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.

Roy Brown - Boogie At Midnight

Side 1:
01) Mighty Mighty Man
02) Boogie At Midnight
03) Cadillac Baby
04) Hard Luck Blues
05) Love Don't Love Nobody
06) Too Much Lovin' Ain't No Good
07) Big Town
08) Rock-A-Bye Baby

Side 2:
01) Answer To Big Town
02) Ain't No Rockin' No More
03) My Gal From Kokomo
04) Fannie Brown Got Married
05) Black Diamond
06) Shake 'Em Up Baby
07) Adorable One
08) Good Looking And Foxy Too

 Boogie At Midnight (Mega)

Boogie At Midnight (Zippy)

As Mr Pacino is wont to say, "Hoo Hah!" Here's another Charly comp of King (and De Luxe) sides which I bought many years ago and somehow never got round to digitising. A few years back I posted a Gusto 2LP set on Roy Brown and thought that there was no need to add this one, but on closer examination I see that this LP has some previously unissued sides (all excellent) plus some sides from Roy's late 1950s return to the King label. Besides that there's another Dave Gibson at Nozbig cover and, well, the whole thing is just a load of fun.

The usual extra info on the original issues on singles of the tracks is below plus there's a link to the Gusto 2 LP post which has been updated with new download links. We'll be rockin' through self isolation here on Be Bop Wino. Requested re-ups, more from Marv, and perhaps a few surprises coming along. Stay safe, folks.

Original Issues:

Mighty, Mighty Man / Miss Fanny Brown - De Luxe 1128 - February 1948

Boogie At Midnight / The Blues Got Me Again - De Luxe 3300 - November 1949

Hard Luck Blues / New Rebecca - De Luxe 3304 - June 1950

Love Don't Love Nobody / Dreaming Blues - De Luxe 3306 - September 1950

'Long About Sundown / Cadillac Baby - De Luxe 3308 - September 1950

 Billboard 9th September 1950

Train Time Blues / Big Town - De Luxe 3318 - July 1951

Gal From Kokomo / Ain't It A Shame - King 4731 - August 1954

Black Diamond / Worried Life Blues - King 4743 - October 1954

Fanny Brown Got Married / Queen Of Diamonds - King 4761 - December 1954

Shake 'Em Up Baby / Letter To Baby - King 4816 - July 1955

Good Looking And Foxy Too / Hard Luck Blues - King 5218 - July 1959

Ain't No Rocking No More / School Bell Rock - King 5247 - September 1959

Adorable One / Ain't Got No Blues Today - King 5333 - April 1960

Too Much Lovin' Ain't No Good; Rock-A-Bye Baby; Answer To Big Town - all previously unissued

Elsewhere On The Blog:

Hard Luck Blues 2LP set of De Luxe / King sides

The above post includes a write up on the career of Roy Brown. It's well worth grabbing this 2LP set from Gusto which was one of the first R&B records I bought back in the late 1970s. New download links have been added!

For rockin' high jinx - just follow the linx!

Jimmy Witherspoon - Ain't Nobody's Business!

Side 1:
01) Ain't Nobody's Business Part 2
02) In The Evening
03) Frogomore Blues
04) McShann Bounce Part 1
05) How Long
06) Money's Getting Cheaper

Side 2:
01) Skid-Row Blues
02) Spoon Calls Hootie
03) Back Water Blues
04) Louie's Guitar Boogie
05) Destruction Blues
06) Ain't Nobody's Business Part 1

Ain't Nobody's Business! (Mega)

Ain't Nobody's Business! (Zippy)

Another LP which has lain unplayed for decades on the shelves of the vinyl vault. An unfortunate state of affairs as it provides a valuable snapshot of a period when one of the all time great blues shouters, Jimmy Witherspoon, enjoyed considerable success on the R&B charts. Witherspoon, of course, went on to have a decades long career as a jazz and blues singer but here we concentrate on 1947 - 1949 when his recordings for Supreme Records made a big noise on the sales charts.

Although the sleevenotes for this LP say that these recordings were made for Jack Lauderdale's Down Beat / Swing Time label, in fact with the exception of "Spoon Calls Hootie" and "Destruction Blues'" these tracks were recorded in November 1947 for Supreme Records, a small LA based label owned by dentist Al Patrick. The label had a limited but interesting roster of R&B artists which included Jimmy Witherspoon, Jay McShann, Buddy Tate, Paula Watson and Eddie Williams. Two lawsuits (brought by Decca and Black & White) plus the inevitable financial pressures of a small label having to support a nationwide smash hit (Witherspoon's "Ain't Nobody's Business") brought about the closure of the label in 1950 with most of its masters being bought up by Swing Time.

