Big Road Blues

Show Notes:

Lonnie Johnson’s talents have been justly praised, he’s by no means obscure, yet he seems to be overlooked by blues fans and collectors. When the early collectors were investigating the old blues singers they seemed to have singled out Mississippi, the Delta in particular, as the incubator for the real blues. They seemed to have favored the more obscure, down home artists in lieu of more popular, sophisticated artists like Lonnie. More urban, popular artists like Lonnie and Tampa Red seem to have their very popularity held against them in favor of artists deemed more authentic like Son House, Skip James and of course Robert Johnson. Lonnie’s guitar skills have been duly praised but less is said about just what made him so popular among black audiences, namely his bittersweet vocals, both confident and confiding, and his insightful songs into the human condition. Here then, is my tribute to Lonnie which due to time constraints focuses on his recordings from the 1920’s through the early 1950’s omitting his fine 60’s output. The below piece was something I wrote on Lonnie a few years back.

Lonnie Johnson was a true musical innovator who’s remarkable recording career spanned from the 1920’s through the 1960’s. During that time his musical diversity was amazing: he played piano, guitar, violin, he recorded solo, he accompanied down home country blues singers like Texas Alexander, he played with Louis Armtrong’s Hot Fives, recorded with Duke Ellington, duetted with Victoria Spivey and cut a series of instrumental duets with the white jazzman Eddie Lang that set a standard of musicianship that remains unsurpassed by blues guitarists. In Johnson’s single-string style lie the basic precedents of such jazz greats as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian, while being a prime influence on bluesman as diverse as Robert Johnson, Tampa Red and B.B. King. Thus Johnson enjoys the rare distinction of having influenced musicians in both the jazz and blues fields. While his guitar skills have been justly celebrated less has been said about his bittersweet vocals, tinged with a world weary sadness and capable of a rare subtly and nuance. It was a perfect match for his well crafted and imaginative songs filled with dark imagery, longing and an unflinchingly misogynist view of woman and love. In an interview with valerie Wilmer he described his approach this way: “I sing city blues. My blues is built on human beings on land, see how they live, see their heartaches and the shifts they go through with love affairs and things like that— that’s what I write about and that’s the way I make my living. …My style …comes from my soul within. The heart-aches and the things that have happened to me in my life—that’s what makes a good blues singer. …I have my own original style, all my life I sang this way. I have also made quite a progress in singing ballads ’cause I sing blues, ballads, swing—anything.” Despite his amazing versatility and the longevity of his career, he remains a somewhat under appreciated figure particularly among blues scholars and collectors.

He was born Alonzo Johnson in New Orleans and his year of birth has been variously listed as 1889, 1894 and 1900. He was one of thirteen children, all of whom were groomed to play in their father’s string ensemble. “When I was fourteen years old I was playing with my family. They had a band that played for weddings—it was schottisches and waltzes and things, there wasn’t no blues in those days, people didn’t think about the blues.” Johnson began his career in earnest and bought his first guitar. In 1917 Lonnie sailed to London with a musical revue but few details have surfaced regarding this event. When he returned to New Orleans he was greeted with the news that virtually his entire family had been wiped out by the widespread influenza epidemic of 1918. Johnson moved north to St. Louis around this period with his surviving brothers. By this time he already had a successful career as a blues violinist, working steadily not only in New Orleans, but in a jazz band led by coronet player Charlie Creath. After a falling-out with Creath, Johnson discarded the violin and formed a trio with his brother James (Steady Roll), who played violin, and pianist DeLoise Searcy. Big Bill Broonzy, who played in St. Louis (but not with Johnson) recalled that “Lonnie was playing the violin, guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, and all the things you could make music on. . .”

In 1925 Johnson won a Blues contest held at the Booker T. Washington Theatre in St. Louis (for 18 weeks in a row, he said), sponsored by the Okeh record company. Part of the prize was a recording deal with the company. “I had done some singing by then”, he recalled, “but I still didn’t take it as seriously my guitar playing, and I guess I would have done anything to get recorded - it just happened to be a blues contest, so I sang the blues.” His first session in 1925 found him as the featured vocalist with Creath’s band and they cut “Won’t Do Blues” in November of 1925. By January 1926 Johnson’s first 78, “Mr. Johnson’s Blues”/”Falling Rain Blues” was on he market. Johnson proved an immediate success and he commenced to recording at an astonishing pace, cutting over 130 sides between 1925 and 1932, more than any make blues singer of the period. In addition to his own records he he appeared prominently on the records of other Okeh artist such as Clara Smith, Victoria Spivey, Texas Alexander and others. He became a respected name to jazz collectors because of his solos on records by Louis Armstrong such as “I’m Not Rough,” “Mahogany Hall” and and on Duke Ellington records like “Hot And Bothered” and “The Mooche.” He was also celebrated for a series of remarkable duets with white guitarist Eddie Lang (masquerading as Blind Willie Dunn) in 1928-29 that were utterly groundbreaking in their ceaseless invention.

