The Honeycombs - Can't Get Through To You

The Honeycombs - Can't get through to you [Warner Brothers 1965]

One night a group, known then as The Sheratons, was playing in a London pub, The Mildmay Tavern in the Balls Pond Road. In the audience were Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, a very prolific British songwriting team, who later wrote hits for such artists as Lulu, Elvis Presley, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich and Petula Clark. Howard and Blaikley, then working in production for BBC Television, liked what they saw and suggested the band might like to hear some of their material. The band had an upcoming audition with indie record producer Joe Meek, whom most notably had produced The Tornados, and composed their number one hit ("Telstar") in 1962, and were eager for some new material. At the audition in Meek's studio in Holloway Road, they played Howard and Blaikley's "Have I the Right?" which Meek recorded.

Have I The Right?" hit number one in the UK and number five in the U.S. in the autumn of 1964 shortly after the start of the British Invasion. They were especially successful in Sweden (four consecutive number ones) and in Japan (where they issued a live album entitled, In Tokyo). Honey Lantree was an accomplished drummer and the star attraction of the group as she was one of very few female drummers at the time. The unique and heavily compressed bass drum sound on "Have I The Right?", which many other drummers of the period tried to replicate, was augmented by the group stamping on the stairs of Meek's studio. Meek achieved this by placing four microphones attached with bicycle clips under the stairs.

The group's founder Martin Murray had worked as a hairdresser, Honey Lantree being his assistant. They decided to combine his profession with the name of the drummer, and changed their name to The Honeycombs. They were signed to the Pye record label.

After proving a 'sleeper' for seven weeks the record took off in the summer of 1964 reaching the number one spot around the world
and selling over 2 million records. It was Meek's final hit in the
United States, where it was issued on the Interphon label (a Vee Jay label).

Listen to this Joe Meek penned b-side and get ready for an assault on your senses....

The Honeycombs Can't get through to you

Yaphet Koto - Have You Ever Seen The Blues?

Yaphet Koto - Have you ever seen the blues? [Chisa 1968]


A great actor who unfortunately came up when the Hollywood system allowed for only one or two Black actors to play prominent roles in marque movies. Had Kotto started in the 1990s, you would know his name as well as you know Jamie Foxx, Denzel Washington, and Samuel Jackson. But as it is, Yaphet Kotto remains a cult figure known mostly for his role as the best Bond villain, Dr. Karanga AKA Mr. Big, from Live & Let Die. Kotto fans thrill every time they see him show up in a bit role on TV or as a character in a movie.

Kotto did this jazz poetry blast back in '68, and it comes off as a bit less Burn Baby, Burn than The Last Poets. Perhaps that is because Kotto is the son of a Cameroonian prince! And his producer on this is fellow African Hugh Masekela. Coming from Africa and seeing the plight of American Blacks in the 1960s, especially the institutionalized poverty, is a bit different than living it. So maybe that is why Kotto doesn't spit the same rage as The Last Poets......or maybe he is just a different cat.

Man, I don't wanna kill your buzz so forget that jive for a second and check out Kotto's Beat-inspired 'try (as in poe'try).

Yaphet Koto Have you ever seen the blues?

Young Jessie - Don't Think I Will

Young Jessie - Don't think I will [Modern 1955]


Young Jessie, was born Obediah Donnell "Obie" Jessie on December 28, 1936, in Lincoln Manor, Dallas, Texas.

Jessie's father was a cook but had no musical background. His
mother, Malinda (née Harris) had a brief musical career playing piano under the name Plunky Harris. On his mother's side of the family, Jessie was also kin to blues musician Blind Lemon Jefferson.

Best known as the writer of his original "Mary Lou," [later covered by Ronnie Hawkins in 1959, Bob Seger in 1976, Gene Clark in 1977 and The Oblivians in 1997] as well as a stint in The Flairs in the early 1950s and The Coasters in 1957 singing lead on "Searchin'" and "Young Blood".

He made several solo singles in the 1950s and 1960s. He would later release a couple of jazz albums under the name Obie Jessie.

His younger brother DeWayne Jessie became an actor and
became well known as Otis Day in the film National Lampoon's
Animal House.

