Suzy Q and Her Be Bop Boys – Cool Baby !
Astro Records 1967
There Goes My Baby – Babydoll Knows How To Rock – Kinfolk In Carolina – King of Hearts – Cool Baby – Demon Lover – He’ll Come Back – Hypnotic Rock – Honky Tonk Hot Rod Man – Triple Slap Cat
Suzy Q and her Be Bop Boys are basically the Hot Rod Trio augmented by Mitch Homer on rhythm guitar. But this time Suzy Dughi is totally in charge of the lead vocals and the sound is rather different. One look at the sleeve, a tribute to Gene Vincent’s first lp on Capitol, and it’s easy to guess where this combo draws a part of its inspiration. But this is not a carbon copy, it’s more a question of energy and sound, and actually there isn’t any Vincent cover here. Seven songs are from the pen of Suzy and one by her husband, guitar maestro Buddy Dughi. The remaining three come from the catalog of Ricky Nelson, Merle Travis and Bob & Lucille. The rhythm section (including Suzy’s prowess on bass) makes a perfect support for the dialog between her vocals and Buddy’s “gallupin'” guitar. The result is a bunch of first rate rockabillies, sometimes groovy (Demon Lover), sometimes mean (King Of Heart – excellent !), sometimes rural (Kinfolk In Carolina) but always good and sure to make you dance to the bop. As a bonus there’s a live version of “There Goes My Baby” and the lyrics are included. I guess it’s out of print now but you can check their website to hear some samples.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis
