The Honeydrippers: Volume One
Released 24 September 1984
Recorded March 1984, Atlantic Studios, New York, NY; overdubs at Marcus Studios, London
Genre Rock & roll, jump blues, rhythm & blues
Length 17:56
Label Es Paranza/Atlantic Records
90265
Producer Nugetre & The Fabulous Brill Brothers (Robert Plant & Phil Carson)
The Honeydrippers: Volume One is an EP released on 24 September 1984, by a band led by rock singer Robert Plant. The project originated when Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegün wanted to record an album of his favourite songs from the 1950s. Plant was chosen because Ertegün had seen his pick-up band the Honeydrippers performing 1950s standards. Included in the band were Chic front man Nile Rodgers, and former Yardbirds guitarists Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page—the latter was also Plant’s former band mate in Led Zeppelin.
To Plant’s horror, “Sea of Love” became his biggest-selling single. According to Plant, the original single was “Rockin’ at Midnight,” with “Sea of Love” as the “B” side. The single was eventually “flipped” because radio stations were playing “Sea of Love” far more than “Rockin’ at Midnight”. Plant feared his career would be ruined by this, and that people would think of him now as a “crooner”, instead of the rock and roll singer he’d always been. As a result, when he would be asked about The Honeydrippers in years to come, Plant would refer to The Honeydrippers as having been “put to sleep.” “Rockin at Midnight” is a remake of the 1949 recording by Roy Brown, the song’s author, who wrote it as an answer record to his 1947 composition and recording, “Good Rockin’ Tonight”.
The album was re-released in a remastered edition in 2007 as part of a Robert Plant remaster series, with the live version of “Rockin’ at Midnight” (previously released on the 12-inch single version of the studio recording) included as a bonus track. Plant and Ertegün discussed the possibility of doing another Honeydrippers album, but with the latter’s death in December 2006, the plan was shelved permanently.
Track listing
1984 vinyl edition
Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. “I Get a Thrill” Rudy Toombs 2:37
2. “Sea of Love” George Khoury, Phil Phillips 3:01
3. “I Got a Woman” Ray Charles, Renald Richard 2:55
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. “Young Boy Blues” Doc Pomus, Phil Spector 3:28
2. “Rockin’ at Midnight” Roy Brown 5:55
2007 remaster bonus tracks
“Rockin’ at Midnight” (live in Birmingham NEC, September 8, 1985) – 4:14
1984 Compact disc edition
Same track listing and order as the vinyl release.
Personnel
Robert Plant – vocals
Jeff Beck – guitars (“I Got a Woman,” and “Rockin’ at Midnight”)
Jimmy Page – guitars (“Sea of Love” and “I Get a Thrill”)
Nile Rodgers – rhythm guitar
Paul Shaffer – piano
Dave Weckl – drums
Wayne Pedzwater – bass
Keith Evans – saxophone (“Rockin’ at Midnight”)
Bonus track personnel
Robert Plant – vocals
Robbie Blunt – guitar
Paul Martinez – bass
Jezz Woodroffe – keyboards
Richie Hayward – drums
The King Bees (a.k.a. The Uptown Horns) – horns
Crispin Cioe: alto saxophone, baritone saxophone
Bob Funk: trombone
Arno Hecht: tenor saxophone
Paul Litteral: trumpet
The Queen Bees – backing vocals
Ula Hedwig
Chrissie Faith
Millie Whiteside
Production
Producers: Nugetre (Ahmet Ertegün) and the Fabulous Brill Brothers (Robert Plant & Phil Carson)
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