Danny "Run Joe" Taylor

Side 1:
01. Drinkin' Little Woman
02. Coffee Daddy Blues
03. Come On Home Baby
04. Blues Got Me Rockin'
05. I've Been Doin' It Too
06. Sweet Lovin' Daddy
07. Gator Tail
08. You Look Bad

Side 2:
01. Love to Spare
02. Leavin' Tonight
03. Makeena
04. Ain't Nothin' Wrong With This World
05. Shoemaker Man
06. Will Ya Please?
07. Two More Days
08. Mind On Loving

Danny "Run Joe" Taylor (Mega)

Danny "Run Joe" Taylor (Zippy)

Every now and again fellow blues 'n' rhythm fans get in touch asking if I know anything more about such-and-such an artist who has appeared on the blog and very occasionally this leads to me coming up with a home made comp such as this one. Four of Danny "Run Joe" Taylor's sides recorded for Joe Davis turned up on the "Listen To Dr. Jive" post from May last year and this led to an enquiry which in turn led to me trawling through my gramophone records, CDs and mp3s to come up with everything that I had on this undeservedly obscure blues shouter and song writer.

I'm afraid I've only managed to find minimal information on Danny. According to the sleevenotes to the CD "Stompin' 12," he was born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1931. His discography shows that he had a fairly steady recording career in New York City, although there was much label hopping. According to the Bruyninckx discography his first recording session was in August 1949 for the Parody label, the result being one single, "Butter Beans And Rice" / "Come Back Connie" (Parody 1002/3)

This comp starts circa September 1951 when under the name of "Little Boy Blues" Danny recorded a vocal for the Champion Jack Dupree band on "Drinkin' Little Woman" (Derby 770). The other side of the disc had a vocal by Bobby Harris. In February 1952 Danny recorded sides for the Wheeler label which was owned by bandleader Doc Wheeler. He was backed by a band led by former Doc Wheeler guitarist Leroy Kirkland. One single from the session was released - "Coffee Daddy Blues" / "Come On Home Baby" (Wheeler 105). Unissued Wheeler sides were - "Blues Got Me Rockin'" and "Moanin' And Groanin' For You."

The label was short lived and its masters were bought by Coral who re-released the single on Coral 65082. In June 1952 Danny and the Leroy Kirkland Orchestra recorded sides for Coral with two singles being released - "Sittin' Here Thinkin'" / I've Been Doin' It Too" (Coral 65097) and "Walkin' In My Sleep" / "Sweet Lovin' Daddy" (Coral 65101). One Coral side was not released - "Three Little Words."

In 1953 he recorded an excellent single for Victor - "Gator Tail" / "You Look Bad" (Victor 47-5558) which was released in December of that year. The backing band included Budd Johnson and Buddy Tate on saxes. In October 1953 he was the vocalist on a Jesse Powell session for Federal. His two sides, "Love To Spare" and "Leavin' Tonite" were released on Federal 12159 and 12171 respectively with the other sides of the discs being instrumentals.

In 1954 he recorded an answer record to The Midnighter's "Annie Had A Baby" - "I'm The Father Of Annie's Baby" / "Bad, Bad, Draws" appeared on Bruce 118. Danny was backed by The Shytans on both sides.

In 1955 he released a single on Saxony backed by the Louis Payne Orchestra - "You Ain't Crazy" / "I Know What I Want" (Saxony 101).

In 1956 he recorded a session for Joe Davis backed by a band which included Haywood Henry and Sam "The Man" Taylor. The released single was "Makeena" / "Ain't Nothin' Wrong With This World" (Davis 454). Two other sides, "Shoemaker Man" and "Will Ya Please?" were not released.

Two sides recorded for Chess in 1959, "Believe These Words" and "Mom And Pop" were also not released.

In September 1959 he recorded some sides for Memo backed by Buddy Lucas. For some unknown reason he was going under the name of "Little Eddie Mint." In November 1959 "Bring Yourself Back Here" / "Two More Days" was released on Memo 17921. A third track was recorded - "Don't Fall In Love With Me." According to Bruyninckx this was released on Memo 17911 with "Bring Yourself Back Here" but I haven't come across any other reference to it.

