Diggin' It!!!

Next Up...

2012-01-22T07:19:00.001-08:00

... best finds, splurges, and trades in the 7" format from 2011.

Little Vagabond

2011-12-28T21:02:00.000-08:00

RENE & RENE - Little Vagabond (Jox 041 )

Rene & Rene have a long history in Texas music, even a brush with national fame or two. But for all I've heard little has really given me reason to listen more. The only reason I even grabbed this particular disc was because it was on Jox and I still debated paying the $2 on it. The duo turns in an OUTSTANDING number sounding like a Rio Grande Valley version of the 4 Seasons. Good stuff with great guitar and organ. From '65?

Cool Carols...

2011-12-23T20:15:00.000-08:00

THE VANGUARD SINGERS w/ selections from Hymns Hot and Carols Cool on Proclamation Productions

Gospel records litter every thrift and flea market from one side of this country to the other. Most of those records have very little musical value. There is a small and minute portion which contain one or two tracks of some interest. Quite rare are the out and out amazing Christian records. Also rare are Xian records that focus on original material.

Though Hymns Hot and Carols Cool is far from amazing, it does boast a few tracks that might be considered to be at least marginally interesting and all of the music is original, written just for the teen chorus heard on the record.

The Christmas Bells

2011-12-22T08:11:00.000-08:00

Christmas is just about here....

MARY WHITE - Christmas Bells (Cowtown Records 804)

Oddball record on this mainly country northeast Texas label. From December of 19 and 60.

Somebody's Always Trying

2011-12-18T15:13:00.001-08:00

TED TAYLOR - Somebody's Always Trying (Okeh 7198)

Okie dokie Okeh soul shuffler... scooped for a couple o' bucks back during travels over Thanksgiving holiday.

Ba Doo Beedoobie a Doo Bup... Love Me

2011-11-30T19:20:00.000-08:00

SAMMY PAGNA QUARTET - Where the Angels Swing (Galena 108)

Swingin' supper club sounds outta Oklahoma. Don't know why... but I'm a bit surprised by that.

I'm Just Lookin' For Some Tush...

2011-11-05T06:04:00.000-07:00

THE ABBEY OF SOUTH TEXAS - Tush (from The Abbey of South Texas Echo 1001)

Dude... it's "Tush".

Jess' One Mo' Time

2011-10-29T06:37:00.000-07:00

"MADMAN" JONES - Jess' One Mo' Time (Cameo 146)

A scratchy summer find...

Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens ca. 1964

2011-10-11T15:53:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe it's been well over a month since I last posted anything here...

LOUIS JORDAN- Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens (Tangerine Record Company)

Here's a little something I grabbed from an estate sale at summer's end... incredible bunch of records got blown out that included Hoyle Nix's "Real Rockin' Daddy" on Queen (loooooooong time West Texas related want), one Elvis 78 on Sun and 2 Elvis Sun 45s, 3 copies of Warren Smith's "I've Got Love If You Want It" and loads more. Aside from a copy of the Warren Smith 45 I missed out on the others. But I did still manage to grab a few cool 45s including this Louis Jordan remake from 1964. "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" is one of Louis's greatest numbers and he doesn't really do much new with the song here. Just a sold version of a solid number.

Don't make up for missing out on a $2 copy of "Real Rockin' Daddy", though. Aaargh!!!!

Summer Daze, Bob Pults

2011-08-31T20:05:00.000-07:00

BOB PULTS - Summer Daze (Magic Rat Records 1180)

Another summer has come to a close. It was a nice enough vacation from the classroom with plenty of good records coming my way, lots of time just being really lazy, and a nice week of vacation in San Antone and Port Aransas down on the Gulf. It even rained two whole times.

Though I've already been back to work for almost a full month, I still feel like I'm laying in the hammock doing absolutely nothing. And "Summer Daze" by Bob Pults feels like doing nothing. Bob was one half of Patterson & Pults, a cross-country folk duo that released the incredible Grand Tetons lp in the 70s and followed it up with Second Time Around in the 80s. Kevin and Bob have gotten a bit of attention over the past few years with mentions in the Acid Archives and a recent reissue on South Korea’s Riverman label. I’ve got a piece in the works on the two that I’ll post up when fall rolls around- ideal weather for the sounds of Kevin Patterson & Bob Pults.

Think of this as a preview.

First couple of folks to shoot me an email will get a free copy of the 5-song e.p. heard/seen here.

I Go For You

2011-08-27T06:27:00.000-07:00

THE TRAVELERS - I Go For You (Andex 4033)

Recently hit a small stack of 45s from the Keene/Andex/Ensign family of labels. Seemed a bit weird of a find for West Texas. Anywhoody, among the 45s was this a nice little R&B chanter outta Cali with Lou Rawls.

A couple of copies of the Raiders on Andex were also in the pile and as there is a West Texas connection with that combo you can check them cats out HERE at LoneStarStomp.

Dakota Sings the Praises of Massachusetts

2011-08-16T22:54:00.000-07:00

DAKOTA STATON - Massachusetts (United Artists 611)

A swift little R&B shouter from an artist I usually think of as a bit more laid back. Not too shabby.

I Am... The Lady Killer

2011-07-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

LLOYD CHARMERS - Dollars And Bond (Straker's Records 76)

Another summer vacation is about to come to a close. Been a good couple of months for finding records. Knocked off a few wants. Found a few surprises.

I found Lloyd Charmers early on in June while visiting family in Central Texas. "Dollars and Bond" wound up being just about my favorite song of the entire summer. Constantly in my head. And what's not to like? Absolutely a great record.

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Check my West Texas blog LoneStarStomp for another summer surprise... "Burn Witch Burn" by the Circus. There's a complete rundown on this '67 punker that's long been a mystery to garage collectors.

Too Good To Be True

2011-07-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

THE TRAITS- Too Good To Be True (Pacemaker 254)

The Traits have a long history in Texas music. From greasy rock n' roll, to the smash that was "Treat Her Right", to borderline garage sounds, and straight up soul as heard here on this Pacemaker 45 from '67.

From the same pile of records I've blogged the past couple of months.

Don't Break Up My Love... Again

2011-07-07T20:24:00.000-07:00

LENNY ROYBAL - Don't (Canterbury C-509)

Okay soul sounding record from early '67. Didn't care much for it at first, but the backup vocals worked their way into the old noggin'. From same spot as last month's posts...

Powered By Love

2011-06-18T06:24:00.001-07:00

POWERED BY LOVED - Powered By Love (Dome 505)

Wowsville...

Another 45 from last month's sale around the corner (see my other June posts for more), this one being some pretty fierce 'acid' punk from Cali.

Try A Little Togetherness

2011-06-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

THE YOUNGHEARTS - Little Togetherness (Canterbury 506)

I only knew of that Yellow Balloon thingy on Canterbury prior to picking up this 45 last month at an estate sale just around the corner (see two previous Diggin' It!!! posts on Johnny Cooper and Hollie Hellems). Okay piece of soul here.

Sorry for the fuzzy sound... my cartridge had somehow worked it's way out of alignment.

West Coast Wall of Sound

2011-06-05T15:01:00.001-07:00

JOHNNY COOPER - Must You Be So Good (Challenge 59356)

There's a few Johnny Cooper's in the world of rockin' and a' rollin' so I'm not quite sure which this one may be. Both sides of this Challenge release are in the same mold... HUGE wall of sound and yet there's a beach-y kinda vibe to it as well. There's a tension throughout as the song builds to a big chorus. Makes me think of a few of the farfisa-led combos of the 80s/90s like the Original Sins or the Vacant Lot. I'm diggin' it.

Grabbed from the same spot as the previously posted Hollie Hollems disc on Major.

Don't Blame It On the Rain

2011-06-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

HOLLIE HELLEMS AND THE RHYTHM KINGS - Don't Blame It On The Rain (Major 1015)

Estate sales have been none to kind to me as of late, but a stack of radio promos from a house around the corner earlier this month were more than welcome.

I grabbed Hollie Hellums expecting a country oddball at the very least and almost filed the disc on the country shelf without even listening. A needle drop revealed a neato downer country boy garage number that's become a favorite as of late.

The One Way Street of Pharr, Texas

2011-04-22T22:25:00.000-07:00

THE ONE WAY STREET - I Know, I Love b/w With Love Untrue (Deeek 101) Never End b/w Illusions (Deeek 102), Joy And Sorrow b/w Falsely Represented Society (Deeek 103)

The One Way Street came from the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas in the mid-60s, a heady place to be what with groups like the Kavaliers, the Souls, the Foamy Brine, and the Headstones running around the locale.

Though best known for the INCREDIBLE "Joy And Sorrow" from their last 45, every song the group released was good if not great. I'm as big of a fan of their moody, slow numbers as I am their punkers. Perhaps more so. As such here's everything they ever released from the three 45s... "Joy And Sorrow" is probably one of the few singles deserving of the oft mis-used Acid Punk tag.

2011-04-13T21:56:00.000-07:00

AVON & THE RAVE-ONS - Honey Honey Honey (Towne House No. 6)

Nice rocker from up near the Big D. That drummer loves his drum fills!

Proof of Your Love

2011-03-30T22:42:00.000-07:00

JACKIE CANNON - Proof of Your Love (Chan 103)

The Chess reissue of this Midwest rocker only managed a two star rating from Billboard in November of '61. Maybe it was just a bit too much... who knows... can a record be, uh, 'sexy'?

Assume this be Cannon's one and only release, not counting the aforementioned Chess reissue.

I Believe You Don't Love Me No More

2011-03-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

THE HIGH SPIRITS - I Believe (Soma 1446)

Swift, laid back number that smolders just a bit without ever really catching on fire. And that's okay.
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Got an interesting and unknown little garage stomper up at my West Texas blog LoneStarStomp. Please do check it out HERE. And there's a bit of a Johnny Cash cop up at my country blog Country. & Western and you can check that one HERE.

Try And Catch the Wind

2011-03-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

OGGY & I - Try To Catch the Wind (Garu 116)

Nice folky rockin' piece from one of Manny Guerro's many San Antonio-based labels.

Evil Hearted You

2011-03-13T22:39:00.000-07:00

THE HUMAN BEINGZ - Evil Hearted You (Elysian no#)
Yardbirds remake by the same group that later re-did "Nobody But You" for Capitol which became a huge hit and the version most people today are familiar with.

So(ul) Tired

2011-03-05T09:24:00.000-08:00

THE HEADLINERS - I'm So Tired (A&M 1011)

Sweet soul...

Enchilada

2011-02-23T21:52:00.000-08:00

THE SCAMPS - Enchilada (Scout 436)

Nothing to change the world. Nothing groundbreaking. But - in title at least- it's about enchiladas. And I love me some stacked red chile enchiladas with a nice ol' fried egg on top. Good stuff.

Roll, Roll, Roll Down The River Rock

2011-02-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

"FROGGY" LANDERS & THE COUGH DROPS - River Rock Parts I & II (Ensign 34014)

Not pretty, but an oddball record that I digs just a bit. And the flute works. Same cat that cut "Cherokee Dance" on Specialty evidently.

