Gerry and The Pacemakers - How Do You Like It? (1963)

 "You'll Never Walk Alone" by Gerry and The Pacemakers

The Lads from Liverpool... there were many more than just those Fab Four.  One of the earliest "rivals" to The Beatles were fellow Liverpudlians Gerry and The Pacemakers who started out just as successfully in the UK.  Also managed by Brian Epstein, The Pacemakers debuted three straight singles at the top of the charts even despite rejecting a song offered them by up-and-coming songwriting team Lennon/McCartney.  They were amongst the first wave of British Invaders and followed in The Beatles's footsteps by debuting on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Gerry and The Pacemakers released their debut album How Do You Like It? in 1963 on Columbia Records.

Note:  Like The Beatles and other British artists of the era, The Pacemakers's records become similarly fragmented as they reach the other side of the Atlantic.  Those records are included in this whistle stop.

Here is the discography surrounding Gerry and The Pacemakers's debut album:

How Do You Do It? (1963 single)

I Like It (1963 single)

How Do You Do It? (1963 EP)

You'll Never Walk Alone (1963 single)

How Do You Like It?

You'll Never Walk Alone (1963 EP)

I'm the One (1964 single)

I'm the One (1964 EP)

Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying (1964 single)

Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying (1964 EP)

Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying (1964 US album)

Gerry and The Pacemakers Second Album (1964 US album)

Gerry and The Pacemakers Live at NME Poll Winners Show 1964

"Chills" by Gerry and The Pacemakers

"Slow Down" by Gerry and The Pacemakers

Pass the Headphones!!

The Beatles - With The Beatles (1963)

"I Wanna Be Your Man" by The Beatles

When David Jones went on The Ed Sullivan Show to promote Oliver! with others in the cast, he saw up close one of the seismic cultural events of the century.  He saw The Beatles debut on American television.  It changed the young Artful Dodger's life as it showed him what he wanted to be a part of: his own Beatles-like experience.  That's for another time.

The Beatles released their second album in the UK, With The Beatles, in 1963 on Parlophone Records.  (Here's their first.)

Note:  In the first half of 1964, North American labels caught on to the "trend" and started releasing the existing Beatles material in their respective markets -- restructuring the UK albums with the non-album singles.  I'm including those albums in the discography but focusing the blog stops on the UK lineage even though Meet the Beatles! and The Beatles' Second Album are seminal albums in US music history.

Here is the discography surrounding The Beatles's second album:

With The Beatles

I Want to Hold Your Hand (1963 single)

Introducing... The Beatles (1964 US album)

Meet The Beatles! (1964 US album)

Twist and Shout (1964 Canadian album)

All My Loving (1964 EP)

Souvenir of Their Visit to America (1964 EP)

The Beatles' Second Album (1964 US album)

The Beatles' First (1964 compilation album)

Four by The Beatles (1964 EP)

The Beatles' Long Tall Sally (1964 Canadian album)

"I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles (on The Ed Sullivan Show)

"Till There Was You" by The Beatles (at Royal Albert Hall)

"Roll Over Beethoven" by The Beatles

Pass the Headphones!!

David Jones - David Jones (1965)

"Dream Girl" by David Jones

David Bowie is his stage name.  Originally, he tried to have a go with his own name, David (sometimes Davy) Jones, but he was struggling to get his music career off the ground at the same time as another David (to be Davy) Jones.  Name-cementing success would find this other David Jones sooner than the eventual Bowie.  David Jones released his debut album David Jones in 1965 on Pye Records.

Here is the discography surrounding David Jones's debut album:

Dream Girl (1964 single)

What Are We Going to Do? (1965 single)

David Jones

The Girl from Chelsea (1965 single)

It Ain't Me Babe (1967 single as Davy Jones)

Theme for a New Love (1967 single as Davy Jones)

"What Are We Going to Do?" by David Jones (on Shindig!)

David Jones as The Artful Dodger (on The Ed Sullivan Show)

"Any Old Iron" by David Jones

Pass the Headphones!!

David Bowie - David Bowie (1969)

"Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed" by David Bowie

Queen first turned to David Bowie to produce their second album.  Bowie was busy and turned them down leaving Queen to team up again with producer Roy Thomas Baker.  David Bowie released his own second album (once again called) David Bowie in 1969 on Philips Records.

Here is the discography surrounding David Bowie's second album:

The 'Mercury' Demos (1969 demos)

The '69 Tapes (1969 demos)

Space Oddity (1969 single)

David Bowie

Memory of a Free Festival (1970 single)

The Prettiest Star (1970 single)

Ragazzo solo, ragazza sola (1970 single)

The World of David Bowie (1970 compilation album)

"Space Oddity" by David Bowie

"Janine" by David Bowie

"Memory of a Free Festival" by David Bowie

Pass the Headphones!!

