Tuesday, December 16, 2008

And to all a goodnight, Gracie...

While I'm on this roll through my scratchy old 45's I had to include this next single from Charlie Gracie back in 1956. I wasn't really aware that this guy was apparently a fairly influential 50's rocker that is held in high esteem by the likes of Elvis and the Beatles, etc. He had a couple of hit records early on and his second hit was on the single I offer here, "Fabulous". Now, while Fabulous is a pretty likeable recording, the reason this record is included in my "childhood record hall of fame" is for the flip side, a bit more rowdy piece of work called "Just Lookin'". Actually, with all the scratches noted here from my old copy, and the kitchen sink sound fidelity, I think my MP3 is all the more infectious for this tune. Listen to the tone on his guitar break. I read that Charlie was pretty well known as a guitar player as well as a vocal star. So while this may not be a rare recording (although I had always thought it was something obscure), and while the quality is typical of the rest of my 45's posted here, I just wanted to share and maybe turn a few bloggers on to this rockabilly type crooner/guit-box player. I definitely plan on buying a proper collection of Gracie material as soon as I can. I included the #1 side here but the real focus should be "Just Lookin'"...just listen...


Charlie Gracie - "Just Lookin'" - 1956 - 45 rpm (side B)
Cameo #107-B (H8-OW-4720)

Charlie Gracie - "Fabulous" - 1956 - 45 rpm (side A)
Cameo #107-A (H8-OW-4719)


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