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. 

Volume 42 in the Bear Family series 'That'll Flat...Git It!' is the first of two CDs to feature the King label. Syd Nathan founded the label in 1943. King soon established a unique place in the post-war music industry, bringing successful rhythm & blues and country & western to market. When rockabilly broke through in the mid-1950s, King immediately jumped on the bandwagon. It absorbed so much successful rock 'n' roll and rockabilly, making the genre as important as rhythm & blues and country & western. It is therefore logical that all this beauty had to be spread over two CDs. The artists initially came from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana with names such as the now legendary Charlie Feathers, Trini Lopez, Bruce Channel, Rusty York, Wes Voight, Fuller Tood, Moon Mullican and Dave Dudley. A lot of well-known names can already be found on this first volume.
For example, Charlie Feathers is present twice. A first time with 'One Hand Loose' and then with 'Nobody's Woman'. Mac Curtis is even featured three times. We immediately start rocking hard with 'Clock Tickin' Rhythm' by Cecil McNabb Jr.. Perhaps less known, but certainly not less good was Donnie White. He convinces without a doubt with the handsome 'Your Kind Of Lovin'. Another classic is 'Jungle Rock' by Hank Mizell. If the song did not do so well at first, that would change when collectors threw themselves into it in the sixties and seventies and 'Jungle Rock' even ended up in the charts. Someone who later also managed to gain worldwide fame is Trini Lopez. Here you get the famous 'Rock On'. Later he comes back with 'Yes You Do'. You can find some country in Bob Newman's 'Haulin' Freight'. When an artist was successful, labels looked for someone of equal value. The King label found Boyd Bennett and His Rockets in response to Bill Haley and His Comets. Not a bad choice when you hear 'You Upset Me Baby' and 'Put The Chain On The Door'. Joe Penny could also rock contagiously in his 'Bip A Little, Bop A Lot'. Hardrock Gunter certainly had a very own style. Just listen to the sublime 'I'll Give 'Em Rhythm'. Rocking no-nonsense is Ken McDonald's talent in 'Good, Good, Good'. Mac Curtis’ ‘Don't You Love Me’ contains some blues influences. The Voight family had some members who achieved success in the entertainment business. Jon Voight became a well-known movie actor who appeared in ‘Midnight Cowboy' and ‘Coming Home'. His younger brother Wes sought it in rock 'n' roll, as you can hear in 'Midnight Blues' that he recorded together with The Town Three for the DeLuxe label in 1958. Bruce Channel also gained international fame. A few years before this would happen, he recorded 'Slow Down Baby'. In quiet beauty, Luke McDaniel closes this first volume on King's legacy with 'One More Heart'.
That'll Flat...Git It!, Vol. 42' tastes like more releases from the King Label. We are curiously looking forward to volume 2.

​Summer time is here and therefore high time for a new release in the 'Summertime Scorchers' series and it is here now. Get that summer outfit out of the closet, treat yourself to a cocktail, so that Mark and Henrique can serve the ideal soundtrack for your sweltering beach party. Both gentlemen are already raring to go with 30 songs from the period 1957 – 1963. Rocking hard to the tones of 'School's Out' by Bill James, we take our first steps in the warm sand. The pace remains high. Chuck Tharp and The Fireballs take care of that with 'Long Pony Tail', including a fantastic clean guitar solo. As if it isn’t warm enough already, Joe Jones treats you to some 'California Sun'. Joe Jones was an artist from New Orleans and you can hear that in the song. You may have known the song before from The Rivieras cover version. Holidays, sea, sun and beach can be the locations for many things. Flirting is definitely one of them. Ted Forbes and The Kisses highlight it musically via 'The Flirt'. You can certainly also twist to the tunes of Jimmy Simm's Thunderbirds and the appropriate 'Twistin' On The Beach'. Prefer rock and roll? No problem, Mark and Henrique already have the very special 'Hawaiian Rock 'n' Roll' by The Hulawai'ns on the turntable. You undoubtedly know 'You Excite Me' from Franke Avalon. Here you get an extremely handsome cover version of Johnny O'Keefe. The result of such a beach party is a lot of 'Footprints In The Sand'. The well-known The Marcels even made a song about it in their well-known style. With Darryl Vincent through the speakers it will certainly be a 'Wild Wild Party'. Well-known people are also present at the party. Ricky Nelson is there and he brings 'Good Rockin' Tonight'. Also known is Carla Thomas, daughter of that other legend, Rufus Thomas. She puts down a soulful 'Dance With Me'. Less is known about Jan Moore. She didn't record much, but she did record this wonderfully rocking 'Head Over Heels In Love'. You don't hear Nappy Brown on this compilation, but one of his songs, namely 'Little By Little' in a cover by Micki Marlo, who also recorded duets with Paul Anka. With razor-sharp guitar skills, The Sportesmen will take you in from the very first notes during 'Sand Storm'.
