The Imperial label will be the subject of this week’s Deeper Roots show. Founded in 1947 by Lew Chudd, it’s early years featured some of the very best rhythm and blues and early rock you could find. Their lineup included some of the big names of early rock, not least of which was Roy Brown, Fats Domino, Frankie Ford and Ricky Nelson. They would dabble in country and jazz but also looked to strike while the iron was hot when Elvis hit with a blend of country and rhythm and blues in the mid-50s. They did so by looking for new names with ducktails and driving combos in the rockabilly era. This episode focuses primarily on the 1950s with a future episode taking us further into the label’s sale to Liberty Records in 1963 but not before Lew Chudd purchased Aladdin and Minit Records, bringing over even more of the R&B talent that they would be known for. It’s another Deeper Roots Friday morning on KOWS.
| No. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Artist | Title | Album | Buy |
| 2 | Fats Domino | The Fat Man | Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: Piano Blues – A Film By Clint Eastwood |  |
| 3 | Smiley Lewis | Tee-Nah-Nah | I Hear You Knocking 1947-1962 Disc 1 | |
| 4 | Guitar Slim and His Band | Bad Luck Is On Me [Woman Troubles] | Louisiana Swamp Blues | |
| 5 | Big Jay McNeely | All That Wine Is Gone | Jumpin' Like Mad: Cool Cats & Hip Chicks Non-Stop Dancin' [Disc 1] | |
| 6 | T-Bone Walker | Cold Cold Feeling | Best Of Black & White & Imperial Years | |
| 7 | Fat Man Matthews & the Four Kittens | Later Baby | Rhythm 'N' Blues: Early Doo Wop 1943-55, vol. 3 | |
| 8 | Fats Domino | Goin' Home | Rock And Rollin | |
| 9 | Lil' Son Jackson | Get High Everybody | Vol. 2 1950-1952 | |
| 10 | Smiley Lewis | Big Mamou | I Hear You Knocking 1947-1962 Disc 2 | |
| 11 | Hawks | I-Yi | Money Honey – Rise of the Black Vocal Group 51-53 | |
| 12 | Pee Wee Crayton | Win-O | Pee Wee's Blues – The Complete Aladdin And Imperial Recordings | |
| 13 | Joe Houston Orchestra | All Night Long | Loud, Fast & Out of Control: The Wild Sounds of the '50s [Box] Disc 4 | |
| 14 | The Pelicans | Ain't Gonna Do It | Rhythm 'N' Blues: Early Doo Wop 1943-55, vol. 2 | |
| 15 | The Spiders | I Didn't Want To Do It | Sound Of The City, The – New Orleans [UK] Disc 1 | |
| 16 | Dave Bartholomew | Another Mule | 1952-1955 | |
| 17 | James "Sugar Boy" Crawford | She Gotta Wobble (When She Walks) (Imperial 5424) | R&B Humdingers Volume 12 | |
| 18 | Bobby Mitchell with Dave Bartholomew's Orch.' | Try Rock And Roll | Blowing The Fuse: 1956 | |
| 19 | Lew Williams | Cat Talk | Classic Rockabilly-Cool Cats & Hot Chicks | |
| 20 | Lew Williams | Gone Ape Man | Essential Rockabilly The Imperial Story | |
| 21 | Merle Kilgore | Ernie | Essential Rockabilly The Imperial Story | |
| 22 | The Strikes | Baby I'm Sorry | Essential Rockabilly The Imperial Story | |
| 23 | Bob Luman | Red Hot | Essential Rockabilly The Imperial Story | |
| 24 | Ricky Nelson | Stood Up | Essential Rockabilly The Imperial Story | |
| 25 | Ricky Nelson | Boppin' The Blues | Essential Rockabilly The Imperial Story | |
| 26 | Ricky Nelson | Waitin' In School | Legacy [Disc 1] | |
| 27 | Dennis Herrold | Hip Hip Baby | Essential Rockabilly The Imperial Story | |
| 28 | Weldon Rogers | So Long, Good Luck & Goodbye | Essential Rockabilly The Imperial Story | |
| 29 | Dorsey & Johnny Burnette | My Honey | Essential Rockabilly The Imperial Story | |
| 30 | Dorsey & Johnny Burnette | Warm Love | Essential Rockabilly The Imperial Story | |
| 31 | Slick Slavin | Speed Crazy | Essential Rockabilly The Imperial Story | |
| 32 | Bill Allen | Please Give Me Something | Essential Rockabilly The Imperial Story | |
| 33 | Jackie Walker | Only Teenagers Allowed | Essential Rockabilly The Imperial Story | |
| 34 | Billy Eldridge | Let's Go | Essential Rockabilly The Imperial Story | |
| 35 | Faye Adams | Keeper Of My Heart | Crescent City Soul | |
| 36 | Roy Brown | Let the Four Winds Blow | The Complete Imperial Recordings | |
| 37 | Ricky Nelson | My Bucket's Got A Hole In It | Legacy [Disc 1] | |