Customer Reviews

Sexy Ways: The Best of Hank Ballard & the Midnighters

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I smile everytime I remember trying to muffle the radio under my pillow as a teenager in Houston back in the mid-50's. If my folks heard those lyrics, they would take the radio away forever! Then the media did an absurd thing: they banned 3 of the best songs, "Work With Me Annie", "Sexy Ways" and "Annie Had A Baby". Of all the nerve! One night several of my friends & I went to see The Midnighters play at Houston's El Dorado Ballroom. We were white guys during this most segregated of times, and the El Dorado Ballroom was for Black's. But they let us in anyway. The guitar player for The Midnighters was my idol: Cal Green. He started wailing on about a 10 minute solo and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Man, he was good. In Houston there were 2 excellent radio stations that played R&B: KYOK (DJ's - Dizzy Lizzy, Hotsy Totsy) and KCOH (DJ's - King Bee, Lonnie Rochan). What a time. What music. Sid Leake

If your serious at all about popular music, you owe it to yourself to seek out the influences of your favorite artists. Growing up during the Sixties, I enjoyed listening to the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and James Brown, to name a few. Eventually I worked my way back to discover Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and in the case of James Brown, I found Hank Ballard and The Midnighters.

Known primarily as the writer of "The Twist" (his version did reach No. 28, but was eclipsed by Chubby Checker's chart-topping version), Ballard had already sold millions of records in the Fifties, including the trilogy "Work With Me Annie" (1954), "Annie Had a Baby" and "Annie's Aunt Fannie" (1955). Despite these songs' suggestive lyrics which got them banned from many radio stations, each sold more than a million copies.

In addition to "The Twist," Ballard charted with several other dance tunes. "Finger Poppin' Time" went Top Ten in 1960. Other hits included "The Continental Walk" and "The Switch-A-Roo." His only other Top Ten was "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go." In 1990 Ballard was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame as a performer.

Rhino does its usual outstanding job of presenting the artist's best material and Ballard's work on the King and Federal labels has never sounded better and the acompanying booklet is well written. [Several of Ballard's King releases are still available and each are worth seeking out, but if you're only going to get one CD, this is the one to own.] HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This music falls between 50's R&B, jump blues, and r&r. In any case the stores usuually keep his music in the blues section, and that may be the best description of this appealign msuic. This music can be danced to in jitterbig style, and can be lindy hopped to as well.

Ballard has a sassy, and smooth voice, that is very appealing, band features sax, and it swings, jumps and rocks pretty hard. Appealing backup and group vocals are also featued, byt Hank is always the main vocie and star.

A very appeling group and if you liek earlier groups like Jouis Jordan & His Tymphani 5, or Wynonnie Harris, you're sure to love what foloowed in the 50's, with Hank & The Midnighters. Those wh ohave an appreciation for rockabilyl, wil lalso enjoy this cd, or thsoe whp like to like in the 50's tetro lifestyle, an exellent cd that featured Ballards humor and bigegst hits, and includes all the "Annie" songs which were in some ways parodies to the "Roll With Me Henry" song covered by Etta James.

GRAET CD!

Hank Ballard was one of the greats of the 50's R&B era. I saw him here in Denver, Colorado in 1985 at the Fairmont Hotel. I almost fainted when I saw him in the lobby - and when the show started, he was impeccably dressed in "all" white, right down to his socks! When you hear his music, you can't help but get up and do the "pony" or the twist" or do a slow drag to "Stay By My Side"...I was sad to hear of his death earlier this year. He is truly missed by me...

They say Dick Clark once referred to a song by this artist as "another nasty Hank Ballard song". Even so Clark had Ernie Evans do a cover version of Hank's song, "The Twist" two years after Hank did it. (Clark's then-wife had Evans change his name to Chubby Checker (as in Fat(s) Domino, get it?) The rest is history. Hank Ballard was born John Kendricks (related to Eddie of the Temptations? Both were from Detroit). His group, the Midnighters, started out without Hank as the Royals and a couple of years later Hank replaced another lead singer. The group had been first discovered by Johnny Otis, another famous name in rock and roll history. At one time the Royals had members Levi Stubbs (who would front The Four Tops for about 50 years) and the legendary Jackie Wilson. While much black music had clear but subtle references to sex, Hank's "Work With Me Annie" and "Annie Had a Baby" were more blatant and were rarely played on the radio They had a number of more conventional hits back to back in the early 60s but faded after that. I saw Hank Ballard at a New Year's Eve party as the main attraction about 1976; his wife I heard had helped him reinvigorate his career. You'll find all of his best on this package which I recommend. I still remember the thrill of first hearing that opening guitar riff on "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go". You'll enjoy this one. Hank Ballard passed away in 2003. He was 76.

If you're thinking about getting a taste of some R&B vocal groups, this is an essential alblum. I can honestly listen to this one all the way through. I must admit I like the first half of the alblum a little better. Also, the very racy song 'Annie had a baby' is included here as well. There are plenty more hard rockers included as well. For the oldies buff, the ORIGINAL (and I think - better) "Twist" make this one worth picking up. The sound quality is really good too!

