Let's Dance With Earl Bostic (King LP 529 stereo)

Side 1:
01) Lover Come Back To Me
02) The Merry Widow Waltz
03) Cracked Ice
04) Song Of The Islands
05) Danube Waves
06) Wrap It Up

Side 2:
01) Blue Skies
02) Ubangi Stomp
03) Cherry Bean
04) Earl's Imagination
05) My Heart At Thy Sweet Voice
06) Liebestraum

Let's Dance With Earl Bostic (King LP 529 stereo) Mega

Let's Dance With Earl Bostic (King LP 529 stereo) Zippy

To round off the Be Bop Wino Bostickathon of  Earl Bostic King LPs here's a 1959 re-recorded stereo version of the LP originally released as King 395-529 in December 1956.

Original 1956 version in mono

The 1956 LP consisted of tracks which had previously been released as singles, mostly in 1953 and 1954. As with the other early Earl Bostic 12 inch LPs, this one went through several re-releases. It was reissued as King 529 in 1958 with a new cover as shown below:

Between March and June 1959 Earl Bostic re-recorded every LP which he had previously issued in the King 500 series, with the exception of his last release in the series, King 597 "Alto Magic In Hi-Fi: A Dance Party With Bostic."

The albums which were re-recorded in 1959 were:

395-500   The Best Of Bostic

395-503   Earl Bostic For You

395-515   Altotude

395-525   Dance Time

395-529   Let's Dance With Earl Bostic

       547   Invitation To Dance With Bostic

       558   C'mon And Dance With Earl Bostic

       571   Bostic Rocks Hits Of The Swing Age

       583   Bostic Showcase Of Swinging Dance Hits

 

The first 5 LPs in the series had already been reissued in mono with the prefix 395 removed from their numbers in 1958. They also had been given new covers which were re-used on the 1959 stereo issues. 

Alternative cover for stereo issue of "Let's Dance"

With the exception of "The Merry Widow Waltz", which was recorded during sessions for LPs in the King 600 series, the tracks for the stereo version of "Let's Dance With Earl Bostic" were recorded towards the end of the re-recording sessions in June 1959. The final such session was held on June 15th when nine tracks were recorded for the stereo version of "Invitation To Dance With Bostic" (King 547).

 Recording details for "Let's Dance With Earl Bostic" (stereo):

Los Angeles, January 27th / 28th, 1959

Personnel: Earl Bostic (alto sax); Elmer Schmidt (vibraphone); Sir Charles Thompson (piano); Rene Hall and Allan Seltzer (guitars); Herb Gordy (bass); Earl Palmer (drums) -

The Merry Widow Waltz

Cincinnati, June 9th and 10th, 1959

Personnel: Earl Bostic (alto sax); Roland Johnson (vibraphone); Joe Thomas (piano); Warren Stephens and Allan Seltzer (guitars); Herb Gordy (bass); William Erskine (drums) -

Cincinnati, June 9th, 1959:

Lover Come Back To Me

Cracked Ice

Song Of The Islands

Danube Waves

Wrap It Up

Blue Skies

Ubangi Stomp

Cincinnati, June 10th, 1959:

Cherry Bean

Earl's Imagination

My Heart At Thy Sweet Voice

Liebestraum

Sources - Bruyninckx, Billboard, The Cash Box, Both Sides Now website.

Artwork - Discogs, 3345ca, various record sales sites.

And with this post we come to the end of the Bostic King LP marathon. I'm all Bosticked out. There will be a look at Earl's pre-King work in the near future but in the meantime let's tune in to some other R&B artists. There's a loada stuff in the pipeline to keep you lockdowners a-movin' and a groovin'. Keep on truckin' everyone!