Although Johnson’s earlier works continued to be issued until 1935, his live recording prospects in the mid-thirties were largely foreclosed by a dispute with Lester Melrose, the music publisher who largely ruled local recording. Apparently Melrose refused to record him unless he changed his too-familiar guitar style. Johnson refused to do so. The result was he enjoyed no sessions between 1932 and 1937. In person, he appeared in Chicago with the drummer Baby Dodds, and with such popular musicians as Roosevelt Sykes and John Lee (Sonny Boy) Williamson. Eventually he was forced to work outside of music when the Depression was in full swing. Johnson recalled: “I worked for a firm makin’ railroad ties in Galesburg, Illinois …I went to Peoria Illinois …and I work’ in a steel foundry there. Play the blues at nights…”

Johnson came back to recording life with a contract from Decca in 1937 with the first session recorded on 8th November of that year. During 1938 another session was done for a total of 16 titles. In 1939 he signed a contract with Bluebird. Johnson picked up right where he left off, selling quite a few copies of “He’s a Jelly Roll Baker” and cutting wealth of fine material that helped Johnson regain his former popularity. He recorded for Bluebird until 1944. Johnson next cut a half dozen records for the New York based Disc label in 1946 and then made his first amplified performances on record in June 1947 for Aladdin Records. Later that year he started a fruitful association with an emerging independent company in Cincinnati, King Records.

On December 11, 1947 Johnson entered the King Records studio at 1540 Brewster Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio and recorded what was probably the most successful record of his long career, King 4201 - “Tomorrow Night” - often subtitled on the King label as “Lonnie Johnson’s Theme Song.” By 1950 “Tomorrow Night” had sold a million copies. The December 1947 King session marked the beginning of Johnson’s six-year stay in Cincinnati spent recording for King Records, playing local clubs and touring occasionally. Johnson recorded prolifically scoring chart sucess with “Pleasing You”, “So Tired” and “Confused.” In 1952 Johnson made an 11 month tour of England. When he returned to the States his career took a downward turn when he contract with King Records ended in 1952.

The rest of the 50’s were a down time for Johnson who spent much of the decade outside of music working construction or toiling as a janitor. In 1959 Samuel Charters’ groundbreaking book “The Country Blues” was published which described Johnson’s situation in rather morbid terms: “He is not a young man, and the opportunities for an older singer to break into the teenage rock and roll craze that dominates the industry are very slight. For Lonnie it has been a long road, without much of an end.” In actuality things took an upswing when a year prior Johnson was rediscovered by jazz enthusiast Chris Albertson which rekindled a major comeback. As Albertson wrote in the liner notes to Johnson’s Bluesville debut: “I was interviewing Elmer Snowden on my radio show when I played an old record by Lonnie which I followed up with the remark: ‘I wonder whatever happened to Lonnie Johnson?’ Elmer replied: ‘I saw him in the Supermarket the other day’. A listener then called up and said that he worked with Lonnie at the hotel so I finally contacted him, brought him to my apartment and had him play for me. Having recorded his playing and singing and realizing that he was as good as ever I took the tapes to Prestige and Lonnie was on his way again.” Between 1960 and 1962 he cut five albums for the label, three of which were produced by Albertson, and showed that Johnson had lost little despite several years outside of music. He spent the early 1960’s working a busy schedule that eventually took him back to Europe for the 1963 American Folk Blues Festival. He also made records in England, Denmark and Germany. As he said to Valerie Wilmer in 1963: “I have enough work now back in the States to do me for the next fifteen years.”

As the 1960’s rolled on it seemed that the blues revival was passing Johnson by. As singer Barbara Dane noted: “This was largely true, because he was a very sophisticated player in a moment when the world was looking for the rough and earthy Delta players. …Lonnie had a strong attraction for the romantic pop songs like “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” etc. which he played when the audiences were looking for the gritty blues. People during the early ’60s searching for blues roots wanted to hear ‘funky and back-alley’ and Lonnie played clean and uptown. Lonnie craved respect for what he created, like any other musician. The (white) public at that time was mostly looking for someone who could personally introduce them to their fantasy of black culture. In other words, he was out of tune with the times.” In 1964 Johnson went to Toronto for a club appearance, found an ardent group of admirers and remained there until his passing. In 1969 he was hit by a car in Toronto where he was hospitalized for several months. He died the following year on June 16, 1970 from the effects of the accident.

