T-Bone Walker - The Natural Blues

Side One:

01. Lonesome Women Blues **

02. Vacation Blues

03. She Had To Let Me Down *

04. Don't Give Me The Runaround

05. Hard Pain Blues

06. So Blue Blues *

07. I'm Waiting For Your Call

08. The Natural Blues ***

09. That's Better For Me

Side Two:

10. Inspiration Blues

11. Description Blues **

12. I Want A Little Girl

13. The Time Seems So Long *

14. Hometown Blues *

15. Misfortune Blues ***

16. I'm Still In Love With You

17. She's The No Sleepin'est Woman *

18. I'm Gonna Move You Out And Get Somebody Else *

* = unreleased track

** = unreleased alternate take

*** = first released on UK only LP "The Blues Of T Bone Walker."

Download from:

http://www12.zippyshare.com/v/oslmw24V/file.html

This LP completes the trilogy of Charly compilations of T-Bone Walker's recordings for Black & White Records in 1946 and 1947. As you can see from the above tracklist, the set includes 6 tracks which were hitherto unreleased, 2 unreleased alternate takes of tracks which were released as singles in the 1940s, and 2 tracks which remained unreleased until 1965, when they appeared on a UK budget LP. The remaining 8 tracks were on singles released by Black & White, Comet (a subsidiary of Black & White), and Capitol Records, which purchased all of T-Bone's Black & White masters in April 1949.

A collection worth looking out for is the 3 CD set in the Capitol Blues Collection series, "T-Bone Walker: The Complete Capitol / Black & White Recordings." Issued in 1995, so it might be hard to find, this set has 75 tracks - the 2 sides T-Bone recorded for Capitol in 1942, the 48 sides he recorded for Black & White, plus 25 alternate takes of the Black & White sides. The accompanying booklet includes a 32 page article on T-Bone by Mark Humphrey.

Now it's time for the facts on the tracks from "The Natural Blues."

Track details in chronological order by recording date:

Don't Give Me The Runaround and Hard Pain Blues were recorded in Hollywood in December 1946.

Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar) with the Al Killian Quintet : Al Killian (trumpet); Jack McVea (tenor sax); Tommy "The Crow" Kahn or Lloyd Glenn (piano); Frank Clarke (bass); Rabon Tarrant (drums).

Don't Give Me The Runaround was first released on Black & White 115 b/w "It's a Lowdown Dirty Deal" in May 1947.

Hard Pain Blues was first released on Black & White 121 (B Side of "I'm In An Awful Mood") between May and December 1947.

She Had To Let Me Down was recorded in Hollywood, September 13th, 1947.

Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); Teddy Buckner (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Lloyd Glenn (piano); Arthur Edwards (bass); Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

She Had To Let Me Down was first released on this LP in 1983.

I'm Waiting For Your Call and So Blue Blues were recorded in Los Angeles, November 7th, 1947.

Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); Teddy Buckner (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Billy Hadnott (bass) Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

I'm Waiting For Your Call was first released on Black & White 126 b/w "That's Better For Me" in May 1948.

So Blue Blues was first released on this LP in 1983.

The Natural Blues, That's Better For Me, and Lonesome Women Blues were recorded in Los Angeles, November 12th, 1947.

Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); George Orendorf (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Billy Hadnott (bass); Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

The Natural Blues was first released on Music For Pleasure LP1043 "The Blues Of T Bone Walker" in 1965.

That's Better For Me was first released on Black & White 126 (B Side of "I'm Waiting For Your Call") in May 1948.

Lonesome Women Blues is an alternate take first released on this LP, 1983. Another take was released on Comet T50 as the B Side of "West Side Baby" in October 1948.

Vacation Blues, Inspiration Blues, and Description Blues were recorded in Los Angeles, November 13th, 1947.

Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); George Orendorf (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); John W. Davis (bass); Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

Vacation Blues was first released on Capitol 57-70012 (B Side of "Prison Blues") in June 1949.

Inspiration Blues was first released on Comet T51 (B Side of "I'm Still In Love With You") in late 1948.

Description Blues is an alternate take first released on this LP in 1983. A different take was released on Comet T52 (B Side of "That Old Feeling Is Gone") in February 1949.

The Time Seems So Long and Home Town Blues were recorded in Los Angeles, December 16th, 1947.

Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); Jack Trainor (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Billy Hadnott (bass); Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

The Time Seems So Long was first released on this LP in 1983.

Home Town Blues was first released on this LP in 1983.

Misfortune Blues was recorded in Los Angeles, December 17th, 1947.
Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); Jack Trainor (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Billy Hadnott (bass); Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

Misfortune Blues was first released on Music For Pleasure LP1043 "The Blues Of T Bone Walker" in 1965.

I'm Gonna Move You Out And Get Somebody Else, and She's The No Sleepin'est Woman were recorded in Los Angeles, December 18th, 1947.
Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); Jack Trainor (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Billy Hadnott (bass); Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

I'm Gonna Move You Out And Get Somebody Else was first released on this LP in 1983.

She's The No Sleepin'est Woman was first released on this LP in 1983.

I Want A Little Girl and I'm Still In Love With You were recorded in Los Angeles on December 29th, 1947.

Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); Jack Trainor (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Billy Hadnott (bass); Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

I Want A Little Girl was first released on Black & White 125 (b/w "T-Bone Jumps Again") in April 1948.

I'm Still In Love With You was first released on Comet T51 (b/w "Inspiration Blues") in late 1948.

Here are the covers from a couple of Charly CD issues of the Black & White masters, "Low Down Blues" from 1986, and the 1992 "T. Bone Shuffle" from the Charly Blues Masterworks series:

In 1955-57 T-Bone recorded some excellent sides for Atlantic. Some of these were featured on Atlantic LP 8020 "T-Bone Blues" which was issued in 1959 and has remained in print in some form or another ever since. These are all terrific recordings which feature musicians such as Barney Kessel, Earl Palmer, Plas Johnson, Eddie Chamblee, Junior Wells and Jimmy Rogers. There's even a reunion of some of the old gang from the Black & White days - Lloyd Glenn, Billy Hadnott and Oscar Lee Bradley. This album stands up very well with the Black & White and Imperial recordings and is often cited by T-Bone fans as the last of his truly great recordings. Below is the cover from the 1994 Sequel CD reissue of the album which featured 4 bonus tracks. Any edition of this album is worth buying.

Below are the front and back pages of the CD booklet of a more recent Japanese reissue of Atlantic 8020 (with the same 4 bonus tracks as the Sequel issue). The original Atlantic LP had only 11 tracks as opposed to the 15 on CD reissues. And yes, I have just discovered that I have bought the same album twice. That's a hazard of bargain spotting while already having too many CDs in the house.

T-Bone Walker - T-Bone Jumps Again (re-up)

Side 1:

01. Hypin' Woman Blues

02. Too Much Trouble Blues

03. I Got A Break Baby

04. Mean Old World

05. Bobby Sox Blues

06. I Know Your Wig Is Gone

07. T-Bone Jumps Again

08. Call It Stormy Monday

Side 2

01. You're My Best Poker Hand

02. First Love Blues

03. She's My Old Time Used To Be

04. On Your Way Blues

05. I Wish You Were Mine

06. Wise Man Blues

07. Born To Be No Good

08. T-Bone Shuffle

Download from here:

T-Bone Jumps Again (Mega)

The original post (June 5th, 2011) contains a biography of T-Bone Walker and recording details of the tracks on this LP. You can find it here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/t-bone-walker-t-bone-jumps-again.html

"T-Bone Jumps Again" was the first of three Charly LPs which compiled T-Bone's recordings for Black & White Records of Los Angeles, for whom he recorded between 30th September 1946 and December 1947. The series was originally conceived as a showcase for Capitol and Black & White recordings by T-Bone, but after "T-Bone Jumps Again" was released in 1980, further discographical research showed that the series of T- Bone Walker singles released by Capitol in 1949/50 were all cut from original Black & White masters.

An article in Billboard Magazine dated 30th April 1949 announced that Capitol had signed T-Bone Walker to a recording contract and had also purchased his Black & White masters. In fact T-Bone didn't record for Capitol in 1949/50 and all of his singles issued by that company were either reissues of material previously released on Black & White or first time releases of hitherto unreleased Black & White masters.

There was, however, one genuine Capitol single, recorded by T-Bone for the company while taking part in a Freddie Slack recording session in July 1942. "I Got A Break Baby" / "Mean Old World" was released by Capitol in November 1945 and it is included in this Charly collection.

