Trini Lopez – The Folk Album (1965)

Trini Lopez (born Trinidad López III, 15 May 1937) is an American singer, guitarist and actor. He was born in Dallas, Texas, on Ashland Street in the Little Mexico neighborhood….Lopez formed his first band in Wichita Falls, Texas, at the age of 15. In 1958, at the recommendation of Buddy Holly, Trini and his group “The Big Beats” went to producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico. Petty secured them to a contract with Columbia Records, which released the single “Clark’s Expedition”/”Big Boy”, both instrumental. Lopez left the group and made his first solo recording, his own composition “The Right To Rock”, for the Dallas-based Volk Records, and then signed with King Records in 1959, recording more than a dozen singles for that label, none of which charted. In late 1962, after the King contract expired, Lopez followed up on an offer by producer Snuff Garrett to join the post-Holly Crickets as vocalist. After a couple of weeks of auditions in Los Angeles that idea did not go through. He landed a steady engagement at the nightclub PJ’s, where his audience grew quickly. He was heard there by Frank Sinatra, who had started his own label, Reprise Records, and who subsequently signed Lopez”. (by wikipedia)

And, his success was trailblazing for Mexican Americans. His success carries a social significance that other pop stars don’t have.

And here´s his very special “Folk Album” … performed in the very special way of Trini Lopez (for exampled, he arranged Dylan´s “Blowing In The Wind” as a “La Bamba” type of song) … a unique album … with lot´s of these folk hits from this decade !

Personnel:
Don Costa (guitar)
Trini Lopez (guitar, vocals)
Gene Riggio (drums)
David Shriver (bass)
+
unknown background choir

Tracklist:
01. Lemon Tree (Holt) 2.55
02. Pretty Eyes (Weinstein/Randazzo) 2.48
03. Greenback Dollar (Axton/Ramsey) 2.26
04. Puff (The Magic Dragon) (Lipton/Yarrow) 2.33
05. I Love Your Beautiful Brown Eyes (Zeller/Lopez) 2.54
06. Blowin’ In The Wind (Dylan) 3.13
07. We’ll Sing In The Sunshine (Garnett) 2.44
08. Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair) (Danzig/Segal) 3.33
09. Crooked Little Man (Bowers/Sennett/Madden) 2.30
10. Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright (Dylan) 3.36
11. Michael (Rowed The Boat Ashore) (Fisher) 2.56
12. This Train (Stookey/Yarrow) 2.34

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Rocket 88 – Same (1981)

Rocket 88 is the name of a United Kingdom-based boogie-woogie band formed in the late 1970s by Ian “Stu” Stewart, Charlie Watts, Alexis Korner and Dick Morrissey.

The band is named after the 1948 Pete Johnson instrumental “Rocket 88 Boogie” and is also the title of their 1981 live album, recorded by the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. The first known use of the phrase “Rocket 88” was for the Oldsmobile Rocket 88 car introduced by General Motors in 1949.

The continuation of an ad hoc band formed by Stewart, Watts and Bob Hall, George Green, Colin Smith, John Picard, the band featured many top British musicians, who would meet up when possible during the late 1970s and early 1980s for what was an ongoing jam session. Other “regular” members of the band included the above-mentioned founding members, plus Jack Bruce, Danny Adler, Don Weller, Colin Hodgkinson, Zoot Money, Chris Farlowe, Hal Singer, Mickey Waller, Pete York, Dave Markee, Harvey Weston, Charlie Hart, Willie Garnett and Malcolm Everson.

The band recorded a live album, Rocket 88 at the Rotation Club, Hanover, while on tour in Germany, in November 1979. It was released in March 1981 on the Atlantic Records label (SD 19293). Ian Stewart wrote the sleeve notes on the back cover of the album, giving not a brief history of both the band, boogie-woogie, and rock and roll.

Rocket 88 is an album recorded live in Germany in 1981 by the boogie-woogie band Rocket 88. The band had a casual line-up, and founder/producer/band-member Ian Stewart in his liner notes makes reference to the other “permanent” band-members who were not present for that particular recording. Although it is rumoured that there are numerous bootleg live takes from other concerts, it is the band’s only officially released album. It was recorded using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. (by wikipedia)

What a night … including a fantastic version of the Jack Bruce song “Waiting For The Call ” … what a line-up ! … More rare recordings by Rocket 88 will come !

Recorded live at the Rotation Club, Hanover, Germany, November 1979

Personnel:
Jack Bruce (bass, vocals on 02.)
George Green (piano)
Bob Hall (piano)
Alexis Korner (guitar, vocals on 04. – 07.)
John Picard (trombone)
Hal ‘cornbread’ Singer (saxophone)
Colin Smith (trumpet)
Charlie Watts (drums)
Don Weller (saxophone)
+
Ian Stewart (piano on 05.)

Tracklist:
01. Rocket 88 (Pete Johnson) 7.29
02. Waiting For The Call (Jack Bruce/Peter Brown) 10.19
03. St. Louis Blues (W.C.Handy) 7.56
04. Roll Em’ Pete (Johnson/Turner) 5.53
05. Swindon Swing (Smith) 7.34
06. Roadhouse Boogie (Johnson) 7.19
07. Talking About Louise (Korner) 5.15

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**

And here are the original inernotes, written by Ian Stewart:

Anyone reading the line-up of musicians on this album would be forgiven for thinking that this is yet another jazz-rock fusion. It is, in fact, a straight-forward, mainly instrumental blues album with boogie woogie as its foundation.

My first love, musically speaking, was the sound of boogie woogie piano. Although I first heard it practiced on commercial records by the white swing bands of the Forties, I soon discovered Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson; and to this day I still find Ammons’ Blue Note recordings and the Ammons/Johnson duets very moving. From that point it was a natural progression to the records of Ammons and Johnson backing Joe Turner, Sippie Wallace and others; the Bluebird label recordings of Bob Call and Big Maceo (the latter in my opinion the only player to rank with Ammons); Milt Buckner with the unbelievable Lionel Hampton (in the late Forties); the bands of New Orleans pianists Fats Domino and Amos Milburn; Sammy Price backing blues and gospel artists for U.S.Decca; and the great R&B artists of the Fifties, such as Wynonie Harris and Louis Jordan – in whose bands the pianos played eight to the bar and the saxes ruled. I dreamt of one day organizing a band with these influences.

