This transcript of the radio show is an approximation of what I said in the show. The real spoken parts may differ slightly.
And for today the story and releases of a very small label, but owned by one of the big names in Rhythm & Blues. I'm talking about Art Rupe and his Fidelity label. Of course, we know him from his Specialty label, that brought us Roy Milton and Jimmy Liggins and later on also his brother Joe, and Larry Williams and Little Richard. But he also started a kind of subsidiary named Fidelity that brought out only 10 Rhythm & Blues releases in its 3000 series in 1951 and '52. I'm gonna play these ten records, and to get my time filled, I'll have to play some flipsides as well. So let's get started with number 3000 of this label, a record that had been released on the Freedom label of Houston before. Here is Joe Turner with I Want My Baby When The Rooster Crows and immediately after that you'll get the flip Life Is Like A Card Game.
3000 - Big Joe Turner - I Want My Baby (When The Rooster Crows)
3000 - Big Joe Turner - Life Is Like A Card Game
3001 - Four Flames - Tabarin
Vocal group the Four Flames with Tabarin and that was on Fidelity number 3001. We're talking about the group that was also known as the Hollywood Flames or the Hollywood Four Flames and many other names - The Turks, The Jets, The Sounds, Bobby Day & the Satellites, and Earl Nelson & the Pelicans. This Tabarin was written by Murry Wilson and in case that don't ring a bell with you, he was the father of Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson and uncle of Mike Love - together the Beach Boys.
The records of the Hollywood Flames never sold too well but in California they were a hot act. I'll get you the flip of the record as well. Here is Wine - or on the label spelled out as W.I.N.E.
3001 - Four Flames - W.I.N.E.
3002 - Sherman Williams - The Bounce
Well not too subtle, both the tenor and that baritone sax but sure that was some great honking on this double-sider. You heard the band of Sherman Williams and in the second half the Four Flames joined in for the vocal part. The Bounce was that, released on number 3002 of the Fidelity label, the label that I feature today in the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman.
Art Rupe was the owner, the man who'd founded famous Specialty records. An article in Billboard magazine of November 17 of 1951 announces his investment in what seems to be an existing firm. Still all releases of Fidelity have been done under Rupe's supervision. Next to the distribution network of Specialty, Rupe seems to have sought some additional distributors for his new Fidelity label - an article in Billboard of December 1 mentions a few companies that Art Rupe made a deal with. I can only assume that these distributors were also meant for his main label - Specialty.
Next, number 3003 from the catalog and that is the band of the somewhat obscure drummer Herman Manzy and he also does the vocals on this too. Now I would wonder who was that frantic saxophonist on here, but I didn't manage to find out. Nor did I get hold of the other side, Back To The Blues, that got a pretty positive reception in Billboard magazine of February 9 of 1952. It seems no-one ever done the effort to re-release that one.
So for now I'm your rockin' man - a song well fitting in the rocking fad of the Rhythm & Blues of the early fifties. Here is Herman Manzy.
3003 - Herman Manzy - I'm your Rockin' man
3004 - Bumble Bee Slim - Ida Red
Ida Red of Bumble Bee Slim who used to be one of the most recorded bluesmen, in the thirties, but after he left Chicago and headed for Los Angeles, he kept a lower profile. I don't know if that was by choice or that success just failed him. For the Fidelity label he did just one record, and another one for Art Rupe's main label Specialty under his real name, Amos Easton.
The flip of Ida Red is titled Lonesome Old Feeling and here it is.
3004 - Bumble Bee Slim - Lonesome Old Feeling
3005 - Jo Jo Jackson & His Jumpin' Jivers - Boogie In The Groove
Boogie In The Groove was that and this was on Fidelity 3005 billed as Jo Jo Jackson & His Jumpin' Jivers. Now Jackson played the saxophone and the trumpet and you'd wonder where either of them were on this. You gotta listen very carefully to what apparently has been real poor mixing work 'cause yes, there is a saxophone on it too, but it sounds like they forgotten to switch on the microphone - it sounds weak and far away.
