Roger
2024-08-09 05:39:49 UTC
Ten fave unreleased tracks chosen from my yearly Favorites lists
Today………from 1955
WYNONA CARR – DING DONG DADDY
From the second session for Specialty of her secular career (previously
she had concentrated on gospel material) came the rocking “Ding Dong
Daddy” that amazingly failed to get a legitimate Specialty release
(45rpm copies purporting to be Specialty 628 b/w “Touch And Go” are
boots---Specialty 628 is a real Wynona release---but it has “The Things
You Do To Me” paired with “Touch And Go”---and its from 1958)
‘Twas 1985 before “Ding Dong Daddy” saw the light of a ringing cash
register when it finally appeared on the UK Ace collection of Wynona
tracks---“Hit That Jive Jack”
Worth mentioning that the number did EXTREMELY well in the 2014
Unreleased Battle ending up as #9 in the list of winners
BOBBY CHARLES – I’LL TURN SQUARE FOR YOU
Hailing from Abbeville,Louisiana Bobby Charles broke onto the music
scene in 1955 singing his self-composed “Later Alligator” number over
the phone to Leonard Chess who promptly signed him and put out his
record of the song (which promptly invited a cover version—with a slight
tweak in the title---by the then riding sky high Bill Haley & His Comets
who took the song ---now as “See You Later Alligator”---high into the
charts.
One of several memorable songs Bobby recorded for Chess was the catchy
“I’ll Turn Square For You” that sadly ended up on Chess’ cutting room
floor but was resurrected in 1983 when it finally saw release on the
“Chess Masters” LP that collected up not only this song but several
other as yet unreleased numbers by the singer
BO DIDDLEY – HEART-O-MATIC LOVE
Representing the 1955 year of inception Bo Diddley in the 2014
Unreleased Battle came the sparse yet
hypnotically insistent “Heart-O-Matic Love” (Bo Diddley vcl/gtr/Lester
Davenport (hca) Jerome Green (maraccas) Willie Dixon (bass) Clifton
James or Frank Kirkland (dms)
Sadly the track had to wait several decades to see release. It
eventually surfaced on the MCA/Chess
set “Rare And Well Done” in 1991
FATS DOMINO – HELP ME
This very nice slowie from Fats was recorded 15 March 1955 at Master
Recorders in Hollywood,Ca. and stayed in the Imperial vaults for over a
decade until rescued in 1968 and added to the set list for the Imperial
LP “Urban Blues Vol. 2 : New Orleans Bounce” the then latest in their
famous “Legendary Masters” series of releases
THE MOONGLOWS – DOUBTFUL
One of the very best vocal groups of the 1950’s and though I rate their
earlier “earthier” material on Chance label best I still like a good
deal of their later Chess label material.
Which is where the very good “Doubtful” comes from---with Bobby Lester
on lead and the other boys doing what they do best behind him---the song
was completed in March 1955 but sadly never released at the time,
In fact it stayed in the vaults until resurrected for the 2014 set “Top
55 Classics – The Very Best
Of The Moonglows”
THE ORIOLES – BRING THE MONEY HOME
From the May 1955 session for Jubilee that produced the October released
single “Moody Over You”/”Please Sing My Blues Tonight” came one of the
very best things the Orioles ever did IMO ----the excellent “Bring The
Money Home” that was never released at the time (which was a total
travesty). It was 1992 before the track surfaced on the Collectables
3-CD set “For Collectors Only”
This was popular enough in the Unreleased Battle to wind up #18 in the
final listing
HAL PAIGE & THE WHALERS – ROCK THIS JOINT THIS MORNING
First off eternal thanks go to Diane for nominating this GREAT
absolutely SCORCHING rockin’ effort in the 2014 Unreleased Battle. I
don’t think I knew it before that and it instantly became one of my most
favorite items in the contest. It’s stayed one of my top faves ever
since
Thanks Di!
Okay…the history….Paige & co were pacted to Hy Weiss’ Old Town recording
setup in 1955 and had just one release on their subsidiary Paradise
label (most remembered as the home of The Harptones’ absolute classic
“Life Is But A Dream” earlier that year). The track in question here
seems to have languished in the Old Town vaults until rescued in 1987
when it first appeared on the UK Ace LP “Harlem Hit Parade (Old Town
Blues Vol.2)"
BTW Apparently I’m far from alone in my huge liking for this one since
it finished the HIGHEST placed recording of 1955 in the 2014 Unreleased
Battle results (where it ended up #6 overall)
ELVIS PRESLEY – WHEN IT RAINS IT REALLY POURS
Possibly the last number that Elvis ever cut at Sun in November 1955
backed by Scotty Moore (gtr) Bill Black (bass) and Johnny Bernero (dms)
that revived the earlier Billy “The Kid” Emerson Number (also cut for
Sun).