Check out the other side of "Mary Lou" a killer "doomba, doomba, dooma doom" with the great Mickey Baker on guitar.

Young Jessie Don't think I will

Eugene White - They Didn't Really Go To The Moon [Pt's 1&2]

Eugene White - They Didn't Really Go To The Moon, pts 1&2 [Royal American]


How, where, why???? All good questions that come to mind when you listen to this slab of conspiracy theory, made-up-on-the-spot, explanation by one Eugene White...a grammar school drop-out for sure. He's got an explanation for just about everything his deer-in the-headlights buddy can throw at him.

I'm not sure when this was recorded but it had to be 1969 or later. Part 1 is on side A and part 2 on side B....I joined them so you could have an uninterrupted listening experience...whew!

The scary side of the whole thing is that the label says:

From the album "They Didn't Really Go To The Moon"

A whole LP of opinions from the man who almost made me wet my pants, Eugene White.

Eugene White They Didn't Really Go To The Moon

The Persuaders [Hollywood Persuaders] - Grunion Run

The Persuaders - Grunion Run [Original Sound 1963]

Around the same time that Frank Zappa was honing his doo-wop chops [See previous post / The Penguins - Memories of El Monte] he was also working with some of the local bands....one band was The Hollywood Persuaders....I don't know if they dropped the "Hollywood" or added it as I have another of their 45's "Drums A-Go-Go that is credited to The Hollywood Persuaders. I guess I could check the #'s but is it really necessary? Just check out Zappa's guitar on this slab of surf/psych!! Awesome.

What they are: Grunion are small sardine-shaped silvery fish that ride the waves in Del Mar City Beach, La Jolla Shores, Mission Beach and Silver Strand Beach up onto the sand to procreate, making for a veritable sea of squirming 4-8 inch fish out of water.

The deal is: The female grunion buries herself in the sand to lay her eggs and the male wraps himself around her to fertilize them--a female's eggs might be fertilized by up to eight males in one night. Then they wait for a wave to take them back out to sea.

The Persuaders Grunion Run

Zappa: The Penguins - Memories of El Monte

The Penguins - Memories of El Monte [Original Sound 1963]



Written by Frank Zappa & Ray Collins recalling the groups who performed at El Monte Legion Stadium. Although credited to The Penguins only Cleve Duncan remained from the original group which had a hit with "Earth Angel" ten years earlier and broke up around 1959.

Zappa described the other vocalists as "a bunch of guys from the car wash" but they were El Monte Legion Stadium favorites...The Viceroys.

"The very first tunes that I wrote were 50's doo wop, Memories Of El Monte, and stuff like that. It's always been my contention that the music that was happening during the 50's has been one of the
finest things that ever happened to American music and I loved it. I could sit down and write a hundred more of the 1950's type songs
right now, and enjoy every minute of it."
Frank Zappa - In His Own Words (1974)

The record was recorded at Paul Buff's studio in Ccamonga, California. Paul Conrad Buff grew up in Cucamonga. Joining the Marine Corps, after graduating, he trained in aviation electronics. He returned to civilian life and took a job making parts for guided missiles at General Dynamics. After a few months at the "Bomb factory", as FZ would refer to it, he was bored with his job so he borrowed $1000 and, knowing nothing about the music business, set up the Pal recording studio in Cucamonga. Recording studios were usually controlled by the big record companies at that time so he could offer a cheaper alternative for would-be bands to record. His lack of knowledge and finance meant that the studio produced a different sound from the major studios which became known as the "Pal Sound". He worked with groups such as the Surfaris ("Wipe Out"), The Chantays ("Pipeline"), and many others.

The Penguins Memories of El Monte

Andre Williams....The Black Godfather

Andre Williams lived in a housing project with his mother until she dide when he was six years of age. A sly and smart young boy, his "aunties" raised him until he was around 16. He then set out on his own and moved to the motor city, Detroit. There, he bacame friends with Jack and Devora Brown, owners of Fortune Records located in the back of a barber shop.

