Reasons to love youTube No. 6 - Carl Perkins

There can't be many arguments that Carl Perkins is the true king of rockabilly in it's purest form. Check out these clips that run through the years. The Ranch Party clip is phenomenal. What a find these old clips were - footage that we never dreamed we'd see.

Your True Love (from Ranch Party tv show)

Turn Around (from Nashville Now - he was a great rockabilly, but just as awesome at country music)

Johnny Cash medley 1974

The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll ( from Class of '55)

Restless

Blue Suede Shoes/Matchbox medley from 1971 - I'm not sure which was worse, the waistcoat or the dance steps! The rest is great though.

TV chat with Scotty Moore

Matchbox with Duane Eddy and the Mavericks (what a line-up)

Rockin' Song of the Week No.98 - Kingbeats

Kingbeats – I’ll Tell My Mama On You/I’ve Been A Bad Boy
Flash 1553

I can’t find much out about the Kingbeats other than that they were a three piece from
Olive Branch, Mississippi and consisted of Robert Geeslin, Gene Sullivan, and Larry Houston. I heard them through their inclusion on the Chicken Rock: Rockin’ Around The Mountain. The Eagle CD (1999) is well worth checking out for it’s Memphis area rockabilly from Sun era Carl Perkins, Jimmy Evans, Tommy Tucker and the great title track from The Mountain Ramblers featuring an up and coming Bobby Bare.

The Kingbeats were the 185th Inductees into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, purely on the strength of their Flash single. According to Terry Gordon’s brilliant website, Flash Records came out of Senatobia, Miss, and this Kingbeats classic seems to be its only release. It could be their own vanity label?

Despite the singles 1964, its more Gene Vincent than Beatles. I’ll Tell My Mama On You is a great rocker that could have been cut a decade before. This vocals are so exciting and the guitar is pure rockabilly. I’ve Been A Bad Boy is a strolling blues number with some stinging guitar, rudimentary drumming and call and response vocals.

The Mullett, The Wig and The Quiff

No one does Chuck Berry like Dave Edmunds and that includes ol' Chuckie boy himself. Here he shows the ol Ding a Linger how to do it with Carl perkins and Brian Setzer in tow.

Ricky Nelson - Lonesome Town: The Complete Record Releases 1957-1959

Ricky Neslon - Lonesome Town: The Complete Record Releases 1957-1959
Fantastic Voyage Records - FVTD056

Tracklist: I'm Walkin'/A Teenager's Romance/You're My One And Only Love/Be-Bop Baby/Have I Told You Lately That I Love You/Honeycomb/Boppin' The Blues/Be-Bop Baby (album version)/Have I Told You Lately That I Love You (album version)/Teenage Doll/If You Can't Rock Me/Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On/Baby I'm Sorry/Am I Blue/I'm Confessin'/Your True Love/True Love/Stood Up/Waitin' In School/Shirley Lee/Someday/Good Rockin' Tonight/I'm Feelin' Sorry/Down The Line/Unchained Melody/I'm In Love Again/Don't Leave Me This Way/My Babe/I'll Walk Alone/There Goes My Baby/Poor Little Fool/Believe What You Say/My Bucket's Got A Hole In It/I Got A Feeling/It's Late/One Of These Mornings/Believe What You Say (album version)/Lonesome Town/Tryin' To Get To You/Be True To Me/Old Enough To Love/Never Be Anyone Else But You/I Can't Help It/You Tear Mr Up/It's All In The Game/Restless Kid/You'll Never Know What You're Missing/That's All/Just A Little Too Much/One Minute to One/That's All/Just A Little Too Much/One Minute To One/Half Breed/You're So Fine/Don't Leave Me/Sweeter Than You/A Long Vacation/o Long/Blood From A Stone/I've Been Thinkin'/I Wanna Be Loved/Mighty Good/My Rifle, My Pony And Me

The good folks at Fantastic Voyage go from strength to strength, with the latest release featuring all the 1950’s recordings of the great Ricky Nelson. With 61 tracks on two discs together with a previously unreleased 78 minute interview, this is an essential purchase, especially with an asking price of under a tenner. Even if you have the Bear Family box set you’ll need this for the interview.

