Joe Pass...Live at Long Beach City College 1984

Definitely some excellent late night tunage for this evening, just solo guitar, very nice.........enjoy.

Live at Long Beach City College (reissued in 1998 as Blues Dues (Live at Long Beach City College)), an excellent album by Joe Pass, recorded in 1984.

Wave

Blues in G

All the things you are

Round midnight

Here's that rainy day

Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Lady Melange

Blues dues

Bluesette

Honeysuckle Rose

http://www.mediafire.com/?a9cics9g4m3znsr

Quite possibly one of the best "live" LPs ever recorded IMHO.........

Recorded live 1963 in Nashville at New Era Club.....

Something's got a hold on me

Baby what you want me to do

What'd I say

Money (that's what I want)

Seven day fool

Sweet little angel
Ooh Poo Pah Doo

Woke up this morning

Ain't that lovin' you baby

All I can do is cry

I just want to make love to you

I've been listening to live music all afternoon and evening, at the GRalley......just seemed fitting to come home and post some fave "live" stuff.......Maybe some live Joe Pass, next....:)

http://www.mediafire.com/?c4rnf78r9um7cjb

The incredible Miss Brenda Lee!! some early tunes..........

Brenda Lee........I've always loved Brenda Lee. When I was really into rockabilly in high school, I started to collect her early LPs and singles, and I've been a big fan ever since.  Her voice is so good it scares me........the hiccups, chirps and growls put me in a space between loving it, and almost being annoyed by the intensity. It almost hurts after awhile....hard to describe, but that good. I'm more of a fan of her earliest work, even with that amazing voice, I'm not a big fan of any of that overproduced "Chet Atkins-Nashvegas-era" country-pop of the mid '60s-'70s, so this set of tunes is going to be more about the early rockin' stuff. It's funny........just a little aside, here. I talk about my daughter on here a lot.  She's a singer...quite good, IMHO.  Even when she doesn't care for a particular style of music, she'll give props to the vocalist, if they have the chops.  She has frighteningly brutal criticism  for a 12 year old.  She has an amazing ability to "hear through" the BS of studio tricks, auto-tune, and over-hyped performers. We TOTALLY disagree on Miss Brenda!! She hates Brenda Lee's voice with a passion!!  LOL!! She acknowledges that BL can sing well........it's not that. She finds her voice INCREDIBLY annoying, especially on uptempo rockers. All the trademark "Brendaisms" that I find so endearing, drive her up the wall. She first expressed this at about the age of 4-5. I was playing "Bigelow 6-200", and Sarah asked me to turn it off, because it "hurt her ears". When I explained that BL was a little kid when she was singing that song, Sarah shrugged and said "don't care, don't like her, mommy". C'est la vie..........I guess BL must have that effect on some folks.........my blog....my post....LOVE HER! ;)  


Lee was born Brenda Mae Tarpley in the charity ward of Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. She weighed 4 pounds 11 ounces at birth. She attended grade schools wherever her father found work, primarily in the corridor between Atlanta and Augusta. Her family was poor, living hand-to-mouth; she shared a bed with her two siblings in a series of three-room houses without running water. Life centered on her parents' finding work, their extended family, and the Baptist Church, where she sang solos every Sunday.[2]

Lee's father, Ruben Tarpley, was the son of a farmer in Georgia's red-clay belt. Although he stood only 5 ft 7 inches, he was an excellent left-handed pitcher and spent eleven years in the US Army playing baseball. Her mother, Annie Grayce Yarbrough, had a similar background of an uneducated working class family in Greene County, Georgia.

Lee was a musical prodigy. Although her family did not have indoor plumbing until after her father's death, they had a battery-powered table radio that fascinated Brenda as a baby. By the time she was two, she could whistle the melody of songs she heard on the radio.[3] Both her mother and sister remembered taking her repeatedly to a local candy store before she turned three; one of them would stand her on the counter and she would earn candy or coins for singing.
[edit] Child performer

Lee's voice, pretty face and stage presence won her wider attention from the time she was five years old. At age six, she won a local singing contest sponsored by local elementary schools. The reward was a live appearance on an Atlanta radio show, Starmakers Revue, where she performed for the next year.

Her father died in 1953, and by the time she turned ten, she was the primary breadwinner of her family through singing at events and on local radio and television shows. In 1955, Grayce Tarpley remarried to Buell "Jay" Rainwater, who moved the family to Cincinnati, Ohio where he worked at the Jimmy Skinner Music Center. Lee performed with Skinner at the record shop on two Saturday programs broadcast over Newport, Kentucky radio station WNOP-AM. The family soon returned to Georgia, however, this time to Augusta, and Lee appeared on the show The Peach Blossom Special on WJAT-AM in Swainsboro.
[edit] National exposure and stardom

