Falcon Crest

Here's two majestic birds from that crate o' killer Doo-Wop from several months back. Weird, cause neither of these songs are particularly Doo-Wopy (Doo-Wopish!?) and are pretty much exceptions to the rule. In fact, one is a devistating blues rocker (59') w/ Ax effects in full, um, effect, whilst the Big-Wheel cut is about as close as I get to poppy (Poppish!?) soul (67') without pinchin' my nose closed and throwing up in my mouth a little bit (Better than somebody elses).

Fact: these Falcons are the same band, though with some decidedly incestious member-swappin', including Wilson 'The Pick" Pickett and Eddie "Knock on Wood" Floyd. Incidentally, listen for the chops of Lu Pine's 'Ohio Untouchables' (Pre Ohio Players) roundin' out the sound on the first first cut.

Swim - Falcons

I Can't Help It - Falcons

Bo Diddley & 'Crack': The Straight Dope

Hey all. Regular non-denominational posting will begin forthwith, but first let me get a couple of requests out of the way. First, I finally got around to typin’ up a big wordy track list for the BftRB Presents: Revenge of “Things That Go 1-4-5 in the Night” Mix. Give it a gander and put a name to your favorite tune's fractured face. Second, I’ve included, as promised, the flipside to both the Yo Yo’s Raven disc, titled ‘Crack In My Wall’ as well as the really cool flip to the ‘Trance’ by Count Drac; a filthy-ass cover of Bo Diddley’s ‘Bo Diddley’. So in lieu of diddlin’ yourselves…

Crack in My Wall – Yo Yo's

Hey Bo Diddley – Count Drac

Blues for the RedBoy Presents: Revenge of 'Things That Go 1-4-5 in the Night'!

Got time for one more post before Halloween drops so I’m gonna do my best to make it a dozy! Several years ago I posted my first BFtRB mix in honor of this auspicious occasion, drawing my inspiration from the instrumental craze of the late fifties / early sixties. And while “Things That Go 1-4-5 in the Night!” had some heavy hitters on it’s roster, I figure I gotta try and up the ante w/ this-here follow-up, a task made all the more daunting in the face of some of my fellow bloggers great Halloween posts. I will, however, do my best to set the mood with some standards and buck the trend w/ some odd hen’s teeth here and there, both of which spell certain doom as I unleash upon the earth BFtRB presents: Revenge of the Things That Go 1-4-5 in the Night!

As is previously the case, we are going strictly instrumental here and this first track is a fairly unknown killer! ‘Graveyard’ by the Blazers had been alluding me for a long time up until fairly recently. I have seen copies go for $$$ w/ the picture sleeve (Just a band photo, by the by) though I’ll settle for my new-old stock copy direct from the Blazer’s vault.



The ‘Mr. Guitar’ album by Dean Hightower might seem like a strange choice for a spooky throw down, but like every major studio effort, there always seems to be one sleeper hidden amongst the AM gold, and in this case it’s Dean showing the world his ‘Purple Monster’ (Infer what thou whilst).

‘Cemetery Stomp’ by the Essex has been makin’ the rounds on several comps for awhile now, eschewing the surf vibe that is prevalent on most of these tracks for a decidedly Go-Go take on the post mortem material. Look for a cool cover of said song on the Von Drat’s ‘Dratsylvania Album’.

I’m sure some folks out there have heard the incredibly weird Ken Nordine “Colors” album; the one where each color of the spectrum is given a track like some strange sinesthesiatic revelation, but most people don’t know that Nordine put his stamp on some straight-forward fair, or at least, as straight-forward as a track called ‘Strollin Spooks’ can be.



Now, I know you have all heard Zacherlie’s ‘Dinner w/ Drac’, and if you haven’t, then I’m afraid some of this BftRB pomp might be lost on you. Seeing as how ‘Drac’ is such a standard w/ the deification of NYC’s première horror host (The Maniacal laugh that launched a thousand cable access ships). I had to find some way to change it up a little though, hence the all instrumental version of ‘Drac’ released by Zach’ backing band ‘Dave Appell & the Apple Jacks. Warning: Do not take internally!