I’m sure everyone reading this blog will know the Ricky Nelson, where he started his career as a member of his family’s “Ozzie and Harriet Show” before forging a career in rock ‘n’ roll in equal parts due to good looks, a good voice, some great songs from the Burnette’s and Baker Knight among others, and a crack band knicked from Bob Luman that starred the superb James Burton. As well known as the story is, there’s plenty of songs on show here that aren’t so famous. They come Verve and Imperial , courtesy of his singles and his first four albums, 'Ricky', Ricky Nelson', 'Ricky Sings Again' and 'Songs By Ricky'.

Items like Waitin’ In School, Poor Little Fool, Believe What You Say and Mighty Good hold up against the finest music of the era and need no introduction. But the less informed will get to hear such gems as There Goes My Baby, You Tear Me Up, Be True To Me and I’ve Been Thinking.

He worshipped Carl Perkins and the Sun artists, and it’s a mark of his talent is how well his covers stand up to such illustrious originals, such as Your True Love, I’m Feelin’ Sorry, Down the Line and Boppin’ The Blues.

If you’re after a something a bit softer, there’s Never Be Anyone Else But You and Sweeter Than You among others. From the country side you get two belters in Half Breed and Restless Kid. This is a brilliant release that you should snap up now. From rockabilly to teen rockaballads, this has it all. A great cover photo as well to round things off.

Rockin' Song of the Week No. 89 - Ramsey Kearney

Rockin' Song of the Week No. 89 - Ramsey Kearney
Rock The Bop (Jaxon 501)

This song is dedicated to the young Welsh star Aaron Ramsey who suffered a sickening injury yesterday. Being a Spurs fan, no one hates Arsenal more than me, but what happened yesterday goes beyond all that. I’ve been gutted by the injury ever since I saw it last night. We haven’t got the world’s biggest squad here in Wales and can ill afford to lose a player of Ramsey’s quality. I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery.

So, what about Ramsey Kearney? Well, to be honest, it’s not the greatest rockabilly song you’ll ever here, but he gets the nod this week because he’s called Ramsey. Born in Boliver, Tennessee on October 30th, 1933, he was into music from an early age, performing a radio show on WDXI Radio in Jackson, TN at the age of fifteen. Known as the Dixie Farmboy, he secured this slot from 1948 to 1952.

On his official website, Keaney’s remembers that “after he had done several radio shows, he received a phone call from CARL PERKINS, and could he come up and pick guitar on radio with him? Carl appeared the following Saturday with his guitar and amp. Carl had a National acoustic guitar, with a silver plated pick-up mounted above the sound hole and under the strings. The strings were about one-half inch above the fingerboard on the neck, the amp was about as big as a cracker box.” He adds that to his surprise, Carl sounded pretty good, playing in a style resembling Merle Travis, but wanting to play like Chet Atkins.

After High School, Ramsey moved to Memphis where he became the lead singer of the Snearly Ranch Boys, a local band of high acclaim whose line-up over the years included Warren Smith and Stan Kesler.

Some unreleased recordings at Sun and a spell in the army came and went before he moved to Nashville where he made his name as a songwriter. His best known was Emotions which he co-wrote with Mel Tillis.

Best place to hear Rock The Bop is the brilliant Stompertime CD, The Last Great Rockabilly Saturday Night, which unfortunately gives no details other than the song was written by Kearney and Eddie Starr.

According to the Rockin’ Memphis box set on Proper Records, the song was recorded in December ’56 at a Jimmie Martin Combo session, with Martin and Kearney along with Junior Vestal on guitar and Ickie Havener on piano. The other side is listed as Red Bobby Sox.

Check out the photo below from 1949 with a young Carl Perkins.

Flip's Killer Klip # 4

JLL, Johnny Cash & Carl Perkins live Stuttgart Germany - 1981

Back in 70s and 80s good ole boy promoter Mervyn Conn used to bring to Uk and Europe some stunning country festivals, the London Wembley ones were usually filmed by the BBC for later highlights transmissions, the first one I attended in 81 has matchbox, Wanda jackson, carl perkins and jerry lee on a rockabilly night, the highlight being when Carl came out to play a couple of songs with JLL at the end of the show,I even bought my first Betamax video so I could ecord the BBC show later that year, then in Paris they did it again (a real wild ending which is also on video) and then in Holland and Germany JLL and Carl joined Cash to jam on gospel and rock n roll numbers at the end of his set. Rodany Crowell later mixed the german show for release as the Survivors album on Columbia, a few years later the Class Of 55 album was cut in Memphis by Chips Moman with the Big O joining in.

