Norton News / Show Reviews Posted June 4, 2007 - Norton Records - nortonrec@aol.com NORTON NEWS * SUMMER ROMPS AND STOMPS * JUNE/JULY 2007 PONDEROSA STOMP * YOUNG JESSIE * MIGHTY HANNIBAL *  A-BONES * NEW NORTON * RELEASES * ONEIDA ROCKIN' FEST REPORT 8 GET WELL QUICK BO DIDDLEY! Greetings from Nortonville, music lovers! Lots of hep doings coming up very soon indeed, but first, a wrap up on what all's been percolating. We're back from burning rubber on our two thousand-plus mile round trip road rally trekkeroo to the wilds of Wisconsin, home of the gargantuan Rockin' Fifties Fest. Major damper was learning that Bo Diddley, who was to have headlined Sunday night, had suffered a stroke and was hospitalized in Iowa. His presence would have thrown the event into audio overdrive, naturally, but with humongous well wishes from the gathered cast of thousands of loyal fans, the show went on, with him always in our prayers. This third edition of the festival was held, as always, at the fabulous Oneida Casino in Green Bay-- five massive mid-May days and nites of non-stop rock n' roll with stars upon stars upon stars appearing live in person with fantastic sound with incredible deejays and emcees, and an international audience that simply could not get enough! All this plus round-the-clock hot tub access! Wahoo! Absolute high point personally had to be Jack Scott, who served up an intense set with a fabulous band-- Jack looks and sounds superb... from the intense croom of "What In The World's Come Over You" to the whomp of "Geraldine" and "Leroy" (with "Greaseball" refrains thrown in!) to "Baby She's Gone" to the bad-ass "get lost" anthem "The Way I Walk", Jack Scott ROCKED! Ferlin Husky delivered a honkytonk sesh to beat all via duets with Leona Williams, Frankie Ford gave up "Sea Cruise" plus a baffling array of sordidly sensational anecdotes, Linda Gail Lewis blew us away with her pumpin' piano, the Collins Kids sounded just like they did when they were.. um... kids... and what can you say about a talent like Wanda Jackson except like WOW! Big thrill was seeing Marvin Rainwater, long time hero here at Kicksville. The Bobbettes shot everybody in the head (Boom! Boom!) and made us New Yawkers happy as clams to see our town respresented by such go-juss, energetic super duper stars. Billy got a personal audience with Little Richard thanks to our affiliation with Esquerita so we'll let him extrapolate fully... Sez Billy: [We were setting up our merchandise the first afternoon and a guy who looked familiar pointed to our Esquerita record and said, 'I knew him.' I said 'Yeah, me too.' We swapped a few stories and then I recognized the him as Little Richard's brother who we'd met before when we played with Richard in Spain. I spun him the Esquerita 45 of Dew Drop Inn, the song that Esq gave to Richard. Hours later he came back to our table, pointed to the turntable and said, 'How fast can you break that down? Richard wants to hear Dew Drop Inn!' I ran down the hall with all the hi fi gear like a kid from the Audio Visual Department and set it up backstage and sat down with Richard as he banged out air piano and sang a few bars along with the single. He told a great tale about the two of them almost getting thrown off a plane together and I told him about the Voola's fist fight with Screamin' Jay Hawkins. The record ended, I packed up and my host waved and said, 'Thank you, baby!' Little Richard, thank you -AWOOOOO!!!!! One of the week's primo blasts was fellow Specialty label rocker Roddy Jackson, who was completely over the top with a frantic set that included the ultra cool Moose On The Loose. Cleve Duncan's Penguins stunned everyone with a sublime Memories Of El Monte and Lemmy from Motorhead whipped up a killer version of Buddy Holly's Fool's Paradise. A few more highlights - Alton Lott's absolutely brilliant reading of No More Crying The Blues, maybe the Sun label's most underrated side. Sleepy LaBeef killed, as did Johnny Powers, Barbara Lynn, Jack Scott and the Bobbettes (damn, they were good!). The Five Keys sounded incredible, as did the Clovers, though the Cleftones were faceless oldies fare. My biggest regreat is not videotaping Roy Head as he watched the Penguins from our table. That cat is ON 110% of the time! With four rooms running non-stop, I missed Starday rocker