Chuck Berry - Rockin' At The Hops

Side 1:
01. Bye, Bye Johnny
02. Worried Life Blues
03. Down The Road A Piece
04. Confessin' The Blues
05. Too Pooped To Pop
06. Mad Lad

Side 2:
01. I Got To Find My Baby
02. Betty Jean
03. Childhood Sweetheart
04. Broken Arrow
05. Driftin' Blues
06. Let It Rock

Download from here:

http://www18.zippyshare.com/v/alj2WaGy/file.html

Let's mark the recent passing of Chuck Berry with this 1980s reissue of his 1960 LP "Rockin' At The Hops." His own compositions "Let It Rock," "I Got To Find My Baby," and "Bye Bye Johnny" are classics but what I especially like about this album are the revivals of older 1940s blues and boogie material which demonstrate where Chuck's personal tastes lay. So enjoy Big Maceo's "Worried Life Blues," The Will Bradley Trio's "Down The Road A Piece," Johnny Moore and the Three Blazers' "Driftin' Blues," and Jay McShann and Walter Brown's "Confessin' The Blues." Cool renditions from the Chuckster.

Track details:

Too Pooped To Pop, Betty Jean, Childhood Sweetheart, Broken Arrow, Let It Rock were recorded in Chicago on July 29th, 1959. Personnel: Chuck Berry (vocal, guitar) with L.C. Davis (tenor sax); Johnny Johnson (piano); Willie Dixon (bass); Fred Below (drums); The Ecuadors (vocal group)

Bye Bye Johnny, Worried Life Blues, I Got To Find My Baby, Driftin' Blues were recorded in Chicago on February 12th, 1960. Personnel: Chuck Berry (vocal, guitar); L.C. Davis (tenor sax); unknown other saxes; Johnny Johnson (piano); Matt Murphy (guitar); Willie Dixon (bass); Eddie Hardy (drums); unknown vocal group

Down The Road A Piece, Confessin' The Blues, Mad Lad were recorded in Chicago on April 12th, 1960. Personnel same as on February 12th 1960 session.

This LP was originally released as Chess LP 1448 in July 1960.

Single releases of tracks:

Childhood Sweetheart / Broken Arrow, Chess 1737, September 1959
Let It Rock / Too Pooped To Pop ("Casey"), Chess 1747, January 1960
Bye Bye Johnny / Worried Life Blues, Chess 1754, May 1960
I Got To Find My Baby / Mad Lad, Chess 1763, August 1960

Rock on, Be Bop Winos!

Memphis Slim - Rockin' The Blues

Side One:
01. Gotta Find My Baby
02. The Comeback
03. Messin' Around
04. Sassy Mae
05. Lend Me Your Love
06. Guitar Cha Cha
07. Stroll On Little Girl
08. Rockin' The House

Side Two:
01. Wish Me Well
02. Blue And Lonesome
03. My Gal Keeps Me Crying
04. Slim's Blues
05. Steppin' Out
06. Mother Earth
07. What's The Matter
08. This Time I'm Through

Download from here:

http://www99.zippyshare.com/v/jKh7Q833/file.html

Or here:

Rockin' The Blues (Mega)

A collection of Memphis Slim tracks recorded for Vee-Jay in 1958-59. Twelve of the sixteen tracks were originally released on the 1959 Vee-Jay LP "Memphis Slim At The Gate Of Horn" which despite its title, is not a live album but consists entirely of studio tracks recorded with a hard rocking combo featuring the great Matt Murphy on guitar and a sock-it-to-'em sax section.

The Gate Of Horn was a Chicago folk club and one is inevitably led to the conclusion that Vee-Jay were hoping to sell the album to the growing "folk blues" market rather than the R&B crowd. Yet the music contained therein couldn't have been further from the idea of  "authentic" folk blues, being in fact thoroughly modern rockin' rhythm and blues, just like the two Vee-Jay singles Memphis Slim released in 1958, which are also featured on this Charly LP.

The sixteen sides on this LP probably represent the last R&B recordings of Memphis Slim as he decided to follow the the best road to a long and happy career  for a veteran bluesman - record for labels like "Folkways", play venues and festivals aimed at the student / folkie crowd, move to Europe, tour and record for decades more and finally get seen by Boogie Woody at a blues festival in Dundee in the mid 1980s where he was nothing short of brilliant. What's more he was apparently accompanied by a statuesque blonde lady who became the subject of speculation in the comments on my previous Memphis Slim post.

The story behind the tracks -

"Stroll On Little Girl," "Guitar Cha Cha," "What's The Matter" and "This Time I'm Through" were recorded in Chicago on the 8th January 1958. Personnel on these tracks was: Memphis Slim (piano, vocal); John Calvin (alto sax); Matt Murphy (guitar); Sam Chatman (bass); Billie Stepney (drums)

The sides were released on two Vee-Jay singles as follows:

Stroll On Little Girl / Guitar Cha Cha Cha, by Memphis Slim and His House Rockers on Vee-Jay 271, released probably February (?) 1958. Yes, that's three "Cha's."

What's The Matter / This Time I'm Through by Memphis Slim & His House Rockers on Vee-Jay 294, released probably November (?) 1958.

All other sides on this LP were recorded in Chicago on the 18th August 1959 and released on the Vee-Jay LP "Memphis Slim At The Gate Of Horn" (VJLP 1012) in October 1959.

Personnel on VJLP 1012: Memphis Slim (piano, vocal); Alex Atkins (alto sax); John Calvin, Ernest Cotton (tenor saxes); Matt Murphy (guitar); Sam Chatman (bass); Billie Stepney (drums)

The original track order on "Memphis Slim At The Gate Of Horn" was:

Side 1:
1. The Come Back
2. Steppin' Out
3. Blue And Lonesome
4. Rockin' The Blues
5. Slim's Blues
6. Gotta Find My Baby

Side 2:
1. Messin' Around
2. Wish Me Well
3. My Gal Keeps Me Crying
4. Lend Me Your Love
5. Sassy Mae
6. Mother Earth

Elsewhere on the blog:

Messin' Around With The Blues (Volume 1) - 12 sides recorded for Miracle and Hy-Tone in 1946-47 and subsequently bought in by King Records. Post is here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/messin-around-with-blues-volume-1.html

download 2LP set from here:

https://www14.zippyshare.com/v/WBAEvyxt/file.html

or here:

https://mega.nz/file/YQ9X1TYT#mqhdGhIV9K-QZFf8eCWqtxmN4-hXB7KNS9TOYgeTHCw

Volume 2 featuring sides by Little Willie Littlefield and Pete "Guitar" Lewis was posted separately here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/messin-around-with-blues-volume-2-pete.html

Look out for this CD in the second hand browser of your local music emporium:

The exact same collection as the "Rockin' The Blues" LP only in much better sound quality compared to the rather dodgy mp3s I ripped from my vinyl. These Charly Blues Masterworks CDs often turn up in "used Blues CDs" bins or in charity shops - this one is well worth purchasing.