As I mentioned in a recent post, Jukebox Musical by Danny and the Darlings is a soundtrack album for Bobby Campbell's Tales of Illuminatus No. 2. It is available as a free digital download at Bandcamp.
The album consists of ten covers of 1950s era rock and roll tunes. As this sort of music was considered "old" even when I listened to it in high school in the 1970s (I was a weirdo because I would play Elvis Presley songs on the jukebox), it seems to me that for many listeners today, the songs on the album might seem rather obscure, although I recognized many of the song titles.
Here is the track listing for the album, with brief explanations and links for more information. (These are rather punk rock versions of the song and the resemblance to the originals varies somewhat, although I commend the attempt to bring these tunes into the present. But try some of the originals.)
1. That's All Right. The tune dates to 1946, but is remembered as Elvis Presley's first single in 1954.
2. Rip It Up. A 1956 hit for Little Richard.
3. You Can't Catch Me. A 1956 single for Chuck Berry.
4. Breathless. A 1958 hit for Jerry Lee Lewis.
5. Pretty Thing. A 1955 Bo Diddley single.
6. Oh, Boy! A particularly great song by a particularly great band, The Crickets (i.e., Buddy Holly and his band). Holly's 1959 plane crash death may be rock music's greatest tragedy ever.
7. I'm Walkin'. A 1957 single issued by Fats Domino.
8. Nervous Breakdown. An Eddie Cochran tune. (He is probably most famous for other songs such as "Summertime Blues." Cochran died age 21 in a 1960 car crash in Britain.
9. Be-Bop-A-Lula. 1956 Gene Vincent tune.
10. Rock Around the Clock. This 1954 hit by Bill Haley & His Comets helped launch rock and roll. The song is mentioned in Illuminatus!
I don't have detailed music credits for the album, but "Danny" is Dan Robinson of Wilmington, Delaware. I will try to find out more.
1 comment:
Very right on, Tom!
Some further annotation!
As Dan explained to me:
A Jukebox Musical is an old timey concept wherein a narrative would be created using pre-existing songs, usually the hit records of the day, rather than an original score.
And straight from my text messages:
"I’ve been on a spiritual musical journey through the American religion known as early rock and roll! After a lot of thought, I figured stick with the era of “Rock Around” and it’s been very rewarding. Went with the originators and kept it tiiiight. No country or blues, just rock and roll! I used this book, (The Da Capo Book of Rock and Roll Writing) specifically “Five Styles of Rock and Roll” by Charlie Gillett to fine tune. Great read!
For the most part avoided the biggest hit from each artist, went with one meaningful to me, consistent with lifestyle and ethos. Really tried to create a vibe for those who care to listen! I’ll email the tracks separately, as well as a master track with all the tunes to replicate listening on cassette. Pick your poison! They’re still rough, I’m gonna tighten this and that, remove some stray bullets, but overall it’ll be nice and rough, anti-perfectionist, and in the spirit of the music… rowdy!"
Also! Dan is not only Danny but also the Darlings!
Playing all instruments, singing all songs, and for Jukebox Musical, recording and mixing everything himself :)))
Check out his two latest and greatest full lengths, recorded, mixed, and mastered by the great Mike Bardzik:
Wilmington Optimist
https://danrobinson.bandcamp.com/album/wilmington-optimist
Operation: Golden Goose
https://danrobinson.bandcamp.com/album/operation-golden-goose
And also, his four piece band The Headies, featuring Tales of Illuminatus! Co-creator Todd Purse on drums!
https://danrobinson.bandcamp.com/album/the-headies
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