Earl Bostic - Dance Time (stereo) re-ripped and re-upped

Side 1:
01) Harlem Nocturne
02) Where Or When
03) Sweet Lorraine
04) Poeme
05) You Go To My Head
06) Off Shore

Side 2:
01) The Moon Is Low
02) Ain't Misbehavin'
03) The Sheik Of Araby
04) I Hear A Rhapsody
05) Roses Of Picardy
06) Melancholy Serenade

Earl Bostic - Dance Time (stereo) Mega

Earl Bostic - Dance Time (stereo) Zippy

1980s reissue on the Sing label of the stereo version of Earl Bostic's "Dance Time" album (King 525) which was issued in July / August 1959. The stereo version was recorded in March / April 1959 as follows:

Cincinnati, March 26th, 1959. Personnel: Earl Bostic (alto sax); Roland Johnson (vibraphone); Jon Thomas (piano); Allan Seltzer (guitar); Herb Gordy (bass); William Erskine (drums):

Harlem Nocturne

Where Or When

Sweet Lorraine

You Go To My Head

Off Shore

Ain't Misbehavin'

The Sheik Of Araby

I Hear A Rhapsody

Roses Of Picardy

Melancholic Serenade

 

Cincinnati, April 8th, 1959. Personnel: Earl Bostic (alto sax); Roland Johnson (vibraphone); Claude Jones (piano); Warren Stephens, Allan Seltzer (guitars); Herb Gordy (bass); William Erskine (drums):

Poeme

The Moon Is Low

 

The recording details listed towards the bottom of the back cover of this Sing reissue are for the original mono version of the LP, King 395-525 which was released in 1956. It was the 4th Bostic 12 inch LP to be released and like its predecessors it consisted of singles dating back to 1951, although 4 more recently recorded sides from April 1956 were included.

All this and much more on the Earl Bostic King LP saga is revealed on the original post of this album from 2017:

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2017/10/earl-bostic-dance-time.html

Head on over to see the original covers used on the mono version plus musings on the re-recording of Earl's King 500 series LPs. You can also read of my horrified realisation that I'd been giving wrong information on previous Bostic posts.

For this post I have re-recorded and re-ripped my LP as the 2017 mp3s were rather indistinct. The sound quality on the new mp3s is audibly better, as is the clarity of the numerous clicks and crackles on this second hand (purchased in Love Music, Glasgow) slab of vinyl.

The post also includes a folder of 1950s artwork from the King issue of this collection.

One more Bostic platter to go, and it's a new one which has not been posted previously. I'm just about all Bosticked out, but I know that there are some of you out there who just can't get enough! BTW "Where Or When" from this album is my latest ear worm. Can't get it out of my head. Until the next Bostic post, my R&B chums!

Bostic Rocks Hits Of The Swing Age (re-up)

Side One:
01) Southern Fried
02) Jersey Bounce
03) Jumpin' At The Woodside
04) Tuxedo Junction
05) 720 In The Books
06) Air Mail Special

Side Two:
01) Pompton Turnpike
02) Woodchopper's Ball
03) Night Train
04) Stompin' At The Savoy
05) Honeysuckle Rose
06) No Name Jive

Bostic Rocks Hits Of The Swing Age (Mega)

 Bostic Rocks Hits Of The Swing Age (Zippy)

This is a 1980s reissue of King LP 571 which was originally issued in April 1958. Unlike earlier Bostic LPs which were compilations of old singles, the tracks for this album were especially recorded in Los Angeles on December 18th and 18th, 1957. This set the pattern for future Bostic LPs with tracks being recorded over one or two days for themed albums.

Personnel on this LP:

Earl Bostic (alto sax); Wallace Snow (vibraphone); Ernest Crawford (piano); Tony Rizzi (guitar); Hilmer J. "Tiny" Timbrell (bass); Earl Palmer (drums).

A stereo version was recorded in Cincinnati on April 6th and 7th, 1959, by different personnel. The stereo release had the same cover as the original mono release, except for a large yellow and black "stereo" label underneath "Bostic Rocks."

The original post for this LP is here:

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2017/10/bostic-rocks-hits-of-swing-age.html

That post included a link to Lonesome Lefty's Scratchy Attic where a copy of the stereo version of this LP had been posted. That was the last post on the Scratchy Attic, unfortunately. The link was working in 2017, but I'm not so sure if it's still working. I tried it last night but kept running in to ads and finally gave up when potential malware came into view. The more adventurous among you may wish to attempt to navigate this hazardous maze, but I wouldn't recommend it.

