Innholdsfortegnelse for October/November 2022 i Vintage Rock

You’d think that after almost 70 years it would be reasonable to assume we’d all have a pretty solid grasp on the precise definition of rockabilly. Truth is, though, few people agree on its exact recipe – a dash of bluegrass and country blended with up-tempo R&B perhaps? That’s probably not too far off the mark. Arguments over rockabilly’s exact musical configuration will no doubt rumble on for decades to come but I’m sure we can all agree on at least one thing, it’s a musical style that changed the world – and continues to do so. Among the new generation of rockabilly artists is Dutch singer Miss Mary Ann who’s passionate about keeping the torch alive. She tells us: “Lots of people bang on about punk being a musical…

We had some great times with Gene Vincent on the road in France – he seemed happy and enjoyed our company, regaling us with great stories from the 50s about his time with the Blue Caps and playing with Eddie Cochran. Everything seemed to be running smoothly until we hit a snag at one gig. For no apparent reason, a security guard let some fans in for free. One guy, who was particularly the worse for wear, proved to be very troublesome and kept shoving a large bottle of wine in Gene’s face telling him to drink. The guy was so huge that he nearly squashed Gene on the couch and even the security guard had a hard time moving him – Ican still remember Gene yelling out, “Get this…

In January 2011, Mayhem by Imelda May hit No.7 on the UK albums chart. May had scored a chart-topping LP in Ireland with 2008’s Love Tattoo and achieved her best UK chart position in 2014 when Tribal reached No.3. Although May has subsequently changed her sound and style – losing her signature quiff and leaving rockabilly behind – the Irish singer and her then husband and guitarist Darrel Higham had done the impossible, or at least the highly improbable, by bringing rockabilly back into the Top 10. “Rock’n’roll should be a living , breathing thing not a museum piece” While rockabilly’s return to the mainstream charts was fleeting, May’s success was part and parcel of a rejuvenated rockin’ scene. “Ever since it first developed almost 70 years ago, rockabilly music…

It’s a date that’s carved into rockabilly legend – 4 December 1956 – the day when Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash convened at Sun Studios for an impromptu jam session. That photo of those titans of rockabilly and country (later nicknamed The Million Dollar Quartet) is among the most famous music-related shots ever taken, yet there was another historic event that happened that day at 706 Union Avenue that tends to get overlooked. Before Elvis and Cash turned up, Perkins and Lewis had laid down a new song, one that would come to define its singer and be lauded as one of the finest rockabilly tracks of all time. However, the origins of Matchbox aren’t simple. Though it would be wrong to call Perkins’ Matchbox…

From the outside – bright signage apart – it may not look that memorable. However, the sounds that have emanated over the years from inside the hallowed Apollo Theater are something else. Located in the Harlem neighbourhood of Manhattan, the atmospheric venue has been the premiere showcase for Black music talent since the 1920s. Soon lauded as the place “where stars are born and legends are made”, when it came to changing social trends and tastes, the Apollo remains ahead of the curve. “Just as the theatre itself is in the geographical epicentre of Harlem, the Apollo has always been ground zero for every major development in African-American vernacular music,” says music author Will Friedwald, “from swing bands in the 1930s, to bebop and R&B in the 40s, gospel and…

★★★★★ EXCELLENT ★★★★ VERY GOOD ★★★ AVERAGE ★★ PATCHY ★ POOR Carl Perkins HONEY DON’T (LIVE ’56) SLEAZY ★★★✩ Digging deep for rarities and presenting them on vinyl for the first time seems to be a theme across many new releases recently but Sleazy are old masters at this art and here they deliver two unissued tracks from Carl Perkins. This version of Honey Don’t was captured live on 17 March 1956 for the Ozark Jubilee TV show and also included is the demo of Eternal Stay which was recorded in Nashville in 1963. Not for the casual listener but with great sleeve artwork and remastered sound, this is another opportunity to explore some of Perkins’ rarities. Ray Black And The Flying Carpets STORIES TOLD MIGRAINE ★★✩ These German rockabillies…

OBITUARY JERRY ‘J.I.’ ALLISON (31 AUGUST 1939-22 AUGUST 2022) Jerry ‘J.I.’ Allison, drummer for Buddy Holly & The Crickets and co-writer of hits such as That’ll Be The Day and Peggy Sue, has died aged 82. Born in Hillsboro, Texas, in 1939, Allison grew up in the state’s small towns of Plainview and Lubbock, developing an interest in music from a young age. He became friends with Holly while at high school when the two bonded over their love of Little Richard and Fats Domino. They began playing music together as a duo before inviting Joe B. Mauldin to join them on bass. The Buddy Holly Educational Foundation said: “J.I. was more than just the drummer in The Crickets, he was one of the most influential musicians in early rock’n’roll,…