The flip ain't much better - here is Jumpin' And Stompin' and first I thought it was the same as the other side, so similar it sounds.
3005 - Jo Jo Jackson & His Jumpin' Jivers - Jumpin' And Stompin'
3006 - Smokey Hogg - Born On The 13th
The misfortunes of Smokey Hogg with Born on the 13th and that was issue 3006 of the Fidelity label, the small subsidiary of Art Rupe's Specialty label.
Art Rupe had no background in music when he became a business partner of Bob Sherman and his Atlas Records. The deal wasn't fruitful for Rupe and he lost money on it, but it landed him in the recording industry. He seems to have tried to do quite some market research trying to find out if he could find characteristics that made a song succesful - especially timing of intros, instrumental solos and vocal parts. If he found clues, then he has never made them public but he did get pretty succesful in Rhythm & Blues.
In August 1944 he started his Juke Box label and got some success with it, and soon the business partners knocked at his door with investment proposals that didn't seem to work out the way Art Rupe had figured out they should be. And so he backed out and started a new enterprise, the Specialty label, this time without partners. He got Roy Milton, Joe Liggins, Joe Lutcher and Camille Howard bringing in the hits and he signed Lloyd Price who brought him a number one hit with Lawdy Miss Clawdy and Guitar Slim with The Things I Used To Do. Then came what proved to be *the* sensation for Specialty, Little Richard. His successes with Tutti Frutti and Long Tall Sally filled the bank account for Specialty records.
In the meanwhile Art Rupe got more and more fed up with the payola practice and the corruption in the music business in general, and by the end of the decade he'd invested his money in real estate and the oil business and slowly wound down the Specialty label. In the meanwhile his music publishing business, Venice, flourished with royalties he got from the Rolling Stones and the Beatles recording several of the songs of his artists.
Compared to this all, the Fidelity label that I feature today was a very small and unsuccesful subsidiary. And I left you with issue 3006 of it and here is the other side of the record - Smokey Hogg with Crawdad,
3006 - Smokey Hogg - Crawdad
3007 - Big Joe Turner - After A While You'll Be Sorry
Joe Turner with After A While You'll Be Sorry and just like the very first record that I played today, this was released on the Freedom label before. The same counts for the flip of it - here is Just A Travelin' Man.
3007 - Big Joe Turner - Just A Travelin' Man.wav
3008 - Pete McKinley - Cryin' For My Baby
(jingle)
3008 - Pete McKinley - Mean black snake
3009 - Clarence London - Goin' Back To Mama
Going Back To Mama was that of Clarence London. He was a construction worker in Shreveport, LA with musical aspirations always hanging around at the record shop of Stan Lewis, who had invited Art Rupe to record some local talent at the studios of the local radio station. When Rupe accepted the invitation, Clarence had literally begged him to be at that session, and well he got his way and that led to three sides, two of them pressed on this only record he ever made.
You'll be getting the other side of the record too but first let me tell you what I played before, and that were the two sides of Fidelity number 3008 - Cryin' For My Baby and Mean black snake of Pete McKinley.
So as I said, here is the flip of Fidelity 3009, Clarence London with One Rainy Morning.
3009 - Clarence London - One Rainy Morning
And with that the label came to a long hibernation for a good seven years. Art Rupe gave it a short revival around the turn of the decade, for some rock 'n roll releases at a time when his main label was slowing down.
And with that, also this show comes to an end but then for me you don't have to wait that long. I'll be there next week, as always, and you can already take a peek what's on the planning for next show, by visiting my web site. You can best find it by doing a web search for the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman. On my site you can also read back today's story and review the playlist. In the list of shows search for the word Fidelity or just scroll down to show number 133, that's this show. Of course you can also let me know if you liked the show or if you have anything to comment. The address is rockingdutchman@rocketmail.com - you'll find that address on my site as well.
For now time's up so have a wonderful and rocking day. See you next time, here, on the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman!