Willie Walker: The Early Years - 60s and 70s

I recently noticed that, for some reason, there has not yet been a (Wee) Willie Walker post at this blog.  That is a bit strange, given that he falls smack center into what Chitlins' is all about.   Willie Walker is one of the great 60s-70s voices who somehow only had a couple precious 45s released back in the day .  Fortunately, Willie Walker is still very much alive, active, and in good voice.  He has recorded some very good albums with the Butanes in recent years.  He has the rare ability to evoke strongly both Sam Cooke and O.V. Wright, while still sounding very much like himself.

Willie Walker grew up in Mississippi, and moved in Memphis in 1960.  He began his career in gospel with the Redemption Harmonizers.  He then crossed over into R&B, signing with Goldwax in 60s.  Despite his superb vocal talents, his musical career never really took off until the 1980s.  Since this time, Willie Walker has consistently received very high critical acclaim.  

Willie Walker was arguably at his vocal peak, however, in the 60s and 70s.  While there are only a few Willie Walker 45s from the 60s and 70s, the recent flood of rare soul compilations have dug up additional dynamite tracks from Walker associated with classic labels like Goldwax, Chess, Pawn, Hi, XL and Sounds of Memphis.   It would be great to see a discography of where and under what circumstances this music was recorded.   It would appear that the majority of the sides associated with Chess were actually acquired from Goldwax.  The Hi and Pawn sides also have overlap.   
I have put together here a 16 track compilation of all the early Willie Walker tracks that I have from various compilations.  The first 10 tracks would appear to come from the 60s (Goldwax and Chess), while the last 6 tracks are from the 70s (Pawn, Hi, XL, Sounds of Memphis).  I have no idea how complete this is.  Any additional contributions of either information or music would be highly welcome. 
new link

Aretha Franklin - One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism

Here's a nice treat for a blessed Sunday at Chitlins.  I found this double LP in near mint condition at a local thrift - for a buck!!  I knew right away that it would be destined for this place.

Overall it's an excellent album but let's establish something... this record is a straight up church service.  Anybody lookin for an Aretha studio album should probably move on.  Her voice is certainly a large presence on here, but it's one of a few including Mavis Staples, her sister Erma & the good Rev. Jesse Jackson.  There is a longer list of characters infact, should you choose to listen.

It plays like a service would - preaching with song in between.  Jesse Jackson is given a full 10 minutes on side three, opening and getting things moving.  There are no boring or slow moments and the music is all fantastic.  I want to point out that the song "Higher Ground" begins at the end of side 3, and finishes at the end of side 4.  I blended them together as best I could and tagged them as one track.  You will hear a brief fade out and in during the song.  Aside from that, this transfer turned out really nicely at 24/48 FLAC... enjoy!!!

Fifteen years after Amazing Grace, her groundbreaking gospel record, Aretha Franklin returned to the church yet again, and though the results couldn't top the wall-to-wall power and spirit found on her first, the double-album One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, it's still a worthy document of what the church meant to her. The roster of invited guests was enough to get gospel fans excited, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Jasper Williams, and Rev. C.L. Franklin (her brother, who delivered the invocation), plus Mavis Staples, Joe Ligon (from the Mighty Clouds of Joy), and her sisters, Carol and Erma. Slotted next to sanctified standards like "Surely God Is Able" and "The Lord's Prayer," were several great selections from the pop repertoire, including a scorching version of "Higher Ground."Staples stops by for an ebullient run through the latter-day standard "Oh Happy Day," and the performance closes with a touching finale, "Packing Up, Getting Ready to Go," featuring Staples and Ligon, plus Carol and Erma Franklin. - John Bush / AMG

Arista ‎– AL-8497

Recorded at the New Bethel Baptist Church, 8430C 1 Franklin Blvd., Detroit, Michigan
July 27, 28, 30, 1987

A1 Walk In The Light 4:00
A2 Prayer Invocation By Rev. Cecil Franklin 5:44
A3 Introduction Of Aretha And The Franklin Sisters By Rev. Jesse Jackson 0:37
A4 Jesus Hears Every Prayer 5:16
A5 Surely God Is Able 6:01
B1 The Lord's Prayer 5:05
B2 Introduction Of Aretha And Mavis Staples By Rev. Jesse Jackson 3:22

