Innholdsfortegnelse for Feb/Mar 2021 i Vintage Rock

As I write this latest Editor’s letter, Paul McCartney is basking in the warm afterglow of yet another No.1. His self-produced and almost wholly self-performed McCartney III album, which sprang into life during lockdown (or ‘rockdown’ as old wag Macca would have it), made it to the toppermost of the poppermost worldwide. It’s a remarkable achievement and one that not only underlines McCartney’s limitless creative energy but also the depth and extent of the love affair the record-buying public has with his work. Paul’s certainly come a long way from the lunchtime sessions – cheese roll and ciggie in hand – at the Cavern Club that launched him to fame 60 years ago, which we celebrate in our latest cover feature. This issue, we delve into the raucous rock’n’roll energy that set…

The Cavern Club continued to thrive into the 60s and early 70s. Debbie Greenberg remembers performances by Queen, Badfinger and Status Quo being particular highlights. The club was closed in 1973 following compulsory purchase by British Rail and the area was subsequently turned into a car park – 5,000 bricks from the damaged archways of the original cellar went on sale at £5 each and the proceeds went to Strawberry Fields children’s home. Plans to excavate and reopen The Cavern Club in its original form in 1982 were abandoned because the arches had been too badly damaged during the demolition of the ground floor. The Cavern was relaunched in 1984, but five years later financial pressures forced it to close. In 1991, the new Cavern Club, which covers 70% of…

Del Shannon was understandably excited in February 1967 when Andrew Loog Oldham offered to record an album with him and Liberty Records quickly gave the go ahead. Although Shannon had only two original songs to contribute, Oldham suggested several numbers from top-drawer songwriters who he believed would match his musical vision – a fusion of Shannon’s mastery of pop music despair, the introspective lyrics of The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, and the grandiosity of Phil Spector’s West Coast pop-operatic productions. After booking time at Olympic Studios in London, Oldham secured the services of arranger Arthur Greenslade and many top session players including Nicky Hopkins, John Paul Jones, Big Jim Sullivan and Joe Moretti (although not Jimmy Page, who has been erroneously credited in several accounts). The four-day session was a…

Elvis did not, in fact, give his Memphis mansion its moniker. From 1939, it had been named Graceland by its original owners the Moores, in honour of Mrs Moore’s aunt Grace Toof, who had bequeathed her the property in her will. Purchased for $102,500 when Elvis was 22, he lived at Graceland from 1957 until he died in 1977. As the second most visited home in the US after the White House, it still welcomes more than 700,000 visitors annually. An American brand as famous as Coca-Cola, not surprisingly, Graceland is trademarked to the hilt. As reported in Danish newspaper, The Local, in 2016 the Elvis estate sued Graceland Randers and its founder Henrik Knudsen, on the grounds that the initial name was too similar. According to Knudsen, further press…

Since they formed in 1958, a whole host of musicians have passed through The Ventures’ ranks. The current line-up of the band includes Luke Griffin, who joined in 2017, and Bob Spalding’s son Ian (pictured inset), who came into the group in 2016. “In the last four years, with the unfortunate changes that we’ve had, like the death of Gerry McGee [the guitarist died after collapsing on stage in Japan in October 2019], we have a new configuration of the band,” says Bob. “I brought my son in. Actually, I didn’t do that, Don Wilson did. Ian was his pick to replace him when Don retired in 2015.” “Ian plays rhythm, and he plays a lot like Don. He’s very percussive like Don, while Luke plays a lot like Bob.…

He cut his teeth alongside Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart at his famous Church studio and has since been on the other side of the glass for a diverse range of big names from Rocky Burnette to Tom Jones. 20 years on, as in-house engineer and producer at Foot Tapping’s Embassy Studios, Graham Dominy has become an indispensable member of the team helping bring the label’s varied rock’n’roll roster to life. What was it like beginning your career with someone of Dave Stewart’s calibre? Without question, he made me the engineer I am today. He loved to drop you into a chaotic situation where you had no idea what was happening next and see how you handled it. A genuinely lovely guy, super-talented and very mischievous. When did you first get involved…