Loving Phil Barclay & the Sliders

2011-02-04T21:11:00.000-08:00

PHIL BARCLAY & THE SLIDERS- Loving Baby (Doke )

Any fan of 50s rockabilly should be familiar with Phil Barclay's killer dillers "Short Fat Ben", "Young Long John", and "I Love 'Em All". There's a fourth okie dokie cut from Phil, but unless you've got an obscuro teener comp from Dee Jay Jamboree or the original Doke 45 you've probably not heard his greasy stroller "Loving Baby". Certainly not as hyper-iphic as his first two releases, but a-ok anyhowdy.

Come On Little Sarah

2011-01-29T06:47:00.000-08:00

LESLIE HARRIS - Come On Little Sarah b/w Hung My Head And Cried (Shad 5006)

Amazingly good rocker from 1959 that I've had sitting on the shelves for a spell now. Leslie Harris had a great voice and both sides of this single feature a crack band including the fabulous Mickey Baker on guitar. Billboard magazine gave both sides three stars... well deserved.

"Come On Little Sarah" can be had in fabulous groove wear-free sound on a Shad round-up from Ace Records which features a handful of other amazing tracks like Eddie Quinteros's delish "Slow Down Sandy".

I've got another Mickey Baker side up - "Let's Have a Picnic" with Sylvia on ViK- which can be dug HERE. Sure... it's about a picnic, but if you hang out long enough for that guitar break that comes in just after the one minute mark and lasts for 30 seconds you'll be pleased muchly. Great!!!!!

I Said Whoah Whoah Whoah Whoah Whoooah

2011-01-24T20:08:00.000-08:00

THE KINKS - I Took My Baby Home (Cameo 345)

Not too often that you see the Kinks on Cameo turn up in West Texas, but here ya' go. Great, great snotty, snotty track. Never really figured on squaring away a copy, but dumped a short stack of red vinyl RCA blues discs I had little interest in in trade. I'll probably play this more than the Big Boy Crudup.

Same set o' trades also netted THIS gem over at my Country. & Western blawg thang.

The Inside Story: A Virtual Jukebox of the Best 45 Finds of 2010

2011-01-16T22:43:00.000-08:00

Three things...

1) The Pennsylvania Score: A local dealer brought in a 70,000+ piece 45 accumulation from Pennsylvania. Even after a cull by the original accumulator and further culling by the local 'importer' I was still able to add some pretty cool pieces, including my mostest favoritest find of the year. It was also nice to just be able to spend the time digging through all of those 45s.

2) Less time "digging": I didn't spend quite as much time digging around for records this year, instead spending more money on better records via dealers and, yes, ebay. As my focus narrows on regional collecting it's just easier to find records that way. Still enjoy the hunt though.

3) Local surprises: Finding out about "new local" records was a constant. Some, like Foxx on Decca and Abilene doo wop combo the Pages have been added already. My plan for 2011 is to chase down the others. Looks to be very much an R&B year in that regard.

Anyhow... some of my favorite 45s from twenty-ten.
If you were to go through my actual finds of 2010 you will find cooler, hepper, wilder, and rarer records. Why I chose a Neal Hefti soundtrack b-side over "The Boo Boo Song" by King Coleman would be indefensible on my part. And David Crosby over the Nobles ripping instros on Selbon... I can think of a few collectors that might would wanta crack a 1/2 dozen 78s over my head for that kinda oversight.

The Pennsylvania haul was pretty cool. Grabbing stuff at 50 cents a throw at the flea market- and by stuff I mean Lynne Randell, Sonny Terry, Wanda Jackson, Chubby & the Turnpikes, 40 Fingers, Crystl Dawn - was cool. I probably went back 5 or 6 weekends in a row trying to take it all in.

One of the more interesting 45s in that haul was a 1974 release on Baldwin Sound label out of Pa. "Crystl Dawn" by Crystl Dawn turned out to be a relatively unknown late psych number. The single never saw wide release as almost the entire run was warped and never sold according the group leader. The piano is heard only because it was in the studio... the heavy fuzz that dominates the last 1/4 of the song is more like it.

"I Know The Inside Story" by Chubby & the Turnpikes was easily my favorite find of the year. Great record, great memories. More about it HERE.

As for Wanda Jackson. "Funnel of Love"... there were like a dozen copies of this sitting in the flea market racks so I grabbed the nicest one knowing it would be an upgrade to the copy I already owned. What a track. WHAT A TRACK!

Sonny Fisher and Glenn Barber were part of the Pennsylvania haul, but got culled before heading to the flea market. Sonny's "Pink & Black" may not sound so great here, but has easily gotta be one of the top 10 rockabilly records ever released. The bull fiddle accented by snare snaps and cymbal taps. The guitar. Hep vocals. Hep lyrics. Rarely did it get any better. And the Glenn Barber... it may not be "Shadow My Baby", "Ice Cold Water", or even "Feeling No Pain" but "Livin' High And Wide" is one great slice of southeast Texas hillbilly. Starday singles from Hoyt Scoggins, Frank Evans, Biff Collie, Jack Neuman, and a few Dixie cover eps were added from this same source as well.

And on the subject of rockabilly... Al Urban's "Gonna Be Better Times" (backed with the GREAT "Won't Tell You Her Name") and Link Wray's nutso "I Sez Baby" were both netted in a round of trading with Little Danny of Officenaps on a cool Saturday afternoon in December. (Make sure and check out Danny's EXCELLENT Exotica Project site while you're at it. Sooooo good.) I've long had a thing for Al Urban... his handful of records for the Luling, Tx label Sarg are great with this being his best. HOT rockin' country with the unbeatable Hal Harris on guitar. And speaking of guitar... dig deep on Link's primitive "I Sez Baby". Long before lung problems and the power chord Link was singin' hillbilly in D.C. and its burbs. Great guitar on this one.

Speaking of trades... a little wheeling and dealing on New Years Eve with our piano tuner netted a handful of cool records. Best of the bunch had to be the instrumental that kicked off this whole she-bang, the incredible "Thunder" by Bob Taylor & the Counts on Yucca. I also grabbed a clean looking copy of the Everly take on the classic "Temptation." The Brothers' version of this number is sooooo good. PS wasn't necessary, but was a cool bonus.

I didn't add a clip for every great record I found... it would have been a bit heavy on west Texas 45s had I done so. I cut out discs by the Sparkles, Beach Nuts (most $$ I spent this year), the Tune Masters, Johnny & the Blue Diamonds, and Deuces Wild among others. As it is there're still a handful of West Texas discs here. The ripping "I'm Gone" by the Continentals (hopefully won't break this one; and thanks to David) is great and I hope to have a full story on these Abilene boys up over at LoneStarStomp by year's end. It might sound a bit like a certain something by the Animals, but "I'm Gone" is still pretty ripping... especially for 1965 and Abilene, Tx. The Clue - a long time want - was a pleasant surprise when it showed up in the mail. This record pops up now and again and copies seem to be coming out again. There'll be a story on this local crew up at LoneStarStomp within the next few months as well. I won't be writing, but will more than happy to host. Great record and as it happens my father-in-law actually knows the lead singer. Weirdsville. Whereas the Clue and Continentals were 'gratis' I did pay a bit for the Teddy Neely Four when it showed up on eBay. My max was up there a bit, so I was thrilled to pieces when the auction closed faaaaaar below my maximum bid. Both sides are very derivative of the Invasion sound, but "Comin' Home" wound up being one of my favorite songs from the second half of 2010.

One other big West Texas want that came my way this year... The Perils on Velva. People are probably familiar with their moody "Hate", but the flipside "Baby, Do You Love Me?" is a fratty thumper with a latin feel that gets overlooked. Great single. Especially "Hate".

Last year I hit heavy at a junk shop that produced amazing records like the One Way Street on Deeek, Groovey Joe Poovey on Dixie, Commonwealth Jones, House of David, Steve Mancha, the Cynics on Bear, and so much more. A return this year was rushed, wet, and less productive. I did a good job the first time through and this second time only revealed a few new gems. "Take A Look At Me" by Mr. Lucky and the Gamblers was a surprise pull from the shelves. "Take A Look" is a crunchy punker in ala "Doo Wah Diddy" while the flip is a fine blue-eyed soul number that is by far my favorite of the two sides. But by including "Take A Look" I stand to gain dozens of internet friends and that's what really counts. Another cool record to come from that quick dig was the folky "Like Me" by east Texas combo The Revolvers. Nice single and by far their best on Ty-Tex.

Two of my favorite 45s of the year were both released in 1972 by Odyssey and the Intruders. The Odyssey disc appeared in a batch of early 70s promo at Goodwill of all places. I hadn't heard it before, but gotta say it bowled me over. "Our Lives..." has a beautifully, mellow sound. It's just a bit funky. A bit folky. A lot laid back. And so good. Only record I sold this year that I actually regret selling. And the only good record I've seen in a local Goodwill in years. The Intruders of El Paso is completely the opposite.... "Where'd You Go and Who'd You See" is big muscular rock with a touch of the Bobby Fuller sound. I love this record and plan to have a story on Rod Crosby and the Intruders up in the next month or so at LoneStarStomp.
And to close... Crosby's If I Could Only Remember My Name is a great album. Bunch of great songs on that lp, including "Traction In the Rain". And though the condition of this 45 ain't up to snuff with the gentle sounds of "Traction" it was a single I grabbed from the flea market one day just because. What a song...

I didn't cover everything here (The Shingdogs, Gary Goodgion, Art Wheeler & the Rhythm Heirs, Love Society, Dana Valery) but what the hay... I had a good year with records.

Hope ya'll had a good 2010 and good luck Diggin' 2011.

Happy Funky New Year

2011-01-02T17:41:00.000-08:00

THE DAPPS FEATURING ALFRED ELLIS - The Rabbit Got the Gun / There Was a Time (King 6169)

Kicking off this new year with a record I grabbed in a trade in the final hours of 2010. Not my normal thing but I grabbed a few other James Brown related "jams" (as the kids say) this year so what the hay... two cool funk sides from King. Good stuff.

I'll be back in a week or two with my sorta annual 'finds of the year' post.

Be watching my West Texas blog LoneStarStomp for instroMENTAL coolness from El Paso's Counts. And I'll have an instro from Leon McCauliffe up at Country. & Western as well.

Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey

2010-12-12T00:30:00.000-08:00

THE LEGENDS - Alright (Parrot )

Not 100% sure on the pedigree of this number. It was also done by the Coastliners for Backbeat. I could swear up and down that when I started getting into collecting the "unknown" 10+ years back I heard an even wilder version by some group from up in the Wisconsin area or somesuch.

Check the Coastliners version over at the busy I Am the Noize Inside Your Head blawg.

Freddie Paris

2010-12-07T22:36:00.000-08:00

FREDDIE PARIS - It's Okay To Cry, Now (RCA Victor 9232)

The sound of a misty, dimly lit downtown street at midnight.

Quite possibly one of my mostest favoritest soul records. Just love it to pieces.

Imperial Blues

2010-11-28T18:27:00.000-08:00

Got a Texas Imperial 78 rpm Three Way going betwixt my blogs...

