Today's car boot 45s

I picked up quite a few 45s at the car boot this morning, several of which are well worth a listen.
1. The Quotations - Imagination/ Ala-men-sy. HMV 975. Mint value £100.
This is a wonderful double sided doowop record by a group from New York - the A side a great interpretation of an old standard and the B side a nonsense song, recorded for Verve, better known for its jazz records than doowop. This particular disc was manufactured in India and although the HMV number is the same, in the UK it came out on the blue HMV/Verve label. Classic two sider.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTXZlWlrYt8   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nK_R6DY0b4

2. The England Sisters - Heartbeat/ Little Child. HMV 710. Mint value £50.
This John Barry produced version of the Buddy Holly song is a bit poppy with typical John Barry strings ( a la Adam Faith), but pleasant enough. The England Sisters, from Goole, also recorded as the Dale Sisters.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G2SrxksG9w

3. Titus Turner - Taking Care Of Business/ We Told You Not To Marry. London 9024. Mint value £25.
I featured the official A side (We Told You Not To Marry - an answer song to Lloyd Price's I'm Gonna Get Married) some time ago but as it was on a one sided demo I didn't know the B side which, I reckon, is even better. Turner was an R and B singer with a great voice and also a noted songwriter. He died in 1984.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liMn0p4Pess   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nE4vjWHNOg

4. Johnny Tillotson - Why Do I Love You So/ Never Let Me Go. London 9048. Mint value £25.
Best known, of course, for Poetry In Motion, this 45 predates his smash hit and was his second UK release. In his later career Johnny became primarily a country singer, but at this stage he was definitely a teen idol in the Dion/Ricky Nelson mould and I reckon this double sider is an excellent example of the genre. Give it a listen.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocfm0a2QrDU   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MXmD3--75I

5. Joe (Mr G) August - Tell Me/ Everything Happens at Night. Instant 3239.
Instant is one of my favourite New Orleans labels so I pick up 45s when I can and got this one from a record shop the other day. Known as Mr Goggle Eyes, Joe was a New Orleans R and B singer in the Roy Brown style who played an important role in the city's music, first recordng in 1946 at the age of 15. After being shot by a white woman he was dating (he had already suffered police harassment for this which, it seems, had put him off), Mr G retired from music, although I remember him performing at Jazzfest shortly before his death in 1992. This is an excellent double sider, the B side being an Allen Toussaint production apparently.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoomOyqxH8g   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB4iS2bIkts

Remembering Martin Luther King

There has been much coverage of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech and rightly so. King is one of my heroes (others include Sam Cooke and Nelson Mandela) and the story of the civil rights movement made a big impression on me during the 1960s. I have the LP of his speeches The Great March To Freedom which was put out by Motown on the Gordy label and I've put it on Ebay in the hope that someone else may wish to hear his brilliant oratory.
Earlier this year I went to the Civil Rights Museum in Montgomery, Alabama, which I found very moving, with displays detailing the many people, both black and white, who died during the civil rights struggle. I've visited the Lorraine Motel in Memphis several times - the place where King was assassinated - and another place filled with history. Similarly, the Stax Museum in Memphis, which I've visited three times, outlines many of the major civil rights events of the 60s, including the 1968 riots which effectively marked the beginning of the end for this pioneering multi-racial record company. Sam Cooke's prophetic 1964 record A Change Is Gonna Come is a favourite of mine, as is People Get Ready by the Impressions.
African Americans found their voice in the 1960s and the result, 40 years later, was the election of a black President, demonstrating how much the country has changed. Yet visits to the southern states show that there is still an enormous gulf between blacks and whites. I regularly visit black music clubs with my (white) friends but many of them are rarely visited by local white residents: most of those relatively few white people who are there are Europeans or the more open-minded students who are curious about the past. You can sense the racism that still exists in the south today.

The fountain showing the timeline of the civil rights movement, at the Civil Rights Museum in Montgomery.



The Lorraine Motel in Memphis where Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968.

