'Oooh Crazy' is a nice little pop-a-billy tune recorded in 1958. The B-side is an almost note to note copy of Conway Twitty's classic 'It's Only Make Believe' but Jimmy still lost the race into the charts with this version. Jimmy's follow up single 'It's Me' is very similar in pace to 'Oooh Crazy' and is my preferred choice of the two songs. 'Gonna Take An Express Train' is a nice piano lead pop rock 'n' roll song. The kind of music I was into when I first started on my road to rockin' music appreciation. 'Blind Date' was Jimmy's last attempt in the music business before 'The Beatles' took over America and the rest of the world. 'Adele' and 'Blue Broken Heart' I have not heard. Jimmy seemed to have a thing for the song 'All I Ever Do'. It was released on five different labels during 1961. Puzzling to me because I just don't dig it all!
September 1958 Debbie DB 45-101 Oooh Crazy - It's Only Make Believe
May 1959 Debbie DB-1408 It's Me - All I Ever Do (Is Dream Of You)
September 1960 Laurel 1015 Adele - Blue Broken Heart April-June 1961 Laurel 1018 All I Ever Do - Choo-Choo To Heaven ? All I Ever Do - Gonna Take An Express Train - with The Starlings Estate E-1001 All I Ever Do - Till The Cows Come Home - with Palais Royals Rider R-106 All I Ever Do - Till The Cows Come Home - As above Domain 1017 All I Ever Do - Gonna Take An Express Train - with The Starlings 1963 ? NV-5118 Blind Date - Mister Misery
AS SOON AS I SAW GATORROCK'S YOUTUBE VIDEOS OF 'JULEA AND THE DEAR JOHNS' I WAS MENTALLY TRANSPORTED TO A HONKY TONK BAR SOMEWHERE IN THE DEEP SOUTH OF THE GOOD OL' USA. THIS BAND BLENDS TRADITIONAL COUNTRY AND A COOL TOUCH OF ROCKABILLY SO THEIR SOUND WILL APPEAL TO A WIDE AND VARIED AUDIENCE. JULEA THOMERSON IS A CLASSICALLY (I READ THAT SOMEWHERE ONLINE) TRAINED OPERA SINGER! WHO HAS A FEEL FOR TRADITIONAL AMERICANA AND COUNTRY. 'THE DEAR JOHNS' CONSIST OF SPIKE FULLERTON AN EX PUNK AND JAZZ GUITARIST WITH AN ABILITY TO PICK OUT NOTES ON HIS * GUITAR THAT MAKES THE LISTENER BELIEVE THEY ARE HEARING A TUNE FROM ANOTHER DECADE (50's-70'S). CHAD (DOUBLE BASS) IS A SELF TAUGHT MUSICIAN. BANDS HE PLAYS IN INCLUDE 'HOT ROD HELLCATS', 'ATOMIC BOOGIE', 'WILLIE HEATH NEAL' AND 'THE PSYCHO DEVILLES'. HE HAS ALSO BACKED SONNY BURGUESS AND SLEEPY LABEEF AND WAS ON AN AS YET UNRELEASED ANDY STARR RECORDING SESSION. MARIO (DRUMS) I DON'T KNOW TOO MUCH ABOUT BUT THEIR INPUT INTO THE OVERALL SOUND OF 'THE DEAR JOHNS' CANNOT BE OVERLOOKED.
I HAVE NOT SEEN THIS BAND LIVE (AN OCEAN STANDS IN THE WAY) BUT IF I WERE A NATIVE OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA I WOULD BE A REGULAR AT THEIR SHOWS. I AM KEEPING MY FINGERS CROSSED THAT SOMEONE OUT THERE IN HONKY-TONK-LAND PULLS 'JULEA AND THE DEAR JOHNS' INTO A STUDIO REALLY SOON SO WE CAN GET SOME WAX RELEASED BY THIS BAND. OOPS! I AM GETTING CARRIED AWAY I MEANT A CD...I AM TRADITIONAL AS WELL IT SEEMS.
