Little Milton did 14 albums in his 20 years with Malaco. I only had 1, but Dr Hepcat came up with 2 more so for what will likely be the last of my LM posts, I thought I'd offer up these 3.
Friday, March 30, 2018
Little Milton - 3 Malaco albums
Little Milton did 14 albums in his 20 years with Malaco. I only had 1, but Dr Hepcat came up with 2 more so for what will likely be the last of my LM posts, I thought I'd offer up these 3.
Little Milton - 3 Stax LP's
These 3 LP's contain some material not included in the Singles collection. The Live album seems to be all unique and some of the album versions of songs in the singles are different versions.
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Little Milton - Sings Big Soul (Malaco Comp 2014)
Little Milton - Friend of Mine
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Little Milton - 3 Checker LP's
Each of these Checker LP's includes tracks that did not make it into the previous Chess compilation, so rather than dissect them, I'll post them whole with thanks to whomever I got them from originally.
Little Milton - Live at Westville Prison
Little Milton - Chicago Blues & Soul...(1953 - 1962)
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Little Milton - The Essential Chess Recordings
Monday, March 26, 2018
Various Artists - The Birth Of Modern Blues
(AllMusic Review by Steve Leggett)
Some years ago I was looking for a copy of Little Milton's 'Love At First Sight' and couldn't find it anywhere. I eventually found and purchased an obscure Japanese CD that did have this rarity. And here it is with some other rare recordings. Some, like the B B King sides, are easy to locate but this disc is a pretty expensive buy ...if you can find a copy.
It sounds like they lifted these sides direct from the vinyl originals but it's very listenable if you are into historic recordings. Anyway...it is what it is...and now available at 'Chitlins' for those that cherish this stuff. Musician details are in the scans - Gus
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Tye Tribbett - Greater Than
"One of gospel music's fastest-rising stars, Tye Tribbett's Greater Than shows again his fresh and open-minded approach to the genre. He keeps the solid bass runs, organ embellishments, and vigorous, energetic choral vocals of traditional gospel, but then melts in modern and contemporary urban touches with funky horns, synths, electric guitars, and impassioned singing that is equal parts praise and party."
"Tye Tribbett first came to national attention in 1997 when he entered his group, GA, into the McDonalds and Wrigley's Gospel choir competitions, where they 'swept the competitions,' winning first place in all categories. The group quickly became highly in demand, performing with music industry superstars Gloria Estefan, LeAnn Rimes, Elton John, Luther Vandross, and Stevie Wonder. They also appeared with Jill Scott, India Arie, John Mellencamp, Musiq Soulchild, and The Roots, among many other artists, and toured with Faith Hill and Don Henley. Tribbett and his group performed 'Let Go, Let God' on the soundtrack of the Dream Works animated film 'The Prince of Egypt' with award-winning duo Mary Mary. The group also appeared on Commons' Electric Circus album, Jessica Simpsons' Christmas album, Will Smiths' project 'Lost & Found', on a song featuring Mary J. Blige, and Justin Timberlake's 'Cry Me A River.'
His highly anticipated debut album, 'Life' (2004), brought Tribbett and his group, GA (Greater Anointing), a wide array of new fans and a Stellar Award nomination. Tribbett's sophomore project with GA, 'Victory', was released in 2006, debuting at #1 on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums chart. This break-out project, which included the #1 gospel radio single, 'Victory,' received three Stellar Awards, three GRAMMY® Award nominations and a Dove Award nomination. His third release, 'Stand Out' (2008), again topped the charts and earned the group another nomination for a GRAMMY® Award. In 2009, Tribbett, who is also an accomplished musician who plays multiple instruments, retired GA and made other changes in his musical style and direction, resulting in the 2010 release of the aptly named 'Fresh'. The CD, which the Washington Post called 'a wondrous album,' also entered Billboard's Top Gospel Albums chart at #1."
Saturday, March 24, 2018
Vance Kelly - How Can I Miss You When You Won't Leave
"(2017/Wolf Records) 14 Tracks - 2017 release from the blues award winner. The album was recorded in Chicago and features a mix of blues, R&B and soul. Vance Kelly has performed regularly at various music venues in the Chicago area, chief among them being the 1815, Checkerboard Lounge, Rosa's Lounge, Kingston Mines, Buddy Guy's Legends, and B.L.U.E.S. A music journalist noted of Kelly, "Like Primer, he combines an enquiring eye for a song with a moderately conservative taste in sound, producing music that lives by the principles of classic Chicago bar blues yet is not enslaved by the past".
