CONTAINS
For music (standard singles) and playlists on YouTube click on the available > buttons <
For music (standard singles) and playlists on YouTube click on the available > buttons <
1961 SESSIONS 1-6
January 1, 1961 to June 30, 1961
Studio Session for Hayden Thompson, 1961 / Beat Records
Studio Session for Hayden Thompson, 1961 / Sonic Records
Studio Session for Nelson Ray, 1961 / Sun Records
Studio
Session for Jean Dee, 1961 / Sun Records
Studio Session for Shirley Sisk, 1961 / Sun
Records
Studio Session for George Klein, Early 1961 / Sun Records
Studio Session for Jerry Lee Lewis, February 9, 1961 / Sun Records (31)
Studio Session for Charlie Rich, February 11, 1961 / Sun Records
Studio Session for The Teenangels, March 1961 / Sun Records
Studio Session for Harold Dorman, April 14, 1961 / Sun Records
Studio Session for Jerry Lee Smith, May 4, 1961 / Sun Records
Studio
Session for Bily Adams, Unknown Date(s) Summer 1961 / HOTB Records
Studio Session for
Bill Yates, Unknown Date Summer 1961 / First Records
Studio Session for Jerry Lee Lewis,
June 12, 1961 / Sun Records (32)
Studio Session for Carl Mann, June 13, 1961 / Sun
Records
Studio Session for Jerry Lee Lewis, June 14, 1961 / Sun Records (33)
For Biographies of Artists see: > The Sun Biographies <
Sun recordings can be heard on the playlists from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
Sun recordings can be heard on the playlists from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
© - 706 UNION
AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
1961
The cold war continued to worsen with the USSR exploding some very large bombs during testing and then masterminding the building of the Berlin Wall separating East from West Berlin, America sent a battle group to Germany and Americans
and Russians Glared at each other across the border, due to this uncertainty many Americans built backyard fallout shelters in case of nuclear war. To make matters worse the Americans financed anti-Castro Cubans for an invasion at the bay of pigs which was
an unmitigated disaster. The Soviets put the first man in space on April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin followed by the US in May with Alan Shepard. Popular music included Chubby Checker's “Pony Time” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”
by the Shirelles, and top movies included "West Side Story" and "The Parent Trap''.
1961
The extended plays, Sun EPA
115 ''Blue Suede Shoes'' by Carl Perkins and Sun EPA 116 ''Home Of The Blues'' by Johnny Cash issued.
Rock's second era begins in earnest with the debut of Del Shannon's "Runaway" which is the first pure unadorned and uptempo rocker to hit number 1 on the Billboard
Pop Charts in almost a year. The song also introduces the "musitron", an early form of the synthesizer.
The Marvelettes "Please Mr. Postman" becomes the first number 1 Billboard Pop hit released on
a black owned and operated label, Motown.
A widespread
revival of the mid-1950's vocal group sound results in the re-appearance on the charts and airwaves of dozens of songs from 1954-1957 and the brief resurgence of
similarly styled newer groups.
"Frat
Rock" begins to show up with Gary "US" Bonds hit "Quarter To Three" with its emphasis on a frenzied atmosphere rather than on intricate production.
Soul music starts gaining a foothold with hits by Sam Cooke, James Brown, Solomon Burke
and former Drifters lead signer Ben E. King, who's "Stand By Me" is a number 1 rhythm and blues record.
Elvis Presley gives his last live performance for eight years.
A good year for Louisiana rhythm and blues with the release of Chris Kenner's ''I Like It Like That'', Ernie K-Doe's ''Mother-in-Law'',
and Joe Barry's swamp-pop classic, ''I'm A Fool To Care''. New Orleans traditional jazz pianist and Preservation Hall Jazz band mainstay Sweet Emma Barrett recorded her first album, ''New Orleans: The Living Legends''. Harold Battiste, Jr., launches AFO Records,
the country's first black-owned-and-operated record label, with the Barbara George hit ''I Know (You Don't Love Me No More)''.
1961
A further Sun studio, this time on the site of the Cumberland Lodge building in Nashville, opens in February and christened when Jerry Lee's rendering of "What'd I Say" (one of the
first sides recorded there) turns out to be his 'comeback' hit. Ex-rockabilly vocalist and future country bigwig, Billy Sherrill, is taken on as
an engineer and part-time producer.
Dick Dale uses the
term "surfing" to describe his instrumental rock and roll.
Stax
Records begins to produce soul records in Memphis, Tennessee.
The
Peppermint Lounge opens in New York.
Roy Orbison has his
first number 1 hit, "Running Scared" on the Billboard Top 100 chart.
Phil Spector and partner Lester Sill released the "Oh Yeah Maybe Baby" on their new label Philles.
Columbia Records releases selections of Robert Johnson's recordings on LP. This release was critical in the popularity of blues in England in years to come.
RCA France issued a are 8-track 10-inch LP (130.252) contained both sides of Elvis's first four Sun Records releases. "Good Rockin' Tonight" is significant because it didn't have the echo
that RCA added to all of the Sun material. What you have here is the basic Sun sound in all its glory.
1961
It was in St. Louis in 1961 that former Sun artist Onie Wheeler was contacted by Bob Neal again. Since 1957, Neal had dissolved Stars Inc. and moved to California to manage
Johnny Cash. He then split from Cash and headed back east, bypassing Memphis and arriving in Nashville. He proposed a deal to Onie,
who moved his family to Nashville once more, but the offer fell through, leaving Onie scrambling around for a job.
It was during this period that he went back to see Don Law of Columbia and got a
joint Epic session for himself and his daughter Karen in April 1962. The result was ''Sandyland Farmer'', a not-too-successful answerdisc
to Frankie Miller's ''Blackland Farmer''.
Bob Neal eventually
landed Onie a slot on George Jones' package show, and Onie recorded for Jones's labels; United Artists in 1964 and Musicor the following year. Then they had the inevitable rift and Onie went to work for Roy Acuff, holding down a fairly steady day job with Sho-Bud guitars (one of the owners, Shot Jackson, also worked for Acuff as
a steel guitarist, so no-one lost their job for taking off work to play Acuff shows).
1961
During 1961 it seems that former Sun artist Billy Emerson was doing artist and repertoire work for Lenard Allen of the United Artist label, working with artists like
Junior Wells and Willie Mabon. For parts of 1961 and 1962 he was living in New Jersey after his father died there in Linden. Emerson
played as a solo around the Newark area.
Sun SLP 1250 ''Million
Sellers'' by Various Artists issued. Reissued with different jacket as ''Sun's Gold Hits, Volume 1''.
Sun SLP 1260 ''At The Rockhouse'' by Roy Orbison issued.
Sun SLP 1265 ''Jerry Lee's Greatest'' by Jerry Lee Lewis issued.
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
Session Published for
Historical Reasons
STUDIO SESSION FOR HAYDEN THOMPSON
FOR BEAT RECORDS 1961
HALL RECORDING STUDIO
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
SUN
SESSION: UNKNOWN DATE 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING
ENGINEER – UNKNOWN
Shortly after the BEAT session,
the guys at Hall studio connected Hayden with a man named Mike Oury who ran a label called Profile, formerly associated with Mel London's Chief Records. Profile had issued recordings by well though of bluesmen including Junior Wells, and some raw
rock and roll by Mickey Hawks and others. The deal was that Hayden would take his own band into the studio and produce masters that Profile would buy from him.
01 – ''WHATCHA GONNA DO'' – B.M.I. - 2:55
Composer:
- Hayden Thompson
Publisher: - Mike Oury Music Incorporated
Matrix
number: - S 1426
Recorded: - Unknown Date 1961
Released: - August
1961
First appearance: - Profile Records (S) 45rpm standard single Profile 4015-A mono
WHATCHA GONNA DO / SUMMERS ALMOST OVER
Reissued: - 2008 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 16131-30 mono
HAYDEN THOMPSON – THE SUN YEARS PLUS
''Whatcha Gonna Do'' is a good pop song, forcefully sung by Hayden with some interesting vocal tricks and an engaging Mexican guitar sound.
''Summers Almost Over'' is a calmer version of the same formula, and again Hayden's voice soars and falls in all the right places. The song,
issued on August 1961, is aimed at the summer vacation crowd and could have been a real smash with the right promotion. It is obviously a theme Hayden had been kicking around for some time because he also recorded a demo of a song called ''It Won't
Be Long Until The Summer''.
02 – ''SUMMERS ALMOST
OVER'' – B.M.I. - 2:58
Composer: - Hayden Thompson
Publisher:
- Mike Oury Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - S 1427
Recorded: -
Unknown Date 1961
Released: - August 1961
First appearance: - Profile
Records (S) 45rpm standard single Profile 4015-B mono
WHATCHA GONNA DO / SUMMERS ALMOST OVER
Reissued: - 2008 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 16131-31 mono
HAYDEN THOMPSON – THE SUN YEARS PLUS
Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Hayden Thompson – Vocal & Acoustic Guitar
Travis Westmoreland – Guitar
Unknown – Bass
Bob Miller – Drums
Unknown - Piano
For Biography of Hayden Thompson see: > The Sun Biographies <
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
Session Published for
Historical Reasons
STUDIO SESSION FOR HAYDEN THOMPSON
SONIC RECORDING STUDIO
1692 MADISON AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
STUDIO SESSION : UNKNOWN DATE 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER - ROLAND JANES
AND/OR JACK CLEMENT
Moving to the Sonic studio in 1961, Roland Janes produced Hayden with a different sound altogether; ''I Wanna Get Home'' was an unashamed imitation of the Johnny Cash sound, complete with chunk chugga chunk rhythm impressively played Memphis's
up and coming guitar wizard, Travis Wammack, and an overall lonesome sound. Hayden doesn't imitate Cash's voice directly but his vocal performance is impressive, suggesting Cash rather than being Cash, much as he was able to do with Presley.
01 – ''I WANNA GET HOME'' – B.M.I. - 2:16
Composer: - Hayden Thompson
Publisher: - Copyright Control
Matrix number: - None – Not Originally Issued
Recorded: - Unknown Date 1961
Released: - 1988
First appearance: - Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15263-12 mono
HAYDEN THOMPSON – FAIRLANE ROCK
Reissued: - 2008 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD
16131-22 mono
HAYDEN THOMPSON – THE SUN YEARS PLUS
Recorded on this session was ''Kansas City'', Hayden's second go at capturing the Leiber and Stoller song that has been revived several times over the years by bluesmen
and rockers alike. This version is up-yo-date early 1960s Memphis blue eyed blues, its rhythm a mixture of blues and rock and roll, but topped off with a
creazed
piano solo by the little-known Tommy Bennett and two cutting, space-age guitar solos by Travis Wammack. Hayden recorded the song on other occasions, but this is the finest.
02 – ''KANSAS CITY'' – B.M.I. - 2:31
Composer:
- Jerry Leiber-Mike Stoller
Publisher: - Jerry Leiber Music – Mike Stoller Music
Matrix number: - None – Not Originally Issued
Recorded: - Unknown Date 1961
Released: - 1988
First appearance: - Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15263-9 mono
HAYDEN THOMPSON – FAIRLANE ROCK
Reissued: - 2008 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 16131-18 mono
HAYDEN THOMPSON – THE SUN YEARS PLUS
03 – ''THIS IS COUNTRY'' – B.M.I.
Composer: - Unknown
Publisher: - Copyright Control
Matrix number: - None – Not Originally Issued
Recorded: - Unknown Date 1961
Released: - 1988
First appearance: - Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15263-11 mono
HAYDEN THOMPSON – FAIRLANE ROCK
Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Hayden Thompson – Vocal & Acoustic Guitar
Travis Wammack - Guitar
Prentiss McPhail – Bass
Danny Taylor – Drums
Tommy
Bennett - Piano
For Biography of Hayden Thompson see: > The Sun Biographies <
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
STUDIO SESSION FOR NELSON
RAY
UNKNOWN DATE AND STUDIO LOCATION PROBABLY 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER – UNKNOWN
01 – "YOU'RE EVERYTHING" - B.M.I. - 2:08
Composer: - Jack Toombs
Publisher: - Sure Fire Music Corporation
Matrix number: - P 400 - Master - Promotion Copy
Recorded: - Unknown Date
Released: - April 28, 1961
First appearance: - Phillips International (S) 45rpm standard single > PI 3568-A < mono
YOU'RE EVERYTHING / YOU'VE COME HOME
Reissued: - 1998 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15806-3-13 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 6
Nelson Ray represents another question mark on the Phillips International roster. Once again,
it's a cinch these sides were not recorded in a Memphis Sun studio and their source and personnel remain a mystery. The ballad ''You're Everything'' mines the country crossover territory worked to perfection by Jim Reeves. In fact the opening
bars suggest that Ray is about to sing ''Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone''.
The flip-side was probably the reason these sides were imported to Phillips International. ''You've Come Home'' features a strong Floyd Cramer sounding piano and a muted string
guitar solo that might have come directly from Don Gibson's ''Oh Lonesome Me''. The song's brief release borrows the chords directly from ''The Ways Of A Woman In Love'' has a mighty powerful hook. The title phrase, brief as
it is, is stretched into four notes and repeated melodically and effectively to the point where this song could have had some serious impact with only a modicum of air play. Unfortunately few disc jockeys in April 1961 agreed
with that assessment.
02 – "YOU'VE COME HOME" – B.M.I. - 2:23
Composer: - Nelson Ray
Publisher: - Hi-Lo Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - P 401 - Master - Promotion Copy
Recorded: - Unknown Date
Released: - April 28, 1961
First appearance: - Phillips International (S) 45rpm standard single > PI 3568-B < mono
YOU'VE COME HOME / YOU'RE EVERYTHING
Reissued:
- 1998 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15806-3-14 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 6
Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Nelson
Ray - Vocal
More Details Unknown
For Biography
of Nelson Ray see: > The Sun Biographies <
Nelson Ray's Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
Nelson Ray's Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
© - 706 UNION
AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
STUDIO SESSION FOR JEAN
DEE
UNKNOWN DATE AND STUDIO LOCATION PROBABLY 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER – UNKNOWN
Doing business in Nashville meant that Sam Phillips would be exposed
to more and more offers of product for lease than he would ever hear holed up with his buddies in Memphis. And so, we are one again faced with a mystery. Who is Jean Dee and where do these sides, released in July, 1961, come from? You'd have to go
all the way back to June, 1956 to find a similar case. At that time, Jean Chapel, another very bluesy white lady, had her spartan Nashville-recorded sides brought in for release on Sun.
01 – ''NOTHING DOWN (99 YEARS TO PAY)'' - B.M.I. - 2:24
Composer: - Wolfe
Publisher: - Peer Music
Matrix
number: - P 405 - Master
Recorded: - Unknown Date 1961
Released: - July 1961
First appearance: - Phillips International (S) 45rpm standard single
> PI 3570-B < mono
NOTHING DOWN (99 YEARS TO PAY) / MY GREATEST HURT
Reissued: - 1998 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15806-3-17
mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 6
''Nothing Down'' is a surprisingly gritty song for a white gal, circa 1961. Even the recording is curiously unadorned – the piano is barely audible in the mix. Basically,
this is a vocal/drums/electric bass date. There is a passing resemblance to ''Heartbreak Hotel'', although by comparison that arrangement seemed quite full! ''My Greatest Hurt'' is where the money was spent. We've got the same bass and drums here
for sure, but what a difference a well-recorded chorus makes. Compare the impact of this restrained chorus with the usual wretched excess of choral overdubs in Memphis. Sometimes less is more – a sentiment that rarely dawned on the Gene
Lowery Singers. Jean Dee went on to record for King in 1963 but seems to have left few traces thereafter.
02 – "MY GREATEST HURT" - B.M.I. - 2:35
Composer: - Denning
Publisher: - Four Star
Matrix number: - P 404 - Master
Recorded: - Unknown Date 1961
Released: -
July 1961
First appearance: - Phillips International (S) 45rpm standard single > PI 3570-A < mono
MY GREATEST HURT / NOTHING DOWN (99 YEARS TO PAY)
Reissued: - 1998 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15806-3-18 mono
THE SUN SINGLES
COLLECTION - VOLUME 6
Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Jean Dee – Vocal
Unknown Vocal Chorus
More Details Unknown
For Biography of Jean Dee see: > The Sun Biographies <
Jean Dee's Sun recordings can be heard on her playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
Jean Dee's Sun recordings can be heard on her playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
© - 706 UNION
AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
UPDATE - JEAN DEE - You might not recognize the name Jean Dee, but you still might have
heard her voice. She was born Yvonne McGowan on Christmas Day in Oklahoma and has recorded and performed under a variety of many different names and genres. Some of the different names
she has used include Yvonne O'Day, Vonnie Taylor, Vonnie Mack, Jean Dee and Yvonne DeVaney, which she still uses today. At the age of two, she began singing and yodelling, and by 11 she won a contest playing
classical piano. She also played guitar and bass.
While still
in high school, she teamed up with her sister Mary, with Yvonne playing guitar and Mary on accordion, and had a duet song and tap dancing
act. They performed with Roy Rogers and Trigger once!
Some
of the labels she's worked with include Capitol Records, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Phillips International, Spar Records, King Records, Chart Records, Compo Records
and for her own YMD Music Group, which she founded. If that sounds like she really gets around, she does! But, by recording for all those different labels,
she got to perform with a variety of artists. Some of those include Merle Lindsay's Western Swing Band, Red Foley, Pee Wee King, Minnie
Pearl, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, Tommy Duncan, The Anita Kerr Singers and a former featured artist here on Music For Every Mood, The Jordanaires, who back her on today's song. If you listen closely, you can tell it's their trademark sound!
Her biggest claim to fame would probably be her songwriting talents. She's written songs that have been recorded by Dean Martin, Vic Dana, Pat Boone,
Billy Walker, Dottie West, Wanda Jackson, Bonnie Guitar, Hank Snow, The Hardin Trio, Carl and Pearl Butler, The Wilburn Brothers and
The Cheltenham Singers, out of England.
Some of the many
songs she's recorded herself, under different names, include ''Snowflakes'', ''I Just Want To Be With You'', ''Love Is A Gamble'', Does It Hurt You To Remember'', ''I Live For You'', ''Please Forgive Me'', ''Blue Mountain Waltz'', ''Slowly I'm Losing You'', ''Open Arms'', ''If You Don't Somebody Else Will'', ''Sweethearts On Parade'',
''My Greatest Hurt'', ''Step Into My World'', ''Dim The Car Lights'', ''Pick Me Up On Your Way Down'', ''Teach Me To Live Without You''
and ''Tell Me A Lie'', among countless others. She's enjoyed a very full recording career!
She has received a BMI Citation of Achievement Award for her writing and holds the honorary Commission
Rank of Commodore in the Oklahoma Navy. Some of her latest releases include The Yvonne DeVaney Collection of 2003.
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
STUDIO SESSION FOR SHIRLEY
SISK
FOR SUN RECORDS 1962
PROBABLY ECHO RECORDING STUDIO
14 NORTH MANASSAS AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
SUN SESSION: UNKNOWN DATE 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER - PROBABLY STAN KESLER
Born Ernestine Brooks in Memphis. First recorded for Sam Phillips as a pianist and vocalist with her sisterin- law Judy Dismukes on guitar. The session was on February 8,
1952 when ''Let Me Count The Curls'' and ''Mean Old Memphis'' were recorded. Sam Phillips assigned Chess master numbers and shipped masters to Chess and to local radio stations. However, Chess did not release the titles, but Acuff-Rose picked up the publishing rights to the song ''Let Me Count The Curls''. By the late 1950s
and early 1960s, Shirley Sisk was back in Memphis, working out of the Echo studios as a pianist and organist. She was featured on a Phillips International disc by the Memphis Bells and in her own right on Sun 365, recorded at the Echo studio on Manassas Avenue in 1961. She owned Permanent Records in Memphis, which did
not live up to its name.
01 - ''I FORGOT TO REMEMBER
TO FORGET'' - B.M.I. - 2:37
Composer: - Stan Kesler
Publisher: - Hi-Lo
Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - U 449 - Master
Recorded: - Unknown Date 1961
Released: - August 1961
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 45rpm standard single > Sun 365-A < mono
I FORGOT TO REMEMBER TO FORGET / OTHER SIDE
Reissued:
- 1997 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15804-3-21 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 4
It's a long, long way from Elvis Presley's original version of this tune, issued on Sun 223 to this instrumental version by organist Shirley Sisk.
There's no point making comparisons: Shirley is going to lose every time. This was recorded across town at the Echo studio, and issued in August 1961. It's easy to see why Sam might have been intrigued. First and foremost, he owned the publishing;
second, the sound here had a strong commercial Billy Vaughn quality (albeit it with a far more potent backbeat).
Although it had been four years since Vaughn's hit ''Sail Along Silvery Moon'', the sound of Vaughn's music continued to sell respectable quantities of LPs, and seeing one of Sun's classic tunes turned
into elevator music might have been a captivating thought.
The aptly named ''Other Side'' is a crisply recorded 12 bar blues. It's a safe bet this tune was recorded in one take either at the very end of the session or at the start, before
the crew got down to any serious work.
02 – ''OTHER SIDE'' - B.M.I. - 2:14
Composer: - Stan Kesler-Shirley Sisk
Publisher: - Katrina Music
Matrix number: - U 450 - Master
Recorded: - Unknown Date 1961
Released: - August 1961
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 45rpm standard
single > Sun 365-B < mono
OTHER SIDE / I FORGOT TO REMEMBER TO FORGET
Reissued: - 1997 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm
BCD 15804-3-22 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 4
03 – ''YOU DON'T LOVE ME''
Composer: - Unknown
Publisher: - Copyright Control
Matrix number: - None - Sun Unissued
Recorded: - Unknown Date
1961
04 – ''SINCE I MET YOU
Composer:
- Unknown
Publisher: - Copyright Control
Matrix number: - None - Sun Unissued
Recorded: - Unknown Date 1961
Name
(Or. No. Of Instruments)
Shirley Sisk - Organ
Billy Wood - Guitar
Elbert Adair - Guitar
Eugene
Keller - Drums
Bobby Wood - Piano
Charles Chalmers - Saxo
For Biography of Shirley Sisk see: > The Sun Biographies <
Shirley Sisk's Sun recordings can be heard on her playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on < YouTube <
Shirley Sisk's Sun recordings can be heard on her playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on < YouTube <
© - 706
UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
JANUARY 1961
Jerry Lee Lewis buys new house on East Shore Drive in Memphis, Tennessee.
JANUARY 1, 1961 SUNDAY
Buzz Clifford begins tour to promote Baby Sittin' Boogie.
JANUARY 2, 1961 MONDAY
Aretha Franklin launches her switch to secular music at the Showboat in Philadelphia tonight.
Capitol released Buck Owens' ''Foolin' Around''.
JANUARY 4, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Etta James is at the Counterpoint in Chicago. Bobby Rydell appears on the Perry Como Show.
JANUARY 5, 1961 THURSDAY
Iris DeMent is born in Paragould, Arkansas. Combinning folk and traditional country elements, she covers ''Big City'' on the Merle Haggard tribute
album ''Tulare Dust''. He name inspires the title of The Goo Goo Dolls' Grammy-nominated rock song ''Iris''.
Singer and songwriter Mark Nesler is born in Beaumont, Taxes. He writes Tim NcCraw's ''Living And Living Well'', Josh Turner's ''Time Is Love'' and Keith Urban's ''You Look Good In My Shirt'', among others.
JANUARY 6, 1961 FRIDAY
Colonel Tom Parker negotiates a pay raise for Elvis Presley. Paramount agrees to pay $175,000 for each
of its next three Presley pictures, and $200,000 for the two that will follow them.
Diana Trask marries Tom Ewen
George
Hamilton IV recorded ''To You And Yours (From Me And Mine)'' at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee.
Bill Doggett headlines the weekly revue at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C. Also appearing are the Drifters. Ruth Brown and Gary U.S. Bonds.
JANUARY 7, 1961 SATURDAY
Faron Young recorded ''Hello Walls'' at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio on Nashville's Music Row.
JANUARY 9, 1961 MONDAY
Brenda Lee recorded the pop hit ''You Can Depend On Me'' at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio In Nashville,
Tennessee.
The Johnny Horton classic ''North To Alaska''
goes on to number 1 in Billboard chart.
JANUARY 10, 1961
TUESDAY
Buzz Clifford sings "Baby Sittin' Boogieon American
Bandstand.
JANUARY 11, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Frankie Avalon opens for Joey Bishop at the Dunes Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Fats Domino begins a nine day tour of Texas and Oklahoma that
grosses $50,000.
JANUARY 12, 1961 THURSDAY
Decca released Brenda Lee's pop hit ''Emotions;;.
JANUARY 13, 1961 FRIDAY
Warner Bros. released The Everly Brothers' pop hit ''Walk Right Back''. Anne Murray scores with a country remake in 1978.
Sam Cooke appears at New York's Apollo Theater with the Shells
opening for him.
James Brown and the Fabulous Flames are
at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C.
JANUARY 14, 1961
SATURDAY
Saturday Prom features the Playmates and Johnny
and the Hurricanes.
Mickey and Sylvia appear on American
Bandstand.
It is reported that Jerry Lee Lewis and the
American Federation of Musicians have reached an agreement. Supposedly Lewis had owed the Union $10,000 in back dues. In retaliation the
A.F.M had banned Lewis from playing in Union controlled venues in Las Vegas.
''Town Hall Party'', an influential country radio/TV show in Los Angeles, comes to a conclusion after nine years, its regulars included Merle Travis, Tex Ritter, Freddie Hart and Joe Maphis.
JANUARY 16, 1961 MONDAY
Buck Owens and Rose Maddox recorded ''Mental Cruelty'' and ''Loose Talk'' at the Capitol Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California.
Capitol released The Louvin Brothers ''I Love You Best Of All''.
JANUARY 17, 1961 TUESDAY
Rose Maddox recorded ''Conscience, I'm Guilty'' at the Capitol Recording Studios in Hollywood, California.
JANUARY 19, 1961 THURSDAY
Rose Maddox recorded ''Lonely Street''. The song will become a country hit for Rex Allen Jr. in 1977.
JANUARY 20, 1961 FRIDAY
Elvis Presley finishes shooting ''Wild In The Country''.
Two weeks after signing a contract with Paramount Pictures, Colonel Tom Parker finishes negotiations with MGM on a deal that
pays Elvis Presley $500,000 a piece for appearing in four movies.
''Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country''. John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the 35th president of the Unites States in Washington, D.C. The next year, he is celebrated in Jimmy Dean's single ''P.T. 109''.
Jimmy C. Newman conducts his first Decca recording session, cutting
''Everybody's Dying For Love''.
Jerry Butler headlines the Regal Theater in Chicago. Also appearing are Dee Clark,
the Miracles, the Shirelles and LaVern Baker, Clyde McPhatter, Little Anthony, Ben E. King and the Shells.
John F. Kennedy is inaugurated President of the United States, urging Americans
to ''ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country'', and Fidel Castro declares Cuba bans free elections.
JANUARY 21, 1961 SATERDAY
Dale Hawkins opens at the Rocket Room In Washington.
The Ventures perform on Saturday Prom.
JANUARY 22, 1961 SUNDAY
Patsy Cline has her second baby, Allen Dick.
JANUARY 23, 1961 MONDAY
Decca released Lewis
Pruit's ''Crazy Bullfrog''.
JANUARY 24, 1961 TUESDAY
Bob Dylan arrives in Manhattan, where he gains acclaim as a folk
singer and songwriter. Inspired in part by Woody Guthrie, he is eventually inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of fame.
Johnny Burnette sings "Little Boy Sad" on American Bandstand.
JANUARY 25, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Ricky Nelson "Your the Only One" on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
JANUARY 26, 1961 THURSDAY
Dodie
Stevens, Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker complete a tour of Australia.
Frankie Lymon sings Silhouttes in American Bandstand.
JANUARY
27, 1961 FRIDAY
Carla Thomas makes her television debut
on American Bandstand and performs "Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes).
Gene Vincent plays The Gaiety Ballroom in Grimsby, Great Britain.
''Sing Along With Mitch'' debuts on NBC-TV with lyrics printed on the screen so the audience can participate at home. Host Mitch Miller is a former pop record executive who produced a
number of Marty Robbins sessions.
Ernie Ashworth recorded
''Forever Gone''.
JANUARY 28, 1961 SATURDAY
Brook Benton ends his month long tour in Orlando, Florida.
Saturday Prom is broadcast from the Winter Carnival in St. Paul, Minnesota. Appearing
are Freddy Cannon, JoAnn Campbell, Buzz Clifford and the String-A-Longs.
JANUARY 29, 1961 SUNDAY
Bob Dylan meets the declining Woody Guthrie in a private residence in East Orange, New Jersey. Both singer and songwriters will eventually be enshrined in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
JANUARY 30, 1961 MONDAY
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller announce they'll form their own production company. Originally pop and rhythm and blues songwriters, several of
their songs become country hits, including ''Stand By Me'', ''Hound Dog'' and ''Ruby Baby''.
Floyd Cramer recorded ''San Antonio Rose'' at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee.
Decca released Patsy Cline's ''I Fall To Pieces''.
Capitol released Buck Owens' self-titled album, the first of 50 compiled for the company over the next 15 years.
Billy and Charlene Sherrill are married. The groom goes on to write such relationship songs as ''My Elusive Dreams'', ''The Most Beautiful Girl'' and ''Stand By Your Man''.
JANUARY 31, 1961 TUESDAY
Bobby Darin and Friends, an hour long special, airs on NBC-TV.
LATE JANUARY 1961
The Everly Brothers are reported to be in Hollywood taking acting classes.
Aretha Franklin is booked to play the Library portion of the Playboy Club in Chicago.
Bill Doggett is at Pep's Musical Lounge in Philadelphia.
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
STUDIO SESSION FOR GEORGE
KLEIN
FOR SUN RECORDS 1961
SAM PHILLIPS RECORDING STUDIO
639 MADISON AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
SUN SESSION: EARLY 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER – CECIL SCAIFE
AND/OR GEORGE KLEIN
01 – ''U.T. PARTY PART I'' – B.M.I. - 2:30
Composer:
- Charles Underwood-Brad Suggs
Publisher: - Up Music Incorporated
Matrix
number: - U 434 - Master
Recorded: Early 1961
Released: - March 10, 1961
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 45rpm standard single > Sun 358-A < mono
U.T. PARTY PART I / U.T. PARTY PART II
Reissued: - 1997 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15804-3-7 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 4
Local disc jockey and Elvis-hanger on George Klein makes his second appearance on a Sun
label. He was last heard narrating the Jerry Lee career-disaster parody that appeared on Sun 301. Sun was willing to settle on a pretty limited market for this disc.
The ''U.T.'' in the title is the University of Tennessee, located in Knoxville, with a satellite campus in Memphis. Just to make sure the
whole marketplace is covered, Klein makes reference to U.T. Football, basketball and baseball here.
Presumably, the chess club was left out of the lyric since those geeks didn't dance and drink beer, both of which are plainly prerequisites for deriving enjoyment from this disc. Why Sun got into this
business is anybody's guess. Presumably, they expected to sell a bunch of these discs at fraternity parties. In any case, not many of them made it past the state line.
Klein offers an incredibly stilted narration here in a time honored style. Like rock and roll godfather Alan Freed, Klein talks to all those ''crazy cats'' and ''swinging chicks''
out there. Klein was barely older than his constituents, which made this patronizing blather barely tolerable. When Freed did it, it always sounded like somebody's uncle desperately trying to impress the kids.
02 – ''U.T. PARTY PART II'' – B.M.I. - 2:22
Composer: - Charles Underwood-Brad Suggs
Publisher: - Up Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - U 434 - Master
Recorded: Early 1961
Released: - March 10, 1961
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 45rpm standard
single > Sun 358-B < mono
U.T. PARTY PART II / U.T. PARTY PART I
Reissued: - 1997 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD
15804-3-8 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 4
Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
George Klein - Narration
More Details Unknown
For Biography of George Klein see: > The Sun Biographies <
George Klein's Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
George Klein's Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
© - 706 UNION
AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
GEORGE KLEIN – Born on October 8, 1935 in Memphis, Tennessee, is a disc jockey and television host. He met Elvis Presley in the eighth grade at Humes High School in North Memphis, and they became lifelong friends, until Presley's death in 1977. Klein can be heard weekly on Sirius XM channel
19 Elvis Radio, and on the George Klein Original Elvis Hour on WKQK FM and Sirius XM Elvis Radio.
George is an innovator and an ambassador to Memphis music. He has helped bring Memphis music to the world and the world of music to
Memphis. George Klein is much more than a friend of Elvis Presley. He was one of the first disc jockeys in Memphis to play rock and roll on the radio, before Elvis.
That was just the beginning
of what George would do for Memphis music wise and he became one of the most famous disc jockeys in Memphis history. He had the RKO ''Boss'' jock sound down when he was at WHBQ radio.
Klein and Elvis had a lot more in common than their careers, they thought a lot alike. Like Elvis, he doesn’t have an unkind word to say about anyone.
He is respectful, kind and caring.
In addition to his work at 56 WHBQ radio, George
also had a TV show on WHBQ TV Channel 13 called ''Talent Party''. ''Talent Party'' was always faithful to local talent. Every show featured at least one local act.
That show broke a lot of Memphis talent, like a group called Knowbody Else. You may know them better as Black Oak Arkansas. He also helped launch Sandy Posey’s career
(''Born A Woman'' and ''Single Girl''). George broke some records on ''Talent Party'' that went on to be national hits. They were songs that couldn’t get airplay on local stations. Songs by artist that George believed in like ''Keep On Dancing'' by the Gentrys and Sam the Sham's ''Wooly Bully'' just to name a couple.
George Klein himself make
several appearance on the Sun Records label, Klein performs probably in 1958 a traditional southern Baptist hymn ''Lord Lead Me Home'' in the very style that served as nightly entertainment at Elvis'
house. In all likelihood, Klein has simply taken a bit of Graceland and transported it to 706 Union. Klein actually had two releases on Sun
Records, one the Jerry Lee Lewis novelty record "The Return Of Jerry Lee" (Sun 301) created to make light of his 1958 British tour debacle. Klein's second Sun release was the forgettable March 1961
''U.T. Party 1 and 2'' (Sun 358) in 1961.
Whenever a group wanted to be on the show George didn’t care what they had done, he cared about what they
sounded like. No tape? No problem. George worked out a deal with Roland Janes at Sonic Recording Studios. For thirteen dollars a group could go in and cut one to four songs to lip synch on the show.
Even back then studio time was expensive and would run well over a hundred dollars.
George Klein watched to see what other music shows were doing at the time, he noticed that many of them
featured regulars. He decided to do the same. He picked two acts to feature every other week, Flash and the Casuals (later Flash and the Board of Directors) and Sherry
Grooms were who he decided on.
David ''Flash'' Fleischman (now co-owner of All Memphis Music, an internet station) says, ''I met George Klein four days after turning sixteen and getting my drivers license.
I Drove to WHBQ because I wanted to meet this disc jockey. Not because I wanted to be in radio or was interested in radio, but because he booked bands
and I was in a band. That was the start of what's been a 48 year friendship. I'm proud to call George Klein my friend and no matter what I do, I can never repay George for what's he's done for me.
He's been there and advised me all these years, every step of the way. And one of the things that makes George so special, is that he
has helped so many over all these years. As the title of the Tina Turner song says George Klein is "Simply the Best''.
Klein not only discovered Memphis singing talent but other talent as well. During
the annual Miss Teenage Memphis Pageant, the Talent Party fashion coordinator spotted a standout beauty. She brought the girl to George’s
attention and they sent some pictures of her to a modeling agency in New York. The agency accepted her. She became the model of the year and then Hollywood came calling on Cybill Shepherd.
For many years, George Klein hosts a program
on Sirius XM radio Elvis channel, Memphis Sounds for WYPL-18 TV , and the Elvis hour for WMC radio in Memphis, where he lives with his wife, Dara.
The legendary disc jockey and member of the ''Memphis Mafia'' George Klein, died on Tuesday February 5, 2019 to complications from dementia in hospice care in Memphis, Tennessee.
FEBRUARY 1961
It turned about that success that had shocked the, was only a fleeting visitor to the Rich home during the next few years. The reasons for Charlie's lack of substained
commercial success at Sun have little to do with the quality of his records. Perhaps the worst marketing decision was selecting ''Gonna Be Waiting'' as the follow-up
to ''Lonely Weekend''. The song was simple an inferior clone of ''Lonely Weekends''.
In truth, the decision wasn't hard to understand. Nobody had a clue what to do with Charlie from the very first. Having tasted success
on only his third record, they weren't about to tamper with the formula.
And so, for
all intents and purposes, they simply reissued his with slightly different lyrics. It couldn't have helped Charlie's confidence to watch the record sink without a trace. Charlie
and Magaret Ann learned a lesson, and the first change they had to apply it – which was approximately six years later – the result were no less disastrous.
For the follow-up to Charlie's next hit record, ''Mohair Sam'', recorded for Smash in 1965, he switched gears completely and selected a beautiful ballad written by
Margaret Ann called ''Field Of Yellow Daisies''. Again, the record buying public deserted him in droves, hammering home the message that fame is fleeting and fickle.
Charlie continued to record some powerful and memorable sides for Sun, but none
of them dented the pop marketplace. Part of the problem was undoubtedly the fact that Charlie had never written teen-oriented material. He was, in every sense,
an adult artist. His concerns and priorities just did not resonate with adolescents. ''Lonely Weekend'' had been a freak occurrence – one of those rare instances
where kids and adults shared a problem: being alone on a weekend. But from then on, Charlie spoke to people with mortgages, drinking problems and ex-lovers.
And why should he apologize or disguise who he was? Charlie Rich had a wife, three
kids, prematurely greying hair, and a severe drinking problem. If he couldn't write from his own experience, what was the point? And so he produced some excellent
music over the next three years, none of which sold particularly well. ''Stay'' and ''On My Knees'' dealt with relationship and abandonment issues. Both were beautiful
songs, which continue to be recorded by other artists. Indeed, both were re-recorded by Rich during his later tenure at Epic Records. In fact, ''On My Knees'' finally
achieved hit status when Charlie's duet version with Janie Fricke was released in 1978, more than 15 years after his first recording of the song had appeared.
FEBRUARY 1961
A year or so after opening his new Memphis studio, Sam Phillips had launched a custom studio in Nashville in a blaze of publicity. Sneak previews were held on November 5, 1960 and the first official session was
held on February 9, 1961 when Jerry Lee Lewis breezed into town and revived ''What'd I Say'', the song that began his rehabilitation.
Judd Phillips becomes full-time promotion manager for Jerry Lee Lewis, and Ray Brown of National Artists is conferred
bookings.
The Soviet Union launches the Venera 1 space probe during February
of 1961. The unmanned probe was the first spacecraft to fly by Venus. The Venera 1’s mission returned some data back to Earth verifying the presence of plasma in space, but it was ultimately a failure as contact with the probe was lost within about a
week of its launch. It did not transmit any data back about Venus when it passed by the planet. The Soviet Union launched a total of 16 Venera probes and many succeeded in providing detailed data and images of Venus.
FEBRUARY 1, 1961 WEDNESDAY
The Belmonta are American Bandstand's musical guests.
FEBRUARY 2, 1961 THURSDAY
Little
Jimmy Dickens recorded ''Farewell Party'' at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
FEBRUARY 3, 1961 FRIDAY
Tex Ritter recorded ''I Dreamed
Of A Hill-Billy Heaven'', namechecking late country stars Carson Robison, Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers. Also reference, Red Foley, Ernest Tubb, Eddy Arnold, Gene Autry and Eddie Dean, among others.
The Show of Stars Bobby Rydell, Chubby Checker and Dodie Stevens swing through Oahu, Hawaii.
Brook Benton, the Shirelles, Maxine Brown and the Dynamics are at the Howard Theater.
FEBRUARY 4, 1961 SATURDAY
Johnny Burnette under goes an appendectomy at Hollywood Hospital. This will cause the postponement
of his European tour and an estimated lose of $10,000 in bookings.
Roger Miller
recorded ''When Two Worlds Collide'' in Nashville, Tennessee.
Rockabilly artist
Johnny Burnette has an emergency appendectomy in Hollywood, California.
Nineteen
years away from appearing on a country hit with Merle Haggard, Clint Eastwood makes the cover of TV Guide.
FEBRUARY 6, 1961 MONDAY
Don Reno, of Reno and Smiley,
has a son, Dale Reno, in Roanoke, Virginia. The lad joins his older brothers, Ronnie and Don Wayne, to form The Reno Brothers following their dad's 1984 death.
Columbia released Ray Price's double-sided single, ''Heart Over Mind'' with ''The Twenty-Fourth Hour''.
Dion is a guest on American Bandstand.
FEBRUARY 7, 1961 TUESDAY
Bobby
Rydell in his hometown of Philadelphia receives 1960s Outstanding Entertainer Award from the Sons of Italy at Palumbo's restaurant.