The original post of this LP contains a lengthy appreciation of T-Bone and details of the recording sessions at which these tracks were cut. Information on the original release of the tracks was not included at the time, but I have now collected the necessary details. Note that the Comet label on which some T-Bone singles were released was owned by Black & White Records. Here is the track by track information in chronological order:

Tracks 3 and 4:

I Got A Break Baby / Mean Old World - Capitol 10033, November 1945.

Track 5:

Bobby Sox Blues (b/w "I'm Gonna Find My Baby") - Black & White 110, November, 1946.

Tracks 6 and 8:

I Know Your Wig Is Gone / Call It Stormy Monday But Tuesday Is Just as Bad - Black & White 122, December 1947.

Track 7:

T-Bone Jumps Again (B Side of "I Want a Little Girl") - Black & White 125, April 1948.

Tracks 10 and 16:

First Love Blues / T-Bone Shuffle - Comet T53, circa March 1949. (in Most Played Juke Box Race Records chart, 19th March 1949).

Track 9:

You're My Best Poker Hand (B Side of "Long Lost Lover Blues") - Capitol 57-70023, July 1949.

Tracks 1 and 15:

Hypin' Women Blues / Born To Be No Good - Capitol 57-70025, July 1949.

Track 12:

On Your Way Blues (B Side of "Go Back To The One You Love) - Capitol 799, January 1950.

Tracks 2 and 11:

Too Much Trouble Blues / She's My Old Time Used To Be - Capitol 944, April 1950.

Track 13:

I Wish You Were Mine - Capitol LP T1958 "T-Bone Walker: Classic Indigo Vocals And Guitar." 1963.

Track 14:

Wise Man Blues - Capitol LP T1958 "T-Bone Walker: Classic Indigo Vocals And Guitar." 1963.

Soul Jam have reissued Capitol LP T1958 on CD with 16 bonus tracks:

Jack McVea Special!

Tracklist:

Side 1:

01. Bartender Boogie

02. Tarrant Blues

03. O-Kay For Baby

04. We're Together Again

05. Ooh Mop

06. Don't Blame Me

07. Frisco Blues

08. Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying

Side 2:

01. Open The Door Richard!

02. Wine-O

03. Inflation Blues

04. Groovin' Boogie

05. No, No, You Can't Do Dot Mon

06. Jack Frost

07. Mumblin' Blues

08. The Key's In The Mailbox

Download "Open The Door Richard!" from here:

http://www20.zippyshare.com/v/zWoIoeVl/file.html

Tracklist:

Side A:
01. My Business Is C.O.D.
02. Play It Over
03. Rainy Day Blues
04. F Minor Boogie
05. It Never Should Have Been This Way
06. Jack's Boogie
07. Baby Make Up Your Mind
08. Butch

Side B:
01. Two Timin' Baby Boogie
02. Evening
03. Fish For Supper
04. New Deal
05. Naggin' Woman Blues
06. You Can Come Back Home
07. Tatoe Pie
08. Carlos

Download "New Deal" from here:

New Deal (Mega)

Original issue of "Open The Door Richard!" tracks, which were recorded in Los Angeles between August 1945 and December 1947:

01. Bartender Boogie aka B.B. Boogie - Black & White 750
02. Tarrant Blues - Apollo 370*
03. O-Kay For Baby - Apollo 761
04. We're Together Again - Apollo 366*
05. Ooh Mop - Black & White 750
06. Don't Blame Me - Apollo 761
07. Frisco Blues - Black & White 751
08. Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying - Black & White 793
09. Open The Door Richard! - Black & White 792
10. Wine-O - Black & White 751
11. Inflation Blues - Exclusive 260
12. Groovin' Boogie - Black & White 810
13. No, No, You Can't Do Dot Mon - Exclusive 266
14. Jack Frost  - Exclusive 266
15. Mumblin' Blues - Exclusive 270
16. The Key's In The Mailbox - Black & White 828

* = credited to "Rabon Tarrant with Jack McVea's All Stars"

Original issue of "New Deal" tracks, which were recorded in Los Angeles between August 1945 and late 1948, except for "Rainy Day Blues" which was recorded in San Francisco in 1944.

01. My Business Is C.O.D. - Black & White 762
02. Play It Over - Black & White 762
03. Rainy Day Blues - Rhythm 502/509
04. F Minor Boogie - Black & White 767
05. It Never Should Have Been This Way - Apollo 370*
06. Jack's Boogie - Black & White 767
07. Baby Make Up Your Mind - Black & White 763
08. Butch - Black & White 842
09. Two Timin' Baby Boogie - Black & White 842
10. Evening - Exclusive 70X
11. Fish For Supper - Exclusive 70X
12. New Deal - Melodisc 110
13. Naggin' Woman Blues - Apollo 365*
14. You Can Come Back Home - Modern 20-756**
15. Tatoe Pie - Exclusive 270
16. Carlos - Exclusive 48X

* = credited to "Rabon Tarrant with Jack McVea's All Stars."
** = credited to "Gene Phillips with Jack McVea & His Orchestra." The song title was "You Can't Come Back Home."

As requested by a cool cat (by your re-up requests shall ye be judged), here's Jack McVea on a couple of Jukebox Lil LPs. We know what that means - occasional dodgy sound quality as the tracks were mastered from original 78 rpm records coupled with superb background research and notes. Jonas Bernholm's reissue labels really set the standard back in the 1980s.

The excellent "Blues And Rhythm" magazine has recently completed a 3 part series on Jonas and his work entitled "The Mr R&B Interviews." There is also a Label Listing of every release on every Jonas Bernholm label. These labels were: Route 66, Mr R&B, Stockholm, Blues Boy, Crown Prince, Saxophonograph, Jukebox Lil, Whiskey, Women, And ... , Dr. Horse, Earth Angel, Gospel Jubilee, Jazz Information, and Clanka Lanka. Scream and shout, check it out!

LPS from the Mr R&B group of labels can still be purchased at North American distributor www.cityhallrecords.com and also at Norton Records. In Europe they can be purchased at Bear Family Records, Germany.

And so to Jack McVea. My original post on "Open The Door Richard!" had a summary of his career. Here's the link:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/jack-mcvea-his-all-stars-open-door.html

The original "New Deal" post is here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/jack-mcvea-his-all-stars-new-deal_06.html

He was an important figure in the development of West Coast R&B. After quitting the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, he formed a small jump group in 1943 which was very much modeled on the successful Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five. Mid to late 1940s Los Angeles hosted a thriving jump 'n' jive small group scene with bands led by McVea, Roy Milton, Joe Liggins, Luke Jones, Buddy Banks, Joe Lutcher, Jimmy Liggins, Johnny Otis, King Perry, Calvin Boze and others all playing in the jump blues style which dominated the nascent rhythm 'n' blues scene.

Jack McVea's first recordings were made for the small Rhythm label of San Francisco in 1944  (see "Rainy Day Blues"). His first LA records were made for Melodisc in August 1945 (see "New Deal"). In the same month he recorded for Apollo, not only having discs issued in his own name, but also accompanying artists like Wynonie Harris and Big Duke Henderson. These sessions are covered in a Delmark CD, "McVoutie's Central Avenue Blues." A recommended purchase!

In October 1945 Jack signed up with Black & White Records, with whom he recorded until March 1947 when the company went bankrupt. It was Black & White which issued Jack's massive hit "Open The Door Richard!" but unfortunately almost all the royalties were diverted from the artist while coincidentally the label owner was suddenly able to indulge in a lavish lifestyle. Continuing creative accountancy practices drove Black & White to inevitable bankruptcy. In late 1947 Jack recorded sides for Exclusive but did not record again as a leader until he signed for Combo in 1953. By now Jack's band was totally different from the band which had enjoyed success in the 1940's. He continued to record for Combo until 1957 after which his recording career quickly faded.

The full story can be read on the sleevenotes to both the Jukebox Lil LPs. The period covered by these albums, 1944 - 47, is also comprehensively covered on a 4CD set issued on JSP.

More accurately, Jack's 1944 - 1947 recordings are contained on the first 3 CDs of this set while CD number 4 contains tracks by George Vann and Alton Redd, both of whom were drummer / vocalists with 1940s LA jump bands. George Vann is featured on tracks by The Sepia Tones, Joe Alexander's Highlanders, The Spirits of Rhythm, Four Joes And a Jane, Johnny Alston and Sylvester Scott. Early Jump Heaven!

