Be Bop Wino Pages

Joan Selects - the complete Joan Selects Collection

Big Ten Inchers - 78rpm rips by El Enmascarado


Attention Mac Users!

Mac users have been experiencing problems in unpacking the WinRAR archives used on this blog. Two solutions have been suggested.

1. Use The Unarchiver - www.theunarchiver.com - see comments on Little Esther Bad Baad Girl post for details.

2. Use Keka - http://www.kekaosx.com/en/ - see comments on Johnny Otis Presents post.

Tuesday 31 October 2017

Old King Gold Volume 7






















Side One:
01. That's What You're Doing To Me - Billy Ward & The Dominoes
02. Don't Take It So Hard - Earl King
03. The Greasy Spoon - Hank Marr
04. Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong - Albert King
05. I Want A Bow Legged Woman - Bull Moose Jackson
06. It Won't Be This Way Always - The King Pins

Side Two:
01. Annie Had A Baby - Hank Ballard & The Midnighters
02. Dearest - The Swallows
03. Mellow Blues (Part 1) - Sonny Thompson
04. Mellow Blues (Part 2) - Sonny Thompson
05. I'm Tore Up - Billy Gayles
06. Diamonds And Pearls - The Escos


or alternatively


As this LP was in such a dreadful condition I had to stage an intervention by finding alternative sources for a few of the tracks. So much for my hope of presenting the "Old King Gold" LP's just as they are, warts and all. In this case it simply wasn't possible due to the fact that the disc has a manufacturing fault, i.e. it isn't quite circular, and in addition it's warped. An unholy mess which means that the lead in to the tracks is right on the disc edge, a situation which has led to a mess of scratches on the first two tracks of the first side and the first track on the second side.

The last track, "Diamonds And Pearls," also proved to be problematic. No matter how many changes to settings I made on my computer and to my amp, I ended up with a murky mess consisting of a very loud and clear instrumental backing combined with a muffled vocal pushed way into the background. The only explanation I can think of is that the LP track may be in electronically rechaneled stereo which for some reason my Magix  software couldn't handle. I ended up ripping the track from YouTube.

The remaining eight tracks are from the original LP. Who knows what further sonic adventures await in the remaining volumes of "Old King Gold."

Sunday 29 October 2017

Old King Gold Volume 3


Side One:
01. Have Mercy Baby - Billy Ward & The Dominoes
02. Let Them Talk - Little Willie John
03. Let's Go Let's Go - Hank Ballard & The Midnighters
04. Guess Who - Ivory Joe Hunter
05. This Little Girl Of Mine - The Hurricanes
06. Soft - Tiny Bradshaw

Side Two:
01. Hearts Of Stone - Otis Williams & The Charms
02. I Love You, Yes I Do - Bull Moose Jackson
03. Think - The "5" Royales
04. Tomorrow Night - Lonnie Johnson
05. Over The Rainbow - The Checkers
06. Tonk Game - Hank Marr


The Old King Gold LP series from the mid 1970's was my introduction to the world of "real R&B." The tracks were an ear opener as up until then I had assumed that "blues" and "R&B" were synonymous and yet here were tracks that seemed to belong to the worlds of rock 'n' roll, pop and jazz. A far cry indeed from the guitar and harmonica dominated Chicago blues of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter whose records occupied the blues section on my one record shelf back then (just along from The Doors, Steppenwolf, The Grateful Dead and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac).

I bought five of the series over a period of some months after finding them in the rock and roll section of HMV in Union Street, Glasgow. They were very cheap, being cut outs with holes punched through the thick cardboard covers and no inner sleeves to protect the records. Just what was needed to add even more surface noise to the tracks which seemed to have been mastered from scratched old records or decaying acetates and master tapes.

The sound quality is poor on quite a few of these cuts, though some are surprisingly good. It's not my fading sound system that has come up with muffled versions of "Let's Go, Let's Go" (there's one "Let's Go" missing here) and "Have Mercy Baby." And yes, there really is a fragment missing from "This Little Girl Of Mine." That's the way the record is. I have managed to edit out most of the grosser clicks and pops which were acquired when these records were the soundtrack to many a drunken night back in the '70's and '80's.

