Sweet Soul Music 1962

And
da
beat 
goes
on!

The Best of Gotham R&B

This one from Unky Cliff is well out of print and selling for stupid money now.

1. Butch's Blues - Ernie Fields Orch.
2. Milton's Boogie - Roy Milton's Solid Senders
3. I Ain't Mad At You - The Jones Boys
4. Creepin' And Peepin' (Tippin' In) - Jeese Price
5. Fool's Blues - Jimmy Rushing
6. Rock It - Lil Armstrong
7. Sparrow In The Barrel - Johnny Sparrow
8. Movin' Out Today - Cats And The Fiddle
9. Why Did You Waste My Time? - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
10. Hey Now - J.B. Summers
11. Alexandria, Va - Bill Jennings
12. It's Been A Long Time - Harry Crafton
13. Rock The Joint - Jimmy Preston
14. Woody - Leo Parker
15. Three Little Words - The Three Peppers
16. Bow Wow Wow - Frank Motley
17. Jitterbug Jump - Panama Francis
18. She Walk Right In - T.N.T. Tribble
19. Love Muscle Boogie - The Rhythm Rockers
20. Disc Jockey's Boogie - Mike Pedicin Quartet

I wasn't able to find even a scrap of information about this release, sorry.

The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions, Vol. 1; Arkansas & Mississippi

 You got your first taste of these sessions with Traveling Record Man but that was just the tip of the iceberg, there are 5 subsequent volumes! Many of these artists are only known through these field recordings made by Joe Bihari and Ike Turner as they drove through the deep South scouting for talent. Not every guy is some unknown genius or anything like that, but in most cases you can certainly hear why they recorded them.

" The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions Vol.1: Arkansas and Mississippi 1951-1952 features recordings that Joe Bihari and his young talent scout Ike Turner made between November 1951 and January 1952 in North Little Rock, Arkansas and in Greenville and Canton, Mississippi. The featured artists include Elmore James, Boyd Gilmore, Drifting Slim, Junior Brooks, Sunny Blair, Houston Boines, Charley Booker and Ernest Lane."

Barbara Carr - Late Bloomer

 Sometimes good things come late in life, Barbara Carr didn't really hit her stride until she was in her fifties, an age when most of her peers were winding down or completely retired.

"After decades of toiling in obscurity (including a low-profile stint on Chess), Barbara Carr finally began to make a name for herself in the late '90s as a brassy, often X-rated belter in the Southern soul-blues vein. A native of St. Louis, Carr was born Barbara Crosby on January 9, 1941, and began singing in church as a choir girl, eventually forming a family gospel group called the Crosby Sisters. She joined a singing/dancing troupe in grade school and went on to sing in the high school choir, around which time she also helped start a singing group called the Comets Combo that played popular material at local clubs. In 1963, she joined a locally popular group called the Petites, which opened for Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. She met St. Louis-based saxophonist/bandleader Oliver Sain through her brother-in-law (she adopted her husband's last name, Carr) and successfully auditioned to join Sain's band.

Helped by her connection with Sain, Carr signed a solo contract with Chess in 1966 and recorded soulful singles like "Don't Knock Love," "I Can't Stop Now," and "Think About It Baby" over the next few years. Initially excited just to have a record deal, Carr grew frustrated with Chess' seeming lack of interest in promoting her; she stopped recording for a period in the late '60s to raise her children, and then returned to Chess circa 1970, albeit still without much recognition. She left Sain's band in 1972, and sang with a number of other, mostly short-lived groups around the St. Louis area. Carr recorded another single for Gateway in the late '70s, "Physical Love Affair," but again found little promotional support. She and her husband eventually formed their own label, Bar-Car, in 1982, and Carr issued a number of singles over the next few years, many recorded at the legendary Muscle Shoals studios in Alabama. This material helped form the basis for Carr's first full-length album, 1989's Good Woman Go Bad, which was later reissued on the Shreveport-based Paula label in 1994. A second collection, Street Woman, was released on Bar-Car on cassette in 1992, then upgraded to CD in 1994.

