Memphis Blues

Side 1:
01. Passing By Blues - Howlin' Wolf
02. I'm The Wolf - Howlin' Wolf
03. The Way You Treat Me - Joe Hill Louis
04. Highway 99 - Joe Hill Louis
05. Walter's Blues - Walter Horton
06. Love My Baby - Bobby Bland & Junior Parker

Side 2:
01. Drifting From Town To Town - Bobby Bland
02. Western Union Man - Joe Hill Louis
03. The Sun Is Rising - Howlin' Wolf
04. My Friends - Howlin' Wolf
05. Lonesome Bedroom Blues - Willie Nix
06. Little Boy Blue - Walter Horton

Memphis Blues (Mega)

Memphis Blues (Zippy)

This LP was originally issued on the Bihari's Kent label around 1969/70 as part of the "Anthology Of The Blues" series which was later reissued on their budget United label and then on the French Musidisc label. I posted the two Elmore James LPs from this series back in 2016, leaving another 3 from the series to post, which I'll be doing over the next week or two.

"Memphis Blues" follows on nicely from the previous post of Howlin' Wolf's recordings for Sam Phillips. This LP has 4 of the sides Wolf recorded for Joe Bihari and Ike Turner in West Memphis after the great fall out between Sam and the Biharis as recounted in the posts on Wolf and Rosco Gordon.

The first track on the LP, Wolf's "Passing By Blues," suffers from a woefully out of tune piano on which Ike Turner bashes away enthusiastically. Don't let that put you off because the rest of the tracks are pretty ace. Many were recorded in 1951 at the Memphis Recording Service pre-dating the Phillips / Bihari dispute. Full details are below.

Trax Fax

Howlin' Wolf -

"Passing By Blues" - recorded on October 2nd 1951, West Memphis. Released on RPM 340 in December 1951. Personnel - Howlin' Wolf (vocal, harmonica); Ike Turner (piano); Willie Johnson (guitar); Willie Steele (drums).

"I'm The Wolf," "The Sun Is Rising" and "My Friends" recorded in West Memphis on February 12th, 1952. First released this album Kent LP 9002). Personnel as above, add unknown bass player.

Joe Hill Louis -

One man band - vocal, guitar, harmonica, hi-hat, bass drum.

"Highway 99" and "The Way You Treat Me" - recorded on April 30th, 1951, Memphis Recording Service. First released on this album (Kent LP 9002).

"Western Union Man" - recorded on February 24th, 1953 at the Meteor Recording Studio, Memphis. First released on this album (Kent LP 9002). Different take to version released on Meteor 5004 as by "Chicago Sonny Boy."

Bobby Bland -

"Love My Baby" - recorded on January 24th, 1952, Memphis Recording Service. First released on this album (Kent LP 9002). Personnel - Bobby Bland (vocal); Junior Parker (vocal, harmonica); Johnny Ace (piano); Matt Murphy (guitar), Earl Forrest (drums).

"Drifting From Town To Town" - probably recorded on January 24th, 1952, Memphis Recording Service. Different version to that released on Modern 868 in June 1952. Personnel as above. First released on this album (Kent LP 9002).

Walter Horton -

"Little Boy Blue" and "Walter's Blues (I'm In Love With You)" recorded January or February 1951, Memphis Recording Service. Both first released on this album (Kent LP 9002). "Little Boy Blue" is probably a different take from that released on Modern 809. Personnel - Walter Horton (vocal, harmonica); Joe Hill Louis (guitar, percussion); Willie Johnson (guitar).

Willie Nix -

"Lonesome Bedroom Blues" recorded in July 1951, Memphis Recording Service. First released on RPM 327, Autumn, 1951. Personnel - Willie Nix (vocal, drums); Willie Johnson (guitar); Billy Love (piano).

Recommended Purchase

Blues sides released on Modern and its subsidiaries were packaged into a series of CDs by Ace (UK). "The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions" ran to 4 volumes. Volume 3 "Memphis On Down" was a 26 track collection which features some of the sides on this LP but now seems to be out of print. Try digging around! Still available from Ace as an MP3 download.

On The Blog

 The Blues Came Down From Memphis

Red Hot & Blue

Grab yourselves some more of that Memphis blues sound!

