Dovers new LP

Feeling the Grim Reaper’s hot breath on my neck I decided it was time to make a few posts before folding my final hand.



For 20 years or so I have been a sometimes member of and occasional poster to G45. But much more, the insights, info, advice, collecting anecdotes, etc have been both entertaining and instructive, not to mention thought provoking and a tiny bit anger generating (even Greta Garbo sometimes unfroze a little). As for the regular contributors, most of you have much in common with myself; inevitable for those who have a passion for a subject, whatever it is.



Fifty years ago I was keeping company with hard core European rockabilly cats who were also splendidly intolerant, musically bigoted, scornful, opinionated. However, among a minority there were strong undercurrents of racism and violence, both threatened and actual. These are traits I have never noticed with 60s teenbeat devotees, although it would be naive to suppose such sentiments are non-existent. Anyone here eaten a knuckle sandwich because they thought Fenton was superior to Orlyn?



But on the subject of this thread, many would regard it as a teacup storm, and what matters is that the Dovers tracks are reissued in the finest sound quality possible within the constraints of source availability and commercial considerations. I doubt whether Massimo would willingly choose to lose a lot of money on this. I could be entirely wrong, in which case I owe him an apology.



If, as it seems, the master tapes no longer exist, then the ideal solution would be to use Mark’s near pristine 45s. Transfer them to analogue tape (anyone else hate that expression ‘needle drops’?) ; and then follow the original analogue production and pressing process as far as is known. Bear in mind that many aspects of recording, mastering and pressing took place back then, especially in the latter years of the 60s. I’m sure there are niche companies today who can, for a price, offer such a bespoke product. The operative word is ‘price’. Longer-toothed members may recall ‘Rare Records Unlimited’ run by Henry and Art Mariano out of San Mateo in thenearly70s. They produced reproductions of in-demand 45s from the 50s. Twice the price of regular reissues and the payment of royalties was not a priority. These things have now become collectible in their own right. At the time us ‘originals only’ purists were outraged, but most of us had to concede that if the recording was taken from a top condition original, the sound quality was pretty good. Remember in those days hi-end audio gear meant little to collectors. You just had to have ‘that sound’.



Having over the years digitised all my 45s and burned them to Audio CDRs using a variety of cartridges, (mainly) tube pre and phono amps and a Yamaha HDD recorder, I have followed a philosophy of non-intervention with the original record. No EQ enhancement or noise elimination and no attempt to make all recordings sound the same. If a record was a ‘hot’ cut, it is left that way. The reverse also applies. To me the studio ambience and the record’s sonic signatures are also important. It’s very much a matter of personal preference and taste and doubtless many would find my method puritanical and unnecessarily time consuming. But you pays your money and you takes your choice.



Apologies for this long-winded diatribe, but for the first time in my 76 years I’ experiencing the dubious joys of Class A opiates.
 
masterbeat64 said:
Feeling the Grim Reaper’s hot breath on my neck I decided it was time to make a few posts before folding my final hand.



For 20 years or so I have been a sometimes member of and occasional poster to G45. But much more, the insights, info, advice, collecting anecdotes, etc have been both entertaining and instructive, not to mention thought provoking and a tiny bit anger generating (even Greta Garbo sometimes unfroze a little). As for the regular contributors, most of you have much in common with myself; inevitable for those who have a passion for a subject, whatever it is.



Fifty years ago I was keeping company with hard core European rockabilly cats who were also splendidly intolerant, musically bigoted, scornful, opinionated. However, among a minority there were strong undercurrents of racism and violence, both threatened and actual. These are traits I have never noticed with 60s teenbeat devotees, although it would be naive to suppose such sentiments are non-existent. Anyone here eaten a knuckle sandwich because they thought Fenton was superior to Orlyn?



