Mike Malone, Midland

MIKE MALONE - Don't Lecture Me b/w Left, Right (Walking Back Home) (Sims 266)

While he might not have considered himself a major player in the mid-60s Midessa music scene Mike Malone was certainly busy as his name can be found on a number of songs from the area. As far as I know Mike had just two releases on his own. He recorded the excellent "It Must Be Raining" in the early 60s on the Token label out of Midland and had a second single on the Sims label.

The Sims label was started by Russell Sims and Fabor Robinson in Los Angeles in the mid-1950s with their focus being on country music. Being the 1950s this meant releases from Dub Dickerson and brassy mama Ann Jones were pressed up next to rockin' platters from Easy Deal Wilson, Jimmy Patton, and Jackie Lee Cochran. In 1965 Russell and the Sims label headed east to Nashville and the label was releasing as many country 45s as was it was soul 45s(Wallace Brothers, Kelly Brothers). It was in the spring of this year that Atlantic began distributing Sims product nationally.

Westex was set up in 1965 and tied in with Gorman Maxwell's AOK label and Tommy Allup Studios and many releases from Odessa/Midland and the surroundings areas released between the years 1965 and 1968 carry the Westex imprint. An agreement with Sims saw a number of Tommy Allsup produced singles issued 1966 and 1967 allowing westies like Dean Beard, bank robber Rick Sikes, Edna Lee, and Gene Morris & the Lackey Brothers an opportunity at national exposure. It was Mike Malone, though, who who had the first release in the deal.

In either late 1965 or early 1966 Malone was called on by Allsup to create lyrics and vocals for a couple of tracks that had been created in his studio. With the AM waves getting edgier and British bands like the Rolling Stones and Animals gaining popularity it's not out of the question that Allsup might have had the idea to have a go at the sound himself with a few local session players. Or perhaps it was a unfinished track from a local group such as the Roadrunners.

Whomever the players may be the group does a nice job of catching the then current sound. "Don't Lecture Me" opens with with a moody reverbed sound, makes note of the me vs. them plight of sixties teens, and carries a few Orbison-esque changes to boot- each time the chorus comes around one might one's self thinking "Pretty Woman". "Left Right" is a bit more uptempo and catches Malone straining his vocal just a bit. Had this release been a collaboration rather than an after-thought as it seems to have been- perhaps there would have been a nifty guitar break or even a little scream.

Sims 266 was released in early 1966 with no support and no mention in Billboard. Not surprisingly the record little if any attention anywhere. In fact, the record received so little attention that even Mike Malone himself was unaware that it had been released nationally.
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*Thanks to Mike Malone for the tidbits about himself. He was actually one of the very first artists to contact me after I began posting my email a couple of years back. Pretty exciting to check your email and see a message from someone you've blogged.

**Tommy Allsup has a recently released biography titled "The Flip of A Coin"... though I' have not yet read it I do understand that his different stints in Odessa are again overlooked.
http://tommyallsup.net/htmls/tommy-allsup-book.html

Sydna Taylor, Lubbock

Here's an older post that I'm re-running after receiving additional information.


SYDNA TAYLOR - Sometimes I Love Him, Sometimes I Hate Him b/w It Doesn't Matter (Desire 20/21)

After collecting local records for 10+ years I've learned never to be surprised by what's in the grooves. It might be an early take on rap, crunching metal from high school kids, or a bordertown 'wall of sound' sound as heard on this record from Sydna Taylor. It's almost as if Phil Spector moved his operation to some shack down on in El Paso or Del Rio .

Little is known of Sydna Taylor within the local circles of former players, producers, and writers. Those that remember her vaguely remember the name, but have no other recollection. Others that might have known her have either passed away or just plain ol' disappeared. Sydna herself shows little interest in re-visiting her days as a singer.

I'm fairly certain Sydna was from the Lubbock area and it was there in the Hub City that Odessan Roland Pike became acquainted with her, possibly while he was in Lubbock himself attending Texas Tech during the late 1950s. Pike was probably introduced to Taylor via local musician David Box.

In the early 60s David began coming to Big Spring, Texas to record at Ben Hall's High Fidelity House studio which had become the popular recording hangout for locals like Mike Malone, Joe Melson, Ted Groebl (owner of Joed Records), Bob Osborn, Ray Roberts, Jack C. Smith, Jim Robinson, Mike Combest, and Roland.

It was here that Roland and David brought Sydna in early 1963 and split a session with another Texas Tech alum, Dow Patterson. David led the original session, playing guitar, and coming back later to add the strings. The remainder of the group included Ben Hall's Ramblers. Taylor recorded but three songs. "You Only Pass This Way One Time" and "Joy of Love" were pressed up for release on the Desire label. The 'left-over' cut was "Sometimes I Love Him, Sometimes I Hate Him", written by Roland Pike, found its way onto a second Desire 45. In addition to writing "You Only Pass This Way One Time" Roland also the session- Mike Malone was evidently not present. (Interesting to note that the publishing for "Sometimes..." goes to Big Bopper out of Southeast Texas. I'm not quite sure who controlled Big Bopper at this point.)

