The Ragin' Storms - Knock Out / Mule Rock

Both sides of this 1961 instrumental are pretty good saxophone rock & roll wailers. Unfortunately I can't find out much about it. Both songs are attributed to Tommy O'Keefe, don't know what else he might have done, and as far as I can tell this is the only thing they put out. Knock Out is the Knock Out here, Mule Rock is a bit slower but still a pretty decent tune.

Knock Out

Mule Rock

The Pop-Ups - Lurking/Candy Rock

HBR is a hilariously decent label, considering it stands for "Hanna-Barbera Records". Even the cartoon cash-ins (Flintstones records etc) were extremely competent rock & roll records. WFMU's blog has a cool post about it and Spectropop has a page that includes this single, though not listenable.

This here Pop-Ups record is a double instrumental, the better of the two (I think) being the slinking shaker "Lurking", which has a Revels-ish boogie to it, including an organ solo and some honkin' sax


"Candy Rock" sounds a little more like the Routers with marching band instrumentation over a Bo Diddley beat. Fun but probably not going to make you hit eBay.


and a link to the other HBR record I posted, one of my absolute favorites

Rickey and the Rockets - Wrong End / Every Minute of the Day

I love when I buy a 45 for a side that explicitly is not the side they want you to hear. So mad am I in my lust for instrumentals that I didn't get around to listening to the A-Side until I ripped it just now.

My mediocre detective work points to this likely being a Louisiana group, perhaps even Lafayette. I base this theory on other people on the Jador label, the dealer I bought it from being from Lafayette, and the possibility that this is just a confused release from Randy and the Rockets. I have a Randy 45 here and I don't see any similar names, but I can't find squat on Ricky.

Anyway, Wrong End, LABELLED Harmonica Instrumental, which I personally think is an underrated and surprisingly common form of instrumental, is a fun stompin' tune. Listen for the hidden piano back there, makes it even more fun!


The other side is a swamp pop ballad with cheesy effects on it that make me question when this was made. After all, Swamp Pop hasn't really changed much over the years, and I think a lot of swamp pop musicians would be happy to say that.

The Satellites - Bodacious / El San Juan (1967)

Bodacious screams Joe Meek and all the spacey connotations that come with that, but oddly enough if you take a look at that cover you'll see that it's produced by Bobby Vinton of all people. Apparently one of the members was friends with Bobby. In any case, a killer instrumental, one of the best I've posted on here

El San Juan is a sleepy latin-tinged surf dreamer, great in it's own right but way less Joe Meek.

Mody-Vation - Brother Monkey / Friends

So one of my favorite 45s I've picked up recently was Mody-Vation's "Ghetto Kung-Fu" on Phil LA of Soul, a sort of dreamy, idiotic rip-off of Kung-Fu Fighting. I wanted more, and I found that there was ONE more Mody-Vation recording out there. Way out there in Germany on the Hansa label. Well, with a cover this stupid, I had to spring.

I don't know if I can say whether they quite match Ghetto Kung-Fu musically but they're fun enough. Friends might actually be my favorite of the two, reminding me of that Ween EP that came out in 2007 or so.

Brother Monkey.

and Friends

The Continentals - Pussy Cat

This has gotta be the best thing I've pulled in a long time. Greasy instrumentals from Lafayette, Louisiana, covered in loud fake cat meows. As evidenced by the Crazy Cajun music (and this site here), this was a Huey Meaux joint, and from a little more internet digging it seems they're entirely separate from the Fabulous Continentals found on the Las Vegas Grind compilations, despite fitting right in.

Pussy Cat Part 1:

And Part 2:

Alvin Cash - Cash is Back on Track \ Something on Your Mind

I think I've documented my love for Alvin Cash pretty well, but oh my.

I think we've all heard terrible tracks with rock & roll stars from another era coming back and trying to rap like all the kids have been doing. But rarely do you get a CALL-OUT track. Let me list the horrors:

• It's one huge, terrible bass solo
• a very dissonant bass solo
• He claims that he's been rapping "before rappin' was here"
• He doesn't really rap any more than he ever did(n't) but now puts extra emphasis on his couplet rhymes
• He specifically calls out certain rappers like Run DMC and Kool Moe Dee
• He blatantly claims that he's doing it for money
• He whips out "motherfucker" at the end, which just felt un-called for
• Not a single "ooooh-whee", "Have mercy!" or anything!

I'm sure you can add your own. Here have a listen and think to yourself "Nooooo Alvin, don't do this!"

Alvin Cash - Cash is Back on Track

The flipside isn't miserable, it's just one of the million covers of Big Jay McNeely's "There is Something on your mind" with Shirley King jumping on to chew him out.

Judging by the other Triple T Alvin Cash single "I'm betting" which I haven't heard, this is around 1988. There's not an ounce of the danceable Alvin we know and love. Interestingly, when I look at the Something On Your Mind at just the right light, there's a tiny scratch on the wax that says "To Sweet Johnny Cash" in cursive. I couldn't get it in the picture

The Uniques - Lady's Man / Bolivar J

The Uniques are a pretty fun Louisiana rock & roll/garagey group, though the more research I do the less they seem like a Louisiana band. Usually the Shreveport Paula label = Louisiana, but it seems the Uniques were formed in Arkansas, according to this website I somehow had never seen before. Interesting, considering that this was produced by Dale Hawkins, often considered a Louisiana artist despite spending the greater part of his life in Arkansas. Whatever I'll take it, I like these guys, I like their more popular single with the cover of All These Things, I like their LP Uniquely Yours though mine has a big chunk taken out of the first track. Maybe otherwise I'd upload it for y'all, until then I'll keep an eye out.

Anyway, these are both pretty upbeat, not quite KILLER but fun. Lady's Man here might be a cover? I haven't been able to find the details, I'm probably missing something obvious


I like Bolivar J a little more with its big stompin' and prominent organ. This one was definitely written by the band



blog note: sorry it's an eternity between posts, the Youtube crowd is just really on top of their game, everything's been gotten to already!

Doc Jazroc - Fish & Chips \ Moody Girl

Here's a weird one. Fish & Chips is a pretty simple rock & roll instrumental with upbeat females chanting "chips", one squealing "feeeeEEESH" and a guy doing the heavy vocal work by combining those two words. A sweet guitar solo at some point but overall it's a testament to how they'll put ANYTHING on a record.


Moody Girl, however, is a ballad about a moody girl. Does that sound like something you want to hear? Because I'm not going to change your mind either way


That's it. It's not that I'm feeling lazy, but that's about all I can find on this thing

Jesse Ferguson and the Outer Limits - St. Louis Blues / Water on a Drowning Man

After a long silence I come back with a scratched-to-hell 45 that I know absolutely zero about? Yes, yes I do

St. Louis blues


(You Threw) Water on a Drowning Man


That is all!

Triple Shirley

You totally know Shirley. The records themselves give away part of it: This is Shirley and Goodman of Shirley & Lee. Famously for "Let the Good Times Roll". WHATEVER DUDE, I really don't care about that one, it's all about

I FEEL GOOD

That New Orleans Cosimo stomp and blaring brass mix with the slightly off, thickly accented vocals into a frenzied, swirling, BEST DAMN DUET LOVE SONG EVER. They don't come out and say it, but both Shirley and Lee's goofball voices sing the ultimate love song message: That it's not about who you are or how you're loving, it's who you love and that you love 'em in a way that works for you. UNH! I'm not asking for agreement! I am demanding submission to the truth! In fact, I'm still slightly heartbroken that these songs aren't with Lee. Wasn't that TRUE LOVE in that song? IS LOVE EVEN REAL?

Oh yeah and in the disco era she also did Shame, Shame, Shame with Shirley and Company, featuring a crudely drawn Shirley with Richard Nixon on the cover. I love New Orleans.

So here we have three Shirley singles from in-between those periods. These WHIZ records cuts are late 60s or so, and slightly funkier than her Shirley and Lee Days and all produced by Hooven-Winn and sometimes Rogers. The difference is definitely noticeable, none of these have that J&M shuffle, but they're all good songs.