RCA Victor released the single ''Surrender'', a number 1 song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis
Presley Music in 1961. It is an adaptation by Doc Pomus and Mort Schuman of the music of a 1902 Neapolitan ballad by Giambattista and Ernesto de Curtis entitled "Torna a Surriento" ("Come Back to Sorrento"). It hit number one in the United States
and United Kingdom in 1961 and eventually became one of the best selling singles of all time. This was one of 25 songs Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman wrote for Presley. It has been recorded by many other artists.
FEBRUARY 8, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Hank Snow recorded ''Beggar To A King'' and ''The Restless One'' during the afternoon at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee.
Ricky Nelson performs ''You Are The Only One'' for the second time in six weeks on ABC's ''The Adventures Of Ozzie and Harriet''.
George Jones recorded ''Tender Years'' in Nashville at the Bradley Recording Studio.
EARLY FEBRUARY 1961
Johnny Tillotson begins a three week tour of Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
Fabian is at the Arenta Coliseum in Manilla, Philippines.
Gene
Vincent begins tour in London to begin a tour of England.
Bill Haley and His
Comets are touring Mexico, but also visit Chile, Peru and Ecuador.
FEBRUARY 8,
1961 WEDNESDAY
The Ramrods perform (Ghost) Riders in the Sky" on American
Bandstand.
FEBRUARY 9, 1960 THURSDAY
Sam Phillips open his Nashville studio. Billy Sherrill is retained as production engineer. Jerry Lee Lewis records his comeback
hit, ''What'd I Say'', at the first session.
The Louvin Brothers recorded ''Keep
Your Eyes On Jesus''. Pam Tillis and Johnny Cash will remake the song with The Jordanaires for the 2003 tribute ''Livin'. Lovin', Losin'', Songs Of The Louvin Brothers''.
Studio session for Jerry Lee Lewis at the Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
STUDIO SESSION FOR JERRY LEE LEWIS
FOR
SUN RECORDS 1961
SAM PHILLIPS RECORDING STUDIO
319 SEVENTH AVENUE NORTH,
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
SUN SESSION: THURSDAY FEBRUARY 9, 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER - BILLY SHERRILL
RECORDING ENGINEER
- JIM LOCKHART AND/OR TOM SPARKMAN
Having spent 1960 getting asquainted with the new facilities in Memphis, throughout 1961 Jerry Lee Lewis made
several visits to Nashville to record at another studio Sam Phillips had taken on in his attempt to broaden Sun's commercial appeal. Yet as we have already heard, by something of the essence of Sun Records. The products of Jerry Lee's first session at the
other end of Tennessee did, however, show much promise, including as they did the masterful ''What'd I Say'', which briefly offered hope of a return to pop music's upper echelons when issued as a single, Sun 356). The Ray Charles cover was backed with ''Livin'
Lovin' Wreck'', a catchy pop song but arguably one of the less memorable accomplishments in Otis Blackwell's canon. The same date also gave rise to a very much more polished version of ''Cold Cold Heart'' that sounds light years away from Jerry Lee's earlier
recording of the song. (*)
On February 9, 1961, Jerry Lee Lewis
breezed into Sam Phillips' new studio in Nashville and laid down the inaugural session. The last song recorded that night was a revival of ''What'd I Say''. The song had been written by Ray Charles in 1959 and recorded by Jerry Lee in January 1960
and again in June 1960. However, the Nashville version was a much fuller production and Phillips had such confidence in it that he released it three weeks after the session. Billboard said, ''Lewis pumping piano work is tops and the vocal matches
it. This can go''. And it did.
''I Forgot To Remember To Forget" is a country song written by
Stan Kesler and Charlie Feathers. It was recorded at Sun Studio on July 11, 1955, by Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore, Bill Black, and Johnny Bernero on drums, and released on August 20, 1955, along with "Mystery Train" (Sun 223).
It was rereleased by RCA Victor (47-6357) in December 1955. Moore's guitar had a Nashville steel guitar sound, and
Black played a clip-clop rhythm. Elvis sang a brooding vocal. This is the closest the trio came to a traditional country song while at Sun.
The song reached the Billboard national country music chart number 1 position on February 25, 1956 on the Billboard Country &Western Best Sellers in Stores chart, and remained there at number 1 for 2 weeks,
and spent 5 weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Country &Western Most Played in Juke Boxes chart. The record reached number 4 on the Billboard Most Played by Jockeys chart. It was the first recording to make Elvis Presley a national known
country music star. The song remained on the country charts for 39 weeks. The flip side of this release, "Mystery Train", peaked at the number 11 position on the national Billboard Country Chart.
Jerry Lee Lewis recorded the song probably on August 21, 1957 and on this session on February 9, 1961. Composer Charlie Feathers has also recorded it. The Beatles covered this song
once for the BBC radio show, ''From Us To You'', on 1 May 1964, which was included on the Live at the BBC compilation in 1994. Johnny Cash covered and released this song in 1959 on the Sun LP ''Greatest!'' and on the album The Survivors Live in 1981.
Chuck Jackson, Ral Donner, Robert Gordon, Johnny Hallyday, The Deighton Family, Hicksville Bombers, and Wanda Jackson recorded this song as well. Chris Isaak also covered this song on his 2011 album, Beyond the Sun.
The song is referenced in the Modest Mouse song "A Different City", on their 2000 album The Moon & Antarctica. The name of this song also appears as a quest
in the video game Fallout: New Vegas where the Courier and Boone defend a small settlement from a full-scale attack while dealing with Boone's regret over a massacre that took place at that same settlement.
1(2) – ''I FORGOT TO REMEMBER TO FORGET'' (2) - B.M.I. - 3:02
Composer: - Charlie Feathers-Stanley Kesler
Publisher: - Hi-Lo Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - None - Unknown Take
Recorded: - February
9, 1960 - Not Originally Issued
Released: - December 1974
First appearance: - Hallmark Records (LP) 33rpm SHM 856-B2 stereo
VARIOUS ARTISTS - KINGS OF COUNTRY, VOLUME 1
Reissued: - September 1989 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15420-7-10 mono
CLASSIC JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE DEFINITIVE SUN RECORDINGS 1956 – 1963
Several takes of ''I Forgot To Remember To Forget'' were
attempted during a August 1957 session, though none of them are totally successful, with Jerry and he band attempting to find the right key, rhythm and tempo. All takes remained unissued until at least the 1980s. Far superior is this February 1961 version,
recorded in Nashville at the same session that produced the hit versions of ''What’d I Say'' and ''Cold Cold Heart''. Surprisingly this wasn’t released until 1974, via Charly's ''Rare Jerry Lee Lewis Volume 2'' compilation. Incidentally, this has
never been issued in true stereo on CD, though it was available on the Sun International ''Roots'' LP in 1981 (but not the CD reissue!).
In case one of the
kiddies buying Sun 364 checking the flipside, they found a real surprise: an artfully produced contemporary country record. This is one of Jerry’s finest performances in the genre that would ultimately recharge his career. While Jerry's vocal
is sensitive and confident, it is really his piano work that elevates this record to brilliance. Rarely has he, or anyone for that matter, played with such urgency and fervor on a ballad. The piano fills often border on ''possessed'', and provide
counter rhythms and energy that might have caught Hank Williams' attention from across the Great Divide. The top side failed to attract the attention of the very kids for whom it had been manufactured, but ''Cold Cold Heart'' got to number 22 on
the country charts. There was a lesson there; it just took another seven years for anyone he heed it.
2(2)
– ''COLD COLD HEART'' (2) - B.M.I. - 3:07
Composer: - Hank Williams
Publisher: - Acuff Rose Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - None - Count-In -
Take 5 - Stereo Master
Recorded: - February 9, 1961 - Not Originally Issued
Released: - September 1989
First appearance: - Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15420-7-9 stereo
CLASSIC JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE DEFINITIVE SUN RECORDINGS 1956 – 1963
Reissued:
- October 2015 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 17254-16-7 stereo
JERRY
LEE LEWIS AT SUN RECORDS THE COLLECTED WORKS
2(2) – ''COLD COLD HEART'' (2) - B.M.I. - 3:02
Composer: - Hank Williams
Publisher: - Acuff Rose
Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - U 447 - Take 5 - Master
Recorded: - February 9, 1961
Released: - August 1961
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 45rpm standard single >
Sun 364-A < mono
COLD COLD HEART / IT WON'T HAPPEN WITH ME
Reissued: - 1997 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15804-3-20 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION
- VOLUME 4
Reissued: 2019 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 17504-2 mono
SUN SHINES ON HANK WILLIAMS
"Cold Cold Heart" here recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis, is a country song, written by
Hank Williams. This blues ballad is both a classic of honky-tonk and an entry in the Great American Songbook.
Williams adapted the melody for the song from T. Texas Tyler's 1945 recording of "You'll Still Be In My Heart," written by Ted West in 1943. The song achingly and artfully describes
frustration that the singer's love and trust is unreciprocated due to a prior bad experience in the other's past. Stories of the song's origins vary. In the Williams episode of American Masters, country music historian Colin Escott states that Williams was
moved to write the song after visiting his wife Audrey in the hospital, who was suffering from an infection brought on by an abortion she had carried out at their home unbeknownst to Hank. Escott also speculates that Audrey, who carried on extramarital affairs
as Hank did on the road, may have suspected the baby was not her husband's. Florida bandleader Pappy Neil McCormick claims to have witnessed the encounter: "According to McCormick, Hank went to the hospital and bent down to kiss Audrey, but she wouldn't let
him. 'You sorry son of a bitch,' she is supposed to have said, 'it was you that caused me to suffer like this'. Hank went home and told the children's governess, Miss Ragland, that Audrey had a 'cold, cold heart,' and then, as so often in the past, realized
the bitterness in his heart held commercial promise''.
The
first draft of the song is dated November 23, 1950 and was recorded with an unknown band on May 5, 1951. Like his earlier masterpiece "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry'', it was released as the B-side (MGM10904B) to "Dear John" (MGM-10904A), since it was an unwritten
rule in the country music industry that the faster numbers sold best. "Dear John" peaked at number 8 after only a brief four-week run on Billboard magazine's country music charts, but "Cold Cold Heart" proved to be a favorite of disc jockeys and jukebox listeners,
whose enthusiasm for the song catapulted it to number 1 on the country music charts. Williams featured the song on his Mother's Best radio shows at the time of its release and performed the song on the Kate Smith Evening Hour on April 23, 1952, which ran from
September 1951 to June 1952; the appearance remains one of the few existing film clips of the singer performing live. He is introduced by his idol Roy Acuff. Although a notorious binge drinker, Williams appears remarkably at ease on front of the cameras, with
one critic noting, "He stared at the camera during his performance of ''Cold Cold Heart'' with a cockiness and self-confidence that bordered on arrogance''.
The song would become a pop hit for Tony Bennett, paving the way for country songs to make inroads into the lucrative pop market. In the liner
notes to the 1990 Polygram compilation Hank Williams: The Original Single Collection, Fred Rose's son Wesley states, "Hank earned two major distinctions as a songwriter: he was the first writer on a regular basis to make country music national music; and he
was the first country songwriter accepted by pop artists, and pop A&R men''.
That same year, it was recorded in a pop version by Tony Bennett with a light orchestral arrangement from Percy Faith. This recording was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 39449. It first reached the Billboard magazine
charts on July 20, 1951 and lasted 27 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 1. The popularity of Bennett's version has been credited with helping to expose both Williams and country music to a wider national audience. Allmusic writer Bill Janovitz discusses
this unlikely combination: "That a young Italian singing waiter from Queens could find common ground with a country singer from Alabama's backwoods is testament both to Williams' skills as a writer and to Bennett's imagination and artist's ear''.
Williams subsequently telephoned Bennett to say, "Tony, why did you ruin
my song''? But that was a prank, in fact, Williams liked Bennett's version and played it on jukeboxes whenever he could. In his autobiography ''The Good Life'', Bennett described playing "Cold Cold Heart" at the Grand Ole Opry later in the 1950s. He
had brought his usual arrangement charts to give to the house musicians who would be backing him, but their instrumentation was different and they declined the charts. "You sing and we'll follow you'', they said, and Bennett says they did so beautifully, once
again recreating an unlikely artistic merger.
The
story of the Williams-Bennett telephone conversation is often related with mirth by Bennett in interviews and on stage; he still performs the song in concert. In 1997, the first installment of A&E's Live By Request featuring Bennett (who was also the show's
creator), special guest Clint Black performed the song, after which Bennett recounted it. A Google Doodle featured Bennett's recording of the song on its Valentine's Day doodle in February 2012.
Other siginificant recordings there are including Louis Armstrong recorded "Cold Cold Heart" on September 17, 1951, and released it on Decca Records; Donald Peers recorded it on October
5, 1951, released EMI via His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 10158; Dinah Washington recorded it in 1951; Petula Clark and Gene Autry sang the song in the 1952 movie Apache Country; Jerry Lee Lewis released the song as a single on Sun Records in
1961 and included another version on the 1969 LP ''Sings the Country Music Hall of Fame Hits, Volume 2''; Jazz singer Norah Jones included a sultry swing version on her 2002 album ''Come Away With Me'', which was seen as "reintroducing" modern audiences to
the song.
Even without such overt sexuality, this record took Jerry Lee back on the pop charts, peaking at number
30, a neighborhood he hadn't visited in over two years. There was little competition from this side. ''Livin' Lovin' Wreck'' from the pen of Otis Blackwell is easily the weakest of the four tracks recorded that day in Nashville. Like many of
Jerry's teen-oriented songs, this one has not weathered the ravages of time and style too well. Jerry seems constrained by the chord changes, although guitarist Hank Garland seems to fare a bit better. In fact, this is one of the few times that Jerry's
piano solo is outclassed by the guitar break.
3 – ''LIVIN' LOVIN' WRECK'' - B.M.I. - 2:02
Composer: - Otis Blackwell
Publisher: - Sito Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - None - Stereo Master
Recorded: - February 9, 1961 - Not Originally Issued
Released: - September 1989
First appearance: - Bear Family Records
(CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15420-7-7 stereo
CLASSIC JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE DEFINITIVE SUN RECORDINGS 1956 – 1963
Reissued: - October 2015 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 17254-13-3 stereo
JERRY LEE LEWIS AT SUN RECORDS THE COLLECTED WORKS
3
– ''LIVIN' LOVIN' WRECK'' - B.M.I. - 2:05
Composer: - Otis Blackwell
Publisher: - Sito Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - U 430 - Master
Recorded: - February 9, 1961
Released: - February 27, 1961
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 45rpm standard single > Sun 356-B < mono
LOVIN' LOVIN' WRECK / WHAT'D I SAY
Reissued: - 1997 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15804-3-6 mono
THE SUN
SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 4
Jerry Lee Lewis has spent a lot of time preaching about resurrections but the truth is that the release of Sun 356 was a resurrection almost
comparable to his 1968 rebirth as a country singer. By any measure, it was a resounding success. Things were looking pretty bleak for the Killer before ''What'd I Say'' appeared in February 1961.
Yes, it's true that Jerry had been turning his attention to rhythm and blues of late, and had done more than his share or listening to (and copying) instrumental riffs from Ray Charles,
but here is where it finally came together from him.
This track reveals that Jerry's affinity for Charles's music
was more than a commercial aspiration. Charles's style meshes well with Jerry's talent. In Jerry's hands, ''What'd I Say'' is a fine vocal and piano workout. The backup instrumental
work is ideal and even the chorus sounds a bit shrill (as in ''White'') when they echo Jerry's vocal lines. Conspicuously absent from the arrangement is the lascivious ''Don't stop, baby'' portion of Ray Charles' original. (More information about
''What'd I Say'' see Jerry's sessions June 1960).
4(4) – ''WHAT'D I SAY''
(3) - B.M.I. - 2:26
Composer: - Ray Charles
Publisher:
- Progressive Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - None - Stereo Master
Recorded: - February
9, 1961 - Not Originally Issued
Released: - September 1989
First appearance:
- Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15420-7-8 stereo
CLASSIC JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE DEFINITIVE SUN RECORDINGS 1956 – 1963
Reissued: - October 2015 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 17254-16-8 stereo
JERRY LEE LEWIS AT SUN
RECORDS THE COLLECTED WORKS
4(4) – ''WHAT'D I SAY'' (3) - B.M.I. - 2:29
Composer: - Ray Charles
Publisher: - Progressive Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - U 429 - Master
Recorded: - February 9, 1961
Released:
- February 27, 1961
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 45rpm standard single > Sun 356-A < mono
WHAT'D I SAY / LOVE MADE A FOOL OF ME
Reissued: - 1997 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15804-3-5 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 4
Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Jerry Lee
Lewis - Vocal & Piano
Hank Sugarfoot Garland - Guitar
Kelton Kelso
Herston – Guitar
Bob Moore – Bass
Murray Buddy Harmon
– Drums
Unknown Vocal Group
For
Biography of Jerry Lee Lewis see: > The Sun Biographies <
Jerry Lee Lewis' Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
Jerry Lee Lewis' Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
FEBRUARY
10, 1961 FRIDAY
Gene Pitney appears in Montreal
for two days.
Flatt and Scruggs recorded The Carter Family classic ''You Are
My Flower'' at Nashville's Bradley Studios with Mother Maybelle Carter backing them on autoharp. A live version of the song becomes a hit three years later.
FEBRUARY
11, 1961 SATURDAY
Gene Pitney and the Shirelles guest on Saturday Prom.
Studio session for Charlie Rich at Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
FEBRUARY 1961
Charlie Rich's next single contrasted a rather light-hearted love triangle tune, ''Caught In The Middle''
with what has proved to be one of his most enduring compositions. ''Who Will The Next Fool Be'' was almost immediately covered by Bobby Blue Bland, which should have
convinced anyone that this song had a depth of bluesy soul that could be mined almost indefinitely.
It is a fine statement to his artistry that
Rich's version remains definitive. It is perhaps this single record more than any other, that made clear that Rich had an astonishing capacity to write and perform black music.
In fact, if one factors out
the seemingly endless middle of the road dross of his latter career, Charlie Rich may have been the best white soul singer ever to record. What makes this
doubly astounding is his considerable background performing Frank Sinatra/Mel Torme/Tony Bennett songs, his penchant for
big band jazz, and his utter facility writing and performing country music.
Other than his own bluesy compositions, Rich was obviously affected by the work of Chuck Willis. Two tunes (recorded in 1960) associated with Willis, ''C.C. Rider'' and ''Juanita'' appeared on Rich's LP, issued in 1960. in addition, Willis's
''Too Late'' appeared as one of Rich's next singles in 1961.
But, if there was a recording that embodied Rich's musical values, it was surely ''Who Will The
Next Fool Be''. It was not strictly a pop, country, or rhythm and blues record, but it borrowed from all three idioms. Using the piano as an extension of his vocal lines, Rich
molded a performance that was agonized and intense. Many performers have tried to recapture the magic that Rich drew from within himself on that February evening
in Nashville when he first recorded the song, but is stands as a truly definitive performance. After the session, the master was embalmed
with a vocal chorus; when it was finally stripped and the original cut reissued twenty-five years later, an intensity that had been partially
hidden all that time was finally revealed.
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
STUDIO SESSION FOR CHARLIE RICH
FOR SUN RECORDS 1961
SAM PHILLIPS
RECORDING STUDIO
319 SEVENTH AVENUE NORTH, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
SUN
SESSION: SATURDAY FEBRUARY 11, 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER
- SAM PHILLIPS AND/OR BILLY SHERRILL
RECORDING ENGINEER - JIM LOCKHART AND/OR TOM SPARKMAN
Many believe that ''Who Will The Next Fool Be'' is Charlie Rich's masterpiece at Sun. Certainly, it helped solidify
his reputation as one of the finest white soul singers ever to grace a studio. The fact that he also wrote and played piano on the track didn't hurt matters either. And knowing that Bobby Blue Bland went right out and covered Rich's record hasn't
done much to diminish Charlie's reputation. Interestingly, Bland was not simply covering the song for the black stations and stores.
Rich was already getting attention there. A lot of black buyers had no idea that Charlie Rich was a white man. Indeed, Charlie's best music really transcend race and category. All
of which makes it hard to imagine that a man capable of such passion and soul could record the dreck he produced late in his career.
01 - ''WHO WILL THE NEXT FOOL BE'' – B.M.I. - 2:20
Composer: - Charlie Rich
Publisher: - Knox Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - P 396
- Master
Recorded: - February 11, 1961
Released: - February 24, 1961
First appearance: - Phillips International (S) 45rpm standard single > PI 3566-A < mono
WHO WILL THE NEXT FOOL BE / CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE
Reissued: - 1998 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15806-3-9 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION
- VOLUME 6
It is unclear whether Rich recorded these sides in Nashville or whether the Madison Avenue studio in Memphis was in the process of being tamed. Both logic and aural evidence
suggests that Nashville was the birthplace. This flipside, ''Caught In The Middle'', is again a well constructed song and beautiful performance. The criticism most often levelled at this track is that the arrangement is a bit too cutesy. Musically,
Rich is again on his game. The little 4-bar piano break is a gem and the key modulation at the end is deftly handled.