The Combo masters are owned and reissued by UK Ace Records. There's some good Combo McVea tracks on the excellent compilation of Combo and Dootone sides "Honk! Honk! Honk!"

Also on Ace is a CD dedicated solely to Jack McVea on Combo, "Fortissimo!"

This CD includes quite a few alternate takes and even some rehearsal tracks. Worth investigating, but "Honk! Honk! Honk!" is a far better collection.

The Honeydripper, parts 1 & 2 - Sammy Franklin and His Atomics (Black & White 101)

Recorded in Los Angeles and released in late August 1945. Personnel - Sammy Franklin (trumpet); Len Talley (vocal); remainder unknown.

Listen to "The Honeydripper Part 1"

Listen to "The Honeydripper Part 2"

This disc was one of a number of cover versions of Joe Liggins' huge hit "The Honeydripper." There were more successful covers by Jimmie Lunceford, Roosevelt Sykes and Cab Calloway but what makes this version especially interesting is Sammy Franklin's connection with Joe Liggins and with the genesis of  "The Honeydripper."

At the beginning of the 1940s Joe was a member of Sammy Franklin's band, The California Rhythm Rascals. Joe wrote "The Honeydripper" and started performing it with Sammy's band. He offered Sammy co-composer rights if he would front up $500 to cover the cost of recording the song but Sammy turned him down. Joe left and formed his own small jump band, The Honeydrippers, recorded his song for Leon Rene's Exclusive Records and the rest is, as they say, history.

"The Honeydripper" by Joe Liggins and His Honeydrippers was released towards the end of April 1945 and became one of the biggest R&B hits of all time. Five months later we find Sammy releasing a version with a small jump group with the then topical name "The Atomics." But it was too late for Sammy. The Honeydripper juggernaut had long disappeared over the horizon and was now well out of reach. There's a lesson there for us all.

With thanks to El Enmascarado for this rare 78 rpm disc. More jumpin' and jivin' on 78!

Billboard, 15th September 1945

T-Bone Walker - T-Bone Jumps Again

Side 1
1. Hypin' Woman Blues
2. Too Much Trouble Blues
3. I Got A Break Baby
4. Mean Old World
5. Bobby Sox Blues
6. I Know Your Wig Is Gone
7. T-Bone Jumps Again
8. Call It Stormy Monday

Side 2
1. You're My Best Poker Hand
2. First Love Blues
3. She's My Old Time Used To Be
4. On Your Way Blues
5. I Wish You Were Mine
6. Wise Man Blues
7. Born To Be No Good
8. T-Bone Shuffle

This is a glorious Charly collection of pioneer of the electric blues guitar T-Bone Walker’s classic 1946-47 sides which he recorded for LA indy label Black and White, plus two sides he recorded for Capitol in 1942 while with the Freddie Slack Orchestra. I bought it way back in 1981 at a time when my jump blues collection consisted of little more than a handful of Swing House LPs, a best of Louis Jordan compilation on MCA, a scratched second hand Amos Milburn comp on United Artists and some imported King releases on Gusto. So you can imagine the impact these jumpers, jivers, shuffles and blues had on the as yet youthful Be Bop Wino.

Oh sure, I could write at length about the importance of T-Bone Walker in the history of R&B. About how every blues guitarist and (shudder) blues-rawk axeman owes him a debt of gratitude. Or perhaps I would be better looking back to the influences and experiences that shaped T-Bone’s music and stage act, influences that reach back through string bands, Blind Lemon Jefferson, medicine shows, classic blues divas, chumming around with Charlie Christian, big bands, jamming all night with Lester Young, and just corny old showbiz in the shape of musical reviews and song and dance acts. But what this post is really about is the fantastic music contained in these sixteen tracks. They may be slightly crackly and scratched but I’ve had the LP for around thirty years, so what do you expect?

Quite simply this is probably the coolest music you’ll ever hear. It’s real relaxed West Coast Rhythm ‘n’ Blues with small jump bands led by Jack McVea and Bumps Myers providing subtle accompaniment to T-Bones’ smoky vocals and tasteful guitar licks.