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Joe Tex - Yum Yum Yum The Early Years 1955-1962
Joe Tex was one of the most original soul stars of all
time. With his raspy voice and a hint of Little Richard, he certainly
had a style of his own. One listen to his number 'Yum Yum Yum' and
you'll get an idea of his rock and roll / proto-soul style.
This is the most comprehensive set of his singles yet
released on CD and includes all the singles he made before achieving
fame in 1964.
Arguably the most underrated of all the 60s soul
performers, Joe Tex, with his unique style singlehandedly laid some of
the most important parts of rap's foundation.
Little Milton - Anthology 1953-61 & The Complete Stax Singles (1971-75)
It's Little Milton Time ! Well we all have (or should ) the hits on Chess/Checker, they're all over the net . But his earlier material on Sun and Bobbin are less seen or known. Also his time with Stax is less familiar...These 2 albums will put this right ...LM lasted the changes in music history, Blues, Soul, Funk...as these recordings will prove...A soulful distinctive voice, guitar chops and original songwriting with bags of passion. 'That Will Never Do' (covered by Freddie King and many others) 'That's What Love Will Make You Do' confirms him as a legend...His similarity to the B B King style may have put him in the background to many but he is a lasting hero of the music we call the Blues...Check these albums out as proof - Gus
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Little Junior Parker - Blues Man (1969)
Friday, March 16, 2018
Faye Adams - I'm Going To Leave You
You can find a very clear PDF of the back cover here: http://www.45worlds.com/vinyl/album/rb110 - The notes are by Opal Nations --This is my rip of the Mr. R & B lp.
Adams was born in Newark, New Jersey. Her father was David Tuell, a gospel singer and a key figure in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC). At the age of five she joined her sisters to sing spirituals, regularly performing on Newark radio shows.
Under her married name, Faye Scruggs, she became a regular performer in New York nightclubs in the late 1940s and early 1950s. While performing in Atlanta, Georgia, she was discovered by the singer Ruth Brown, who won her an audition with the bandleader Joe Morris of Atlantic Records. Having changed Scruggs's name to Faye Adams, Morris recruited her as a singer in 1952, and signed her to Herald Records. Her first release was Morris's song "Shake a Hand", which topped the US Billboard R&B chart for ten weeks in 1953 and reached number 22 on the US pop chart. It sold one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.
In 1954, Adams had two more R&B chart toppers with "I'll Be True" (later covered by Bill Haley in 1954 and by a young Jackie DeShannon in 1957) and "It Hurts Me to My Heart". During this period, she left the Morris band and was billed as "Atomic Adams". She appeared in the 1955 film Rhythm & Blues Revue. In 1957 she moved to Imperial Records, but her commercial success diminished. By the late 1950s she was seen as an older recording artist whose time had come and gone, although she continued to record for various small labels until the early 1960s.
By 1963 she had retired from the music industry. She remarried and, as Fannie Jones, returned to her gospel roots and family life in New Jersey.
Junior Parker - You Don't Have To Be Black To Love The Blues
Ya gotta love the cover!
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Johnny Tucker - Seven Day Blues
In the world we live in today it is rather easy to assume that there is no 'new' music that could properly be called Blues. Leave it to Unky Cliff to discover one of the few real exceptions!
"
It is something of a mystery why Johnny Tucker isn’t better known. He has been making music professionally since he first moved to Los Angeles back in 1964, singing in a James Brown tribute act before joining Philip Walker’s band as the drummer before moving on to play with the likes of Johnny Otis, Floyd Dixon and Robert Cray. His first album for HighJohn Records, Why You Lookin’ At Me?, was released in 2006, the same year as the wonderful Floyd Dixon Celebration, Time Brings About A Change. Tucker turns in engaging performances on both the CD and the DVD recordings of the two-night gig held to honour the legendary pianist and singer. He is a talented singer, with a warm, rough-hewn voice that straddles the border of blues and soul, as well as being a sharp-witted songwriter – all 15 tracks on Seven Day Blues were composed by him.
For his long-overdue second album on HighJohn, label chief Bob Auerbach put the singer together with Big Jon Atkinson and a hand-selected band of musicians. The tactic of pairing a veteran singer with younger acolytes doesn’t always work, especially when the backing musicians overwhelm the singer they are meant to support (viz, The Howlin’ Wolf Album). But when it does work, on albums like Nappy Brown’s 2007 Long Time Coming (with superb support from Sean Costello) or on Muddy’s 1977 Hard Again, the results are magical, with the authority and maturity of the older singer given a shot of the energy and excitement of youth. Seven Day Blues is very much in this latter category.
