In the 'Juke Box Pearls' series, Bear Family Records pays attention to Lillian Briggs this time. The fact is that Lillian Briggs did not actually get the fame she deserved. The 32 largely uptempo songs on this album were recorded between 1955 and 1961 and cover the genres from rocking rhythm & blues, rock 'n' roll to more pop-oriented songs. As you will soon hear, Lillian had an extremely powerful voice, but she could also handle the trombone quite well. In her youth she mainly listened to jump blues and jazz and you can hear that in her songs. You undoubtedly know opener 'I Want You To Be My Baby', but perhaps in Louis Jordan's version. Here you get the song in Lillian's 1955 version, but also as an instrumental by the Lillian Briggs Orchestra and finally in a more twisted version that Briggs recorded in 1961. You also get the Lillian Briggs Orchestra a second time with the equally instrumental 'Delilah'. On both instrumental tracks you can hear Lillian as lead trombonist. Her jazzy side is reflected in, among others, 'It Couldn't Been Me'. That rocking rhythm & blues also goes well for her is evident from 'Rock 'n' Roll-y Poly Santa Claus' and 'Follow The Leader'. She rocks even more in 'Come Here'. She is a bit softer in the rather poppy 'Eddie My Love' and she also shines in the emotional 'Mean Words' and 'Will We Meet Again'. But also her cover versions of 'Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop' and 'Rag Mop' she knows how to provide them with the necessary dynamics. Bluesy Lillian comes out in 'Sugar Blues'.
In short, Lillian Briggs was not only blessed with a powerful, clear voice, but could also handle various genres, whether it was rocking rhythm & blues, blues, rock 'n' roll, jazz or rather pop, she always knew them all to perform in the right way.
In the 36-page colorful booklet you receive an extensive biography, as well as all recording information for the tracks and beautiful photos, on which you can also see Lillian at work as a trombonist.

The Ford Motor Company was founded on June 16, 1903 by Henry Ford. That same year, Ford achieved its first success with the production of the 'Model A'. A model that was extremely popular in the late 1940s as a basis for designing and building Hot Rods. After the end of the Second World War, the 'T model' (1910-1920), the 'As model' (1928-1931) and the 'Bs model' (1932-1934) were extremely popular among Hot Rod enthusiasts. In the fifties it were the rockers who organized races for it. In the more luxurious segment of the car industry, Ford scored with the Lincoln, named after President Abraham Lincoln. However, not all models that Ford launched were successful. The 1949 to 1951 Fords were labeled as 'shoe box cars' and the Ford Edsel, named after Henry's son, was a commercial flop. The reasons for the lack of success were the appearance, the economic recession, the price problem and the numerous production problems, such as defective welds, leaking trunks and problems with the power steering.
Ford later expanded its branches worldwide, which gave the brand a lot of name recognition. Over the years, Ford allo bought Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar and Aston Martin.
Reasons enough to put Ford in the spotlight on its 121st anniversary with 30 songs by well-known and lesser-known artists. The songs may have the name 'Ford' in the lyrics or the bands may have chosen a Ford model as the name.
'Start the engine and let's go'! Who immediately sounds through the speakers is Curtis Gordon, who delivers a hell of a rockabilly song with 'Draggin''. Curtis is followed by class act Gene Vincent who talks about his 'Pink Thunderbird', 'with a red fur seat'. Eddie Cochran also honored Ford with 'Pink Peg Slacks' and in 'Somethin' Else'.
More famous people arrive with Janis Martin. She transformed Buck Griffin's 'Let's Elope Baby' into a real rock 'n' roller. 'She had a high speed motor in a 44 coupe', impressed the rocking 'Hot Rod Baby' Rocky Davis. Lefty Nicks gives his 'Model A-Ford Blues' an authentic country blues jacket. The T-model inspired Rosco Gordon for his 'T-Model Boogie'. Willie Love was more in the mood for a stronger engine. He chose 'V8 Ford', a song that exudes a slow blues atmosphere. A beautiful piece of blues harp is cleverly contained in 'Mercury Boogie' by K.C Douglas Trio.
Betty Rogers presents a wonderful cover version of Hank Williams' 'Hey Good Lookin''. Buddy Knox also opted for a cover. He took Chuck Berry's 'Maybellene' and gave it a great rockabilly twist.
For beautiful doo-wop you can go to The Fairlanes and 'Johnny Rhythm'. The Fairlanes later appear together with lead singer Charles Perrywell in 'Come Along With Me', which has a Chuck Berry edge. You get Chuck Berry himself in 'Jaguar and Thunderbird'.
More doo-wop comes with the band that chose a Ford model as the group name, namely The Edsels. They go up-tempo in 'Shake Sherry Shake'. The Lincolns also chose their group name in the same way. They are present with the also uptempo 'Pleasin' You - Pleases Me'.
There is also beautiful harmony singing with the vocal women's group The Delicates in 'Black And White Thunderbird'. Another vocal group The Paramounts chose the same model with 'Thunderbird Baby'. You can certainly rock on the sax-driven instrumental 'What's The Word' by The Thunder Rocks. Another nice instrumental serves up Sunset Dragster's Orchestra. You can hear what a Thunderbird should sound like in their 'Boss T Bird'.
The album ends with 'Arkie Meets The Judge' by Arkie Shibley and The Mountain Dew Boys, set to a hillbilly instrumental background.
'121 Years Of The Ford Car' is not only a beautiful ode to a car brand that made mobility possible for the general public, but also offers a collection of sublime songs in genres such as blues, rock 'n' roll, rockabilly and hillbilly. This album is definitely recommended on a long car trip, or at home in your familiar surroundings. The choice is yours!

In 2018, this trio surprised us with their album 'Boogie In The Shack'. Although we could expect quality, we could deduce from the line-up. After all, the members were no strangers to the rock 'n' roll scene. First there was the energetic Jake Calypso, also known from the band with His Red Hot, The Corals, Mystery Train and Hot Chickens. There was also Helen Shadow, who we remembered from The Blue Ridge Rockets, The Johnson Family, The Queen Bs and The Shooting Stars. And finally there was Ricky Lee Brawn, who earned his nods with The Stargazers, The Big Six, The Space Cadets and Johnny Back And The Moonshine Boozers. Now, roughly 6 years later, the trio is still there and they have come up with 'Generation Rock n' Roll', released as a Rhythm Bomb Records 20th Anniversary Edition. Jake is still the bass, harmonica and guitar man. Traditionally, Helen Shadow is busy on the six strings and Ricky Lee Brawn flogs the drum heads. All three are responsible for the vocal parts.
The album has 13 tracks, the majority of which came from the pens of Jake and Helen. The trio immediately takes off with 'Back In Black', a Calypso composition. Their craftsmanship is immediately reflected in a rock-solid song with a sublime guitar part. Helen Shadow immediately signs for successor 'Chickies', which is also bursting at the seams with energy and can boast of Jake's pumping bass. Things get even wilder in 'Miss Pussy', which gets started with a quirky intro. With the instrumental 'Timeless', which sounds somewhat spacious, the gass pedal is given some rest. Not for long, however, because with the title track, which nods to psychobilly, it becomes 'pedal to the metal' again. A great authentic rock song is without a doubt 'Don't Know Where I'm Goin'', a composition by Helen. A super beautiful track is also the quieter, country-influenced 'I'll Be Just Fine'. 'Party Doll Got Married' makes the thoughts wander to that guy from Lubbock Texas, called Buddy Holly. In French, Jake's native language, the album ends rockingly with 'A Plein Coeur'.
With 'Generation Rock n' Roll' by The Nut Jumpers it's party time, although sometimes a break at the bar is necessary. A hell of an album!

