LUCY ROBERTS, Great Gosh, Mr. Willerkins, 1956
Posted: July 29, 2013 Filed under: 50s, Rock´n´Roll Records, USA 2 Comments
Great Gosh, indeed! What a great swingin´ tune! Lucy Roberts recorded another 45 for Vik in 1956 (Leap Year Red/Supper On The Table) but that´s about all I could find out about her.
Great Gosh found its way on a Belgium bootleg compilation LP called “Rock´n´Roll Collection Vol. 15” in 1986. The generic cover of the series simply donned a Confederate Flag indicating to what type of listeners the bootleggers had in mind. Apart from this appearance the song has never been reissued legally and hence is not to be found digitally anywhere either.
After 57 years it´s about time…
LUCY ROBERTS, Great Gosh, Mr. Willerkins, 1956
RIO GREGORY – HIS PIANO AND HIS RHYTHM, International Piano Medley, 1955
Posted: July 27, 2013 Filed under: 50s, Instrumental Records, Jazz Records, Switzerland 3 Comments
This record has puzzled me for years. Who was this guy with the colorful name ? Only recently a German Wikipedia article appeared that cleared things up. This is my translation of the German article:
Rio De Gregori (* September 22, 1919 in Zürich; † May 22, 1987 in Munich) was a Swiss jazz pianist and singer.
De Gregori learned to play the piano at age 7 and at fourteen started to collect jazz records by the likes of Duke Ellington and others. Although his parents wanted him to become a classical pianist, he started to perform professionally as a jazz musician. He worked with Willie Mac Allen (1939-40), James Boucher (1940- 41), Jo Grandjean (1942) and up until September 1944 with René Weiss and his orchestra. Then he got a job in Fred Böhler´s big band and stayed with them until 1945. The same year he founded his own big band, that included some of the best Swiss jazz musician like Stuff Combe, Bob Jaquillard, Jean Pierre Dupuis, Luc Hoffmann, Raoul Schmassmann, Kurt Weil and guest soloist Glyn Paque. After the breakup of his band he continued to work in a trio and as a soloist and also managed a bar in Ascona, Switzerland. He then settled in Munich, opened a night club and henceforth called himself Rio Gregory. He named the club Bar Ascona. Later he discovered pop singer Suzanne Doucet at Bar Ascona.
Rio Gregory recorded another four EPs worth of material for the Varieton label and some more records for Columbia, Elite and Harlekin. Despite the Wikipedia article, not one of them has ever been reissued.
Simple but nicely designed one-sided plastic Varieton company sleeve and red vinyl for the jazz collectors of 1955!
Enjoy:
KID ORBIS AND HIS SWING-SEXTETT, Jumpin´ With Anthony Dvorak
Posted: July 17, 2013 Filed under: 50s, Flexible Records, Germany, Jazz Records Leave a comment
A while back I found some more flexible 45s by Kid Orbis, alias Wolf Gabbe. Although my other posts of his music, like his swingin Nutcracker Suite, have left even the small remainder of readers unfazed, I have to do what I have to do. I dig Kid Orbis´ take on Antonín Dvořák. Sure, Jumpin with Anthony Dvorak could be more jumpin´ but it´s still a nice little tune. Kid Orbis recorded specially for Delta-Ton out of Düsseldorf-Büderich. But Delta Ton also took over material from real labels.
J.P.´s Blues by James Williard Parks and the Bucktown-Six first appeared on an EP of the same title on the German Climax label, a small jazz specialty label. Written by J.W. Parks, an Afro-American US-soldier stationed in Wiesbaden. J.P.´s Blues is probably the most authentic sounding blues song recorded in Germany in the 1950s. It was recorded on February 22nd 1957 in the Robert-Schumann-Saal in Düsseldorf.
The line-up features: J.W.Parks, voc; Dietrich Geldern, cl; Manfred Stapput, tp,voc; Herbert Koleczek, p; Dieter Kauffmann, bj; Hermey Kopp, dm and Heino Ribbert, b.
(Cover image from the 45cat website)
Judging from the front sleeve of the Climax EP J.W. Parks must have been a sight to behold in Germany at the time. His flashy getup was certainly in contrast to that of most German jazz musicians and Pop stars.
