RedBoy XVIIII

And So It Begins...

Scientist, correctly assuming that mankind suffers from an appalling lack of natural predators, have retrofitted a rhesus monkey to move robotic appendages w/ it's mind. Meanwhile, in related news...

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)

Redboy XVIII

"Where Liberty Dwells, There Be My Country."

In memory, and in gratitude for those ancestors of mine who fought in the war of the Revolution. It is upon your graves that this country has built it's foundations, just as it is through your blood that my family has found it's fortunes. Thank you.

Joseph Going (Infantry Corporal - Virginia)

Sherwood Going (14th Virginia 1777-1781. Present at the battles of Germantown, Monmoth and the seige of Yorktown)

Moses Going (14th Virginia 1777 - 1781)

Daniel Going (5th Virginia . Present at the battles of Trenton, Germantown, Princeton)

John Goins (3rd Virginia, 5th Virginia, 7th Virginia)

Zephaniah Goins (1779 - 1781. Present at the seige of Yorktown)

William Goyen (3rd South Carolina 1776 - 1781)

Major John 'Buck' Gowen (3rd South Carolina)

James Goyen (1781)

Daniel Goyen (1780)

What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value." -- Thomas Paine

Lock & Loll!!!

I'm sending this one out to Professor Grewbeard (I'm gonna need to see credentials, professor) over @ Magic Carpet Burns on account of his affection for the Land of the Rising Sun.

One can't spin hip Japanese culture w/o Takeshi Terauchi much like one can't really begin to wrap their grey matter around Japanese popular music unless one consider the previously posted death of Ventures co founder Bob Bogle. Yes, the Ventures were that big; big enough to squash the Beatles w/o so much as Brighton scowl or a Liverpudlian lip-quiver. Why? Because the Ventures are painfully pasty Caucasian models of musical efficiency. Needless to say, the Japanese swallowed these Tacoma boys feet first (there goes that over-achiever stereotype again). Then there are, of course, the myriad of Asian acts(Both good and patently ridiculous) which followed in the Ventures more-than capable wake. But as w/ any master/teacher relationship, the new guard must best the old, applying methods both contemporary and traditional in an attempt to outshine their predecessor.

Yes, Takeshi Terauchi is that good



Perhaps it is the loose playing, Takeshi dive bombing that Bigsby and bending those notes into configurations the Ventures would be want to explore. More than likely it is Takeshi's observance of traditional Japanese scales as played on the Koto, an instrument whose essence has been fully adopted into Terauchi's musical style much as it has the pervading culture in the form of Eliki music. Regardless of the particulars, this SOB can sure hang an axe!

I'm Not Quite Sure What This Song is About - Takeshi Terauchi

I Think This Song is About the Beach - Takeshi Terauchi

Note: Special thanks goes out to Amy & Mike over @ Fancy magazine and Go Ape Records for furnishing me w/ this lovely 45rpm while on their travels in the far east. Much obliged!

Update: Thee Mighty R.J - Physically Capacitated Etc, Etc...

"When it rains it pours", though in this case its rainin' manna from the heavens.

Yup, once again we got some bonified skinny on an artist lost to the mists of time and temporal fold, and it just so happens to be a personal favorite of ole' RB, as reader and sometime relative of thee Might R.J. Rodger soon discovered while commenting on my unabashedly gushing endorsement:

"I couldn't agree more. I've enjoyed this record since it's release. I'm proud to say the artist was my uncle, so I'm a little biased. I'm glad see "The Fungus" is still "Among Us"

It is indeed still "Amoung Us", alive and well even. So, what is the deal with thee Mighty R.J. anyway?

"First of all he was Kool Ass Uncle!! He only made one record to my knowledge, he was a very successful radio personality down in New Orleans in the 70's. What you hear on that record is him, imagine mild mannered Clark Kent ducking it into phone booth and coming out a BADD MUTHA F------, talkin' sh--. That was my uncle, the record was just an extension of his on-air persona. Some parts of the record actually had a little truth to them (Working on the farm down in NC, the traveling/working in the different cites, etc.) He would go into the studio and record "Mix Tapes" on reel to reel tapes and send them to his two brothers serving in Vietnam. I've always thought that if "Rap" had a Family Tree he would be in the lineage."

Undoubtedly.

