Roy Brown - Good Rocking Tonight [vinyl/flac rip]

I just did a rip of this for Clifford and thought y'all might like to hear it.

" Covering Brown's most fertile period of 1947-1954, Good Rocking Tonight is the second of three Route 66 volumes covering rare sides by the jump blues star. Same as the first collection, Laughing But Crying, this disc nicely fills in gaps left by high-profile titles from Rhino and King. The focus is on a mix of rough-and-ready R&B and after-hours blues, with alternate takes of hits like "Good Rocking Tonight" and "Mighty, Mighty Man" giving collectors something to relish. Most impressive, though, are breakneck-tempo cuts like "Whose Hat Is That" and the infamous "Butcher Pete, Pt. 2" (the blues lyrical taste for sexual double entendre reaching over-the-top levels on the latter). Besides matching the speed of bebop, the frantic energy of these and many other sides Brown cut during the late '40s and early '50s shores up the singer's place as a rock & roll pioneer. On the other hand, Brown also influenced the gospel-based world of soul with pathos-ridden and urbane blues like "Brown Angel." And putting further pay to the singer's impressive flexibility -- not to mention his admitted admiration for crooner Bing Crosby -- he delivers a velvety cool vocal performance on "Teenage Jamboree." In light of all the musical wealth herein, then, it's definitely a shame this and the other Brown titles on Route 66 are only to be found in the used bins..." AMG

Roy Brown - Laughing but Crying

Amazingly enough this collection doesn't overlap the previous two discs of Roy offered here. This is slightly later material but still high quality. As is true with most of these guys, Roy fades thru the 50's, lesser material to work with for one, and difficulty in adjusting to the teen market which becomes all important in the 50's. These guys had been singing adult 'blue' themed lyrics all their careers and if you listen to Roy attempt School Bell Rock, you will hear a perfect example of how they didn't quite fit the new themes. The same thing happened to the majority of the 40's r&b pioneers.

"This Roy Brown import offers something of a rough-guide compliment to Rhino Records' own hits-heavy career retrospective of the jump blues shouter. Laughing but Crying's somewhat obscure Deluxe, King, and Imperial sides may suffer a bit from poor sound quality -- especially the early Deluxe sides -- but the imperfections are soon forgotten because of the sheer quality of the music and Brown's gospel-soaked delivery. In fact, Brown's innovative use of gospel phrasing in an R&B context has distinguished him as the original soul singer and in turn made him a major influence on future soul luminaries like James Brown and Jackie Wilson. The Swedish R&B label Route 66 shores up the claim with this overview of Brown's career through 1959, which includes prime, early jump blues cuts like "Roy Brown Blues" and an incredibly salacious slice of double entendre entitled "Butcher Pete, Pt. 1." In addition, there are medium-tempo blues like "Special Lesson No. 1" and "Laughing but Crying," which showcase Brown's signature technique of shouting and stretching words and phrases in mid-sentence for dynamic effect. To round out the varied program, there's the early rock & roll number "Hurry Hurry Baby" and a Bing Crosby-style ballad entitled "A Fool in Love." Roy Brown made a variety of powerful records, many of which are included on Laughing but Crying and Rhino's Good Rocking Tonight: The Best of Roy Brown; together, these two fine reissues provide a pretty complete picture of the great R&B singer."

Roy Brown New Orleans R&B Founding Father

New Orleans own Roy Brown certainly qualifies as one of the Founding Fathers of R&B in the 'Blues Shouter' school which is based on a style largely pioneered by Big Joe Turner in the Swing era. Big Joe didn't really convert to R&B until around 1950 so some of the earliest recordings that you would call R&B come from Brown, Wynonie Harris and a fellow who sang with Tiny Bradshaw and Ike Turner named Johnny O'Neal, aka Brother Bell, aka Burnt-Face O'Neal.  

"Roy James Brown (September 10, 1925 — May 25, 1981) was an American R&B singer, songwriter and musician, who had an influence on the early development of rock and roll by changing the direction R&B was headed in. His original song and hit recording "Good Rocking Tonight" was covered by Wynonie Harris, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Pat Boone, and the rock group Montrose. Brown was the first singer in recording history to sing R&B songs with a gospel-steeped delivery, which was then considered taboo by many churches. In addition, his melismatical pleading, vocal style influenced B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Elvis Presley, Jackie Wilson and Little Richard.

