

R.I.P. 1928 - 2008
Bo Meets the Monster - Bo Diddley
Note: 'Moon', if you're listenin', you better give this kid his baby back before he breaks a Cuban-heel off in your crater-havin' ass

"He {Bobo Jenkins} called his studio and record label, Big Star Records. The first group he recorded was the Walton Brothers, featuring ten year old, Clarence Walton on the song, The Cat” and on side 2, “Midnight” (BS002). He then recorded their father, harmonica player, ‘Little Daddy’ James Walton, who came to Detroit in 1945. Backed by his sons, the record was called “Come On Tell Me What You Got” and the flip side called “Shady Grove” (BS-001)".So there you have it folks. It's a family affair of underage pickers and their mush-mouthed little bro. Sensational!



Note: Don't worry, you don't have to believe in the God of Abraham to enjoy , you just have to believe that ole' A. J. believes - Faith by proxy

"Henry Stone began playing the trumpet in his teens, inspired by jazz great Louis Armstrong. Later at a military camp in New Jersey, he played in bands. After being discharged in 1946, he began selling records out of the back of his car in Los Angeles. Later he became a 78 rpm record salesman for the Bihari Brothers' Modern Records, traveling across the U.S. selling to jukebox owners. In 1952, he established his own recording studio, Crystal Recording Company, and started a blues label, Rockin', and a gospel music label, Glory, in Florida. A big hit on Glory was Rev. A. Johnson's God Don't Like It"




"Formed from the remains of The Consumers by Rob Ritter / Graves of The Bags, Don Bolles of The Germs, Paul Cutler and Dinah Cancer (one of the best stage names ever), the most-underrated 45 Grave began as Vox Pop in the '70s, playing at the infamous and legendary L.A. punk institution the Masque. Driven by a gleeful twisted fascination with B-movies and gore-nography, Vox Pop eventually decomposed into 45 Grave, perhaps the very first gothic band. Though it would be near impossible to pinpoint the exact scope of their [bad] influence, suffice to say that 45 Grave far predate both the much-hyped Bat Cave movement in the UK and the formation of Christian Death and that Nikki Sixx even admitted in print that Motley Crue stole 45 Grave's easily-recognizable goathead-pentagram logo! But unlike those artists, who took themselves far too seriously, 45 Grave always had their tongues firmly planted in their gaunt, deathly-white cheeks : for them it was just good dirty fun."


"The beasts upon which Dante's affections were prodigalized were the first wombat and his successor the woodchuck. The second wombat, having died immediately, counts for little. No more engagingly lumpish quadruped than the first wombat could be found, and none more obese and comfortable than the woodchuck. They were both tame, especially the woodchuck; and Dante would sit with either in his arms by the half-hour together, dandling them paunch upward, scratching gently at their cheeks or noses, or making the woodchuck's head and hind-paws meet. With the wombat no such operation was possible. Each of them was his housemate for some time, and each expired without premonition. I do not assume that my brother wept over them, but certainly "his heart was sair." For the wombat (not having yet seen it) he wrote from Penkill Castle the following quatrain:
"Oh how the family affections combat
Within this heart, and each hour flings a bomb at
My burning soul! Neither from owl nor from bat
Can peace be gained until I clasp my wombat."

In 1954, Dewey Terry was a founding member of a group called The Squires while still in high school. He was later joined by a friend, Don Bowman (who would later change his name to Harris). In 1955 the Squires released a record on the minor Los Angeles-based label Dig This Record. In 1957 the group broke up, but Don and Dewey remained together.
Later that year they were signed by Art Rupe's Specialty Records label and for the next two years produced rock and roll, Both Don and Dewey played guitar, with Dewey often doubling on keyboards. When not playing guitar or bass, Don occasionally played the electric violin, a skill for which he subsequently became well known under the name of "Sugarcane" Harris. Legendary drummer Earl Palmer played frequently on their sessions.
Although Don and Dewey did not have any hits of their own, several of the songs that they wrote and/or recorded would appear on the charts later, performed by other artists. "I'm Leaving It Up to You" became a #1 hit for Dale & Grace in 1963. "Farmer John" was a hit by The Premiers, reaching #19 in 1964 after having been covered The Searchers a year earlier. "Koko Joe" (written by the then Specialty Records producer Sonny Bono), "Justine" and "Big Boy Pete" were a staple for The Righteous Brothers for many years. (Indeed, it has frequently been noted that the early Righteous Brothers act was quite closely based on Don and Dewey's.) Finally, "Big Boy Pete" became a minor hit in 1960 for The Olympics, reaching #50.
In 1959 Don and Dewey and producer Bono left Specialty Records for Rush Records, where they recorded a few songs but split up shortly afterwards.


