Favorite Finds of 2009

Greetings and welcome to the end of another year. I hope everyone had a great Christmas holiday. And now, it's that time again where I take stock of all the ways the record gods have blessed me in the year just passed. You just saw Todd's list and now it's my turn. This has not been one of my favorite years as there's a lot of stuff going on that ain't necessarily to my liking. But rather than bore you to death with that, I will now share with you what I thought were the high-points of my record collecting year. So, here we go in no particular order:

Tommy Ridgely: Double Eye Whammy (Ric)
Jerry-O: Funky Football (Wand)
James Brown: Tell Me What Yo're Gonna Do (King)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe: That's All (Verve)
The Del-Knights: Everyb0dy Popeye (Bronco)
Richard Berry and the Soul Searchers: Go Go Girl (AMC)
Gene "The Draggin' King" Moles: Burning Rubber (Challenge)
The Wailers: I Don't Want To Follow You (Viva)
The Monarchs: Friday Night (Zone)
Tommy Mitchell: Jukebox Help Me Find My Baby (Mercury)
Lowell Fulsom: Don't Drive Me Baby (Checker)
Mitty Collier: I Can't Lose (Peachtree)
Rufus Thomas: Chicken Scratch (Stax)
Rufus Thomas: The Funky Bird (Stax)
The Rhythm Rockers: Rendezvous Stomp (Challenge)
Bobby Marchan: Booty Green (Fire)
Roddy Jackson: Moose on the Loose/Hiccups (Specialty)
Earl King: Trick Bag (Imperial)
Myra Barnes (Vicki Anderson): (The Answer To 'Super Bad')Super Good Parts 1 and 2 (King)
TV Slim and His Guitar: The Big Fight (Checker)
Maurice and Mac: Kick My Cat, I'll Beat Your Dog (Checker)
The Storey Sisters: Bad Motorcycle (Came0)
Cozy Powell: Race with the Devil/And Then There Was Skin (Chrysalis)
Ray Burden: A Hot Rodder's Dream (Adonis)
Jimmy McCracklin: The Wobble (Mercury)
Jesse Hill: Whip It On Me (Minit)
The Caps: The Red Headed Flea (White Star)
Eyes of Blue: Apache '69 (Mercury)
Leon and the Burners: Crack Up/Whiplash (Josie)
Rex Garvin and the Mighty Cravers: I Gotta Go Now (Up on the Floor) (Like)
Mongo Santamaria: Mongo's Boogaloo (Columbia)
Jim Doval and the Gauchos: Scrub (Diplomacy)
Chuck Bridges and the L.A. Happening: Bad Sam (Vault)
Willie Mitchell: Buddy Bear (Hi)
Harmonica Fats: Mama Mama Talk To Your Daughter For Me (Darcey)
The Raiders: Walking Through The Jungle (Brunswick)
Sam Price: Rib Joint (Savoy)
Nappy Brown: Skiddy Woe (Savoy)
The Counts: Wailin' Little Mama (Dot)
Dave Clark Five: All Night Long (Epic)
Jimmy Reed: Shame Shame Shame (Vee Jay)
The Idle Race: Here We Go 'Round The Lemon Tree (Liberty)
Sonny Lowery: Goodbye Baby Goodbye (Specialty)
The Versatones: Tight Skirt and Sweater/Bila (Atlantic)
The "5" Royales: Do The Cha Cha Cherry (King)
