Album Notes

The Del Moroccos - Blue Black hair reaches No. 7 on the Euro Americana charts!

"Good Stuff!"
- Richard Milne, WXRT, Chicago's Finest Rock

"Fabulous debut by this hot Chicago outfit, a 13-song party record to boot!
-GMB, Blue Suede News

Blue Black Hair ticks all the right rockin' boxes and is definately one for the shopping list!
- Pete O'Gorman, Now Dig This, UK

".....(the Del Moroccos) repped for Chicago well, blurring the lines between rockabilly and early-60s soul, without the narrow-minded myopia that sinks most newer 'billy acts."
- James Porter, Time Out Chicago

So authentically retro a name—amazingly, nobody used it back in the day—tells you right off that the eight piece led by Jimmy Sutton, formerly of The Mighty Blue Kings, currently with The Four Charms, and fronted by his wife Gabrielle is in the vintage business. A Chicago all-star ensemble, featuring backing vocals by Barbara Clifford of The Honeybees and Suzy Brack of The New Jack Lords, with musicians from various other local bands, including San Antonio’s Beau Sample, borrowed from Joel Paterson & The Modern Sounds, The Del Moroccos, with some personnel changes, have built a reputation for killer live shows and introduced original material, but their showcase album is all covers. So the question one asks is how deep did they dig? Well, “Baby Doll (unknown)” is a pretty good start—try Googling a title like that and see where it gets you. It’s followed by a gender flip of Harold Burrage’s She Knocks Me Out, Big Maybelle’s That’s A Pretty Good Love, Ruth Brown’s I Don’t Know, Faye Reis’ Don’t Break My Heart, Joy Shaw & The Teasers’ Daddy You Lied To Me, Chan Romero’s I Want Some More, the title track, originally recorded by The Jades on Gaity, once famed as “America’s most primitive label,” Etta James’s I’d Rather Go Blind, 60s Spanish rock & roll band Los Sirex’s El Tren De La Costa (aka Tiny Bradshaw’s Train Kept A-Rolling), Billy Haley & The Comets’ Skinny Minnie reworked as Skinny Jimmy, Johnny Dollar’s Action Packed and Jerry Reed’s That’s All You Gotta Do. Not immediately obvious from this set list, given that the 50s rockabilly numbers tend to be the kind of thing that only ever show up on European bootleg compilations, Reis’ on Savage Rockin’ Girls, Shaw’s on More Real Gone Girls for instance, while the 60s R&B is better known, is that The Del Moroccos set out to blur the demarcation between the two genres. Even with superb musicianship and Jimmy Sutton’s immaculate production, the success of the project, obviously enough, hinges on Gabrielle’s vocals, honed, far as I can see, entirely at The Big C Jamboree, a monthly rockabilly open mike the Suttons have been running since 1991. However, if the classic rockabilly women were more urgent, their R&B counterparts more passionate, Gabrielle’s spectrum of material would be a very awkward fit for them, she holds the middle ground. The acid test, of course, is I’d Rather Go Blind, one of those songs owned by the original artist, but Gabrielle’s restrained, slow paced version wisely doesn’t attempt to compete. I’d love to see these guys live.
-John Conquest, Third Coast Music

Best Young Band (Green Bay 2007): ... with three female singers fronting a five-piece band out of Chicago...put on sizzling shows.”
- Jeff Ash, Green Bay Press-Gazette

. This is another band we have to get over to Europe as soon as possible.”
- Tony Wilkinson, Rockabilly Hall of Fame

"The small ballroom could barely contain another blinding discovery, (Del Moroccos), fronted by the charismatic Gabrielle, with two girl back-up singers and husband Jimmy Sutton on lead guitar, with a full backing including twin saxes and keyboard on a set that ran from Ronnie Dawson's "Action Packed" to Etta James' "I'd Rather Go Blind."
- John Howard, UK Rock (Green Bay/Oneida Casino - 2007)

The Del Moroccos are a powerful new 8 piece Rock n' Roll band (guitar, bass, drums, piano, tenor/bari sax, and 3 sexy frontwomen) who put out an awesome full-length show of dirty R'n'R, R&B material with girl group vocals. Knock the Ray-ettes, Bo Diddley and Link Wray together, with a blast of garage, a hit of late '50s black rock n' roll, dress 'em up like Johnny Cash, and you get a raucous, mean mix of "Soulful 50s garage". A perfect Quentin Tarantino soundtrack! The members are veteran Chicago musicians from the rockabilly, surf, ska, jazz and R & B scenes, from bands including: Mighty Blue Kings, Jimmy Sutton's Four Charms, Deals Gone Bad, Cave Catt Sammy, Andrew Bird, Kevin O'Donnell's Quality 6, and Deke Dickerson and The Ecco-Fonics. The Del Moroccos lead guitar player Jimmy Sutton, hand picked the line up for this killer new band.

Gabrielle Sutton - lead vocal
Sarah Goldstien - backing vocals
Adrienne Stoner - backing vocals
Jimmy Sutton - electric guitars
Beau Sample - electric bass
Josh Bell - tenor and baritone sax
Aaron Hammes - piano, acoustic guitar
Alex Hall - drums