Tommy Dean: Deanie Boy Plays Hot Rhythm And Blues

Side 1:

01. Cool One - Groove Two - Tommy Dean & His Gloom Raiders

02. Lonely Monday - Tommy Dean & His Gloom Raiders

03. Hour Past Midnight - Tommy Dean & Orchestra

04. Scamon Boogie - Tommy Dean & Orchestra

05. Just About Right - Tommy Dean & Orchestra

06. Sweet And Lovely - Tommy Dean & Orchestra

07. Deanie Boy - Tommy Deans Orchestra

Side 2:

01. Eventime - Joe Buckner w Tommy Deans Orchestra

02. How Can I Let You Go - Joe Buckner w Tommy Deans Orchestra

03. Why Don't Chu - Tommy Deans Orchestra

04. The Gold Coast - Tommy "Deanie Boy" Dean

05. Straight And Ready - Tommy Deans Orchestra

06. Skid Row - Tommy "Deanie Boy" Dean

07. One More Mile - Joe Buckner with Tommy Deans Orchestra

Deanie Boy Plays Hot Rhythm And Blues (Mega)

Deanie Boy Plays Hot Rhythm And Blues (Zippy)

New link for those who are having problems with WinRAR archive files:

Deanie Boy Plays Hot Rhythm And Blues  (PeaZip archive on Mega)

A nice collection of sides recorded in Chicago by pianist and bandleader Tommy Deans. I picked this one up second hand about five years ago, listened to it once, wasn't too impressed, digitized it nevertheless, and then filed it away in the "ah, forget it" section. However it turns out to be one of those LP's that grow on you the more you listen to it with a slew of jazzy instrumentals for finger snappin' fun plus some vocal tracks which are somewhat mixed in quality. It was a couple of those vocal tracks which put me off the album (it won't be hard to guess which, once you've heard them) but the mid 1950's vocals by Joe Buckner on Vee Jay are very good indeed.

More information on the life of Tommy Dean has come to light since this Dave Penny compiled LP  was released in 1989. The Red Saunders Research Foundation ( a marvelous source of info on Chicago R&B) has an article which is well worth perusing here -

http://campber.people.clemson.edu/deanie.html

Tommy Dean was born in Franklin, Louisiana, in 1909. His early years were spent in Beaumont, Texas and Lake Charles, Louisiana. It seems that until the late 1930's he was based in Beaumont although he traveled around Texas and the Midwest as a musician in carnivals and circuses. He joined the St. Louis based band of Eddie Randle, subsequently began to lead his own band which toured the Mid West, and made St. Louis his home base. In 1945 he appeared in Chicago clubs, then reappeared in the Windy City in 1947. However, his first recording session was back in home in St. Louis where he cut a pair of sides for the small Town & Country label in late 1947.

His band at this time included tenor sax man Gene Easton, alto sax player Chris Woods and drummer / vocalist Nathaniel "Pee Wee" Jernigan, all of whom were still present when Tommy started recording for the Chicago-based Miracle label in July / August 1949. Two of the three singles cut at that session are present on this collection. "Sweet And Lovely" featuring a Pee Wee Jernigan vocal is, shall we say, an acquired taste, but the other three tracks are good late '40's jump somewhat reminiscent of sides by better known label mate Sonny Thompson.

Tommy Dean's next recording session took place in Chicago in June 1952 for the States label. The same band was featured with the addition of singer Jewel Belle on two of the tracks. Only one of the singles is included here - a vocal (which is another acquired taste), Lonely Monday" paired with an excellent instrumental, "Cool One-Groove Two." A second session for States in November produced another single - a re-recording of "Scammon Boogie" and a "Pee Wee" Jernigan vocal on "How Can I Let You Go," which Dean would later re-record for Vee-Jay with Joe Buckner on vocal.

There was a brief stop at Chance records in March 1953 to record a single credited to Barrel House  Blott and the St. Louisians. Tommy's next label (and his last) was Vee-Jay for whom he recorded between December 1954 and May 1958. No material from his last two sessions (October 1956 and May 1958) for the label was issued, so his July 1955 Vee-Jay session (featured on this comp) was the last session  from which tracks were released. The Vee-Jay material is excellent. It features a new band in which Tommy plays both organ and piano and Joe Buckner provides strong vocals, particularly on the heartfelt "One More Mile." Mention should also be made of the tasteful alto sax performance of Oliver Nelson on these sides.

