I just loves me some old snappin & cracklin vinyl on my new fangled toy, and boy ... you whipper snappers will be getting lots more oldies from around here...Here's a random batch for now...
These are tracks I recently converted from the dusty vinyl realm to the dusty digital realm fer yer downloadin & i-podding pleasure... likely most are out of print, or just plain scarce even if ya can dig em up.
This next cut was from a 45 I knew I had to pick up when I saw the songwriting credit listed as Naomi Neville. I had never heard of the group or the label, but I knew that Naomi Neville is a pseudonym for none other than Allen Toussaint.
Turns out the Stokes were a group from Houston featuring Allen and the Fayard brothers that cut some cool instrumental tracks while Allen was awaiting his discharge form the military. These sides were cut for ALON records ( that's NOLA backwards y'all). The label was an imprint managed by Allen's then partner Joe Banashak. Once he was out of the military, Allen left Banashak whom he was having differences with to join Marshall Sehorn and form Sea-Saint Studios. The Stokes tracks are fairly rare, the major one being a little ditty known as Whipped Cream, a track that Toussaint released in 1965, but Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass took a cover version up the charts, leaving Toussaint's original in the dust. Here's the B-side a tune called Piecrust.The Stokes - Piecrust
Clarence Reid is a notorious Miami based figure in R&B, you may have heard of his albums released under his pseudonym Blowfly, a recent release just turned up on Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles imprint.
His career is filled with footnotes that make him ever interesting to muscologists, what with almost 4000 songs published by BMI under his name. Some are huge million seller hits pened for soulful luminaries like Betty Wright ( "Clean Up Woman,") and Gwen McRae ("Rockin' Chair" etc), and he didsome writing & production for the multi platinum machine that is Harry Wayne Casey ( aka KC & the Sunshine Band). His Blowfly material has been sampled by the likes of Eminem, Ice T and P Diddy, but here on this old school track though is Reid under his own name, kickin' down a classic funky jam that is a dance floor burner that needs no dirty comedic gimmick to catch your attention. Released circa 1969 on Henry Stone's Atlantic affiliated Alston label, it features the Memphis horns and gets a righteous groove up in no time. The tune hit #7 on the soul music charts back in the day. I see that Rhino has finally done the righteous remaster & reissue job, but here it is in all it's cracklin' glory off an old school vinyl 45 that's been buried for years.Clarence Reid - Nobody But You Babe
Louisiana Rockabilly legend Dale Hawkins cut Susie-Q first as a demo in 1956 at KWKH Radio in Shereveport, the tape was picked up by Chicago's Chess brothers for distro through their Checker label. The record features future Elvis backing band member James Burton on guitar, he was just 15 at the time. Burton was a child prodigy of sorts who had already played in the Louisiana Hayride backing group, but the older Hawkins instilled a love of the blues into him as well.
Here's a pic of Dale on the right and on the left, the guy that made him lots o
f money, that being John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival. A little over 10 years after the original ha faded from the scene, CCR recut & revitalized Hawkins lil' rockabilly number and turned it into a a perennial classic rock radio fave.
Dale Hawkins - Susie Q
In addition to co-composing & cutting the famed Susie Q, in the 60's Dale later was an A&R guy for RCA involved with Harry Nilsson, and produced single hits like Judy In Disguise ( with glasses) for John Fred & the Playboys and the bubblegum psychedelia classic Western Union for the Five Americans.
anyhow, that's all fer now ye radio rejecting rebels... gotta go... the work day is calling...
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