Big Road Blues - Part 135

Big Road Blues Show 2/10/13: Rock That Thing – Sideman Blues

February 10, 2013July 2, 2023 Jeff 4 Comments

ARTIST	SONG	ALBUM
Lil Johnson w/ Charles Avery	You'll Never Miss Your Jelly	Lil Johnson Vol. 1 1929-1936
Lil Johnson w/ Charles Avery	Rock That Thing	Lil Johnson Vol. 1 1929-1936
Lil Johnson w/ Charles Avery	House Rent Scuffle	Lil Johnson Vol. 1 1929-1936
Lucille Bogan w/ Charles Avery	Whiskey Sellin' Woman	Lucille Bogan Vol. 11923-1930
Lucille Bogan w/ Charles Avery	They Ain't Walking No More	Lucille Bogan Vol. 2 1930-1933
Lucille Bogan w/ Charles Avery	Alley Boogie	Lucille Bogan Vol. 2 1930-1933
Freddie ''Redd'' Nicholson w/ Charles Avery	Tee Rolller's Rub	Boogie Woogie & Barrelhouse Piano Vol. 1 1928-1932
Freddie ''Redd'' Nicholson w/ Charles Avery	I Ain't Sleepy	Boogie Woogie & Barrelhouse Piano Vol. 1 1928-1932
Freddie ''Redd'' Nicholson w/ Charles Avery	Freddie's Got The Blues	Boogie Woogie & Barrelhouse Piano Vol. 1 1928-1932
Red Nelson w/ Charles Avery	Detroit Blues	Red Nelson 1936-1947
Red Nelson w/ Charles Avery	Grand Trunk Blues	Red Nelson 1936-1947
Big Bill Broonzy w/ Black Bob	Good Liqueur Gonna Carry me Down	The Young Big Bill Broonzy 1928-1935
Big Bill Broonzy w/ Black Bob	Keep Your Hands Off Of Her	When The Sun Goes Down
Charlie West w/ Black Bob	Hobo Blues	Rare 1930s & '40s Blues Vol. 3 1937-1948
Charlie West w/ Black Bob	Rolling Stone Blues	Rare 1930s & '40s Blues Vol. 3 1937-1948
Tampa Red w/ Black Bob	Mean Old Tom Cat Blues	Tampa Red Vol. 6 1934-1935
Tampa Red w/ Black Bob	Somebody's Been Using That Thing	Tampa Red Vol. 6 1934-1935
Tampa Red w/ Black Bob	Shake It About Little	Tampa Red Vol. 6 1934-1935
Charlie McCoy w/ Black Bob	Let My Peaches Be	The McCoy brothers Vol. 1 1934-1936
Lil Johnson w/ Black Bob	I'm Betting On You	Lil Johnson Vol. 1 1929-1936
Fats Hayden w/ Teddy Bunn	Brownskin Gal Is The Best Gal After All	Teddy Bunn 1929-1940
Ben Franklin w/ Teddy Bunn	Crooked World Blues	Teddy Bunn 1929-1940
Jimmie Gordon w/ Teddy Bunn	Sail With Me	Jimmie Gordon Vol. 1938-1938
Hot Lips Page w/ Teddy Bunn	Thirsty Mama Blues	The Very Best of Teddy Bunn
Cow Cow Davenport w/ Teddy Bunn	That'll Get It	The Very Best of Teddy Bunn
Lizzie Miles w/ Teddy Bunn	Yellow Dog Gal Blues	Lizzie Miles Vol. 3 1928-39
Lizzie Miles w/ Teddy Bunn	Too Slow	Lizzie Miles Vol. 3 1928-39
Trixie Smith w/ Ikey Robinson	Trixie's Blues	Trixie Smith Vol. 2 1925-1939
Victoria Spivey w/ Ikey Robinson	Baulin' Water Blues, Pt. 1	Victoria Spivey Vol. 3 1929-1936
Georgia White w/ Ikey Robinson	The Blues Ain't Nothin' But...???	The Piano Blues Vol. 13: Central Highway
Johnnie Temple w/ Ikey Robinson	Jelly Roll Bert	Johnnie Temple Vol. 2 1938-1940
Frankie Jaxson w/ Ikey Robinson	Rock Me Mama	Frankie 'Half-Pint'Jaxon Vol. 1 1926-1929

Show Notes:

On today’s program we shine the light on some superb session musicians who backed blues artists in the pre-war era. We spotlight two fine pianists in Charles Avery and Black Bob. We know little about both men, with Avery making his debut on record in 1929 and Black Bob in 1934 and both dropped off the radar by the late 30’s. Both backed many o the popular blues singers of the era, with Avey cutting just one side under his name and Black Bob cutting nothing under his own name. We also spotlight two very fine guitarists who straddled both the blues and jazz worlds, Teddy Bunn and Banjo Ikey Robinson. Both men backed both jazz musicians and blues singers in the 20’s and 30’s and both cut just a handful of sides under their own names. I’ll be doing a sequel, of sorts, where we focus on famous names who were active sessions artists such as Tampa Red, Lonnie Johnson, Roosevelt Sykes, Big Bill Broonzy, Kokomo Arnold and others.

Active in Chicago in the 20’s and 30’s, Charles Avery worked as a session musician backing artists such as Lil Johnson, Freddie ‘Red” Nicholson, Red Nelson and others. He cut one record under his own name, 1929’s “Dearborn Street Breakdown.” We here him on several tracks todays including backing blues ladies Lil Johnson and Lucille Bogan as well as singers Freddie ”Redd” Nicholson and Red Nelson.

LIl Johnson first recorded in Chicago in 1929, accompanied by pianists Montana Taylor and Charles Avery on five songs. She did not return to the recording studio until 1935. From her second session onwards, she hit up had partnership with the ragtime influenced pianist “Black Bob” Hudson, who provided ebullient support to Johnson’s increasingly suggestive lyrics. In 1936 and 1937, she recorded over 40 songs, mostly on the Vocalion label, some featuring Big Bill Broonzy on guitar and Lee Collins on trumpet.

