Innholdsfortegnelse for April/May 2023 i Vintage Rock

Ask the average music fan to pinpoint the birthplace of rock’n’roll and the majority will no doubt send you in the direction of the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis. While the influence of Sam Phillips can never be underestimated, of course, it’s a reductive answer that only tells a fraction of the whole story. I’ve long been of the opinion that it’s high time Cosimo Matassa was elevated to the top table of rock’n’roll influencers. The producer and engineer’s work at the iconic J&M Recording Studio in New Orleans laid the foundations for hundreds of other artists who followed in his wake. So this issue we head south for a deep dive into the evocative musical heritage of The Big Easy that informed Matassa and the biggest star the city…

Alot of people seem to think I started this business, but rock’n’roll was here a long time before I came along… Let’s face it: I can’t sing it like Fats Domino can,” admitted Elvis Presley to Jet magazine in 1957. While the piano-playing pioneer himself might’ve been humbled by such adulation, he would concede to a Hearst newsreel interviewer that same year: “What they call rock and roll is rhythm and blues, and I’ve been playing it for 15 years in New Orleans…” R&B or rock’n’roll, call it what you will, there’s no debating that the amiable artist’s catalogue of work for the Imperial label had a dramatic impact on the music landscape and would reverberate through the generations and inspire future rockers. A wide range of impressive names all…

Seventh on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time and included as one of the 27 musical pieces to represent humanity on the Voyager 2 spacecraft, it’s safe to say that Johnny B. Goode is a little bit special. In fact, few songs are as exhilarating and so godammned urgent as Johnny B. Goode sounds 60-plus years after they were recorded. Maybe because it is, in many ways, the ultimate rock’n’roll track. Those lyrics about “a country boy named Johnny B. Goode/ Who never ever learned to read or write so well/ But he could play a guitar just like a-ringin’ a bell”, well, that’s the spirit of rock’n’roll right there, isn’t it? That a working-class kid can pick up a guitar and change the world.…

One of the groups who were most obviously influenced by Buddy Holly, The Hollies were honest enough to state their debt to Lubbock’s finest right there in their name. Formed in Manchester by childhood friends Allan Clarke and Graham Nash, the band made waves with a string of classic songs including Just One Look, Look Through Any Window, Bus Stop and the chart-topping I’m Alive. Nash left the band for the States in 1968 to team up with David Crosby and Stephen Stills as Crosby, Stills And Nash, while Allan led The Hollies to further smashes including The Air That I Breathe and US hit, Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress. Despite their differing musical paths, the pair remained friends – partly through reminiscing about their childhood, which has…

In the history of rock’n’roll, few trends have gone in and out of fashion with the speed of surf music. From the first wave in 1960, the craze reached its dizzying zenith in 1963 when everyone wanted a piece of the action – even Chess Records rushed out Surfin’ With Bo Diddley. Then in 1964, The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, and almost overnight doo-wop vocals and surf guitar were washed up. Happily, the music survived outside of the limelight and to commemorate surf’s short-lived ascendancy – here are 20 cuts to dip your toes in the water. DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE 20 The Crossfires 1963 (Capco Records) Saxophonists Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan formed The Nightriders while in high school in L.A., before becoming The…

Spring had barely sprung but Cliff Richard and The Shadows were lifting the nation from their post-Christmas gloom with Summer Holiday. The movie went on general release in the UK on 18 February 1963 with the title song hitting the No.1 spot in the UK singles chart within a month. It would be Cliff’s seventh chart-topper on home soil. Written by Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett, Summer Holiday was soon replaced at the summit of the UK charts by The Shadows’ own instrumental Foot Tapper from the same film, only for Cliff’s song to take back No.1 the following week.…

A star-studded lineup of artists will pay tribute to the late Jeff Beck at a pair of special concerts in May. Eric Clapton will lead the way in celebrating the life of the legendary guitarist who replaced him in The Yardbirds at two Royal Albert Hall shows on 22 and 23 May. Also set to perform is Rod Stewart, who shot to fame via The Jeff Beck Group’s Truth and Beck-Ola albums. Johnny Depp, who toured with Beck for what turned out to be Jeff’s final live shows before his sudden death on 10 January, is set to appear at both nights. Among the other major names are ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, jazz fusion legend John McLaughlin, Joss Stone, Imelda May and Derek Trucks. Surplus income from the concerts will…

★★★★ Madrid-based writer Mark Noir has clearly devoted a huge amount of time to this in-depth look at the career of the Stray Cats and now it’s available in an expanded English-language version, titled Runaway Boys: The Stray Cats Story. First released in Spanish in 2018, this edition features an exhaustive account of the band’s time together alongside bonus material including a look at instruments and techniques, their entire live history and even their cancelled shows (with the reasons why). Split into easily digestible chapters this is ideally suited for quick dips or heavy duty reading and, while additional information is a nice touch, the meat of the book is in the painstakingly researched story. The input of Brian Setzer, Slim Jim Phantom and Lee Rocker comes from various published…