When I first met Brian Jones in 1961, he said that he wanted to form a rhythm & blue band; and I had hoped that he had a Wynonie Harris sort of things in mind. I was a little disappointed at the time that his idea of R&B was Slim Harpo, Jimmy Reed and Muddy Waters – styles that did not always leave too much space for pianos and tenor sax.

The idea of a boogie woogie bands was forgotten until 1978, when some of England’s best musicians celebrated the 50th anniversary of boogie woogie, a term which had first appeared on a record label in 1928 (“Pinetops’ Boogie Woogie”). The first concert was largely instrumental, but was successful; and the formula was repeated, while giving more freedom to the horns and introducing vocals from Alexis Korner – and later from Danny Adler and others. Working by necessity from a pool of musicians, we arrived at Rocket88, a band with the best horn players in Europe, a very powerful rhythm section, and the only boogie woogie piano team in the world.

Of the musicians on this record, Messrs. Korner, Jack Bruce and Charlie Watts should need no introduction. In the early Sixties, they were the power behind Alexis’ Blues Incorporated, a band which was a catalyst for a musical revolution. When John Picard was asked how Colin Smith, Don Weller and he should be described on a sleeve note, he jokingly said “British Jazz Legends,” but this really sums it up rather well. They have been around for years, have huge sounds, are great blues players, and are, above all, powerful swingers. George Green, like Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammons before him, is a taxi driver. Bob Hall is a patent attorney, but over years he has had much playing experience: with Chicken Shack, Savoy Brown, and backing nearly every American blues artist to play in Britain – including Little Walter and Howlin’ Wolf. Which brings us to Hal “Cornbread” Singer, one of the innovators of the honking tenor sax style. Hal had a hit record with “Cornbread” in the late Forties and made a series of records for Savoy in the Forties and Fifties. He was a session tenor player for the King and Deluxe labels and is the tenor player on Wynonie Harris’ “Good Rockin’ Tonight.” Hal has recorded or been on the road with Brownie McGhee, Ray Charles, Lowell Fousen, H-Bomb Ferguson and Joe Turner. More recently he has been living in Paris and playing all over Europe.

Of the titles on this album, “Roadhouse Boogie” and “Rocet88” are both Pete Johnson numbers from 1949, originally recorded for the Swingtime label. The latter (not to be confused with the Jacky Brenston/Ike Turner hit) is probably still available on the Arhoolie Joe Turner album. “Roadhouse Boogie” appeared on a European Polydor album under Lloyd Glenn’s name. “St. Louis Blues” follows the Albert Ammons Mercury arrangements; Hal Singer takes the first tenor sax solo. “Swindon Swing” is a Colin Smith original; Don Weller takes the first tenor sax solo and Hal Singer takes the second. On “Rocket88” the tenor sax solo is Don Weller all the way. The tenor on “Roll ‘Em Pete” is Hal Singer. Jack Bruce’s “Waiting For The Call” is a song from his “How’s Tricks?” album.

This album was recorded under less than ideal conditions at the Rotation Club in Hanover, West Germany – where the stage is 20 feet above the floor and most people watch from the sides. For some reason, the band was on fire that night, despite a long bus ride and the odd hangover or two. Although acoustically the club left much to be desired, I feel we have achieved one of the best live albums ever, with the sort of feeling that is never achieved in studios. Jack Bruce in particular played his ass off; and by the time “Roll ‘Em Pete” ended the set, his fingers were bleeding profusely from playing double bass – something he has only rarely done in recent years. Although the album was recorded on 24 tracks, there are no instrumental overdubs. Everything is as it was on that night, and the editing scissors were only used on one number so that we could have four tracks on side two.

As mentioned earlier, this has to be an occasional band formed from a pool of players, as nearly everybody involved is a leader or permanent member of another group. So I would like to take the opportunity to thank some of the other musicians who have been, and hopefully will be again, involved in Rocket88: drummers Mickey Waller and Pete York; bassists David Green, Colin Hodgkinson, David Markee, Harvey Weston and Charlie Hart; saxophonists Dick Morrissey, Willy Garnett and Malcom Everson; the mighty voice of Chris Farlowe and last but not least, Cincinati’s own Danny Adler. Thanks to Karston Jahncke and Dell Taylor, who organized the Hanover trip, and also to Arnold Dunn, Peter Stevens and Mick McKenna with the Stones Mobile – who recorded many Rocket88 gigs, usually in pouring rain, before they got the right one.

 

Marty Balin – Balin (1981)

Marty Balin (born Martyn Jerel Buchwald; January 30, 1942 – September 27, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known as the founder and one of the lead singers and songwriters of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.

Balin was born Martyn Jerel Buchwald in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Catherine Eugenia “Jean” (née Talbot) and Joseph Buchwald. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Eastern Europe. His father was Jewish and his mother was Episcopalian. Buchwald attended Washington High School in San Francisco, California.

In 1962, Buchwald changed his name to Marty Balin, and began recording with Challenge Records, releasing the singles “Nobody But You” and “I Specialize in Love”. By 1964, Balin was leading a folk music quartet called The Town Criers.

Balin was the primary founder of Jefferson Airplane, which he “launched” from a restaurant-turned-club he created and named the Matrix, and was also one of its lead vocalists and songwriters from 1965 to 1971. In the group’s famous 1966–1971 iteration, Balin served as co-lead vocalist alongside Grace Slick and rhythm guitarist Paul Kantner.