In the previous post "Jay McShann - The Band That Jumps The Blues!" we saw how pianist and former big band leader Jay McShann had migrated to the West Coast, leading small jump groups rather than full bands. In Vallejo California McShann came across Witherspoon and immediately signed him to his band which for a while could boast three vocalists - Crown Prince Waterford, Witherspoon and Numa Lee Davis. The band cut sides for Philo, Premier and Mercury (1945 - 1947) with Waterford and Davis dropping out, leaving Witherspoon as the sole vocalist fronting the band.

Supreme started recording Witherspoon who was now a solo act in October 1947. Further sessions followed in November 1947 with backing by Jay McShann who generously provided studio support for his former singer, and in a final late December 1947 session, backing was provided by the Buddy Tate band. To confuse matters somewhat, Witherspoon and McShann also recorded for Modern in late December 1947 with the Al "Cake" Wichard band.

Although a stash of recordings had been built up, Supreme didn't start releasing Witherspoon sides until the spring of 1948. Just as these platters hit the record shops, Witherspoon started recording for Down Beat, again backed by Jay McShann. He continued to record for Down Beat into the summer of 1948 and then started recording for Modern in the autumn of that year, staying with that label until 1952 when he switched to Federal.

Amidst the flurry of releases on Supreme, Down Beat and Modern in 1948-49, it was the Supreme recordings which made the biggest impact sales wise, with the two parter "Ain't Nobody's Business"  reaching number 1 in the R&B chart in the spring of 1949, and its follow up, "In The Evening" reaching number 7 in October of that year. Witherspoon enjoyed further success in 1950 with a double sided hit on Modern, "No Rollin' Blues" and "Big Fine Girl" both of which reached number 4 R&B.

Release Details - Titles as on original single releases

01) Ain't Nobody's Business Part 2 - Supreme 1506 / Swing Time 263

02) In The Evening - Supreme 1533

03) Frogomore Blues  - Supreme 1505

04) McShann's Bounce Part 1 - Supreme 1540 (Jay McShann)

05) How Long - Supreme 1545

06) Money's Getting Cheaper - Supreme 1501

07) Skid-Row Blues - Supreme 1545 / Swing Time 244

08) Spoon Calls Hootie - Down Beat / Swing Time 157

09) Back Water Blues - Supreme 1520

10) Louie's Guitar Boogie - Supreme 1501 (Louis Speiginer)

11) Destruction Blues - Down Beat / Swing Time 161

12) Ain't Nobody's Business Part 1 - Supreme 1506 / Swing Time 263

In chronological order. All tracks credited to Jimmy Witherspoon unless otherwise noted (in brackets):

Louie's Guitar Boogie (Louis Speiginer) / Money's Getting Cheaper - Supreme 1501 - May 1948

Frogomore Blues / Wee Baby Blues - Supreme 1505 - August / September (?) 1948

Call My Baby / Spoon Calls Hootie - Down Beat 157 - circa October 1948

Funny Style Baby / Destruction Blues - Down Beat 161 - circa October 1948

Ain't Nobody's Business Part 1 / Ain't Nobody's Business Part 2 - Supreme 1506 - February 1949

Back Water Blues / Third Floor Blues - Supreme 1520 - April 1949

In The Evening (Jimmy Witherspoon) / Six-Foot-Two Blues (Buddy Tate Orchestra vcl - Jimmy Witherspoon) - Supreme 1533 - September 1949

McShann's Bounce Part 1 / McShann's Bounce Part 2 (Jay McShann At The Piano) - Supreme 1540 - circa October 1949

How Long / Skid-Row Blues - Supreme 1545 - November 1949

 

Label shots adapted from The Internet Archive.

Recommended Purchase:

Cold Blooded Boogie (Night Train International NTI CD 7008)

20 hollerin' tracks from Supreme and Down Beat. At the time of posting there are copies going very cheaply on ebay.co.uk. Worth a look!

Gatemouth Moore Sings Blues (King LP 684)

Side 1:
01. I'm A Fool To Care
02. Highway 61 Blues
03. Gambling Woman
04. Don't You Know I Love You Baby
05. Teasin' Brown
06. Hey Mr. Gatemouth
07. You're My Specialty Baby
08. Gotta Walk

Side 2:
01. Something I'm Gonna Be
02. I Ain't Mad At You Pretty Baby
03. Did You Ever Try To Cry
04. Satisfying Papa
05. Graveyard Disposition
06. Willa Mae
07. After Loving A Woman
08. You're Having Hard Luck

Gatemouth Moore Sings Blues (Mega)

Gatemouth Moore Sings Blues (Zippy)

I've "reconstructed" this LP which was originally issued in June 1960 by trawling the internet for the artwork and matching it up with tracks in my collection. As I did this a few weeks ago I've managed to forget where exactly I found the artwork! Probably discogs.com or a record sales site, so my thanks to whoever uploaded the cover and label shots.

