Red Hot & Blue

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

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

Download from:

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


Red Hot & Blue (Mega)


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

http://www.706unionavenue.nl/

Elsewhere on Be Bop Wino:

The Blues Came Down From Memphis

Percy Mayfield - The Voice Within (re-up)

Side 1:
01. How Wrong Can A Good Man Be
02. Leary Blues
03. The Hunt Is On
04. Hopeless
05. Two Hearts Are Greater Than One
06. Lonesome Highway
07. I Dare You, Baby
08. How Deep Is The Well

Side 2:
01. The Lonely One
02. The Bachelor Blues
03. Sugar Mama - Peachy Papa
04. The Voice Within
05. My Heart
06. Are You Out There?
07. The Bluest Blues
08. My Story About A Woman

Ripped @ 320 kbps.

Download from here:

http://www18.zippyshare.com/v/yMV2UzRx/file.html

Re-upped in response to a request by Barefoot Boogaloo. Apologies for the delay, but I had to go out and buy a new scanner. I had become increasingly aware that my LP cover scans were suffering in quality due to fogging on the inside of my scanner glass. An attempt to fix this ended badly so there was nothing for it but to dig deep and invest in a new scanner. As for stitching together the LP cover scans (you need to do four to get a complete cover), I decided to try out Microsoft's ICE free software and the results are as you see on this post. I'm pretty pleased with the scanner and the software and I believe that scanning LP covers will not be such a laborious task as it used to be.

The original post (11th October, 2008) of "The Voice Within" is here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/percy-mayfield-voice-within.html

It's worth a read - not only for an outline of the career of Percy Mayfield, but also for some melancholy musings over the corporatisation of Byres Road in the West End of Glasgow. Eight years on, and the trend continues unabated. Surely there can't be any business premises left to convert into coffee shops or pseudo hipster eateries? The 2008 post was prompted by the closure of Lost In Music where I bought this LP not long before the curtain came down on that source of second hand vinyl. The comments on the original post are also informative.

There is a reference to The Hound at the beginning of that post - he had posted a soundclip of the single "The Voice Within" on his blog a few weeks before I posted this LP on Be Bop Wino. A couple of years later The Hound posted an article on Percy Mayfield which you can find here:

http://thehoundblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/percy-mayfield.html

As for the sounds on this platter, I don't think I've listened to the tracks since I posted them originally and I must say on re-listening I've found that it makes for hypnotic listening, a litany of heartbreak and personal woe with only an occasional uptempo track to provide relief. I like it. Percy Mayfield was a true poet of the blues as his outstanding songwriting and performances on this album demonstrate.

There is some surface noise on some of these tracks, especially on the rockin' "I Dare You Baby" which has a few clicks and pops. Sorry about that folks. The sleevenotes by Dick Shurman include commentary on the tracks by Percy Mayfield himself.

Additional information:

How Wrong Can A Good Man Be / Leary Blues were released on Supreme 1549 in 1949. The A side was titled "How Wrong Can I Be". Re-released on Swing Time 262 in March 1951 with "Leary Blues" as the A side, and the B side titled "How Wrong Can a Good Man Be." Recorded in 1947. Personnel as per LP sleeve, i.e. Percy Mayfield (vocal); Vernon Smith (trumpet); Marshall Royal (alto sax); Maxwell Davis (tenor sax); Floyd Turnham (baritone sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Chuck Norris (guitar); Roy Hamilton (bass); Henry Williams (drums).

The Hunt Is On was released on Specialty SP 425 (B side of "The Big Question") in March 1952. Recorded in Los Angeles on January 22nd, 1952. Personnel: Percy Mayfield (vocal); Jewell Grant (alto sax); Maxwell Davis (tenor sax); John Crawford (baritone and tenor saxes); Willard McDaniel (piano); Mitchell Webb (guitar); Ralph Hamilton (bass); Jesse Sailes (drums).

Hopeless was released on Specialty SP 416 (b/w "Cry Baby) in November 1951. Recorded in Los Angeles on July 27th, 1951. Personnel: Percy Mayfield (vocal); Maxwell Davis (tenor sax); John Crawford (baritone and tenor saxes) Maurice Simon (baritone sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Herman Mitchell (guitar); Billy Hadnott (bass); Lee Young (drums).

Two Hearts Are Greater Than One was released on Specialty SP 432 (B side of "Louisiana") in May 1952. Recorded in Los Angeles October 23rd, 1950. Personnel: Percy Mayfield (vocal); Maxwell Davis and Jack McVea (tenor saxes); Charles Waller (baritone sax)); Lee Wesley Jones (piano); Chuck Norris (guitar); Red Callender (bass); Lee Young (drums).

