This 1999 CD contains the complete output of the "post-Coasters" Robins (Grady Chapman, Terrell Leonard, Billy Richard, Roy Richard, and H.B. Barnum) for Gene Norman's Whippet label. Recording was done at the MGM Studio on Fairfax Avenue, and in Gene Norman's Studio on Hollywood Boulevard, both in Los Angeles, in 1956 and 1957.
Session musicians included many of the West Coast's finest of the period: Jewell Grant on baritone sax; Plas Johnson on tenor sax; Ernie Freeman's piano; Rene Hall on guitar; Curtis Counce on bass; and Ed Hall on the drums. Freeman and Rene Hall were also responsible for musical arrangements, production was by Norman who also managed the group.
Tunes are mostly typical for the 1956-57 period in rock 'n' roll, several have lively sax work by Johnson and Grant. The only "hit" in the package, and a minor one at that, is Cherry Lips. Package is a good blend of ballads and jump numbers, but these Robins numbers lack the "story song" quality of the earlier Leiber/Stoller work on the Spark label - you could say that when Leiber and Stoller went east, the Robins lost their "spark."
Trivia question - How did the Whippet label get its name? It was named for Gene Norman's dog, a whippet named Boris.
A good article about the Robins can be found on John Charles Marion's Website.
Track Listing:
1. Cherry Lips (Whippet 200) - Mar 1956
2. A Fool In Love (Whippet 206) - 1957
3. Merry-Go Rock (Whippet 201) - Jun 1956
4. Since I First Met You (Whippet 203) - Sep 1956
5. Blues In The Night (unreleased as single)
6. Where�s The Fire (Whippet 208) - 1957
7. Out Of The Picture (Whippet 200) - Mar 1956
8. Hurt Me (Whippet 201) - Jun 1956
9. Every Night (Whippet 208) - 1957
10. All Of A Sudden My Heart Sings (Whippet 206)
11. You Wanted Fun (Whippet 212) - 1957
12. Keep Your Mind On Me (Whippet 211) - 1957
13. In My Dreams (Whippet 211) - 1957
14. How Long (unreleased as single)
15. Snowball (Whippet 212) - 1957
16. That Old Black Magic (Whippet 203) - Sep 1956
