Big Road Blues

Show Notes:

Art Rupe founded Juke Box Records in 1946, but changed the company’s name to Specialty the following year to indicate that, unlike the major labels, his specialized in particular kinds of music – African-American blues and gospel. The Hollywood-based firm became a leader in both fields, with a roster that included R&B artists Roy Milton, Joe Liggins, Percy Mayfield, Guitar Slim, and Lloyd Price and gospel stars like the Pilgrim Travelers, the Soul Stirrers (featuring Sam Cooke), Brother Joe May, Alex Bradford, and the Original Gospel Harmonettes. Specialty also played a key role in the development of rock ‘n’ roll upon signing Little Richard in 1955. Two years later, however, Specialty lost both Richard (to religion) and Cooke (to pop music), and Rupe’s interest in making new records quickly waned. He kept the label’s many hits in print and compiled albums of older material until 1991, when he sold the company to Fantasy, Inc. Below is some background on today’s featured artists.

Among the label’s big hits were “The Honeydripper” by Joe Liggins inn 1945 and “Pink Champagne” five years later, posting many more solid sellers in between. Inspired by the success of his brother Joe, Jimmy jumped into the recording field in 1947 on Art Rupe’s Specialty logo. His “Tear Drop Blues” hit the R&B Top Ten the next year, while “Careful Love” and “Don’t Put Me Down” hit for him in 1949. “R.M. Blues” was a million seller for Roy Mitlon in 1945 and really got Specialty off and running. Rupe knew a good thing when he saw it, recording Milton early and often-through 1953. He was rewarded with 19 Top Ten R&B hits. Camille  Howard was installed as pianist with drummer Roy Milton & the Solid Senders sometime during World War II, playing on all their early hits for Art Rupe’s Juke Box and Specialty labels (notably the groundbreaking “R.M. Blues” in 1945). Rupe began recording her as a featured artist at the end of the year. Her biggest hit was the romping instrumental “X-Temporaneous Boogie” but she was also a very fine vocalist.

Specialty signed Percy Mayfield in 1950 and he scored a solid string of R&B smashes over the next couple of years. “Please Send Me Someone to Love” was a number one R&B hit in 1950a and its equally fine flip, “Strange Things Happening” were followed in the charts by “Lost Love,” “What a Fool I Was,” “Prayin’ for Your Return,” “Cry Baby,” and “Big Question.”

Smokey Hogg scored a pair of major R&B hits in 1948 and 1950 for the Modern label. He was recorded extensively for a slew of labels including Exclusive, Modern, Bullet, Macy’s, Sittin’ in With, Imperial, Mercury, Recorded in Hollywood, Specialty, Fidelity, Combo, Federal, and Showtime.

Johnny Vincent, the New Orleans promotion man for Specialty discovered Guitar Slim and brought him to the attention of Art Rupe. The result of the session was “The Things That I Used to Do”. Vincent had used a little-known piano player named Ray Charles to arrange and play on the recording. The song was a smash hit. Unfortunately, in spite of some powerful follow-up recordings, Guitar Slim’s career faded, and he died in 1959, having drunk himself to death at the age of 32.

In 1952, Rupe made his first field trip to the south, being impressed with the music of Fats Domino on another Los Angeles-based label, Imperial. He went to Fats’ hometown of New Orleans to search for talent. He announced on a radio show that he was looking for talent and for artists to come to Cosimo Matassa’s recording studio for auditions. The auditions had not produced anything worthy of recording, and Rupe was packing up to head back to Los Angeles when a 17 year old named Lloyd Price came in and sang his own composition, “Lawdy Miss Clawdy.” Rupe canceled his plane ticket home and stayed in New Orleans to record the song. He got Fats Domino to play piano and Dave Bartholomew to assemble the other backing musicians. The record became the #1 R&B record for 1952 on both the Billboard and Cash Box charts, and Lloyd Price was the Cash Box “Best New R&B Singer of 1952.”

Bumble Bee Slim was one of the more popular and prolific blues artists of the 1930’s. He relocated to Los Angeles in the early ’40s. During the ’50s, Slim cut some West Coast blues for Specialty and Pacific Jazz, which failed to gain much interest. For the rest of his career, he kept a low profile, playing various Californian clubs. He died in 1968.

After success at Modern and Aladdin, Floyd Dixon jumped to the Specialty label, making his debut in mid-1953 with our featured track, “Hard Living Alone.” “Hole in the Wall” followed by year’s end, but neither was a hit, and when the same fate befell 1954’s “Ooh Ee, Ooh Eee,” the company terminated his contract.

Mercy Deed Walton debuted on record in 1949 with “Lonesome Cabin Blues” for the tiny Spire logo, which became a national R&B hit. Those sides were cut in Fresno, but Los Angeles hosted some of the pianist’s best sessions for Imperial in 1950 and Specialty in 1952-53. His “One Room Country Shack” was a huge R&B hit in 1953 and has become a blues standard.

Billed as Earl Johnson, Earl King, debuted on wax in 1953 on Savoy. Johnson became Earl King upon signing with Specialty the next year (label head Art Rupe intended to name him King Earl, but the typesetter reversed the names!). He had more success when he jumped to the Ace label; “Those Lonely, Lonely Nights,” proved a national R&B hit.

In 1954, Clifton Chenier signed with Elko Records.He had a regional hit single, “Cliston’s Blues” and “Louisiana Stomp.” His first national attention came with his first single for the Specialty record label, “Ay Tete Fille (Hey, Little Girl),” a cover of a Professor Longhair tune, released in May 1955. The song was one of 12 that he recorded during two sessions produced by Bumps Blackwell, best known for his work with Little Richard.

Professor Longhair made great records for Atlantic in 1949, Federal in 1951, Wasco in 1952, and Atlantic again in 1953. After recuperating from a minor stroke, Longhair came back on Lee Rupe’s (the ex-wife of Specialty Records’ owner Art Rupe) Ebb logo in 1957 which were also released on Specialty.

Show Notes:

Today’s program spotlights 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 made hundreds of records over the years on small labels he ran like Down Town, Big Town, Irma, Plaid, Art Tone, Cavatone, and Gedison’s and leased material to other companies bigger companies like Modern and Aladdin. 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. Geddins died in 1991 at age 78.

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. 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.”

Oakland became a blues mecca during the 1940s. The city’s shipbuilding industry boomed in support of World War II, and the consequent profusion of manufacturing jobs and military bases brought a huge influx of African Americans to the Bay Area. Many settled near the shipyards in West Oakland, and a vibrant entertainment district sprang up on Seventh Street, where the blocks were crowded with pool halls, card rooms, and as many as 40 blues clubs, including the Lincoln Theater, Esther’s Orbit Room, and Slim Jenkins’ Place.

Discharged from the Navy in 1945, Fulson found his way to to Oakland, California, where he played small nightclubs. In 1946, he formed a group with pianist Eldridge McCarthy and recorded on Bob Geddins’s Big Town with Geddins leasing his recordings to Jack Lauderdale’s Los Angeles-based Down Beat and Swing Time labels. As Geddins recalled in the book Honkers and Shouters, “Lowell Fulson was the first great bluesman I put on wax …. [I] Bought him an electric guitar and amplifier–cost a hundred and eighty dollars. And he did a lot of rehearsing in the Seventh Street Music Shop.”

Along with Lowell Fulson, who left the Bay Area shortly after he became successful, McCracklin was the biggest name to ever emerge from the Oakland blues scene. He made his first record, “Miss Mattie Left Me,” for the Globe label in Los Angeles in 1945. Two years later in Oakland, he began a relationship with record producer Bob Geddins that would last on and off over the next two decades.

Jimmy Wilson scored a huge hit in California with his 1953 number “Tin Pan Alley” written by Bob Geddins. He was never able to match the record’s success but issued fine sides between 1948 and 1961 on labels such as Aladdin, Cava-Tone, Big Town, 7-11, Rhythm, Chart, Irma, Goldband and finally Duke. He died in 1965 at the age of 42.

