November 1, 1956 : BIG JOHN GREER records his next two singles in New York
City : "Midnight Ramble"/"Sweet Slumber" (King 5006, January 1957) and
"I Still Love You So"/"Duck Walk" (King 5057, May 1957).
Personnel : Big John Greer (vocals / tenor sax) ; Count Hastings (tenor
sax) ; Budd Johnson (baritone sax) ; Herbert Goodwin (piano, organ) ;
Mickey Baker (guitar) ; Bill Pemberton (bass) ; Panama Francis (drums).

November 3, 1956 : KEN COPELAND's first recording session results in his
only hit : "Pledge Of Love". First released on Lin 5007 in January, it is
licensed to Imperial (5432) in March 1957 and will peak at # 12 on the
Billboard charts. Also recorded is "You're Getting the Idea", first released
on the Bear Family box "The Lin/Kliff Story" (BFFM 15950) in 1998.
Produced by Joe Leonard at Clifford Herring Studio in Fort Worth, Texas.

Monday, November 5, 1956 : THE SPANIELS (with Pookie Hudson and Willie
Jackson back in the line-up) record their next single, "You Gave Me Peace
Of Mind"/"Please Don't Tease" (Vee-Jay 229, December), as well as "I Need
Your Kisses", which is saved for release until November 1957 on Vee-Jay 257.

November 6, 1956 : WEBB PIERCE pays another visit to Bradley Studio in
Nashville. The harvest is the single "I'm Tired"/"It's My Way" (Decca 30158,
December 6) and "Crying Over You", which will come out in April 1958 on
Decca 30623.
Accompaniment by Hank Garland, Harold Bradley (guitars) ; Sonny Burnette
(steel guitar) ; Lightnin' Chance (bass) ; Dale Potter, Tommy Jackson and
Jack Kay (fiddles) ; Buddy Harman (drums).

November 7, 1956 : FERLIN HUSKY does a four-track session at Bradley Studio
in Nashville. "Gone"/"Missing Persons" (Capitol 3628, January 21, 1957) will
become his biggest pop hit. "Gone" was previously recorded by Husky under
the name Terry Preston in 1952 (Capitol 2298). The other two tracks are by
Husky's alter ego SIMON CRUM, but for unknown reasons they are kept on the
shelf until May 1963, when "Don't Be Mad" (a parody of "Don't Be Cruel")
and "Little Red Web" appear on both Capitol 4966 (single) and Capitol T 1880
(LP "The Unpredictable Simon Crum").
Produced by Ken Nelson.

November 7-8, 1956 : LEFTY FRIZZELL records from 22:45 until 02:15 at
Bradley Studio in Nashville, under the supervision of Don Law. Two singles
are the result : "Lullaby Waltz"/"Glad I Found You" (Columbia 40818, first
week of 1957) and "Now That You Are Gone"/"From An Angel To A Devil"
(Columbia 40867, March 1957).
Personnel : Lefty Frizzell (vocals / guitar) ; Grady Martin (guitar) ;
Johnny Sibert (steel guitar) ; Bob Moore (bass) ; Marvin Hughes (piano) ;
Walter Lenk (drums).

November 7-8, 1956 : During two four-hour sessions at Nashville's RCA
studio, HANK SNOW records the LP "Country & Western Jamboree" (RCA LPM 1419,
January 1957). Tracks : "Wedding Bells", "My Life With You", "Singing the
Blues", "Memories Are Made Of This", "Loose Talk", "These Tears Are Not For
You", "I Almost Lost My Mind", "Poison Love", "It's Been So Long Darling",
"Sing Me A Song Of the Islands",  "Among My Souvenirs", "Born To Lose".
Personnel : Hank Snow (vocals / guitar) ; Jack Shook (rhythm guitar) ;
Melvin Gentry (steel guitar) ; Floyd Chance (bass) ; Tommy Vaden and Chubby
Wise (fiddles). Produced by Steve Sholes.
mer (piano).  Rusty 

November 8, 1956 : THE DRIFTERS record their next single at Belltone Studio
in New York City : "Fools Fall In Love"/"It Was A Tear" (Atlantic 1123,
January 1957).
The Drifters are : Johnny Moore (lead tenor) ; Gerhart Thrasher (tenor) ;
Charlie Hughes (baritone) ; Tommy Evans (bass).
Personnel includes Jesse Powell on sax and Jimmy Oliver on guitar ; more
details unknown. Produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler.

