Buddy & Ella Johnson - Gotta Go Upside Your Head: The Rock'n'Roll Years 1953-55 (2006)

One of the most unsung swing bandleaders of the 1940s, Buddy Johnson's astute mixture of jazzy R&B, pop, blues and jump coupled with his prolific composing ("That's the Stuff You Gotta Watch" and "Since I Fell for You" are among his standards) helped him transition his band into and throughout the '50s with a sound that came dangerously close at times to being actual rock & roll. Although Johnson featured several fine vocalists during his run, including Arthur Prysock, Nolan Lewis and Floyd Ryland, it was his younger sister Ella Johnson who arguably best interpreted her brother's material. This generous 28-track set from Rev-Ola Records features several of Ella's vocals on Buddy Johnson sides originally released by Mercury Records between 1953 and 1955, including Ella's perfectly nuanced (she sounds positively annoyed) "Hittin' on Me," the dubiously trusting "My Old Man," the gorgeous hitting-the-road threat "Any Day Now," the defiant "Well Do It!," and the aching "It's About to Break My Heart in Two," all of which are essentially jump numbers but they edge very close to the feel of rock & roll, particularly given Ella's playful vocal phrasing. With the rise of smaller guitar-led combos after Elvis Presley hit in 1956, Johnson found it increasingly difficult to sustain his large band concept, and consequently Ella and Buddy's hits fell off as the decade drew to a close. This intriguing set has all the essentials from the successful Mercury years. ~by Steve Leggett