I`ve never seen any footage of the 81 Stuttgart show until fairly recently and here`s a chunk of JLL with Cash and his band doing Will The Circle Be Unbroken, joined by Carl as well,enjoy this historical recreation of three quarters of the Million Dollar Quartet.

Flip

Flip remembers Mickey Gee

In memory of Wales` greatest guitarist - Mickey Gee

Earlier this year I sadly attended the funeral of the Welsh guiatr great Mickey Gee in Cardiff, many musicians were there including Shaking Stevens, Geraint Watkins, Andy Fairweather Low, John David, Terry Williams,John Lewis and Ian Calford, Mickey had provided immaculate Fender bending to all these guys, he`d played with Ian`s dad the late Cal Ford and the Brakemen.

He was a valued part of Edmunds Rockpile and played on the great Carl Perkins Rockabilly Session tv show. He also played with Tom Jones, Lulu, Joe Cocker,Bill Wyman as part of Willie and the Poor Boys and the great 70s rockabilly band Memphis Bend recording a brillaint album on UA that sadly has not been issued on cd and was an important part of the Shaky sound during the 80s chart hits years. When ill health hit him in the 90s he turned down many lucrative jobs/tours preferring to turn up in the local pubs and clubs of Cardiff and sitting in.

A few years back much to my surprise BBC Wales tv acknowledged that music started before Tom Jones by putting this prog out reunting Edmunds, Geraint, Mickey, Andy, etc and one of the many highlights was Mickey`s version of the great Chuck Berry blues rocker Betty Jean (given the wrong title on youtube BTW).

There's an old b& w clip of the pre fame Tom Jones in rocker mode doing What`d I Say and Chills n Fever on tv, look carefully at the young guitarist with hair it`s Mr Gee!

My fav memory of Mickey is of him blowing up his amp doing a Burnette rab classic as his set opener, much of a delay ensued as a roadie went off in his van to find another amp, eventually he set up the new one, Mickey played the Burnette intro and the new amp blew up!

I also love the story about Chet Atkins dressing room where Chet was holding court to all these modern guitar gods when Mickey shyly entered the door, most of the stars looked at this shy bald bloke and wondered who the gatecrasher was. Chet spotted him and called him over to sit next to him and got them both guiatrs whilst they ripped thru the Reed/Atkins classic The Claw, much jaw dropping ensued in the room, I bet they're still jamming up there.

Sadly missed, a wonderful part of my collection is devoted to Mickey.

Smalltown Casanovas - A Little Guitar Ride

Smalltown Casanovas - A Little Guitar Ride
Rhythm Bomb Records RBR 5685

Tracklist: Doin' All Right, Cold Cold Woman, I'll Try, Put Me Down, Showdown, Charade, So Glad You're Mine, Hambone, Say When, Turn Me Loose, Caveman, Untrue Unfaithful, Graduation Day

This is the debut album by 4-piece rockabilly band, the Smalltown Casanovas. They come from Germany where they formed in 2007 Three of the band were formally with Plan 9 From Outer Space with the front man coming from Saints & Sinners.

The set is a fine mix styles with rockabilly being at the fore. They kick off with a good cover of Eddie Cash’s much loved Memphis classic, Doin’ All Right. Other’s of that ilk include Benny Joy’s Cold Cold Woman, Conway Twitty’s I’ll Try and the Killer’s Put Me Down. The Carl perkins covers are less obvious than most bands choose, and they are rewarded with fine versions of Hambone and Say When. They close this fine release with a great version of Chris Isaak’s Graduation Day.

Watch the band play As Long As I Live at the 2009 Rockabilly Rave.

Jerry Lee Lewis - The Road Begins

Jerry Lee Lewis - The Road Begins
El Toro Records- ETCD1022

1 End of the Road
2 Crazy Arms
3 Born To Lose
4 Turn Around
5 Matchbox (Carl Perkins)
6 Your True Love (Carl Perkins)
7 Silver Threads Among The Gold
8 Hand Me Down My Walking Cane
9 Roll Over Beethoven (Carl Perkins)
10 Straight A's In Love (Johnny Cash)
11 Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
12 It'll be Me
13 I Love You Because (Johnny Cash)
14 Great Balls Of Fire
15 You Win Again
16 I Want You Baby (Billy Riley & his Little Green Men)
17 Flyin' Saucers Rock & Roll (Billy Riley & his Little Green Men)
18 The Crawdad Song
19 Deep Elem Blues
20 I'm Feelin' Sorry
21 Put Your Cat Clothes on (Carl Perkins)
22 Love My Baby (Hayden Thompson)
23 Mean Woman Blues
24 Dixie
25 Crazy Arms (Million Dollar Quartet session)
26 End Of The Road (Million Dollar Quartet session)
27 Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On (Steve Allen TV Show)
28 Don't Stay Away ('Til Love Grows Cold) (demo 1952)
29 Jerry Lee's Boogie (demo 1952)
30 I Don't Hurt Anymore (demo 1954)
31 I Need You Now (demo 1954)