While his output diminished after Surrealistic Pillow (1967) as Slick, Kantner, and lead guitarist Jorma Kaukonen matured as songwriters (a process compounded by Balin’s eschewal of the group’s burgeoning “ego trips”), his most enduring songwriting contributions—which were often imbued with a romantic, pop-oriented lilt that was atypical of the band’s characteristic forays into psychedelic rock—include “Comin’ Back to Me” (a folk rock ballad later covered by Ritchie Havens and Rickie Lee Jones), “Today” (a collaboration with Kantner initially written on spec for Tony Bennett that was prominently covered by Tom Scott), and again with Kantner, the topical 1969 top-100 hit “Volunteers.” Although uncharacteristic of his oeuvre, the uptempo “3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds” and “Plastic Fantastic Lover” (both written for Surrealistic Pillow) remained integral components of the Airplane’s live set throughout the late 1960s.

Balin played with the Jefferson Airplane at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and at the Woodstock Festival in 1969.

In December 1969, Balin was knocked unconscious by members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club while performing during the infamous Altamont Free Concert, as seen in the 1970 documentary film Gimme Shelter. In April 1971, he formally departed Jefferson Airplane after breaking off all communication with his bandmates following the completion of their autumn 1970 American tour. He elaborated upon this decision in a 1993 interview with Jeff Tamarkin of Relix:

I don’t know, just Janis’s death. That struck me. It was dark times. Everybody was doing so much drugs and I couldn’t even talk to the band. I was into yoga at the time. I’d given up drinking and I was into totally different area, health foods and getting back to the streets, working with the American Indians. It was getting strange for me. Cocaine was a big deal in those days and I wasn’t a cokie and I couldn’t talk with everybody who had an answer for every goddamn thing, rationalizing everything that happened. I thought it made the music really tight and constrictive and ruined it. So after Janis died, I thought, I’m not gonna go onstage and play that kind of music; I don’t like cocaine.

Balin remained active in the San Francisco Bay Area rock scene, managing and producing an album for the Berkeley-based sextet Grootna before briefly joining funk-inflected hard rock ensemble Bodacious DF as lead vocalist on their eponymous 1973 debut album. The following year, Kantner asked Balin to write a song for his new Airplane offshoot group, Jefferson Starship. Together, they wrote the early power ballad “Caroline”, which appeared on the album Dragon Fly with Balin as guest lead vocalist.

Rejoining the team he had helped to establish, Balin became a permanent member of Jefferson Starship in 1975; over the next three years, he contributed to and sang lead on four top-20 hits, including “Miracles” (No. 3, a Balin original), “With Your Love” (No. 12, a collaboration between Balin, former Jefferson Airplane drummer Joey Covington, and former Grootna/Bodacious DF lead guitarist Vic Smith), a cover of Jesse Barish’s “Count on Me” (No. 8), and N.Q. Dewey’s “Runaway” (No. 12). Ultimately, Balin’s relationship with the band was beleaguered by interpersonal problems, including Slick’s longstanding alcoholism and his own reluctance toward live performances. He abruptly left the group in October 1978 shortly after Slick’s departure from the band.

In 1979, Balin produced a rock opera entitled Rock Justice, about a rock star who was put in jail for failing to produce a hit for his record company, based on his experiences with the lawsuits fought for years with former Jefferson Airplane manager Matthew Katz. The cast recording was produced by Balin, but it did not feature him in performance.

Balin continued with EMI as a solo artist, and in 1981, he released his first solo album, Balin, featuring two Jesse Barish songs that became top-40 hits, “Hearts” (number eight) and “Atlanta Lady (Something About Your Love)” (number 27). This was followed in 1983 by a second solo album, Lucky, along with a Japanese-only EP produced by EMI called There’s No Shoulder. Balin’s contract with EMI ended shortly after.

In 1985, he teamed with Paul Kantner and Jack Casady to form the KBC Band. After the breakup of the KBC band, a 1989 reunion album and tour with Jefferson Airplane followed.

Balin continued recording solo albums in the years following the reunion, and reunited with Kantner in the latest incarnation of Jefferson Starship.

Balin had intended to record lead vocals for two tracks for Jefferson Starship’s album, Jefferson’s Tree of Liberty. However, his art touring schedule conflicted with studio sessions, and instead, the track “Maybe for You”, from the German release of Windows of Heaven, was included.

On July 2, 2007, the music-publishing firm Bicycle Music, Inc. announced that it had acquired an interest in songs written or performed by Balin, including hits from his days with Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.

Balin, along with other members of the Jefferson Airplane/Starship bands, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. As a member of the Jefferson Airplane, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.

Balin enjoyed painting all his life. He painted many of the most influential musicians of the last half of the 20th century. Marty Balin’s Atelier is located at 130 King Fine Art in Saint Augustine, Florida, Balin’s permanent signature collection gallery.

Balin resided in Florida and San Francisco with his wife, Susan Joy Balin, formerly Susan Joy Finkelstein. Together, they had Balin’s daughters Jennifer Edwards and Delaney Balin, and Susan’s daughters Rebekah Geier and Moriah Geier.

Jennifer was born later in the year of his 1963 marriage to Victoria Martin. Balin married Karen Deal, Delaney’s mother, in 1989. Karen died in 2010.

While on tour in March 2016, Balin was taken to Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in New York City after complaining of chest pains. After undergoing open-heart surgery, he was transferred to an intensive-care unit to spend time recovering. In a subsequent lawsuit, Balin alleged that neglect and inadequate care facilities on the hospital’s behalf had resulted in a paralyzed vocal cord, loss of his left thumb and half of his tongue, bedsores, and kidney damage.