B3 Oh Happy Day 6:09
B4 We Need Power 6:30
C1 Speech By Rev. Jesse Jackson 9:57
C2 Ave Maria 6:48
C3 Introduction To Higher Ground By Rev. Jaspar Williams 4:10
C4 Higher Ground 1:07
D1 Higher Ground (Continued) 2:04
D2 Prayer Invocation By Rev. Donald Parsons 7:29
D3 I've Been In The Storm Too Long 7:55
D4 Packing Up, Getting Ready To Go 5:34

Arranged By [Music And Choir] – Minister Thomas A. Whitfield
Bass – Lanar Brantley (tracks: A1, A4, A5, B1, B3, B4, C4, D3, D4)
Conductor [Choir] – Michael E. Fletcher
Guitar – Michael Wright (tracks: A1, A4, A5, B1, B3, B4, C4, D3, D4)
Organ – Earl J. Wright, Jr. (tracks: A1, A3, A4, B1, B3, B4, D3, D4)
Percussion – Dana Davis (tracks: A1, A4, A5, B1, B3, B4, C4, D3, D4)
Piano – Nick Johnson (tracks: A4, A5, B3, B4, C4,, D4, D5), Thomas A. Whitfield (tracks: A1, C2, C3)
Producer, Vocals – Aretha Franklin

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....

Memphis Marvels, part B

Good morning! Part 2 from this marvelous set. Mostly jubilee and quartet here; the only instrumentation I've heard is the single guitars or the occasional piano. So far I've been particularly impressed by the Prisonaires and just blown away by the Dixie Nightingales! Hmmm...the Spirit of St. James are killer too, this service is gaining steam! Enjoy your morning and God Bless our boys The Saints, next year we beat those guys from the Northwest in the ugly uniforms!

Matt 'Guitar' Murphy - Way Down South & The Blues Don't Bother Me!

It is an odd fact in my Blues Discography that if look in the main pages for either of the Murphy brothers, you will find next to nothing...at least until you go back to the index where you discover long lists of pages where they are listed as sidemen. From 1948 on, the Floyd brothers are ubiquitous on classic recordings from nearly every Chicago label, but always as sidemen. Both of these albums feature brother Matt up front and Floyd as the second guitarist.

 "Probably best known for playing behind the Blues Brothers (and appearing prominently in their 1980 hit movie), Matt "Guitar" Murphy deserves enshrinement in the blues-guitar hall of fame anyway. His jazz-tinged, stunningly advanced riffing behind Memphis Slim elevated the towering pianist's 1950s output for United and Vee-Jay Records to new heights.

Guitar playing ran in the Murphy household (which moved from Mississippi to Memphis when Matt was a toddler). Matt and his brother Floyd both made a name for themselves on the early-'50s Memphis scene (that's Floyd on Little Junior Parker & the Blue Flames' 1953 Sun waxings of "Feelin' Good" and "Mystery Train"). Matt played with Howlin' Wolf as early as 1948 (harpist Little Junior Parker was also in the band at the time). Murphy added hot licks to early sides by Parker and Bobby Bland for Modern before latching on with Memphis Slim's House Rockers in 1952. Normally, the veteran pianist eschewed guitarists altogether, but Murphy's talent was so prodigious that he made an exception.

Murphy's consistently exciting guitar work graced Slim's United waxings from 1952-1954 and his 1958-1959 platters for Vee-Jay. Another solid Memphis Slim LP for Strand in 1961 and dates with Chuck Berry, Otis Rush, Sonny Boy Williamson, Etta James, and the Vibrations at Chess preceded Murphy's memorable appearance on the 1963 American Folk Blues Festival tour of Europe (along with Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters, Lonnie Johnson, Big Joe Williams, Victoria Spivey, and Willie Dixon). On that pioneering tour (promoted by Lippmann and Rau), Murphy commanded the spotlight with a thrilling "Matt's Guitar Boogie" that showcased his ultra-clean rapid-fire picking.

Harpist James Cotton was the sweaty beneficiary of Murphy's prowess during much of the 1970s. Murphy's crisp picking matched Cotton's high-energy blowing on the harpist's 1974 Buddah album 100% Cotton (the guitarist penned a non-stop "Boogie Thing" for the set). From there, it was on to aiding and abetting John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd's antic mugging, both on stage and in the Blues Brothers flick (where he played Aretha Franklin's guitarist hubby, convinced to come out of retirement by the boys in black).