The post on the Scratchy Attic is short but it does link in to comments by Lou Donaldson about Bostic on Larry Appelbaum's blog. Go to that blog, type in Earl Bostic in the searchbox, and you'll find a couple of posts where musicians comment on Bostic's formidable technical expertise on the alto sax.

For this re-up I've added a folder of original King release artwork found on the web, so reconstructors of original LPs can get to work! A couple more Bostic platters in the pipeline, then on to pastures new.

Earl Bostic For You (King LP 395-503 and King LP 503 stereo)

Side 1:
01) Sleep
02) Moonglow
03) Velvet Sunset
04) For You
05) The Very Thought Of You
06) Linger Awhile

Side 2:
01) Cherokee
02) Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
03) Memories
04) Embraceable You
05) Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
06) Night And Day

Earl Bostic For You (King LP 395-503) Mega

Earl Bostic For You (King LP 395-503) Zippy 

I've altered the downloads which featured on the first posting of these mono and stereo iterations of "Earl Bostic For You." For the mono version I've used the artwork from the first issue of this LP in February 1956 as King 395-503. The music files were ripped from my copy of the 1980s Sing issue of this collection. The download includes the Sing artwork which is almost a copy of the second issue of this collection in 1958 with a front cover which featured a picture of Earl on his lonesome holding his sax in the air. This cover was also used for the stereo issue which consisted of 1959 re-recordings of the tracks.

For the stereo version I've managed to dig up improved artwork from the web, although the back cover is a "mash up" of two different versions.

The original post should be read for the recording details of the stereo version and also for the original release details of the singles which were used on the 1956 / 1958 mono LP. The recording details of these singles can be found on the back cover of the Sing issue. Original post from October 2017:

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2017/10/earl-bostic-for-you-mono-and-stereo.html

 

 Earl Bostic For You (King LP 503 - stereo) Mega

Earl Bostic For You (King LP 503 - stereo) Zippy

The tracklist is the same as King 395-503. The difference between the mono and stereo versions is very noticeable with different arrangements being used for the re-recordings. I know which version I prefer, in fact I would say that 395-503 may well be my favourite Bostic album as he powers through a series of abrasive versions of standards which were recorded for singles between 1950 and 1954.

Musicians on the mono version include John Coltrane, Stanley Turrentine, Tommy Turrentine, Benny Golson, Count Hastings and Blue Mitchell, all of whom made their mark in the jazz field.

By way of contrast the stereo version was recorded over a short period in 1959 by the same group of musicians which makes for a certain "sameness" about the tracks. It's well worth your while to download and compare both versions.

Elsewhere on the blog:

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2017/10/earl-bostic-for-you-mono-and-stereo.html

The original post of these albums with the lowdown on these platters that most definitely matter. The Bostic-a-thon goes on ... and on ...

With grateful thanks to the original uploaders of the LP artwork.

The Best Of Bostic (King LP 395-500) / Dance To The Best Of Bostic (King LP 500)

Side 1:
01) Flamingo
02) Always
03) Deep Purple
04) Smoke Rings
05) What, No Pearls
06) Jungle Drums

Side 2:
01) Serenade
02) I Can't Give You Anything But Love
03) Seven Steps
04) I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
05) Don't You Do It
06) Steamwhistle Jump

The Best Of Bostic (King LP 395-500) Mega

The Best Of Bostic (King LP 395-500) Zippy

Side 1:
01) Flamingo
02) Always
03) Deep Purple
04) Smoke Rings
05) What, No Pearls
06) Jungle Drums

Side 2:
01) Serenade
02) I Can't Give You Anything But Love
03) Seven Steps
04) I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
05) Don't You Do It
06) Steamwhistle Jump

Dance To The Best Of Bostic (King LP 500) Mega

Dance To The Best Of Bostic (King LP 500) Zippy

So before you cats 'n' kittens out there in Be Bop Wino Land start howlin' that I've posted the same damned LP twice over, no I haven't. We have reached the point I have been dreading, i.e. revisiting and re-upping a selection of the seemingly infinite number of Earl Bostic LPs released by King in the 1950s. The apparent duplication in this post is caused by the decision of King to have Bostic re-record many of his LPs in stereo in a short intensive spell of studio activity in the spring of 1959. The resulting albums were released around 1959-1960 with identical titles to their predecessor mono LPs which had been released beween 1956 and 1958.

