The lunacy of the best Louisiana R&B in excelsis: moustachioed New Orleans native Smith and his vocal circus tumble through some of the most splendid nonsense of their era: "A-ha ha ha/ Hey yay-oh/ A-grooba grooba grooba." This soundtrack to the kind of party where sober coherence is bad manners rose to number 9 in the US, assisted by the B-side's equally infectious groove. The fact that most Britons still associate it with Amazulu-- whose cover version went Top 20 in 1985-- is unfortunate.
Availability: Having A Good Time Westside CD
87. THE BIG BOPPER : Chantilly Lace/ The Purple People Eater Meets The Witchdoctor(1958)
"Hello, baby! Will I what? Oh honey, you know what I like!" He was every girl's nightmare-- a hulk of lust crushed into a cheap suit with sweaty hands everywhere. But Jape "Big Bopper" Richardson knew what he liked, and he condensed it into 120 seconds of classic rock'n'roll. He was a DJ first, a singer second, and Chantilly Lace was intended as a novelty. But its cut-to-the-chase carnality captured the esssence of the devil's music. Richardson joined the immortals in the crash that killed Buddy Holly, leaving Chantilly Lace as his last testament.
Availability: The Best Of The Big Bopper Spectrum CD
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