Wednesday, December 24, 2014

RAY BARTLETT - Stan's Record Revue radio show (KWKH, December 1951)

Ray Bartlett's Groovey Boy promotional photograph (1950)



Ray Bartlett moved to Shreveport in 1947 to work for KWKH. At the radio station, he performed a variety of jobs. This included serving as a morning announcer, disc jockey, and emcee on the newly established Louisiana Hayride. Perhaps Bartlett’s most celebrated role, though, involved his jive-talking “Groovie Boy” persona who spun rhythm and blues records on the radio show “Groovie’s Boogie.”

Groovie left his mark in a variety of places. He’s immortalized in song thanks to Bartlett’s Shreveport friend and stage partner Red Sovine – “Groovy Boy” (MGM 10642, 1950), also covered by Webb Pierce and His Southern Valley Boys as “Groovie Boogie Woogie Boy” (4 Star 1447, 1950). Early 1950s newspaper advertisements reveal Groovie had a stake in Groovie’s Record Department located within the Hull Furniture store. According to music biographers, Groovie’s influence shaped the listening habits of teenagers like Bob Dylan and Buddy Holly.

While no recordings of the “Groovie’s Boogie” radio show have surfaced, we can hear Ray Bartlett host an installment of “Stan’s Record Revue” from December 1951.  Sponsored by Shreveport record store owner Stan Lewis, this radio show featured blues and gospel releases available for mail order at discount prices. Just remember: “Late folks, this is not one big hit record and four records that you never heard of before in your life. All five of the records that you get in the Howlin’ Wolf Blues Special are the biggest hits in the nation right today, and only Stan’s Record Shop, Shreveport, Louisiana, makes the offer!”

Thanks for providing details: the Bartlett family, Andrew Brown, and Stan Lewis.

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Stan's Record Revue radio show (KWKH, December 1951)
Hosted by Ray Bartlett

[00:00-00:10] Bartlett talks

[00:10-03:10] Roy Milton - Christmas Time Blues (Specialty 381, 1950)

[03:10-04:25] Bartlett talks - "Stan's Christmas Blues Special"
1. Lowell Fulson - Lonesome Christmas Part 1 / Lonesome Christmas Part 2
2. Roy Milton - Christmas Time Blues / Oh Babe (Specialty 381, 1950)
3. Charles Brown - Merry Christmas Baby / Lost in the Night (Swing Time 238, 1950)
4. Roy Hawkins - I Walk Alone / Gloom and Misery All Around (Modern 842, 1951)
5. Amos Milburn - She's Gone Again / Boogie-Woogie (Aladdin 3105, 1951)

[04:25-06:50] Roberta Martin Singers - He's All I Need (Fidelity 2000, 1951)

[06:50-07:45] Bartlett talks

[07:45-10:40] Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - She Winked Her Eye (Peacock 1576, 1951)

[10:40-13:10] Bartlett talks - "Howlin' Wolf Blues Special"
1. Howlin' Wolf - How Many More Years / Moanin' At Midnight (Chess 1479, 1951)
2. John Lee Hooker - I'm in the Mood / How Can You Do It (Modern 835, 1951)
3. Larks - Little Side Car / Hey Little Girl (Apollo 429, 1951)
4. Muddy Waters - Still A Fool / My Fault (Chess 1480, 1951)
5. Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - She Winked Her Eye / Sad Hour (Peacock 1576, 1951)

[13:10-15:20] Roy Milton - Best Wishes (Specialty 414, 1951)

[15:20-17:40] Bartlett talks

[17:40-20:10] Pilgrim Travelers - Who Am I (Specialty 807, 1951)

[20:10-22:20] Bartlett talks - "Stan's Spiritual Special"
1. Soul Stirrers - Joy, Joy To My Soul / Come, Let's Go Back To God (Specialty 813, 1951)
2. Original Gospel Harmonettes - I'm Sealed / Just to Behold His Face (Specialty 811, 1951)
3. The Spiritual Stars - Good Religion / I'll Search Heaven (Chess 1485, 1951)
4. Detroiters - Mother Don't Cry About Your Child / Let Jesus Lead You (Specialty 809, 1951)
5. Pilgrim Travelers - Jesus, I'm Thankful / Who Am I (Specialty 807, 1951)

[22:20-23:20] Percy Mayfield - Cry Baby (Speciality 416, 1951)

[23:20-23:45] Bartlett talks - Stan's Record Revue details

[23:45-24:09] Percy Mayfield - Cry Baby (Speciality 416, 1951)

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KWKH program log:
4:15-5:00pm Groovie's Boogie,
10:30-11:00pm Stan's Record Revue,
7:15-7:30am Red Sovine,
8:30-8:45am Webb Pierce.
Source: Shreveport Times (Shreveport, Louisiana), December 6, 1951.
Full size display.