Balin died on September 27, 2018 at the age of 76 (by wikipedia)

And here´s first solo-album:

Marty Balin left Jefferson Starship in 1978, not long after “Miracles” gave the group a Top Ten soft rock hit in 1975, thereby providing a window into the world the singer inhabited when he went solo in 1981 with Balin. He largely abandoned songwriting — he collaborated on one song on the record — in the pursuit of being an AOR superstar. The 1981 eponymous album was indeed a hit thanks to the gorgeous soft rock staple “Hearts,” written by longtime friend Jesse Barish, as was a good chunk of the rest of the album. Some of Balin follows the direction of “Hearts” — “Atlanta Lady” and “Music Is the Light” both softly shimmer — but the album overall plays like a sampler of the mainstream rock sounds of 1981. On “Spotlight” and “I Do Believe in You,” guitars are cranked up to 11 so they can fill an arena, “Tell Me More” cops some of Michael McDonald’s Doobie Brothers disco-soul, and “You Left Your Mark on Me” and “Elvis and Marilyn” flirt with new wave while “Lydia!” outright embraces it, sounding a bit like Donnie Iris. Maybe this hodgepodge didn’t do much to establish Balin as a recording star at the time — certainly it didn’t please some Jefferson Starship fans — but as an artifact of early-’80s rock, it’s wildly fun and somewhat compelling. (by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

Personnel:
Marty Balin (vocals, guitar)
Richard Bassil (bass, background vocals)
Johnny de Caro (guitar, background vocals)
Mark Cummings (piano, synthesizer, vocoder, background vocals)
Billie Lee Lewis (drums, percussion, background vocals)
+
Michael Boddicker (vocoder on 02.)
Steve Forman (percussion)
Bobbye Hall (percussion)
John Jarvis (piano on 05., 06.)
Neil Larsen (piano, synthesizer on 09.)
Ken Watson (cimbalom on 01.)
+
background vocals:
Bill Champlin – Rick Nowels – David E. Landau
+
Harry Bluestone (concert master)

Tracklist:
01. Hearts (Barish) 4.19
02. You Left Your Mark On Me (Burgeson/Turrell) 4.43
03. Lydia! (Balin/Knowles) 3.41
04. Atlanda Lady (Barish) 3.49
05. Spotlight (Burgeson/Turrell) 3.28
06. I Do Believe In You (Manfredi/Lang/Page/George) 4.26
07. Elvis And Marilyn (Diamond/Fowley/Russell) 3.06
08. Tell Me More (Whitney/Bokich) 3.43
09. Music Is The Light (Barish) 4.22

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Marty Balin (January 30, 1942 – September 27, 2018)

“RIP Marty Balin, fellow bandmate and music traveler passed last night, a great songwriter and singer who loved life and music. We shared some wonderful times together.
We will all miss you!!!!”
(Jefferson Airplane bassist Jack Casady)

Level 42 – A Physical Presence (1985)

A Physical Presence is a two-disc live album by the British jazz-funk pop group Level 42, released in June 1985 and recorded in England during March 1985 at The Coronet Woolwich, The Hexagon, Reading and Goldiggers, Chippenham, Wiltshire. This album is notable for being the first live album by Level 42, and for containing a previously unreleased song (“Follow Me”, which was later remixed and issued as part of an E.P.) and a live recording of a non-LP track (“Foundation & Empire”, originally B-side of “Starchild”, available on the 2000 CD reissue of “Level 42)”. “Love Games” is preceded by an extended bass intro, which contains also part of “Dune Tune”. Also, the first track (“Almost There”) starts with a taped intro which quotes “Hot Water”. Originally issued in the UK as a two-album set and long-play cassette, the version issued on CD consisted of a single disc, omitting three tracks (“Turn it On”, “Mr Pink” and “88”). Those tracks were restored when the remastered version of the album was issued in a two-CD set in 2000.
Contents (by wikipedia)

A Physical Presence, released in 1985, is the first live album from the British quartet Level 42. Recorded at various small European club venues, A Physical Presence is an impressive document of the band’s dynamic live performances, and the live renditions of many of the songs improve on the original studio recordings.

Much of the material on A Physical Presence comes from the band’s first four studio albums, and several of Level 42’s minor British hits (“Hot Water,” “The Chinese Way”) are included. Physical’s highlights, however, are the blistering live takes on lesser-known non-single releases. For example, “Kansas City Milkman,” which originally appeared in a somewhat lackluster version on the 1984 release True Colours, is given new life in concert; the version here is slightly faster and more energetic than the original.

“Eyes Waterfalling” (originally from the 1982 album The Pursuit of Accidents) is given the same treatment and features Mark King’s mind-boggling thumb-slapping bass-playing technique, which is all the more impressive considering his simultaneous role as lead vocalist. King is an amazing musician, but his fellow bandmates are no less capable; vocalist and keyboardist Mike Lindup, drummer Phil Gould, and guitarist Boon Gould give first-rate performances. Level 42’s studio efforts (particularly on the early albums) tend to suffer from over-production, barely giving the musicians room to breathe. That certainly isn’t the case here; on A Physical Presence, Level 42 truly shines, combining energy, talent, and songcraft to breathtaking effect.

Although the sound quality isn’t exactly stellar, A Physical Presence is still far better than Level 42’s 1996 effort Live at Wembley. That album was recorded while the band was touring in support of its worst studio effort, Staring at the Sun, and contains entirely too much material from that anemic 1988 release. Live at Wembley also suffers from the absence of the Gould brothers and from the obviously less intimate arena setting; by the time Live at Wembley was recorded, Level 42 had become a major U.K. success. Mark King also became more of a show-off than a musician, and his half-hearted performance on Live at Wembley makes the album virtually unlistenable. A Physical Presence is a MUCH better indication of Level 42’s capabilities in a live setting, capturing the band at the top of its form. (by William Cooper)

Personnel:
Rowland “Boon” Gould (guitar)
Phil Gould (drums/background vocals)
Mark King (bass, vocals)
Mike Lindup (keyboards, vocals)
+
Krys Mach (saxophone)

Tracklist:

CD 1:
01. Almost There (King/P.Gould/R.Gould) 6.44
02. Turn It On (Badarou/P. Gould/R. Gould/King) 5.47
03. Mr. Pink (Badarou/King) 6.16
04. Eyes Waterfalling (King/P. Gould/Lindup/R. Gould) 5.22
05. Kansas City Milkman (Badarou/King/Lindup/P. Gould) 7.36
06. Follow Me (King/R. Gould) 4.46
07. Foundation & Empire (King) 8.38

CD 2:
01. The Chant Has Begun (King/P. Gould) 6.25
02. The Chinese Way (King/P. Gould/Badarou) 4.48
03. The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up) (Badarou/King/Lindup/P. Gould) 5.00
04. Hot Water (King/P. Gould/Lindup/Badarou) 6.22
05. Bass solo + Love Games (King/P. Gould) 9.44
06. 88 (King) 12.54

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This is another item from the great greygoose collection … thanks a lot !

