Dane Stinit Don't Knock What You Don't Undertstand - Mean Eyed Cat (7inch, 45rpm, PS, BC)

(Sleazy)

Back in 1966 Sun Records was nearly at the end of its road, times had changed and Sam Phillips had put his big effort into other businesses, so the old company languished by editing very few references per year and without a clear idea about where to go.
Back in those days Dane Stinit wasn't a full time singer but had participated in several bands in the Owensbor, Kentucky, area. His vocal and guitar style was strongly influenced by the sound of Johnny Cash. Dane fell by chance in the studio of Sam Phillips, hired by Bettye Berger, Ivory Joe Hunters manager to do a custom session from which a Johnny Cash style LP would come out. Coincidentally Sam Phillips was that day in the studio and got vividly impressed by Stinit's style.
In the 60's Sam had been releasing several Johnny Cash LPs with his old recordings on Sun, trying to take advantage of his success on Columbia. Either out of nostalgia for the old days or because he saw a business opportunity in Dane's style, Sam proposed him to record a session trying to recreate, and maybe update, the original magic of Johnny Cash at Sun. In that session 6 tracks would be recorded, and two out of them would be selected to integrate the first of the Dane Stinit singles for Sun Records. SUN 492 would be released some weeks later including 'Don't Knock What You Don't Understand b-w Always On The Go'
In that session Dane was backed by Bill Woods on bass, Billy Adams on drums and Bill Yates on keyboards, all regular musicians on Sun Records in those days. In the 'Don't Knock' take released as single, Bill Yates plays the organ, undating the original sound of Cash, but also recorded a take playing piano, getting as result a song that could perfectly had been recorded in 1957, and making certain that Dane came to Sun Records 10 years late. That take 11 piano version is included here, coupled with 'Mean Eyed Cat', a Johnny Cash cover recorded also in that session, which would remain in the can until the end of the 80's. Curiously, Dane would return back to this song in a much more elaborated but less passionate version recorded at his secon, and last, session for Sun.
In that second session Sam Phillips let Dane going more on his own, surrounding him with some of the best Memphis musicians, like Reggie Young on electric guitar, Mike Leech on bass and Gene Chrisman on drums, people that, a couple of years later, would participate in the celebrated Elvis Presley's Memphis sessions. From that last session Sam would release a new single, which would be the second for Dane and the second to last in the history of Sun Records.
DeeJay Francho 2018