| Rock 'N' Roll, The Nighthawks first
album, was recorded at Paragon Studio in Silver Spring, MD. The
band went
with strong
but simple arrangements that covered a variety of musical influences
and styles—mostly blues classics along with two contemporary
songs. Among the highlights were the Rolling Stones song “Memo
to Turner,” Little Feat’s “Teenage Nervous
Breakdown,” the soul song “Heatwave” and the
rockabilly of “Little Sister.” With the commercial
successes of the J. Geils Band and Bonnie Raitt, it seemed like
the time was right. And it was a very strong debut that the band
basically handed over to Aladdin already complete. It was released
in 1974—and it’s still as powerful and engaging now
as it was then.
Their first single was the famous Elmore
James song “Red Hot Mama,” b/w “Keep Cool,” in
1975. The songs got airplay on WHFS and WEAM in D.C. and praise
in music trade publications including Billboard, Downbeat and
Record World. |