However in this case there is a slight alteration to the title as by 1959 King had been issuing a slew of Bostic LPs which included the word "dance" in their titles, so there it is slapped across the front cover of the stereo version, just above the hot chick in her underwear who appears to be on the verge of being devoured by a flock of parrots or parakeets. At least she's having a cocktail while the ravenous birds gather above her.

In fact so overwhelming is King's attention to detail, you can take your choice from 3 different titles for this LP by looking at the front and back covers and the disc labels. The front cover also informs the buyer that the album is both monaural and in stereo, which must have been confusing. In fact it's in stereo. And also in fact this isn't the 1959 issue but a 1980s reissue.

But let us go back to 1956 when King issued its first R&B 12-inch LPs in February of that year. There had in fact been a series of R&B 10-inch LPs issued from 1953 onwards but King changed rather belatedly to the 12-inch format with the release of 4 LPs which were previewed in the 16th February issue of Billboard. Groovers could choose from the following platters -

The Best Of Bostic (King 395-500)

Tiny Bradshaw (King 395-501)

Moondust - The Bill Doggett Combo (King 395-502)

Earl Bostic For You (King 395-503)

Which now brings us to the difference between the 2 Bostic albums posted here. The track lists may be identical but the two LPs offer very different listening experiences. The 1956 LP is a compilation of previous Bostic singles recorded between 1950 and 1953 with a variety of musicians which for me makes for a more interesting listen than the March and June 1959 recordings of the stereo version which used an identical group of musicians.

The arrangements on the stereo LP are quite different from the original singles and LP, so Be Bop Winos, now is the chance to train your ear to tell the difference between the two sets of recordings. This may come in handy as various 1980s reissues often failed to differentiate, which led to some confusion on the part of Bostic fans and bloggers such as myself.

This October 2017 post of the 2 versions contains full recording and personnel details for both albums:

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2017/10/dance-to-best-of-bostic-both-versions.html

I know that there are quite a few Bostic fanatics out there, so stand by for more alto sax shenanigans.

Earl Bostic Blows A Fuse (re-up)

Side 1:
01) Night Train
02) 8.45 Stomp
03) That's The Groovy Thing
04) Special Delivery Stomp
05) Moonglow
06) Mambostic
07) Earl Blows A Fuse
08) Harlem Nocturne

Side 2:
01) Who Snuck The Wine In The Gravy?
02) Don't You Do It
03) Disc Jockey's Nightmare
04) Flamingo
05) Steam Whistle Jump
06) What! No Pearls
07) Tuxedo Junction
08) Seven Steps

Earl Bostic Blows A Fuse (Mega)

Earl Bostic Blows A Fuse (Zippy)

A delayed continuation of the Earl Bostic re-ups. As you can see on previous posts there is a problem with images disappearing seemingly in a random fashion from posts going back into March. I've re-upped the images for "Sax "O" Woogie" and so far they have stayed in place. Uploading images for this post has been problematic as they quickly disappear from the image upload facility, so we'll see how this pans out.Here's hoping that the front cover which is another of those great Dave Gibson at Nozbig designs stays up, at least!

The previous post of this album, with short summary of Earl Bostic's career is here:

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2009/12/earl-bostic-blows-fuse-crb-1091.html

More Bostic on the way.

Earl Bostic - Sax "O" Boogie re-up

Side A:
01) Bostic's Jump
02) Earl's Rhumboogie
03) Hot Sauce Boss
04) 8:45 Stomp
05) Bar Fly Baby
06) Bostic's Boogie Blues
07) Blip Boogie
08) From Midnight To Dawn

Side B:
01) Swing Low Sweet Boogie
02) Nay, Nay, Go Away
03) Sugar Hill Blues
04) Choppin' It Down
05) No Name Blues
06) Way Down
07) Don't You Do It
08) Rockin' And Reelin'

Sax "O" Boogie (Mega)

Sax "O" Boogie (Zippy)

Kicking off the requested Earl Bostic season of re-ups. I'll start with a couple of comps before throwing myself into the fraught matter of all those 1950s LPs and the stereo re-recordings, plus there will be a look at Bostic's wild years - the sides he recorded for Gotham before he went on to King Records and hit the formula which brought chart success and a veritable avalanche of LPs.

