Rollin' Rock was, and still is, an American 'Rockabilly' label, based in California. It started life as a magazine for enthusiasts of the genre. Letters from readers asking where they could get hold of old records prompted boss Ron Weiser to lease some rare sides by Jim Patton and make them available on his own label; and Rollin' Rock Records was born. Since the release of its first single, in 1972, it has made new recordings of heroes of the genre such as Ray Campi and Charlie Feathers, and has fostered new talent as well.
The company established a presence in the U.K. in 1977: 'Music Week' of the 30th of April reported that Rollin' Rock U.K. was working out of premises in Peny-Y-Bryn, Newport, Salop, and that it was offering 'original material by legendary Rockabilly artists'. A year later 'MW' of the 27th of May 1978 carried an advert for distributor Lightning Records (q.v.) saying that it had three Rollin' Rock singles available. There was a revival of interest in Rock 'n' Roll in Britain in the late '70s, and following a 1977 Rollin' Rock tour featuring Ray Campi and Mac Curtis some Rollin' Rock products featuring those artists were licensed to Radar Records (q.v.). The result was an album by Curtis and an album and a couple of singles - one promo-only - by Campi, all of which came out on the Radar label with a Rollin' Rock logo added (6). 'MW' of the 2nd of September 1978 carried a report on the deal; it added that product which Radar didn't pick up on would continue to be handled by Rollin' Rock U.K. themselves. Handily it provided the information that Rollin' Rock U.K. had been established by David Harris with Ron Weiser in order to provide better U.K. distribution for Rollin' Rock's records, and it confirmed that a distribution deal had been signed with Lightning.
In the 1970s Rollin' Rock records intended for sale in the U.K. were pressed in America. They had much the same label design as their American counterparts, except that they had a flag and the words 'Real Rock & Roll' in between the 'Rollin'' and 'Rock' of the logo, whereas up to some point in or around 1979 American issues had 'Rock It!!!' or 'Rock It Up' and no flag. Till that same time the U.K. releases were often coloured differently from the American ones; they frequently had white labels with a red logo on one side and a blue one on the other, whereas American Rollin' Rocks came in a variety of colours. In addition British issues often had the text 'Distributed in U.K. by Rollin' Rock U.K.' added at the bottom (4, 5); the three singles which were handled by Lightning have 'Imported in Great Britain by Rollin' Rock U.K.' instead (3), and it may be that these were identical to the American issues. The earliest UK issues had the artist and title credits in blue and red print (1, 2). Catalogue numbers were the same as those of the American versions, and were in a 45-000 series, with EPs having an 'EP 45' prefix.
Rollin' Rock records weren't released here at the same times or in the same order as the American originals, and in addition some appear to have been re-pressed or reissued. Unfortunately they weren't listed in 'Music Week' or 'The New Singles', so while the release dates below are generally those given on the labels they need to be taken with a pinch of salt. It looks as though Rollin' Rock U.K. handled a couple of singles in 1977 and added a handful more in 1978, all with 'Distributed' on them; Lightning handled three in 1978, with 'Imported' on them; and Rollin' Rock (perhaps with the help of Lightning) added a large batch in 1979, again with 'Distributed' on them. A company called Swift took over distribution in June 1980: they seem to have handled a lot of the previous releases and to have added a handful more - these latter have no reference to the UK on the label and may merely be imports of the standard American singles, but they are mentioned in the 'Music Master' singles catalogue for 1975-84. By that time David Harris was running his own label, Hot Rock (q.v.), which was dedicated to much the same kind of music. Rollin' Rock did have a short series of official pressed-in-Britain releases in the early '80s; they were issued by Rondelet Records, of Mansfield Woodhouse, were numbered in the ROUND-1000s, and had a label design that was different to the American one.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.