NIKDY NIC NIKDO NEMÁ

Two stars of the Czech avant garde musical theater, Jan Werich and Jiří Voskovec.

Top Calypsonians

It’s back to my calypso-lovin’ roots with today’s album from RCA circa 1960 (if it was once released on a major label why can’t this great stuff get re-released?).

From the original liner notes by one Brunell Jones of the Trinidad Guardian and “Sport and Show Cavalcade”:

“Melody, whose world-girdling ‘Mama Look a Boo Boo’ is being played and sung in more languages that one can count on one’s hands and toes, sings singularly like Melody; Superior, a now mature ‘boy wonder’, brought a new and interesting trend to the art-form; Nap, with his high-pitched voice and a natural style of underscoring the vital passages of his tunes, is a versatile entertainer; Fighter, a Guianese who abandoned the fishing profession to become one of the fastest rising Calypso humorists, always succeeds in getting his message through to the listener, while wide-eyed poker faced Bomber and barrel chested Power, whose ‘Wus Dan Dat’ and ‘I’m a Worried Man’ respectively, swept them to the top as contemporary expressionist singers, will certainly enhance the success of this album, particularly in the United States the United Kingdom, and Europe...”

I don’t think the odd drivel written in the official liner notes is considerably less drivelly than what I usually write. Certainly it's equally world-girdling, I should say.

The song “Drink Again” by King Fighter is available on a great compilation on the Ice label called “Saucy Calypsos Vol. 1”—if you can find it, be sure to pick it up as it’s one of the few calypso CDs with the 1950s-early 60s stuff that I love the best.

As usual, there was one song on the album with a skip on it I couldn’t fix—it’s “Second Life” by Lord Superior, and for that I apologize.

Top Calypsonians (Featuring the West Indies Greatest Names in Calypso)
Kaiso by the pros
RCA records LPB-3018


Side 1
Conrad – Lord Melody
Drink Again – King Fighter
Second Life – Lord Superior
Come Good – Mighty Power
Jackie – Nap Hepburn
Cinderella – Mighty Bomber

Side 2
Calypso Love – Lord Superior
Jagabat Women – Mighty Bomber
Loretta – Mighty Power
Undertakers – Nap Hepburn
The Injection – Lord Fighter
Melo in Love – Lord Melody

Lobster King

Lobster King, originally uploaded by neshachan.

How did they ever pour a cup of coffee wearing those damn pincers?

teen terrific for dancing…..

How does Bill Black follow up his career start as bass player on Elvis’ hit versions of “Heartbreak Hotel”, Mystery Train”, and “Hound Dog”? With a Saxy Jazz album that is “teen terrific for dancing”, apparently.

Are you feeling the Reefer Madness ambience of the album artwork as much as I am? And what’s up with that ashtray full of spent butts, front and center? Does it symbolize a career gone up in smoke, or is really only just about tar and nicotine?

“…I’ve had my clothes plucked off like chickens eat corn,” reminisces Bill wistfully, on the liner notes of this album. And who can blame him for reminding us of that fact, as he feels the wind rushing by on the other end of the arc.

Bill Black died in 1965 at the age of 39 of a brain tumor. His bass is now owned by Paul McCartney, a birthday gift from late wife Linda. Do you find these details truly depressing, or merely disheartening?

Saxy Jazz--Bill Black’s Combo
Hi records SHL 32002

Bill Black, bass
Carl McVoy, piano
Johnny Cannon, sax
Reggie Young, guitar
Jerry Arnold, drums

Smokie Part 2
Frankie and Johnny
Tuxedo Junction
Cyclone Bop
Dee J. Special
Anytime
White Silver Sands
The Wheel
Crankcase
Deep Elm Blues
Before Dawn
Accentuate the Positive

Perez Prado on SPINORAMA

Even though this album is one of my three-for-a-dollar specials, I do feel a tiny bit ripped off. The top reads "PEREZ PRADO Dance Party".....and not until you bring the album home do you see "...and Eddie Maynard and His Orchestra" in minuscule print at the bottom. The label and liner notes don't designate which song is performed by who, but I'm pretty sure Perez is represented in only 4 of the 12 songs, a paltry 1/3 (or 33 1/3%). And the Eddie Maynard stuff is, well, about as mediocre as you would think a band led by a guy named "Eddie Maynard" would be.

The big plus here other than the snappy Perez tunes that I don't already own is the fact that the label is SPINORAMA records, a very snappy name, yes indeed. I could forgive practically ANYTHING dubbed with the moniker Spinorama.....