Her break into big-time show business came in February 1955, when she turned down $30 to appear on a Swainsboro radio station to see Red Foley and a touring promotional unit of his ABC-TV program Ozark Jubilee in Augusta. An Augusta DJ persuaded Foley to hear her sing before the show. Foley was as transfixed as everyone else who heard the huge voice coming from the tiny girl and immediately agreed to let her perform "Jambalaya" on stage that night, unrehearsed. Foley later recounted the moments following her introduction:
1956 publicity photo
“     I still get cold chills thinking about the first time I heard that voice. One foot started patting rhythm as though she was stomping out a prairie fire but not another muscle in that little body even as much as twitched. And when she did that trick of breaking her voice, it jarred me out of my trance enough to realize I'd forgotten to get off the stage. There I stood, after 26 years of supposedly learning how to conduct myself in front of an audience, with my mouth open two miles wide and a glassy stare in my eyes.     ”

The audience erupted in applause and refused to let her leave the stage until she had sung three more songs. On March 31, 1955, the 10-year-old made her network debut on Ozark Jubilee in Springfield, Missouri. Although her five-year contract with the show was broken by a 1957 lawsuit brought by her mother and her manager,[4] she made regular appearances on the program throughout its run.

Less than two months later—on July 30, 1956—Decca Records offered her a contract, and her first record was "Jambayala" backed with "Bigelow 6-200". Lee's second single would feature two novelty Christmas tunes: "I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus", and "Christy Christmas". Though she turned 12 on December 11, 1956, both of the first two Decca singles credit her as "Little Brenda Lee (9 Years Old)."

Neither of the 1956 releases charted, but her first issue in '57, "One Step at a Time", became a hit in both the pop and country fields. Her next hit, "Dynamite", coming out of a 4 ft 9 inch frame, led to her lifelong nickname, Little Miss Dynamite.

Lee first attracted attention performing in country music venues and shows; however, her label and management felt it best to market her exclusively as a pop artist, the result being that none of her best-known recordings from the 1960s were released to country radio, and despite her country sound, with top Nashville session people, she did not have another country hit until 1969, and "Johnny One Time".
[edit] Biggest hits: 1958-1965

Lee achieved her biggest success on the pop charts in the late 1950s through the mid-1960s with rockabilly and rock and roll-styled songs. Her biggest hits included "Jambalaya", "Sweet Nothin's" (No. 4) (written by country musician Ronnie Self), "I Want to Be Wanted" (No. 1), "All Alone Am I" (No. 3) and "Fool #1" (No. 3). She had more hits with the more pop-based songs "That's All You Gotta Do" (No. 6), "Emotions" (No. 7), "You Can Depend on Me" (No. 6), "Dum Dum" (No. 4), 1962's "Break It To Me Gently" (No. 2), "Everybody Loves Me But You" (No. 6), and "As Usual" (No. 12).

The biggest-selling track of Lee's career was a Christmas song. In 1958, when she was 13, producer Owen Bradley asked her to record a new song by Johnny Marks, who had had success writing Christmas tunes for country singers, most notably "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Gene Autry) and "A Holly, Jolly Christmas" (Burl Ives). Lee recorded the song, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", in July with a prominent twanging guitar part by Hank Garland. Decca released it as a single that November, but it sold only 5,000 copies, and did not do much better when it was released again in 1959. However, it eventually sold more than five million copies.

In 1960, she recorded her signature song, "I'm Sorry", which hit No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart. It was her first gold single and was nominated for a Grammy. Even though it was not released as a country song, it was among the first big hits to use what was to become the Nashville sound - a string orchestra and legato harmonized background vocals. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" got noticed in its third release a few months later, and sales snowballed; the song remains a perennial favorite each December and is the record with which she is most identified by contemporary audiences.

Her last top ten single on the pop charts was 1963's "Losing You" (No. 6), while she continued to have other chart songs such as her 1966 song "Coming On Strong" and "Is It True?" in 1964. The latter, featuring Jimmy Page on guitar, was her only hit single recorded in London, England and was produced by Mickie Most.
[edit] International fame

Lee was popular in the United Kingdom early in her career. She toured the UK in 1959, before she had achieved much pop recognition in the US. Her 1961 rockabilly release "Let's Jump the Broomstick" did not chart in the US, but went to No. 12 in the UK. She then had two top 10 hits in the UK that were not released as singles in her native country: "Speak To Me Pretty" peaked at No. 3 in early 1962, followed by "Here Comes That Feeling". Brenda Lee also toured in Ireland and appeared on the front of the dancing and entertainment magazine of the time there, Spotlight in April 1963. She was one of many stars to come to Ireland that year.

Lee enjoys one distinction unique among successful American singers; her opening act on a UK tour in the early 1960s was a then-little-known beat group from Liverpool, England: The Beatles.[5][6]
[edit] Later career

During the early 1970s, Lee re-established herself as a country music artist, and earned a string of top ten hits on the country charts. The first was 1973's "Nobody Wins", which reached the top five that spring and became her last Top 100 pop hit, peaking at No. 70. The follow-up, the Mark James composition "Sunday Sunrise", reached No. 6 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart that October. Other major hits included "Wrong Ideas" and "Big Four Poster Bed" (1974); and "Rock On Baby" and "He's My Rock" (both 1975).

