Northfolk, you mention Ira and Inman. I recorded with them in the late fifties. It was the one session that I walked off of. They were doing chain-gang type shouts and very interesting work. A fat A and R man came in to the session with a big see-gar and proceded to do a number on them. He said that "The kids like lots of saxophones and big drums". He ruined their act. I was digusted. I told Frank Fried, the guy who had brought them to this label, I couldn't stand what they were doing to Ira and Inman. As far as I remember, they didn't actually "rap" but they were incorporating African-American chain gang and blues shouts into their music. They were exciting before the "music mob" got ahold of them.

Frank Hamiltonb