Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2024/January 2025 i Vintage Rock

As one of the inaugural inductees into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Sam Cooke was in rather fine company, making the cut with the esteemed likes of Elvis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Fats Domino. Cooke may have been dubbed ‘The King Of Soul’, but his vital contribution to the evolution of the emerging rock’n’roll movement should never be overlooked. So we’re delighted to celebrate his far-reaching legacy in our latest issue’s cover feature. Cooke was a musical pioneer with very few equals. He could rattle off finger-snapping rockers with ease and also excelled at ballads. Most notable perhaps in his stellar back catalogue is A Change Is Gonna Come, which remains a civil rights anthem of historic importance. Coincidently, it was that self same Cooke…

Sir Cliff Richard has announced his Can’t Stop Me Now 2025 UK Tour. The highly-anticipated live shows will take place at some of Britain’s most iconic venues, including two special nights at the Royal Albert Hall. No additional dates are to be added. Opening at Cardiff’s Utilita Arena on 30 November 2025, the singer’s tour then visits Birmingham (2 December), Brighton (4 December) and Bournemouth (6 December), before concluding with back-to-back performances at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 8 and 9 December. Since his debut in 1958 with Move It!, Sir Cliff has delivered a string of chart-topping hits, including 14 No.1 singles and seven No.1 albums. He has sold more than 250 million records worldwide and remains the only artist to achieve UK Top Five albums across eight consecutive…

“I think it’s going to be the best album I’ve ever done,” says Marty Wilde. “I’m just judging it on what I’ve written so far. Whether or not the public sees it that way, you can never tell. I feel I’m going to be very proud of it.” Now, 56 years after he broke into the UK Top 10 with Endless Sleep and four decades after co-writing Kids In America to launch his daughter Kim’s pop career, Wilde is working on an upcoming, untitled album. This year, on his 85th birthday, Marty hit No.1 in the Heritage Chart with Two Eyes Streaming and his latest single, Rise, is also proving a hit with fans. Touring to the end of the year, the singer shows no sign of slowing down. “I…

WILDEST CATS XMAS WEEKENDER 22-25 November FEATURING Marty Wilde, Sue Moreno, The Jets, Spunyboys, Junior Marvel LOCATION Pakefield Seaside Village, Lowestoft, Suffolk BOOKING WEBSITE tennesseeclub.net ROCKIN’ RACE 5-9 February 2025 FEATURING Lee Rocker, Nick Lowe And Los Straitjackets, Omar Romero, The Mean Devils, Jimmy Dale Richardson LOCATION Auditorium Príncipe De Asturias, Torremolinos, Spain BOOKING WEBSITE rockinrace.com VIVA LAS VEGAS 24-27 April 2025 FEATURING Artists TBC on website LOCATION The Orleans Hotel, Las Vegas BOOKING WEBSITE vivalasvegas.net BILLY FURY WEEKENDER 4-6 July 2025 FEATURING Colin Paul & The Persuaders, Danny Reno, The Bobcats LOCATION The Liner Hotel, Liverpool BOOKING WEBSITE yesterdayoncemore.co.uk BLACKPOOL TOWER BALLROOM ROCK’N’ROLL WEEKENDER 11-12 July 2025 FEATURING Si Cranstoun, The Jive Aces, The Firebirds, The Jets, The Kingcats LOCATION Blackpool Tower, Lancashire BOOKING WEBSITE ventureawaymusicweekends.co.uk…

According to the Johnny Cash song, life ain’t easy for a boy named Sue… But spare a thought for the early life of a kid called Bill Haley Jr. “Growing up with my father’s name, I was constantly asked about him,” says the son of rock’n’roll’s founding father. “I was acutely aware that my father was famous, but he was out of my life – I had no contact with him. It was hard to explain to people why he had abandoned me.” In the song A Boy Named Sue, the protagonist’s father deserts him at the age of three, leaving behind an old guitar and an empty bottle of booze. Bill Jr, by contrast, was seven when his dad walked out of his plush home, Melody Manor in Boothwyn,…