Word of Carr's recordings began to spread, and she wound up signing with the Ecko label in 1996, releasing her label debut, Footprints on the Ceiling, in 1997. The follow-up firmly established Carr's new tough, bawdy blues-mama persona; issued in 1998, both the title and the lyrics of Bone Me Like You Own Me left little to the imagination. Carr was becoming popular on blues and retro-soul radio stations around the South, positioning herself as something of a female counterpart to Marvin Sease; her success finally enabled her to quit the day job she'd held for over 20 years at an electronics company. Having hit upon a winning formula, Carr stuck to it for a succession of follow-ups, which included 1999's What a Woman Wants, 2000's Stroke It, 2001's The Best Woman, 2002's On My Own, 2003's Talk to Me, and 2006's Down Low Brother." AMG

Ann Peebles - 99 pounds of Soul

 A diminutive singer with a powerful voice and an even stronger attitude, Ann Peebles was one of the artists who defined Willie Mitchell's legendary Memphis soul label Hi Records, along with Al Green and, later, O.V. Wright. Easily the best female singer in the Hi stable, Peebles ranked among the finest deep Southern soul singers of the decade, notching an instant classic with her 1973 hit "I Can't Stand the Rain." She co-wrote a generous share of her own material with husband Don Bryant, and while she cut plenty of love and heartbreak tunes, her persona was built on the grit and resilient strength she displayed on songs like "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down." Peebles wasn't always as appreciated on the charts as her work often merited, especially among pop listeners, but her best recordings hold up among the best of their era.

Peebles was born April 27, 1947, in East St. Louis, Missouri. Her father was a minister and her mother a singer, and naturally Peebles began singing at a young age in her father's church choir. She also sang with the family group, the Peebles Choir, which had been touring the gospel circuit since Peebles' grandfather founded it a generation earlier. As a teenager, she sang secular music on the St. Louis club circuit, supported and accompanied by her father. There she met blues bandleader Oliver Sain, a local legend, and eventually joined his revue. Peebles caught her big break in 1968 on a trip to Memphis, where she asked to sit in on a club set by trumpeter Gene "Bowlegs" Miller. Miller was already signed to Hi Records at the time, and duly impressed with Peebles' voice, he brought her to Hi house producer Willie Mitchell for a tryout. Mitchell, who was still in the process of shifting the label from country to R&B (and had not yet discovered Al Green), immediately offered Peebles a contract; she was still shy of her 21st birthday.

Mitchell teamed Peebles with singer and house songwriter Don Bryant, seeking a bit more seasoning in her R&B phrasing. Peebles and Bryant soon began writing together (and would also end up dating). In the meantime, Peebles recorded her debut single, "Walk Away," a song written by Sain that just missed the Top 20 on the R&B chart in 1969. The follow-up, "Give Me Some Credit," was also a minor hit. Both songs were featured on the singer's debut album, This Is Ann Peebles. Her fourth single, 1970's "Part Time Love," was her first R&B Top Ten. 1972's Straight from the Heart was her first artistically realized LP, however; it featured several minor R&B hits in "I Pity the Fool," "Slipped, Tripped and Fell in Love," "I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home" (later covered by Bette Midler), and "Somebody's on Your Case," plus the signature album track "99 Lbs." Her hot streak continued with 1973's I Can't Stand the Rain, which many critics still regard as her finest work. "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" was a decent-sized hit, and the brilliant title cut -- written by Peebles, Bryant, and disc jockey Bernard Miller -- became her biggest hit, peaking at number six R&B and famously becoming a favorite of John Lennon. She also charted with "(You Keep Me) Hangin' On" and "Do I Need You," but more importantly, married Bryant in 1974.

In the wake of "I Can't Stand the Rain," Peebles was a star on the soul circuit, even if she never duplicated its commercial success. "Beware," "Come to Mama," and "Dr. Love Power" were all charting singles from 1975's Tellin' It, but the rise of disco and the sale of Hi Records in 1977 would conspire against Peebles' career momentum. 1977's If This Is Heaven produced only one single in the title cut, which was more polished than Peebles' usual fare; none of the singles from 1979's The Handwriting Is on the Wall cracked the R&B Top 50. With Mitchell and most of the Hi house band gone, Peebles took a hiatus from the music business to concentrate on her family.

