JANUARY 1966 

The campy and outlandish television show “Batman” airs for the first time on ABC during January of 1966. The show featured Adam West as the super-hero “Batman”and Burt Ward as his young sidekick “Robin.” The show was tremendously popular after its debut but only lasted for three seasons as interest in the series declined and it was canceled in 1968. The show was known for its simple moral lessons and for airing two episodes per week with the first episode ending in a cliffhanger to be resolved during the second episode when it aired the following day. Considered to be a cultural phenomenon during the decade, many high profile stars made guest appearances on the show, sometimes being featured as villains. Some of the notable names to appear in either recurring roles or small guest roles included Vincent Price, Julie Newmar, Cesar Romero, Eartha Kitt, Burgess Meredith, Frank Gorshin, Rudy Vallee, Joan Collins, Lesley Gore, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Milton Berle, and Sammy Davis Jr. 

JANUARY 1, 1966 SATURDAY 

Decca Records becomes a division pf MCA. The label's roster includes Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Ernest Tubb and Jack Greene.

 JANUARY 2, 1966 SUNDAY 

Eddy Arnold appears on an episode of NBC's ''The Bell Telephone Hour'' honoring ''The Music Of The West''. 

JANUARY 3, 1966 MONDAY 

Capitol Records released Buck Owens' ''Waitin' In Your Welfare Line''. 

Tennessee Ernie Ford and Connie Francis guest on NBC's ''The Andy Williams Show''. 

Columbia Records released Tommy Collins' ''If You Can't Bite, Don't Growl''. 

JANUARY 4, 1966 TUESDAY 

Deana Carter is born in Nashville, Tennessee. The daughter of guitarist Fred Carter, her 1996 hit ''Strawberry Wine'' nets the Country Music Association's Song and Single of the Year. She also co-writes the Kenny Chesney/Grace Potter duet ''You And Tequila''. 

''Rawhide'' makes its final prime-time appearance with Sheb Wooley portraying cowboy Nolan alongside the series star, Clint Eastwood. 

Porter Wagoner enters Nashville's Parkview Hospital, recovering from exhaustion. 

Del Reeves begins a one-week tour of military bases in Europe.

© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©

Session Published for Historical Reasons

STUDIO SESSION FOR CHARLIE OWENS
FOR BIRCHFIELD RECORDS 1966

SAM PHILLIPS RECORDING STUDIO
639 MADISON AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
BIRCHFIELD SESSION: WEDNESDAY JANUARY 5, 1966
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER - LES BIRCHFIELD & ED HUBBARD

Note: Demo two hours and soundtrack session

01 - ''THAT DEVIL FORREST'' - B.M.I.
Composer: - Les Birchfield
Publisher: - Birchfield Music
Matrix number: - BR-10474-A
Recorded: - January 5, 1966
Released: - 1966
First appearance: - Birchfield Records (S) 45rpm NR 5152-1 mono
THAT DEVIL FORREST / BALLAD OF SAM DAVIS

02 - ''BALLAD OF SAM DAVIS'' - B.M.I.
Composer: - Les Birchfield
Publisher: - Birchfield Music
Matrix number: - BR-10474-B
Recorded: - January 5, 1966
Released: - 1966
First appearance: - Birchfield Records (S) 45rpm NR 5152-2 mono
BALLAD OF SAM DAVIS / THAT DEVIL FORREST

Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Charlie Owens - Vocals
Reggie Young - Guitar
More Details Unknown

© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©

© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©

Session Published for Historical Reasons 

STUDIO SESSION FOR JERRY LEE LEWIS
FOR SMASH RECORDS 1966 

SAM PHILLIPS RECORDING STUDIO
639 MADISON AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
SMASH SESSION: WEDNESDAY JANUARY 5, 1966
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER - JACK CLEMENT 

01 - ''STICKS AND STONES'' - B.M.I. - 2:04
Composer: - Henry Glover-Titus Turner
Publisher: - Tangerine Music
Matrix number: - YW1-37789 - Single Master
Recorded: - January 5, 1966
Released: - 1966
First appearance: - Smash Records (S) 45rpm Smash S 2027 mono
STICKS AND STONES / WHAT A HECK OF A MESS
Reissued: - 1986 Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15210-6-A9 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE KILLER 1963-1968 

"Sticks And Stones" is an rhythm and blues song, written by Titus Turner and Henry Glover. The song is best known in a 1960 version by Ray Charles, who added the Latin drum part. It was his first rhythm and blues hit with ABC-Paramount, followed in 1961 with "Hit The Road Jack". 

