It's easy to understand why artists like Sonny Boy Williamson fueled British fervour for blues-based rock. The down-and-dirty sound of Aleck 'Rice" Miller (aka Sonny Boy)'s miserly harp exhortations, coupled with Matt Murphy's chugging riffs and Lafayette Leake's swinging organ chords was impossible for the Stones to resist. Miller learned his chops on Arkansas' KFFA radio, hawking King Biscuit flour as John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, a recording star of the time. When John Lee was murdered, audacious Miller took over his name.
Availability: The Real Folk Blues/ More Real Folk Blues MCA/Chess CD
77. THE RAN-DELLS: Martian Hop/ Forgive Me Darling (1963)
There's a pathetic part of the human brain that longs to legitimise deliriuosly silly records like this one by claiming them as pioneers of electronica or early examples of genre fusion. True, Martian Hop was, " the first record to use additive synthesis from sine wave generators" and it does blend electronics with doo wop. However, its wonderfulness lies not in such scholarly detail but in the glee emanating from its lyrics. Just check out the opening stanza, "We have just discovered an important note from space/ The Martians plan to throw a dance for all the human race."
Availability: Various: Brain In A Box- The Science Fiction Collection Rhino CD
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