In 1960 he was back to being Danny (Run Joe) Taylor again for a single on Jo-Par - "Things Are Tough"/ No One But You (Jo-Par 518). Also in 1960 he recorded a session as "Little Danny" for Sharp. "Your Precious Love" / "Mind On Loving" (Sharp 112) was released in November 1960. The latter was a soul style pleader with Danny, backed by Wild Jimmy Spruill on guitar, in very good voice indeed. Three other sides from the session were not released - "Stop Cheating On Me," "Tell It" and "Can't Help It."

And that is where the trail runs cold. Bruyninckx says that he also recorded for Rim but has no more details. As for the ultimate fate of Danny "Run Joe" Taylor, I'm afraid I know nothing. In fact I don't even know where the nickname "Run Joe" comes from. Perhaps these mysteries will be solved by readers of this blog?

I was pretty impressed by many of Danny's sides and I hope that someday a reissue company will bring out a comprehensive collection of this fine singer's music.

Danny "Run Joe" Taylor Trax Fax

All dates are recording dates except where otherwise noted

01. Drinkin' Little Woman - Jack Dupree Orchestra - vocal by Little Boy Blues: Derby 770 – September 1951

02. Coffee Daddy Blues - Danny "Run Joe" Taylor And Leroy "Ike" Kirkland And His Orchestra: Wheeler 105, Coral 65082 – February 1952

03. Come On Home Baby - Danny "Run Joe" Taylor And Leroy "Ike" Kirkland And His Orchestra: Wheeler 105, Coral 65082 – February 1952

04. Blues Got Me Rockin' - Danny "Run Joe" Taylor And Leroy "Ike" Kirkland And His Orchestra: Wheeler / Coral unissued – February 1952

05. I've Been Doin' It Too - Danny "Run Joe" Taylor And Leroy "Ike" Kirkland And His Orchestra: Coral 65097 – June 1952

06. Sweet Lovin' Daddy - Danny "Run Joe" Taylor And Leroy "Ike" Kirkland And His Orchestra: Coral 65101 – June 1952

07. Gator Tail - Danny "Run Joe" Taylor: Victor 47-5558 – released December 1953

08. You Look Bad - Danny "Run Joe" Taylor: Victor 47-5558 – released December 1953

09. Love to Spare - Jesse Powell Orchestra vocal by Dan Taylor: Federal 12159 – October 1953

10. Leavin' Tonight - Jesse Powell Orchestra vocal by Dan Taylor: Federal 12171 – October 1953

11. Makeena - Danny "Run Joe" Taylor: Davis 454 – August 1956

12. Ain’t Nothin' Wrong With This World - Danny "Run Joe" Taylor: Davis 454 – August 1956

13. Shoemaker Man - Danny "Run Joe" Taylor: Davis unissued – August 1956

14. Will Ya Please? - Danny "Run Joe" Taylor: Davis unissued – August 1956

15. Two More Days - Little Eddie Mint: Memo 17921 – September 1959

16. Mind On Loving - Little Danny: Sharp 112 – September 1960

Otis Blackwell - Singin' The Blues

Side A:

01. Daddy Rollin' Stone
02. Tears Tears Tears
03. On That Power Line
04. Don't Know How I Loved You
05. Go Away Mr. Blues
06. Ain't Got No Time
07. You Move Me Baby

Side B:
01. My Poor Broken Heart
02. Let The Daddy Hold You
03. You're My Love
04. I'm Standing At The Doorway To Your Heart
05. I'm Coming Back Baby
06. My Josephine
07. I'm Travelin' On

Otis Blackwell Singin' The Blues (Mega)

Otis Blackwell Singin' The Blues (Zippy)

O.K. folks, you got it! Rock 'n' Roll fans the wide world over have been demanding more Otis Blackwell tracks since I posted the Krazy Kat "Listen To Dr. Jive" compilation of Joe Davis sides which featured a couple of tracks by Otis - "Oh! What A Wonderful Time" and "Bartender Fill It Up Again."  The notes on the back of the LP referred to an earlier release on sister label Flyright of an Otis Blackwell LP called "Singin' The Blues," an LP which I never did buy back in the 1980s. Well I've managed to cobble together a "reconstruction" of that album by gathering the necessary music files from, ahem, certain sources, and downloading and slightly adapting the artwork from Discogs.com. All hail Discogs.com.

