Rarest Rockabilly & Hillbilly Boogie: The Best of Ace Rockabilly

This compact disc combines two Ace Records vinyl compilations of choice 1950s material. Rarest Rockabilly & Hillbilly Boogie anthologizes rockabilly history through the prism of the vanity pressing. For a hundred dollars or so, an Elvis wannabe could cut a couple songs and get back a small pressing for their efforts. Once copies were distributed to nearby radio stations, promoters, and juke box operators, the remaining stash was given away to fans and relatives or sold at dances. Texas-based Starday Records was a hotbed for this; in a period of six years, they issued over 500 titles on their Dixie label or vanity labels, and these are this basis for this compilation. As primitive as some of these are, the music is just fine. Most of the artists collected here are just names on labels of a phonograph record company, yet the inclusion of two early rockin' sides from Jimmie Dale Gilmore are most illuminating. This compilation errs on the side of hillbilly boogie but if cowboy boots stand in for blue suede shoes, there's still pep aplenty in selections like Bill Mack's "It's Saturday Night" and Buddy Shaw's "Don't Sweep That Dirt on Me." Best of Ace Rockabilly returns to the classic sound and is loaded with collector's prizes. Sonny Fisher's "Rockin' Daddy" and "Sneaky Pete" are raw Texas style rockabilly at its best, while Louisiana is represented by Link Davis' "Trucker From Tennessee" and Jimmy Johnny's "I Can't Find the Doorknob." The big ticket items are two of George Jones' rare excursions into the deep waters of the big beat, "Rock It" and "How Come It." All in all, a superlative compilation that truly gives a sense of rock & roll's ground-floor incarnation in the wake of Elvis. ~ Cub Koda

Good stuff from Ace once again.

01. Nothin' But a Nuthin' - Jimmy Stewart & His Night Hawks
02. Darlin' - Jimmy Dale
03. Baby Doll - Jimmy Dale
04. Pretending Is a Game - Sleepy Jeffers & The Davis Twins
05. Don't Sweep That Dirt on Me - Buddy Shaw
06. My Baby Left Me - Rock Rogers
07. Little Dog Blues - Mel Price
08. Henpecked Daddy - Ralph Johnson & The Hillbilly Show Boys
09. Umm Boy You're My Baby - Bill Johnson & The Dabblers
10. Stoney Mountain Boogie - Stoney Mountain Playboys
11. My Blackbirds Are Bluebirds Now - Sleepy Jeffers & Davis Twins
12. No More - Buddy Shaw
13. Big Black Cat - R.D. Hendon & The Western Jamboree Cowboys
14. It's Saturday Night - Bill Mack
15. Rockin' Daddy - Sonny Fisher & The Rocking Boys
16. Everybody's Movin' - Glen Glenn
17. I Can't Find the Doorknob - Jimmy & Johnny
18. My Big Fat Baby - Sonny Hall & The Echoes
19. How Come It - Thumper Jones
20. Trucker From Tennessee - Link Davis
21. Little Bit More - Sleepy LaBeef
22. Jitterbop Baby - Hal Harris
23. Let's Get It On - Hershel Almond with Al Good & His Band
24. One Cup of Coffee - Glen Glenn
25. I'm a Hobo - Danny Reeves
26. Rock It - George Jones
27. Sneaky Pete - Sonny Fisher
28. I'm Through - Sleepy LaBeef

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