Johnny Jones - Beyond the Swanees

We have a new blog regular, Dr. Hep Cat, to thank for this week's Gospel post. We were FB chatting about other music when he asked me the question "are you hip to Johnny Jones?". I was forced to respond "apparently not!" (a response delivered with a bit of a wince, I admit). DHC came back "he was one of the lead vocals for The Swanee Quintet." ...Well okay, I've heard of them and have some tracks on compilations... not enough that I know a thing about the members tho. Well DHC responded by sending me a pair of jaw dropping lp rips and I was hooked! That pair of records represented 2/3 of his solo output and over the next couple days I managed to come up with the other lp (contained in the compilation pictured here) and even a couple of secular tracks (there were 4 recorded all told, DHC had a third, but one is still missing)! What you will get in this package is everything we have assembled to date which has to be very close to being complete. 

Johnny was not a hard gospel 'shouter', but instead a smooth gospel crooner more in the mold of Sam Cooke. In fact, when Sam left the Soul Stirrers to pursue his secular career, it was Jones who was his first replacement. After 6 months or so, Johnny decided that the Stirrer's were not for him and he left, clearing the way for Johnnie Taylor.

An offshoot of this project you will hear today is that DHC and I both realized that there wasn't much in the way of a satisfying collection of The Swanee Quintet out there either and we began working on remedying THAT situation too! It will be a week or two before we reveal the results of our quest on that front, but let me offer that we succeeded beyond our wildest dreams!

Plug It In, Turn It Up: The Electric Blues, Part 1- Beginnings 1939-1954 (3discs)

AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
"Bear Family's Electric Blues history Plug It In! Turn It Up! may not seem quite as ambitious as some of their projects, but that's only because it arrives in four volumes of three CDs, not a hulking 12-disc, 12X12 box complete with a hardcover book. Taken on its own terms, it is a pretty impressive chronicle of electrified blues from its infancy to its prime. Here in the first volume, the spotlight shines on its birth, opening up with a cut from Andy Kirk & His Twelve Clouds of Joy, a 1939 side called "Floyd's Guitar Blues" featuring a solo by Floyd Smith, and running to 1954, when the jumping, hard-charged sound started to break into the big time. Wisely, Bear Family is happy to repeat artists -- there is no way to limit yourself to just one T-Bone Walker or Muddy Waters song, after all -- and they bend the rules ever so slightly, letting in sides by R&B singers like Fats Domino and Ray Charles, artists who aren't always strictly classified as electric blues but certainly fit this wide definition. Roughly speaking, the first disc here is devoted to the swinging, jumping sounds of the '40s and '50s, with the second finding the rawer, nastier sounds starting to sneak in (Jackie Brenston's 'Rocket '88'," Howlin' Wolf's "How Many More Years," Elmore James' "Dust My Broom," and Little Walter's "Juke" pop up here), and the third concluding with the rise of overdriven Chicago blues and boogie, with Jimmy Reed rubbing shoulders with Wynonie Harris. Perhaps there are some seminal sides from these 15 minutes -- almost certainly there are -- but this first volume of Plug It In! Turn It Up! tells its story expertly and, best of all, it sounds like a party as it does so."

note if you double click either track list, they will expand for easier reading

Jimmy Dawkins - Fast Fingers 1969

"James Henry "Jimmy" Dawkins (October 24, 1936 – April 10, 2013) was an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer. He was generally considered a part of the "West Side Sound" of Chicago blues. He was born in Tchula, Mississippi in 1936. He moved to Chicago in 1955. He worked in a box factory, and started to play local blues clubs, gaining a reputation as a session musician.

In 1969, thanks to the efforts of his friend Magic Sam, he released his first album Fast Fingers on Delmark Records, winning the "Grand Prix du Disque" from the Hot Club de France. In 1971, Delmark released his second album All For Business with singer, Andrew Odom, and the guitarist, Otis Rush. Dawkins also toured in the late 1970s backed up by James Solberg (of Luther Allison and The Nighthawks fame) on guitar and Jon Preizler (The Lamont Cranston Band, The Drifters), a Seattle based Hammond B-3 player known for his soulful jazz influenced style. Other musicians that toured with Jimmy Dawkins in the late 1970s were Jimi Schutte (drummer), Sylvester Boines (bass), Rich Kirch and Billy Flynn (guitars). With this combination of musicians Dawkins also toured Europe.

Dawkins began to tour in Europe and Japan and recorded more albums in the United States and Europe. Dawkins also contributed a column to the blues magazine Living Blues. In the 1980s he released few recordings, but began his own record label, Leric Records, and was more interested in promoting other artists, including Taildragger, Queen Sylvia Embry, Little Johnny Christian and Nora Jean Wallace.

Dawkins died of undisclosed causes on April 10, 2013, aged 76." wiki

Eddie Boyd - The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions

If you check the Blue Eye blog (just click) you will find a remarkable collection of Boyd's earlier material - here is the next chapter.

