Rockin' Song of the Week No. 75 - Hi-Tombs

Hi-Tombs - Sweet Rockin' Mama
Cannon 832

"Hey man, dip dip dip dip". This is what rockabilly is all about. The beat is a foot-tapper with a guitar or two driving the song along. They even throw in a line from the Big Bopper's Chantilly Lace. The Hi-Tombs, Sweet Rockin' Mama came out on Cannon Records out of Richmond, Virginia in 1960, but the record has a sound of a couple of years before. This is hard rockin', none of that Bobbybilly that was around at the time. The song was written by group member Cody Reynolds and Harold Wilson (queue Mike Yarwood impersonation) who had a split of the publishing with Starday Records. The flip, Weeping Willow is an uptempo instro that is okay but nowhere near as great as the top side. The best place to find the Sweet Rockin' Mama is on Ace's brilliant Starday Dixie Rockabilly Volume 1 CD.