Don Winters & The Winters Brothers – The Yodeling King (1984)

Don Winters was born in 1929 in Tampa, Florida. Raised mostly in South Georgia, he was the son of entertainer “Pop” Winters who headed “The Southern Strollers.” Don began performing with them in the late 40s but moved to Nashville in the 50s and recorded on Decca and RCA labels. Around 1960 he joined Marty Robbins’ band as a singer and guitar player. With Bobby Sykes the three were known as “The Marty Robbins Trio.” He was a gifted vocalist, noted especially for his yodeling and long wind. His solo efforts included “Too Many Times” and “Shake Hands With A Loser.” He was a devoted and loyal friend to Marty, accompanying him to races and public appearances and singing with him until his death in 1982. Don passed away at his home in Nolensville, Tennessee on August 17, 2002, after a year’s struggle with liver cancer. He is survived by three sons and two daughters. Two sons, Donnie and Dennis, comprise the Southern Rock band, The Winters Brothers. (www.imdb.com)

Country music singer Don Winters, 73, known to fans as ”The Yodeling King,” at his home in Nolensville after a yearlong battle with liver cancer.

Born in Tampa, Fla., and raised in southern Georgia, Mr. Winters began his musical career with his father’s band, Pop Winters and the Southern Strollers, in the late 1940s.

He moved to Nashville in the 1950s to launch his solo career, recording on RCA and Decca Records labels. He showed up on the Billboard charts with songs Too Many Times and Shake Hands with a Loser.

In 1960, country music legend Marty Robbins asked Mr. Winters to join his band, a move that launched a lifelong friendship between the two entertainers. Together they serenaded audiences, along with Bobby Sykes, as the Marty Robbins Trio. Mr. Winters and Robbins collaborated until Robbins’ death in 1982.

Mr. Winters’ sons, Donnie and Dennis, represent the third generation in the Winters family musical legacy, with their recording career as The Winters Brothers.

Robert Oermann, a columnist at Music Row Magazine and an editor at large at Country Music Magazine, met Winters in the early 1980s. He wrote about Mr. Winters several times.

”I knew him as one of the greatest singers I’ve ever heard,” Oermann said. ”Don was one of those great yodelers.” (by martyrobbins.250x.com)

This album is a combination of the “yodel king” Don Winters with his sons, who played in tzhe Souern Rock grup “Winters Brothers”:

The “Yodeling King” is one that I produced for my father and is in a more traditional country roots format that features his fellow band members from the Marty Robbins band and features my father on all of the yodeling. This is an all-yodeling project, but also features my brother Donnie on Rosita and features myself on Yodel Our Way to the USA and title cut Yodeling King. We sang the songs and our father did the yodeling (Dennis Winters)

As far as I can tell, he’s only had one solo release, and this is it. Yes, it’s Country and no, there’s hardly any Southern Rock to be found here, save for two tracks. On those two tracks, ‘Yodel Our Way To The USA’ (which I hereby pronounce to be a definite Southern Rock classic) and ‘The Yodeling King’, the band playing and singing is basically The Winters Brothers Band, with papa Don yodeling along. Still, all in all, this is a very fine piece of work indeed. (by skydogselysium.blogspot)

Personnel:
Charlie Daniels (fiddle)
Spig Davis (piano)
Dewey Dorough (saxophone, harmonica)
Jim Hannaford (piano)
Marc Hahn (leadguitar, background vocals)
Wayne Hobbs (steel-guitar)
Katz Koyabashi (steel-guitar)
Bobby Miller (drums)
Conrad Noddin (piano)
Jack Pruett (leadguitar)
Alan Thompson (banjo)
Roger Waters (drums)
Gene Watson (bass)
Dennis Winters (guitar, vocals on 10. + 16., background vocals)
Don Winters (vocals)
Donnie Winters (leadguitar, vocals on 06., background vocals)
+
background vocals:
Bobby Sykes – Rita Robbins

Tracklist:
01. Way Out There (Nolan) 2.48
02. Back In The Saddle Again (Autry/Whitley) 2.30
03. Kalua (Darby) 2.06
04. Chime Bells (Miller/Britt) 2.47
05. Don’t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes (Willet) 2.41
06. Rosita (Don Winters, Jr.) 2.55
07. True Love Gone Away (Don Winters) 2.22
08. Call Me The Breeze (Cale) 2.30
09. In The Mood (Garland) 2.40
10. Yodel Our Way To The USA (Dennis Winters) 2.43
11. Cattle Call (Owens) 1.52
12. Blue Yodel No. 1 (“T” For Texas) (Rodgers) 3.06
13. Galway Baby (Colahan) 2.29
14. Columbus Stockade Blues (Traditional) 2.18
15. Sioux City Sue (Thomas/Freedman) 2.29
16. The Yodeling King (Dennis Winters) 3.04

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Hanover Evening Sun, March 27, 1984

Betts, Hall, Leavel & Trucks – Geneva , NY (1983)

