Bobby Rush

It's about time we deal with the present for a second or two ehh?

Now I would NOT be stunned to find that a bunch of y'all are actually unaware of Bobby Rush --- OOoooo your loss! 

Your first experience of  Bobby should be live because....well...you've most likely never seen anything quite like it. Da man sings with dancers on stage who are generally around 200 pounds and who dance without EVER facing the crowd --- that's right, they shake them big round butts in your face for the whole show!

"Bobby Rush (born November 10, 1940,)
Born Emmit Ellis, Jr. in Homer, Louisiana, Rush was the son of Ellis Sr. and Mattie Ellis. His father was a pastor whose guitar and harmonica playing provided early musical influences. As a young child he began experimenting with music using a sugar-cane syrup-bucket and a broom-wire diddley bow. Around 1946, he and the family moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas where his father took on the pastorate of a church. It was here that Rush would become friends with Elmore James, slide-player Boyd Gilmore (Elmore's cousin), and piano-player Moose John Walker; eventually forming a band to support his singing, as well as harp and guitar playing.

Still a teen, Rush donned a fake moustache to play in local juke joints with the band fascinated by enthusiasm of the crowds. His family relocated to Chicago in 1953 where he became part of the local blues scene in the following decade.

It was in the early 1970s that his self-penned "Chicken Heads" cracked the Billboard R&B chart on Galaxy, after being picked up from a small label started by former Vee Jay Records producer, Calvin Carter (#34, 1971). He later recorded with leading black music label, Philadelphia International, releasing his first album, Rush Hour produced by Leon Huff, with one track, I Wanna Do The Do also charting in 1979 (#75).

In the early 1980s, he moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he recorded a series of records for the LaJam label, Malaco's Waldoxy imprint, and in 2003, his own Deep Rush label with partner Greg Preston, a former Malaco Records executive. 2004's FolkFunk was a return to a more rootsier sound, featuring guitarist Alvin Youngblood Hart. He appeared in the film, The Road to Memphis which is part of the series The Blues, produced by Martin Scorsese. Rush was also a judge for the second annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

Rush received recognition for his music after the release of his 22nd album Rush, when he was awarded "Best Male Soul Blues Artist" at the Blues Music Awards. He also received "best acoustic artist" and "best acoustic album" for his album Raw. His album, Hoochie Mama was nominated for a Grammy award in the blues music section in 2000. His most recent albums are Show You A Good Time (2011) on Deep Rush and Down In Louisiana (2013) on Thirty Tigers. In 2013, Rush was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the 'Soul Blues Male Artist' category."

Motel Lovers Southern Soul From The Chitlin' Circuit (expanded and even more nasty!)

Just so I have done my moral duty thang:::DO NOT PLAY THIS WITH YOUR CHILDREN IN THE ROOM...Have I made myself clear? This here is the deep NAASTY stuff from the the jukeboxes of the Chitlins Circuit bars; NOT something to casually throw on when the Mother-in-Law is visiting for example. Extremely White Folk Beware! This may not be your cup o' tea.

Motel Lovers - Southern Soul From The Chitlin' Circuit
Label:Trikont – US-0363
Format:CD, Compilation, Dig
Country:Germany, Released:2007

Actually this is all pretty damn great stuff with surprisingly good production values and just wonderful fun but I can certainly imagine some uncomfortable conversations with your younger children should you be less than discrete when checking this out. HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR? 

Wait for the adult party for this one and then you will rock the house. If these songs don't make you smile, shake your shoulders and bob your head at the very least, then I suggest you make plans for your final demise because Baby you must be just about dead!

Since I started this blog with this compilation, I think it is fitting that I bring it back and roll out my own 2 compilations that were intended as follow-up volumes to this theme - you will notice that there are three links - the two major themes of modern Chitlin Circuit Soul are sex and partying in the club till dawn - my volume two is all about sex, volume three is more about the club (there's still some dirty stuff too). 

Perhaps this is a strange Valentines present for some, but it sure as hell fits this blog now don't it? Your baby may be more of a freak than you think, play her some of this stuff and see....send the children to bed first tho.

Sam & Dave - The Definitive Soul Collection

 I've been reading an excellent history of Stax records which lead me to dig out this Rhino set. From the book I've learned that Sam and Dave were never really a Stax act, they were always signed to Atlantic and only 'on loan' to Stax. This became another of the deep wounds Stax suffered when they split from Atlantic subsequent to the sale of that label to Warner Brothers.

The distribution agreement between Stax and Atlantic had been a handshake deal between Jim Stewart and Jerry Wexler until 1965. During the period when Stax had just discovered their breakout star in Otis Redding and Wexler was bringing his new singer Wilson Pickett to Memphis, it was decided to finally formalize and put to print the deal which had been in place for years. Stewart viewed this as a move to protect Stax's interests against any upheavals at the larger label and his main goal was to include a 'key man' clause that let him escape the deal should Wexler's position change. Wexler brought the contract with him when he brought Pickett to Stax and after checking that the base terms were unchanged and the key man clause was included, Stewart and, allegedly, Wexler both signed the contract without actually reading the entire 13 page document. Are you hearing some ominous chords in the background?

The first Pickett session produced Midnight Hour amongst other hits and shortly thereafter, Wexler sent his newly signed duo Sam & Dave to Memphis, much to their dismay as both had assumed that they would be in the big New York studios. It took a few sessions to convince them they were in the right place after all.

The rest of 1965 through 1966 and most of 1967 things went well for both labels, despite the difficult blowup over Pickett's second visit to Stax when he behaved so badly that Stewart told Wexler to never bring him to Stax again. Wexler ended up taking Wilson to Muscle Shoals and, unfortunately for Stax, he took his next star Aretha there as well. Otis Redding and Sam & Dave were, however, enjoying great success so while there were some bad feelings in the pot, overall things were still cooking for both labels.

In December of 1967 Redding took a break from a period of furious writing and recording to do a small tour to fulfill some obligations, but was expected back at Stax the following week to continue the roll he was on. After a show in Cleveland, Ohio Otis and his new teenage band the Bar-kays were flying to Milwaukee in Redding's new plane. He had just bought a larger one so that the band could fly with him. The plane crashed into a small lake near Milwaukee, only one of the Bar-kays survived.

