Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)

Russ Meyer the man the legend.

Wavy Gravy vols 1 & 2

One of the most influential and legendary compilation albums among all those multiple fifties and sixties garage trash, surf, blues, country, doo wop, rock'n'roll, lounge etc. etc. comps is the Wavy Gravy two vinyl album set. These comps are still one of the kind. Really great inspiration for us and many, many others. Buy the vinyls or cd's if you can and support those blessed loonies who brought us the forgotten mastery of ancient arts. Yeah, I know that we do live the most wonderful times o' pilgrims 'cause everything is available nowadays, but remember before you click that button that some dudes spent whole lotta time and money to compile all this stuff for us to listen. Hee hee hee, now I am finally ranting.

Lo and behold! You can download Wavy Gravy volumes here (and plenty other cool bootleg comps): at SURFADELIC
Go there and click the word DIG! To get the yummies. If you dig what I dig...


Wavy Gravy volume one

Wavy Gravy volume two - Four Hairy Policemen

They who dared to cover Jimi Hendrix

I remember, some twenty years ago when this local guitar player dude, a highly skilled musician (at least in his own mind) went totally ape shit when he heard this Johnny Jones and the King Casuals version of Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze on Wavy Gravy volume two. "This is blasphemy" he screamed, "Who dares to ruin this god-like classic song of Jimi". Hee hee hee. What a bozo. And besides he was dead wrong. This is a damn fine version of the song. Cool northern soul sounds. Sure fire hit to fill the dancefloor for sure.



Pity he didn't hear this next one...I bet he would've had a heart attack. The Vampires - what a great band name - and equally great inept version of FIRE!!

 

Jormas - The Locomotion (1965)

Jormas was a Finnish beat rock/pop band who recorded their material both in English and in Finnish. They had previously appeared as the Beatmakers, but were renamed by their manager Jorma Weneskoski. Their greatest hits in Finland were "Saat miehen kyyneliin" (originally "To Make a Big Man Cry"), "Taivas vain tietää" ("God Only Knows") ja "Rööperiin" ("Penny Lane"). This version of The Locomotion was released in November 1965. 7", His Master's Voice #TJ-325. Original performed by Teddy Randazzo & The Ivy League. Written by Bill Barberis, Teddy Randazzo & Robert Weinstein. Fast, pounding 60's beat r'n'b!

Raul Wikström: vocals
Pertti "Pepe" Willberg: vocals, guitar
Seppo Keurulainen: vocals, guitar
Kaj Wallin: bass
Kurt "Kurre" Mattson: drums

Gary Glitter - Rock And Roll Part 1 (1972)

This is another vid Henri tipped me off. Gary Glitter is not the most popular person at the moment because all of his dirty biz. He says he's innocent and framed etc. Well, anyways this is a great song and I do admire his highly entertaining performance...crazy man crazy.

The Story Of Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Sister Rosetta Tharpe (March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and recording artist. A pioneer of twentieth-century music, Tharpe attained great popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings that were a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and rhythmic/early rock accompaniment. She became gospel music's first crossover artist and its first great recording star, referred to later as "the original soul sister". She was an early influence on iconic figures such as Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis.

THOIA - old horror comics

Do you like old horror comics? If you do then The Horrors Of It All is a blog for you. Endless pages of terrifying tales and blood-chilling yarns. I really like those pre-comics code stories from late 1940's and early 1950's (ok, some of that 70's stuff is pretty good too). It is really amazing that all those fabulous groundbreaking EC-comics  (like Tales from the Crypt, Haunt of Fear, Vault of Horror, Weird Science, Shock Suspenstories etc.) were and are just the tip of the iceberg...

...there were many other titles in the field of horror-comics and now all we lucky boys and ghouls are blessed enough to enjoy these brilliant treasures from ancient tombs.
The Horrors Of It All

NOTE! First horror-comic book...

"Eerie is a one-shot horror comic book cover-dated January 1947 and published by Avon Periodicals as Eerie #1. Its creative team includes (among others) Joe Kubert and Fred Kida. The book's contents comprise six full-length horror feature stories and a 2-page humorous tale. The title went dormant for a number of years but returned to newsstands as Eerie #1 in 1951. The book holds the distinction of being the first true, stand-alone horror comic book and is credited with establishing the horror comics genre."

Little Richard - Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On Shindig! (1964)

 Insane tv-show/live performance by Little Richard. Just pure Rock'n'Roll. Nuff said!