Arnold Dwight "Gatemouth" Moore was one of the best of the 1940s blues shouters, yet his recordings for two of the larger independent record companies, National and King, failed to sell. He was a performer who could not only shout rambunctious blues but was also capable of handling crooning duties on pop standards and ballads.

Born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1913, his music career took off in 1930 in Kansas City where he sang in a club which featured musicians such as Benny Moten and Count Basie. He formed a quartet in Topeka called the Four Sharps who were recruited for a tour of Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas by the Beckman and Garrity Carnival, a booking which was the start of years on the road for Gatemouth and the Four Sharps with tent shows, circuses, minstrel shows and reviews - outfits such as Porkchop Chapman's Show, Sammy Green's Down In Dixie Minstrels, Sam Dale's Circus, Ida Cox's Darktown Scandals and the F.S. Wallcot Rabbit Foot Minstrels. After being left stranded in Clarksdale Mississippi by the Walcott show, Gatemouth split from the Four Sharps and settled in Memphis.

In 1939 he was recruited by the Walter Barnes band for an extensive tour which lasted into 1940. In April 1940, the tour was about to finish and the band were due to head back to their home base in Chicago when they accepted an extra booking by the Rhythm Club in Natchez, Mississippi. The Rhythm Club consisted of a rather ramshackle club / dance hall housed in a timber and tin sheeting building which had served as a pentecostal church and then as a blacksmith's or motor repair shop. The owners had booked the Tiny Bradshaw band for a dance timed to coincide with the local black high school's commencement celebration on April 23rd, 1940. Bradshaw, however, was offered a week's residency at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and withdrew from the arrangement.

The Walter Barnes band was a long established and popular outfit on what was to become known as the Chitlin' Circuit - that network of clubs, dance halls and ghetto theatres (and even tobacco warehouses) which constituted the venues on the touring itinary of black musicians. The Barnes outfit accepted the late booking, the dance was saved, and the musicians could return home the following day.

What happened on that evening in Natchez has entered history as one of the worst night club fire disasters in the U.S. The Rhythm Club was a potential death trap as the owners had decorated the hall with dried Spanish moss soaked in a kerosene based insect repellent and then sealed all exits and boarded up the windows to prevent non paying spectators from seeing or hearing the band. The only door left open was the main entrance and that was a door which opened inwards.

When fire broke out it spread rapidly and mass panic ensued as the dancers attempted to flee through the only available exit. The death toll came to 209 with many others injured. Deaths were due to crushing, suffocation (the fire consumed all available oxygen), scalding (the heated tin sheeting turned water from the fire brigade's hoses to steam) and burning. Firemen who attempted to enter the building by the front door were confronted by a wall of bodies and had to rip down the sheeting from the walls to gain entry and to let survivors escape.

Walter Barnes, who had kept the band playing in a heroic attempt to quell the panic, died along with all of his musicians except the bass player and drummer who managed to smash their way through a boarded up window and thus escape from the doomed building. A third surviving band member was Gatemouth Moore who was outside the building in the band bus when the fire broke out. One contemporary report stated that he had already left the tour in the company of several other musicians a few days before the disaster but his inclusion in this group appears to have been mistaken.

Gatemouth returned to Memphis for a spell, singing with the Andrew Jenkins band. In 1941 he moved back to Kansas City to take up a residency at the Chez Paree club where he was backed by the Carolina Cotton Pickers with whom he toured in 1942. The club owner, a Mrs Gilmore, decided to start her own record label, Gilmore's Chez Paree, for which Gatemouth made his recording debut in 1944 or early 1945. He cut two singles backed by an "all star" lineup of KC musicians which included Tommy Douglas and Walter Page.

The first single released had two of Gatemouth's own compositions, "I Ain't Mad At You" and "Did You Ever Love a Woman" which he went on to re-record for National when he signed with that company in May of 1945. Unfortunately despite some good records backed by top class bands Dallas Bartley And His Small Town Boys, the Budd Johnson Orchestra, and the Tiny Grimes Swingtet (including John Hardee on tenor sax), the records failed to sell and Gatemouth's contract was not renewed after his third session for National in October 1946.