Not only was Travis Wammack Memphis’ hottest young guitarist in 1964, he was also an electronics wizard who constructed his own innovative distortion unit. He says: “I overpowered an old tape recorder that I had with my Fender Super Reverb. I said, ‘Oh, wow! This is the sound!’ So I took it over to Roland Janes, and said, ‘Roland, I’ve got a new sound!’” Wammack pumped his 1960 Gibson Les Paul, outfitted with a Bigsby, through his new invention when he cut his mind-boggling instrumental Scratchy and its similarly torrid flip, Fire Fly, at Janes’ Sonic Studio. Scratchy’s rapid-fire licks were abetted during one break by tape trickery when a vocal snippet was daffily edited in backwards. “That was credited with being the first reverse tape, before The Beatles,” says…

The early days of neo-rockabilly and psychobilly come alive in a vibrant new book from The Meteors’ original drummer Mark Robertson. The Devil’s Rhythm captures a period between 1980-81 when, as a self-confessed punk in a rockabilly band, Mark was in a perfect position to observe the weird rites and rituals of the UK rockin’ scene. The band were booed off at The Cavern in Willesden because their drummer had “coloured hair”, but they soon attracted a more appreciative audience at legendary venues including Dingwalls, The Hammersmith Clarendon and even the Blitz Club. There can’t be many upsides to last year’s enforced strangulation of the music scene, but did the lockdown propel this book to its completion? “Absolutely,” agrees Mark. “When I started the process we didn’t really know how…

What are your first memories of The Cavern? “A friend dragged me along to see a Cliff Richardtype guy called Dale Roberts. I didn’t know what to expect, as all I knew was that it was a smelly, dingy jazz cellar. As we went to leave, there were just pillars, archways and people everywhere – the smells were certainly interesting! It was raining sweat from the ceiling. As it was too packed to leave, we turned to watch the next leather-clad band, who sounded like nothing else; pure, raw rock’n’roll – The Beatles.” Alongside The Beatles, The Merseybeats appeared at The Cavern more than any other band. How important was the venue itself to The Merseybeats’ success? “Absolutely instrumental, we honed our craft there. Playing alongside The Beatles more than…

On 25 May 1960, The Cavern held its first beat concert. The Liverpool club was the city’s original dedicated live music hub, but prior to that fateful evening it had been a jazz venue. The headliners that night were Rory Storm And The Hurricanes, with one Ringo Starr on the drums, playing not jazz but an energetic, local take on American rock’n’roll and R&B that became known as Merseybeat. Gone was the acoustic instrumentation of its predecessor skiffle, and in came electric guitars and drumbeats designed for dancing. For five years, the Mersey scene was the hottest in the country, with over 300 bands on a circuit that included The Cavern, The Iron Door, The Jacaranda and civic venues such as Wilson Hall and Litherland Town Hall. July 1961 saw…

One of the most exciting instrumentals ever recorded, the James Bond Theme by the John Barry Seven plus orchestra peaked in the UK charts at No.11 in December 1962. Featuring guitarist Vic Flick (left), Barry’s contribution to its creation was controversial. Producer Cubby Broccoli did not entirely appreciate Monty Norman’s original composition. He reportedly liked the first few bars but not its progression, and started the urgent handover to Barry to rearrange it. In 2001, Norman sued The Sunday Times for libel for its article in 1997 stating that Barry was the composer. In court, Barry testified that he had been given a musical manuscript of Norman’s work intended as the theme for him to arrange. In addition, he had composed extra music and arranged the James Bond Theme. Barry…

The Supremes story began in 1958 when Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard, two eighth graders raised in Detroit’s Brewster Projects, met backstage at a talent contest. Mary Wilson, born 6 March 1944 to Sam and Johnnie Mae Wilson, was already in a group with Aretha Franklin’s younger sister Carolyn. Florence, nicknamed Blondie because of her light hair and complexion, had been taught to sing by her guitar-playing father Jesse. At the talent contest, Mary lip-synched to Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers’ I’m Not A Juvenile Delinquent, which she knew from the Alan Freed movie Rock, Rock, Rock!. Florence, meanwhile, sang Ave Maria. “She looked like a movie star,” Mary Wilson says. “After the show, we started complimenting each other on our performances. We wandered home together and decided we’d form…

