Night Train to Nashville..Music City Rhythm and Blues 1945-1970

In white America, Nashville is best known as the seat of country music. However, African-Americans looked to Nashville as a great source of R'n'B. Radio station WLAC was rife with the hits of the R'n'B stars and the hopefuls. This 2-disc collection features the evolution of R'n'B as you've never heard it before: thumpin', gritty, growlin' and rockin'.

The most startling revelation is how rich, varied, and deep Nashville's R'n'B scene was during a 25-year period in which the city solidified its reputation as the undisputed capital of country music. Arranged chronologically, Night Train to Nashville also traces the steady progression of African-American music beginning with the end of WWII--from jump blues, lusty R'n'B, and smooth-groove vocal groups to proto rock & roll, Southern soul, and Top 40 pop that drew blacks and whites together even as the Vietnam War nearly ripped the country apart. Although this collection contains well-known hits (Bobby Hebb's "Sunny", Robert Knight's "Everlasting Love") and widely acknowledged stars (Etta James and Ruth Brown, both of whom recorded some of their best work in Nashville), many of its most satisfying pleasures come courtesy of lesser-known artists, such as R'n'B belter Christine Kittrell, swamp blues man Shy Guy Douglas, and balladeer Sam Baker. In the midst of many ear-opening discoveries, add one more: When listening to the countrified soul of Arthur Alexander, Joe Simon, and Johnny Adams, it's apparent that Nashville in its '60s heyday wasn't two separate but equal towns but one glorious Southern-music Mecca. --Keith Moerer (Amazon)

Night Train to Nashville #1

Night Train to Nashville #2

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This blog is a labour of love, with the emphasis on "labour". I enjoy posting but it is time consuming. I am asking for your support to help keep it going by making a small donation, say $1, $2 or $5. This will show your appreciation and in return I will continue posting about great music. Just click the button below...thank you ....Marty

The Unissued Carl Perkins...30 tracks from original Sun Studios recordings

A 30 track collection of alternative and unissued takes of Carl Perkins' recordings at Sam Phillips' Sun Studios from 1954 to 1957. A now rare and hard to find release, this is will be of interest to rockabilly and Carl Perkins fans.

The Unissued Carl Perkins

Columbia Rockabilly Vol.1...Ronnie Self, Carl Perkins, Joe Maphis, Link Wray, Collins Kids, Rose Maddox

Hot-blooded and sharp-boned, this is the original voice of teen frustration. No dewy-eyed walk down memory lane, just passion-packed music that burst out of the hills and changed the world.

1 –Ronnie Self Ain't I'm A Dog 2:15
2 –Joe Maphis & Larry Collins  Hurricane 2:09
3 –Carl Perkins Where The Rio De Rosa Flows 3:04
4 –The Collins Kids Party 1:36
5 –Marty Robbins Tennessee Toddy 3:15
6 –Bobby Lord Everybody's Rockin' But Me 2:09
7 –Johnny Horton The Woman I Need (Honky Tonky Mind) 2:12
8 –Werly Fairburn I'm Jealous 2:14
9 –Link Wray New Studio Blues 3:15
10 –Ronnie Self You're So Right For Me 2:03
11 –Sid King & The Five Strings Sag, Drag And Fall 2:17
12 –Ersel Hickey Goin' Down That Road 1:46
13 –Derrell Felts It's A Great Big Day 2:30
14 –Commonwealth Jones Who's Been Here? 3:30
15 –Johnny Horton Lover's Rock 2:34
16 –Charlie Adams Sugar Diet 2:05
17 –The Collins Kids Hop, Skip And Jump 1:52
18 –Carl Perkins Pointed Toe Shoes 2:00
19 –Commonwealth Jones Do Do Do 2:51
20 –Billy Brown Flip Out 2:28
21 –Sid King & The Five Strings Purr, Kitty Purr 3:05
22 –Cliff Johnson Go Away Houndog 2:08
23 –Rose Maddox Hey Little Dreamboat 2:55
24 –Onie Wheeler Goin' Back To The City 2:14
25 –Billy Brown Did We Have A Party 2:26

Columbia Rockabilly

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This blog is a labour of love, with the emphasis on "labour". I enjoy posting but it is time consuming. I am asking for your support to help keep it going by making a small donation, say $1, $2 or $5. This will show your appreciation and in return I will continue posting about great music. Just click the button below...thank you ....Marty

Aretha Franklin 1942-2018 tribute to the Queen of Soul plus The Very Best of..Vols.1 & 2

Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter, civil rights activist, actress, and pianist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan where her father C. L. Franklin was minister. At age 18, she embarked on a secular career recording for Columbia Records. However, she achieved only modest success. Franklin found commercial success and acclaim after signing with Atlantic Records in 1966. Hit songs such as "Respect", "Chain of Fools", "Think", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", and "I Say a Little Prayer", propelled Franklin past her musical peers. By the end of the 1960s, Aretha Franklin had come to be known as "The Queen of Soul".

