A Rock 'N' Roll Dance Party [Ace]

by N/A

Overview

In 1957, Modern Records put out a rock & roll sampler LP of sorts on its Crown subsidiary, with the catalog number 5001. Confusingly, in the early '60s, it reissued the LP with a different catalog number, 5001-J, and different tracks, taking off five cuts and adding six others. The 2006 CD reissue on Ace includes all 18 songs that appeared on one or both versions of the LP, adding eight bonus tracks from the Modern vaults that weren't on either original album, but fit in stylistically with the mid-'50s rock & roll/R&B/blues style of the other selections. It's a kind of haphazard way to sample either the Modern mid-'50s catalog in particular, or the time when R&B was changing into rock & roll in general. For what it is, however, it's pretty good, though its mixture of hits and well-known performers with rarities and little-known artists means it's something for pretty specialized collectors, even those for whom this stuff is a passion. There's doo wop (Marvin & Johnny, the Cadets), sax-honkin' R&B (Joe Houston's "All Night Long"), bluesmen making a stab at rock & roll (B.B. King's "Bad Case of Love"), Fats Domino-styled rock & roll (Jimmy Beasley), Little Richard-styled rock & roll (Artie Wilson), a blatant imitation of Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" (Jesse Belvin's "By My Side"), and, to tempt the completist, a couple of previously unissued alternate takes (Richard Berry's "Mad About You" and take three of Long Tall Marvin's "Have Mercy Miss Percy"). There are also a few actual hits in the Teen Queens' doo wop classic "Eddie My Love" and Marvin & Johnny's "Cherry Pie" (the latter covered for a bigger pop hit by Skip & Flip in 1960), and Oscar McLollie's outstanding R&B ballad "Convicted" was a regional hit in 1955. Note, incidentally, that some of the song titles that look like "hits" aren't the original versions. Etta James' "Dance with Me, Henry" is a rock & roll-oriented 1957 remake, Joe Turner's "Roll 'Em Pete (I Got a Gal Who Lives on a Hill)" overdubs a '50s tenor sax onto a live late-'40s recording, and "A Casual Look" is not the original by the Six Teens, but a cover by Little Clydie & Teens -- Little Clydie being Clydie King, later to become a top session vocalist. The CD also includes extensive reissues that clarify the original release dates of the songs, and which of the tracks originally appeared (or didn't) on what original LP version of the album. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	08/29/2006
Label:	Ace
UPC:	0029667021029
Rank:	125488

Tracks

1. Dance with Me, Henry  - Hank Ballard  - Etta James  - Johnny Otis
2. Ko Ko Ko (I Love You So)  - Eunice Levy  -  Marvin & Johnny  - Jake "Vernon" Porter
3. Don't Be Angry  - Napoleon Brown  - Rose Marie McCoy  - Fred Mendelsohn
4. Eddie My Love  - Aaron Collins  - Sam Ling  -  Teen Queens
5. Don't Feel Sorry for Me  - Jimmy Beasley  - Joe Josea
6. Cherry Pie  - Joe Josea  -  Marvin & Johnny  - Jules Taub
7. Roll 'Em Pete (I Got a Gal Who Lives on a Hill)
8. Church Bells May Ring  -  Cadets  - Morty Craft  - Ritchie Davis  - Ralph Martin  - Tony Middleton
9. All Night Long  - Joe Houston  - Jules Taub
10. A Casual Look
11. How Soon  -  Jacks  - Carroll Lucas
12. Heartbreak Hotel  - Mae Boren Axton  - Tommy Durden  - Elvis Presley
13. Sunday Meetin' Rock
14. Bad Case of Love  - Joe Josea  - B.B. King
15. Mercy Miss Percy  - Joe Josea  - Sam Ling
16. By My Side  - Jesse Belvin
17. Go Robbie Go
18. Vido's Boogie aka Rock'n'roll Boogie  - Sam Ling  - Jules Taub
19. Mad About You  - Richard Berry
20. Bye Bye, Fare Thee Well  - Peppermint Harris
21. Cool Diggin'  - Maxwell Davis  - Joe Josea
22. Come on Home  - Sam Ling
23. Ay La Bah  - Dolly Cooper  - Mayme Watts  - Sidney Wyche
24. That's My Baby  - Ben Weisman
25. I Want My Baby (Yea, Yea, Yea, Yea, Yea)  - Jimmy Beasley  - Joe Josea
26. Convicted  -  McLollie  - Leon Rene

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Oscar McLollie & His Honey Jumpers   Primary Artist
Jesse Belvin   Primary Artist
Etta James   Primary Artist
Marvin & Johnny   Primary Artist
Dolly Cooper   Primary Artist
Richard Berry   Primary Artist
Peppermint Harris   Primary Artist
The Cadets   Primary Artist
Jimmy Beasley   Primary Artist
The Teen Queens   Primary Artist
The Jacks   Primary Artist
B.B. King   Primary Artist
Maxwell Davis   Primary Artist
Joe Houston   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Napoleon Brown   Composer
Barrie Smith   Package Design
Aaron Collins   Composer
Ritchie Davis   Composer
Ralph Martin   Composer
Tony Middleton   Composer
Sidney Wyche   Composer
Joe Josea   Composer
Jake "Vernon" Porter   Composer
Joe Houston   Composer
Fred Mendelsohn   Composer
Tony Rounce   Liner Notes
Ben Weisman   Composer
Elvis Presley   Composer
Leon Rene   Composer
Sam Ling   Composer
Carroll Lucas   Composer
Eunice Levy   Composer
Morty Craft   Composer
Rose Marie McCoy   Composer
Johnny Otis   Composer
Mae Boren Axton   Composer
Etta James   Composer
Hank Ballard   Composer
Tommy Durden   Composer
Duncan Cowell   Mastering
Mayme Watts   Composer
Richard Berry   Composer
Jesse Belvin   Composer
Jimmy Beasley   Composer
Jules Taub   Composer