Cliff Blakley, Roswell

I cut my rockabilly chompers on a cassette copy of Gusto's "Starday-Dixie Rockabillies Vol. 1" which featured Cliff Blakley's awesome "Get Off My Toe". That compilation- possibly the best assemblage of rockabilly to this day- was and still is the sound of rockabilly to me. So very pleased then to have recently added Cliff's first disc to the shelves. Still need to round up "Toe", though.


CLIFF BLAKLEY- Want To Be With You Baby b/w High Steppin' (Starday 352)

Cliff Blakley moved from his home state of Oklahoma (b. July of 1934) to Roswell along with his brother Jimmy's family in the 1950s where they worked out of one of the largest honky tonk's in the region, Scotty's. Cliff served primarily as the lead guitar player in the band.

In the fall of 1957 the Blakley clan motored north to Norman Petty's studios in Clovis and cut a handful of sides including the songs featured here.

"High Steppin'" is a good hillbilly bopper about a high maintenance sorta gal with a nice slapped bass rhythm from one of the Blakley gals and fine picking from Cliff, but the vocal comes up a bit short in my opinion. "I Want To Be With You Baby" sees Cliff sounding a bit more at ease. The side features Cliff's stop n' go guitar as well as a pair nice geet breaks and a bit of piano from Cliff's sister-in-law Dorothy.

Cliff's next release would be "Get Off My Toe", one of the great Starday rockabilly numbers, and then there would be a brief stint with brother Jimmy's Darsa label.

Cliff passed away in the Lubbock area in 1998.

(Highway 380 coming off the Caprock into Roswell)