Lonesome Highway was released on Specialty SP 439 (b/w "My Heart") in September 1952. Recorded in Los Angeles on March 31st 1952. Personnel: Percy Mayfield (vocal); Jewell Grant (alto sax); Maxwell Davis and James Jackson (tenor saxes); Willard McDaniel (piano); Chuck Norris (guitar); David Bryant (bass); William "Bill" Douglass (drums).

I Dare You Baby was released on Specialty SP 451 (b/w "The River's Invitation") in January 1953. Recorded in Los Angeles on July 27th, 1951. Personnel: Percy Mayfield (vocal); Maxwell Davis (tenor sax); John Crawford (baritone and tenor saxes); Maurice Simon (baritone sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Herman Mitchell (guitar); Billy Hadnott (bass); Lee Young (drums).

How Deep Is The Well was released on Specialty SP 473 (b/w "The Bachelor Blues") in September 1953. Recorded in Los Angeles on July 27th, 1951. Personnel: Percy Mayfield (vocal); Maxwell Davis (tenor sax); John Crawford (baritone and tenor saxes); Maurice Simon (baritone sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Herman Mitchell (guitar); Billy Hadnott (bass); Lee Young (drums).

The Lonely One was released on Specialty SP 460 (b/w "Lost Mind") in April 1953. Recorded in Los Angeles on January 29th 1953. Personnel: Percy Mayfield (vocal); Jewell Grant (alto sax); Maxwell Davis (tenor sax); Hubert "Bumps" Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Ulysses Livingston (guitar); Ralph Hamilton (bass); Jesse Sailes (drums).

The Bachelor Blues was released on Specialty SP 473 (B side of "How Deep Is The Well") in September 1953. Recorded in Los Angeles on January 29th 1953. Personnel: Percy Mayfield (vocal); Jewell Grant (alto sax); Maxwell Davis (tenor sax); Hubert "Bumps" Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Ulysses Livingston (guitar); Ralph Hamilton (bass); Jesse Sailes (drums).

Sugar Mama - Peachy Papa was released on Specialty SP 499 (b/w "You Don't Exist Any More") in June 1954. Recorded in Los Angeles on March 23rd 1954. Personnel: Percy Mayfield (vocal); Joy Hamilton (vocal); Jewell Grant (alto sax); Maxwell Davis (tenor sax); Floyd Turnham (baritone sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Herman Mitchell (guitar); Ralph Hamilton (bass); Jesse Sailes (drums).

The Voice Within was released on Specialty SP 544 (b/w "Baby You're Rich") in March 1955. Recorded in Los Angeles on October 18th 1954. Personnel: Percy Mayfield (vocal); Jewell Grant (alto sax); Maxwell Davis (tenor sax); Floyd Turnham (baritone sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Harold Grant (guitar); Ralph Hamilton (bass); Jesse Sailes (drums).

My Heart was released on Specialty SP 439 (B side of "Lonesome Highway") in September 1952. Recorded in Los Angeles on January 22nd, 1952. Personnel: Percy Mayfield (vocal); Jewell Grant (alto sax); Maxwell Davis (tenor sax); John Crawford (baritone and tenor saxes); Willard McDaniel (piano); Mitchell Webb (guitar); Ralph Hamilton (bass); Jesse Sailes (drums).

Are You Out There? was released on Chess 1599 (b/w "Double Dealing") in June 1955. Recorded in Chicago on April 12th 1955. Personnel: Percy Mayfield (vocal); Fred Clark (tenor sax) with unknown tenor sax, piano, bass, drums.

The Bluest Blues was released on Cash 1041 (B side of "Look The Whole World Over") in 1956. Recorded in Los Angeles. Date unknown - possibly in 1956 but possibly a late 1940s Supreme track leased to John Dolphin.

My Story About A Woman - unissued track recorded at Chess session in June 1955. Probably same session as "Are You Out There?"

As you can see from the above, Maxwell Davis was an ever present on the Los Angeles recordings, as tenor sax player, bandleader and arranger. A true giant of West Coast R&B whose vital role in the development of rhythm and blues is all too often forgotten, but on Be Bop Wino we do not forget!

Jimmy Reed At Carnegie Hall

LP1 Side 1:
01. Bright Lights, Big City
02. I'm Mr Luck
03. Baby What's Wrong
04. Found Joy
05. Kind Of Lonesome

LP1 Side 2:
01. Aw Shucks, Hush Your Mouth
02. Tell Me You Love Me
03. Blue Carnegie
04. I'm A Love You
05. Hold Me Close
06. Blue, Blue Water

Download LP1 from here:

http://www21.zippyshare.com/v/4EFIeH9w/file.html

LP2 Side 3:
01. Baby What You Want Me To Do
02. You Don't Have To Go
03. Hush Hush
04. Found Love
05. Honest I Do
06. You Got Me Dizzy

LP2 Side 4:
01. Big Boss Man
02. Take Out Some Insurance
03. Boogie In The Dark
04. GoingTo New York
05. Ain't That Lovin' You Baby
06. The Sun Is Shining

Download LP2 from here:

http://www39.zippyshare.com/v/vCfV7pwE/file.html

I can remember exactly where and when I bought this double album. It was in 1976 (or was it 1977 - oh dear) and it was on sale in a small local electronics shop in the area of Glasgow's South Side where  I grew up. I had just returned from a year working in France and I was surprised to find that during my absence my parents' house had mysteriously filled up with imported US Country and Western cut out LPs. The place was choc a bloc with platters by the likes of Boxcar Willie, Porter Waggoner, Charlie Pride and Buck Owens.

One of the local shops had been taken over by an electronics retailer and music fan and he had installed some record browsers from where he dispensed the said cut outs (plus a load of cassettes) which were mostly of the Hicksville persuasion. My dad was already a bit of a C&W fan, and like a junkie living next to a newly opened pharmacy, he had started feeding his habit on an all too regular basis. Don't get me wrong, there was some good stuff in his collection once you got past the Bobby Bare albums. I'm thinking of Tompall Glaser, Waylon Jennings, early Doctor Hook & The Medicine Show ("I Got Stoned And I Missed It") and even a double album of The Flying Burrito Brothers with Gram Parsons.

Anyway in among the racks of Yee-Hah discs in the shop was this BluesWay double album in a thick cardboard sleeve (non gatefold) with a hole punched through one corner. A genuine blues album with not a stetson or rhinestone in sight. After the usual pre-purchase agonising I paid up, carried Jimmy Reed off in triumph, and was delighted by the sounds contained on these discs. It was the only Jimmy Reed vinyl I ever bought, so I missed out on those Charly LPs which appeared in the 1980s.

This 1973 BluesWay double album is a reissue of the 1961 Vee-Jay 2LP set "Jimmy Reed At Carnegie Hall" which, despite its title, is a studio album. The 2LP set was originally released as Vee-Jay LP 2-LP 1035 in August 1961. The second disc in the set was re-released as "The Best Of Jimmy Reed" (Vee-Jay LP 1039) in February 1962.

Nine of the eleven tracks on LP1 were recorded especially for the LP: "Bright Lights, Big City", "I'm Mr Luck", "Baby What's Wrong", "Found Joy", "Kind Of Lonesome", "Aw Shucks, Hush Your Mouth", "Tell Me You Love Me", "Blue Carnegie", and "I'm A Love You." These were recorded in Chicago in 1961 (exact date unknown) by the following personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Lefty Bates (guitar); Eddie Taylor (bass guitar); Earl Phillips (drums); Mary Lee "Mama" Reed 2nd vocal on "Bright Lights, Big City" and "Baby What's Wrong."

The remaining two tracks on LP1 are earlier unissued tracks. "Blue, Blue Water" was recorded in Chicago on August 25th, 1959. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Phil Upchurch (guitar); Eddie Taylor (bass guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).

"Hold Me Close" was recorded in Chicago on March 14th, 1960. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Lefty Bates, Lee Baker (guitars); Curtis Mayfield (bass guitar); Earl Phillips (drums); Mary Lee "Mama" Reed (2nd vocal).

  

Above: Vee-Jay promo offer for record dealers, February 1962. The "Best Of Jimmy Reed" was a reissue of the 2nd LP in the "Jimmy Reed At Carnegie Hall" set. Contrary to the wording in this ad, the LP did not consist of re-recordings. The recordings on the album were in fact from original single releases.

The tracks used on LP2 were originally released as follows:

You Don't Have To Go / Boogie In The Dark were released on Vee-Jay 119 in December 1954. Recorded in Chicago, mid-1953. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Eddie Taylor, John Littlejohn (guitars); Albert King (drums).

Ain't That Lovin' You Baby was released on Vee-Jay 168 in February 1956. Recorded in Chicago on 5th December 1955. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Eddie Taylor (guitar); Vernell Fournier (drums).

You've Got Me Dizzy was released on Vee-Jay 226 in November 1956. Recorded in Chicago on 3rd October 1956. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Eddie Taylor (guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).

The Sun Is Shining was released on Vee-Jay 248 in June 1957. Recorded in Chicago on 3rd April 1957. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Eddie Taylor (guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).