Lovers of vocal groups will get their money's worth. A first time with '45 R.P.M' from The Mark IV. A good portion of doo-wop awaits you with 'From The Bottom Of My Heart' by The Fantastic Five Keys. Brilliant harmony vocals also include ‘Red Hot Love (Oo This Love)’. It is provided by The Charms who back Otis Williams. The Pageants then provide the vocal impressive backings on Tony Dee's 'Make You My Queen'. And 'Rickety Rock' by The Jewels is also a good example of what vocal groups were capable of.
When you hear The Arqyles' 'Vacation Days Are Over', you know it. Time to get rid of the sand between your toes, because the beach party is coming to an end. But not before David Hill sings Cliff Richard's 'Living Doll' over the beach.
It is a fact that Mark and Henrique have the talent to musically support a real beach party. Just this one more. You can enjoy this album with just as much pleasure from the comfort of your couch. I’m sure you really will get that summer feeling.

​With 'Black Pearls', the KokoMojo label not only launches a new series, but also employs a brand new compiler. The compiler of this series is none other than the multi-award winning Danish blues guitarist Ronni Boysen. In addition to playing in the band of Muddy Waters' son Mud Morgenfield for 13 years, he was also one of the founders of The Kokomo Kings. Ronni played festivals and concerts in 23 countries and worked with an impressive list of artists, including Lazy Lester, James Harman, Dianna Greenleaf, Bob Corritore, Lurrie Bell, Gary Primich, R.J. Mischo, Barrelhouse Chuck and Big Creek Slim. Due to touring and recording professionally in 2022, Ronni was unable to make enough time for his family. Therefore, he is now stopping his professional music career to spend more time with his family. Ronni now has a day job so he certainly shouldn't give up his preference for original 45 and 78 rpm singles. He can therefore now express his love for those recordings in this 'Black Pearls' series. Volume 1, subtitled 'Rhythm & Blues', contains 28 tracks. The kick-off of this new series is Piney Brown who creates one of the roughest blues songs with 'You Bring Out The Wolf In Me'. With Pearl Reeves & The Concords we switch to the jump blues with 'You Can't Stay Here (Step It Up And Go)'. One of the most swinging orchestras on the West Coast was that of drummer Roy Milton. He proves this once again in 'One Zippy Zam'. Milton is followed by another singing drummer who was also active on the West Coast, namely Al Simmons. Here you can hear him with 'You Ain't Too Old', an example of a sublime blues boogie. Another formidable song comes from Carmen Taylor. She took Big Mama Thornton's hit 'Hound Dog' as an example and created the super handsome 'Ding Dong' in the same style. Big Mama Thornton herself passes later with the well-known 'Just Like A Dog (Barking Up The Wrong Tree)'. Preston Love was a saxophonist, bandleader and songwriter and has worked with Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Frank Zappa and Janis Joplin, among others. He left vocals to Roy Easter, but Preston does take care of the alto sax on the rhythm & blues smash song 'If You Ever Get Lonesome'. Another big name in the orchestra leader category was saxophonist Buddy Lucas. He did session jobs with Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. He also played the sax solo on Dion's 'The Wanderer'. Here he is with 'Bo-Lee'. With 'How Wild Can A Woman Be' by Harold 'Thunderbird' Ward you get a beautiful rocking rhythm & blues. The advantage of expertly compiled compilations is always the discoveries you make. One of those is definitely 'Let's Get Together And Make Some Love' by Jimmy Lewis and his band. Not obvious guitar work, but great! You can experience that 'rapping' has existed for a long time on 'The Buggy Ride' by Rudy Moore. Pianist, singer and composer Floyd Dixon referred to himself as ‘Mr. Magnificent'. Overdone? Judge for yourself after listening to the stunner 'Oooh Little Girl'. Marie Knight started her musical career as a gospel singer and in that capacity she toured with Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Nothing remains of gospel in the wonderfully rocking 'I Thought I Told You Not To Tell Them'. Ike Turner's Kings Of Rhythm have undeniably contributed to the evolution of rhythm & blues and rock 'n' roll. You can hear them here with vocalist Tommy Hodge on 'That's All I Need', a song that flowed from Ike's pen by the way. The last two tracks are reserved for Rufus Thomas and multi-instrumentalist Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, featuring respectively the catchy 'The Easy Livin' Plan' and the instrumental 'Swingin' The Gate', which showcase Brown's six-string talent. can enjoy.