LIL' SON JACKSON - Ticket Agent Blues (Imperial 5100)

A rainy day summer grab that came from the same spot as Mr. Lucky & the Gamblers, the Revolvers on TyTex, and Little Bill. Nice blues from a Texas guy... I somehow managed a labelshot of the flipside instead of "Ticket Agent Blues"...
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Over at Country. & Western I've got Imperial artists Jimmie Heap and the Melody Masters outta Taylor, Texas with "When They Operated On Papa, They Opened Papa's Male". Great swingin' number. And over at LoneStarStomp Wichita Falls deejay Bill Mack is up with his lowdown Imperial waxings of "Ain't It A Shame" and "When the Sun Goes Down".

Sweet Cucumber

2010-11-27T21:02:00.000-08:00

LITTLE BILL - Sweet Cucumber (Topaz 1303)

Well known name from the northwest... a "before there was a Kingsmen/Sonics/Wailers/Paul Revere & the Raiders" sorta thing... okie dokie greasy rocker.

Cheater!

2010-11-20T22:46:00.000-08:00

BOBBY DE SOTO - The Cheater (Claro 5914)

First record I ever bought from a set sale.

Don't believe I would now come even close to paying the $30 for this I did 10 years ago, but it is a great record. Bobby's got a nice New York teen voice, the band's tight, and there's a great beat.

Teenage Rock

2010-11-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

RONNIE JONES & THE CLASSMATES - Teenage Rock (End 1125)

Kiddie jiver from somewheres up north... not sure if this was the original issue or a second pressing for this record. Dirty, lowdown sound. Believe I grabbed it outta this house below at a wild n' wooly sale a few years back.

RAWK-LA-HOMA!!!!

2010-10-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

J. Paul Hanock - Bad News (from Straight From Nowhere, JAM Records 1001)

Ain't no one trick pony this blawg... from primitive Gene Vincent sounding teen blues to red dirt metal from the 80s... it can all be dug here. This is a nice rockin' metal track from a 4-song e.p. I grabbed over the weekend on a whim hoping for something to file next to my Precision (stomped HERE) and Impeccable (stomped HERE) lps. Not quite local enough... Oklahoma disc?... but I'm really digging this track. A full length from a few years prior is out there as well.

Texas Blues Party

2010-09-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a recent $3 surprise offa eBay...

GARRY GOODGION - Blues Party b/w Dear Little Darling (Texoma 1758)

1960 RCA custom press from just north of the Big D. Primitive, totally, and primitive, completely. Garry on the vocal and guitar with Stan Holden playing drums... certainly a couple of Texas boys with a can do attitude. I would assume this to be the same Garry Goodgion that later had a bit part in Bonnie & Clyde.

Sunday, Gospel Day

2010-09-18T20:23:00.000-07:00

BROOKLYN SKYWAYS - You're Going To Miss Me (Peacock 3003)

Here's a fine end-of-my-days rocker from a long running gospel combo out New York.

Los Cinco Latinos

2010-09-06T19:35:00.000-07:00

LOS CINCO LATINOS - Dimelo Tu (Columbia 41624)

Interesting grab outta the ever so cool Pennsylvania 45 drop out at the flea market. Good ol' 50s bow-tie rocker outta Argentina. Cool 'un, chico.

Virtually A Soul Jukebox- Don't Count The Days

2010-08-22T21:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a virtual jukebox of almost 30 cuts I've come up on in the past year or so of diggin' around. Nothing was intentional, nothing from ebay... just stuff that popped up as I was out and about with July being a particularly crazy month for soul records. The most I paid for anything was a buck or two. A few were freebies. Some of what's here might stretch the boundary of what I really think of as 'soul' and are mainly here as 'brags'. The sound of those influenced my throwing in a few other oddballs as they seemingly fit 'that' sound. Anyhow here comes some rambling...

All cuts were 'mastered' here at Rancho Westex from original 45s/lps.

(click on above for a better look at the "front cover")

(click above for a better look at the "back cover")

(download at the bottom)
Let us begin with Ramsey Lewis's take on Shorty Long's "Function At the Junction" from his Goin' Latin lp on Cadet. I grabbed this lp from a collection of my wife's aunts and uncles records last summer. These tios and tias loved 'em some r&b and soul as it was a Motown and latin jazz leaning collection. No heavy pieces, but some good records. I must admit not having actually listening to the lp until I started looking for a good instrumental to kick off this sh'bang. It was a nice way to bring up the incredible "Freak Off" by Orchestra Harlow which I found in a stash of New York latin records in a Central Texas Goodwill. While there was no Joe Bataans or Acid in those Fania-heavy stacks it was nice to finally find some records in a Goodwill. A third latin-flavored disc popped up at last weekend in a box of records I bought for $1 in a local auction. Though I'm not all that familiar with the work of Mel Torme, I was familiar with the man growing up because his name was often a punchline in the 80s NBC comedy Night Court which I watched religiously. It wasn't until my college days that I grabbed a Torme cassette out of a cut-out bin, gave it a listen, and walked away. I first heard "Comin' Home Baby" a few years back on a now defunct soul site and really dug it. But each time I've found a copy in the wilds of west Texas it has had a crack in it. Certainly not the cleanest copy out there, but well worth the price as the box also held promo copies of of Danny Harrison's "Girl Girl Girl" on Coral and Dana Valery's oddball folk n' souler "You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies". I had actually almost thrown the Dana on my pile of culls from the auction box without even listening, but decided to throw it on the turntable and realized it had that sound. Truly weird market piece where prices on white label promos are through the roof and stock copies can be picked up for almost nothing. And might this be Paul Simon's only appearance on a northern soul record?

The fourth track in here may get a chuckle and guffaw or two from the true soul lover. Sandi Griffiths and Sally Flynn may be best known today as stars of the Lawrence Welk show, but before joining up with the polka king of Saturday afternoon public tv the duo cut a handful of sides for Capitol Records. "Don't Count The Days" might actually be about as un-soul as you can get, but I hear it and think "northern". Now I highly doubt Sandi & Salli get club spins these days, but the previously mentioned Dana Valery does and she's not so different from the Welk stars. Same with Aussie Lynne Randell... I grabbed her "Stranger in My Heart" at my favorite record haunt the day after finding Dana. "Stranger" certainly has a beat, but I'm hearing horny 60s AM pop rather than soul. Even if it does rip "Baby Love".

Aaah... my favorite place in West Texas to buy records...
13 years ago I moved to Odessa and bought my first records from a guy out at the VFW flea market named Al. It was a Saturday afternoon in September and I was blown away by the sheer volume of 45s. Record quantities have come and gone at Al's through the years and with most of his stock coming from a local dealer true rarities in the racks are raer but certainly can and do happen. Sandi & Salli showed up at Al's in a bunch of Katrina-damaged goods last fall. Willie Hutch's INCREDIBLE "Ain't Gonna Stop" was also part of that collection, but had sat hidden in a lost pile of 45s needing attention from my record cleaner until recently. What a track, though.... just so very good. Another recent grab from AL was the odd n' great "Don't Ever Want To Lose Your Love" by Barbara Mason on Arctic. Barbara's voice was gold and this isn't the first time she's been juked here at Diggin' It!!! First time I heard "Don't Ever" I wasn't so up on it, but like most tunes by Barbara it works its way on in. At some point Johnnie Taylor's "I Ain't Particular" came from Al as well... maybe a Katrina refugee. Great soul with a hint o' da' funk.

I found the previously mentioned Lynn Randell in a collection brought down from yankee-land and dropped at Al's over the summer. This same collection also produced 3 or 4 Capitol 45s by the Magnificent Men including their remake of "By the Time I Get To Phoenix" and "I've Got News". Must admit never having heard of these guys before but Capitol is a okey dokey label for grabbing 45s with group names you ain't never heard of before. Same story, second verse on the Ovella and the Overtures track "That's All You Gotta Do" which a needle drop from the Fisher-Price at digging time revealed as a fuzzy gal garage rocker. Fuzzy definitely, but not so much garagey.

The Yankee collection is also where I grabbed the amazing Chubby & the Turnpikes 45 on Capitol, a record which will be tough to top as my favorite find of the year. I mean in a summer of fabulous record finds Chubby is probably my hands down favorite find. Way beyond the cache of being desired or being a $$$ record I have a deep emotional connection to "I Know The Inside Story". Read about why ol' Westex loves this 45 HERE.

No idea where I first heard "Get On the Good Foot" by James Brown, but I do know it was just a few years ago and it was purely by chance... me not being a JB/funk fan and all. But the guitar and the groove on this thing just drove me nuts. I believe it came from the same yankee box as Maceo & All the King's Men's "Got To Get'cha" which until a needledrop I had never heard before.

All in all the yankee collection turned up some really nice soul n' r&b records...

Another favorite diggin' spot is located up in the South Plains region and I try and hit it once a year. The Pioneer junk shop has been good to me on previous trips (HERE and HERE), and once again produced a few decent 45s during a stop in mid-July. Nothing like the Steve Manchas and Jean Wells of years past but a couple of okie dokie records did jump out like "Love Is the Only Answer" by the Lollipops and Karen Smalls' "To Get You Back Again ". Lee Dorsey's excellent Confusion on Atco actually came from last year's trip, but I only just found it in a stack of TBCL 45s that were lost (to be cleaned later). Neat tune that one, with some great NOLA clang.

Since coming up on a copy of Terry Callier's EXCELLENT "Candy Man" a few years back I've kinda dug soul with a bit of folk feel. I love Fred Neil and when this Al Wilson lp popped up in a thrift bin over the summer and I saw a reworking of "The Dolphins" on it I had to throw in a buck to what it was like. Gotta say I love this song to pieces. Not as good Fred, but so very good and gets stuck in my head for hours on end. For whatever reason I've also got a soft spot for the standard "By the Time I Get To Phoenix". More than a few soulsters covered it to varying degrees of success. The Magnificent Men's Philly soul reworking doesn't blow my mind like Al Wilson does, but it's still a decent take. Hard to really fathom how big this song was... it was everywhere and in everybody's hands. Me and Mrs. Westex love the Johnny and June version of "If I Were A Carpenter." I don't think the Four Tops really pull it off and that was the problem with some of these acts pulling straight folk albums, a ploy oft used at Motown. On the Motown imprint MoWest the group Odyssey did an EXCELLENT job of bringing the funk n' soul to the folk. "Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Know" is a breezy job that put me out for a whole 29 cents. Great, great number. In Japan they LOVE this stuff.

I answered a Craigslist ad about a bunch of lps. It took some doing and a lot of back and forth, but one cold windy day this past winter I wound up outside what looked like an abandoned house that had been attached to an old RV out in the middle of nowhere. Heebie Jeebies especially when i walked into a room with busted walls, dismantled computers, week old lunches sitting on tables, and boxes of lps. Strange vibes. I kept one eye on the owner and one eye on the covers of a mix of country and soul lps while listening to him ramble on with ideas about the coldness in the house being related to ghosts. The albums were largely unexceptional save a David Ruffin ("My Whole World Ended" is one of his best!), a couple of Hesitations on KAPP, and a couple of Jackie Wilsons. I made it out alive, though I did honestly wonder a time or two. And I'm not sure about the cold being related to ghosts... more likely the huge gaping holes in the floor and lack glass in the windows.

