Battle Of The Blues (King) - All 4 Volumes Re-upped

Battle Of The Blues (King LP 607) Mega

Battle Of The Blues (King LP 607) Zippy

Side 1 (Roy Brown):
01) Boogie At Midnight
02) Big Town
03) Bar Room Blues
04) Love Don't Love Nobody
05) Miss Fanny Brown
06) Lolly Pop Mama
07) I've Got The Last Laugh Now

Side 2 (Wynonie Harris):
01) Bloodshot Eyes
02) Good Rockin' Tonight
03) Loving Machine
04) Shake That Thing
05) I Feel That Old Age Coming On
06) All She Wants To Do Is Rock
07) Good Morning Judge

Battle Of The Blues Volume 2 (King LP 627) Mega

Battle Of The Blues Volume 2 (King LP 627) Zippy

Side 1 (Roy Brown):

01) Hard Luck Blues

02) Dreamin' Blues

03) 'Long About Sundown

04) Double Crossin' Woman

05) Sweet Peach - Roy Brown

06) Wrong Woman Blues

07) Brown Angel

Side 2 (Wynonie Harris):

01) Man, Have I Got Troubles

02) I'll Never Give Up

03) Here Comes The Night

04) Luscious Woman

05) Drinking Blues

06) Nearer My God To Thee

07) Tremblin'

Battle Of The Blues Volume 3 (King LP 634) Mega

Battle Of The Blues Volume 3 (King LP 634) Zippy

 

Side 1 (Eddie Vinson):
01) Person To Person
02) I'm Weak But I'm Willing
03) Somebody Done Stole My Cherry Red
04) Queen Bee
05) Featherbed Mama
06) I Trusted You Baby
07) No Good Woman
08) Ashes On My Pillow

Side 2 (Jimmy Witherspoon):
01) The Last Mile
02) 24 Sad Hours
03) Blues In Trouble
04) Sad Life
05) Don't Tell Me How
06) Foolish Prayer
07) Highway To Happiness
08) I Done Told You

Battle Of The Blues Volume 4 (King LP 668) Mega

Battle Of The Blues Volume 4 (King LP 668) Zippy

Side 1:
01) Big Mouth Gal - Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
02) Bring It Back - Wynonie Harris
03) If You Don't Think I'm Sinking - Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
04) Trouble At Midnight - Roy Brown
05) Peas And Rice - Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
06) Rock Mr Blues - Wynonie Harris

Side 2:
01) Lonesome Train - Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
02) Old Age Boogie - Roy Brown
03) Bald Headed Blues - Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
04) Grandma Plays The Numbers - Wynonie Harris
05) Good Bread Alley - Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
06) Queen Of Diamonds - Roy Brown

I've had a couple of  requests for re-ups recently - one for King Records comps and another for Earl Bostic LPs.

So let's start off with some King Comps, and the "Battle Of The Blues" series. These are in fairly low bitrates (192 kbps) and were ripped from m4a files sent in by Joan many years ago. The series was revived on the blog in 2016, so here they are again, and despite the low bitrate there's still plenty of whomp in the bomp on these suckers. Blues blast ahoy!

Coming soon - Gabe's Dirty Blues, new rips of some Old King Gold collections, enough Bostic to drive any normal person insane, and whatever else Be Bop Wino can come up with.

Stay safe out there in rockin' rhythm land.

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson - Oil Man Blues

Side 1:

01. Kidney Stew Blues

02. Old Maid Boogie

03. Lazy Gal

04. Bonus Pay

05. King For A Day Blues

06. Oil Man Blues

07. Wandering Mind Blues

Side 2:

01. Some Women Do

02. Alimony Blues

03. High Class Baby

04. When I Get Drunk

05. Have You Ever Missed Your Baby?

06. Ever-Ready Blues

07. Wrong Girl Blues

Download from here:

http://www35.zippyshare.com/v/RWObBcq2/file.html

Another homemade comp under the imaginary "Saxophony" label, a tribute to Saxophonograph. This collection of Eddie "Mr Cleanhead" Vinson small group sides (recorded for Mercury) serves as a companion to the Saxophonograph LP "Mr Cleanhead Steps Out" although I have duplicated two tracks from that album - "Kidney Stew Blues" and "Old Maid Boogie."

If you've been following the recent re-ups (and referring back to the original posts) on Cootie Williams and Eddie Vinson, you'll know that Vinson left the Cootie Williams Orchestra in 1945 to start up his own big band which signed up to the new Mercury label. Around the end of 1946 or beginning of 1947 Eddie started to  record sessions with a slimmed down version of the big band, indeed only one session in 1947 featured the larger aggregation, on April 29th, when "Luxury Tax Blues," "Railroad Porter's Blues," and "Gonna Send You Back Where I Got You From" were recorded.

Full details of the small group sessions are given below, plus the release dates of the sides recorded at these sessions.

