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!

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

With the album about Eddie Bond in the 'Rocks' series, the German Bear Family Records takes a look at Memphis rockabilly. The CD contains 14 tracks from the fifties, which Bond recorded for Ekko, Mercury and Sun/PI, 15 songs recorded in the sixties for Millionaire and Stomper Time, among others, and 6 songs from the rockabilly revival of the seventies.
Bond was born in Memphis in 1933 and when he made his first recording in the mid-1950s, he was at the center of the new rockabilly genre. From 1956 to 1959, Bond was one of the top stars of the genre. He performed in shows where Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash were also present. Eddie started and ended as a country artist, but his backing band always included musicians who belonged to the top rockabilly musicians. His Mercury recordings with guitarist Reggie Young are classics within the rockabilly genre. Recordings that can also be found here.
The compilation starts with Eddie's biggest hit, his 'signature song', the 1956 recorded 'Rockin' Daddy'. Song that made him known as the 'rockin' daddy from ding dong Tennessee'. The steel guitar played by John Hughey clearly shows Bond's country background. The CD ends with the same song, but recorded in 1972.
It was not uncommon in the 1950s for original hits to be frequently covered. Eddie Bond did that too, but in a very special way. You already experience this, for example, in Carl Perkins' 'Blue Suede Shoes', where Jerry Lee Smith unleashes a hell of a piano solo. Other excellent covers include Hank Williams' 'Fool About You', Jimmy Reed's 'Big Boss Man', Tarheel Slim's 'No. 9 Train' with probably Charlie Feathers on guitar, although there is no certainty about that, Hank Ballard's 'Tore Up Over You', the rockabilly version of Ray Charles' 'I've Got A Woman' with sublime guitar work by Reggie Young, Little Richards' 'Long Tall Sally' and Chuck Berry's 'Memphis, Tennessee, which boasts wonderful harmonies between Eddie and his bassist Bobby Joe Killingsworth.
It's actually embarrassing to label them as covers, because they often effortlessly surpass the original.
The cd shows that Eddie Bond was at home in many musical markets in 'Love Makes A Fool (Every Day), a pearl of honky-tonk country. On 'Satisfied' the choir provides a pleasant gospel feel, while 'Let The Good Times Roll' is given a New Orleans rhythm & blues twist.
But Bond also had talent as a writer and co-writer. It is a fact that 'Here Comes The Train' is one of his best songs. But also 'Monkey Business' is also a fine example of rocking country. Other great original songs include 'Look Like A Monkey' and 'The Monkey And The Baboon'.
You can hear Eddie's love for country throughout his repertoire. The way he injects it into his rockabilly makes his performances very unique.
In the 38-page booklet, Martin Hawkins writes an extremely detailed biography based on interviews with Eddie. Traditionally, you also get all the recording details of the tracks. All of this is also beautifully illustrated with photos and illustrations.
In addition to being a rockabilly artist, Eddie Bond was active in many areas. He was, among other things, a DJ, a nightclub owner and had his own record label. Eddie Bond died in 2013.
By placing the spots on Eddie Bond in the 'Rocks' series, Bear Family Records pays tribute to a rockabilly artist who is only known to many through the song 'Rockin' Daddy'. However, Eddie had more to his advantage. High time to appreciate his other songs as well. This compilation is the right tool for that.

For the 43rd volume, Bear Family Records delves into the archives of the Allstar Records label. Allstar Records was based in Houston, Texas and was owned by Daniel James Mechura. Mechura was a songwriter and through The Folk Writers Co-Operative Association, of which he was president, he helped aspiring amateur songwriters transform their lyrics into hits. For a small fee, Dan Mechura had the amateur songwriters send in their lyrics. These were set to music and recorded with talented singers and instrumentalists. Allstar Records had two sub-labels, Kool and Nu-Craft. Together they released beautiful country and rockabilly, both from well-known names and obscure artists. Dan Mechura was also a recording artist himself. He appears twice as Daniel James on this compilation, namely with the rocking 'Rock Moon Rock' and the more country-tinged 'I'm Gonna Move'. The label scored a top 20 country hit with 'Imitation Of Love' by Adrian Roland. Roland makes a very special appearance later with the also country-drenched 'Now I Know' and 'Mr. Bass Fiddle', as the title suggests, with a creative bass in the leading role. But more beautiful country can be heard on this album. Such as Johnny Bush, Earl Aycock, Wiley Barkdull with the impressive 'When You Go' and later with the lightning fast guitar driven instrumental 'Tiger By The Tail', Jerry Matthews, Lawton Williams, Smilin' Jerry Jericho and certainly Red Mansel with 'My Only One'.
Top-level rockabilly is served by Johnny Watson, Bobby Clanton with the raw 'Beat Back Baby', Larry Butler, Tommy Graham, Tommy Hammond, Prince Arky and Rocky Williams.
Someone who clearly had Chuck Berry as an example was Johnny Huskey, present here with 'Red Dress'. Definitely worth mentioning is 'Your Kind Of Love' by Johnny Bush. Song with a great doo-wop choir.
'When I'm Gone' by Jerry Jericho also sounds very nice. Song that combines rockabilly, hillbilly and country. And pay special attention to that wonderful fiddle part.
More than likely, the names of the artists brought together here will not sound familiar to you. High time to change that, because let's be honest, it would be a shame to miss the formidable rockabilly and country of Allstar Records.
In addition, you will receive all information about Allstar Records and the tracks in the attached booklet.

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

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.

​Li’l Ronnie And The Grand Dukes are one of the hottest swing en jump bands how create a sound that find a mixture between the fifties R&B, West Coast, Chicago Blues and vintage rock-’n-roll. Ronnie are looking forward to play on the Europian Bluesfestivals. Who will bring these partyband to Belgium ? Li’l Ronnie And The Grand Dukes are the real deal