Little Junior Parker And The Blue Flames - I Wanna Ramble

Side One:
01. I Wanna Ramble
02. Please Baby Blues
03. Dirty Friend Blues
04. Can't Understand
05. Sittin' Drinkin' And Thinkin'*
06. Driving Me Mad
07. I'm Tender
08. Pretty Baby

Side Two:
01. Sweet Home Chicago
02. 5 Long Years**
03. Can You Tell Me Baby
04. Backtracking
05. There Better Be No Feet (In Them Shoes)***
06. Mother-In-Law Blues
07. That's Alright
08. Pretty Baby (version 2)

* Track 5 was identified wrongly by Ace. It is NOT "Sittin' Drinkin' And Thinkin'" (A Side of "Please Baby Blues"). This track is "Sitting And Thinking", which was the B Side of "Wondering."

** Track 10 (Side 2 track 2) - the  title on the original single release is "Five Long Years".

** Track 13 (Side 2 track 5) was wrongly titled on this LP. The title on the original single release was "There Better Not Be No Feet (In Them Shoes)".

An early Ace (UK) LP from 1982 of 1950s sides recorded by Little Junior Parker for Duke Records, Houston. As you can see from the notes above there were some errors in the compilation. Unfortunately I've tagged the tracks as they were listed on the LP sleeve, so sticklers for accuracy will have to change the tags after downloading. There are are a few clicks and pops on this album but they shouldn't prevent you from enjoying a terrific record.

Download from here:

I Wanna Ramble (Mega)

Facts on the tracks:

All sides recorded in Houston, Texas

01. I Wanna Ramble - Duke 137, recorded 10th June 1954.
02. Please Baby Blues - Duke 127, recorded 2nd December 1953.
03. Dirty Friend Blues - Duke 120, recorded 2nd December 1953.
04. Can't Understand - Duke 120, recorded 2nd December 1953.
05. Sitting And Thinking - Duke 184, recorded in January 1958.
06. Driving Me Mad - Duke 147, recorded February 22nd - 26th 1955.
07. I'm Tender - Unreleased, recorded February 22nd - 26th 1955.
08. Pretty Baby - 1st version, unreleased, recorded February 22nd - 26th 1955.
09. Sweet Home Chicago - Duke 301, recorded in January, 1958.
10. Five Long Years - Duke 306, recorded in January, 1958.
11. Can You Tell Me Baby - Unreleased, recorded 10th June, 1954.
12. Backtracking - Duke 137, recorded 10th June, 1954.
13. There Better Not Be No Feet (In Them Shoes) - Duke 147, recorded February 22nd - 26th 1955.
14. Mother-In-Law Blues - Duke 157, recorded 7th May, 1956.
15. That's Alright - Duke 168, recorded 11th December, 1956.
16. Pretty Baby (version 2) - Duke 168, recorded 11th December, 1956.

Session details:

Please Baby Blues
Dirty Friend Blues
Can't Understand
- recorded on 2nd December, 1953. Personnel: Little Junior Parker (vocal); unknown saxes; Bill Johnson (piano); Pat Hare (guitar); unknown bass and drums

I Wanna Ramble
Can You Tell Me Baby
Backtracking
- recorded on 10th June, 1954. Personnel: Little Junior Parker (vocal); Jimmy Stewart (trumpet); Joe "Papoose" Fritz (alto sax); Jimmy Johnson (tenor sax); Rayfield Devers (baritone sax); Donnie McGowan (piano); Pat Hare (guitar); Hamp Simmons (bass); Sonny Freeman (drums)

I'm Tender
Pretty Baby (1st version)
Driving Me Mad
There Better Not Be No Feet (In Them Shoes)
- recorded between the 22nd and 26th February, 1955. Personnel: Little Junior Parker (vocal, harmonica); Joe Scott (trumpet); Pluma Davis (trombone); Bill Harvey (alto sax); Rayfield Devers (baritone sax); Connie Mack Booker (piano); Roy Gaines (guitar); Hamp Simmons (bass); Sonny Freeman (drums)

Mother-In-Law Blues
- recorded on 7th May, 1956. Personnel: Little Junior Parker (vocal, harmonica); Connie Mack Booker (piano); Pat Hare (guitar); Hamp Simmons (bass); Sonny Freeman (drums)

That's Alright
Pretty Baby (2nd version)
- recorded on 11th December, 1956. Personnel: Little Junior Parker (vocal, harmonica); Connie Mack Booker (piano); Pat Hare (guitar); Otis Jackson (bass); Sonny Freeman or John "Jabo" Starks (drums)

Sitting And Thinking
Five Long Years
Sweet Home Chicago
- recorded in January, 1958. Personnel: Little Junior Parker (vocal, harmonica) accompanied by unknown brass, reeds, piano, guitar, bass and drums.

Original release details:

Can't Understand / Dirty Friend Blues - released on Duke 120, March, 1954. "Little Junior" Parker w Bill Johnson's Blue Flames.