This 1981 Flyright LP was in fact a reissue of a 1957 release on Davis (JD-109) with the same title and same tracks but of course different artwork:

The download includes a bonus folder - the complete original LP artwork adapted from the heritage auctions website. Real R&B fanatics who prefer to present original artwork on their computer media player will therefore be in hog heaven.

Which brings us to Otis Blackwell himself. He is best known of course for the series of hit songs he penned for Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis among others - "Don't Be Cruel," "All Shook Up," "Return To Sender," "Great Balls Of Fire" and "Breathless." He also wrote "Fever" under a pseudonym (to get round a contract he had with Joe Davis, according to some) and the Dee Clark hit "Hey Little Girl." But it's not these glorious achievements which concern us here, but rather the early years of Otis Blackwell's career when he was a blues singer scuffling round the clubs and dives of early '50's NYC. A win at an Apollo Theatre talent show brought him to the attention of record man Joe Davis who introduced him to RCA.

Otis Blackwell's style was unusual for an R&B singer of the time. His singing was obviously influenced by Roy Brown, Larry Darnell and the other emotional big blues belters of the day but the songs that he sang were often a synthesis of R&B, country and Latin which made his records on RCA and Joe Davis's Jay-Dee label sound ahead of their time. Indeed some of his records, backed by big, bold brassy arrangements featuring the best of NYC session men, sound like templates for the kind of sound that Elvis would record for RCA in 1956-57.

It has to be said though that Otis Blackwell's voice had its limitations and that he occasionally doesn't quite "get there" on some of his sides. His first two singles were recorded for RCA in October 1952, backed by a band which included "Floorshow" Culley on tenor sax and Budd Johnson on baritone sax. "Wake Up Fool" which was released in December 1952 was a hard rocker which could have sounded perfectly at home on an Elvis album in 1957. The follow up, "Fool That I Be" had a Latin rhythm which again anticipated the sound of the second half of the '50's.

The first session for Jay-Dee in September 1953 with a studio band which included Al Sears on tenor sax and drummer Panama Francis brought the moody classic "Daddy Rollin' Stone" and yes, every time I listen to it I can't help but imagine Elvis performing it. For the next three Joe Davis sessions (December 1953, and two in May 1954), Otis was ably backed by a band led by Lem Johnson. These tracks were mostly rather more conventional R&B, although "Ain't Got No Time" had a strong New Orleans influence. The final two tracks from these sessions were country style songs with "Nobody Met The Train" (not on this LP) being an out and out weeper of the type which comedian Billy Connolly once observed, would have "the blood running out of your record player."

In June, 1954, Otis recorded four sides for the RCA subsidiary Groove. One single was released, the A Side of which "Oh! What A Babe" was a gospel influenced rocker which had Sam "The Man" Taylor on tenor sax, Haywood Henry on baritone sax and Mickey Baker on guitar. Otis returned to Jay-Dee in March 1955 for his final four tracks for that company. The band again featured Sam Taylor, Haywood Henry and Mickey Baker and the dynamic Big Beat arrangements were by Leroy Kirkland. This session illustrates that Otis was definitely at his best on uptempo riffers ("Oh What A Wonderful Time" and "You Move Me Baby") or on the moody Latin-tinged numbers like "Let The Daddy Hold You," but the ballad style blues numbers such as "My Poor Broken Heart" were definitely a struggle.

From 1956 onwards Otis Blackwell's recording activities took a back seat to his much more lucrative songwriting. There were intermittent sessions from 1957 - 1962 with occasional singles coming out on Gale, Atlantic, Date, Cub and MGM.

