Guitar Shorty - The 1950s Recordings

Given the recent Guitar Shorty love fest here, I wanted to make a post of his early recordings.  While Guitar Shorty's career already spans seven decades, somehow he hardly had a chance to record until the mid-1980s.   We can be grateful, however, that he had the chance to record 8 precious tracks in the beginning of his career in the 1950s.  I believe that these eight tracks are the only Guitar Shorty recordings until the mid-1980s (please correct me if I am wrong).

This interest of these recordings is not at all just historical.  There is true brilliance here.  In fact, they are far and away my favorite Guitar Shorty recordings.  The first thing that hits you are the vocals.  Guitar Shorty has always been a fine singer, but his voice in the 1950s was truly fabulous - clear, booming, and very blue.  Then there is the guitar playing - the evidence here will make you believe Guitar Shorty's claims that a young Jimi Hendrix used to idolize him.

The first recording opportunity was for Cobra records, producing one 45 in 1957.  These are pleasing R&B-infested blues.  But the cream is clearly in the tracks that Shorty was able to record for Pull records in 1959 - Hard Life, Ways of a Man, How Long Will It Last, Love Loves, I Never Thought...   Timeless classics, in my view! Enjoy.

Discography

a) Chicago, 1957: Guitar Shorty -g,v, John Tinsley-ts, Lafayette Leake-p, Willie Dixon-b, Odie Payne-d (Cobra Records)

1) Irma Lee
2) You Don't Treat Me Right

b) Los Angeles, 1959: Guitar Shorty-g,v, Bob Tate-b, unknown band (Pull Records)

3) Hard Life
4) Ways of a Man
5) How Long Will it Last
6) Love Loves
7) I Never Thought
8) Pumpkin Pie