Chalker McKay Rare Frantic Teen Rocker Unknown 45 LISTEN rockabilly

$

124

ARTIST: Chalker McKay And The Backroom Boys

LABEL: AMPHION     AR101

LABEL CONDITION: VG+/M-  The label is fantastic shape with only the slightest wear (see photos)

RECORD CONDITION: VG/VG+  / "T. Zero" would be graded as a VG with pops being heard at the beginning & "Lost Stop Sign" being graded at more of a VG+. (I've attached YouTube clips of both sides for your judgement)

T. ZERO- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5Xrj8aKzko&feature=plcp

Lost Stop Sign- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KySJEaMwflA&feature=youtu.be

I've done quite a bit of research on this 45 and have come up completely empty. As far as I know, there is no record of this ever being sold on the internet. This could quite possibly be one of the only copies around.  The label, AMPHION is out of Goodlettsville, Tn (just outside of Nashville, Tn) and both tracks were produced by Ray Butts.

A little bit of history on Ray Butts..

   Ray Butts was an engineer (and apparently producer as shown on this 45) in Nashville and his claim to fame was the "Ray Butts EchoSonic" which was a guitar amplifier with a built-in tape echo effect, and it allowed guitar players to use slapback echo, which dominated 1950's rock and roll guitar playing on stage. This would later be copied and known as the "EchoPlex". He built the first one in 1953 and sold the second one to Chet Atkins in 1954. He built fewer than 70 of those amplifiers: one of them was bought by Sam Phillips and then used by Scotty Moore on every recording he made with Elvis Presley, from the 1953 hit "Mystery Train" to the 1968 TV program Comeback Special. Deke Dickerson called the amplifier the Holy Grail of Rockabilly music. Ray Butts also invented the humbucker pickup which was adopted by Gretsch and introduced in their Atkins-endorsed Gretsch 6120 in 1957 as the FilterTron pickup, creating what would become the legendary "twangy" Gretsch sound.  (an interview with Ray Butts from 1994 can be read here http://www.scottymoore.net/Ray_Butts_interview.html)

With that all being said, you can definitely hear his influence on these two songs which I think adds to the value of this 45 because I found no other info on him producing. In the interview he mentions that he moved to Nashville in 1962, which adds up... If you look at the Matrix # on the label it says SoN 10832, SoN stands for Sound of Nashville and the number would put it being pressed between '63 & '64. I'm guessing he picked up producing gigs on the side to make some extra cash and this would be one if not the only example.

In my opinion, this is a fantastic 45 front and back. T. Zero is weird, trippy teen rocker about a guy taking off into space and telling his girl not to worry while he's gone. With the blazing horns paired with the frantic guitar, drums & vocals makes this a killer track... & to make it even better, add the ending with the crazy echo phase out! This is something no comp. has ever had  & wished it did. An unknown artist on an unknown label.. produced by a legend.          Flip the record over and you have something completely different. Usually, this is a bad thing on these small labels...you get one cool track and another that fell short. In this case, you do get a much slower song but it's equally as good as the flip if not better.  "Lost Stop Sign" is a song about a fella losing his girl on a highway to..you guessed it.. a lost stop sign.  With a rockabilly western tinge this ballad delivers. You have that classic twangy sound (from the humbuckers that Butts invented) paired with Chalker's unusual but cool vocals that really makes this a keeper. The harmonica parts and Chalker sobbing towards the end doesn't hurt either. This is the kind of song I could imagine being slipped into a Tarantino flick with no problem. It's really hard to pick which track I like better. 

Like I mentioned, I haven't been able to find any information at all on this 45. I would like to think this would be a very sought after record if people knew it existed. I'm confident in saying that you would be hard pressed to ever find this one again. Good luck with bidding and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

*****Shipping includes insurance on this item*****

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      RECORD GRADING

• SS  Still Sealed - in factory-fresh condition
• M   Mint - I don't use this grade.
• M-   Mint Minus - a near perfect, probably unplayed record
• VG+  Very Good Plus close to like new with only superficial signs of use that dont affect play. Only well cared for records will grade out to VG+. Will satisfy all but the most demanding collector.
• VG  Very Good - a used, reasonable copy. There will be obvious signs of wear and the possibility of light surface noise between tracks or during quiet passages, but still quite nice.
• VG-  Very Good Minus - significant wear and marks and usually quite noticeable surface noise.
• G+ Good Plus. In the record world, 'Good' is not good! From here on down (Fair, Poor), we're talking about beat-up records.

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