'Long about '78 I had the pleasure of joining my buddies Frank Cox, Joe and Chris Marchese, and (if I'm remembering correctly) Bill Ramsey, in John Roberts's revival of his early '60's band The Rebels (we were "The New Rebels.")
We had a lot of fun, and it got me thinking about how much cool music there was between the birth of rock'n'roll and the time The Beatles came along. There was stuff coming out of Memphis,
Cleveland, doowop from the street corners of Philly, Chicago and Baltimore; beach music from Carolina. But there was also some interesting music coming from our own part of the world. Any band making a buck had to do a little of everything.
John and his compadres had been a popular item in the early '60's, playing the Shamrock, frat houses and other venues in and around Fayetteville and the UofA. Playing some of the tunes that were part of that culture was a great part of my musical education.
So I've asked John and a few of the folks who were around back then (and during the revival) to help recreate some of that repertoire. Songs that might have rocked the Shamrock, or maybe the Silver Moon in Newport and any number of other regional clubs where rock'n'roll was beginning to sprout pubic hairs.
So here's what I'm going to do: Name a few songs that came from that time period. Then you comment with others. There are some obvious tunes, from the likes of Elvis, Carl Perkins, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. But how about the the regional and less popular stuff. What songs do you remember? What songs would have rocked the Shamrock, Tee Table or Silver Moon. In the interest of expedience I'll leave off orginal artists...
40 Days
Great Big Idol with the Golden Head
Stay
Mother In Law
Haunted House
Raunchy
Rebel Rouser
Oopoopadoo
Treat Her Right
Silhouettes
Walking the Dog
Searchin'
Anything by Fats Domino
(My Gal is) Red Hot
Ooby Dooby
Tennessee Stud
High Heel Sneakers
Speedo
60 Minute Man
Goodnight Sweetheart
Ruby Baby
Party Doll
What other tunes would you suggest?
Friday, August 21, 2009
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