Eddie's last recording session for Mercury took place at the end of December 1947, a few days before the start of the American Federation of Musicians recording ban. He would not record again until August 1949 when he started recording a dynamite series of small group sides for King (see the "Cherry Red Blues" post).

These Mercury sides are just as good, if not better, than the King sides. They have a more relaxed, easy swinging vibe to them and despite my decades long love of Eddie's King recordings, I've recently become a convert to the attractions of his Mercury material. Download and judge for yourselves.

And now just for Democratic fellows named Mac, it's time to take you right back to the facts on these tracks, Jack!

The Mercury small group sessions:

New York, November 1946 or January 22nd, 1947 -

Eddie Vinson (alto sax; vocals) with: John Hunt (trumpet); Lee Pope (tenor sax); Greely Walton (baritone sax); Earl Van Riper (piano); Leonard "Heavy" Swain (bass); George "Butch" Ballard (drums):

Kidney Stew Blues (Mercury 8028)

King For A Day (Mercury 8060)

Old Maid Boogie (Mercury 8028)

New York, March 6th, 1947 -

Same personnel as on January 22nd session:

Lazy Gal (Mercury 8039)

Bonus Pay (Mercury 8039)

New York, June 26th, 1947 -

Same personnel as on January 22nd session:

When I Get Drunk (Mercury 8090)

Oil Man Blues (Mercury 8067)

Ever-Ready Blues (Mercury 8138)

Wrong Girl Blues (Mercury 8244)

Wandering Mind Blues (Mercury 8067)

Have You Ever Missed Your Baby? (Mercury 8110)

New York, December 22nd, 1947 -

Same personnel as above:

Some Women Do (Mercury 8076)

Alimony Blues (Mercury 8076)

High Class Baby (Mercury 8090)

The following titles were recorded on December 28th, 1947, in New York by the same personnel as above but are not on this compilation. You can find them on the Saxophonograph LP "Mr Cleanhead Steps Out." -

I Took The Front Door In (Mercury 8138)

Friday Fish Fry (instrumental) (Mercury  8110)

Shavetail (instrumental) (Mercury 8244)

Eddie Vinson's small group sides for Mercury were released as follows:

Kidney Stew Blues / Old Maid Boogie (Mercury 8028) released in January or February 1947

Lazy Gal / Bonus Pay (Mercury 8039) released in May 1947

King For A Day Blues / Railroad Porter's Blues (Mercury 8060) released in November 1947

Oil Man Blues / Wandering Mind Blues (Mercury 8067) released in December 1947

Some Women Do / Alimony Blues (Mercury 8076) released in April 1948

High Class Baby / When I Get Drunk (Mercury 8090) released in July 1948

Friday Fish Fry / Have You Ever Missed Your Baby? (Mercury 8110) released in November 1948

 I Took The Front Door In / Ever-Ready Blues (Mercury 8138) released in May 1949

Wrong Girl Blues / Shavetail (Mercury 8244) released in August 1951

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson - Cherry Red Blues (re-up)

Volume One

Side One:
1. Cherry Red
2. Ashes On My Pillow
3. Kidney Stew
4. Queen Bee Blues
5. Somebody Done Stole My Cherry Red
6. Lonesome Train

Side Two:
1. Person To Person
2. My Big Brass Bed Is Gone
3. Rainy Mornin' Blues
4. I Need You Tonight
5. Featherbed Mama
6. Good Bread Alley

Volume Two

Side One:
1. I'm Gonna Wind Your Clock
2. I'm Weak But Willing
3. No Good Woman Blues
4. Jump And Grunt
5. Big Mouth Gal

Side Two:
1. The People On My Party Line
2. Peas And Rice
3. I Trusted You (But You Double-Crossed Me)
4. Bald Headed Blues
5. If You Don't Think I'm Sinking

All tracks recorded for King 1949 – 1952, except “Cherry Red” and “Kidney Stew”, which were recorded for Bethlehem in 1957.

Download this 2LP set from here:

Cherry Red Blues (Mega)

The original post (27th September 2010) is here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/eddie-cleanhead-vinson-cherry-red-blues.html

We continue the Eddie Vinson story with a re-up of one of my favourite compilations. This 2LP set of Eddie's King recordings was one of the first "real" R&B collections I ever bought - nearly forty years ago. Read the original post for my reminiscence of purchasing the discs which helped to make me the man I am today - a bop-addled dropout. Listener beware!

I've added a whole load of brain-wrecking background information below. Read on at your peril.

