May 12th, 2026 was my 80th birthday and we hosted a party at The Dirty Drummer for family and friends. Thanks to all the singers, musicians and DJ's who entertained the masses. I hope you enjoy the photos from that evening. Mic drop. [...]
Clay Ramsey is an important figure in Arizona music history, as the man behind Old Timer Records, that became Liberty Bell and later Ramco Records. He also built Ramsey's Radio Repair, then Ramsey's Recording Studio that became the famous Audio Recorders in 1957. From humble beginnings he, and son Floyd, built a very successful business on the corner of 7th Street and Weldon. Here, in his own words, is that facinating musical story, proving that honest, hard work does pay off in the end. Enjoy. Clay Ramsey and "The Old timers" Circa 1940 Clay Ramsey and "The Old timers" Arizona Republic 1935 [...]
Dyke and The Blazers, from Phoenix, are a major contributor to the Funk Music scene, having recorded the classic track, "Funky Broadway," at Audio Recorders in Sept. of 1966. I interviewed four of the original members in 2004, before their induction into The Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame. Here is that transcribed interview, as those four originals share their stories of Dyke, the band, the Apollo Theater, and the Phoenix music scene at that time. RIP Rich, Rodney and Clarence. ARIZONA HALL OF FAME INTERVIEWS of THE BLAZERS / SHOWMEN INC on 12/26/2004 @The Elks Club 7:00 pm. Transcribed from the Ken Beals video by [...]
Bear Family Records® releases a 10“ vinyl, 45 rpm – numbered, limited edition of 500 copies. 12 tracks. First solo album by Buddy Holly's legendary guitar player Niki Sullivan - strictly limited to 500 copies worldwide. Seven previously unreleased tracks from 1959, recorded at the Audio Recorders Studio in Phoenix, Arizona. Plus two extremely rare garage rock recordings from 1965 with Sullivan’s band Soul Inc. Includes Sullivan’s only solo single for Dot Records: the rockabilly classic "It’s All Over." Features rare B-side "Three Steps to Heaven" – not an Eddie Cochran cover, but Niki Sullivan original. Remastered from the original tape, thanks to music historian John P. Dixon. With in-detail [...]
Over the years I've done lots of interviews with many Arizona singers, musicians and producers, and I realize how many have passed away unfortunately, so now is the time to start sharing their stories and memories with you here before I blast off...LOL. I've made some corrections and additions as needed, in italics, as some of the facts were wrong, but I didn't know that at the time. Please pardon my occasional dumb question too, as I was just getting started in my research, and my music knowledge would, and did, grow over the years, thanks in part to these conversations that I transcribed. Over time, I have been able to [...]
John Dixon or as his friends call him Johnny D has been a vital part of Arizona's music scene for over 60 years as a DJ musician Capital ABC records promo man producer and record collector he's known as The Unofficial Arizona music historian because of his unparalleled knowledge of Arizona's music history and his website you guys is azmusicdude.com and it's packed with vital music history from Arizona which I think everybody should take it a minuteand go read at some point. He's an obsessive collector of Arizona music stories recorded music and memorabilia he's made a career of archiving documenting and reissuing Arizona music by local artists from [...]
In 1965 Steve Jordan and his band, The Jordan Brothers, were living and working in Phoenix, Arizona, headlining the ID Club on South Central Avenue. On stage, night after night they honed their sets of Rock, R&B and Latino hits, with Steve on guitar and vocals and brother Bonifacio on drums and vocals. They developed a large local following. In one 7-hour marathon recording session, they played their best live songs to tape, releasing only one very rare 45 on their ID label that year. In 1967 the group moved to Texas, where Steve would focus more on his accordion and Tejano music for the rest of his career. [...]
Audio Recorders of Arizona built their state-of-the-art studio in the fall of 1963 and officially opened in June of 1964 at 3830 N. 7th Street. The 10,000 sq. ft. building cost $300,000 to construct, financed by Niblack "Bill" Thorne and Floyd Ramsey. Although they never achieved the national fame (Sanford Clark, Duane Eddy) of the original studio across the street, the recording business grew every year, and in the 70's the name was changed to Audio-Video Recorders. Photographer Arthur Preslow took these great photos of the new facility and the equipment for the grand opening. [...]
More desert doo wops and soul for you on CD, this time from Leroy Fullylove & The Tads. Jam packed with 30 fantastic tracks, many unreleased, of wonderful group (for the most part) harmony, in a beautiful digipak format, with a 16 page full color booklet. In depth notes by John P. Dixon, surrounded by many pictures and label images of some very rare (1956-1962) Arizona recordings. Besides Fullylove's solo recordings, there are songs by The Tads, The Buffs and The Dots and both their records as background singers. The little known Leroy Fullylove was a very prolific artist and wrote most of the songs that he recorded, for [...]
TWO SIDES OF KILLER ARIZONA FUNK and SOUL by Al Reed and The Pipers titled "Funky, Funky Curfew" b/w The Soul Blenders and the "Funky Night Club" on Ramco #2021. "Funky, Funky Curfew" is unreleased and produced at Audio Recorders by Hadley Murrell (The Servicemen, Freddi & Henchi) and Art Barrett (Dyke) in 1967. Includes a shout out to "Yuma, Arizona," so you know that's cool! "Funky Night Club" was produced by "Big" Mike Lenaburg in 1968 as by the Soulsations. This dance track was not released at the time, but has been on the Big Mike Numero LP and CD from several years ago and featured on Ugly [...]
