From the jazz side of the fence, Mildred Bailey had a plaintive edge and a record collection which inspired Bing Crosby. Dinah Washington came along slightly later on but could do some tough blues as we found out last night. Lesser known names like Trixie Smith and Effie Smith, got an outing too.
The inspiration for the show was largely down to Lady Blue who shares me passion for the classic elegance of strapless silk cocktail dresses and long elbow length gloves. just look at those pictures of Hadda Brooks, Ruth Brown, and Laven Baker. Glamour never goes out of style. The young Etta James did rock'n'roll right , we used a rare take of a single out on Modern; a few years later Koko Taylor forced Buddy Guy and Walter Horton to bring their A-game despite being junior in years with seasoned session men.
With two Sisters on the roll-call, it wasn't hard to pick our gospel offerings Hadda Brooks and Ella Mae Morse did piano duties, the former came during the first year of the Bihari's Modern imprint. Aretha was already a big star when her 1970 album "Spririt in the dark" hit the shelves (complete with re-interpretation of a BB King piece). Big Maybelle was another easily recognizable talent - the booklet credits the song to "Williams", My own imperfect recollection has the song put down to Roy Hall but it says Williams here.
Neither Jessie Mare Hemphill nor Beverly Guitar Watkins get their due so we weren't about to miss a chance to show then off - even though we set a new record count we know we barely got started for blues women on our radar. Next Sunday we are off tho the West Coast, having been to Chicago, New Orleans and Texas during the past few months, we look forward to being with you round your place. Until then take care of yourselves and take care of those that take care of you
track.title | track.artistsort | index | album.title | album.artistsort | label |
Rent Party | Missy Andersen | 1 | In The Moment | Missy Andersen | MAIN Squeeze |
i love a lover like you | Koko Taylor | 2 | koko taylor | koko taylor | CHESS |
Confessin' The Blues | Karen Carrol | 3 | Wild About That Thing - Ladies Sing The Blues | Various Artists | DELMARK |
why i sing the blues | aretha franklin | 12 | spirit in the dark | aretha franklin | atlantic |
Rock And Roll Blues | Linda Hopkins | 22 | Voodoo Voodoo: Feisty Fifties Females | Various Artists | Fantastic Voyage |
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On | Big Maybelle | 1-3 | I Put A Spell On You: The Okeh Story | Various Artists | One Day Music |
You Make Me Feel So Good | Beverly 'Guitar' Watkins | 8 | Back In Business | Beverly 'Guitar' Watkins | MUSIC MAKER |
House Of Blue Lights | Ella Mae Morse | 24 | I'm A Bad Bad Girl | Various Artists | INDIGO |
Bluesen The Boogie | Hadda Brooks | 2 | Modern Music: 1945 | Various Artists | ACE |
Talk To Me, Talk To Me | Jean DuShon | 27 | Right Now: Atlantic Club Soul And Deep Cuts | Various Artists | Fantastic Voyage |
Shake It, Baby | Jessie Mae Hemphill | 8 | Shake it Baby | Jessie Mae Hemphill | |
Rolling Log Blues | Lottie Kimbrough | 10 | The Great Women Blues Singers | Various Artists | RETRO |
Me And My Chaauffeur | Memphis Minnie | 2 | The Sound Of The City - Memphis | Various Artists | Emi Records Ltd |
Swing Low, Chariot | Sister O. M.Terrell | 18 | The Slide Guitar:Bottles,Knives & Steel | Various Artists | Blue Label / SPV |
I Saw The Light | Sister Rosetta Tharpe | 12 | Screamin' Gospel Holy Rollers Vol. 2 | Various Artists | Vee-Tone Records |
Souled Out | JJ Thames | 1 | Tell You What I Know | Jj Thames | CDBaby |
T'aint Whatcha Say, It's Whatcha Do | Little Esther | 8 | Voodoo Voodoo: Feisty Fifties Females | Various Artists | Fantastic Voyage |
Bam-A-Lam | Mickey Champion | 26 | Voodoo Voodoo: Feisty Fifties Females | Various Artists | Fantastic Voyage |
King Size Papa | Julia Lee | 6 | I'm A Bad Bad Girl | Various Artists | INDIGO |
Be Bop Boogie | Effie Smith | 6 | Blues Belles With Attitude | Various Artists | ACE |
Hey, Hey, Baby | Helen Humes | 7 | Blues Belles With Attitude | Various Artists | ACE |
Love Me Right (Atlantic 1150) | Lavern Baker | 19 | R&b Humdingers Volume 11 | Various Artists | Vee-Tone Records |
Tough Lover | Etta James | 4 | Holy Mackerel! Pretenders To Little Richard's Throne | Various Artists | ACE |
Daddy Daddy | Ruth Brown | 13 | Right Now: Atlantic Club Soul And Deep Cuts | Various Artists | Fantastic Voyage |
Squeeze Me | Mildred Bailey | 4 | Ladies Sing The Blues | Various Artists | HALLMARK |
Empty Bed Blues | Bessie Smith | 19 | Blues Queen. The Definitive Collection | Bessie Smith | Phoenix Records |
Freight Train Blues | Trixie Smith | 20 | The Great Women Blues Singers | Various Artists | RETRO |
I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) | Ivie Anderson | 16 | Ladies Sing The Blues | Various Artists | HALLMARK |
blues oh blues | ma rainey | 3 | The Great Women Blues Singers | Various Artists | RETRO |
Evil Gal Blues | Dinah Washington | 3 | The History Of Rhythm And Blues Volume Two 1942-1952 | Various Artists | Rhythm and Blues Records |
Why Don't You Do Right? | Lil Green | 9 | Why Don't You Do Right | Lil Green | BLUES COLLECTION |
They Call Me Big Mama | Big Mama Thornton | 4 | Jiving Jamboree | Various Artists | ACE |