From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Sat Sep 14, 2002  1:55 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Malcolm Yelvington
 
MALCOLM YELVINGTON (By Jean-Marc Pezet)

Born 14 September 1918, East Chapel, Tipton County, Tennessee
Died 21 February 2001, Memphis, Tennessee

Malcom Yelvington's music is rooted in southern country music, it is a great
blend of rockabilly, western swing and a bit of rhythm and blues.
Malcom was born in East Chapel, TN, a small rural town where he heard mainly
country music, or what could be called country music in the 1930's: western
swing by Bob Wills and the Swift Jewel Cowboys, and later the honky tonk
sounds of Ernest Tubb.
Malcom started singing in the late 30s and joined Reece Fleming's
Tennesseans after the war (Reece Fleming was part of the duo Fleming
and Townsend who had recorded for Victor and Decca before the war),
playing schoolhouse dates around Covington. In 1952, the group merged
with another local band, The Star Rhythm Boys. They continued to play
the honky tonks, had a steady residency at the Clover Club and a Sunday
afternoon show on WKBH radio.
By the end of 1953, they became aware of a record company in Memphis
named SUN and they went down to 706 Union, trying to get an audition with
Sam Phillips. Sam was not interested in straight country, but Malcom & the
boys kept trying all through the winter and the 1954 summer until they came
up with a cover of Stick McGhee's "Drinkin' Wine Spo Dee O Dee".
Unfortunately for Malcom, Sam withheld the release for a few months, having
another brat to play with in the shape of Elvis Presley. Malcom's first single
was eventually released in November 1954, as SUN 211, straight after SUN
209 & SUN 210 (first two Elvis' singles...).
By the start of 1955, Malcom had cut "Yakety Yak" and "Blues In My
Shoes" and was pressing Sam Phillips to issue them. Being fed up waiting,
he went to concurrent label Meteor, recut "Yakety Yak" and coupled with the
great "A Gal Named Joe", had it release on METEOR 5022 as Mack Sales
and The Esquire Trio. Despite being a great slice of western swing-flavoured
laidback rockabilly, the single was a complete commercial failure.
With the rock'n'roll craze gathering momentum in early 1956, The Star
Rhythm Boys cut the the great coupling "Rockin' With My Baby" / "It's Me
Baby", issued on SUN 246. It reportedly made good local sales, but was not
the hit it deserved to be. Malcom cut some more demos at Sun during 1957,
continued in music until 1961 when he quit the business, concentrating on
his day job and his family.
Almost thirty years later, in 1988, Malcolm played rockabilly festivals in the
UK and Holland and was acclaimed by fans young enough to be his grandsons!
In 1997 he released a new album, "There's a Little Life Left In This Ole Boy
Yet". He died in the Baptist Hospital in Memphis at the age of 82.

Recommended listening:
Malcom Yelvington tracks has appeared on the numerous Sun compilations
Meteor sides are on "Meteor Rockabilly" ACE CDCHM 484
"Gonna Have Myself A Ball" CHARLY SUN LP1010 (vinyl)
See also Terry Gordon's website:
http://els51.law.emory.edu/rcs/artists/y/yelv1000.htm
Tapio's discography:
http://www.pcuf.fi/~tapiov/discographies/malcolmyelvington.htm
and http://www.rockabillyhall.com/Malcolm.html