CAT MUSICA
various
Rollin' Rock/HMG 6607
available on Ray Campi's
CD's and Video
What the hell is "Cat Music" you ask: perhaps music out takes from the Musical of that name? "No!" Well, maybe it is music made by cats? (I have heard of discs of sheep chanting, and whale and dolphin songs!) Again, "No!" It is a name given, only in the Dallas area of the country, to the early fusion of Rhythm and Blues to "Hillbilly" music. The type of music commonly called in the rest of the world, Rockabilly or Hillbilly Bop. It is the sound of the very early Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Merle Travis, Gene Vincent, and Eddie Cochrane. Rock stripped down to basically an electric guitar, simple drum kit, and up right bass, with maybe the odd other instrument thrown in, and of course the singer. These are short songs maybe between 1:50 to 2:50 long (notice 19 of them only take 45:04), mostly about young adult love, finding it, and the loss of this necessity. But don't be put off by any of this if it sounds not your cup of tea, this is one of the finest collections to cross this turn table in a long time, there are some real gems in here, and I don't think any losers! Just give a listen to the pathos soaked Johnny Carroll tune BABY BLUE, or grab hold of this Gene Vincent version of Little Richard's HEY, HEY, HEY. Or for some real rockin' try and catch up with Ray Campi and Merle Travis on two cuts penned by Merle that are included. The liner notes here don't always have a lot of information about the material or the singers but then again a lot of these people flashed on the scene after gathering a following and then faded just as quickly as ice in the Dallas summer. I have a feeling they did the best job they could. This is a collection that is worth it for just the 2 cuts by Diana Wisdom, one of the rare female sings in this genre. Unfortunately little is know about her, but if there is there any more surviving tape of her..... Very worth the time to search this one out.
Songs, (writers), and singers - no times or band members given, (have since found the following note: Tracks by Ray Campi, Merle Travis, Gene Vincent, more)
1. MOVE AROUND - (J. Poovey) - Groovey Joe Poovey
2. THAT'S ALLRIGHT - (unknown) - Bob Luman
3. LAY YOUR HEAD ON MY SHOULDER -(T. Wayne/J.Bacon) - Alvis Wayne
4. LOST JOHN BOOGIE - (M. Travis) - Merle Travis & Ray Campi
5. BOP CAT BABY - (unknown) - Diana Wisdom
6. BLUE CAT BLUES - (unknown) - Bob Edwards
7. BABY BLUE - (G. Vincent/B.Jones) - Johnny Carroll
8. BEEN GONE A LONG TIME - (T. Scott) - Mac Curtis
9. ROCKABILLY RHYTHM - (G. McKown) - G. McKown
10. ALL THE TIME - (H. Harris/S. LaBeff) - Ray Campi
11. LET ME SLIDE - (O. Patton) - Jimmy Patton
12. IT'S NIGHT - (L. Finn) - Lee Finn and his Rhythm Men
13. HEY, HEY, HEY - (R. Penniman) - Gene Vincent
14. T FOR TEXAS - (J. Rodgers - Jackie Lee Cochran
15. I WANNA EAT YOUR PUDDING - (R. Weiser/A. Wayne) - Alvis Wayne
16. MERLE'S BOOGIE WOOGIE - (M. Travis) - Merle Travis & Ray Campi
17. EVERYBODY'S GONE BUT ME - (unknown) - Diana Wisdom
18. WHAT'LL I DO - (J. Shell/J. Poovey) - Bob Edwards19. WALK BY WAY BACK HOME - (W. Pullen) - Whitey Pullen