His first session for King was in August 1947 with a piano, guitar and drums trio. For his second session in October 1947, the group was augmented with a horn section. A total of eight sides were recorded at these sessions, all of which were released on singles and six of which made it to this LP. See section below for details.

On the 26th December 1947 Gatemouth was in a Chicago studio where he recorded a mammoth 20 tracks as King were stockpiling sides in anticipation of the American Federation of Musicians recording ban due to come into force on the 1st January 1948. Of the twenty sides, ten are included on this LP, only four of which had a previous single release. The remaining masters remained unreleased until the the issue of the Westside CD "Hey Mr. Gatemouth" in 2000. There was, however, one exception - a re-recording of "Did You Ever Love a Woman" the master of which had disappeared.

Gatemouth before he renounced sin

Despite the generally very good standard of Gatemouth's King recordings his experience with National was repeated - disappointingly low sales and the termination of his contract. He kept performing live though, until one night in 1949 at the Club DeLisa in Chicago he underwent a sudden religious conversion on stage. His voice simply vanished and he was unable to utter a sound despite the Red Saunders band repeatedly cuing him in. Then he launched into "Shine On Me" amidst tumultous scenes in that palace of sin. On Sunday he was in church, on Monday he enrolled in Bible college and he was on the way to becoming the Reverend Gatemouth Moore, saviour of souls.

That was the end of the Reverend's R&B career, with one exception. After decades of preaching, recording religious songs and playing gospel records on Memphis station WDIA, in 1977 he arranged with Johnny Otis to record an album of R&B tracks which included his old songs and a new song in which he looked back to the now vanished days of his life as a blues singer, "Beale Street Ain't Beale Street No More." He can be seen singing this song in the film "The Road To Memphis", an episode in the TV series "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues" from 2003. He appears alone, apparently singing to himself as he walks down a deserted and much changed Beale Street. The Reverend Gatemouth Moore went to his reward in 2004.

The Tracks - The Lowdown

I'm A Fool To Care; Highway 61 Blues - recorded in Cincinnati, 12th August, 1947. Personnel - Gatemouth Moore (vocals); Allen Smith (piano); Willie Gaddy (guitar); Monty Morrison (drums). Also recorded at this session but not on this LP - Christmas Blues; East Of The Sun.

I'm A Fool To Care / Highway 61 Blues - released on King 4178 in October 1947.

Don't You Know I Love You Baby; Gamblin' Woman; Satisfying Papa; Teasin' Brown - recorded in Cincinnati, September 1947. Personnel as above but add unknown trumpet, alto sax, tenor sax.

Gamblin' Woman / Satisfying Papa - released on King 4187 in December 1947.

Teasin' Brown / Christmas Blues - released on King 4195 in December 1947.

Hey Mr. Gatemouth; Did You Ever Try To Cry; Something I'm Gonna Be; You're Having Hard Luck Blues; Willa Mae; Graveyard Disposition; You're My Specialty Baby; After Loving A Woman; Gotta Walk; I Ain't Mad At You Pretty Baby - recorded in Chicago, 26th December, 1947. Personnel: Gatemouth Moore (vocals); Bill Martin (trumpet); Bert Patrick (alto sax); Moses Gant (tenor sax); Nat Walker and Simeon Hatch (piano); Adolphus Dean (bass); James Adams (drums).

Hey, Mr. Gatemouth / Don't You Know I Love You Baby - released on King 4211 in April 1948.

East Of The Sun / Gotta Walk released on King 4224 in May 1948.

Something I'm Gonna Be / You're My Specialty Baby released on King 4256 in December 1948.

Did You Ever Try To Cry; You're Having Hard Luck Blues; Willa Mae; Graveyard Disposition; After Loving A Woman; I Ain't Mad At You Pretty Baby - all first released on King LP 684 "Gatemouth Moore Sings Blues" in June 1960.

A further ten tracks were recorded at the 26th December 1947 session. Nine were first issued on Westside CD WESF 100, "Hey Mr. Gatemouth. Complete King Recordings" in 2000. One master, "Did You Ever Love a Woman," remains lost.

Recommended:

Savoy Jazz CD SVY 17327 collection of complete National recordings. 20 tracks.

Westside CD WESF 100 the complete King recordings. 27 tracks. Detailed article by Neil Slaven on Gatemouth which is the main source of information for this post.

The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock 'N' Roll - Preston Lauterbach. History of the network of clubs and theaters worked by Black music acts from the 1930s onwards. Contains a full account of the Natchez Rhythm Club fire.

