The Honeydrippers -- "Volume Two"

In early 1981, Robert Plant made his first public return to the stage after the breakup of Led Zeppelin. Fronting a band called The Honeydrippers, Plant performed several R&B and early rock and roll numbers in front of small audiences at unbilled shows. Some may have wondered at the time whether this was going to be his new direction. But during the following two years he released all-new music with two albums and a tour.

Then in 1984, Plant surprised a lot of people when he released a Honeydrippers EP. The band lineup was completely different than the one that had performed at unpublicized gigs in 1981 and included Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Nile Rodgers among others. And perhaps to Plant's surprise, The Honeydrippers, Volume One was a hit – bigger, in fact, than his previous two solo albums had been. The "group" made one TV appearance, as the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" with Brian Setzer on guitar.

Soon after the EP's success, Plant said in interviews that he planned to record a full Honeydrippers album. But so far, it hasn't materialized, and I'm guessing at this point it never will. 

However, I wondered if there might be some stray tracks that could, if not create a whole album, at least be a second EP.

SIDE A

1. Philadelphia Baby – (Porky's Revenge soundtrack, Crawling King Snakes, 1985)
2. Let’s Have a Party – (The Last Temptation of Elvis soundtrack, 1990)
3. Louie Louie – (Wayne's World 2 soundtrack, 1993)

SIDE B

1. Gonna Shoot You Right Down (Boom Boom) – (Blues Blues Blues, Jimmy Rogers All-Stars, 1998)
2. Let the Boogie Woogie Roll – (More Friends: Small World, Big Band, Vol. 2, Jools Holland and His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, 2002)
3. My Bucket's Got a Hole in It -- (Good Rockin' Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, 2003)
* BONUS: Santa Claus is Back in Town [live] – (Saturday Night Live, The Honeydrippers, 1984)

Since the 1981 band lineup wasn't the same as the one in 1984, and since not even all the same musicians performed on all the tracks of the original EP, it seems logical to think of The Honeydrippers as simply Robert Plant covering old songs with a rotating cast of band members.

Since it took three years from the original Honeydrippers conception until Volume One was released, I didn't mind a gap of a few years between songs for Volume Two. But I ended up having to really expand beyond a few years to find enough tracks for a simple five-song EP -- 17 years to be exact. Admittedly, it seems a bit far-fetched. Still, it's a nice companion to the original. 

"Philadelphia Baby" on the Porky's Revenge soundtrack was credited to The Crawling King Snakes. But considering that it came out in 1985, I wonder if it wasn't originally conceived as another Honeydrippers song. The song was written and originally recorded by Charlie Rich in 1958.

"Let's Have a Party" was written by Jessie Mae Robinson and first recorded by Elvis Presley in 1957 as simply "Party" for the film "Loving You." Wanda Jackson recorded her version the following year with the extended title (although it apparently wasn't released until 1960). Led Zeppelin actually performed this song often as part of a medley during shows.

"Louie Louie" was written and recorded by Richard Berry in 1955, although it's probably best known for the 1963 version by The Kingsman. "Gonna Shoot You Right Down (Boom Boom)" was written and recorded by John Lee Hooker in 1961. "Let the Boogie Woogie Roll" was written by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, and first recorded by Clyde McPhatter and The Drifters in 1960.

The most popular version of "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" was recorded by Hank Williams in 1949.

I included the holiday song "Santa Claus is Back in Town" from the Honeydrippers' appearance on "SNL" as a bonus track. It was written by Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by Elvis Presley in 1957.
For the cover, I took a 1950s photo of a couple slow dancing, did some cosmetic work, and added the group name and logo.