In the decade before the British Invasion and the completion of Interstate 5, Highway 99 was still California's main north-south thoroughfare. Among the towns evoked by the movie American Graffiti which dot its pathway through the San Joaquin Valley is Merced, approximately seventy-five miles east of San Jose. It is an unlikely crucible, but the whole Merced Blue Notes saga is unlikely: a multi-ethnic rock 'n' roll cover band gets nurtured by the blues-loving town Fire Chief and civic activist, shuffles its membership and evolves into one of the all-time regional rocking rhythm and blues bands, leaving a handful of tough 45s including some of the 1960s finest blues-based instrumentals and many unissued tracks in its wake.Nearly forty years after the band split up and twenty years after their only album (of previously unissued material) was released on a small valley label, we can finally celebrate their first complete CD, featuring twenty-six glorious, rousing and bluesy tracks, including eleven heard for the first time and two alternate versions.
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