Whether Washboard Sam really was a half-brother of Big Bill Broonzy (and his 17 or 18 brothers and sisters) as is often claimed, is relatively unimportant in the face of the role he himself played as blues pioneer.
Born as Robert Brown in Arkansas in 1910, Washboard Sam is one of the great black musicians, singers and lyric composers of the pre-1945 period, without whom the developments in rhythm & blues in Chicago, the blues capital of the post-war years, would scarcely have been imaginable. Sam came to Chicago in 1932, played a little washboard and sang, and soon found himself with an exclusive contract with Bluebird, the label under which the Victor company (now known as the Bluebird Record Company) managed to make a business out of country blues in the 1930s. Washboard Sam and
Big Bill Broonzy made a considerable contribution to this success. They gathered together a whole group of instrumentalists for their recording sessions including pianists such as Roosevelt Sykes, Bob Call (Black Bob), Joshua Altheimer and even at this stage, electric guitarists such as George Barnes. Washboard Sam wrote the music and lyrics of both humorous and melancholic melodies; however those that are most loved have always been the ones with the most swing to them. The wide choice of titles available cover the entire range of his musical ideas and achievements. After the War, sales of records produced by the 'older' blues generation, i e that of Washboard Sam, Big Bill or Tampa Red began to drop and were increasingly replaced by the new, more aggressive recordings by artists such as Muddy Waters, Lightnin' Hopkins or B B King. In 1946, Washboard Sam withdrew from the overheated, unpredictable music scene of Chicago. He became a policeman with a ...'quiet family life' (S B Charters) which he only interrupted for a few recordings in 1953 and 1954, and a European tour in 1964. Washboard Sam died in 1966 following heart failure. (From sleeve notes)
Note : 18 tracks 17 of which appear on CD for the first time - CD cover has error missing out the number 12 and showing a jump from 11 to 13 !!! Sloppy !!!...Full personnel etc shown in scans
