Jerry Landis Belongs in the Hall of Fame

Let's not exhaust this space to quibble over whether the mere existence and propagation of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is warranted or not. And we shall similarly pay minimal heed to the immutable truth that Paul Simon is in said Rock Hall not once but twice (as a solo performer and as half of Simon and Garfunkel), which to some may indicate he's been inducted either one too many times or two too many times. All that concerns this author is that as long as they let Rhymin' Simon in, those doors should open even wider to accommodate his late-'50s/early-'60s rockin' incarnations Jerry Landis, True Taylor, and Tico and the Triumphs.

It may be difficult to reconcile that the very same person who composed "A Simple Desultory Philippic" could also give birth to "Get Up and Do the Wobble," but one doesn't require a postage stamp contest à la Elvis to determine which manifestation of the singer and songwriter in question the typical Ichiban reader and listener would favor. So now that your preference has been duly presupposed, please enjoy this guaranteed Garfunkel-free trio of top teen tunes from the days when Paul Simon resided on the greaseball side of Music Town (all songs YouTube).

True Taylor — "True or False" (Big, 1958)
Here Paul yelps a rockabilly bopper that alternately could have been titled "Blue Moon of Kew Gardens."

Tico and the Triumphs — "Motorcycle" (Amy, 1961, Billboard No. 99)
Simon's sonata for the 'Sicle Set puts the "J.D." in early Jan and Dean.

Jerry Landis — "The Lone Teen Ranger" (Amy, 1962, Billboard No. 97)
His "Western Movies"-referencing dum-dum doo-wop ditty exposes a different kind of Olympics doping.

FLO CHESNUT

Sept. 28, 1966: Roy Orbison and actress Maggie Pierce promote the movie “The Fastest Guitar Alive.”

Transylvania 6-5000

LSD

Here's Wendell Austin's hillbilly classic LSD, always worth hearing one more time. And you know who else recorded a pretty snappy version of this tune? Fuzztones front man Rudi Protrudi, on his country album It's A White Trash Thing. He may be much better known for his garage mayhem, but he definitely seems to have an affinity for the country stuff, too.

SUNDAY AT SCHRADZKI'S

Rufus

Rufus promo

DICK DALE 1963

Costa Mesa, California
Loot from his music includes this
MG with custom-built chassis, a panel
bus and Cadillac convertible. Dick often
tells people he's 22, but truth is he's a
big boy of 26.

FRANCIS FRENZY

Wild World Of WFMU

WFMU Rock n Soul DJs

Ape - English Dictionary

The Twilight Zone

Perchance To Dream (video)

New York Night Train With Howie Pyro

Come meet our latest Ichiban DJ, Howie Pyro at Home Sweet Home in NYC this Friday night.  Howie will be Jonathan Toubin's special guest at New York Night Train's weekly 45 RPM party.  It's free before 11 PM and after 3 AM.  Or $3 at the door.  See you there!