Show Notes:

West Coast blues (California blues specifically) has never gotten anywhere near the attention of Chicago blues or say Delta blues, but has been home to many leading blues performers. While the West Coast still has a thriving blues scene the scene was in it’s heyday in the 1940’s and 50’s with most of the activity centering around the Los Angeles, Richmond, Oakland and San Francisco Bay areas. There’s not much of a prewar Californian blues tradition, which is likely due to the fact that the African-American communities weren’t very large in the beginning of the 20th century. The Black population swelled in the 1940s, 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. There was a host of labels recording blues and R&B in Los Angeles in the 1940s including Specialty, Imperial, Aladdin, and the umbrella of labels run by the Bihari brothers RPM/Modern/Kent/Flair/Crown were the most notable. Bob Geddins was a key player who operated numerous small labels like Down Town, Big Town, Irma, and others. May of these sides were leased to larger outfits like Chess, Specialty, Modern and others.

The towering figure of West Coast blues was Texas born guitarist T-Bone Walker. Walker was a key figure in the electrification and urbanization of the blues, probably doing more to popularize the use of electric guitar in the form than anyone else. Much of his material had a distinct jazzy jump blues feel, an influence that would characterize much of the blues to emerge from California in the 1940s and 1950s. Among those who were influenced by Walker were B.B. King, Gatemouth Brown, Johnny “Guitar” Watson and West Coast guitar hero Lafayette Thomas who we profiled last year. Add that list Louisiana born Pete “Guitar” Lewis, Oklahoma born Jimmy Nolen, Chuck Norris, Pee Wee Crayton, Ulysses James and Goree Carter.

Among T-Bone’s legion of disciples was Houston’s Goree Carter, whose big break came when he signed to Houston’s Freedom Records circa 1949. For his gis first couple of side he was billed as “Little T-Bone.” Freedom issued plenty of Carter records over the next few years, and he later recorded for Imperial/Bayou, Sittin’ in With, Coral, Jade, and Modern without denting the national charts. Eventually, he left music behind altogether. Technically Carter isn’t a West Coast artist but I decided to lump him in as he’s certainly a T-Bone disciple and I was looking for an excuse to feature his music.

Although he was certainly influenced by T-Bone Walker , Pee Wee Crayton brought enough innovation to his playing to avoid being labeled as a mere T-Bone imitator. Crayton’s recorded output for Modern, Imperial, and Vee-Jay contains plenty of dazzling guitar work, especially on stunning instrumentals such as “Texas Hop,” “Pee Wee’s Boogie,” and “Poppa Stoppa,” all far more aggressive performances than Walker usually indulged in. Crayton was from Texas but relocated to Los Angeles in 1935. He signed with the L.A.-based Modern label in 1948, quickly hitting with “Blues After Hours” which topped the R&B charts in late 1948. He also hit with “Texas Hop” shortly thereafter, followed the next year by “I Love You So.” After recording prolifically at Modern to no further commercial avail, Crayton moved on to Aladdin and, in 1954, Imperial. After Imperial Crayton tried to regain his momentum at Vee-Jay in Chicago. After one-off 45s for Jamie, Guyden, and Smash during the early ’60s, Crayton largely faded from view until Vanguard unleashed his LP, “Things I Used to Do”, in 1971. After that, Pee Wee Crayton’s profile was raised somewhat; he toured and made a few more albums prior to his passing in 1985.

Jimmy Nolen

Jimmy Nolen took up guitar after hearing T-Bone Walker on the radio at the age of 14 in 1948. He was soon proficient enough on his instrument to get his first electric guitar and join J.D. Nicholson & His Jivin’ Five, receiving his first exposure to a recording studio in 1952. In 1955, Jimmy Wilson heard Jimmy playing at a club in Tulsa and hired him to go on the road with him and his band. When Wilson’s band broke up in Los Angeles and Nolen decided to stay. He played a short time with trumpeter Monte Easter’s band recording with him for Aladdin and singing on “Blues In The Evening.” Possibly on recommendation from Easter or Wilson, Nolen began recording for J.R. Fullbright’s Elko label in 1954 providing support for Ray Agee, J.D. Nicholson and Jimmy Wilson. In 1954 he joined Chuck Higgins band and was featured prominently on several recordings for the Dootone label. It was during this time that he contracted with Federal Records, a subsidiary of the King label and recorded his first sides under his own name. using a number of Higgins band members and other LA session men. In addition to his fine guitar work he proved himself an able singer on terrific sides such as “Wipe Your Tears”, “How Fine Can You Be” an intense version of Tampa Red’s “It Hurts Me Too” and instrumentals like “After Hours” and “Strollin’ With Nolen.” Jimmy replaced the ailing Pete “Guitar” Lewis in the Johnny Otis Band around 1957 and became very busy as a recording session guitarist, resulting in Otis’s big hit, “Willie And The Hand Jive” and other Capitol successes such as “Ma, He’s Making Eyes At Me” and “In The Dark.” Striking out on his own in 1960, he formed his own band and was sought after by many of the major blues stars that came into L.A. for backing when they were without their own bands. B.B. King and T-Bone Walker would always use Jimmy and his band when they were in town without their sidemen. Jimmy played throughout California and Arizona working steadily until he decided to accept James Brown’s offer to join his band in 1965. His patented funky chicken scratch style can be heard on hits like “Papa’ Got A Brand New Bag” and many more hits between 1965 to 1983, except for the two years he left the band to go with Brown sidemen, Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley as “All the Kings Men”. He was with the band in Atlanta, GA when he suffered a fatal heart attack on December 16, 1983 at the age of 48.