The band Max Merritt and The Meteors may not immediately bring back memories for you. That is the case in New Zealand. After all, in the period 1959 - 1963 they were the hottest rock 'n' roll band that introduced the new music genre there, as well as in Australia. Moreover, they were involved in the rock 'n' roll scene for a long time.
Maxwell James Merritt was born on April 30, 1941 in Christchurch, New Zealand. Already at the age of 12 he took guitar lessons for fun. At the age of 15, he left school and went to work in his father's construction company. At that age, Max also fell under the spell of the emerging energetic rock 'n' roll and the construction company no longer interested him. He used his wages to buy his first electric guitar and made it a point to make a living as a celebrated rock 'n' roll artist. In the first version of The Meteors, Max perfected his performance. From 1955, American soldiers were stationed in Christchurch. A year later, Max Merritt and The Meteors were often guests at the American base, where they played the American hits of the time for the staff. In 1959, Max and his colleagues signed a contract with His Master's Voice. That same year they also made their first recording with 'Get A Haircut / Dixieland Rock'. An original recording linked to a cover that Elvis sang in the film 'King Creole'. The same pattern was followed for the second recording. The original rocker 'Kiss Curl' was given the cover 'You Made Me Love You' as a b side. The line-up of The Meteors underwent quite a few changes and studio musicians were also hired in addition to The Meteors for the recording of the long player 'C'mon Let's Go'. In early 1962 the band moved to Australia. There they recorded two singles for His Master's Voice with cover versions of songs by Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and the British group Dave Sampson and The Hunters. After His Master's Voice terminated the contract, the band signed with the New Zealand Zodiac and Viking labels. The first punk bands emerged in the mid-1970s and although Max then found refuge on the Arista label, further success failed. Nevertheless, his songs 'Slippin' Away' and 'Hey, Western Union Man' did hit the Australian charts. At the end of the decade, Merritt moved to Los Angeles. During the last seven years of his life, he was affected by a rare autoimmune disease that produces antibodies that attack the lungs and kidneys. Max Merritt died on September 24, 2020 in the middle of the corona period, so no funeral ceremony could take place. That same year he was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall Of Fame.
On 'Get A Haircut' the Rockstar label puts Max Merritt and The Meteors in the spotlight on the basis of 24 tracks. The tracks contain 22 recordings that Max Merritt made together with The Meteors. He recorded the other 2 songs as a solo artist. All songs were recorded between 1959 and 1963. The tracks come from the 45 tours and the LP 'C'mon Let's Go' and contain both original songs and cover versions. It quickly becomes clear that Max Merritt and The Meteors had the fiery rock 'n' roll in temp. The origineels 'Get A Haircut' and 'Kiss Curl' should certainly not turn a blind eye to American rock 'n' roll. Merritt sings convincingly and The Meteors lay an extremely tight musical foundation. In addition, 'Weekend' is a beautiful song, in which the more acoustic side of Max is discussed.
Merritt's craftsmanship comes to the surface very impressively in the traditional 'I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen', a folk song that he transforms with verve into a full-fledged rock 'n' roll song. Superior!
The fact that Max could also relate perfectly to covers is evident in, among others, 'Sea Cruise', the Elvis-known slow 'I Was The One', 'Tennessee Waltz', Ray Charles' soulful rhythm & blues 'Hallelujah I Love Her So' and Cochran's ‘C'mon Everybody’. The 'Teen Beat' borrowed from Sandy Nelson and the original 'Soft Surfie', a beautiful surf song, provide nice instrumentals. As a solo artist we hear Max in the guitar-driven instrumental 'The Slow One' and the equally instrumental rocking 'Cossack', with which the album also ends.
'Get A Haircut' by Max Merritt and The Meteors is a more than formidable album and definitely worth discovering.

'School Is In' is the first volume in the two-part series 'School House Rock'. The school was part of the daily lives of the teenagers who embraced the new genres of rock 'n' roll and rockabilly. In addition to attending classes and the associated tests, many romances also developed at school. Romances where joy and sadness were often close together. It is therefore self-evident that all these items provided a lot of inspiration for the artists who had often only just left their school years few behind them. On the first volume 'School Is In' you get 34 tracks that focus on school and everything related to it. You are undoubtedly familiar with some of these recordings, such as Chuck Berry's 'School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes The Bell)' and Jerry Lee Lewis' 'High School Confidential'. These can also be found on this album. Others may sound less familiar or even unknown to you, so time to discover them. The words 'Little School Girl' will often appear in the titles and lyrics. This happens for the first time with Wilbert Harrison, who gives his 'Little School Girl' a poppy exotic atmosphere. Mastering the alphabet in a rocking way, then 'A.B.C. Rock' by Bill Haley and His Comets has come to the right place. And also pay attention to Billy Williamson's beautiful vocals. Dorsey and Johnny Burnette wrote Ricky Nelson's 'Waitin' In School', here in Frankie Lymon's version. The title track 'School Is In' comes from the young Gary (U.S.) Bonds, who would later achieve great acclaim. The song has a lot of rhythm & blues in its genes, although the teenagers of the time would not have been able to identify with the lyrics. The Delacardos deliver an excellent slow doo-wop song with 'Letter To A School Girl'. Later, The Delacardos would later focus more on the soul repertoire. Uptempo doo-wop follows later with '(I Wanna) Dance With The Teacher' by The Olympics. The “5” Roayles give you more goosebumps-inducing harmonies with 'School Girl'. They are followed in the same genre by 'High School Affair' by The Five Chums. And The Falcons also provide beautiful vocal performances in 'The Teacher', just like The Winstons in 'School Girl'. Don Willis provides exciting rockabilly drenched in echo in 'Boppin' High School Baby'. Chubby Checker would later have a world hit with 'Let's Twist Again'. Here you get Chubby with the formidable, somewhat hilarious sounding 'The Class'. The Shades are completely unknown. Incomprehensible because 'School Bus' is a pearl of 'teenager garage rock'. The pop-infused 'School Bus Love Affair' by Wynn Stewart certainly sounds impressive. Duets only occur sporadically in rock 'n' roll. Don and Bob demonstrate that it can be done successfully in 'Good Morning, Little School Girl', as well as The Kalin Twins with 'School Bell Dream'. For major tearjerkers, skip to 'High School Dance' by the emotional Larry Williams and 'Yearbook' by John D. Loudermilk. Larry Birdsong also scores well with the rocking rhythm & blues 'Little School Girl'.
Furthermore, excellent rocking work from Gene Summers, Bird Rollins, Billy Harian, Joey Dee and The Starliters, Sonny James, Doug Connell, Benny Joy, Conway Twitty, Ronnie Allen, Frankie Avalon and closing act Jimmy Case.
'School House Rock, Vol. 1, School Is In!' is the soundtrack of the young people who were still considered teenagers in the fifties. A soundtrack that still sounds energetic and fresh more than half a century later. So we will be curiously looking forward to the second volume. This first volume is highly recommended.

You recently could read the review of volume 43 in the 'That'll Flat...Git It! series, and now volume 45 is in our playback device. I already hear you asking... and where is volume 44? Well, that volume was already released in August 2023 and you can reread its review here. Okay, but now back to volume 45 which focuses on Imperial Records releases. The label had country, rockabilly and New Orleans rhythm & blues in its catalog. A catalog that was also supplemented with subgenres. The label produced many well-known artists. Just think of Ricky Nelson, The Burnette Brothers, Merle Kilgore, Lew Williams, Laura Lee Perkins, Dennis Herrold, Jackie Walker and Bob Luman. Other names that would later come into the spotlight are the then young Freddy Fender and Roy Brown, who later made a name for himself as a blues shouter. These buzzing names are joined by lesser-known and obscure artists. Tommy Lomonte kicks off. Together with the famous Dave Bartholomew he wrote the super rocker 'Yeah, Yeah, Yeah'. Tommy is followed by Ricky Nelson with 'Shirley Lee'. Nelson returns twice more with 'One Of These Mornings' and 'Milk Cow Blues'. Another great one within the genre was Bob Luman. He appears four times, including the often covered 'Red Cadillac And A Black Moustache', which Bob was the first artist to record. In 'Blue Days, Black Nights' he shows his country side a luttele more. Merle Kilgore was also one of the showpieces of the Imperial label. He is included on this compilation with three songs. The somewhat slow 'Start All Over Again' is intriguing. In addition to being a performing artist, Kilgore has also written many hits, such as 'Ring Of Fire' by Johnny Cash, with June Carter as co-writer. A strong hillbilly undertone characterizes Gene Henslee's 'Rockin' Baby' and 'Diggin' 'n' Datin''. With a very raw voice, Laura Lee Perkins works her way through 'Kiss Me Baby'. Remarkable is certainly 'So Shy' by The Leen Teens. Song that floats on a nice clean guitar sound. Voice drenched in echo and rock 'n' roll and rockabilly go together perfectly more than once. A good example of this is 'Get Off My Back' by Jay Blue. A highlight is certainly Ronnie Smith's 'Long Time No Love', which features a cool piano. Song written by Roy Orbison. Roy Brown showcases a relaxed blues atmosphere in 'Slow Down Little Eva'. Dorsey and Johnny Burnette composed 'Yes, I'm Gonna Love You', which you get here in Sonny Anderson's version. For a formidable instrumental guitar rocker you can go to The Sidewinders and their 'Sidewinder'. Long before he made a name for himself as a country artist in the seventies, Freddy Fender was active as a rocker. You can witness this during the slow rocking 'Mean Woman'.
This compilation once again makes it clear that Imperial took many well-known artists under its wing. A lot of attention was also paid to the recordings. Excellent compositions, clever arrangements and beautiful vocal performances completed the picture. All things you would expect from a well-known record label.