Lucille Bogan recorded for OKeh in 1923, for Paramount in 1927, and for Brunswick in 1928, 1929, and 1930. Although she had an uncommonly large Depression era output, she made no recordings at all in 1931 and 1932. When she switched to ARC for the 1933, 1934, and 1935 sessions, she had to use the pseudonym Bessie Jackson for contractual reasons. After the Second World War Bogan made some trial discs for a New York company. She was mad when the records were rejected and died shortly afterward in 1948. Her records find her back with fine pianists like Charles Avery, Will Ezell and later, Walter Roland.

Banjo Ikey Robinson

The obscure singer Freddie ”Redd” Nicholson recorded eight sides in 1930 (three were not issued) all backed by pianist Charles Avery. Nothing seems tobe known about him.

There’s not much information on Red Nelson outside of what I gleaned from the Encyclopedia of the Blues: “Nelson Wilborn, better known as Red Nelson, or Dirty Red, was born in Sumner, Mississippi, in 1907. A fine, capable vocalist, he moved to Chicago in the early 1930’s and was a prominent recording artist from 1935 to 1947. His recordings with pianist Clarence Lofton, especially “Streamline Train” and “Crying Mother Blues,” are probably his best work. In the 1960’s he performed locally with the Muddy Waters Band.”

Very little is known about Black Bob Hudson, except that he was a ragtime-influenced blues pianist who was active from the 1920’s and 1930’s, and worked with a who’s who of Chicago talent including Big Bill Broonzy, Bumble Bee Slim, Jazz Gillum, Lil Johnson, Washboard Sam, Casey Bill Weldon and Tampa Red. He was the brother of banjoist Ed Hudson, and the two frequented the same circles and recording sessions, and sometimes ended up accompanying the same singers. Both brothers were part of the Memphis Nighthawks, and Bob Hudson was also a member (with Tampa Red and other luminaries) of the Chicago Rhythm Kings. Broonzy and Black Bob cut dozens of sides together between 1934 and 1937 and Black Bob is featured on quite a number of Tampa Red sides between 1934 and 1937 .

Teddy Bunn played with many of the top jazzmen of that period on guitar or banjo and sometimes he provided vocals. Teddy Bunn rubbed shoulders with many top jazz musicians aas well as blues singers in the pre-war era. As he noted: “I have a very good ear and can usually sense what the cats are going to play a split second before they do it.” Among the notable blues singers he accompanied were artists such as Cow Cow Davenport, Lizzie Miles, Peetie Wheatstraw, Johnnie Temple and Victoria Spivey among others. In addition to an active session career, Bunn was a member of the jazz groups the Spirits of Rhythm and June 1939, and was among the very first musicians ever to record for the Blue Note record label, first as a soloist, then as a member of the Port of Harlem Jazzmen. Today we hear Bunn backing several blues singers including a pair of excellent numbers by Lizzie Miles.

Teddy Bunn

Lizzie Miles was a fine classic blues singer from the 1920s who survived to have a full comeback in the 1950s. She started out singing in New Orleans during 1909-1911 with such musicians as King Oliver, Kid Ory, and Bunk Johnson. She recorded extensively between1922-1930. She recorded in 1939 but spent 1943-1949 outside of music and in 1950 began a comeback recording for labels such as Circle, Cook, Capitol, Verve and others before retiring in 1959.

Ikey Robinson was an excellent banjoist and singer who recorded both jazz and blues from the late ’20s into the late ’30s. After working locally, Robinson moved to Chicago in 1926, playing and recording with Jelly Roll Morton, Clarence Williams, and Jabbo Smith during 1928-1929. He led his own recording sessions in 1929, 1931, 1933, and 1935. His groups included Ikey Robinson and his Band (w/ Jabbo Smith), The Hokum Trio, The Pods of Pepper, Windy City Five, and Sloke & Ike. Robinson also accompanied blues singers such as Frankie “Half Pint” Jaxon, Georgia White, Eva Taylor and Bertha “Chippie” Hill among others.

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–Charlie West (Blues World 44, Autumn 1972)

Big Road Blues Show 2/3/13: Blues Came To Texas Lopin’ Like A Mule -The Influence of Blind Lemon Jefferson

