Big Road Blues

As winter sets in here in the Northeast we turn our attention to sunny California circa the late 1940’s and 1950’s and spotlight two fascinating collections of West Coast Blues: The Downhome Blues Session Vol. 5: Back In the Alley 1949-1954 on Ace and Bob Geddins’ Big Town Records Story on Acrobat. These anthologies spotlight the tireless contributions of record producer, songwriter, label owner and all around hustler Bob Geddins. Modern Records co-owner Joe Bihari recalled Geddins this way: “Geddins had his own sound. He was a very nice person, he was black, and easy to deal with. A hustler? Well, you’ve got to do something, eh? I think the artists respected Geddins very much. It was like a family up there, yes.” Geddins was the dominant figure in Bay Area blues scene from the mid-1940’s to the mid-1960’s and was involved in a series of labels including Big Town, Down Town, Cava-Tone, Rhythm, Irma, Art-Tone and others. Many of his records were leased to bigger labels such as Modern. He was also the first to set up a pressing plant in the Bay area. He released records by Lowell Fulson, Jimmy McCracklin, Johnny Fuller, Roy Hawkins, Jimmy Wilson among many others and was involved in the careers of many of these artists.

It’s a bit difficult to get a handle on the West Coast sound which is not as identifiable as say Chicago Blues but encompasses several different interlocking strands. As Mike Rowe wrote: “Unlike New York and Chicago there had been no blues or any kind of recording industry pre-war …The music as well as the industry was starting from scratch. …It was very often of Do-It yourself triumphing over the most adverse conditions.” The Black population swelled in the 1940’s, due to large manpower needs to work in the U.S. defense industry during World War II. These new arrivals needed entertainment, of course, and the local jazz and blues club scene heated up quickly. More piano based and jazz influenced than anything else, West Coast Blues is really California blues even if most of the main practitioners actually hailed from Texas. One strain of blues that rose to prominence was a moody, after hours brand of piano blues popularized by the inimitable Charles Brown who himself was influenced by Nat King Cole. Brown’s influence was profound, setting the stage for fellow pianists like Amos Milburn, Floyd Dixon, Little Willie Littlefield, Ivory Joe Hunter, Cecil Gant and Roy Hawkins. T-Bone Walker’s influence was to guitar as Brown was to piano. Much of T-Bone’s material had an after hours, jazzy jump blues feel, an influence that would characterize T-Bone disciples like Pee Wee Cratyon, Lafayette Thomas, Gatemouth Brown, Goree Carter, Pete “Guitar” Lewis, Ulysses James and others. There was also a more swinging, jazzy jump blues as performed by artists like Roy Milton, Joe and Jimmy Liggins, Johnny Otis and others.

Geddins’ brand of blues was decidedly downhome as he told Lee Hildebrand in a 1980 interview: “I make everything I record as sad as possible. …I want black folks to feel the troubles of old times. All the people that have had similar problems are the ones that’s gonna buy those records. A lot of people make like they don’t like the blues but sneak off and play them.” There was certainly a market for downhome blues as sales of Lightnin’ Hopkins, Smokey Hogg and John Lee Hooker proved. Modern hooked up with Geddins in 1949 and the fruits of that relationship can be found on The Downhome Blues Session Vol. 5: Back In the Alley 1949-1954. This is the fifth volume of Ace’s superb Modern Downhome Blues Sessions, the first four dealing with recordings in the south. The first major reissue of this material was in 1969 and 1970, issued as the Anthology Of The Blues 12-volume LP series on Kent. Ace is very much geared to the collector and they have upped the ante from the original LP’s with excellent remastering, uncovering unissued sides, bringing to light new information about artists and providing meticulous notes.

