Mercury Records !

Eddie Bond and the Stompers 
Mercury Record # 70826 - 1956
Rockin' Daddy / I Got A Woman .

Eddie Bond needs no introduction from me, A great performer and song writer through out his career and with this record you get two classic slices of mid 50's Rockabilly bop ......pure Rockabilly Bop !

Bennie Hess and the Nations Playboys.
Mercury Record # 6121 - 1948.
You Ain't Cheatin' On Me Now / Tonight And Every Night.

Bennie Hess is well known in Country/Rockabilly circles as a debonair, entrepreneur business man and would deal and sell and produce records. He had his own labels called 'Opera' and 'OKed' and 'Jet' (mid 1950's) which proved pretty successful .
He had some success on Mercury and was heading for the big time (read story below) but is more well known in Rockabilly collecting for his 'Wild Hog Hop' 45 released on 'Major' in 1958.

The union recording ban took effect in 1948, forcing many labels to close down. However unconcerned by the union, Hess recorded a string of releases during this year ending up becoming his busiest period. In addition to his own releases, he produced the first recordings by Iry LeJeune and secured a territorial big seller. This was the start of the resurgence of the accordion in Cajun music. Three more records followed on Opera before he gained a deal with major label Mercury, who released his 'Tonight And Every Night' (#6121) that became hit and went to number 1 on several local charts in July 1948. With this success, Mercury decided to release the follow-up record 'With You I'd Be Satisfied/Come On Home Where You Belong' (#6147) in late 1948. However, Bennie ran into trouble with Mercury when they discovered that he had bootlegged this release on his own Opera Records with the result that they terminated his contract. With characteristic exaggeration, Hess later recalled that he was on "the brink of stardom" when this setback occurred.

Born 10 February 1914, Chriesman, Texas

Died 22 November 1984, Houston, Texas.

Johnny "T" Talley 
Mercury Records # 70902 - 4th Aug 1956
Side A - (I've Changed My) Wild Mind.
Side B - Lonesome Train

This was the best $20 I have spent in a long time!
Classic Mercury Rockabilly at it's very best! Johnny "T" Talley is simply on fire on this record, slappin' bass and hot guitar make this an instant monster bopper!

Mar-Vel Records !

Jack Bradshaw and Tennessee Two.

Marvel Record # 750 - 1954

Don't Tease Me / Don't Cause Me To Hate You.

This little gem released on Mar-Vel in 1954 is a favorite 78 in my collection, cost me only $10 and is worth every cent in my opinion. A cracker of a song that Jack handles with ease. This song was later covered by Carl Smith and reached the top twenty in the country charts in 1955.

Harry Glenn, owner of the Mar-Vel’ label, became extremely enthusiastic when he heard Jack’s “Don’t Tease Me”. So much so that he took Jack and his group to station WWCA in Gary where Mr. Glenn engineered the session himself. 

Its release brought a lot of exposure and air play on Midwestern country stations. Later in that year, 1954, Carl Smith covered the song for Columbia records and brought the song all the way up to number 18 on the C&W charts across the nation.

..........................................................................

Shorty Ashford with Bob Burton & his Sunny South Boys.

Mar-Vel Records - MV-900 - 1953

Side A - Plenty Of Lovin'

Side B - Broken Dreams.

Shorty Ashford does a sterling job on this super Mar-Vel release, top notch country bop with a helping hand from Bob and the Sunny South Boys they really do 'Give it Plenty' , loads of swingin' steel and toe tappin' fiddle makes this one helluva disc! 

Columbia Records !

Johnny Horton 

Columbia Records # 21538 - 1956

I'm A One Woman Man / Don't Like I Did Before 

Classic Johnny Horton from 1956 - Don't Like I Did (written by Claude King) was recorded in March 1956 at Bradley Barn Studio's with Lightnin' Chance on Bass and the B side was recorded at a earlier session at the Barn in Jan of 1956. This cut had Bill Black on Bass and Grady Martin on Lead Guitar and this is without doubt classic country Rockabilly at it's finest.
...........................................................................................................

