TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE: FIVE NEARLY-FORGOTTEN SHAKERS THAT WILL DRIVE US PERFECTLY BLOTTO INTO EACH OTHER’S ARMS.

The great Frankie Lee Sims

Spanning a seven-year period from 1957 to 1964, these five shakers (all of which contain a ‘walk’) will move our bodies in the proper ways of raucous festivity. You will hear R&B. You will hear rock ‘n’ roll. To wit, you may learn how walketh the camel, how walketh the Cossak [sic], how walketh the cat. You will hear rockabilly. You will hear exotica. You will hear “Whooo-ooo-ooo!” Those who sporteth-not bosoms and those who sporteth bosoms alike will shake their bosoms. Apparently, “In wildness is the preservation of the World.” This comes from a bloke named Thoreau, from an essay entitled (aptly enough) “Walking.” Above all else, these five nearly-forgotten songs will propel us forward in wildness (and jumping) and in so doing we shall preserve the world.

Intro: Behold “Walking With Frankie” — an R&B shaker by Frankie Lee Sims from 1957.

26-word review: Here, the walk is a search (if not a prayer) in the registry of a driving pace with mischievous sax, insinuating guitar, and the gal? Aloof.

Best time and situation to play: Ten minutes to midnight, when doubt flickers.

Calories burned during the ‘walk’: Enough “for us to get together and be as two” (listen to the song).

Notes: A cousin to Lightnin’ Hopkins and noted innovator within the idiom of postwar Texas blues, Sims released only a handful of 45s during his lifetime although he did record enough material (circa 1960) for at least one LP. He served three years in the Marine Corps during World War II. He was, therefore, a soldier & a musician. We thank him for both.

Discography: Frankie Lee Sims. “Walking With Frankie” A-side b/w “Hey Little Girl” B-side. Ace Records 527. 1957. Jackson, Mississippi. Likely personnel: Frankie Lee Sims (vocals and guitar); Jack White (tenor saxophone); Willie Taylor (piano); Ralph Morgan (bass); Jimmy Mullins aka Mercy Baby (drums). Other musicians, if any, unknown. Composition credit: Frankie Lee Sims and John Vincent. 

Intro: Behold “Camel Walk” — a rock ‘n’ roll shaker by The Original Starfires from 1959.  

26-word review: Each of us has four limbs, same as the camel, and the sultry instructions may be obvious, but nevertheless, what do we do with the hump?  

Best time and situation to play: Round about 2am when everyone is blotto.

Calories burned during the ‘walk’: Enough to cover the 3am pancakes & stout run.  

Notes: We detect a little bit of Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That A Shame” here and there — when the musicians decide to reassure us (somewhat). The ‘camel walk’ was a dance fad that reached regal heights with the likes of James Brown performing the moves onstage. There is also a surprising version (with church bells) by Magic Sam. Lots o’ camels. Lots o’ walks. Yep.

Discography: The Original Starfires. “Camel Walk” A-side b/w “Fender Bender” B-side. Pace Records P-101. 1959. New York. Musicians unknown [“Starfires” was a popular band name; some online speculation indicates that this band hailed from Florida.] Instrumentation likely includes lead and rhythm guitar, bass, drums, and saxophone. Composition credit: Jim Ford. [Also released on APT Records, a subsidiary of ABC Paramount.]

Intro: Behold “Cossak Walk” [sic]— an R&B shaker by Al Duncan from 1962.

26-word review: Cultures collide when an African American groove-drummer reimagines “The Twist” as a Cossack dance with an absolute MONSTER baritone sax prevailing. Wtf? as the kids say.

Best time and situation to play: To shock a party back into its fundamental mission, as when Sha Na Na or Billy Joel needs to be decisively cleansed from the air.

Calories burned during the ‘walk’: Enough to scale a peak in the Caucasus region.

Notes: Not to get too deep into the weeds, but Eugene Chadbourne writing in All Music Guide to the Blues calls this recording the work of an “obscure rockabilly dude” and not the legendary drummer Al Duncan, but we think Mr. Chadbourne is mistaken. This does appear to be the work of “one of the forefathers of groove” (and his collaborator Johnny Pate). We agree with Mr. Chadbourne on everything else, including how Duncan helped to develop the fundamental timekeeping or “metric feeling” of R&B.

Discography: Al Duncan. “Cossak Walk (Twisting in Moscow)” A-side b/w “Bawana Jinde” B-side. Stacy Records 933 XM. 1962. Chicago. Likely personnel: Al Duncan (drums) and Johnny Pate (bass); other musicians unknown. Composition credit: Johnny Pate.
 

Intro: Behold “Cat Walk”— a rock ‘n’ roll shaker by Tiny Fuller from 1963.

26-word review: Played ostensibly to drown-out the racketing sound of the freight train, the song startlingly projects the same locomotion that it’s meant to obscure. Which is which?

Best time and situation to play: 10pm when nothing has been broken (yet).