"Edward Riley "Eddie" Boyd (November 25, 1914 – July 13, 1994) was an American blues pianist. He was born on Stovall's Plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi. Boyd moved to the Beale Street district of Memphis, Tennessee in 1936 where he played piano and guitar with his group, the Dixie Rhythm Boys. Boyd followed the great migration northward to the factories of Chicago in 1941.

He wrote and recorded the songs "Five Long Years" (1952), "24 Hours" (1953), and the "Third Degree" (co-written by Willie Dixon, also 1953). Boyd toured Europe with Buddy Guy's band in 1965 as part of the American Folk Blues Festival. He later toured and recorded with Fleetwood Mac and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers.

Tired of the racial discrimination he experienced in the United States, he first moved to Belgium where he recorded with the Dutch band Cuby and the Blizzards. He settled in Helsinki, Finland in 1970, where he recorded ten blues records, the first being Praise to Helsinki (1970). He married his wife, Leila, in 1977.

Boyd died in 1994 in Helsinki, Finland, just a few months before Eric Clapton released the chart-topping blues album, From the Cradle that included Boyd's "Five Long Years" and "Third Degree"."

Over In Glory: Favorites From Classic Gospel Groups

Rerun by request - this is a good one!

This morning's lovely program was brought to you by Elder Clifford.

"Subtitled "Favorites From Classic Gospel Groups," and this compiles more great gospel treasures by some of the greatest gospel groups of all time and pulled from the multi-label vaults of MCA Records. Highlights include the Mighty Clouds of Joy's "Pray For Me," the Caravans' "One Of These Old Days," the Dixie Hummingbirds' "Christian's Automobile," the Soul Stirrers' "Jesus Be a Fence Around Me," the Ward Singers' "Didn't It Rain," and the Jackson Southernaires' "Too Late." Selections from the Five Blind Boys ("Save a Seat for Me"), the Williams Brothers ("Jesus Will Never Say No"), the Mighty Clouds of Joy ("Heavy Load"), the Staple Singers ("Pray On My Child"), the Gospel Keynotes ("He'll Make It Right") and the Davis Sisters ("Blessed Quietness") finish out this fine gospel group overview."

"Over in Glory: Favorites From Classic Gospel Groups [MCA, 1998]
All climax, all the time. In a music whose individual proponents make it their business to channel the universal, why not stick to their ecstasies and leave the mundane to their secular counterparts? Not that these impassioned tracks are above detail--one apogee among many is the Jackson Southernaires' painfully protracted tale of a son who reaches his dying mama just hours too late. But whether the glorious singers are getting happy or laying their burdens down, they're all in extremis, opening windows not into their mortal souls but into an idealized gospel experience--the spiritual release nonbelievers prize in a music that will never be their own. Connoisseurs may cry cartoon, but for most of us that's a plus, as are the articulated call-and-response built into the group format and the crassness of Peacock's Don Robey, not a guy who hesitated to besmirch the Lord with rhythm sections. Guitars either." A Robert Christgau

The Campbell Brothers - Beyond the 4 Walls

"The four Campbell brothers--Chuck on pedal steel, Phillip on electric guitar and bass, Carlton (Phillip's son) on drums, and Darick on lap eight-string steel--play electric gospel music for the House of God, Keith Dominion church. Emphasizing the steel guitar, the group stick to a repertoire that avoids rock and blues, but nonetheless betrays the influences of those forms in their arrangements, which also draw from country, jazz, and other forms. Although their selection of material is spiritual, the guitar work of Chuck Campbell in particular is imaginative and at times even experimental, using a tuning he devised himself and the E-bow to produce eerie sustain. With Kate Jackson on vocals and Charles Flenory contributing electric guitar to some cuts, they recorded an album for Arhoolie's Sacred Steel series, Pass Me Not, in 1996 and 1997. Both Sacred Steel on Tour! and Sacred Steel for the Holidays saw release in 2001. Can You Feel It? from 2005 appeared on a new label for the group, Rope a Dope." AMG

Martha Bass - I'm So Grateful

Martha Bass today is not nearly as well known as her daughter, Fontella Bass, or her son, David Peaston.   This is partly due to the fact that she had curiously few opportunities to record.  Fortunately, we have this masterpiece, I'm So Grateful, that preserves her legacy as one of the great gospel divas of her time.  

Martha Bass was born in Saint Louis in 1921, and was trained as a gospel singer by the legendary Willie Mae Ford Smith (aka Mother Smith).  She became one of the Clara Ward Singers briefly, but hardly had the opportunity to record until Chess Records took her into the studio in the 1960s.  This LP was certainly the crowning achievement of her partnership with Chess. 

There are 11 tracks on the LP, but separate recordings were made for the mono and stereo versions.  So the CD release on Righteous Records ripped here contains both the stereo and mono versions.

 If you like good gospel music, I am sure that you will enjoy Martha Bass.  

