Jo Jo Zep and his Little Helpers : Run, Rudolph, Run / Guess Who

00:00 Run, Rudolph, Run 03:23 Guess Who The first single released by Joe Camilleri under the Jo Jo Zep name, pre-The Falcons. There is only a partial similarity in line-up between the two bands though, and it’s not entirely clear who is playing on this single overall. The B-side hasn’t appeared anywhere else as far as I can tell. “In late 1975, Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons were formed in Melbourne as Jo Jo Zep and His Little Helpers. The band were put together after Ross Wilson (ex-Daddy Cool, Mighty Kong), who was waiting out his recording contract, had turned to producing other artists for the label, Oz Records. He decided to produce a version of Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run“ as a one-off Christmas single for Mushroom Records. Contractually, Wilson could not perform the vocals himself, so he asked his friend, Joe Camilleri (ex-the Pelaco Brothers with Stephen Cummings) to sing and play on the recording. Camilleri’s nickname was “Jo Jo Zep“, which was derived from a traditional Maltese nickname for “Joseph“, so the group was named Jo Jo Zep and His Little Helpers. The line-up included bass guitarist John Power (ex-Foreday Riders). “To promote the single, Camilleri and Power formed a more permanent blues and rock music band. Power had relocated from Sydney to Melbourne to join Company Caine for an album which Wilson was producing. However Company Caine, which also included guitarist Jeff Burstin and drummer John McInerney, had soon separated. Wilson suggested that all three team up with Camilleri to perform “Run Rudolph Run“ as part of a Christmas show at the Myer Music Bowl. This performance (still billed as “Jo Jo Zep and His Little Helpers“) marked Camilleri’s first appearance on Countdown – the Australian national TV pop music series. After the Christmas performances, they added a second guitarist and vocalist, Wayne Burt (ex-Rock Granite), and Daddy Cool’s drummer Gary Young replaced McInerney. Now a five-piece outfit consisting of Camilleri, Burstin, Burt, Power and Young, the band renamed themselves Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons, with the Falcons part referencing Camilleri’s Maltese background.” &_The_Falcons