Jackie Lee Cochran was born one of two twins on February 5, 1934. However, Jackie's twin brother died at the age of two, resulting in a grief-stricken, unstable relationship between Jackie Lee's parents. When Jackie Lee was six, his father gave him an acoustic guitar. Because his father was serving a lengthy prison sentence, Jackie Lee was raised by his grandmother. Jackie was fascinated by roots music and in the 1950s, he recorded explosive rock songs for the Decca, Viv, Sims, and Jaguar labels.
It's no surprise, then, that Bear Family Records has dedicated a volume to him in its ‘Rocks’ series. This volume contains songs spanning Jackie's career that peaked in the mid-1950s and experienced a resurgence during the rockabilly revival of the 1970s and 1980s.
Many of his songs have since become true classics of the genre. Just think of ‘Riverside Jump’, ‘Hip Shakin' Mama’, ‘Mama Don't You Think I Know’, and ‘Georgia Lee Brown’.
During the rockabilly revival, he recorded for Ronny Weiser's Rollin' Rock label. As can be heard on this compilation, Cochran still possessed that passion, rhythmic feel, rawness, and emotionality that also characterized his recordings from the 1950s. These qualities are the common thread running through all the tracks. Not only was Jackie Lee Cochran incredibly strong vocally, but he also perfectly captured the spirit of the rockabilly era in his compositions. Jackie Lee Cochran and Merle Travis clearly knew each other, although Merle was already an established name in country music and Cochran had made his mark in rockabilly, Travis backs Jackie Lee on some tracks. Ray Campi, also active in rockabilly, also does so on a few tracks. The 31 tracks offer a sublime glimpse into a charismatic rockabilly artist from the mid-20th century. Four of the 31 tracks are appearing on CD for the first time. To top it all off, ‘For You Baby’ is a previously unreleased rockabilly song that Cochran recorded for Decca in 1956 during the legendary ‘Ruby Pearl’ session. Incidentally, ‘Ruby Pearl’ features excellent guitar work by Merle Travis, as well as a beautiful piano solo by Jimmy Pruett.
The cover of this compilation depicts Cochran standing in front of a life-size black cat, which served as his stage decoration during his early shows at the ‘Big D Jamboree’.
As is tradition, Bear Family Records also accompanies this album with a beautifully produced, 31-page booklet, illustrated with rare photos, containing all the information about Jackie Lee Cochran and the tracks. If you're a fan of authentic, emotional, raw, and dynamic rockabilly, then you can't miss this passionately and expertly remastered release. Highly recommended!

In the 52nd volume of the ‘That'll Flat...Git It!’ series, Bear Family Records delves into the archives of the Mar-Vel Records and Glenn Records labels. Mar-Vel Records was a small independent label in the industrial heart of Northwest Indiana, just across the state line from Chicago. Both labels were founded by Harry Glenn, an entrepreneur with enormous energy and a vision for the future. Glenn was a special character because, besides being a producer and idealist, he also personally promoted his releases. To do so, he filled his old Rambler station wagon with thousands of singles and crisscrossed the South. He would drop in unannounced at radio stations and charm DJs into pushing his latest singles. His visionary nature can be summed up in a single line: ‘Tomorrow's hits, recorded today’. In the 1950s and 1960s, Mar-Vel produced a roster of raw, unpolished rockabilly and country. Numerous artists caught Glenn's attention. For example, there was Jack Bradshaw, who briefly found a home at Decca, and Bobby Sisco recorded rockabilly for Chess. Most notable was the teenage Sherry Lee, who would later become world-famous as Jackie DeShannon. Herbie Duncan, on the other hand, was the best at translating the Mar-Vel concept into songs. His 1958 single ‘Hot Lips Baby’, as you can hear on this compilation, is a wild, uninhibited, and somewhat chaotic rockabilly number, yet highly representative of the genre. The songs that followed this hit were equally intense and raw, earning him cult status as a true rockabilly pioneer. ‘Little Angel’ (the flip side of ‘Hot Lips Baby’) and its successors ‘Escape’ and ‘That's All’ grace this album.
Harry Glenn's musical vision was, in short, phenomenal. Young artists, often working-class, with enormous potential, found a listening ear in Glenn. This resulted in gems of songs, 36 of which made it onto this album.
The authenticity is immediately evident in the opener, ‘Jump Baby Jump’, by Harry Carter of The Rock 'N' Roll Apache. Carter returns later with three more tracks. Jack Bradshaw was originally a country artist. His ‘Naughty Girls’, however, leans more towards rockabilly, though it still bears country influences. A magnificent song with an inspiring guitar solo appears on Bill Ferguson's sophisticated ‘Dark And Stormy’. Glenn's knack for talent is also evident in the recordings of Billy Nix, who delivers a magnificent song with a ripping sax on ‘Moon Twist’. Nix returns later with two more songs, including the formidable, beautifully arranged, and twisting ‘Get With The Beat’.
Blues influences undoubtedly characterize Paul Parker's ‘Rockin' For Goldwater’. Guitar solos are practically obligatory in rock 'n' roll and rockabilly. Mel Kimbrough takes a different approach in ‘Ha, Ha, Hey, Hey’, replacing it with a clever drum solo. The Law Brothers also sound original in ‘Root Beer’. Emotional harmonies, a wonderful twang guitar, and a dose of humor complete the song.
Bill Hall veers more towards honky-tonk in ‘Move Over Rover’, as does Bobby Sisco's ‘Honky Tonkin' Rhythm’. Hall later delivers the cool riff-driven ‘I Need Some Lovin'‘. Bob Burton adds a touch of country in the steel guitar and fiddle-infused ‘Tired Of Rocking’, while The Gaye Sisters provide beautiful harmonies in ‘Oh Ricky’. Burton also returns with ‘Boogie Woogie Baby’. Country also forms the basis for Jim Gatlin, present here with ‘The Way You're Treating Me’ and ‘Would It Matter At All’. It's once again clear that many independent labels delivered incredibly talented songs. Major labels usually prioritized big profits. While profit is essential to keep things afloat, the potential of young, unknown artists is just as important. And Harry Glenn had this in mind like no other.
As we've come to expect from Bear Family Records, this volume also includes a beautifully designed booklet, complete with rare photos, and all the information about the tracks and artists.

In the mid-1960s, Chicago bands like the well-known American Breed were regularly found in the charts. Long before that, however, musical activity was already brewing in the Windy City. The then-emerging rock 'n' roll, doo-wop, rockabilly, teenage pop, and rhythm & blues inspired many bands. Through energetic performances in clubs and high schools, these bands tried to gain a foothold in the overcrowded rock 'n' roll scene. Some succeeded, while others had to remain local or were sometimes forgotten as quickly as they emerged.
With this new series, Bear Family Records highlights both well-known and lesser-known rock artists. No fewer than 35 tracks guide you through the history of Chicago rock 'n' roll, which is brimming with authentic rock 'n' roll, rockabilly, doo-wop, rhythm & blues, and teenage pop. Chicago's answer to Elvis, Ral Donner, kicks things off with ‘I Got Burned’, and indeed, Presley's style is very recognizable here. His successor, Ron Haydock, clearly modeled his style on his great example, Gene Vincent. Together with The Boppers, he delivers an excellent Vincent-inspired ‘99 Chicks’. A simple yet incredibly effective riff later drives ‘Satan Is Her Name’ by Steve King and The Echelons. Also, pay attention to the creative guitar work.
As Eddy ‘The Chief’ Clearwater, he would become a legend in the blues world. Here, he rocks Chuck Berry-style through ‘Cool Clear Water’. For an authentic rock 'n' roll song, you can turn to Benny Ingram and the bopping ‘Jello Sal’. Eddie Cochran, on the other hand, is more prominent in George Torrens' ‘TR-3’. Phil Orsi even covered Eddie Cochran, choosing ‘Come On Everybody’. Robby and The Troubadours, on the other hand, turned to Little Richard and ‘Long Tall Sally’, recording a tremendously powerful version of it.
Penny Smith sounds distinctive on ‘I've Got News For You’, a song that can be described as ‘big band rock’. Incredibly enjoyable!
Although limited to a ‘local hero’, Ronnie Rice still had a gem of a song with ‘T.N.T’. We've said it so often that it's incomprehensible that some artists could only release one single. That's certainly the case for Billy Prager, because with the partly self-written ‘Do It Bop’, he had a song with definite hit potential.
For a touch of teen pop, you can check out Tony Bellus and ‘Robbin' The Cradle’.
Energetic rockabilly is presented by J. Mikel with The Hepcats on ‘Bettyjean Rock’, as well as Wayne Worley and His Worly Birds with Sonny Burgess' ‘Red Headed Woman’.
Doo-wop fans will be delighted by The Deltones' ‘Early Morning Rock’. Dynamic doo-wop rock 'n' roll also features ‘Were Wolf’ by Cat Bonafede & The Gem-Tones.
Well-known artists on this compilation include Hank Mizell with his well-known ‘Jungle Rock’, which became a hit twice, in 1958 and on a reissue in 1976, as well as Hayden Thompson on Chuck Berry's ‘Brown Eyed Handsome Man’.
Instrumental work features The Tazmen's ‘Easy Pickin'‘ and The Millionaires' stunning ‘Rock And A Half’.
In the closing track, The Regulars and The Galaxies, score with their ‘Ride Your Horse’, spoken over a delightful beat.
The 40-page booklet, illustrated with charming vintage photos, tells you all about the artists and the tracks. This first volume demonstrates that the Windy City had a great deal of appealing music to offer between 1956 and 1963. It's therefore worth looking forward to the next volume.

