right track195 / SEPTEMBER 2012

2 R I G H T T R A C K 1 9 5

MINI SKIRT MINNIE • GET IT WHEN I WANT IT • I’M JUST A PRISONER • VICTIM OF AFOOLISH HEART • TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT • I BIT OFF MORE THAN I CANCHEW • LET ME COMFORT YOU • FORBIDDEN LOVE • LOOKING FOR SOME ACTION •SAVE ME • LET THE BEST MAN WIN • HIT & RUN • I LIVED THROUGH A LOSING BATTLE• HOLD THAT FEELING • MY NERVES FAIL • LOVE CAME KNOCKING AT YOUR DOOR •POLLUTION • IT’S NOT SAFE TO MESS ON ME • SOUL LOVIN’ • YOUR LOVE LIFTED ME •I’M LIVING GOOD • DARKEST HOUR IS BEFORE DAWN • YOU GOT A LOT TO LIKE • AIN’TTHAT SOME GOOD LOVIN

GEORGE JACKSON – LET THE BEST MAN WIN – The FAME Recordings Volume 2 CDKEND 380

More great unissued 1960sFAME recordings by this geniusof Southern soul songwriting.

By Dean Rudland

George Jackson: “When WilsonPickett heard the demos for the ‘HeyJude’ session, he said to Rick Hall,‘This guy really can sing. He’s sosoulful.’ He told Jerry Wexler, he toldTom Dowd, ‘You really should recordthis guy’. It was hard enough to getPickett to compliment anybody, but hegave me a very good compliment on

those demos.” The slender, smartlydressed man in his late 60s is rightfullyproud as he repeats the high praisefrom one of soul music’s greateststars. Tony Rounce and I had travelledfor nearly five hours in treacherousconditions to get from Muscle Shoalsto Jackson, Mississippi for a 10o’clock interview with the man weconsider one of Southern soul’s finestsongwriters. We, like many others, alsoconsider him to be one of its greatestperformers, but while he has writtencareer-defining hits for Candi Staton,Clarence Carter, Otis Clay, Z.Z. Hill,Bob Seger and others, his own chartrun consists of just two Top 50 R&Bhits.

Near the top of our list of questionswas why he never became the hitrecording artist his songs and voicewarranted. Over the course of an hourhe answered all our questions andeven gave us a sneak preview of anew song. Describing how he wouldwrite a song, he decided that ademonstration would be better, andmoving over to the piano in the cornerhe did just that. It was a performancethat will live with me forever; his voice

Courtesy of Fame Records

R I G H T T R A C K 1 9 5 3

is still in perfect shape and hissongwriting ability doesn’t appear tohave slipped either.

This will be Ace’s third full CD ofGeorge Jackson recordings. The firstset comprised tracks cut at GeneLucchesi’s Sounds Of Memphis studioin the mid-70s. The second was “Don’tCount Me Out”, our first volume ofrecordings made for Rick Hall at FAMEin the late 60s.

As we researched the FAME tapes,we were at times overwhelmed by thevast number of recordings Georgemade there. It seems he was not onlywriting and recording every day, butthe songs he wrote were rarelyanything less than excellent. “Don’t

Count Me Out” premiered some fineoriginal versions of songs well-knownby other artists, as well as otherswhich were never placed. We haverepeated that formula here on “Let TheBest Man Win”, which featuresGeorge’s takes on songs consideredclassics of the Southern soul genre inperformances by Clarence Carter,Candi Staton, Bettye Swann, WilsonPickett and others, plus somepreviously unknown gems from hispen. The earliest of these recordingshave George backed by the classicFAME house band of David Hood,Roger Hawkins, Jimmy Johnson andBarry Beckett., while on the latertracks he is joined by the Fame Gang.

Also available, the Fame Studios Story (KENTBOX 12)

Welcome to the Ace RecordsSingles ClubEvery month we aim torelease a web exclusive vinyl45, featuring previouslyunreleased or rare materialon an authentic-lookinglabel. Each 45 will tie in withone of our CD releases for themonth in question, and willshowcase repertoire fromeach and every genre ofthe music thatappears across theAce family of labels.

For ouropening salvo wehave an absolutegem, fromsouthern soul greatGeorge Jackson.