After a few years of lesser hits, Lee began another run at the top ten with 1979's "Tell Me What It's Like". Two follow-ups also reached the Top 10 in 1980: "The Cowboy and the Dandy" and "Broken Trust" (the latter featuring vocal backing by The Oak Ridge Boys). A 1982 album, The Winning Hand, featuring Lee along with Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, was a surprise hit, reaching the top ten on the U.S. country albums chart. Her last well-known hit was 1985's "Hallelujah, I Love Her So", a duet with George Jones.
[edit] Recent years

Over the ensuing years, Lee continued to record and perform around the world, previously cutting records in four different languages. In 1992, she recorded a duet ("You’ll Never Know") with Willy DeVille on his album Loup Garou. Today, she continues to perform and tour.

On October 4, 2000, Lee inducted fellow country music legend Charley Pride into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Her autobiography, Brenda Lee: Little Miss Dynamite, was published by Hyperion in 2002 (ISBN 0-7868-6644-6).
[edit] Family

Although Lee's songs have often centered on lost loves, and although she did lose her father at a young age, her marriage to Ronnie Shacklett in 1963 has endured. He was able to deal with the notoriously rapacious music industry and is credited with ensuring her long-term financial success. They have two daughters, Jolie and Julie (who was named for Patsy Cline's daughter) and three grandchildren, Taylor, Jordan and Charley.


I think I'm gonna just focus on the early stuff this morning: uptempo, mostly....enjoy!


Break it to me gently  Decca #31348      01/08/1962
Bigelow 6-200 Decca #30050      09/17/1956
I'm sorry Decca #31093      05/30/1960
One step at a time Decca #30198      01/28/1957
That's all you gotta do Decca #31093      05/30/1960
Dynamite Decca #30333      05/27/1957
Dum dum Decca #31272      06/26/1961
Little Jonah Decca #30673      06/23/1958
Fool #1 Decca #31309      09/25/1961
Rockin' around the Christmas tree Decca #30776      11/25/1958
All alone am I  Decca #31424      09/24/1962
Bill Bailey  (........almost a typo...who knew that BL recorded Bill BIALY?? it was during a summer tour of Borsht Belt resorts...LMFAO!!) Decca #30806 01/05/1958
Sweet nothin's Decca #30967      09/28/1959
Weep no more my baby  09/28/1958 Decca #30967
Let's jump the broomstick Decca #30885      04/27/1959
I want to be wanted Decca #31149      09/19/1960
You can depend on me Decca #31231      04/03/1961
Jambalaya Decca #30050      09/17/1956
Speak to me pretty
Is it true
Emotions 01/12/1961 Decca #31195
Here comes that feeling
If you love me
It started over again
Dynamite version 2
Kansas City Decca #32330      06/03/1968
Heart in hand Decca #31407      07/02/1962
My whole world is falling down Decca #31510      07/08/1963
Sweet impossible you Decca #31539      09/23/1963
Christmas will be just another lonely day Decca #31688   10/19/1964



http://www.mediafire.com/?z24pr5dyhh43f83


I've got to run off for a few hours....I  will probably be adding some info/details to the track upon my return**

I have insomnia.....and, on that note: MORE COWBELL!!!!!

A cultural stimulus initiative??

Jean Veloz........... :D

Jean Veloz........love her. And, certainly, with no doubt.......the coolest (dare I say hottest) Octogenarian on the planet!

Fine...I'll go to bed in a minute......can't get this song out of my head

Can't help it....still love this song. I see digging out all my rockabilly and posting some stuff in the future...hmmmmm?

Coming up...a list all about......Miss Brenda Lee................

So.....like I'm lying in bed, trying to go to sleep. I have a long day slinging beers tomorrow, split between two three hour shifts, at the St. Gertrude/Edgewater Gralley (of which I plugged in a post earlier). I'm iPod-ing and reading, listening to............Miss Brenda Lee. I decided to post some stuff, tomorrow. I forgot how much I loved her as a kid, listening to some stuff my Mom had. I always thought it was weird how she was, like 12, or whatever........with that voice like some 50 year old woman who drank and smoked too much :D Anyhow..........I'm going back to bed.....thinking that I miss answering machines (not really)....just that "Bigelow 6-200" was the tune I used for years on mine. And, on that note.............Zzzzz.

If any of you are in Chicago tomorrow and want to hear great music and have a blast...

The Edgewater Gralley.........

http://www.edgewatergralley.com/


The Edgewater neighborhood comes alive for our third-annual, all-ages street festival in the heart of Chicago's North Side.  This one-day event, a recognized venue for the 2010 World Music Festival, features an exciting line-up of live music, beer gardens, food tents, a Green Pavilion featuring exhibits and ideas on how to lower your carbon footprint, a raffle and silent auction and, last but not least, a Kid's Corner featuring fun games and other exciting child-related activities.  In other words, plenty of entertainment for adults and children, both day and night, all executed responsibly, with an eye towards low environmental impact. 


The event is produced by St. Gertrude's Parish in the Edgewater Community.  Funds will be used for community-wide programming and neighborhood-enhancing facility updates.

