So Real! – Colonial Rockers from Chapel Hill, NC

Various Artists – So Real! – Colonial Rockers from Chapel Hill, NC

Bear Family Records – BAF 14037
Henry Wilson and The Bluenotes :Are You Ready / The Franklin Brothers: Wake Up (Little Boy Blue) / Johnny Dee It’s Gotta Be You / George Hamilton IV: If You Don’t Know / The Goldtones: Oriental Shake / E.C. Beatty: Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! / The Franklin Brothers: So Real / The Bluenotes feat.Doug Franklin: Mighty Low / Ebe Sneezer and The Epidemics: That’s All I’ve Got / E.C. Beatty: Tarzan / Bill Craddock and The Bluenotes: Birddoggin’ / The Franklin Brothers: My Little Girl

Orville Campbell formed Colonial Records in 1951, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The label released numerous singles and albums in various styles, ranging from Bluegrass to Novelty. Bear Family had the good idea to gather twelve of the label’s most rocking sides.
On many of these sides, the main performers were backed by the in-house vocal band, the Bluenotes, a Jordanaires-type quartet.
This is the case with Henry Wilson, then a teenager, who recorded Are You Ready, a wild rocker.
There’s no existing information about The Franklin Brothers. Were they a real brother act, or was it just a recording name (which could be possible, since the label was located on Franklin Street), no one knows. That doesn’t have to prevent you from enjoying this great band. In terms of sound and style, they fall halfway between the Everly Brothers and the Farmer Boys, the songs leaning more on one of these two sides depending of the degree of country music they added to their harmonies.
Johnny Dee is actually John D. Loudermilk, known for writing Sittin’ In The Balcony (Eddie Cochran), Tobacco Road (The Nashville Teens), Indian Reservation (Marvin Rainwater, The Raiders), Ebony Eyes (Everly Brothers), and so on. It’s Gotta Be You is a nice soft rocker with backing vocals in the same vein as Sitin’ In the Balcony or Cochran’s One Kiss. Loudermilk appears a second time on this compilation with That’s All I’ve Got, this song having a more pronounced rural bop flair, which probably explains that he used the pseudonym of Ebe Sneezer and the Epidemics. Before becoming a huge country pop star, notably with his hit Abilene (written by Loudermilk), George Hamilton IV began as a teen pop rocker, with A Rose And A Baby Ruth (also penned by Loudermilk). As enjoyable as it was, the real gem was on the B-side with If You Don’t Know, and luckily for us, this is the song that Bear Family decided to include. If you like country bop and stripped-down Rockabilly, it doesn’t get better than this.
The Gold Tones only released one single for the label. Only Oriental Shake is included here (the A-side, High Dive Into Love, is available on That’ll Flat Git It 31). It’s a splendid rocker with screaming sax, crazy backing vocals, and wild guitar. You could easily imagine it covered by the Cramps. E.C. Beatty is a bit too much on the novelty side to seduce me. Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! sounds like a novelty version of Johnny Cash, and Tarzan is an unconvincing mishmash of squealing saxophone, Tarzan cries, and rockabilly guitar.
Bill Craddock (with the Bluenotes) rounds up the selection with an excellent mid-tempo rocker, with a smooth vocal and sparkling solos (guitar and piano).
After Juvenile Delinquent, this compilation is a superb addition to the Beaar Family 10” series. Like the other releases in that series, it’s a limited edition that comes with a very informative booklet. Highly recommended.