IT'S 'N' DAMNIT!

I can't explain it, I have a thing for Ricky Nelson's early stuff. While not really rockabilly, it was simple rock 'n' roll but with James Burton on guitar, you're a step closer. I think part of it is my admiration for a kid rocker making lemons into lemonade. He was stuck playing himself in a TV family sitcom under the guidance of show biz parents. He managed to make a music career from the exposure he got playing on the show. He became a teen idol and then kind of grew out of it, still playing music long after the show went off the air. Unfortunately with his later stuff there were some real dogs. One such dog was his "Rock and Roll Lady" from 1975. Completely textbook sappy. As I mentioned in a post a while back, Nelson and John Fogerty covered each other's songs in the seventies (Creedence did "Hello Mary Lou", Nelson did Fogerty's "Almost Saturday Night") and as a weird addendum of sorts, just as Nelson had his "Rock and Roll Lady", Fogerty had "Rock and Roll Girls", likewise a dog.

One clue that they would be bad? This to me is glaring. There are numerous ways to write out "rock 'n' roll". With apostrophes, without apostrophes, one apostrophe, with a "d", without a "d" and so on. You can't consult a dictionary because they are hardly experts on the subject at hand. Now, I've had this conversation before. My brother and I used to have debates about the correct way. After much discussion we agreed that the correct way to write it is "rock 'n' roll". No "a", no "d", two apostrophes. The further you stray from that, the more out of touch you are. The furthest away from the correct way is just how both Nelson and Fogerty wrote it, "rock and roll". That's straight out of the parents' lexicon. Anyway, there's a few early Ricky Nelson songs down there too. Penance.

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

Listen:
Ricky Nelson - It's Late mp3 at Time Goes By
Ricky Nelson - Be Bop Baby mp3 at Rocky 52
Ricky Nelson - Boppin' the Blues mp3 at Rocky 52
You've been warned:
Rick Nelson - Rock and Roll [sic] Lady mp3 at Time Goes By
John Fogerty - Rock and Roll [sic] Girls (streaming) at YouTube

THE BASS RIFF GAME DELAY

Despite the fact that the lyrics to "Summertime" have little to do with summer in Southern California, I like to post the song during the summer to keep within seasonal guidelines. There's nothing really relatable to my personal experience. No cotton here, no rich daddies or good looking mamas, let alone jumping catfish. But, the one relatable line is "the living is easy" and in relation to that I mean moderate temperatures, windows open all day, barefoot, jackets in the closet until the end of October, that sort of shit. For Rick Nelson's version of the song though, I really don't need any reason aligned with the lyrics. It's stand alone good.

His version was released a few years into his career and I've yet to find the full credits for the band on it. Record sleeves didn't always list those sort of credits back then. There are a couple reasons why I've been looking for that info. One is that, having been released only a year after "Hello Marry Lou", it sounds as if he skipped at least a good five years ahead style-wise. "Hello Mary Lou" while not really rockabilly, still has an early rock 'n' roll thing going with James Burton's chicken pickin'. "Summertime" though sounds like something the Yardbirds would have done. Listen to it. The Yardbirds wouldn't exist until a year later. I don't know what it is that makes me think Yardbirds but some of it is whoever is playing harp. That and the bass riff. So, yeah, trying to find out who played what was an almost fruitless task. Then I came across a post at Cool Cat Wild, a blog I'd never run into. In the post, from 2011, the host mentions that Deep Purple's Roger Glover borrowed the bass riff for their "Black Night" in 1967, the Liverpool Five did as well for their "She's Mine" in 1966 and the Blues Magoos did too, in the same year, with "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet". The crazy thing is that the bass player on Nelson's "Summertime" was Joe Osborn (something Cool Cats Wild uncovered), who had played with Bob Luman and Dale Hawkins, two artists even further removed from the Yardbirds, let alone Deep Purple, the Liverpool Five and the Blues Magoos. This was supposed to be about Rick Nelson but I got sidetracked by a bass riff. There's a couple more Nelson cuts, you know, since we're all here. Luman and Hawkins will have to wait. I gotta fix dinner.