If you're in town, come hear some great bands, maybe I'll be one of the folks pouring your beer :)

Some more pics gleaned from the www......then goodnight 2 all...long day tomorrow

Hmmm....the kid's in a ballroom dance class at school, learning the Jitterbug.....

The long, tall drink O' water in the middle is my 12 yr old.....6th grade has a dance expo in November. Sarah is learning the Jitterbug and tango (that's the great thing about Catholic school, ballroom dance classes being forced on a young pre-teen.........you just don't get that kinda torture in public schools...lol). Anyhow, everything leads to an idea for a list on Planetbarberella..............I thought.......hmmmm.........what would I play if I got to pick the music for the dancers.......5 minutes later....here's the result. Whatever.........something to do :) enjoy! (Hell, I'd dance to it!!)

Walter Dobschinski und seine Swing Band-Dob's Boogie

Stray Cats-Look at that Cadillac

Woody Herman-Woodchoppers ball

Bill Haley-Rock this joint

Louis Jordan-Caldonia

Sam Butera-Bim Bam

Peggy Lee & Benny Goodman-Shady lady bird

Gene Krupa w/ Anita O'Day-Watch the birdie

Jimmy McCracklin-Blues blasters boogie

Jimmy Lunceford-Chocolate

Lisa Stansfield-Blitzkrieg baby

Roy Brown-Shake 'em up baby

Buddy Johnson & His Orchestra-Shufflin' And Rollin'

Johnny Otis & His Orchestra/Billy Robbins-Bring Her Back to Me

Tommy Dorsey Orch-Opus One
Andy Kirk & The 12 Clouds of Joy-Steppin' pretty

Artie Shaw-Let 'er go

Blanche Calloway and her Joy Boys-Line-a-jive

Jackie Wilson-Baby workout

The Shadows-Jitterbug special

http://www.mediafire.com/?86631c6yn825n8v

Just had a comment to make on these '50s R&B posts.........

 Mom...(during the time my dad was in Korea, just after she finished at MSU and got married...maybe about '57-'58)


When I'm posting all these '50s R&B posts, I'm always thinking of my mom, when I was a kid. My dad was always wanting me to listen to his music....I didn't care for it much, back then. He was always "listen to that.....that's Ralph Flanagan...blah, blah, blah". He was REALLY into the bands.....strictly '30s-'40s big bands. He played trumpet for years, and when he'd had several scotch and sodas....his idea of fun was to make you sit and listen with him. Not so cool for a pre-teen who'd really rather be listening to Leif Garrett, or the Bay City Rollers....(fine, I'll admit that...it was the '70s........life changed when I started listening seriously to the Beatles in 8th grade....by high school I was into old rockabilly and country, and progressed/regressed on back farther since then).

But, I digress..........My mom. She was a great dancer...loved music. Yeah, she listened with, and enjoyed the bands my dad liked........But her 78s........wow. She liked a "hot saxophone" (her words), music to swing to...danceable stuff. In hindsight, she had great taste....Billy Ward and the Dominoes, Ruth Brown...I heard a lot of that as a kid. Learned a decent Jitter Bug from her, too. I post this stuff and think of her ironing clothes in the kitchen, humming along to, and dancing a bit to all that great music coming out of the big blond Zenith Hi-Fi in our living room. Thanks, Mom......... :)  (Yeah, Dad......about Ralph Flanagan, Gene Krupa and all that.........ok, it worked. I have a drink, listen to that stuff and rave over the solos, too.........)

Dad........(in Korea, about '57-'58)

Time to ROCK! Tiny Bradshaw

 Tiny Bradshaw

Myron C. ("Tiny") Bradshaw (September 23, 1905 – November 26, 1958) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues bandleader, singer, composer, pianist, and drummer from Youngstown, Ohio

After graduating from Wilberforce University with a degree in psychology, Bradshaw turned to music for a living.  In Ohio, he sang with Horace Henderson's campus oriented Collegians. Then, in 1932, Bradshaw relocated to New York City, where he drummed for Marion Hardy, the Charleston Bearcats (later the Savoy Bearcats), and the Mills Blue Rhythm Band, and sang for Luis Russell.

In 1934, Bradshaw formed his own swing orchestra, which recorded eight sides that year. The band's next recording date was in 1944, at which point its music was closer to rhythm and blues. The band recorded extensively for the rhythm and blues market, especially between 1950 and 1954.

Bradshaw's best known recording was "Train Kept A-Rollin'" (1951), which passed from rhythm and blues into rock.  The song was recorded by Johnny Burnette in 1956 and The Yardbirds in 1965. It was covered again by Aerosmith in 1974 and by Motörhead in 1978.

Bradshaw's later career was hampered by severe health problems, including two strokes that left him partially paralyzed. His 1958 recording, "Bushes", proved an unsuccessful attempt to reach out to the emerging teenage market. Weakened by the successive strokes as well as the rigors of his profession, Bradshaw died in his adopted hometown of Cincinnati from another stroke in 1958.  He was 53 years old.