Groovie's Record Department advertisement.
Source: Shreveport Sun (Shreveport, Louisiana), February 4, 1950.

Groovie's 10 Top Tunes advertisements.
Source: Shreveport Sun (Shreveport, Louisiana), February 11, 1950 and March 4, 1950.

Red Sovine and Ray Bartlett at CHS (Shreveport's Central High School?), circa 1950

Monday, October 27, 2014

NORMA DRAGOO - Nightmare (Custom Sound, circa 1970)



Norma Dragoo - Nightmare (Custom Sound, circa 1970)



“In the dead of the night…” Norma Dragoo recorded the song “Nightmare” sometime in the early 1970s. Detective work performed by the Shreveport Songs blog reveals a few clues, but we welcome your input.

On December 19, 1999, the Shreveport Times newspaper published an obituary for Norma Jean Taylor Dragoo (1942-1999). She was a native and resident of Shreveport; her occupation – self-employed hair stylist. It appears this is the same Norma Dragoo who recorded “Nightmare.”

The details printed on the label of the record list George Armstrong as executive producer. His name also surfaces as producer on records released on another Shreveport label, Travis. The “Nightmare” record contains a reference to Heads Up Music, a music publishing company operated by Harding Guyon DesMarais (aka Dee Marais), who ran the Bayou Record Shop and Murco record label.

Online auctioneers may have noticed that a reel-to-reel recording of “Nightmare” surfaced a few years ago. The original tape box even contained a typewritten lyric sheet. Here are images of both items in all their fuzzy pixelated glory.


Norma J. Dragoo reel to reel tape box (circa 1970)

Norma Jean Dragoo "Nightmare" lyric sheet (circa 1970)

Norma Jean Taylor Dragoo obituary,
Shreveport Times (Shreveport, LA), December 19, 1999.

Friday, July 11, 2014

ZEKE CLEMENTS - Louisiana (MGM, 1949)



ZEKE CLEMENTS - Louisiana (MGM, 1949)


From the fall of 1948 until the fall of 1950, Zeke Clements called Shreveport home. During this time, he hosted radio shows (music as well as news programs), performed on the Louisiana Hayride, and  recorded this song about his “home sweet home” Louisiana.

The song “Louisiana” begins by mentioning the Red River, the river that runs through Shreveport. Then, the lyrics list things more closely associated with places about 200 miles south of Clements’s North Louisiana home. Granted, Shreveport does have gumbo, bayous, Cajuns, and Mardi Gras...just in limited quantities.

Clements arrived in Shreveport an established musician. He performed on the Grand Ole Opry during the 1930s and 1940s. He had already appeared on over twenty records.  His songwriting yielded considerable successes, most notably “Smoke on the Water” in 1944.  Perhaps his most unique job, though, involved yodeling as Bashful in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in 1937.

During Clements’s Shreveport days, he hosted a KWKH radio program titled Hayride Hit Parade. According to one newspaper article, the program featured "top hillbilly tunes selected from best seller lists, polls, and jukebox favorites" ("'Hayride Hit Parade' To Feature Hillbilly Hits," Shreveport Times [Shreveport, LA], December 5, 1948.).  Thanks to his radio program sponsorships, Clements also advertised vegetable shortening and farm animal feed.

Here are a few of our favorite Zeke Clements items from his Shreveport days.

Zeke Clements--new to Shreveport radio.  Daily...Monday through Friday. 
Shreveport Times
(Shreveport, LA), September 7, 1948.

Zeke Clements spins hillbilly hit records. 
Shreveport Times
(Shreveport, LA), December 20, 1948.

Zeke Clements advertises animal feed bath towels. 
Shreveport Times
(Shreveport, LA), September 13, 1949.

Zeke Clements, wing tip boots, and Scoco vegetable shortening (circa 1949).
Source: Louisiana State University in Shreveport Archives and Special Collections.