Peebles reunited with Mitchell in 1989 for Call Me, an album released on Mitchell's short-lived new label, Waylo; however, longtime fans generally found it a disappointing comeback overpowered by sterile electronic instrumentation. Peebles returned to a more organic approach by signing with roots label Rounder's Bullseye Blues subsidiary for 1992's Full Time Love. Another effort, Fill This World with Love, followed in 1996, which featured guest spots from Mavis Staples and Shirley Brown. During the '90s, Peebles guested on several albums by Maria Muldaur. Meanwhile, "I Can't Stand the Rain" was covered by numerous artists, including Tina Turner, and revived by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott via sampling on her 1997 smash "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)."

Denise LaSalle - On The Loose

Denise LaSalle (born July 16, 1939, Belzoni, Mississippi, United States) is an American blues and R&B/soul singer, songwriter, and record producer.

Most sources give her name at birth as Denise Craig, although it has also been stated that she was born Denise Allen, and that the name Craig derives from an early marriage. Raised in Belzoni, Mississippi, she sang in local churches before moving to Chicago in the early 1960s. She sat in with R&B musicians and wrote songs, influenced by country music as well as the blues, before winning a recording contract with Chess Records in 1967. Her first single, "A Love Reputation" was a modest regional hit.

After establishing an independent production company, Crajon, with her then husband Bill Jones, her first major success came in 1971 when her self-penned song, "Trapped By A Thing Called Love" was released on Detroit-based Westbound Records. This reached #1 on the national R&B chart and #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song ranked at #85 on the 1971 year-end chart. The RIAA gold disc award was made on 30 November 1971 for a million sales.

She also wrote successful follow-ups, "Now Run And Tell That" and "Man Sized Job" which made #3 and #4 in the R&B Top Ten and also charted in the Hot 100. Her early hits were recorded at the Hi recording studios in Memphis, operated by Willie Mitchell, using the cream of southern session players. She continued to have hits on Westbound and then on ABC Records through the mid 1970s, including "Love Me Right" (#10 R&B, #80 pop) She continued to produce and perform live. Her co-penned song, "Married, But Not to Each Other" (#16 R&B) was included in the 1979 The Best of Barbara Mandrell, compilation album.

In the early 1980s, she signed as a singer and songwriter with Malaco Records, for whom she released a string of critically acclaimed albums over more than 20 years, starting with Lady in the Street (1983) and Right Place, Right Time (1984). Both albums became major successes among soul blues, R&B and soul fans and on urban radio stations. In 1985, she enjoyed her only recognition in the UK Singles Chart, when her cover version of Rockin' Sidney's, "My Toot Toot", reached #6.

LaSalle appeared at the 1984 and 1993 versions of the Long Beach Blues Festival, and also in 1993, she performed at the San Francisco Blues Festival. Her 1997 album Smokin' In Bed was an unexpected commercial success. After more than a decade away, when she recorded three albums with small Memphis-based soul-blues label, Ecko, she returned to Malaco for her 2010 outing called "24 Hour Woman".

She continues to work as a live performer, particularly at festivals, and more recently has issued more gospel-tinged material. In 2011, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. LaSalle now lives in Jackson, Tennessee, with her husband, James E. Wolfe.

Betteye Swan - The Money Recordings (1964-1967)

She grew up in Arcadia, Louisiana, one of 14 children, and moved to Los Angeles, California in 1963. Although some sources state that she was in a vocal group known as The Fawns who recorded for Money Records in 1964, she has refuted this, saying that she sang with a trio in Arcadia by that name.

In 1964 she started a solo singing career, as Bettye Swann, at the prompting of local DJ Al Scott, who became her manager. After a minor hit with the self-penned "Don’t Wait Too Long," her big breakthrough came with "Make Me Yours", which topped the Billboard R&B charts in July 1967, and also made #21 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1968 she split with Scott, moved to Georgia, won a new contract with Capitol Records and had another hit with "Don’t Touch Me" (#14 R&B, #38 Hot 100).

In 1972 she transferred to Atlantic Records, and had a couple of minor hits with "Victim of a Foolish Heart" (later revived by Joss Stone), and Merle Haggard’s "Today I Started Loving You Again." She continued to record until the mid 1970s, but with little commercial success. Her last public performance as Bettye Swann was in 1980, the year her husband and manager, George Barton, died.