Messenger: "...I have horrible news.....six somewhat distant relatives of yours who you really don't care for ALL that much have been murdered in a particularly grisly (or possibly gristly but not grizzly) fashion by a serial killer....."

Me: "Oh God, no, no!....how awful!"

Mess: "Yes, they think it may be the work of.....the 'Spinorama Killer.'"

Me: ".......??!?.....ooooh reeeeeally?.......the SPINORAMA Killer, you say....?"

PEREZ PRADO Dance Party

and Eddie Maynard

Spinorama MK 3025

Flamingo Cha Cha
Cha Cha No. 5
Blue Tango
Miami Beach Mambo
La Paloma
Heat Wave
Umpaquita Cha Cha
Cha Cha No. 8
When Johnny Comes Marching Home (see also: other lame versions of this same song)
Caribbean Mambo
Anvil Chorus
La Clave



I looked it up, it is "grisly" after all.

Exciting NEW La Playa Sound

Here's a kick-ass Latin album from 1964 by the La Playa Sextet. If you're in the mood for some high energy music to get you up and dancing, this is the one.

Paul Alicia: guitar & vocal
Marie Alicea: vocals, maracas
Paul Alicia, jr.: timbales
Alfredo (Chocolato) Armenteros: trumpet
Neftaly Pineiro: guitar
Claudino Torres: bass

The Exciting NEW La Playa Sextet United Artists ual3357 (1964)

Side 1
Mambo's Coco Seco
Anabacca
Bolero's Duena de mi Corazon
Uno
Mondongo
Cha Cha Cha's El Jamaiquino
Doin' the Cha-Cha
Merengues/Merengue de Frac
La Empaliza
La Maricutana
Compadre Pedro Juan

Side 2
Buena Suerte
Bolero's Primeero Yo
Mira Corazon
Mambo Inn
Son Montuno el Guayo de Catalina
uimbombo
Rabo y Oreja
Rumba's Pare Cochero
Oye el Carbonero
Tumbando Cana
Los Carnavales de Oriente

Doin' the Twist with Joe Houston

I think I'm just going to let you figure out what this one is about all by yourself.

Doin' the Twist with Joe Houston

Crown Records CST 248

Side 1
Doing the Twist
Twisting the Twist
Crazy Twist
White House Twist
Chitlun's Twist

Side 2
Rocking the Twist
Roy's Twist
Joe's Twist
Texas Twist
Casino Twist

Hot Lips Page After Hours

Here’s the chance to hear what it was like to sit in on a Harlem jazz session in the early 1940s—featuring musicians Hot Lips Page, Tiny Grimes, Herbie Fields, and even a very young Thelonious Monk.

These sides are from the Jerry Newman Collection, then a Columbia University student with a passion for the music. He first recorded some private sessions in his home with his portable disc recording equipment, then began taking it with him to Harlem clubs.

For my money, the thoughtful liner notes by Dan Morgenstern are even more interesting than the actual music – serious fans of 1940s jazz might try to pick up a copy of this album for some interesting insights into the era.

Hot Lips Page After Hours in Harlem --Onyx 207. Recorded 1940 and 1941

I Got Rhythm
I’m In The Mood For Love
Dinah
Tea For Two
Hot Lips Page, Joe Guy, trumpet; Tiny Grimes, guitar; unknown piano, bass, drums.

I’ve Found a New Baby
Topsy
Hot Lips Page, Joe Guy, trumpets; Rudy Williams, also sax; Thelonious Monk, piano.

Sweet Georgia Brown
Hot Lips Page, Joe Guy, trumpets; Rudy Williams, alto sax; unknown tenor sax, piano, bass, drums.

Konk
Hot Lips Page, trumpet; other musicians unknown.

...and then we'll go bowling and get some beer.

I plan on ripping every last 3 for a dollar album I bought a week ago and posting them on this site, you damn betcha.

Today's entry was far more entertaining that I imagined.....it's an album of hotsy-totsy polka tunes from Stan Wolowic and the Polka Chips. There were some interesting sounding Russian and klezmer type tunes in this one, but mostly I like the song "All the Girls Want Me (For My Money)" which is a very high-stepping number indeed. It's considerably less pre-chewed than, say, Lawrence Welk--this is the real Polski stuff and quite entertaining to boot.

