VARIOUS – RHYTHM N BLUSIN’ BY THE BAYOU 3 – ACE CD

The sound of South Louisiana’s R&B stemmed from the Cosimo studios in New Orleans and those pioneers of the genre: Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, Lloyd Price etc. As it spread west across the state, it gathered in the influences of zydeco, rural blues and the embryonic swamp pop, producing that distinctive amalgam which is enjoying popularity with collectors of today.

To help quench that thirst we have delved into the vaults of Miller and Shuler to locate the best  previously unknown tracks and alternate takes. Also, with modern studio techniques, our engineers have breathed fresh life into some of the material that was unearthed by Flyright almost 30 years ago.

Back in the 50s and into the early 60s, this was the music of working class black people; it was what they drank to, danced to and occasionally brawled to in the bars and clubs of this corner of the USA. It also got played on the area’s black radio stations and was gobbled up by white teenagers who would adapt it into their rockabilly and swamp pop songs.

As compiler of this CD, I was as excited listening to these master tapes as I would have been had I been one of those teenagers. The music is as fresh and vibrant now as it was in those far off days. With new tracks from the artists such as Blue Charlie and Mad Dog Sheffield, the first recordings of Rockin’ Sidney, a host of other little known artists (including three numbers from two mystery women) and obscure Zydeco rockers Thaddeus Declouet and C.J. Thierry, this is an exhilarating voyage of discovery.

When you listen to the music you’ll be transported back to its heyday – imagine lying on your bed grooving to those sounds on the radio in the sultry Louisiana night, with the bullfrogs croaking in the bayou. These are the sounds of an era that is almost forgotten but is kept alive by enthusiasts for enthusiasts.

By Ian Saddler

TRACKS

01  Rocky – Rockin’ Sidney & His All-Stars

02 I Don’t Care – Tabby Thomas

03 Give It Up – Charles Sheffield

04 Crazy About Love aka As Long As I’m Moving – Elizabeth

05 Right From Wrong – Billy Tate

06 Hey Mattie – Vince Monroe

07 Whole lot Of Drinking On The Block – Blue Charlie

08 Carry On – Clarence Garlow

09 Make Me Understand – Sidney Simien & His All Stars

10 Cool Cat – Mad Dog Sheffield

11 Mean Old Kokomo – Talton Miller

12 Bull Frog Bop – Thaddeus Declouet

13 Crazy About You Baby – C. J. Thierry

14 I Wanna Know, I Know Now – Big Chenier

15 Go Cat Go – Flo

16 Why Does Everything Happen To Me – Sonny Martin

17 Cool Down Baby – Jerry Morris

18 Don’t Do That To Me – Jimmy Anderson

19 She’s My Morning Coffee – Sidney Simien & His All Stars

20 No No Baby – Clarence Garlow

21 Hard Working Girlfriend – Vince Monroe

22 PYeah, Yeah, Yeah – Chuck Martin

23 PClema – Jerry Morris

24 Ain’t Got Nobody – Elizabeth

25 PHoney Bee – Blue Charlie

26 Sound The Bell – Clarence Garlow

27 Pretty Little Dolly – Mad Dog Sheffield

28 Watch That Crow – Blue Charlie