The strong Vee-Jay sides form the whole of Side Two of this LP, plus the last track on Side One, so along with the good instrumentals from Miracle and States, they make for a satisfying compilation overall.

Tommy Dean's band continued to play and tour into the early sixties but eventually he downsized to a solo act which appeared in St. Louis clubs. He died suddenly, probably from a heart attack, in 1965.

Remember, for the full Tommy Deans story go to:

http://campber.people.clemson.edu/deanie.html

These are the fax on the trax :

"Hour Past Midnight," "Scammon Boogie," "Just About Right" and "Sweet And Lovely" recorded in Chicago, July - August 1949.

Personnel: Chris Woods (alto sax); Edgar Hayes (tenor sax); Gene Easton (baritone sax); Tommy Dean (piano); unidentified (bass); Nathaniel "Pee Wee" Jernigan (drums, vocal).

"Just About Right" / "Sweet And Lovely" by Tommy Dean and Orchestra, released on Miracle 144, October 1949. Re-released on Federal 12031 in 1951.

"Hour Past Midnight" / "Scamon Boogie" by Tommy Dean and Orchestra released on Miracle 157, early 1950 (?) Re-released on Federal 12019.

"Lonely Monday" and "Cool One-Groove Two" recorded in Chicago on June 4th, 1952.

Personnel: Chris Woods (alto sax); Edgar Hayes (tenor sax); Gene Easton (baritone sax); Tommy Dean (piano); Eugene Thomas (bass); Nathaniel "Pee Wee" Jernigan (drums); Jewel Belle (vocals).

"Lonely Monday" / "Cool One-Groove Two" by Tommy Dean and his Gloom Raiders released on States 106 in August 1952.

"Deanie Boy," "Eventime," "How Can I Let You Go?" and "Why Don't Chu?" were recorded in Chicago on December 20th, 1954.

Personnel: Tommy Dean (piano and organ); Oliver Nelson (alto sax); Cornelius "Chuck" Tillman (tenor sax); Archie Burnside (bass); Edgar Plaes (drums); Joe Buckner (vocals).

"Deanie Boy" by Tommy Deans Orchestra / "Eventime" by Joe Buckner w Tommy Deans Orchestra was released on Vee-Jay 125 in January 1955. "Deanie Boy" was renamed "The Horse" on a 1960 release on Vee-Jay 339 (b/w "Skid Row").

"How Can I Let You Go" by Joe Buckner w Tommy Deans Orchestra / "Why Don't Chu" by Tommy Deans Orchestra released on Vee-Jay 141 in July 1955.

"The Gold Coast" was recorded in Chicago on February 17th 1955.

Personnel: Tommy Dean (piano); Oliver Nelson (alto sax); Archie Burnside (bass); Edgar Plaes (drums). Release details see below.

"Straight And Ready," "Skid Row" and "One More Mile" were recorded in Chicago on July 11th, 1955.

Personnel: Tommy Dean (piano and organ); Cornelius "Chuck" Tillman (tenor sax); Joe Whitefield (tenor sax); Archie Burnside (bass); Edgar Plaes (drums); Joe Buckner (vocals).

"One More Mile" by Joe Buckner w Tommy Deans Orchestra / "Straight And Ready" by Tommy Deans Orch. released on Vee-Jay 172 in February 1956.

"Skid Row" / "The Gold Coast" by Tommy "Deanie Boy" Dean released on Vee-Jay 218 in December 1956.

Sonny Thompson - Cat On The Keys (re-up)

Side One:
01. Cat On The Keys pt 1
02. Cat On The Keys pt 2
03. Sugar Cane
04. Clang Clang Clang
05. Mellow Blues pt 1
06. Mellow Blues pt 2
07. Single Shot
08. Cotton Ball pt 2

Side Two:
01. Let's Move
02. Real Real Fine pt 2
03. Gum Shoe
04. Blues Mambo
05. Long Gone pt 2
06. Frog Legs
07. Down In The Dumps
08. Behind The Sun pt 2

Cat On The Keys (Mega)

Cat On The Keys (Zippy)

Follow the link below to the original post full of arcane knowledge, out of date purchase recommendations, and unfounded opinions. Read, learn off by heart, and become irresistible to members of the opposite sex:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/sonny-thompson-cat-on-keys_5464.html

This LP was originally posted in September, 2007 but the post was rewritten some years later. For this re-up I have included new cover scans as the original scans dated from a time when I hadn't quite mastered the art of scanning a 12" LP sleeve. The volume on the tracks has been boosted using MP3Gain. The re-up also includes a folder of EP cover scans and 45 rpm single label shots from Joan K.

