This 1996 CD from England's Flyright label contains 25 examples of the early work of the Red Caps, while they were signed with Joe Davis. Liner notes by Dave Penny give a capsule history of the group.
The Red Caps were formed in 1943, taking the best members from a number of previously-existing groups, and consisted of Jimmy Springs (first tenor and drummer), David Patillo (second tenor and bassist), Doles Dickens (baritone and bassist) , Romaine Brown (baritone and pianist), and Steve Gibson (bass singer and guitarist). The group selected the name because it had a "black" connotation (the traditional headgear of railroad baggage handlers) and sounded catchy like the Ink Spots. Second tenor and soprano sax player Emmett Mathews was added as a sixth member in mid-1944. Dickens left around November of 1944.
The group signed with Joe Davis, an interesting character himself, in 1943, during the AFM recording ban. Davis started out as a manager, publisher, and vocalist in the 1920s and soon became an early independent producer of so-called "race" records. He started the Beacon label in 1942 to service juke box operators, who were needed of new records for their machines. Davis also used the Gennett, Joe Davis, and Davis labels interchangeably, and subsequently added the Celebrity label in 1947.
Since many of their recordings for Davis were made during the AFM recording ban, their instrumental skills are usually not highlighted. The sound is very different from their later records, even with the same members performing. The tracks featured here are both jump tunes and ballads, mostly written by Davis himself; no surprise since this gave Davis writer royalties. I believe that besides the tunes credited to "Davis," those creditied to "Higginbotham" were credited to a Davis alias - a common practice in those days for tax avoidance and other questionable purposes. Ballads were usually led by Jimmy Springs and jump leads were usually by Romaine Brown or Steve Gibson.
We note that the 1951 re-recording of Boogie Woogie on A Saturday Night is available on other CDs, including "The Jive Is Jumpin'- RCA Victor & Bluebird Vocal Groups 1939-52", but the original 1945 recording is featured here.
An in-depth article on the Red Caps can be found at Marv Goldberg's Website, from which most of the notes above were adapted.
Track listing:
1. Boogie Woogie On A Saturday Night (Joe Davis 7133) Apr 1945
2. It's Got A Hole In It (Joe Davis 7220) Feb 1945
3. Get Off That Kick (Joe Davis 7220) Feb 1945
4. Mary Had A Little Jam (Joe Davis 7132) Oct 1945
5. Don't Fool With Me (Beacon 117) Oct 1943
6. Just For You (Beacon 7119) 1943
7. Mama Put Your Britches On (Beacon 117) Oct 1943
8. It's So Good (Beacon 7129) 1944
9. Gabriel's Band (Beacon 7124) Oct 1944
10. I Learned A Lesson I'll Never Forget (Beacon 7120) Jan 1944
11. I'm Crazy 'Bout You (Beacon 7130) Oct 1944
12. In The Quiet Of The Dawn (Davis 7134) 1945
13. Grand Central Station (Beacon 118) Nov 1943
14. Sugar Lips (Beacon 7124) Oct 1944
15. Strictly On The Safety Side (Beacon 7122) Aug 1944
16. Somebody's Lyin' (Beacon 7123) May 1944
17. Was It You (Beacon 7123) May 1944
18. There's A Light On The Hill (Beacon116) Aug 1943
19. Lenox Avenue Jump (Beacon 7121) Feb 1944
20. Boogie Woogie Ball (Beacon 7121) Feb 1944
21. Tuscaloosa (Beacon 115) Aug 1943
22. No Fish Today (Beacon 118) Nov 1943
23. That's The Stuff (Joe Davis 7221) Feb 1945
24. Monkey And The Baboon (Joe Davis 7221) Feb 1945
25. The Boogie Beat'll Getcha If You Don't Watch Out (Joe Davis 7135) Dec 1945