Recording dates for the tracks:

Volume One

1. Cherry Red (New York, September, 1957)
2. Ashes On My Pillow (Cincinnati, August 10, 1949)
3. Kidney Stew (New York, September, 1957)
4. Queen Bee Blues (New York, May 22, 1950)
5. Somebody Done Stole My Cherry Red (Cincinnati, August 10, 1949)
6. Lonesome Train (Cincinnati, July 7, 1952)
7. Person To Person (Cincinnati, July 7, 1952)
8. My Big Brass Bed Is Gone (New York, May 22, 1950)
9. Rainy Mornin' Blues (New York, March 20, 1951)
10. I Need You Tonight (Cincinnati, July 7, 1952)
11. Featherbed Mama (Cincinnati, August 30, 1949)
12. Good Bread Alley (Cincinnati, July 7, 1952)

Volume Two

1. I'm Gonna Wind Your Clock (Cincinnati, August 10, 1949)
2. I'm Weak But Willing (Cincinnati, August 30, 1949)
3. No Good Woman Blues (Cincinnati, August 30, 1949)
4. Jump And Grunt (New York, May 22, 1950)
5. Big Mouth Gal (New York, May, 1950)
6. The People On My Party Line (New York, March 20, 1951)
7. Peas And Rice (New York, May, 1950)
8. I Trusted You (But You Double-Crossed Me) (New York, May, 1950)
9. Bald Headed Blues (New York, May, 1950)
10. If You Don't Think I'm Sinking (New York, May 22, 1950)

The sessions:

(Tracks in italics are not on this compilation)

Cincinnati, August 10, 1949 -

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (alto sax, vocals) with: Henderson Williams (trumpet); Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Harry Porter (tenor saxes); Al Townsend (baritone sax); Wynton Kelly (piano); Frank Skeete (bass) Leon Abrams (drums):

Ashes On My Pillow (King 4355)

I'm Gonna Wind Your Clock (King 4331)

Wineola (King 4313)

Somebody Done Stole My Cherry Red (King 4313)

Cincinnati, August 16, 1949 -

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (alto sax, vocals) with same personnel as above:

Eddie's Bounce (instrumental) (King 4381)

Cincinnati, August 30, 1949 -

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (alto sax, vocals) with: Calvin Hughes (trumpet); James Buxton (trombone); Harry Porter and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (tenor saxes); Wynton Kelly (piano); Frank Skeete (bass); Leon Abrams (drums):

I'm Weak But Willing (King 4331)

Sittin' On It All The Time (unreleased)

Featherbed Mama (King 4442)

No Good Woman Blues (King 4355)

New York, May 1950 -
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (alto sax, vocals) with: Rostelle Reese (trumpet); Cornelius Tate (trumpet); Rudolph Williams (tenor sax); Orrington Hall (baritone sax); Milt Larkins (piano); Dave Richmond (bass); Rudolph Nichols (drums):

Bald Headed Blues (King 4442)
I Trusted You Baby (But You Double-crossed Me) (King 4426)
Peas And Rice (King 4414)
Big Mouth Gal (King 4426)

New York, May 22nd, 1950 -
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (alto sax, vocals) with: Joe Wilder (trumpet); Tyree Glenn (trombone); Buddy Tate (tenor sax); Bill Graham (baritone sax); Milt Buckner (piano); Gene Ramey (bass); Percy Brice (drums):

My Big Brass Bed Is Gone (King 4381)
Queen Bee Blues (King 4396)
If You Don't Think I'm Sinking (Look What
A Hole I'm In) (King 4414)
Jump And Grunt (instrumental) (King 4396)

New York, March 20th, 1951 -
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (alto sax, vocals) with: Rostelle Reese (trumpet); Milt Larkins (trombone); Lee Pope (tenor sax); Freddie Washington (piano); Billy Taylor (bass); Percy Brice (drums):

Rainy Mornin' Blues (King 4465)
Home Boy (King 4456)
The People On My Party Line (King 4465)
Time After Time (King 4456)

Cincinnati, 7th July, 1952 -
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (alto sax, vocals) with: Charles F. Lee (trumpet); Slide Hampton (trombone); Charlie Rouse (tenor sax); Walter Hiles (baritone sax); Joe Lawson (piano); John Faire (guitar); Car Lee (bass); Wilbur Hogan (drums):

Lonesome Train (trumpet, piano out) (King 4582)
Person To Person (King 4582)
I Need You Tonight (King 4563)
Good Bread Alley (guitar out) (King 4563)

New York, September 1957 -
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (alto sax, vocals) with: Joe Newman (trumpet); Henry Coker (trombone); Paul Quinichette (tenor sax); Bill Graham (baritone sax;) Nat Pierce (piano); Turk Van Lake (guitar); Eddie Jones (bass); Ed Thigpen (drums):

Cherry Red (Bethlehem BCP 5005)
Kidney Stew (Bethlehem BCP 5005)

The original releases:
(Tracks in italics are not on this compilation)

Somebody Done Stole My Cherry Red / Wineola (King 4313) - October 1949

I'm Weak But Willing / I'm Gonna Wind Your Clock (King 4331) - January 1950

Ashes On My Pillow / No Good Woman Blues (King 4355) - May 1950

My Big Brass Bed Is Gone / Eddie's Bounce (King 4381) - July 1950

Queen Bee Blues / Jump And Grunt (King 4396) - September 1950

If You Don't Think I'm Sinking (Look What a Hole I'm In) / Peas And Rice (King 4414) - December 1950

I Trusted You Baby (But You Double-Crossed Me) / Big Mouth Gal (King 4426) - January 1951

Featherbed Mama / Bald Headed Blues (King 4442) - May 1951

Home Boy / Time After Time (King 4456) - June 1951

Rainy Mornin' Blues / The People On My Party Line (King 4465) - August 1951

Good Bread Alley / I Need You Tonight (King 4563) - September 1952

Lonesome Train / Person To Person (King 4582) - December 1952

Cherry Red and Kidney Stew were issued on the Bethlehem LP "Eddie Vinson Sings: Cleanhead's Back In Town" (BCP - 5005) in December 1957.