One of the hottest guitarists working on the coast during the 40s and 50s was Carl Pete Lewis. He was discovered by Johnny Otis in 1948 who signed him on the spot after he won a talent contest at his Barrelhouse Club at the Thursday Night Talent Hour. Otis quickly spotlighted his new discovery on the guitar workout “Midnight In The Barrelhouse” issued on Excelsior in 1948 selling well enough to be picked up by Savoy and cut a similarly themed “Thursday Night Blues” for Modern. Lewis went on to be a permanent member of Otis’ band and is featured on most of Otis’ sides for Modern, Savoy, Mercury, Peacock and Aladdin. Lewis also cut a batch of fine solo sides for Federal and Peacock which also showcased his considerable singing and harmonica abilities. Among the notable numbers from this period include “Louisiana Hop”, “Raggedy Blues”, “Goofy Dust Blues” and “Chocolate Pork Chop Man.” For Peacock he backed Johnny Ace (most notably “Pledging My Love”), Big Mama Thornton (most notably “Hound Dog”) plus others. Lewis stuck with Otis throughout the 50’s cutting some sides for Otis’ Dig label during this period. He was eventually replaced by Jimmy Nolen in 1957. Lewis went on to play with George “Harmonica” Smith with whom he recorded for Sotoplay. He died of alcohol related problems in the early 60’s.

Chuck Norris worked in Chicago until the mid-’40s, when he moved out to the West Coast. He soon became one of the most-called musicians in Hollywood. He did sessions on his own between 1947-1953, including singles for Coast, Imperial, Mercury, Aladdin, Selective and Atlantic. Some of the guitarist’s best playing was on records by artists such as Percy Mayfield, Roy Hawkins and Floyd Dixon. Norris had a live record released in 1980 on the European Route 66 label.

Not only was Roy Hawkins dogged by bad luck during his career (at the height of his popularity, the pianist lost the use of an arm in a car wreck), he couldn’t even cash in after the fact. When B.B. King hit the charts in 1970 with Roy Hawkins’s classic “The Thrill Is Gone,” the tune was mistakenly credited to the wrong composers on early pressings. Little is known of Hawkins’s early days. Producer Bob Geddins discovered Hawkins playing in an Oakland, CA nightspot and supervised his first 78s for Cavatone and Downtown in 1948. Modern Records picked up the rights to several Downtown masters before signing Hawkins to a contract in 1949. Two major R&B hits resulted: 1950’s “Why Do Things Happen to Me” and “The Thrill Is Gone” the following year. Hawkins recorded for the Modern and RPM imprints into 1954. After that, a handful of 45s for Rhythm and Kent were all that was heard of the Bay Area pianist. He employed some of the best West Coast guitarist of the period; Oscar Moore, Ulysses James, Chuck Norris, Lafayette Thomas all appeared on his records. He’s rumored to have died in 1973.

Pete “Guitar” Lewis

Show Notes:

Luke Miles, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Chris Strachwitz

Today’s show spotlights the music of Sam “Lightnin’” Hopkins. Outside of one 1959 side, our focus is roughly on Hopkins’ first decade of recording (1946-1956), a prolific period which found him cutting close to 200 sides geared for the black market on a variety of different labels. After his “rediscovery” by folklorist Mack McCormick in 1959 Hopkins became an international star. In addition we also play a number of Hopkins’ buddies, those that Hopkins worked with or had a connection to like Frankie Lee Sims, Luke Miles, L.C. Williams, Thunder Smith and others.

