Bloodrock

Artist: Bloodrock

LP: U.S.A.

Song: "Rock & Roll Candy Man" 
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Wasn't sure what to post today, so pulled this one randomly from my collection. It'll do. Bloodrock U.S.A. is the group's 4th LP, released in 1971, with the "Rock & Roll Candy Man" single released in 1972. According to Wikipedia, Bloodrock is one of a number of significant bands to emerge from the Ft. Worth, TX music scene in the early-to-mid 1970s. I wonder what number they could be referring to.

[ Bloodrock ]

Patty Brannen

Artist: Patty Brannen

LP: From Alaska With Love

Song: "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" 
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This autographed LP from Alaskan singer Patty Brannen (presented with special thanks to one Dr. Rosandele) is another of the records I acquired earlier this year from the collection of David Lloyd Whited of Vashon Island. "From Alaska With Love," as everyone now knows thanks to a once-rather-popular-and-wildly-entertaining-yet-extremely-frightening politician, is practically just like sending love from Russia. I was hoping I'd run into Patty on my Alaskan cruise earlier this year, but it did not happen. You can listen to more of Patty's album here, thanks to her granddaughter Angela, who posted it on YouTube.

[ Patty Brannen ]

Eddie Dean

Artist: Eddie Dean

LP: Eddie Dean Sings

Song: "I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven" 
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Song: "Katmandu" 
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Song: "Impatient Blues" 
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The country western section of my record collection has reached full capacity, so I've started sorting through it to see if there's anything I can get rid of to make more room. One of the gems I discovered in the process is this collection of songs by Eddie Dean, released on the Crown label—which of course means no liner notes, since they've got a bad habit of filling the entire backside of their album covers with Crown Records catalog listings. 

Born in the rural Texas community of Posey in the summer of 1909, Eddie got his start performing on radio in Chicago and South Dakota with his brother Jimmy. He then moved to Hollywood and appeared in movies throughout the 1940s, where he was usually called upon to present a few numbers. "I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven" was a hit for Eddie in 1955, though the song gained even more favor with the public when Tex Ritter released his version in 1961. All ten songs on this LP are terrific, but my favorite is "Katmandu," on which the handsome Texan crooner warbles on about the exotic mysteries of far-away places, a musical sub-genre I think ought to be termed 'country eastern music.'

Eddie Dean, whom both Roy Rogers and Gene Autry named as the best cowboy singer of all time, passed away at age 89 on March 4, 1999, after which he was finally able to march forth into Hillbilly Heaven, taking his place amongst the stars. There's more to read about the life and career of Eddie Dean on Wikipedia here and I've included a clip from one of his movies below. 

Eddie Dean on YouTube:
[ "Ain't No Gal Got a Brand On Me" ]

[ Eddie Dean: July 7, 1909 — March 4, 1999 ]

Daliborka Stojšić

Artist: Daliborka Stojšić

LP: 7" single

Song: "Moja Čežnja Za Tobom" 
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When I picked up this 1975 single by Daliborka Stojšić at Georgetown Records a few months ago, I had no idea that the lovely singer had been a runner up in the 1968 Miss Universe pageant and that she was voted "Most Photogenic" in the interplanetary contest. In fact, she was the first-ever contestant to represent Yugoslavia in one of these pageants! Obviously, Daliborka went on to a singing career, but she eventually retired from public life when the time seemed right. Nowadays she is active on the computer, has mastered four languages, and enjoys hanging out with friends and listening to all kinds of metal music. You can read more here. Admittedly, it's been quite a few years since I myself mastered each of the Slavic languages, but I think "Moja Čežnja Za Tobom" translates to English as "Why Are Gay Men In Seattle So Fucking Boring?"

[ Daliborka Stojšić — most photogenic woman in the universe, 1968. ]

The Equals

Artist: The Equals

LP: Baby, Come Back

Song: "Laurel and Hardy" 
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I've got my good friend Ryan, as well as R&B singer/guitarist Barbara Lynn, to thank for leading me to this 1968 LP by The Equals. Ryan, who's way more connected to what's going on in our city than I am, invited me to join her and a few other friends to see Barbara Lynn perform at the Light In the Attic label's warehouse just a few blocks from my place. It was a sensational show—Ms. Lynn was fantastic! Not only that, but she's a real sweetheart. It was her very first time in Seattle!

