Rock 'n' Roll 378 Items

A frenchman, a brazilian and two catalans meet at a bar, little later get drunk and that’s how the new made in Barcelona sensation of “french yé-yé punk” is born: a frontwoman and three nutters behind, all in love with the loudest sounds of rock’n’roll, freakbeat and garage. European scene veterans, they’ve already performed in Les Mortettes, Els Trons, Thee Grandaddies, Flashback V, The 54321s, Missing Souls and The Cavemen Five… amongst other bands. Les Rencards have been produced by Mike Mariconda -that’s nothing- and feel eager to go wild on stage at Ye-Yé ’22 ¡Vive la fête!

Les Dynamites make a jubilant return to Batov Records" Middle Eastern Grooves series of vinyl 45s with two irresistible instrumentals capturing the spirit of the Mediterranean surf rock renaissance, "Uzi Kinrot" and "Sea Gull".

Limited Edition for Record Store Day 2022.

Goner Records is honored to release Harahan Fats, an extraordinary posthumous album by King Louie Bankston (December 18, 1972 - February 12, 2022). The collection showcases an American artist at the pinnacle of his musical and personal identity. An aural roadmap to South Louisiana that’s imbued with personal mythologies and blurry, beer-soaked and drug-skewed memories, Harahan Fats was recorded over a four-year period that culminated in mid-October 2021.

As co-founder and drummer of the Royal Pendletons, Bankston recorded with power-pop legend Alex Chilton. He picked up a Gibson Flying V for his work in Bad Times, a garage rock supergroup that Bankston helmed alongside Eric Oblivian and Jay Reatard. In the 1990s, Bankston channeled his energy into bands like the Persuaders, Intelligenitals, the Clickems, Harahan Crack Combo, and Gerry And The Bastard Makers. At the dawn of the new century, he founded the legendary King Louie One Man Band.

In 2000, Louie pulled up stakes in New Orleans and moved to Portland, Oregon, where he joined the power-pop punk band The Exploding Hearts. Bankston wrote many of the songs and played keyboards on their only album, the highly acclaimed Guitar Romantic, released mere weeks before three members of the band were killed in a van wreck, and recently reissued by Third Man Records. Bankston then landed in Memphis, where he formed the Loose Diamonds, a ramshackle bar band, with Jack Oblivian, Harlan T. Bobo, and Gary Wrong. With guitarist Julian Fried, he formed Missing Monuments and Black Rose Band, founded a New Orleans biker-rock band called Kondor with Mr. Quintron, and reconnected with Exploding Hearts guitarist Terry Six for Terry And Louie.

Julissa, the Woman Who Was Censored in Mexican Rock! Rock and Roll in Mexico had an impact practically all over the world, yet it was never free from censorship. Several songs made it to the radio, and among them was the track "Ven Cerca," performed by Los Spitfires and their singer Julissa. Julissa entered the entertainment industry at a very young age, as she was only 13 years old when she started singing with The Spitfires, a rock and roll group formed by her brother Luis on bass, Juan Ramón Sordo on drums, José Luis de la Huerta, and Manuel González Galindo, better known as Johnny Dynamo, on guitars. Los Spitfires, a band originating from Mexico City and formed in 1960, were one of five winning groups in a contest organized by CBS Columbia and the Radio Éxitos station, held in November of that same year. Los Escupefuego were the runners-up, as first place went to Los Hooligans, who, in addition to recording an album, would also appear in a movie. The other groups that won the opportunity to record an album with CBS were: Los Loud Jets, Los Blue Caps, and Los Sparks. Los Spitfires only recorded two tracks: "Loco Amor" and "Ven Cerca," Spanish versions of Paul Anka's "Crazy Love" and Johnny Restivo's "Come Closer." Although these songs are not widely known, except among true fans, they serve as a reference to the early rock being made in Mexico during that time. At the time, all rock musicians were copying foreign hits, including the musical arrangements, and simply translating the lyrics into Spanish. For Julissa, this task wasn't difficult, as she was fluent in English. "Ven Cerca" ("Come Closer") with its highly suggestive lyrics, was the first song she recorded with her group. She translated the lyrics exactly as Johnny Restivo sang them in English. It began like this: "Come closer, just a little bit closer, because I want to hug and kiss you, come closer." Julissa sang it with whispers and sighs, and with the microphone so open, all her breaths and gasps sounded like genuine moans. Very soon, the record was pulled from the market. Interestingly, she had no idea what those suggestive expressions implied, as she was almost still a child. That record 45s it is very difficult to find and is a rare piece sought after by collectors from around the world!

Blue vinyl. With CDr

Joyce Harris was born in Kentucky in 1939 and moved to New Orleans with her family when she was 13 years old. Harris learned to play guitar, write songs and was soon performing duets with her younger sister Judy. They released three singles – ‘He’s The One’ / ‘Hey Pretty Baby’, ‘Washboard Sam’ / ‘Nursery Rock (Beedle De Bop)’ and ‘Hey Little Baby’/ ‘Rock And Roll Kittens’ – as Judy and Joyce in 1958. When her sister got married, Harris spent a year singing in restaurants in Mexico and a first solo single ‘It’s You’ / ‘The Boy In School’ was released on New York’s U.T. Records at the end of 1959. A talent spotter saw her in Mexico and was impressed enough to secure her an audition with the Austin, Texas-based Domino label. Harris was soon in the studio with Tommy Kaspar and Don Burch of Domino’s vocal quartet, the Slades, to record ‘I Cheated’ / ‘Do You Know What It’s Like To Be Lonesome?’ (r-903) in October 1960. ‘No Way Out’ / ‘Dreamer’ (r-905) followed in January 1961 and sold strongly enough to be licensed to Infinity Records. On 7 April 1961, Harris performed ‘No Way Out’ live on TV on American Bandstand. Three more singles would be issued on different labels between 1963 and 1966.

"After a gap of seven years, Jintana & Emeralds have returned to charm once again with their genre-hopping blend of doo-wop melodies and futuristic electronic productions. Across these ten tracks, the band seek out fragments of beach-pop, surf and soul of the sixties, and feed them into a Japanese built revival machine. P-vine is delighted to be bringing this album to vinyl format in what’s been a year of celebrating past and new for a band who continue to take life in their stride. The celebrations get underway without hesitation on album opener ‘Oh! Southern Wind,’ where hitomitoi’s spell-binding vocals pull down the covers, setting off a hall of swaying melodies and glistening strings as the corkscrews fly. ‘Love Again,’ with a guest appearance from Stones Throw Records’ almighty Los Retros, is an album highlight, and in the context of the record, his vocals take on peculiar likeness to Tetsuro Yamashita as the band deliver a dreamy modern-day city-pop classic.