Wer war/ist Gradie O'Neal & The Bella Tones ? - CDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD und mehr
Gradie Joe O’Neal
Gradie Joe Neal grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and spent most of his life in San Jose. He was obsessed with country music until he heard Elvis Presley in 1955. Gradie Joe had a band at Bert’s Country Inn on Saratoga Road during the 1950s. Among the regulars who sat in with the band on weekends was George Jones, who was stationed nearby with the U.S. Marines.When John Pusateri founded Blue Moon and reactivated Bella, Pat Patterson was the labels’ talent scout, searching for new talent all over the area. It was only a matter of time until he saw Gradie Joe performing at Bert’s Country Inn one evening in late 1957.
Connections were quickly made and Gradie Joe and The Western Gents immediately began recording some material for Patterson. Besides Gradie Joe on vocal and rhythm guitar, The Western Gents consisted of Ernie Smith on lead guitar and according to Gradie Joe, “a business man from San Jose” on upright bass (O’Neal couldn’t remember his name). On drums was Johnny Kish.Segregation was truly not over in the USA by 1957, but The Western Gents were one of the first interracial combos as guitarist Smith was African American. Gradie Joe also remembers drummer Kish: “He was retired and had bad arthritis but could still hold the sticks.” Their first recording session took place in Kish’s living room with one microphone hanging from the ceiling (a practice still honored today by minimalists), and a rough mix was achieved. It’s Blue Monday and You Won’t Have To Wait were cut at this first session. The next session in early 1958 produced their single release on Blue Moon 407, Rock-A-Billie Music b/w Rock And Roll Cindy.
All of these masters were sold to Patterson. The single sold reasonably well in the San Francisco Bay area, receiving much airplay The follow-up, this time on Bella as Gradie Joe O’Neal and The Bella Tones, was produced during a recording session at Gradie Joe’s home, using a half-track Webcor tape recorder and again only one microphone. They spent several takes getting a reasonable cut with the fewest mistakes and best overall sound and feel. According to Gradie Joe, Alex ‘Al’ McNutt replaced Smith on lead guitar for this session, and Claude Barnes joined in playing rhythm guitar. Gradie Joe’s masterpiece Turkey Neck Stretch b/w Baby ‘Oh’ Baby were cut at this session. Turkey Neck Stretch is a laid back slab of classic rockabilly with hot guitar and a laconic vocal by Gradie Joe. In some spots the timing is a bit ragged, which just adds to its charm. The second guitar solo is kickass.
The faster Baby ‘Oh’ Baby is a bit more cohesive and a rockabilly dance number. Released in November of 1958, Turkey Neck Stretch became a hit throughout the area, though translating into little financial success for the label.Gradie Joe said in an interview that he wasn’t around many of his other labelmates. He only knew Johnny Amelio and The Downbeats and Pat LaRocca, for whom he co-wrote Rowena, which was released on Bella. O’Neal stayed in the music business and still maintains a studio today. All along he wrote songs, some with Pusateri, and engineered sessions for other artists through the decades. He stopped recording himself as an artist at this point and concentrated on working on the other side of the glass.
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