From the blues bars of Beale Street to the Tennessee honky-tonk taverns, the origins of rockabilly all lead back to Memphis. While pockets of this fresh new fusion of country and blues could be found dotted all over the US in the mid-50s, that little city sitting on the banks of the Mississippi River was perfectly primed to be the epicentre of rock’n’roll’s Big Bang… as Carl Perkins once sang: “Let’s give old Tennessee credit for music!” But what is rockabilly, aside from the sound of youthful exuberance, and does it fundamentally differ from rock’n’roll? Taking time out from his recent UK tour, Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats offers: “Maybe there’s a rhythmic difference, where rock’n’roll is based more on an eighth note feel and rockabilly is more swing,…

After learning the ropes from his father, who fronts Berlin rockabilly outfit Wayne Starday’s Trailer Kings, son Jason has just taken his first steps into the recording studio. The fruits of his labour is the four-track Songs From Teen-Ville EP, a collection of jivers and ballads that’s all set to turn a few heads. The young singer has been immersed in the scene ever since 2009, and states: “It’s a way of life for me – the music, the garments, the hair… oh man, I love the 50s.” Who are your musical influences? I really admire Ricky Nelson, Sam Cooke, Ronnie Dawson and James Hunter. My biggest musical influences, though, are Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. My mother and grandparents listened to them, so I grew up with that kind…

There are some who say that rockabilly lives best in its singles, not its albums. However, there are countless LPs that really show off this most rockin’ of musical genres, and we’ve scanned the decades from the 50s right up to the present day, to find the greatest. From the earliest practitioners to the revivalists of the 80s, through to those artists such as Imelda May and JD McPherson who are still keeping the spirit of rockabilly alive 65 years after its fiery birth, these are the albums that no selfrespecting hepcat can be without… 20 ROBERT GORDON WITH LINK WRAY Fresh Fish Special Private Stock (1978) Robert Gordon’s debt to Sun-era Elvis is obvious in this, the Maryland-born singer’s feisty sophomore effort from 1978, though the addition of…

The depleted ranks of rockabilly originals thinned a little further earlier this year with the passing of Glen Glenn at the age of 87. Although he sometimes seemed more regarded as a useful source of quotes about two of his old friends, Eddie Cochran and Elvis Presley, than for his own contribution to the music, his personal back catalogue contained several classics. The fact that a particular artist was effectively a no-hit wonder has never been a disqualifier for lovers of 50s rock, and the standing of originals like Everybody’s Movin’, One Cup Of Coffee And A Cigarette, Laurie Ann and Blue Jeans And A Boys’ Shirt – even if they barely got off the starting grid as commercial platters and achieved no more than decent local sales – makes…

What’s the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Procol Harum? For most, it’s Matthew Fisher’s iconic Hammond organ introduction that ushers in arguably the most beloved psychedelic song of all time, A Whiter Shade Of Pale – they were the band that skipped the light fandango and turned cartwheels across the floor with their debut single in 1967. Procol connoisseurs may even point to their multi-part epic In Held ’Twas In I, the band’s classic album A Salty Dog, or even the vaulting ambition of their 1972 live LP that saw them hook up to fine effect with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Their talent for 50s rock’n’roll then may have escaped your attention. Like many of the patchouli-scented bands of their era, Procol Harum did not…

★★★★★ EXCELLENT ★★★★ VERY GOOD ★★★ AVERAGE ★★ PATCHY ★ POOR Graham Fenton GRAHAM FENTON AND FRIENDS FOOT TAPPING RECORDS ★★★★ As Geoff Barker writes in the sleevenotes for this album: “there are few people around today who have done more for rock’n’roll than Graham Fenton.” This CD is proof that the Matchbox frontman and ex-Gene Vincent mate, chauffeur and subsequent keeper of the flame, is also a notable solo act. Reuniting with Darrel Higham and Pete Pritchard following 2017’s Rockabilly Legend, this might well be Fenton’s best effort under his own name, certainly up there with Raging Heart, recorded for Alan Wilson’s label a few years back. The presence of Liam Grundy on piano, who has previously collaborated with Scotty Moore and James Burton, is a massive plus point,…