So no added research into the history of these tracks. You get 'em just the way I got 'em. A pathway into the then undiscovered (for me) world of Little Willie John, Hank Ballard, Billy Ward (I didn't know that was Clyde McPhatter on lead vocal) and Tiny Bradshaw. Other discs in the series revealed the magic of Wynonie Harris, Roy Brown, Big Jay McNeely and many other (at that time) unsung heroes of R&B. More volooms to come on Be Bop Wino!

Friday 27 October 2017

Earl Bostic For You (Mono and Stereo Versions)


Side 1:
01. Sleep
02. Moonglow
03. Velvet Sunset
04. For You
05. The Very Thought Of You
06. Linger Awhile

Side 2:
01. Cherokee
02. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
03. Memories
04. Embraceable You
05. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
06. Night And Day


"Earl Bostic For You" (King 395-503) was released simultaneously with "The Best Of Bostic" (King 395-500) in February 1956. The original front cover differed from the one reproduced on this 1980's Sing reissue -


The above cover scan is from "PopBopRocktilUDrop" at https://kimsloans.wordpress.com/

In 1958 "Earl Bostic For You" was reissued as King 503 with a new cover, which is reproduced on this Sing issue.

Like its companion LP "The Best Of Bostic," "Earl Bostic For You" was a compilation of tracks which had previously been released as singles. The recording dates and personnel are listed on the back cover of the LP. The release dates of the singles featuring the LP tracks are listed below. Tracks in italics are not on this album.

Original single release of the tracks on "Earl Bostic For You."

"Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" / "Serenade" - King 4369 - May 1950

"Sleep" / "September Song" (Clyde Terrell) - King 4444 - May 1951

"Linger Awhile" / "Velvet Sunset" - King 4536 - May 1952


"Moonglow" / "Ain't Misbehavin'" - King 4550 - August 1952

"For You" / "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" - King 4570 - October 1952

"Cherokee" / "The Song Is Ended" - King 4623 - May 1953

"The Very Thought Of You" / "Memories" - King 4653 - August 1953

"Night And Day" / "Embraceable You" - King 4765 - January 1955

"Earl Bostic For You" was re-recorded in stereo in Cincinnati on March 26th, 27th and 28th, 1959. The personnel for these sessions was -Earl Bostic (alto sax); Roland Johnson (vibraphone); Jon Thomas (piano); Allan Seltzer (guitar); Herb Gordy (bass); William Erskine (drums). The stereo release had the same front cover as King 503, with the addition of the word "Stereo" of course!

In 1987 King released a CD version of "Earl Bostic For You" (KCD-503) with the 1958 front cover. Although there is no mention of "stereo" on the CD cover, the tracks are in fact the stereo re-recordings from 1959. Some of them are quite different from the versions on the mono release, e.g. the early 50's mono version of "Velvet Sunset" has a wordless background vocal chorus throughout, while the 1959 version is a straight ahead instrumental with no background vocals. Similarly, the 1950 mono version of "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" is a hepcat band vocal combined with bass picking by Keeter Betts, while the 1959 version is a Bostic instrumental.


Above: budget 1980's CD release - in stereo. I've "reconstituted" the stereo version of the LP by combining rips from, well, you-know-where, with a front cover from Discogs.com. So here for your delectation is the stereo version of "Earl Bostic For You" -



Track order is the same as the mono version. 


Cash Box, April 25th, 1959, right guy, wrong instrument

And that's the end of our unplanned Earl Bostic season! It's fun when these things just sort of "take off," and I've learned another bit of R&B history as I had little idea that Earl had taken part in such a short, sharp, intensive period of re-recording of previously existing albums. Thanks to everyone who commented and special thanks to Daddy Cool and Bear From Delaware for their insights into the Bostic LP situation. I have no idea what the next blog post will be but I'm sure I can come up with something from the Vinyl Vault. Stay tuned!

Tuesday 24 October 2017

Bostic Rocks Hits Of The Swing Age


Side One:
01. Southern Fried
02. Jersey Bounce
03. Jumpin' At The Woodside
04. Tuxedo Junction
05. 720 In The Books
06. Air Mail Special

Side Two:
01. Pompton Turnpike
02. Woodchopper's Ball
03. Night Train
04. Stompin' At The Savoy
05. Honeysuckle Rose
06. No Name Jive


1980's reissue of King LP 571 which was originally issued in April 1958. All tracks were recorded in Los Angeles on December 18th and 19th, 1957. Personnel: Earl Bostic (alto sax); Wallace Snow (vibraphone); Ernest Crawford (piano); Tony Rizzi (guitar); Hilmer J. "Tiny" Timbrell (bass); Earl Palmer (drums).

