Atomic Records (Tennessee)

Curley Griffin - Atomic Records (Tennessee) # 303 - 1956

Side A - You Gotta Play Fair

Side B - Love Is A Wonderful Thing

This is where you can very confidently place the A side right in the Rockabilly section alongside all the greats, this has it all, great lyrics, slightly off time hic-up vocal and some scorching lead pickin' guitar .......wow, this is a killer!

Curley was better known as a DJ in Jackson around this period and also as the co-author of two all time classic Carl Perkins tunes 'Dixie Fried' & 'Boppin The Blues' 

Curley wrote both these tracks on Atomic # 303 and had a close musical alliance with Mr C. Perkins and Perkins did play lead on a couple of tunes in 1955 for Curley 'I've Seen It All' (Atomic 302) ,but not on this one! but still great pickin' can be found within these grooves and that pure rockabilly sound!

'Love Is A Wonderful Thing' is a slower tune but the heartfelt vocal is pure joy and carries the whole thing alongside even more beautiful weepy lead guitar (maybe Perkins?). In a word ..........brilliant!

Born Malcolm Howard Griffin on June 6th 1918, Curley was partially-sighted and attended a school for the blind. In later life, whilst working as a DJ for radio WDXI in Jackson, Tennessee he met Carl Perkins and allowed him to use the station's equipment to record some demo tapes. According to Perkins, Curley came up with the idea for both "Dixie Fried" and "Boppin' The Blues" and is credited as a co-writer on both singles. Griffin self-produced a number of singles for Atomic Records in the mid-late 1950s but experienced little commercial success. According to Perkins, Curley Griffin died circa 1964/5.

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Rex Hale and his Tennessee Valley Boys.
Atomic Records # 307 - 1957.
Side A - Traded My Freedom (C. Griffin) 
Side B - A Hobo Life (Rex Hale)

Rex and his Valley boys really explode into life with this top notch B side 'A Hobo Life' . The A side is standard country fair written by Curley Griffin and sung and played with excellence by Rex and the boys but it's the flip where we live the Hobo life with the band, just amazing hillbilly bop. 
Recorded in Jackson, Tennessee in 57 this has all the ingredients to fulfil all your hillbilly needs, steel guitar, punchy lead guitar and a tip top echo vocal.