A fantastic Double CD collection packed with 50 original greats from Roulette Records. Comprehensive Coverage Of Their Singles Releases From 1957 to 1961
The Roulette label was launched sometime towards the end of 1956 by Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy, George Goldner and Phil Khals with directorship turned over to Levy and responsibility for production put in the hands of Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore (as Hugo & Luigi with Their Family Singers they had a minor Pop hit in 1955 with Mercury - Young Abe Lincoln).
Under a cloud of sorts, with close ties to the Mob in New York and Levy running the show like a tin-pot dictator (covered in the single page of liner notes in the cardboard fold-out jewel case and written by Colin Salter), Goldner left after selling all rights to his earlier labels Rama, Tico and Gee to Levy in order to make good on heavy gambling debts (these would be rolled into the Roulette label). Hugo and Luigi also departed for RCA Victor.
Their first, and second-biggest star in terms of overall record sales/hit singles, back of Tommy James & The Shondells (not covered here - see the Westside Records 3-CD set The Roulette Story - Hits & Rarities) had to be vocalist Jimmie Rodgers who, from 1957 to 1961, racked up 19 Pop hits, with his first also being his best. In late summer, Honeycomb surged to # 1 Top 100 AND R&B as well as # 7 Country. That's here as is the follow-up Kisses Sweeter Than Wine - # 3 pop, # 6 Country and # 8 R&B late in 1957. Close on his heels was the all-male trio, The Playmates, who contributed 10 hit singles from 1958 to 1962, most of them comedy sides led by the late 1958 # 4 Beep Beep, about the little Nash Rambler that passed a Cadillac while in 2nd gear. That's here as is their first hit, the ballad Jo-Ann, which peaked at # 19 in early 1958.
Not far behind those two were the Rockabilly duo of Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen who, taking turns fronting their group, The Rhythm Orchids, contributed nine hit singles in 1957/58, with Buddy adding two more in 1959 as a solo artist. Here, with Buddy leading the way, you get Party Doll, another # 1 Top 100 in early 1957 and also a # 3 R&B, and Hula Love, a # 9 Top 100 and # 13 R&B in the fall of 1957, while from Jimmy comes I'm Stickin' With You, a # 9 R&B and # 14 Top 100 in early 1957. And right there with them was Joey Dee & The Starliters, also with nine hits from late 1961 to 1963, and here you get their first, and best, The Peppermint Twist - Part I, a # 1 Hot 100/# 8 R&B in December 1961/January 1962.
And that would be pretty much it insofar as multiple-hit artists were concerned, with others adding one or two here and there. The lead-off track would be the only hit for their main instrumental group, The Rock-A-Teens, as it made it to # 16 in late 1959. Former pianist and valet for B.B. King, Joe Jones, would add two, and both are here - You Talk Too Much, a # 3 Hot 100/# 9 R&B in late summer 1960, and California Sun, a # 89 Hot 100 in April 1961. The all-male quartet, The Techniques, were a One-Hit Wonder with Hey! Little Girl making it to # 29 in late 1957, while from the great Ronnie Hawkins comes Forty Day, his # 45 Pop cover of the 1955 R&B hit Thirty Days by Chuck Berry, as well as two failed singles.
There were many others of that sort as well, not included here, but some of of which are in the above-mention Westside release. Instead here they provide 33 selections that did not become national charters, some of them by artists who later recorded for Roulette after having had multiple hits elsewhere. The complete contents are shown in the Comment below, to which I've added the label details (not shown in the insert) and year of release (details of which are included). The sound quality is excellent. (Record Runner)
trax disc 1:
1. Woo-Hoo - The Rock-A-Teens 2. Forty Days - Ronnie Hawkins 3. Don't Stop - Larry Trider 4. Where The Rio De Rosa Flows - Jimmy Lloyd 5. Rock- A-Bop-A-Lina - Billy & Don Hart 6. Party Doll - Buddy Knox 7. Thumb Thumb - Frankie Lymon 8. You Talk Too Much - Joe Jones 9. I'm Stickin' With You - Jimmy Bowen 10. The Race - Charlie Gracie 11. Little Boy Of Mine - The Delicates 12. Let's Put Our Hearts Together - Chuck Reed 13. Sometimes I Wonder - The Heartbeats 14. Honeycomb - Jimmie Rodgers 15. I'm Free - Joe Tate 16. One Of These Days - Ronnie Hawkins 17. She's Mine - Johnny Strickland 18. Mohawk Rock - The Rhythm Aces 19. I Got A Rocket In My Pocket - Jimmy Lloyd 20. Jailhouse Rock - Frankie Lymon 21. Hey! Little Girl - The Techniques 22. Bop Bop Bop - Paul Anthony 23. Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & The Starliters 24. Beep Beep - The Playmates 25. California Sun - Joe Jones
trax disc 2:
1. Kisses Sweeter Than Wine - Jimmie Rodgers 2. Hula Love - Buddy Knox 3. Ruby Baby - Ronnie Hawkins 4. Satellite Rock - Joe Tate & The Hi-Fives 5. You're Gone Baby - Jimmy Lloyd 6. I Really Want To Know Him - The Ivies 7. She's So Fine - The Cleftones 8. Leapin' Guitar - The Charrapals 9. Heaven Only Knows - The Cognacs 10. Can't Tell - Darrell & The Oxfords (Aka The Tokens) 11. Nothing Can Go Wrong - The Domineers 12. To Prove My Love To You - Joe Jones 13. Do You Love Me - The Edsels 14. Silhouettes - Frankie Lymon 15. Scenery - Charlie Gracie 16. The Hucklebuck - Georgia Gibbs 17. One Day Next Year - The Heartbeats 18. Goin' Wild - Jimmy Isle 19. Twangy - The Rock-A-Teens 20. Pick Another Baby - Carol Hughes 21. Lover - "Handyman" Jimmy Jones 22. Jo Ann - The Playmates 23. First Blush - Sonny Til 24. My Broken Heart - The Teenagers 25. Diamonds & Pearls - The Turbans
...served by Gyro1966...
Appearing after a blockbuster debut and a sophomore set that was rather disappointing (in comparison), 1968's Lady Soul proved Aretha Franklin, the pop sensation, was no fluke. Her performances were more impassioned than on her debut, and the material just as strong, an inspired blend of covers and originals from the best songwriters in soul and pop music. The opener, "Chain of Fools," became the biggest hit, driven by a chorus of cascading echoes by Franklin and her bedrock backing vocalists, the Sweet Impressions, plus the unforgettable, earthy guitar work of guest Joe South. The album's showpiece, though, was "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," a song written expressly for her by Brill Building pop stalwarts Gerry Goffin and Carole King, based on a title coined by producer Jerry Wexler. One of the landmark performances in pop music, the song floats serenely through the verses until, swept up by Ralph Burns' stirring string arrangement again and again, Franklin opens up on the choruses with one of the most transcendent vocals of her career. And just as she'd previously transformed a soul classic (Otis Redding's "Respect") into a signature piece of her own, Franklin courageously reimagined songs by heavyweights James Brown, Ray Charles, and the Impressions. Brown's "Money Won't Change You" is smooth and kinetic, her testifying constantly reinforced by interjections from the Sweet Inspirations. Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready," a 1965 civil-rights anthem and a hit for the Impressions, is taken at a slower pace than the original; after a quiet verse, Franklin lets loose amidst a magisterial brass arrangement by Arif Mardin. Powered by three hit singles (each nested in the upper reaches of the pop Top Ten), Lady Soul became Aretha Franklin's second gold LP and remained on the charts for over a year. (Review by John Bush - allmusic.com)