Finally here is Message From A Blackman, recorded by the Spinners (known in the UK as the Motown or Detroit Spinners) which inexplicably went unreleased in the UK. The cover by the Temptations on their Puzzle People LP is better known, but not as good in my opinion.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqOGhcetMYo

 

Top 100 - 1960-65

I haven't done any lists lately, and I know some readers just love them! So here, in reverse order, are the top hundred point scorers in the personal top ten that I kept from 1960 to 1965 (based on 10 points for number one, down to one point for number 10). Nearly 300 artists made it into my top ten, but here are the biggest point scorers, including quite a few who had just one big scoring entry, and others who had a dozen or more. Looking through it, I see that there is only one British artist in the entire list. Given that this was the time that the British beat invasion began, I suppose I was a bit contrary. But I'm sure that I'm not alone in thinking that it was American acts that were the real pioneers and trend setters of the era. Here they are (with point scores):
99= Jimmy Witherspoon, Radiants, Donnie Brooks (57)
97= Martha & the Vandellas, the Essex (58)
96 Brook Benton (59)
95 Velvelettes (60)
91= Gene Vincent, Showmen, Roy Head, Don & Juan (61)
90 Four Seasons (62)
89 Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs (64)
88 Lesley Gore (68)
87 Bobby Goldsboro (69)
86 Chris Kenner (71)
85 Four Preps (72)
84 Fontella Bass (75)
83 Ernie K-Doe (76)
81= Paul Evans, Dee Dee Sharpe (77)
80 Tony Orlando (79)
78= Temptations, Hank Lochlin (80)
77 Tommy Tucker (81)
76 Lettermen (83)
74= Betty Everett, Maxine Brown (86)
73 Jackie DeShannon (87)
72 Lee Dorsey (88)
71 Holywood Argylls (89)
70 Ray Peterson (93)
68= Benny Spellman, Curtis Lee (95)
66= Joe Tex, Dionne Warwick (100)
64= Chris Montez, Crickets (101)
63 Bobby Bland (102)
62 Wilson Pickett (107)
61 Exciters (110)
60 Bo Diddley (112)
58= James Brown, Mary Wells (114)
57 Brian Hyland (116)
56 Cookies (119)
55 Little Richard (120)
53= Chimes, Big Dee Irwin (124)
50= Four Tops, Eddie Cochran, Duane Eddy (127)
49 Little Eva (128)
48 Major Lance (129)
47 Bob B Soxx & the Bluejeans (132)
46 Chiffons (136)
45 Billy Fury (140)
44 Don Gibson (141)
43 Connie Francis (146)
42 Supremes (148)
41 Gene Pitney (150)
39= Chubby Checker, Floyd Cramer (154)
37= Drifters, Gene McDaniel (155)
36 Ronettes (164)
35 Gary (US) Bonds (166)
34 Bruce Channel (170)
33 Brenda Lee (171)
32 Piltdown Men (173)
31 Otis Redding (179)
30 Impressions (183)
29 Miracles (185)
28 Johnny Tillorson (187)
27 Ricky Nelson (201)
26 Marvin Gaye (206)
25 Jan & Dean (214)
24 Jerry Lee Lewis (221)
23 Bobby Rydell (240)
22 Ventures (243)
21 Buddy Holly (268)
20 Johnny & the Hurricanes (319)
18= Jackie Wilson, Bobby Darin (320)
17 Fats Domino (326)
16 Marv Johnson (327)
15 Beach Boys (363)
14 Jimmy Jones (372)
13 Chuck Berry (377)
12 Johnny Burnette (397)
11 Shirelles (424)
10 Crystals (427)
9 Neil Sedaka (436)
8 Freddy Cannon (462)
7 Bobby Vee (464)
6 Elvis Presley (499)
5 Del Shannon (552)
4 Everly Brothers (553)
3 Dion (701)
2 Roy Orbison (832)
1 Sam Cooke (1260)
What a great list! Comments welcome.

Vinyl obscurities - the Strike label

I'm returning to my occasional series on obscure 45s, this time taking a look at the short-lived Strike label, which operated in 1966 and 1967. The label was set up by two interesting characters named Lionel Segal and Adrian Jacobs who jointly ran a music publishing company called Millwick. Segal was a composer and lyricist who had success with West End musicals and sold up Strike after a big win at blackjack which allowed him to move to Wales, where he continued to write musicals. He set up the Gallery of Antique Costume and Textiles, which became a centre for textile and fashion designers, attracting the likes of Kate Moss, Stella McCartney and John Galliano. Jacobs, meanwhile, became infamous for his dodgy business dealings in the sixties eventually becoming bankrupt, married a former Miss United Kingdom and wrote a children's book called Willie The Wizard which was claimed after his death to have been plagiarised by J K Rowling for her Harry Potter character.
1. Neil Christian - That's Nice/ She's Got The Action. Mint value £10. The label got off to a successful start with this poppy Miki Dallon produced and written record which reached the top 20. Christian had earlier toured with his band the Crusaders which included Jimmy Page and had a Joe Meek-produced 45 released on Columbia. The band broke up and a new group of Crusaders toured to promote That's Nice which included Elmer Twitch on piano (better known as Joe Brown) and Ritchie Blackmore. Despite a couple more 45s on Strike, Neil couldn't repeat his chart success.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiOnfq1hewk   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OulQaxccCK4