El Toro Records continue to go from strength to strength with their releases of both old catalogues and some of the best current bands. Obviously this little peach sits fair and square in the first category. Most fans will have everything here many times over but who can be arsed to create a playlist that captures the early years of the Ferriday Fireball like this.

Jerry Lee blew into Memphis with a single minded, confident vision of fortune and fame that he just knew he was going to attain. The compilation features the earliest classics from his time at Sun like Crazy Arms and It'll Be Me, together with some that weren't destined to classics for a few more decades, like Deep Elem Blues and The Crawdad Song. When the Killer wasn't criss-crossing the country on Sun package shows he was used by Sam Phillips as a session man. We get some perfect examples of it here, backing the masters Johnny Cash (JLL's participation is dubious however) and Carl Perkins as well as being a key component in the sides of Billy Lee Riley and Hayden Thompson. The Thompson and Riley tracks stand-up against the others and prove that they could just as eaasily made the big time, if fate (and Sam) had played a different hand.

Elsewhere there's a few from the legendary Million Dollar Quartet session and Shakin' from his tv debut on the Steve Allen Show (see below). The two private accetates from the teenage tearaway from New Orleans in '52 and Shreveport in '54 show that Jerry Lee was already an accomplish pianist in need of a sympathetic ear and a decent studio. Enter, Sam Phillips and his Memphis Recrording studio, where the road really did begin. A brilliant release.

Memphis Cats on youTube

Charlie Feathers - That Certain Female Some crazy guy called Mike miming in the car to this Charlie Feathers anthem. Manic. Sonny Burgess - We Wanna Boogie Sonny Burgess & fellow pianist Kern Kennedy playin at High Rockabilly 2005 (Spain). Billy Lee Riley - Pearly Lee - 20.10.07 Roermond NL BILLY LEE RILEY with THE BELLHOPS (NL)!! front row footage Carl Perkins- Blue Suede Shoes 1956 Prime time CP. hot version from the quartet that was faster thant eh single. Eddie Bond - Slippin´In in Green Bay 2007. Sadly too short a clip but the bright suit was enough to get me going. Junior Thompson - Raw Deal on 78RPM A milestone in rock history! 78rpm Memphis Rockabilly 1956! A very scarce record that definiates the rockabilly sound that came out from the small labels in the southern US in mid 50'swhat a great site to see this 78 spinning round as the legendary song balsts out of the speakers. Just wish it was my 78! Hayden Thompson - Love My Baby Original Sun Rockabilly Star at The Rhythm Riot 2006 Jack Earls & the Ragtime Wranglers - Take me to That Place Live at the Rockabilly Rave Camber UK, October 2004. Barbra Pittman - I'm getting better all the time Ms Pittman at the Rave. This was the first time I saw this lady and unfortunately the last. At times she's excellent. That voice is still there wanting to rock! You also see a tiredness (is that the right word) in her voice. I'm glad I filmed this. Miss Mary Ann and Lynette Morgan look more than happy to supply backing vocals... great rocking version, and probably the first handclapping solo I've ever enjoyed. Carl Mann - Mona Lisa/I´m Comin´ Home Carl Mann rocking it up at Screaming Fest Saturday the 9th of June 2007. Narvel Felts - My Babe - Green Bay 2005 That's Ashley Kingman from the Fly-Rite Boys on lead guitar. Johnny Burnette - Hound Dog From 1956 this is prime time Memphis rockabilly. no wonder the flying saucers were scared to land.