Tammi Savoy’s template extends beyond classic R&B to soul. Working in the variety shows that Lance Lipinsky, who played Jerry Lee Lewis in the Tony Award-winning stage production Million Dollar Quartet, puts on, brought her into contact with Jackie Wilson’s son Bobby, and she got to work with him as a backing singer. “I don’t think he’s quite as crazy as his dad, but he is very entertaining to be around,” she says. Meanwhile, as a member of the Windy City group Soul Spectacular, who specialise in 60s and 70s-style revue shows, Savoy has revisited her own church roots by performing an Aretha Franklin tribute show and another in which she was called upon to sing a few Diana Ross numbers. If you’re thinking you couldn’t have two more contrasting…

In 1978, a freshly sober Del Shannon was determined to record a new studio album – his first in over a decade. A suggestion from rock journalist Harvey Kubernik led him to Tom Petty. At the time, Petty was a rising rock star with two critically acclaimed albums. Petty’s take on rock was contemporary, while also wearing his influences (early rock’n’roll, British Invasion pop and West Coast folk rock) like a badge of honour. A meeting was arranged and the two musicians hit it off, leading quickly to a demo session that persuaded Al Coury, president of RSO Records, to sign Del for an album produced by Petty. Almost immediately, the plans were thrown off track as Petty got involved in a contract dispute with MCA Records. After the matter…

Until 2005, the lion’s share of Foot Tapping’s recording took place at Sweet Georgia Browns in London, where a young Darrel Higham cut The Sweet Georgia Brown Sessions, his first for the label, but a new enterprise took their output to a new level. Built in a cow barn, Embassy Studios was to become ground zero for the Foot Tappers and everything since has begun life from within those walls. Much elbow grease was required, but with the help of family and friends, Duffin and Higham got Embassy up and running. It seems the best things happen while shoeing horses… DUFFIN: We had a smaller studio in Kingsclere, near Basingstoke, part of Colin’s antique repair workshop, but the label was growing and we needed a bigger one. I got chatting…

Elvis Presley KISS ME QUICK/DON’T BE CRUEL LMLR French label LMLR have a fairly single-minded approach to their releases, with their focus mainly on creating exemplary reissues of Johnny Hallyday and Elvis material through their VPI imprint. Many of their pressings do not hang around for long and their Elvis Presley Rock ‘n’ Roll series of five di. erent singles in two di. erent covers now remains available only in very limited quantities. They attempt a similar approach here with the release of two Japanese 7" singles, both of which are available in five di. erent coloured pressings. These are strictly limited to only 100 copies of each edition with no repress. This version of Kiss Me Quick b/w Suspicion originally appeared on the Victor label in 1964, while the…

Laura B And Her Band JUST A LITTLE LOVE SHACK RECORDS Facing each other down in the studio to recreate that old-school 50s R&B recording vibe has certainly paid dividends on this exciting new collection from Laura B And Her Band. Laid down in just two days at Shack Studio in Essex, Laura B’s well-drilled seven-piece outfit (plus special guests Snowboy on percussion and backing vocalists The Reyfordaires) provide stellar support to her feisty vocals. Opener Gambling Man boasts terrific whomping baritone sax from Lee Badau and trumpet stabs from Barry Few, plus a tasty guitar solo from Chris Corcoran. Gonna Find Me A Good Man – an impassioned, attitude-packed tale of a wronged woman – is just one of many showcases for Laura B’s wonderfully committed vocals and songwriting…

Written by The Miracles’ lead singer Smokey Robinson and Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Shop Around was the legendary Detroit record label’s first 7" to rack up one million sales. First released nationally in the US in October 1960, it made No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent eight weeks at the summit of the Billboard R&B Chart. The song depicts a mother handing out advice to her son: “Don’t be sold on the very first one/ Pretty girls come a dime a dozen, try to find one who’s gonna give you true lovin’”. Among a number of firsts, the single was Motown’s debut 7" to be released in the UK, on Decca Records’ London label. It also inspired an answer record, Don’t Let Him Shop Around, by Debbie…