Monday, April 14, 2014

HUDDIE "LEADBELLY" LEDBETTER - Mister Tom Hughes' Town (Library of Congress, 1934)


St. Paul's Bottoms neighborhood, Shreveport, Louisiana (circa 1925).
Note: Fannin Street runs diagonally from bottom right corner.

For “part one” -- an overview of Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter’s connection to Shreveport’s St. Paul’s Bottoms neighborhood (renamed Ledbetter Heights in 1982) -- check out our post on the 20x49 blog.

For "part two," we now turn our attention to Leadbelly’s earliest recording about Shreveport’s red light district located within a portion of the Bottoms neighborhood. Also included are a few photographs and newspaper clippings about the district. Our hope is that by assembling this material, readers can wade past the local folklore to discover a few unique details about Leadbelly and our city's red light district as well as learn where to go for more information.


LEADBELLY - Mister Tom Hughes' Town (Library of Congress 121-A, circa July 1, 1934)



In early July 1934, Leadbelly recorded a song referencing Shreveport’s red light district.  The recording took place as part of his second session for John Lomax and his son Alan, who were traveling the South to record music for the Library of Congress. At the time, Leadbelly was serving time at the state penitentiary in Angola, nearly 200 miles from his North Louisiana stomping ground. Only a few weeks after this recording, Louisiana’s Governor O. K. Allen commuted his sentence. On August 1, 1934, Leadbelly was released from prison because of good behavior.

The song “Mister Tom Hughes' Town” relates the story of Leadbelly visiting the Bottoms against his mother’s wishes. Between 1934 and 1948, Leadbelly recorded it nearly a dozen times with slight variations on the lyrics and title. Other titles include “Fannin Street” and “Cry for Me."  For a detailed examination of the song, Benjamin Filene offers a three page analysis in his book Romancing the Folk: Public Memory & American Roots Music (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000), 66-68.

This first recording of "Mister Tom Hughes' Town" offers a few risqué lyrics omitted from subsequent recordings of the song. Leadbelly's earliest biography, Negro Folk Songs As Sung by Lead Belly, published in 1936, acknowledged these lyrics in a brief footnote, but only printed a portion of them. The book also states, "This is the saddest and gayest of all Lead Belly’s songs. It is his own ballad and his own estimate of the most important conflict of his life. He prophesies his destiny and at the same time accepts and defies it. The melody is that of a vulgar red-light song. The accompaniment is the swiftest, most intricate and exciting of his entire repertoire [...]" (176).  The unedited lyrics heard in the 1934 recording are
I got a woman living on the back side of jail
Makes an honest living, boys, by the working of her tail.
Look here mama, let’s go to bed
The kid little boy child was born a man.
An interesting bit of minutiae about the song are its references to local sheriff Thomas Roland Hughes. Hughes served as sheriff from 1916 to 1940.  As such, the song combines Leadbelly’s experience running away from home to go to the red light district (circa 1904) with the name of the sheriff at the time of the audio recording (1934).

No primary sources have surfaced that specifically document Leadbelly’s hanging around Shreveport’s red light district circa 1904. However, sources do exist that shed light on the district’s general activities and appearance. Here are a handful of our favorites that appear to have slipped through the cracks of other publications about Leadbelly and Shreveport's red light district.

At the turn of the century, music and dancing were illegal in "any saloon, house of prostitution, or wine room in the City of Shreveport." Judging by newspaper articles from the era, these types of places didn't appear overly concerned with following laws.
Source: Ordinances (1839-1909) of the City of Shreveport, Louisiana (Shreveport, La: M.L. Bath, 1909), 193.

Shreveport's annual city directories include sections listing the city's saloons. As was the custom of the day, these directories identify businesses run by African Americans with a "(c)" which stood for colored. Directories from the early 1900s list only two saloons operated by and catering to African Americans. They were George Neil's saloon (828 Fannin Street) and Caesar DeBose's saloon (300 Beauregard Street, now Douglas Street). These saloons were located at the same intersection diagonally across the street from each other. Some versions of Leadbelly's song about visiting the Bottoms mention visiting a barrelhouse (i.e., bar) and hanging out with chippies (i.e., prostitutes). Perhaps Leadbelly visited the saloons run by Neil and DeBose. Local newspapers took numerous opportunties to denounce both businesses as the "vilest dives" in the city. They earned this reputation by frequently breaking laws related to alcohol sales (on Sunday, to prostitutes, etc.). It didn't help their image that a number of murders occurred inside these saloons, as well. On the other hand, during this time period, the city's newspapers appear to have thought that offering African American news meant reporting exclusively on local black criminals. As a sample, here are three newspaper articles about the saloons run by Neil and DeBose.

