LARRY BRIGHT - Shake That Thing! [USA rhythm & blues, rock and roll, 1960-64] 1997 Del-Fi Records DFCD 71253

 

Larry Bright was born Julian Ferebee Bright in Norfolk, VA, on August 17, 1934. His stepfather, a Navy man, nicknamed him "little Larry." The Bright family moved frequently around the South, finally settling in Corpus Christi, TX, where Bright learned to play the guitar. He was exposed to a musical diet comprised mainly of southern Texas blues, which later influenced everything he ever played or wrote. Bright moved to Southern California for his own somewhat brief stint in the Navy (he was released on a Section 8) and quickly established a reputation as both a dynamic guitarist and a performer with a penchant for odd behavior. He began jamming in the local clubs, including the Sea Witch, where, in 1959, he was scouted by producer Joe Saraceno (the Ventures, the Marketts), who invited Bright to lay down some tracks at Western Recorders. Once in the studio, Bright, inspired by Muddy Waters' "mojo song" (he didn't know the title) decided to make up a mojo song of his own: "Mojo Workout." After local black-owned Tide Records picked it up, the track received heavy airplay on KGFJ, the major R&B station in L.A. Jim Randolph, a black disc jockey at the station, thought Bright was a black artist and pushed him heavily. The song went on to hit number one on the black music charts in June 1960, and also charted, barely, on the Hot 100 at number 90.

After the Tide label refused to advance him any royalties (he intended to purchase a new suit for an upcoming American Bandstand appearance), Bright signed another recording contract, this one with Rendezvous Records. Tide found out and sued Rendezvous, retrieving the master tapes for a number of singles (Rendezvous, meanwhile, released Bright's "Twinkie Lee" single under the name Pete Roberts). Bright continued to record for Tide and released several more singles, including "Bloodhound," "One Ugly Child" (later covered by the Downliners Sect), and a great version of Andre Williams' "Bacon Fat." Tide later leased his contract to Del-Fi Records, which was already handling their national distribution. Del-Fi impresario Bob Keane attempted to have Bright cash in on the surf music craze of 1963, recording various surf and hot rod instrumentals, Johnny Rivers-style teen rock, and a Goffin-King penned dance number ("When I Did the Mashed Potatoes With You"). Bright continued to remain a fixture on the Sunset Strip scene and toured as the only white blues performer on an otherwise all-black tour headlined by Chuck Berry. He later worked with Lou Rawls and Roy Clark, and developed a bizarre friendship with Elvis Presley, who wanted to hire Bright as his guitarist, but eventually declined because of Bright's drinking problem. Bright remains an unknown due to his poor business dealings, legal problems, and alcohol-fueled madness. In 1997, Del-Fi collected most of his singles for a collection called Shake That Thing!

Larry

JOHNNY RIVERS - Summer Rain - The Essential Rivers 1964-1975 [USA rock and roll, por rock 1964-75] 2006 Raven RVCD-245

 

True, this 25-track, single-disc compilation isn't as extensive as the two-CD set usually hailed as the best Johnny Rivers collection, Rhino's Anthology, 1964-1977. It's also true that it's missing a few of the Rivers singles that tickled the bottom half of the Top 100, like "Cupid" and "These Are Not My People." If you're looking for the ultimate single-disc Rivers comp, however, this 77-minute CD is probably as close as anyone's going to come. Summer Rains: The Essential Rivers has every one of his Top 50 hits from between 1964-1975, of which there were many, adding up to 18 in all. The other seven cuts include some of his most interesting LP tracks, among them three early Jimmy Webb covers (from 1967's Rewind album); an orchestrated version of Gram Parsons' "Brass Buttons"; the late-'60s recording "Going Back to Big Sur," one of Rivers' relatively infrequent original compositions; and his 1968 cover of "Positively 4th Street," famously cited by Bob Dylan (in his Chronicles Vol. 1 book) as his all-time favorite interpretation of one of his songs. And, frankly, cutting away some of the flab from the later part of this period makes this a tighter, more consistent listen than the more comprehensive Rhino set. For most people, this will be all the Rivers you want and need, complemented by detailed liner notes.

Rivers new link

MERRELL FANKHAUSER - California Live [USA rock and roll, surf 1988-92] 1993 Legend Music LM 9007

 

Merrell Wayne Fankhauser (born December 23, 1943, Louisville, Kentucky, United States) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s with bands including the Impacts, Merrell & the Exiles, HMS Bounty, Fankhauser-Cassidy Band, and MU. In addition, 12 songs recorded by Merrell & the Exiles were later released under the group name Fapardokly, even though that group never actually existed.

The recordings were done from 1988 to 1992.

Merrell

THE BOBBY FULLER FOUR - Magic Touch - The Complete Mustang Singles Collection [USA rock and roll 1964-66] 2018 Now Sounds WCRNOW57

Magic Touch: The Complete Mustang Singles Collection is the first time all of the Bobby Fuller Four's mid-'60s Mustang singles have been released in their rare mono form. It also rounds up a session Bobby Fuller produced for fellow Mustang artist Jay Horton and three songs released by Randy Fuller after Bobby's untimely demise in 1966. It's a fine way to hear the progression of Fuller's sound from an oldies/surf act on early records like "Those Memories of You" and Thunder Reef" to something more fully realized. By the time Fuller and his band (and producer/label owner Bob Keane) hit on the perfect sound of "Let Her Dance," the combination of Fuller's crystal-clear vocals, his love of simple pop songs, the echoing production, and the energy of the musicians was unstoppable. The run of singles begun with "Let Her Dance," followed by "Never to Be Forgotten," the timeless "I Fought the Law," and the super-charged Buddy Holly cover "Love's Made a Fool of You" -- a feat rarely equaled by any artist of any time. The B-sides aren't that bad either, especially the brilliant "Another Sad and Lonely Night" and "Don't Ever Let Me Know," a thoughtful ballad that saw Fuller beginning to experiment a touch with the formula. Though Bobby hated his final single, 1966's "The Magic Touch"/"My True Love," because he didn't have full control over the sound, it's hard to agree with his displeasure. The little bit of Motown groove creeping into the mix gives the sound a nice boost and the songs are keepers. Overall, the mono mixes are crisp and powerful, and just different enough from the better-known stereo and album mixes to give collectors a reason to snap this set up pronto. The fun Jay Horton single is another selling point, so are the Randy Fuller tracks, especially "It's Love, Come What May," which is basically a Bobby Fuller Four track with Bobby's lead vocal doubled by Randy. Magic Touch may not be the ideal place for a Fuller neophyte to discover the magic of his sound and songs, but it's not bad by any stretch and, really, anything that helps keep the flame burning is a worthwhile endeavor.

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