Country. & Western.

Dave Dudley is Mad

2012-01-17T22:49:00.005-06:00

DAVE DUDLEY - Mad (Mercury 72308)

Started off the New Year by pulling this 45 outta a' box of freebies left on my porch. So incredibly good... flat knocked me down the first time I spun it. I couldn't figure out where I heard it, until it dawned on my I hadn't heard it before. But I had heard "Mean" by Marti Brom, which was a remake of an obscure tune by Boots Collins outta West Virginia. No idea which came first... "Mad" or "Mean", but both is good stuff.

Why Don't You Love Me To Pieces?

2011-12-28T09:05:00.009-06:00

JANIS MARTIN - Two Long Years b/w Love Me To Pieces (RCA 6832)

Early '57 waxings which Janis played out for her Opry debut in the spring of the same year.

Faron's Gonna Tell Santa Claus On You

2011-12-23T21:56:00.002-06:00

FARON YOUNG - I'm Gonna Tell Santa Claus On You b/w You're The Angel On My Christmas Tree (Capitol 2629)

The divshare player is a trifle messed up at the moment... make sure and give a spin to "I'm Gonna Tell Santa Claus On You", which is the side I prefer.
And Merry Christmas!

What a Way To Go!

2011-12-19T11:45:00.008-06:00

JERRY INMAN - What A Way To Go (Tower 242)

Nice little thumping number from the pen of Texas boy Eddie Miller. From 1966.

It's Been Such a Long, Long Time for Donny Young

2011-12-05T11:01:00.003-06:00

DONNY YOUNG - It's Been A Long, Long Time For Me b/w On This Mountain Top(w/ Roger Miller) (Decca 30763)

14 years of collecting country 45s and I've finally found my first Donny Young 45 and it pairs what might be my two favorite two sides by the young honky tonker.

"It's Been A Long, Long Time For Me" is a swift honker tonker, while Donny teams up with running buddy Roger Miller on the flip for a mighty fine duet. So very, very good... "Each night I'm on this mountain top, the one we used to know, I watch the city bright lights down below..."

I managed to grab this from the same spot as last month's Merle Haggard find.

If you've not done so, pick up Donny's Bear Family cd Shakin' The Blues. It's damned good and has gotta be one of the finest releases in the entire Bear Family catalog... and that's sayin' something.

Also... Visit Johnny's website at http://www.johnnypaycheckmusic.com/site. Proud to say that this here blog is linked on the front page. And check Deke Dickerson's blog for a nice piece on Young/Paycheck HERE.

Pork Chop Stomp

2011-11-23T08:29:00.003-06:00

GRADY MARTIN AND HIS WINGING STRINGS- Pork Chop Stomp (Decca 29059)

In honor of Turkey day... Pork Chops.

Warren's Got Some Love If You Want It

2011-10-30T07:59:00.001-05:00

WARREN SMITH - I've Got Love If You Want It (Sun 287)

When you see Sun 45s/78s out this direction they usually carry one of 5 names: Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison (naturally), or Elvis Presley.

But Warren Smith? Not so often. And when a Warren record does turn up it's "Ubangi Stomp", maybe. But "I've Got Love If You Want It"? Mayhaps it's a common piece in your neighborhood, but out this way it's a purt tough beast. And to see three copies at one sale? Absolute Madness!

"I've Got Love If You Want It" is rockabilly as rockabilly should sound... It's wild. It's braggadocious. And it is distinctly southern.

FWIW... "Ubangi Stomp" did reveal itself in a collection a few weeks later. On 78. Along with the Carl Perkins dance album. A mess of Johnny Cash, Carl, and Roy 45s. And even four fifths of the Elvis Sun catalog.

Not cheap. Not mine. But a cool collection to look through.

Standing On the Corner of Skidrow with the Hag

2011-10-11T18:20:00.011-05:00

MERLE HAGGARD - Skidrow (Tally 152)

In every musical genre there are record "grails" to be found- those hideously rare, great, and desired discs- and the field of country music is no exception. I'm not talking rockabilly here... just plain old honk tonkin', country music. There's the Memphis related items on Sun and Flip. And the Jim Reeves 10" release on Abbott. Most folks aren't aware of "Soda Pop Girl" by Jimmy & Duane (Eddy) on Preston. But outside of those, Merle Haggard's first ever single for Tally might be the big boy. According to the reverse label on this 'collectors item' (see below) only 200 copies were pressed.

"Skidrow" is a great song, though far from Merle's best as it is just a bit too Buck. But it is still damn good and it's obvious that this guy had talent and was gonna be back again.

Imagine my frustration when I first found this otherwise almost perfect record. C'mon now... would you label an actual Van Gogh painting rare? Aaaargh...

Only God Knows What Buck's Going Through...

2011-10-03T18:14:00.003-05:00

BUCK OWENS - Walk the Floor b/w I'll Take A Chance On Loving You (Capitol 4090)

Been slowing down a bit in my posting as of late, but certainly can't blame it on a lack of material. My attention has just been in a lot of other places, and blogging hasn't been a priority.

Anyhowdy... Can't say I've ever come across a Buck Owens 45 on Capitol from this era, but caught this one at an estate sale this past summer that was loaded with great honky tonk. Actually came across a few batches of excellent honky tonk the past few months. Back to Buck... good stuff

Might be about time for a little mix.

Don't Push Me Too Far

2011-09-13T01:21:00.005-05:00

SKEETS McDONALD - Don't Push Me Too Far (Capitol F3600)

While some of the sentiments of the Eddie Miller-penned "Don't Push Me Too Far" don't jive too well in today's world (I'm gonna take my fists and change the color of your eyes), the song still stands as one of the finest moments in the impressive Capitol-era catalog of Skeets McDonald. Fine fiddling and slick steel... the band clicks, and Skeets ticks...

I'm on a liquid diet
I've been a shaking all night
Now don't push me too far.

Add this side to that side - "You Better Not Go"- and you have the finest single in Skeets's career.

I Gotta Get Drunk

2011-08-27T08:13:00.003-05:00

JOE CARSON - I Gotta Get Drunk (Liberty 55578)

Joe Carson powers through a fabulous version of Willie Nelson's "I Gotta Get Drunk" with a heavy cajun feel. Even better than Willie's own version. Produced by his old buddy Tommy Allsup who was in Cali between stints in Odessa, Texas.

Surely one of the greatest country 45s on the Liberty label.
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Speaking of Tommy Allsup... Tommy recorded a bit for Liberty as well and one of his rockin' little instros, "What Time Is It?", can be heard at my West Texas blog LoneStarStomp. Dig it Here... some pretty heavy geetar.

It Could Be That New Postage Rate

2011-08-17T00:21:00.003-05:00

BILLY JAYE- That New Postage Rate (Rose 119)

Interesting little record here on the Rose label out of Oklahoma about the increase in postage.

Makes me a bit misty-eyed... thinking back to the olden days when I'd run to the mailbox to see if the gal I met at summer camp had responded to my love letter. Or if a pal had any info on upcoming punk rock shows in a barn in San Angelo. Or maybe Nanny had sent me her monthly note with $25 spending money when I was in college.

Now my mom wants to know why I won't respond to her texts or emails.

Don't Start Smoking Pot, Son

2011-07-07T22:31:00.003-05:00

MARK DUBOISE & CEDAR EXPRESS - Don't Start Smoking Pot (Mart SRC-1342)

Oddball here that knocks off "Don't Take Your Guns To Town" just a bit. Don't know if the singer here is trying to sound high, but he comes off sounding as though he'd been hittin' that jug.

Anyhow... listen close and pay close heed here... you REALLY don't want to wind up like this guy.

Kick Back, Take It Easy, and Stress Over That Gal

2011-06-07T09:19:00.005-05:00

TOMMY DUNCAN - Where Oh Where Has My Little Love Gone (Intro 6065)

Aaaahhh.... Summer vacation is officially underway here at el Rancho Westex and few artists so consistently carry the sound of relaxation quite like Tommy Duncan. The man had a certain laid back quality to his voice... he had a point, but never got into too much of a hurry to get there. While "Where Oh Where", from Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart, isn't about the most peaceful of topics - what man finds solace in a lying gal?- the band plays it loose in a hat-pulled-down, boots-kicked-up-on-the-porch-rail sorta way.

Knock Out the Lights and Call the Law

2011-06-04T00:04:00.001-05:00

RED KIRK - Knock Out the Lights and Call the Law (Mercury 6049)

Nice hillbilly 'party' number.

Sonny James Has Got That Touch

2011-05-22T21:22:00.004-05:00

SONNY JAMES - You Got That Touch (Capitol 4020)

A bit lite-weight. Bit goofy. But I've always been a sucker for the big boys on major labels that went after a chunka-chunka-chunka teen change in the 50s. Sonny had a few real nice sides similar to this one... I likes it muchly.

