Vinyl Record Lovers Newsletter

Middle Age Crazy, written by Sonny Throckmorton in 1977, became a #4 hit song for Jerry Lee Lewis.

This is Classic Country, delivered by one of the very best in the business.

Jerry Lee's recordings for Sun are some great Classic Rock sounds, but his Country music recordings puts him on an entirely different level.

As one individual remarked after listening to a Jerry Lee Lewis Country Album...

"This man's voice consistently puts the listener's goosebumps at strict attention, in a way that propels him beyond many country singers today, to a level just a shade below the King himself." 

Those of us who grew up during the 50s and early 60s remember the musical good times our parents referred to as the Swing Era (also frequently referred to as the "big band era") from the 30s and 40s.

In the early 50s a new phase of music called Rock-n-roll was discovered and everyone was suddenly "All Shook Up." However, Doo wop was already on the scene with various groups serenading under the streetlights for all to see----and hear. And what a magnificent sound it was.

Doo wop, developed in the 1940s, is music from the founding fathers achieving mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 60s with R&B vocal harmony such as Cleve Duncan and the Penguins bringing back those memories of their anthem, "Earth Angel."

This 1954 classic was one of the very first of the true ultra-romantic ballads that struck the nerve of teens all across America. 

You had some up-tempo dance records like the Silhouettes "Get A Job," the "Solitaires" "Walking the Dog" and the Del Vikings' "Come Go With Me,"  all from the mid 50s. At the other end of the spectrum I remember my first girl friend and dancing to Hal Miller and The Rays serenading about two "Silhouettes" on the shade.

And how about Pookie Hudson and the Spaniels saying "Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight" at three o'clock in the morning; the Mello-Kings crooning "Tonite, Tonite"; and of course, the great Fred Parris along with the Five Satins singing the all time number one doo wop anthem from 1956, "In The Still of The Nite." Every time I hear a doo wop record, I'm brought instantly back to those moments in time.

In 2014 I was fortunate to spend a few of those moments in time talking via phone to Vinny Mazzetta, the saxophone player on that original 1956 song.  Tom Sokira, the audio engineer and co-producer on the song contacted me in late 2018 with the sad news of Vinny's passing.

Several months earlier Tom was kind enough to share information with me about that great song, "In The Still of The Nigh." Sadly, my friend, Tom Sokira, also passed in 2025. The Doo wop artists and groups are slowly fading into the sunset but their music and our memories will live on.  

When I added the Jerry Lee Lewis article above it made me stop and think about my old buddy JW. He received an article from a friend about a Texas city that had an annual "Thunder-box" display and contest as to who had the best-looking "Outhouse."

It brought back old memories of my younger days many moons ago sittin' and "Shakin'" (as Jerry Lee would say) in freezing temperatures in one of those ever so cold calls to nature.

My uncle owned an auto repair business and junkyard back in the fifties, and I would spend many weekends as a young boy looking for fun in the junkyard...breaking out windows and headlights with my cousins. You did not want to get caught by my Uncle doing this.

Sittin' in the "Thunder-box" and listening to Jerry Lee Lewis' "Whole Lot of Shakin Going On" and "Great Balls of Fire" coming from the garage radio was a fun part of those fifties memories.

Most "Thunder-boxes" had to be close enough for easy access, but far enough to minimize the smell.

My uncle would place Montgomery Ward or Sears & Roebuck catalogs in the "Outhouse" whenever toilet paper was in short supply. The Sears catalog was well-known in this context, and even produced such humorous spin-offs as the "Rears and Sorebutt" catalogs.

The Thunderbox did not have a ventilator like modern day bathrooms so gettin' in and gettin' out was a priority.