November 8, 1956 : PATSY CLINE records her first pop hit : "Walkin' After
Midnight"/"A Poor Man's Roses (Or A Rich Man's Gold)" (Decca 30221, February
11, 1957). "The Heart You Break (May Be Your Own)" is first issued on the 
album "Encores" (Everest 1204, 1962) and "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down" on
the LP "In Memoriam" in 1963 (Everest 1217).
Session personnel : Harold Bradley (acoustic guitar) ; Grady Martin 
(electric guitar) ; Don Helms (steel guitar) ; Bob Moore (bass) ; Owen
Bradley (piano, producer) ; Tommy Jackson (fiddle ) ; Farris Coursey (drums).
Location : Bradley Studio, Nashville.

November 8, 1956 : RUSTY AND DOUG lay down three tracks at RCA Studio B in
Nashville. "Going Down the Road"/"You'll See" is released in May 1957
(Hickory 1063) and "It's Too Late" in January 1958 (Hickory 1091).
Personnel : Doug Kershaw (vocals, fiddle) ; Rusty Kershaw (vocals) ; Hank
Garland, Ray Edenton, Chet Atkins (guitars) ; Bob Terry (steel guitar) ;
Howard Johnson (rhythm guitar) ; Floyd Cramer (piano) ; Woody Woodhams
(bass).
The same crew provides the accompaniment for AL TERRY on this day for his
single "Money" (Hickory 1061, February 1957).
Produced by Wesley Rose.

November 9, 1956 : MARVIN RAINWATER does a four-track evening session at
Bradley Studio in Nashville. The single "Gonna Find Me A Bluebird"/"So You
Think You've Got Troubles" is released on January 11, 1957 (MGM 12412) and
will be Rainwater's biggest hit in the USA. Also recorded are the LP track
"Cause I'm A Dreamer" ("Songs By Marvin Rainwater", MGM E 3534, 1957) and
the unissued "Lonesome I'll Never Be" (lost).
Bob Moore plays bass, further personnel details unknown.

November 12, 1956 : JOHNNY HORTON waxes two tracks at Bradley Studio in
Nashville. "I'm Coming Home" is released in the last week of 1956 on
Columbia 40813, while "Over-Loving You" stays in the can until the release
of the Bear Family box-set "Johnny Horton 1956-1960" (BCD 15470) in 1991.
Personnel : Johnny Horton (vocals / guitar) ; Grady Martin and Harold Bradley
(guitars) ; Bill Black (bass). Produced by Don Law.

November 12, 1956 : RED SOVINE is also at Bradley Studio in Nashville to
record his next two singles : "Down On the Corner Of Love"/"A Poor Man's
Riches" (Decca 30162, December 17) and "Juke Joint Johnny"/"No Thanks
Bartender" (Decca 30239, March 1957). Personnel unknown.
Produced by Paul Cohen.

Wednesday, November 14, 1956 : The very first session by JERRY LEE LEWIS is
produced by Jack Clement, in the absence of Sam Phillips, who is on vacation
in Florida. Jerry's first single, "Crazy Arms"/"End Of the Road" is released
on Sun 259 (December 1), credited to "Jerry Lee Lewis And His Pumping Piano".
Also recorded are two versions of "You're the Only Star In My Blue Heaven",
of which one is first released on the LP "Early Rock & Roll" (Sun SQ-20.067,
Holland) in 1974, and "Born To Lose", which is also held in the can until
1974, when the LP "Rockin' And Free" is released on Sun 6467029 in the UK.
Lewis (vocals / piano) is backed by Roland Janes (guitar) and Jimmy Van Eaton
(drums).
Location : Sun studio, 706 Union Avenue, Memphis.

November 14, 1956 is also the recording date of the RON HARGRAVE single
"Latch On"/"Only A Daydream" (MGM 12422, February 8, 1957).
Arranged and conducted by Harry Geller. Location : Radio Recorders,
Hollywood.

