"BE BOP BOOGIE - BE BOP RIVER ROCK"

This is a good 14-song collection, obtained through the Gotham label archive belonging to Ivin Ballen in Philadelphia, but mostly cut for the Oak label, based in rural North Carolina. Don Hager & the Hot Tots sure sound it, a rough and ready rockabilly outfit with a hot piano as well as guitar in their lineup, and some good songs in their repertory. Their five songs constitute the lion's share of this CD, which otherwise is a showcase for the sax-driven rockabilly of Bobby Green & the Sportsmen. Jerry Lee Lewis' influence shows up throughout, especially in Dudley Calllicutt & the Go Boys' version of "Get Ready Baby," as does Carl Perkins' work in Rockin Ronny's version of "Boppin' the Blues." The Derocher Sisters, the only act on here to come out of Ballen's home base of Philadelphia, are a distinctly non-rockabilly act, very close in spirit to the Paris Sisters and other girl groups of the late 1950s, but "Saturday Night" is just pleasant enough a song that it doesn't destroy the collection appearance in this company. The other major act featured here is Glenn Johnson & the Acorns, who rock hard and heavy, a dead match for the best work of Don Hager and company or the Go Boys. The sound is amazingly good, and the notes are thorough within the confines of the information available on any of these people. (BRUCE EDER, Allmusic)

trax:
1. River Rock - Don Hager & The Hot Tots 2. Be Bop Boogie - Don Hager & The Hot Tots 3. Liza Jane Bop - Don Hager & The Hot Tots 4. I Love You Dear Forever - Don Hager & The Hot Tots 5. Boopin' The Blues - Rockin' Ronnie 6. Having Little Heart Attacks - Glenn Johnson & The Acorns 7. River Rock - Don Hager & The Hot Tots 8. Sweet Thing - Bobby Green & The Sportsmen 9. Putting It Together - Glenn Johnson & The Acorns 10. Run Here Honey - Glenn Johnson & The Acorns 11. Heart Trouble - Dudley Callicutt & The 'Go' Boys 12. Get Ready Baby - Dudley Callicutt & The 'Go' Boys 13. Saturday Night - The Derocher Sisters 14. Ramble - The Go Boys
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