Straight outta Saskatoon... it's the Swingin' Canadians!

Sundazed is releasing The Swingin' Canadians – Kangaroo Hash comp as part of their Ultra 100's series – only 100 copies!

 

Here's the scoop from Sundazed HQ...

The sound of Saskatoon's Swingin' Canadians is a mixture of lots of punchy horns, some jangle and the energy combined with a certain flavor of angst that could only come from a band run by siblings who grew up in Saskatchewan. Previously featured on Sundazed's Heated Garage comp, The Swingin' Canadians' Kangaroo Hash album it includes 5 unissued tracks & their Bangar singles!

In the 1950s Gene Dlouhy led a big band with his brothers as the CBC Happytimers, then in the '60s he and his brother Reg led the Swinging Canadians, who at one time became the house band at the Trade Winds in Calgary, Alberta (where at the time they were based).

Gene's vocals had a range that had him swing from smooth vocals to a raspy bark when he wasn't propelling the band with his sax or solid metronomic rhythm guitar playing. The band typically featured a tight combo of fiddle, steel guitar, upright bass, and sometimes accordion—delivering toe-tapping two-steps and lively polkas alongside swing standards and country hits. Their sound was clean, melodic, and dance-friendly, perfect for the community halls and rodeo events that defined rural entertainment in Western Canada.

Gene Dlouhy & The Swingin' Canadians were a regional success in Saskatchewan and didn't seem to tour too much outside of that. However, sometimes the tours came to him, as he opened for Roy Orbison on some Canadian dates. The band would ultimately turn down a recording contract in the US so that they could stand firm in their Canadian roots. He continued performing for decades up until 2020 when he reunited with his late brother Reg at the age of 93. His musical legacy is carried on by his son Guy, who sings and plays guitar in the Hard Labor Band. 

Get a limited edition copy of The Swingin' Canadians' "Kangaroo Hash" LP directly from Sundazed Records right here. And watch out for a special Thanksgiving themed Ultra 100's single released tonight. Watch three video clips following the track listing below.  

The Swingin' Canadians - Kangaroo Hash

Kangaroo Hash • Baby I Need Your Love • Hooka Tooka • Kiss Me Sweet • Whirlybird • I Want To Go With You • Pretty Little Cha Cha • Boney Maronie • ​Drinking Wine • Mexican Market Days • Since I Met You Baby • Long Tall Texan • Autumn Leave​s​ • French Canadian Twist* • Broken Hearts* • Yakety Sax*

*CD Only

Dr. John solo piano recordings unearthed for Frankie & Johnny LP

Dr. John's solo set "Frankie & Johnny" was originally recorded back in 1982-83 but never released... until now. Thanks Sundazed!

Here's the scoop...

A lost solo piano record from the Night Tripper! Originally put to tape in ‘82 & ‘83 for the Clean Cuts label, these tracks have remained unheard until now. Two numbers feature the doc's raspy growl while his solo piano navigates us through the rest of the train ride, past touches of blues, jazz, and foot stompin’ boogie-woogie jive. It's the kind of magic that can only come from a dusty tape box. The CD version comes with two bonus tracks! 

In 1981, Dr. John began recording his first of two solo piano albums. The “new” performances featured on this release are of the same quality as the music on Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack and The Brightest Smile In Town. 

His left hand creates a three-note rhythmic pattern that forms the foundation for the performance while his right soulfully plays the melody and then builds off of it in the tradition of the New Orleans piano blues masters. In other songs, it begins as a nostalgic and heartfelt ballad, picking up steam during the performance and switching moods several times before returning to where it began. 

While it is a real shame that he would never again record a full album of unaccompanied solos (Dr. John enjoyed leading a band too much), the release of Frankie & Johnny gives one an additional opportunity to discover just how brilliant and spirited a pianist Mac Rebennack was during his colourful career. 

Get a copy of Dr. John's "Frankie & Johnny" album via Bandcamp right here. Check out "Hobo Blues" along with some performance footage from the period following the tracklisting below. 