Ring Around the Bathtub

2011-05-07T10:39:00.003-05:00

HOMER LEE SEWELL - Ring Around the Bathtub (Oakridge 838-6608)

Texan Homer Lee Sewell started recorded for Texas labels back in the 50s before starting up his own Oakridge label in the 60s. I suppose when was has the vision Homer Lee does it might be a bit tough finding label moving in a similar direction. I don't suppose Homer ever met up with Showland label-head Bennie Hess.

Anyhow... this record should serve as warning to all you hillbillies... less time watching ol' Ganaway Opry performances and perfecting your own "secret" fried chicken recipe and more time taking care of your facilities just might save your life.

Hillbilly Hoedown - The Howington Brothers on Decca

2011-04-21T00:05:00.006-05:00

"Two Faced" b/w "Tennessee Rooster Fight" by Roy and Dub Howington was one of the first hillbilly 45s I ever bought back in the mid-90s. I long enjoyed the backwoods cornpone of "Tennessee Rooster Fight" from these Virginia boys. A few years back I came across a second Decca 45 which has a much straighter feel to it. Fine, fine stuff that jumps a bit, making it hard not to tap a toe or two to it.

The Sounds of Goodbye

2011-04-17T14:57:00.004-05:00

THE GOSDIN BROTHERS - Sounds of Goodbye b/w The Victim (Capitol 2265)

Here's a great 45 that's sat on the shelves for years, but I only noticed it just recently. Though a bit of a departure from the usual swinging/boppin'/hillbilly/honky tonkin' sounds heard here it's no less worthy.

You're A Solid Sender

2011-04-09T08:38:00.002-05:00

BILLY MIZE - Solid Sender (Decca 30271)

It's been a few years since I've seen him, but 10 years back when Deke Dickerson and his constantly changing group of players came through West Texas it meant I was hitting the road. Deke always put on a good show and always got (gets) people on the floor. And one of the joys of the whole thing was being introduced to old songs in a Deke way. While some groups play a cover because it's easy to do or because they never get out of the habit. Others do so because it's the best they can do. Not the case with ol' Deke who digs deep to find songs that others would completely overlook and then even adds his own special Deke-ness to it. So over the years there have been many a treat including "Feeling Low" from the magnificent Ernie Chaffin, Johnny Wortham's "Strange Woman's Love" (greatest Buddy Holly song not by Buddy Holly?), Sonny Burgess's "Find My Baby For Me", "Mexicali Rose" by Jerry Lee Lewis, "Look At that Moon" from Carl Perkins, and the like.

Since first recording it some 10 years back I'd guess Billy Mize's "Solid Sender" to be just as much Deke's as it is Billy's. Great song by Billy, better so by Deke who gave it just a bit more "oomph".

Check Deke's website HERE and his fun blog HERE.

Knuckle Marks on My Anatomy

2011-04-03T08:22:00.003-05:00

HAROLD PORTERFIELD - He Sure Made A Wreck of Me (Red Feather 1611)

Glad I'm not Harold...

Bringin' the Blues To My Door

2011-03-31T00:30:00.006-05:00

MELVIN ENDSLEY - Bringin' The Blues To My Door / I Ain't Gettin' Nowhere With You (RCA 6795)

What a talent ol' Melvin was- amazing voice, great rhythms, and a poet's hand. Really deserves to be better known these days. "Bringin' The Blues To My Door" has such a lonesome sound... so very good. And the way that the line "I thought that you was gonna be my baby" falls heartfirst into a stonewall of a gal in "I Ain't Gettin' Nowhere With You"... ol' Melvin boy knew he had failed but was doin' his best to play it off... been there a time or two myself.

Come to think of it... Melvin is pretty well known, if not by name then by song... "Singing the Blues" and "Knee Deep In the Blues" made the man a mint when Marty Robbins and others rode 'em to the tops of the charts.

The Johnny Cash Sound: The Nite-Cappers

2011-03-26T14:08:00.007-05:00

THE NITE-CAPPERS - Heartbeat b/w Everything (PAL Records no#)

Interesting 45 outta Wisconsin with an almost overshadowing influence by the man in black.

Photo of lead Nite-Capper Wayne Brunner HERE at WFMU. Seems Wayne enjoyed wearing a bit of black as well.

The Nelson Family... Country Garage Thud

2011-03-19T14:04:00.000-05:00

THE NELSON FAMILY - You Hurt Me (And Say I'm Sorry) b/w Long Road (Home To Arkansas) (Olis 45-OL 4)

Wow. Two sides of just plain ol' wow. The Nelson Family are like a country garage band.

And if strange, primitive country is your bag the Olis label is where it's at.

The Barbecue Rock and the Soda Pop Hop

2011-03-13T21:42:00.002-05:00

JERRY NAIL - Barbeque Rock(Tomboy & the Champ no#)

Interesting piece of kiddie rock n' roll with a bit of a country kick from a 1960 movie about a kid and a horse. Dig the licks from the steel guitar player... sweet sounds there. According to Jerry's own website it's may well by Clyde Brewer's band backing him up here.

Jerry's site is HERE.

Hillbilly Hoedown... The Louvin Brothers

2011-03-04T19:57:00.004-06:00

The recent passing of Charlie Louvin prompted me to dig out my Ira, Charlie, and Brothers 45s, something I had intended to do for some time. The history of these two brothers, Ira the elder and Charlie the younger, is easy enough to find. They came from the hard scrabble, hard fightin', hard prayin', and hard drinkin' Sand Mountain region of dear old Alabamy and worked their way from the barn to the stage. Every bio worth it's salt-water-taffy will surely mention the influence of the (al)mighty brothers Delmoore, their early recordings for Decca and MGM and maybe Apollo, the spiritual / secular push n' pull in their choice of recorded material, and mean ol' Ira. Like really mean.

Ira was the fire of the Louvins. Smashing mandolins. Veins pulsing across his forehead as he chased that tenor lead. Cussing deejays. Drunk and spiteful. Downright hateful by most accounts. Hell... the man's third wife put five bullets in him in a particularly heated moment.

And Charlie was the steadfast rock, the balanced one. The Louvins existed, survived, and succeeded as a name because of Charlie and his steadfastness.

My first real introduction to the brothers that I can recall came in a Circuit City store in central Texas back in 1998 or so. In a sea of useless drivel, the Louvin's looked rather dapper on the cover of a Razor & Tie best of. I rather enjoyed that one especially tracks like "Cash On the Barrel Head", "Hoping That You're Hoping", and the amazing "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby". Especially "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby".... has ever a song gone so far into heartbreak only to come back around to joy in the end?

By the early 60s producer Ken Nelson had squared the Brothers into a Buck Owens/Bakersfield style. Though these singles aren't nearly as good as their best material from the 50s, the brothers could pull off a legitimate honky tonk sound, something Charlie would explore further in the years after Ira's passing.

It's obvious from the lone Ira solo 45 that I've included that though he was talented Ira really did work best with Charlie. Charlie, on the other hand, was a legitimately good solo artist as is heard in the top-notch honky tonker "Life Begins At Love", "That's What Your Leavin's Done To Me" (coulda been a hit for Johnny Paycheck), and the absolutely amazing "Drive Me Out of My Mind" (one of my favorite country 45s EVER released).

Every track here is a sure fire fave and some Capitol faves might be missing (Atomic Power) but it's only because I worked only from Capitol era 45s I own.

Enjoy...

http://www.divshare.com/download/14230298-57c (it's a big zip file)

I'm Gonna Make Like A Snake

2011-02-23T23:21:00.004-06:00

ERNEST TUBB - I'm Gonna Make Like A Snake (Decca 32315)

An absolutely amazing piece of honky tonk. Everything sounds fine and certainly a song custom made for Tubb's style of lowdown vocalizing. And the line "I can't hold my baby any better 'n I can hold my beer" has always seemed to me to be some sorta poetry. Did Loretta Lynn ever cut it herself?

Troublin' Man Don'cha Bother Me

2011-02-13T23:03:00.004-06:00

MISS PEGGY GAYLE - Troublin' Man (Top Gun no#)

Just a bit 'hick' and oh so nice and just a wee bit on the lo-fi side.

Wayne Walker on Chess

2011-02-04T23:03:00.004-06:00

WAYNE WALKER - Now Is The Time For Love (Chess 4860)

Second Wayne Walker related disc on Chess I've posted up as of late (the other being his wild duet with Jimmy Lee Fautheree on "Love Me"... check it HERE). "Now Is the Time For Love" was cut at right about the same time as Wayne and Jimmy Lee's "Love Me" and features some fine steel playing from (in all likelihood) Jimmy Day. Great little low-key bopper with a sideways wiggle to it.

Excuse the scratch-o-phonic sound. Not the prettiest of copies.

Charlie Louvin

2011-01-30T22:35:00.001-06:00

CHARLIE LOUVIN - Drive Me Out of My Mind (Capitol 5948)

Few songs have affected me the way "Drive Me Out Of My Mind" has. I would consider it to be one of the very greatest recorded moments connected to the name Louvin, surpassing by leaps and bounds a large portion of even the catalogue of the Louvin Brothers proper. On first listen 12 years ago I repeated the process a dozen, two dozen, maybe even three dozen times of lifting the tone arm of my old Caliphone schoolhouse player to restart the song. It was one of those singular moments every music lover goes back to in their lives. The odd shuffle rhythm and that damned guitar. The steel drifts in, drifts back out. Charlie soft-selling broken love.