Accompanying himself on both guitar and rack harmonica Bonner sung highly personal tales typified in songs like “Life Gave Me A Dirty Deal” and “Struggle Here In Houston.” He won a talent contest in 1947 in Houston that led to a radio spot. He cut his first sides for Bob Geddins’ Irma label in 1957 and next for *Goldband in 1960. Full length albums came about do to the interest of Mike Leadbitter, co-editor of Blues Unlimited, who recorded Bonner in 1967, issuing his full length debut on Flyright. He cut his best work between 1968-69 for Arhoolie Records. A few European tours ensued but by the 70’s he was working outside of music. He died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1978.

Johnny Fuller was a West Coast bluesman who left behind a batch of 1950’s recordings. He was equally at home with low down blues, gospel, R&B, and rock & roll. Making the Bay Area his home throughout his career, Fuller turned in classic sides for Heritage, Aladdin, Specialty, Flair, Checker, and Hollywood; all but one of them West Coast-based concerns. His two biggest hits, “All Night Long” and the original version of “The Haunted House,” improbably found him in the late ’50s on rock & roll package shows, touring with the likes of Paul Anka and Frankie Avalon! By and large retiring from the music scene in the ’60s (with the exception of one excellent album in 1974), Fuller worked as a garage mechanic until his passing in 1985.

Geddins had discovered Roy Hawkins playing in a club in Oakland in 1948. Hawkins and his backing group the Four Jacks were very popular and were doing sell-out business at several Bay area clubs at that time. Geddins rushed Hawkins and his band into the studio to cut some sides to capitalise on their current popularity and released “They Raided The Joint” on Geddins’ Cava-Tone label. After recording some more sides with Hawkins, Geddins sold “It’s Too Late To Change” and “Strange Land” to Modern and Jules Bihari then brought Hawkins and his band to LA to record. Starting in October 1949 through 1954/55 Hawkins’ records were released on Modern. In 1958 Hawkins cut a four-song session for Geddins’ Rhythm label.

James Reed was an exceptional blues singer who cut only ten sides at sessions in 1954, which were issued on Flair, Rhythm, Money and Big Town.

Little Caesar was fine but forgotten vocalist who waxed a couple of dozen sides in the 1950’s including a four-song session for Geddins’ Big Town label.

Willie B. Huff Cut was a terrific downhome blues singer who cut  two sides in 1953 for Big Town and two in 1954 for Rhythm. She turned up at the 1977 San Francisco blues festival before drifting back into obscurity.

Show Notes:

Today’s show spotlights many recordings by Johny Otis’ band as well as featuring many of the talented performers that passed through his band. Johnny Otis began his musical career in 1939 as a drummer with Count Otis Matthew’s West Oakland House Rockers. In 1943, at the recommendation of Nat “King” Cole and Jimmy Witherspoon, he moved to Los Angeles to join Harlan Leonard’s Kansas City Rockets at the Club Alabam. By 1945 he was leading his own band, and had his first big hit that year with “Harlem Nocturne”. In 1948 he joined with Bardu and Tila Ali, and Johnny Miller to open The Barrelhouse in Los Angeles, which was the first nightclub to feature Rhythm & Blues exclusively. In 1950 he had ten songs that made the Top 10 on Billboard Magazine’s Best Selling Retail Rhythm & Blues Records list. With this success, he went on the road with his California Rhythm & Blues Caravan, and became the hottest musical attraction in black America. In the early 1950’s, remaining active as a writer, performer, and producer, Johnny began a radio career and became one of the most popular disc jockeys in southern California. His early radio broadcast success led to a weekly variety show on television. “The Johnny Otis Show” was on TV in Los Angeles for eight years. Johnny Otis discovered many legendary Rhythm and Blues singers such as Esther Phillips, Willie Mae “Big Momma” Thornton, Etta James, and the Robins (who later evolved into the Coasters), all of who were at one time featured vocalists in his band. His band also sported geart guitarists in Pete “Guitar” Lewis and later Jimmy Nolen. He also discovered Sugar Pie DeSanto, Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, Jackie Wilson, and Little Willie John. He produced, and with his band played on the original recording of “Hound Dog” with “Big Momma” Thornton, produced and played on Johnny Ace’s “Pledging My Love”, produced some of Little Richard’s earliest recordings  and  played the drums on Charles Brown’s first major hit “Driftin’ Blues” in 1946. Below is some background on some of today’s featured artists.