George was in-house songwriter forRick Hall’s Fame Records inMuscle Shoals from1968 well intothe1970s, and wrote hits for, amongstothers, Candi Staton, Wilson Pickettand Clarence Carter. He was also agreat performer, but his demand as asongwriter kept his recording careervery much in the background. In thelast year we have found a host ofwonderful recordings by George in the

Fame vaults andto tie in with thesecond volumeof his FameRecordings“Let The BestMan Win”, we

are couplingtwo of the tracks

on a 7 inch single.The A-side is the

wonderful ‘Victim of AFoolish Heart’ which wethink was recorded as afollow-up to George’stwo released Famesingles, but shelved infavour of Bettye Swann’s

version which wasreleased on Atlantic. It was

later covered by Joss Stoneon her multi million-selling “Soul

Sessions” album. The flip isGeorge’s take on ‘Getting The Bills (ButNo Merchandise)’ which has a better-known version by Clarence Carter.

All Singles Club releases are limitededitions available exclusively via thenew Ace website – and once they’regone, they’re gone – so pre-order yourcopy now: acerecords.com

A NEW VINYL SINGLES SERIES – AVAILABLEONLY ON OUR NEW-LOOK WEBSITEGEORGE JACKSON – VICTIM OF AFOOLISH HEART / GETTING THE BILLS(BUT NO MERCHANDISE) NW 501

Fats Domino EP courtesyJohn Broven

Monkees Single courtesyHoward Williams

Ikettes EP courtesy Brian Nevill

4 R I G H T T R A C K 1 9 5

I WONDER WHAT SHE’S DOING TONIGHT – TOMMY BOYCE & BOBBY HART • VALLERI /P.O. BOX 9847 / (THEME FROM) THE MONKEES – MONKEES • ACTION, ACTION, ACTION– KEITH ALLISON • I’M NOT YOUR STEPPING STONE – FLIES • TOMORROW’S GONNABE ANOTHER DAY – SIR RALEIGH & THE CUPONS • WORDS – REGENTS • LAST TRAINTO CLARKSVILLE – STANDELLS • (HE’S GONNA BE) FINE, FINE, FINE – IKETTES • SHE –DEL SHANNON • COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER – JAY & THE AMERICANS • THE DUM DUMDITTY – SHANGRI-LAS • I CAN’T GET HIM OUT OF MY MIND – SANDRA GEE • HURT SOBAD – LITTLE ANTHONY & THE IMPERIALS • THANK YOU FOR LOVING ME – SAPPHIRES• IF YOU’RE THINKIN’ WHAT I’M THINKIN’ – DINO, DESI & BILLY • SEVEN DAYS IN SEPTEMBER– GINGER & THE SNAPS • NEVER AGAIN – ROYALETTES • I GOTTA FIND CUPID – GARYLEWIS & THE PLAYBOYS • BEVERLY JEAN – CURTIS LEE • TOO MANY TEARDROPS –BOBBY HART • BE MY GUEST – FATS DOMINO • LAZY ELSIE MOLLY – CHUBBY CHECKER• ACTION – PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS • DICCI COME FINI (PEACHES ‘N’ CREAM) –HONEYBEATS

ACTION! THE SONGS OF TOMMY BOYCE & BOBBY HART CDTOP 1335

The latest in our popularsongwriter series spotlights theduo noted for the gems theypenned for the Monkees.

By Mick Patrick

The latest in our popular songwriterseries spotlights Tommy Boyce andBobby Hart, the duo whose instinctivemarriage of folk-rock and pre-bubblegum teen pop created anddefined the Monkees sound.

Boyce and Hart each started outas teenage rock’n’rollers in late 1950sLos Angeles and first met in 1960.Their formative years are representedhere with ‘Be My Guest’, written byBoyce for Fats Domino in 1959,‘Beverly Jean’, one of the handful ofBoyce compositions recorded byCurtis Lee and ‘Too Many Teardrops’,an early Bobby Hart solo single.

By 1963 both had relocated toNew York, where they began writing as

for and producing theMonkees. Three of thegroup’s best recordingsare here, and a furthersix songs popularisedby them are featured inless-frequently heard,but equally good,mostly pre-Monkeesversions, including ‘(I’mNot Your) Steppin’Stone’ by UK fuzz-beatcombo the Flies and‘She’, an almost hit forDel Shannon. By theend of 1966 theMonkees had recordednearly 50 titles, 21 ofthem Boyce and Hartsongs – quite anachievementconsidering they werein competition withCarole King, GerryGoffin and the rest ofthe Screen Gemsstable.

Apart from theduo’s jointcompositions, thecollection also featuresexamples of their workwith other co-writers.‘Never Again’ by theRoyalettes and ‘HurtSo Bad’, as defined byLittle Anthony & the

Imperials, stem fromBobby Hart’s spellcollaborating withTeddy Randazzo.‘Action’ – the themefor TV’s Where TheAction Is, here by PaulRevere & the Raiders –and ‘Tomorrow’sGonna Be AnotherDay’ by Sir Raleigh &the Cupons representTommy Boyce’s briefpartnership with SteveVenet. And Wes Farrellgets a look-in via threesongs co-written withBoyce and Hart.

