January 3, 1955 : At Capitol Studio B in Hollywood MERRILL MOORE
records "Rock Rockola"/"Cow Cow Boogie" for his next single (Capitol
3034, January). "Yes Indeed" will be used for a future single (Capitol
3140, June) and "Boogie My Blues Away" sees its first release on the
UK Capitol LP "Rockabilly Originals", CAPS 1009, 1977). 
Personnel : Merrill Moore (vocal / piano) ; Jimmie Widener (rhythm
guitar) ; Dave Carpenter (steel guitar) ; Bernie Rogers (bass) ; 
Johnny Sokes (drums) ; Johnny Duschel (tiple). Produced by Ken 
Nelson at the Capitol Studio, 5515 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood.
 

January 4, 1955 : BOYD BENNETT and his Rockets record two singles
at the King studio in Cincinnati. "You Upset Me Baby"/"Poison Ivy"
is issued on King 1432 in February, and "Seventeen"/"Little Ole You
All" on King 1470 in May. A third single, "Boogie At Midnight"/
"Everlovin'" (King 1443) was also recorded in January, but at a later
session. Personnel : Boyd Bennett (vocals (except on "Seventeen",
where the lead vocalist is "Big Moe" James Muzey)) ; Bobby Jones
(tenor sax) ; Roy Ayres (guitar) ; Mickey Allen (rhythm guitar) ;
Kenny Cobb (bass). 

Wednesday, January 5, 1955 : BILL HALEY and his Comets are at
the Pythian Temple in New York City to record their next single, 
"Mambo Rock"/"Birth Of the Boogie" (Decca 29418, released on 
February 21). The Comets are at this time : Bill Haley (vocal / 
rhythm guitar) ; Franny Beecher (lead guitar) ; Billy Williamson 
(steel guitar) ; Joey d'Ambrosio (tenor sax) ; Johnny Grande (piano) ; 
Marshall Lytle (double bass) ; Cliff Leeman (drums) ; Dick Richards 
(tom-toms). Produced by Milt Gabler.

January 6, 1955 : THE DOMINOES (Jackie Wilson, Prentice Moreland,
Milton Merle, Cliff Givens) do a session in Cincinnati. "Can't Do Sixty
No More"/"If I Never Get To Heaven" becomes their new single (Federal
12209, February). "Give Me You" comes out on King 1502 in August,
and "Bobby Sox Baby" on Federal 12263 in April 1956.

January 7, 1955 : THE MIDNIGHTERS record their next two singles
at the King Studio in Cincinnati : "Ashamed Of Myself"/"Ring A-Ling
A-Ling" (Federal 12210, February) and "Switchie Witchie Tichie"/"Why 
Are We Apart" (Federal 12220, April). The Midnighters are : Hank
Ballard, Henry Booth, Cal Green and Sonny Woods.

January 10, 1955 : SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS has a session in 
New York City. Selected for single release are "She Put the Whammy 
On Me" and "This Is All" (Mercury 70549, February). "In My Front 
Room" and "What That Is" are first released on Bear Family 15530 
("Spellbound! 1955-1974", 2-CD) in 1990.
Personnel : Al Sears and Sam Taylor (tenor saxes) ; Al Lucas (bass) ;
Ernie Hayes (piano) ; Budd Johnson (baritone sax) ; Mickey Baker
(guitar) ; Panama Francis (drums). Arranged by Leroy Kirkland.

January 10, 1955 : A PEE WEE KING session in Chicago (RCA
Victor Studio A), produced by Steve Sholes. "Tweedle Dee"/"You 
Can't Hardly Get Them No More" is issued on RCA 6005 in February.
"Woodchopper's Ball" comes out on RCA 6054 in March. "Flying
Home" is an EP track.
Personnel : Pee Wee King (accordion) ; Redd Stewart (vocal / fiddle) ;
Homer Haynes (guitar) ; Jethro Burns (mandolin) ; Charles Tichy 
(electric guitar) ; Robert Koefer (steel guitar) ; Chuck Wiggins
(bass) ; Sticks McDonald (drums) ; Johnny Frigo (fiddle) ; Fred Herron
(fiddle) ; Forry Engle (piano).