While all of Stax was still reeling from the loss of Otis and the group of talented teenagers who had nearly grown up in their studios, news came that Atlantic was being purchased by Warner Brothers. Stewart felt reasonably secure with his key man clause, so when Atlantic/Warner came up with a low-ball offer to acquire Stax as well, he refused and invoked the clause to gain Stax's freedom. It was near the end of those negotiations that Wexler dropped twin bombs that put Stax's future in doubt. First he informed them that Atlantic was taking Sam & Dave back (now they had lost their two biggest acts) and it was also revealed that Atlantic's lawyers had buried two clauses in the distribution agreement that gave Atlantic ownership of the masters to every record they had ever distributed for Stax, even retroactive to the deal; essentially the entire catalog of the label. Stax had done all the work, spent all their own money on the recordings and Wexler's shyster lawyers had stolen all of it.

To this day Wexler claims to have known nothing about the clauses and says that both he and Ahmet Ertegun attempted to intercede in Stax's behalf and implore Warner Brothers to return the masters, but to no avail. Somehow their behavior in making the low-ball offer to acquire Stax gives lie to that claim as it seems clear that they knew of the clauses during the negotiations and didn't reveal the truth until Stewart refused their offer. It is one of the worst stories of corporate greed that has ever been perpetrated in the record industry.

The Swan Silvertones - Saviour Pass Me Not

Gospel at its best y'all. Enjoy!!

Otis Rush, Albert King - So many roads

Great album, featuring two of the premier exponents of modern blues guitar. There are six superb sides by Rush from 1960 including the magnificent So Many Roads, So Many Trains which is one of his greatest ever performances with a mind-bending string-bending guitar solo and two tracks not originally released including a remake of his Cobra classic All Your Love. The 8 cuts by Albert were recorded for Parrot in 1953 and Bobbin in 1961 with only two of the Parrot sides being originally issued - all are superb and it's interesting to see the development in Albert's style between his early and later sessions.

Year:
recorded Chicago, nov. 1953 and sept. 1960
Label:
Charly Records 
Quality: Bitrate:
my cd > flac
Scans - Artwork:
full scans 
Total Time:
00:39:32 
Total Size:
160mb

Album Info & Personnel:

Otis Rush - vocals, guitar
Bob Neely - tenorsax
Lafayette Leake - piano
Matt Murphy - bass
Willie Dixon - bass
Odie Payne - drums
Albert King,- vocal, guitar
Johnny Jones - piano

Tracklist:

01-Bad Luck (Blues)
02-(Be On Your) Merry Way
03-Murder
04-Searching For A Woman
05-California Blues
06-Wild Women
07-Won't Be Hangin' Around No Mor
08-Howlin' For My Darling
09-So Many Roads, So Many Trains
10-I'm Satisfied
11-So Close
12-All Your Love
13-You Know My Love
14-I Can't Stop Baby

Links in Comments:

Etta James - Rocks The House

Searing stuff -- easily one of Etta James' greatest albums! The set is a non-stop jam, recorded live at the New Era Club in Nashville before a small and screaming crowd -- a perfect performance all the way through, one that showcases Etta as she rarely sounded on vinyl during the 1960s. The whole album runs away like a train on fire, and it's filled with incredibly lively readings of tracks like "Something's Got A Hold On Me", "Baby What You Want Me To Do", "Money", "Seven Day Fool", and "Woke Up This Morning" -- all taken at versions longer than the usual under-3 minute single takes!
Though the studio albums Etta James made for Chess in the 1960s usually had the blues singer surrounded by lush production and string-heavy arrangements, this live date finds her performing with only a rhythm section, organist, guitarist, and tenor saxophonist. The singer seems to respond to both the stripped-down setting and the enthusiastic audience with noticeable abandon. In fact, James the classy balladeer, a role she sometimes plays on her studio albums, is nowhere to be found on this blazing set. The only time the band slows down is on the tearjerker story-song "All I Could Do Is Cry" (though what the tune lacks in tempo it makes up for in emotional intensity).
The rest of the set is straight-edged blues and R&B, including covers of some hits of the day, like "Money (That's What I Want)" and Ray Charles's "What'd I Say." Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me To Do" (on which James does a growling, harmonica-imitating vocal solo) steps up the blues quotient, as does the band's finale of Willie Dixon's "I Just Want To Make Love to You," with James's gospel-drenched pipes wailing all the while. ETTA JAMES ROCKS THE HOUSE indeed.

Year:
Recorded live at The New Era Club, Nashville, Tennessee on September 27 and 28, 1963.
Label:
Chess/MCA
Quality: Bitrate:
flac
Scans - Artwork:
full scans 
Total Size:
302mb

Album Info & Personnel:

Etta James (vocals);
David Walker (guitar);
Gavrell Cooper (tenor saxophone);
Vonzell Cooper (organ);
Marion Wright (bass);
Freeman Brown, Richard Waters (drums).

Tracklist:

01. Something's Got A Hold On Me
02. Baby What You Want Me To Do
03. What'd I Say
04. Money (That's What I Want)
05. Seven Day Fool
06. Sweet Little Angel
07. Ohh Poo Pah Doo
08. Woke Up This Morning
09. Ain't That Lovin' You Baby  (previously unreleased)
10. All I Could Do Is Cry   (previously unreleased)
11. I Just Want To Make Love To You  (previously unreleased)

Links in Comments:

Spirit of New Orleans - The Genius of Dave Bartholomew

Released as part of EMI's Legends of Rock N Roll series in 1992, there has been no better retrospective of Dave Bartholomew's music than the double-disc set The Spirit of New Orleans: The Genius of Dave Bartholomew. That's partially because at 50 tracks, it's the most comprehensive collection ever assembled on Bartholomew, but its real genius is that it doesn't shine a spotlight solely on his solo recordings. Instead, those are interspersed among the numerous hits he wrote and produced for such New Orleans legends as Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, Earl King, Bobby Mitchell, Snooks Eaglin, Shirley & Lee, Pee Wee Crayton, Tommy Ridgley, Chris Kenner, and many others (including sides by T-Bone Walker). There are plenty of classics here -- "Stack a Lee," "Ain't It a Shame," "Bo Weevil," "I Hear You Knocking," "I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Someday," "One Night," "Come On, Pts. 1 & 2," "Walking to New Orleans," and "Trick Bag" among them -- plus numerous singles and songs known only to collectors. There has since been a dynamite single-disc collection of Bartholomew recordings issued, but any serious collector of New Orleans music needs to have this, pure and simple.

Rev. Johnny L. "Hurricane" Jones - The Hurricane That Hit Atlanta

Rev. Johnny L. Jones has been preaching at Second Mount Olive Baptist Church in Atlanta for well over half a century.   He was nicknamed "the Hurricane" for the mounting intensity of his services that can carry people away.

