A Band of Bees got a bit of swampy jug band in their blood.
Nashville retro-rockers The Hi-Jivers, filmed in the Torremolinos hills of Spain during the 2020 Rockin’ Race Jamboree.
Dawna Zahn – Vocals
Austin John – Guitar
Hank Miles – Upright Bass
Jason Smay – Drums
Lord help me. I don’t think I’ve heard shakedown gospel this good since Sister Rosetta Tharpe. This is The Future Shape of Sound.
Gonna get hot again this week, maybe get wet, maybe not. See you back here tomorrow for an in-depth discussion, or maybe we’ll do something else instead.
Show Stopper, The Cashmeres (HEM Records, 1965) There is little information about this soul group from Washington D.C. (not be confused with The Cashmeres, a doo-wop group from Atlanta GA, or The Cashmeres from Brooklyn NY, or The Cashmeres from Portland OR). A 45rpm copy of Show Stopper is a rarity; according to Discogs, prices range from $680 to $1800 depending on condition.
Scone Cash Players is a Miami based funk jazz group led by Adam Scone on the Hammond B3. Scone is an Ohio native, and the accompanying video may (or may not) be a hat tip to the steel industry surrounding Youngstown.
Past week so hot I was forced to dig out my official Steve Irwin Crikey Shorts, hose myself down and sit for hours in front of the Vornado. Thankfully, tropical storm Kay showed up and blew out the heat. I’d forgotten how nice it is just to stand in the rain – and listen.
Have a great weekend. Tomorrow we’ll mess with stuff.
My Good Pott, Doc Pomus & Curley Russell’s All Stars (1948)
Jerome Felder, better known as Doc Pomus, was one of the grandfathers of rock and roll. He wrote and performed rhythm & blues, a genre that belonged almost exclusively to black American artists whose 78s were often categorized as “race records.”
“By the late 1950’s he was established as one of the best songwriters in the business which is where he’d make his name and cement his legend. During that time it’s doubtful anyone buying his classic compositions performed by The Drifters, Dion & The Belmonts, Ray Charles and the ultimate white-Negro Elvis Presley, were even aware Pomus once sung this kind of music before any of those artists had even cut their first record.”
The Mississippi Blues Band formed in Buenos Aires in 1989. Renamed La Mississippi, they released their debut recording, Mbugi in 1993.
Have a great Labor Day weekend, and if you’re driving somewhere, don’t complain about the traffic – once you pull out of your driveway, you ARE the traffic. See ya tomorrow.
Violent Love, The Big Three Trio (1951) Okeh Records Active from 1946-1952,The Big Three Trio consisted of Leonard “Baby Doo” Caston (piano, vocals), Ollie Crawford (guitar, vocals) andWillie Dixon (upright bass, vocals). Dixon wrote this and many other blues standards during his lengthy career. (Note: Crawford replaced band founder and guitarist Bernardo Dennis in 1947.)
He was 30 years old when he ripped up The Judy Garland Show in 1964. From the Utoobage comments: “The ‘Best Boy Dancer’ happened to be the choreographer for this dance. His name is Bobby Banas. He also played Joyboy in Westside story.”
I’d say the girl did a bang up job but she got no credit.
Zontar Venus. You’re on you’re own with this one. [h/t Gord S.]
Modern soulfunkgroove (with some serious technical music skills embedded). MonoNeon: lead vocal, background vocals, guitar, bass; Davy Nathan: keyboards, drum programming.
Guess that’ll do for now. Hope the summer heat is cooling down to a more tolerable level for y’all, and remember: it ain’t the heat, it’s the humanity. See you back here tomorrow.
Tacky Raccoons 