Friday, June 02, 2006

Let's Go Way Back For A Friday Get Down!

Kid King's Combo - Banana Split

Today's selection goes back a little further than normal for this blog, but it's a nice cooker and deserving of a profile. Lee Arthur "Kid" King and his band were the house band at Nashville's New Era club and the group provided accompaniment on the early sessions for Nashboro Records' blues and R&B subisidiary, Excello. The group also recorded for the label. The rhumba-flavored "Banana Split," released in 1953, was the first national hit for the label, breaking into the R&B Top 10 that year. This cheerful instrumental features great piano work from Edward "Skippy" Brooks (whose long tenure as a Nashville session musician included a stint as pianist for the house band on the obscure 1966 R&B TV show "The Beat!!!!"), King's infectious drumming, and fine sax solos from Freddie Young. Get on down with the Nashville sound!

(NOTE: I will be out of town this weekend, so posts will resume on Monday. Have a great weekend!)

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