If you want to hear the complete Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson on King in crystal clear sound quality then you must purchase the Ace CD "Bald Headed Blues" (CDCHD 877). This is a collection which I highly recommend. It scores 10/10 on the Be Bop Wino scale of hipness.

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson - Mr. Cleanhead Steps Out (re-up)

Side A
1. Mr Cleanhead Steps Out
2. When My Baby Left Me (Cootie Williams)
3. Juice Head Baby (Cootie Williams)
4. Kidney Stew Blues
5. I've Been So Good
6. It's A Groovy Affair
7. Old Maid Boogie
8. Shavetail

Side B
1. Gonna Send You Back Where I Got You From
2. Luxury Tax Blues
3. Wrong Girl Blues
4. Friday Fish Fry
5. I Took The Front Door In
6. Home Boy
7. Eddie's Bounce
8. Time After Time

Download from:

http://www11.zippyshare.com/v/UaRpt5JG/file.html

Original post (11th September 2010) is here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/eddie-cleanhead-vinson-mr-cleanhead.html

It is an extensive post outlining Eddie Vinson's career with Cootie Williams and then as the leader of his own band. Eddie's band was initially a big band but he cut back to a small group in mid 1947. On the original post there is a list of issue numbers of the tracks along with their recording dates. For this post I've done the usual research which has become standard on Be Bop Wino in order to dig out the lowdown on when these fine discs were originally issued. The details are below.

Worth noting - On Mercury Eddie Vinson was billed as Eddie "Mr. Cleanhead" Vinson or just plain Eddie Vinson. On King he was billed as Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. The two Cootie Williams tracks on Capitol were recorded in July 1945 but not released until 1946. Mercury 8244 was released in August 1951 although Eddie Vinson's last recordings for that label were made in December 1947.

The volume of the mp3s has been boosted for this post and new label shots added.

Original release details:

Side A:

1. Mr. Cleanhead Steps Out (B Side of "Juice Head Baby") - Mercury 2031 - December 1945

2. When My Baby Left Me (b/w "Echoes Of Harlem") - Capitol 266 - July 1946 (Cootie Williams)

3. Juice Head Baby (b/w "Salt Lake City Bounce") Capitol 237 - February 1946 (Cootie Williams)

4. Kidney Stew Blues  (b/w "Old Maid Boogie") - Mercury 8028 - January 1947

5. I've Been So Good (B Side of "It's A Groovy Affair") - Mercury 2030 - December 1945

 6. It's A Groovy Affair (b/w "I've Been So Good") - Mercury 2030 - December 1945

7. Old Maid Boogie (B Side of "Kidney Stew Blues") - Mercury 8028 - January 1947

8. Shavetail (B Side of "Wrong Girl Blues") - Mercury 8244 - August 1951

Side B:

1. Gonna Send You Back Where I Got You From (b/w "Luxury Tax Blues") - Mercury 8051 - September 1947

2. Luxury Tax Blues (B Side of "Gonna Send You Back Where I Got You From") - Mercury 8051 - September 1947

3. Wrong Girl Blues (b/w "Shavetail") - Mercury 8244 - August 1951

4. Friday Fish Fry (b/w "Have You Ever Missed Your Baby?") - Mercury 8110 - November 1948

5. I Took The Front Door In (b/w "Ever-Ready Blues") - Mercury 8138 - May 1949

(Above: The Cash Box ads from 1948)

6. Home Boy (b/w "Time After Time") - King 4456 - June 1951

7. Eddie's Bounce (B Side of "My Big Brass Bed Is Gone") - King 4381 - August 1950

8. Time After Time (B Side of "Home Boy") - King 4456 - June 1951

Above: Review from "The Cash Box" June 23rd, 1951.

Coming soon - a re-up of the fantastic King sides by Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson!

Cootie Williams & His Orchestra - Echoes Of Harlem (re-up)

Side 1
1. Echoes Of Harlem
2. Things Ain't What They Used To Be (vocal – Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson)
3. Tess' Torch Song (vocal – Pearl Bailey)
4. You Talk A Little Trash
5. Sweet Lorraine
6. Cherry Red Blues (vocal – Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson)
7. 'Round Midnight
8. Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby? (vocal – Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson)

Side 2
1. Blue Garden Blues
2. Floogie Boo (vocal – Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson)
3. I Don't Know
4. Gotta Do Some War Work (vocal – Cootie Williams)
5. My Old Flame
6. Now I Know (vocal – Pearl Bailey)
7. Somebody's Gotta Go (vocal – Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson)
8. Honeysuckle Rose

Download from here:

http://www120.zippyshare.com/v/QH3DNNhx/file.html

Original post (4th September 2010) is here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/cootie-williams-his-orchestra-echoes-of.html

Read the post and the back cover of the LP for the background to these recordings and information on the personnel.