First off - this Oldie Blues collection has a great selection of early Bostic, mastered from 78s by the sound of it. Boptastic!

For some more details on these tracks, see this post of the LP from 2016:

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2016/04/earl-bostic-sax-o-boogie.html 

 Stay slick, groovers.

Muddy Waters - Chess Masters

Side One:
01) Mannish Boy
02) Screamin' & Crying
03) Just To Be With You
04) Walking In The Park
05) Walking Blues
06) Canary Bird

Side Two:
01) Same Thing
02) Gypsy Women
03) Rollin' & Tumblin'
04) 40 Days & 40 Nights
05) Little Geneva
06) You Can't Lose What You Never Had

Side Three:
01) I Just Want To Make Love To You
02) Long Distance Call
03) Louisiana Blues
04) Honey Bee
05) Rollin' Stone
06) I'm Ready

Side Four:
01) (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man
02) She Moves Me
03) I Want You To Love Me
04) Standing Around Crying
05) Still A Fool
06) I Can't Be Satisfied

Muddy Waters Chess Masters (Mega)

Muddy Waters Chess Masters (Zippy)

Ah, another "Chess Masters" double LP set that's been put together by PRT with absolutely no care whatsoever. What's a blogger to make of this? No sleeve notes. The tracklist on the back cover reverses the track lists on the actual discs. Many of the song titles contain spelling mistakes and a couple of the titles are just wrong. Before I dig in just let me say that the actual music is dynamite Chicago blues straight from the top drawer, so the effort to dig out info is well worth it.

Firstly I've gone with the track lists as they are on the discs, so sides one and two on the back cover are now sides three and four, and vice versa. The track titles are more or less as they appear on this 2LP set. You'll find the titles as they appeared on the original singles in the chronological single releases section, along with R&B chart entries. The mp3s are tagged with the LP set titles. It should be noted that 2 of the titles on this set are very inaccurate. "I Just Want To Make Love To You" was originally "Just Make Love To Me" and "I Want You To Love Me" was originally "Mad Love."

The recording dates are mostly from the booklet of the 2CD set "Muddy Waters The Anthology" - see under recommended purchases. The original single release details are mostly from 45worlds.com and the chart entry details are from Robert Gordon's biography of Muddy, "Can't Be Satisfied." Again see recommended purchases. Also consulted - The Cash Box, Bruyninckx, The Red Saunders Research Foundation, and YouTube.

There were a lot of clicks and pops on the vinyl but I've managed to eliminate most of it. There is some distortion on "Mannish Boy" which should have been spelt "Manish Boy."

The tracks with recording dates and single release numbers

01) Mannish Boy - Chess 1602 - rec May 24th 1955

02) Screamin' & Crying - Aristocrat 406 - rec September 1949

03) Just To Be With You - Chess 1644 - rec June 29th 1956

04) Walking In The Park - Chess 1718 - rec late 1958

05) Walking Blues - Chess 1426 - rec February 1950

06) Canary Bird -Aristocrat 1311 - rec July 1949

07) Same Thing - Chess 1895 - rec April 9th 1964

08) Gypsy Women - Aristocrat 1302 - rec September 1947

09) Rollin' & Tumblin' - Aristocrat 412 - rec February 1950

10) 40 Days & 40 Nights - Chess 1620 - rec February 2nd 1956

11) Little Geneva - Aristocrat 1311 - rec July 1949

12) You Can't Lose What You Never Had - Chess 1895 - rec April 9th 1964

01) I Just Want To Make Love To You (Just Make Love To Me) - Chess 1571 - rec April 13th 1954

02) Long Distance Call - Chess 1452 - rec January 23rd 1951

03) Louisiana Blues - Chess 1441 - rec October 23rd 1950

04) Honey Bee - Chess 1468 - rec January 23rd 1951

05) Rollin' Stone - Chess 1426 - rec February 1950

06) I'm Ready - Chess 1579 - rec September 1st 1954

07) (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man - Chess 1560 - rec January 7th 1954

