Larry Green and the Rhythmaires – Watch Your Step
Kim Fowley – “That’s a lovely housecoat you’re wearing Mrs Cleaver!”
Listen/Download – Larry Green and the Rhythmaires – Watch Your Step
Greetings all.
The record I bring you today is an almost complete mystery, aside from the involvement of a certain Mr Kim Fowley.
The smoking version of Bobby Parker’s epic (and influential) 1961 ‘Watch Your Step’ first popped up on my radar via a friend’s sales list.
Its selling point (according to the list) was the fact that it had been arranged by none other than legendary rock’n’roll reprobate/Zelig Kim Fowley.
Fowley had a long and illustrious history as a facilitator, writer, producer, arranger and performer so varied that Norton Records assembled no less than four volumes of the stuff.
Though I haven’t been able to track down any information on Larry Green and the Rhythmaires, it would appear that the 45 you see before you was recorded and released in 1962.
While it lacks the incendiary guitar slinging of Bobby Parker’s original, it more than makes up for it with a certain drunken, wild joie de vive, opening with bass drum and bass guitar (the record starts off like an old car being push started into gear down a steep hill), and then dominated by electric piano and Larry’s wailing vocals.
Though there was a Larry Green in the R&B group the Edsels, I have no idea if it’s the maniac (and I mean that in the best way possible) singing on this record.
It’s a killer, and I hope you dig it.
See you on Friday.
Keep the faith
Larry
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https://soul.blogger.de/static/antville/soul/images/dsc04233.jpg
reminds me of the “watch your step” version by tony jackson and the vibrations- pictured aside “i feel fine” by the hitparaders – and it was “watch your step” that inspired the beatles riff of “i feel fine”.
https://youtu.be/5bId4jquAyA
Frankai – I wrote about Bobby Parker’s original ten years ago (!?!) and mentioned Tony Jackson. One of my fave 45s!
https://funky16corners.blogspot.com/2005/09/bobby-parker-watch-your-step.html
as time goes by ,larry ,reading your bobby parker post ,makes me think that , maybe ,it was your blog, that was (once again) educating me about that bobby parker riff. knowing the bobby parker tune all ready then ,but being not aware of the tony jackson version till last year ,when i stumbled over it the first time on a flea market.