Recorded in New York City for Hit/Majestic on the 4th and 6th of January and the 22nd of August 1944.

1. Echoes Of Harlem (January 6, 1944)

2. Things Ain't What They Used To Be (January 6, 1944)

3. Tess' Torch Song (January 6, 1944)

4. You Talk A Little Trash (January 4, 1944)

5. Sweet Lorraine (January 6, 1944)

6. Cherry Red Blues (January 6, 1944)

7. 'Round Midnight (August 22, 1944)

8. Is You Is Or Is You Ain't? (August 22, 1944)

9. Blue Garden Blues (August 22, 1944)

10. Floogie Boo (January 4, 1944)

11. I Don't Know (January 4, 1944)

12. Gotta Do Some War Work (January 4, 1944)

13. My Old Flame (January 6, 1944)

14. Now I Know (January 6, 1944)

15. Somebody's Gotta Go (August 22, 1944)

16. Honeysuckle Rose (January 6, 1944)

Original 78 rpm releases:

Hit 7075 - Now I Know / Tess's Torch song - April 1944

Hit 7084 (Majestic 7084) - Cherry Red Blues / Things Ain't What They Used To Be - April 1944

Hit 7108 (Majestic 7108) - Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby? / Blues Garden Blues - September 1944

Hit 7119 (Majestic 7119) also Hit 7148 - Somebody's Gotta Go / 'Round Midnight - December 1944

*Hit 7131 (Majestic 7131) - I'm Beginning To See The Light / Saturday Night Is The Loneliest Night Of The Week - March 1945 - not on this LP. See next post "Typhoon."

The following four 78 rpm discs were released on Hit album H-122 ("Echoes Of Harlem") in October 1944:

Hit 8087 - My Old Flame / Echoes of Harlem

Hit 8088 - Sweet Lorraine / Honeysuckle Rose

Hit 8089 - You Talk a Little Trash / Floogie Boo

Hit 8090 - I Don't Know / Gotta Do Some War Work (Do Some War Work Baby)

Battle Of The Blues Volume 4 (King LP 668)

Tracklist:

Side 1:

01. Big Mouth Gal - Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson

02. Bring It Back - Wynonie Harris

03. If You Don't Think I'm Sinking - Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson

04. Trouble At Midnight - Roy Brown

05. Peas And Rice - Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson

06. Rock Mr Blues - Wynonie Harris

Side 2:

01. Lonesome Train - Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson

02. Old Age Boogie - Roy Brown

03. Bald Headed Blues - Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson

04. Grandma Plays The Numbers - Wynonie Harris

05. Good Bread Alley - Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson

06. Queen Of Diamonds - Roy Brown

Download from:

http://www26.zippyshare.com/v/ti1UZFka/file.html

Battle Of The Blues Volume 4 (Mega)

 

The 4th and final volume of King's "Battle Of The Blues" series has only 12 tracks - 6 by Eddie Vinson, and 3 each by Roy Brown and Wynonie Harris. Tracks recorded 1948 - 1954 and this LP was originally released in 1959. Session details are included in the download:

Once again many thanks to Joan K for this LP which was originally posted on the 13th December 2008 here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/eddie-cleanhead-vinson-roy-brown_13.html

More re-ups coming soon!

Battle Of The Blues Volume 3 (King LP 634)

Tracklist:

Side 1 (Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson):

01. Person To Person

02. I'm Weak But I'm Willing

03. Somebody Done Stole My Cherry Red

04. Queen Bee

05. Featherbed Mama

06. I Trusted You Baby

07. No Good Woman

08. Ashes On My Pillow

Side 2 (Jimmy Witherspoon):

01. The Last Mile

02. 24 Sad Hours

03. Blues In Trouble

04. Sad Life

05. Don't Tell Me How

06. Foolish Prayer

07. Highway To Happiness

08. I Done Told You

Download from here:

http://www119.zippyshare.com/v/YOpdZlHz/file.html

Volume 3 of King's "Battle Of The Blues" series was originally released in 1959. The recording details are in the original post from 8th December 2008 here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/eddie-vinson-jimmy-witherspoon-battle_08.html

The Eddie Vinson tracks were recorded for King between 1949 and 1952. The Jimmy Witherspoon tracks were recorded for Federal in 1952 and 1953.

The Eddie Vinson story can be read on these two blog posts:

"Mr Cleanhead Steps Out" (11th September 2010) at -

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/eddie-cleanhead-vinson-mr-cleanhead.html

and "Cherry Red Blues" (27th September 2010) at -

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/eddie-cleanhead-vinson-cherry-red-blues.html

Please note that "Battle Of The Blues Volume 4" was ripped at 128 kbps.