In 2014, the German band Cherry Casino and The Gamblers surprised rock 'n' roll and rockabilly fans with their album ‘Hi-No-Love’. They prove they're still a force to be reckoned with with ‘The Automatic Fool’, their fourth album.
The album features 11 original songs, all written by Axel Praefcke, aka Cherry Casino. On this album, Cherry Casino is surrounded by saxophonist Ike Stoye, guitarist Michael ‘Humpty’ Kirscht, drummer Gregor Gast, and Kevin Weber on upright bass. Co-producer was the talented German rockabilly guitarist Randy Richter, who sadly passed away on September 23, 2025.
What also makes this album so compelling is that it was recorded at Lightning Recording Studio in Berlin using original vintage recording equipment, giving the album an unmistakably real fifties sound. This is immediately apparent in the opener, ‘Sugar Sweet Baby’. An utterly delightful sound that quickly makes you think Cherry and his band are giving a private concert in your living room. The smooth guitar, the handclaps, the backing vocals, the steady rhythm section, and Cherry's beautiful vocals immediately put you in a rocking mood. In the title track, ‘The Automatic Fool’, the sax provides a catchy, early sixties sound. That sax, by the way, is a huge asset throughout the album. The band presents rock 'n' roll with a swinging touch in ‘Shake Me Up Baby’. That swinging feel also characterizes the B-side opener, ‘This Is My Dance’. The A-side concludes with a rocking ‘Street Party’, complete with a beautiful guitar solo. Diversity is no stranger to Cherry Casino and The Gamblers. ‘Easy Baby’, for example, has an underlying smooth jazzy feel, further enhanced by the partially spoken passage. A generous dose of jump then characterizes the only cover, the Elvis-made-famous ‘It Ain't No Big Thing (But It's Growing)’. ‘Baby Malonka’ is a slow track with a poppy edge. The quintet closes with a fierce rocking performance of ‘You Tell Me’.
Besides the exceptionally talented musicianship, the excellent original songs, and the authentic fifties arrangements, the sound achieved here is of a staggeringly high quality. Just before 2025 ends, Cherry Casino and The Gamblers release a awesome album with ‘The Automatic Fool’.

In 2023, the trio The Blue Velvets pleasantly surprised us with their album ‘Waiting For A Sign’, a review of which you can reread here.
Patrik Staffansson, owner of Enviken Records, was kind enough to provide us with two 7-inch vinyl EPs: this one by The Blue Velvets, and you can also expect a review of the 7-inch EP by Ed Cavin & The Blue Kings.
But first, our attention goes to The Blue Velvets, hailing from Germany. This band still consists of the Canadian-born Alistair Christl (guitar and vocals), Ralph Sommer (double bass and vocals), and Mario Wachsmann (drums and percussion). When a band releases its own songs, it's always a plus. And when those songs are also incredibly good, it's simply fantastic. Well, that's the case with this EP. Three of the four songs were penned by Alistair Christl. Ralph Sommer penned the fourth.
We open immediately with the title track ‘Anymore’, top-notch rock 'n' roll, which also incorporates a subtle poppy undertone. Wonderful rockabilly, in which the band nods to the legends in the genre, is introduced in ‘Candy Shop’. A fifties song of an exceptionally high caliber.
A superb clean guitar solo launches the bopping ‘Midnight Hour’, the first track on the B-side. The trio closes with an initially smooth-sounding ’In Years’, which gradually reveals itself as a rock 'n' roller of stature. And be sure to check out Alistair's excellent guitar solo.
‘Anymore’ proves once again that The Blue Velvets are versatile. Beautiful melodies, a driving rhythm section, creative guitar work and dynamic vocals are the ingredients that make this EP a 'must have'.

For Ed Cavin & The Blue Kings, we travel to Sweden, also the home base of Enviken Records, the label on which this EP, in transparent white vinyl, was released. And there are more links. Ed Cavin is none other than Emil Staffansson on acoustic guitar and vocals, and also the son of label owner Patrik Staffansson. The Blue Kings are formed by guitarist Harry Mellberg, Isak Wigander on double bass, and Olle Back on drums.
The EP contains four original songs, all written by Staffansson, who clearly has a great feel for authentic rockabilly.
The opener, the hard-rocking ‘Gonna Be A Ball’, immediately sets the tone for the classy rockabilly delivered in the genre's heyday. Cavin's enormously powerful voice and excellent guitar parts instantly catapult you back to the middle of the last century. That Cavin knows his classics is undeniable. You can hear this in ‘That's Why I Cry’, which evokes memories of Buddy Holly. Moreover, this song is pleasantly adorned with a formidable piano solo.
The B-side opens with a searing sax solo, which immediately gives ‘Honey Please’ that rocking sound of the early sixties. The closing track, ‘Bonfire Baby’, once again highlights the band's qualities. Excellent original compositions, a solid rhythm section, excellent work on the six strings, and Ed Cavin's wild, kicking vocals!
Ed Cavin & The Blue Kings are definitely worth considering. A band with these qualities has a promising future ahead of it.

This vinyl arrived just after Halloween, but don't worry, because these tracks will make your mouth water all year round. Besides, Halloween is an annual event……! As the title suggests, this compilation contains 14 rare horror tracks that are sure to give you the creeps. The tracks date from the '50s and '60s and explore various roots genres.
Merv Griffin gets the party started with the primarily instrumental ‘House Of Horrors’. Rockabilly horror can be enjoyed without any shame on ‘I'm The Wolfman’ by Round Robin. In the early '60s, Round Robin was a huge hit with dancing crowds. Later, he would record for the Stax label as a funky soul singer. Wonderful doo-wop, though the horror here is rather gentle, arrives with ‘Zombi’ by The Monotones. Screamin' Jay Hawkins took the horror very personally. He transformed himself into a monster, which he transferred to the stage. Here, he delivers a fantastically rocking ‘Little Demon’, and note that sublime guitar solo. Serial killer Jack the Ripper inspired Casey Jones and The Governors for the eponymous rhythm & blues rocker.
Side two of this vinyl opens with The Swingin' Phillies, who give the title track of this compilation a twisty touch. The Swingin' Phillies are followed by Rod Willis. He delivers the previously unedited version of the cat-screech-laced ‘The Cat’, a brilliant example of how a rockabilly song should sound, complete with a superb guitar. Virgil Holmes was a rather obscure figuur. He invites you to take a seat on a spooky train with ‘Ghost Train’, which, thanks to the clever arrangement, you can almost literally hear it riding along the rails. Screaming, Dick Barton's Rebels announce themselves with ‘Yes, Baby, I'm Scared’, a massive rockabilly banger. Little Gerhard then cheerfully works his way through the anything but scary, yet fantastically rocking ‘Rockin' Ghosts’. Completely horror-style, with raw vocals, The Savoys close with ‘The Mortal Monster Man’.
With ‘Frankenstein's Party’, Bear Family Records treats you to a devilishly spooky fusion of rockabilly and doo-wop, a hit that DJs and collectors alike will appreciate. Frankenstein and his colleague Igor will give you a warm welcome!

With this first volume of ‘Phantom Rockers’, the Atomicat label launches a new series. The guitarist pictured on the cover is wearing a masquerade or Zorro mask, which immediately highlights the essence of this series. The ‘phantom rockers’ recorded both under their own names and under various aliases. The musicians who supported them in the studio also often fell into this category, shrouding many recordings in a strange haze. This first volume offers 30 tracks by artists who fit the description of ‘phantom rockers’. The first to appear is keeping their identity very well hidden. ‘Don't Bug Me Baby’, which is also the title of this first compilation, comes from an acetate recording, the name of which is not always clear. It's a smashing rock song, with excellent sound quality and already 68 years old. Incidentally, the song was written in the Nashville State Penitentiary. The next song is the well-known ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, here in Buzz Williams's version. Williams was actually Delbert Barker, who recorded under several aliases. Rightly so, a ‘phantom rocker’. A beautiful piano introduces the somewhat bluesy ‘Little Girl, Little Girl’ by The Fairlanes. They were founded by Rick Hall, who was also part of Bill Bowen & The Rockets' ‘Have Myself A Ball’, which can also be heard here. Jack Hammer became known to us with his songs featuring the twist. He also co-wrote ‘Great Balls Of Fire’. Here, he rocks out on ‘Girl, Girl, Girl’. Someone who also adopted multiple aliases was Daniel Flores, a member of The Champs. You hear him twice: first as Danny Boy with ‘Don't Go Pretty Baby’ and later as Chuck ‘Tequila’ Rio with ‘Bye Bye Baby’. Known as Don Covay, under his own name, James Randolph, he was part of The Rainbows, featured here on the doo-wopper ‘Shirley’. Pretty Boy was also a member of The Rainbows. He returns twice more on ‘Bip Bop Bip’ and in the raw, rocking ‘Rockin' The Mule (Back In Kansas), Swingin' Like A Young Gray Mare’.
Bob Kornegay's aliases are countless. Not only was he part of the vocal group Du-Droppers, but you can also hear him rocking as Dave & Bob on ‘Whoa Bessie’. Dave is better known as Dave ‘Baby’ Cortez.
The Rio Rockers also rock hard on ‘Mexicall Baby’. Rusty Isabell was a member of the Rio Rockers but also recorded ‘Stop’ under the name Red (Hot) Russell. Both songs are featured on this compilation. Just like Don Cole, also a member of the Rio Rockers, who can be heard here with Donnie Owens as Two Dons on ‘Funny Honey’, which is strikingly reminiscent of The Everly Brothers.
For a touch of cool country, you can check out The Tunesmiths and ‘Oh Stop!’, complete with steel guitar and fiddle.
‘Don't Stop The Rockin'‘ features Pat Richmond & The Fireballs. The ‘phantom rocker’ here is Billy Eldridge, member of The Fireballs. He would go on to enjoy further success with ‘Let's Go Baby’.
Rudi ‘Tutti’ Grayzell recorded for the Abbott, Starday, and Sun labels. As ‘phantom rocker’ Rudy Gray, he can be heard on the country rocker ‘There's Gonna Be A Ball’.
A fine example of an instrumental guitar song comes in the form of ‘Red Hot Red’ by Young Guitar Red, later known as Guitar Red with recordings for Checker. ‘Dancin' Wild’ is a song by Tom & Jerry. You'll undoubtedly hear the duo, who later became known as Simon & Garfunkel, in it.
A vocally powerful song is definitely ‘I'll Mess You Up’ by The Cliques. They consisted of Eugene Church, who later recorded for Modern Records, and Jesse Lorenzo Belvin, who also performed as Curley Williams and Jesse & Marvin, among others.
With this first volume, the Atomicat label is undoubtedly generating interest in artists performing as ‘phantom rockers’. That interest will soon be fueled by more ‘phantom rockers’, as the second volume, titled ‘Jake The Snake’, is already scheduled for release. It will be reviewed on this site soon.

