LOOK WHAT I HAVE FOUND vol 163
"Strollsville" - 16 ways to stroll down Memory Lane in 1958-1967

 

In The Trashcan Records       GARBAGE163
"I don't need chili beans to twist in Strollsville and that's no joke..."

1. let's go to strollsville - boots brown

That wailin' sax takes you on a stroll through popcorn noir clubs where Lily Christine and Jenny Lee are performing a striptease. It's beatnik year 1959 and The Blockbusters are having a swell time.

9. chili beans - boots brown

Boots Brown aka Shorty Rogers, a famous jazz trumpeter, who liked rock 'n' roll but was ashamed to admit, so he invented Boots Brown. I'm glad he did. His exotic rock 'n' roll instrumentals are among the best from the late 50s, although they all seem to be influenced by Chuck Rio's "Tequila". "Chili beans" is a perfect example, from 1959 on RCA.

2. itty bitty twist - the blue-belles

There seems to be a little confusion who is actually singing here: The Blue-Belles or The Starlets. Two Blue-Belles were also solo very successful: Patti LaBelle and Nona Hendryx. A 1962 release on Newtown Records.

10. let's ride again - the four seasons

You either love or hate the "Franki Valli sound". This 1967 release is a Bob Crewe/Bob Gaudio product from start to finish. It has got 1967 written all over.

3. soulin' - the leather boy

Milan Radenkovich was known as The Leather Boy and for his incredible 1967 psychedelic garage rocker "On the go" which appeared on one of the Wavy Gravy compilations in the 80s. This is the A-side, also fabulous. As Milan and World Of Milan he released some more singles in 1965 and 1966. He was born in former Yugoslavia and died at the age of 30 in 1971 in New York City.

11. can't raise me - jimmy mccracklin

My fave singer from St. Louis and "inventor" of "The walk". He wrote and recorded this sensational slab of rude r&b in 1965, ten years after his first release for Modern Records in 1955.

4. zoo be zoo be zoo - sophia loren

Sofia Scicolone was not only a beautiful and talented Italian actress, but a gifted singer as well, starting in 1955 with the magnificent "Mambo bacan". This latin tune is from 1960.  Flipside is a duet with actor Peter Sellers, "Bangers and mash".  See vol 142 for another Sellers/Loren duet.

12. dig yourself - les cooper & his soul rockers

Easy to find rockin' r&b tune by black combo Soul Rockers with lead singer Les Cooper. I believe it was their first single. The also self-penned instrumental A-side "Wiggle wobble" is better known, but not so wild. From 1963 on Everlast, a New York based record label.

5. cha-kow-ski - the pets

Three singles are known by the Pets, all from 1958. Two on Arwin and one on Pye as Seph Acre & The Pets. Supposedly Pepe & Los Pets are the same people. Jerry Warren was one of the Jets. Remember his "Rompin'/Tremble" single on Dorset from 1960?

13. cha-hua-hua - the pets

Instrumental B-side of "Cha-kow-ski". None of these songs are cha cha tunes. It's basic rock 'n' roll novelty from 1958.

6. boogie bear - boyd bennett

Self-penned 1959 piano rock 'n' roll tune by Alabama-born rocker Boyd Bennett, known for his "My boy flat-top" on King. This is a release on Mercury Records.

14. a boy can tell - boyd bennett

B-side of "Boogie bear". Not so wild rock 'n' roll with a piano in the lead. Did rock 'n' roll really die at the end of the 50s?

7. cold feet - albert king

Funky electric blues from 1968 on Stax. Very influential blues guitarist from Mississippi (and later Memphis, Tennessee) whose career began in the mid-50s but really exploded when he signed to Stax in 1966.

15. c'mon marianne - the four seasons

A-side of "Let's ride again" it's one of the "wildest" songs Frankie ever sang. Both sides also appeared on their 1967 album "New gold hits".

8. i'm losing you - junior wells

Midtempo slop from 1966 on the tiny Bright Star label. It's the B-side of "Cut my toe nail". Blues singer Junior Wells was born Amos Wells Blakemore and was a terrific harmonica player, playing with The Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters,… to name but a few.

16. no-joke - keith colley

I believe this was his first single, flipside to his minor hit "Enamorada" from 1963 on Unical. He had no real success as singer-songwriter and because Gene Pitney was more successful, he decided to stop singing and to work in the music business, A&R and so.