Various Artists Blues - Richer Tradition Country Blues and String Band Music 1923-1942 [CD]
Richer Tradition Country Blues and String Band Music 1923-1942
Various Artists Blues
CD Rel Date: 2007-11-06
The variety and originality that country blues artists brought to the recording studio in the 1920s were compromised. Record companies cut corners wherever they could. Diversity was sacrificed on the altar of standardisation. The mass migration of African American families to the Northern cities contributed. New arrivals in Chicago and Detroit easily discarded the country way of life. But as harsh and oppressive as the times were, those country ways still drew significant numbers back in the south. Record companies were initially skeptical. Then OKeh released Mamie Smith's Crazy Blues in 1920, and it was clear they had revealed a vast market. Other labels joined the rush and within a couple of years, Smith had been joined by the likes of Lucille Hegamin, Daisy Martin, Esther Bigeou, Lizzie Miles and Alberta Hunter. Then in February 1923, Bessie Smith cut her first session and demand for her material and the other 'Classic' blues singers expanded once again. The floodgates were open. Anyone with blues skills contacted a talent scout or made his way to a field recording session. While the Jeffersons, Blakes and Johnsons established themselves as market leaders, the following swell encompassed a broad spectrum of influence. Medicine show veterans and songsters such as Stovepipe No. 1, Pink Anderson, Papa Harvey Hull and Richard 'Rabbit' Brown, adept at blues, had repertoires that reflected black folk music. The vigor and freshness of these artist's lyrics and the power of their performance is a reminder that this is music tested in public performance, not composed for the studio. This compilation shows what a significant body of music, embracing a prolific body of styles and influences was produced, with most Americans unaware. But for the tenacity of a few collectors even these recordings might have been lost. Here they are, though, remastered and expertly annotated - evidence of a vast reservoir of talent too often overlooked.
Tracklist:
- Guitar Blues - Sylvester Weaver
- Time Ain't Gonna Make Me Stay - Ed Andrews
- Sundown Blues - Daddy Stovepipe
- Salt Lake City Blues - Papa Charlie Jackson
- Whiskey and Gin Blues - South Street Trio
- James Alley Blues - Richard Rabbit Brown
- Goin' to Leave You Blues - Big Boy Cleveland
- Hey Lawdy Mama - The France Blues - Papa Harvey Hull/Long "Cleve
- Chicken Can Waltz the Gravy Around, A - Stovepipe No. 1/David Cr
- Bamalong Blues - Andrew & Jim Baxter
- Man Trouble Blues - Jaybird Coleman
- Blue Coat Blues - Tom "Blue Coat" Nelson
- Frisco Whistle Blues - Ed Bell
- Two Ways to Texas - Emery Glen
- Gravel Camp Blues - Lewis Black
- T and T Blues - Mooch Richardson
- Death Bell Blues - Tom Dickson
- C.C. & O. Blues - Pink Anderson/Simmie Dooley
- Middlin' Blues - George "Bullet" Williams
- Rolling Log Blues - Lottie Kimbrough
- Kyle's Worried Blues - Charlie Kyle
- Bull Frog Blues - William Harris
- Sobbin' Woman Blues - Elizabeth Johnson
- Miss Meal Cramp Blues - Alec Johnson
- Unknown Blues - Tarter & Gay
- Jail House Blues - Whistler & His Jug Band
- Blues, Just Blues, That's All - Old Southern Jug Band
- String Band Blues - Kansas City Blues Strummers
- Black Cat Blues - Old Pal Smoke Shop Four
- Dirty Guitar Blues - Leecan & Cooksey
- Boodle-Am-Shake - The Dixieland Jug Blowers
- Quill Blues - Big Boy Cleveland
- Jug Band Special, The - Whistler & His Jug Band
- Cold Morning Shout - South Street Trio
- Violin Blues - Johnson Boys
- Easy Winner - The Blue Boys
- G. Burns Is Gonna Rise Again - Johnson/Nelson/Porkchop
- I Got a Gal - James Cole String Band
- Jazz Fiddler, The - Walter Jacobs/Lonnie Carter
- Knox Couty Stomp - Tennessee Chocolate Drops
- Adam and Eve - Tommie Bradley
- Runnin' Wild - James Cole's Washboard Four
- Giving It Away - Birmingham Jug Band
- Jackson Stomp - Mississippi Mud Steppers
- Old Hen Cackle - Coleman & Harper
- Travelin' Railroad Man Blues - Alabama Sheiks
- Old Hen Cackle - Coleman & Harper
- Ted's Stomp - Louie Blue/Ted Bogan
- Dusting the Frets - Dallas Jamboree Jug Band
- Arkansas Traveller - The Nashville Washboard Band
- Original Stack O'Lee Blues - Long "Cleve" Reed/Little Harvey Hul
- Tuxedo Blues - Whistlin' Pete/Daddy Stovepipe
- Mean Conductor Blues - Ed Bell
- Back Door Blues - Emery Glen
- Spanish Blues - Lewis Black
- Helena Blues - Mooch Richardson
- I Heard the Voice of a Pork Chop - Ben Covington
- Rising River Blues - George Carter
- She Could Toodle-Oo - Hambone Willie Newbern
- Weak Minded Woman - Willie Baker
- Old Rock Island Blues - Lonnie Coleman
- Cairo Blues - Henry Spaulding
- I Ain't Givin' Nobody None - Mae Glover
- Showers of Rain Blues - Edward Thompson
- Framer's Blues - Eli Framer
- If I Call You Mama - Luke Jordan
- Never Drive a Stranger From Your Door - Willie Harris
- Mississippi Swamp Moan - Alfred Lewis
- Paddlin' Madeline Blues - Gitfiddle Jim
- Shaking Weed Blues - Tommy Settlers
- South Carolina Rag - Willie Walker
- Beans - El Morrow/Beans Hambone
- Poor Jane Blues - Jack Gowdlock
- Window Pane Blues - Tommie Bradley
- Hot Jelly Roll Blues - George Carter
- Labor Blues - Tom Dickson
- Goin' Away Blues - Lottie Kimbrough
- No Baby - Charlie Kyle
- Early Mornin' Blues - William Harris
- Dreaming Blues - Willie Reed
- Weeping Willow Blues - George Carter
- Way Down in Arkansas - Hambone Willie Newbern
- Wild About My Loving - Lonnie Coleman
- Indian Squaw Blues - Freezone
- Florida Bound - Edward Thompson
- God Didn't Make No Monkey Man - Eli Framer
- Tallahatchie River Blues - Mattie Delaney
- Diamond Ring Blues - Jim Jam (Walter Taylor)
- Bedside Blues - Jim Thompkins
- Lonesome Midnight Dream - Willie Harris
- Billy Goat Blues - John Byrd
- That Won't Do - Arthur Petties
- Ghost Woman Blues - George Carter
- 'Toby' Woman Blues - Gene Campbell
- Rollin' Dough Blues - Jack Gowdlock
- Starvation Farm Blues - Bob Campbell
- Farewell to You Baby - Carl Martin
- Teasin' Brown Blues - Louie Lasky
- Married Woman Blues - George Torey
- Dago Blues - Virgil Childers