The song was also covered by Jerry Lee Lewis (Smash 2027), The Zombies, Wanda Jackson and The Kingsmen, as well as Joe Cocker on Mad Dogs and Englishmen, and Elvis Costello in 1994 on the extended play version of Kojak Variety. In 1997, jazz singer Roseanna Vitro included the tune in her tribute to Charles, Catchin’ Some Rays: The Music of Ray Charles.

02 - ''WHAT A HECK OF A MESS'' - B.M.I. - 2:28
Composer: - Jerry Lee Lewis
Publisher: - Angus Music
Matrix number: - YW1-37790 - Single Master
Recorded: - January 5, 1966
Released: - 1966
First appearance: - Smash Records (S) 45rpm Smash S 2027 mono
WHAT A HECK OF A MESS / STICKS AND STONES
Reissued: - 1986 Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15210-6-A10 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE KILLER 1963-1968 

03 - ''LINCOLN LIMOUSINE'' - B.M.I. - 2:37
Composer: - Jerry Lee Lewis
Publisher: - Copyright Control
Matrix number: - YW1-37791 - Master
Recorded: - January 5, 1966
Released: - 1966
First appearance: - Smash Records (LP) 33rpm SRS 67079-B3 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS - MEMPHIS BEAT
Reissued: - 1986 Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15210-6-B1 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE KILLER 1963-1968 

04 - ''ROCKIN' JERRY LEE'' - B.M.I. - 2:37
Composer: - Jerry Lee Lewis
Publisher: - Copyright Control
Matrix number: - YW1-37792 - Master
Recorded: - January 5, 1966
Released: - 1986
First appearance: - Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15210-6-B2 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE KILLER 1963-1968 

Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Jerry Lee Lewis - Vocals & Piano
More Details Unknown 

For Biography of Jerry Lee Lewis see: > The Sun Biographies <
Jerry Lee Lewis's Smash recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <

© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©

© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©

Session Published for Historical Reasons 

STUDIO SESSION FOR JERRY LEE LEWIS
FOR SMASH RECORDS 1966 

SAM PHILLIPS RECORDING STUDIO
639 MADISON AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
SMASH SESSION: THURSDAY JANUARY 6, 1966
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER - JACK CLEMENT 

Note: One source lists January 5, 1966 as the recording date. 

01 - ''MEMPHIS BEAT'' - 1 - B.M.I. - 2:49
Composer: - Dickey Lee Lipscomb-Allen Reynolds-Milton Addington
Publisher: - Screen Gems Music-Columbia
Matrix number: - YW1-37793 - Master
Recorded: - January 6, 1966
Released: - 1966
First appearance: - Smash Records (LP) 33rpm SRS 67079-A1 mono
MEMPHIS BEAT
Reissued: - 1986 Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15210-6-B3 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE KILLER 1963-1968 

02 - ''THE URGE'' - B.M.I. - 2:40
Composer: - Donnie Fritts
Publisher: - Copyright Control
Matrix number: - YW1-37794 - Master
Recorded: - January 6, 1966
Released: - 1966
First appearance: - Smash Records (LP) 33rpm SRS 67079-B6 mono
MEMPHIS BEAT
Reissued: - 1986 Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15210-6-B4 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE KILLER 1963-1968 

03 - ''WHENEVER YOU'RE READY'' - B.M.I. - 1:46
Composer: - Cecil Harrelson
Publisher: - Copyright Control
Matrix number: - YW1-37795 - Master
Recorded: - January 5, 1966
Released: - 1966
First appearance: - Smash Records (LP) 33rpm SRS 67079-B2 mono
MEMPHIS BEAT
Reissued: - 1986 Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15210-6-B5 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE KILLER 1963-1968 

04 - ''SHE THINKS I STILL CARE'' - B.M.I. - 2:47
Composer: - Dickey Lee Lipscomb
Publisher: - Jack Music
Matrix number: - YW1-37796 - Master
Recorded: - January 5, 1966
Released: - 1966
First appearance: - Smash Records (LP) 33rpm SRS 67079-A5 mono
MEMPHIS BEAT
Reissued: - 1986 Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15210-6-B6 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE KILLER 1963-1968

"She Thinks I Still Care" is a country song written by Dickey Lee and Steve Duffy. The song was recorded by multiple artists, including George Jones, Connie Francis, Anne Murray, Elvis Presley and Patty Loveless. 