‘The Mummy Walks’, so proclaims the label on this Diamond records release, though I think the subtitle ‘The Walking Death’ takes the cake as the most fatalistic of all novelty titles. This track in particular has been a Halloween staple on NJ’s own 91.1 WFMU for as long as I can remember…and I got a looooong memory.

Fellow blogger and all around curmudgeon DevilDick managed to let the black cat out of the bag on this next track by the Tomkos, though it’s so good (And more importantly, mid tempo!) that I think I’m gonna co-opt it for a little shallow breathing room before launching into…



’Vampire’ by the Crystals. Some of you might be familiar w/ this tune on account of it being on a Major label for a change (Mercury), as well as pretty much every monster R ‘n’ R comp, and rightfully so. This tune is a killer, even if it is pressed on the crappiest styrene ever. Seriously, every copy of this I have ever owned, no matter how clean, sounds kinda crappy (Same for the Tomko’s disc), but I’d say that’s all part of it’s inherit charm. Plus, if I were to tweak the hell out of all these tunes before posting I’d never get anything done.

Last, but not least, my copy of ‘Haunted Sax’ by the Akies came in a killer lot of instro stuff out of Ohio, all of which is pretty off-beat and will, no doubt, wind up in these hollowed internet halls as soon as I get around to it, which if this late track listing is any indication, I wouldn’t start holding my breath just yet (Lest you turn blue). Speaking of breath, I’d say it’s about time I catch mine and say good-bye to the haunted shtick until next year. We now return you to our regularly scheduled crap….

BftRB Presents: Revenge of 'Things That Go 1-4-5 in the Night!

Hi-Fi for Small Fry

“I want Candy”

Really, not so much anymore. They say your tastes change as you get older, and they may be right. Anyone who knows me knows I crave to most ridiculous brands of candy. Be they liquid in form, sour, tongue transmogrifying or of the gummy variety, I’m all over them- or, at least I was. These days my pallet has changed, some would argue, for the better. That doesn’t mean I can’t indulge in some auditory sugar-lumps on occasion, especially when I can’t make it to the local ‘Five Below’ for my requisite stock of Cherry Clans and Laffy Taffy (Shitty jokes not withstanding).




Note: I don’t give a fuck what Ferrera Pan calls em’ these days. They are still Cherry Clans to me)

Here we have the Candy Men, not to be confused w/ the Candy Men or the Candy Men. Now, before you jump all over my shit w/ the obligatory “But, Peter Pan Records sux” spiel, know that under any other circumstances I would agree w/ you, the majority of ‘Pan’s’ output being barely listenable kiddie dreck. But as well known collector and all around solid sender ‘Vinyl Dog’ (Co Chair of the Legendary Highland Park Record Sale) told me whilst trying to entice a trade for some Bollywood soundtracks I scammed outa the Newark Salvation Army, this ‘Pan’ track is actually pretty awesome and worth the switch. He was indeed correct.

Spearmint twist was the carrot offered for trade, but to tell you the truth, as much as I dig the instro side, it’s ‘Candy-Bar Twist’ that has really got me in a, um, twist. You better download em’ now before Joey Dee unleashed the dogs of war and takes this candy from you, baby.

Candy Bar Twist – Candymen

Spearmint Twist - Candymen

Knifed o'er a Pair of Jordans!?

I guess it makes sense that I bought this disc in a shit-bedecked chicken coup out near Lancaster PA, as the Brothers Jordan hail for nearby Schuylkill County PA, and as anyone who has ever spent a nickel of time out in that area know, it’s a family affair.

The Jordans were a popular regional act from the inception of their first single in 54’ all the way till their disbandment in 1986; quite a long stretch for a band that never made it out of their own county. Be that as it may, the Brothers still have quite a following amongst the locals, who spend their youth pawin and pettin the local trim at their capacity gigs, strollin to the cool sounds of Basin Street Rumble, as if any of those youths had ever seen the business end of a stiletto out there in Amish county. Man, times sure have changed.

