Great Jerry Lee photo

Just found this great photo on the web. It's from the Killer's Grand Ole Opry debut in 1973. He's sat next to Del Wood with a chunky looking Kenny Lovelace in the background.

Nearly back

Nearly got the wife's business up and running. I should be back and running in a couple of days. Loads of reviews to follow. Thanks for the companies who'e sent me stuff, I haven't forgotten, I just haven't had time. See you soon.

Show of Stars '57 t-shirts

What a line-up. This concert must have been a blast. The t-shirt is the closest we can get to it now, so don't miss out. If you were there, this will serve as a neat momento. You could wear the shirt and trell people you were there. After all, millions have seen the Beatles in the little old Cavern!

Fats Domino, Eddie Cochran, Chuck Berry, Buddy and the Crickets, Everly Brothers, Clyde McPhatter. When did you go for a pee with a line-up like that? That must be why Paul Anka was on the bill.

To purchase, choose the size you require and click on the Paypal link.

The shirts are black, 100% cotton and professionally printed using top-of-the-range printers and heat presses. It is the aim of ShakyShirts/Julabelle to post any items within 24 hours of purchase.

The cost of this t-shirt is just £9.99.

Please note that currently we only ship to mainland UK at a cost of just £1.50.

Size

Ladies Small Ladies Medium Ladies Large Mens Small Mens Medium Mens Large Mens XL Mens XXL

George Jones - Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes

George Jones is 79 today. Check out this classic 1985 video for Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes? Apart from Willie, Merle and Jerry Lee I think all the others in it are dead. How the hell are the Killer, the Possum and the Red Headed Stranger still alive. Obviously the other guys didn't abuse themselves enough!

There's a few lumps in the throat moments in the video, like the clip of Jerry lee pounding the keys and a lovely smile from Marty Robbins. When it flashes to Johnny Cash the hair's on my neck stood up - what presence the man had.

Anyway, happy birthday George, take a ride into town and have a beer. There must be some gas in the lawn mower!

Reasons to love youTube No.8 - The Honey Dewdrops

Rockin' Chair Money- The Honey Dewdrops

I've never heard of the Honey Dewdrops, but I just put Rockin' Chair Money into youTube and voila. What a great surprise. It's an acoustic take on the great Hank Williams number and it cooks. The driving sound of that acoustic guitar blows my mind.

From the look of things, they're a husband and wife folk group. Well, even if the sex gets stale they've still got the music.

Check out their other stuff on youTube, you should be impressed.

Imelda May hits top of Irish Charts

Imelda May's new album ‘Mayhem’ has entered the Irish Album Charts at #1, and her first album Love Tattoo has moved up the charts to #4, making her the first Irish Female Artists to have two albums in the top 5! This is great news for the young Irish singer and she will hopefully have similar success when it's released in the rest of the UK.

Radio 2 have been playing the title song all week and a load of people from my work have commented how much they like it. Rockabilly is coming back!

Hal Harris - Gold Star Guitar

Hal Harris - Gold Star Guitar
El Toro Records - ETCD1033

1. Carroll County Boogie
2. I Have Lived, Loved & Learned
3. Flying Eagle Blues
4. I've Loved, I've Laughed, I've Cried
5. Poor Boy Rag
6. Boy Crazy Jane
7. Twin Hearts & Twin Guitars
8. Guilty Heart
9. Taggin' Along
10. I Don't Know When
11. Duck Tail
12. Rock It
13. Gonna Be Better Times
14. Tu-La-Lou
15. No Fault Of Mine
16. Sixteen Chicks
17. Doggone It
18. Won't Tell You Her Name
19. How Come It
20. Slippin' Out & Sneakin' In
21. I Can't Find The Door Knob
22. Somebody's Knockin'
23. Lonesome
24. That Ain't It
25. Trucker From Tennessee
26. I'm Through
27. You Gotta Pay
28. Can't Play Hookey
29. Little Rock Rock
30. Don't Be Long Gone
31. Goodby Goodbye
32. Jitterbop Baby
33. I'm Comin' Home
34. Please Pass The Biscuits

As Dave Penny points out in his sleevenotes, Hal Harris was “one of the most celebrated of the early rockabilly guitarists of the 1950s” whose “chaotic and spine-chillingly bluesy solos on his Fender Stratocaster for Starday Records in Houston were as distinctive (and valuable) as Roland Janes' in Memphis, Grady Martin's in Nashville or Joe Maphis' in Hollywood.” He’s undoubtedly not as celebrated as the others but this excellent compilation from El Toro will surely help address the injustice.

It features the 1950s recordings issued under his own name as well as a selection of his session work for a bunch of Texas artists whose work was enhanced by Harris’ guitar, whether it be on a hillbilly or a rockabilly session. The country stuff stuff is fine and very much of the day and location, but it’s the rockabilly cuts that really stand him apart for me.