"Slashing blues, infectious RB, formulaic rock roll, moving gospel -- keyboardist Billy "The Kid" Emerson played all those interrelated styles during a lengthy career that began in Florida and later transported him up to Memphis and Chicago.
A 1952-53 stint in the Air Force found Emerson stationed in Greenville, MS. That's where he met young bandleader Ike Turner, who whipped Emerson into shape as an entertainer while he sang with Turner's Kings of Rhythm. Turner also got Emerson through the door at Sun Records in 1954, playing guitar on the Kid's debut waxing "No Teasing Around."
Emerson's songwriting skills made him a valuable commodity around Sun -- but more as a source for other performers' material later on. His bluesy 1955 outing "When It Rains It Pours" elicited a cover from Elvis a few years later at RCA, while Emerson's "Red Hot" (a takeoff on an old cheerleaders chant from Emerson's school days) became a savage rockabilly anthem revived by Billy Lee Riley for Sun and BobLuman on Imperial.
After his "Little Fine Healthy Thing" failed to sell, Emerson exited Sun to sign with Chicago's Vee-Jay Records in late 1955. Despite first-rate offerings such as the jumping "Every Woman I Know (Crazy 'Bout Automobiles)" and a sophisticated "Don't Start Me to Lying," national recognition eluded Emerson atVee-Jay too.
A prolific writer, Emerson penned songs for Junior Wells, Willie Mabon, Wynonie Harris, and Buddy Guy during the early '60s, often in conjunction with Willie Dixon. When recording opportunities slowed, Emerson played jazzy RB in lounges and supper clubs (guitarist Lacy Gibson was a member of his trio for a while). Emerson took Europe by surprise with a dynamic segment on the American Blues Legends 1979 tour."

"Soul-blues singer Ted Taylor unleashed his stratospheric, falsetto-driven voice on a wide variety of material during the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, his gospel heritage never far from the surface. Taylor first entered the studio as a member of the Cadets and Jacks, a Los Angeles R&B vocal group with two names that recorded for Modern. By the late '50s, Taylor was signed to Ebb, and a myriad of other imprints soon followed (notably Duke, where he waxed his first version of the sugary ballad "Be Ever Wonderful"), Okeh (his sides for the Columbia subsidiary were done in Chicago and Nashville), and Ronn, where he spent nearly a decade. A car wreck claimed his life in 1987."



"Starting with a band he formed while attending Brandon High School, on the outskirts of Tampa Florida, Jack Sigler perfected his writing, arranging and performing skills. In 1968 George Roberts, a Hollywood producer heard Jack and his band, Mercy, rehearsing and he decided he wanted Mercy to appear in a film he was shooting in the Tampa area. The film was “Fireball Jungle”, the last movie that Lon Chaney Jr. made before his death. Also in the film is John Russell of TV’s “Lawman” fame and Durwood Kirby’s son, Randy Kirby. Jack & Mercy recorded a Jack Sigler original entitled “Love Can Make You Happy” and the rest is music history! “Love Can Make You Happy” was recorded at the old Charles Fuller Studio on MacDill Avenue in Tampa, the same place The Royal Guardsmen recorded “Snoopy Vs The Red Baron”."


I love this tune. The organ is nice and thick, and the guitar is such that Fulsom practically falls off the fret board at the end (dig that crazy note! A-demolished!) This single looks (and sounds) like hammered shit, otherwise I would have posted the flip as well ('Blues Pain'). What can I say, the worlds an imperfect place. I'm sure I'll find a better copy for the digs further on up the road, but until then, unscrew the top on that bottle of 'Night Train', shake well, and enjoy!