But on the subject of this thread, many would regard it as a teacup storm, and what matters is that the Dovers tracks are reissued in the finest sound quality possible within the constraints of source availability and commercial considerations. I doubt whether Massimo would willingly choose to lose a lot of money on this. I could be entirely wrong, in which case I owe him an apology.



If, as it seems, the master tapes no longer exist, then the ideal solution would be to use Mark’s near pristine 45s. Transfer them to analogue tape (anyone else hate that expression ‘needle drops’?) ; and then follow the original analogue production and pressing process as far as is known. Bear in mind that many aspects of recording, mastering and pressing took place back then, especially in the latter years of the 60s. I’m sure there are niche companies today who can, for a price, offer such a bespoke product. The operative word is ‘price’. Longer-toothed members may recall ‘Rare Records Unlimited’ run by Henry and Art Mariano out of San Mateo in thenearly70s. They produced reproductions of in-demand 45s from the 50s. Twice the price of regular reissues and the payment of royalties was not a priority. These things have now become collectible in their own right. At the time us ‘originals only’ purists were outraged, but most of us had to concede that if the recording was taken from a top condition original, the sound quality was pretty good. Remember in those days hi-end audio gear meant little to collectors. You just had to have ‘that sound’.



Having over the years digitised all my 45s and burned them to Audio CDRs using a variety of cartridges, (mainly) tube pre and phono amps and a Yamaha HDD recorder, I have followed a philosophy of non-intervention with the original record. No EQ enhancement or noise elimination and no attempt to make all recordings sound the same. If a record was a ‘hot’ cut, it is left that way. The reverse also applies. To me the studio ambience and the record’s sonic signatures are also important. It’s very much a matter of personal preference and taste and doubtless many would find my method puritanical and unnecessarily time consuming. But you pays your money and you takes your choice.



Apologies for this long-winded diatribe, but for the first time in my 76 years I’ experiencing the dubious joys of Class A opiates.
Click to expand...
Spoken like the wise sir that you are!

The Mariano repros sound pretty good, at least to my ears.
However, 99% of all 60s garage repros/bootlegs sound quality ranges from decent, to piss-poor. Not gonna name names, but if the audio chain is not pure analog from start to finish, well, the sound is gonna suffer in comparison to the original pressings on records (notice I did not say the dreaded V-word).
The best non authentic pressing of a garage 45 by far is the Dr. Specs reissue, done by Scott and Tim. One reason I unloaded my slightly hissy orignal decades ago. Their disc does not have the groove squeezed/compressed to shit like it is on most modern day pressings. People who work at pressing plants do not know the science of cutting stampers "old school", and now rely on a computer. That says it all.
 
Thanks for your best wishes for my continued health and life. Suffice to say I have not set aside a Christmas present fund this year.

At the risk of boring the arse off you, Mike’s post jogged my memories of the Mariano bootleg saga. The Mariano brothers were serious Rhythm ‘n’ Blues vocal group (hint – never refer to it as ‘Doo Wop’) collectors and leading lights in the West Coast branch of that harmless mafia. Rare Records Unlimited appeared in the early 70s (71/2) and at first featured only vocal group and blues 45s. Henry claimed to have invested $10,000 in recording hardware. No small change back then. I think the 45s were pressed at Monarch, but if I’m wrong, please correct me (Mike).

The operation was top-to-bottom professional. Great care was taken to ensure the labels were correct. They even went as far as obtaining vintage paper. Being canny business dudes it is likely that they took precautions against possible legal action by the original label owners and, possibly the artists themselves.

My first sight of these was in a 1972 issue of Record Exchanger magazine. A full page ad featuring what must have provoked near-orgasmic shock among vocal group fans. This genre was in those times thee big ticket market. My interest in Record Exchanger was as a means of selling UK 60s beat/R&B 45s to a small band of US collectors. But that is another story.

The Marianos cared little for rockabilly but they knew it possessed the vital ingredients. Demand for original 45s exceeded available supply; and the new breed of collectors included professional boys with plenty of money, as well as rock musicians and hipsters chasing the latest bandwaggon It was just a matter of market research and collaboration with those in the know in Eurpoe and the UK.

