Boot Sale Sounds

Steel Drum Jamboree

2012-02-01T00:12:00.000-08:00

I thought this was another I had uploaded before but seems not. Steel drums don't record very well for some reason - they never have that magical sound you hear when you see them live. This recording is no exception - they sounds like they are playing inside a dungeon!

Wikipedia says -

"French planters and their slaves emigrated to Trinidad during the French Revolution (1789) from Martinique, including a number of West Africans, and French creoles from Saint Vincent, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Dominica, establishing a local community before Trinidad and Tobago were taken from Spain by the British. Carnival had arrived with the French, and the slaves, who could not take part in Carnival, formed their own, parallel celebration called canboulay.
Stick fighting and African percussion music were banned in 1880, in response to the Canboulay Riots. They were replaced by bamboo sticks beaten together, which were themselves banned in turn. In 1937 they reappeared, transformed as an orchestra of frying pans, dustbin lids and oil drums. These steelpans are now a major part of the Trinidadian music scene and are a popular section of the Canboulay music contests. In 1941, the United States Navy arrived on Trinidad, and the panmen, who were associated with lawlessness and violence, helped to popularize steel pan music among soldiers, which began its international popularization.
The first instruments developed in the evolution of steelpan were Tamboo-Bamboos, tunable sticks made of bamboo wood. These were hit onto the ground and with other sticks in order to produce sound. Tamboo-Bamboo bands also included percussion of a (gin) bottle and spoon. By the mid-1930s, bits of metal percussion were being used in the tamboo bamboo bands, the first probably being either the automobile brake hub "iron" or the biscuit drum "boom". The former replaced the gin bottle-and-spoon, and the latter the "bass" bamboo that was pounded on the ground. By the late 1930s their occasional all-steel bands were seen at Carnival and by 1940 it had become the preferred Carnival accompaniment of young underprivileged men. The 55-gallon oil drum was used to make steelpans from around 1947. The Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra (TASPO), formed to attend the Festival of Britain in 1951, was the first steelband whose instruments were all made from oil drums. Members of TASPO included Ellie Mannette and Winston "Spree" Simon. Hugh Borde also led the National Steel Band of Trinidad & Tobago at the Commonwealth Arts Festival in England, as well as the Esso Tripoli Steel Band, who played at the World’s Fair in Montreal, Canada, and later toured with Liberace and were also featured on an album with him."

Tracks are -

1. Antigua Steel band
2. Happy Wanderer
3. Steel Band In "F"
4. Hold 'Em Joe
5. Ugly Woman

Steel Drum Jamboree - Side One

Ayinde Bakare

2012-01-31T02:40:00.000-08:00

Another old highlife/juju LP from Nigeria. It has a raw earthy charm consisting mainly of hypnotic drums and chanting and tinny guitar. It has 30p scrawled on the front cover so I guess that's what I paid for it back in the 80's. The record on African Songs label would be from the 60's or 70's I would guess.

Ayinde's son says -

"My father Ayinde Bakare was the originator of Juju music, especially in Lagos in those days. They were the original creators of Juju music, not this ‘Owambe’ Juju music. They called their own music traditional, classical Juju music which was in the form of highlife. His own father was from Ajikobi compound in Ilorin. My dad was from a royal family and on account of that he was forbidden from playing music because musicians were seen as beggars and praise-singers. He father who was a trumpeter in the military brought him to Lagos. I was born in Lafiaji Oke Suna. So, I happened to know my dad as a musician. My dad had six children. I am the first.

Dad started his musical career with Tunde King. It was the same Tunde King who brought up the late Ambrose Campbell. My father’s mentor was Tunde King. They were playing a form of afro-Cuban Juju music. The music of that era was influenced by the Second World War. My father went to the warfront along with Tunde King, Nightingale and Ambrose Campbell. Most of them fought in the Second World War. It was there they were taught how to play guitar. They came back with a kind of Brazilian flavoured music.

The white men gave it the name Juju music but we called it ‘faaji’ music in those days. I was young when my dad was reigning as a star. It was his stardom that enticed me to learn how to play guitar. By then I knew Victor Uwaifo who was then a student as St. Gregory College. He was in Form Four and was living in our area. It was from him I saw a guitar book. I ordered for it from England and taught myself to play guitar. Every weekend I used to clean my father’s guitar in preparation for their going to play. That was my job: to clean the guitar with coconut oil. It was during the cleaning that I started learning how to play the guitar, using the guitar manual I ordered from England."

Tracks are as follows -

1. Ma Yowo Loro Mi
2. Ayoola Sosanya
3. Tesilimi Ayilara
4. Abo Oluwa
5. Egbe House

Ayinde Bakare - Side One

The Crowns

2012-01-31T00:52:00.001-08:00

An LP on the Pama label from UK which is mainly known for home grown Ska and Reggae records in the 60's and 70's. This second division soul is pleasant enough but not a patch on Tamla Motown or Stax.

The sleeve notes by John Lea-Frances say -

"The Crowns really came about because the three buddies who virtually grew up together and sang together for "kicks" went their own separate ways when enlisted in Uncle Sam's forces. Trevor was dishing out uniforms at the U.S. Air Base, Omaha, Nebraska, when who should he see in line but Bunny and Bobby. Trevor exploded with "If that don't CROWN it all," and thus the name was born. Now some two and half years later, based here in London, the CROWNS are one of the most demanded soul harmony groups and their initial disc sales proved that their talent ranks with the greatest.
Seeing them on stage is enough to give anyone a nervous twitch at the sheer speed of their brilliant act."

Tracks are as follows -

1. Mellow Moonlight
2. I surrender
3. Let's Go Baby
4. Mr. Success
5. My Baby Just Cares For Me
6. Jerking The Dog

The Crowns - Side One

Stephen Osita Osadebe

2012-01-30T04:21:00.001-08:00

Delightful jangly "highlife" from Nigeria circa 1975 as the LP title suggests. Another Cheshire Street or Brick Lane market purchase from the 80's. I thought I had featured it before but seems this is the first time.

Wikipedia says -

"In March 1936, Osadebe was born in Igbo town of Atani, in Southeastern Nigeria. He came from a line of singers and dancers in Igboland. His genre, Highlife encompassed Igbo musical elements. Along with this, calypso, samba, bolero, rumba, jazz and waltz were also present in Osadebe's musical style. It was in his high school years in Onitsha, a major commercial city near Atani, that Osadebe grew interested in music.
Osadebe started his career performing at nightclubs in Lagos in the southwestern region of Nigeria. He gradually worked his way up to releasing his first album in 1958. In his career Osadebe went on to write over 500 songs; half of these songs were released commercially. He had been a part of The Empire Rhythm Orchestra, led by E. C. Arinze in which he had learned much of his music skills.
As he became better established, Osadebe's style matured to include social commentary, similar to, but not as confrontational as Fela Kuti. Personal trials and tribulations was usually the main topic of his commentaries. Osadebe often extended his tracks for his audiences enjoyment, allowing room for 'people on the dance floor' to indulge in the songs.
Following the Nigerian Civil War in the late 60's, the massive exodus of the eastern peoples of Nigeria (especially the Igbo) out of western Nigeria had caused the death of the Highlife's prominence in the then capital, Lagos. During the war and after the war Osadebe maintained his scheduled live performances. Juju music and later Afrobeat took precedence in Lagos, and in the 70's James Brown and various other music forms became popular in the city. In this same decade Osadebe's career had reached its zenith. After turning 50 in 1986 Osadebe started to give priority to fatherhood and gave more of his time to his son Obiora and his other children from his wives. One of Osita Osadebe's last revered album's is "Kedu America".
Osita Osadebe died in St. Mary's Hospital Waterbury, Connecticut on the 11 May 2007 after suffering from severe respiratory difficulties."

Tracks are as follows -

1. Onu Kwube
2. Ejim Ofor Aga
3. Instrumental 1

Stephen Osita Osadebe - Side One

I'Agerie Etertelle

2012-01-30T00:48:00.000-08:00

I think this Lp was from the remaindered stall down Cheshire Street from the 80's. Not played it before as it has some dodgy tracks covered in the label which has been aligned badly and bits have come off. So just the first 4 tracks of side two here.
You get a taste of what the LP is like anyway - lovely atmospheric flute and drums mostly recorded in the field by Gerard Kremer on the French Arion label in 1978.

Wikipedia says about Algerian music -

"Algerian music is virtually synonymous with raï among foreigners; the musical genre has achieved great popularity in France, Spain and other parts of Europe. For several centuries, Algerian music was dominated by styles inherited from Al-Andalus, eventually forming a unique North African twist on these poetic forms. Algerian music came to include suites called nuubaat (singular nuuba). Lately derivatives include rabaab and hawzii.
Music in Algeria in general offers a rich diversity of genre, popular music (Shaabi), Arabo-Andalusian music (Malouf San'aa, Gharnati, etc. ..) music classical Arabic, Bedouin, Berber music (Kabyle, Shawi, Tuareg, Etc. ..), Rai ...
Sha-bii is, in North African countries, folk music; in Algeria, however, it refers to a style of recent urban popular music, of which the best known performer was El Hajj Muhammad El Anka considered like the Grand Master of Andalusian classical music. True styles of folk music include hofii, a form of female vocal music, and zindalii, from Constantine.
Biyouna is an Algerian singer whos music is a mixture of pop, rock, raï, jazz and other types of music. Her last record Blonde dans la Casbah has been a great success.
Rai is a creative outlet to express political discontent,this music is a mix between Western music and Bedouin music. "Rai became an important means of cultural expression for a minority struggling to carve out an ethnic identity and a space for itself in an inhospitable, racist environment" Rai is more than simply cultural expression, it morphed into a unique blend of popular "rebel" music. "What makes raï so rebel, so politically charged, is the fact that it goes against the hard-line conservative government, a religiously fundamentalist establishment. Unlike traditional music, with its subtlety, flowery language, and innocuous subject matters, raï is notable for its blunt imagery and willingness to tackle subjects such as sex, booze, lust, and drink - all of which the deeply religious establishment frowns upon."
The Malouf is the Arab-Andalusian music of Constantine and is also well known in Tunisia and Libya, it is a very large number of diversified musical repertoire of Algeria. Nevertheless, malouf can not compete commercially with popular music, much of it Egyptian, and it has only survived because of the efforts of the Tunisian government and a number of private individuals. Malouf is still performed in public, especially at weddings and circumcision ceremonies, though recordings are relatively rare."

Tracks are -

1. Danse De Tiaret
2. Mariage Algerois
3. Danse Des Aures
4. Chant De Biskra

L'Algerie Eternelle - Side Two

Edikanfo

2012-01-23T00:49:00.000-08:00

This LP from a remainder stall on Brick Lane was bought back in the 90's. Made in Holland on the EG label in 1981. Produced by Brian Eno. I guess this was around the time Brian was experimenting with "world music" with David Byrne and Talking Heads and projects like "My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts". The music is typical afro-beat similar to Fela Kuti and other stars from Ghana and Nigeria at that time.

Wikipedia says -

"By the beginning of the 1970s, traditionally styled highlife had been overtaken by electric guitar bands and pop-dance music. Since 1966 and the fall of President Kwame Nkrumah, many Ghanaian musicians moved abroad, settling in the US, UK and Nigeria. Highlife bands like Okukuseku recorded in Lagos or Nigeria's eastern Igbo region. In 1971, the Soul to Soul music festival was held in Accra. Several legendary American musicians played, including Wilson Pickett, Ike and Tina Turner and Carlos Santana. With the exception of Mexican-American Santana, these American superstars were all black, and their presence in Accra was seen as legitimizing Ghanaian music. Though the concert is now mostly remembered for its role as a catalyst in the subsequent Ghanaian roots revival, it also led to increased popularity for American rock and soul. Inspired by the American musicians, new guitar bands arose in Ghana, including the Ashanti Brothers, Nana Ampadu & the African Brothers, The City Boys and more. Musicians such as CK Mann, Daniel Amponsah and Eddie Donkor incorporated new elements, especially from Jamaican reggae. A group called Wulomei also arose in the 1970s, leading a Ga cultural revival to encourage Ghanaian youths to support their own countrymen's music. By the 1980s, the UK was experiencing a boom in African music as Ghanaians and others moved there in large numbers. The group Hi-Life International was probably the most influential band of the period, and others included Jon K, Dade Krama, Orchestra Jazira and Ben Brako. In the middle of the decade, however, British immigration laws changed, and the focus of Ghanaian emigration moved to Germany.

The Ghanaian-German community created a form of highlife called Burger-highlife. The most influential early burgher highlife musician was George Darko, whose "Akoo Te Brofo" coined the term and is considered the beginning of the genre. Burgher highlife was extremely popular in Ghana, especially after computer-generated dance beats were added to the mix. The same period saw a Ghanaian community appear in Toronto and elsewhere in Canada. Pat Thomas is probably the most famous Ghanaian-Canadian musician. Other emigres include Ghanaian-American Obo Addy, the Ghanaian-Swiss Andy Vans and the Ghanaian-Dutch Kumbi Salleh. In Ghana itself during the 1980s, gospel and reggae became extremely popular. The Genesis Gospel Singers were the most widely-known gospel band. By the late 1990s, a new generation of artists discovered the so called hip-life. The originator of this style is Reggie Rockstone, a Ghanaian musician who dabbled with hip-hop in the United States before finding his unique style. Hip-life has since proliferated and spawned stars such as Reggie Rockstone, Obrafour, Akyeame and Tic Tac."

Tracks are as follows -

1. Blinking Eyes
2. Moonlight Africa
3. Daa Daa Edikanfo

Edikanfo - Side Two

Purab Aur Pachhim (East and West)

2012-01-18T05:13:00.000-08:00

I thought I had uploaded this LP before but couldn't find it in the archives which is strange as the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star track is a classic of Bollywood kitsch. Sadly the rest is rather ordinairy of it's type. Released in 1971 on the Odeon label and seems to have been the property of Radio Bolton at one time. A soundtrack recording from the film of the same name. All the best singers are here - Ash Bosle, Lata Mangeshkar etc.

IMDb says of the film -

"Circa British rule in India, Harnam betrays a freedom fighter, and as a result is rewarded, but the freedom fighter is killed, leaving his wife, and family devastated and destitute. Years later, the freedom fighter's son, Bharat, has grown up and goes to Britain to study. On his arrival in Britain, he is quite shocked to find that the Indian population settled there, shun India and Indians. He takes it upon himself to try and change their way of thinking, meets with Prithi, a Blondie of Indian origin, and both fall in love. Prithi accompanies him to India, and is appalled at the conditions that Bharat and his family in. Will this shock end their relationship?"

Tracks are -

1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
2. Raghupati Raghay - Ram Dhun
3. Koi Jab Tumhara Hriday Tod De
4. Purva Sunhani Aai Re
5. Om Jai Jagdish Hare - Aarti (Sad)

Purab Aur Pachhim - Side Two

Asian Pop

2012-01-18T01:08:00.001-08:00

Not sure where this LP comes from - China, Tiawan, Japan? It's on the Hai Shan Records label from the 60's or 70's I would guess by the clothes the girl is wearing. If anybody knows do get in touch in the comments. It's rather dull sounding - the kind of stuff one imagines China would send to the European Song Contest in the 70's if they were eligible!

Chinese Pop - Side One

The Platters

2012-01-17T01:46:00.000-08:00

Some doo wop for a change now with The Platters from the late 50's on this rather battered Mercury LP.

Wikipedia says -

"The Platters formed in Los Angeles in 1953 and were initially managed by Ralph Bass. The original group (Alex Hodge, Cornell Gunter, David Lynch,Joe Jefferson, Gaynel Hodge and Herb Reed) managed to land a contract with Federal Records, but found little success before meeting music entrepreneur and songwriter Buck Ram. The band recorded a series of singles backing Linda Hayes before Ram made some changes to the lineup, most notably the addition of lead vocalist Tony Williams (Linda Hayes' brother) and female vocalist Zola Taylor. Under Ram's guidance, the Platters recorded seven singles for Federal in the R&B/gospel style, scoring a few minor regional hits on the West Coast. One song recorded during their Federal tenure, "Only You (And You Alone)", originally written by Ram for the Ink Spots was deemed unreleasable by the label.
Despite their lack of chart success, the Platters were a profitable touring group, successful enough that The Penguins, coming off their #8 single "Earth Angel", asked Ram to manage them as well. With the Penguins in hand, Ram was able to parlay Mercury Records' interest into a 2-for-1 deal. To sign the Penguins, Ram insisted, Mercury also had to take the Platters. Ironically, the Penguins would never have a hit for the label."

Tracks are as follows -

1. Heart Of Stone
2. I'd Climb The Highets Mountain
3. Sptember In The Rain
4. You've Changes
5. I'll Get By
6. I Giove You My Word

The Platters - Side One

Roland Kirk

2012-01-15T23:51:00.000-08:00

Not a great modern jazz fan but I do have this in my collection. Made in 1962 on the Mercury label. I love the cover photo of Kirk with three saxaphones which he could play all at once and still have room for a nose flute - though I may be making that up! One can see here the influence on Don Van Vliet and others and a kind magical waywardness that appealed to my art school contemporaries.

Wikipedia says -

"Kirk was born Ronald Theodore Kirk in Columbus, Ohio, but felt compelled by a dream to transpose two letters in his first name to make Roland. He became blind at an early age as a result of poor medical treatment. In 1970, Kirk added "Rahsaan" to his name after hearing it in a dream.
Preferring to lead his own bands, Kirk rarely performed as a sideman, although he did record with arranger Quincy Jones and drummer Roy Haynes and had notable stints with bassist Charles Mingus. One of his best-known recorded performances is the lead flute and solo on Jones' "Soul Bossa Nova", a 1964 hit song repopularized in the Austin Powers films (Jones 1964; McLeod et al. 1997).
His playing was generally rooted in soul jazz or hard bop, but Kirk's knowledge of jazz history allowed him to draw on many elements of the music's past, from ragtime to swing and free jazz. Kirk also absorbed classical influences, and his artistry reflected elements of pop music by composers such as Smokey Robinson and Burt Bacharach, as well as Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and other jazz musicians. The live album Bright Moments (1973) is an example of one of his shows. His main instrument was the tenor saxophone, supplemented by other saxes, and contrasted with the lighter sound of the flute. At times he would play a number of these horns at once, harmonizing with himself, or sustain a note for lengthy durations by using circular breathing, or play the rare, seldom heard nose flute. A number of his instruments were exotic or homemade, but even while playing two or three saxophones at once, the music was intricate, powerful jazz with a strong feel for the blues."

Tracks are -

1. We Free Kings
2. You Did It, You Did It
3. Some Kind Of Love
4. My Delight

Roland Kirk - Side Two

Blues/Rock Avalanche

2012-01-14T08:49:00.000-08:00

A double Lp from the Chess label circa 1984. A live concert but no information on the sleeve as to where or when. Features such artists as Elias McDaniel (Bo Diddley), Willie Dixon, Lafayette Leake, Jimmy Reed, T-Bone Walker etc.

Wikipedia says of Bo Diddley -

"Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter (usually as Ellas McDaniel), and inventor. He was also known as "The Originator" because of his key role in the transition from the blues to rock & roll, influencing a host of acts including Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Velvet Underground, The Who, The Clash, The Yardbirds, and Eric Clapton. He introduced more insistent, driving rhythms and a hard-edged guitar sound on a wide-ranging catalog of songs. Accordingly, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and a Grammy Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He was known in particular for his technical innovations, including his trademark rectangular guitar."

Tracks are as follows =

1. I Hear You Knockin' - Elias McDaniel
2. You Can't Judge A Book By It's Cover - Willie Dixon
3. Diddley Daddy - Elias McDaniel
4. Early In The Morning - McKinley Morganfield

Blues/Rock Avalanche - Side one

Red Bird Era

2012-01-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

LP on the Charly label from the 80's. Great compilation of songs from the 60's on the Red Bird label set up by Leiber & Stoller in New York including such artists as the Dixie Cups, Alvin Robinson, The ad-Libs and The Robbins who came from New Orleans.

Wikipedia says of the Dixie Cups -

"The group hit the top of the charts in 1964 with "Chapel of Love," a song that Phil Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich had originally written for The Ronettes. The trio consisted of sisters Barbara Ann and Rosa Lee Hawkins; plus their cousin Joan Marie Johnson, from the Calliope housing project in New Orleans. They first sang together in grade school. Originally they were to be called Little Miss and the Muffets, but were named The Dixie Cups just prior to their first release.
By 1963 the trio had decided to pursue a career in music and began singing locally as the Meltones. Within a year Joe Jones, a successful singer in his own right with the Top Five 1960 single "You Talk Too Much," became their manager. After working with them for five months, Jones took them to New York, where record producers / songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller signed them to their new Red Bird Records.
Their first release, "Chapel of Love," proved to be their biggest hit, although they had other hits with "People Say" (#12, 1964), "You Should Have Seen the Way He Looked at Me" (#39, 1964), "Iko Iko" (#20, 1965), and "Little Bell" (#51, 1965). "Chapel of Love" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.
"Iko Iko", a New Orleans R&B standard, was recorded early in 1965. Barbara Hawkins had heard her grandmother sing the song, first recorded in 1954 as "Jock-a-Mo" by James "Sugar Boy" Crawford. Barbara Hawkins: "We were just clowning around with it during a session using drumsticks on ashtrays. We didn't realize that Jerry and Mike had the tapes running". Leiber and Stoller overdubbed a bassline and percussion, and released it. It was The Dixie Cups' fifth and last hit."

