The album commences in 1954 with Chuck Willis’s I Feel So Bad which in 1961 Elvis Presley recorded and cloned the arrangement. Staying in 1954 pre-pubescent Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-bred and eventual superstar George Benson recorded his first single It Should Have Been Me #2, which is an early example of a youngster recording a stroll tempo title, and Wilbert Harrison covers Terry Fell’s hillbilly rocker Don’t Drop It. Moving forward one-year Varetta Dillard’s tremendous dance-classic Promise Mr. Thomas is supported by The Roamers who as the named artists sing with enjoyment Chop Chop Ching A Ling.
Moving into 1956 you’ll hear Barbie Gaye who recorded the first version of the song which Millie made a hit in 1964, My Boy Lollypop, and Gaye’s association with Kirkland is explained in the sleeve notes. “Little” David Baugham was a one-time member of The Checkers, and The Drifters and solo sang the boisterous rocker You’ll Pay. Hurricane Harry is serving time during (the) Last Meal, and Nappy Brown’s song Pleasing You is about relationship problems. Two Caucasian rockers slip into the 1956 proceedings, Jaycee Hill sings the Kirkland co-pen Bump and Dave Burton sings a pleasing cover version of Rock 'n' Roll Ruby. The exploration of the year is rounded off with an up-tempo doo-wop rocker from, The Keystones who are enchanted by The Magic Kiss.
Kirkland in 1957 was producing more musical magic and you will hear; The Schoolboys who sing about Mary. Both sides of Lloyd "Fatman" tremendous Okeh label 45 RPM play back-to-back, Miss Mushmouth, and the album title Good Gracious are both must-have recordings. The master of weirdness Screamin' Jay Hawkins recorded an album with Kirkland at the helm and Frenzy is from this association. The final three recordings from the year are; Little Terry, Shake Me Up Baby, The Fi-Dells, No Other Love (Like Yours), and Larry Hart’s A Looka-A Looka.
Six songs are sourced from the year 1958; Kirkland performs fronting his made-up group The Rock-Chas for an instrumental version of The Walk; Big Bee Kornegay’s let’s have a party tune The Fiesta Rock 'n’ Roll is lively, Eddie Singleton and The Chromatics Kiss-A-Kiss, Hug-A-Hug is full of joy, and Kirkland produced both sides of Clyde Stacy’s Bullseye label 45 RPM, and Baby Shame is featured. Returning to R& B music Billy Lamont’s R&B rocker Tom Cat is the penultimate recording and Joy And Jubilation by Rose Marie McCoy perfectly brings the album to a close.
The sleeve notes from the compilation/ re-issue producer and Dee Jay Mark Armstrong will give a brief history of Leroy Kirkland, and where available session information is included. The album is topped off with the best possible sound quality possible from our mastering team at our El Paso, Texas, Studio. The concept is lavishly decorated by design artist and working musician Urban Zotel, and the sleeve is made from top-quality eco-friendly cardboard specially designed to avoid the use of plastic and be environmentally friendly.
Koko Mojo Records endeavours to use some lesser-known and for some, perhaps more obscure titles and adds something unexpected to every album. The album is ideal for Dee Jays to fill the dance floor with, and for home listening or while cruising around.
You are listening to music from the past and preserving the future! Koko Mojo Records “often imitated, never duplicated”
All that remains is to say, “Crank up the volume and dig these musical gems.
Dee Jay Mark Armstrong Bühl, Germany
Koko Mojo Records (KM-CD-179) Spotlight on Leroy Kirkland, Good Gracious
01 Chuck Willis I Feel So Bad (Willis) Okeh 1954
02 The Barons My Baby's Gone (Harrison) Decca 1954
03 George Benson It Should Have Been Me #2 (Curtis) 1954
04 Wilbert Harrison Don't Drop It (Fell) Savoy 1954
05 Varetta Dillard Promise Mr Thomas (McCoy, Singleton, Mendelsohn) Savoy 1955
06 The Dreams My Little Honeybun (Pressbery) Savoy 1955
07 The Carnations Night Time Is The Right Time (Van Dyke) Savoy 1955
08 The Roamers Chop Chop Ching A Ling (Taylor, Mendelsohn) Savoy 1955
09 Barbie Gaye My Boy Lollypop (Spencer, Roberts) Darl 1956
10 Jaycee Hill Bump! (Otis, Kirkland) Epic 1956
11 Dave Burton Rock 'n' Roll Ruby (Cash) RCA Victor 1956
12 Little David You'll Pay (Baugham) Savoy 1956
13 Hurricane Harry Last Meal (Hammer) Okeh 1956
14 Nappy Brown Pleasing You (Mendelsohn, Winley) Savoy 1956
15 The Keystones The Magic Kiss (Smith, Gillespie) Epic 1956
16 The Schoolboys Mary (Redd, Murray) Okeh 1957
17 Lloyd "Fatman" Miss Mushmouth (Smith) Okeh 1957
18 Lloyd "Fatman" Good Gracious (Otis, Hunter) Okeh 1957
19 Screamin' Jay Hawkins Frenzy (Hill, Stevenson) Okeh 1957
20 Little Terry Shake Me Up Baby (Terry, Cadena) Savoy 1957
21 The Fi-Dells No Other Love (Like Yours) (King) Warner 1957
22 Larry Hart A Looka-A Looka (Cooley, Otis) Okeh 1957
23 Leroy Kirkland's Rock-Chas The Walk (McCracklan, Garlic) RCA Victor EP 1958
24 Big Bee Kornegay The Fiesta Rock 'n’ Roll (Maxwell) Go 1958
25 Eddie Singleton and The Chromatics Kiss-A-Kiss, Hug-A-Hug (McGhee, Paterno) Amso 1958
26 Clyde Stacy Baby Shame (Littlefield) Bullseye 1958
27 Billy Lamont Tom Cat (Hammer) Candelo 1958
28 Rose Marie McCoy Joy And Jubilation (McCoy, Lee) 1958
Kirkland’s participation as session leader and arranger is indicated within the sleeve notes. Where known the sleeve notes will provide session information.
Spotlight On Leroy Kirkland – Good Gracious (Koko Mojo)
Another addition to Koko Mojo’s “Spotlight On” album series sees the work of Leroy Kirkland featured over the course of twenty-eight tracks. An American jazz and rhythm and blues guitar player, composer, conductor and arranger, Leroy Kirkland was influential during music’s golden age of the 50s. Such efforts can be gleaned throughout Good Gracious where established artists feature, in addition to more obscure names and songs. This all makes for a fascinating listening experience that begins with Chuck Willis’ ‘I Feel So Bad’, less featured The Barons and song ‘My Baby’s Gone’, to female performer Varetta Dillard with ‘Promise Mr Thomas’, and counterpart Barbie Gaye with well-known ‘My Boy Lollipop’. The quality continues with the likes of Nappy Brown and snappy ‘Pleasing You’, to equally brisk and certainly catchy ‘A Looka- A Looka’ from Larry Hart. The artist at the heart of this record features in his own right during instrumental ‘The Walk’ and under the heading Leroy Kirkland’s Rock-Chas. There’s even a slot for the eccentric Screamin’ Jay Hawkins with compelling (what else really?!) ‘Frenzy’, which spices up this collection further and leaving the album a must-have for anyone’s collection of traditional rhythm and blues, especially when you have the inclusion of excellent Little Terry’s ‘See See Boo Hoo’.
Nathan Olsen-Haines (Koko Mojo)