Dr. John – Frankie & Johnny

1. Frankie & Johnny 03:30

2. Boll Weevil 04:42

3. Gentilly Boulevard 05:16

4. Rebennack Appliance 01:59

5. Hobo Blues 02:43

6. Conundrum 03:24

7. Some Train Goin' Some Way 06:53

8. Public Belt 04:20

9. The Pontchar Train 03:45

10. Conundrum (alternate take) 04:42

11. Boxcar Boogie (alternate take) 03:34

Sundazed serves up more Kay Bank rarities for RSD with Heated Garage comp

There seems to be no end to the unissued garage & surf material recorded at Minnesota's Kay Bank Studio back in the 60s. 

Here's the scoop...

Heated Garage – released in a numbered limited edition for Record Store Day on April 20 – is a sonic snapshot of what happened when boundless musical energy and middle American moxie combined to create a cultural phenomenon. The tracks are drawn from a vast archive of Kay Bank master tapes - some are ultra rarities you’d be hard pressed to snatch from the collectors’ market without mortgaging a kidney. Others are alternate versions and outtakes never before released in any form!

“The joke was, some bands didn’t become garage bands because it was too damn cold...you can’t go outside when it’s 25 below zero. So, a lot of people are honing their craft in their basements.” High Spirits guitarist Owen Husney explains.

Knowing more about them is not only unnecessary, it would mar their mystique. They exist forever in a moment of raw rock ‘n’ roll glory that transcends time, a space shared by their Heated Garage brethren.

Looking back on The Pagans’ songs, for example, Kip Sullivan says, “They feel sacred to me.” Recollecting his High Spirits adventures, Owen Husney sighs, “I would go back to those heydays in a minute.” Now he can. And we can all come along.  - Jim Allen

Listen to a preview sampling at the Sundazed site right here. Watch the clip for "Baba Yaga" by The Pagans after the track listing below. 

Heated Garage: Toasty Treasures from Minnesota's Kay Bank Studio 

Baba Yaga - The Pagans • Gorilla - The Shandells • She Don’t Play Games - The ICC • It’s Alright With Me - The High Spirits • Baby I Need Your Love - The Swingin’ Canadians • Jeanette - Frank Martinez and The Pharomen • It Must Be Love - Little Caesar & The Conspirators • Stop Shakin’ Your Head - The Pagans • Run, Run, Run (unissued alternate) - The Gestures • Don’t You Love Me Baby - The ICC • Palisades Park - The High Spirits • That’s Us - Frank Martinez and The Pharomen • Wine, Wine, Wine - The Nightcaps • That Feelin’ - The Kinetics • I Love You Baby - Lou Riegert & The Troops

Surfin' The Great Lakes comp of 60s Kay Bank Studio gems out on CD

Sundazed's CD version of their Surfin' The Great Lakes comp adds six rare bonus tracks from the Kay Bank Studio tape vault. 

 

Here's the scoop...

Surfin' The Great Lakes is a compilation of unreleased & rare tracks from the Twin Cities’ Kay Bank Studios featuring 22 rip snortin’ cuts – only 16 tracks on the out-of-print vinyl version – of the best surf and garage rock Kay Bank had to offer. Features The Trashmen, The Vaqueros, and more! Includes liner notes by John Blair who put together the Illustrated Discography Of Surf Music. 

Kay Bank Recordings in Minneapolis was certainly one of these historic studios. It was named after the wife of owner Vernon Bank. Although he had been involved in the recording business since the late 1940s, Bank’s recording studio operation got underway in 1957 when he moved into a building that was large enough to also establish a pressing plant. The studio provided a 3-track Ampex recorder, a 12-input recording console, and a live echo chamber.

According to a 1958 article in the Minneapolis Star newspaper, Kay Bank was pressing 60,000 records each week, and Vernon Bank claimed that his studio provided the most complete facility of any other studio “between Pennsylvania and California.” The sign above the building’s entrance stated, “A Complete Recording Service From Master Tape to Pressed Record.”

Sundazed Music recently acquired a large archive of the existing Kay Bank master tapes. Some of the surf, and related, recordings in that archive are included in this compilation, all recorded between June 1964 and August 1966- at a time when the British Invasion was ravaging the sales charts.

Get a CD copy of Surfin' The Great Lakes directly from Sundazed Records right here. 

