Oh My Lover, The Chiffons (1963)
“Throughout rock and roll history, vocal groups have spent entire careers in search of hit bound melodies and captivating lyrics. In the reverse of that equation, the Chiffons garnered their greatest success because a hit song was in search of a group.” That song was not it. Their cover of Tonight’s The Night was.
Our Deal, Best Coast (2010) Cool 1960s reverb retro sound. The music vid for the song applied a West Side Story motif, and there’s a Dylan-ish live version here.
Leave Me Alone, Nathaniel Mayer & The Fabulous Twilights (1962)Nathaniel “Nate Dog” Mayer was 18 when he recorded his first (and biggest) hit, Village of Love, in 1962. The members of The Fabulous Twlights are unknown. After a six year stint with Fortune Records, he disappeared into the East Detroit ghettos, only to resurface years later. Apparently he’d had a rough time, too – in 2009 he recorded The Puddle.
Auld Lang Syne Boogie, Freddie Mitchell Orchestra (1949) The Freddie Mitchell Orchestra (aka Hen Gates & His House Rockers, Hen Gates & His Gators) features Mitchell on sax and Rip Harrigan on piano.
“For years the rumor was that Hen Gates and His Gaters were in fact the Dizzy Gillespie band. In fact Hen Gates is Freddie Mitchell and the tracks on the album credited to them, Lets All Dance To Rock And Roll, are simply old Derby masters given new titles. When Derby filed for bankruptcy in 1954, Freddie Mitchell masters had been sold cheaply and had already been reissued on several labels before they turned up on Masterseal who thought they could pull a fast one and pass them off as tracks recorded by Hen Gates and His Gators who, according to the LP sleevenotes, were ‘a group of talented young Rock ‘N Roll musicians.’ ” [Source]
Rocket To Nowhere, Webb Wilder (2005) All you need to know:
“Mississippi Musician Hall of Fame icon Webb Wilder pleases and shocks, soothes and rocks, and meets every un-expectation. Equally versed in two glorious worlds, Rock and Roll – with a strong side of Outlaw Country (Webb prefers the term “PROGRESSIVE Country”). He is a force on tour, and a tour de force. He is the Last of the Full Grown Men, as well as Roots Rock Royalty.”
Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On, Big Maybelle Smith (1955) Mabel Smith began recording in 1947 when she was 23 years old, yet she’d been singing in various venues since she was a child. She was the first to record Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On, produced and arranged by a young Quincy Jones for Okeh Records, and predating Jerry Lee Lewis’ version by almost two years. (Lewis liked the song so much he stole it, then credited Big Mama Thornton.)
Tacky Raccoons 