Friday 25 July 2008

Cheesy Choonsday: Salena Jones and John Schroeder

Another couple of winners from the vaults here at Piley Towers.

First up is American singer Salena Jones. Today Salena is best known for her jazz versions of standards and classics (she's still recording and has notched up over 40 albums), but in the 1960's she was a funky hit on this side of the Atlantic. Her first two albums ('The Moment of Truth' and Everybodys Talkin About Selena Jones') were both produced by Cheese legend Keith Mansfield, and he gave both a solid 'swingin London' feel. Have a listen to 'Right Now' from her debut album.







The second track is from John Schroeder, and his Hammond frenzied version of 'Papas Got A Brand New Bag'. I'm not sure how successful Schroeder was in his day (although he did wright 'Walkin Back To Happiness' for Helen Shapiro), but he was one of the big names in the Cheesy Listening revival. This track is taken from his 1966 groove-fest 'Working in the Soul Mine'.







Piley

2 comments:

Mondo said...

Belters, belters, belters - right up my avenues and alleyways.

I can't believe I haven't heard these crackerbarrel classics before - Keep the spreading the cheese P

Anonymous said...

John Schroeder used to produce Status Quo in thier "pop" days i kid you not. Have you seen a picture of him ? he's second only to Peter Wyngard for looking sooo naff !!!!. Carl.