This fifth volume in the 'Whip Masters Instrumentals' series once again shows that many attractive instrumental songs were recorded within the roots genres. The album traditionally contains 30 tracks, all recorded between 1952 and 1963. You will find little or nothing of many of the artists brought together here. However, the music they made has undoubtedly stood the test of time. Give that volume knob a good push to the right and let your neighbors enjoy the scorching tracks. Jerry Neal can start with the very special, slightly Eastern sounding 'Scratchin''. Later, 'Ali Baba' by The Satellites also sounds very Eastern. Neal is followed by Bob Moore And The Temps, who spice up their rocking 'Braggin'' with harmonica and organ. Zydeco artist Clifton Chenier is unique on the accordion. An instrument that rocks in his hands like no other. You will get a taste of this during 'The Big Wheel'. Carl Newman shifts things up a gear. Pounding drums form the basis for the exciting 'Tom-Tom'. The East also inspired Walkin' Charlie Aldrich and The Way Outers, as can be heard in 'Hot Sake'. In the blues you will find many great instrumental songs. Usually they have either the guitar or the harmonica in the front. In 'Chicken' Baby Boy Warren does it with the harmonica. And also pay attention to the percussion on the washboard. Blues is also one of the ingredients of 'The Grunt' by The Fifty Milers. The organ, supplemented with guitar, is the lead instrument on 'Tarantula' by The Tarantulas. Wonderful instrumental guitar rock 'n' roll comes with 'Ad Lib' and The Galaxies. Byron Gosh Group presents a song that contains both a portion of rhythm & blues and rock 'n' roll in 'Disgusting'. Genres that are also part of 'Rock! Rock! Rock!' by Willis 'Gator' Jackson and his orchestra, including a fantastic performance from the horn section. Rhythm & blues is also the basis for Dave Hamilton's 'Cooter Bug' and 'Walking The Beat' by Ernie Freeman. 'Tickle Toe' by Paul Gayten sounds playful, partly due to the piano. The race to conquer space inspired many artists. This includes Young John Watson, who creates a nice space sound in 'Space Guitar'. An impressive song is the hillbilly-influenced 'Aungalala' by Tex Carman, with a lightning-fast intro on the six strings.
Surf is rather the genre in which The Pyramids, Chiyo and The Crescents, Manuel and The Renegades, The Nite Sounds and The Losers shine.
In his uniquely recognizable style, Link Wray and his Wraymen close with 'Slinky'.
Clean sounding guitars, refreshing organ sounds, drums that provide a solid beat and creative horns, you get it all on one plate on the fifth volume in the 'Whip Masters Instrumentals' series. It's up to you to devour it eagerly.

Benny Joy appeared recently on this site, but now Bear Family Records is also paying tribute to this rocker. Joy was born on November 5, 1935 and died of cancer at the age of 52. Unfortunately, as a performing artist he could not achieve the intended and above all, deserved success. However, that changed when rock 'n' roll and rockabilly were undergoing a revival in the seventies and eighties of the last century. As a songwriter he achieved this with hits he wrote for Jackie Wilson, Charlie Rich, Johnny Cash and Carl Smith, among others. Benny's compositions for fellow artists are not included on this compilation. 'Rocks' puts Benny Joy in the spotlight as a performer. With 'Little Red Book', 'Miss Bobby Sox', 'Crash The Party', 'Spin The Bottle', 'Button Nose' and 'Jukebox Rock' he has fifties classics to his name. Naturally, these songs are all on this album. You will also hear lesser-known, but no less appreciated, songs. 'Wild Wild Lover', 'Gossip, Gossip, Gossip', 'I'm Gonna Move' and 'Love Zone' also shine here. Benny recorded his repertoire for various labels, such as Tri-Dec, Dixie, Antler, Ram and Decca. In addition to his recordings from the fifties, 'Rocks' also contains a number of Joy's recordings and demos from the '70s and '80s. Such as the 1981 'Dark Angel' and 'Indian Giver', which clearly contain traces of country and Cash.
This album contains a total of 30 songs, of which Benny Joy can be heard on 27 of them. The other 3 are filled in by Big John Taylor, Benny's musical partner for many years. Together they also recorded their very first single 'Hey... High School Baby! / Spin The Bottle' for Tri-Dec in 1957. Big John Taylor shows off his talent on the six strings with verve on the instrumentals 'Money Money' and 'Rebel Rock'. Vocally you can hear him at work on 'Talking About It'.
This compilation proves that Benny Joy was an excellent rocker. Many of his songs have so much hit potential that it remains a mystery why they didn't become hits. In any case, it was not due to the song quality and performance. Benny is still 'unknown and unloved' for many. Fortunately, compilations like this change that. You can read more about Benny as well as the tracks in the 32-page awesome executed booklet.

With 'Deadlines' Joakim Tinderholt is on his third album. He explores all corners of the roots genres, from rhythm & blues to rock 'n' roll and soul. 'Deadlines' contains 10 songs, 5 of which are original songs and the rest are carefully selected covers. In addition to his regular band, Joakim called on a number of guest musicians. For example, 'Sax' Gordon Beadle can be heard on tenor sax, Frederik Mustad is on the Hammond B3 organ, Daniel Eriksen takes care of the slide guitar and Christoffer 'Kid' Andersen, together with his wife Lisa Leuschner, provides backing vocals. Kid Andersen also plays keyboards and Lisa provides percussion.
Rocking and rolling, the climax kicks off with the title track. That genre later also formed the basis for the original 'Too Late'. 'Don't Look Now' is a compelling rhythm & blues, after which 'I Ain't Rich' leans more towards the contemporary blues genre and gives a little nod to Robert Cray. With 'Love Is Amazing', a song by Robert Ward, Tinderholt resolutely plays the soul card. Soul can also be found in 'Can I Change My Mind', 'How I Got To Memphis' and closing track 'Love Is A Four Letter Word'.
Eddie Clearwater's 'Hillbilly Blues' remains a beautiful example of rocking rhythm & blues in Tinderholt's version, which, Juust like the original, is somewhat reminiscent of Chuck Berry.
With 'Deadlines' Joakim Tinderholt proves that he is on edge. Whether it's rocking rhythm & blues, rock 'n' roll or deep soul, the genres fit him like a glove.
'Deadlines' is already one of the first high-flyers of the new year.

Dion Di Mucci, usually referred as Dion, features on the recent volume of the 'On The Dancefloor With...' series. Dion was the lead singer of The Belmonts. Together they scored hits with 'I Wonder Why', 'A Teenager In Love' and 'Where Or When'. Dion also did well as a solo artist. There he managed to storm the charts with 'Lonely Teenager', 'Runaround Sue', 'Ruby Baby', 'The Wanderer' and 'Donna The Prima Donna'. Born in 1939, he started in the fifties, the heyday of doo-wop and rock 'n' roll, with The Belmonts and immediately profiled himself as one of the pioneering artists of that time. Dion's strength was that he managed to fuse doo-wop, rock 'n' roll and even rhythm & blues in such a way that a unique 'Dion sound' was created. He left the group around 1960 to pursue his solo career. As a solo artist he evolved to such an extent that in addition to pop, he also recorded songs in the blues and folk genre.
This album contains all the hits that Dion made together with The Belmonts, as well as the hits that he recorded as a solo artist. In addition to the well-known tracks, there are songs that may not be immediately known to the general public. But let us be clear, all songs are of equal quality. The covers of well-known songs are just as interesting. Listen to him work his way through the Leiber/Stoller composition 'Kansas City' and also Little Willie John's classic 'Fever'. Not to mention his energetic cover of 'Shout'. Later Dion would record blues songs. You get a taste here with 'I Got The Blues', where he showcases the wonderful raw edge in his voice. In the closing song, the slightly jazzy 'North East End Of The Corner', he once again shows his versatility.
Dion is not only a wonderful performer, blessed with a beautiful voice, but he also scores effortlessly as a songwriter and co-writer.
Bill Dahl based the liner notes on an interview with Dion, in which the latter describes his career from the rock 'n' roll years in the fifties to the 1960s, the years where he achieved success in pop. A nice addition to a great release.