As for the music, this is one hell of a collection of dynamite R&B instrumentals. Satisfaction guaranteed!

Click on these links for more Sonny Thompson on Be Bop Wino, courtesy of El Enmascarado and his collection of 78s:

Late Freight / Sonny's Return (featuring Eddie Chamblee)

Cotton Ball Parts 1 and 2

Backyard Affair / Dreaming Again

More rockin' re-ups coming soon, cats 'n' kittens.

The Rockin' And Walkin' Rhythm Of Eddie Chamblee (Re-up)

Side 1:

01. Back Street

02. Last Call

03. Song Of India

04. Dureop pt 1

05. Dureop pt 2

06. Cradle Rock

07. Lazy Mood

08. Blue Steel

09. All Out

Side 2:

01. Wooden Soldiers Swing

02. 6 String Boogie

03. Walkin' Home

04. Lonesome Road

05. Come On In

06. La! La! La! Lady

07. Goin' Long

08. Back Up

Download from:

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

Original post (13th March, 2011):

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/eddie-chamblee-rockin-and-walkin-rhythm.html

The original post is well worth reading for the background info on Eddie Chamblee. Peruse and get hip!

All sides recorded in Chicago, 1947 - 1957. Original releases on Miracle, Coral, United and Mercury.

Messin' Around With The Blues Volume 1 - Memphis Slim

Side One

1 Messin' Around With The Blues
2  Midnight Jump
3 Darlin' I Miss You
4 Now I Got The Blues
5 Harlem Bound
6 Letter Home

Side Two
1 Mistake In Life
2 Don't Ration My Love
3 Pacemaker Boogie
4 Grinder Man Blues
5 Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
6 Slim's Boogie

This is the first LP of a 2 LP set issued by Gusto in the late 1970s. Volume One is devoted to Memphis Slim while Volume Two features sides by Pete "Guitar" Lewis and Little Willie Littlefield. Volume Two will be posted in a few days time.

The Memphis Slim sides featured here, which were recorded in 1946 and 1947, were leased or bought in for release on King / Federal from the Chicago based Hy-Tone and Miracle labels. They represent a good sampling of the start of the rhythm and blues phase of the long career of Memphis Slim.

He was born in Memphis in 1915. According to the Red Saunders Research Foundation article on the Hy-Tone label, his real name was John L. Chatman and not Peter Chatman, which was the name under which he made his first recordings for the Okeh label in Chicago in August, 1940. He moved over to the Bluebird label in October, 1940, recording as Memphis Blues and then Memphis Slim, until the eve of the American entry into World War II in December 1941.

In early 1946 he recorded 8 sides for the small Hy-Tone label. There are six tracks on this collection which originate from Hy-Tone: "Mistake In Life" / "Grinder Man Blues" (Hy-Tone 10); "Slim's Boogie" (Hy-Tone 17); "Now I Got The Blues" / "Don't Ration My Love" (Hy-Tone 18) and "Letter Home" (Hy-Tone 19). All 8 Hy-Tone sides were leased to King in 1948 when Hy-Tone went out of business. All of these titles were subsequently released on King, but according to the Red Saunders Research Foundation, 4 of them were in fact re-recorded versions. "Letter Home" and "Slim's Boogie" are probably King remakes.

Slim started recording for Miracle in October 1946. "Darlin' I Miss You" (Miracle 102) dates from that month. He recorded four sessions for Miracle in 1947. "Pacemaker Boogie" / "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child" (Miracle 110) and "Harlem Bound" (Miracle 111) date from the first session which was held in March. "Messin' Around With The Blues" / "Midnight Jump" (Miracle 125) were recorded at the final session in December 1947.

