Something of a one hit wonder, Ernie K-Doe issued “Mother in Law” during the early sixties spending the rest of the decade as well as the one following it attempting to regain the status he only shortly appreciated.

Just after the RnB which led to rock and roll – all that fifties stuff that Ike Turner had a hand in and its cohort – there was a splinter group of white folks dabbling in the trade. But singers rooted in the tradition of vocal groups still persisted and even turned in a few albums that sold briskly, even if only for a short time.

Coming up through the New Orleans ranks after beginning his singing career in his father’s church, K-Doe had some brief flirtations with success while still a teenager. A quick move to Chicago, where the singer performed with the Moonglows amongst others, was eventually abandoned as K-Doe returned to the south, undeterred.

“Mother in Law” is almost a novelty song, but one with teeth. It might have fit onto Dr. Demento’s playlist. But when it was released, the sentiment expressed – and it wasn’t an overwhelmingly positive one – could be understood by just about anyone. It’s the dark side of the ever replicated love song. It’s success notwithstanding, the single was tossed onto an album that probably won’t be located in a form other than digital, maybe ever.

The clutch of twelve songs only clocks in at twenty nine minutes, but this could have easily served as the in-between point for Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. The song’s, for the most part, focus on relationships as was the ebb of the day’s song writing with a few dance numbers tossed in.

Perhaps as engaging as the title track, “Tain't It the Truth” begins with a section that might lead listeners to figure that this is just a variation on “Sittin’ on Top of the World.” It’s not, though. There’s not a positive end to this track. K-Doe’s character worries because “she’s the best girl you’ve ever had.” Again, the sentiment isn’t an overtly original one, but so pervasive in daily life that pretty much anyone can relate. The rumbling piano works to good effect. And while the backup singers work out most of the time, punctuating stops with a repeated word doesn’t always come off. Still, the track ranks up there along with anything Hank Ballard was able to crank out. That’s gotta be worth something.