Glenn Barber (twice, as he also led a whacked out singalong in the hallway!) and also we didn't catch planned-to-see sets by Rockin' Enocky, the Neanderthals or Lil Luis Y Los Wild Teens, but they all got the thumbs up from our well sloshed talent scout team. Great to see many of you out there and hopefully we can ball it up again soon. Special thanks to Greg Surek, Todd-O-Phonic Todd, Stephanie (Menster Phip's daughter) and the Fang for helping us out in a pinch on Thursday night and I profusely apologize for leaving you guys and gal stranded in a room with Robert Gordon.] ...thank you Billy, now back to the regularly scheduled program... CLIVE DAVIS TO JOIN NORTON STAFF AS INTERN ... http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/28/arts/music/28musi.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref =slogin - Yes! The so-called music biz is burning, baby, burning, and we do mean down in flames and do we fear the reaper? Nay! Bring it on, says we, bring is RIGHT on-- show the Big Four the big door and some four on the floor. And there's a summer job waiting here for Clive if he's looking to stay in the biz, but NO PROMISES! We'll keep churnin' til the butter comes-- in fact, here's a pair of fresh Norton maulers to prove it: ** CHARLIE FEATHERS ­ ONE GOOD GAL/COCKROACH (45-137) Five star unissued gem from Charlie on the topside b/w whacked out head spinnin' flip! These sides are a manic sneak preview to Norton's upcoming treasure trove of several albums' worth of rare and unissued sides by the late Memphis King of Rockabilly! Many songs never before releasedŠbe forewarned!! ** STALKERS ­ TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT/ALARM CLOCKS ­ THE LAST TIME (45-9657) New York's swingin' sleazy Stalkers return from their recent successful UK tour (Single of the Week in NME!) with a cool Jagger-Richards trib! Dig the strings!! Who'd a thunk it?! The record's split with garage legends the Alarm Clocks' poundin' out another Stones fave! No reason to complain, baby!! myspace.com/stalkers AND myspace.com/alarmclocksgarage IN THE WORKS...Stay tuned for our next newsletter for the scoop on upcoming albums by the Dictators, Charlie Feathers and mo'! Also cool new 7" discs including our next Rolling Stones coupling - a special one man band duke out featuring Bloodshot Bill and Rockin' Enocky! Yes, these here hills are alive with the sound of stomp and whomp and blown out romp and there's nary a cranny in town that ain't blazin' full throttle with the beat, the beat, the beat! If we can all survive the next thirty days, we'll outlive plagues and locusts! Gather canned goods and bottled beverages for the inevitable power surge which begins here in Brooklyn in less than a fortnight! Dig it, you hear, ripe for the pickin': FRIDAY JUNE 15 "A Night of Southern Soul" arrives at the everso fabulous and poshly appointed Southpaw nitery featuring legends Clarence Reid, Roscoe Robinson, Ralph ³Soul' Jackson, Herman Hitson and Eli ³Paperboy' Reed! Holy moly! Add a crew off boss DJ's and you've got some kinda wild-ass whomp! See you there! (Midwest crew-- the entire bill will be at the Hideout in Chicago on Saturday June 23 at 5PM) The Southpaw is located at 125 5th Ave. at Sterling Place, Brooklyn THURSDAY JUNE 28 WFMU- Norton's inimitable Billy Miller will be spinning high geared hot bop n' slop with Dave The Spazz on Music To Spazz By on radio station WFMU 91.1 FM between 8-11PM. (Set ya timers and tune in via internet at wfmu.org!) FRIDAY JUNE 29 BO DID IT! Good news is that Bo Diddley has been released from the hospital and is recuperating from his stroke back home in Florida. Join us as local record wombats gather to blast the beat by spinning Bo and only Bo... Diddley that is, plus other folkses' versions of Diddleyisms and crazy odes with the Bo Beat (and bounce!) Sorry, "Faith" by George Michaels will not be on tap! Enjoy the selections as served up by DJ's Tim Warren (Crypt), Billy Miller & Miriam Linna (Norton), Todd-O-Phonic Todd (Telstar), Dave The Spazz (Music To Spazz By), Andy Maltz (Little Killers/ Underthings), Rex Doane (Fool's Paradise), and Bazooka Joe and X-Tine (The Thing With Two Heads) 10 PM- 4 AM... no cover/no George Thorogood! Don Pedro's is located one block from the Cool And Crazy record shop at 90 Manhattan Ave. in Brooklyn - http://donpedro.us/ JULY R&B WEEKEND STOMP! MID SUMMER MAYHEM THREE NITES RUNNING! People, strap on your safety belts, and outta towners get ya Greyhound tix purchased while their half-off companion fare's going! July 13-14-15 brings a trio of unbelievable superstar soul shows to our tri-state area! FRIDAY JULY 13th  YOUNG JESSIE AND THE MIGHTY HANNIBAL Oh my! Get ready for a double dose of soul dynamite! The fabulous Young Jessie makes his first appearance in NYC in decades with his hits "I Smell A Rat", "Hit Git & Split" and "Mary Lou" while local fan favorite The Mighty Hannibal defies gravity with "Jerking The Dog", "Hymn No. 5" and a ton of hard bitin' superb rhythm and blues excellence! Dig the Dansettes ("Oh My") too at this all nite swingeroo! This all-night workout is highlighted by top DJ's Dave The Spazz (WFMU), W. Lee (Empire State Soul Club), Mr. Finewine (WFMU), El Guapo and there is a promise of "Delicious Backyard BBQ" ! Tickets to this stellar event are $20 in advance at ticketweb.com or $24 the nite of the show! The Hook, 18 Commerce Street, Red Hook Brooklyn (718) 797-3007, INFO & DIRECTIONS @ www.myspace.com/hookandboogie  or www.thehookmusic.com SATURDAY JULY 14 PONDEROSA STOMP MAXWELLS, HOBOKEN NJ Holy cats! The Ponderosa Stomp storms NYC! New Orleans moves her boundaries northward as the legendary musical extravaganza explodes on both sides of the Hudson-- Saturday at Maxwell's in Hoboken for a fabulously air conditioned evening of solid stomp and Sunday at McCarren Park in (where else) Brooklyn! Dig this line up-- ROY HEAD (³Treat Her Right'), BOBBY PATTERSON ("He Don't Have To See You To See Through You)", WILLY TEE ("Teasin' You", "Thank You John"), TAMMI LYNN  ("Mojo Hannah"), RAY SHARPE backed by the A-Bones! ("Linda Lu"), TOMMY MCCLAIN   ("Sweet Dreams", "Before I Grow Too Old"), plus local guests THE A-BONES! House band is composed of "Shaft" guitarist Skip Pitts, Teenie Hodges (Al Green), Scott Bomar (The Bo-Keys bassist - scored Hustle & Flow + Black Snake Moan), Willie Tee on piano and Stax Records' Willy Hall on the drums!!! The A-BONES will have the superb honor of backing legendary Fort Worth rocker Ray Sharpe. Ray worked closely over the years with his great friend the late Ronnie Dawson and is one of the permeators and perpetuators of the Blond Bomber's savage style. We look forward to working with Ray on the same stage where we first backed Ronnie some 20 years ago. The A-Bones will back Ray on Saturday and Sunday as well as performing an A-Bones set at Saturday's Stomp. Also, original A-Bones sergeant-at-arms, the lovely Michelle K will be in the house (see Norton website for a photo of Michelle and Miriam getting arrested at Rye Playland for attacking Freddie Cannon onstage). This will be an "arresting" event even if the law ain't called! Washable duds, designated drivers please.  Management reserves the right to limit onion soup service to unruly customers. Maxwells is located at Washington and 11th St. in Hoboken, NJ  9 p.m. $15 Buy tix now, don't be a shlub! http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&ev entId=188465 SUNDAY JULY 15 PONDEROSA STOMP POOL PARTY! McCarren Park Brooklyn So you got home last night, slept like a log, and woke up to two pots of hi-octane MAXWELL HOUSE (or a reasonable facsimile), ready for another go at P-Stomp! See youse all one mo' time again to review the revue on our side of the river and in the open, just like Freddie King would want it! ROY HEAD ("Treat Her Right), BOBBY PATTERSON ("He Don't Have To See You To See Through You)", WILLY TEE ("Teasin' You", "Thank You John"), TAMMI LYNN  ("Mojo Hannah"), RAY SHARPE backed by the A-Bones! ("Linda Lu"), TOMMY MCCLAIN   ("Sweet Dreams", "Before I Grow Too Old"), plus local guests THE A-BONES! House band is composed of "Shaft" guitarist Skip Pitts, Teenie Hodges (Al Green), Scott Bomar (The Bo-Keys bassist - scored Hustle & Flow + Black Snake Moan), Willie Tee on piano and Stax Records' Willy Hall on the drums!!! McCARREN POOL PARK, GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN NY Directions to and info about  McCarren Pool Park can be found at www.thepoolparties.com All the news and new release info is at: myspace.com/nortonrecords and always click the news link at http://www.nortonrecords.com Back to the "Take Note" Main Page