Queen - Queen II (1974)

"Ogre Battle" by Queen

To re-record and remix their debut album for a major label re-release, Mötley Crüe and Elektra hired producer Roy Thomas Baker.

"Listening to Queen inspired Mötley Crüe to work with Roy Thomas Baker on Too Fast for Love.  He would come in, "Hello darlings..." and listen for maybe thirty minutes or so and leave.  And we're like, "What?! Where's he going?"  But he produced Queen, so, man, we had to have him produce us, too." - Tommy Lee

Roy Thomas Baker produced Queen's first four albums.  Their second album Queen II came out on EMI and Elektra Records (US) in 1974.

Here is the discography surrounding Queen's second album:

Seven Seas of Rhye (1974 single)

Queen II

Live in Portland, Maine (1974 live bootleg)

"Seven Seas of Rhye" by Queen

"The March of the Black Queen" by Queen

Pass the Headphones!!

Mötley Crüe - Too Fast for Love (1981)

"Public Enemy #1" by Mötley Crüe

Scatman Crothers was born in Terre Haute, Indiana.  Before relocating to California, guitarist Robert Deal was born there, too.  Deal would change his name to and make his name as Mick Mars, the guitarist for Mötley Crüe.  Mötley Crüe released their debut album in late 1981 on their own record label Leathür Records.

Note:  The album cover and date above are for the self-released version of the album.  When Mötley Crüe signed with Elektra Records, they went back to the studio to remix and re-record parts of the album.  The 1982 re-released version of the album and its album cover are what is most popularly familiar.  I've highlighted the original release mostly for dates reasons.

Here is the discography surrounding Mötley Crüe's debut album:

Gypsy Woman (1978 single by Video Nu-R)

Demo (1978 demo by Sister)

Work, Work (1979 single by Video Nu-R)

Demo '79 (1979 demo by Sister)

Before They Were Mötley Crüe (1979 compilation album)

Demotape Remaster (1981 demo)

Mötley Crüe (1981 demo)

Stick to Your Guns (1981 single)

Too Fast for Love

Too Fast for Love (1982 re-released, remixed album)

Live Wire (1982 single)

Public Enemy #1 (1982 single)

Wild in the Night (1982 live album)

"Live Wire" by Mötley Crüe

"Take Me to the Top" by Mötley Crüe

"Starry Eyes" by Mötley Crüe

Pass the Headphones!!

Scatman Crothers - Rock 'n Roll with "Scat Man" (1956)

 "Exactly Like You" by Scatman Crothers

Wild Bill Moore's "Rock and Roll" is one of a number of songs in the debate for first ever rock and roll song.  The vocalist on the track is reputed to be jazz singer Scatman Crothers.  A long career saw Scatman shift musical gears throughout including for his "debut" album where he takes on the mantle of "rock and roller" for Rock 'n Roll with "Scat Man" while the genre is still young and still very much Rhythm and Blues.

Here is the discography surrounding Scatman Crothers's debut album:

The Jubilee Shows (No. 68 and No. 70) (1944 live radio performances with His Orchestra)

Dead Man's Blues (1948 single)

Riff's Blues (1948 single)

Shuffleboard Blues (1949 single)

I'd Rather Be a Hummingbird (1949 single)

I'd Rather Be a Rooster (1950 single)

Papa (I Don't Treat That Little Girl Mean) (1953 single)

Walkin' My Baby Back Home (1953 single)

On the Sunny Side of the Street (1954 single)

Dearest One (1955 single)

When Oh When (1955 single)

Honky Tonk (1956 single)

My Blue Heaven (1956 single)

Since I Met You Baby (1956 single)

Sweet Lips (Jazz Lips) (1956 single)

Rock 'n Roll with "Scat Man"

The Death of Emmett Till (1956 single with The Ramparts)

Exactly Like You (1957 single with His Wildcats)

I Got Rhythm (1957 single with His Wildcats)

Nobody Knows Why (1957 single with His Wildcats)

Ghost Riders in the Sky (1958 single with His Scat Rockets)

I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter (1958 single with His Scat Rockets)

Rock, Roma, Rock It (1958 single)

"I'd Rather Be a Rooster" by Scatman Crothers

"Keep That Coffee Hot" by Scatman Crothers

"The Death of Emmett Till" by The Ramparts

Pass the Headphones!!