SWINGIN' RECORDS LIVES ON IN 2011!
Still known as an announcer before the term "disc jockey" became popular, HUNTER HANCOCK played jazz recordings on the new show he dubbed "Harlem Holiday." Bandleader Chick Webb's "Holiday in Harlem" featuring Ella Fitzgerald became the theme song. By 1947, Hancock was encouraged to add a daily half-hour show he called "Harlematinee," and he soon learned that jazz was not the only music that appealed to his audience. A Modern Records salesman bluntly told him, "Hancock ... if you want to reach a huge Negro audience, you should be playing race records."Hancock had no idea what "race records" were, but played two that the salesman offered. That attracted more record promoters, and within a week, Hancock told the Doo-Wop Society years later, "my show was 100% 'race music.' Nowadays, he said, we call it rhythm and blues. Without realizing it, I became the first disc jockey in the western United States to play R&B."
In 1959, along with Roger Davenport, Hancock started SWINGIN' RECORDS with a debut hit, "There Is Something on Your Mind" by saxophonist BIG JAY McNEELY. They also released songs by Marvin and Johnny, Rochell and the Candles and the Hollywood Saxons, among others.
Hancock remained at KGFJ through the 1960s but left radio in 1968 to work PR for Western Outdoor News. He passed away on August 4, 2004.
CHECK OUT THE LATEST RELEASES FROM THIS HISTORIC SOUTHLAND LABEL, INCLUDING SOME BY THE GREAT BIG JAY McNEELY, WHO CONTINUES TO PERFORM HERE IN THE STATES AS WELL AS AT MAJOR EUROPEAN MUSIC FESTIVALS. MORE...
A collection of hits, rarities, live cuts, radio broadcasts, alternative takes and swingin' sides from 1949-1959. Includes never-before released material from Big Jay's personal collection, choice cuts from Little Sonny Warner, who sang "There Is Something On Your Mind", plus an 8-page booklet with early photos and liner notes by Jim Dawson. A must-have for the bonafide record collector. Hunter Hancock would be proud!
SWCD-715 * BUY IT NOW *
A complete collection of the Deacon of The Tenor Saxophone from his early days. Also includes a few unreleased gems. "Deacon" Big Jay McNeely helped establish Rock & Roll by hammering out a stream of jump records that were perfect for dancing and carousing purposes. Who knew that he was helping to create a new musical art form that the world now knows as American Rock & Roll! You have to check this one out.
SWCD-716 * BUY IT NOW *
A complete collection of Big Jay's recordings from 1951-52. This red-hot compilation Includes some of his finest all-out honkers and screamers! The new decade of the 50s was a truly exciting time in American musical history and Big Jay was at the forefront of the Rock & Roll movement. Listen to these smokin' tracks and you see why BIg Jay McNeely is revered around the world as one of the pioneers of American Rock & Roll!
SWCD-717 *BUY IT NOW*
The complete recordings of The Godfather of the Honking Tenor Sax between 1953-55. He singlehandedly brought the sax into the Rock 'n Roll arena in the late 40's and early 50's and STILL performs with fire and passion today! Thanks to his flamboyant playing, called "honking," Big Jay McNeely remains popular all over the globe to this very day and can still be seen at major European festivals and concerts here in the States!
SWCD-718 *BUY IT NOW*
14 cuts of original and vintage Rythm & Blues, Jump Blues, and Rock 'N Roll featuring an all-star cast of L.A.'s best including guest appearances from Hunter Hancock, Big Jay McNeely, Carl Sonny Leyland, and the Lonely Blue Boys. The band has earned a reputation from the Blues, Roots, Swing, and Retro-Billy crowd as one of the best around. You can catch them performing around town as well as festivals in Europe and Asia.
SWCD-714 *BUY IT NOW*
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