Find your way out to Lancaster now and you are just as likely to get iced by a 'Crip' or buy cocaine from a Mennonite than to see even a stitch of unmolested, verdant farmland, but that’s progress for you. Maybe now Basin Street Rumble can finally live up to it’s name. As for me, I personally think the flip, 'Sloe Gin' is cooler, but when it's six of one, half-dozen of the other, you gotta go with name recognition.

Basin Street Rumble – Jordan Brothers

Sloe Gin – Jordan Brothers

"Doctor Said I Smell Like I's Been Baptized in Silver-Satin Wine."

I buy a lot of novelty records. It's a sickness, not unlike collecting every record w/ the word "bongo" in the title, or every song that has a "pt. 2". I'd be the first to admit that most novelty records are only good for a listen or two before the novelty wears off (clever), and you can only take so much of the Dickie Goodman break-in shtick (Insert 50's era top-forty sound-clip taken out of context)before suffering a psychotic break.

One of my favorite novelty discs eschews the predictable flying saucer invasion for a little Amos & Andy esque Tate ET Tate; where the shiftless 'Cornbread' is always getting the better of straight-man, 'Biscuits', all set to twelve bars of some sweet-back rhythm and blues.

First things first, I'll go for the obvious - this thing has Thunderbird product placement all over it (See: Two Birds, One Stone & and What's the Word), a fact which I find both socially irresponsible and totally awesome (Don't judge me)! Plus, Big Time Spender and the requisite Pt 2 (See, told ya!) gets extra points for not only 'weed' references, but the infinitely rarer 'heroin' acknowledgment tossed off so casually. Some copies of 'Spender' supposedly come w/ a sticker over the 'E' in Maske (Printing error)though I aint ever seen one (Can someone confirm?)

There's a sequel to this which I have yet to pick-up, mostly out of laziness. As it is my copy of 'spender' could use an upgrade, but to be honest, this kinda low-brow shit sounds better behind a bacon sizzle and a styrene fizzle, plus , you really don't have a choice...I'm just sayin'.

Big Time Spender pt 1 - Cornbread & Biscuits

Big Time Spender pt 2 - Cornbread & Biscuits

The Scream of the Butterfly!

I hate caterpillars. Every summer they used to form huge communal cocoons in my families peach trees. We burned em' out with torches (WD40 and a lighter) with no appreciable decline in the local butterfly population. The peach jam which resulted was none the worse either (really good on beer bread - by the by).

Even though I abhor their squishy little bodies, and their ability to inch their way up every exposed cuff and each unguarded plate of tatter salad, it's their body of musical work which is on the plate here, with just as many legs under it (How many legs does a Caterpillar have, anyhoo?).



Here, by request, is the Stranger's Caterpillar Crawl pressed on California's Titan record label (See: Surfmen) and like those fucking' writhing viper pits which hang from the aforementioned trees, this post is practically busting at the seems w/ bonus bugs.



Case in point; I actually prefer the Roommates 59' version to the original. It kinda has a seedy locomotive vibe to it (Think 'Ghost Train' by the Swanks), and as for the Caterpillar Song by the Caterpillars, what can I really say but fuck them Beatles...the Caterpillars are where it's at... provided they don't molest my peach trees any further (There's Brandy in them thar skins).

Caterpillar Crawl - Strangers

Caterpillar Crawl - Dick Dixon (& the Roommates)

Caterpillar Song - Caterpillars

Dark Meat

Here's two helpins o' dark meat to hold you over until the main event. It's like my Slovak grandma always said, "You're adopted..." no, wait, I mean "The marrow is where all the flavor is." Kinda creepy in a desperate, eastern-bloc sort of way, no?



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Turkey Hop Pt. 1 - Johnny Otis

Turkey Hop Pt. 2 - Johnny Otis

"On Friday The 13th, They Began To Die Horribly, One......By One"

Happy Friday the Umpteenth, everybody! Check out some date-specific tunes here and here. RB will be back shortly w/ some new tunes, but first I'm gonna smoke a joint and go skinny-dipping @ this old abandon summer camp in Blairstown...I'm sure I'll be fine.

Happy Cha Cha Challoween!