The name Sylvester Bradford will more than likely not mean anything to you. Yet as a songwriter or co-songwriter he was responsible for a lot of wonderful material and million sellers. Bradford was born on January 7, 1942 in Manhattan. He was visually impaired and his first apparente was in 1952 in a meeting place for the blind and partially sighted. He was then part of The Bradford Boys. In addition to himself, the vocal group consisted of Chris Killer (bass) and Wayne Durham (tenor) who were both blind. Like Sylvester, the fourth member, tenor Gregory Shankowitz, was also visually impaired. In 1955 the group recorded two songs. In the meantime, Sylvester's talent as a pianist was also discovered, which earned him a place in another band, which would emerge as The Ivories. For this group, Sylvester wrote 'Alone' and 'Baby Send A Letter', which The Ivories recorded for the Jaguar label. Johnny Earl Jackson, the driving force behind The Ivories, left the group and set up a new group with the same name. The original The Ivories transformed into The Love Notes. Sylvester Bradford, together with Chris Killer, then formed The Suburbans. These recorded under their own name, but were also asked as a backing group for studio worg. In that capacity they could be heard on recordings by Ann Cole and Jimmy Ricks. In mid-1957, the members of The Suburbans went their separate ways. In 1957, Sylvester recorded his only single as a solo artist with 'I Like Girls / I Live Just To Love You'. After that, Sylvester concentrated on songwriting. 'Ific', the title of this compilation, is taken from a song that Sylvester wrote together with Al Lewis, with whom he would later write many songs. 'Ific' was first recorded by Lucy Rivera in 1959. Two years later, The Chantels would record it for their LP 'There's Our Song Again'. By the way 'Ific' was an acronym for 'It's Flavor-Ific', which in turn was a beechnut flavored chewing gum. 'Ific' was also the slogan in Dick Clark's broadcast 'American Bandstand'.
So much for the introduction regarding Sylvester Bradford. All previously mentioned songs can be found on this compilation, as well as a serious number of other songs, 30 in total. The album starts with the rocking 'Little Boy Blue', the very first recording by The Bradford Boys, with Shankowitz and Bradford on lead vocals. Bradford's songwriting talent and diversity immediately come to the surface in 'Alone', a formidable slow that he recorded with The Ivories. The group scores uptempo in 'Baby Send A Letter'. Bradford shows evolved and formidable uptempo doo-wop with The Suburbans in 'Leave My Gal Alone'. The fact that they functioned well as backing vocals on recordings by other artists in both rhythm & blues and rock 'n' roll is proven on the recordings of Ann Cole and Jimmy Ricks. Sonny James provides a good example of Bradford's talent as a songsmith on 'Uh-Hum-Mm', which has both rock 'n' roll and doo-wop in it. It's a shame, however, that Sylvester's solo recordings were limited to that one single 'I Like Girls / I Live Just To Love You'. After all, he is also very strong vocally in these uptempo songs. As mentioned earlier, Bradford wrote many beautiful songs together with Lewis, such as 'Walkin' Home From School' and 'Right Now', which Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps recorded for Capitol. The duo Bradford / Lewis, together with Fats Domino, were also responsible for creating Domino's hit 'Im Ready'. Bradford and Lewis scored instrumentally with 'Vodka' by The Golden Highlights. The duo is featured humorously in their composition 'Roaches', performed by Jack Larson. Only Sylvester signed Bill Haley's 'Spanish Twist'. The versatility of Bradford/Lewis once again comes to the surface in Chuck Jackson's 'Tears On My Pillow', an impressive soul song. The duo's compositions could also be found outside the USA, including with the French rock 'n' roll band Les Chaussettes Noires with 'Le Temps Est Lent'.
In short, if you like sublime doo-wop, rhythm & blues and rock 'n' roll, then make sure that 'Ific' by Sylvester Bradford can be found in your CD player as quickly as possible.

On September 12, 1959, ABC TV launched the show 'Boy Meets Girls' in England. The show was the successor to the legendary pop TV series 'Oh Boy!'. The latter took place in a more hectic style, while the new 'Boy Meets Girls' was more sedate. When 'Boy Meets Girls' disappeared from the screen in March 1960, a number of great stars had delivered fantastic performances in it. Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Ronnie Hawkins and Billy Fury, among others, were regularly present. In a tragic coincidence, Eddie Cochran died in a car accident six weeks after the series ended. Series producer Jack Good, planned to rebroadcast Cochran's appearances on the show as a tribute. Unfortunately, he had to find that ABC TV had deleted all recordings.
Later, sound engineer Ron Parker discovered that ABC TV did make audio recordings of Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent, which had been preserved. In 2013, Rockstar Records released a CD with the recordings discovered by Parker.
The MC of 'Boy Meets Girls' was none other than Marty Wilde. Naturally, he was regularly featured as an artist himself. In addition to the previously mentioned artists, Johnny Cash, Johnny Gentle, Lyn Cornell and The Vernons Girls were also present. A nice anecdote is that after his performances in the show in May 1960, Johnny Gentle took Liverpool's The Silver Beatles with him as backing for a tour of Scotland. Gentle could not  have foreseen at that moment what these boys would do in the near future. But there's more... you'll also hear how Johnny Cash performed during his first TV appearance, where he was accompanied by Joe Brown and The Firing Squad. You will also hear performances from Little Tony, who has been labeled as the 'Italian Elvis, Billy Fury, Michael Cox, Adam Faith, Jess Conrad and many others. The total of 128 tracks cover a broad musical spectrum from rock 'n' roll to pop, both vocally and instrumentally. Sporadically you also hear the enthusiasm of the audience. Let us make it clear that this is not disruptive at all, but rather provides added value.
Moreover, if you consider that these live recordings were made over 60 years ago, you can say that the sound is very good.
Meanwhile, we are in 2024 and Rockstar Records is celebrating its 50th anniversary. A milestone in the label's history that the Rockstar crew does not want to let pass by. The label will celebrate this anniversary with impressive releases throughout the year, which they are already doing with this three-part CD box 'Mighty Good'. The 3 CDs contain recordings that have not been heard since the broadcasts in 1959 and 1960. These are certainly impressive historical recordings. What is also very nice are the announcements and the short conversations that Marty Wilde had with some of those artists. And as if this were not enough, this box comes with a booklet of no less than 64 pages, where you can follow the developments of the TV show through detailed data from various TV episodes. A booklet that also contains beautiful photos and illustrations of the artists participating in the shows. If you know that the scripts of the TV broadcasts suffered the same fate as the TV recordings, then Rockstar Records has achieved a real feat with the release of this box. Even if you only buy one album at the moment, let it be 'Mighty Good'. You won’t regret it!

The Blue Velvets is a German/Canadian trio consisting of guitarist and singer/songwriter Alistair Christl, Mario Wachsmann on drums and Ralph Sommer on upright bass. Alistair, who comes from Canada, is not only a gifted guitarist but also a more than excellent songwriter. Mario and Ralph, on the other hand, gained their experience in bands like Spo-Dee-O-Dee, The Rob Ryan Roadshow, The Lazy Boys, Rosis Rockets, Johnny Falstaff and John Lewis. A trio that is certainly not up to his test piece. The release of this album was preceded by the vinyl single 'Waiting For A Sign / I'm Her Man'. A single that made us very curious about the full album. Thanks to Patrik Staffansson, head of Enviken Records, the 11-track CD arrived in our mailbox. All songs are by Alistair Christl and that is the first plus. The two songs from the single are also on this album, which opens immediately with the title track. However, those are not the only advantages. First of all, the 11 original songs, which contain influences from country, rockabilly and rock 'n' roll, are of an extremely high level. The trio does not follow well-trodden paths, but consciously explores further, resulting in a complete and, above all, unique sound of its own. This unique sound can largely be attributed to Alistair's masterful string playing. Ralph and Mario roll out such a tight rhythm carpet on bass and drums, on which Alistair can play to his heart's content on his string board. And he does that with verve. His clean and twang sound immediately hits you. In addition, his talent and creativity ensure that his game is full of surprising twists. You immediately get a taste of this on the intro of 'Waiting For A Sign', a high-flyer in the rockabilly genre. You can also place 'I'm Her Man' in the same genre. For a nice intro by the rhythm section, go to 'Troubles Ahead', where the knowledgeable trio slows down a bit. All 11 songs are absolute hits, although we cannot hide our love for the wonderful groove-driven 'Joe Jobs'. Country is the undertone for 'Last Chance Saloon', after which creativity reigns supreme in the super melodic 'A Girl I Used To Know'. Wonderful song, with a guitar solo that Brian Setzer should be jealous of. The intro of 'Long For The Wild' creates an Eastern atmosphere, but nothing could be further from the truth, because the song turns out to be a pure rocker with Alistair in top vocal form. He proves once again that he can go high vocally in 'Amelia'. The Blue Velvets conclude in a rockabilly style with 'Little Jane May'.
We can certainly conclude by saying that The Blue Velvets have delivered a formidable and promising name tag for the future with this debut album. If you like sky-high quality, both in terms of songwriting and performance, then The Blue Velvets is your band. Recommended!