A stereo version of this album was recorded in Cincinnati on April 6th and 7th, 1959, by the following personnel: Earl Bostic (alto sax); Roland Johnson (vibraphone); Claude Jones (piano); Warren Stephens and Allan Seltzer (guitars); Herb Gordy (bass); William Erskine (drums).

I have no issue date for the stereo version. The front cover was the same as the 1958 mono version, with the addition of a bright orange "stereo" sticker.


The above cover scan is from "Lonesome Lefty's Scratchy Attic" where the last post (June 2016) is on the stereo version of "Bostic Rocks Hits Of The Swing Age." The download link is still active and it is well worth grabbing this album as the sound and stereo quality are very good. In addition the download includes front and back cover scans plus label shots. Check it out here:


The post also includes a link to jazz writer and researcher Larry Appelbaum's blog in which Lou Donaldson talks about Earl Bostic. An interesting insight into the standing Bostic had among jazz musicians.

I have one more Earl Bostic LP to post - probably around the weekend as I haven't ripped it yet. In the meantime enjoy both versions of "Bostic Rocks Hits Of The Swing Age."

Sunday 22 October 2017

The Lamplighters - Be Bop Wino
































































Side 1:
01. You Hear
02. Yum Yum
03. Goody Goody Good Things
04. I Wanna Know
05. Believe In Me
06. Roll On
07. Love, Rock And Thrill
08. Hug A Little, Kiss A Little

Side 2:
01. Be Bop Wino
02. Part Of Me
03. Sad And Lonely
04. Turn Me Loose
05. Crazy Times
06. Give Me
07. Smootchie
08. I Can't Stand It


It simply had to be. Finally an appearance of the source of the title of this illustrious blog, in the shape of a 1980's compilation of some of the Lamplighters' oeuvre on the Federal label. Some of their best known tracks, such as "Bo Beep," "Salty Dog" and "Ride, Jockey, Ride" aren't included but nevertheless this an LP that is well worth a listen. The music is that kind of rockin' vocal group R&B of the first half of the 1950's which I like so much. The influence of the 5 Royales, the Clyde McPhatter led Dominoes and Drifters, and The Midnighters looms large, and if The Lamplighters' recordings are considerably less polished than those of their role models, the music still rocks like crazy.

Unfortunately there's no Marv Goldberg article on The Lamplighters to which I can link, but the sleevenotes by Jim Dawson provide a comprehensive account of the sometimes stormy career of the group, a career which was entirely unburdened by chart success, but which did eventually lead to two fleeting examples of pop glory in Thurston Harris's version of "Little Bitty Pretty One," and the gloriously moronic "Papa Oom Mow Mow" by The Rivingtons.

They were a South Central LA group, who emerged via local talent shows in venues such as Johnny Otis's Barrelhouse Club to be signed to Federal Records, the Ralph Bass run West Coast subsidiary of King Records. The classic Lamplighters line up on their discs during 1953 and 1954 was: Thurston Harris, Willie Rockwell, Alfred Frazier and Matt Nelson. By all accounts they had a pretty wild stage act but the penchant of some members to keep the wildness going offstage was a contributory factor to the personnel changes which affected the group from late 1954 onwards. A classic tale of drink, dope 'n' dames.


When Thurston Harris split in 1955, the rest of the group continued to record for Federal as The Tenderfoots. In late '55 Harris was reunited with the group who once again recorded under The Lamplighters moniker. When their last single was released in March 1956, Thurston Harris had already left for good and The Lamplighters were no more. The surviving members became The Sharps who were reunited briefly with Harris as the backing group on his big hit on Aladdin, "Little Bitty Pretty One." In the early 1960's The Sharps became The Rivingtons and found success with releases on Liberty - "Papa Oom Mow Mow," "The Bird's The Word" and "Hully Gully."