Easily one of my top 10 favorite country songs of all time.

Charlie did, of course, pass away last week. He had a decent, long life.

In tribute I'll be back later in the week with a set of 25+ Capitol 45 rpm sides from the Louvins Brothers, a solo side from Ira, and a whole heap of records by Charlie all by his lonesome.

Eli, the Camel

2011-01-29T08:09:00.002-06:00

FERLIN HUSKEY - Eli, the Camel (Capitol 2746)

Shame to hear about this week's passings of Charlie Louvin and James O'Gwyn. I've got a short Louvin round-up planned, but need a short spell to get a stack of Capitol sides digitimized. In the meantime, here' s a Kaw-liga styled romp from Ferlin Huskey about that famed cigarette camel.

Love Them... Jimmy Lee & Wayne Walker

2011-01-23T23:43:00.010-06:00

JIMMY LEE AND WAYNE WALKER - Love Me (Chess 4863)

Dear lord... I remember the first time I heard "Love Me". It was on a Chess rockabilly lp about 13 years ago which has since disappeared. That intro is a sure fire killer... the way the steel cries and weeps behind that fierce lead guitar by Jimmy Lee. And how many breaks are there? I can't keep up. Elvis had barely started to make waves when Jimmy and Wayne recorded this in January of 1955. Dear lord, dear lord, dear lord!

It might not be the prettiest copy around... but it's mine and was my first record of 2011.

Dear lord!
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Speaking of "Dear Lord"... Got an email from Nathan Gibson today and his Starday ramble The Starday Story: The House That Country Music Built is finally out. Get your copy from HERE fromAmazon.com at an amazingly good price. If payday don't hurry up I'ma goin' have ta' take some northern soul 45s to market so I can git me a copy.

I'm Coming Home To Make Sweet Love To You

2011-01-22T15:49:00.007-06:00

EARL AYCOCK - I'm Coming Home (Dixie 520)

Earl Aycock got his start as one 1/2 of the Mercury Recording duo George and Earl. When he split with George McCormick he made his way down to Houston and hooked up with Pappy Dailey where he recorded a handful of anonymouse sides for the Dixie cover series, including this 1957 cover of Johnny Horton's chugger "I'm Coming Home". Doesn't come anywhere close to touching Johnny's, but okay for what it is.

Thanks to Mellow for catching the name swap in my original post. And catch Mellow's blog Country Music, Rockabilly, & Hillbilly when you get the chance.

Wade Ray and Noel Boggs

2011-01-16T22:19:00.000-06:00

WADE RAY - It's All Your Fault (RCA- Victor 5091)

Can't say enough about Wade Ray. The man had a great voice and usually had great songs and great players. Classic western jazz.

I'm Going to Kansas City

2011-01-14T22:04:00.005-06:00

LEON MCAULIFF - Kansas City b/w Hoodle Addle (ABC-Paramount 394)

Here's another one from Leon. A big jump from the early Columbia sides I ran last time around as he takes on a couple of r&b numbers in a 50s pop rock style. A bit tougher to find the country and from around the same time as his early Cimarron records.. Actually reminds me a bit of Nat King Cole's "rock n' roll" efforts for Capitol.

Smooth Sailing w/ Leon

2011-01-04T22:27:00.001-06:00

LEON MCAULIFFE & HIS WESTERN SWING BAND - Smooth Sailing b/w Sh-Boom (Columbia 21283)

I love, love, love Leon. The man was a great steel player and fine vocalist to boot. And while many may disagree I love the way Leon would kinda take a rockin' r&b sound ala "Three Bears" straighten it out just a bit. His version of "Sh Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)" might be just a bit too straight, but it does show the extent to which the swingsters were watching the charts. "Smooth Sailing" is a laid back instro which is a fine piece with a slight nod to the tropics in Leon's steel voicing. The sax is nice, too... it hangs back just a wee bit and almost slips by without notice until the final stretch at which point the phrasing is more r&b than western.

I'll be running a couple o' more sides from the "Take It Away..." boy in the next week or two.

Check in at my non-country blog Diggin' It!!! for a couple of hard-driving James Brown related instros if that's your thing. I'll have some swift instrumentals up from El Paso's Counts up at my regional blog LoneStarStomp in the next few days as well.

Merry Texas Christmas from Ernest Tubb

2010-12-21T08:45:00.001-06:00

ERNEST TUBB w/ THE BEASLEY SISTERS - Merry Texas Christmas, You All! (Decca 28453)

Merry Christmas folks...

Link Wray Sez Baby, Baby, Baby...

2010-12-13T20:20:00.004-06:00

LINK WRAY - I Sez Baby & Johnny Bom Bonny (Kay 3690)

First offl... this is not pretty to look at nor listen to... though scarce, this disc has obviously been well loved to 'nth degree. Tons of clicks, pops, and crackle.

If you didn't know who it was you would swear this was a crew of mountain' livin' Tennessee hillbillies or Texas cats. Nope... just a bunch of Capitol country fellers gettin' just a bit gone.

This is Link before he got oh so heavy and rumbly with the power chords... a bit corny for sure. "I Sez Baby" has a classic rockabilly break... all stabbing treble... less piano and more of the Link string bending woulda sure been nice. The vocal is a so so affair and, as mentioned, a bit corny. Like many folks I find "Johnny Bom Bonny" a bit tough to swallow, but that break is just so hep... bass and link's guitar locked, ever so briefly, into a groove. Wonder if and for how long they might have stretched this one out live?

Okie-bred Starday Custom

2010-12-06T18:14:00.004-06:00

FLOYD ARTHURS - Waitress b/w You're Leaving Me For Good (RVF 45-790)

Wow... Ol' Floyd Arthurs is pretty much the reason Starday and others had custom pressings...

This record is a scarce one- perhaps for good reason- out of central Oklahoma and according to Malcolm Chapman's EXCELLENT Starday Custom site (dug HERE) it was released in the summer of 1959. Starday customs are notoriously primitive and this ain't no different.

Sorry for the lousy sound...
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Thanks - or not - to Little Danny who swung through Odessa over the weekend for some wheelin' n' dealin' record wise. Blame him for this posting. And check out his excellent blog Officenaps.

When They Operated on Papa...

2010-11-28T20:26:00.005-06:00

I've got a three way cross-blog bonanza going on. Each of blogs features a Texas artist on the Imperial label with sounds lifted straight from 78. So enjoy a heap of Texas hillbilly and then head on over to Diggin' It!!! and LoneStarStomp for more...

JIMMIE HEAP AND THE MELODY MASTERS - When They Operated on Papa They Opened Mama's Male (Imperial 8105)

I've long loved Taylor boy Jimmie Heap and his Melody Masters. For a long, long time that crew ruled the rural central Texas roost playing up and down the highways, from jamborees to schoolhouses. The guys were everywhere giving people a reason to dance, drink, and yell cuttin' a whole slew of records on Imperial, Capitol, and Fame along the way. The waltzed, swung, jived, boogied, and even rock n' rolled a bit.

"When They Operated On Papa..." is a fund number that starts in as a boogie... reminds me of a bus for whatever reason. Fine breaks and fine Perk Williams vocal as usual. Ol' Perk had a lazed quality about his delivery... never in a hurry... just throwing it on out there.
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Check in at Diggin' It!!! where I've got another Imperial 78 up... Dallas blues man Lil' Son Jackson. And over at my West Texas LoneStarStomp it's a couple of low down numbers from Wichita Falls boy, Bill Mack.

Sleepy on Dixie

2010-11-23T09:18:00.004-06:00

SLEEPY LaBEEF - You're the Nearest Thing To Heaven, Ways of A Woman In Love (Dixie ep 535)

Elsewhere in this world Dixie ep's may be as common as Firestone Xmas lps, but not so out this way. This one actually made it to Tejas by way of Pennsylvania... part of the same accumulation that also included the Sonny Fisher and Glenn Barber 45s I recently acquired. Classic Sleepy sound with that deep voice and hypnotic slappity slapp'd bull fiddle.

I'll post up a couple of other tracks from this ep in the next few days...

The Moon Won't Tell

2010-11-20T23:35:00.009-06:00

JACK RENO - The Moon Won't Tell (Eureka 0033).

Everything good about a rockin' hillbilly... snazzy guitar breaks, stomping backin' combo, wild yelps, and a reference to pitching 'woo'. And Jack seems to have forgotten that in 1960 you weren't supposed to be sounding like this.

Got a Johnny Cash soundalike from Jack up at my regional blawg thank, LoneStarStomp. Dig it HERE.

