When you see an Ace 45, you have to at least consider buying it. Ace was a label started by Johnny Vincent in Jackson Mississippi and was the most successful Mississippi-based label of the 1950s and 1960s, featuring many great blues, R&B, soul and pop artists, many of whom came from Louisiana. Casual R&B fans might recognize “Sea Cruise” by Frankie Ford, which was a big hit for Ace.

The Mississippi Blues Trail has a nice short history of the label.

The first of the two 45s I recently picked up was “Snake Eyes” b/w “Walk On” by Alvin “Red” Tyler, issued in 1959. Fans of New Orleans R&B have heard Red Tyler on many R&B hits from the 1950s and 1960s for artists such as Little Richard, Lloyd Price, Aaron Neville and Lee Dorsey. He was one of the key figures in the New Orleans scene of that time, and continued working into the 1990s. His work on the 1991 Johnny Adams lp for Rounder Records, “The Real Me: Johnny Adams Sings Doc Pomus”, had him teamed up once more with another legend of New Orleans R&B (and with Mac Rebennack (aka Dr. John), who plays on this 45).

Per the Bebop Wino website, possible personnel on this track are Lee Allen (tenor sax); Alvin “Red” Tyler (tenor sax, baritone sax); Allen Toussaint (piano); “Mac” Rebennack (guitar); Frank Fields (bass); Charles “Hungry” Williams (drums), an all star band of the day. It’s not fancy, but the swinging beat could only come from a record cut in that time in that place. Toussaint co-authored the song under one of his noms de plume. Here’s the song via YouTube:

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The song was originally included in the Ace LP “Rockin’ And Rollin’ With Red Tyler And The Gyros”. A few years later, during the Twist craze, the LP was reissued on Ace as “Twistin’ With Mr. Sax.”, with the songs renamed by having the word “twist” added to their original titles, which you gotta love. (Again, thanks to Bebop Wino for this history).

The second 45 was “Rocking Pneumonia and The Boogie Woogie Flu” by Huey Smith and The Clowns, released in 1957. Non-R&B fans may remember this as a hit for Johnny Rivers in the 1970s. The A-side is Part 1 and the B-side is Part 2. As a general rule, 45s with the Part 1/2 approach are worth considering – think “Fingertips”, “Shout” and lots of James Brown singles.

Again per Bebop Wino, personnel are Huey Smith (piano); Lee Allen and Red Tyler (saxes); Earl King (guitar); with unknown piano, bass, drums; and The Clowns (vocals) – Bobby Marchan, Johnny Williams, Sid Raphael, Gerri Hall, Eugene Francis.

Huey Smith, like Red Tyler, was a prolific studio presence and bandleader in New Orleans in the 1950s, but he achieved his greatest success when he brought “The Clowns” onto the team, which included Bobby Marchan, a popular drag artist and singer.

Per Wikipedia it was “Scarface” John Williams who contributed the trademark “Mardi Gras” sound to Huey Smith’s records. He was a member of the Apache Hunters, a Mardi Gras Indian tribe . . . or possibly was the Big Chief of the Mohawk Hunters, depending on who is telling the story.

One night in March 1972, he was stabbed trying to stop a fight in front of a club on Dryades Street. The song “Brother John” on ‘The Wild Tchoupitoulas” LP (a great record for New Orleans music fans in general, and Neville Brothers fans in particular) was a tribute to him.

Here’s Part 1 of the 45:

I knew that “Rocking Pneumonia” was a big hit, but I wondered about “Snake Eyes”. For information on this, I turned to The Airheads Radio Survey Archive, a fascinating site that compiles Top XX playlists from radio stations. While, of course, it is not a comprehensive source (note: there is none), it does deliver a lot of interesting stuff.

So, here we have the KYA/1260 AM Hit Parade (Official, natch) from April 6, 1959, where “Snake Eyes” is poised at “28”.

As to “Rocking Pneumonia”, here is the Top 30 list from KRMD in Shreveport (a bit closer to Ace’s home) from July 15, 1957, with the song at #11.

Comparing the two lists, I’ve got to go with 1957 as a more fun music time, despite the presence of the Debbie Reynolds classic, “Tammy”, at #25.