Duane Eddy - "Rebel-'Rouser" - Jamie, 1958

I wanted to mix it up with something a little twangier this week, and then I realized the King of Twang himself has not made an appearance here yet! For shame, Mike Crash, for shame. Well, better late than never.
Duane Eddy managed to become a guitar god in the late 50's putting together simple yet rocking little tunes like this one.  Born in Corning, NY in 1938, he was already playing guitar at 5. His sonic guise was that of a twangmaster extraordinaire, playing leads on the bass strings of his guitar to great effect.  Weird factoid: a 20,000 gallon water tank was used as an echo chamber on one of his early records, "Moovin' and Groovin'" to accentuate his sound.

His follow-up, "Rebel Rouser" was the big hit, getting all the way up to #6 on the charts. Why don't we have instrumental hits anymore? Get cracking musicians!
The man has worked with everyone from Ravi Shankar to Waylon Jennings, and he just keeps cranking out the tunes. He was also the first guitarist to have a signature model, and was inducted into the Rock hall of fame in '94. He's still kicking around God bless him, doing his twang thang.

Jamie was another great label out of Philly, started in 1957 by Harold Lipsius. Today's record was their first big hit, and Duane Eddy basically made the label successful just by his record sales. Any of you diggers have certainly come across this label or one of their subsidiaries such as Phil-L.A. of Soul, Dionn and Sundi. I believe the label stopped releasing tunes in the early-mid 70's.

The Applejacks - "Rocka-Conga" - Cameo, 1959

Sometimes a record grabs me for the sheer silliness of it.  This is one of those records. I guess I'd call it a "novelty dance" number. While researching it, I came to know the story of Dave Appell.

Are those groupies back there?

The Applejacks, not to be confused with the Beat group of the same name from across the pond, was basically a studio band under the direction of Dave Appell. Appell (pronounced "apple") has a long history in the music business and is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades.  After getting his start arranging for several United States Navy big bands during WWII, he arranged for a few other dance orchestras and recorded several tunes for Decca as the "Dave Appell Four".
Somewhere in the mid-late 50's, Appell moved back to his hometown of Philadelphia and got involved with Cameo Records doing background vocals, session work as a guitarist, engineering, arranging, and producing. From Wikipedia:
"In the summer of 1958, Appell got an idea for a song from the Philadelphia String Band of a marching-type song with a dance beat. He wrote an instrumental song called "The Mexican Hat Rock," a jumped-up version of the old "Mexican Hat Dance," that he had his studio band record. The song was released under their own name on Cameo that fall and became a big dance hit on American Bandstand, reaching # 16 on the charts. The Applejacks also charted with "Rocka-Conga" (# 38) later in the year.

Appell went on to become the leader of Cameo-Parkway's house band, backing such artists as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, The Dovells, Dee Dee Sharp, and The Orlons. Their records Appell also arranged and, in many cases, produced, and even co-wrote with Kal Mann, like "The Twist," "Let's Twist Again," "Bristol Stomp," "Mashed Potato Time," and "South Street." These were the years of the twist and other dance crazes, in the launching of which Appell played a vital role. Appell left Cameo in 1964."
Mr. Appell is 87 and still doing his thing - you can check out his website here: http://www.daveappell.com
Cameo Records was based out of Philadelphia and was a subsidiary of Cameo-Parkway Records.  Founded in December 1956 by Bernie Lowe and Kal Mann, the label had many hits with previously mentioned artists. Judging by what I find while digging, The Orlons were particularly popular (at least round these parts). The British Invasion of the mid-sixties put a hurt on the label, and one of their last big hits was "96 Tears" by ? and the Mysterians.  By 1967, the label winding down and being sold off in pieces.
And, the clip:

The Virtues - "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" - Hunt Records, 1959

Today we've got a great slab of early instro rock from Philadelphia's the Virtues!
Frank Virtue put this band together in 1947 after being discharged from the Navy in '46 to look after his family. Starting a band was the natural thing to do after his stint as bandleader of the Regular Navy Dance Band while enlisted.

Ralph Frederico on the piano and Steve Rossi on the guitar filled out the trio. After touring for the better part of a decade doing smaller gigs, the boys decided to try to get a piece of that Rock N' Roll craze in the late 50's. Here's the low-down from Wikipedia:
"By this time, the group's lineup had expanded, with Virtue on the bass, John Renner on the saxophone, Jimmy Bruno on the guitar, Joe Vespe on the drums, and Dave Kaplin as an occasional vocalist. Under the name The Virtues, they released a rock reworking of Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith's country hit "Guitar Boogie" in 1958 under the title "Guitar Boogie Shuffle". The instrumental became a major hit in the U.S., peaking at #27 on the Black Singles chart and #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. The single also became a sheet music smash, selling well worldwide. Several singles followed – "Flippin", "Boogie Woogie", "Vaya con Dios" – but none of them succeeded; the group was signed by ABC/Paramount, but their only return to the charts was with the 1962 release "Guitar Boogie Shuffle Twist" (U.S. #95).

Towards the end of 1962, Virtue disbanded the group and pursued a career as a record producer and recording engineer. His studio, Virtue Recording Studios, located at 1618 N. Broad St., was one of the top studios in Philadelphia for a number of years until closing in the early 1980s. His original studio, in the basement of his house on Fayette Street, was where "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" was originally recorded."

