BIG WALTER HORTON/ Complete Recordings 1951-66

 

         

I guess it's certainly not necessary to present Big Walter Horton, also named Shakey Horton, to the followers of my blog. His reputation is very very high among blues buffs all around the world and particularly among harmonica players and fans for whom he is considered as one of the most accomplished and influential blues harp players of all times.

Heavy or piercing, hazy or precise, the harmonica playing of this "Big" Walter – the main competitor of the other Walter, the so called "Little" – is almost always full of feeling and imagination. Many of his solos are masterpieces and now classics of the genre and have been heavily emulated up to those days.

Although most of his biographies mention his birth date as 6^th April 1918 at Horn Lake, Arkansas and Blues/ A regional experience gives a birth certificate (for a named Harton) from September 1921, Big Walter has always appeared to all who saw him, including yours truly, as a much older man than that.

Walter was certainly neither a leader nor a very reliable informant and during most of his career he was equally not a very reliable band player, the stories about how he didn't show at a gig or quit during the middle of a performance abound. And this certainly explains why he never reached any stardom, not even being able to make a living out of his music.

But of course when he was playing or recording, Big Walter was certainly a huge master of his instrument.

I had the opportunity to see him quite often while he was touring Europe either with the AFBF's 1965, 1968 and 1970 or when he was a band member of the Willie Dixon's Chicago Blues all stars. I also had the privilege to meet him in Chicago in 1979 when he was backing Floyd Jones on a tiny West Side club. And we drove him to his shabby home where he was living in ugly poverty while posters on the walls were testifying of his great reputation all around the world!

Anyway, this compilation tries to gather all the recordings he made under his name during the years 1951-66, from his early days in Memphis to his first European tour. Of course all of those have been issued and sometimes still available but scattered on many records with a majority of them out of stock. To have them together seemed to me a very interesting way to appreciate his terrific talents as a musician.

After 1966, Walter made a handful of albums for Alligator (maybe his very best) and with several young (at that time) bands like Hot Cottage or John Nicholas' and even appearing in the best selling album Fleetwood Mac/ Blues jam at Chess. All of those are very worthwhile.

Walter died in Chicago on 8^th December 1981. To my eyes, he was certainly older than 60 years old.

                                                 Gérard HERZHAFT

BIG WALTER HORTON/ Discography

The best online specialized harmonica shop is certainly HARMONICALAND. Try it!

La meilleure boutique spécialisée dans l'harmonica en ligne est certainement HARMONICALAND

JOHNNY FULLER/ Complete Recordings 1948-62

 

 

JOHNNY FULLER/ Complete Recordings 1948-62

 

            

Il y a actuellement un net regain d’intérêt pour l’œuvre de Johnny Fuller et cet article répond donc à plusieurs demandes.

            Né à Edwards dans le Mississippi le 20 avril 1929, une bourgade ferroviaire non loin de Vicksburg, il y a vécu la dure vie des métayers de cette région et de cette époque: enfance chaotique, une poignée d’années d’école et le travail des champs dès l’âge de neuf ans. S’il est possible qu’il ait côtoyé des bluesmen locaux (n’oublions pas que Charlie Patton est originaire de la même localité), Johnny n’a toujours reconnu comme première influence que les musiciens de Country comme Gene Autry (son idole de jeunesse) de la marque duquel il avait obtenu sa première guitare, Jimmie Rodgers et, plus tard, Ernest Tubb.

            Il suit sa mère à Vallejo durant la guerre et trouve immédiatement du travail dans les importants chantiers navals de cette localité de la baie de San Francisco. C’est là qu’il dit avoir pour la première fois entendu du "vrai" blues, le style des innombrables Noirs venus du Texas chercher du travail durant la guerre. C'est dans ce style terrien et profond, immanquablement texan, que Fuller enregistre en 1948 pour le label Jaxyson trois morceaux de Gospel sous le nom de Brother Johnny Fuller. C'est encore dans ce même style texano-californien qu'il démarre vraiment sa carrière de bluesman en 1954 sous la houlette du producteur Bob Geddins qui a remarqué la popularité de ce musicien dans les bars de Oakland. Il enregistre une magnifique série de titres qui demeurent comme des chefs d'oeuvre absolus du downhome blues californien: guitare électrique et vibrante, arpèges dévastatrices, voix mourante, paroles évocatrices et amères. Mais Fuller fait déjà montre de sa grande versatilité et presque en même temps que ces blues, il grave - à la grande satisfaction de Geddins qui veut vendre à un public le plus large possible - des ballades pop comme You got me whistling qui flirte avec les Hit Parades.