KID ORBIS AND HIS SWING-SEXTETT, Jumpin´ With Anthony Dvorak
J.W. PARKS AND THE BUCKTOWN-SIX, J.P.´s Blues
THE PEPPER BITERS BIG BAND, Bugs round Midnight
Posted: April 20, 2013 Filed under: 50s, Jazz Records 3 Comments
THE PEPPER BITERS BIG BAND, Bugs
THE PEPPER BITERS BIG BAND, Round about Midnight
Last week I bought two Opera label 45s. Opera was a record club, essentially a sort of cheapo label. They still sell cheaply today and I would contribute this largely to the bland record sleeves, that do not tell much about the music on the records and lead sellers to believe the music must not be interesting. Opera did mostly published second grade versions of hit songs, but also took over some cool stuff from other labels catalogs, like Duke Ellington and the Deep River Boys. While the music on this record is not rhythm & blues or hot jazz it´s still a little more sophisticated than the stuff that I normally present here. It´s Modern Jazz in the Stan Getz style – some sort of big band junkie jazz. Either way it´s not meant for dancing. It´s music for sitting. I´m nearing fifty but I feel that I´m still way too young for this type of jazz. I still have no time for slow music. Or for music that I need to sit down to to listen to.
But who is this band and where are they from? I couldn´t find any trace of The Pepper Biters Big Band on the Internet. Are these real names? Ben Brook (Piano), Joe Nathan (Trumpet), Shaw-Shaw Namuna (Drums), Mackie Daniels (Voice), Mike Mills (Saxo), Buddy Toybeen (Trombone), Coleridge Gray (Vibraphone), Larry Pongo (Bass) and the Hot Nine.
Who knows?
ANDRÉS RAMIRO UND SEIN ORCHESTER
Posted: April 20, 2013 Filed under: 50s, Swing Records 2 Comments
A couple of years ago I thought big band swing music was boring elevator background muzak. Since then I´ve developed a deep appreciation for the big band swing sound of the 30s and 40s. But the reason why big band swing got such a bad rep is probably stuff like this. Back in the 50s big band swing had already gotten long out of fashion. Like all big band swing ever since, this record was appealing to more conservative listeners. Hip people either listened to real jazz or rock´n´roll. Today nobody needs some 1950s second grade medleys of Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller hits, when most people don´t even care for the originals? Still musically this is top-notch big band swing! From Berlin – from one of Berlin´s true Jazzmen!
Andrés Ramiro really is Berlin band leader Wolf Gabbe,the man who was also behind the pseudonym Kid Orbis. Unfortunately his music has largely been forgotten. If you´ll search for Wolf Gabbe on Amazon/Itunes two songs will pop up that are currently for sale . Only two songs from a couple of decades that Gabbe worked and recorded in. I have posted some of his records here, here and here.
Benny-Goodman-Story:
ANDRÉS RAMIRO UND SEIN ORCHESTER, After You´re Gone – Flyin´ Home – Shine
ANDRÉS RAMIRO UND SEIN ORCHESTER, Stompin´ At The Savoy – Sing, Sing, Sing – Don´t Be That Way
Glenn-Miller Story:
ANDRÉS RAMIRO UND SEIN ORCHESTER, Moonlight-Serenade – At Last – Sun Valley Sleighride
ANDRÉS RAMIRO UND SEIN ORCHESTER, American Patrol – Little Brown Jug – Pa 6500 – In The Mood
Wolf Gabbe appeared in the 1954 film Der treue Husar, the faithful Hussar.
TRIO SORRENTO, Wumba-Tumba Schokoladeneisverkäufer vom andern Stern, 1958
Posted: March 2, 2013 Filed under: 50s, Cartoon Sleeves, Rock´n´Roll Records 1 Comment
Bill Ramsey´s German cover version Wumba-Tumba Schokoladeneisverkäufer vom andern Stern of Sheb Wooley´s Purple People Eater reached #4 in the German Charts in 1958. On Thursday I found a budget version of that song, released by the Opera label out of Stuttgart, in a nearby thrift store. I had seen a copy of the record on Ebay before, but since I don´t buy stuff on the Internet, I had to wait until I came across it by coincidence. On Ebay it probably wouldn´t have been 50 Cents either.
No info about Trio Sorrento on the Internet but contrary to many budget artist they were a real group, who´s music however did also appear on cheapo labels like Opera, Neckermann and Baccarola. An article in Spiegel from January 1954 about East German restrictions on “decadent” western musical styles, like the Boogie Woogie, also mentions the trio:
On October 6th 1953 four stocky soviet directors ejected Trio Sorrento (formerly with Berlin radio station Rias) from a cultural center in East Berlin, because the group´s musical repertory (“Junge,Junge, Junge”, “Mäcki-Boogie”, “Schaschlik-Boogie”) had caused the attending young workers to applaud demonstratively. (Spiegel, Jan.1954, “Barrieren um Boogie Woogie”)
This version of Wumba-Tumba Schokoladeneisverkäufer vom andern Stern was made to sound almost identical to Ramsey´s version. It´s still quite different, but since I won´t post Bill Ramsey´s version, just take my word for it…
TRIO SORRENTO, Wumba-Tumba Schokoladeneisverkäufer vom andern Stern, 1958
Jody Reynolds song of teenage tragedy Endless Sleep reached #5 in the Billboard Charts in 1958. Reynolds follow-up Fire of Love from the same year, only went to #66, but achieved cult status 25 years later when The Gun Club covered it.
