« Back to Top Level | Various Artists

Various Artists - That'll Flat Git It, Vol.01 - Rca Records (1959)

Track listing:
  1. Sixteen Chicks Joe Clay 1:59
  2. Born To Love One Woman Ric Cartey 2:22
  3. Sugar Sweet David Houston 2:08
  4. New Shoes Lee Denson 2:02
  5. Little Boy Blue Hoyt Johnson 1:59
  6. Drugstore Rock'n'roll Janis Martin 2:07
  7. Rosie Let's Get Cozy Dave Rich 1:55
  8. Catty Town Dick Glasser 2:09
  9. Star Light, Star Bright Nan Castle 1:57
  10. Tv Hop Morgan Twins 2:21
  11. Honky Tonk Mind Tommy Blake 2:24
  12. Teen Billy Baby Sprouts 2:02
  13. Don't Bug Me Baby Milton Allen 2:34
  14. Now Stop Martha Carson 2:04
  15. Milkcow Blues Jimmie Rodgers Snow 2:09
  16. Ducktail Joe Clay 2:27
  17. Heart Throb Ric Cartey 2:27
  18. One And Only David Houston 2:25
  19. I've Got A Dollar Jimmy Dell 2:15
  20. Lovin' Honey (2) Gene Morris 1:53
  21. Barefoot Baby Janis Martin 2:13
  22. Rock A Bye Baby Skeeter Bonn 2:18
  23. That Ain't Nothin' But Right Joey Castle 2:33
  24. Mary Nell Autry Inman 2:12
  25. Hey Jibbo Art Wood 1:53
  26. All Night Long Tommy Blake 2:29
  27. Full Grown Cat The Mccoys 2:09
  28. Just Thought I'd Set You Straight Ted Harris 2:00
  29. Oooh Wee Ric Cartey 2:17
  30. Shake It Up Baby Frankie Dee 1:58
  31. Lovin' Honey (1) Gene Morris 1:59

Notes

That'll Flat Git It!, Vol. 1 contains 31 tracks of '50s rockabilly culled from the vaults of RCA Victor. Originally created with hopes of rivaling the success of Elvis Presley, RCA began releasing rockabilly-flavored material. Half of these tracks just don't cut it, like Lee Denson's "New Shoes" (a painfully obvious ripoff of "Blue Suede Shoes") and Jimmie Rodgers Snow's "Milk Cow Blues," entertaining but a bit too heavy on the country side of the fence. The other half of this disc is filled with gritty guitar twang and hiccup vocals that are absolutely wild, including Joe Clay's "Sixteen Chicks," Joey Castle's "That Ain't Nothing But Right," and Ric Cartey's ultra-primitive "Heart Throb" and "Oooh-Wee."

Rockabilly collectors are a hearty, fanatical breed with little compunction about seeking out rare, rarely heard singles based on legend or label. Not everybody has the time or patience to find original pressings, even if they love the music, so for the average collector, Bear Family's multi-volume That'll Flat Git It! series is the way to dig deep into the rockabilly arcana. The series is divided by label, spotlighting the forgotten sides and smaller hits for labels as well-known as Decca and RCA, along with lesser-known regional labels. This is not everything that was released on a label, of course, but it is a fairly thorough overview of what kinds of rockabilly the label released, and it hits almost all of the high points, at least as far as rockabilly collectors are concerned (and when the label can't fit everything on one disc, it breaks it up in two parts). Like many multi-part series, this is strongest on the earlier volumes, but if you're a dyed-in-the-wool collector, any of these volumes are worthwhile. Some of them are loaded with generic mediocrities, but they all have a couple of dynamite gems, plus they're presented lovingly, with wonderful sound and detailed, well-researched liner notes. This is essentially a collector's series, but it's a collector's series in the best sense — filled with rare gems worth seeking out and presented in a luxurious fashion.