RED HOT DEPOT

Like a lot of people, my first exposure to the song "Red Hot" was through Robert Gordon's 1977 LP with Link Wray. After devouring the LP, yep, the dig was on. It didn't take long to find out that the hit version of "Red Hot" was by Billy Lee Riley (above), recorded at Sun in 1957, with Jerry Lee Lewis on piano. (Gordon's LP also featured Riley's "Flying Saucers Rock 'n' Roll".) It wasn't until years later that I found an earlier version from 1955 by Billy "The Kid" Emerson, also recorded at at Sun. His version (the original?) is a fuckin' party. This would be my cue to hep you to an excellent four CD box set that is the deal of the century. It's called "Rockin' Memphis" and that's where I first heard Emerson's version. It's all stuff recorded at Sun and most of the cuts in the set were licensed to other labels. So you're essentially getting a whole bunch of cool songs that you won't find on official Sun boxed sets. Here's the kicker: Brand new this boxed set goes for about $16! Used copies at Discogs start at eight bucks! There's 114 songs and a 56 page book of liner notes. Get off you wallets tightwads!

Here's the three versions mentioned above and another one by the Beatles recorded in their pre-fame days at the Star Club in Hamburg. Their recording isn't the greatest but you can definitely hear some fine rockabilly licks. John or George? You make the call.

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Listen:
Billy Lee Riley - Red Hot mp3 at Internet Archive 1957
Billy "The Kid" Emerson - Red Hot mp3 at Internet Archive 1955
Robert Gordon w/Link Wray - Red Hot (streaming) at YouTube
The Beatles - Red Hot (Live at the Star Club) (streaming) at YouTube

IT'S LIKE MSG FOR SONG TITLES

I've been meaning to point this out to some of the younger folk: Regardless of your age, even if you're not into oldies or rockabilly, stop for a moment. Right now, you are alive at the same time as Jerry Lee Lewis. He just had his eighty fifth birthday. Of course he doesn't have quite the same chops, but this is irrelevant. Pass on to your children, and tell them to tell the story to their children, you and one of the greatest rockers that ever lived walked the earth at the same time. Two hundred years from now, for your great, great, great grandchild, it'll be like saying that you were a Beethoven fan before he became cool.

I ran into a grab bag of old rockers with "rock 'n' roll" (or "rock and roll") in the title. That's what made me think of the Killer. As for the lady, it's a little early for Christmas, but Cordell Jackson's "Rock 'n' Roll Christmas" is here so I could post the fetching image above.

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Listen:
Jerry Lee Lewis - Rock and Roll Ruby mp3 at Internet Archive
Billy Lee Riley - Flying Saucer Rock and Roll mp3 at Internet Archive
Chuck Berry - Rock 'n' Roll Music mp3 at Internet Archive
Hank Mizell - Animal Rock and Roll mp3 at Internet Archive
Carl Mann - Gonna Rock and Roll Tonight mp3 at Internet Archive
Cordell Jackson - Rock 'n' Roll Christmas mp3 at Internet Archive

REMINDER: THIS GUY

Billy Lee Riley got screwed. Just as his career was getting started, "Flyin' Saucers Rock 'n' Roll" was released on Sun Records. He had the voice and the chops, and he had the band, the Little Green Men. The band was good enough that the backed others at Sun, including Jerry Lee Lewis. Long story short, Sam Phillips put his money on Jerry Lee and did little to promote Riley. Riley left Sun and recorded for a succession of other labels, including his own, but none had the reputation and visibility of Sun. That's why most people don't know the name Billy Lee Riley.

What if the tables were turned? What would have happened if Riley got the push, leaving Lewis to fend for himself? Would Riley be as big or bigger than Lewis? I doubt it, Lewis was a little more wild. But there's no question that Riley's contribution to rock 'n' roll would be more recognized.