Thanks to Joan K for this series.

Blog Update - Eddie Vinson on Mercury

Thanks to El Enmascadero Del Platter (uh?), four label scans of the Eddie Vinson recordings on Mercury of  "Cherry Red Blues" and "Somebody's Got To Go" have been added to the post "Mr Cleanhead Steps Out." Worth a look!

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson - Cherry Red Blues

Volume One

Side One:

1. Cherry Red
2. Ashes On My Pillow
3. Kidney Stew
4. Queen Bee Blues
5. Somebody Done Stole My Cherry Red
6. Lonesome Train

Side Two:

1. Person To Person
2. My Big Brass Bed Is Gone
3. Rainy Mornin' Blues
4. I Need You Tonight
5. Featherbed Mama
6. Good Bread Alley

Volume Two

Side One:

1. I'm Gonna Wind Your Clock
2. I'm Weak But Willing
3. No Good Woman Blues
4. Jump And Grunt
5. Big Mouth Gal

Side Two:

1. The People On My Party Line
2. Peas And Rice
3. I Trusted You (But You Double-Crossed Me)
4. Bald Headed Blues
5. If You Don't Think I'm Sinking

All tracks recorded for King 1949 – 1952, except “Cherry Red” and “Kidney Stew”, which were recorded for Bethlehem in 1957.

Oh what an album to have as the follow up to the “Mr Cleanhead Steps Out” post! This 2LP set on the Gusto label was one of the earliest collections of the honkin’ and screamin’ variety of R&B that I bought. And not in some hip record store stacked full of obscure American imports either, but somewhat surrealistically in the basement of Littlewood’s department store in Argyle Street, Glasgow. They didn’t have much of a record department, but for some unknown reason they’d laid in a stock of Gusto LPs, mostly double album sets of the likes of Wynonie Harris, Little Willie John, Roy Brown, Freddie King, and on one set a mixture of tracks by Memphis Slim, Pete “Guitar” Lewis and Little Willie Littlefield. They sold for a modest £2.99 each and how I wish I’d bought the lot and not just the five which currently lurk on my vinyl shelves.

But to our tale … back in 1947 Eddie Vinson had enjoyed his biggest chart hit on Mercury with “Kidney Stew” / “Old Maid Boogie.” During that year he’d cut his big band back to a small jump combo and had been recording right up to within a couple of days of the start of the second AFM recording ban. When he resumed his recording career on August 10th 1949, he had signed with Syd Nathan’s King Records with whom he would stay until July 1952, laying down a series of dynamite blues tracks backed by tight-as-a-gnat’s-chuff combos which featured rip-roaring tenor sax from Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Buddy Tate and Lee Pope (who had played with Eddie back in the Cootie Williams band days.)

Despite the superb quality of these tracks (they are responsible for my 30 year addiction to this kind of music) they mostly didn’t sell well at the time. “Somebody Done Stole My Cherry Red” did reasonable business in 1949, although nowhere nearly as successfully as the hit to which it was a rather belated answer record, “Cherry Red Blues,” which Eddie had recorded with the Cootie Williams Orchestra back in 1944. Of the other King sides, “I’m Gonna Wind Your Clock” (1950) and “Person To Person” (1953) also managed to brush the charts.

There were probably two reasons for this lack of success. In the first few years of Eddie’s spell with King, Syd Nathan was promoting similar sounding sides by Wynonie Harris and Roy Brown, leaving little time or money to provide similar promotion for Eddie. In the latter years of Eddie’s King spell, trends and tastes in R&B were changing and vocal groups like The Dominoes and The Clovers were selling heavily to a new generation of R&B fans to whom Eddie, Wynonie and Roy must have seemed, well, kind of old fashioned.

From January 1954 to February 1955 Eddie was back with his old label Mercury for whom he recorded more stirring R&B tracks backed by groups led by Arnett Cobb and Leroy Kirkland, but once again sales were disappointing and obscurity beckoned. It was Eddie’s jazz background which saved him from the fate of so many of his R&B contemporaries. In 1957 he recorded the album “Cleanhead’s Back In Town” for jazz label Bethlehem which was distributed by King (being bought over by that label in 1960). He was backed by musicians from the Count Basie Orchestra and two of the tracks have snuck on to this compilation – “Cherry Red” and “Kidney Stew” – both reworkings of his old 1940s hits. I only discovered this recently as they don’t sound any different from the King material and it simply never occurred to me that they could be from later sessions for a different label.

Scan courtesy of Robert Termorshuizen

Scan courtesy of Robert Termorshuizen

Eddie’s music career lasted right up to the year of his death in 1988. There were jazz recordings, including a session with Cannonball and Nat Adderley (he had jammed with them many years previously in Florida) and an R&B comeback with the Johnny Otis Show at Monterey. There were tours and recording sessions in the UK and Europe, including the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival and there was a spell being backed by R&B band Roomful Of Blues. Forty years on, fans of both R&B and jazz were still able to enjoy live and recorded performances by one of the originals from the golden years of the 1940s, an era which for many now seems lost in the mists of time but which lives on in the hearts of latter day hepcats of all ages.