            La carrière de Johnny Fuller semble désormais bien lancée et dès la fin de 1954, il abandonne son travail de manoeuvre pour diriger son propre ensemble, jouer et tourner à travers tout le Sud-Ouest. Il enregistre abondamment durant une décennie pour Geddins mais aussi de plus grands labels comme Specialty, Flair, Aladdin, Imperial et Checker, obtenant des succès avec des pièces de plus en plus proches du Rock'n'roll (Haunted house, Train train - une reprise de Mystery train, No more) ou de la pop. Fuller sera d'ailleurs un des très rares bluesmen noirs à interpréter de façon convaincante des morceaux de Rockabilly, un genre où il est d'ailleurs toujours reconnu comme un des leurs!

            Mais cet éclectisme qui lui permet de s'adresser à plusieurs publics à aussi un revers de la médaille: au fur et à mesure que les années 1960 s'avancent, il apparaît pour les uns ou les autres trop blues, trop pop, trop sirupeux, trop rock'n'roll... voire trop "blanc" pour un public de jeunes noirs qui se tournent alors massivement vers la Soul. Un genre auquel s'essaie sans aucunement convaincre Johnny Fuller!

            Et 1967 le voit sans orchestre, sans label, sans engagement notable et totalement négligé par le Blues Revival. Johnny reprend alors un travail d'ouvrier dans un garage, abandonne la musique. En 1973, il est "redécouvert" par Tom Mazzolini et des fans Australiens qui le ramènent dans les studios pour un excellent album enregistré en compagnie de Philip Walker et de son orchestre. Cela ne change malheureusement pas grand' chose pour Fuller qui ne fait que quelques rares apparitions sur scène (notamment le San Francisco blues festival) et ne réenregistrera plus.

            Le 20 mai 1985, il meurt d'un cancer du poumon à Oakland.

            Son oeuvre finalement copieuse est effectivement éclectique mais contient, dans chacun des genres que Fuller aborde, des morceaux de premier plan qu'il est intéressant de pouvoir écouter pour la première fois sur cette intégrale que je vous propose ici.

                                                                       Gérard HERZHAFT

 

           

There is a strong renewal of interest towards Johnny Fuller and this article is the answer to several queries from all over the world!

            Born in Edwards, Ms not far from Vicksburg (the same place that Charlie Patton!) on April 20th, 1929, Johnny Fuller has lived there the same usual hard childhood that the other sharecroppers: no education, full work at the age of 9... He said he then started to play the guitar and sing under the influence of Country Music icons like Jimmie Rodgers, Gene Autry and later Honky Tonk singer Ernest Tubb. After a brief stint in New Orleans, Johnny went during the war to the Bay Area, finding work on the shipyards of Vallejo. He said that it was there that he heard the real downhome blues for the first time, a deep Texas blues carried on the West Coast by the thousands of Texans who migrated in California during the war years.

            It is in this very style that Johnny started to play and record, first three Gospel sides in 1948 (one is missing in this comp!), then a batch of incredible deep blues waxed in 1954 for Bob Geddins. Those marvellous sides with devastating arpeggios, vibrant electric guitar licks, dying vocals and bittersweet lyrics stand as masterpieces of the downhome West Coast blues. But at the same time, Fuller is also able to record pop ballads like You Got me whistling, rocking pieces - almost rockabilly - like Haunted house that hits the Top 100 nationwide.

            Fuller then drop his day job and leads his own band, touring the Southwestern States, recording constantly for label as prestigious as Specialty, Flair, Aladdin, Imperial or Checker numerous 45s that mix with equal ease blues (less and less frequently) with ballads, rock'n'roll numbers, doo woop, corny pop pieces...

            But this versatility has also his setback. During the mid-60's, Johnny Fuller is unable to gain the attention of the new mostly white and international public of the Blues Revival as well as the young African-Americans who wants Soul, a genre that Fuller tries to make a hand but with no success.

            And in 1967, Johnny is forced to stop his musical career and work as an auto mechanic in the Bay Area, largely forgotten by the blues world. In 1973, thanks to Tom Mazzolini, he is rediscovered by a group of Australian fans and record a very good album for an Ossie label with Philip Walker and his band. Unfortunately, this record doesn't do too much for Fuller who appears only sporadically on stage (SF blues Festival) and won't record anymore.

            On 20^th of May 1985, he dies of a lung cancer in Oakland.

            His recorded output has only been reissued partly and raggedly. This .mp3 comp gather all his records in chronological order and thus allows to fully appreciate his very often first rate works.