There have been times when the vicissitudes of life have led Sonny West away from music, whether he was restoring vintage motorbikes or running a French restaurant, but it’s always lured him back sooner or later. He landed his first professional spot as a teenager, playing guitar in the Elvis Forever musical, which led to him gigging with Scotty Moore, DJ Fontana and The Jordanaires. He released two scorching rockabilly albums, Mr. Wild Guitar and Relentless, in the early 90s, blasts out the blues with the Voodoo Vendors, and found success with the Congo Faith Healers, channelling the sound and spirit of New Orleans. In 2019, he recorded with legendary drummer Jimmy Van Eaton at Sun Studio, and he’s returned to rockabilly with latest album Feel The Heat, keeping that…

The Sun Studios alumni, producer and songwriter has died aged 92. After learning to play mandolin and guitar as a child, Stan Kesler added steel guitar to his CV while in the US Marine Corps. Later, the Mississippi-born musician rose to prominence with the Snearly Ranch Boys. Supplying self-penned material for the band, some of his songs were recorded by other artists including Elvis, who released a version of I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone in 1954 and I Forgot To Remember To Forget the following year. Presley’s recording of the former, a co-write by Kesler and Bill Taylor, was released as a single by Sun Records and reached No.5 on the country chart. Presley’s version of I Forgot To Remember To Forget, written by Kesler with Charlie Feathers, made…

Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent Weekend 2021 16-18 April 2021 FEATURING Darrel Higham & The Enforcers, Cliff Edmonds & The Enforcers, Ric Arlandi, The Radions, Sui & The Electrobeats, plus more LOCATION Madrid, Spain BOOKING www.facebook.com/skinnyrecordsclothing The Rockabilly Knock Out! 8 May 2021 FEATURING Reverend Horton Heat, The Delta Bombers, Dylan Kirk And The Killers, The Deadshots LOCATION The Passenger Shed, Bristol BOOKING eventbrite.co.uk The Hangar Stomp! Weekender 14-16 May 2021 FEATURING Roy Dee And The Spitfires, Miss Mary Ann & The Ragtime Wranglers, The Hayriders, Sonny West, Restless, The Bluecats, Polecats, The Doel Brothers, The Bullets LOCATION Hangar 42, Bruntingthorpe, Leicester BOOKING eventbrite.co.uk The Rockin’ Round-Up 4-6 June 2021 FEATURING The Rimshots, The Bob Butfoy Band, The Playboys, Carlos & The Bandidos, plus more LOCATION Court Farm, Weston-super-Mare BOOKING…

REWRITING HISTORY “I’m constantly amazed when I see TV programmes about The Cavern, at how they get it so wrong. Basically, the interesting thing about The Cavern was, when you look back on it, it was a mini theatre. There were rows of fixed seats in the centre, facing the stage, and big aisles, and people danced in the aisles. Dancehalls and everywhere else we played didn’t have rows of seats.” RINGO “Ringo was a fabulous drummer and he still is. He was so slick. I remember walking down the steps at the Casbah and hearing this bass and guitar, and then these drums, and thinking ‘Who is that?’. It’s not a record, it’s not a jukebox, the guy was fabulous. What he had was a sort of clarity. If…

EVERY WHICH WAY/YOU’VE GOTTA WAY Notable for featuring Barry’s last vocals before the band went instrumental. The Haley-esque A-side contrasts with Barry’s self-penned flip. BIG GUITAR Barnstorming cover that should have been a hit. Barry B-side Rodeo was his first recorded instrumental song. BEE’S KNEES Rumour has it that the James Bond theme was based on this stinging number. LONG JOHN Based on the sea shanty Drunken Sailor, with a Lord Rockingham’s XI-style arrangement. Snap ‘N’ Whistle is on the B-side. LITTLE JOHN/FOR PETE’S SAKE Voted one of the best instrumental discs of 1959, it was the first to feature ‘English Duane Eddy’ Vic Flick, and pianist Les Reed. HIT AND MISS (UK NO.10) Finally, in 1960, the boys’ first chart entry – the insanely catchy theme tune to seminal…