Jan and Arnie: Gas Money (Arwin)
The Yardbirds: A Certain Girl/I Wish You Would (Epic)
Robert Williams and the Groovers: Loud Mufflers/Cranberry Blues (Tip Top)
The Five Stars: Pickin' on the Wrong Chicken (Note)
Normie Rowe: Shakin' All Over (Jubilee)
The Flamingos: The Boogaloo Party (Phillips)
The Packers: Soul Time Parts 1 and 2 (Tangerine)
The Soul Sisters: Flashback (Sue)
Ramsey Lewis: Wade in the Water (Cadet)
Eugene Church: Miami/I Ain't Goin' For That (Class)
Champion Jack Dupree: Old Time Rock And Roll (Vik)
Jimmy Bee: Hot Pants (Cherry Red)
The Countdowns: Watermelon (Image)
Kings V: Purple Wail/Honky Tonk Cha Cha (Pala)
Mack Rice: Love's A Mother Brother (Atco)
Jeanne and the Darlings: Hang Me Now (Volt)
Arthur Conley: Whole Lotta Woman (Atco)
Arthur Conley: Aunt Dora's Love Soul Shack (Atco)
Bobby Sax: Sock It (DePlace)
Buddy Lamp: Have Mercy Baby (Peanut)
The Ikettes: Prisoner In Love (Teen)
Eddie and Ernie: Woman What Do You Be Doing (Revue)
The Collins Kids: Move A Little Closer (Columbia)
King Curtis: Soul Theme (Atco)
Otis Clay: She's About A Mover (Cotillion)
Bobby Lee Trammell: Shirley Lee (ABC-Paramount)
Jackie Wilson and Count Basie: Uptight (Everything's Alright) (Brunswick)
The Bobbettes: I Shot Mr Lee (Triple X)
Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan: Hot Rod Race (Capitol)
Hank Thompson: Rockin' in the Congo (Capitol)
Tennesse Ernie Ford: Catfish Boogie (Capitol)
The Short Kuts: Hold It Baby (Pepper)
Jackie and Tut: 10-2 Double Plus (Chess)
The U.K.s: Your Love Is All I Want (Cameo)
Gloria Jones: Heartbeat Pts. 1 and 2 (Uptown)
Yvonne Fair: Say Yeah Yeah (Dade)
Bird Rollins: Don't Worry 'Bout It (Disco)
Nick Harris and the Soundbarriers: Big Nick (Northwest)
Junior Wells: You Oughta Quit That/I'm Gonna Cramp Your Style (Bright Star)
Mongo Santamaria: Sunshine of Your Love (Atlantic)
Hank Ballard: From The Love Side (Polydor)
Tommy Tucker: Chewin' Gum (Checker)
"Little" Bobby Gilbert: HOt Road (BigBell)
Brother Jack McDuff: Grease Monkey (Prestige)
R.D. Stokes: My Sandra's Jump (II Bros.)
The Mixtures: Jawbone (Linda)
Better Sweet: Like The Flowers (M.O.C.)
Conway Twitty: Shake It Up (Mercury)
Timothy T.J. Williams and Two Shades of Soul: Coming Back To Miami (Josie)
Arty and the Supremes: Hombre/Bruno (Daytone)
Solomon Burke: Keep Looking (Atlantic)
Bob and Earl: Dancin' Everywhere (Mirwood)
King Coleman: Salt And Pepper (Sylvia)
The Rotten Kids: Let's Stomp (Mercury)
Spyder Turner: You're Good Enough For Me (MGM)
Muddy Waters: My Dog Can't Bark (Chess)
Little Willie John: Do You Love Me (King)
Little Willie John: Leave My Kitten Alone (King)
B.B. King: Mashing The Popeye (Kent)

