Rare DALE HAWKINS -Oh SUZY-Q- ORIG CHESS LP-1429 BLACK LABEL Near Mint Copy

$

500

 DALE HAWKINS – OH! SUZY-Q – ULTRA RARE ORIGINAL 1957 CHESS RECORDS LP 1429


Chess Lp 1429

Original US pressing

Flat edge pressing. Original black Chess label with silver script. Thick cardboard cover.

Ladies and Gents, you are looking at one of defining moments in the development of Rock music, and one of the rarest and most treasured specimens in the record-collecting hobby: Dale Hawkins’ first album (he would not record another one for the next seven years) is a true Rockabilly classic – the jagged, tribal rhythms are compounded by Hawkins’ throaty, testosterone-laced vocal delivery and – most importantly – by his slashing, almost violent, guitar lines which have inspired everyone from James Burton to Jeff Beck to Roy Buchanan (who – lest we forget to mention – played lead guitar on “My Babe”, one of Hawkins’ final singles for Chess) to Alvin Lee to Brian Seltzer. In many ways, Oh, Suzy-Q was not only the finest example of what today we know as Rockabilly – but also a template – a gold standard that set the bar so high that it effectively remained beyond reach of many young, aspiring Rockabillies. Needless to say, the original pressings of this album were mighty rare EVEN in the late 50s – and by early 2000s they have passed on to the Land of Record Collecting Myths and Legends. This is the first copy we have EVER offered on eBay (we do not expect to have another one anytime soon) and one of the best-preserved copies we’ve seen in the past 20 years or so (not quite near mint, but still very nice for an almost half-century old record).

On an interesting note: this album was originally slated for release on ARGO label, Chess’s Jazz subsidiary (please see the back cover, shown below). We have absolutely no clue what may have prompted Chess brothers to conclude that Dale Hawkins’ would be better off in the company of people such as Zoot Sims, James Moody or Ahmad Jamal (all of whom recorded for ARGO around that time). The only rational explanation we can come up with is that the young white artist and his controversial, loud, sexually-charged, taboo-breaking music scared the sh!t out of the brothers who decided to take no chance and to try to market Hawkins as an up-and-coming Jazz/Beatnik artist instead (Oh, sure…Dale Hawkins is a Jazz musician, and I am Greta Garbo’s younger sister…). But then, apparently the brothers had a change of heart at the very last moment and decided to release the album on Chess label, where it rightfully belongs, with the likes of Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry. Chalk up one for sanity…

Finally, with almost 30 known versions (and probably more than a trillion unknown amateur performances), the title track of this album remains one of the most-covered and best-loved Rock anthems of all time. The list of people who covered Suzy-Q (sometimes spelled as Suzie Q – or - Susie Q – or - Suzi-Q) reads like a proverbial “Who’s Who” of Rock Music: The Rolling Stones; Creedence Clearwater Revival; Everly Brothers; Chet Atkins; The Astronauts; Lonnie Mack; The Barbarians, Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks, Carl Perkins, Johnny Rivers, Bobby McFerrin, Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs, Waylon Jennings, Jose Feliciano, The Thrashmen, Gene Vincent, Bobby Vee…etc, etc, etc. The, um… “Queue”…goes on forever.

CONDITION

Record is in Near Mint condition, has one very thin hairline mark that goes through tracks 1 to 3 on Side 1, but doesn't affect play. And on side 2 has a semi circle mark that goes from track 2 to 3, but doesn't affect play. That's it, the rest of the record is clean!!!
Sleeve has sticker glue on the top center on both sides, and a crest on the right bottom. Please check pictures

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