Trying out the saddle for the last time, before heading off into the sunset is the final volume in the album series Rhythm & Western. This being the tenth and last album focusing on a genre of music that is more often associated with white artists, The “Mojo” Man gives coverage to black artists who either tried their hands at country, or produced records that were deemed novelty or rhythm and blues but with country associations, the breakthrough, however, has often been in the minority. Providing some background of black musicians and country music, Rhythm & Western Vol.10: Nine Pound Hammer gets to work via a selection of songs beginning with King Curtis and ‘Beatnik Showdown’ with the “showdown” part no doubt being the country & western reference, to others including Washboard Sam and much used ‘Bucket’s Got A Hole In It’, and a few heartbreakers (often a staple of country) with examples including Pearl Galloway ‘Think It Over Baby’, Beulah Swan ‘Don’t Steal My Heart’, and Gloria Gunter ‘Move On Out’. Slim Gaillard produces ‘The Hip Cowboy’ and it’s a fascinating listen with some yodelling and Bob Wills’ “ah-haa” calls, then Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson chips in with Hank Williams’ classic ‘Cold Cold Heart’. With crossovers including names as The Mississippi Sheiks conjuring up ‘Still I’m Travelling On’, Lloyd Price uniting rhythm and blues with strands of country during ‘Tennessee Waltz’, and Lou Rawls dropping the ‘Nine Pound Hammer’ in a spoken word/singing style and a country & western sound that is evident of its 60s period. An altogether different presentation (What else did you expect?!) is given by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins with ‘You Made Me Love You’; a big band, rhythm and blues track with flitting charismatic vocalisms blowing the roof off this particular shack otherwise known as Rhythm & Western Vol.10: Nine Pound Hammer.

Appropriate really that you would eventually find room for the title Oh Lonesome Me when thinking of country music and some of its related associations of broken relationships set to a background of barren landscapes mirroring those empty feelings. Tasked with piecing all of this together is The “Mojo” Man who compiles twenty-eight tracks of African-American artists performing straight-up-country sounds or songs deemed as novelty with a strong country influence or hint of said genre at least. Back in the day, black musicians producing country music were either discouraged, or explained away as rhythm and blues because a white artist was not fronting the song. A similar scenario continues to this day because black musicians are still in the minority when it comes to country music. To provide some musical background here, latest collection Rhythm & Western Vol. 8: Oh Lonesome Me goes some way to addressing African-Americans involvement and influence when considering country music whether in song titles ‘Cherokee Boogie’, but presented in a style that is rhythm and blues from Bull Moose Jackson, to other songs of rock and roll emanating from the likes of Chuck Berry ‘Thirty Days’, Jimmy Parker ‘We Gonna’, Chris Kenner ‘Will You Be Mine’, and then rhythm and blues once more from Ruth McFadden and ‘My Baby’s Coming Home’. Vocal group The Olympics provide a rockin’ ‘Dooley’, whereas Sonny and Jaycee bring strong country flavour to ‘Mister Froggie’. The Swanee Quintet hint at a gospel sound and evoke the times with title ‘The Pilgrim’, and Eddie Ware’s ‘Lima Beans’ produces a similar feeling via its song title. Another round of Rhythm & Western that reaches number eight with Oh Lonesome Me where its contents will certainly not make you feel alone, more that you will be reaching for repeat play for the company once again.

Start the car, it’s time to go! Destination? Well, that’s easy, Rockin’ Rollin’ USA Volume 2 Canada. Various artists come together to take-up their allocated slot for the second volume in the revived series issued by Pan American. A fresh outlook of a former album series that was successful and now compiled by DeeJay Mark Armstrong and with artwork supplied by Henrique Sans, Rockin’ Rollin’ USA Volume 2 features another twenty-eight tracks from the years 1956 – 1963. With song selections chosen from regional and major record labels, there’s much to enthuse over when it comes to the featured country of Canada and the rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll that was imitating the fast-emerging sounds elsewhere in America. This being a second visit to Canada, the “Teenage Boogie” of its additional title is highlighted greatly during ‘Eeny-Meeny Miney Moe’ from Bob and Lucille, which gets this album off to a flyer with a rhythm that certainly rocks and lyrics that really tune into a burgeoning independent teenage culture. The fine music continues via homegrown feel of rockabilly ‘Vibratin’ by Keray Regan, and a female rocker from Myrna Lorrie and track ‘Hello Baby’. The rockabilly continues with Al Oster and ‘Midnight Sun Rock’, before switching to callout rock ‘n’ roll number ‘Arkansas Jane’ from The Millionaires, before The Canadian Sweethearts provide the musical equivalent of the ‘Freight Train’, a song that would have easily been at home with the Everly Brothers as well. Whether you fancy a different interpretation of Dale Hawkins’ ‘Susie-Q’ by vocal group The Crew Cuts, to rockin’ rhythm of Frank Rondell and ‘Your True Love’, there are plenty of musical treats to stave off the boredom of any long road trip with Rockin’ Rollin’ USA Volume 2 Canada.