Texan T-Bone arrived in California sometime in the mid 1930s. Big Jim Wynn remembered him in the Little Harlem Club in Watts in 1936: “He was dancing and picking up tables with his mouth. He’d dance on a table and then grip it in his teeth and whirl it around. That’s what Miss Brown booked him for, as a dancer. He started singing with the first small band I had and the people went mad about him. He had a funny little box he’d play, a contraption he had made himself …” Sounds like T-Bone was already experimenting with an amplified guitar.

In 1939 T-Bone joined the big band of Les Hite as a vocalist. In fact this was a new edition of the long established band as in September 1939 Hite had dismissed his own band and taken over that of Floyd Turnham. The band went on an extensive tour, opening in Dallas at the end of September (they may have picked up T-Bone in his old home town), and in January 1940 arrived in New York. “Downbeat” noted that “his new star is T-Bone Walker with choruses on ‘I wonder why she don’t write to me.’” While in New York, the band recorded for Varsity with T-Bone’s vocals (but not guitar) being showcased on “T-Bone Blues.”

During the tour T-Bone experimented backstage with a Gibson electric guitar and on his return to LA he developed a sensational crowd pulling act with his new instrument. He had the tricks which in later years would be used by Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix – playing the guitar behind his head and while doing the splits. Club success brought him to the attention of new label Capitol Records. In July 1942 T-Bone was on several Capitol sessions with the Freddie Slack Orchestra, a boogie based big band which had the fabulous Ella Mae Morse on vocals (along with Johnny Mercer).

At the end of his first session with the full band (having recorded “Mister Five By Five” and several other tracks), T-Bone was backed by a rhythm trio from the band (including Freddie himself) on “Mean Old World” and “I Got A Break Baby.” This was the first time that T-Bones’ by now fully developed vocal / guitar style was recorded. However, the first Petrillo recording ban brought a temporary hiatus to his recording career. It would be over two years before T-Bones’ electric blues guitar would be captured on wax again, this time for the Chicago based Rhumboogie label, which was a promotional tie-in for the successful Chi-Town Rhumboogie night club.

The Rhumboogie opened in April 1942 with a show headlined by the Tiny Bradshaw band. In August 1942 T-Bone opened at the club as the headliner in “The Dream Revue,” a show which featured singers, dancers, chorus girls and the Milt Larkin band with Arnett Cobb and Tom Archia on saxes. The Revue, which ran until October, was a massive success and in January 1943 T-Bone was back at the club, once again with the Milt Larkin band providing backing. T-Bones’ 1944 run at the club was another success, being repeatedly extended until Wynonie Harris took over as the headliner.

As T-Bones’ 1944 spell at the Rhumboogie drew to an end at the beginning of October, he recorded six tracks for the new Rhumboogie record label backed by the Marl Young band who were by now the house band at the club. “Sail On Boogie” in particular was a storming showcase for T-Bones’ electric guitar. Three singles were released from this session, and a further session of four songs was recorded in December 1945, but none of these later recordings was released on Rhumboogie. However, two of the tracks were released as a single on Mercury.

In September 1946 T-Bone signed up with the Los Angeles based Black and White label for whom he  recorded under the supervision of Ralph Bass until the end of 1947. At the two 1946 sessions T-Bone was backed by label mate Jack McVea’s band, with trumpeter Al Killian being added on the second session in December 1946. For the 1947 sessions, studio bands centred on tenor sax man Bumps Meyers and former Les Hite drummer Oscar Lee Bradley provided sterling support. Other musicians involved included pianists Lloyd Glenn and Willard McDaniel, trumpet players Teddy Buckner and George Orendorff and bass player Billy Hadnott.

The Black and White recordings had considerable commercial success with “Bobby Sox Baby,” “Stormy Monday,” “Long Skirt Baby Blues,” “I Want A Little Girl,” “I’m Waiting For Your Call,” “Midnight Blues,” “West Side Baby,” “Description Blues” and “T-Bone Shuffle” all entering the R&B charts between 1947 and 1949.

Despite achieving good sales for records by Jack McVea and T-Bone, Black and White ran into financial problems during 1948, eventually going out of business. The T-Bone masters were bought up by Capitol in April 1949. Their new owners remastered and renumbered the tracks and reissued many of them, leading to considerable discographical confusion, which is reflected in the sleevenotes to this LP. When T-Bone resumed his recording career in 1950, he had signed with Lew Chudd’s Imperial label. That story, however, is for another post and another day.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps.