Although many of his songs were collaborations (with Winfield Scott, Jack Hammer inter alia) and some of his songwriting credits were shared (ahem) with Elvis, Otis still made enough from his writing to enjoy a more than comfortable lifestyle. His obituary in the New York Times (May 9th, 2002) ended with a memorable quote - "I wrote my songs, I got my money and I boogied." What more could you ask for?

Fax On The Trax

"Daddy Rollin' Stone," "On That Power Line," "Don't Know How I Loved You" and "Tears! Tears! Tears!" were recorded in New York on September 22nd, 1953. Personnel: Otis Blackwell (vocal) with Al Sears (tenor sax); Frank Signorelli (piano); Tony Gottusso (guitar); Frank Carroll (bass); Panama Francis (drums).

"Daddy Rollin' Stone" / "Tears! Tears! Tears!" released on Jay-Dee 784 in October 1953. Reviewed in "Billboard" 24th October 1953: "Daddy Rollin' Stone - This one shows originality and is likely to gain favor with listeners."

"Don't Know How I Loved You" / "On That Power Line" released on Jay-Dee 791 in May 1954.

"I'm Travelin' On," "You're My Love," Go Away Mr. Blues" and "Bartender Fill It Up Again" recorded in New York on December 30th, 1953. Personnel: Otis Blackwell (vocal) with Lem Johnson (tenor sax); Bill Graham (baritone sax); Conrad Frederick (piano, celeste on "Go Away Mr. Blues"); Arvell Shaw (bass); Cozy Cole (drums).

"Bartender, Fill It Up Again!" / "You're My Love" released on Jay-Dee 787 in January 1954. Reviewed in Billboard on 6th February 1954. "Bartender, Fill It Up Again! - Watch this one, it could be a real coin-grabber."

"I'm Comin' Back Baby" / "Go Away Mr. Blues" released on Jay-Dee 798 in March 1955.

"I'm Travelin' On" not released on single.

"My Josephine," "Ain't Got No Time" and "I'm Comin' Back Baby" recorded in New York on May 12th, 1954. Personnel: Otis Blackwell (vocal) with Lem Johnson (tenor sax); Dave McCrea (baritone sax); Conrad Frederick (piano); Frank Carroll (bass); Panama Francis (drums).

"My Josephine" / "Ain't Got No Time" released on Jay-Dee 794 in October 1954. Of "My Josephine" Billboard said on 30th October 1954, "good performance, but Blackwell needs stronger material."

As already noted, "I'm Comin' Back Baby" was released with "Go Away Mr. Blues" on Jay-Dee 798 in March 1955.

"Nobody Met The Train" and "I'm Standing At The Doorway To Your Heart" were recorded in New York on May 26th, 1954.

"Nobody Met The Train" / "I'm Standing At The Doorway To Your Heart" released on Jay-Dee 792 in June 1954.

"My Poor Broken Heart," "Oh What A Wonderful Time," "You Move Me Baby" and "Let The Daddy Hold You" were recorded in New York on March 9th, 1955. Personnel: Otis Blackwell (vocal) with Sam "The Man" Taylor (tenor sax); Haywood Henry (baritone sax); Ernest Hayes (piano); Mickey Baker (guitar); Milt Hinton (bass); Specs Powell (drums); Leroy Kirkland (arranger).

"My Poor Broken Heart" / "You Move Me, Baby" released on Jay-Dee 802 in April 1955.

Above: The Cash Box, April 9th, 1955.

Note: "You Move Me Baby" b/w "Daddy Rollin' Stone" was released on Davis 455 in November 1956.

"Oh! What A Wonderful Time" / "Let The Daddy Hold You" released on Jay-Dee 808, probably in the second half of 1955. Jay-Dee 806 (The Goldentones) was released in July 1955, Jay-Dee 810 (The Scale-Tones) was released in February 1956, so the release date for Jay-Dee 808 must lie somewhere in between!

