BY: BILLUPS ALLEN

For rock aficionados, a mention of Esquerita and/or Bunker Hill will bring on warm feelings and glazed eyes.

For lovers of rock music, big hair and dynamite go hand in hand. Two names that have fallen into relative obscurity are Esquerita and Bunker Hill. Many people are content to whack on the oldies station and wait for a Little Richard song to filter in. But for rock aficionados, mention of Esquerita and/or Bunker Hill will bring on warm feelings and glazed eyes. Both were seasoned performers who never got the recognition they deserved.  If you feel as though you are not rocking hard enough through life, it might be time to resurrect two of rocks leading yawpers.

Heavy piano rocker Esquerita was born Eskew Reeder in South Carolina. Reeder was a neighbor and classmate of Jesse Jackson. But Reeder’s path took a different turn from that of his acquaintance. A self taught pianist, Reeder was drawn to the rock n’ roll lifestyle and the patented ‘woooooo’ of Little Richard. Esquerita‘s first self-titled record was released in 1959. Although his first record is extremely rare, Norton Records keeps a wide range of Esquerita material available. Esquerita can go note for note with Little Richard. He eventually even played in the studio with Little Richard. Sadly, Esquerita’s career never reached the heights he had hoped. He did session work shortly after his solo career failed and eventually got out of playing music. Esquerita did a little time in jail and died penniless. He was buried in a pauper’s grave.

For those who feel the need to dig a little deeper, Washington D.C. native Bunker Hill is another sadly forgotten rocker. Bunker Hill was born with the name Dave Walker and was a professional boxer in his early years. Walker eventually quit boxing while his record reflected more wins than losses. He then pursued a career singing in gospel groups. Walker bounced from group to group until his reputation landed him in an established vocal act called The Mighty Clouds. The Mighty Clouds kept Walker working regularly, but his eventual rise to infamy came after he was discovered by another D.C. native named Link Wray. Wray saw so much potential in Walkers' voice that he set up a recording session for Walker with his own band. The Wraymen were a seasoned rock act and the tracks recorded by this combination were magical. The only problem was that Walker was afraid his gospel image would be tarnished with his established friends in the Mighty Clouds. So the Wraymen named him Bunker Hill.

Unfortunately, the first Bunker Hill single did not sell well. Hide and Go Seek (part one) b/w Hide and Go Seek (part two) fell quickly into obscurity. He released two other singles. The last and most important was Friday Night Dance Party b/w The Girl Can’t Dance featuring Link Wray and the Wraymen. Bunker Hill’s music did not get much attention in his lifetime except for some limited attention in Europe. He continued to kick around in and out of the Mighty Clouds who claimed to know he was Bunker Hill all along.

Bunker Hill’s Hide and Go Seek appeared in John Water’s 1988 film "Hairspray." The scene depicts a group of teenagers dancing in a record store. The scene really captures the spirit of Bunker Hill’s music. While the song does not appear on the "Hairspray" soundtrack, Bunker Hill’s music is best thought of as the setting for an afternoon dance party held in a record store. No information about Bunker Hill’s eventual fate is available.

Neither Bunker Hill nor Esquerita made much of a name for themselves with a mass audience. Their names might not even mean much to employees at oldies stations. But their legacy is kept alive by nerds and record geeks for future generations. For the legacy of high hair and blazing rock and roll, these names are immortal.

Related media:

Esquerita:
** Vintage Voola (Norton Records) CD and Vinyl versions available.
** Rockin’ the Joint (Norton Records) CD and Vinyl versions available.

Bunker Hill:
** Hide and Go Seek part one b/w Hide and Go Seek part two (Norton Records)
    45 record available
** Friday Night Dance Party b/w The Girl Can’t Dace (Norton Records)
    45 record available
** Link Wray- Missing Links, Volume 3 (Norton Records)
    This Link Wray Collection contains two Bunker Hill songs from his sessions with The Wraymen and is available on CD.

Films
** Hairspray. 1988. John Waters classic film has Bunker Hill song in it.

Books
** John Waters. Shock Value. Dell Publishing, 1981. Waters talks about his pre- Hairspray years. He also has excellent taste.

Billups Allen is a native of Washington D.C. His writing has recently been featured in Brooklyn New York’s Lungfull magazine and in a book of short stories, Unfurnished, published by Schematics Press. He currently lives in Tucson, Arizona where he is finishing a pulp novel, writing and drawing an underground comic book called Cramhole, hosting the weekly radio show Groove Tomb on KXCI-FM and editing a documentary about record store clerks.