Monday, March 18, 2024

YouTube Favorites Channels : Volume 1 : Mark Lee Allen

 


Here is the first volume of a new series intended to introduce you to some of my favorites YouTube channels deserving much more visitors. the first volume is dedicated to the Mark Lee Allen channel :

Active since February 2007
2.842 videos
1.050 suscribers
views : 414.229
main content : classic rockabilly, hillbilly, mostly obscure stuff

address : https://www.youtube.com/@gminusmark

Sampler (12 tracks with label shots)

AUTRY ROWLAND-Forty Plus PLOWBOY IRDA 486-B
BOB EUBANKS with THE NICKO TEENS-Keep It Burnin' GOLIATH 1354
BOBBY GREGORY and his BLUE CATS-Lazy Lizzie  GREGORIAN 45-102-B
DUB JENNINGS SHOW-Rock Rhythm Boogie ULA-JOY DUB 322
GLENN CASS-Love Me Lazy FANFARE 130-B
HI PIE - Tail Towel Blues ECHO CLIFF NR 5608-1
HUEY MEAUX-ANDREW CORMIER-Lacassine Two Step JIN 45-114
JOHNNY STEVENS-Oh Yeah FORD 123
JOHNNY WATSON -I'm Gonna Tie You With A Golden Band CACTUS 45-102
RONNIE CREWS-She's Ugly MYRL 422
THE PARLOR PICKERS-Big Green Frog BRYAN PERRY GT 702-A
SHIRKEE SAMFORD-Pack Your Bags IS-HIS A 1000
 

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Who'll Be The First To The Moon

 


The Jimmy Neil Trio
Produced and arranged by Jimmy Neil
Martin MR-102-B
(December 1968)
 
 Written by J. Ra-Fa and J. Neil.  The only other record on the label is credited to Jimmy Neil, the singing schoolteacher. Oregon apparently, as Jimmy Neil had two other singles on Lavender Records. No further info. Who was Ju-Di-Lin - Ra-Fa ?

 

New Dance Craze

 



Five Stairsteps & Cubie

 

New Dance Craze

From 1968. Vocals lead by Cubie, three years old at that time.  Quoting his obituary from 2014 found here

:

CUBIE BURKE – youngest member of 60s/70s soul group THE STAIRSTEPS – died on Wednesday 14th May. He was 49 and it’s believed that his death was as a result of a brain injury he’d suffered some years ago.

The Stairsteps (sometimes billed as the 5 Stairsteps and Cubie) were made up of various members of Chicago’s Burke family and music legend has it that Cubie debuted with the band when he was just 16 months old! The Stairsteps recorded for Curtis Mayfield’s Curtom label and Buddha and their biggest hit was the much loved and oft-covered ‘Ooh Child’. Cubie occasionally sang with the group but it was his dancing that brought the applause and he eventually left the group to become a professional dancer, working with Dance Theatre of Harlem, The Atlanta Ballet, Alvin Ailey, various Las Vegas theatrical shows and at the Olympic closing ceremonies in Barcelona and Los Angeles. He was also the choreographer for the 1997 Soul Train Music Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles 1997.

Cubie also attempted a solo recording career debuting in 1982 with the release of the single ‘Down for Double’ on the Rissa Chrissa label. A full album was never recorded, because of the breakup of the record company. Cubie then returned his energy back to dance. He also wrote numerous songs – most never recorded.

As an actor Cubie Burke appeared in the TV series ‘Unsolved Mysteries: Season 9’ and in 1997 he founded a production company called QBiquity Productions.

Cubie Burke is survived by his daughter Decoda Kareem, granddaughter Aaliyah Kareem, his mother Betty Burke, father Clarence Burke, siblings Rami (Alohe Burke), James Burke, Dennis Burke and Keni Burke.


Saturday, March 16, 2024

The Conner Family

 


The Conner Family : the four brothers and a sister recorded their first single in 1963. They were at that time : Jimmy 20, Otis Jr. 16, Larry 14 , Alan 9, and  Becky 15.

It was a cold September day in 1960 in Houston, Texas when Otis L. Conner, Sr. walked through the front door of the Conner home carrying an arm full of packages. His four sons, Jimmy, Otis Jr., Larry, Alan and his only daughter Becky came scrambling into the living room at his call. One by one the packages were opened. The first held an electric guitar, the second : an electric bass guitar, the third revealed a mandolin, the fourth: a snare drum and sticks, and the fifth : a tambourine, microphone and amplifier.