With 'Let's Rock And Roll', the fifth volume in the 'Black Pearls' series, compiler Ronni Boysen lets us once again enjoy 28 gems of songs that black artists recorded around the middle of the last century. Once again, the names of some artists will not be unknown to you, but this compilation also contains artists you may have never even heard of. With Little Shy Ghy we immediately start with the title track, a wonderful blues with an impressive performance on the blues harp. With successor 'Kansas City Dog' by Little Cameron we move a bit towards Little Richard. The same Richard was clearly also a source of inspiration for Willie West in 'A Man Like Me'. Joe Hudson & His Rockin' Dukes came from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a region that produced a typical bluesy rocking sound. You also experience this in 'Oooh Wee Pretty Baby'. You can then listen to beautiful guitar work by Willie Johnson on 'Lazy Dizzy Daisy' by Mc Kinley Mitchell. V & BB serve up a wonderfully rocking duet on 'They Just Rockin' and Rollin''. 'Saturday Night Fish Fry' is a Louis Jordan classic. But as you hear the song here in a doo-wop rocking version of Blue Dots, you've probably never heard the song before. Well-known people will certainly come with Big Mama Thornton. You undoubtedly know some of her songs from her impressive repertoire. But are you also familiar with the 'call and response' 'Don't Talk Back'? The name H-Bomb Ferguson will certainly also ring a bell. You get a beautiful song in the 'blues shout' genre with the raw 'No Sackie Sack'. Little Miss Jessie sounds just as raw in the rhythm & blues song 'My Baby Has Gone'. This is also the sound of Frank Motley’s 'New Hound Dog', which clearly follows in the footsteps of 'Hound Dog'. Etta James called Jesse Belvin the best singer of her generation. Here Jesse delivers a pearl of a jump rocker with 'Deacon Dan Tucker'. The following 'Ain't That Right' by Marvin & Johnny clearly floats on a Diddley beat. That beat is also somewhat the undertone in Mel Smith's 'Pretty Plaid Skirt' and pay particular attention to the not bad percussion here. Sometimes you can't understand why an artist only recorded one single. This certainly applies to Big T-Tyler who delivers a perfectly rocking 'Sadie Green' here. You can count on Jimmy Lewis for sublime work on the six strings. Just listen to 'Last Night (I Was In Heaven)'. A little later, Rhythm & blues at top level brings Modest Showstopper Clifton with 'Reelin' & Rockin'', just like Eugene Isom & His Van Glorians Featuring William French in 'Hey, Hey Baby'. The Ike Turner Band has become synonymous with quality. Ike and his companions also ensure this on Willie King's 'Peg Leg Woman'. Classy Phillip Walker recorded with Clifton Chenier for Specialty at the age of 16. The list of artists Walker worked with is impressive. Some examples are Rosco Gordon, George Harmonica Smith and Eddie Taylor. On guitar, Walker creates a catchy instrumental song with 'Louisiana Walk'.
Just like the previous volumes in the 'Black Pearls' series, volume 5 is also a high-flyer. We are already looking forward to what the upcoming volumes in this series will offer us.

Wayne Cochran was born on May 10, 1939 in Georgia and died on November 21, 2017 in Florida. Wayne became known for his immense white pompadour hairstyle and for the song 'Last Kiss', the last song he wrote. He started as a young rocker, but later evolved into an impressive soul artist. He was influenced by Otis Redding and James Brown, among others. Two artists he could also count among his circle of friends. On this compilation you will also find the very first recording of 'These Arms Of Mine', written by Otis Redding. Cochran was widely regarded as the best white soul and rhythm & blues artist, earning him the title 'The White King Of Soul'. On this double CD, released by Bear Family Records, you get all the recordings that Wayne made in the period 1959 - 1966. In addition to the rare recordings on local labels, this double album also contains all the recordings he made for Chess, Mercury and King. Plus you get three exceptionally rare instrumental songs recorded by his band The Rocking Capris. Including the bonus tracks, this release contains 42 tracks. On the first CD, Wayne presents himself as a rocker of his time, where he effortlessly convinces in both the slower and uptempo songs. Wayne is completely immersed in his songs and when he comes out vocally raw, the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Wayne Cochran simply deserved worldwide recognition.
The second CD starts with a soulful rhythm & blues version of 'The Coo', a song that can be heard in a rock 'n' roll version on the first CD. On this CD the sound becomes fuller due to the horn section, which fits better with the soulful. The influence of James Brown is clearly heard in Wayne's performance of 'Think'. 'You Let The Water Running' sounds extremely soulful, even with some gospel influences. The dynamics and intensity that Wayne puts into the Bob & Earl classic 'Harlem Shuffle', 'Somebody Please' and 'Get Down With It' is heavenly, which justifies his title 'The White King Of Soul'. In 'No Rest For The Wicked' Otis Redding nods approvingly from behind the corner.
The bonus tracks consist of 3 Cochran compositions, performed by Bobby Lee Smith, Alice Rozier and Richie Kall and 4 songs by Otis Redding. Three of them, including 'These Arms Of Mine' sung by him, supplemented with Buddy Leach's version of this song.
It also becomes clear that Wayne Cochran, in addition to being an excellent performer, also had a knack for writing formidable songs.
In the 35-page booklet, written by Bill Dahl, you receive an extensive biography in addition to beautiful photos and illustrations. 'The Bigger The Pompadour...' is a beautiful tribute to an artist who deserved more recognition than he received.

The pleasant thing about releases in the 'Spotlight Series', such as this album around Leroy Kirkland, is that despite their valuable contribution to the development of certain music genres, artists are not known to the general public. And Kirkland was certainly one of them. There is some confusion about his date of birth. Some sources mention 1904 while others keep it as 1906. His name as a composer and arranger is listed behind more than 700 songs. Leroy Kirkland, also known as Claude Cloud, was initially a guitarist in jazz and rhythm & blues. But he also worked behind the scenes as a composer, orchestra leader, session musician and arranger. In the media, Leroy is often mentioned as a footnote and his contribution is not always fully recognized. This compilation hopes to change that. The 28 tracks on this album focus on Kirkland's talent as an orchestra leader and arranger. The music genres are very diverse and range from recordings in rhythm & blues, doo-wop to rock 'n' roll. The first track on which Leroy is present as orchestra leader and arranger is opener 'I Feel So Bad' by Chuck Willis. Song that was redone by Elvis in 1961 with almost the same arrangement. What follows is an extremely tasteful mix of rhythm & blues and doo-wop in 'My Baby's Gone' by The Barons. Delicious doo-wop is discussed later with The Dreams and their 'My Little Honeybun', The Carnations and 'Night Time Is The Right Time', The Roamers in 'Chop Chop Ching A Ling' and The Keystones with 'The Magic Kiss '. Nice harmony vocals can also be found in 'No Other Love (Like Yours)' by The Fi-Dells. A more than beautiful recording is 'It Should Have Been Me', an early recording by George Benson. Benson was only 11 years old when he recorded this King Curtis song. You can expect straightforward rhythm & blues from Varetta Dillard who delivers a catchy 'Promise Mr. Thomas’. In 1964, Jamaican Millie Small had a hit with 'My Boy Lollipop'. You get the original here from Barbie Gaye who recorded it in 1956 and which clearly has much more body than Small's version. Jaycee Hill provides a dose of raw rock 'n' roll with 'Bump!'. Rock 'n' roll is also the foundation for Dave Burton's 'Rock 'n' Roll Ruby'. We have often seen that former members of The Drifters also scored solo. This includes David Baugham, who presents the beautiful rocker 'You'll Pay' here as Little David together with His Harps. Before he would make a worldwide name for himself in blues and rhythm and blues, Nappy Brown could already be found in the studio. He shows that he already delivered excellent work in 1956 in 'Pleasing You'. A personal manager who started recording himself was Lloyd 'Fatman', who took on this position for Louis Jordan. You can hear that he mastered the tricks of rhythm & blues down to the last detail in the formidable 'Miss Mushmouth' and the subsequent title track 'Good Gracious'. We are used to the raw and wild of Screamin' Jay Hawkins. These trademarks are once again reflected in 'Frenzy' from 1957. As Leroy Kirkland's Rock-Chas, Leroy recorded an instrumental cover of Jimmy McCracklin's 'The Walk'. Rose Marie McCoy can close the list with 'Joy and Jubilation', a title that perfectly describes Kirkland's work.
Leroy Kirkland died on April 6, 1988.
Earlier this year, an album about Leroy Kirkland was also released in the 'Koko Mojo Songwriter Series'. You can read the review again here . Together with the now marketed release in the 'Koko Mojo Sportlight Series' Both editions give you a beautiful image of the usually underrated musician, Leroy Kirkland.