Rev. Jones was born in 1936 in Marion, Alabama. His father was a Deacon (Deacon Jones!) and his mother also worked in the church.  He learned piano and began working as a preacher in rural Alabama and Georgia communities while still a teenager.  He built a reputation rapidly that led to an invitation to join the Second Mount Olive Baptist Church in the 1950s where he has been ever since.

Jewel records began recording the Hurricane in the 1960s and continued into the 1970s, although most of these records are now out of print.

What we have here is something quite special, more special than anything that Jewel was able to document.  Not long ago, Digital-to-Dust put together a this full 2-disc collection of recordings that range from 1957 to recent years: "The Hurricane that Hit Atlanta."  For this collection, the Hurricane himself made a choice from his own private tapes of live services and radio shows.  The sound quality is highly variable, and often distinctly Low FI, but the quality of the music is very high and the atmosphere cannot be beat. YOU are invited into Hurricane's church for a 2-hour + service that will rattle the windows and shake the walls.  This is REAL.

Rev. Jones cites BB King, Aretha Franklin, and Muddy Waters among his vocal influences.  You can hear why.   This gets as bluesy and sanctified as you want it.

Freddie King - Getting Ready...

This is the next album in my chronological Freddie King discography posts.
After his two recordings for the Atlantic/Cotillion label (see my previous post) and his notable appearance at the 1969 Texas Pop Festival, he was was signed to Leon Russell's Shelter Records label, where he was to release 3 records. 'Getting Ready...' was the first of these, including some well-known blues covers and some fine originals, notably the first recording of the Don Nix composition 'Going Down', later covered by Jeff Beck and many others.
The album was recorded at Chess Studios, Chicago in October 1970, released in April 1971, and features :
Freddie King - Guitar & Vocals, Leon Russell - Piano & Guitar, Don Preston - Guitar, Jon Gallie - Organ, Donald 'Duck' Dunn - Bass, Charles Blackwell & Charles Myers - Drums, plus Backing Vocals
This is from my CD version on Sequel Records and includes 2 bonus tracks :
01 Same Old Blues 02 Dust My Broom 03 Worried Life Blues 04 Five Long Years 05 Key To The Highway 06 Going Down 07 Living On The Highway 08 Walking By Myself 09 Tore Down 10 Palace Of The King ... Bonus Tracks... 11 Gimme Some Lovin' 12 Send Me Someone To Love
I will post the next 2 Shelter albums 'The Texas Cannonball' (1972) and 'Woman Across The Water' (1973) in the near future ... Enjoy

Otis Redding - The Complete Stax/Volt Singles

Is it really possible that this is the first Otis Redding post? Wow, hard to believe, but I guess I would assume he's one guy EVERYONE would have a lot of. This 2013 set collects all the Stax/Volt singles; most, if not all, are the original mono versions. No matter what you already have in your collection, you still probably need this...after all, it's OTIS!!

" Otis Ray Redding, Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the greatest singers in popular music and a major artist in soul and rhythm and blues. His singing style was powerfully influential among soul artists of 1960s and helped exemplify the Stax Sound.

After appearing at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival Redding wrote and recorded the iconic "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" with Steve Cropper. The song became the first posthumous number-one record on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts after his death in a plane crash. The Dock of the Bay became the first posthumous album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart.

Born and raised in Georgia, United States, Redding left school at 15 to support his family, working with Little Richard's backing band, the Upsetters, and performing at talent shows for prize money. In 1958, he joined Johnny Jenkins' band, the Pinetoppers, and toured the Southern United States as driver and musician. An unscheduled appearance on a Stax recording session led to a contract and his first single, "These Arms of Mine", in 1962. Stax released Redding's debut album, Pain in My Heart, two years later.

Initially popular mainly with African Americans, Redding later reached the broader American popular music audience. He and his group first played small gigs in the South, then debuted in the western United States at LA's popular Whisky a Go Go. They later performed in Paris, London and other European cities.

Redding's premature death devastated Stax. Already on the verge of bankruptcy, the label soon discovered that Atlantic Records owned the rights to his entire catalog.

Redding received many posthumous accolades, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He received the honorific "King of Soul". In addition to "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," "Respect" and "Try a Little Tenderness" are among his best known songs."

Eubie Blake - The Eighty-Six Years Of Eubie Blake

A repost request -- 

I just did a rip of this double LP for Cliff and since it fits in with our current old piano guys theme, I thought I'd pass it along. I acknowledge that I had seen, but passed on this album for most of my adult life. It was a pleasant surprise - blues, jazz, boogie, are all mixed in with the ragtime and old theater tunes you might expect. Blake's career spanned a giant segment of the development of popular American music and by the time this was recorded he was a walking encyclopedia.

His bio is far too long and extensive to reproduce here, it is easy enough to find on the web - btw the rip is in FLAC.

Donnie Elbert - Hear My Plea & Donnie Elbert Sings

Donnie Elbert (May 25, 1936 – January 26, 1989) was an American soul singer, who had a prolific career from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s. His US hits included "Where Did Our Love Go?" (1972), and his reputation as a Northern soul artist in the UK was secured by "A Little Piece of Leather", a performance highlighting his powerful falsetto voice.

Elbert was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but when aged three his family relocated to Buffalo, New York. He learned to play guitar and piano as a child, and in 1955 formed a doo-wop group, the Vibraharps, with friend Danny Cannon. Elbert acted as the group's guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and background vocalist, making his recording debut on their single "Walk Beside Me". He left the group in 1957 for a solo career, and recorded a demonstration record that earned him a recording contract with the King label's DeLuxe subsidiary. His solo debut "What Can I Do?" reached #12 in the U.S. R&B chart, and he followed it up with the less successful "Believe It or Not" and "Have I Sinned?", which became a regional hit in Pittsburgh.

He continued to release singles on DeLuxe, but with little commercial success, and also played New York's Apollo Theater and toured the chitlin' circuit of African-American owned nightclubs. After completing an album, The Sensational Donnie Elbert Sings, he left DeLuxe in 1959, joining first Red Top Records, where in 1960 he recorded "Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)", and then Vee-Jay Records, where he had another regional hit with "Will You Ever Be Mine?," which reportedly sold 250,000 copies in the Philadelphia area but failed to take off nationwide. His career was also interrupted by a spell in the US Army, from which he was discharged in 1961. He then recorded singles for several labels, including Parkway, Cub and Checker, but with little success. However, although the 1965 Gateway label release of "A Little Piece of Leather" failed to chart in the US, the record became a #27 pop hit when released on the London label in the UK several years later in 1972, and remains a Northern soul favorite.