Stan Wolowic and the Polka Chips

Side 1
Grey Horse Polka
Springtime Waltz
Red Wine, Red Lips
Johnny & Kate Oberek
My Beautiful Girl
All the Girls Want Me

Side 2
Helen, Helen, Helen
Don't Wait Until Tomorrow
Heart Pains, and This and That
Concert For Two
Happy Man
Gay Young Widow

The Wildest Clan

This album came as a pleasant surprise—I thought I had bought a used copy of an obscure Louis Prima/Keely Smith album with a couple of goofy-sounding tunes I didn't have--but when I came home I discovered what I owned was actually an out of print Sam Butera album. Yahtzee!

And I think I discovered the reason it’s out of print…. “C’est Si Bon” starts out with the most laughably inept (probably intentionally so) Louis Armstrong imitation, which rapidly deteriorates into some stereotypical Italian and Chinese “humor”. I shouldn’t put humor in quotes, it made me laugh like a chimpanzee.

But there's some seriously swinging vintage Vegas lounge music here--standouts for me include "Smooth Operator", "Highway 101" and "Romance Without Finance" (an earlier version of this tune recorded by Tiny Grimes' Quintet was one of the first sides Charlie Parker ever appeared on).

My copy of the album is in passable shape, except for “Ko Ko Mo”, which has a skip in the beginning (I know, this situation has becoming a recurring theme here). I have no liner notes to be able to share any information about the release date or personnel-—but ultimately, who really cares. Enjoy the music.

The Wildest Clan – Sam Butera & the Witnesses

Side 1
Let the Good Times Roll
You Send Me
Highway 101
Don’t You Know
Romance Without Finance
Jambayala

Side 2
Malaguena
Sick and Tired
Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)
C’est Si Bon
Smooth Operator
Swingin’ Sam

Cha Cha Cha con la Orquesta Melodias del 40

Let us reflect for a moment upon the joys of the record store that offers not just the dollar bin, but box after box of three-for-a-dollar albums; 33 1/3 cents each, very appropriate indeed. This album cover alone was worth the price, but seeing that it included a collection of cha chas recorded in Cuba on the Puchito label made it more alluring still.
Despite the kitschy album cover, this music is like good home cooking--nothing slick or over produced or pretentious here.

Orquesta Melodias del 40 was formed at a Havana youth club in the 1940s. The band latched on to the cha cha craze of the early 50s; this album was one of the band’s earliest recordings, dating from around 1956-8. Their popularity peaked during the 1960s, and by the mid 70s they had disbanded.

The video below of Orquesta Melodias del 40 delivers a juicy little clip of the band performing on a bus driving through 1950s Havana—the added bonus is enticing glimpses of the city long before Ry Cooder showed up with his whiny guitar.





Cha Cha Cha con la Orquesta Melodias Del 40

Lado 1

Seis Lindas Cubanas
Caprichito de Verdad
Tinas Bayamo
El Niño Prodigio
Montuno Favorito
Se Va Conmigo

Lado 2

Me Voy pa Morón
Cruel Tormento
Igualita que La Habana
El Cachin Cachumba
Estás Equivocada
Prisionero

Gals & Pals Sing

"Cig-a-rette hoooolder....WHICH wigs me....over her shooooulder....she digs me..."

This 1963 album is from the Swedish vocal group "Gals & Pals", containing swinging and harmoniously goofy versions of Satin Doll, Alley Cat, Lullaby of Birdland, among others. They're new to me, but I like them just fine.

Get it here.

--The Latest Greatest Dance THE DUCK

We love the one-hit wonders……though I have to admit that Jackie Lee’s short lived 1965 dance craze “The Duck” never elbowed its way into my little Chicago-suburb white girl existence. But one popular tune does not an LP make, so Jackie fills out the album by reminding everyone of his massive hit with several other duck related tunes. Then tries to get the kids hooked on the next big thing with such ill-fated attempts as “Do the Temptation Walk”, “The Bounce” and “The Neighborhood”. And how about the spectacularly groovy “Harlem Shuffle” –Arthur Murray Dance instructors could do very little with the vague instructions to ”move it to the right if it takes all night….and scratch like a monkey”.

In case you don’t recall “The Duck” either, here is Jackie Lee on a show called “Northern Soul” backed by a bevy of frighteningly peppy Duck-dancing beauties.



And what exactly is Jackie doing there to his tailfeathers about 1:20 in?

