Diddy Wah

Skidy Woe

2012-05-31T14:58:00.003+01:00

mp3: Nappy Brown - Skidy Woe

Here is a joyous rollicking R&B mambo tune. Released in 1958 on Savoy, Skidy Woe finds Nappy Brown at the height of his powers. Brown, a vocalist from North Carolina, was a considerable force in the world of '50s R&B. In fact, even though he's no longer with us, he is still a big star amongst those of us whose attention is focused in that direction. His big hit came in '55 with Don't Be Angry, which climbed to #2 on the R&B chart and #25 on the Billboard chart -- that constitutes a crossover hit. He was part of the vanguard of African-American artists to do this with what was the popular 'pop' music of the time. I have no idea what Skidy Woe means but I love singing along with this record.

Rene Hall's Bullfrog

2012-05-30T13:41:00.001+01:00

mp3: Johnny Moore And His New Blazers - Bullfrog

Just a month after after finding out that a record for which I paid two figures was worth four figures (an unsubstantiated claim and, yes, I would happily part with it...), I have smashed my spending ceiling and paid three figures for a 45. Of course, it's a little crass to talk about cash, but I thought you might be interested to know what kind of sounds I reckon it's worth shelling out the big bucks on.

Johnny Moore headed up one of the most influential R&B combos in late '40s early '50s LA. His original Blazers featured legendary vocalist Charles Brown. However, I suspect the key name on this record is Rene Hall, who's credited as Bullfrog's arranger and whose wife, Sugar Hall, is credited as the writer. Based on its heavy rhythms and the label it was recorded for, my guess is that the Rendezvous Records house band were the prime creative force behind this 1960 instrumental monster. Along with Hall's distinctive guitar, that would be Ernie Freeman on piano, Earl Palmer on drums and Plas Johnson on sax. These guys often recorded as the Ernie Fields Orchestra. They were also the session guns responsible for several rock'n'roll reinterpretations of classical favourites as B. Bumble and the Stingers. I've harped on about them all so much you are probably sick of it by now. The main thing is that today's offering is a straight-out killer tune. One that will bring joy to the late-night dancers at my gigs for a while yet and hopefully to you too.

Stompin' At The Savoy

2012-05-24T15:58:00.003+01:00

mp3: Sammy Cotton - Nobody

A little while ago, I received a message asking me to identify a particular tune featured in a recording I posted a little while back of DJ Andy Smith and myself rockin' the spot. The emailer described the song as one probably called Nobody Loves You The Way I Do. I knew the tune, but couldn't for the life of me remember who it was. You see, I was away from my records at the time, so I couldn't just flick through and check. I even resorted to Google, mistakenly thinking that it may have been a record I purchased to play at a night inspired by the filmmaker John Waters. When I returned to within arms length of my vinyl, one of the first things I did was dive in my record boxes and fish out today's selection. It came back to me that the artist in question was Sammy Cotton. Nobody, which was released on the Savoy label in 1961, can be found on a great compilation called Stompin' At The Savoy. Cotton hailed from New Orleans and recorded for the Derby, DeLuxe and Regal record labels, but there's not a whole lot currently written about him on the internet, except for a couple of Allmusic paragraphs that are duplicated all over the shop.

Rockin' With The Plas

2012-05-22T12:31:00.001+01:00

mp3: Plas Johnson - Blue Jean Shuffle

And now for another swinging instrumental from Louisiana-born hard-bop tenor sax man, Plas Johnson. Blue Jean Shuffle was released in 1956 on Hollywood's Tampa Records. I think this is one of Johnson's better known numbers, at least on London's 1950s R&B 45rpm DJ scene. I'll be testing my copy out on the jumpin' jivers at Joe's this Thursday.

Going Back Home

2012-05-18T10:58:00.001+01:00

mp3: Howlin' Wolf - Going Back Home

Going Back Home is the side with which I start my latest travelling-themed NTS radio show. It was recorded on a cold 1956 December day in Chicago. Howlin' Wolf sings about leaving the city and returning to the country. Like many others, he had migrated from Mississippi to Chicago during the 1950s. It features the guitar sounds of two other bluesmen who made the same journey North, Willie Johnson and Otis 'Smokey' Smothers. Johnson is remembered as an electric guitar pioneer. He would turn the gain right up to produce a distorted sound, one of the first to do so, but it doesn't sound like that technique was employed on today's selection. The standout instrument is really the Wolf's harmonica and his timeless, guttural, gravel-road, whiskey-soaked vocals. I try not to over indulge in the fantasy of experiencing live the performances of those who are long gone, but for Howlin' Wolf I make an understandable exception.