Sam Hopkins was a Texas country bluesman of the highest caliber whose career began in the 1920’s and stretched all the way into the 1980’s. His earliest blues influence was the legendary Blind Lemon Jefferson who he met around 1920, of whom Hopkins recalled “When I was just a little boy I went to hanging around Buffalo, Texas Blind Lemon he’d come and I’d just get alongside and start playing “. Throughout the ’20s and ’30s he traveled around Texas, usually in the company of recording star Texas Alexander. The pair was playing in Houston’s Third Ward in 1946 when talent scout Lola Anne Cullum came across them. She cut Alexander out of the deal and paired Hopkins with pianist Wilson “Thunder” Smith, getting the duo a recording contract for the Los Angles based Aladdin label. They recorded as “Thunder and Lightnin’”, a nickname Sam was to use for the rest of his life. A load of other labels recorded Hopkins after Aladdin, both in a solo context and with a small rhythm section: Modern/RPM (his ”Tim Moore’s Farm” was an R&B hit in 1949); Gold Star (where he hit with “T-Model Blues” that same year); Sittin’ in With (”Give Me Central 209″ and “Coffee Blues” were national chart hits in 1952) and its Jax subsidiary; the major labels Mercury and Decca; and, in 1954, some of his finest sides for the New York based Herald label. Hopkins’ dropped out of sight for a three year stint in the late 50’s. Fortunately, folklorist Mack McCormick rediscovered the guitarist, who he presented as a folk-blues artist. Pioneering musicologist Sam Charters produced Hopkins in a solo context for Folkways Records in 1959, cutting an entire LP in Hopkins’ tiny apartment (on a borrowed guitar). The results helped introduced his music to an entirely new audience. By the early 1960’s Hopkins went from gigging at back-alley gin joints to starring at collegiate coffeehouses, appearing on TV programs, and touring Europe. He was recording more prolifically then ever, laying down albums for World Pacific, Vee-Jay, Bluesville, Bobby Robinson’s Fire label, Candid, Arhoolie, Verve and, in 1965, the first of several LP’s for Stan Lewis’ Shreveport-based Jewel logo.

L.C. Williams was a singer/tap dancer who also occasionally drummed behind Hopkins. He arrived in Houston in 1945 and was one of the many characters who hung around in Lightning’s orbit sitting on stoops drinking beer and wine, shooting the breeze with passers-by. He made his first record in 1947 with Hopkins on piano and guitar. Hopkins plays guitar on a four-song session for Gold Star in 1948 wih Williams making some final sides for Eddie’s and Freedom between 1948-1950. He died in Houston of TB in 1960.

Frankie Lee Sims claimed to be a cousin of Lightnin’ Hopkins. Sims cut his first 78s for Blue Bonnet Records in 1948 in Dallas, but didn’t taste anything resembling regional success until 1953, when his “Lucy Mae Blues” did well down south. Sims recorded fairly prolifically for Los Angeles-based Specialty into 1954, then switched to the Ace label in 1957 to cut great rockers like “Walking with Frankie” and “She Likes to Boogie Real Low.” He recorded for Bobby Robinson in late 1960 but these sides were unreleased and didn’t surface until decades later when they were released on the British Krazy Kat label. Robinson ran the NYC based labels Fire, Fury and Enjoy. Sims died at age 53 in Dallas of pneumonia.

Thunder Smith plays piano behind Hopkins on his first two sessions for Aladdin in 1946 and 1947, never achieving the success that Hopkins did. Hopkins backed Smith on a four song session for Aladdin in 1946 with Smith cutting one session apiece in 1947 for Gold Star and in 1948 for Down Town. He reportedly died in Houston in 1965.

Luke “Long Gone” Miles was born in Louisiana in 1925 and moved to Houston in 1952. In the liner notes to his only full length LP ) “Country Born” (World Pacific, 1965) he said: “I went to Houston for one reason. I went to see Lightnin’ Hopkins. That’s what I went for and that’s what I did. Lightnin’ Hopkins taught me just about everything about blues singing. The first time I ever sang in front of an audience was in 1952 with Lightnin’. The first day I met Lightnin’ he named me “Long Gone” …and I’ve been Long Gone Miles ever since.” By 1961 Miles was in Los Angles were he cut some 45’s for Smash. After the World Pacific LP he cut singles for Two Kings in 1965, Kent in 1969 before supposedly leaving L.A. in 1970 where he wasn’t heard from again.

The bulk of the Lightnin’ Hopkins sides played todaycome from two JSP box sets: Lightning Hopkins: All The Classics 1946-1951 and Lightning Special: Volume 2 of the Collected Works. In addition the latter box sets also collects a number of sides by L.C. Williams, Frankie Lee Sims and Thunder Smith.

