Hilly Voodoo & Cowboy Mambo

His Highness the Nigerian high life, King Sunny Ade, sailed into New York in the early 80s, stepped on shore and demanded to hear some hillbilly music. He wanted a personal audience with Hank Williams and was turned down. The walls were bricked up a thousand feet high between country, soul, pop and roll and ears were deaf to the Cowboy Mambo. Barrance Whitfield stepped forth with his celestial horn and those walls come tumbling down. He was the future of Hillbilly Voodoo and now, he's the king of Cowboy Mambo. A voice that reverberates through another batch of Voodoo Mambo brew: Ukelele Ike, Pop Staples, Gram Parsons, The Band, Jimmie Rodgers, Billy Joe Shaver, The Coasters, Stevie Earle, palm wine, guitar players, yodelers, screamers, slide artists, dreamers... Let the radio programmers and boss jocks and politicaslly correct folk erect their walls of Jericho: BArrence is a-coming and he blows a mighty horn. Tom Russell New York, 1993 Historical Note: Cliff Edwards aka "Ukelele Ike" is recognized by a handful of 78 RPM collectors as one of America's jazz and pop musicians He was born in Hannibal, Missouri in 1895 and had a string of early jazz hits featuring a unique scat singing and altered chord structures later associated with Louie Armstrong. He starred in movies and later worked for Walt Disney as the voice of Jiminy Cricket in "Pinocchio". His voice on "When You Wish Upon A Star" opened Disney TV shows and haunted our childhood memories. Edwards died in 1971 and his body was unclaimed