*(1956) Sun 255-A ''Ten Cats Down'' The Miller Sisters

Описание: STUDIO SESSION FOR THE MILLER SISTERS
AT THE MEMPHIS RECORDING SERVICE FOR SUN RECORDS 1956

SUN RECORDING STUDIO
706 UNION AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
SUN SESSION: UNKNOWN DATE 1956
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER - SAM C. PHILLIPS

"TEN CATS DOWN"
Composer: - Bill Cantrell-Quinton Claunch
Publisher: - B.M.I. - Knox Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - U 212 - Master (2:20)
Recorded: - Unknown Date Summer 1956
Released: - August 3, 1956
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 78/45rpm standard single Sun 255-A mono
TEN CATS DOWN / FINDERS KEEPERS
Reissued: - 1995 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15802 DI-3-3 mono digital
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 2

Here was a prime opportunity for Sun to tap into the growing teenage market rather than service a faltering country audience. Sax replaced fiddle as the sidemen, this time largely made up of players from Johnny Bernero's band, worked hard to make the track jump accordingly. Vocally-speaking the girls exude a great deal of savvy which gained them an entirely new mantle, far removed from the indigenous harmonies that had set the standard on their earlier releases. (SC)

"Ten Cats Down" was about as close as the Sisters ever came to rock and roll. They were, first and foremost, a country act and while they had an admirable feeling for the blues (listen their version of "Got You On My Mind") they were never fated to climb onto the emerging rock bandwagon. Even Ace Cannon's sax meanderings sound curiously stilted.

And of course, Sam Phillips hedged his bets on the Miller Sisters last record by pairing the lovely ballad ''Finder Keepers'' with the girls one attempt at a solid rocker. ''Ten Cats Down'' was as close as the ladies came to rockabilly but their sound was really ill-equipped for it. It seems as though women and rockabilly have always had an unsteady romance, despite notable exceptions such as Wanda Jackson and Janis Martin. Arguably, the Miller Sisters were too country, too pure sounding to sound convincing on this type of song. The song needs a raging river and the girls are like a crystal stream. Nevertheless, this track is of considerable interest because it represent a previously unissued alternate take of the version issued on Sun 225. If anything, this version is closer to jazz than rock and roll and pushes the proceedings in the direction of western swing, which was surely not Phillips' intension in 1956. It marked the end of Quinton Claunch and Bill Cantrell's association with Sam Phillips, and Cantrell remembered it with a wince. (MH) (HD) (CE)

Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Elsie Jo Miller - Vocal
Mildred Wages - Vocal
Buddy Holobaugh - Guitar
Jan Ledbetter - Bass
Johnny Bernero - Drums
Johnny Ace Cannon - Saxophone

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