Hoppin' Mad

2012-05-14T14:07:00.002+01:00

mp3: Plas Johnson - Hoppin' Mad

Recorded late in 1957 and released in '58, Hoppin' Mad is a swinging rocker from saxophonist extraordinaire, Plas Johnson. Johnson cut his teeth in New Orleans before moving to LA to become a super successful session man. He's probably best known for playing the unforgettable tenor sax solo on Mancini's The Pink Panther Theme.

Sweet Potato Peeler

2012-05-10T16:52:00.000+01:00

mp3: Bobby Gregg - Potato Peeler
mp3: Bobby Gregg - Sweet Georgia Brown

Today's offering is a couple of instrumentals from 1962. I think I picked this record up because of Sweet Georgia Brown, and it's a nice version, but Potato Peeler is the standout side. It's heavy on drums and cowbell, so I wasn't surprised when I found out that Bobby Gregg is a drummer. I was surprised to find out that he went on to drum on Bob Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone and Simon and Garfunkel's The Sound of Silence amongst others. Gregg's guitarist friend is Roy Buchanan and it's on Potato Peeler that Buchanan first demonstrates something called the pinch harmonic (which I know nothing about). It's also been noted that this track bears more than a passing resemblance to the Bobby Peterson Quintet rockin' instrumental from a few years earlier, The Hunch. Interestingly, for me, I bought both those records in the same day back in February, must've been the mood I was in.

Jam Up Twist at Joe's on Thursday

2012-05-09T11:50:00.003+01:00

After missing a few weeks, I'm looking forward to being back behind the decks with DJ Andy Smith at Joe's this Thursday. Come along if you can, it's bound to be a blast. I really dig the flyer designer Dan Buckley has created. I was jiving to a jukebox like that one (but with a slightly different grill) on Saturday night just gone in Rockin' Rod's man cave in deep, dark Barkers Creek, Victoria. I'll put a photo of it up on my facebook page to prove it.

Hey, mama, you better talk to Sue

2012-05-08T17:14:00.003+01:00

mp3: Hank Ballard - The Hoochi Coochi Coo

Here's another floorfiller from the man who gifted the world with The Twist. I admire Hank Ballard's attempt at making The Hoochi Coochi Coo into a dance craze, since hoochi coochi was slang for getting jiggy at the time. Risque blues was not a subtle art form.

The Ramber's Rambling Devil Train

2012-04-30T13:33:00.001+01:00

mp3: The Ramblers - Devil Train
mp3: The Ramblers - Rambling

Here’s a couple of sax-laden rock’n’roll instrumentals from a young group of guys from Connecticut. Although Devil Train is obviously a cooler name for a track, Rambling is the side that made it to #73 on the Billboard charts in 1960. I can’t find out much about The Ramblers and don't know if there is much to find out, but I do know that one of them was a teenage Barry Tashian, who went on to form The Remains before turning to country music.

Here's a Dance from Outer Space

2012-04-21T14:13:00.000+01:00

mp3: Boss-Tones - Mope-Itty Mope

A superb slice of Philadelphia doo-wop is what today's offering features. Mope-Itty Mope was released into the world in 1959. It's about a guy with a particularly croaky voice who has recently come back from a trip to outer space and brought with him a new grilfriend. In several ways she's a bit different to girls you or I might know, including in how she dances. In fact, her dancing draws quite a bit of local and even regional attention. It's tempting to cite this tune as an example of afrofuturism, but I think the fact that the Purple People Eater was a #1 chart hit the year before is probably a more relevant cultural touchstone. The Mope-Itty Mope didn't quite make it to being a dance craze in its time, but as far as mid-tempo kooky doo-wop dancers go, it is top-shelf.

