Hoosier Daddy Mar-Vel and the Birth

The 2LP vinyl collectors edition of Hoosier Daddy sees rock & roll authority Dave Penny select 32 prime rockabilly tracks from his massive 105-track 3CD set. Hoosier Daddy tells the story of the pioneering and industrious Indiana record man, Harry Glenn, and his Mar-Vel and Glenn labels and his importance in bringing country rock n roll to the state of Indiana. Indiana, the Hoosier State, is not one that immediately springs to mind when considering the great centres of American musical excellence in the mid-20th century. The celebrated Vee-Jay Records was launched there in 1953, but within months had relocated to nearby Chicago. A host of jazz legends graduated from the clubs of the state capitol, Indianapolis, which also played host to a lively blues scene in the 1920s and 1930s, from which Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell emerged, but musicians had to seek their fortunes elsewhere. By the mid-1940s, with the war effort in full swing, the influx of those leaving the southern states to colonise the north-western corner of Indiana, in pursuit of well-paid jobs was at an all-time high. While these migrants may have considered themselves neo-sophisticates with fat bank rolls in their pockets, they were homesick and pining for some down-home entertainment which was willingly supplied by other, musically-gifted migrants from Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama. Into this maelstrom of musical talent entered a man with the desire to supply this untapped market, but not another Southern migrant Harry Glenn was a Hoosier born and bred... In addition to long-cherished cult rockabilly favourites such as Bobby Sisco, Herbie Duncan, Chuck Dallis and Harry Carter, Hoosier Daddy includes a host of rare tracks from other more obscure performers