When country and western artists in the 1950s created a crossover between their genre and rock 'n' roll, the result was brilliant songs. Songs that, just like those in rock 'n' roll, had ‘drinking’, ‘dancing’, ‘love’, and ‘lying and cheating’ as their themes. What they also had in common with rock 'n' roll was that they drew you to the dance floor. Just as in the two previously released volumes, the third volume is also full of this.
This volume opens with a swing, ‘I Want A Bowlegged Woman’ by Jimmy Ballard, a song Bull Moose Jackson recorded in 1948. Ballard is followed by Jimmy Boyd. Boyd was 13 years old when he recorded the classic ‘I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus’. Here you hear Jimmy with the 1956 country-rocking ‘Crazy Mixed Up Blues’. Lattie Moore first recorded ‘Juke Joint Johnny’ in 1953. The song already exuded a rockabilly vibe. During the genre's heyday in 1956, Lattie re-recorded it. Besides a career under his own name, Billy Strange was also a sought-after session musician. He shines under his own name on ‘Let Me In There Baby’.
Fine performances on steel guitar and fiddle can be found on ‘Tom Cattin' Around’ by Speedy Noris & His Radio Rangers. ‘You Got The Right Number’ by ‘Rusty’ McDonald certainly sounds swinging. McDonald also sang for Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys. Incidentally, you'll get them later on the energetic ‘Miss Molly’. In her heyday, Ann Jones earned the title ‘The Hillbilly Girl’. Not surprising when you hear her on ‘I've Had It’. A song with a tremendously high rock 'n' roll feel arrives with Howard Crockett and his ‘If You Let Me’, complete with an impressive clean-sounding guitar solo. Jimmie Piper also rocks later in ‘Don't Play Around (With My Heart)’. And doesn't that guitar sound a lot like Johnny Cash's accompaniment? ‘Sweetie Pie’ by Johnnie & Jack sounds delightful and cheerful. The backing vocals by The Jordanaires certainly contribute to this feeling. This duo returns once more with the unique and excellent ‘Uncle John's Bongos’, drenched in impressive bongos.
Sublime harmonies come this time from New Zealand, featuring the Apaapa Sisters along with The Downtown Boys and ‘Guess Things Happen That Way’. Wonderfully merging voices also define the follow-up single ‘Leroy’ from ‘Nita, Rita & Ruby’.
In previous series, we saw that acetate recordings often contain beautiful songs. Well, someone who made a ton of such recordings with the hope that someone would one day record his songs was Sandy Rivers. He proved he had a knack for catchy songs in ‘A Woman Is Like A Guitar’. Not much is known about Red Romine. We do know that ‘Money In The Bank’ is a cool country rocker. Country, rockabilly, and even a touch of bluegrass can be found in ‘Rock-A-Billy Baby’ by Johnny Duncan & The Blue Grass Boys. A great version of ‘Tweedle Dee’ is provided by Pee Wee King featuring Redd Stewart & The Trio. You can immediately hear where Little Jimmy Osmond drew his inspiration back then.
This compilation concludes with the slow ‘Tomorrow Night’ by Carl Smith.
The great thing about series like this is that the artists successfully blend two genres. This is reflected not only in the songs but also in their use of instruments. Besides the guitar, you'll naturally also hear the steel guitar and the fiddle. Wonderful third volume!

Their recently released vinyl single, ‘Rockin' Rebels Rock On / Private Eye,’ sounded incredibly promising. What's more, the single made us eager and eagerly await their then-in-progress debut album.
Tennessee Drifters is a rockabilly trio from Eindhoven/Alkmaar, consisting of double bassist and vocalist Peter de Wit (former frontman of the band Slapback Johnny), drummer Rob van Sambeek (formerly of the now-defunct Bang Bang Bazooka), and guitarist and vocalist Jeroen van Delden (also guitarist for Supersonics and previously for Texarkana Trio). They've played just about every festival in the Netherlands and Belgium, and at the end of last year, they even opened for Danny Vera at the Klokgebouw in Eindhoven.
But now, let's take a closer look at ‘Life Is Pretty.’ The album will be released on the Dutch label Tombstone Records and was recorded at Popei Studio / Rockcity Institute in Eindhoven in January 2025. It was mixed and mastered by the experienced Roel Blommers, in consultation with the band and Bang Bang Marcel. A plus, and something we always appreciate, is the fact that all 14 songs are originals. Jeroen penned no fewer than 12 songs, while he and Peter wrote the lyrics for ‘Double Blue Boogie’. The arrangements were developed by the trio. The other two songs, which also appeared on the single, are by Bang Bang Marcel. Marcel also sang on them, and on ‘Life Is Pretty’, he provides backing vocals on several tracks. On the album, Peter and Jeroen share the vocals.
The album immediately sweeps you off your feet with the opener ‘Boppin' My Life Away’, complete with a surprising ending. It's immediately apparent that the trio, with Peter and Rob, has a very strong rhythm section. A rhythm section that, even in the event of an earthquake, keeps the tempo going undisturbed. This allows guitarist Jeroen to, as we've come to expect from him, be inventive on the six strings. The solo on the upright bass, which flows seamlessly into Jeroen's guitar work, is also enjoyable in ‘Fallin' Down the Drain’. Variety abounds on this album, something we can only applaud. This is already evident on ‘Double Blue Boogie’, a song that spotlights the creativity and craftsmanship of Tennessee Drifters. To give the song a blues flavor, Ari Matheussen was brought in on blues harp. A brilliant move, perfectly blending rockabilly and blues. This is repeated again on ‘Liquor Blues.’ Sublime! Traces of country resurface in ‘Fade Away’ and ‘Fly Away’, while ‘You Dragged Me Down’ takes us firmly in the direction of rockabilly, driven by Jeroen's infectious guitar riff. This continues in the title track, the raw ‘Fifteen Cats’ and ‘Tennessee Boogie’. Tennessee Drifters hold the Eindhoven rockabilly brotherhood Rockin' Rebels in high regard. This is abundantly evident in ‘Rocking Rebels Rock On,’ also released as a single.
Country also features in the closing track, ‘Free’, a song that ends with gunfire. Hopefully, those don't spell the end for Tennessee Drifters...!
Let's be clear! ‘Life Is Pretty’ effortlessly exceeds our already incredibly high expectations. The trio's intention was to marinate authentic rockabilly in an Eindhoven sauce. Well, Jeroen, Peter, and Rob succeeded with flying colors. What's more, Tennessee Drifters elevates the rockabilly genre by injecting it with influences from blues and country.
‘Life Is Pretty’ is a stunning debut album. Brilliant songs and arrangements, a great rhythm section, and creative guitar parts, all bathed in an excellent sound; it's all there. Hopefully, more songs of this caliber will flow from Jeroen's pen. Highly recommended!

