Here we go again with another highly-charged piece of 60s soul. It comes from a group who introduced us all to Papa Oom Mow Mow and The Bird's The Word which gave way to The Trashmen's immortal "Surfin' Bird." Me, I dig 'em all and their all in the It's Great Shakes pantheon of classic killer tunes, but for now, the spotlight shines on the ones who started it all, The Rivingtons.
The Rivingtons were an L.A. based vocal group consisting of Carl White, Rocky Wilson Jr., Sonny Harris and Al Frazier. They were first formed as The Sharps and appeared on Paul Anka's first recording, Duane Eddy's "Rebel Rouser" and Thurston Harris' "Little Bitty Pretty One." Liberty's the label for which they recorded the "Oom Mow Mow" trilogy, as well as several other fine sides like "The Weejee Walk," "The Shaky Bird (Parts 1 and 2)" and my favorite of the Oom Mow Mow's "Mama Oom Mow Mow." They recorded all of this between 1962 and 1964. As the 60s progressed, they recorded sides for the Quan, Reprise, RCA Victor and Vee Jay.
This entry comes from the Vee-Jay period (1964-5). I've got a feeling it's a pick-up as Goldmine's 45 guide lists this single as also being released by a label called A.R.E. American. Of course, like many a great side, it wasn't a hit, but Vee-Jay must've known something good when they heard it, because this one's a killer.
I'm going to let this one speak for itself. Often the very words and phrases that describe this....full-throttle, rockin', righteous, whatever....are words that you, dear reader, have probably heard and seen more than a million times. So, I'm just gonna jump back and let this record's greatness pump its relentless beat, chunky guitar work and searing vocal hollerin' do the talking for me. And if you don't like it, you can't say I didn't try.
2 comments:
That sounds great, I'll try it. Loved those oom mow mow.
Thanks,j.
Nice and punchy. Thanks for posting this.
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