All around the world....

The discography for "Cookie and The Cup Cakes" does not make you think of a tightly structured band in the usual sense. Ya see, depending on how strict you wanna be, there are "Cup Cakes" 45's credited about ten different ways, often enough with 'top billing' given to the lead singer.

Ya know, like a revue [common enough at the time], a singer steps into the spotlight for awhile until the next singer comes forward to be featured. The Cup Cakes providing back-up for all of them. It's just that in this case, one of the lead singers is named Cookie Thierry, and "Cookie and His Cup Cakes" makes good marketing sense. That's the name they put on their hit, "Mathilda".

So, there are four 45's by "Shelton Dunaway and The Cup Cakes" [Dunaway being the other lead singer in the band], another by "Hot Rod Reynaud/Ernest Jacob and the Cup Cakes" [Reynaud and Jacob were band members], several credited as "Little Alfred and The Cup Cakes" [Little Alfred joined the band after Cookie left], one credited as "Little Alfred and Shelton", another as "Cookie and the Cup Cakes, featuring Little Alfred", even one with "Cookie and The Berry Cups" printed on the label [The Berry Cups were Little Alfred's band before he joined the Cup Cakes].

All of them issued on the Lyric/Khoury labels owned by George Khoury out of Lake Charles within a period of a very few years. In fact, you don't see the records credited consistently [as "Cookie and His Cup Cakes"] until after Cookie Thierry [and Dunaway?] had left the group.

Sorry about that, I just wanted to address some of the common confusion. I probably should've just said.....this is a "Cookie and The Cup Cakes" record, and let it go at that.

Hope ya'll enjoy....

[I decided the black background on the scans had to go]

I was a fool for you...

Here's one of Huey Smith and The Clowns' more atypical cuts. I have absolutely no idea who's singing on it. The Clowns had so much talent pass through the band it's hard to keep up with who's who.

As usual, if anyone knows anything, please feel free to chirp up. Ya know, one of the major reasons I'm involved in the blogs is because I'm trying to learn more.

While I've heard some folks disparage this side [possibly because it is atypical?], believe me, there are others who buy the record for this song alone.

I'm amused to see that Billboard magazine called "Genevieve" a "rockaballad" when it was released. I think of it as a slow groover.

Hope ya'll enjoy....

Ain't coming back no more...

It's been at least a year since I posted any Lula Reed, and that's far too long.

Hope ya'll enjoy.... if you want more info on Reed, you can find it here.

How to pick a winner [or two]...

In case you haven't checked out Dan Philips' piece on Diamond Joe/Solomon Burke over at Home Of The Groove, you most definitely should. In that post he's offered up a copy of Diamond Joe doing the same song I'm posting here, "How To Pick A Winner". In fact, it uses the exact same instrumental track.

I'd planned to post the two 45's together at some point just because I think it's interesting to compare the two, but since Dan's got his copy of the Diamond Joe up....I'll stick with this 45 and send you to Dan for the other version.

Personally speaking, I prefer the Diamond Joe, but the comparison's interesting simply because Maurice Williams is no slouch of singer himself. If the name doesn't ring a bell, think: the Zodiac's [Stay], and the Gladiola's [the original version of Little Darling].

Williams presumably hooked up with Toussaint through Marshall Sehorn, his partner. The Zodiacs had an early Deesu label release which was clearly leased through Sehorn's connections.

Could be there's a third 45 by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs on Deesu. Unfortunately, I can't find a Deesu discography [how very odd] so am unable to check. I may just be dreaming on that one.

Hope ya'll enjoy this version....Diamond Joe's version is here.

It must be voodoo....

There's not much info around about Johnny Talbot [this is the only 45 credited to him as Tolbert]. He worked out of Oakland, and released 4 [?] singles, three on Jasman, and one on Modern. There may be another 45 I'm forgetting.

It's funny that he recorded so little, because I believe there was a good deal of fuss made over him in the press at one time. I've found a couple of mentions of him touring with various heavy-weights. That's all I know.

As much as I like slower grooves, to my mind it's the slightly faster instrumental b-side that's the real killer.

Hope ya'll enjoy....

Part 1.

Part 2.

I wouldn't be so sad and blue....

I'm running behind as usual....

Here's one of King Solomon's bluesier outings. I'm still looking for info on this guy, so if anyone knows anything beyond his discography, please let me know. I'll remind you this is not Solomon King, or [King] Solomon Burke, or King Solomon Hill....it's someone else. The liner notes on his only album mention that he's from Louisiana, but most of the records look to be out of California. There's a comp out called, "You Ain't Nothing But a Teenager", which might have some info on it, but I'm not gonna buy it just for that. I already own almost every song the man recorded.

Looks like I chose the wrong record to try out my new black background on. Stupid scanner seems to have a mind of it's own lately.

Hope ya'll enjoy....

Just a note....

