Rock 'Round the Old Corral is cool. And weird. When I spotted it on eBay, my brain said, "Bid." Bid I did. Same with Bob Carroll's Hi Yo Silver, which turns out to be the theme from 1958's The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold. Co-written by Les Baxter. Later in the playlist is the flip, Tonto the Brave. Meanwhile, Merging Traffic is a terrific original instrumental by steel guitar virtuoso Don Bierstedt of Belton, Texas (His bio). I like this one more each time I take it for a spin--I mean, spin it. Don is followed by early, early Ray Stevens (1958) on the Capitol label.
Not the TV theme song, Happy Days is a cool original recorded in 1962 by Ernest Netti at the Houston, Texas label, Gentry. And it certainly has a Happy Days/American Graffiti sound! The slow-number flip is also nice. My dilapidated copy was saved by lots of tracking force (8 grams or so). If I showed you the grooves, you'd know why. Well worth the extra effort.
A nice Prom label cheapo hit cover (yes, you may quote me), then two by Guy Mitchell, the first under his real name (Al Cernik) in 1949 at MGM, then at Columbia (under his unreal name), toward the end of his hugely successful stint with that label. I thought I'd included one of his Carmen Cavallaro tracks, but apparently I did not.
Vehicle is one of my all-time favorite singles--I first heard it on Toledo AM radio as a year-old oldie (a not-so-oldie?) in, oh, 1971. This is an Alshire label sound-alike ("Played and Sung Like the Original Hits!" boasts the LP jacket), and I love it. Only issue would be the brusque background vocals, but for a cheap knock-off, this is classic stuff. Any better, and I'd rate it up there with the original hit by the Ides of March.
All ripped by me from 45s and 78s in my collection.
Click here to hear: Merging Traffic, more
TRACKLIST
Rock 'Round the Old Corral--House Brothers Quartet w. the Keeklickers (Brandt 100-25-CB)
Hi Yo Silver (Les Baxter-Lenny Adelson)--Bob Carroll; 1958 Pic sleeve.
Merging Traffic (Bierstedt)--Don Bierstedt (Renner 276; San Antonio TX)
Chickie-Chickie Wah Wah (Stevens)--Ray Stevens (Capitol F-3967; 1958)
Happy Days--Ernest Netti w. Studio Band (Gentry 101; 1962)
With Open Arms--Same
Two Heart, Two Kisses--Rudy Weldon w. Prom Orch. and Argyles (Prom 1114)
The Love Nest--Al Cernik (Guy Mitchell), w. Buddy Kaye Quintet (MGM 10443; 1949)
My Guilty Heart (Sigman-Faith)--Guy Mitchell w. Richard Hayman (Columbia 4-41311; 1958)
Tonto the Brave (Les Baxter, others)--Bob Carroll (United Artists 129; 1958) Pic sleeve.
Vehicle--Pop Chart Hits, Vol. 5 (Alshire S-5200)
Little Joe from Chicago--Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy, 1957.
Lee