Issued under the rightful title, More Boss Black Rockers, The “Mojo” Man was charged with the (enviable) task of bringing these albums to life. To achieve such an outcome, More Boss Black Rockers Vol. 8: Rock & Roll Baby continues its exploration of Black African American rock ‘n’ roll by mining deep into the heart of a traditional rhythm and blues scene of 50’s America that eventually became rock ‘n’ roll, and where you will hear established artists rubbing shoulders with the obscure. This is merely one segment of the attraction here, because the sounds blaring from the adjacent speakers is often wild in nature, raw and dangerous, just as it is scintillating, not to mention unhinged rock ‘n’ roll. Let’s face it, it’s the kinds of sounds that no doubt left many a jaw gaping as rock ‘n’ roll was ushered into the world for the very first time upon an innocent public, before evolving into the next big thing and continuing to resonate in the present with an equally feisty presence.
Quick, there’s a new ticket in town and it’s called rock ‘n’ roll! Perusing the lengthy list of rock ‘n’ roll contenders from the setlist of More Boss Black Rockers Vol. 8: Rock & Roll Baby, any attempt to arrive at a favourite makes for an impossible task because, quite simply, there’s not a dud in the house. With songs about love and its unrequited form, and voiced by artists qualified enough for inclusion, album #8 makes for another exciting addition. Evidence of this can be detected in The Jewels’ ‘She’s A Flirt’, to similar in tone Big Bob Kornegay’s ‘Humdinger’. Elsewhere, the rock ‘n’ roll continues to exhilarate and shows no signs of wilting with Elmer Parker’s ‘You Know I Love You’, Roy Brown’s ‘Shake Em Up Baby’, to a knockout performance from Ernest Tucker during ‘Mirror Mirror On The Wall’, and Chuck Higgins’ feisty and dominant brass instrumental ‘The Rooster’ ensuring such matters. Nathan Olsen-Haines (Koko Mojo Records)
More BOSS BLACK ROCKERS 8 - Rock & Roll Baby
A1 Ravon Darnell – Chicken Little (Scherman) Tampa TP-45-119 1956
A2 Modest Clifton – Pretty Little Baby (Clifton) Squalor 1311 1958
A3 Marvin and Johnny – Smack Smack (Davis, Phillips) Aladdin 45-3408 1958
A4 The Barons – Who’s In The Shack (Brown, Scott) Soul S 838 1962
A5 Jackie Brensten – Trouble Up The Road (Turner) Sue 736 1961
A6 Roy Brown – Shake Em Up Baby (Brown) King 45-4816 1955
A7 Elmer Parker – You Know I Love You (Christian, Parker) Music Clef 1002 1963
A8 Mercy Baby – Rock and Roll Baby (Vincent, Mullins) Ace 528 1957
B1 The Rondells with Ned Jr. – Good Good (Joseph, Kay, Manning) Carlton 467 1958
B2 Big Bob Kornegay – Humdinger (Clowney, Kornegay) Herald H-506 1957
B3 The Jewels – She’s A Flirt (Torrance) RPM 45X474 1956
B4 Ernest Tucker - Mirror Mirror On The Wall (Tucker) Jubilee 45-5340 1958
B5 Bobby Oliver – All Around The World (Blackwell, Millet) Lucky Four 45-1004 1961
B6 Jimmy Sweeney – What’Cha Gonna Do About Me (Sweeney) Buckley LB-1101 1962
B7 Elton Anderson – Sick and Tired (Bartholomew, Kenner) Capitol 4762 1962
B8 Chuck Higgins – The Rooster (Porter, Higgins) Combo 45-140 1958
