I HAVE A TWITTER FOR ABOUT A YEAR NOW AND I STILL DONT HAVE A HANDLE ON IT ... GRRRR

I know most you folks on Twitter, and I'll meet some new ones, too! http://twitter.com/Recordgrooves

check out the tiger bar!!!!! ratoonie said:

hey stry....ever been in Portland??????......Fuck ........the people r really cool there!!

ratoonie said:

i absolutly Love that colorful albuum w/ the star on it....i dont have access to it right now.. its in storage..way up in sacramento.. i saw him on the tom jones show... my aunt bought the album 4 me from a bargin bin at the supermarket... its a great record!!!! kinda English version of alice cooper!!!!!

It's been almost 20 years but yes, definetly have been in Portland. I'm finally going again next month for that "final" Mummies show. ratoonie said:

hey stry....ever been in Portland??????......Fuck ........the people r really cool there!!

ratoonie said:

i absolutly Love that colorful albuum w/ the star on it....i dont have access to it right now.. its in storage..way up in sacramento.. i saw him on the tom jones show... my aunt bought the album 4 me from a bargin bin at the supermarket... its a great record!!!! kinda English version of alice cooper!!!!!

hey stry....ever been in Portland??????......Fuck ........the people r really cool there!! ratoonie said:

i absolutly Love that colorful albuum w/ the star on it....i dont have access to it right now.. its in storage..way up in sacramento.. i saw him on the tom jones show... my aunt bought the album 4 me from a bargin bin at the supermarket... its a great record!!!! kinda English version of alice cooper!!!!!

1968-69---anti Love generation-- he definetly had Balls!!!!

That's probably the Theater Art that connects Arthur Brown to Alice Cooper but just by Fire alone, there's actually so much more in the music and singing that kind of makes him superior. I don't know too much about Arthur Brown but what I've heard is fantastic. And those screams. In the video, I didn't realize the rest of the band was there over to Arthur's left. I only saw the keyboard player.

i absolutly Love that colorful albuum w/ the star on it....i dont have access to it right now.. its in storage..way up in sacramento.. i saw him on the tom jones show... my aunt bought the album 4 me from a bargin bin at the supermarket... its a great record!!!! kinda English version of alice cooper!!!!!

Velvets to voidoids is my favourite Rock n roll book. I also picked up one called Punk, it was the only book in the whole book store that I could find to buy with the book vouchers I got given, it's surprisingly good.

Well, without the Ramones as a springboard or being in any band for that matter, I don't know if Johnny would have thought about going into broadcasting. There's that possibility, though. He could have started as a DJ (probably would have looked for an oldies format to begin with since there wasn't really anyplace for the other stuff he liked) if the band hadn't started, but it doesn't seem like anyone was encouraging that. BUT if he had found work as a DJ (which I do find totally believable, don't get me wrong), he totally would have moved on into a Rush Limbaugh sort of forum, but he's a lot smarter than a lot of other conservatives, but that's probably because a little bit of liberalism from his friends rubbed off on him.

Thanks for reminding me about that book on the Fleshtones. No, I haven't read it yet, but I've been meaning to do so. Maybe Johnny would have become a commentator on Fox News, or he would have had his own syndicated radio show, considering his right wing political beliefs. It would have been amusing to watch him give his guests that cold glare. Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

I read "On the Road with the Ramones". Wasn't that an oral history? Great book. It's amazing that without this group, they all would have been just a bunch of individual misfits(except Tommy the original drummer, who could of got by just on producing records if he had wanted to and Marky who could have been a session drummer). Joey Ramone would have been on SSI basically. Dee Dee probably would have died sooner and would have never got to show what a great writer he was. It probably would have never occured to him to be like William S. Burroughs or Jack Kerouac. As for Johnny, probably would have been in construction, a factory, or a criminal. Thank goodness for the Ramones just for saving this guys from destroying themselves.

I really liked Sweat:The Story of the Fleshtones as well. Did you read that yet? I think you'd really like it.