2. Miki Dallon - Cheat and Lie/ I'm Gonna Find a Cave. Mint value £40. As well as being involved with Neil Christian, Miki Dallon was also a songwriter (including Take a Heart for the Sorrows and That's Alright for Mickie Most) and would-be R and B singer, releasing a couple of singles each on RCA and Strike.The excellent Cheat and Lie is surprisingly unavailable on Youtube, but the freakbeat flavoured B side, written by Jimmy Radcliffe and Buddy Scott and recorded earlier by Billy Lee Riley, and also, under Dallon's influence, by The Sorrows and Jimmy Powell, is. It later became a hit for the Banana Splits!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfGu0w-rGjc

3. Alvin Robinson - You Brought My Heart Right Down To My Knees/ Whatever You Had You Ain't Got It No More. Mint value £20. How this great double sided piece of New Orleans R and B came to be released on Strike I've no idea. It was released in the US on a label owned by Joe Jones, famous for You Talk Too Much, who was Alvin 'Shine' Robinson's manager. Alvin first recorded for Imperial before signing to Tiger, owned by Lieber and Stoller, and recording a wonderful version of Chris Kenner's Something You Got. Moving to Red Bird, another Lieber and Stoller label, he recorded another classic, Down Home Girl. Alvin died in 1989 aged just 52. Check out these two slow and soulful tracks on Youtube.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFUR2_TGciA   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wt_M71MS3A 

4. Jimmy Powell & the Dimensions - I Can Go Down/ Love Me Right. Mint value £15. Jimmy's sole 45 for Strike is a good one and I'm looking forward (hopefully) to seeing him perform it when he stars in the next Tales From The Woods Heritage Show in January. One of the better British R and B singers, Jimmy was with the Rockin' Berries and performed in Hamburg before going solo and recording Buster Brown's Sugar Babe, produced by Chris Blackwell and released on Decca in 1962. Moving to London he formed the Five Dimensions, which initially included Rod Stewart, and played regularly at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond. He recorded Miki Dallon's That's Alright for Pye and appeared on TV shows such as Ready Steady Go. After the break up of the original Five Dimensions he formed a new band the Dimensions, which are featured on this top notch double sider, along with Bob Leaper and fellow Strike recording artists the Jeeps.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWWpYsj6TIU   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_64KYIH78k

Texas 1992

Back in November, 1992, I was working as head of PR for Barclays retail bank and became involved in setting up the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, which is now one of the leading organisations in the UK helping people with multiple debt problems. It was based on a successful American operation based in Houston, and I went on a fact-finding trip to Texas with Malcolm Hurlston, who later became chairman of the CCCS. While we were there we took the opportunity of taking in some music in Austin and San Antonio and I was pleased to educate Malcolm on various kinds of Tex-Mex and Louisiana music, including zydeco, conjunto, tejano and mariachi. Here's an excerpt from my diary of the trip, plus a few photos.

'After a meeting in Washington earlier in the day Malcolm and I arrived in Austin late in the evening, having changed planes in Dallas. Despite it being around midnight by this time, I took a walk around 6th Street, which was packed with students and rowdy, with bars everywhere. Next morning I was up early and after a trip to Tower Records where I got a Texas Tornados CD I went on to a record shop on 38th Street where I got five LPs, including a UK issued Tyrone Davis album on Atlantic. Couldn't get a cab back so started walking, calling in at the Lyndon B Johnson museum near the State Capitol on the way. Eventually met up with Malcolm at Hut's, a very busy burger joint. Hired a car at the airport and went back to the hotel. Had a great evening in Austin: a Mexican meal at El Patio and then went across the road to Antone's music club to see Buckwheat Zydeco. A great club. After his set we went to the Cactus Cafe at the university to see Butch Hancock, who was excellent, as was the brilliant Jesse Guitar Taylor who played with him.

Next day set off for a leisurely drive south, stopping off at a flea market in New Braunfels in the heart of the German part of Texas. Lunched at a burger place (see photo of me there) which also offered half a pint of chicken gizzards. Not particularly tasty.