01 IT’S ALL IN THE GAME TOMMY EDWARDS (MGM) Tommy Edwards revisits a track he had originally cut seven years earlier and makes history as the first Black artist to reach No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1951, Carl Sigman wrote lyrics for a piece of music titled Melody In A Major, penned in 1911 by future Vice President of the US, Charles G. Dawes. The number soon became a popular standard and was recorded by a variety of artists, but it was Edwards who got to it first. Initially peaking at No.18 on Billboard’s Most Played by Disk Jockeys listing, he decided to give it a teen-friendly beat ballad feel in 1958 and the serenader soon found himself at the top of the newly-formed Billboard Hot 100, where…

On the evergreen rumour that he would have come to Britain, those in Elvis’ inner circle, such as Priscilla and James Burton, say that the singer definitely wanted to tour outside of the United States. Likely down to his own secret illegal alien status, the Colonel variously turned down offers of millions from Britain, Australia, Japan and Saudi Arabia. “I know for sure Elvis was interested in doing a European tour,” wrote his step-brother Billy Stanley in his memoir. Elvis himself is on record as saying the same. In a 1968 publicity interview near the end of shooting for his last film, Change Of Habit, Elvis talked about the future: “I don’t plan too far ahead, but I’m real busy for a while now. I’ve got a date in Vegas…

Hank Cochran Although unrelated, the pair gigged together through 1955 into 1956 as The Cochran Brothers. They made hillbilly records for Ekko, though unreleased numbers like Slow Down and I’m Ready showed rockabilly elements winning through. In fact, a conflict between Eddie’s desire to rock and Hank’s country leanings caused them to part company. Hank went on to become one of Nashville’s finest songsmiths, writing for Patsy Cline, Eddy Arnold, Burl Ives and George Jones. Connie ‘Guybo’ Smith A school friend at Bell Gardens Junior High in California, ‘Guybo’, whether on stand-up or electric bass, was a key player on Eddie’s songs, from The Cochran Brothers period though to the Summertime Blues and C’Mon Everybody phase. Although he left Eddie’s road band when he got married in 1959, he played…

With the celebrations of Gretsch’s double platinum anniversary ongoing, the company introduced a simply stunning range of limited edition 140th Anniversary models. All of these guitars are beautified in various sleek two-tone nitrocellulose lacquer finishes, and feature classy ebony fretboards, chrome hardware, special commemorative 140th anniversary head badges, plus, of course, all are finished off with the classic String-Thru Bigsby tailpiece. Each of the six models in the range is pure eye candy. with the classic Gretsch sound to match – authentic yet contemporary – but our picks include the slick, chambered G6134T-140 Penguin, the hollow-bodied G6136T-140, both in Pure Platinum/Stone Platinum; and our favourite, the G5420T-140 Electromatic in gorgeous Pearl Platinum/Stone Platinum (inset). Now where’s that credit card……

“Coca-Cola Uncorks Teen Radio Drive!” In July 1965, Billboard reported that America’s favourite soft drink was about to saturate the airwaves via new custom-made jingles. It was a time before commercial endorsements by artists were frowned upon, and the ad campaign’s participants included a starry, almost unbelievable array of top acts – The Everly Brothers, The Supremes, Lulu, Tom Jones and Roy Orbison. Their assignment: to take the company’s Things Go Better With Coke four-bar melody (written in 1962 by New York ad man Bill Backer) and build a full-blown 60- or 90-second song around it. If those songs were reminiscent of the artist’s hits, well, even better. “The ads were popular because they didn’t sound like jingles,” Backer later said. “They sounded like records by the artists.” With Orbison’s…

Join our vibrant community of music lovers at Vintage Rock and each issue you’ll have access to exclusive artist interviews, in-depth features and must-read reviews. And, as an added incentive, for our latest subscription offer there’s a tempting bundle of free gifts. How can you resist! Steve Harnell, Senior Editor Follow me on X (Twitter): @steve_harnell SAVE 36% WHY SUBSCRIBE TO VINTAGE ROCK? + Save 36%, paying only £26.99 today + receive your free gift + Every print issue delivered straight to your door + Exclusive discount to use on back issues & special editions Subscribe easily at vintagerockmag.com/xmas24…