Well, that's about it. I could list a lot more, but I don't want to drag it out too much. Hope that 2010 treats you well and may you be blessed in all your travels. Hope to have more for you in the coming year. In the meantime, don't party too hard.

Favorite Finds 2009

It's that time again. Yeah I know, it's hard enough to believe that I'm posting anything here regardless the time year. Despite all of that, here are my favorite record finds of 2009. This isn't a list of valuable records, merely the ones I found in 2009 that I've enjoyed listening to the most.

In no particular order:

Homer & Jethro: Houn' Dawg (RCA Victor EP)
The Carefrees: Hot Blooded Lover (London International)
The "5" Royales: Tell The Truth (King)
Spyder Turner: You're Good Enough For Me (MGM)
Kenny Smith & the Loveliters: Night Beat (Fraternity)
Rudi "Tutti" Grayzell: Duck Tail/You're Gone (Starday)
Jean Wells: With My Love and What You've Got (Calla)
Lloyd Price: How Many Times (KRC)
Bobby Fuller: Saturday Night/Stringer (Todd)
B.B. King: Bim Bam (RPM)
The Four Blazers: Peanut Butter (Buddy)
The Elite: One Potato (Charay)
Tony Harris: Chicken, Baby, Chicken (Ebb)
The Brave New World: Cried (Epic)
Bob Cathey & the Night Riders: Johnny B. Goode (Clef)
The Jackasses: Shake It Up/Sugaree (Bray)
J.J. Jackson: I Dig Girls/That Ain't Right (Calla)
Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames: Last Night (Imperial)
Willie Mitchell: Bad Eye (Hi)
The Flirtations: Nothing But A Heartache/How Can You Tell Me? (Deram)
The Ray Men: Baby, What'cha Want Me (Diamond)
The 5 Spots: Black Rock/Mr. Fortune (Soma)
The Pyramids: Pyramid's Stomp/Paul (Best)
Joe Valentine: Hands On, Hands Off (Ronn)
Lulu & the Luvers: Forget Me Baby/Shout (Parrot)
Jimmy McCracklin: Looking For A Woman (Imperial)
Louis (Blues Boy) Jones: Come On Home (Sabra)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe: That's All (Verve)
The Gay Jays: Chicken Back (Josie)
The Noblemen: Dirty Robber (USA)
The Raging Storms: High Octane (Flame)
The Tramps: Ride On/You're A Square (Arvee)
Gino Washington: Like My Baby/I'll Be Around (Atac)
Sugar Pie Desanto: Soulful Dress (Checker)
The LaSalles: La La La La La (V.I.P.)
The Big Guys: Propulsion/Zombie (Palette)
Hal Singer: Hot Rod/Rock N' Roll (Savoy)
Russell Evans & the Night Hawks: Send Me Some Cornbread (Atco)
Tom & Jerroo: (Papa Chew) Do The Boo-Ga-Loo (Jerry-O)
The Curiosities: Walkin' The Dog/Scotty (Seeburg)
Ruth Brown: Papa Daddy (Atlantic)
Chuck Evans: Two Timin' Little Women (Skoop)
Wilbert Harrison: Let's Stick Together/Kansas City Twist (Fury)
The Flock: Are You The Kind (Destination)
The Sparrow: Green Bottle Lover (Columbia)
Big Maybelle: Ring Dang Dilly (Savoy)
"Candy" Phillips: Timber (Atlantic)
Teddy & the Rough Riders: Money and Gold (Huron)
Janis Martin: Ooby Dooby (RCA Victor)
Rudy Dozier: Wicked (Teen-Time)
Billy Brown: Meet Me In The Alley, Sally (Columbia)
Bob Luman: Red Hot (Imperial)
Bobby Comstock: Right Hand Man (Ascot)
Leon Haywood: It's The Last Time (Decca)
Jackie Wilson: The Who Who Song/Since You Showed Me How To Be Happy (Brunswick)
Keith Allison: Action, Action, Action (Columbia)
Inez Foxx: I Got It (Dynamo)
Earl Cosby: Ooh Honey Baby (Mira)
Thee Midniters: Whittier Blvd. (Chattahoochee)
Roy Moss: You're My Big Baby Now/You Nearly Lose Your Mind (Mercury)
Gloria Jones: Heartbeat (Uptown)
Tom Hartman: Sunshine Woman (Bell)
? & the Mysterians: Do Something To Me (Cameo)
The Five Sounds: Loadin' Coal (Epic)
The Tabs: Mash Dem Taters (Vee Jay)
Irma Thomas: Break-A-Way (Imperial)
Clifton Chenier: Calinda (Arhoolie)
The Midnighters: Tore Up Over You (Federal)
Soul Tornadoes: Go For Yourself/Funky Thang (Burt)
Johnny Moore: A Dollar Ninety Eight (Wand)
Dick Dale & the Del-Tones: Del-Tone Rock/Let's Go Trippin' (Deltone)
The Dardenelles: Baby, Do The Froog/Alright (Cameo)
Ural Thomas: Can You Dig It? (Uni)

That's it, as I have to draw the line somewhere. I suppose that I could list a "bubbling under" like Billboard magazine used to do. I hope that everyone had a good 2009 and here's to a great year ahead.