A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION ON THE SONGS ON THIS E.P
'SOUTH OF LONESOME' WAS FIRST RELEASED IN IN 1967 BY MELBA MONTGOMERY AND WAS WRITTEN BY HER BROTHER CARL MONTGOMERY.
'UNDERSTAND YOUR MAN' WAS FIRST RELEASED BY JOHNNY CASH IN 1964. IT BECAME A COUNTRY NUMBER ONE THE SAME YEAR ALSO CROSSING OVER TO THE POP CHARTS TO REACH THE GIDDY HEIGHTS OF NUMBER 35. I LOVE THE WAY JULEA SINGS ON THIS ONE AND THE BAND COMPLIMENTS HER TOO, SO IT ALL DOVETAILS.
'GET BEHIND ME SATAN AND PUSH' WAS RELEASED BY BILLIE JO SPEARS IN 1968 ON THE ALBUM 'THE VOICE OF BILLIE JO SPEARS'.
'I LET A STRANGER BUY THE WINE' IS A GREAT BAR-ROOM WEEPER WRITTEN BY KAY ADAMS AND RELEASED IN 1967 ON THE ALBUM 'ALCOHOL AND TEARS' AND ON A TOWER 45 RPM VINYL AS A SINGLE.
'KILL IT, TILL IT DIES' IS AN ORIGINAL TUNE WRITTEN BY JULEA AND SHOWS THAT HER LOVE OF TRADITIONAL HONKY TONK MUSIC IS REALLY DEEP. I CAN NOT PRAISE THE SOUND THAT FLOWS FROM THIS BAND HIGHLY ENOUGH.
While sorting out my man cave I came across a CD I was sent by a friend of mine on MySpace (remember that) in 2005. It's a fine collection put together by a fellow blogger Westex.
All the songs are ripped from the original US vinyl 45's
When Nashville met Rock 'n' Roll consists of mainstream country artists of the time giving the big beat their full attention (in most cases they make it). The standout track on this collection (for me anyway) is 'Go Ahead On'. I always thought that Jimmy Heap was the singer on this! Apparently it's a cat called Perk Williams doing the vocal delivery, well I never knew that, you learn new stuff everyday.
Martha started picking out tunes
on a guitar at a real early age and by 10 she was writing her own
songs. She was mainly a country singer, excelling in the gospel side of the
genre. She recorded for RCA (50's) and Starday/Gusto (70's). Thank's to PragueFrank for the session details listed below. MUSIC DRIVES ME CRAZY and DIXIELAND ROLL Recorded 19 October 1956 at RCA Victor Studio 2, New York City. Martha Carson - Vocal George Barnes - Lead Guitar Al Chernet - Rhythm Guitar Charles R. Grean - Bass Bunny Shawk - Drums Bob Davie - Piano + vocal chorus NOW STOP RCA - JUST WHISTLE OR CALL Recorded 9 December 1957 RCA Victor Studio, Webster Hall, 125E 11th St., Manhattan, New York City Martha Carson - Vocal Neal George Barnes - Lead Guitar Howard Collins - Rhythm Guitar Pat Merola - Bass Bill Cusack Percussion Don Lamond Drums Lou Stein -Piano Eugene Lowell, Michael Stewart, Edwin Lindstroem, James Leyden, Jerry Duane, Eugene Steck, Steve Steck, Ray Charles, Allan Sololoff - Vocal Chorus.
Martha Carson was a native of Neon, KY in Letcher County and enjoyed success seemingly every step of the way in her careers.
She started picking folk tunes and spirituals on her mail order guitar when she was in grammar school.
She was even composing hew own songs before she was ten years old.
Her musical career then took her to singing old-time and gospel songs with her sisters Bertha and Opal; they were known as the Sunshine Sisters and were quite a popular radio act.
Along came 1939 and while working over at radio station WLAP in Louisville on Asa Martin's "Morning Roundup" show, she met up with James Roberts, a mandolin player who was the son of the legendary fiddler, Doc Roberts.
They got hitched and began performing together as a duo and moved on to radio station WHIS in Bluefield, WV in 1939.