Drove on to San Antonio and walked along the river, with bars and restaurants all along the way, to the Alamo (see bottom photo, with Malcolm, front left), site of the famous battle in 1836, then checked in to the Hilton. In the evening I was determined to introduce Malcolm and his partner Linda to some Tex-Mex sounds, so after a good Mexican meal at Mi Tierra we went hunting for some conjunto music, eventually finding it at Zerma's, a run-down dance hall in Zarmaroza. I guess we were the only gringos in there and got a few strange looks as we sipped from our cans of beer but the band, Conjuntal Sabinal, was good. From there we went on to a place called Los Globas where there was a tejano band playing, followed by a five piece Mariachi band (see photo below) with two trumpeters Tijuana style and a female singer who was the Shirley Bassey of the barrio.

A memorable evening for all styles of Tex-Mex music. Next morning it was off for the long drive to Houston for the main point of the trip, the meeting with the Houston Consumer Credit Counselling Service.'



Here are some definitions (from Wikipedia):

Conjunto  literally translates as "group," and is regionally accepted in Texas as defining a genre of music (also known as Conjunto music) that was born out of south Texas at the end of the 19th Century, after German settlers introduced the button accordion. The bajo sexto has come to accompany the button accordion and is integral to the Conjunto sound.

Tejano music or Tex-Mex music (Texan-Mexican music) is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas. With roots in the late 19th century, it became a music genre with a wider audience in the late 20th century thanks to artists such as Selena, often referred to as "The Queen of Tejano", Alicia Villarreal, Elida Reyna, Elsa García, Laura Canales, La Mafia, Jay Perez, Mazz, and Jennifer Peña.

Mariachi is a form of  folk music from Mexico. Mariachi began as a regional folk style called “Son Jaliscience” in the center west of Mexico originally played only with string instruments and musicians dressed in the white pants and shirts of peasant farmers. 

Surfing records

The UK isn't really known for its surfing culture (apart from the north Cornwall coast) so to some extent the surf music craze of the early sixties passed us by, with the obvious exception of the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean and a few hit 45s such as Pipeline and Wipeout. But there's no doubt that surfing records, and the discs celebrating cars and the drag racing scene that followed in their wake, left a big impression and are still influential today.
At today's car boot I picked up several LPs by the Ventures, who made quite a few surf instrumentals, and an interesting US-only surf LP by the Tornadoes (the California version, not the Joe Meek group), so I thought I would feature a few of the key surfing bands on the blog this time, along with links to Youtube. There are some fantastic tracks here, so feel free to surf the net.
1. The Tornadoes - Bustin' Surfboards. US-only LP released on Josie. The Tornadoes, from Redlands, California, were one of the earliest surf bands and had a hit with the title track of this album in 1962. The follow up, Shootin' Beavers, was banned by radio stations because of its suggestive title, and the band was forced to change its name because of the success of the UK Tornados. Bustin' Surfboards was featured in Pulp Fiction in 1994.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z89Ht2wfPiw

2. The Ventures - Surfing. LP released on Liberty 1150 in 1963.  Mint value £22. The Ventures had huge success throughout the sixties and later, especially in Japan, and although not originally a surf band their music certainly fitted in with its style. Their Surfing LP featured a number of tracks which became surf classics, including The Ninth Wave and Surf Rider.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgqPLSl5VkI

3. The Surfaris - Wipe Out. LP released on Dot in the US (London in the UK).  California band the Surfaris had a world wide hit in 1963 with Wipe Out, complete with manic laugh at the start, and its excellent B side Surfer Joe. Despite several further 45s and LPs they never repeated that early success.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p13yZAjhU0M   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJLAyrTN5Fc

4. The Lively Ones - Surf Drums. LP released on London in 1963.  Mint value £70. Another California band, the Lively Ones recorded for Del-Fi and their version of the Ventures' Surf Rider (title track of their follow up album) was another one used in Pulp Fiction. Surprisingly I can't find any tracks from the Surf Drums LP on Youtube, so here is Surf Rider.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXi3mCfv15k

5. Dick Dale & the Deltones - Surf Beat/ Peppermint Man.  Mint value £20. Some 45s now and this is Dick Dale, the 'king of the surf guitar', who had a heavily amplified reverb guitar style which went on to influence many later guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXq7e4Zbrx0

