About Blog

This blog will document vinyl records (singles & EPs) of country, bluegrass, and rockabilly on San Francisco Bay Area labels. It will range from the earliest 78rpm records to current 45rpm records. The most updated list can be found at: http://www.westernswing.com/sfba.pdf

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Charline Arthur

CHARLINE ARTHUR


Charline Arthur, along with Rose Maddox, was a female forebearer of rockabilly. Charline recorded a lot of great classic country for RCA Victor in the mid 1950s. Before I started this project I had no idea she had lived and performed in the Bay Area in the late 1960s-early 1970s. Thanks to my pal Andy Gallagher, I discovered not only this but that she had released the following single on the San Jose, CA based Rustic label.





Larry and Bobby Black at their Peninsula Sound Studio

The record was recorded at Bobby and Larry Black’s Peninsula Sound Studio in San Carlos, California probably late 1969.

Article and ad from Hayward Daily Review January 30, 1970


The club today

Charline and her combo opened Pat’s Cocktail Lounge the last weekend of January 1970. It had previously been a neighborhood food market in unincorporated Cherryland next to Hayward and San Lorenzo. Over the years it has changed owners and names at least a half dozen times. It is now a neighborhood sports bar (no live music) called Shirlene’s Iron Horse.

Article and ad from Oakland Tribune September 4, 1970

The club today

Charline Arthur and the Country Raiders (probably because they were in Oakland Raiders territory) played every weekend at The Factory in San Leandro, California in the Fall of 1970. Today, instead of Chinese food, it is now Frank’s Tavern, a taqueria sports bar (no live music). Notice the sad trend here.



Recommended Recording & Video:

Bear Family BCD 16279 “Charline Arthur: Welcome To The Club” 32-track CD (1998)
M2kmusic RBWDV401 “Welcome to the Club: The Women of Rockabilly” DVD (2004)

Discography:

Charline Arthur discography on Praguefrank’s Country Discography 2 site.