IF HANK BALLARD DID NOT MAKE YOU WANT TO GET UP AND DANCE IN THE 50'S THAN I DON'T KNOW WHO COULD BESIDES LITTTLE RICHARD,JACKE WILSON, BILL HALEY AND JERRY LEE LEWIS! WAIT TO YOU HEAR THE ORIGINAL TWIST AND "THERE'S A THRILL UP ON THE HILL..LET'S GO, LET'S, LET'S GO".HANK BALLARD WAS VERY DARING WITH HIS LYRICS AND HIS MUSIC IS JUST OUT OF THIS WORLD.I REALLY LOVE THIS TERRIFIC ALBUM AND IT STILL MAKES ME WANT TO GET UP AND DANCE.HANK HAD HIS OWN STYLE AND DISTINCTIVE VOICE.THIS IS RTHYM AND BLUES IN THE RAW!THERE'S NOTHING BORING ABOUT HANK BALLARD BELIEVE YOU ME! BUY THIS C.D. AND YOU WON'T BE SORRY!!

Before I get into the review, note that the cover that pops here up when you click on the one from Rhino is actually the 26-track 2006 import from Proper. This one had only Hank on the cover and is part of the King Masters Series.

Now, as to Hank being "unsung" - as suggested by one reviewer - I doubt that fits the description of a man inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame in 1990, a year which also saw Bobby Darin, The Kinks, The Platters, The 4 Seasons, The Four Tops, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Who also admitted. Pretty lofty company.

Hank and his group started out on the Federal label in 1953 with Get It when they were known as The Royals, and that song reached # 6 R&B in August b/w No It Ain't. In early 1954 they cut Dance With Me Henry as The Royals, but not long into the pressings it was changed to the deliciously-wicked Work With Me Annie and the billing to "The Midnighters (Formerly Known As The Royals)." That record stayed at # 1 R&B for seven solid weeks b/w Until I Die. Two months later Sexy Ways under the billing "The Midnighters Formerly The Royals" reached # 2 R&B b/w Don't Say You're Last Goodbye.

By the second installment of what became known as "the saga of Annie" called Annie Had A Baby they were billed simply as The Midnighters, and this reached # 1 R&B [two weeks] in October b/w She's The One. They finished off the trilogy in December with Annie's Aunt Fannie [# 10 R&B] b/w Crazy Loving (Stay With Me). In 1955 they enjoyed two more hits when a sort of a sequel to the Annie Saga, Henry's Got Flat Feet (Can't Dance No More), hit # 14 R&B in June b/w Whatsoever You Do, while in late August It's Love Baby (24 Hours A Day) went to # 10 R&B b/w Looka Here.

However, due in large part due to the suggestive lyrics in each of their hits to date, they had still not been able to crack the more lucrative pop charts by getting air play on the mainstream white stations, espe4cially in this era where even Lucy couldn't say "pregnant" on TV.

Almost four years would then pass before their next charter, by which time they were billed as Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, and, as Hank tells it, he wanted the self-penned The Twist to be the A-side on Federal 5171 in March 1959. But King Records decided to promote the other side, the bluesy Teardrops On Your Letter, and while it did all right [# 4 R&B and # 87 Billboard Pop Hot 100], one can only wonder how that era's musical history would have changed had it been the other way around. Chubby Checker would, of course, take it to # 1 not once, but twice - in September 1960 and again in December 1961.

Hank would have to settle for a # 6 R&B/# 28 HGot 100 in 1960 with his re-release with, sandwiched in between, Kansas City [# 16 R&B/# 72 Hot 100 in 1959], The Coffee Grind [# 21 R&B in 1960], and Finger Poppin' Time [# 2 R&B and # 7 Hot 100 in 1960 and his second-best Hot 100 hit].

In terms of what's missing from this Rhino collection, it would have been nice had they added one more track and included The Hoochi Coochi Coo (# 3 R&B/# 23 Hot 100 1961). But his best hit is here - Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go - which rose to # 6 Hot 100 in October 1960 as well as # 1 R&B.

There are three pages of liner notes by Greg Drust, then producer/host of Back At The Chicken Shack on KCSB-FM out of Santa Barbara, California, along with a discography of the contents showing chart performances, label information, and musicians/backing vocals for each selection.

My particular favourites in this package are a couple of failed singles which, as far as I'm concerned, should have charted and, given a different time, probably would have. These are the highly-suggestive Open Up The Back Door [1956] and Look At Little Sister [1959] - both staples for jiving at any house party I attended back then.

I love this album.

When I was in high School in the 50's we had a club house with a juke box in it. We had a Keg on the weekend and danced through the nite to this music. It's so great to hear it again,now if I could only find that time machine.

Although Hank Ballard and the Midnighters had only two big hits, they nevertheless had a unique sound all their own that was the essence of soul long before that term became popular. During the mid '50s before the group began to make noise on the charts, Ballard's songs were invariably suggestive and saucy, a fact that was not lost on radio station programmers. Ballard wrote "The Twist" that went gold for Chubby Checker, but he remains the creator of that dance craze of the early '60s. The group's top 40 song, "Lets Go Again (Where We Went Last Night)" was a nice follow-up to "Finger Poppin' Time" and "Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go". One of Ballard's grittiest songs was the forgotten but classic "How You Gonna Get Respect", a popular 1968 recording that received substantial airplay on soul stations but otherwise never saw the light of day.