On YouTube - The Rhythm Club Fire Documentary (complete film). 30 minute award winning film on the Natchez Rhythm Club fire.

Sources:
notes by Neil Slaven to Westside CD "Hey Mr. Gatemouth: Complete King Recordings."
"The Chitlin' Circuit And The Road To Rock 'N' Roll" - Preston Lauterbach.
"Big Band Jazz" by Albert McCarthy.
Bruyninckx discography.
Billboard magazine.

Jimmy Rushing - I Want A Little Girl

 
Side 1:
01. My Baby's Business
02. Jimmy's Round The Clock Blues
03. Thursday Blues
04. Good Mornin' Blues
05. I've Got To Have You That's All
06. I Want A Little Girl
07. I'm So Lonely
08. Go Get Some More You Fool

Side 2:
01. Hi-Ho-Sylvester
02. The Way I Feel
03. In The Moonlight
04. She's Mine, She's Yours
05. Where Were You?
06. Somebody's Spoiling These Women
07. My Last Affair
08. Baby, Don't Tell On Me

I Want A Little Girl (Mega)

I Want A Little Girl (Zippy)

Jimmy Rushing was the first of the great male blues shouters and a big influence on all who followed in his footsteps, from Joe Turner to Wynonie Harris, from Jimmy Witherspoon to Gatemouth Moore.

He is associated with the roaring Kansas City big blues bands, starting with Walter Page's Blue Devils in the late 1920's and then of course with Bennie Moten and Count Basie. None of the sides on this compilation are with the Basie band (officially), although the first six tracks were recorded while Jimmy was still a member of the Basie outfit. "My Baby's Business" and Jimmy's Round The Clock Blues" were recorded at a Johnny Otis session in LA in 1945 for Excelsior. A year later Jimmy again recorded for Excelsior (tracks 3-6) with the backing band, which consisted mostly of Count Basie band members, going under Jimmy Mundy's name.

The Count Basie band broke up in 1950 and Jimmy kept going with a small group which often featured Dickie Wells, Buddy Tate and Walter Page. He recorded a couple of singles for Gotham in 1950 (not included) and then in 1951 - 1952 four singles for King Records. All of the King sides are on this comp. The remaining two sides here were released as a single on Okeh in 1957 by which time Jimmy was well established in the jazz LP market with releases on Vanguard and Columbia. A single recorded for Parrot in Chicago (Mr 5 x 5) in 1953 with the Frank Culley band is not included.

Full recording details are on the back cover along with an excellent essay by Alun Morgan. I hope you enjoy these sides aimed at the Race Records / R&B market rather than the jazz audience which sustained Jimmy's career through the second half of the 1950's, the 1960's and the early 1970's.

A belated Happy New Year to all followers of Be Bop Wino. We'll be rockin' through 2019!

Joe Turner and Pete Johnson - Jumpin' The Blues

Side 1:

01. Wine-O-Baby Boogie - Joe Turner

02. B & O Blues - Joe Turner

03. Rocket Boogie "88" Part 1 - Pete Johnson & His Orchestra

04. Old Piney Brown's Gone - Joe Turner

05. Baby, Won't You Marry Me - Joe Turner

06. Skid Row Boogie - Pete Johnson & His Orchestra

Side 2:

01. Christmas Date Boogie - Joe Turner

02. Radar Blues - Joe Turner

03. Tell Me Pretty Baby - Joe Turner

04. Rocket Boogie "88" Part 2 - Pete Johnson & His Orchestra

05. Trouble Boogie - Joe Turner

06. Half Tight Boogie - Pete Johnson & His Orchestra

Joe Turner & Pete Johnson - Jumpin' The Blues (Mega)

Joe Turner & Pete Johnson - Jumpin' The Blues (Zippy)

When Big Joe Turner left Decca in 1944 having recorded a series of classic sides from November 1940 to October 1944, he couldn't have foreseen that he would spend nearly seven years hopping from label to label in the search for recording success. In 1945 and 1946 he was with National, in July 1947 he recorded a couple of sides for Imperial ("Ice Man Blues" and "Roll 'em Pete"). In November 1947 he recorded a version of "Around The Clock Blues" for Stag under the pseudonym Big Vernon and in the same month he had a session for Aladdin, and at the end of that month and in early December he had his final sessions for National.

At the end of 1947 he was recorded live at a Gene Norman promoted "Just Jazz" concert for RPM. The AFM recording ban brought a temporary halt to Joe's discographic wanderings, but when he resumed recording in June 1948, it was for yet another label, Jack Lauderdale's Down Beat which was renamed Swing Beat in October 1949 and then six months later Swing Time.

