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Description: Shelly Lee Alley - Alley Cat Stomp - 1937-1941 [2006/kbps 128]
Jazzy Western Swing at his best.
Size: 77.20 MB
tracker : demonoid
Part Western swing, part jazz, and part good-time honky tonk, Shelly Lee Alley & His Alley Cats were one of Texas' most popular bands at the end of the 1930s and into the 1940s. A competent singer and fiddler, Alley was also a prolific songwriter, and this 26-track compilation collects about half of the sides he cut for Vocalion Records between 1937 and 1941, including the bouncing "You've Got Me Worried Now," the loose and loping "Train Whistle Blues," the panoramic "Deep Congress Avenue," and the joyous "Alley Cat Stomp." Essentially a jazzed-up string band playing good-time blues with clarinets, saxophones, and fiddles, the Alley Cats also featured some interesting electric guitar work from future Cajun star Harry Choates. Infectious and fun, this set makes a great introduction to one of the early shining lights of Texas swing.
During the '30s and '40s, Shelly Lee Alley and his Alley Cats were one of the most prominent Western Swing bands in Texas. Born in Alleyton, Texas, singer/songwriter/fiddle player Alley began his career as the leader of a San Antonio army camp orchestra during World War I. Following military service, he went on to lead several small orchestras, which played on radio stations throughout the Lone Star State. During the early '20s, Alley was primarily interested in pop and jazz music and belonged to several small combos, including the Dixie Serenaders, which played at a Dallas radio station. In addition to performing and conducting music, Alley was also a songwriter. One of his early songs, "Travelin' Blues," became a Depression-era hit for Jimmie Rodgers; its success turned Alley more towards country and western music, and he joined a Fort Worth radio show called "The Chuck Wagon Gang." He formed the Alley Cats in 1936 and played radio stations and local dances in the Houston and Beaumont area. The Alley Cats recorded several sessions for the American Record Corporation on the Vocalion label. Some Alley Cats members, such as Ted Daffan and Leon Selph, went on to form their own successful bands. In 1941, Alley cut a single for Bluebird, and also continued writing songs, many of which were recorded by Jimmie Davis. During World War II, the Alley Cats broke up and Alley began playing with Patsy and the Buckaroos. He got the Cats back together and cut a single for the Globe label, but the group disbanded for good around 1946. Alley still played his fiddle occasionally and wrote songs; his stepson, Clyde Brewer, went on to become a popular Western Swing musician in his own right.
01 - Shelly Lee Alley - Save It For Me
02 - Shelly Lee Alley - Marrymakers Stomp
03 - Shelly Lee Alley - You've Got Me Worried Now
04 - Shelly Lee Alley - Train Whistle Blues
05 - Shelly Lee Alley - Women, Women, Women
06 - Shelly Lee Alley - I'll Get It
07 - Shelly Lee Alley - Nine Or Ten Times
08 - Shelly Lee Alley - Deep Congress Avenue
09 - Shelly Lee Alley - She's So Different
10 - Shelly Lee Alley - Houston Blues
11 - Shelly Lee Alley - You've Got It
12 - Shelly Lee Alley - You know What I Mean
13 - Shelly Lee Alley - Bring It On Home To Grandma
14 - Shelly Lee Alley - She Just Wiggled Around
15 - Shelly Lee Alley - She Wouldn't
16 - Shelly Lee Alley - She Loves It So
17 - Shelly Lee Alley - New Mean Mama Blues
18 - Shelly Lee Alley - I'm So Used To You Know
19 - Shelly Lee Alley - Can't Nobody Truck Like Me
20 - Shelly Lee Alley - Alley Cat Stomp
21 - Shelly Lee Alley - I've Got The Blues # 2
22 - Shelly Lee Alley - Big House Blues
23 - Shelly Lee Alley - Let's Do It Honey
24 - Shelly Lee Alley - It Took My Breath Away
25 - Shelly Lee Alley - Beer Joint Blues
26 - Shelly Lee Alley - The Big House Blues
Shelly Lee Alley - Cover.jpg
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