The earliest of these is Shirley and Alfred's "Kid Games and Nursery Rhymes", Alfred actually being Brenton Wood of Double Shot Records' Boogaloosa Louisiana song. While I like Brenton, I cannot accept him as a a replacement for her obvious true love, Lee.

and on the flipside Too Much, Too Soon


After that, you've got my favorite of the bunch, "They Put the Last Clean Shirt On Leroy Jones Today". I love that they add the Today to the end of an already excessively long title. This song appears to be Shirley posthumously defending the honor of a murder-accused Leroy Jones on the grounds that he was a good lover. My qualms with her love life aside, this really showcases Shirley's goofy style. Who is Leroy Jones? Well it's not Lee, he's a Leonard and wasn't dead by the time they made this record, nor is the New Orleans trumpeter. I don't know.

"You Care For Me" isn't nearly as absurd but a great song in it's own right


I guess "Sugar Sugar" here is the A-Side because there are TWO STARS on the label. It's a funkier version of the ol' oldies classic by the Archies. Naturally, most songs are improved by Shirley's Woman-sounding-like-a-man-imitating-a-woman voice.

And we'll finish weak with "Gonna Waltz Right Out of Your Life (1-2-3)" which is a cute song that lacks a memorable hook.


This doesn't represent the entirety of Shirley's work outside Shirley & Lee and Shirley & Company, it's not even everything on Whiz. It's what I got.

And since I can't think of where else to say it, Shirley's dead. As of 2005. I don't feel qualified to give her an obituary, especially 6 years late, but it's pretty nice that "She'll be missed" doesn't sound right. We got REKKORDZ!

M. E. Rushing and his Dynatone Piano - Let Me See Me

I believe there's great virtue to enjoying the terrible things in life, and I would count M.E. Rushing's Let Me See Me among them. Despite the dinky Randy Newman sung underwater sound, it's just musical enough and dinky enough to be kind of fun, and definitely funny. Which is more than I could say about Hammond, Louisiana on the whole. Though for some reason I think Ernie Johnson of Ronn Records' "Mouth to Mouth Resuscitation" is from there. Maybe I'm wrong.

Whatever, here you go. Just the A-Side, the B-Side is just pure boring religious country that I really get into.

The Routers - Superbird / Sack of Woe

Yes, it's those Routers. Or at least it is meant to be in direct lineage of those Routers. The ones that gave us Clap Clap Clapclapclap Clapclapclapclap Let's Go 10 years prior to this 1973 release. I believe both of these are from their Superbird LP, which was sort of like that one Lively Ones album where they come out of nowhere making funk music that sounds nothing like their old stuff. I don't really know that, I've never listened to it.

I also have no idea whether this featured Tommy Tedesco, Hal Blaine or any Wrecking Crew members. I do know that it's produced by Joe Saraceno and Superbird is written by Larry Duncan, like the old Routers, which is why I don't think this is a separate group. But it is a complete break to a very funk sound.

Superbird is the better of the two. Does this surprise you? They named their album after it!


Sack of Woe is a Cannonball Adderly cover, right? Well here it is, slow and funky

Double Alvin Cash 45s

My love of Alvin Cash is already documented and while these may have slight deviations from what's seen there, each 45 has all of the requirements for an Alvin classic

*High on danceability
*Moronic lyrical content
*Showcasing a stupid dance
*Alvin sounds like a happy dude!
*"Oooh-Wee!"
*"Awwww but you're lookin' good baby!"
*"Awwwwwww have mercy!"

and of course, the Twine still gets nods.

The earlier 45 (1965): the Penguin (Tuxedo Bird)/Un-Wind the Twine is especially close to the content of the twine time LP. Sometimes I think he just goes to the zoo and comes back with all sorts of inspiration

Alvin Cash - The Penguin (Tuxedo Bird)


Unwind the Twine is of course his umpteenth reference to his favorite dance. What rules about this track is that it seems to have a neat little marimba in the background!