08) She Moves Me - Chess 1490 - rec July 11th 1951

09) I Want You To Love Me (Mad Love) - Chess 1550 -September 24th 1953

10) Standing Around Crying - Chess 1526 - rec September 17th 1952

11) Still A Fool - Chess 1480 - rec July 11th 1951

12) I Can't Be Satisfied - Aristocrat 1305 - rec April 1948

Original Single Releases (titles as per record label)

Billboard R&B chart entries - highest position plus month & year record entered the charts

Gypsy Woman / Little Anna Mae - Muddy Water with Sunny Land Slim - Aristocrat 1302 - March 1948

I Can't Be Satisfied / I Feel Like Going Home - Muddy Waters with Rhythm Accompaniment - Aristocrat 1305 - June 1948 (B Side was #11 R&B September 1948)

Little Geneva / Canary Bird - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1311 - November 1949

Screaming And Crying / Where's My Woman Been - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 406 - February 1950

Rollin' And Tumblin' Part 1 / Rollin' And Tumblin' Part 2 - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 412 - April 1950

Rollin' Stone / Walkin' Blues - Muddy Waters - Chess 1426 - June 1950

Louisiana Blues / Evan's Shuffle - Muddy Waters - Chess 1441 - November 1950 (#10 R&B January 1951)

Long Distance Call / Too Young To Know - Muddy Waters and his Guitar - Chess 1452 - March 1951 (#8 R&B April 1951)

Honey Bee / Appealing Blues - Muddy Waters and his Guitar - Chess 1468 - July 1951 (#10 R&B July 1951)

My Fault / Still A Fool - Muddy Waters and his Guitar - Chess 1480 - September 1951 (#9 R&B November 1951)

She Moves Me / Early Morning Blues - Muddy Waters And His Guitar - Chess 1490 - January 1952 (#10 R&B February 1952)

Standing Around Crying / Gone To Main St. - Muddy Waters and his Guitar - Chess 1526 - November 1952

Mad Love / Blow Wind, Blow - Muddy Waters and his Guitar - Chess 1550 - October 1953 (#6 R&B November 1953)

I'm Your Hoochie Cooche Man / She's So Pretty - Muddy Waters and his Guitar - Chess 1560 - January 1954 (#3 R&B March 1954)

Just Make Love To Me / Oh! Yeh - Muddy Waters and his Guitar - Chess 1571 - May 1954 (#4 R&B June 1954)

I'm Ready / I Don't Know Why - Muddy Waters and his Guitar - Chess 1579 - September 1954 (#4 R&B October 1954)

Manish Boy / Young Fashion Ways - Muddy Waters And His Guitar - Chess 1602 - July 1955 (#5 R&B July 1955)

Forty Days & Forty Nights / All Aboard - Muddy Waters And His Guitar - Chess 1620 - April 1956 (#7 R&B May 1956)

Just To Be With You / I Got To Find My Baby - Muddy Waters - Chess 1644 - November 1956

Mean Mistreater / Walking Thru The Park - Muddy Waters - Chess 1718 - February 1959

The Same Thing / You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had - Chess 1895 - May 1964

Recommended Purchases:

 Muddy Waters The Anthology 2CD set MCA / Chess

The above 50 track set is the only Muddy Waters CD I've ever bought. Great sound and most of the big ones are here.

Superb biography by Robert Gordon. Jonathan Cape, 2002 (UK). Most highly recommended.
 

Memphis Slim (Chess LP 1455)

Side 1:

01) I Guess I'm A Fool

02) Rockin' The Pad

03) Havin' Fun

04) Marack

05) Mother Earth

Side 2:

01) Really Got The Blues

02) Tiajuana

03) I'm Crying

04) Reverend Bounce

05) Slim's Blues

06) Blues For My Baby

Memphis Slim (Chess LP 1455) Mega


Memphis Slim (Chess LP 1455) Zippy

From the files of Marv - this Chess LP was released in 1961 when interest in "folk blues" was at its height. "Folk blues" was the means by which many blues artists moved from the R&B market where interest in their style of music was declining, into a new market where their music was bought by a white, often middle class and college based customer base.

