April 24 Edition of Easy Ed's Variety Hour

Hi, everyone.

I hope you are well and that you enjoy our latest broadcast from April 24, 2020. You can listen to the show anytime--just click here: https://easyed.podbean.com/

It's possible our FM radio home, WMFO in Medford, will reopen this year. (When it does I'll be back.) For now I've made some upgrades to my home studio and things sound more or less normal to my ears. I'd be interested in hearing what you think though. You can leave a comment on the Easy Ed's Variety Hour Facebook page email me at djeasyed@gmail.com.  

Speaking of Facebook, they pulled the proverbial rug out from under us when we attempted a live spinning session last Friday. Those live events are fun--I love interacting with you in real time--but I need to find a more reliable channel if I'm going to continue spinning live on the Internet. (I hate to advertise an event only to have it cancelled by The Man.) 

Here's the April 24 song list. Take care, everyone! Easy Ed

I Ain't Gonna Be Your Lowdown Dog No More/Vince Everett/NA/ABC Paramount 45/ABC Paramount 1962

Hold On Tight/The Javalins/Various: The Raging Teens, Vol. 2/Norton Records/Unknown

Right Now/Gene Vincent/NA/Capitol 45/Capitol Records 1959

Young and Wild/Kim Fowley and the Renegade Five/Various: Chicken Walk, Volume 1/Norton Records/Conte Records

My Little Girl/The Lancers/Various: Virginia Rocks! The History of Rockabilly in the Commonwealth/JSP/Panther Records 1964

I Wanna Jump/Lucky Lance and the Star Devils/Lucky Lance & the Star Devils/Self Released/www.facebook.com/StarDevils/?ref=br_rs

Stop Talkin', Start Lovin'/Robert Luke Harshman/Various: That'll Flat Git It! Vol. 8/Bear Family/Radio Records 1959

Life Begins at 4 O'Clock/Tooter Boatman/Various: Rockabilly Boys/Shimmy Records/Originally unreleased

Hidden Green Lane/Dick Pitassy/Various: Jukebox/JUKEbox/Ambient

I Feel The Beat/Jim Lowe/NA/Dot 45/Dot Records 1956

Hoppin' Honey/Eva Eastwood and the Major Keys/Hot Chicks & Cool Cats/Tail Records/https://www.facebook.com/eva.eastwood/

Shake the Hand/Mike Cain/Various: Rock 'n' Roll with Piano, Vol. 9/Collector Records/Recco Records 1959

Ubangi Stomp/Dean Shannon/NA/HMV 45/HMV Records 1962

Pickin' Cotton/The Crown T's/Various: Strictly Instrumental, Vol. 10/Buffalo Bop/Ambient

I Sent My Love/Jerry King/Jerry King is Back!/El Toro Redords/El Toro Records 2020 https://www.facebook.com/rivertownramblers/

Everlasting Love/Don Hosea/NA/Crystal 45/Crystal Records 1958

Don’t Come Back Knockin’/Buddy Holly/That'll Be The Day/Decca LP/Decca Records 1958

Sheet Board Down/James Wallis and the Roadrunners/Various: Stomp Shake Rock/Collector Records/Penny Records (date?)

Teekee/The Fireballs/The Fireballs/Ace Records/Ambient

Let the Good Times Roll/Ben and Bea/NA/Philips 45/Phillips 1962

Them There Eyes/Varetta Dillard/NA/Savoy 45/Savoy Records 1952

Come Back Baby/The Vibes/NA/ABC 45/ABC Records 1957

Bottle It Up And Go/Big John Greer/NA/Groove 45/Groove Records 1954

Thunderbird/Rene Hall/NA/Specialty 45/Ambient

How to Start a Romance/Little Hooks and the Kings/NA/Chess 45/Chess Records 1963

Deanna Baby/Johnny Guitar Watson/NA/Keen 45/Keen Records 1958

At the Party/Big Sam and the House Wreckers/NA/Eric 45/Eric Records 1962

Dancing Elephants/The Wild-Cats/NA/United Artists 45/Ambient

Hey Country Girl/Andre Williams and the Don Juans/NA/Fortune Records 45/Fortune Records 1958