As Betty Barton, she then worked in the education sector in the Las Vegas, Nevada area, and became a Jehovah's Witness. She is now retired and, according to a 2005 interview, suffers from a degenerative spinal condition.

Jimmy Hugnes - Why Not Tonight?: The Fame Recordings, Vol. 2

 At the beginning of Muscle Shoals, one of the other important guys besides Arthur Alexander was Jimmy Hughes.His song 'Steal Away' was the studio's first hit and set the model for what was to come.

Hughes, a cousin of Percy Sledge, was born and raised in Leighton, Alabama, close to Muscle Shoals. He began singing in a gospel quartet, The Singing Clouds, while at high school. In 1962, he auditioned for record producer Rick Hall at his FAME Studios. Hall was impressed, and recorded Hughes on a song, "I'm Qualified", that Hall had co-written with Quin Ivy. The record was leased to the Guyden label in Philadelphia, but was not a hit. Hughes returned to his day job at a rubber factory, and began singing secular R&B songs in local clubs.

Early in 1964, he returned to Hall with a powerful ballad he had written, "Steal Away", partly based on the gospel song "Steal Away to Jesus", and recorded the song in one take, backed by the studio rhythm section of Terry Thompson, David Briggs, Norbert Putnam and Jerry Carrigan. Hall and his friend Dan Penn then promoted the record around radio stations in the South, and it rose to # 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. The record has been cited as "a prototype not only for subsequent great soul singers such as Johnnie Taylor and Al Green, but also would help define the signature Muscle Shoals sound." On the basis of Hughes' record, Hall signed a national distribution deal with Vee-Jay Records for his FAME label. Hughes' follow-up record, "Try Me", reached # 65 on the Hot 100, and he recorded an album, Steal Away, released on the Vee-Jay label, which included the first songwriting collaborations between Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham. He also toured with Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Bobby Womack and others.

Hughes' next few singles were unsuccessful, as Vee-Jay Records diverted their attention to The Beatles and The Four Seasons, and then folded. However, in 1966, after the success of Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman", Hall negotiated a new deal for his label to be distributed by Atlantic Records. Hughes returned to the charts with "Neighbor, Neighbor" (# 65 pop, # 4 R&B), "I Worship the Ground You Walk On" (# 25 R&B), and "Why Not Tonight" (# 90 pop, # 5 R&B), before moving to the Atlantic label itself with "It Ain't What You Got" (# 43 R&B, 1968).

Early in 1968, Hughes moved to Stax Records, where his recordings were issued on the subsidiary Volt label. His first record for the label, "I Like Everything About You", reached # 21 on the R&B chart, but later records were less successful. At the time, Stax was undergoing a major reorganisation with new management and new artists. Although his records, including a 1969 album Something Special, were produced by label boss Al Bell, Hughes later stated that he felt like the "low man on the totem pole" at the label, and became frustrated by what he saw as a lack of promotion. He also tired of touring and being away from his family, and in 1970 gave up recording and performing. He retrained, and got a government job making parts for nuclear power plants in the Tennessee River Valley, in later years only singing as a member of the congregation of his local church in Leighton.

Paul Gayten - Ain't Nothing Happenin'

The more you listen to this man, the more you are aware  of how great he and his bands were, easily on a par with even Louie Jordan and his ensemble. Just as Jordan was always an underrated horn player, you will discover than Gayten was a terrific piano player as well as a singer and band leader.

Between this set and the one offered previously you have pretty much all Gayten's Deluxe and Regal sides, his entire 'sweet spot'. After this material, Paul accepts an executive position at Chess and is far less active as an artist although his Chess sides are also worth seeking out even though it is no longer a working band.

Once again some of these tracks feature the great singer Annie Laurie, but many others feature another Gayten discovery, singer and occasional female impersonator Larry Darnell. I won't go into a lot of detail yet about Darnell, he's getting his own post which will also give you more Gayten. Paul was really the first king of New Orleans R&B, Dave Bartholomew, Lee Allen, and Roy Brown all come out of Gayten and he influenced every piano player in a town full of bad-ass piano players!