There's a reason why I'm posting yet again about Riley. I think everybody should know Riley's music, even if it's only his two best known songs, "Flyin' Saucers Rock 'n' Roll" and "Red Hot". The old links I had for those songs went dead, so there's new links down there, including an alternative take of "Red Hot". That's a good enough morsel for those of you already familiar with the original.

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Listen:
Billy Lee Riley - Flyin' Saucers Rock 'n' Roll mp3 at Rocky 52
Billy Lee Riley - Red Hot mp3 at Rocky 52
Billy Lee Riley - Red Hot (alternate take) mp3 at Mp3 Rockabilly
Billy Lee Riley - Pearly Lee mp3 at Mp3 Rockabilly
Billy Lee Riley - Is That All to the Hall (Mr. Ball) mp3 at Rocky 52
Billy Lee Riley - Searchin' mp3 at Mp3 Rockabilly

HE'S RIGHT ABOUT THIS ONE

Even without all of his own music, Bob Dylan deserves respect as an incidental rock 'n' roll egghead. By incidental I mean the sort of person who picks up facts along the way, but isn't the type to research and gather information to write a book. It just comes from years of listening to good music. I really noticed that quality of his after hearing a few things from his radio show. He's got good taste in music, and varied, and he has opinions. And, in some cases, he has first hand knowledge of what he speaks.

There's a thing recently posted at the Adios Lounge, basically dissecting a speech Dylan gave recently when accepting the MusiCares Person of the Year award. In the speech he thanks, mentions, or disses Merle Haggard, the Staple Singers, Hendrix, Buck Owens, Tom T. Hall, Leiber & Stoller, Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, and a whole bunch of others. Check out the post, the commentary and the transcribed speech, and there's videos to boot. It's good stuff.

So what does all that have to do with Billy Lee Riley? This is what Dylan said of Riley's "Red Hot", "It could blast you out of your skull and make you feel happy about it. Change your life." Here, here! My opinion of Dylan has just moved up a few notches. He adds, "He did it with style and grace. You won’t find him in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He’s not there. Metallica is. ABBA is. Mamas and the Papas, I know they’re in there. Jefferson Airplane, Alice Cooper, Steely Dan — I’ve got nothing against metal, soft rock, hard rock, psychedelic pop. I got nothing against any of that stuff. But, after all, it is called the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Billy Lee Riley is not there. Yet. And it’s taking too long." Amen folksinging egghead!

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Listen:

Billy Lee Riley and the Little Green Men - Red Hot mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu

Billy Lee Riley and the Little Green Men - Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu

Visit:

Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs at the Adios Lounge

WHO'S THIS GUY?

You can bet that eighteen year old Hayden Thompson did a fair amount of beating his head against a wall. He was one of many Sun Records second stringers. His first recording there in 1956 was pushed back for a year before it was released, despite being backed by Billy Lee Riley and his Little Green Men, and Jerry Lee Lewis. You just know that a kid who put out his first record at age sixteen, who finally had his crack at Sun, with that backing band, spent a lot of time thinking "Jeez, what does it take?!!" Take a listen to these and keep in mind that he was competing for shelf space with Elvis, Jerry Lee, Billy Lee Riley, Warren Smith, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, and about four thousand others. He threw in the towel, jumped ship, moved north and signed with another label. And that's why you've never heard of him. Fiends excepted.

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Listen:

Hayden Thompson - Love My Baby mp3 at Rocky 52 Recorded at Sun Studio 1956
Hayden Thompson - Don't You Worry mp3 at Rocky 52 Ditto
Hayden Thompson - Mama, Mama, Mama mp3 at Rocky 52 Ditto
Hayden Thompson - Act Like You Love Me (streaming) at YouTube 1954, Von Records, age 16
Hayden Thompson - I Feel The Blues Coming On (streaming) at YouTube Ditto

