Sammy Lara & the Skytones, Big Spring

First of all a warning. This 45 is not purty. It's seen lots of miles and lots of action. Maybe even saw ol' Sammy's hands. As much as I don't care for de-clicking I did have to spend a bit of time getting it presentable.



San Angelo teen Sammy Lara recorded but just a few songs at Ben Hall's studio in Big Spring in 1958. The only songs released at the time were the two featured on Gaylo 101, a ripping rocker about a goofy gal named Sally and a slow teen doo wop number that sounds like that one song by ol' what his name. Also recorded, but unreleased until the 1990s, was another great little rocker titled "Little Girl".

If I were to look at the booklet by John Ingman that accompanied Rollercoaster's 1997 release Hepcats from Big Spring I would probably find the Skytones for the session included Ben Hall on guitar and wife Dena on bass. But my 2 1/2 year old likes to rearrange my cd collection every other week.

Ben- if that's who it is- turns in a pair of nice guitar breaks on an otherwise formulaic song: it's about a girl, goofy echo vocal, oohs and aaahs from the chorus... but it's such a good formula. Catchy little tune was "Silly Sally".

According to the West Texas Music Hall of Fame Sammy later recorded additional songs which were featured on the American bandstand. I've never seen hide nor hair of a mention of this record though. The article also mentions that Sammy passed away in 1998.
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Thanks to Robin Brown for helping me add the Sammy Lara 45 to my collection of Gaylo releases. Robin is a musician himself and also has a website on West Texas musicians . He will be helping LoneStarstomp next month with posts about a couple of combos from his area up in the Panhandle.

Jimmy Blakley w/ His Western Swing Band, Roswell

JIMMY BLAKLEY WITH HIS WESTERN SWING BAND - Island Paradise (D 1437)

Dorothy and steel-guitarist Jimmy Blakley were the big dogs in the small pond of Roswell, New Mexico moving to the area from Oklahoma in the 1950s. Not too long after moving to Roswell they took up a residency at one of the area's largest honky tonks, Scottys. Basing their operations from the club they worked the airwaves and television waves for KSWS.

It was at Scotty's Night Club that they began working with Lee Bell who had moved to Roswell specifically to work the honky tonk. Lee would cut a couple of 45s for RCA-Victor including the hip "Beating Out the Boogie", which will be featured later.

Jimmy and his bass-playing wife Dorothy had previously recorded for Starday, the Dixie cover series, and Starday-Mercury. One might assume that theywound up with Pappy Daily and the D label in the hotel room split with Don Pierce (Daily and co-owner Gabe Tucker seem to have wound up with most of the region's Starday artists including Jimmy's brother Cliff and Fred Crawford).

Hawaiian music and tiki culture was gaining popularity steadily throughout the 1950s as Americans became more affluent and were afforded opportunities to either travel to far off and exotic locales , or at least buy Les Baxter and Martin Denny platters to serve as the soundtrack for sipping weird tropical drinks in exotica themed home lounges. The fine folks of Roswell certainly needed some tiki time. Aliens on tap 24 hours a day certainly can't be all that grand.

Both sides of "Island Paradise" were produced in Clovis by Norman Petty. When Daily and and his hot commodity George Jones inked up with Mercury off-shoot United Artists many other D artists found themselves on a new label with greater resources, including Jimmy Blakley.

More Blakely info:
*Brief article at Hillbilly-Music.com
*Information about Lee Bell (w/ a photo of the Blakleys) at Hillbilly-Music.com and BigVJamboree.com.

Thanks to Michel Proost who directed me to an article in the Artesia, New Mexico paper about Curtis Haskins who ran Midas with Jimmy. It was this article, along with the the "D" project I have going on over at Country. & Western., that had me digging for this 45. I hope to have a bit on a nice doo wop record on Midas in July.

Gene Porter & the Lonesome Kings, El Paso

GENE PORTER AND THE LONESOME KINGS- The Hippie (Suemi 4565)

There were three big El Paso labels in the 1960s: Coronado, Frogdeath, and Suemi. Suemi leaders Bill Taylor Sparks and Kenny Smith had been members of the Sherwoods who had released a 45 on Bobby Fuller's Exeter label. It was their experience in the Fuller studio/living room that inspired them to begin their own label. Over the next few years there would be releases by Lou Pride (Including the STORMING "I'm Com'un Home In the Mor'nun"), the Sojourners, and the famous I Love You Gorgo album.

Gene Porter seems to have cut this one in the late 60s. It's a socially aware reminder. Rather than going the route of MGM's Arthur Smith who couldn't get with the Vietnam protests or the participants Gene comes at it from a different direction, reminding listeners that Jesus was a rebel in his day as well.

Don't believe that Porter had any other releases. Bill and Kenny were just a few years away from a move to Memphis.

Bill and Kenny have a website and it can be checked out HERE. And Kenny has a podcast about El Paso music HERE. Highly recommended... lots of cool sounds from Long John Hunter, Bobby Fuller (of course), and other Sun City combos and info in general.

Johnny Dutton & the Western String Billies, San Angelo

JOHNNY DUTTON AND THE WESTERN STRING BILLIES- String Billie Swing (Sangelo Records)

Johnny Dutton played country music for a long time. From the 1940s until his passing in 2007 he was swingin' that steel and 'steel' looking for a hit. Despite a long career as a performer and session men he may have very well released this one single vinyl record. "String Billie Swing" swings for sure from start to finish with nice guit/steel interplay and jazzy shifts. Nothing to blow minds, but a nice showcase of the prowess of a tight honky tonk unit. A member of that unit at one time was Blackie Crawford who helped launch the careers of Ray Price and Lefty Frizzell, who cut his teeth in the honky tonk of the LoneStarStomp region, from his Western Cherokees in Houston a decade previous. I don't hear Blackie's fiddle here though.

Sangelo Records seems to have been Ron Newdoll's country label. Collectors are drawn to his label Askel which featured amazing pieces of Texas garage from San Antonio's Outcasts ("I'm In Pittsburgh") and San Angelo's own Remaining Few.

A bit more- but not much more- history on Johnny Dutton here on his website, including a couple of photos.