Tabby Thomas "'Popeye'" Train" (Excello, 1962): NY Night Train Party Platter

"ALL ABOARD THE POPEYE TRAIN!" There are few platters I've turned at my parties more than this chuggin' locomotive! And after hearing only the first few seconds of this smokey mid-tempo party-starter barreling down the tracks, I'm sure you understand why. Though Excello Records' early 1960s Louisiana Cajun blues/soul/swamp gumbo is some of the most likable dance music ever and some of its finest moments are on the very 45s that started up the Rolling Stones and many others, Slim Harpo, Lazy Lester, Tabby Thomas, and the gang still remain criminally underrated. Tabby Thomas' recording career spanned from the early 1950s into the 21st century. While he recorded some early rockin' blues for a smattering of labels, he never saw any success until Excello released his iconic "Hoodoo Blues" in 1961. The Voodoo King and Voodoo Queen from the former regional hit make an appearance here on the "Popeye Train" as it leaves the station with a bouncy groove that's based on a dance craze called "The Popeye". In the wake of "The Twist" - when America became "The Land of 1000 Dances", New Orleans had a dance craze called "The Popeye" that resulted in dozens of local Popeye records in 1961 and 1962 and spread around Louisiana and the rest of the country like wild fire. Here you'll find a similar groove to the pre-funky rhythm on Eddie Bo's "Check Mr. Popeye" - but speed up, punchier, and seasoned with a dab of Cajun sparkle. Like a lot of the best Louisiana music this one is both of the past and ahead of its time and I can't help but wonder if Rufus Thomas' supremely stanky "Memphis Train" a few years later owes something to this swampy party obscurity? Though Tabby Thomas never had any big R&B hit records, he became better known than many of his contemporaries through perseverance. He put out a number of records on his own Blue Beat label (not to be confused with the iconic Jamaican 1960s label) and on other small labels throughout the next few decades. In his home town Baton Rouge, opened one of the world's most famous and longstanding blues clubs, Tabby's Blues Box, in 1979. By the 1980s he started becoming a fixture at blues and other music heritage festivals and spent the last few decades of his life prolifically recording and touring as one of the world's prime ambassadors of the blues. Tabby's Blues Box remained a huge success until he closed it in 2004 after he had a stroke. He then became a radio personality - hosting the "Tabby's Blues Box" show on WBRH and KBRH. Tabby Thomas passed away in 2014 at age 85. Here's an in-depth Tabby Thomas piece from Black Cat Rockabilly Europe: http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/tabby_thomas.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabby_Thomas http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rockin-tabby-thomas-mn0000293278/biography graphics by AVI SPIVAK (http://www.avispivak.com)! You're listening to my daily addition to the New York Night Train Party Platter playlist. Each track here is recorded directly from the original 45 (no bootlegs, reproductions, etc) to give you an idea of what the real deal authentic vinyl sounds like. COME BACK EVERY DAY FOR A NEW FIX! Because the records pass so quickly at my dance parties, this channel is an attempt to stop and focus on one record at a time in hopes that it'll turn you on to the artists, tracks, labels, etc. I'm just hipping myself to a lot of these records for the first time as well - so you can view this as a journey to learning more about cool old records together! But mostly I hope this music moves you as much as it moves me. Get your enjoys, Jonathan Toubin Soul Proprietor, New York Night Train https://www.youtube.com/JonathanToubin https://www.facebook.com/newyorknighttrain https://twitter.com/jonathantoubin https://instagram.com/jonathantoubin/