STARDAY RECORDS 570

Courtesy of Arnold Parker.

STARDAY RECORDS 570

Cuerco, TX

ARNOLD PARKER and the Southernairs

Jun 56 (BB review on 4th Aug 56 & 17 Nov 56)

45-570-A - People Laugh At A Fool

(A Parker - W Adams) (Starrite BMI)

45-570-B - Find A New Woman

(W Adams - J Hill) (Starrite BMI)

Arnold was born on January 25th 1936 in Cuerco, TX and has been singing since standing up in his local church and belting out a song as a small child. Once Arnold graduated from high school, he became the featured vocalist for a popular dance band called The Southernaires, playing mainly around the south Texas area.

With regards to the record above, I'm gonna let Arnold do the talking - well - writing - which he sent to me by email a few days ago:

"The musicians on the record were the exact 8 piece band that we had in the 1950s. The intro and the second guitar lead is Ken Williams. The first guitar lead is Jack Hill who actually wrote "Find a New Woman". We recorded this at ACA Studios in Houston, Texas in 1956. Walter Adams was my so called manager at the time and he set up the recording and handled everything. I don't remember the exact amount but I know we got quite a few copies to begin with and then went back and got more later. Radio stations in Texas and some in Louisiana played the song and we did perform it live quite a bit on our dance jobs. I also made some trips around to a number of radio stations plugging the record. There were a couple of local stations that conducted a weekly hit parade and the record showed up in the top 10 on those."

I've never heard the A side. But the flip is one of the best, killer Rock-A-Billy records ever pressed on Starday - some achievement when you think they also issued Sonny Fisher, Truitt Forse, Bob Doss and many, many others. When I first heard this disc I was absolutely speechless! (I forgot to play the flip as I was still in shock). Parts of the solo has an almost western-swing - twin guitar feel to it but it's the biting intro and end part of the solo that gets my heart a-pounding. Arnold's got one of those voices which can make a plain country record great and effortlessly slip into RaB without almost no effort at all! (His Sarg recordings are also darn good, although not as great as this disc - but that's just my musical bias coming to the fore.) Plus, his email clears up whether it was Hal Harris on guitar. It sure sounded like him, but obviously it isn't. Billboard described this disc as follows: (17 Nov 56) "A side - Wistful warbling on an appealing weeper" B side - " Parker sells a bouncy rock and roller with verve and good beat" Understatement of the year! In Dec of that year, it also mentions that he had joined the deejay staff at KULP, El Campo, TX. Again, in BB, on the 4th August, it mentions the members of the Southernaires. (see BB advert).

About the same time as the recording, Arnold and the band made their first appearance on the Louisiana Hayride. (He also met Elvis Presley here and discussed Arnolds home-made shirt his mother had made for him.) In Feb 57, he met the love of his life - Jeanette Catherine Wendt in El Campo, TX and 3 months later he left the band and got married. The early 60's finds him in Victoria, TX and he was fronting a band called The Mustangs and recording for Charlie Fitch's Sarg Records. (He had recorded with the Sarg label before this disc too.) He continued playing until 1973 when he decided to spend more time with his family. But, as the music bug seems to linger in all true musicians, even today he steps up on stage and belts out a country tune and the odd RaB number for the crowd. Perhaps I need to get myself to Texas :-) Arnold also recorded for Wildcat Records.

It was a thrill to hear from Arnold. It's not often you can tell someone how great their record is 50 years on. Arnold has his own web site which the link can be found below. He was also inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 1999.

www.arnoldparker.com or www.rockabillyhall.com/ArnoldParker

Lord, I feel privileged. (MC / A Parker / Neil Scott / Nate Gibson)

Label Shots courtesy of Terry Gordon.

STARDAY RECORDS 569

STARDAY RECORDS 569

(Artist located in Rock Hill, SC at time of release.)

COUSIN ARNOLD and his Country Cousins

Jun 56 (BMI clearance on 20th Jul 56)

45-569-A - Be My Baby, Baby Doll

(A E Baynard) (Starrite BMI)

45-569-B - What is Life To You

(A E Baynard - Glenn Martin) (Starrite BMI)

Billboard reveals that Cousin Arnold is one Arnold E Baynard who was the commercial manager of WTYC, Rock Hills, SC (Summer 56). BB mentions that Arnold and his band are " ... new to the South Carolina area and are doing a weekly half-hour sponsored show over WTYC. They were also doing a weekly bard dance at a lodge in Rock Hill. (I have no idea where they were before this, dated 13 Aug 55. I should also mention that the snippet of info was fed to Billboard by Baynard, who seems to have neglected to mention at the time that he was in fact the artist in question.) By Nov 55 he was also doing "Day Break In Dixie" which was a 6:00 - 6:30 am segment in addition to his 1:00 - 2:00 over the same radio station. It also mentions he has penned two songs "Be My Love" & "If I Were A Millionaire" which he 's trying to get recorded. Did he ever record these? Anyhow, by the summer of 56, he'd recorded the two tracks above and had them shipped to Starday for a pressing run of 300 copies.

The A side is a jolly old hillbilly song with a banjo as the main instrumental. It's a bit of a "sermon" rather than an actual song, but pleasant enough I guess. Flip side is a torrid Country / Rock-A-Billy cross over which flies along at a fast pace. Good guitar and steel throughout with that rather annoying banjo threatening to take over at the slightest provocation. (Sorry, I'm not a huge banjo fan.) Marvelous stuff indeed! (MC)
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Label Shots courtesy of Terry Gordon.

MOONLIGHT RECORDS 568

MOONLIGHT RECORDS

Box 745, Waycross, GA

CARL TANNER and IVENA BUCKINS and the Southern Pine Boys

Jun 56 (BMI clearance on 20th July 56)

45-568-A - Together You And Me

(Tanner) (Starrite BMI)

45-568-B - We're In Love

(Tanner / Buckins) (Starrite BMI)

A second offering from Carl, this time supported by one Ivena Buckins. A side is a slow hillbilly disc with sawing fiddles and Carl & Ivena take turns in singing portions of the song. Ivena's voice is a little flat here and there - (in fact, Carl struggles a little too - almost like the key is slightly too low for him to sing in.). The flip side is taken at a breath-taking tempo, with both singers sound much more comfortable with the song. The band cook up a storm throughout this side. (MC)

Label Shots courtesy of PJ Tricker
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STARDAY RECORDS 567

STARDAY RECORDS 567

(Artist from Tampa FL at time of release.)

FRANK EVANS and his Top Notchers

Jun 56 (BMI clearance on 20th Jul 56)

45-567-A - Go On And Be Carefree

(Gene Rutland) (Starrite BMI)

45-567-B - What Is It (That I'm Too Young To Know)

(Gene Rutland) (Starrite BMI)

By the time Frank came around to recording another disc for Starday (albeit on the custom series), he had organised his own backing band - the Top Notchers. The band were Arnold Newman (ld gtr), Roland Newman (fdl), Pip Studenberg (bs) and Colin Thomas (Stl gtr - who doesn't appear on this disc). The drummers name is long forgotten. This was recorded at WHBO in Tampa FL.

The A side is a pleasant enough hillbilly disc, but it's the flip side that catches your attention. Taken at a fast clip, this has an almost "bluegrass" feel to it. Pretty cool stuff for a bunch of youngsters!

More from Frank later on in the series. (MC/Al Turner / PJ Tricker / Andrew Brown (Interview for Hillbilly Researcher No. 24)

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Label Shots courtesy of Neil Scott.

MOVIE CRAFT RECORDS 566

MOVIE CRAFT 566

930 West 7th Place, Los Angeles 17, CA

ROD BURTON - Moviecraft Orchestra
ROD BURTON and GWEN REYNOLDS - Moviecraft Orchestra

Jun 56

566-A - I'd Like To Be A Baby Sitter

(Morris-Gerard) (Golden State Songs BMI)

566-B - "I'm Dolling You Up For" Somebody Else

(Morris-Gerard) (Golden State Songs BMI)

The only info we had on this disc was a black acetate. No labels, no info, just the info in the dead wax. Now, after close to 20 years, here at last is the disc! I'm not going to pretend I know too much about the song-poem legacy of some artists, but Rod Burton's name crops up occasionally on obscure labels from God-Knows-Where. If there's anybody out there that can fill in some details on him, I'd be more than willing to add it. 


