"45 45's until I'm 45" (#08/45)

Good morning, friends,

for a change today I have a little something that most of you might not have heard before. But believe me, it is a belter of a tune, so I very strongly recommend to have a listen: it will open your minds, friends, believe me!

As a young man, David Walker, a Washington D.C. native, was a heavyweight contender who sparred with Archie Moore. In the late 1950s, he joined an L.A. gospel group called the Sensational Wonders, which soon morphed into the Mighty Clouds of Joy. Though the group's leader, Joe Ligon, was noted for his rough, barking vocal style, Walker's voice was something else entirely.

In the early '60s, Walker met up with another D.C. product, Link Wray: Link Wray and his Raymen, which included the guitarist's brothers Doug and Vernon, brought Walker into Vern's home studio, where they recorded several tracks together. Given the insinuations of the songs they cut -- 'Hide and Go Seek,' 'Red Riding Hood and the Wolf,' 'The Girl Can't Dance' -- the churchgoing Walker was reluctant to put his name on the records. The Wray brothers decided to give him an alter ego, considering the kooky alias Four H Stamp before settling for the slightly more plausible Bunker Hill.

So, originally put out on Mala Records in 1963 (and God I wish I had a copy of this single!!), but fortunately re-released as a B-Side on a Norton Records 7" in 1996, here's to you, friends, the mighty Bunker Hill together with Link Wray And His Raymen, your number eight in my little rundown. Enjoy:

Bunker Hill with Link Wray and the Raymen - 'The Girl Can't Dance' (mp3)

Norton Records - 046 (released in 1996, originally recorded in 1963)

A lot of the material Bunker Hill recorded with the Raymen is great, but nothing, nothing matches this recording. Anyone who tells you that rock was unexciting before punk came along obviously never heard this cut, it blows most punk right out of the water by sheer sonic force: "This guy makes Little Richard sound like Pat Boone," comments one fan on YouTube, and that can't be argued.

Perhaps today's choice might possibly be only something for those of you with an appetite for the bizarre. I'm sure such creatures exist though, so, to the few of you, as I said before: enjoy!

Dirk