02 - ''CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE'' – B.M.I. - 2:28
Composer: - Charlie Rich
Publisher: - Hi-Lo Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - P 397
- Master
Recorded: - February 11, 1961
Released:
- February 24, 1961
First appearance: - Phillips International (S) 45rpm standard single > PI 3566-B < mono
CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE / WHO WILL THE NEXT FOOL BE
Reissued: - 1998 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15806-3-10 mono
THE SUN SINGLES
COLLECTION - VOLUME 6
''Just A Little Bit Sweet'' seems almost like a trite pop/country
song. But that judgement is superficial. There are vintage Richisms here – the little two-bar instrumental fills at the vocal line, the gospelly diminished chords and the fine churchy finale after ''Come on, come on, come on...''.
03 - ''JUST A LITTLE BIT SWEET'' – 2:18
Composer: - Charlie Rich
Publisher: - Knox Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - P 408 - Master
Recorded: - February 11, 1961
Released: - September 1961
First appearance: - Phillips International (S)
45rpm standard single > PI 3572-A < mono
JUST A LITTLE BIT SWEET / IT'S TOO LATE
Reissued: - 1998 Bear Family Records
(CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15806-3-22 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 6
04 - ''THE NEXT TIME''
Composer: - Charlie Rich
Publisher: - Copyright Control
Matrix number: - None
Recorded: - February 11, 1961
Released: - Sun Unissued/Lost
Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Charlie
Rich - Vocal & Piano
Kelton D. Kelso Herston - Guitar
Hank Garland
- Guitar
Buddy Harmon - Drums
Jerry Tutle - Organ
Unknown - Saxophone
Unknown - Chorus & Strings
For Biography of Charlie Rich see: > The Sun Biographies <
Charlie Rich's Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
Charlie Rich's Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
© - 706 UNION
AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
FEBRUARY 12, 1961 SUNDAY
Bobby Rydell begins a six week European tour.
Paul Anka is on CBS-TV's Ed Sullivan Show.
FEBRUARY 13, 1961 MONDAY
Frank Sinatra creates Reprise Records. Purchased by Warner Bros., the label eventually develops country hits for such
acts as Dwight Yoakam, Blake Shelton, Kenny Rogers, Gordon Lightfood and Carlene Carter.
Clarence White and Roland White appear as member of The Country Boys on an episode of the CBS sitcom ''The Andy Griffith Show''.
FEBRUARY 15, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Burl Ives recorded ''A Little Bitty Tear'' in an afternoon session at the Bradley Recording
Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
While
relaxing Jackie Wilson is shot by a female fan who then attempts suicide. Wilson claims he was trying to take the gun when it went off. The bullet hits him in the stomach.
He is taken to Roosevelt Hospital. The bullet is in a position where it can't be removed and is left
lodged in his back.
Billy
Ward and the His Dominoes are at Miami's Eden Roc Hotel.
FEBRUARY 16, 1961 THURSDAY
The Miracles' "Shop Around" (Tamla #54034) reaches number one, remaining three weeks. It was Motown's first major hit.
MID FEBRUARY 1961
The Bombers, formerly the Jive Bombers, are at the Pillow Talk in
New York City.
FEBRUARY
17, 1961 FRIDAY
The
Coasters, Ike and Tina Turner Chuck Jackson and the Capris are at Washington's Howard Theater.
FEBRUARY 19, 1961 SUNDAY
Bill Black's Combo performs an instrumental medley on ''The Ed Sullivan Show''. The medley includes a version
of ''Don't Be Cruel'', a song on which Black played bass for his former employer, Elvis Presley.
In London, Bobby Rydell appears on British TV's Sunday Night at the Palladium.
Dave Cortez is at the Randolph Social Club in Philadelphia.
FEBRUARY 21, 1961 TUESDAY
The Shirelles sing ''Will You still Love Me Tomorrow'' and ''Dedicated To the One I Love'', on American
Bandstand.
FEBRUARY
22, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Ray
Charles sings ''Georgia On My Mind'' on NBC-TV's Perry Como Show.
You can tell it's a single, Ricky Nelson sings, ''You Are The Only One'' for the third time in two months on ''The Adventures Of Ozzie and Harriet''. It's a single, but not a hit.
FEBRUARY 23, 1961 THURSDAY
Elvis Presley headlines two shows at the Ellis Auditorium in Memphis. These are his first concerts since 1957 and raise $50,00 for charities in Memphis and Tupelo.
FEBRUARY 24, 1961 FRIDAY
PI 3566 ''Who Will The Next Fool Be'' b/w Caught In The Middle'' by Charlie Rich issued.
Sun 356 ''What'd I Say'' b/w ''Livin' Lovin' Wreck'' by Jerry Lee Lewis issued. Billboard reviews in a March 11,
1961 article that ''What'd I Say'', ''Rock songster, pianist offers a contagious driving look at the familiar Ray Charles number. String sound that could make noise'' and that ''Livin' Lovin' Wreck'' is another persuasive sock affair from the performer''.
Sam Cooke is at the Apollo for
a week. Opening acts are Little Anthony and the Imperials and Aretha Franklin.
Brook Benton begins a sixteen day tour of England.
Bobby Rydell is the headliner at France's first annual rock and roll festival Festival
du Rock.
FEBRUARY 25,
1961 SATURDAY
Elvis
Presley performs his first concert at Ellis Auditorium since returning from the Army, and a charity event in Memphis. Tennessee Governor Buford Ellington and Memphis mayor Henry Loeb both declare 'Elvis Presley Day'. At a special luncheon at the Hotel
Claridge, Elvis is presented by RCA with a diamond-studded watch to honor record sales of more than 75 million. Buford Ellington the Governor of Tennessee makes Elvis an honorary Colonel by giving him
the title 'Colonel, Aide de Camp on the Governor's Staff'.
Prior to the shows, a luncheon was held in Elvis' honor at the Claridge Hotel in downtown Memphis. The $100-per-plate event raised $17,000, thanks in part to the donation of food and service by the Claridge. RCA presented Elvis
with a diamond watch, and a plaque, marking his achievement of selling over 75 million records.
FEBRUARY 27, 1961 MONDAY
Capitol released Faron Young's ''Hello Walls''.
Marty Robbins'
''Don't Worry'', featuring a signature fuzz guitar solo, hits number 1 on the Billboard country chart.
Fats Domino begins a week at Sciolla's Club in Philadelphia.
FEBRUARY 28, 1961 TUESDAY
Carl Mann perform at the Delta Club located at Old Highway 18 in Blytheville, Arkansas. Also on the bill Jimmy Hagget, and the Daydreamers. Showtime 9:00 p.m.
MARCH 1, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Davis Daniel is born in Arlington, Illinois. With a voice compared to Keith Whitley and Lefty Frizzell, he notches one minor hit in 1991
with ''For Crying Out Loud''.
MARCH 3, 1961 FRIDAY
Bobby Rydell ens European Tour In England.
James Brown is at the Apollo in New York.
Sam Cooke at the Royal Theater in Baltimore.
Jimmy Charles Headlines the Howard Theater. Also on the bill are the Bobettes, the Clovers, the Vibrations and Jimmy Jones.
MARCH 4, 1961 SATURDAY
Burl Ives guests on an episode of the NBC music series ''The Bell Telephone Hour''.
MARCH
7, 1961 TUESDAY
Buck Owens takes a whack at recording ''Save The Last Dance For Me'' at the Capitol Recording Studio
in Los Angeles. The track is unreleased, but a subsequent version will become a hit.
MARCH 8, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Elvis Presley is lauded by the Tennessee State Legislature in Nashville for ''bringing fame to Memphis and Tennessee throughout
the nation''.
Billy ''Crash'' Craddock holds his first session in a recording contract with Mercury at the Bradley
Studio in Nashville, California.
MARCH 10, 1961 FRIDAY
Marty Robbins recorded ''It's Your World'' during an overnight session at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
Jeff Barry signs his first songwriting contract, with Trinity Music. He goes on to author such country hits as Jody Miller's ''Be My Baby'', The Bellamy Brothers' ''Lie To
You For Your Love'' and Olivia Newton-John's ''I Honestly Love You''.
EARLY MARCH 1961
Chuck Berry id touring around Jamaica in the British west Indies.
Gene Pitney is touring the West Coast.
Freddie Bell and
the Bellboys are at Riverside Hotel in Reno.
The Pono-Tails are appearing at the Holiday Inn and Casino in Reno.
Sam Cooke is at the Howard Theater along with the Rochelles and the Candles.
LaVern Baker headlines the Apollo in Harlem, New York.
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
STUDIO SESSION FOR THE TEENANGELS
FOR SUN RECORDS 1961
ROGERS
MELOTONE RECORDING STUDIO
MOBILE, ALABAMA
SUN SESSION: UNKNOWN DATE
MARCH 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER
– PROBABLY OTTO ROGERS
01 – ''AIN'T GONNA LET
YOU'' - B.M.I. - 2:33
Composer: - Jimmy Otto Rogers
Publisher: - Hi-Lo
Music Incorporated – Stairway Music
Matrix number: - U 497 - Master
– D.J. Copy
Recorded: - Unknown Date March 1961
Released: - Only Issued As Promo – Leased April 1963
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 45rpm standard single > Sun 388-A < mono
AIN'T GONNA LET YOU / TELL ME MY LOVE
Reissued: - 1998 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15805-1-15 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 5
Now here's
an anomalous release – in fact, not even a release. In 1956, Jimmie Otto Rogers ( born on August 17, 1928 and died on October 26, 1997) was the son of Bluebird country star Jesse Rogers and cousin of yodelin' Jimmie Rogers, came to Sun with Luke McDaniel. They'd already written one rockabilly classic, ''Midnight Shift'' (which Rogers had written under his mother's name, Ainsworth),
and they had several more they wanted to get recorded.
They
feisty McDaniel recognized that Sun was the place to be, but he and Sam Phillips fell out before anything was released. Rogers and McDaniel went on to write the honky tonk classic ''You're Still On My Mind'', and then they fell out.
In 1958, Rogers went back to Mobile, Alabama to work as a songwriter and independent producer.
He sold masters to Top Rank, Roulette, Dot, and other labels, and in April 1963 he sold two acts to Sun, the Teenangels and the Quintones.
The Teenangels consisted of Patricia Patrick, Terry Everett, and Bonnie Daugherty, and they recorded these two songs in March 1961 at Roger's Melotone Studio. The record wasn't officially released. Sun pressed promo copies,
but Rogers was dissatisfied the the promotional effort Sun was putting into it and grabbed the masters back. We have no idea what happened to the group, although the congressman for the Mobile area is a Terry Everett. An ex-Teenangel perhaps?
The Teenagels were clearly fashioned after The Fleetwood's, a best-selling act in 1961. In fact, the Teenangels even look like the Fleetwoods. By late 1963, when the disc would
have appeared, the Fleetwoods sound was well past its prime and Sun's promotional efforts were best described as minimal. Indeed, the label only issued six singles in all of 1964. Nevertheless, there is an engaging, almost homemade quality to
this sides which recalls not only the Fleedwoods, but the minimal production used on Thomas Wayne's 1959 Fernwood record ''Tragedy''.
02 – ''TELL ME MY LOVE'' - B.M.I. - 2:46
Composer: - Jimmy Otto Rogers
Publisher: - Knox Music Incorporated – Stairway Music
Matrix number: - U 498
- Master – D.J. Copy
Recorded: - Unknown
Date March 1961
Released: - Only Issued As Promo – Leased April 1963
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 45rpm standard single > Sun 388-B < mono
TELL ME MY LOVE / AIN'T GONNA LET YOU
Reissued:
- 1998 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15805-1-16 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 5
Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
The
Teenangels consisting of
Patricia Patrick – Vocal
Terry Everett
– Vocal
Bonnie Daugherty – Vocals
More Details Unknown
For
Biography of The Teenangels see: > The Sun Biographies <
The Teenangels' Sun recordings can be heard on their playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
The Teenangels' Sun recordings can be heard on their playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
MARCH 10, 1961 FRIDAY
Sun 358 ''U.T. Party Part I'' b/w ''U.T. Party Part II'' by George Klein issued.
MARCH 11, 1961 SATURDAY
Ray Price's driver steers his bus off Highway 90 south of Valentine, Texas, to avoid a pickup truck when it pulls up onto the pavement from the side of the road. The driver's maneuver likely saves lives, though the bus breaks in two.
Percussionist Randy Hardison is born. He plays on several Darryl Worley hits,
''A Good Day To Run'', ''Second Wind'' and ''When You Need My Love''.
MARCH 12, 1961 SUNDAY
After giving him a two-week
tryout, Gene Autry's expansion Los Angeles Angels drop hopeful baseball player Charley Pride during spring training in Palm Springs.
Elvis Presley recorded ''I Feel So Bad'' at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee. The song was originally written and originally recorded by Chuck Willis in 1953. Presley recorded
this version of the song following the arrangements by Willis and his singing style. Presley's version reached number 5 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 in 1961 and number 15 on Billboard's Top 20 rhythm and blues singles chart the same year. The
song, which was released on a AA-sided single in the United Kingdon backed with ''Wild In The Country'', reached number 4 on the singles chart, also in 1961.
MARCH 13, 1961 MONDAY
Chuck Berry, the author of ''Johnny B. Goode'', is tried in St. Louis, Missouri, for the third time in 13 months for violating the Mann Act, a federal statute designed to combat prostitution. He is ultimately
found guilty and given a three-year sentence.
Ricky Nelson
recorded his pop hit ''Travelin' Man'' with Glen Campbell playing guitar.
The Capris sing ''There's A Moon Out Tonight'' on American Bandstand.
MID MARCH 1961
Danny and the Juniors
begin European Tour.
The Coasters are appearing at the
Summit in Hollywood.
MARCH 14, 1961 TUESDAY
Hank Locklin recorded ''You're The Reason'' and ''Happy Birthday To Me'' at Nashville's
RCA Studio B.
MARCH 15, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Ray Charles refuses to play segregated concert in Augusta, Georgia, costing him
$757 for breach of contract. The next year, Charles crosses the seemingly segregated worlds of country and rhythm and blues with ''Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music''.
George Hamilton IV recorded ''Three Steps To The Phone (Millions Of Miles)'' at Nashville's RCA Studio B.
MARCH 15, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Eddie Bond performed at the Delta Club located at Old Highway 18, Blythville, Arkansas. Also on the bill were Jimmy Hagget and The Daydreamers,
and John Hughey, and local Caprock recording artists from KBOA.
Gene
McDaniels performs ''A Hundred Pounds Of Clay'' on American Bandstand.
MARCH 16, 1961 THURSDAY
The Echoes sing ''Baby
Blue'' on American Bandstand.
The 15-minute Walt Disney
cartoon ''The Saga Of Windwagon Smith'' appears in theaters, with Rex Allen narrating.
MARCH 17, 1961 FRIDAY
''Five
Star Jubilee'' debuts on NBC, with five rotating stars hosting the country music variety show from Springfield, Missouri. The hosts, Rex Allen, Snooky Lanson, Tex Ritter, Carl Smith and Jimmy Wakely.
Chubby Checker headlines Chicago's Regal theater. Also on the bill are Joe Jones, the
Drifters, Maxine Brown, Chuck Jackson, Jimmy Charles and the Blue Notes.
Sam Cooke goes to the British west Indies for concerts in Jamaica, Kingston, Trinidad and Montego Bay. Ticket sales are estimated at $45,000
MARCH 20, 1961 MONDAY
Ray Charles severs a tendon and an artery in his left hand and requires four pints of blood. The following year he makes
an unlikely impact on country music with the release of ''Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music''.
MARCH 21, 1961 TUESDAY
Spade Cooley, married for 15 years, proposes to singer Anita Aros while she recovers from a concussion at Los Angeles' Good Samaritan Hospital. In the summer, during his trail for the murder of his wife, Aros will testify she thought he was joking.
MARCH 23, 1961 THURSDAY
A major rock and roll show at the Paramount in Newark, New Jersey features the Shirelles,
the Olympics, Shep and the Limelites and Lenny Miles.
Elvis Presley recorded ''Can't Help Falling In Love'' on the 29th take at Radio Recorders, 7000 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, California.
MARCH 24, 1961 FRIDAY
Bobby Rydell is playing the Lotus Club in Washington, D.C.
MARCH 25, 1961 SATURDAY
Elvis Presley performs at Block Arena in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, his last concert for nearly wight years. He donates $5,000 to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial Fund to the
sailors when the USS Arizona was sunk at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This will be Presley's last live concert and raises $52,000, also joins on the appearance by Minnie Pearl.
''Slipping Around'' singer Margaret Whiting secures a divorce from Panavision
movie executive John Richard Moore in Santa Monica, California.
MARCH
27, 1961 MONDAY
Elvis Presley begins three weeks of shooting
in Hawaii for the movie ''Blue Hawaii''.
Reprise Records
released its first album, Frank Sinatra's ''Ring-a-Ding Ding!''. The label goes on to success in country music, with such artists as Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, Blake Sheldon and Michael Peterson.
''Gotta Travel On'' songwriter Pete Seeger goes on trail in New York for contempt of Congress. His attorney argues his rights
were violated during a 1956investication by the House Un-American Activities Committee.
MARCH 28, 1961 TUESDAY
The
Larks and Chuck Jackson are guests on American Bandstand.
MARCH
29, 1961 WEDNESDAY
March 29 is declared Brenda Lee Day
by Decca Records and Governor Ernest Vandiver of Georgia. A 125,000 copies are sold today.
MARCH 31, 1961 FRIDAY
Bill and Bettye Anderson have their first child, daughter Terri Lee Anderson.
Jocko's Rocketship Revue at the Apollo Theater features Clyde McPhatter. The Blue Note, Baby Washington, Shep and the Limelites,
Bobby Freeman and the Larks.
Bob Luman is discharged from
the Army, April 2 The Biggest Show of Stars for 61 begins at the Uline Arena in Washington, DC. The tour includes headliners Fats Domino, the Shirelles,
and Chubby Checker. Also the Drifters, Bo Diddley, Ben E. King, the Shells and Chuck Jackson.
MARCH/MAY 1961
Jerry Lee Lewis plays in Memphis, St. Louis, Fall River, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island.
APRIL 1961
Harold Dorman, a native of Sledge, Mississippi, had come to Memphis in 1955 and auditioned at
Sun in 1957. Both his songs and his performances were undistinguished, but Roland Janes heard something he liked the singer, and when he and Billy Riley started Rita Records in the
fall of 1959 they brought a much-improved Dorman into the studio.
With Jack
Clement at the board, they cut ''Mountain Of Love'', which became a one-off hit comparable to ''Tragedy'' the previous spring.
Like Thomas Wayne, Dorman was unable to sustain the momentum, and Rita Records soon
folded. Dorman hurried back to Sun, where he recorded three singles, none of which reignited his career. He then turned to songwriting and submitted one of his
songs, ''Mississippi Cotton Picking Delta Town'', to Charley Pride, another native of Sledge who had also auditioned at Sun
in the late 1950s. It became one of Pride's biggest hits and encouraged him to revive ''Mountain Of Love'' in 1981.
APRIL 1, 1961 SATURDAY
Jerry Kennedy goes to
work at Mercury Records in Nashville as an assistant to label president Shelby Singleton. He goes on to produce hits for Mercury and Smah acts as The Staler Brothers, Tom T. Hall, Jerry Lee Lewis (1963), and Roger Miller.
''Tomboy And The Champ'', a movie that honors 4-H, appears in theaters, with Rex Allen in a subordinate role.
APRIL 2, 1961 SUNDAY
Connie
Francis recorded the pop hit ''Don't Break The Heart That Loves You'' in New York. Margo Smith revives it for the country audience in 1977.
Buddy Jewell is born in Osceola, Arkansas. After singing on demos for a number of years in Music City, he wins the first ''Nashville Star'' TV competition in 2003, leading to a recording contract and a gold album.
APRIL 3, 1961 MONDAY
American western swing musician,
big band leader, actor, and television persona, Spade Cooley beats his wife, Ella Mae, at his home in Kern County, California, and threatens to kill his 14-year-old daughter, Melody, if she tells anyone. Ella Mae is pronounced dead after midnight,
and he receives a life sentence for the crime.