Elbert relocated to the UK in 1966, where he married. There, he recorded "In Between The Heartaches" for the Polydor label in 1968, a cover version of The Supremes' hit "Where Did Our Love Go?". and an album of Otis Redding cover versions, Tribute To A King. His 1969 Deram release "Without You" had a rocksteady rhythm, and went to the top of the Jamaican charts. He returned to the US the same year, and had his first US chart hit in over a decade with the Rare Bullet label release "Can't Get Over Losing You," which reached #26 on the Billboard R&B chart. Following the success of that record, "Where Did Our Love Go?" was released on the All Platinum label, and became his biggest hit, reaching #15 on the US pop charts, #6 on the R&B charts, and (in 1972) #8 in the UK. Its follow-up "Sweet Baby" reached #30 on the R&B chart in early 1972.

Elbert then signed with Avco-Embassy, where he entered the recording studio with the successful production team of Hugo & Luigi. Although his cover of The Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself" reached #14 on the R&B chart, Elbert balked at the label's insistence that he record material associated with Motown. He returned to All Platinum and had a run of minor R&B hits, but left after he claimed authorship of Shirley & Company's R&B chart-topper "Shame Shame Shame" which was credited to label owner Sylvia Robinson. For 1975's "You Keep Me Crying (With Your Lying)," Elbert finally formed his own label, and "I Got to Get Myself Together," appeared on an imprint bearing his surname, but it was among his final recordings.

By the mid-1980s Elbert had retired from performing, and became director of A&R for Polygram's Canadian division. He suffered a massive stroke and died in 1989, at the age of 52.

Marva Wright - Marva

It is a ridiculously cold morning here in New Orleans and the forecast is for the temperature to continue to drop all day - businesses, schools, offices, everyone is closed and I acknowledge that I've been deterred from attending morning coffee, I have a mental picture of Cliff sitting there by himself that is causing me some guilt, but I am a weather wimp when it comes to cold and wet. I think I'll just stay here where it is warm and dry and listen to Marva.

Posting 'After The Levee's Broke' got me looking through the AIM cover where I noticed that there were 3 more Marva albums on AIM that do not overlap all the Marva that I've already posted! I'm ecstatic! Somehow I was unaware that her relationship with Glenn Gaines and AIM went all the way back to 1995. This was the first to arrive, but chronologically it is the 3rd of the AIM discs, it is from 2000 and it is a killer! Like the Levee's album there are great guests and good production too. I can't wait to hear the next 2!

Shuggie Otis In Session

"Shuggie Otis (born Johnny Alexander Veliotes, Jr.; November 30, 1953) Born in Los Angeles, California, Otis is the son of rhythm and blues pioneer, musician, bandleader, and impresario Johnny Otis and wife Phyllis. The name "Shuggie" (short for "sugar", according to his mother) was coined by Phyllis when he was a newborn. Otis began playing guitar when he was two years old and performing professionally with his father's band at the age of twelve, often disguising himself with dark glasses and a false mustache so that he could play with his father's band in after-hours nightclubs.

Otis, primarily known as a guitarist, also sings and plays a multitude of other instruments. While growing up with and being heavily influenced by many blues, jazz and R&B musicians in his father Johnny's immediate circle, Otis began to gravitate towards the popular music of his generation such as Sly Stone, Jimi Hendrix, and Arthur Lee of the band Love. In 1969, Al Kooper asked Otis to be the featured guest on the second installment (Kooper Session) of the Super Session album series that had previously included Stephen Stills and Mike Bloomfield. Kooper and the then-fifteen-year-old Otis recorded the whole album over one weekend in New York. Immediately returning to Los Angeles, Otis, along with his father and singer Delmar "Mighty Mouth" Evans, performed on the album Cold Shot, released in 1969 on the Los Angeles-based Kent label. Another obscure album this three-man team recorded was the extremely rare and risque Snatch & The Poontangs, on which Otis recorded tracks under the pseudonym "Prince Wunnerful".

Otis then released his first solo album later that year entitled Here Comes Shuggie Otis on Epic Records. Countless musicians were his guests on that debut attempt, including Johnny, Leon Haywood, Al McKibbon, Wilton Felder. This further established his reputation and catapulted him to the attention of B. B. King, who was quoted in a 1970 issue of Guitar Player magazine saying Otis was "his favorite new guitarist". Some of the artists Otis performed and recorded with during that time include Frank Zappa (having played electric bass on "Peaches en Regalia" on the 1969 album Hot Rats), Etta James, Eddie Vinson, Richard Berry, Louis Jordan, and Bobby 'Blue' Bland, among many others.

The album Otis received the most notoriety for was his second Epic Records release in 1971, Freedom Flight, which featured his hit "Strawberry Letter 23". Both the album and single reached the Billboard Top 200 and the Billboard Hot 100, respectively and caught the attention of Brothers Johnson guitarist George Johnson, who then played it for producer Quincy Jones. They covered the song and it instantly became a smash hit. Even though Otis played most of his own parts in the studio, the lineup on this album was quite extensive, including keyboardist George Duke and Aynsley Dunbar of Frank Zappa, Journey, and Whitesnake fame.

In 1974, Otis released Inspiration Information, his third and final album for Epic Records. The album had taken almost three years to finish. All the songs were written and arranged by Otis himself, who played almost exclusively every musical instrument on the album (except for horns and various stringed instruments). However, despite its long-awaited impact, Inspiration Information had but one single (the title track) reach the Billboard Hot 100. After the album's release, Otis was approached by Billy Preston on behalf of The Rolling Stones, asking him to join the band for their upcoming world tour. He declined the offer, along with the chance to work with Quincy Jones in helping produce Otis's next album. After a series of similar refusals, Otis gained the reputation of "taking his time", and his recording contract with Epic Records was nullified. Otis's only credited works throughout the mid-1970s were done as a session musician for his father's recording projects.

Inspiration Information gained a huge cult following during the 1990s with the emergence of rare groove and acid jazz. It was lauded by such musicians as Prince and Lenny Kravitz. Due in part to this regained interest, the album was re-released on April 3, 2001, by David Byrne's independent label Luaka Bop Records. This CD re-issue includes all nine original album tracks plus four songs taken from Otis' 1971 album Freedom Flight, and features new cover art, liner notes, and exclusive never-seen-before photos.