There’s a string of rockin’ classics as he served as the house guitarist for Pappy Daily's stable of labels, Starday, Dixie and D Records. The majority of them were issued at the time to little fanfare, but became classics across many a European household during the rockabilly revival of the 1970s and 80s. The names trip of the tongue - Joe Clay, George Thumper Jones, Sleepy La Beef, Link Davis, Rock Rogers and Benny Barnes. Picking favourites is irrelevant as they nearly all hit the spot. If pushed I’d have to go for Al Urban’s Gonna Be Better Times and Jimmie & Johnny’s Can’t Find The Door Knob.

Top prove he could have been much more than a session man, he did recorded a couple of rockers himself. It was actually one of these, Jitterbug Baby, that first made me aware of him on a 20 Great Rockabilly Hits of the 50’s (Cascade Records) in the mid 80’s. It was reportedly cut at the end of a 1957 George Jones session, along with another hot rockabilly number, I Don't Know When. That pairing, together with this cracking CD will forever keep Hal Fuzzy Harris in my heart and in my ears. Buy this release with confidence, it’s a peach.

Check out the clip below to hear Jitterbop Baby. I bet like me you've got nearly all the albums shown in the clip.

Gene Vincent T-shirts For Sale

My wife's business, Julabelle Fabrics and Crafts has branched out into making t-shirts, mugs, coasters, mouse mats, etc. Whereas in the past she has concentrated on the arty farty, flowers and prety patterns line, I have persuaded her to make a few rockabilly style t-shirts. She has started with a Gene Vincent one and you're welcome to buy one. To purchase, choose the size you require and click on the Paypal link.

The shirts are 100% cotton and professionally printed using top-of-the-range printers and heat presses. It is the aim of Julabelle to post any items within 24 hours of purchase.

The cost of the t-shirts is only £9.99.

Please note that currently we only ship to mainland UK and Europe.

Cost incl. P&P

Mainland UK £11.49 Mainland Europe £13.49

Size

Small Medium Large X Large XX Large

Colour

White Black Red Grey

Dale Watson - Carryin' On

Dale Watson - Carryin' On
E1 Entertainment

I've been a big fan of Dale Watson for years and just about got everything he's done. Hell, I even paid twenty quid for a signed CD one at Narberth. Phil laughed his head off but I didn't have a lot of choice after getting him to sign it before asking him how much it was. I think he was still working in dollars which was about 2-to-1 back then. Never mind, I've played it at least three times since!

There was a spell a few years ago when his personal life went belly up with divorce followed by the death of his new lover. He carried on with his music through this difficult period and to be honest, there was such a sadness and desperateness to it, that made it hard to listen to. It was like watching a train wreck.

Things look a bit better for him now and it reflect on this latest effort. In fact, the opener, Carryin' On This Way is as infectious as he's ever sounded. It has a Gentle On My Mind feel to it, and it has the same timeless quality of much of Glen Campbell's best work. The whole album is written by Watson and is beautifully played by a band that includes no less than Lloyd Green, Hargus "Pig" Robbins and Pete Wade.

There's not a bad track but a couple really stand out. I love the breakneck paced, I'll Show You. Heart Of Stone may be his finest ever vocal performance, and vies with the opener for the albums killer track. The closer, Hello, I’m an Old Country Song is a fine piece of writing that shows that his heart still belongs in the days when country records had fiddles and steels.

A great album that confirms that the old Nashville Rasher is back on track.

Hub Caps - 3rd Base

Hub Caps - 3rd Base
Enviken Records

Track Listing:
1. Betty Lou
2. Little Linn
3. Mary Lou
4. I Want U
5. Cindy
6. Sweetheart
7. Warpaint
8. Island Bop
9. Hot Rod Racing
10. Long Blond Hair
11. Tiger
12. I Like It Like That
13. Pretty Little Baby Love
14. Quicksand Love

The Hubcaps are a Swedish band formed in 2001 by Johnny Valentine (guitar and vocals) and Ricky James (slap bass). Dutch drummer Igor Slootman joined the band in 2005 to form the trio they are today. I haven't been aware of their previous releases but their latest on the excellent Enviken label is a blast.

This is pure rock 'n' roll energy and there isn't a weak track on offer. Most of the fourteen songs are original with a couple of great covers. The opening track is a belting rockabilly number in the Pearly Lee category, and if it's as good live as Billy Lee's was then the band are on a winner. There's a few flat out stompers in the style of Jack Baymoore, particularly Little Linn.

They've obviously spent a couple of terms at the School of Dave Edmunds, as his influence looms large on two superb tracks, I Want U and Pretty Little Baby Love. Cindy kicks off in Warren Smith mode before turning into a mid tempo beauty and Island Bop is just so damn hypnotic. The covers of Quicksand Love, Warpaint and Long Blond Hair are great, although they don't quite match Shaky on Tiger.

