Various - History Tennessee Jive, 1945-1955 8-CD-Box & 276-BOOK

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Tennessee Jive, 1945-1955 8-CD-Box & 276-BOOK

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Today Nashville is one of the three major recording centers in the United States. It has... more

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Various - History: Tennessee Jive, 1945-1955 8-CD-Box & 276-BOOK

Today Nashville is one of the three major recording centers in the United States. It has developed beyond its base in country music to become what it has long proclaimed itself to be: Music City USA.

The rise of Nashville in the years after the Second World War was meteoric and has usually been explained in terms of 'The Nashville Sound.' It's central to country music mythology that the Nashville Sound enabled country music to shake off its regionality and colonize the mid ground once occupied by Easy Listening music. While that's true to an extent, it ignores much of what went on in Nashville before the Nashville Sound was born in the late Fifties. In particular, it ignores the origins of the Nashville music business in the years after the Second World War and the fact that country music was never the only music played there.

In 1945, as the War ended, Nashville had no pro-quality studios, no career session men, no record companies, and only one or two music publishers. As late as 1946, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and especially Chicago were considered the hubs of the country music business. That all changed very quickly, and it went hand-in-hand with the growing pre-eminence of the Grand Ole Opry on Nashville's WSM. There were hundreds of radio barn dances in the Forties, but the Opry attracted the stars that the post-War country audience wanted to hear, and from 1943 it alone had the precious 30 minutes of coast-to-coast network airtime. The stars moved to Nashville, and the business followed.

The Opry's role in Nashville's growth can't be understated, but it tends to obscure the role of another local high megawattage station, WLAC, in fostering an altogether different Nashville Sound. At night, WLAC's R&B programming blanketed the eastern United States, laying the groundwork for a thriving black music recording scene in Nashville that lasted well into the Seventies. There was some interaction between Nashville's country music scene and black music scene, but in general they existed as parallel universes.

By the mid-Fifties, most of the major recording companies were represented on a permanent basis in Nashville. During the preceding ten years, though, the only permanent record company representation was a handful of small local labels. While the majors saw Nashville solely in terms of country music, the independent labels bridged the two solitudes of black and white music, and recorded much else besides, including pop orchestras and gospel music. In other words, they reflected the Nashville music scene as it really was.

This is an attempt to document the vital but forgotten years between 1945 and 1955 which saw the rise of Nashville as a viable recording centre. The story is bookended by two events that barely rated a mention at the time. In December 1945, Bullet Records cut its first session, and in January 1956 Elvis Presley came to Nashville to make his first recordings for RCA, Heartbreak Hotel among them.

Instead of telling the story in terms of big stars and big record companies, the focus here is on the local heroes and local labels who laid the groundwork for so much of what happened in the years ahead. The performers on the two accompanying CD sets were very often the ones who played for white Nashvillians while the Opry stars were touring the country all week or for black Nashvillians in the local clubs and bars. The record labels profiled here were all based in Nashville or its immediate vicinity, and were run by a few influential, optimistic entrepreneurs, who shared the freewheeling, outlaw mentality of the independent music business. Some were dreamers, some were realists, and some were scam artists who hoped to capitalize on the music business's reputation for quick profits. Largely forgotten today, the little labels like Bullet, Nashboro, Tennessee, and Republic played an important role in making 'Nashville' synonymous with 'music,' and they gave the all-important first break to many big artists from Chet Atkins to B.B. King . They built the substratum on which Nashville's fabled music business grew. They also accounted for several national hits. When Near You on Bullet Records became the biggest-selling pop record of 1947, it must have seemed as though absolutely anything was possible.

Bullet Records had been formed with a logo featuring a bullet speeding toward a target above the commendably hopeful, if not always accurate, legend 'Always A Smash Hit.' In reality, Bullet was more a shot in the dark in 1945. Yet within ten years there was a thriving recording industry in the city. Soon Elvis Presley would record there and bring rock 'n' roll with him. Already, a prophetic song, Music City USA, had been written and recorded in Nashville. It was released in 1950 when Nashville's music business was becoming rather less of a shot in the dark.