"Messin' Around With The Blues" topped the R&B charts in the spring of 1948. Slim had further chart success in the late 1940s and early 50s, recording R&B for Peacock, Premium, United (where Matt Murphy joined Slim's band) and VeeJay. The VeeJay recordings of 1958-59 were his last which were intended for the R&B market. As the 1950s turned to the 1960s Slim became part of the "blues revival," appearing at folk and jazz venues and recording for Verve, Folkways and Bluesville. In 1962 he moved to Paris and continued to record and play in Europe until the late 1980s. He died in 1988.

Memphis Slim is one of the few artists featured on this blog whom I have seen live - in Dundee in the mid-1980s. He was nothing short of sensational - just him, his piano and a drummer. However my abiding memory is of his outrageous flirting with a statuesque blonde lady who was sitting in the front row. Way to go, Slim.

Download 2LP set from here:

Messin' Around With The Blues 2LP (Mega)

Messin' Around With The Blues 2LP (Zippy)

Volume 2 will be along soon!

Backyard Affair / Dreaming Again – Sonny Thompson and Orchestra (Miracle 146)

Scan from very faded label 

Another scan from a very faded label!

Backyard Affair recorded Chicago, June 1949. Dreaming Again recorded Chicago, April 1949.

Personnel on April 1949 session: Floyd Jones (tp); Eddie Chamblee (ts); Dick Davis (ts); Sonny Thompson (p); Leo Blevins (g); Curtis Ferguson (b); Sonny Cole (d)

June 1949 session recorded with similar personnel, although Chamblee and Blevins possibly replaced by unknown. This was Sonny Thompson’s last session for Miracle.

Record released October 1949. Label scans from a very faded 78 disc, hence de facto invisibility.

Listen to "Backyard Affair"

Listen to "Dreaming Again"

With thanks to El Enmascarado, the wrestling muso, for these rips and scans. Here is his commentary on the tracks:

“Dreaming Again makes me think of old-fashioned stripper music. The saxes groan, the trumpet blares the blues, the drums go boomp-a-boomp and the girls do the hoochie-coochie…”

“Backyard Affair makes me think that the cats were longing to go a bit more Bebop. Although the main melody seems to borrow from D Natural Blues by Lucky Millinder (one of my very favorites, and possibly the first R&B 78 I knew as a boy- I'll eventually get around to ripping it), it also has occasional boppish dissonant chords that jump out seemingly at random. Also, in addition to what I would think of as the Meade Lux Lewis Tremolo Lick, Sonny plays what sounds for all the world like a Thelonious Monk lick at @1:43. Pretty interesting. I'm happy with the sound quality I got, but the original label is quite faded, hence the scans.”

Billboard 15th October 1949

Eddie Chamblee - The Rockin' And Walkin' Rhythm Of Eddie Chamblee

Side 1
1. Back Street
2. Last Call
3. Song Of India
4. Dureop pt 1
5. Dureop pt 2
6. Cradle Rock
7. Lazy Mood
8. Blue Steel
9. All Out

Side 2
1. Wooden Soldiers Swing
2. 6 String Boogie
3. Walkin' Home
4. Lonesome Road
5. Come On In
6. La! La! La! Lady
7. Goin' Long
8. Back Up


“Rockin’ rhythm is what Eddie (Long Gone) Chamblee and his combo call it … It combines blues, bop and swing in a manner fit for the most severe critic of present day music. A favourite on the juke box, Eddie has hit the top with his sax solos on “Long Gone” and “Late Freight” (quoted from The Chicago Defender on The Red Saunders Research Foundation Website.)

I guess the above quote neatly sums up my favourite kind of music – the sax led R&B or jazz of the 1940s and early 1950s when the boundary between the two kinds of music wasn’t as rigid as it would become as the ‘50s wore on. Eddie Chamblee was one of many musicians who were comfortable in both spheres. He played on some of the biggest R&B hits of the day and also played tenor sax in the Lionel Hampton big band in the mid 1950s.

He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1920 but grew up in Chicago. Although he had been playing tenor saxophone since the age of twelve, he really learned his chops while playing in Army bands during his war service from 1941 to 1946.

