Mike & The Del Rays, "You Talk Too Much" c/w "Restless," Jox JO-018 (rel. 4/1964)
Happy post-Christmas! I hope your yesterday was a warm, pleasant time spent with good people and a whole lotta love in the room. I was so fortunate and am grateful for a lovely day.
Out of nowhere, here's a super-rare regional release that came into my hands a couple of weekends ago. It was the only interesting 45 in a store's small batch of singles. The proprietors, fond of price-gouging, missed a bet on this single. It tends to go for 75-150 dollars in nice condition; they had it at a wee fraction of the going rate. As you must know by now, I am fascinated by regional recordings and artists, and a San Antonio, Texas platter is catnip to me.
I can't find a thing about this group online. They had two singles as Mike and The Del Reys. I believe the Mike to be Mike Gonzalez. They were similar to many regional bands who made a living through live performances at local events and clubs. Like a certain group from Liverpool, England who also plied their trade on their home turf, this group's repertoire leaned on oldie favorites that either got a good response from live audiences or were deep-cut favorites of the performers. We get both examples on this single, released for regional consumption in the spring of 1964--at a time when British groups, all the rage, did the exact thing to national acclaim. Were these two tracks performed by UK singers, they'd have gotten some attention.
This record did get mentioned in Cash Box in their most cursory manner: a laundry list of new releases for April 25, 1964. Devoid of description or assessment, they provide us with an accurate release date but show how indifference ruled the roost. Every week, hundreds of new singles came out all over the country. Perhaps a dozen of them had any future with the public. The rest went unheard and unknown to the public. Outside of the performers' home turfs, no one bought or heard these records. No effort was made to push them to the public. Some out-of-nowhere records might be nurtured by influential disc jockeys; a few of those became national hits.
Out of nowhere, here's a super-rare regional release that came into my hands a couple of weekends ago. It was the only interesting 45 in a store's small batch of singles. The proprietors, fond of price-gouging, missed a bet on this single. It tends to go for 75-150 dollars in nice condition; they had it at a wee fraction of the going rate. As you must know by now, I am fascinated by regional recordings and artists, and a San Antonio, Texas platter is catnip to me.
I can't find a thing about this group online. They had two singles as Mike and The Del Reys. I believe the Mike to be Mike Gonzalez. They were similar to many regional bands who made a living through live performances at local events and clubs. Like a certain group from Liverpool, England who also plied their trade on their home turf, this group's repertoire leaned on oldie favorites that either got a good response from live audiences or were deep-cut favorites of the performers. We get both examples on this single, released for regional consumption in the spring of 1964--at a time when British groups, all the rage, did the exact thing to national acclaim. Were these two tracks performed by UK singers, they'd have gotten some attention.
This record did get mentioned in Cash Box in their most cursory manner: a laundry list of new releases for April 25, 1964. Devoid of description or assessment, they provide us with an accurate release date but show how indifference ruled the roost. Every week, hundreds of new singles came out all over the country. Perhaps a dozen of them had any future with the public. The rest went unheard and unknown to the public. Outside of the performers' home turfs, no one bought or heard these records. No effort was made to push them to the public. Some out-of-nowhere records might be nurtured by influential disc jockeys; a few of those became national hits.
Just a bunch of records from April 1964. There are two pages of these listings in this issue of Cash Box; some great releases went otherwise unheeded when new.
It's not likely Jox 018 sold any copies outside Texas. It coupled two items from the group's set list. "You Talk Too Much" was a major 1960 hit for New Orleans' Joe Jones, one of the most awful people in musicdom. Though his version is catchy, I can't listen to it anymore; I'm glad to have this lowrider remake instead.
This is what the band sounded like live; tight, well-rehearsed but full of energy. It's refreshing to hear Black songs sung by Latinos and this is a solid example. Mike's voice has a likable force and intention and The Del Rays are sharp and bright. I'd wager he sings this from memory; he adlibs a few extra words here and there.
Trumpet and sax take solos and it fades out. Dos cervezas, por favor!
This is what the band sounded like live; tight, well-rehearsed but full of energy. It's refreshing to hear Black songs sung by Latinos and this is a solid example. Mike's voice has a likable force and intention and The Del Rays are sharp and bright. I'd wager he sings this from memory; he adlibs a few extra words here and there.
Trumpet and sax take solos and it fades out. Dos cervezas, por favor!
"Restless" has (unknown) for its composer credit. This was a deep dive into New Orleans music. It was recorded by Johnny Fuller for Imperial Records in 1956. The song was penned by Ruth Durand, an associate of Dave Bartholomew who also recorded as part of the duet Ruth and Al.
This version is redressed in the style of swamp pop--not a far cry from the bayou country and a natural fit for Latin rock 'n' rollers. Mike's vocal is double-tracked--unusual for a regional recording--and the band is, again, spot-on and in full show-mode.
I'd love to know how this obscure B-side became part of the group's set, but it was a fine choice: few had heard it and Mike and band could make it "their" song by live performance of it.
This version is redressed in the style of swamp pop--not a far cry from the bayou country and a natural fit for Latin rock 'n' rollers. Mike's vocal is double-tracked--unusual for a regional recording--and the band is, again, spot-on and in full show-mode.
I'd love to know how this obscure B-side became part of the group's set, but it was a fine choice: few had heard it and Mike and band could make it "their" song by live performance of it.
Tomorrow: the original version of "Restless," coupled with a Dave Bartholomew song, as sung by Johnny Fuller for Imperial Records, 1956.
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