Ronni Boysen successfully passed the compiler's baptism of fire. After this first volume, we firmly believe that the upcoming releases in this series will provide some serious fireworks.

Lillian Briggs was an impressive artist. Not only did she have an enormously powerful voice, but she was also an adept trombone player. During her performances she stood behind the microphone with the instrument in hand. Lillian was born on June 3, 1932 in Allentown, Lehigh County. During her childhood she mainly listened to jazz and jump blues and had a preference for the work of Louis Jordan, Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole. Initially, she trained on piano and violin, but in order to join the high school band, she had to change instruments, so she chose the trombone. Her musical career only got a push when she was spotted with her then band during a performance by talent scout Jack Petrill. They made a deal and Jack got her a record deal with Epic. It was the heyday of rock 'n' roll. Lillian bleached her hair, drove a white Cadillac convertible and performed in nightclubs, always with the trombone in hand. As her first single, she covered Louis Jordan's ‘I Want You To Be My Baby’, which sold more than 1 million copies and so she became the first woman to achieve rock 'n' roll star status. She has toured with all the major artists, including her idol Nat King Cole. In addition, in her most glorious years, from 1954 to 1965, she also worked as a film actress and appeared in various TV shows. When her career gradually declined after 1965, she only did small gigs to retire in the seventies. Lillian Briggs died on April 11, 1998 at the age of 65 from lung cancer.
Briggs made 18 singles, several of which made it to the charts. On this album you get 10 tracks that put the enormous talent of this lady in the spotlight. In addition to the aforementioned 'I Want You To Be My Baby', you get 9 songs of an exceptionally high level, including the classic 'Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop'. Opener 'Can't Stop' shows Lillian her jumping rhythm & blues side. Jazzy swinging she works her way through 'Blues In The Night' with class and from 'Follow The Leader' she pulls the rock 'n' roll card. The sporadically appearing raw edge in her voice in 'I Care For You', 'Come Here', 'I' and 'Is There A Man In The House?' give the rock 'n' roll feeling an extra push. Poppy rocking closes the album with 'I'm Burning For You'. Briggs' powerful vocals, the formidable performance of the accompanying big band and the sophisticated arrangements make 'Follow The Leader' an album that you turn after the last track of side B and then turn after the last track of side A and then again… …….! In short, a hell of an album. 

​The second artist who can count on a '10 inch vinyl Rhythm Bomb Records 20th Anniversary Edition' release is Ruby Ann. This Portuguese artist performed in the clubs as an upcoming talent. After that, she stayed under the radar. She went out into the world and tried to survive singing on small stages. She already had talent then, but it was until she recorded the album 'Mama's Back' together with Cherry Casino and his musicians in 2010 and 2011 that the general public could enjoy it. Fortunately, due to the 20th anniversary of the Rhythm Bomb Records label, this album is once again getting the necessary attention. Because that's what Ruby Ann deserves. However, you can hardly put them in one musical box, because she is too versatile for that. She immediately shows that on 'Call His Name', with which she kicks off. A rhythm & blues class of stature and pay particular attention to that powerful voice. Rockabilly-wise she continues with 'No I Won't Cry', including beautiful guitar work. The raw undertone in her voice in 'Mad Mama' brings out the 'real rockin' chick' in her. With a voice drenched in echo, she later rocks herself with verve through 'Your Mama's Here'.
Side 2 starts with 'Baby Don't Care' that certainly exudes the Sun atmosphere and once again shows that Ruby Ann breathes pure rock and roll. Rockabilly then comes once again to the surface in "I'll Never Get Rich". For a moment she slows down a little bit in the somewhat poppy sounding 'I've Heard That Line Before', but on closing track 'Many Tears Ago' she pulls out all the stops again.
