Screamin' Jay Rocks

by Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Overview

With only one single in the first rank of rock & roll hits, Screamin' Jay Hawkins has suffered at the hands of compilers. Except for a 14-track Rhino compilation released back in 1990, and the great work of reissue pinnacle Bear Family, it's been mostly obscure labels pumping out brief compilations with "I Put a Spell on You" and not much more. Bear Family had previously released a two-disc completist set, titled Spellbound! 1955-1974, but it wisely added a volume on him to their Rocks series of single-disc releases. If listeners care enough about Hawkins to pay the import prices, this is indeed an excellent set, with 31 tracks of the best and most bonkers that Screamin' Jay ever got. All but eight of the tracks come from the '50s, with early classics like "Little Demon" and "(She Put The) Wamee (On Me)" reflecting his heavy Howlin' Wolf influences and paving the way for the mighty "I Put a Spell on You." Those looking for craziness beyond even that will find plenty in evidence, including the whooping-and-roaring "What That Is" and the jungle madness of "Alligator Wine," although the infamous latter-day nugget "Constipation Blues" is absent here (but is on the Rhino compilation).

Product Details

Release Date:	08/05/2008
Label:	Bear Family
UPC:	4000127166876
catalogNumber:	16687
Rank:	55071

Tracks

1. Little Demon
2. Baptize Me in Wine
3. Not Anymore
4. In My Front Room
5. This Is All
6. What That Is
7. (She Put The) Wamee (On Me)
8. Well I Tried
9. Talk About It
10. Take Me Back
11. I Is
12. $10, 000 Lincoln Continental
13. You Ain't Foolin' Me
14. Yellow Coat
15. I Put a Spell on You
16. Frenzy
17. Alligator Wine
18. There's Something Wrong with You
19. Person to Person
20. You Made Me Love You
21. Little Demon
22. Armpit No.6
23. Just Don't Care
24. Strange
25. The Whammy
26. Party Doll
27. All Night
28. Mountain Jive
29. Do You Really Love Me
30. Please Don't Leave Me
31. Knock-Kneed Nana

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Screamin' Jay Hawkins   Primary Artist,Organ,Piano,Tambourine,Vocals
Herb Ellis   Guitar
Tiny Grimes   Guitar
Budd Johnson   Baritone Saxophone
Plas Johnson   Saxophone
Warren Covington   Trombone
Bernie Leighton   Harpsichord
Ernie Royal   Trumpet
Joe Wilder   Trumpet
Red Prysock   Saxophone,Tenor Saxophone
Lyle Ritz   Bass
Mickey Baker   Guitar
Big Al Sears   Alto Saxophone,Tenor Saxophone
Sam "The Man" Taylor   Tenor Saxophone
Charles Thompson   Piano
Moe Wechsler   Drums
Everett Barksdale   Guitar
Kenny Burrell   Guitar
George Butler   Piano
Casamenti   Guitar
Arthur "Babe"Clarke   Tenor Saxophone
Elmer Crumbley   Trombone
George Dorsey   Saxophone
Panama Francis   Drums
Eric Gale   Guitar
Benny Golson   Tenor Saxophone
Joseph Grimaldi   Tenor Saxophone
Jalacy Hawkins   Piano,Vocals
Ernie Hayes   Piano
Haywood Henry   Baritone Saxophone
Milt Hinton   Bass
Gus Johnson   Drums
Ron Johnson   Bass
Reunald Jones   Trumpet
Leroy Kirkland   Leader,Choir, Chorus
Jack Lesberg   Bass
Buddy Lucas   Baritone Saxophone
Thea Marcus   Choir, Chorus
Louis Mauro   Bass
Ernest McLean   Banjo
Earl Palmer   Drums
Sonny Payne   Drums
Romeo Penque   Saxophone
Danny Perri   Guitar
Bernard "Pretty" Purdie   Drums
Tom Reid   Choir, Chorus
Christopher Ross   Choir, Chorus
Jimmy Shirley   Guitar
Lloyd Trotman   Bass
Sal Valentino   Choir, Chorus
Chauncey Welsch   Trombone
Marty Wilson   Contracoty
Bert de Coteaux   Leader,Choir, Chorus
Rick Harris   Trombone
Zane Zacharoff   Tenor Saxophone
Tiny Grimes & His Rocking Highlanders   Piano,Vocals
Bennie Powell   Trombone
Carl "Beef" Cottlieb   Choir, Chorus
Mike Anthony   Banjo,Guitar
Albert Lucas   Bass
Wilbur Bascomb   Trumpet
Ray Charles Singers   Choir, Chorus
Ike Isaacs Trio   Bass
Sammy Lowe Orchestra   Track Performer
William Butler   Guitar
Sebastian "Billy" Mure   Guitar
William H. Bauer   Guitar
Ray Brynat   Piano
Russ Orchestra Faith   Track Performer
Owen B. Masingill   Leader
Teddy Orchestra McRae   Bass,Guitar,Drums,Saxophone,Choir, Chorus
Shoutin Pat Newborn   Vocals
Bill Watkins Singers   Choir, Chorus
Welton Young Orchestra   Track Performer
Warren Smith   Percussion,Conga

Technical Credits

Screamin' Jay Hawkins   Composer
Jalacy Hawkins   Composer
Leroy Kirkland   Composer
Huey P. Meaux   Producer
Frederick Slotkin   Composer
Bill Millar   Liner Notes,Reissue Producer,Illustrations,Biographical Information
R.A. Andreas   Illustrations
Erich Hülsenbeck   Photo Scanning
Andreas Merck   Photo Scanning
Steve Richards   Illustrations
Chelsea Williams   Illustrations
Brian Cockburn Smith   Illustrations
Cliff White   Illustrations