1956: CAT'S OUT OF THE BAG

Can you imagine? One minute it's lightweight vocal stuff, then the next, Elvis hits and every other song has "rock 'n' roll" in the title. 1956 seems to be the year everybody knew the phrase that pays. That year, Johnny Carroll (above) had at least five songs with "rock 'n' roll" (or some deviant of "rock") in the title. That was just one guy. Everyone was doing it, whether or not they were even playing rock 'n' roll. It was a total free for all.

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

Listen:
Mickey Hawks - Rock 'n' Roll Rhythm mp3 at Internet Archive
Mabel King - Alabama Rock 'n' Roll mp3 at Internet Archive
Johnny Carroll - Rock 'n' Roll Ruby mp3 at Internet Archive

LEAVE ME OUTTA THIS

Roughly seven years ago I posted a thing about the origin of the fuzz on Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n' Roll Trio's cover of Tiny Bradshaw's "Train Kept a Rollin'", and the debate over who actually played lead on it. Some people claim it was Paul Burlison, Burnette's regular guitar player, and the fuzz was a serendipitous accident, the result of a loose tube in his amp. Others claim it was Grady Martin, a Nashville session musician, having found fuzz on a previous recording session through different accidental means, a faulty channel in a mixing board.

I'm not trying to further the debate. Actually, that's not really the case. A little innocent shit stirring never hurt anyone. But, to be honest, I don't care who was playing on it or who invented fuzz.  It's killer song no matter who played the lead guitar. But after seeing the debate occurring again at Rubber City Review (which is an excellent blog by the way), I figured I'd post some other stuff Grady Martin did play on, because there is no debating that he was hot shit. The bonus, the feel good moment if you will, is that one common thread that Burlison and Martin share. Regardless of who played lead on "Train Kept a Rollin'", the fuzz was found by accidental means. Fuck ups rule.

Martin was on a hell of a lot of other stuff, and a lot of it you're heard. He's the only guitarist to play with both Hank Williams and Elvis Presley (I read that somewhere, but, yeah, citation needed). He played on Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman", Willie Nelson's "On The Road Again", and sides by Lefty Frizzell, Brenda Lee, Marty Robbins, Johnny Horton. Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Kris Kristofferson, and on and on. Here's a handful.

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

Listen:

Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n' Roll Trio - Train Kept a Rollin' mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Don Woody - Bird Dog mp3 at Rockabilly Bash
Wayne Walker - All I Can Do Is Cry mp3 at Rocky 52
Inman Autry - It Would Be a Doggone Lie mp3 at Rocky 52

Johnny Carrol - Crazy, Crazy Lovin' mp3 at Rocky 52

Marty Robbins - Don't Worry mp3 at Beware  of the Blog Extreme country fuzz, wait for it.

Visit:
Grady Martin: Roughneck Blues at Rubber City Review Excellent, with sound snippets and three videos with Grady shredding.
Here Come Da Fuzz - The old post here. Bulison's son chimes in, in the comments.

Did Paul Burlison or Grady Martin play guitar for Johnny Burnette & The Rock'n'Roll Trio? Long dissertation by Victor Gordon & Peter Dijkema at the Rockabilly Guitar Page

Grady Martin at Wikipedia

SHAKE IT OFF

Alright already, back in business. (In case you're wondering, the culprit was a fried motherboard in the juice box.) After a few unplanned days away from here, I figured it'd be a good idea to dance with the one that brought me, in other words, rock 'n' roll. Straight up, no mop tops, hippies, spikey hair or phony hyphenated offshoots. No extended solos, bell bottoms, gongs, wah-wahs, or any other extraneous bullshit. A return to the womb, so to speak. So here you go, a mix of what should be considered essentials. If you dig any particular artist, check the index to the right. There's probably more of each floating around here.

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

Listen:
Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps - Cat Man mp3 at LYWL
Chuck Berry - It's My Own Business mp3 at the Rising Storm
The Rockin' R's - Crazy Baby mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Billy Lee Riley - Flying Saucers Rock n' Roll mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Hank Mizell - Jungle Rock mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Johnny Carroll - Crazy, Crazy Lovin' mp3 at Rocky-52.net
Warren Smith - Ubangi Stomp mp3 at DavidFulmer.com
Bo Diddley - Mona mp3 at Mark Allen Interested Person
Eddie Cochran - Nervous Breakdown mp3 at Uusikaupunki.fi
Roy Orbison - Go! Go! Go! mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Little Richard - Keep A Knockin' mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls of Fire mp3 at Bousculade
Don & Dewey - Justine mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Johnny Burnette & the Rock n' Roll Trio - Honey Hush mp3 at RocknDog.com

THERE WAS A WOMEN INVOLVED

Anyone with more than a passing interest in rockabilly can tell you, Johnny Carroll was the real thing. Unfortunately, despite having an exuberant stage presence, and appearing as himself on the big screen (in Rock Baby, Rock It), he was one of those rockabilly second stringers that U.S. audiences passed over (which of course means he was well received in Europe). That said, his music has been on a bunch of rockabilly compilations, and he did record for both Sun, and, in the 70s, Ronnie Weiser's Rollin' Rock Records (the latter, in itself, says volumes about his authenticity).

Though I listen to his stuff occasionally, I wasn't prepared for what I ran across today. Waxidermy posted a couple songs from a later private pressing, from 1975. By that time, Carroll had met a model and Miss Texas runner-up, Judy Lindsey, and, lets just say she out-Yoko'd Yoko Ono. Whereas the worst thing that can be said about Yoko Ono is that she may have possibly contributed to the Beatles break up (which might be a good thing, depending on your opinion of the Beatles), at least she recorded some whacked-out shit. Lindsey, on the other hand, had designs on becoming a singer, and Carroll was eager to help her. Eager enough to record with her, as a duo, Judy and Johnny. Folks, it's not pretty. Okay, so in the world of oddball private pressings, it might be of interest, but rockabilly fans will see it as a major black spot on an otherwise impressive career. Listen to the first few cuts below, and then, if you dare, listen to the two cuts at Waxidermy. Comparing his stage presence in the video below to the lounge sounds of Judy & Johnny, it would seem that Lindsey drugged him, either with some sort of schmaltz pill, or with her beauty.

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

Listen:
Johnny Carroll - Crazy, Crazy Lovin' mp3 at Rocky-52.net
Johnny Carroll - Wild Wild Woman mp3 at Rocky-52.net
Johnny Carroll - Rock Baby, Rock It mp3 at Rocky-52.net
Johnny Carroll & the Hot Rocks - Rockin' Maybelle mp3 at wa3.cn
The oddballs:
Judy and Johnny - Lady & Knowing Me Knowing You (streaming) at Waxidermy
Video:
Johnny Carroll - Rockin' Maybelle at YouTube
Visit:
Johnny Carroll bio at Arvel.com
Johnny Carroll at Wikipedia
Johnny Carroll at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame