Saturday, December 6, 2008

THE KNOCKOUTS - Darling Lorraine / Riot in Room 3C - Shad - 1959

There was a band called the Knockouts that played in or around Dunkirk, NY in the mid to late 90's. They sounded like the Ramones covering Dion and the Belmonts and had a hit single (as far as I was concerned) called "I'm In Love With A Tenth Grader." To boot, they were pretty cool guys.

This is NOT a record by that band.

The top side of this record is cute. It's a lot like 'Earth Angel' but replace the Penguin's sugary vocals with something a bit more rockabilly influenced. All the sentiment is still there, just a bit rougher around the edges. Apparently this song slipped through the cracks and never really charted, though it was the closest the Knockouts ever got to a hit.

I actually bought this record because of the promising title on the flip side, though it doesn't quite live up to expectations. This is an instrumental song that sounds strangely similar to 'Rebel Rouser' by Duane Eddy. The intro "There's a riot goin on in room 3C" is pretty funny though. I'm planning an instro podcast here, it'll likely show up on that.

Alright.

PsychedelicElvis