On April 26, 1961, Cooley was indicted by a Kern County grand
jury for the murder of his wife on April 3 at the couple's Willow Springs ranch home. Cooley's 14-year-old daughter, Melody, reportedly told the jury she watched in terror as her father beat her mother's head against the floor, stomped on her stomach, then
crushed a lit cigarette against her skin to see whether she was dead. Cooley claimed his wife had been injured by falling in the shower.
He was unsuccessfully defended by prominent attorney P. Basil Lambros in what was the longest case in county history at the time; and was convicted of first-degree murder by a Kern County jury on August 21, 1961 after unexpectedly withdrawing an insanity plea. He was spared death in the gas chamber and sentenced to life in prison.
Decca released Brenda Lee's pop hit, ''You Can Depend On Me''.
Folk figure Peter Seeger is sentenced in New York to 10 one-year prison terms for contempt of Congress, after a lengthy investigation into Communist activities. The conviction is overturned in 1962. Two years earlier, Seeger's ''Gotta Travel On''
became a country hit for Billy Grammer.
Decca released Ernie Ashworth's ''Forever Gone'', and Columbia released Johnny
Cash's ''The Rebel - Johnny Tuma''.
Jimmy Jones performs at the Asbury Park Convention Hall, in New Jersey.
Jerry Lee Lewis re-entered the Hot 100 for the first time in three years with ''What'd I Say''.By the middle of May ''What'd I Say'' had reached number 30 where it pegged out. Jerry was signed to bigger paying venues and his new booking agent, Ray Brown
at National Artists Attractions, booked him onto a Battle Of The Century tour with Jackie Wilson.
APRIL 4, 1961 TUESDAY
Fabian returns to South Side High in Philadelphia
to receive his high school diploma. He graduates with a B+ average.
APRIL 5, 1961 WEDNESDAY
The Paris Sisters sing ''Be My Boy'' on American Bandstand.
Don Gibson recorded ''Sea Of Heartbreak'' at Nashville's RCA Studio B.
APRIL 6, 1961 THURSDAY
Spade
Cooley suffers a heart attack, three days after strangling and beating his wife death. As a result, he's transferred from Bakersfield's Kern County Jail to Kern County General Hospital.
Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun marries Ioana Maria Banu. Ten years earlier, he earned a hit as a songwriter for Big Joe Turner on ''Chains Of Love'', destined to become a country
hit for Mickey Gilley.
APRIL 7, 1961 FRIDAY
The Poni-Tails are at the Twin Coaches Lounge in Pittsburgh.
Gene Pitney is on American Bandstand.
APRIL 8, 1961 SATURDAY
Jerry Lee Lewis appear at the Birmingham Armory in Birmingham, Alabama.
Ray Charles begins a twenty stop tour at the McCormick Place in Chicago. His two days in Chicago gross $34,000 with tickets costing up to $4.00.
APRIL 10, 1961 MONDAY
Del Shannon performs ''Runaway'' on American Bandstand.
Capitol released Buck Owens and Rose Maddox's ''Loose Talk'' and ''Mental Cruelty''.
APRIL 11, 1961 TUESDAY
Bob Dylan becomes a pro, opening for John Lee Hooker at New York's Gerde's Folk
City. A number of Dylan's songs becomes country successes, including ''It Ain't Me, Babe'', ''You Ain't Going Nowhere'' and ''To Make You Feel My Love''.
The fledgling Los Aneles Angeles, owned by cowboy singer Gene Autry, play their first regular season baseball game at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The Angels defeat the Orioles, 7-2.
Jerry Butler, Dee Clark, Maxine Brown, and the Marcels are at the Howard Theater.
APRIL 12,
1961 WEDNESDAY
James Darren appears on Bob Hope's NBC-TV special Darren sings ''Gidget Goes Hawaiian'' and ''Wild About That Girl''.
Freddy Cannon is on American Bandstand.
Soviet Union Yuri Gagarin First Man in Space. The Soviet Union successfully launched
the first man into space today taking the prize for "The First Man In Space". Yuri Gagarin , a 27-year-old air force major. He orbited the Earth in 1hr 40 minutes. The next target is to put a man on the moon which the US achieves before the end of the decade.
Gagarin completing a full orbit of the planet in under two hours.
The Marty Robbins recording ''El Paso'' wins Best Country and Western Performance during the third annual
Grammy Awards.
APRIL 13, 1961 THURSDAY
Tammy Stephens is born in Arlington, Texas. After performing at Opryland, she joins The Girls Next Door, contributing to one Top 10 hit, ''Slow Boat To China'', on Mary Tyler Moore's MTM label.
The Everly Brothers make a guest appearance on NBC-TV's ''The Ford Show'' featuring Tennessee Ernie Ford.
APRIL 14, 1961 FRIDAY
Claude Gray recorded ''My Ears Should Burn (When Fools Are Talked About)'' at the Bradley Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
Review in Billboard says that, ''What'd I Say'' by Jerry Lee Lewis; ''Breatin' In A Brand New Broken Heart'' by Connie Francis; ''Runnin' Scared'' by Roy Orbison; ''I Fall To Pieces'' by Patsy Cline, and ''Some Kind Of Wonderful''
by The Drifters that ''These records, of all those on the Hot 100, have begun to show National sales breakout action this week for the first time. They are recommended to dealers and all other readers as having the greatest potential to go all the way. Previous
Billboard Spotlight Picks are marked.
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
STUDIO SESSION FOR HAROLD DORMAN
FOR SUN RECORDS 1961
SAM PHILLIPS RECORDING STUDIO
319 SEVENTH
AVENUE NORTH, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
SUN SESSION: FRIDAY APRIL 14, 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER - SAM PHILLIPS AND/OR
BILLY SHERRILL
RECORDING ENGINEER - JIM LOCKHART AND/OR TOM SPARKMAN
01 – ''THERE THEY GO'' – B.M.I. - 1:57
Composer: Harold Dorman
Publisher: - Gando Music – Hi-Lo Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - U 444 - Master
Recorded: - April 14, 1961
Released: - May 21, 1961
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 45rpm standard single > Sun 362-B < mono
THERE THEY GO / I'LL STICK BY YOU
Reissued: - 1997 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15804-3-16 mono
THE
SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 4
This is the first of three Sun releases
by Harold Dorman following his success the previous year with ''Mountain Of Love'' on Roland Janes's Rita Records. What a marvellous voice Dorman had! So expressive and so southern.
''There They Go'' stems from an session featuring some Music City heavyweights. Hank Garland, Junior Huskey, Buddy Harmon, Floyd Cramer, all the
gang were there and the result is a competently produced pop record. The mix is just right, with Dorman's vocal in the foreground and the chorus in a restrained supportive role.
If only more Memphis productions featuring Gene Lowery and his buddies had followed this model. ''I'll Stick By You''
is perhaps a bit more poppish with a more ''produced'' sound, although even here good sence seems to have prevailed.
Buddy Harmon's drumming adds interest to both sides of the record. There is little doubt that had these same sides been produced elsewhere, say New York, the arrangement might have gotten a tad overblow.
It's clear that that rhythmic hook in the release might have featured some strings, but thankfully, no one thought to invite the Memphis
symphony to an overdubbing party.
02 – ''I'LL STICK BY YOU'' – B.M.I. - 2:09
Composer: Harold Dorman
Publisher: - Gando Music – Knox Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - U 443 - Master
Recorded:
- April 14, 1961
Released: - May 21, 1961
First appearance: - Sun
Records (S) 45rpm standard single > Sun 362-A < mono
I'LL STICK BY YOU / THERE THEY GO
Reissued: - 1997 Bear Family Records
(CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15804-3-15 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 4
03 – ''LET ÉM TALK'' – B.M.I. - 2:10
Composer:
Harold Dorman
Publisher: - Knox Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - None - Not Originally Issued
Recorded: - April 14, 1961
Released: - 1997
First appearance: - Charly Records (CD) 500/200rpm
CPCD 8277-9 mono
SUN ROCK 'N' ROLL
Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Harold Dorman – Vocal
Hank Garland – Guitar
Kelton Herston - Guitar
Junior Huskey - Bass
Buddy Harmon – Drums
Floyd Cramer – Piano
Mildred Kirkham, Dorothy Ann Dillard,
Gordon Stoker,
Louis Dean Nunley - Vocal Chorus
For
Biography of Harold Dorman see: > The Sun Biographies <
Harold Dorman's Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
Harold Dorman's Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
APRIL 15, 1961 SATURDAY
The Ray Charles revues stops at Detroit's Music Hall and then Cleveland Music Hall grosses $22,000
on $4.00 tickets.
Former
Marty Robbins producer Mitch Miller graces the cover of TV Guide.
APRIL 16, 1961 SUNDAY
After making recordings for smaller labels, Claude King has his first session for Columbia Records at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. He takes his first swipe at ''Big River, Big Man'',
which he re-recorded a month later.
MID APRIL 1961
Duane Eddy is on location in Tuscon, Arizona filming ''Thunder of
Drums''.
APRIL 17,
1961 MONDAY
Dion appears
at the Casino Royal in Washington.
Neil
Sedaka is at the Blinstrub's Club in Philadelphia.
JoAnn Campbell is on American Bandstand.
The Bay of Pigs invasion ends in a defeat for the Cuban exiles who had attempted to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro's regime. 118 are killed and 1,202 are captured by Cuban forces.
West Side Story, the film version of the musical,
is released. The film features Natalie Wood and Rita Moreno, and a choreographed by Jerome Robbins.
Location shooting for Elvis Presley's movie ''Blue Hawaii'' concludes in the Pacific.
Wanda Jackson recorded ''I May Never Get To Heaven'' and ''Brown Eyed Handsome Man'' in Nashville. The former becomes a Conway Twitty
hit in 1979, while the latter Chuck Berry song earns country hit status for Waylon Jennings in 1969.
APRIL 19, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Ricky Nelson sings ''Hello Mary Lou'' on ABC-s ''The Adventures Of Ozzie and Harriet''.
APRIL 20, 1961 THURSDAY
Wanda Jackson recorded ''In The Middle Of A Heartache'' in Nashville, Tennessee.
Paul Evans and Johnny Preston open for six days at the Armata Coliseum in Manila, Philippines, that will
draw 36,000 fans A brief swing through Australia follows. In all, they are seen by 1000,000.
Pat Boone's TV special features Fabian.
APRIL 21, 1961 FRIDAY
Ernie-K-Doe, Jimmy Jones and Freddie Scott appear at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Music Hall.
The Flamingos, the Olympics and the Dells are at Chicago's Regal Theater for a week.
Bobby Lord holds what proves to be his final Columbia recording session.
APRIL 22, 1961 SATURDAY
Patsy Cline makes out her will, leaving to husband Charlie Dick only
their furniture, the family car and their record collection.
APRIL 24, 1961 MONDAY
Red Foley is found not guilty in his second trial for tax evasion in the last six months.
Bill Anderson recorded ''Po' Folks''.
Capitol Records released Hank Thompson's version of Jack Guthrie's ''Oklahoma Hills''.
APRIL 25, 1961 TUESDAY
The singles Sun 359 ''Belle Of The Suwanee'' b/w ''Eternally'' by Tracy Pendarvis and Sun 360 ''Groovy Train'' b/w ''Highland Rock'' by Wade
Cagle and The Escorts issued.
Johnny
Maestro sings ''Model Girl'' on American Bandstand.
Faron Young performs ''Hello Walls'' during a guest stint on Dick Clark's ABC-TV show ''American Bandstand''.
APRIL 27, 1961 THURSDAY
The Roomates sing ''Glory of Love'' on American Bandstand.
The city of Los Angeles issues a resolution offering ''the first cheer'' for the Los Angeles Angels, newly formed by Gene Autry.
APRIL 28, 1961 FRIDAY
The singles, PI 3567 ''Dream'' b/w ''Coming Down With The Blues'' by Jeb Stuart and PI 3568 ''You're Everything'' b/w ''You've Gome Home'' by Nelson Ray issued.
The Biggest Show of Stars
for 61 stops in St. Louis and the next day at Chicago's McCormick Place. The two dates brings in $25,000.
The Flamingos, Jerry Butler, the Miracles, Maxine Brown, the Vibrations and Shep and
the Limelites are at the Uptown Theater in Philadelphia.
APRIL 29, 1961 SATURDAY
Gilbert ''Cisco'' Houston dies of cancer in San Bernardino, California. A longtime drinking buddy and singing partner of Woody Guthrie,
he co-wrote ''Cocaine Blues'', a hit for Roy Hogsed in 11948.
LATE APRIL 1961
Sam Cooke appears for a week at the Flame
Show Bar in Detroit.
MAY 1, 1961 MONDAY
Bobby Rydell makes his debut as a nightclub performer at Sciolla's Club in Philadelphia.
Danny and the Juniors are
at Casino Royal in Washington, DC for a week.
Neil Sedaka sings ''Little Devil'' on American Bandstand.
Johnny Preston is in Philadelphia to begin a 30 day tour to promote ''I Feel Good''.
MAY 1, 1961 MONDAY
Decca Records released Webb Pierce's ''Sweet Lips''
Roland White and Clarence White appear as members of the fictitious band The Country Boys in an episode of ''The Andy Griffith Show''
on CBS.
MARCH 2, 1961
TUESDAY
RCA Victor
released Elvis Presley's ''I Feel So Bad'' backed with ''Wild In The Country'' (RCA Victor 47-7880). "I Feel So Bad" is a song written and originally recorded by Chuck Willis in 1953. Elvis version was recorded on March 12, 1961 in RCA Studio
B, in Nashville, Tennessee. Presley recorded a version of the song following the arrangements by Willis and his singing style. Presley's version reached to number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1961 and number 15 on Billboard's Top 20 Rhythm
And Blues Singles chart the same year. The song, which was released on a AA-sided single in the UK backed with ""Wild In The Country'', reached to number 4 on the UK singles chart, also in 1961.
MAY 3, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Songwriter Harlan Howard recorded the original version of ''She Called Me Baby''. The
song becomes a hit for Charlie Rich in 1974.
Fats Domino plays the Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh.
MAY 4, 1961 THURSDAY
Neil Sedaka begins a tour
of the Philippines and Australia.
Paul
Revere and the Raiders make their national TV debut on American Bandstand and sing ''Like Long Hair''.
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
STUDIO SESSION FOR JERRY LEE SMITH
FOR SUN RECORDS 1961
SAM PHILLIPS RECORDING STUDIO
639 MADISON AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
SUN
SESSION: MAY 4, 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER
AND RECORDING ENGINEER – SAM C. PHILLIPS
AND/OR CECIL SCAIFE
Jerry Lee "Smoochy" Smith, as a studio piano player for Sun Records from 1957 to 1959, Jerry Lee Smoochy Smith was instrumental in creating the Great Memphis Pumping Piano Sound. He played
on numerous recording sessions at Sun Records as part of the house band that backed up rockabilly legends such as Billy Lee Riley, Ace Cannon, Warren Smith, and others. Smoochy said, "I'm not listed as piano player many times, 'cause I was young and
I wasn't in the Musicians Union. Sam Phillips gave me a dollar for each year of my age to cut those records, and when he listed the session with the Musicians Union, he listed Jerry Lee Lewis as piano player or sometimes Jimmy Wilson".
At Stax, Smoochy Smith recorded with the Mar-Keys and was co-writer of their 1961 million-seller hit "Last
Night". He also played on Carla Thomas' first album, "Gee Whiz". In 2008 Smoochy Smith chronicled the life and times of his career in ''The Real Me'' published in 2008. One of the tidbits from this book was about the origin of his
nickname Smoochy. At 15 he was playing with a band between features in a Texas movie theatre. While watching the first movie, he met a cute little girl and took her backstage to meet the other band members. As the movie was ending, they looked
up and saw a couple kissing in the movie. Jerry asked the girl if she would like to do that, and she said yes. When the band began to perform bandleader Kenny Parchman introduced him to the audience as Smoochy. The name has stuck ever since.
01 - ''DRUNKEN GAMBLER'' - B.M.I.
Composer: Roosenvelt Sykes
Publisher: - Copyright Control
Matrix number: - None - Sun Unissued
02 - ''TO EACH HIS OWN'' – B.M.I.
Composer: Jay Livingston-Ray Evans
Publisher: - Paramount Music
Matrix number: - None - Sun Unissued
Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Jerry Lee Smith - Vocal & Piano
Brad Suggs - Guitar
R.W. Stevenson - Bass
Chips Moman - Drums
Ronnie Capone - Saxophone
Huey Jeffries - Steel Guitar
For Biography of Jerry Lee Smith see: > The Sun Biographies <
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS -
©
EARLY MAY 1961
Bobby Darin is touring Japan.
MAY 5, 1961 FRIDAY
Ral Donner is on American Bandstand.
The United States launches it's first man in space Alan Shepard on the Freedom 7. President Kennedy asks Congress for
$531 million to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. If you look at the timeline for space travel up to this point the The Soviet Union was consistently one step ahead of the United States, but following the speech by President Kennedy
on May 25, 1961 the United States was determined to be the first to put a man on the moon which they achieved on July 20, 1969 when Apollo 11 landed Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr, who became the first human beings to walk on the Moon's
surface.
MAY 6, 1961 SATURDAY
Dick Clark, the future producer of the academy of Country Music awards, is officially divorced from his first wife, Barbara.
MAY 8, 1961 MONDAY
As he turns 21, Ricky Nelson
officially changes his stage name to Rick Nelson.
Faron
Young's version of the Willie Nelson-penned ''Hello Walls'' hits number 1 in Billboard.
For his 21st birthday Ricky Nelson is granted his wish to be called professionally Rick.
Fat Domino is performing at the Showboat in Philadelphia.
Gene McDaniels begins a tour in Minneapolis to promote his new album.
MAY 9, 1961 TUESDAY
An-Margret recorded the pop hit ''I Just Don't Understand'' at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee. Among the ace musicians on the session, pianist Floyd Cramer, bass player Bob Moore, harmonica man Charlie McCoy and The Jordanaires.
MAY 10, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Danny and the Juniors are on American Bandstand.
MAY 12, 1961 FRIDAY
Gene McDaniels opens at the Village Vanguard in New York City.
Leroy Van Dyke recorded ''Walk On By'' at the Bradley Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
MAY 13, 1961 SATURDAY
The Louvin Brothers recorded the Chet Atkins-penned ''How's The World Treating You''. The song eventually is remake by Alison Kraus and James Taylor, who earn a Grammy nomination for their performance.
Sam Cooke has a SRO for his show at the Keil Auditorium. Also appearing are Hank Ballard
and the Midnighters, Clyde McPhatter, Aretha Franklin and the Olympics.
Gene Vincent returns to England. He becomes the first American to appear on the British variety television program Thank Your Lucky Stars.
MID MAY 1961
Jerry Lee Lewis is performing every Sunday at Lil' Rebel Room in Memphis while he is
on vacation at his home in Hernando, just across the state line in Mississippi.
Freddy Cannon is recuperating from tonsillectomy.
Jackie Wilson is leaving the hospital after recovering from the gunshot wound he suffered on February 15, 1961.
MAY 15, 1961 MONDAY
Decca released Kitty Wells' ''Heartbreak Hotel''.
MAY 16, 1961 TUESDAY
Carl Smith recorded ''Air Mail'' and ''Kisses Never Lie''.
MAY 17, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Dion is at the International Club in New York City.
MAY 18, 1961 THURSDAY
Claude King
recorded the definitive version of his first hit ''Big River, Big Man'', during an evening session at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Country Music Association begins its quarterly board meetings at the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach. During the two-day gathering, the board votes to
establish a Country Music Hall of Fame.
MAY 19, 1961 FRIDAY
Chet Atkins performs for president John F. Kennedy at the annual
White House news photographer dinner at a Washington, D.C. With Atkins are bassist Bob Moore, pianist Bill Purcell and drummer Buddy Harmon.
Jerry Lee Lewis is at the Regal theater in Chicago.
MIDDLE MAY 1961
Jerry Lee Lewis's ''What'd I Say'' reached number 30 on the charts, where it pegged out. It wasn't 1958 and ''Great Balls Of Fire'' all over again, but the response
was strong enough that a feeling of new life came over Sun's approach to Lewis. In the next few years, Jerry's records took
on a soulful cast. It may be that they would have anyway, as Jerry's own ear had led him to Ray Charles in the first place, but the list of releases Sam Phillips put out on
Jerry in the months, that followed showed just how hard he was working to color his boy as an rhythm and blues-based artist.
MAY 20, 1961 SATURDAY
Singer and songwriter Dan Wilson is born in Minneapolis. After establishing himself with the pop band Semisonic, he co-writes The Dixie Chiks' Grammy-winning ''Not Ready To Make Nice'' and Dierks Bentley's ''Home''.
MAY 21, 1961 SUNDAY
Brenda Lee recorded the pop hit ''Dum Dum'' in Nashville at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio.