Lonely Me

2010-11-08T23:11:00.005-06:00

CHARLES HUFF - Lonely Me (Riggle 45-722)

Oklahoma boy Charles Huff had quite a few releases, most of which seemed to have been self-financed. This oddball actually seems to follow the Starday Custom numbering system, sharing its matrix with John Wortham's classic "The Cat's Were Jumpin'" on Peach from a few years earlier. Charles did actually have a few releases on the Custom series (thanks, Joe).

You Get A Line...

2010-10-30T10:24:00.007-05:00

Hello Again... been a short stretch since I've updated Country. & Western. Here's a couple of 45s I grabbed on a junk/thrift day earlier in the month.

BILL HANEY - Craw Dad Song (w/ THE DIXIE BUDDIES, Jim Dandy JD-45-1013) and Oh! How I Cry (Jim Dandy JD-45-1012)

Me and 4-year old Jessie Marie were on our way back from our kindasorta traditional Saturday jaunt downtown to Southern Maid donuts (best donuts in the world, buddy) when "Craw Dad Song" popped up on the stereo in the giddy-up-n'-go wagon. I hadn't made the connection before, but it reminded me of my Papa.

One of the special treats of visiting my grandparents when I was growing up were the daily pre-sunrise trips with my Papa to have breakfast at the Flamingo on old '66. I didn't want to share that experience with any of my cousins or my brother, feeling it was something only I and my Papa shared. Invariably, trip after trip, I would order toast with grape jelly and a Dr. Pepper... who else but a Papa would allow a 7-year old to have DP at 6:30 in the A.M.? After breakfast Papa would drive me around Elk City and the county roads around town pointing out different spots where the Cooks and Ackers had lived, owned businesses, had wrecks, farmed land, sold land, etc. As we scooted all over the place in his big ol' Cadillac (he never drove anything but) he'd fill in the few quiet moments between tales with songs like "Froggy Went A Courtin'", the "Craw Dad Song", and "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More" (my favorite). Good times.

As for Bill Haney... he had a handful of releases and worked the lower east coast from the 50s on through the 60s, splitting time between country, bluegrass, and rock n' roll sounds. The breaks on "Craw Dad Song" are enjoyable, but aside from emotional attachment it's actually one of those 'eh' songs in my book. I do enjoy the the 'wang' on the mandolin sometime around the chorus on "Oh! How I Cry".

Those Ernest Tubb Talkin' Blues

2010-09-24T21:40:00.004-05:00

RED MURRELL WITH JIMMY RIVERS AND THE CHEROKEES - Ernest Tubb Talkin Blues (Cavalier 871)

Interesting talkin' country number from the bay area out in California. Late 1956. Red wax pressing is keen!

Hold Her In The Road, Boy

2010-09-18T22:31:00.004-05:00

EARL GREEN - Hold Her In the Road (Three Star Records 9117)

T-Riff Dave Dudley flavored truckin' number outta Alabam. Not too surprising as Earl was actually one half of the team responsible for the gargantuan "Six Days On The Road".

Walking In My Dreams

2010-09-06T17:50:00.002-05:00

CHUCK & BETTY - Walking In My Dreams (Decca 30875)

Spring of '59 release in which hepsters Chuck Simmons and Betty Chotas work in all the hip tune titles of the day.

Country Folk

2010-08-18T22:12:00.004-05:00

BEAU ALLEN - Waiting For Me (HFA 1014)

Bit different from the sounds usually heard 'round here... bit more of a folk influence on this Georgia disc..

That Little Ol' Red Wagon

2010-08-10T13:13:00.004-05:00

SONNY FISHER - Little Red Wagon (Starday 244)

Sonny Fisher is probably the greatest rockabilly of them all. The cat released four 45s over a 14 month period from '55 to '56, each of them a two-sided classic. Every bit of THAT sound is there... the echo, the hip lyrics and hep titles, the slapped bass riding tight with the pop of the occasional snare drum, stinging git leads/fills/breaks: "Sneaky Pete", "Hold Me Baby", "Rockin' Daddy", "Hey Mama", and finally "Pink & Black".

It wasn't until his very last side that you really see Sonny's country boy roots come out. The A-side of Starday 244 is "Pink And Black" which might very well be THE rockabilly record which tosses off a knowing nod to the sound that had been ushered in with "Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley & the Comets, but then drags that rhythm down a country lane or two. Flip 244 over and ya' hear Sonny's update on the classic tale of the little red wagon. Maybe it's more rockabilly than a many a "rockabilly" record, but after 7 'cat' sides in a row from Sonny it sounds pretty country.

I Made My Bid, But She Flipped Her Lid!!!

2010-08-09T09:15:00.003-05:00

HANK THOMPSON AND HIS BRAZOS VALLEY BOYS- Cryin' In the Deep Blue Sea (Capitol 9367)

I loves me some Hank Thompson. Among the Williams, Locklins, Snows, and Pennys the ol' boy Thompson was probably my favorite. He had a smooth n' golden voice and always carried a tight band. In 1952 he released probably his biggest song, "The Wild Side of Life", which rode the charts for quite a stretch. Piggy-backin' on the hit was "Cryin' In the Deep Blue Sea"... probably my favorite song by Thompson. Everything about the song is tops. Great guitar. Hank's voice is gold tossing off lines like "'cause I'm a hot wire and your flat tire" and "The tears I shed this morning, and the tears I shed last night, I tried by gosh and I just can't wash my baby from my sight". The steel and fiddle break that comes in at 1:40 works oh so very fine with the rhythm section producing a distinctly southwestern swing beat.

Two Good Things...Glenn Barber and Starday

2010-07-31T07:59:00.008-05:00

Though LoneStarStomp seemingly languishes I keep tossing off these quickies here and over at Diggin' It!!!. That is partly a result of having bigger things in the works over at the Stomp and not wanting to set down and do 'em. But July has been a great record month so it's pretty easy to sit down and toss off a couple of quick spots elsewhere. Like this one...

GLENN BARBER - Livin' High And Wide (Starday 214) and Poor Man's Baby (Starday 196)

Glenn Barber was gold. The man cut a whole string of EXCELLENT records for Starday. When attention goes his way it's the rockabilly folks getting excited about "Shadow My Baby" and "Ice Cold Water" which are both great songs. "Ice Cold Water" is amazing actually. But the guy was basically a gulf coaster with rhythm.

Earlier in the week I was able to add these two Stardays after not coming up on anything from this southeast Texas label in quite some time. Love both sides here... "Poor Man's Baby" was completely new on me. It's got a nice tipsy sorta bop n' wobble rhythm to it. "Livin' High And Wide" I've known for some time, first becoming familiar with it through Ray Condo. Good song about feelin' good.

Livin' It Up

2010-07-29T09:29:00.003-05:00

DICK WILLIAMS - Livin' It Up (RCA-Victor 6278)

Cool little swingin' hillbilly number I grabbed from the flea market this past weekend. Sorry for the scratch-a-delic sound.

A Special(ty) Kind of Hillbilly Record

2010-07-26T22:23:00.003-05:00

JOHNNY TYLER - Take Your Blues And Go (Specialty XSP-713)

Grabbed this outta stacks and stacks of 78s at an estate sale back at the summer's start. Best bunch of 78s that I've seen in a few years. Anyhow, not an amazing record but certainly a decent one. And how often do releases on Specialty's hillbilly series turn up?

Drinkin' Lone Star By the Case...

2010-07-24T23:04:00.006-05:00

ROCKY & THE BORDER KINGS - Gulf of Mexico (Epic 10901)

How often does Kim Fowley pop up on a country music blog? How about Doug Sahm's Sir Douglas Quintet? I'd guess Fowley does a fair job of getting a feel for the TexMex country life...

Bit of a tongue-in-cheek outro about the flipside pot tune is funny in the suits didn't catch it kinda way.

Love Is Strange

2010-07-18T21:51:00.006-05:00

HAROLD DUNN & SALLY SHEARER WITH THE 101 RANCH BOYS - Love is Strange (Joel 126)

The 101 Ranch Boys had a long history in the New York area dating back to at least the 1940s, but are today best remembered for a few great releases on Columbia the great "Beer Bottle Momma" by Andy Reynolds. On this particular disc the group takes on Mickey & Sylvia's "Love Is Strange" ala the Maddox family. Not as much fire, but still purt' interesting.

And a happy anniversary to my lovely bride of seven years...

Star Spangled PANIC!!!!!!

2010-07-08T22:41:00.007-05:00

LLOYD GREEN & HIS STEEL GUITAR- "Panic" & "Star Spangled Banner" from Day For Decision - (Little Darlin' 4002)

I'm not much for listening to country lps asI'd much rather hear the music on a 45 or 78. But for these Lloyd Green cuts we'll make an exception. I picked the album up because it contains Lloyd's choice steel instro "Panic". As it happened the rest of the album was a hodge podge of patriotism. I had really hope to post this last week but family holidays put it in the back seat or up on a shelf or something or other. A week after the 4th, but better late...

