The Golden Age of American Rock 'N' Roll, Vol. 11

by N/A

Overview

The 11th volume of this venerated series is split about half between out-and-out classics from rock & roll's first decade and considerably lesser-known (and usually much lower-charting) items from the same period. The benefit of this approach is that it makes available quite a few tracks that rarely get reissued, or at least rarely anthologized on all-purpose rock & roll oldies collections, while putting in enough familiar staples to avoid being tagged as a rarities collection. The drawback, of course, is that those relatively little-known singles -- all Top 100 Billboard hits to some degree or another, though seldom played on oldies stations today -- simply aren't nearly as good or memorable as the big hits with which they share space on this CD. Collectors might get frustrated by all the big hits that they already have in their collection several times over; more general fans will find the quality of the disc erratic, owing to the presence of all those obscurities. Still, there's no arguing with the first-rate status of many of the big hits here, including great smashes by LaVern Baker ("Jim Dandy"), Dion ("Ruby Baby"), Mickey & Sylvia ("Love Is Strange"), Shirley & Lee ("Let the Good Times Roll"), Jimmy Bowen ("I'm Stickin' with You"), Hank Ballard ("Finger Poppin' Time"), and Nervous Norvus ("Transfusion," a novelty so gruesome it still remains astonishing it made the Top Ten in 1956). Among the less celebrated selections, a few standouts are in or almost in the same league, like the Robins' wonderful "Smokey Joe's Cafe," Ruth Brown's "This Little Girl's Gone Rockin'," Carl Mann's late-'50s Sun Records rockabilly cut "Pretend," and Cookie & His Cupcakes' swamp pop standard "Mathilda." Much of the rest of the anthology is of a decidedly lower level, although early efforts are included by some artists who went on to much bigger fame in different contexts, like the 1956 doo wop single "(You're The) Apple of My Eye" by the Four Lovers (later to become the Four Seasons) and "White Bucks and Saddle Shoes" by Bobby Pedrick, Jr. (later to have hits as Robert John). Rob Finnis' liner notes give excellent background information about each track, and cite one of the more obscure cuts, Jimmy Dee's 1957 Top 50 hit "Henrietta," as the first record Bob Dylan ever bought. ~ Richie Unterberger­

Product Details

Release Date:	09/18/2007
Label:	Ace
UPC:	0029667029322
Rank:	127982

Tracks

1. Jim Dandy  - LaVern Baker  - Lincoln Chase
2. Ruby Baby  -  Dion  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller
3. White Bucks and Saddle Shoes  - Bobby Jr. Pedrick  - Doc Pomus  - Mort Shuman
4. Transfusion  -  Nervous Norvus
5. Lavender Blue  -  Traditional  - Sammy Turner
6. (You're The) Apple of My Eye  - Otis Blackwell  -  Four Lovers
7. Mathilda  -  Cookie & the Cupcakes  - George Khoury  - Huey Thierry
8. Henrietta  - Jimmy Dee
9. One Track Mind  - Bobby Lewis  - Malou Rene
10. I Need Your Lovin'  - Harold Jenkins  - Conway Twitty
11. Tennessee Waltz  -  Comstock  - Pee Wee King  - Redd Stewart
12. Love Is Strange  -  Mickey & Sylvia  - Sylvia Robinson  - Ethel Smith
13. Pretend  - Lew Douglas  - Frank LaVere  - Carl Mann  - Cliff Parman
14. Drip Drop  -  Drifters  - Jerry Leiber  - Mike Stoller
15. Chills and Fever  - Ronnie Love  - Billy Ross
16. Let the Good Times Roll  - Leonard Lee  -  Shirley & Lee
17. Miss Fine  - Sam Goldman  -  New Yorkers  - Fred Parris
18. I'm Stickin' with You  - Dave Alldred  - Jimmy Bowen  - Buddy Knox  - Don Lanier  -  Rhythm Orchids
19. Breaking Up Is Hard to Do  -  Jivin' Gene & The Jokers  - Huey P. Meaux
20. Goodbye Baby  - Jack Scott
21. This Little Girl's Gone Rockin'  - Ruth Brown  - Manny Curtis  - Bobby Darin
22. Last Chance  -  Collay & the Satellites
23. Record Hop Blues  -  Quarter Notes  - Tony Sperry
24. Without Love (There Is Nothing)  - Clyde McPhatter  - Danny Small
25. Village of Love  - Devora Brown  - Nathaniel Mayer  -  Mayer
26. Fabulous  - Charlie Gracie  - Bernie Lowe  - Kal Mann
27. Peanut Butter  - Martin Cooper  - Cliff Goldsmith  -  Vibrations Named by Others as Marathons
28. Smokey Joe's Cafe  - Jerry Leiber  -  Robins  - Mike Stoller
29. Come on Over  -  Strollers
30. Finger Poppin' Time  - Hank Ballard  -  Ballard

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Mickey & Sylvia   Primary Artist
Ruth Brown   Primary Artist
Vibrations Named by Others as Marathons   Primary Artist
Ronnie Love   Primary Artist
Bobby Comstock & the Counts   Primary Artist
Shirley & Lee   Primary Artist
The Four Lovers   Primary Artist
Bobby Lewis   Primary Artist
Cookie & the Cupcakes   Primary Artist
The Drifters   Primary Artist
Clyde McPhatter   Primary Artist
Carl Mann   Primary Artist
Charlie Gracie   Primary Artist
Sammy Turner   Primary Artist
Dion   Primary Artist
Nathaniel Mayer & the Fabulous Twilights   Primary Artist
Jimmy Bowen   Primary Artist
Jimmy Dee   Primary Artist
Quarter Notes   Primary Artist
Nervous Norvus   Primary Artist
The Robins   Primary Artist
The Strollers   Primary Artist
The New Yorkers   Primary Artist
Rhythm Orchids   Primary Artist
Bobby Pedrick Jr.   Primary Artist
Collay & the Satellites   Primary Artist
LaVern Baker   Primary Artist
Jack Scott   Primary Artist
Conway Twitty   Primary Artist
Jivin' Gene & The Jokers   Primary Artist
Hank Ballard & the Midnighters   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Lew Douglas   Composer
Lincoln Chase   Composer
Otis Blackwell   Composer
Harold Jenkins   Composer
Martin Cooper   Composer
Sam Goldman   Composer
Huey Thierry   Composer
Don Lanier   Composer
Dave Alldred   Composer
Tony Sperry   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Sylvia Robinson   Composer
Bernie Lowe   Composer
Bobby Darin   Composer
Bobby Lewis   Composer
Nathaniel Mayer   Composer
Cliff Goldsmith   Composer
Cliff Parman   Composer
Fred Parris   Composer
Doc Pomus   Composer
Frank LaVere   Composer
Ethel Smith   Composer
Huey P. Meaux   Composer
Leonard Lee   Composer
Devora Brown   Composer
Pee Wee King   Composer
Jerry Leiber   Composer
Kal Mann   Composer
Jimmy Bowen   Composer
Redd Stewart   Composer
Mike Stoller   Composer
Manny Curtis   Composer
Danny Small   Composer
Mort Shuman   Composer
Buddy Knox   Composer
George Khoury   Composer
Hank Ballard   Composer
Malou Rene   Composer
Billy Ross   Composer