Five, six, come get your kicks

2012-04-16T13:37:00.000+01:00

mp3: Ricky Nelson - Waitin' In School

Waitin' In School was performed by a Ricky Nelson imittor in the Jack Rabbit Slims restaurant scene in Pulp Fiction, just before the memorable twist contest. But it didn't make it onto the soundtrack, so it's possibly not as instantly familiar to those of a certain age as Chuck Berry's You Never Can Tell. Make no mistake though, today's selection is still a jumpy dancefloor suited rock'n'roller. Written by Johnny and Dorsey Burnette, it reach #18 on the charts in 1958. It was the b-side to Stood Up, which got to #2 that same year. At the time, Nelson was only 18. My favourite related fact is that Nelson became Rick (rather than Ricky) after his 21st birthday.

Move It Over

2012-04-12T18:24:00.003+01:00

mp3: Gene And Eunice - Move It Over, Baby

Gene and Eunice were the Los Angeles version of New Orleans' Sweethearts of the Blues. They're even referred to in places as the Sweethearts of Rhythm & Blues and their records were released on the same label as Shirley and Lee, Aladdin. There is a few differences though, Gene and Eunice were actual sweethearts and I think it's fair to say they were also technically better singers (hey, you KNOW I dig the off-key sounds of such winners as Let The Good Times Roll and Feel So Good). Today's selection, Move It Over Baby is a great shuffler with a fine sax solo. The singing duo are ably backed up by Johnny Otis' band, credited as Johnny's Combo. It was the b-side to This Is My Story, which reached #8 on the R&B charts in 1955.

And now for some housekeeping. I should let you know that for the next four weeks I will be travelling, so the post frequency might dip a little (or a lot, depending on how much free time I scrounge). But don't despair, I'll be back mid-May with loads more posts. In the meantime, you can get your Diddy Wah fix from my latest radio show, a Caravan themed special -- listen to it here.

Gonna Do The Slop

2012-04-05T14:04:00.003+01:00

The Olympics - The Slop

Released in 1960, The Slop was The Olympics' follow up to (Baby) Hully Gully from the year before. It certainly sounds like a follow up, i.e. it sounds the same. (Baby) Hully Gully inspired a dance craze and I guess The Olympics were hoping The Slop would do the same; if fact, the lyrics say as much. However the DJs of the time had other ideas, they preferred the flipside, Big Boy Pete. Not me though, The Slop is definitely the side for me, yeeaah. If you're interested in finding out more of the story of The Olympics, you could do a lot worse than visiting Marv Goldsberg's R&B Notebook.

Guest Post: King Kong

2012-04-03T15:01:00.003+01:00

And now for a guest post from a couple of DJs who I've recently had the pleasure of meeting and hearing play. The duo go by the handle Double Agent 7 and they've got two London gigs coming up this very week -- Wednesday at The Globe, Notting Hill and Saturday at The Brown Derby, Oval -- plus many more in the pipeline. DJs Double Agent 7 have got taste! Not only is their selection on the Aladdin label, but it features Earl Palmer on the skins. Please make them feel very welcome.

Big "T" Tyler - King Kong

King Kong by Big "T" Tyler is a killer rhythm and blues track from 1957. It's a relentless barnstormer that never lets up. We first heard it at Intoxica, our local record shop (which will be closing for good in June, we are absolutely gutted) and, like so many others from that era, the second it came on we knew we were going to leave the shop with it. There is also a rule of thumb that if the song is about primates in any capacity it is generally going to be a great record (The Gorilla by The Ideals, Monkey See Monkey Do by The Five Du-Tones, Ape Call by Nervous Norvus, etc.) and Big "T" proves the rule aplenty with this pumpin' tune 'bout the biggest ape of 'em all.

Thursdays at Joe's

2012-04-01T17:53:00.000+01:00

mp3: DJ Andy Smith & DJ Diddy Wah - Jam Up Twist

I've been doing a few nights of late with DJ Andy Smith. One of the cool things about that, apart from all the ace tunes he brings to the party, is that Andy often records the set. Here's over an hour that we did at a one-off gig in Stoke Newington back in February. You can now catch us on Thursdays at Joe's in Camden (well, it's more Chalk Farm really, right opposite the Roundhouse). The night's called Jam Up Twist and we play a mix of 50s R&B, Rockabilly, Northern Soul, Ska and Surf -- although the selection on offer for you today is mainly early Rock'n'Roll. At Joe's there's always a decent crowd of vintage music lovers and late night Norf London revellers but this week, being Good Friday-eve, I'm expecting it to be an absolutely banging inside, queue outside kind of affair. If you're tempted to come down it's probably best to get there earlyish, we start at 10pm.

