Ray Harris & Friends "Mississippi Rockers"

Another great collection of regional rockabilly from El Toro - this time the great state of Mississippi, birthplace of Elvis and several other rockabilly greats…...So it's not too surprising that around half the sides on this collection were recorded for Sun. Although most of these have been reissued several times before it's certainly nice to have all the Ray Harris and Jimmy Wages cuts in one place complete with alternate takes. Both artists are among the wildest rockabilly artists recorded for Sun - Harris had two singles issued by Sun and both sides are here along with unissued songs and alternate takes featuring Harris with a small group featuring great guitar by Wayne Cogswill. Nothing was issued on Sun by Jimmy Wages but the four songs here and two alternate takes show that he was an exceptional performer - his band is unknown but are very hot. Other Sun artists here include Gene Simmons (three songs - two originally unissued), Hayden Thompson (two great, originally unissued, songs with Roland Janes on guitar) and Glenn Honeycutt (the great unissued All Night Rock by Rold Janes. The rest of the tracks were recorded for various small Mississippi labels along with customs pressings made by Texas's Starday label and although lacking the magical imprimatur of Sun there is no shortage of great rocking from Bobby Roberts, The Hodges Brothers (originally a country group with their great), Lou Millett (another former country performer recording hot rockabilly for Johnny Vincent's Ace label), Mack Banks (two outstanding cuts recorded for his own Fame label) and others. An exceptional collection with superb sound and informative notes by Dave Penny. (Frank Scott, Roots & Rhythm)

trax:
1. Come On Little Mama - Ray Harris 2. Where'd You Stay Last Nite - Ray Harris 3. Greenback Dollar, Watch And Chain - Ray Harris 4. Foolish Heart - Ray Harris 5. Lonely Wolf - Ray Harris 6. Love Dumb Baby - Ray Harris 7. I'm Winning Now - Ray Harris 8. Come On Little Mama (Alternate Take) - Ray Harris 9. Greenback Dollar, Watch And Chain (Alternate Take) - Ray Harris 10. Mad Man - Jimmy Wages 11. Miss Pearl - Jimmy Wages 12. Take Me (From This Garden Of Evil) - Jimmy Wages 13. Heart Breakin' Love - Jimmy Wages 14. Mad Man (Alternate Take) - Jimmy Wages 15. Take Me (From This Garden Of Evil) [Alternate Take] - Jimmy Wages 16. Juicy Fruit - Gene Simmons 17. Big Sandy - Bobby Roberts 18. I'm Gonna Rock Some Too - The Hodges Brothers 19. You Gonna Go Away - Rick Rickels 20. Just You And Me - Lou Millet 21. You're So Dumb - Mack Banks & His Drifting Troubadours 22. Cool, Cool Daddy - Wally Deane 23. Crazy Woman - Gene Simmons 24. Blues, Blues, Blues - Hayden Thompson 25. All Night Rock - Glenn Honeycutt 26. I'm Gone - Rick Rickels 27. Be-Boppin' Daddy - Mack Banks & His Drifting Troubadours 28. She's My Woman - Bobby Roberts 29. My Inlaws Made An Outlaw Out Of Me - Lou Millet 30. Fairlane Rock - Hayden Thompson 31. Pop And Mama - Gene Simmons 32. Right Now - Gray Montgomery 33. Uh Uh Baby - Dick Holler And His Rockets
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