February 3, 2013March 28, 2016 Jeff Leave a comment

ARTIST	SONG	ALBUM
Blind Lemon Jefferson	One Dime Blues	The Best Of
Blind Lemon Jefferson	Matchbox Blues	The Best Of
Blind Lemon Jefferson	Rambler Blues	The Best Of
Down Home Boys (Papa Harvey Hull & Long "Cleve" Reed)	Mama You Don't Know How	Never Let The Same Bee Sting You Twice
Big Joe Williams	Peach Orchard Mama	Big Joe Williams and the Stars of Mississippi Blues
Blind Willie McTell	Last Dime Blues	The Best Of
Blind Lemon Jefferson	See That My Grave Is Kept Clean	The Best Of
Blind Lemon Jefferson	Bed Spring Blues	The Best Of
Blind Lemon Jefferson	Prison Cell Blues	Mean & Evil Blues
Lightnin' Hopkins	Reminiscences Of Blind Lemon	Lightnin' Hopkins [Smithsonian Folkways]
Lightnin' Hopkins	One Kind Favor	All The Classics 1946-1951
Son House	County Farm Blues	Blues Images Vol. 4
Blind Lemon Jefferson	Shuckin' Sugar Blues	The Complete Classic Sides
Blind Lemon Jefferson	Corinna Blues	The Best Of
Blind Lemon Jefferson	Rabbit Foot Blues	If It Ain't One Thing, It'Rabbit Foot Blues
Ramblin' Thomas	No Baby Blues	Texas Blues: Early Masters From the Lone Star State
Blind Boy Fuller	Untrue Blues	Blind Boy Fuller Remastered 1935-1938
Blind Lemon Jefferson	Got The Blues	The Best Of
Blind Lemon Jefferson	Long Lonesome Blues	The Best Of
Blind Lemon Jefferson	Hot Dogs	The Best Of
Leadbelly	Blind Lemon (Song)	Leadbelly Vol. 6 1947
Leadbelly	Silver City Bound	Leadbelly's Last Sessions
Blind Lemon Jefferson	Bad Luck Blues	The Complete Classic Sides
Blind Lemon Jefferson	Black Horse Blues	The Best Of
Blind Lemon Jefferson	That Crawlin' Baby Blues	The Best Of
Hattie Hudson	Doggone My Good Luck Soul	Dallas Alley Drag
Thomas Shaw	Jack Of Diamonds	San Diego Blues Jam
Mance Lipscomb	Easy Rider Blues	Captain, Captain: The Texas Songster
Blind Lemon Jefferson	Blind Lemon's Penitentiary Blues	The Complete Classic Sides
Blind Lemon Jefferson	Black Snake Moan	Great Blues Guitarists: String Dazzlers
Pete Harris	Blind Lemon's Song	Texas Blues: Early Masters From the Lone Star State
Rev. Emmett Dickenson	The Death Of Blind Lemon	Blues Images Vol. 6
King Solomon Hill	My Buddy, Blind Papa Lemon	Blues Images Vol. 2

Show Notes:

Today we spotlight Blind Lemon Jefferson and the enormous influence he had on his contemporaries and countless blues artist over the ensuing decades. Although he was not the first male country blues singer/guitarist to record, Blind Lemon Jefferson was the first to succeed commercially and his success influenced previously reluctant record companies to actively seek out and record male country blues players in the hope of finding a similar talent. Throughout the ’20s Lemon spearheaded a boom in ‘race’ record sales that featured male down-home blues singers and such was the appeal of his recordings that in turn they were responsible for inspiring a whole new generation of blues singers. Researcher Bruce Bastin, known for his extensive research in the Piedmont region, said of Jefferson… “…there can have been few nascent bluesmen outside Texas, let alone within the state, who had never heard his music. Among interviewed East Coast bluesmen active during Blind Lemon’s recording career, almost all recall him as one of the first bluesmen they heard on record.” Today we spotlight some of Lemon’s best numbers as well as a those artists he inspired. Lemon’s influence cast a long shadow among both black and white artists and today’s show is in no way comprehensive but does give a snapshot of just how big Lemon’s impact was.

Jefferson was born in September 1893. By 1912, he was working over a wide area of Texas, including East Dallas, Silver City, Galveston, and Waco. Jefferson was still a teenager when he moved into Dallas. The black community in Dallas were settled in an area covering approximately six blocks around Central Avenue up to Elm Street, the center of which was Deep Ellum, a bustling thoroughfare full of bars, clubs and brothels. Mance Lipscomb saw Jefferson playing there as early as 1917. Although Jefferson’s reputation was originally made as a singer of sacred songs, the percentage of blues in his repertoire greatly increased as the years progressed. In 1925 Jefferson was discovered by a Paramount recording scout and taken to Chicago to make his first records either in December 1925 or January 1926. Jefferson’s first session produced “I Want To Be Like Jesus In My Heart” b/w “All I Want Is That Pure Religion” using the name Deacon L.J. Bates. It was the second session, however, that made Jefferson a star. He recorded four songs at that session: “Booster Blues” b/w “Dry Southern Blues’, came out in or around March 1926. “Got The Blues” b/w “Long Lonesome Blues” hadn’t been on sale long in the spring of 1926 when Paramount asked him to record it again because of the huge demand for the record. This was unheard of for a male blues artist. Prior to Jefferson the blues had been recorded primarily by women backed by piano or bands

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Tony Russell describes Jefferson’s impact: “Jefferson offered instead blues sung by a man playing guitar – playing it, moreover, with a busyness and variety that showed up many of those pianists and bands as turgid and ordinary. The discovery that there was an audience for Jefferson’s type of blues revolutionized the music business: within a few years female singers were out of favor and virtually all the trading in the ‘race’ market (jazz aside) was in men with guitars.” Throughout 1926 there was a constant supply of new releases from Jefferson, “Black Horse Blues”, “Jack O’ Diamond Blues” and “That Black Snake Moan” were among these classic numbers.

In 1927, when producer Mayo Williams moved to OKeh Records, he took Jefferson with him, and OKeh quickly recorded and released Jefferson’s “Matchbox Blues” backed with “Black Snake Moan,” which was to be his only OKeh recording, probably because of contractual obligations with Paramount. Jefferson’s two songs released on Okeh have considerably better sound quality than on his Paramount records at the time. When he had returned to Paramount a few months later, “Matchbox Blues” had already become such a hit that Paramount re-recorded and released two new versions. In 1927, Jefferson recorded another of his now classic songs, the haunting “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” (once again using the pseudonym Deacon L. J. Bates) along with two other uncharacteristically spiritual songs, “He Arose from the Dead” and “Where Shall I Be.” Of the three, “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” became such a big hit that it was re-recorded and re-released in 1928. Despite his success, which allowed him to maintain a chauffeur-driven Ford and a healthy bank balance, Jefferson’s lifestyle was little affected. While he spent time in Chicago, where most of his recordings were made, he continued to work as an itinerant performer in the South.

In addition to his frequent recording sessions in Chicago throughout the late ’20s, Blind Lemon Jefferson still performed in Texas and traveled around the South. He played Chicago rent parties, performed at St. Louis’ Booker T. Washington Theater, and even worked some with Son House collaborator Rev. Rubin Lacy while in Mississippi. In late September of 1929, Jefferson went to Paramount’s studios in Richmond, IN, for a fruitful session that included two songs,”Bed Springs Blues” and “Yo Yo Blues”, that were also issued on the Broadway label. Jefferson was back in Chicago in December of 1929 when, sadly, he was found dead following a particularly cold snowstorm.

Blind Lemon Jefferson: 'Lectric Chair Blues

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Jefferson died in Chicago at 10 am on December 19, 1929, of what his death certificate called “probably acute myocarditis” (Lemon’s death certificate was found in 2010 and published in the Frog Blues and Jazz Annual #1). Paramount Records paid for the return of his body to Texas by train, accompanied by pianist William Ezell. Jefferson was buried at Wortham Negro Cemetery (later Wortham Black Cemetery). By 1996, the cemetery and marker were in poor condition, but a new granite headstone was erected in 1997. In 2007, the cemetery’s name was changed to Blind Lemon Memorial Cemetery and his gravesite is kept clean by a cemetery committee in Wortham, Texas.

Several blues singer/guitarists like Thomas Shaw and Mance Lipscomb thought Jefferson’s style almost impossible to imitate with any degree of success. But there were a few recordings made in the pre-war period that managed to do so, notably Issiah Nettles (The Mississippi Moaner), who covered Lemon’s “Long Lonesome Blues” as “It’s Cold In China Blues”. Willard ‘Ramblin’ Thomas (probably a one time associate of Jefferson) had a number of songs in the the vein of Lemon. Jesse Thomas‘ 1948 number, “Double Due Love You” opens with lyrics also taken from the Blind Lemon’ “Long Lonesome Blues.” Thomas also recorded Lemon’s “Jack of Diamonds” in 1951.

We feature several artists today who either covered Lemon’s songs or who’s records clearly bear the mark of Lemon’s influence. The Down Home Boys recording of “Mama, You Don’t Know How”, from 1927, has Long Cleve Reed, Papa Harvey Hull and Sunny Wilson re-working Lemon’s “Black Snake Moan”. Blind Boy Fuller was influenced by Lemon. The opening lick to his intro to “Untrue Blues” comes right out of “Rabbit’s Foot Blues” while “Meat Shakin’ Woman”, derives its melody from “Bad Luck Blues”. According to Son House’s recollection of his 1930 Paramount session, producer Art Laibley had asked the musicians if anyone could do a version of the song. Charlie Patton and Willie Brown passed but House went back to his room with Louise Johnson, worked half the night adding his own words to Lemon’s melody, and the next day recorded “Mississippi County Farm.” The song became a mainstay of House’s repertoire, and he recorded it again for Alan Lomax in 1942. Hattie Hudson’s 1927 song, “Doggone My Bad Luck Soul” was an “answer song” to Lemon’s “Bad Luck Blues” issued in 1926, and has the repeated tag-line “doggone my bad luck soul.”

Today we spotlight several artists who knew Lemon first hand such as Lightnin’ Hopkins, Leadbelly, Thomas Shaw and King Solomon Hill. Lightnin’ Hopkins offered different account of when he met Blind Lemon but it seems to have been sometime in the early to mid-20’s. From 1959 we hear “Reminiscences Of Blind Lemon” and “One Kind Favor, his cover of Lemon’s “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean.”

It was on the streets of Deep Ellum that Lemon met up with Leadbelly. Leadbelly, in later years, was understandably proud of his relationship with Lemon. They probably met up sometime after 1910, when Leadbelly and his wife Aletta moved into Dallas. Leadbelly would play guitar, mandolin or accordion behind Lemon and he remembered topically performing the number “Fare Thee Well, Titanic” (the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage in 1912) on the streets of Dallas with Jefferson and on other occasions, dancing while Lemon would play a guitar solo version of “Dallas Rag”. As a team they traveled together on the railroads from town to town earning a reasonable living. In later years Leadbelly would recall how he and Lemon “was buddies” and how.. “we’d tear those guitars all to pieces”. Their partnership certainly ended by January 1918, when Leadbelly (using the alias Walter Boyd) was indicted on a charge of murder, found guilty and thereafter became a guest of the Texas penal system.

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Thomas Shaw had already been enthralled by Jefferson’s early recordings of “Long Lonesome Blues” and “Matchbox Blues” when he met Jefferson on the town square of Waco in 1926 or 1927. At Blind Jefferson’s urging he bought himself a guitar and learned Jefferson’s “Long Lonesome Blues”. He learned many of Jefferson’s songs from a combination of listening to the records and hearing him in person. Today we play his version of Lemon’s classic “Jack Of Diamonds.”

King Solomon Hill was closely connected to Crying Sam Collins and Blind Lemon Jefferson and their influence is evident, to some degree, in Hill’s style. “My Buddy, Blind Papa Lemon”is a heartfelt tribute to someone Hill clearly admired: “Hmmm then the mailman brought a misery to my head/When I received a letter that my friend Lemon was dead.” Those lines echo the opening of Lemon’s “Gone Dead On You Blues”: Mmmmmm, mailman’s letter brought misery to my head. Mmmmm, brought misery to my head. I got a letter this morning, my pigmeat mama was dead.” Hill ran with Lemon for about two months after he passed through Minden. Hill’s widow recalled that “he sung that song a whole lot ’bout Blind Lemon. Said he loved his buddy ‘some way better than anyone I know.'” On one record, “Whoope Blues” b/w Down On My Bended Knees” the subtitle on the record says “Blind Lemon’s Buddy.”

In 1930 , shortly after Lemon’s death, Paramount issued a double sided tribute to Lemon: “Wasn’t It Sad About Lemon” by the duo Walter and Byrd was on one side while the second side was the sermon “The Death Of Blind Lemon” by Rev. Emmett Dickenson. Leadbelly recorded a number of songs about Lemon after his passing. Today we spin his “Blind Lemon (Song)” from 1947 and the marvelous “Silver City Bound” from his last session in 1948.