The Lamplighters' singles on Federal

Federal 12149 - Turn Me Loose / Part Of Me - September 1953
Federal 12152 - Be Bop Wino / Give Me - November 1953
Federal 12166 - Smootchie / I Can't Stand It - January 1954
Federal 12176 - I Used To Cry Mercy Mercy / Tell Me You Care - April 1954
Federal 12182 - Salty Dog / Ride, Jockey, Ride - June 1954
Federal 12192 - Five Minutes Longer / You Hear - August 1954
Federal 12197 - Goody Good Things / Yum Yum - October 1954
Federal 12206 - I Wanna Know / Believe In Me - January 1955
Federal 12212 - Roll On / Love Rock And Thrill - February 1955
Federal 12242 - Hug A Little, Kiss A Little / Don't Make It So Good - November 1955
Federal 12255 - Bo Peep / You Were Sent Down From Heaven - February 1956
Federal 12261 - Everything's All Right / It Ain't Right - March 1956

Cash Box gets Lamplighters' disc title wrong

The ACE CD "Loving, Rocking, Thrilling" (CDCHD 1040) is a 28 track collection of the complete Federal recordings of The Lamplighters. The sound quality is much better than on the home ripped mp3s I've posted here and the booklet has updated sleevenotes by Jim Dawson detailing all of the personnel changes in the group. Highly recommended by Be Bop Wino!


Back later in the week with more Bostic!

Saturday 14 October 2017

(Dance To) The Best Of Bostic - Both Versions

 

Side 1:
01. Flamingo
02. Always
03. Deep Purple
04. Smoke Rings
05. What, No Pearls
06. Jungle Drums

Side 2:
01. Serenade
02. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
03. Seven Steps
04. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
05. Don't You Do It
06. Steamwhistle Jump


In my previous post on the Earl Bostic LP "Dance Time" I recounted how in 1959 he recorded stereo versions of his 12 inch LPs which had been issued in the King 500 series from February 1956 through to July 1958.

Back in 2010 I posted a 1980's reissue of King LP 500 "Dance To The Best Of Bostic" under the impression that the tracks it contained were the original early 1950's versions. I now know that that LP actually consists of stereo re-recordings from 1959. This post includes both a "reconstruction" of the original 1956 version of the album, "The Best Of Bostic" (King LP 395-500), and the 1980's reissue of the stereo version (originally issued in December 1959), retitled (on the front cover only) "Dance To The Best Of Bostic." (King LP S500.)

You can now download both versions of the album and compare them. They sound quite different, so it's not really like listening to the same album twice! "The Best Of Bostic" is a "reconstruction" of the original LP using tracks from various reissue sources and artwork from the internet.

King Records issued 10 inch LPs from March 1952 until the end of 1955. In early 1956 the label changed its album issues to the 12 inch LP format, launching its 500 series of LPs in February of that year with King LP 395-500 "The Best Of Bostic." The cover was as shown at the top of this post. The tracks were originally recorded and released as singles between 1950 and 1953.

Track Information for "The Best of Bostic" (King LP 395-500)

“Serenade” (T7) and “Seven Steps” (T9) were recorded in New York, March 23rd, 1950. Personnel: Earl Bostic (as) Count Hastings (ts) Gene Redd (vib) Clifton Smalls (p) Al Casey (g) Keter Betts (b) Joe Marshall (d)

“Serenade” was released as King 4369 (B Side of  "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams") in May 1950.

“Seven Steps” was released as King 4387 (b/w "Portrait Of A Faded Love") in July 1950.

“Don’t You Do It” (T11) was recorded in New York, October 13th, 1950. Personnel as above, except Eddie Barefield replaces Al Casey (g)

“Don’t You Do It” was released as King 4683 (B Side of  "Off Shore") in November 1953.

“Flamingo” (T1), “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” (T8), “Always” (T2) and “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You” (T10) were recorded in New York, January 10th, 1951. Personnel: Gene Redd (tp,vib) Earl Bostic (as) Count Hastings (ts) Clifton Smalls (p) Rene Hall (g) Keter Betts (b) Jimmy Cobb (d)

“I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” was released as King 4437 (B Side of "Rockin' And Reelin') in March 1951.

“Always” was released as King 4454  (b/w "How Could It Have Been You And I") in June 1951.

“Flamingo” b/w "I’m Getting Sentimental Over You" was released as King 4475 in October 1951.

“Steamwhistle Jump” (T12) was recorded in New York, December 17th, 1952. Personnel: Richard "Blue" Mitchell (tp) Earl Bostic (as) Ray Felder (ts) Gene Redd (vib) Joe Knight (p) Mickey Baker (g) Ike Isaacs (b) George Brown (d)

“Steamwhistle Jump” (b/w "The Sheik Of Araby) was released as King 4603 in March 1953.

