Big Road Blues

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

I would imagine all but the most seasoned collector has ever heard of blues singer Willie Headen. I for one certainly had not but I have blind faith in the good folks at Ace Records plus a collector’s curiosity, so I picked up the Willie Headen collection Blame It On The Blues with no idea what to expect. Ace, as most folks know, issues terrific post-war blues reissues circa the 40’s through the 60’s, very collector oriented, loaded with previously unreleased tracks and in depth notes. Blame It On The Blues spotlights an exceptional blues singer who recorded a handful of excellent 45’s in his five year on-off-on stint with Dootsie Williams’ Dootone, Dooto labels and the offshoot Authentic imprint. Headen cut singles between 1954-1959 achieving marginal success with 45’s continuing to be issued through 1960 when a bunch of them were compiled for the now collectible Blame It On The Blues LP. Headen had just enough success to keep stringing along before quitting the music business in 1959 when he married. He reemerged briefly in 1969 cutting some soul sides for Kent. None of this led to any success; when Dootise Williams first found Willie he was working as a shoe-shine man at a barbershop on 103rd Street, and when liner note writer Jim Dawson found him he was still shining shoes, this time in the lobby of a Wilshire Boulevard office building in West Los Angeles. It also probably didn’t help that Headen’s records were listed variously as by Willie Headed, Hayden, Clifford Chambers (?) or that the same record showed up on different Dootone imprints. All that should pretty much dispel any romance associated with the recording industry.

It’s a cliché to say that Headen deserved a better fate but well he did, although it’s always a gamble what the public will latch onto. I’m sure Dootsie Williams would say the same. Bandleader, record man and entrepreneur, Williams is best known for the string of doo-wop records that he made in the mid-50’s with groups like the Medallions, Calvanes with 1954’s “Earth Angel” by the Penguins being by far the most successful. He also cut his share of blues (Ace’s Blues for Dootsie and Dootone Rock ‘N’ Rhythm And Blues are worth investigating) by the likes of Helen Humes, Roy Milton, Big Joe Turner, Mickey Champion, and Filmore Slim among others.

Headen possessed a light, supple, soaring vocal style ably tackling proto-soul, doo-wop, vocal group, rockers and blues ballads. He had an easy, expressive delivery, adding some convincing grit on the blues numbers. If I had to make comparisons, Clyde McPhatter would come to mind. It was smoldering blues ballads where Headen excelled; numbers like the gritty, low-down title track (two versions are included), the languid “Everybody Has A Fool”, two versions of “Piece Of Mind” sporting some fine piano work from Memphis Slim, “You Can’t Fool The People” and the witty “You Can Be Replaced.” Headen was versatile as he proves on the hip shuffle of “Cool Cat”, the bluesy shuffle of “Sunset & Vine” underpinned by some rollicking piano, really cuts loose on the torrid gospel tinged, doo-wopper “I Wanna Know” backed by the 5 Birds plus convincing rockers like “Fun On Saturday Night” and “Turn The Hi-Fi Down.” Ace has done their usual thorough discographical detective work uncovering a number of alternates and unissued items although even their efforts failed to dig up a copy of the intriguingly “I’m Still Getting My Licks.” The only knock against Ace is their stubborn refusal to list session details for each track. In this case they can be forgiven as a quick perusal in Blues Discography 1943-1970 shows no information listed on the backing bands. It’s a shame as Headen was backed by some terrific West Coast combos featuring lots of slinky T-Bone Walkeresque guitar, wailing sax and rippling piano work.

Blame It On The Blues may well describe Willie Headen’s footnote of a recording career, but while fame and fortune eluded him this varied collection brings into focus an exceptionally talented blues singer. Ace promises to make Headen’s Kent singles available and I for one can’t wait.

Blame It On The Blues (MP3)

I Wanna Know (MP3)

Show Notes:

Jesse Thomas was the brother of Texas bluesman Willard “Ramblin’” Thomas and uncle of Lafayette Thomas. Jesse Thomas recorded sporadically from the late 1920’s through the early 1990’s and despite his longevity didn’t achieve much in the way of success or recognition. In 1929, at 18, Thomas cut four excellent sides for Victor most notably, ”Blues Goose Blues.” By the post-war era Thomas had developed a brilliant, highly individual style unlike anyone else. Document’s “Jesse Thomas 1948-1958” collects 28 tracks Thomas cut for nine different West Coast labels over the course of a decade (”Gold Mine Blues” cut in 1948 is not included for some reason). Jesse Thomas died in 1995 and continued cutting material intermittently on his own Red River imprint, Ace and Delmark. However, he never quite matched the sheer brilliance of these late 40’s and 50’s sides.

Lafayette Thomas

Lafayette Thomas was a brilliant and influential guitarist, and fine singer, whose primary reputation resides on the stinging fretwork he laid down as a session guitarist. In his 1977 obituary Tom Mazzolini wrote: “Unquestionably the finest guitarist to emerge from the San Francisco-Oakland blues scene, there is hardly a guitarist around here today who doesn’t owe a little something to Lafayette Thomas…”

He was nicknamed “The Thing” due to his acrobatic style of playing. The bulk of his recordings were with Jimmy McCracklin’s combo in the 50’s and 60’s. During his lifetime only a scant fifteen sides were issued under his own name (a number were left unissued). His own records were made for small labels such as Jumping, Hollywood and Trilyte, but more often he cut odd titles at McCracklin’s 50’s sessions for Modern, Peacock (unissued) and Chess and three songs for King which were never issued.

Thomas was born June 13, 1928 in Shreveport, Louisiana and encouraged musically by his uncle, Jesse “Babyface” Thomas. The family moved to San Francisco soon after his birth and there he learned to play both piano and guitar. He started working club dates with Jimmy McCracklin’s band in 1948, eventually replacing guitarist Robert Kelton. He would remain intermittently with McCracklin for the rest of his career. Thomas worked with producer Bob Geddins during this period playing on many Jimmy Wilson sessions including numbers like “Blues At Sundown”, “Frisco Bay” and the popular “Tin Pan Alley.” Thomas also played on the first sides by Juke Boy Bonner plus on records by Roy Hawkins, James Reed and Big Mama Thornton during this period. He moved briefly to New York in 1959 to work for pianist Sammy Price. He made “Please Come Back To Me/Lafayette’s A-Comin’” the same year for Savoy with pianist Price, before returning to the West Coast. While in New York he also did session work for the Prestige label appearing on records by Little Brother Montgomery and Memphis Slim.

Thomas worked outside music for most of the 60’s, sharing one album session with pianist Dave Alexander and L.C. “Good Rockin’” Robinson in September 1968 for World Pacific. He remained semi active in the early 70’s working with Sugar Pie Desanto and again with Candyman McGuirt’s band. The comeback was brief and he spent his last years working as a hose assembler. He died on May 20, 1977 in Brisbane, California of a heart attack

Once again we dust off and review another fine out of print blues record. Oakland Blues was arranged/directed by Jimmy McCracklin and contains excellent performances cut in 1968-69 by three severely under recorded artists: L.C. “Good Rockin’” Robinson, Lafayette Thomas and Dave Alexander. The record was issued on the World Pacific label (originally Pacific Jazz) which was mainly a jazz label although they issued some good blues records notably by Big Joe Williams (”Hand Me Down My Old Walking Stick”), George Smith (”Blues With A Feeling: A Tribute To Little Walter”), Luke ‘Long Gone’ Miles (”Country Born”) and “Down South Summit Meeting” by Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Big Joe Williams among others. Some of this material has been issued on CD by Capitol/EMI which owns the rights but Oakland Blues remains long out of print.

The five L.C. Robinson tracks that make up side one are, incredibly, his first recordings since waxing a lone record for the Rhythm label back in 1954 (”If I Lose You Baby” b/w “Why Don’t You Write To Me”). He also cut four sides for the Black & White label in 1945 as the Robinson Brothers with his brother A.C. Robinson. Robinson was a dynamic performer who played guitar and fiddle, but was really known for his incredible steel guitar style. Robinson’s fluid steel playing and laconic, yet impassioned singing is heard in fine fashion on “Clean Your House” the blazing instrumental “Jack Rabbit Boogie” and the shuffling “Bring My Baby Back Home” the latter two featuring some sparkling boogie piano from Dave Alexander. On “Train Time” he proves himself equally capable playing standard guitar. These tracks, sans the latter, also boast the sizzling guitar work of Lafayette Thomas which makes a nice contrast with Robinson’s steel playing. Robinson only got a couple of more opportunities to record; in the 1970’s he cut the outstanding House Cleanin’ Blues for Bluesway which has not been issued on CD and the excellent Ups And Downs for Arhoolie which has been reissued with bonus tracks as Mojo In My Hand.

Lafayette Thomas was a brilliant T-Bone Walker influenced guitar player who’s stinging fret work can be heard on numerous recordings by Jimmy McCracklin, Jimmy Wilson, Roy Hawkins, Juke Boy Bonner and many others. He was the perfect session man, one who made every record he was on sound better. During his lifetime only a scant fifteen sides were issued under his own name (a number were left unissued). The three songs here were unfortunately his last recordings under his own name. Thomas is in masterful form cutting loose on the rocking “Party With Me” laying down knotty, blistering T-Bone Walker like runs while putting it on simmer on “I Had A Dream” backed prominently by L.C. Robinson’s shimmering steel guitar and the insinuating, mellow blues of “A Fool’s Way Of Doin’ Things” the latter two showcasing Thomas’ fine soulful singing, an aspect of his talent that usually gets overlooked. As far as I know the only recordings he did after these were some 1970’s session work with Sugar Pie DeSanto.

Pianist Dave Alexander (later known as Omar Sharriff) makes his debut here with three songs in the company of heavyweights Albert Collins and George “Harmonica” Smith. Collins was hooked up with Imperial during this period which may be why he’s listed as the Houston Twister although Pete Welding mentions him by name in the liner notes. Perhaps the best number is the six minute “Love Is Just For Fools” a fine low down ensemble cut underpinned by big toned, mournful blowing from Smith and crisp stinging guitar from Collins. For his part, Alexander is a deliberate, easy going vocalist and versatile pianist at home playing boogies or more introspectively. “Good Soul Music” is more in a rock and roll vein boasting some wailing harp and rollicking boogie piano while “Highway 59″is a steamy instrumental with a bit of a soul-jazz feel featuring excellent ensemble playing from everybody. Alexander has recorded sporadically since this session cutting a pair of albums for Arhoolie in the early 1970’s and after a lengthy hiatus a record in the 1990’s with his latest issued in 2004.

Lafayette Thomas - Party With Me (MP3)

Dave Alexander - Love Is Just For Fools (MP3)

Hawkins’ 1950 and 1951 find the excellent guitarist Chuck Norris in the band and on the latter session pianist Willard McDainiel (Hawkins lost the use of an arm in a car wreck). Among the highlights from this period was the shuffling “Wine Drinkin’ Woman” with it’s lengthy rollicking piano intro, the rocking “Mean Little Girl”, the driving “Trouble Makin’ Woman” boasting wailing sax from Maxwell Davis and supple guitar from Johnny Moore. There were of course mellower fare including “You’re The Sweetest Thing” and gorgeous low down ballads like “Blues All Around Me” (”My home is like a graveyard/And my bed’s like a tomb/And I hope my baby will come home soon”) and the sublime “Gloom And Misery All Around” covered by Ray Charles in 1951 as “The Snow Is Falling.” Also cut during this period was “The Thrill Is Gone” which peaked at #6 on the R&B charts and many years later revived by B.B. King who took the song to #3 R&B, #15 Pop in January 1970.

Hawkins never achieved a hit of the same magnitude but Modern stuck with and he continued to record some first rate material. The 1952 session featured T-Bone Walker on guitar, prominently featured on terrific numbers like “Highway 59″, “Doin’ All Right”where T-Bone really cuts loose and the “Thrill Hunt” clearly intended to cash in on the success of “The Thrill Is Gone.” The two numbers from 1953, “Bad Luck Is Falling” and “The Condition I’m In”, are fine numbers unfortunately marred by way too much echo. Better were a 1954/55 session that produced the tough rolling blues of “It’ Hard” and the moody “If I Had Listened.” These would be Hawkins’ last songs for Modern until one final hook up in 1961 for Kent, which Modern had become by then. Hawkins was still in fine form, albeit with a more contemporary sound, on a stomping, impassioned cover of “Trouble In Mind” and a terrific update of his haunting 1948 number “Strange Land” which remained in the can until 1970. The band on these numbers is unlisted by it’s a good bet that the stinging guitar, heard to fine effect on the latter number, is by Lafayette Thomas.