Florida Shake/Noble Thin Man Watts/NA/Jell 45/Jell Records 1961

Cannibal Stew/Jerry and Mel/NA/Boss Sound 45/Boss Sound 1961

Settle Down/Ray Fourina/NA/Diamond Disk 45/Diamond Disk 1961

Ram-Bunk-Shush/Gene the Hat/NA/Walden 45/Ambient

Break-Thru/Garry Mills/Look for a Star/Jasmine CD/Originally unreleased

Break Up/The Nashville Teens/NA/Enterprise 45/Enterprise Records 1973

Was She Tall/The Lancastrians/NA/Pye 45/Pye Records 1964

I Don't Need You No More/The Rumblers/Various: Desperate Rock and Roll, Vol. 2/Dot 45/Dot Records 1962

That's Alright /Mickie Most/NA/Columbia 45/Columbia Records 1965

Firewater/The Astronauts/Various: Surf Party/20th Century Fox 45/20th Century Fox Records 1964

The Intruder/The Intruders/NA/Sleazy Records/Ambient

Let 'Em Rock/Mike Sanchez & the Limboos/NA/Hot 45's/Hot 45's 2019

Bad Motorcycle/The Angelos/NA/Tollie 45/Tollie Records 1964

Swirl/Freddy Cole and The Northern Lights/NA/Patt 45/Patt Records 1960

The Fuzzy Twist/Duane Eddy/Twistin’ with Duane Eddy/Jamie LP/Ambient

Baby My Lovin’ Is True/Black Kat Boppers/Boppin' Atcha/Foot Tapping Records/https://www.facebook.com/BlackKatBoppers/

Guitar Boogie/Jr. Miller & The Grand Valley Play Boys/Various: Frantic Early Rock Instrumentals/Collector Records/Ambient

On the Hardwood Floor/Dasta and the Smokin’ Snakes/Get Wild or Get Gone/Wild Records/https://www.facebook.com/dastasmokinsnakes/

Can She Give You Fever/Stan Robinson/NA/Amy Records/Amy Records 1960

Heart's On Fire/The Flea Bops/I'm Ready/Vinylux Records http://www.vinylux.com/

You Made a Hit/Ray Smith/NA/Sun 45/Sun Records 1958

Summertime Rock/Rodney & The Blazers/NA/Kampus/Ambient

When I Found You/Jerry Reed/NA/Capitol 45/Capitol Records 1956

Rompin'/Jerry Warren/NA/Dorset 45/Dorset Records 1960

Easy Ed Spins the Platters: April 17, 2020

Hi, everyone! Last night (April 17, 2020) we did another “Easy Ed Spins the Platters” event on Facebook—or tried to: Facebook pulled the plug after 40 minutes. (Insert your own loving ode to Facebook here.) However, I recorded the mix from my ancient Vestax mixer and it sounded fine. This morning I added a few more of the records I had planned to play in order to fill out an hour of music for you. Reminder: These "Spin the Platters" sessions are informal—I make record selections on the fly, depending on how things are going and on what listeners want to hear. I hope you enjoy the archive, which you can find here.

The list of records played appears below. We’ll have a new edition of “Easy Ed’s Variety Hour” for you next Friday. Take care and be well!

Jerry Cole and his Spacemen: Racing Waves (Capitol 45, 1964)

The Instrumentals: Are You Nervous? (Red Fox 45, 1958)

Sandy Nelson: Let’s Go (International Polydor Production 45, 1964)

The Sparkletones: Bayou Rock (Paris 45, 1959)

Don Cole: Sweet Lovin’ Honey (Kent 45, 1958)

Richie Deran: Girl and a Hot Rod (Pontiac 45 RE, 1960)

Billy Lee Riley: Red Hot (Sun 45, 1957)

Red (Hot) Russell: Stop (Porter 45, 1958)

Tommy Adderley: Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On (Mar-Mar 45, 1964)

