LOU HOBBS TO SELL HIS SOUND OF RACKABILLY TO EUROPEANS

The rockabilly sound of Lou Hobbs, who has had his own show on KFVS-TV since 1986, will find some new fans this spring in Europe.

A compact disc with 26 Hobbs' songs from the 1960s will be released April 1 by Eagle Records of Aachen, Germany.

"It's bringing back 30 years of memories," Hobbs said in a recent visit to Cape Girardeau with two Germans who made the deal possible.

"I'm meeting people who like my music -- the old sound of rockabilly," Hobbs said. "It's nothing for a 30-year-old song to be happening over there."

Circumstances leading to the CD release started in 1974. Harald Hartlein, an industrial maintenance technician from Cologne, Germany, and a record collector, heard Hobbs' first single, "Mama, Mama, Mama," on a compilation album.

Hartlein was interested, particularly because he collects songs by Narvel Felts of Malden, who co-wrote Hobbs' song, which was released in 1962. Hartlein bought the 45 rpm record in 1975 for about $60.

That record is now worth three to four times that amount, said Hartlein, who has about 20,000 records, mostly 45s, in his collection. He recently purchased a Buddy Holly record for $700 in the United States, which he expects to be worth about $2,000 in Europe.

Hartlein bought another Hobbs' single, "Dedicated to Diane," in 1992. He said during those years, he had always wanted to meet Hobbs of Jackson.

Hartlein had also told his friend, Paul Cosell, about Hobbs' music. Cosell has owned Eagle Records since 1974.

Hartlein finally met Hobbs last August at a record trade show in Indiana. Hartlein introduced Hobbs to Cosell and the deal for the new CD was completed in October.

Hartlein and Cosell surprised Hobbs this week by personally presenting the new CD to him.

"This is a special market that we are dealing with," Cosell said about Europe.

Collectors like the music of the popular artists from the 50s and 60s, Cosell said. A growing market is the former Communist countries.

The CD has a higher quality sound than the original record because of the advances in computer technology, Cosell said, adding that the sound was digitized and any unwanted noise was removed for the CD.

Cosell said he has also worked with Roy Clark's band, Big Al Downing and Sleepy LaBeef to bring some of the 50s' and 60s' music to Europe.

About 1,000 CDs of Hobbs' songs will be mailed to disc jockeys, mostly in Europe while a few will stay in the United States. The CD would sell for about $17 in the United States while it would be higher in Europe, Cosell said.

Hobbs said it was a strange feeling to know that he might become a musical figure in Europe. He said vinyl records are being abandoned in the United States while European countries are collecting the older records and enjoying those artists.

Hobbs has never been to Europe, but Cosell said the rockabilly singer would be welcome if the CD is popular.