Note: I'm kinda hung over so pictures and write-up shall be forthcoming. In the meantime, please enjoy this fine, handrolled, pre-embargo mix.

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Blues for the RedBoy Presents: Cha Cha Challoween!

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Be sure to check out all the previous BRTRB Halloween posts, as well as the insidiusly evil imput of my fellow bloggers.

Blues for the RedBoy presents: Even a Mix Who is Pure of Heart & Says It's Prayers @ Night...

Ok, so…you are walking home in the small hours of the evening through a neighborhood whose byways you have traversed your entire misspent adolescence. You could always make a right on Old Post Road (Substitute your own thoroughfare) with its street lamps and relative safety, but it would just be quicker to take that small wooded lane that traverses the industrial park. Quarter mile in and the footpath you’ve tread has disappeared in the blackness under foot, the only light to be had coming from the final full blush of a waning moon overhead. Amidst the din of crickets and cicadas a rustle can be heard which stops you cold, mid-step. Chances are it is a possum, or, if you live in Tasmania, a Wombat, but maybe, just maybe…it might be a Werewolf. Either that or a drunken transient. Seriously though, can you really afford to take your chances with either?


Werewolf – the Frantics

Yeah, so what? You find a better song to start a werewolf mix if with (and one featuring future members of ‘Moby grape, at that!). Cut in 59’ on Seattle’s Dolton label, ‘Werewolf’ comes in many label and track combinations, but none of em’ touch this classic tune and it’s equally inventive flip




Weerdo the Wolf – Frankie Stein & his Ghouls


The first and only single culled for the debut album of this legendary 1960’s studio band. I highly recommend seeking out their complete discography on wax before the tragically hip drive the prices through the roof.




Big Bad Wolf – Bart Lewis

I realize that the inclusion of this tune is a stretch, but Perrault’s original interpretation of Le Petite Chaperone Rouge has always been understood as an allegorical werewolf story, that, and it ain’t like I got werewolf records comin’ out the wazoo, so I guess I got no choice but to think on my paws. Look for the flip, Bart Lewis’ ‘Frankenstein’ in a future BFTRB installment.


Mr. Were-Wolf – Kacties

For those people who have always wondered who would win in a balls-out fight between Tarzan and a werewolf, the wait is over. Brooklyn’s Kacties were busy whoopin’ the shit out of the local vocal competition when they cut this b-side scant hours before Ben E. King would highjack their session for his magnum opus ‘Stand By Me’. Man, just think of how cool ‘Stand By Me’ would have been had it had featured a werewolf. (Sigh) The mind reels.



Werewolf – Gary Warren

Cut in 58’ on Nashville’s Nasco label, werewolf has seen many a comp and cover, but that scarcely diminishes the strange, otherworldly quality of this romantic ode to werewolf fidelity. I also love the fact that not only does Warren’s close proximity to the female sex excite his more lycanthropic tendencies, but this-here werewolf is “King-Size”. Doggy style it is.

Weird Wolf – Ghouls

Here’s another studio band, this time w/ famed producer Gary Usher @ the helm. Say what you will about the frivolity of this album’s monstrous trappings, but this record stands on it’s own as an awesome example of the highest aspirations of sixties surf music. I managed to scam my mono copy years ago, only to find a clean stereo copy @ a garage sale for a quarter. God bless N.J.


Wolfman – Muleskinners

If it is not already evident by the title and label of this 64’ cut, this band ain’t foolin nobody if they think we can’t suss-out Fendermen when we see/hear them. Seeing as how this record found its way onto a later Soma re-issue w/ the Fendermen brand soundly attached to the label, I’d say their demographic is made of some of the sharpest knives in the drawer. Goooood Mornin’ Captain!


So in closing, I’d like to take this opportunity to set you straight on this-here werewolf business. In the words of my old pal Svengoolie:

"You don’t tug on Dracula’s cape.
You don’t let werewolves run loose
You don’t monkey around with Tarzan
And don’t mess around w/‘Bruce’"

Words to live by. Until next time, beware the moors and stay to the road -RB

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Blues for the Redboy presents: Even a Mix Who is Pure of Heart and Say It’s Prayers @ Night Can Change to a Wolf when the Wolfbane Blooms & the Autumn Moon is Bright.

