Dixiebelles

Girl Group US originaire de Memphis (Tennessee) et composé de Mary Hunt, Mildred Pratcher et Shirley Thomas. Les Dixiebelles ont d'abord débuté sous le nom de Tonettes.

The Memphis-based Dixie Belles enjoyed a brief moment in the spotlight in 1963, when they scored a Top Ten pop hit with their first single, "(Down At) Papa Joe's." They had a Top 20 follow-up hit as well, with "Southtown U.S.A." Mary Hunt, Mildred Pratcher, and Shirley Thomas had previously worked as backup singers around the South, but their career really began to take off in 1963 after they met producer Bill Justis, the man behind the boards for Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis in the 1950s. Justis even had his own measure of success with an instrumental hit, "Raunchy." Fred Foster, the president of Monument Records, signed Justis and his protégés to his label and chose for their first single the unusual "(Down At) Papa Joe's," which began with the girls laughing uncontrollably to the sound of Dixieland-styled piano and continued into an ode to an old saloon where "they serve fried-chicken and collard greens." The song proved to be quite popular, climbing to number nine on the pop charts, and even prompted a soundalike follow-up, "Southtown U.S.A.," which bounded into the Top 20.
An album produced by Bill Justis called (Down At) Papa Joe's (engineered by Billy Sherrill) was quickly released. Now considered a rarity, it was followed by the Dixie Belles' third single, which followed the style of their two previous hits. This one, however, didn't click and despite quite a bit of airplay, it failed to make the Top 100. The Dixie Belles were dropped from Monument and no other singles followed. The group presumably went their separate ways and it is not known if they ever regrouped to tour.

1910

2000

DISCOGRAPHY

Singles & EP

1962	SP VOLT 101 (US)	.	TONETTES - Please Don't Go / No Tears
1962	SP VOLT 104 (US)	.	TONETTES - Stolen Angel / Teardrop Sea
09/1963	SP SOUND STAGE 45-2507 (US)	.	DIXIEBELLES - (Down At) Papa Joe's / Rock, Rock, Rock
01/1964	SP SOUND STAGE 45-2517 (US)	.	DIXIEBELLES with CORNBREAD & JERRY - Southtown U.S.A. / Why Don't You Set Me Free
02/1964	SP LONDON DL 20 743 (GER)		DIXIEBELLES - Southtown U.S.A. / Why Don't You Set Me Free
04/1964	SP SOUND STAGE 45-2521 (US)		DIXIEBELLES - New York Town / The Beale Street Dog
08/1964	EP LONDON REU 1434 (UK)		DIXIEBELLES - (Down At) Papa Joe's / Southtown U.S.A. / New York Town / The Beale Street Dog
1964	EP SOUND STAGE SSP-0002 (US)		DIXIEBELLES - DOWN AT PAPA JOE'S No. 2 - Bourbon Street Parade / Forever, Forever / Swanee River (Where They Rock All Night) / Rock, Rock, Rock / I Told You So / Southtown U.S.A.
1964	EP MONUMENT 780 001 (F)		DIXIEBELLES - (Down At) Papa Joe's / Telling Lies / Good Night Irene / Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
1976	SP MONUMENT GS 1914 (US)	.	DIXIEBELLES - Southtown U.S.A. / (Down At) Papa Joe's
11/1982	SP MONUMENT WS8 03436 (US)	.	DIXIEBELLES - (Down At) Papa Joe's / Southtown U.S.A.

Unissued Tracks

1962	VOLT unissued	TONETTES - Come To Me / Heavenly Angel
1962	VOLT unissued	TONETTES - Heavenly Angel
1962	VOLT unissued	TONETTES - Tell Me
1962	VOLT unissued	TONETTES - The Rotation
1962	VOLT unissued	TONETTES - Unhand That Man

Albums

1963	LP 12" SOUND STAGE 7 SM-1500 (US)		(DOWN AT) PAPA JOE'S - DIXIEBELLES - (Down At) Papa Joe's / Bo Weevil / Telling Lies / Why Don't You Set Me Free / Good Night Irene / Way Down Yonder In New Orleans / Bourbon Street Parade / Forever Forever / Swanee River (Where They Rock All Night) / Rock Rock Rock / I Told You So /Southtown U.S.A
04/1997	CD COLLECTABLES 5829 (US)		GOLDEN CLASSICS - DIXIEBELLES - (Down At) Papa Joe's / Bo Weevil / Telling Lies / Why Don't You Set Me Free / Goodnight Irene / Way Down Yonder In New Orleans / Bourbon Street Parade / Forever, Forever / Swanee River (Where They Rock All Night) / Rock, Rock, Rock / I Told You So / Southtown U.S.A. / New York Town / The Beale Street Dog