More than 10 years after its release, ‘Mama’s Back’ still has the power of rock 'n' roll and rockabilly.

​The Rhythm Bomb Records label celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. An anniversary that gets even more shine with the release of some 10 inch '20th anniversary edition' vinyls.
'Let's Play Around!' by Cherry Casino and The Gamblers' is one of them. In 2006, this German band managed to connect with contemporary bands that embrace traditional rhythm & blues with this album, which was only released on CD. 'Let's Play Around!' received very good reviews and as it turns out, the album has not lost any of its power so many years later. Cherry Casino and The Gamblers have now become a permanent value. Rhythm Bomb’s Records’ boss Ralph Braband therefore thought it appropriate to release these historic recordings for the first time on vinyl on the occasion of the anniversary of his label. A decision that gives us, together with the fans of the band, great pleasure.
When listening, it immediately becomes clear that the band already radiated an enormous dose of professionalism in 2005. Cherry Casino (voc., gtr), Ike Stoye (sax), Michael 'Humpty' Kirscht (rhythm gtr), Torsten Peukert (drums) and 'Lucky' Lehmann (bass) ensure that. This immediately manifests itself in the raw, returning to the essence of rhythm & blues 'Huh Baby'. With 'Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down' the band presents a more rocking version of the genre.  Cherry and his mates work their way swinging through 'You're Too High For Me', which also boasts great backing vocals from the band members. And side two also opens in the same way with 'Baby Please Come Back'. Unadulterated rock 'n' roll typifies 'All Night Long'. A somewhat Chuck Berry-like intro later puts 'Girl Next Door' on the rocking tracks. Song that also boasts sublime sax and guitar solos.
Cherry Casino and The Gamblers know the authentic rhythm & blues and the rocking version of it in detail. Their craftsmanship, coupled with a dynamic performance, also make 'Let's Play Around' an extremely danceable record.

​During their fourth Canadian trip, compiler Mark Armstrong and designer and artist Henrique San once again search for recordings by local heroes on labels such as Apex, Canatal, Delta, Sparton and Quality. These are supplemented by imported records that performed extremely well in that country. Again you get 28 songs, all recorded between 1952 and 1963.
Let's start right away with the oldest recording. That's ‘Don't Hang Around Me Anymore’ by Hank Snow, a song that creates a great country atmosphere with the addition of steel guitar. That atmosphere also characterizes 'Party Doll' by Luke Simmons and Jack Turner's 'Everybody's Rockin' But Me’. The Canadian Vanda Jackson, however, may kick off with the rocking 'Ooh Watcha Do!'. More female talent comes later with Penny Candy and the somewhat poppy 'Came On Over'. Small or meaningless titles were common in the 1950s. One of them is ‘Bop-A-Dee, Bop-A-Doo’ by Hall Willis. Willis initially started out as a country artist, but with this pure rockabilly song he was certainly able to reach the same level as his American colleagues. Energetic number! Paul Anka had many hits worldwide. Before he got that far, however, he already made this 'Blau-Wile-Deveest-Fontaine' in 1956, at the age of 15. You can also hear him with 'Late Last Night', recorded 3 years later. And yet Anka had to lose at the time during an amateur singing contest. Sixteen-year-old Bob King won the first price and you can hear him here with 'Rockin' Jukebox'. In the 1960s, R. Dean Taylor scored several hits here. However, the rocking 'At The High School Dance' from 1961 did not reach us. A shame, because it is a formidable number. Marty Hill and Bill Ramal teamed up for the title track 'Red Lips'. In addition to being a singer/songwriter and producer, Hill was also a guitarist. Ramal was a professionally trained saxophonist. The result is an exciting song with beautiful orchestral accompaniment. This also applies to the later 'Mr. Oracle of love". For a rather tearing sax you can go to The Sugar Canes with the instrumental 'Sioux Rock'. Saxophonist was Ray Felder. He also worked with Wynonie Harris, Bull Moose Jackson and James Brown, among others. Also at this volume, a French song should not be missing, Rudy Asselin does that job with 'En Avant Le Rock 'n Roll', on which the accordion is of course also present.
Also worth mentioning are the rhythm & blues of Eugene Church in 'Miami', the famous Dale Hawkins with 'Mrs. Merguitory's Daughter', of course Little Richard and his wildly rocking 'Keep A Knockin'' and the sweet harmony vocals of girl group The Valentines with 'The Sock'.