Gene Autry, known for his acting as a movie cowboy, founded Challenge Records in 1957. You might not immediately expect that such a drastic career change would result in impressive rock 'n' roll and rockabilly from incredibly talented artists. Nothing could be further from the truth!
The recent volume, number 51 of the ‘That'll Flat...Git It!’ series, rightly puts Challenge Records and its sub-label, Jackpot Records, in the spotlight.
In 1958, Challenge Records had a mega-hit with the now-immortal ‘Tequila’ by The Champs. A song that immediately launched the label. ‘Tequila’ was joined by masterful recordings by now-famous artists like Dave Burgess, Bobby Bare, Joe Johnson, Johnny Thompson, and Wynn Stewart. But lesser-known names like Kimball Coburn, Kip Tyler, and Poe Kats also produced numerous high-quality recordings that still retain their appeal today. The Champs get to kick things off right away with the sung ‘Everybody's Rockin'’, a smashing rockabilly song they recorded in 1958. They later return with the impressive ‘Alley Cat’ and back Dave Burgess on the excellent ‘Maybelle.’ Dave Burgess's name, incidentally appears more than just as a performing artist. He not only wrote the aforementioned songs for The Champs, but was also responsible for the fiery rocking, excellently guitar-driven ‘Spark Plug’ for The Four Teens. The Four Teens return with the infectious and rousing ‘Go Little Go Cat’. Dave Burgess had a knack for writing hit-worthy songs. He also did so for Champs frontman Dean Beard, among others, on ‘Egad, Charlie Brown’, a song featuring a superb sax. Dean returns with his own raw ‘Shiverin' And Shakin'.’ It's hard to say how many instrumentals Burgess wrote. His high regard for quality and originality is evident once again in The Cherokees' ‘Uprisin’. Ralph Mooney serves up another delightfully rocking instrumental in his own composition, ‘Moonshine’.
Phil Carter delivers a special and highly original piece with the tempo-shifting ‘Amazon.’
The impressive Huelyn Duvall is present with no fewer than five songs. Each one is a sublime rockabilly number.
For excellent harmonies, you can find ‘Kee Ro Ryin’ by Johnny and Jonie, as well as the closing track, ‘Didn't It Rock’, by Jim and Rod (The Noble Brothers). Pianist and songwriter Al Downing began his musical career with The Poe Kats, the former backing band for Wanda Jackson. Downing also played piano on Wanda's ‘Let's Have A Party’, and in 1963, he scored a solo hit with the well-known ‘You'll Never Miss The Water (Till The Well Turns Dry)’, a duet he recorded with Little Esther Phillips. Here, you'll find Al with the aforementioned The Poe Kats, belting out ‘Down On The Farm,’ and his talent as a pianist is especially noteworthy. A driven instrumental guitar number arrives with The Riptides' ‘Machine Gun’. The Kuf-Linx, featuring John Jennings, serve up fantastic doo-wop twice, namely on ‘So Tough’ and rocking on ‘Eyeballin'’.
Jerry Wallace was also active in country music. That genre still subtly resonates in the rocking ‘Good And Bad’. Be sure to check out Prentice Moreland's ‘Holy Mack'rel’. Prentice was a member of bands like The Du Droppers, The Dominoes, and The Fortunes, but here he's screamin' as Little Richard under his own name.
The Jackpot Records sublabel is represented by, among others, the humor-laced ‘Vampire’ by Bobby Bare and the catchy, rocking ‘Come-On’ by Wynn Stewart. George Weston's ‘Well Don't You Know’ and ‘Hey Little Car Hop’ also come from Jackpot Records.
Breathtakingly obscure work thankfully surfaces here, thanks to recordings by artists like Phil Carter, Lee Harris, and The Contenders.
As is tradition, the richly illustrated accompanying booklet features extensive liner notes by Chicago rock expert Bill Dahl.
It remains to be seen how many more volumes will appear in the ‘That'll Flat...Git It!’ series. One thing is certain: quality is always on top, as is the case with this 51st volume.

Bobby Lee Trammell was born on January 31, 1934, as son of cotton farmers. His father Wiley played the fiddle, and his mother Mae played the organ at the local church. As a teenager, Bobby Lee played country music, and when Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash performed in Trammell's neighborhood, Perkins asked him to play a song. Perkins apparently found this convincing, advising Bobby Lee to contact Sam Phillips. To no avail! Trammell once said in an interview that his live performances were wilder than those of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, or Little Richard. His performances were extremely extravagant and erotically provocative. Perhaps that was why he never truly broke through. The term ‘The Wild Man From Arkansas’ suited him perfectly.
He became legendary, however, in 1957, and instantly so, with ‘Shirley Lee’, a self-penned song that made rockabilly history. Thus, he certainly contributed to the evolution of ‘performance’ and ‘sound’.
In this release, the German label Bear Family Records brings together the most essential songs by this legendary rocker in its ‘Rocks’ series. Naturally, you'll find ‘Shirley Lee’, alongside ‘You Mostest Girl’, ‘Woe Is Me’, and ‘Arkansas Twist’, as well as a forgotten gem like the instrumental ‘Mayonnaise Man’.
Bobby Lee Trammell also managed to surround himself with incredibly talented musicians. For example, you'll hear guitarist James Burton on his hit ‘Shirley Lee’ and ‘I Sure Do Love You Baby’. Joe Maphis plays the six strings on ‘My Susie J – My Susie Jane’. Brothers Dorsey and Johnny Burnette play guitar on ‘Open Up Your Heart’ and ‘Woe Is Me’. Sonny Burgess plays the same instrument on ‘Been A Walking’ and ‘Hi Ho Silver’. Bobby Lee enlisted The Jordanaires for backing vocals on ‘Am I Satisfying You’. Another striking fact is that Trammell wrote the vast majority of the 32 songs himself, co-wrote a few, and covered ‘Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On’ with his own unique twist.
After listening, it becomes clear that Bobby Lee Trammell was one of the very best. The songs he wrote possess a tremendous hit-like quality, which he further enhanced with excellent arrangements and accompaniment. He demonstrated his wildest ability on his hit ‘Shirley Lee’, as well as on songs like ‘My Susie J-My Susie Jane’ and ‘Toolie Frollie’. Bobby Lee was capable of many things. For instance, he likely retained that wonderful twang in his voice from his country music past, which can be heard on ‘Uh Oh’. He repeatedly demonstrated that he can also handle ‘the twist’. His ‘Sally Twist’, of which both parts 1 and 2 are included, is particularly impressive. Bobby Lee Trammell passed away on February 20, 2008.
This album was compiled by respected music journalist and Arkansas expert Alex Petrauskas, who also wrote the liner notes. It includes a comprehensive biography of Bobby Lee, supplemented with rare photos, illustrations, and a complete discography.
‘Bobby Lee Trammell Rocks’ is not only a beautiful tribute but also a dream release for any rockabilly fan.

In the review of the fifth volume in the ‘Jive-A-Rama’ series we already mentioned that the fifth volume in the ‘Bop-A-Rama’ series would soon be released. Well, it has already happened and a review is therefore necessary.
Traditionally, you will once again get 28 tracks from the middle of the previous century, supplemented with two contemporary tracks from the Rhythm Bomb archives. These two tracks come from the Australian Chrome Daddies with ‘Cattin’ Around’ and B and The Bops from Ukraine with ‘Crazy Over You’. We start with Johnny Taylor and the rocking rhythm & blues ‘Mixed Up Rhythm & Blues’, including a beautiful piece on the steel guitar. Taylor is followed by the pure rock-‘n-roll of Dick Bills and his ‘Rockin’ And A Rollin’’. A fun fact is that Bills was the uncle of Glenn Campbell, who even worked with Dick in his early days. With John Lee Hooker and Loneseme Sundown, the blues legends announce themselves. Hooker is present with ‘How Can You Do It’, a boogie in his well-known style. Second guitarist on this recording from 1951 is Little Eddie Kirkland. Sundown became especially famous for his Excello recordings. He also recorded the catchy ‘I’m A Mojo Man’ for that label. Also note that beautiful piece of solo on the blues harp. Lightnin’ Slim also comes from the blues, who scores boogie-wise here with ‘Love Me Mama’. Tom James was originally a country artist. That he could just as well put down a cool rockabilly, he shows on ‘Hey Baby’. Country, by means of fiddle and lap steel, was also injected by Curtis Gordon in the beautiful ‘I’d Do It For You’. There are artists that little is known about. One of them is Steve Shuma. For his ‘Thunder Lightnin’’ ‘unknown is unloved’ certainly applies, because the man delivers an impressive rockabilly song, in which the guitar somewhat nods to the recordings of Johnny Cash. That guitarist would be Bob Scott. That roots genres can easily be mixed is also evident from ‘Opal Lee’ by Earl Scott. Scott, a country artist who presents an excellent boppin’ beat here. Country can also be found in ‘One Dead Man Ago’ by Jimmie Skinner. A song that was produced by Ray Stevens, who also recorded under his own name. Curley Griffin wrote songs for Carl Perkins, among others. The ‘You Gotta Play Fair’ presented here also flowed from his pen. You can also hear Perkins’ style in it. Nice tempo changes come to the surface in the super cool ‘It’s A Great Big Day’ by Derrell Felts. With his falsetto voice and ukulele, Tiny Tim scored his world-famous hit ‘Tiptoe Through The Tulips’ in 1968. Eight years earlier he recorded the ‘Teenage Lover’ that can be heard here. Talk about a world of difference! When a music genre is very hot, artists from other genres often try to jump on that train. For example, Jimmy Swan, who operates in country, recorded ‘Country Cattin’’, a somewhat rockabilly number in the hope of gaining the approval of teenagers. Incidentally, Wayne Busby, an artist who used to belong to bluegrass, did the same. His trip towards rockabilly is certainly impressive with ‘Live Your Life With Care’. Straightforward rock-‘n-roll comes in the fiery sax-drenched ‘Hollywood Rock’ by Al Turnage. A song clearly modelled on Bo Diddley is ‘Arkansas Jane’ by The Millionaires. For a black artist who sounds more like a white person, we refer you to Nick Greene and ‘My Lovin’ Baby’.
Volume 5 in the ‘Bop-A-Rama’ effortlessly maintains the high quality level of the previously released four volumes. A series to continue following, that’s for sure!