1968 was a turbulent year and soul was documenting the changes. Motown itself was also facing difficulties. Following the departure of chief songwriters Holland, Dozier and Holland, Berry Gordy was left with a huge gap to fill, especially where his flagship artist The Supremes were concerned. Ashford and Simpson were first to have a go at providing them with a hit, but Some Things You Never Get Used To only scraped to No.30, their lowest chart placing since 1964’s Run, Run, Run. Devastated, Gordy had a rethink. “I took my battle into the studio, where my mission was clear – to come up with a record for The Supremes that sounded so much like HDH that nobody would know the difference,” he wrote in To Be Loved, his 1994 autobiography.…

In the fall of 1965, Del Shannon was fed up. During a trip to Gun Lake, a popular recreational area just south of Grand Rapids, Michigan, his frustrations with the music business came to a boil. “Del was upset that both [of his 1965 singles] Break Up and Move It On Over bombed,” his close friend Dan Bourgoise recalled to music writer Brian C. Young. “He thought he was staying on the cutting edge with a new sound, but neither of the songs were accepted by the public. He sailed copies of the 45s into the lake. Not one or two, but a whole box of 45s! One at a time. ‘Forget this, I want out!’ he said. I tried to calm him down and yelled, ‘The record’s great! You’re…

In 2008, The Ventures were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with Creedence Clearwater Revival’s John Fogerty (pictured below) as their presenter. Don Wilson, Nokie Edwards, John Durrill, Bob Spalding and Leon Taylor were all in attendance. “It’s my very great honour to be introducing The Ventures,” Fogerty said in his introduction, “and every guitar player on this planet knows what I’m talking about.” “I felt so honoured to be part of it, to be there to represent my father,” says Taylor of that historic day. “It was interesting to be the focus of attention. I’ve been on stage before and, you know, performing live and all that, but being in an environment like that, where you’re even more focused on, I was a bit nervous, actually,…

Right up there amongst the UK’s finest rockabilly guitarists, Darrel Higham has wowed us all with his enviable ability with a Gretsch, but he’s also an essential part of the Foot Tapping family. Over the years, he’s helped to source, encourage and produce new talent, as well as providing many high points in the label’s catalogue… How would you describe your relationship with Clive and the label? Clive and I have always done everything on a handshake. Whatever the deal, whatever the project, it’s all done on the basis we’re great friends. If it wasn’t for him, I would’ve quit music a long time ago. I owe him a great deal and I like to think I’ve done my bit to help with the label and studio. I think he…

Spending more than a decade as Little Richard’s preferred guitarist from 1984 to 1995 gave Travis Wammack ample time to marvel at the rock’n’roll legend’s galvanic energy levels. Every show was an adventure. “He was unbelievable,” says Wammack. “Little Richard would perform for two people, or he’d perform for 20,000. He was just a natural. We never had a setlist. Man, we would go do these big shows, not knowing what we were fixin’ to do next.” Wammack first picked for Richard back in 1970, when Travis was a recent addition to the house band at Rick Hall’s FAME Studio in Muscle Shoals. Richard breezed into town to cut his comeback album for Reprise, The Rill Thing, and Wammack had a song for him, one that he and FAME guitarist…

Elvis Presley ELVIS PRESLEY SONY The King’s legendary 1956 debut album gets dragged out once again, this time on a new 200g white vinyl pressing. It looks fantastic and still sends a shiver down the spine when the needle drops into the groove, but which part of the vinyl market is this targeted at? Hopefully, a legion of new listeners will have unwrapped record decks over Christmas and will get their minds expanded by this truly important recording, but for seasoned Elvis fans it will o.er nothing more than a nagging collector’s itch that just has to be scratched. CB Joe Brown GOLD DEMON Pressed on 180g gold vinyl, this collection picks the best of Demon’s more extensive 3CD compilation of the same name. Top 10 smashes A Picture Of…