Come 1969Tommy Boyce andBobby Hart were starsin their own right, withfour hit singles andthree albums to theirname. This CD kicksoff with ‘I WonderWhat She’s DoingTonight’, a power-popprecursor from 1967and the pair’s biggesthit as performers.

a team. They made their bigbreakthrough the following year with‘Come A Little Bit Closer’, a Top 3 hitfor Jay & the Americans, which helpedland the twosome a contract withleading music publishers ScreenGems.

They reached the peak of theirsuccess and creativity in 1966, writing

R I G H T T R A C K 1 9 5 5

LET’S DANCE – CHRIS MONTEZ • CALIFORNIA SUN – RIVIERAS • SURFIN’ BIRD –TRASHMEN • DO YOU WANNA DANCE / SURFIN’ SAFARI – BEACH BOYS • NEEDLES ANDPINS – SEARCHERS • COME ON, LET’S GO – RITCHIE VALENS • BABY I LOVE YOU –RONETTES • I GOT YOU BABE – SONNY & CHER • LITTLE BIT O’ SOUL – MUSIC EXPLOSION• TIME HAS COME TODAY – CHAMBERS BROTHERS • INDIAN GIVER – 1910 FRUITGUMCO • SURF CITY – JAN & DEAN • I CAN’T CONTROL MYSELF – TROGGS • MY BACK PAGES– BYRDS • CAN’T SEEM TO MAKE YOU MINE – SEEDS • SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME –MAX FROST & THE TROOPERS • JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE MIND – AMBOYDUKES • SOMEBODY TO LOVE – JEFFERSON AIRPLANE • 7 AND 7 IS – LOVE • I DON’TWANNA GROW UP – TOM WAITS • R.A.M.O.N.E.S. – MOTORHEAD • 1969 – STOOGES •WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD – LOUIS ARMSTRONG

THE RAMONES HEARD THEM HERE FIRST CDCHD 1344

Punk fans know and love thesesongs by the Ramones. Here’swhere Joey and the guys firstheard them.

By Mick Patrick

There’s no mistaking a Ramones song.The funny thing is, throughout theircareer, the band paid tribute to theirroots and influences by peppering theiralbums with versions of their favouritesby other artists, making them soundlike Ramones songs too. To see what Imean, try listening to this CD without

Spector, contained a revival theRonettes’ ‘Baby I Love You’; and in1982 Joey got together with Holly (ofHolly & the Italians) to cut a version ofSonny & Cher’s ‘I Got You Babe’.

‘Little Bit O’ Soul’, here by theMusic Explosion, and ‘Time Has ComeToday’ by the Chambers Brotherswere both revamped by the band on1983’s “SubterraneanJungle”. The sessionsalso yielded a version ofthe 1910 Fruitgum Co’s‘Indian Giver’, whichsneaked out on the B-side of a 12-inch singlein 1987.

In 1993 theRamones released“Acid Eaters”, an entirealbum of coverversions, representedon this CD by Jan &Dean’s ‘Surf City’, theTroggs’ ‘I Can’t ControlMyself’, the Byrds’ ‘MyBack Pages’, theSeeds’ ‘Can’t Seem ToMake You Mine’, MaxFrost & the Troopers’‘Shape Of Things ToCome’, the AmboyDukes’ ‘Journey To TheCenter Of The Mind’,Jefferson Airplane’s‘Somebody To Love’and Love’s ‘7 And 7 Is’.The Japan and Brazileditions of the albumalso contained the

band’s version of the Beach Boys’‘Surfin’ Safari’.

“Adios Amigos”, the Ramones’farewell album of 1995, included theirversion of Tom Waits’ ‘I Don’t WannaGrow Up’. Waits repaid thecompliment by contributing a cover ofthe band’s ‘The Return Of Jackie AndJudy’ for the Ramones tribute album

“We’re A HappyFamily”. It’s not everyday that one bandrecords a tribute toanother, but Motorheaddid just that with‘R.A.M.O.N.E.S.’ ontheir 1991 album“1916”. In return, theRamones’ own versionof the song wasincluded on the Japanedition of “AdiosAmigos”.

The set concludeswith the Stooges’‘1969’ and, poignantly,Louis Armstrong’s‘What A WonderfulWorld’, as covered onJoey’s solo album“Don’t Worry AboutMe”, released in 2002,by which time he,Johnny and Dee Deewere dead. TheRamones were nomore. See, poignant.

lurching into ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’, ‘CarbonaNot Glue’ or ‘I Wanna Be YourBoyfriend’.