                             Gérard HERZHAFT

 

 

 

JOHNNY FULLER/ Complete Recordings 1948-62

Brother Johnny Fuller, vcl/g; pno. Oakland, Ca. 1948

Poor pilgrim of sorrow

01. I must tell Jesus

02. From bad to worse

Johnny Fuller, vcl/g; George Hurst, pno/vcl on *; Walter Robinson, hca; Eugene Keel, bs; Tommy Ramerson, dms. San Francisco, Ca. mars 1954

03. Hard times

04. Buddy*

05. Back home

06. It's your life

07. Prowling blues

08. Johnny low's down blues

Johnny Fuller, vcl/g; Eugene Keel, bs; Tomy Ramerson, dms. San Francisco, Ca. avril 1954

09. These young girls

10. I walk all night

Johnny Fuller, vcl/g; band. San Francisco, Ca. juin 1954

11. Fool (Fool's paradise)

12. First stage of the blues n°1

13. Lovin' lovin' man

14. Remember

Johnny Fuller, vcl/g; Walter Robinson, hca; saxes; George Hurst, pno; Robert Dixon, bs; Tommy Ramerson, dms. novembre 1954

15. Train train blues

16. Bad luck overtook me (Black cat)

17. Troubles (Mean old world)

18. How long

19. Sunny road

20. I can't succeed

21. Too late to change

22. Roughest place int own

23. My mama told me

24. Coming around the corner

25. Johnny Ace's last letter

Johnny Fuller, vcl/g; band. Los Angeles, Ca. mars 1955

26. Cruel cruel world

27. My heart beats for you

Johnny Fuller, vcl/g; Que Martyn, t-sax; George Hurst, pno; Robert Dixon, bs; Tommy Ramerson, dms. San Francisco, Ca. 2 septembre 1955

28. Garden of memories

29. Mercy mercy

Johnny Fuller, vcl/g; Lee Allen, t-sax; Alvin "Red" Tyler, b-sax; Salvador Doucette, pno; Frank Fields, bs; Earl Phillips, dms. New Orleans, La.  janvier 1956

30. Don't slam that door

31. Sister Jenny

32. My heart is bleeding

33. Restless

Johnny Fuller, vcl/g; Al Reed, pno; Justin Adams, g; band. New Orleans, La. 21 août 1956

34. Heavenly love

35. Deep in my soul

36. Whispering wind

37. Stop look and listen

38. Miss you

Johnny Fuller, vcl/g; band. San Francisco, Ca. décembre 1956

39. Strange land

40. Weeping and mourning

Johnny Fuller, vcl/g; CandyMan Mc Guirt, pno; George Hurst, g; Willie Moore, t-sax; Floyd Montgomery, bs. Henry Bess, dms. San Francisco, Ca. 1957

41. No more no more

42. First stage of the blues n°2

43. You got me whistling

44. All night long

Johnny Fuller, vcl/g; George Hurst, pno; og; bs; Tommy Ramerson, dms. Los Angeles, Ca. avril 1958

45. Haunted house n°1

46. The mighty hand

Johnny Fuller, vcl/g; band. Los Angeles, Ca. octobre 1958

47. Swinging at the creek

48. Many rivers mighty seas

Johnny Fuller, vcl/g; band. San Francisco, Ca. 1960

49. She's too much

50. No more loving

51. Wyatt Earp shot Stagger Lee

52. Haunted house n°2

Johnny Fuller, vcl/g; band. San Francisco, Ca. 1962

53. The power

54. No more

 

SOUTH ILLINOIS COUNTRY BLUES FESTIVALS/ The early 70's

 

 

SOUTH ILLINOIS COUNTRY BLUES FESTIVALS/ The 1970's

 

           

While the music enjoyed a more and more strong following in Europe, the late 60's and early 1970's were very lean years for the blues in the USA. Many a bluesmen that we saw and chatted with or interviewed when they were touring France during this era told us that those European tours were almost the only lucrative gigs they had! The country blues artists who had enjoyed some quite large exposures during the early 1960's were now playing almost only for friends or family with a very few paid gigs in colleges and Universities or some folk clubs. I saw Larry Johnson in 1973 in New York City in a Greenwich Village coffeehouse when he was playing a great set, backed by an excellent drummer (Bobby King), for an audience less than ten people, including us!

            So those sets! They have been recorded at two distinct small Southern Illinois Festivals sponsored by the Illinois Valley Community College and have been available only very confidentially. Pianist Memphis Piano Red, legendaries Tennessee bluesmen Furry Lewis, Sleepy John Estes, Hammie Nixon appear in good shape and deliver fine performances. But to my ears the highlight here is the still very young (at that time) Larry Johnson who demonstrates masterful Piedmont style country blues with a driving fingerpicking guitar style and good vocals.