January 11, 1955 : In Hollywood, SKEETS McDONALD records "Number One
In Your Heart" and "I Can't Stand It Any Longer" for his next single
(Capitol 3038, February). A further track, "You're Too Late", will be
used for a single in May (Capitol 3117, b/w "A Losing Hand" from an
earlier session). 
Skeets (vocal) is supported by : Lewis Augustin Talley (guitar) ;
Ralph Mooney (steel guitar) ; "Fuzzy" Owen (bass) ; "Jelly" Sanders
(fiddle) ; William Floyd (unknown instrument). Producer, as usual,
Ken Nelson.

January 11, 1955 : In Cincinnati, TINY BRADSHAW's orchestra records
four instrumentals : "Stomping Room Only"/"Cat Nap" (King 4777,
February) and "Pompton Turnpike"/"Come On" (King 4787, April).
Session musicians : Bill Hardman (trumpet) ; Rufus Gore (tenor sax) ;
Leon Burns, Lovejoy Coverson (saxes) : Andrew Penn (trombone) ;
Jimmy Robinson (piano) ; Clifford Bush (guitar) ; Sam Jones (bass) ;
Philip Paul (drums). 

January 12, 1955 : RED PRYSOCK records five instrumentals at Fine
Sound Studios in New York City. "Rock 'n' Roll"/"Little Jamie" is
released on Mercury 70540 in February, and "Zonked"/"The Horn Blows"
on Mercury 70602 in April. The fifth track is "Zip" (Mercury 70787,
January 9th, 1956). Musicians : Red Prysock (tenor sax) ; Harold
"Money" Johnson (trumpet) ; Clarence Wright (baritone sax) ; Roland
Johnson (vibraphone) ; Joe Oliver Blair (piano) ; Herbert Gordy (bass) ;
Purnell Rice (drums).

Also on January 12, 1955 : MALCOLM YELVINGTON has his 2nd session for
Sun Records in Memphis. Recorded are two versions of "Yakety Yak" and
also two versions of "I've Got the Blues", all originally unissued,
though a re-recording of "Yakety Yak" in mid-1955 would be released
on Meteor 5022. One Sun version of this song is first released on the
album "Sun Rockabillys, Vol. 3" in 1974 (Sun LP 6467028, UK), when it
was still believed that this had been recorded in May 1956. The other
version remains in the can until the release of "Malcolm Yelvington :
The Sun Years, Plus" (Bear Family BCD 16757) in 2006. "I've Got the
Blues": one version is first released on the album "Tennessee Country"
(UK Charly LP 30150) in 1979, the other on Bear Family in 2006.
Malcolm Yelvington (vocal / guitar) is accompanied by : Gordon Mashburn
(guitar) ; Red Winn (steel guitar) ; Jake Ryles (bass) ; Reece Fleming
(piano). Produced by Sam Phillips.

January 13, 1955 : In Chicago, LOWELL FULSON records material for two
singles : "Check Yourself"/"Loving You (Is All I Crave)" (Checker 812,
February) and "Lonely Hours"/"Do Me Right", which is released in June
(Checker 820). Personnel : Lowell Fulson (vocal / guitar) ; Earl Brown
(alto sax) ; Eddie Chamblee (tenor sax) ; Lloyd Glenn (piano) ; Willie
Dixon (bass) ; Fred Below (drums).

January 18, 1955 : In New York City, THE CARDINALS record four tracks
under the direction of Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler. Chosen for the
new single are the Chuck Willis composition "The Door Is Still Open"
b/w "Misirlou" (Atlantic 1054, March). The other two tracks, "Love
Came Tumbling Down" and "Bang-A-Lang", remain unissued.

January 19, 1955 : A LEFTY FRIZZELL session in Dallas (Jim Beck Studio)
yields two singles : "Making Believe"/"A Forest Fire" (Columbia 21366,
released January 31) and "Moonlight, Darling And You"/"I'll Sit Alone
And Cry" (Columbia 21393, May 2). Personnel : Lefty Frizzell (vocal /
guitar) ; Jimmy Rollins (lead guitar) ; Joe Knight (rhythm guitar) ;
Paul Buskirk (mandolin) ; Dale Gilley (steel guitar) ; Slim Harbert
(bass) ; Buddy Brady (fiddle) ; Bill Simmons (piano) ; Freddie Cantu
(drums). Produced by Don Law.