An overdubbed version of the song appears on the 1965 LP “Elvis For
Everyone” but the original as cut for Sun had to wait until 1987 and
“The Complete Sun Sessions” set on RCA
Here’s the 1954 Billy “The Kid” original version (as “When It Rains It
Pours”)
MAMIE REE & YOUNG WOLF – NO NEED ACTING LIKE THAT
Recorded for Jake Porter’s Combo label in 1955 Mamie Ree (alias Mamie
Perry and later more accurately Mamie Jenkins*) combined with “Young
Wolf”---alias bandleader Gus Jenkins---(who as “Gus Jinkins” (sic) will
have the big r&b hit “Tricky” a year on from here) on the excellent “No
Need Acting Like That which missed getting a Combo release and stayed in
the vaults until 1991 when it was rescued with inclusion on the UK Ace
collection “Back To The Alley” (a set compiled by discographer and
friend in heaven Ray Topping)
Mamie herself went on to record for Pioneer International where---as
Mamie Perry---she recorded the future Northern Soul monster “Lament”
No,that one doesn't do much for me either
*I guess most everyone will have guessed by now that somewhere in this
convoluted saga Mamie and Gus took a few moments out to tie the knot and
become man and wife 😊
THE TENDERFOOTS – NO OTHER ONE
These guys evolved from The Lamplighters with Carl White taking the
Thurston Harris role with lead vocal duties ably assisted by Al Frazier
(tenor) Sonny Harris (lead) and Matthew Nelson (bass).
Still signed to Federal,in 1955 in ultra-quick succession the guys
released no less than four singles
in the space of just six months. The tasty “No Other One” was an
unreleased left over from the sessions
that begat these singles
The track finally saw light when included in lineup of the various
artists set “Great Googa Mooga : Rhythm & Bluesin’ With
King-Federal-Deluxe Vocal Groups Vol. 1” on Sequel in 1996
Today………from 1955
WYNONA CARR – DING DONG DADDY
From the second session for Specialty of her secular career (previously
she had concentrated on gospel material) came the rocking “Ding Dong
Daddy” that amazingly failed to get a legitimate Specialty release
(45rpm copies purporting to be Specialty 628 b/w “Touch And Go” are
boots---Specialty 628 is a real Wynona release---but it has “The Things
You Do To Me” paired with “Touch And Go”---and its from 1958)
‘Twas 1985 before “Ding Dong Daddy” saw the light of a ringing cash
register when it finally appeared on the UK Ace collection of Wynona
tracks---“Hit That Jive Jack”
Worth mentioning that the number did EXTREMELY well in the 2014
Unreleased Battle ending up as #9 in the list of winners
BOBBY CHARLES – I’LL TURN SQUARE FOR YOU
Hailing from Abbeville,Louisiana Bobby Charles broke onto the music
scene in 1955 singing his self-composed “Later Alligator” number over
the phone to Leonard Chess who promptly signed him and put out his
record of the song (which promptly invited a cover version—with a slight
tweak in the title---by the then riding sky high Bill Haley & His Comets
who took the song ---now as “See You Later Alligator”---high into the
charts.
One of several memorable songs Bobby recorded for Chess was the catchy
“I’ll Turn Square For You” that sadly ended up on Chess’ cutting room
floor but was resurrected in 1983 when it finally saw release on the
“Chess Masters” LP that collected up not only this song but several
other as yet unreleased numbers by the singer
BO DIDDLEY – HEART-O-MATIC LOVE
Representing the 1955 year of inception Bo Diddley in the 2014
Unreleased Battle came the sparse yet
hypnotically insistent “Heart-O-Matic Love” (Bo Diddley vcl/gtr/Lester
Davenport (hca) Jerome Green (maraccas) Willie Dixon (bass) Clifton
James or Frank Kirkland (dms)
Sadly the track had to wait several decades to see release. It
eventually surfaced on the MCA/Chess
set “Rare And Well Done” in 1991
FATS DOMINO – HELP ME
This very nice slowie from Fats was recorded 15 March 1955 at Master
Recorders in Hollywood,Ca. and stayed in the Imperial vaults for over a
decade until rescued in 1968 and added to the set list for the Imperial
LP “Urban Blues Vol. 2 : New Orleans Bounce” the then latest in their
famous “Legendary Masters” series of releases
THE MOONGLOWS – DOUBTFUL
One of the very best vocal groups of the 1950’s and though I rate their
earlier “earthier” material on Chance label best I still like a good
deal of their later Chess label material.