–A Twist of Lemon by Paul Swinton (Blues & Rhythm, No. 121)

–Blind Lemon And I Had A Ball by Victoria Spivey (Record Research 76, May 1966 p.9)

Big Road Blues Show 1/27/13: Rough/Tough Boogie – Unsung Chicago Greats Pt. II

January 27, 2013March 28, 2016 Jeff Leave a comment

ARTIST	SONG	ALBUM
Easy Baby	Good Morning Mr. Blues	Grab Me Another Half Pint
Easy Baby	So Tired	Sweet Home In Chicago
Easy Baby	Madison Street Boogie	Sweet Home In Chicago
Kansas City Red	Standing Around Crying	Original Chicago Blues
Kansas City Red	K.C. Red's In Town	Grab Me Another Half Pint
Big John Wrencher	Tell Me Darling	45
Big John Wrencher	Trouble Makin' Woman	45
Big John Wrencher	Runnin' Wild	45
Joe Carter	It Hurts Me Too	Mean & Evil Blues
Joe Carter	I'm Worried	Mean & Evil Blues
Kansas City Red	Lula Mae	Old Friends
Kansas City Red	Lightnin' Struck The Poor House	Old Friends
Easy Baby	Last Night	Sweet Home In Chicago
Easy Baby	Call Me Easy Baby	If It Ain't One Thing, It's Another
Easy Baby	If It Ain't One Thing, It's Another	If It Ain't One Thing, It's Another
Kansas City Red	Moon Is Rising	Down On The Levee: The Piano Blues of St. Louis 2
Kansas City Red	Mean Black Spider	Original Chicago Blues
Big John Wrencher	Maxwell Street Alley Blues	Maxwell Street Alley Blues
Big John Wrencher	Can't Hold Out Much Longer	And This Is Maxwell Street
Big John Wrencher	I'm A Root Man	Big John's Boogie
Joe Carter	Anna Lee	That Ain't Right
Joe Carter	Treat Me The Way You Do	Mean & Evil Blues
Easy Baby	She's 19 Years Old	Sweet Home In Chicago
Easy Baby	You Gonna Miss Me	Sweet Home In Chicago
Big John Wrencher	Conductor Took My Baby To Tennessee	Maxwell Street Alley Blues
Big John Wrencher	Rockin' Chair Blues	Maxwell Street Alley Blues
Big John Wrencher	Rough/Tough Boogie	Maxwell Street Alley Blues
Chicago String Band w/ Big John Wrencher	Don't Sic Your Dog On Me	Chicago String Band

Show Notes:

Read Liner Notes

On today’s program we spotlight a quartet of fine, if unheralded, bluesman who were active on the Chicago blues scene of the 1960’s and 1970’s Today we spotlight two superb harmonica men: Easy Baby and Big John Wrencher. Easy Baby was singing and playing the blues since the 50’s, first in Memphis then Chicago, but didn’t make his recorded debut until the mid-70’s. He cut a small but impressive legacy which we feature today. Wrencher cut a few scattered sides in the 60’s before making a a terrific album in 1969 and some strong sides in the 70’s Much less documented on record are singer/drummer Kansas City Red who snag with Robert Nighthawk in the 40’s but cut only a handful of sides staring in the 70’s. Joe Carter was a powerful Elmore James inspired guitarist who cut a lone record in 1975 and a few other scattered sides. The artists featured today worked together in various combinations, all recorded in the 70’s for George Paulus’ Barrelhouse label and none achieved much in the way of star billing.

Alex “Easy Baby” Randle was born in Memphis in 1934. Both his grandmother and uncle were harmonica players. Easy Baby began playing professionally around Memphis as a teenager while doing odd jobs. Playing in the gambling houses and juke joints he befriended Howlin’ Wolf, James Cotton, Joe Hill Louis and others. In 1956 he moved to Chicago and throughout the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s played all over the Windy City while working as a mechanic.

Not long after Easy Baby wen to Chicago he meet his idol, Littltle Walter, at Ricky’s Show Lounge. After sitting in with Walter the two became friends and Walter showed him quite a bit on harp. Easy did a stint with Muddy Waters and had his own band which usually included Smokey Smothers on guitar,Baby Dimples on drums and George Austin on guitar. Over the years the personnel changed and included Jo Jo Williams and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. Between 1962 and 1974 he worked in a band with guitarist “Big Red” Smith on Chicago’s West Side.

Easy Baby’s first recording appeared on the anthology Low Blows: An Anthology of Chicago Harmonica Blues with another track appearing on the anthology Bring Me Another Half-A-Pint. His full-length debut was Sweet Home Chicago issued on George Paulus’ Barrelhouse label in 1977 with the band consisting of Eddie Taylor, el g; Mac Thompson, b; Kansas City Red, dr. Easy performed at the 1998 and 2000 Chicago Blues Festivals and recorded one more superb album, If It Ain’t One Thing, It’s Another for Wolf in 2000.He recorded a few more sides in 2001 that appeared on the anthology Harmonica Blues Orgy on the Random Chance label. He passed in 2009.

John Thomas Wrencher was born in Sunflower, Mississippi. He became interested in music as a child, and taught himself to play harmonica at an early age, and from the early 1940’s was working as an itinerant musician in Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois. By the mid 1940’s he had arrived in Chicago and was playing on Maxwell Street and at house parties with Jimmy Rogers, Claude “Blue Smitty” Smith and John Henry Barbee. In the 1950’s he moved to Detroit, where he worked with singer/guitarist Baby Boy Warren, and formed his own trio to work in the Detroit and Clarksdale, Mississippi areas.

In 1958 Wrencher lost his left arm as a result of a car accident outside Memphis, Tennessee. By the early 1960’s he had settled in Chicago, where he became a fixture on Maxwell Street Market, in particular playing from 10am to 3pm on Sundays. In 1964 he appeared in a documentary film about Maxwell Street, titled And This Is Free; performances by Wrencher recorded in the process of making the film were eventually issued on the three CD set And This Is Maxwell Street.

