Janis Lockwood
Thursday January 12th, 2017 with Not Janis (renny)
Credit where credit is due. Four great musicians whose deaths last year were sadly overlooked: Elvis Presley's guitarist, Scotty Moore; bluegrass pioneer Ralph Stanley; jazz giant, Mose Allison and soul & gospel singer, Otis Clay.
When four great musicians are overlooked in the year end review of musicians who died in 2016 and George Michael is called a genius.....I had to give some credit to where credit is due. Goodbye and thankyou to Scotty Moore, Ralphy Stanley, Mose Allison and Otis Clay. Gone but not forgotten.
| Starting with a psychobilly group from Belgium, Sin Alley, featuring the red hot, red head, Martine Van Hoof on vocals.
The next track goes out to Janis Lockwood who will be back, I promise. The Rock-A-Teens first played together as Boo Walker & The Rockets in 1956 while still in high school in Richmond, Virginia. As the Rock-A-Teens they recorded "Woo-Hoo" for the Mart record label subsiduary, Doran Records in 1959. The labels owner, George McGraw, told the group that Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith was threatening to sue over the song, which was a lie. He then convinced the band to sell him the rights to the song for $100. He had his name put on the songwriting credits and leased the record to Roulette Records, which had national distribution. The song went to # 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. Roc LaRue & The Pals also recorded for Roulette Records. "Rockabilly Yodel" was released in '56. The Scotty Moore Trio recorded "Have Guitar Will Travel" in 1958, it was co-written by Scotty Moore and Bill Black and released on the small Fernwood Record label. Scotty Moore was Elvis Presley's guitarist on all of Presley's Sun recordings and most of his post Sun hits. Moore first started his own band, a country outfit called The Starlite Wranglers in 1952. Two years later Sam Phillips (the owner of Sun Records) introduced Scotty Moore to Elvis, who was still a teenager. The rest is history. What isn't known is that three years later the Blue Moon Boys, Elvis' band, weren't allowed to see Elvis. While Elvis was making millions of dollars the band was being paid $200 a week when they were playing and half that when they weren't. Things came to head when they were told they could record an instrumental album once Elvis had finished his first Christmas album. Once Elvis had finished they weren't allowed to record anything. The band quit that night. Scotty Moore was more than Elvis' guitarist. He wrote "My Kind Of Carrying On" and "Now She Cares No More For Me" for Doug Poindexter and the Starlite Wranglers in '54, he produced Thomas Wayne Perkins country hit "Tragedy" in '58 and he was a production manager at Sam Phillips Recording Service. Scotty Moore died in Nashville, on June 28, 2016 at the age of 84. |
| 4 O'Clock Baby Sin Alley - Headin' For Vegas - Count Orlok Music, '94 |
| Janis Will Rock (Roulette, '60) The Rock-A-Teens - Rockin' In The Farmhouse: Original Rockabilly & Chicken Bop - Vol. 2 - Hollowbody Music/Sundazed Musc, '92 |
| Woo-Hoo ('59, Doran/Roulette) The Rock-A-Teens - Rock Instrumental Classics Vol. 1: The Fifties - Rhino Records |
| Rockabilly Yodel (Roulette, '57) Roc LaRue & The 3 Pals - Rockin' In The Farmhouse: Original Rockabilly & Chicken Bop - Vol. 2 - Hollowbody Music/Sundazed Musc, '92 |
| Have Guitar Will Travel (Fernwood, '58) The Scotty Moore Trio - Loose Ends: Rave From The Grave, Blast From The Past Series - Vol. 2 - Union Pacific, '72 |
| Bluegrass pioneer Ralph Stanley died last year of skin cancer on June 23, he was 89. He and his older brother, Carter formed the Clinch Mountain Boys in 1946. By 1947 they recorded their own songs for the Rich-R-Tone record label and regionally out sold country music's biggest stars. Columbia Records signed and recorded the Stanley Brothers in 1949. They went on to perform until 1966 when Carter died of cirrhosis of the liver. Ralph Stanley reformed the Clinch Mountain Boys and continued to perform and record well into his eighties. He and his brother are considered to be one of bluegrass' most important acts. I have included the Sadies version of "Little Glass Of Wine" and Byrds version of "Pretty Polly" to show how influential the Stanley Brothers were and still are. |
| Glass Of Wine The Sadies - Precious Moments - Bloodshot Records, '98 
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| Little Glass Of Wine (Columbia, '49) The Stanley Brothers - The Complete Columbia Stanley Brothers - Sony Music, '96 |
| Pretty Polly (Columbia, '49) The Stanley Brothers - The Complete Columbia Stanley Brothers - Sony Music, '96 |
| Pretty Polly (Columbia, '68, unissued) The Byrds - Sweetheart Of The Rodeo - Sony Music, '97 |
| Jazz great Mose Allison died on November 15, of last year, he was 89 years old. Allison was an extremely talented pianist who played with such jazz giants as Zoot Simms, Gerry Mullican and Stan Getz. His debut album "Back Country Suite" came out in 1957 and he formed his own jazz trio a year later. Allison wrote approximately a 150 songs in his life time, many of which crossed over into rock and popular music when covered by bands such as Yardbirds, Manfred Mann, the Who, the Clash, Elvis Costello, Leon Russell and many more.
Whiskey Howl was a Toronto blues band active from 1969 to '72. Here they cover Mose Allison's song "I'm Not Talkiing" from their debut, self-titled album Whiskey Howl, which was released in 1972 on WEA Records. High & Wild was Ray Condo's last recording, with his last band, His Ricochets. Recorded in 2000 and released on San Francisco's Joaquin Records, the song "Parchman Farm" is another Mose Allison composition. |
| The Song Is Ended (Atlantic, '62) Mose Allison - I Don't Worry About A Thing - Rhino Records, '93 |
| I'm Not Talking (WEA, '72) Whiskey Howl - Whiskey Howl - Pacemaker Entertainment, '08
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| Parchman Farm Ray Condo & His Ricochets - High & Wild - Joaquin Records, '00
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| Otis Clay was a soul and gospel singer whose first soul hit happened in 1967 on One-derful! Records. Clay had started as a gospel singer back in Muncie, Indiana singing with the Voices Of Hope. he went on to sing for the Christian Travelers, the Golden Jubilaires, the Famous Blue Jay Singers and the Gospel Songbirds before turning to soul. "That's How It Is (When You're In Love)" went to number 34 on the Billboard R&B charts in 1967. He recorded on Atlantic's Cotillion label, Hi Records out of Memphis, Elka, Rounder, Bullseye Blues, his own label Echo Records and Blind Pig Records. He toured America, Europe and Japan. and released 18 albums in his lifetime.
The next track is from a gospel album he recorded in 1993. Clay performed up to his death. He died last year January 8, 2016 of a heart attack. Clay was an activist in Chicago's West Side, supporting community based economic and cultural initiatives, including the building of the Harold Washington Cultural Center. He will be missed. |
| That's How It Is (When You're In Love) (One-derful!, '67) Otis Clay - Beg, Scream & Shout: The Big Ol' Box Of '60s Soul - Rhino Records |
| Every Road (Got To End Somewhere) Otis Clay - The Gospel Truth - Blind Pig Records, '93 |
| Lord Pity Us All (Daffodil, '71) King Biscuit Boy - Gooduns - Unidisc Music, '97
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| Finishing off the show with a Canadian blues legend, Richard Newell a.k.a. the King Biscuit Boy. Here he sings a Dr. John song, "Lord Pity Us All". This song goes out to all of us on the upcoming innauguration of America's first clown prince. |
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4:04 PM, January 12th, 2017