The Royal Teens: Royal Blue (Mighty Records, 1959)

Curtis Lee: Pure Love (Top Rank 45, 1960)

Bob Luman: Buttercup (Warner Brothers 45, 1959)

Teddy Redell: Pipeliner (Hi 45, 1960)

Charlie Rich: Midnight Blues (Sleazy Records reissue 45)

Timmy Brown: Gabba Gabba (Marashel 45, 1962)

The Champs: Midnighter (Challenge 45, 1958)

Joe Turner: Teen Age Letter (Atlantic 45, 1957)

Ella Mae Morse: Seventeen (Capitol 45, 1955)

Clyde McPhatter and The Drifters: What'cha Gonna Do (Atlantic 45, 1955)

The Cadets: Wiggie Waggie Woo (Modern 45, 1957)

The Du Droppers: Boot ‘Em Up (Groove 45, 1954)

Vinny Lee and the Spunkys (Lee 45, 1958)

Billy Land: Shimmy Shake (Warner Brothers 45, 1959)

Al Lucas: Sweet Tooth for My Baby Ruth (Challenge 45, 1959)

The Kuf-Linx: Service with a Smile (Challenge 45, 1958)

Bob Luman: Boston Rocker (Capitol 45, 1961)

Jerry Cole and his Spacemen: Boss Dance (Capitol 45, 1963)

New Episode of "Easy Ed's Variety Hour" and Live Events

Hi, all. Everybody doing OK? I hope so, but I know you're dealing with hard times. I miss my friends, live music, my regular DJ gigs, being at the radio station, and the freedom to be out and about without having to think about it. But, I know that staying home is the right thing to do right now.

A new edition of "Easy Ed's Variety Hour" was posted last night, April 10. You can listen here. We also had another Friday night record hop last night on Facebook ("Easy Ed Spins the Platters"). Unfortunately, the recorded archive did not work this time so you won't find it on podbean. But here is a link to the Facebook livestream videos. (There are two because the feed broke at one point and we had to restart.)

And here are the (59!) records we played at this record hop:

Count Basie: The Basie Twist (Roulette 45, 1962)

J. Gardner: Mustard Greens (Blue Rock 45, 1965)

Ernie Felice: Walk the Bebop Walk (RCA 45, 1959)

Galen Denny: What Ya Gonna Do (Liberty 45, 1958)

Ray Melton: Boppin’ Guitar (Image 45, 1960)

Carl Perkins: Pop Let Me Have the Car (Columbia 45, 1958)

Phil Orsi and the Little Kings: Come On Everybody (Lucky 45, 1963)

The Gigolos: Night Creature (Daynite 45, 1960)

The Seeburg Spotlite Band: Slow Down (Seeburg Discotek 1965)

Ricky Nelson: Believe What You Say (Imperial 45, 1957)

Sonny Wilson: I Ain’t Giving Up Nothin’ (Candix 45, 1961)

The Orbits: Queen Bee (Space 45, 1959)

“Frantic” Johnny Rogers: Ramrod (Cindy 45, 1958)

Gene Summers: Alabama Shake (Capri 45, 1964)

Jerry Lee Lewis: High School Confidential (Sun 45, 1958)

Perry & Pete: Rockin’ Wobble (Brent 45, 1962)

Los Blancos: Get Away from Me! (Dodgy Hen, 20190

Buddy Starr: Blues Around My Head (Kangaroo 45, 1963)

Bobby Doyle: Hot Seat (Back Beat 45, 1960)

The Parkays: Green Monkeys (ABC 45, 1962)

The Titans: Don’t You Just Know It (Specialty 45, 1958)

The Fiestas: Broken Heart (Old Town 45, 1962)

Varetta Dillard: Them There Eyes (Savoy 45, 1952)

Milty and Nat: Baby I’m Coming Home to You (King 45, 1958)

Frankie Lymon: Little Bitty Pretty One (Roulette 45, 1960)

Fats Domino: I’m Ready (Imperial 45, 1959)

Alvin “Red” Tyler: Walk On (Ace Records, 1959)