Tracks are =

1. Dixie Cups - Gee baby Gee
2. Dixie Cups - Aint That Nice
3. Dixie Cups - All grown Up
4. Dixie Cups - Iko Iko
5. Dixie Cups - little bell
6. Alvin Robinson - Let The Good Times Roll
7. Alvin Robinson - Down Home Girl
8. Ad Libs - I'm Just A Down Home Girl

Red Bird Era - Side Two

Allen Sherman

2012-01-09T01:46:00.000-08:00

Found this 1964 LP by Allan Sherman at the roadside bookstall in All Saints in Manchester at the weekend. A few good novelty songs based on old standards given a Jewish twist. The only thing that spoils it for me is the canned laughter and applause on each track.

Wikipedia says-

"Employed as a producer by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions, Sherman was the creator and original producer of the popular I've Got a Secret from 1952 to 1958. During this time, he recorded a 78RPM single, containing A Satchel And A Seck (to "A Bushel And A Peck" from Guys And Dolls, and Jake's Song. This single sold poorly and, when time came to write his autobiography, Sherman didn't even acknowledge it. He also produced a short-lived 1954 game show, What's Going On? Sherman was fired after a particularly unsuccessful episode of I've Got a Secret featuring Tony Curtis that aired June 11, 1958. But later, after becoming a celebrity himself, Sherman would make some return appearances on the program.

Later, he found that the little song parodies he performed to amuse his friends and family were taking a life of their own. Sherman had the good fortune to live in the Brentwood section of West Los Angeles next door to Harpo Marx, who invited Sherman to perform his song parodies at parties attended by Marx's show-biz friends. After one such party, George Burns phoned a record executive and persuaded him to sign Sherman to a contract. The result was an LP of these parodies, My Son, the Folk Singer, in 1962. The album was so successful that it was quickly followed by My Son, the Celebrity.

In 1962, capitalizing on his success, Jubilee Records re-released the 1951 single on the album More Folk Songs by Allan Sherman and His Friends, which was a compilation of material by various Borscht Belt comedians, such as Sylvia Froos, Fyvush Finkle and Lee Tully, along with the Sherman material.

As suggested by the albums' titles, Sherman's first two LPs were mainly Jewish-folk-culture rewritings of old folk tunes. His first minor hit was "Sarah Jackman" (pronounced "Jockman"), a takeoff of "Frère Jacques" in which he and a woman (Christine Nelson) exchange family gossip ("Sarah Jackman, Sarah Jackman, How's by you? How's by you? How's by you the family? How's your sister Emily?" etc.) By his peak with My Son, the Nut in 1963, however, Sherman had broadened both his subject matter and his choice of parody material and begun to appeal to a larger audience.

Sherman wrote his parody lyrics in collaboration with Lou Busch. A few of the Sherman/Busch songs are completely original creations, featuring original music as well as lyrics, rather than new lyrics applied to an existing melody. The Sherman/Busch originals — notably "Go to Sleep, Paul Revere" and "Peyton Place" — are delightful novelty songs, showing genuine melodic originality as well as deft lyrics."

Discover more about Allan Sherman HERE.

Tracks are as follows -

1. Pop Hates The Beatles
2. Beautiful teamsters
3. Kiss Of Myer
4. Crazy Downtown
5. The 12 Gifts Of Christmas
6. By Bye Bloomberg

Allen Sherman - Side Two

Boma - Liwanza

2012-01-03T04:52:00.000-08:00

Not sure where I found this LP on the Valdene Records label from the 80's I would guess. Nice soukous from West Africa.

Peter Toll reports:

"Jim Monimambo must have come to Kenya in the mid 1970s. He might have arrived there in 1975 with Kalombo Mwanza's Orch. Basanga, a band that also included Tabu Batchalinge Ogolla and Loboko Pasi who joined Orch. Boma Liwanza soon after getting to Nairobi. Apparently Orch. Basanga fell apart upon arrival because this is what Loboko Pasi said in an article in The Nation (June 17, 2006):

"I had heard about Franco's tours to Kenya and how he would attract crowds in Nairobi and Kisumu. I was very excited about the tour. I had also heard that Nairobi was the London of East Africa, the land of milk and honey. If I couldn't get to London, I told myself, Nairobi would do," adds Pasi.
¶ The tour was to take Orchestra Basanga through Uganda and Tanzania followed by a grand performance in Nairobi before returning home. So after a rather lukewarm reception in Uganda and a low-key performance in Tanzania, the band, led by Kalombo Mwanza, set out for Nairobi. However, somewhere along the way, internal rifts developed over money after the tour's sponsor took off with the little cash that had been realised.
¶ "That was a trying time for me. I was among the band's youngest members, it was my first foreign tour and there we were, splitting. I wondered how I would find my way back home with no money," recalls Pasi.
¶When they got to Nairobi, the band split up and it was every man for himself. With no tools of trade, no person to turn to, Pasi wandered in the streets of Nairobi, hoping to meet a Congolese who he would share his problems with.
¶"I did not even have a guitar to perform on the streets to raise money for food".
¶For almost a month, Pasi had to beg to survive. The paradise in Nairobi was elusive.
¶"It was not London to me any more. There was no milk, no honey, not even bread crumbs. I was starving, I needed something to do to get food," recalls Pasi.
¶After knowing his way around town, Pasi joined a Congolese band by the name Boma Liwanza.
"I just introduced myself and they allowed me to perform with them although they doubted my abilities. I proved myself and they accepted me officially," he says.

In the mid 1970s Monimambo became a singer with Boma Liwanza and a popular one. In 1976 he even started to record with his own band Special Liwanza - which was probably just a studio band made up of members of Boma Liwanza. It seems Jim was still with Boma Liwanza in 1979 when he wrote one of their big hits, "Milimani".

However, around the same time he also started performing with George Kalombo Mwanza's new band Viva Makale and that's where he sang with a Zairean artist who had just returned from Tanzania, Moreno Batambo. Soon after, the two started a new band, Shika Shika, but unfortunately, Moreno wanted to be his own boss, so he moved within a year to form Moja One. I believe Orch. Shika Shika was formed in 1980, the year Moreno's "Maisha Ya Mjini" was recorded."

Tracks are as follows -

1. Mono
2. Sina mambo
3. Bilobela

Boma-Liwanza - Side One

Jimmy Logan

2012-01-03T03:34:00.000-08:00

A bit late for Hogmanay but here on this Music For Pleasure label from 1976 is this tribute to Scottish performer Sir Harry Lauder by another scot Jimmy Logan.

Wikipedia says -

"Educated at Gourock High School, Inverclyde, Logan left school at the age of 14. His family, in the 1930s and 1940s, toured the small music halls of Scotland and Northern Ireland. By 1944 he was in pantomime when he played the cat in Dick Whittington and His Cat. His connection with pantomime would continue throughout his life, most famously with the long running pantomimes produced by Howard & Wyndham in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Aberdeen.
Jimmy Logan, starring with Jack Radcliffe and Eve Boswell, held the record number of performances of the famed Five Past Eight shows staged each summer at the Alhambra Theatre,. Logan purchased the Empress Theatre for £80,000 in 1964. He refurbished it, re-opening it as the 'New Metropole'. One of the first events to be staged there was the first Scottish production of the rock musical Hair.
His first acting role was in the film Floodtide (1949), a drama set on Clydeside. He also performed in Carry on Abroad (1972) and Carry On Girls (1973). His London stage debut came in The Mating Game (1973).
He staged an adaptation of Oor Wullie, the Sunday Post comic strip character, for the Dundee stage. His one-man musical based on the life of Scottish entertainer Sir Harry Lauder, was called Lauder (1976). Logan collected Lauder memorabilia, which is now housed in the Scottish Theatre Archive at the University of Glasgow.
Other theatrical events included The Entertainer (1984), Brighton Beach Memoirs (1989), Bill Bryden's The Ship, The Comedians (1991), On Golden Pond (1996) and Death of a Salesman at the Pitlochry Festival (1992). In 1991 he had a supporting role in the Swedish comedy film Den ofrivillige golfaren, which was partly filmed in Scotland.
Logan was awarded an honorary doctorate by Glasgow Caledonian University (1994), honoured with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for "services to Scottish theatre" in 1996, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 1998.
Logan's last two performances were at Pitlochry Festival Theatre and the Glasgow's Pavilion Theatre respectively."

Tracks are -

1. Medley: It's Nice To Get Up In The Morning- Rising early In The Morning - Fou The Noo.
2. Roamin' In The Gloamin'
3. She's The Lass For Me
4. Somebody's Waiting For Me
5. Wee Deoch an' Doris
6. I'm Goinbg To Marry 'Arry

Jimmy Logan - Side One

Heroes & Villains Concert 1982

2011-12-14T08:29:00.000-08:00

An LP on the Dakota label from 1982. A concert recorded on 21st September the same year at the Hammersmith Odeon to celebrate 15 years of BBC Radio One. Profits from the concert went to the Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Centre charity.

Mostly stars of the 60's here who have come out in force and by and large sound pretty good - playing their big hits to an enthusiastic audience.

Tracks are as follows -

Side One.

1. Flowers In The Rain - Carl Wayne & Magnum

2. One Way Love - Cliff Bennett

3. Little Things - Dave Berry

4. He's In Town - Rockin' Berries

5. There's Always Something There To Remind Me - Sandie Shaw

6. Sorrow - The Merseybeats

7. Hallelujah Freedom - Junior Campbell

8. Tobacco Road - Nashville Teens

Side Two.

1. Out Of Time - Chris Farlowe

2. Hippy Hippy Shake - Swinging Blue Jeans

3. Yesterday Man - Chris Andrews

4. Game Of Love - Wayne Fontana

5. Wild Thing - The Troggs

6. Wondrous Place - Billy Fury

7. Legend Of Xanadu - Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich

8. What'd I Say - Ensemble

Various - Side One

Various - Side Two

Perspectives In Percussion

2011-12-09T09:51:00.001-08:00

Another LP from the Hospice Shop today. This time some rather ordinary exotica/ stereo testing music - big band with added percussion . It's on the Somerest label and made in Canada in the 60's I would guess. It says on the sleeve " The world's greatest percussionists, solists and section men (?) recorded in Hollywood without attenuated dynamics ( whatever that is?)"

Orchestra lead by Skip Martin.

Space Age Musicmaker says of Skip Martin -

"Raised in Indianapolis, Skip Martin studied clarinet and played with local orchestras through high school and while attending Indiana University. After graduation, he took a job at radio station WLW in Cincinnati. Around 1936, he began playing alto and baritone sax for a series of big bands, including Charlie Barnett, Jan Savitt, Glenn Miller, and Benny Goodman. He also wrote an occasional arrangements. Count Basie recorded a number of Martin's compositions in the 1940s, including a minor hit, "Tuesday at Ten." After a stint with NBC and CBS radio in New York, Martin was enlisted in the Army Air Corps and trained as a pilot.
He settled in Los Angeles and went into studio work. He worked mainly as a fill-in, contributing individual arrangements, such as Les Brown's hit, "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm," but rarely handled a whole album. He assisted Leo Arnaud on the score for the Red Skelton movie, "Excuse My Dust," and conducted the orchestra on the soundtrack for Fred Astaire's movie, "Royal Wedding." He also worked with the Pied Pipers and Tony Martin in the early 1950s. After a short spell as a staff arranger for NBC television, he moved back to Hollywood and went freelance. In the late 1950s, he produced several albums for Somerset that rank among the best of the "percussion" craze. The list of players includes some of the best West coast jazz players of the time: Jimmy Rowles, Pete Candoli, Frank Rosolino, Larry Bunker, Irv Cottler, and Don Fagerquist. Martin also arranged a selection of composer Dave Kuhn's theme and incidental music for the 1958-59 TV series, "Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer," that RCA released to ride on the coattails of the success of Henry Mancini's "Peter Gunn" LPs."
Tracks are as follows -
1. I'll See You In My Dreams
2. And Then There's Bells
3. Red River Cha Cha
4. Night train To New Orleans
5. C'est Magnifique
6. Tampico

Perspectives In Percussion - Side One

Mike Terry

2011-12-09T07:18:00.000-08:00

Initially attracted to the smiling face of Mr. Terry and his Clackers I was sadly disappointed when I played this LP on the Joy label from 1972. It's a kind of poor man's Russ Conway/ Mrs. Mills record and hardly worth a second listen. I upload one side so you can see what I mean.

The sleeve notes say -

"Mike terry has built himself quite a reputation around the Northern Clubs as a honky tonk pianist, reputation which is spreading South with each record and each appearance. And when you count amongst these appearances one with Dorothy Squires at her second epic making Palladium concert you can imagine the strength of the invasion. Dorothy, in fact, has a lot to do with Mike's success; she taught him stagecraft - and who better to instruct in the art of holding an audience. The story starts some 28 years ago when Mike was born in Leeds. At thirteen he was taking piano lessons from a local teacher and at fiteen had won a local honky tonk contest. The prize was Winifred Atwell's "other piano". A prize that Mike treasures to this day."

Tracks are -

1. In Apple Blossom Time/ The Honeysuckle & The Bee/ Moonlight & Roses

2. Scotalnd The Brave/I Love A Lassie/ Roaming In The Gloaming

3. I Cant Give You Anything But Love Baby/ Side By Side/ Happy Days & Lonely Nights

4. Always/ My Wonderful One/I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

5. Conkers

Mike Terry - Side One

Flanagan & Allen

2011-12-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

An LP on the EMI label from the Hospice Shop today. Songs and patter from the 30's up until the 50's on this compilation obviously taken straight from old 78's due to the background hiss and crackle on most tracks.

Wikipedia says -

"As music hall comedians, they would often feature a mixture of comedy and music in their act; this led to a successful recording career as a duo and roles in film and television. Just prior to and throughout the Second World War they appeared in several films helmed by Marcel Varnel and John Baxter. Flanagan and Allen were both also members of The Crazy Gang and worked with that team for many years concurrently with their double-act career.

Flanagan and Allen's songs featured the same, usually gentle, humour for which the duo were known in their live performances, and during the Second World War they reflected the experiences of ordinary people during wartime. Songs like 'We're Gonna Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line' mocked the German defences (Siegfried Line), while others like 'Miss You' sang of missing one's sweetheart during enforced absences. Other songs, such as their most famous, 'Underneath the Arches' (which Flanagan co-wrote with Reg Connelly), had universal themes such as friendship. The music was usually melodic, following a binary verse, verse chorus structure, with a small dance band or orchestra providing the accompaniment. The vocals were distinctive because while Flanagan was at least a competent singer and sang the melody lines, Allen used an almost spoken delivery to provide the harmonies.

The recordings of Flanagan and Allen remain popular, and the duo are frequently impersonated by professionals and amateurs. Royal Variety Performances often feature people 'doing a Flanagan and Allen', notably Roy Hudd and Christopher Timothy, Bernie Winters and Leslie Crowther. In 1980 the latter two featured in a one-off musical drama about the duo produced by ATV for the ITV network.

The later comedy team Morecambe and Wise, who often expressed their admiration for Flanagan and Allen, recorded a tribute album, Morecambe and Wise Sing Flanagan and Allen (Phillips 6382 095), in which they performed some of the earlier team's more popular songs in their own style, without attempting to imitate the originals. Fans of either comedy team may be slightly disappointed by this album, since all of the selections are performed absolutely straight, with no comedy except for a brief amount of banter after one of the songs. Run Rabbit Run was one of their best hits in World War Two."

Songs are -

1. "Oi!" Intro: A Million years

2. Life Begins Again

3. |Memories Medley: Part 1 - Wanderer, Dreaming, Where The Arches Used To Be.

4. Memories Medley: Part 2 - Can't We Meet Again, A Million Tears, Underneath The Arches.

5. Down And Out Blues

6. I'm Sending Out An S.O.S.

Flanagan & Allen - Side One

Bill Tapia RIP

2011-12-06T06:24:00.000-08:00

Bill Tapia playing in Japan a couple of years ago. He died the other day aged 103.

Learn more about Bill = http://www.billtapia.com/

Joe Turner

2011-11-21T11:37:00.001-08:00

An LP on the BluesTime label from 1969. In the wake of the British beat invasion of the USA and interest in the blues and R&B that followed a few of the old bluesmen that were still active re-made some of their old hits of the 40's and 50's. Arranged and conducted by Gene Page this is a similar update with lush big band playing with Joe but it's not all bad though not a patch on the originals.

"Born in Baltimore, Turner was first taught piano by his mother when he was five. He moved to New York around 1925 and enjoyed much popularity among musicians in Harlem, working with June Clark (1927-1928), Benny Carter (1929), and Louis Armstrong (1930). He accompanied the singer Adelaide Hall in a piano duo with Alex Hill and then with Francis Carter; he and Carter toured Europe with Hall in 1931. Turner performed as a soloist throughout Europe until 1939, and then in the USA. After working as a member of an army band led by Sy Oliver (1944-1945) and with Rex Stewart (1946) he returned to Europe and played in Hungary (1948) and Switzerland (1949-1962). He then settled in Paris, where from 1962 he held a residency at La Calvados; he also performed in Great Britain, Switzerland, and the USA. Turner was influenced mainly by James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, Art Tatum, and Erroll Garner."

Tracks are as follows =

1. Shake Rattle and Roll

2. Lonesome Train

3. Corrina, Corrina

4. How Long, How Long Blues

5. Careless Love

6. Two Loves Have I

Joe Turner - Side One

Tudo E!...Bossa Nova

2011-11-21T09:39:00.000-08:00

An LP on the Helium label from Brazil I found in a charity shop today. I was attracted to the odd cover which seems to depict a Latin orchestra made of pipe cleaners. Gentle MOR jazz with a latin beat.

"Parallel to the rise of bossa, climbed the charts to sambalanço that without coming to constitute a movement, has injected more tele-teco (as it was then) the old pace conceived in the Bahian Aunts house in downtown Rio at the beginning of century.Some suppliers and representatives of the sector: Elza Soares, Milton (graduate of the vocal group The Lovers), Ed Lincoln (who played in the Plaza nightclub, another stronghold of the inaugural bossa), Djalma Ferreira, Orlan Divo, Silvio Cesar Luis Flag (author of "samba whistle"), Peter Rodrigues, Luis Reis, Haroldo Barbosa, Luis Antonio, Jadir Roberto Castro and John Kelly.

But bossa was above all a movement of emergency in the country's urban developmental stage Kubitschek's presidency (1955-60) and concentrated in Rio in the apartments south of the future as the singer Nara Leão She headquartered in Copacabana gatherings of young writers and musicians such as Carlos Lyra, Roberto Menescal, Boscoli Ronaldo, Sergio Ricardo and Chico Feitosa, among others. The concerts of the group began in the university (it was the first Brazilian musical movement out of college) and added numerous other innovators. In Durval Ferreira (Sambop, different beat) the precursor Silvia Telles (whom some attribute another milestone inaugural was the Night, by Jobim and Newton Mendonça, 1957), Leny Andrade and the first of the new trend of instrumental led by people as Oscar Castro Neves (musicians and their brethren), Sergio Mendes, Luis Carlos Vines, JT Meirelles, beyond the instrumental / vocal Tamba Trio (Luis Eca, Bebeto, Hélcio Milito) that next to Bossa 3 (Vines, Tiao Netto, Edison Machado) would usher in a fever of sets of piano, bass and drums. It was a moment of excitement instrumental in the development of young musicians like Paulo Moura, Tenorio Junior, Dom Um Romao, Milton Banana, Edson Maciel, Raul de Souza and the rise of conductor and arranger Eumir Deodato and Moacyr Santos."

De Castro - Side One

An Evening Without ...

2011-11-15T01:57:00.000-08:00

An evening of comedy songs and sketches performed by Clive Anderson, Martin Bergman, Rory McGrath, Jimmy Mulville and Griff Rhys Jones at Christchurch College, Canterbury, Kent in 1981. Released on ORA records the same year. Most of these artistes started out in the Cambridge Footlights.

Find out more about Footlights = http://footlights.org/

An Evening Without - Side One

Sophie Tucker

2011-11-12T05:07:00.000-08:00

An LP on the Coral label from 1966 but suspect these songs were recorded in the 30's or 40's. Some are almost spoken rather than sung and remind me of Jimmy Durante and others who employed this style.