End of the line for the album series More Boss Black Rockers. The final resting station for More Boss Black Rockers is Lonely Lonely Train, and sees another twenty-eight tracks sourced from a mammoth catalogue of tracks with the focus on African-Americans who made rock ‘n’ roll their own. A history lesson, and an album series that has packed a musical punch to date, first impressions of Volume Ten appears to remain on course with many rockin’ delights. Beginning with the Speciality release ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’ from Big Boy Myles indicates the transition from traditional rhythm and blues to rock ‘n’ roll where you can hear the former genre’s foundations in this early rock ‘n’ roller. Earlier still is ‘Ain’t Nothin’ Happenin’ from Little Richard, which is an interesting inclusion from an artist in his formative years before going on to become the wild rocker and highly influential star. As with previous volumes of More Boss Black Rockers, there’s plenty of intrigue with the inclusion of lesserknown artists and songs of musicians who never really got the breaks during the 50s or if they did, it was only fleetingly so. When it comes to the founding of rock ‘n’ roll, it was the black musicians of the 50s who first developed this genre of music and continued its journey, only for their white counterparts to claim all the glory with plenty of exposure and hit records and thus creating a false impression that rock ‘n’ roll was developed by white rock ‘n’ rollers. Thankfully, More Boss Black Rockers has gone someway to addressing the balance and, in doing so, providing a platform for the likes of Roy Tann (‘I Don’t Like It’), Roosevelt Grier (‘Struttin’ and Twistin’), El Pauling & Royal Abbit (‘Please, Please, Be Mine’), and The Five Masks (‘Polly Molly’) to showcase their efforts to a wider audience and provide clear examples of the real originators of rock ‘n’ roll music.

With an abundance of records to sift through and select a fresh batch of tracks for the latest volume in the series More Boss Black Rockers, the job is an enviable one considering this is the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll. Latest album Rock & Roll Baby showcases a further twenty-eight songs from African-American performers who learnt their trade via rhythm and blues, before some of these musicians turned their attention to something a tad wilder with the development of rock ‘n’ roll. A real rockin’ body of work is what to expect, and something listeners have become accustomed to with the album series More Boss Black Rockers because each volume has provided an insight of black musicians who never really got the recognition they deserved during the 50s and early 60s. That is not to say that More Boss Black Rockers has not been without established names because the likes of Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino et al have all been present. However, it is often the obscurer artists that provides a genuine edge to these albums by creating a genuine sense of curiosity, and history lesson that is unrivalled. Evidence of this can be heard during album opener ‘Chicken Little’ from hardly a household name Ravon Darnell. It’s an excellent choice to begin with, and features a solid vocal, great saxophone, and plenty of piano pounding. Continuing such great work are the inclusions of Jackie Brenston ‘Trouble Up The Road’, Roy Brown ‘Shake Em Up Baby’, Elmer Parker ‘You Know I Love You’, and two vocal groups with The Jewels’ ‘She’s A Flirt’, and next Kripp Johnson and Chuck Jackson with ‘Woke Up This Morning’. Add to the pile the charismatic presentation of ‘Lone Ranger Gonna Git Married’ supplied by Jimmy Johnson, Big Bob Kornegay gliding through the rhythm of ‘Humdinger, and a rockin’ ‘Teenage Sister’ by Jimmy Lewis, and More Boss Black Rockers Vol. 8: Rock & Roll Baby is all you really need right now.

After the success of the first five volumes in the follow up album series to Boss Black Rockers, the next album to surface is More Boss Black Rockers Vol. 6: Everything’s Cool. Giving focus to what is a very important part of rock ‘n’ roll’s history, and one neglected at the expense of white rock ‘n’ rollers, is told here via numerous Afro-American rock ‘n’ roll artists of the 50s and early 60s. Presented in environmentally friendly packaging and with Little Victor Mac (The “Mojo” Man) responsible for the songs selected, Volume Six of More Boss Rockers lives up to its additional title of (Everything’s Cool) from the off with the very cool and up-tempo rhythm and blues goes rock ‘n’ roll ‘Oooh-Wow!’ from vocally loud Roy Montrell. Turning down the volume a notch to something midtempo with plenty of great qualities from its guitar to the vocals of ‘Air Travel’ supplied by Ray and Bob follows, only for Esquerita to shift the dial in the opposite direction by increasing the volume once again via ‘Believe Me When I Say Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay’. Enthralling beginnings leads to more captivating moments arriving thick and fast and, in no particular order, through Bobby Dunn’s ‘Diddle Dee Dee’, Chuck Higgins’ ‘Too Smart’, Aggie Dukes’ ‘John John’, Little Joe Hinton and ‘The Whip Twist’, to Pork Chops’ lead track ‘Everything’s Cool’. More of this and a whole lot more, Volume Six of More Boss Black Rockers will have the listener coming back for more given the high calibre of rock ‘n’ roll on display and for the history lesson this compilation provides.