In 1955 he became lead singer for the 5 Dollars vocal group, which already had a contract with Fortune. Though most of the songs were billed as Andre 'Mr. Rhythm' Williams and the Don Juans. One of their songs was such a big hit [Bacon Fat] that Fortune sold the song to Epic Records which had a much larger distributor. Another song that was a hit by Williams at the time was "Jailbait". Both of these bore the name Andre Williams & Orchestra. Since both were successes, Williams figured that "talking instead of singing" was a better idea for him, for he didn't have a good a voice as some other singers from the 1950's. In 1960 Fortune released a complete LP, of all of his singles with the Don Juans, which was titled JAIL BAIT [rereleased in 1986]. This was the start of Williams nationwide fame.

Just before "The Black Godfather" inked a contract with Chess
Records [1968] he released two records on the Avin Record Label, then two records were released on Detroit's Wingate label [1966]:"Loose Juice" and "Do it".

Download the B-side of "Loose Juice"....and purrrrrr!!!!

Andre Williams Sweet Little Pussycat

Bob "Froggy" Landers w/ Willie Joe & his Unitar

It's time for the world to know about the meanest sounding guitar of the 50's.....Willie Joe & his Unitar!

Sure Link Wray's "Rumble" is the most sinister sounding 2:13 seconds R&R ever had! but Joe Willie Duncan listened to his woman when she said..."bigger is better, Joe Willie...!"

Willie's Unitar was a killer one-stringed instrument of atomic
proportions.....the Unitar. Made from an amplified 7 foot wood plank with one string [actually a wire] with a playing scale of over 4 and a half feet and wired with a DeArmond acoustic guitar pickup. Duncan didn't "pick" the string but instead used a hunk of leather to flog the string as he played it.

Specialty records' head honcho Rene' Hall flipped his first name and recorded him as Willie Joe & his Unitar and put Unitar Rock on the flip side of Bob "Froggy" Landers killer "Cherokee Dance".

Listen to both of these classic 50's hookie-lau's!!!

Bob "Froggy" Landers Cherokee Dance
Willie Joe & his Unitar Unitar Rock

Jerusalem - Kamakazi Moth

Jerusalem - Kamakazi Moth [Deram 1972]

I figured since my tastes range from blues, r&b, soul, garage, hard rock that I'd post something other that what I've been...having said that dig this pounding killer from a bunch of teenagers in the UK...

Jerusalem was an early 1970s British raunchy heavy rock five piece outfit, who released one self-titled album worldwide in 1972 on Deram, produced by Ian Gillan of Deep Purple. Their only other release was a 45 rpm 7 inch single, the non-album ‘Kamikazi Moth’ backed with ‘Frustration’ from the LP.

The band's raunchy, unpolished and brutal rock was "way ahead of its time" and therefore the band never "made it" in a true commercial sense at the time. They were very much a "live" band and whilst many other Rock bands were into getting their audiences to sit down and listen, Jerusalem were all about making their audiences stand up, move and join in. Gigging throughout Europe and shared the same stage as bands such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and Status Quo as well as playing at some of the major Festivals in Europe to audiences of 50,000+, usually going down in a storm, because they were different, raw and uninhibited. It has often been stated within the music business that Jerusalem were a substantial influence on many of the 2nd generation Rock "metal" bands and Punk bands of the 80's. Although signing with Deram, Nick Mobbs head of the EMI Harvest label also wanted them; he later became head of A&R for EMI and was the first person to sign the Sex Pistols.

Keep in mind that these guys were all teenagers when they recorded.

Jerusalem Kamakazi Moth

Jimmie Raye - Hey Let's Dance

Jimmie Raye - Hey Let's Dance [Satan 1962]

Jimmie Raye Feagen was born in Alabama and raised in Niagara Falls, New York. His grandfather Abraham Singer was the voice that he listened to the most and being a minister, he introduced Jimmie to the bible. The family moved to Niagara Falls when he was eight years old.

At the age of nine The Junior Royal Gospel Singers was formed with Jimmie, his sisters Ina, Mae and Pearl. The Royal Gospel Singers were very popular in the Niagara Falls, Buffalo area and the Junior Royal Gospel Singers would often open the concert for them. Jimmie enjoyed singing the lord's music he learned growing up. In his home there were two types of music, Country and Gospel.....Rhythm and Blues was not allowed.