Kyle Eldridge ROOT BEER SWELLTUNE Kentucky’s Kyle Eldridge has a swinging, guitar-picking style matched with an old-timey vocal twang that manages to sound both fresh and traditional. Both of these tracks are originals and Root Beer is a speedy tune that packs in some catchy lyrics alongside outbreaks of dazzling guitar. Penny, Nickel, And Dime opts for a more languid pace and is something of a laid-back anthem to boozers, gamblers and blue-collar workers. This is authentic country and western but also a fine example of six-string wrangling that fans of Merle Travis and Joe Maphis will surely appreciate. The Jukeez TRANSYLVANIA TWIST CHAPUTA! Horror and garage punk make a good partnership and Montreal groovers The Jukeez produce a pair of ghoulish delights on this 45. Transylvania Twist starts off…

“It’s quite simple,” says singer and tenor saxophonist Ray Gelato about his introduction to music. “My father took me to see Bill Haley And His Comets in the late 70s. I must have been 13 or 14. When I saw the band up there in their tuxedos, with the saxophone and the rhythm, man, I was hooked.” The night was memorable for many reasons. “The Teddy Boys smashed the theatre up,” he says, laughing. Gelato burst onto the London scene jumpin’, jivin’ and wailin’ with The Chevalier Brothers in 1982 before forming Ray Gelato And The Giants Of Jive six years later. The group, now simply the Giants, has played everywhere from the Royal Albert Hall to Paul McCartney’s wedding. Their next release will be Live At Ronnie Scott’s, recorded…

“When we started, we used to consider that what we’re doing is writing new songs,” says The Bullets’ drummer Gary Griffin. “That’s not true. It turns out what we’re really doing is writing old songs. What I mean is rockabilly and rock’n’roll is a specific genre of music and if you make it too complicated, it ceases to be rock’n’roll.” Griffin and singer/guitarist Brett Waters formed The Bullets with one mission in mind, to create original rockabilly music. From their 2013 debut Sons Of The Gun to their new album Ain’t Too Late To Bop!, Waters and Griffin have stayed true to their vision, capturing the spirit of the records that first inspired their love for rock’n’roll through an impressively prolific creative partnership. “It started from very small beginnings,” says…

Although concept albums weren’t yet a, ahem, concept, the artists of the 50s did release themed long-players, most notably Frank Sinatra’s In The Wee Small Hours, in 1955. Bill Haley released four themed discs on Decca beginning with Rockin’ The Oldies in 1957. As the title suggests, it took a selection of standards from the 20s, 30s and 40s and dressed them up in The Comets’ trademark barrage of honking sax, slapping bass and rimshots. However, while the results were okay, the trawl through mom’n’pop’s record collection wasn’t likely to make Haley look hip to a teenage audience that was swiftly moving on to younger shakers like Elvis. Even less cool was 1958’s Rockin’ Around The World. Building on the idea of earlier Scottish-flavoured single Rockin’ Through The Rye (UK…

The overriding image of rockabilly and rock’n’roll is man with guitar. It was – and still is – an image that screamed insurrection and glory. And Eddie Cochran is perhaps the best-known candidate when it comes to that iconic double act. From beginning to end of his short, sharp shock of a career, Eddie and his Gretsch 6120 were completely inseparable. Its big, bold look and killer tone wowed onlookers every night on the Biggest Show Of Stars tour in 1957. It was front and centre when he rocked American Bandstand in 1958, framed inside a TV set – and again on Town Hall Party and The Dick Clark Show the following year. It was even in the trunk of the taxi that fateful night when he lost his life…

It’s ironic that rock, once the electric guitar had established its hegemony from the mid-1950s, reduced the status of saxophones in commercial music. There was a time when these horns, relatively simple to play and hold big, sustained notes on, were the go-to instruments for injecting a bit of edge and upping excitement levels. Even before their R&B heyday, saxophonists, whether playing alto, tenor or baritone, were making thrilling contributions to the big band sounds of the 1930s and 1940s. However, when the featured sax players in these orchestras took solos, the swing arrangements tended to keep the lid shut on excessive showboating. More exhibitionist saxophonists really came into their own with the arrival of the smaller combos at the end of the 1940s. Still steeped in jazz, these players,…