Brown was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. As with many R&B singers, he started singing gospel music in the church. His mother was an accomplished singer and church organist.  After a move to Los Angeles, California some time in the 1940s, and a brief period spent as a professional boxer in the welterweight category, he won a singing contest in 1945 at the Million Dollar Theater covering "There's No You", originally recorded by Bing Crosby. In 1946, Brown moved to Galveston, Texas, where he sang in Joe Coleman's group performing mostly songs from the Hit Parade, in a club called the Club Granada. His numbers included a song he wrote entitled "Good Rocking Tonight". After being rejected by the Armed Forces because of flat feet, he secured his first major job in a Shreveport, Louisiana club singing mostly pop ballads such as "Stardust" and "Blue Hawaii." The owner of Bill Riley's Palace Park hired him, as Brown told a Blues Unlimited interviewer, because of his appeal as "a Negro who sounds white." It was at the Palace Park that Brown started developing a blues repertoire, learning contemporary R&B tunes such as "Jelly Jelly" (recorded by Billy Eckstine). He returned to New Orleans in 1947, where he performed at The Dew Drop Inn.
Brown was a big fan of blues singer Wynonie Harris. When Harris appeared in town, Brown tried but failed to interest Harris in listening to "Good Rocking Tonight." Dejected, Brown approached another blues singer, Cecil Gant who was appearing at another club in town. Brown introduced his song, and Gant had Brown to sing it over the telephone to the president of De Luxe Records, Jules Braun, reportedly at 4:00 in the morning. Brown was signed to a recording contract immediately. Brown recorded the song in a jump blues style with a swing beat. It was released in 1948 and reached #13 on the US Billboard R&B chart. Ironically, Wynonie Harris covered it and hit the top of Billboard's R&B chart later in 1948. Presley also covered the song for Sun Records in 1954; later re-released on RCA Victor when his recording contract was sold to that record label in 1956.

Brown continued to make his mark on the R&B charts, scoring 14 hits from mid-1948 to late 1951 with De Luxe, including "Hard Luck Blues" (his biggest seller in 1950), "Love Don't Love Nobody", "Rockin' at Midnight," "Boogie at Midnight," "Miss Fanny Brown," and "Cadillac Baby", making him the undisputed king of R&B for those three years.

After his popularity peaked, Brown began to experience a lull in his career. Doo-wop and R&B groups were quickly gaining popularity as the standard sound of R&B in the early to mid 1950s. The decline of his fortunes coincided with his successfully winning a lawsuit against King Records for unpaid royalties in 1952, one of the few African American musicians to do so in the 1950s. This has led some, such as author Nick Tosches (in his book Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll, which contained a chapter on Brown) to believe that Brown may have been blacklisted. Brown's other misfortunes included trouble with the IRS. When confronted by the government for back taxes he owed, he approached Elvis Presley to ask for help. Presley wrote him a brown paper check, but it wasn't enough to keep him out of jail. Brown did a little prison time for tax evasion. When his popularity ebbed in the rock and roll era, he tried teen-slanted songs like "School Bell Rock", but had little success and subsequently went into semi-retirement.

Brown had a brief comeback through Imperial Records in 1957. Working with Dave Bartholomew, Brown returned to the charts with the original version of "Let the Four Winds Blow" (co-written by Fats Domino), which would become a hit later for Domino.

He returned to King Records where his popularity ground down to a low by 1959, but he sporadically managed to find work and do some recording through the 1960s, making appearances where ever he was wanted. To supplement his income, Brown sold the rights to "Good Rocking Tonight." He also worked as an encyclopedia salesman.

In 1970, Brown closed The Johnny Otis Show at the Monterey Jazz Festival. As a result of the crowd's positive reaction, he recorded "Love for Sale", which became a hit for Mercury Records.

In the late 1970s a compilation album of his old work brought about a minor revival of interest. In 1978 he had a successful tour in Scandinavia following the releases of Laughing But Crying and Good Rocking Tonight. Shortly before his death he performed at the Whisky A Go-Go in West Hollywood, California and headlined the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1981.

Brown died of a heart attack, at Pacoima Lutheran Memorial Hospital, near his home in the San Fernando Valley on May 25, 1981. He was 55 years old. The Reverend Johnny Otis conducted the funeral. He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame the same year.

The Johnny Otis Show - Live at Monterey!

If you never had the opportunity to see the Johnny Otis show then I feel badly for you because it was absolutely the best R & B review ever! You felt like you had been to a real SHOW afterwards and the stars you saw were all the real deal. This double set captures them with all barrels blazing at Monterey in 1970.

The Johnny Otis Show Live At Monterey!1. WILLE AND THE HAND JIVE (3:18) (J. Otis) Johnny Otis
2. CRY ME A RIVER BLUES** (4:47) (Arr: Esther Phillips) Little Esther Phillips
3. CLEANHEAD'S BLUES* (4:55) (E. Vinson) Eddie Cleanhead Vinson
4. I GOT A GAL (2:58) (J. Turner) Joe Turner
5. SINCE I MET YOU BABY (2:38) (I.J. Hunter) Ivory Joe Hunter
6. BABY YOU DON'T KNOW (3:01) (R. Milton) Roy Milton
7. PREACHER'S BLUES (3:28) (G Connors) Gene Connors
8. GOOD ROCKIN' TONIGHT (3:27) (R. Brown) Roy Brown
9. THE TIME MACHINE (3:31) (S. Otis)Shuggie Otis
10. MARGIE'S BOOGIE (3:33) (J. Otis) Margie Evans
11. LITTLE ESTHER'S BLUES** BLOWTOP BLUES/ (L. Feather/J. Feather) T BOND BLUES/ (L. Hite) JELLY JELLY (6:50) Little Esther Phillips
12. KIDNEY STEW* (3:08) (L. Blackman-E. Vinson) Eddie Cleanhead Vinson
13. THE THINGS I USED TO DO*** (5:00) (E. Jones) Pee Wee Crayton
14. R.M. BLUES (3:02) (R. Milton) Roy Milton
15. SHUGGIE'S BOOGIE (4:06) (J. Otis-s. Otis) Shuggie Otis
16. YOU BETTER LOOK OUT (4:10) (J. Otis-D. Evans) Delmar Evans
17. GOIN' BACK TO L.A. (2:46) (J. Otis-D. Evans) Johnny Otis & Delmar Evans
18. PLASTIC MAN (4:51) (L. Chandler) Joe Turner
19. BOOGIE WOOGIE BYE BYE (2:38) (J. Otis) Ensemble


Personnel: Melvin Moore, trumpet • Gene "Mighty Flea" Connors, trombone • Presten Love, alto and baritone saxes • Richard Aplanalp, soprano and tenor saxes • Clifford Solomon, tenor sax (all tenor solos) • Big Jim Wynn, baritone sax • Shuggie Otis, guitar (Pee Wee Crayton on "The Things I Used To Do") • Jim (Supe) Bradshaw, rhythm guitar (solo on "Good rockin' Tonight"); harp • Johnny Otis, Roger Spotts, Leonard Feather, piano (Ivory Joe Hunter on "Since I Met you Baby") • Lawrence Slim Dickens, Shuggie Otis, bass • Paul Lagos, drums • Johnny Otis, vibes • Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, alto sax and vocals • Johnny Otis, Esther Phillips, Joe Turner, Ivory Joe Hunter, Roy Milton, Roy Brown, Margie Evans, Delmar "Mighty Mouth" Evans, vocals.

Notes taken from the original album release:

The Historic Rhythm & Blue Extravaganza That Rocked the 1970 Monterey Jazz Festival

"The blues never has been, to my recollection, the occasion for a more joyous celebration of its uniquely vibrant spirit than on a certain day in the late summer of 1970, when Johnny Otis brought his entire azure-indigo caravan of giants to spread their talents over an afternoon on the fairgrounds at Monterey, California.

Here was the consummate proof that where today's music may set up communication and generation gaps, the blues destroys them. On stage, where Shuggie Otis, 16; rhythm guitarist Jim (Supe) Bradshaw, 23; singers Margie Evans and Delmar "Mighty Mouth" (no relation) Evans, both in their 20's; and the rest of the singing and blowing battalion representing every decade on up to Pee Wee Crayton and Big Joe Turner, both in their very late 50's, and Roy Milton, who's up there at the Social Security borderline.

The same with the roaring receptive, over capacity audience. Those who stood up on their seats hollering and testifying, or boogalooed along the aisles, were mostly in the 15-25 bracket, while others, less extroverted, exchanged reminiscences about the first time they had heard the call of the blues, perhaps at some half-remembered dance in the 30's, or on a 78 record player at high school in the 40's and 50's.

That's what this album is all about. This is no gallery of museum pieces set up to rekindle a lost past, no futile exercise in nostalgia; instead it is a meeting ground were ages, races, and backgrounds coalesce, where grooving together is all that matters.

All the other instrumental touches are emotionally strong, tonally robust products of the synthesis forged during the 1940s between jazz and R&B.

Through it all, Johnny Otis remains in firm control, opening the show by reviving his 1958 hit "Willie And The Hand Jive;" soloing and comping on vibes or piano, emceeing and directing his exuberant band through its casual, largely spontaneous arrangements.

There was a lot of love in the air that day. We all felt it, exchanged not only among musicians and singers, but from bandstand to audience and back. Wondering one moment why so many of the true blues pioneers had been short-changed by society, you asked yourself the next minute how a Shuggie Otis or a Supe Bradshaw could align himself so naturally with a music some thought was obsolescent.

On this day the vitality of the blues ws triumphantly reaffirmed. It happened in Monterey-and not long ago. Thanks to Johnny Otis, who put it all together, and the festival's Jimmy Lyons, who brought it onstage, the whole world of the blues burst on us like sunshine on that bright September afternoon."

- Leonard Feather