Sequenced in the order in whichthe Ramones cut the songs, thiscollection kicks off with Chris Montez’soriginal of ‘Let’s Dance’, which theband revived on their debut album“Ramones” in 1976.

In some instances, rather than bepedantic about original versions, somesongs are included in the renditionsfirst heard by the Ramones. Hence‘California Sun’, featured on theirsecond album “Leave Home”, is heardhere by the Rivieras (not Joe Jones);‘Surfin’ Bird’ and ‘Do You WannaDance’, from 1977’s “Rocket ToRussia”, are by the Trashmen and theBeach Boys (as opposed to theRivingtons and Bobby Freeman); and‘Needles And Pins”, from their fourthLP “Road To Ruin”, is by the Searchers(rather than Jackie DeShannon).

In 1978 the guys teamed up withthe Paley Brothers for an update ofRitchie Valens’ ‘Come On, Let’s Go’, achildhood favourite of Joey Ramone;the band’s 1980 album “End Of TheCentury”, produced by Joey’s hero Phil

Memorabilia courtesy MickPatrick and Colm O’Brien

6 R I G H T T R A C K 1 9 5

Disc One: SPOKEN INTRO / I’M A FOOL TO CARE • I GOT A FEELING • TILL THE END OFTHE WORLD • TEARDROPS IN MY HEART • FOR YOU SUNSHINE • YOU DON’T HAVE TOBE A BABY TO CRY • I CAN’T DO WITHOUT YOU • CAN’T LIVE WITH YOU • TRY ROCK ‘N’ROLL • SECRET LOVE • WHY DID YOU SAY GOODBYE • LITTLE PAPOOSE • JUST BECAUSE• LITTLE JEWEL OF THE VIEUX CARRE (OLD SQUARE) • IS IT WRONG • I’M LOOKING OVERA FOUR LEAF CLOVER • THE LONELIEST BOY IN TOWN • BOUQUET OF ROSES • YOUBELONG TO MY HEART • BEG YOUR PARDON • DON’T CLOSE THAT DOOR • EVERYMORNING, NOON AND NIGHT • YONDER COMES A SUCKER – JOE BARRY• HEARTBROKENLOVE / GREATEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE – JOE BARRY AND THE DEL-PHIES • I SAY! THAT’SALLRIGHT / ANY OLD TIME – ROOSEVELT JONES • BIG MAMOU – JOE BARRY & MARYMcCOY

Disc Two: A FOOL SUCH AS I • COME WHAT MAY • YOU DARLING, YOU • YOU CALLEVERYBODY DARLING • STOP TELLING LIES • LUCKY MORNING • YONDER COMES ASUCKER • YOU DARLING, YOU • BLUE YODEL #6 (SHE LEFT ME THIS MORNIN’) (Demo) •THREE’S A CROWD • (TODAY) I STARTED LOVING YOU AGAIN • YOU’RE WHY I’M SO LONELY• TOMORROW NEVER COMES • THINK IT OVER • ALWAYS LATE (WITH YOUR KISSES) • IALMOST LOST MY MIND • IT’S A SIN TO TELL A LIE • COLD COLD HEART • THE PRISONER’SSONG • I LET HAPPY PASS ME BY • IF YOU REALLY WANT ME TO I’LL GO – JOE BARRY •JE SUIS BET POUR T’AIMER (I’M A FOOL TO CARE) / OH, TEET FILLE – JOSEF BARRIOS

JOE BARRY – A FOOL TO CARE – CLASSIC RECORDINGS 1960-1977 CDTOP2 1349

The master takes of all theimportant 60s and 70srecordings by this first tierswamp pop singer, the manwho put South Louisiana intorock’n’roll’s hall of fame. Manyissued in stereo for the first time.

By Tony Rounce It may surprise some Right Trackreaders to learn that many musiciansfrom South Louisiana do not like theirmusic to be categorised as swamppop (a term coined originally by musicwriter Bill Millar). For the rest of us, itfeels like the perfect way to describethe rolling rhythms and unique vocalsthat define the great records whichcame out of the area between thelatter 1950s and the mid-60s. Whether

particular embrace many of its mosttreasured moments.

Joe only charted nationally acouple of times, his greatest hit beingthe wonderfully languid revival ofhillbilly standard ‘I’m A Fool To Care’,which many thought was the work ofFats Domino until they saw Joe on TVor in photos. But his lengthy careeramounted to more than a coupleof hit 45s. This new 2CD set,named after Joe’s careerrecord, compiles almost40 sides from Joe’s firstperiod of recording,plus the dozen trackscut during his briefcomeback of the mid-1970s – almost all ofthem taped under thesupervision of his long-time producer Huey Meaux.

