Ten fave unreleased tracks chosen from my yearly Favorites lists
Today………from 1956
JOHNNY BURNETTE TRIO – PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv692BbIhqs
The first song to be recorded on the third day of a four day long
session at Music City Recordings
in Nashville Tn—on July 4th 1956 to be precise was an excellent
rockabilly version of the big Fats
Domino hit of a few years earlier. Personnel on the session were Johnny Burnette (vcl) Dorsey
Burnette (vcl) Paul Burlison (gtr) Bob Moore (bs) Buddy Harman (dms)
Two other songs recorded this day were “Rock Therapy” and “Rock Billy Boogie”. The latter track
made it to the “Rock ‘N’ Roll Trio” LP released later in 1956 but both “Please Don’t Leave Me” and
“Rock Therapy” were consigned to the vaults for a decade or so.
It was April 1969 before “Please Don’t Leave Me” (and “Rock Therapy”) saw the light of day when
your author was privileged to be involved in compiling and annotating
the Trio LP “Tear It Up”
for UK Coral that collected up all the tracks recorded for the US parent
label not already used in the
1956 Trio LP.
FATS DOMINO – DON’T KNOW WHAT’S WRONG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZH5VTgS8LM
At a three song session in New Orleans on 25 May 1956 Fats Domino
(vcl,pno) along with Justin Adams
(gtr) Ernest McLean (gtr) Frank Fields (bs) Dave Bartholomew (tpt) Lee Allen/Herb Hardesty (sax) and
Charles Williams (dms) lays down “Don’t Know What’s Wrong”,”Ida Jane”
and the soon-to-be hit “When My Dreamboat Comes Home”
It is 1970 before “Don’t Know What’s Wrong” is finally made available when it is included on the
collection “Rare Dominoes Vol. 2” on United Artists
THE DRIFTERS – I SHOULD HAVE DONE RIGHT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddzGrCCGt1Q
Recorded 16 February 1956 (whilst The Drifters were currently topping
the bill at the Apollo Theatre
in New York City) and featuring Bill Pinkney (lead) “I Should Have Done Right” was added to Drifters
material in the can along with a second attempt at “Your Promise To Be Mine” (with Gerhart Thrasher
lead). The latter went unused since for their new single Atlantic
reached into the vaults for the 1955
recording “Ruby Baby” pairing it with Gerhart’s original deemed-to-be-better “Your Promise To Be Mine”
from the same September 1955 session
“I Should Have Done Right” finally surfaced on the superb collection
“The Drifters – Their Greatest
Recordings – The Early Years” On Atco in 1971
THE GARDENIAS – (ALL ALONE AND) MISERABLE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VU8CvZiqH0
Led by Luther Ingram (who later went on to a successful career as a soul
star racking up a huge #1 r&b hit in 1972 “If Loving You Is Wrong (I
Don’t Want To Be Right)”* this much earlier group---“The Gardenias”---included his brothers Archie and Richard and
neighboursConnie Perry and Lawrence Witherspoon.
After being taken on board with Federal Records the label booked a
session for them on September 13 1956 where they were backed by Ike
Turner’s Kings Of Rhythm. The tracks included “My Baby’s Tops” and “Flaming Love” which became their ONLY release on the label.
Also recorded on that day were “You Found The Time” and the track in question here “(All Alone And Miserable” which is a very big favorite of mine which had to wait till 1991 to see release on the Ike Turner’s
Kings Of Rhythm compilation “Trailblazer”
*Incredibly this HUGE selling #1 soul charter never received a UK
release. The general consensus
here is that KoKo records demanded way too much money up front for the
UK licence rights
ROSCO GORDON – LET’S GET HIGH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUYfWELlbTY
Recorded at a session at 706 Union Av in February 1956 personnel here
were Rosco Gordon (vcl/pno Foree Wells (gtr) Tuff Green (bs) John Murry
Daley (dms) Willie Wilkes (sax) Billy Duncan (alto) Richard Sanders
(baritone) Charles Taylor (alto)
The session is notable for producing the moderate seller “The Chicken
(Dance With You)”/”Love For
You Baby” that was released both on Sun and Flip labels (#237)
However the track we are concerned with here is the bouncy “Let’s Get High” which seems to be the
last track recorded at the session and which stayed in the vaults for
two decades until rescued in
1976 and issued on a Sun 801 45rpm release (and yes folks this issue was
101% legit)
JERRY LEE LEWIS – HAND ME DOWN MY WALKING CANE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0nhr0neiGI
So many great Jerry Lee tracks to choose from this year but I'll go with
this one
A great oldie revived and recorded in December 1956 at Sun Studio
Memphis with Jerry Lee Lewis (vcl pno) Roland Janes (gtr) Billy Riley
(bs) J.M Van Eaton (dms. Jerry had a great knack of “rockin’ up” these old numbers and making them newer than new and he does exactly that
here.
