A bumper 28-side collection by one of the most significant West Coast R&B duos –restored to catalogue with a new cover design and improved packaging.
Drawn from the Modern Records archives, “Cherry Pie” was compiled and mastered by Little Walter De Venne and has a full and informative note by R&B scholar Jim Dawson. The Marvin of the duo was Marvin Phillips, who had first scored in 1952 in a duo with Jesse Belvin, but the identity of Johnny is tangled – the first Johnny was Carl Green and the steadiest in the role was Emory Perry. Modern signed Marvin & Johnny away from Specialty in 1954. There they recorded their biggest and most lasting titles ‘Tick Tock’ and ‘Cherry Pie’. On some Marvin & Johnny releases, the A-sides were by Phillips with Jesse Belvin, while the B-sides featured Phillips and Emory Perry. Included on this CD are a couple of numbers never released as singles – ‘Vip Vop’ and ‘Sweet Potato’ – as well as songs Phillips recorded in 1956 as Long Tall Marvin. The Marvin & Johnny legend continued on Aladdin, Jamie, Swingin' and other labels but the songs they recorded for Modern are among their finest.
