Search - Buddy Knox & Jimmy Bowen with The Rhythm Traders :: Rock

Far Too Many Key Selections Omitted

05/10/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Any conversations about the artists who dominated the air waves, juke boxes, and record sales from 1955 to 1959 will certainly include Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Everly Brothers, Connie Francis, LaVern Baker, The Platters, Brenda Lee, Ricky Nelson and Pat Boone. It's rare to hear anyone throw in the names of Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen. The thing is, taking turns fronting their group, The Rhythm Orchids, they registered 9 Billboard Top/Hot 100 hits from 1957 to 1958, three of which were R&B crossovers, and Buddy added five more Hot 100 hits as a solo artists from 1959 to 1961 and also threw in one Country hit for good measure as late as 1968 (Gypsy Man - # 64 that summer for United Artists).



The basically Rockabilly Knox (born in Happy, Texas on July 20, 1933) and Bowen (born November 30, 1937 in Santa Rita, New Mexico) formed their initial group in 1956 and cut their first records at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico, the same place where Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly also honed their skills. In addition to Buddy (guitar) and Jimmy (bass), who both did vocals, the group also featured guitarist Don Lanier and drummer Dave Aldred (later of Dickey Doo & The Don'ts fame). That same year Petty arranged for the release of their first single on a label the boys formed themselves, Triple-D, named after Radio Station KDDD in Dumas, Texas. That was Party Doll, billed to Buddy Knox with The Rhythm Orchids on the A-side and I'm Stickin' With You, billed to Jimmy Bowen with The Rhythm Orchids on the flip.



Without the resources to properly promote it, sales and popularity remained local. However, after selling the rights to the Blue Moon label, the much larger Roulette Records soon stepped in and, seeing the local popularity of both sides, quickly re-released the songs early in 1957 - but on separate discs. Liberty 4001 was I'm Stickin' With You b/w Ever Lovin' Fingers (NOT included here) by Jimmy Bowen with The Rhythm Orchids, with the A-side reaching # 9 R&B and # 14 Billboard Top 100 in April, while the flip peaked at # 63 Top 100. At the same time, Roulette 4002 was Party Doll b/w My Baby's Gone by Buddy Knox with The Rhythm Orchids, and while the B-side failed to chart, Party Doll surged to # 1 Top 100 and # 3 R&B, also in April.



Buddy's subsequent Rock Your Little Baby To Sleep made it to # 17 Top 100 in May/June b/w Don't Make Me Cry (yet another side left out of this volume) on Roulette 4009 billed as Lieutenant Buddy Knox with The Rhythm Orchids, but Jimmy's next release - Warm Up To Me Baby - didn't fare as well, going to # 57 Top 100 around the same time b/w I Trusted You (also omitted) on Roulette 4010. That fall, Knox did it again with a song that first appeared in 1911 as My Hula Hula Love, but as simply Hula Love, and featured in the movie Jamboree, it peaked at # 9 Top 100 and # 13 R&B in October b/w Devil Woman on Roulette 4018.



In March of 1958, Swingin' Daddy went to # 80 Top 100 for Buddy b/w Whenever I'm Lonely (still another omission here) on Roulette 4042, but in August both did much better as Bowen crunched out a rocked up oldie on Roulette 4083, By The Light Of The Silvery Moon (#50 Top 100) b/w The Two Step - neither of which is included here - and which was his final hit single, while Buddy contributed what I consider to be his best, a cover of the 1954 Ruth Brown offering on Atlantic, Somebody Touched Me (# 22 Hot 100) b/w C'mon Baby on Roulette 4082.



In 1959 Buddy went solo on Teasable, Pleasable You (# 85 Top 100) - which isn't here - b/w That's Why I Cry (# 88 Top 100) - which is here - in January on Roulette 4120, and in May had I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself make it to # 55 Top 100 b/w To Be With You (not here) on Roulette 4140. After signing with Liberty, Buddy returned to the charts late in 1960 with a cover of the old R&B hit, Lovey Dovey, reaching # 25 Hot 100 in January 1961 b/w I Got You on Liberty 55290. His last charter was another cover of a R&B oldie, Ling Ting Tong, which topped out at # 65 Hot 100 in March 1961 b/w The Kisses (They're All Mine) - left out of this compilation.



This isn't a bad collection of their material, but as always seems to be the case with Bear Family of Germany, they leave out far too much in terms of hits and their B-sides, failing to realize that potential buyers include both those just seeking a cross-variety of an artist's offerings AND collectors of hit singles like myself. In that regard, as well as price, they don't stack up against the likes of the best U.K. outlets such as Ace, Jasmine, Acrobat, and ASV Living Era.



They do, on the other hand, a decent job in the Rocks series with some of the other releases which cover Carl Perkins, Bill Haley & His Comets, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Sleepy LaBeef, Connie Francis, Bobby Darin, Wanda Jackson, Rusty York, Conway Twitty, Sonny James, Glen Glenn, Roy Hall, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Fats Domino, Ronnie Hawkins, and Jack Scott."