She continued to record acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967), Lady Soul (1968), Spirit in the Dark (1970), Young, Gifted and Black (1972), Amazing Grace (1972), and Sparkle (1976) before experiencing problems with her record company. Franklin left Atlantic in 1979 and signed with Arista Records. She appeared in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers before releasing the successful albums Jump to It (1982), Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985), and Aretha (1986) on the Arista label. In 1998, Franklin returned to the top 40 with the Lauryn Hill-produced song "A Rose Is Still a Rose", later issuing the album of the same name, which went gold. That same year, Franklin earned international acclaim for her performance of "Nessun dorma" at the Grammy Awards, filling in at the last minute for Luciano Pavarotti, who had cancelled after the show had already begun. In 2015, she paid tribute to singer/songwriter and honoree Carole King by singing "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" at the Kennedy Center Honors.

Franklin recorded 112 charted singles on Billboard, including 77 Hot 100 entries, 17 top-ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries, and 20 number-one R&B singles, becoming the most charted female artist in history. Franklin's other well-known hits include "Rock Steady", "Call Me", "Ain't No Way", "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", "Spanish Harlem", "Day Dreaming", "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)", "Something He Can Feel", "Jump to It", "Freeway of Love", "Who's Zoomin' Who", and "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (a duet with George Michael). She won 18 Grammy Awards, including the first eight awards given for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance from 1968 through to 1975, and she is one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide.

Franklin received numerous honors throughout her career, including a 1987 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the first female performer to be inducted, the National Medal of Arts, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was inducted to the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and to the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2012.[6] Franklin is listed in two all-time lists by Rolling Stone magazine, including the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. In 2008, she was ranked by Rolling Stone as the No. 1 greatest singer of all time.

The Very Best .. Vol.1

The Very Best .. Vol.2

Bob Dylan's Jukebox...the songs that inspired the bard

Tracklist:
1 –Little Richard Tutti Frutti 2:22
2 –Elvis Presley Milkcow Blues Boogie 2:24
3 –Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup That's All Right 2:53
4 –Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup Mean Old 'Frisco 2:34
5 –Lightnin' Hopkins Automobile 2:46
6 –Woody Guthrie Pretty Boy Floyd 3:03
7 –Cisco Houston 900 Miles 3:33
8 –Mississippi John Hurt Candy Man 2:46
9 –Memphis Jug Band Stealin', Stealin' 2:55
10 –Blind Willie Johnson Jesus Make Up My Dyin' Bed 3:11
11 –Roy Acuff Wait For The Light To Shine 2:32
12 –Johnny & Jack* This World Can't Stand Long 2:38
13 –Blind Boy Fuller Mama Let Me Lay It On You 2:54
14 –Blind Willie McTell Delia 2:30
15 –Josh White St James Infirmary 3:38
16 –The Carter Family Little Moses 3:11
17 –Stanley Brothers* Little Maggie 2:16
18 –Mississippi Sheiks I Got Blood In My Eyes For You 3:12
19 –Lead Belly* Midnight Special 2:10
20 –Buell Kazee The Wagoners Lad 3:02
21 –Bently Boys* Down On Penny's Farm 2:47
22 –Hank Williams Lost Highway 2:40
23 –Richard (Rabbit) Brown* James Alley Blues 3:05
24 –Robert Johnson Stones In My Passway 2:27
25 –Chubby Parker King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki-Me-O 3:08

Dylan's Jukebox

Stratosphere Boogie: The Flaming Guitars of Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant

Pedal steel-er West and guitarist Bryant were the most in-demand session musicians of the 50's. On their own, though, is when they really let loose; and this 16-track collection culling the best of their Capitol instrumentals contains country, jazz, bluegrass and space-age effects that musicians are still scratching their heads over 40 years later! 