In his absence from Modern Hawkins recorded little outside of a 1958 session for the San Francisco Rhythm label. The session lacked the intensity of his Modern sides although Hawkins was backed by the marvelous guitarist Lafayette Thomas who really shines on “I Hate To Be Alone” the session’s best number although “Baby, Please Don’t Go” retains some of the passion of his earlier sides. He also cut a one off side under the moniker Mr. Undertaker for the Los Angles Music City label in 1955 that I haven’t had the opportunity to hear.

Thankfully the Ace label has issued the bulk of Hawkins’ recordings on CD continuing from their first vinyl release in the early 1980’s. In 2000 Ace issued “The Thrill Is Gone” collecting some of his best numbers and followed it in 2006 with “Bad Luck Is Falling” which included uncollected singles, alternate takes and unissued sides. Hawkins’ four song session for the Rhythm label has been issued by the Westside label on the collection “Rhythm & Blues: 50’s Blues & R&B.”

Why Do Everything Happen To Me (MP3)

Gloom And Misery All Around (MP3)

Strange Land (MP3)

West Coast blues doesn’t have the same cachet as say Delta Blues or Chicago Blues but during the 1940’s the blues scene was really heating up on the West Coast (there was no pre-war blues activity in California). With the shipyards and aircraft factories desperate for labor during the war years, blacks flocked to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and small towns like Richmond, Fresno, Stockton and Modesto. 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.

In the list of distinguished West Coast piano men Roy Hawkins is unjustly the most obscure and relatively little is know about him. In his heyday he worked extensively in Northern and Southern California, scoring big hits for Modern Records with all time classics “The Thrill Is Gone” and “Why Do things Happen to Me. ” Those who were influenced by Hawkins and covered his songs include B.B. King, James Brown and Ray Charles. Hawkins was out of music by the time of the 1960’s blues boom when artists were being rediscovered left and right and researchers were digging up everything they could about blues performers of all stripes. Despite all this activity Hawkins remained elusive and nobody seems to have talked to him at any length before he passed in 1974.

Like his contemporaries, Hawkins performed a mix of uptempo blues and mellow ballads usually backed by jazzy horns and prominent guitar. Hawkins excelled on doomy, after hours numbers where his smooth, honey soaked voice set the mood for late night drinking and moonlit strolls, the perfect soundtrack for a film noir movie. It wasn’t all doom and gloom as Hawkins and his well tuned band could rock with the best of them. Hawkins was blessed with superb backing on his records including outstanding guitarists like Ulysses James, Chuck Norris, Johnny Moore, T-Bone Walker and Lafayette Thomas. In addition there were great sax men like Lorenzo “Buddy” Floyd, Maxwell Davis and when he lost the use of his arm, high caliber piano from Lloyd Glenn and Willard McDaniel. Add to the mix a batch of first rate songs penned by Hawkins himself and you have all the ingredients for some classic music.

Producer Bob Geddins discovered Hawkins playing in an Oakland, CA nightspot and supervised his first 78s for his Cavatone and Downtown labels in 1948. Modern Records picked up the rights to several Downtown masters before signing Hawkins to a contract in 1949. Unfortunately not all of this material has been reissued but what is available show Hawkins to be a fully seasoned performer by this stage. “It’s Too Late To Change” sets the pattern; it’s a superb moody, fatalistic blues ballad sporting some lazy tenor from William Staples and guitar fills from the outstanding Ulysses James. In the same mold, and even better, is the existential “Strange Land” (”I’m drifting and drifting, trying to find a friend/I go from door to door but they just won’t let me in”) featuring superb musicianship, particularly the interplay between Hawkins’ piano and James’ T-Bone Walker inspired guitar lines. Also notable are the blistering instrumental rockers “Quarter To One” and “West Express.”

By his October 1949 session the records were being officially issued on Modern. It’s sounds as if the session was better rehearsed and certainly better produced. It was a fruitful session yielding more after hours gems like “Sleepless Nights” (I can’t sleep at night/I just roll and tumble all night long/I’ve got had this awful feeling, ever since you’ve been gone”), “Got My Dreams Under My Pillow” opening with some lovely piano and the classic “Why Do Everything Happen To Me.” There was more wailing material including the jazzy instrumentals “Hawk’s Shuffle”, “Royal Hawk”and the shuffling “On My Way” anchored by some catchy riffing horns and some all around incredible ensemble playing. The band on this session is listed as unknown but it’s likely the same one as the earlier sides, and certainly the remarkable fret work bears the hallmarks of James.

Show Notes:

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. There was no pre-war blues activity in California but the the post-war blues era was booming. With the shipyards and aircraft factories desperate for labor during the war years, blacks flocked to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and small towns like Richmond, Fresno, Stockton and Modesto. The non-white population exploded from 80, 000 in 1930 to 462,000 by 1950. Numerous small independent labels popped up in the 40’s to cater to this new market including Aladdin, Swingtime, Modern, Speciality and many smaller outfits who specialized in R&B and blues and would take more chances than the more established labels.

In this week’s feature we spotlight the West Coast piano tradition which was kick started by the inimitable Charles Brown. As Tony Russell wrote: “In the late summer of 1945 Charles Brown recorded “Driftin’ Blues”, a moonlight sonata of rootlessness and uncertainty. It was perhaps the first blues hit of the postwar blues period, and it expanded the language of the blues as dramatically as Leroy Carr’s “How Long - How Long Blues” 17 years earlier.” Brown’s influence was profound, setting the stage for fellow pianists like Amos Milburn, Floyd Dixon, Little Willie Littlefield, Roy Hawkins, Ivory Joe Hunter and Cecil Gant.

Amos Milburn signed with Aladdin in 1946 and had the first of19 Top Ten R&B smashes with 1948′ storming “Chicken Shack Boogie.” In addition to rocking boogies he he could croon in the best Charles Brown manner. In the same mold was Little Willie Littlefield who made his debut in 1948 racking up major R&B hits with “It’s Midnight” and “Farewell.” Floyd Dixon also debuted in 1948 earning many comparisons to his mentor Charles Brown although eventually developing a grittier, more soulful sound than Brown. Dixon hit locally with 1949’s “Dallas Blues.” Aladdin Records acquired Dixon’s contract with Modern in late 1950, immediately pairing him with Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers for “Telephone Blues,” his first nationwide hit. Roy Hawkins too made his debut in 1948 although less well remembered than his contemporaries. Hawkins had two major R&B hits: 1950’s “Why Do Things Happen to Me” and “The Thrill Is Gone” the following year.

Due to time constraints we don’t have time to do proper justice to two other fine pianists, Ivory Joe Hunter and Cecil Gant. Gant’s 1944 debut ,”I Wonder,” topped the R&B charts and its flip “Cecil’s Boogie,” was a hit in its own right. Further hits followed and he stayed at the label until switching over to Bullet in 1948. Hunter started his own label, Ivory Records, to press up his “Blues at Sunrise” (with Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers backing him), and it became a national hit when leased to Exclusive in 1945. He followed with hit sides for King where he cut his immortal “I Almost Lost My Mind” (another R&B chart-topper in 1950), Atlantic, Vee-Jay, Smash and Capitol.

It’s hard to keep up with glut of blues reissues mostly pumped out by European labels taking full advantage of the fifty year copyright law. One label that deserves attention is Boulevard Vintage who for the past few years have been putting out intelligent, well conceived multi CD sets of post-war down home blues. The label has zeroed in on a very specific, rich vein of blues history, roughly 1945-1955 when a whole slew of enterprising small labels were catering to an audience that still craved down home blues. As Paul Vernon writes: “The migratory patterns from south to north to west added an essential ingredient to the new market for blues recording. Urbanization created tastes for a music that fit the new times and locations , contributing to the birth of what we now recognize as Rhythm & Blues. In Chicago, the southern rural styles, as we now all surely know, were connected directly to 110-volt wall sockets and booted through fuzzy amplifiers to create the sound that would eventually go around the world. Yet there was still an audience for the rough, exciting music of southern juke joints and street corners, of local radio broadcasts and house parties. Who was going to service that market?” The answer can be found on the 110 songs spread across Boulevard Vintage’s two latest 2-CD sets.

Down Home Blues Classics - Memphis & The South 1949-1954 collects music recorded in locales like Jackson, MS, Memphis, TN, New Orleans, LA, Crowley, LA for labels dear to record collectors hearts such as Sun, Trumpet, Bullet, Excello, Imperial and several others. Many of the artists will be familiar to collectors and we get multiple cuts by artists like Joe Hill Louis, Arthur Crudup (moonlighting under Percy Crudup!) Lightning Slim, Papa Lightfoot, Big Joe Williams, Jerry McCain among others. What’s nice about this series is that compilers tend to pull out the less anthologized, obscurer sides by these artists. So while we get the well known, and simply amazing, “Wine, Whiskey & Women” by Papa Lightfoot we also get his pounding harmonica wailer “P. L. Blues”, likewise for Willie Nix’s celebrated “Truckin’ Little Woman”which is on board but so is the much less known flip side, the unbelievably raw, “Just One Mistake.”

