Eddie Bond

Eddie Bond
Originally uploaded by loshuevos15

Here is Eddie Bond on Mercury Records singing a great uptempo rockabilly tune called "Boppin' Bonnie". This is a great song with great guitar playing and a cool walking bass line in the breaks. One of my favorites for sure. Eddie Bond is a rockabilly and country singer who grew up in Memphis and was a contemporary of greats like Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins. Eddie and his band, The Stompers, auditioned for both Sun Records and Meteor Records with no success. They were able to secure a recording contract for the much smaller Ekko records and they released two decent country flavored records. After these two releases, they were picked up by a major label, Mercury Records. Here Eddie Bond and the Stompers really came into their own releasing such great rockers as "Rockin' Daddy" and "Slip, Slip, Slippin' In". This record is one I've had for a while that I found at a record show in Oakland, CA back in 2002. I hope you enjoy it!

Ronnie Self

Ronnie Self
Originally uploaded by loshuevos15

Here's a couple of good rockabilly records from Ronnie Self. The first one is "Pretty Bad Blues" that was released on ABC Paramount. ABC Paramount is a major label that released all kinds of good rockin' songs in the 50's. They even had some good blues and soul into the 60's. This record, even though it was released on major label, is still pretty rare to find. I think I traded one of my friends for this copy. The second song is "Bop-A-Lena" on Columbia Records. This was one of my first "holy crap I can't believe I found this in a thrift store" records. Later I found out that this song was pretty popular and sold pretty well, so it really didn't turn out to be the find that I thought it was. Oh well, you really can't beat that feeling even if it turns out to be unwarranted. Ronnie Self had a few more releases on Columbia which unfortunately all failed to chart. He saw his greatest success as a composer of Brenda Lee's "Sweet Nothings".

Sid King and the Five Strings

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost a week since my last post... Here is a record that I've been playing a lot recently. It's Sid King and the Five Strings playing "When My Baby Left Me" on Columbia Records. I'm glad this was released on Columbia, otherwise if it was released on a smaller label with less distribution it would be ridiculously expensive. It's just got that classic sound. I was fortunate enough to see Sid King and his brother Billy perform in San Francisco in 2003. They still put on a great show.

Johnny Burnette Trio - Lonesome Train

burnette trio
Originally uploaded by loshuevos15

Wow! What a great rockabilly record! This really is the epitome of what the rockabilly sound is all about. Slap bass, great guitar lines, hiccup-y vocals.... I don't know what else to say! Enjoy!!

Curley Money on Rambler - Stop Your Knockin'

Curley Money
Originally uploaded by loshuevos15

Here's a really good 45 I found recently... it's Curley Money on his own Rambler label out of Columbus, Georgia. I don't know much about this record and it doesn't seem that much has been written about it. It's been on a couple compilations, but I can't find it in any of my books. It's a great rockabilly song, so hopefully with this posting a few more people will have some exposure to it.
***Update: Since I recorded this and put it on youtube, I have been lucky enough to get an email from the son of Curley Money who is a good musician in his own right. His name is Dannie Money. Check out his youtube page here: http://www.youtube.com/user/bigmoney1950

How about one more from Memphis?

Here's another record that came out of Memphis in the 50's... It's Ramon Maupin on the Fernwood Records label singing "No Chance". I really like this song! I always find myself throwing this on the turntable when I only have time to spin a few records. It's usually at the top of my list... Something about it just gets me.

Great songs from Memphis

Now here's a transition from Detroit over to Memphis. Ordinarily you would immediately think Sun Records when you think about Memphis, but here are a couple good records from two other labels. First up is a good rockabilly/ rock 'n roll song by Jay B. Loyd on the Hi label. The song is "I'm So Lonely". Hi Records was owned by Sun recording artist Ray Harris. I never thought much of their releases, but this record is one exception. Great melody on this one!
The other record tonight is on the Meteor Records label by J.T. (Big Boy) Brown. The song is "Dumb Woman Blues". Meteor Records was a company that ran for a short 5 years, but the quality of the music that they released more than compensated for their short stay. Elmore James, Charlie Feathers, Junior Thompson, Jess Hooper.... and so many more... I wish I had more on this label, but I think I might only have 3 or 4. That's it!

The Phantom - Whisper Your Love on Dot

Ok, one more... Here is the flip to that one from earlier... The Phantom singing "Whisper Your Love".

The Phantom - "Love Me" on Dot

This will be it for tonight... I really could do this for hours. Here's The Phantom on Dot Records singing the frantic "Love Me". I love how this song starts off with that crazy scream! And then the song gets wilder from there. I have no idea how this song found the light of day, especially on a record label owned by Pat Boone. I know it bombed and that's why this record is so tough to find. Just the fact that it made it to release is amazing, but since it's such a great song, I'm happy that it was. The flipside is another great song called "Whisper Your Love". It's a slower ballad, most likely originally considered the A-side. It has a great echo-y sound to it. Maybe I'll post that one too....

This record was another ebay purchase and my first leap into more expensive records. I'm pretty sure I did a little dance when this showed up in my mailbox. Someday I hope to find one in better condition, but I'm happy just to own this one.

Smokey Joe - "Listen To Me" on Flip

This has been so much fun, but I'm only going to do a couple more tonight... This is Smokey Joe Baugh on Flip Records singing "Listen To Me". Flip Records was owned by Sam Phillips, the same person who owned Sun Records. He released handful of records on Flip and then rereleased a couple of them on Sun. I think there was some kind of name copyright issue with Flip Records out of Hollywood and that's why the record label folded. I found this record in an antique store in Alameda, California... It's probably one of my most memorable finds. It was kind of weird because this record was just sitting on a shelf without any other records around it. I was starting to have visions of finding some other good stuff in the store, but this was it. Not that I'm complaining because this is pretty cool.

Pat Cupp - "Do Me No Wrong" on RPM

Here's a record I've had for a while. Pat Cupp on RPM Records singing "Do Me No Wrong". This is a fantastic uptempo rockabilly song from 1956. I picked this up on ebay back when you could still find deals. I'm not going to rant about it (it wouldn't be the first time), but it's been pretty frustrating for the past couple of years. As soon as the value of the dollar fell, European collectors took over ebay. It's hard to compete these days... though I do have my own tricks.

Haha, I just noticed that you can hear our dogs barking at the end of the recording... no charge!

Doug Weiss - "Do You Love Another" on Tosa

This is a record I picked up recently. Doug Weiss on Tosa Records singing "Do You Love Another". Not a bad song. Not crazy rocking, but not bad. The song was rerecorded and released on Dinamo Records a year or so after this was released. I haven't heard it yet, but apparently the Dinamo version is a little better. Still, I have never seen this record before and I've seen a ton of the Dinamo releases, so I would assume this one to be pretty rare.