Betts, Hall, Leavell & Trucks features Dickey Betts and Butch Trucks (Allman Bros), Jimmy Hall (Wet Willie) and Chuck Leavell (Allman Bros & Sea Level). Unlike most Southern Rock bands in the early 80’s, this band did not venture into AOR territory. Instead, this is fairly classic Southern Rock, with songs of The Allman Brothers, and Jimmy Hall and Dickey Betts solo cuts. It’s a soundboard recording of a gig they played in Geneva, NY, on Jimmy’s birthday. The sound is a little thin at the start, but it gets better with the second song. Vocal duties are being shared by both Dickey and Jimmy. I don’t know if they ever recorded any studio demos, but this is very nice anyway. The kind of band you’d love to hear on a Charlie Daniels Volunteer Jam. I’m guessing you’ll enjoy hearing this lot keep playing Southern Rock like the 80’s never happened (by skydogselysium.blogspot)

Personnel:
Dickey Betts (guitar, vocals)
David Goldflies (bass)
Jimmy Hall (saxophone, vocals, harmonica)
Chuck Leavell (keyboards)
Danny Parks (violin, vocals)
Butch Trucks (drums)

Tracklist:
01. There Ain’t Nothin’ You Can Do (Betts) 3.47
02. Whole Lotta Memories (Betts) 4.31
03. One Track Mind (Duke/Hall) 6.00
04. Need Somebody’s Help Tonight (Betts) 5.05
05. Pick A Little Boogie (unknown) 4.27
06. Ramblin’ Man (Betts) 4.42
07. Rain (Betts) 5.10
08. Stop Knockin’ On My Door (unknown)
09. Lorraine (unknown) 4.40
10. Cadillac Tracks (Hall/Berwald) 13.36
11. Jessica (Betts) 10.12
12. Southbound (Betts) 7.34

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Monty Alexander feat. Ernest Ranglin – Cobilimbo (1978)

Montgomery Bernard “Monty” Alexander (born 6 June 1944) is a Jamaican jazz pianist. His playing has a Caribbean influence and bright swinging feeling, with a strong vocabulary of bebop jazz and blues rooted melodies. He was influenced by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Oscar Peterson, and Frank Sinatra. Alexander also sings and plays the melodica. He is known for his surprising musical twists, bright rhythmic sense, and intense dramatic musical climaxes. Monty’s recording career has covered many of the well known American songbook standards, jazz standards, pop hits, and Jamaican songs from his original homeland. Alexander has resided in New York City for many years and performs frequently throughout the world at jazz festivals and clubs.

Alexander was born on 6 June 1944 in Kingston, Jamaica. He discovered the piano when he was four years old and seemed to have a knack for picking melodies out by ear. His mother sent him to classical music lessons at the age of six and became interested in jazz piano at the age of 14, and began playing in clubs, and on recording sessions by Clue J & His Blues Blasters, subbing for Aubrey Adams, whom he describes as his hero, when he was unable to play. Two years later, he directed a dance orchestra (Monty and the Cyclones) and played in the local clubs covering much of the 1960s early rock and pop dance hits. Performances at the Carib Theater in Jamaica by Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole left a strong impression on the young pianist.

Alexander and his family moved to Miami, Florida, in 1961, where he played in various nightclubs. One night Monty was brought to the attention of Frank Sinatra and Frank’s friend Jilly Rizzo. They were there to see the act in the next room, a Sinatra imitator. Somebody suggested they also check out the kid playing piano in the front room bar, “He’s swinging the room pretty good” they said. Thus, Monty was invited to New York City in 1962 to become the house pianist for Jilly Rizzo’s night club and restaurant simply called “Jilly’s.” In addition to performing with Frank Sinatra there, Alexander also met and became friends with bassist Ray Brown and vibist Milt Jackson. He also became friendly with Miles Davis, both men sharing a love of watching boxing matches.

In Los Angeles, in 1964, Alexander recorded his first album, Alexander the Great, for Pacific Jazz at the age of 20. The album was very energetic and upbeat with the climax tune being “Blues for Jilly”.

Alexander recorded with Milt Jackson in 1969, with Ernest Ranglin in 1974 and in Europe the same year with Ed Thigpen. He toured regularly in Europe and recorded there, mostly with his classic trio for MPS Records. He also toured around 1976 with the steelpan player Othello Molineaux. Alexander has also played with several singers such as Ernestine Anderson, Mary Stallings and other important leaders (Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Golson, Jimmy Griffin and Frank Morgan). In his successive trios, he has played frequently with musicians associated with Oscar Peterson: Herb Ellis, Ray Brown, Mads Vinding, Ed Thigpen and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen.

In the mid-1970s he formed a group consisting of John Clayton on bass and Jeff Hamilton on drums, creating a stir on the jazz-scene in Europe. Their most famous collaboration is Montreux Alexander, recorded during the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 1976.

Alexander formed a reggae band in the 1990s, featuring all Jamaican musicians. He has released several reggae albums, including Yard Movement (1996), Stir It Up (1999, a collection of Bob Marley songs), Monty Meets Sly & Robbie (2000), and Goin’ Yard (2001). He collaborated again with Ranglin in 2004 on the album Rocksteady.[3]

Alexander married the American jazz guitarist Emily Remler in 1981. They divorced in 1985. Alexander is currently married to Italian jazz singer Caterina Zapponi. (by wikipedia)

And here is his 19th album for the legendaray German jazz label MPS Records:

“Cobilimbo” is one of Monty Alexander’s more creative sets of the 70s, recorded Sept. 8.-9.,1977, at MPS Studio Villingen/Germany, with a strong Caribbean groove overall and with guitar from Ernest Ranglin and steel drums from Vincent Taylor.

