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).