Robert Nighthawk, Forrest City Joe - Black Angel Blues & Bricks In My Pillow

"Robert Lee McCollum (November 30, 1909 – November 5, 1967)
Born in Helena, Arkansas, he left home at an early age to become a busking musician, and after a period wandering through southern Mississippi, settled for a time in Memphis, Tennessee, where he played with local orchestras and musicians, such as the Memphis Jug Band. A particular influence during this period was Houston Stackhouse, from whom he learned to play slide guitar, and with whom he appeared on the radio in Jackson, Mississippi.

After further travels through Mississippi, he found it advisable to take his mother's name, and as Robert Lee McCoy moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in the mid-1930s. Local musicians with whom he played included Henry Townsend, Big Joe Williams, and Sonny Boy Williamson. This led to two recording dates in 1937, the four musicians recording together at the Victor Records studio in Aurora, Illinois, as well as recordings under his own name, including "Prowling Night-Hawk" (recorded 5 May 1937), from which he was to take his later pseudonym. These sessions led to Chicago blues careers for the other musicians, though not, however, for McCoy, who continued his rambling life, playing and recording (for Victor/Bluebird and Decca) solo and with various musicians, under various names. Kansas City Red was his drummer from the early 1940s to around 1946. He recorded Kansas City Red’s song "The Moon is Rising".

McCoy became a familiar voice on local radio stations; then Robert Lee McCoy disappeared.Within a few years, he resurfaced as the electric slide guitarist Robert Nighthawk, and began recording for Aristocrat and Chess Records, the latter of which was also Muddy Waters' label; in 1949 and 1950, the two men's styles were close enough that they were in competition for promotional activity; as Waters was the more marketable commodity, being more reliable and a more confident stage communicator, he received the attention. Though Nighthawk continued to perform and to record, taking up with United and States 1951 and 1952, he failed to achieve great commercial success.

In 1963, Nighthawk was rediscovered busking in Chicago and this led to further recording sessions and club dates, and to his return to Arkansas, where he appeared on the King Biscuit Time radio programme on KFFA. Nighthawk continued giving live performances on Chicago's Maxwell Street until 1964. He had a stroke followed by a heart attack, and died of heart failure at his home in Helena. He is buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Helena." wiki

Does Soul Have A Color?

Does 'Soul' Have a Color? by Kingcake on Mixcloud

Smokey Johnson - It Ain't My Fault

We have lost another great one!

"Joseph "Smokey" Johnson (born November 14, 1936, New Orleans, died October 6, 2015, New Orleans)
 is an American drummer. He is one of the musicians, session players, and songwriters who have served as the backbone for New Orleans' output of jazz, funk, blues, soul, and R&B music.

Johnson served as the drummer for Fats Domino in the 1950s and 1960s.
In 1961, Johnson and Wardell Quezergue worked together on the session for Earl King's proto-funk classic, "Trick Bag", produced by Dave Bartholomew.

Soon thereafter, Johnson went with Quezergue and childhood friend Joe Jones, and several other New Orleans artists (including Johnny Adams, Earl King and Esquerita) to audition for Motown in Detroit, where they recorded numerous demo sessions. (Jones had conned everyone into believing the were going to record, rather than audition, see story) Earl King once remarked that at least part of the reason why they got in the door was Motown's fascination with Smokey Johnson, who could do more on a trap set by himself than any two of the label's session drummers. Although Motown ended up not signing any of the New Orleans artists, Johnson offered to remain on staff while the other New Orleans artists were dispatched.

Johnson remained in Detroit for several months before deciding to return home; but his influence on the Motown sound was profound, as the other drummers studied his techniques, incorporating them into countless hit sessions.

In 1963 and 1964, Dave Bartholomew enlisted Johnson for his last two Imperial big band albums, giving Johnson the spotlight on the tune, "Portrait Of A Drummer", from New Orleans House Party.

In 1964, about a year after Nola Records was formed in New Orleans, Quezergue a partner in the label as well as principal producer/arranger, invited Johnson to be the drummer for label's house band. After a few months, Johnson and Quezergue wound up writing and recording what has become a New Orleans Mardi Gras standard called "It Ain't My Fault". Deftly arranged, "It Ain't My Fault" is a fascinating early example of both Johnson and Quezergue incorporating Second Line syncopation into pop music. The arranger's device of starting off with just the drummer's relaxed but intricate percussive work (plus somebody hitting what sounds like a glass bottle) quickly pulls the listener into the song, even before the simple musical hook, played by just the guitar and piano. George Davis runs the guitar riffs on the first side with that recognizable style made famous several years later on Robert Parker's "Barefootin'".

While the lighthearted, hard to resist "It Ain't My Fault" was enjoyed locally in New Orleans, it did not have a national impact at the time, it set the stage for many more uniquely funked up grooves to follow, and over time has become a Mardi Gras favorite and a part of the brass band repertoire.
Johnson stopped playing drums after suffering a stroke in 1993.