I missed a couple but this ramble has gone on long enough... and this will probably be the last thing to come out of Diggin' It!!! for a few weeks. Vacation is over and I get to a new batch 170+ 13 and 14 year old chillun tomorrow.

Here's a download... I don't do those free sites like megaupload or whatever... I've picked up a bug or two...
http://www.divshare.com/download/12361097-316

Rosalee

2010-08-18T20:21:00.000-07:00

SHUGGY BO & THE WEAVILS - Rosalee (Sahara 513)

I grabbed this record in the summer of 2001 at an estate sale that also produced my first copy of Elroy Dietzel's great "Teenage Ball" on Bo-Kay. I've never gotten the story on this particular 45, but have always loved the hick vocal riding atop a HUGE Brit-beat. Sahara was Johnny Burnette's label and with the Burnette songwriting credit I wondered if perhaps this was Johnny himself rocking along on Beatles tangent.

Don't Judge A Record...

2010-08-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

Thursday was officially my last day of summer vacation. I thought I'd spend it on my annual dig in a ginormous downtown garage full of years of estate and garage sale buyouts... you never knew what you might find going through the boxes and boxes of stuff. The building looked vacant, but if you knew who to talk to you could get in. So I go in on Thursday to find a local auction house preparing to sell the building out this weekend. A trip to the preview on my lunch break yesterday revealed this...

REDEMPTION- Look Up (Evan/Comm)

So you see this record sitting in the midst of a rack of common everyday chud. Does it look like every other gospel record out there? Is it worth a buck?

The only reason Redemption jumped out at me was the fact that the cover looked familiar and I was associating the word psych with the thing for whatever reason. A quick popsike hit connected the dots. I threw in an absentee bid of $10 as I left the preview and obsessed a bit over the record...

When I showed up at the auction today I threw in a couple of $1 bids on some box lots of lps/45s (saw a Danny Harrison promo on Coral and a few local gospel lps.) and then found out the lot of lps that the Redemption disc was in had been auctioned early on and I had gotten it for a fiver. Not bad. Even found a note in the sleeve.

"Look Up" is an okay hill country folk rock album... I have no idea where the 'psych' comes in. It's the kind of album I could see myself listening to while lazyin' about with a book and coffee on a sunny and cool autumn Saturday afternoon. Not really my thing though I could see why some Jesus Music folks might dig it.

So it may look like every other 70s gospel record, but it certainly doesn't sound like it. And it's not quite a one dollar lp.

More excited about the Dana Valery Columbia promo I found in one of the $1 lot boxes I brought home... should be able to buy a LOT of Dr. Pepper and beef jerky with that one.

Sunshine Popabilly

2010-08-12T11:53:00.001-07:00

LAYNG MARTINE, JR. - Love Comes And Goes (Date 1511)

Interesting record. There's a California sunshine rural pop thing going on. But it's also a kinda sorta rockabilly record. Who is that on the break... James Burton?

Topeka Rawks!

2010-08-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

STEVE WILCOX - Topeka (Big K Records 03)

Another interesting 45 dug up in the same spot as the previous Chubby and Ron Price postings. Mucho guitar on this shout out to Topeka, Kansas baby. First time for Diggin' It!!! to hit the 80s outside of a virtual jukebox posting.

The Arrival of Weirdness

2010-08-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

RON PRICE - It Will Arrive b/w Maggie (Newark 230)

Oddball 60s record outta New Jersey that came from the same bunch of records as the previously posted Chubby & the Turnpikes 45 and the Glenn Barber discs over at Country. & Western. Don't know a thing about Ron Price. Unlikely he's the same guy that worked out of Amarillo and Dallas in the 50s and 60s. Strange, strange record with a fading touch of exotica riding alongside the influence of an eastern influenced Beatles.

Whether the whole thing is a put or not, it feels like psychedelia minus the taste of acid.

Why I Love Chubby & The Turnpikes

2010-07-31T11:09:00.000-07:00

CHUBBY & THE TURNPIKES - I Know The Inside Story b/w I Didn't Try (Capitol 5840)

Ideally a record should mean something. It should apply to our life or loves or a place. A dusted AM station at 2 am. A half-forgotten echo'd out memory from some school dance. It's not always a value nor is it a trophy. Hang tight for a second...

Of the major labels of the 40s, 50s, and 60s I go bank on Capitol being my favorite. During the 40s and 50s they were catching all my favorite hillbillies. They also had Esquerita. Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps. Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant. The Five Keys. The Fascinators. Later they had the Beach Boys. The Beatles. Buck and Merle. Pick a genre and they had something worthy. It's one of those labels where you're not necessarily wasting your time grabbing obscuro discs by folks you ain't never heard the likes of.

Like Chubby & the Turnpikes.

Now it might be easy to dismiss Chubby and the Turnpikes as some novelty goof ala Boris Pickett or some Gary Usher produced doo-mah-hicky.But when I came across this record yesterday it rang a bell. I had a vague recollection of the group having a 45 coming up in a set of weird and wild auctions a few years back involving a SICK collection of singles from a local radio library. The seller called everything northern soul including Buddy Shaw and Glenn Barber discs on Starday. (Do a popsike advanced search for "I have cat hairs") So Chubby was familiar. Before buying the disc I split to go meet my wife for lunch with plans to return later. On the way to lunch I youtube'd Chubby for a listen and was overcome with such tremendous emotion that I almost had to pull the car over.(yeah, yeah, yeah... what'cha doin' youtube'ing while your driving?) As soon as the organ kicked in I knew Chubby.

Back in the days of the old garagepunk forums MopTopMike offered up a cdr of soul tunes he had played out here and there. Somehow or another the cd wound up in our newborn's room and I would play the more mellowed out numbers while dancing our little one off sleep. Day after day this was the pattern. By the time "I Know The Inside Story" rolled around each day she would be out. I had just had a blank cd-r with no song titles and as a result I had no idea who did "Inside Story". So as soon as I heard those opening chords my mind took a trip 3 1/2 years back to those afternoon nap times and our wall to wall soft shoe shuffles.

That's why I love Chubby & the Turnpikes. The best record I've found all year.

Freak Off

2010-07-28T20:08:00.000-07:00

ORCHESTRA HARLOW - Freak Off (from El Exigente Fania 342)

I'm not much on the 2nd press and/or reissue game (A gold label is the 1st press). But I'll throw this one out there anyway as I've been into "Freak Off" in a major way since grabbing this lp from a stack of NY latin rekkids in a Central Texas Goodwill back at the beginning of the month. A bangin' track as they say... And a good lp. Just need to find a certain "Subway Joe" tune by a Joe Bataan...

The Revolvers of East Texas

2010-07-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

THE REVOLVERS - Like Me (Ty Tex 127)

Here's another Pioneer grab. Not an amazing disc, but a decent lo-key west coast sorta thing from the east side of Texas. The Ty Tex label was a bit of a catch-all sorta label recording soul, country, and 60s teen sounds like the Sensors and Revolvers. I actually found three of the four Revolvers related releases on Ty Tex in the dig, but left behind a warped copy of the 45 on which they take second billing to a Stan Gorman (co-writer of "Like Me"). The other disc, a remake of "Land of 1,000 Dances" is a bit more than I can dig.

A bit more about the Revolvers over at Chas Kit's AMAZINGLY good Garage Hangover site. Oddly enough Chas just posted a Ty-Tex discography HERE.

Mr. Lucky Told You Once Before...

2010-07-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

MR. LUCKY & THE GAMBLERS - I Told You Once Before (Dot 16930)

While headed out for a few days of hiking, smokin', drinkin', and sittin' around in southwestern Colorado I hit a South Plains haunt that I love. This is the same joint that last year produced AMAZING records by Joe Poovy, The One Way Street, the Heart Beats, Steve Mancha, House of David, and so much more. Some of that haul can be checked out HERE.

This time around I was in a rush and on a deadline to meet up with a camping buddy just up the road. I was also frustrated at seeing thousands of 45s sitting directly in the front window, destroyed as a result. And two solid weeks of rain had turned the ceiling into a reservoir and water was coming down everywhere including a couch sitting directly in front the shelf the handful of records I found came from. And while frustration was crowdin' in on me I did have to remind myself about how fortunate I was to pull the records outta here that I did last year... the idea of finding a heat warped copy of Commonwealth Jones on Banner makes me want to cry.

There was little new but did grab a few pieces such as this Mr. Lucky and the Gamblers 45. My knowledge of this Dot release is based on a review of the disc in an issue of KICKS. I can't say I figured on ever actually finding a copy myself so it was a surprise when it popped out. It's the flip "Take A Look At Me" that gets the mentions and spins, but I'm really diggin' on this smooch 'em up flip. "I Told You Once Before" is a great song...

Pioneer Picks were weak this time out, but I'll throw up a few more finds in the next few days...

Ice Lake in Colorado

Chick Chant

2010-07-19T11:49:00.001-07:00

TEARDROPS - You Won't Be There (Musicor 1139)

Great girl chanter that I grabbed from the flea market over the weekend.

Feeling Relaxed and Rural-ly

2010-07-08T20:47:00.000-07:00

CHARLIE BROWN- "I've Gotta Learn To Feel" from Portrait of a Glad Man (Polydor 5009)

In about 24 hours I'll be laying back under the Colorado skies with a fine ceegar. Looking forward to the relaxing and this here's a relaxing song. Bit different from Charlie's prior release leading the CB Generation through the frantic "Fast Retreatin' Female" on Atco. 5 or 6 years on and Charlie's mellowed a bit.

Rumble Tumble

2010-06-29T23:02:00.000-07:00

MAD MAN TAYLOR AND HIS PIANO - Rumble Tumble (EastWest 117)

Lots of interesting sounds on Atlantic's minor league label East West including this little dollar grab from a local estate sale. Okie dokie sounds.

Dart Rock n' Roll

2010-06-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

THE SUEDES - Don't Be Shy (Dart 117)

1959 release on Pappy Dailey's oddball dart label which had everything from rockabilly to country to corny spoken word novelties and even a Lightnin' Hopkins 45. "Don't Be Shy" might not be the greatest thing ever, but I really dig the guitar and it's one of the first Pappy related records I ever picked up.
_______________________

Check in at Country. & Western for a country mover on Dart by Bob Bowers. And over at LoneStarStomp there's a Buddy Holly sound-a-like on Dart from Lubbock kid Gene Evans.

Sour Grapes

2010-06-06T06:27:00.000-07:00

Though Summer Vacation is on I honestly don't know that I'll spend too much time updating Diggin' It!!! over the next couple of months... we're remodeling a bathroom, I'm heading out for some backpacking up north, and over at LoneStarStomp I'm working up a few good tales to tell. I've got a few little discs ready to go here, but unless I make some incredible find things will be quiet over this direction. This blog is more of a distraction from 'real life moves' for me more than anything else.

THE YOUNG ONES- Sour Grapes (Columbia 43788)

Classic story.