SORRY ABOUT THIS, TREES

Every year about this time, I make sure to head to one of the few well stocked newsstands in these parts. I dig periodicals of all sorts, so it's not a trip I make often because it can end up being costly. But I know, around this time, I can pick up the annual "Southern Music Issue" of  Oxford American, and I get giddy when I see it on the stand. Every year they feature a different southern state, and it's always packed with good writing, and the bonus is that it comes with a CD or two. This year it's Tennessee. Oh yeah, you know what that means: Stax, Sun, Nashville, Memphis, Opry... This issue is the best thirteen bucks I've spent in a long time. Two CD's, fifty songs covering artists from Tennessee, and songs by others that were recorded there. It's an all schools jam, the artists represented run the gamut. Jim Dickinson, Charlie Rich, Johnny Cash, Otis Redding and Carla Thomas, Elvis, Billy Lee Riley, Bessoie Smith, Rosco Gordon, Al Green, Big Star, Isaac Hayes, B.B. King, and that's just a handful of the more recognizable names. Even if you consider yourself well schooled, there's at least a couple dozen artists you don't know. Besides the blurbs in the magazine about the individual songs, there's a caca-load of long in-depth articles, including a five page article about the Rosco Gordon/ska connection. Yep. This issue is a keeper. Here's just a handful of songs that appear on the two CDs. (Note: the Isaac Hayes version of Burt Bacharach's "Walk On By" below is the LP version that's twelve minutes long. The one on the CD is the "short" version that's four and a half minutes.)

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Listen:
Big Maybelle - One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Bessie Smith - Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl mp3 at The Beiderbecke Affair
Rosco Gordon - Shoobie Oobie mp3 at Rocky 52
Billy Lee Riley - Flyin' Saucers Rock 'n' Roll mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
The Prisonaires - Just Walkin' In the Rain (streaming) at YouTube
Isaac Hayes - Walk On By mp3 at Louder Softer
Visit:
Oxford American Southern Music Issue - CD notes
Oxford American - Home page 

FERNWOOD'S FIRST

One of Billy Lee Riley's first memorable records was "Red Hot". If you're at all into rockabilly, you probably know it. Most people assume it was recorded at Sun Studios because it was released on Sun Records and featured his backing band, the Little Green Men, who also served as the house band at Sun; that Jerry Lee Lewis played piano on it just adds to the confusion. But it was in fact recorded at Fernwood Studio in Memphis, in 1957. Seems like a trivial detail, but it's one of my ten thousand music bugaboos.

Riley did record quite a few sides at Sun, and it's the label most associated with him for good reason. His other big one, "Flying Saucers Rock 'n' Roll" was recorded there and that one-two punch would be his calling card. Both top notch rockers and both released on Sun. Neither was a real hit. Just as Riley was gaining traction, Jerry Lee Lewis's career was as well. Being the owner of a small independent label, Sam Phillips had limited resources. He wanted to put his money behind one or the other, and Jerry Lee Lewis got the nod. When Riley found out that Phillips canceled some 30,000 advance orders of "Red Hot", and told the distributors to push "Great Balls of Fire" instead, he was rightfully pissed. He went out, got faced, and then went back to Sun and smashed some shit up. Or so the story goes.

The first one below is the Fernwood recorded "Red Hot", and the next four are from Sun. There's a couple interesting later songs too, particularly "Little Green Men" from 1992. It's worth hearing because it features original Little Green Men Roland Janes on guitar and Jimmy Van Eaton on drums, plus Travis ("Scratchy") Wammack on guitar and Ace Cannon on sax. So, that's it, I'm off to dig into Fernwood stuff. This shit never ends.

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Listen:
Billy Lee Riley - Red Hot mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu 1957
Billy Lee Riley - Flying Saucers Rock n' Roll mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu 1957
Billy Lee Riley - Baby Please Don't Go at Archive.org 1957
Billy Lee Riley - Pearly Lee mp3 at Archive.org 1957
Billy Lee Riley - Rock With Me Baby mp3 at Archive.org 1956
Billy Lee Riley - St. James Infirmary (live) mp3 at Archive.org 1966
Billy Lee Riley - Little Green Men mp3 at Delta Boogie 1992
Visit:

Billy Lee Riley's bio, in his own words at Delta Boogie
(NOTE: Scroll halfway down the page)