Honest I Do was released on Vee-Jay 253 in August 1957. Recorded in Chicago on 3rd April 1957. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Eddie Taylor (guitar) Remo Biondi (guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).

Take Out Some Insurance was released on Vee-Jay 314 in April 1959. Recorded in Chicago on 26th March 1959. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, guitar); William "Lefty" Bates (guitar); Eddie Taylor (bass guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).

Going To New York was released on Vee-Jay 326 in September 1959. Recorded in Chicago on 11th September 1958. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Eddie Taylor (guitar) Remo Biondi (guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).

Baby What You Want Me To Do was released on Vee-Jay 333 in November 1959. Recorded in Chicago on 7th August 1959. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Lefty Bates, Eddie Taylor (guitars); Marcus Johnson (bass guitar); Earl Phillips (drums); Mary Lee "Mama" Reed (2nd vocal).

Found Love was released on Vee-Jay 347 in May 1960. Recorded in Chicago on 15th December 1959. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, guitar); William "Lefty" Bates (guitar); Eddie Taylor (bass guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).

Hush Hush was released on Vee-Jay 357 in August 1960. Recorded in Chicago on 25th August 1959. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Phil Upchurch (guitar); Eddie Taylor (bass guitar); Earl Phillips (drums).

Big Boss Man was released on Vee-Jay 380 in March 1961. Recorded in Chicago on 29th March 1960. Personnel: Jimmy Reed (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Lefty Bates, Eddie Taylor (guitars); Willie Dixon (bass); Earl Phillips (drums); Mary Lee "Mama" Reed (2nd vocal).

"The Best Of Jimmy Reed" (Vee-Jay LP 1039) can be downloaded from the excellent Blues Years blog here:

http://thebluesyears.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/jimmy-reed-best-of-jimmy-reed-vee-jay.html

Remember if you download - tell 'em Boogie Woody sent ya! Or just say "Hi" even if you don't download.

Finally, although I missed out on those Charly LPs (some of which you can find on "The Blues Years" blog), here are the covers of some CDs I bought back in the '90s.

Above: from 1992, "Bright Lights, Big City" was subtitled "His Greatest Hits." Reed recorded for Vee-Jay from 1953 to 1965 during which time he had 18 R&B Top 20 hits (10 of them in 1955-57), and 13 singles in the Hot Hundred chart. "Honest I Do" and "Baby What You Want Me To Do" made it to the Top 40 in 1957 and 1960 respectively. "Jimmy Reed At Carnegie Hall" spent 31 weeks on the US Album charts, peaking at number 46. In 1964 "Shame, Shame, Shame" reached number 46 in the UK charts.

Reed had considerable commercial success while with Vee-Jay. Although he built up sales to the mainly white, middle class "Folk Blues" crowd, he also maintained healthy R&B sales. In 1957 he was the 9th top selling R&B artist with hits like "Honest I Do" and "You've Got Me Dizzy." This collection has 20 of his top sellers.

Above: from 1994, "Take Out Some Insurance" was a 20-track collection of Reed's lesser known sides for Vee-Jay. A good companion set to "Bright Lights, Big City."

Above: from 1993, "Bad Boy" was a rousing 15 track collection of sides by Jimmy Reed's long-time collaborator, guitarist Eddie Taylor. Reed himself, along with drummer Earl Phillips, is present on those tracks which were recorded at Reed sessions. Stalwarts on other tracks include Johnny Jones (piano) and Hubert Sumlin (guitar).

Lionel Hampton - In The Bag!

Side 1:

01. In The Bag

02. Dig Those Vibes

03. Jack The Fox Boogie

04. How High The Moon

05. Million Dollar Smile

06. Turkey Hop (Parts 1 & 2)

07. Double Talk

08. Empty Glass (Normania)

Side 2:

01. Hamp's Gumbo No 2

02. Mingus Fingers

03. Three Minutes On 52nd Street

04. Hamp's Got A Duke

05. Dancing On The Ceiling

06. Blues For Little 'T'

07. Memories Of You

08. Silver Slipper

Download from:

http://www58.zippyshare.com/v/DqIFQ5AB/file.html

In response to a re-up request, here is the third album of Lionel Hampton Decca sides to be released by Affinity in the 1980s. This time the rips are from a cassette although there are some clicks and pops just like vinyl. I have no idea how that happened.

Twelve of the tracks are from Hamp's swing and R&B heyday in the 1940s and early 1950s. For me the outstanding track is the two-parter "Turkey Hop." The final four tracks were recorded live at The Silver Slipper Club on the Las Vegas Strip in 1963. It's worth your while googling this establishment as it was one of the earliest joints to open up in Vegas. As you can imagine, the final four tracks differ in style from the rest of the album.

