The Drifters - "If You Don't Come Back"

The A side of "Rat Race" by The Drifters, features Johnny Moore on lead vocals.
Although it was the A side the song did not fare as well as the B-Side which made it to number 71 on the U.S. Pop Chart.

The Cadillacs - Let Me Explain

Remember Speedo? Well here is the downtempo B-side in all it's sappy doo-woppy goodness.

Sax Man Brown - "Flaming Blues"

Time for the the flip side of this one, by Sax Man Brown & The Broomdusters.
Golden smokey blues that invokes cinematic memories of old.

Ramsey Lewis Trio - "Iracy Blues"

Here again is the Ramsey Lewis Trio, doing a little thing called "Iracy Blues". I love the stand up bass lines, which I believe were played by Eldee Young.

Lewis performing at JazzFe 2006. Photo by Tomas Forgac

Percy Mayfield - "Loose Lips"

Here is the other side of this record. This was the side that dad always played. I imagine that these were somewhat risqué lyrics for the time.

Mose Allison - "Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me"

Here is the B side to Mose Allison's "The Seventh Son", which I posted about a year ago.

Prestige Records tried to market Allison as a pop star, but Columbia Records and later Atlantic Records tried to market him as a blues artist. Because he sang blues, Jet magazine thought that he was black and wanted to interview him. I thought he was too when I first heard him as a kid.

Mose is still with us and his March 2010 album, The Way of the World, "marked his return to the recording studio after a 12-year absence."

Lionel Hampton - "Railroad No. 1"

You could not spend a better 9 cents than on this record by Lionel Hampton and his orchestra. This record swings a jazzy, instrumental blues groove that will have you bopping in no time.
This is the B side to this post from last year.