Various Artists – Surfin' The Great Lakes

Jonah - The Vaqueros • Heaven’s Devil - The Boss Tweads • Caliente - The Marauders • Island In The Sun - The Vaqueros • Shot In The Dark - The Mustangs • Disintegration - The Readymen • Comin’ Home Baby - The Vaqueros • Girl Don’t Tell Me - The Satisfactions • 80 Foot Wave - The Vaqueros • Za Boo - The Valients • Bird Gasp ‘65 - The Trashmen • Surfin’ Blues - The Readymen • The Furys - Little Queenie (instrumental version) • Space Journey Ranger 7 - The Vaqueros • Surf Beat - The Chancellors • Greensleeves - The Trashmen • Wine Wine Wine (instrumental version) - The Bleach Boys* • Baba Yaga (instrumental version) - The Pagans* • Beach Girl - The Valients* • Hey Little One (instrumental version) - The Shandells* • Shortnin’ Bread (instrumental version) - The Readymen* • Lizzy Lost Her Beach Ball - T Lawrence Sherwood Greens*

*CD ONLY

Jackie DeShannon's early "Sherry Lee" country recordings uncovered

Prior to her 60s reign as L.A. pop singer/songwriter royalty, Jackie DeShannon had her own C&W radio show as a teenager

Here's the scoop...

Two honky tonk platters of newly discovered recordings from the legendary singer-songwriter when she was performing country music under her birth name, Sherry Lee Myers. Recorded by her mother directly from the radio!

You probably know the great Jackie DeShannon as the California-based pop singer who in the 1960s, when America seemed to be coming apart at the seams, proclaimed that “What the World Needs Now Is Love” and urged us all to “Put a Little Love in Your Heart.” A desperate SOS for a society in distress never sounded so sweet.

But do you recall, a decade earlier, hearing fifteen-year-old Sharon Lee Myers (on the radio she was “Sherry Lee”) singing hardcore country songs by Patsy Cline, George Jones, Webb Pierce, and the like? 

You don’t? Well, then, you will no doubt be surprised to learn that Sherry Lee and Jackie DeShannon are one and the same. Yes, Sharon “Sherry” Lee Myers, born in tiny Hazel, Kentucky, sings like her Southern soul depends on it in these recordings. Just a few years later, she would become an internationally known singer and songwriter with major hits that would transcend genres and decades. 

This collection contains radio performances by DeShannon from 1956 and 1957 as broadcast on WMRO in Aurora, Illinois. These live-on-the-radio recordings have never been issued before, and they are among the few surviving artifacts from DeShannon’s early career. This album marks the first time her formative years have been extensively documented with her cooperation.

Get a copy of The Sherry Lee Show double LP from Sundazed Records right here. Check out "Waitin'" following the track listing below. 

Jackie DeShannon – The Sherry Lee Show

Y'all Come • I'm Crazy Darling • Un Oh No • Why Baby Why • It May Have Been Teardrops • Taking My Chances • Walkin' After Midnight • The Sherry Lee Show Promo • Waiting • You're The Reason I'm In Love • My Heart Is Blind • I Can't Make My Dreams Understand • I'm Counting On You • Since I Left You Baby • When You Hurt Me I Don't • Always Cry • Radio Show Announcement • I'm Walkin' • Anyway You Want Me • You Don't Owe Me A Thing • Big Hello • Money Honey • I'm In Love Again • Baby Let's Play House • Commercial • Love, Love, Love • Baby Honey • We Could • Sweet Dreams About You • Don't Stop The Music • Blue Monday • A Satisfied Mind • Radio Show Closing

The Remains live at the Boston Tea Party recording from 1969 resurfaces!

The Remains' 9-song Live 1969 album with Mike Stax liner notes is being issued by Sundazed  on January 12.

Recorded at the legendary Boston Tea Party in 1969, The Remains rip through an absolute killer of a set list, featuring road tested covers of “Hang On Sloopy,” “Johnny B. Goode,” and their crowd-pleasing original “Why Do I Cry.” Captured two and a half years after they broke up, the four original members of The Remains are in perfect form here for a one-night-only performance that was only rumored to exist – until now. From the recently discovered tapes, to pristine R.T.I. pressed vinyl! Also available on compact disc. Listen to clips and pre-order the album directly from Sundazed right here. Watch a couple of videos of the reunited Remains performing in 2010 below.

“There’s Nothing else in The Remains world as wild as this one.
"We were on fire…on the brink…” – Barry Tashian (The Remains)