May 27 Broadcast/Thanks!/Brass Union June 8/Primitive Sounds June 2016

Hi, Folks.

I hope you all have a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend! If you missed the May 27 broadcast you can download the free archive by clicking here. (The songs from that episode are listed at the bottom of this post.) Also, WMFO just rolled out their summer schedule and Easy Ed's Variety Hour will remain in the usual time slot--alternating Fridays from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Eastern. Yeah!

Johnny Carlevale very thoughtfully had all the bands sign this poster for me. I'll hang on to it forever!

Huge thanks to everyone who came out to our tenth anniversary celebration at the Midway on May 7—the bands, DJs, dancers, and all my fellow fans of great rockin’ music. You brought the party, and what a party it was! To my radio show listeners who were able to come: I know that some of you traveled far to attend, and I was truly blown away to see so many of you at the Midway. Without you, none of this would be happening. Thank you! The bands were fantastic. It killed me to be the schedule keeper, because I wanted everyone to just keep playing. Sending tremendous gratitude to The Fearless Leaders, The Barley Hoppers, Roy Sludge, The Bop Thrills, The Cranktones, Johnny Carlevale and His All-Stars, and Amy Von E. Thanks to Kogar and Jesse Dee for your great DJ sets! (Side note: The DJ table was set up on stage. Thirty plus musicians and their gear moved on and off that stage during the event and not one record skipped the whole time. During Johnny’s set there were nine performers on stage and no one even came close to bumping the turntables. You guys are pros.) Special thanks to Johnny Carlevale for all the work he put into this show—helping me plan and promote, manning the soundboard, and much more. Thanks to Jay Balerna and the Midway staff for their hospitality and ongoing support of our live events. Thanks to WMFO in Medford for keeping “Easy Ed’s Variety Hour” on the schedule for ten years. Kathy Wade designed a beautiful poster for the event—thank you, Kathy! Finally, thanks to my lovely wife Beth, who supports everything I do and has fun doing it—even when it means unpacking the car at 3:00 AM on Mother’s Day.


We'll have another radio broadcast for you in two weeks. In the meantime, if you're local, you can find me on June 8 at Brass Union in Somerville, MA, where I'll be spinning records with my good buddy P.J. Eastman.

Finally, here's the June 2016 schedule for Primitive Sounds, our long-running DJ night at River Gods in Cambridge, MA.

And here's what we played on the May 27, 2016 show

Bob Luman “Make Up Your Mind” from n/a on Imperial Records 45 — Imperial Records 1957

Gene Dunlap “Made in the Shade” from Various: Red Hot Rockabilly, Part 1 on Magnum Records — Hit Records 1958

Jerry Lee Lewis “Real Wild Child (Outtake)” from Classic Jerry Lee Lewis on Bear Family Records — Sun Records 1958 (originally unissued)

Lil' Luis y los Wild Teens “Crazy Daisy” from Rip It Up on Wild Records

Link Wray “Turnpike U.S.A.” from The Original Rumble on Ace Records — Background/ambient

Kieron McDonald “Janet Leigh” from Shake That Thing on Tagalong Records

Rex Allen “Knock Knock Rattle” from Various: That'll Flat Git It! Vol. 6 on Bear Family Records — Decca Records 1958

Jimmy and James & The Tempos “The Moon Will Shine” from Various: Fernwood Rockabillies on Stomper Time Records — Dora Records 1961

Glenn Reeves “Drinkin' Wine Spodee-O-Dee” from Johnny on the Spot on Bear Family Records — Atlantic Records 1956

Janis Martin “Barefoot Baby” from Various: That'll Flat Git It! Vol. 1 on Bear Family Records — RCA Records 1956

Ray Smith “Right Behind You Baby” from Various: Rock Baby Rock It, Sun Rockabilly, Vol. 2 on AVI — Sun Records 1958

Doug Perez & The Shuffling Orbits “Umble Rumble” from Various: Rumble Rock on No Hit Records — Background/ambient

Bill Perry “Hit The Nail On The Head” from Various: The Rockin' Reed Recordings on Collector Records — Reed Records 1959

Frank Ryan and the Sunsetters “Love Me Baby” from n/a

The Sureshots “Straight Skirt” from Rock 'n' Roll Ball on Empire Records

Elvis Presley “Make Me Know It” from n/a on RCA 45 — RCA Records 1960

The Ernie Freeman Combo “Puddin’” from Raunchy on Black Tulip — Background/ambient

