OPEN POST: Manor Music Monday Presents a Twofer With Lula Reed And Tiny Topsy!

Greetings, ham-handers, and welcome to another edition of Manor Music Monday, today with two, count 'em, two, fabulous artists, plus a ginsu knife, free shipping and consensual tickles 'n kisses. Both artists, dont'cha know, were very early practitioners of rockabilly, blues and R&B. Intrigued? You really should be. Their music is perfect for anyone's summer playlist and pair quite well with mojitos, mint juleps or Bellini cocktails on the porch or by the pool. They're excellent for barbeques and backyard parties, too, especially the ones that get sloppy and last till the early yawning hours. Tonight, if you head over to the Manor's "Tooty Booty After Hours Lounge And Pizzeria," DJ Li'l Scratch will be laying down their tracks, so make sure you stop by. But first, take two steps back (at least) for Miss Lula Reed:

Imposing, isn't she? Mentored in her hometown as a youth by Professor Harold Bogs, a blind Ohio pastor and gospel singing recording artist, Lula was barely in her twenties when she became the lead vocalist for Sonny Thompson, a popular bandleader and pianist, hitting the charts at #5 with her freshman effort. Her subsequent songs were released under her own name, and she married Thompson shortly after. Oh, and she sometimes smiled, too:

If she isn't as well known as other R&B singers, it's probably because she left the business in the late 1960's, claiming that her label, King Records, wasn't promoting her. In later years, she adamantly refused to give interviews about her music. She had her reasons, finding conflict between her secular work and her spiritual side. It's a shame, because by the time she died in 2008, there were barely any obituaries celebrating her groundbreaking accomplishments. In "Blue And Moody," her 1959 LP, she lays it out with a scorching style all her own.

You can listen to more Lula RIGHT HERE!

Early R&B is a glorious thing, dont'cha think? Especially when it's performed by the one and only Miss Tiny Topsy.

Yes, she was barely five-feet tall (so tiny!), yes, she weighed 250 pounds (not so tiny!), and, yes, she had a thunderous voice that could lay you flat (so topsy!) (?). She started by fronting jazz bands in the 1940s in Chicago, but by the time the 1950s rolled around, she was in full R&B mode, with more than a touch of roof-raising rockabilly.

Like our friend Lula Reed, Tiny never got a lot of radio play, probably because the stations were too busy playing covers of Little Richard songs by Pat Boone (which, as we all know, were so much better than the originals). Lucky for us, Tiny and Lula have not been forgotten, and in this this raw, foot-stompin' compilation album, they both slay. Tiny sadly died at age thirty-four, but her legacy endures in virtually every R&B singer you've heard since. Do you doubt that? Give a listen to this and get back to me. 

You can listen to more Tiny (and Lula, too) RIGHT HERE!

What are you listening to this week? DJ Li'l Scratch wants to know.
Till next time...purr, bitches, purr! 🐾

Photo Credits: King Records; Getty Images