Beyond The Surf

The Tornadoes - Bustin' Surfboards
The Tornadoes - Beyond The Surf

Here's a couple of bona fide early-sixties West Coast instrumental surf tunes. Bustin' Surfboards was used in the movie Pulp Fiction and featured on its monumental soundtrack -- a soundtrack that really opened my young ears up to the sounds of yesteryear. I also remember it as a b-side on my copy of the Urge Overkill CD single, Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon, currently gathering dust somewhere in my parent's house.

A few years after buying that single, I spent a summer travelling up the East Coast of Australia. I settled for about a month in a small tropical tourist town called Airlie Beach, known as the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. A good friend managed a bar up there, so I was ostensibly visiting him. My days generally consisted of waking up late, getting breakfast, practicing harmonica and then strolling down the street to this bar, Charlie's, to hang out. I drank a lot of free drinks at Charlie's, so in the evenings, to help earn my keep, I began DJing between the bands' sets. But this wasn't DJing as I know it now, with two turntables and a box full of 45s; there was just a 5-disc CD player and about 100 CDs to play with. To open the tray and change discs took so long that it really killed any musical vibe going, so I would just load it up with five compilations and work with them. Without doubt, the Pulp Fiction soundtrack was my best weapon.

Imagine yourself as a patron of Charlie's at around this time of year but a dozen or so Australian summers back. The cover band are taking a break, you've just been handed a beer in a stubbie holder and are trying to keep cool under the giant mechanical fan. Then, rising above the hum of the fridges, the crashing waves of Bustin' Surfboards comes blasting through the PA...

I'm Itchy

Slim Harpo - Baby Scratch My Back

Released in 1966 on Excello, Baby Scratch My Back went to #1 on the R&B chart and #16 on the Billboard chart. It was the loftiest recording from the man who began life in Louisiana as James Moore before becoming known as Harmonica Slim and then evolving into Slim Harpo. Today's selection was even bigger than I'm A King Bee, which Harpo released almost ten years prior and was covered by the Stones in '64. Both tunes carry his distinctive swamp blues sound -- very warm and easy, like there ain't no rush to do anything but sit on the porch and let the breezy harp blow. So calm is Harpo, he can hardly even be bothered to sing, preferring instead to let the words mosey on out in a spoken drawl.

Ride, Sally, Ride

Sir Mack Rice - Mustang Sally

Like so many of the blues greats -- Son House, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Ike Turner, etc. -- Mack Rice was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. As a teenager, his family (again, like so many families) moved North, settling in Detroit. Although mainly successful as a songwriter, Rice's own big hit came in 1965. Mustang Sally was produced by Andre Williams, who bestowed Rice with the moniker Sir Mack Rice. A year later, a former compadre of Rice's in The Falcons, Wilson Pickett, took Mustang Sally even further up the charts. The song received more recognition when, in 1991, it prominently featured in The Commitments, a film about some unemployed Irish folk who form a soul band. When I hear today's version of this tune though, all I hear is Andre Williams -- the way some instruments hang around at the back of the beat, the clean piano, the punchy horns. The more I recognise Williams' sound in recordings, the more I consider him criminally underrated as a producer of R&B/soul.

Dance 'til mornin' come

Professor Longhair - Big Chief Pt.1
Professor Longhair - Big Chief Pt.2

Written by Earl King -- who sings on Part 2 and whistles on Part 1 -- Big Chief easily captures the musical spirit of New Orleans. With an infectious twinkling that hits me every single time, Professor Longhair begins on piano. Then, Smokey Johnson starts drumming a rhythm that deserves its own biopic. In almost fairytale fashion, there's also big New Orleans horns and Mac Rebennack on guitar. And, the production is immaculate. This magic all happened in 1964 but it took a number of years before Big Chief became the Mardi Gras staple it was destined to be.

