JERRY ENGLER & THE FOUR EKKOS, "SPUTNIK (SATELLITE GIRL)" C/W "UNFAITHFUL ONE" (BRUNSWICK 9-55037, REL. 11/1957)

In 1957, The US and Russia were in the midst of tense nuclear dance. Unlike the present “administration” (and I use the term loosely) which seeks to hop into bed with the Kremlin, the two countries were at a severe remove. Russia sent up a space satellite dubbed Sputnik that year, and it was a global sensation. Doomsday critics forecast…well, doom, while space-age optimism embraced it as an example of a new world a-comin’.

Neither thing happened, and Sputnik was soon forgotten as other space probes entered the scene. The concept of Sputnik now seems quaint, but in 1957, it was a cash cow for merchandisers and other exploiters, who wringed their hands with joy at all the possibilities.

In a suburb of Rochester, NY, a young singer and songwriter, Jerry Englerth, a recent returnee from the American Southwest, began to perform at local talent shows. One day he penned a goofy song about the Russian satellite and performed it in public. It got a hot response, and Englerth recruited a local vocal group, The Four Ekkos, to make a recording of it at a local studio.

The Ekkos had prior recording experience—they’d traveled to LA and cut some singles for the Rip label—and played a good rockabilly sound. An aspiring vocalist couldn’t ask for better companions in this topical project. The recording turned out well and once a local disc jockey heard the results, he was wowed. He knew someone at Decca Records and got the guys a deal on that label’s Brunswick imprint.

The results of the session are a pure example of teenage rock ‘n’ roll, made without adult restrictions, coupled with a school-of-Elvis ballad that goes into baroque overdrive. This single would have never been okayed by Brunswick’s producers, had it been cut in a Manhattan studio. And thank goodness it wasn’t!

Cash Box and Billboard recognized the appeal of “Sputnik (Satellite Girl)” as a potential pop sensation. CB was most enthusiastic about it:

BB dug its heels in against this teenage nonsense, but acknowledged its possible hit status while seriously hatin’ on the B-side ballad: (sorry it’s hard to read, but the only known copy is a degraded microfilm version)

 

Were the record awful, it would still have value as a historical and cultural marker. We’re fortunate that it’s one heck of a whacked-out rocker. Hold onto your hat and listen!

With opening sound effects that anticipate those of The Tornados’ #1 1962 hit “Telstar,” the song kicks some teen-rock tush via the Ekkos’ no-nonsense rockabilly oomph, their hearty backing vox and Engler’s feisty lead vocal. “Sat-sat-sat-a-lat-a-lite!” they sing, as they reduce a scientific marvel to doo-wop syllables.

The Ekkos get in a solid guitar break that one wishes could’ve gone for two choruses and this shebang ends with more sound effects. What more could one ask of a topical rock ‘n’ roll single?

Hear it >>>>> HERE. <<<<<

“Unfaithful One” comes off like a crocked version of Jack Scott, who hadn’t yet settled on this moody rockaballad sound. Engler’s mournful vocal might be off-putting at first listen, but the Ekkos spice this side up fine with their fervent twangin’ and mooin’. This includes a perfect rockabilly-ballad guitar solo that’s a model of heart and precision—and DOES go for two choruses! Win!

The Ekkos’ ba-ba-ba-bops sometimes drown out poor Jerry, who’s perhaps layin’ on the melodrama a tad too much…but it all works, unlike hundreds of similar efforts in this era. These guys were way too good together to only make one single, but alas, that’s what happened.

Hear it >>>>> HERE. <<<<<

“Sputnik” didn’t go anywhere, chart-wise, and was soon forgotten. It became a major must-have amongst rockabilly collectors. And though Englerth didn’t do a follow-up (aside from a 1988 country release), he decided around 1992 to cut a new version of the song and released it on a limited-edition picture-sleeve single, coupled with a Southwestern recording made at Porman Netty’s studio (switch the first letters—I’m not allowed to mention said producer anymore), with Buddy Holly on guitar. Englerth and Holly hit it off after they performed together at a Rochester rock ‘n’ roll show*, and Buddy invited Jerry to record with him in New Mexico. It’s possible there are other Southwestern sides by Englerth in the Netty vaults, but they might as well be in Timbuctu, given the personality of the individual in control of the estate.

* Extra credit reading: here’s a fascinating profile of Jerry E and his recording career: https://wnyfm.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/jerry-engler-sputnik-satellite-girl/

Englerth passed on in 2020 at age 84. Father of four and grandfather of 12 (plus great-grandkids), he appears to have had a happy life. He must have been tickled when Bear Family Records included “Sputnik” on their epic 2005 CD box-set Atomic Platters: Cold War Music from The Golden Age of Homeland Security. I hope they sent Jerry a copy of this disturbing, fascinating set.

Tomorrow: from pre-statehood Hawaii come The Flames, a teenage vocal group whose sound falls somewhere between the 1930s Mills Brothers and doo-wop. Another one-record wonder of considerable oddity from 1957.