Smiley Lewis Rocks CD

Smiley Lewis Rocks CD

The charts didn't reflect just how spectacular Smiley Lewis' 1950s output for Imperial Records was.  Under the savvy aegis of producer/songwriter Dave Bartholomew and featuring the Crescent City's top studio sidemen, Smiley made some of the most blistering rockers of his era.  Yet only a handful of them were national hits; his classic original I Hear You Knocking was victimized by a puerile Gale Storm cover that killed his pop crossover potential, and Elvis Presley latched onto One Night, cleaned it up, and sold a lot more copies than Smiley ever did.  

This collection of Smiley Lewis's greatest rockers showcases his huge, wall-shaking voice (reminiscent of Big Joe Turner's on the bluesier early stuff) on a non-stop barrage of rockers ranging from 1950 to 1958.  Even Little Richard would be envious of some of these houserockers, with tenor saxman Lee Allen wailing and drummer Earl Palmer stoking the romping rhythm like a locomotive.
This is the most comprehensive single-disc Smiley Lewis collection on the market.