Heart Over Mind

2010-06-30T00:10:00.004-05:00

RAY PRICE - Heart Over Mind (Columbia )

Probably one of my favorite country recordings of all time... Ray's vocal is spot on. The twin fiddles amaze me. And the tone on that steel guitar... I don't know that it can get much better.

Dart Country

2010-06-22T13:20:00.006-05:00

BOB BOWERS - Sandy (Dart 120)

Interesting teen inflected Southeast Texas country number from the pen of George Jones. As a matter of fact if you listen close you can almost hear George in the background.
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Check in at my Diggin' It!!! blog for a rockin' effort on Dart from the Suedes. And I've got a Dart single from West Texas up at LoneStarStomp.

G-I-R-L Spells Trouble

2010-06-06T21:21:00.003-05:00

ERNEST TUBB - G I R L Spells Trouble (Decca 76562)

Few things sound like a Texas summer day like ol' Ernest.

Done Gone Crazy

2010-05-20T06:54:00.002-05:00

LEE BONDS - Done Gone Crazy (Capitol 2692)

Fine one from a Georgia boy. Don't think he cut too many disks for Capitol, though.

The Whip Crackin' Daddy

2010-05-08T22:25:00.005-05:00

RICKY RIDDLE - I'm A Whip Crackin' Daddy (Decca 9-29813)

Decent hillbilly number from the mid-50s. A bit paint-by-the-numbers perhaps... a bit Webb, a bit Hank.

Hi-Ballin' Daddy

2010-04-19T22:49:00.004-05:00

ANN JONES - High Ballin' Daddy (King 961)

First in a string of King releases from the brassy Ann Jones. Sweet train sounds and a great vocal... the gal could, obviously, really put a growl into it.

Best Way to Spread the News...

2010-04-06T06:49:00.006-05:00

ROY HOGSED AND THE RAINBOW RIDERS - Don't Telephone, Don't Telegraph, Tell A Woman (Coast 265)

Roy Hogsed ran with his southwestern swing for purt near a decade without changing just a whole heck of a lot. Between the Coast and Capitol label's he cut a whole slew of great sides including his remake of the infamous "Cocaine Blues".

Here's a fun little ditty from 1947... not so sure where it fits in in this facebookin', twitterin', texting world we live in.

Clyde Beavers

2010-03-20T08:50:00.003-05:00

CLYDE BEAVERS - Here I Am Drunk Again b/w My Love Is Real (Decca 31173)

Recently digging through the shelves to complete a 45 rpm transaction when I came across this Clyde Beavers number. For whatever reason I had assumed Clyde to be a Houston artist, but a troll through Billboard shows him as a Georgia feller at this point. A Dollie issue of the country classic "Here I Am" gets a few mentions in Billboard in 1960, but there is no review of the actual disc, nor any mention of it's being picked up by Decca.

It's hard to mess up "Here I Am", though the drunker it sounds the better it gets (**burp**... Ray Hudson) so Clyde's reworking isn't exactly a classic. The cool echoey "My Love Is Real" is the side I've long dug... good tune.

Fat Man Blues

2010-03-01T22:12:00.004-06:00

ZEKE MANNERS AND HIS BAND - Fat Man Blues (RCA Victor 20-2139)

A lot of people seem to get hung up on the obscure, vanity hillbilly and country releases and overlook the 1000s of gems on the majors. Capitol and Decca and RCA cut some hot sides as well... like this GREAT one from Mr. Zeke Manners. From the late winter/early spring season of 19 and 47.

Dallas Boogie

2010-02-23T22:44:00.008-06:00

FREDDY DAWSON - Dallas Boogie (Imperial 8274)

Super fine uptempo jump outta, where else, Dallas, Tx. Late 1954. Jim Beck studio production? Same F. Dawson that played on some of Lew Williams's Imperial sessions at Beck studios?

Wigglin' n' Gigglin'

2010-02-19T23:48:00.003-06:00

ONIE WHEELER - She Wiggled and Giggled (Columbia 4-21371)

Love, love, love Onie Wheeler. Excellent hillbilly shuffler from the Spring of '55.

Hit my West Texas blog LoneStarStomp and check out Onie's excellent "Closing Time".

Aladdin's Lamp

2010-02-11T21:03:00.004-06:00

FERLIN HUSKY AND HIS HUSH PUPPIES - Aladdin's Lamp (Capitol F3428)

First time I heard this Ferlin number it was on the EXCELLENT Live Big D Jamboree set on Dragon Street Records. Absolutely amazing cut there with what sounds like two doghouse basses riding tandem on the rhythm side. I fell in love with that, playing it over and over and over. That was back in my single days and I burned up mucho giddy-up-n'-go-wagon tread bellerin' along on the Texas blacktop.

From the summer of 1956.

A Man Like Me

2010-02-07T07:41:00.009-06:00

ROGER MILLER - A Man Like Me (Decca 9-030838)

One of Roger's very best. And listen close... that's Donny Young providing rhythm guitar accompaniment alongside Floyd Cramer, Hank Garland, and Buddy Harman.

Incredibly good song. And such a hard honky tonk sound when Nashville was pretty much headed in another direction. It was released early on in 1959 well before people had any idea who 'Roger Miller' was.

The first time I heard this it was actually the remake by Big Sandy & the Fly-Rite Boys from their excellent Night Tide release. That album, the darkest in the Fly-Rite catalog, hit me like a brick when my life was on a downturn. A lot of questions and more than a few bad decisions while juggling a bit too much and there for the ride was Night Tide, especially "A Man Like Me". Things turned around soon enough in a purt T-riff way. And it was a year or two later that I found that I had this here original by Roger Miller just setting on the shelves.

Go buy the Bear Family release titled A Man Like Me which pulls together all o' the goodness of Miller's early works.

Pick up the Donny Young / Johnny Paycheck on Bear Family which features more work with Roger. And is awesome.

The Tattooed Lady

2010-01-26T23:19:00.008-06:00

SKEETS McDONALD- The Tattoed Lady (Fortune 145)

The best place to get little 'bit o' learning on music in Abilene, Texas in the mid-90s was in the clearance bins at Hastings. Many Rhino cut-outs and oddball printed materials helped this lonesome ol' kid along. It was a Saturday morning when I found Unsung Heroes of Rock n' Roll by Nick Tosches for a buck or three.

This book, this thing, so changed me. I had heard very little from the people that Tosches was talking about. The stories about people like Roy Hall, Jimmie Logsdon, and Merrill Moore put this kid in a trance. Who were these cats? What did they sound like? I eventually worked through collections for many of these unsung heroes, even acquiring many of the records whose titles had so beguiled me.

Few hit me like Skeets McDonald did, though. I worked my through most of Skeets's Capitol material before I ever got around to hearing "The Tatooed Lady" which had so much of Nick's attention. Interesting that I actually found my first copy of "The Tatooed Lady" in an Abilene junk shop a few years after I had actually moved away. That record had bad been bounced and scooted all over the big sky country by the time I got it. The labels were barely legible and there was a huge crack in the shellac. Needless to say, when I pulled that 78 I thought I had really hit the big time. It was some sorta miracle that the damned thing even played at all, but surely did. And it sounded like Nick's words.

I recently upgraded to a non-cracked and legible copy of this genius hillbilly shuffler about naked and fancily inked womenfolk. A bit cleaner, but a bit less magical. But still every bit as good as a 20 year old kid in Abilene, Texas woulda hoped it to be.

A Lonely Street

2010-01-18T14:40:00.003-06:00

DAVE RICH- Lonely Street b/w Didn't Work Out, Did It! (RCA 47-6749)

Dave Rich easily fits in my Top 10 of country singin' folks. Dude's voice was just incredible. And while both sides of this January '57 release got panned in Billboard, I love 'em both. This is quite possibly THE version of "Lonely Street", driven along by one of the first examples of 'tic tac' bass. And Dave's own "Didn't Work Out, Did It!" moves along swift enough and ya' get a good bit of Dave's cool vocalizing as well.

The release Bear Family did on Dave 10 years back or so is one of their best ever... HIGHLY recommended.

I Swallowed Her Bait...

2010-01-17T02:40:00.003-06:00

GORDON TERRY- Hook, Line, And Sinker (Columbia 21484)

Fine piece of wax from early 1958. Best thing I've heard from Gordon that ain't called "It Ain't Right".

My Sister Wants to Marry...

2010-01-05T23:24:00.004-06:00

AUTRY INMAN- I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby (Jubilee 9018)

I first heard "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby" as done by the angelic Allison Krauss. That voice was something else.

A few years later I caught up with the Louvin Brothers and really listened to the song and got pretty well sideswiped by "My sister wants to marry" in the final verse and crushed. I actually remember crying. I had just never really listened to Krauss, taken in by that voice and ignoring the lyric itself. With Charlie and Ira you just gotta listen though.

Autry Inman actually penned the tune and turns in an interesting little version full of echo.

Thank goodness youtube is there... never woulda seen this otherwise.