Memphis Blues; Important Postwar Blues, part 4

Memphis Blues: Important Postwar Blues, part 3

 What more need be said about this series? You have a couple of the earliest Little Milton tracks here, some rare treasures with Walter Horton, an appearance by Frank Strozier on the two Houston Stokes tracks....a whole lot to explore.

Memphis Blues; Important Postwar Blues, part 2

 Okay church is out and it is time for some more Blues!

When I split these things up into pieces it gets a lot harder to figure out what to say when you kind of shoot the works on volume one and now you have nothing left for numba two. Then I started looking at the list of studs who are on this one and realized it was pretty much a moot point....this one speaks for itself.

Cool freakin' picture eh?

Gospel Evangelists: God's Mighty Hand

Well it's Sunday anyway, rough week but there is a light thru those clouds and we march on!

Good Morning my brothers and sisters and welcome once again to the Elder Clifford Gospel Hour brought to you by Deacon Kiungcake. Our sponsor this morning is Boudreaux's Butt Paste, a balm good for all sorts of discomforts of the nether regions!

"If you like your gospel on the wild side, then these preacher-singers will shake you to your soul. Included are 25 tracks by the likes of the spectacular Sister O.M. Terrell, Rev. Utah Smith, Brother Willie Eason, and the stupendous Elder A. Johnson, coming on like an evangelizing Hasil Adkins with "God Don't Like It." Accompaniment is sparse -- mostly just guitar; the mood is raw and intense. This is charismatic stuff, not for the faint of heart."

Really powerful service here with a whole lot of emotion charged guitar evangelism. Some new names added to some of the now familiar powerhouses like Elder Utah Smith. Reverend Anderson Johnson is a soulful wonder who pops up on three selections, Evangelist Sister Winn will damn sure command your attention, Elder R. Wilson and his Family introduce us to harmonica evangelism and sure leave me wanting more. Brother Willie Eason, Joe Townsend, Rev. Charles White, Henry Green, there are too many gems here to count, they just keep coming. If you have yet to sample any of these raw Gospel sets, this would be a terrific place to start.

Amen

The second part of our program will follow shortly, I am feeling the spirit this morning....

Memphis Blues: Important Postwar Blues, part 1

 It really is amazing what JSP is doing in making such a wealth of historical and precious recordings available and at a reasonable price too! This 4 part set is pretty straight forward in it's scope, it is just what the title says it is; early postwar Blues recorded in Memphis.

"As usual, JSP is not shy with the quantity of titles provided in this amazing 4-CD set of Memphis Blues. All of the songs in this collection were recorded by Sam Phillips at his Memphis Recording Services studio between 1951 and 1954, with some of them getting released on his home-grown Sun label. Many of the titles however, were not released until years after they were recorded, due to recording quality issues or due to Phillips' reluctance to market them as hit-parade material.

While some of these songs overlap the ones issued on the Varese 3-CD set "Sun Records: Ultimate Blues Collection", there is plenty of stuff here for collectors and non-collectors alike to go crazy with. The sheer volume of material itself is almost overwhelming but the musical integrity suffers not in spite of.

Sam Phillips had a sensitive nose for talent and this attribute ensured that many who came to his studio looking to make a record were not overlooked. Even Sam Phillip's janitor/plumber got to put down 2 songs (Mose Vinson) and the evidence is that the guy could have made a living as a musician. The long term result of all of this musical activity is that JSP have compiled here, a priceless miniature archive of indigenous Memphis area blues circa post-WW2.

Here also, are some rare and early titles by better-known artists like Earl Hooker, James Cotton, Little Jr. Parker, Little Milton, Howlin' Wolf, Rufus Thomas, Big Walter Horton, Ike Turner, Bobby Bland, and Johnny Ace. All of these artists went on to other labels and more success following the demise of Memphis Recording Services.

The real treasures however, are the numbers waxed by the artists who made a few titles then left the business or vanished. The listener of this set will be treated to much additional pleasure from Doctor Ross, Joe Hill Louis, Jimmy DeBerry, Sammy Lewis, Willie Johnson (who became Howlin Wolf's working guitarist for a while), Willie Nix, and Houston Stokes.