The Artist Formerly Known As Ricky Nelson

Rick Nelson - Gypsy Woman

This is a great track from a pop-rock'n'roller who I'm just discovering. Rick (Ricky until his 21st birthday in 1961, I love that) was a teen heartthrob in the vein of Elvis but not as cool. Nelson released Gypsy Woman in 1963; it was included on his first LP for Decca records, For Your Sweet Love. Written by Dorsey Burnette and Joe Osborn, the song follows a popular theme of the time, with The Impressions' number of the same name being released in '61 and the Allen Toussaint penned, Benny Spellman sung, original version of Fortune Teller appearing in the shops during '62. Playing on today's tune, and alongside Nelson on much of his early material, was guitar master, James Burton. Burton came up with the licks to Susie Q when he was about fourteen years young and went on to play with 'the pelvis' himself during his Vegas period. Sadly, Nelson died when his DC-3 aeroplane crashed on new year's eve 1985. Perhaps also sadly, you may remember his two very-blond power-ballad-playing twin sons from their group, boldly titled, Nelson.

Almost forgot to mention, Diddy Wah was included in a list of vinyl loving blogs on a site that offers advice about online education. Can't see the connection? Me neither, but it's a nice list.

Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do

Edgar Broughton Band - Apache Drop Out
Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - Diddy Wah Diddy

I'll never forget hearing Captain Beefheart for the first time. I was an undergraduate Physics student who presented a weekly radio show on the campus station -- blues based, but envelope pushing. My boss at the co-op bookshop where I worked, a Spanish-born original punk named Luna, was constantly telling me about this Beefheart character that I just had to check out. She happened to live a couple of doors up from some friends of mine, and one day invited me in for a cup of tea. Luna was in the process of moving countries and I was in the process of moving out, so she kindly offered to give me a whole raft of cutlery and other assorted kitchen stuff. While gathering these things together, she sat me down with her vinyl copy of Safe As Milk. From the opening riff of Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do, I was a changed man. I had found a sound that I could wholeheartedly love; a sound I had been waiting for.

On Friday just gone, a friend texted to let me know that Captain Beefheart, Don Van Vliet, had died. This news brought about mixed emotions. Van Vliet gave up music for painting many years before I was introduced to a record he had made a decade before I was born -- so there was never going to be a chance to see him perform, never a personal connection -- but the music he made had affected me personally, no doubt.

I've previously blogged about my only Beefheart 45 (they're expensive!). So, for today's post, I'll make that one available again as well as a cover of Dropout Boogie by the Edgar Broughton Band, who cleverly spliced it with Apache in 1970. And, I'll leave you with a Beefheart quote to ponder: "I like the blues... but I like aqua marine just as much."

Sheba the Mysterious

Johnny And The Hurricanes - Sheba

Around a month ago, I posted a real rockin' Johnny And The Hurricanes instrumental, but today's selection sounds more exotic in style. I’ve read that some of Dick Dale's surf monsters were influenced by his Middle Eastern heritage, but I haven't figure out what the basis of Sheba is. The songwriting credits include pseudonyms for the band's managers, which isn't much help. I could be way off, and perhaps this tune just popped into a band member’s head one lazy afternoon, but it’s not uncommon, particularly with groups of this variety, to be inspired by a piece of classical music. I’ve just been listening to Respighi and Handel, but I can’t hear it. If you have any clues that may help solve this mystery, please leave a comment below. Sheba was released in 1960 as the b-side to Down Yonder.

Calling All Cows

Blues Rockers - Calling All Cows

Today's selection falls somewhere between the novelty and risque-blues genres. Moo sounding background vocals provide the novelty aspect; the risque aspect I can't exactly pin down, but I'm sure it's there somewhere amongst all that talk of milk, cream, cows and yards. It was released on Nashville's Excello Records in 1955 by the Blues Rockers -- a group that includes the song's writer, Earley Dranne, as well as Lazy Bill Lucas, PT Hayes and Jo Jo Williams. Elvin Bishop released a version in 1975 and The Wiggles (an Australian children's musical group) do a song with different lyrics but the same name and, tellingly, very similar background noises.