On June 28th, 1948, in Los Angeles, Joe Turner and his longtime collaborator, boogie pianist Pete Johnson, recorded eight sides for release on Down Beat. They were accompanied by what was essentially the Jay McShann band at that time. Personnel - Joe Turner (vocals) with: James Ross, Art Farmer (trumpets); Frank Sleet (alto sax); Pete Peterson (tenor sax); Milburn Newman (baritone sax); Pete Johnson (piano); unknown (guitar); Addison Farmer (bass) Robert Brady (drums).

Four singles were released from the session. Tracking down the original release dates of these singles has proved to be more difficult than usual and indeed there seems to be some contradiction in the information I found. For once I've failed to find label shots for all of the original discs, so I can't be sure of the original artist attribution on the first of these records. Anyway, here goes -

Down Beat 151 - Radar Blues / Trouble Blues presumably issued in 1948.

Down Beat 152 - Wine-O-Baby Boogie / B&O Blues - Joe Turner with orchestral accompaniment featuring Pete Johnson at the "88". This disc was reviewed in Billboard on 28th May 1949 and also featured in an ad in Billboard on 9th April 1949. The take of "B&O Blues" on this LP is probably a different take to the one issued on 78rpm single.

Down Beat 153 - Tell Me Pretty Baby / Christmas Date Boogie - Joe Turner's Orchestra with Pete Johnson at the "88". Release date unknown. Presumably before Christmas 1948. This disc was re-released on Swing Time 269 as "How D'Ya Want Your Rollin' Done" / "Christmas Date" in December 1951 and was credited to Joe Turner, with no mention of Pete Johnson.

Down Beat 154 - Baby Won't You Marry Me / Old Piney Brown's Gone - Joe Turner's Orchestra with Pete Johnson. "Old Piney Brown Is Gone" was number 10 in the Hot In New Orleans chart in The Cash Box magazine on October 9th, 1948. Either this disc was issued before Down Beat 152 or else "Wine-O-Baby Boogie" was issued earlier than the Billboard review and ad of 1949. It may be that all 4 Joe Turner discs were issued in the second half of 1948.

adapted from audiopreservationfund.org

In late 1948 or early 1949 (exact date unknown), Pete Johnson was back in the studio to record some sides for Down Beat, this time without Joe Turner but instead in the company of a group led by Maxwell Davis. Three singles were released from this session, two of which are on this LP. The missing single is Wrinkle Head Boogie / Roadhouse Boogie (Swing Time 175).

Personnel - Jewell Grant (alto sax); Maxwell Davis (tenor sax); Pete Johnson (piano); Herman Mitchell (guitar); Ralph Hamilton (bass); Jesse Sailes (drums).

Down Beat 168 - Skid Row Boogie / Half Tight Boogie - Pete Johnson Sextette. Released in February 1949. The single was featured in Billboard ads on the 12th February and 9th April 1949. "Skid Row Boogie" was number 4 in The Cash Box magazine's "Hot In Other Cities" chart for Merion, Pennsylvania, on March 19th, 1949.

Billboard, 12th February 1949

adapted from Discogs.com

Swing Time 169 - Rocket Boogie "88" Part I / Rocket Boogie "88" Part II - Pete Johnson. Probable release in November 1950. Reviewed in the "Hot Jazz" section of Billboard, 11th November 1950.

adapted from rateyourmusic.com

"Rocket Boogie 88 - Part I" and "Rocket Boogie 88 - Part II" are virtually identical on this LP. It's possible that the "Part - II" issued on the original 78rpm single was a different track.

Joe Turner's label hopping continued after his Down Beat session. In the second half of 1948 he had two Los Angeles sessions for MGM in which he was backed by much the same band which featured in Pete Johnson's Down Beat session. He recorded two sides for the small Coast label with the same musicians in October 1948.

After a barren recording period which lasted most of 1949, he cut sides for Houston label Freedom in December 1949 and early 1950. The 1949 session was with Connie Johnson's band which included Joe Houston, Lonnie Lyons and Goree Carter, while the early 1950 session was backed by the Pluma Davis Orchestra.

April 1950 found Joe in New Orleans recording for Imperial with Dave Bartholomew's band. Joe was then without a recording contract for a year until April 1951 when he was signed by Atlantic. And the rest is history ...

Elsewhere On The Blog

Have No Fear, Big Joe Turner Is Here - the National sides

Jumpin' Tonight - Aladdin and Imperial sides

Jumpin' With Joe - Atlantic sides

That's all on Joe Turner for the moment. Once I get round to buying a new turntable I'll be able to add another LP with sides from Big Joe's pre-Atlantic years.