According to Bob Allen's book ''George Jones: The Life and Times of a Honky Tonk Legend'', Jones first heard the song when Jack Clement played it for him at Gulf Coast Studio in Beaumont, which Clement owned with Bill Hall. The song had been written by Dickey Lee Lipscomb and Steve Duffy, two professional songwriters under contract to Clement's publishing company, so Clement was eager for Jones to record it. According to Allen, Jones had little interest, responding, "I don't like it too much. It's got too many damn 'just becauses' in it. I don't think nobody really wants to hear that shit, do you?" Undeterred, both Clement and Hall continued to pitch the song to Jones. Raymond Nalley, brother of Gulf Coast session musician Luther Nalley, later recalled:

"They had this ole, wornout, rinky-dink tape recorder layin' around the studio... Everytime they'd try to lay that song on George, he'd just look at that damn tape recorder and ask 'em, 'How much you sell me that thing for?' One day, Bill Hall finally told him, 'Hell, George, if you'll record the song, I'll give ya the damn tape recorder!'". 

In his essay for 1994 Sony retrospective ''The Essential George Jones: The Spirit of Country'', Rich Kienzle also states that Jones was underwhelmed by the song after Clement had "decided not to play George the tape but to sing him the song, altering the melody as he sang it to give it a stronger country feel''. Jones himself always insisted he had no doubts about the song. Recalling his first impression of the tune, he insisted in the 1989 documentary Same Ole Me, "Boy, I just flipped! I said, 'Golly, lemme have this thing''. In the 1994 video retrospective Golden Hits, he added, "It knocked me out. I couldn't wait to get into the studio''. The song was released in April 1962, his first single release on United Artists after leaving Mercury, and it remained on the Billboard survey for twenty-three weeks, six of them at number 1. In his autobiography ''I Lived To Tell It All'', the singer wrote, "For years after I recorded it, the song was my most requested, and it became what people in my business call a 'career record,' the song that firmly establishes your identity with the public''. The B-side, "Sometimes You Just Can't Win", reached number 17 on the Country & Western chart. "She Thinks I Still Care" was one of seven records George would chart in 1962, and in the fall of 1963 he would travel to New York City and perform the song on Jimmy Dean's ABC network show.

Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Jerry Lee Lewis - Vocals & Piano
More Details Unknown 

For Biography of Jerry Lee Lewis see: > The Sun Biographies <
Jerry Lee Lewis's Smash recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <

© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©

JANUARY 6, 1966 THURSDAY 

Ernest Tubb quits a two-pack-a-day smoking habit. He gains 49 pounds in the ensuing three months. 

Bob Dylan and Sara Dylan have their first child, Jesse Byron Dylan, in New York. That same year, Dylan writes a future country hit for Chris Hillman and Roger McGuinn, ''You Ain't Going Nowhere''. 

After less than four months on the air, the ABC sitcom ''O.K. Crackerby'' makes its final prime-time appearance. The show features country Grammy-winner Burl Ives in the lead role. 

JANUARY 8, 1966 SATURDAY 

''Shindig!'' ends its 16-month run on ABC-TV. The weekly music showcase featured guitarist James Burton, Glen Campbell and Leon Russell as members of the house band, the Shin-Diggers. 

Red Sovine's recitation ''Giddyup Go'' kicks off a six-week ride at number 1 on the Billboard country singles chart. 

JANUARY 9, 1966 SUNDAY 

Roger Miller recorded ''Husbands And Wives'' and ''I've Been A Long Time Leavin' (But I'll Be A Long Time Gone)'' in Nashville, Tennessee. 

JANUARY 10, 1966 MONDAY 

Decca Records released Loretta Lynn's ''Dear Uncle Sam'', Kitty Well's ''A Woman Half My Age'', and The Wilburn Brothers' ''Someone Before Me''. 

Leslie Uggams and Barry McGuire do a Roger Miller medley on NBC's ''Hullabaloo''. They string together ''England Swings'', ''You Don't Want My Love'', ''Do-Wacka-Do'', ''You Can't Rollerskate In A Buffalo Herd'', ''Chug-A-Lug'', ''Engine Engine Number 9'' and ''King On The Road''.

© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©

Session Published for Historical Reasons

STUDIO SESSION FOR LI'L SMOKEY MILLER
FOR BLACK GOLD RECORDS 1966
SAM PHILLIPS RECORDING STUDIO
639 MADISON AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
BLACK GOLD SESSION: SUNDAY JANUARY 9, 1966
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER - REGGIE YOUNG

More Details Unknown

01 - ''COTTON PATCH'' – B.M.I. - 2:15
Composer: - James V. Vancey
Publisher: - Black Gold-Yanden Publisher
Matrix number: - T5KM-2358
Recorded: - January 9, 1966
Released: - 1966
First appearance: - Black Gold Records (S) 45rpm 500-A mono
COTTON PATCH / YOUNG YEARS

