Today’s Music to keep me SsSsAaAaAAaNNNnnEeee in Isolation – The Coasters

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Going straight back to 50s R&B with the fabulous Coasters. I love ’em.

The Alligators at Burton Agness Jazz and Blues Festival

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Despite the cold that set in courtesy of an unwelcome sea fret the Alligators, a favourite of the festival, warmed the evening up with their brand of no nonsense R&B. A great band. They rock!!

Today’s Music to keep me SsSssSaaAAaaaNNnnnnEeeee in Isolation – Bo Diddley – Have guitar will travel

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What an amazing guy. He rocked! I remember buying this album back in the sixties!! It’ll take me back!

Bo Diddley “Have Guitar, Will Travel” – Full Album – YouTube

My Favourite Rand B male vocal groups from the fifties and Sixties

Posted on by Opher

I make a distinction between Doo-wop and male vocal groups. I’ll deal with Doo-wop separately.

These vocal groups had a huge impact on the British Beat Groups. I loved their stuff

The Contours

The Drifters

The Coasters

The Platters

The Dominoes

The Midnighters

The Clovers

The Miracles

Isley Brothers

Four Tops

Argyles

Cadillacs

Hollywood Argyles

My Favourite US 1950s Male R&B Bands

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Of Course, all of the solo R&B singers had bands behind them. Some were definite groups of individuals. The R&B combos had a huge impact on the development of the British Beat scene of the 1960s. I do make a disction between these R&B and other Doo-Wop bands.

Here are my favourites:

Contours

Coasters

Dominoes

Don and Dewey

Isley Brothers

Miracles

Clovers

Drifters

Valentinos

Clowns

My Favourite 50s R&B singers

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Black 50s R&B was not heard in the UK. All these fabulous singers were unknown in Britain. Merchant seamen brought singles and albums back into the ports. They were like gold dust. All the local bands in the early sixties were eager to get their hands on these songs so that they could incorporate them into their act. We see these songs surfacing on all the early albums of bands such as the Beatles and Stones.

Here’s my favourite US R&B singers:

Bo Diddley

Arthur Alexander

Rufus Thomas

Screaming Jay Hawkins

Jimmy Reed

Ray Charles

Ruth Brown

Little Willie John

Ike Turner

James Brown

Tina Turner

Irma Thomas

Fats Domino

Huey Piano Smith

Sam Cooke

Big Mama Thornton

Johnny Otis

I bet I missed a few off!

My Favourite Merseybeat Bands

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I was only a kid when Merseybeat started up in 1962/3. Most of the stuff on record was highly sanitised Pop stuff but occasional stuff sneaked through showing what a good, hard rocking club scene it was based on early R&B and Rock ‘n’ Roll.

The highlights for me were (apart from the Beatles) the Big Three EP, the Merseybeats EP, the two volumes of This Is Merseybeat on Oriole and occasional singles – like the Mojos Everything’s Alright.

My top bands would be:

Beatles (obviously)

Big Three

Searchers,

Faron’s Flamingos

Rory Storm & the Hurricanes

Mojos

Gerry & the Pacemakers (surprisingly very powerful live)

Merseybeats (that EP)

Earl Preston and the TTs

Sony Webb and the Cascades

Gerry & the Pacemakers and RandB

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The trouble with Merseybeat was that all the rawness was lost in the production. The bands were smartened up and given pop songs to play. The raw live acts were really R&B and Rock ‘n’ Roll, not pop.

Gerry and the pacemakers gave an inkling of that R&B on their first album. It’s a shame they didn’t stick with it.

The reason why Merseybeat died out so quickly was because it was too pop and twee. It was blown away by a less poppy raw R&B sound.

Slow Down – Gerry & The Pacemakers 1963 – YouTube

Gerry and the Pacemakers A shot of rhythm and blues – YouTube

Gerry And The Pacemakers – Maybellene (Chuck Berry Cover) – YouTube

Today’s Music to keep me SsSSSaAAAAANNNNnneee in Isolation – Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson

Posted on by Opher

The man who invented the long guitar lead so he could roam about and produce his guitar histrionics. He was the ultimate showman and way ahead of his time!! In the 1950s he was a real pioneer. Just listen to that ‘Space Guitar’ from 1954 – the reverb, echo and effects.

Today’s Music to Keep eM enAS in Lockdown – Tommy Tucker

Posted on by Opher

The rumour was that Tommy Tucker died on a UK tour from eating a Wimpy Burger and getting food poisoning. Lol. Probably a bit of fake news put out by McDonalds or Burger King.

There were many R&B staples of the British Beat boom of the sixties and Tommy Tucker was one of them.

I wonder how many different bands played ‘Long Tall Shorty’  and Hi-Heeled Sneakers’? Absolute classics!

Today I’m going to be playing them too – but I’ll play the originals by Tommy Tucker: