Archive for the ‘Loretta Lynn’ Category

Wanda Jackson & The Party Timers

Monday, December 21st, 2015

Listen: A Girl Don’t Have To Drink To Have Fun / Wanda Jackson & The Party Timers
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Fresh off a seven hour flight, my blood was sizzling to stop by the Brooklyn Record Riot at The Warsaw Theatre yesterday. Even I couldn’t believe I had the energy, but something was telling me: go, go. Sure enough, that little bell in my brain rang true. Despite being late in the day, around 4:30 and with the threat the place theoretically had been picked, as those of us possessed would tend to describe it, there were boxes of 45′s just waiting to be hoarded.

I’m speaking mainly of a fellow with hundreds of clean, still in the original company sleeves, most without a crease, early 60′s country promos, primarily Decca and Capitol 7′s. Country in the loosest sense that is. Luckily the radio station from where they came clearly kept anything remotely associated with country, like former rockabilly greats whose stars had long ago faded as in Carl Perkins. Bluesy bar room crying in your drink songs from guys influenced by the great guitar pickers, like Hoyt Axton, Leo Kottke and Albert Lee. To rock acts that dressed like farmers describing themselves as tasty even then, such as Goose Creek Symphony, Joy Of Cooking, Joe Crane & The Hoodoo Rhythm Devils and The Grease Band.

Praise be, there were loads of gems. Fantastic Merle Haggard & The Strangers various red neck hater songs, Buck Owens & The Buckaroos, Sonny Burgess & The Southern Gentlemen, Ferlin Husky & The Hushpuppies and Conway Twitty 7′s. Chunks of Loretta Lynn, Kitty Wells, Tammy Wynette, Dottie West, Brenda Lee, Wilma Burgess and even Patsy Cline singles, many in picture sleeves.

Amongst my favorite scores were a sizable stack of Wanda Jackson releases. Who can pass up anything by her, especially one titled ‘A Girl Don’t Have To Drink To Have Fun’, a #22 Country chart hit in ’67, from her flawless CREAM OF THE CROP album. My feet barely touched the ground leaving despite being armloads of records heavier, yet a wallet only $25 lighter. The whole 10 for a dollar experience and especially this single, made my day.

Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty

Thursday, January 30th, 2014

You're The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly / Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty

Listen: You’re The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly / Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty
ConwayTwittyLorettaLynn.mp3

My first real job in the music business, one where I got decent pay, benefits, expenses, etc, was as an MCA local radio promotion rep. I covered New York State excluding NYC, so it was a piece of cake. Pretty small market and whatever play I got was appreciated, but not vital. Brad Hunt hired me, it was ’78. We later worked together at Elektra in the 80′s. Small world and even smaller business.

MCA had a very unhip roster then, especially in rock. It was known as the Music Cemetery of America to insiders. However, the country roster was sweet and gave me a chance to meet many of the greats, particularly Loretta Lynn, who invited me onto her bus for some birthday cake one night. She was touring with Conway Twitty at the time, and we were working a their infamous duet ‘You’re The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly’. Check out her pronunciation of “wires”. What a nice lady.

The Paradise Island Trio / Owen Bradley

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

Listen: Adventures In Paradise / The Paradise Island Trio & Owen Bradley
The Paradise Island Trio / Owen Bradley

Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, Loretta Lynn, k. d. lang. Now that’s some serious lineage. Well Owen Bradley produced them all. Why is he not recognized more often? I guess the ghetto of country music creates a constant oversight.

Although the handful of recordings he made as steel guitar player with The Paradise Island Trio don’t on the surface appear to have historical value, in actuality, their ambience in sound and tonality very much do. Completely typical of the clean, electric hollow body picking prevalent during ’62, ‘Adventures In Paradise’ most likely benefited from Owen Bradley’s producing and/or engineering skills. His mic technique alone is difficult to mistake.

I believe the island of paradise in question here is Nashville by the way, where combining stereophonic sound with Hawaiian tropics was a license to print money. The Three Suns were a must for every Noguchi knock off coffee table and Don Ho was right around the corner.

Skeeter Davis / Personal Effects

Monday, October 5th, 2009

skeeterendusa, Skeeter Davis, Chet Atkins, RCA

Listen: The End Of The World / Skeeter Davis SkeeterEnd.mp3

skeeterhesaysus, Skeeter Davis, Chet Atkins, RCA

skeeterhesays, Skeeter Davis, Chet Atkins, RCA

Listen: He Says The Same Things To Me / Skeeter Davis SkeeterSaysSame.mp3

Can you believe these records were originally considered country instead of pop? Even though they made the Billboard Top 100 (‘End Of The World’ #2 in ’63, ‘He Says The Same Things To Me’ #47 in ’64), being produced by Chet Atkins probably meant Skeeter Davis and her releases were always found in the country section at the stores. Now sounding way more like early Blondie than Kitty Wells, I’m pretty sure the double tracked vocals were exclusive to country productions at the time. Check any Loretta Lynn, Dottie West or Patsy Cline single if you feel the need to verify that bit. Despite her record store geographical placement, she was certainly a successful crossover act, as I clearly remember both of these singles being played on my local Top 40′s.

pepressrelease, Personal Effects, Skeeter Davis

Listen: The End Of The World / Personal Effects PersonalEffectsEnd.mp3

Years later, indie bands were unearthing great singles from, in the 70′s, only ten or so years prior. A lost art these days, but then hearing a favorite band pulling out an old gem and recording it was not unlike a DJ doing a slamming set, littered with snippets of classics, in a club come the late ’90′s.

A 7″ single that should have been, Personal Effects’ version of ‘The End Of The World’ was one Roger McCall and I played a lot on WCMF around ’84, back when we did what would be referred to nowadays as a ‘specialty show’. Not one to toss anything related to records, I found the above flyer inside the album THIS IS IT, from which the track comes. And given that it’s promo only, I definitely saved it.