02 - ''YOUNG YEARS'' - B.M.I. - 2:25
Composer: - Chuck Comer-James V. Vancey
Publisher: - Black Gold-Yanden Publisher
Matrix number: - T5KM-2359
Recorded: - January 9, 1966
Released: - 1966
First appearance: - Black Gold Records (S) 45rpm 500-B mono
YOUNG YEARS / COTTON PATCH

Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Li'l Smokey Miller - Vocals
Reggie Young - Guitar
More Details Unknown

© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©

JANUARY 11, 1966 TUESDAY

YET ANOTHER VIEW OF THE JESTERS - Bizarre. That's the epithet Knox Phillips returns to again and again when attempting to categorize the head-scratching contents of this collection by his bother Jerry's short-lived mid-1960 combo, the almighty Jesters.  It is ironic that the legend of The Jesters is based upon their lone single ''Cadillac Man'', which, fantastic as it is, was neither performed by the working version of the group, nor was a hundred per cent representative of them. The truth is that The Jesters were even more edgy and uncontained and, in the loco-motion of Teddy Paige's crazed guitar runs and Tommy Minga's rebel yell, were the true analogue to the great Memphis wildmen of the 1950s, be they blues belter or hillbilly cat. The material constitutes some of the most vital and cathartic rock recorded for the Sun label.

Bizarre is also perhaps the most useful description of the tale about to unfold of how this music came to be, and the paths of at least some of those involved. Prepare to have your mind boggled, but remember that in Memphis, that most quixotic of rock and roll locales, bizarre is just par for the course.

The Phillips brothers spent their youth fully exposed, on a musical and social level, to the artists their father Sam had discovered, from Elvis Presley to Roy Orbison to Howlin' Wolf and Charlie Rich. A fierce champion of the independent spirit, Sam's growing disillusion with the record industry meant he neither expected nor directly encouraged his sons to follow in his footsteps, but their interest and desire to work in music was as heartfelt as his had been. Fitting then, that the fruit of their labours, The Jesters, would approximate the musical excitement that Sam had unleashed a decade before.

However, an aggregation called The Jesters had existed for some time prior to the involvement of the Phillips, centred around one of the most colourful characters in Memphis music: Edward LaPaglia, aka Teddy Paige. A cherished devotee of the blues, Teddy formed his first band, the Church Keys, at Christian Brothers High in 1963, with a line-up that would evolve into The Jesters by the following year. From the outset, Teddy marched to a different tune, but his ability on the fretboard commanded respect from all.

According to Teddy Paige, ''We did a lot of rhythm and blues stuff, like the 5 Royales. You were more or less expected to plat what was on the radio. Most of the time I went along with the singers, as they were never into my Carl Perkins, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry format''!

Even as a pre-teen, Jerry Phillips himself had undergone of the more notable initiations into the entertainment business available. A Phillips family friend was legendary wrestler Sputnik Monroe, whose showboating antics had made him massively popular in the late 1950s, and whom had taken an avuncular interest in the tough, if diminutive, Jerry. Another family friend, disc jockey Johnny Dark, had a wrestler associate, Tex Morgan, who hit upon a novel, if voyeuristic, twist on the sport.

According to Jerry Phillips, ''Rex knew this midget, Fabulous Frankie Thumb, that wanted to get into the wrestling business, and asked if I'd be interested in teaching him some wrestling moves, and then fighting, with him in public. So I became ''Delayne Phillips, The World's Most Perfectly Formed Midget Wrestler''! We wrestled around the south, southeast for about a year and made some good money. Of course, they were telling everybody I was a grown man''!

Such was the nature of entertainment in the mid-south in the early 1960s. And Jerry's parents were supportive of the venture, to a point.

Jerry said, ''One night in Marked Tree, Arkansas, me and this midget dude were fighting outside the ring, and a guy came out from the audience and tried to stab me. So that made my parents think, 'Maybe we oughta bring an end to this, That was one of the most fun times in my life but it didn't last very long''.

After giving up this promising career, Jerry, a somewhat rebellious kid, took up guitar and within a couple of years was playing professionally behind vocal trio Jimmy Day and The Knights. A major mentor was Teddy Paige, whom he got to know after Paige transferred to his school, White Station High.

Jerry says further, ''I was about 11 or 12 when my brother gave me my first guitar. I took lessons and picked stuff up from Teddy or whomever else. Jimmy Day and The Knights was probably the first legitimate band I was in. They, Jimmy, John Robinette and Willie Cason, were basically singers and they were good. That was when white kids were getting turned onto rhythm and blues, so we stayed booked all the time. Pretty much  University Of Tennessee fraternities, though we did Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas State, as well as church and high school dances''.