Sunny one so true, I love you

2012-03-28T21:50:00.000+01:00

Bobby Hebb - Sunny

I grew up listening to Boney M's version of today's often covered selection, Sunny. Although written in 1963 by Nashville born singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bobby Hebb, he didn't release it himself until 1966 -- after a Japanese singer had already found some success with it and Dave Pike had put out an instrumental rendition. Sunny was Hebb's biggest hit, such a smash he toured with The Beatles and The Yardbirds at the height of the British Invasion. It's a beautiful, uplifting tune about looking on the brighter side of life. Hebb apparently wrote it as an antidote to Johnny Bragg's decidedly downbeat Just Walkin' In The Rain. A song he would have been very familiar with, having played in Bragg's post-Prisonaires group The Marigolds with his elder brother Hal. Hal's murder and JFK's assassination have also been said to have inspired Hebb to write Sunny. There seems to be a lot of interest in how or why he was possessed to come up with such a pure and positive song. But its brilliance was no fluke, Hebb wrote many other crackers, including Lou Rawls' Grammy-winning A Natural Man.

Sweet Sweet Monkey

2012-03-26T22:47:00.000+01:00

J.C. Davis - Sweet Sweet Love
J.C. Davis - Monkey

I bought this 1963 Chess record for the wild organ-driven apetastic Monkey, but these days it's the gospel R&B shouter Sweet Sweet Love which gets more spins. J.C. Davis was a tenor saxophonist who spent some time leading James Brown backing band. Sweet Sweet Love also features Nashville vocalist Lil' Charles Walker, but I have no idea who plays the organ on Monkey.

You may have noticed that the option to leave a comment has disappeared from Diddy Wah. This is far from ideal, but will be the case for the next little while -- I'll spare you the tedious details of why -- until I figure out how to bring them back without losing all the comments left over the years. In the meantime, feel free to leave feedback of any kind on my facebook page.

Guest Post: Cha-Hua-Vodka

2012-03-20T17:44:00.002Z

DJ Fritz, who runs the club night Buzzsaw Joint, is back to share another 45rpm gem from his extensive collection. I highly recommend you check out his mixes over at mixcloud and, if you happen to be in London, be sure to keep an eye on the Buzzsaw Joint facebook to see where it's going on next.

Eddie Platt - Cha-Hua-Hua
Eddie Platt - Vodka

Here is a double hitter from Eddie Platt and His Orchestra. Two great little shakers with killer riffs. Platt started his musical career in high school playing sax in clubs, but his career was cut short by World War Two; he served with the army and the air force. After the war, from 1948 to 1952, he played in strip clubs. It could have lasted longer if it hadn't created a stir, causing the politicians to shut the clubs down for excessive bumping and grinding. In 1955, Platt recorded his first single for Epic Records, Rock 'Em with the flip, Chinese Lullaby. His next single was a cover of The Champs classic song Tequila, which climbed to #20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1958.

And that brings us to this 45, released 1958 on Gone Records. Cha-Hua-Hua is an uptempo cover of The Pets classic. This version gets me every time with Platt's blazin' sax and some infectious female vocals. After the success Platt had with Tequila it's obvious why he named the flip Vodka. But this is no Tequila copy -- it's a lot more jazzier than the Tequila copies of the time. This shakes in all the right places with a great guitar break in the middle.

Roosters in the Chicken House

2012-03-15T17:52:00.000Z

The Roosters - Fun House
The Roosters - Chicken Hop

A couple of shakin' instrumentals from 1959 make up today's offering. Fun House/Chicken Hop was originally put out on the Shar-Dee label before being released nationally on Felsted. This record seems to have been given a boost thanks to airplay from two radio DJs from the Pennsylvania area, Mad Mike on WZUM and Porky Chedwick on WAMO. My last post featured a Ward Darby tribute to Chedwick and the name Mad Mike comes up a lot when I’m reading about records, often in YouTube comments -- typically "I first heard Mad Mike play this when I was in junior high. Isn't music crap nowadays!!". From what I gather, these two guys did a lot to spread the gospel of great but under-appreciated music and for that I salute them.

