The Jive Bombers were a New York group that started recording in the '40s so it's no surprise that their recording from the '50s have a throwback sound. I love this song and was floored the first time I heard it, thanks to the "trumpet" that's not a trumpet at all.
Richard Berry will be forever remembered as the writer of "Louie Louie". I think my favorite of his is "Next Time", a funny talking song where the protagonist gets in all kinds of scrapes and flees each one, saying "next time....", like the landlord wanting the rent, or the man with a warrant for child support. Verses start with things like "well, after the commotion had settled down..." It's a great tune but I can't find it on youtube. Instead I'm including Berry's own version of "Louie Louie". Also great!
Duane Eddy was my first guitar hero. His biggest hit was "Rebel Rouser". I think every guitarist of my generation must have learned how to play that one. It's so simple yet so cool. What kept his records fresh was how one verse would be Eddy and the next, the saxaphone of Steve Douglas. On this tune it's Douglas who really stars in this wild record. It's slow yet almost out of control, thank to Douglas' sax.
Dave Bartholomew is from New Orleans and is famous mostly as a songwriter and producer. Now 89, his big successes came in the '50s. He wrote "I Hear You Knocking", co-wrote lots of Fats Domino songs like "Ain't that a Shame" and "Blue Monday". He produced "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", recorded by Lloyd Price. This next one is Bartholomew as a recording artist, a piece of philosophy that we all can relate to.
Some parents shuddered at Elvis, disliked Jerry Lee, but most of them were terrified of Gene Vincent, who looked the part of the juvenile delinquent. He was only 36 when he died but he'd been beaten up a lot by life. A motorcycle accident busted up his leg, then a car crash in England, the one that killed Eddie Cochran, broke his ribs and collarbone. He was in constant pain after that and took to carrying a gun that he liked to point at people. Here's one that's entertaining. Would you want these guys over for dinner?
I'd first heard Ric Cartey on a rockabilly compilation, doing great songs like "Born to Love One Woman" and "Oo-eee". What a great idea to have three "e"s in the title! When he recently died and I read his obit I was surprised to learn that he'd written "Young Love", the great Sonny James hit which also did well for Tab Hunter. I like the idea that I was a fan of his without knowing that, though. Here's one of his howling hillbilly hits.
"For dessert there was batwing confetti and the veins of a mummy named Betty. I first frowned upon it, but with ketchup on it, it tasted very much like spaghetti". There's another version of this, a little tamer and not as funny. Sometimes I wonder what it is in society that makes a song like this necessary! John Zacherle is from Philadelphia and still going, at the age of 91.
The '50s came to a close with that plane crash thing, with Elvis going into the Army and coming out as a freak, with Little Richard retiring. There was still room for cool stuff in the next few years but there was an awful lot of Bobby this and Bobby that. Next week we'll go looking for the gems from the early '60s.
