Dr. Feelgood And The Interns, "The Same Old Things Keep Happening" c/w "Let's Have A Good Time Tonight," Okeh 4-7161 (rel. 10/1962)

 

I hope you will attend a No Kings rally today. I’m going to one and I look forward to it. We need to band together and show that what is happening to America isn’t what most of its people want or need. Today’s record is offered with the goal of revving you up for the day.

It’s one of several wild, rackety rockers made by Willie Perryman, AKA Piano Red and, in the early 1960s, Dr. Feelgood. With his crack band The Interns, which featured the gifted guitarist-vocalist Roy Lee Johnson, Perryman made some of the wildest Black rock ‘n’ roll of the decade. Most of these sides were recorded in Nashville and were issued by Columbia’s Okeh imprint.

Born in 1911 in Hampton, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, Perryman was a self-taught pianist and the son of two Black sharecroppers. Perryman was albino, as was his also-talented brother Rufus, who performed music as Speckled Red. A common side-effect of albinism is poor vision, and Willy suffered from this. He couldn’t read music, so he picked up his musical skill by listening to other players and through the study of records and radio. An early favorite was Thomas “Fats” Waller, whose RCA-Victor singles were big sellers and have a touch of rock ‘n’ roll via the singer’s irreverent takes on sub-par pop songs of the day.

Perryman played with Atlanta blues legends Blind Willie McTell, Barbecue Bob and Curley Weaver. In the mid-1930s, he began to play in nightclubs for white audiences. He had two setlists: popular standards for the white folks and blues for his Black fans. His first recordings, made for the Vocalion label in 1934, were unreleased. Not until 1950 did he make his official debut on records with RCA-Victor, where he spent most of the decade on various labels, including their Groove imprint that featured Black artists.

Left to his own devices, Perryman loved to write songs about his attraction towards zaftig women; he seems to have a thing for wigs as well. His songs were vessels for raucous good-time music; not until Roy Lee Johnson joined his group did his material develop much depth.

A 1950 Piano Red recording isn’t that different from a 1960s Dr. Feelgood side. “The Same Old Things Keep Happening” was penned by Curtis Smith, an Intern and composer of many Feelgood faves. With a tight performance from the band, some unexpected chord changes and a clever lyric akin to many country songs of the day, this is one of Feelgood and the Interns’ best performances on record. Roy Lee Johnson, who penned “Mister Moonlight” for the group, contributes a solid guitar solo. If you’re in a glum mood, here’s your ticket to a happier place.

Cash Box has to monetize everything, but Dr. Feelgood

appears to pass muster (if not mustard).

On the flip, we’re in familiar territory. “Let’s Have a Good Time Tonight” opens with Perryman’s wild-abandon piano; his song teems with vaudeville-era chord changes. The Doctor’s raspy ravin’ voice is delightful and the band is rock-solid. Their saxman delivers a floor-shaking solo while Johnson’s rhythm guitar keeps this rollicking thing going at 120 MPH with no brakes. Whoopee!

The band’s records were produced by Don Law and Frank Jones, who headed Columbia’s Nashville studio and made thousands of classic country sides. They seem simpatico with the Doctor’s doings and the band sounds great on all their Okeh platters—including the fab self-titled 1962 LP, which is one of my favorite long-players. It was recorded in true stereo and that version delivers superb sound.

Perryman and group recorded for Okeh and Columbia into 1966; Perryman returned to Atlanta, where he proved a popular diversion for many a tourist (and local) with his unhinged piano antics and lascivious songs. He passed on in Decatur, GA, from cancer in 1985, well aware that his music brought joy to many folks over the years.

Let’s make today a friendly but firm stand of civil protest. These imbeciles can’t succeed; their own hubris has already hurt them and will continue to do so. They need to see that most of us don’t buy their bologna and want them out of the picture.

Tomorrow: for Soulful Sunday, Detroit’s own Willie Jones wails solo on one side; he’s joined by Liza Smith for one of the wildest r&b duets ever conceived. A Bigtop Records extravaganza from 1960!