On his return to Chicago, Eddie started gigging around local clubs such as The Blue Heaven Lounge and was soon involved in sessions for a new label, Miracle, for whom he would record until 1950. In June 1946 he was in the Dick Davis Sextette session at which “Tenor-mental Moods” was recorded – an instrumental which boasted a triple tenor sax line up of Davis, Chamblee and Tommy “Madman” Jones.

In October 1947 Eddie was back at Miracle, this time recording a session under his own name, backed by a basic guitar, piano and bass trio. “Last Call,” a competent enough instrumental, dates from this session. The other side of the disc (Miracle 119) was “Certain Other Someone” a vocal performance featuring Browley Guy.

A month later Eddie joined Sonny Thompson and The Sharps and Flats to record the side which was to be his most successful – “Long Gone, Part 2.” Before the end of 1947 Eddie featured on more Sonny Thompson sides as Miracle stockpiled recordings in the face of the looming AFM recording ban. Among those sides was “Late Freight” which like “Long Gone” would be another huge hit in 1948.


Scan courtesy of El Enmascarado

Eddie’s second session for Miracle under his own name took place in July 1948. This time he was backed by a larger band which included baritone sax player Andrew “Goon” Gardiner who features prominently on the rollicking “Back Street.” The fiery version of “Song of India” also dates from the same session as do the two part jam session “Dureop” and the easy going “Cradle Rock.” The nice and bluesy “Lazy Mood” was recorded a month later at the tail end of a St. Louis Jimmy Oden session.

In 1949 Eddie was a big name thanks to his work on the Sonny Thompson hits “Long Gone” and “Late Freight.” Eddie was featured on another Sonny Thompson session in April 1949, laying down solos on “Still Gone, Part 3,” and “The Fish” aka “Jam, Sonny, Jam.”

1950 was the year that Miracle went bust. On January 25th, Eddie Chamblee was the leader at the second last recording session held by the doomed label, laying down “Blue Steel” and “All Out,” the latter featuring good interplay between Eddie and baritone sax player Charles Stewart.

In May 1950, Lee Egalnick, the founder of the failed Miracle label started a new label, Premium. In July 1950, Eddie recorded four sides for the label, with two being released on Premium 856 – “Sweet Lucy” and “Every Shut Eye Ain’t Sleep,” the latter featuring Danny Overbea on vocal. In early 1951 Eddie cut another couple of sides for Premium – “Laughing Boogie” and “This Is It.”

In the summer of 1951 Premium went the way of Miracle. One of the honchos at the latest failed label, Lew Simpkins (he had also been with Miracle) quickly helped to found a new Chicago diskery – United – which signed up several former Miracle and Premium acts, including Eddie Chamblee.

The next session under Eddie’s name was in 1952 for Coral. Two excellent tracks from the session are on this LP – “Wooden Soldiers Swing” and “6 String Boogie” with the latter track being a showcase for some great guitar work by “Sir” Walter Scott. In the meantime Eddie was backing jive group The Four Blazes on United at several sessions between January 1952 and August 1953. Eddie was on the group’s biggest hit, “Mary Jo” which was recorded in January 1952 and reached number one in the R&B charts in August 1952.

United had a particularly strong roster of R&B leaning jazz artists, or should that be jazz leaning R&B artists? Eddie Chamblee, Tab Smith, Jimmy Forrest, Paul Bascomb, Cozy Eggleston, Jimmy Coe, Leo Parker, Gene Ammons and Tiny Grimes all recorded for United (or its States subsidiary) at one time or another. The label’s policy of aiming jazz oriented releases at the R&B market provided it with two massive hits – “Because of You” by former Lucky Millinder alto sax man Tab Smith and “Night Train” by Jimmy Forrest who adapted a riff he picked up while with Duke Ellington to fashion one of the all time great tenor sax instrumental numbers.

Tab Smith - "Because of You"

Jimmy Forrest - "Night Train"

Unfortunately there was to be no such success for Eddie Chamblee. His first recordings for United as the named artist came at the end of a Four Blazes session on August 17th, 1953. “Walkin’ Home” and “Lonesome Road” were released as United 160, with Eddie billed as “The Rockin’ and Walkin’ Rhythm of Eddie Chamblee.” Both are good performances with “Walkin’ Home” being a growler very much in the vein of “Long Gone” and “Lonesome Road” being a fine slow ballad.