In those days it was the done thing on Saturdays to cram into Ted Carroll’s tiny record booth in London’s Ladbroke Grove and chew the fat about records and music. Oh, and we all bought our share of Ted’s goodies.

From Ted’s we drifted to a local cafe for an egg’n’chips style lunch. At one of these soirees, the discussion centred around a newbie collector who had shelled out £250 for a Don Willis Satellite 45. With money everything is relative and it was suspected that a shill tactic was used to jack the price. No matter, nobody held a gun to the buyer’s temple. A rich boy lawyer – who cared? The seller of this disc was in our company and someone remarked that it was a pity you could only sell the record once. Another remarked that there must be a way of making more money out of these 45s. There was: Rare Records Unlimited.

There is of course more to this story, but I fear I may have exhausted your patience by now. If you’d me to continue in a follow up post, I’m sure you’ll let me know. For a taster, the sequel involves death threats and an encounter with the KKK.
 
I was fortunate enough to come across a large 'dump' of original Mariano 45s in a thrift store in San Carlos, CA circa 1982.
I negotiated the price down a bit with the store manager and walked out with about 125-150 records (I took all of the
sleeved copies that were M- or better). Interestingly enough, most were the rockabilly and blues singles that they had booted,
with relatively few R&B vocal group titles in this stash. The King Charlie Feathers 45s they did sound almost as good as originals
(unless you luck into un-played deadstock or dj copies). Death threats and the KKK? That sounds pretty left field...but I do remember
some U.K. rockabilly cats (and punk rockers) back then that were always asking me for Cliff Trahan's 'Johnny Rebel' records
when I mentioned that I bought and sold oddball South Louisiana-label vinyl.🦞
 
masterbeat64 said:
Anyone here eaten a knuckle sandwich because they thought Fenton was superior to Orlyn?
Click to expand...
Fenton is superior 😅 - but you can't live without either.
masterbeat64 said:
If, as it seems, the master tapes no longer exist, then the ideal solution would be to use Mark’s near pristine 45s. Transfer them to analogue tape (anyone else hate that expression ‘needle drops’?) ; and then follow the original analogue production and pressing process as far as is known.
Click to expand...
Totally agree. Too many back yard reissuers transfer the original disc to digital, and then of course it has to be converted back to analogue to cut the repro. At each conversion you're losing information and introducing distortion. Dovers reissue will be a case in point. I can understand that sometimes conversion to digital is the only feasible option (not to mention convenient: ever tried changing records while you're driving?), but then why convert it back to analogue - just so you can have a non-original vinyl artefact?
masterbeat64 said:
anyone else hate that expression ‘needle drops’?
Click to expand...
Yes.
 
Rare Records Unlimited Part 2.

1973 was not only a crisis year for world politics, it was also one for the microcosmic universe of UK rockabilly fanatics. The appearance of the first volume of Phonogram’s ‘Sun Rockabillies, album was predictably greeted with sneers and howls of derision by these purists, some of whom regarded drums on a rockabilly disc as a serious form of heresy. The visuals did not help either. Compilers Hawkins and Escott not only looked like University students, they were also articulate and possessed academic intelligence. This was anathema to the hard core fans who projected a real of affected image based on the 1950s English Teddy Boys. ‘Sun Rockabillies’ and subsequent albums issued by MCA and other majors who had access to these then largely unknown treasures, were likewise condemned and their products referred to as ‘legal bootlegs’ Such was their reward for their efforts to bring rockabilly to a wider audience. It could be argued however, that cramming up to 20 tracks on to a microgroove LP was a compromise that inevitably resulted in poorer sound quality. Still, the non-purist majority demonstrated that a commercially viable market did and still does exist for this great music.

