Off The Wall / Tell Me Mama - Little Walter And His Jukes (Checker 770)

Listen to "Off The Wall"

Listen to "Tell Me Mama"

This double sided hit for Little Walter was recorded in Chicago in March 1953. The personnel were: Little Walter (harmonica, vocal); Louis Myers (g); Dave Myers (g); Willie Dixon (b); Fred Below (d).

"Off The Wall" / "Tell Me Mama" was one of a series of chart successes for Little Walter in 1953. In May 1952, while still a member of the Muddy Waters band, he had recorded the instrumental "Juke." Released as by "Little Walter and his Night Cats," it became a massive R&B hit in the autumn of 1952, spending two months in the number one spot. Little Walter left the Muddy Waters outfit to launch his own solo career, recruiting a band he christened "The Jukes" with Louis Myers on lead guitar, his brother Dave Myers on bass and Fred Below on drums.

"Juke" was no one off hit, for further success came in late 1952 and early 1953 with "Mean Old World" / "Sad Hours", both sides of which charted. The band toured intensively in the spring of 1953, returning to the studio in March. "Off The Wall" / "Tell Me Mama" was another double sided hit for Little Walter, with "Tell Me Mama" charting in April 1953 and "Off The Wall in May. In the autumn of 1953 there was another double sided hit for Little Walter with "Blues With A Feeling" / "Quarter To Twelve." As 1953 turned to 1954, "You're So Fine" continued the run of hits.

Ripped from the original 78 rpm shellac disc. Many thanks to El Enmascarado for this latest post in the "Blues On 78" series. There's even more in the pipeline!

Rockin' With Red / Red's Boogie - Piano Red (RCA Victor 22-0099)

Listen to "Rockin' With Red"


Listen to "Red's Boogie"

Both sides recorded in Atlanta on July 25th, 1950. Willie Lee Perryman (aka "Piano Red"), piano and vocal; William Jones, bass, William Green, drums.

Imagine my  deep joy when I wended my way home from the pub last night (with a belly full of Deuchar's IPA) to find this gem in my email inbox courtesy of El Enmascarado. Piano Red has been a longtime favourite of mine and pretty soon I was regaling the neighbours with multiple plays of "Rockin' With Red." Both sides of this disc were big R&B hits in early 1951, with "Rockin' With Red" reaching number 5 and "Red's Boogie" reaching number 4. Piano Red had three further chart hits in 1951, including the immortally risque "Right String But The Wrong Yo-Yo."

It's not just a cliche to say that this kind of music is timeless. Piano Red's musical career stretched back to the dawn of the 1930's and carried on through the R&B era into the early Rock and Roll period when he attracted a big following of rockers and then on into the early 1960s when he was reincarnated as Doctor Feelgood. He was still recording in the 1980s almost up until his death in July 1985.

You can imagine Piano Red pounding out these tracks in a saloon or bordello in the 1890s, never mind the 1950s!

Thanks to El Enmascarado for theses rips from a 78 disc and the label scans. I've added some 1950s EP covers on RCA and its subsidiary Groove sent in by Joan K. Thanks Joan.

And lastly we've just got time for another visit to El Enmascarado's record room where we can admire a heap of his latest shellac acquisitions - a sight to gladden the eye.

Walking The Blues / If You're Mine - Willie Dixon and The Allstars (Checker 822)

                                       

Listen to "Walking The Blues"

Listen to "If You're Mine"

Our "Blues on 78" series continues with this latest gem from El Enmascarado.

Released in July 1955, this disc was Willie Dixon's first solo disc. "If You're Mine" was recorded in May 1955 with Harold Ashby (tenor sax), Lafayette Leake (piano) and Fred Below (drums). "Walking The Blues" was recorded in June 1955 with Lafeyette Leake (piano) and Fred Below (footsteps).

"Walking The Blues" was a cover of the Champion Jack Dupree single on King, which had Mr. Bear doing the walking sounds. Champion Jack's version was the more successful, reaching number seven in the R&B best seller charts, and number six in the most played R&B records on juke boxes at the end of August 1955. In the same week the Willie Dixon version made it to number nine in the juke box plays chart.

Many thanks to El Enmascarado for these rips from the original 78 rpm shellac disc and also for the label scans.

Boogie Chillen’ / Sally May – John Lee Hooker (Modern 627)

Listen to "Boogie Chillen'"


Listen to "Sally May"

Recorded in Detroit in the second half of 1948, and released just before New Year, this primitive solo blues stomper by John Lee Hooker reached the number one spot in the R&B charts in 1949. It stands in complete contrast to the jump blues combos of Paul Williams, Louis Jordan and Amos Milburn who dominated the R&B scene at that time.

The good news for blues fans is that El Enmascarado has taken a break from getting his ass kicked in wrestling rings the length and breadth of Mexico and has devoted his time to acquiring even more 78 rpm shellac discs which he is working round the clock to convert to a bloggable format. This is the first in a series of  "Blues on 78" posts which will feature streaming audio ripped directly from battered 78s. Don't expect hi-fi sound quality but do expect the REAL blues.

Many thanks to El Enmascarado for the sounds and label scans. There hasn't been much activity on the blog lately as real life has kept me from the keyboard. Not only have there been no posts, but I've let a pile of unanswered blog related emails and comments build up. I'll get back to you all, I promise. A special thanks to the son of Calvin Boze for taking the time to leave a comment on "Choo Choo's Bringing My Baby Home." That certainly came as a very pleasant surprise!