"Cleanhead" tribute in Blues & Rhythm, August 1988

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

http://www47.zippyshare.com/v/SQPwu6VJ/file.html

Volume One

1. Cherry Red (New York, September, 1957)
2. Ashes On My Pillow (Cincinnati, August 10, 1949)
3. Kidney Stew (New York, September, 1957)
4. Queen Bee Blues (New York, May 22, 1950)
5. Somebody Done Stole My Cherry Red (Cincinnati, August 10, 1949)
6. Lonesome Train (Cincinnati, July 7, 1952)
7. Person To Person (Cincinnati, July 7, 1952)
8. My Big Brass Bed Is Gone (New York, May 22, 1950)
9. Rainy Mornin' Blues (New York, March 20, 1951)
10. I Need You Tonight (Cincinnati, July 7, 1952)
11. Featherbed Mama (Cincinnati, August 30, 1949)
12. Good Bread Alley (Cincinnati, July 7, 1952)

Volume Two

1. I'm Gonna Wind Your Clock (Cincinnati, August 10, 1949)
2. I'm Weak But Willing (Cincinnati, August 30, 1949)
3. No Good Woman Blues (Cincinnati, August 30, 1949)
4. Jump And Grunt (New York, May 22, 1950)
5. Big Mouth Gal (New York, May, 1950)
6. The People On My Party Line (New York, March 20, 1951)
7. Peas And Rice (New York, May, 1950)
8. I Trusted You (But You Double-Crossed Me) (New York, May, 1950)
9. Bald Headed Blues (New York, May, 1950)
10. If You Don't Think I'm Sinking (New York, May 22, 1950)

Recommended purchase:

Ace CDCHD 877

It just has to be “Bald Headed Blues (his complete King recordings 1949-52)" on Ace CDCHD 877. 26 tracks from the original masters with sleeve notes by Dave Penny. Included is the previously unissued Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson version of “Sittin’ On It All The Time,” a particularly wild version of which was a hit for Wynonie Harris in 1950. It is, of course, a raunched up rehash of Cleanhead’s old 1947 hit “Old Maid Boogie.” This particular CD belongs in my all time top 10 of R&B reissues by Ace. Go git it!

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson - Mr Cleanhead Steps Out

Side A
1. Mr Cleanhead Steps Out
2. When My Baby Left Me (Cootie Williams)
3. Juice Head Baby (Cootie Williams)
4. Kidney Stew Blues
5. I've Been So Good
6. It's A Groovy Affair
7. Old Maid Boogie
8. Shavetail

Side B
1. Gonna Send You Back Where I Got You From
2. Luxury Tax Blues
3. Wrong Girl Blues
4. Friday Fish Fry
5. I Took The Front Door In
6. Home Boy
7. Eddie's Bounce
8. Time After Time

Let’s get the nickname out of the way first. Eddie Vinson earned the soubriquet of “Cleanhead” after an overenthusiastic application of lye-based hair straightener burned his scalp and left him with a head as smooth as a baby’s bottom. By the time his hair started to grow back, Eddie had become so enamoured of his new look that he kept his head shaved for ever after.

He was born in Houston, Texas, in December 1917. Music ran in the family, both parents being pianists and a grandfather being a violinist. At around the age of 17 Eddie took up the alto saxophone and was soon so proficient that he was attracting the attention of local bands. However, it was with the territory band of Chester Boone that Eddie commenced his musical career. A former member of the Boone band was trumpeter and fellow native of Houston, Milt Larkin, who formed his own band in 1936, taking tenor sax man Arnett Cobb from the Boone outfit. Cobb recommended Vinson to Larkin and by 1937 Eddie was a member of what soon became the hottest territory band in Texas.

Sadly, the Larkin outfit remained unrecorded but it soon acquired a formidable reputation in battles against not only fellow territory bands, but also against national “name” bands. In the late 1930s and early 1940s the Milt Larkin band included musicians like Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, Tom Archia, Russell Jacquet and even T-Bone Walker for a short spell. At this time Eddie’s vocal efforts were limited to ballad singing, but while singing the blues in an impromptu backstage session in late 1941 he was overheard by former Duke Ellington trumpet player Cootie Williams.

Williams had come south to Houston with the intention of signing Arnett Cobb to the new band he was forming back up in New York. Cobb refused to budge, but after three attempts at persuasion Eddie Vinson made the long rail journey to New York City to become the star of The Cootie Williams Orchestra. In 1944 the band recorded several sessions for Hit / Majestic and it was the numbers which featured the distinctive voice of Vinson which became hits. “Cherry Red Blues” made it to number two on the Harlem Hit Parade and “Somebody’s Got To Go” reached number one.

