The Ultimate School Of Rock & Roll is a 32-track CD by Gene Summers. It is a compilation of his biggest hits including out-takes and alternate tracks. The CD was released nationally in the United States by Crystal Clear Sound Records in 1997 and is still in print. It was issued as a deluxe edition with an insert booklet containing 16 printed pages with extensive photos plus exclusive liner notes by Phil York (Yorktown Digital, USA).
Credits - Compilation producer: Phil York, Digital audio restoration: Phil York for Big Y Productions, A&R/Production supervision: David Dennard, Executive producer: Sam Paulos, Mastered at Crystal Clear Studios by Keith Rust, Art direction, Design: Frank Laudo, Digital illustration: Robert Greeson, Digital scans: Marci Fermier, Liner notes: Phil York, Photographs, sound sources and memorabilia courtesy of the Gene Summers Archives, the Tom Fleeger Collection, the Phil York Archives and the Steve Bonner Collection. Special thanks to: Tom Fleeger, Jan Records, Jane Records, Song Productions, Inc., Ted Music, Steve Bonner, George Gimarc, Terry Smith, LeBill Music, Jim Lowe and Alta Records.
Session musicians - Joe Adams - background vocals, James Anderson - guitar; Kevin Bailey - background vocals, Al "TNT" Braggs - background vocals, Bill Brown - piano, Red Callendar - bass; Jack Castleberry - bass, Robert Clark - 12-string guitar, guitar, James Clay - saxophone, Joe Cook - guitar, Hal Cormike - keyboards, Ronnie Dawson - drums, Jesse Lee Floyd - background vocals, Paul Glen - organ, Junior Graham - bass, Rene Hall - guitar, Ray Hildebrand - background vocals, Bill Hudson - acoustic guitar, Plas Johnson - saxophone, Paul Kearney - background vocals, Glenn Keener - guitar, David (Dave) Martin - bass, James McClung - guitar, piano, Art McNulty - organ; Gary Mears - guitar, background vocals, Charlie Mendias - drums; Marvin ("Smokey")Montgomery - banjo, Gary Moon - drums, Sammy Myers - organ, Dahrell Norris - drums, Earl Palmer - drums, Harlan Powell - guitar, Freddie Powers - bass, The Joe Ramirez Combo, Charlie Rios - bass, Mel Robinson - saxophone, Sol Samuels - drums, Dave Stanley - bass, Gene Summers - acoustic guitar, vocals, Billy Fred Thomas - background vocals, James Thomas - drums, Cal Valentine - background vocals, Robert Valentine - backgroung vocals, Ernest Walker - organ, piano, Benny Williams - bass, C.B. Williams - saxophone.
Album reviews
"The perfect summation of Gene Summers' career, The Ultimate School of Rock & Roll offers 32 tracks spanning the years 1957-77, although the preponderance of the collection is devoted to his early rockabilly and rock'n'roll recordings. Summers was a regional artist, but his classic rockabilly sides are masterpieces of the genre. In the '60s Summers stuck with rock'n'roll instead of performing straight country like most former rockabilly artists, and his efforts from this period wouldn't sound out of place on the Nuggets box set. Also of interest is a topical song from 1968 about the theft of Bonnie (of Bonnie and Clyde fame) Parker's headstone, and a song written for Elvis on which he approximates Elvis' vocal style. A lot of care obviously went into this package, which features excellent notes, session info, photos, and numerous previously unreleased tracks." - Greg Adams, All Music Guide, 1997
".....All of Gene Summers’ rocking recordings together on one CD –what more could a rockabilly fan ask for? Also included are rare out-takes and previously unissued performances from the Head Teacher at the School of Rock 'n Roll." - CD Review, 1999
"In my hands I have maybe the most complete Gene Summers compilation ever released, the best looking one for sure, this set of 35 tracks is based on another compilation released in 1997 in the USA by Crystal Clear Sound from Dallas, Texas. In order to offer the Rockabilly side of Summers the pals at Roller Coaster have excluded some of the songs from the 1960s originally released by Crystal Clear and which won't be missed by the Rockabilly lovers and have added 14 unreleased tracks that are partly songs from the 1950s and mostly different versions of Nervous, Twixteen, Fancy Dan and others, plus a few recordings from the early 1980s made in England with the best Rockabilly musicians of the moment backing Summers. The presentation of the CD on a cardboard open out sleeve cannot be better; filled with cool pictures and a 28 page booklet in the fabulous line of the latest Rollercaster Records releases, the Rolapak rules again! A must have. -Carlos Diaz, Rock Therapy Magazine, 1999
