Albums That Deserve Another Listen

    Jimmy Patton - Yah! I'm Movin' (Star-Club Records CD 506009)

                             

The complete recordings of Jimmy Patton, recorded between 1955 and 1976.

01. Yah! I'm Movin'
02. Okie's In The Pokie
03. Love Come Back To Me
04. Let Me Slide 
05. I'm Not Shuckin'
06. Blue Moon Of Kentucky 
07. Taxes Are Going Up Again 
08. Going Home With The Blues
09. White Lightning 
10. Make Room For The Blues
11. Brush Me From Your Shoes 
12. Apartment #9
13. Can't Bear The Thought Of Losin'
14. Big Blue Diamonds
15. Pick Me Up On Your Way Down 
16. Sawmill
17. Worst Of Luck
18. April Fool's Day
19. Ragged But Right
20. Blue Darlin' 
21. Out Of My Life
22. Red Necks, White Socks, Blue Ribbon Beer
23. What Will I Do With All Those Memories
24. Careful 
25. Guilty

Jimmy Patton, US Country & Rockabilly singer. Born Oscar James Patton, 28 October 1931, Berwin, Oklahoma. Died 25 June 1989, Portland, Oregon.

Jimmy Patton was basically a country singer and not a very successful one at that, but his claim to fame lies in a couple of ferocious rockabilly recordings, most notably "Okie's In the Pokie", "Yah! I'm Movin'" and "Let Me Slide".

Born on a farm in Oklahoma, Patton and his family moved to Springfield, Oregon in 1943. It was here that Jimmy began to take music seriously and took all chances to sing and play wherever he could. He had a job as a rodeo rider which came to an abrupt end when he broke his arm in July 1953. Jimmy did his first recording in 1955, for the Sims label which was then based in Sun Valley, California, although the recordings were made in Fabor Robinson's home studio in Malibu. Three singles were released during 1955, the first of which was "Careful" (a duet with Ann Jones) c/w "Guilty" (Sims 103). This was still old-fashioned hillbilly, sung in a high pitched voice, not unlike Charlie Feathers' Sun recordings.

Jimmy had the opportunity to appear at the "Big D Jamboree" in Dallas, Texas, a famous country show. He loved straight hillbilly and country music, but when Elvis Presley hit the scene with explosive power, Patton decided to jump on the bandwagon. He was playing the clubs in Los Angeles when he was discovered by Woody Fleener, owner of Sage & Sand Records in Hollywood. Jimmy recorded four tracks, all his own compositions, for the label at the Sunset Recording studio on 5653 Hollywood Boulevard. Guitar wizard Roy Lanham was among the session musicians, the others were Freddie Haynes on piano, Lawrence Wootten on bass and Ralph Gleason on drums.

"Yah! I'm Movin'"/"Love Come Back To Me" was released on Sage 261 in early 1958 and sold about 2000 copies. "I'm Not Shuckin'" came out on a various artists LP in 1959 (Sage LP 22), while the fourth track from this session, "Let Me Slide" was first released by Ronnie Weiser in 1972 on a Rollin' Rock EP, along with the three other Sage & Sand tracks. Jimmy's next session took place in Phoenix, Arizona, probably in 1959, with Donnie Owens on lead guitar. Out of this session came the frantic "Okie's In the Pokie", released on Sims 117 in September 1960. 

Though "Okie's In the Pokie" was probably his biggest seller, Jimmy made no further attempts to record rock 'n' roll. By the time of his next session, he had switched to country and did an entire album, called "Take 30 Minutes With Jimmy Patton" (Stereotone LP 1002, 1961). These tracks, recorded in Bakersfield, California, with his own band, are miles removed from the rather primitive 1955 recordings and show Patton to have a strong, expressive voice with a very wide range. "Taxes Are Going Up Again" was selected as a single release from the LP.

A second album, "Blue Darling" was cut at Columbia Studios in Nashville and released in early 1965 (Sims LP 127). Session men included Autry Inman and Billy Grammer (guitars) and Hargus 'Pig' Robbins (piano). Jimmy would later reissue the LP, with two extra tracks, on his own Sourdough label. Come 1967, Patton recorded for the Moon label in Portland, Oregon, where he had two albums released in 1967 and 1976, plus four singles. After a temporary retirement from the music business, Jimmy went back to performing in 1981 and recorded a couple of cassettes that he sold at shows.

In the mid-1980s he was involved in a serious car crash, but made a recovery. In June 1989, Patton was on his way home from a show when a drunk driver drove through the red light and hit Jimmy's van in full speed. Jimmy was taken to Emanuel Hospital in Portland where he died a few days later. A gifted singer and songwriter had passed away too early.

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