Hi everyone, welcome to our Suggested Listening posting for this week!
Suggested Listening postings are published on Fridays; and our next Suggested Listening posting will be out on Friday, February 28, 2025.
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This week I was inspired by finding out more about session guitarist Corki Ray Casey O’Dell, who as a female teenage guitarist in Phoenix, Arizona, happened to wind playing with another young guitarist – Duane Eddy. She played on a number of his bigest hits including Rebel Rouser and Because They’re Young – and I thought, gee, wouldn’t it be fun to spotlight some of the early female rock musicians this week!
So I’ve done just that!
And here are the 10 recommended songs of the week, most of them recorded before 1965; sans our Hoopla artist of the week, Bonnie Raitt, who came along a bit later – but then the Hoopla music catalog has newer and more popular music —
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Drug Store Rock & Roll by Janis Martin
About The Musician: Janis Darle Martin began playing the guitar at the age of 6. An energetic performer, she won several talent contests as a youth and subsequently made appearances on the WRVA’s classic radio show “Barn Dance.” She was signed by RCA Records and appeared on American Bandstand, The Tonight Show & The Grand Old Opry. Her most popular songs include Will You Willygum, Drugstore Rock and Roll, My Boy Elvis and Bang Bang. In the late fifties, she toured the country making many radio and TV appearances; and then she secretly got married and was a expecting a baby when RCA, in keeping with the rigid social roles society expected of women at the time, dropped her. In essence, her career was over by the time she was twenty; though she later returned to performing, and experienced renewed popularity in the 1980s as mainstream music fans rediscovered Rockabilly music, with help from The Stray Cats.
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Dust My Blues by Margaret Lewis
About The Musician: Born in Texas, singer and guitarist Margret Lewis formed her first band, The Thunderbolts, while in high school and went on to make several appearances on the popular radio show Hayride. She went on to record a series of great swamp rock and Rockabilly singles for the Shreveport, LA, label Ram; she was one of the few female musicians of that era to play and record swamp rock music and the music, I’m sure you’ll agree if you take a listen – still sound great today.
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Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys, with Carol Kaye on Bass
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And here is a much later version of the same song:
Good Vibrations by Brian Wilson & Carol Kaye
About The Musician: Carol Kay was born in Everett, Washington and began playing guitar professionally in 1949. She became a studio musician, and in 1963, when a bassist didn’t’ show up to record on a session she was asked to fill in; and she discovered she preferred playing the bass over the guitar. She wound up a member of the Los Angeles-based group of outstanding session musicians known collectively as “The Wrecking Crew.” She played on thousands of songs. A few of the songs she played the bass on include Good Vibrations, Help Me Rhonda, Wouldn’t It Be Nice & California Girls by The Beach Boys, Something Stupid by Frank Sinatra, Romeo & Juliet by Henry Mancini, Indian Reservation by Paul Revere & The Raiders & Candy Man by Sammy Davis Jr.
She also played the guitar on many songs including the songs La Bamba by Richie Valens, Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers, What A Wonderful World by Sam Cook and Do You Love Me by The Isley Brothers.
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Have I The Right by The Honeycombs featuring Honey Lantree on drums
About The Musician: In the U.K., in the early sixties, Honey Lantree was an assistant hairdresser working for her friend Martin Murray, who played guitar in a band on the side. One day, while at his apartment she noticed a drum set, left behind by the former drummer in Murray’s group, and asked if she could try it out – she turned out to be a natural. She was then asked to join the band – the Honeycombs. The group had a big hit in the United States with Have I The Right and had greater success, in sales and tours, in Europe and the far east but are notable for having one of the first female rock drummer in Honey Lantree.
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Rockaway Rock, Beetle Bug Bop & Just Because by The Collins Kids (featuring Lorrie Collins)
About The Musician: Lorrie Collins played the guitar and sang as half of the Rockabilly duo The Collins Kids, with her brother Larry. The duo got their big break in 1954 when they appeared on the Los Angeles variety show Town Hall Party. The duo’s performances were well received by viewers and concert goers, but they had some challenges in getting their songs played on the radio as their song lyrics were considered a bit raunchy as were Larry’s Elvis-inspired gyrations while he played the guitar.
Their hit songs include Whistle Bait, Hot Road, Soda Poppin’ Around and In My Teens.
Lorrie eloped with Johnny Cash’s manager Stu Carnall in 1961 and retired from her music career.
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Rock Your Baby by Wanda Jackson
About The Musician: Wanda Jackson was born in Maud, Oklahoma in 1942 and began playing the guitar and singing as a youth. As a high school student, she performed for the local radio station KLPR. Her music was heard by country musician Hank Thompson who was impressed and arraigned for her to record her first sides for Decca Records in 1954. Her hits include You Can’t Have My Love, Fujiyama Mama, Let’s Have A Party, The Right To Love and If You Know What I Know. As Rockabilly popularity dipped in the early sixties, Jackson transitioned into playing music that was less rock and more country. She had dozens of hits on the country music charts and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a pioneer in 2009.