Carl Perkins - The Jackson Axeman

Born Carl Lee Perkins, 9 April 1932, Tiptonville, Tennessee
Died 19 January 1998, Jackson, Tennessee
Carl Perkins is the epitome of a rockabilly singer, from his singing and guitar playing to his choice of material, all revved up stories of dances,clothes and slitting throats with razors. Born to sharecroppers he spenthis early years picking cotton and playing guitar. With his brothers Jayand Clayton he formed the Perkins Brothers Band and played the tough honky tonk bars of Jackson, developing a sound that mixed hillbilly with flashes of rhythm and blues. It was a new style that no-one had heard before so upon hearing Elvis on the local radio one day, Carl knew that there was someone out there who shared his ears and vision, and more importantly, that there was someone who was willing to record and issue the stuff. That someone was Sam Phillips and his label was Sun Records, sixty miles down the road in Memphis. The brothers drove to Memphis and auditioned for Sam The Man who was impressed with what he heard.
He cut their first single, the hillbilly duo, Movie Magg and Turn Around. It wasn't until Elvis had moved to RCA that Sam really let the Perkins boys put their cat clothes on, but when he did, the sparks flew. Blue Suede Shoes backed with Honey Don't became the first single to top the pop, country and blues charts and was also the first million seller for Sun. They went to New York to promote the song on the Perry Como show but smashed into the back of a poultry truck on the way. Carl fractured his skull and Jay suffered a broken neck, an injury that he never really recovered from, dying a couple of years later. To add insult to injury, as the brothers lay in their hospital beds, Elvis was singingBlue Suede Shoes on the Dorsey Brothers Show.
When Carl returned from his lengthy lay-off he was unable to repeat the success of Shoes despite some classic rockabilly numbers like Boppin' The Blues, Dixie Fried,Your True Love, Put Your Cat Clothes On and Matchbox which featured young wildcat Jerry Lee Lewis on piano. In 1958 Perkins followed Johnny Cash to Columbia but numbers like Pointed Toe Shoes failed to find an audience. A spell at Decca was just as fruitless, but the spirits were raised with a triumphant tour of Britain in 1964.
He became a member of the Johnny Cash entourage where he stayed for a decade. His song-writing remained constant and Johnny Cash (Daddy Sang Bass), Patsy Cline (I Was So Wrong) and the Judds (Let Me Tell You About Love) all benefited from his craft. He was elected into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He fought a long battle with throat cancer before succumbing to the illness in 1998. I visited his house in 2000 and was really pleased to see that he'd spent so many years in such a lovely area of Tennessee. A true Southern gentleman, and the King of Rockabilly - not a bad combination.
Recommended listening:
The Classic Carl Perkins - Bear Family (5CD)
Back On Top - Bear Family (4CD - late-'60s and early-'70s )
Born To Rock - Liberty

Mickey Gee - RIP

THE GODFATHER OF THE ROCKABILLY TAFIA

Today the world lost one of the great rock ‘n’ roll guitarists when Mickey Gee passed away after suffering from emphysema. It’s a sad day for music in general and Wales and rockabilly in particular. His passing will probably go criminally unnoticed by the outside world but for us lucky enough to have appreciated him, the loss is immense. Born in Cardiff in the 40’s, Mickey Gee was like a generation of teenagers who fell in love with the guitarists from across the pond like Carl Perkins.

The 60’s saw him backing Tom Jones as part of the Squires, as well as one of Lulu’s Luvvers and he even had a spell with Joe Cocker. Don’t blame him for that though – you gotta pay the bills! He was influential in the sounds of Love Sculpture and Rockpile and sang and picked for the tragically short-lived Welsh band Memphis Bend. Everyone will have heard his playing on the early Shakin’ Stevens hits and who hasn’t grooved to his hypnotic playing on Dave Edmunds’ I Hear You Knockin’. Highlights of his career had to be the wonderful Carl Perkins tv special where Mickey traded licks with the likes of Clapton and George Harrison and Dave Edmunds’ New Years Eve MTV Party as 1986 turned into 1987 with Edmunds and Gee trading licks with Brian Setzer and Carl Perkins. I can’t remember what I was doing that night but I bet you everyone at that gig remembers. Always so unassuming, he just stood to the side and played in his easy, flowing style – steeped in the tradition of the rock ‘n’ roll he loved. This guy was a genius, the Welsh flags should be flying at half mast tonight. Rest In Peace Mickey, those that believed, truly believed. If you were Dave Edmunds’ favourite guitarist, that was good enough for me.

MEMPHIS BEND – GOOD ROCKIN' TONITE
UAS 30036 1977

Musicians: Micky Gee - Guitars,Vocals. Lincoln Carr – Bass. Tom Riley – Drums, Vocals. Additional musicians: B.J.Cole - Pedal Steel Guitar. Mick Weaver – Piano.
John Jenkins – Piano. John David – Bass.

