Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic

Discoveries of a Pop Music Archaeologist

Category: Latin-American sounds

"Scotch and Soul"
Zeroto180

Rufus Harley’s “Scotch ‘n’ Soul”

Rufus Harley‘s sole 45, “Bagpipe Blues” on Atlantic Records — an original amalgamation of Scottish highland and African-American musical traditions from 1965 — was undoubtedly the first of its kind.  45Cat‘s carey jeggs notes that Harley is “[p]robably the first jazz musician to play the bagpipes, although Albert Ayler also

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"Chili Beans"
Zeroto180

Felix & His (Cash-in) Guitar

“Cerveza” by Boots Brown (see previous post about rock/pop’s Latin roots) was only one of the more obvious attempts to cash in on the runaway success of “Tequila” by The Champs in 1958.  “Chili Beans” by Felix & His Guitar also does a great job of appropriating that familiar riff

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"Ticklish Mambo"
Zeroto180

“Ticklish Mambo”: Hilarity Ensues

A song title (“Ticklish Ghetto“) from my big tribute to pioneering producer, Sonia Pottinger, inspired me to identify all other popular songs in which “ticklish” is part of the title. “Ticklish Mambo” – surprisingly or not – is one of the few 45 single releases with a ticklish title: “Ticklish

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"Tributo a Martin Luther King"
Zeroto180

Tribute to MLK: Eerily Prescient

Wilson Simonal‘s tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., a single that was released – eerily enough – the year before his assassination: “Tributo a Martin Luther King“     Wilson Simonal de Castro (1967) “Tributo a Martin Luther King” was the A-side of a single released in 1967, around the same

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"Rise"
Zeroto180

“Rise”: The Spirit of Sahm

It was hard not to get swept up in Ed Ward‘s enthusiasm in his October 1, 1970 Rolling Stone review of an up-and-coming Texan band (by way of Prunedale, California) that had been “discovered” and mentored by Doug Sahm.  The band’s debut, a masterpiece in Ward’s estimation, had been released

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"Mountain Mambo"
Zeroto180

“Mountain Mambo”: Latinbilly

Joe Goldmark is not only a musician but also a scholar, whose International Steel Guitar and Dobro Discography – “a resource book that attempts to list every steel guitar and Dobro instrumental ever recorded” – is a fascinating reference tool for those interested in Syd Nathan’s King Records legacy. Jerry

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"Johnny Zero"
Zeroto180

“Johnny Zero”: Reduced to Nothing

Recorded by Merle Kilgore in early November, 1963 at Columbia Recording Studio in Nashville and released January 1964 as a single by MGM: “Johnny Zero“ Merle Kilgore (1963) Does Merle Kilgore sound like Johnny Cash because they were such good friends, or were Merle and Johnny good friends because their

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"Bob" (1967)
Zeroto180

“Bob”: The Willis Brothers, Not Weird Al

“Bob” is the title track of a Willis Brothers album released on the Starday label in 1967 (actually, the full album title is ‘Bob’ And Other Songs To Make The Juke Box Play). The song is written from the perspective of Bob’s wayward pal, who playfully chides him for choosing

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"Baia"
Zeroto180

“Baia”: Carol Kaye as Bandleader

One weekend in late March 2009 I was listening to Bob Edwards‘ radio show while on my way to an event and had to pull over to finish listening to the rest of his interview with legendary session bassist, Carol Kaye – who is estimated to have played on more

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"Hitchcock Railway"
Zeroto180

“Hitchcock Railway”: Train Line of Liberation

“Hitchcock Railway” – the A-side of a 1968 RCA single by José Feliciano released here and abroad – made the Top 100 here in the US (#77) and Top 40 in Australia (#20): Musical Personnel José Feliciano – vocals & guitar Ray Brown – string bass Jim Gordon – drums

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