During the early to mid 50s particularly in the Bible belt states of Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas and Kentucky came a music so primitive and so wild that what was recorded during that time influenced future generations of music makers in years and decades to come.
Rock 'n' Roll was a fresh and wild new sounding music which when heard for the first time made the minds of the youth of the day explode with hormonal rage and rebellion.
The mid 50s period between 1955-57 was the peak years for this type of music and the headquarters of this fresh sound was the record label and studio 'Sun Records' based in Memphis, Tennessee.
A great wealth of artists recorded at Sun and also the birth of a musical genre began there, such influential acts who recorded and had releases include Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison amongst countless others.
For me as a student of occultism and magick, I feel that the rise of the Rock 'n' Roll era was the esoteric consequences of the combining of two magical primitive energy forces rooted in musical modes, from country and hillbilly music via the folk songs of England, Ireland and Scotland came forth the essence of Celtic Folk magick and from the Black Slavery of Africa via the influence of Blues and Swing came African Voodoo magick and combined together , a new music was formed which drove teenagers wild all around the world; this music was Rock 'n' Roll.
Rock 'n' Roll music was and is the basis of popular music and continues to still influence the way people write songs today, even though most of today's songwriters don't know this or even realise they are creating energetic magick rooted sounds using scales and modes from these primitive beginnings and beyond.
Sun Records was highly influential and important in this birth of modern popular music.... one of it's greatest recording artists ironically never even had a release on the label and only recorded at The Sun records studio facility, thankfully recordings have survived.
This artist was Jimmy Wages, Wages was from Tupelo, TX and created some of the most demented Rock 'n' Roll recordings of the mid 50s.
What is genius about the recordings which Jimmy Wages recorded was their confused genius, these were by no-means chart toppers or radio friendly records by any stretch of the imagination, which is likely why they were never released on 45 and only over the last 20 years or so have come to light.
Also in great Blues and Rock 'n' Roll traditions Jimmy Wages music is paradoxical and has the makings of the first white outcast made recordings, there is an inner torment, a yearning for understanding, there is religious confusion, tortured personal themes in regards to women, teenage frustration and the conflict of good and evil both as an internal and an external means of knowing one's place in the world.
Jimmy Wages unlike a few of the other Sun recording artists wrote his own songs and this is where his genius is more genuine than the more-known artist of the day in my opinion.
Here are two of his most killer tracks, which I adore and love to bits.
Mad Man
Take Me ( From The Garden Of Evil)
I really dig the madness in both of the tracks above, they are the perfect tonic to the equal mindset of a madman.
Paul
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