Ray Burden “Sweet Lou from Lou” from n/a on Adonis Records 45 — Adonis Records 1960

Kris Jensen “Claudette” from n/a on Hickory Records 45 — Hickory Records 1962

Johnny Jay “I’m Gonna Keep It” from n/a on Mercury Records 45 — Mercury Records 1958

Ernie Freeman “Walking the Beat” from n/a on Imperial Records 45 — Background/ambient

The Side-Wynders “Lyin’ Baby” from Let's Go Sparkin' With . . . on Rhythm Bomb Records 

Rusty and Doug Kershaw “Hey Mae” from n/a on Hickory Records 45 — Hickory Records 1957

The Dave and Deke Combo “Salty Boogie” from Moonshine Melodies on No Hit Records — See them at the New England Shake-Up, Year 4, September 23-25. Get your tickets at www.newenglandshakeup.com

Moon Mullican “I Done It” from Moonshine Jamboree on Ace Records — King Records 1953

Dale Oliver “Long Gone Daddy” from Various: Hardcore Rockabilly on Folkline Entertainment — Sangelo Records 1966

The Roy Sludge Trio “Back the Truck Up” from Too Drunk to Truck on DeeVeeUs Records — See them May 29 at State Park in Cambridge (9:00 to 11:30 PM)

Hank's Jalopy Demons “Blue Knuckle Ride” from Music on the Up Beat on Flipster Records

Bill Justis “Flip, Flop, and Bop” from The Complete Sun Recordings on Sun Records — Background/ambient

Bill Jennings and Willis Jackson “Down Boy” from n/a on King Records 45 — Background/ambient

The Marvels “I Shed So Many Tears” from n/a on Laurie Records 45 — Laurie Records 1958

The 5 Royales “You Didn't Learn It at Home” from Soul & Swagger The Complete 5 Royales (1951-1967) on Rock Beat Records — King Records 1955

Nappy Brown “Don't Be Angry” from n/a on Savoy Records — Savoy Records 1956

Alvin "Red" Tyler and The Gyros “Walk On” from n/a on Ace Records — Ace Records 1958

C.C. Curtis “Aunt Minnie” from n/a on Audicon 45 — Audicon Records 1960

Johnny Guitar Watson “Deana Baby” from The Original Gangster of Love: The Keen Records Sessions on VSOP Records — Keen Records 1958

Larry Williams “Boney Maronie” from n/a on Specialty Records 45 — Specialty Records 45

Lord Luther “A Thinkin' Man's Girl” from n/a on Imperial Records 45 — Imperial Records 1959

Googie Rene “Look at Your Girl” from Kapp Records 45 on Kapp Records — Background/ambient

The Rhythm Rockers “Ramrod” from Soul Surfin' on Sundazed Music — Challenge Records 1963

The Tidal Waves “Farmer John” from n/a on HBR Records 45 — HBR Records 1966

The Rivingtons “Papa Oom Mow Mow” from n/a on Liberty Records 45 — Liberty Records 1962

Hal Blaine & The Young Cougars “(Dance with The) Surfin' Band” from n/a on RCA Records 45 — RCA Records 1963

Al Garcia & The Rhythm Kings “Tootie’s Guitar” from Exotic and Rockin' Instrumentals, 1963-1964 on Bacchus Archives — Background/ambient

The Vibrants “Rapier Beat” from Dance with the Vibrants on El Toro Records — Request

Bracey Everett “The Lover's Curse” from Various: That'll Flat Git It! Vol. 21 on Bear Family Records — Atlantic Records 1958

Bobby DeSoto “The Cheater” from n/a on Claro Records 45 — Claro Records 1959

Paul Revere and The Raiders “Orbit (The Spy)” from n/a on Gardena 45 — Background/ambient

Eddie Cochran “Summertime Blues” from The Legendary Masters Series on EMI — Liberty Records 1958

The Chessmen “Bop-a-lena” from Various: Desperate Rock and Roll, Vol. 4 on Flame Records — 1966

Bobby Fuller “Shanghied” from Bobby Fuller: El Paso Rock, Vol. 2 on Norton Records — Background/ambient

The Seeburg Spotlite Band “Slow Down” from n/a on Seeburg 45 — Seeburg 1966

The Time Keepers “3 Minutes Heavy” from n/a on Generation 45 — Generation Records 1970