Group of 14/15 year olds put together a band on the East Coast. Kids get gig at 1964 World's Fair where they are noticed by a Columbia Records exec. Record label renames group. Teens cut a pretty hot disc for their age. Disagreement between band and record exec leads to end of contract.

You can dig a bit more detail on bassist Paul Gaynes' CD Baby page HERE.

I was actually surprised to find these Young Ones to be so young... the playing and arrangements on this disc seem to be more along the lines of what one would hear from session men or players blowing off studio steam.

DumbDumbDumbDumbYepYepYepYep

2010-05-16T20:04:00.001-07:00

LITTLE PEGGY MARCH- Boy Crazy (8221)

Good 'girl sound'. The guy doing the "dumbdumbdumbdumbdumbyepyepyep" chant in the back ground makes it a a Westex fav.

A Funky Fool On the Hill

2010-04-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

JACKIE THOMPSON- Fool On the Hill (Columbia 45039)

Funky uptempo remake of the Beatles tune that was grabbed at an estate sale last weekend...

Lost Train

2010-04-17T06:08:00.001-07:00

THE JADES - Lost Train (Rare Music 1004)

1961 release from Dallas/Fort Worth area combo that at the very least included Jack Colmes who later married Morgan Fairchild. Moody little thing. A few years later the band would release an lp of so-so material. Not sure if these guys were the same Jades that later recorded for Jesse Smith's Ector label (Jesse got his start in West Texas with Bo-Kay Records) or the Jades that recorded for EmCee.

The flip is one of those ubiquitous 60s dance numbers, this one called "The Dutchman" and sung by a Bubba Holland. Trivial, but I picked this 45 out of the same stack that produced The Queens Mates (HERE) and the record store was located on Holland Avenue and just a block down from the Holland Hotel (NOT a recommended sleep spot... it's directly across from the railroad depot and trains seem to stop there every hour, on the hour)

Little Miss Rock And Roll

2010-04-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

THE QUEENS MATES - Little Miss Rock and Roll (C&L Records WR 4603)

A little less info please?

I grabbed this disc out of an Alpine, Texas record store (!!!) while vacationing in the Davis Mountains back in March. Not a bad little record. But somebody was extraordinarily stingy with the details. No writers credits. No publishing credits. No address. No matrix other than WR 4603, which makes this a press by ???? It's got that fratty pre-Invasion sound going. Or maybe the Beatles have hit, but these guys are still diggin' mightily on Chuck Berry 45s. Primitive sound.

Virtually A Texas Jukebox - Texican Rock!!!

2010-04-05T05:41:00.001-07:00

I originally posted this on my West Texas blawg LoneStarStomp, but figure I'll mosey it on over this direction...

(front cover)

(back cover)

In two hours of digging at a South Plains junk shop last summer I found more cool records than I would normally find over the course of two or three years. There was rockabilly on Dixie, hillbilly on Starday, Chicano soul, country, cool instrumentals, and a few garage records. There were radio station promos from Arkansas. There were lots of Dallas records on Le Cam and Abnak. There were a lot of Texas labels period. It seems to have been the result of one guy's digging up random things here and there, and putting together a few different collections. Guy probably passed by some time ago and his family dropped these records off being glad to be rid of them.

The Crickets are probably the best known of the bunch outright, with the American Blues coming in next as a result of their Z.Z. Top connection. George Peeples is probably the most unknown of the whole lot, but the Gaylo imprint on the Make-It label connects him to Ben Hall's Big Spring studio/publishing operation. There's big collector records and little ol' common things... "Am I Asking Too Much" moved 100,000s of copies riding on the backside of the hit "Wheels". Some of these records were fairly clean, and a couple of 'em I had to ride the tonearm a bit with my thumb. I wasted too much of my life de-clicking the American Blues, and finally just gave in.

A few of these records were LONG time wants. I first heard Groovey Joe Poovey's "Johnny B. Goode" cop on the old Starday-Dixie Rockabillies comp from Gusto and fell in love with the thing. But I never figgered on owning one. What a feeling to find it in the very first box. The Heart Beats was another record on my mental want list. Very excited when I turned up Rusty McDonald's country jiver "Name, Address, And Phone Nu mber" on a swift looking piece of blue vinyl and local boy Red Hays' "Doggone Woman" on Starday as well as 4 or 5 Bo-Kay singles I didn't have-- nope... no Elroy in that bunch. And speaking of local I was glad to find "Let the Fool Kiss You" by Odessa's own Velvets which isn't a particulary rare record but demand among the dj and northern crowds makes it a little scarcer. Not the best shape here, but a great record.

The Pioneer boxes were filled with some left-field surprises which I never would have sought out on my own. I'd heard of Avon and the Rave-Ons and knew "Honey Honey Honey" was pushed as a rare rocker, but the combo name made it seem a bit goofy. But what a killer... the drummer is INSANE... some good ol' wild rock n' roll right there. Feel quite lucky on this one. Along the same lines I never would have laid out any money on the Cynics (not even close to purty shape), the Goodsons, Shut Downs, or What's Left but really feel fortunate to have come into 'em this way. Same with the soul sides by the Van Dykes (some sweet stuff) and the chicano combo the Stardusters.

The B.J. Thomas and the Triumphs single was one that I almost left behind, but decided to pick up as a part of my Joed label run. There's a whole thing with "Garner State Park" in the mid-60s involving Texiteens doing the Whip and Jerk night after night in the Summer. It was like a religion... maybe more so. Read up on it HERE (official state site) and/or HERE (written by a one time Pavilion whipper).

The drawer dropping moment was pulling all three 45s by south Texas teens The One Way Street. In a genre full of hardly-knowns and never-knowns these guys are still under the radar. I was familiar with the the look of the Deeek label and their song "Illusions" via an excellent Bosshoss comp from the old garagepunk forum days. It being on one of his little productions I knew it had to be at least a bit scarce as he was pulling together primarily uncomped sides at the time. And at first I had actually thought I had pulled three copies of their single. Lucky day as it was each of their three singles. I've got one side of each of their 45s - their second release "Joy and Sorrow" being the best known- over at Diggin' It!!!, but we'll go with "Illusions" here as it's the most recent 'discovery' and has been made commercially available on only one release. Lots of Texas fuzz found a new home that day.

Commonwealth Jones... what a killer. I stomped "Jump and Run" last year when I caught a few copies of Bruce Channel's "Come On Baby" which is in the same style. Great 45 and so far one of the more common releases on the prolific Lubbock label. Still no idea how these two sides, recorded years earlier, made it to Bill Crawford's Lubbock based label in 1966. Weird, weird, weird. And KILLER sound. Just an absolute monster blooze bopper.

One last note... the Ivan disc was actually scored in Midland on Wednesday two days before. Mayhaps a bit of a cheat placing it here, but it's a nice fit between "Ivan"'s regular combo and the Holly-esque String-A-Longs track.

This find wasn't strictly a Texas gusher, but I likes me me some Lone Star sounds kids.

Len And Glen

2010-03-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

LEN AND GLEN- Write Me Baby, Please! (Columbia 43246)

Teenbeat with hot valve men...Columbia's mid-60s version of a more famed brother duo that got away from 'em 10 years prior? Probably not...

I was unaware of this combo and would have continued along that patch had this 45 not turned up in a 'lot' from eBay that I went after due to inclusion of a West Texas disc.

Punk

2010-03-01T20:26:00.000-08:00

THE RUMBLERS - I Don't Need You No More (Dot 45-16421)

I first heard this t-riff sax punker on a cassette mix tape back in 97 or so and was blown away by it. There was attitude galore on it. Then it later popped up again when I purchased Desperate Rock n' Roll Vol. 2 at Antones in Austin back in 1999. I was rolling through a new collection of 45s at a recently diseased record joint in Midland in 2002 or so when I came across the Dot issue of "I Don't Need You No More". Vocalizer and song inkster Adrian Lloyd would later cut the insane "Llorna" for the Challenger label.

This ain't a rare thing (unlike the Challenger 45). Heck the flip was a top 100 hit. Not even the original on Downey is all that scarce. But to a kid in West Texas finding this thing in a local shop was some pretty hep stuff right there...

It's a Pop Psych Punker, Charlie Brown

2010-02-23T14:06:00.000-08:00

PETER ROBBINS - If I Knew Then (What I Know Now) b/w Little Brown Mouse (RCA-Victor 9653)

Long time favorite here...

Tough little 12 year old pop psych punkers from the voice of Charlie Brown. Produced by Duke City, New Mexico rock n' soul legend Lindy Blaskey. 1968.

Check my West Texas blog, LoneStarStomp for a neat piece o' Big Spring teenbeat from the Just Us Four.

Natural Folk by Patterson & Pults

2010-02-19T21:12:00.000-08:00

PATTERSON & PULTS - Grand Tetons (PPP)

It was probably about 2 years back that I started to pay attention to albums for the first time in 5 or 6 years and one of the first lps I picked up was this 1977 release by Patterson & Pults.

Up until that time I had existed on a fairly steady diet of rockabilly, honky tonk, and 60s garage sounds and Patterson & Pults and their genteel nature folk were a bit at odds with all of that. But I was a changin'... Didn't cut my hair for over a year, quit smokin', bought more lps.
I remember heading south towards the Rio in Big Bend on a February eve a few years back... Patterson & Pults was playing on the radio, the sun was lighting up the Sierra del Carmen. Magic, baby. Pure magic. And that's the feel of Grand Tetons. It's got this big, open natural feel to it... like these boys spent a LOT of time out there on trails or stretched out, napping in some mountain meadow.

Robert Pults and Kevin Patterson worked out of Colorado or south Texas depending on whom you ask. A later 45 by Pults most certainly lists an address in the Houston area. There was a second release from the 80s that is comprised of material from the late 70s which I've not yet heard.

Ask Any Chick About My Jelly...

2010-02-11T19:20:00.000-08:00

BILL SIMPSON - Jelly Roll Man b/w Old Man Mose (Lin 100)

The Lin label out of Gainesville, Texas is best known for a string of decent to great hillbilly and rockabilly releases from Buck Griffin, Frank 'Andy' Starr, Don Terry, and Steve Wright. But the label kicked off with these fairly straight R&B numbers. Not a whole lot of emotin' going on... it would seem Bill would have rather have been doing just about anything else. 1954?

The Band That Gave Jack Rhodes a Heart Attack

2010-02-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

THE BAD HABITS- Hook Nose And Wooden Leg (Scepter 12126)

I picked this up 45 up 12 years ago this month. It was a Saturday. A friend was up from Austin and it had snowed Friday night. We drank too much Lone Star Saturday night listening to records we had found. I played this over and over and over. I never even noticed the Jack Rhodes connection until I googled and hit on Chas Kit's EXCELLENT Garage Hangover website where screeching drummer Bill Scott had posted information about his Bad Habits (HERE).

Would be curious as to how many other Huey Meaux - Jack Rhodes collaborations there are.

I have no idea why I remember the things I do. I just do. 12 years ago this month I bought this 45... hilarious. I also remember buying my first copy of "I've Gotta Get Drunk" by Joe Carson that day. And I was back at the same flea market spot spot today buying records. Some things never change...