I read "On the Road with the Ramones". Wasn't that an oral history? Great book. It's amazing that without this group, they all would have been just a bunch of individual misfits(except Tommy the original drummer, who could of got by just on producing records if he had wanted to and Marky who could have been a session drummer). Joey Ramone would have been on SSI basically. Dee Dee probably would have died sooner and would have never got to show what a great writer he was. It probably would have never occured to him to be like William S. Burroughs or Jack Kerouac. As for Johnny, probably would have been in construction, a factory, or a criminal. Thank goodness for the Ramones just for saving this guys from destroying themselves.

I really liked Sweat:The Story of the Fleshtones as well. Did you read that yet? I think you'd really like it.

"Glam: Bowie, Bolan, and the Glitter Rock Revoluion" by Barney Hoskyns.

"Please Kill Me: The Uncensored, Oral History of Punk Rock" by Legs McNeill.

"Let it Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs" by Jim Borgatis.

"KISS and Sell: The Making of a Supergroup" by C.K. Lendt.

"Stairway to Heaven: Led Zeppelin Uncensored" by Richard Cole.

"Bang Your Head: The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal" by David Konow.

"On the Road with the Ramones" by Monte Melnick.

"Diary of a Rock'n'Roll Star" by Ian Hunter.

Has anyone else here read any of these books? If so, please feel free to share your comments.

By the way, did anybody ever see Bo Diddley rap? I did! I forgot about that.

I think the Judgment Night soundtrack was mentioned. I worked at Radical Records in NYC for bit and they had released a punk/rap crossover compilation laughably called Two Legit for the Pit: Hardcore Takes the rap. It featured a few groups like Murphy's law and Candiria who had already done the crossover thing. If that doesn't get a grin from ya, I was actually scouting bands for a Vol 2! We got like 8 tracks submitted before it fell into limbo, regrettably I neglected to snag the Blanks 77 cover of "Funky Man" and release it to the file-sharing dogs of the interwebs. http://www.amazon.com/Too-Legit-Pit-Hardcore-Takes/dp/B00005AG3G

i dont care for hip hop at all really , but i do enjoy gangsta rap !

I like to cruise in the lowrider with the homeez, and list to some superfly punk-rock hip-hop lo-fi Cumbayero

yea watch out .........as you get older....stay home!!!!!!

L.a. cops are notoriouis corupt!! ratoonie said:

i think he partied aLil too much....and a Bad guy beat him!!!!!!!

i think he partied aLil too much....and a Bad guy beat him!!!!!!!

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
July 9, 2010

Bobby Fuller, the greatest rocker ever to emerge from El Paso, is best known for two things: his huge 1966 hit “I Fought the Law” and his mysterious death, which the police ruled a suicide though many, including Fuller’s brother and former bandmate Randy Fuller, believe it was a murder.

For several years, Norton Records has been doing its best to prove that, while Fuller might technically be a “one-hit wonder,” there was a lot more to his music than his one hit, and Fuller deserves to be known more for his music than his bizarre and shadowy death. Norton’s latest contribution to this cause is El Paso Rock, Early Recordings Volume 3. This is the first installment in that series since the mid-1990s.

Crime scene: As an old cop reporter, there’s no way I’d be writing a column about Bobby Fuller without spending a little time on his death, so let’s get that out of the way. Fuller was found dead on July 18, 1966, inside his mother’s Oldsmobile parked in front of his apartment in Hollywood. He was 23. He died of gasoline inhalation, the police said.

A 1996 press release from his old record company, Del-Fi — which at the time was shopping the idea of a movie but only got an episode of Unsolved Mysteries out of it — described the crime scene:

“The car had mysteriously appeared after hours of searching the local area had not turned up any clues to his whereabouts. The doors were unlocked, the windows were closed tight, and no keys to the vehicle were found inside. When the first Hollywood-division police officers arrived and opened the driver’s side door, they noticed there was a book of matches on the seat beside Fuller on the front seat. An eyewitness to the gruesome discovery remembers that Fuller had traces of dried blood around his chin and mouth, and that his face and chest were bruised as if he had been beaten. Fuller’s hair and clothing were also soaked with gasoline, and his right hand still clenched a rubber siphoning-tube.