A wonderful release that's amongst the best modern CD's of the year. Brilliant.

The Baseballs new single - Chasing Cars

With their debut album entering the UK album charts at number 4, and their first single, "Umbrella" gaining loads of airplay, German rockers, The Baseballs are strking out again. Their new single gives Snow Patrols "Chasing Cars" a complete kick in the ass. Whilst the orginal is a slow, moody number (which I actually quite liked I'm ashamed to say), the Baseballs give it the pumping piano treatment.

Reasons to Love youTube No. 7 - Dion and the Belmonts

Dion and the Belmonts - I Wonder Why (1958)

A massive thanks to the Flip Top Flippar for bringing this beauty my way. This is a brilliant, rare clip from 1958 and shows white boy doo-wop at it's finest. They moves and routine might not be as dynamic as some of their black counterparts, but the choreography is still as tight as the vocals - which is tight. The only down side is the hard looking mama at the 1 min 30 mark who looks like she'd slit your throat with her papa's switchblade without batting an eyelid. Wonderful stuff.

Imelda on the Big Screen

Went to the cinema last night to watch the British comedy Wild Target featuring Emily Blunt and Bill Nighy. It's a pretty good comedy, but for two of the film's major scenes, the music used is Imelda May. There's Going Up Country and Mayhem, but the real show stopper is Johnny Got A Boom Boom which sounds so great in this context with the double bass pounding out of the big speakers. It felt wonderful as well to be sat in a packed cinema knowing that the guitar everyone was enjoying, comes courtesy of such a nice guy as Darrel Higham. Long may the success continue (and rise) for Imelda and the boys.

Stray Cats - Ubangi Stomp (youTube)

The graffiti on the wall says "have a wank". After watching this I nearly did.

Please Give Me Something - Roots Of The Stray Cats

Please Give Me Something - Roots Of The Stray Cats
Bullseye/El Toro

Track Listing:
Icky Poo : The Nomands
Tear It Up : Johnny Burnette Trio
Lonely Travelin' : Lonesome Lee
Sweet Love On My Mind : Jimmy & Johnny
Somethin' Else : Eddie Cochran
Bop Bop Ba Doo Bop : Lew Williams
Ubangi Stomp : Warren Smith
Jeannie Jeannie Jeannie : Eddie Cochran
Please Give Me Something : Bill Allen
Double Talkin' Baby : Gene Vincent
My One Desire : Ricky Nelson
That Mellow Saxophone : Roy Montrell
Your Baby Blue Eyes : Johnny Burnette Trio
Wasn't That Good? : Wynonie Harris
Let's Have A Ball : The Wheels
Rock Therapy : Johnny Burnette Trio
Race With The Devil : Gene Vincent
I'm Looking For Someone To Love : The Crickets
Beautiful Delilah : Chuck Berry
One Hand Loose : Charlie Feathers
Everybody's Movin' : Glen Glenn
Slip Slip Slippin' In : Eddie Bond
Your True Love : Carl Perkins
Stood Up : Ricky Nelson
Let It Rock : Chuck Berry
Mystery Train : Elvis Presley
Sleep Walk : Santo & Johnny
Hidden Charms : Chet Atkins

I’ve just had the good fortune of receiving a tasty package from Dave Penny on behalf of El Toro records. Amongst the delights was the new CD, Roots of the Stray Cats which looks at the original songs that they covered or in some cases, borrowed from. To top it all, the set also comes in vinyl format with the much missed gatefold sleeve. It’s easy to forget how much easier it is to read the sleeve notes on this format than the handy, but tiny CD sleeve.

The track list is phenomenal, and in fairness to the Cats, their versions of them all are top quality. In common with thousands of others my age, I became aware of a lot of these songs courtesy of Massapequa’s finest. I heard Ubangi Stomp for the first time on their debut, before I ever heard Warren Smith’s original. I know this’ll bring tutts and moans from one and all, but that’s the way it was. The Stray Cats brought some of this music to a new audience, who like me dug deeper in a quest to discover just where it came from. In the days before the internet that wasn’t easy, and a school kid couldn’t afford to but the wealth of reissues coming out at the time.

Amongst the Stray Cats catalogue there’s some straight covers, such as Tear It Up, Your True Love and Rock Therapy together with a couple of naughtier moments. Changing the odd words, didn’t make the song your own. Crawl Up And Die was Bill Allen’s Please Give Me Something, Wild Saxophone was definitely Roy Montrell’s Mellow Saxophone. Not quite as blatant, but pretty close was their adaptation of Lew Williams’ Bop Bop Ba Doo Bop into Fishnet Stockings and the Wheel’s Let’s Hall A Ball became Gonna Ball.

As well as being a great CD in it’s own right, there’s a couple of numbers that a lot of fans may not be familiar with. What’s amazing is the way that two of them, The Nomands’ Icky Poo and Lonesome Lee’s Lonely Travelin' were both used for the beat to Stray Cat Strut. I find it fascinating to hear them both, as they both provided elements of the Strut, but the contribution that Brian Setzer made to reinvent the number is mind blowing. The two originals are really good, but SCS is brilliant.

A great collection that pays equal homage to the Stray Cats and the guys that inspired them.

Muddy Waters Painting for Sale

I've just listed the above on eBay. Feel free to check it out if you're interested. Cheers.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Muddy-Waters-Original-Painting-Pastel-Blues-Rockabilly-/120604086159?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_art_Paintings_GL&hash=item1c14904f8f

Laid to rest while my PC was laid up

Unfortunately there's been a few deaths whilst I've been off-line. Two mjor ones in my world are Harvey Fuqua of the Moonglows and Hank Cochran.

I'm away from home this week so I've got no records with me. But my iPod will celebrate all three lives with the likes of;

Ten Commandments of Love, Sincerely and See Saw for Harvey.

Tired and Sleepy (Cochran Brothers), The Chair (George Strait) and Tootsie's Orchid Lounge for Hank.

Whilst writing this I've just found out that guitar legend Fred Carter has died. It gets worse and worse.

Jerry Lee on All Stars Anything Goes - 1977

I've no idea what All Stars Anything Goes is, but a guess would be that it's a bit like the UK's It's A Knockout with the odd celebrity addition. These clips are weird. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine seeing Jerry Lee in this type of thing. What strikes me is how fit he looks in 1977 when you consider what Elvis was like (even before August!).

To think that him and Tom T. Hall would be in a sack race together. Wierd. Basically it's Mercury Records against RCA. Choose your favourites and cheer them on. Go Jerry.

On a more serious note, Jerry Lee has just has to cancel his European dates as he is reported to be seriously ill. Get well Killer, we need you.

PC Problems - back soon - I hope!!

Last Train From Memphis CD

LAST TRAIN FROM MEMPHIS - Last Train From Memphis
Foot Tapping FT094

Track listing: CRAZY LITTLE MAMA / I'M COUNTING ON YOU / LAST TRAIN FROM MEMPHIS / IF YOU WANT IT ENOUGH / YOU KNOCKED ME OUT / PROMISE ME DARLING / KISS ME / LOVE MY BABY / SAY YOU'LL BE MINE / TENNESSEE ROCK 'N' ROLL / A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE / I GET THE BLUES / THE STRUGGLE / OVER YOU / FAY WRAY

Last Train From Memphis are a newly band who individually have been mainstays on the European rockabilly scene. They comprise Rob Chapman on vocals, Paul Gaskin on guitar, Thomas LaVelle on piano, Wayne Hopkins on bass and Rob Tyler on drums and between them their CV’s include The Houserockers, Blue Moon Boys, The Playboys, Dave Phillips & The Hot Rod Gang, Restless, The Outer Limits and others.

What I love about this band is the full blown nature of their sound. Like the very best of the Sun artists that obviously influenced them, they’re more than just a slapping trio, with a rolling piano underpinning the songs and giving them an extra dimension. The other stand out aspects of this band for me, are Gaskin’s guitar and Chapman’s voice, which has a real Hayden Thomspn quality to it.

Chapman wrote ten of the tracks here, including the sensational opener. Crazy Little Mama is one of the best Sun styled modern songs I’ve heard with great guitar and vocals. You Knocked Me Out is another fine tribute to the 706 sound. The Struggle shows the bands versatility and reminded me of Carlos and the Bandidos with it’s Mexican feel and guitar sound that Malcolm Chapman would be proud of.

Say You’ll Be Mine is a superb powerhouse piano rocker and one of the albums high spots. I really enjoyed the slower, Promise Me Darling which sounded like early Charlie Rich. Fay Wray, Last Train From Memphis and A Little Bit Of Love and the jazzy ballad I Get The Blues are all okay without being world beaters.

Of the covers, Johnny Burnette’s If You Want It Enough and Bobby Helms’ overrated Tennessee Rock ‘n’ Roll stick faithfully to the originals and Al Ferrier’s Kiss Me is a fine choice. LaVelle’s piano puts a pep in the step of Elvis’ I’m Counting On You which Chapman again handles really well. Best of the lot though is Love Me Baby which fits the band to a tee and Chapman pays a brilliant tribute to Hayden Thompson. It’s uncanny how much he sounds like him – its as if the Boonesville Flash has found a time machine.

So all in all, a great debut release that should be helped later in the year when the band start touring. To me their sound is sort of a mix between the Kingcats and Jack Rabbit Slim. I look forward to hearing more from them in the years to come.