IMDb says -

What becomes a legend most? For the beloved Russian-born entertainer Sophie Tucker, it was most definitely the live stage. The stage was her home. She fed off a live audience and it's what made her the sensation she was. Seeing her up close and personal was to get the very best of her. Movies and TV were too restrictive to capture the true essence of Sophie Tucker. For well over five decades, she performed everywhere -- Broadway, vaudeville, cabaret, clubs and burlesque.

This gutsy, irrepressible "Jazz Age Hot Mamma" was born Sophie Kalish in Russia in 1884 just as her family was about to emigrate to the United States. They left when she was a mere three months old, settling in Hartford, Connecticut. She started performing as a youngster in her parent's small restaurant, occasionally singing and playing the piano for tips. Marrying in her teens to a ne'er-do-well, she was forced to continue at the restaurant to support a family of three (including baby boy Bert). Within a short time, however, she divorced, left her child with her parents, and headed to nearby New York with visions of stardom. Changing her name to the more suitable marquee moniker of "Sophie Tucker" (her ex-husband's name was Louis Tuck), she proceeded to take the town by storm.

Sophie started out in amateur shows. Not a beauty by any stretch, she was grossly overweight and quickly found that self parody and racy comedy, punctuated by her jazzy musical style, would become the backbone of her popularity. Playing at various dives, she earned a minor break in 1906 after earning a singing/piano-playing gig on the vaudeville circuit. Disguised in blackface, she played ragtime music. Her humor, of course, came at the expense of her weight but, with such ditties as "Nobody Loves a Fat Girl, But Oh How a Fat Girl Can Love," she had audiences eating out of the palm of her hand."

1. Some Of These Days

2. You've Got To Be Loved To Be Healthy

3. The Older They Get The Younger They Want 'em

4. Who Wants Them Tall Dark and Handsome

5. You Can't Sew A Button On A Heart

6. Why Go To Havana

Sophie Tucker - Side One

The Everley Brothers

2011-11-12T04:51:00.000-08:00

An LP form the market today. A rather battered sleeve but suprisingly few scratches. Released in 1960 and containing a nice mix of ballads and up tempo numbers from one of the best duos of that time.

Country Music Classics website says -

"The Everly Brothers have often been called "an overnight success," and although the duo became one of the most successful music acts between 1957 and 1962, that success did not happen overnight.

Their father, Ike Everly, moved to Chicago in an effort to sustain a career in country music, but wound up in the Midwest. In 1955, he brought his family to Nashville, Tenn., hoping his singing sons might find the success that had eluded him.

Don Everly did make some marks as a writer, penning "Thou Shalt Not Steal" by Kitty Wells, two songs recorded by Justin Tubb and one for Anita Carter.

Don and Phil signed a recording contract with Columbia Records, but after four songs the record label terminated their contract and released them. Then, the man who later became The Everly Brothers' record proÐducer turned them down the first time he heard them because he didn't like their sound.

Archie Bleyer, who initially turned them down, was searching for a country music act for his Cadence Records. But after a second listen, he gave them a recording contract.

Wesley Rose, of Acuff Rose Music, took the song "Wake Up Little Susie" to Bleyer, who immediately disliked the song because of the lyrics. The song was written by husband and wife team Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. Bleyer said it sounded like Susie and her boy friend had slept together at the drive-in movie. But the Everly Brothers recorded the tune despite Bleyer's objection.

Although the record was banned by some radio staÐtions because of its "suggesÐtive lyrics," it entered the country music charts Sept. 30,1957, and quickly made it to the No. 1 spot, where it stayed for 22 weeks. The record was also No. 1 in pop music the week of Oct. 14, 1957.

The Everly Brothers were unique to the music business not only for their commerÐcially crafted recordings, but because they were one of the first consistently successful rock n' roll acts to come out of Nashville, Tenn. Their songs came from Nashville songwriters, were recorded in Nashville with Nashville musicians, yet left their mark on both the pop and country music charts."

Tracks are as follows -

1. So Sad ( To Watch Good Love Go Bad)

2. Just In Case

3. Memories Are Made Of This

4. That's What You Do To Me

5. Sleepless Nights

6. What Kind Of Girl Are You

The Everley Brothers - Side One

Charlie Gillett - Doctor Doctor

2011-11-11T07:46:00.001-08:00

Another taped radio show with DJ Charlie Gillett from the 80's. This time a themed show with songs about Doctors and other related subjects. Please excuse poor quality of recording which has deteriorated over the years.

Part of the obituary in the Guardian by Richard Williams -

"Attempting to find a niche in journalism, he wrote for New Society, Anarchy and the soul music magazine Shout before securing a column in Record Mirror, in which he could express his enthusiasm for rhythm and blues and early rock'n'roll. But it was when The Sound of the City was published in the US in 1970, to great acclaim, that his reputation was established. The book looked beneath the surface of the first 15 years of rock'n'roll, tracing its antecedents and making thoughtful, typically unpretentious assessments, not just of the musicians but of the fledgling industry and its visionary hustlers. Its avoidance of received wisdom inspired countless authors to pursue its themes in the subsequent decades.

Four years later Charlie produced Making Tracks, a serviceable history of Atlantic Records. But writing books, it turned out, was not his true vocation. Honky Tonk was heard for the first time in 1972, and over the next six years it became compulsory Sunday listening for the kind of music lover to whom the intimate music of JJ Cale or Bobby Charles spoke louder than the pumped-up sounds of Led Zeppelin or Yes, and who were thrilled when Charlie played demos by Elvis Costello or Graham Parker.

Wisely, he turned down an offer to present BBC2's The Old Grey Whistle Test, realising that he would have little to say to musicians for whose work he cared nothing. The intimacy of radio suited him better, and he became a series consultant to Radio 1's well-received The Story of Pop. In 1972 he was also part of the writers' collective that founded Let It Rock, a monthly magazine.

It was in the mid-1970s that he and his dentist, Gordon Nelki, formed a partnership which led them to manage Kilburn and the High Roads (whose lead singer was Ian Dury) and to start a label and publishing company, Oval Music. Their successes included Lene Lovich's Lucky Number, Paul Hardcastle's 19 and Touch and Go's Would You...? Later he acted as a music consultant to film companies and advertising agencies.

In 1979 he moved from BBC Radio London to Capital, the city's commercial station, and began to feature music from around the world. Sacked in 1983, he was brought back by public demand and stayed until 1990. In May 1995 he returned with a show on GLR, Radio London's successor, and began his World Service series in 1999. He was also a regular presenter of Radio 3's World on 3.

In recent years he contracted a disease of the autoimmune system that forced him off the air and finally ended his Sunday-morning kickabouts on Clapham Common with players from an assortment of African and South American countries. It was followed by a stroke and, last week, a heart attack outside his home. He is survived by Buffy, their daughters Suzy and Jody, their son Ivan, and two grandchildren.

• Charles Thomas Gillett, radio presenter, author and music publisher, born 20 February 1942; died 17 March 2010"

Charlie Gillett - Doctor Doctor Side One

Charlie Gillett - Doctor Doctor Side Two

Empire State Observatories Souvenir (Re-Up)

2011-11-07T07:15:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to uplaod this for a while as i havent heard it myself. A very scratchy souvenir from a record making kiosk at the top of the Empire State Building. I imagine it to be at the top anyway. It was back in the 50's 40's when this was made.
A little girl talks to her Granma or Granpa with whispered encouragement from Mom. She talks about going back to England and then she misses Toronto so not sure where she is from. She misses her friends, school and her Dad. It's very touching and sad. The other side is completely flat but has the same label. I think I found it many years ago at Brick Lane market in the East End of London like so many of these old records it caught my eye.

Discover more about the Empire State Building HERE.

Empire State Observatories Souvenir - Side One

Shirley & Lee

2011-11-03T04:16:00.000-07:00

Great double LP from 1983 on the United Artists "Legendary Masters " series, A compilation of great New Orleans r&b from the 50's and early 60's.

"Shirley & Lee are best remembered as a rock-and-roll duo from the 50's who came up with one great song that helps to define the era in pop music. One of them came back years later to usher in a different era in pop music history.
Sources vary as to their birthdates, but Shirley Mae Goodman and Leonard Lee were both born sometime from 1935 to 1937. In the early 50's they formed a rhythm-and-blues duo in New Orleans. They began to record for the Aladdin label in 1952 and became known as "The Sweethearts Of The Blues."
Shirley had a high voice and Lee's was big and booming, and the contrast between the two gave their act its appeal. They began to record songs that made the top ten on the rhythm-and-blues charts, such as their first big one I'm Gone in 1952, a song that was written by Leonard Lee and Dave Bartholomew. In their early songs they pretended as if they were sweethearts. Other hits followed, including Feel So Good in 1955 and I Feel Good two years later.
In late summer of 1956 the song with which Shirley & Lee are most often associated entered the charts. Let The Good Times Roll was a big hit at teenage parties everywhere. Some DJ's refused to play it, claiming that it had suggestive lyrics. The song crossed over to the pop charts, where it reached as high as number twenty.
Shirley & Lee continued to record together up until 1963, when Lee began to record songs for Imperial. Shirley developed an act with Jesse Hill which they called Shirley & Jesse, and they worked in New Orleans with Mac Rebennack and others.
In 1975 Shirley recorded a song called Shame, Shame, Shame with a group of studio musicians, and it was released on the Vibration label as by Shirley And Company. The song had links to rock-and-roll's glorious past -- in addition to Shirley's lead female vocal, one of the musicians included in the recording was Kenny Jeremiah, who had been a founding member of the Soul Survivors [Expressway To Your Heart] in the 60's. In addition, Shame, Shame, Shame was written and produced by Sylvia Vanderpool Robinson of Mickey & Sylvia [Love Is Strange]. The song reached number twelve and was regarded as one of the first disco hits of the 70's.
Leonard Lee died in 1976. Shirley married and changed her name to Shirley Mae Goodman Pixley. She passed away on July 5, 2005. The best songs recorded by the duo were compiled on Ace as The Best Of Shirley & Lee."

Tracks are as follows -

1. Come On & Have Your Fun

2. I'll Thrill You

3. Don't Leave Me Here To Cry

4. Before I Go

5. The Reason Why

6. I Didn't Want You

7. I'll Do It

8. Everybody's Rockin'

Shirley & Lee - Side Three

Bembeya Jazz National

2011-10-31T00:56:00.000-07:00

On the Syliphone label from the 80's I imagine. A delightful example of the music of Guinea in West Africa .

The Leopard Man says -

"Bembeya Jazz National is Guinea's most famous band and a giant in West African music.The band was active right up until 1991 and the modern bandleader
Bambino Diabate began here.
Like Rail Band, Bembeya Jazz National received economic government support.It was started in 1961 as Bembeya Jazz and won first prize in two national band competitions in 1962 and 1964, and in 1966 awarded the distinction of "National Orchestra". There was at this time a strong bond between Guinea's President Sekou Toure and Fidel Castro, and in 1965 Bembeya Jazz embarked on a famous tour to Cuba. The acclaimed Cuban singer Abelardo Barroso was moved to tears by Bembeya Jazz's vocalist, Aboubacar Camara. Camara was killed in a car accident in 1973, on route to a concert in Dakar, an event that provoked national mourning in Guinea. Camara's death, combined with political and economic problems in the country, meant that Bembeya Jazz never managed to regain their status of the 1960s, even though they were active and released several disks in the 1970s and 1980s.
Bembeya Jazz National plays strongly Cuban-influenced music.This Cuban-influence in West African music came about because the slaves sent to Cuba came, in all likelihood, from the Manding area of Guinea and Mali. The rhythmic patterns of the music lie close to each other and Cuban music is hugely popular in West Africa to this day. As Salif Keita once said: "I used to sing in Spanish - or at least something I thought was Spanish, for I didn't speak it. I love Cuban music and, more than that, I see it as a duty of all Mali’s people to love Cuban music, for it was through it that we were introduced to modern instruments."
To hear Bembeya Jazz National is an inspiring journey through an exciting musical landscape. Many rate Bembeya Jazz National as one of Africa's best ever bands.
At the beginning of the new millenium the band is up and going again, with most of the old members revitalised."

Bembaya Jazz National - Side Two

George Formby

2011-10-29T02:05:00.001-07:00

A 4 LP boxed set of George's finest work released on the World Record label in 1977.

Wikipedia says -

"Formby was born at 3 Westminster Street, Wigan, Lancashire, as George Hoy Booth, the eldest of seven surviving children (four girls and three boys). Formby was born blind due to an obstructive caul; his sight was restored during a violent coughing fit or sneeze when he was a few months old. His father James Booth used the stage name George Formby, adopted from the town of Formby, Lancashire, and was one of the great music hall comedians of his day, fully the equal of his son's later success. His father, not wishing him to watch his performances, moved the family to Atherton Road in Hindley, near Wigan, and it was from there that Formby was apprenticed as a jockey when he was seven and rode his first professional race aged ten when he weighed under 4 stone (56 lb; 25 kg).

The family then moved to Stockton Heath, Warrington on a property on London Road. It was from there that George Formby Jr. embarked on his career in entertainment.

On the death of his father in 1921, Formby abandoned his career as a jockey and started his own music hall career using his father's material. He originally called himself George Hoy (the name of his maternal grandfather, who originally came from Newmarket, Suffolk, a famous horseracing town, where the family were involved in racehorse training). In 1924 he married dancer Beryl Ingham, who managed his career (and it is said his personal life to an intolerable degree—see biographies below) until her death in 1960. He allegedly took up the ukulele, for which he was later famous, as a hobby; he first played it on stage for a bet."

Tracks are as follows -

1. She Can't say No

2. The Joo Jah Tree

3. In My Little Snapshot Album

4. Hitting The Highspots Now

5. It's A Grand Healthy Life

6. Dan The Dairy Man

7. Bell Bottom George

8. George Formby Medley - Sitting On The Ice.../Do-de-o-do/ Chinese Laundry Blues

George Formby - Record One Side Two

Hawalatt

2011-10-26T01:34:00.000-07:00

Hindi film soundtrack on one side of an album on the Super label from 1987. The other side features the film Dancing City.

IMDb says of the film -

"Geeta works for a newspaper as a reporter and exposes the drug-running crimes of Dharamdas and others involved with him, and as a result she is abducted, imprisoned, and raped repeatedly both by the criminals and a police inspector. Who will save her and others from the clutches of the criminals?"

Tracks are as follows -

1. Tere Pyar Pe Bharosa Kar To Lun - Lata Mangeshkar & D. Tahil

2. Step By Step - Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle & Chorus

3. Shayad Tu Mujhse Pyar Karti Hai - Shailendra Singh

Hawalatt - Side B

Gerard Hoffnung

2011-10-18T00:58:00.000-07:00

An LP on the Columbia label from 1961 - a celebration of the works of Gerard Hoffnung who died two years earlier. Sounds like a fun evening but you probably had to be there to appreciate the humour which seems rather lost here.

Wikipedia says -

"Gerard Hoffnung (22 March 1925 – 25 September 1959) was an artist and musician, best known for his humorous works.

Born in Berlin, and named Gerhard, he was the only child of a well-to-do Jewish couple, Hildegard and Ludwig Hoffnung. In 1939, his parents left Germany, initially for Florence and then for London, where he attended Highgate School, while his father went to what was then the British Mandate of Palestine to enter the family's banking business. (This temporary separation became permanent as a consequence of World War II.)

Hoffnung died of a cerebral haemorrhage only 20 years after arriving in England but filled those two decades with considerable achievements as - amongst other things - a cartoonist, tuba player, impresario, broadcaster and public speaker, much sought after by the Oxford and CambridgeUnions.

Hoffnung published a series of books of cartoons poking gentle fun at conductors and orchestral instrumentalists. After his death, some of these were turned into a short animated film by Halas and Batchelor under the title The Hoffnung Symphony Orchestra, which won a number of awards in 1965-66.

He created three Hoffnung Music Festivals held at the Royal Festival Hall in London. These featured contributions from distinguished "serious" musicians. Compositions specially commissioned for the Festivals included Malcolm Arnold's A Grand, Grand Overture, Op. 57 ^] which was dedicated to U.S. President Herbert Hoover and was scored for several vacuum cleaners and other domestic appliances. Franz Reizenstein'sConcerto Popolare was described as "The Piano Concerto to end all Piano Concertos". William Walton conducted a one-note excerpt from his oratorio Belshazzar's Feast: the word, "Slain!" shouted by the chorus."

Tracks are -

1. Excerpt from "Belshazzar's Feast (William Walton)

2. Horrortorio (Joseph Horovitz)

3. Mobile for Seven Orchestras (Lawrence leonard)

Hoffnung - Side Two

Will Fyffe

2011-10-17T00:13:00.000-07:00

This LP on the World Record label is a compilation of songs by the scottish comedian Will Fyffe which I always get mixed up with Sir Harry Lauder. Mostly from the late 20's and early 30's.

"He started his career in childhood touring with his father's dramatic company and made his debut as Little Willie in East Lynne.
At 15 he played Polonius in Shakespeares Hamlet. He then moved to the Music Halls doing sketches featuring Scottish characters many of which were recorded on to 78 rpm records. He appeared at the London Pavilion in 1921 and also appeared in a number of films during the 1930's.

He was presented with the C.B.E. for entertaining the troops during World War 2. He is best known for his recording of "I Belong To Glasgow" but made many other fine recordings demonstrating that he had an excellent singing voice and in my opinion was a superior entertainer to the better known Sir Harry Lauder."

Tracks are as follows -

1. I'm 94 Today

2. He's been On The Bottle Since A Baby

3. The railway Guard

4. Uncle Mac

5. The Skipper Of The Mercantile Marine

6. Corporall McDougal

7. It Is'nt The Hen

8. Sailing Up The Clyde

Will Fyffe - Side Two

Henry Blair

2011-10-08T05:10:00.000-07:00

Scratchy old 78's bought at a charity shop the other day. A frequently played song on the radio of my youth - particularly Childrens Favourites.

Wikipedia says-

"Sparky was portrayed in the first three episodes in the series by Henry Blair, but was later voiced by Lee LeDoux and June Foray. The series was produced by Alan Livingston with orchestration by Billy May. The piano pieces on Sparky's Magic Piano were performed by Ray Turner. The voice of the piano was generated by Sonovox, an early version of the talk box. The series also featured many voices familiar to fans of Disney and Warner Bros. cartoons, as well as notable Capitol music artists, such as Stan Kenton.

Sparky albums were originally released on standard shellac 10-inch 78 RPM records, usually with three discs in each album and sold in the book-like covers, whence the term “album” originates. These six-sided record albums had a total playing time of about 20 minutes. In later years, the series was reissued on vinyl 78, 45, LP, and CD.

Sparky’s Magic Piano was the most popular album in the series. It is one of the few children’s albums of the period to remain available. Therefore the original 78s have a relatively low collectors' value. However it is not easy to acquire a complete set of the original wax records. The wax records are distinguishable by their black Capitol labels. Vinyl 78 versions are more common, with purple Capitol labels and sometimes a “Bozo Approved” logo in the corner of the album cover.

The unusual popularity of Sparky’s Magic Piano can be attributed to the fact that the album is not only an excellent work of children’s fantasy; it also has a useful moral that was inspirational to any child practising a musical instrument or studying classical music. Thus the album is a practical teaching tool as well as entertainment.

Because of the success of Sparky’s Magic Piano, two of the subsequent Sparky albums (Sparky's Music Mix-up and Sparky's Magic Baton) also involved talking musical instruments giving lessons for music students. Therefore the series seems to have taken a different direction to that which may have been originally intended. (The first album about talking trains was not musical, and was more dramatic than educational.)"

Henry Blair - Sparky's magic Piano Pt. 1

Henry Blair - Sparky's Magic Piano Pt. 2

Henry Blair - Sparky's Magic Piano Pt. 3

Henry Blair - Sparky's Magic Piano Pt. 4

Henry Blair - Sparky's Magic Piano Pt. 5

Henry Blair - Sparky's Magic Piano Pt. 6

Rupert Clemendore

2011-10-05T08:53:00.000-07:00

Another of those mysterious records from Brick Lane flea market I think that caught my eye. Though the sleeve art is pretty subdued - no palm trees and exotic looking dusky maidens just the words "Patois Jazz" is enough to make me wonder what this might sound like. I must admit the general ambience of the tunes here fall into the cocktail lounge variety. Here is the whole of side one for your listening pleasure..

Tracks -

1. Mambo Cop Suey
2. Mambo Metronome
3. Eastern Conga
4. Off Beat
5. If Sorrow Fills My Heart
6. Clem's Confusion

The sleeve notes by Red Camp say-
"Who else but Rupert would keep the same off-beat two measures going for three and a half minutes under his own vocal? What's more, almost everyone so far likes it; and that's what's so disturbing. Neither of the two vocals is sung. The one with the syncopated perpetual motion is a rather involved story called "Clem's Confusion" relating various adventures with a kind of international harem which descend on innocent him whilst walking down Park Street. Strictly speaking, this is more of a recitation than a song - but not to be confused with the school room type.
What Rupert does with his voice on "Chop Suey Mambo"(sic), the other one, must remain completely unclassified.

Rupert Clemendore - Side One

Wes McGhee

2011-10-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

A double LP bought from the Hospice Shop today for a quid. On the TRP Records label circa. 1984. Recorded live in Austin Texas. I had vaguely heard of Wes but I dont think I have anything by him. Attracted by the name of the LP "Thanks For The Chicken". I was hoping for a Chicken Song on it but did spot Rory McLeod's name who plays harmonica on Train Time. Rory is a big favourite and we've seen him several times playing live - always a treat.

His home page says -

"Wes McGhee was born in Leicestershire, England, began playing guitar with a local band when he was only 13 years old, graduated to playing in German rock clubs by the age of 18 and secured his first major record deal - with a division of Pye Records - three years later. His determination to marry psychedelic rock with country music did not endear him to the company, however, and he spent seven frustrating years locked into a contract while no records were being released.

During this time Wes put together the first version of what became his long-time backing band and recorded his first album (Long Nights and Banjo Music) once he was free from his old deal. Having developed an aversion to big record companies, he formed his own Terrapin Records label and subsequently released four other albums during the next six years."

Find out more about Wes HERE.

Tracks are -

1. Whisky Is My Driver
2. Texas No. 1
3. (They Used To Say) Train Time
4. Tear Stained Letter

Wes McGhee - Side Two

Roy Hudd

2011-10-05T00:54:00.000-07:00

An LP I found at a boot sale a while back from 1965- recorded before an invited audience on the World Record Club label. Roy is joined by Doug Fisher, Sheila Steafel and Jock Druncan. Musical arrangements and direction by Norman Percival. I love the Singing Postman inspired song here "Peeping Tom" that sounds exactly like him!

"A famous face in showbiz for thirty five years, Roy Hudd is natural comedy entertainer, a talented actor, playwright, sketch-writer, and performer.

He broke into TV appearing on Not So Much A Programme, More A Way of Life, but found wider fame with 1969’s The Roy Hudd Show.

Since 1975 The News Huddlines has had an amazing run on Radio 2, and is something of an institution. Although it's currently off-air, it will be back next year.

Roy's work as a dramatic actor in television has also won him praise. Dennis Potter's Lipstick on your Collar proved a huge success. This led to his most endearing dramatic role, again written for him by Potter, that of Spoonerism-afflicted Ben Baglin in Karaoke.

Roy was recently seen as Archie Shuttleworth in Coronation Street."

Tracks as follows -

1. Notice To Quit
2. Peeping Tom
3. Share My Garden With Me
4. Please Put A Penny
5. The Society Wedding Stakes
6. Bus Driver
7. A Stroll Down Memory Lane

Roy Hudd - Side One

Larry Grayson

2011-10-04T05:06:00.001-07:00

Another boot sale find on the York Records label from 1972. Larry sings few oldies including the Marrow Song we heard recently from Billy Cotton and Co. Also some songs written especially for him featuring characters from his stage act.

Wikipedia says-

"Born in Banbury in 1923 to unmarried parents, (he never met his father), ten days after he was born he was adopted by Alice and Jim Hammond, a poor, coal mining family in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. His foster mother died when he was six years old and he was raised by his eldest foster sister, Flo. When he was eight he discovered that his mysterious aunt Ethel was in fact his natural mother, though he always considered Flo as his mother.
He left school at the age of 14, and was soon working professionally under the name of Billy Breen as a supporting drag act on the comedy club circuit, and over the next thirty years he toured the UK not only in male revues and drag shows, but also in variety shows.

Grayson was one of the first television comedians to suggest a openly gay persona. He did not achieve stardom until he was in his fifties and had his own television show. An early TV appearance in the 1950s had led to many complaints about his act being too outrageous and Grayson had resigned himself to a career off television. He was very popular in review and working men's clubs with a unique and very gentle anecdotal style of comedy. It was usually based around his various 'friends' such as Everard, Apricot Lil, Slack Alice and the postman 'Pop it in Pete'. A lot of this was observational. Grayson's family had had the only telephone on the street as a kid and he used to listen to his neighbours using the phone.
Following a hit run of guest spots on ATV variety shows in the 1970s, he was rewarded by Lew Grade with his own award winning show, Shut That Door! (1975).
Grayson's popularity peaked when he moved over to the BBC to present The Generation Game in 1978."

Discover more about Larry Grayson HERE.

Tracks are as follows -

1. Apricot Lil
2. I've Got It Here
3. Everard's Birthday Party
4. Just A Gigolo
5. Slack Alice
6. The Marrow

Larry Grayson - Side Two

The Palm Court Theatre Orchestra

2011-10-04T04:47:00.000-07:00

I found this LP at a boot sale a few years ago. Released on the Chandos label in 1980. Sadly the gate-fold sleeve has been stuck together after being left in the rain so trying to read the sleeve notes is made quite difficult. No information about them could be gleaned from the internet so as far as can make out they were formed in 1978 by Mr. Anthony Godwin, bass clarinettist with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He had inherited a complete library of theatre music dating from 1880 to 1930 and it's from this that their repetoire is mainly drawn. They try and re-create the sound and atmostphere of those early days by using instruments of that era.

Myette Godwin (daughter of Anthony Godwin ) writes -

"When I was 14 years old my Father, Anthony Godwin and Mother, Patricia Godwin started the highly popular and successful Palm Court Theatre Orchestra. Our home became a constant theatre production line with all family members engaged in costume making, painting stage sets and making props. During School holidays I got to sing with these amazing musicians and performers and tour with the company. I got to perform as part of the Palm Court Theatre Orchestra for the opening of the Orient Express in Paris, The Barbican in London, The Park Lane and Savoy Hotels and many theatres up and down the country. My sister, Saskia Godwin (recently graduated from RADA and currently working as DSM for the Mouse Trap in Londons West End) and I sang as a duo on many of the occasions either dressed as Victorian maids or as 1920s,30s 40s girls. I also appear on one of the recordings as a peasant and roisterer. My parents started this highly theatrical Orchestra after inheriting a very rare library of music from 19th and 20th centuries. This library had belonged to my granddad Norman Herbert Godwin, a conductor of light orchestras in the West Country. His entire family were on the stage in one way or another including his mother Grandma Godwin. As soon as the children could walk they were given an instrument to play in the concert entertainment to put food on the table and prevent the fears of entering the workhouse. The Great Grandmothers show was called Grandmas Birthday and every child was involved, this became a countrywide touring company. There was a bit of snobbery later between family members who went into classical music rather than the Music Hall I am very proud of them all and think it amazing to have run a touring theatre company in the Victorian and Edwardian era all that washing costumes by hand and travelling by steam train!? "

Tracks are as follows -

1. Whistle For Me (1912) - Written by Arthur Fane
2. In The Shadows (1910) - : : Herman Finck
3. Polly (1926) - : : J. S. Zamecnik
4. Down In Zanzibar (1917) : : Charles W. Ancliffe
5. The Ragtime Bass Player-(1913) : Adolph Lotter
6. Two Little Sausages (1907) : : Lionel Monckton
7. In A Persian Market (1920) : : Albert W. Ketelbey

Palm Court Theatre Orch. - Side Two

Sparrow

2011-10-04T02:31:00.001-07:00

A big calypso favourite - Sparrow ( The Mighty Sparrow ) here on a Ra label LP from 1974. A few instrumental Soca tracks on side two of this disc which is unusual.

Wikipedia says -

"Sparrow was born in Grenada on July 9, 1935, but moved to Trinidad when he was one year old. His birth name is Slinger Francisco. He grew up in Port of Spain.
He was first exposed to music through the choir in Catholic school, and became interested in calypso at 14 when he joined a steel band composed of neighborhood boys. He received his performing name "The Mighty Sparrow" during his early career:
Your calypso name is given to you by your peers, based on your style. In the old days they tried to emulate British royalty. There was Lord Kitchener, Lord Nelson, Duke. When I started singing, the bands were still using acoustic instruments and the singers would stand flat footed, making a point or accusing someone in the crowd with the pointing of a finger, but mostly they stood motionless. When I sing, I get excited and move around, much like James Brown, and this was new to them. The older singers said "Why don't you just sing instead of moving around like a little Sparrow." It was said as a joke, but the name stuck.

In 1956, Sparrow won Trinidad's Carnival Road March and Calypso Monarch competitions with his most famous song, "Jean and Dinah". His prize for the latter was $40. In protest of the small sum, he wrote the song "Carnival Boycott" and attempted to organize other singers to boycott the competition. About half of the singers followed. Sparrow claims credit for succeeding improvements in the conditions of calypso and steelband musicians in Trinidad, as well as the formation of the Carnival Development Committee, a musicians' assistance organization. Sparrow refused to participate in the competition for the next three years, but he continued to perform unofficially, even winning another Road March title in 1958 with "P.A.Y.E."

Tracks are -

1. Letter From Miami
2. Heavy Jamming
3. Peace Pipe
4. Priest
5. Coldest Day Of My Life
6. We Pass That Stage

Sparrow - Side Two

As Doze Mais

2011-10-04T02:01:00.000-07:00

A compilation of big hits in Brazil in the late 50's on the Columbia label. Giving a snapshot of what was popular back then - a mix of home grown Samba and other latin rhythms and imported American pop with the likes of Johnny Mathis and Jo Stafford etc.

Wikipedia says -

"The music of Brazil encompasses various regional music styles influenced by African, European and Amerindian forms. After 500 years of history, Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as samba, zouk-lambada, lambada, choro, bossa nova, frevo, maracatu, MPB, sertanejo, Brazilian rock, axé, brega, and others. Samba has become the best known form of Brazilian music worldwide, especially because of the country's carnival, although bossa nova, which had Antônio Carlos Jobim as one of its most acclaimed composers and performers, have received much attention abroad since the 1950s, when the song Desafinado, interpreted by João Gilberto, was first released. Instrumental music is also largely practiced in Brazil, with styles ranging from classical to popular and jazz influenced forms, featuring composers like Heitor Villa-Lobos, Pixinguinha and Hermeto Pascoal. The country also has a growing community of modern/experimental composition, including electroacoustic music."

Tracks are -

1. Siete Notas De Amor - Trio Los Panchos
2. Jambalaya - Jo Stafford
3. Serenata Do Adeus - Silvio Caldas
4. A Certain Smile - JohnnY Mathis
5. Noite - Cauby Peixoto
6. Lamento - Alexandre Gnattali

As Doze Mais - Side One

BiIly Cotton Band

2011-10-04T01:42:00.000-07:00

I have featured Billy Cotton several times and happy to do so again - being a strong memory of my childhood and youth when his radio and TV shows seemed to be all pervading! Very nostalgic memories of Sunday lunchtimes with the family sat down at the dining table and this playing in the background usually followed by Round The Horne or Ken Dodd.

"William Edward Cotton (May 6, 1899 – March 25, 1969), better known as Billy Cotton, was a British band leader and entertainer, one of the few whose orchestra survived the dance band era. Today, he is mainly remembered as a 1950s and 60s radio and television personality, although his musical talent emerged as early as the 1920s. In his younger years Billy Cotton was also an amateur footballer, an accomplished racing driver and the owner of a Gipsy Moth which he piloted himself.
Born in Lambeth, London, Cotton was a choirboy and then started his musical career as a drummer, an occupation he also pursued in the army during the First World War. In the interwar years he had several jobs such as bus driver before setting up his own orchestra, the London Savannah Band, in 1924. At first a straight dance band, over the years the London Savannah Band more and more tended towards Music Hall/vaudeville entertainment, introducing all sorts of visual and verbal humour in between songs. Famous musicians that played in Billy Cotton's band during the 1920s and 30s included Arthur Rosebery, Syd Lipton and Nat Gonella. The band was also noted for their African American trombonist and tap dancer, Ellis Jackson. Their signature tune was "Somebody Stole My Gal", and they made numerous records – 78s, that is – for Decca.

During the Second World War Cotton and his band toured France with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). After the war, he started his successful Sunday lunchtime radio show on BBC, the Billy Cotton Band Show, which ran for more than 20 years from 1949. It regularly opened with the band's signature tune and Cotton's call of "Wakey Wakey". From 1957, it was also broadcast on BBC television.
In 1962 Billy Cotton suffered a stroke. He died in 1969 while watching a boxing match at Wembley."

Tracks are as follws -

1. Someone Else I'd Like To Be
2. Boom Song
3. Why Worry
4. There's Another Hole In The Road
5. The Queen's Horses
6. Good Luck, Good health, God Bless You

Billy Cotton Band - Side Two

Thomas Edison

2011-10-02T06:03:00.001-07:00

Aimed at children this LP on the Mr. Pickwick label (1978)is a strange pseudo educational record - a series which intends to shed light on the lives of famous Americans such as Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford etc. with stories, songs and sound effects. This LP about Thomas Edison the inventor makes hardly any sense atall. A trite story about a little boy who was fond of burning down barns and sitting on eggs to make them hatch?!

Thomas Edison - Side One

Charlie Gillett - Eyuphuro - Duos & Duets

2011-09-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

Time for more old Charlie Gillett radio shows now from my treasured pile of cassettes from the 80's and 90's.
The first show in two parts features an African band called something like Eperu or Aparoux? They play a session for the show on Capital Radio dated 7th July 1990. They played the WOMAD festival apparently but having searched the internet I did not find anything that fitted the description. Maybe you'll have better luck! Do let me know if you figure out how to spell their name and what country they came from.

The second is a rare show where Charlie gets to pick some of his favourite duos and duets which mainly come from the 50's and 60's. He was sitting in for DJ David Hepworth on GLR Radio in 1995. Some lovely choices here including The Righteous Brothers, Delmore Brothers, Santo & Johnny to name but a few.

"Eyuphuro (which means "whirlwind" in the Macua language) was formed in 1981 by Omar Issa, Gimo Remane and dynamic female vocalist Zena Bacar, and became one of the most successful bands to emerge from Mozambique.

The group comes from the Ilha de Moçambique, the island in the north of the country that was the historic crucible of African, Arabic and Portuguese influences that forged modern Mozambique. Eyuphuro's music reflects this cultural syncretism, offering up a rich blend of traditional rhythms from the Nampula province, including tufo, namahandga, masepua, djarimane, morro and chakacha. Eyuphuro's songs express the island's traditional way of life, taking the fishermen with their typical canoa sailboats and women with their faces painted with homegrown msiro cosmetic, as their topics and their totems.

In 1989, Eyuphuro embarked on its first European tour, and soon became a hit on the European festival circuit. The group's stunning performances at the WOMAD festival led to the their recording of Mama Mosambiki for the Real World label, becoming the first Mozambican group to record an international release. The record, released in 1990, won critical acclaim and won singer Zena Bacar—a former fisherwoman—high praise as "the golden voice of Mozambique."

But Eyuphuro's story was almost over before it began, when bandleader Gimo Remane married and relocated to Denmark, Zena Bacar's only son, a pilot, died in a plane accident, and Omar Issa left the group for family reasons

Then, in 1998, Zena Bacar reformed the group and began writing new songs with the singer and songwriter Issufo Manuel. The revitalised Eyuphuro successfully toured in Europe during the summer of 2000, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. In 2001, with the help of Swiss producer Roland Hohberg, the band returned to recording with the release of Yellela. That same year, original founder Omar Issa returned to the band in time to join the international tour in support of Yellela.—Tom Pryor"

Charlie Gillett - Eyuphuro Side One

Charlie Gillett - Eyuphuro Side Two

Charlie Gillett - Duos & Duets

Champion Jack Dupree

2011-09-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

A rather battered Lp on the Decca label I found in a library sale many years ago. That was a good time to buy vinyl when they were changing over to CD. I remember you had to check the diagrams of previous scratches on the inner sleeve and add more if you think some were missing! Never quite understood the logic of this. The diagram for this record must have looked like a drawing by Giacometti.
Champion Jack Dupree was living in Halifax in Yorkshire when he recorded this album with Mickey Baker ( who was living in Paris) in 1967. Produced by Mike Vernon in London. Other musicians include John Baldwin, Ronnie Verrell and Albert Hall.

"William Thomas Dupree, best known as Champion Jack Dupree, was an American blues pianist. His birth date is disputed, given as July 4, July 10, and July 23, in the years 1908, 1909, or 1910. He died January 21, 1992.
Champion Jack Dupree was the embodiment of the New Orleans blues and boogie woogie pianist, a true barrelhouse "professor". His father was from the Belgian Congo and his mother was a Creole of color and part Cherokee. He was orphaned at the age of 2 and sent to the New Orleans Home for Colored Waifs (also the alma mater of Louis Armstrong).
He taught himself piano there and later apprenticed with Tuts Washington and the legendary Drive'em Down, whom he called his "father" and from whom he learned "Junker's Blues". He was also "spy boy" for the Yellow Pochahantas tribe of Mardis Gras Indians and soon began playing in barrelhouses, drinking establishments organized around barrels of booze.
As a young man he began his life of travelling, living in Chicago, where he worked with Georgia Tom and Indianapolis, Indiana, where he hooked up with Scrapper Blackwell and Leroy Carr. While he was always playing piano, he also worked as a cook, and in Detroit he met Joe Louis, who encouraged him to become a boxer. He ultimately fought in 107 bouts and winning Golden Gloves and other championships, and picking up the nickname Champion Jack, which he used the rest of his life."

Discover more about Champion Jack Dupree HERE.

Tracks are -

1. Under Your Hood
2. Come Back Baby
3. Baby let me Lay It On You
4. Garbage Man
5. I Feel Like A Millionaire
6. Right Now
7. Georgiana
8. Shake, Baby Shake

Champion Jack Dupree - Side Two

Bouquet Of Steel

2011-09-28T06:04:00.000-07:00

Compilation of Sheffield and area bands from 1980 on the Aardvark label distributed by Rough Trade/Red Rhino. Contains 32 page booklet about the Sheffield music scene of the 70's. A bit of a curate's egg containing some gems and some awful stuff.

Wikipedia says of Comsat Angels -

"Named after the J. G. Ballard short story The Comsat Angels, the foursome's core lineup (lasting 1978–1992) consisted of:
Stephen Fellows – vocals, lead guitar;
Kevin Bacon – bass;
Mik Glaisher – drums;
Andy Peake – keyboards.
They debuted with an EP, released in 1979, named "Red Planet". This release attracted Polydor A&R man Frank Neilson and the band signed a three-album recording contract. These three LPs, Waiting for a Miracle (1980), which included the single "Independence Day", probably their best known song, Sleep No More (1981) and Fiction (1982), are regarded by some as their best, but only sold modestly.
In their early years, the group shared live stages with bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Depeche Mode, U2 (an 18-date tour in 1981), Captain Beefheart, The Sound, Wall of Voodoo, and Gang of Four. In 1982, they performed two songs on BBC Television's Old Grey Whistle Test television program. A U.S. tour in 1982 had to be cancelled after a week, due to Bacon contracting appendicitis."

Wikipedia says of Artery -

"Artery evolved from earlier punk band named 'The' in 1978, with an original lineup of Mark Gouldthorpe (guitar), Toyce Ashley (vocals, guitar), Neil McKenzie (bass) and Garry Wilson (drums). After a self-financed single in 1979, the band released a second in 1980 on the Aardvark label, after which Mick Fidler (vocals, guitar, saxophone) was added. Two further singles followed in 1981, before Ashley left, with Gouldthorpe taking over on vocals and Simon Hinkler (formerly of TV Product) joining on keyboards and guitar ] They received support from John Peel, for whom they recorded their first session for his BBC Radio 1 show in July 1981, recording a second early the following year. They signed to the Red Flame label in 1982, releasing a single and the Dale Griffin-produced mini-LP Oceans that year. Their track "Into the Garden" reached number nine in the 1982 Festive Fifty. They were often compared to Joy Division, although Gouldthorpe stated "We never listened to Joy Division – they were never an influence". Further lineup changes followed, with John White replacing Fidler, who was sacked for missing rehearsals, Christopher Hendrick replacing MacKenzie, and David Hinkler joining on keyboards. The band was reduced to a trio of Gouldthorpe, Wilson, and Hendrick by the time of the release of their second album, One Afternoon in a Hot Air Balloon (1983), with White leaving to form UV Pop and Simon Hinkler moving into production. Simon and David Hinkler and Garry Wilson all played in Pulp around 1983. In 1984 Hendrick left, with MacKenzie returning, and the band moved on to the Golden Dawn label, adding Murray Fenton to the lineup. A third album, The Second Coming, was released in 1984."

Tracks are -

1. Artery - The Slide
2. B Troop - Peroxide Romance
3. Comsat Angels - Ju Ju Money
4. Disease - Psychobin
5. Flying Alphonso Bros. - Video Date
6. I'm So Hollow - Touch
7. Musical Janeens - Glen Miller and his musical intimacies meets the musical janeens uptown with a packet of jellies and a caribbean monolith.