In case anyone is wondering, that's it for the comps Twilightzone! has been offering. There may be more later, but for the time being you lovely idiots are just gonna have to visit this blog to get more of the good stuff. Something like 50 posts were not included in the comps, the vast majority of them fairly recent. I decided I wanted to keep their availability limited to the blog.

I'd like to thank both Gyro and Ryp for doing all the hard work to see that the collections were made available. If it had been left up to me, I can guarantee you that nothing would have happened. My only complaint is that I didn't have time to redo some of the earlier rips. I'm not only better at it than I used to be, I also now own better copies of some of the records.

Just in case anyone missed it, Darcy from over at Feel It recently posted a rare one by Huey Smith on the White Cliffs label [I don't own the record]. It's not at the top of the page anymore, but I'm sure you can find it. If by some quirk of fate you haven't visited Darcy's ultra cool blog before, be sure and check it out. Looks like he just posted a nice one by Irma Thomas.

For those of you keeping track, I'm 18 weeks down, 22 to go....and there are "flutters".

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All your foolish lies....

I've said it before, I'll say it again. Betty Harris is one of the very few artists I've posted who actually owns the rights to some of her recordings. If you haven't already, ya'll really should consider buying one of the various comps of her work if you like what ya hear.

It's been my experience that this is a tough-ish record to find. I've bought both of the only two copies I've ever run into, this one just recently, at the Austin record convention. Of course, my experience is purely subjective, for all I know your local record shop may be chock full of copies, but it does say something that the record usually goes for decent bucks on Ebay when it pops up.

This is another of Harris' records on Sansu I find a little sonically disappointing. I'd like to think the problem is in the mastering or the pressing rather than the mix, but honestly, I don't know enough to say one way or the other. In short, the problem's not with my copy, this is actually a very nice one [that's why I bought]....as far as I know, they all sound this way.

I should also mention that this rip sounds slightly slower than what you'll hear on most comps. We checked the speed on the turntable with one of those graduated mat thingies and it reads correctly. It's fairly common that recordings are speeded up on comps to give them more "snap".

Hope ya'll enjoy....

They don't compare with ya baby....

I did very well at the record convention. My funds were more limited than usual, so I zeroed in on the known $20-$70 records going for cheap. I came away with thirty 45's, average price about $7. Every one of 'em a gem.

Here's one. I never know if this record is actually hard to find, or it's just, as they say, in demand.

Hope ya'll enjoy....

[Thanks to C. for the use of his scanner. I love the black background, I'm thinking I'll switch mine at home.]

I like the way you work....

There's a good reason this song never shows up on Robert Parker collections. It's because the song's not by Robert Parker. Only sayin' because I've seen confusion about this.

The record's by R-a-y-m-o-n-d Parker. Which I guess begs the question: who's Raymond Parker?

Well, I seem to recall hearing that Raymond was Robert Parker's nephew, but truthfully, I think that was part of the same crazy dream where Lee Dorsey asked me to marry him and Irma Thomas turned out to be my long lost twin sister. In short, I don't know who Raymond Parker is, and I don't think anyone else does either. But one thing's for certain, he doesn't sound a bit like Robert Parker.

Oddly enough, this record looks to have a release number on the Sue UK label. But according to the folks who put together the comp, "The UK Sue Story!", it's unlikely the record was ever issued as there are no known existing copies on that label [they call the release a "myth", but that doesn't seem to have stopped them from including it on the comp]. Not that it matters much, it's obvious the 45 was originally released on Nola.

Sue UK was basically just a licensing agency for US releases, in fact, I don't know that there's such a thing as a true original release on Sue UK [which, if I'm correct, makes the label a strange subject for a comp].

Anyway, there are copies of the Nola pressing around, and while the record never seems to sell for very much, it's still not exactly what I'd call common. The scan is of my friend C.'s copy, I neglected to scan mine before I left home.

Oh yeah, as far as I know, this is the only release by Raymond Parker.

Hope ya'll enjoy....

I can't even remember my given name...

We're in Austin for a week or so. Just a little break, no real plans except seeing a few friends/relatives, maybe upgrading my suddenly pathetic wardrobe, and hitting the record convention.

My evil twin C. is lurking somewhere in the shadows whispering about a "holy grail" record he can supply, for a price. Too bad, I really can't afford it, and even if I could I'm not so sure he wouldn't show up and demand I name the baby "Baal" in exchange.

Speaking of which, "Daddy", aka My Boy, wants to name the baby Cindy Lou after his favorite Gene Terry song. I'm like, over-my-dead-body. Baby girl's gonna have a proper name on the birth certificate or the space for her daddy's name is gonna be filled with a very big question mark.

Mama sez so.

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This is Skip Easterling's slightly psychedelic follow-up to his good sized hit, "Hoochie Coochie Man". Lucky for ya'll, both sides are so good I can't choose between 'em. Huey Smith is at the control board...and keyboards. I believe the year is 1971.

