Back in the Day, 2009

Ella Mae Morse

Best of the Rockabilly Rockin' Years

(Rockabilly Records)

Don Raye: Well, what you say, baby? You look ready as Mr. Freddy, this black. How 'bout you 'n' me goin' spinnin' at the track?

Ella: What's that, homey? If you think I'm goin' dancin' on a dime, your clock is tickin' on the wrong time!

Don: Well, what's your pleasure, treasure? You call the plays, I'll dig the ways.

Ella: Hey Daddio, I'm not so crude as to drop my mood on a square from way back. I'm in there, and have to dig life with Father, and I mean Father Snack.

Don: Well, baby, your play is my way to solid flip! You snap the whip, I'll make the trip!

As is surely past knowledge to dusty-vinyl connoisseurs en masse, sterling siren Ella raised hepster hullabaloos, as she fronted '40s and '50s big bands with a wink, cascading ebony tresses, and a voice so delightful it seemed straight from zoot elysium. Her swank readings of immortal tracks well familiar (and granted fresh animation by everyone from Jerry Lee to Alex Harvey to the Funboy Three to Matchbox to Levi Dexter) were brassy ballyhoos that made no promises of refined decorum. 

(Especial credit belongs to Ella's longtime bandleader Freddie Slack; he knew exactly how to fashion swing of executive order.)

"I ain't got no time to waste, workin' hard just to make me a lotta dough / Work's OK but not for me, it interferes with my fun so it's gotta go!...I'm livin' the life I love, and lovin' the life that I live!"

Recommended: "Rockin' & Rollin'," "Tennessee Saturday Night," "Forty Cups of Coffee," "Money Honey," "Livin' Livin' Livin'," "Jump Back Honey," "House of Blue Lights," "How Can You Leave a Man Like This," "Razzle Dazzle," "Organ Grinder Swing," "Piddly Patter Patter," "A Little Further Down the Road Apiece," "Get Off It and Go," "Oakie Boogie," "Rock Me All Night Long," "Smack Dab in the Middle," "Seventeen," "Give Me Love"

Videos: "Tennessee Saturday Night"   "Livin' Livin' Livin'"   "T'ain't Whatcha Do"   "Jump Back Honey"   "House of Blue Lights"   "Seventeen"   

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