Eddie’s next and last recordings for United came at the end of a session backing the Five C’s on July 30th 1954. “Come On In” and “La! La! La! Lady” were released as United 181. Both feature vocal performances by Eddie. “Come On In” is a good swinger with tasty guitar fills by Leo Blevins as well as the expected driving sax work from Eddie. “La! La! La! Lady” is another great combo performance - a sly, hip shuffler with Eddie in particularly good vocal form.

In 1955 Eddie did some band leading work for a new label, Club 51, and some session work for Chess. He then toured and recorded with the Lionel Hampton big band into 1956. The tour took the band to France, where a concert at The Paris Olympia was recorded, which you can find here.

In 1957 Eddie was back in Chicago and married to his former school friend Ruth Jones, better known as Dinah Washington, the queen of R&B. He joined his wife on the Mercury label, recording a session under his own name in New York on March 7th, 1957. “Goin’ Long” b/w “Back Up” was released as Mercury 71107. “Goin’ Long” was another “Long Gone” retread while “Back Up” was a more up-tempo swingin’ jazz instro.

In early October Eddie was busy at Mercury – backing Dinah Washington in a studio orchestra credited as the Ernie Wilkins Orchestra on October 1st and 2nd and on the 4th of October with a similar group of musicians billed as the Eddie Chamblee orchestra. The following day he recorded tracks for an LP with a small group of musicians from the big band, billed as the Eddie Chamblee Septet. The album appeared on EmArcy as “Chamblee Music.”

Eddie continued to back Dinah on Mercury on several more sessions in late 1957 and recorded two tracks under his own name, “One for Dinah” and “Body and Soul,” which remained unreleased. In January 1958 Eddie was back in the studio, recording tracks with his septet which would appear on the EmArcy LP “Doodlin’” and also backing Dinah. Her presence at the sessions allowed “Doodlin’” to be billed as by “Eddie Chamblee and Friend” with Dinah featuring on the front cover photo and also on the back cover.

Scans from anonymous donor - restored by "Brian with a B"

The marriage lasted two years and Dinah’s subsequent sessions for Mercury were without Eddie, and he moved to New York where he based himself for the rest of his life. In 1964 he recorded an LP with an organ combo for Prestige, “Rockin’ Tenor Sax,” but his next and last recordings as session leader were not until 1976 when he recorded the album “Twenty Years After” for the French Black and Blue label with Arnett Cobb, Milt Buckner and Panama Francis. He continued to make live appearances with a jazz combo in New York in the 1980s, eventually dying in a nursing home in the city in 1999.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps.

Download from here:

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

1. Back Street
2. Last Call
3. Song Of India
4. Dureop pt 1
5. Dureop pt 2
6. Cradle Rock
7. Lazy Mood
8. Blue Steel
9. All Out
10. Wooden Soldiers Swing
11. 6 String Boogie
12. Walkin' Home
13. Lonesome Road
14. Come On In
15. La! La! La! Lady
16. Goin' Long
17. Back Up

Mo’ Eddie to buy:

Honkers and Bar Walkers Volume Three (Delmark DE-542) has ten tracks recorded for United by Eddie -the four that were released, plus some unreleased tracks and a couple of Four Blazes tracks. Also on the CD – T.J. Fowler, Floyd Taylor, J.T. Brown, Sax Mallard, Wild Bill Moore, Swinging Sax Kari, and Jim Conley.

The other two volumes in this series are highly recommended and a visit to the Delmark website is a must for those of you who like your R&B jazzy or your jazz with an R&B sensibility. They’ve got CDs by Tab Smith, Jimmy Forrest and J.T Brown. Well worth a look.

The Four Blazes – Mary Jo (Delmark DE-704) has lots of slinky sax fills by Eddie Chamblee, all in fantastic sound quality.

For those who like to dig deep:

Eddie Chamblee – The Complete Recordings 1947-1952 (Blue Moon)

Eddie Chamblee, Julian Dash, Joe Thomas – The Complete Recordings (Blue Moon) has Eddie’s sides from 1953-54.

Sources: The Red Saunders Research Foundation website; The Jazz Discography website; sleevenotes from “The Rockin’ and Walkin’ rhythm of Eddie Chamblee” – Dave Penny; The Bruyninckx Discography; sleevenotes from “Honkers and Bar Walkers, Volume Three” – Bob Porter; sleevenotes from “Mary Jo – The Four Blazes” – Peter Grendysa.