Johnson was forced to leave his home in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in September 2005. Johnson is now a resident of Musicians' Village, a Habitat for Humanity project in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans." wiki

Smokey passed away yesterday, may he Rest In Peace.

Larry Davis - Funny Stuff

If you want to explore the earlier recordings of Larry Davis there is an excellent post and collection at Blue Eye. (click here)

 Artist Biography by Bill Dahl

Anyone who associates "Texas Flood" only with Stevie Ray Vaughan has never auditioned Larry Davis' version. Davis debuted on vinyl in 1958 with the song, his superlative Duke Records original remaining definitive to this day despite Vaughan's impassioned revival many years down the road.

Davis grew up in Little Rock, AR, giving up the drums to play bass. Forging an intermittent partnership with guitarist Fenton Robinson during the mid-'50s, the pair signed with Don Robey's Duke label on the recommendation of Bobby Bland. Three Davis 45s resulted, including "Texas Flood" and "Angels in Houston," before Robey cut Davis loose. From there, Davis was forced to make the most of limited opportunities in the studio. He lived in St. Louis for a spell and took up the guitar under Albert King's tutelage while playing bass in King's band.

A handful of singles for Virgo and Kent and a serious 1972 motorcycle accident that temporarily paralyzed Davis' left side preceded an impressive 1982 album for Rooster Blues, Funny Stuff, produced by Gateway City mainstay Oliver Sain. But follow-up options remained hard to come by: few blues fans could find a copy of the guitarist's 1987 Pulsar LP I Ain't Beggin' Nobody.

Finally, in 1992, Ron Levy's Bulleye Blues logo issued a first-class Davis set, Sooner or Later, that skillfully showcased his rich, booming vocals and concise, Albert King-influenced guitar. Unfortunately, it came later rather than sooner: Davis died of cancer in the spring of 1994.

Boozoo Chavis - Zydeco Trail Ride & Zydeco Homebrew

Wilson Anthony "Boozoo" Chavis (born October 23, 1930 in Lake Charles, LA and died May 5, 2001 in Austin, Texas) was a zydeco musician.

"Boozoo Chavis (born: Wilson Anthony Chavis) was one of the pioneers of zydeco, the Cajun and blues hybrid originating in southwest Louisiana. Although his self-composed 1954 single, "Paper in My Shoes," was the first zydeco hit, Chavis was distrustful of the music industry and refused to perform publicly or record again until 1984. In an interview featured in the 1990 book, The New Folk Music, Chavis explained, "I got gypped out of my record. I get frustrated, sometimes. I love to play, but, when I get to thinking about 1955… They stole my record. They said that it only sold 150,000 copies. But, my cousin, who used to live in Boston, checked it out. It sold over a million copies. I was supposed to have a gold record." After leaving the music business, Chavis devoted his attention to raising champion racehorses in Shreveport and Lafayette, Louisiana and Texas. Chavis waited until 1984 before returning to music. Signing a five-year contract with the Maison de Soul label, he recorded four albums — Louisiana Zydeco Music, Boozoo Zydeco!, Zydeco Homebrew and Zydeco Trail Ride. Chavis' 1997 album, Hey, Do Right, was produced by Terry Adams, keyboardist for NRBQ, who paid tribute to Chavis in their 1989 song, "Boozoo, That's Who."

Chavis' performances, with his band, the Majic Sounds, included much-heralded appearance at the Newport Folk Festival and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The New York Times wrote, "(Chavis is) chaos on two feet. A little bullet of a man, he runs around onstage, shouting and yelling….(his) music can achieve a trancelike intensity". In a review of Chavis' performance at the Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival, Paul Scott wrote, "There are a lot of Boozoo prototypes coming out. They may be smoother than Boozoo but they try to get his hard accordion; that rough, raw, style; and his sore throat type of singing. And with that single-note and triple-note accordion, he's doing a lot to bring a return to basic zydeco'.

The son of tenant farmers, Chavis acquired his nickname as a youngster. Chavis was raised by his mother who cleaned houses and sold barbecue at horse races until raising enough money to buy a three acre tract of land where she and Chavis moved in 1944. Acquiring an accordion from his father and teaching himself to play, Chavis was soon playing at local barn dances and in the dance club, opened by his mother, where he often sat in with Morris Chenier and his sons, Clifton and Cleveland. In 1994, Chavis appeared in Robert Mugge's video documentary, The Kingdom of Zydeco. He was inducted into the Zydeco Hall of Fame four years later. And continuing to release music into the new millennium, Chavis issued Johnnie Billy Goat in fall 2000. On May 5, 2001 Chavis died after suffering from complications related to a heart attack he had a month earlier." last FM

Junior Wells - It's My Life, Baby!

In the shadow of the furor over 'Hoo Doo Man Blues' this album gets overlooked and at times outright disrespected. I'm pretty sure it was my fist Junior/Buddy vinyl so you will have to excuse my personal prejudice. I'll always love it.