November 15, 1956 : BUDDY HOLLY's third visit to Bradley Studio in Nashville
yields three tracks. "Modern Don Juan"/"You Are My One Desire" becomes his
second single (Decca 30166, December 24). Also recorded is a second version
of "Rock Around With Ollie Vee", which ends up on the B-side of the Decca
release of "That'll Be the Day" (not the hit version, Decca 30434, August 12,
1957).
Personnel : Buddy Holly (vocals) ; Harold Bradley, Grady Martin (guitars) ;
Don Guess (string bass) ; Dutch McMillin (tenor sax) ; Floyd Cramer (piano) ;
Farris Coursey (drums). Produced by Owen Bradley.

November 15, 1956 : GUY MITCHELL does another Marty Robbins cover, "Knee Deep
In the Blues" (Columbia 40820, January 1957), as the follow-up to his monster
hit "Singing the Blues". Also recorded at this session are the flip, "Take Me
Back Baby" and "Got A Feeling" (unissued in the US, but released in the UK,
Philips 669, April 1957).
Personnel : Al Caiola, Billy Mure, Hy White, Allen Hanlon and Ed O'Connor
(guitars) ; Frank Carroll and Morris Rayman (bass) ; W. Rowland (piano) ;
Ed Shaughnessy (drums). Ray Connif plays whiste / handclapping solos on first
two songs of this session. 
Arranged and directed, by Ray Conniff, produced by Mitch Miller in New York
City.
Same day, same studio, probably supported by same musicians, JOHNNY RAY also
covers a Marty Robbins record, "You Dont Owe Me A Thing", for his next single
(Columbia 40803, December). "No Wedding Today" will be used for the B-side of
his future hit "Yes Tonight Josephine" (Columbia 40893, April 1957) while
"How Long How Long Blues" is selected for the album "Johnny Ray Sings The Big
Beat" (Columbia CLP 961, January 1957). 

November 16, 1956 : The second Sun session by CONWAY TWITTY (then still known
as Harold Jenkins) results in three tracks : "Crazy Dreams", "Give Me Some
Love" and "I Need Your Lovin' Kiss", all originally unissued. First release
on the Bear Family (vinyl) box-set "Conway Twitty : The Rock 'n' Roll Years"
(BFX 15174) in 1985.
Personnel : Harold Jenkins (vocals / guitar) ; Jimmy Ray Paulman (guitar) ;
Bill Harris (bass) ; Martin Willis (sax) ; Billy Weir (drums).
Produced by Sam Phillips at the Sun studio in Memphis.

November 15, 1956 : BOBBY HELMS waxes four tunes at Bradley Studio in
Nashville. "Fraulein"/"Heartsick Feeling" is chosen for the next single
(Decca 30194, January 21, 1957). "Just A Little Lonesome" will come out a
year later (Decca 30557, February 3, 1958), while "Sowin' Teardrops" finally
sees a release in 1983 on the LP "Pop-A-Billy" (MCA 1557).
Accompaniment by : Harold Bradley, Hank Garland asnd Grady Martin (guitars) ;
Bob Moore (bass) ; Owen Bradley (piano) ; Buddy Harman (drums).
Produced by Paul Cohen.

November 18, 1956 : The six-piece group THE STRIKES has its first recording
session, at the Clifford Herring Studio in Fort Worth. Out of this comes the
single "If You Can't Rock Me"/"Baby I'm Sorry". Like the Ken Copeland single
mentioned above, it first released on Lin (5006) in January 1957 and then
leased to Imperial (5433) in March 1957. A third track from this session,
"Come Back To Me" is saved from oblivion by Collectables in 1994, when it is
issued on the CD "The Best Of Lin/Kliff Rockabilly" (COL-5300).
Personnel : Willie Jacobs (lead vocals) ; Paul Kunz (bass vocals ) ; Kenneth
Ewing Scott (tenor vocals / rhythm guitar) ; Albert Cornelius (electric
guitar) ; Don Alexander (bass) ; Paschal Parsons (drums).
Produced by Joe Leonard

November 20, 1956 : JOE TURNER waxes his next two singles at New York's
Atlantic studio. "Midnight Special Train"/"Feelin' Happy" comes out on
Atlantic 1122 in the last week of 1956 and "After A While"/"Red Sails In the
Sunset" on Atlantic 1131 in March 1957.
Personnel includes Mickey Baker (guitar) and Sam Taylor (tenor sax) ; more
details unknown.
Produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler.