            Thanks a lot to all involved in the recordings and preservation of the music and to the website Downstate Sounds (Exploring the musical past of Illinois outside Chicagoland!) and enjoy this rare performances.

                                                           Gérard HERZHAFT

 

MEMPHIS PIANO RED, vcl/pno. Oglesby, Ill. 22 mars 1974

01. Pinetop's boogie woogie

02. Home at last

03. You don't have to go

04. Mother-in-law blues

SLEEPY JOHN ESTES, vcl/g; Hammie Nixon, hca/jug/kazoo/vcls. Oglesby, Ill. 22 mars 1974

05. Corrina Corrina

06. President Kennedy stayed away too long

07. Rats in my kitchen

HAMMIE NIXON, vcl/hca/jug; Sleepy John Estes, g. Oglesby, Ill. 22 mars 1974

08. Yellow yam blues

FURRY LEWIS, vcl/g. Oglesby, Ill. 22 mars 1974

09. Mary Tell blues

LARRY JOHNSON, vcl/g. Normal, Ill. 21 mai 1971

10. Ragged and dirty

11. How long blues

12. Got the blues can't be satisfied

13. Nobody's business if I do

14. Saturday night blues

15. Pick poor Robin clean

(The performances here were recorded by Greg Steil at Illinois Valley Community College)

 

CHICAGO/ The Blues Yesterday Volume 25

 

CHICAGO/ The Blues Yesterday/ Volume 25

The Drummers

 

           

After a long hiatus, we are getting back to our Chicago/ The Blues Yesterday Series. This 25^th (!) volume brings the focus on some drummers who played in or around Chicago during the great musical postwar years .

            I don't know too much about Count Demon who led a driving R&B band based on Champaign (Illinois), a city at 200 kilometers South of Chicago. His son L. Jennings posted some years ago some quick infos about his father who was very popular in the area. He was associated with famous organist Brother Jack McDuff who is probably (and aurally) the "High Priest" from the discographies. Whatever, Count Demon recorded some great 45s during the late 60's.

 

            Drummer and bandleader Willie Wright must not be confused with the folk/ soul singer or the deep blues guitarist of the same name. This Willie Wright is from Muskogee (Oklahoma) where he fronted his own band The Sparklers during the 1950's/60's, recording several singles for Federal and then a whole album for Chess's Argo subsidiary. Among the singers of the group was the powerful Jesse Anderson (cf Chicago/the blues yesterday on this blog).

 

            Al Duncan is a very well known name among blues fans for his long stint as a house drummer at Vee Jay or Cobra labels, particularly behind Jimmy Reed. Born Alrook James Duncan on 8 October 1926 he, if I'm right, recorded only two singles under his name. He died on 3 January 1995 in Las Vegas.

 

            Odie Payne is also very well known, having drummed for several decades behind some of the greatest Chicago bluesmen: Tampa Red, Elmore James, Junior Wells, Louis Myers, Muddy Waters and many others. Born in Chicago on 27 August 1926, he recorded some odd tracks under his name as well as a whole album in 1979, playing not only his drums but also taking the vocals and some harmonica blowing. The tracks in this post come from this rare album (thanks to Xyros for sharing this). Odie Payne died in Chicago on 1 March 1989.

 

            Blues singer and drummer Harold Tidwell was active in and around Chicago during the 1950's/early 60's, recording with Detroit Jr, Syl Johnson, M.T. Murphy, Lillian Offit and particularly Earl Hooker who is the guitarist on the two tracks we are offering here.

 

            At last J.C. Heard (1917-88) was a noted jazz drummer influenced by Jo Jones. He played and recorded with several jazz greats like Teddy Wilson, Benny Carter, Louis Jordan, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and such! He was more living in Detroit than in Chicago but it's in the windy city that he recorded his most bluesy tracks under his name.

 

 

                                                   Gérard HERZHAFT

 

 

COUNT DEMON, vcl/dms; "High Priest" (prob. Jack Mc Duff), og; Chuck Fields, t-sax; Lament Parson, g; Freddie Davis, bs; Vick Mc Guire, bongos. Champaign, Ill. 1968

01. My Isabella

02. I don't believe

03. Take it upstairs I

04. C.C. Rider

05. I got to work with it

WILLIE WRIGHT, dms; Sammy J. Faggit, vcl; Jesse Anderson, t-sax; Eddie Caddell, t-sax; Gordon Sims, org; Herbie Witch, g; Carl Wright, bs. Chicago, Ill. 27 May 1960