The singles, Sun 362 ''I'll Stick By You'' b/w ''There They Go'' by Harold Dorman
and Sun 363 ''Sugartime'' b/w ''My Treasure'' by Johnny Cash issued.
Gene Vincent begins an eight day tour through South Africa.
MAY 22, 1961 MONDAY
Bass player Dana Williams
is born in Dayton, Ohio. He joins Diamond Rio, a band that wins the Country Music Association's Vocal Group award three times. Members of the Grand Ole Opry, the band thrives on tight instrumentation and strong harmonies.
Mary Sue Everly sues for divorce from her husband, The Everly Brothers' Don Everly. He allegedly tells
her, ''Babe, you just ain't Hollywood''.
RCA Records released
Don Gibson's ''Sea Of Heartbreak''.
MAY 23, 1961 TUESDAY
Little Caesar and the Romans sing ''Those Oldies But Goodies'' on American Bandstand.
Flatt and Scruggs recorded ''Go Home''
Five weeks after location shooting ended in Hawaii, filming for the Elvis Presley
movie ''Blue Hawaii'' in Los Angeles, California.
Gene
Autry is arrested in North Hollywood and charged with drunk driving after failing a field sobriety test. He's released on $263 bail.
MAY 24, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Buck Owens recorded ''Under The Influence Of Love'' in an afternoon session at the Capitol Tower in Hollywood, California.
MAY 25, 1961 THURSDAY
Roy Drusky recorded ''I Went Out Of My Way (To Make You Happy)''.
Rex Allen recorded the theme to the movie ''Marines, Let's Go'' at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
President Kennedy asks Congress for $531 million to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade.
MAY 26, 1961 FRIDAY
Following an association with Capitol Records, Jerry Reed holds the first of six recording sessions in a new deal with Columbia. He'll move along
to RCA before finally reaching his commercial peak.
Ray
Stevens recorded a minor pop hit, ''Jeremiah Peabody's Poly Unsaturated Quick Dissolving Fast Acting Pleasant Tasting Green And Purple Pills'', in his first Mercury session, at Nashville's Bradley Recording Studio.
MAY 27, 1961 SATURDAY
Johnny Cash has a guest acting part on NBC's ''The Deputy'', featuring Henry Fonda.
MAY 28, 1961 SUNDAY
Ernest Tubb recorded ''Though That Door'' during an evening session at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
MAY 29, 1961 MONDAY
Rock singer and songwriter Melissa Etheridge is born in Leavenworth, Kansas. A gritty powerful vocalist, she finds her way
into the country charts when Trisha Yearwood scores a minor hit with her song ''You Can Sleep While I Drive'' in 1995.
Decca released The Wilburn Brothers' ''Blue Blue Day''.
Mel Tillis holds his last Columbia recording session. Two of the songs become hits for him when he remakes them in the 1970s, ''Heart Over Mind'' and ''I Ain't Never''.
MAY 31, 1961 WEDNESDAY
Chuck Berry, the
author of such country hits as ''Mabellene'', ''Johnny B. Goode'' and ''Brown Eyed Handsome Man'', opens a new family shopping and entertainment site, called Berry Park in Wentzville, Missouri.
There are other artists named Billy Adams in the rock and roll history books, principally a guitarist from Kentucky
who recorded for Quincy and Nau-Voo and who has appeared in rocking revival shows at home and abroad. But in Memphis, there was only ever one Billy Adams.
Billy Adams and his recording associate Bill Yates had more singles issued on Sun Records than many of the major
names associated with the label.
Because they recorded in the early 1960s
rather than the rockabilly 1950s their music has tended to be overshadowed by the soulful developments in black music and the blues tradition that were coming out of Hi, Stax, and other Memphis labels.
Nevertheless, they were important white musicians spearheading
Sun's part in the musical convergence in the city some years before the civil rights movement took hold. Adams and Yates frequently worked at the same clubs as the rhythm and blues bands of Willie Mitchell
and Gene ''Bowlegs'' Miller.
Unlike the British beat groups who were invading
with America with recycled versions of black music,Adams and Yates were part of Memphis's evolving musical scene, black and white. Billy Adams was the band-leader and organiser, a drummer
of some note, and a decent singer. Bill Yates was less organised, a pianist of some note, and a really good singer in a range of styles. Often he played as part of Adams's band, but he would regularly disappear
to follow other opportunities.
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
In 1960, Scotty Moore was hired by Sam Phillips to be Production Manager for Sun Records at the Phillips studio on Madison Avenue. He took with him the link to HOTB that he had only just set up at Fernwood, and Cherry's Billy Adams and Bill Yates tapes were mastered
for release at Phillips studio at 639 Madison Avenue. They were not recorded at Sun, though. Jesse Carter remembered: ''Adams sang and played drums on a session at Hi Records studio. The first record he made, ''Lookin' For My Baby'', was one song we recorded there, and we made some instrumentals there too''. The Hi studio
was named Royal Recording and
was
a converted movie theater at 1320 South Lauderdale in south Memphis.
Session Published for Historical Reasons
STUDIO SESSION FOR BILLY ADAMS
FOR HOTB RECORDS 1961
ROYAL RECORDING STUDIO
1320 SOUTH LAUDERDALE STREET, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
HOTB SESSION: UNKNOWN DATE(S)
SUMMER 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER
AND RECORDING ENGINEER - PROBABLY RUBEN CHERRY
AND/OR WILLIE MITCHELL
It is probably that Billy Adams made one session for Home Of The Blues Records, from which came two discs, and
another session backing Bill Yates. Both he and Yates had a single issued by Ruben Cherry in the fall of 1961, and both
saw a second release more than six months later.
01 - ''HAD THE BLUES (TWIST)'' - B.M.I. - 2:18
Composer: - Billy Adams
Publisher: - Delta Haze Music
Matrix number: - 2571
Recorded: - Unknown Date(s) Summer 1961
Released: - Fall 1961
First appearance: - Home Of The Blues Records (S) 45rpm HOTB 239 mono
HAD THE BLUES (TWIST) / LOOKING FOR MY BABY (MARY ANN)
Reissued: - June 14, 2013 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm
BCD 1716-1 mono
BILLY ADAMS – THE SUN YEARS PLUS
Billy Adam's debut disc coupled ''Looking For My Baby (Mary Ann)'' with ''Had The Blues )Twist)'', HOTB
239. It was a disc that pretty much ignored the Twist dance craze despite the bracketed attempt to imply that was
the beat in the grooves. It was far more Adams unleasing his long-held love for rocking rhythm and blues music. ''Looking For My Baby'' was an original song first drafted
by bass player Jesse Carter about his wife May Ann. At about the same time, Bill Yates made his debut on the sister label, First Records, with ''All I
Need Is You'' and ''Mojo'', backed by Adams band.
02 – ''LOOKING FOR MY BABY (MARY ANN) – B.M.I. - 2:42
Composer:
- Billy Adams-Jesse Carter
Publisher: - Delta Haze Music
Matrix number - 2572
Recorded: - Unknown Date(s) Summer 1961
Released: - Fall 1961
First appearance: - Home Of The Blues Records (S) 45rpm HOTB 239 mono
LOOKING FOR MY BABY (MARY ANN) / HAD THE BLUES (TWIST)
Reissued: - June 14, 2013 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 1716-2 mono
BILLY ADAMS - THE SUN YEARS PLUS
03(1) - ''MEMPHIS TWIST'' – 1 –
B.M.I. - 2:04
Composer: - Unknown
Publisher:
- Copyright Control
Matrix number: - None – Not Originally Issued
Recorded: - Unknown Date(s) Summer 1961
Released: - June 14, 2013
First appearance: - Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 1716-16 mono
BILLY
ADAMS – THE SUN YEARS PLUS
Here are two versions
of ''Memphis Twist'', a really promising recording that was possibly mixed as a single when the Twist craze tailed off or when HOTB died.
03(2) - ''MEMPHIS TWIST'' - 2 - B.M.I. - 2:02
|Composer: - Unknown
Publisher: - Copyright Control
Matrix number: - None - Not Originally Issued
Recorded:
- Unknown Date(s) Summer 1961
Released: - June 14, 2013
First appearance: - Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 1716-30 mono
BILLY ADAMS - THE SUN YEARS PLUS
04 - ''SEND ME SOME LOVIN''' - B.M.I. - 3:09
Composer: - John Marascalco-Loyd Price
Publisher:
- Venice Music
Matrix number: None - Not Originally Issued
Recorded: - Unknown Date(s) Summer 1961
Released: - June 14, 2013
First appearance: - Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 1716-17 mono
BILLY ADAMS - THE SUN
YEARS PLUS
There were
a number of unissued songs left over from the HOTB sessions, mainly featuring Bill Yates, but Billy Adams did leave two more instrumentals, ''Fee Bee'' and ''Send Me Some
Loving'', both included here.
05
- ''FEE BEE'' - B.M.I. - 2:29
Composer: - Unknown
Publisher: - Copyright Control
Matrix number: - None – Not Originally Issued
Recorded: - Unknown Date(s) Summer 1961
Released: - June 14, 2013
First appearance: - Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 1716-15 mono
BILLY ADAMS - THE SUN YEARS PLUS
06 - ''BIG M'' - 1 - B.M.I. - 2:05
Composer: - Billy Adams
Publisher: - Delta Haze Music
Matrix number: - 2578
Recorded: - Unknown Date(s) Summer 1961
Released: - Late 1962
First appearance: - Home Of The Blues Records (S) 45rpm HOTB 242 mono
BIG
M / MY HAPPINESS
Reissued: - June 14, 2013 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 1716-3 mono
BILLY ADAMS - THE SUN YEARS PLUS
In the late spring of 1962, Billy Adams' second disc appeared, ''My Happiness'' and ''Big Me'', HOTB 242. Both sides were instrumentals,
picking up the then-current theme in Memphis for tough, bluesy sax-led sounds. Adam and his band members had worked often with Bill Black and Ace Cannon and the members of
Booker T. and the MGs, and theirs was almost a communal Memphis sound, Billboard gave ''Big M'' a rating of
3 stars (Moderate sales potential) on May 5, 1962. Despite this, a royalty statement for the first half of 1962 shows that Adams' discs did not get too far out of Memphis,
with his first selling 400 copies, his second just 275 to date, and that Adams was $38 short of making any money. However, the second disc was reissued
on Apt as part of the deal with ABC and it was listed in Billboard on October 27, 1962 as a new release. There was no detailed
review but both sides were again given 3 stars. Bill Yates also saw a second disc issued at this time when HOTB licensed two titles to Bethlehem Records.
07 - ''MY HAPPINESS'' – B.M.I. - 2:16
Composer: - Betty Peterson-Borney Bergantine - Written in 1933
Publisher: - Chappell Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - 2577
Recorded: - Unknown Date(s) Summer 1961
Released: - Late 1962
First appearance: - Home Of The Blues Records (S) 45rpm HOTB 242 mono
MY HAPPINESS
/ BIG M
Reissued: - June 14, 2013 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 1716-4 mono
BILLY ADAMS - THE SUN YEARS PLUS
Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Billy Adam - Vocal
Billy Yates - Piano & Organ
Lee Adkins - Guitar
Jesse Carter - Bass
Gene Parker - Drums
Russ Carlton - Saxophone
For
Biography of Billy Adams see: > The Sun Biographies <
Billy Adams' Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
Billy Adams' Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
SUMMER 1961
Ruben Cherry
and Celia Camp diversified in mid 1961 by setting up subsidiary labels to issue music produced and bankrolled by independent producers. The Zab, Rufus, Six-O-Six (named after
the store address where Cherry lived as a child), and First Records labels were an effort to ring the changes. Mrs. Camp was wheeling and dealing in more than records: Billboard reported on May 22, 1961: ''Memphis: Mrs. Celia G. Camp has purchased the majority
of the stock in Southern Amusement Company from her exhusband... the largest phonograph and game operation in the mid-South... Camp began his coin machine
empire in 1938, with Mrs. Camp's help. They founded Southern Distributing Company with Kenneth Wilson. Wilson has
long since left the field and is now a multi-millionaire builder and president of Holiday Inns Inc... Mrs. Camp owns Music Systems Inc, 407 Madison Avenue, where her office
is, a background music operation. Mrs. Camp also owns oil wells in Kentucky, Illinois, and Arkansas. A year ago she helped found HOTB record company and is secretary-treasurer of it. She has put up the money for its operation. They are hoping to become a hit-producing record
company, have great hopes for the Five Royales they are recording''. These hopes soon met the reality of average sales figures, and Camp brought in her nephew, Wolf
Lebowitz, a Memphis-born journalist and photographer, who hawked the label around the northern record business. By
November 1961 Billboard was reporting: ''Chicago – Vee Jay president Ewart Abner has worked out an agreement with Ruben Cherry's label HOTB to distribute the latter's
records. Future HOTB releases will be issued on Vee Jay with an additional emblem of HOTB''. Soon, the label would transfer this arrangement to ABC-Paramount Records and their Apt subsidiary.
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
There are other artists named Bill Yates in the Southern music history books, principally an Appalachian bass player who led
bluegrass bands for many years, and a modern-day-country singer. But, in Memphis music, there was only one Bill Yates .
Bill Yates and his recording partner Billy Adams had more singles issued on Sun Records than many of the
major names associated with the label. Because they recorded in the early 1960s rather than the rockabilly 1950s their music has tended to be overshadowed
by the soulful developments in black music and the blues tradition that were coming out of Hi, Stax, and other Memphis labels. Nevertheless, they were important
white musicians spearheading Sun's part in the musical convergence in the city some years before the civil rights movement took hold. Adams and Yates
frequently worked at the same clubs as the rhythm and blues bands of Willie Mitchell and Gene ''Bowlegs'' Miller. Unlike the British beat groups who were invading with
America with recycled versions of black music, Adams and Yates were part of Memphis's evolving musical scene, black and white.
Billy Adams was the band-leader and organiser, a drummer of some note, and a decent
singer. Bill Yates was less organised, a pianist of some note, and a really good singer. He played as part of Adams's band and on his own account. He was comfortable with almost any style of music and many have been seen at Sun as the new white hope after the loss of Jerry Lee Lewis and Charlie Rich.
It is probably that Bill Yates made at least two vocal sessions for Home Of The
Blues, one led by John Osborne at Pepper and another for Ruben Cherry at the Royal studio, as well as the session(s) backing Billy Adams
as vocalist. Both singers had a single issued by Cherry in the fall of 1961, and both saw a second release more than six months later.
Session Published for Historical Reasons
STUDIO SESSION FOR BILL YATES
FOR FIRST RECORDS 1961
PEPPER RECORDING STUDIO
62 DIANA STREET, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
FIRST SESSION: UNKNOWN DATE SUMMER 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER - JOHN OSBORNE
Although Bill Yates played keyboards on Adams first session, it seems that his own vocal debut was made at
the Pepper studio and funded by a local entertainment entrepreneur, John Osborne. Pepper Records, located in midtown at the junction of Diana Street and Union
Avenue , was owned by John Pepper, one of the original stakeholders in radio WDIA, and whose main business was in producing advertising jingles. The record label was dropped when the ads business expanded as Pepper-Tanner with new partners. John Osborne was part of Elvis Presley's entourage at the time he met and recorded
Bill Yates, according to reports in the Memphis Press-Scimitar.
01 - ''ALL I NEED IS YOU'' - B.M.I. - 2:33
Composer: - Bill Yates-John Osborne
Publisher: - Osborne Music
Matrix number: - F 102
Recorded: - Unknown Date Summer 1961
Released: - December 1961
First appearance: First Records (S) 45rpm First 101 mono
ALL I NEED IS YOU / MOJO
Reissued: - June 14, 2013 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 17277-2 mono
BILL YATES - THE SUN YEARS PLUS
While Billy Adams' discs both appeared on HOTB, Bill Yates made his debut, as Billy Yates, on the sister
label, First Records, funded by Osborne, with ''All I Need Is You'' and ''Mojo''. Yates provides a full-on account of how he's got his ''Mojo'' working,
with enough lyric changes and asides to go some way to justify Osborne giving himself and Billy the composer credit for this well-known blues theme popularized by
Muddy Waters. ''All I Need Is You'' is an impassioned ballad of considerable quality and real soulfulness. Yates overdubbed bluesy harmonica parts on both songs.
His disc appeared around December 1961 when Cherry and Camp formed First Records and issued three discs; the other two being by Mary Miller and Del Monte. Yates' disc label credited John Osborne as producer and publisher of the songs and it is possible he was acting Yates' manager at the time. He had managed various acts in Memphis,
including the Lazenby Twins who had a small hit with ''Wondering'' on Pepper Records late in 1958, and Osborne has issued discs by
the twins on his ABO label, a Division of Osborne Shows Inc. in the 1950s. Osborne was managing Mary Miller at the time of her First disc in 1961. He had big hopes for the young teenager, Billboard
reporting on May 18, 1963: ''Songstress Mary Miller of Memphis, sweet 16 and very pretty, was a big hit at her recent night
club debut at Desert Inn, Las Vegas. Was signed to appear at Harrah's, Lake Tahoe, and may get a film contract''. The high hopes didn't last long though, Billboard taking up the story six months
later on October 19: ''Ward Hodge, Memphis investor, sued John Osborne, 38, in circuit court for $1 million, changing breach of
contract. Osborne is managing up and coming singer Mary Miller. Hodge's bill said Osborne brought the singer to him, he took them to Hollywood, met producers, record officials, got her started,
and had by contract half interest in the agent's fee of 30%''. It is possible that Bill Yates was also promoted in Hollywood at
this time. Hid nephew remembers him having bit parts in western movies.
02 - ''MOJO'' - B.M.I. - 2:30
Composer: - Bill Yates-John Osborne
Publisher: - Osborne Music
Matrix number: - F 103
Recorded:
- Unknown Date Summer 1961
Released: - December 1961
First appearance:
First Records (S) 45rpm First 101 mono
MOJO / ALL I NEED IS YOU
Reissued:
- June 14, 2013 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 17277-1 mono
BILL YATES - THE SUN YEARS PLUS
03(1) - ''FOOL AROUND WITH LOVE'' - 1 - B.M.I. - 2:27
Composer: - Carl Perkins
Publisher: - Osborne Music
Matrix number: - B 6665
Recorded: - Unknown Date Summer 1961
Released:
- November 1962
First appearance: - Bethlehem Records (S) 45rpm Bethlehem 3039 mono
FOOL AROUND WITH LOVE / BLUES LIKE MIDNIGHT
Reissued: - June 14, 2013 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 17277-4 mono
BILL YATES - THE SUN YEARS PLUS
After the initial three discs on First, the label was folded and Cherry and Camp started to look to other outlets for Bill Yates. In the summer of fall of 1962
they leased two of his sides to King Records of Cincinnati for issue on their Bethlehem subsidiary. ''Fool Around With Love'' was a strong song, written by Carl Perkins,
and picked up by Yates when they played shows together. The flipside of Bethlehem 3039 was the atmospheric ''Blues Like Midnight'', a song credited to
Celia Camp and possibly even written by her. The HOITB master tape of these two titles bears the date June 24, 1962 but this could be when a copy was made
to send to Bethlehem. The Bethlehem sessions and release schedules show that Yates' disc was issued around November 1962.
03(2) - ''(I'LL NEVER) FOOL AROUND WITH LOVE (NO MORE)'' - 1 - B.M.I. - 2:11
Composer: - Carl Perkins
Publisher: - Osborne Music
Matrix number: - None - HOTB Not Originally Issued
Recorded: - Unknown Date Summer 1961
Released: - June 14, 2013
First appearance: - Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 17277-14
mono
BILL YATES - THE SUN YEARS PLUS
04(1) - ''BLUES LIKE MIDNIGHT'' - 1 - B.M.I - 2:12
Composer: - Celia G. Camp
Publisher: - Osborne Music
Matrix number: - B 6666
Recorded: - Unknown Date Summer 1961
Released: - November 1962
First appearance: - Bethlehem Records (S) 45rpm Bethlehem 3039 mono
BLUES LIKE MIDNIGHT / FOOL AROUND WITH LOVE
Reissued: - June 14, 2013 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 17277-3 mono
BILL YATES
- THE SUN YEARS PLUS
04(1) - ''BLUES LIKE MIDNIGHT'' - 2
- B.M.I - 1:38
Composer: - Celia G. Camp
Publisher: - Osborne Music
Matrix number: - None - HOTB Not Originally Issued
Recorded: - Unknown Date
Summer 1961
Released: - June 14, 2013
First appearance: - Bear Family
Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 17277-13 mono
BILL YATES - THE SUN YEARS PLUS
Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Bill Yates - Vocal, Piano, Organ,
Harmonica
Lee Adkins - Guitar
Vance Yates or Donald Dunn - Bass
Billy Adams - Drums
Russ Carlton – Saxophone
An updated sales statement for the first 6 months of Yates disc on First Records showed that 724 copies had
been sold, but that after session costs and advances Billy was still $457 away from making any money. A statement to Osborne Music covering the first
half of 1962 showed that a further 651 copies had been sold, making less than 1400 copies in the first year.