“What No Pearls” (T5) was recorded in Los Angeles, June 6th, 1953. Personnel: Blue Mitchell, Tommy Turrentine (tp) Earl Bostic (as) Stanley Turrentine (ts) Luis Rivera (p) Herman Mitchell (g) Mario Delagarde (b) Albert Bartee (d)

“What No Pearls” was released as King 4644 (B Side of  "Melancholy Serenade") in July 1953.

“Deep Purple” (T3), “Smoke Rings” (T4) and “Jungle Drums” (T6) were recorded in Cincinnati, August 24th, 1953. Personnel: Blue Mitchell, Tommy Turrentine (tp) Earl Bostic (as) Stanley Turrentine (ts) Edward Richley (vib) Alexander Sample (p) Charles Grayson (g) Bob Burton (b) Granville Hogan (d)

“Deep Purple” / “Smoke Rings” was released as King 4674 in October 1953.

“Jungle Drums” (b/w "Danube Waves") was released as King 4708 in April 1954.























This is a link to a volume boosted version of the LP, which therefore differs from previously posted versions. The posted LP is a 1980's reissue. The cover confusingly describes it as both monophonic and stereo. It is in fact in stereo.

The track list is the same as "The Best Of Bostic." The stereo version of "The Best Of Bostic" was originally issued in December 1959 with a new front cover and a new title (at least on the front cover - the disc labels and back cover retained the original title). The tracks were recorded as follows:

"Deep Purple," "Flamingo," "Smoke Rings," "Jungle Drums," "Seven Steps," "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" and "Steamwhistle Jump" were recorded in Cincinnati on March 26th, 1959. Personnel: Earl Bostic (alto sax); Roland Johnson (vibraphone); Jon Thomas (piano); Allan Seltzer (guitar); Herb Gordy (bass); William Erskine (drums).

"Always," "What No Pearls," "Serenade," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and "Don't You Do It" were recorded in Cincinnati on June 4th 1959. Personnel: same as above.

In this version of the LP the tracks are played at a slightly faster tempo with a more emphasized beat, and with Earl using a more abrasive tone. As the altered title indicates, these versions are probably more suitable for cuttin' a rug in the comfort of one's own home.

We're still a long way from definitively solving the mystery of what exactly is on all those Bostic LPs in their varied forms. For example do mono reissues of the albums which use the new cover art contain the original mono tracks or do they consist of mono mixes of the 1959 re-recordings? I have to say that at this stage I don't know.

I have a couple more 1980's reissue LPs of Earl Bostic to listen to, plus a couple of King CD reissues of his albums, but as I am currently on the verge of Bostic overload the investigation is temporarily suspended and the blog will move on to another aspect of 1950's R&B in the next post. If anyone can enlighten the far flung legions of Bostic fans, please send in a comment.

Wednesday 11 October 2017

Earl Bostic - Dance Time



Side 1:
01. Harlem Nocturne
02. Where Or When
03. Sweet Lorraine
04. Poeme
05. You Go To My Head
06. Off Shore

Side 2:
01. The Moon Is Low
02. Ain't Misbehavin'
03. The Sheik Of Araby
04. I Hear A Rhapsody
05. Roses Of Picardy
06. Melancholy Serenade





1988 reissue of a King LP (395-525) originally issued in 1956 and then again in February 1957. Billboard reviewed the album (February 23rd 1957) as follows:

"Actually this one is hard to categorize, and there should be sales to r&b, jazz and pop customers, not to mention teen-age rock and rollers. It's Bostic's fourth LP, and most of the 12 sides, if not all, have been cut as singles. Some reflect the alto man's recent tendency to choke and growl in the best r.&r. commercial tradition. 'Harlem Nocturne,' the teen dance fave, gets a polished rundown the deejays will like. Also includes 'Off Shore,' 'Melancholy Serenade,' etc. For all shops."

The original 1956 cover was as follows (thanks to Discogs.com for the cover scans):


The 1957 issue was similar in appearance, with a change of colour:


A 1958 issue, now without the 395 part of the number had a cover almost identical to the LP on this post. The back cover of the 1988 Sing reissue features discographical information on the 12 tracks, including date of recording, personnel and the original release numbers from when the tracks were issued as singles. The information shows the tracks were recorded between 1951 and 1956.

