Cash Box, Music Page 56 July 3, 1954

— The Cash Box, Music Page 56 July 3, 1954

£ THE R&B LABEL TO WATCH ! \ The Latest Trend: V JOSIE (JO-Z) ^ HITS GALORE R&B Disks Are Going Pop

Mr. Blues CALVIN RUFFIN

singing atCRYING CRYING’’ JOSIE RECORD # 761 e Low Down Blues by BARS THE FOUR JERRY WEXLER and AHMET ERTEGUN (i GRIEF RY DAY, GRIEF RY NIGHT’’ If rhythm and blues music keeps “cat” music. And what kind moves an r & b seller, a cat item—or, too happening the way it has been, we’re them? Well, it’s the up-to-date blues often, nothing. 762 JOSIE RECORD # all going to wake up one morning and with a beat, with infectious catch Wherefore this predilection? In our find ourselves in the middle of a phrases, and with highly danceable opinion, it stems from the kids’ need full-fledged trend—and if there’s one rhythms. Not all r & b qualifies as for dance records. With all due re- thing everybody in the music business cat music. It has to kick, it has to spect to the fine dance bands that have ! seems to love, it’s a trend. Trends move, and it has to have a message weathered the epizootic that blighted make copy. For the group known as for the sharp youngsters who dig. the band business after the last war “a posteriori portent” spotters (bow- Rather than risk becoming pedantic, and to the few new ones that have © takers to you), trends satisfy the ego. we hereby refrain from further at- achieved some success on records and They're Ridin' High For some souls trends even sell sheet tempt at definition, and instead offer on the road, they don’t seem to fur- music and records. a few examples of the cat genre nish what was furnished by Goodman THE RAY-O-VACS Like the hillbilly movement that records which swept the rhythm & and Lunceford and Miller and Dorsey. began three or four years ago, the blues markets and went on to become Bostic is furnishing it, and so is hi jazz craze of the early ’twenties, the favorites with many, many young Bradshaw and Miss Brown and the DARLING’’ swing era of the ’thirties, the blues white record fans: Lloyd Price’s leading groups abovementioned. and style appears to be infiltrating the “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” The Clovers’ The pop record companies are tak- ” pop marketplace. Of course, the blues “Good Lovin’ and “Lovey Dovey,” ing cognizance, and they’re covering. “HIDIN’ HIGH” have happened before—but about that, The Drifters’ “Money Honey” and In some instances the cover records more later. “Such A Night”, The Crows’ “Gee,” make out. In most cases the original JOSIE RECORD #763 How can one tell that rhythm and Joe Turner’s “Honey Hush,” The r & b or cat record seems to wax blues is coming? Well, there’s a raft Four Tunes’ “Marie,” Ruth Brown’s stronger with each additional cover of objective evidence, but even if “Mama,” Amos Milburn’s “Bad Bad version. But in any case, cat music is there weren’t, you’d know something Whiskey,” and, most recently, The really on stage in the national music was happening if only from the num- Chords’ “Sh-Boom.” (Note the pre- scene. ponderance of groups paralleling ber of Broadway songwriters who — The same holds true of our leading the current dominance of groups in check in for the short course in the pop deejays in most important record the strictly pop field.) Best blues, and from the inquiries of es- markets. Three attitudes seem to pre- Her tablished publishers who scent copy The cat market spread through vail : o sales in the works of Chuck Willis and Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, (1) Cat music knocks me out—I’m Ruth Brown. In all seriousness, the and in the Carol inas was marked par- McGRIFF going to play all the good ones I can EDNA interest of Tin Pan Alley in rhythm ticularly by the appearance of the find and see if I can’t put them over and blues is very significant, because “beach record”—disks (as often as ii in my territory. the professional songwriters and not jumping blues items) released in I’LL RE AROUND’ the top music publishers are utterly com- the spring and played all summer on (2) I don’t know—rif Jones, b/w mitted to a knowledge of the trade seaside jukeboxes and portables. Cali- deejay in the city really makes one of these things locally, sure I’ll play it, “00H, LITTLE DADDY’ winds, and as Custodians of Copy- fornia went strong and early for the right they have to know. blues, aided no doubt by the pachuco but I won’t pioneer the stuff. predilection for swinging jazz Not on my show. (The negative JOSIE RECORD # 764 To get down to the nub of it, here’s (3) what happened: rhythms. attitude is similar to that which was encountered in some places during the As far as we can determine, the Cat worked its way north, and now “swing era”.) first area where the blues stepped Boston and Cleveland are jumping, out in the current renascence was the as are Philadelphia and Detroit, and But what’s significant is that every- South. Distidbutors there about two Pittsburgh is well on the way. Chicago body is compelled to take a stand. it’s a years ago began to report that white and St. Louis have not been immune, They’ve all heard about it and high school and college kids were and these two important pop markets real live issue. picking up on the rhythm and blues are showing signs of the cat conver- We don’t know if any great conclu- sion. © records—primarily to dance to. From sions can be drawn from all this, ex- Watch For New Releases all accounts, the movement was initi- One of the big tip-offs is the record cept maybe this: Beware of too much ated by youthful hillbilly fans rather hop. The pop deejays in New England categorizing (no pun intended). by these great Artists i than the pop bobbysoxers—and the and the middle west who began to Rhythm & blues is folk music, like a latter group followed right along. A visit the high schools with a satchelful lot of hillbilly and Latin music and THE TEAR DROPS few alert pop disk jockeys observed of Eddie Fisher’s and Jo Stafford’s some pop. Record buyers don’t read the current, switched to rhythm and found the kids asking for The Clovers the charts—if a record knocks them CADILLACS blues formats, and soon were deluged and Fats Domino, and it behooved out they buy it and take it home and THE with greater audiences, both white the spinners to find out who and what play it for their friends, and Percy is to and negro, and more and more spon- the kids had in mind and to produce Faith’s new one right next Dinah GLORIA ALLYNE sors. Washington’s latest in the parlor rec- the records. For every two or three Conservative old line Victor fran- ord rack. AND A TOP BAND Como’s and Patti Page’s, the record chised record stores in southern cities It happened before, back in the jockeys now have to put on a cat AUSTIN who not long ago regarded Decca and hop ’twenties, when Perry Bradford and SYLVESTER Mercury as offbrand upstarts found record so that the kids can swing out. Spencer Williams were as hot as themselves compelled to stock, display, The juke box operators, even more Berlin and Bessie Smith and Ethel ! and push rhythm and blues record- the jockeys, Waters sold their records in the mil- ings, and are happily wailing up a lot directly involved than of volume to the “pop” audience that have been putting blues and cat disks lions into a lot of white parlors. It’s their Northern counterparts are now into more and more so-called “pop” happening again, and the blues will beginning to suspect may be there. locations, and initial operator reaction get stronger before they get weaker, The southern bobbysoxers began to to blues records is now a good key to but regardless of its impact on the on. call the r & b records that move them whether the record is going to be just pop field, the blues will surely go

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