Stan Jr.

Nothing makes me happier than finding a picture sleeve (and the 45) from the 50's and/or 60's of an obscure country artist. It only helps that said artist has one of the coolest hairstyles ever! I recently found this picture sleeve in an abandoned warehouse, where an ex-record dealer keeps his left over records. By perhaps, divine intervention, it was nicely ensconced in the 25 cent box.
Not much is known about Stan Jr. Some record-collector pals of mine in a Facebook group placed the record in about December '66. I also found out that someone named Curley Smith also recorded on the Bolt label. According to the short bio on the back of the picture sleeve Stan (Anderson) jr. started out in Rock n Roll bands at the age of sixteen, and upon a friends advice switched to Country & Western. I would say, with "Whoops," he kind of mixed both worlds. Nowadays, Stan jr. does some kind of traveling tribute/memories/oldies type of show. Perhaps he squeezes this song in! As it is a pretty decent song. The B side is a ballad that hasn't quite hit me yet, so I did not bother posting it. Stan Jr. can be found on Facebook, he also has a website, http://www.stanjr.net/ For your enjoyment Stan jr. With "Whoops," plus a photo of his awesome hair!

Hillbilly in a Garage

One sub-genre that is quickly becoming one of my favorites, is country garage. The possibility that said genre actually exists is probably very unlikely. This 45 could be considered country garage. Nice honky-tonk vocals and silly country-oriented lyrics; coupled with a more rock band sound, fuzz guitar included! I love the guitar work on this tune!
Not much is known about Bob Withers, definitely a 60's release. Much has been documented on the legendary Nashville-based Bullet label, aside from a couple other labels; Bullet is one of my favorites. I love most of the stuff released on the label and I love the design of the actually label on the record! They released some great early 50's hillbilly bop, as well as some killer R & B/blues.
The 45 was more than likely recorded after Jim Bulleit sold the label to Red Wortham. Instead of writing out the entire label's history I will give you the link to their homepage http://www.bulletrecords.net/index.html

I've tried..............but failed

Very little info can be found on most of the records I post on here, this one is no exception. This 1968 garage 45 out of Indianapolis by the Early Mourning reeks of teenagers, garages and ineptness. When I first played this 45, which I grabbed from an antique shop a few towns away, my immediate reaction was to put it up for sale; but it ended up growing on me in a big way. It is probably my favorite and weirdest garage rock 45 that I own.
I love how the band sounds like they are barely hanging in there, and that a mistake can and probably did happen the first ten takes. The lack of a guitar solo, and the inability to keep time is proof of their ineptness. But, of course, that is the reason why I love the 45. This is proto-punk. It also sounds like it could have existed in any decade, from the sixties up till today. I bet one could throw it on a compilation of "early tracks," by Lou Reed/Velvet Underground, or Neil Young or (90's grunge group) Nirvana. It is, inadvertently, ahead of it's time. Here is a link on Indiana 45s/bands that I find very useful and fun: http://indiana-bands-60s.blogspot.com/

All your cryin' don't do no good.....

Well, it has been a great while since I have posted anything on here. Frankly, it has been a long while since I have been able to post anything on here. On the 21st of August, my wife and I tied the knot. I had to sell some big favorite 45s to help fund it, which kind of put me into a record-induced depression. The wedding was beautiful and stands as one of the greatest moments in my life, I quickly got over the loss of a hand full of records.July of last year, me and my wife's worst fear was brought to life. On November 4th 2010, our oldest son Ryman Lee Russell was diagnosed with Autism. In the month of July my wife called me ballin' her eyes out, she told me that the family doctor said that Ry was showing some red flags. July to November of last year proved to be the worst period of my life. We quickly saw the red flags that I and others (my wife had prior worries that he was showing signs) always thought were just quirky nuances. I thought that he was just like his dad, usually stuck in his own world and not that into people. In came a torrential downpour of emotions. We were forced to change our lives. We were lost, most importantly my son was lost.
We started doing research like crazy, I must have read 50 or so books, read articles, watched documentaries, and put my energy towards contacting the people who could help. Anyway, to make a long story short; my son is now making improvements, he is steeped in therapy and biomedical treatments. We are no longer lost, he is no longer lost. And for the first time in a long time, I feel as if I can give at least an iota of my energy to something besides Autism. So I am bringing this blog back to live.
Like most people do, I turned to music to help me deal with my emotions and feelings. I am a huge fan of Tom Waits, the man is a genius. I still shed a tear every time I hear Tom Waits' "Come on up to the House," the whole album is great. His songwriting is on par, if not better than Hank Williams. And this particular tune gives Blind Willie Johnson a run for his spiritual money. This song definitely got me through a really dark scary part of my life.