Reverend Gary Davis recorded prolifically in the post-war years starting with a few scattered sides in the 1940’s, more in the 1950’s and really picking up steam in the 1960’s. A pleasant surprise in recent years are the number of unreleased Davis sides that have surfaced. Among the notable ones include: If I Had My Way: Early Home Recordings, Demons and Angels: The Ultimate Collection a 3-CD set featuring many unreleased treasures, Sun of Our Life - Solos, Songs, A Sermon, 1955-1957 and Document’s Reverend Gary Davis: Manchester Free Trade Hall 1964.

Now comes Lifting The Veil: The First Bluesmen - Rev. Gary Davis & Peers an eclectic collection from World Arbiter that gathers up six unreleased home recordings by Davis circa 1956-1957. In addition the liner notes include a fascinating excerpt from an unknown, unpublished oral history of Davis compiled in 1951 by Elizabeth Lyttleton Harold, the wife of Alan Lomax. Another treat are four previously unknown Leadbelly tracks from a 1941 radio broadcast, when he hosted a weekly radio show. Rounding the set out are 78’s from the Harry Smith Collection including sides by Gus Cannon, Buddy Boy Hawkins, Edward Thompson, Leola Wilson, Big Bill Broonzy, Ramblin’ Thomas, Rube Lacey, William Moore and Charlie Patton.

The Davis sides are generally well recorded and are a nice, if minor, addition to his recorded legacy. Five of the six songs are instrumentals as Davis displays his remarkable guitar style on the propulsive “Lost John”, the stately “Soldier’s Drill”, “Mountain Jack”, the lovely “Slow Blues In E” and a driving version of his “I Didn’t Want To Join The Band.” “Come Down To See Me Sometime” is a gorgeously sung folk number underpinned by Davis’ complex, melodic finger picking. The four Leadbelly sides are well recorded and while short, are a nice addition to his voluminous recording legacy. The most interesting is “Sermon On Pancakes”, and to be honest I don’t even know what to say about this surreal, wonderful number that uses pancakes as a religious metaphor (”Now this is a sermon. Big stream of molasses up in heaven and a big stream of honey, a lot of flapjack”) . Leadbelly also serves up terrific versions of the traditional “The Blood’s Done Signed Your Name” and “Gallows Pole” and the powerful “Leaving Blues.”

The remaining tracks are blues classics that have all been reissued many times before and in generally better sound than those presented here. Also I should note that the song listed on the back as “Goin’Crazy” by Ramblin’ Thomas is actually his “Sawmill Moan.” One nice touch is that lyric transcriptions are provided for all the songs. The oral history included is a fascinating document and stems from a 300+ page manuscript. Davis was a true philosopher who expounds on his early life, religion, racism and human nature. World Arbiter has made the entire booklet available on their website.

All in all an interesting an eclectic collection handsomedly packaged. This is obviously a set geared towards collectors and I would imagine that the combination of unreleased tracks and the oral history will provide a compelling reason to pick up this attractive collection.

Leadbelly - Sermon On Pancakes (MP3)

Rev. Gary Davis - I Didn’t Want To Join The Band (MP3)

In previous posts I’ve spotlighted some of JSP’s pre-war blues box sets but for the past couple of weeks I’ve been captivated by a pair of recent post-war ones; Juke Joint Blues: Good Time Rhythm & Blues 1946-1953 and Lightning Special: Volume 2 of the Collected Works. The music spans a fascinating period, roughly the first decade of post-war blues, when the blues was evolving into what would be called R&B and a short hop later to rock and roll. The music on these sets however is a throwback; this is rough and tumble down-home blues geared towards an audience that was still eager to hear earthy rural blues. Many of these listeners were still in the south while many other were transplanted southerners still eager to hear the older styles. These were exciting times with numerous small labels throwing their hat in the ring to try to cash in on the market. Some labels became famous like Sun, Modern, Excello, King and had a fair bit of success while others like Rockin’, Miltone, Delta remain all but forgotten outside of hardcore collectors. And of course there were plenty of artists eager to give it a go with down-home artists like Lightning Hopkins, Li’l Son Jackson, John Lee Hooker and Smokey Hogg achieving a good amount of success while the vast majority toiled with little or no luck, cutting a handful of sides and drifting back into obscurity. Both these sets collect some exciting, rawboned music by the famous and forgotten making for a varied and immensely entertaining survey of the blues in the immediate post-war era circa 1946 to 1956. Neil Slaven’s notes are typically informative with the Hopkins being particularly interesting. It should be noted that most of these sides have appeared elsewhere and potential buyers may have to way the sets’ merits against what they already own. In a way JSP seems to be stepping on the toes of the Boulevard Vintage label which for the past few years has been issuing excellent, well annotated multi-CD sets of down-home blues divided into different geographic regions and there’s much overlapping between the two labels (I’m far too lazy to actually count duplications but there’s quite a number).

