HUEY‘PIANO’SMITH-rockin’pneumonia-V.RARE UK SUE/ ACE'65

£ 40

$ 53

£ 40 Sold For

Aug 4, 2011 Sold Date

Jul 28, 2011 Start Date

£ 18 Start price

9 Number Of Bids

Great Britain Country Of Seller

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Description

HUEY ‘PIANO’ SMITH – ROCKIN’ PNEUMONIA AND THE BOOGIE WOOGIE FLU - 1965

The Actual Record However

Says

“HAVIN’ A GOOD TIME”

HUEY ‘PIANO’ SMITH & THE CLOWNS

Both the Record and the Cover have the same Number: ILP 917

And the tracks are the same

For some reason this was issued where the record label and the cover name don’t correspond

Released on SUE RECORDS

Subsidiary of ISLAND RECORDS LTD, UK

ACE RECORDS USA

1965

ILP 917

Every now and then, a truly original and exciting talent is discovered in the rhythm and blues field in America. In recent years, with the tremendous growth of interest in this music, the market has become saturated with uninteresting and often mediocre records trying to emulate the success of the genuinely gifted singers and musicians who have made rhythm and blues the most stunningly original and powerful music form in popular music today.

Apart from being the birthplace of traditional jazz, New Orleans has become accepted in recent years as the centre for a new and highly individual form of rhythm and blues. This sound, which started with Smiley Lewis in the late forties, developed on a national basis with the million-selling records of Fats Domino during the fifties, found its most compelling and rhythmic exponent in Huey ‘Piano’ Smith at the end of 1956,

Huey Smith was born and raised in New Orleans. He soon digested the many musical influences of the city, incorporating them in his own piano playing. The boogie-woogie piano of Pete Johnson, Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammons, the jazz stylings of Jelly Roll Morton, and the rolling piano-playing of his mentor Rats Domino.

He took an interest in the record business at an early age, and after leaving school became a proficient studio engineer. This gave him valuable experience with recording techniques, and also enabled him to be a position to submit his compositions to artists using the studio, and also play piano on the occasional session.

One day he came up with a song called ‘Rockin’ Pneumonia and Boogie Woogie Flu’, which, apart from the obvious appeal of the title, also featured a compulsive dance beat. It was decided to record the song and issue it. Within weeks, it had become a national sensation, sweeping up the American charts. Not only was ‘Rockin’ Pneumonia’ one of the biggest-selling records during 1957, it also became a common everyday phrase all over the States.

Once the record broke, Huey formed up with the group who backed him on the record, ‘The Clowns’, and immediately started playing personal appearance dates all over the country. The tremendous sales of the disc enabled Huey’s record company ‘Ace’ to expand and record several new artists.

The ‘Ace’ label was founded by Johnny Vincent around 1954, primarily issuing blues records not aimed at the national market. Of these, ‘I Believe My Time Ain’t Long’ by Elmore James, ‘No Nights By Myself’ by Sonny Boy Williamson, ‘Bad Boogie’ by Lightnin’ Hopkins and ‘Those Lonely Lonely Nights’ by Earl King proved the most successful; but many other fine discs were issued by Lightnin’ Slim, Eddie Bo, Bobby Marchan, Frankie Lee Sims and Joe Tex.

Following the huge success of Huey Smith’s first record, Vincent signed a personable young man called Jimmy Clanton to his label, and shortly after Frankie Ford, Both artistes were later to have million-selling records.

‘Just A Lonely Clown’ followed ‘Rockin’ Pneumonia’ high in the American charts. However, the next single outsold anything that had gone before; and became a huge double-sided smash; ‘High Blood Pressure’ and ‘Don’t You Just Know It’ are now in fact accepted as classics in the rhythm and blues field in their own time.

Many other hits followed; ‘Having A Good Time’, ‘Don’t You Know Yockomo’, ‘Well I’ll Be John Brown’, etc. Each and every one of Huey ‘Piano’ Smith’s best-selling records are included in this album.

It is not difficult to define the particular things that make Huey Smith’s records so great; a combination of an irresistible dance beat, highly amusing lyrics and power-house chorus and vocal work, held together by the outshanding talent and inherent feel of this native son of New Orleans.”

Sleeve notes and cover design by Guy Stevens

The Track List is as follows:

“Off the Record”

Side One

1. ROCKIN’ PNEUMONIA AND THE BOOGIE WOOGIE FLU Pt. I

(Huey Smith) 2.02

2. ROCKIN’ PNEUMONIA AND THE BOOGIE WOOGIE FLU Pt. II

(Huey Smith) 2.05

3. LITTLE CHICKEN WAH WAH

(Huey Smith) 2.00

4. LITTLE LIZA JANE

(Huey Smith) 2.05