In parallel with this, 1973 saw the belated discovery of rockabilly by critical writers such as Charlie Gillet, Bill Millar, Ray Topping and others of that distinguished ilk. The fact was, the blues had become stale and a new field was ready to plough and harvest. ‘Let It Rock’ was the respected mouthpiece of these writers who referred to rockabilly as ‘the real underground’. Based on their past experiences with learned and polite blues collectors, the discoverers of this ‘real underground’ firmly anticipated similar co-operation from the rockabilly crowd. In general this co-operation was freely given. But a small number of the real purists ignored or robustly rebuffed any attempt by outsiders to pick their brains or glean any info from their precious original 45s. I did myself have a modicum of sympathy for this attitude having provided access to my records after an unannounced visit by a pair of these knowledge seekers. ‘Worse than the Mormons’ was my good lady’s succinct comment. The lack of any formal credit did not bother me as my work encouraged a strong measure of anonymity. What did irk me was having loaned one of these dudes 3 of my prized US R’n’B vocal group 78s for ‘research’ purposes, it was the last I saw of them. Maybe he’ll return them in the afterlife to which he has preceded me. Forgive me if this sounds like the bitching of a bitter old man. I can assure you that it most certainly is.

The appearance of the Mariano rockabilly repros at the same time as the ‘legal bootlegs’ really put the tin hat on things. The purists spat fire and blood. ‘Bootleg records for bootleg people’, Don’t let these leper discs infect your fine originals’, ‘Death to the San Mateo rats’ and similar slogans were disseminated via the micro circulation fanzines of the time. The other side accused the purists of racism as aspersions had been made on the Mariano’s ethnic origins and Henry’s skin tone was described as ‘paper-bag brown’. ‘Poor cats gotta bop’was a common slogan directed at the purists. Really; who in the wider world cared about any of this? But a potentially more sinister situation was brewing.

To give the Mariano brothers their due, they endeavoured to dub from the best available sources. In some instances this was suspected to be from’borrowed’ mastertapes. Many of the classic rockabilly sides were taken from mint 78s which, in many ways were night-and-day superior to their 45 rpm brethren having in most cases much less surface noise and, due to their higher speed, more dynamic range. Think the 60s example of mint styrene pressings as opposed to vinyl issues. For example, the Mariano boot of Thumper Jones classic Starday rockabilly double sider is noticeably superior to any of the originals I have owned. Clearly mastered from a 78. As for the rest, the Marianos soon became aware of collectors who were willing to loan them their precious originals. I suspect that the loanees often did this to spite their purist rivals. Yes, I know; collector rivalry is a rare thing, eh?

All round gentleman and respected collector/dealer of Pacific Palisades, Darryl Stolper was in all likelihood one of the fingermen for the Marianos. Most of us bought from his regular auctions and I probably scored most of my Crest label rockabilly classics from him. Often if you were the underbidder he would surprise you by sending a second copy at your high bid price. In those times there was scant information available on rare rockabilly on independent labels. If you had something no-one outwith the magic circle knew about, it was regarded as a species of sacred secret. Deliberate disinformation, false labels and titles, wants lists of juicy sounding titles which did not exist, downright lies; these were both a frustration and challenge to those who ‘just needed to own’ these mythical records. As I’m sure Mike will tell us, the Northern Soul scene was the same, if not more so. No doubt 70s Punk followed the same path.

Sometime in 1974 a little known 45 appeared on the Stolper auction. Many of us called him for a taste of this alleged great disc and found it to be just that. It is a strong possibility that this same 45 might have been used for the Mariano repro that appeared shortly after the sale. The address and owner of the company were displayed on the label. The owner was a hard-headed businessman ala the Chess brothers, and having been hipped to the unauthorised copying of his product he apparently contacted Henry Mariano. Being a businessman himself, Henry no doubt tried to resist any attempt to pay royalties. What he did not know, but was swiftly made aware of, was that the label owner was the local head honcho of the United Klans of America. To avoid any unecessary unpleasantness, a compromise was soon reached. I found out about this when I visited the label owner on a 1976 trip to the US. Quite a surprise and I was more than pleased to cough up the prices he asked without any quibbles. He did tell me to alert a German collector who had ripped him off, to take care of himself as the Klan was by then expanding in Germany. I certainly met some scary individuals on that jaunt.