By 1977, Matchbox were making waves. After our trips to Holland we started playing at a whole host of UK rock’n’roll clubs as well as the other bookings that were coming in. We had a new transit van and plenty of rehearsals in Steve Bloomfield’s soundproof garage – the band were really starting to enjoy learning the new songs and putting a show together. We were soon offered a deal with a small label called Raw Records in Cambridge. The studio we used was called Spaceward. It was there that we recorded our album Settin’ The Woods On Fire, the first track being the Hank Williams song of the same name, plus some of Steve’s original material. We spent some time in Cambridge while recording the album. We were happy…

Only a few days after the 56th anniversary of the death of legendary music producer Joe Meek, this groundbreaking genius was back in focus once again at the launch of a new feature-length documentary. Hosted at the Reading Biscuit Factory independent cinema, the director of The Unexpected Return of Mr. Meek, Russell Caligari, explained how he is convinced that Joe remains an important influence on the musical landscape to this day. The seeds for the documentary were sown at the same venue last July when music producer and filmmaker Caligari stumbled upon a rare showing of Telstar: The Joe Meek Story that included a presentation from Alan Wilson, the man tasked by Cherry Red Records to painstakingly recover all the material that had been stored for decades on Meek’s legendary…

I t was a showbusiness trait in the middle of the 20th century for popular performers to have nicknames or alternative titles. The habit carried over into the early rock’n’roll era, and so Elvis was the Hillbilly Cat, and then the King, Jerry Lewis was the Killer, Little Richard was the Georgia Peach and Jackie Wilson was Mr Excitement. Somehow, even though he never equalled the stature of these artists in his sadly short career, Chuck Willis bagged a clutch of colourful monikers, including the Sheik Of The Blues, the Sheik Of The Shake and the King Of The Stroll. It was the latter that seems to have stuck, even though, despite the popularity of the stroll dance in the late 1950s, Willis did not consciously write for the dance…

When the Stray Cats rumbled into the Top 20 with Runaway Boys in 1980, it was a golden age of youth cults in the UK. There were punks, skinheads, mods, Teddy Boys, rude boys, goths and New Romantics. Rockabillies – or ‘rebels’ (short for ‘rockabilly rebels’) – were the new tribe on the block. They dug the original rockabilly of Gene Vincent and Johnny Kidd as much as the neo kind served up by the Polecats, Blue Cats and Shakin’ Pyramids. But their passion for the music of the 50s – an era before they were even born – didn’t emerge from out of thin air. A considerable amount of interest in that decade had been ignited by the huge success of 1978’s global hit movie Grease and the popular…

EXCELLENT ★★★★★ VERY GOOD ★★★★ GOOD ★★★ PATCHY ★★ POOR ★ Jenny Don’t And The Spurs FIRE ON THE RIDGE FLUFF & GRAVY ★★★★ Serving up a raucous brand of country that hits like a horseshoe in a boxing glove, this fiery fourpiece from Portland, Oregon, draw heavily from 50s and 60s rock’n’roll then beat and blend it with a background of western-influenced swing. It’s an exciting combination, and the tracks Be The Only One, Train Ticket and Fire On The Ridge are downright thrilling. Originally issued in 2021, this LP gets a timely repress ahead of UK live shows later this year and, after more than a decade in action, this release will hopefully win the band the recognition that they deserve. Jerry Lee Lewis YOUNG BLOOD MUSIC ON…

Back for its 21st year at its regular home of Pakefield Pontins, the latest Wildest Cats In Town event has a head-turning line-up of artists in store including Bobby Crafford, Rip Masters, Jake Calypso and The Cosh Boys. We caught up with Wildest Cats In Town main man Ritchie Gee as the promoter prepares to welcome a whole host of rockin’ legends, current favourites and up-and-coming talent to the UK’s biggest rock’n’roll weekender. You’ve managed to pull off a real coup with Bobby Crafford, an original Sun Records artist who is playing a special tribute show to Sonny Burgess… Sonny Burgess played at my Wildest Cats weekenders on many occasions, and since Sonny and his piano player Kern Kennedy died, Bobby Crafford is the only original Sun recording artist remaining…