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

Listen:
Ricky Nelson - Hello Mary Lou mp3 at Internet Archive
Ricky Nelson - Summertime mp3 at Internet Archive
Deep Purple - Black Night (streaming) at YouTube
Liverpool Five - She's Mine (streaming) at YouTube
Blues Magoos - (We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet (streaming) at YouTube
Ricky Nelson - Be Bop Baby mp3 at Internet Archive
Ricky Nelson - Lonesome Town mp3 at Internet Archive

APPLES AND ORANGES

Still trying to wrap my head around this one. I like Ricky Nelson's early work. I like Mississippi Fred McDowell's stuff as well. They both covered Little Walter's classic "My Babe" (which is what led to that video I posted yesterday). Both did bang up jobs, neither sounding like Walter's original. Nelson delivers with his usual restrained style. If you're into Ricky Nelson, you know that the guy never really cut loose, which is fine. He had James Burton backing him, so he had that going for him. Plus it was a good choice for a cover, a relatively deep cut for the time in which he recorded it (the late fifties). But, oh man, McDowell's version is so raw it almost makes Little Walter sound like Sinatra, never mind what it does to Nelson's version.

Now, right about here is what made me just call it a night and just post that video last night. Walter and McDowell were contemporaries, and unlike Nelson both were blues artists. I associate Little Walter with Chicago blues, city blues, because he was on Chess Records. Okay, so he was city blues. McDowell is country blues. There's a big difference. I've never really read up on either Little Walter or Mississippi Fred McDowell, but being reasonably sure Walter was from Chicago, one question remained. Where was Mississippi Fred McDowell from? No online search, no Wiki; I know this one. Wait, wait, why do I think I know this one? Shit, it'll come to me. I was racking my brain. Where was Mississippi Fred McDowell from? Can you see why I walked?

So, guess what? He did play music in Mississippi, but he was born in Tennessee and he died in Tennessee. Now on to the next big question. Who the hell cares about where Mississippi Fred McDowell is from?

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

Listen:
Ricky Nelson - My Babe mp3 at Diddy Wah
Mississippi Fred McDowell - My Babe mp3 at Frederator Blogs
Little Walter - My Babe (streaming) at YouTube

NICE TIE. YOU'RE OUT OF TUNE.

Last night I went to my brother's house for his birthday. His daughter and son in law gave him tickets to see the Who at Fenway Park. (For those of you not familiar with baseball, that's the home field of the Boston Red Sox, his second favorite team after the San Diego Padres.) Going thousands of miles round trip for a concert might seem more hassle than it's worth (it would be for me) but he's such a Who fiend and a Sox fiend that it's a perfect combination. I was more impressed with something else. A jukebox, a late fifties Rockola, one that he got for nothing but one that needed a lot of work. He first attacked the cosmetics. Then he got down to business. He did what he could mechanically, took it to a jukebox guy for the intricate stuff, then tinkered with it again at home. He got it running, and and while there are still a few glitches (the records sometimes don't change without a nudge), it's amazing that he got it done. If I'd been in charge with the project like that, there'd still be parts all over the garage. But he's a crack the knuckles and get to work sort of guy, one of the things that makes me so proud of him. Nevermind the fact that he put himself through law school, got married, had kids, bought a house, and then when his house burned down cracked his knuckles again and rebuilt his house, and replaced basically everything else. Never once did I hear him complain about the job at hand. He's that kinda a guy. Last night he told me that he curated the first hundred singles for the jukebox carefully, wary of my scrutiny. I was kind of flattered though I thought it pointless for him to worry about what I thought. Then I remembered. Brothers.

Right about then, Ricky Nelson's "Hello Mary Lou" started blasting. Yee haw. Good choice, that one. So here's a mess of Ricky Nelson. Dig the picking on most of his early stuff. That's James Burton (the guy with his back to the camera above).

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

Listen:
Ricky Nelson - My Babe mp3 at Diddy Wah
Ricky Nelson - Boppin' the Blues mp3 at Rocky 52
Ricky Nelson - Stood Up mp3 at ATumblr (?)
Ricky Nelson - Be Bop Baby mp3 at Rocky 52
Ricky Nelson - Lonesome Town mp3 at Diddy Wah
Ricky Nelson - Hello Mary Lou (streaming) at YouTube

OCCAM'S RAZOR ROCK

"Check this shit out! This is fuckin' sick!" Tommy Lee said that, speaking on the subject of his revolving drum kit and his fuckin' sick dream. I appropriate it here on the subject of Ricky Nelson's "My Babe" with James Burton on guitar. Check this shit out. This is fuckin' sick.

Check Nelson's phrasing, the attitude that comes out on certain lines. Two note-perfect solos from Burton, the fullness of the sound with a minimum of instruments, and the wig out at the end. This is one piece of work.

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

Listen:
Ricky Nelson - My Babe mp3 at Diddy Wah
Ricky Nelson - Lonesome Town mp3 at Diddy Wah Go there to get it
Little Walter - My Babe (streaming) at YouTube The original
Awesome image:
High resolution, full frame version of above photo

INVENTING NEW WAYS TO BE LAZY

It was a total crap shoot tonight. I couldn't think of anything and it was getting late. So I just opened up my folder that has a tons of band images in it, and just blindly clicked. It happened to be an image of Ricky Nelson. The first song of his that came to mind was "Be Bop Baby" which doesn't make sense because there are songs of his that I like better. Regardless, it was good to hear it again.