Bouquet Of Steel - Side One

Dhongee

2011-09-27T23:21:00.000-07:00

Having lived in the East End of London for some years I was always dazzled by the exotic looking Bollywood record sleeves I used to see down Brick Lane- in the Indian and Pakistani shops and the flea market. After a while I began buying them just to see what lie beneath the gaudy sleeve art and was delighted with some of the finds. The film soundtrack "Dhongee" was one such find and the name Asha Bhosle soon became very firmiliar to me as she seemed to be on most Indian film soundtracks I came across! She has the most amazing voice as you can hear on this second side from "Dhongee" which was released in 1975. The music direction was by Rahul Dev Burman.

Wikipedia says -

"Asha Bhosle (Marathi: आशा भोसले) (born September 8, 1933) is an Indian singer. She is one of the best-known and most highly-regarded Hindi playback singers in India, although she has a wider repertoire. Bhosle's career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies. In addition, she has recorded several private albums and participated in numerous solo concerts in India and abroad. Bhosle is the sister of playback singer Lata Mangeshkar.
Renowned for her voice range and often credited for her versatility, Bhosle's work includes film music, pop, ghazals, bhajans, traditional Indian classical music, folk songs, qawwalis, Rabindra Sangeets and Nazrul Geetis. Apart from Hindi, she has sung in over 18 Indian and foreign languages. In 2006, Asha Bhosle stated that she had sung over 12,000 songs, a figure repeated by several other sources. The World Records Academy, an international organization which certifies world records, recognized her as the "Most Recorded Artist" in the world, in September 2009. The Government of India honoured her with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008."

Tracks are as follows -

1. Hai Re Hai Tera Ghunghta
2. Woh Hai Ek Bahroopiya

Dhongee - Side Two

Chuck Jackson

2011-09-27T01:26:00.000-07:00

LP on the Bulldog label from 1977. A compilation of various soul tracks from the 60's.

Wikipedia says -

"Between 1957 and 1959, he was a member of The Del-vikings, singing lead on the 1957 release "Willette." After leaving them, he was "discovered" when he opened for soul legend Jackie Wilson at the Apollo Theater. He signed a recording contract with Scepter Records. His first single, "I Don't Want to Cry", which he co-wrote, was his first hit (1961). The song charted on both the R&B and pop charts. In 1962, Jackson's recording of "Any Day Now", the Burt Bacharach-Bob Hilliard classic, became a huge hit,and his signature song. His popularity in the 1960s prompted him to buy up the time on his contract from Scepter and move to Motown Records. There he recorded a number of successful singles, including "Are You Lonely for Me Baby" and "Honey Come Back." He later recorded for All Platinum and other labels, but with minimal success.
After meeting producer/composer Charles Wallert at the Third Annual Beach Music Awards, the two collaborated to record "How Long Have You Been Loving Me" on Carolina Records. The song became an instant Beach Music/Shag hit and remains a classic both in the Southeast and the UK.
In 1998 Jackson teamed with longtime friend Dionne Warwick to record "If I Let Myself Go", arranged as a duet by Wallert for Wave Entertainment. The recording received critical acclaim and charted at number 19 on the highly competitive Gavin Adult Contemporary Charts. Jackson followed with "What Goes Around, Comes Around", another Wallert production and composition, and reached number 13 on the Gavin Charts."

Tracks are -

1. Come On Squeeze Me (My Darling)
2. This Is It
3. Let's Push Me Pride Aside

Chuck Jackson - Side Two

Sidney Bechet

2011-09-26T01:17:00.000-07:00

An old find from Brick Lane or Cheshire Street markets back in the 80's. Released on the Charley Affinity label in 1986. Some nice vocal jazz here from the likes of O'Neil Spencer and Trixie Smith. Various bands include Noble Sissle's Swingers and Noble Sissle and His International Orchestra from the 30's.

Wikipedia says -

"Bechet (pronounced BAH-shay by the family, most commonly pronounced buh-SHAY) was born in New Orleans to a middle-class Creole of Color family. Sidney's older brother Leonard Bechet (1877-1952) was a part time trombonist and bandleader. Sidney Bechet quickly learned to play several musical instruments kept around the house, mostly by teaching himself; he soon decided to focus on clarinet. At age six, Sidney started playing along with his brother's band at a family birthday party, debuting his talents to aclaim. Later in his youth, Bechet studied with such renowned Creole clarinetists as Lorenzo Tio, "Big Eye" Louis Nelson Delisle, and George Baquet. Soon after, Bechet would be found playing in many New Orleans ensembles, improvising with what was "acceptable" for jazz at that time (obbligatos, with scales and arpeggios, and "variating" the melody). These ensembles included parade work with Henry Allen's celebrated Brass Band, the Olympia Orchestra, and John Robichaux's "genteel" dance orchestra. In 1911-1912, he performed with Bunk Johnson in the Eagle Band of New Orleans, and in 1913-1914, with King Oliver in the Olympia Band.
Although Bechet spent his childhood and adolescence in New Orleans, from 1914-1917 he was touring and traveling, going as far north as Chicago, and frequently teaming up with another famous Creole musician, Freddie Keppard. In the spring of 1919, he traveled to New York, where he joined Will Marion Cook's Syncopated Orchestra. Soon after, the orchestra journeyed to Europe where, almost immediately upon arrival, they performed at the Royal Philharmonic Hall in London. The group was warmly received, and Bechet was especially popular, attracting attention near and far.
While in London, Bechet discovered the straight soprano saxophone, and quickly developed a style quite unlike his warm, reedy clarinet tone. His saxophone sound could be described as "emotional", "reckless", and "large". He would often use a very broad vibrato, similar to what was common for some New Orleans clarinetists at the time."

Tracks are -

1. Freight Train Blues
2. My Daddy Rocks Me Pt. 1
3. My Daddy Rocks Me Pt. 2
4. You Cant Live In Harlem
5. Taint A Fit Night Out For Man Nor Beast
6. Rhythm Of Broadway Moon
7. Loveless Love
8. Polka Dot Rag

Sydney Bechet - Side Two

Ray Moore

2011-09-15T08:46:00.000-07:00

A charity single made by BBC DJ Ray Moore on the Play label in 1986.

Wikipedia says -

"Raymond (Ray) Moore (2 January 1942 - 11 January 1989) was a British broadcaster who was best known for his long running early morning show on BBC Radio 2.
Born in Liverpool, he attended Waterloo Grammar School, and harboured ambitions to be a BBC announcer from an early age. On leaving school, his first job was at Liverpool docks, and he was subsequently a technician and actor with repertory companies in Oldham, Sidmouth and Swansea. He started broadcasting during the 1960s as a continuity announcer with Granada Television, later moving to ATV in Birmingham and eventually the BBC in Manchester and London. At the BBC he worked as an announcer on radio and television, providing voice-overs for a number of popular shows such as Come Dancing, Miss World and the radio commentary for the Eurovision Song Contest, also presenting the Eurovision Song Contest Previews in 1987.
From 1980 to 1988 he hosted the early morning show on BBC Radio 2, developing an idiosyncratic broadcasting style which relied on a highly individual, gentle and sophisticated wit and repartee."

Ray Moore - O' My Father Had A Rabbit

Ray Moore - O' My Father Had A Rabbit (Instrumental)

Pinky & Perky

2011-09-15T08:37:00.001-07:00

EP on the Columbia label from 1962. Accompaniment directed by Brian Fahey. Pinky & Perky were a popular puppet duo on children's television who did versions of many of the pop songs of the day. I suppose the American equivalent would be The Chipmunks.

Wikipedia says -

"The title characters are a pair of anthropomorphic puppet pigs created by Czechoslovakian immigrants Jan and Vlasta Dalibor. The puppets, who had only very limited movements, looked very alike. Pinky wore red clothes and Perky blue, but this distinction was little use on black and white TV, so Perky often wore a hat.
Pinky and Perky spoke and sang in high-pitched voices created by re-playing original voice recordings at twice the original recorded speed; the vocals were sung by Mike Sammes[1] while the backing track was played at half normal speed (Sammes did the same job for Ken Dodd's Diddymen, as Ross Bagdasarian did for the original Chipmunks in the early 1960s) - hence the expression "Pinky and Perky speed", when an LP record is played at 45 rpm or 78 rpm instead of the correct 33⅓ rpm. Pinky and Perky would often sing cover versions of popular songs, but also had their own theme song "We Belong Together."
They had their own TV station "PPC TV". They also performed comedy sketches usually with a human foil (similar to Basil Brush). Actor John Slater worked with them as a straight man for many years, enduring soakings from water pistols and such pranks. Other human companions included Roger Moffat, Jimmy Thompson, Bryan Burdon and Fred Emney.
Their show included other puppets, such as The Beakles (an avian parody of The Beatles), Topo Gigio, a famous mouse puppet who appeared in many later episodes, as well as a female pig. Other puppets included Ambrose Cat, Basil Bloodhound, Bertie Bonkers the baby elephant, Conchita the Cow, Horace Hare and Vera Vixen."

Tracks on side two are -

1. The Hippopotamus Song
2. Woody Woodpecker
3. Nellie The Elephant

Pinky & Perky - Side Two

Khiama Boys

2011-09-15T08:12:00.001-07:00

Single on the Jabulani label from 1989. One of a batch that DJ Charlie Gillett sent to me around that time after one of his trips to Africa. I often used to send him mix tapes of odd records I found on my travels and he was kind enough to send things back from time to time. Similar sound to the Bhundu Boys and others who were making inroads into the UK "world music" scene during the late 80's and early 90's.

Music Of Zimbabwe website says -

"Band members included Fanuel 'System' Tazvida, Tineyi Chikupo, Cephas Karushanga, Nicholas Zacharia, Alick Macheso, Ephraim Joe, Sailas Chakanyuka.

Khiama Boys started in the same manner as many other African bands, as a cover band. Formed in 1988, the group performed covers of local and international songs, including Bob Marley. Khiama Boys eventually took to writing their own music, a hybrid of Zimbabwean and South African influences that sounds similar to, in my opnion, a mix of Leonard Dembo and the Bhundu Boys. The group has been active ever since, producing a steady stream of hits and establishing themselves as a froce within the Zimbabwean music scene.

The Khiama Boys, however, have been plagued by a revolving door of band members. Royalty discrepancies forced guitarists System Tazvida and Cephas Karushanga out of the group in 1989 to form their own band, Mabhauwa Express. Tazvida would later join the Sungura Boys, and found the Chezeseza Challengers. Ephraim Joe would depart for the Sungura Boys and an eventual solo career. The late 90s saw guitarist Alick Macheso leave the group to form his own band, current chart toppers Orchestra Mberikwazvo. Today Khiama Boys are fronted by vocalist Nicholas Zacharia, who led their 2001 album, Dzidziso, to sales of over 60 000 copies."

Khiama Boys - Mwana Wangu Wakura

Khiama Boys - Hupenyu

Keep Fit With Andrews

2011-09-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

A promotional record (EP) on the Lyn label from the 60's I imagine with popular disc jockey Emperor Rosko telling us how to exercise with music and Andrews Liver Salts.

Wikipedia says -

"Mike Pasternak, better known by his stage name of Emperor Rosko (born December 26, 1942) is a well known pop radio presenter, not to be confused with American radio presenter William (Rosko) Mercer.
Born Michael Joseph Pasternak, he is the son of Hollywood film producer Joe Pasternak. He was influenced in his career choice by KYA Radio Los Angeles DJs Lord Tim Hudson and Wolfman Jack. Rosko's opportunity to broadcast came whilst in the US Navy where he presented a show on an aircraft carrier. He then went to Europe and hosted sponsored programmes in France and Belgium.
He joined Radio Caroline, a pirate radio station broadcasting from a ship off the coast of England, in 1964. There, his pacey American style soon made Rosko one of the station's best loved DJs. He then was heard on French language stations Radio Monte Carlo and Radio Luxembourg.
Rosko compered the Stax/Volt Tour of Europe in 1967 and can be heard introducing Booker T. & the M.G.'s, The Mar-Keys, Carla Thomas, Eddie Floyd, Sam & Dave, and Otis Redding on the two-album set The Stax/Volt Tour in London, recorded at the Finsbury Park Astoria (later the Rainbow Theatre on 17 March 1967.
It is Rosko who is heard introducing soul singer Otis Redding, as well as encouraging the crowd to chant and spell his name on Redding's album Live in Europe, recorded on March 17 and March 21, 1967. As a disc jockey with Radio 1 at its launch in September 1967, Rosko initially recorded shows in France for the Midday Spin programme. On his first Midday Spin show, Rosko introduced himself with "I am the Emperor, the geeter with the heater, your leader, your groovy host from the West coast, here to clear up your skin and mess up your mind. It'll make you feel good all over." He highlighted the new Motown, reggae, and rock music."

Keep Fit With Andrews - Side One

Ivan Chin & His Calypso Band

2011-09-08T03:06:00.000-07:00

A nice suprise on this cheapo Saga LP I found this morning in Help The Aged shop - not the generic calypso I expected but a nice mixture of mento, ska and exotica complete with steel drums and honking saxaphones! Some old favourites here including Yellow Bird and Brown Skin Gal but some oddities including Carnival from the film Black Orpheus and a song called Archie.

The sleeve notes say - "In the West Indies, the CALYPSO in THE Scene, the singers having such fabulous names as Lord Kitchener, Lord Melody, Lord Bryner, Mighty Sparrow and many others. It is encouraging that the West Indians in the UK remain loyal to the music of their homeland and not surprising that the last concert in London featuring The Mighty Sparrow was a sell out."

Readmore about Ivan Chin HERE

Tracks include-

1. Beautiful Barbados
2. Big Bamboo
3. Carnival
4. Archie
5. Matilda Matilda
6. Kingston Market

Ivan Chin - Side Two

All Night Rock

2011-09-06T06:05:00.000-07:00

A 10 inch LP I found at the market today. Its a bit scratchy but worth a listen I think. Contains a few old Sun rockabilly sides including Roy Orbison, Sonny Burgess and Gene Simmons. All recorded at the Sun Studios in Memphis in 1956. This comp. was put together on the Charley records label in London 1982.

Wikipedia says -

"Simmons was born Gene Simmons in Tupelo, Mississippi, and began his recording career with Sun Records in 1958, while performing as an opening act for labelmate Elvis Presley. However, the label released only one (non-charting) single from his recording sessions. His first and only Top 40 hit was "Haunted House," a cover of a 1958 recording by Johnny Fuller which peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964; the song represented one of Hi Records' early successes. The track was later covered by the Compton Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis and Hasil Adkins. His last work was "Indian Outlaw," which he co-wrote, and was a hit for Country music artist Tim McGraw in 1994.

Simmons' Hi Records recordings were released as an anthology, Haunted House: The Complete Jumpin' Gene Simmons on Hi Records, in June 2001. Sun Records followed suit in December 2006 with the 33-song collection Drinkin' Wine: The Sun Years, Plus. He had recorded several albums with both labels but they were never released."

All Night Rock - Side One

The Clark Sisters

2011-09-06T05:51:00.000-07:00

I was hoping this would be more like The Andrews Sisters but sadly a bit more like The Mike Sammes Singers with a big band backing. A bit too sickly for my taste.

Wikipedia says -

"The Sentimentalists, also known as the "Clark Sisters" (and also as the "Original" Clark Sisters; so-called to distinguish them from the current gospel music group of the same name), were an American close harmony singing group, consisting of sisters Mary Clark, Peggy Clark Schwartz, Ann Clark, and Jean Clark. Hailing from Grand Forks, North Dakota, they were a mere seventeen to twenty-three years of age, when they signed with the Tommy Dorsey Band, in 1944, to replace the popular Pied Pipers, after the Pipers had quit Dorsey's band to go out on their own.

Although they never achieved the fame and fortune of some of their contemporaries (like the Andrews Sisters and the McGuire Sisters), the Clark Sisters' recordings are today actually more highly-prized by jazz aficionados, for their unique vocal stylings, in which they often emulate (and in fact sing the actual charts for) instrumental sections. By contrast, neither the Andrews Sisters, nor the McGuire Sisters are today considered to be part of the jazz lexicon, despite their chart success."

Tracks are -

1. ON The Sunny Side Of The Street
2. Opus One
3. Music makers

The Clark Sisters - Side One

Clinton Ford

2011-09-06T05:43:00.000-07:00

Found in the indoor market today. On the cheapo Chevron label from 1979. I prefer the Clinton Ford who does novelty songs I must admit - these are rather poor renditions of Jolson favourites which include Let Me Sing And I'm Happy, You Made Me Love You - Swanee, Down Among The Sheltering Palms, Pretty Baby, Back in Your Own Backyard and By The Light Of The Silvery Moon.

Wikipedia says -

"Born Ian George Stopford Harrison, in Salford, Lancashire, and a former Redcoat(Butlins holiday camp entertainer).

Initially he worked as a laboratory assistant but became a Butlins Redcoat in Pwllheli in 1957 and worked there for three summer seasons. In the winters he sang with a group called 'Merseysippi' at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, recording several songs with them including "Get Out and Get Under".

He began his recording career as Clinton Ford with the Oriole record label. He performed skiffle in a band called the 'Backwoods Skiffle Group' and changed his name because his own name did not sound right for some of the American material that he sang. Ford also recorded with the 'Hallelujah Skiffle Group', but the singles didn't sell. However he appeared at the Royal Albert Hall and with Ken Dodd on Dodd's television shows and later he appeared in Stars and Garters, The Billy Cotton Band Show and The Good Old Days.

Ford had his chart success in 1959, with a cover of the Red Foley's song "Old Shep"; albeit for just one week. Ford donated his royalties from "Old Shep" to the Battersea Dogs' Home, so he made nothing from this high-selling record. Nevertheless, Ford had the only version of this famous song ever to appear in the UK Singles Chart. Unable to give up chasing the musical fads of the time, his next chart entry was "Too Many Beautiful Girls" in a trad jazz style, and for his biggest hit he turned to the music hall days of George Formby, who had recorded "Fanlight Fanny" in 1935. This led to an eponymous album that reached No.16 in the UK Albums Chart in May 1962. After touring for a while with Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen, he returned for a stint at Liverpool's Cavern Club, to find that the market for trad jazz and country and western styled novelties had been replaced by the beat music of a certain local band called The Beatles."

Clinton Ford - Side One

Hank Jacobs

2011-09-04T06:16:00.001-07:00

More poppy R&B instrumental with Hank Jacobs on the Sue label from the 60's. Sorry about the scratchy condition of this single.

Way Back Attack site says -

"Unlike many musicians, studio keyboard player Henry "Hank" Jacobs didn't emerge from the womb with a passion to play. He was 17 when he first ran his fingers over a keyboard. In the early-'60s he hooked up with songwriter/arranger Kent Harris and together they made the rounds, working studio sessions in the south, in addition to New York, Los Angeles and other cities. They collaborated on Hank's first instrumental single "Stingray," released on Imperial in 1962.

Jacobs and Harris hooked up with Sue Records owner Juggy Murray in the Big Apple soon after, and the result was "So Far Away," a minor chart single on Sue in January 1964. This instrumental has an atypical sound, as Hank first played piano on the track, then overdubbed it with organ, with the drummer leaning mostly on the cymbals, accentuating the subtle keyboard work. The result is soft yet powerful...after many listens, I've found the song occasionally morphs into something a bit different from what I thought I'd heard before...and back again the next time. Accidental genius? Maybe. At the least, a very cool record. The flip is "Monkey Hips and Rice," less innovative but with more of a party jam feel. Jacobs and Harris co-wrote and arranged both sides.

After "So Far Away," Hank Jacobs continued his session work and can be heard at the piano on a number of well-known mid-'60s records, including soulful sides like "I'm So Thankful" by The Ikettes and Bettye Swann's chart-topping 1967 R&B hit "Make Me Yours."

Hank Jacobs - Monkey Hips and Rice

Hank Jacobs - So Far Away

Dickie Doo & The Don'ts

2011-09-04T06:06:00.000-07:00

A pop single this time from the archive - on the London label from late 50's. Catchy little number I vaguely remember being played on the radio at the time.

