Skeets McDonald
YOU OUGHTA SEE GRANDMA ROCK
1956
Country star does rock’n’roll.
It happened quite a lot, but I
suppose if you’re going to try it,
at least get Eddie Cochran on lead
guitar. Sizzling guitar breaks urging
Skeets to encourage Eddie by
saying: “Let’s rock it but DON’T ruin
it”. Recorded in LA at Capitol
Studios, like the Vincent tunes,
I think it’s Cliffie Stone bashing it
out on the upright bass. The B-side
is also pretty good – Heart-Breakin’
Mama – more of the same. Once
you’ve got the formula, there’s no
need to stray!T.Rex
I LOVE TO BOOGIE
1976
An unabashed version of the Webb
Pierce hit Teenage Boogie. I fell in
love with this simple song, it has a
very odd 13 hi-hat click as an intro.
I remember when Marc Bolan sang
it on Top Of The Pops. I was very
jealous of my school friends who
arrived the next day with the
badges on, having attended the
filming. Great B-side, too, Baby
Boomerang, supposedly about Patti
Smith. I have a recording that
sounds like Marc listening to the
original then taking the needle off
and jamming his new version.Johnnie Allan
PROMISED LAND
1974
Released on Charlie Gillet’s
Oval record label in the mid-70s,
I absolutely love the Cajun
treatment on this recording. It’s
another Chuck Berry song and once
again it doesn’t have a chorus, just
the story itself. I think that Johnnie
maybe gets a bit mixed up with the
lyrics at one point, and I love the
way that you can clearly hear his
fingernails rattling on the keys of
the accordion in the solos. Try
singing this track all the way
through, though – there are so
many words!Chuck Berry
LET IT ROCK
1960
This song came to me via The
Rolling Stones. I got home from WH
Smith’s in Edgware clutching Brown
Sugar, which I loved so much. When
I flipped the record over, there was
this song recorded live in Leeds.
I think it was the first time I heard
feedback on a record and I was
hooked. The song is a fascinating
story about a runaway train, it’s so
short and has no chorus, only
narrative: “Rollin’ them bones ’til
the foreman came back”. There’s
great black-and-white footage of
Chuck Berry playing it live.
Crazy Cavan And
The Rhythm Rockers
TEDDY BOY ROCK’N’ROLL
1974
Our first drummer, Chris Hawkes,
has two brothers who were Teddy
boys, and they had a really great
record collection. When we started
to perform in a band, these were
the songs we began with. We
included a lot of Crazy Cavan songs
at our earliest gigs and when we
played our first original track,
Rockabilly Guy, I performed the
same guitar solo that’s from this
track. I saw the band live a lot when
we were kids, they had such a
strong sound.Buddy Holly
MIDNIGHT SHIFT
1958
I discovered this one on a cheap EP
in the sale box of a local store. I was
aware of the rock’n’roll hits of
Buddy, but had no idea that he had
recorded rockabilly. There’s quite
a few, though, including Blue Days,
Black Nights and Down The Line,
a song we recorded with The
Polecats. Apparently, Owen Bradley
wouldn’t allow Buddy to play guitar
on the track, so I’m not sure who
played the lead break – Grady
Martin or Sonny Curtis – but it’s
killer! A song I played with Boz and
the Bozmen...Gene Vincent
RACE WITH THE DEVIL
1956
I’m always fascinated with the
Gene Vincent sound: the bass isn’t
slapped, the drums are played with
brushes and Cliff Gallup’s guitar
playing is like jazz, recorded at
Capitol Studios in Hollywood.
I heard a story that Vincent’s voice
was a bit weak, so it was recorded
in the corridor outside. Dickie
Harrell, the drummer, purportedly
invented the fashion of screaming
in the guitar breaks to prove to his
14-year-old schoolmates that it was
really him. The guitar playing really
is off the scale and difficult to learn!Elvis Presley
BABY LET’S PLAY HOUSE
1955
Sun Records has always been
important to me; I cut my teeth
learning the guitar breaks on those
compilations in the 70s. I love the
primeval, simple sounds of early
Elvis. With the slap bass, acoustic
rhythm, picked guitar and the
echo-laden vocals, they improved
upon Arthur Gunter’s deadpan
delivery on the original. The song
has spawned a ton of versions in
the 50s, including the stunning Cool
Off Baby by Billy Barrix – even
Johnny Burnette recorded a
thinly-disguised Oh Baby Babe.
Soundtrack Of My Life