Wolf Call

Mrs. Illinois Jacquet hits the dance floor with the big bad wolf, via JET magazine, 1958.

Earl Washington  -  Wolf Call  (2:07)

Travis Wammack

Travis Wammack  -  Stay

Tijuana Christmas

The Border Brass  -  Tijuana Christmas  (1:59)

The Border Brass was just one of many Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass knock-offs that helped feed the world's insatiable appetite for faux Latin easy listening instrumentals back in the late 1960s. 

Night Train Mambo

 

In 1952, Jimmy Forrest hit the #1 spot on the R&B charts with his version of Night Train.  A few years later, he checked in with this rhythmic mambo version.

Haulin' Honda

Here's a fiery Hondells instrumental, as done by the both the Hondells and the Untamed Youth.

Stan Kenton - Rock & Roller

Stan Kenton  -  Tequila
I have no idea how a progressive jazzbo like Kenton wound up waxing Tequila, but it all worked out pretty well.

Lloyd Thaxton and Billy Strange Pay Tribute To The Great Man

Lloyd Thaxton (1927-2008) did a variety of things in his long career, but he's best remembered for The Lloyd Thaxton Show, an American Bandstand-style music show that he hosted from 1961-67 in Los Angeles, with the last three years nationally syndicated. Here are some videos for you to check out if you're interested. He also has his name stuck on a number of records that that he had little or nothing to do with, including albums by the Challengers, the Knickerbockers, and Round Robin. The album pictured above is in a similar vein, being mostly instrumentals by Billy Strange... but not entirely! Unlike the other "Thaxton" albums, Lloyd actually turns up on both the album and a single drawn from it.

Lloyd Thaxton - "Tennessee Ska"

Unlike Bandstand, Thaxton's show also included comedy routines and sketches, and that's the side of Lloyd on display here, in a novelty tune that, despite its title, has no traces of anything resembling blue-beat. Lloyd and Roger Miller were pals (read about that in this 2006 posting from Thaxton's still-extant blog), and he pays tribute to his pal here both in tone and through both name-checking and directly quoting him.

Lloyd Thaxton (Presents) Billy Strange And Orchestra - "Chug-A-Lug"

The beloved West coast studio musician kingpin (and cousin of Glenn "Frankenstein" Strange!) gives us an instrumental rendition of Roger's hit.

Swiped from Mr. Thaxton's blog

BONUS! If you want to hear the rest of the album, fellow WFMU family member Kliph Nesteroff has it posted at his blog here.

Limehouse Blues

I never get tired of guitarist Billy Mure's spectacular version of this old jazz standard.

Dave "Baby" Cortez Goes Country

So I understand that organ man Dave "Baby" Cortez has a new album coming out soon on Norton Records. If he slips in another crazy country cover or two I, for one, will be a very happy customer.

A Change Of Tense

While Johnny Cash claims to walk the line, Don Costa does not make that claim for himself at present, but aspires to that course of action at some unspecified future time. Regrettably, Mr. Costa failed to provide any vocals that might clarify the issue.

Don Costa - "I'll Walk The Line"

Menacing Beatnik

Behold the super menacing qualities of The Champs' Beatnik 45, slowed down to 33 by someone on YouTube.

Drumble!

Dennis and the Menaces - Drumble

Bruce Johnston Rules?

I've never had a very strong opinion of Bruce Johnston, one way or the other. As far as I was concerned, he was kind of just there in the Beach Boys, neither good nor bad. Recently, I bought this album, which I had never heard of, seen or listened to. About half of the record is just about what you'd expect: decent, but average Beach Boy style surf tunes with passable vocals. The rest is certainly NOT what you'd expect. I couldn't believe my ears...
(from 1963)
Jersey Channel Islands Part 7

Virginia Beach

Hot Pastrami, Mashed Potatoes, Come On to Ricon, Yeah!!!

Malibu