To ensure that “I’m A FoolTo Care” would be the definitivecollection of Joe’scollaborations with Meaux,Alec Palao and I wentback to the producer’soriginal tapes and re-copied every singleone in what turned outto be something of amarathon session inHouston last March.Everything here ismastered from those newtransfers, with the exception of

two Sho-Biz sides, which had to betransferred from a 45 as no tapeseems to have survived. Alec was alsoable to mix a few of the tracks (somepreviously unreleased) into true stereofor the first time, from a handful ofsurviving Cosimo’s multi-tracks.

We have not repeated the mistakesof some previous compilations, which

included tracks not sung by Joe.Although there have been

previous anthologies ofhis work released duringthe last 15 years, weguarantee than noneof them will offeranything like the levelof audio excellencethis one does.

With an extensiveessay based around an

interview conducted byJohn Broven in the late 70s,

and a booklet that contains lotsor rare images and label

shots of almost every 45featured on thecollection, this 2CDset will be the perfectway to remember thisbeloved exponent ofSouth Louisiana R&B… or swamp pop, if

you don’t happen to befrom down that way.

he would have liked to be defined bysaid term or not, Louisiana’s Joe Barryis one of the greatest exponents of thegenre, and the recordings that hemade between 1959 and 1964 in

Singles courtesy Pete Lerner

R I G H T T R A C K 1 9 5 7

KING NORTHERN SOUL Volume 3 CDKEND 381

This huge stable of black musiclabels reveals more soul tomove to and to be moved by.

By Ady Croasdell

The King group of labels – Federal,DeLuxe, Hollywood etc – were hugelyproductive throughout the soul era, sothere are hundreds of releases whichhave taken years to locate. Hence the10-year gap since “King Northern SoulVol 2” was released.

are some great numbers herethat have become verycollectible over the years.Charles Spurling’s‘That’s My Zone’ andhis song ‘UnwindYourself’ for MarvaWhitney both soundvery cutting edge fortoday’s funk-edgedfans, as do theBrownettes and Charles’super-groove ‘PopcornCharlie’. There are someterrific tracks from long-servingKing acts, such as Hank Ballard’sRudy Clark-penned ‘I’m Just A Fool’,

Otis Williams’ ‘When We GetTogether’ and Little Willie

John’s Drifters-inspired‘Until Again My Love’.

The lesser-knownHollywood label isresponsible for fourexcellent tracks fromRobert Moore(who would

go on tosing about

‘PartyFreaks’ with

Miami), L.H. &The Memphis

Sounds (one of PackyAxton’s many bands)and Hal Hardy, whoprovides the superb‘Name In Lights’; my humin the head song of themonth.

There is an increasingmovement to play

southern soul tracksat Northern Souldancesnowadays;although Kingwas based inCincinatti, theylicensed in

southernproductions;

mainly fromNashville and Macon.

The Toni Williams, DanBrantley and James Duncan

tracks are all evidence of that growingtrend. And, although we have recentlyissued a New Breed R&B compilationdrawn from the King group, there arestill some of those influencescontained in the songs from MaryJohnson, Mike Williams and OscarToney Jr.

All but two of the 24 tracksare from King’s

wonderfully preservedmaster tapes and

sound alive againon CD. Thebooklet, with itsamazing coverphoto of thePresidentsBand, is a darn

sight prettier thanan old DeLuxe

label too.

Northern Soul collectors used tosee the blue King label, immediatelythink “funky”, skip by it and continuethe search for an “arranged by MikeTerry” denotation. There is no doubtthat a drab grey label such as DeLuxe(as the Dave & Vee 45 from 1969)discourages the listener even beforethe needle drops. The mainlymonochrome aspects of these labelscould never compete with the colourfulsplashes of Groovesville, Giant,Tayster, Pzazz etc in building up thelistener’s expectations; inevitably themusic was undermined. We havemainly got over those prejudices now,but it is still a shock to hear howgood some of thosecollected tracks soundon CD.

