Back in April of 2020 my good friend Steve showed me some boxes of 45’s that had been his dad’s.  There’s nothing I like better than browsing through old records, and for the next hour or so I didn’t talk, except to occasionally get extremely excited by some of the titles- “WPLJ” by the Four Deuces, “Mercy, Mercy” by Don Covay and the Goodtimers, “Ooh Poo Pah Doo” by Jessie Hill- here were the original versions of songs I had heard years ago, covered by The Rolling Stones, Frank Zappa and Taj Mahal!  A treasure trove of songs.

I offered to rip them to mp3 and put them on cd so he could listen to them- not to mention so I could listen to them! This project took many months to complete.  I’m still not done, and that only includes the songs that I recognized.  There are also a TON of beach music singles by local groups like the Embers and the Fantastik Shakers, and those will be digitized soon.

These songs inspired me to make four different ‘cover’ mixes, where I put the original next to the cover.  Absolutely enlightening.  The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Harry Nilsson, Leon Russell and many others have done covers of these songs.  Fun facts:  “Work With Me Annie,” which was banned for suggestive lyrics, is considered one of the first real examples of what became ‘rocknroll.’  Jimi Hendrix and Bernard Purdie play on “Mercy, Mercy.” “My Guy” was actually recorded before “My Girl.”  “Everlasting Love” has been covered multiple times, most famously by Carl Carlton in the 70’s.  The VAST majority of these formative and influential RnB and Motown songs were written and recorded by African American artists, and later covered by younger white rocknrollers.  I could list all the covers here- but why don’t you look them up?

In order to convey the essence of this find, I put together an 80 minute mix of all the high points for me, leaning towards the more obscure songs, in chronological order from 1948 to 1974.  Put THESE in your Spotify and smoke ‘em!

For the record, Steve’s dad’s name is Stephen Jolley, and he was a DJ during the 80’s.  Seems that many of these were in his private collection for many years before that- what immaculate taste!

1. Fine Brown Frame- Nellie Lutcher, 1948
2. Work With Me Annie- Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, 1954
3. Annie Had A Baby- Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, 1954
4. Roll With Me Henry- Etta James, 1955
5. WPLJ- The Four Deuces, 1956
6. Let the Good Times Roll- Shirley and Lee, 1956
7. Young Blood- The Coasters, 1957
8. Searchin’- The Coasters, 1957
9. Stay- Maurice Williams, 1960
10. Ooh Poo Pah Doo- Jessie Hill, 1960
11. You Better Move On- Arthur Alexander, 1961
12. Hey Baby- Bruce Channel, 1961
13. Hitch Hike- Marvin Gaye, 1962
14. Anna (Go to Him)- Arthur Alexander, 1962
15. On Broadway- The Drifters, 1963
16. The Monkey Time- Major Lance, 1963
17. Harlem Shuffle- Bob and Earl, 1963
18. My Guy- Mary Wells, 1964
19. Mercy, Mercy- Don Covay and the Goodtimers, 1964
20. My Girl- The Temptations, 1964
21. Rescue Me- Fontella Bass, 1965
22. Everlasting Love- Robert Knight, 1967
23. Girl Watcher- The O’Kaysions, 1968
24. More Today Than Yesterday- Spiral Staircase, 1969
25. Band of Gold- Freda Payne, 1970
26. Give Me Just A Little More Time- The Chairmen of the Board, 1970
27. Treat Her Like A Lady- Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose, 1971
28. I’ll Be Around- The Spinners, 1972
29. You Make Me Feel Brand New- The Stylistics, 1974

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