Floyd Tillman

Columbia Records # 36998 - 1946

Drivin' Nails In My Coffin / Some Other World .

Written by Jerry Irby, Nails in my coffin is a real cool slice of western swing with nice echo laden vocals and just chugs along fine with lovely guitar and fiddle . Recorded in Feb 1946 .

Floyd Tillman [vcl/gt]
Leo Raley [mandolin]
Lew Frisby [bass]
Darold Raley [fiddle]
Randall Raley [fiddle]
Smitty Smith [piano]

..................................................................................................................

Billy Walker 

Columbia Records # 21499 - 1956

Whirlpool / Go Ahead And Make Me Cry.

Whirlpool is just one of those songs that makes me smile, stunning vocal control by Billy and some fine backing make this a great country shuffle song.

................................................................................................................

Johnny Horton.
Columbia Records # 21504 - 1956
Honky-Tonk Man / I'm Ready If You're Willing.

A stonewall classic tune from Horton really needs no introduction. Loads of slap bass and a wall of sound that elevates this from the usual country Rockabilly fodder. If you don't love this record .......then you need medical help !!!!!!!

Horton and Franks were pushing for Honky Tonk Man to be the lead-off single but strangely Don Law didn't believe in the song, and it was only after the intervention of Jim Denny that Law relented and issued it with I'm Ready If You're Willing on the flip side. Live shows were arranged to push the single with the band featuring Franks on bass and a teenager from Minden, Louisiana, Tommy Tomlinson on guitar.

Decca Records !

Charlie "Peanut" Faircloth
Decca Record # 46237 - 1950
F-O-O-L-I-S-H Me, Me / I'll Sail My Ship Alone.

This little treasure from Charlie is swingin' country boogie at it's best, you get the lot here, great guitar, Steel and Piano and a perfect tune written by Vic Mcalpin.

He was born premature in 1927 and weighed slightly less than three pounds. On the day he was born, an Afro-Indian midwife named Baby Dora delivered him and placed him in a shoe box with heated bricks around it to keep him alive.

Nine months later, he was stricken with polio. He was so small and frail as a baby that his family dressed him in doll clothes. He thrived despite the disease, and was able to lead a fairly normal life, eventually marrying a beautiful girl named Frances Lanier and fathering four children.

Ernest Tubb heard one of Mr. Faircloth’s broadcasts, gave him the opportunity to sing with his band, and hooked him with Decca Records. In 1950, Decca showcased Mr. Faircloth’s talents in the single “I’ll Sail My Ship Alone,” which climbed to the top of the Billboard country chart that year as the No. 1 song in the nation.
Charlie R. “Peanut” Faircloth Sr., 82, of Chattanooga, died on Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Autry Inman.
Decca Record # 28778 - 1953
Pucker Up / That's When I Need You The Most.

Autry is known in Rockabilly collecting circles as the real deal but before he made the jump over to the Rockabilly side he was firmly in the County hillbilly camp and cut a few decent Country tunes for Decca during the early 50's.
This number 'Pucker Up' is a little fast tempo jolly tune with all the usual country sounds of Fiddle, Steel and some cool pickin' Guitar by Floyd Robinson.

Kentucky Records !

Jimmie Ballard 
Kentucky Records # 520 - 1952
Tappin' Boogie / Taint Big Enough .

Here we find Jimmie Ballard and some naughty lyrics about tapping that thing and Taint Big Enough ! superb boogie lead guitar punctuates the whole A side song , of course is complimented by some silky steel . Very underrated tune on the Kentucky label. 

Risque lyrics on both sides . 1952 Cincinnati, OH - Buffalo Johnson & His Herd (James “Jimmie” Ballard [vcl/gt + unknown musicians.Producer: Carl J. Burkhardt)

018 TAIN’T BIG ENOUGH Kentucky 4-520 

019 TAPPIN’ BOOGIE 4-520

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry Adams with Buffalo Johnson.

