There are several artists whose records I don't actively seek out but that'll I'll usually pick up if I see them for cheap. Joey Dee & the Starliters are one such artist. Their records usually don't command much attention in the collector's market but often make for good to excellent rock and roll dance music. Such is the case with today's selection, "Hot Pastrami with Mashed Potatoes".
Joey Dee & the Starliters are best known for their huge #1 smash, "Peppermint Twist". Their first hit, it took full advantage of the popular dance craze of the early 1960's. In fact, it followed Chubby Checker's "The Twist" to the top spot nationally during that song's second big chart run. The Starliters had several other hits but none came close to matching the success of their first. Today, "Peppermint Twist" is the only Joey Dee song you're bound to hear on oldies radio.
"Hot Pastrami with Mashed Potatoes" charted in the spring of 1963 but it wasn't the biggest hit version of the song. Instead, The Dartells hold that honor with the shorter titled "Hot Pastrami". Both singles were released about the same time. The Starliters version sounds as though it was recorded live, probably at the Peppermint Lounge where they were the house band. I'm not sure of the origins of the song, so perhaps their recording was made earlier and released as a single when The Dartells started having success with the song.
Comparing the two side-by-side, I prefer The Starliters record. It has a fuller, more pumping organ sound and stronger vocals. It's just Joey singing, "Mashed potatoes, yeah!" and little else but his vocal really helps drive the song and makes it more than an instrumental with a few words tossed in. We get two-part action, with Joey changing his tact to, "Hot pastrami, yeah!" over on the flipside. Plus, Part 2 features a pretty good organ workout. Anyway, I like The Dartells' record just fine but think The Starliters' is even better. Neither should cost more than a buck or two.
3 comments:
For an odd Joey Dee record, my choice is either "Roly Poly" (b/w"Hey Let's Twist") or the flip of "What Kind of Love Is This', an instrumental called "Wing Ding". Personally, I prefer the Dartells to JD...
Phil, I agree that "Wing-Ding" is a really good one. Haven't run across "Roly Poly" yet. I'll have to keep my eyes open for that one.
I only wish they bother release all the music on CD myself. I used to have an entire MP3 library of them before I found out the CD I have it on developed a crack running from the center outward. Now it's unsalvagable and I'm already upset over that. I don't feel like buying the LP's either but I feel contempt to do it now based on the circumstances (and that the original torrent I got it on is now dead) :-(
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