The Blackcat Rockabilly site says -

"The story of Dicky Doo and the Don'ts revolves around Gerry Granahan (born 17 June 1939, Pittston, Pennsylvania). Having moved to New York in 1955, he earned his keep working demo sessions for music publishers. Herb Abramson of Atco Records signed him as a singer and Gerry had two singles released on that label, one as Jerry Grant and one under his own name. In late 1957 he befriended Dave Aldred, the drummer of Buddy Knox and the Rhythm Orchids, and together they wrote a song called "Click Clack". They made a demo at the Bell Studio, with Granahan's voice multi-tracked, and took it to Dick Clark, host of the nation's most popular TV pop show, American Bandstand. Notwithstanding a blatant conflict of interests, Clark and his producer, Tony Mamarella, were just about to launch their own record label, Swan Records. Clark made "Click Clack" Swan's first release. Granahan could not use his own name, as he was signed to Atco. Clark had a new-born son which he jokingly called Dicky Doo and Tony Mamarella suggested Dicky Doo and the Don'ts as the group's name. When "Click Clack" charted (peaking at # 28), Aldred and Granahan formed a touring group with Ray Gangi (guitar), Al Ways (sax) and Harvey Davis (bass). Aldred even legally changed his name to Richard A. Doo. The group had four more chart entries in 1958-59 with Swan singles. Then Granahan dropped out to concentrate on a new group, the Fireflies (hit : "You Were Mine", # 21, 1959) and on producing acts for his newly formed Caprice label. In between, Granahan also scored a hit under his own name, "No Chemise Please", which went to # 23 in mid-1958 (Sunbeam 102)."

Dickie Doo - Click Clack

Dickie Doo - Did You Cry

Ken Parker

2011-09-04T05:54:00.000-07:00

A reggae single from 1972 on the Duke Reid label. I think this was a small hit at the time - certainly in the reggae charts. The original was done by The Browns back in 1959.

Wikipedia says -

"Like many of Jamaica's singers of the era, Parker began by singing in church, where his father was a preacher. He formed a group called the Blues Benders in the mid-1960s, and their first recording was "Honeymoon by the Sea". The group arranged to audition for Coxsone Dodd, but due to a misunderstanding, Parker was the only member to turn up, so he auditioned as a soloist, impressing Dodd sufficiently to launch his solo career. While at Studio One, he recorded singles such as "Choking Kind", "Run Come", and "My Whole World is Falling Down", and an album, Keep Your Eyes on Jesus, followed in 1968. He moved on to work with Duke Reid, who produced hits including "Jimmy Brown", "Help Me Make it Through the Night", and "Kiss an Angel Good Morning". His popularity continued to grow and he recorded for other producers including Bunny Lee ("Guilty"), Rupie Edwards ("Talk About Love"), Byron Lee ("Will the Circle be Unbroken"), Lloyd Charmers ("Queen Majesty"), and Joe Gibbs ("Only yesterday"). By 1972, however, Parker had become disillusioned with the recording industry and ceased recording, relocating to England in 1973 after spending two years in New York City. He continued to perform occasionally but did not return to recording until the early 1980s, setting up his own record label and production company, releasing Gospel records. He later moved to Florida."

Ken Parker - Jimmy Brown

Ken Parker - Jimmy Brown (Version)

Owen(Gray) & Millie

2011-09-03T09:36:00.000-07:00

More old ska from the 60's on the Island label. Owen Gray on the "A" side and Owen teams up with Millie Small , who had a big hit with My Boy Lollipop around the same time, on the "B" side.

Wikipedia says -

"Gray won his first talent contest at the age of nine, and by the age of twelve he was already appearing in public, playing drums, guitar, and keyboards. He attended the Alpha Boys School and turned professional aged 19. Gray was a dynamic performer on stage, who could be gritty or suave as the song dictated.He was the first singer (of many) to praise a sound system on record, with his "On the Beach" celebrating Clement Dodd's Sir Coxsone Downbeat system in 1959, one of the first releases on Dodd's Studio One label. He was one of the first artists to be produced by Chris Blackwell, in 1960, and his "Patricia" single was the first record ever released by Island Records. His first single, "Please Let Me Go", reached the top of the charts in Jamaica, and featured a guitar solo from Ernest Ranglin (Ranglin's first recording session). The single also sold well in the United Kingdom, as did subsequent releases, prompting Gray to emigrate there in 1962. He toured Europe in 1964, and by 1966 he was well known as a soul singer as well as for his ska songs. In the rocksteady era, he recorded for producer Sir Clancy Collins. His popularity continued throughout the 1960s, working with producers such as Clement Dodd, Prince Buster, Arthur "Duke" Reid, Leslie Kong, and Clancy Eccles, including work as a duo with Millie Small, with songs ranging from ska to ballads. He continued to record regularly, having a big hit in 1968 with "Cupid". His 1970 track "Apollo 12" found favour with the early skinheads, and in 1972 he returned to Island Records, recording reggae versions of The Rolling Stones' "Tumblin' Dice" and John Lennon's "Jealous Guy", although they met with little success. During this period, he regularly had releases on Pama and sister label, Camel Records, and one single on Hot Lead Records. He had greater success in Jamaica, however, with "Hail the Man", a tribute to Emperor Haile Selassie, which was popular with the increasing Rastafari following. Gray spent a short time living in New Orleans before returning to Jamaica where he turned his hand to roots reggae, working with producer Bunny Lee, and achieving considerable success. In the 1980s relocated to Miami. He has continued to release new material regularly, often concentrating on ballads and Gospel music."

Owen & Millie - Sugar Plum

Owen Gray - Jezebel

The Fugitives

2011-09-01T03:35:00.000-07:00

Classic rock steady anthem on the Doctor Bird label from 1968.

Wikipedia says -

"Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor to ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals and The Paragons. The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton Ellis song "Rock Steady". Dances performed to rocksteady were less energetic than the earlier ska dances. The first international rocksteady hit was "Hold Me Tight" (1968) by the American soul singer Johnny Nash; it reached #5 in the United Kingdom and United States."

The Fugitives - Rock Steady

The Fugitives - Real Gone Loser

Blues Busters

2011-09-01T03:24:00.001-07:00

More ska from 1962 on the Island label. Some southern soul influenced ska from the Blues Busters.

Wikipedia says -

"The Blues Busters were a Jamaican vocal duo formed in 1960, comprising Philip James and Lloyd Campbell. The Blues Busters were the most consistently popular Jamaican male duo of the early 1960s, and were part of the Jamaican party that performed at the 1964 New York World's Fair. They initially worked in cabaret shows to tourists in Kingston and Jamaica's north coast, but got their big break when they were asked to accompany Sam Cooke on his tour of the island. Taking inspiration from Cooke, on returning to the cabaret circuit they emulated the soulful harmonies of his performances and recorded a number of soul and reggae cover versions, having minor hits with "Thinking" and "Privilege". They continued until the mid-1980s, by which time they had released several albums, one of which was a tribute to Cooke."

Blues Busters - Oh! Baby

Blues Busters - Behold!

Joe Liges

2011-08-31T09:14:00.000-07:00

Another ska single from the archives. This time it's Joe Liges on the Blue Beat label from 1963. Joe Liges was apparently a name that a very young Delroy Wilson used to use. Pretty run of the mill stuff compared with what was coming out on Blue Beat at the time.

Wikipedia says -

"Wilson released his first single "Emy Lou"[citation needed] in 1961 for record producer, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, at the age of thirteen. His early years with Coxsone yielded a number of ska hits, the biggest of which, the Lee Perry-written "Joe Liges" was an attack on rival producer and former Dodd employee Prince Buster. This was followed by another Perry-written attack on Buster, "Spit in the Sky". Further singles followed, including "One Two Three", "I Shall Not Remove", "Look Who Is Back Again" (a duet with Slim Smith), and another anti-Buster song, "Prince Pharaoh", notably the only record featuring the voice of Dodd himself.

His voice matured as he left his teens, around the time of ska's transition to rocksteady and this period in the late 1960s produced many hits including one of the first rocksteady records, "Dancing Mood", "Jerk in Time" (with the Wailers), "Feel Good All Over", "I'm Not a King", , "True Believer in Love", "Rain From the Skies", "Conquer Me" and "Riding For A Fall". "Won't You Come Home", a duet with Ken Boothe on a rhythm originally cut by The Conquerors for Sonia Pottinger has become one of the most-versioned Jamaican tracks ever.[citation needed] After leaving Studio One he recorded for numerous other producers, with varying degrees of success, and set up his own short-lived W&C label along with Wilburn Cole, and the similarly-fated Links label with Ken Boothe, The Gaylads and The Melodians. He enjoyed success with Bunny Lee in the late 1960s and early 1970s with tracks such as "This Old Heart of Mine", "Footsteps of Another Man", and "Better Must Come". His double A-side "It Hurts"/"Put Yourself in My Place" was a skinhead favourite and narrowly missed UK chart success. He recorded a version of "Run Run", a song he had originally recorded for Dodd, for maverick producer Keith Hudson.

1970 saw Wilson's first tour of the UK, where he also recorded a number of songs for the Trojan record label."

Joe Liges - Spit In The Sky

Joe Liges - Tell Me What

Ken Lazarus

2011-08-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

A single on the London label's Reggae Series from 1970. Ken Lazarus does a passable enough version of he Maytals "Monkey Man" and the more interesting "Bongo Nyah" on the flip.Not much about Ken on the internet but did find this -

"Jamaican ska and reggea singer. Probably best known for his work as a lead singer in Byron Lee's Dragonaires band. In the early 60s the band toured extensively in the Caribbean which made Ken Lazarus a popular singer on the island. He also became famous as a highly commercial cover artist. Later on he changed his style, recording roots and culture sides."

Ken Lazarus - Bongo Nyah

Ken Lazarus - Monkey Man

The Clique/Lester Sterling

2011-08-31T07:45:00.000-07:00

More ska on the Unity label from 1968. Uninspired and rather monotonous "A" side by The Clique but nice instrumental by Lester Sterling on the "B" side. The "Reggie" On Broadway made me laugh too! A missprint I presume!

Wikipedia says -

"Like many Jamaican musicians of his generation, Sterling attended the Alpha Boys School. A founding member of The Skatalites (playing alto saxophone),] he is commonly overshadowed by well-known band members such as Tommy McCook, Jackie Mittoo or Don Drummond. After The Skatalites originally disbanded in 1965, Sterling recorded several solo singles for the London-based producer "Sir" Clancy Collins. Sterling rejioned the Skatalites when they reformed in 1975. The band have continued on and off with a varying line-up since, and Sterling is the only founding members still with the band."

The Clique - Love Can Be Wonderful

Lester Stirling - Reggie On Broadway

Baba Brooks/ Owen and Leon Silvera

2011-08-31T03:45:00.000-07:00

A single from the dusty ska and reggae box. This one on the Ska Beat label from 1965. I presume the "A" side is by Owen & Leon Silvera who are new to me. The "B" side by Baba Brooks with Don Drummond on the trombone.

Wikipedia says -

"Oswald "Baba" Brooks aka Baba Leslie (born c.1935) was a trumpet player who played jazz in the 1950s with the Eric Dean orchestra and recorded during the 1960s original Jamaican ska era for producers Duke Reid, Sonia Pottinger and her husband Lindon, King Edwards, and Prince Buster.

Brooks was born in Kingston, Jamaica c.1935. He played trumpet on recording sessions from the late 1950s onwards, often uncredited, and formed his own band in the early 1960s, having a hit in 1962 with "Independence Ska", which celebrated Jamaica's break from colonialism. he also performed on several sessions with The Skatalites. He had further hits in 1964 with "Bus Strike" and "Musical Workshop".The band followed this in 1965 with "Guns Fever", recorded at Studio One. Brooks and his band continued to play on recording sessions until the early 1970s."

Owen & Leon Silvera - Woman

Baba Brooks - Dr. Decker

Charlie Gillett - Fred Zindi

2011-08-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

A while since I uploaded any old Charlie Gillett radio shows so here's two from the 80's and early 90's. The first with guest Fred Zindi about the music scene in Zimbabwe featuring The Real Sounds, Thomas Mapfumo, Lovemore Majavano etc. and the second a truncated Foreign Affair with no guest but the usual eclectic mix of music from all over the world.

The Zimbabwe Herald said -

"Fred Zindi's Music Guide for Zimbabwe is an easy to read book that takes its reader down memory lane by acknowledging the development of music within a historical context.

It traces the evolution of music as personified by the outstanding talents of some music celebrities whose illustrious careers have shaped western, Jazz, Caribbean and Zimbabwean music.

The book targets music teachers, music promoters, sociologists, radio broadcasters; music students; musicians; music researchers; cultural activists and politicians. Zindi's book also acknowledges the music industry as a business dictated by certain regulated norms bordering on issues to do with copyright, royalties; understanding publishing contracts; licensing and music promotion."

Charlie Gillett - Fred Zindi Side One

Charlie Gillett - Fred Zindi Side Two

Charlie Gillett - Foreign Affair 39

Jimmy C. Newman

2011-08-25T05:49:00.000-07:00

An LP on the Stetson label from 1963 found in a charity shop today. Unusual to hear each track introduced by a master of ceremonies - T. Tommy Cutrer. A nice introduction to the music of the Bayous with some old favourites including Jolie Blon, Angeline and Grand Basile.

Wikipedia says -

"Newman was born near Big Mamou, Louisiana. As a child, he listened more to Gene Autry than to the Cajun music of the area, but had a number of Cajun songs in his repertoire when, as a teenager, he joined Chuck Guillory’s Rhythm Boys. He recorded a few unsuccessful sides for J.D. Miller’s Future label in the 1940s, but Miller persuaded Fred Rose in Nashville, Tennessee to give the young singer an opportunity. In 1953, he was signed to Dot Records and the following year recorded "Cry, Cry Darling", which reached No. 4 on the country chart.

His recording success led the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, Louisiana, to hire him as a regular performer. His next four records all reached Top 10 status, and in 1956 he was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. That following year he released his biggest hit, "A Fallen Star", which spent two weeks at No. 2 and also entered the top 25 of the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.

As an established artist, he began to integrate his Cajun influences into his music and recorded "Alligator Man", which was a top 25 record and continues to be his theme song at the Opry. In 1963, he released another top 10 hit, "The D.J. Cried". His final hits came in 1965 and 1966 with "Artificial Rose" and "Back Pocket Money". When his commercial popularity declined he returned to Cajun music, forming his Cajun Country band and taking the high energy fiddle- and accordion-based music of his native Louisiana to fans around the world. In 1976, his recording of the Cajun French song, "Lâche pas la patate" ("The Potato Song") earned gold record status in Canada. In 1991, Newman and Cajun Country earned a Grammy nomination for their album, Alligator Man.

In 2000, he was inducted into the North American Country Music Association’s International Hall of Fame and in 2004 was inducted into the Cajun Hall of Fame. He is also honored in the Cajun Music Hall of Fame in Lafayette, Louisiana, and in 2009 he was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

Newman and his wife made their home on their 670-acre (2.7 km2) ranch outside of Nashville in Murfeesboro. He continues to tour and appears regularly at the Grand Ole Opry. In 2006, he joined a select group of entertainers who have marked 50 years of Opry membership."

Jimmy C. Newman - Side One

Count Ossie & The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari

2011-08-25T05:35:00.000-07:00

I think I found this three record boxed set at a remaindered record shop in Barking in the 80's. It was released in the Vulcan label in 1974. It's called "Grounation" and by Count Ossie and The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari.

"The foundations of reggae and its association with Rastafarianism were established by drummer, percussionist and vocalist Count Ossie (born: Oswald Williams). Together with his band, the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, Count Ossie combined African-influenced music with the European hymnal tradition to create a unique sound that inspired everyone from Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus and the Skatalites to Bob Marley & the Wailers and Toots & the Maytals.

Count Ossie's earliest inspiration came from rasta elder Brother Job, who introduced him to the philosophies of Rastafarianism. A Nyabinghi drummer from the hills of Jamaica, Count Ossie cut his first singles, including "O'Carolina" and "Chubby," for Prince Buster at the studios of RJR radio. Beginning in 1959, Count Ossie recorded for Sir Coxsone Dodd at Studio One.

Together with music director, tenor saxophone, flute and clarinet player Cedric "I-m" Brooks, Count Ossie formed the Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari. Heavily percussive, the group featured philosopher orator Samuel Clayton, double bass player, poet and vocalist Ras Jose, Ras Jose, Little Bop and Count Ossie's son, Time, on fundae drum, bass drummer and percussionist King Rayo, percussionist and vocalist Bunny, percussionist Moses, baritone saxophone and clarinet player Ras Sam II and trombonist Nambo.

There has been some debate as to the cause of Count Ossie's death in 1976. While some sources claim that he was in an auto accident, others say that he was trampled to death when a crowd panicked at the National Arena."

Read more about Count Ossie HERE.

Tracks are as follows -

1. Ethiopian Serenade
2. Oh Carolina
3. So Long

Count Ossie - Record Two/Side 2

Leiber & Stoller (Re-Up)

2011-08-23T10:55:00.001-07:00

Continuing the celebration of the radio shows of much missed DJ Charlie Gillett this week's show comes from November 1982 I think and guests Jerry leiber and Mike Stoller who almost single-handedly wrote much of the rock 'n' roll hits of the 50's, including Charlie Brown, Hound Dog, Yakety Yak etc. They were over to see the opening of a musical based on their songs featuring Darts called Yakety Yak,
Charlie is in his element here with two of his heroes and its a lively show with plenty of banter and great songs they wrote or have chosen.

Wikipedia says -

"Their first successes were as the writers of such crossover hit songs as "Hound Dog" and "Kansas City." Later in the 1950s, particularly through their work with The Coasters, they created a string of ground-breaking hits that are some of the most entertaining in rock and roll, by using the humorous vernacular of the teenagers sung in a style that was openly theatrical rather than personal, songs that include "Young Blood," "Searchin'," and "Yakety Yak." They were the first to surround black music with elaborate production values, enhancing its emotional power with The Drifters in "There Goes My Baby" and influencing Phil Spector who worked with them on recordings of The Drifters and Ben E. King. Leiber and Stoller went into the record business and, focusing on the "girl group" sound, released some of the greatest classics of the Brill Building period.
They wrote hits including "Love Me," "Loving You," "Don't," and "Jailhouse Rock," among others for Elvis Presley. They were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985 and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987."

Sad news about Jerry Leiber today HERE.

Charlie Gillett - Leiber & Stoller Pt.1

Charlie Gillett - Leiber & Stoller Pt.2

Fela Kuti

2011-08-18T03:42:00.000-07:00

Two short sides on an LP in the wrong sleeve I just discovered but has been in my collection for a long time. Fela seems to be going through a resurgeance now due to the West End stage show "Fela". Some typically danceable afrobeat here from 1970.

Wikipedia says -

"Fela was born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria into a middle-class family. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was a feminist activist in the anti-colonial movement and his father, Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, a Protestant minister and school principal, was the first president of the Nigerian Union of Teachers. His brothers, Beko Ransome-Kuti and Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, both medical doctors, are well known in Nigeria. Fela was a first cousin to the Nigerian writer and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, the first African to win a Nobel Prize for Literature.

Fela was sent to London in 1958 to study medicine but decided to study music instead at the Trinity College of Music. While there, he formed the band Koola Lobitos, playing a fusion of jazz and highlife. In 1960, Fela married his first wife, Remilekun (Remi) Taylor, with whom he would have three children (Femi, Yeni, and Sola). In 1963, Fela moved back to Nigeria, re-formed Koola Lobitos and trained as a radio producer for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. He played for some time with Victor Olaiya and his All Stars. In 1967, he went to Ghana to think up a new musical direction. That was when Kuti first called his music Afrobeat. In 1969, Fela took the band to the United States. While there, Fela discovered the Black Power movement through Sandra Smith (now Izsadore)—a partisan of the Black Panther Party—which would heavily influence his music and political views and renamed the band Nigeria '70. Soon, the Immigration and Naturalization Service was tipped off by a promoter that Fela and his band were in the U.S. without work permits. The band then performed a quick recording session in Los Angeles that would later be released as The '69 Los Angeles Sessions.

After Fela and his band returned to Nigeria, the band was renamed The Africa '70, as lyrical themes changed from love to social issues. He then formed the Kalakuta Republic, a commune, a recording studio, and a home for many connected to the band that he later declared independent from the Nigerian state. Fela set up a nightclub in the Empire Hotel, named the Afro-Spot and then the Afrika Shrine, where he performed regularly. Fela also changed his middle name to Anikulapo (meaning "he who carries death in his pouch"), stating that his original middle name of Ransome was a slave name. The recordings continued, and the music became more politically motivated.[citation needed] Fela's music became very popular among the Nigerian public and Africans in general. In fact, he made the decision to sing in Pidgin English so that his music could be enjoyed by individuals all over Africa, where the local languages spoken are very diverse and numerous. As popular as Fela's music had become in Nigeria and elsewhere, it was also very unpopular with the ruling government, and raids on the Kalakuta Republic were frequent."

Fela Kuti - Expensive Shit

Fela Kuti - Water Got No Enemy

City Quads

2011-08-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

I uploaded the first side some months back so as a treat here's the second side. Its one I found at Brick Lane flea market many years ago for a few pence. Its on the Polydor label and made in what was Rhodesia and is now a troubled Zimbabwe. Sleeve printed in Germany. No date but imagine it would be late 50's or early 60's.

No info. on the internet so just a little information on the sleeve notes.

" Polydor presents a unique collection of popular African tunes sung ina variety of native languages by one of the best known vocal groups in Rhodesia, The City Quads. The performance you hear on this LP could be called a mixture of African folklore and pop songs of a kind one is always likely to hear wherever people gather together in an African township."

Tracks are as follows -

1. Abazali - The hero of this song has always been "sitting pretty". He was looked after well in childhood and received many presents, and now he is riding from the township to the city of Salisbury on top of the only double decker bus on the route.

2. Zonki Ntsuku - A rather anxious young man sings: "You know that I have always told you how I love you - and now I am worried about you".

3. Mbaravozi - A song of bad omens, of things Africans would not like to find - indeed, are not likely to find:
A monkey sitting in a fireplace.
A large tiger fish turning round and round dodging the fisherman until it looks like a small sardine.
Finding a fish where the kingfisher should be and a bird where the fish lives.

4. Wacitu Mozi - Among the many existing songs about the supernatural, we have chosen this one which describes how a woman destroyed a village by witchcraft and how she herself was later killed by her husband.

5. Ndafuna Funa - A lover's lament.
6. Mai Ndarira - When a African child is ill it always asks to be carried on it's mother's back rather than be put to bed.

7. Chipo - In this song the child is lost. "Where are you? Father and Mother are looking for you in the hills and dales, but you are nowhere to be found".

City Quads - Side Two

G.H. Elliot

2011-08-14T07:57:00.001-07:00

Another hissy 78 from the 20's or perhaps even earlier. This disc is a mini 78 - only 8 inches across. I have featured G.H. Elliot before and happy to do so again despite the rather politically uncorrect nick name he used.

Wikipedia says -

"G. H. Elliott (1882–1962) was a British music hall singer and dancer. He was born George Henry Elliott in Rochdale, Lancashire in 1882. Known as the "Chocolate Coloured Coon", he came on stage with a painted black face but dressed entirely in white. He had a white top hat, a white tail-coat which came down well below the knees, white gloves, white tie or cravat, white trousers, white shoes and a white cane.

He and his family emigrated to the United States when he was four. There he played juvenile parts on stage including the title role in Little Lord Fauntleroy. He was a member of the Primrose West Minstrels at the age of nine where he first blacked up.

The family returned to England in 1901 where he continued to perform on the music hall stage. After a number of years treading the boards he rose to top of the bill. He was influenced by Eugene Stratton who also used to black up and he sang some of Stratton’s songs particularly Lily of Laguna which he sang in tribute to his hero. Among the songs particularly associated with him are Idaho, I Used To Sigh For The Silvery Moon and Sue, Sue, Sue.

He appeared in two films Music Hall (1934) and Those Were the Days (1934 film) and in This is Your Life as Himself in 1957.

He appeared in two Royal Variety Performances, in 1925 and 1948. He made over 100 records, his first on a wax cylinder and his last in 1960.

He was married twice, first to Emily Hayes who died in 1940 and then to Florence May Street, known as June. She had been an acrobat in acts as various as the Martinez Troupe/Duo and Sereno (Harry Sereno) and June.

G. H. Elliott retired to Rottingdean, Brighton where he lived in a cottage he named Silvery Moon after his song I Used to Sigh for the Silvery Moon. He is buried in the churchyard of St Margaret's Church, Rottingdean[3] and his gravestone shows a stage with curtains drawn back. It bears the words: "The last curtain call for G H Elliott The Chocolate Coloured Coon who passed peacefully away 19 November 1962. Dearly loved R.I.P."

G.H.Elliot - So Long As The Sun Keeps Shining

G.H.Elliot - I'm Going Back Again To Old Nebraska

Flanagan & Allen

2011-08-14T07:10:00.000-07:00

An old scratchy 78 from the boot sale today. I think I may have this already but couldn't find it on here so here it is in all it's hissy fizzy glory.

Wikipedia says -

"As music hall comedians, they would often feature a mixture of comedy and music in their act; this led to a successful recording career as a duo and roles in film and television. Just prior to and throughout the Second World War they appeared in several films helmed by Marcel Varnel and John Baxter. Flanagan and Allen were both also members of The Crazy Gang and worked with that team for many years concurrently with their double-act career.

Flanagan and Allen's songs featured the same, usually gentle, humour for which the duo were known in their live performances, and during the Second World War they reflected the experiences of ordinary people during wartime. Songs like 'We're Gonna Hang out the Washing on the Siegfried Line' mocked the German defences (Siegfried Line), while others like 'Miss You' sang of missing one's sweetheart during enforced absences. Other songs, such as their most famous, 'Underneath the Arches' (which Flanagan co-wrote with Reg Connelly), had universal themes such as friendship. The music was usually melodic, following a binary verse, verse chorus structure, with a small dance band or orchestra providing the accompaniment. The vocals were distinctive because while Flanagan was at least a competent singer and sang the melody lines, Allen used an almost spoken delivery to provide the harmonies.

The recordings of Flanagan and Allen remain popular, and the duo are frequently impersonated by professionals and amateurs. Royal Variety Performances often feature people 'doing a Flanagan and Allen', notably Roy Hudd and Christopher Timothy, Bernie Winters and Leslie Crowther. In 1980 the latter two featured in a one-off musical drama about the duo produced by ATV for the ITV network.

The later comedy team Morecambe and Wise, who often expressed their admiration for Flanagan and Allen, recorded a tribute album, Morecambe and Wise Sing Flanagan and Allen (Phillips 6382 095), in which they performed some of the earlier team's more popular songs in their own style, without attempting to imitate the originals. Fans of either comedy team may be slightly disappointed by this album, since all of the selections are performed absolutely straight, with no comedy except for a brief amount of banter after one of the songs. Run Rabbit Run was one of their best hits in World War Two."

Flanagan & Allen - F.D.R.Jones

Flanagan & Allen - If A Grey Haired Lady Says "How's Yer Father?"

Russ Henderson

2011-08-14T06:41:00.001-07:00

A strange mixture of styles on this Allegro Lp from 1966 I bought today at a boot sale. Mostly generic calypso but padded out with steel band and west indian drums on a couple of instrumental tracks. Also some ska thrown in for good measure.

His website says -

"Russ Henderson was born in the Belmont Neighbourhood of Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 1924. By the 1940s he had formed his own band, the Russ Henderson Quartet. The group became well known and loved throughout the island, delighting dance halls and clubs with their rhythm and soul.

Russel came to England from his home town of Port of Spain in 1951 to study piano tuning at the North London Polytechnic in Holloway Road. An agent persuaded him to form another band after hearing him play the steel pan. So, Russ Henderson and his Trinidadian Steel Band was formed and a gloomy post-war Britain lit up to the sound of the Caribbean.

Russ Henderson receiving an MBE for Services to Music

Over the coming years, Russ set about embedding Caribbean music in the British culture. He taught school children how to play steel pan and lead his band into starting the Notting Hill Carnival. He toured the country with his band, playing on television shows, in films, in clubs, at Cambridge University balls and even at Prince Andrew's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle. He was recently knighted as MBE by Prince Charles and now in his 80s, he is still a regular performer at the jazz connisseur's 606 Club in Lots Road, Chelsea."

Tracks are -

Side One.

1. Walking The Dog
2. Coconut Woman
3. Yellow Bird
4. Stone Cold Dead In De Market
5. Peanut Vendor

Side Two.

1. Sammy Dead Oh!
2. Non Ho L'eta Per Amarti
3. Marienne
4. Jamaica Farewell
5. West Indian Drums

Russ Henderson - Side One

Russ Henderson - Side Two

Homer & Jethro

2011-08-13T01:38:00.001-07:00

Another comedy country Lp from the charity shop the other day. I have featured Homer and Jethro before but happy to share this side which is a compilation of some of their best from the 50's and 60's on RCA.

Wikipedia says -

"Homer and Jethro were the stage names of American country music duo Henry D. Haynes (1920–1971) and Kenneth C. Burns (1920–1989), popular from the 1940s through the 1960s on radio and television for their satirical versions of popular songs. Known as the Thinking Man's Hillbillies, they received a Grammy in 1959 and are members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Haynes and Burns met in 1936 during a WNOX-AM audition in Knoxville, Tennessee when they were both 16 years old. Known as Junior and Dude (pronounced "dood'-ee"), the pair was rechristened Homer (Haynes) and Jethro (Burns) when WNOX Program Director Lowell Blanchard forgot their nicknames during a 1936 broadcast. In 1939 they became regulars on the Renfro Valley Barn Dance radio program in Dayton, Ohio.

They were drafted into the US Army during World War II but served separately; they reunited in Knoxville in 1945, and in 1947 they performed on WLW-AM's Midwestern Hayride in Cincinnati. They sang exaggerated hillbilly-styled versions of pop standards as their comedic hook, with Haynes on guitar and Burns on mandolin. They originally recorded for King Records, where they also worked as session musicians backing other artists until a dispute over song credits with label owner Syd Nathan led Nathan to release them from the label. The duo and other stars were fired by new management at WLW in 1948, and after a brief tour, they moved to Springfield, Missouri and performed on KWTO-AM with Chet Atkins, the Carter Family and Slim Wilson."

Tracks are as follows -

1. Daddy Played First Base
2. What Have You Done For Me Lately
3. Gone
4. Ballad Of Davey Crewcut
5. We Did'nt Make It Through The Night
6. Please Help Me I'm Crawling
7. Sink The Bismark

Homer & Jethro - Side One

The Tennors

2011-08-10T05:45:00.000-07:00

More ska from 1969 on the Doctor Bird label.

Wikipedia says -

"The group was formed in Kingston in the mid-1960s by singer George "Clive" Murphy who formed a duo with Maurice "Professor" Johnson. They called themselves the Tennor Twins. They auditioned a song called "Pressure and Slide" in 1967 while sitting in the back of a taxicab for arranger Jackie Mittoo of Studio One. Murphy and Johnson were then joined by Norman Davis, and the trio recorded the song backed by Mittoo. This, their first single, was one of the major Jamaican hits for the year 1967,[1] but, according to Murphy, the group never received any royalties for the track.

Rather than continue to deal with Studio One record producer Coxsone Dodd, the Tennors formed their own label and grew its own stable of artists. The accidental death of Johnson reduced the trio back to a duo, and Murphy and Davis continued as songwriters. They offered their song, "Ride Yu Donkey", to many artists, but ended up recording it themselves after it was turned down. The song was released in 1968 and was a huge hit.

Other songs by the Tennors included "Cleopatra (I've Got to Get You Off My Mind)", "Grandpa", Massi Massa", "Girl You Hold Me" and "Rub Me Khaki", "Sufferer", "Sign of the Times", "Biff Baff" (aka "Traitor"), "Bow Legged Girl", "Little Things", "Cherry" and "Oh My Baby".

The group became a trio again with the addition of Ronnie Davis in 1968. Other singers who were in the Tennors included Nehemiah Davis, George Dekker, Howard Spencer, and Hilton Wilson. The trio backed singer Jackie Bernard on "Another Scorcher", and moved towards reggae with the song "Reggae Girl"."

The Tennors - Little Bit Of This

The Tennors - Shameface

The Abbey Tavern Singers

2011-08-10T05:35:00.000-07:00

I had high hopes of this being more traditional Irish music than the rather lack lustre folk that we get here. The cover photo features a Uillean pipe player but no sign of it on the songs on side two at least.

"The story, as outlined by the ARC Records sleeve notes, stated that: "The Abbey Tavern Singers were formed in 1962 when Mrs. (Minnie) Scott-Lennon of the Abbey Tavern in Howth, Dublin decided that musicians and balladeers performing in a relaxed sing-along manner would be popular. Within a short time the newly formed Singers were drawing capacity crowds into the Howth establishment. In 1966 a solid Irish rouser "We're Off To Dublin In The Green" featuring the singers was released on TV as a beer commercial. This ad created by Carling Breweries Ltd. increased the group's popularity many times over and indeed in Canada listening to the Abbey Tavern Singers fast became the new national past-time. This song-come-jingle was then released on record by the Singers and became an international hit. Shortly thereafter the Abbey Tavern Singers toured North America and charmed the continent."

Abbey Tavern Singers - Side Two

Brinton Turkle

2011-08-10T03:48:00.000-07:00

An EP I found (no sleeve ) in the Hospice shop today. I was intrigued by the name and the title. Turns out to be a rather dull story about a boy and his pet seagull.

"Brinton Turkle was born on August 15,1915 in Alliance, Ohio. He drew constantly in school. "Unfortunately, none of my school teachers appreciated it. If only one elementary school teacher had egged me on, I think I would have acquired art skills much earlier than I did." Turkle had an immense interest in the theatre, but the uncertainty of that life wasn't appealing. After a job in advertising in Chicago, he married and moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he was able to indulge his theatrical interests. He had an ambition to write and illustrate three children's books so he could dedicate them to each of his three children. He was awarded a Caldecott Honor in 1970 for Thy Friend, Obadiah (Viking).

Turkle writes, "In writing, I use all sorts of tricks to capture the attention of my young audience: suspense, humor and even charm, when I can muster it. But no matter how successfully I may entertain, I am really up to something else: subversion. My abilities are implacably lined up against the hypocrisy, materialism and brutality that so pervade our society. As my readers leave childhood behind, I hope that they will carry with them an appreciation for such alternatives as integrity, mutual respect, kindness and reverence for life. These alternatives are in my books and I pray that exposure to them will play a part in the construction of a better tomorrow."

Brinton Turkle - Thy Friend Obadiah

The Techniques/ Tommy McCook

2011-08-08T05:55:00.001-07:00

More scratchy ska from the archives. This time it's on the Treasure Isle label. Tommy McCook and the Supersonics play on both but the "A" side is sung by The Techniques.

Wikipedia says -

"The group was formed by Winston Riley in 1962 while still at school, with the initial line-up also featuring Slim Smith, Franklyn White, and Frederick Waite. They regularly performed at Edward Seaga's Chocomo Lawn club, where they were spotted by talent scouts from Columbia Records, who released their first single, "No One", released only in the United Kingdom in 1963. Their Jamaican debut came in 1965 when they were introduced to producer Duke Reid by singer Stranger Cole, with Reid-produced singles such as "Don't Leave Me", "When You Are Wrong", "and "Little Did You Know" appearing on labels such as Island Records, and Reid's own Duke and Treasure Isle labels. Smith left the group in 1966, to pursue a solo career at Studio One, and later forming The Uniques with White. He was replaced by Pat Kelly. The shift from ska to rocksteady suited The Techniques, with a string of hits in 1967 and 1968 following, including "You Don't Care", "Queen Majesty", "I Wish It Would Rain", "It's You I Love", and "Love Is Not a Gamble".

The group left Treasure Isle in 1968, with Riley setting up his own 'Techniques' record label, releasing further sides by the group and also his productions of other artists. The group's line up changed regularly with Riley the only constant member. Other members in the late 1960s included Lloyd Parks, Bruce Ruffin, and Dave Barker. Kelly returned for a time, recording lead vocals on "What Am I To Do?"."

The Techniques - You Don't Care

Tommy McCook - Down On Bond Street

Rupie Edwards/The Mediators

2011-08-08T04:09:00.000-07:00

Another rather scratched and battered ska single from the 60's, this time on the Success label distributed by Pama Records. I think the labels are on the wrong way round as the instrumental track says it features Rupie Edwards who is a singer.

Wikipedia says -

"Rupie Edwards, an only child, moved to Kingston in 1958, where he set up his first band while still at school. His first recording was "Guilty Convict" b/w "Just Because", for L.S. 'Little Wonder' Smith in 1962, released on Melodisc's Blue Beat label in the UK, and was paid £15 for the session. After recording a few singles, he became involved with the Virtues and, from 1968, started to focus only on his own productions.

By the beginning of the 1970s, apart from releasing singles as a singer, he had recorded artists like The Heptones, Bob Andy, Johnny Clarke, Joe Higgs, Gregory Isaacs and The Ethiopians on his own record labels 'Success' and 'Opportunity'. He also worked with DJs such as U-Roy and I-Roy, and released some instrumental versions with his studio band, The Rupie Edwards All Stars. The group included musicians such as saxophonist Tommy McCook, trombone player Vin Gordon, drummer Carlton 'Santa' Davis, guitarist Hux Brown, pianist Gladstone Anderson, bassist Clifton 'Jackie' Jackson and organist Winston Wright."

Rupie Edwards - Look Who A Bust Style

The Mediators - Look Who A Bust Style

Reggae Boys/Upsetters

2011-08-08T03:45:00.000-07:00

Another single from the dusty ska and reggae box. This time on the Punch label from Pama Records in London. Produced by Lee Perry? Late 60's again I imagine. Not sure which is the "A" side- not that it matters. Both are good.

Wikipedia says -

"Perry's musical career began in the late 1950s as a record seller for Clement Coxsone Dodd's sound system. As his sometimes turbulent relationship with Dodd developed, he found himself performing a variety of important tasks at Dodd's Studio One hit factory, going on to record nearly thirty songs for the label. Disagreements between the pair due to personality and financial conflicts, a recurring theme throughout Perry's career, led him to leave the studio and seek new musical outlets. He soon found a new home at Joe Gibbs's Amalgamated Records.

Working with Gibbs, Perry continued his recording career but, once again, financial problems caused conflict. Perry broke ranks with Gibbs and formed his own label, Upsetter, in 1968. His first single "People Funny Boy", which was an insult directed at Gibbs, sold well with 60,000 copies sold in Jamaica alone. It is notable for its innovative use of a sample (a crying baby) as well as a fast, chugging beat that would soon become identifiable as "reggae" (the new kind of sound which was given the name "Steppers"). From 1968 until 1972 he worked with his studio band The Upsetters. During the 1970s, Perry released numerous recordings on a variety of record labels that he controlled, and many of his songs were popular in both Jamaica and the UK. He soon became known for his innovative production techniques as well as his eccentric character.

In the early 1970s, Perry was one of the producers whose mixing board experiments resulted in the creation of dub. In 1973, Perry built a studio in his back yard, The Black Ark, to have more control over his productions and continued to produce notable musicians such as Bob Marley & the Wailers, Junior Byles, Junior Murvin, The Heptones, The Congos and Max Romeo. With his own studio at his disposal, Perry's productions became more lavish, as the energetic producer was able to spend as much time as he wanted on the music he produced. Virtually everything Perry recorded in The Black Ark was done using basic recording equipment; through sonic sleight-of-hand, Perry made it sound unique. Perry remained behind the mixing desk for many years, producing songs and albums that stand out as a high point in reggae history."

Reggae Boys - Selassie

The Upsetters - Dry Acid

Marcia Griffiths/Soul Brothers

2011-08-07T12:57:00.001-07:00

Another ska single from the archives On the Rio label from the late 60's. The "A" side has a vocal by Marcia Griffiths and the "B" is an instrumental by the Soul Bros.

" The Soul Brothers bridged the gap between Ska and the arrival of Rocksteady mixing it all up with Funk, Jazz and Latin styles. The Soul Brothers recorded at Studio One between 1965-1967. This was the transitionary period between Ska and Rocksteady where the music was a mixture of Funk, Latin and Jazz sometimes with a reminder of Ska and the hint of Rocksteady. The previous era of Ska had been dominated by the Skatalites."

Read more about Marcia Griffiths HERE.

Marcia Griffiths - Mr. Everything

Sould Bros. - T.N.T.

Johnny & The Attractions

2011-08-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

Not much gleaned on the interweb about this one although some say it's lead voval is by someone called Dudly Williamson of whom I know nothing. Pleasant enough ska/rock steady song. Also issued on Trojan I believe at some point. Originally released in 1968.

Johnny & The Attractions - Coming On The Scene

Johnny & The Attractions - Anything You Want

Jubelkvartetten

2011-08-03T02:35:00.000-07:00

Another Nowegian buy from a junk shop in Hamar. Mostly religious songs one suspects from the other records in the pile. This LP is on the Hemmets Harold label and features a motely crew who play instruments ranging from accordion to trumpet.
I suspect a search on the internet will prove as fruitless as the others but any knowledge of this and previous postings much appreciated.

Tracks are as follows -

1. Var Glad Och Sjung
2. Snart Kommer Solen Ater
3. Hem O Hem
4. Hans Namn Ar "Underbar"
5. Men Vid hemmets Dorr
6. Ja, Han Gar Med

Jubelkvartetten - Side One

Schytts Jigs Sawes

2011-08-03T02:18:00.001-07:00

Another of my Norwegian vinyl purchases which turned out to be Swedish but attracted by amusing sleeve and title and the price of just one krona.
One the Mariann label and released in 1975 and features songs from 1962 to 1974 that were big hits on Scandinavia I presume? Some covers here which stand out especially Bonnie B and maudlin rendition of Danny Boy.

