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Especially
since many records and record labels were one shot deals often
with the artist himself/herself paying for and pressing a
couple hundred copies of a 45 or 78 and after distributing
discs to radio deejays, friends and fans it was not uncommon
for every single copy of the record to disappear from sight
long before white fans/collectors appeared on the scene. Yet,
as young Eddy B accumulated more and more of the known
Blues recordings published in the discographies, his interest
in the unknown began to take on more significance and it seems
that finding a great record that no one had even heard of
before became a major coup. We heard volume one of
Midnite Blues Party a year and a half ago and it was
unanimously hailed as a masterpiece of obscurities by the
Blues critics/press worldwide and the thousands of old codger
Blues record collectors (they're the ones who own 2 copies of
every record ever released; the 78 rpm and 45 rpm versions)
grabbed their hats and canes and hobbled on down to the record
store to see if it was true; tunes that they hadn't heard (or
owned) were on
Midnite Blues Party volume one.
While volume one focused mainly on 1960s 45rpm records (Blues,
Soul, funky pre-funk R&B) this set is late 1940s/early 1950s
Blues that is heavy on the piano. Again, Eddy B gives
us a collection of one-shot artists (mainly) and/or one-shot
labels in many cases too. While it would
take extensive digging to come up with tidbits of info on some
of these artists I'll leave that to our British fanatical
friends to research as time constraints prevent us from giving
these tunes any more than a cursory, run-through. We lead off
with Chocolate Williams and His Chocolateers (Hi-Lo)
and his "Good Story Blues" has a line 'Don’t want no
woman who uses a straightenin' comb...' which says a lot about
Black culture of the era (1952) when a Black woman would spend
hours trying to straighten her hair in order to be acceptable.
In the 1930s throughout the 50s US Blacks were obsessed with
trying to look different (some say white) through hair
treatments and skin makeup/bleaching. The majority of the 28
tunes on this CD could be categorized as Big City urban blues
and most feature a vocalist and the mandatory piano. "Bonus
Blues" by the Bob Carter Trio on the Chicago-based
Sunbeam label offers a fine vocal on top of a rolling
piano and fleet-fingered guitarist. Tantalizing stuff.
Clifford Blivens with Edgar Hayes and His Stardusters'
"Achin’ Heart Boogie" claims to be from Los Angeles
1948 and it’s a beauty with a hot and fast guitarist that will
have you guessing who was this good on electric guitar in L.A.
in 48? Jack Surrell’s Detroit Boogie from 1947 is a
piano boogie fanatic's dream with a bionic left hand at
breakneck speed. Gayle Brown's spooky organ-led (sounds
like an old hockey rink setup) "Gone Are The Days" is a
weird but captivating number. Lillie Mae and The House
Rockers are listed as Miracle Records, Chicago 1948
or 1949 (Memphis Slim’s band backing) but it sounds as though
it could've been recorded in 1938 or earlier. Besides having
the coolest name, Sister Rock-a-Way with I.H. Smalley and
His Rockateers, "Young Woman’s Advice" (Foto, L.A.
1948) is one of the finest tracks with Sister displaying a
wonderful voice. |
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Billy Langford with his Combo's "Be-Bop
On The Boogie" is a jivin' classic that's got to be heard.
Ditto for Joe Dyson's ode to his wheels (answer song to
"Rocket 88" no doubt) "Merc-O-Matic Boogie". Trading
insults via songs has always been part of the Man vs. Woman
Blues battles and on Horse Collar Williams and his
Orchestra's "You Ain’t Nothin' Daddy" (female
vocals unknown) the line of 'You ain’t even a has-been' cuts.
It’s followed by "Gal, You Need A Whippin'" from
Herbert Beard with Bob Carter's Orchestra. At least
in 1953 Chicago (Cool Records) the man could at least joke
about what was on his mind. Try releasing this tune now!
What's great about vintage recordings such as these is that
they reflect the Black lifestyle of the time, as many tunes
are entirely topical. When
George Green sings about his 'Fish-Tailed
Cadillac' and trying to keep it from being
repossessed he's talking about every man's #1 desire (nice
car) and every man's biggest fear (not being able to keep up
the payments and losing it). |