Phillips' friendship with Teddy led to the formation of a new band in the summer of 1965, with a self-assured front man by the name of Tommy Minga. Recently graduated from White Station High, Minga was an East Memphian who had previously lad a band named the Escapades in 1964, comprising Jim Tarbutton (lead), Joe Tilman (rhythm), Richard Brown (bass) and Eddie Robertson (drums). It was the same kind of format as the Knights or Jesters, with backing vocalists and an rhythm and blues favoured set. Robertson came along, bass player Billy Wulfers was hired, and the combo inherited the name of Tommy's last outfit, the Escapades: pictorial evidence confirms this, and it is quite likely that the recordings made with Minga logged as being by The Jesters were in fact taped when they were performing live as the Escapades. In the interests of clarity, we shall however refer to the band as The Jesters from this point.

''Teddy was the leather for sure, and the driving force because he was the best player'', recalled Jerry. ''Teddy wasn't acting for anybody. To show you the kind of guy he was, he borrowed my amp to play a gig, and about two weeks later called up to tell me, ''Boy , you gonna have the red ass at me. I sold your amp''! Teddy was semi-anti-social. He would aggravate the crowd at the fraternity gigs, telling them, 'Here's another song you probably don't know'! There were some instances where we'd have to defend ourselves. But people respected Teddy's playing, and our ability to play with him''.

It's likely this had much to do with The Jesters' repertoire which was distinctly at odds with the soul or British-flavoured content of bands sets in that period. The Jesters' take on rhythm and blues was amped-up and righteously ragged, more juke joint than teen club. That made concessions to accessibility by including some Stones or Kinks material, but largely the band's sound was that heard on this disc, although there is no doubt that their insouciant attitude was 100 percent 1965.

''I was a big blues fan like Teddy, but I liked the Beatles and the Stones'', said Jerry. ''I can't imagine Teddy not being aware of some of those British bands that had not players, like the Yardbirds. Our repertoire was the stuff that Minga was written, and the blues that Teddy threw at us. If we ever did a British song, it would have been something like ''You Really Got Me'', but I'd say we were in a minority in what we played''.

According to Teddy, ''Some of the British groups were good. I was onto it, because I was collecting the same records at the same time. I knew where they got their ideas from. I was into Chicago blues, and some of the Memphis style. I loved Freddie King and tried to get that sort of a sound. We used to plat ''San-Ho-Zay'' and others on gigs, and I knew about ten of those tunes note for note''.

The Jesters did everything expected of an up-and-coming outfit in the Memphis of the mid-1960s, including the rigeur appearance on George Klein's ''Talent Party TV Show''. Jerry had access to his fathers' studio, but it was his older brother Knox that would be the enabling factor in harnessing the raw energy of Teddy, Tommy and company to tape.

''I went to White Station High, graduated in 1963, and attended Southwestern from 1964 to 1967'', recalled Knox. ''During the time I was in college, I was social commissioner, so I booked all the bands. I'd been working at the studio since I'd been in high school, and recording a lot of acts from later 1964 on. However, Sam was trying to discourage Jerry and I, from going seriously into music. He felt the possibility of prevailing in the independent record business would be a shallow and disappointing experience for us. So in the mid-1960s, we were kinda on our own''.

''Our dad would encourage us in everything we'd do, but he never wanted us to be like him. He was really supportive, but he wanted us to work for it. He never said, 'I'm gonna show you how to do this''', said Jerry. ''Sam would always let us go in the studio and do whatever, and of course when he listened, he'd give an opinion. He could have shut us down but he wasn't that kind of guy. If he didn't hear something in who Knox was working with, the Radiants or whomever, then he would have made that clear'  Knox Phillips spent many hours producing Randy and The Radiants, the best of which can be heard on their Sun anthology ''Memphis Beat'' (Big Beat CDWIKD 267). Understandably, Knox also booked his younger brother's bands at Southwestern, and took a keen interest in The Jesters.

''I'd always try to use them because they were Jerry's band'', said Knox. ''Fraternities do stupid stuff, but by the end of the gig, they probably hated them. At times I had to change the name of the band to book them again! They were the Escapades, and different configurations, but they always sounded good, and for me, Jerry was always the star. He was a fabulous rhythm guitar player. And Teddy was one of the weirdest people I'd ever met''!

