mp3: Thurston Harris - Do What You Did

There's been a slew of Thurston Harris tunes posted up here in the past, but somehow this fantastically saxy little number has been overlooked. Do What You Did was recorded in 1957 during the same session that produced Little Bitty Pretty One. DWYD was released early in '58, intended as a follow up to the success of LBPO. It sold reasonably well, making it to #14 on the R&B chart and #57 on the pop chart. The flip, I'm Asking Forgiveness is a cool bluesy ballad that would fit in on the sterling Killer of Sheep soundtrack (if you don't know it, look it up). I'm not quite sure why I didn't rip it for this post. Possibly I was in a rush. It's definitely something I'll correct in some way at some point in the proverbial not too distant. Stay tuned. In the meantime, do what you did.

mp3: Baby Boy Jennings - Goin Home
mp3: Baby Boy Jennings - Little Girl

Some obscure Savoy R&B from Baby Boy Jennings and The Satellites makes up today's post. Can't find out much about Jennings or The Satellites, unfortunately, except that they were a vocal group. The backing band featured Al Sears on tenor sax, Abie Baker on bass and Shep Shepherd on drums. Even though there were other recordings from the same session, Goin Home/Little Girl seems to be the only release. It was in shops soon after it was recorded midway through 1960.

mp3: Smiley Lewis - Queen Of Hearts
mp3: Smiley Lewis - Come On

And now to New Orleans for a couple of mid-50s R&B gems. Although he released loads of great records back in the day, singer and guitarist Smiley Lewis is not as well known as he should be. The quality of his output was significantly contributed to by the peerless talents of Dave Bartholomew and the crew at Cosimo Matassa's legendary studio. Queen Of Hearts is the b-side to Come On, but I slightly prefer it. Possibly because it bears a similarity to another NOLA classic, also from 1956, Clarence 'Frogman' Henry's Ain't Got No Home. Both tunes were probably influenced by the pioneering Louis Jordan and his Ooo Wee record, which was released just two years prior.

mp3: Clyde McPhatter And Ruth Brown - I Gotta Have You

Here's a duet from two of the biggest names in mid-50s R&B. Clyde McPhatter, previously of The Dominoes and The Drifters teamed up with Ruth 'Miss Rhythm' Brown to make this recording. Although it's is a passable R&B tune, I Gotta Have You is a fairly formulaic duet. The vocals lack the kind of spark you might expect from a couple who were apparently having a fling at the time. Maybe they had just rowed.

mp3: Mickey Hawks - Bip Bop Boom
mp3: Mickey Hawks - Rock And Roll Rhythm

From 1958, today's two rockabilly offerings feature the piano and vocals of Mickey Hawks. Around a year earlier, Hawks had teamed up with High Point, North Carolina radio DJ and tenor saxman, Dallas 'Moon' Mullins, and his Night Raiders band. They recorded the Be-Bop-A-Lula inspired Bip Bop Boom in a Greensboro garage studio. It was originally released on the studio owner's label, Robbins Red, and sold at gigs. Only 500 copies were pressed. I struggle to imagine how much an aficionado would bid for a clean copy of that record, were one to show up on eBay now. Thankfully, up in Chicago, Mike Oury decided to re-release it on his Profile label. It was a regional hit, selling 50,000. Rock And Roll Rhythm is also great fun and often gets a spin at my gigs. One of their high-octane follow-up releases, Cottonpickin', credited to The Night Raiders, has been a fixture of my record box for a couple of years now. It's also on my latest mix, Heavy Sugar.

mp3: Don Cole - Snake Eyed Mama

Today's selection is a rockabilly tune from 1957. Snake Eyed Mama was written by Lee Hazlewood and features the guitar and piano of undersung talent Al Casey. It's very much in the wild Jerry Lee Lewis style. Unfortunately, I can't find out too much out about Don Cole. However, I did read that he was born (and died) in Phoenix, Arizona and the name on his birth certificate was Wendell Donald Cole, although he also recorded as Tony Castle.