From there, she moved on to the Renfro Valley Barn Dance in Kentucky and became one of the Coon Creek Girls.
While a member of the Coon Creek Girls, they went to WSB's Barn Dance in Atlanta, Georgia in 1940.
At WSB, she and her husband began performing as "James and Martha Carson, the Barn Dance Sweethearts", doing country gospel tunes and were a popular act there for about ten years.
Together, they moved on to Knoxville's WNOX and were part of the noontime "Mid Day Merry-Go-Round" show.
Martha also appeared on such shows as the Georgia Jubilee, Sunny Side of Life, Mid-day Merry Go Round, Tennessee Barn Dance and others.
In an interesting bit of trivia, her friends said she has never performed in the same costume twice.
A Birmingham station once celebrated "Martha Carson Day" during which they played all of her numbers, and saluted Martha as "...one of the most popular and beloved folk music stars of the country."
In 1951, she was divorced from James. From that point on she pursued a solo career both as a song writer and singer.
In May 1952, Martha answered the invitation to join the famed the Grand Ole Opry heard over WSM in Nashville, TN. While there, she appeared on morning programs, the Opry and weekly on WSM-TV.
She was also featured nightly for a stint on the Astor Roof.
Martha could sing the country style ballads but was best-known for her religious and gospel tunes.
A 1947 recording of "The Sweetest Gift" and her husband's "Man of Gallilee" were highly acclaimed.
Her Opry stint was the result of a rousing popular recording called "Satisfied".
Another popular tune of hers was "I'm Gonna Walk and Talk With My Lord".
Her records climbed the charts and were popular on the jukeboxes.
She remained on the Grand Ole Opry until around 1957 when she had remarried and took a 'leave of absence' for the birth of her first child and to attend some commitments in New York.
Billy Wallace was a hillbilly singer/songwriter/guitarist born in Oklahoma but raised in Alabama. Billy's main music was hillbilly/country music, but in 1956 he signed to Mercury records and over two sessions he recorded four rockabilly songs. I've put them together on this home made E.P collection with covers. Find our more about Billy Wallace and his music HERE...
Leanne Rose - Lead Vocal Laurie Hilton-Ash - Drums Kevin Dugdale - Steel and Lead Guitar Mark Beard - Slapping Double Bass Rich Young - Rhythm Guitar
MANAGER - DAVE MUMBLES
davemumbles@gmail.com
Formed in September 2012 and based in Brighton in the UK, Leanne and the Rockeros are fast making a name for themselves on the rockin' scene in London and the south coast. They have also been signed by Rumble Records, that have a vinyl 45 scheduled to be released in May 1013.
Leanne is obviously a fan of miss Martin (an excellent taste in music) with the Rockeros covering three of Janis's recordings, but have a good listen to the three originals tunes from the set; 'Waiting For The Storm', 'Coast' and the excellent 'Text Book Baby'.
THE LIVE SETLIST FROM STEVE STACK O' WAX RADIO SHOW
This is a band that I have loved since I first heard their debut CD 'I'm Ready', this is how I like my rock 'n' roll played...vintage sounding and with feeling. 15 tracks comprising of 6 well done covers with enough Flea Bop input to make them sound fresh, and 9 well written and played originals. And as an extra added bonus to keep the chaps at a Flea Bop show even more happy is the very easy on the eye Wendy LaBeau on double bass and occasional vocals. They have the sound and the look of a traditional rock 'n' roll/rockabilly band, and their vinyl and CD releases on their own Vinylux Record label adds to that feel. In my opinion The Flea Bops are the real deal.
The first CD 2000
The excellent follow up CD 2005
10" Vinyl 2009
45rpm
The above video is from Googah9842 youtube channel
Three self penned songs and an excellent cover version of George Jones 'How Come It'. See Glenn and a host of other stars at 'The Rockabilly Rave Ranch Party' the Sunday night finale to the 17th Rockabilly Rave.
The above CD was recorded in 2008 at La Grange recording studio.