Rudy Dozier - Wicked

Is this the best record I've found this year? Could be, especially when you consider I snagged this at the bottom of a box of otherwise worthless dross in a junk store and not at some record show. When I first found this, I had no idea who Rudy Dozier was and still don't, really. Maybe I did a little poking around on the net looking for information but I've long since forgotten if I found out anything. Did he make any other good records? Any other records at all? Looking at the label, it might not be Rudy Dozier singing at all. Somebody named Vince Tamburo is "featured". Is he the vocalist?

"Wicked" is a great, screaming rocker that's over all too soon. Finds like this are the true joy of record collecting, completely unknown and unexpected. You never know.

Record Show Haul

Last Sunday was the latest record show in St. Louis. I found all kinds of cool stuff, mostly for two bucks or less. Away we go...

Baby Dee: Sittin' Here Wond'rin' (Amber)
Russell Evans & the Nite Hawks: Send Me Some Cornbread (Atco)
Southside Revue: Chittlins (Mellow)
The Brave New World: Cried (Epic)
Little Joe & the Thrillers: Let's Do The Slop (OKeh)
Jimmy McCracklin: Susie and Pat (Art-tone)
Roger & the Gypsies: Pass The Hatchet (Seven B)
Major Lance: Girls/It Ain't No Use (OKeh)
The Elite: One Potato/Two Potato (Charay)
Johnny Moore: A Dollar Ninety Eight (Wand)
Syl Johnson: Let Them Hang High (Twinight)
Clarence Reid: Nobody But You Babe (Alston)
Gary (U.S.) Bonds: Slow Motion (Legrand)
Lulu & the Luvers: Shout/Forget Me Baby (Parrot)
Norm West: Baby Please (M.O.C.)
The Monarchs: Take Me Home (Sound Stage 7)
The Continental 4: The Love You Gave To Me (Jay-Walking)
Jack Eely & the Courtmen: Louie, Louie '66/David's Mood (Bang)
The El Venos: Geraldine (Groove)
Tony Harris: Chicken, Baby, Chicken (Ebb)
The Olympics: What'd I Say (Arvee)
The Olympics: Good Lovin' (Loma)
The Curiosities: Walkin' The Dog/Scotty (Seeburg)
Soul Tornadoes: Go For Yourself (Burt)
Georgie Fame & the Blue Fames: Last Night (Imperial)
Joey Giam & the Noblemen: Pumpkin (Klik)
Betty Harris: Mo Jo Hannah (Jubilee)
Frank Frost: Harpin' On It (Jewel)
Shirley Wahls: Don't Destroy Me (Smash)
The Uniques: Fast Way of Living (Paula)
Professor Alex Bradford & the Bradford Specials: I Don't Care What The World May Do (Specialty)
Ramsey Lewis: Do What You Wanna (Cadet)
The Midnighters: Tore Up Over You (Federal)
The Midnighters: Is Your Love For Real (Federal)
Googie Rene: Big Time (Class)
The Leaves: Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go? (Mira)
Priscilla Bowman: A Rockin' Good Way (Abner)
Etta James: Miss Pitiful (Cadet)
The Shondells: Watussi, One More Time (King)
Shirley Gunter & the Flairs: I Want You (Modern)
Jean & the Darlings: How Can You Mistreat The One You Love (Volt)
Prince Curtis: Mama's Little Girl (Chess)
Jiv-A-Tones: Flirty Gertie/Fire Engine Baby (Felsted)
Warren Storm: Troubles, Troubles (Nasco)
Joe Simon: Say (That Your Love Is True) (Vee-Jay)
Jimmy McGriff: Chip!! Chip!! (Jell)
The Downbeats: Downbeat/Rug Cuttin' (Dynamite)
Jean Wells: With My Love and What You've Got (Calla)
Vigor Fisher & the Fishermen: Batter Up (Angie)
Eric & the Vikings: Get Off The Streets Ya'll (Soulhawk)
Tom & Jerroo: (Papa Chew) Do The Boo-Ga-Loo (Jerry-O)
Jamo Thomas & the Party Brothers: Education Is Where It's At (Decca)
Lloyd Price: How Many Times (KRC)
Larry Hart: A Looka - A Looka (Okeh)

That's about it. I've had a lot of fun spinning these here in the house this week. I hope to have some of them converted to digital soon.

