Classic Ladies of Popcorn: A Little Sugar [1956-65]

Several fine goodies including Maxine Brown, Babs Tino, Yvonne Carroll, Tini Yuro, Dee Dee Warwick, Paula Watson, Toni Carroll, Varetta Dillard, and more. 20 tracks in all. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 18: Any Way You Wanta!

From 1953 to '66. Willie Wright & His Sparklers, Linda Willoby, Mari Norleen, Robert Knight, Marv Johnson, Maureen Evans, Dean & Jean, Bobby Bunny & The Jackrabbits, Bill Giant, and more. Also one of my all-time Sam Cooke favs, "Movin' and A'Groovin'." 20 tracks in all. Enjoy!

20 Shoobie-Oop-Doop-Bam-A-Lam Oldies!

50s & 60s, mostly rare or unsung gems. A mix of doo-wop, R&B, popcorn, etc. Check out Charlie Feathers' "Jungle Fever." Also Larry Williams' "Hootchy-Koo," The King Bees' "Give Me Your Number" and Caterina Valente's "Taboo" plus a couple of not-so-rare in The Blisters' "Shortnin' Bread" and Dave Brubeck Quartet's "Toki's Theme." Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 17: Shakin' the World!

Volume 16, back at the first of the year, was going to be the last in the series. After listening to Chuck Willis' "Whatcha Gonna Do When Your Baby Leaves You" and Peggy King's "Up, Up, Up (Flying High)" (both on this mix), I changed my mind. Once again, all good to great tracks, with a few deep album cuts as well. With the two aforementioned big fav tracks, there's also Bill Haley & His Comets' "Hawk," Roy Gaines' "Black Gal," Frances Faye's "Frenesí" and Eddie Cooley & The Dimples' "Driftwood" as well. They're all good. Of the 17 volumes so far, I'd say it's in the top 5. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 16: Kinda Wonderful

A new year, and new popcorn. Little Hank's "Mister Bang Bang Man" would be my top fav. Andrea Carroll's "It Hurts to Be Sixteen," Jimmy Breedlove's "You're Following Me" and Nick Charles' "The Right Girl" my other top favs. 20 tracks in all, from 1960 to 66. Enjoy, and have a glorious new year and a prosperous 2025 and beyond!

Popcorn Mania 15: The Instrumentals

All instrumentals, mostly sixties, a few fifties, and one from the early seventies (Michel Legrand's "Di-gue-ding-ding" - utilizes vocalizations/voice effects). Also, Werner Müller's "Bodybuilding" has spoken lines but no singing. All great stuff including Jack Eubanks, Jack Costanzo, Sonny Scott, a couple from Earl Bostic, and more. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 14: Just a Little Bit More

Popcorn music/style seems to be so well loved, why not another! 18 tracks (I'd say mostly rare), from '56's  - "Sing On, Baby" by Jane Baker, to '68's "I Feel the Pain" by Linda Queen. As usual, all good tracks. I don't have any particular favs but if pressed to mention a few, I'll go with Jimmy Ruffin's "Lucky Lucky Me," Johnny Wyatt's "I Wouldn't Change a Thing About You," Gene McDaniels' "A Tear," and Eileen Rodgers' "Crazy Dream." Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 13: What a Feeling!

A baker's dozen of popcorn comps. Cleo Jons' "Why Don't You Do Right (Get Me Some Money, Too!)" is a goodie. Wanda Jackson's "Whirlpool" is another fav. Johnny Appalachian's "Up in Smoke" is another goodie. I really like Ginny Arnell's "Dumb Head" but I can see the controversy if released today. Apparently, Ginny herself was reluctant about the track, but after hearing the final product, she liked what she heard.

Nella Dodds' "Come See About Me" is another fav with a story. From what I've read/heard, Berry Gordy heard it in the studio and immediately had the Supremes record and release their version before Nella's. I've read inconsistent release dates between the two, but I'm sure the exact info for what went down is out there. 20 tracks in all. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 12: Gonna Have a Party!

I hope the popcorn fans are still around. I'm not sure how many of the 20 tracks are rare, but the majority are rare to me. Bobby Angelle's "There Goes My Baby" is probably my top fav of the bunch. Johnny Restivo's "Last Night on the Back Porch" would be up there too. And so is Esther Phillips' Beatles take on And I Love Her as "And I Love Him." Obrey Wilson's "In a Woman's Eyes" is also another goodie. All tracks from 1960 to '67. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 11: Good Old Days

I was asked for more popcorn, so why not! I stopped at 10 volumes back in May, and half a year later, presenting... volume 11.

20 tracks in all, from '58 to '67. My favs you've asked? Well, the first track is great - Dean Parrish's "Bricks, Broken Bottles and Sticks." Ronnie Love's "Chills and Fever" is another goodie. And so is Darrell Banks' "Somebody (Somewhere Needs You)." I wonder if Steve Cropper and maybe a bandmate or three from Booker T. & The MG's were involved, for that intro is reminiscent of "Time Is Tight." As for my top fav, it's either aforementioned, or Erma Franklin's "I Don't Want No Mama's Boy." Let's call it a tie. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 10: Do the Wobble!

And here we are, ten volumes later... 20 rare ditties from '56 to '65. My favs are Jane Baker's "Boom-De-De-Boom," Little Jerry Williams' "Let's Do the Wobble," and Lillian Vines' "I Dreamed About My Baby Last Night." imo, all these tracks (not the artists) are rare. I know I've heard "Dangerous Lips" before, but not by The Drivers (their version on this set). Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 9: Again! Again!

Another volume of popcorn for all you fanatics. Favorites? I'll go with Jo Ann Campbell's "A Kookie Little Paradise," The Drew-Vels' "It's My Time" (probably my #1 on this mix), and Dolly Lyon's "Palm of Your Hand." They're all good. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 8: Work It Out!

And the corn keeps a-poppin'! I think this one is more rare than the others. About the sub-title... I noticed a theme amongst half (or more) of the tracks. I enjoy play-on-words/phrases (polysemous or ambiguous, whichever word you prefer) and there you have it. 20 popcorn favorites from the sixties. And before I forget - my two big favs are The Untouchables' "Lovely Dee," and Timi Yuro's "What's a Matter Baby." The latter isn't rare but the former is because... I haven't heard it before! I LOVE IT! Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 7: Double Dippin' Sixties

20 more rare sixties (1960-66) tracks by 10 artists, hence the name of compilation. Favorite? I'll go with the first track - Sonny Knight's "Saving My Love." Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 6: Cool Breeze! 1960-1966

More rare popcorn tracks. Well, I don't know how rare but I've never heard them on the radio before. My big fav is Pat Clayton's "I Said No." I love it when she growls her voice. Other favs include Baby Washington's "Run My Heart," Big Maybelle's "Cold Cold Heart," and Debbie Dovale's "I'm My Own Doctor." They're all good. Enjoy!

Note: While listening to the tracks, I noticed Jericho Brown's "Bluebird" may not be considered popcorn. I still kept it in, and placed as the last track.

Popcorn Mania 5: Turn on the Moonlight! [1960-67]

Another super installment of Popcorn. When naming comps, I often tend to use track titles or variations. I couldn't pass up on Ray Smith's "Turn on the Moonlight." What a great title. Lots of goodies amongst the twenty tracks. Favs? Eartha Kitt's "A Lady Loves," The Sherwood's "Monkey See, Monkey Do," and Teddy Randazzo's "Cherie." That's just three. They're all good. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 4: Candy & Gum, Yum Yum! 1960-66

Out of the 20 tracks, I'd say 15 of 'em are rare as rocking horse poop. Big favs in Johnny Lytle's "The Loop" and Alder Ray's unreleased track, "I Don't Need but One Man." Wes Dakus' "Sour Biscuits" and Bobby Rydell's "Sway" are a couple of more goodies. They're all good. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 3: Um Um Um!1959-67

Continuing on... the well known tracks. 20 tracks in all. Too many favs to list but if I had to name three, hmmm, Ernie K-Doe's "Mother-In-Law," Dion's "Ruby Baby," and Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop." They're all good. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 2: Cha Cha Cha! 1958-65

I worked on this comp shortly after the first one. As like the previous mix, this one should all be rare aka to the best of my knowledge. The Dooley Sisters, Danny Valentino, The McGuire Sisters, Titus Turner, Susan Rafey, Joanne Engel, Lenny Welch, Johnny & The Hurricanes, and many others. 20 tracks in all. Enjoy!

Note: Track 4 Baby Washington's "Hey Lonely" is sometimes listed as "Hey Lonely One." I prefer this order (precedence) when establishing track, artist, and album titles: back cover>front cover>spine>label

Popcorn Mania 1: Gonzo 1959-69!

As requested, popcorn music. For this first comp, I went with rare tracks. Marilyn Brown's "Walk on the Wild Side" would probably be my fav. 20 tracks in all by artists Evie Sands, Dean Barlow, Azie Mortimer, Jay Abbott, Barry Darvell, Les Baxter, James Booker, Kenny Lynch, and more. Enjoy!