Texas Cat Music

2010-01-02T19:37:00.003-06:00

JIMMY HEAP & THE MELODY MASTERS W/ PERK WILLIAMS- Cat'n Around (Capitol F2636)

Nice 45 I've long watched for and finally caught in a local junk haunt on the cheap New Year's Eve. Great central Texas honky tonk with a hepp'ed up swing to it. Some mighty fine playing from the Melody Masters and a fine vocal from good ol' Perk Williams.

"Cat'n Around" come from the Harry Choates songbook and while I ain't heard Harry's I did post up his "I've Quit My Cattin' Around" on Macy's earlier in the year.

Country Bopper

2009-12-20T06:23:00.008-06:00

LESTER FLATT, EARL SCRUGGS, & THE FOGGY MOUNTAIN BOYS- If I Should Wander Back Tonight (Columbia 41983)

With most of the good rockabilly known and discovered, folks have appropriated the term "country bopper" for anything uptempo.

THIS is a country bopper. Granted it may cause imbibed dancers to drift in a slightly southeasterly direction as their feet get wrapped around the beat.

And it's an oddball from the Flat & Scruggs catalog. More pop- if you can call it that- than bluegrass.

The Louvin Brothers, Ray Charles, 1966, and a Hillbilly Band From North Carolina

2009-11-24T19:00:00.003-06:00

This was actually one of my first posts over at LoneStarStomp, but when the mood strikes me I'm slowly clearing out stuff over there from the first year. Some will wind up here at Country. & Western. while others will wind up at Diggin' It!!!

I was quite surprised by the sound of the 5 Williamson Bros. when I wound up with a pair of their discs a few years ago. As a big fan of the sainted Louvins the first thing that jumped out at me was the similarity in the feel of their music. But the Louvin Brothers were no more- no thanks to Ira- and their big day was in the 1950s.

Yet here was this band of North Carolinians paying tribute to the kings of vocal harmony in 1967! This at a time when Wynn Stewart was pulling change at the jukebox with “It’s Such A Pretty World”. But in Evergreen, North Carolina the Williamson’s were using tin cup n’ string, it would seem, to record their songs of heartbreak and loss

King of The Winos (Gold Star 202)

Loss. Heartbreak. A coronation. And a banjo. And those harmonies. Gold Star 202 is not a happy little 45 (consider the flip—Why Uncle Sam Called For Me). Quite depressing in content and sound, but at the same time it’s so far out that it’s hard not to grin. Grin because of the content. Grin because the lead Williamson mumbles and slurs most of the lyrics.

The day you started cheatin'
Was the start of my ruin (?)
They have crowned me with a bottle
Made me king of all winos

Here We Go Again (Gold Star 204)

Gold Star 204 is notable as the Brothers tackle a then current Ray Charles release(#15 on the June ’67 pop charts), “Here We Go Again”. I would figure the brothers had heard this version. Though it would later be redone by Nancy Sinatra (1969), Eddy Arnold (1972), and George Strait, the earliest recording I’ve been able to find was by Butch Paulson (Stacka 101) of “Man From Mars” notoriety. I’m not figgerin’ on the Williamson’s having heard the Paulson cut.

Like “King of the Winos” the Louvin influence rings out clearly. Just so very odd that a Piedmont hillbilly band was using their banjo to cover a Ray Charles hit.

(A west Texas aside: “Here We Go Again” was originally written by Don Lanier -“Private Property”, “Pony Tail Girl”, “Leave Those Cats Alone"- and cowboy Red Steagall.)

As 10-years-behind-the-times as the Louvin Brothers send-ups are, and as odd as the Ray Charles cover is, the strangest thing, by far, about the Williamson’s was their debut release.

I've Got a Bead on You Baby (Gold Star 200)

It was on Desperate Rock n’ Roll Vol. 18 that I first heard the 5 Williamson Brothers. There, squirreled away near the end of side 2, is "I've Got A Bead On You Baby". By itself you're hearing a rockin' 60s band. Like a with-it Everly Brothers in 1966. Cool, catchy, odd. Nifty vocals. Simple, but effective break. And is that a vox organ in the background?

But after the follow ups on Gold Star 202 and 204 it's no longer so simple. I'm not so sure I hear a vox anymore. Maybe it's a banjo running in the red on the recording console. I still hear the Everly's, but I'm also hearing a sped up Half-Pint and the Four-Fifths with the Delmore Brothers as roots. Or Louvins. This is no longer a rock n' roll band. There was something bent, but beautiful, going on there.

Anyone know the REAL Williamson story? Any REAL pictures of the Williamson Bros.? Were Gold Star 200, 202, and 204 the full extent of their recording? C'mon...somebody...
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Thanks to reader Lightinin' Wells who turned me on to the fact that the Williamson Brothers and GoldStar Records were running adds in Billboard. Check Lightnin' out HERE.

Pickin' on Chuck with Ernest Tubb

2009-11-22T21:45:00.009-06:00

Head over to Diggin' It!!! for another Chuck Berry classic... this time a remake of his biggest hit by an Oregon crew. And I've got a West Texas shot of Berry up over at LoneStarStomp.

ERNEST TUBB- Thirty Days (Decca 9-29731)

Even in 1955 record execs understood the power of St. Louie's Chuck Berry. Why else do you place one of of his numbers with country legend Ernest Tubb?

With that trademark Texas baritone and tight backing from the Texas Troubadours Ernest pulls this off in such style that one might even think it to be a Tubb original.

Doubtful that it gave the original, climbing the charts at the time, much of a run for its money, though I do wonder how many of Tubb's fans were familiar with the original.

Do the Stagger with the Louvins

2009-11-21T22:42:00.003-06:00

THE LOUVIN BROTHERS- The Stagger (Capitol 4331)

In a catalog including classics such as "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby", "Knoxville Girl", and "Cash on the Barrelhead" a 'dance'song catches little respect, but Charlie and Ira's "Stagger" ain't too shabby... but then I dig these big ol' country stars going the rock route. Something odd and appealing about the whole thing. And it being the Louvins is icing on my sugary cake.

I'm A Sad Sack

2009-11-01T00:17:00.003-05:00

SLEEPY MCDANIEL AND HIS RADIO PLAYBOYS- Sad Sack (DC 8040)

1949 release from a Tennesse (?) artist that later became a manager for Hank Snow.

If You're Gonna Play the Jukebox,...

2009-10-28T22:38:00.005-05:00

JOHNNY PAYCHECK- A11 (Hilltop 3007)

Quite simply one of the greatest songs of all time. A favorite for singin' along to in the car. And a favorite for kitchen floor two-steppin' with Mrs. Westex.

Just so very, very good.

Make sure you pick up the Bear Family cd on Donny Young / Johnny Paycheck... EASILY one of the BEST single disc / single artist releases they've ever put out.

A Money Bag Woman

2009-10-23T22:13:00.006-05:00

LUKE McDANIEL- Money Bag Woman (King 1380)

Odds are Luke has gotta have at least a couple of bad discs, but I don't recall having heard any of them as of yet. Luke's got a nice thing going on in "Money Bag Woman".

Steel Guitar

2009-10-18T07:40:00.002-05:00

GOLDIE HILL- Steel Guitar (Decca 29771)

Not a huge fan of "the Golden Hillbilly", but this here's a swift little number. One would expect a song about a steel guitar to have some seriously hot playing, but this comes up just a bit short there as the steel player never really gets to come out and play.

I Can't Get My Pistol Out...

2009-10-08T23:23:00.003-05:00

DUDE MARTIN- Pistol Boogie (Mercury 6378)

The first version I heard of this came from the UK's Tennessee Rhythm Riders way back when. Then I caught a 78 copy of Dick Stratton's EXCELLENT version on the Tennessee label, which broke a few weeks later. So onto Dude Martin's version... not as good, but certainly easier to find.

Swingin' Outta Tulsa...

2009-09-24T23:54:00.004-05:00

LEON MCAULIFF[sic] AND HIS CIMARRON BOYS- Lookin' Glass (Cimarron 4043)

I've always have loved Leon's work and have found myself enjoying more than a few of the releases on he and Don Thompson's Cimarron label. This has an updated 50s swing sound to it, with a foot in the pop-jive style.

Had the Davis Sisters Made It Through the 60s...

2009-09-12T23:28:00.003-05:00

... they mighta sounded like this...

PERRY SISTERS- Scorpio (Raven R-81073)

California sisters rockin' the honky tonk. Bad? Good? Catchy? Yep.

From the distribution warehouse of Little Richie Johnson out in Belen, New Mexico

Cousin Louie on D

2009-09-05T22:44:00.006-05:00

The last few 45s I've posted were all pulled from a South Plains junk store back in July... been posting 45s up at Diggin' It!!! from the same pile...

COUSIN RICHIE- I'm Gonna Tell (D 1190)

This is not a great single. It is though, interesting. Cousin Louie is actually Little Richie Johnson and if you've collected records for any length of time you've surely seen his "Courtesy of..." stamp which is everywhere. The man shifted mountains of records through his central New Mexico record distro.