Warning: this Post is presented in Hypno-Vista (Whatever the hell that means)!

First off, given American International Picture's (See: previous post) illustrious legacy of jamming two sub-par movies together as a package deal, these two features just really don’t fit. Headless Ghost is more of a ‘Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow’- like comedy and Horrors of the Black Museum is the greatest giallo film that neither Argento nor Fulchi made. Add to the fact that both films hail from 59’, a social period remembered more for space-age terror and giant bugs then subtlety, and you can begin to see why a promotional record featuring a vocal group jam (passe’ even by 1959’s standards) perhaps wasn’t the best advertising move. I mean, have you ever heard of either of these movies? I didn’t think so.

That not to say the record is a lemon. On the contrary, I think it plays particularly loose with it’s accaplella nuttiness. Pair this w/ a copy of ‘Attack of the Giant Leeches’ on AIP records (or AIR) and you got yerself the cream of the Samuel Z. Arkoff's corny crop.



As far as Halloween is concerned, there sure ain’t a more haunted notion then a Ghost who can’t get no head….wait, I think I may have misunderstood the assignment.

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Headless Ghost - Nightmares

(Oooh I'm Scared) of the Horrors of the Black Museum - Nightmares

Blues for the RedBoy presents: She's A Haunted Betty Boop!

Made this mix with my own two hands for a certain Sister who, at the time, was as blue as a robin’s egg. Hopefully it did the trick and lifted her outta her doldrums. With a little bit of re-purposing, I’m sending this out to all those peculiar chicks and the men who go gooey for their ghoulish antics. See, behind every man is a good woman (or, if you are a smooth operator, several), though one cannot necessarily guarantee that that woman is not holding a carving knife or a spool of piano wire. Face it fellas, these witches keep you on your toes, if not by virtue of the rope they got slung around your neck, then by that weird whammy they got workin’ day in/day out. There isn’t much we as hot-blooded beasts wouldn’t do for a shot at that cauldron they got bubblin' between their knees, but don’t be fooled fellas…you are not in control. You may think you got the upper hand, but you are just one muttered hex away form frog-city. Give a spin and celebrate these weird sisters, warts and all, but do it with a rosary on your lips and your back to the wall, lest you wind up in the soup (literally)

You Are My Girl – Three Stooges

I can only assume this is not thee Three Stooges, however, there may just be at least one self-styled ‘fake Shemp’ involved in the production and execution. Cool tune about the endearing qualities of a monstrously ugly fiend who moonlights as a card-carrying member of the fairer sex.

Miss Frankenstein – George Jackson

In keeping w/ a general theme of skin-deep scarification, here is a mystery tune from 62’ about a butta faced Philly who requires a pork chop be tied around her spindly neck to facilitated some doggy love. Featuring ex-members of Baltimore Maryland’s vocal sensation the Plants. It’ll grow on you (Get it!?)

Vampira - Bobby Bare

This 1958’ cut by Ohio C&W legend Bobby Bare (aka. All American Boy Billy Parsons) has made the rounds for awhile now, but as anybody from Jersey knows, there is somethin’ to be said for “Two inch nails, micro waist, w/ a pale white feline face...” Any self-deprecating ghoul w/ “Inclination eyebrows” is free to suck my…neck, any time. Released on Challenge records subsidiary ‘Jackpot Records’, today might just be your lucky day (Get it!?)

Tombstone # 9 – Murray Schaff

Wanna hear something’ weird? While scheduling this post I realized that this test pressing was cut 53 years ago today (Don't beleive me? Check the fine print). Coincidence…I think not! Perhaps it is an ill omen? The lesson at hand: don’t give in, fellas! Even though these womens got the hard sell and are willing to give out free samples, you may just wind up at the business end of a post hole digger. According to particulars this tune was slated for release on King records, though I have never come across a copy proper. Anyone?

