September 5th, 2010
Soul survivor Willie West makes a triumphant return to New Orleans for this year’s Ponderosa Stomp. Here’s a gem from one of his Rustone sides.
Willie West, Willie Knows How
Categories: Audio, Garage, New Orleans, Ponderosa Stomp 2010, R&B, Song of the Day, Uncategorized | Tags: Dotty Lee, Rustone, Willie West | No Comments
August 17th, 2010
Congo Mombo concert series continues:at the Rock n Bowl: Chick WIllis “The Stoop Down Man,” Herman Hitson “Ain’t No Other Way” & Those Lonely Knights at the Rock N Bowl 8/21/2010, $10.
Chick Willis: The Stoop Down Man
“Stoop down baby,
Let your daddy see. (X2)
You got something down there baby worrying the hell out of me.
Two old maids, laying in the bed,
One turned over to the other and said.
Wake up old maid,
Don’t sleep so damn sound,
You know what you promised when you first laid down.”
I had the very good fortune to see to see Chick Willis and his “Stoop Down Revue” at the height of “Stoop Down Fever,” during the summer of 1973. An early issue of ‘Living Blues’ sparked my interest as it contained a feature on Willis, a colorful performer (who wore a turban!!!). Chick was related to the great Chuck Willis and had a record that was then tearing up the South—the said “Stoop Down Baby”—which no radio station could play. Jukebox’s were responsible for breaking that record.
On a record hunting trip to Detroit, I tracked down of a copy of the actual “Stoop Down” album which was issued on LaVal, a label out of Kalamazoo, Michigan. When I got home I dropped the needle on side one which contained a 21 minute plus version of “Stoop Down.” It took about 20 seconds to realize that if any radio station aired the record, their broadcast license would be revoked before the it finished playing. (I’ve since been reminded it was played on New Orleans radio, “Until we were sick of hearing it.”) Side two contained two songs by our own Guitar Slim—”The Story of My Life” and of course the timeless “The Things I Used To Do.” While I didn’t realize it at the time, to this day, Willis probably interpreted Slim’s material better than anyone else living-or-dead.
I had a month to kill before I enrolled in my first year of college and I talked my dad into lending me the family’s second car–a brand new Ford Maverick—to make my first trip to New Orleans. Being a possessed blues record collector, the plan was to head South (from Canada) and hit all the juke box dealers (jukebox dealers were a prime source for blues records then as they sold off their old 45s for as little as a dime), junk stores and thrift stores, after I crossed the Mason Dixon Line. Disdaining Inter State Highways, my travels took me to Greenville, Mississippi. Now a gambling destination, back then Greenville’s major industry was poverty and ginning cotton. First stop in decent sized town meant finding the yellow pages and finding out where the jukebox dealers were located. On this day, instead I stopped to inspect one of a plethora of neon colored posters that were seemingly stapled to every utility pole inside Greenville’s city limits. The posters announced “CHICK WILLIS & his Stoop Down Revue and Show—added attraction—stoop down contest with prizes. This is not a BYOB event. Admission $5.00.” As luck would have it, the show was that evening at the Greenville VFW Hall. My evening was planned.
Despite being a week night, the parking lot was jammed and I dare say, I had the only car in it with Ontario plates. The Greenville VFW’s major source of lighting seemed to be dim Christmas lights initially. Drink options were limited. Set ups—pint of whiskey, two cokes, ice and paper cups—and tepid quarts of Falstaff and Budweiser beer that sold for $2.00 each. I chose the latter and sat inauspiciously in a corner. When the stage lights came on, a local band, the Zodiacs no less, ran through a short set of current soul favorites. Then a small band took the stage and played a couple of instrumentals while they struggled with the sound system. Then a well dressed man—the promoter or a local deejay—got behind the microphone and asked the audience “Are you ready for the star of the show? Are you ready for the man of the hour?” The audiences response was was resounding “Yes!” The guy in the suit then proclaimed “Here he is, the stoop down man—Chick Willis!!!
