Billy Riley - Rock With Me Baby - 1956 Rockabilly - SUN 245

Billy Riley - Vocal and Acoustic Guitar Roland Janes - Lead Guitar Ruble Shaw - Guitar Slim Wallace - Bass Jan Ledbetter - Bass Johnny Bernero - Drums The top side of Riley’s first Sun record, and a gem. This one comes pretty close to defining what rockabilly is all about It’s tense, edgy, sexy and driving. This is not mindless, teen dance music. It can send shivers down your spine. There’s not a wasted note here. The vocal is perfect. The band work is stellar, not overly complex, but perfectly orchestrated. When the guitar solos take off, you just have to stand back. Those beautiful singlestroke drum rolls by Johnny Bernero let you know when to take cover as the two guitars played by Ruble Shaw and Roland Janes, just soar. One slides into the chord while the second hits just the right notes to maintain that bluesy countryish feel. Some critics tell you that real rockabilly needs a standup bass, the kind Bill Black used to slap behind Elvis back in 1954. If that’s true, then this record contains a double dose of rockabilly drive. One slap bass was played by Slim Wallace, the second by Jan Ledbetter. ’Rock With Me Baby’’ was recorded at the studios of WMPS. Sadly, having explored every inch of Billy Riley recording tape known to exist at Sun, it seems thru second tide from this session - the countryish ’’Think Before You Go’’ - is irretrievably lost. “Rock With Me Baby“ is likewise a standout track, with its guitar interplay between Billy Riley and Roland Janes, and soaring drumwork during the solos. SUN 245 clearly promised that Billy Riley was capable of producing memorable work within the tense and impassioned style Sun Records was beginning to forge.