Liner notes by long-term blues booster Neil Slaven are comprehensive and do a good job of drilling directly to the political times, the music business, and to the historical significance of this fine music. Collect this music now while it is still available in an artistically presentable format; it won't stay around like this forever." Amazon

Live at Tipitina's 1982

 I think most people from 'other places' are more than a bit surprised and confused that The Neville Brothers aren't particularly popular in New Orleans, at least not like they are across the rest of the country. We love The Meters, Cyrille's Uptown Allstars, Art and Aaron's earlier solo work, but somehow the general feeling seems to be that 'The Brothers' are commercial New Orleans lite.

I know that Art is more than a little confused and hurt by that and I can understand why. Hell, I not even sure that it is particularly justified but that is the way it has developed and it doesn't seem likely to change. Folks are proud of them and all that, but they don't pay much attention to their albums.

It was not always that way, however. Here in the early years of their existence is an utterly epic, powerhouse performance in front of friends and family at Tipitina's in 1982. The joy and love pouring out from the crowd is still audible 30 years later. Listen carefully to the crowd and you hear an absolute love-fest; the ladies are particularly vocal. The band would have been nearly 3 years into their experiment as a family band and just starting to really jell.

No matter what your opinion of any other Neville's you have heard, this is a different animal entirely and an absolute Must Have set of music; my mother still treasures the 2 discs I gave her 15 years ago!

It's startling how young everyone looks, even Art; of course I looked a lot different in 1982 too.

Junior Parker - The Duke Recordings Volumes 1, 2 and bonus

Okay...let's try this again and hopefully the links last more than 10 minutes. eh?

When last we were listening to some Junior Parker, I mentioned the deplorable job that MCA had done on their remasters of Junior's Duke material, not to mention that they quit the set without finishing it. Well by using some data base tools I came to realize I had alternate sources for a good many tunes; around 60%. I sat down one night and opened the 5 sources in as many windows and started a-b-ing to find the best version. It turned out that nearly every one of what I considered the worst examples, I was able to replace with a superior mastering. A couple I tweaked myself, but only a couple. To my surprise, there were a good number of songs on disc 2 where the version from the set was actually the best of the lot but a large portion of disc 1 was replaced. Once I was done constructing my new improved sets I had 10 whole tracks left over from various sources and they are good stuff that should have appeared on the abandoned Volume 3. Those of you who downloaded the earlier "Driving Wheel" single disc will want to delete that one and grab this far more complete set from Junior's great Duke era.

Regal Records in New Orleans

Paul Gayten... the original Dude of New Orleans R&B (notice that is capital D dude). Before Dave and Fats and even Roy and Fess, there was Gayten. Sharp as a tack in a big Cadillac with a large and super tight, super disciplined band, ala Louie Jordan.

"Gayten was born in Kentwood, Louisiana, the nephew of blues pianist Little Brother Montgomery. In his teens he played piano in local bands while also setting up his own group, Paul Gayten's Sizzling Six, which featured future bebop saxophonist Teddy Edwards.

During the war, he led a band at the Army base in Biloxi, Mississippi. He then moved to New Orleans and, with a new trio, established a residency at the Club Robin Hood. In 1947 the trio recorded two of the first New Orleans hits of the R&B era, "True (You Don't Love Me)", and "Since I Fell for You", the latter featuring singer Annie Laurie. Both made the R&B top ten. Gayten also backed singer Chubby Newsom on her hit "Hip Shakin’ Mama".

In 1949 he expanded his combo into a nine-piece orchestra and moved to Regal Records. There, Gayten wrote the #1 R&B hit "For You My Love" for Larry Darnell, and recorded "I’ll Never Be Free" with Annie Laurie. His orchestra toured widely, for a period adding saxophonist Hank Mobley and singer Little Jimmy Scott, and appearing on double bills with both Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. In 1952 he moved to Okeh Records.

In 1953 he decided to quit as a touring bandleader and joined Chess Records as a talent scout, producer, promotion man, songwriter and part-time musician and recording artist. He discovered Clarence "Frogman" Henry and produced his first hit, "Ain't Got No Home", in 1956, later going on to co-write and produce his biggest hit, "But I Do", in 1961. At Chess, Gayten produced Bobby Charles' "Later Alligator" and played piano on Chuck Berry’s "Carol". In 1956 he also had one of the biggest hits of his own career with "The Music Goes Round And Round", followed up by "Nervous Boogie".