Murphy has toured as a bandleader in recent years, having recorded an album of his own in 1990, Way Down South, for Antone's (with brother Floyd on rhythm guitar). His repertoire encompasses blues, funk, jazz, R&B, and even a few of those Blues Brothers chestnuts (he usually carries someone in the entourage to sing 'em, Belushi-style)."  ~Bio by Bill Dahl

O.V. Wright - The Complete Recorded Works By The Boss Of Southern Soul for Backbeat/ABC, disc 3 - 5

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The weekend is here, and you know how we do at Chitlins!!  Enjoy the final three albums that complete this glorious boxset - all ripped with EAC to FLAC.

O.V. Wright - The Complete Recorded Works By The Boss Of Southern Soul for Backbeat/ABC, disc 2

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I think this may be my favorite disc from this box set.  It was created specifically for inclusion with this set, as a way to capture all of his wonderful Backbeat 45's which never found a home on an LP.  As a result, we get a grouping of really strong songs which have been tracked with alot of thought.

It's probably an unfair comparison, but aside from "Nickel And A Nail..." I don't think any of his LPs really approach this CD in terms of material.  Damn near every song on this disc is a winner, and with O.V.s treatment added to the fray we get a really memorable album.

There's no doubt in my mind that "That's How Strong My Love Is" is probably the greatest soul ballad of all time when sung by O.V. Wright.  Other stand outs for me would be "What Did You Tell This Girl Of Mine", "Henpecked Man" and "Drowning On Dry Land".  Willie Mitchell was the musical force behind the production, so of course it's impeccable.  Probably the most aptly named album of all, "Treasured Moments" is exactly that.  Once again we have a perfect EAC rip to 16/44.1 FLAC.  Don't miss this or the upcoming posts, truly amazing music and sound quality... only at the Crypt.  Taken from the second pressing of the P-Vine boxset released in 2009.  Enjoy!!!

Nobody Wins - Stax Southern Soul 1968-1975

Another one of those compilations like the Sound Stage Seven disc that manages to be a very entertaining listen.

"The Ace Records family has reissued numerous collector-oriented compilations from the Stax vaults over the years, and this 2012 anthology was intended as the first of a planned series on its Kent subsidiary focusing on Stax tracks from the late '60s and early '70s. The 21 tracks all focus on Stax recordings that fall into the Southern deep soul category -- not a problem as such soul abounded on the label, though these might be more deep soul-oriented than the typical Stax reissue. It's also oriented toward songs that aren't too familiar -- none of them were hits, and three of them were previously unreleased, though most of them did come out as singles between 1968 and 1975. And while some of the artists (Johnnie Taylor, Jimmy Hughes, William Bell, Inez Foxx, Eddie Floyd, Mable John, Little Milton) at various points had substantial hits (though not always for Stax), they're outweighed by acts that will largely be recognized only by those that study the fine print of Stax discographies.

None of these songs were hooky or innovative enough to be as memorable as the many hits the label had during these half-dozen or so years. Hits aren't everything, though, unless you're as rabid a capitalist as you are a collector. If some of these songs are on the average or generic side, more often they're pretty fair efforts that usually boast excellent singing and fine (if occasionally slick) production, as well as subtly testifying to the versatility of tracks released under the Stax umbrella. Particularly pleasing are some cuts that use more group harmonies than the norm for Stax productions from this era, as well as some that exhibit a bluesier bent than soul as a whole did during this period, like Little Milton's fine "Woman Across the River," Jimmy Hughes' "Let 'Em Down Baby," and Mable John's "Shouldn't I Love Him." The menu's varied enough that favorites will vary according to individual tastes, but other tracks worthy of citation include Johnny Daye's opening pleader "Stay Baby Stay" and Bettye Crutcher's previously unissued sweet soul outing "Make a Joyful Noise" (which unlike many outtakes really should have been released at the time). Sometimes it's apparent that Stax was keeping an ear open to the sounds of Hi elsewhere in Memphis -- Freddie Waters' "Groovin' on My Baby's Love" has an Al Green feel, for instance -- though no doubt some of that influence was traveling in the other direction as well. Stax obsessives will already have much of this, particularly on volumes two and three of the box sets of Stax singles. But this is a good pickup for those who don't want to make such a huge investment, yet are still interested in seeking out some of the label's deep catalog." by Richie Unterberger, AMG

The Fieldstones - Memphis Blues Today

Greasy funky modern blues from Memphis! This is not the most polished band you've ever heard by any stretch of the imagination but you can tell they were houserockers! 