The original German version of Endless Sleep was recorded by the James Brothers (Schlager singers Peter Kraus and Jörg Maria Berg), who were put together to emulate the Everly Brothers. In true budget manner the Opera label producers simply called their brothers the Johnson Brothers.
JOHNSON -BROTHERS MIT ORCHESTER, Die jungen Jahre, 1958
The two-colored illustration on the back of the sleeve should have been on the front. The drawing is what´s remarkable about this record. Why is the illustration on the back then? I can only imagine how the story must have been, but from my experience as an illustrator, it´s always the same thing. Regular Opera releases only had writing on the back. Because they had two rock´n´roll songs on the record, the record label people must have had the feeling that they should give the teenagers a little more to look at. They liked the commissioned drawing, but still decided against putting it on the cover, because they couldn´t depart from their concept that all their sleeves in this series needed to have the bland purple design!
Fools.
DIE SKYPIPERS, Red River Rock, 1959
Posted: February 23, 2013 Filed under: 50s, Flexible Records, Germany, Instrumental Records, Rock´n´Roll Records 6 Comments
WTF!? That´s what I thought today, when I heard this song for the first time. But somehow it also made perfect sense. So much sense that I wondered if I had ever really listened to the original version of Red River Rock. I mean really really LISTENED closely. Because on this version, the famous melody is played on a Blockflöte – a recorder. And it just sounds right. Was that a recorder, that I had never noticed, in the original version, too? This little school kid instrument? I actually immediately went to check…
Of course in the Johnny and the Hurricanes version its a Hammond organ! Played by Paul Tesluk on a Hammond Chord Organ. Pfff, I was worried there for a short time…
On this German flexible budget 45 the recorder, according to the label played by a certain Fred Brass, aptly mimics a Hammond organ. Sweet!
DIE SKYPIPERS, Red River Rock, 1959
The other side is Dixieland. German budget Dixieland and I´m pretty confident, that the people who recorded this song and the people who bought the record didn´t have any idea what they were playing and listening to. In the 50s Germany was just too far away from Dixie. Nevertheless this version is not even so bad. It´s a pretty carefree trad-style jazz song, including nice trumpet, clarinet, banjo, saxophone, even a short drum solo! There is a lot of music out there that is way worse…
ALAMBA DIXIES, Two Beat Dixie, 1959
This is the packaging of Heinerle-Flexis at newsstands. Music for kids:
MOUSTACHE, Stompin´at the Savoy
Posted: February 21, 2013 Filed under: 50s, France, Jazz Records 3 Comments
Drummer, band leader and actor François-Alexandre Galepides, alias Moustache (1929-1987), was a big name in French post-war jazz with quite a few releases in the 1950s. He started to play in Claude Luter´s band and later performed with Sidney Bechet and George Brassens. Moustache even recorded some funny early rock´n´roll sides like Le Croque-Crâne-Creux (Purpe People Eater) with French lyrics written by Boris Vian. From what I understand he also really enjoyed playing rock´n´roll, contrary to guys like Henri Salvador, Boris Vian and Michel Legrand. Henri Salvador recorded some excellent early French rock´n´roll, but still only regarded it as satire, a part of his job as a comedian. Decades later he hated it when rock´n´roll fans pestered him about his Rock´n´Roll Mops. Personally he preferred the swinging jazz music he grew up with. Moustache apparently was a much more down-to-earth kinda guy. In the mid-50s he also ventured into acting and comedy, mostly playing musicians in films. Later he owned a restaurant and ran several bars. Moustache died in a car accident in 1987.
The back of the sleeve lists three other EPs in what appears to be a series of musical trips: Moustache a Moscou, Moustache Toréador, Moustache en Italie and Moustacha a Tyrol. As illustrated by the nice cover design done by Max Dufour, house illustrator for the French Festival label, on this record the Stache takes a trip to Harlem. The three jazz standards are quite faithfully trying to recreate a swingin´ 1930s mood. In his fast instrumental version of Chick Webb´s Stompin´at the Savoy the Savoy Ballroom is coming to life, while Duke Ellington´s Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don’t Tease Me) and the traditional Frankie and Johnny, both sung by Nadine Young, are played in a nice easy going mid-tempo…
MOUSTACHE ET SON DIXIELAND JAZZ BAND, Stompin´at the Savoy
NADINE YOUNG AVEC MOUSTACHE ET SON DIXIELAND JAZZ BAND, Frankie and Johnny
NADINE YOUNG AVEC MOUSTACHE ET SON DIXIELAND JAZZ BAND, Just Squeeze Me
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.
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