Have No Fear, Big Joe Turner Is Here (2LP)

Side 1:

01. SK Blues, Part 1

02. SK Blues, Part 2

03. Johnson And Turner Blues

04. Johnson And Turner Blues - Master

05. Watch That Jive

06. Howlin' Winds

07. Low Down Dog

Side 2:

01. I Got My Discharge Papers

02. Miss Brown Blues

03. I'm Still In The Dark

04. My Gal's A Jockey

05. I Got Love For Sale

06. Sunday Morning Blues

07. Mad Blues

08. Playboy Blues (aka It's A Low Down Dirty Shame)

Side 3:

01. I'm Still In The Dark

02. Miss Brown Blues

03. Sally Zu-Zazz

04. Rock Of Gibraltar

05. Milk And Butter Blues

06. That's When It Really Hurts

07. I'm Sharp When I Hit The Coast

08. New Wee Baby Blues

Side 4:

01. Nobody In Mind

02. Lucille Lucille

03. Rocks In My Bed

04. Careless Love

05. Last Goodbye Blues

06. Whistle Stop Blues

07. Hollywood Bed

08. Howlin' Winds

Have No Fear, Big Joe Turner Is Here (Mega)

Have No Fear, Big Joe Turner Is Here (Zippy)

An excellent 2LP set containing everything Joe Turner recorded for National between February 1945 and December 1947. The gatefold sleeve has an excellent essay on Joe's life prior to his signing for National as well as a review of the sides on this collection. Warning - this is a larger than usual download as both discs plus artwork are contained in the Zip file. Be prepared for 186 rockin' megabytes.

Joe Turner's long career took him from the clubs of prohibition Kansas City to the Spirituals To Swing concert at Carnegie Hall in 1938 and onwards through the boogie woogie craze, the rise of R&B, and almost unbelievably when in his mid 40s to rock and roll. And when that turned to crap he simply went back to jazz and blues and kept ballin' and squallin' into the 1980s. Through it all he sounded much the same and quite a few of the songs were the same too. All that changed was the backing, and when he fetched up at Atlantic Records in 1951 he was given the best recording facilities and the best backing groups (usually produced and arranged by Jesse Stone), all of which brought him commercial success and a string of R&B hits.

The National sides, while not having the impact that his Atlantic sides would bring, were mostly very good indeed. The January 1946 sides featuring groups led by Wild Bill Moore are raucous but not as focused as the Atlantic material. If you're familiar with the Atlantic stuff and / or Joe's earlier oeuvre, quite a few of these tracks will sound familiar as earlier hits such as "Cherry Red, " "Careless Love" and "It's A Lowdown Dirty Shame" resurface, sometimes under new titles. And of course quite a few of Joe's songs consisted of familiar blues verses mixed into various concoctions. You know what you're going to get - and it's good. All killer, no filler!

Above: dapper Joe in 1944

Above: Joe's longtime collaborator Pete Johnson

Note - the Fax On The Trax section has the song titles as they were on the original releases on 78 rpm singles. Some titles on the LP track list are inaccurate. Joe Turner was never billed as "Big Joe Turner" on these releases. The actual artist attributions are also detailed below.

Fax On The Trax

Side 1, Tracks 1-5: S.K. Blues Part 1; S.K. Blues Part 2; Johnson And Turner Blues; Johnson And Turner Blues -master; Watch That Jive - recorded in NYC, February 2nd, 1945. Personnel: Joe Turner (vocals) with - Frank Newton (trumpet); Don Byas (tenor sax); Pete Johnson (piano); Leonard Ware (guitar); Al Hall (bass); Doc West (drums).

The second take of "Johnson And Turner Blues," labelled "master" on this collection is the released take (National 9011).

S.K Blues Part I / S.K. Blues Part II - Joe Turner with Pete Johnson's All Stars, released on National 9010, February, 1945.

Watch That Jive / Johnson & Turner Blues - Joe Turner with Pete Johnson's All Stars, released on National 9011, April, 1945

Side 1, Tracks 6 and 7: Howlin' Winds; Low Down Dog - recorded in Chicago, May 10th, 1945. Joe Turner with Dallas Bartley and his Small Town Boys. Personnel: Joe Turner (vocals) with - Bill Martin (trumpet); Flaps Dungee (alto sax); Josh Jackson (tenor sax); Pete Johnson (piano); unknown  (guitar); Dallas Bartley (bass); unknown (drums).

Howlin' Winds; Low Down Dog - not issued on singles.