The core band comprises Atkinson and Scott Smart (who play both guitars and bass on different tracks), Troy Sandow on harmonica and bass, and Malachi Johnson and Marty Dodson and drums. Bob Welch contributes organ to the Sam Cooke-styled soul of “Love And Appreciation (To Georgia)” and the jump blues of “Tell You All”, which also features the guitar talents of Kid Ramos. Bob Corritore also contributes harp to five tracks. From the opening Howlin’ Wolf-esque, “Talkin’ About You Baby”, it’s obvious that the musicians understand how to bring the best out of Tucker’s voice. They know when to step forwards for their solo spots, but they never get in the way of the song.
Each song on the album was recorded live at Atkinson’s BigTone Studio in Hayward, CA, with all the players in one room, playing vintage gear and recorded on vintage equipment, and this commitment to authenticity comes through on every track. From the uptown Chicago shuffle of “Tired Of Doing Nothing” to the aching slow blues of the closing “You Can Leave My House”, via the primeval funk of the title track and the echo-drenched slide of “Do-Right Man”, each song reeks of deep emotion and well as a true understanding and appreciation of the way music used to be made.
Packing 15 songs into 57 minutes, there is no room for filler or fat on Seven Day Blues. Indeed, whilst it is dangerously presumptive to make predictions in January, it is not foolhardy to suggest that Seven Day Blues is an early contender for one of the albums of the year." Blues Blast Magazine
Jerry's Saloon Blues
"This chapter presents an account of a 1940 field recording trip by John and Ruby Lomax. The account, which initially appeared as the liner notes for Flyright Album 206 (1975), focuses on an encounter with Oscar “Buddy” Woods, two other local black musicians named Kid West and Joe Harris, as well as members of Lead Belly’s extended family. West and Harris demonstrated their lively and varied repertoire for Lomax, who recorded older ballad and country dance material such as “Railroad Rag,” “Bully of the Town,” and “Old Hen Cackled and Rooster Laid an Egg.” Paul Oliver
Best of Proverb & Gospel Corner Records 1959-1969
By Bob Marovich
"Gospel music has had many multi-taskers, chief among them the late Brother Henderson of Los Angeles, California.
In the late 1950s, Sylvester C. “Duke” Henderson forsook his R&B singing career, hung up his rock and roll shoes, and plunged headlong into sacred music. He ran the popular All Gospel Record Store in L.A., hosted his own gospel music radio show on 50,000 watt XERB, wrote and published songs, promoted concerts, and headed up two record labels: Proverb and Gospel Corner.
Despite Henderson’s prolific activity, no commercial reissues have given him his propers until now. Best of Proverb & Gospel Corner Records: 1959-1969, from Per Notini’s NarroWay Records out of Sweden, is a 52-track survey of Henderson’s rich roster of artists, many of whom were West Coast favorites. One, the Mighty Clouds of Joy, went on to conquer the world.
The two-disc set starts, appropriately, with one of the earliest recorded appearances by the Clouds. “Jesus Is Real,” circa 1959, showcases Joe Ligon on lead, shouting sandpaper rough even back then. It is followed by the Pilgrim Travelers, arguably the label’s biggest signing, and by then led by James Wafer but without the storied Specialty lineup. “When I’m Gone” demonstrates the same hard singing as the Clouds’ track, even though the Travelers were best known for their walking rhythm and low-key tight harmonies. On the other hand, the Travelers’ take on Dorsey’s “Peace in the Valley” is evocative of its 1940s and 1950s work for Specialty.
What distinguishes this set, and Henderson’s musical ears, is the variety of sacred styles it contains. While heavy on male quartet, as that appeared to be Henderson’s sweet spot, there is a choir (Watts Community Choir), a lining hymn (Rev. W. E. Jasper), rhythmic jubilee singing (Victory Five of Sacramento), a Cleophus Robinson-Josephine James-y duet (Prince Dixon and Sis. Walter Paige), and topical songs (Prince Dixon, Madame Nellie Robinson, and Henderson himself). As gospel artists today often say about their albums: there’s something here for everyone.
The musical accompaniment on Proverb and Gospel Corner singles gets progressively more psychedelic as time winds on. Prince Dixon’s “Keep On Fighting” includes trebly electric guitar riffs. The organ on Dixon’s memorial to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (“April 4, 1968”) gives this Brother Will Hairston-esque treatment a decidedly pop tinge. The same peppy organ (not a churchy B3 by any stretch) propels the Fabulous Ohio Wonders’ “Why Should I Feel” and on the Victory Five’s Golden Gate Quartet-style “John.”