Otis is featured in every one of his father Johnny's books, as well as Alligator Records Presents West Coast Blues, issued in August 1998.

Otis and Sony Music Entertainment made a deal for a double CD which was released on April 20, 2013. It is a re-release of Inspiration/Information. Added to the album is several bonus tracks, including an accompanying album entitled Wings of Love. Wings of Love is an album of previously unreleased material, all of which was written from 1975 to the present, including live material from some of his rare performances. It will be available on Shugiterius records (Shuggie's new company) and Sony records, through Sony Music Entertainment.

Otis and a band entitled Shuggie Otis Rite toured internationally in 2013 in support of the release, including Australia, Japan, the U.S., Ireland and the U.K. Their performances earned rave reviews from critics."

Willie Clayton - God Has A Plan

How about a second service this afternoon? I've posted some earlier soul recordings from Willie and I just couldn't resist checking this out. I'm glad I did!

 Personnel: Willie Clayton (vocals); Walter Witherspoon, Dwight Gordon (guitar, keyboards, drums, background vocals); Arche Spinks, Dorthy Spinks, Bobby Racy, Antioch Full Gospel Baptist Church Choir, Racy Brothers, Victor Allen, Bishop Kenneth Robinson (background vocals). 

Man, there is some SERIOUS sangin' goin' on here! Some funky stuff too!

Memphis Marvels - part D

Sorry to be so late with church today, I was having someinternet access issues. As you can see, this is the final volume of this fine set. This may be the strongest volume of the lot. Certainly leading with O.V. doesn't hurt to set the tone.

Etta Jones - The complete 1944-1960 [2cd]

I bought this album particularly for disk 2. Etta Jones' early studio recordings in their entirety include two original albums as well as 27 rare titles including 25 which were first released as 78/45 rpm records. Both CDs have been remastered with the greatest care. The beautiful  36 page booklet (which costed me a lot of time to scan) includes rare contemporary documents, a text in French and English and a detailed discography. Have fun with this beautie!

Label: Indie Europe/Zoom
release: August 30, 2011
my cd > flac, 673 mb
full scanned 36-page booklet


CD 1 
1. Yes Sir That's My Baby
2. Don't Go To Strangers
3. I Love Paris
4. Fine And Mellow
5. Where Or When
6. If I Had You
7. On The Street Where You Live
8. Something To Remember You By
9. Bye Bye Blackbird
10. All The Way
11. Sweethearts On Parade
12. You Call It Madness But I Call It
13. Mountain Greenery
14. Don't Worry 'bout Me
15. S'posin'
16. I Thought About You
17. I'm Gonna Lock My Heart And Throw Away The Key
18. Since I Fell For You
19. When I Fall In Love
20. White Cliffs Of Dover
21. People Will Say We're In Love

CD 2
1. Salty Papa Blues
2. Evil Gal Blues
3. Blow Top Blues
4. Long, Long, Journey
5. You Ain't Nothin' Daddy
6. So Tired
7. Solitude
8. I May Be Wonderful
9. Man Wanted
10. Blues To End All Blues
11. Among My Souvenirs
12. Mean To Me
13. Osculate Me, Daddy
14. My Sleepy Head
15. I Sold My Heart To The Junkman
16. The Richest Guy In The Graveyard
17. Ain't No Hurry Baby
18. What Ev'ry Woman Knows
19. Overwork Blues
20. Misery Is A Thing Called Moe
21. This Is A Fine Time
22. One Night In Trinidad
23. Stop
24. One O'clock Jump
25. Kisses All Night Long
26. I Got A Feelin'
27. Moolah! Moolah!

disk 1 recorded at Van Gelder Studios!

links inside

Jeff Todd Titon & Cliff - Post-War Downhome Blues - Part 4

The final volume in this list contains 38 tracks because, despite being an accountant, I apparently suck at division and miscalculated the number of tracks that I should have used in each section -- a senior moment I suppose.

Post-War Downhome Blues, 4 by Kingcake on Mixcloud

Otis Spann - Walking The Blues & The Blues Never Die!

 Otis Spann (March 21, 1930 – April 24, 1970) was an American blues musician whom many consider to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style.

Spann's father was reportedly a pianist called Friday Ford. His mother Josephine Erby was a guitarist who had worked with Memphis Minnie and Bessie Smith, and his stepfather Frank Houston Spann was a preacher and musician. One of five children, Spann began playing piano at the age of seven, with some instruction from Friday Ford, Frank Spann, and Little Brother Montgomery. At the age of 14, he was playing in bands around Jackson, finding more inspiration in the 78s of Big Maceo Merriweather. It was Merriweather who took the young pianist under his wing once Spann migrated to Chicago in 1946. Spann gigged on his own, and with guitarist Morris Pejoe, working a regular spot at the Tic Toc Lounge.

Spann replaced Merriweather as Muddy Waters' piano player in late 1952, and participated in his first recording session with the band on September 24, 1953. From 1952 to 1968 Spann was a full-time member of the Muddy Waters band, while periodically recording as a solo artist. In that period he also did session work with other Chess artists like Howlin' Wolf and Bo Diddley.

Spann's own Chess Records output was limited to a 1954 single, "It Must Have Been the Devil" / "Five Spot", which featured B.B. King and Jody Williams on guitars, and two sides recorded in 1956 with a band featuring Big Walter Horton and Robert Lockwood that were unreleased at the time. He recorded a session with the guitarist Robert Lockwood, Jr. and vocalist St. Louis Jimmy in New York on August 23, 1960, which was issued on Otis Spann Is The Blues and Walking The Blues. A largely solo outing for Storyville Records in 1963 was recorded in Copenhagen. A set for UK Decca Records the following year found him in the company of Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton, and a 1964 album for Prestige followed where Spann shared vocal duties with band-mate James Cotton.

The Blues is Where It's At, Spann's 1966 album for ABC-Bluesway, sounded like a live recording. It was a recording studio date, enlivened by enthusiastic onlookers that applauded every song (Muddy Waters, guitarist Sammy Lawhorn, and George "Harmonica" Smith were among the support crew). A Bluesway encore, The Bottom of the Blues followed in 1967 and featured Spann's wife, Lucille Jenkins Spann (June 23, 1938 – August 2, 1994), helping out on vocals.

In the late 1960s, he appeared on albums with Buddy Guy, Big Mama Thornton, Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac.

