Cameo Parkway: The Greatest Hits

by Cameo Parkway: The Greatest Hit

Overview

When much of the Cameo Parkway label catalog finally got reissued on CD, this 25-track compilation gathered most of the biggest hits the company had issued between the mid-'50s and mid-'60s. The label's biggest stars -- Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, Dee Dee Sharp, and the Orlons -- are all represented here by several tracks apiece, with one or two by less prolific chart artists like the Dovells, the Tymes, the Rays (their one-shot doo wop classic "Silhouettes"), Charlie Gracie (the rockabilly-pop hit "Butterfly"), and ? & the Mysterians (their 1966 garage rock chart-topper "96 Tears"). It's true there's no strong musical theme that unites this material, which encompasses pop-soul, early teen idol smashes, the most popular twist records ever made, rockabilly, and even (with John Zacherle's "Dinner with Drac, Pt. 1") novelty. It's also true that there might be room for some debate over the track selection, which misses some notable Cameo Parkway hits like Checker's "The Fly," Gracie's "Fabulous," and Rydell's "Forget Him" and "Kissing Time." And the package certainly could have done with at least a short liner note, instead of offering nothing but credits and chart positions. Still, there are many good pop/rock hits here, including quite a few very famous ones, like Checker's "The Twist," the Dovells' "Bristol Stomp," Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time," the Tymes' "So Much in Love," and the Orlons' "South Street." You can get some more music by the artists on the single-artist anthologies and various-artists box set of Cameo Parkway material that ABKCO released around the same time. But for those who don't want to go that far, and/or are primarily concerned with finally getting a lot of big hits that eluded CD reissue for decades, this is a good accumulation/sampler of the label's most popular efforts. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	10/17/2006
Label:	Abkco Records
UPC:	0018771923725
Rank:	107849

Tracks

1. The Twist  - Hank Ballard  - Chubby Checker
2. Bristol Stomp  -  Dovells
3. Wild One  - Bobby Rydell
4. Mashed Potato Time  - Dee Dee Sharp
5. Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)  - Dee Dee Sharp
6. The Wah-Watusi  -  Orlons
7. Slow Twistin'  - Chubby Checker  - Dee Dee Sharp
8. Swingin School  - Bobby Rydell
9. We Got Love  - Bobby Rydell
10. Butterfly  - Charlie Gracie
11. Silhouettes  -  Rays
12. So Much in Love  - Billy Jackson  - Roy Stragis  -  Tymes  - George Williams
13. Limbo Rock  - Chubby Checker
14. Dinner with Drac, Pt. 1  - John Zacherle
15. Don't Hang Up  -  Orlons
16. South Street  -  Orlons
17. You Can't Sit Down  -  Dovells
18. Ride!  - Dee Dee Sharp
19. Pony Time  - Chubby Checker
20. Let's Twist Again  - Chubby Checker
21. The Cha-Cha-Cha  - Bobby Rydell
22. Volare  - Bobby Rydell
23. Wonderful! Wonderful!  -  Tymes
24. Jingle Bell Rock  - Chubby Checker  - Bobby Rydell
25. 96 Tears  -  ? & the Mysterians

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bobby Rydell   Primary Artist
Chubby Checker   Primary Artist
Charlie Gracie   Primary Artist
The Orlons   Primary Artist
The Rays   Primary Artist
? & the Mysterians   Primary Artist
John Zacherle   Primary Artist
The Dovells   Primary Artist
Dee Dee Sharp   Primary Artist
The Tymes   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Shahla Karimi   Production Coordination
Michael Kirk   Research,Sample Clearance
Alisa Coleman   Art Direction
Kal Kann   Producer
Seth Adkins   Research,Sample Clearance
Tom Psipsikas   Assistant Engineer
Joe Beal   Composer
Roy Straigis   Composer
William Strange   Composer
Jimmy Sheldon   Composer
David Appell   Composer
William Wynn Jackson   Composer
Don Covay   Composer
Domenico Modugano   Composer
Karl Mann   Composer
Sherman Edwards   Composer
Bob Crewe   Composer,Producer
Bernie Lowe   Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
Bob Gallo   Engineer
Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Francesco Migliacci   Composer
Ben Raleigh   Composer
Dee Clark   Composer
Joe Tarsia   Engineer
Joseph Wissert   Engineer
Robert Bateman   Composer
Teri Landi   Transfers,Tape Research,Reissue Producer,Session Research
John Bobby Berry   Composer
Maria Papazahariou   Production Coordination,Session Research
Janessa Gursky   Assistant Art Director
Robert Mersey   Arranger
Phil Upchurch   Composer
Rudy Martinez   Composer
Jody H. Klein   Reissue Producer
Kal Mann   Composer
Rudy Gonzalez   Producer
Mitchell Parish   Composer
Hal Miller   Vocal Arrangement
Hank Ballard   Composer
Matt Boynton   Assistant Engineer
+   Restoration,Archives Coordinator
Billy Strange   Composer
Cornell Muldrow   Composer
Frank Slay   Arranger,Producer
Gregg Geller   Reissue Producer
Roy Stragis   Arranger,Composer
George Williams   Composer
Dave Appell   Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer
Frank C. Slay, Jr.   Composer
Billy Jackson   Composer,Producer
Emil Korsen   Engineer
Jim Boothe   Composer
Joel Fein   Engineer
Stacin Gregson   Assistant Engineer
Iris Keitel   Art Direction