Though not musically inclined himself Roland was good with lyrics and seems to have had a penchant for the production and promotional ends of music managing a few acts including the Great Grannies (Corridor) and Sydna Taylor. The Pike name can be found on quite a few locally produced records, usually as a writer, from the early to mid-60s and often with co-writer Mike Malone. Their collaboration "Baby, The Magic Is Gone" was featured in a gorgeous arrangement as the A-side to the final Velvets single which was released by Monument in 1966, two years after the group's successes- however limited they were - had passed them by.

For whatever reason Pike then took Sydna to Ron Newdoll's Accurate Sound studio in San Angelo where Light Crust Doughboy and Major Bill Smith utility guy Marvin Montgomery arranged "It Doesn't Matter" by a Virginia Phelan. Pike had previously placed a song with the Doughboys and the Pike-Malone team also saw one of their songs released on one of Bill Smith's ubiquitous instrumental singles under the The Texans moniker on Charay.

Aside from Jack C. Smith playing guitar other session details aren't known, but the horn player lends the song a Mexican flavor. And like the David Box side from Big Spring strings are once again brought in giving the record a sound not too far off from a New York or Phil Spector production of the time.

Sydna would go on to record a 45 on Ron Newdoll's Askel label as well two releases on the Pepper label before moving on to religious music.

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Many, many thanks to John Davis-White for most of the details above regarding Sydna, David, and Roland. Much of John's information came from David and Roland's families and Dow Patterson.

Big Boy Williams, Amarillo

Here's an old post from way back in the early days of LoneStarStomp. I like to fish these back to the front on occasion just to see if I catch anything...

BIG BOY WILLIAMS - Welder's Test b/w 16 Tons (Juanita 002)

Welding goes hand in hand with pulling oil outta the ground and right now there's as big a demand as there's ever been in the Permian Basin for torches especially with the recent activity out in what's become known as the Wolfberry Play or Trend a narrow strip of land running in a north/south direction right between Midland and Odessa, Texas. With money in the ground, there's lots to go around.

I don't figure on there being too awful many records about the welding trade but here one right here from a J.J. "Big Boy" Williams from the one-time helium capital of the world- Amarillo, Tx. Based on sound and label I'd guess it to have been issued in the mid-1960s. Lots clangin' pipe sand a bit of heavy duty guitar with a bit of country in the push. The flip is a chuggin', almost psychedelic version of the old Tennessee Ernie Ford standard "16 Tons". I don't figure Merle Travis ever had anything so hairy in mind when he first penned the song, but when you're looking at lyrics like "muscle and blood and skin and bones" and "I was born one morning when the sun didn't shine" all of a sudden it don't seem too far a stretch.

What came previous on Juanita I do not know. Anything after? And who was this J. J. "Big Boy" Williams? And what of the Ruidosa publishing... perhaps a central New Mexico connection?

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I'd like to welcome my pal J. Chronis to the blog world with his On the Road South site. I figure on Texas being his main focus and also figure on him having some nice tales to tell. There's some arm-twisting going on as I try and convince him to put together the first ever story on Midland's teen sensations The Clue ("Bad Times" on Byron) for LoneStarStomp.
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Oil Rig photo from: Wes-Tex Drilling Co., Photograph, 1960; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth59189 : accessed March 12, 2011), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hardin-Simmons University Library , Abilene, Texas.

The Tune Masters, Pecos

THE TUNE MASTERS - Mad Twistin' Fever b/w Sometimes It Hurts (Hama no#)

The The Tune Masters were a quartet based out of the west Texas town of Pecos in the early 1960s. Group members were Richard Klein on bass(now deceased), Mike Hanyan and Sonny Matta sharing vocal and guitar duties, and drummer Archie Hogue. While today they are best known for their double-sided rocker on the Askel label of San Angelo, a second release on their own Hama label paid tribute to that early 60s phenomenon known as the twist.

Few areas escaped the craze, but twist records are none too common among releases from the wilds of West Texas. Not so uncommon for West Texiteens to be a bit late to the dance, so to speak. The Tune Masters like every other hard working regional band of the time played to and for the crowds and this was done by playing the popular tunes of the present as well as the popular standards of recent memory. By the time The Tune Masters released "Mad Twistin' Fever" in 1964 the dance had done run it's course twice (Checker topped the charts in '60 AND '62 with his reworking of the Hank Ballard number) so finding a 'twist' number in a band's set list in '64 would not have been all too surprising. But releasing a twist-style record in 1964?

On the ballad flip Sonny Matta turns in a nice ballad with a big Roy Orbison influence, a sound they also went to when they re-recorded Orbison's Sun era-"Go Go Go" as"Down The Line" and the the Orbi-styled band original "Why" for the previously mentioned Askel label.

The Hama 45 was recorded at Ben Hall's High Fidelity House in Big Spring.
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Pecos postcard from the TexGenWeb Project.

Tune Masters picture grabbed from Youtube clip of their Askel 45 put up by Archie's daughter who I had originally contacted. Band member names came from the clip as well.

*The Youtube clip notes the Askel recordings were done in February of 1963. The Rockin' Country Style website notes that the release came in 1964 and I would assume the information to have come from Mike Hanyan who is given credit on the site for info. My dating for the Hama release is based on other records bearing SON (Sound of Nashville) matrixes.