On stage came a slight man toting a Gibson guitar and wearing a big smile. Well, if you didn’t know any better, you’d have thought a bomb went off. Every woman it the building went ass over tea kettle. A master showman, Willis worked that crowd like a world champion yo-yo player works a yo-yo. He played the guitar behind his head, between his legs, he dropped to his knees, he played the guitar with his tongue. The latter which inspired women to charge the stage and kept Willis’ valet busy peeling them off the edge of the stage. Musically, Willis was dead on even in the midst of a circus. I recalled he played one of his cousins songs, maybe “What Am I Living For,” “Dirty Muther Fuyer” (called “The Dozens” in these parts) and Guitar Slim’s “The Things I Used To Do,” which brought the house down. (In later, years I learned Slim was born and raised in nearby Hollandale.)
With the preliminaries dispensed, Willis lit into a 20 minute version of “Stoop Down Baby” that had everyone on their feet shaking their groove thing instantly. Well, except for me. Willis had a string of verses that seemingly had no end. Barn yard animals, little kids, the president—Willis managed to have everybody in the world stooping down except the Red Chinese and the USSR national hockey team. Soaked in sweat, he eventually retreated back stage. Then it was time for the much anticipated stoop down contest.
As one might assume, only “ladies” participated in the stoop down contest. At first, it reminded me of the limbo contests they had on American and Canadian Bandstand–Yes Virginia, there was a Canadian Bandstand, they filmed it in my home town—but, with no limbo stick. With the MC judging and “Stoop Down Baby” blasting over the sound system, scores of women in all shapes and sizes lined up for first prize. The object of the contest seemed to be, not just how low you could go, but how much drawers you could show. Naturally, the men in the audience howled in delight throughout. It was during the contest that an older black gentleman put his hand on my shoulder—quite obviously noting the look of disbelief on my face. He smiled and said, “Son, I bet you never saw anything like this before.” Obviously, he had a point. A rather well endowed woman took home first prize that night. I don’t remember what the award was, but I’m sure it wasn’t a gift certificate to Victoria Secret.
Willis then returned to the stage and pretty much reprised the first set, again concluding with you know what. He did however underline his genius by coming up with even more verses to “Stoop Down.” In later years, Willis would make several attempts to coat tail his hit–”Stoop Down Part 2,” “Stoop Down ’76,” “Don’t Let Me Catch You With Your Britches Down,” etc., but he couldn’t match the popularity of the original. However, that’s not to say he didn’t make anymore good records as even his most recent recordings have plenty to offer. Take it from some one who found out 37 years ago, an evening with Chick Willis won’t soon be forgotten.
Jeff Hannusch
Chick Willis- Stoop Down Baby
Categories: Audio, Blues, Song of the Day | Tags: Chick Willis, Congo Mombo | 2 Comments
August 13th, 2010
Guitar Gable, Michael Hurtt, Jockey Etienne at a Congo Mambo concert.
Today is the last of our cocktail-and-conversation series with the Louisiana State Museum and it’s a doozy- a conversation with swamp-pop guitarist Gabriel Perrodin, better known as Guitar Gable. Today, Aug. 13 at 5:30 p.m at the Cabildo in New Orleans’ Jackson Square. Free drinks, Swamp Pop DJ and admission!
PonderosaStomp.com on Guitar Gable:
In the annals of bayou guitar slingers, few men can claim a pedigree as distinguished as that of Guitar Gable. Born Gabriel Perrodin, Gable’s echo-drenched six-string licks define the exotic Crowley studio sound that producer J.D. Miller perfected during the ‘50s. Picking his Telecaster with an advanced-yet edgy feel, and with the help of the amazing Clarence “Jockey” Etienne on drums, Gable came up with a string of Caribbean-laced instrumentals like Congo Mombo,” “Guitar Rhumbo” and—perhaps the rarest and greatest of all of them—“Gumbo Mambo,” that are as much a part of South Louisiana’s rock ‘n’ roll atmosphere as the songs of Fats Domino and Bobby Charles.