Produced by the band and John David at the legendary Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, South Wales, Good Rockin’ Tonite is one of the finest tributes that a British band has paid to the American originators. A mix of straight ahead rockabilly and some Hank Williams’ covers, the band play with great respect for the originals but with their own splash of flair. Mickey Gee is astounding throughout, with flying fingers making new classics out of old favourites Red Hot and If You Can't Rock Me. Sun pervs can drool at the covers of Mystery Train and one the albums best numbers, a high-stepping wade through the Big River that Cash would've loved. If you think Jerry Lee's Folsom Prison Blues was funky (and it was!) you'll be changing your boxers during this one. There's a real pep-in-the-step to Hank's Setting The Woods On Fire where Mickey and BJ Cole sound like everything Nashville wishes it was. I love BR549 but they can only dream of being this good. I think everyone would agree that the glorious version of Tennessee is better than Carl Perkins’ original, just listen to that guitar – it’s splashed in more Tennessee than the lyrics.

Shaun Mather
22 January 2009.

Bobby Lee Trammell Remembered

Earlier this year the great Arkansas rockabilly artist Bobby Lee Trammell passed away. Like all great rockabilly stories it involves Memphis somewhere along the line. In BLT's case he made his stage debut thanks to the charitable Carl Perkins and soon auditioned for Sam Phillips, but a lack of patience saw him head to California where he came to the attention of promoter and label owner Fabor Robinson. Anyhoot, here's to man deemed too wild for Ozzie and Harriet.

MY TOP 3 BLT's
1. You Mostest Girl - one of the greatest Elvis style rock 'n' rollers. I would love Elvis to have cut this at either the Big Hunk O' Love session or for the Elvis Is Back album. Cut in March 1958 at Western recorders in Hollywood, this peach should have made him a star. Thanks to a four-piece black harmony group and some crisp backing, it's his finest ever moment.
2. I Sure Do Love You Baby - from Bob Luman's band he used James Burton on lead guitar, James Kirkland on bass and himself on rhythm guitar, the b-side of Shirley Lee is a fine slab of mid tempo rockabilly.
3. My Susie J, My Susie Jane - Same setting as You Mostest Girl this time from the back end the 1958 summer, and a straight ahead rocker with sax, backing vocals, piano and a sparkling solo from the great Joe Maphis. His third single, this one really should have been a hit. Brilliant.

Luke McDaniel - the Daddy – O Rockabilly

Luke McDaniel, like many a good singer was born in the good ole southern state of Mississippi, in Ellisville on February 3, 1927. He started in music after buying a seven dollar mandolin, and was influenced by hillbilly singers like The Bailes Brothers. He formed his own band and turned professional in 1945. He opened for Hank Williams in New Orleans in the late 40's and appears to have become hooked on the lonesome sound of Hank. In 1952 he recorded "Whoa Boy" for Trumpet Records in Jackson, Mississippi as well as a tribute single, "A Tribute To Hank Williams, My Buddy". The Trumpet records were all high quality hillbilly, but as with many at the time, showed him at this stage as little more than a Hank Williams clone. I'm not knocking him, I love his Trumpet stuff, it's just that he hadn't developed his own sound yet.

In 1953 he was introduced to King Records by fellow artist Jack Cardwell (The Death of Hank Williams/ Dear Joan). McDaniel had become a fixture on the "Tom 'N Jack" radio and television show that aired over WKAB and WKAB-TV but during his time at King he failed to register any hits despite half a dozen fine singles. "Money Bag Woman" was particularly strong, fusing his hillbilly with a rhumba beat. When the King contract expired, he went back to New Orleans where he recorded for the Mel-A-Dee label. He worked under the alias Jeff Daniels and recorded his Mel-A-Dee tracks at the legendary Cosimo's Studio with the pick of the city's black musicians. Only one single was released, the great "Daddy –O Rock" coupled with "Hey Woman".