Rockin' Rock A Billy, February 20, 2007 "An excellent rock-a-billy CD. I'd put it at the top of my rock-a-billy collection, which is pretty good sized. A must have disc for rock-a-billy music fans. We play it a lot during the Rock-a-billy Review radio show." - The Mean-Eyed Cat, KNON-FM radio, Dallas, Texas
Excellent & essential, March 4, 2007 "Top notch material, revved up 3 chord R&R and a few smooth ballads. Good quality mastering (probably from vinyl but sounds very good).... I hadn't heard much about Gene until someone sent an MP3, and I got the full CD. Why he isn't up there with Gene (Vincent), Eddie (Cochran) and Buddy (Holly) I really don't know! Added many tracks to my oldies station, excellent stuff!" - AnotherMusicExpert (Duluth, MN USA)
Track listing
(A star (*) denotes a track which is previously unreleased)
The World We Knew, also known as Frank Sinatra, is a 1967 studio album by American singer Frank Sinatra.
David Eugene Summers was an American rockabilly singer, songwriter and guitarist. His most famous recordings include the late 50s "School of Rock 'n Roll", "Straight Skirt", "Nervous", "Gotta Lotta That", "Twixteen", "Alabama Shake", "Fancy Dan" and his biggest-selling single "Big Blue Diamonds". Summers was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall of Fame in 2005. He still performed worldwide and celebrated his 50th anniversary as a recording artist in 2008 with the release of Reminisce Cafe.
Tommy & The Tom Toms was an American musical group from 1959 to 1962 playing rock and roll, rhythm & blues, and rockabilly.
"School of Rock 'n Roll" is a song composed by James McClung in 1958 and published by Song Productions, BMI the same year. It was originally recorded by American rockabilly singer Gene Summers and his Rebels, and was first released in February 1958 by Jan Records #11-100. It was flipped with "Straight Skirt" a teen novelty 45 which became the group's first big regional hit.
"Straight Skirt" is a song written by Mary Tarver in 1958 and published by Song Productions, BMI the same year. It was originally recorded by Gene Summers and his Rebels, a rockabilly band from Dallas, Texas and was first released in February 1958 by Jan Records #11-100. On March 8, 1958, Cash Box picked it as their 'Sleeper of the Week'. In Billboard 's 'Reviews of Pop Records' they wrote: "The artist is backed by a chorus and cheerful rockabilly support on this blues. The kids might take to this".
Do Right Daddy is an album by Gene Summers. It was recorded at Enviken Studios, Enviken, Sweden on August 5, 2002. The back-up band included Ulf Back, Jonas Olpers, Patrik Staffansson, Riley McOwen, Lars Sodervall, Ulf Torstensson and Henrik Eriksson. Two of the tracks on this album, "Little Lu Ann" and "Boogie Rock," were written by James McClung who also composed "School Of Rock 'n Roll" "Alabama Shake" and "Fancy Dan" for Summers in the 1950s. McClung was also a founding member of Gene Summers and the Rebels in 1957.
School Of Rock & Roll is a CD by Gene Summers. It was his first CD release although many of his recordings had been previously released on various artists compilation albums and CDs. School Of Rock 'n Roll was issued in 1993 on Collector Records (#4420) out of the Netherlands.
The Southern Cat Rocks On is a 12" vinyl album by Gene Summers, his second album release. It is a compilation of tracks he recorded in Texas between 1962 and 1975.
Mister Rock and Roll is a 12", vinyl record album (LP) by Gene Summers, issued by Lake County Records in 1977. It was Summers's second album released by the Swiss label.
Texas Rock And Roll is a 10" vinyl album by American rockabilly singer Gene Summers. It was released by the French Big Beat label in 1981. It is a compilation of early rock 'n roll recordings by Gene Summers covering a time period from 1962 through 1975.