For Biography of Bill Yates see: > The Sun Biographies <
Bill Yates' Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
Bill Yates' Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
JUNE 1, 1961 THURSDAY
Tex Ritter throws a party for the Los Angeles
Dodgers at his home in Toluca Lake, California. The guests include first baseman Gil Hodges and pitchers Don Drysdale and Ron Perranoski.
JUNE 4, 1961 SUNDAY
Jim Reeves recorded ''What Would You Do?'' and ''Stand At The Window'' in the afternoon at Nashville's RCA Studio B.
JUNE 5, 1961 MONDAY
Decca released Bill Anderson's ''Po' Folks'',
and Bill Anderson recorded ''Mama Sang A Song''.
JUNE 10, 1961 SATURDAY
Mel and Mary McDaniel get married.
JUNE 12, 1961 MONDAY
Decca released Don Winter's only country hit, ''Too Many Times''.
Columbia released Claude King's debut single, ''Big River, Big Man'', and also released Carl Smith's ''Kisses Never Lie''.
©
- 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
''I Love You Because'' was likewise rejuvenated in a pop-country vein at a second Nashville date on June 12. This session saw Lewis record the ''A'' sides of two attempts to repeat the success of ''What'd I Say'' with material
aimed squarely at the pop market, ''It Won't Happen With Me'', which was coupled with the aforementioned ''Cold Cold heart'' on Sun 364, and ''Save The Last Dance For Me'', paired for a release, Sun 367), with one of numerous recordings of ''As Long As I Live'',
the latter having been taped eighteen months earlier in Memphis. Notwithstanding the very strong qualities of Jerrty Lee's interpretation of ''Save The Last Dance For Me'', which surely deserved widespread recognition, its chances of success were blighted
by the song's familiarity in the wake of The Drifters' version; though might it have fared better if the exuberant ''I Love You Because'' had been selected for the flip? And despite Jerry Lee's spirited approach, ''It Won't Happen With Me'' suffered from being
exactly what it was; a rather silly pop song. Neither release made an impression in terms of the hoped-for chart action. (*)
STUDIO SESSION FOR JERRY LEE LEWIS
FOR SUN RECORDS 1961
SAM PHILLIPS RECORDING STUDIO
319 SEVENTH AVENUE NORTH,
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
SUN SESSION: MONDAY JUNE 12, 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER - SAM PHILLIPS AND/OR
BILLY SHERRILL
RECORDING ENGINEER - JIM LOCKHART AND/OR TOM SPARKMAN
1(1) – ''IT WON'T HAPPEN WITH ME'' (1) - B.M.I. - 3:09
Composer: - Ray Evans
Publisher: - Knox Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - None - Take 1
Recorded: - June 12, 1961 - Not Originally Issued
Released: - October 1976
First appearance: - Charly Records (LP) 33rpm CR 30116-B3 mono
SUN: THE ROOTS OF ROCK - VOLUME 9 MORE REBEL ROCKABILLY
Reissued: - October 2015
Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 17254-13-5 stereo
JERRY LEE LEWIS AT SUN RECORDS THE COLLECTED WORKS
''It Won't Happen With Me'' chosen as the follow up to ''What'd I Say'', this song stems from Jerry's second Nashville session and was released
almost immediately after he recorded it in June, 1961. There was a lot of momentum in Jerry's career and no one wanted to squander it. Hopes must have been high for this one. Certainly, it was as commercial selfconscious as anything Jerry had ever
recorded. In truth, the song was a fine vehicle for our man; it gave him a chance to trash the competition while extolling his own virtues. The song begins in true pop-gospel fashion, shuttling between 1 and 6-minor chords, with some simulated Raelets
along for the ride. The lyrics is a Who's Who of pop stars of the day, from Fabian to Jackie Wilson. Not even Elvis is safe. There are also references to pop hits, like Ricky Nelson's ''Traveling Man'' from April, 1961. Yet, there is something
really bizarre about the lyric. If you listen closely, what Jerry seems to be saying is ''Look, honey, why mess around with all those other guys? Sure they'll have casual sex with you and treat you like a groupie. But ''me'', I'll take you seriously.
I'll even marry' you''. The truth is, given Jerry's matrimonial history, this song is more than an empty promise.
1(2) – ''IT WON'T HAPPEN WITH
ME'' (1) - B.M.I. - 2:52
Composer: - Ray Evans
Publisher: - Knox Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - None - Stereo Master Take 2
Recorded: - June 12, 1961 - Not Originally Issued
Released: - September 1989
First appearance: - Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm
BCD 15420-7-11 stereo
CLASSIC JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE DEFINITIVE SUN RECORDINGS 1956 – 1963
Reissued: - October 2015 - Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 17254-16-10
stereo
JERRY LEE LEWIS AT SUN RECORDS THE COLLECTED WORKS
1(2) – ''IT WON'T HAPPEN WITH ME'' - B.M.I. - 2:52
Composer:
- Ray Evans
Publisher: - Knox Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - U 448 - Master Take 2
Recorded: - June 12, 1961
Released: - August 1961
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 45rpm standard single > Sun 364-B < mono
IT WON'T HAPPEN WITH ME / COLD COLD HEART
Reissued: - 1997 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15804-3-19
mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 4
2(2) – ''C.C. RIDER'' (2) - B.M.I. - 2:27
Composer: - Chuck Willis
Publisher: - Progressive Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - None – Unknown
Take
Recorded: - June 12, 1961 - Not Originally Issued
Released: - January 1983
First appearance: - Charly Records (LP) 33rpm Sunbox 102-11-A2 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS – THE SUN YEARS
Reissued: - September 1989 Bear Family
Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15420-7-12 stereo
CLASSIC JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE DEFINITIVE SUN RECORDINGS 1956 – 1963
"I Love You Because" is a 1949 song written and originally recorded by Leon Payne. The single went to number four on the Billboard Country & Western Best Seller
lists and spent two weeks at number one on the Country & Western Disk Jockey List, spending a total of thirty-two weeks on the chart. "I Love You Because" was Payne's only song to make the country charts. "I Love You Because" has been covered
by several artists throughout the years like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Hank Locklin and many more.
In 1950, Ernest Tubb a number 2 and Clyde Moody each recorded their own version both making the Top 10 on the Country & Western charts. In 1963, Al Martino recorded the most successful version of the song peaking at
number three on the Hot 100 and number one on the Middle-Road (or Easy Listening) chart for two weeks in May that year.
In 1964, Jim Reeves took the song to number five in the United Kingdom. In 1976, the song was the title track of a posthumous Jim Reeves album, which peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Country chart. The single version
reached to number 54 in the United States that year. In 1983, Roger Whittaker got the song "into the lower reaches of the country chart''.
The 1956/1957 version of ''I Love You Because'' is performed at a very slow and plodding tempo, though it’s not without its charm and features some nice piano. This remained unissued until the 1983 ''The Sun Years'' box-set. Far better is this
faster June 1961 version (though the backing singers are a bit annoying), first released on ''Original Golden Hits Volume Three'' in 1971. Lastly is the beautiful 1969 version, released on ''Country Music Hall Of Fame Hits Vollume 1''.
3(2) – ''I LOVE YOU BECAUSE'' (2) - B.M.I. - 1:53
Composer: - Leon Payne
Publisher: - Acuff Rose Music Publishing
Matrix number: - None – Fast - Unknown Take
Recorded: - June 12, 1961 -
Not Originally Issued
Released: - December 1971
First appearance: - Sun International (LP) 33rpm Sun LP 128-B4 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS - ORIGINAL GOLDEN HITS VOLUME 3
Reissued: - September 1989 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15420-7-13 stereo
CLASSIC JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE DEFINITIVE SUN RECORDINGS 1956 – 1963
When ''It Won't Happen With Me'' didn't sustain any chart action, Sun came quickly with another single. Jerry again had one finger on the pulse of teen America
with his reprise of the Drifters' ''Save The Last Dance For Me''. With its notably brief running time, the record is a consummate pop record, aimed directly at the AM radio playlists. The song, of course, is excellent. Its pedigree had been well
established in the Fall of 1960. Jerry's version sports some crisp and lively drumwork and memorable pounding piano. To its detriment was the overpowering choral work. But, then, there had been similar complains about the excessive violins on the Drifters original record.
4 – ''SAVE THE LAST DANCE WITH ME'' - B.M.I.
- 1:48
Composer: - Doc Pomus-Mort Schuman
Publisher:
- Rumbalero Music
Matrix number: - None - Stereo Master
Recorded: - June 12, 1961 - Not
Originally Issued
Released: - September 1989
First
appearance: - Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15420-7-14 stereo
CLASSIC JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE DEFINITIVE SUN RECORDINGS 1956 – 1963
Reissued: - October 2015 - Bear
Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 17254-16-13 stereo
JERRY LEE LEWIS AT SUN RECORDS THE COLLECTED WORKS
4 – ''SAVE THE LAST DANCE WITH ME'' - B.M.I. - 1:48
Composer: - Doc Pomus-Mort Schuman
Publisher: - Rumbalero Music
Matrix number: - U 453 - Master
Recorded: - June 12, 1961
Released: - September 1, 1961
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 45rpm
standard single > Sun 367-A < mono
SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME / AS LONG AS I LIVE
Reissued:
- 1997 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15804-4-1 stereo
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 4
"Save The Last Dance For Me" is the title of a popular song written by Doc Pomus and
Mort Shuman, first recorded in 1960 by The Drifters, with Ben E. King on lead vocals. In a 1990 interview songwriter Doc Pomus tells the story of the song being recorded by the Drifters and originally designated as the B-side of the record. He credits Dick
Clark with turning the record over and realizing ''Save The Last Dance'' was the stronger song.
The Drifters' version of the song would go on to spend three non-consecutive weeks at number 1 on the U.S. pop chart, in addition to logging one week atop the U.S. Rhythm and Blues chart.In the UK, the
Drifters' recording reached number 2 in December 1960. This single was produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, two noted American music producers who at the time had an apprentice relationship with a then-unknown Phil Spector. Although he was working with
Leiber and Stoller at the time, it is unknown whether Spector assisted with the production of this record; however, many Spector fans have noticed similarities between this record and other music he would eventually produce on his own.
Damita Jo had a hit with one of the answer songs of this era called "I'll
Save The Last Dance For You". In the song, the narrator tells his lover she is free to mingle and socialize throughout the evening, but to make sure to save him the dance at the end of the night. During an interview on Elvis Costello's show ''Spectacle'',
Lou Reed, who worked with Pomus, said the song was written on the day of Pomus' wedding while the wheelchair-bound groom watched his bride dancing with their guests. Pomus had polio and at times used crutches to get around. His wife, Willi Burke, however,
was a Broadway actress and dancer. The song gives his perspective of telling his wife to have fun dancing, but reminds her who will be taking her home and "in whose arms you're gonna be''. Musicians on the Drifters' recording were: Bucky Pizzarelli, Allen
Hanlon (guitar), Lloyd Trotman (bass), and Gary Chester (drums).
Emmylou Harris covered the song in a country/bluegrass style in 1979, including it on her ''Blue Kentucky Girl'' album. Also released as a single, her version reached the top-ten on the U.S. country singles chart in mid-1979. In late
1983, Dolly Parton recorded "Save The Last Dance for Me", releasing it as a single in late December; the song subsequently appeared on Parton's album of 1950s and 1960s covers ''The Great Pretender'', released in January 1984. Reaching the top ten on the country
singles chart in late February, the single also crossed over, reaching number45 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.
''Save The Last Dance For Me" was later covered by Canadian crooner Michael Bublé, and released as the third and final single from his second major-label
studio album, ''It's Time''. The song was heavily remixed for its release as a single. For its release as a single, the song was heavily remixed, with mixes from producers including Ralphi Rosario and Eddie Baez. All of the chart positions for the single are
for each of the remixed versions of the song respectively. The single first peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart in September 2005. After Bublé performed the album version of the song during the closing credits of the film
''The Wedding Date'', this version was released to radio, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart, as well as reaching number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video for the track was once again directed by Noble Jones, who directed
the videos for both of the album's previous singles, ''Home'' and ''Feeling Good''. The music video was choreographed by Raymondo Chan, a Salsa Latin dance coach and performer. It was shot in Vancouver, Canada.
Other significant recordings, Jay and the Americans released a cover version of the song on their
1962 album, ''She Cried''. In 1960 Polydor Records published a German cover version with lyrics by Kurt Schwabach and singer Ivo Robić and the German text is no translation. In 1961 Ivo Robic did a German song to this tune called "Mit 17 Fangt Das Leben Erst
An" (Live begins at 17). Buck Owens released a cover version in 1962; it peaked at number 11 on the US country charts and appeared on the album ''Together Again.'' The Swinging Blue Jeans recorded a version in 1964 for their first UK studio album ''Blue Jeans
A Swinging'' on HMV 1802. Ike and Tina Turner recorded and released a cover version of the song on their 1966 album, ''River Deep - Mountain High''. Jerry Lee Lewis recorded a two different versions of the song during his later years on Sun Records on June
12, 1961, in Nashville's Sam Phillips's studio. The Swedish group the Spotnicks had an instrumental version of the song, called "Valentina" on their 1964 album ''The Spotnicks In Spain''. Billy Joe Royal released a version of the song on his 1967 for his album,
''Billy Joe Royal Featuring Hush''.
During
the Get Back/Let It Be sessions of January 1969, the Beatles played a short, impromptu variation of this song. It was in the original lineup of songs to be included on the album that would become ''Let It Be'', although it was later scrapped. However, their
version has appeared on many bootleg releases, including 2 LP set "The Black Album" (not to be confused with their official released ''The White Album'' issued before). In 1969, John Rowles recorded a version arranged and conducted by British arranger, bandleader,
Johnny Arthey, released on 7" vinyl by MCA-UK the following year. Harry Nilsson covered the song, in a rather dark fashion, on his 1974 album, ''Pussy Cats'', which was produced by his friend and drinking buddy John Lennon. The Walkmen did a cover of ''Pussy
Cats'' which included "Save The Last Dance For Me". Also in 1974, the Canadian group the DeFranco Family reached number 18 on the Billboard pop chart with their version of "Save The Last Dance For Me", with lead vocals sung by the 14-year-old group member
Tony DeFranco.
Patti LaBelle included
a disco-flavored cover of the song as the lead track on her 1978 album, T''asty''. In 1978, country music singer-songwriter Ron Shaw recorded the song on Pacific Challenger Records; this version reached the Top 40 on the Billboard country music chart. In 1979,
Marcia Hines covered the song for her album, ''Ooh Child''. The Forgotten Rebels recorded the song on their 1981 album ''This Ain't Hollywood''. The song was covered by Mud in 1982. In 1983 Herbie Armstrong included a haunting version of the song on his solo
album ''Back Against The Wall''. Mort Shuman himself endorsed it, certain it would be a hit. Sadly the distribution company went bust and only 800 copies of the CD were ever distributed. The song was translated into French by André Salvet and François
Llenas and recorded by, among others, Petula Clark, Dalida, and Mort Shuman himself.
Geno Delafose recorded
the song as a zydeco version on the CD ''LaChason Perdu'' in 1998 on Rounder Records. Bruce Willis released a version which appears on his 1989 album, ''If It Don't Kill You, It Just Makes You Stronger''. ''An Intimate Evening With Anne Murray'' is a live
album by Canadian singer Anne Murray, recorded December 18, 1986 performed on MTV, released in 1997 and features the song. In 2000, Japanese band The Neatbeats recorded the song for their album ''Everybody Need!''. Irish singer Daniel O'Donnell recorded it
on his 2003 album, ''Daniel In Blue Jeans''. In the 2000s, UK musician and ex-band member of Fox, Herbie Armstrong, recorded a slower, minor version of the song and released it as a single from his album, ''Last Dance''. In 2003, the Troggs recorded their
version of this song on an album with rerecorded songs, called "Wild Thing". In 2010, Jerry Lawson and Talk of the Town performed this song on the second season of the album ''Sing Off''. In 2012 Leonard Cohen performed this song as a part of his Old Ideas
World tour. In 2010, Matchbox 20 lead singer Rob Thomas performed a live acoustic version at the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. In 2012, the Bally Ramblers recorded it for their debut album, and in 2012, American composer and producer
Kramer covered the song and included it on his sixth album ''The Brill Building''.
Name (Or. No. Of
Instruments)
Jerry Lee Lewis – Vocal & Piano
Wayne Moss - Guitar
Kelton Kelso Herston – Guitar
Bob Moore – Bass
Murray Buddy Harmon – Drums
Marvin Hughes - Possibly Piano on some tracks
Unknown Vocal Group
For Biography of Jerry Lee
Lewis see: > The Sun Biographies <
Jerry Lee Lewis' Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
Jerry Lee Lewis' Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
JUNE 1961
Carl Mann recorded at Phillips's Nashville studio in June 1961, as his success slowly ebbed. Like most of Sun's diminishing roster, he preferred the sound at the Nashville
studio to the Madison Avenue studio. Carl also hoped that he'd be allowed to cut more country music.
''Deep down I wanted to do country music'', he says. ''Every time I went to record I'd do some country
songs for Sam and he'd say, Naw, that's too country', but I slipped a few in there. ''Í Can't Forget You'' was a song Carl Belew wrote for Patsy Cline. We put it on the back of
''Some Enchanted Evening'', a song I did not want to.
At some point there was a convict between Phillips and Eddie Bush. The details are fuzzy, but it probably centered around Phillips's unwillingness to pay Musicians
Union scale on sessions that went nowhere, or the lack of promotion accorded Bush's solo single. At some point, Phillips expended quite
a lot of tape on Bush and got as far as issuing a single, and its lack of success might have accounted for some of Bush's pique. He appears to have a gone back to the Louisiana Hayride for a while to play with Carl Belew, but the dates, as always, are hazy.
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
For the first session of 1961, Carl Mann
headed east to Nashville rather then west to Memphis from his home near Jackson. He arrived at Sam's new studio on 7th Avenue North in Nashville to find Jud Phillips slumped over drunk in the secretary's chair. Jud had apparently been told by someone that Carl didn't arrive sufficiently prepared for session work and he woke up long enough to chew him out. Sam arrived a little later and acted as nominal producer. Billy Sherrill, the
resident engineer, was behind the board.
It is a matter
of some curiosity why Carl opted to re-cut ''Ain't Got No Home'' and ''Blueberry Hill''. The entire band was comprised of Nashville session men plus Eddie Bush, and they seem intent on recapturing the feel of Carl's earlier versions. They were largely
successful, but as Phillips already had the first version nestled away in a tape box, what was the point of re-cutting them? With twenty-five years separating him from Sam's inscrutable logic,
Carl could only venture that ''Sam may have wanted to try out his new studio, maybe compare it to something he had previously done in Memphis''.
STUDIO SESSION FOR CARL MANN
FOR SUN RECORDS 1961
SAM PHILLIPS RECORDING STUDIO
319 SEVENTH AVENUE NORTH, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
SUN SESSION: TUESDAY JUNE 13, 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER - SAM PHILLIPS AND/OR BILLY SHERRILL
RECORDING ENGINEER - JIM LOCKHART AND/OR TOM SPARKMAN
01 - "LONG BLACK VEIL''- B.M.I. - 3:12
Composer: - Marijohn Wilkin-Danny Dill
Publisher: - Cedarwood Music Publishing
Matrix number: - None - Not Originally Issued
Recorded: - June 13, 1961
Released: - 1985
First appearance: - Star Club (LP) 33rpm Jan 33-8022-14 mono
CARL MANN - 14 UNISSUED SIDES
Reissued: - 1993 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15713-2-19 mono
CARL MANN - MONA
LISA
02 – "IF I COULD CHANGE YOU" - B.M.I. - 3:11
Composer: - Carl Mann-Kelso Herston
Publisher: - Knox Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - None - Undubbed Master - Not Originally Issued
Recorded:
- June 13, 1961
Released: - 1993
First appearance: - Bear Family Records
(CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15713-2-20 mono
CARL MANN - MONA LISA
''If I Could Change You'' is a really beautiful country song, written by Carl and Eddie Bush. Unfortunately, Bush was broke as usual and managed to sell his
rights to picker Kelso Herston. Business transactions of this nature were hardly new to Nashville. Just ask Willie Nelson. There is a vaguely Faron Young-ish quality to Mann's voice on this track but the biggest news for his fans is that there was
nothing formulaic about either side of this record. For the first time Carl Mann was free to make his own music.
