Adventures in Not Really Getting It (MP3's)

 I collect budget label collections of then-current hit songs from every era, on albums, 45's and 78. More than a few of them, particularly Beatles covers, have been shared here and on other sites. The HIT record label which ran from around 1962-68 or so was probably the most endearing, but the genre flourished from the early '50's until at least the early '70's. There was even another little flareup of cover records in the '90's, as labels started pushing radio-only hits, with no commercial singles.

Most of these are good mostly for a laugh, if that, but today I'd like to share three which I think cross over into the land of the deeply odd, with one of them having a lyrical error which is spectacularly weird. All three demonstrate the inability of those behind these labels to "get it" when it came to Rock and Roll.

First up, from the Hollywood Label, is a version of Little Richard's "Keep a Knockin'", the original of which I consider one of the most powerful records ever made. The hamfisted attempt at the opening drums here is a perfect introduction to the overall performance, in which the singer repeatedly sings a line wrong: "Too bad you love me, and you can't come in", then offers (at the 1:49 point) one of the weakest rock and roll screams imaginable.

The other two songs are from the Tops in Pops album pictured above. The real killer here is their version of "Jailhouse Rock", which features a singer who shouts his way through the thing, over a clunky band (I really like the guitarist sliding down to the note on the verses). But the amazing moment here is when the singer sings a few mistaken words in place of "I sure would be delighted with your company" (about the one minute mark), replacing "company" with something that wouldn't have been allowed on the radio in the '50's or the '60's, and possibly not the '70's.

I've also included the same album's version of "Wake Up Little Suzie", because I got a kick out of the fact that they apparently couldn't figure out the key guitar lick (which isn't hard to play at all).

Bob

1.) Unknown - Keep a Knockin' (MP3)

2.) Unknown - Jailhouse Rock (MP3)

3.) Unknown - Wake Up Little Suzie (MP3)

Album Cover (JPG)

Comments

[Stu]

These are truly pathetic, all three of them, but at least they provide comic value. Nice Dorsey-style sax solo in "Keep a Knockin," matching nicely with those martial drums. The dramatic incorrect chording in "Wake Up Little Suzie" is utterly bizarre. Give me the Jalopy Five or Fred X. Brown any day.

[Colin The Culture Hunter]

Bob- You have made my day- Have just giggled all the way through the "Wake up Little Suzie"- astounding!

Id sure be delighted with you pumping me? WTF?

Its these sorts of posts that just make the day go with a swing!

[rbz]

I always thought "Jailhouse Rock" had a certain understated, er, flamboyance to it. The lyric change in this version brings it to the forefront once and for all.

[Gaylord Fields]

Thanks, Bob -- and wow! Hearing that mis-sung line in "Jailhouse Rock" evoked a loud chortle out of me that must have disturbed my workmates. Too bad i can't explain the cause.

The Unknown Jailhouse Rocker is only making explicit what Elvis so coyly alluded to in the original. (I've always marveled that Leiber & Stoller got away with the whole "Number 47 said to Number 3" scenario in the first place.)

[EasyEW]

I have one of the HIT albums from c. 1968. The anonymous band's version of "Lady Madonna" had a sort of Alex Chilton feel to it, but the guy who pushed "Valleri" through his nose in a fake Davy Jones accent should've been beaten like the dog that he was. It was also a "limited addition" album, which meant that either their proofer couldn't read or they were shockingly realistic about their potential sales. I wouldn't part with it for anything.

Let's not forget there was a thriving knock-off "tribute" artist trade in the 8-track rack-jobber era, where the "as performed by" credit was sometimes carefully hidden by the packaging.

[Tops in Pops]

I have a few dozen of these myself.The Song Hits/Hit Parader ones, Gilmar,EP 4,and a few other real obscure ones,mostly from 1955-64, which seem to be the heyday of such records.I also have a handful of sub-low budget (Cheaper than Pickwick,cheaper than these 8-tracks.) Lps from the 70s,that I think were issued on generic labels.

Like Lou Reed and John Cale at Pickwick,and a pre McCoys Rick Derringer doing a low budget Beatles knockoff for Diplomat/ Synthetic Plastics,there have got to be people who later became famous who did these records.One of the few that has positively been identified is none other than Ol' Possum himself.
http://rcs.law.emory.edu/rcs/artists/j/jone3400.htm

I have the Tops EP with "Blue Suede Shoes",and "Heartbreak Hotel" on a 78,and as you can hear,HH is particularly easy to identify as Jones.

[Dale]

Why does the Tops in Pops cover look like the cover from a pulp fiction novel about trashy women? It doesn't hint at the musical joy inside.

[Jonathan Steinke]

It takes a LOT for me to call someone's singing vapid but, trust me, these songs had it coming.

[Murray Van Creme]

The guitar lick in "Wake Up Little Suzie" sounds like someone screwing around with the pitch control on a turntable. Very odd.

[xinit]

I sure would be delighted with you... REALLY? How the hell did that not get that budget record pulled from shelves? I suppose with no internet to focus parental wrath, it was more difficult than it is today.

Wow.