fliped with ''Courtin' In A Cadillac'' issued on Excello Records in 1956. Jerry McCain, Born 19 June 1930, Gadsden, Alabama Biography Jerry McCain was born on June 19, 1930 in Gadsden (Etowah County), Alabama - the same place where he's still located. He even lives in the same house that he built with his father in 1950. In all probability it's the father who originated Jerry's musical awakening as well, by running his own local barbeque joint (called Green Front Cafe), and spinning there the hottest blues and r'n'b records on the jukebox. There were also a few other influential relatives: Jerry had two harmonica playing uncles and his mother played the guitar. Jerry, who was the youngest of five children, had been playing harmonica since the age of five. As a teenager he tried also with guitar, drums, jew's harp and even trumpet, until finding the crucial inspiration from artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson I, and gradually becoming a full-bodied harpist. Sonny Boy Williamson II (a.k.a. Rice Miller) also had a notable effect on him both technically and mentally - since the two had been introduced to each other during McCain's first recording session for Trumpet in 1953. Over the years, Jerry became mainly influenced by the music of Little Walter Jacobs, and in fact, again sometime in 1953, when the last mentioned was performing in Gadsden, Jerry also had a chance to become friends and even join Walter on stage for a couple of numbers. Before making any recordings, Jerry used to perform at the radio station WETO with only a jug to accompany him. His first band was founded in the early 1950's. Jerry McCain & his Trio consisted of Jerry himself on vocals and harp, Christopher Collins on guitar, and Jerry's older brothers Roosevelt and Walter, who both played drums alternately. Before the brothers came into the picture, Jerry used to know a drummer named Jean Dozier who played marching type drums, which of course didn't match McCain's style that well. It was obvious that sooner or later the young musicians also wanted to make a record. They managed to find a cheap recording machine somewhere from Alabama, and cut their own acetate version of Little Walter's "Crazy 'Bout You, Baby" which was sent to the head of Trumpet Records, Mrs. Lillian S. McMurray. She liked the song so much that she invited Jerry and the band to Jackson, MS. The first studio session at the State Furniture Co. on October 10, 1953 was strengthened by the Trumpet session men David Campbell on piano, Herman Fowlkes on bass, and Bernard "Bunny" Williams, who played the second solo instrument, tenor saxophone - a quite surprising but effective choice for the harmonica blues recordings. The captured songs were "East Of The Sun", "Wine-O-Wine", "Oh Wee Baby", and "Feel Just Like I'm In Love". The first two came out on Trumpet 217, the others are still unissued. This debut single was a regional hit (sold 2.500 copies), and Lillian gave Jerry another chance. The second and the last Trumpet session was arranged at Diamond Recording Studios, Jackson, MS on November 4, 1954. The brothers Roosevelt and Walter didn't attend this time. Collins however did, along with another guitarist J.V. Turner who had worked previously with Sonny Boy Williamson among others. Other musicians at the studio were David Campbell (pno), Raz Roseby (bs) and Junior Blackman (dms). From the five songs they cut, "Stay Out Of Automobiles" and "Love To Make Up" ended up to Trumpet 231. McMurray had bad financial troubles, and only 750 copies were pressed. Soon afterwards the Trumpet company closed its doors, and the rest of the tracks, "Middle Of The Night", "Crazy 'Bout That Mess" and "Fall Guy", remained unissued until the early 1990's. At some point in the mid-1950's Jerry and the band (Chris Collins:gtr, Robert Christian:gtr, Roosevelt McCain:dms) did an 11-song demo session in the living room of Jerry's Gadsden home using only one microphone and 1-track recorder (first issued on the White Label LP "Choo Choo Rock" in 1979). When Nashville record boss Ernie Young heard these wild rock'n'roll tapes, it didn't take long before Jerry found himself working for Excello Records. The forthcoming recordings were made mostly at the 3rd Street's Nashboro studios, and Young usually was in charge of engineering. The background group (The Upstarts) changed slightly with every session but the main players were always Collins and Christian on guitars, Ed "Skippy" Brooks on piano and Roosevelt McCain or Jimmy Sheffield on drums. The first Excello single (#2068) was released in 1955. The A-side "That's What They Want" represented Mannish Boy/I'm A Man-style slow downhome blues, while its flip, "Courtin' In A Cadillac" was already straight rock'n'roll. By 1957 this platter was followed by five more high-quality 45rpm records containing some highly enjoyable uptempo rockers such as "My Next Door Neighbor", "The Jig's Up" and "Run, Uncle John, Run!" which was Jerry's answer to Little Richard