Bayou Rockabilly Cats

by N/A

Overview

Louisiana's Goldband label is perhaps best known for its Cajun and R&B recordings, but also did record a good deal of hillbilly and rockabilly sides in the '50s. Twenty-six of them are on Bayou Rockabilly Cats, although when the most recognizable artists on a compilation are Al Ferrier, Hopeless Homer, and Goldband chief Eddie Shuler himself (with Eddie Shuler's All Star Reveliers), you know this is one for the specialists. Actually, much of this is not quite standard rockabilly, but country music in the process of making the transition to rockabilly. There are fiddles and steel guitars on plenty of the cuts, and the tempos are often more in the country boogie or two-step mold than they are in rock & roll. Truth be known, that makes this more interesting than many such compilations of obscure rockabilly (such as numerous ones on the Ace label itself), as the country-rockabilly bridge hasn't been documented and investigated with nearly as much depth as some other roots-of-rock genres have. (There are, for instance, appreciably more reissues of late-'40s - early-'50s R&B and jump blues on the cusp of turning into rock & roll.) In general the performers on this disc had more of a Southern swamp to their lilt, as well as some traces of Cajun rhythms (although those aren't that prevalent). There aren't major overlooked classic songs or amazing performers, but the style's done with a lot of panache and good-natured energy. It's not all hillbilly-rockabilly crossover either; some of the sides are just flat-out raw rockabilly, and Bee Arnold does piano-based work with more of an R&B flavor (even using a clarinet on "Plant You Know, Dig You Later"). Arnold's 1954 single "Way Down Under Blues," in fact, is pretty unusual for the time, and one of the earlier instances anywhere of a white musician recording in a hardcore R&B style that approached rock & roll. When Goldband records were reissued after the '50s, there were electric bass overdubs that Shuler was persuaded to use to make them sound more contemporary-sounding, to the vexation of collectors and historians that rightly prefer the originals. Those listeners will be glad to hear that this CD consists solely of the unoverdubbed original versions, marking in fact the first time the original singles have ever been reissued (although eight of the selections are not from vintage '50s 45s, but from '80s releases that contained previously unissued '50s performances). ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	05/02/2000
Label:	Ace
UPC:	0029667174428
Rank:	126102

Tracks

1. No No Baby  - Al Ferrier  - Clarence "Bon Ton" Garlow  - Eddie Shuler
2. I'll Never Do Any Wrong  - Al Ferrier  - Eddie Shuler
3. Jambalaya Boogie  - Eddie Shuler  -  Shuler
4. New Way Rockin'  -  Hopeless Homer
5. The Girl in the Red Blue Jeans  -  Hopeless Homer
6. Love Me Just a Little Bit  -  Bill & Carroll  - Bill Morgan  -  Neches Valley Boys  - Eddie Shuler  -  Bill  -  Carroll
7. My Blue Letter  -  Bill & Carroll  - Bill Morgan  -  Neches Valley Boys  - Eddie Shuler  -  Bill  -  Carroll
8. My Baby Done Gone Away  - Al Ferrier  - Eddie Shuler
9. It's Too Late Now  -  Boppin' Billies  - Al Ferrier  - Eddie Shuler
10. Plant You Now, Dig You Later  - Bee Arnold  -  Como  - Eddie Shuler
11. Way Down Under Blues  - Bee Arnold  - Eddie Shuler  -  Tunetoppers  -  Tune Toppers
12. Memory in My Heart  -  LeBlance  - Eddie Shuler
13. I Love That Woman (Right or Wrong)  -  LeBlance  - Eddie Shuler
14. Wanna Go Steady  -  Hutto
15. Mabel's Done Gone  - Jerry Noble  -  Plantation Playboys
16. Freed My Silly Mind  -  LeBlance  - Eddie Shuler
17. Blue Moon on the Bayou  -  LeBlance  - Eddie Shuler
18. What Is This Thing Called Love?  - Al Ferrier  - Cole Porter  - Eddie Shuler
19. Honey Baby  - Al Ferrier  - Eddie Shuler
20. Honest to Goodness Baby  -  Bill & Carroll  -  Neches Valley Boys  - Eddie Shuler  -  Bill  -  Carroll
21. Feel So Good  -  Bill & Carroll  - Bill Morgan  -  Neches Valley Boys  - Eddie Shuler
22. Couple in the Car  - Little Billy Earl  - Eddie Shuler
23. Honey Baby-O  - Little Billy Earl  - Henry Owens  - Eddie Shuler
24. Love Me Mary Ann  - Don Mooring  - Eddie Shuler  -  Yellowjackets
25. Texas Woman  -  Buckwheat & His Wheatbinders  - Hank Jr. Williams
26. Twitterpated  -  Buckwheat

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Carroll   Primary Artist
The Tune Toppers   Primary Artist
Bill   Primary Artist
Don Mooring   Primary Artist
Red Le Blance & His Crescent Boys   Primary Artist
Buckwheat & His Wheatbinders   Primary Artist
Eddie Shuler's All Star Reveeliers   Primary Artist
Bill & Carroll   Primary Artist
Buckwheat   Primary Artist
The Tunetoppers   Primary Artist
Al Ferrier   Primary Artist
Little Billy Earl   Primary Artist
Hopeless Homer   Primary Artist
Amos Como's Tune Toppers   Primary Artist
Yellowjackets   Primary Artist
Boppin' Billies   Primary Artist
Bee Arnold   Primary Artist
Jerry Noble   Primary Artist
Neches Valley Boys   Primary Artist
Plantation Playboys   Primary Artist
Bill Hutto & His Playboys   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Eddie Shuler   Composer
Clarence "Bon Ton" Garlow   Composer
Al Ferrier   Performer,Composer
Dave Sax   Archive Research,Liner Notes
Cole Porter   Composer
Henry Owens   Composer
Bill Morgan   Composer
Don Mooring   Composer
Dave Farrow   Package Design
Hank Williams, Jr.   Composer
Jon Broven   Archive Research