In 54 he was a country deejay for radio station WLAU in Laurel, Mississippi and joined the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, becoming a part of the touring Hayride show. It was a wonderful time to be part of the Hayride set-up and the influence of Elvis Presley saw McDaniel move towards a more rocking sound. It’s also believed that that when Grand Ole Opry stars Curly Fox along with Jamup and Honey came to do a show in Laurel, Luke gave up the job he had at that time to join the troupe as a bit of a handy man. Around this time, McDaniel wrote "Midnight Shift" under the pseudonym of Earl Lee, which Buddy Holly would later record.
In 1956 Elvis and Carl Perkins urged McDaniels to submit a demo to Sam Phillips. Sam was impressed and signed McDaniel to a contract with Sun Records. It's unsure whether he cut two sessions or just one at Sun (either Sep 56 or/and Jan 57). Nothing was issued though, as Sam and Luke had a financial disagreement. The unissued Sun sides have now seen the light of day thanks to reissue labels like Charly Records. "My Baby Don't Rock" sounds like a Sonny Burgess track with Martin Willis' sax to the fore and a firecraker solo from Roland Janes. "High High High" is another high class song in the best traditions of Sun. "Uh Babe" is more seminal-Sun rockabilly with Jimmy Van Eaton on fine form behind the skinned boxes. "Go Ahead Baby" is more exciting bop and sounds like a cross between Hayden Thompson and Gene Simmons.
As a songwriter he got some cuts by George Jones and Jim Reeves, but he was destined to fail as a singer in his own right. He recorded singles for the Big Howdy label, sometimes under the name "Jeff Daniels". Highlight is the manic "Switch Blade Sam", a frontrunner in anyone's bad boy rockabilly top ten. The other side was the original of "You're Still On My Mind", better known in the versions of George Jones and the Byrds. There are two versions of the great "Foxy Dan", a song written for him by Carl Perkins. Make sure you get the 1960 Astro recording, which is superior to the version on Big Howdy that was released in the 1970s.

Disillusioned by the early 60s he left the business to start his own trucking business - another great hillbilly singer that just couldn't get the right breaks. A lot of his rockabilly records got a new lease of life in Europe during the 70’s and 80’s but as far as I know he never came over to play any live shows. He died in Mobile, Alabama on 27th June 1992.

My Top 10
1. Uh Uh Uh – wonderful commercial bopper, sort of Foxy Dan meets the Andrews Sisters.
2. Go Ahead Baby – pure Sun rockabilly. This couldn’t have been cut anywhere but at 706 Union. Great guitar solos and drumming. LD sounds so at home in this rocking style.
3. Daddy-O-Rock – superb black meets white rocker with honking sax.
4. Switchblade Sam – kick-ass rocker like Dixie Fried on speed.
5. High High High – line up for a stroller of the highest order. The backing reminds me a bit of the Lifeguards’ Everybody Out Of The Pool. Sax and a hot guitar solo add to the excitement.
6. What I Tell My Heart – country with a beat that could almost be from an undiscovered Warren Smith session.
7. Foxy Dan – the dapper Dan man who’s "got more money than Wells Fargo".
8. I'm Tired Of These Country Ways – hillbilly vocals with a semi-rockabilly backbeat.
9. Uh Babe – laid back Sun rockabilly with a wonderful vocal performance.
10. Drive On – Not the Johnny Cash American Recordings song but a hillbilly song steeped in the Hank Williams tradition. Luke’s wailing vocals works in perfect tandem with the fiddle.


Discography
as Luke McDaniel
Trumpet Records
Whoa Boy / Tribute To Hank Williams (1952)
A Tribute To Hank Williams, My Buddy / This Cryin’ Heart (1953)
King Records
Drive On / Let Me Be A Souvenir(1953)
I Can’t Go / For Old Times Sake (1953)
The Automobile Song / I Can’t Steal Another’s Bridge (1954)
Honey Won’t You Please Come Home / Crying My Heart Out For You (1954)
Money Bag Woman / Hurts Me So (1954)
One More Heart / Living In A House Of Sin (1955)

as Jeff Daniels
Meladee Records
Daddy-O Rock / Hey Woman! (1956)
Big Howdy Records
Switch Blade Sam / You’re Still On My Mind (1959)
Big B Records
Uh-Huh-Huh / Table For Two (1959)
Astro Records
Foxy Dan / Some Day You’ll Remember (1960)
Big Howdy Records
Uh-Huh-Huh / Table For Two (197?)
Foxy Dan / Bye Bye Baby (197?)
Hard Luck / Johnny’s (197?)
I Tried / I’m Tired Of These Country Ways (197?)
Switch Blade Sam / You’re Still On My Mind (197?)
Sun (unissued)
Go Ahead Baby
Huh Babe
High High High
My Baby Don’t Rock
That’s What I Tell My Heart