Dig the original post below.

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You know, there are just some records that you are glad exist. It's not that they have any particular cultural value (to the contrary), or that they redefine any one genre or convention. Sometimes a record is just so audacious that it's very existence seems to bolster the concept of artistic merit in a modern world strangely devoid of such perfunctory gestures. The very fact that these kind of sounds exist at all either proves a total lack of judgement (more than likely), or a sophisticated sense of art so inclusive that it challenges the very existence of what we deem as popular music. 'Fungus Amoung Us' is one such song.

I was originally gonna use Fungus (incidentally, not the the Terry Nolan song) to pad out some bald spots in an up and coming BFTRB soul mix. And while it lends itself well to radio bumpers and between-tune soundscapes, it was only upon my getting royally blitzed and giving the single several listens (it really does require several listens to appreciate it's peculiar charm)that I decided that the mysteriously named 'Fungus'(I have no idea why it is called that) deserves it's own showcase with-which to lay down it's thread.

As is to be expected, there is pretty much no copy on this disc. The 'Soulville' label seems to intone a certain late 60's sensibility, even though the track is straight up late 50's R&B. Upon doing a little diggin' I was pleased to discover that 'Fungus' enjoys a healthy, if not widespread admiration amongst hip-hop aficionados, as the rhyme scheme - along w/ the likes of disc jockeys Jocko Henderson & Pete 'Maddaddy' Myers - typify the rhyming couplet which would one day personify Hip Hop, and the abomination which passed for R& B these days.

Note: It seems to me that 'Fungus pt 1 & pt 2 are reversed on the disc. I'd start w/ pt 2 to get the full narrative effect.

Fungus Among Us pt 2 - His Majesty the Mighty R.J.

Fungus Among Us pt 1 - His Majesty the Mighty R.J.

RedBoy XVII

Courtesy of the one-and-only ChocolateFace

The Art of Andrea Nutt

www.andreanutt.com

Don't Call'em a Surf Band!!!

R.I.P. Bob Bogle 1934 - 2009

Wildwood Flower - Ventures

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

RedBoy XVI

Courtesy of the fine folk over at Gemini Spacecraft- a rare specimen of the Speckled Brooklyn Le Fleche!

Update: Look at me, I'm Hangin' Five!

Well, here’s a nice surprise…

Found the following comment this morning pertaining to a post from June of last year (The internet has always ever been a trickle down effect) in which the author in question admits to being party responsible for the ultra-tuff Connecticut Surf cuts 'Hangin' 'Five' & Patch'. Who better to tell it like it is then one who was there when it was…

Usually when I’m solicited its for either copyright infringement or, more often than not, moral turpitude. It’s refreshing then to hear some previously unknown skinny on a boss band, especially when it comes from the mouth of one of the horses pullin’ the cart:

“Greetings from Dave Wilkinson, the guy who uttered those immortal words (“Look at me, I’m Hangin’ five!”) all those years ago. I spoke them into the mic (then mike) at the request of A&R man Bruce Patch, who had added the surf sounds in the final mix. The track (78 demo recorded at Ace) was originally named "Blowout," but the record company was hip to the surf trend."

Thanks for the info Dave! Both of those G-Clef cuts are surf monsters! Glad we finally have some copy on em’.

I’ve re-posted the original vinyl below. You can check out some of Dave Wilkinson’s post Reveliers work here as he’s still ‘Hangin’ Five’.

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I've been in an instro state of mind for a fortnight, but alas, Mr. Devil has beat me to the punch (Kudos)

It's a shame that more people don't dig Surf (and instrumental music in general). I think it might be an attention-span thing (Like, no lyrics man?!?!). Either that, or the trappings are just too hoaky for the average fashion-bug. Most people forget that practically every progressive band of particular note cut their teeth on this shit. It is the bedrock upon which all guitar masturbation and heavy-metal dickery is founded.

Like a million bands of their ilk, I can one can only ever give you a time and a place - Newton Massachusetts, 1963. Under cut that with the fact that this is the Reveliers only release, and it may seem like the typical flash in the pan scenario. Be that as it may, I challenge you to spin these two tunes without seemingly smelling the salt air, and smiling at the thought of a boundless ocean...even if that ocean is on the East coast and indeed has garbage floating in it.