Following his death from liver cancer in Chicago in 1970, at the age of 40, he was interred in the Burr Oak Cemetery, Alsip, Illinois. Spann's grave laid unmarked for almost thirty years, until Steve Salter (president of the Killer Blues Headstone Project) wrote a letter to Blues Revue magazine to say "This piano great is lying in an unmarked grave. Let's do something about this deplorable situation". Blues enthusiasts from around the world sent donations to purchase Spann a headstone. On June 6, 1999 the marker was unveiled during a private ceremony. The stone reads "Otis played the deepest blues we ever heard - He'll play forever in our hearts".

He was posthumously elected to the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980.

Blues With The Girls 1982

As best I can tell, the history here is that these three fine vocalists went to Europe on a tour where they would use a local group at each stop. Someone very smart realized that the inclusion of Hubert Sumlin as musical director would help smooth out the musical bumps, not to mention adding one of the greatest blues guitarists on the planet. We have no evidence whether or not this worked at all their stops on the tour, but it sure as hell worked in Paris! In particular, pianist Michael Carras plays his ass off!

"Sarah Streeter was raised in Chicago, Illinois, from early childhood, where she sang in gospel choirs in South Chicago churches. At age 14, she began singing blues at the Morgan's Lounge Club, and in the 1970s she played with musicians such as Magic Slim, Buddy Guy, The Aces, Junior Wells, Johnny Bernard, and Erwin Helfer.

Her experience playing with Sunnyland Slim led to her first solo release, a single released on his label, Airways Records. Teamed with Zora Young and Bonnie Lee in 'Blues with the Girls', Sarah toured Europe in 1982 and recorded an album in Paris, France. From 1989 she performed with a group called The Big Time Express. Since 1993 she has recorded for Delmark Records."

"Zora Young (born January 21, 1948, West Point, Mississippi, United States) is an American blues singer. She is a distant relative of Howlin' Wolf.

Young's family moved to Chicago at age seven and sang gospel at the Greater Harvest Baptist Church. As an adult she began singing blues and R&B music, and over the course of her career played with Junior Wells, Jimmy Dawkins, Bobby Rush, Buddy Guy, Albert King, Professor Eddie Lusk, and B. B. King. Among those she has collaborated with on record are Willie Dixon, Sunnyland Slim, Mississippi Heat, Paul DeLay, and Maurice John Vaughan.

In 1982, she toured Europe on the bill with Bonnie Lee and Big Time Sarah in 'Blues with the Girls', and then recorded an album in Paris, France. She was later cast in the role of Bessie Smith in the stage show, The Heart of the Blues. By 1991 she had recorded the album, Travelin' Light, with the Canadian guitar player, Colin Linden.

Young has toured Europe more than thirty times, in addition to appearances in Turkey and Taiwan. She was the featured performer at the Chicago Blues Festival six times."

"Bonnie Lee - She was born Jessie Lee Frealls in Bunkie, Louisiana, United States, and raised in Beaumont, Texas.

After learning to play the piano as a child, her mother refused to let her join gospel singer Lillian Glinn on tour. Instead she did later tour with the Famous Georgia Minstrels, meeting both Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Big Mama Thornton.

In 1958 she moved to Chicago, and chose the stage name of Bonnie Lee, working as both a dancer and singer. Two years later she signed a recording contract with J. Mayo Williams' Ebony Records label. The downside was Williams' insistence on her being billed as Bonnie "Bombshell" Lane on her first single, "Sad and Evil Woman." It was a name she disliked but, after the single failed to sell, she returned to the Chicago jazz and blues nightclubs. She was later billed as Bonnie Lee Murray, using her then husband's surname.

In 1967 Lee first appeared on the bill with the pianist Sunnyland Slim, and their working arrangement included residencies at a number of Chicago clubs. This led her, at the end of the 1970s, to release further singles via the Slim owned record label, Airway Records. After suffering health problems at the end of that decade, Lee then enjoyed a long professional partnership with Willie Kent. For many years the combination of Lee backed by Willie Kent and the Gents, became a regular feature in B.L.U.E.S., a noted Chicago club. There she sang her most famous numbers; "I’m Good" and "Need Your Love So Bad."

In 1982, and partnered with Zora Young and Big Time Sarah as 'Blues with the Girls', Lee toured Europe and cut a joint album in Paris, France. In 1992 Lee guested on Magic Slim's album, 44 Blues, with John Primer. Finally in her own name, in 1995 Delmark Records released, Sweetheart of the Blues, and three years later another collection, I'm Good, was issued.

In September 2006, after years of poor health, Lee died at the age of 75."

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - I Learned The Hard Way

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings are the rarest type of retro/revivalist band-- the type that transcends its devotion to a style of music associated with a distant past. They make soul music in the classic sense, the kind of tracks that might have been laid down in Memphis, Muscle Shoals, Detroit, Philadelphia, or Chicago in the late 1960s and early 70s. But there's more to their sound than a nostalgia trip-- it's an affirmation of the validity of working in specific styles, even ones most people stopped exploring decades ago.
The Dap-Kings succeed through attention to detail. While a lot of music makes aesthetic or stylistic nods to 60s, almost none of it actually captures the sonic character of the era. But on each of their albums, Jones and her collaborators, led by Gabriel Roth, have done just that. And it doesn't just come down to the production and placement of the microphones. Jones deserves the most credit, simply for having an amazing voice that she understands how to wield effectively. Her impeccable sense of delivery balances power with nuance, varying her forcefulness for maximum impact. The songs give her plenty of room to move, too-- if these tracks weren't every bit as good as the ones that inspired them, all of the performance and production acumen in the world couldn't save them. As rote as it sounds, "Better Things" and "The Game Gets Old", among others on I Learned the Hard Way, would likely be classics today if they'd been released alongside the music that influenced them. In fact, they may yet become classics to a smaller, more niche audience today.
"Better Things" in particular is incredible, a brilliant kiss-off in which Jones reveals layers of anguish beneath her anger, while the band supports her with a heavy Muscle Shoals-style groove. It's striking to listen back to the very basic pastiche of the band's first album and see how far they've come, exploring different corners of funk and soul, experimenting with different meters and very complex arrangements. The trumpet in the intro to "Better Things" plays around with the vocal melody with a jazzy slyness that hits even harder when Jones follows it up by taking it over. Elsewhere, the horns and stormy backing track on "Money" save it from being a pretty typical soul rumination on being down and out, while Jones grabs the surfish guitar and bounding beat of "She Ain't a Child No More" and runs with them, delivering a commanding vocal to which her bandmates dutifully respond.
It all comes together to make an album that stands up as a varied and well-sequenced work, and as a collection of songs you can scatter through a shuffle and dig just as deeply. It's nice to hear the band really stretch themselves and develop the drama and tumult of songs like "I'll Still Be True" and "The Game Gets Old", which you can really hear the band putting its creative all the way into. This record hardly needs to be recommended to soul fans, but even if revisitations of older music styles aren't usually your thing, I Learned the Hard Way is worth digging up.

