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.