"One of the few remnants of the homegrown Memphis blues scene since its virtual cessation at the end of the 1950s, the Fieldstones made some rough and ready electric blues with soul and rock influences from the mid-1970s through the early 1990s. Their sound was characterized by a two-guitar front line and a raw, chunky groove not too far removed from the sort of Mississippi juke joint blues that Fat Possum recorded in the 1990s. The Fieldstones did some recording in the 1980s for David Evans' Highwater label, but never established much of a following outside of Memphis, and disbanded in the early '90s." AMG .

"The Fieldstones were playing the bars and jook joints of Memphis from the 1970s until the early 1990s. I caught them several times at their home base of Green's Lounge, and can say without reservation that The Fieldstones are one of the best blues bands I've ever seen. They seemed to have absorbed every style of blues and soul that's made Memphis famous, and turned it into their own rhythmic, hypnotic and sometimes funky brand of music.

The opening cut, simply called "The Fieldstones," is a funky introduction to the band and their music. With it's rhythmic beat, this song has continually run through my head since first hearing it 15 years ago. Unlike the Brady Bunch theme, which I also can't wipe from my memory, this song evokes pleasant memories every time I hear it.
The raw, soulful vocals of guitarist Willie Roy Sanders highlights cut number two, "Dirt Road." Even better is his incredible pleading vocals on the Little Milton song, "Little Bluebird."

The Fieldstones had to provide music for the dancers at Green's Lounge, and "The Thing" is a funky number which I'm sure always packed the dance floor. The same goes for the instrumental "The Squeeze." Both of these songs have the same rhythmic sound of "The Fieldstones," and really define what this band was all about.

These recordings were made at three separate sessions in 1981 and 1982. In the liner notes there's mention of an upcoming album which will contain previously-unreleased tracks from the band's later years, when the excellent singer Little Applewhite was fronting the band. I can't wait for that one!

Memphis Blues Today! is truly an unknown gem, and belongs in any serious blues fan's collection."

--- Bill Mitchell

The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions, Vol. 3; Memphis On Down

 

 The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions Vol. 3: Memphis On Down focuses on recordings done in the early 1950's in Memphis that Sam Phillips shopped to Modern/RPM in 1950/51, Helena, Arkansas and five cuts by the Dixie Blues Boys which were done in Los Angeles in 1955. The featured artists include Willie Nix, Howlin' Wolf, Walter Horton, Joe Hill Louis, Bobby Bland, Alfred "Blues King" Harris, James "Peck" Curtis, Robert "Dudlow" Taylor and Jim Lockhart.

 "This third volume of raw, Southern (or Southern-style) blues, largely of the early electric sort, concentrates on recordings done in the early '50s in Memphis and Arkansas, though the five Dixie Blues Boys tracks were done in Los Angeles in 1955. Make no mistake about it: despite the presence of a few big names, this is one for the collector. If you want a better listening experience of material from Modern's recordings in the area, you'd be better off with single-artist anthologies of sides cut at the time for the label by Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, Walter Horton, Joe Hill Louis, and others. If you've gone through that layer and want a whole lot more, however, this is what you want, digging into some rare and previously unissued tracks, often by artists unknown even to many blues experts. Generally, it documents a time when Southern blues was just making its transition from the rural acoustic form to the citi-fied electric one, albeit in a raw, at times even tentatively clumsy manner. The most satisfying numbers are, unsurprisingly, by the most famous performers, capturing some major performers in their early formative days, including Howlin' Wolf (represented by two 1951 sides); Bobby "Blue" Bland (whose "Drifting From Town to Town," recorded with Little Junior Parker, didn't first see light until 1969); and Walter Horton (heard on his 1951 single "You Tell Me Baby"). Even the tracks by obscure names often include major players as sidemen, such as Howlin' Wolf guitarist Blind Willie Johnson, Matt Murphy (who plays on the Bland cut), and Sonny Boy Williamson. The remaining material isn't up to lost classic status, and in fact it's sometimes forgettable. But there are still some good outings to be heard by Willie Nix (whose "Try Me One More Time," from 1951, comes close to a rockabilly beat) and the more rudimentary Joe Hill Louis (particularly a previously unissued fast version of "Joe Hill Boogie"). Seven of the 26 tracks were previously unreleased..." AMG