ALABAMA GOSPEL RECORDS 600

THE TOM HARMON TRIO

Dec 56  (BMI clearance on 11 Jan 57)

45-600-A - My Secret Affair

(T F Harmon - Dan Garrett)   (Starrite BMI)

45-600-B - Get Away, Satan

(T F Harmon - Dan Garrett)   (Starrite BMI)

ALABAMA GOSPEL RECORDS 600

AL

More pleasant gospel from the Tom Harmon Trio (who appeared in this series earlier (#571), spoilt by the quality of the recording. 

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Source: Evin Thompson

HUGHART RECORDS 599

BURT HUGHART

Dec 56  (BMI clearance on 11 Jan 57)

45-599-A - Our Last Goodbye

(Hughart)   (Starrite)

45-599-B - Memories I Can't Forget

(Hughart)   (Starrite)

HUGHART RECORDS 599

Rt 3, Stigler, OK

My notes here says this isn't Burt's real name and that he was living in Stigler, OK at the time but was raised in nearby Hughart. Apart from that snippet - nothing.

Source: Ron Lees

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ROCK IT RECORDS 598

GENE TERRY and his Kool Kats

Nov 56  (BMI clearance on 11 Jan 57)

45-598-A - The Woman I Love

(Kid Murdock / Lila Hargiss)   (Starrite BMI)

45-598-B - Tip, Tap And Tell me

(Kid Murdock / Lila Hargiss)   (Starrite BMI)

ROCK IT RECORDS 598

Port Arthur, TX

Gene Terry was born Terry Gene DeRouen in Lafayette, LA on January 7th 1940, but raised in Port Arthur, TX, where his main musical influence growing up was his father and grandfather performing Cajun songs. He also attended house and barn dances with his uncle, R. C. DeRouen, a Cajun musician. His uncle taught him how to play guitar and eventually Gene accompanied him on stage. Gene formed his first band, the Kool Kats, in the mid-'50s, doing mainly country and western songs but they gravitated toward rock and roll, eventually changing their name to The Downbeats. Gradually rhythm and blues began to enter the band's repertoire as Gene became influenced by Little Richard, Elvis Presley and local KTRM deejay J. P. "the Big Bopper" Richardson. Word spread to Lake Charles, LA gaining the attention of local club owners and a five year contract with Goldband Records. Gene Terry and the Down Beats recorded several singles for Goldband including classic "Cindy Lou."


Top side is a fast rocker with a nice long guitar solo (although he seems to have not been expecting the first part of the solo because he's a little under-recorded). Flip is more mid paced with a nod towards "Heartbreak Hotel". Awesome! (MC)

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Neil Scott

Neil Scott

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PEACH RECORDS 597

LEON HOLMES and his Georgia Ramblers
LEON HOLMES and JOHNNY GARRISON and the Georgia Ramblers

Nov 56  (BMI clearance on 11th Jan 57)

45-597-A - She's My Baby

(Leon Holmes)   (Starrite BMI)

45-597-B - You're Not Mine At All

(Leon Holmes)   (Starrite BMI)

PEACH RECORDS 597

Box 111, Jefferson, GA

Possibly one of my favourite discs in this series. Great stop-start vocals through the verses with a nice hint of rock-a-billy mumbling through the choruses! But it's the guitar breaks that have always grabbed my attention (for obvious reasons I guess). Slightly understated with a smattering of Carl Perkins with a lovely cascade of notes at the end. It sounds to me that right at the end of the song, the guitarist must hit his pick-up switch by accident as the tone changes slightly. I could probably listen to this all day and not get bored. In fact, sometimes I think I do!
Both sides were recorded at WIMO (Winder, GA) as a trio with another of Johnny Garrison's brothers. It was supervised by Slim Williamson (who owned Peach and Chart records amongst others). According to Slim, he paid Don Pierce $150 to press the record with the promise that if it was a success it would be released again on Starday. So Slim got his pressings and started mailing the out to DJ's.
Leon appears later in this series on Starday Records and also again on Peach Records. (MC)

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Steve Holloway

Steve Holloway

STARDAY RECORDS 596

TRUITT FORSE

Nov 56

45-596-A - Chicken Bop

(Forse)   (Starrite BMI)

45-596-B - Doggone Dame

(Forse)   (Starrite BMI)
STARDAY RECORDS 596

A monster, 2-sided rockabilly killer from Truitt, (Donald Truitt Forse), a cousin of Beamon Forse (See Rodney 514). A side is a fast guitar-led rocker with some nice rinky-dink piano. Truitt belts out both sides with gusto (as Billboard might have said) and the biting guitar solos remind me of Hal Harris on high-octane caffeine. Flip is slower, bluesier but not in the least inferior to the topside. Truitt  had some '60s / '70s country singles out under the name Don Force. (MC / Andrew Brown)

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Terry Gordon

Terry Gordon

BIG STATE RECORDS 595

JIMMY SIMPSON and his Oilfield Boys

Nov 56  (BMI clearance on 11 Jan 57)

45-595-A - Can I Come Home

(Jack Rhodes / Jimmy Simpson)   (Starrite BMI)

45-595-B - Memories Of You

(Jack Rhodes / Jimmy Simpson)   (Starrite BMI)

BIG STATE RECORDS 595

Box 1113, Greggton, TX

Jimmy D Simpson was born on 24th March 1928 in Sullivan Hollow, near Ashland City, TN. After stints in the Army (and Navy and the Paratroopers), he moved to Robert Lee, TX (near San Angelo) with his wife and made a living as a pipeliner. He became a DJ over KERC (Eastland, TX) and sang at the Big D Jamboree in Dallas. A career as an artist for Republic Records was cut short by the labels bankruptcy. He also recorded on Hidus Records (owned by Bill and Buddy Holman) based in a jewelry store in Springfield, TN.