The tenth volume in 'The Brits Are Rocking' series rightly pays attention to Cliff Richard. After all, before John, Paul, George and Ringo shocked the music world with Beatlemania in 1963, Cliff Richard and The Shadows were the most successful rock 'n' roll band in England. With The Shadows featuring the brilliant guitarist Hank B. Marvin, Cliff had a very skilled and talented band, which perfectly propelled him to the top. His record debut 'Move It' was clearly one of the best but also one of the most important British pop singles of the last century. The song opened the door wide for other talented guys like Billy Fury and Johnny Kidd. 'Move It' also proved that the British were capable of producing stylish rock 'n' roll without having to resort to covers of their American colleagues. With successor 'High Class Baby', Cliff was immediately voted the best new artist in a readers pop poll by the music magazine New Musical Express.
In addition to 'Move It', this compilation contains 33 tracks that Cliff recorded in the period 1958-1962. We also find the aforementioned 'High Class Baby', 'Dynamite', 'Choppin' 'n' Changin'' and 'Livin' Lovin' Doll', supplemented with covers of songs that were huge hits in the USA. . The latter category includes 'Blue Suede Shoes', 'What'd I Say', Twenty Flight Rock' and 'Whole Lotta Shaking Goin' On'. The attached booklet contains extensive information from Ashley Wood, expert in British beat and rock 'n' roll, supplemented with nice photos and all information about the tracks.
Every Richard fan already owns a collector with Cliff's later hits such as 'Bachelor Boy', 'Summer Holiday', 'Lucky Lips' or 'On The Beach'. This compilation gives a nice impression of how it all started for the excellent rocking Cliff Richard. And honestly, shouldn't Cliff Richard and The Shadows have been inducted into 'The Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame' a long time ago?

You could recently read the review of the album that Jesse Stone featured in the 'Koko Mojo Songwriter Series' on this site. In that review we also announced that Jesse Stone would soon be featured again, but in the 'Koko Mojo Spotlight Series'. Well that album is out now. For a short bio about Jesse Stone, we would like to refer you to the review in the 'Koko Mojo Songwriter Series' that you can find here https://www.keysandchords.com/album-review-blog/jesse-stone-crazy-crazy-party. Like Jesse Stone or Charles Calhoun, he shone as a musician, arranger, producer and songwriter. A number of the songs on which he contributed in one or more of these guises have now become 'all-time classics'. Consider, for example, 'Shake, Rattle And Roll', which he wrote for Big Joe Turner, but was sung into eternity by Bill Haley. As this compilation shows, Haley owes even more of his success songs to Stone, with 'Razzle Dazzle' and 'Flip, Flop And Fly' written by him. You get 'Shake, Rattle 'n' Roll' here in the catchy and pure Carl Perkins' version. But there's more. We immediately start with an 'Alarm Clock Boogie' by Odelle Turner, a rocking rhythm & blues where Jesse acted as bandleader. We hear Jesse Stone himself on guitar on the subsequent instrumental 'Runaway'. Behind the microphone he appears as Charles Calhoun on 'My Pidgeon's Gone'. Joe Turner may take office three times. First with 'Hide And Seek' and later with 'Well All Right' and 'Teen Age Letter'. On the first two you hear Jesse at the piano and for 'Teen Age Letter' he was the arranger. More fine instrumental work comes with 'Right Now, Right Now' by the Alan Freed Big Band, which provides a live atmosphere with handclaps. With 'Ward 13' by Frankie Brunson you witness a formidable jazzy soul blues. Janis Martin was one of the first female artists in rock 'n' roll and was regarded as the 'female Elvis'. She proves that this was not unjustified in 'Good Love', written by Stone. Jimmy Breedlove also continues with 'Oo-Whee, Good Gosh A-Mighty', fully rocking. The fact that Grady Martin was a top guitarist has been discussed here before. You can hear him again on 'Love Is A-Breakin' Out' by Roberta Sherwood. One of my personal favorites on the saxophone is King Curtis. Here he shines again on the instrumental 'Crawfish' by The Stone Crushers. Curtis is also present on 'Rack 'Em Back' by Walter Spriggs, who was once part of the doo-wop group The Five Echoes. The Clovers provide the necessary doo-wop in the sublime 'Old Black Magic'. There is also some great work with 'Don't Let Go' by the vocal group Frank Deaton and The Mad-Lads. Dale Hawkins is known for his 'Susie Q'. He is present here with the 'Money Honey', composed by Stone.
'The Stomp' once again makes it clear that Jesse Stone, as a singer, guitarist, songwriter, arranger and orchestra leader, left his mark with enormous craftsmanship on many songs in the fifties and early sixties. This album is the ideal addition to 'Crazy, Crazy Party', previously released in the 'Koko Mojo Songwriter Series'.

On August 18, 1939, Huelyn Duvall was born in rural Garner, Parker County, Texas. As a growing boy, Huelyn was only interested in sports. Because he had to wait a while before being accepted into the school's sports team, Huelyn looked for something to bridge the time. Like many of his contemporaries, he started listening to music, specifically country. When he was confronted with rhythm & blues for the first time on the radio and a little later the same radio also brought him into contact with rockabilly and rock 'n' roll, it changed his life. From then on, Huelyn shifted his interest from sports to music. While at school in 1956, he befriended guitarist Lonnie Thompson, with whom he soon formed a band. They recruited Lonnie's twin brother Johnnie on rhythm guitar and vocals and Ralph Clark on bass and became Huelyn Duvall and The Troublesome Three. In 1957 they joined forces with Danny Wolfe who ran a gardening company. As their manager, Danny arranged their first recording session. Danny was about ten years older than the guys, wrote songs and recorded them in his own recording studio. Wolfe teamed up with songwriter and producer Major Bill Smith and together they formed the Twinkle label, for which Duvall would later also record. Huelyn made his first recording in 1957. His second session took place at the Gold Star Recording Studios in Hollywood, where he could count on the instrumental group The Champs as studio musicians. After his marriage in 1961, Huelyn moved to Houston, Texas for nine years where he became vice president of Brazos Valley Computer Center. However, the blood ran deep and in 1985 he performed in the Netherlands during the Rockhouse Rock 'n' Roll Meeting. This was followed by shows throughout Europe. In 2002, Duvall recorded the album 'She's My Baby' with Wildfire Willie and The Ramblers. A year later he went back into the studio, this time with the reunited The Troublesome Three. Appropriately, the album was titled 'The Reunion'. Huelyn recorded the album 'Ramblin' + Boppin'' again with Wildfire Willie and The Ramblers in 2003 in Sweden for Rhythm Bomb Records. Five years later he returned to Sweden to record the album 'Get Carried Away' with the same band for Goofin' Records.
This compilation starts with 'Teen Queen', which immediately puts Huelyn's powerful voice in the spotlight. On this song, just like on other tracks, you can hear the sublime Grady Martin on guitar. It is certain that Huelyn could rock, but he also shines in the slower 'Little Boy Blue'. He shows once again that ballads suit him just as much as uptempo songs in 'Tear Stained Letters' and 'Across The Aisle'.
Together with the inimitable The Jordanaires he also performs a fantastic 'Boom Boom Baby'.
In addition to the songs from the fifties, this compilation also contains the recordings that Duvall made in Germany in 2014 with The Lightning Recordings Boys, better known as Cherry Casino and The Gamblers, and in Sweden with Wildfire Willie and The Ramblers. You also get the remake of 'Pucker Paint' made in 2017 with Berlin's Long John and The Ballroom Kings. And it soon turns out that although time may have had a little bit of a grip on Huelyn's voice, this certainly does not detract from his rock quality. Just listen to 'Stina Lee', after which Huelyn's voice sounds even more mature in 'Dizzy', 'Blue Eyed Sally', 'High-Class Baby' and certainly on 'Daddy's Little Baby'.
We end with a live recording from 1957 of '(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear'.
Huelyn Duvall passed away on May 15, 2019 at the age of 79 in Colleyville, Tarrant County, Texas.
'You Knock Me Out' is an album that showcases both rock 'n' roll and ballads at top levels. If you are unfamiliar with the work of Huelyn Duvall, this compilation will certainly open your ears to the remarkable rock 'n' roller that was Huelyn Duvall.