"In Neil's Dive," The Caucasian (Shreveport, LA), May 28, 1905.
"A Nuisance," The Caucasian (Shreveport, LA), June 25, 1907.
"Negro Stampede," The Caucasian (Shreveport, LA), September 27, 1910.

Photographs taken in Shreveport's red light district while it was in operation (1903-1917) appear to have vanished from the face of the earth or have yet to be publicly shared.  Nevertheless, images do exist documenting the neighborhood and its buildings in later years.

Intersection of Fannin and Douglas streets, looking west (1963). The 7-11 Package Liquor & Grocery is the building that formerly operated as Caesar DeBose's saloon. Source: Louisiana State University in Shreveport Archives and Special Collections, Collection 393, Jacket 29924.
Intersection of Fannin and Baker streets, looking south (circa 1955).  Source: Louisiana State University in Shreveport Archives and Special Collections.

In 1976, Paramount Pictures released the film Leadbelly directed by Gordon Parks.  When the film was released, some of Leadbelly's family sued Paramount for 16.5 million dollars claiming the film depicted him in a "vile and rude manner which would shock the conscious."  The family lost the lawsuit. The publicity photograph below shows Paramount's set for "Fannin Street" when first visited by Leadbelly. The thirty-seven-year-old actor Roger E. Mosley portrayed Leadbelly, who would have been sixteen-years-old at the time.
Source: Leadbelly film publicity photograph, 1976.

As for Leadbelly's activities after leaving Shreveport's red light district circa 1906, he migrated from one Texas town to another. Perhaps during this time he still occasionally visited friends in Shreveport. In 1918, though, his time spent moving around Northeast Texas came to an abrupt halt when he was convicted of murder and sent to Shaw State Prison Farm (near the intersecting borders of Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma), then later transferred to the Central State Prison Farm, also known as Sugarland (near Houston, Texas).  After almost completing his minimum sentence of seven years, Texas Governor Pat M. Neff signed a pardon releasing Leadbelly from prison in 1925.  After his release from prison, Leadbelly spent time in Houston, then moved back to Mooringsport, Louisiana.  In 1930, though, he was back in jail for cutting a man during a fight.  He was sentenced to the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola.

There are many publications about Leadbelly; there are a few publications about Shreveport's red light district.  If you'd like to explore either subject, here are our favorite resources:
  • E. O. Allen memoirs, 1944; Goodloe R. Stuck Papers, 1893-1995; Louisiana State University in Shreveport Archives and Special Collections.  Note: Allen served as Shreveport's chief of police circa 1908.
  • Monty Brown, “Chapter 2: Sukey Jump: 1889-1909,” Leadbelly Blog, posted December 2, 2007, http://misterhuddie.blogspot.com/2007/12/chapter-2-sukey-jump.html.
     
  • John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax, Negro Folk Songs As Sung by Lead Belly, "King of the Twelve-String Guitar Players of the World," Long-Time Convict in the Penitentiaries of Texas and Louisiana (New York, NY: Macmillan Company, 1936).
     
  • Goodloe Stuck, Annie McCune: Shreveport Madam (Baton Rouge, LA: Moran Pub. Corp., 1981).
     
  • Charles Wolfe and Kip Lornell, The Life and Legend of Leadbelly (New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 1992).
For those interested in chasing down the multiple recordings of the song “Mister Tom Hughes' Town” (aka “Fannin Street” aka “Cry for Me"), here are the details.
Louisiana State Penitentiary, Angola, Louisiana, circa July 1, 1934
121-A "Mister Tom Hughes' Town" [Library of Congress; Document Records CD-5579]

Little Rock, Arkansas, September 27, 1934
236-B-3 "Mister Tom Hughes' Town" [Library of Congress; Document Records CD-5591]

State Farm, Tucker, Arkansas, circa October 1, 1934
246-B-3 "Mister Tom Hughes' Town" [Library of Congress]