Please Baby Blues / Sittin' , Drinkin', And Thinkin' - released on Duke 127, June 1954. Little Junior Parker with Bill Johnson Blue Flames.

I Wanna Ramble / Backtracking - released on Duke 137, July 1955. Little Junior Parker w The Blue Flames.

Driving Me Mad / There Better Not Be No Feet (In Them Shoes) - released on Duke 147, October 1955. Little Junior Parker and His Orchestra.

Mother-In-Law Blues / That's My Baby - released on Duke 157, September 1956. Junior Parker and Bill Harvey's Band.

That's Alright / Pretty Baby - released on Duke 168, December 1957. Little Junior Parker and His Combo.

Wondering / Sitting And Thinking - released on Duke 184, April 1958. Little Junior Parker and His Band.

Sweet Home Chicago / Sometimes - released on Duke 301, November 1958. Little Junior Parker And His Band.

Five Long Years / I'm Holding On - released on Duke 306, April 1959. Little Junior Parker And His Band.

A native of West Memphis, Arkansas, Herman Parker Jr, aka Little Junior Parker was born in 1927. He had a hard upbringing on a farm. His first musical interest was gospel - at a young age he sang with a quartet and was influenced by the Swan Silvertones and the Staples Singers. In his teens he came under the influence of Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) for whose band he played harmonica. When Sonny Boy moved out of the West Memphis area, Parker started playing with Howlin' Wolf. At the beginning of the 1950's he was associated with the informal Memphis group of young musicians known as the Beale Streeters whose shifting personnel also included Bobby "Blue" Bland, B.B. King, Earl Forrest, Johnny Ace and Rosco Gordon.

Parker's first recordings were for Modern under the supervision of Ike Turner in early 1952. His first hit record came when he started recording for Sam Phillip's Sun label in 1953."Feelin' Good" was a number 5 R&B hit and the follow up "Love My Baby" / "Mystery Train" was a big influence on Elvis Presley whose version of "Mystery Train" incorporated Pat Hare's guitar riff from "Love My Baby."

In 1954 Junior Parker signed with Don Robey's Houston based Duke Records. The label had started out as a Memphis independent before being taken over by Robey. Despite the move to Houston, Duke continued a strong Memphis connection and Parker's label mates included fellow Beale Streeters Bobby Bland, Johnny Ace, Earl Forrest and Rosco Gordon.

Parker had a string of good sellers on Duke including "Mother-In-Law Blues", "Next Time You See Me", "Sweet Home Chicago" and in 1961 his biggest hit "Driving Wheel." Together with Bobby Bland he toured the chitlin' circuit with a dynamite package show called Blues Consolidated. Although his blues roots went back to Sonny Boy and Howlin' Wolf, his own sound developed into a forward looking, horn laden, gospel drenched modern blues with a strong affinity to soul music. This was the music of the clubs where the black audience gathered and it can be heard to good effect on the classic 1962 LP "Driving Wheel" (Duke LP 76).

Above: CD reissue of the 1962 LP "Driving Wheel". Junior poses in front of his Houston home with a 1960 Cadillac Fleetwood. No "folk blues" type broken-down country shack for our man!

Junior left Duke in 1966 and continued to record for Mercury, Blue Rock, Minit, Capitol, United Artists and Groove Merchant. He died in November 1971 while undergoing an operation for a brain tumor.

Recommended purchase:

Next Time You See Me ... And All The Hits (The Complete Singles 1952 - 1962) - Jasmine 2CD set, 50 tracks. Includes the early Modern and Sun sides, plus those great Duke singles.

Red Hot & Blue

Side 1:
01. Rocket 88 - Jackie Brenston
02. Red Hot And Blue - Dewey Phillips
03. Red Hot - Billy The Kid Emerson
04. Gee, I Wish - Billy Love
05. Baby Please Don't Go - Guitar Red
06. Love My Baby - Little Junior's Blue Flames
07. Bop With Me Baby - Rosco Gordon
08. The Hucklebuck - Earl Hooker
09. Strange Kinda Feeling - Tiny Kennedy

Side 2:
01. Bear Cat - Rufus Thomas
02. Ain't That Right - Eddie Snow
03. It Ain't Gonna Be That Way - Pat Hare
04. Oh Red - Howlin' Wolf
05. Mystery Train - Little Junior's Blue Flames
06. Doctor Ross' Boogie - Doctor Ross
07. Pinetop's Boogie Woogie - Pinetop Perkins
08. Blues Disease - Tiny Kennedy

Download from:

http://www90.zippyshare.com/v/B2APBTaE/file.html


Red Hot & Blue (Mega)


A 1983 Charly compilation of blues sides recorded at Sam Phillip's studio at 706 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee. Some of these sides were released on Sam's own label, Sun. Others were released on Chess (Jackie Brenston, Howlin' Wolf) and Trumpet (Tiny Kennedy) and many remained unreleased for decades. See the Facts on the Tracks below for more details.

