Freddie Bell - Rockin' Is Our Business (CD)

All Music Guide

Freddie Bell the Bellboys never had a hit in America but made history nonetheless by inspiring Elvis Presley to record "Hound Dog." Presley saw the Bellboys perform the song as part of their Vegas act, and his version is much closer to theirs than to Big Mama Thornton's original. Rockin' Is Our Business collects the recordings Bell and Co. made for the Teen, Mercury and Wing labels from 195557, including two versions of "Hound Dog." "Giddy Up A Ding Dong," the group's second most famous cut, seems to have made more of an impression in England and Australia than America, and is also presented in two version. Most of the Bellboys' music is oldfashioned rock roll that resembles a brassy, Las Vegas version of Bill Haley, but the group occasionally moves in other directions as well. "Old Town Hall," for example, sounds like something out of an Italian wedding reception, and it's easy to imagine Louis Prima singing "Take the First Train Out of Town." Rockin' Is Our Business has quite a bit of mediocre rock roll, but it is worth checking out for those with a serious interest in Elvis Presley or rock history in general.

- Greg Adams, All Music Guide