The moreobvious bigNorthernsounds werefeatured on thefirst twovolumes of thisseries but there

Singles courtesy Ady Croasdell

THAT’S MY ZONE (HE’S PICKIN’ ON ) / POPCORN CHARLIE – CHARLESSPURLING • UNWIND YOURSELF – MARVA WHITNEY • DO YOU LOVEME – DAVE & VEE • RIGHT NOW – MILL EVANS • SEARCHING FOR YOURLOVE – ROBERT MOORE • YOU GOT TO PROVE IT – DAN BRANTLEY • OUTOF CONTROL – L.H. & THE MEMPHIS SOUNDS • WHO’S GOT A WOMAN LIKEMINE – WILLIE HATCHER • NAME IN LIGHTS – FREDDIE WILLIAMS • TEARING DOWN MYMIND – TONI WILLIAMS • PLEASE, JOHNNY, DON’T YOU TAKE MY LIFE – JAMES DUNCAN• SOMETHING YOU DIDN’T DONE – MIKE WILLIAMS • BABY, DON’T YOU KNOW –BROWNETTES • THUNDER – LORD THUNDER • OUR MEETING – PRESIDENTS BAND •I’M JUST A FOOL (AND EVERYBODY KNOWS) – HANK BALLARD • WHEN WE GET TOGETHER– OTIS WILLIAMS & HIS CHARMS • UNTIL AGAIN MY LOVE – LITTLE WILLIE JOHN • KEEPON LOVING ME – OSCAR TONEY • HOUSE OF BROKEN HEARTS – HAL HARDY • YOUHAVE MY BLESSINGS – MARY JOHNSON • MAMA’S BABY – ROYAL FLUSH • IT HURTSME – WILLIAM PATTON

8 R I G H T T R A C K 1 9 5

TAG ALONG / I GOT A GREAT BIG LOVE / I’LL BE THERE – TOMMY TODD • KISS ME BABY/ INDIAN ROCK’N’ROLL – AL FERRIER • SHE’S MINE / I’D MAKE A GOOD MAN FOR YOU –JOHNNY JANO • LINDA GAIL / ALL NIGHT IN JAIL / LITTLE BITTY MAMA – ROD BERNARD• LAURA LEE – GIL GIROY • MY NEED FOR LOVE / I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU – JIVIN’ GENE• WATCH MY SMOKE – VINCE ANTHONY • TOO HIGH CLASS – BONNIE FUSSELL • WILDMAN ROCK – HUNTER WATTS & HIS SOUTHERN PALS • KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OF IT– LAWRENCE WALKER & HIS WANDERING ACES • THAT’S ALL RIGHT MAMA – NATHANABSHIRE & THE PINE GROVE BOYS vocal ROBERT BERTRAND • FEEL SO GOOD – BILL& CARROLL • SOME OTHER TIME – ARNOLD BROUSSARD • JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE –RONNIE BENNETT • KANSAS CITY – WARREN STORM • DON’T SAY NO – NATHAN & THESPARKS • BIG CLOUD (Pt 1) – JAY CHEVALIER & THE LONG SHOTS • RELEASE ME / TAGALONG – ROCKET MORGAN • RATTLESNAKE – WILEY BARKDULL with RUSTY & DOUG• BOOGIE CHILDREN / WALKING WITH FRANKIE – PLAYBOYS vocal JOHN FRED

BOPPIN’ BY THE BAYOU CDCHD 1345

28 raw Louisiana rockers –shakin’ with rarities andstompin’ with eight unissuedsides.

By Ian Saddler

The Cajun people of the plains andswamps of South Louisiana aresteeped in music with a raw edge.Prior to World War II the music of thebayous was Cajun; the only real

Eddie Shuler, and the Fais-Do-Doand Feature banners of J.D. Miller.These were joined by the Khoury’sand Lyric labels of George Khoury.They all started out as vehicles forCajun and hillbilly music but soon

added blues and R&B artists totheir rosters.

Dance music hadalways been the

backbone of theCajun way of life.As traditionalbands addedheavier rhythms,string bassesand drums, theirtunes became all

the more exciting.South Louisiana –

and particularly itsyouth – like the rest of

America, was ready to takethe next step.

The catalyst was Elvis Presley.When he stepped in front ofthe microphone at RadioKWKH for his firstLouisiana Hayridebroadcast on 16October 1954, a torchwas lit in the hearts ofyoung Cajuns, as itwas in the primarilyworking class youthacross the rest of theUSA.

Rock’n’roll had arrivedand all of the artists on thisCD would play a part, revelling in

it and giving it a distinctive sound – thesound of the bayous.

The first record companies werequick to add these new artists to theirrosters and were soon joined byJin/Swallow (founded by FloydSoileau), Hammond (Luke Thompson),Carl (Jake Graffagnino), Hilton (HiltonMcCrory) and a plethora of smalleroutfits and one-shot deals.

