Eddie Bond - "Monkey And The Baboon" - 1964

[Mister Moon]

By 1964, rockabilly music was nowhere to be found in the USA, and its former deep impact resonated from time to time through the new European bands. The most obvious example is that of The Beatles recording Carl Perkins songs.

Here is an isolated example of genuine rockabilly recorded in the USA that year.

Eddie Bond was of course a legend of the genre, one of the very few rockabilly artists to have been born in Memphis, who had recorded a handful of memorable singles for the Mercury label in 1956 and 1957. He also worked for other labels, including Sun, although much of the material he cut for Phillips did not see the light of day until many years later.

This song was cut in 1964 for the Memphis-based Diplomat label. it's partially credited to another legend, Stan Kesler, and it's a direct reference to Elvis' first record.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgO4yYCcBWs



http://www.commercialappeal.com/entertainment/rockin-daddy-musician-and-show-business-impresario-eddie-bond-helped-launch-legends-and-secured-h-ep-324152661.html


http://rcs-discography.com/rcs/artist.php?key=bond1000

[Mountain Mist]

I like!

Thanks Mr Moon!

What fun it would be to sing songs like this around a camp fire

[TCB-FAN]

Great find Mr. Moon ! This would certainly be the type of song Johnny Cash would have recorded given the opportunity. It's got all the elements of country & rockabilly to it.

[Mister Moon]

I like!

Thanks Mr Moon!

What fun it would be to sing songs like this around a camp fire

Great find Mr. Moon ! This would certainly be the type of song Johnny Cash would have recorded given the opportunity. It's got all the elements of country & rockabilly to it.

Thanks !

You're right - the song has a folksy quality, and it wouldn't have been out of place sung by Johnny Cash.

That Crudup / Presley coda is out of this world, and I like the reference to the Brown Eyed Handsome Man too. The song shouldn't have been faded out, though.

This is just a great recording, and for my money it even surpasses some of Bond's classic Mercury cuts.

[TCB-FAN]

Great CD ....Japan import, if one can find it at a decent price......

[Mister Moon]

Great CD ....Japan import, if one can find it at a decent price......

I haven't checked the track listings, but I think this is a straight reissue of the 1992 CD released by Stomper Time in the UK. That CD is out of print, but I would guess all of the tracks are available elsewhere by now, including the Bond CDs issued in 2007 and in 2015 by the same label (which incidentally borrows its name from a small and short-lived record company Eddie owned in the late 50s / early 60s).

Bond's original discography is a pretty convoluted one, with lots of singles issued for obscure labels, so his work has been spread over the years on countless compilations with varying degrees of quality.

With some exceptions, like the track I posted above, his best material was recorded in the 50s for Ekko, Mercury and Sun, and it's all contained in the 1993 Bear Family 2-CD "Rockin' Daddy". The same tracks are of course available elsewhere, but this release is the best of them all regarding sound quality and presentation - and it also includes his complete 1962 gospel and country recordings for Sam Phillips.


http://hillbillycountry.blogspot.com.es/2013/04/eddie-bond-discography.html

http://www.stompertime.com/index.html

https://www.bear-family.com/bond-eddie-rockin-daddy-2-cd.html

[Mister Moon]

Welsh rockabillies Crazy Cavan & The Rhythm Rockers cut a great version of "Monkey And The Baboon" for inclusion on their third album, "Our Own Way Of Rockin'" (1977) :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3799Hhmf9Yw

[TCB-FAN]

Great CD ....Japan import, if one can find it at a decent price......

I haven't checked the track listings, but I think this is a straight reissue of the 1992 CD released by Stomper Time in the UK. That CD is out of print, but I would guess all of the tracks are available elsewhere by now, including the Bond CDs issued in 2007 and in 2015 by the same label (which incidentally borrows its name from a small and short-lived record company Eddie owned in the late 50s / early 60s).

Bond's original discography is a pretty convoluted one, with lots of singles issued for obscure labels, so his work has been spread over the years on countless compilations with varying degrees of quality.