Just a couple of years prior to his record promotion business Johnson was working for station KARA out of Albuquerque and cut a couple of records for D. D 1190 and D 1197 both featured Red River Dave's sappy "Grand Ole Opry In the Sky", but different flips. "I'm Gonna Tell On You" was originally written by Mckinney, Texas dj George Fleming and released on his own Fleming label in 1959. Weird that a dj 600 miles away would remake the song a year and a half later.

Not Quite Bakersfield Honky Tonk

2009-08-29T16:00:00.001-05:00

GEORGE WESTON- Too Good To Be True (Challenge 59066)

Bakersfield's George Weston hit with a great Tally rocker, made a handful of decent and more than decent records for Gene Autry, and then disappeared again with the dawning of the 60s.

The majority of his output for the Jackpot/Challenge labels, which ain't much, was rounded up on the Sundazed/Hollowbody compilation "Wild Men Ride Guitars". George's efforts for the labels are characterized by a distinctive echoey rhythm. George was obviously a country boy, but one with a rockin' streak. And one that wasn't afraid to stretch the boundaries that would normally restrain a country singer. Weston was a vocal talent as well and could have no doubt been a major voice in 60s honky tonk had he only hung around long enough to really get started.

Lonesome Long John Roller

2009-08-25T22:33:00.004-05:00

LONESOME LONG JOHN ROLLER- Hay Momma (Flag Pole 28)

A lesser known from a Phoenix area dj from the 50s and 60s. I say lesser... rockabilly fans should be familiar with the goofy bopper "Flag Pole Rock". "Hay Momma", like "Flag Pole Rock", features the guitar of Arizona utility man Al Casey. Not a big deal all in all, but a pleasant record.

Fried Chicken and Heart Break

2009-08-21T22:07:00.005-05:00

Here's another record from the Pioneer find. Check my blawg Diggin' It!!! for some rare fuzz and doo wop. My regional blawg LoneStarStomp has got a 25 track round up of Texas sides from the shop.
PAT KAYE AND THE COLONELS- Hello, Colonel Sanders (Kicker K-2)

This one goes out to Greg Germani, a man of fine, fine tastes
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And speaking of fine tastes, Andrew Brown has fired up his own blog about Texas country music titled Wired For Sound. Man is responsible for the short lived but legendary Brown Paper Sack, the excellent Taking Off, and many a set of liner notes. Always an amazing writer and when it comes to the sounds of Texas it would be hard to find anyone who knows more about so much. Check out Wired For Sound HERE. Such a fine start with roughneckin' Jimmy Simpson, the amazing Fred Crawford, and Billy Briggs.

This Record Ain't Just Purty to Look 'it

2009-08-12T09:41:00.014-05:00

'RUSTY MCDONALD' w/ PAT AND BUDDY - Name, Address, and Phone Number (Coast 100)

Rusty McDonald worked heavily around Texas during the 1950s, including a stint as a member of Bob Wills' Texas Playboys. I'd seen Rusty's name on a few releases, but was never particularly taken by his sound until I heard this song on a cd-r a few years back. Since that time I've been keeping my peepers peeped for a copy of my my own. Surprised Ol' Westex when it turned up in a run of grade-A Texas garage records recently. Icing on the cake woulda been that blue vinyl with black streaks.

But this ain't just a pretty record... it's a swell looking piece of vinyl AND a heck of a great tune. The mandolin (see comments below) and Rusty's lazied up vocal highlights this sparse country jiver about a slick tongue'd rounder who just runs himself outta luck.

Now lookie here big boy If you're lookin' for some joy
And maybe a knot on your head
You better get this straight 'cuz my boyfriend's late
And they call him "Terrible Ted"

Gather in your "I's", you better apologize
'Cuz here he comes through the door
Said you "look like an elf,
You better pick yourself a real soft spot on the floor

Gimme your name, address, and phone number
I seemed to hear the bar keep say
Gimme your name, address, and phone number
I can't leave you laying this way

Funniest Sight I Ever Seen...

2009-08-06T21:41:00.004-05:00

JERRY GLENN- Sixteen Chickens & a Tamborine (RCA Victor 5323)

First heard this tune in a cd-r swap about 9 years back. Loved it immediately. Grabbed this RCA flexi promo off ebay for peanuts a couple of years back.

Dallas, Texas related artist I think? RCA banked on him as a cornpone kidbilly novelty. According to Billboard he was picked up at about the same time that RCA grabbed Charlene Arthur.

Tejas Gato Musica, ca. 1955

2009-08-01T22:03:00.004-05:00

RUDY GRAY- You Better Believe It (Capitol 3044)

Keeping on with Starday... sorta.

Rudy started out recording for the West Coast Abbott label before moving over to Capitol for a handful of discs beginning in the year of Elvis. "There's Gonna Be A Ball", his first release for the label, hit the jukes in October of '54 and was fairly hep for a country artist at the time. I'm not shaken by the thing, but even Billboard magazine realized somethin' to be afoot, even affixing the "cat music" tag to the disc. "You Better Believe It" followed early the next year and is greatest non-Starday achievement in my opinion. Jive'y rhythms with a gimmicky voice were rock n' roll as it existed, but there were still country elements noticeable. There would be a third and final disc for Capitol, a poor reworking of "Hearts Made of Stone" called "Please Big Mama". Weird because the flip of his first Capitol release was "Hearts Made of Stone".

And then Rudy re-chicano-ized his name to Grayzell and hit on the Texas-based Starday with one of the label's best two-siders in"Ducktail" (Yowza!) b/w "You're Gone" (Kapow!), followed by odd-titled by hepped up "Ji-Ga-Lee-Ga". Most would say his masterpiece was 1957's frantic "Let's Get Wild"... hard to argue with that.

Rudy's still out there going strong, but based out of the Northwest these days.

And if'n ya' ain't familiar Rudy Tutti's story check out issue #7 of KICKS magazine where he spills beans on tons of wild tales. It's like "Let's Get Wild" for real!

Puttin' A Little 'Star' in Your 'Day'

2009-07-28T10:30:00.006-05:00

BOB HEPPLER- One Step Ahead (Starday 107)

Jack & Neva Starnes kicked off the famed Starday label in August of 1953, and for the next few months pushed hard to get attention for the new label. A scan of Billboard entries for the time shows Patsy Elshire (got 'Stomped HERE), teenager Mary Jo Chelette, Blackie Crawford & his Western Cherokees, Arlie Duff and Bob Heppler spending much time on the road. Heppler was for a time a member of the Western Cherokees, and it would stand to reason that this is who is backing him on his Starday releases. Could be possible that a future west Texan is on board as well as a couple of the Hayes Brothers and Freddie Frank fiddled with the Cherokees during this period. According to Andrew Brown this was a chaotic time for the band with members moving in and out at a pretty steady pace.

"One Step Ahead" features fine playing straight through with a nice stomp on the backside driving the whole affair. Sweet steel and fine honky tonkin' pianner swing it out nicely. Probably a favorite among the dancers of the east Texas honky tonks these fellers roosted in.

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Got a couple of Starday sides up on my regional blawg, LoneStarStomp, right now. Both are from '56 and feature the husband/wife duo of Jimmy and Dorothy Blakley from Roswell, New Mexico. Check 'em out HERE.

Mood Music for a Lazy Sunday Afternoon

2009-07-26T14:54:00.008-05:00

OCIE STOCKARD AND HIS WANDERERS- Cow Town Boogie b/w Nobody Cares (King 634)

Here's one that just FEELS like a lazy Sunday afternoon. We've got cloudy skies out here in West Texas, and I could probably stand to nap in the hammock on the back porch, but that would involve going out to the garage to get it off the wall and hanging it up. I'll just post this 1947 release from banjo man Ocie's combo and head over to the couch para una siesta.

Harry Choates Should Have Listened To This Song

2009-07-14T08:54:00.007-05:00

I'm not a huge fan of fiddle music. I like fiddles, I'm just not a fiddle fan. And what I mean is this (speaking as someone does not like fiddles): They should swing the song or push the song, but I'm not of the idea that they should be the song. So how about a tune from one of the kings of the fiddle?

HARRY CHOATES-I've Quit My Cattin' Around (Macy's Recordings 147)

Others with far more knowledge and know-how than I have looked at the wobbly life of Harry. He quit school young to play music, came up with "Jolie Blonde"- probably the anthem of southeast Texas/southwest Louisiana, drank himself to the end (1951), and kept on releasing records well after his passing.

The vocal "Cattin' Around" splits East Texas tavern and Parisian jazz to a nice lazy effect... good stuff.

If You Don't Believe I'm Leaving...

2009-07-11T22:18:00.005-05:00

I finally broke down and bought a new 78 needle, so I've got a handful of hillbilly and honk n' tonk 78s lined up...

TOMMY SOSEBEE- If You Don't Believe I'm Leaving (Just Count the Days I'm Gone) (Coral 64110)

I have two Tommy Sosebee singles on the shelves, neither being his excellent "Barber Shop Boogie", but both being Coral 78s. I recall picking this one up just east of Moriarty, New Mexico about 5 years back. We'll be headed back out that direction soon enough...