Guitar Gable and King Karl soon revolutionized the swamp pop lexicon with bluesy, heart-wrenching ballads such as “Irene,” “Life Problem” and “This Should Go On Forever”—ridden to the top of the charts in 1958 by Rod Bernard—as well as rockers like “Cool, Calm, Collected” and “Walking Through the Park.” While their material is most closely associated with Excello Records, Gable and Karl had some excellent releases during the ’60s on the La Louisianne label and its subsidiary, Tamm. The Kings broke up in 1968, but reformed in 1995. With Jockey Etienne still behind the drum kit, their inherently raw, visceral approach is as close to what this music sounded like when it was invented as anyone will ever hear live in the new millennium.
Guitar Gable, Congo Mombo
Categories: Audio, Song of the Day | 1 Comment
July 28th, 2010
Jaded ears may be crying over hearing this warhorse again. This horse can still kick however in the hands of a master. Case in point – Detroit vocalist Spyder Turner’s version.
This novelty take of “Stand By Me” includes impersonations of Jackie Wilson, David Ruffin, Billy Stewart, Chuck Jackson and Smokey Robinson and comes from Turner’s audition tape to MGM. The phrasing in the beginning demonstrates that Turner is a great singer in his own right. The masses agreed and in ’67 “Stand by Me” hit #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the Soul charts.
If you have seen veteran R&B performers live they often include a song in which they mimic other performer’s vocals and moves. They may have even done it to this song. Chalk another one up for Spyder Turner.
Spyder Turner performs at the Detroit Breakdown in NYC on July 31, 2010.
Categories: Audio, Detroit, Ponderosa Stomp On The Road, Song of the Day, Soul | Tags: Detroit, Detroit Breakdown, Spyder Turner | 1 Comment
July 27th, 2010
Before the Stooges, MC5 and the Nuge there was Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels
Early in 1967, Mitch Ryder’s prototypical, riff-rockin “Sock It To Me-Baby!” became Ryder’s final Top 10 single, despite being banned on several stations for being too sexually suggestive.
Mitch and the boys will take Manhattan this Saturday at the Detroit Breakdown!
Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, Sock it to Me, Baby!
Categories: Audio, Detroit, Rock 'n Roll, Song of the Day | Tags: Detroit, Detroit Breakdown | 1 Comment
July 24th, 2010
The Death story. Three brothers from Detroit, Bobby (bass, vocals), David (guitar), and Dannis (drums) Hackney form funk/r&b band in 1972. Convert to rock n’ roll after witnessing Alice Cooper concert in 1973. Rename themselves “Death.” Put out 500 copies of a self released 7” in 1976: “Politicians in My Eyes” b/w “Keep on Knocking,” on their Tryangle label after the majors turn them down over their refusal to change their name. Band members move to Vermont and musically move on to gospel/rock with 4th Movement, and then reggae with Lambsbread. Lead guitarist David Hackney dies in 2000.
Album’s worth of material surfaces on master tape after one of Bobby’s sons hears the ‘76 single at a party in San Francisco in 2009 and recognizes his dad’s voice. Sons soon discover the Tryangle release has become legendary among punk/hardcore collectors. Bobby Sr. digs out Death master tapes from attic. Sons form Rough Francis as a tribute band to play Death’s largely unheard material and further the legacy. Drag City puts out Death LP “For the Whole World to See” in 2009. NY Times: “Death’s newly unearthed recordings reveal a missing link between the high-energy hard rock of Detroit bands like the Stooges and MC5 from the late 1960s and early ’70s and the high-velocity assault of punk from its breakthrough years of 1976 and ’77.” Death reforms with the Hackney brothers and Lambsbread guitarist Bobbie Duncan in 2009.
Before his death in 2000, David gave Death master tapes to brother Bobby for safekeeping and told him “you’ve got to keep all this stuff, the world’s going to come looking for it one day.”
Detroit’s own DEATH -Where Do We Go From Here? Documentary – Tour 2009 Promo from Howlermano on Vimeo.
On July 31, 2010, Death will perform as part of the Detroit Breakdown in NYC at Lincoln Center Out of Doors.
Death, Keep on Knocking
Categories: Detroit, New York, Rock 'n Roll, Song of the Day | Tags: Detroit, Detroit Breakdown, Lincoln Center | 1 Comment
July 21st, 2010
Next up in our Detroit Breakdown countdown to NYC, a Fortune 45 from Melvin Davis.
