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In the 1950s Enos 'Skeets' McDonald did more than most to instigate what came to be known as 'The Bakersfield Sound' in Country Music. His pioneering recordings in a hard-core Country style paved the way for the emergence of future west coast icons like Wynn Stewart, Tommy Collins, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, and helped to establish California as a credible rival to Nashville as the epicentre of Country in the 1960s. He never had much of a chart profile, but the records Skeets made for Capitol between 1952 and 1959, and subsequently for Columbia, in Nashville, during the 60s go far beyond any chart positions in their influence among Skeets' peers. This new Jasmine collection focuses on Skeets' singles, from the second half of the 50s through to the early 60s, and offers a generous cross section of his very best work for both labels - including his two sided classic rockabilly 45 'Heartbreakin' Mama/You Oughta See Grandma Rock' (featuring Eddie Cochran on guitar on both sides!) and his debut Columbia 45 'Gotta Get You From That Crowd', with backing vocals by Country superstar Ray Price, no less. The music featured on "Rock It, But Don't Wreck It" (which takes it's title from a spoken comment during Cochran's solo in 'Grandma') demonstrates from start to finish just why Skeets was held in such high regard by his peers and his record producers. He deserves to be regarded as so much more than a footnote in Country Music's annals, and it's to be hoped that this collection will go some way to re-establishing his credentials as an important and influential artist. Assembled with the usual level of care and attention that has come to be the norm for every Jasmine release, generously illustrated and copiously annotated, no fan of vintage Country from it's Golden Age will want to be without this one!
Skeets McDonald