Not long after The Jesters' formation, Knox began to record them at the Phillips' Madison Avenue studio. They turned ''Heartbreak Hotel'' into a Jimmy Reed-like blues, and spiced the Carl Perkins; classic ''Boppin' The Blues'' with a sinuous lead from Paige. But such cover material was blown away by the sheer punk-blues ferocity of Tommy Minga's tremendous originals. Some of these have obvious Memphis antecedents, ''Get Gone Baby'' recycles the classic riff of Willie Cobb's ''You Don't Love Me'', the pounding ''Stompity Stomp'' is a sideways cop of ''The Slummer The Slum'' by the 5 Royales. But the energy is fully The Jesters' own. The rhythm section pumps madly, Minga alternates between hushed admonition and outraged bawling, and Teddy's guitar throughout is the proverbial headless chicken of rockabilly yore, hot-rodded with a corrosive blues edge. Unwittingly or not, the band had zeroed in on the primal Sun sound.

''The Minga stuff sounds more like true Sun rockabilly than anything else does in the 1960s, and it's a testament to our influences from Sun'' Jerry Phillips continued. ''That was ingrained in my system, and it certainly influenced all of us in that band. Tommy didn't have wacko DNA like Teddy, he just liked to have fun. He was also a good songwriter, and did write most of the originals. He'd jump, dance around, he was a showman''.

Teddy said, ''It really was like that, us going crazy in the studio. We were really enthused on those first sessions. I'm playing a Les Paul custom, and we used a blown Fender Bassman amp, with three speakers and a tube pulled halfway out, to get a distorted sound''.

According to Knox Phillips, ''I'd never cut anything with this kind of energy ever, and I never cut anybody who consistently played such cool guitar. Minga was fabulous on some songs, ''no mo, no mo'', I loved that! Minga's voice and Teddy's guitar blend pretty well. It was over the top. There was nothing else like that in Memphis being recorded by white people''.

One of the last items Tommy taped with the band was a tune of Teddy's entitled ''Cadillac Man'', which wed classic Chuck Berry car-chase lyrics to a raucous blues-on-speed rhythm. Minga delivers the tune in a cool, understated fashion, but Paige didn't agree with the way his song had turned out, and this apparently exacerbated tensions between him and the singer. Whether Teddy engineered it or not, Tommy's sudden departure from the band would seem to have occurred right at that moment.

Jerry said, ''I think, the early ''Cadillac Man'' is a good version, but Teddy just wasn't happy with it. And I don't think he would have that much influence over that song unless he wrote it, to be able to kick Minga off the session and have Jim Dickinson come in. Minga was pretty bitter about that''.

''Now that I hear him, Tommy was a cool singer, and he really could have been produced into something. How we replaced him, in those days there was no mercy, just the act and that was it'', says Teddy.

If the band, by now definitely operating as The Jesters, were to re-cut the tune, they would need a singer. As veteran of the local music scene for years, and at once both traditionalist and non-conformist, Jim Dickinson embodied the vibe Paige was no doubt looking for. He showed up at Phillips Recording in November or December 1965, not knowing what to expects, but Jim's piano-pumping contribution to the re-tooled ''Cadillac Man'' was perfectly in sync with the tenor of the track.

According to Jim Dickinson, ''Teddy called me. I thought it was to play piano on a demo. I probably wouldn't have gone if I knew I was gonna sing, because I was under contract to Bill Justis at the time. It was Teddy's plot! As well as ''Cadillac Man'', we did ''Jim Dandy And Sweet Sixteen'' and ''Night Train From Chicago'', which were both in Teddy's notebook of songs. ''Night Train'' kinda jumps around, but that solo, damn, it doesn't sound like any white man I ever heard''.

''Jim seemed to have professional experience'', said Teddy. ''He sang straight old blues things well, but he was always trying to do something unnatural and kooky. We started ''Cadillac Man'' with the arrangement that Minga had sung, but Jim couldn't play the left hand on the piano, so we literally had to adapt to him. There's a guitar break at the end, otherwise it's pretty much a piano record, but we were enthusiastic about piano. In fact, we had often tried to find a piano player, and nothing but wimp would show up''.

According Knox, ''Jim was just an experiment. Minga was the voice of the band, but I don't think he got ''Cadillac Man'', so it was right to have Dickinson. The one thing that I never liked at the time was, when I brought up the piano solo, the drums came up too. Now it sounds really good, it kinda swells into something special. Sam wasn't anywhere around ''Cadillac Man'', but we played it for him and he loved it''.  anachronistic as it might have seemed to any other label, this new ''Cadillac Man'' fit the Sun template exactly. Thus a release was authorized, necessitating a second date with Dickinson for a B-side, which was cut several weeks later, the session is logged with the Musicians Union as January 22, 1966.