Bradshaw is remembered for a string of rhythm and blues hits, including "Well Oh Well", "Breaking Up the House", and "Soft". As a bandleader, he was an invaluable mentor to important musicians and arrangers including Shad Collins, Gil Fuller, Gigi Gryce, Russell Procope, Red Prysock, Sonny Stitt, and Shadow Wilson

From: http://home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/TinyBrad.html

Brad's Blues : Tiny Bradshawc2000JCMarion Tiny Bradshaw, bandleader, vocalist, arranger, and producer of many talented R & B musicians was born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1905. Deciding to make music as his life's profession he organized his first small band in Ohio in 1933. Along the way his band has been the incubator for such accomplished sax men in the jazz and R & B field as Sonny Stitt, Red Prysock, and Sil Austin. Vocalists along the way for Bradshaw have included Arthur Prysock, Tiny Kennedy, Lonnie Johnson, and Roy Brown. By the late 1940s Bradshaw shifted his musical direction away from jazz tinged tunes to the more rhythmic sound of Rhythm & Blues. By late 1949 he was attracting attention to the music of his small group and they were signed to the well known R & B independent label King Records of Cincinnati.

In January of 1950 King released the first Bradshaw single on #4337 - "Gravy Train" / "Tear Drops". The record was given a good amount of airplay and it spread the message of the arrival of the Tiny Bradshaw combo on the scene. By April of that year Bradshaw had recorded his breakthrough record on King# 4357 - "Well Oh Well". The flip side was "I Hate You". Almost immediately "Well Oh Well" gets huge sales in Southern California, and spreads like wildfire across the country. In a short time it is a huge national hit. As a kind of R & B version of the pop tune "Don't Fence Me In", it attracts huge numbers of listeners including many White buyers not usually inclined to rhythm record purchases. On the strength of the record Bradshaw and his band went on tour across the country playing the major theaters such as the regal in Chicago, the Howard in D.C., and the Apollo in New York. An appearance at Carr's Beach Pavilion in Annapolis follows. During this time Tiny Bradshaw puts in almost a year as the house band at the Cotton Club in his adopted home town of Cincinnati.

In August King #4376 is released - "Boodie Green" and "After You've Gone". By November "Well Oh Well" is still a big seller and remains in the top ten in both Chicago and Detroit. In October #4397 - "Gonna Have Myself A Ball" and "Butterfly" is out. In December King #4417 is issued - "Breaking Up The House" and "If You Don't Love Me Tell Me So" vocal by Tiny Bradshaw and Mary Lou Green. In 1951 Bradshaw ventured away from his Cincinnati base every so often on short tours while the King recordings kept on coming. In February "Walk That Mess" and "One Two Three Kick Blues" voc by Dorena Dean. In May #4447 - "Brad's Blues" and "Two Dry Bones On The Pantry Shelf". In June King #4457 is released - "Brad's Boogie" and "Walking The Chalk Line". The band spent a great part of the summer doing club dates in Buffalo, New York. There were two more King records in 1951 - #4467 - "T-99" and "Long Time Baby"; and #4487 - "I'm A High Ballin' Daddy" and "You Come By".

The first Bradshaw release of 1952 is #4497 - "Knockin' Blues" and "Train Kept A-Rollin". The 'A' side "Train"was a decent seller for King, but the song itself has an important history as one of the cornerstones of rock history. It was recorded three years later by the Rock & Roll Trio featuring Johnny Burnette which defined the rockabilly sound (outside of Elvis) which dominated music in the late fifties. The Burnette version of Bradshaw's tune is also cited by music historians as the first use of the fuzztone distortion technique on the electric guitar. Later that spring Bradshaw joined B.B. King and Tab Smith for a series of shows at the Howard Theater in Washington D.C. In April King #4537 features "Mailman's Sack" and "Newspaper Boy Blues" with vocal by Tiny Kennedy and features Calvin "Eagle Eye" Shields. Tiny Kennedy vocalizes on the next release - "Rippin' And Runnin'". The flip of King #4547 is "Lay It On The Line". Kennedy and female vocalist Mabel Scott become permanent members of the Bradshaw band and embark on a national tour of one nighters in September. In November #4577 - "Soft" and "Strange" was released. "Soft" starts to break out in Texas and the Southwest by the end of the year.

Tiny Bradshaw began 1953 with a week long stand at the Apollo Theater in New York on the bill with headliner Ruth Brown, and the Milt Buckner Trio. "Soft" hits number one in home town Cincinnati and still sells well across the country. Bradshaw goes on the road again, this time with vocalist Wini Brown. In April King #4621 - "The Blues Came Pouring Down " and "Heavy Juice". During the summer Tiny Bradshaw plays a big time show at the Graystone Ballroom in Detroit. On the bill with Bradshaw were Billie Holiday, Charlie Ventura, and Roy Milton & his Solid Senders. In late summer "Off And On" and "Free For All" are released on King #4647. Soon "Free For All" starts selling big in the Midwest and Philadelphia. In October Bradshaw is part of the World Series of the Blues show that tours the West coast. Included on the bill along with Tiny are Sonny Thompson, Little Willie Littlefield, Roy Milton, Lula Reed, and Camille Howard. The latest release from King is "South Of The Orient" and "Later" on #4664. By November the record shows good sales in the Midwest and Pittsburgh. King Records closes out the year for Bradshaw with #4687 - "Powder Puff" and "Ping Pong".