Bill Doggett "Monster Party" (King)

Happy Halloween, everybody! I hope everybody has a great ghoulish time and doesn't overload on all the candy. And I just thought I'd check in with this appropriately-themed nugget from the ever-prolific Mr. Honky Tonk himself, Bill Doggett!

I'm going to take a guess here and say that this was one of Doggett's follow-ups to his massive 1956 hit "Honky Tonk." I know for sure that Doggett was with King from 1951 to 1960 after which he recorded for a slew of labels including Warner Brothers, Columbia, Roulette, ABC-Paramount and Sue. And while Doggett was best known as an organist, this particular recording follows a norm set by "Honky Tonk" in which the lead instruments are the sax and the guitar.

What we have here is a rollicking novelty instrumental with a Halloween theme. I believe this might have also been released as "That's Enough, Lock 'Em Up," which is how this record ends with all the monsters being rounded up and presumably taken to the pokey. In the interim, you get such wordplay as "Who's there? Your man, Rodan!" and "Frankenstein! Where's the wine!" So don't think too much about it and just join the party where you're likely to have as good a time as any.

Gene Summers - "Green Eyed Monster" (Charay/Mercury)

Here's a little pre-Halloween nugget for you, one I hope you will enjoy. It comes from a man who Gene Vincent once said "was gonna be a big star." Unfortunately, like so many other hopefuls, it didn't happen. But he did leave some tasty, raucous 45s for us to savor, of which this was one. The person in question is named Gene Summers.

Summers is better known to fans of rockabilly due to his recordings on the Dallas record Jan ("School of Rock & Roll, "Nervous, "Gotta Lotta That" (a personal fave)) and Capri ("Alabama Shake," another fave). In his early days, he performed with a virtual catalog of stars including Ronnie Hawkins and a whole host of others. This particular recording was made in 1966, originally for Major Bill Smith's Charay label. It was picked up for wider distribution by Mercury, which is the 45 on display here.

The song itself is a frantic piece with lots of organ, pounding bass, chirping guitar and frenetic drums. It's all about the monster of the title who comes around to make young lovers believe in lies. "But if you trust the one you love," and all your love is true, then the monster will hang his head in shame "and slink away from you." Doesn't sound too scary to me, but at least it's still a cool song. I hope you think so, too.

The Thunderbirds - Thunderbird Twist

Ah, reruns. Yup, that's what we have for you today at It's Great Shakes, a repeat of the very first record I blogged here. The good news is that we weren't wired for sound back in June of 2005, so this is the first time "Thunderbird Twist" will be heard here.

Four plus years later, this disc is still a favorite and I still know next to nothing about its origins. Here's what I originally wrote:

"Oh, how I love this record! Discs like this are exactly why I wanted to start a blog. As far as I can tell, there's absolutely nothing about this platter posted anywhere on the net.

"Thunderbird Twist" is a wild, upbeat, r&b styled pounder that sounds like it owes a debt of gratitude to "What'd I Say". Indeed, it's the kind of thing that may have been dreamed up on the spot, maybe to fill the backside of a 45. Or perhaps these guys played this live to fill the dance floor. Even would'a worked on me, Mr. Two Left Feet himself!

The tune begins with the singer shouting "Hey Hey Hey" and then horns and a big drumbeat follow. The lyrics are pure dance floor stuff, for instance "Hold it, knock on wood, ahh you're lookin' good". Pure genius in my book.

I don't know exactly when this record was released, though given the title, I'd guess 1961 or '62. It's not a twist record really, just one of a million or so that used the popular dance craze in its title, twist or not. There have been loads of combos using the Thunderbirds moniker through the years. I have no idea whether this bunch of Thunderbirds made any other records or not. The only real clue about possible band members is that Wild Bill Robinson is credited with writing both "Thunderbird Twist" and its flipside, "Lady's Choice" a so-so r&b instrumental. The RCS website has listings for seven different Delta labels but not this New York based one. Given all I don't know about this record, obviously any additional information would be greatly appreciated."

Since I wrote that, the song has been posted at another blog or three and I've learned of at least one other version of the song, namely "The T-Bird" by Rocker Roberts, which now resides in my collection. But "Thunderbird Twist" and the band that recorded it are still otherwise a mystery. Great record though, scratches and all. I hope that you enjoy it.