The "hook" for this LP lies with the figure of wild man Memphis deejay Dewey Phillips, whose "Red Hot And Blue" show on WHBQ is credited with turning on the white youth of Memphis to rhythm and blues. He also helped to break the early Elvis records on Sun. Track 2 is a brief sample of the man a-hootin' and a-hollerin' over the rock 'n' roll airwaves.

Above: "Dewey and Elvis: The Life And Times Of A Rock 'n' Roll Deejay" by Louis Cantor, Illinois University Press, 2005. The Dewey Phillips story - a tale of hubris and nemesis, the rise and the downfall of one of rock 'n' roll's great characters. An all too human tragedy. At least his old pal Elvis turned up for the funeral.

Above: My beat-up copy of Robert Gordon's "It Came From Memphis". It has a chapter on Dewey - "Tell 'Em Phillips Sentcha." There's also a chapter titled "The World's Most Perfectly Formed Midget Wrestler."

The facts on the tracks, Jack. All the way from Memphis.

01. Rocket 88 - Jackie Brenston - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee on March 5th 1951. Personnel:
Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats: Jackie Brenston (vocal, baritone sax); Raymond Hill (tenor sax); Ike Turner (piano); Willie Kizart (guitar); Jesse Knight (bass); Willie Sims (drums). Released on Chess 1458 in April 1951.

02. Red Hot And Blue - Dewey Phillips - airshot, unknown date.

03. Red Hot - Billy "The Kid" Emerson - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee on May 31st 1955. Personnel: Billy "The Kid" Emerson (vocal); Moses Reed, Jewell Briscoe (tenor saxes); Billy "Red" Love (piano); Calvin Newborn (guitar); Kenneth Banks (bass) Phineas Newborn Sr. (drums); Released on Sun 219 in June 1955.

04. Gee, I Wish - Billy Love - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee on January 19th 1954. Personnel - Billy "Red" Love (vocal, piano); Harvey Simmons, Jewell Briscoe, Lucian Coleman (saxes); Charles McGowan (guitar); Kenneth Banks (bass) Houston Stokes (drums). "Gee, I Wish" was unreleased in the 1950s as were the rest of the tracks recorded at this session. Billy "Red" Love Memphis recordings were released on Chess in 1951 and 1952.

05. Baby Please Don't Go - Guitar Red - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee on unknown date circa 1953 or 1954. Personnel - Guitar Red (vocal, guitar)  A.C. Reed (tenor sax); Dennis Binder (piano) Robert Prindell (drums). Unreleased.

06. Love My Baby - Little Junior's Blue Flames - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee in September / October 1953. Personnel: Little Junior Parker (vocal); unknown (alto sax); Raymond Hill, James Wheeler (tenor saxes); William Johnson (piano); Floyd Murphy, Pat Hare (guitars); Kenneth Banks (bass); possibly Houston Stokes (drums). Released on Sun 192 (b/w "Mystery Train") in December 1953.

07. Bop With Me Baby - Rosco Gordon - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, possibly on June 9th 1955. Rosco Gordon (vocal, piano) with unknown tenor sax, baritone sax, guitar, bass and drums. Unreleased in the 1950s. A single, Sun 801, "Bop With Me Baby" / "Let's Get High" was released in the early 1980s.

08. The Hucklebuck - Earl Hooker - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee on July 15th 1953. Personnel: Earl Hooker (guitar); Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins (piano); Edward Lee "Shorty" Irvin or Willie Nix (drums). Possibly with unknown bass player. Unreleased.

09. Strange Kinda Feeling - Tiny Kennedy - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee on September 25th 1952. Personnel: Tiny Kennedy (vocal); Bill Fort, Robert Hamp, Richard Sanders (saxes); Ford "Alfordson" Nelson (piano); Calvin Newborn (guitar); Williams Steinberg (bass); Houston Stokes (drums). Released on Trumpet 187 in December 1952.

10. Bear Cat - Rufus Thomas - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, March 8th 1953. Personnel: Rufus "Hound Dog" Thomas Jr. (vocal); Joe Hill Louis (guitar); Tuff Green (bass); Houston Stokes (drums). released on Sun 181 in March 1953.