These 16 sides were selected from the more than 50 that guitarist Bryant and pedal steel player West cut in Los Angeles between 1951 and 1956, when they were also most in demand as country--and occasionally pop--session men. Forty years later, these are still considered the hottest, most fully realized, most musical instrumentals in the history of country. West's slashing, muscular steel lines send out sparks, while Bryant's bop-influenced, breakneck guitar cuts clean as a scalpel. Using the guitar-steel pairings of Western swing as a jumping-off point, these guys created a jazzy body of work that many guitarists are still trying to decipher.

stratosphere boogie

1. Stratosphere Boogie

  2. Blue Bonnet Rag

  3. Cotton Pickin'

  4. Old Joe Clark

  5. Sleepwalker's Lullaby

  6. Arkansas Traveler

  7. The Night Rider

  8. Low Man On A Totem Pole

  9. Speedin' West

  10. Comin' On

  11. Bryant's Bounce

  12. Midnight Ramble

  13. Pickin' Peppers

  14. Shuffleboard Rag

  15. Bustin' Thru

  16. Flippin' The Lid

                                              

Good Rockin' Tonight, The Legacy of Sun Records...music by various artists

Good Rockin' Tonight',  The Legacy of Sun Records, is a musical celebration commemorating the 50th anniversary of Sun Records. This London-Sire Records release features new renditions of the Sun classics.

Most of the artists on this tribute to Sam Phillips's legendary Memphis label have chosen to cover the rockabilly hits. It isn't until a genuine Sun rockabilly artist--the late Carl Perkins--makes an appearance, joining Van Morrison for Howlin' Wolf's "Sittin' on Top of the World," that things briefly get bluesy. Instead, Paul McCartney, Jeff Beck, Chrissie Hynde, Tom Petty, and Bryan Ferry all offer up loving, note-for-note recreations of early Elvis tunes, even if it was Jerry Lee Lewis, not Elvis, who recorded a cover of "Don't Be Cruel" (Ferry's tune) for Sun.

But Elton John and Mandy Barnett both do The Killer (Lewis) proud here, as Sheryl Crow later does for Charlie Rich, and Led Zep's Page & Plant do for Sonny Burgess. Especially marvelous is Bob Dylan's subtle and, at times, hilarious take on Warren Smith's "Red Cadillac and a Black Moustache." It's a career highlight and every bit as enchanting as Robert Gordon's '70s cover version. Like the label itself, there are more hits than misses here.

  1. That's All Right Mama - Paul McCartney
  2. Mystery Train - Jeff Beck and Chrissie Hynde
  3. My Bucket's Got a Hole in It - Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
  4. Blue Suede Shoes - Johnny Hallyday
  5. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On - Elton John
  6. Blue Moon of Kentucky - Tom Petty
  7. Sitting on Top of the World - Van Morrison and Carl Perkins
  8. Don't Be Cruel - Brian Ferry
  9. Red Cadillac and a Black Moustache - Bob Dylan
  10. Walkin' in the Rain - Eric Clapton
  11. Lonely Weekend - Matchbox 20
  12. Who Will the Next Fool Be? - Sheryl Crow
  13. It Wouldn't Be the Same Without You - Chris Isaak
  14. I Walk the Line - Live
  15. Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee - The Howling Diablos and Kid Rock
  16. You Win Again - Mandy Barnett with the Jordanaires

Good Rockin' Tonight

                                                                       

songs The Beatles taught us...15 tracks covered by John, Paul, George and Ringo

Packed full of amazing tracks, the late 50's and early 60's really was a golden period in music and one that deserves a bigger revival. These 15 tracks were all covered by The Beatles at various stages of their career, in particular their earlier "pre-fab" days. All original tracks by the original artists.

1
The Isley Brothers - Shout (Part One)
2
Little Richard - Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey (Going Back to Birmingham)
3
Larry Williams - Bad Boy (Junior Behave Yourself)
4
Chuck Berry - Rock and Roll Music
5
Carl Perkins - Everybody's Trying to be My Baby
6
Barrett Strong - Money (That's What I Want)
7
The Shirelles - Boys
8
The Marvelettes - Please Mr. Postman
9
Richie Barrett - Some Other Guy
10
Ray Charles - Hallelujah I Love Her So
11
Arthur Alexander - A Shot of Rhythm and Blues
12
The Coasters - Searchin'
13
The Cookies - Chains
14
Buddy Holly - Crying, Waiting, Hoping
15

Anita Bryant - Till There Was You

songs The Beatles taught us