To terminate this diatribe, which is sapping my depleted energy, despite all precautions, Rare Records Unlimited could not resist committing the cardinal sin of reproducing the 5 Elvis Sun 45s. Some job they made of it, too. Dubbed from clean 78s, they had never sounded better and even today have a sonic freshness that evades their latest digital incarnations. I have no doubt RCA set their lawyers on the Marianos and I’ve heard rumours of prison time. I believe BW has a cleared picture of this. Barry?

Years later I asked an MCA representative why, given the number of clear leads they were given about the bootlegging of their product, they did not make any endeavour to stop it. The answer came from a true businessman; the repros were nothing more than free publicity. For the price of 2 repro 45s, a customer could buy a 16/20 track album with all the classics present and legal. This is one of the reasons we owe our gratitude to the real enthusiasts among us who are driven by motives other than profit margins. If I sound like a closet pinko, I’m sure one or two of you will set me straight.

Dave: Regarding racist trends in UK rockabilly and punk circles. There's more to it than meets the eye. I'll answer you tomorrow. Time to revisit Mister Pharmasist.

Moderator please feel free to edit or butcher this post as you see fit. My next posts will be much shorter and relevant to the teenbeat aspects of record collecting. Incidentally, the 60s component of my 45 collection exceeds the 50s stack.
 
masterbeat64 said:
Rare Records Unlimited Part 2.

1973 was not only a crisis year for world politics, it was also one for the microcosmic universe of UK rockabilly fanatics. The appearance of the first volume of Phonogram’s ‘Sun Rockabillies, album was predictably greeted with sneers and howls of derision by these purists, some of whom regarded drums on a rockabilly disc as a serious form of heresy. The visuals did not help either. Compilers Hawkins and Escott not only looked like University students, they were also articulate and possessed academic intelligence. This was anathema to the hard core fans who projected a real of affected image based on the 1950s English Teddy Boys. ‘Sun Rockabillies’ and subsequent albums issued by MCA and other majors who had access to these then largely unknown treasures, were likewise condemned and their products referred to as ‘legal bootlegs’ Such was their reward for their efforts to bring rockabilly to a wider audience. It could be argued however, that cramming up to 20 tracks on to a microgroove LP was a compromise that inevitably resulted in poorer sound quality. Still, the non-purist majority demonstrated that a commercially viable market did and still does exist for this great music.

In parallel with this, 1973 saw the belated discovery of rockabilly by critical writers such as Charlie Gillet, Bill Millar, Ray Topping and others of that distinguished ilk. The fact was, the blues had become stale and a new field was ready to plough and harvest. ‘Let It Rock’ was the respected mouthpiece of these writers who referred to rockabilly as ‘the real underground’. Based on their past experiences with learned and polite blues collectors, the discoverers of this ‘real underground’ firmly anticipated similar co-operation from the rockabilly crowd. In general this co-operation was freely given. But a small number of the real purists ignored or robustly rebuffed any attempt by outsiders to pick their brains or glean any info from their precious original 45s. I did myself have a modicum of sympathy for this attitude having provided access to my records after an unannounced visit by a pair of these knowledge seekers. ‘Worse than the Mormons’ was my good lady’s succinct comment. The lack of any formal credit did not bother me as my work encouraged a strong measure of anonymity. What did irk me was having loaned one of these dudes 3 of my prized US R’n’B vocal group 78s for ‘research’ purposes, it was the last I saw of them. Maybe he’ll return them in the afterlife to which he has preceded me. Forgive me if this sounds like the bitching of a bitter old man. I can assure you that it most certainly is.