Volume 50 in the ‘That’ll Flat…Git It!’ series is the fifth, and also the last CD, that pays attention to the more than formidable recordings made by the Columbia label. No surprise that Bear Family Records is once again diving into the archives of this label. The gems are inexhaustible, as is once again evident from the 30 tracks brought together here. In addition to recordings by Columbia, you will also find a few songs that were released by sister labels Epic and OKeh. Once again, we see quite a few well-known artists in the track list. In addition, this CD also contains a number of lesser-known artists, who made wonderful recordings, but for one reason or another were unable to reach the general public. The rockabilly genre developed rapidly, which is why artists from the country also wanted to get a piece of its success. Naturally, they injected the genre with country influences. And you also get wonderful examples of this. We start with Link Wray, the king of distortion and the well-known instrumental ‘Raw-Hide’. Wray returns later with the bluesy ‘Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby’, one of the rare songs where he also makes himself heard as a singer.
And Link is not the only well-known one. He is soon joined by Johnny Horton (present with three songs), The Collins Kids (twice) and Carl Perkins. Also present is Johnny Cash, who scored his first hit with Columbia with ‘What Do I Care’, after he left Sam Phillips.
A dynamic raw rocker, with razor-sharp guitar work is ‘Do Do Do’ by Ronnie Dawson, then still recording as Commonwealth Jones. Impressive, but also somewhat more commercial, sounds ‘Let Me Your Comb’ by Bernie Nee.
The influences of country are clearly audible in ‘Little Jimmy Dickens’ ‘Stinky Pass The Hat Around’, partly due to the nice piece of fiddle. Country also resonates in Charlie Adams’ ‘Cattin’ Around’ and ‘Sugar Diet’, as well as in ‘Case Of The Blues’ by Mel Tills, Lefty Frizzell’s ‘From An Angel To A Devil’, ‘There’s A Change In Me’ by Bill Phillips and in ‘The Little Rock Roll’ (with a nice harmonica) and ‘Lay It On The Line’ by Johnny Bond. Even more country is provided by ‘Hook, Line And Sinker’ by Gordon Terry and Carl Butler’s ‘Baby I’m A-Walkin’’.
Hillbilly influences are expressed in ‘Let Me Love You’ by The Maddox Brothers and Rose, while a touch of rhythm & blues can be heard in ‘A Looka – A Looka’ by Larry Hart. Doo-wop is part of ‘Party Pooper’ by Bobby Lord.
It must be said that the Columbia label was certainly not inferior to Sam Phillips’ Sun label in terms of quality rockabilly recordings. This compilation proves this once again with great aplomb.

With a limited 10” edition of 500 copies, the German Bear Family Records is ready for its next showpiece with ‘Ooh-Eee! What You Do To Me? Rockers And Country Boppers From Atlanta, Ga’. This vinyl edition contains 12 super tracks by young, enormously talented rockabilly artists. Recordings they made for the Stars, Inc. label from Atlanta, Georgia. The man to whom we owe these beautiful recordings is Bill Lowery. As a 16-year-old he started as a DJ and then managed a radio station, after which he settled in Atlanta in 1946. Lowery was a man of many talents. In addition to being a well-known DJ, he was also present in a morning country program and had his own music publishing company, where he scored his first two successes with ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ and ‘Young Love’. His label Stars, Inc., which had already ceased to exist at the end of 1957, he launched in 1955, in the heyday of the rockabilly. Although Jerry Reed did not record his own single for this label, he can be heard as a composer and guitarist on many of the recordings brought together here. Such as immediately on the opener and also the title track of this release. Jerry is listed as a songwriter, but can also be heard as a guitarist on both the version by Chuck Atha and this one by Ric Cartey, with which the second side opens. And it is clear that Jerry takes the songs to a higher level with his playing. The second track comes with Judy Tolbert and ‘I’m Wise To You Now’, on which you can once again hear magnificent guitar work, which is probably also by Reed. Reed is a common thread throughout this album. For example, he also composed the two instrumental parts of the bluesy ‘Rock Bottom’ by The Rockateers, on which Jerry shows an extremely beautiful piece of blues guitar. Pay also special attention to the second part, which is started with a nice honky tonk piano. For a portion of impressive ‘straightforward’ rockabilly you can go to The Night Hawks with ‘You’re My Baby’ and later on the second side with Cleve Warnock and his ‘My Baby Is Gone’. Warnock returns later with the poignant country-like ‘A Boy And A Guitar’. The first side closes with the country-inspired ‘Song Of The Singing Wind’ by Kenny Lee. A cheerful and well-voiced Billy Barton turns ‘Ten Wheels’ into an attractive trucker’s song. Each song radiates its own grooves. This certainly applies to the enormously emotional ‘Riding Shotgun (In A Hot Rod Car)’ by Danny Welch. Side two closes in genuine raw, rousing rockabilly style with Billy Brown’s ‘Did We Have A Party’.
As an extra, you also get a beautifully illustrated 10-page folder with all the information about the artists and the tracks.
That Bill Lowery had a nose for talent is evident from the 12 tracks that adorn this vinyl release. He would later tap into that talent at NRC Records.

The Maddox Brothers And Rose are the next artists in the spotlight in the three-part CD series ‘The California Acetates And More’. Previously, this unique series had already released boxes about Jimmie Dolan, Billy Barton and Terry Fell. The Maddox Brothers and Rose are no strangers in the history of American roots music. Together, the brothers and their sister Rose made quite a few, sometimes daring recordings, which included hillbilly, blues and country. As a result, they can certainly be considered pioneers of rockabilly. The group was formed by brothers Fred, Cal, Cliff and Don and their sister Rose. The Maddox family initially lived in Alabama but moved to California with their then young children. It was the 1930s, years of the economic depression and the family worked from early morning until late at night as pickers of fruit and vegetables. Social security did not exist, which made life extremely difficult and hard. The family noticed that those who performed at local rodeo shows made more money and more easily than those who worked hard. They decided to take the plunge into music. In 1937, they made their first appearance on a country radio station as The Maddox Brothers Band. However, there appeared to be a small problem. The sponsor thought the band had a female lead singer, which they did not. Fred Maddox responded that his then eleven-year-old sister Rose was the best singer. Anecdotally, he did not mention that Rose only knew the lyrics to three songs. But then World War II came as a spoilsport and the family's musical activities were interrupted from 1939 to 1945. At the end of World War II, the now 16-year-old Rose was married and had a son. However, that did not prevent her from recording and touring again with her brothers. With their mix of hillbilly, country and gospel and Fred who played the slap bass, the band was one of the founders of rockabilly, although they called it ‘Okie Boogie’ and the rest is history.
This box contains no less than 93 uptempo songs that The Maddox Brothers and Rose recorded between 1947 and 1963. 7 of those songs come from acetates and have therefore never been released before.
The first CD contains the recordings made for the 4 Star label, supplemented with 2 acetates, namely the demos of ‘I Don’t Care If Tomorrow Never Comes’ and ‘Tell Me You Care’.
The first CD kicks off with ‘I Couldn’t Believe It Was True’, where you are immediately overwhelmed by Rose’s lead vocals, which are nicely complemented by the brothers. The band was also extremely versatile. Be sure to listen to their version of ‘Milk Cow Blues’ for that. But also wonderful country and Western Swing and ‘Okie Boogie’ as they call it themselves, were no problem for this quintet. The lightning-fast instrumental ‘Water Baby Blues’ and the equally instrumental ‘Texas Guitar Stomp’ are also magnificent.
The first CD also contains songs where Fred, Cal or Don sing the lead vocals separately or together. The cheerfulness that the family radiates on all recordings is also striking.
This also applies to the second CD, which, in addition to recordings for 4 Star, also features their recordings for Columbia and Decca. The songs recorded with a string band are also beautiful. The songs on which Eddie Cletro’s orchestra provides the accompaniment show that Rose has evolved and has more control over her voice. ‘Hey Little Dreamboat’, recorded together with Eddie Cletro, already clearly shows how Rose is successfully moving towards rockabilly. The second CD concludes with the acetate demo of ‘Georges Playhouse Boogie’.
On the third CD we find recordings made for Columbia, Capitol, Black Jack and Flat-Git-It. Songs that were recorded in the second half of the fifties. You can clearly hear that the band has evolved enormously and where Rose's vocal control once again reaches new heights. The recordings that Rose made with Billy Strange's orchestra are so beautiful. Those songs are bathed in a fuller sound. A sign that Rose, Fred and Cal were clearly inspired by the then new prevailing musical zeitgeist.
The third part concludes with four acetate recordings of demos.
This three-part box not only offers an impressive overview of the career of The Maddox Brothers and Rose, but also shows the enormous evolution that the quintet went through.
In this respect, we can fully agree with Fred Maddox's statement: 'We are ten years ahead of ourselves'. Rose then always hit back with 'twenty!'. We cannot put it better ourselves.