During the twenty-five year genesis of this project, I have been frequently haunted by a classic cartoon based on a joke by the late British satirist, Peter Cook. Two strangers find themselves face-to-face at a party. One volunteers enthusiastically, "I'm writing a book." With poker faced realism, the other replies, "Neither am I."

Much of this text was started over twenty years ago, based on a series of personal interviews conducted during the Seventies but never published. When I had first sighted Nashville in 1971, it was as an aspiring music writer looking through the windows of a bus out of New York. The Greyhound carrying Colin Escott and I had wound it's way out of the hills of east Tennessee through a glorious early morning summer mist when we saw a tour bus, eastbound out of Nashville. 'The Kitty Wells Show' was emblazoned on the side. It seemed to be a sign that our quest for roots music would fare well in Nashville, despite the fact that even then Kitty and her fellow stars from the Fifties were well past their commercial sell-by date. Tradition was an important part of the image that Nashville cultivated, but on arriving in town we soon found that the Nashville of the post-War recording pioneers had in reality all but disappeared.

That this project has now come to fruition reflects the enthusiasm and assistance of many people. Bear Family Records is the only company in the world to contemplate such a project. Colin Escott is probably the only person who could have motivated me to embark on another series of interviews and to finish something in CD form that had lain half completed as a book for far too long.

Colin has helped edit the text and has contributed vital insights and details to this story. Not least, he has tried to counter my inclination to capture the story in real time by recording and nailing down every detailed fact that presents itself. He has an unparalleled ability to summarise in a way that enhances rather than diminishes the story.

Also inspirational was the detailed knowledge of record collectors Dave Sax, Chris Bentley, Phil Tricker, and Al Turner. Significant input was also made by Doug Seroff, Hank Davis, Bill Millar, and Kevin Coffey. Over the years I gained navigational aid and encouragement, discographical research and general help and enthusiasm from Bob Pinson, Wayne Russell, Tony Russell, Charles Wolfe, Richard Peterson, John Rumble, Lars Lundgren, Bob Laughton, Ray Topping, Bob Fuller, Robert Loers, Daniel Cooper, Bruce Bastin, Tony Collins, John Pearson, John Broven, George Moonoogian, and others I am sure I have quite unforgivably forgotten. Looking back over a mountain of correspondence, I found a large pile of letters from Bill Daniels, full of information, ideas and enthusiasm, and as much as anything else I am glad not to have wasted his efforts. I am also pleased for Dave Sax, who made a tremendous contribution throughout despite inadvertently making the ultimate sacrifice when a pile of 78 records were broken.

My main debts, though, are to those who allowed themselves to be interviewed and from whose reminiscences and supply of factual data Colin and I have been able to piece together this booklet. This really is their story.

MARTIN HAWKINS

Maidstone, England, June 2000

CREDITS:

Apart from references specifically identified in the text, the main sources of original information for this booklet were:

Interviews by Martin Hawkins with Joe Allison, Howard Allison, Chet Atkins, Harold Bradley, Owen Bradley, Paul Broome, Jim Bulleit, Bill Beasley, Reynold Bubis, Louis Brooks, Hutch Carlock, Hugh Cherry, Dottie Dillard, John Dunn, Al Garner, Chuck Gregory, Buddy Harman, Bobby Hebb, Helen Hebb, Tommy Hill, Frank Innocenti, Ted Jarrett, Dee Kilpatrick, Christine Kittrell, Dean May, Kenny Marlow, Jay Miller (via John Broven), Cam Mullins, Murray Nash, Gene Nobles, Shannon Williams, Mac Wiseman, Randy Wood (via Polly Mitchener), Red Wortham, Cal Young, and Ernie Young (via Howard Allison).

Interviews by Colin Escott with Alan Bubis, Rachel Bulleit, Chuck Gregory, Frank Innocenti and Murray Nash.