Glenn Doran - Guitar
Rusty Steel - Steel Guitar
Quincy Sloan - Double Bass
The first E.P CD
The article below was first published in Madrat Magazine in 2006
A
picturesque thatched pub in the small village of Cotton End, near Bedford,
would not normally strike me as a place to find a rockabilly trio playing live.
But it was here that I saw a try-out gig from the mysterious 'Montgomery Music
Makers'.
Burning The Wind
I was at
the 'Rockabilly Rave' when a certain Glenn Doran handed me a C.D. and
asked for my opinion on it. I had met Glenn several months earlier while he was
playing lead guitar for the now disbanded 'Sliders', a rockabilly cover band.
I had
the impression that these must be recordings of his new band. Listening to the
C.D. later that night, the first thing that struck me was the sound and then
the crackles I was hearing. I was baffled. Had Glenn found some ultra rare
recordings from some unknown rockabilly group? Who were 'The Montgomery Music Makers'?
After a
significant period of sizzling, Glenn spilled the beans. In the February of
2006, he booked some studio time at the La Grange recording studio. Playing all
the instruments he recorded four songs, 'Dry Run', 'Burning the Wind' 'My
Heart's on Fire', and 'The Cats Were a-Jumpin', leaving instructions and sample
songs for the production as to the sound he was looking for. A week later he
got a call saying the recordings were ready and burned to a C.D. But the sound
he heard was not what he wanted. So it was back to the studio to find that
sound. It did not take long, just a few adjustments at the (so called) mixing desk
and the addition of crackles to make the recording sound as if it had been
ripped from a 78rpm record. Glenn left the studio with a new C.D. and feeling a
whole lot better with the finished recordings.
With
rockabilly music when you hear original songs being performed by modern rockin'
bands I tend to wonder why at all they bother to cover them. With 'The
Montgomery Music Makers' I do not get that feeling. I had not heard Billy
Wallace's 'Burning the Wind' since I bought the Mercury Rockabillies L.P. way
back in 1979. The reason was a simple one; I was not impressed with it at the
time. Thanks to
Glenn, I
have been re educated. The four-track C.D. is excellent, but where will he go from
there?
I asked
him a few questions;
Duke:
"What first lead you down the rockabilly path?"
Glenn:"Well, its pretty strange how it all
happened really because I was never really shown what it was all about, I can
remember my mum and dad playing rockabilly records when I was about 5, which
was about 11 years ago and they were playing stuff like Carl Perkins, Hank
Williams etc, the list goes on, and I liked it so that's I suppose how it all happened."
Duke:
"I first saw you play with the Sliders (now split) last year, you were 15
years old at the time, was this the first band you played in?"
Glenn: "Yeah it sure was, shame it all fell apart
really but I suppose if it hadn't I wouldn't have gone on to record under the
name of the Montgomery Music Makers."
Duke:
"The recordings you posted on 'MySpace' under the name 'The Montgomery
Music Makers' made a lot of purists (and still does) believe these were
recordings made in the early 1950's. Can you tell us a little info on where,
when and who played on those tracks?"
Glenn: "Well to be honest I was getting pissed off
with the current rockabilly scene because it wasn't rockabilly, it was all
modern sounding material and I wanted to stick up for the roots being
(rockabilly) and the reason why everybody loves this music so 'The Montgomery Music
Makers' were born. All four (tracks) were recorded at (La Grange) studio at Ley
Green in early February of 2006, unfortunately there was no band that recorded
it, it was only me I'm afraid. I basically recorded each instrument track over
track which consisted of Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Double
Bass, Vocals, and a bit of 12 string on one of the tracks,
but when I done this I then thought I would see if I could trick people into
thinking it was original and surprisingly it worked, but thankfully now I've sorted
out a band and should be gigging soon. I must add I recommend the recording
studio to anyone who wants to achieve an old sound and I owe a big thanks to
Boyd and Russell for effort they put in to get the sound you guys hear on the
C.D. and 'MySpace', I also thank them for the amount of electricity they spent
on the heating trying to keep the studio warm, ha, ha."
Duke:
"Those crackles on the tracks were great, were they your idea?"