In 1960 he moved to Los Angeles with his wife Odile to run the Chess operations there. In 1968 he set up his own label, Pzazz, which recorded Louis Jordan, among others. He continued to live in Los Angeles with Odile after retiring in the 1970s, and died there in 1991.

The King R&B Box Set, Disc 4

 The final disc, a few oddball tracks and some Sid Nathan speeches.

Sweet Soul Music 1961

Well I told you you we were not done with these but there would be a name change from Blowing The Fuse to Sweet Soul Music. I am content to let AMG tell you about it:

"The year 1961 ushered in more than just a new decade -- it heralded a new era in black popular music as the gritty, street-smart sound of postwar R&B gave way to the smooth, sophisticated approach spearheaded by Motown Records. The first entry in Bear Family's ten-volume Sweet Soul Music lays the foundation for the transformation to follow, cherry picking formative classics from then-fledgling Motown (the Miracles' "Shop Around") and Stax (Carla Thomas' "Shop Around"), the Memphis label that would prove its greatest creative rival -- spanning across the U.S., from New Orleans (Ernie K-Doe's "Mother-in-Law") to Chicago (the Impressions' "Gypsy Woman") to New York City (the Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"), the collection also encompasses all of the major U.S. R&B labels, negotiating the licensing snafus that undermine these types of anthologies to offer a true panoramic overview of soul's epic scope and scale. And it's packaged with Bear Family's usual attention to detail -- the mastering is pristine (better than has ever been heard on even the major artists) and the accompanying booklets are authoritative (averaging 60 pages in length, stuffed with color photos, track-by-track commentary, and related recording data). The result is an anthology series that's as educational as it is entertaining."

The King R&B Box Set, Disc 3

Don't much feel like writing today guys and I don't want to look for anything to copy, sorry.

The King R&B Box Set, Disc 2

At first it specialized in country music, at the time still known as "hillbilly music." King advertised, "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly -- If it's a Hillbilly, it's a King." One of the label's most important hits was "I'm Using My Bible for a Road Map" by Reno and Smiley. Very important recordings in this field were done by The Delmore Brothers and Wayne Raney featuring their close harmony vocals, harmonica, electric guitar and string band playing. The Delmores also did their country boogie material on this label which was a precursor to rockabilly. King ventured into the rockabilly genre and several King artists such as Bill Beach are in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Beach's song, "Peg Pants" also experienced success during the European resurgence of rockabilly in the late 1980s. Likewise, singer-pianist Moon Mullican recorded a country boogie style that was a precursor to piano-based rock 'n' roll. Major country hits on the label included "I'll Sail My Ship Alone", "Blues Stay Away from Me", "Chew Tobacco Rag", "Eight More Miles to Louisville", "Sweeter Than the Flowers" and "Cherokee Boogie".
The company also had a "race records" (African American) label, Queen Records (which was melded into the King label within a year or two) and most notably (starting in 1950) Federal Records which launched the singing career of James Brown. In the 1950s, this side of the business outpaced the hillbilly recordings. King Records was highly successful after the hiring of Ralph Bass and recorded R&B artists like Joe Tex. Valerie Carr, Roy Brown, Jack Dupree, Otis Williams & the Charms, Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, Ivory Joe Hunter and Johnny "Guitar" Watson. They also had a long legal battle with James Brown, after he repeatedly violated his King contract. King also bought out several other record labels, including De Luxe Records (in 1952), and Bethlehem Records.