Late Freight / Sonny's Return - Sonny Thompson Quintet featuring Eddie Chamblee (Miracle 128)

Listen to "Late Freight"

Listen to "Sonny's Return"

"Late Freight" was recorded circa December 7th 1947 in Chicago. The "Sonny Thompson Quintet" consisted of Sonny Thompson, The Sharps and Flats and Eddie Chamblee. In other words the exact same line up which recorded "Long Gone, Part 2." Personnel: Eddie Chamblee (tenor sax), Sonny Thompson (piano), Alvin Garrett (guitar), Leroy Morrison (bass), Thurman "Red" Cooper (drums).

"Sonny's Return" was recorded circa December 24th 1947 with the same personnel as above, minus Eddie Chamblee.

"Late Freight" was released in August 1948 and was the follow up to the huge hit “Long Gone” which had been released in March 1948 and had become the third biggest R&B seller of the year, tucked in behind Lonnie Johnson’s “Tomorrow Night” and Julia Lee’s “King Size Papa.” Among the discs it outsold were “Good Rockin’ Tonight” by Wynonie Harris, “I Want a Bowlegged Woman” by Bull Moose Jackson, and Hal Singer’s frantic honker “Cornbread” which featured every rock ‘n’ roll riff ever known to man or womankind.

On “Late Freight,”  the “Long Gone” formula for success was repeated with Eddie Chamblee being recalled to the fray to lay down more great tenor sax work over a moody slow boogie which evoked the sound of a steady moving train going clickety clack over the tracks – yeah, blues in the night! “Late Freight” was another hit for Sonny, being the eleventh top selling disc of 1948 and along with “Long Gone” it helped to make him the third best selling R&B artist of that year with Bull Moose Jackson securing the top spot and Louis Jordan coming in as the second top selling artist.

With many thanks to El Enmascadero for the rips from shellac and label shots of the original 78rpm disc.

Sonny Thompson - Cat On The Keys

Side One:
1. Cat On The Keys pt 1
2. Cat On The Keys pt 2
3. Sugar Cane
4. Clang Clang Clang
5. Mellow Blues pt 1
6. Mellow Blues pt 2
7. Single Shot
8. Cotton Ball pt 2

Side Two:
1. Let's Move
2. Real Real Fine pt 2
3. Gum Shoe
4. Blues Mambo
5. Long Gone pt 2
6. Frog Legs
7. Down In The Dumps
8. Behind The Sun pt 2

Back in the first half of the 1950s the King label of Cincinnati boasted a formidable roster of rhythm and blues bands – Tiny Bradshaw, Todd Rhodes, Bull Moose Jackson, Lucky Millinder, Earl Bostic, Bill Doggett, and the “King of the Two Parter,” Sonny Thompson.

Sonny Thompson’s most successful period as a platter seller was with Miracle Records of Chicago for whom he recorded between 1947 and 1949, a period which saw him have two monster instrumental hits – “Long Gone, Parts 1 and 2” and “Late Freight.” Although he was born in Memphis in 1916, Sonny was raised in Chicago after his family relocated. He studied at the Chicago Conservatory of Music, but it was the night club ivory tinkling of Earl Hines and Art Tatum which had the biggest influence on his musical career. In the early 1940s Sonny followed in the footsteps of the masters, playing solo piano or heading up a trio on the club circuit around the Windy City.

His recording debut was for the small Detroit based Sultan label where he recorded two solo boogie woogie sides, “Southside Boogie” and Sonny’s Boogie.” In 1946 the Miracle record label was launched by Lee Egalnick in Chicago. Sonny was soon recording for the new diskery along with Gladys Palmer, The Dick Davis Orchestra, Memphis Slim, Eddie Chamblee, and The Sharps and Flats. The full story of Miracle Records and the early career of Sonny Thompson can be read on this page of the Red Saunders Research Foundation website which is a superb source of info on the Chicago R&B scene.

