Don't You Know

Johnny O'Keefe - Don't You Know
Johnny O'Keefe - Come On And Take My Hand

Okay, so, I'm back from the land down under. I didn't do much record shopping there, but did manage to pop into a great secondhand book and vinyl shop at the lower end of Smith Street. They had some very reasonably priced 45 bins and while getting my fingers dusty I happened upon today's selection.

If you've been paying close attention to this blog over the last year or so, you'll know that I've been chasing down tunes by a certain group of New Orleans raised musicians working in LA in the late 50s, early 60s. They include Earl Palmer, Rene Hall, Plas Johnson, Ernie Fields and Ernie Freeman. So, I was almost startled to find out that Australia's first rock'n'roller, Johnny O'Keefe (or simply JOK), had recorded some sides under the direction of pianist/arranger Ernie Freeman. Also, since it was 1960 and he recorded them in LA, there's every chance that the others, or some of them, were the faceless session musicians behind these rocking recordings.

Now, although JOK might have once been described as Australia's answer to Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, I think that's a little generous. I'm not even sure what question the King and the Killer were posing. But, he was wild and he had ambition. The reason he was in the states was that, like so many Aussie rockers to follow, he was trying to crack the tough US market. Unfortunately, apart from a number one in New Orleans (which is no mean feat and I for one am bloody impressed) he didn't really succeed. There was still a lot of love for him at home though, as evidenced by the two weeks this record occupied the top spot on the Australian charts.