A Taste of Miel

2010-01-30T06:06:00.000-08:00

LOS ARAGON- Sabor A Miel (Musart 45-4186)

Hit a large run of Musart old stock a few years back. Went through grabbing the obvious stuff, i.e. English titles or non-Latin surname'd authors. I actually picked this Los Aragon single up because the flip is a James Brown remake. The JB remake was 'weak sauce' as the kids say, but flip had an okay remake of the big hit "Taste of Honey". Oddly enough Los Aragon stripped the tune of some of its more obviously 'latin' details.

If I Could See You Now, Then I Could Show You How

2010-01-27T22:28:00.000-08:00

SUNNY & THE SUNLINERS- If I Could See You Now b/w Should I Take You Home(Key-Loc' 1026)

While I don't remember where/when I first heard "If I Could See You Now" I certainly remember when i found it. Knowing it- at the time- to be a 100 buck disc I knew my chance would have to come out in the wild and that it did.

Killer 45. "If I Could See You Now" easily belongs in the Texas Chicano Soul top 5 alongside "It's Not the End" by Rock Gil & the Bishops and Joe Jama's "My Life". The fact that you can flip it over for an excellent smoochie-smoochin' grinder might just make this THE best Chicano two-sider from Texas.

So good. So very good.

The Sounds of 2009

2010-01-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

I'm about 2 weeks behind everybody else, but...

It was one heck of a year...

I know many folks struggled what with the economy being what it has been and all, but I actually had a decent year. Things were decent enough professionally, personally, financially, and record-ally.

So I looked over the new additions of 2009 and came up with 25+ cuts that I've really gotten a kick out of. There's no real sound. I could have very well turned this into a solid Texas only thing. Or a Desperate Rock n' Roll kinda flip. Or just 60s/70s folk, rock, and singer-songwriters. But I wanted something that represented all I dug in 2009. So things kick off with primitive mid-50s hillbilly and wind down with over-produced pop rock from the mid-80s. As there is no 'sound', neither is there an identifiable theme, other than loose pairings and groupings that sometimes flow and sometimes don't. There's country, rockabilly, doo wop, garage, folk, and even heavy metal. Some cuts come from scarce discs and some are from extremely common releases. The whole thing is a bit heavy on Texas and even moreso on my backyard (the area covered by LoneStarStomp), but that's what catches my attention. Many have popped up either here on Diggin' It!!!, on Country. & Western, or at LoneStarStomp. Though there are a few new ones as well.

There's a link for a download of all tracks down at the end...

01 NAME, ADDRESS, AND PHONE NUMBER- Rusy McDonald (Coast 100)
02 I'M NOT THE MARRYIN' KIND- Gene Tabor (Starday 198)
03 WANT TO BE WITH YOU- Cliff Blakley (Starday )

The trio of records I'm beginning with, Rusty McDonald, Gene Tabor, and Cliff Blakley, are all long time wants. I had first been hipped to "Name, Address, and Phone Number" by Wired For Sound's Andrew Brown a couple of years back. Swift little hillbilly jiver with some clever lyrics. Having it turn up in a South Plains junk store on blue vinyl (are they all this way?) was pretty neat and as this was a record I was actually hoping to find it trumps some of the other heavy hitters which were found that afternoon. As for Gene Tabor... Gene was another longtime want, primarily because he's a local and secondarily because it's a Starday release. Great song as well.

I was first introduced to the Starday label via a cheapo Gusto cassette compilation I picked up in a central Texas pawn shop 10 years back. "Get Offa My Toe" by Cliff Blakley was included on that compilation and Cliff's sound became rockabilly to me. Just so distinctive. Finding Cliff to be a 'local' boy this year was a neato enough thing and it set me off on a mini-Roswell fiend in which I also managed a couple of Starday 78s by brother Jimmy and the next 45.

04 IN TOGETHERNESS- The Dellords (Midas 09)

05 MIDNIGHT- The Gatorvettes (Bocaldun 1001)
06 FRIED CHICKEN MACARONI- The Fascinators (Capitol 4247)
07 TEEN HOPPERS BALL- The Peacocks (4 Star 1718)

I don't normally pay $100+ for records. Actually I never do. Except for the Dellords. But there was this part of me that felt like if I didn't go after it I might not see it again. It's good late doo wop outta Roswell, New Mexico. I usually don't spend $$ on doo wop records at all. But I did on the Gatorvettes 45, too. I blame it on this sick regional thing I've had going on for the past few years. The flip of that is that I paid a buck-fifty total for the Peacocks and the Fascinators.

08 TEN LONG FINGERS- Groovie Joe Poovey (Dixie 20118)

09 SNAKE EYED MAMA- Don Cole (RPM 502)

10 CAST IRON ARM- Peanuts Wilson (Brunswick 55039)
11 HONEY, HONEY, HONEY- Avon and the Rave-Ons (Towne House 6)

Finding Joe Poovey's "Ten Long Fingers" in the same pile as Rusty McDonald, the Teen Hoppers, the Solar 5, the Peacocks, the One Way Street, House of David, and the Heart Beats was purt damned cool. I mean who thinks they're gonna find a copy of this monster much less all of those discs in one spot? First Dixie disc to come home and it's a loooooong time fave. The Don Cole was pulled at the same time as the Gene Tabor above. "Cast Iron Arm" by Peanuts Wilson... what a classic! That intro is one of the most distinctive in all of 50s rock and roll. And Avon & the Rave-Ons? Same spot as Joe Poovey. Like get outta here with that kinda luck! Best bunch of records I've ever found.

12 BAD GIRL- The Penthouse 5 (Solar 4211)
13 CRYIN' INSIDE- The Heart Beats (The Heart Beats 2605)

Hearing "Bad Girl" by the Penthouse 5 for the first time was a "knocked me on my ass" moment. There's a reverb'd n' stomp'd nod to the surf sounds of yesteryear and yet it's packed with a nice bit of snarl as well. Then there's the lovely gals from Buddy Holly town, the Heart Beats. Nailing this 45 just a stretch of highway away from the Hub City was some sorta sweet feeling.

14 I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND- Ann-Margret (RCA
15 THINGS WE SAID TODAY- The ......(from Something New, Capitol 2108)

I'm not a picture sleeve hound, but there's honestly no better way to own this fuzzy single by Ann-Margret. Without the sleeve you're just not getting the whole thing. I had been impressed with the song the first time I heard it some years back on an old garagepunk forum comp. One of the first songs employing 'fuzz' on purpose. The Beatles... I find myself introduced to them over and over as a result of other artists remaking their songs. "Things We Said Today" hit me 7 or 8 years ago on a Dwight Yoakum lp and it has stuck ever since. As it should... it's a damned great tune. A clean local copy of Something New for a cheap price was a no brainer. Which brings my Beatles lp count up to the grand total of........ TWO.

16 SURE GONNA MISS ME- The Ones (Satin 021)
17 JOY AND SORROW- The One Way Street (Deeek 103)

18 LONG WAY BACK HOME- House of David (Cheese 69)

It was such a good year for fuzz and jangle around these parts. Back in late January I threw down a $2 bid on a couple of records from San Antonio. I wasn't familiar with the artists, but knew the labels and for a couple of bucks... well it's a couple bucks. I come back from a camping trip to find I had won both at the opening 99 cent bids. The Ones wound up being a decent little west coast sounding jangler and in the I've-got-more-fingers- on-my-right-hand-than-there-are-known-copies category. Scarce as well and a bit further south than the Ones' home of SanAntone was the teen combo the One Way Street. These kids threw down three great discs and then pretty much disappeared. Great sounds from a south Texas scene that was FULL of great sounds. Hardly a thing is known about either the Ones or the One Way Street. Probably even less is known about the House of David. Tons of fuzz on this Cheese disc.

19 I NEVER ASKED TO BE YOUR MOUNTAIN- Tim Buckley (from Goodbye and Hello, Elektra 74028)

20 IN CHRIST THERE IS NO EAST OR WEST- John Fahey (from Leo Kottke, Peter Lang, John Fahey , Takoma 1040)

Tim Buckley was found by my 3 year old at a hot rod swap meet (?) right after we figured out that noise in her ear was a bee (???). It's certainly not all good, most of it's unlistenable and most people consider this to be one of his worst releases. But "I Never Asked..." feels, at the very least, epic. I don't recall where I was first introduced to John Fahey's instrumental take on the old hymn"In Christ There Is No East Nor West" but remember it leaving a heavy feeling upon my heart. And each time I hear it now that same feeling still hits. What a talent. And a tragic one at that.

21 THE WAY BACK- Karen Beth (from Harvest, Decca 75247)
22 SOMETHING ON YOUR MIND- Karen Dalton (from In My Own Time, Paramount 6008)

There are a few tracks I struggled with adding to this 'best of 2009' list. Some I wound up dropping because there were so jarringly independent from everything else here. "The Way Back" by Karen Beth almost didn't make it. Harvest as a whole is actually pretty lackluster save one or two tracks, but I've enjoyed those one or two tracks often over the past few months. Karen Dalton wasn't new on me. Heck... when I geeked out a few months back "Something On My Mind" was one of the first songs I put on my new Iphone. Actually adding the album was a pleasure and thanks to Gabe at the excellent Breakaway Records and SecondLineSocial blog for the trade. Some people really dig this album, but I can only stand about three tracks with one of those being her remake of that horrible "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You" song. But in Dalton's hands it works.

23 TOM CAT- Jim Sullivan (from Jim Sullivan, Playboy 103)
24 HIGHWAYS- Jim Sullivan (from Jim Sullivan, Century City Records 5000)

Waxidermy turned me on to Jim Sullivan during a pretty rough stretch of life a couple of years back. Listening to his Century City album was a big ol' bright spot in a not so bright spot. I wanted a copy of the album, but felt like picking up a copy on ebay or a set sale was cheating. It needed to be found. And it was found in a central Texas Half Price Books back in July. And in a year of great finds this was possibly one of the greatest. Picking up a cheap copy of his follow-up wasn't as big of a deal as I settled for an ebay copy. Not nearly as good an album as the first, but it's obvious the guy had talent... he could pick, sing, and write like nobody's business. You shoulda been big, Jim.

25 HIGHWAYS OF YOUR MIND- Joe Brunelle (from Round To It, NoMountain 012)
26 WHITE CLOUDS- Joe Brunelle (Sore Thumb no #)

Few songs have affected me with way these two selections from Joseph Brunelle did. While Round To It had been on my radar for about a year I wasn't sure what I was getting when I came across a couple of copies in a local collection in mid-February. I had heard the song "Highways of Your Mind" described in such a way that it seemed I really needed to hear it. It didn't knock me out the first go round as I was too busy. But the second, third, and fifteenth times it registered. I just could not stop listening to it. It was the sound of the trails I had been hiking just the week before down south of the Marfa plateau. I acquired his prior 45 RPM release "White Clouds" during the summer. I was expecting more of the dark vibe that Round To It is so heavy with. But "White Clouds" was a happy little love song. Even Mrs. Westex enoys these numbers.