Jesse Stone, also known under the pseudonym Charles Calhoun, did more for music than is generally known. As the only black artist, he was for a while on the payroll of the Ahmet Ertugun-led Atlantic Record Company. Because of this he probably left that label. Not only did Stone largely model rhythm & blues, but he was also an important person who was closely involved in the development and evolution of rock 'n' roll. His greatest achievement is always mentioned as 'Shake, Rattle And Roll', which he wrote as Charles Calhoun for Big Joe Turner. Considering that Bill Haley made the song famous worldwide, this certainly makes sense commercially. But as this compilation in the 'Koko Mojo Songwriter Series' shows, there are still a considerable number of rocking rhythm & blues hits on Stone’s of Calhoun's list of achievements. In addition to a number of songs that he recorded under these two names, this album also provides a nice insight into the songs he wrote for big names in rhythm & blues. We find a number of them on this compilation, such as Lucky Millinder, Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, LaVern Baker, The Drifters and Jimmy Witherspoon. 'Get It While You Can', recorded under his own name, is the first track reserved for Stone. Song that puts Stone's strict rhythm & blues side in the spotlight. Later he appears again with the only instrumental song on this album, namely 'Tall And Short'. You can hear that his songs could be performed by a full orchestra without any problem in 'The Jumpin' Jack' by Lucky Millinder with John Greer as vocalist. Big Joe Turner scored with the general public with of course 'Shake, Rattle And Roll', but also with 'Lipstick, Powder And Paint' and 'Flip, Flop and Fly'. You will find these three songs here and on the latter you can even hear Jesse at the piano. From The Drifters this album contains 'Bip Bam' and 'Gotta Get Myself A Woman'. On the first, Johnny Moore takes care of the tenor lead vocals. On the second song, Clyde McPhatter does that. 'Dead Broke' by The Du Droppers opens the door for rock 'n' roll, just like Ruth Brown's 'As Long As I'm Moving'. LaVern Baker, with her powerful voice, later serves up a wonderful rocking rhythm & blues with 'You Better Stop'. Al Jones, the brother of Billie Jean Jones, in turn the ex of Hank Williams and the widow of Johnny Horton, surprises twice. The first time with the penetrating 'Mad, Mad World' and the second time with 'Why Can't We Get Along', which clearly bears the traces of rock 'n' roll. Jimmy Witherspoon was a well-known artist in the jump and blues genre. Convince yourself of this during the rocking 'All Right Miss Moore' that he recorded with Stone's orchestra in 1957. A little later you get pure rock 'n' roll from Billy Williams with 'Red Hot Love', as well as from Ray Scott with 'Silk Satin And Lace' and 'We Need Love'. Ray also recorded as Walter Spriggs. He can also be heard in that guise with 'I Pawned Everything'. He was also part of the doo-wop group The Five Echoes. His love for the genre is still clearly evident.
You get beautiful harmony vocals from The Eagle-Aires and the a cappella 'Money Honey'. Vocally, The Cues also shine in the uptempo 'Why' and 'Crazy, Crazy Party', The Cookies with 'My Lover' and The Flyers, one of the many Drifters line-ups with 'On Bended Knee' as well as Buddy Wilkins in ' Private Eye'.
Jesse Stone died at the age of 97 on April 1, 1999 in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
In addition to all possible information about the tracks, the liner notes also contain Jesse Stone's musical bio, his relationship with Atlantic Records and information about his 'cross over' recordings.
This compilation makes it clear what a gifted singer/songwriter Jesse Stone was. Not only did he have a nose for quality, but he also managed to produce a number of 'all-time hits'. And you still haven't heard everything, because in the 'Koko Mojo Spotlight Series' the label also has a 'Spotlight On Jesse Stone' planned. To be continued!

It is a fact that Halloween is the time for record labels to release music adapted for this purpose. You could recently read the review of the album 'Hallowscream!3' released by the Atomicat label for this occasion on this site. The Koko Mojo label also makes a point of serving up a Halloween soundtrack with 'Horror Show'. Compiler Little Victor, aka The 'Mojo' Man, has put together 28 tracks that will make you shudder and tremble. Instrumentally we start straight away with The Ernie Freeman Combo and the 'Theme From Igor'. What follows is a super soulful rhythm & blues song by Betty Lavett and 'Witchcraft In The Air'. You can also expect exciting rocking rhythm & blues from 'Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde', by The Emersons. You might not immediately expect it from Louis Armstrong, but he also enjoys Halloween with 'Spooks'. Who fitted 'horror' like a well-fitting suit is John Zacherle. As a TV presenter of horror films, he enjoyed success in America in the fifties and sixties. Here he does it singing in 'Dinner With Drac Pt.1'. A penetrating blues harp sets off Bobby Garrett's rhythm & blues 'Vampire'. Harmonica is also the main instrument in the instrumental 'Terror' by The Bees. You can count 'I Know What Happened To Baby Jane' by Bent Forcep & The Patients as more of a popcorn item. Faye Adams had a mega hit in the fifties with 'Shake A Hand', but 'The Hammer (Keeps A Knockin')’ is also a great rhythm & blues song. A blues artist through and through was Lightnin' Hopkins. He remains faithful to the blues genre, and also note the fantastic guitar work, in the tormented 'Cemetery Blues'. Another blues legend is John Lee Hooker. In his well-known personal style, only accompanying himself on guitar, he also performs 'Graveyard Blues'. Luke Jones will later close the album with a song that has the same title, but is a completely different one. Johnny Thunder goes on a more rock 'n' roll tour in 'Horror Show'. Subdued bluesy with a somewhat jazzy touch, Georgia White continues in 'Dean Man's Blues'. That style is also contained in 'Graveyard Disposition' by Gatemouth Moore. Billy Ward and His Dominoes later provide a major slow soul in 'The Bells', including sublime work on the saxophone. Special and also humorous is the spoken 'The Mummy' by Bob McFadden and Dor.
For beautiful harmony singing you can go to The DelVikings and The Moroccos, with 'Voodoo Man' and 'The Hex' respectively. And The Elites also deliver beautiful vocal performances in 'Jack The Ripper', just like Edwin And Alvin in 'Shiverin' & Shakin''.
As you can see, 'Horror Show' again offers wonderful rhythm & blues, blues, soul and rock 'n' roll to spice up your Halloween period. Enjoy!

​Halloween is approaching again. Time for the labels to surprise us once again with songs that contain the unknown, unfamiliar and therefore somewhat fearful. The subtitle of this volume is 'Planetary Run', which means you can expect a selection of intergalactic rock songs. The first to get into their flying saucer are Eddie Cletro and His Round Up Boys with the appropriate 'Flyin' Saucer Boogie', a delicious boogie from 1952 that also contains some country influences due to the use of steel guitar. Jan Amber may only have two singles for the Cleff-Tone label to her name, but 'The Little Martian', set off by a sax solo, is certainly not bad. More top-level female rock 'n' roll will come later with Bonnie Lou and 'Friction Heat'. The Belgian The Jokers also grace this compilation. The Jokers stood for sublime spacy guitar parts. With this they also frame 'The Daughter Of The Moon', which was on the flip side of their surf version of Duke Ellington's 'Caravan'. E 'Tiny' Watkins recorded gospel, blues and soul throughout his career. His 'Rockin' Satellite' has a high rhythm & blues content. Bill Carlisle, brother of Cliff Carlisle, slows down a bit in the 'Tiny Space Man', which features excellent guitar, and also sounds a bit poppy. The Chaperones then provide some nice doo-wop with 'The Man From The Moon'. You will find harmony vocals of the same caliber in the also rocking 'Oh! Moon' by Ferrell Brothers with Terry and Ann. A nice dose of blues, including a beautiful guitar solo, contains 'Satellite Rock' by The Rebelaires featuring Sammy Smith. You get a previously unpublished song from Rayburn Anthony and 'Rocketship To Mars'. Later Rayburn returns with 'Mr. Moon', which you hear here without overdubs. Joe Bennett and The Sparkletones show that straight-ahead rocking works well for them in 'Rocket'. On the other side Georgia Jim proves that country and hillbilly match perfectly in 'Flyin Saucer Baby' from 1957. A very nice rocker is certainly 'Satellite Rock' by Joe Tate and The Hi Five, who sought inspiration for the song at the launch of Sputnik by the Russians in 1957. New Zealand certainly did not produce inferior rock songs. Ron Halls with Donna Reid and The Pic-Tones testify to this with 'Satellite', which also scores as a duet. Gary (U.S.) Bonds would go on to build a successful musical career. You can hear that he had talent in 'Trip To The Moon', which he recorded for the Legrand label in 1961 at the age of 22. If you know that Buck Trail co-wrote Moon Mullican's 'Seven Nights To Rock', then you know you can expect quality. You can convince yourself of this with 'Knocked Out Joint On Mars', which also came from his pen. High time for an instrumental. The Busters serve this up with 'Astronaut's', in which sax and guitar alternately take the lead. More interesting instrumental work comes with 'Man In Space' by The Vigliantes. They released the song shortly after Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space.
In the fifties and early sixties the race to discover space was in full bloom. This inspired many artists. Composer Mark Armstrong provided a formidable selection from this range for this 'Hallowscream! 3'. And also note the once again beautiful cover by the master illustrator Henrique San. Wonderful compilation!

