I'll not dwell on the Johnnie Bassett selection other than to remark - after playing his song - that Lady Blue has only provisionally let me back in the house; and its because JB was a class act. Look on YouTube to see him lovingly coax honey from his guitar. He tucked in after the offspring of one of Chicago blues' finest, Eddie Taylor. His new album is on Wolf and gave us a fine opening salvo. There's a resurgence in interest in harp-master Charlie Sayles; his JSP stuff is reissued and positively reviewed in Living blues magazine, he also has a cd on Fetal with Tony Fazio which shows off good skills from both men. an early return is likely on our playlist.
Eugene Hideaway Bridges is absurdly gifted in all departments and his new one is a contender for album of 2015. He plays so lyrically and effortlessly - we brought the title song in evidence. A big man whose voice can whisper and roar. The year has so far been good for singers, not the least of which Wee Willie Walker whose time has surely come. Starting in the 60s he has always been an expressive singer - now on Jim Pugh's label and in close collaboration with Rick Estrin and Kid Andersion, together they've crafted a real gem full of lush arrangements. Living Blues loves it too the cd has the award in the current edition. Finis Tasby came from the same era as Willie and his solo albums deserve as much attention as the work he did front and centre for the Mannish Boys.
In 1992 producer Ron Levy put Jimmy McCracklin with Lowell Fulson, added in the house band and horns creating a fine project by Fulson on Bullseye. WC Clark, another man noted as much for voice as guitar, covered Clarence Carter for the robust opener to his album on Alligator. Similar in name only, harp playing William Clarke shared a label but not much else. He did a version of a Muddy Waters song that just showed how much he was under-rated and how much he is missed.
Ace records has put out two delicious surveys this month: one goes to the Ric, Ron and Show-Biz labels to dig out complete singles records by Tommy Ridgely and Bobby Mitchell. You won't get far if you're serious about Louisiana music without coming across these two. The other set is the first volume of stuff done for the Kent label after 1958 - the imprint was created by the Bihari Brothers to replace Modern and RPM. Of thefour songs we chose, surely no-one was fooled by the "Betty and Dupree" artist credit. Wafer thin veneer to disguise Etta James and Harvey Fuqua.
I doubt my interest in blues would have grown in the same way without having heard Scrapper Blackwell. I'm pretty sure I first came across him through the Paul Jones R&B show in the days pre-war blues got played on BBC. He was an admirable foil to Leroy Carr who wrote the song they brought for us. The Sleepy John Estes song came from 1929 and I felt obliged to conclude with T-Bone Walker. (Who am I kidding, no excuse needed). T-Bone was lamenting having to sneak past a woman that sleeps very lightly. Perhaps a distant cousin of Lady Blue after my choice of Johnnie Bassett track?
Tune in again next Sunday at 10pm (BST) to see if I got away with it. Until then take care of yourselves and take care of those that take care of yoy.
track.title | track.artistsort | index | album.title | album.artistsort | label | duration | writercredit |
Baby Please Come Home | Eddie Taylor Jr. | 7 | Stop Breaking Down | Eddie Taylor Jr. | WOLF | [ 3 mins 21 secs ] | Eddie Taylor Jr. |
I Love a Good Woman (But I Like the Bad One's Too) | Johnnie Bassett & The Blues Insurgents | 5 | I Gave My Life To The Blues | Johnnie Bassett & The Blues Insurgents | [ 3 mins 29 secs ] | Johnnie Bassett & The Blues Insurgents | |
Everybody's Got Something to Say | Charlie Sayles & The Blues Disciple | 6 | Charlie Sayles and the Blues Disciples | Charlie Sayles & The Blues Disciple | CDBaby | [ 3 mins 57 secs ] | Charlie Sayles & The Blues Disciple |
Hold On A Little Bit Longer | Eugene Hideaway Bridges | 2 | Hold On A Little Bit Longer | Eugene Hideaway Bridges | [ 4 mins 32 secs ] | Eugene Hideaway Bridges | |