During the 1960’s Wrencher recorded for the Testament label backing Robert Nighthawk, and as part of the Chicago String Band. In 1969 he recorded for Barrelhouse Records, backed by guitarist Little Buddy Thomas and drummer Playboy Vinson, who formed his Maxwell Street band of the time resulting in the album, Maxwell Street Alley Blues. Wrencher toured Europe with the Chicago Blues Festival in 1973 and with the American Blues Legends in 1974, and during the latter tour recorded an album in London for the Big Bear label, backed by guitarist Eddie Taylor and his band. During a trip to Mississippi to visit his family in July 1977, Wrencher died suddenly of a heart attack in Wade Walton’s barber shop in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Arthur Stevenson was born in Drew, Mississippi and owed his Kansas City sobriquet to a brief trip to that city after being rejected from the service in 1942. His first musical inspiration was David “Honeyboy” Edwards and by the early 1940’s he was hanging around with Robert Nighthawk. One night the band’s drummer took ill right before a gig and he offered to fill in despite never having played drums before. He ended up playing drums for Nighthawk until around 1946. After his split with Nighthawk he briefly hooked up with Honeyboy Edwards. He had uncanny knack for hustling gigs and began singing by this period. In the 50’s he formed a band with Earl Hooker and pianist Ernest Lane.

Kansas City Red moved to Chicago in the 50’s, occasionally sitting in with Muddy Waters. He formed a group with Walter Horton that included Johnny Young and Johnny Shines. During this period he played with Robert Lockwood Jr., Eddie Taylor, Jimmy Reed, Floyd Jones, Blind John Davis, Elmore James and others. Starting with the Club Reno, he managed a number of Chicago bars and owned a couple as well.

Through the 70’s and 80’s Kansas City Red held down stints at a number of Chicago clubs. His recorded legacy is slim with a handful of sessions for Barrelhouse, JSP and Earwig. Sides by him appear on the above mentioned anthology, Bring Me Another Half-A-Pint, a few tracks on the album Original Chicago Blues (the other sides by Joe Carter) and the album called Old Friends featuring Honeyboy Edwards, Walter Horton and Floyd Jones. His last major engagement was at the 1991 Chicago Blues Festival where he finally received some overdue recognition. He died of cancer on his 65th birthday May 7, 1991.

One of the truly great unsung heroes of the Chicago club scene of the 1950’s, Joe Carter was a slide-playing disciple of Elmore James. Born in Georgia, Carter came under the early tutelage of local player Lee Willis, who showed the youngster various tunings and how to use a thumb pick. Arriving in Chicago by 1952 it was Muddy Waters who lent Carter the money to purchase his first electric guitar. Shortly thereafter, Joe started up his first group with guitarist Smokey Smothers and Lester Davenport on harmonica, quickly establishing himself as a club favorite throughout Chicago. Sadly, Carter never recorded with this group, or any other configuration, during his heyday. A contract with Cobra Records was offered (with a young Freddie King being added in the studio to his regular group), but Joe declined, as he felt the money would in no way equal what he was pulling down in club work.

Carter didn’t end up being documented on record until he returned to active playing in the ’70’s, recording his lone solo album, Mean & Evil Blues, for the Barrelhouse label in 1976. Other sides appeared on the album Original Chicago Blues and on an anthology of Ralph Bass recordings titled That Ain’t Right. Carter retired from playing in the late ’80’s after a bout with throat cancer. He died in Chicago in 2001.

Big Road Blues Show 1/20/13: Lonesome Road Blues – Country Blues Favorites

January 20, 2013March 28, 2016 Jeff 3 Comments

ARTIST	SONG	ALBUM
Little Hat Jones	Bye Bye Baby Blues	Before The Blues Vol. 1
Blind Willie Johnson	You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond	Blind Willie Johnson And The Guitar Evangelists
Willie Brown	Future Blues	Friends Of Charlie Patton
Charlie Patton	Jim Lee Blues Pt. 1	Best Of
Blind Willie McTell	Love Changing Blues	Best Of
Sam Collins	My Road Is Rough And Rocky (How Long, How Long?)	Jailhouse Blues
Son House	Walking Blues	Legends of Country Blues
Henry Williams & Eddie Anthony	Georgia Crawl	Folks, He Sure Do Pull Some Bow!
Andy Boy	House Raid Blues	The Piano Blues Vol. 8: Texas Seaport 1934-1937
Cannon's Jug Stompers	Going To Germany	Memphis Jug Band and Cannon's Jug Stompers
Lottie Kimbrough	Rolling Log Blues	The Return Of The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
Weaver & Beasley	Bottleneck Blues	Country Blues Bottleneck Guitar Classics
BluesJim & Bob (The Genial Hawaiians)	St. Louis Blues	Bottleneck Blues Guitar Classics 1926-37
Willie Harris	Never Drive a Stranger from Your Door	Jackson Blues: 1928-1938
Blind Joe Reynolds	Ninety Nine Blues	Blues Images Vol. 2
The Sparks Brothers	Down On The Levee	Down On The Levee: The Piano Blues of St. Louis 2
Pigmeat Terry	Black Sheep Blues	American Primitive Vol. II
Lee Green	Memphis Fives	The Way I Feel: The Best Of Roosevelt Sykes And Lee Green
Elizabeth Johnson	Be My Kid Blues	American Primitive Vol. II
Mattie Delaney	Tallahatchie River Blues	Blues images Vol. 3
Geeshie Wiley	Pick Poor Robin Clean	I Can't Be Satisfied Vol 1
Jim Jackson	Hesitation Blues	Jim Jackson Vol. 2 (928-1930
Mae Glover	I Ain't Givin' Nobody None	I Can't Be Satisfied Vol 1
King David's Jug Band	Rising Sun Blues	Cincinnati Blues
Mattie May Thomas	Dangerous Blues	American Primitive Vol. II
Charlie Patton	Tom Rushen	Primeval Blues, Rags, and Gospel Songs
William Harris	Bull Frog Blues	The Best There Ever Was
Sam Collins	Lonesome Road Blues	Before The Blues Vol. 1
Allen Shaw	Moanin' The Blues	Masters of the Memphis Blues
Shreveport Homewreckers	Fence Breakin' Blues	Bottleneck Blues Guitar Classics 1926-37