The Starrs: Ain’t Got No Home (Phantom 45, 1961)

Johnny Otis: Crazy Country Hop (Capitol 45, 1958)

The Dusters: Teen Age Jamboree (Glory 45, 1958)

Jo Ann and Troy: Who Do You Love (Atlantic 45, 1965)

The Belegianetts: Do The Crank (USA 45, 1962)

The Fabulettes: Money (Sound Stage 45, 1966)

Gail Ganley: Runaway (20^th Century Fox 45, 1965)

The Mosriters: Turmoil (Norala 45, 1965)

The Only Onz: When Teardrops Fall (Time 45, 1966)

The Denims: Salty Dog Man (Cavort Records, 1966)

Larry Bright: Shake That Thing (Del Fi, 1963)

The Strangeloves: I Want Candy (Bang 45, 1965)

Lee Castle: The Big Bad Train (Epic 45, 1959)

The Persuaders: Caught in the Soup (Saturn 45, 1963)

Billy Davis and the Legends: Spunky Onions (Peacock 45, 1960)

The Cranktones: Rock On (Demo 45)

Los Locos Del Ritmo: Chica Alborotada (DIMSA 45, 1961)

The Mark Four: Swingin’ Hangout (Pacific Challenger, 1964)

Jim Doval and the Gauchos: Boney Maroni (Diplomacy 45, 1964)

Boots Brown and His Blockbusters: Trollin’ (RCA 45, 1958)

Gene Vincent: Lotta Lovin’ (Capitol 45, 1957)

Sanford Clark: Modern Romance (Dot 45, 1958)

Charlie Rich: Rebound (Phillips International, 1959)

The Blazers: The Grasshopper Twist (Seaside 45, 1962)

Roy Gaines: Skippy Is a Sissy (RCA 45, 1958)

Charles Page: Baby You Been to School (Goldband 45, 1962)

John Lee Hooker: Boom Boom (Vee Jay 45, 1962)

The Knockouts: Mo Jo (Tribute 45, 1964)

Gary (U.S.) Bonds: King Kong’s Monkey (LeGrand 45, 1964)

Googie Rene: Wiggle Tail, Part 2 (Class 45, 1958)

The Searchers: Wow Wow Baby (Class 45, 1958)

Don and Dewey: Bim Bam (Specialty 45, 1958)

Also, I'm excited and honored to be spinning at this event tomorrow! Take care, everyone!

Easy Ed Spins the Platters Live on Facebook (April 3, 2020)

Hi, friends.


I hope you're safe and well and weathering these crazy times as best you can. And I hope a little music will make things a little better.

It's been a long time since I've published a blog post, but maybe it's time to start again. If you follow my radio show, "Easy Ed's Variety Hour," then you know that our last broadcast from the campus radio station, WMFO, was on March 7 of this year--not that long ago, but it seems like years. The station is closed until further notice, but I plan to be back on the air there as soon as possible. (BTW, you can still find several years' worth of archived broadcasts, including the most recent shows, at https://easyed.podbean.com/.)

On March 20 I broadcast a new show from my home vinyl vault, but last night, April 3, I tried something different: a spontaneous live record hop from home, broadcast on Facebook, where I made quick selections on the fly, pulling records from the boxes in my living room. I normally spend a good amount of time getting ready for each show, so last night's event was quite different. It was more like what I do at my Primitive Sounds DJ night here in Boston, where I always bring lots of 45s and figure out what's right for the room as I go. 

You can listen to an archive of last night's event here. I was streaming live from my living room on a simple DJ setup that's a permanent fixture. 

I used the Vestax mixer shown here for live gigs until I upgraded a few years ago. The Vestax, though old, still works OK, and it has RCA-out jacks for recording. I ran a line into a computer and recorded with Audacity. The results? Not the same as "Easy Ed's Variety Hour" for sure, but I always have fun spinning records live and the folks who tuned in live seemed to enjoy it. I hope you do too. (Again, the archive can be found at https://easyed.podbean.com/.) Below is a list of the records I had on the decks.


