To tie in with three great new EPs that arrived from Sleazy records this week, we thought we’d take you on a little rockin’, rollin’ road trip through America’s Midwest. Although often overlooked in the history of Rock ‘n’ Roll, the 12 agricultural and industrial states that make up the Midwest region cranked out more than their fair share of wild Rock ‘n’ Roll during the 50s and early 60s. Hang on…
Read MoreAfter Sun: Flip and Philips International
Over the last few weeks, we have looked at the output of Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue, usually on the Sun label but Sam also had a couple of other labels; Flip and Phillips International. Here we take a look and a listen to a selection of the best records Philips put out after Sun.
Read MoreGrooves without a theme
There’s been so much great new stuff through the door and into the racks of our Camden Town headquarters over the last few weeks, that for this week’s six-of-the-best there will be no clever theme…unless you can count ‘new stuff’ as a theme? Nah, didn’t think so.
Read MoreThe Sun keeps shining
If Sun records had folded in early 1954 it would still have been one of the most important record labels ever. The reason Sun is so famous was a youngster who was desperate to put out a record. Sam had the foresight to give him a chance and, according to Charlie Feathers, Charlie was there to mould him. The youngster was, of course, Elvis Presley.
Read MoreListen to mama!
For this week’s super-six picks from our website, we thought we would show that we are modern men and down with gender equality and illustrate that fact with half a dozen scorching R&B 45s that demonstrate that girls can dish it out just as well as their male counterparts.
Read MoreThe sound of the rising Sun
When we left a few weeks ago the owner of 706 Union Avenue, Sam Phillips, was seeing records he had pretty much created being hits across the country. He decided in 1952 that it was time to launch his own label. He saw this as a new dawn in his life and created the Sun Records Company. So let’s have a look and listen to some of the fine Blues and RnB the Sun Label gave us.
Read MorePure Rockabilly rummage!
For this week’s newsletter, we thought we’d have a Rockabilly rummage through the racks and dig out six essential 45s. These are all true pure Rockabilly 45s, from super classics to overlooked gems. Buckle up folks, this is gonna be a bumpy ride.
Read MoreBefore the dawn of Sun
Sun records, 706 Union Avenue, Memphis Tennessee USA. The birthplace of Rock n Roll. That is a pretty huge claim but look at the facts. Sam Phillips started the studio to give a place to the fantastic black artists in the Southern states to record their unique sounds.
Read MoreGettin’ sweaty bopping with Blues Bop 45s
For this weeks newsletter, we thought I’d take a little sift through some of the fantastic Blues Bop 45s we have in stock. Now we’re not much for turning dance styles into musical genres but we reckon this is probably the best description for this style of the blues. For these six slices of blues bop action, we’ve dug out some stone-cold classics but also pulled out a few overlooked gems that we particularly love.
Read MoreGroup Vocal Harmony Rhythm and Blues
Group Vocal Harmony Rhythm and Blues has been called the forgotten third of rock n roll, after Rockabilly and Rhythm and Blues. I think is not accurate as it remains a hugely popular subset of rock n roll. Amongst our huge RnB 45 section we have some great group vocal harmony Rhythm and Blues. So here are six to give you the flavour.
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