Side 2, Tracks 1-5: I Got My Discharge Papers; Miss Brown Blues; I'm Still In The Dark; My Gal's A Jockey; I Got Love For Sale - recorded in Los Angeles, January 23rd, 1946. Personnel: Joe Turner (vocals) with - Warren Brocken (trumpet); Lloyd Harrison and Wild Bill Moore (tenor saxes); Al Williams (piano); Teddy Bunn (guitar); John "Shifty" Henry (bass); Alray Kidd (drums).

My Gal's A Jockey / I Got Love For Sale - Joe Turner with Bill Moore's Lucky Seven Band, released on National 4002, June 1946.

Rest of this session not released on singles.

Side 2, Tracks 6-8: Sunday Morning Blues; Mad Blues; Playboy Blues - recorded in Los Angeles, January 30th, 1946. Personnel - Joe Turner (vocals) with - Russell Jacquet (trumpet); Wild Bill Moore and Lou Simon (tenor saxes); Camille Howard (piano); Teddy Bunn (guitar); John "Shifty" Henry (bass); Walter Murden (drums).

Mad Blues / Sunday Morning Blues - Joe Turner with Bill Moore's Lucky Seven, released on National 4009, October 1946.

"Playboy Blues" was re-titled "It's A Lowdown Dirty Shame" and released on National 9099 b/w "Nobody In Mind" in January 1950.

Side 3, tracks 1-8 recorded in Chicago, tracks 1-4 (I'm Still In The Dark; Miss Brown Blues; Sally Zu-Zazz; Rock Of Gibraltar) recorded on October 11th 1946. Tracks 5-8 (Milk And Butter Blues; That's When It Really Hurts; I'm Sharp When I Hit The Coast; New Wee Baby Blues) recorded on October 12th 1946. Personnel on tracks 1-4: Joe Turner (vocals) with - Sonny Cohn (trumpet); Porter Kilbert or possibly Tab Smith (alto sax); probably Leon Washington (tenor sax); Albert Ammons (piano); Ike Perkins (guitar); Mickey Simms (bass); Theodore "Red" Saunders (drums).

Similar personnel on Side 3, tracks 5-8, but Albert Ammons drops out, replaced by Rudy Martin (probably).

Miss Brown Blues / I'm Sharp When I Hit The Coast - Joe Turner And His Boogie Woogie Boys, released on National 4011, January 1947.

Rock O' Gibralter / Sally Zu-Zazz - Joe Turner And His Boogie Woogie Boys, released on National 4016, May 1947.

That's What Really Hurts / Whistle Stop Blues - Joe Turner and his Boogie-Woogie Boys, released on National 4017, April 1948.

Above: Billboard, April 1948

Hollywood Bed / New Oo-Wee Baby Blues - Joe Turner, released on National 9100 in February (?) 1950.

Still In The Dark / My Gal's A Jockey - Joe Turner, released on National 9106 in March 1950.

Side 4, Tracks 1-4 (Nobody In Mind; Lucille Lucille; Rocks In My Bed; Careless Love), recorded in Chicago on November 29th, 1947. Personnel: Joe Turner (vocals) with - Charles Gray (trumpet); Riley Hampton (alto sax); Otis Finch (tenor sax); Ellsworth Liggett (piano); Ike Perkins (guitar); Robert Moore (bass); James Adams (drums). 

Side 4, Tracks 5-8 (Last Goodbye Blues; Whistle Stop Blues; Hollywood Bed; Howlin' Winds) recorded in Chicago on December 9th, 1947. Personnel as November 29th session.

Lucille Lucille, Careless Love, and Last Goodbye Blues were not released on singles.

That's What Really Hurts / Whistle Stop Blues - Joe Turner and his Boogie-Woogie Boys, released on National 4017, April 1948.

It's A Lowdown Dirty Shame / Nobody In Mind - Joe Turner, released on National 9099, in January 1950.

Hollywood Bed / New Oo-Wee Baby Blues - Joe Turner, released on National 9100 in February (?) 1950.

Rocks In My Bed / Howlin' Winds - Joe Turner, released on National 9144 in April 1951.

The last Joe Turner release on National. By the time this ad ran he had signed to Atlantic

Elsewhere On The Blog

Joe Turner - Jumpin' Tonight is a Pathe Marconi collection of sides recorded for Aladdin in July and November 1947 and for Imperial in April 1950. Originally posted in October 2009.

Joe Turner - Jumpin' With Joe is a Charly collection of sides recorded for Atlantic from 1951 to 1958. Originally posted in October 2009.

More Joe Turner coming soon. Jump with joy!