ROCK STAR

Cosimo Matassa died today. Most of you probably don't know who he is, because the people who do know who he us don't show up here. Rather than visit a digital shit hole that writes about how the "I stubbed my toe today, and by the way, here's Gene Vincent" they go to places that more closely match their musical eggheadedness. That is, if they don't host their own place online. But here's the deal, Cosimo Matassa is a name you should know. Matassa was there at the inception of rock 'n' roll, when rhythm and blues got legs. In a modest studio behind a record shop, he recorded some of the most influential sides of early rock 'n' roll and New Orleans R&B. Listen to the songs below, and keep in mind that it's just a random sampling. I had to stop at a few because there's no good place to quit, there's hundreds and hundreds of them. Check out the Cosimo Code site and you'll see what I mean. Trust me, this is a cool rabbit hole.

Update 9/15/2014: Funky 16 Corners posted a twenty two song Cosimo Matassa mix. Go there to get it.

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Listen:
Roy Brown - Good Rockin' Tonight mp3 at Rocky 52
Professor Longhair - Mardis Gras In New Orleans mp3 at Shimmy She Wobble
Little Richard - Tutti Frutti mp3 at Neverest
Guitar Slim - The Things I Used To Do mp3 at DJ Perro
Big Bo and the Arrows - Big Bo's Twist mp3 at Craft Reunion
Barbara Lynn - Oh Baby! (We Got A Good Thing Goin') mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Smiley Lewis - I Hear You Knockin' mp3 at DJ Perro
Poka-A-Dot Slim - Trick Bag (streaming) at YouTube 
Matassa mix:
Cosimo Matassa: The Master - 22 song mix at Funky 16 Corners
Visit:
The Cosimo Code
Cosimo Matassa - Profile at Know LA
Cosimo Matassa at Wikipedia

COSIMO BAIT

Wow, talk about a double whammy! It's not every day that you run into the first studio recordings of Jerry Lee Lewis. That would be enough, but wait! Don't go running off yet. Just hear me out. Do you know the name Cosimo Matassa? He's the studio owner who recorded the Killer, and someone you should know. Matassa was a New Orleans record store owner when he decided to start a recording studio, and later a record label. Let's just say his shit did not stink. If your tastes include New Orleans R&B and early rock 'n' roll, you likely have Matassa to thank for many of the sides in your collection. You need to check out The Cosimo Code, the host of these two songs. It's an exhaustive site about the recordings of Matassa, and a collaborative effort with contributions from some serious heavy hitters (Soul Detective, Sir Shambling's Deep Soul Heaven, Home of the Groove, among others). The site is one of the best, most comprehensive single subject music related websites I've ever come across, and believe me, I'm a trolling fool. Bookmark it, or remain a bonehead.

About these Jerry Lee sides: They were recorded in 1952, when he was sixteen and just getting his sea legs. The vocal number, a cover of Lefty Frizzell's "Don't Stay Away (Till Love Grows Cold)" is notable because the Killer sounds like a baby, hitting some notes so high you can practically hear his teenage voice crack. The other song is an instrumental "Jerry's Boogie" (aka "New Orleans Boogie") that is just completely nuts when you consider the nimble chops are coming from a sixteen year old kid.

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Listen:
Jerry Lee Lewis - Jerry's Boogie mp3 at The Cosimo Code
Jerry Lee Lewis - Don't Stay Away (Till Love Grows Cold) mp3 at The Cosimo Code Go there to get it.
Visit:
The Cosimo Code Check the video on the home page, it explains everything.

SPECIALTY #656

Here's another addition to the poor man's Specialty box set. Buried in old posts at Office Naps, I ran into Art Neville's "Arabian Love Call", Specialty Records #656. You'll want to note that number. One by one, if it takes a thousand years, we are going to find every last one of these suckers. When I find something on Specialty, I'll tell you. It won't happen in one night, or in one year. What part of thousand years did you not get? There's a lot to track down, or in reality, just run across, so go to the bathroom now. Here's your checklist.

If we're going to build this ersatz box set, we're going to need liner notes, so check the hosting blogs and read the text. See if there's anything relevant. In this case there is, it's excellent as a matter of fact. A nice start. Plus, you don't want to be someone who walks around not knowing anything about Specialty Records do you?

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Listen:
Art Neville - Arabian Love Call mp3 at Office Naps Specialty 656
Visit:
Specialty Records - Other posts here
Specialty Records discography

FIENDS ARE LEGION

That label did it again. Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban posted a Specialty Records 45 in their "Vocal Group 45 of the Week" series, "Aw Aw Baby" by the Holidays. It just wet my appetite. You know what came next. In my tortoise paced effort to hear everything that Specialty Records ever released, I took it as a cue to do a random search for something else to go with it, and I'm glad I did. I ran into Tony Harris's "Chicken, Baby, Chicken", which was released on Ebb but recorded at Cosimo Studio, where a shitload of Specialty sides were recorded. It does sound like textbook Specialty, which is to say rockin' stompin' good in the way that early rock 'n' roll was when it wasn't rockabilly. The other side of the coin, if you will. And it's got Earl Palmer on drums and Lee Allen on sax, so, yeah, if you know those two names, you're not reading this, you're already clicking.

I had to look for some sort of bio on Harris (pictured above), and the fact that Harris's entire solo discography consists of five 45s meant there wasn't much out there. But, let's hear it for the fiends, I found a lengthy two part bio by Opal Nations, a name as unfamiliar to me as Tony Harris. Nations, as it turns out, did a short stint with Alexis Korner in the mid-sixties, and judging by his web site, in the elite of fiends. A long, long bio of Harris, when there's practically nothing else online; that's a ticket to the top tier. Really, the bio was written in 1996, so you can guess what his researching was like. Hat's off to Opal Nations, and all the other fiends. They're the ones that have really kept things greased all along, before the internet and since. 

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Listen:
The Holidays - Aw-Aw Baby mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Tony Harris - Chicken, Baby, Chicken mp3 at Go Retro
Visit: 
The Story of Tony Harris, Part One at Opal Nations pdf
The Story of Tony Harris, Part Two at Opal Nations pdf
Opal Nations Home Page Don't let looks fool you.