Lonely Ones

Cliff Richard - I'm The Lonely One

I must confess to being more familiar with Tom Jones' funked-up interpretation of this tune, which he released as The Lonely One in '68. However, just four years prior, Cliff Richard and The Shadows were there first with this mighty fine version. The song was written by Gordon Mills who, in the interim, discovered Jones, became his manager and penned his first hit, It's Not Unusual. I was turned on to today's selection through the brilliant Killer Diller Radio Show, which is well worth a listen.

Nightraidin'

The Night Raiders - Cottonpickin'

A wickedly rollicking guitar-led instrumental from 1959 is today's offering. The axe playing is, apparently, courtesy of a sixteen year old badass, Bill Ballard. Clocking in at just over a minute and a half, this is an adrenaline filled ride from go to

The Versatones - Bila

The Versatones - Bila

The Versatones was a popular name for US bands fifty or so years back. Because of this, there are conflicting reports floating around on the internet regarding this particular group. With that in mind, I'll try not to rehash too much for fear of adding weight to incorrect information. Incorrect information, we can't have that at Diddy Wah (I even read somewhere that all copies of this record have writing on the label). That said, I'm reasonably certain Bila was originally released in the year of 1958 on the All Star 501 label. It was then re-issued on Fenway and later on Atlantic. Apparently it was a popular dance number in the Philadelphia area, so it could be that this incarnation of The Versatones heralded from that part of the country. Bila is a strange and unique tune, the lyrics are completely undecipherable but it bops along sweetly. Five stars.

The Wild One

Johnny O'Keefe - Shout
Johnny O'Keefe - What'd I Say

Here's some great stuff from Australia's pioneering rocker, Johnny O'Keefe -- or as he's known in Aus, JOK. Musically, O'Keefe started out as a Johnny Ray impersonator, but after being exposed to Bill Haley's Rock Around The Clock, he decided that becoming a rock'n'roll star was his destiny. He formed The Dee Jays in '56, and in '58 his debut release, Wild One, was the first rock song to enter the Aussie charts. He was friends with the promoter Lee Gordon, and supported many of the big American stars that Gordon toured, including Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis. Today's selections -- written by the Isley Brothers and Brother Ray, respectively -- are both amazing songs, but you'll hear how JOK brings his own wild-style to each recording. They came out Gordon's Leedon label at a time when brothers weren't very welcome on the Australian airwaves. In the early sixties O'Keefe tried, but failed, to find success in the US. However, he continued to enjoy popularity at home, even hosting his own TV show. Then The Beatles came along and changed everything forever...

Harmonicats LOL

Harmonicats - Bo Diddley

Here we have a group from Chicago consisting solely of harmonica players. Their leader, Jerry Murad, started in 1940 with the Harmonica Madcaps, which became the Harmonica Rascals before disbanding and then reforming as a trio, the Harmonicats. The three harmonicists played instruments of varying sizes, one of which seems improbably large. They had huge success in 1947 with Peg ‘O My Heart. It sold of over a million and soared to the top chart spot. Achieving what they did, as harmonica players, must've been unlikely even back in the day, so the idea that it provided them with considerable momentum is not a hard one to grasp -- their website has them as still available for bookings. They released Bo Diddley in 1955, the very same year as it was a hit for the man himself.

Look out!

The Jesters - Peter Gunn Twist

I’m sure someone knows something about this record but it ain’t me, that’s not for want of trying though. Web search engines aren't able to help much. Over the years, there has been several Rio records, but this particular one seems to be reasonably obscure. Somewhere in my sleuthing, someone mentions the Midwest, which is as likely an origin for the group as anywhere. Peter Gunn Twist appears on a few compilations, notably the first of the awesome Las Vegas Grind series, where it’s dated as from 1963. I can tell you that this 45 is quite hard to come across, at least it took me a good while to track it down. During the search, I picked up another of The Jesters' singles on the Rio label, Diesel, which has recently been reissued. It’s decent, but not as thrilling as this twisted take on Mancini’s crime theme classic.