In 1954, the tune "Ping Pong" becomes a signature tune of tenor sax man Sil Austin,who was part of the Bradshaw band. Tiny Bradshaw and his band with vocalist Tiny Kennedy play New York's Apollo Theater in March. In April another tenor sax man with the band, Red Prysock, leaves to sign with Mercury Records to record under his own name. He had played on the big hit "Soft" and "Heavy Juice" with Bradshaw. In April the band tours the Pacific Northwest and the next month heads to the mid Atlantic for play dates at VMI in Virginia, then to Philadelphia and Cleveland. In May #4713 - "Overflow" and "Don't Worry About Me" is released by King. In June Tiny and his band play a big show with Alan Freed in Cleveland along with Ruth Brown and The Clovers. Sil Austin known as "Mister Ping Pong" decides to leave Bradshaw and go out on his own. "Spider Web" and "The Gypsy" are released in June on #4727. In July Bradshaw heads back to the West coast for a tour of Northern California with Dinah Washington. The tour winds up at the 10th Annual Disc Jockey Awards Ball at the Elks Club in Los Angeles.

In September the band is back on the East coast this time, as King #4747 "Cat Fruit" and "Stocks Of Dollars" is out. On November 8 Bradshaw is felled by a stroke which is originally reported to be fatal. This was the second stroke suffered by Tiny, and he is reported to be paralyzed from the waist down. He is in a Florida hospital hoping to begin recovering from this medical setback. The following February in 1955 King releases #4777 - "Cat Nap" and "Stomping Room Only" from a previous session. During the next two years, Tiny Bradshaw recovers from the effects of the stroke slowly and by October returns to lead his band and starting slowly on doing tours and playing dates. In February of 1958, Tiny Bradshaw has his first record in two years for King #5114 - a flute led instrumental called "Bushes" and a cover of the Royal Teens "Short Shorts". The record was lost in the shuffle as his attempt to reach the teenage market failed. Before he could try a new direction, weakened by his health problems over the past two years, Tiny Bradshaw passed away in his home town of Cincinnati. He was 53 years of age.

Tiny Bradshaw was an original performer during the great days of Rhythm & Blues. He will always be remembered for the monster hits "Well Oh Well" and "Soft" as well as the wealth of talent that was a part of his small band for so many years. Seek out his recordings saved for posterity and you will hear the origins of rock 'n roll.

Some tunage for you:

Soft King #4577 1952
Walk That Mess 1951
Bradshaw Boogie 1951
Off And On King #4647 1953
T-99  King #4467 1951
Breaking Up The House King #4417 1951
Free For All #4647 1953
Well Oh Well King #4357 1950
Choice 1954
The Train Kept A-Rollin' King #4497 1952
Bushes King #5114 1958
Cat fruit King #4747 1954
Straighten up and Fly Right 1944 Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra/Tiny Bradshaw
Stacks Of Dollars King #4747 1954
Stomping Room Only King#4777 1955
Gravy train King #4337 1950
Later 1955
Newspaper boy blues King #4537 1952 vocal by Tiny Kennedy and features Calvin "Eagle Eye" Shields
Powder puff King  #4687 1953
I'm going to have myself a ball King $4397 1950
South of the Orient King #4664 1953
Long time baby King #4467 1951
Oh! babe 1950 w/ Wynonie Harris
Bradshaw bounce 1944
Light 1955
Mailman's sack King #4537 1952
Ping pong 1954
The blues came pouring down 1953
Come on 1955
Heavy juice King #4621 1953
Cat nap King #4777 1955
I'm a high ballin' daddy King #4487 1951
I've been around 1947
These things are love 1947



Hey You!!   KEEP SWINGING!!! :) Happy Weekend, all!!


http://www.mediafire.com/?usvwhq8q3se3de3

It's Friday afternoon, and I do believe it's time to rock a bit.........comin' up.....Tiny Bradshaw!

My other obsessions....vintage barbering and hair...

I was a barber for many years, hence the blog title, PlanetBARBERella. I collect vintage barber and beauty supplies and tools, ephemera, and other memorabilia.  Here are some examples:

Annie Laurie...no, not the Scottish folk song, not Lillian Gish in a D.W. Griffith silent......

Annie Laurie......not too easy to find bio info on this longtime favourite of mine. Most people know her as the vocalist with the great New Orleans band of Paul Gayten. I got to thinking of her last night, after I posted a list of some of Kay Starr's tunes. As you now know, one of my all time favourite songs is the Kay/Tenn. Enrie Ford duet of "I'll never be free".  Well, Annie Laurie and Paul Gayten recorded a pretty swell version of it, too, which I am including in this list.  Here is an interesting little blurb about her that I found with a posting of her songs on The Super Soul Sisters blog (sadly, he is no longer posting...but there is excellent stuff there to be heard, still). http://supersoulsisters.blogspot.com He credits this info about Annie to www.answers.com :

"The Bonny Banks of Loch Lomond" are not the only place to find an Annie Laurie. If the New Orleans' music scene and the early days of doo wop and rhythm and blues are more to a listener's taste than folk from the British Isles, then the Annie Laurie of choice would be the female vocalist who made her recording debut in the mid-'40s and later enjoyed a string of hits including a cover version of "Since I Fell for You," created with the Paul Gayten band. Laurie's influence on her fellow singers seems to run hot and cold, ranging from the often-repeated rumor that she was Dinah Washington's favorite to the following, much cooler appraisal from Irma Thomas: "Annie Laurie? She was okay."

