AL BROWN`S TUNETOPPERS, The Madison, 1960
Posted: May 21, 2009 Filed under: 60s, Instrumental Records, Madison Records, USA | Tags: The Madison 8 Comments
Sometime this week I hit the mark of 100.000 “total views”. Whatever that means. It still feels kinda good. It looks like a whole lot of people are reading my blog. Thanks dear readers! Pretty strange considering some of the weird records that I`ve posted since I started in November 2007. Or is it, as I`d like to think, because of that?
Last week it was the Hully Gully this week it`s Madison Time. Another early 60`s dance craze. The music on these records ranges from Pop, Jazz, Easy Listening, Novelty to some real fine Rock`n`Roll.
Initially I started to buy these dance records because they were left behind by more serious Rock`n`Roll or Beat collectors who considered them to be only weak versions of the real thing. And it`s true most of them are. I guess I`m not much of a gourmet. I thought the left-overs tasted pretty good and then I got used to the cheap diet. And some of them are actually not so bad…
Al Brown`s Tunetoppers did the original Madison and initiated the dance craze. There are some great lines here done by Cookie Brown:
Oh, the line sure swings
The cat’s a Madison king
The line is nice and strong
Couldn’t catch a single cat wrong
So here`s the black Rock`n`Roll beginning of the Madison…
AL BROWN`S TUNETOPPERS, The Madison, 1962
AL BROWN`S TUNETOPPERS, Mo` Madison, 1962
About me:
My name is Andreas Michalke. I´m a cartoonist from Berlin, Germany and I like collecting records. Most of the records I find in thrift stores or at flea markets here in Berlin. I like a lot of music but I thought I`d focus on odd German records. Preferably with cartoon covers.
All my scans are high-resolution. If you double-click on them they will get much bigger.
Berlin Beatet Bestes 
A thousand thanks for your Hully Gully and Madison weeks Andreas, i hope there will be a Slop, a Snap, a Climb, a Monkey and a Frug one.
In the first place, i also began collecting cheap 60’s Dance Craze-Exploito 45rpm just because there were there waiting to be collected. Hundreds of this type of records later, i must admit that i’m still passionately in love with a large part of them. It brings to my head images of forty something musicians with great musical skills trying to do their best to sound as simple and crude as teenagers and the best part is that they never quite succeed in doing so.
Merci bien Whoops!
J´aime beaucoup votre compilation Boom Boom! Le Twist et le Madison francaise est le trés trés merveilleuse!!!!
I know I should have paid more attention in my French class 25 years ago…
Your site is great! And obviously we share some of the same collector habits and tastes. I agree, this type of music is great because they never quite got it right. As in most other art forms the error is more charming and interesting than the perfect stuff. Or is there any perfect art at all? Isn ´t perfect only another word for familiar?
As you might have guessed next week is Twist time and then I think it`s time for something completely different again. I have to check that I will not post any Twist records you have posted!
A bientôt ,
Andreas
Check out:
http://oopswhoops.blogspot.com/
At least you attempted some french class Andreas, i never ever tried to attempt a german one so in spite of all its weakness your french is far better than my german will ever be.
My blog haven’t been updated for a long time and it’s a shame since i have so many cool records still waiting to be ripped…You know the deal, combined a little bit of lazyness with a regular job, add all the joyful and not so joyful things that life brings to us everyday and you will get a frozen blog. I still have two homemade compilations full of french 60’s exploitation material waiting to be ripped, the fourth volume of Le Boomboom! and an other one that will be filled with material from lesser cheap labels, i’ll try my best to finalize them soon.
Be sure that i’m waiting for your Twist week with anticipation and don’t worry about records already posted because reading your post is always a great part of the listening pleasure.
The reason you have over 100.000 hits is because you consistently and regularly offer unusual and fun music that might otherwise be lost to the ages. And you present it in a way that reflects your passion for the music. If I wasn’t already putting all my extra money into trying to find weirdness on MY side of the Atlantic I would consider sending you money to fund your record shopping trips!
Thank you so much for your kind words. It feels really good to be appreciated by someone whose inspired me to do a blog in the first place. Reading your blog made me realize that a music blog didn`t neccesarily have to be about “good” music. And also that I wasn`t the only one that “collected” records that way. Your collecting urge seems to be driven by curiosity. Funny that that seems to be so unusual because EVERYBODY is curious. That`s a basic human instinct. But when I hit the fleamarket, the records with the bad drawings, no info and strange looking people on the sleeves are always still waiting for me.
So thankfully I don`t need a lot of money to buy the kind of records I like. They really are cheap. And I`ll keep posting on my side of the Atlantic…
Hi,
I just wanted to say this feels real good to see people are still enjoying the music of that era. My Dad is Al Brown from Al Brown and the tunetoppers who wrote the dance crazed song The Madison and he passed away March 19th of this year, and I am still finding news articles being written on him and people selling the 45’s. It’s a wonderful thing and I appreciate you keeping his music alive!!!
Dear Tyra,
Thank you so much for your supportive comment. I`m very sorry for your loss. Your father gave the world a lot of beautiful music. I lost my parents in a car accident when I was 29 years old and I think I still haven`t gotten over it.
Best wishes from Berlin
Andreas
Thank you soooo much Andreas and I’m so sorry for the lost of your parents! I will continue to pray that God gives you strength and that you remember the good times, as I try to remind myself of the same.
Many thanks
Tyra