Special gems are a very early Chambers Brothers track, “Just a Little More Faith,” a 180-degree difference in sound from their 1967 hit, “Time Has Come Today.” “Hold Me in Your Arms” by the Mighty Sons of Fort Worth, Texas, is rendered in the classic vocal harmony group style. The Sweet Singing Cavaliers’ “Hold Me” is electrifying, possibly their best cut ever. Brother Henderson’s first dip in the baptismal pool, the rare 1955 “I Made Up My Mind,” sung with a group called the Spiritual Lambs, is available here, possibly for the first time on CD.
Although male dominated, the set does include the distaff Page-Ettes and the Nu-Lite Gospel Singers of Kansas City, the latter giving “Lot’s Wife” and “You’ve Been So Good” strong readings. Henderson’s mother, Helen, formerly with the Simmons-Akers Singers, is represented as a soloist on the fine “He’s a Light,” written by Akers and recorded sometime prior to Proverb’s founding. The mixed voice Watts Community Choir offers a youthful sound on “Keep On Keeping On” and “He Aint’ Heavy.” Sister Walter Paige of the Page-Ettes, Madame Nellie Robinson, and Lady Bird are also among the female soloists.
The entire production is crystal clear, thanks in large part to Henderson’s production talents but also to Notini’s flair for reproduction. The informative illustrated liner notes give the enthusiast as much knowledge about Henderson as exists, depicting an entrepreneur who made a living by giving the little guy a chance. A must for gospel music fans who revel in the pop-infused traditional gospel of the 1960s before it became contemporary."
Saturday, March 10, 2018
The Sensational Saints - 'You Won't Believe It"
"Formed in the early ’50s under the watchful eye of Tuskegee, Alabama, transplant Charles Chambliss, the Sensational Saints were handpicked from a Cleveland clothing store, a pool room, and from a group of friends singing from a third story window. After years spent rotating members and issuing stray singles for assorted non-denominational imprints, the group connected with the vocally inclined Reverend Melvin Kenniebrew at the close of the ’60s, making good on their “Sensational” boast. “With God in their hearts and singing on their minds,” the Sensational Saints mounted their crown jewel in 1973 with “You Won’t Believe It” (Try It You’ll Like Us). Pressed in conservative quantities by local gospel magnate James Bullard on his King James label, the group's lone long-player perfectly encapsulates the intersection of funk and gospel as only the religious conversion of a Bill Wither's tune can do."
The Gaturs - Wasted, 1970
The 'other' great original New Orleans funk band, sometimes called the Gaturs and other times The New Orleans Project. At their best they were every bit the equal of The Meters (their best was behind the Wild Magnolias), and while this may not be quite their best, it don't suck either.
Blind John Davis - Moanin' The Blues
Versatility was integral to the musical mindset of John Davis. Although he was world-renowned as a blues pianist, he was proud of his innate ability to play ragtime, a little jazz, even a schmaltzy Tin Pan Alley ditty or two. And he did it all for more than half a century. Born in Mississippi, Davis was in reality a Chicagoan, having moved there before the age of three. He lost his eyesight after stepping on a nail when he was nine, but that didn't stop him from learning the 88s as a teen. That way, he could pick up a few bucks by playing in his father's "sporting houses."
Davis held down the enviable position of house pianist for prolific record producer Lester Melrose from 1937 to 1942, rolling the ivories behind the illustrious likes of Sonny Boy Williamson, Tampa Red, and Memphis Minnie for Bluebird, Columbia, Decca, and any other firm the powerful Melrose was connected with. After World War II, the blind pianist assembled his own trio, recording for MGM in 1949-1951. He traveled to Europe with Broonzy in 1952 in what may well have been the first overseas jaunt for any American blues artist.
The pianist remained musically active after that but seldom recorded domestically, saving most of his studio energy for his European tours (a jaunty, typically eclectic 1985 album for Chicago's Red Beans label being a notable exception). Davis' suave, genteel approach didn't jibe with the rough-edged Chicago blues of the '50s, but his sophistication was timeless.
Andrew Dunham & Friends - Detroit Blues Volume 2, 1948-49
Some of this material has been released on a recent CD, but only about half of it for reasons I can't explain. This is my rip of the original LP.
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Bluesin' By The Bayou - Rough N' Tough
