RARE 1960 JOHNNY & THE HURRICANES 78 BEATNIK FLY/ SAND STORM SA LON PD 8302 EX+
£
50
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Description
A REALLY EXCELLENT COPY OF THIS MEGA RARE 1960 LONDON 78 FROM JOHNNY AND THE HURRICANES
Beatnik Fly
Johnny and the Hurricanes comprised a rock-and-roll group in the late 50's and early 60's that had its own unique sound and produced a number of instrumental hits, one of which made the top ten and is closely associated with the group.
The group was formed in Toledo, Ohio in 1958 and at first was known as the Orbits. The original members were saxophonist Johnny Paris [real name: John Pocisk], Paul Tesluk on organ, Tony Kaye on drums, guitar player Dave Yorko, and Lionel "Butch" Mattice on bass. The group started off recording with rockabilly artist Mack Vickery.
They soon went to Detroit to look for work as a back-up band for aspiring recording artists. Two music promoters there, Harry Balk and Irving Micahnik, signed the group to a recording contract of their own. [Micahnik later worked as Del Shannon's manager.] In 1959 they made their first recording on the Twirl label, which was owned by Balk and Micahnik. It was a dance song that had been written by pianist T. J. Fowler called Crossfire. Loaded with reverb, the recording was leased to the Warwick label and reached number 23 on the charts in 1959. Johnny and the Hurricanes were on their way.
The group's leader was nineteen-year-old Johnny Paris, and his hard-driving saxophone playing was prominent on a number of the group's recordings. Their next record, however, would feature Tesluk's Hammond organ and would become the group's biggest hit ever. That was Red River Rock, a reworking of the old standard Red River Valley that the group had transformed into pure rock-and-roll. It was a huge success, reaching number five on the national charts. Don Staczek sat in for regular drummer Tony Kaye on Red River Rock and drummer Bo Savich took Kaye's regular spot in the band late in 1959.
Many recordings were cover versions of old tunes with a rock and roll beat. They chose these songs because they were well recognized and easier to accept with the rock and roll beat. Tunes were credited to 'King, Mack' and sometimes one other name, King and Mack were in fact pseudonyms for Harry Balk and Irving Micahnik, the band's managers. In 1960, they recorded the United States Army bugle call, "Reveille", as "Reveille Rock", and turned "Blue Tail Fly" into "Beatnik Fly". Both tunes made the US Top 40 achieving number 15 and 25 respectively with Beatnik Fly also making it to Number 8 in the UK charts.
The band also recorded "Down Yonder" for Big Top Records. Still in 1960, they recorded "When The Saints Go Marching In" as "Revival", but it ranked in the charts for just one week, and peaked at No. 97. The track fared better in the UK as the B-side of "Rocking Goose", which reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart.
DISC DETAILS:
A SIDE:- BEATNIK FLY
B SIDE:- SAND STORM
SOUTH AFRICA LONDON PD 8302 10" 78rpm
CONDITION - EX+
ENTERED THE UK CHARTS 17 March 1960 REACHING NUMBER 8 AND STAYING IN THE CHARTS 19 WEEKS
DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS RARE 78
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