27 A New Day- Precision (from Precision, NoMountain )
28 City By City- The Shake Russell Band (from Denim & Pearls, NoMountain)

The label of the year... NoMountain records run by Nick Carlton over in Midland. Nick got started producing in the late 70s covering a number of styles and artists, most from West Texas. In addition to the Joseph Brunelle above, NoMountain is best known for a great and collectible lp by Will & James Ragar and the self-titled lp by Midland metal rawkers Precision. Pretty hip and heavy waxing for a group of high school kids. "A New Day" was my windows-down-crank-it-up song this year... it's muscle car music, baby. I actually picked up a copy of the lp from a friend of the band back in the spring on the same afternoon I grabbed the Gene Tabor and Don Cole 45s. Then the same week I had the Pioneer find this summer I grabbed two more copies at a library book sale right before grabbing the Karen Beth lp above and a copy the Ragar thing mentioned a few lines previous. As a matter of fact when I got home that afternoon the Shake Russell Band lp was sitting in the mailbox. This lp won't get listened to necessarily as it's just a piece in the NoMountain collection, but I'll be dang'd if "City By City" didn't wind up stuck in my head after one play.

And on that note...

Good luck diggin' in 2010.

Here's a download of all 28 tracks... it's a big one.
http://www.divshare.com/download/10107331-4a6

Live It Up with the Traits

2010-01-08T21:11:00.001-08:00

THE TRAITS- Live It Up (TNT )

Grabbed out of a San Angelo thrift right before Christmas. Great record from a fairly legendary central Texas combo. Fairly straight forward, nothing fancy and for that reason alone probably a fave with the dancehall crowds back in the day.

Fort Worth Shuffle

2010-01-01T20:31:00.001-08:00

WAYNE COCHRAN - Harlem Shuffle (Soft 779)

Odd one here that I grabbed yesterday on my last dig of 2009.

Major Bill Smith rode Wayne to the bank with the remake of "Last Kiss" by San Angelo's J. Frank Wilson & the Cavaliers. No credits and little info otherwise. But it's a storming version of "Harlem Shuffle" with a heavy duty Chicano vibe, mayhaps Bill pulled in some Fort Worth Area combo to back Mr. Big Hair. The disc later saw release on national label Mercury, where Bill placed a number of artists in the mid-60s.

Texas Punk

2009-12-26T21:23:00.001-08:00

WHAT'S LEFT- Girl Said No (Capri 520)

Great year for records. Probably the best year ever actually, with this Huey Meaux related disc being a favorite.

What's Left was not an actual group according to Andrew Brown, but a studio workout by southeast Texas songwriter Tony Montalbano. Though Tony's name pops up on a few Crazy Cajun titles I doubt anything else he was associated with came out this primitive.

John Greer

2009-12-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

JOHN GREER- Honey, Why (MOA 1002)

Another from this summer's Pioneer grab. I've seen this referred to as being "Big" John Greer who recorded from King and Groove, but if so this has gotta be one of his more obscure releases.

Casting My Spell

2009-12-17T22:02:00.000-08:00

THE TALISMEN- Casting My Spell (American Arts AA-22)

I first took an interest in records back in my college days in Abilene. Almost every Saturday I would hit the thrifts in search of vintage clothing and records. I don't think I ever found anything big during my Abilene years, but I probably looked over a number of decent things.

One of the very first records I found was this piece by the Talismen. I was pretty well bowled over at the time. Though neither amazing nor mind blowing it's rolled around in my head for going on 15 years+ now.

Robbie Peterson

2009-12-13T20:13:00.000-08:00

ROBBIE PETERSON- She Does Everything For Me (Festival FK-2156)

I'm not one for chasing down foreign singles. But if I got up the gumption to do it I'd put my attention on Australia, which falls right behind the US in tuff 60s sounds. Just so much goodness there.

I have a total of 2 Aussie releases in my collection. The US issue of Johnny O'Keefe's "Real Wild Child" (does that even count?) and Robbie Peters' OUTSTANDING "She Does Everything For Me". Though it's a mess of sound, it's a glorious mess of sound.

Jim Sullivan... Second Time Around

2009-12-02T20:09:00.000-08:00

JIM SULLIVAN- S/T (Playboy Records 103, 1972)

I still remember the exact moment I came face to face with Jim Sullivan's Century City lp in a Round Rock, Tx Half Price Books this past July (Dig It!!! HERE). Though not actively pursued, the idea of finding a 'wild' copy of the lp seemed far fetched (I'm sure I can forget about the 'drums' mix of the album). I never thought to search eBay, but that just seemed like cheating. This was an album you needed to 'find' to appreciate.

I was also aware that Jim had gone on to record an album for Playboy records. Like his previous releases (who was behind those?) somebody really believed in Jim. The Playboy lp package is fairly fancy and there's a big production which includes horns o' plenty this time around. The guitars are a bit heavier. As a whole it stands firmly in the shadow of his previous releases. If this was someone else's one and only album it might really be something... maybe talked about. But as it's Jim Sullivan it ain't holding a candle.

The first time through I could not deal with the horns found here and there. At times it borders on the 70s version of the Saturday Night Live band. But after spending a few weeks with this release 'on the road' I've come to appreciate those very songs. "Tom Cat", the lead-off to side 2, is fine enough minus the horns. I'm not fully sure the song needed the horns. But there they are on the disc and there they are in my head. "Plain As My Eyes Can See" from the previous release is reprised here in a faster, more Santana-esque version titled "Plain To See". It's good. It moves. But it ain't got the smolder of the old way. A reworking of "Sandman" does not fare as well.

It ain't what came before, but few things by few people are. But it's not a halfway bad album. Out of 11 tracks there are a few strong numbers like "Don't Let It Throw You", "Amos", and "Tea Leaves" and then a couple of lessers which are still fairly good. I'll even suffer through the worst- "Biblical Boogie" and "Sonny Jim"- which really ain't that bad.

Make sure you check out the story on U.F.O. over at Waxidermy. Some interesting comments from people that remember ol' Jim.

Go Facets, Go...

2009-11-22T19:29:00.001-08:00

Got a three way Chuck-A-Rama goin on. Check out Country. & Western to hear a legend of country hittin' Chuck's "Thirty Days". Then stop by LoneStarStomp to hear a West Texas remake of "Sweet Little Rock n' Roller".

THE FACETS- Johnny B. Goode (Terrible Tommy's Records 2672)

Hard to get around Chuck Berry. The man was a master of short n' sweet ditties that told little stories and were full of sharp riffs and now classic solos. "Johnny B. Goode" is the classic of 'em all, though I feel a bit 'whatever' about the song at this point. While the Facets of the Northwest Coast do little new with the tune it's an okie dokie little version. Early 60s?

Do the Gorilla

2009-11-21T20:48:00.000-08:00

Got a cross-blog dance theme going right now so make sure and check my blogs Country. & Western and LoneStarStomp for dance numbers by the Louvin Brothers and Southeast New Mexico's Cavliers.

THE IDEALS- The Gorilla (Cortland 733)

Grabbed this out of a Carslbad, NM antique shop a couple of years back. Great monkey-styled dance-around out of Chicago.

Duke City Soul

2009-11-14T18:32:00.000-08:00

DOC RAND & HIS PURPLE BLUES- I Need A Woman (Lance 106)

Spent a week in wonderful Albuquerque and the surrounding area over the summer. Gotta say the Duke City offerings were extremely slim. I had much better luck east of the city going through the combined record collection of my mother-in-law's brothers and a local thrift. The only local record I found was this soul piece on the local Lance label. Nice driving bit from a partly black / partly chicano outfit. Hammered to be sure, but swingin' still.

The Duke City, from the Petroglyphs

Rock w/ the Scatman

2009-11-07T16:49:00.000-08:00

(Scatman and Jack N. discuss the latest)

"SCAT MAN" CROTHERS- Rock, Roma, Rock It (Challenge 59028)

Not one of the Scatman's best sides, but I was reminded that I had it sitting around somewhere when I came across his Motown lp a few weeks back.

Just a Dumb Record

2009-10-31T21:59:00.000-07:00

ANDY CORY- Hey You, What Are You, Some Kind of Nut (Silver Bid 1023)

Just a dumb record.

Rural Fuzz Psych Garage Punk Snot Monster!!!!

2009-10-23T20:20:00.000-07:00

KUI LEE- Goin' Home (from The Extraordinairy... on Columbia)

I was unfamiliar with Kui Lee prior to grabbing this lp for a quarter last weekend. Looking at the cover I was figgerin' on gentle folk sounds... maybe a Hawaiian version of Dylan. Though tha vibe is here, there's a bit of the now sound as well. Like on "Goin' Home". Granted... there's an exploito-sorta feel moving through, but it still rocks a bit.

Maybe I Do Find Good Doo Wop 45s...

2009-10-19T18:20:00.001-07:00

THE FASCINATORS- Oh Rose Marie / Fried Chicken and Macaroni (Capitol 4247)

Here's a pick up from an annual charity garage sale over in Midland. First time I've been in a few years, but there's usually an interesting record or two. This was certainly the best of the 1/2 dozen I brought home today. Nice east coast sound.

Dig the Fascinators' tale HERE.

Hands Off

2009-10-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

THE AZALEAS- Hands Off (Romulus 3001)

Here's another from the summer's Pioneer dig. Actually picked it up based on the title on the flip- "Our Drummer Can't Keep Time"- but this side's a far better scoot.

I Never Find Any Good Doo Wop 45s PT. II

2009-09-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

Been just worn out lately what with the new school year taking a weird turn... so's blogging ain't real high on my todo list. Just trying to keep my head above water out here (no offense to readers outta the southeast). Therefore, not a lotta effort on this one...

Here's another outta the Pioneer haul from 2 months back, the Fabulous Pearls great Dooto release.

"My Heart's Desire" is everything right with the West Coast California doo wop sound. And that's all that needs to be said...

__________________________

Divshare Downloads... those seem to be gone with the wind, so please don't email with requests for files. I truly do appreciate people stopping in and also appreciate the comments and the emails, but I'm not really up for sending files out thissa way and thatta way.

Virtually a Rock n' Roll Jukebox... Shake Up!

2009-09-11T21:51:00.000-07:00

Not too shabby a summer for white boy rockin' roll and rockabilly. I might find one or two rockabilly 45s every few months, but luck ran a bit better the past few months. I knocked off big West Texas wants like the Peanuts Wilson disc (local trade) and got surprised to heck finding Avon & the Rave-Ons, Groovey Joe Poovey, Doug Warren, Tommy Roe, Rock-Its, and Chuck Wiley in the same shop on a sunny August afternoon at 75 cents a pop. The Mark IV and Mac Curtis were found in a local shop last week. Odd thing there... it's the SECOND copy of the Mac Curtis I've found in that shop and just like the first one this copy is cracked as well. The Nighthawks 45 came from the same shop earlier this summer. And hats off to DJ Little Danny who sent along the Jimmy Carroll after a rather prosperous summer in the wilds of Michigan.

A few of these are seeing their second go 'round on my blawgs.