All of which would seem to indicate that I can now bring this post to a swift conclusion with no need for me to add anything else except perhaps the release dates of the original singles. But alas, all is not as it seems. I remembered reading in Bob Porter's book "Soul Jazz" that in 1959 Earl Bostic had re-recorded many of his LPs for stereo reissue and so I set about comparing the tracks on the posted LP to the original single releases. It quickly became obvious that this issue of "Dance Time" is taken from the re-recorded version as the tracks differ significantly in "feel" and sometimes arrangement from the original versions, all of which were initially released as singles.

The Bruyninckx discography lists the details of the 1959 re-recording sessions and the Both Sides Now website lists King LP issues. What follows is drawn from those sources.

A number of Earl Bostic 10 inch LPs were issued in the early 50s. In February 1956 King Records started issuing 12 inch LPs, the first being "The Best Of Bostic" (395-500). The 500 series of LPs had the prefix 395 until April 1957.

The Earl Bostic 500 series LPs were as follows:

395-500   The Best Of Bostic
395-503   Earl Bostic For You
395-515   Altotude
395-525   Dance Time
395-529   Let's Dance With Earl Bostic
       547   Invitation To Dance With Bostic
       558   C'mon And Dance With Earl Bostic
       571   Bostic Rocks Hits Of The Swing Age
       583   Bostic Showcase Of Swinging Dance Hits
       597   Alto Magic In Hi-Fi: A Dance Party With Bostic

Tracks for King LP 597 were recorded on the 8th and 9th May 1958. In mid July 1958 Earl recorded tracks for his first album in the King 600 series - "Sweet Tunes Of The Fantastic 50's" (King LP 602, released in November 1958.) During the rest of 1958 and up to March 25th 1959 Earl worked on further LPs in the 600 series. On March 26th 1959 Earl began an intensive program of recording stereo versions of every track from his LPs in the King 500 series, which meant that he had to re-record tracks from as far back as 1950.

The March 26th session produced the bulk of the tracks for the reissues of King LPs 500 and 525 (the posted LP!) and recording continued until the end of March. Similar sessions were held in the first half of April and in the first half of June, ending on June 15th with tracks for the stereo version of King LP 547 - "Invitation To Dance With Bostic."

The tracks on the stereo version of "Dance Time" were recorded as follows:

Cincinnati, March 26th, 1959. Personnel: Earl Bostic (alto sax); Roland Johnson (vibraphone); Jon Thomas (piano); Allan Seltzer (guitar); Herb Gordy (bass); William Erskine (drums):

Harlem Nocturne
Where Or When
Sweet Lorraine
You Go To My Head
Off Shore
Ain't Misbehavin'
The Sheik Of Araby
I Hear A Rhapsody
Roses Of Picardy
Melancholic Serenade

Cincinnati, April 8th, 1959. Personnel: Earl Bostic (alto sax); Roland Johnson (vibraphone); Claude Jones (piano); Warren Stephens, Allan Seltzer (guitars); Herb Gordy (bass); William Erskine (drums):

Poeme
The Moon Is Low

The stereo version of "Dance Time" was released in July 1959. These re-recordings have a different sound when compared to the originals, with Earl's alto more strident and rasping. The new versions are generally played at a faster pace and as they were recorded in just two sessions with similar personnel, there is naturally a sameness in sound which you don't find in the original version of the LP which had tracks recorded over a period 5 years with varying personnel which included Earl's long time vibes player Gene Redd and notable tenor sax players such as Count Hastings, John Coltrane, Stanley Turrentine and Benny Golson.


I have also investigated the previously posted LP "Dance To The Best Of Bostic" and I have discovered that it is also a 1959 re-recording. The recording information on that post is therefore wrong as the tracks were actually recorded on March 26th and June 4th, 1959. A new post on that LP is in the pipeline.