Which is where the very good “Doubtful” comes from---with Bobby Lester
on lead and the other boys doing what they do best behind him---the song
was completed in March 1955 but sadly never released at the time,
In fact it stayed in the vaults until resurrected for the 2014 set “Top
55 Classics – The Very Best
Of The Moonglows”
THE ORIOLES – BRING THE MONEY HOME
From the May 1955 session for Jubilee that produced the October released
single “Moody Over You”/”Please Sing My Blues Tonight” came one of the
very best things the Orioles ever did IMO ----the excellent “Bring The
Money Home” that was never released at the time (which was a total
travesty). It was 1992 before the track surfaced on the Collectables
3-CD set “For Collectors Only”
This was popular enough in the Unreleased Battle to wind up #18 in the
final listing
HAL PAIGE & THE WHALERS – ROCK THIS JOINT THIS MORNING
First off eternal thanks go to Diane for nominating this GREAT
absolutely SCORCHING rockin’ effort in the 2014 Unreleased Battle. I
don’t think I knew it before that and it instantly became one of my most
favorite items in the contest. It’s stayed one of my top faves ever
since
Thanks Di!
Okay…the history….Paige & co were pacted to Hy Weiss’ Old Town recording
setup in 1955 and had just one release on their subsidiary Paradise
label (most remembered as the home of The Harptones’ absolute classic
“Life Is But A Dream” earlier that year). The track in question here
seems to have languished in the Old Town vaults until rescued in 1987
when it first appeared on the UK Ace LP “Harlem Hit Parade (Old Town
Blues Vol.2)"
BTW Apparently I’m far from alone in my huge liking for this one since
it finished the HIGHEST placed recording of 1955 in the 2014 Unreleased
Battle results (where it ended up #6 overall)
ELVIS PRESLEY – WHEN IT RAINS IT REALLY POURS
Possibly the last number that Elvis ever cut at Sun in November 1955
backed by Scotty Moore (gtr) Bill Black (bass) and Johnny Bernero (dms)
that revived the earlier Billy “The Kid” Emerson Number (also cut for
Sun).
An overdubbed version of the song appears on the 1965 LP “Elvis For
Everyone” but the original as cut for Sun had to wait until 1987 and
“The Complete Sun Sessions” set on RCA
Here’s the 1954 Billy “The Kid” original version (as “When It Rains It
Pours”)
MAMIE REE & YOUNG WOLF – NO NEED ACTING LIKE THAT
Recorded for Jake Porter’s Combo label in 1955 Mamie Ree (alias Mamie
Perry and later more accurately Mamie Jenkins*) combined with “Young
Wolf”---alias bandleader Gus Jenkins---(who as “Gus Jinkins” (sic) will
have the big r&b hit “Tricky” a year on from here) on the excellent “No
Need Acting Like That which missed getting a Combo release and stayed in
the vaults until 1991 when it was rescued with inclusion on the UK Ace
collection “Back To The Alley” (a set compiled by discographer and
friend in heaven Ray Topping)
Mamie herself went on to record for Pioneer International where---as
Mamie Perry---she recorded the future Northern Soul monster “Lament”
No,that one doesn't do much for me either
*I guess most everyone will have guessed by now that somewhere in this
convoluted saga Mamie and Gus took a few moments out to tie the knot and
become man and wife 😊
THE TENDERFOOTS – NO OTHER ONE
These guys evolved from The Lamplighters with Carl White taking the
Thurston Harris role with lead vocal duties ably assisted by Al Frazier
(tenor) Sonny Harris (lead) and Matthew Nelson (bass).
Still signed to Federal,in 1955 in ultra-quick succession the guys
released no less than four singles
in the space of just six months. The tasty “No Other One” was an
unreleased left over from the sessions
that begat these singles
The track finally saw light when included in lineup of the various
artists set “Great Googa Mooga : Rhythm & Bluesin’ With
King-Federal-Deluxe Vocal Groups Vol. 1” on Sequel in 1996