musical archaeology
Rootie Toot Toot
No ownership of any of the music is claimed or implied by the designer of this website.
Rock & Roll The stuff included here certainly is only a drop in the bucket in the huge world of rock music.  But I’m including some of my favorite stuff from groups & artists you don’t hear every day ... but it’s material that will be familiar to a lot of boomers, and even pre-boomers, like your webmaster!  You won’t find Elvis or the Beatles here, because their music is familiar to everyone, and heard frequently.  We’re featuring stuff that’s a bit less frequently heard. Jerry Lee Lewis  aka "The Killer"   Along with Cash, Presley, Orbison, and Carl Perkins, Lewis was one of the stars who began at Sam Phillips' Sun Records in Memphis in the mid 1950s. A world-class honky-tonk piano player, he had some huge hits such as "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire."  The guys from Sun sometimes called themselves “The Class of 55” ... and their impact on early rock & roll cannot be overstated.  They were giants. A scandal broke when Lewis married his 13 year old cousin, and it impacted his career. Troubles with drugs and family tragedies knocked him down, but never out. Fifty years ago, it would have been hard to believe he'd outlast his contemporaries, but one of his most moving performances was at the tribute to Johnny Cash, where he performed the grand finale, "Will the Circle be Unbroken" (You’ll find it at the end of the Cash section in Country). Here are a few Lewis gems you may not have heard before. "You Win Again" is a shortened version of a Hank Williams tune, and it was the flip side of "Great Balls of Fire."  Most folks don’t seem to know that Lewis and TV preacher Jimmy Swaggart were cousins who took very different paths (Mickey Gilley was a cousin, too).  In my vision of heaven, Jerry Lee is singing and playing piano forever. In my vision of hell, Swaggart is preaching forever.  Amen.      Lewis bio       25 Years of Jerry Lee Lewis  (1 hr)     Crazy Arms  first hit, Sun Records, 1956     Crazy Arms  with Emmylou Harris     Crazy Arms   with Norah Jones     You Win Again   original, recorded from 45     Me and Bobby McGee   1983, London     Cold, Cold Heart   1983, Bristol     Sweet Little Sixteen   w/ Elvis     Hello Josephine   w/ Elvis     Save the Last Dance for Me   w/Elvis     Sweet Dreams   cover of Patsy Cline hit     Who's Gonna Play This Old Piano   took years to find this     This World is Not My Home  (gospel song)     Your Cheatin' Heart   1983 w/ K Richards, M Fleetwood     Pick Me Up on Your Way Down       Trouble in Mind     Only Love Can Get You In My Door   just Killer & piano     She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye     Think About It, Darlin'   (read the notes on this one)     Once More With Feeling   w/ Kris Kristofferson (KK wrote it)     Lucky Old Sun     Autumn Leaves   (rare ... vocal, no piano)     Rockin' Pneumonia & The Boogie Woogie Flu     Memphis, Tennessee   cover of Johnny Rivers hit     Candy Kisses     Georgia On My Mind Bobby Darin Born Walden Robert Cassotto, Darin had a massive range of talents ... singer, songwriter, actor, producer, and he did everything well despite frail health (heart). He died at 37. His first big hit was "Splish, Splash" ... but he's probably remembered best for "Mack the Knife" and "Beyond the Sea." Darin left an astonishing body of work, and his music ranged from rock to jazz to standards to country to folk to protest songs. The list below includes many you don't hear often, and covers of the hits of others. Darin introduced many young performers as his opening acts. It's very difficult to summarize his career in a brief paragraph ... we suggest reading this Darin bio.     You're the Reason I'm Living     Clementine     You Must've Been a Beautiful Baby     Things     Artificial Flowers     Dream Lover      All By Myself      Help Me Make It Through the Night     Don't Think Twice, It's All Right   by Bob Dylan     Blowin’ in the Wind   by Bob Dylan     Lonesome Whistle   by Hank Williams     Where Have All The Flowers Gone   by Pete Seeger     Simple Song of Freedom Dr Hook aka Dr Hook and the Medicine Show, they were a popular band in the 1970s. Many of their lyrics were penned by Shel Silverstein, best known as an author of very entertaining children's books. He also wrote the lyrics to one of Johnny Cash's best-known songs, "A Boy Named Sue" ... and "The Unicorn," a hit for the Irish Rovers. Dr Hook's biggest hit was probably "Cover of the Rolling Stone." Others included "Sylvia's Mother," "Queen of the Silver Dollar," "Freakin' at the Freakers' Ball" (which I never heard played on the air) ... and which my then-young son was always admonished to "NEVER sing that one for grandma!" They covered a few songs that had been done by others, including the simple and sweet "Only Sixteen," which had been a hit for the late Sam Cooke many years before, and not at all typical of their music. Oh yeah ... they had censorship problems, too!   Band info     Cover of the Rolling Stone     Sylvia's Mother     Queen of the Silver Dollar     Freakers' Ball   (not for the easily offended)     Only Sixteen     Carry Me Carrie     The Things I Didn't Say     If I'd Only Come and Gone      Hey Lady Godiva ,,, great slide show!     When You're In Love With a Beautiful Woman     I Never Got to Know Her