Laurie first chimed in professionally within territory bands helmed by leaders such as Snookum Russell and Dallas Bartley. The singer established her knack for personable cover versions with her very first side, W.C. Handy's famed "St. Louis Blues," cut in 1945 with the Bartley outfit. Shortly after that she arrived in New Orleans and was hired by Gayten, whose activities in the music business included working as a bandleader, producer, and label owner. As a performer he had his own string of hit records for the Regal and DeLuxe outfits between 1947 and 1950, some of which featured vocal performances by Laurie.

Gayten's knack may have been matching up available song material for cover versions with the various singers he was affiliated with. For Laurie, this included the previously mentioned "Since I Fell for You," which had been a blockbuster for Buddy Johnson and has endured dozens of powerhouse cover versions, as well as a less than liberating "I'll Never Be Free," originally associated with Lucky Millinder. Regal had done well with Laurie, but when the crown toppled off that label's head in 1951, the singer began working as a soloist on the newly reorganized Okeh imprint, moving over to Savoy by the middle of that decade. In the late '50s, she returned to the DeLuxe outfit, moaning through her biggest hit ever in 1957, "It Hurts to Be in Love." She was in the studios for the Ritz label in the early '60s, but began devoting herself entirely to church music just in time to miss the rock & roll invasion." ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi

Here is a little info on Paul Gayten (from: http://home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/PGayten.html )

Paul Gayten- Rockin'In The Crescent City©JCMarion: Paul Gayten, another in a long line of talented pianists in New Orleans rhythm & blues, was a nephew of blues-piano legend Little Brother Montgomery. He started out in music in 1938 with a local combo in his home town of New Orleans. After his discharge from the military he began to get good notices in 1946 and was signed by the new Jersey based De Luxe label. His first big national hit record was the 1947 classic version of "Since I Fell For You" featuring his long time vocalist Annie Laurie on DeLuxe #1082. Gayten wrote Larry Darnell's 1949 classic "For You My Love". He opened the year of 1950 with Regal (another New Jersey label) on #3234 - "Fish Tail" / "Confused" and followed that up with "Cook's Tour" and "You Shouldn't" on Regal #3245. In March Annie Laurie does the vocal on "You Ought To Know" and the flip side is "I'll Never Be Free" on #3458. During May and June new singer Sammy Cotten does some dates on the road with the band and Gayten is impressed enough to sign Cotten on as a featured vocalist.

In June of that year the new lineup for the band is : Gayten on piano and vocals; Frank Campbell on tenor sax; Hank Mobley (who would go on to a distinguished career as a jazz instrumentalist) on tenor sax; Lindsey Nelson on trumpet; Lorenzo Gaines on bass; and Sam Woodward on drums. In June Regal #3273 - "I Need Your Love" and "I Ain't Gonna Let You In" voc-Annie Laurie is released. Vocalists Laurie and Cotten tour with Gayten throughout the summer. The Paul Gayten orchestra back up new label signees The Coleman Brothers on their recording of "Goodnight Irene" on #3281. In late September the latest release by Gayten is #3300 - "Now That You're Gone" with an Annie Laurie vocal is out and does well immediately. #3302 - "I'm So Crazy For Love" and "If You've Got The Money Honey" is released late in the year as the band ends 1950 with an extended appearance at The Showboat in Philadelphia with Jimmy Scott.

In early 1952 the Regal Record company announces that Gayten is the second biggest seller on their label after Larry Darnell. That spring the label puts together a touring package to hit the R & B one nighter circuit that will feature some of their top acts. Along with Gayten and his band with Annie Laurie and Sammy Cotten, are Chubby Newsome and Jimmy Scott. The Gayten band becomes the opening attraction at a new R & B night spot in Baltimore called Gamby's. With him on the bill is vocalist Earl Williams. Regal #3320 is released - "You Don't Know" and "Hey Little Girl". This is followed by #3329 - "Baby I'm All Alone" and "Little Girl". The similarity of titles of the last two releases causes some confusion among record buyers. In a surprise move late in the year, the Regal Record Company sells off all its assets. Gayten, Annie Laurie, Sammy Cotten, and new singer Titus Turner all move to Columbia Records where they will record on the affiliated label Okeh. The first release on Okeh by Gayten is out in December. It couples "All Alone And Lonely" and "Lonesome For My Baby" with vocals by Gayten and newcomer Carmen Mendez on #6847. This is the first record by Paul Gayten that is available in the 45 rpm format.

