The "Juke In The Back" focuses on the " soul that came before rock n' roll," the records that inspired Elvis, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and countless others.
Imperial Records was a major player among the indie labels of the late 1940s and the entirety of the 1950s. Started in Los Angeles in 1946 by Lew Chudd, a Canadian raised in Harlem, Imperial began filling the ethnic and cultural voids left by the majors at the time. Chudd knew there was a large market for Latino Music in America, so he headed to Mexico City and recorded some Mexican jump bands that sold very well. He then included square dance records which also racked up sales as now square dances could be held without callers. He began recording Rhythm & Blues in 1947 and by '49, he had hired Dave Bartholomew to scout talent in fertile New Orleans. The Braun Brothers had beaten him to The Crescent City by recording Paul Gayten and Annie Laurie first, but with Bartholomew's help, Chudd was able to sign Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, Archibald and Jewel King, dominating the New Orleans R&B scene. This week, we continue our Imperial series with part eleven, focusing on Imperial's R&B releases from the end of 1957 and the beginning of 1958.
There's a new hit-maker in town as Imperial signs the young heartthrob, Ricky Nelson as well as other Rockabilly, Rock and Pop acts. Chudd begins to move the label away from Rhythm & Blues and that great New Orleans sound that brought the hits over the past decade. Fats is still able to chart and does so with gusto as "What Will I Tell My Heart," "Wait & See," "When I See You," "Sick & Tired" and "The Big Beat" all make the charts. Ernie Freeman scores one of Imperial's best-sellers with his cover of the Bill Justis tune, "Raunchy" and Bobby Mitchell records the first version of "I'm Gonna Be A Wheel Someday."
1958 is a great place for us to stop as we've covered Imperial's R&B heyday over the past eleven week's on your source for the "soul that came before Rock n' Roll," the "Juke In The Back."
Join Matt the Cat for "Juke in the Back", Thursday morning at 4 AM Eastern, with an encore presentation, Sunday afternoon at 3 PM Eastern, after "The All 80s Show" with Gary G and before "The Song Remembers When" with Melissa Ricobono, on Mushroom FM, the home of the fun guys, making four decades of magic mushroom memories!
And check out the complete Mushroom FM schedule at https://mushroomfm.com/schedule.
Home of the Fun Guys!