One of the most successful features of the label was its encouragement of the mixing of the country and R&B sides of the label. Many of the label's country singers such as Moon Mullican, Delmore Brothers, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Zeb Turner covered many of the label's R&B songs such as "Grandpa Stole my Baby", "Rocket to the Moon", "Bloodshot Eyes", and "I Got Loaded". Also, some of the R&B artists also provided pure country songs such as Bubber Johnson's "Keep a Light in the Window for Me", which was recorded by Johnson and made famous by Moon Mullican. Likewise, R&B artists covered bluesy country artists' songs such as Wynonie Harris's covers of "Triflin' Woman Blues" and "Bloodshot Eyes^".
During the 1950s, King also distributed their own line of portable phonographs.
King Records was unique among the independent labels because the entire production process was done in house. That included recording, mastering, printing, pressing and shipping. This gave Nathan complete control so a record could be recorded one day and shipped to radio stations the next day in quantities as few as 50. That's why non-selling King records became so rare.
When Nathan died in 1968, King Records was acquired by Hal Neely's Starday Records and relaunched as 'Starday and King Records'. The legendary songwriting duo Leiber & Stoller bought the label in 1970, but sold it soon afterwards to Lin Broadcasting which in turn sold it to Tennessee Recording & Publishing, owned by Freddy Bienstock, Hal Neely, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller; who sold it in 1974 to Gusto Records. In 1971, James Brown's recording contract and back catalogue were sold to Polydor Records. Since 2001, Collectables Records has been remastering and reissuing the King Records catalogue. Several compilation CD's are available featuring King Recording Artist, specifically "King Rockabilly", released in 2004. King Records is now only used as a record label under the parent company, Gusto Records.
The former King Records headquarters at 1540 Brewster Avenue in Cincinnati is still standing and has an historical marker placed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.

The King R&B Box Set, Disc 1

Well kids. the potential collapse of the blogworld has me thinking "as much. as fast as possible", in anticipation of the end - no more bitching about speed because I really don't think anyone is going to last too much longer. Fast as I can upload them I'll post them to the best choice left, what ever that may be. Write-up's will truncate too for the time being - no time for the history lessons, as much as that breaks my heart. Chances are the road forward lies in expensive, truely private Cloud banks, and blogs. We may well be able to continue but likely only in private and paid environment for everyone. I am well aware that that will be impossible for many and I confess that the "sponsored" / "commercial" blogs are looking more attractive suddenly.

Someday I will be able to present these right, but that day is not today. You guys should know enough by now to have some idea what you are looking at. Thru the course of the night I will try to update all the posts with still active Mediafire links that have been unavailable because I moved them, on ALL the blogs. This will give new life to some things and I guess I'll just move it all forward so that it is clear. As much as I enjoy form and style, screw that!

http://www.embedupload.com/?d=4JYRHGVWIZ

Bobby Bland - Dreamer

A Guitar Gus contribution:

"See KC’s posts ‘Bobby Bland – The Duke Recordings’ for a biographical background – And if you haven’t already got these essential recordings get moving !

Way back in 1974, I was working in Central London, and during one lunch-break I wandered into a small independent record shop to see what I could find. The music , playing over the system,  immediately grabbed me by the balls ! It was the first time I had ever heard Bobby Bland’s exquisite voice ! –  I was awestruck and bought this wonderful (vinyl) record on the spot.

 I had been listening to the blues for a good few years but this mostly meant the classic Chess masters , Robert Johnson and various other Country Blues artists  , B B, Albert and Freddie and anything else that came my way –  It was early days then and the variety we take for granted today was very limited . Anyway this was very different from the blues I was used to – It was very slick, with a sophisticated production by Steve Barri and arranged/conducted with strings and  session players, by Michael Omartian  –  Could this be authentic ?

The album  turned out to be  a groundbreaker and brought the blues back into the mainstream for a while,  where it deserved to be –  Since then many blues artists have gone this way, using  more studio production effects to this early roots musical form , with varying success or artistic legitimacy –  

‘Dreamer’ still remains one of my all-time favourite albums (in any genre) and  if you give it the time I’m sure you will agree – Everything here is subservient to the brilliant vocal of a blues legend – All the tunes are great without a hint of a filler  –  Contained here  is the original version of  ‘Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City’ covered by Whitesnake, Paul Carrack and many others  and the minor hit, ‘I Wouldn't Treat a Dog (The Way You Treated Me)’

Some of the players are – Keyboards: Michael Omartian,  Guitars: Ben Benay, Larry Carlton, Dean Parks, Bass: Wilton Felder, Drums: Ed Greene,  plus horns, strings and background vocals,

 Bobby’s voice is mellow, expressive, guttural, at times wonderfully forceful and an absolute Blues deluxe !