Big Road Blues

Show Notes:

A wide swath of blues for this week’s show spanning from 1928 to 1973. We played a few vinyl only tracks today including the opener, Larry Johnson’s “Hoodoo Doctor.” This one comes from the LP ”Victoria Spivey Presents The All Star Blues World of Maestro Willie Dixon and his Chicago Blues Band” backed by Carey Bell, Buster Benton, Lafayette Leake and Willie Dixon. This came out on Victoria Spivey’s Spivey label, a very interesting and eclectic label. Spivey and her partner Len Kunstadt ran the label from 1961 until Spivey’s death in 1976. Kunstadt kept the label going until his death in 1996. None of these records have been issued on CD but plans are in the works to do so soon (see below links). I plan to do a feature on the label in the future.

We also played the Raful Neal 45 “It’s Been So Long” a fine swamp blues number. He cut a only a few full length records including ‘Louisiana Legend” on Alligator which is well worth tracking down. Our final selection is an epic nine minute plus version of “Prodigal Son” by the great Rev. Robert Wilkins. This comes from his 1964 comeback “Memphis Gospel Singer”, his first recordings since 1935, and which has amazingly never been issued on CD.

Lots of country blues today including the previously unissued “Talkin’ To You Wimmen About The Blues” by Blind Willie McTell & Mary Willis. This is from collector John Tefteller’s collection and is the only known copy. It’s a great track which hasn’t been heard since it’s release in 1931!

As good of a singer as Mary Willis is she’s got nothing on the incredible Leola Manning. Manning sings with a ferocious passion, bringing an almost religious zeal to her blues numbers that cuts right through the scratchy recordings. She cut only six sides including fascinating topical tracks like the harrowing “The Arcade Building Moan”about a fire in Knoxville’s Arcade building and the violent imagery of “Satan Is Busy In Knoxville” about an apparent serial killer loose in Knoxville!

Another blues lady spotlighted is the great Victoria Spivey who reunites on this 1961 date with old partner Lonnie Johnson for the first time since 1929. Lonnie is also featured by himself on “Can’t Sleep Any More”, a wailing number with Lonnie crooning his heart out, laying down some terrific electric guitar backed by a smoldering band.

A few artists featured here will be spotlighted in more depth on upcoming shows including Clifford Gibson and Jesse Thomas. Gibson cut a couple dozen sides in 1929 and 1931 and was a very fine singer, guitarist plus an excellent songwriter. He cut two sides in 1951 and a final four sides in 1960. One of my all time favorite collections is Document’s “Jesse Thomas 1948-198″ featuring tracks Thomas cut for a slew of mostly small West Coast labels. Chris Smith sums it up well in The Penguin Guide To Blues: “These 28 tracks were recorded for nine companies, with accompaniments ranging from solo guitar to a rocking R&B bands to smoky tenor sax and rippling piano. The common denominators are Thomas’s ringing guitar, his imaginative. often optimistic lyrics, and his strong, almost strident voice. His playing is indebted to earlier Texan styles, but Thomas developed an unpredictable, energetic and harmonically advanced sound, in part by transferring saxophone solos and his own piano playing to electric guitar.”

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