LITTLE WILLIE JOHN - Fever / Letter From My Darling - King-4935 - 1956

This may be a bit premature since I've barely listened to the B-side of this single, but I can't contain my enthusiasm for this record. I must've listened to 'Fever' 12 times in a row when I first put this on my tables. Dead serious. 'Letter From My Darling' may be amazing as well, but I have to wait until I get over this song before I can even try listening to it objectively.

The other day I decided to break up my normal daily, after-work routine of wandering around aimlessly like a lost, mute child by planting myself on the floor of a record store to dig through their 'garbage bin' 45's. (Since I have no money, and bargain bin wears are all I can afford.) Typically digging through these boxes is a tiring and unrewarding experience, however, I think someone made a mistake (or is retarded) and mis-tagged a bunch of really good stuff and stuck it in the crap box. I think I ended up with 25-30 45's & spent less than 10 bucks. All good stuff; this record included.

Two of my all-time favorites (Elvis & The Cramps) do amazing versions of 'Fever,' so I figured it would be near impossible for someone else to come close to either of their takes on the song. Now, you'll have to excuse me for my ignorance, but somehow I missed out on Little Willie John's original. I guess it could have something to do with the fact that I was born 26 years after it was released. (Maybe. I dunno.)

But Goddamn! was I missing out. Where Elvis and The Cramps make 'Fever' work so well with a very minimalistic approach, Little Willie John's rendition is a blast of kinetic energy and it's bursting at the seams with soul. While this is still technically the same song that Elvis and The Cramps have done so perfectly, they move in such different ways that there's really no comparing them. Willie John's 'Fever' took me by surprise though, I have to admit. This song kills me. It makes me so fucking pumped I just wanna spin-kick Mike Neault down the stairs and do a little tap dance at the top.

Enjoy..

(note: this is an old entry, re-posted to include the song.)

Little Willie John - Fever

:::: A Couple Points of Interest ::::

1. I've been DJ'ing in Brooklyn more and more and it's been really great. I'm spinning all 45's (except for the occasional LP when I step outside for a minute [a 6 hour shift requires a few breaks..]) Here's what's coming up..

:: Friday, July 10, 10pm-4am - THE BOULEVARD TAVERN (579 Meeker in Greenpoint)

:: Wednesday, July 22, 10pm-4am - K&M (225 North 8th St. in Williamsburg)

:: Saturday, August 1, 10pm-4am - THE BOULEVARD TAVERN (My Birthday Party!!!)

Plus more to come. Be there.


2. How could Sky Saxon's death go so largely unnoticed? He got the short end of the death stick in almost the exact same way that Darby Crash did. Both were entirely overshadowed by a mega-celebrity's death (John Lennon and MJ) and it's a real shame. They were both crucially important in their own ways to the music surrounding and succeeding them, yet they were forgotten within minutes of their deaths. Sky's music has been far more important to me than MJ's, so I guess this is my attempt to pay tribute to him. I'll be sure to play all of my Seeds 45's when I DJ tomorrow night.. RIP Sky.


3. Sirius Radio's "Underground Garage" show is nearly unlistenable. I try to get into it, but the truth is that I just don't care about A LOT of what they play. Maybe it's that I expect something different to come from a station named "Underground Garage." I dunno. I usually just stick to the 50's station. Consistently much better.


4. If you haven't, check out the blogs on my little side list. Some great stuff. My two current favorites are Derek's Daily 45 Blog and People Mover.

All for now.
PsychedelicElvis

THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN - I Put A Spell On You / Nightmare - Track-2582 - 1968

What a freakshow.




Arthur Brown - I Put A Spell On You


Arthur Brown - Nightmare

THE SONICS - The Witch / Keep A-Knockin' - Etiquette-11 -
1965

I'm certainly not going to waste much time writing about this band. You should already know the basics, I mean, this is an essential building block of most of the good / important stuff that followed.

Anyway, I really love the mix of this particular single. It's not the cleanest mix I've ever heard, but it's fitting, and charming.

This is one of my favorite bits of my collection.

The Sonics - The Witch


The Sonics - Keep A-Knockin'

THE RAINY DAZE - That Acapulco Gold / In My Mind Lives A Forest - Uni-55002 - 1967

I sort of hate the A-side of this single, so I'm not going to mention much about it or post it. It's a flaky, stupid song and I think radio stations did the general public a favor by banning it once they realized it was secretly about weed, though they should've banned it because it's bad, not for it's veiled subject matter.

The real gem here is 'In My Mind Lives A Forest,' a wonderful pop-psych song all around. As usual, the stellar production quality plays a big part in making this song as good as it is. The song starts with a perfectly fuzzed-out guitar, but gradually fades into the mix as the song morphs into something much cleaner, more pop oriented, and doesn't fully reappear until the closing seconds. The songwriting is great (the same people responsible for Strawberry Alarm Clock's 'Incense and Peppermints,') and I'm a sucker for a real cheap sounding organ tone, most audible during the choruses.

There's a pressing of this single with 'That Acapulco Gold' on both sides. BEWARE.

The Rainy Daze - In My Mind Lives A Forest

FRANKIE FORD - Sea Cruise / Roberta - Ace-554 - 1959

'Sea Cruise' was a big hit for Frankie Ford. Interestingly, the track was written by Huey 'Piano' Smith and originally sung by Bobby Marchan, the cross-dressing soul singer best known for singing 'Don't You Just Know It,' although Marchan's vocal was later replaced by Frankie Ford's using Smith's original instrumental track. This was the only time Frankie's name made it onto the charts.

'Roberta,' in my opinion, is the better of the two tracks though. This one was also written and played by Smith, though I'm not sure if Marchan's vocals were recorded and stripped from this track as well. I'm convinced that I've heard this song on some film's soundtrack (possibly a John Waters film?) but after some searching I still can't place it. Does anyone know for sure where else this song might have ended up? It's been bugging me since I bought this record.

Here ya go...

Frankie Ford - Sea Cruise


Frankie Ford - Roberta