The album is admittedly a schizophrenic mix of live and studio material and bands...I still wouldn't skip it. It's was a frequent late night choice. When others would play Lee Michaels' 'Stormy Monday' at me, this version was my response.  

Fire in My Bones Raw, Rare & Other-Worldly African-American Gospel

A repost of the whole thing! This was one of this blog's first Gospel posts more than 3 years ago.

"The majority of this music has never been reissued on CD, or in any other form (most tracks were originally released on regional independent labels). Most post-WWII compilations of African-American gospel music naturally concentrate on the astounding quartet and solo vocalist sounds made during the music’s Golden Age. Fire In My Bones attempts to address and collect more neglected sounds from that era (and on to the present day). Dozens of traditions are represented. Some go back hundreds of years while others seem to have been arrived at as soon as the tape began to roll. Field recordings and studio tracks are all mashed together, with solo performances next to congregational recordings, hellfire sermons next to afterlife laments. Leon Pinson, Elder & Sister Brinson & the Brinson Brothers, Grant & Ella, Straight Street Holiness Group, Theotis Taylor, Brother & Sister W B Grate—these artists will now be just a little less obscure.

Fire In My Bones provides a small peek at the incredible diversity and power of post-war black gospel. Much of this music is raw, distorted and might sound a bit strange. But it is not presented as a novelty freak show or as “outsider music.” This is gospel-which we must always remember translates as “the good news”-as it has been sung and performed in tiny churches and large programs, from rural Georgia to urban Los Angeles. It is clearly among the most vibrant, playful, beautiful and emotionally charged music in the world." Thomkins Square

Jabo - Hard Times

I don't know 'bout anyone else, but I'm finding Jabo to be an absolutely delightful disovery! On this album he effortlessly slides between killer Zydeco, Deep Southern Soul, and even some 'adult urban' Chitlin Circuit blues. The man has got some serious chops!

I defy you to sit your ass still during 'Hard Times'; dis here zydeco rocks the way Beau Jocque used to do! 'Happy Anniversary' is pure Southern Soul on a level that's pretty damn rare these days. 'Bang Me' is a magic mix of rude Boo Zoo zydeco with a dash of Hip Hop that somehow succeeds brilliantly.

This brother is seriously the real deal, a star already in full bloom. Every damn song is another revelation and the variety is impressive. The two female guest vocalists are Smokin', the musicians are playing real instruments and THEY are Smokin'...these 10 tracks are without a doubt ALL KILLA', NO FILLA'!!

The Roots Of It All: Acoustic Blues, Vol. 4, 1980's.90's, 2000's & 2010's

" Blues greats like TajMahal, James 'Son' Thomas, Homesick James, John Hammond, and Keb' Mo, alongside lesser know artists like Guitar Frank, John Dee Holeman, Precious Bryant, a.m.o. Any concern that interest in acoustic blues guitar would recede in the face of the loss of many of its leading
figures and so much electric blues and blues-rock was permanently put to rest by a new legion of disciples, and the discovery of yet more older musicians that somehow eluded discovery during the postwar era (and in a few notable cases, pre-war days). Certified legends Robert Lockwood, Jr., Henry Townsend, and Sam Chatmon were happily still in business.

Younger '60s/'70s discoveries TajMahal, John Hammond, Geoff Muldaur, David Bromberg, and Bonnie Raitt were now joined by the next generation of acoustic pickers, who brought fresh ideas to the table ? along with a
deeply ingrained sense of tradition. As the blues underwent a major resurgence during the '80s and '90s with the genre finding its way into advertising campaigns and mainstream films such as 'Crossroads,' young acoustic players with exciting new ideas emerged. In the cases of Keb' Mo and Alvin Youngblood Hart, their debut CDs were released on a major label, underscoring the genre's renewed commercial potential. Corey Harris was every bit their artistic equal, albeit without major label backing.

The acoustic movement remains very much alive today, thanks to a constant infusion of new blood and established visionaries such as Otis Taylor dedicated to escorting the approach into uncharted waters. Let there be
no doubt: acoustic blues as we've traced it over the course of this eight-disc series won't go anywhere anytime soon."

Junior Wells - 1953-54 - Blues Hit Big Town

 By Bill Milkowski

"Those wonderful folks at Delmark have opened the floodgates on another batch of blues treasures. Junior Wells' Blues Hit Big Town (Delmark DD-640; 48:38) is culled from historic 1953-'54 sessions that feature backing by Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, The Aces with Louis and Dave Myers and other Chicago blues stalwarts. Cut when the late Wells was only 19, it includes his first ever recording of "Hoodoo Man." An amazing document by one of the great 'real deal' bluesmen of all-time.