New York City, February 5, 1935
16808 "Mister Tom Hughes' Town" [American Record Corporation unissued; Columbia Records S30035]

Wilton, Connecticut, circa February 13, 1935 [or January 20, 1935]
137-A "Mister Tom Hughes' Town" [Library of Congress]
137-B-1 "Mister Tom Hughes' Town" [Library of Congress]

New York City, April 1, 1939
GM-498 "Fannin Street" [Musicraft Records 225]

New York City, circa fall 1942
Ace 378 "Fannin Street"

New York City, October 1948
"Cry for Me" [Folkways Records LP 242 & 2942]
"Talk About Fannin Street" [Folkways Records LP 242 & 2942]
"Fannin Street" [Folkways Records LP 242 & 2942]
Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 21, 1948
"Fannin Street" [Document Records CD-5664
P.S. Most of the original buildings that once stood in Shreveport's red light district no longer exist.  This photograph taken around 2007 is fairly representative of the area...except now the Millennium film studio occupies half of the old red light district.  The image below is taken from the same spot as the one above depicting Love's Cafe (circa 1955).  At least Lucky Liquor on Fannin Street is still in operation.
Intersection of Fannin and Baker streets, looking south (circa 2007).  Source: Google Maps.

P. P. S. Contrary to popular belief and local lore, no evidence has surfaced to indicate that Leadbelly performed at Shreveport’s Municipal Auditorium, which opened in November 1929. For an early African American singer that did, we recommend checking out Roland Hayes who appeared onstage in February 1930.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Rev. Utah Smith's grave and recent finds

Rev. Utah Smith's grave at Carver Memorial Cemetery (Shreveport, Louisiana), June 5, 2016

I first heard the recordings of Shreveport-born guitar evangelist Rev. Utah Smith about ten years ago. Shortly thereafter, I discovered a few local newspaper articles about him and happened to begin corresponding with two music historians working to publish Smith’s biography. They informed me that he was buried in a Shreveport cemetery and asked if I could photograph the gravesite. Here’s a story of the experience plus a few Utah Smith related items that I’ve run across since the book’s publication in 2008.

If you’re new to Utah Smith, I recommend the following:
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The way I remember it, around 2005, I noticed that WFMU disc jockey Kevin Nutt played a song by the Ever Ready Gospel Singers on his radio show, “Sinner’s Crossroads.” I emailed Nutt to compliment him on the Shreveport selection and introduce myself. The introduction turned out to be good timing. Nutt was slated to publish a book/compact disc on Utah Smith written by Lynn Abbott. He told me about the project and asked if I could photograph Smith’s grave in south Shreveport. I agreed.

About a year earlier, Andrew Brown introduced me to the recordings of Utah Smith and pointed out that he was born in Shreveport. Around the same time, I discovered a few 1940s-era newspaper articles about Smith published in a local newspaper, The Shreveport Sun. The request for me to visit the grave was the first time I heard that Smith was actually buried here.

I flipped open the phone book, located the number, and dialed. A woman answered “Carver Memorial Cemetery,” and I asked for the burial location of Utah Smith, who passed away in 1965. Having checked their files, she returned to the phone – “Section A, Lot 70, Grave 5.”

The next day, I visited the cemetery with a camera. After spending ten minutes hopelessly wandering the tombstones, I noticed a worker in the distance. Perhaps he could help. I drove to that end of the cemetery, parked next to a fresh pile of dirt, and explained my fruitless search. “That’s near the front entrance. Just meet me there in five minutes, and I’ll show you.” Back at the entrance, I walked behind the employee as he counted off the rows. “How can you tell where anything is?” I asked. “We have numbered metal markers in the ground, see...” He used his foot to kick aside a layer of dirt, leaves, and pine straw. Underneath lay a small piece of metal with etched numbers. After a short walk, the cemetery worker stopped and pointed to the ground. “Well, here it is.” That was my introduction to the unmarked grave of Rev. Utah Smith. I snapped a photo and sent it to Nutt. It appears at the end of the book.

Since that initial visit, I’ve wondered why Utah Smith’s grave didn’t have a headstone. The plot sits alongside many other graves with tombstones. Perhaps in 1965 there was a temporary marker that didn’t stand the test of time. I also wondered if the location was incorrect. About two years ago, I repeated the process from phone call to employee pointing at the ground. Once again, it ended with me staring at the same wide, grassy spot sandwiched between other tombstones. Maybe one day Utah Smith’s family and friends can coordinate the installation of a marker etched with two wings.