​For the new release in the 'Destination' series, we move to Baghdad and Istanbul and the world of sheiks, harems, oases, red-hot Sahara sand and Ali Baba. The 32 tracks on this album clearly show that these items can be performed perfectly musically. Titles such as 'Ali Baba', 'Pasha', 'Shish Ka Bob Rock', 'Ali Ben Ghazi', 'Hari's Harem' and Sands Of Arabia' speak for themselves.
With Bill Haley, Art Neville, Dinah Washington, The Fendermen, Preston Love, Johnny and The Hurricanes and Jerry Reed you already get a number of resounding names. The latter immediately kicks off with 'Rockin In Bagdad'. The song immediately puts you in the right mood and already lets the sweltering heat work on you. Song that also has a nice Eastern feeling intro.
So make sure you already have an ice-cold drink within reach, because you shouldn't expect cooling from this compilation. Reed is followed by The Champs. 'Tequila' is without a doubt their 'signature song', but the instrumental 'Ali Baba' is certainly not inferior to that. And The Polk Brothers also do it instrumentaal with razor-sharp lead guitar on 'Caravan Rock'. Later you will also hear the versions of this Duke Ellington classic by The Fendermen and Bobby Christian. Sax is 'the leading instrument' on the also instrumental 'Oasis - Part 1' by The Majestics. More beautiful atmospheric instrumentals follow with, among others, 'Hari's Harem' by The Slaves, 'Camel Walk – Part 1' by The Saxons, 'Ali Baba's Boogie' by alto saxophonist Preston Love and his orchestra, Leroy Holmes with 'In A Persian Market', 'Sands Of Arabia' by The Teentones, Ganimian and His Orientals featuring 'Come With Me To The Casbah' also known by Los Straitjackets' version, 'Ali Baba' by Dave & The Customs, The Big Sound Of Don Ralke in 'Zooba !', Johnny and The Hurricanes and 'Sheba', as well as 'Istanbul' by The Renegades.
Lots of instrumental work on this album. Not surprising because how can you better represent the Eastern atmosphere. But vocals are also scored here.
Like by the great rhythm & blues artist Big Maybelle. You might not immediately expect her here, but 'That's A Pretty Good Love' fits in perfectly. Another great lady is Dinah Washington. She does it nice swinging on 'One Arabian Night'. 'Twistin' Jack Hammer, who once recorded for the Belgian Ronnex label, is present with 'Ali Ben Ghazi'. That Ferlin 'Husky was at home in many markets, he shows in 'Aladdin's Lamp', which has both rockabilly and country & western in its genes. In 1958, Bobby Freeman recorded the original ‘Do You Want To Dance’. Song that got a high score in Cliff Richard's version. Freeman is present on this compilation with the rocking 'Sinbad'. Art Neville provides a bit of New Orleans rhythm & blues with 'Arabian Love Call'. Formidable doo-wop is featured in 'Ali Baba' by The Sandpipers.
True to tradition, Sheik Bill Dahl guides you through all tracks through the extensive liner notes.
'Destination Desert' is a nice sequel in the 'Destination' series. An album that makes you dream away.

​Even at this volume we remain in Canada, for the songs that were part of the musical landscape from 1956 to 1962. In addition to imported work, this release traditionally focuses on local labels such as Delta, Gaiety, Reo, Sotan and Sparton. 28 tracks of which you will certainly recognize a number of artists and their songs, but you will also be surprised by lesser known and maybe even completely unknown names. Swinging we immediately start with 'Pickin' On The Wrong Chicken' by Five Stars. A first imported single we encounter is Boyd Bennett's uplifting 'Click Clack'. Together with his Rockets, Boyd was part of the house band of the King label. Cliffy and Jerry provide a portion of beautiful harmony vocals a little later in 'Go To Sleep Little Suzie'. More beautiful vocal work follows later with 'No Time' by The Titans and certainly also by The Velveteens in 'Baby Baby'. Infectious drumming and handclaps introduce the cheerfully rocking 'Bobby Layne' by Phil Gary and The Catalinas. Known to the general public are certainly Johnny and The Hurricanes. No 'Red River Rock', but the equally beautiful and also instrumental 'Traffic Jam'. Another impressive instrumental comes with the spatial sounding 'Slow Walk' by The Midnighters and certainly also 'Snake Bite' by the Canadian Hank Smith and The Maddisons. Also present is Nappy Brown, who would later make name in the blues. Here you get the rocking rhythm & blues ‘Am I’ that he recorded in 1956. Johnnie Strickland knows the art of straightforward rocking like no other. Convince yourself of this during 'She's Mine'. That typical rock 'n' roll echo-drenched hiccuping voice is heard again by Rudy Hayden in 'Want Me A Woman'. Beautiful hillbilly and wonderful fiddle sounds are part of 'Hillbilly Rock' by Canadian Joe Kozak. Another Canadian who knew the ropes of rock 'n' roll was Mel Shaw. His mainly 'spoken' Mean Lover' is definitely worth listening to. This time Jeani Mack provides female rock 'n' roll with 'Dirty Dishes', a not obvious title by the way. For top level doo-wop you can go to Tico and The Triumphs and their 'Motorcycle'. Fun fact is that Paul Simon, who would later achieve international success with Art Garfunkel, wrote the song as Jerry Landis. 'Ooh Sha-La' by The Rhythm Jesters is also cataloged in that genre. Al Gardner winks somewhat to pop in 'Little Reuben', the flip side of the instrumental surf song 'Theme For The Lonely'. In 1969 Joe South had a world hit with 'Games People Play'. Eight years earlier he recorded the not bad 'Juke Box', which is also the title track of this compilation. Girl names were often used as song titles in rock and roll. Ted Daigle did the same with 'Mary Lou' and pay particular attention to the skilled guitar solo. Alan Freed was not only an influential DJ. but also an activist against racial discrimination. Together with his Rock 'n Roll Big Band, he closes fittingly with 'Campus Rumpus'.
'Rockin' Rollin' USA' is a series to cherish, that is now more than clear. Look forward to the upcoming volumes 6 and 7, titled 'Rough And Bold' and 'Woman Fever' respectively.

​On volume 42 of the 'That'll Flat...Git it!' series you could already get acquainted with the first volume filled with the rock 'n' roll and rockabilly of the King Label. A label that, as we already established on the first volume, has produced quite a few big names. Because of the many hits these artists have achieved, it is only natural that some of them are also present on this second volume about King's legacy. Charlie Feathers, Mac Curtis, Moon Mullican, among others, return, in addition to lesser-known and sometimes completely unknown artists. The 31 tracks on this compilation once again show that the musical legacy Syd Nathan left behind should not be underestimated. Authentically rocking, Boyd Bennett and His Rockets kick off with 'Move'. Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup's ‘That's All Right’ awakened the artist in Elvis Presley. In turn, Presley's version caused Mac Curtis to leave country music behind and turn to rockabilly. Mac comes three times on this collector. Elvis also had a major influence on Ronnie Speeks. This is clearly expressed in 'What Is Your Technique'. You can also hear Elvis in 'Run Fool Run' by organist Bobby Cash, who gives a nice solo on the organ. The Humphries family was active in the jazz scene. Teddy Humphries took a different course. With success if you listen to 'Guitar Pickin' Fool'. Rusty York certainly also deserves a mention for his 'Goodnight Cincinnati, Good Morning Tennessee', a handsome train rocker. On the first volume in this miniseries, Delbert Barker starred with 'No Good - Robin Hood'. Here you get the equally formidable 'Jug Band Jump' from that same session. Nice vocal backings give Al Henderson's 'All Star Boy' some extra shine. An 'earcatcher' is also the 'Mercy, Mercy, Percy' by Joe Penny interwoven with some blues. Superb number! A touch of rhythm & blues contains Ray Starr's 'Donna Lou'. Lack of enthusiasm is not Booker Lee Jr.’s kind. Just listen to 'Rockin' Blues'. You will undoubtedly notice that Ronnie Molleen was addicted to the work of Little Richard in his 'Rockyn' Up'. A mix of styles can be found in Zeb Turner's 'Jersey Rock', in which the sax provides a jazzy touch and the steel guitar gives the song a country feel.
Volumes 42 and 44 in the 'That'll Flat...Git it!, Vol.44' give a nice picture of all the fine work released by King in the second half of the fifties and early sixties. With both volumes you get no less than 61 rockabilly and rock 'n' roll toppers.