Danny Winkle: Bad Luck (1961)

 |   |  1 min read

Danny Winkle: Bad Luck (1961)

The line “if it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have no luck at all” (and its minor variants) has been a staple in the blues . . . but here country singer Danny Winkle from around Biloxi, Mississippi – who just went by “Danny” on his two singles – pulled it into his stab at kind of rockabilly r'n'b, complete with Sun Records-style echo.

He'd held down a residency at the Copa Lounge in Biloxi and it seems he was heard by Hack Kennedy of the Big Howdy record label who produced this single.

In the liner notes to the excellent compilation Rockabillies, Hillbillies and Honky Tonkers from Mississippi and Louisiana; The Big Howdy Recording Company Story (Stomp Time, 2018) compiler Dave Travis tells us the song sold well locally.

stcd37Enough for Kennedy to record a second single Don't Fall in Love b/w The Girl at Johnny's.

But after that, Travis writes with finality: “Danny's music career after that has not yet come to light”.

Still, sometimes a one-off is better than none-at-all.

So be it with Danny Winkle who we resurrect briefly and then consign to the vaults again.

Very good compilation, incidentally.

For more oddities, one-offs or songs with an interesting backstory check the massive back-catalogue at From the Vaults.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   From the Vaults articles index

Blind Willie Johnson: I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole (1927)

Blind Willie Johnson: I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole (1927)

Last year as part of a short series on blues artists we profiled the remarkable Blind Willie Johnson whose music is out there in the endless cosmos on board Voyager 1. Johnson possessed an... > Read more

Sister Lottie Peavey: When I Move to the Sky (1945)

Sister Lottie Peavey: When I Move to the Sky (1945)

It's always remarkable what you can discover on a cheap album. I bought this Lu Watters/Bunk Johnson record from Rough Trade in Bristol for ₤3 (about $6.50) and what bargain it proved to be.... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

WASHED AWAY WORLDS AND IMAGES: Saturated stories and wet words

WASHED AWAY WORLDS AND IMAGES: Saturated stories and wet words

Many months on and I am still coming to terms with not just what we lost in the January flooding but what is now still in the lock-ups and unavailable to us. Hundreds of records with relevant... > Read more

Adele: 25 (XL)

Adele: 25 (XL)

A week before the release of this album, Elsewhere was having a lunchtime conversation with someone at the very pointy end of the music business. He runs a chain of stores which sells something... > Read more