Billy Lee Riley at The Rockabilly Hall of Fame

Billy Lee Riley at Wikipedia
Billy Lee Riley - Discography at Wang Dang Dula
Fernwood Studio at The Rockabilly Hall of Fame

ESSENTIAL... AGAIN, ESSSENTIAL

Billy Lee Riley's "Red Hot" and "Flying Saucers Rock 'n' Roll" should be elementary to most of you. Step aside if you don't want to be reminded how awesome they are. You peagreens, pay attention. This is what excellent early rock 'n' roll sounds like...no, make that nearly perfect rock 'n' roll, of any era. Period. This is how it's done. All the stupid ass haircuts, weird get-ups, gimmicks and posturing were added later. This is the rockabilly equivalent of Howlin' Wolf smashing wah-wahs to bits. Hang it on your ear.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Billy Lee Riley - Red Hot mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Billy Lee Riley - Flying Saucers Rock n' Roll mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu

MAYDAY! BILLY LEE RILEY ILL AND BROKE!

UPDATE, MAKE THAT SAD UPDATE:
From the Rockabilly Hall of Fame website:
"Billy Lee Riley R.I.P.
One of the greatest original Sun recording artists, peacefully passed away on Sunday August 2nd, 2009 at 5:20 AM. His family was at his bedside."
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[The following was written before his death.] Not to sound like a complete jerk, but here's a novel idea: Before another legendary early rocker passes away, and the requisite "woe-is-me" eulogizing pours out of a thousand blogs (guilty here too), let's help a ailing rocker live. Billy Lee Riley has stage four bone cancer, and he's broke..

Why you should care: Riley was in the early crop of Sun Records artists, and was never fully given his due. Though revered among rockabilly fanatics and record geeks everywhere, he's practically unknown to John Q. Gotta-Lotta-CDs. Few know that he and his band, the Little Green Men, were the studio house band at Sun. And Riley, a solo artist as well, literally coulda been a contender. "Red Hot", the closest he ever got to a hit, was passed over by Sam Philips so he could promote Jerry Lee Lewis. As the story goes, Riley was in the Sun office when Phillips cancelled advance orders of 30,000 copies of "Red Hot," telling distributors to push "Great Balls of Fire" instead. Riley then did what any self-respecting rocker would do: he went out and got loaded, returning later to demolish the studio..

Whether or not every part of the story is true, it does speak to Riley's refusal to be a patsy. His disillusionment with the label would later force his exit, landing at Brunswick for a short time, before starting his own label. In the PBS produced documentary, Good Rockin' Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records, while in conversation with other early Sun artists, Riley was the only one that mentioned getting the short end of the Sun stick. Meanwhile, the others hemmed and hawed about the good ol' days.

Bottom line, gang, is that he is part and parcel of the reason rock n' roll exists. Even if you whittled his career down to his two best known songs ("Red Hot" and "Flying Saucers Rock n' Roll," both essential fuel in the original fire), we would owe him a debt. But he was one of the Sun second-stringers, slightly wilder (ergo less marketable), who kept the stars from getting too, well, soft, during their tenure at Sun.

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He's racked up big medical bills. He and his wife, Joyce, are having a tough go of it. For the love of whatever rocks you, help Billy Lee Riley live. Here's his address:

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Billy Lee Riley

723 Crest Drive

Jonesboro, Arkansas 72401

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Or you can donate via PayPal at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame home page

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Billy Lee Riley - Red Hot mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu

(w/Jerry Lee Lewis on piano)

Billy Lee Riley - Flying Saucers Rock n' Roll mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu

(One of the earliest recorded whammy bars)

Billy Lee Riley - Red Hot (alternate take) mp3 and two others at The Hound Blog

Billy Lee Riley's bio, in his own words at Delta Boogie
(NOTE: Scroll halfway down the page)

Billy Lee Riley page at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame

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A special thank you to Boogie Woogie Flu for putting it out there.