As for the music, I'm just waiting for the MP3s to arrive to compare them to the acetate (Just in case they're a little different) and I'll be able to tell you more. Well, probably not MUCH more, but just enough.


A huge thanks to Toms Sims who found a copy of the disc.
Feel free to Email me! with any other info on the label or artist.

Tom Sims

Tom Sims

STARDAY RECORDS 565

LUKE GORDON and his Lonesome Drifters

May 56 (BMI clearance on 15th Jun 56)(Recorded Apr 56)

ST-565-A Big New Dance

(L Gordon) (Starrite BMI)

ST-565-B Just Doin' What's Right

(L Gordon) (Starrite BMI)

STARDAY RECORDS 565

Another fine offering by the excellent Luke Gordon. The A side (to me) fully embraces the new music style that was frequently pushing aside country music at the time, whilst staying true to his musical roots. The band once again are excellent. Once again, Luke ventured to Ben Adelman's cool little studio on Cedar Street in Washington DC to record these tracks. (MC)

Source: Doug Brown

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STARDAY RECORDS 564

STARDAY RECORDS 564

 (Possibly a Tennessee Artist)

TEX DIXON

May 56 (BMI clearance on 15th Jun 56)

45-564-A - Your Lovin' Lies

(Jimmie Atkins / Walter Dickey) (Starrite BMI)

45-564-B - I'm Just Feeling Sorry For Myself

(Jimmie Atkins / Walter Dickey) (Starrite BMI)

Although I pretty much know almost nothing about this artist, he was pretty prolific during the 50's and early 60's. His real name was Walter Dee Dickey and he recorded under the name Mason Dixon for Reed Records, Walter Dixon on Erwin Records and Tex Dixon on this release and also on Zone and Stompertime Records from Memphis, TN. He was a regular on the Dixie Hayride (Florence, AL). Walter was blessed with a voice that could do stone-cold country and Rock-A-Billy in a blink of an eye. Both tunes here were co-wrote by Jimmie Atkins, an artist she shared billing with on a 45rpm on Alfa Records. Both sides represented here are similar, heartbreaking hillbilly songs with steel guitar being the main instrument.

According to Martin Hawkins, (who wrote the excellent sleeve notes for the ACE CD "The Complete Meteor Recordings" (ACE CDCH2 885)),the Mason Dixon who recorded for Meteor Records ("Don't Worry 'Bout Nuthin'" / "I'll Never fall Out Of Love With You") was Merle "Red" Taylor and not the above artist. They sound pretty similar to me and if I hadn't read the CD booklet I'd have presumed they were the same guy. As an added thread of confusion, Red also appeared on the Dixie Hayride, although under his real name. (MC/ Al Turner / Terry Gordon / CD sleeve notes by Martin Hawkins.)

Label Shots courtesy of Al Turner. Artist Photo courtesy of Terry Gordon.
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STARDAY RECORDS 563

STARDAY RECORDS 563

HOYT SCOGGINS and the Saturday Nite Jamboree Boys

May 56 (BMI clearance on 15th Jun 56)

45-563-A Why Did We Fall In Love

(Scoggins) (Starrite BMI)

45-563-B Tennessee Rock

(Scoggins) (Starrite BMI)

Having not heard the A side, I make up for it with having the B side all lined up for me to swoon over. Not the usual gospel stuff, just a clear stab at breaking into this new fangled "Cat Music." He sounds a little unsure of himself while he's wailing away at this type of music but it's a winner of a song. Band provide good support (as Billboard would say). (MC)

Label Shot courtesy of Terry Gordon.
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GIBSON RECORDS 562

GIBSON RECORDS 562

(No Location)

KING STERLING

May 56 (Billboard review on 9th Jun 56. BMI Clearance on 15th Jun 56)

45-HD-562-A - Slippin' Out - Stealing In

(R L Blythe / J M Alstatt) (Starrite BMI)

45-HD-562-B - Alone, Lonesome And Blue

(R L Blythe / J M Alstatt) (Starrite BMI)

