Music City Vocal Groups: Rock 'N' Roll It, Mambo, Stroll It

by N/A

Overview

The second volume of forgotten 45s and unreleased material from the vaults of the Berkeley-based Music City Records focuses on a different sound than its predecessor. Where the first volume, Greasy Love Songs of Teenage Romance, Regret, Hope & Despair concentrated on dreamy doo wop, this is a jumping R&B and rock & roll from the late '50s, frequently goosed by fuzzed-out guitars, hopping 88s, and a propulsive backbeat. Some of these sides are prized by doo wop collectors, primarily for their rarity but also because these records do swing, with an exuberant blend of street corner harmonies and roadhouse rhythms. Simply put, these are 45s that crackle with energy and the feel is as important as the song -- which is good, because the songs are often no more than fine, either amiably energetic genre excursions or attempts to hitch the wagon to other big hits ("Annie Pulled a Hum-Bug," "Drive-In Movie"). The songs don't matter so much but the recordings do, as they capture a specific sound and time, an era when recordmen like Ray Dobard would record everybody he could in the hopes of getting a hit, and the groups would play right along. Those hits never came and Dobard was clever enough to manipulate the collectors' market in later years, so he fetched prices that were a little bit more than they were perhaps worth but that's fine: he knew he had some good records in his possession and, happily, this disc shares them with the world at large. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	10/07/2014
Label:	Ace
UPC:	0029667061124

Tracks

1. Wouldn't Believe  -  Holidays
2. It's All Over  - R. Catalan  -  Klixs
3. She Left Me  -  Midnights  -  Stars
4. Hey Baby  -  5 Campbells  - Donald Alexander  - George Ashford  - Lloyd Gation  - Marvin Hawkins  - Adolph Jacobs  - Robert Woods
5. The Nest Is Warm (But the Goose Is Gone)  -  4 Deuces  -  4 Deuces
6. Down It Went aka It Went Down Easy  -  4 Deuces  - Jack Allen
7. Annie Pulled a Hum-Bug  - Melvin Dennis  -  Midnights
8. Drive-in Movie (A Cappella)
9. Teenage Mambo (A Cappella)  -  Gaylarks  - Ben Richards
10. He-A-Woe  -  Klixs  - Jim E. Moore
11. What-cha Gonna Do?  -  4 Deuces  -  4 Deuces  - Ahmet Ertegun
12. Hoochi Coochi Man  - John Foster  - Louise Foster  -  Holidays
13. Ooo Wee  -  Girls
14. Change Your Mind  -  5 Rovers  - Henry Swan
15. Somewhere in This World  -  Gaylarks  - James Moore
16. Italian Swiss Colony Wine Spot/W-P-L-J [Version 2]  -  4 Deuces  -  4 Deuces  - Ray Dobard  - Luther McDaniels
17. Ichi-Bon Tami Dachi  - Ray Dobard  - Jay Payton  -  Rovers  - Oliver Stevenson  - Henry Swan  - Billy Ray Williams
18. Lindy  -  Midnights
19. Church Bells Will Ring  -  Holidays
20. The Nest Is Warm (But the Goose Is Gone)  -  4 Deuces  -  4 Deuces
21. Down It Went aka it Went Down Easy  -  4 Deuces  -  4 Deuces  - Jack Allen
22. Goofin' Off  -  Dialtones  - Leslie Robinson
23. Roll on Little Mama  - John Foster  - Louise Foster  -  Mandarins
24. Oobie Doobie Baby  -  Klixs  - Richard A. Scott
25. If You Really Want to Know  -  Spinners
26. Look Into the Darkness  -  Gaylarks
27. Indian Jane (A Cappella)  - Charles Brown  -  Marcels
28. Yobosaya (A Cappella)  -  Emeralds
29. Ding Dong  -  Gayteens
30. Bye Bye Louie  -  Klixs

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Emeralds   Primary Artist
The Dialtones   Primary Artist
The Gaylarks   Primary Artist
The Spinners   Primary Artist
The Marcels   Primary Artist
The Rovers   Primary Artist
The 5 Rovers   Primary Artist
The Girls   Primary Artist
The 5 Campbells   Primary Artist
The Mandarins   Primary Artist
The Holidays   Primary Artist
The Midnights   Primary Artist
The Klixs   Primary Artist
The Gayteens   Primary Artist
The 4 Deuces   Primary Artist
4 Deuces   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

John Goddard   Photography
R. Catalan   Composer
The Stars   Composer
Luther McDaniels   Composer
Ray Dobard   Composer
Billy Ray Williams   Composer
Donald Alexander   Composer
George Ashford   Composer
Jay Payton   Composer
Lloyd Gation   Composer
Marvin Hawkins   Composer
Melvin Dennis   Composer
Oliver Stevenson   Composer
Robert Woods   Composer
Louise Foster   Composer
Ben Richards   Composer
Dennis Leonis   Illustrations
Leslie Robinson   Composer
Lou D'Aria   Photography
Jim E. Moore   Composer
John Foster   Composer
Richard A. Scott   Composer
Henry Swan   Composer
Adolph Jacobs   Composer
Darren Rumney   Package Design
Dave Antrell   Liner Notes
Robert Armstrong   Illustrations
Charles Brown   Composer
James Moore   Composer
Alec Palao   Source Material,Illustrations,Liner Notes,Research
Ahmet Ertegun   Composer
Duncan Cowell   Mastering
Jack Allen   Composer
Kirk Roberts   Photography
Barry Wickham   Illustrations