Article properties: Various - History: Tennessee Jive, 1945-1955 8-CD-Box & 276-BOOK

Interpret: Various - History
Album titlle: Tennessee Jive, 1945-1955 8-CD-Box & 276-BOOK
Genre Country
Label Bear Family Records
Preiscode HL
Edition 2 Deluxe Edition
Artikelart Box set
EAN: 4000127158543
weight in Kg 3.25

Various - History - Tennessee Jive, 1945-1955 8-CD-Box & 276-BOOK Box set 1
01	Zeb's Mountain Boogie	BRADY, Brad & TENNESSEANS
02	Guitar Reel	TURNER BROS
03	Talking The Blues	PYLE, Pete
04	Living In Sorrow	PYLE, Pete
05	Oklahoma Honky Tonk Gal	WOOLEY, Sheb
06	That's All Sche Wrote	TEXAS TROUBADOURS
07	I'm So Lonesome	MOODY, Clyde
08	Jealous Hearted Me	PEARL, Minnie & Frankie Pee
09	That Cheap Look In Your Eye	PEE, Franki
10	Guitar Blues	ATKINS, Chester
11	Hamtramck Mama	YORK BROS
12	My Tears Will Never Make You Change	YORK BROS
13	Doin' The Boogie Woogie	BARFIELD, Johnnie
14	Sweet Woman Blues	SCOTT, Ramblin' Tommy
15	Chattanooga Boogie	TURNER, Zeb
16	Ain't Had No Lovin'	TURNER, Zeb
17	Coal Miner's Blues	TURNER, Zeb
18	High Falutin' Mama	NETTLES, Bill
19	Blue Ridge Mountain Blues	YORK Bros
20	Safety Pin Rag (instrumental)	LINDSAY, Merl
21	Don't Try It	PAYNE, Leon
22	Lifetime To Regret	PAYNE, Leon
23	Brown's Ferry Boogie	CLEMENTS, Zeke
24	Swamp Woman Blues	BURNETTE, Smiley
25	Alley Cat Blues	SCOTT, Tommy
26	Empty Arms	PAYNE, Leon
27	Lipstick Trail	PAYNE, Leon
28	Big Fat Papa	TURNER, Zeb

Various - History - Tennessee Jive, 1945-1955 8-CD-Box & 276-BOOK Box set 2
01	Lost Highway	PAYNE, Leon
02	Rolling Stone	PAYNE, Leon
03	They'll Never Take Her Love From Me	PAYNE, Leon
04	Gonna Go Back To Texas	BELMONT, Dale
05	You've Got To Leave Those Other Guys Alone	INMAN, Autry
06	The Girl At The End Of The Bar	BUTTERBALL PAIGE
07	Double Cross	INMAN, Autry
08	Think Twice	PYLE, Pete
09	I'm Too Old To Boogie Anymore	BUTTERBALL PAIGE
10	Rag Mop	LEE, Johnnie
11	Hospitality	WORK, Jimmy
12	Jealous Lies	PRICE, Ray
13	Tennessee Jive	ALLEN, Tani
14	Mule Boogie	HALL, Roy
15	Walking Up Stairs	BLUNT, Paul
16	Linger Longer Little Darling	FOWLER, Wally
17	I Feel Like The World Belongs To Me	JORDAN, Wiley
18	Move It Over Rover (Dog House Blues)	CLAUSER, Al
19	I Needed You	WLLS, Johnnie Lee & HIS BOYS
20	Station Door Blues	LEE, George
21	The Band's A Rockin'	WILLS, Johnnie Lee
22	One Dollar Boogie	JENKINS, Si
23	Careless Me	WILLS, Johnnie Lee
24	Levee Blues	WILLS, Johnnie Lee
25	When Hillbilly Willie Met Kitty From The City	ALLEN, Tani
26	More And More	ASHBURN, Shorty
27	Bear Cat Daddy	BATTS, Ray
28	Wild Man Boogie	BATTS, Ray