Rev. Utah Smith's grave at Carver Memorial Cemetery (Shreveport, Louisiana), April 2006

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Since the publication of Abbott’s book in 2008, I’ve stumbled across a few additional pieces of the Utah Smith story.  Here they are:

"Hundreds Gather in Downpour to Watch Immersion of Converts," The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, PA), June 13, 1938, 2.  Thanks to Clive Holloway for sharing this citation.
 



Thelma Watson, "Natchez Catastrophe Blamed on Dancing, Saints Criticize," The Plaindealer (Kansas City, KS), May 3, 1940.

"Minister Makes Recordings of Revival Series," The Afro-American (Baltimore, MD), February 4, 1941.
 
The Billboard, June 17, 1944, 19.

 
The Billboard, January 18, 1947, 31.

The Billboard, March 15, 1952, 16.

The Billboard, August 22, 1953, 17.
 
Carver Memorial Cemetery (Shreveport, Louisiana) map, June 1952.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

March 8, 2014: Unscene! A Tribute to Stan “The Record Man” Lewis

Lightnin' Hopkins - "Uncle Stan, the Hip Hit Record Man" 45 (Jewel 825, 1968/1972)

On Saturday, March 8, 2014, Shreveport will celebrate the achievements of Stan “The Record Man” Lewis. The day includes performances by musicians who recorded for the Jewel/Paula/Ronn record labels, panel discussions featuring Shreveport disc jockeys, and a public interview/Q & A with Stan Lewis.

The complete details are posted at the following link -- Shreveport Regional Arts Council (SRAC) “Unscene! A Tribute to Stan 'The Record Man' Lewis."

The Shreveport Songs blog encourages readers to check out our favorite songs listed below that Lewis had a hand in recording, writing, or releasing.  Internet searches reveal most are available online for listening.

In closing, two questions for readers:
  1. What's your favorite song connected to Stan Lewis?
  2. Anything you want us to ask Lewis this weekend during the interview?
A selection of songs recorded, written, or released by Stan Lewis:
  • Lowell Fulson - “Reconsider Baby” (Checker 804, 1954)
  • The Flamingos - “I’ll Be Home” (Checker 830, 1955)
  • Jimmy Lee and Wayne Walker - “Love Me” (Chess 4863, 1955)
  • Dale Hawkins - “Susie-Q” (Checker 863, 1957)
  • Gene Wyatt - "Lover Boy" (Ebb 123, 1957)
  • TV Slim and His Heartbreakers - “To Prove My Love” (Speed 6865, 1958)
  • Lucky Clark - “So Sick” (Chess 1782, 1961)
  • Bobby Charles - “Everybody’s Laughing” (Jewel 728, 1964)
  • Banny Price - “There Goes The Girl” (Jewel 733, 1964)
  • The Five Jets - “The Shake” (Jewel 739, 1964)
  • Carter Brothers - "Southern Country Boy" (Jewel 745, 1965)
  • Jerry McCain - “728 Texas (Where The Action Is)” (Jewel 753, 1965)
  • Tom & the Cats - “Wine Song” (Jewel 750, 1965)
  • The Uniques - “You Ain’t Tuff” (Paula, 231, 1966)
  • Peppermint Harris - “Wait Until It Happens To You” (Jewel 772, 1966)
  • In-Crowd - “Nothing You Do” (Ronn 1, 1966)
  • Curtis Griffin - “I Gotta Lump” (Jewel 755, 1966)
  • Frank Frost - My Back Scratcher (Jewel 765, 1966)
  • Lonnie and Floyd - “You Got To Feel It” (Jewel 781, 1967)
  • Nat Stuckey - “Paralyze My Mind” (Paula 243, 1966)
  • Toussaint McCall - “Nothing Takes The Place Of You” (Ronn 3, 1967)
  • Dumas King - “Loose Eel” (Ronn 4, 1967)
  • John Fred And His Playboy Band - “Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)” (Paula 282, 1967)
  • Lightnin’ Hopkins - “Uncle Stan, The Hip Hit Record Man” (Jewel 825, 1968/1972)
  • Bill Bush - “I’m Waiting” (Ronn 17, 1968)
  • Little Duck and the Quackers - “Excuse Me” (Ronn 19, 1968)
  • Bill Bohannon - “Shreveport, Louisiana” (Paula 292, 1968)
  • Stanley Winston - “No More Ghettos In America” (Jewel 149, 1970)
  • Ted Taylor - “Something Strange Is Going On In My House” (Ronn 44, 1970)
  • Louis Chacere - “The Hen” (Paula 321, 1970)
  • Gene Wyatt & Dawn Glass - “Go Together” (Paula 1224, 1970)
  • Five By Five - “15 Going On 20” (Paula 326, 1970)
  • Family Tree - “Electric Kangaroo” (Paula 329, 1970)
  • Rouge Show - “Make Me Over Again” (Paula 339, 1970)
  • Little Johnny Taylor - Everybody Knows About My Good Thing (Ronn 55, 1971)
  • Genies - “No News Is Bad News” (Ronn 56, 1971)
  • Bad Habits - “If The Whole World Stopped Loving” (Paula 342, 1971)
  • Albert Washington - “Loosen These Pains And Let Me Go” (Jewel 822, circa 1972)
  • Bobby Rush - “Bowlegged Woman/Knock-Kneed Man” (Jewel 834, 1972)
  • Bobby Patterson - “She Don't Have To See You (To See Through You)” (Paula 362, 1972)
  • Roscoe Robinson - “We're Losing It Baby” (Paula 378, 1972)
  • Violinaires - “The Upper Way” (Jewel 0053, 1972)
  • Fontella Bass - “Home Wrecker” (Paula 389, 1973)
  • Soul Stirrers - “I’m Trying To Be Your Friend” (Jewel 0084, 1973)
  • The Montclairs - “Hung Up On Your Love” (Paula 390, 1973)
  • Armstrong Brothers - “Can You Treat Him Like A Brother” (Jewel 216, 1973)
  • Rev. Brady L. Blade And Zion Baptist Church Choir - “Old Ship Of Zion” (Jewel 230, 1974)
  • The Relatives - "Walking On" (Lewis 2805, 1976)

