Johnny Coles

For a mild-mannered man whose music was always easy on the ear, Nat King Cole managed to be a figure of considerable controversy during his 30 years as a professional musician. From the late '40s to the mid-'60s, he was a massively successful pop singer who ranked with such contemporaries as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and Dean Martin. He shared with those peers a career that encompassed hit records, international touring, radio and television shows, and appearances in films. But unlike them, he had not emerged from a background as a band singer in the swing era. Instead, he had spent a decade as a celebrated jazz pianist, leading his own small group. Oddly, that was one source of controversy. For some reason, there seem to be more jazz critics than fans of traditional pop among music journalists, and Cole's transition from jazz to pop during a period when jazz itself was becoming less popular was seen by them as a betrayal.

For a mild-mannered man whose music was always easy on the ear, Nat King Cole managed to be a figure of considerable controversy during his 30 years as a professional musician. From the late '40s to the mid-'60s, he was a massively successful pop singer who ranked with such contemporaries as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and Dean Martin. He shared with those peers a career that encompassed hit records, international touring, radio and television shows, and appearances in films.

In London 1872 - the final battle between Lawrence van Helsing and Count Dracula on top of a coach results in Dracula dying from a stake made from the remains of a wooden wheel. Lawrence dies from his wounds and, as he is buried, a servant of Dracula buries the remains of the stake by the grave and keeps a bottle of Dracula's ashes and the ring.

Dennis Coffey - Live Wire: The Westbound Years 1975-1978 (2008) {Westbound CDSEWD 148}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 553 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 173 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 26 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1975-78, 2008 Westbound Records / Ace Records | CDSEWD 148
R&B / Funk / R&B Instrumental / Detroit Rock / Disco / Pop Soul / Guitar

When Dennis Coffey’s incendiary ‘Scorpio’ went both Pop and R&B Top 10, it was a surprise for both the guitarist and his record label. The album from which it came had already been and gone when some pioneering New York DJs started playing this cut to full dancefloors. Suddenly Dennis Coffey was catapulted from successful producer and session guitarist to star status. ‘Scorpio’ went on to have an extended afterlife as one of the founding tunes of hip hop. Dennis recorded several more albums for Sussex before the label went belly-up in the mid-70s, but by this time he had over a decade’s experience as a session guitarist, playing on many of the great Detroit soul recordings at Motown, Ric-Tic, Invictus and many more. Along with Mike Theodore he had produced several great records, both in his home city and in LA. On the basis of this track record Westbound’s Armen Boladian approached the pair to see if they could be tempted to become producers and artists for him back in Detroit.

This is the first recording sessions for the legendary Musicraft label in the late forties...