Here's a really great, upbeat dance number by Bobby Lee Trammell, "Arkansas Twist". I picked up this record in St. Louis, last year and it's been a favorite ever since.
Bobby Lee Trammell was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas in 1934. He died there just last year. His recording career started in 1958 with a nice rocker called "Shirley Lee" on the Malibu, CA based Fabor label. By 1962, when "Arkansas Twist" was released, Trammell was a veteran of the recording industry, having made singles for half a dozen different labels. The Alley imprint was based in Trammell's home town and today's disc was its first release.
Trammell kicks off the record by shouting, "Hey girls, let's twist!". That's followed by a popping on the drums and then guitar and piano fall in the background. Trammell then explains how to do the dance, singing "you shake a bit, you twist a little bit, that's how you do the Arkansas Twist". In fine fashion, there's a cool guitar break in the middle. After one more verse, the piano plays out the record. Great stuff and all in just a little over two minutes.
3 comments:
That's a scorcher - I can imagine some sorta Scopitone dance vid to it...
He called himself the "American Beatle".
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