Personnel:
Monty Alexander (piano)
Charles Campbell (congas)
Frank Gant (drums)
Ernest Ranglin (guitar)
Andy Simpkins (bass)
Vincent Taylor (steel-drums)

Tracklist:
01. Out Of Many People, One (Alexander) 5.22
02. Muko (Alexander/Taylor) 6.24
03. Many Rivers To Cross (Cliff) 4.25
04. Cobilimbo (Alexander) 7.06
05. Ripe Banana (Clayton) 5.41
06. Jammin’ (Malik) 6.15
07. Tropical Breeze (Nasser) 5.00
08. Caribea (Alexander) 5.04

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The Chieftains – Same (1) (1964)

The Chieftains is the first album released by the Irish musical group The Chieftains in 1964. The album is now sometimes referred to as The Chieftains 1 due to the numbering system of their later albums. It was one of the first folk albums to be recorded in stereo. (by wikipedia)

Paddy always had a vision from the mid 1950’s. A sound he wanted to create, a sound that had never been heard before. He knew it would take much experimentation with different combinations of instruments and so he formed several groups with other musicians in duets and trios. In particular he played with Seán Potts, Michael Tubridy, Matt Molloy and Seán Keane in various combinations who would all later become Chieftains. But it was not until he had formed the original line up for The Chieftains in 1962 that he finally achieved the sound that had eluded him, a sound created by Paddy’s inspired choice of instruments, styles and players. It was only at this point did Paddy feel ready to give his group the title The Chieftains (a name which was inspired by the Irish poet John Montague) and confident enough to take his band into studio to record the very first of many, award winning albums. This recording came about at the invitation of his good friend, the Hon. Garech a Brún for his record label Claddagh Records. (offical press release)

The debut album by the Chieftains, recorded when they were still a semi-professional outfit, is more restrained than their subsequent efforts. The opening number introduces each of the bandmembers, Paddy Moloney and Sean Potts on pipes, followed by Michael Tubridy on flute and David Fallon on bodhran, Martin Fay on the fiddle, and then Tubridy on the concertina. The group would later acquire what can only be called a more soulful approach, but the playing here was a revelation at the time, if only for its stripped-down authenticity. The music — mostly airs, reels, and jigs — and performances lack the otherworldly quality that characterized the Chieftains’ 1970s albums, but the melodies are still extremely pretty, and make up in immediacy and high spirits what they lack in mystique and mysticism. Martin Fay’s fiddle is more prominent here than on subsequent records, where Moloney’s pipes became the major voice within the group. Highlights include “Comb Your Hair and Curl It/The Boys of Ballisodare,” “The Musical Priest/The Queen of May,” “The Walls of Liscarroll,” and “The Connemara Stocking.” (by Bruce Eder)

Personnel:
David Fallon (bodhrán)
Martin Fay (fiddle)
Paddy Moloney (uilleann pipes, tin whistle)
Seán Potts (tin whistle)
Michael Tubridy (flute, concertina, tin whistle)

Tracklist:
01. Sé Fáth mo Bhuartha / The Lark On The Strand / An Fhallaingín Mhuimhneach / Trim the Velvet 8.07
02. An Comhra Donn / Murphy’s Hornpipe 4.21
03. Cailín na Gruaige Doinne (The Brown-Haired Girl) 2.51
04. Comb Your Hair And Curl It / The Boys of Ballisodare 3.15
05. The Musical Priest / The Queen Of May 3.38
06. The Walls Of Liscarroll Jig 2.44
07. An Dhruimfhionn Donn Dílis 3.03
08. The Connemara Stocking / The Limestone Rock / Dan Breen’s 2.53
09. Casadh an tSúgan 3.47
10. The Boy In The Gap 1.22
11. Saint Mary’s, Church Street / Garret Barry, The Battering Ram / Kitty goes a-Milking, Rakish Paddy 6.54

All songs: Traditionals

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The Swipes – Destroy Your World (2010)

„A wild, independent mix of styles with plenty of sixties beat, garage punk, drugged wah wah guitars and surf and reggae influences. The Stooges and the Cramps meet with the Hives and the Strokes in a newly renovated German garage. „So vividly brings the author of a leading music magazine to the point, what he has heard in The Swipes. Many of his colleagues are similarly fascinated.

Clear case: The quartet from the Greater Frankfurt am Main beats a wide arc from the 60s to the present and goes with mighty pressure and drive to the point. More and more fans are electrified by this extravagant yet radio-friendly in-your-face rock. Well over a hundred gigs in trendy clubs and at festivals, the guitar band has already completed, and the demand is growing continuously.

This is ensured by the never-ending output in sound carrier form. The CD debut „Destroy Your World“ from 2010 soon followed the CD / LP „Lost“ as well as two Maxi-CDs with a total of eight tracks. Material for another longplayer is freshly rehearsed and will be presented live already. The wide-thumb-high echo the previous productions have found in various media can be found on the website of The Swipes. A total of six of the songs were or will be sent by public and private broadcasters on air.

Similar to the retro to punky touched kick rockers of The (International) Noise Conspiracy, one of the most influential influences of the Frankfurters, swinging in the lyrics of The Swipes also political. The best example: their mischievous-winking in untypical country-style on-line billing „Best Tip: No TTIP“, which dissected under the corresponding abbreviated free trade agreement between the EU and the US with snappy rhymes. No sooner was the song outside, he was officially featured by the anti-globalization organization Attac. Also „Back to Life“, the band’s latest release, carries a social message. It is dedicated to the eponymous nonprofit relief project for India and Nepal, to which all profits from production are passed on.

And here´s their debut album.
This is what the press says about The Swipes:

“An elegant-dirty mixture which reminds a bit of bands like Triggerfinger, The Strokes and The (International) Noise Conspiracy (…)” noisy Neighbours

“If you’re fans of The White Stripes, The Hives and The (International) Noise Conspiracy, then you will love these four Frankfurt’s.”RockAndReview.com

“These boys play a thoroughly fancy blend of The Hives, The Stooges, The Cramps or anything of the kind. (…) An appealing sound… And I’m eager to see them live!” Trust

„Fresh songs that bear comparison with the big names (i.e. The Hives, The International Noise Conspiracy and The Clash) but are very independent.“Wildwechsel

„Unfilial amalgamation of garage, pop, beat, punk and all kinds of well worked out sounds (…) Comes increasingly across as being spacy – like out of this world.“ Ox

“Top cover, top claim! And the music is no less awesome. 13 garage smashers on a debut cd without noteworthy deficiencies. Hats off! ”Pankerknacker

„A hipswinging, fist-in-the-air-pumping sound à la Hives, Hellacopters and Dictators Flight 13

“The band of the evening (…) Inspired rock’n’roll hooklines, igniting effects.” Journal Frankfurt

“One of the currently most interesting bands in Frankfurt is called The Swipes.”Frankfurter Neue Presse

And I saw The Swipes last week in Leverkusen/Germany:

Listen !!!