With some exceptions, like the track I posted above, his best material was recorded in the 50s for Ekko, Mercury and Sun, and it's all contained in the 1993 Bear Family 2-CD "Rockin' Daddy". The same tracks are of course available elsewhere, but this release is the best of them all regarding sound quality and presentation - and it also includes his complete 1962 gospel and country recordings for Sam Phillips.


http://hillbillycountry.blogspot.com.es/2013/04/eddie-bond-discography.html

http://www.stompertime.com/index.html

https://www.bear-family.com/bond-eddie-rockin-daddy-2-cd.html

Yeah, Bear Family's "Rockin Daddy" is certainly the compilation to get, given the excellent sound quality and its lengthy liner notes that come with the package. However, its also nice to have the boot compilations from the early 1990's that contain recordings not included in the BF set. It would have been nice if BF went all the way and issued a "complete recordings" boxed set (perhaps 5 discs) with some unreleased gems to boot, similar to the one they did with Gene Vincent a few years back.

[TCB-FAN]

Welsh rockabillies Crazy Cavan & The Rhythm Rockers cut a great version of "Monkey And The Baboon" for inclusion on their third album, "Our Own Way Of Rockin'" (1977) :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3799Hhmf9Yw

Great sounding Neo-Rockabilly group from the 1970's. They remind me of Robert Gordon's material from that era as well.
Here's another great tune from CC & The RR's....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHsE8kfDDhc

[Mister Moon]

It would have been nice if BF went all the way and issued a "complete recordings" boxed set (perhaps 5 discs) with some unreleased gems to boot, similar to the one they did with Gene Vincent a few years back.

Given Bond's intrincate discography, it would probably be a nightmare for anybody to get the rights to reissue each and every recording he did in his long career, let alone to locate the best sources for remastering. But I agree that this would be a very interesting set, and Bear Family is known to have achieved more difficult things than this, by far more obscure performers than Bond.

Welsh rockabillies Crazy Cavan & The Rhythm Rockers cut a great version of "Monkey And The Baboon" for inclusion on their third album, "Our Own Way Of Rockin'" (1977) :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3799Hhmf9Yw

Great sounding Neo-Rockabilly group from the 1970's. They remind me of Robert Gordon's material from that era as well.
Here's another great tune from CC & The RR's....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHsE8kfDDhc

Cavan and his band are still active, and the line-up is still the original one, save for the bass player (incidentally, original bassman Don Kinsella passed away last January).

Their first albums were real knock-outs for rockabilly fans everywhere when they were released 40 years ago. They used a very basic formula but their enthusiasm and great knowledge of the genre permeated every one of their recordings. And Cavan is a fantastic singer.

[Little Mama]

Eddie Bond was a true Rockin' Daddy. Love his Mercury sides, and the song you've posted here.

[Mister Moon]

Eddie Bond was a true Rockin' Daddy. Love his Mercury sides, and the song you've posted here.

Here's another favourite of mine. Recorded April 1958 at Sun, but not released until the 70s :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImBPiu26Geo



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Edited 23/02/20 in order to restore YT link.

Edited 27/05/23 in order to restore YT link.

[Mister Moon]

Indeed, Eddie Bond recorded a stunning version of "Rockin' Daddy" for Mercury in 1956, but here's the original version by Sonny Fisher, waxed January 1955 for Starday - the first of his four fabulous singles for that label :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7hZlqK-wfg

[Little Mama]

Indeed, Eddie Bond recorded a stunning version of "Rockin' Daddy" for Mercury in 1956, but here's the original version by Sonny Fisher, waxed January 1955 for Starday - the first of his four fabulous singles for that label :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7hZlqK-wfg

I have both versions on original 45s that I bought some years ago, love both versions, Fishers guitar work is amazing.

[TCB-FAN]

Eddie Bond was a true Rockin' Daddy. Love his Mercury sides, and the song you've posted here.

Here's another favourite of mine. Recorded April 1958 at Sun, but not released until the 70s :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf6sVYmy2PU

EB was one of the founding fathers of rockabilly, no doubt. Great find Mr. Moon !