Juke Joint Blues: Good Time Rhythm & Blues 1946-1953, there’s a mouthful of a title, is perhaps a bit loose thematically but gathers together 212 tracks of vintage down-home blues from performers based all over the map, predominantly from the south. JSP has done a marvelous job compiling this box which boasts nary a dud in the bunch and generally quite good sound-wise. There’s plenty of well known performers like down-home stalwart Lightning Slim who’s somber blues are heard to fine effect on half a dozen tracks including downtrodden gems like “I Can’t Live Happy” and “I Can’t Be Successful” but rocks to good effect on “Bugger Bugger Boy” modeled on Muddy’s “Hootchie Cootchie Man.” Slim employed a number of fine harmonica partners, many of whom are featured here; there’s Lazy Lester belying his name on the pounding “Lester’s Stomp”, there’s the marvelous country tinged “Pebble In My Shoe”, the only record by Wild Bill Phillips and terrific sides by the still active Schoolboy Cleve who blows some wild, wide toned harp on the torrid “She’s Gone” and puts it way in the alley on “Strange Letter Blues” laying down some stunningly raw, over amped harmonica. Of course when it comes to raw, over amped harmonica nobody beats Papa Lightfoot who’s vicious “Wine, Women, Whiskey” sounds like he’s singing and playing from the bottom of a garbage can and who can resist a line like “come on baby talk some trash to me.” His “Jump the Boogie” and the chugging “Mean Old Train” are almost as ferocious. There’s quite a number of talented harp players including classic sides by the still active Jerry McCain including his blistering “Courtin’ In a Cadillac” and the menacing “That’s What They Want” (”They don’t want no man ain’t got no cash/They’ll tell you right quick they don’t mess with trash/That’s what they want/Money honey”). Lesser-known but first rate are the four sides Little Sam Davis cut for the Miami based Rockin’ label in 1953 backed by a young Earl Hooker. Davis was an expressive singer who reminds me a bit of Baby Face Leroy and fine upper register harp player who shines on “Goin’ Home To Mother” and the throbbing “1958 Blues. Hooker cut some sides under his own name at the same session which are collected here including wild instrumentals “Alley Corn” and “On the Hook”, the bopping “Ride Hooker Ride” with a fine, unknown smoothed voiced singer while Hooker takes the vocals on the magnificent cover of “Sweet Black Angel” showing his mastery of Robert Nighthawk’s style. Getting back to great harp men there’s some marvelous tracks by the sparsely recorded Coy Hot Shot Love and Ole Sonny Boy who’s style is reminiscent of Papa Lightfoot, even sparking conjecture that he might indeed be Lightfoot although my ears say no. In addition to Hooker there’s also a passel of terrific guitarists like Johnny Lewis aka Joe Hill Louis who cooks on the Elmore James styled “Jealous Man”, Lafayette Thomas who’s moody instrumental “Deep South Guitar Blues” I believe is seeing the light of day for the first time, Wright Holmes who’s “Good Road Blues” showcases a unorthodox guitarist who sounds like nobody I know and bottleneck ace John Lee who’s 1951 Federal session has been justly celebrated, sounding like a date that could have been recorded fifteen years earlier. Speaking of which there’s a few pre-war recording artists that make the cut including the last sides by the under appreciated Clifford Gibson, three numbers by Texas piano man Alex Moore including a pair of rippling boogies and Skoole-Dum-Doo & Sheffield which masks the identity of Seth Richard who first recorded back in 1929.