Within two weeks the Conner children had learned their first song - a rendition of "Milk Cow blues". Within a year the family had put together 30 minutes of material and the Conner Family hit the road. . .

the singles (all issued in Oklahoma)

1963 - The Swingin’ Conners (Boyd 122)
    Walkin' The Chalk / Milk Cow Blues

1966 - The Conner Family (Conner 001)
    Little Johnny Rhythm / A Lesson In Love

196? - The Conner Family (Captain 1005/1006)
    Talkin’ About You / The Pickup (both wr. Conway Twitty)

Note : missing from this compilation is "The Pickup"

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Studio B Productions

 


Very little is known about this obscure recording studio operated by Dan (Daniel) Nielson in the seventies. First based in Ashland, Oregon, the studio moved later to Jacksonville; not far from Ashland. Its productions were issued on a variety of labels : Studio B, First And Last Chance, Maryke, Derringer, Thunder Mountain and probably more. 

Artists : Sonny and the Wild Bunch, Julius And Thee Originals, Blue Max, Tomi Pemberton And The Blue Lites, Nashville Underground, Country Cut-Ups (and probably more).

Studio B 

 

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Stupid Cupid

 

 
Penned by Howie Greenfield and Neil Sedaka, Stupid Cupid was a hit for Connie Francis in 1958. The 34 covers from this compilation are by :

Carol Davies  - Celly Campello - Chantal Vallee - Charlotte - Dany Mann - Darlene Yoshimoto  - Eleanor Bodel - Feng Fei Fei - Florne Nesmith - Holly  - Jeannie Carson - Jessi Yun - Jessica - Joanna Wyatt  - Kanchan Daniel & Friends - Kayanna Ottaway - Kayoko Moriyama. - LĂ©ona Morin - Mandy Moore - Margit Schumann - Maudy Ayunda - Maureen Evans - Mini Pops  - Neil and (daughter) Dara Sedaka  - Park Tae Thee - Red Velvet - Rock-Jerry - Rudolf Rock - Sakura & The Quests - Sholoshenko Mia  - Vicente Baeza  - Wanda Jackson - White Bear - Zita and James Duo.

Stop pickin' on me

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Sha-Boom Bang

 


Brother Zee and The Decades
From L. to R. : L-R on the picture above; Al Linde, Bobby Zoidis and Charles "Pedro" Buford

Sha-Boom Bang

In 1963 three members of The Vice-Roys on Ramco Records, recorded on the same label as Brother Zee & The Decades. 

Picture and info from The White Doo Wop Collector blog

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

I Hate Barney

 

 

 

The full story of this CD has been told by Dylan Greenberg

I knew I had to get to the bottom of this somehow, and I realized if I could get some of the people involved with this project to talk to me, I could create an oral history of the album. Over the next two weeks, I was able to interview three of the key figures involved in the album; Cindy Jo Hinkleman, the production coordinator, Tony Haynes, the primary songwriter, and none other than the legendary Freda Payne herself.

When I told Freda I wanted to interview her about this album, her initial response was one of bewilderment.

Freda: “Why are you interested in that?!”
Read the full story here

I Hate Barney

For all Barney fans, you can see (and download) some 230 Barney and friends episodes here


Monday, February 26, 2024

Killing Me Softly With These Sounds

 

 

Yes, Sir, please killing me softly with your sounds

On February 28, 1993, the eyes of the world suddenly converged on a small religious community just outside Waco, The FBI did try to use music and other noise to torment Koresh's group into leaving the house. One of the survivors of the standoff, Clive Doyle, recounted much of the siege in his autobiography. In an excerpt from The New Yorker, Doyle writes that the noise from the FBI was constant and included "rabbits being killed, warped-up music, Nancy Sinatra singing 'These Boots Are Made For Walking, Tibetan monks chanting, Christmas carols, telephones ringing, reveille." 

A BBC News report claimed that "Enter Sandman" by the American heavy metal band Metallica, along with music from the children's television programs Barney the Dinosaur and Sesame Street, were used for sleep deprivation and to culturally offend Iraqi POWs

In the War on Terror, the US used the songs "The Real Slim Shady" by Eminem, the Meow Mix theme song, and "Fuck Your God" by Deicide to torture.

When the United States invaded Panama in December 1989, Manuel Noriega took refuge in the Holy See’s embassy on December 24, which was immediately surrounded by U.S. troops. After being continually bombarded by hard rock music, including Van Halen's hit song "Panama", and The Howard Stern Show for several days, Noriega surrendered on January 3, 1990.[

The Hill, reporting on the #OccupyLafayettePark protests, wrote: "A former adviser to Hillary Clinton hired a Mariachi band to play outside of the White House in an effort to disrupt President Trump's sleep on Wednesday night." The "former adviser"  probably assumed that Mr. Trump didn't like much hear the Spanish-speaking (or singing) people, The name of the marachi band is unknown. Instead, I've included a nice little piece sung by the all-time favorite crowd pleaser young Joselito from the 1958 movie "Joselito el ruiseñor de las cumbres".