Year:
Release Date 2010
Label:
Daptone Records
Quality: Bitrate:
flac
Scans - Artwork:
all
Total Time:
39:31
Total Size:
237mb

Album Info & Personnel:

Sharon Jones - vocals
The Dap-Kings:
Thomas Brenneck - guitars, piano
Binky Griptite - guitars, bass
Dave Guy - trumpet
Ian Hendrickson-Smith - baritone saxophone, flute
Bosco Mann - bass
Homer Steinweiss - drums
Neal Sugarman - tenor saxophone
Fernando "Boogaloo" Velez - bongos, congas, tambourine

Tracklist:

1. The Game Gets Old
2. I Learned The Hard Way
3. Better Things
4. Give It Back
5. Money
6. The Reason
7. I'll Still Be True
8. Window Shopping
9. Without A Heart
10. If You Call
11. Mama Don't Like My Man

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Etta James - Losers Weepers

One of the best ideas that anyone at Ace has come up with in 2011 occurred when my colleague Mick Patrick proposed a series of expanded versions of several of Etta James’ Argo, Cadet and Chess albums that has hitherto eluded digitisation. It’s quite astounding how many of the albums that Etta released during her 15 years as the Chess group’s flagship female singer have not been issued on CD, especially given that the format’s now been with us for almost 30 years. But thanks to Mick and Kent, the number is gradually decreasing, with two “expanded editions” so far this year and the promise of more in 2012.
Etta’s 1970 album “Losers Weepers” is the latest to receive the treatment – and the wait has been well worth it. Recordings from this period of Etta’s five decade-long recording career have been somewhat neglected by the reissue market – but no more. This expansion of “Losers Weepers” really brings a full-on focus to some great music that more or less fell by the wayside when originally released, partly because of Etta’s personal circumstances at the time but mostly because she was regarded by many as having had her day as an R&B chart force.
Etta was in pretty bad shape when she made these recordings, but her rampant narcotic dependence did not stop her making the terrific music that you hear here. ‘Heavy Soul’ was a phrase that you heard frequently in the late 60s/early 70s and the intensity in the two-part title track completely defines the term. Etta’s sublime versions of ‘I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good)’, ‘The Man I Love’ and ‘For All We Know’ are the logical continuation of her immortal collaborations with arranger Riley Hampton, at the other end of the 60s, which produced the timeless “At Last” album.
Elsewhere Etta makes a relatively obscure Bee Gees song ‘Sound Of Love’ sound like it was written by three bruthas from Birmingham, Alabama rather than three brothers from Manchester, England. Her vocal on her revival of the Falcons’ R&B classic ‘I Found A Love’ is almost as riveting as that of the song’s original singer, Wilson Pickett. A revival of one of Etta’s old Modern recordings ‘W.O.M.A.N’ almost matches the original take for sass and sexiness. Etta’s take on the Association’s pretty 1966 near-chart topper ‘Never My love’ will leave you wishing Ms James had spent lots of time working in Philly with Bobby Martin, rather than cutting just the one session…
…And these are just bonus tracks folks!
No matter how well you might think you know Etta James, this set of songs will increase and enrich your knowledge of the lady’s work no end. It’s a tragedy that Etta is not likely to ever again be able to grace a recording studio, but fortunately her catalogue is full of delights like “Losers Weepers” that will keep her name alive for many years to come.

By Tony Rounce (Ace Records)

Year:
released November 15, 2011
Label:
Kent
Quality: Bitrate:
my cd > flac
Scans - Artwork:
full scanned booklet
Total Size:
438mb

Tracklist:

1. Take Out Some Insurance
2. I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good
3. I Think It's You
4. Someone
5. Losers Weepers
6. Weepers
7. You're The Fool
8. Hold Back My Tears
9. For All We Know
10. Look At The Rain
11. Ease Away A Little Bit At A Time
12. The Love Of My Man
13. Tighten Up Your Own Thing
14. Quick Reaction And Satisfaction
15. Nothing From Nothing Leaves Nothing
16. Sound Of Love
17. The Man I Love
18. I Found A Love
19. W.O.M.A.N.
20. Tell It Like It Is
21. Never My Love
22. I Never Meant To Love Him

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Mary Wells - My Guy 'n' Me

Mary Wells was Motown's first great star - the Miracles had a hit with Smokey Robinson's "Shop Around" in 1960, but it was Wells' string of hits in 1962 that really made their reputation: "The One Who Really Loves You," "You Beat Me To The Punch," and "Two Lovers," all of which hit the Top 10 on the pop charts. The next several singles were less impressive, but in 1964 she topped the charts with Robinson's "My Guy," and then placed both sides of a duet single with Marvin Gaye ("Once Upon A Time"/"What's The Matter With You Baby") in the Top 40. Later the same year, Wells unexpectedly quit Motown for 20th Century Fox, having been promised a movie career that never materialized. She put out a string of flop singles over the next few years - only 1965's "Use Your Head" broke into the Top 40 - and then faded into obscurity. After a few unsuccessful comeback attempts and tours on the oldies circuit, Wells died of cancer in 1992.

Wells got her big break by auditioning her own "Bye Bye Baby" to Motown founder Berry Gordy; Gordy promptly signed her and released the song as a single, which did fairly well with R & B audiences. But after that point she was firmly in the hands of Gordy and his team of writers and producers, falling into a dependent pattern that was followed by all major Motown singers until the end of the decade. Between that and quitting the company so early, it's not really clear how far her career might have eventually gotten: successors like Diana Ross went on to much greater things. (According to one source, Gordy strongarmed disk jockeys into not playing her records, bribing them with exclusive airing rights to Supremes singles.)