In 1962 Jimmie went to Washington D.C. where Bo Didley introduced Jimmie Raye to singer/producer Sylvester Steward [Sly Stone???]. Satan Records was the recording company formed and Jimmie recorded "Hey Let's Dance" b/w "Forgive Me."

Check out this slab of screamin' R&B & dance!! As it was recorded in D.C. in 1962 it's possible that Link Wray & the Wraymen might've had something to do with the hookey-lau goings on....sounds like it could be.

I dare anyone to not wet their pants as Jimmie gets into it toward the end of the record.

Jimmie Raye Hey Let's Dance

Calvin Cool & the Surf Knobs - El Tecolote

Calvin Cool & the Surf Knobs- El Tecolote [C-R-C 1963]

Calvin Cool was really one of the leading figures of West Coast jazz, Shorty Rogers. He recorded 1-LP & 1 45rpm as Calvin Cool.

His decision to stop performing and switch to full-time studio work in 1962 marked the end of its golden era. Rogers played with a number of big bands in the late 1940s, and began to attract attention as an arranger while working with Woody Herman. Stan Kenton then hired him away from Herman and Rogers' compositions and arrangements for Kenton made him as much of a star as any of Kenton's soloists. Rogers left Kenton and pulled together a small group that included Art Pepper, Shelley Manne, Jimmy Giuffre, and Hampton Hawes to record Modern Sounds for Capitol. Rogers' tight and innovative arrangements on this recording are considered by many to be as influential as Gil Evans' for Miles Davis' small group on Birth of the Cool.

Rogers formed a small group he called the Giants and recorded a series of albums for RCA, including The Cool and the Crazy and Shorty Courts the Count. Marlon Brando wanted Rogers to provide the soundtrack for his movie, The Wild One, but the studio refused, hiring Leith Stevens to provide most of the score. Rogers was featured on screen, though, in Frank Sinatra's The Man With the Golden Arm, leading the jazz group Sinatra's character played with. Rogers also worked with Perez Prado on a concept album titled Voodoo Suite.

Rogers was a dramatic character but a thoroughly professional musician, and he moved to the financial security of writing for television and movies when the West Coast jazz scene began to fade in the early 1960s. He was a prolific contributor to television and to a lesser extent films through the 1980s. Among the series he scored or wrote incidental music for were "The Partridge Family," "The Mod Squad," "The Rookies," "Starsky and Hutch," and "The Love Boat." His tune "Chelsea Memorandum" shows up in the midst of Lalo Schifrin's cuts on the second "Mission: Impossible" soundtrack album. He also composed and conducted the music for a number of the innovative UPA cartoons featuring the work of Theodore Geissel (Dr. Seuss) and Stan Freberg.

During this period, Rogers continued to work occasionally on pop and jazz recordings, but primarily as an arranger. He and Claus Ogerman split arranging duties on Mel Torme's 1962 hit album, "Coming Home, Baby." Late in the 1960s, he was responsible for one of those assimilation-via-train wreck creations that incredibly strange music fans love, Bobby Bryant's "The Jazz Excursion into 'Hair'". He pops up as arranger in a variety of places, from Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass' Christmas album to Bud Shank's mellow album of Lovin' Spoonful covers for Liberty to Frances Faye's now sounds album, "Go Go Go." One of his ignominious credits is the arrangement for Wayne Newton's cover of "These Boots are Made for Walking."

Shorty or Calvin died in 1994......

Calvin Cool El Tecolote

Jenks "Tex" Carman - Hillbilly Hula [Capitol 1952]

Submitted by "Albany" Al Tellone of Newark - a.k.a. Albee
Albee is an old, old friend of mine...we worked and met at the Danelectro Guitar Factory in 1969? or 1968. He was also [along with Big Danny Gallagher] the first road crew for Bruce Springsteen as well as adding sax to the Boss's 2nd LP.


Jenks Tex Carman was one of the more dubious but interesting talents ever to achieve stardom, however fleeting, in country music. A player of great dexterity but severely lacking in any sense of rhythm, and even more lacking in a voice, Carman succeeded on the basis of the sheer enthusiasm of his performances, achieving some respectable record sales and a national following based on his television appearances.

Carman's Capitol recording career lasted from April of 1951 until December of 1953, and despite some very uncomfortable moments in the studio, he generated some choice sides — "Hillbilly Hula" was his most famous and requested song.