11. Ain't That Right - Eddie Snow - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee on July 19th 1955. Personnel: Eddie Snow (vocal, piano); Benny Moore (alto sax); possibly Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (tenor sax); Floyd Murphy (guitar); Jeff Greyer (drums). Released on Sun 226 in August 1955.

12. It Ain't Gonna Be That Way - Pat Hare - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee on May 14th 1954. Personnel: Pat Hare (vocal, guitar); Billy Love (piano); Israel Franklin (drums). Also known as "Bonus Pay." Unreleased.

13. Oh Red - Howlin' Wolf - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee on October 7th 1952. Personnel: Howlin' Wolf (vocal, guitar); Walter "Tang" Smith (trombone); Charles Taylor (tenor sax); James Cotton (harmonica); Bill Johnson (piano); Willie Johnson (guitar); unknown (bass); Willie Steele (drums). Released on Chess 1528 in January 1953.

14. Mystery Train - Little Junior's Blue Flames - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee in September / October 1953. Personnel: Little Junior Parker (vocal); unknown (alto sax); Raymond Hill, James Wheeler (tenor saxes); William Johnson (piano); Floyd Murphy, Pat Hare (guitars); Kenneth Banks (bass); possibly Houston Stokes (drums). Released on Sun 192 (b/w "Love My Baby") in December 1953.

15. Doctor Ross' Boogie - Doctor Ross - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee in July 1954. Personnel: Doctor Ross (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Tom Troy (guitar); Roosevelt Parker (drums). Unreleased.

16. Pinetop's Boogie Woogie - Pinetop Perkins - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee on August 10th, 1953. Personnel: Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins (vocal, piano); Earl Hooker (guitar); Kenneth Banks (bass); Edward Lee "Sorthy" Irvin (drums). Unreleased.

17. Blues Disease - Tiny Kennedy - recorded in Memphis, Tennessee on September 25th 1952. Personnel: Tiny Kennedy (vocal); Bill Fort, Robert Hamp, Richard Sanders (saxes); Ford "Alfordson" Nelson (piano); Calvin Newborn (guitar); Williams Steinberg (bass); Houston Stokes (drums). Released on Trumpet 188 in August 1953.

If you have a week or so to spare you may wish to immerse yourself in this website:

http://www.706unionavenue.nl/

Elsewhere on Be Bop Wino:

The Blues Came Down From Memphis

Juke Joint Jukebox

Side 1

1 Sonny Boy Williamson - Don't Start Me To Talkin'

2 John Lee Hooker - This Is Hip

3 Jimmy Reed - You Got Me Dizzy

4 Otis Rush - All Your Love

5 Elmore James - Sho Nuff I Do

6 Guitar Slim - The Things That I Used To Do

7 Little Junior Parker - Sweet Home Chicago

8 John Lee Hooker - Boom Boom

Side 2

1 Jimmy Reed - Big Boss Man

2 Little Junior Parker - 5 Long Years

3 Johnny "Guitar" Watson - Hot Little Mama

4 Muddy Waters - I'm Ready

5 Pee Wee Crayton - Crayton's Blues

6 Doctor Ross - The Boogie Disease

7 Elmore James - Elmo's Shuffle

8 Jimmy Rogers - Walkin' By Myself

All tracks ripped from vinyl at 320 mbps.

Download from here:

https://mega.co.nz/#!EQkixb6Y!54sT2RImw1eNpd1zwHQWMkotxdk27tDOENJYXaep0f4

or here:

http://www7.zippyshare.com/v/56729788/file.html

Now back before I discovered the joys of jump blues, I used to listen to the "real" blues, mainly electric guitar and harmonica driven blues from Chicago. Growing up in the UK in the 1960s, you couldn't help but hear the blues "second hand" via groups like The Stones, The Pretty Things, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and my favourite British blues group, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac.

It was thanks to a school pal, one Shuggy Cameron, that I first heard some of the original blues artists when round about 1970 he lent me 2 LPs - "Muddy Waters at Newport" and "Blues is King" by B.B. King. The awful results of that exchange of records (I lent him the debut albums of Steppenwolf  and Fleetwood Mac) are all too visible on this blog 44 years later. Shuggy probably went on to become a brain surgeon or airline pilot or some such while here I am half buried in a great heap of vinyl.

So here's a home made compilation of the kind of blues we don't have often enough on Be Bop Wino. All 1950s or even early 60s sides from Chess, VeeJay, RPM, Specialty and Duke, and mostly well known tracks. No extensive notes this time. Just download and groove to these stompers and swayers. I've decided to try the new Mega site as my slow broadband connection makes uploading to Zippyshare just about impossible. Hope the link works OK!