22 Pistepirkko - Kings of Hong Kong (1987)

22 Pistepirkko hail from Utajärvi, Finland. Two brothers and their friend have played together since year 1980. They released their second album Kings of Hong Kong in september 1987. It's a great record heavily influenced by 60's garage rock/pop, little bit of psychedelia, old country and rhythm 'n' blues plus there's lots of pounding Bo Diddleyish beats going on, but that ain't all...There were many so called "neo garage" bands all over the world in the 1980's but 22 Pistepirkko were not an retro act. Own material and unique sounds really make the difference and their early stuff has lasted through the years. They have released numerous albums and are still going on strong doing gigs and recording. You can listen the whole album here:

22 Pistepirkko - Kings of Hong Kong

Espe: Drums, Guitar, Vocals
P-K: Guitar, Vocals
Asko: Organ, Bass, Backingvocals

guest:
Riku Mattila: Bass, Guitar, Mats Hulden: Bass (on 5) Antti Marja-Aho: Violin

music/words by 22-Pistepirkko: Haverinen, E; Keränen, Asko; Keränen, Hannu
Produced by: Riku Mattila and 22-Pistepirkko 
 

The Cramps - All Tore Up LP (1979)

This is one of my favorite The Cramps albums of all time. Studio demos recorded in 1979. Great songs and great sound quality. Grab the black or green vinyl if you can. It was never an official release and it's hard to find nowadays. But no worries pilgrims, you can download it via excellent blog called:

 DETAILED TWANG

"I own this collection as an LP called “All Tore Up” (pictured), but it has also been unofficially released as an LP called “Ohio Demos” and a 3x7” box set called the same thing, as well as a CD called “All Tore Up” with a different cover than the one that is pictured here. Every song is a total raw-assed blast, full of hot fuzz and ultra-reverbed chords, as well as minimalist drumming recorded so up front & alive you’ll swear that Nick Knox was an understated genius (as I do). The lineup includes what are arguably their best set of tunes not called “Human Fly” or “The Way I Walk”; they are: Teenage Werewolf/Jungle Hop/Mad Daddy/Rockin' Bones/What's Behind The Mask/Sunglasses After Dark/All Tore Up (also known as “I Can’t Hardly Stand It”)/Twist And Shout (essentially what later became “Drug Train”, but with totally different lyrics)/Uranium Rock/Subwire Desire (this was on the “Psychedelic Jungle” LP as “Under The Wires”)/Mystery Plane/T.V. Set. Everything that was great about 1950s rockabilly was vacuumed up and then owned by The Cramps, and they happened to infuse what was already a wild form with a simultaneous punk rock abandon and a sense of detached cool that made for a pretty goddamn compelling package. You’ll never hear them better than on this collection; the set that came out soon thereafter as “Songs the Lord Taught Us” sounds so thin and lifeless by comparison – and I love that record."

The Beat Generation vs Blank Generation

Blood Feast (1963)

Herschell Gordon Lewis "The Godfather of Gore" was better known for his nudie flicks before he started his horrific career with gore, bones and guts. His first horror movie (with partner in crime David F. Friedman) Bloodfeast basically single handedly started the whole new Splatter -genre. Tight ass critics put Bloodfeast down and many states in USA banned it straight away. Lewis didn't mind 'cause all the small theaters took it anyway and it turned out to be a very profitable movie. Word got around and people came to see the new shocking drive in feature.

Blood Feast concerns a psychopathic food caterer who kills women so that he can include their body parts in his meals and perform sacrifices to his "Egyptian goddess" Ishtar. Starring Playboy playmate Connie Mason, whom Lewis described to be a very hard person to work with. Some people say she's one of the worst actresses ever but I don't know...I've seen worse. BTW this is the first of the so called BLOOD trilogy, the second is 2000 Maniacs and third Color Me Blood Red. Also remember to check out Gruesome Twosome and Gore Gore Girls. Yup, so take the hot pizza outta oven and cold beer from the fridge because movie is about to begin. Enjoy!

Nazi Girls Au Naturel

Many sides of Farmer John - Antti "Andy" Einiö, Hep Stars, Premiers, Don & Dewey, Tidal Waves

Pioneer of Finnish rock 'n' roll Antti "Andy" Einiö made this version and arrangement of
Don & Deweys original in 1964. The Islanders were Pertti "Pepe" Willberg: lead guitar, Stig Selin: guitar, Kaj Wallin: bass, Erkki Tanninen: drums. Andy was working for the Nor Disc
records by the time and Swedish band The Hep Stars heard his single and made their own version of the song which became a hit in Scandinavia.