Finally, listen to the quality of these recording, made at Phillips' Nashville studio, compared with the untamed spaciness that still characterized Madison Avenue. It was comparisons like this that ultimately
help to Sam Phillips to bite the bullet and bring in technical help to correct the acoustic problems at his Memphis
studio.
03 – "IF I COULD CHANGE YOU" - B.M.I. - 3:12
Composer: - Carl Mann-Kelso Herston
Publisher: - Knox Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - P 402 - Master
Recorded: - June 13, 1961
Released: - July 1961
First appearance: - Phillips International (S) 45rpm standard single > PI 3569-A < mono
IF I COULD CHANGE YOU / I AIN'T GOT NO HOME
Reissued: - 1998 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15806-3-16 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION
- VOLUME 6
This Carl Mann record, his next-toast for Phillips, is worth special attention for several reasons. First, most listeners will notice that this is not the version of ''I Ain't
Got No Home'' they are used to hearing Carl first recorded the song in October 1959 and it appeared on his original LP. The song had long been part of his stage repertoire and someone decided it might not be a bad idea to put it out as a single.
What the hell, nothing else seemed to be selling. However, instead of releasing the album track, Carl journeyed east to Nashville to re-cut the song in the new Phillips studio. This time Carl left his trusty sideman home and used Nashville's
finest pickers and grinners (Kelso Herston, Bob Moore, Buddy Harmon, Pig Robbins).
The session log from June, 1961 does not list Eddie Bush, but it's hard to believe that it's anybody but Bush on there. Bush was a transient (some would argue vagrant comes closer to truth) and it is unlikely he was a member
of any musician union. It was one thing to bury that omission in Memphis; quite another in Nashville. And so the re-cut version of ''Home'' made its way on to the single. Most Sun collectors have long ago concluded that it is inferior to the original
album cut although there is some undeniable energy here. Do you get the feeling that the band should have talked through the ending before starting to record this track?
04 - "AIN'T GOT NO HOME'' - B.M.I. - 2:47
Composer: - Clarence Frogman
Henry
Publisher: - Folkways Music
Matrix number: - P 403
- Master
Recorded: - June 13, 1961
Released: - July 1961
First appearance: - Phillips International (S) 45rpm standard single > PI 3569-B < mono
AIN'T GOT NO HOME / IF I COULD CHANGE YOU
Reissued: - 1998 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15806-3-15 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION
- VOLUME 6
Carl Mann recorded the previously ''Blueberry
Hill'' and Carl was happy with the sound of the new studio and he thought the single that coupled ''Ain't Got No Home'' with ''If I Could Change You'' held some promise, but once again it failed to recapture the magic he had sparked so effortlessly
with ''Mona Lisa''.
05 - "BLUEBERRY HILL''- B.M.I. - 1:49
Composer: - Al Lewis-Larry Stock-Vincent Rose
Publisher: - Chappell
Music Publishers
Matrix number: - None - Not Originally Issued
Recorded:
- June 13, 1961
Released: - 1977
First appearance: - Spotlight Records
(LP) 33rpm SPO-131 mono
CARL MANN - THE SUN STORY - VOLUME 6
Reissued:
- 1993 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15713-2-21 stereo
CARL MANN - MONA LISA
''Blueberry Hill'' was originally recorded by Gene Autry in 1940 for the film ''The Singing Hill'' but was soon picked up by other artists and
producers who realised the simple little song had the makings of a classic. Countless artists have put their own stamp on the song but it is the version of Fats Domino, released in 1956, which had best stood the test of time. Domino's influential oeuvre has
compassed pianobased rhythm and blues, rock and roll, zydeco, Cajun and boogie woogie. It was almost certainly his version - lilting rock and roll which the quartet was best acquainted with. According to several reports, Elvis started the session with this
song. Needless to say the piano parts would have been put in Jerry Lee's hands. ''Blueberry Hill'' has been recorded by numerous acts over the years, from the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1940 to Led Zeppelin, who performed it live at the Los Angeles Forum in
1970 at a concert from which a bootleg album called ''Live At Blueberry Hill'' subsequently appeared.
Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Carl Mann - Vocal, Piano and Guitar
Eddie Bush - Guitar
Kelton Kelso Herston - Guitar
Bob Moore - Bass
Murray Buddy Harmon - Drums
Hargus M. ''Pig''
Robbins - Piano
Anita Kerr Singers consisting of
Anita Kerr, Dottie Dillard, Gil Writh, and Louis Nunley- Vocal Chorus
For Biography of Carl Mann see: > The Sun Biographies <
Carl Mann's Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
Carl Mann's Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
STUDIO SESSION FOR JERRY LEE LEWIS
FOR
SUN RECORDS 1961
SAM PHILLIPS RECORDING STUDIO
639 MADISON AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
SUN SESSION: WEDNESDAY JUNE 14, 1961
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER – SAM PHILLIPS
AND/OR SCOTTY MOORE OR UNKNOWN
In the meantime, Jerry Lee's only registered day of
work in 1961 at the Madison Avenue studio, on June 14, saw him getting the measure of a couple of numbers associated with Fats Domino, at least two more readings of ''My Blue Monday'' adding to those recorded back at 706 Union in 1959, together with a single
take of Fat's own ''My Girl Josephine''. The latter was the sole product of this session to be released during the currency of Lewis's contract at Sun, when included on ''Jerry Lee's Greatest''. Both this song and a rival candidate for that exercise, his first
attempt at Chuck Berry's ''Sweet Little Sixteen'', would be returned to a year or so later. At one stage Jerry Lee takes something of a back seat to allow sax player Ace Cannon to lead on a ''jam'' instrumental which, since its first outing in 1975, has been
graced with the rather unimaginative title ''Lewis Workout''. On its first release in 1983 this anonymous tape was attributed to a session at the 706 Union Avenue studio in 1959. However, on the strength of the similarity of the arrangement both to the intro
of ''High Powered Woman'' and the fade-out of ''Hello Josephine'', it is believed that its rightful place in the continuum is alongside these titles. (*)
1(1)
– ''LEWIS WORKOUT'' - B.M.I. - 3:15
Composer: - Jerry Lee Lewis
Publisher: - Sun Entertainment
Matrix number: - None - Instrumental - Unknown Take
Recorded: - June 14, 1961 - Not Originally Issued
Released: - 1980
First appearance: - Charly Records (LP) 33rpm CR 30006-B7
RARE JERRY LEE LEWIS
- VOLUME 1
Reissued: - September 1989 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm
BCD 15420-7-2 stereo
CLASSIC JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE DEFINITIVE SUN RECORDINGS 1956 – 1963
My Girl Josephine" is a song written by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew. Domino recorded the song on Imperial records (Imperial 5704) in 1960, and it charted number 7 on the Billboard
Rhythm & Blues charts and number 14 on the Billboard pop charts. According to Allmusic, the song has also been performed by The Bill Black Combo, Curley Bridges, Van Broussard, Snooks
Eaglin, Chris Farlowe, The Flamin' Groovies, Michael Herman, The Holmes Brothers, Jerry Jaye, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sandy Nelson, Tracy Pendarvis, Queen Ida & Her Zydeco Band, Noel Redding, Warren Storm, Super Cat, and Billy Vera, among others.
2(1) – ''HELLO JOSEPHINE (MY GIRL JOSEPHINE'' (1) - B.M.I. - 1:45
Composer: -Dave Bartholomew-Antoine ''Fats'' Domino
Publisher: - Bartholomew Music
Matrix number: - None - Count-In - Take 10 - LP Stereo Master
Recorded: - June 14, 1961
Released: - December 1961
First appearance: - Sun Records (LP) 33rpm SLP 1265-B6 mono
JERRY LEE'S GREATEST!
Reissued: - September 1989 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15420-7-15
stereo
CLASSIC JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE DEFINITIVE SUN RECORDINGS 1956 – 1963
Only two albums were issued during Jerry’s 1956-1963 stay at Sun, ''Jerry Lee Lewis'' in 1958 and ''Jerry Lee’s Greatest'' in late 1961, the latter of which featured this song ''Hello Josephine'',
driven along by some very fine sax playing from Johnny ‘Ace’ Cannon. For some reason Jerry recorded the song again 12 months later, this time with some fine guitar work by Roland Janes (or was it Scotty Moore?) replacing Johnny’s sax, though
this wasn’t issued until the 1969 ''Rockin’, Rhythm & Blues'' album (a 3rd version was cut at a session a week after the 2nd one, but this sounds like little more than a rough session warm-up so isn't included in this analysis). It’s
difficult to choose between the two, though the 1962 cut features a more expressive vocal.
"My Girl Josephine"
is a song written by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew. Domino recorded the song on Imperial Records (Imperial 5704) in 1960, and it charted number 7 on the Billboard Rhythm And Blues charts and number 14 on the Billboard pop charts. The song is also listed
and recorded as "Josephine" and "Hello Josephine" in various cover versions. According to AllMusic, the song has also been performed by Bill Black's Combo, Curley Bridges, Van Broussard, Snooks Eaglin, Chris Farlowe, the Flamin' Groovies, Michael Herman, the
Holmes Brothers, Jerry Jaye, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sandy Nelson, Tracy Pendarvis, Queen Ida & Her Zydeco Band, Noel Redding, Warren Storm, Super Cat, Them, and Billy Vera, among others.
3(1) – ''HIGH POWERED WOMAN'' (1) - B.M.I. - 2:02
Composer: - Sonny Terry
Publisher: - Copyright Control
Matrix number: - None – Count-In - Take 5
Recorded: - June 14, 1961 - Not Originally Issued
Released: - August 1977
First appearance: - Sun International (LP) 33rpm Sun LP 1000-B1 mono
GOLDEN ROCK 'N' ROLL
Reissued: - September 1989 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15420-7-16 stereo
CLASSIC JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE DEFINITIVE SUN RECORDINGS 1956 – 1963
Two very different recordings of
''High Powered Woman'' were recorded at Sun, though none were released until well into the 1970s. This 1961 version features a ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’ intro and some very fine saxophone, and wasn’t released until the Sun
International ''Golden Rock And Roll'' collection in 1977. The January 4, 1962 cut features a strong Ray Charles influence right down to the ''What’d I Say'' inspired intro, though at around 1 minute and 43 seconds it’s even shorter than the 2
minute version from a year earlier.
4(1) – ''MY BLUE HEAVEN'' (2) - B.M.I. - 2:01
Composer: - Walter Donaldson-George Whiting
Publisher: - George Whiting Music - Donaldson Music.
Matrix number: - None – Take 1
Recorded: - June 14, 1961 - Not Originally Issued
Released: - April 1989
First appearance: - Charly Records (LP) 33rpm Sunbox
109-2/1 mono
SUN RECORDS INTO THE 60'S - FEEL SO GOOD
Reissued: -
September 1989 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15420-7-17 stereo
CLASSIC JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE DEFINITIVE SUN RECORDINGS 1956 – 1963
My Blue Heaven" is a popular song written by Walter Donaldson with lyrics by George A. Whiting. It has become part of various fake book
collections. In 1928, "My Blue Heaven" became a huge hit on Victor 20964-A for crooner Gene Austin, accompanied by the Victor Orchestra as directed by Nat Shilkret; it charted for 26 weeks, stayed at number 1 and sold over five million copies becoming
one of the best selling singles of all time. In 1928, Blue Amberol Records released an instrumental piano version by Muriel Pollock (issue number 5471). The music for "My Blue Heaven" was written in 1924.
Donaldson wrote it one afternoon at the Friars Club in New York while waiting for his turn at the billiard table. The song was written while Donaldson
was under contract to Irving Berlin, working for Berlin's publishing company, Irving Berlin Inc. George Whiting wrote lyrics adapted for Donaldson's music, and for a while, performed it in his vaudeville act; three years later, Tommy Lyman started
singing it on the radio as his theme song.
Donaldson established his own publishing company in 1928, and his rights
in the song were apparently assigned to his company at that time, with the song listed as having been published by George Whiting Music and Donaldson Music. The song was subject to copyright in 1925 and 1927. These copyrights were renewed in
1953 and 1955, after the death of both composers, at which time the rights in the song were owned by Leo Feist, Inc.. The rights were thereafter assigned to the EMI Catalogue Partnership, controlled and administered by EMI Feist Catalog Inc.
The song has become a standard. Hit versions were also recorded by Jimmie Lunceford in 1935 and Fats Domino in 1956. The Fats Domino
version was a two sided hit, with, "I'm In Love Again" and reached number nineteen on the Billboard magazine charts and number five on the Rhythm & Blues Best Sellers chart. Mary Lou Williams recording a version for her 1964 Folkways Records
album Mary Lou Williams Presents (F 2843); Smithsonian Folkways re-issued the recording as part of its 2004 album Mary Lou Williams Presents Black Christ of the Andes (SFW40816).
4(2) – ''MY BLUE HEAVEN'' (2) - B.M.I. - 2:36
Composer: - Walter Donaldson-George Whiting
Publisher: - George Whiting Music - Donaldson Music.
Matrix number: - None
– Count-In - Slow Take 4
Recorded: - June 14, 1961 - Not Originally Issued
Released: - April 1989
First appearance: - Charly Records (LP) 33rpm Sunbox 109-2/2 mono
SUN RECORDS INTO THE 60S - FEEL SO GOOD
Reissued: - September 1989 Bear Family
Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15420-7-18 stereo
CLASSIC JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE DEFINITIVE SUN RECORDINGS 1956 – 1963
"Sweet Little Sixteen" is a rock and roll song written and originally performed by Chuck Berry (Chess), who released it as
a single in January 1958. It reached number 2 on the Billboard charts, Berry's highest position ever on the charts, with the exception of the suggestive number one hit "My Ding-A-Ling" in 1972. "Sweet Little Sixteen" also reached number one on the
Rhythm & Blues Best Sellers chart. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song number 272 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.
Eddie Cochran performed a live version in 1960 which was released posthumously on his ''On The Air'' album. There is a cover version by Joe Brown and the Bruvvers on their 1962 album ''Pictures Of You''.
The Beach Boys' 1963 song "Surfin' USA" has virtually the same melody, with new lyrics that focus on the Beach Boys' ongoing theme of surfing.
Following litigation by Chuck Berry the song is credited to Chuck Berry and Brian Wilson.
Between 1963 and 1965
the Beatles performed the song on BBC radio. It can be heard on the compilation album Live at the BBC. John Lennon recorded the song again for his album Rock 'n' Roll. The Animals' version is available on their 1966 album Animalisms. Ten Years After
released a live version of this song on their 1970 album Watt. Jesse Colin Young also covered it on his 1972 album Together. Fictional synth pop band Silicon Teens recorded a version of the song for their 1980 album Music For Parties released on
Mute Records.
Rock and roll artist Jerry Lee Lewis also covered this song for Sun Records and later with Beatles
drummer Ringo Starr; this version appeared on Lewis's 2006 duet album ''Last Man Standing''. The Rolling Stones covered this song on their 1978 US Tour.
5(1) -''SWEET LITTLE SIXTEEN'' (1) - B.M.I. - 2:40
Composer: - Chuck Berry
Publisher: - Arc Music
Matrix number: - None – Count-In - Take 2
Recorded: - June 14, 1961 - Not Originally Issued
Released: - September
1989
First appearance: - Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15420-7-19 stereo
CLASSIC JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE DEFINITIVE SUN RECORDINGS 1956 – 1963
Reissued: - October 2015 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 17254-13-15 stereo
JERRY LEE LEWIS AT SUN RECORDS THE COLLECTED WORKS
Backed by a band that includes Ace Cannon’s honking sax and drummer Gene Chrisman (who incidentally also played drums on the 1982 ''My Fingers Do The Talkin''
album), it’s surprisingly that Sam Phillips didn’t see the potential of this great version. 12 months later he cut another 4 takes, of which the slowest of these was selected as a single soon afterwards. Though the tempo drags a bit, it has a great
vocal & a memorable bass guitar intro from session man R.W. McGhee. The fastest alternate take from this session was chosen for the ''Rockin’, Rhythm & Blues'' album in 1969, while the other two takes weren’t released until the late 1980s/early
1990s. The 1977 version would potentially be the ultimate cut if it weren’t for the backing vocalists’ “oohs” and “ahhs”, but this was still one of the stronger tracks on his final Mercury album, 1978’s ''Keeps Rockin''.
The 2005 version is a duet with Ringo Starr, and although he isn’t the greatest of singers, he’s perfect for this (as is his drumming style). The fact that they were actually in the studio together at the time makes this one of the most enjoyable
and spontaneous-sounding tracks on the 2006 ‘Last Man Standing’ album.
Other recordings of ''Sweet Little
Sixteen'' are John Lennon (Capitol; Bill Black's Combo (Hi); Bobby Vee (Liberty); Jesse Colin Young (Warner Bross.); The Beatles (Bellaphon); The Animals (MGM). Also available on early live recordings of The Beatles (Poludor), and on the United Artists release
of a Britsh TV soundtrack featuring Eddie Cochran.
Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Jerry Lee Lewis – Vocal & Piano
Brad Suggs - Guitar
Jay W. Brown – Bass
Gene Chrisman – Drums
John Ace Cannon - Saxophone
For
Biography of Jerry Lee Lewis see: > The Sun Biographies <
Jerry Lee Lewis' Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
Jerry Lee Lewis' Sun recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
JUNE 14, 1961 FRIDAY
Patsy Cline is seriously injured in a head-on collision in Nashville. Two passengers in the other car die, while Cline receives a dislocated hip and a cut across her forehead.
JUNE 15, 1961 SATURDAY
20th Century-Fox offers a sneak preview of Elvis Presley's ''Wild In The Country'' in Memphis. Viewers can choose between two endings, deciding whether Hope Land dies at the end. The viewers choose for her to live.
JUNE 17, 1961 MONDAY
With Patsy Cline in the hospital from a car accident, Loretta Lynn dedicates ''I Fall To Pieces'' to Cline on Ernest Tubb's ''Midnite Jamboree'' radio show. Cline's husband, Charlie Dick, asks Lynn to come meet Cline in the hospital the next day.
Lawrence Welk, who appeared on the country charts with Red Foley, makes the cover of TV Guide.
JUNE 22, 1961 SATURDAY
''Wild In The Country'' opens, with Elvis Presley, Hope Lang, and Tuesday Weld.
JUNE 24, 1961 SUNDAY
Rollin ''Oscar'' Sullivan, of Lonzo and Oscar, marries Geneva Busby.
JUNE 25, 1961 FRIDAY
Sun 361 ''I'll Wait Forever'' b/w ''I Can't Show How I Feel'' by Anita Wood issued.
JUNE 26, 1961 SATURDAY
Elvis Presley recorded ''Little Sister'' ( RCA Victor 37-7908) at Nashville's RCA Studio B. ''Little Sister" is a rock and roll roll song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Schuman, who enjoyed a number 5 hit with it on the Billboard Hot 100. The single (as a double A-side with "(Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame'' also reached number 1 in the United Kingdon Singles Chart. Lead guitar was played by Hank Garland, with backing vocals by the The Jordanaires featuring the distinctive bass voice of Ray Walker.
Presley performs the song as part of a medley with "Get Back" in the 1970 rockumentary film ''Elvis: That's the Way It Is''. The song would later be covered by such artists as Dwight Yoakam, Robert Plant, The Nighthawks, The Staggers, Pearl Jam, Ry Cooder and Jesse and the Rippers. The song lyric makes mention of "Jim Dandy" which was the title of a 1956 song "Jim Dandy" by LaVern Baker. An answer song to "Little Sister", with the same melody but different lyrics, was recorded and released under the title "Hey, Memphis" by Baker on Atlantic Records (Atlantic 2119-A) in September 1961.
Decca released Brenda Lee's pop hit ''Dum Dum'', and The Wilburn Brothers recorded ''Trouble's Back In Town''.
JUNE 29, 1961 THURSDAY
Skeeter Davis recorded ''Optimistic''.
''The Ford Show'' an NBC variety program starring Tennessee Ernie Ford and Molly Bee, ends its run in prime-time.
JUNE 30, 1961 FRIDAY
Two live performances for Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich for WVOK's Dixie Jamboree at the City Auditorium, Birmingham, Arkansas. The shows also featured Bobby Vee, Jack Scott, Faron Young, Del Shannon, Gene Pitney, and many more. Admission $2,25. After the show dance party at the Birmingham Guard Armory.
For Biographies of Artists see: > The Sun Biographies <
Sun recordings can be heard on the playlists from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
Sun recordings can be heard on the playlists from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©