When the trailblazing Bill Haley And His Comets arrived in Germany for live shows in October 1958, few could have predicted the trail of chaos that would follow in their wake. Trouble was already seemingly brewing at Hamburg’s Ernst-Merck-Halle when young gig-goers fought with guards from the city’s student association and 100 policemen who tried to clear the venue. At the Berlin Sportspalast on 26 October, though, things turned even uglier as 500 rock’n’roll fans among the 7,000-strong crowd battled with police. Five policemen were beaten and six audience members were severely injured. Damage to the Berlin venue was estimated at more than 50,000 DM (the equivalent to 120,000 EUR in today’s money). The chaos left the authorities on both the West and East sides of the city enraged. The…

HONKY TONK MAN JOHNNY HORTON 1962 • COLUMBIA Side 1 Honky Tonk Man (Horton, Franks, Hausey) Goodbye Lonesome, Hello, Baby Doll (Emerson) I’m Coming Home (Horton, Franks) I Got A Hole In My Pirogue (Horton, Franks) She Knows Why (King, Horton) They’ll Never Take Her Love From Me (Payne) Side 1 Ole Slew-Foot (Hausey, Manney) I’m A One-Woman Man (Franks, Horton) Sleepy-Eyed John (Atchison) Everytime I’m Kissing You (Horton, Belew) The Wild One (Franks, Kilgore) Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor (Hazlewood, Harrell, Atchison) Although his roots lay in country, on a hot streak beginning with Honky Tonk Man in 1956, Johnny Horton cut several rockabilly classics. The album of the same name, released after his tragic early death in a car crash in 1960, included several of the best of them……

Danny B Harvey’s love affair with rock’n’roll dates back almost as far as he can remember. At the age of just six, he received a Christmas present that would have a lasting effect on his life. “It was one of those plastic Westernstyled guitars. I jumped around with it, posed with it, smashed it on the ground but never actually learnt how to play it,” he laughs. By the age of 11, though, the Texas-born youngster was gifted his first proper guitar by his future stepfather. It was time to get serious about the instrument and Harvey was off and running… A move to Kentucky the following year had an even more profound effect. Harvey explains: “The first friend I made was an older boy who lived next door. He…

Memphis has Graceland, Beale Street and the legendary Sun Studio, while Nashville’s got the cradle of country and the Grand Ole Opry. Yet there is a third, often overlooked, point to this triangle of pulsating RHOF Southern music – in Jackson, Tennessee. It was after all, first to rock, thanks to the emergence of rockabilly in the area. Here lies the story of three separate guys – Bob Timmers, Henry Harrison, and Randy Williams – music aficionados and Jackson residents one and all who, although operating independently, had a vision in common due to their collective love of rockabilly. Now all their projects have been assimilated on their doorstep in the grand surrounds of the 130-year-old former Carnegie library. The first of its three main benefactors is the late Bob…

For over 50 years the contents of 67 tea chests rescued from maverick producer Joe Meek’s studio at 304 Holloway Road and carefully stored by Cliff Cooper, the founder of Orange Amps, have been the subject of much fevered speculation. When Cherry Red Records acquired this haul of 1,900 quarter-inch studio tapes in September 2020 they vowed to restore and digitise the entire collection before releasing a single note. Now the first fruits of this historic project are finally set for release on two 10" vinyl albums, The Telstar Story and The Heinz Sessions Vol.1, both exquisitely presented in gatefold covers with detailed sleevenotes. “This is the man’s life’s work and I want it to be treated with respect” In order to document the entire collection completely before presenting anything…

★★★★★ EXCELLENT ★★★★ VERY GOOD ★★★ AVERAGE ★★ PATCHY ★ POOR Various Artists DANCE-O-RAMA SLEAZY ★★★★ Just holding this deluxe package in your hands unleashes a sense of awe. What you get for your buck are seven 10" black vinyl platters housed in an old timey record-book format. The discs in question are Decca’s entire Dance-O-Rama series from 1955 which showcased the brightest country and western talent of the period such as Bob Wills, Tex Williams and Grady Martin. Each record has fresh artwork with the original sleevenotes from Nashville journalist Charlie Lamb included. Featuring 56 tracks which illustrate the roots of rock’n’roll, this sets the bar high. Satan’s Pilgrims GO ACTION!! HI-TIDE ★★✩ Satan’s Pilgrims have been riding the surf wave since 1992 yet they continue to show many…