Single File: The Azaleas

As a supplement to Episode 42, we present a new series where we investigate and discuss a particularly obscure or noteworthy single: something that can’t be denied on both sides!! And what better way to start than with Norfolk, Virginia’s wildest girl group, the Azaleas?! Side A is a blatant retread of Gary US Bonds’ 1961 non-hit, “Not Me”, retitled “Hands Off” (2:02). A crazy organ sound, lots of “lowtower,” and the sound of a group of people who are enjoying demolishing the studio and the social fabric with their ferocious energy. The b-side “Our Drummer Can’t Keep Time” is even more bonkers (59:58): it’s the tale of a untamed tubthumper named Gregory Garfone , played to the tune of “Buffalo Gals.” This has got to be the fastest song we’ve ever played!! All that, and we even add a bonus track, Jimmy Soul’s “Church Street in the Summer Time”, which celebrates many players of the Norfolk scene (1:35:22).