Virtually an R&B Jukebox... PIONEER JUMP

2009-09-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

In the past 3 years I've made two trips to this massive junk shop in a tiny south plains town. Both trips have been productive, especially this most recent one from this past August. The 'juke' below represent 25 R&B tracks from those two trips. All of the tracks were 'mastered' here at Rancho Westex off of the actual vinyl. No cheap hackjobs from other sources or sites here. Enjoy...

(Front Cover)

On the first stop two summers back I found a box of 45s that seemed to have originated from both a Tyler, Texas radio station and a small R&B collection. Discs like Jean Wells incredible "With My Love And What You've Got (We Could Turn the World Around) on Calla and the Fascinations t-riff "Boy Are Out To Get You" were new on me and have since become favorites in soul records (though-sadly- I no longer own either disc... eBay'd the Wells for some stupid reason and traded the Fascinations off to Little Danny over at officenaps).

This more recent trip saw the shop's 45 rpm holdings had increased monumentally. So many great, great records got pulled that day. I've juke'd an entire set of Texas discs over at LoneStarStomp and have been running a bunch of other records from the dig here at Diggin' It!!! and on Country. & Western for the past few weeks.

There were more than a few great doo wops in the boxes at Pioneer. Hard to pick a favorite outta the Peacocks, Fabulous Pearls, and the Thunderbirds. "My Heart's Desire" by the Fabulous Pearls is so danged beautiful... just a gorgeous vocal, smooth instrumental backing, and gorgeous backup vocals... just about perfect. The Peacocks is an oddball being that 4 Star was basically a country label.

(Back Cover)

The soul grabs were okay as well. Though I didn't know Steve Mancha, snatching up that Groovesville label was a no brainer. Rose Brooks, Barbara Mercer, the Van Dykes, and Stagemasters were surprises too. I was vaguely familiar with the Van Dykes. And the Berry Street Station's "Chocolate Sugar"... it's one of Major Bill's recycled songs. I also picked it up as "Soul Over Easy" by Berry Street Station and a slightly different take by Unity.

Excuse the snack, crackle and pop on some of these. The Thunderbirds' "Rock Boom Boom" on G.G. outta Mobile, Alabama is about 2" around the deadwax from even being a record. Too much of my life got sucked up by clicks on the Stagemasters (storming!), Tommy Hunt, and Barbara Mercer. Great tracks though. The flip side of that was the box of Berry Street Station 45s that had never been outta their sleeve.

Enjoy...

Here's SOM'thing from Phil Bo

2009-09-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

Yet another from the never ending stack of records from the Pioneer dig...

PHIL BO & THE VIKINGS- Mr. Train (SOM 1004)

Phil Bo's got a bit of a catalogue, but here's one of his earliest releases and it comes from Huey Meaux's SOM label. The writing credits point to the infamous Jack Rhodes and an R. Millsap... could it possibly be Ronnie Milsap? I doubt it as much as much as I believe Jack Rhodes was actually involved in the writing process. It's a pretty thin cop of "Kansas City", but with a bit o' swamp seasoning.

Caveman Rock

2009-08-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

Here's another from the Pioneer dig.

TOMMY ROE AND THE SATINS- Caveman (Judd 1018)

I never paid attention to Tommy until coming across this Judd release up in the South Plains. I guess I thought he started with the Buddy Holly-cop "Sheila" on ABC. Then this thing turns up... and it's cop of Chuck Berry's "Jo Jo Gunne". White boys copping rhythms from Chuck in the late 50s and early 60s are a dime a dozen, with some being better than others. This is better than some of those others I suppose.

(And it turns out "Sheila" first got worked up for Judd as well.)

I Never Find Any Good Soul 45s

2009-08-25T19:18:00.001-07:00

STEVE MANCHA- Friday Night (Groovesville 1004)

As my summer was winding down I realized I didn't find any decent soul 45s this year. Last year it was Jean Carter's "Like One" on Coral and Patti Austin's "Someone's Gonna Cry" at an HPB down in ol' San Antone for a quarter each. The summer before that it was Terry Callier's great "Look At Me Now" on Cadet.

That changed at the Pioneer shop...

You might peg Steve Mancha as chicano soul, but it's 'firme' Detroit soul and this cat ain't no chicano. Clyde Wilson (real name) got his start in the Detroit music scene of the early 60s and landed on Groovesville (what a great looking label) where he recorded a handful of sides including "Friday Night" in '66.

Mayhaps not the best of shape but a decent little find.

I Never Find Any Good Doo Wop 45s Pt. I

2009-08-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

THE PEACOCKS- Teen Hoppers Ball (4 Star 1718)

Here's another 45 from the Pioneer dig. Swift doo wop on a label best known for steel guitars and hick vocals. Heck the records that were released on either side of this '58 doo wop piece include Jimmy Wolford's great 2 sider and Jack Tucker and Gene Brown's waxings of the classic "Big Door". Don't figure that 4 Star had too many R&B things shakin' at the time. Don't figure on 4 Star putting too much behind it, making it as scarce as, well, a doo wop record on 4 Star.

I Never Find Any Good Fuzz 45s ...

2009-08-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

... or so I was thinking.

HOUSE OF DAVID- Long Way Back Home (Cheese 69)

You dig and dig and dig. You come home empty handed or you settle just to have something. On occasion you find a record or two. I did better than a record or two last week.

On Wednesday one of the local libraries book sales turned up a pair of copies of a scarce early 80s metal lp from some high school kids in Midland, the next shop produced an in demand SSW lp by local boys the Ragar Duo, and at another stop I found "Real Wild Child" by Ivan. Excellent day and week right there.

Friday I headed out to the sometimes excellent Goode Music Shop in Big Spring. Two doors down from the infamous "Record Shop" (the old Glickman place) where I've had decent luck over the years. This time around it was a bust. So on I went and on I went, eventually winding up back in a small south plains town that has produced decent records each of the two previous times I visited.

About 5 years ago this town turned up the Spades original waxing of "You're Gonna Miss Me" on Zero and "Primitive" by the Groupies. Last time I was through a couple of years back the town produced a box with some tasty soul.

Friday's trip makes up for all of the busts I've ever had. I walked into a room with 1000s of 45s, the most I've ever seen outside of collections or record shops. Lots of junk to be sure, but the box below revealed all three of the One Way Street releases on Deeek AND Joe Poovey's "Ten Long Fingers". And that was just the first box. Steve Mancha's "Friday Night", The Cynic's WILD take on "Train Kept A' Rollin'", Avon and the Rave-Ons on Towne House, and Commonwealth Jones (Ronnie Dawson) on Banner made appearances as well.

I almost passed by the House of David single. It looked like it could be something, but it also looked like it be, uh, cheezy. My gut reaction was a break-in or novelty record and I actually went so far as to set it in my 'maybe' pile.

Opening with pulsing fuzz and the lines "My mind opened when I walked through the wall, leaving the world far behind", the whole thing feels either lazy or stoned and wraps up with a nice little guitar wigout. Rare? Probably just a bit. It's only been comped in just the past couple of years and so far no other information about the combo is known. Shouldn't be too hard to find a guy named Happy Vaughn though. Right?

Keep your peeper's open on my trio of blawgs as I'll be throwing up a soul/R&B mix, a rockabilly mix, and an all Texas blast over the next week or two.

(The Pioneer Dig)

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My blawg Country. & Western has great looking country jiver by Rusty McDonald that came from this find. And I've got all-girl combo The Heart Beats up at LoneStarStomp.

Be Right Back...

2009-08-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hey Kids...

Spent a few hours diggin' through a decent bunch of records last week.
Managed to knock 5 or 6 actual records off the want list in my noggin' and score a ton of other great tunes. So ol' Westex is working up a set of Soul/R&B, rockabilly/hillbilly, and Texas discs while trying to finish off summer chores before going back to work. It should be a hoot with LOADS of great cuts.

So check back in a couple of days... The Cynics, One Way Street, Ronnie Dawson, Steve Mancha, Thunderbirds, the Fabulous Pearls, and more and more and more just might knock yer panties right off.

Just Hang On Long Enough for the Guitar Break...

2009-08-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

MICKEY & SYLVIA- Let's Have A Picnic (VIK 0290)

Aaah... what a duo. And what a guitar player!

Now... I know this is about a picnic and it sounds goofy and all. But just wait for the break... one of Mickey's BEST!!! And I swear... if you listen close you can hear him humming ahead a note or two.

Rural Psych, With a Touch of Violin

2009-07-31T22:21:00.001-07:00

SHIVA'S HEADBAND- Kaleidescoptic (Ignite 681)

Here's an odd little one I picked up recently. I've long known the Shiva name and understood their place within the Texas psych scene, but can't honestly say I'd actually heard the group. This is their first release from 1968. The violin can be a bit jarring the first time through... it was for me.

Leader Spencer Perskin's has his own Shiva's Headband site HERE, with short rundown of the group's history.

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Check my regional blawg, LoneStarStomp for another Ignite 45 from 1968.

Find of the Year?

2009-07-25T14:04:00.001-07:00

In a year of nice record acquisitions, there are few that top this....

JIM SULLIVAN- S/T (Century City Records)

I was first hep'd to the genius of Jim Sullivan via Waxidermy (link below) a couple of years back. When I first heard it my life was going through transitions. I had started give more sounds more space in my life. Things didn't have to have jangle n' fuzz. Neither did they have to jump, jive, or bop. Jim Sullivan also opened my eyes to the power of the lp format. Jim was my daycare-drop off soundtrack for like 6 months straight. Heck, ol' Jim's probably one of the things that helped me quit smoking!

I wasn't figgerin' on ever finding a copy of the lp. Not that this press on Century City Records is particularly rare (another alternate mix on Monnie goes for BIG Monnie). It pops on an internet auction sites often enough, but I never really even considered looking there. Find it wild, or don't find it at all.

But there I was slinking through overpriced junk at the Round Rock Half Price Books in early July when I hit the religious section... and whaddya know... there was ol' Jim staring at me right up front on the top row... eyeball to eyeball. Like somebody sat him there for me.

Jim's story (check the waxi-link below) is interesting, and seems to have ended with a truck and guitar left behind in some New Mexico motel with Jim never being seen nor heard from again.

So the music... absolutely amazing.

Trying to square 10 great-to-amazing tracks down to 3 for this blog was tough. Tougher yet because I hear this album as a whole, not pieces, so it now sounds incomplete to me in this context. "Highways" and "UFO" have been constant favorites, though, with "Plain" being a new favorite after a week on the road in New Mexico. Next week I might be back to hearing "Jerome" or "Rosie" where ever I go.

Check out the Waxidermy review HERE to listen to the whole lp, the Monnie press, read about a Capitol exec who REALLY believed in Jim, and find out what he has in common with Frank Sinatra, Little Richard, Deke Dickerson, and Green Acres.

Have Mercy Miss Percy!

2009-07-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

LONG TALL MARVIN- Have Mercy Miss Percy (Modern Records 993)

Released in June of 1956, the year rock n' roll blasted wide open. It's certainly nothing groundbreaking. Not even too far a' stretch from that Little Richard feller on Specialty. Speaking of Specialty.. This is Marvin Phillips, one half of Marvin and Johnny who had previously recorded for Specialty before coming up with the popular "Cherry Pie" on Modern.