Sid King & The Five Strings

Rockin' On The Radio

RCCD 3018

This 2-CD project is a reissue of the acclaimed LP album Rockin’ On The Radio, which has been unavailable for many years. The album has been skilfully remastered and stands alongside material from radio shows, live performances and studio sessions. Rockin’ On The Radio brings a mix of rockabilly; western swing; country; rhythm and blues; taking us back to the mid 1950s, with 30 tracks on Disc 1 and 28 tracks on Disc 2, available on Roller Coaster Records.

Sid King was born Sid Erwin in 1936 and in 1952, Sid was approached by Richard Pitzinger to appear on his local radio show on KDNT. Sid agreed as long as his school friend Mel Robinson could come along too. The show already had a band called the Western Melody Makers and eventually Sid took over the band.  

Disc1 brings a live broadcast on KTAE, Taylor, Texas from 1955, followed by a further live broadcast on KTNT, Denton, Texas, (Sid’s home town) in 1954. The KDNT air shots were preserved for posterity, recorded off the radio in the family home by Sid’s mother.

The marvel of listening to these authentic radio programs from the past, includes station announcements and commercials for RC Cola, Faygo Root Beer, or an Easter Tablecloth made of heavy duty plastic consisting of a picture of the last supper, for the low price of $1.25 or  $1.99 for two There are also add’s for L&M cigarettes, Merchants Green stamps and Budweiser beer. 

The wonderful voice of Sid King brings back many sensational numbers from the past. Included is the gospel inspired ‘Rock My Soul (in the bosom of Abraham)’ written by Sid King/ Dave White/Mel Robinson, skilfully harmonising to great effect. A revisit to 1955 with Chuck Berry’s freshly recorded ‘Maybelline’ and a thrilling instrumental of The Carter’s ‘Wildwood Flower’. Jimmy Work’s ‘Making Believe’ took Kitty Wells to the top of the charts, establishing her as the reigning Queen of country music, until the rise of Loretta Lynn a decade and a half later.

The test of time stands well with Jimmy Rogers’ ‘In The Jailhouse Now’, which Sid announces as a song “we are getting a lot of requests for….you can understand why, it is one of Webb Pierce’s numbers….right now it is ranking #1 on the Western and Hillbilly charts.” More recently, Suzy Bogguss also recorded this same number with Chet Atkins on their 1994 album Simpatico. Live requests are heavily featured by Sid and the Melody Makers, including ‘Slowly’, another hit for Webb Pierce, Elvis’s ‘That’s All Right (Mama)’ and the comedy song  ‘Who Put The Turtle In Myrtle’s Girdle’.

Disc-2 sees Sid King & The Five Strings on stage, in the studio and at home. Divided into 3 parts, we set-off with the band live on the Big ‘D’ Jamboree, including ‘Booger Red’, ‘When My Baby Left Me’ and the bands own version of Roy Orbison’s ‘Ooby Dooby’. Moving to Part 2 and another live performance on Big ‘D’ from 1954, with ‘This Ol’ House’, a third version of ‘That’s All Right’ and ‘There’s A Big Rock In The Road’ along with announcements and a live commercial for B.J. Snuff. The final 17 tracks are studio recordings and demos of songs mostly written or co-written by King, including the rockabilly ‘Another Love’, hillbilly inclined ‘That’s How I Want It To Be’ and ‘You’re Always Breaking Hearts’ complete with Hawaiian steel guitar.  

It has to be accepted that some of the live recordings, were recorded off-air from radio broadcasts, on equipment that is quite primitive compared with that of today and are not of the best quality. Included with the two discs is a 28-page booklet telling the story of Sid King and the Five Strings. It appears that Forty-Five years after these recording were made, Sid King is still playing to packed houses. Alongside the nostalgic value, this album will inspire new interest from an audience far too young to have experienced such historic radio broadcasts of this calibre, bringing the thrill of authentic 1950s country music right into the new millennium.  Splash out on Sid King and The Five Strings – Rockin On The Radio, you won’t be disappointed! Come along for the ride, the rest is history!