The music produced – whethercategorised as rockabilly, swamp popor Cajun bop – has an added elementin coming from this area. Rock’n’rollwas already an amalgam of earlierstyles; the Louisiana melting pot addedits own spice to the gumbo.

This CD is the first in the “Boppin’By The Bayou” series which will focuson these music forms. The concepthas been given added depth by a dealstruck with the family of the late J.D.Miller, which allows us to includepreviously unreleased material. Plus,

with new technology, we’ll bereinvigorating tracks

discovered by thesterling work of

Bruce Bastin andFlyright some 35years ago. Therewill also be a“Bluesin’ By TheBayou” seriesfeaturing jump

blues and R&B.

Singles courtesy Ian Saddler

changes were the shift from accordionto fiddle as the lead instrument. Thewar changed all that. The thousands ofCajun men who served, many of themmusicians, were exposed to othermusic forms; the influences – mostnotably blues and rhythm, as it wasthen called, and hillbilly – creptinto their songs.

As the 1940sprogressed into the 50s,small independentrecord companiessprang up to recordthis rural music, whichwas largely beingignored by majorlabels. Local radiostations started to playit and the jukeboxbecame a majorentertainment in bars anddiners where the owner couldn’tafford a live band, or just betweensets.

The most prominent of thesenew record companies wereGoldband and Folk-Star founded by

R I G H T T R A C K 1 9 5 9

BOSS DRUMS • POOR BOY • WOCKYTOK • SLIPPIN’ • SUMMERTIME BLUES• SON OF BOSS • SORRY (FOR THE WAY I TREATED YOU) • SWEET POTATO• BASHFUL • RUMBLIN’ • UNDERWATER • SLINGSHOT • HARLEM NOCTURNE• RUMBLIN’ & STUMBLIN’ • THE NERVOUS SET • CHARGER • WEDGEE • SAXWAX• TILL ALWAYS • BOSS BLUES • LOST WEEKEND • WALKIN’ WITH THE BOSS –RUMBLERS • GOSPEL TRUTH – NYLONS • LOTS TO LEARN – BEL CANTO’S

THE RUMBLERS – RUMBLIN’ AND RARE CDCHD 1342

The follow-up to “It’s A Gas”includes many previouslyunreleased gems and some newto CD, completing our release ofthe Rumblers’catalogue.

By Brian Nevill

This newRumblers setmakes thegroup’s entireoutput availableon CD. (Tocomplete yourRumblers collection,you’ll need our previous

Rumblers comp “It’s a Gas”, plus acouple of free-floating odditiesexclusive to two of our othercompilations of Downey material.)

All but eight of the tracks here arehitherto unissued. Of the previouslyreleased material, ‘Boss Drums’,‘Harlem Nocturne’, ‘Walking With TheBoss’, ‘Boss Blues’ and ‘LostWeekend’ are from the only album thegroup issued in its lifetime (the rest ofwhich is available on “It’s A Gas”). Thelatter three titles have never beenreissued before. ‘Sorry’, ‘Til Always’and ‘Gospel Truth’ are from singlereleases. The first two are vocals andthe last was the B-side of the 45 thegroup released under the moniker theNylons.

Nine cuts are released here for thefirst time anywhere. Of these, ‘Poor

Boy’, ‘Underwater’ and‘Wockytok’ are from the

group’s initial Downeysessions, and arecontemporary with theirbig hit ‘Boss’. ‘Slingshot’,‘Rumblin’ AndStumblin’’,‘Wedgee’,

‘Charger’ and‘Saxwax’ are

from the secondline-up of the band

right trackEditorial: Neil Scaplehorn Design: Jools at ED&P Ltd

Ace Records (Sales & Distribution) Ltd, 42-50 Steele Road, London NW10 7AS Tel: 020 8453 1311 press@acerecords.co.ukwww.acerecords.com

All photos and memorabilia courtesy Ace Records Ltd except where noted.

Cover: The Presidents who appear on King Northern Soul Volume 3, courtesy King Records, Inc

Recording ‘Intersection’ and ‘Stomping Time’, 10 March 1962. photo courtesy Bob Jones

(which cut the great ‘Soulful Jerk’). Thenthere’s ‘Lots To Learn’, an unreleased

vocal track lifted from thesession the group did

using the name BelCanto’s, under the

production eye of ayoung Barry White.

The bookletcontains a host of rarely seenphotos supplied

by members of the group.

Singles courtesy Brian Nevill

10 R I G H T T R A C K 1 9 5

New Ace WebsiteAfter nearly two years worth of work, the new Ace website is finally up and running. The best way to check it out is by going online(acerecords.com); here’s a quick run down of some of the new features created for your enjoyment though:

New homepage featuring the new search engine and both this and next month’sreleases, all with text, images and audio clips.

Over 5000 full size images, including song sheets, singles, artist photos and other fine objects.

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Dedicated vinyl pages, showing the front and back covers of LPs and EPs and the A and B sides of singles.

Dedicated merchandise pages including a choice of colours and sizes for most designs.

New staff and consultant photos (although we’re still waiting for some submissions…)

A shopping basket including the option to pay via PayPal.

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MAKE ME KNOW IT – ELVIS PRESLEY • I TOLD MYSELF A LIE –CLYDE McPHATTER • DON’T BE CRUEL – JERRY LEE LEWIS • MYPIGEON’S GONE – FIVE KEYS • COOL BABY – CHARLIE GRACIE •FEVER – LITTLE WILLIE JOHN • SLOW MOTION – WADE FLEMONS •THE SHAPE I’M IN – JOHNNY RESTIVO • PRISCILLA – EDDIE COOLEY •BRACE YOURSELF – BEN E KING • ALL SHOOK UP – DAVID HILL • NINE TIMES OUT OFTEN – CLIFF RICHARD • I’LL FIND YOU – GENE PITNEY • FOR MY GOOD FORTUNE –MAHALIA JACKSON • HEY LITTLE GIRL – THURSTON HARRIS • HONKY TONKY – THEQUEEN (DINAH WASHINGTON) • PLEASE, MISTER MAYOR – ROY CLARK • JUST KEEP ITUP (AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS) – DEE CLARK • TOO LONG WILL BE TOO LATE – JIMMYJONES • ONE BROKEN HEART FOR SALE – OTIS BLACKWELL and WINFIELD SCOTT •DADDY ROLLIN’ STONE – DEREK MARTIN • I FEEL GOOD ALL OVER – SAM BUTERA •HOME IN YOUR HEART – SOLOMON BURKE • HANDY MAN – DEL SHANNON

HANDY MAN – THE OTIS BLACKWELL SONGBOOKCDCHD 1346

A long overdue collection of thework of one of the mostimportant tunesmiths of therock’n’roll era and beyond.

By Tony Rounce

Arguments over who the greatestrock’n’roll songwriter is will aboundlong after those reading this issue ofRight Track has gone to meet their

greatest hits, sung by thosewho recorded them first.We like to mix it up abit, so the title track isheard in DelShannon’sstomping 1964version, whileJimmy Jones isrepresented withanother fine OtisBlackwell song.Those interestedenough to purchase willhave more than a passingfamiliarity with Elvis’ version of ‘AllShook Up’, so rather than reissue that

for the gazillionth time, we insteadbring the song to you by David

Hill, whose rare original makesits first legitimate CDappearance here. Likewise‘Don’t Be Cruel’: ratherthan Elvis we bringyou Jerry LeeLewis’uproarious

take, inpreference

to any ofthe Otis

Blackwellcompositionsgenerally associatedwith him. As for Elvis,being spoilt for choicemade us opt for his first,and one of his very best,post-Army recordings; ‘Make

Me Know It’ reignited hisrecording career and was

deemed potent enoughto kick off his “Elvis IsBack” album.

The songsfeatured in “HandyMan” cover roughlyfrom around 1953to 1963. Later

offerings bySolomon Burke and

Sam Butera show that,unlike some of his peers,

Otis easily adapted to thechanges in music as the 1960s

unfolded. How durable hiscompositions were are demonstratedby Derek Martin’s classic 1962 cut of‘Daddy Rollin’ Stone’, which Otis hadrecorded as a menacing blues almosta decade earlier. Via Martin, the songbecame a boastful declaration of

intent for a new generation ofsharp boys, and of English

mods in particular. Brace yourself for a

masterclass inrock’n’rollsongwriting by aman who wasmuch more thanmerely handy with apen and paper.

maker. But surely near the top ofeveryone’s list of contenders wouldhave to be Otis Blackwell, a one-manhit factory whose catalogue includesmore classic rock’n’roll songs than anyother single songwriter of his time. Hiscompositions for Elvis Presley andJerry Lee Lewis alone would guaranteehis entry into every music Hall OfFame.

“Handy Man”, named after thesong that brought worldwide chartfame to Jimmy Jones in 1959, is aworthy tribute to a man who, if he’donly written ‘Fever’, would still beregarded as one of the foremostcomposers of the rock’n’rollera.

Compiled in thespirit of previousentries in oursongwriterseries, it’smuch morethan merelya collectionof Otis’ 24

Singles courtesy Brian Nevill andTony Rounce