There are recording details on the cassette sleeve, but as they are hard to read, I've included the information plus original release dates in the post. The musicians involved in these recordings include many who have featured in other posts in this blog, e.g. Illinois Jacquet, Jack McVea, Joe Morris, Johnny Griffin, Arnett Cobb and Morris Lane.

Here are links to the posts featuring those other Hamp LP's on Affinity:

Leapin' With Lionel

Ridin' On The L&N

In The Bag! - the facts on the tracks, in order of recording date:

In The Bag! -

Recorded in NYC, May 26th 1942. Personnel: Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra: Eddie Hutchinson, Mannie Klein, Ernie Royal, Jack Trainor (trumpets); Fred Beckett, Sonny Craven, Harry Sloan (trombones); Marshall Royal (clarinet, alto sax); Ray Perry (alto sax); Eddie Barefield, Illinois Jacquet (tenor saxes); Jack McVea (baritone sax); Lionel Hampton (vibes; arranger) Milt Buckner (piano); Irving Ashby (guitar); Vernon Alley (bass); Lee Young (drums).

Released on Decca 18394 (B Side of "Flying Home") in July 1942.

Million Dollar Smile -

Recorded in Los Angeles, October 16th, 1944. Personnel: Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra : Snooky Young, Wendell Culley, Joe Morris, Dave Page, Lamar Wright Jr., (trumpets); Vernon Porter, Fred Beckett, Andrew Penn, Sonny Craven, Allen Durham (trombones ); George Dorsey, Gus Evans (alto saxes); Arnett Cobb, Fred Simon (tenor saxes); Charlie Fowlkes (baritone sax); Lionel Hampton (vibes); Milt Buckner (piano); Billy Mackel (guitar), Charles Harris, Ted Sinclair (bass); Ted Radcliffe (drums).

Released on Decca 18719 (B Side of "Beulah's Boogie") in November 1945.

Empty Glass (Normania) - 

Recorded in Los Angeles, September 9th, 1946. Personnel: Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra: Wendell Culley, Duke Garrette, Jimmy Nottingham, Joe Wilder, Leo Shepherd (trumpets); Jimmy Wormick, Michael "Booty" Wood, A1 Hayse, Andrew Penn (trombones); Bobby Plater, Ben Kynard (alto saxes); Arnett Cobb, Johnny Griffin (tenor saxes); Charlie Fowlkes (baritone sax); Lionel Hampton (vibes); Milt Buckner (piano); Billy Mackel (guitar); Joe Comfort, Charles Harris (bass); Gene "Fats" Heard (drums).

Empty Glass was not released on a single.

Dig Those Vibes -

Recorded in Los Angeles, September 23rd, 1946. Personnel same as above, September 9th 1946 session, but with Jackie Kelson added on clarinet.

Dig Those Vibes was not released on a single.

Empty Glass and Dig Those Vibes were first released on the LP "Lionel Hampton Rarities (Jazz Heritage Series)" MCA 1351 in 1982.

Double Talk and Jack The Fox Boogie were recorded in Los Angeles, on September 23rd, 1946. Personnel: Lionel Hampton and his Octet: Joe Wilder (trumpet); Jackie Kelson (clarinet); Bobby Plater (alto sax); Arnett Cobb (tenor sax); Lionel Hampton (vibes, piano); Milt Buckner (piano); Billy Mackel (guitar); Joe Comfort (bass); Curley Hamner (drums).

Double Talk and Jack The Fox Boogie were first released on the LP "Lionel Hampton Rarities (Jazz Heritage Series)" MCA 1351 in 1982.

How High The Moon - 

Recorded in New York, April 2nd 1947. Personnel: Lionel Hampton and his Quintet: Lionel Hampton (vibes); Milt Buckner (piano); Billy Mackel (guitar); Charles Harris (bass); Curley Hamner (drums).

Released on Decca 24513 (b/w "Ribs And Hot Sauce") in November 1948.

Hamp's Got A Duke and Three Minutes On 52nd Street -

Recorded in Los Angeles, 6th August 1947. Personnel: Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra: Wendell Culley, Duke Garrette, Jimmy Nottingham, Kenny Dorham, Leo Shepherd (trumpets); Britt Woodman, Jimmy Wormick, Sonny Craven, Andrew Penn (trombones); Jackie Kelson (clarinet, alto sax); Bobby Plater, Ben Kynard (alto saxes); Morris Lane, Johnny Sparrow (tenor saxes); Charlie Fowlkes (baritone sax); Lionel Hampton (vibes); Milt Buckner (piano); Billy Mackel (guitar); Joe Comfort, Charlie Harris (bass); Earl Walker (drums).