In mid-1945 the Cootie Williams band signed with Capitol Records. In the first half of the year Eddie had been drafted and his alto sax chair was temporarily filled by Charlie Parker. Eddie’s asthmatic condition (which accounted for the peculiar wheeze and catch in his singing voice) plus the collapse of the Third Reich meant that his absence was a short one. He was back with the band for the July recording sessions at which he sang “When My Baby Left Me” and “Juice Head Baby.”

These were his last recordings for the Cootie Williams band. Having established himself as a major star (top R&B band vocalist in 1944), Eddie felt it was time to strike out on his own and before the year was out he was fronting his own big band on Mercury Records. There were fifteen men swingin’ on the fine instrumental “Mr Cleanhead Steps Out” which was backed with a remake of “Juice Head Baby.” The first single issued from the session had some superb blues hollerin’ – “I’ve Been So Good,” backed with a catchy swing instrumental “It’s A Groovy Affair.” The next session produced two further remakes of numbers Eddie originally recorded with Cootie Williams – “Cherry Red Blues” and “Somebody’s Got To Go.”


Original 78rpm disc scans courtesy El Enmascadero Del Platter

Before the end of 1945 there was a third recording session for the big band, but there was a gap of ten months before the band hit the studio again in October 1946, recording a lone single, “Cleanhead Blues” / “When A Woman Loves Her Juice.”

1947 is often cited as the year the big bands really hit trouble. At the beginning of the year many of the best known groups broke up. Benny Carter, Les Brown, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Jack Teagarden, Tommy Dorsey and Harry James all disbanded their aggregations, although some were to subsequently reform. In January of 1947 Eddie Vinson was back in the recording studio, but this time with a reduced seven piece line-up. The session produced his biggest hit under his own name – “Kidney Stew” / “Old Maid Boogie,” the eighth top selling R&B single of 1947.

There was one last big band session in mid-1947 (“Gonna Send You Back Where I Got You From”) but all subsequent recordings were with small jump band line-ups. Eddie’s stay with the Mercury label lasted until December 1947 with the last sides being made on the 28th as the second AFM strike loomed. “I Took The Front Door In” was a standard blues shout from Eddie, but “Shavetail” and “Friday Fish Fry” are interesting bop influenced instrumentals. Although it was his blues singing which provided Eddie with his biggest hits, it was his fine jazzy alto sax playing which would help prolong his career once the jumpin’ and shoutin’ style of rhythm and blues had gone out of fashion.

Eddie’s recording career didn’t resume until August 1949 when he signed with King Records with whom he stayed until July 1952. The King sides were the first Eddie Vinson records I ever heard (on a Gusto 2LP set) and mighty impressive they were too. But despite the outstanding musicianship on display (“Lockjaw” Davis and Buddy Tate were in the backing bands), none of the sides were hits. This was probably due not only to King honcho Syd Nathan concentrating on his two biggest R&B stars of the time, Roy Brown and Wynonie Harris, but also to the fact that by the early fifties Eddie’s jazzy jump blues was going out of style.

Of the three King sides on this LP, “Home Boy” is a loping blues shuffle with a great tenor sax break by Lee Pope who had been with Eddie since the days of the Cootie Williams band. “Eddie’s Bounce” is another boppish instrumental and most unusually, “Time After Time” is a ballad sung by Eddie, which takes us all the way back to his days as a featured ballad singer in the Milt Larkin band.

Some of Eddie’s King sides will feature in an upcoming post, but you can find a selection of them on the blog in Volume 3 and Volume 4 of the “Battle of the Blues” albums.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

http://www11.zippyshare.com/v/UaRpt5JG/file.html

1. Mr Cleanhead Steps Out (Mercury 2031, December (?) 1945)
2. When My Baby Left Me (Capitol 266, July 1945)*
3. Juice Head Baby (Capitol 237, May or July 1945)*
4. Kidney Stew Blues (Mercury 8028, January 1947)
5. I've Been So Good (Mercury 2030, December 1945)
6. It's A Groovy Affair (Mercury 2030, December 1945)
7. Old Maid Boogie (Mercury 8028, January 1947)
8. Shavetail (Mercury 8244, December 1947)
9. Gonna Send You Back Where I Got You From (Mercury 8051, April 1947)
10. Luxury Tax Blues (Mercury 8051, April 1947)
11. Wrong Girl Blues (Mercury 8244, June 1947)
12. Friday Fish Fry (Mercury 8110, December 1947)
13. I Took The Front Door In (Mercury 8138, December 1947)
14. Home Boy (King 4456, March 1951)
15. Eddie's Bounce (King 4381, August 1949)
16. Time After Time (King 4456, March 1951)

* = Cootie Williams & His Orchestra

Recommended listening – The JSP 4 CD set “Honk for Texas” as already recommended on the Big Jim Wynn post. Over 2 CDs of Eddie, from Cootie to King. Plus about one and a half CDs of Jim Wynn. Get it!