Queen of Halloween – Bily Snel

Here’s an obscure two-sider (see later posting for the flip) outta NY state which has eluded most comp-cobblers for awhile. Most of the copies that turn up are new-old stock, so chances are these beauties have been living out their existence in a tradesman’s closet. Good thing I am not above accepting anonymous charity.


Draculena – Aaron McNeil

This 1964 soul styling is in the same sanguinary vein (pun intended) as the above mentioned Bobby Bare disc. Though of a decidedly later comportment, ‘Draculena’ throws a littler Voodoo into the mash w/ some Marie Laveau inspired femme fatality. Hell, I'd follow Draculena to her grave.

Headless Nightmare - Villagers

A weird folksy number from 63’ concerning an ex-girlfriend who earned her ‘post’ status by getting her noggin’ clipped off by a speeding train. As can be expected, such a death rarely results in eternal rest, and more often than not insures a white-clad specter swinging its missing extremity down the tracks for all eternity. Get some new shoes, Daddy. Step on it!


Witch Girl – Ron Walden

One of my current favorites, Witch Girl has been piloting her broom under my radar for some time now, though how that’s possible w/ such a trashy solo is beyond me. Say what you will, but the devil knows how to pick them, I just wish Ole' Slue-foot could furnish me with some more info on this killer track.

Vampires Ghost – Jimmy Bowers

Never trust the ghost of a vampire who “Plays Cards Like a Man” not only will you loose your shirt, but you are bound to loose your white-bread soul in the process, and there aint nothin’ a self-respecting vamp likes more that white bread soul w/ a little dab of mayo and a barrel pick - no garlic, please.

So there you have it folks. If’un you wanna get down to brass tacks w/ yer baby, just slide this mix in, get down on one hoof, take her by the tentacle and tell her you’d marry/murder her all over again. Remember, you can always buy cemetery plots by the pair, and there ain’t nothin’ deeper than his and her graves, dig?

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Blues for the RedBoy Presents: She’s a Haunted Betty Boop!

P.S. Stay wood kid, stay wood!

Anybody for Peanuckle?

The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out...

That little limerick got a lot of play when I was a lad; any excuse for a toe-headed boy to extol the virtues of gangrene and putrescence (Is that almonds I smell?). Ever poke a dead animal w/ a stick? Same thing. Surprisingly, the rhyme itself, in all its permutations, owes less to the schoolyard kick-ball dugout and more to musings of colonial era levity, having first appeared in an excerpt from Matthew Gregory Lewis' 1796 novel 'The Monk' entitled ALONZO THE BRAVE, AND FAIR IMOGINE:

"All present then uttered a terrified shout;
All turned with disgust from the scene.
The worms, They crept in, and the worms, They crept out,
And sported his eyes and his temples about,
While the Spectre addressed Imogine."

While 'Alonzo' may indeed be the first instance of the couplet's publication, I suspect this little ditty really got legs under it with the introduction of the folk song 'There Was An Old Woman of Skin and Bones', first published in the early 1800's and still popular amongst school children today, be it in a much more harmless form:

"On looking up, on looking down,
She saw a dead man on the ground;
And from his nose unto his chin,
The worms crawled out, the worms crawled in."

A foundation having clearly been established, what still remains uncertain is how these seemingly innocuous ballads gave rise to the incarnation we all know and love today, otherwise known as the 'Hearse Song'. While we may never know the particulars of it's authorship , be it cautionary tale (never laugh when the hearse goes by for you may be the next to die), or a little slice o Victorian death fetishism (Puss oozes out like a whipping cream-and me without a spoon), I can say w/ some certainty who waxed the ultimate version of this childhood favorite:

Born in 1942 to Kermit Knutson, Terence Blaine Knutson , or Terry Teene, began taking piano lessons at four years of age and later sang in the high school choir. A local DJ, hearing him sing in church, suggested that he audition to perform on a local television program. He performed on TV for eight weeks in a row and put together the band "Terry and the Pirates".

In 1960, in Clovis, New Mexico, he cut recordings of his first two songs, "Just Wait Til I Get You Alone" and "Orchids Mean Good-bye", under record producer, Norman Petty. These songs were released on a 45 single by Warwick records.

