[78-L] Question on Texas Jim Lewis recordings

[soundthink at aol.com]

>From Kevin Coffey in Scotland...


-----Original Message-----
From: Kevcof at aol.com
To: SoundThink at aol.com
Cc: KRABgrass at aol.com
Sent: Mon, 5 Jan 2009 11:46 pm
Subject: Re: [78-L] Question on Texas Jim Lewis recordings



Hi Cary --

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I guess I'll send this to you and let you forward it. I'm not sure exactly what info is required here, since the 3 Tex Russell releases are detailed there from the Online disco, but I'll?write what I know. I've corresponded?with Dennis Flannigan, but I can't tell if the question you're forwarding me?is from Dennis or from the other guy, I'll copy this to Dennis and let one of you forward it to the other guy if he is the one who wants to know more.

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The Tex Russell session appears to have occurred around May-June 1946 and the pseudonym, using Tex's middle name, etc, was employed because Tex was still under contract to Decca, although apparently pretty disgruntled. I have 4 of the six songs (don't have "Put Your Little Foot" & its flip) and will be glad to record them for whoever is interested. It's a great session and it is, oddly enough, on my MP3 player at this time along with the other Alladin western session from this period, the "Joe Maverick" session, which is just the very early Western Caravan, with Slim Newman added on vocals.So I've been listening to this session lately.

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The note you forwarded mentions that Jack Rivers recorded for Alladin under his name, but that is not the case. He sang at this session on "Texas Tornado" (credited on label as Jack Lewis), but his own recording of "Texas Tornado" was issued on the Trilon label, cut probably a month or two after this session and featuring a similar group. 

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The band on the Alladin session is very similar if not identical to the one seen and heard on Tex's Soundies session, cut in May 1946. It includes: Texas Jim, leader & presumably guitar; Jack Rivers, lead guitar; Tommy Sargent, steel guitar/guitar; Dude Jackson, vocal; Coby Jones, vocal; Max Fidler (Max is the soloist), Vern Greenlaw and probably Les Shear, fiddles; Billy Liebert, accordion; Hal Deam, piano (great!); 

Ray Graham, drums; Buddy Hayes, bass. I've done this off the top of my heard, so I might be missing something, but I think that's pretty close. A great lineup and the arrangements and solos are top notch. Would love to hear the 3rd record. This personnel is from my research, so if anyone uses it, please give me a nod...

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The Joe Maverick session is really good, too, though Slim Newman's vocals are a bit odd (Smokey Rogers sings one song as Joe Maverick). Good solos from Cactus Soldi, Johnny Weis and Pedro dePaul...

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Let me know if there's anything else I can add or clarify -- 

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Kevin