France

Begun in 1965 in Sarrelouis, a town in the Alsace region of Germany very close to the border with France, the band had three Germans: Dave Kelly (Wolfgang Mersinger) on vocals and guitar, Kurt Horbach on bass, and Norbert Hohlweg (spelled Hohlweck on the EP) on drums, with Eddy Van Nelfen from the Netherlands on rhythm guitar. Occasionally Frank Farian, the founder of the Hansa label, would join them on keyboards.

That summer the Rhythm Checkers traveled to play the Puce Palladium in the town of Juan les Pins in the French Riviera, and on November 8 they opened for Jerry Lee Lewis at Paris’ Olympia Theatre, playing r&b hits like Ride Your Pony and Long Tall Sally. They went over big, leading to a month-long booking at Kiki Chauvieres' club the Locomotive in Paris.

Both are solid songs, though the production brings the drums and vocals to the fore and buries the fuzz guitar on Theme of the Rhythm Checkers. On this song especially, Roland's voice reminds me of Roky Erickson's though I'm sure he was unaware of the Elevators at the time.

They also cover Bo Diddley’s Said Oh Yeah and, surprisingly, a great version of "On Your Way Down the Drain," originally by the New York group the King Bees. This song is crude as can be, a real garage classic.

On February 21, 1967 they returned to the Olympia to open for Chuck Berry. By this time another former member of the Black and White, Danny Gentner replaced Kurt Horbach on bass. A hoarse Roland Bauer opens their set with a shout of "Vivre le rock n' roll et vivre les Rhythm Checkers!"

This wild performance was recorded for their second EP, featuring all cover songs this time: Long Tall Sally, Kansas City, Land of a Thousand Dances, and the Small Faces’ recent release I Can’t Dance With You. Again they're engaged to play Paris clubs, this time the Tchoo Tchoo, the Poporama and the Bus Palladium.

After moving to the Philips label, she released the great C'est la mode in late 1966. This track is almost hypnotic in its buzzing guitar, heavy beat and layered vocals. She continued recording regularly through 1969 with occasional success, then made a comeback attempt in the late '70's.

Annie Philippe - On m'a toujours dit
Annie Philippe - C'est la mode

Michel Polnareff - Ne me marchez pas sur les pieds