Friday, February 21, 2014

ESSIE LEE HAYES - I’m Working For The Lord b/w God Truly Healed My Body (Custom Sound, circa 1972)



ESSIE LEE HAYES - God Truly Healed My Body (Custom Sound, circa 1972)


ESSIE LEE HAYES - I’m Working For The Lord (Custom Sound, circa 1972)


Dear readers, the Shreveport Songs blog needs your help. Who is Essie Lee Hayes? Here are the details we know…

Around 1972, Essie Lee Hayes recorded two gospel songs at Sound City Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana. These songs appeared on a 45 released on Custom Sound Records. The B-side, “God Truly Healed My Body,” relates a story about Sister Essie’s sickness and subsequent healing. This spoken recording features a haunting, repetitive guitar. Hidden in the background, there’s the sound of a bass guitar and maracas. This somber recording is a favorite around these parts. The A-side, “I’m Working For The Lord,” proves to be the record’s upbeat side. It’s a memorable song, too.

Can anyone shed light on Essie Lee Hayes?

ESSIE LEE HAYES
Custom Sound SC-180 (circa 1972)
Rogan Publishing Company
SC-180-A I’m Working For The Lord (Hayes)
SC-180-B God Truly Healed My Body (Hayes)

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

January 14, 2014: Romp and Stomp’s annual all-Shreveport radio show



The ninth annual all-Shreveport radio show on Romp and Stomp is scheduled for Tuesday, January 14, 2014, from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. Tune in to KSCL 91.3 FM or listen live online at www.kscl.fm. You’ll hear songs by Shreveporters, songs about Shreveport, songs recorded in Shreveport, and songs released on Shreveport record labels.

Featured musicians include: Grégoire Nakchounian And His Russian North Star Orchestra, Sleepy Jeffers, Danny & Jerry, Marion Ester, The Mighty Ambassadors Of Shreveport La., Curly Davis & The Uniques, Reverend Joe Battle And The Gospel Explosion, and more.

KSCL 91.3 FM | Shreveport, Louisiana
Romp and Stomp | Tuesdays, 5:00 - 6:00 pm
listen live online: www.kscl.fm