“Long Gone, Parts 1 and 2” was recorded towards the end of 1947 during the period when record companies were piling up recordings in anticipation of the AFM recording ban which would come into force on January 1st 1948. On Part 1 Sonny was accompanied by the Sharps and Flats, a jive trio featuring guitar, bass and drums. This side of the disc was a showcase for Sonny’s piano playing and the guitar of Arvin Garrett. Part 2 was recorded a few days later with Eddie Chamblee’s tenor sax being added to the same personnel as Part 1. Although “Long Gone” was Miracle’s biggest selling disc, a court case brought by a publishing company claiming copyright infringement may have been one of the causes of the demise of the record company in the spring of 1950. By the time Miracle was wound up, Sonny Thompson had already moved over to King Records for whom he started recording in January 1950.

This collection, which was released on Swingtime in 1988, brings together a heap of instrumentals recorded by Sonny for King between 1950 and 1956, with “Long Gone, Part 2” being the only track from his Miracle days. In fact King purchased most of the masters belonging to the defunct Miracle in October 1950.

“Mellow Blues, Parts 1 and 2” was the only instrumental chart hit for Sonny on King, the disc reaching number 8 in the R&B chart in 1952. Sonny’s only other hits with King were both vocal efforts featuring Lula Reed: “I’ll Drown In My Tears” reached number 5 in July 1952 and “Let’s Call It A Day” reached number 8 a month later. And yes, “I’ll Drown In My Tears” is the same song which was later recorded by Ray Charles as “I’ll Drown In My Own Tears.”

Despite the lack of chart success, the tracks on this LP are all excellent instrumentals which show the versatility of Sonny’s tight little group. Most of the sax work is by David Brooks and the electric guitar parts are by Chauncey “Lord” Westbrook, Bill Johnson and perhaps most notably, Clarence Kenner. It’s all fine jazzy stuff with dance floor fillers like “Cat On The Keys” (irresistible!), juke box toe tappers like “Let’s Move” and “Real Real Fine” and slinky late night smoochers like “Mellow Blues” and “Cotton Ball.” The 1956 track “Gum Shoe” has a searing tenor sax solo by King Curtis. This side was cut at what was effectively Sonny’s last session for King as the artist named on the disc label.

Sonny’s work on King wasn’t confined to recording his own sides. He was in demand as backing musician, producer and arranger on sides credited to other artists, most notably Wynonie Harris and Lula Reed (who recorded both as a solo and as Sonny’s band vocalist). Among the sides he cut with Harris were “Greyhound,” “Rot Gut,” “Shake That Thing” and “Git To Gittin’ Baby.” All fine rabble rousing rhythm and blues floor shakers, but sadly unsuccessful when it came to shifting platters. As the 1950s wore on Sonny gradually abandoned his own recording career in favour of his backing and arranging duties, perhaps being best remembered for his work with Freddie King in the early 1960s.

My thanks to Joan for the scans of 1950s EPs and singles by Sonny Thompson. A folder of  Joan's scans is included in the download.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps.

Cat On The Keys (Mega)

Cat On The Keys (Zippy)

1. Cat On The Keys pt 1
2. Cat On The Keys pt 2
3. Sugar Cane
4. Clang Clang Clang
5. Mellow Blues pt 1
6. Mellow Blues pt 2
7. Single Shot
8. Cotton Ball pt 2
9. Let's Move
10. Real Real Fine pt 2
11. Gum Shoe
12. Blues Mambo
13. Long Gone pt 2
14. Frog Legs
15. Down In The Dumps
16. Behind The Sun pt 2

Recommended purchases:

Blue Moon has issued five volumes of Sonny’s recordings on CD, covering the years 1946 – 1955.

You may find these two out of print CDs if you search around:

Jam Sonny Jam – Original Miracle and King Masters 1947-1956 (Sequel NEM CD 900)

This is a twenty tracker which includes “Screamin’ Boogie” recorded with the Dick Davies Orchestra and many alternate takes. Very highly recommended.

“The EP Collection” (See for Miles SEECD 702)

This 26 track collection includes six sides by Lula Reed. Her 1952 hits “Let’s Call It A Day” and “I’ll Drown In My Tears” are present as are four extremely tough and gutsy performances from a 1961 session: “I Got a Notion,” “Puddentane,” “I’m A Woman, But I Don’t Talk” and “I Know.” These represent a change in style from her early 1950s work and are very highly recommended, as are all the instrumental tracks by Sonny on this collection.