Listen To Dr. Jive

Side 1:
01. Steady Grind - Warren Lucky
02. Will Ya Please? - Danny Taylor
03. Makeena - Danny Taylor
04. There's Nothin' Wrong With This World - Danny Taylor
05. Shoemaker Man - Danny Taylor
06. Bartender Fill It Up Again - Otis Blackwell
07. Oh! What A Wonderful Time - Otis Blackwell

Side 2:
01. Listen To Dr. Jive - Dean Barlow
02. I Got A Letter - Lem Johnson
03. It Takes Money, Honey - Lem Johnson
04. Eatin' And Sleepin' Blues - Lem Johnson
05. Tall Tall Women - Nat Foster
06. Dog House Blues - Nat Foster
07. Lonely Soldier Blues - Nat Foster

Listen To Dr. Jive (Mega)

Listen To Dr. Jive (Zippy)

First time on the blog for this collection of R&B / Rock and Roll sides recorded by NYC label owner Joe Davis. There are comprehensive notes by Bruce Bastin who released collections of Joe Davis material on Krazy Kat during the 1980s.

Joe Davis was a pioneering NYC R&B label owner who founded Beacon in 1942 and had quick success with Savannah Churchill and The Five Red Caps. He kept Beacon going during the 1950s and also launched the Davis and Jay-Dee labels as well as recording material for MGM.

There is something ironic about the front cover picture of this LP as Dean Barlow's "Listen To Dr. Jive" was recorded as a theme for a rival of Alan Freed, Tommy "Dr Jive" Smalls whose afternoon R&B show on WWRL matched the Freed show in popularity, just as his onstage R&B concerts competed strongly with Freed's live reviews.

In common with many LPs in my collection, this one languished forgotten on the shelf but repeated listens in the last couple of weeks have led me to conclude that it's a cracking little compilation which deserves the attention of seasoned (and not so seasoned) fans of New York rhythm 'n' blues.

Fax On The Trax

Warren Lucky - "Steady Grind." Unreleased take of "Fish Bait" (Beacon 105). Personnel and recording date as on LP cover.

Danny "Run Joe" Taylor - "Will Ya Please" and "Shoemaker Man" were unreleased. "Ain't Nothin' Wrong With This World" / "Makeena" released on Davis 454 in October 1956. Personnel and recording date as on LP cover.

adapted from popsike.com

Otis Blackwell - "Bartender, Fill It Up Again" / "You're My Love" was released on Jay-Dee 787 in late January 1954. Possible personnel - Otis Blackwell (vocal) with Lem Johnson (tenor sax); Bill Graham (baritone sax); Conrad Frederick (piano); Arvell Shaw (bass) Cozy Cole (drums). Recording date was possibly December 30th 1953.

"Oh ! What A Wonderful Time" / "Let The Daddy Hold You" released on Jay-Dee 808. Recorded on March 9th 1955. Personnel: Otis Blackwell (vocal); Sam "The Man" Taylor (tenor sax); Haywood Henry (baritone sax); Ernest Hayes (piano); Mickey Baker (guitar); Milt Hinton (bass); Specs Powell (drums); Leroy Kirkland (arranger).

Dean Barlow - "Listen To Dr. Jive" was probably not released on a single. Recorded January 18th 1956. Personnel: Dean Barlow (vocal) with Sam "The Man" Taylor (tenor sax); Haywood Henry (baritone sax); Howard Biggs (piano, arranger); Everett Barksdale (guitar); Lloyd Trotman (bass); Panama Francis (drums).

Lem Johnson - "I Got A Letter" / "It Takes Money, Honey" released on MGM 11467 in March 1953. "Eatin' And Sleepin' Blues" was released on MGM 11532 in July 1953. B Side of "Never Love Anybody Better Than You Do Yourself." Personnel and recording date as on LP cover.

Nat Foster - "Lonely Soldier Blues" / "Tall, Tall Woman" released on MGM 11445 in 1953. "Dog House Blues" was not released. Personnel and recording date as on LP cover.

Elsewhere On The Blog

Thunderbolt! Honkin' R&B Instrumentals 1952-1956 is a fine collection of sax sides recorded by Joe Davis. Warren Lucky, Al King, Haywood Henry and a collection of NYC's finest session men.

Vocal Group R&B From Joe Davis Volume One 1952-1953 early vocal group stuff from Joe Davis labels. The Crickets feature Dean Barlow as lead vocalist and the collection does not have THAT Blenders' track!