Hanging Five - the Reveliers

Patch - The Reveliers

Redboy XV

The Art of Henry Ossawa Tanner

http://cghs.dade.k12.fl.us/african-american/reconstruct/tanner.htm

Thee Mighty R.J: Physically Capacitated To Rearrange Your Entire Biological Conception of Womanhood

You know, there are just some records that you are glad exist. It's not that they have any particular cultural value (to the contrary), or that they redefine any one genre or convention. Sometimes a record is just so audacious that it's very existence seems to bolster the concept of artistic merit in a modern world strangely devoid of such perfunctory gestures. The very fact that these kind of sounds exist at all either proves a total lack of judgement (more than likely), or a sophisticated sense of art so inclusive that it challenges the very existence of what we deem as popular music. 'Fungus Amoung Us' is one such song.

I was originally gonna use Fungus (incidentally, not the the Terry Nolan song) to pad out some bald spots in an up and coming BFTRB soul mix. And while it lends itself well to radio bumpers and between-tune soundscapes, it was only upon my getting royally blitzed and giving the single several listens (it really does require several listens to appreciate it's peculiar charm)that I decided that the mysteriously named 'Fungus'(I have no idea why it is called that) deserves it's own showcase with-which to lay down it's thread.

As is to be expected, there is pretty much no copy on this disc. The 'Soulville' label seems to intone a certain late 60's sensibility, even though the track is straight up late 50's R&B. Upon doing a little diggin' I was pleased to discover that 'Fungus' enjoys a healthy, if not widespread admiration amongst hip-hop aficionados, as the rhyme scheme - along w/ the likes of disc jockeys Jocko Henderson & Pete 'Maddaddy' Myers - typify the rhyming couplet which would one day personify Hip Hop, and the abomination which passed for R& B these days.

Note: It seems to me that 'Fungus pt 1 & pt 2 are reversed on the disc. I'd start w/ pt 2 to get the full narrative effect.

Fungus Among Us pt 2 - His Majesty the Mighty R.J.

Fungus Among Us pt 1 - His Majesty the Mighty R.J.

Just Call me Rooster Cogburn.

Went gun show hoppin' a fort-night ago, and what did i happen upon, but this-here pretty little rattletrap. I had always wanted a Winchester model 94' saddle-ring carbine, and while they are not particularly rare (Winchester's Hartford factory has churned out several million since the guns inception) they have become a bit pricey, especially since Winchester closed it's doors several years ago.

Having agonized over a clean, late model specimen earlier in the day, I was happy as all get-out to stumble across this unassuming long-arm with a price so easy on the wallet that I might as well have stolen it. The serials point to and early-teens manufacture date, and while it is in the standard .30 WCF (30-30 Marlin) it has several interesting features, most notably a special order shotgun stock, and an over sized lever loop (Generally assumed to facilitate gloved riders).

The weird thing is that the over sized loop appears to be factory (It bears the same wear as the rest of the gun). Did Winchester offer an over sized lever loop as a special order? I know that such accessories became popular following the debut of the 'Rifleman' T.V. show (God Bless Chuck Connors!) and 'True Grit', but this gun is decidedly older. I have read some oblique references to government issued 94' Trapper carbine models sent to the Pacific North West w/ similar features, but this particular gun is not federally stamped. I intend to write the Cody Museum to see if perhaps they can provide some answers. Regardless, this little workhorse is a welcome addition to the family.

Guess Who Got Hisself Some New Choppers?

I'll give you three guesses.

What's A Media Circus Without A Little Monkey Buisness?!

Sorry for the infrequency of postings as of late. What can I say, my natural state of grace is lazy, not to mention the fact that life has been stompin' a big ole' mud hole in my willowy chest. Good thing I'm adaptable, which brings me to the point at hand...

I'm still kinda jazzed about the Darwin thing, so I figure, even though I am a couple of days late to the party, I see no reason why I can't make those apposable big-toes of yours grasp the dance-floor and swing like a shapely simians talus bone.

Dig this, 1962's 'Let's Monkey Again'- also issued as "(Let's Monkey) at the Party" on 'Music World records - is one soulful bowlful sure to have you flingin your crap in no time flat, hence why I have selected it, naturally (get it?)

Let's Monkey Again - Persians

Mama's Chickens...or, De Boss Rooster