Pakistani-Englishman Moazzam Begg, arrested by the CIA in Pakistan in 2002, wrote one of the most comprehensive memoirs describing the tortures he witnessed in the U.S. military prison system. During his stay at Bagram, Afghanistan, he suffered the Bee Gees.
He thought it was a joke at first: "Once they even played the Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever soundtrack all night long. 'Hardly,' I thought,'‘enough to break anyone I knew.' ... 'We'll talk. We'll all talk,' I said in half jest when they played it, 'just turn that crap off please!'"

U.S. Navy veteran Donald Vance suffered this torture after the U.S. Army raided the Iraqi security firm he had been investigating as an unpaid FBI informant. When all the employees were rounded up, he was treated as a suspect, taken to an unofficial prison camp and tortured with song. Vance would catch himself singing along to songs he liked. "I can't remember how many times I heard Queen's "We Are the Champions.'"  Vance survived due to his military training. He started to talk to himself, telling himself jokes, trying to keep a rational train of thought going. He knew if he let the music completely "mask his thoughts," he would never get his mind back again. This method is likely what helped Vance emerge from this prison a "damaged" but not "broken" man.

Binyam Mohamed suffered Eminem's "Slim Shady" for 20 days. "I heard this nonstop over and over," he reportedly told Clive Stafford Smith, his lawyer and the founder and director of Reprieve, a U.K-based organization determined to end music torture practices. "The CIA worked on people, including me, day and night for the months before I left. Plenty lost their minds." Mohamed said he could hear others in the prison "screaming and smashing their heads against walls."

I've also added some sounds such as the sounds of the dentist drill, found at YouTube. From a long video (one-hour long of painful sounds).

Sources:
* https://www.mic.com/articles/87851/11-popular-songs-the-cia-used-to-torture-prisoners-in-the-war-on-terror

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_in_psychological_operations

* Jon Ronson : The Men Who Stare At Goats (book, 2004) See chapter 7 : The Purple Dinosaur. 

... and so on...

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Bowwow Theory


According to the Bowwow Theory, (Compare dingdong theory, pooh-pooh theory, says Merriam-Webster), the language originated in imitations of natural sounds (such as those of birds, dogs, or thunder). That's my inspiration for this compilation loosely based on various imitations of sounds in songs.

Anita And The So-and-so's - Rinky Tinky Rhythm
Bette McLaurin - Zip
Bill Haley - Chattanooga Choo Choo
Bobby Day - Beep Beep Beep
Bonnie Lou And Rusty York - Let The School Bell Ring Ding A Ling
Carol Fran - Knock Knock
Connie Francis - Hey Ring-a-Ding
Desda - Splish Splash Twist
Eddie L Davis & The Bureaucats - Tick Tock Rock
Harvey Fuqua - Ooh Ouch Stop!
Jerry Irby - Clickety Clack
Jo Ann Reynolds - Ring A Ding Dong Dandy
Jo-Ann King - Cha Cha Choo Choo
Little Esther - Ring A Ding Doo
Lloyd Price - Yakety-yak--bing Bang
Louis Prima - Beep Beep
Marci And The Mates - Oops There Goes Another Tear
Marvin Rainwater - Boo Hoo
Maymie And Robert - Ha Ha Hee Hee Ho Ho Hum Hum
Mickey Hawks & The Night Raiders - Bip Bop Boom
Pauline Shivers - Boom Boom
Percy Mayfield - Ha Ha In The Daytime
Pierre Le Bon - Sh-boom
Ricky Rene And The Fabulous Desires - Ouch
Roscoe Gordon - Ouch! Pretty Baby
Scat Man Crothers - Golly Zonk!
The Accents - Ching A Ling
The Bell Sisters - Boo-hoo
The McGuire Sisters - Achoo Cha Cha
The Treniers - Who Put The Ungh In The Mambo
Tito Mambo - Black Pepper
Wink Lewis - Zzztt Zzztt Zzztt

Ouch!


Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot : Comic Strip


Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Kay Brown

 


Dolores Kay Brown was born on July 2, 1933 in Peoria, Illinois to Luther and Viola Brown. As a child, she discovered her passion for the performing arts when she enrolled in gymnastics. Her teacher recommended that she study music after hearing her sing. She moved to Hollywood as a teenager, and began singing for various radio shows. She landed a walk-on role in Driftwood (1947) as Bobby Soxer. The film was a modest success, and it allowed Kay to begin building her resume. In 1950, the 16_year-old high school songstress was inked to a Mercury recording pact by Harry Geller, artist-repertoire chief. Geller inked a pact with George Jay, Miss Brown's manager.