Calories burned during the ‘walk’: Enough to wrassle that swordfish on the record.

Notes: This rockabilly guitarist is nearly a complete mystery. What else can we say? The sound is not “tiny.” The harmonicaist cooperates. Perhaps the snippets of voice echo the yelps, etc., of western swing bandleader Bob Wills.

Discography: Tiny Fuller and His Combo. “Cat Walk” A-side b/w “Shock” B-side. Marlin Records 6301. 1963. Memphis, Tennessee. Personnel: Tiny Fuller (guitar); other musicians unknown. Composition credit: Tiny Fuller

Intro: Behold “I’ll Walk A Mile”— an R&B shaker by Bob Marriott and the Continentals from 1964.

26-word review: A pleading, howling, grooving piece that situates despair and triumph nearby as the singer confronts the dynamics of uncertainty: “take me in your arms” + “Whooo-ooo-oooo!”

Best time and situation to play: Anytime you’re in trouble with your sweetie pie. (Usually late at night after an understandable miscue.)

Calories burned during the ‘walk’: Enough to “walk a mile” at which point your sweetie pie will (usually) relent.

Notes: This was an integrated group, with an African American singer fronting a quartet of white musicians. The leader and his bandmates were inducted into the Kansas City Music Hall of Fame in 2021. Very deservedly so.

Discography: Bob Marriott and The Continentals. “I’ll Walk A Mile” B-side b/w “Night Train” A-side. Jayco Records 45-260701/02. 1964. Kansas City, Missouri. Likely personnel: Bob Marriott (guitar); Chuck Vallent aka Aubrey Washington (vocals); Larry Hensiek (drums), Cliff Manning (bass), and Ricky Lee (keyboards); maybe Butch Kelly (instrument unknown); other musicians, if any, unknown. Composition credit: Chuck Vallent.
 

Bob Marriott and the (fabulous!) Continentals

sources of information
Eugene Chadbourne. “Al Duncan.” AllMusic Guide to the Blues. Backbeat Books, 2003
45cat page for Al Duncan release on Stacy
Billboard May 19, 1962
Discogs page for Bob Marriott release on Jayco
Discogs page for The Original Starfires release on Pace
Discogs page for Tiny Fuller release on Marlin
Discogs page for Frankie Lee Sims release on Ace 
Edward M. Komara, editor. Encyclopedia of the Blues. Routledge, 2006
Jazz Discography page for Eddie Higgins (includes information on Al Duncan and Johnny Pate)
Kansas City Music Hall of Fame page for 2021 inductees, including Marriott and his band
Krazy Kat liner notes for Walkin’ With Frankie LP
Wikipedia page for Al Duncan
Wikipedia page for Frankie Lee Sims
Wirz discography page for Barrelhouse Records (establishes Tiny Fuller as a guitarist)
Wirz discography page for Frankie Lee Sims 

This “Walking” post is part of a double issue, Dear Reader. Do you need to RUN instead? If so, please see “Run Like Femke Bol.”

RUN LIKE FEMKE BOL.

Sheer joy after a shocking comeback.

 

We begin this post, well, at the finish line. The setting is: the women’s 4x400-meter relay at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. Three top teams — Jamaica, Great Britain, and the Netherlands — vied for the lead throughout the race. Entering the anchor leg, Jamaica had a good lead, with Great Britain following in second and the Netherlands a bit farther back in third. Yet the Dutch anchor was Femke Bol, a gifted athlete who had something to prove. Yes, she’d won gold at her signature event — the 400-meter hurdles — but had fallen right near the finish line in the mixed (i.e., men’s and women’s) 4x400 relay, disqualifying the team.

Often enough, writer-types (and other types) dismiss the importance of athletic competition, but they couldn’t be more mistaken. Overcoming a significant deficit right at the finish line, Femke Bol reminds us all to “believe in your game” and “keep pushing despite long odds” and “run for your teammates” or your community. This is not meant to take anything away from Jamaica and Great Britain whose athletes are world-class and whose teams finished second and third, respectively, by mere fractions of a second. They too were magnificent and earned their spots on the podium.

For me, anyhow, Femke Bol ran a race that depended on the craft of her calm, upright posture as well as the edginess of her finish — the great move she made at the end, when she sprinted for all she was worth. It is one of the greatest comebacks of all time. Her teammates are Eveline Saalberg, who ran the first leg; Lieke Klaver, who ran a magnificent second leg; and Cathelijn Peeters, who ran the third leg. To be fair, they all played a big role, and Femke Bol didn’t win the race by herself.

Don’t take my word for it though. Check out the following videos, which explore the results from a couple of different perspectives. Laten we gaan!

The whole race. 

The race, as seen from the perspective of
two teammates cheering from the stands

This “Running” post is part of a double issue, Dear Reader. Would you rather walk, instead? Check out these five walkers — but be prepared to jump! And shake!