The show was part of Light In the Attic's Second Annual Summer Spectacular, for which they'd arranged food trucks to surround the place and had vendors on hand for a record fair too, which is where I found The Equals. The group features Eddie Grant, aka. Eddy Grant, who's the same guy who rocked down to Electric Avenue about 15 years later, in 1983. "Laurel and Hardy," which peaked at #35 on the British singles charts, was the group's follow-up to "Baby, Come Back," a #1 hit in Britain that peaked at #32 in the USA. You can read more about The Equals here. Thanks again, Ryan, for inviting me to the show. I would have really missed out without you!

Boobie Knight & The Soulciety

Artist: Boobie Knight & The Soulciety

LP: Soul Ain't No New Thing

Song: "Ego Tripping" 
[ listen ]

There's not much info on the web about funktastic group-leader Boobie Knight—only this brief biography on allmusic.com, written by someone called Steve Huey. But Boobie, if you're reading this, know that "Ego Tripping" from your debut 1972 LP is helping me start my morning on this grey and rather pedestrian Saturday in Seattle. Of course I've also employed a hot cup of coffee. 

[ Boobie Knight ]

Jean-Jacques Goldman

Artist: Jean-Jacques Goldman

LP: 7" single

Song: "Envole-Moi" 
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And the award for Cutest Guy With Most Disturbing Hairdo goes to French pop star Jean-Jacques Goldman. In spite of his distressing coiffure, J.J. Goldman is one of the highest-grossing French pop stars who's still living. My French is a little rusty, but I'm pretty sure "Envole-Moi" means "Fix My Hair."

Eavesdroppings

Overheard when: 3:35pm on Monday, August 10, 2015
Overheard where: Ticket booth at the Regal Lakewood 15 Cinemas — 2410 84th St. South in Lakewood, WA [map]
Overheard who: An elderly gentleman, dressed entirely in khaki, at cinema ticket booth in front of me and my father as we were waiting to buy tickets for Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation.
Overheard what: 
"One senior for The Fabulous Four."

Fred Lowery

Artist: Fred Lowery

LP: Fred Lowery Whistles Your Gospel Favorites

Song: "Whispering Hope" 
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Song: "Shall We Gather At the River?" 
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Song: "Sweet Hour of Prayer" 
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Fred Lowery, who was born in Palestine in 1909 (no, not that Palestine, this one), lost his sight after coming down with scarlet fever when he was only two years old. But though Fred Lowery may have been blind, he still had his vision. When he was around 19 years old and in school, Fred met a bird imitator who encouraged him to take up whistling. Fred did, and soon he was performing with the likes of Vincent Lopez and Horace Heidt and their respective orchestras and he starting scoring hit records like his 1939 rendition of "Indian Love Call." This 1967 LP, on which Lowery whistles some of my gospel favorites, seems like the perfect thing for a wonderfully cool, sunny and  breezy Sunday morning—my first as I enter my 47th year on Earth. You can read more about Fred here and in the liner notes below.

[ Fred Lowery: November 2, 1909 — December 11, 1984 ]

Jon Thomas

Artist: Jon Thomas

LP: Big Beat On the Organ

Song: "Hot Tip" 
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Song: "Hard Head" 
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Lately I've been trying to reorganize stuff in my apartment, and I thought it would be good if I bought some reorganizing music to help me get with it. Golden Oldies came through in spades, as usual, and I found way more there than I'd bargained—or budgeted—for. There's not a set of complete biographical information about jazz organist Jon Thomas that I could find on the web, but according to AllMusic, he was born in 1918 and someone on e-bay says that happened in Mississippi. Jon went on to become a session musician at King Records, says our e-bay contact, where he composed "Heartbreak," a hit for Little Willie John (I bet that's Jon on organ!). According to last.fm, Jon Thomas' "Big Beat On the Organ" LP was released on the first day of 1958; AllMusic says Jon died at the end of October, 1994. The photo below shows what Jon looked like, according to last.fm. I don't know how reliable any of that information is, but there is one thing about Jon Thomas we do know for sure: He was a talented jazz organist extraordinaire!

[ Jon Thomas: 1918 — October 28, 1994 ]