“An empty gas can, found in the back seat, was removed by a policeman (who apparently didn’t consider it vital to the investigation) and thrown into a nearby dumpster. The Olds was not dusted for fingerprints, nor was it ever impounded and searched for further clues. Members of the radio and television press at the scene were told that it looked to be a clear case of ‘suicide,’ despite much visual evidence to the contrary.”

Fuller’s family and friends have made a credible case that he was killed. I attended a panel discussion featuring Fuller’s brother Randy, singer Marshall Crenshaw, and Norton Records’ Miriam Linna at the 1998 South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin.

Fuller reportedly was depressed before he died and was planning to break up his band. A new fan of psychedelic music, he’d started taking LSD. He was hanging out with a prostitute named “Melody” (or “Melanie,” by some accounts). Some of his music-biz associates might have had ties with organized crime.

All tantalizing details, but it’s not likely that the truth about his death will ever be told.

Back to the music: There’s no question that Bobby Fuller worshipped Buddy Holly. He arranged a recording session at Buddy’s old stamping grounds, Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, in 1962 — an experience that, according to Linna’s liner notes, inspired Fuller to build a home studio. (Most of this collection comes from the Clovis session, save a few cuts recorded live at Skylanes Bowling Alley’s Little Dipper Lounge.)

“I Fought the Law” — Fuller’s version, not The Clash’s — sounded like what Buddy Holly would have sounded like in the 1960s. It’s not surprising, considering that the tune was written by Holly pal and sometimes Cricket Sonny Curtis (whose second-best-known song is “Love Is All Around” — the Mary Tyler Moore show theme). It originally appeared on a post-Holly Crickets album in 1960.

A rare early Fuller recording of “I Fought the Law” kicks off this collection. It’s nine seconds longer than the “official” version and doesn’t quite have the punch. But it’s interesting to see how Fuller played with the tune. One notable difference between the two takes: Here, the singer robs people with a shotgun, not the “six gun” we later came to know and love.

The second song on this collection, “You Made Me Cry,” sounds even more like the sainted Holly.

While Fuller’s love for Holly cannot be denied, he was apparently also a fan of rockabilly giant Eddie Cochran. On Volume 3 we find an enthusiastic cover of “Nervous Breakdown” (there are two versions included) and a live-at-the-bowling-alley medley of Cochran’s best-known songs “Summertime Blues” and “Somethin’ Else” — which I can’t listen to without thinking of Sid Vicious and his take on the song. Fuller sounds even wilder here than Sid later would.

Another live medley teams up a couple of R & B hits, Gary U.S. Bonds’ “New Orleans” (which Fuller mistakenly introduces as “Mississippi Queen”) and “Little Bitty Pretty One,” which I first came to know through Clyde McPhatter.

Probably my favorite here is “Wine, Wine, Wine,” a favorite of garage bands everywhere at the time that probably evolved from Sticks McGhee’s “Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee.” The wildest guitar work on the whole album is found here. Fuller sounds like he’s a school kid caught by a teacher while telling a dirty joke as he sings: “I know a girl, she drives a rod/She ain’t good lookin’ but she’s got a good bod.” The last word is muffled (which isn’t the case with the “Wine Wine Wine” on the previous volume of El Paso Rock).

The album ends with “California Sun,” which — considering what awaited Fuller in July 1966 — comes off as sad: “I’m going out West where I belong ...” The song fades before he can even finish the last chorus. It sounds like a premature ending ... oh, I won’t say it.

VIVA STIV BATORS !

Dead Boys are awesome, but I don't think the Pagans got nearly enough credit. They just didn't go to New York. Shit St. is such an awesome album. Eyes of Satan is brutal.

I bought the first one when it came out - i was a fan of BOMP from the first time i found a copy I tripped across the Brian Wilson issue in 1976. Greg Shaw inspired me to start my company, Not Lame Recordings back in 1994, which birthed over 100 CDs into the world during its time. Had the esteemed pleasure of spending a great afternoon with him and Paul Collins(as in Paul Collins Beat) in 1999 - it was one of my favorite memories in my time in the music business.

Need to get this one in my Amazon WishList now.....