Alec Palao, El Cerrito, California, 2008

THE ESCAPADES - were an American garage rock band from Memphis, Tennessee, who were active in the 1960s. They became one of the most popular groups in the Memphis area during the mid-1960s and recorded two singles. "I Tell No Lies", the A-side of their debut single, became a big hit in Memphis and around the South. They were signed to Verve Records, who released their follow up, "Mad, Mad, Mad", which featured a fuzz-toned guitar line. Their work is highly regarded by garage rock enthusiasts and collectors and has appeared on various compilations.

The Escapades were originally founded by Tommy Minga in early 1963 in East Memphis, Tennessee. Their original lineup included Minga on vocals and Jerry Phillips on guitar, son of record producer and owner of Sun Records, Sam Phillips, as well as Billy Wulfers on bass, and Eddie Robinson on drums. Another member of the early version of the group was Jimmy Tartbutton. One of their chief competitors in the east Memphis scene was The Jesters, led by Teddy Paige, a student at Christian Brothers High. In 1964, when some of the members of his band went to college, The Jesters broke up. The Escapades also broke up at this time, but both groups would re-surface later with different lineups.

In 1965 Paige re-formed The Jesters, and brought in some of the former members of the Escapades: Minga and Phillips, as well as Billy Wulfers on bass and Eddie Robinson on drums. They went to Sun Studios to record a version of song written by Minga, "Cadillac Man", accompanied on piano by famed Memphis session man Jim Dickinson. However, Paige and producer Sam Phillips felt that the both "Cadillac Man" and its flipside needed a different kind of vocal and had Dickinson sing on both tracks, much to the chagrin of Minga.

Minga soon left The Jesters to re-form a new version of the Escapades. He joined fellow students at Oakhaven High School, guitarist Benny Kisner, keyboardist Ron Gordon, and drummer Ronnie Williamson, along with bassist Dale Roark, who was attending Memphis State University. Sometimes the group would play at the Skateland Frayser roller skating rink. The Escapades were known for an exciting live show which included Ron Gordon's stage antics.

According to Gordon, ''We always got the crowd going... We loved to play the Roaring 1960s, and I would be up on that high stage they had and dance while I played this Farfisa organ I had. As I danced, I would rock the organ like I was going to turn it over into the crowd. They would scream with each rock, but I never dropped it''.

The group quickly became one of the most popular bands in the Memphis area. They recorded their fist single "I Tell No Lies" backed with "She's The Kind" at John Fry's Ardent home garage studio, which was released on Stan Kessler's Arbet label. The record became a local hit and received airplay all over the south. MGM/Verve Records became interested in the group and picked up the record, re-releasing it on their XL label later that year.  

The group recorded their follow up "Mad Mad Mad" b/w "Try So Hard" at sam Phillips Recording Studio at 639 Madison Avenue in Memphis, which was issued on Verve in late 1966 and produced by Stan Kesler. The distinctive fuzz-toned guitar part in "Mad Mad Mad" was played by Memphis session man Tommy Cogbill.

The band's manger, Johnny Dark, set up a tour of the Southeast accompanying Sam the Sham & the Pharos, the Swinging Medallions, Tommy Roe, and Napoleon the 14th. The second single failed to achieve the success of the first. Following the tour, the group returned to Memphis to play local gigs, but several of the band's members were drafted into the military to fight in Vietnam. Eventually, all of the band's members ended up in the service, except for Ron Gordon. In late 1967 the group broke up. Gordon went on to play with a reconstituted version of the group the late Otis Redding's previous backup group, the Bar-Kays. Later Gordon was hired by Stax Records, working on several projects before eventually becoming their art director. He would go on to design album covers for over a hundred LPs on there and would win a Grammy for his art work on Issac Hayes' ''Black Moses''.

The Gemini 10 space mission launches in July of 1966. The spacecraft carried astronauts John Young and Michael Collins aboard the eighth manned Gemini flight. The astronauts performed two important space walks and several other experiments. The Gemini 10 mission became the first to execute a double rendezvous and it had also reached the highest point in space that a human had ever been at the time. The mission was successful and they returned to Earth after nearly 3 days.

JULY 1, 1966 FRIDAY

Slim Willet dies of a heart attack at Hendrick Memorial Hospital in Abilene, Texas. He wrote the classic ''Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes'', a Top 10 hit in 1952 and 1953 for Willet, Skeets McDonald, Ray Price and Red Foley.

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Session Published for Historical Reasons

STUDIO SESSION FOR JERRY LEE LEWIS
FOR SMASH RECORDS 1966

SAM PHILLIPS RECORDING STUDIO
639 MADISON AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
SUN SESSION: SATURDAY JULY 2, 1966
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER - SHELBY SINGLETON

Note: One source lists July 22, 1966 as recording date (The date given by Nick Toshes in Goldmine, January 7, 1966, is incorrect).