Apparently, this artist became Sterling Blythe who recorded for Sage & Sand (can anybody confirm this?) A quick trawl through Billboard magazines found a few titbits on this artist. He was signed up to the KWKH Artist Services Bureau, run by Horace Logan, (booking mgr of the Louisiana Hayride), and around Feb 57 he was listed as one of the Hayride's personnel. By March 57 he was also appearing over KRBB (El Dorado, AR) on the King's Corrall Show. By then, he'd managed to get on the Starday main series with "What Will The Answer Be" / "Not Much" (#298) which was reviewed by Billboard on the 3rd of June that year. (They described the A side as a ..."highly effective weeper."

That description pretty much described the A side of this disc as well. Sterling's got a nice voice for these kind of songs, a little like Werly Fairburn in places. Flipside is a mid-tempo hillbilly number with nice steel and lead guitar with fiddle filling up the spaces behind the vocals. (I especially like the slight miss-fingering by the guitarist on the solo - makes my many mistakes with the Bandidos seem slightly less significant. Doesn't stop the guys yelling abuse at me when I make them though :-) (MC / Neil Scott)

Label Shots courtesy of PJ Tricker.
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STARDAY RECORDS 561

STARDAY RECORDS 561

JIMMY JOHNSON

May 56 (BMI clearance on 18th May 56)

45-561-A - Woman Love

(Jack Rhodes) (Central Songs BMI)

45-561-B - All Dressed Up

(J Rhodes / D Carter / D Nalls) (Starrite BMI)

Born in 1930 in Smith County, Jimmy Johnson played guitar, fiddle and sang in Jack Rhodes Ramblers (sometimes known as the Lone Star Buddies). Whilst appearing on RD Hendon's Western Jamboree Club in Houston, he was approached and offered a recording contract by Solomon Kahal, who owned the local Freedom label. ("Salt Your Pillow Down" being recognised as a classic example of East Texas honky-tonk/hillbilly.) After a couple of sessions, Jack Rhodes got him signed up for Columbia records where he recorded some great tunes ("Eternity" & "Mama Loves Papa" being the best of the bunch.) Then the Korean war came along and Jimmy was drafted. He came back a changed man, haunted by what he experienced on that war torn peninsula. He married Billie Jo Spear's sister (Betty Lou), had three children and worked for a local oil drilling company, with all the hopes of cashing in on his Columbia recording contract fading rapidly.

Like Jerry Hanson, Jimmy was frequently found recording at Jack Rhodes's motel in Mineola, TX. For the session (recorded probably in March 56), Jimmy sang and played lead guitar, his wife on rhythm and Leon Hayes played an upright bass. Jack Rhodes mailed copy tapes to Cliffie Stone who had acetates made up for Ken Nelson, A&R supremo for Capitol Records. Whilst impatiently waiting for Ken to put the record out by somebody - hell, ANYBODY, Jack got 300 copies pressed up by Starday, who put it out on their custom series instead of on their main series (where, in my opinion, it belonged). "Woman Love" was eventually recorded by Gene Vincent, although it was "Be-Bop-A-Lula" that became the hit, which brought in some nice royalty checks for Rhodes.

Johnson recorded many demos for Jack Rhodes but quickly faded from musical history. (Some of these demos appear on the ACE CD "Gene Vincent Cut Our Songs" (ACD CDCHD 1018). He passed away on Jan 8th 1980.

"Woman Love" is a brooding shuffler with Jimmy's deep and urgent vocals grabbing most of the attention. "All Dressed Up" is the faster side (but not by much) with Leon & Betty Lou joining in on the choruses. Quite why Jimmy didn't go on to cut more records with that great voice of his is beyond me really. Still, I suppose cutting one of the most famous "Starday Customs" is something worth being remembered for. For a fuller (and better written I might add) history of this artist, go to www.pinegrovepress.com and look out for "Taking Off - Musical Journeys In The Southwest And Beyond" by Andrew Brown - an essential read for anybody remotely interested in the music from this musically fertile part of the US. (MC / PJ Tricker / Al Turner / Rob Finnis / Andrew Brown)

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Label Shots courtesy of Neil Scott.