Blue Bonnet Records!

 Blue Bonnet Records. 

Lone Star Playboys - Blue Bonnet Record # 131 - March 1948

Side A - Kelly Waltz

Side B - Wasted Love.

Just picked this up on my trip around Texas and only cost me $3 and was worth every cent IMO.

The A side 'Kelly Waltz' is a decent instrumental and bobs along nice but for me the flip is the cool tune with smooth vocals from Hamlet Booker. A Texas record found in Texas and it sounds so much like Texas as well. 

Kingsport (Tennessee)!

KINGSPORT RECORDS - Tennessee!

Reece Shipley and the Rainbow Valley Boys.

Kingsport Records # 104 - 1952

Side A - Milk Bucket Boogie.

Side B - Will Good Times Last Forever.

This super boogie record from 1952 just moves! The old alarm clock goes off at the start and it's off milking we go! and Reece and his Rainbow Valley boys get straight to it! (This was re recorded in the same year by Harry Adams on Kentucky Folk Records) . 

Pretty much a typical of the year and time western boogie record but elevated by some tremendous playing and delivery from all! 

Range-Land Records (Arizona)

Range-Land Records - Arizona

Frankie Starr - Range-Land Records # 1914 - March 1955

Side A - I Love You Too Much To Leave You

Side B - I'm Paying The Price

This Range-Land Record company has no connection to the Starday Custom 78 record by Billie & Gordon Hamrick that was released a year earlier!

Frankie Starr during his career put out some sterling work like the popular 45 'Elevator Boogie' on Star- Win records! but here we have a fairly tough to find 78 release!

What you get on this platter is two mighty fine (maybe not stunning) but nevertheless! two fine Country songs! Frankie is in fine voice and his unknown band 'quite simply' keep it simple but they do it very well indeed! This record was catered to the country 'straight down the middle' working class family! pure in every form when toe tapping was the order of the day! in word 'Classy'

Dixie Jamboree Records!

 Dixie Jamboree Records # 515 

Nashville, Tennessee.

Alan Flatt and The Nite Owls - Nov 1950

Side A - Scrapbook Of Dreams

Side B - A Broken Heart and A Glass Of Beer.

For a record cut in late 1950 this really is ahead of the curve! The B side is a great country chugger! full of top playing from all concerned! Yes! it's a typical country theme and tune but you can hear the start of something that would evolve into that country/rockabilly sound that would be here just a few years later! This was the first release for Alan Flatt and he would go on to record many more for Jamboree, Tennessee, Republic and Mercury labels!

Joyce Records!

Ruth 'Ginger' Callahan - Joyce Records # 100 - 1955

Side A - Ogee, Ome Omy

Side B - Tooten Tellum

Ginger was a very versatile musician, she played guitar, banjo, Fiddle & Mandolin and this first release on the Joyce label shows two songs with good humour and a good backing band.

Both songs are firmly in the country novelty field and they are both pretty decent tunes but by no means fantastic, just pretty good. Both songs were written by Ginger and she displays a real love for the more jovial side of country and both songs really capture the good humour in her song writing.

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 Joyce Records 

Bob Roark - Joyce Records - June 1955

Louisville, Kentucky 

Side A - Have A Talk With Your Heart

Side B - Love Commandments.

Bob and his string band really cook up a pretty good mid tempo slice of Country with this second release on Joyce! Have A Talk With Your Heart is pretty standard Country fair! but Bob has a top voice that makes it worth the while! decent back up unknown band even though the piano player does hit a bum note on the second solo! plenty of great fiddle and sweet Steel just about elevates this record above the standard string band in the mid 50's! 

Interesting note the 45 release of the same record corrects his surname as 'Rourk' and NOT Roark! as seen on the 78 version!

Gotham Records!

Lou Graham - Gotham Records # G-416 - 1952

Side A - Two Timin' Blues

Side B - Long Gone Daddy

Lou Graham lays down two spicy tunes of borderline Rockabilly on Gotham and by jingo they both get jiggy!

Backed by Bill Haley's & his Saddlemen! both sides hit the spot! You can tell that Lou is a massive Hank Williams fan as he covers the master with a great version of 'Long Gone Daddy' and on the A side a self written tune 'Two Timin' Blues' which is right out of the Hank rule book! they both move and you can hear that music will very soon be moving from country/hillbilly to this new thang called rockabilly! 

Von Records!

 

Shorty Sullivan - Von Records # 1004 - Booneville, Mississippi - Nov 1955.

Side A - Tell Me, Tell Me.

Side B - Gotta Have Your Love Tonight.

This is a diamond of a record! it literally sparkles from start to stop! the A side hits all the right notes with a competent country tune but it's when you flip flop the monster over! well you better hold on to your hat! it's a real mover! its a damn fine tune where all musicians taking part in the recording really know what they're doing! It's really is Von-Tastic!!!