Robin Luke w/The Jolly Drifters, "Chicka Chicka Honey" c/w "My Girl," Dot 45-15839; rel. 10/1958)
Not too long ago, we heard a rare Hawaii-only release by Robin Luke, teen pop-rocker from pre-statehood Hawaii. So's I don't have to do a retread of backstory, read his brief bio in this earlier post:
https://franksjookbox.blogspot.com/2025/11/robin-luke-wthe-lawrence-bros-combo.html
https://franksjookbox.blogspot.com/2025/11/robin-luke-wthe-lawrence-bros-combo.html
Today we'll dig Luke's second single for Dot Records: the follow-up to his lone big charter "Susie Darlin'." All parties concerned chose to follow up this phlegmatic island beat-ballad with a slab of Sun Records-style rock 'n' roll, shot through with regional eccentricity. With island vocalists The Jolly Drifters, oodles of bathroom reverb and solid rockabilly guitar, "Chicka Chicka Honey" is the most unhinged item in Luke's catalog.
The song is a strange bird: part rock 'n' roll, part Depression-era breezy pop, part tribal chant. This unlikely blend is a delight; it sounds like something conjured in a fever dream and, somehow, captured from the subconscious. Had this been done in a "real" recording studio, all this quirky charm would be lost. This record was perhaps too different from "Susie Darlin'" to please Luke's feminine fans. As a ballsy alternative to the Ricky Nelson sound and a container of some wicked-sounding rockabilly guitar, it might've appealed to guys, but it landed at the wrong time and failed to equal Luke's debut success.
Those who bought the single seemed to love it. I've passed by numerous played-to-death copies, with regret. In the recent surprise record-store haul, a mint-ish specimen, priced at 50 cents, was mine, all mine.
The song is a strange bird: part rock 'n' roll, part Depression-era breezy pop, part tribal chant. This unlikely blend is a delight; it sounds like something conjured in a fever dream and, somehow, captured from the subconscious. Had this been done in a "real" recording studio, all this quirky charm would be lost. This record was perhaps too different from "Susie Darlin'" to please Luke's feminine fans. As a ballsy alternative to the Ricky Nelson sound and a container of some wicked-sounding rockabilly guitar, it might've appealed to guys, but it landed at the wrong time and failed to equal Luke's debut success.
Those who bought the single seemed to love it. I've passed by numerous played-to-death copies, with regret. In the recent surprise record-store haul, a mint-ish specimen, priced at 50 cents, was mine, all mine.
Cash Box felt this was a chart contender--they deemed both sides hit-list material.
The overall sound of both sides is haunting: that spectral reverb, the muddy, chunky sound, the cartoon-ish roar of The Jolly Drifters and Luke's homely double-tracked vocals are earthy, dreamlike and beguiling.
Robin Luke never got that second hit. His label, Dot Records, pushed him into more conventional teen pop, with diminished results, and he left the music scene to pursue college study in 1962. One belated foray into songwriting yielded seven demos which include one of my favorite recordings, "Wide Wide World;" that song is a bonus track on the earlier post and you need to hear it. 'Nuff said.
Tomorrow: Mickey and Sylvia return with an excellent and little-known 1957 single from their run of Vik Records platters. Great Mickey Baker guitar and superb harmony singing on a pair of flat-out winners!
Love Luke's earnest voice. I see what you mean about these being Sun Records-adjacent. Those songs like "Susie Darlin'" were pretty much in the Buddy Holly-Everly Bros vein and these two songs were certainly more country-rockabilly sounding. "Wide Wide World" is lovely—has a slo-mo jazzy flow to it.
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