Release Date October 4, 1999
Duration 30:07
label: Jobete
my cd > flac
full scans

Track Listing
1. What Love Has Joined Together
2. Laughing Boy
3. What's Easy for Two Is So Hard for One
4. My Guy
5. Operator
6. Two Lovers
7. The One Who Really Loves You
8. You Beat Me to the Punch
9. Your Old Standby
10. You Lost the Sweetest Boy
11. Old Love (Let's Try Again)

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Rev. Maceo Woods & The Christian Tabernacle Concert Choir - Step To Jesus

Some funky gospel - not to be missed.  Nothing novelty or corny here, ultra soulful, real deal gospel.  This comes from my CD so the tracks are wicked minty and FLAC.  I will follow this up with the other album next Sunday.

Does anybody have any Maceo Woods on Vee Jay???

Memphis Marvels, Vol C

Part 3 of this lovely set from JSP and Opal Louis Nations (is he ever going to run out of material?)

Imagine it is the 50's and you are listening to Sunday morning Gospel on WDIA, Memphis....

Wild Magnolias - Thirty Years A Still Wild!

 Believe it or not Mardi Gras season has begun!

"The Australian AIM record label has been a major proponent of Louisiana-centric zydeco and mardi gras music. This release represents a 30-year history of rare recordings from seminal New Orleans favorites Bo Dollis & the Wild Magnolias. No doubt, this is dance music steeped in New Orleans' Mardi Gras heritage, hearkening back to the slave trade as the tradition of "masking" (costume garb) carries forth some 100 years later. Commencing around 1970, Dollis and his associates were among the first to extend these roots and to include street music, or "second line" dance progressions, into a commercial forum. Moreover, this retrospective contains six new tracks, as the spirit of Mardi Gras is transposed to your listening space in altogether joyous and exuberant fashion. A noted live act, the Wild Magnolias meld catchy hooks, funky horns, and guitar parts with rumbling rhythms and festive chants. Here, second-line dance grooves attain a happy co-existence with a contemporary or modern-day Mardi Gras-induced outlook. Dollis possesses a muscular voice and knows how to work the crowd. In addition, famed New Orleans natives Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), Donald Harrison (sax), and the late, great Professor Longhair (piano) represent just a few of the many notables performing throughout. Think of it as a series of magnificent events stitched together via a 30-year time lapse. A wonderful affair indeed." 

I used to have a copy of this that Bo had given me, but it was stolen a couple years ago, I'm about to order a new one.

Otis Rush - Cold Day In Hell 1975

A fitting companion to Right Place...recorded with one of Otis' best bands.

"COLD DAY IN HELL is one of the standouts from Otis Rush's 1970s catalogue. Rush's anguished vocals, piercing guitar leads, and overall gutsy attack are in full effect here on galloping rockers ("Cut You a Loose") and loping groovers ("Mean Old World") alike. Rush specializes in slow-burn down-tempo numbers--"You're Breaking My Heart," "Society Woman," and the wiry title track fall into this category, and each of these tracks give the Chicago axe-master plenty of room to stretch out on the fretboard. Unlike a lot of the post-'60s bluesmen, Rush never softened or commercialized his sound, and COLD DAY IN HELL upholds the artist's rough and raw ethos. His searing guitar work (which seems inseparable from his chunky amplifier tone) cuts a trail through the middle of these songs and is as appropriate on wrenching slow blues as it is on "Motoring Along," a sprightly, jazz-influenced instrumental. An alternate take of "You're Breaking My Heart" and the previously unissued "Part Time Love" are icing on this satisfying release. w. Abb Locke, Big Moose, Mighty Joe Young 1975. Personnel: Otis Rush (vocals, guitar); Bob Stroger (guitar, drums); Mighty Joe Young, Bob Levis (guitar); Chuck Smith (saxophone, baritone saxophone); Abb Locke, Abe Locke (tenor saxophone); Johnny "Big Moose" Walker (piano, organ, keyboards); Jesse Lewis Green (drums)."

Jeff Todd Titon & Cliff - Post War Downhome Blues 3

Post-War Downhome Blues, 3 by Kingcake on Mixcloud

John Lee Hooker - Never get out of these blues alive (1972)

Following the legendary bluesman's popular collaboration with Canned Heat, this album continues his work with mostly younger musicians and predates similar projects The Healer and Mr. Lucky by about 20 years. Van Morrison spans the gap by appearing on this 1972 release and Mr. Lucky. Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, and even Steve Miller contribute here. Jazz violinist Michael White helps "Boogie With the Hook" take off and adds a mournful touch to the harrowing "T.B. Sheets," which is much more restrained here than on the earlier debut release by Morrison.

Label: MCA

released 1972

My cd> flac

223mb

tracks:

1.Bumblebee, Bumblebee 04:13

2.Hit The Road 02:57
3.Country Boy 06:59
4.Boogie With The Hook 06:32
5.T.B. Sheets 04:58
6.Letter To My Baby 03:57
7.Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive 10:16

Personnel: (click to enlarge)

links in comments!

Jeff Todd Titon & Cliff - Post-war Downhome Blues, Part 2

Post-War Downhome Blues, 2 by Kingcake on Mixcloud

Jeff Todd Titon & Cliff - Post War Downhome Blues, part 1

Time to introduce a new multipart series of mixcloud and blog posts that are once again based on a book playlist. This sort of exercise has been a passion of Cliff's for...well, a LONG time. Not many have the passion and perseverance to assemble sets like these. I know that often decades are involved! My role is to do my best to even out some of the lumps and bumps of the disparate sources. 

"I suppose that it is obvious, I read a lot about music and am too darned lazy to create my own playlists. Jeff Todd Titon's “Downhome Blues Lyrics” isn't a book I would suggest as a 'must read' but it sure makes for one hell of an interesting listening experience.

I first met Jeff many years ago when we were involved in selecting recommended recordings for the Folk Life division of the Library Of Congress. His book Powerhouse For God and the accompanying recordings was a big part of my early introduction to white gospel and sermons. Just about everything he has written over the years is worthy of your attention.

“Downhome Blues Lyrics” is well limned in the title, a collection of post-war blues lyrics. What makes it fascinating to me is how Titon uses the assembled songs to tell a story. The great migration north, the struggle to make a new life ending, for many, in reflection on the rural past.

Not only does his selection make for an excellent listening experience but he has done a fine job of picking material from performers, known and obscure, which illustrate the transition from rural to urban blues." Unkie Cliff

Since the focus of the list was to tell a story through the lyrics, the songs aren't presented  chronologically which seems to add texture to the listening experience. Jeff Todd Titon' s list is 128 tracks which I will carve into 4 listening chunks (I think it would be 5 cd's).

Post-War Downhome Blues, 1 by Kingcake on Mixcloud