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Thinking About The Good Times by Goldie and the Gingerbreads
About The Musicians: Goldie and the Gingerbreads consisted of Genya “Goldie” Zelkowitz on vocals, Margo Lewis on keyboards, Carol MacDonald on guitar and Ginger Bianco on drums. They were the first all-female band to sign with a major record label and recorded a string of terrific rock singles between 1964 and 1968. Their hits include Skinny Vinnie, That’s Why I Love You, Think About The Good Times, What Kind of Man Are You? and Walking In Different Circles. The group struggled to be taken seriously, being seen more as a novelty act instead of a credible rock band; due to their all-female line-up ,and broke up in 1968.
A career retrospective album of their work, Thinking About The Good Times: Complete Recordings 1964-1966, was released in 2021.
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We Got Togetherness by The Jewels (Later Lady Bo & The Jewels)
Lady Bo, born Peggy Jones in New York City in 1940, bought her first guitar in 1955. As a teenager she was a member of the group The Bop-Chords and her work was heard by Bo Diddley who hired her to play guitar in his band; thus, she was one of the earliest female Rock & Roll guitarists. While playing with Diddley, she earned the nick-name Lady Bo; and she played on a number of his hits including Road Runner, Mona, Hey! Bo Diddley, Hush Your Mouth, Gunslinger and Say Man. She went on to on to co-found the band The Jewels, who later updated their name to Lady Bo & The Jewels. And on another interesting note, when she left Bo Diddley’s band, she was replaced by another female guitarist Norma-Jean Wofford, nicknamed “The Duchess.”
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Whirlwind by Corki Ray (Casey O’Dell)
About The Musician: In the late 1950s O’Dell was a rarity in the Phoenix, Arizona area, a young woman who played the guitar. She met and became friends with another local youth, guitarist Duane Eddy. She became a studio musician and played on many hit singles including some of her friend Eddy’s biggest hits including Movin’ ‘N’ Groovin, Rebel Rouser, Ramrod, Peter Gunn and Forty Miles of Bad Road. She earned the nickname “The First Rock and Roll Sidechick,” and was inducted into Nashville’s Musicians Hall of Fame in 2008.
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You’ll Lose A Good Thing by Barbara Lynn
About The Musician: A singer, songwriter and guitarist, Lynn toured with many of the top artists of the sixties including Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Sam Cook Smoky Robinson, Marvin Gaye and Tina Turner. The Rolling Stones even covered one of her songs “Oh Baby (We’ve Got A Good Thin Goin'” (on the LP The Rolling Stones Now!). Finding it difficult to get her record company to properly promote her work, combined with marrying in the late sixties and raising three children, she retired from the music business by the 1970s.
She received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1999 and appeared in the 2015 documentary I am The Blues.
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Hoopla Album of the Week
Give It Up (1972) by Bonnie Raitt
And from the album the song
Give It Up, Or Let Me Go by Bonnie Raitt
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Reference Links (In case you want to know more!):
Goldie and the Gingerbreads
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/goldie-gingerbreads-interview-genya-ravan-1187909/
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/goldie-the-gingerbreads-mn0001364077
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Carol Kaye
https://www.carolkaye.com/www/library/index.htm
https://blog.music-man.com/artists/carol-kaye-reflects-on-her-legendary-career-for-85/
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Lorrie Collins
https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=CO028
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Wanda Jackson
https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=JA002
https://rockhall.com/inductees/wanda-jackson/
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Lady Bo (Peggy Jones)
https://www.thewire.co.uk/news/38813/peggy-jones-aka-lady-bo-has-died-aged-75
https://www.ponderosastomp.com/music_more.php/102/Lady+Bo
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Honey Lantree
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/dec/28/honey-lantree-obituary
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/obituaries/honey-lantree-dead.html
Barbara Lynn
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/barbara-lynn-mn0000149973
https://musicenterprisesinc.com/barbara-lynn
Margaret Lewis
https://sunrecords.com/artists/margaret-lewis/
https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/louisiana-maggie-lewis-warwick-dead-pneumonia-8505411/
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Janis Martin
https://www.womeninrockproject.org/reference/martin-janis/
https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/items/show/116
https://www.history-of-rock.com/janis_martin.htm
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Corki Ray Casey O’Dell
https://musicrow.com/2017/05/lifenotes-guitar-great-corki-casey-odell-passes/
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Have a great weekend,
Linda Reimer, SSCL
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Online Catalog Links:
StarCat
The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD, etc.
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The Digital Catalog, web version of Libby
The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos.
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The Libby App
Libby is the companion app to the Digital Catalog and may be found in the Apple & Google app.
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Hoopla
A catalog of instant check out items, including eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, comic books, TV shows and movies for patrons of the Southeast Steuben County Library.
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