 6. The Beach Boys - Surfin' USA/ Shut Down.  Mint value £20. No need to go into detail about the wonderful Beach Boys, the greatest surf band of them all. Just listen and enjoy.  Great car song on the flip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s4slliAtQU   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pYU0p6WZhU

 7. The Mar-Kets - Surfer's Stomp/ Start.  Mint value £15.  The Mar-Kets (or Marketts as they became) were another instrumental California group who made some classic surf records, including Balboa Blue and Out Of Limits.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzyJj1mU6tc

 8. The Chantays - Pipeline/ Move It.   Mint value £8. One of the biggest hits of the surf era by this California band.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j09C8clJaXo

 9. The Trashmen - King of the Surf/ Surfin' Bird.  Mint value £35. If the A side was a rip off of Papa Ooo Mow Mow crossed with The Bird's The Word, this B side was a pretty straight copy of Johnny B Goode, with a bit of Surfin' USA. The Trashmen were from Minnesota - a long way from the ocean - but they made some great records, which have been revived over and over again.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZNNI5PauGI

 10. Jan and Dean - Ride The Wild Surf/ The Anaheim Azusa & Cucamonga Sewing Circle Book Review & Timing Association. Mint value £10. No introduction needed for Jan and Dean, who recorded some of the greatest surf and drag records of the era, including Surf City, Drag City, Dead Man's Curve and Honolulu Lulu.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygq0kn7ed7s

 11. The Rivieras - California Sun/ H B Goose Step. Mint value £45. From Indiana, the Rivieras had a big US hit with this great slice of rock and roll.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy57Xdk9u0o

 12. Al Casey with the K-C Ettes - Surfin' Hootenanny/ Easy Pickin'. Mint value £12. The man behind the hits of Duane Eddy and Sanford Clark demonstrated his guitar abilities, mimicking the styles of Dick Dale and the Ventures, as well as Eddy, on this record, with vocal backing by the Blossoms.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_GILrbd3xU

 13. The Challengers - Walk With Me/ How Could I? Mint value £10. Formed out of an early California surf band the Bel-Airs, the Challengers had a successful instrumental surf  album called Surfbeat, but this later release is more in the pop genre. Here's a track called Surf-Ari.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AulYNiQx4XQ

 14. The Atlantics - Bombara/ Greensleeves.  Mint value £12. California wasn't the only place to celebrate surfing - Australia joined in too, with this instrumental by Sydney band The Atlantics, which was a big hit down under.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5D-G0IW08U

 15. Ronny & the Daytonas - G.T.O/ Hot Rod Baby. Mint value £25. A couple of car songs, with this excellent track from a band from Nashville (despite their name).   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_FSicQWimU

 16. The Rip Chords - Hey Little Cobra/ The Queen. Mint value £30. Another car classic, this time by a band that included at various times CBS producer Terry Melcher and Beach Boy Bruce Johnston. The story of the band is worth an article in itself, but this 45, along with Here I Stand, Gone and Three Window Coupe show their class.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPOqvkmSAU8

 17. The Hondells - Go Little Honda - US only LP.Another excellent California band, this time in praise of a Honda motor bike. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqKi_9p1zks

Johnny Marvel's Blues Groove

I'm always on the look out for half-decent British blues bands (a rare phenomenon) so I was impressed today by Johnny Marvel's Blues Groove, who played at the pub near where I live in Hampshire. Johnny (son of music journalist Seamus McGarvey) has a good voice and a fine band behind him, especially the lead guitar and keyboard men. I couldn't fault his choice of material, which ranged from bluesy numbers like You Got Me Dizzy, Keep What You Got and There's A Man Down There, through boogie woogie (Take Me Right Back ToThe Track, Jack), soul (You're No Good and See-saw), rock (Whole Lotta Love) and even a bit of rock and roll (Great Balls Of Fire). Johnny looks the part with a blue velvet jacket and cravat and this was a highly enjoyable set. .