Working Man | Lowell Fulson | 1 | Hold On | Lowell Fulson | BULLSEYE BLUES | [ 0 mins 0 secs ] | Lowell Fulson |
Mean Old World | Finis Tasby | 6 | What My Blues Are All About | Finis Tasby | Electro-Fi | [ 6 mins 55 secs ] | Finis Tasby |
Shim Sham Shimmy | Champion Jack Dupree | 9 | Two Classic Albums Plus Singles | Champion Jack Dupree | AVID | [ 2 mins 45 secs ] | Champion Jack Dupree |
Shim Sham Shimmy | Billy 'The Kid' Emerson | 21 | Boppin' The Blues : Stars On Sun | Various Artists | CHARLY | [ 0 mins 0 secs ] | Billy 'The Kid' Emerson |
Barrelhouse When It Rains | Big Bill Broonzy | 11 | History Of Rhythm And Blues Part One | Various Artists | Rhythm and Blues Records | [ 2 mins 53 secs ] | Big Bill Broonzy |
Read Between The Lines | Wee Willie Walker | 1 | If Nothing Ever Changes | Wee Willie Walker | [ 3 mins 19 secs ] | Wee Willie Walker | |
Let's Have A Ball | Ray Charles | 5 | Mess Around | Ray Charles | PROPER | [ 0 mins 0 secs ] | Ray Charles |
Snatching It Back | W. C. Clark | 1 | From Austin With Soul | W. C. Clark | Alligator | [ 0 mins 0 secs ] | W. C. Clark |
evil | William Clarke | 4 | the hard way | William Clarke | Alligator | [ 3 mins 22 secs ] | morganfield |
Double Eyed Wammy | Tommy Ridgley | 5 | In The Same Old Way: The Complete Ric, Ron And Sho-Biz Recordings | Tommy RidgleyBobby Mitchell | ACE | [ 2 mins 29 secs ] | Tommy Ridgley |
Well I Done Got Over It | Bobby Mitchell | 17 | In The Same Old Way: The Complete Ric, Ron And Sho-Biz Recordings | Tommy RidgleyBobby Mitchell | ACE | [ 2 mins 24 secs ] | Bobby Mitchell |
Honey Bee | Billy Myles | 8 | Solid Stroll Vol. 3 | Various Artists | LUCKY Gal | [ 0 mins 0 secs ] | Billy Myles |
Rough Dried Woman | Big Mac | 13 | Dave's Anthology Of Chicago Blues - Vol. 1 | Various Artists | [ 0 mins 0 secs ] | Big Mac | |
Sneakin' And Hidin' | Johnny Shines | 3 | Johnny Shines | Johnny ShinesWalter Horton | Testament | [ 3 mins 53 secs ] | Johnny Shines |
Lone Town Blues | Junior Brooks | 3 | The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions Vol. 1 | Various Artists | ACE | [ 0 mins 0 secs ] | Junior Brooks |
Pea Vine Special | Big Joe Williams | 7 | Baby Please Don't Go | Big Joe Williams | BLUES ENCORE | [ 0 mins 0 secs ] | Big Joe Williams |
Goin' Down Slow | Robert McCoy | 4 | Bye Bye Baby | Robert McCoy | DELMARK | [ 2 mins 57 secs ] | Robert McCoy |
Unlock The Lock | Jimmy Nelson | 3 | Unlock The Lock - The US Kent Records Story | Various Artists | ACE | [ 2 mins 43 secs ] | Jimmy Nelson |
If It Ain't One Thing | Betty And Dupree | 15 | Unlock The Lock - The US Kent Records Story | Various Artists | ACE | [ 2 mins 19 secs ] | Betty And Dupree |
love you baby | bobby bland | 21 | Unlock The Lock - The US Kent Records Story | Various Artists | ACE | [ 2 mins 43 secs ] | bland |
Dance The Thing | Floyd Dixon And His Orchestra | 12 | Unlock The Lock - The US Kent Records Story | Various Artists | ACE | [ 2 mins 39 secs ] | Floyd Dixon And His Orchestra |
V8 Baby | Tommy Brown | 18 | Jump 'N' Jive | Various Artists | METRO | [ 2 mins 56 secs ] | Tommy Brown |
Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out | Billie & Dede Pierce | 14 | All That Blues | Various Artists | ORIGINAL BLUES CLASSICS | [ 4 mins 10 secs ] | Billie & Dede Pierce |
Midnight Hour Blues | Scrapper Blackwell | 13 | Hard Time Blues | Scrapper Blackwell | ABM | [ 0 mins 0 secs ] | Scrapper Blackwell |
The Girl I Love She Got Long Curly Hair | Sleepy John Estes | 14 | Drop Down Mama | Sleepy John Estes | ORBIS BLUES COLLECTION | [ 0 mins 0 secs ] | Sleepy John Estes |
Lone Wolf | J. B. Hutto | 7 | Pet Cream Man | J. B. Hutto | ORBIS BLUES COLLECTION | [ 0 mins 0 secs ] | J. B. Hutto |
She's The No-Sleepin' Est Woman | T-Bone Walker | 55 | The Original Source | T-Bone Walker | PROPER | [ 0 mins 0 secs ] | T-Bone Walker |
The Fat Man | Fats Domino | 14 | The R'n'b Years 1950: 100 Hot Rhythm And Blues Tunes From 1950 | Various Artists | BOULEVARD VINTAGE | [ 2 mins 37 secs ] | Fats Domino |
Change My Way Of Livin' | Clarence Spady | 3 | Nature Of The Beast | Clarence Spady | EVIDENCE | [ 0 mins 0 secs ] | Clarence Spady |
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