Various - History - Tennessee Jive, 1945-1955 8-CD-Box & 276-BOOK Box set 3
01	Boogie Woogie Tennessee	RIDDLE, Ricky
02	Dog Hauled Around	WALLACE, Billy
03	You Got Some Explaining To Do	WALLACE, Billy
04	Oh! Babe	HARDY, Jack
05	Morning After Blues	HARDY, Jack
06	Waiting For The Tide To Change	WILLIAMS, Bob
07	Shufflin' Shoes Boogie	HOLLY, Wes
08	Beer Drinkin' Blues	MISSISSIPPI SLIM
09	Crackers, Cheese And Beer	WILLIAMS, Bob
10	Love Is Just A Sometimes Thing	CARROLL, Peggy
11	Pickup Truck	WILLIAMS, Bob
12	Hot Rod Race No. 3	WILLIAMS, Bob
13	I'm All Broke Out With Love	CARTER, Helen
14	Down Yonder	WOOD, Del
15	Easy Monthly Payment Blues	HUGHES, Randy
16	No Trespassing	HUGHES, Randy
17	As Long As You Believe In Me Little Darling	CARTER, Helen
18	Intoxicated Harmony	RUNNER, Carl
19	Birthday Cake	HUGHES, Randy
20	Boogie Woogie Plowboy	BENNETT, tiny
21	I've Shed A Million Tears	PETTUS, Bob
22	Just Wait And See	STRATTON, Dick
23	Ramblers Blues	McGEE, Kirk
24	It's Too Late To Change Your Mind	McGEE, Kirk
25	Talking In Your Sleep	HUGHES, Randy
26	My Little Country Rose	HUGHES, Randy
27	Uh Huh, Honey	BOND, Lee
28	You've Been Cryin' Sweetheart	BOND, Lee
29	With A Heart Full Of Misery	ROWLAND, Johnny
30	Where The Bright Lights Glow	ROWLAND, Johnny

Various - History - Tennessee Jive, 1945-1955 8-CD-Box & 276-BOOK Box set 4
01	I'll Have The Last Laugh Yet	FLATT, Allen
02	Tapping That Thing	HUGHES, Randy
03	Tired Of Your Lies	MISSISSIPPI SLIM
04	No Money	RUNNER, Carl
05	Southwind	WALLACE, Billy
06	I'm Gonna Turn Yo A'loose	WALLACE, Billy
07	We're Steppin' Out Tonite	WILLIAMS, Bob
08	Twice The Loving	HUFFMAN, Floyd
09	I Couldn't Stand To Hear You Say 'I Do'	REBE & REBE
10	My Empty Arms	REBE & REBE
11	She's My Gal	WEST, Ted
12	She Bent My Pole	WEST, Ted
13	My Heart Slowly Died	HUFFMAN, Floyd
14	I've Found My Own	WILSON, Smiley
15	Two Kinds Of Woman	SIMS, Sonny
16	Walk off And Leave It	BONDS, Lee
17	I Want You Too	WINDLE, Don
18	Ramblin' Blues	SIMPSON, Jimmy
19	When My Baby Comes Home To Me	WINDLE, Don
20	I Hope Some Day You'll Think Of Me	SIMPSON, Jimmy
21	Oilfield Blues	SIMPSON, Jimmy
22	That's What She Wrote	FLATT, Allen
23	Don't Come Crying On My Shoulder	EAGER, Clay
24	Throwing Kisses (And Making Eyes At You)	DEXTER, Larry
25	Parking Worries	WEST, Ted
26	Magic Girl	SMITH, Tommy
27	Cause I Love You	DEXTER, Larry
28	That'll Be Love	REEVES, Glenn
29	Devil's Little Angel	KELLEYS
30	Leaving Tennessee	KELLEYS

Various - History - Tennessee Jive, 1945-1955 8-CD-Box & 276-BOOK Box set 5
01	With All Your Heart	ESTES, Buddy
02	Flyin' Saucer Baby	JIM, Georgia
03	Jig Saw Puzzle Heart	JIM, Georgia
04	Juke Joint Johnny	MOORE, Lattie
05	It's Good Enough For You	MOORE, Lattie
06	Dog House Blues	TENNESSEE, Slim
07	It's Raining Tears	TENNESSEE, Slim
08	The Devil Paid Me (With A Mother In Law)	LEA, Joedy
09	My First Love	MOORE, Lattie
10	Baby I'll Soon Be Gone	MOORE, Lattie
11	It's Your Turn To Cry	TENNESSEE, Slim
12	I'm An Old Wolf	TENNESSEE, Slim
13	Night Life And Wine	SARGENT, Shorty
14	You'd Better Think Again	SARGENT, Shorty
15	Lovie Lovie	KING, Chickie
16	Patches On My Heart	CRONAS, Tex
17	You'll Need My Help	JO, Betty
18	Pinball Fever	TOOMBS, Jack
19	Confess That You're Mine	LITTLE BUN WILSON
20	One Sided Love Affair	TENNESSEE, Slim
21	Crazy Hazy Kisses	TENNESSEE, Slim
22	Yesterday's Lovin'	HELMS, Bobby
23	Hangin' Around	HELMS, Bobby
24	Little Bit Late For Lovin'	ROGERS, Bob
25	I Want To Be Babied (By A Gal Like You)	ROGERS, Bob
26	This Lesson Of Love	LITTLE BUN WILSON
27	Freedom Lovin' Guy	HELMS, Bobby
28	I Need Your Lovin'	KING, Chickie
29	Hen Pecked Boogie	WILSON, Billy
30	I Cant't Stop Loving You	WILSON, Billy