The appearance of the Mariano rockabilly repros at the same time as the ‘legal bootlegs’ really put the tin hat on things. The purists spat fire and blood. ‘Bootleg records for bootleg people’, Don’t let these leper discs infect your fine originals’, ‘Death to the San Mateo rats’ and similar slogans were disseminated via the micro circulation fanzines of the time. The other side accused the purists of racism as aspersions had been made on the Mariano’s ethnic origins and Henry’s skin tone was described as ‘paper-bag brown’. ‘Poor cats gotta bop’was a common slogan directed at the purists. Really; who in the wider world cared about any of this? But a potentially more sinister situation was brewing.

To give the Mariano brothers their due, they endeavoured to dub from the best available sources. In some instances this was suspected to be from’borrowed’ mastertapes. Many of the classic rockabilly sides were taken from mint 78s which, in many ways were night-and-day superior to their 45 rpm brethren having in most cases much less surface noise and, due to their higher speed, more dynamic range. Think the 60s example of mint styrene pressings as opposed to vinyl issues. For example, the Mariano boot of Thumper Jones classic Starday rockabilly double sider is noticeably superior to any of the originals I have owned. Clearly mastered from a 78. As for the rest, the Marianos soon became aware of collectors who were willing to loan them their precious originals. I suspect that the loanees often did this to spite their purist rivals. Yes, I know; collector rivalry is a rare thing, eh?

All round gentleman and respected collector/dealer of Pacific Palisades, Darryl Stolper was in all likelihood one of the fingermen for the Marianos. Most of us bought from his regular auctions and I probably scored most of my Crest label rockabilly classics from him. Often if you were the underbidder he would surprise you by sending a second copy at your high bid price. In those times there was scant information available on rare rockabilly on independent labels. If you had something no-one outwith the magic circle knew about, it was regarded as a species of sacred secret. Deliberate disinformation, false labels and titles, wants lists of juicy sounding titles which did not exist, downright lies; these were both a frustration and challenge to those who ‘just needed to own’ these mythical records. As I’m sure Mike will tell us, the Northern Soul scene was the same, if not more so. No doubt 70s Punk followed the same path.

Sometime in 1974 a little known 45 appeared on the Stolper auction. Many of us called him for a taste of this alleged great disc and found it to be just that. It is a strong possibility that this same 45 might have been used for the Mariano repro that appeared shortly after the sale. The address and owner of the company were displayed on the label. The owner was a hard-headed businessman ala the Chess brothers, and having been hipped to the unauthorised copying of his product he apparently contacted Henry Mariano. Being a businessman himself, Henry no doubt tried to resist any attempt to pay royalties. What he did not know, but was swiftly made aware of, was that the label owner was the local head honcho of the United Klans of America. To avoid any unecessary unpleasantness, a compromise was soon reached. I found out about this when I visited the label owner on a 1976 trip to the US. Quite a surprise and I was more than pleased to cough up the prices he asked without any quibbles. He did tell me to alert a German collector who had ripped him off, to take care of himself as the Klan was by then expanding in Germany. I certainly met some scary individuals on that jaunt.

To terminate this diatribe, which is sapping my depleted energy, despite all precautions, Rare Records Unlimited could not resist committing the cardinal sin of reproducing the 5 Elvis Sun 45s. Some job they made of it, too. Dubbed from clean 78s, they had never sounded better and even today have a sonic freshness that evades their latest digital incarnations. I have no doubt RCA set their lawyers on the Marianos and I’ve heard rumours of prison time. I believe BW has a cleared picture of this. Barry?

Years later I asked an MCA representative why, given the number of clear leads they were given about the bootlegging of their product, they did not make any endeavour to stop it. The answer came from a true businessman; the repros were nothing more than free publicity. For the price of 2 repro 45s, a customer could buy a 16/20 track album with all the classics present and legal. This is one of the reasons we owe our gratitude to the real enthusiasts among us who are driven by motives other than profit margins. If I sound like a closet pinko, I’m sure one or two of you will set me straight.

