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Editorial Reviews

Skeets McDonald was an easygoing singer whose loose manner made him equally talented at country boogie during the early '50s as well as rock & roll later that decade. Still, although he was a talented vocalist in similar company to Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams, he only had one big hit, "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes." (Much of the problem lay in the fact that his songwriting, often a pale imitation of Hank Williams, was no equal for his excellent singing.) He appears with a volume in Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight, Bear Family's series of single-disc compilations focusing on honky tonk. Packed with 33 tracks, Heart Breakin' Mama begins with "The Southland Boogie" and "The Tattooed Lady," a great pair of sides recorded in 1950 while McDonald was briefly based in Detroit. "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" appears early on (it was a hit in 1952), as do some other highlights from his first days with Capitol, like a duet with trad-popper Helen O'Connell on "Hi Diddle Dee (My Way)." By the mid-'50s, McDonald was doing a great approximation of rockabilly, despite the fact that he was twice the age of Elvis Presley. His novelty songwriting worked well in that context, and he also recorded great songs from Harlan Howard ("You Oughta See Grandma Rock") and Tommy Collins ("You Talk About Me, I'll Talk About You"). They were a far cry from earlier McDonald originals like "I Got a New Field to Plow" and "Your Love Is Like a Faucet." Overall, most listeners who aren't fanatics will find it difficult to shell out the high price for this compilation; for better and worse, Skeets McDonald was the epitome of the country singer whose work stays at the same steady level, never rising or lowering John Bush, All Music Guide

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