Jackie Lee – The Duck (1965)
And some Other All Time Great Dance Favorites
Designed for your Listening & Dancing Pleasure at Home
Mirwood Records MWS 7000

The Duck
Hully Gully
The Shotgun and the Duck
Do the Temptation Walk
The Neighborhood
Land of a Thousand Dances
The Duck Part II
Dancin’ in the Street
The Bounce
Do You Love Me
Everybody Jerk
Harlem Shuffle

No Jamaica Time For Me

I'm sure everyone else has songs that push them over the edge--I go ballistic when I hear "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "Little Drummer Boy" (in the already fraught-with-danger holiday season). So I am physically unable to download this album myself because I might accidentally hear "Blowing in the Wind"--even by Lord Creator, it might be too much for my delicate constitution to bear. But you all go over to What's In My iPod to download it, I'll just sit here in the dark, alone, until you return.

Lord Melody Calypso 1962 complete

This one's for Ben the Balladeer, by request. I posted several songs from this album a while back, but am just now getting around to posting the entire album.

Note: The strange volume fluctuations are on the album and aren't my fault.
Honest.
There are 2 version of "Melody Twist" included....I couldn't seem to get rid of the skip at the end of the song so I included a version I did a year ago which is skip free.

Lord Melody Calypso 1962

Happy Harry and 10 other horrible hullabaloos Cook records 931, Stamford Connecticut

Melody Twist
New York
Wau, Wau
Bong Bong Bong
Blackbird
The Seagull and the Mule
Georgie Porgie
Yours Sincerely
Nylon
Donkey Race
Happy Harry (instrumental)

And no, Lex10-- there isn't any Robert Mitchum on this album, either. So get over it.

Trojan Calypso Box Set

Classic sides from Lord Kitchener, Sparrow, Lord Invader, Terror, and many more in a 3 CD set from Trojan records can be found here.

Bobby Aro - "Finn-Glish Fun"

Heino und Jerry im Über Space: Bobby Aro - "Finn-Glish Fun" and "...the fabulous finn" (195?)

To continue the trend of the week--the worst music imaginable--may I recommend this collection of Finn-glish music & patter by Bobby Aro? Having a mother who came over from Norway in the 1950s yet still sounds like she got off the boat last week, this one really strikes home. Ja, sure.

Mr. Novak's Library Music

The series Mr. Novak starring James Franciscus as a well-meaning but hip high school teacher ran only 2 seasons, from 1963-5. This 1964 album of music of the the Theme From Mr. Novak “and other school themes” features stock compositions from some of the busiest Nashville session men of the era-- Henry Strzlecki, John Wilkin and Bill Justis (also a one-time Sun records sideman).

The album was probably only on the record shelves for a short time during 1964 before the fickle kids abandoned the show for something newer.

Theme From “Mr. Novak” and other School Themes --music from the TV series

Try Before You Buy: From the album: "B.M.O.C."

Boomp3.com

businessman who likes to sing

It was recorded by an obscure record label ("Bildon Productions Inc.") at Fanfare Studios in the musical mecca of El Cajon, CA.--so one might be inclined to think that the album “Reminiscing” by Cliff Jordan (not to be confused with onetime Mingus tenorman Clifford Jordan) was merely a vanity project financed by the deep pockets of a marginally talented Iowa businessman. That’s where you would be WRONG my friend-- let’s take a close look at Cliff Jordan’s curriculum vitae from the liner notes (which contains a great many capital letters indeed):

--One of the organizers and second president of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing
--Sang tenor in a Barbershop Quartet “The Skunk Hollow Four”.
--In 1952 he was named the “Outstanding Management Man of Iowa”.
--He studied accounting by correspondence course, and ended up as a President of five corporations
--He served on the Board of the Iowa Golf Association for 18 years and was an Honorary Member of the Iowa Section of the Professional Golf Association.

Cliff begins several of the tunes with dedications to various family members and his golf buddies while behind him band leader Bill Hamilton noodles on his organ (so to speak) a la classic radio soap operas.

Verdict: A swell album to play for your great-grandma as a warm up before trying to scam some cash out of her.

Cliff Jordan--Reminiscing Bildon Productions Inc. FM 71122


I’ll Take Care of Your Cares
Medley – Only You/If I Had My Way Dear
My Best to You
What Do I Do On Monday
When You Wore a Tulip
My Shy Violet
Medley – Careless/Daydreams Come True at Night
Medley – Seems Like Old Times/Miss You
I Can’t Begin to Tell You
Medley – I Wish You Were Jealous of Me Dear/If I Had My Life to Live Over/We’ll Meet Again

Try before you download....
Boomp3.com