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame recently recognised the important roles Big Mama Thornton, John Mayall and Alexis Korner played in the evolution of the Big Beat at its 2024 induction ceremony. All honoured with the Musical Influence Award, these artists were celebrated for directly influencing and inspiring generations of others. “Larger-than-life, opinionated, and a vocal powerhouse and multi-instrumentalist with rock’n’roll swagger,” exclaims the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame website. “Big Mama Thornton bridged the gap between the blues and rock’n’roll with her brilliant vocal performances on songs like Hound Dog and Ball N’ Chain.” The Godfather of British Blues John Mayall, who passed away in July, was also saluted alongside fellow blues pioneer, Alexis Korner. Both were recognised for their innovation and immeasurable influence.…

Maurice Williams, lead singer of Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs, died on 6 August. He was 86. A pioneer of early rock’n’roll and R&B, Williams was a leading figure in the US doo-wop scene and best-known for writing the single Stay when he was a teenager. An inductee to both the Vocal Group and North Carolina Halls of Fame, he enjoyed a career that spanned over six decades. Born on 26 April 1938, in Lancaster, South Carolina, Williams began performing in church at the age of just six and formed his first group, The Royal Charms, while in high school. On signing to Excello Records and changing their name to the Gladiolas, the group’s Williams-penned track Little Darlin’ reached No.11 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1957 and later became…

From the very first moment Sam Cooke stepped out on to the Ed Sullivan stage for a truncated performance in 1957, American audiences were suitably spellbound by this suave singing sensation. Exuding effortless charm and grace, he captivated viewers with his disarming demeanour and scintillating smile. Between November 1957 and November 1964, he made multiple cameos on all the influential US talk shows and music programmes. His most surprising appearance, however, occurred when he featured on the BBC’s weekly Saturday sporting fixture, Grandstand, with Cassius Clay during a transatlantic interview with Harry Carpenter. The duo’s bromance is evident for all to see as they break into Hey, Hey, The Gang’s All Here. His last two televised engagements were just as memorable. For the debut airing of Shindig! on 16 September…

In 1960, Bill Haley left Decca for a better deal with Warner Brothers. Unfortunately, it didn’t give him the comeback he hoped for and Haley wouldn’t trouble the charts again until a reissue of Rock Around The Clock in 1974. Not in the US, anyway. It was a different story in Mexico, where Haley’s career took a surprising turn and the Father Of Rock’n’Roll became King Of The Twist. Haley began touring Mexico to escape the American tax man. Financial mismanagement had left him with a tax bill that wouldn’t be paid – by the ongoing royalties from Rock Around The Clock – for a decade. Working outside the US allowed him to pocket some cash before it was seized. When a Mexican promoter insisted he add a female singer…

Summertime Blues Only Chuck Berry bettered Eddie as a pop chronicler of teenage hope, joy and frustration in the 50s. Although Summertime Blues is technically a whinge about obstacles blocking adolescent fun, the stop-time syncopations, hand claps, hard-strummed acoustic guitar and electric bass add up to a creation bursting with energy. It rose to US No.8 in 1958, the one occasion Cochran made the Top 10 in his homeland, and was his first UK entry (No.18). Drive In Show Cochran never pulled off the tremulous romantic songs that Elvis excelled in. What he did do with great charm, though, was a series of rockaballads for Liberty, starting with Sittin’ In The Balcony, followed by the slightly obvious One Kiss, before Drive-In Show and Pocketful Of Hearts, both with Cochran on…

It took a while for something substantial to arrive on Eddie Cochran in book form. Alan Clark’s Eddie Cochran: Never To Be Forgotten (1991), assembled rarely seen photos, press features, reviews and interviews. What most would consider the most authoritative work to date was Don’t Forget Me: The Eddie Cochran Story (2000) by Julie Mundy and Darrel Higham. It aimed to tell the story of an underrated early rocker who, as the introduction put it, “has been ill-served by rock historians since his death.” Eddie’s cousin Bobby Cochran wrote Three Steps To Heaven: The Eddie Cochran Story (2003) with Susan Van Hecke, offering personal insights only a family member can bring. Having co-written the musical Race With The Devil: The Legend Of Eddie Cochran And Gene Vincent, John Collis’ Gene…

Eddie Cochran’s original 6120 is on display at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. Gallupin’ Cliff Gallup’s Duo Jet is another story – or perhaps more than one… The story goes that Cliff traded his original 1954 Duo Jet for a Country Gentleman and, for years, the path ended there. Until, that is, Gretsch decided to release a Gallup signature guitar, and the company’s Joe Carducci began his research. Having met with Cliff’s daughter Bonnie, Carducci found the original loan document for a Duo Jet, including its serial number and the fact that it had been sold in November 1954. But did Cliff have more than one? Ace guitarist and writer Deke Dickerson traces the story on his blog revealing a second spin to the…

Big Jay McNeely and other better-known saxophone players in early rock’n’roll, such as Lee Allen, Alvin ‘Red’ Tyler and Rudy Pompilli, were far from alone. Alto saxophonist Earl Bostic had an impeccable jazz pedigree, yet for lovers of a big-toned sound, his jumping 1950s sides are worth checking out (Flamingo, Cherokee, Air Mail Special). Tenor saxophonist Sam Butera was a lynchpin of Louis Prima and The Witnesses. Listen to him cut loose on the last third of the combo’s medley When You’re Smiling/The Sheikh Of Araby. Too often unmentioned is Don Hill, a stratospheric alto sax player who was integral to the success of another popular Las Vegas turn, The Treniers (Go! Go! Go!, Hadacole That’s All, Rockin’ Is Our Bizness). Tenor saxophonist Sam ‘The Man’ Taylor played on countless…

One day, Todd Allen Herendeen, a country and gospel singer, as well as an Elvis, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison impersonator, was taking a walk down Beale Street. As he followed – literally – in the footsteps of one of Memphis’ all-time great rock’n’rollers, he spotted a curious sight. “Behind a building,” Todd tells Vintage Rock, “pretty much behind the dumpsters, was one of Jerry Lee Lewis’ vehicles. It was the white Cadillac Eldorado and the tyres were flat.” The car had fallen into disrepair and needed some TLC. “It was just sittin’ there and it was really sad. So I told my wife: ‘I wanna look into buyin’ that car to restore it and put it on display.’” Unfortunately, this proved to be easier said than done: “The people who…

Ray Allen CHAINS RHYTHM BOMB Ray Allen’s last album, Personally, from 2019, set the bar high so this belated follow-up certainly has a lot to live up to. Thankfully, this new creation moves things on a little while still maintaining his smooth brand of rockabilly and country and western. Moods twist and change across these 13 tracks particularly in the middle of the record where lush ballad The Only Thing That Matters Is Loving You is immediately followed by the raw, pounding Let’s Have A Good Time. Chains possesses a depth and variety that will keep you coming back for more. Various Artists BUSY BOOTIN’ SHINEOLA The folks behind the Wax Nerd and Dagnabbit labels unveil their Shineola imprint and this debut release digs deep to deliver a solid collection…

The Bullets AIN’T TOO LATE TO BOP! WESTERN STAR Undeniably one of the biggest names on the British rockabilly scene, The Bullets deliver their fifth studio long-player here and once again it more than lives up to expectations. All 14 tracks are original compositions – vocalist/guitarist Brett Waters and drummer Gary Griffin seem to have shared out songwriting duties fairly evenly while bass player Nick Whitfield holds everything together nicely, flipping seamlessly between his upright and electric four-string as required. The title track is a thumping introduction to an excellent collection of songs and delivers a powerful slice of rockin’ that’s a real call to the dancefloor while Baby Come On follows on in the same high-energy style. Stomp Attack allows a little pause for breath and, along with some…

The Beach Boys make their live debut using their new band name when they appear at Long Beach Civic Auditorium in their home state of California. Before then, the fivepiece – originally named by Mike Love – were The Pendletones. The moniker was a pun on ‘Pendelton’, a popular brand of woollen shirt. But by the time the group recorded their debut single Surfin’, they’d been rebranded The Beach Boys by Russ Regan, a young promoter for Era Records. The Beach Boys made waves immediately. Surfin’ was a regional success on the West Coast and even rose to No.75 on the Billboard Hot 100 – an impressive feat for the teenagers straight out of the gate.…