O.K., if you have been around here for any length of time, you have heard me talk about Bill Dees before. And, you may remember that he has a record, that Lou Whitney and I produced, that will be coming out in the near future.
Back in the ’50s, Bill was in a group called The Five Bops. They recorded two songs for the legendary Norman Petty in 1957 (I think that is the correct year.). One of the tunes “Jitterbuggin’”, written by H.F. Ritchie, got a bit of regional airplay and, on the strength of that, the Bops opened a few shows for Bill’s future songwriting partner, Roy Orbison.
The record is rare and, to some, sought after. Bill said he saw a copy for sale at a used record store in London, during the ’80s, and it was priced at 80 pounds.
You never know what you are going to find on the web. I just did a search for The Five Bops and found this site, LoneStarStomp, where you can listen to “Jitterbuggin’”. And also, this photo.
That’s Bill standing on the right. I’m going to have to ask Bill who the extra Bop is.
Anyway, go over and listen to “Jitterbuggin’” and check out the ending, which is real similar to the main riff from “Tequila” by The Champs. “Tequila” came out in ‘58 so, it makes you wonder if one of those guys heard the Bops record. The lick on “Jitterbuggin’” is played by Tommy Allsup but, Bill tells me that H.F. came up with the idea and that they had been playing it long before they ever got to the studio.
By the way, the author of LoneStarStomp goes by the name of WesTex and has another very interesting site called Diggin’ It!!!; seems to be a very knowledgeable source for early rock and roll.
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Tags: Bill Dees, H.F. Ritchie, LoneStarStomp, Roy Orbison, The Five Bops, WesTexDigs
Jayne d'Arcy wrote,
I like it. Very 50s and good to listen to.
Link | July 8th, 2008 at 5:36 am
Gary Anderson wrote,
I just returned from a Phillips High School reunion. The “Five Bops” were the entertainment. In the photo they are:
1st row, unknown, Melvin Webb, Billy Baker
top row, H.F. Ritchie, Gene Richmond, Bill Dees
All but Gene are grads of PHS.
All but “unknown” were there and singing. “Jitterbuggin’” was as good as ever. So was Bill on “Pretty Woman.”
Link | July 14th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Pribek wrote,
Very good, Gary. Glad you stopped by. I was out at Bill’s house today and he told me he had a blast!
Link | July 14th, 2008 at 7:43 pm