Rock And Roll Volume 2. is a 12" vinyl album by Gene Summers and five other artists. This was the first album ever released on Summers. It was issued in 1973 on the Collector Records imprint, a re-issue label located in the Netherlands. It is not available on CD.
"Twixteen" is a song written by Mary Tarver in 1958 and published by Ted Music, BMI. It was first recorded by Gene Summers and His Rebels in 1958 and issued by Jan/Jane Records. The "Twixteen" recording session took place at the Liberty Records Studios in Hollywood, California and featured René Hall and James McClung on guitar, Plas Johnson on saxophone, Earl Palmer on drums, and George "Red" Callendar on bass. The flipside of "Twixteen" was "I'll Never Be Lonely".
"Gotta Lotta That" is a song written by Bernice Bedwell in 1958 and published by Song Productions, BMI. It was first recorded by Gene Summers and His Rebels in 1958 and issued by Jan/Jane Records. The "Gotta Lotta That" recording session took place at the Liberty Records Studios in Hollywood, California and featured Rene Hall and James McClung on guitar, Plas Johnson on saxophone, Earl Palmer on drums, and George "Red" Callendar on bass. The flipside of "Gotta Lotta That" was "Nervous".
I'll Never Be Lonely is a song written by Mary Tarver in 1958 and published by Ted Music, BMI. It was first recorded by Gene Summers and His Rebels in 1958 and issued by Jan/Jane Records that same year. "I'll Never Be Lonely" was recorded at Master Recorders in Los Angeles, California in 1958 during the "School of Rock 'n Roll"/"Straight Skirt" sessions. Musicians featured were the original Rebels: Gene Summers on vocals and guitar, James McClung on lead guitar, Gary Moon on drums, and Benny Williams on slap bass. The flipside of "I'll Never Be Lonely" was "Twixteen".
"You Said You Loved Me" is a song written by Glenn Keener in 1961 and published by Gant Music, BMI. It was first recorded by Gene Summers in 1961. The recording session took place in Fort Worth, Texas at Clifford Herring Studios. Musicians included Summers-vocals, Glenn Keener-guitar, Freddie Powers-bass, Art McNulty-organ and an unknown drummer. It was released on Alta Records (#104) on February 2, 1962 and was flipped with the ASCAP pop, standard tune "Tomorrow" written by (Spiltany-Wilhite-Hirsh).
"Nervous" is a rockabilly/doo-wop song first recorded by Gene Summers and His Rebels in 1958 and later covered by Robert Gordon and Link Wray, among others. It was composed by Mary Tarver in 1957, published by Ted Music, BMI and issued on Jan/Jane Records. The "Nervous" recording session took place at Liberty Records Studios in Hollywood, California in June 1958 and featured Rene Hall and James McClung on guitar, Plas Johnson on saxophone, Earl Palmer on drums, and George "Red" Callendar on bass. The background vocal group was the Five Masks. The flipside of "Nervous" was "Gotta Lotta That".
The Rebels was a rockabilly band from Dallas, Texas that recorded "School of Rock 'n Roll" and "Straight Skirt" with Gene Summers. The group consisted of James McClung (guitar), Gary Moon (drums) and Benny Williams. They were soon joined by pianist Bill Brown who played on some of their early personal appearances. They were one of the first rock 'n roll bands to record using the name "Rebels", preceding Duane Eddy's Rebels by at least six months and the "Wild Weekend" Rebels by more than two years.
Reminisce Cafe is a landmark album by Gene Summers, released in 2008. It is his 50th anniversary album issued by Seduction Records on February 1, 2008, exactly 50 years to the day of the release of his first hit single "School of Rock 'n Roll"/ "Straight Skirt".
The Wild Angels is an English rock and roll group. The group got their name from the 1966 Roger Corman film The Wild Angels starring Peter Fonda.
Bad Reputation is the twelfth studio album by American musician Kid Rock. It was released digitally on March 21, 2022, and on physical CD on April 6, 2022, by Top Dog Records. The album spawned five singles: "Don't Tell Me How to Live" which features Monster Truck, "Ala-Fuckin-Bama", "We the People", "The Last Dance" and "Rockin'", and three music videos were released. This was the first album since 1996's Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp to be released by Top Dog Records independently.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