January 22, 1955 : At 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, CARL PERKINS and
his brothers Jay B. & Clayton enter the Sun studio to record "Movie
Magg" and "Turn Around" for their first single, to be released in
March on the subsidiary Flip label (501). Personnel : Carl Perkins 
(vocal / guitar) ; Jay B. Perkins, Quinton Claunch (guitars); Clayton 
Perkins (bass) ; Bill Cantrell (fiddle) and W.S. Holland (drums). 
The session is produced by Sam Phillips.

Tuesday, January 25, 1955 : In Chicago, LITTLE WALTER records the
classic "My Babe", rush released on Checker 811, coupled with
"Thunderbird", also from this session. "My Babe" will also appear on
Checker 955 in mid-1960, with an overdubbed vocal chorus. (This is
the version that was released in the UK on London HLM 9175.)
Unissued from this session are "Bread", "Love", "Baby Want To Rock" 
and "Say Love Me". Little Walter (vocal / harmonica) is accompanied
by : Robert Lockwood Jr and Leonard Caston (guitars) ; Willie Dixon 
(bass) ; Fred Below (drums).

January 26, 1955 : FARON YOUNG is in Nashville to record four tracks,
which will be released on two singles. "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die
Young" b/w "Forgive Me Dear" (Capitol 3056) and "God Bless You" b/w
"Where Could I Go?" (Capitol 3107).
Faron Young (vocal) is backed by : Hank Garland (electric guitar) ;
Teddy and Doyle Wilburn (guitars) ; Joe Vincent (steel guitar) ;
Lightning Chance (bass) ; Gordon Terry (fiddle) ; Marvin Hughes
(piano). Produced by Ken Nelson.
  
January 27, 1955 : On this day FATS DOMINO records his next 45,
"Don't You Know"/"Helping Hand (A Long Way From Home)", which is
released on Imperial 5340 in February. Personnel : Fats Domino
(vocal / piano) ; Herb Hardesty and Lee Allen (tenor saxes) ;
Cornelius Coleman (drums) ; Walter "Papoose" Nelson (guitar) ;
Frank Fields (bass) ; poss. Dave Bartholomew (trumpet). Location :
J&M Studio, New Orleans. Produced by Dave Bartholomew.

January 28, 1955 : JOE TURNER records his next single, "Flip, Flop
And Fly"/"Ti-Ri-Lee" (Atlantic 1053, first week of March), as well
as the future singles "Hide And Seek" (Atlantic 1069, August) and
"Morning, Noon And Night" (Atlantic 1080, January 1956). 
Backing by Jesse Stone's Orchestra : Al Sears (tenor sax) ; Jesse
Stone (piano) ; probably Connie Kay (drums), more details unknown.
Produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler in New York City.

January 1955, unknown date : DAVE BARTHOLOMEW records the original
version of "Let the Four Winds Blow" (as "Four Winds"). Dave (vocal
/ trumpet) is supported by : Wendell Duconge (alto sax) ; Clarence
Hall and Herb Hardesty (tenor saxes) ; Salvador Doucette (piano) ;
Walter Nelson (guitar) ; Frank Fields (bass) ; Cornelius Coleman
(drums). "Four Winds" is released on Imperial 5350 in April. Flip
is "Every Night, Every Day", recorded on November 2, 1954.

January 1955, unknown date : THE HAWKETTS record the Carnival
classic "Mardi Grass Mambo" (and its flip, "Your Time's Up") at a
radio station (WWEZ) in New Orleans. It will come out on Chess 
1591 in late February or early March.
The Hawketts are : Art Neville (lead vocal / piano) ; Israel Bell and 
August Fleuri (trumpets) ; Carroll Joseph (trombone) ; George Davis 
(alto sax) ; Morris Bechamin (tenor sax) ; Alfred August (guitar) ; 
John Boudreaux (drums).

With thanks to Henk Gorter and Steve Walker.

Additions and corrections welcome.
 
Dik

In the can index