November 24, 1956 : On this day PAT BOONE records his biggest hit, "Love
Letters In the Sand" (Dot 15570, April 10, 1957), at Radio Recorders in
Hollywood, as well as nine other tracks (best left unmentioned, like a
ridiculous version of "The Fat Man").
Backing by : Barney Kessel and Jack Marshall (guitars) ; Larry Breen (bass) ;
Milton Rogers (piano) ; Justin Gordon, Babe Russin (saxes) ; Dick Shanahan
(drums).
Arranged and conducted by Billy Vaughn, produced by Randy Wood.

November 27, 1956 : RAY CHARLES does another session for Atlantic in New York.
"Ain't That Love" is selected for the next single (Atlantic 1124, January
1957), coupled with "I Want To Know" from a previous session. "Get On the
Right Track"/"It's All Right" comes out on Atlantic 1143 in May 1957 and the
instrumental "Rockhouse, Parts 1 & 2" is saved until November 1958, for
release on Atlantic 2006 (also Ray's first UK release, London HL 8768).
Musicians : Ray Charles (vocals / piano) ; Joe Bridgewater asnd John Hunt
(trumpets) ; Dave Newman (sax) ; Emmett Davis (baritone sax) ; Rossevelt
Sheffield (bass) ; William Peeples (drums) ; The Raelettes (vocal group).
Produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler.

November 27, 1956 : In Hollywood, JACKIE LEE COCHRAN waxes the single "Mama
Don't You Think I Know"/"Ruby Pearl" (Decca 30206, February 4, 1957).
Musicians : Jackie Lee Cochran (vocals / guitar) ; Merle Travis (guitar) ;
Jimmy Pruett (piano) ; Cliffie Stone (bass).

November 29, 1956 : At Nashville's RCA Studio CHET ATKINS records the
original version of "Trambone" and its reverse, "Blue Echo" (RCA 6796,
January 1957).
Musicians : Chet Atkins (guitar, producer) ; Bob Moore (bass) ; Floyd
Cramer (piano) ; Jimmy Riddle (harmonica) ; Buddy Harman (drums).
This same group lays down "Peanut Vendor", which will be released on RCA
6808 in February 1957 (coupled with "Tricky", recorded on 9 January 1957,
with Grady Martin replacing Jimmy Riddle) and credited to The Rhythm Rockers.

November 29, 1956 : THE SPIDERS have a four-track session in New Orleans,
under the supervision of Dave Bartholomew. "Honey Bee"/"That's My Desire"
is chosen for the next single (Imperial 5423, March). "Better Be On My Way"
and "I'm Glad For Your Sake" are consigned to the vaults until they are
rescued by Bear Family for release on the 2-CD "The Spiders : The Complete
Imperial Recordings" (BCD 15673) in 1992.
Lead vocals by Chuck Carbo, accompaniment by Cosimo Matassa's studio band.

November 30, 1956 : In New York City, THE JIVE BOMBERS record material for
two singles, including their only hit, "Bad Boy"/"When Your Hair Has Turned
To Silver", which is issued on Savoy 1508 in December. "The Blues Don't Mean
A Thing"/"If I Had A Talking Picture Of You" follows in May 1957 on Savoy
1513.
Personnel : Clarence Palmer (lead vocals / bass ) ; Earl Johnson (tenor sax /
vocals) ; Kenny Burrell (guitar) ; Allen Tinney (piano / vocals) ; Leonard
Gaskin (bass) ; Bobby Donaldson (drums) ; Pee Wee Tinney (vocals).

November 1956, unknown date : At Ramsey's Recording Studio in Phoenix
AL CASEY records "Juice"/"A Fool's Blues" for his next single (Dot 15524,
November 15).
Personnel : Al Casey (lead guitar) ; Vivian "Corky" Casey (guitar) ; Buddy
Wheeler (bass) ; possibly Ronnie Luplow (tenor sax) ; Connie Conway (drums).
Produced by Lee Hazlewood. 

November 1956, unknown date : At (possibly) Universal Recording Corp. in
Chicago JIM LOWE has another session for Dot. "I Feel The Beat"/"By You,
By You, By You" will soon see a single release (Dot 15525, November 15).
Bob ("Hutch") Davie plays piano, more details unknown. 

With thanks to Steve Walker, Stuart Colman and Henk Gorter.

Additions and corrections welcome.
 
Dik

In the can index