Karl Hammel Jr: Summer Souvenirs and Bounty Hunter

 This follows on from my previous post Bigger in Oz (24): Paul Evans - Show Folk (1960)

 

• Karl Hammel Jr - Summer Souvenirs (Paul Evans - Jimmy Krondes) 1961, #68 Bb, #60 CB, USA,

 Karl was previously heard on:
• The Nomads - Bounty Hunter (Jimmy Krondes) 1961 B-side, #116 [Billboard Bubbling Under]

Bounty Hunter was covered by:
• Al Caiola - Bounty Hunter   (Jimmy Krondes) 1961 (B-side of Bonaza #19 USA),

It is strongly reminiscent of:
• Duane Eddy - Rebel-'Rouser (Duane Eddy - Lee Hazlewood) 1958 #6 USA. 

aka as ... Cash Box, 8 Jul 61 

I never forgot Karl Hammel Jr's Summer Souvenirs from hearing it on the radio as an 11-year-old, but it wasn't a hit in Australia and it seemed to disappear without trace. 

In the 70s and 80s I bought many second-hand or reissued 45s by mail order, catching up with tracks I had missed out on buying as a kid and a teenager. Summer Souvenirs was near the top of my wants list, and I scored it at a reasonable price through a mail-in record auction. 

I later realised that the Paul Evans in the writer credits was already known to me from his records (Seven Little Girls) Sitting In The Back Seat and Show Folk, but I still knew nothing about Karl Hammel Jr (See my previous post, Bigger in Oz: Paul Evans - Show Folk).

Along came the Internet and music industry figures started to launch their own websites, often with contact details. So it was that I could to email Paul Evans to express my regard for the Summer Souvenirs and to find out anything at all about Karl Hammel Jr. I had a prompt and friendly reply: Paul said he remembered Karl   - nice guy - but they had lost touch and he couldn't give me much background..

I now find (via Discogs.com) that Paul Evans's co-writer on Summer Souvenirs, Jimmy Kronde, was the manager of a New Rochelle NY band called The Nomads, and Karl Hammel Jr was a member.  

The Nomads released one single, with both sides written by Jimmy Kronde.  

The B-side, Bounty Hunter (February 1961), was released as an A-side in Australia in June 1961. This is a guitar instrumental that prominently features Karl Hammel Jr whistling in counterpoint to the main guitar line. A cover version was released on a B-side by guitarist Al Caiola (March 1961) but without any whistling. 

Whenever I've come across Bounty Hunter over the years I've absently thought, "Oh yeah, that's sounds a lot like Duane Eddy." 

In fact (and it shouldn't have taken so long) I only recently realized that the melodies of Bounty Hunter and Dwayne Eddy's 1958 hit Rebel-'Rouser are almost identical.  Rebel-'Rouser repeats the verse several times, without a chorus or bridge, but Bounty Hunter adds that embellishment.

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Karl Hammel Jr - Summer Souvenirs (1960)

The Nomads - Bounty Hunter (1993)

Duane Eddy - Rebel-'Rouser (1958)

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Bonus track

Al Caiola - Bounty Hunter (covering The Nomads, 1961)