Download from here:

http://www104.zippyshare.com/v/pFGTa3PK/file.html

1. Hypin' Woman Blues
2. Too Much Trouble Blues
3. I Got A Break Baby
4. Mean Old World
5. Bobby Sox Blues
6. I Know Your Wig Is Gone
7. T-Bone Jumps Again
8. Call It Stormy Monday
9. You're My Best Poker Hand
10. First Love Blues
11. She's My Old Time Used To Be
12. On Your Way Blues
13. I Wish You Were Mine
14. Wise Man Blues
15. Born To Be No Good
16. T-Bone Shuffle

“I Got A Break Baby” and “Mean Old World” were recorded in Hollywood on July 20th, 1942, with Freddie Slack and His Orchestra, rhythm section only. Freddie Slack (p); Jud De Naut (b); Dave Coleman (d)

“Bobby Sox Blues” aka “Bobby Sox Baby” was recorded in Hollywood on September 30th, 1946 with the Jack McVea All Stars. Joe “Red” Kelly (tp); Jack McVea (ts); Tommy “Crow” Khan (p); Frank Clarke (b); Rabon Tarrant (d)

“I Know Your Wig Is Gone,” “T-Bone Jumps Again” and “Call It Stormy Monday” were recorded in Hollywood on September 13th, 1947. Teddy Buckner (tp); Bumps Myers (ts); Lloyd Glenn (p); Arthur Edwards (b); Oscar Lee Bradley (d)

“She’s My Old Time Used To Be” and “Too Much Trouble Blues” were recorded in Los Angeles on November 6th, 1947. “Hypin’ Woman Blues” and “On Your Way Blues” were recorded in Los Angeles on November 7th, 1947. Teddy Buckner (tp); Bumps Myers (ts); Willard McDaniel (p); Billy Hadnott (b); Oscar Lee Bradley (d)

“First Love Blues” was recorded in Los Angeles on November 12th, 1947. George Orendorff (tp); Bumps Myers (ts); Willard McDaniel (p); Billy Hadnott (b); Oscar Lee Bradley (d)

“T-Bone Shuffle” was recorded in Los Angeles on November 13th, 1947. George Orendorff (tp); Bumps Myers (ts); Willard McDaniel (p); John W. Davis (b); Oscar Lee Bradley (d)

“Wise Man Blues” and “I Wish You Were Mine” were recorded in Los Angeles on December 17th, 1947. “Born To Be No Good” was recorded in Los Angeles on December 18th, 1947. Jack Trainor (tp); Bumps Myers (ts); Willard McDaniel (p); Billy Hadnott (b); Oscar Lee Bradley (d)

“You’re My Best Poker Hand” was recorded in Los Angeles on December 29th, 1947. George Orendorff or Jack Trainor (tp); Bumps Myers (ts); Willard McDaniel (p); Billy Hadnott (b); Oscar Lee Bradley (d)

Sources:

Mark Humphrey – liner notes to the Capitol Blues Collection 3CD set “T-Bone Walker: The Complete Capitol / Black & White Recordings”

Helen Oakley Dance – “Stormy Monday: The T-Bone Walker Story”

Robert Pruter and Robert L Campbell - "The Rhumboogie: the rise of a great black and tan" in Blues and Rhythm, number 190, June 2004

Bill Millar – “Let The Good Times Rock!”

Albert McCarthy – Big Band Jazz

The Bruyninckx Discography

Arnold Shaw: Honkers And Shouters

Big Al Pavlow’s R&B Book

Cliff White: sleevenotes to Charly LPs “The Natural Blues” and “Plain Ole Blues.”

Mo’ T-Bone:

“The Complete Capitol / Black & White Sessions” – a 3CD set issued in the Capitol Blues Collection series in 1995. It includes the 48 recordings made for Black & White in 1946 and 1947, the 2 recordings with Freddie Slack for Capitol from 1942, and “T-Bone Blues” made with the Les Hite band for Varsity in 1940. There are 75 tracks in total on this set with the balance being made up of alternate takes of many of the Black & White tracks. Immaculate packaging and sound quality. Indispensable but almost impossible to find.

