Raymond Hill was the sax man who got a shout-out from Ike Turner for his solo on Rocket 88 – and the man who fathered Tina Turner’s first child. (more…)

It’s the beginning of 1977 and punk is going overground. The Stranglers start the year with a bang, releasing their debut single Grip / London Lady. (more…)

Elton Britt, famed for his yodelling, made his name with a patriotic song that went viral during World War Two. This equally infectious number came along 14 years later in 1956. (more…)

All together now: “Rrrrright…. nowwww… Hahahaaaa!”

One night in late November 1976 I was at the Marquee Club watching a short fat Frenchman called Little Bob who played amphetamine-fuelled RnB when Malcolm McLaren walked in with a bag under his arm.

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Protest songs don’t get more powerful than this state-of-the-nation report – its finger firmly on the xenophobic pulse of post-Brexit Britain. (more…)

Of all the country boogie songs (and there are many), perhaps the most unusual is Grady Martin’s hymn to the least fashionable style of men’s underwear – Long John Boogie. (more…)

Rockabilly one-hit wonder Ray Smith’s background is like a real-life version of The Dukes Of Hazzard. (more…)

Carl Perkins may be the least famous of the Million Dollar Quartet who turned up to record at Sun Studio on the same day as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. (more…)

I first heard Rose Maddox when my friend Steve England made a tape of old-time music – bluegrass, country, western swing and hillbilly boogie – after starting his club Son of Redneck with Jo Hagan. (more…)