The Best Of New Orleans R & B (Chess Masters)

This was one of the first LPs I ever converted to mp3 and then I uploaded it to Rock Hall. I never got round to posting it on the original Be Bop Wino blog and anyway other blogs posted the album around that time. So having let a decent amount of time pass since I last saw this album on a blog, I’ve now re-uploaded my original rips along with new cover scans.

Chess came to the New Orleans music scene rather late in the day. Imperial and Specialty had already been there for a few years before Chess started issuing New Orleans recordings in 1953, kicking off with James “Sugarboy” Crawford’s “I Don’t Know What I’ll Do”. His follow up record “Jockomo” was a moderate local hit but has since become a classic of New Orleans R&B, being covered later as “Iko Iko” by the Dixie Cups and Doctor John.

As for this compilation, it’s a mixture of classics (“Mardi Gras Mambo”, “Flat Foot Sam”, “Country Boy” and “This Should Go on Forever”), and a surprising number of sides that weren’t issued at the time of recording and only appeared years later in compilation LPs. As with the Bobby Charles Chess LP I posted a few weeks back, the influence of Paul Gayten permeates this collection. He started recording for Chess in 1954 and in 1956 was appointed the label’s A&R man and general factotum in New Orleans. Many of these sides were produced by Paul Gayten and his band provided the backing at the Cosimo Matassa studio.

There are a couple of points to note. Track 9, “What Can I Do”, was wrongly attributed to Charles “Hungry” Williams who was the drummer in Gayten’s band around 1956 to 1957. The vocal on the track was actually by Robert Green who had been drummer in the Gayten band in the late 1940s. The Eddie Bo track “Walk That Walk” which was unreleased in the 1950s turned up a few years back in a TV commercial for Fiat Spirito de Punto. I guess that proves that there is at least one subversive hipster lurking in the world of advertising.

Ripped from vinyl at 224 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

http://rapidshare.com/files/354423120/The_Best_Of_New_Orleans_Rhythm___Blues.rar

Or here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=X85OCSR3

1. Loud Mouth Annie - Myles & Dupont (Argo 5326 – 1959)
2. Rhythmatic Rhythm - Charles "Hungry" Williams (unissued 1958)
3. Jockomo - James "Sugarboy" Crawford (Checker 787 – 1954 as Sugar Boy and his Cane Cutters)

4. Mardi Gras Mambo - The Hawketts (Chess 1591 – 1955)
5. Country Boy - Clarence "Frogman" Henry (Argo 5266 – 1957)
6. Flat Foot Sam - T.V. Slim (Checker 870 – 1957)
7. Ding Dong Darling - Allen Brooks (unissued 1958)
8. Lawdy Mama - Edgar Blanchard (unissued 1958)
9. What Can I Do - Charles "Hungry" Williams (actually Robert Green – unissued 1957)
10. The Joke - Reggie Hall (Chess 1816 – 1962)
11. Walk That Walk - Eddie Bo (unissued 1957)
12. I Cried All The Way Home - Charles "Hungry" Williams (unissued 1958)
13. Foolish Woman - Allen Brooks (unissued 1958)
14. Oh Oh - Eddie Bo (Chess 1698 – 1958)
15. This Should Go On Forever - Rod Bernard (Argo 5327 – 1959)
16. Needing Your Love - Bobby Blanquet (Paul Gayten unissued 1955)
17. Baby Please - Clifton Chenier (unissued 1956)