Jimmy Merritt

[mikey]

Early 60's gem from another unknown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91wtr6EK7vM

Who is Jimmy Merritt?

[sunset_traveler]

An old favorite of mine from 1962, and the flip "Lonely Battle" is good too. Crackerjack was a Sue subsiduary, and although the label only had a handful of releases almost all were of a very high standard. As to the identity of the mysterious Mr. Merritt, I'm afraid I've drawn a blank too.

[mikey]

Hi sunset traveler: Perhaps Jimmy Merritt might be the writer of the song Jimmy Oliver.Just speculating.

[sunset_traveler]

mikey -

No, Jimmy Oliver was an arranger, conductor and composer who had written the Sue label's first big hit - Bobby Hendricks [[Ex Drifters) "Itchy Twitchy Feelling" in 1958. He had earlier worked with the Drifters themselves and had played guitar on some of the group's 50's recordings. He later went on to write for other Sue artists such as Don Covay and Charlie & Inez Foxx, even cutting an instrumental himself titled "The Sneak". There was an album out on Sue by Jimmy Oliver & the Soul Twisters - "Hits Au Go Go" which I've not heard, but I assume from the title that it was all instrumental covers of current hits.

[davie gordon2]

Mikey,

I agree with sunset traveler that Jimmy Merritt is not Jimmy Oliver - he was with the Drifters from 1953 to 1957 but he was their guitarist and never sang with them - he was
their equivalent of Marv Tarplin in that he wrote for the group as well as being their guitarist.

That "Hits Au Go Go" album is mainly instrumental versions of recent Motown hits plus two Jimmy Oliver originals that were also issued as a single.

Here's the track listing :


LP-1041/STLP-1041 - Hits Au-Go-Go - Jimmy Oliver & Soul Twisters [1966]
My Girl/Baby I Need Your Lovin'/Come See About Me/Dancing In The
Street/Stubborn Kind Of Fellow/My Guy/You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling/Baby
Love/Whirl A Girl/Mickey's Monkey/Bye Bye Baby I'm Gone/Shotgun

[mikey]

Great stuff Sunset Traveler and Davie Gordon.