Bill Doggett - True Blue

True Blue is the B-side to Quaker City which I posted several months ago and features Billy Butler on guitar.

Roy Milton & His Orchestra - Thelma Lou

Milton spent the years of his youth on an Indian reservation in Oklahoma before making his home in Tulsa. He got a job as a singer with a territory band fronted by Ernie Fields. He got the opportunity to play the drums when the band's regular drummer didn't show. Milton moved west to Los Angeles and formed a trio that played clubs in the greater L.A. area in the early nineteen forties.In the year 1945 Milton signed a recording contract with a new area independent label called Juke Box Records (soon to be renamed Specialty). Specialty released "Thelma Lou" in April of 1952.

Jay Franks & His Rockets of Rhythm - Stripped Gears

Jay Franks recorded this jumpin' record for RPM in 1952.

Ges Jenkins - Spark Plug

Piano player & singer Gus Jenkins (1931-1985) first recorded in Chicago for the Chess label with Big Walter Horton before moving to the west coast where he recorded with Flash Records in Los Angeles. This 78 is from 1956.

"The Fabulous" Joe Houston - Shtiggy Boom

Here is a rockin' lil' number from the legendary tenor saxophonist, Joe Houston.

The Fugitives - Freeway (Update! 9/3/11)

I was recently contacted by Dion(Alan) Smith, the man who wrote this song. This is from the email he sent me.

I can give you the whole back story...I wrote it ("Freeway") and played it when I was in high school.
Also placed it with the label (when I was about 16 years old), driving my mom's '59 Hudson
Hornet from Phoenix AZ to "Hollywood".
It was first released on Arvee, then Russel Sims, who had made stampers unbeknownst
to myself (and then 'run out of Phoenix') saw Dollar $igns and released the same session on his
own label from...Memphis, I believe. There's quite a story there, including some 'teenage
espionage', another session of the same tune with the help of LeRoy VanDyke
("Just Walk On By, Wait On The Corner" fame).

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Johnny Ace - Saving My Love For You

Johnny Ace (June 9, 1929 – December 25, 1954), born John Marshall Alexander, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, scored a string of hit singles in the 1950s before dying of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound. This record was released in 1954 before his untimely death on Christmas of that year while fooling around with a loaded .22 pistol backstage between sets at the City Auditorium in Houston, Texas.