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

Listen:
Ricky Nelson - Be-Bop-Baby mp3 at Rocky-52
Ricky Nelson - Stop Sneakin' 'Round mp3 at Probe is Turning-On the People

SCHOOL'S OUT. TIME FOR SHOW TUNES.

So, Boogaloo Time just posted Ronnie Hawkin's version of George Gershwin's "Summertime", one of only, I don't know, one show tune that I like. I can't think of another. I didn't even realize it was from a musical until a few years ago. I was curious after hearing Ricky Nelson's cover, which is one of my favorites. It sounds kind of like him fronting the Yardbirds, though obviously it's not. It predates the Yardbirds by a few years, so they couldn't have even been an influence. There's a few other versions down there. Two great jazz versions, one by Charlie Parker and another by Sonny Rollins and Coleman Hawkins. The Brian Wilson one is down there because I went and listened to it, and I'll be damned if I'm going to waste a link. So it is actually time for show tunes, one song, but multiple versions. And they are all tunes.

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

Listen:
Ricky Nelson - Summertime mp3 at Internet Archive
Ronnie Hawkins - Summertime mp3 at Boogaloo Time Go there to get it.
Charlie Parker - Summertime mp3 at Digital Circus (?)
Sonny Rollins and Colman Hawkins - Summertime mp3 at Muzz Irkutsk (?)
Brian Wilson - Summertime (streaming) at YouTube

I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT CATFISH

Ohh yeeah. Summer starts tomorrow. Warm days, warm water, bonfires, weenie roasts; what's not to like?  I can't be objective, I live in Southern California, I live for this shit. But rather than start this three month party off with surf instrumentals, surf themed vocal garbage, or anything else too beach oriented, I had to go looking for this sucker, Ricky Nelson doing "Summertime", written for the musical Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. Yeah, that's right, I'm a cultured sonofabitch. Nelson packs some punch into this one. It sounds considerably later than 1962, the year that it was recorded. Almost sounds like he's backed by the Yardbirds. James Burton on guitar, yesssir. Even though being in Southern California, I can't really relate to the lyrics, I've got three months to bore the hell out of you with all the cliché shit. So take your damn shoes off already. You can do that anywhere.

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

Listen:
Ricky Nelson - Summertime mp3 at Internet Archive
Ricky Nelson - Lonesome Town mp3 at The Audio Muffin
Ricky Nelson - Hello May Lou mp3 at Internet Archive

PAYBACK'S A MIX

It's party time: another brainstorming session at HQ

I know, I know, there's been more mixes posted as of late, but there's a reason for posting this sucker. The mix below, posted at Versions Galore, is based on selections by your humble hack host here. To make a long story short, it's payback of sorts, because I've linked to his stuff regularly after coming across his all-covers blog a year or so ago. His blog just passed the four year mark and he asked me, along with a handful of other people, to put together an hour of covers each. I couldn't say no, and to be honest, I was kind of jazzed to be asked. The bonus, that might temper things for you who don't necessarily like full length mixes, is that some of the songs are pretty hard to find. So, here's the song list, the mix, and links to his other mixes. Party on.

NOTE: THE HOSTING BLOG HAS REMOVED THIS MIX (9/26/2012)

Lee Perry – Jungle Lion (Al Green’s Love & Happiness) While not a straight forward cover, this is about as close as the Upsetter gets.

Lulu – Feelin’ Alright (Traffic) Surprisingly funky, she definitely had her eye on Dusty in Memphis.

Ricky Nelson – Summertime (George Gershwin for Porgy and Bess) Interesting in that it predates the Yardbirds by several years. Chicken or egg?

Tommy McCook – Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) No shortage of early reggae/ska covers of Bond themes. McCook was a sax player for the Skatalites, and the go-to guy for Duke Reid anong others.

Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents – Shake Some Action (Flamin’ Groovies) Nice try to duplicate the Motown sound. What’s it missing? The Funk Brothers. What the hell, an “A” for effort.

The Pioneers – Papa Was A Rolling Stone (Temptations) As long as we’re on a Motown tangent, what if Norman Whitfield was Jamaican?

The Supremes - Come Together (The Beatles) Proof that Isaac Hayes wasn’t the only one who stretched out on covers.

Horace Andy – Where Do the Children Play (Cat Stevens) Classic Studio One. From Horace Andy’s first, a stone cold classic of the golden age.