It’s the rarer stuff, less anthologized that makes these sets so valuable. While Boogie Bill Webb is not exactly an unknown his sides are not readily available. His two cuts here are particularly welcome especially the throbbing John Lee Hooker boogie of “Bad Dog.” It’s too bad his two other Imperial sides weren’t included. We get a batch of fine down home sides by obscure artists like Country Jim Bledsoe, the marvelous Louis Campbell (these two never before issued numbers are not even listed in the blues discography), Tommy Lee (one of only 5 known copies of this rarity) and three of the four excellent tracks the by the mysterious Little Sam Davis cut for Rockin’ in 1953 featuring some of the earliest guitar by Earl Hooker.

Down Home Blues Classics - California & The West Coast 1948-1954 delves into the fascinating records made in the immediate post-war era, mainly in California, mostly by those migrating from Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. As Mike Rowe writes: “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.”

While the above collection had it’s fair share of well known artists that’s not the case here. This collection, to quote the blurb, “presents probably the rarest recordings and the least-researched artists of the post-war era …there were many experiments to delight and intrigue us along the way; eschewing the bigger names we document those attempts rather than the final result.” In fact the only big name to speak of is K.C. Douglas who’s four sides include his first recordings notably his celebrated “Mercury Boogie.” Douglas’ harmonica player, Sidney Maiden, may also be somewhat known chiefly due to an album he cut for Bluesville. Maiden takes the vocals on the wonderfully doomy “Eclipse of the Sun” and pair of strong sides from 1955.

Only hardcore collectors are likely to know obscure artists such as Black Diamond, Slim Green, Willie B Huff, Sonny Boy Johnson, Little Son Willis, Jerry Perkins among others. The preponderance of lesser names has no bearing on the music which is uniformly strong. Take Willie B Huff, a magnificent down home singer who typified the emerging slow, doomy west coast sound. All four of Huff’s sides are here including superb renditions of Lightnin’ Hopkins’ “Hello Central” as “Operator 209″ and “Short Haired Woman” as “Beggar Man Blues.” Other highlights include Sonny Boy Holmes, a fine Hopkins imitator whose sole four sides are on board, Slim Green’s version of Curtis Jones’ Tin Pan Alley as “Alla Blues” (a song that would evolve into the West Coast blues standard “Tin Pan Alley”), all eight Swing Time sides by the wonderful pianist/vocalist Little Son Willis who sounds like Doctor Clayton - his “Harlem Blues” a cover of Clayton’s “Angels In Harlem” and the mysterious Black Diamond who’s two fine solo guitar numbers are his only sides.

Both of these sets come highly recommended boasting very good sound (a definite upgrade from prior reissues) and very informative notes. Boulevard Vintage also has 4-CD sets of Chicago and Texas blues that are equally good and I can’t wait to see what they put out next.

Boogie Bill Webb - Bad Dog (MP3)

Louis Campbell - Don’t Want Anyone Hangin’ Around (MP3)

Little Son Willis - Nothing But The Blues (MP3)

Willie B Huff - Operator 209 (MP3)

Jesse Thomas recorded sporadically from the late 1920’s through the early 1990’s and despite his longevity didn’t achieve much in the way of success or recognition. In 1929, at 18, Thomas cut four excellent sides for Victor showing a prowess beyond his years. Three of the number are strongly indebted to Lonnie Johnson while the session highlight, “Blues Goose Blues”, is clearly inspired by Blind Blake. By the post-war era Thomas had developed a brilliant, highly individual style unlike anyone else. For proof just listen to Document’s “Jesse Thomas 1948-1958″ which collects 28 tracks the enterprising Thomas cut for nine different West Coast labels over the course of a decade (”Gold Mine Blues” cut in 1948 is not included for some reason). For a complete discography click here.

The music ranges from solo down home numbers, rollicking band driven R&B and smoky after hours cuts. Thomas’ guitar playing is dazzling; by this time he had developed a harmonically sophisticated style, playing highly unpredictable, inventive guitar phrases in a manner that incorporated both down home and uptown styles. His guitar playing, while highly individual, still bears a Lonnie Johnson influence but also owes a debt to T-Bone Walker. Thomas developed his sound, as Chris Smith notes, “in part by transferring saxophone solos and his own piano playing to electric guitar.” Thomas’ singing is equally striking, a deep burnished voice that a times sounds like Robert Johnson.

The solo sides, featuring superb integration between guitar and vocal, find him at his best. High points include the catchy “Same Old Stuff”, “Mountain Key Blues” and “Zetter Blues.” All display fine songwriting and characteristic of many of his songs, he inserts long pauses between lyrics that enhance the dramatic effect, punctuated by short, unpredictable guitar runs. The remarkable “Double Due Love You” opens with a tongue twisting run of words that is sort of a vocal equlivalent to his knotty guitar phrases. On the laid back, conversational “Gonna Move to California”, a variation on the classic “Kansas City”, Thomas plays some deft acoustic guitar.

The small group recordings are generally successful backed by a combination of piano, bass drums and saxophone. “Melody in C” is a jazzy instrumental backed by unknown bass and piano that finds Thomas playing in very sophisticated style with a nod to T-Bone Walker. “Let’s Have Some Fun” is a rocking full band number with wailing tenor and baritone featuring some draw dropping electric guitar solos while the shuffling, irresistibly catchy “I Can’t Stay Here” benefits from the rippling piano work of Lloyd Glenn. Glenn pops up to good effect on all four of Thomas’ Swing Time numbers including the bouncy “It’s You I’m Thinking Of.” Backed by an unknown band and booting sax man, Thomas rocks on “Cool Kind Lover” from 1951 that is as close to rock & roll as he ever got. Another highlight is “Another Fool Like Me” a propulsive boogie number with Thomas just accompanied by a unknown but wailing harmonica blower.

Jesse Thomas died in 1995 and continued cutting material intermittently on his own Red River imprint, Ace and Delmark. However, he never quite matched the sheer brilliance of these late 40’s and 50’s sides.

Double Due Love You (MP3)

I Can’t Stay Here (MP3)

Gonna Move To California (MP3)

Show Notes:

A sad week in the blues world as news of the death of Jimmy “T-99″ Nelson made the rounds. I became a fan of Jimmy Nelson many years ago after hearing an LP collection of his early sides on the Ace label. I always hoped he would start recording again and in 1999 he issued the terrific “Rockin’ And Shoutin’ The Blues.” I interviewed Jimmy when that record came out and it was one of the best interviews I ever did so when he put a new record out in 2005 I decided to talk to him again. For this week’s feature we rerun that interview plus play a batch of his early records. We wrap up by playing a bunch of Jimmy’s contemporaries on the Modern label.

Blessed with a booming voice and a hip delivery, Nelson cut a swath of fine sides for Modern’s RPM and Kent imprints in the early 50’s and 60’s but only scored big with his signature “T-99 Blues.” After getting dropped from Modern Nelson bounced through a number of small labels before giving up music in the 60’s. It wasn’t until the 80’s that he decided to refocus his energies on music, playing locally and making some guest appearances on record and appearing at festivals. After many trials and tribulations Nelson finally made his long awaited comeback record with 1999’s “Rockin’ And Shoutin’ The Blues” on Rounder, followed by two more on his own Nettie Marie label.

In the late ’40s and early ’50s, Modern/RPM was able to attract many fine blues performers to the labels, including B.B. King, Roscoe Gordon, Elmore James, Smokey Hogg, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Little Willie Littlefield, Jimmy McCracklin, Jimmy Witherspoon, Pee Wee Crayton and John Lee Hooker. Modern also leased masters from Sam Phillips in Memphis, and was the first label to release material by the legendary Howlin’ Wolf. The Modern label was formed in 1945 in Los Angeles, California, by Saul and Jules Bihari. Modern recorded rhythm & blues, country & western, jazz, popular, blues, and gospel. The subsidiary RPM was formed in 1950 and released blues, jazz, rhythm & blues and rock & roll. The subsidiary Crown was formed in 1954 and after three years (starting in 1957), was used only for budget priced albums. The Kent label subsidiary was formed in 1958 and issued only singles, but the name was used again from 1965 to 1971 for album issues.

Jimmy “T-99″ Nelson Feature/Interview