An offshoot of the folk music scene, the fans of "folk blues" adopted a purist and intellectualised approach to the blues which demanded "authenticity" and treated the music as a serious art form. If you want to get a handle on this attitude read Studs Terkel's notes to this LP on the back cover. Appearances can be deceptive, for the tracks on this LP date from ten years prior to its release and consist of rhythm and blues sides recorded for the Premium label in Chicago in 1950 and 1951.

In a previous Memphis Slim post I uploaded a collection of sides which had been bought by King from the Chicago label Miracle when that label closed in early 1950. Among the sides was Slim's biggest hit "Messin' Around With The Blues." Slim recorded a session for Peacock in Houston in early 1950 then returned to Chicago to record with Miracle's successor label Premium.

The Premium label was short lived, folding in the summer of 1951. Many of their masters were bought by Chess and a couple of Slim's Premium singles were reissued on that label in January 1952. All of which brings us to this collection which was released in 1961 at a time when Slim had ceased to release material aimed at the R&B market and was instead recording LPs for labels such as Folkways, Verve and Bluesville which were aimed at the folk blues followers. Indeed he had already recorded in Europe where he would make his home and find many new fans.

With this release Chess were definitely aiming at sales among the college crowd as is made obvious by Studs Terkel's sleeve notes. Funnily enough, there's no mention of Slim's band, The House Rockers. VeeJay had already pulled the same stunt in February 1961 by packaging rockin' R&B sides on an LP titled "Memphis Slim At The Gate Of Horn" which was named after a well known folk venue where Slim had made live appearances. Studs Terkel wrote the notes for that one too.

Five years later, in December 1966, Chess released an LP titled "Memphis Slim - The Real Folk Blues" which contained many of the R&B sides already featured on Chess LP 1455. It was 1966 and folk was on the way out and R&B was in as far as the younger music fans were concerned but Slim had already garnered a large worldwide following which would keep his musical career thriving for decades, indeed long enough for your humble blogger to see him in Dundee in the mid 1980s and be pretty much blown away by his performance.

The Story Behind The Tracks

Chicago, March 1950 - Memphis Slim and The House Rockers - Memphis Slim (vocals, piano) with - Alex Atkins (alto sax); Timothy Overton (tenor sax); Alfred Elkins (bass); Leon Hooper (drums); Floyd Hunt (piano on "I Guess I'm A Fool" and "Really Got The Blues"); The Vagabonds (vocal group on "I Guess I'm A Fool" and "Mother Earth"):

Flock Rocker

I Guess I'm a Fool

Really Got The Blues

Slim's Blues

Havin' Fun

Mother Earth

I Guess I'm A Fool / Flock Rocker - Premium 850 - June 1950

Slim's Blues / Havin' Fun - Premium 860 - September 1950, also Chess 860, January 1952

Mother Earth / Really Got The Blues - Premium 867 - January 1951

Cleveland, Ohio, February 1951 - Memphis Slim and His House Rockers: Memphis Slim (vocals, piano) with - Neal Green, Charles Ferguson (tenor saxes); Henry Taylor (bass); Otho Allen (drums); Terry Timmons (duet vocal on "I'm Crying"):

Marack

Reverend Bounce

Tia Juana

Walking Alone aka Blues For My Baby

Rockin' Chair aka Rockin' The Pad

I'm Crying

Tia Juana / I'm Crying - Premium 903 - July 1951

Walking Alone / Rocking The Pad - Chess 1491 - January 1952

"Marack" and "Reverend Bounce" first released on this LP.

Adapted from Discogs.com

The above recording and release information is mainly from The Red Saunders Research Foundation website. Their very informative article on Premium Records is here:

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

Elsewhere On The Blog:

Messin' Around With The Blues 2LP set

Double album of King / Federal material by Memphis Slim, Pete "Guitar" Lewis and Little Willie Littlefield. Memphis Slim sides originate from Miracle and Hy-Tone 1940s recordings.

Rockin' The Blues

Charly collection of VeeJay sides recorded 1958-59. These were Slim's last R&B recordings. Contains all 12 of the tracks released on the "Memphis Slim At The Gate Of Horn" LP, plus 4 tracks released on singles.

There are new download links on both of these posts.

With many thanks to Marv and to the original uploaders of the artwork.