It has become a tradition that the 'Rockin' Rollin' USA' series features only high quality rockers. We are already curious what the Armstrong/San duo still have in the pipeline.

​Few artists in the genres of rockabilly and rock 'n' roll could score more than locally in the 1950s, the heyday of both genres. Legends such as Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran succeeded. This also applied to Sanford Clark who immortalized his name in rock 'n' roll history with 'The Fool' in 1956. The song also landed him a contract with Dot Records, which made him one of the most successful rockers of his time. Later Clark also made recordings for Ramco, Warner Bros, Project and Trey, among others. 'The Fool' was produced by Lee Hazlewood, who also immediately profiled himself as a producer. It is not surprising that 'The Fool' became a national hit, because the song typifies Clark in a strikingly personal way, which differs from the average rock and roll artists. In 1966 he recorded 'The Fool' again, in an adapted version for the time, for the Ramco label. Of course both versions found their way to this compilation, as well as 'Lonesome For A Letter' the flip side of the original single released in 1956. Song that winks at Elvis. But Sanford had much more to offer. This is immediately apparent from the first track 'Ooo Baby', which he plays as an experienced rocker. And also note the great work of lead guitarist Al Casey. In addition to Sanford's formidable performances, the same Casey shines on every song. 'Modern Romance', 'Usta Be My Baby', 'Love Charms' and 'Lou Be Doo' are just a few of the many gems on this album. Also noteworthy is the then unreleased 'Cross-Eyed Alley Cat'. Unbelievable, because the song is a blast of a rock song. Another great track is the pre-Dean Martin version of the Hazlewood composed 'Houston'. A rarity is also the presence of the two versions of 'A Cheat'. In addition to the original version, you also get the version with 'snare drum overdub'. Clark's blues side floats again in Hazlewood's 'Just Bluesin', as well as in 'It Hurts Me Too'. You can hear that he also had country in his genes on 'Black Jack County Chain'. Humorous sounds more like '(They Call Me) Country'. In addition, you will also find rare recordings that Sanford made for Project, Trey and Warner Bros. Sanford Clark passed away on July 4, 2021 due to Covid. He was 85 years old.
That he can be counted among the historical heroes of rock 'n' roll is clear from this compilation. His masterful voice, the beautiful choice of songs, the extremely competent studio musicians and especially the presence of producer Lee Hazlewood are an undeniable part of this. In addition, there is a 36-page booklet, in which, in addition to beautiful photos, you can learn everything about the person Sanford Clark and the tracks. Super release!

​With 'Lonely Lonely Train' the 'More Boss Black Rockers' series also comes to an end. When you own both the 10 CDs of the 'Boss Black Rockers' series and the complete 'More Boss Black Rockers', you have no less than 560 fantastic songs by black artists, including the 28 gems of volume 10. Let's start right away with the well-known and sublimely rocking 'Hickory Dickory Dock' by Big Boy Myles. Myles is followed by Johnny Acey with "Please Don't Go (Back To Baltimore)" that conveys both blues and gospel. Also beautiful is 'Polly Molly' by The Five Masks, who also provide the rocking rhythm & blues with wonderful harmony vocals. Cool harmony vocals then also characterize 'Forget It' by the vocal group The Larks and certainly 'Sud Buster' by The Spinners. Curtis Knight is best known for his collaboration with Jimi Hendrix. He shows that he could also score vocally on the swinging 'Gotta Have A New Dress' that he recorded for Shell in 1962. If you're looking for a throbbing sax-driven rhythm & blues instrumental, you can't ignoreren King Curtis. Here he presents 'Beach Party' and pay also attention to the performance of the Hammond in addition to the sax. Phil Flowers' ‘You Stole My Heart" is remarkably modulated after the early Elvis. Lee Dorsey was one of New Orleans' most famous artists. ‘Ya Ya’ earned him a worldwide hit. That the man had many more beautiful songs, proves 'Rock'. It is common knowledge that some genres are very close to each other. A good example of this is "I Wanna Do Everything For You" by Brook Benton, which sounds very soulful in addition to rhythm & blues. Another jack-of-all-trades was Wynona Carr. Gospel, rhythm & blues and rock 'n' roll characterized her repertoire. Rock 'n' roll is here the basis for 'Touch And Go'. A hell of an instrumental rocker comes with The Upsetters and their 'Jaywalking'. The band acted as accompaniment for Little Richard on several singles. You can hear him a little later with 'Ain't Nothin' Happening', on which he takes it a bit easier than what we are used to from him. The title track 'Lonely Lonely Train' comes from Sonny Anderson, on which the backing vocals play for train. Wonderful!