The Originals (Chuck Rio): Sleepless Hours (Jackpot 45, 1958)

Earl Hooker: How Long Can This Go On (AGE 45, 1962)

Johnny Restivo: The Shape I’m In (RCA 45, 1959)

Billy Cate: Talk to Me Baby (Judy 45)

Jimmy Dell: The Message (RCA 45, 1958)

Bob and Ray: Shorty Shorty (NASCO45, 1958)

Joe Melson: Shook Up (Hickory 45, 1960)

Sonny Anderson: Yes, I’m Gonna Love You (Imperial 45, 1959)

Irving Ashby: Guitar Rock (Imperial 45, 1958)

Ricky Nelson: Break My Chain (Imperial 45)

Del Saint: Rock Yea (Checker 45, 1958)

Mel Tillis: Hearts of Stone (Columbia 45, 1960)

Carl McVoy: Little John’s Gone (Hi 45, 1958)

David Houston: One and Only (RCA 45, 1957)

Jim Nesbitt: Tiger In My Tank (Chart 45, 1964)

Mack Vickery: Goin’ Back to St. Louis (Gone 45, 1960)

Freddie Cannon: Okefenokee (Swan 45, 1959)

Jimmy Beck: Fiesta (Champion 45, 1959)

Bullmoose Jackson: Big Ten Inch Record (King 45 RE, 1952)

The Robins: Whadaya Want? (Spark 45, 1955)

Bernice Gooden: Penny, Nickle, Dime, Quarter (Capitol 45, 1955)

The Midnighters: Don’t Change Your Pretty Ways (Federal 45, 1955)

Johnny Otis: Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! (Dig 45, 1956)

Boots Brown: Juicy (RCA 45, 1956)

The Teen-Beats: Swimmin’ Part Two (Original Sound 45, 1964)

Jerry Dallman: The Bug (Punch 45, 1958)

Johnny Burnette: Rock Therapy (Coral 45)

Bill Pinky: After the Hop (Phillips 45, 1958)

Jim Alley and the Alley Cats (Pearl 45, 1961)

The Hazeltones: Suzie Bella (Realm 45, 1959)

Moon Mullican: Seven Nights to Rock (King 45, 1956)

Jerry Lee Lewis: Breathless (Sun 45, 1958)

Ernie Freeman: Raunchy (Imperial 45, 1957)

Guitar Jr.: The Crawl (Goldband 45, 1956)

The Rocky Fellers: Long Tall Sally (Parkway 45, 1962)

Phil Flowers Chapel on the Hill (Norton 45)

The Uptowns: Rockville (Shangri-La 45, 1965)

The Chartbusters: She’s the One (Mutual 45, 1964)

The Kaisers: Alligator Twist (Wild Wax 45, 1994)

The Door Nobs: Hi-Fi Baby (Viv 45, 1965)

The First Gear: A Certain Girl (Mar-Mar 45)

Fats Domino: Packin’ Up (ABC 45, 1964)

Sonny Flaharty: Teenage War Chant (Huron 45, 1961)

The Teen Beats: Big Bad Boss Beat (Original Sound 45)

The Astronauts: Baja (RCA 45, 1963)

The Trophies: Somethin’ Else (Nork 45, 1964)

Mort Shuman: I’m a Man (Decca 45, 1959)

Gene Vincent: Say Mama (Capitol 45, 1958)

Gene Maltais: Lovemakin’ (Regal 45, 1958)

Tony Farrell: Stumpy Stump (Time 45, 1958)

Bo Diddley: Bo’s Beat (Checker 45, 1964)

Clyde McPhatter: Lover Please (Mercury 45, 1962)

Prentice Moreland: Holy Mack’Rel (Challenge 45, 1962)

Bobby Long: Mo Jo Workout (Vegas 45, 1964)

Big Bo and the Arrows: Hully Gully Now (Duchess 45, 1962)

Dale Hawkins: My Babe (Checker 45, 1958)



Stay healthy, and we'll see you again soon.

--Easy Ed