Too Weak To Break The Chains

I'm Your Man

Don't ya be no square....

I got this record for free from a slightly off-his-nut shop owner. Ya see, I asked to play the 45, and he got furious because the grading he'd written on the sleeve [VG+] didn't exactly match up with what came out of the speakers. More than that, he clearly thought I was questioning his grading by even asking to play it in the first place.

Shoot, I didn't even notice there was anything written on the sleeve [as if that matters anyway], but suddenly it was all-my-fault, and so I was told to take the record and leave the store, now. I tried to pay, but no, I was to take the record and leave. Needless to say, I've never been back.

Too bad, it was a nice little place with reasonable prices. And since then, this record's had a little cloud hanging over it. Which I hate. Chances are I'll give it away when I find a nicer copy.

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So, is Edgar Blanchard playing guitar on this cut? I'm probably just missing an obvious reference somewhere, but I've been trying to find out who's playing guitar on the early Bo records for some time. I know it's Blanchard on "Oh Oh", but is that him on the Ace sides as well? Anyone have info to share?

Hope ya'll enjoy....

Lets get it!

Computer problem solved much sooner than I expected. I'm back in business.

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Edgar Blanchard was one of the top hot-shit guitarists in New Orleans for years and years. He arranged and played on more records than anyone will ever be able to count.

This record was originally recorded for Ace but then leased out to Joe Ruffino at Ric/Ron where it was issued in 1959. It's important because it got Blanchard a job working for Ruffino as A&R man. Other than that, you don't see the 45 all that often.

Blanchard's the guy who created the early Ric/Ron sound, not to mention being a heavy influence on much of what had been previously released on the Chess label through Paul Gayten [that's him playing on Gayten's "Driving Home"].

Hope ya'll enjoy...

Solomon Burke R.I.P. [re-up]

[Solomon Burke died this morning]

Two minutes of pure, unadulterated, brilliance.

Enjoy....

Make money money...

Oh fuck, computer problems, blah blah blah, may take a week or more, blah blah blah, God help me.

In the mean time, here's Vockah Redu bringing his very own vision of da bounce to the oh-so-needy hipsters of NYC.

'Nolia is in the house.

Keep the faith....

I'm a big fan of Eddie/Eddy Giles' output on the Murco label out of Shreveport. In the 70's, he recorded some great stuff with Wardell Quezergue for the Alarm label, even worked with Allen Toussaint at one point, but it's the Murco sides that get my attention.

Giles' first single, "Losing Boy", was a fair sized hit in 1966. It was followed by six more 45's for Murco, none of which did much in terms of sales.

Oddly enough,"While I'm Away" was released on both Giles' second and third singles for Murco. Whether or not it was meant to be the b-side on either or both is difficult to tell. Murco didn't actually designate a&b sides, so I suppose it's possible "While I'm Away" was meant to be the follow-up to "Losing Boy"......and perhaps when the follow-up didn't sell as expected, a very funky flip side was added for a quick re-release???

The two singles were issued back to back with consecutive numbers, which even for a small label like Murco makes the release of Giles' third 45 appear rushed.

In case ya'll have never been there, Shreveport is in northern Louisiana, actually much closer to Dallas than New Orleans in more ways than one. As far as I know, all recordings on the Murco label were cut in Tyler Texas, which is about half way between Shreveport and Dallas.

Eddie Giles lives in Shreveport today.

Hope ya'll enjoy...

Be somebody...

Here's the a-side of the Mckinley Sandifer 45 I posted fairly recently.....perhaps now you'll understand why it took me several months to flip the record over.

You're gonna like this one.

You got me....

Ya'll know about Joe Simon, right? He made God-only-knows-how-many records, which resulted in beaucoup trips to the charts. A total hit-maker in his day.

This record's different than most of his output. It's a groove thang. Funky in way which is awfully close to second line syncopation. I say "awfully close" because to my ears there's something not-quite-right about the beat, but I'm also not musically sophisticated enough to be able to say why that's so. Probably best just to say it doesn't sound "loose" enough to me.

Still, the groove does catch my attention. By the time side one is finished, I want to hear more. By the time the second side is half finished, I'm definitely into it.

Hope ya'll enjoy...

Part 1.

Part 2.

I got a funny feeling baby.....

There's not a lot of info around about Manuel B. Holcolm, but thanks to the Soulful Detroit forum I managed to get more than I expected.

The are only two singles credited to Holcolm [this being the easier of the two to find], both on the Diamond Jim label, but there are as many as seven other singles by the group EJ and the Echoes on which Holcomb sings. It's not known who's playing on this record, but it's clearly not the Echoes as the group had broken up by this time. Holcomb and the band were from Flint, the label was out of Detroit. The year on this monster is probably '70 or '71.

For those who would like the instrumental track, I've included the b-side as well.

I Stayed Away Too Long

Kick Out-Ins