San Francisco Rockabilly And Roll 1957-1960.

By Alec Palao

With the combined expertise of my good colleagues Messrs Topping, Broven, Finnis and Gibbon around, some might question the right of this writer – Ace’s token 1960s rock bozo – to compile a rock’n’roll collection amongst such esteemed company. But I dig vintage rock, rockabilly and blues as much as the next fellow, and I’m especially excited about revealing the many hot rockin’ sounds that my adopted home – the San Francisco Bay Area – produced in the late 1950s.

Long before the psychedelic era, San Francisco had a thriving rock’n’roll scene that had a unique flavour, thanks to the country and rhythm and blues backgrounds of many of the performers involved. The music industry seems to have amnesia about that fact, but in the first of a, hopefully, ongoing series, BAY AREA ROCKERS pays homage to these great rock’n’roll pioneers of northern California.

For this initial volume we’ve selected classics like Bobby Freeman’s Betty Lou Got A New Pair Of Shoes, cult favourites (Jackie Gotroe’s Lobo Jones) and the just plain crazed (Tyrone Schmidling’s terminal You’re Gone, I’m Left), to illustrate what a great time it was. There’s rockabilly heroes like Jerry Coulston (the wild Cave Man Hop) and Benn Joe Zeppa (a great unissued demo of Hocus Pocus), plus a healthy dose of black rock’n’roll from legendary acts like the Jades (Big Beach Party) and the Treys (Rockin’ Mary).

All the cuts appear in their best-ever sound quality, and a few such as the Martells’ Rockin’ Santa Claus and Pat LaRocca’s Rowena are making their stereo debut. Your scribe’s obsessive search for master tapes threw up some interesting alternate versions and compelling unreleased material. And the record labels represented include some of the most coveted imprints known to the collecting world, including Christy, Bella, Rhythm and Hush. Indeed, to purchase all of the records compiled here would set you back roughly £1000 – that’s if you could find them.

I had a total blast chatting to these unsung wildmen like Benn Joe, Jackie, Tyrone and Jerry about the old days, and the memoirs fill the liner note, along with rare photos and memorabilia from their private collections. So BAY AREA ROCKERS sheds new light on a little-investigated area of American 1950s rock’n’roll, but more than a history lesson, I’m proud to say it shows that San Francisco could rock with the best of ’em.