Hamp's Got A Duke was released on Decca 24248 (b/w "Gone Again") in October 1947.

Three Minutes On 52nd Street was released on Decca 24429 (b/w "Midnight Sun") in May 1948. This disc was part of the four disc album "New Movements In Be-Bop" (Decca, A-661).

Mingus Fingers -

Recorded in Los Angeles, 10th November, 1947. Personnel: Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra: Wendell Culley, Duke Garrette, Walter Williams, Teddy Buckner, Leo Shephard (trumpets); James Robinson, Andrew Penn, Jimmy Wormick, Britt Woodman (trombones); Jackie Kelson (clarinet, alto sax); Bobby Plater, Ben Kynard (alto saxes); Morris Lane, John Sparrow (tenor saxes); Charlie Fowlkes (baritone sax); Lionel Hampton (vibes); Milt Buckner (piano); Billy Mackel (guitar); Joe Comfort, Charles Mingus (bass); Earl Walker (drums).

Released on Decca 24428 (b/w "Muchacho Azul") in May 1948. This disc was part of the four disc album "New Movements In Be-Bop" (Decca, A-661).

Hamp's Gumbo -

Recorded in New York,  25th January 1950. Personnel: Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra : Walter Williams, Benny Bailey, Ed Mullens, Duke Garrette, Leo Shepherd(trumpets); A1 Grey, Benny  Powell, Paul Lee, Jimmy Wormick (trombones); Bobby Plater, Jerome Richardson (alto saxes); Curtis Lowe, Johnny Board, Billy "Smallwood" Williams (tenor saxes); Lonnie Shaw (baritone sax); Lionel Hampton (vibes); Doug Duke (piano); Wes Montgomery (guitar); Roy Johnson (bass); Ellis Bartee (drums); Sonny Parker (vocal).

Released on Decca 24946 (b/w "Sad Feeling"), March 1950.

Turkey Hop, Parts 1 and 2 -

Recorded in New York, 23rd March, 1950. Personnel: Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra : Benny Bailey, Duke Garrette, Ed Mullens, Leo Shepherd, Walter Williams (trumpets); A1 Grey, Paul Lee, Benny Powell, Jimmy Wormick (trombones); Bobby Plater, Jerome Richardson (alto saxes); Johnny Board, Lonnie Shaw, Curtis Lowe (tenor saxes); Ben Kynard (baritone sax); Lionel Hampton (vibes); Gus Domerette (piano); Rudy Mason (guitar); Roy Johnson (bass, vocal); Ellis Bartee (drums); Curley Hamner (2nd drums).

Released on Decca 24992, April 1950.

Billboard, 29th April 1950

Dancing On The Ceiling, Blues For Little 'T', Memories Of You, Silver Slipper -

Recorded at the Silver Slipper Club, Las Vegas, Nevada, 20th March, 1963. Personnel: Lionel Hampton and Charlie Teagarden : Charlie Teagarden (trumpet); Bill Harris (trombone); Lionel Hampton (vibes); Ronnie di Fillips (piano); Carson Smith (bass); Tom Montgomery (drums).

Released on Coral LP The Great Hamp And Little 'T', CRL 57438 / CRL 757438(S), August 1963.

Above: The Silver Slipper, 1960. Below: Burlesque and Fight Nights at The Silver Slipper. Just over a year after Hamp recorded there, Gaming Control Board agents raided the joint and closed it when they found that shaved dice were being used. The Silver Slipper re-opened under new management and kept going until the 1980s.

Frank Culley - Rock And Roll

Side 1:

01. The Snap

02. Floorshow

03. Cole Slaw

04. Central Avenue Breakdown

05. Waxie Maxie Boogie

06. After Hour Session

07. Rumboogie Jive

Side 2:

01. Hop'N Twist

02. My Silent Love

03. Mona Lisa

04. Gone After Hours

05. Little Miss Blues

06. I've Got You Under My Skin

07. Culley-Flower

Download from:

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

Hold it! Where did that Frank Culley front cover come from? A reissue of one of the Atlantic Rock & Roll series of albums from 1956 / 1957? Nope, there never was such an LP. It's a clever 1989 pastiche created for this compilation of Frank's Atlantic sides recorded between 1949 and 1951. I'm a sucker for this kind of thing, where reissue companies make the effort to "get in period." But if Frank Culley was honking and hooting in the late 1940's and early 1950's, surely it's stretching things a bit to pass his music off as "rock and roll"?