Show Notes:

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Today’s show is a trip down memory lane for me. I’ve been going through a bout of nostalgia lately, hopefully not the onset of a mid-life crisis, although I have been eying the red Corvette! Anyway, I’ve been thinking about my favorite country blues tracks lately, most of which I first heard in my formative years of blues collecting. These are the songs that I never get tired of and ones that I find myself revisiting over the years. This is by no means a “best of” list, just songs that I find myself continuously going back to. Many are considered blues classics, many not, and many are most often not the songs by these artists that are considered their best. There’s numerous artists that I revere like Bukka White, Frank Stokes, Henry Thomas, Mississippi John Hurt that are omitted simply for the fact that I can’t nail down just one song that does it for me by those artists. As I said many of these tracks I first heard when I first started picking up blues records, over twenty-five years ago (that’s a hard number to swallow!). And yes I was buying country blues records back then. It was a very short jump from buying my first blues record, B.B. King – Live At The Regal ($3.99 at Tower Records) to picking up, and almost wearing out the grooves of Blind Willie McTell – The Early Years on my beloved Yazoo label. In fact Yazoo was the label where I discovered many of my favorite country blues tracks on treasured compilations like Mississippi Moaners, Guitar Wizards, Bottleneck Blues Guitar Classics, Lonesome Road Blues and The Voice Of The Blues among others. I knew that the Yazoo office was in Manhattan and I often thought about going over there but I never did – I guess I never really knew what I’d do once I got there! Also hugely influential was the piano blues series on Magpie records which made me a lifelong fan of piano blues. Several tracks from that series can be found on today’s show. Still, there are a number of songs that became favorites later, for example Blind Joe Reynolds “Ninety Nine Blues” which was only discovered a few years ago (the consensus seems to be that the “B” side, “Cold Woman Blues”, is the superior track, but for me “Ninety Nine Blues” just kills me). I never did go in for what the consensus says which I suppose is reflected in today’s eclectic playlist of all-time favorites.

I count myself lucky to be living where I was when the blues bug bit me. I lived in the Bronx and it was short hop to Manhattan where there was no shortage of great record stores. I fondly remember prowling records stores like Finyl Vinyl on Second Ave., St. Marks Records, Venus Records, Bleeker Bob’s, Footlight Records and the Jazz Record Mart (still in business and even after buying records there since I was a teenager the same guy still refuses to cut me a deal!). Then there were the book/magazine shops like Hudson News and See Hear where I could find isues of the great British blues mags like Blues Unlimited (went under right when I discovered it!), Juke Blues and Blues & Rhythm. Of course there were a number of fine left-of-the-dial radio stations that played plenty of blues. Anyway, below are few reminisces about some of today’s selections.

Little Hat Jones cut ten sides at three sessions in 1929 and 1930. All his sides are worthwhile but “Bye Bye Baby Blues” is the best thing he ever did in my opinion. When I was coming up with today’s playlist this is one of the first songs I picked. I probably first heard it on the Yazoo compilation Don’t Leave Me Here: The Blues of Texas, Arkansas, & Louisiana 1927-1932.

We spin a pair of my favorite Charlie Patton songs today, “Jim Lee Blues Pt. 1” and “Tom Rushen.” I’m not sure exactly what it is with the former song that I find so striking, it’s not one often cited when talking about Patton’s best, yet I find it incredibly compelling. Patton’s vocals on this are magnificent. The 2-part number celebrates a Mississippi river boat that plied between Vicksburg and Memphis. I have to admit that I really fell under Patton’s spell much later. I did own the Yazoo double LP Founder of the Delta Blues but the problem for me was that I couldn’t get past the terrible sound of those records. Compare that record to the Best Of which came out just a few years back and the difference is like night and day.

I first heard “Love Changing Blues” on Blind Willie McTell – The Early Years on Yazoo. I played the hell out of this record and for whatever reason, it was this song that made a huge impression on me although, of course, I also loved the more famous “Statesboro Blues.” I distinclty remember my college roomate making fun of me for owing a record by a guy named Blind Willie McTell. I never did lecture him, just turned up the record really loud until it drive him out of the room.

Despite the fact that I’m featuring two Sam Collins cuts on today’s show, I can’t really say he’s one of my favorite artists. However the vocal performances on “My Road Is Rough And Rocky” and “Lonesome Road Blues” are magnificent. I first heard these on the Yazoo compilation Lonesome Road Blues: 15 Years in the Mississippi Delta 1926-1941. The song “My Road Is Rough And Rocky” made its first appearance on this compilation and I believed the title was given by Yazoo. How this song could be unreleased boggles my mind.

Country Blues Bottleneck Guitar Classics

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Yes I know, Son House’s 1930 sides are acknowledged classics, and rightly so. His epic six minute version of “Walking Blues” from 1941, with a rocking band that included Willie Brown, Fiddlin’ Joe Martin and Leroy Williams, is that song that floors me every time and one of my all time favorites.