Glenn: "Well, when I was talking to Boyd and
Russell about getting an old sound, they told me about a piece of software they
had that creates the sounds of crackles of vinyl, so when I heard that I jumped
at the chance because I thought it would be a really good little feature, and
that also brought up a lot of interest from people."
Duke:
"What does the future hold for Glenn Doran?"
Glenn: "Ha ha, man you make me sound famous, well it’s
hard to say really, yes I would like to make something on the rockin' scene,
but the whole principle of what I was doing was to bring back proper rockabilly
(the roots) and if people liked what they heard on the C.D. then yeah, I'm up for
gigging, but the question on my mind is, 'What does the future hold for the
Montgomery Music Makers', not just Glenn Doran, because a name is only made
with the help of a band."
With a
band secured, Glenn emailed me to say they were going to play a try out gig in
a small village pub in Bedford, and I knew I had to be there to witness it. So
I made the 200 mile round trip. I was told the set list was small; only nine
numbers having been deemed presentable at that time. Would they sound anything
like the recordings on the C.D? I was not to be disappointed. 'The Montgomery
Music Makers' consist of Glenn Doran; vocals and lead guitar, Garry Doran;
vocals and rhythm guitar and 19-year-old Quincy Sloan on double bass. Garry was
also in the
Sliders,
but Quincy was moonlighting from the psychobilly band 'Henry and the Bleeders'.
They kicked off the set with Darrell Felts 'Too Much Lovin', and from the
opening sound of Glenn's guitar, closely followed by the rhythm and the bass I
knew I was going to enjoy this gig. Glenn has a voice that suits rockabilly. He
sounds as if he has been picking cotton all day and now was relaxing the best
way he knows how, playing music he obviously loves. I have to remind myself at
times that the voice belonged to a 16-year-old. The next tune was my favourite
from the C.D, 'Dry Run'. To be honest I had never heard the song before and
thought it was an original number.
I was
later informed some cat called Parker Cunningham recorded the original. John
Worthan's 'The Cats Were a-Jumpin' was another stand out number.
Then
came a change of singer, Garry took lead vocals on Jimmie Piper's 'Don't Play
Around' (I bet his guy does a mean Johnny Cash impersonation).
The trio
turned into a duo on the next number 'Burning the Wind'. Garry was back on lead
vocals (and wiggly hips) on 'Baby Let's Play House' then it was back to Glenn
on vocals on Hank Mizell's 'I'm Ready' and their final song, Junior Thompson's
'Raw Deal'.
Bob
Butfoy from 'Jack Rabbit Slim' joined the guys for three songs; 'That's Alright
Mama', 'Tear It Up' and 'Shake Em' Up Rock' They were cool, well performed, tunes
that filled out the set. I was very impressed and Glenn assures me the set list
will get bigger. Choosing the right material is what Glenn is deciding on, he does
not want to play the standard set of rockabilly numbers. 'Dry Run' and 'Burning
the Wind' are testaments to that.
I feel
the 'MontgomeryMusic Makers' need to play to a rockin' crowd. Somewhere like
the downstairs stage at the 'Rockabilly Rave' or in the 'Queen Vic' at the same
venue would be ideal. It's true that they do covers, but they play the rare
ones, and they play them very well.
Greaser
Leo from the 'Hillbilly Hop' summed them up when he commented on their
'MySpace' page "Raw…just like we like it", and I have to agree with him.
ANOTHER COOL THING ABOUT THE ROCKABILLY RAVE IS THE PROGRAMME.
AS SOON AS I CHECK IN (as early as they'll let me in on the Thursday) I GRAB A BEER AND HAVE A CHUCKLE AT THE LETTERS PAGE. IT NOT JUST A PAPER PAMPHLET THAT COULD BE USED AS A BEER COASTER. IT'S WELL DESIGNED (MIGHTY SAM) AND FULL OF INFORMATION ABOUT SHOW TIMES AND EVENTS GOING ON OVER THE WEEKEND. IF ANYONE HAS PROGRAMMES 1-7 THEY CAN SCAN FOR ME THEY'LL GO TO THE TOP OF MY CHRISTMAS CARD LIST! jaustinduke@btinternet.com