 

'Cowboy' Jack Clement RIP

Another of the seminal figures in rock and roll has died - 'Cowboy' Jack Clement at the age of 82. Born just outside Memphis,he worked at the mixing board at Sun records for recording sessions with Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich and Jerry Lee Lewis (who he discovered). Elvis Presley opened for Clement at the Memphis club The Eagle's Nest.
Jack wrote two of Cash's biggest hits, Ballad of a Teenage Queen and Guess Things Happen That Way, and after leaving Sun he moved to Nashville to work for Chet Atkins, before relocating to Beaumont, Texas. There, he met George Jones and convinced him to cut the song, She Thinks I Still Care. In 1965, Clement returned to Nashville and financed a demo by then-unknown Charley Pride and persuaded Atkins to sign him to RCA. Clement also wrote Pride's first two hits, "Just Between You and Me" and "I Know One," and produced Pride's first 13 albums for the label.
Clement launched the solo career of Don Williams through his JMI record label, a project that also introduced Allen Reynolds as a record producer.  Clement released his own album, All I Want to Do in Life for Elektra in 1978 (pictured). Later he produced three tracks for the U2 album Rattle and Hum. I remember seeing Jack play at the Barbican in 2005. RIP Jack.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBRjeGQ6Vao
A final word, too, for George Duke (67), a key board player, composer, singer and producer in both the jazz and pop genres, who recorded around 30 solo albums as well as working with many artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, including Jean-Luc Ponty and Frank Zappa.

'Mondegreens' in songs

I was half listening to Radio 4 today when I heard Stuart Maconie talking about 'mondegreens' - misheard lyrics in songs and poems. He mentioned a few well known ones (all of them taken from Wikipedia I think) such as Jimi Hendrix apparently singing 'Scuse me while I kiss this guy' (in reality 'kiss the sky' and Creedence Clearwater Revival singing 'there's a bathroom on the right' ('there's a bad moon on the rise'). He also mentioned the unintelligible lyrics in the Kingsmen's Louie Louie, which some people thought were obscene. I always thought that they were unintelligible because the band didn't actually know what the real lyrics were and they therefore mumbled instead. Whatever the truth it was a great record.
There are a couple of other examples that come to mind. I always thought Desmond Dekker sang 'get up in the morning, same thing for breakfast' (actually 'slaving for bread sir'). And I could never understand why Jimmy Jones sang about a 'pin slide rule' in Handy Man (actually 'pencil and rule')
I'm sure there are many other examples and suggestions are more than welcome.

Gigs in the '90s

With my second visit to New Orleans this year alone coming up soon (the Ponderosa Stomp in October), I've been looking through some of the tickets for gigs from some of my many earlier trips in the 1990s. Of course, Jazzfest was usually the main attraction, but there were always some great shows taking place in the evenings.I wonder how many readers remember these great gigs.
Here are the details, as they are quite hard to read (click on the photos for more detail):
Top row: 26/4/1991 - Irma Thomas and Eddie Bo on the Creole Queen; 27/4/1991 - Deacon John & the Ivories, Ernie K-Doe, Barbara George on the Creole Queen; 25/8/1995 - Little Milton at The House of Blues.
2nd row: 26/4/94 - 5 Blind Boys of Alabama at The House of Blues; 24/4/1993 - Patti Labelle, Johnnie Taylor at the Municipal Auditorium; 29/4/1993 - Lloyd Price, Benny Spellman, Marva Wright at the Dewdrop Inn Revisited show at the Sheraton.
3rd row: 1/5/1997 - Taj Mahal at The House of Blues; 27/4/1993 - Barbara George at Maxwell's Toulouse Carbaret; 30/4/1992 - Charles Brown at Charlie B's Music Club.
4th row: 3/5/1995 - Texas Tornados at Tipitina's; 27/4/1997 - Neville Brothers at The House of Blues; 25/4/1998 - John Fogerty, Dr John at the Lakefront Arena.

I showed some tickets from London gigs of the early 1990s on the blog earlier in the year. Here are some more - all very memorable. Details are:
Column 1: 10/7/1993 - Dr John at The Forum; 12/7/1993 - Little Milton, Latimore and Denise Lasalle at the Mean Fiddler; 23/4/1996 - Rufus Thomas at The Rhythmic.
Column 2: 30/6/1995 - William Bell, Trudi Lynn, Joey Gilmore and Earl Green at the Bottom Line; 29/10/1992 - Katie Webster Band at The Venue;
Column 3: 3/4/1997 - Joe Louis Walker and Ike Turner at the Shepherd's Bush Empire; 30/6/1995 - Robert Cray at the Shepherd's Bush Empire; 29/11/1998 - Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn at Her Majesty's Theatre.
Column 4: 14/11/1995 - Jerry Jaye, Darlene Battles at the 100 Club; 2/1/1996 - Marlena Shaw and Jean Carne at The Rhythmic; 3/7/1991 - Linda Gail Lewis at The RNA, Plaistow; 4/7/1995 - Dick Dale at The Forum.