Say Amen!: Gospel Funk from Jewel Records

"One of the coolest collections of funky gospel we've ever heard – and a key look at the massive sounds of the legendary Jewel Records label! Jewel was home to some great funk, soul, and blues artists at the start of the 70s – and it's no surprise that the best sounds from those styles stepped over to inform the label's gospel output too – so much so that Jewel ended up with a huge legacy of some of the coolest gospel cuts ever – just the sort of tracks to cross over strongly to our more secular-tuned ears! Lots of this work feels like early 70s funky soul on labels like Atlantic and Chess – and the track selection may well be the best we've ever seen for a compilation on the Fuel label – much more in the spirit of a set on Numero or Ace. Titles include "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" by Keith Barrow, "Message To My Friends" by The Violinaires, "Trying Time" by Ernest Franklin, "Woke Up This Morning" by Chimes, "Mama Said Thank You" by Albertina Walker, "No More Ghettos In America" by Stanley Winston, "Can You Treat Him Like A Brother" by Armstrong Brothers, and "I'm Glad You're Mine" by The Brooklyn Allstars."  © 1996-2015, Dusty Groove, Inc.

Eddie Hinton - A Tragic Deep Soul Genius, part 2

Part 2 features another pair of terrific albums:

"....Hinton lived in Macon, Georgia, in the early 1980s, fronting a band called the Rocking Horses. The band drew its repertoire from Hinton's Very Extremely Dangerous album and also wrote and played some new material. Hinton recorded six songs under producer Jimmy Johnson's direction at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in 1982 that were released as an album in 1986 under the title Letters from Mississippi. The album circulated under the Rounder and Mobile Fidelity imprints and garnered a great deal of insider interest. Hinton made two more albums for Bullseye: Cry and Moan (1991) and Very Blue Highway (1993), recorded at Birdland Studio in Town Creek, Lawrence County.

In the early 1990s, Hinton moved to Birmingham and was living there when he suffered a heart attack and died on July 28, 1995. He was buried in Tuscaloosa. Since Hinton's death there has been much retrospective interest in his musical legacy. Johnny Sandlin produced an excellent compilation of never-released tracks titled Hard Luck Guy (1999) and British producer Peter Thompson has compiled three albums of Eddie's unreleased music, accompanied by the MSRS and others. Hinton remains one of the true innovators in the Muscle Shoals music legacy. In 2001, Hinton was awarded a bronze star and recognized as a music achiever by the Alabama Music Hall of Fame."

There are three Bulls Eye Blues albums that I am not going to post - they are sensitive about their stuff showing up on blogs even if they can't be bothered to keep it in print.

Jabo & Lil Jabo - Southern Choice

"Donald Glenn, better known to Zydeco fans as Jabo The Texas Prince of Zydeco , started singing and playing music in churches at the age of 6. Jabo began his Blues career at 18 and started playing Zydeco at 25. His talented has been received international recognition and critical acclaim. His many accomplishments include:
Headlined in Texas largest magazine, “Texas Monthly” June 1992
The Houston Chronicle featured Jabo in the “Zest” magazine in 1992 & 1993 for Most Popular among the Texas Zydeco players.
Awarded Best Blues & Zydeco singer by “Houston Press” 1994
Featured in “Jam Source” magazine as highlighted artist of the month 2008
Jabo has performed along side such legendary performers as Bobby Blue Bland, Tyrone Davis, Rue Davis, Johnnie Taylor, Marvin Sease
As founding member of Southern Choice Productions, Jabo is committed to mentoring the next generation of Zydeco and Blues artists. His latest albums is a “Musical Zydeco Gumbo” of talent featuring Lil Jabo Prince Jr., Keyun, J. Paul, Carl Marshall, Donna Nash, Roger Valentine, and Zac Shaw just to name a few."

The Roots Of It All: Acoustic Blues, Volume 3, 1960's & 1970's

 "...and this volume covers huge years of revival for the acoustic blues style – seminal recordings from the 60s and 70s, as a host of younger labels worked hard to rediscover lost blues giants from previous decades, and give exposure to some lesser-known talents too! 2CD package features 48 titles in all – with work by Mance Lipscomb, Scrapper Blackwell, Smokey Babe, Herman E Johnson, Johnny Young, Buddy Moss, Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis, Robert Pete Williams, Rev Gary Davis, Henry Townsend, Louisian Red, Jack Owens, Johnny Shines, Juke Boy Bonner, Babe Stovall, Furry Lewis, Joe Callicott, John Jackson, JB Lenoir, and many others. " © 1996-2015, Dusty Groove, Inc.

Saved and Sanctified: Songs of the Jade Label

"The rawest, DIY gospel ever resurrected. The West Side of Chicago was just an annex of the deep rural South for Gene Autry Cash and his flock of recent Old Dominion transplants looking to cut their fiery, unadorned sounds indelibly to plastic. His Jade label absorbed those God-fearing artists: family bands with wailing kids and barely amateur groups sourced from local parishes, infused with reverberations of country and western and deep soul. Glinting authenticity shines from every track like a diamond in the unpolished rough - each group completely convinced that salvation comes through song."