Well, Atlantic themselves set the precedent back in 1957 when a couple of Culley sides turned up on the LP with the worst ever cover in the history of rock and roll -

A rock and a roll, geddit? It was in fact a compilation of R&B instrumentals from the late 1940's to the mid 1950's' including sides by Tiny Grimes, Willis Jackson, Joe Morris, and Arnett Cobb among others. I reconstructed the LP for the blog in 2014 (using tracks from the "Atlantic Honkers" collection) and you can download it from here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/dance-rock-roll-atlantic-lp-8013.html

In the first half of the 1950's Atlantic was probably THE R&B record company which helped to get rock and roll going with its roster of artists such as Ruth Brown, The Clovers, Joe Turner, Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters, Lavern Baker and Ray Charles. Frank Culley belongs to the earlier phase of Atlantic when they were peddling a jazzier form of R&B via the bands of Tiny Grimes and Joe Morris, featuring tenor sax men Red Prysock and Johnny Griffin respectively.

Some of his tracks turned up on Atlantic retrospectives such as the aforementioned "Atlantic Honkers" and the first volume of "Atlantic Rhythm and Blues 1947 - 1974." That's where I first heard Frank Culley and I was immediately taken with his warm toned sound. He could do the honkin' wild man stuff, but without going overboard and his handling of ballads and moody after hours blues material was very good, as you can hear on this collection.

There's no need for me to go into any great detail about Frank Culley as the admirable sleeve notes by Peter Grendysa have it all covered. You can get Frank's 1955 sides for Baton Records on another Be Bop Wino post here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/frank-culley-and-buddy-tate-rockn-roll.html

... and it's a good read too!

And to finish, a couple of questions. 

Question one - Frank recorded four sides for Lenox in 1948. Does anyone know if these sides ended up on the infamous Hen Gates and his Gaters budget LPs? Some Lenox sides by Lockjaw Davis certainly did.

Question two - the 1999 Ace CD "Let The Boogie Woogie Rock and Roll" has an instrumental track listed as "Rhumboogie Jive" by Frank Culley. It obviously isn't the real "Rumboogie Jive" as you can hear from listening to this LP or going to this blog post. Does anyone know what that track on the Ace CD is?

Keep a-blowin' and a -bluesin', fellow groovers!

T-Bone Walker - The Natural Blues

Side One:

01. Lonesome Women Blues **

02. Vacation Blues

03. She Had To Let Me Down *

04. Don't Give Me The Runaround

05. Hard Pain Blues

06. So Blue Blues *

07. I'm Waiting For Your Call

08. The Natural Blues ***

09. That's Better For Me

Side Two:

10. Inspiration Blues

11. Description Blues **

12. I Want A Little Girl

13. The Time Seems So Long *

14. Hometown Blues *

15. Misfortune Blues ***

16. I'm Still In Love With You

17. She's The No Sleepin'est Woman *

18. I'm Gonna Move You Out And Get Somebody Else *

* = unreleased track

** = unreleased alternate take

*** = first released on UK only LP "The Blues Of T Bone Walker."

Download from:

http://www12.zippyshare.com/v/oslmw24V/file.html

This LP completes the trilogy of Charly compilations of T-Bone Walker's recordings for Black & White Records in 1946 and 1947. As you can see from the above tracklist, the set includes 6 tracks which were hitherto unreleased, 2 unreleased alternate takes of tracks which were released as singles in the 1940s, and 2 tracks which remained unreleased until 1965, when they appeared on a UK budget LP. The remaining 8 tracks were on singles released by Black & White, Comet (a subsidiary of Black & White), and Capitol Records, which purchased all of T-Bone's Black & White masters in April 1949.

A collection worth looking out for is the 3 CD set in the Capitol Blues Collection series, "T-Bone Walker: The Complete Capitol / Black & White Recordings." Issued in 1995, so it might be hard to find, this set has 75 tracks - the 2 sides T-Bone recorded for Capitol in 1942, the 48 sides he recorded for Black & White, plus 25 alternate takes of the Black & White sides. The accompanying booklet includes a 32 page article on T-Bone by Mark Humphrey.

Now it's time for the facts on the tracks from "The Natural Blues."

Track details in chronological order by recording date:

Don't Give Me The Runaround and Hard Pain Blues were recorded in Hollywood in December 1946.

Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar) with the Al Killian Quintet : Al Killian (trumpet); Jack McVea (tenor sax); Tommy "The Crow" Kahn or Lloyd Glenn (piano); Frank Clarke (bass); Rabon Tarrant (drums).

