On April 7, WHAM-O WATUSI took place on its regularly scheduled date–first Saturday of the month–at its regularly scheduled location–the Bootleg Bar in Downtown Bushwick–with its regularly scheduled host DJ–Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus. One thing was special and that was the guest DJ, Moptop Mike.

If ever there was an authority on garage rock records, Moptop Mike is it. In fact he wrote the book on the subject; a great book, too. Teenbeat Mayhem! is not only a story of the music, but a pretty darn complete discography, as well. At about 400 pages, it is jam-packed with all sorts of information that one would require in order to build his or her own collection of rockin’ garage rock records. It is a book that is referenced several times a week by the Boogaloo Bag writers. Dig a review of it that appeared on the blog of the ARChive of Contemporary Music. You can get your own copy through the Ugly Things website (now at a blow-out price, too!).

(Actually, he wrote two books on the subject, the second being Beyond Teenbeat Mayhem!, an updated, limited edition (now sold out!) supplement that corrects some errors in the first and adds much more information. This guy is committed to getting things right.)

This marked Moptop Mike’s first DJ appearance in the New York City area for around ten years. He used to be a guest DJ fairly regularly at the Subway Soul Club when it was at Rififi, and at Smashed!Blocked!, the legendary Mod Freakout hosted by Josh Styles and Peppermint Twist at the Beauty Bar. Obviously, if he spins at those two hallowed events, he has good soul records and good garage rock records. During one of his sets, Moptop noted how happy he was to spin both soul and garage rock records on the same night. Often he is asked to spin one or the other. At the WHAM-O WATUSI, all things reet are hep, thus there is more freedom to really swing for all the guest DJs.

Here are some of the records Moptop Mike played:

Host Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus is well aware of Moptop’s keen sense of boss records, so he did not even try to compete with him. Instead, he played his usual fare of far out stuff. However, he did throw in a few modern records that had a Teenbeat vibe. Among them was a single by Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds called “Bruce Juice” that Moptop Mike was still talking about a few days later.

Something else was special, too: Miss Nancy “Jeannie” Gardner, the official photographer for the Boogaloo Bag and official baker for Wang Dang Doodle events, cooked up some of her famous maple fudge, some vegan brownies and, at Moptop Mike’s request, some cherry squares. Man, there were plenty of treats to go around and the place was boppin’ on a sugar rush all night. The Boogaloo Bag writers were happy to see so many of their friends drop by and partake of the edibles and dig the music.

Here’s a list of all the records played by Phast Phreddie the Boogaloo Omnibus at the WHAM-O WATUSI held on April 7 at the Bootleg Bar:

• The Drag Kings–Nitro (United Artists)
• Steve and the Holidays–German Measles (Dandy)
• The Exports–Mustang 65 (King)
• The Montclairs–The Hunch (Fame)
• Themes Inc.–Paula’s Percussion (Vee Jay)
• Nashville Five–Stand Up and Say That (London)
• Al Serafini and the Sir Alberts–Lil Rosey (Audio Fidelity)
• Jerry and Reggie–Dream Baby (M.O.C.)
• The Inn Crowd–The Shadow Do (20th Century-Fox)
• Champagne Brothers–I’ll Run Away, Far Away (Tear Drop)
• Lester Young–I Love My Baby (Old Town)
• Kitty Montgomery–Hey Boy (Sanns)
• The Delights Orchestra–Do Your Thing (Atco)
• Jackie Wilson–(Why Don’t You) Do Your Thing (Brunswick)
• Bob Brady and the Con Chords–Goodbye Baby (Chariot)
• Joe Tex–You Better Believe It Baby (Dial)
• Larry Williams & Johnny Watson with The Kaleidoscope–Nobody (OKeh)
• The Spiders–Up-Side-Down (Philips; Japan)
• The Scorpions–Baby Back Now (CNR; Netherlands)
• Sonny & Cher–Leave Me Be (Atco)
• The Barry Goldberg Blues Band–Blowing My Mind (Epic)
• The 4 Seasons–Pity (Philips)
• Harry Batchelor and the Mighty Crowns–Soul Soul Feeling (Roulette)
• Margie Mills–Goodbye Boys Goodbye (RCA Victor)
• Albert Collins–Thaw-Out (Hall)
• The Crawdaddys–Jumpback (Romilar; Spain)
• Chuck and Cleo–Baby (Blue Rock)
• Ted Taylor–You Give Me Nothing to Go On (OKeh)
• Roy Head–You’re (Almost) Tuff (Back Beat)
• The Fire Escape–Love Special Delivery (GNP Crescendo)
• The Tears–Weatherman (Scorpio)
• The Trippers–Taking Care of Business (Ruby-Doo)
• The Tremeloes–Let Your Hair Hang Down (Epic)
• The Tangerine Zoo–One More Heartache (Mainstream)
• Link Wray and his Ray Men–Hang On (Norton)
• The A-Jacks–Fury (Valiant)
• Prini–Boogaloo (Beverly; Brazil)
• Toño Quirazco y su Conjunto–Como Baila Boogaloo (Orfeon; Mexico)
• The Question Marks–Doin’ the Thing (Money)
• The Grandisons–All Right (RCA Victor)
• Erma Franklin–What Kind of Girl Do You Think I Am (Epic)
• Dr. Feelgood and the Interns–Dr. Feelgood to the Rescue (Master Sound)
• Lee Fields and Sugarman & Co.–Shot Down (Daptone)
• The Artesians–Trick Bag (Norton)
• Fantastic Dee-Jays–Fight Fire (Tri Power)
• Tim Hardin–Do the Do (Columbia)
• Stan Vincent & the Dwains–The Snark (Dwain)
• John Hill–Get It (Amy)
• The Bonniwell Music Machine–Astrologically Incompatible (Warner Bros.)
• The Missing Souls–Sweet Sweet Sadie (State; UK)
• Les Sultans–Tu Es Impossible (Tèlèdisc; Canada)
• The Carnabeats–Give Me Lovin’ (Philips; Japan)
• The Birds–You’re On My Mind (Decca; UK)
• Los Rebeldes del Rock–Todos A Bailar (Twist It Up) (Orfeon; Mexico)
• The Wolf Men–Watusi Beat (Bobbette)
• Spirit–Uncle Jack (CBS; UK)
• Bo Diddley–Doin’ the Jaguar (Pye International; UK)
• Dee Clark–Hey Little Girl (Abner)
• Ludaway–The Pig (Duel)
• The 7 Sons–On the Run (VTI)
• The Magnificent Men–All Your Lovin’s Gone to My Head (Capitol)
• Franky Coe–Game of Love (Part 2) (OKeh)
• Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds–Bruce Juice (In the Red)
• Rocky Roberts and the Airdales–Got a Thing Going (Brunswick)
• The Vibrations–The Watusi (Checker)
• Bobby Mack–Malnutrition (Midas)
• Messengers–In the Jungle (Rare Earth)
• Dora Hall–Satisfaction (Reinbeau)
• Sharon Tandy–Hold On (Atco)
• The Fleshtones–I Surrender (Yeproc)
• Carl Perkins–The Monkeyshine (Decca)
• Ray Smith–Everybody’s Goin’ Somewhere (Diamond)
• The Jalopy Five–(I’ve Got A) Tiger in My Tank (Hit)
• Sammy Lee and the Summits–Hey Joe Where You Gonna Go? (Rampart)
• Bunnys–Taiyo No Hana (Seven Seas; Japan)

None of these records are for sale. Some of the above listed tracks have links to youtubes clips so you may dig for yourself.