Columbia and Epic Records, which operated under its wings, had many talented artists under contract. The archives of both labels are therefore almost inexhaustible when it comes to the magnificent rock-‘n-roll and rockabilly that they recorded. It is therefore not surprising that volume 49 in the ‘That’ll Flat… Git It!’ series pays attention to these record companies for the fourth time.
It is also not surprising that this volume is bursting with well-known names. For example, you will find no less than two tracks by Carl Perkins here, namely ‘Pop, Let Me Have The Car’ and ‘Jive After Five’. Johnny Horton also makes himself heard twice. He is there with ‘Ole Slew-Foot’ and ‘I Don’t Like I Did’. Other well-known people come along with, among others, The Collins Kids with the unissued ‘The Cuckoo Rock’, Rose Maddox with the nicely rocking ‘Hey Little Dreamboat’, Ronnie Self and Link Wray. Link made a splash with his wonderfully distorted guitar in many cool instrumentals. Here he gets behind the microphone for the nicely tempo-changing 'Mary Ann'. Fortunately, he doesn't leave his guitar in the case here either.
The album starts off very promisingly with 'Run'em Off' by Billy Brown. Perhaps not so well-known at first, but he was the one who recorded the 'He'll Have To Go' made famous by Jim Reeves for the very first time. There is also Bill Craddock with the incredibly clever and catchy 'Lulu Lee', including a breathtaking sax solo.
The artists under contract with Columbia were even allowed to occasionally colour outside the lines of their familiar genre. In this way, a number of artists who were known under the 'country' label were also able to show their rockabilly side. This certainly applies to ‘Little’ Jimmy Dickens who sublimely mixes country with rockabilly in ‘Salty Boogie’ and ‘Country Ways And City Ideas’ with a cool fiddle solo. Billy Walker also scored several times for Columbia with country songs. He also rocks country-style here on ‘Whirlpool’. Country is also the undertone of Onie Wheeler’s ‘Onie’s Bop’. Someone who also got that chance was Johnny Bond. In addition to being a guitarist, songwriter, author, radio figure, actor in Western films, he was also a not bad singer, as you can hear here on ‘All I Can Do Is Cry’. A touch of country also adorns ‘I’m Lookin’ For A Musterd Patch’ by ​​Jimmy Murphy, provided with a wonderful harmonica.
Traditionally, you will also find a number of rather rare, discoverable recordings here. Sublime rockabilly also comes from The Tunesmiths with ‘Oh Stop!’ and also note the excellent steel guitar and fiddle. Impressive is the blues shuffle-modeled ‘Who’s Been Here’ by Commonwealth Jones, with excellent work on the six strings. Charlie Adams also graces this compilation with ‘Black Land Blues’, Lefty Frizzel’s younger brother David Frizzell with ‘Tag Along’ and Jim Burgett with the slower ‘The Living Dead’.
Volume 49 concludes with Wally Hughes and the train song ‘Bye Bye Baby (Movin’ Down The Line).
This album also comes with a beautifully produced 34-page booklet with all the information about the artists and the tracks.
For excellent rockabilly and rock-‘n-roll, people often only look at the recordings of Sam Phillips’ Sun Studios. But admit that they didn’t have to give in to Sun at Columbia.

A few months ago we were introduced to the three-CD box set around Jimmie Dolan. That was also the first release in the series ‘The California Acetates And More’, created by the Atomicat label. For more information about ‘acetates’, we would like to refer you to the review of the Jimmy Dolan release, which you can read again here https://www.keysandchords.com/album-review-blog/jimmie-dolan-stingy.
‘The California Acetates And More’ series now gets a nice sequel with the also 3-CD box ‘Billy Barton And Friends’. In total you get 97 songs, of which no less than 37 previously unreleased ‘acetates’. Barton also wrote songs for others. These friends, who you will also find on this three-part box, are Johnny Horton, Barton's second wife Wanda Wayne, Carlyn Johnson, Cousin Herb Henson, Fuzzy and Bonnie Owen, Carolyn Bradshaw, Herb and Kay, The Maddox Brothers and Rose, Webb Pierce, Lefty Frizzell, The Variatones, Bob Miller, Benny Martin and Wynn Stewart. The common thread between these artists is, as previously indicated, that they all recorded songs that flowed from Billy Barton's pen. Among them were a number of crucial songs in the history of country music. Think of 'Forgive Me John', 'I Love You', 'Silence', 'Somebody Cries', 'You Got To Bite To Catch On', 'I'll Find Her', 'Donna On My Mind' and 'Done Done It'. To make it even more extensive, Billy Barton did not always record under this name. He also used pseudonyms such as Johnny Grimes (his real name was John Ralph Grimes), Hillbilly Barton, Billy Boy Barton and Laurel London.
Billy Barton was born on November 21, 1929 in East Bernstadt, Laurel County, Kentucky. In his teens he studied to be a tobacco auctioneer, a title he was allowed to claim at the age of 16. However, World War II threw a spanner in the works and after Billy had completed his military service, he started a career in the music industry. In 1951, in an unidentifiable studio in California, he became friends with Johnny Horton during his demo recordings, who was the first artist to be signed to the Abbott label. The second artist to be signed there was Billy Barton. In March 1952, Barton made his first commercial recordings as Hillbilly Barton with ‘Strange Affection / She’s A Good Ole Gal’, ‘No Interest / Never Satisfied’ and ‘My Darlin’ Liza Lou / You Made Me Love You (With A Twinkle In Your Eye)’. In 1953, he recorded as Billy Barton With The Circle O Ranch Boys. As Hillbilly Barton, he was also the lead singer on ‘No Help Wanted / A Heartbreak Ago’ by Bill Woods and His Orange Blossom Playboys. Later that year, he also went into the studio as Johnny Grimes, and together with Wandy Wayne for the King label. In 1957, Grimes or Barton, as you prefer, went to an unknown California studio where he recorded for Stars, Inc. Records. A year later, in June 1958, he recorded ‘Crazy Lover / Day Late And A Dollar Short’, two rockabilly numbers written by himself. For the Fire label, which was re-launched in 1958, Barton also served as band manager, producer, songwriter, mixing manager and most likely instrumentalist. There is even speculation that Barton may have been the owner or co-owner of Fire, which ceased to exist in 1960. In the sixties, Barton could often be found in Gulf studios, Sim's studios and those of the Quartercash label.
Just as Billy Barton recorded under various names, he also married several times. In addition to all the information about Barton, you can also read all the details about this in the 14-page booklet written by Mark Armstrong. Billy Barton passed away on October 8, 2011.
What is striking is that all three CDs contain songs that abundantly demonstrate Billy Barton's songwriting talent. Whether it's uptempo hillbilly, country, duets, rockabilly or swinging teenage rock-'n-roll, Barton always had the ears to package those genres in a nice melody. For example, the waltzing 'Betty Lorraine' by Johnny Horton is a song that not only captures the zeitgeist in two minutes, but is also immortal. Horton and Barton shine together vocally a little later in 'Somebody's Rockin' My Broken Heart'. Wonderful harmony! They repeat that together by the way. When Barton does the vocals alone, you only hear what a beautiful and dynamic voice he has. There are plenty of examples of this. You can already hear the first traces of Barton's rockabilly in 'A Lying Tongue', a first 'acetate' on this box, which he recorded as Hillbilly Barton. Later on, beautiful 'acetates' follow by Barton of course, but also by Wanda Wayne and Johnny Horton. A very fine 'acetate' is certainly Barton's country tearjerker 'I'm Through With Your Love'. Barton and Wanda Wayne shine together several times. It is difficult to choose a topper, because the duo always knows how to get the best out of each other to get. Billy Barton pulls out all the stops solo in the fast ‘Why Don’t They Leave Her Alone’ that he recorded for King in 1955. But also in a slow number like ‘What God Has Put Together, Let No Man Tear Apart’ Barton’s talent effortlessly comes to the fore. Billy goes in the direction of rockabilly with ‘So Called Friend’, ‘Crazy Lover’ and ‘Date Late And A Dollar Short’. He conducts a bit more teenage poppy as Billy Boy Barton in ‘Blue Lover’ and certainly also in ‘Two Kids In Love’ on which he can be heard together with Carlyn Johnson.
And then there is the third CD, on which most of the ‘acetate’ recordings can be found. Recordings that are all more than worth listening to.
It is beyond doubt that Barton, Grimes or under whatever name he recorded, had a feel for the prevailing music of his time. Even more, he succeeded with flying colors in adapting to new emerging styles such as rockabilly or even pop.
And yet I am still left with one question. Why did Billy Barton become no more than a footnote in American music history? A question that should not have been asked, because these 97 tracks show that Barton is worth more than that simple footnote.
What also deserves a mention is the superior sound in which this box bathes. The fact that these songs are three quarters of a century old can only be seen on the track listings. You certainly do not hear it!