Unfortunately Sun passed on releasing this at the time and so it joined
a growing number of other great Jerry Lee unissued sides in the Sun
vaults. It finally saw release in 1970 on a GREAT collection of hitherto unreleased Jerry Lee gems---“Old Tyme Country Music”---on Shelby Singleton’s Sun International
ROY ORBISON – DOMINO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qftnJJPOpGY
Okay staying with Sun here’s another real goodie that never saw release
at the time.Recorded 17 September 1956 featuring Roy Orbison (vcl/gtr)
Johnny “Peanuts” Wilson (gtr) James Morrow (el mandolin) Jack Kennelly
(bs) Billy Ellis (dms) at same session that produced “Rockhouse” and “You’re My Baby”.
By now some eagle eyed readers may be scratching their heads and saying
“hold on a minute---wasn’t this
number released WITHIN our time period? In 1962 (some say 1963) to be
exact? On an LP titled “Orbiting
With Roy Orbison & Bristow Hopper”? That was released first on Stereo Spectrum label then on Design
label? “.
And said eagle eyed readers would be absolutely correct
However eagle EARED readers would know that the version mentioned here
is but a “dubbed” version supplied
by Sun that has had most of the spark sucked out of it and thus rendered
pretty dull and lifeless.
So since this is NOT the REAL “Domino” I consider it proper that the real--and much better---one appears here
Okay so when did the world—or some of it--- first get to hear to hear
the REAL “Domino”? Not till 1973
is the answer---when the proper “Domino” appears for the first time on
the various artists’ UK Phonogram LP “Sun Rockabillys - Put Your Cat Clothes On” one of the VERY BEST compilation albums ever IMO!!!
KENNETH PARCHMAN – LOVE CRAZY BABY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K8TNHCkTCY
One of the more persistent artists ever to grace the Sun Studios in
Memphis was Mr Kenneth Parchman who undertook four recording sessions
for the label with nary a single release to show for it.
Well not quite completely “nary”---he did come pretty close with his
first ever recording for Sun in
September 1956. Titled “Love Crazy Baby” this was given an official
catalog # and scheduled for immediate
release by Sam Phillips. But for some unknown reason it all fell
through,the release was cancelled (just before the mass pressings stage)
and “Love Crazy Baby” joined so much other great Sun material in the
vaults
‘Twas 1985 before “Love Crazy Baby” saw the light of release when it was included in the lineup of the
Sun LP 1025 “Hop Flop And Fly” released by Charly Records.
THE SAVOYS – WE MADE A VOW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0lR0ndsyq0
Recorded in New York City on February 2 1956—fittingly for Herman Lubinksky’s Savoy label---The Savoys
led by the guy who would go on to become the world’s most famous handy man---Jimmy Jones of course—
comprised said Jimmy (lead) William Walker (1st tenor) Bobby Moore (2nd
tenor and no,I don’t think he was the same guy that captained West Ham
United and of course the 1966 World Cup winning England team),Melvin
Walton (baritone) and Kerry Saxton (bass)
Five songs were recorded at this session which yielded two singles for
the Savoy company---“Say You’re Mine”/“You” – The Savoys (Savoy 1188)
in 1956 and much later on “Please Say You’re Mine”/”With All My Heart”
Credited to Jimmy Jones & The Savoys in early 1960 (and obvious released
to cash in on the then huge current Success of Jimmy’s “Handy Man” single)
“We Made A Vow” lay hidden in the vaults but a space was eventually made for it on the compilation “Jimmy
Jones – Good Times With The Handy Man 1955-1960” 2-CD collection on
Jasmine in 2011
GENE VINCENT & HIS BLUE CAPS – FIVE FEET OF LOVIN’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEoXcYfB9fk
Yeah, I know this title shows up on the 1958 LP “A Gene Vincent Record Date” but that is a later recording.
The ORIGINAL version is from a Capitol session of 15 October 1956 in
Nashville with personnel Gene Vincent (vcl) Cliff Gallup (gtr) Paul
Peek (gtr) Jack Neal (bs) Dick Harrell (dms). The session also produced “Teenage Partner”,”Blues Stay Away From Me” and “Cat Man”
This original was shelved in favor of the later version for the “Record Date” LP but was resurrected in 1974 for the quite splendid Capitol compilation “The Bop That Just Won’t Stop”
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