Tracks are -

1. Kors I Josse Namn
2. En Spannande Dag For Josefine
3. Bonnie B
4. Nagonting Har Hant
5. Nina Fina Ballerina
6. Danny Boy
7. Upp Och Ner
8. Lika Bla Som Nina Ogon

Schytts Jigs Sawes - Side One

Norske Favoritter

2011-08-03T01:40:00.001-07:00

We went to Norway recently for a few days and I managed to buy some vinyl in various junk shops and markets. Hoping for amusing home grown Norwegian music but managed to buy two Swedish records by mistake much to the amusement of our hosts. Well, it is hard to tell them apart at first glance!
Anyway, this first record is actually Norwegian and a selection of songs that graced the Norwegian charts in the 60's I would guess. Nothing much special here but do listen to the last track by Arne Bendiksen which features some horrific yodelling!

Wikipedia says of Arne Bendiksen -

"Arne Joachim Bendiksen, born 19 October 1926 in Bergen, Norway, died 26 March 2009, was a Norwegian singer, composer and producer, described as "the father of pop music" in Norway.

In the 50s, 60s and 70s, he was a major figure in Norwegian popular music. First, as a member of the group The Monn Keys, later as soloist and composer for other artists. Besides writing his own songs, he also translated many foreign hits into Norwegian, making them Norwegian hits. Arne Bendiksen took part in the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest selections several times, both as an artist and as a songwriter. Three times he represented Norway in Eurovision as singer; in 1964 (Eurovision Song Contest 1964) with Spiral as soloist, in 1973 (Eurovision Song Contest 1973) with Å, for et spill and in 1974 (Eurovision Song Contest 1974) with Hvor er du?. Four times he took part as composer, most memorable as songwriter for Åse Kleveland's Intet er nytt under solenin 1966 (Eurovision Song Contest), finishing a strong third.

Beginning in 1964 he was the boss of his own record company. Thanks to him, popular artists like Wenche Myhre and Kirsti Sparboe reached fame. However, in the Eurovision Song Contest finals of 1969, Norway received a mere 1 point for the song Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli, which was composed by Arne Bendiksen and performed by Kirsti Sparboe.

Arne did not let this crush his spirits though, and he continued his dedicated work as a singer/songwriter throughout the 70s. In the 80s, he gave a shot at the popular children's cassette industry and released his major children's work Barnefest i Andeby - Children's party in Duckburg - a cassette filled with catchy songs about the various Disney characters inhabiting the fictional city of Duckburg. This popular cassette got a sequel, released especially for the Christmas season, called Jul i Andeby - Christmas in Duckburg.

In June 2006, his all-new self-composed children's musical stage debuted in the small elementary school Fjellstrand Skole in Nesodden, Akershus.

Arne Bendiksen died on 26 March 2009, after having been sick for a short period of time. The cause of death was heart failure."

Tracks are as follows -

1, En Student Fra Uppsala - Kirsti Sparboe
2. Ruby - Benny Borg
3. Ved Horisontens Rand - Finn Eriksen
4. Arizona - Lillian Askeland
5. Friarvise Fra Aust-Agder
6. Med Tuba Og Tyrolerhatt - Arne Bendiksen

Norske Favoritter - Side One

Songs For A Singin' Party

2011-08-03T01:22:00.000-07:00

At first glance one would think from the sleeve that Jack Jackson would be singing or DJ'ing on this Heinz promotional EP from the 60's but he's just on the sleeve to endorse the record which is a pretty MOR come trad jazz with cringey vocal group who sound a bit like the Mike Sammes Singers. The trombonist sounds a bit like George Chisholm? I will try and glean more on the internet but don't hold out much hope.

Wikipedia says of Jack Jackson -

"He was born in Barnsley, the son of a brass band player and conductor, and began playing cornet at the age of 11 before playing violin and cello in dance bands.He learnt to play trumpet and worked in swing bands in circuses, revues, ballrooms and ocean liners before joining Jack Hylton's band in 1927. He left Hylton in 1929, freelanced for a while, and then joined Jack Payne's band in 1931. He left Payne to form his own band in 1933. By 1939, the band was resident at the Dorchester Hotel in London, and had a regular radio show on Radio Luxembourg.

After the war he decided not to reform his band, and turned to compering on the BBC Light Programme in such shows as "Record Roundabout", which ran from 1948 to 1977. His methods of presentation included punctuating records with surreal comedy clips, and using quick cutting of pre-recorded tapes to humorous effect. This was a major influence on later British DJs such as Kenny Everett and Noel Edmonds. He also had a chat show on TV in 1955.

He emigrated to Tenerife in 1962, sending his taped programmes by air to the BBC each week. Suffering from a bronchial illness, he returned to England to live in 1973, and died at Rickmansworth in 1978.

He is remembered as a member of the UK Radio Academy's Hall of Fame."

Songs For Aingin' Party - Side One

Latin Percussion

2011-08-03T00:53:00.000-07:00

An LP found in a charity shop the other day on the KOKO label from the 60's I would guess. Attracted by the sleeve art which really is the best thing about it. The music being fairly mild exotica and not in the same league as Arthur Lyman etc. Seems designed mainly to test your new Hi-Fi system.

Tracks are -

1. Brazil
2, Taboo
3. La Machida
4. The Breeze and I
5. Malaguena
6. Mama Inez

Latin Percussion - Side One

Percussion Demonstration Record

2011-07-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

A boot sale find from a couple of years ago. This 10' LP on the Nixa label is from the early 60's I would guess by the artwork. This curios record of five tracks was "Conducted, Arranged and Composed by Jimmy Carroll". The sleeve notes tell us that Carroll", a top man in his profession, noted for his arrangements and versatilty" had been bitten by the "Something different" bug.Carroll was more renowned for his lush string arrangements for people like Rosemary Clooney and Marlene Dietrich. Here he tries something very different to demontstrate the new advances in high fidelity sound and comes up with something akin to the Exotica of Martin Denny and Les Baxter etc. Shame this record is so worn that these delights are rather lost under the pops and crackles! "Only nine musicians take part in this session. They each used several music stands. "operated" several instruments and displayed a light-footed sprinting ability uncommon among professional musicians."

Tracks are as follows -

1. Hong Kong Local
2. Drummer's Parade
3. Happy Little Woodpile

Jimmy Carroll - Side Two

George Jones

2011-07-17T08:35:00.001-07:00

A 10' album on the Ace label of some of George Jones rockabilly recordings before he moved over into the country and western side of things.I must admit I prefer George sounding like this.

"George Glenn Jones (born September 12, 1931), nicknamed The Possum, is an American country singer known for his distinctive voice and phrasing that frequently evoke the raw emotions caused by grief, unhappy love, and emotional hardship. He has had more individual songs than any other singer on the country charts, 167 as of November, 2005, but, according to a formula derived by Joel Whitburn, is second to Eddy Arnold in his overall ranking for hits and their time on the charts. He has also had the most Top 40 Hits, 143, and is second to Arnold with the most Top 10 Hits, 78. Since at least the early 1980s he has frequently been referred to as "the greatest living country singer." Almost as often he is called "the Rolls-Royce of country singers." Frank Sinatra once called him "the second best white male singer." And as the scholar Bill C. Malone writes, "For the two or three minutes consumed by a song, Jones immerses himself so completely in its lyrics, and in the mood it conveys, that the listener can scarely avoid becoming similarly involved."[1]
Jones was born with a broken arm in Saratoga, Texas and grew up in the settlements north of Beaumont around the Big Thicket. By age 24, he had been married twice, served in the Marines, and developed his skills as a country musician and singer. After Elvis Presley's success Jones half-heartedly took a stab at rock and roll in hopes of getting noticed but returned to country almost immediately (In his autobiography Jones claims that when he encountered these rock and roll records years later he would use them as frisbees). "Why Baby Why" was his first top-five hit in 1955."

Discover more about George Jones HERE.

Tracks on side one are -

1. White Lightning
2. Rock It
3. Taggin' Along
4. What Am I Worth
5. Revenooer Man

George Jones - Side One

Joe Bussard

2011-07-13T12:44:00.000-07:00

Joe Bussard is on the left in this photo.

A tape from my collection that goes back a few years. Not sure if Joe sent this to me or I obtained it from a third party. Anyway, it's a very entertaining cassette with Joe telling us about his life as a record collector - mostly old 78's he bought from hillbillies and farmers up in the mountains of Kentucky and rural places - mostly fiddle music and old timey stuff he managed to track down. Nice yarns he spins about his meetings with folk and how he came to buy the records.

I can't find out much about him on the internet - just this snippet-

"Joe Buzzard(sic), another 78 fanatic, has put out his own set called 'Down In The Basement' as well as making his records available to Steven Lance Ledbetter - also an extensive collector – who formed the Dust To Digital label for the purpose of making some of those old recordings available in the best possible sound quality. His crowning achievement is a six-disc box set – literally a cedar wood box, complete with substantial book – of sacred music recorded between 1909 and 1960 called 'Goodbye, Babylon' released in 2003. It takes from both the black and white tradition and it rivals Harry Smith's 'Anthology of American Folk Music' in stature."

Joe Bussard - Side One

Charlie Gillett - Kevin Rowland

2011-07-13T12:23:00.000-07:00

Another cassette of a Charlie Gillett radio show from the 80's featuring Dexy's Midnight Runners front man Kevin Rowland choosing some of his favourite records which include songs by Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield etc.

Wikipedia says -

"Rowland was born in Wolverhampton, England on 17 August 1953 to Irish parents. His first group, Lucy & The Lovers, were influenced by Roxy Music and turned out to be short-lived. His next project, punk rock act The Killjoys, were slightly more successful, releasing the single "Johnny Won't Go To Heaven" in 1977. Alienated by the punk scene, Rowland, together with Killjoys guitarist, Kevin Archer, decided to form a new soul-influenced group, Dexys Midnight Runners. Many of the group's songs were inspired by Rowland's Irish ancestry and were recognisable through Rowland's idiosyncratic vocal style. On forming the band Rowland thought it was "important to have a vocal style", he later recalled, "and I had the idea of putting that 'crying' voice on", partly inspired by General Johnson of Chairmen of the Board.
When Dexys disbanded in 1987, Rowland recorded a solo album, The Wanderer which, together with its three singles, was a commercial failure. His next release was not until 1999 when he recorded a collection of interpretations of classic songs called My Beauty, the album cover of which depicted a heavily made-up Rowland in a dress and women's lingerie.
In 2003, Rowland reformed Dexys Midnight Runners - featuring only one other original member, bassist Pete Williams who fulfilled the role as Rowland's co-vocalist - and embarked on a successful comeback tour backed up with a greatest hits compilation album including two newly recorded songs, "Manhood" and "My Life in England". Both of these new songs were radio tested by the record label, but neither received enough airplay for them to be considered worthwhile releasing.
In December 2006, Rowland launched his own MySpace page where he has promised another Dexys album, and posted some articles to his blog. The song, "It's OK Johanna", is available there. He also appeared as a DJ at the 2007 Big Chill festival."

Charlie Gillett - Kevin Rowland Side One

Charlie Gillett - Kevin Rowland Side Two

Show And Tell

2011-07-12T00:21:00.001-07:00

A curious EP on the Mono Gram label via Pickwick International back in the 60's . One assumes you bought the combined record player TV/slide show thingy and then bought the records which include a plastic strip with tiny transparencies embedded into it to play on your machine. One side is the story of How The Whale Got It's Throat - part of the Just-So stories by Rudyard Kipling and the other side is an excerpt from Saint Saens "Carnival Of The Animals".

Wikipedia says -

"The Show 'n Tell was a toy combination record player and filmstrip viewer manufactured by General Electric from the 1950s to the 1970s.
It resembled a television set, but had a record player on the top. Records and slides were sold for it in combination. The slide strip, which was a flat plastic key 8 inches long containing a strip of 16mm color film, was inserted into the top of the device. As the record played (typically telling a story), the slide strip, through which the images were projected on the screen, would automatically advance to illustrate it. The mechanism by which the slide advanced was purely mechanical, and was based on the rotation of the turntable, so proper operation required manually spinning it a few revolutions before beginning the presentation.
It also functioned as a standard record player, able to play 16, 33⅓, 45, and 78 RPM records through its built-in speaker.
The Show 'n Tell was also sold as the Show 'n Tell Phono-Viewer by CBS Toys, in the early 1980s, under the brand name "Child Guidance." These devices, which were drastically redesigned from their earlier version, only had two speeds (33⅓ and 45), and could not play full 12" LPs. However, the Phono-Viewer could optionally move the projected image off the built-in screen and onto an outside surface (such as a wall or screen).
Licensed film strip and record packages were produced for many different children's properties, including Disney and Sesame Street."

Show & Tell - How The Whale Got His Throat

Spike Jones

2011-07-04T23:31:00.001-07:00

Another Jones now on the World Record Club label from the 60's of tracks recorded in the 40's and 50's. "Spike Jones and the band that plays for fun" is just that - great wacky versions of old classics like I Kiss Your Hand Madame, Hut Sut Song and River Stay Away From My Door to name but a few.

Wikipedia says -

"Jones' father was a Southern Pacific railroad agent. Young Lindley got his nickname by being so thin that he was compared to a railroad spike. At the age of 11 he got his first set of drums. As a teenager he played in bands that he formed himself. A railroad restaurant chef taught him how to use pots and pans, forks, knives and spoons as musical instruments. He frequently played in theater pit orchestras. In the 1930s he joined the Victor Young orchestra and thereby got many offers to appear on radio shows, including Al Jolson's Lifebuoy Program, Burns and Allen, and Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall.

From 1937 to 1942, he was the percussionist for the John Scott Trotter Orchestra, which played on Bing Crosby's first recording of White Christmas. Spike Jones was part of a backing band for songwriter Cindy Walker during her early recording career with Decca Records and Standard Transcriptions. Her song "We're Gonna Stomp Them City Slickers Down" provided the inspiration for the name of Jones’ future band, the City Slickers.

The City Slickers evolved out of the Feather Merchants, a band led by vocalist-clarinetist Del Porter, who took a back seat to Jones during the embryonic years of the group. They made experimental records for the Cinematone Corporation and performed publicly in Los Angeles, gaining a small following. The original members included vocalist-violinist Carl Grayson, banjoist Perry Botkin, trombonist King Jackson and pianist Stan Wrightsman.

The band signed a recording contract with RCA Victor in 1941 and recorded extensively for the company until 1955. They also starred in various radio programs (1945–1949) and television shows (1954–1961) on both NBC and CBS."

Tracks are -

1. Mairzy Doats
2. The 20's Roar (Medley)
3. Melody Of Love
4. Three Little Fishes
5. Kookie Kookie Lend Me Your Comb

Spike Jones - Side One

Pete "Natural" Jones

2011-07-04T09:05:00.000-07:00

An EP on the cheapo Gala label fromthe 60's I would imagine. Pete "Natural" Jones probably just a session musician hired to do this Fats Waller homage. I could not find anything on the internet about him other than their seems to be an LP featuring the same tunes with a few more - all instrumentals. Please excuse the big crack that goes right through it I discovered after purchase. I really must take my glasses out with me when I go record hunting!

Pete "Natural" Jones - Ain't Misbehavin'/ Twelfth Street Rag

Morecambe & Wise

2011-06-28T10:23:00.000-07:00

The final one from this comedy set bought at the weekend. An early Lp by Morecambe & Wise from 1964 on the cheapo Music For Pleasure label.

Wikipedia says of their early days -

"Morecambe and Wise's partnership began in 1941 when they were each booked separately to appear in Jack Hylton's revue, Youth Takes a Bow at the Nottingham Empire Theatre. War service broke up the act but they reunited by chance at the Swansea Empire Theatre in 1946 when they joined forces again. They made their name in variety, appearing in a variety circus, the Windmill Theatre, the Glasgow Empire and many venues around Britain. After this they also made their name in radio, transferring to television in 1954. Their show, Running Wild, was not well received and led to a damning newspaper review: "Definition of the week: TV set – the box in which they buried Morecambe and Wise." Eric apparently carried this review around with him ever after and from then on Eric and Ernie kept a tight control over their material. In 1956 they were offered a spot in the Winifred Atwell show with material written by Johnny Speight and this was a success.

They had a series of shows that spanned over twenty years, during which time they developed and honed their act, most notably with the original move to the BBC in 1968, where they were to be teamed with their long-term writer Eddie Braben and it is this period of their careers that is widely regarded as their "glory days"."

Tracks are as follows -

1. Not Now later
2. Indians
3. Singing The Blues ( guitar - Ike Issacs )
4. Ton Up Boy (girl - Penny Morrell )
5. Why Did I Let You Go
6. Impressions
7. Grieg Piano Concerto

Orchestras directed by Ken Thorne and Harry Robinson with the Mike Sammes Singers.

Morecambe & Wise - Side One

Burl Ives

2011-06-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

Another from the weekend haul. I have fond memories of Burl Ives on Childrens Favourites on the radio and many of the songs he sang on on this compilation on the MCA Coral label.

Wikipedia says of his early life -

"Ives was born in 1909 near Hunt City, an unincorporated town in Jasper County, Illinois, the son of Levi "Frank" Ives (1880–1947) and Cordelia "Dellie" White (1882–1954). He had six siblings: Audry, Artie, Clarence, Argola, Lillburn, and Norma. His father was at first a farmer and then a contractor for the county and others. One day Ives was singing in the garden with his mother, and his uncle overheard them. He invited his nephew to sing at the old soldiers' reunion in Hunt City. The boy performed a rendition of the folk ballad "Barbara Allen" and impressed both his uncle and the audience.

Ives had a long-standing relationship with the Boy Scouts of America. He was a Lone Scout before that group merged with the Boy Scouts of America in 1924. The collection of his papers at the New York Library for the Performing Arts includes a photograph of Ives being "inducted" into the Boy Scouts in 1966. Ives received the organization's Silver Buffalo Award, its highest honor. The certificate for the award is hanging on the wall of the Scouting Museum in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Ives often performed at the quadrennial Boy Scouts of America jamboree, including the 1981 jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, where he shared the stage with the Oak Ridge Boys. There is a 1977 sound recording of Ives being interviewed by Boy Scouts at the National Jamboree at Moraine State Park, Pennsylvania; on this tape he also sings and talks about Scouting, teaching, etc. Ives is also the narrator of a 28-minute film about the 1977 National Jamboree. In the film, which was produced by the Boy Scouts of America, Ives "shows the many ways in which Scouting provides opportunities for young people to develop character and expand their horizons."

From 1927-29, Ives attended Eastern Illinois State Teachers College (now Eastern Illinois University) in Charleston, Illinois, where he played football. During his junior year, he was sitting in English class, listening to a lecture on Beowulf, when he suddenly realized he was wasting his time. As he walked out the door, the professor made a snide remark, and Ives slammed the door behind him. Sixty years later, the school named a building after its most famous dropout. Ives was also involved in Freemasonry from 1927 onward.

On July 23, 1929 in Richmond, Indiana, Ives did a trial recording of "Behind the Clouds" for the Starr Piano Company's Gennett label, but the recording was rejected and destroyed a few weeks later."

Tracks are as follows -

1. I Know An Old Lady
2. Molly Malone
3. Horace The Horse
4. The Whistling Rabbit
5. Polly Wolly Doodle
6. Big Rock Candy Mountain/Aunt Rhody/The Fox
7. Ballad Of Davy Crockett
8. What Kind Of Animal Are You?

Burl Ives - Side One

The Singing Postman

2011-06-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

Another great find at the boot sale this week was this LP from 1966 on the Parlophone label by Allan Smethurst - The Singing Postman. His one big hit "Hev Yew Gotta Loight Boy?" is included on this curious selection of modern day folk songs sung with a Norfolk accent.

"As the Singing Postman, Allan Smethurst benefited from the British public’s endearing sympathy for the underdog. His most popular hit, Hev Yew Gotta Loight, Boy?, momentarily outsold the Beatles — in East Anglia, at least — and for a few weeks became a national catchphrase. But like many novelty stars before and since, his 15 minutes of fame was little more than that, and after four albums he faded from the public consciousness ending his days as an alcoholic in the care of the Salvation Army.
Smethurst, a postman from Norfolk who hummed his tunes on his daily round, bought his guitar from Woolworths in 1949 and started writing and playing his own dialect songs, initially confining his activities to his bedroom. “It was ten years afore I dare let people hear them,” he once admitted. Plucking up the courage to send a tape to the BBC in Norwich, he was given a spot on a local radio show compered by a sales promotion man, Ralph Tuck, who promptly founded a record label called The Smallest Recording Organisation in the World to promote the Singing Postman. The 100 discs which Tuck had cut in the early weeks of 1966 promptly sold out and Smethurst became an overnight star, ousting the Beatles from the top of the East Anglian hit parade."

It was sadly downhill from then on. He took up drink to try and cure his crippling stage fright but obviously he was destined to be a "one hit wonder" and the music biz moved on to the next novelty act.

Tracks are -

1. January Sales
2. Suffin Cold
3. Spring Cleaning
4. Wass The Bottum Dropped Owt?
5. Hev Yew Gotta Loight, Boy?
6. The Cricket Match

The Singing Postman - Side One