Stomp architect/musician/writer Michael Hurtt chronicled the prolific, inspiring and enduring career of the Detroit soul survivor in a 2009 Metro Times Feature.
The story of Melvin Davis is emblematic of Detroit. A working man in a working man’s town, he seized on his talent and passion to weave himself into the musical fabric of one of the most soulful cities in America. With his hands in everything that Motor City music had to offer, Davis’ unmistakable touch — though mostly unheralded in its time — endures today.
Davis spent three decades in Detroit working every aspect of the music business as a vocalist, musician, bandleader, studio man, writer, promoter and more -and worked with with a dizzying number of the regions finest musicians, labels and bands. Recently out of retirement, Davis will perform as part of the Motor City Soul Revue along with Dennis Coffey, Spyder Turner and The Velvelettes at the upcoming Detroit Breakdown.
Hurtt chronicles the origins of “I Won’t Be Your Fool” thusly…
Davis’ Fortune single, “Playboy,” began to pick up airplay, but when the Browns left the city for a three-week vacation, the promotion — and the record — died on the vine. The 45′s flipside, “I Won’t Be Your Fool” remains one of Davis’ most infectious recordings. Its stream-of-consciousness lovelorn lyrics are Davis at his finest, resigned-yet-passionate, sung by one whose experience transcends his youth. Superb backup vocals lock in with soulful guitar chords and an irresistible bass line, all driven by Butch Vaden’s explosive drumming.
Melvin Davis, I Won’t be Your Fool
Categories: Detroit, Song of the Day, Soul | Tags: Detroit, Detroit Breakdown, Fortune Records, Lincoln Center, Melvin Davis, Michael Hurtt | 1 Comment
July 16th, 2010
On July 31, 2010, Eddie Kirkland will kick off the Detroit Breakdown in NYC.
Eddie Kirkland, Saturday Night Stomp
Categories: Audio, Blues, Detroit, Ponderosa Stomp On The Road, Song of the Day | Tags: Detroit, Detroit Breakdown, Lincoln Center | 1 Comment
July 2nd, 2010
Born and raised in rough-and-tumble Phenix City, Alabama, where he still resides today, Ralph “Soul” Jackson” grew up in a musical household. After a childhood spent tinkering with the piano while other boys played ball, Jackson penned an original called “Don’t Tear Yourself Down” during his senior year in high school and sent a demo of it off to Rick Hall in Muscle Shoals. The next thing he knew, Ralph was recording at Hall’s Fame Studio with the same band that backed the likes of Clarence Carter, Wilson Pickett and Arthur Conley.
In 1975 he cut a single for Neal Hemphill’s Birmingham-based Black Kat label, “Set Me Free” b/w “Take Me Back.” Considered a “Northern Soul” classic, it has been released on the CD “The Birmingham Sound: The Soul of Neal Hemphill” by Rabbit Factory as well as reissued on a Dusty Groove 45.
“Soul” will be appearing Thursday, July 8th, from 6pm-8pm at the Ogden Museum After Hours in collaboration with the Ponderosa Stomp Foundation for a performance and interview.
Ralph Soul Jackson, Set Me Free
Categories: Audio, Song of the Day, Soul | Tags: Birmingham, Black Kat, muscle shoals, Neil Hemphill, northen soul | No Comments
June 25th, 2010
Over the years the Ponderosa Stomp has had insane guitars, wild guitars, scratchy guitars and just some plain great guitars: Link Ray, Scotty Moore, Hubert Sumlin, Eddie Kirkland, Classie Ballou, Travis Wammack, Guitar Gable, Ray Sharpe, James Blood Ulmer, Paul Burlison, Lady Bo, Nokie Edwards, Arch Hall JR, Dennis Coffey, Jimmy Lee Fautheree, and Herb Remington to name just a FEW! (whew).
This year, at the ninth annual Ponderosa Stomp, we will have the “King of the Twang” guitar- DUANE EDDY! DR Ike has had Eddy on his wish list for years- and now its going to happen!
Enjoy Duane Eddy’s 1958 hit “Ramrod” – which got to #27 on the billboard charts.
Duane Eddy, Ramrod
Categories: Audio, Ponderosa Stomp 2010, Song of the Day | No Comments
