Esquerita

Mississippi God Damn

WIBG TOP 99 For The Week of November 4, 1963

This post is going up 48 years and 4 days late, but close enough, right? Looking over this, I believe I own 39 of these on 45. Here's #51 for your listening pleasure.

    This one presumably got a few spins over in Merrie Olde Englande, because the next year, Pep-pill popping P.R. Man Peter Meaden (1941-1978) shamelessly rewrote it with new "mod" lyrics for the first single from a band he was then managing called the High Numbers. The single flopped, Meaden was dismissed, and the band presumably vanished into obscurity.
   I'm certainly not going to post every song here for you, but here's #76 and the flip side of #92 (the A-side's fine, but the backside is more appropriate for this venue).
  If you want to hear what the kids in Philadelphia were listening to a few years earlier, Joe Niagara recreated a bit of his show on Cruisin' 1957, which shouldn't be too hard to track down. And while he checked out of this world in 2007, Hy Lit can still be heard deejaying from beyond the grave on www.hylitradio.com (I assume... I had trouble making it load, but it may be a Mac/PC thing).

Kicksville Confidential

Torrid Tales From The Wild World Of Norton Records!  Avi Spivak has illustrated an amazing comic filled with ALL TRUE stories from the label with the able stable!!  "Norton's got a six and a half foot cyclops drag queen, a pair of singing siamese twins, an indian with one lung, at least 3 murderers, an elephant thief, about a dozen guys who wear turbans....and we haven't even gotten to Kim Fowley" - Billy Miller/Ugly Things Magazine.  Get it Here!!  Launch party at Desert Island Books Wednesday, November 9th, 7 PM.  Followed by all night rock 'n' roll dance party at Union Pool.  DJ Howie Pyro presiding.  More infos here.

Happy 25th Anniversary Norton Records!!!

Esquerita Awareness Month: "The Rock-A-Round"

     
     Paul Peek and Esquerita were both from Greenville, SC, and met while Mr. Reeder was headlining there at the Owl Club in 1958. Paul was justifiably impressed with Mr. Reeder's act, and introduced him to his boss at the time, Gene Vincent, who would soon use his influence to get him signed to Capitol records. Before that point, though, he helped arrange for Esquerita and his band to cut several demos in Dallas, as well as today's selection (this material is all collected on Vintage Voola, from Norton records). This was Mr. Peek's debut record, as well as the first NRC single, and was co-written by Peek and "Esque-Rita" (if by "co-written", one means "swiped from Ahmet Ertegun and Ray Charles"--- but why nitpick?).
      This particular scratchy sound file, however, is not from that album. It's from the single pictured above, which I and an accomplice "shoplifted" from a Kroger supermarket, circa 1993! Perhaps this requires explanation: at that time, the now-defunct Broad St. Kroger here in Athens, GA was doing a goofy "Back To The '50s" promotion, with the store haphazardly decorated for the occasion. There were posters and crepe streamers throughout the store, the freezers had an assortment of pedal cars on top for some reason, and the deli section had dozens of 45s dangling on ribbons from the ceiling. They had clearly just gone to the Potter's House thrift store and grabbed up a six-or-eight-inch stack of singles from the top of the pile, and the bulk of them were '70s & '80s junk: Osmonds, KC & The Sunshine Band, and worse. On maybe my second or third visit during the promotion, though, I was shopping late, around midnight, and happened to see a familiar label out of the corner of my eye, and looked closer to see the above record (no sleeve-- I added that later). Looking around a lot more carefully, I saw nothing else of interest, except for a second copy! THey were hanging just out of my reach, so I went home, grabbed a couple of junk 45s, then went next door and fetched a fellow record hound, the slightly-taller Mr. Jim Tucci, and returned to the grocery store. he yanked down the records, we tied the ribbons to our replacement singles and left them on the floor (see? It wasn't actual thievery!), selected our groceries, and went home.

Paul Peek (with Esquerita) - "The Rock-A-Round"

Trouble In Teepee (MP3)

Deb Wood - Trouble In Teepee (2:01)

Public Service Announcement

Please see Cirkus Berserkus for an important message.

Macumba!

Weird, Shocking, Savagery in Native Jungle Haunts... INDEED!

Macumba Love Trailer (1960)

AND... since I always thought I heard "Macumba" as part of the background doo-wop chanting
in one of my all time fave "answer songs," I'm a gonna hit you like a tribal drum with...
 

THE DUKAYS

                                                                 

                                             PLEASE HELP

 

"The Lion's got a notion I'd make a tasty po(r)'-tion" slays me every time.

Esquerita Awareness Month

I Woke Up This Morning - Esquerita

Norton Records 25th Anniversary Celebration On Music To Spazz By!!

Tomorrow night on Music To Spazz By, the Norton Records gang will drop by to celebrate 25 rockin' years in show biz.  Expect torrid tales, insane 45s and scores of celebrities from the label with the able stable to check in.  PLUS--the worldwide announcement of the Norton Records Customer of the Year (five years ago, a stunned Robert Plant received this top honor!)

Esquerita Awareness Month

Esquerita - 10-4 (Calling All Cars)

Happy DIA DE LOS MUERTOS!

Celebrating DIA DE LOS MUERTOS, here are some trailers from horror films made by our friends south of the border.

FACE OF THE SCREAMING WEREWOLF

CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN

and a double feature trailer for THE VAMPIRE'S COFFIN / THE ROBOT VS.
THE AZTEC MUMMY (in HypnoScope!)

DE MIEDO!!

Thanks A Lot!

Thanks to all the Ichibaners who pledged during our silent fundraiser!!  Joe, Carmen, Jimmy, Greg, Richard D, Michael, Kogar, Melissa, Brendan, Bob, Jennifer, Howie, Alex, Dorinda, Brian, Gary, Tom, Richard and Jason!  You guys rule!