Before he took off for Alaska as a contractor, he teamed up with Jack Rhodes for this release. The A side is bordering on rockabilly - nice vocals and a fine guitar dragging the band along at a fair clip. There's a steel guitar adding some nice fills in the background and it shares the solos with the guitar. Flip side is a ballad. These were recorded at a West Monroe, Louisiana radio station. Same session that produced Simpson's Jiffy single.

Jimmy also recorded on Starday and Nashville Records later on, amongst others. (MC / Al Turner / Andrew Brown)

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Phillip J Tricker

Phillip J Tricker

STARDAY RECORDS 594

DOROTHY BLAKLEY

Oct 56  (BMI Clearance on 4th January 1957)

45-594-A -  PIano Bells  (ST-2658)

(Blakley)   (Starrite BMI)

45-594-B - Yodelin' Ivory Waltz  (ST-2659)

(Blakley)   (Starrite BMI)
STARDAY RECORDS 594

More ivory tickling from Dorothy. This disc was even assigned Starday Matrix numbers. ST-2658 was reissued on Starday EP 295 as "Raggin' The Piano", while ST-2659 was retitled "Tickle The Ivories".

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Phillip J Tricker

Phillip J Tricker

LUCKY RECORDS 593

The Northwest Troubadours

Oct 56  (BMI Clearance on 11th January 1957)

45-593-A - Hey Mr Copper

(Irene Willis)   (Starrite BMI)

45-593-B - I'm Free At Last

(Irene Willis)   (Starrite BMI)

LUCKY RECORDS 593

Arcata, CA

The only info I could find was in one of my old note books, dated 1994. The info reads "Apparently this is a pretty good disc". Now I've heard it, I wasn't too far off. Nice male/female hillbilly disc. It was listed on a set sale list from the US. (MC/Mark Lee Allen)

Label Shots: - Doug Brown / Mark Lee Allen

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BIG STATE RECORDS 592

RONALD R A FAULK

Oct 56  (BMI Clearance on 11th January 1957)

45-592-A - You'll Never Know

(R A Faulk)   (Starrite BMI)

45-592-B - My Baby's Gone

(R A Faulk)   (Starrite BMI)
BIG STATE RECORDS 592

468 Third St, Port Acres, TX

The A side is a nice typical Texas honky-tonk / hillbilly song. Flip side is a thunderous rocker with heavy double bass and biting guitar. One of the best examples of the Starday rockabilly sound. The ending of the song is one of the most chaotic pieces of music every pressed into shellac as the musicians don't seem to know where to end. So they all seem to try to end at once with little success. (Sadly, nobody seems to have signalled to the bass player they're stopping!). This makes the side even better for it in my opinion.
Both Roland and his brother (Autry) were veterans of the Port Arthur, TX scene. (Port Acres is slightly west of Port Arthur). Kirby London recorded one of Roland's songs on D 1174.cRoland also recorded "Send Me Someone" / "I'd Own The World" on DIAMOND RECORDS 1003/4 as by Roland and his Rythm Boys (sic)

Birth:	Jun. 19, 1927 Port Arthur Jefferson County Texas, USA
Death:	Feb. 1, 2013 Port Arthur Jefferson County Texas, USA
R.A. Faulk, 85, of Port Acres passed away on Friday, February 1, 2013 at Mid-Jefferson Hospital. R.A. was born on June 19, 1927 in Port Arthur, TX to Zoie and Rose Theriot Faulk. He was a musician and worked at Gulf Oil. R.A. was a member of Faith Harbor Assembly of God Church in Port Acres. He proudly served his country in the United States Army. He loved his family very much and was known as Poppa. R.A. was preceded in death by his parents; 4 brothers, Curtis, Autrey, Melvin and Herman Ray; 4 sisters, Gloria, Jeanette, Geraldine and Beverly; 2 sons-in-law, Dennis Earl Miguez and Marcio Illa. R.A. is survived by his wife of 56 years, Myrna "Julie" Faulk of Port Acres; sons, Clint Faulk (Sherrie) of Port Arthur, Tony Faulk (Kelly) of Port Arthur; daughters, Brynda Amburn (Steve) of Groves, Kelly Toutcheque (Sid) of Lake Jackson, TX; brother, Larry Faulk of Port Arthur; sister, Shirley Anzaldua of Yoakum, TX; 19 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.

This disc was pressed on both 45 and 78rpm formats.  (MC)

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Al Turner

Al Turner

Terry Gordon