Wolverton mountain » for Claude King. But I am more interested with his beginnings for Imperial records, seemingly all cut at KWKH in Shreveport, La. Here’s « Everybody needs a lttle lovin’ » that Merle released on # 8300. A Rockabilly guitar
Tillman Franks on double bass with Johnny Horton
(fine solo), propelled by a thudding bass (Tillman Franks?) over an urgent vocal. Later Wyatt Merle Kilgore (his actual name, being born in Chickasaw, OK. In 1934) turned frankly towards Rock’n’roll with tunes like « Please please please », cut in New Orleans in Jan. 1956 with an-all Black group, that of Dave Bartholomew, and « Ernie » . So eclectic was the man ! He was also a board member of the Hank Williams Montgomery museum, being very close to Hank’s family. He was back to his Country roots in 1959 with Country rockers on the « D » label (‘Take a trip to the moon »). Died of a lung cancer in 2005.
I didn’t find anything on the next artist : TROY JORDAN & His Cross-B-Boys, except to location of the label: Midland, Texas. So can only comment both sides of his disc issued on Tred-Way 100. The A-side is a good uptempo, « Who Flung that mater », with a too-discrete steel-guitar and well-sung, although nothing rxceptional. B-side is really fine bluesy a tune: guitar, steel, a piano solo, lazy vocal for « Don’t cry on my shoulder». Jordan was a distant cousin of the Carter Sisters, so it may be they are the right way for a research on him.
HILLBILLY HERMAN, & his Tennessee Valley Boys, despite his name, is a Blugrass artist in 1966, who offers « Today I watched my dreams come true » (Breeze 366, located in Livingston, TN), a solid uptempo, with great backing in the background The main instrument is a very nice mandolin ; alas the guitar solo is very insipid. The Breeze label had issued a very rocking version of “Wreck of the old 97” (# 381) by Jim Sebastian. A record to watch for. In the meantime, do YouTube searching! Herman had an elusive issue on Hatfield (no #)[untraced]
Sources : as usual, Internet (45cat, or Youtube) and my own archives. Decca and Imperial data do come from Michel Ruppli’s books. Pictures of Tillman Franks come drom Now Dig This (a 1995 issue).
arkansas 45s