In 2019, we were already very enthusiastic about Ray Allen's album 'Personally'. The somewhat sophisticated way in which this German approached rockabilly certainly appealed to us. For his new album 'Chains', Ray went to the Lightning Recorders Studio in Berlin. He recorded 13 songs by Mathias Arnold, as Ray's real name is. Lyrically, Ray sought inspiration in what each of us experiences. Love, happy relationships, failed relationships, searching for oneself to ultimately end up with true love. He packages all of this in danceable songs. In the opener and the title track, Ray does this in an infectious country and western way. Country also forms the basis for the warm piano-driven 'Walking Through The Mountains'. He goes more rocking on 'Don't Push Me', which deals with 'wasted time'. The life of an artist is not always a bed of roses. ‘Footlights, Fears & Fame’ are part of it. Dream subjects to pour into a catchy emotional song. The love-craving ‘The Only Thing That Matters’ is captivating, with a great piano part by Holger Niemeyer. Allen rocks cheerfully and enjoys the good moments on ‘Let’s Have A Good Time’. Ray also rocks on ‘Let Me Be The One’, including a wonderful clean guitar moment, which he repeats on ‘I’ll Have My Way’. Ray drifts towards blues mid-tempo on ‘Get Down With The Blues’. Ending a relationship with ‘No Hard Feelings’ is not always self-evident. Ray shows that it is possible in a cheerful melody, with another nice piano part.
That it doesn’t always have to be doom and gloom is demonstrated by the final track ‘You Move Me’, which also has a somewhat summery undertone.
With ‘Chains’ Ray Allen proves once again that he has mastered writing ‘catchy’ songs and that you don’t have to kick around wildly to make rockabilly sound catchy. Add a good dose of country and you know that Ray Allen keeps the fire of the roots genre burning in his own way.

With the 33 tracks on this album, all from the archives of the Starday label, we are already at volume 47 in the ‘That’ll Flat…Git It’ series. Starday was founded in Beaumont, Texas in June 1953. The owners were Jack Starns Jr. and Harold ‘Pappy’ Daily. The intention of both gentlemen was to make Starday a pure country label. Don Pierce soon came on board. After the departure of Starns Jr., the rockabilly genre emerged in the mid-fifties, from which Starday was eager to get a piece of the pie. They brought on board greats such as George Jones and Sleepy LaBeef, then still listed as Sleepy LaBeff. In addition to these two artists, well-known rockers such as Sonny Fisher and Link Davis also found shelter at Starday. Just as important, however, were the many recordings of unknown, often amateurish and obscure, but energetic talents, which the label released in the ‘Starday’s Custom Series’. For this series, amateurs could send in their home-made recordings and, for a fee, they would become the owners of 300 vinyls with their creations. This way, unknown but no less talented rockers got their money's worth. That these gentlemen produced exciting, energetic rock-'n-roll can be heard on the gems of Buddy Shaw, Larry Nolen, Hal Payne, Arnold Parker and The Southernairs and Lou Walker, among others.
Rocky Bill Ford ran a barbershop, but that he was also a talented rocker is shown in the first track 'Have You Seen Mabel'. Bill Ford is immediately followed by the well-known Sonny Fisher with the excellent rockabilly song 'Sneaky Pete'. Sonny returns later with 'Little Red Wagon'. The then still called Sleepy LaBeff, gets to shine for the first time in the previously unreleased 'I Ain't Gonna Take It' and in the closing song 'I'm Through'. Wonderful rockabilly, including excellent guitar and piano work, comes with ‘Don’t Sweep That Dirt On Me’ by Buddy Shaw. A recording that was released in the aforementioned ‘Starday’s Custom Series’ was ‘King Of The Ducktail Cats’ by Larry Nolen & His Bandits. Formidable rocking Western Swing! George Jones became known earlier as a country artist. However, rockabilly also suited him like a glove. You can hear that here in ‘How Come It’ that he recorded as Thumper Jones. Jones was not the only country artist who recorded rockabilly. That also applied to Leon Payne, who recorded the excellent ‘That Ain’t It’ as Rock Rogers. Another Payne provides a dose of honky tonk, namely Hal Payne in ‘Honky Tonk Stomp’. Vernon Wray was the older brother of Link Wray. His typical guitar sound can also be heard in ‘Teenage Cutie’ and the other Wray, namely Doug, was on the drums. Steel guitar and fiddle give Bill Mack’s ‘It’s Saturday Night’ a country vibe in addition to rockabilly. Link Davis was not one to stick to one genre. Link started as a country fiddler, then switched to Cajun and finally shone as a tenor saxophonist on several legendary rock-‘n-roll songs, including ‘Chantilly Lace’ by The Big Bopper and ‘Runnig Bear’ by Johnny Preston. Under his own name, he recorded the original ‘Sixteen Chicks’ and ‘Don’t Big Shot Me’ for Starday. Top-notch rockabilly, on which he also presents a nice piece of sax solo. If you like excellent vocal work, then ‘My Blackbirds Are Bluebirds Now’ by Sleepy Jeffers and The Davis Twins is definitely recommended. Blues influences can be found in Jimmy Johnson’s ‘Woman Love’.
Bill Dahl once again provides you with all the information about the artists and tracks in the 37-page booklet.
It should be clear by now that if you want to add the hottest rockabilly of The Lone Star State to your collection, the 47th volume in the ‘That’ll Flat…Git It!’ series is more than worth its money.

Recently you already received the reviews of the fourth volumes in the series ‘Stroll-A-Rama’ and ‘Jive-A-Rama’ on this site and now it is the turn of ‘Bop-A-Rama’. Here too the Atomicat label serves you 30 boppin’ tracks. 28 of them date from the golden period 1953-1963, supplemented with 2 tracks from the Rhythm Bomb Records archives. Brace yourself for energetic rockabilly, rhythmic country rockers and tight blues. Tony and Jackie Lamie with The Swing Kings may surprisingly give the starting shot with ‘Sunset Blues’, a song that has rockabilly, country and blues in it. The next one to be discussed is a well-known one, namely Moon Mullican. The fiddle breathes both hillbilly and country in ‘Jenny Lee’. Among the accompanists we find guitarists Hank Garland and Grady Martin. Martin returns later for brilliant guitar work on the bopping ‘Be Bop Baby’ by Autry Inman. Grady was a much sought-after studio musician, because he also provides a sublime sound on the six strings on Johnny Bond’s country-like ‘All I Can Do’. Clever guitar work also adorns ‘You Can Have My Love’ by Judy Capps and Pat Kingary. A cool rock-‘n-roll song comes with ‘It Ain’t Right’ by Gordon Terry, who brings in wonderful backing vocals with The Jordanaires. Mojo Buford became known as a harmonica player in Muddy Waters’ band. Here you can hear him at work on the blues harp in the instrumental ‘Can’t Sit Down’ by the Voodoo Men. Buford also has a link with the next number, the well-known ‘Hold Me In Your Arms’ by that other blues harper James Cotton. When Cotton left Muddy Waters’ band in 1967, Buford returned to replace him. Cotton leaves the harmonica in the box here and concentrates on the vocals. Also note the beautiful guitar of Pat Hare. Henry Wilson with The Bluenotes present a top rockabilly number in ‘Are You Ready’. Curley Jim was originally a country singer. That rock-‘n-roll is also in his genes, he proves with The Billey Rocks on ‘Rock And Roll Itch’. Sonny Hall also provides more rousing rock with ‘My Big Fat Baby’, as does Ricky and The Stompers with ‘The Wild One’. Rock-‘n-roll in its purest form comes later with Billy Smith and ‘Tell Me Baby’. Guitarist Joe Maphis was Larry Collins mentor and Joe can also be heard here. Larry formed The Collins Kids together with his sister Lorrie. Youthful rock of the highest order is the result here and can be heard on ‘Hoy Hoy’. ‘Great old school country’ is next with ‘Wishin’ I Was Kissin’ You’ by Leon Merritt. Vocalist and drummer Willie Nix worked with blues legends like Earl Hooker, Walter Horton and Joe Hill Louis. Of course his ‘Just Can’t Stay’ can also be classified as blues. More blues follows immediately afterwards with grandmaster Lightnin’ Slim in ‘Have Your Way’. On the harmonica you hear super face slider Lazy Lester. You certainly know the country blues ‘Step It Up And Go’ from Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee. In a completely different arrangement, with beautiful backing vocals by The Jack Halloran Singers, Mac Wiseman presents the song here. The Netherlands also made itself heard through Peter Koelewijn in the golden years of rock-‘n-roll, and….. in Dutch. No ‘Kom Van Dat Dak Af’ here, but the equal ‘De Hele Stad Is Gek En Dol’. A beautiful steel guitar characterizes the mix of hillbilly and country in ‘Baby I’ll Soon Be Gone’ by Lattie Moore. Unfortunately unknown to many!
Tracks 29 and 30 are reserved for the songs from the archives of Rhythm Bomb Records. First up, the British Rhythm River Trio may perform with the seventh take of ‘I Can’t Go’. A song that can be heard here for the first time. The Australian Chrome Daddies may close with ‘It Must Be Something’. The released version can be found on their album ‘Gear Up Daddy’.
Frontman of the Daddies is Doug Wilshire. On the previously reviewed fourth volume of ‘Jive-A-Rama’ you can hear him under his own name in ‘Five Star Boogie’.
It is clear that the Atomicat team does not ‘take any chances’ when compiling albums. These series never disappoint, but……….. they do leave you wanting more!