Eli “Paperboy” Reed & the True Loves – Ace of Spades (Motorhead) If someone would have told me about this one, I wouldn’t have believed it. Believe it. Instant cred for the kid.

Ricardo Ray – Sookie Sookie (Don Covay) A song that’s been covered 14 million times. This one won out over Steppenwolf’s surprisingly good rock meets soul take.

Solomon Burke – Maggie’s Farm (Bob Dylan) Seriously, he could sing “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and you’d think he wrote it.

Marcia Griffiths – Band of Gold (Freda Payne) Before singing back up for Marley as one of the I-Threes. Sweet.

Celia Cruz - Yo Vivire (I Will Survive) (Gloria Gaynor) You can’t hear this one without seeing Celia Cruz’s big ass smile. Azúcar!

Sharon Jones & the DapKings - Just Dropped In to See What Condition Your Condition Was In (Kenny Rogers & the First Edition) An unlikely cover for anyone, but it works. Jerry Lee Lewis once said that he, Al Jolson, Hank Williams and Jimmy Rodgers were the only true song stylists. Someone needs to clue him into the Daptone mob.

Richie Knight & the Mid-Knights – Homework (Otis Rush) Famously covered by the J.Geils Band, this sucker just sounds so creepy.

Jack O’ Fire – Branded (Link Wray) The first time I heard this I had to pull over to find out who it was. From the amazing stable of Sympathy For The Record Industry.

Black Randy & the Metro Squad – Give It Up Or Turn It Loose (James Brown) One thing that usually gets ignored when talking about the early L.A. punk scene is how varied and musically educated the bands were. Often seen as something of a court jester, Black Randy’s baddass back up band turned more than a few Krazy Kolored spike heads onto JB via this happening jam.

Kashmere Stage Band – Take Five (Dave Brubeck) High School kids. Yes. And they beat out the Skatalites version.

The Viscounts – Harlem Nocturne (Earl Bostic) I had to end with this one. Back in the day, a older friend told me that bands at his high school dances would always play this as their last song, enabling couples to get chummy without any worries about getting kicked out of the dance. So it was that I, along with other DJ friends at a popular watering hole, took it upon ourselves to end our last sets of the night with it. Prelude to grab ass.

NOTE: THE HOSTING BLOG HAS REMOVED THIS MIX (9/26/2012)

RICKY WAS ROBBED

I bet there's more than a few of you who think that Ricky Nelson had some sort of cushy life. As far as hardships, financial and otherwise, he probably did. I mean, c'mon, he was teen idol personified, on television and on record. With his looks, there's no doubt that he had more than his share off stage friskiness. Though, consider the fact that in his late teens, all he wanted to do was sing rock 'n' roll. Unlike the non-show biz kids who could bang it out in the garage, and flirt with all of the JD stuff, he had to start his musical career on TV, under the watchful eye of an old school bandleader, the aw-shucks sweater wearing Ozzie Nelson. Sure, his dad wasn't Murray Wilson, but he did forbid suggestive lyrics, and would drop in on recording sessions. Can't you imagine hearing an eighteen year old Ricky mumble "Aw fuck, here he comes again. Bug off would you?"

Of course, fame does have it's perks. He was able to have his pick of songs by songwriters itching for the exposure, including Gene Pitney, who wrote "Hello, Mary Lou," and seventeen year old Sharon Sheely, the girlfriend of Eddie Cochran, who wrote "Poor Little Fool." He had his pick of musicians too, notably guitarist James Burton who was eighteen when he began playing with him. He also employed the Jordanaires (Elvis's backup singers), Johnny and Dorsey Burnette, and Joe Maphis (who is refusing to leave this blog). He did do some good music, but it's rather unfortunate that he wasn't let off the leash earlier. Had he not had the fame, the teen idol looks, the comfortable life, or the presence of a parental figure, who knows what he would have been like? He could have been a wild man. We'll never know. Yessir, it is one of life's biggest mysteries.

"Anyone who knocks rock 'n' roll, either doesn't understand it, or is prejudiced against it, or is just plain square," said Ricky Nelson, son of square, in 1958.

I have to start with his version of Gershwin's "Summertime." Topical, it is, but I really like the sound of it. The Yardbirds must have been over drinking Nelson Kool-Aid.

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

Listen:
Ricky Nelson - Summertime mp3 at Crud Crud
Ricky Nelson – Lonesome Town mp3 at The Audio Muffin
Ricky Nelson - Be-Bop-Baby mp3 at Rocky-52
Ricky Nelson - Waitin' In School at Diddy Wah
Ricky Nelson - Hello Mary Lou mp3 at SMU
Ricky Nelson - Stop Sneakin' 'Round mp3 at Probe is Turning-On the People