There are a lot of bangers galore at this volume. Listing them all would lead us too far, but 'Please, Please Be Mine' by El Pauling & Royal Abbit, including a great piano solo, 'Struttin' and Twistin'' by Roosevelt Grier, 'Turn It Off' by Dean & Jean and The Jarmels with 'She Loves To Dance' are certainly also worth mentioning.
With the rhythm & blues of Jimmy Witherspoon's 'Move Me Baby', not only this volume closes, but also the 'More Boss Black Rockers' series.
We secretly hope that compiler Little Victor will expand on this. Wait and see!

​In America, the 1950s caused a serious upheaval. The growing prosperity, the presence of large car factories and the great distances to be covered made the car extremely successful. This was also the case with young people, because what could be more fun than cruising along the highways, driving into the sunset or enjoying a 'drive-in movie' in a luxurious shiny car. The cars of that time had enormous dimensions, often with immense wings at the back and with 8 cylinder engines, consumption of a liter more or less was not considered. A very different time than with the restrictions currently imposed. The feeling of freedom and the desire for adventure prevailed among the young people. Of course, all this also inspired the music. Artists themselves were often obsessed with the new means of transport and composed songs about it, which provided the whole with a suitable soundtrack.
The German Bear Family now bundled 33 songs recorded between 1950 and 1963, all of which have to do with cars. A large number of the recordings bundled here can be classified as rock 'n' roll and rockabilly, but there is more. The album opens with 'See The U.S.A. In Your Chevrolet' by Dinah Shore. The song served for a promotional spot for Chevrolet in 1950. More female work will follow later by Linda Laurie and 'Soupin' Up Your Motor'.
Classy Gene Vincent is featured twice. The first time with 'Cruisin' and later again with 'Why Don't You People Learn How To Drive'. Hayden Thompson is also no stranger. He rocks with verve through 'Fairlane Rock'. Another notable rock song is Jimmy Carroll's "Big Green Car." The man only made one single, but what kind of one. By the way, Bucky & Premieres also impress with 'Cruisin', rock 'n' roll at the top level.
The car and everything related to it also received the necessary attention in the rhythm & blues. Al Brown & His Tunetoppers show that in their version of the classic 'Route 66', while Clarence 'Bonton' Garlow and his orchestra opt for 'Route 90'. Chuck Willis sends his 'Keep A-Driving' more towards the blues and 'Riding In The Moonlight' by Howlin 'Wolf is also a winner in that genre.
You can listen to instrumental rock 'n' roll via 'Freeway U.S.A.' by The Bonnevilles.
Vocal doo-wop toppers come with The Premiers and 'Jolene', 'The Drive-In' by The Aquatones, The Spaniels with 'Automobiles' and 'Flat Tire' by The Del Vikings.
Beautiful harmony vocals can also be found in the slow 'Tail Light' by Sammy Hagan & The Viscounts and certainly in 'Nine More Miles, The Faster 'Faster' Song' by Georgie Young and The Rockin' Bocs who slowly but surely increase the tempo .
Rather fun is 'Sunday Driving' by actor Jerry Lewis with Billy May and his orchestra.
True to tradition, you will receive all information about the songs and artists in the enclosed booklet.
With 'Destination Freeway' Bear Family adds a beautiful album to the series. Considering the high costs or the impact on the environment, you prefer to leave the car aside, no problem because 'Destination Freeway' provides listening pleasure under all circumstances.

​For our second visit in the Pan American Series 'Rockin' Rollin' USA' we are still staying in Canada. The 28 tracks on 'Teenage Boogie' dating from the period 1956 - 1963 were released on both local labels and were available via import in Canada. The local labels, whose recordings you can hear here, are Artic, Canatal, Sparton, Teen-Age and Tundra.
