*(1957) Sun ''Red Hot'' (Take 7 Complete) Billy Riley

Описание: STUDIO SESSION FOR BILLY RILEY
AT THE MEMPHIS RECORDING SERVICE FOR SUN RECORDS 1957

SUN RECORDING STUDIO
706 UNION AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
SUN SESSION: WEDNESDAY JANUARY 30, 1957
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER - SAM C. PHILLIPS

''RED HOT''
Composer: - William Robert Emerson
Publisher: - B.M.I. - Hi-Lo Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - None - Take 7 - Not Originally Issued (2:31)
Recorded: - January 30, 1957
Released: - 2011
First appearance: - Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 17122-2/7 mono
BILLY RILEY - THE OUTTAKES

Red Hot is as close to a national hit as Billy Riley ever came. Fans and historians will tell you that it should have come a lot closer. The sad fact is that younger rockabilly fans are more likely to have heard Robert Gordon's versions of the song, the first of which was released about 20 years after Riley's. At least we can say without fear of contradiction that Robert Gordon, like any good student of vintage rockabilly, was listening to Billy Riley. And we can add that Link Wray and Danny Garton, Gordon's sidemen, did their share of listening to Roland Janes, Sun's unsung guitar hero.

Gordon wasn't the only rock n roll hero who cut his musical teeth on Red Hot. In 1992 when Billy Riley was enjoying something of a comeback (a European tour, a new record), there was a memorable moment at Carter Memorial Auditorium in Little Rock, Arkansas. On September 8, Bob Dylans tour took him to that city. Dylan stopped his performance mid-concert and called Billy Riley up onto the stage. Dylan took Riley's hand and told the audience, ''this man is my hero''. The two singers then performed ''Red Hot'' together.

By now, most Billy Riley fans know that he did not write ''Red Hot''. That honor belongs to Billy ''The Kid'' Emerson, one of Sun's early rhythm and blues artists. Undoubtedly, Sam Phillips - who owned the copyright - introduced Emerson's version ''Red Hot'' (released on Sun 219) to Riley during one of their meetings. It's like the idea took root in Riley's mind and morphed into the rave-up that even surfaced in September, 1957. Even that development, as we shall see in a moment, was anything but straight-forward or instantaneous. Riley's version of ''Red Hot'' is decidedly different from Emerson's original, which itself was based on a schoolyard cheer ("Our team is Red Hot / Your team ain't doodly squat'). At the leas energy level Riley brings to the proceedings leaves Emerson in the dust. This is not to cast Billy Emerson in a bad light. His early sides for Sun have a place on any self-respecting "Roots Of Soul" compilation.

The differences between Riley's and Emerson's versions of ''Red Hot'' are almost startling. To begin with, Billy Emerson's record has the rough, unfinished feel of some of the Riley alternate takes. There were only two years between Emerson and Riley, although you'd be tempted to guess that as much as much as a decade had passed. What makes Emerson's version sound so rough? First, Emerson blows some of the lyrics, confusing whether its lovin' or money she's got a lot of there's the matter of the response "Your gal ain't doodley squat."Both Riley and Emerson use it, but only Riley's version was overdubbed to give a full onmike choral effect. On Emerson's, the response sounds like what it was: one off-mike voice shouting from across the room.

But the biggest difference between Emerson and Riley is in the lyrics. You might notice, for example, that Emerson's gal is five feet tall ("she's a little bitty mama'), whereas Riley's is 6'4". The lady has grown more than a foot between the two records. But there's an even bigger difference. When his band responds "Your gal ain't doodley squat," Billy Emerson immediately replies, "Yes she is!" He's telling them and us, "My gal is Red Hot. You guys are wrong!" That's a pretty important piece of the picture. The singer brags on his girlfriend. The band tells him he's wrong, and the singer comes right back to say, ''No I'm not!" But Riley lets the put down stand. He doesn't get the last word. The final verdict is that his girl is not Red Hot. Or at least there's a group of folks out there who disagree with him.

Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Billy Riley - Vocal and Guitar
Roland Janes - Guitar
Marvin Pepper - Bass
James M. Van Eaton - Drums
Jimmy Wilson – Piano
John ''Ace'' Cannon - Saxophone
Band Chorus - Off mic

Source and more information see: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

- Digitally Remastered

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