The series 'Stroll-A-Rama', which started in 2020, is now being enriched with a fourth volume. Compiler Mark Armstrong has once again collected 30 tracks that form the ideal soundtrack for the 'slow rocking stroll dance' from the fifties. Not that it is strictly necessary to push all the furniture aside and overload the perhaps stiff muscles. After all, the 30 tracks are also extremely enjoyable without the accompanying 'moves'. However, if you believe that exercise would have a positive effect, then you will immediately get your money's worth with 'Baby Workout' by Leroy Jones. Jones is followed by Don Dowing, the brother of the well-known pianist and singer Big Al Downing. Don delivers a magnificent rocking rhythm & blues with 'Have You Seen My Baby'. Before he achieved success as Delbert McClinton, he recorded 'The Cat' as Mac Clinton, accompanied by The Straitjackets in 1962. Number that is set to rocking tracks with a great intro on the blues harp. You get more harmonica on the bluesy ‘Steppin’ High’ by Little Luther, as well as on ‘I’m Tired Waitin’ Baby’ by Lightnin’ Slim, where the Mississippi saxophone is played by none other than blues legend Lazy Lester. You undoubtedly know ‘Sick And Tired’ in the version by Fats Domino. Here you get the song by Elton Anderson and it can easily compete with the one by Domino. You also know ‘Kansas City’ by the same Fats. The song appears here in the New Zealand version by Eddie Howell together with The Bob Paris Combo. Be sure to pay attention to the creative guitar work. Also great is ‘I Just Can’t Wait’ by Skip Robinson and His Imperials. Song where the keyboard part is clearly modeled on that of Booker T & The M.G.’s. Fans of instrumental stroll will enjoy the sublime horn section of ‘The Big Bad Train’ by Lee Castle and Jimmy Dorsey’s Orchestra and the guitar-dominated ‘Driftin’’ by Terry Lee and The Poor Boys. A very special instrumental comes from Georgie Young and The Rockin’ Bocs with ‘The Sneak’. Classy Lloyd Price needs no further introduction. High-quality songs were synonymous with him. Such as ‘Who Coulda’ Told You (They Lied)’, which will appeal to both fans of rhythm & blues and rock-‘n-roll. You can expect nice doo-wop on ‘Roadhouse Rock’ by Arbis Hanyel, just like on the formidable ‘Happy Go Lucky Baby’ by the vocal group The Ravens featuring Jimmy Ricks, as well as on ‘Crazy, Crazy, Crazy’ by The Flamingos. Very occasionally, a recording on a small label would attract the attention of a major. This honor fell to Frankie Loren who recorded ‘Hey Little Girl’ for the Porter label at the age of 18. The somewhat poppy rock-‘n-roll number was picked up by Mercury Records and could therefore count on better distribution. A nice fusion of rhythm & blues with a dash of jazz characterizes ‘Hey, Mr. Warden’ by Danny Cobb. Although ‘C’Mon Baby (What’s Your Name)’ is a wonderful rockabilly track, Jimmy Williams remained relatively unknown as a singer. As a composer he scored with Clyde McPhatter’s hit ‘A Lover’s Question’. With ‘I’m Checkin’ Up’ Tender Slim, also known as Fender Guitar Slim, serves up a great blues number.
28 tracks date from the fifties and early sixties. The other two are previously unreleased tracks. The first, Glen Glenn’s ‘Kitty Cat’, comes from The Shadowmen. The released version can be found on their album ‘True Love Highway’. The second previously unreleased track is the ‘dubbed alternate take’ of ‘Your Mamas Here’ by Portuguese Ruby Ann. The released version is on her album ‘Mama’s Back’. Whether you like rocking rhythm & blues, rock-‘n-roll, rockabilly or doo-wop, volume 4 in the ‘Stroll-A-Rama’ will not leave you out in the cold. Enjoy!

After the release of volume 5 'Fatty Patty' in 2021, it became quiet around the 'Rock And Roll Floozy' series for a while. That silence is now broken because with 'Pauline' the series continues on the successful path it has taken. That still means rockabilly and rock-'n-roll that are not always well-known, but more than worth listening to. Let yourself be carried away by the jive, stroll and bop rhythms. Getting into the right mood right away is easy. Pat Kelly and The Shamrocks ensure that with 'Hey Doll Baby', a song from 1958. Lonnie Mullins was an American country artist. You can clearly hear that country was the breeding ground for the rockabilly song 'It Was You'. In addition to country, Phil Sullivan also had some folk in his genes. He shows that both genres match perfectly in 'You Get A Thrill'. Beautiful harmonies, somewhat like The Everly Brothers, are served by Marcus Brothers with 'Little Girl In Pigtails'. Later, Bob and Denny, The Dennis Brothers, also appear in that genre with ‘Hush Hush Little Baby’. A big name is certainly Johnny Rivers, whose album ‘Johnny Rivers At The Whiskey A-Go-Go’ has become a classic. Here he signs present with the rocking ‘Baby, Come Back’ recorded in 1958. At Sam Phillips’ Sun label, Ernie Barton could be deployed in many areas, including as a producer, songwriter and artist. However, he did not become successful with it, although his ‘Stairway To Nowhere’ is a song that is certainly worth mentioning. Fans of instrumental rockers will get their money’s worth with ‘Big Wheel’ by The Royaltones. Nice alternation between sax and guitar, by the way. The title track ‘Pauline’ comes with Bobby Doyle. It is his most famous song, but Bobby became even more famous through his collaboration with the young Kenny Rogers and later briefly with Blood, Sweat and Tears. The nice clean sounding ‘If You Don’t Like It, Don’t Knock It’ by Kimo Lee is also great. ‘Shirley Lee’ was Bobby Lee Trammell’s most and best rocking song. It goes without saying that it belongs on this compilation. Rockabilly in its purest form, you get with ‘Little Forty Ford’ by the Oregon rockabilly artist Leon Smith. Despite the cool songs, Ronnie Self’s solo career did not reap the deserved success. You can hear that he recorded good songs during ‘Big Town’. Guitarist Al Casey worked as a studio musician with a number of big names. He proves that he could also score under his own name with ‘If I Told You’. The Nashville rocker Jimmy Isle recorded his best rocker in 1958 for Roulette with ‘Goin’ Wild’. The song flowed from the pen of Jimmy’s brother Ronnie. The spoken narrative ‘Cruisin’ Central’ by Faron Warner is also great. ‘Apron Strings’ was covered by Cliff Richard as a flipside of his single with ‘Living Doll’ as A side. Here you get the original version of Billy The Kid, after which Sonny Lowery waves goodbye to the album with ‘Goodbye Baby Goodbye’.
Having to wait three years for a sequel in the ‘Rock and Roll Floozy’ series was rewarded 100%. After all, you rarely come across such formidable rockabilly and rock-‘n-roll served on a platter. Magnificent volume!

As we are used to from the ‘Atomicat Rockers’ series, all these volumes guarantee excellent ‘old school’ rhythm & blues. This line is of course continued on the sixth volume ‘The Juke Box Man’. The title track comes from Mel Tills, originally a country artist and those influences are also in the song, which makes a nice link with rockabilly. But before Mel gets his turn, there is more to enjoy. For example with Cecil Bowman and The Arrows who start off rockabilly-style with ‘Blues Around My Door’ that also winks at country because of the steel guitar. Rockabilly in its purest form can be found in ‘Shake It Up Baby’ by Frankie Dee and The Carter Rays, including a nice clean guitar solo. ‘Chug-A-Lug’ by Bobby Doyle and The Ideals and ‘Sleep Rock-A-Roll Rock-A-Baby’ by Alvis Wayne sound just as pure and clean. Jimmie and The Night Hoppers provide a ‘top-notch’ instrumental song driven by handclaps and sax in ‘Cruisin’’. We know ‘Book Of Love’ from The Monotones, who released the song in 1958. Here you get the version by The Blazers, a cover group that recorded the song that same year. John Fred and His Playboys scored a world hit with ‘Judy In Disguise’ in 1967. ‘Shirley’ here is at least as good, but did not bring John Fred the same success. It is not immediately clear how often ‘Whole Lot Of Shakin’ Going On’ has been covered. One cover is better than the other. The cover that is certainly one of the better ones is this one by The Centurys. Excellent vocal performances and great guitar parts characterize this version. Carl McVoy, present here with the formidably rocking ‘Little John’s Gone’, was none other than Jerry Lee Lewis’ nephew. It sounds like he listened very carefully to his cousin's songs. Jeff Barry may not have been into rock-'n-roll, but he still managed to deliver a great rocker with 'Hip Couple'. The twist gained popularity through Chubby Checker. Here Chubby shows his rock side with 'Schooldays, Oh, Schooldays', including a cool sax solo. The sound of The Coasters can clearly be heard in 'Don't Wake Up The Kids' by Otis Williams and His Charms. You wouldn't immediately say it, but Bobby Pedrick Jr. was only 12 years old when he recorded the great rocker 'White Bucks And Saddle Shoes' in 1958. Joey Michaels, misspelled as Joey Micheals by the label, can also rock really well. On his 'Sixteen Cats' it would be Bill Haley and His Comets. That could very well be the case, from the sound of it. A cracker of a recording! Lucky Millinder's orchestra always offers sublime songs. That is no different on 'Goody Good Love'. Number that also has beautiful vocal harmonies. Eddie Gaines clearly found inspiration for his ‘Be-Bop Battlin’ Ball’ in ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’.
Compiler Mark Armstrong has once again brought together 28 sublime songs from the fifties and early sixties. Rock-‘n-roll, rockabilly and authentic rhythm & blues at the highest level. Give that volume knob a good turn to the right, throw all the brakes loose and enjoy this sixth volume in the ‘Atomicat Rockers’ series. You won’t regret it!

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!