Farr Away Blues, The Farr Brothers (1947) Texans Hugh & Carl Farr were both performing before they were in the double digits of age. They were the most influential fiddle-and-guitar duo in the history of country & western music, and were long-time members of The Sons of the Pioneers. More about the Farr Brothers here (.pdf download).
I Wanna Know, Ruben & The Jets (1974) Founded by Rubén Guevara Jr., this is not the Frank Zappa / Mothers of Invention alias band of 1968. Guevara’s Jets recorded two albums, For Real! (1973) and Con Safos (1974).
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]
Tacky Raccoons 