She issued 9 singles on Mercury in 1950 and  1951. In 1952, she joined the Stan Kenton Orchestra for a very short time (6 months). She said "I was not advancing her career by singing with the band.". Stan Kenton didn't like her voice and she was featured on only one side of his Capitol recordings (Lonesome Train). After three singles on Crown Records and one on Sunset Records, her career cooled, she signed with Decca Records (1956) and MGM/Metro Records (1958). Other than the occasional gig, she wasn’t offered anything further. After two additional -and failed- marriages, she moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where she met Brent Lyon Wood. They fell in love and married on March 10, 1972. They made their home in nearby Lund, Nevada. She was active at her local church, and her hobbies included knitting and gardening.

 

 tracklist

1 - A-Razz-A-Ma-Tazz- Mercury 5427
2 - Teasin' - Mercury 5427
3 - Thanks For The Buggy Ride - Mercury 5430
4 - Cotton Candy And A Toy Balloon - Mercury 5430
5 - Can't We Talk It Over - Mercury 5479
6 - Friendly Star - Mercury 5479
7 - Oh Babe - Mercury 5538
8 - Baby Me - Mercury 5538
9 - Little Rock Getaway - Mercury 5600
10 - My Love And My Mule - Mercury 5600
11 - Bird N' Butterflies - Mercury 5696
12 - Flash In The Pan - Mercury 5696
13 - Cheatin' On Me - Mercury 5710
14 - A Kiss To Build A Dream On - Mercury 5710
15 - And So I Waited Around - Mercury 5819
16 - Homing Pigeon - Mercury 5819
17 - Roses All The Way - Mercury 5863
18 - Wow - Mercury 5863
19 - Lonesome Train - Capitol 2250
20 - Oop-Shoop- Crown 127
21 - Love Me - Crown 127
22 - Song And Dance - Crown 148
23 - The Teen-Age Hop – Decca 29932
 

Kay Brown

 

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Bala Bala

 

Bala Bala

The Pattie Sisters were also known as Pattie Bersaudara. They were Nina Pattie and her younger sister Silvy Pattie. The sisters were born in Yogyakarta, Java, but their family was from Ambon. They started singing together about 1961. The duo remained popular into the 1970s. They recorded songs in the Ambonese dialect as well as standard Indonesian, Dutch and English. Nina died in 2006.

See Discogs

 

Sunday, January 21, 2024

Apachee on XR-3

 

Running Bear

Indian Dawn

Apachee was Michael S. Schwartz who was playing guitar et writing songs as a hobby. Some of his songs were recorded : "Closer To Your Heart" (J.T. Carter on Decca in 1965), "What Was She Doing" (Tracie Robbins on Decca, 1965) and "Make The Most Of This World" (Bo Donaldson And The Heywoods on ABC, 1975). the latest written when he was a law school student in the late 1960s. Schwartz became the youngest man ever to be elected mayor of Golf Manor, a one-square-mile city In central Hamilton County. A Republican, he had been elected to council in November, 1973, four years after his graduation from Salmon P. Chase College of Law. The same year he became mayor, in 1975, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, a local rock group, recorded Schwartz' song for the flip side of their recording, "Our Last Song Together." The record made it to No. 95 on national record charts. Back in those song-writing days, Schwartz said he "never thought about politics. It just wasn't my city, he said. "I guess It was the fact that I was the lone Republican."

Michael Schwartz, age 63, passed away Dec. 7, 2007.

 

Michael Schwartz


Monday, January 15, 2024

Double Clutchin' Woman

 

Yvonne Webber / The Melody Kings
Double Clutchin' Woman
wr Luther Robinson
Royal Star Pub. co. (BMI)
Produced by Ray Jones at Sound Quest Recording Studio
TSC Records #526

1979

Tomorrow's Songwriters Club (TSC) was organized in 1973 by Mary L. Starr, a resident of the Oasis trailer park in Des Plaines, Illinois, "in hopes that she might be instrumental in helping writers in their chosen field. A songwriter is a dreamer that was born with a creative mind which they must learn to cultivate and help these dreams to come true".

TSC's star performer and driving force was Ray R. Jones, a legit country singer, leading his own family band, The Melody Kings (Wayne Mills, bass guitar, Marty Jones, rhythm guitar, Carlton Day, steel guitar, David Jones, drums).



Yvonne Webber (picture above is from her high school days in Owensboro, Kentucky taken in 1971) was a regular at the "Windy Hollow Show" in the same Kentucky town. She previously had another recorded song also backed by Ray Jones and The Melody Kings and issued in 1977 on the Ray Jones' TSC album titled "Getting Into The Country" .

 

Some links:

TSC discography

All about double clutchin'