Jenks "Tex" Carman was not in a league with the best steel or Hawaiian guitarists, and his vocal skills were even more limited. He was a master showman, however, and accomplished with sheer enthusiasm and reckless abandon what he couldn't do with technical skills or musical instincts.

Listen to this steel string twistin' party!!

Jenks "Tex" Carman Hillbilly Hula

Big Daddy & His Boys - Bacon Fat

Big Daddy & His Boys - Bacon Fat [King 1957]

The greasy, grindin' slab of 10" shellac was released in 1957 on Sid Nathans' King Records. Bacon Fat was originally done by Andre' Williams on Epic Records in 1956 and re-released on Fortune in 1957.

Big Daddy is really Big Bob Kornegay who also recorded as "The Happy Wanderer" - "Hocus Pocus Voodoo" on Herald Records, Big Bob the incredible "Your line was a busy" on Jaro Records, and Big Bee Kornegay - "The House of Frankenstein".

His first recordings were in 1951/'52 on Sittin' In With Records, NYC, afterwhich he took the bass chair in the Du-Droppers and later in The Ravens when Jimmy Ricks left to go solo.

The last anyone heard of The Big Man was in 1963 when he put out Wowsville, pts 1&2 on Stacy Records.

Download this slab of "Bacon Fat"...

Big Daddy & His Boys Bacon Fat

Jazz Bassist Sees a Sitar in the Corner And.......

Bill Plummer & the Cosmic Brotherhood - Journey to the East [Impulse 1968]

To call this "faux-psych" would be doing a this incredible part of the California psych scene a disservice. It's so good that who cares if it is just a bunch of studio guys that listened to Dr. Tim and took his advice. One look at the musician credits gives you a hint that it's chock full of heavyweights. Hersh Hamel (Himmelstein) gets the songwriting and production credit. Look into Hamel's history and you find that he was a constant figure in West Coast Jazz. His name is behind Chet Baker (he appears in Let's Get Lost), Dexter Gordon, Teddy Edwards, and especially Art Pepper. Carol Kaye you might recognize as the thundering bass on "These Boots Are Made For Walking", a young Tom Scott adds sax, flute & electronics, Milt Holland on tabla and the ringleader is Bill Plummer, string bassist & sitarist who made an astounding and quite collectible sitar psych jazz album. The vocals are handled by a guy named Maurice Miller, who primarily was a jazz drummer, having played behind John Coltrane on Cosmic Music (as well as other gigs).

Check out this tongue-in-cheek homage to all things "cosmic" by downloading the opening track for the LP below.


Bill Plummer & the Cosmic Brotherhood Journey to the East

James Brown Meets a Giant

James Brown & Fabulous Flames - That Dood It [Federal 1957]

Check out this slab of 10" mayhem from the Godfather. One of the most untypical recordings of JB's early career. It's the comic tale of "a great big ole giant, my money, my honey, and me", cast in the similar mold of what Ray Charles was doing a couple of years previous.

As far as I know "That Dood It" was never released on 45rpm but only on 78rpm but it did appear on JB's first LP "Please Please Please" in 1959. It was included on ROOTS OF A REVOLUTION, a double cd of some of JB's early recordings which was released and is now Out Of Print.

JB's picks for singles releases were totally at odds with cigar smokin' Sid Nathan of King Records in Cincinnati....I would've loved to be a fly on the wall for this one.

James Brown & the Fabulous Flames That Dood It

Who Was That Moocher?

Dave Bartholomew - Who Drank The Beer While I Was In The Rear [Imperial 1952]

Dave Bartholomew was the man behind Fats Domino rise to success as well as being the author of Chuck Berry's only #1 - My Ding-A-Ling [but we'll forgive him for that!].

Trumpet player, entepreneur, songwriter, member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame...all these titles apply to the great Dave Bartholomew. Elvis Costello thought enough of DB to mention him in "Monkey to Man" on THE DELIVERY MAN which came out in 2004.

Check out this amazing slice of R&B from one of the first artists to write about social issues [The Monkey].

Dave Bartholomew Who Drank The Beer While I Was In The Rear