That’ll Be The Day Touring nationwide with dates up to July LOCATIONS Various venues across the UK BOOKING WEBSITE thatllbetheday.com The Kings Of Rock’n’Roll 21-24 April FEATURING The Jets, Harry & The Hounds, Bo Walton & Red Alert, The Kingcats, The Jive Romeros LOCATION Sand Bay Holiday Park, Kewstoke, North Somerset BOOKING WEBSITE rockin50s.co.uk Viva Las Vegas 27-30 April FEATURING TBA on the Viva Las Vegas website LOCATION 4500 W Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada BOOKING WEBSITE vivalasvegas.net Vintage Mania 5-7 May FEATURING The Firebirds, The Kingcats, Shane & The Korrados, Emilio Santoro LOCATION Crystal Lakes, Huntingdon BOOKING WEBSITE vintagemania.co.uk Wildest Cats In Town 21st Year Summer Party Reunion 30 June-3 July FEATURING Bobby Crafford, Rip Masters, Jake Calypso, The Cosh Boys, Steve Riot LOCATION Pontins Pakefield, Lowestoft BOOKING WEBSITE…

Elvis set the precedent for Sun recording artists having their greatest success after leaving the label. Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Charlie Rich all followed his lead and made their best-known recordings elsewhere. So Carl Perkins, who scored Sun’s first million-seller and first No.1 with Blue Suede Shoes, must have been disappointed when he jumped ship to Columbia in 1958 but saw none of the results that Cash would enjoy when he joined the same label shortly afterwards. By the mid-60s, the rockabilly pioneer was opening shows for Cash who had become arguably the biggest name in country music in its history. And when Rolling Stone writer Michael Lydon caught up with Perkins on Cash’s tour bus, he found him in a downbeat mood. “I’ve been at the top of…

01 (1) RUNNING BEAR JOHNNY PRESTON (MERCURY) 7 WEEKS ON CHART 02 (7) THEME FROM “A SUMMER PLACE” PERCY FAITH (PHILIPS) 4 WEEKS ON CHART 03 (3) DELAWARE PERRY COMO (RCA) 5 WEEKS ON CHART 04 (5) POOR ME ADAM FAITH (PARLOPHONE) 10 WEEKS ON CHART 05 (-) MY OLD MAN’S A DUSTMAN LONNIE DONEGAN (PYE) 1 WEEK ON CHART 06 (-) FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU CLIFF RICHARD AND THE SHADOWS (COLUMBIA) 1 WEEK ON CHART 07 (24) WILD ONE BOBBY RYDELL (COLUMBIA) 3 WEEKS ON CHART 08 (23) FINGS AIN’T WOT THEY USED T’BE MAX BYGRAVES (DECCA) 3 WEEKS ON CHART 09 (14) COLETTE BILLY FURY (DECCA) 3 WEEKS ON CHART 10 (2) WHY ANTHONY NEWLEY (DECCA) 11 WEEKS ON CHART RUNNING BEAR JOHNNY PRESTON (MERCURY) Written by…

When the complete story of Elvis Presley is told, there’s a tendency for biographers to partition his life into two parts – the pre-Army, and post-Army Elvis. It’s a handy carving line, separating the raw, hipswinging Sun Records-era Presley and the more considered artist that emerged after. It’s no surprise that when Thom Zimny paced out his two-part documentary, The Searcher, in 2018, he chose the end of Elvis’ military life to close that first episode. “Elvis died the day he went into the Army,” so said John Lennon, but how accurate really is that? It’s not as if Elvis did little of note after 1960. If something in Presley had been extinguished that day in March 1958 then how does that explain Return To Sender (1962) or Suspicious Minds…

© MICHAEL PUTLAND/GETTY IMAGES For the children of the 1970s, Showaddywaddy defined rock’n’roll. The kids who grew up to become rockabilly rebels in 1980 were often weaned on the band’s hit covers of Blue Moon, Three Steps To Heaven and I Wonder Why long before they heard the originals by The Marcels, Eddie Cochran and Dion. The group was created by the amalgamation of two bands, Choise and the Golden Hammers, hence their eight-man line-up. The band achieved national fame on TV talent show New Faces in 1973 and hit the charts the following year with Hey Rock And Roll. They then went on to a decade-long run of hits including the chart-topping Under The Moon of Love. We meet the band’s former frontman and current manager, Dave Bartram, to…

EXCELLENT ★★★★★ VERY GOOD ★★★★ GOOD ★★★ PATCHY ★★ POOR ★ Furious WASH MY HANDS OF YOU WILD ★★★★ Liverpool rockers Furious bring their big, big sound back to vinyl with two quick blasts of action for Wild Records. Wash My Hands Of You is a booming howler with barroom piano and a deep, honking sax complimenting their usual sound that results in an almost cinematic slice of angry rock’n’roll, which assaults the senses so ruggedly it's liable to give you a thick ear. On the flip, Hold My Heart slows things down on a ballad that bares its soul with unflinching honesty. Both barely hit the two-minute mark, but that simply adds to their charm. Whistle Bait FROLIC TIME! GOOFIN’ ★★★☆ Singer Vesa Haaja seems to be keeping busy…