I can’t tell you much about The Roosters, but both sides feature Gaynel Hodge on piano. Apparently, Fun House also sounds cool when played at 33rpm, something I promise to investigate. Regular visitors know that 45s played at 33rpm is a niche I’m quite fond of.

Wham-O, it's Ward's Safari

2012-03-13T15:07:00.000Z

Ward Darby - Safari
Ward Darby - Wham-O

In 1959, guitarist Ward Darby AKA Willie Ward had a decent regional hit with the instrumental rocker Safari. So much so that Joe Averback from Petite records had it released nationally on Dot. The flip side, Wham-O, is also well worth a listen. It's apparently a tribute to WAMO radio DJ Porky Chedwick, a pioneer in presenting what were known as 'race' records to a racially diverse audience.

Whilst we're on the topic of pioneering radio DJs, my own latest venture into the airwaves (or rather, netwaves) is now available to be streamed or downloaded. Treat yourself to a one-hour special on the legendary New Orleans session drummer Earl Palmer; you can find it here.

Ken Kash Kwintet

2012-03-09T13:46:00.000Z

Ken Kash Kwintet - Vicious Vodka

Google is a convenient and powerful research tool, but it's been of little help in getting to the bottom of how and why this recording came to be. What I can tell you is that Vicious Vodka was released in the late 50s on Chicago's Chess records. It's a sax heavy R&B groover that doesn't sound related to Amos Milburn's Vicious, Vicious Vodka, which was recorded earlier that decade. It actually drifts into Row, Row, Row Your Boat at one point. Vicious Vodka is credited to Bridges and Long and the flip, The Dig, is credited to Ken Bridges, who I assume is the Ken in the Ken Kash Kwintet, but this information didn't lead me anywhere either. The one place today's selection does pop up is on an excellent compilation from a few years back called Dr Boogie Presents Heavy Jelly: Essential Instrumentals. If you're able to shine some more light on this mysterious recording, please shine away.

Diddy Wah with DJ Andy Smith at The Haggerston

2012-03-07T14:38:00.000Z

Now, here's some really exciting news. Joining me on Friday March 16th on DJ duties at my local spot, The Haggerston in Dalston, will be the one and only DJ Andy Smith. We'll be tearing the roof off until 3am, playing the best tunes from way-back-when, all on vinyl 45s. It's always busy, so come down early (they make nice pizza).

The Hunch

2012-03-06T17:38:00.000Z

Bobby Peterson Quintet - The Hunch

The Hunch is a straightforward rockin' instrumental that charted at #71 in 1959. Bobby Peterson was a piano player from Pennsylvania who teamed up with sax man Joe Pyatt and three others to make up the quintet. This was their first single.

You may have noticed the new Facebook link up on the right hand side there, under the picture of me dressed in white. I've now joined almost almost a billion other Facebook users with a DJ Diddy Wah account. As well as using it to share blog posts such as this one, I'll let folks know about my DJ gigs and radio shows. I'm also going to be sharing YouTube clips of records I'm currently digging, especially ones that I can't find or can't afford. And, I'll be "liking" things and just generally attempting to be more interactive. So, if that sounds appealing and you're on Facebook yourself, then click here and like me.

1,000,000 Wahs

2012-03-01T13:22:00.003Z

The Orlons - The Wah-Watusi

According to my stats counter, the total number of Diddy Wah visitors went over the one million mark this week. I'm sure I personally make up about half of those, but thanks anyway to everyone else who has stumbled by over the years. It's quite an achievement and I'm proud to be a millionaire.

A few months ago, I posted The Orlons' Don't Hang Up, which was also included in my latest mix. Like Don't Hang Up, The Wah-Watusi was released in '62. It soared to #2 on the pop charts, making it The Orlons' biggest ever hit.

In 1960s USA, The Watusi was the second most popular dance craze (after The Twist). It started when Latin drummer Ray Barretto struck gold with El Watusi in 1961. The term Watusi refers to the Tutsi tribe of Rwanda and Burundi. I suspect Barretto used it because he felt his conga drum rhythms had an African feel, or maybe he just liked the word... The dance itself seems fairly straightforward. Stand with your legs about a foot apart, knees bent. Then swing yours hips and both arms to the left and then to the right. Repeating in time to the beat.