The Robins were formed when Ty Terrell Leonard and the Richard brothers Billy and Roy met at Alameda High School in San Francisco in 1945, and formed the “A-Sharp Trio” (no recordings). The trio came to Hollywood a year later, and in 1949 they were joined by Bobby Nunn, who worked at Johnny Otis’ club “The Barrelhouse” in Watts. The group began recording in 1949 and through 1950 cut sides for Aladdin and Savy backed by Johnny Otis’ band.

In 1949 singer Mel Walker was discovered by Johnny Otis and joined his band, singing with Otis until around 1953. On many recordings he featured in duets with Little Esther (Phillips), and also recorded with The Robins. Cathy Cooper was another singer with Otis’ band who cut a few sides in 1947 with Otis’ band before Little Esther came on the scene.

In 1948 Little Esther Jones won an amateur contest in Los Angeles, singing Dinah Washington’s “Baby Get Lost” at a nightclub belonging to bluesman Johnny Otis. Otis recalls her debut at his club The Barrelhouse hosted by popular disc jockey Hunter Hancock: “As the talent show began, Hunter called me to the microphone. Johnny he said, All week long you’ve been raving to me about a new young girl singer you’ve discovered. Yeah, Hunter, I found her singing down on 103rd. Street at the Largo Theatre. I want you all to hear her tonight, here she is, Little Esther Jones. Esther sang the blues, the crowd went nuts, and that night, thirteen-year-old Little Esther began her historic, bittersweet career. …She instantly became the teenage favorite among Black music lovers. Everywhere we went, from coast to coast, thousands of adoring fans lined up to see and hear Little Esther.” Otis brought the 13-year-old into the studio for a recording session with Modern Records and added her to his live revue. Billed as “Little Esther,” and sounding mature beyond her years, she recorded “Double Crossing Blues” with Johnny Otis, selling 400,000 copies before her 14th birthday. The record hit number one on the charts making Little Esther the youngest female singer to have a #1 hit on the R&B charts. More successful singles followed including “Mistrustin’ Blues” (#1 R&B), “Misery,” “Cupid Boogie” (#1 R&B), and “Deceivin’ Blues” (#4 R&B). A traveling review called the Savoy Records Barrelhouse Caravan of Stars hit the road for a series of one nighters across the South in early 1950 drawing huge crowds. The show included The Johnny Otis band, The Robins, Little Esther, Mel Walker, and Redd Lyte. Proving the sudden star power of Little Esther, she came in number one in a poll of the national juke box operators for best jazz and blues performer for the year of 1950.

Pete “Guitar” Lewis joined the Johnny Otis band in 1948 and stayed until 1957. 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. Lewis also cut a batch of fine solo sides for Federal and Peacock which also showcased his considerable singing and harmonica abilities. 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.

We play several selection from Dig Records (originally called Ultra Records). Ultra Records was formed in 1955 by Frank Gallo, Eddie Mesner, Leo Mesner and Johnny Otis in Los Angeles California. In February 1956, the name of the label was changed to Dig Records. In 1957, Johnny Otis acquired sole ownership of the Dig Records Label. Dig Records officially issued 41 singles and 4 Long Play albums. These recordings have been issued on CD by the Ace label spread across five volumes.

We conclude the show with a trio of sides from The Johnny Otis Show Live at Monterey . Thi swas an R&B oldies show in 1970 that featured artists Otis had worked with back in the early days and they were still in fine form. The disc stars Otis, Esther Phillips, Eddie Vinson, Joe Turner, Ivory Joe Hunter, Roy Milton, Roy Brown, Pee Wee Crayton, and Johnny’s guitar wielding son, Shuggie. This seems to be out of print but is well worth hunting down.

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)

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.