When the Fireballs—a rock group with which he was performing at the time—disbanded, Terry began a second parallel career as a clown. He has performed under the names of "ToBo the Clown" and "Clownzo"; and was one of the creators and originators (with George Voorhees) of the costume, likeness, name and character of Ronald McDonald, one of the world's most recognizable trademark characters.

You’ll notice the reference to the song title ‘Curse of the Hearse’ as opposed to just ‘The Hearse’. Near as I can tell this is a later 60’s press of the same song on the ‘Iowa’ label b/w a fuzzed out psych tune more in keeping with the times. Not a bad cut by any name.

So when you’re sitting down in Mickey D’s w/ your crispy snack wrap, pulling hard on the guar gum which they pawn off as a vanilla shake, try not to think of it as puss or some other bodily fluid associated with death. Just enjoy it. You never know when it might be your last. Just sit back and let this little jingle crawl in your ears and out your...well, you get the idea.

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The Hearse - Terry Teen

Night Ridin'

Ok, so you are cruisin' the bricks in a Hudson Hornet; your suspension is heavy w/ the weight of fast friends as you pass around a stale roach and a half-pissed bottle of Old-Crow. The Pigs are out and about writtin walkin' tickets for all the white folk millin around, tryin' desperately as they are to hold up some ends before gettin' rolled, or worse...

This is Newark in the small hours of dawn and you are undoubtedly Night Ridin'.

From the tender age of fifteen Doc Starks, A.K.A Melvin Smith, knew how to hold his own both musically and physically against the rowdy rounders of his native Atlanta. Once RCA got a hold of him, he managed to cut some noteworthy discs before cool sales forced the big-dog to drop him like cold tatters. Luck for us that smaller, less reputable labels let the then 18 year old stretch out with the likes of 'Night Ridin', a cool cut with some cock-sure guitar, and what appears to be either a crazy ass sax bleat, or the screams of a chick being murdered. Either way, it adds just the right air of grit to a cut which fully intends to put you firmly in the passenger seat of an urban scouting party / Beaver Shoot. Needless to say, such endeavours rarely end well, but always end memorably.

"Smith was born in Atlanta in 1936, the son of Samuel and Minnie Smith, fourth in a family of nine children. Samuel Smith, a truck driver, abandoned the family in the mid-'40s, and all nine children were raised by their mother, a hotel chambermaid. Melvin began listening to music at an early age, and among his favorite singers growing up were Roy Brown, Wynonie Harris, and Jimmy Witherspoon. By the time he was in his early teens, Smith was winning talent contests in the Atlanta area and singing regularly with a group called the Arstell Allen Sextet.

In early 1951, a group of RCA-Victor executives came to Atlanta in search of talent to expand their R&B roster. They were referred to Smith, then 15 years old, and were suitably impressed. On January 11, 1951, Smith had his first recording date, fronting saxophonist/bandleader Clyde W. "Blow Top" Lynn and his House Rockers on four songs. Their first single, "Reliefin' Blues" backed with "School Boy Blues," was released to little notice in March of that year. Smith's career was now in high gear, with regular shows outside of Atlanta spaced in between odd jobs and school whenever he could fit it in -- he was finally expelled from school sometime in 1951. By the end of that year, he was known as "Little Melvin" and was singing with Tommy Brown's Maroon Notes. In the meantime, he recorded a further four songs with Lynn and his band in the spring of 1951.

The first resulting single, "Rampaging Mama" backed with "Real True Gal" (the latter co-written by Smith), also failed to chart. By January of 1952, Smith was back in the studio with a new band, in a session that generated the critically well-received but poor-selling Smith-authored "California Baby"/"Everybody's Got the Blues." RCA was still convinced that Smith had what it took to succeed, however, and in late March of 1952, they brought him to New York for a recording session with some of the top players of the period, including jazz legend Tyree Glenn on trombone, Taft Jordan on trumpet, Eddie Barefield on sax, and leader Howard Biggs at the piano. The result was Smith's most critically acclaimed single, "Looped," which managed to become a regional hit and elicited a rival cover version.