The latest collection is no exception, boasting exhaustive but fascinating notes from Dave Sax and several unissued alternate takes among the 26 tracks. A doomy brand of blues pervades this collection like the fog that obscures the rain slicked streets and neon signs in those classic film noirs of the 1940’s (yes, I’ve been watching way too many old movies!). Geddins discovery James Reed was an exceptional vocalist delivering downtrodden tales with terrific, minimalist accompaniment on “This Is The End”, “Dr Brown”, “My Love Is Real” and “My Momma Told Me” (the latter two featuring the always outstanding guitar of Lafayette Thomas). Great stuff but why leave out “Roughest Place In Town (Tin Pan Alley)?” The seven sides by Johnny Fuller have a very similar feel as Fuller turns in smoldering performances including the wonderful “Back Home” where he speaks to his his fellow transplanted southerners: “As I sit here, in alone/Yes my mind wonders back, to my home in a little country shack/If you’s born in Texas, Mississippi, New Orleans you can understand just what I mean.” Fuller’s rich, deliberate vocals are equally fine on “Hard Times, “Prowling Blues” and the exceptional “It’s Your Life” one of many variations on the “Tin Pan Alley” theme which Fuller also cut as  “Roughest Place In Town” at another session. No one delivered gloomy blues as magnificently as pianist Roy Hawkins as he demonstrates on “Just A Poor Boy” and “You Had A Good Man” backed by T-Bone influenced guitarist Chuck Norris and the atmospheric tenor of Lorenzo “Buddy” Floyd. Hawkins’ two collections on Ace come highly recommended. By the late 1940’s Jimmy McCracklin was leading a tough little blues combo called the Blues Blasters that excelled in lowdown blues and the more rocking variety. The five cuts here include three unreleased alternate takes. Featuring the great guitarists Robert Kelton and Lafayette Thomas, The Blues Blasters cook on the hilariously shuffling “Couldn’t Be A Dream” that involves “a funny man wearing ladies clothes” and copious amounts of Old Taylor, the blistering “Josephine”  and “I’ll Get A Break Someday” with Robert Kelton really taking flight and Kelton and Thomas together on the down-in-the-alley “I Think My Time Is Here.” Much research has gone into the early McCracklin sides the results of which can be found on the Ace website (PDF). Rounding the set are a pair of fine country blues performances from Lowell Fulson and the excellent harmonica blower and singer Walter Robertson’s two issued sides.

Bob Geddins’ Big Town Records Story is a more expansive look at Geddins’ activities with 84 tracks spread over three CD’s and covering blues, vocal groups and a good deal of gospel. Big Town operated from 1945 to 1955, becoming a subsidiary of 4 Star Records in 1953 and also reissued Swing Time Recordings by Lowell Fulson. An in depth look at the label and Geddins is provided by Opal Louis Nations who provides the thick booklet that accompanies the set. Collectors should take not that this set is does not include all the Big Town recordings and a complete discography of the label is difficult due to Geddins’ lax record keeping. Nearly half of the recordings are gospel and while our focus here is blues, i will say that there are some exceptional sides by the Gospel Consolators, the earliest sides by the Pilgrim Travelers, Rising Star Gospel Singers which featured Jimmy Wilson, Southern Travelers and Tommy Jenkins. The aforementioned Jimmy Wilson provides some of the collection’s finest moments including his masterpiece, “Tin Pan Alley.” Written by Geddins (based on a Curtis Jones number) the song is a mesmerizing, dirge like ghetto tale featuring Wilson’s yearning vocals, Que Martyn’s mournful tenor and Lafayette Thomas’ distorted guitar. Wilson never had a hit of equal measure although he cut some masterful ominous blues including the stunning “A Woman Is To Blame” and “Blues At Sundown” from the same session and “I Found Out” and “Trouble In My Home”, all benefiting from the outstanding Lafayette Thomas. These songs alone should be enough to cement Wilson’s reputation as one of the era’s great blues vocalists. He also sounded comfortable on uptempo fare including a reworking of “Oh Red” (Thomas again!) and the swinging “Jumpin’ From Six To Six.” Sadly Wilson succumbed to alcoholism in 1965 at the age of 42. Unfortunately there’s only one Wilson collection on the market, Jumpin’ From Six To Six, which is badly remastered. Little Caesar was another fine but forgotten vocalist who waxed a couple of dozen sides in the 1950’s including a four song session for Big Town which is included here. Little Caesar was a wonderful smooth voiced crooner and witty lyricist who sounds quite a bit like Jimmy Witherspoon. “Big Eyes” is the standout with seriously cynical lyrics: “You got big eyes for me baby/But big eyes won’t pay my rent/If big eyes don’t keep me broke/Big eyes will keep me badly bent/Get a bankroll big as your eyes/And then call me on the telephone.” The remaining three numbers are terrific and it’s a shame there’s not collection of his material available. After listening to these I’ll have to dig out the LP collection I have of him, Lying Woman… Goodbye Baby on the defunct but fondly remembered Route 66 label. Speaking of fine vocalists there’s a pair of superb sides by King Solomon including the moody, harmony laden “Mean Train” and two of the four issued sides by the excellent Willie B. Huff who comes across as a female version of Lightnin’ Hopkins, even covering his “Hello Central” as “Operator 209.” Perhaps the best known artist is Joe Hill Louis who’s two sides for Big Town are included; “Bad Woman Blues” is an exceedingly tough downhome blues while “Hydromatic Woman” is fine but pales in comparison to the version he cut the year before at Sun with Walter Horton.

Johnny Fuller - Its Your Life (MP3)

James Reed - Dr Brown (MP3)

Roy Hawkins - You Had A Good Man (MP3)

Jimmy Wilson- Blues At Sundown (MP3)

Little Caesar - Big Eyes (MP3)

Willie B. Huff - I Love You Baby (MP3)