Monday 9 October 2017

Wynonie Harris - Rock Mr Blues




















Side One:
01. Just Like Two Drops Of Water
02. Good Rocking Tonight
03. Blow Your Brains Out
04. Sittin' On It All The Time
05. Luscious Woman
06. Keep On Churnin' (Till The Butter Comes)
07. Quiet Whiskey
08. I Feel That Old Age Coming On

Side Two:
01. Good Morning Judge
02. Down Boy Down
03. Bloodshot Eyes
04. Lovin' Machine
05. Mr Blues Is Coming To Town
06. I Like My Baby's Pudding
07. Rock Mr Blues
08. Baby, Shame On You

Download from here

So here's another collection of sides recorded for King Records by Wynonie Harris. The good news is that we've got more bawlin' 'n' squallin' of outrageous leer-ics accompanied by oustanding jump bands, featuring pounding rhythms and squawking tenor saxophones. There's a fair bit of duplication between this LP and the previously posted Gusto 2LP set "Good Rockin' Blues" with 7 of the 16 tracks turning up on both sets. The recording details of the tracks on this album are listed on the back cover, so I'll content myself with listing the original release details, in order of recording date. Tracks marked with a * are on the "Good Rockin' Blues" set. Tracks in italics are not on this LP.

"Blow Your Brains Out" - King 4226 (B Side of "Lollipop Mama"), June 1948.

"Good Rockin' Tonight"* - King 4210 b/w "Good Morning Mr. Blues"* April 1948

"I Feel That Old Age Coming On"*  - King 4276 b/w"Grandma Plays The Numbers"* February 1949

"Sittin' On It All The Time" - King 4330 (B-Side of "Baby Shame On You") December 1949.

"Baby Shame On You" on this LP is an alternate take of King 4330.

"I Like My Baby's Pudding" - King 4342 (B-Side of "I Can't Take It No More"*) February 1950

"Good Morning Judge"* - King 4378 (B-Side of "Stormy Night Blues") July 1950

"Rock Mr. Blues" - King 4389 (B-Side of "Be Mine My Love") September 1950

"Mr. Blues Is Coming To Town" - King 4402 (B-side of "I Want To Love You Baby") November 1950

"Just Like Two Drops Of Water" - King 4448 (B-Side of "Tremblin'"*) March 1951

"Bloodshot Eyes"* - King 4461 (B-Side of "Confessin' The Blues") July 1951

"Lovin' Machine"* - King 4485 (B-Side of "Luscious Woman") November 1951

"Luscious Woman" - King 4485 b/w "Lovin' Machine"* November 1951

"Keep On Churnin' (Till The Butter Comes)" - King 4526 b/w "Married Women Stay Married" April 1952

"Quiet Whiskey"* - King 4685 b/w "Down Boy Down" January 1954

"Down Boy Down" - King 4685 (B-Side of "Quiet Whiskey"*) January 1954

Elsewhere on the blog:







A recent purchase (just got it this week):


"Don't You Want To Rock?" A 2CD set in the Ace King & DeLuxe Acetate Series. From Wynonie's first King session on 13th December 1947 until his eighth on the 18th October 1950, master recordings were on acetate discs. From 27th October 1950 onwards his sessions were recorded on tape. Disc One of this set presents all of his 23 releases from the original acetates while Disc Two has 25 alternate takes and unissued tracks. There is a detailed 16 page booklet by Tony Rounce. This set is well worth buying if you can find it at a reasonable price. Just shop around the interweb.

Ace have two other CDs of Wynonie's King sides which I have previously recommended:


"Women, Whiskey & Fish Tails" is a collection of Wynonie's later King sides, recorded after his days as an R&B chart topper were over. His last R&B hit was "Lovin' Machine" in 1952, but he continued to make some great rockin' blues records for King until late 1954.  A second brief spell at King in 1957 was a case of too little, too late and not many sales. 21 tracks from 1953 - 1957 including "Greyhound," "The Deacon Don't Like It," "Shake That Thing," and "Git To Gittin' Baby."


"Lovin' Machine" has 26 tracks recorded between 1951 and 1957. Mostly brilliant but with a couple of clunkers thrown in. The unissued version of "Rot Gut" is disappointing. Why not include the original issued version? You can pick up the real "Rot Gut" here on Be Bop Wino in the "Good Rockin' Blues" post. "Lovin' Machine" is still a very good collection, though, and includes a booklet by Tony Collins, author of the terrific Wynonie biography ""Rock Mr. Blues: the life & music of Wynonie Harris" (Big Nickel Publications,1995).


Well folks, "I feel that old age coming on" and it's time to to wrap up this post. In my next post I'll be wrestling with the problem of just what exactly is on some of those late 1950s Earl Bostic LP's? Stick around for some sax blastin'!