Bunker Hill with Link Wray & The Raymen - The Mala Singles (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.6)

It was either "Back From The Grave 4"or "Talkin' Trash" compilation that I've crashed for the first time this manic piece of rock'n'roll at a certainly young age. In any case it was Tim Warren's fault. I can still clearly remember my reaction to this Little Richard loaded on speed drugs type of recording. Perhaps the first time ever punk rock was documented. The echo, the sloppy fierce band playing (at the time I wasn't aware that Link and his gang was behind), everything came and gone in less than two minutes leaving my mind, my stereo speakers and my place burnt down.

Then times moved nearer the internet age and Norton Records' "Missing Links" series. I was already a huge fan of Linkster but I knew nothing about Bunker Hill. I was still in the process to discover who this cat was. To make a long story short and not boring you with my personal memories after MANY hours of google searching and fanzines reading (Kicks of course included) I found out that Bunker Hill was a professional boxer and a gospel singer with The Mighty Clouds of Joy, under the name of David Walker. 

When the other DC cat of our story heard him for the first time he nearly lost his mind. The Wray brothers (Link on guitar, Doug on drums and Vernon as a producer along with Shorty Horton on bass) rushed him into their home studio and set up two sessions. David as a singer of a very prestigious gospel group like The Mighty Clouds was afraid to record with his real name for the devil's music, so the gang decided to baptize him again as Bunker Hill. 

In 1962 Vernon took the master tapes to Arthur Yale and Jack Fine, who ran Mala Records, and the company released all three Bunker Hill singles within the next two years. All three records sold amazingly well. Hell, "Hide & Go Seek Parts 1&2" even climbed into Billboard's Hot 100!
Mala Records had still some inaugural Bunker Hill material in their vault (including nowadays lost track "Jungle Dan"), and they were planning to produce a whole album. For reasons unknown to me this sadly never happened. The last Bunker & Raymen single came out in September 1963 and it originated from the same '62 session as the previous recordings, this time with "The Girl Can't Dance" included. The flip was "You Can't Make Me Doubt My Baby", as adjusted from "You Can't Make Me Doubt" by The Gospelaires.

I have never really recovered from that first time I told/wrote you in the first lines. Everybody knows that I'm a faithful pilgrim to the Little Richard's chapel but I've never witnessed the King and Queen of Rock'n'Roll screams his lungs out like a sermon preacher in a fire & brimstone black church nor any other ever since! 

Screamin' Joe Neal - Screamin' Joe Neal (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.5)

 

There's not much details surrounding shouter/pianist Screamin' Joe Neal's life. He is thought to have come from the Greenville Mississippi to St. Louis. Joe Neal's first two-sider recorded for Archie Shippings in 1959. Both cuts are first rate pretenders to the Little Richard's throne monsters, to yours truly only Kid Thomas reached the same throat shredding heights - I mean ever! In 1966 accompanied by the Cooper bros, Tim and Glen recorded his second and last (known at least) session and produced by Tony Knitting. Another pair of wild R&B romp, full of echo drenched madness but flopped commercially again. Maybe the world wasn't ready for such crudeness. What became of Screamin' Joe Neal is unknown it is rumored he had moved to Kansas City. He played briefly at the start with Junior Walker and in St. Louis he was tearing up the venues with Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm. Any update/correction on his life and recordings is certainly welcome. 

The Standells by Greg Shaw (Bomp! Magazine, Summer 1974)

For Larry Tamblyn (1943-2025)

(Right click and select 'open link in new tab' for full scans resolution)

The Pretty Things - Mayhem In The BBC (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.4)

It pisses me off that the wildest 60s combo at least in the UK, only has a bunch of BBC live recordings to document their legendary untamed performance. The 15 recordings I've compiled are, as the title suggests, from officially released sources and pretty well recycled over the years. But if you're looking for a place where all their recordings up to 1966 are packed into one place, here's your chance. Not nearly what I've read over the years of the witnesses to their gruesome rituals, but fierce enough for British broadcast, I guess. There's a Dutch TV performance on YouTube, but as far as I know there's never been a proper bootleg release. 

The Five Royales - 1960-66 (White Trash Soul R&B Series No.3)

There's no need to introduce the sheer brilliance and the importance of The 5 Royales to anyone who's visiting this space. What could I possibly write for a band that is hugely influential and successful and hadn't been written before my attempt? There's no bad period on the Royales journey over the years. Every era (Apollo, King, Home of the Blues etc.) had something new to offer. All these sides are true classics of a group whose early singles predated the birth of rock & roll and withdrawn as R&B was making its way for what became better known as soul. 

This time my home-made offering is concentrated on the 1960s age of this black music/heritage monsters as they slide from one record company to another (Home of the Blues, Vee-Jay, Smash, Todd, King among others). Soul music exploded at this point and a young Stax Records guitarist under the name of Steve Cropper was using Pauling’s licks all the time to form a whole new tributary of Memphis R&B, but the group inexplicably failed to catch on. The production of James Brown and Willie Mitchell came up bare. Ironically enough their songs became hits by other artists' recordings (The Shirelles, Ray Charles, James Brown, Mamas & The Papas).  

I know most people would probably prefer their 50s King sides, but I strongly believe these are underrated jewels.