Various Cuca Rock'n'Roll Story Vol.2

(Classics Records) 29 songs


Hi everyone! Finally we're back with a second volume of Cuca Rock'n'Roll story. We've been digging out more stuff from Jim Kirchsteins vault of mastertapes. In the 50's, when Jim studied electrical engineering, he needed an extra income for his new family. So he opened a small store called Hi-Fi record shop in Sauk City, Wisconsin.

It was there Jim began learning the different sides of the music business, like marketing and distribution and he also realized that there was a need for a recording outlet. Jim bought second hand equipment that he used for his early recordings in that tiny little record shop. The two first releases, that are extremely rarities and sought after by collectors all over, came on the Swastika label. RCA who did the pressings of the records felt uncomfortable with the name and the symbol in the artwork due to the Nazi association, but for Jim and the large German population in Sauk City it was a good luck sign.

He changed the name to Cuca (Spanish for Ruth), the nickname of his then wife's Mexican American cousin from Los Cruces, New Mexico. Kirchsteins third release "Muleskinner Blues" was by the Fendermen. Jim believed that the song had hit potential, and began to send copy's to radio stations all over the country, along with a note saying, "This is new, we're small, please give it a listen". Since he ordered only 500 copies' he wasn't prepared to meet the demand.

In those days it took 3-4 weeks to receive a reorder. So when Jim received a phone call from Amos Heilicher, owner of the Minneapolis based label Soma, who wanted to lease the recording from...