In late January of 1952 the Gayten Orchestra hits the road with The Dominos for a series of one nighters beginning in Washington D.C. After the tour Okeh releases #6870 - "Happy Days" / "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Love". In September Okeh pairs Gayten with the Kelly Owens Orchestra on # 6908 - "They All Ask For You" and "True". Soon after New Year's of 1953, Okeh's newest Paul Gayten recording is out. It is #6934 - "Don't Worry Me" and "Yes You Do, Yes You Do". Gayten scores big in the annual Pittsburgh Courier poll finishing second behind the Ray-O-Vacs as the best small combo in the R & B field. In May Okeh # 6972 features "Time Is A-Passing" and "It Ain't Nothing Happening", and later in the year the label tries again with "Cow Cow Blues" and "Ooh Boo" on #6982.

Gayten continues to write arrange and perform on stage through the year. His records are not big sellers but he has been a force in the R & B field for many years that he is a 'name' performer that keeps his fame alive. Okeh #7019 is out in February and is "Mule Face" and "It's Over", which the people at Columbia took as a sign as they do not renew Gayten who now drifts to Chicago and Chess Records. His first recording for Chess is in the fall of the year and it is released on #801 - "I'm Tired" and "Get It". In April of 1956 Gayten has been moved to the Checker label and release #836 features "You'd Better Believe It" and "Mother Roux". This record goes nowhere and Gayten is moved again within the Chess company to their new label Marterry. The plans are to record a new singer Patience Valentine with the Gayten band. Before the recording session is complete, the Chess company changes the name of Marterry to Argo and Gayten finishes his session by doing a jump blues version of the swing era standard "The Music Goes Round And Round". The flip side is "Be My Baby" on Argo #5257. The jump side "Music" is a huge hit, the biggest for Gayten in almost a decade and a fitting swan song as he is planning to quit performing. Because of the surprising success of the driving New Orleans styled version of the tune, Okeh now re-releases Gayten's recording of "Cow Cow Blues" on #7068. But the public doesn't bite, and "Music" spurred on by Alan Freed's support, and the huge popularity of the record as a top dance number, brings a whole new audience to the R & B veteran and he enjoys his ride to the top once again.

In February of 1957 Paul gayten records "Driving Home" parts 1 and 2" on Argo #5263. That summer Gayten's band records "Flat Foot Sam" and "Nervous Boogie" with vocals by Oscar Wills on Argo #5277. Paul closes out the year with "Tough Enough on Checker #880 (the flip side is "Ol man River" by The Tuneweavers vocal group). By 1958 he was still at it with some sales for Argo #5300 "Windy". The flip side is "Tickle Toe", another instrumental. Paul Gayten saw the direction that the music was taking and decided to curtail his career as a performer and concentrate on the business end of the musical scene. He began that part of his life with Chess records who gave him a position as an A & R man in the South and also worked for the label in promotion in South and East. He still found time to perform as with Fats Domino in South Carolina and Georgia in February. In October he recorded a side for the Detroit independent label Anna Records started by former auto worker Berry Gordy on the tune "The Hunch" on #1106. The flip side was the song "Hot Cross Buns". The tune sells well for the long time pianist and composer. Later on he founded his own record label called Pzazz, and recorded various musical performers over the years. Paul Gayten - a New Orleans original and one of many who did not share in the rewards of the rock and roll explosion as he should have, but one who went out with one last ride to the top.
 

I'm gonna list what I have by her, today...which is a fair amount, gathered from a few  places over the years (Oh,and yeah....of course I'm including "I'll never be free".....that tune was what inspired me to post this in the first place.....lol)

Here's what I've got:

It must be you
It hurts to be in love
Hold On To What You Got
Hand in hand
Since I fell for you
Nobody's gonna hurt you
Rockin' and rollin' again
We found love
You promised love
You're the only one for me
I feel so right tonight
It's gonna come out in the wash someday
Cryin' sighin' dyin'
You belong to me
Please honey don't go
Stop talkin' and start walkin'
I'm a slave to you
Lonesome and blue
Not wanted
Give me half a chance
Love is a funny thing
If you're lonely
What a difference a day makes
Lost love
Unforgettable
Until the real thing comes along
B flat blues
No regrets
I'll never be free w/ Paul Gayten
Get me some money
Worried man
Feeling the need
Roll 'em
In the mood for you
For you baby blues (part 1&2)
Cuttin' out
I still love you w/ Paul Gayten
Out of my mind
One sweet letter from you  
It's been a long time
Someday someway
I ain't gonna let you in
Rough and ready man
Time out for tears
Annie's blues
99 guys w/ the Maples  
St. Louis blues w/ Dallas Bartley And The Band
 
Sorry, I don't really have much detail for these recording dates, there is varied bit rate and quality, also. many of these come from an audio file given to me about a year ago by a friend.....it's a good jumping off point for listening to more of her, and Paul Gayten's work. Several compilations are available.........go searching for them. Very enjoyable stuff.

http://www.mediafire.com/?tu2odcti15839qg

Hey, I'm loving you guys! Thanks for the continued interest in what I'm posting and all the comments! Please make some requests.......I'd love that. If I don't have it......I can usually find it quickly :)