 

Don & Dewey's original recording 1959. Read their bio here

   

The Premiers 1964

The Premiers were part of 1960's booming East Los Angeles sound. The band was formed in 1962 in San Gabriel, California, by brothers Lawrence Perez (guitar) and John Perez (drums), and neighbours George Delgado (guitar) and Frank Zuniga (bass). Although claimed to have been recorded "live at the Rhythm Room in Fullerton, California", it was actually recorded in a small studio in Hollywood, with overdubbed party noises provided by girls of the Chevelles car club invited to the studio. The vocals were performed by John Perez and George Delgado singing in unison.
the single rose to #19 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in summer 1964. 

 


The Tidal Waves 1966

"R Wearing wrote: Tom Wearing-drums/vocals, Jonny Wearing-vocals,Vic Witkowski-guitar, Marc Karpinski-guitar, Rob Slap-bass guitar from Roseville, Michigan. Recorded at United Sound Tom,Vic and Marc were 12th graders at Roseville High School. Jon and Rob were 9th graders at Burton Jr High in Roseville. Farmer John was relased in May -66. Farmer John sold over 50,000 copies in June 66. Not bad for 5 kids from Roseville."

Alan Vega - Juke Box Baby (1981)

This is a great live performance by Alan Vega. The atmosphere is quite surreal and very intense. Minimalistic rock'n'roll hypnotic voodoo trance par excellence. Thanks to Henri for tipping me off for this one.




 via Le Bandit

Eddie Noack

"Eddie Noack, a singer & a songwriter, originally from Houston, Texas, who recorded for the Starday record label. He wanted to be a journalist. But we have enough journalists, but not enough people who could sing & write like Eddie Noack. Eddie recorded the song called "Psycho," written by Leon Payne, a song about a serial killer &, quite understandably, it never got a lot of airplay, but has become quite a bit of a cult favorite, as is Eddie Noack himself..." - Bob Dylan on Eddie Noack, Theme Time Radio Hour, "Luck." Originally broadcast January 24, 2007

via Wired For Sound

Not very long ago it was hard to find a decent Eddie Noack compilation album but nowadays there are at least two fine albums full of Eddie Noack's great country music.

DJ Spy's Beer, Loose Women & Hard Liquor

Essential podcast for all you good hard-partying folks out there. Check out Dj Spy's other posts too. Cool...like a tall cool one...slurp!

DJ SPY´S BEER, LOOSE WOMEN & HARD LIQUOR

Blues America

t.tex's hexes: Blues America



Woke up this Morning.
Series Producer & Director: Mick Gold

Blues is usually described as the sound of racial suffering 
and feeling sad, but this documentary argues that the 
blues began as a form of black pop music. First appearing 
in the Southern states of the USA around 1900, blues 
created by the poorest people in the richest nation on
earth took America by storm. The film look at the early 
years of the blues to discover how Bessie Smith, Blind 
Lemon Jefferson and Charlie Patton used the latest media 
to bring their music to the public. 
With contributions from Keith Richards, Taj Mahal and Chuck D.

 Bright Lights, Big City.
Series Producer: Mick Gold
Producer/Director: Sam Bridger

After 1945, artists like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and 
John Lee Hooker rooted the blues firmly in the city, where 
it contributed to the musical desegregation of America by 
spawning rock'n' roll. As the blues conquered the world 
and the music moved from black to white audiences, 
arguments developed about what was the real authentic blues.
Robert Johnson returned from the dead to sell more
records than any other blues artist. By the 21st century,
the blues not only retained the earthiness of its roots 
but was also being celebrated in the White House. 
With contributions from Keith Richards, Bonnie Raitt, 
Seasick Steve and Buddy Guy.

Drunken cowboys

Teaserama (Irving Klaw) 1955

Burlesque cult classic with good picture quality. Irwing Klaw was the dude who took hundreds of famous Betty Page photos.

 Tempest Storm aka "The Queen of Burlesque".

"This is a compilation of several 1950s burlesque acts, so there's no

real plot to summarize. There are some strippers, some stand-up comics

of the take-my-wife-please variety and cult favorite Betty Page who

introduces the acts and frames the film by strutting her stuff."

