EVELYN AND VIRGIE GALLEGES w/ the RHYTHM HEIRS - Cradle Rock (Yucca 105 B)
Ruben Molina places Evelyn and Virgie Galleges (os?) in El Paso in his book Chicano Soul, even referring to "Cradle Rock" as one of the very first doo wop-styled recordings to come out of the border town. And yet this February 1959 release sounds earlier. The vocal group sound hit El Paso a bit late, but just as it was in cities like Los Angeles and San Antonio the Chicanos hung on to the 'oldies' sound loooooong after it had fallen out of favor on radio.
The most interesting thing about "Cradle Rock" is that it was remade by brothers Benny and Joe Rodriguez who, as members of L.A.'s Heartbreakers, re-recorded the song for Bob Keane's Donna Records in 1964. Mayhaps LA legend Dick "Huggy Boy" Hugg got ahold of the Yucca 45 and turned it into a hit at some point, making it a part of the East LA oldies lexicon.
"Cradle Rock" is- of course- and rewrite of the "Rock-A-Bye Baby" nursery rhyme. Not too bad either.
Whether it means anything or not, producer Ken Dunnagan's last name appears on the Gatorvettes' "If It's Tonight" on Bocaldun, another El Paso doo wop record (Stomped HERE.) which carries publishing for Fred Stryker's Fairway Publishing. Fairway was the publisher for almost all of the releases on Yucca up through early 1961 before switching over to Styrker's Briarcliff Publishing.
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