Alvin Cash - Unwind the Twine




1967's Doin' the Ali Shuffle / Feel So Good is two years later but does show a little bit of a change. Ali Shuffle (MUCH different from his 1976 Dakar records release) is the more familiar of the two. Still a goofy (but killer) dance, with some of his goofiest lyrics like "I want you to float like a butterfly, baby, and I want you to sting like a bee" duhhhhh



The B-Side instrumental "Feel So Good" honestly doesn't feel so good with me. I like a lot of his earlier instrumentals but this is a little too smooth saxxy. Though I think it demonstrates a pretty good bridge to his later career (he is, after all, now with the Registers when he used to be with the Crawlers, a comment on his age)


It's worth noting that both of these were different producers than his Twine Time days (which means no more Andre Williams). Penguin and Un-Wind the Twine have Hayes, Burrage and J. Jones despite being released around the same time as songs like BARRACUDA. Ali Shuffle and Feel So Good are both produced by Eddie Silvers. I don't know much about either of these guys and I'm so close to hitting "publish post" that I think I might take care of that later.

By the way, here's a pretty good resource of Alvin

George & Lee - Nobody But You \ You Were Made For Me

George & Lee refer to George Davis & Lee Diamond of New Orleans. I've got a 45 of Lee or two, but really why bother? My knowledge on this one is a tiny subset of that imparted on Home of the Groove

These are mid-tempo R&B groovers. Neither of them particularly striking to me, but it's not particularly easy to obtain... not that I remember how I obtained it.

Nobody But You

You Were Made For Me

Frankie Freeman - Born To Raise Hell \ This Old Shack

When I showed this to my friend Ben he asked "have you listened to it? It looks too good to be true". I know what he means, and I think back to 45s I bought on a gut like "Hell Yes I Cheated" by the Virginia Dare Gang on Dare Records (maybe I'm mixing two records up in my head). That sounds bad-ass! But it ended up being mopey over-twangy country

Well, it's not as 100% funky as hoped, but it's about 80% there. Totally intending to be funky with all the attitude you'd expect from a label called Ghetto, it's just not guaranteed to set the dance floor on fire. But I don't want to undersell it either: it very well could

I don't know anything about any part of this 45 and searches for "Ghetto Records" really don't help. As always, info appreciated

Born To Raise Hell

This Old Shack

Pete Kogos & The Counts

For somebody so in love with his city I realize I don't post much New Orleans R&B. Well, that's because other people have taken care of that for me pretty thoroughly. However, I haven't seen this one around, and can't tell you much about it either, other than that the A-Side is far and away the less exciting side. 

Love Me Again

Love You Like I Do

Two 45s by The Gallants

Everything I know about this instrumental group is right there on the 45: On a major label, produced by the monster David Axelrod and arranged by HB Barnum. What I mean is we've got H.O.T.S.H.O.T.S. on these, and you can hear them on it too.

The Man From UNCLE (written by Jerry Goldsmith)

The Vagabond (written by HB Barnum)

Von Ryan March (written by Jerry Goldsmith)

The Searcher (written by David Axelrod)

SAINTS WIN \ I'VE GOT A PONY

Spent last night celebrating "Lombardi Gras". Last night was nothing short of an identity change for New Orleans and I will never give that many high-fives again in my life. To New Orleans and everybody that makes it great, I love you and I hope I never have to leave.

Brandonio, this one's for you. I know you love Colts so here's one of my favorite 45s (pun not intended but pretty cool). Brought to you by the Hillbilly Bears on Hannah Barbera Records

I've Got a Pony

Believe it or not, I think a lot of us think it's time to take our "Who Dat" chants and put it on its shelf so we can dust it off for next season. Don't want to break it now, we're going to need it then. So one more good one for the internet

WHO DAT

Chaucer Records Single... WHO DAT

Here's a new low for information about a record I upload: I don't even know the band's name. The performers are listed on that 45 there and they either went to or have some affiliation with John Curtis High School in 1978. So I'll give you these nice psychedelic/piano oriented rock songs and BE ON MY WAY TO VOTE AND SHOUT WHO DAT ALL DAY LONG

Paradise

I've Waited So Long

WHO DAT?

WHO DAT?

WHO DAT SAY THEY GONNA BEAT THEM SAINTS?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA