After swing gave birth to modern jazz and bebop, teenagers had to figure out what to dance to, since bebop just wasn’t going to do it. Up came R&B, and this 28 song collection shows you what got kids on the floor. The tunes range from the mid 50s to early 60s, and I’m going to guarantee that you’ll only know a handful of the names; don’t worry, we’ll take you there!
Piney Brown howls and wails through a rollicking “You Bring Out The Wolf In Me” while Joe Liggins steamrolls with his Honeydrippers on “In The Wee We Hours”. Willie Mae Thornton gives a calypso groove on “Just Like a Dog (Barking Up The Wrong Tree”, and Walter Spriggs with Jesse Stones Orchestra has the saxes swinging on the jivey “”(I’m Gonna) Love, Love You, Love You.” Speaking of saxes, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown’s tenor honks like a NYC taxi driver on “Swingin’ the Gate”. There’s lots of 8 beats to the bar, with Rudy Moore’s “The Buggy Ride” and Roy Milton’s rolling through “One Zippy Zam”. There are hints of Chuck Berry’s guitar on Pearl Reaves’ “You Can’t Stay Here (Step It Up And Go)” with Micky Baker hitting the six strings on Mr. Sad Head’s “I’m High”. This stuff may not be sold over the counter soon, so grab it now!