Jewel Album Discography, Part 1:
Stan Lewis founded Jewel Records in 1963, but didn't release any singles until
1964. He started off his new Jewel label with #728, which was his store's address (728 Texas Street in
Shreveport, Louisiana), with a single by Louisiana singer/songwriter Bobby Charles (Guidry), who had
written the hits "See You Later Alligator" and "Walking to New Orleans." The first single was
"Everybody's Laughing"/"Everybody Knows" [Jewel 728], which got some airplay locally, but nothing
nationally. The followup, "Goodnight Irene"/"I Hope" [Jewel 729] fared much the same. Lewis tried one
more on Jewel near the end of 1964, "Oh Lonesome Me"/"One More Glass Of Wine" [Jewel 740], before
switching him to the new Paula subsidiary.
John Fred Gourrier was a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and as a teenager pieced together a band with ever-changing personnel to play at high school dances and such. He used his first and middle names and called the group "John Fred and the Playboys." In late 1958, when he was 17 years old, he was offered a contract by Sam Montalbano's Montel Records, and shipped to New Orleans to record a single at Cosimo's Studios with studio musicians ("uhh, you can leave the Playboys at home for now..."). If that single, "Shirley" [Montel 1002], which reached #82 nationally, sounded a lot like Fats Domino, there's good reason. Fats had just completed his recording of his new single "Whole Lotta Loving" and left the studio when John Fred walked in and used much of the same studio band to record "Shirley." That explains the band, but his nasal vocal was also definitely Domino-esque, and the explanation for that was obviously that he grew up listening to Fats on the radio and singing his tunes in clubs.
Although fairly successful for a young unknown kid on an unknown independent label, "Shirley" was a
one-shot success (three other attempts on Montel went nowhere). The Playboys drifted away and went
on with their lives, Gourrier going to college and playing basketball (his father Fred had played baseball
in the Detroit Tigers organization). About four years later, in 1963, Fred put together another "Playboys"
band and recorded a blues remake of John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillun" for "Rocky" Robin's N-Joy
label out of West Monroe, Louisiana. They titled it "Boogie Children" [N-Joy 1005], and included a part
of Frankie Lee Sims' "Walking with Frankie." The record sold some in the region, but not enough to
chart nationally.
Robin, with virtually zero distribution, brought the record to Stan Lewis, the most prominent distributor in the area. Lewis eventually signed John Fred and his band to his new Jewel Records label and reissued the single on Jewel. Lewis first issued a bluesy single by John Fred & the Playboys, "There Goes That Train"/"Dial 101 (Cause I Still Love You)" as Jewel 730. Oddly, Lewis apparently also issued another single by the group with the same catalog number, "The Fool"/"There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight," a coupling of country sides, perhaps testing the different markets for where the group would sell. For the next offering, Lewis issued a pair of 45s and split the band for naming purposes so he could release two singles simultaneously. Jewel 736 was credited to John Fred, "Lenne"/"You're Mad at Me," while Jewel 737 was the reissue of the N-Joy master, "Boogie Children"/"My First Love," credited just to the Playboys. The fourth and last Jewel single by the group was "How Can I Prove It to You"/"Wrong to Me," issued as Jewel 743 in 1964. This time, the credits were to "John Fred and his Playboy Band" to avoid confusion (and possible legal action, no doubt) with Gary Lewis' backing band. Like Bobby Charles, Lewis shifted John Fred and His Playboy Band to the Paula label in 1965.
In all, Stan Lewis issued 13 singles on Jewel in 1964. Other than those by Bobby Charles and John Fred, the rest were fairly forgettable, featuring artists like Butch Andrews, Denis Noris, Banny Price, Ed Forsythe, Sonny Joe Ivo, and the Five Jets.
The next year, after making the shift of some artists to the pop/country oriented Paula, Lewis issued 14 more singles on Jewel, mostly blues-oriented material. He signed Ted Taylor, Peppermint Harris, Cookie and His Cupcakes, and Jerry McCain, among others. His first national chart record, though, was by the Carter Brothers, with "Little Country Boy" [Jewel 745], which reached #21 on the R&B charts in the summer. Other new artists for 1965 on Jewel were Tom & the Cats, the Objectives, and Little Charles.
At the start of 1966, after a single by the Curtis Griffin Band to start the year ("Move On"/"I Gotta Lump", Jewel 755), Stan Lewis moved into a new field with gospel. The next three singles [Jewel 756-758] were by Rev. Willie Morganfield (a cousin of McKinley Morganfield, aka Muddy Waters). After these singles, Lewis started a gospel series starting with Jewel 101, "Days Past and Gone"/"Tell Jesus What You Want" by the Traveling Echoes. Morganfield's future work appeared on this gospel series. Although Jewel's new gospel series only issued 6 singles in 1966, it would eventually include almost 300 singles and provide the largest and most active series of singles and albums for the Jewel/Paula/Ronn company. The gospel series is covered in the Jewel label discography, Part 2.
Including the three Willie Morganfield singles, Jewel issued 21 singles in 1966 on the 728 Blues Series. Other new artists for Jewel in 1966 included Johnny Mosley, Elmore James, Frank Frost, the Starettes, George "Wild Child" Butler, Billy Joe Young, and Johnny & Jon.
The year 1967 brought fifteen more singles and the start of an LP series. New artists included Cliff
Wagner, Lonnie &
Floyd, Ray Agee, Bobby Powell, Big Mac, and blues guitarist Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins. It was Hopkins
who was given the first album on Jewel, Blue Lightnin' [Jewel LP/LPS-5000], and in fact the next
two albums, also. Houston-based Hopkins developed a unique guitar style where he would simulate
bass, rhythm, lead, and even percussion as he played solo. He also had a unique approach to recording,
where he asked to be paid a flat fee for his recordings, with no contracts or royalties. He would do one
take of each song, and one take only. His sessions for Jewel would usually include about 20 songs
each. Hopkins and Stan Lewis got along well (an instrumental on the second Jewel album was called
"Uncle Stan, the Hip Hit Record Man"), and Lewis remarked that he probably recorded more songs by
Hopkins than any other artist.
The Jewel Blues series only issued five singles in 1968, and nine in 1969. New artist signings for 1968- 69 included the Wallace Brothers, Roman Carter (of the Carter Brothers), Olav Harper, Little Joe Blue, and R&B veteran Lowell Fulson. Over the next few years, Lewis would also sign blues veterans Charles Brown, John Lee Hooker, Memphis Slim, and others. The series lasted until Jewel 852 in 1977, which was John Lee Hooker's "Stand By, Parts 2 & 2".
The Jewel label
for the blues series was green, ranging from dark green to light blue-green. It had black print, with the
Jewel logo on top.
This Jewel label should not be confused with the Jewel Recording label that operated out of Cincinnati, Ohio, and was run by Rusty York.
We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have no association with Jewel/Paula/Ronn Records. Should you be interested in acquiring albums listed in this discography (which are all out of print), we suggest you see our Frequently Asked Questions page and Follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 2006 by Mike Callahan.