Terrance Simien - There is Room for Us All

This album has to stand as a landmark in Modern Zydeco. Until folks like Terrance, Beau Jacques, and Rosey Ledet came along, Zydeco was a music frozen in time. Of the older guard, only Buckwheat seemed to have any spirit of musical adventure, the rest played much the same as their fathers and grandfathers. That is wonderful for preserving traditional and regional styles but does little to maintain a living music.

When this album came out in 1993, it was a giant breath of fresh air, a traditional Zydeco man with his ears wide open to Reggae, Gospel, New Orleans Funk and even an occasional dash of Hip Hop. All these things go into his pot with his own fine band, a liberal sprinkling of guest musicians like The Funky Meters, and Simiens' glorious voice (a blend of Sam Cooke and Aaron Neville)  and what emerges is a savory gumbo indeed. HEY LA BAS!

 

"Terrance Simien (born September 3, 1965 in Mallet, Louisiana) is an American zydeco musician, vocalist and songwriter. He and his band won the Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album for 2008.

Simien is an eighth generation Creole from one of the earliest Creole families documented to have settled in the Mallet area of St. Landry Parish. He was introduced to music via the piano at home, the Catholic Church choir, and in school band programs where he played trumpet.

While in his teens, he taught himself to play accordion and formed his first band Terrance Simien & The Mallet Playboys, and began to play the regional zydeco club and church hall circuit. In the early 1980s, Simien was a youth in his early 20's and one of only two (Sam Brothers was the other) emerging zydeco artists leading a band and performing their indigenous zydeco roots music. This was a pivotal time in zydeco music history since the pioneers of the genre were aging and the music was in jeopardy of dying off without the critical presence of emerging artists perpetuating the traditions.

Simien and his band have toured internationally, presenting over 7000 live performances in more than 40 countries, and released dozens of solo recordings and collaborations. He has shared studio and stage with the likes of Paul Simon, Dr. John, The Meters, Marcia Ball, Dave Matthews, Stevie Wonder, Robert Palmer and the roots rockers Los Lobos.

Simien has appeared on screen and contributed to the soundtracks of multiple movies, television films and commercials. He appears on the soundtrack of the Disney film, The Princess and the Frog set in the French Quarter of New Orleans, featuring authentic Louisiana music scored by Randy Newman. He has also contributed to the soundtracks of movies, such as, The Big Easy, Exit To Eden and A Murder Of Crows.

Simien and his business partner/wife, Cynthia, are active in Creole music education and advocacy. They created the "Creole for Kidz & The History of Zydeco" performing arts program, which provides informational performances to K-12 students, teachers and parents. Since it was created in 2001, Creole for Kidz has reached nearly 500,000 students, parents and teachers in more than 20 states, Mali, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Paraguay, Canada and Australia. The Simiens understand the importance of mentoring emerging artists and created MusicMatters, Inc., a non-profit for education and advocacy.

In 2007, the Simiens helped establish a new Grammy voting category, Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album. His group, Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience, were the first ensemble to win a Grammy in that same category in 2008. He is considered to be one of the most gifted vocalists, engaging performers and innovative recording artists in American roots music."

Rosie Ledet - Sweet Brown Sugar & Zesty Zydeco

"Rosie Ledet (born October 25, 1971, Mary Roszela Bellard in Church Point, Louisiana, USA) is an American Creole Zydeco accordion player and singer.

Raised in rural Louisiana, she listened to rock music in her youth. Although she was in an environment where zydeco was heard, she took little interest in the music at the time. It was when she was sixteen that she first got fascinated with zydeco music. She attended a zydeco dance at Richard's, a famous zydeco club in Lawtell, Louisiana, and saw Boozoo Chavis play which got her started to learning the music. At this dance, she also met Morris Ledet, her husband to be.

She learned the accordion watching Morris play. When he heard her, he stepped aside allowing her the spotlight, and became her accompanist on the bass guitar. Morris, then brought Rosie to his producer, Mike Lachney,a/k/a DJ BAD WEATHER (veteran zydeco producer). Mike was so impressed, that he quickly set up a recording session. Mike then took Rosie to Floyd Soileau, of Maison De Soul label. Floyd also was impressed and gave Mike a contract to produce five albums on Rosie. She started playing around Louisiana and Texas in 1994. The same year, she released her debut album Sweet Brown Sugar on Maison De Soul label.

She is a young female zydeco accordion player famous in the genre for her sultry and suggestive lyrics. She continues to tour and record with her band the Zydeco Playboys.

She resides in Iota, Louisiana."

Big Al & the Heavyweights - Late Night Gumbo Party

"Like Etouffee - Simple but delicious"
By B. Mann VINE VOICE on August 30, 2003

"You either like New Orleans or you don't. It's not a city that allows a lot of middle ground. You either see it as filthy, scuzzy pit of crime, or as a multi-layered, textured celebration of soul and body. If you fall into the second group, you'll like this cajun-zydeco type music from Big Al and the Heavyweights. Like some of the best New Orleans food, it's not complicated, not gourmet. Simple flavors, deep and intense, like a rich etouffee. This music has some blues, some zydeco, some cajun. Your toes will tap. You will smile. Heck, you may even dance. It's yummy and as a New Orleans aficionado, I recommend it."