We start with Canadian local heroes Bob and Lucille. They rock hard in the cheerful 'Eeny-Meeny Miney Moe', song from 1959. They are followed by Keray Regan with 'Vibratin'’, which goes a bit hillbilly with the addition of fiddle. There were plenty of female artists who played rock 'n' roll with verve. Perhaps less known, but Myrna Lorrie was not of lesser quality. She was only 17 when she recorded ‘Hello Baby’. Of a completely different order is 'Arkansas Jane' by The Millionaires, floating on a jungle beat. A rarity is 'The Big Black Jacket' by Marcel St. Jean and The Jitters. The single was only pressed in a limited edition. Fortunately he graces this compilation because it is an excellent rocker. The Novatones provide a good portion of rocking rhythm & blues with 'Mary Lee'. More rocking rhythm & blues will follow later with 'Mean Old Woman' by The Hi-Fives. Bob and Lucille who opened the album, return as The Canadian Sweethearts with 'Freight Train', in which Lucille's voice reminds me of the other Lucille, namely Lucille Starr. French Canadian is featured through Les Trois Clefs and their 'Ah Oui Je L'Aime Tant'. The song contains an unusual but impressive xylophone solo. The Bucks went whistling through life. They even made a nice song with it. Just listen to the bluesy 'The Whistling Stroll'. Covering has been down all times and happened everywhere. The Canadian The Crew Cuts recorded a nice version of Dale Hawkins' 'Susie-Q'. Rocking wildly, supported by an all-scorching sax, Tommy Ambrose and Joe King work their way through 'The End Of The World'. Curtis Lee had a hit with the Phil Spector produced 'Under The Moon Of Love'. Here you get the flip side of that single with 'Beverly Jane', which should certainly not give way to the hit side. Fans of instrumental songs will get their money's worth with 'Rain Maker' by Tony Mystery and The Masquerades, a band led by the English brothers Tony and Chris Albury. And successor 'Watch Your Step' by The Galaxies is also an instrumental 'guitar driven' topper. A touch of Buddy Holly can be heard somewhat in 'I've Got A Feeling' by Larry Lee and The Leesures.
Doo-wop fans will certainly enjoy 'Baby Tell Me (Why, Why, Why) by The Mello Kings, as well as 'Tomorrow' by The Rock-A-Tunes. Wonderful harmony vocals also include 'Little Woman' by The Dukes. Song that, by the way, is introduced by a twangy surf guitar. Rocking with a light pop touch, Frank Rondell and The Chancellers close with 'Your True Love'.
Quality once again adorns this second volume in the 'Rockin' Rollin' USA' series. 28 tracks and all 'killers', you just have to do it. This needs no further explanation.

With volume 41 in the 'That'll Flat...Git It!' series we dive into the archives of the labels Dot and their daughter label Hamilton. The Dot label was also known for their pop covers of rhythm & blues hits from the fifties, but also recorded a lot of good rock 'n' roll and rockabilly. From that offer, compiler Nico Feuerbach selected 37 tracks for this compilation. A number of well-known names such as Leroy Van Dyke, Sanford Clark, Jimmy Newman and Robin Luke can be found here. But also a number of artists who could not generate general fame are discussed.
Rock 'n' roll with both country and blues influences or rousing rockabilly, you will find it all on this album.
And in the 34-page beautifully illustrated booklet you get all the information about the artists and their songs.
The fact that there is still a lot of interesting rock 'n' roll and rockabilly to listen to is certainly a reason to get this album.