I guess Texas pianist Andy Boy is an offbeat choice for favorites but his recordings really get to me. Andy Boy had a rough, expressive voice offset with his sprightly blues piano laced with ragtime flourishes. Andy Boy’s songs are filled with vivid imagery, humor, clever wordplay and a times a deep pathos. Along with pianist Rob Cooper, Andy Boy plays prominently on the records of Joe Pullum, one of the era’s most distinctive and imaginative vocalists. Andy Boy cut only eight sides under his own name as well as backing both Pullum and the obscure Walter ‘Cowboy’ Washington. I know I first him on Magpie’s The Piano Blues Vol. 8: Texas Seaport 1934-1937. I probably heard Joe Dean on one of the Magpie collections or possibly on Yazoo’s Barrelhouse Blues 1927-1936. I’m pretty sure I heard Cripple Clarence Lofton’s “Gang of Brownskin Women” on Yazoo’s Cripple Clarence Lofton & Walter Davis which sported a great photo of Lofton at the piano snapping his fingers with a huge grin on his face.

Sung by Noah Lewis who also plays the superb harmonica, “Going To Germany”, is one of those dreamy blues that puts me in a trance every time I hear it. I’m guessing I first heard it on the double Cannon Jug Stompers album. I miss those great double albums that used to open up. Not quite the same experience with a CD. Lottie Kimbrough’ “Rolling Log Blues” has the same dreamy, haunting quality as “Going To Germany” and a song that always mesmerizes me.

The Yazoo compilation Bottleneck Blues Guitar Classics 1926-37 was an absolute killer. From that compilation comes Jim & Bob’s amazing “St. Louis Blues” as well as the Shreveport Homewreckers’ “Fence Breakin’ Blues.”

Willie Harris’ “Never Drive a Stranger from Your Door” is a great bottleneck number. First heard this one on Yazoo’s Jackson Blues 1928-1938.

In November 1929 at the Paramount Recording Studios in Grafton, Wisconsin, four songs were recorded at 78 rpm by a Louisiana street musician named Joe Sheppard who used the name Blind Joe Reynolds. The second record recorded in Wisconsin on that day, “Ninety Nine Blues” backed with “Cold Woman Blues” has been lost since it was first released in October of 1930. No copies in any condition were ever located until just a few years ago. The recorded was eventually bought and reissued on CD by John Tefteller. I guess I’m at odds with collectors Richard Nevins (owner of Yazoo) and Pete Whelan of 78 Quarterly fame who claim “Cold Woman Blues” as the masterpiece, because for me it’s the flip, “Ninety Nine Blues.” What do those guys know anyway!?

It was through the Magpie piano series that I became a lifelong fan of piano blues. I came to the series late, my first purchase was volume 20 and I must have been around 16. The album made a huge impression on me and I even remember exactly where I purchased it; it was at one of my favorite haunts, Tower Records on West 4th St., NYC (the blues section was on the top floor, tucked behind the jazz secton. Often I was the only one back threre, which for me was perfect!). I went back and picked up as many of the rest of the albums I could find and over the years completed the entire series. That particular volume was my introduction to the Sparks Brothers who are still favorites to this day. Milton’s Spark’s high pitched voice and Aaron sensitive piano work really struck a chord, particularly on “Down In The Levee”

Now the obscure Pigmeat Terry was anthologized on one of the Magpie albums although I’m positive I didn’t hear his records until much later. Terry only cut one 78 in 1935, a great record, and possessed a high, whispery, moaning voice, a bit reminiscent of the popular Joe Pullum who made his debut the prior year. His “Black Sheep Blues” is a striking tune both vocally and lyrically:

My mother’s gone to glory
My father died of drinking in his sins
My sister won’t notice me, she’s to proud to take me in
I’m a black sheep in my family, and how they dog me around
Someday I’ll get lucky and won’t be found around

Allen Shaw is another great bluesman cut only one78. He has a powerful voice, somewhat like Son House, and lays down some great slide. Shame he didn’t record more. Shaw also got together on record with Hattie Hart. They engaged in one memorable session in New York, in the late summer of 1934. I heard this side first on Sony’s Slide Guitar Bottles, Knives & Steel Vol. 2 back when the major labels would occasionally issue stuff like this. I’m pretty sure those days are gone.

“Have you ever woke up with them bullfrogs on your mind?” One of the more enigmatic opening blues lines I’ve ever heard and one of the best blues ever by the mysterious William Harris (not the same as the Willie Harris mentioned above).

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There were very few recorded guitar playing women blues singers recorded in the pre-war era. Mattie Delaney and Geeshie Wiley are two of the few. Both their records are extremely rare and both woman barley left a trace behind as to who they were. Wiley’s “Last Kind Words” is a masterpiece there’s no doubt, but I find myself returning to her jaunty “Pick Poor Robin Clean” with partner Elvie Thomas.“ I’m not sure where I first heard this and like William Harris’ “Bullfrog Blues” I’m not really sure what the hell the song means.

Elizabeth Johnson is another mystery woman who cut four sides in 1928. “Be My Kid Blues b/w Sobbin’ Woman Blues” is great record. She’s backed by a unique band (listed as Her Turpentine Tree-O) that consisted of woodblocks, clarinet and guitar.

Mattie May Thomas waxed three remarkable acapella numbers in 1939. They were recorded by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in the woman’s camp of the notorious Parchman Farm. Thomas’ “Dangerous Blues” is a haunting, violent and sad song that gives me shivers every time I hear it.:

You keep on talking ’bout the dangerous blues.
If I had a pistol I’d be dangerous too.
Say, you may be a bully, say but I don’t know.
But I fix you so you won’t give me no trouble in the world I know.
She won’t cook no breakfast, she won’t wash no clothes.
Say, that woman don’t do nothin’ but walk the road.
My knee bone hurt me, and my ankle swell.
Says, I may get better but I won’t get well.
Say, Mattie had a baby, and she got blues eyes.
Say, must be the captain, he keep on hanging around.
He keep on hanging around, keep on hanging around.

I’m not a huge fan of Jim Jackson but at his very last session in 1930 he cut outstanding versions of “St Louis Blues” and “Hesitation Blues.” Many have covered ““Hesitation Blues” but to me Jackson’s version will always be the definitive one.