1957Hepcat's channel

A CLASSIC calypso! I've got the L.P. from which this comes but, alas, have no ability to put things out on You Tube. Great song in the best calypso tradition: a serious message but sung and played to an irresistible cheerful melody. You don't usually hear harmonica on calypso records. Was th...

Must've heard this at least 2000 times and I NEVER get tired of it! REAL rock 'n' roll! I used this as my theme song on WUNH - Durham, N.H. 1988-92 and still play it at times on my WEGL - Auburn, Ala. radio show. I can also play my own version of it on the piano. "Ooh wee, Baby" for sure!

Thanks for posting! I've been curious about the original non-Frankie Ford vocal version. I like it but I do like Frankie's version better. His voice is sharper, more exciting and the hint of a yodel when he sings "Ooh Wee" is very effective. Great song! I can play it on piano. I used the Fo...

Thanks for posting! I love her piano and singing. This identical melody was adapted by Cajun singer Cleoma Falcon in the early 1930's into "Hand Me Down my Walking Cane." Jerry Lee Lewis about 1956 recorded "Hand Me Down my Walking Cane" in rock 'n' roll and uses the same verse, "All my sins a...

Wonderful recording! I've enjoyed it for decades. Check out the Percentie Brothers' 1953 version (they were Bahamians too). Lively and fun and some pretty funny lyrics!

SWEET music! Truly soulful ballad. You can hear connections to 1950's American r. & B. like "Cherry Pie" by Marvin & Johnny (1954) or Gene & Eunice - "This is my Story" (1955); or, of course, Jamaica's own Keith & Enid - "Worried over You" (1960).

Such a sweet wistful feeling. Great record!

Yah, mon! Love it! This is where American rhythm and blues meets Jamaican ska! Great music to play while driving my 1958 Oldsmobile Super 88...

I've always dug this song ever since I was 17 in 1974 cruisin' with my friends in my 1958 Oldsmobile Super 88! To PampersPete: actually "pompatus of love" is probably an homage to the Medallions who in 1954 recorded a great doo-wop ballad called "The Letter." There's a spoken recitation by lea...

Great calypso about interracial marriage! As a white man happily married to a sweet black woman born in the Bahamas, I really dig this song. Lord Beginner (Egbert Moore) was a major calypsonian from Trinidad & Tobago. Good song with a good message!

Love it! Classic West Indian tale of adultery. Other nice versions recorded by the Jamaican Lili Verona (female singer but takes male role) in 1954 and the great Bahamian, Blind Blake, ealry 1950's. Nice violin work too!

Nice minor-key calypso! Also interesting jazz-influenced backing band. Also has some tango influence. Great lyrics! As Louis Armstrong said, "the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice." Great record!

Love it! This is some fine tough R.&B. for sure. Nice guitar work too!

One of my ALL-TIME favorites! Yes, Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats (i.e., Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm) did it first but Bill Haley's wonderful remake is truly HOT STUFF! Love the sound effects as well as the hot electric guitar work. PRIME country boogie or very early rock 'n' roll!

Beautiful raw soulful gospel the way I love it! You can still find singers and groups who do this style at gospel programs, especially in some of the little churches, but you rarely hear this style on any of the big gospel radio stations anymore. Too bad! This is the real thing! That modern w...

YES, INDEED!! This is some of the best Gospel ever recorded! I play this record a lot on my weekly radio show on WEGL - Auburn, Ala. Fridays, 2 - 4 p.m. Central Time FM 91.1. Have mercy, these sisters can truly SANG!! Thanks for posting.

Beautiful! Love both the singing and the fine piano work (I play piano at our Holiness church in Alabama, so I always listen to the piano or keyboard). Nice record with a nice message!

One of my ALL-TIME favorites by the duo who recorded the original "Cherry Pie" in 1954). This song is just so warm and soulful that you've got to love it. I've featured it on my Golden Oldies radio show for the last 25 years or so and I can play a version of it on the piano. Thanks for posting...

Sorry to hear Little Sugar has passed. I saw him several times in recent years when he backed up Slim and the Supreme Angels. Outstanding guitar! Check out his recordings late 50's - early 60's with the Hightower Brothers. He could sing too! Love his version of "I'm a Child of the King," "Je...

In some ways, yes! Check out the pounding Little Richard-like piano played by Elder Charles Beck. This foot stompin' sanctified gospel was recorded in 1930 but it still rocks 80 years later!

Wonderful early gospel piano! This recording was very influential and introduced what became known as "the gospel beat" in recorded gospel music. Antique (1926 - same year my father was born) yet still sounds very moving and powerful in 2010. The legacy of Arizona Dranes lives on!

Nice, rousing old-time gospel! Arizona Dranes is the possible pianist on this song which, I believe, is actually credited to the Texas Jubilee Singers and recorded in 1928. The piano definitely sounds like Dranes but none of the vocals do. Anyway, this is some fine REAL gospel music!

Great song! Julia Lee supplies both the lively vocals and the boogie piano. I used to sometimes play this one at the end of my weekly Blues radio show on WDNA-Miami in the 1980's.

I didn't know there were other versions. This version, from 1952 by the Four Jacks on the Federal record label, is, I'm pretty sure, the original. Just love that blastin' sax, the strong vocal harmonies, deep bass lead vocals of the late Ellison White, and the semi-naughty lyrics. GREAT R. & B.!!