Various - History - Tennessee Jive, 1945-1955 8-CD-Box & 276-BOOK Box set 6
01	The Life That I'm Living	HILL, Tommy
02	Good Deal Lucille	TERRY, Al
03	Say It Now	HILL, Tommy
04	Tennessee Courtin' Time	JEAN, Opal
05	That Done It	JEAN, Opal
06	I'm Gonna Salt My Sugar Away	CHAFFIN, Ernie
07	Lonely Wind	CHAFFIN, Ernie
08	Hey Whattya Y'say	TERRY, Al
09	Honky Tonk Romance	HILL, Tommy
10	C.N.R. Special	McCORMICK BROS
11	Part Of Your Heart	JEAN, Opal
12	I Can't Lose The Blues	CHAFFIN, Ernie
13	Get Me On Your Mind	CHAFFIN, Ernie
14	I'm Not Giving Up That Easy	COLLIE, Jimmy
15	So Lovely, Baby	RUSTY & DOUG
16	Why Cry For You	Various - History
17	Just For A While	LEE, Wilma
18	Cross My Heart	McCORMICK BROS
19	I'll Give My Heart You	BARKDULL, Wiley
20	Look Around (Take A Look At Me)	RUSTY & DOUG
21	Can I Be Dreaming	RUSTY & DOUG
22	Juke Box	HILL, Tommy
23	Let's Stay Together	RUSTY & DOUG
24	Honey Honey	RUSTY & DOUG
25	Row Number Two, Seat Number Three	LEE, Wilma
26	'Cause You're Always On My Mind	BARKDULL, Wiley
27	Shuffle, And Deal	McCORMICK BROS

Various - History - Tennessee Jive, 1945-1955 8-CD-Box & 276-BOOK Box set 7
01	Near You	CRAIG, Francis
02	Danger Zone	SUNSHINE BOYS
03	That Old Moon Seems To Know	JENNINGS, Bob
04	Lover's Blues	BUCHANON, Buck
05	After We Are Trough	BIG JEFF
06	Hom Bru Boogie	BIG JEFF
07	Ten-E-Cee Hom Bru	BIG JEFF
08	Chili Dippin' Mama	WAY, Vernon
09	Fat Gal Boogie	STRATTON, Dick
10	Yo're the Two Timin' Kind	ANDERSON, Ray
11	Hillbilly Sweetheart	TALLEY, John
12	Music City USA	STRATTON, Dick
13	Steppin' Out	FLATT, Allen
14	I'm Lonely Because	ANDERSON, Ray
15	Draft Board Blues	ANDERSON, Ray
16	If You've Got The Money, I've Got The Time	TALLEY, John
17	A Broken Heart And A Glass Of Beer	FLATT, Allen
18	You're Under Arrest	ASHBURN, Shorty
19	Crazy 'Bout The Boogie	MORRIS, Vance
20	Slap Happy Pappy	MORRIS, Vance
21	Lonely For You	RAMBLERS, Dixie
22	Weeds Of Hate	WEST, Bob
23	It's You, Sweetheart, Maybe It's Me	BATTS, Ray
24	You're The Only Good Thing	TOOMBS, Jack
25	Somebody Clipped Your Wings	HAGGARD, Don
26	Broken Hearts Mean Nothing To You	VALLEY, Rainbow
27	Talkin' 'bout Susie	LAY, Slim
28	I'm A Fool	SMITH, Tommy
29	Step It Up And Go	BIG JEFF