Most of the music on Lightning Special: Volume 2 of the Collected Works was recorded in Texas cities like Dallas and Houston with a batch also cut in the recording centers of New York and Los Angles. This set is a perfect compliment to the above set gathering up 106 sides of dusty, down-home Texas blues recorded between 1951 and 1956. This set is a sequel to JSP’s Lightning Hopkins: All The Classics 1946-1951, which was issued a few years back. The title is something of a misnomer as it not only features Hopkins but also some of his associates and like minded peers such as Thunder Smith, Lil’ Son Jackson, Soldier Boy Houston, Frankie Lee Sims, Manny Nichols, Ernest Lewis, L.C. Williams and J.D. Edwards. Hopkins is of the course the star and during the first decade of his career, 1946 to 1956, he laid down his greatest music for a myriad of small labels like Sittin’ In With, Herald, Aladdin, TNT, Gold Star and several others. The tricky thing about Lightning is that he makes it sounds so easy as he pulls down a seemingly endless storehouse of tales and antidotes from his life and community and casually tosses off some amazing guitar licks. Much of it was improvisatory and rooted in the way he worked the local clubs as Chris Strachwitz noted on his first trip to Houston to see Lightning’: ” He would just improvise constantly, that whole evening. …He was simply the community poet who would tell people what they like(d) to hear. And he would argue with the woman in front of him, “Whoa, woman, you in the black dress!” And then he would just go into this musical tirade about her, and she would yell back at him! It was real two-way communication. It was like a church service in a totally non church atmosphere.” Lightning’s genius was the way he translated this to his studio recordings. Sure he would tell his interviewers: “It’s people that move me. I don’t like playing to the wall. …I need the amen. Like a preacher preaching, if he don’t get the amen he can’t do it. …They get me in that big room and they go watch me through the glass wall and I don’t feel like nothing. Oh, course those records are good, ’cause everything I do is good - but they ain’t the best. The best only happens when I’m feeling easy.” Lightning must have been feeling pretty easy during this period maintaining an exceptionally high standard particularly on some remarkable sides for Herald such as ruminative numbers like “Shine On Moon”, “Remember Me”, “Lonesome in Your Home”, “Life I Used to Live” plus stomping boogies like “Had a Gal Called Sal”, “Moving On Out Boogie” and the wild “Hopkins Sky Hop.” Also quite good are a pair of 1956 numbers he waxed for Chart before a three year absence from the studio and an interesting duet from 1954; “Walkin’ the Streets” and “Mussy Haired Woman” are a perfect marriage of vocals and over-amped guitar while “That’s Alright Baby” features the down-home vocals of Ruth (Blues) Ames is the only female duet that I think I’ve ever heard him perform.

There were a number of artists “who hung out in Lightning’s orbit” like drummer/singer/tap dancer L.C. Williams. Williams was a strong singer, often back by Lightning on guitar and piano, who cut a number of excellent sides between 1947 and 1951. Eight sides are collected here including moody down-home numbers like “Strike Blues”, “The Lazy J” and boogies like “You Can’t Take It with You Baby” and the bouncy “Boogie All the Time.” When Lola Ann Cullum decided to take Lightning and pianist Thunder Smith to Los Angeles to record for Aladdin she had Smith in mind to be the star. Smith was a solid pianist and appealing singer, if not star material, as he displays on the half dozen sides here including the rollicking “Little Mama Boogie” and fine mid-tempo fare like “Big Stars are Falling” and “West Coast Blues” one of several numbers with Lightning on guitar. Frankie Lee Sims claimed to be a cousin of Lightning but the association helped him little on the charts. Sims possessed a wonderful gravelly voice and a powerful boogie guitar style. His four session 1948 debut for Blue Bonnet is included, and while solid, doesn’t match the terrific sides he waxed for Specialty and Ace. Nothing is known of J.D. Edwards but Lightning backs him on pair of numbers including the stomping “Hobo” with Lightning unleashing some torrid over-amped guitar. One artist that’s sadly overlooked is singer Luke “Long Gone” Miles a Lightning protégé who cut some fine sides for Smash and World Pacific in the early 1960’s. Unfortunately Miles made his recordings a tad late to make it on to this set which, like all JSP sets, takes advantage of the European 50 year copyright law.

Lightning’s personal connection to the other artists are tenuous outside of a similar style; Lil’ Son Jackson recorded for Gold Star and was right up there in sales with Lightning’, Manny Nichols was a powerful, rough voiced singer who brings to mind Tommy McLennan, Ernest Lewis worked in a similar vein although “In My Girlish Days” finds him backing a marvelous, mysterious singer who went by the handle singer Miss Country Slim. I found myself quite captivated by Soldier Boy Houston’s (Lawyer Houston was his real name) eight sides. I first heard him on an Atlantic LP years ago and he’s a very appealing singer with a light tenor voice backing himself with some springy guitar work. His songs are captivating tales packed with loads of descriptive detail, much seemingly based on his real life experiences: “In the Army Since 1941″, “Lawyer Houston Blues” (”My name is Lawyer Houston and I’m a private first class/It seem like everywhere I go I got to have a special privilege pass’), “Lawton, Oklahoma Blues” (When I re-enlisted in the Army/They send down to Fort Sill/We’ll I learned that the women in Lawton will get a good soldier killed”).

Schoolboy Cleve - Strange Letter Blues [From Juke Joint Blues] (MP3)

Earl Hooker - Ride, Hooker, Ride [From Juke Joint Blues] (MP3)

Lightning Hokins - Walking The Streets [From Lightnin’ Special] (MP3)

J.D. Edward - Hobo [From Lightnin’ Special] (MP3)