The legendary Jay Miller was born in Iota, Louisiana. It is said that he started the very first record label in Louisiana, Fais Do Do records. Over the years, I've amassed dozens of collections, featuring some of the greatest swamp pop, blues, Cajun and rockabilly, all recorded by Jay Miller. There must be over 100 of these LPs, some devoted to one artist, others featuring a theme, like "Poor Boy Blues" or "Too Hot To Handle." I was even lucky enough to see some of these amazing artists near the end of their careers, at various stomps and tributes in New Orleans. At one show, Phil Philips was brought back three times, each time singing "Sea Of Love" to a crowd of disbelievers. "Is this really the guy who recorded the original Sea Of Love?" It sure was!
Along with all of those Jay Miller records were other recordings on the Flyright label, including one that has been a favorite of mine since I first discovered it. "Raise A Ruckus Tonight" is a collection of 1960 and 1961 field recordings by Harry Oster, all featuring Butch Cage and his fiddle with some well known and unknown blues artists like Robert Pete Williams, Clarence Edwards, Willie Thomas and Charles Henderson. All of these songs were recorded in Zachary, Louisiana and each one is a gem.
I hadn't thought about this record or those Jay Miller records in some time since I had sold every single one. But thankfully, I remembered I had about 50 of them on a hard drive and the first one I listened to was "Raise A Ruckus Tonight." It did the impossible. It put me in a good mood.
I was hoping to post a few of my favorite tracks, since that would probably be the easiest way for you to sample this amazing collection. But YouTube didn't have the tracks I wanted to highlight. It did have the entire record, though, which is up top.
I do hope you decide to give this baby a spin. It is one of the best of its kind.
10 comments:
Love this. Having been born and raised in BRLA, this stuff was all around, though I confess when I was growing up we were all pretty snotty about it and baffled why some of the adults listened to it...on Saturdays when Mr. Churchman up the street was working on one of the various cars in his driveway he'd have this kinda music blasting....thanks for loving it.
Sal, did you ever know Jimmy Strickland? Leisure Landing Records and the pride of Zachery, LA
Stricklen...
Eric, I don't know Jimmy Stricklen, and I couldn't find anything on Discogs.
A number of years ago, my wife and I made the trek from AZ to NOLA, and on the way stopped in Crowley for some reason. Saw the sign for the local chamber of commerce Jay Miller recording studio exhibit, but it was after closing time. The staff of the chamber said "go on up, just latch the door when you leave." Now that's southern hospitality! (Same trip, walked past the site of Cosimo's studio in New Orleans, now, or then, a laundromat!) The musics recorded by these two gentlemen ranks right up there as some of the finest art available. And raw, to boot.
Jimmie Dale Stricklen was one of the owners and heart & soul of Leisure Landing Records and a mentor to countless high school & LSU students. The folx at LL, where I was lucky enough to work a brief stint, were amazing.
Righteous !!
Brings back great memories when I owned a few of those Flyright albums, via Down Home Music in El Cerrito, CA, home of the Chris Strachwitz empire!!!Lost em all in a flood years ago on the CA coast!
I love this stuff and would say that, in terms of his importance for blues, country, rockabilly, and the like , Jay Miller ranks up there with, you know . . . Sam Phillips and the Chess brothers an' them.
By the way, @Anonymous, I remember making my own pilgrimage to Down Home Music (from the Los Angeles area) at some point in the late 80s or early 90s. It was right when they were in the midst of unloading all their remaining cassette tapes as more or less obsolete.
Thanks. Just my kind of music!
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