If you'd like to read more about the Virtues, I'd recommend this page: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-virtues-p24947/biography
Note, I believe Virtues studios is where some of my favorite music was recorded for the Phil-L.A. of Soul label - "The Horse" and "Boogaloo Down Broadway" (covered here!)
Hunt seems to have been owned by Globe Record Corp and dispributed via Am-Par Records. Perhaps they were Philly based? I can find no other info on this label - please share if ya have some.
And now, the clip:

The Fantastic Johnny C - "Look What Love Can Make You Do" - Phil-L.A. of Soul, 1968

Today's tune is from another Philly-based musician, Johnny C.  This record is best known for the flip "Boogaloo Down Broadway".  "Boogaloo" is basically the same song as "Look What Love", but with a different set of vocals. And since everyone likes to talk about "Broadway", I thought you like to get a taste of the equally funky flip-side.

From the All Music Guide:
The Fantastic Johnny C was born Johnny Corley on April 28, 1943, in Greenwood, SC. He joined the armed services at an early age, leaving Brewer High in Greenwood before graduating to enlist. When his military duty ended, he moved to Norristown, PA, a small city 18 miles from Philadelphia, and found work as a heavy-equipment operator while becoming increasingly unable to resist the temptation to sing professionally. R&B producer Jesse James attended the same church as Corley and quickly spotted his talent. James made a career out of transforming gospel singers into secular performers; he discovered Cliff "the Horse" Nobles a short time later at the same church. James became Corley's manager and wrote songs for him -- one of them, "Boogaloo Down Broadway," convinced Corley to give pop music a serious try. "Broadway" became a big hit, hitting number five on the R&B charts and number seven on the pop charts. The follow-up, "Got What You Need," didn't surpass or equal "Broadway," but it did chart, while "Hitch It to the Horse" bounced onto the R&B charts, and even crept into the pop Top 40, in 1968. His stage name came about when some acquaintances of both James and Corley stated almost in unison, "That's fantastic -- what are you going to call him?" after hearing "Boogaloo Down Broadway." Hearing their response, James first came up with the Fantastic Johnny Corley before shortening it to the Fantastic Johnny C. His first gig was at the Uptown Theater in Philadelphia, sharing a bill with Sam & Dave, the Vibrations, and Joe Simon. Phil La of Soul released his only album, Boogaloo Down Broadway, a mini-masterpiece of gritty soul containing the deep soul cuts "Warm and Tender Love," "Shout Bamalama," and many dance tunes: "Cool Broadway," "Barefootin'," "The Bounce," and "Land of a Thousand Dances." Corley continued to sing in church while recording secular music. When he scored his first hit, he stated that his goal was to be the "number one soul brother," and, while he failed to achieve that lofty title, he did land among the stars for brief period courtesy of his explosive recordings.


I was able to find his album here: Boogaloo Down Broadway

Philadelphia’s Phil-L.A. of Soul might be best known for Cliff Nobles' "The Horse" which spawned a dance craze and plenty of copy-cat hits. (Check out this site where they really break down this whole Horse business!)  Aside from "The Horse", "Boogaloo Down Broadway" was Phil-L.A.'s biggest hit. I understand Phil-L.A. of Soul was a subsidiary of Jamie Records (started in Philly in 1957 by Harold Lipsius) and seems to have shuttered at some point in the 70s. If anyone has more info, please share!
And the clip!

Bobby Peterson - Piano Rock - V-Tone Records, 1960

There's not too much info out there on Bobby Peterson, but here's what I could dig up courtesy of the folks at the Black Cat Rockabilly site:
Bobby Peterson was a pianist / vocalist from Chester, Pennsylvania, who started out imitating Ray Charles in smoky little bars on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Further musical apprenticeship was served as piano player for a vocal outfit known as the Apollos. In 1958 Bobby teamed up with sax player Joe Pyatt, who needed a singer and key- board player for his new combo and the Bobby Peterson Quintet was born. The other members were David Butler (drums), Chico Green (bass) and Jamo Thomas (congas and bongo). They made six remarkable singles for Buddy Caldwell's Philly-based V-Tone label between 1959 and 1961, before disbanding permanently in 1962.

"Piano Rock" is a wild piano rocker instro which was paired with "Irresistible You". "Irresistible You" went to # 15 R&B and # 96 pop, and was later covered by Bobby Darin. Unfortunately, my record has a huge scratch on that side so I'm attempting some digital audio ninjary to whip it into playable condition.
Info on V-Tone Records is also scarce, this from Both Sides Now:
"One-time upholsterer Venton "Buddy" Caldwell started his own V-Tone label in 1958 in Philadelphia. The same year, he started Len Records as a subsidiary. V-Tone lasted until 1962 and Len until 1960. The company was located at 2034 Ridge Avenue in Philadelphia. When he discontinued V-Tone in late 1962, the last record was Fay Simmons' "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie"/"Where Is My Love" [V-Tone 237]. Caldwell then started the Palm label, and began with the exact same single, renumbered Palm 300, with the V-Tone master number scratched out and the Palm number written in on the dead wax. The Palm label only issued a handful of singles in 1963 before folding. "
I was able to find this compilation which has these two songs and the other big hits from the Bobby Peterson Quintet here: Irresistible You
And here's the clip!