Sunday, September 4, 2022

BRAGGING RIGHTS, UP FOR GRABS.


You ought to know Ruth Brown by now, she was an early pre-rock 'n' roll rhythm and blues singer who basically set the course for Atlantic Records in the early fifties, so much so that some referred to Atlantic as "the house that Ruth built". Her big one, the one that ends up on all sorts of r&b compilations, was "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean". It's a great song, but not the one that concerns me, which brings me to your assignment. Listening to Brown's stuff the other night, in the mix was her "This Little Girl's Gone Rockin'". The guitar licks on it are sharp, precise and fluid. Alas, no guitar solo. Nevertheless, it was enough to make me think it was Mickey Baker. For some inexplicable reason, I'm usually pretty good about identifying Bakers tone and playing when I hear it, so I went on a search to see if I was right. Alas, I couldn't find any credits for that particular song other than King Curtis is playing sax. I widened my search to include compilations and did find a Baker credit but with two other guitarists and no mention of who played on what song. So there you have it, that's your assignment. One of you has gotta know if it's Baker on that song or not. Spill it.

Here's a few of hers and a bonus, directly below: Rhythm & Blues Revue a 1955 movie with Ruth Brown, Lionel Hampton, Big Joe Turner, Amos Milburn, The Larks, Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Cab Calloway, and others.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
Ruth Brown - This Little Girl's Gone Rockin' mp3 at Internet Archive
Ruth Brown - (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean mp3 at Internet Archive
Ruth Brown - I Don't Know mp3
at Soul Garage
Ruth Brown - Wild, Wild Young Man mp3
at Internet Archive

2 comments:

Marc said...

According to Rate Your Music, Mickey Baker did indeed play guitar on "This Little Girl's Gone Rockin'". With King Curtis on sax and Mike Stoller (of Lieber and...) on piano. Co-written by Bobby Darin!

I first heard the song done by Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings, back in 1998 or so (Bill wasn't the singer). It was the highlight of the show, actually.

Mickey Baker guitar
Lloyd Trotman bass
Joe Marshall drums
Joe Wilder trumpet
Steve Lipkins trumpet
King Curtis tenor saxophone
Mike Stoller piano
Charles Macey guitar
Bobby Darin songwriter
Manny Kurtz songwriter

--Marc

Tom G. said...

Marc, you're the man! Thanks! I'll have to check "Rate Your Music, this is the first I've heard of it. Now I know where to go and, as a bonus, my Mickey Baker guessing streak is still alive! Thanks again Marc!