Tommy signed on with Coral in the late 1940s and racked up quite a few lackluster sides for the label while working out of Missouri in the 50s, even becoming a member of the Grand Ol' Opry along the way. There would also be a stint with the famed, but declining, Big "D" Jamboree in Dallas.

"If You Don't Believe I'm Leaving" is a fine bluesy effort that I've enjoyed for some time... it's actually one of my mostest favoritest country 78s. Tommy's voice is in the pocket and the band plays close in and clean, for a nice production. Probably coulda stood a bit more bluesin', but I still digs it muchly.

Earl Scott's a Little Frustrated

2009-07-08T21:17:00.004-05:00

EARL SCOTT- Everybody's Got Their Own Little Thing Going (Stop 341)

I knew nothing about Earl Scott other than he had a hit of some sort on Mercury with a song titled "Loose Lips". But in the short stack of 45s I pulled outta a San Antonio Half Price Books a couple of weeks back was this piece by Earl on Stop. Using Google's excellent new book search, and their collection of Billboards specifically, the gist of Earl is this...

The Scott Family, including a brother named Jack, moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico from Ohio in the 1950s. It was brother Jack and Richie Johnson (in the later 60s he'd be that guy outta Belen stampin' Little Richie's Records on TONS of country 45s) that convinced Earl he had talent which led to his inking up with Mercury where he had his hit. He seems to have drawn a bit more attention at Kapp before moving onto Decca (think I've got a couple of those on the shelves).

By the 1970 Earl was contracted with Pete Drake's Stop Records where he recorded this hard driving honky tonker loaded with frustration with the world around him. Good, good stuff and just one more example of country music NOT dying off in some random year.

Eddie Noack and the Possum: The SouthEast (Texas) Meets the Far East

2009-07-06T21:23:00.008-05:00

Ol' Westex has been burning up the interstates, highways, and biways of this fine state the past couple of weeks. But I'm back new with a new round of discs, so be checking here at Country. & Western for new twangs and Diggin' It!!! for other assorted hootch that got scooped. Make sure and stop in at my regional blawg, LoneStarStomp, as well.

GEORGE JONES- The Poor Chinee (Musicor MU-1289)

When Pappy Daily and Don Pierce split the Starday roster Pappy pretty much laid his hopes of future success with George Jones. His Mercury waxings showed the makings of a star, someone who could ascend the vacated throne of Hank. Pappy rode the George Jones train for some time, taking Jones and other 'D' artists to United Artists and then later Musicor.

Throughout his career Jones has cut oddball little things here and there, but few could cause more headscratching than this Eddie Noack penned number from 1968. "The Poor Chinee" is odd even for Eddie Noack.
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If your pockets are deep enough don't forget that Bear Family just released a box set of George's Musicor recordings... Check it on out over HERE.

Love 'im, Hate 'im... It's Eddie Noack

2009-06-21T00:08:00.005-05:00

Lessee...

Was "Dolores" the first thing I really heard by Eddie Noack? From God Less America? What was that.. 10 years ago this July? And maybe it was just a few months later that I acquired my first 45 by Eddie... "Barbara Joy" on K-Ark I do believe. Maybe "Psycho" was next. Two songs about killers and one about rape. Hello Eddie Noack... please to meet ya'!

There are few artists in country music like Eddie Noack. The man had some stuff going on, but what a tunesmith! And what a singer! "Have Blues- Will Travel" features what has to be, in my mind, one of the greatest openings in all of country music.

It's not in the papers or on the air
The bad news is in my baby's letter
She said she don't love me, don't even care
She told me I should try to forget her
-from "Have Blues- Will Travel" (w/ Wayne Walker)

But then Noack did graduate from college w/ a degree in English and Journalism, so there ya' go.

Noack's first recordings were done for Gold Star and he eventually came around to Four Star as a part of R.D. Hendon's group, on to TNT, Starday, D, Mercury, Allstar, REM, K-Ark... and on and on. Along the way he penned two standards of country music, "These Hands" (supposedly written while on early morning guard duty at Fort Bliss in El Paso) and "Too Hot To Handle". His 1969 recording of Leon Payne's "Psycho" for K-Ark defines him and his aura as much as anything else he did in his almost 50 years on this earth.

What I've included here is most of what I have in my Noack collection. It's not all I have, but 15 of my favorites. Surely there are others out there with far deeper collections than mine. I do often lie awake at night lamenting in a Noackian sense that I do not own a single release on TNT, or how my life would be that much better with more Stardays. Or the obscure issue on REM. And then there's that other weird record on K-Ark, "House On the Mountain".

I ran these in roughly the order Eddie released 'em...

01 Take It Away Lucky (Starday 159)
My favorite track by Eddie. Fiddle into the steel. The opening lines. Classic Texas honky tonk... "get hit by a truck and git a busted head, everybody says lucky he ain't dead..."

02 A Thinking Man's Woman (A Loving Man's Girl) (D 1060)
03 Don't Look Behind (D 1060)
04 Walk 'Em Off (D 1037)
05 Have Blues- Will Travel (D 1019)
06 Relief Is Just A Swallow Away (D 1094)
I picked up each of these D 45s in a big trade that saw me forking over a nice enough 78 rpm copy of Sun 209 for miles and miles of wax and shellac. What was I gonna do with "That's All Right"? Play it on the rare occasion to show off? Surely one of the greatest records of all time, but at the very least I got four of Eddie's best, all of 'em low down boppers. And I mean LOW down.

07 Firewater Luke (Mercury 71705)
At least it's not as goofy as that Hooky schlock.

08 Too Hot To Handle (Allstar 7252)
09 The Fall-Out (Keeps On Hurting) (Allstar 7296)
"Too Hot To Handle" is one of Eddie's signature tunes, but most country fans are probably familiar with the song via Gene O'Quin or Frankie Miller. "The Fall-Out" is waaaay Buck Owens/Don Rich. From the famed Houston song-poem label.

10 Beer Drinking Blues (K-Ark 902)
11 Dolores (K-Ark 902)
12 Barbara Joy (K-Ark 964)
13 Psycho (K-Ark 843)
"Beer Drinking Blues" is an old hit- sorta- for Rocky Bill Ford. A few people remade it over the years, but I'd lay money on Eddie's version being the best... got a weird diagonal slouch to it. Like that makes any sense. "Dolores", "Barbara Joy", and "Psycho" are the K-Ark 'weird' trilogy. "Dolores" and "Psycho" are the murder songs and "Barbara Joy" is love gone really wrong. I'll never forget the first time my wife heard it... "That's such a pretty song.... about rape."

14 These Hands (Wide World 803)
Probably Eddie's biggest hit. By other artists. According to an interview done with Eddie a few years before his passing this was penned while Eddie was on guard duty at Fort Bliss in El Paso back in the 40s. It was a dark night and Eddie was staring off into that vast emptiness of the Chihuahuan desert when the idea hit him. It was a #5 hit for Hank Snow in 1956 and has gone on to be a sort of second or third-tier standard of country music. As far as I know this was the first time Eddie recorded the song for the purpose of releasing it as a single himself.

15 The Memories Are Restless Tonight (Tellet Country 1005)
By 1974 the voice was weak, but that bent quality was not.

There ya' go. Eddie Noack. You'll love him. Your wife will hate him. That's Eddie.

Cactus recently put out two volumes of Noack material. Volume One hits the D and Starday era, while the second volume catches much of his later work. (Thanks to Al from NYC who gave me a heads up on that). Ace did a set on Eddie back in the early 80s and then someone issued an lp's worth of Eddie's work a short time later. Needless to say both are out of print and not easy to find.

There's a rather large discography of Eddie's HUGE body of work at PragueFrank's EXCELLENT blog...

One Last Dose of D... Bill Price

2009-06-19T11:08:00.009-05:00

BILL PRICE- I Think I Will Go Up On the Mountain (D 1277)

Probably my second D record? Interesting bit o' mountain music about a man's cheatin' gal who loves meet the newcomers and allcomers, much to Bill's regret. Bill... who thinks that he could put a rope around her to keep her home.

The strains of bluegrass in the song probably connect this Bill with another Bill Price from Texas who recorded bluegrass for RCA-Victor as the Country Pardners. No idea fer shore, though.

Gripe time... this is an excellent piece of uptempo music. But it's also one of those pieces that would fit into this growing category of 'country bopper', a phrase that's becoming country music's equivalent of 'northern soul'. Uptempo country with a beat- however so slight- is not necessarily a bopper. But there's a whole of mess of ebay sellers who love to use that phrase whenever they're not willing to call something rockabilly. Buyers beware.
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Make sure you're checking the recent archives as I've been hittin' posts pretty quick the past few days. Dailey (ha) actually since last Saturday's post on Lowell Knipp's boppin' "Goofy Little Bug".

Check my regional blawg thang LoneStarStomp for another dose of "D" with Roswell, New Mexico's Jimmy Blakley.