You might have a better chance of finding the Proper 4 CD set “The Original Source” which has 90 tracks recorded between 1930 and 1951.

Jack McVea & His All Stars - Open The Door Richard!

Tenor saxman Jack McVea was always there or thereabouts in the Los Angeles jazz / rhythm & blues scene of the 1940s. He was in the Lionel Hampton big band line-up which recorded “Flying Home”, the number which first brought Illinois Jacquet to the attention of sax fans. He took the first sax solo on “Blues” at the first ever Jazz At The Philharmonic concert, but Illinois took the second sax solo and in a few moments of blasting, screeching, crowd-pleasing madness, Jacquet had defined the future of jazz and R&B tenor sax styling. McVea was on “Slim’s Jam”, along with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Slim Gaillard, and managed to slip in a reference to “Open The Door, Richard!” about a year before he recorded his own hit version of the comedy stage routine.



In 1943 he left Hampton to form one of the first small jump bands in LA and not only released records under his own name, but also provided backing for Wynonie Harris on Apollo Records and T-Bone Walker on Black & White. It was for the latter record company that McVea made the record that was to become one of the biggest selling and most covered records of 1947 – “Open The Door Richard!” While working for the Lionel Hampton outfit a few years before, McVea had toured with a comic called Dusty Fletcher, part of whose stage routine consisted of playing a drunken reveller trying to gain entry to his appartment by rousing his slumbering roommate who happens to have the only key to the front door.

McVea worked up a little spoken musical number for his band’s live act based on the Fletcher routine and recorded it for Black & White in September 1946. The record was released at the end of the year and became a monster seller in 1947, inspiring covers by Louis Jordan, Count Basie and Dusty Fletcher himself. Of course Jack saw very little of the royalties, most of which vanished thanks to some creative accountancy by the record company. McVea’s last recording session for Black & White took place in March of 1947. In November and December of 1947 he recorded several sessions for Exclusive and then took to club work in locations as far apart as Honolulu, Alaska, Las Vegas, and even LA.

Jack signed up with Jake Porter’s Combo Records in 1953. His band was very much the house band at Combo, recording not only under Jack’s name, but also under various guises such as Jonesy’s Combo. They were on Combo’s biggest selling disc, the original version of “Ko Ko Mo” by Gene & Eunice, but once again saw little in the way of royalty payments. As the 1950s wound to a close, so did Jack’s recording career and by the early 1960s he was making a living as a junkman. In 1966 he took up an engagement as clarinet player in a small Dixieland jazz group at Disneyland. It was a gig that lasted until 1992 when Jack finally retired from the music scene. He died in December 2000.

This is a re-up of an LP originally posted on the old Be Bop Wino blog, but with all new cover scans, including the complete gatefold sleeve.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. I made extensive use of clicking and crackling elimination, which may or may not be a good thing.

Download from here:

http://www20.zippyshare.com/v/zWoIoeVl/file.html

1. Bartender Boogie (Black & White 750)
2. Tarrant Blues (Apollo 370)*
3. O-Kay For Baby (Apollo 761)
4. We're Together Again (Apollo 366)*
5. Ooh Mop (Black & White 750)
6. Don't Blame Me (Apollo 761)
7. Frisco Blues (Black & White 751)
8. Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying (Black & White 793)
9. Open The Door Richard! (Black & White 792)
10. Wine-O (Black & White 751)
11. Inflation Blues (Exclusive 260)
12. Groovin' Boogie (Black & White 810)
13. No, No, You Can't Do Dot Mon (Exclusive 266)
14. Jack Frost (Exclusive 266)
15. Mumblin' Blues (Exclusive 270)
16. The Key's In The Mailbox (Black & White 828)

* credited to Rabon Tarrant



More platters that matter -

On the blog: “New Deal” (Jukebox Lil 625) which has more early Jack McVea sides.



Recommended purchases:

“McVoutie’s Central Avenue Blues” (Delmark DE-756)



Compilation of Apollo sides. Includes sides credited to Wynonie Harris, Cee Pee Johnson, Wild Bill Moore and Duke Henderson.

“Fortissimo! The Combo Recordings 1954 -57” (Ace CDCHD 1246)