Big Jay McNeely is a legendary figure in American rhythm and blues. Mc Neely is known as the King of the Honking Tenor Sax and at 84 years of age he is still honking it up.
McNeely was credited with being the most flamboyant performer. He wore bright banana- and lime-colored suits, played under blacklights that made his horn glow in the dark, used strobe lights as early as 1952 to create an "old-time-movie" effect, and sometimes walked off the stage and out the door, usually with the club patrons following along behind. At one point, in San Diego, police arrested him on the sidewalk and hauled him off to jail, while his band kept playing on the bandstand, waiting for him to return. The honking style was fading somewhat by the early 1950s, but the honkers themselves suddenly found themselves providing rousing solos for doo wop groups; an example was Sam "The Man" Taylor's eight-bar romp on The Chords' 1954 "Sh-Boom." Bill Haleyalso used honking sax men Joey D'Ambrosio and Rudy Pompilli on his rock and roll records, including "Rock Around the Clock." However, the rise of theelectric guitar essentially ended the dominance of the tenor sax in rock and roll by 1956.
The Sounds, recorded for the Bihari Brothers' Modern Records. The first record, "Cold Chills"/"So Unnecessary" was released in November 1955. The second, a cover of the Colts' "Sweet Sixteen," backed with "Anything For You," came out in January 1956. All the sides were led by Bobby Byrd.
I never really cared for this one much as I am not a huge doo-wop vocals fan, but it's one of dad's 45s, so here it is! He also had this on a 78 as well.
Googie Rene does a bit of a novelty song here with Big Foot, but Rebecca on the other side is the one I like.
From 1958
Here is the flip side of the "Powder Puff" single that I posted last week.
Starring Leo Wright (as) Brother Jack McDuff (org) Kenny Burrell (g) Joe Dukes (d)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, October 23, 1962
Here is another good old good one from 1953. Tiny Bradshaw, His Piano And Band bring you "Powder Puff", a swingin' little number, perfect for jitterbuggin'.
Dem Bones, Dry Bones or Dem Dry Bones is a well-known traditional spiritual song, used to teach basic anatomy to children, although its description is not anatomically correct. The melody was written by African-American author and songwriter James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938). Two versions of this traditional song are used widely, the second an abridgment of the first. The lyrics are based on Ezekiel 37:1-14, where the prophet visits the Valley of Dry Bones and causes them to become alive by God's command. Bill Black's Memphis honky tonk twist on this song was the flip side of his 'Josephine" single, released on Hi Records in 1960.
Another great Googie Rene 45 from 1957.
Googie developed his own songwriting, arranging, keyboard playing, and production techniques during his time in charge of the Class record label. From the smooth 1956 West Coast jump of Wham Bam to the groovy 1966 Ramsey Lewis stylings, Googie had the latest chart hits and current trends always in mind when he went into the studio. The influences and inspirations are many and varied.
Eddie Cano's Reprise debut Eddie Cano at P.J.'s '61 included this Grammy nominated U.S. national hit single "A Taste of Honey."
P.J.'s was a small after-hours club in West Hollywood, which opened May '61; his quintet [formed '57] began a residency there July '61 and became a big hit with show business celebrities who flocked to see him.