01 - ''MEMPHIS BEAT'' - 2 - B.M.I. - 2:41
Composer: - Dickey Lee Lipscomb-Allen Reynolds-Milton Addington
Publisher: - Screen Gems Music-Columbia
Matrix number: - YW1-38195 - Single Master
Recorded: - July 2, 1966
Released: - 1966
First appearance: - Smash Records (S) 45rpm Smash S 2053 mono
MEMPHIS BEAT / IF I HAD IT ALL TO DO OVER
Reissued: - 1986 Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15210-6-B3 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE KILLER 1963-1968

''Memphis Beat'' is an album by Jerry Lee Lewis released on the Smash label in 1966. More than half the songs on ''Memphis Beat'' were recorded on January 5 and 6, 1966 at Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis. The remaining selections were taken from a rare New York City session eight months earlier and Lewis's earliest sessions at Smash in 1963. The album includes a rare Lewis original called "Lincoln Limousine'', a garbled tribute to John F. Kennedy. In his book ''Jerry Lee Lewis: Lost and Found'', Joe Bonomo calls the track "simply weird, so ambiguous and amateurishly written that it's impossible to determine exactly what motivated him to write it''. The album also includes "Too Young'', a piano lounge number that Bonomo deems "a real laugher" and "hysterically uncomfortable''. Lewis fares better on "Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" and the George Jones classic "She Thinks I Still Care," but the collection contained no new hits.

After ''Memphis Beat'' was released in May 1966, it stalled at 145 on the Billboard albums chart despite solid promotion from Smash and decent reviews. Lewis's commercial slump would continue until 1968, when he finally broke on the country charts with "Another Place, Another Time''. In 2014 Lewis biographer Rick Bragg wrote, "Throughout the mid-1960s he cut one album after another of other people's music... but none of it was new, not really''. Bruce Eder of AllMusic praises the album: "After veering hard into country (and country-pop) territory with Country Songs for City Folks, Jerry Lee Lewis came roaring back with Memphis Beat in 1966, featuring his hardest rocking sounds in years, and a band who were as good as any with whom he'd ever recorded''.

02 - ''TWENTY FOUR HOURS A DAY'' - B.M.I. - 1:55
Composer: - Bobby Lee Trammell
Publisher: - Copyright Control
Matrix number: - YW1-38196 - Not Originally Issued
Recorded: - July 2, 1966
Released: - 1986
First appearance: - Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15210-6-B9 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE KILLER 1963-1968

03(1) - ''SWINGING DOORS'' (1) - B.M.I. - 2:49
Composer: - Merle Haggard
Publisher: - Blue Beck Music
Matrix number: - YW1-38197 - Not Originally Issued
Recorded: - July 2, 1966
Released: - 1986
First appearance: - Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15210-8-A1 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE KILLER 1963-1968

"Swinging Doors" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard. It was released in February 1966 as the first single and title track from the album ''Swinging Doors''. The song peaked at number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles. The story of the song tells the narrator has been dumped by his woman and tells her that he has what he needs.

03(2) - ''SWINGING DOORS'' (2) - B.M.I. - 2:46
Composer: - Merle Haggard
Publisher: - Blue Beck Music
Matrix number: - YW1-48544 - New Mix on Master
Recorded: - July 2, 1966
Released: - October 1971
First appearance: - Mercury Records (LP) 33rpm SR 61346 mono-A-3 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS – WOULD YOU TAKE ANOTHER CHANCE ON ME?
Reissued: - 1986 Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15210-6-B10 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE KILLER 1963-1968

Note: Master 48544 is a new mix of master 38197. The original recording ''without strings'' remained as unissued.

04 - ''IF I HAD IT ALL TO DO OVER'' - B.M.I. - 2:05
Composer: - Paul Selph
Publisher: - Iigatto Music
Matrix number: - YW1-38198 - Single Master
Recorded: - July 2, 1966
Released: - 1966
First appearance: - Smash Records (S) 45rpm Smash S 2053 mono
IF I HAD IT ALL TO DO OVER / MEMPHIS BEAT
Reissued: - 1986 Bear Family Records (LP) 33rpm BFX 15210-8-A2 mono
JERRY LEE LEWIS - THE KILLER 1963-1968

Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Jerry Lee Lewis - Vocals & Piano
Reggie Young - Guitar
More Details Unknown

For Biography of Jerry Lee Lewis see: > The Sun Biographies <
Jerry Lee Lewis's Smash recordings can be heard on his playlist from 706 Union Avenue Sessions on > YouTube <

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