Personnel:
Stefan Becker (vocals, guitar)
Jens Uwe Pätsch (drums)
Thomas Striffler (guitar, vocals)
Udo Trauteberg (bass)

Tracklist:
01. Destroy Your World (Becker/Striffler) 4.01
02. Silent Alarm (Becker) 2.34
03.  Light The Night (Becker/Striffler) 3.01
04. Who Told Me Lies (Becker/Striffler) 3.37
05. Never Accept (Becker) 2.38
06. Here Comes the Swipe! (Becker) 2.43
07. Cage Of My Dreams (Becker/Striffler) 3.30
08. Outer Space Theme (Becker) 3.13
09. Agents From Outer Space (Becker) 4.30
10. If the Grandpas Are United (Becker) 4.53
11.  Welcome To The Lo-Fi School (Becker/Striffler) 3.42
12.  Leaving Soon (Becker) 1.48
13.  Thorn (Becker/Striffler) 5.51

All lyrics: Stefan Becker

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The Yardbirds – The Yardbirds (Roger The Engineer) (1966)

Roger the Engineer (originally released in the UK as Yardbirds and in the US, Germany, France and Italy as Over Under Sideways Down) is an album by English rock band the Yardbirds. Recorded and released in 1966, it is the only Yardbirds album with guitarist Jeff Beck on all tracks and contains all original material. It was produced by bassist Paul Samwell-Smith and manager Simon Napier-Bell.

Although the British edition is still officially titled Yardbirds by authoritative chart sources, such as Official Charts Company, it has since been referred to, first colloquially, then semi-officially, as Roger the Engineer, a title stemming from the cover drawing of the record’s audio engineer Roger Cameron by band member Chris Dreja.

It is the only Yardbirds album to appear in the UK Albums Chart, where it reached number 20. In the US, it reached number 52 on the Billboard 200 album chart.[5] The album’s best-known song, “Over Under Sideways Down”, was released as single in May 1966, two months before the album.

The album is included in Robert Dimery’s 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2012, the album was ranked number 350 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The single “Over Under Sideways Down”, along with the B-side “Jeff’s Boogie”, was recorded at Advision Studios in London on 19–20 April 1966. The rest of the album was recorded from 31 May to 4 June 1966, also at Advision. Paul Samwell-Smith and Simon Napier-Bell produced the album, which was released by the Columbia Graphophone Company in the UK on 15 July 1966 and by Epic Records in the US on 18 July 1966.

Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 349 in 2003 and at number 350 in 2012 on its list of the “500 greatest albums of all time”. (by wikipedia)

German front cover

Once Jeff Beck joined the Yardbirds, the group began to explore uncharted territory, expanding their blues-rock into wild sonic permutations of psychedelia, Indian music, and avant-garde white noise. Each subsequent single displayed a new direction, one that expanded on the ideas of the previous single, so it would seem that Roger the Engineer — Beck’s first full album with the group and the band’s first album of all-original material — would have offered them the opportunity to fully explore their adventurous inclinations. Despite a handful of brilliant moments, Roger the Engineer falls short of expectations, partially because the band is reluctant to leave their blues roots behind and partially because they simply can’t write a consistent set of songs. At their best on Roger, the Yardbirds strike a kinetic balance of blues-rock form and explosive psychedelia (“Lost Woman,” “Over, Under Sideways, Down,” “The Nazz Are Blue,” “He’s Always There,” “Psycho Daisies”), but they can also bog down in silly Eastern drones (although “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago” is a classic piece of menacing psychedelia) or blues tradition (“Jeff’s Boogie” is a pointless guitar workout that doesn’t even showcase Beck at his most imaginative). The result is an unfocused record that careens between the great and the merely adequate, but the Yardbirds always had a problem with consistency — none of their early albums had the impact of the singles, and Roger the Engineer suffers from the same problem. Nevertheless, it is the Yardbirds’ best individual studio album, offering some of their very best psychedelia, even if it doesn’t rank among the great albums of its era. (by Stephen Thomas Erlewine)

The Yardbird’s best album, led by Jeff Beck with some of the greatest electric guitar playing ever recorded. Of the holy triumvirate (Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page), Beck was the one who would define this band with this album, their magnum opus. Roger The Engineer sounded like nothing before it at the time; remember, this was pre-Cream, pre-‘Revolver’, pre-Jimi. Beck blended the blues with bizarre effects and Eastern inspired trippy riffs and licks. This is the album that made him a legend, for those who don’t understand why he’s so well regarded among guitarists and yet little known by most regular classic rock fans. This album is required listening for any burgeoning guitarist or serious listener of 60s rock. (Zack Fugate)

Personnel:
Jeff Beck (guitar, vocals on 03., bass on 02.)
Chris Dreja (guitar, background vocals, piano)
Jim McCarty (drums, percussion, background vocals)
Keith Relf (vocals, harmonica)
Paul Samwell-Smith (bass, background vocals)
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John Paul Jones (bass on 14.)
Jimmy Page (bass on 13.)

Tracklist:
01. Lost Woman 3.17
02. Over Under Sideways Down 2.25
03. The Nazz Are Blue 3.04
04. I Can’t Make Your Way 2.27
05. Rack My Mind 3.15
06. Farewell 1.31
07. Hot House Of Omagararshid 2.40
08. Jeff’s Boogie 2.26
09. He’s Always There 2.15
10. Turn Into Earth 3.06
11. What Do You Want 3.22
12. Ever Since The World Began 2.05
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13. Psycho Daisies 1.50
14. Happenings Ten Years Time Ago 2.58

All songs written by Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, Jeff Beck, Keith Relf, and Paul Samwell-Smith

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