Hitler at the beach

Daily Hitler: Hitler at the beach

Chaz and The Classics - Girl Of The 13th Hour (1967)

Chaz and The Classics recorded this rare garage psych tune in Houston,
Texas 1967. It's a haunting acid punk masterpiece with great theremin
breaks...at least it sounds like theremin. You can read their story here.

Brain Damage (1988)

I was happy to find out that Frank Henenlotter's 80's cult classic Brain Damage is uploaded in Youtube. Oh the nostalgia...golden eighties...when everything was so much better...nah, just kidding. But they did some great sleazy horror movies back then. Along Basket Case and Frankenhooker this is Henenlotter's most famous flicks. Some people think this kind of movies are useless trash...I strongly disagree. One of the most interesting characters in this film is of course the thousand year old, worm like parasite called Elmer. Enjoy!

Wanda Jackson - I Betcha My Heart I Love You

Besides being an undisputed queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson is an uncrowned queen of yodeling too...as far as I'm concerned. I don't know if Bob Willlis & Laura Lee version was the first recording of this song etc. etc. but I do know that this Wanda's take is damn hard to beat.

Wanda Jackson - Fujiyama Mama

One of the greatest Rock 'n' Roll singers/voices ever is Wanda Jackson (b. 1937). She recorded Fujiyama Mama back in 1957. It hit number one in Japan. Read the cool story about rockabilly and atom bombs colliding here at Atomic Platters.

Uploaded by  MrJohnnyNumbers

 Lyrics via BlackCat Rockin' Lyrix


FUJIYAMA MAMA
(Earl Burrows)
WANDA JACKSON (Capitol 3843, 1957)
I've a-been to Nagasaki, Hiroshima too
The same I did to them, baby, I can do to you
'Cause I'm a Fujiyama mama and I'm just about to blow my top
Fujiyama-yama, Fujiyama
And when I start erupting, ain't nobody gonna make me stop
I drink a quart of sake, smoke dynamite
I chase it with tobaccey and then shoot out the light
'Cause I'm a Fujiyama mama and I'm just about to blow my top
Fujiyama-yama, Fujiyama
And when I start erupting, ain't nobody gonna make me stop
Well, you can talk about me, say that I'm mean
I'll blow your head off, baby, with nitroglycerine
'Cause I'm a Fujiyama mama and I'm just about to blow my top
Fujiyama-yama, Fujiyama
And when I start erupting, ain't nobody gonna make me stop
Well, you can say I'm crazy, stone deaf and dumb
But I can cause destruction just like the atom bomb
'Cause I'm a Fujiyama mama and I'm just about to blow my top
Fujiyama-yama, Fujiyama
And when I start erupting, ain't nobody gonna make me stop
I drink a quart of sake, smoke dynamite
I chase it with tobaccey and then shoot out the light
'Cause I'm a Fujiyama mama and I'm just about to blow my top
Fujiyama-yama, Fujiyama
And when I start erupting, ain't nobody gonna make me stop

Cool Drink of Water Blues

Tommy Johnson - born Terry, Mississippi 1896, Died Nov 1st 1956 Crystal Springs, Mississippi. If you want to know about his life and the "deal with the devil" check out
Trail of the Hellhound. Tommy Johnson recorded Cool Drink of Water Blues February 3rd, 1928 in Memphis, Tennessee. Vocal acc by own guitar; Charlie McCoy, second guitar. Unlike the "heavy" voice of Patton or the rasping tones of Willie Brown, Tommy Johnson's voice was pitched much higher which enabled him to introduce calling falsettos of quite remarkable accuracy.



Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910 – January 10, 1976), known as Howlin' Wolf, recorded I Asked For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline) on July 19, 1956. Chicago.

Personnel: Howlin' Wolf, v, hca; Hosea Lee Kennard, p; Hubert Sumlin or Willie Johnson, Otis "Smokey" Smothers, g; Willie Dixon, b; Earl Phillips, d.

Howlin' Wolf at 101 (via TheHoundBlog)
 



The Gun Club was one the first bands to combine blues and punk rock. You can find this version on their great voodoo fueled debut album Fire Of Love (1981). Talking about combination; although singer Jeffrey Lee Pierce sings in Tommy Johnson vein the instrumental parts seems to be more inspired by Howlin' Wolf's version.

The Gun Club 1981. By that time Kid Congo Powers was playing with The Cramps