Somehow, "Looped" never broke out, and Smith and RCA were left to look back on another promising failure. The session did bring Smith to New York, however, and some very enjoyable and lucrative club dates. These were good times for Smith, despite his stagnant recording career, singing before bigger and more appreciative audiences than ever before.

Unfortunately, RCA saw the need to make some changes in Smith's sound, and his next sessions featured the presence of a trio of backup pop singers whose voices were too prominent for the song's own good. The single "Sarah Kelly (From Plumnelly)" flopped. Smith's recording career continued with RCA for another two years without any success, and he was finally dropped by the label in early 1954.

Smith was only 18 years old, however, and hardly done singing. He had moved to Philadelphia the previous year, and for the next decade, he fronted a quintet called the Nite Riders, whose membership included pianist/composer Van Walls ("Chains of Love"). He was signed to Apollo Records and later recorded for Sound/Teen, Swan, Cameo, and Sue Records. Smith and the group reached the pinnacle of their success in the late '50s, playing an extended engagement at the Wagon Wheel club in midtown Manhattan, and also enjoyed considerable popularity in Canada and Boston."

~ Bruce Eder

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Night Ridin' - Doc Starks (& the Nightriders)

Vacation Train - Doc Starks (& the Nightriders)

Apple Cider - Doc Starks (& the Nightriders)

Six Button Benny - Doc Starks (& the Nightriders)

Oh, Cliff!

...Sometimes it must be difficult Not to feel as if You really are a cliff When fascits keep trying to push you over it! Are they the lemmings, or are you Cliff? Or ARE you, Cliff?



Dynamite - Cliff Richard

Gasp! It's...The Great Chicken Shortage of Ought-Nine!

First it was Popeye's Chicken, and now KFC has seen their poultry supplies crumble before the might of Oprah's PR machine. Will this living nightmare ever end, or has it only just begun? Brothers and SISTERS, I have seen the writing on the wall! The angel of St. John hath opened the first of seven golden-fried vials filled with w/ the secret herbs and spices of the Lord?

We will bring you more on this story as it developes, but in the meantime...



Chicken Twist - The Dappers

"Yer Like A Chicken Wit Yo Head Cut off!"

"It's A Little Round Thing All Covered w/ Fuzz. Best Damned Stuff That There Ever Was!"

Parental Advisory: Explicit Fuckin' Post.

Short of ‘Rotten Cocksucker's Ball’ by the Blenders and ‘Poontang’ by the Treiners, can you honestly name the last time you heard a golden age filthy-fuck R 'n' R tune that doesn't rely wholly on entendre to drive the point home? Me neither. Enter: 'The Record Connection' in Pennsyltucky.



Ya gotta love a record shop w/ an X-rated section. Even though you invariably find yourself elbow deep in Red Peters (Yuck Yuck Yuck), once in a blue moon you might just find a real-deal dirty ditty that backs up the swagger w/ the sound.

Are these (J.C & the Cavemen) the pervert responsible?

I snatched my first ‘Yo Yo’ incarnation at the above mentioned establishment, and as the Quartercash label infers, the artist obviously didn't feel the need to hang a name on this opus. As for the subsequent copy on 'Fun'...well, I don't remember where the hell I found that one, but I am almost positive that Boliver Shagnasty is not his Christian name. But who is this racist/misogynist mystery man? Subsequent editions turn up on the 'Trash' and 'Allstate' labels, w/ such nom de plumes as J.C & the Cavemen (Originally the Nighthawks featuring Scotty Moore) and Shagmar Bullnasty (obviously a distant cousin). Popular consensus names the pervert responsible as either Rusty York (of ‘Sugaree’ fame) or J.C. Raynor. Damned if I know...said the big red rooster to the little red hen.

Yo-Yo - Unknown

Yo-Yo - Boliver Shagnasty

Tapping That Thing - Unknown

Tapping That Thing - Boliver Shagnasty

Note: The liberal use of purple cocks, in keeping with this post’s bawdy nature, is in honor of Devil Dick, whose insistence that my use of Roosters is pretentious calls into question the very self-aggrandizing nature of blogging itself. Enjoy the cocks, dick! Get well soon brother.