Don't Give Me The Runaround was first released on Black & White 115 b/w "It's a Lowdown Dirty Deal" in May 1947.

Hard Pain Blues was first released on Black & White 121 (B Side of "I'm In An Awful Mood") between May and December 1947.

She Had To Let Me Down was recorded in Hollywood, September 13th, 1947.

Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); Teddy Buckner (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Lloyd Glenn (piano); Arthur Edwards (bass); Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

She Had To Let Me Down was first released on this LP in 1983.

I'm Waiting For Your Call and So Blue Blues were recorded in Los Angeles, November 7th, 1947.

Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); Teddy Buckner (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Billy Hadnott (bass) Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

I'm Waiting For Your Call was first released on Black & White 126 b/w "That's Better For Me" in May 1948.

So Blue Blues was first released on this LP in 1983.

The Natural Blues, That's Better For Me, and Lonesome Women Blues were recorded in Los Angeles, November 12th, 1947.

Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); George Orendorf (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Billy Hadnott (bass); Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

The Natural Blues was first released on Music For Pleasure LP1043 "The Blues Of T Bone Walker" in 1965.

That's Better For Me was first released on Black & White 126 (B Side of "I'm Waiting For Your Call") in May 1948.

Lonesome Women Blues is an alternate take first released on this LP, 1983. Another take was released on Comet T50 as the B Side of "West Side Baby" in October 1948.

Vacation Blues, Inspiration Blues, and Description Blues were recorded in Los Angeles, November 13th, 1947.

Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); George Orendorf (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); John W. Davis (bass); Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

Vacation Blues was first released on Capitol 57-70012 (B Side of "Prison Blues") in June 1949.

Inspiration Blues was first released on Comet T51 (B Side of "I'm Still In Love With You") in late 1948.

Description Blues is an alternate take first released on this LP in 1983. A different take was released on Comet T52 (B Side of "That Old Feeling Is Gone") in February 1949.

The Time Seems So Long and Home Town Blues were recorded in Los Angeles, December 16th, 1947.

Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); Jack Trainor (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Billy Hadnott (bass); Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

The Time Seems So Long was first released on this LP in 1983.

Home Town Blues was first released on this LP in 1983.

Misfortune Blues was recorded in Los Angeles, December 17th, 1947.
Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); Jack Trainor (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Billy Hadnott (bass); Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

Misfortune Blues was first released on Music For Pleasure LP1043 "The Blues Of T Bone Walker" in 1965.

I'm Gonna Move You Out And Get Somebody Else, and She's The No Sleepin'est Woman were recorded in Los Angeles, December 18th, 1947.
Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); Jack Trainor (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Billy Hadnott (bass); Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

I'm Gonna Move You Out And Get Somebody Else was first released on this LP in 1983.

She's The No Sleepin'est Woman was first released on this LP in 1983.

I Want A Little Girl and I'm Still In Love With You were recorded in Los Angeles on December 29th, 1947.

Personnel: T-Bone Walker (vocal, guitar); Jack Trainor (trumpet); Bumps Myers (tenor sax); Willard McDaniel (piano); Billy Hadnott (bass); Oscar Lee Bradley (drums).

I Want A Little Girl was first released on Black & White 125 (b/w "T-Bone Jumps Again") in April 1948.

I'm Still In Love With You was first released on Comet T51 (b/w "Inspiration Blues") in late 1948.

Here are the covers from a couple of Charly CD issues of the Black & White masters, "Low Down Blues" from 1986, and the 1992 "T. Bone Shuffle" from the Charly Blues Masterworks series:

In 1955-57 T-Bone recorded some excellent sides for Atlantic. Some of these were featured on Atlantic LP 8020 "T-Bone Blues" which was issued in 1959 and has remained in print in some form or another ever since. These are all terrific recordings which feature musicians such as Barney Kessel, Earl Palmer, Plas Johnson, Eddie Chamblee, Junior Wells and Jimmy Rogers. There's even a reunion of some of the old gang from the Black & White days - Lloyd Glenn, Billy Hadnott and Oscar Lee Bradley. This album stands up very well with the Black & White and Imperial recordings and is often cited by T-Bone fans as the last of his truly great recordings. Below is the cover from the 1994 Sequel CD reissue of the album which featured 4 bonus tracks. Any edition of this album is worth buying.

Below are the front and back pages of the CD booklet of a more recent Japanese reissue of Atlantic 8020 (with the same 4 bonus tracks as the Sequel issue). The original Atlantic LP had only 11 tracks as opposed to the 15 on CD reissues. And yes, I have just discovered that I have bought the same album twice. That's a hazard of bargain spotting while already having too many CDs in the house.