Dave: Regarding racist trends in UK rockabilly and punk circles. There's more to it than meets the eye. I'll answer you tomorrow. Time to revisit Mister Pharmasist.

Moderator please feel free to edit or butcher this post as you see fit. My next posts will be much shorter and relevant to the teenbeat aspects of record collecting. Incidentally, the 60s component of my 45 collection exceeds the 50s stack.
Click to expand...
Darryl Stolper...I haven't heard that name in awhile. In an odd twist, Darryl was the source for two of the original Miramar Dovers 45s
in my own collection (via the leading West Coast Cajun music expert and collector, Lyle Ferbrache R.I.P).
 
Dave Baldwin said:
...but I do remember
some U.K. rockabilly cats (and punk rockers) back then that were always asking me for Cliff Trahan's 'Johnny Rebel' records
when I mentioned that I bought and sold oddball South Louisiana-label vinyl.🦞
Click to expand...
Well remember those Johnny Rebb 45s and the characters who bought the. A band of Rockabilly Rebels were trudging home from a record hop one night, all of them roaring out ‘Drive Them N-------s North. The police stopped them. A quick 5 minute impromptu lesson later and HM Constables were lustily belting out the chorus. Irony alert: a lot of these records were cut in Jay Miller’s studio in Crowley, LA. Based on conversations I had with some of Jay’s blues cats, musicians from all Jay’s stable were pressed into service when required. ‘Pay the Union rate, and we’d play anything.’ Cajuns of all shades, black bluesmen, hillbilly steel guitarists, rockabilly pickers. After the session folded they went their separate ways. Segregation? Fact of life in those parts. Highly probable that blacks featured in the Johnny Rebb sessions.

Irony alert 2: among the Rebels favourite anthems was Jesse James ‘South’s Gonna Rise Again’ The session gang is almost certainly comprised of black musicians.

Prior to ,76 Rockabilly Rebels rubbed along with Punks. So no surprise that they, too, listened to Ol’ Johnny. The 45s Dave mentions appeared on dealers list as ‘Not to be taken seriously. Good old Southern humour'. Everybody loves a lynching.

Now, you respected Forum Elders, any examples of racism among the 60s teenbeat crowd?
 
masterbeat64 said:
Well remember those Johnny Rebb 45s and the characters who bought the. A band of Rockabilly Rebels were trudging home from a record hop one night, all of them roaring out ‘Drive Them N-------s North. The police stopped them. A quick 5 minute impromptu lesson later and HM Constables were lustily belting out the chorus. Irony alert: a lot of these records were cut in Jay Miller’s studio in Crowley, LA. Based on conversations I had with some of Jay’s blues cats, musicians from all Jay’s stable were pressed into service when required. ‘Pay the Union rate, and we’d play anything.’ Cajuns of all shades, black bluesmen, hillbilly steel guitarists, rockabilly pickers. After the session folded they went their separate ways. Segregation? Fact of life in those parts. Highly probable that blacks featured in the Johnny Rebb sessions.

Irony alert 2: among the Rebels favourite anthems was Jesse James ‘South’s Gonna Rise Again’ The session gang is almost certainly comprised of black musicians.

Prior to ,76 Rockabilly Rebels rubbed along with Punks. So no surprise that they, too, listened to Ol’ Johnny. The 45s Dave mentions appeared on dealers list as ‘Not to be taken seriously. Good old Southern humour'. Everybody loves a lynching.

Now, you respected Forum Elders, any examples of racism among the 60s teenbeat crowd?
Click to expand...
I remember this one as being "KKK-oriented" ( I can't remember if 'pro' or 'con'). I actually like the instrumental on the flip..."The Weird Turtle"!

1727185148896.png
 
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