Born in Louisiana, Jimmy Clanton was a rock ‘n’ roll era teen idol, who was regarded as the pioneer of what came to be called “swamp pop”, the product of Cosimo Matassa’s legendary New Orleans studio that was also the source of Fats Domino’s hits.

Coming into the pop scene in 1957 after the first wave of pioneering rock ‘n’ roll stars, as teen stars provided a slightly different and more universally acceptable strand of the new music, he had a run of hits through into the ‘60s before his music was overtaken by the British Invasion.

Clanton starred in a rock ‘n’ roll movie produced by Alan Freed called Go, Johnny, Go! and later starred in Teenage Millionaire, with music arranged and produced by Dr. John and arranger/trumpeter Charlie Miller. He also performed on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand and toured with popular artists like Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Platters.

This 62-track collection features almost all his A- and B-sides from this era on Johnny Vincent’s renowned Ace Records label based in Jackson, Mississippi, and its subsidiary Vin. Alongside all his tracks from the  albums Just A Dream, Jimmy’s Blue, Teenage Millionaire and Venus In Blue Jeans, not otherwise released on singles, are selected tracks from his albums Jimmy’s Happy.

It features his 10 US hits from this era, including the pop No.4 and R&B No.1 Just A Dream, the pop No.5 Go, Jimmy, Go and the pop No.7 Venus In Blue Jeans. His only notable UK hit was Another Sleepless Night.

Just A Dream, A Letter To An Angel, Ship On A Stormy Sea, and Venus In Blue Jeans, all sold over a million copies, and were awarded gold discs. It’s a substantial and fairly comprehensive overview of what was the primary era of his pop career, and it’s an excellent showcase for his particular style as a teen idol.

REVIEWS

I enjoyed this set which has an informative chunky booklet by Paul Watts which includes pics of Jimmy and his amazing hairstyle which, for many of us, will always remain Just A Dream. - Eric Dunsdon (Now Dig This Issue 461)