​‘The flag does not always cover the load’ is a statement that applies more than once to this new series released by Atomicat. In other words, a nonsensical song title says nothing about the song itself. The 'Wacky-A-Rama' series shows that behind meaningless titles there are enormously beautiful songs. On this first volume, compiler Mark Armstrong gathered 28 tracks that confirm this and Henrique San once again provided an eye-catching packaging. 'Bo-Bo Ska Diddle Daddle' is the first crazy title from Wayne Walker, who starts rocking with it. Wayne is followed by Wink Lewis who was mainly active in the country. By using piano and steel guitar, his rocking 'Zzztt, Zzztt, Zzztt' still has the seeds of country. Johnny Otis' band backs 'Mr. Goggle Eyes' August on 'Oh Ho Doodle Lu', which features co-produced by Otis' band New Orleans rhythm & blues . Wally Hughes' motto was 'May the music always bring you higher' and he fully lives up to that in 'Pug Nose And Pony Tail'. His whistling certainly contributes to that. With Earl Sanger and 'Whoopie Baby', including beautiful performances on fiddle and piano, we go a little more hillbilly. Slightly sultry and jazzy are the undertones of The Gimicks' '(Get Off My Tail You) Sneaky Snail'. In addition to being a songwriter and producer, Choker Campbell was also a talented saxophonist. He gives a nice example of that in the rhythm & blues 'Walking On My Thin Sole Shoes'. Larry and Lorrie made a name for themselves on TV shows in the fifties as The Collins Kids. They are present with the youthful 'Beetle-Bug-Bop' from 1955. Larry's mentor was Joe Maphis, which made Larry a gifted guitarist at a young age. Roy Hogsed provides a swinging boogie, embellished with an accordion solo with 'Let Your Pendulum Swing'. Prefer a portion of cool harmony vocals? Then you can certainly go to the vocal group The Metronomes and 'The Chickie-Goo'. A nice instrumental is 'Buzzzzz' by Jimmy Gordon. The song was co-written by Dave Burgess of The Champs. Girl group The Hollywood Chicks are present with Tossin 'A Ice Cube', a typical song for such groups. Also note the handclaps. They belong to Barry White who made his first professional recording with them in 1962. You may not believe it, but Big Brown and The Gamblers were a Belgian band. Big Brown was singer and especially shouter Roger Sauvenier. Initially the group started as a Dixieland band, but Sauvenier soon converted to rock 'n' roll. He recorded three singles on Palette, of which 'Menin Aéde Théa', which you can listen here, is the third one. Single that is highly sought after by the way. According to the data found, the song would have been sung or rather shouted in Ancient Greek. All in all a highly appreciated rarity! More famous than Brown is Screamin' Jay Hawkins. He was always special, as here in 'Orange Coloured Sky' from 1958. Instrumentally, the album closes with 'First Rhapsody For Knives, Forks And Spoons' by the aptly named Central High School Cafeteria Band and……..knives, forks and spoons were actually used for this song.
With 'Wacky-A-Rama, Vol. 1', the Atomicat label is once again launching a series that certainly has a lot to offer. The tracks, which all date from the period 1954 - 1963, can be classified into rhythm & blues, rock 'n' roll and doo-wop, some of which are very hard to find. Here you get everything perfectly presented in a sublime sound quality.

​The Firebirds are a five-piece band from Leipzig, Germany, who showcase their very personal interpretation of rock 'n' roll from the fifties and sixties on this album. That own interpretation is immediately apparent on opener 'You Don't Like To R 'n' R', including a fat sax solo. Sax who also put successor 'Blinding Lights' on the tracks. Even pop influences do not avoid The Firebirds. Traces of this can be found in 'Sweet Kisses'. Handsome harmony vocals also fit the band like a glove, as the gentlemen show in 'Mama Should Know'. An outlier is certainly the somewhat jazzy and a 'theatre feel' creating 'Boyfriend'. What a song!
Lyrically, The Firebirds also score in a special way. They avoid beaten paths like the plague. They prefer to continue in a narrative way. A wonderful example of this is certainly the quietly swinging 'The Way Love Goes', which is followed by the slow 'Moviestar', to which the gentlemen also add a bit of doo-wop. ‘Mr. Sunshine' goes even further back in time. Here you get more of a 'roaring twenties' feeling, mixed with vocal delights. What a structure that number has. With 'My Guitar' it is a bit of a shock when the band firmly prefers the fifties rock 'n' roll tour. Familiar in pure Firebirds style, 'Area 51' sounds a little later. A wonderful rhythm & blues, which ends with an emotional steel guitar and transitions almost seamlessly into the dreamy 'Down By The Sea'. They end with 'Let The Good Times Roll'. The umpteenth version of the Louis Jordan classic, I hear you say. NO, this quintet composed their own 'Let The Good Times Roll'.
In short we can conclude that The Firebirds are more than just another contemporary rock and roll band. Comparing them to other contemporary bands that keep the rock 'n' roll fire burning is pointless. After all, this group does not stick to the fifties sound that other bands try to approach as much as possible. Is this a disadvantage? Certainly not, although it takes some time to adjust when your ears are used to the rawer sound of fifties rock and roll. However, if you need a special contemporary and certainly innovative sound, then 'Stripes' by The Firebirds is definitely your thing. I'm already won over!