Kentucky Folk Records # 521 - 1952

Side A - Milk Bucket Boogie.

Side B - Arkansas Traveler.

This is hillbilly boogie at its finest! nothing sounds finer than a  'milk Bucket Boogie'. (recorded 1st by Reece Shipley) Harry Adams is up early with the alarm clock and is in great  form on this Kentucky Folk record out of Ohio! .......it has it all, great steel, guitar  & fiddle and  those humorous  lyrics make this one mighty fine record!

------------------------------------------------

Bobby Musgrrove 

Kentucky Records # 584 - 1954

Dollar Sign Heart / Be Still My Heart.

In 1954 Kentucky released this lil' beauty by Bobby Musgrove , Born in 1932 . Dollar Sign Heart is nothing to get hot under the collar about, just a really good country Hillbilly mid tempo tune, plenty of steel and searing guitar work and some fine singing by Mr Musgrove. Bobby went on to sign to King Records and dropped the 'Mus' from his surname and was better known through the 60's in country and gospel circles as Bobby Grove.

OT Records !

Virgel Bozman 
OT Records (Oklahoma Tornado) # 109 - 1950
Blues For Oklahoma / Don't Let It Grieve Your Little Heart

Sparse instrumentation is what you get here on the A side, this is pure rural hick bop ! you get some cool Steel and even a mandolin interjects every now and then ! So when you get to the second break you get a full dose of some rasping guitar, just wonderful and is the sort of stuff I just love ! The B side is just as cool but at a much more relaxing country slow to mid tempo pace with lashings of Steel sweeping through the whole song and some nice piano plinking away in the back ground ! 

This O.T. label was originally based in Westlake, a small town on Highway 10 in the Southwestern corner of Louisiana. The initials O.T. stood for Oklahoma Tornadoes, a group run by Virgel that had recorded for Bill Quinn’s Gold Star label. Among the members of this short lived, but important band, were Bennie Hess, and Cajun fiddler extraordinaire Floyd Le Blanc. . His brother, Harmon recorded Rockabilly on the Texas Sarg label. Another Bozman O.T. release, when the label was relocated to San Antonio, is the fine, more Western Swing in style, « Troubles, Troubles » (# 113), backed by the Circle C Boys. It’s driven along by a bass player who enjoys himself enormously.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cleo Harves with Lightning Guitar.

OT # 105 - 1949

Side A - Skinny Woman Boogie.

Side B - Crazy With The Blues

This is a great record but at the same time kinda strange because Cleo sounds like two different singers on the the two tunes. On the B side he sounds just like all Black blues singers of the period, vocals, guitar all fit typically in the Blues A-Z of how to make a Blues record, don't get me wrong he does it very well and is a class tune of it's style. But the A side is just bizarre, out of time, great and truly brilliant Country Blues thing with Cleo sounding like a Country White Blues singer. This side is right up my alley! it's clumsy, superb, wrong but right and at the end the whole thing just about falls apart with all members stopping at different times (you can imagine them all looking at each other nodding as if to say 'right stop now' .......it's a thing and sound of beauty and the wrong bits sound just perfect to me!

Republic records !

Lee Bonds & Sonny Sims 
Republic Records # 7041 - 1953
I'm Glad That I Love You / Give My Broken Heart A Break

Born in Alabama in 1924. Lee Bonds had two releases previous to to his Republic offerings in 1953 on the Tennessee Label. Bonds was a prolific writer and could certainly write a nice Country Honky Tonk tune.
This release on Republic has one side with Lee Bond and Sonny Sims and the other on his lonesome. The duet with Sonny is pure class, both have vocals that just melt into one, absolute class, great uptempo song with strong fiddle and Steel. The B side is more sedate and has Trumpet laden throughout by Bill Roberts along with some fine piano and Steel by Larry Garman and falls more into the Honky Tonk  category !