"Music is great party music,a combination of Blues,Zydeco and soul. it has something for everyone. it is all original music. these guys have had their songs cut by everyone from C J Chenier, Michael Burks , Johnny Jones and Sherman Robinson. they have appeared on "Emeril Live" and been featured three times on The House of Blues Radio Show." Amazon

The Roots Of It All: Acoustic Blues, Volume 2, 1940's & 1950's

"... and this volume features 55 tracks from the 40s and 50s – a time when acoustic blues were on the wane in the mainstream, but still getting exposure on a handful of labels – although often fair from their fame of the early years. The volume's overflowing with great music – by artists who include Alabama Slim, KC Douglas, Lowell Fulson, Dan Pickett, Willie Lane, Tony Hollins, Robert Lockwood, Robert Petway, Gabriel Brown, Johnny Shines, Snooks Eaglin, Little David, James Disdom, Big Son Tillis, Jesse Thomas, Jimmy & Walter, and the trio of Lick, Slick, & Slide!  © 1996-2015, Dusty Groove, Inc."

Marion Williams - Born To Sing The Gospel

"Marion Williams (August 29, 1927 – July 2, 1994) was an American gospel singer.
Marion Williams was born in Miami, Florida, to a religiously devout mother and musically inclined father. She left school when she was nine years old to help support the family, and worked as a maid, a nurse, and in factories and laundries. She began singing in front of audiences while young. As was common in the area, Williams learned African-American blues and jazz, alongside Caribbean calypso. Poverty caused Williams to leave school at fourteen, working with her mother at a laundry, although she eventually graduated from Pacific Union College in 1987. She was singing at church and on street corners, inspired by a wide range of musicians, including Sister Rosetta Tharpe and the Smith Jubilee Singers. She stuck with gospel in spite of pressure to switch to popular blues tunes or the opera. (she would have been terrifyingly good at either)

Williams was invited to join the Ward Singers when they heard her singing during a visit to a close friend in Philadelphia in 1946. Williams did so in 1947, staying with them for eleven years. Her first recording with the group was "How Far Am I from Canaan" (1948), followed by the breakthrough "Surely God Is Able", which launched Williams and the rest of the group into superstardom. Their concerts were mobbed by frenzied fans.

Dissatisfied with the low pay she was receiving while starring for the group, Williams left the Ward Singers in 1958, followed by most of the rest of the group, to form the Stars of Faith. The Stars of Faith was unable, however, to reproduce the success the Ward Singers had enjoyed, as Williams retreated from the spotlight to give other members of the group more opportunity to star. The group's career recovered, however, in 1961, when it appeared in Black Nativity, an Off-Broadway production, and toured across North America and Europe.

In 1965, Williams began a solo career but soon returned to Miami for her mother's funeral. While there, she felt reinspired to continue her career and began touring college campuses across the country. Her perhaps best-known hit is from this period -- Standing Here Wondering Which Way to Go." wiki

 "Born to Sing the Gospel returns Marion Williams to her home church, Philadelphia's B.M. Oakley Memorial Church of God in Christ; the material is engagingly varied, spanning from the bluesy original "Sometimes I Ring Up Heaven" to the traditional title track to the medley of the classics "Christ Is All" and "Jesus Is All." Though in fine form throughout, Williams hits her peak on "Death in the Morning," her delivery charged with all of the raw power of a field recording." AMG

Eddie 'Reverend Tallhead' Baytos & The Nervis Brothers - Take Some Mambo Time (1991)

A little funk, a little Zydeco, and a whole lotta fun for your Saturday. Eddie Baytos (aka The Reverend Tallhead) is a Louisiana renaissance man; an accomplished musician on multiple instruments, an accomplished choreographer, and a performance coach for both actors and musicians. I remember asking Zigaboo some years back about this album and he recalled that Eddie had a large place 'out in the country somewhere' where he hosted everyone for a weekend of eating, drinking and music making that eventually produced this album. Why, you may ask, is his nickname Reverend Tallhead? Take a look at the photo below, Eddie is second from the left.

Ray Agee - An Incomplete Chronological

 

 

"So, what's the story here with all these covers KC?"

These are the covers of the sources I used to assemble this set (there are also 2 late 45's at the end). I was fortunate enough, through my friend Cliff, to have completely mint sources for all these with the exception of 'Somebody Messed Up' (those two tracks are downloads), so everything from the three lps on top and the 45's are from my rips. I also had all three Famous Groove CD's to work with - so my process was to put everything in one hopper, then choose the best sounding track among the duplicates, deleting the rest - I worked with the Blues Discography (Fancourt-McGrath) in my lap and did a lot of listening to determine the differences between tracks recorded twice and those merely released twice. There are 87 tracks here so this is meant only for those who dig Ray Agee.