06. Bloodhound

07. Gibble gobble

03. Got a feeling (vcl: Jesse Anderson)

09. Hard times (vcl: Sammy J. Faggit)

10. I want to love you (vcl: Sammy J. Faggit)

11. I'm gonna leave you baby (vcl: Jesse Anderson)

12. Slowly losing my mind (vcl: Sammy J. Faggit)

13. Suffering in mind (vcl: Sammy J. Faggit)

14. What will I say? (vcl: Jesse Anderson)

15. Just let me love you (vcl: Gordon Sims)

Yourletter

AL DUNCAN, dms; Lefty Bates, g. Red Holloway, t-sax; Horace Palm, pno; bs. Chicago, Ill. 1962

16. Cossack walk

17. Bawana Jinde

ODIE PAYNE, vcl/dms/hca; Herman Smith, tpt; Chrissy Brooks, tb; Horace Smith, t-sax; Ulysses Wilson, g; Ron Wheeler, g; Sunnyland Slim, pno; Darlene Wells, dms; Odie Payne IV, perc. Orland Park, Ill. 1979

18. Blues blues all the time

19. Howdy do

20. I don't know

21. I left from home

22. Kansas City

23. Tell me yes or no I & II

HAROLD TIDWELL, vcl/dms; Lorenzo Smith, t-sax; Earl Hooker, g; Tall Paul Hankins, pno; Jack Myers, bs. Chicago, Ill. 23 May 1959

24. Señorita Jaunita

25. Sweet Suzie

J.C. HEARD, vcl/dms; Joe Newman, tpt; Benny Powell, tb; Frank Wess, a-sax/ft: Charlie Fowlkes, b-sax; Ronnell Bright, pno; Johnnye Pate, bs. Chicago, Ill. 1958

26. Blues for sale

27. For you my love

 Odie Payne

 

EARL HOOKER/ Complete Studio Recordings

 

EARL HOOKER/ Complete Studio Recordings

 

          

  Although Earl Hooker was highly praised by his pairs, he never gained the recognition his talents should have brought him.

            Earl Zebedee Hooker was born in Vance, Ms on 15 January 1929 or 1930, from Earl Jake Hooker (an uncle of John Lee Hooker) and Mary Catherine Blare. His family moved to Chicago during the early 1930's and young Earl suffered from a frail health all his life, contracting tuberculosis while a child. He took the guitar at 10 years old and quickly developed a strong proficiency, listening to blues, jazz and Hillbilly greats like Les Paul, a strong inluence on him alongside T-Bone Walker. With his friend and mentor Robert Lee Mc Coy/ Nighthawk, Earl started to play on Chicago street corners while a child and thereafter in clubs and venues.

            After the war, Robert Nighthawk who was constantly going from Chicago to the South brought Earl with him, the two performing on almost all Southern juke joints from Mississippi to Florida. In 1950, Earl formed his own band with Kansas City Red on drums, trying his luck a little bit everywhere, playing in Chicago quite regularly. Able to play all kinds of music with the same technical ability and proficiency, from deep Delta blues a la Nighthawk to Country & Westerns instrumentals unto jazz and swing numbers, Earl Hooker was very often in the studios backing many artists and waxing some numbers under his name for a lot of labels: King, DeLuxe, Rockin', Sun, Chess/Argo, United, States etc... His main drawback was his voice, a little bit light and unexpressive and for which he had no confidence.

            In 1956, Earl suffered a bad attack of tuberculosis and had to be hospitalized for a long time. He had to wait 1959 to be fully back on the scene and on the recording studios, this time pairing with Junior Wells who brought him to Mel London's Chief group of labels. Very impressed by Earl's talents, Mel put Earl as his house guitarist for a lot of sessions and artists like Wells, Lillian Offitt, Magic Sam, A.C. Reed, Ricky Allen, Johnny "Big Moose" Walker, Bobby Paxton, Betty Everett and others. Earl also recorded some instrumentals under his name, particularly the soulful Blue guitar which went to be a minor hit in Chicago. In 1961, Hooker also recorded some instrumentals for Chess that Len Chess used later on as the backing track for some Muddy Waters's numbers (You shook me and You need love)!

            During the mid-60's Earl Hooker recorded his first album for the Cuca label (The Genius of Earl Hooker) with a strong Funk appealing mood. But once again in 1967, Hooker had to be hospitalized for almost a year and he thus couldn't capitalize to this LP. In 1968, Earl boldly formed a new and original band with his old friend Pinetop Perkins at the keyboards, Freddie Roulette on steel guitar, Carey Bell and Andrew "Blues Boy" Odom, a powerful singer in the B.B. King's mould. The band impressed enough Arhoolie's Chris Strachwitz who then recorded Earl, issuing the great now classic LP Two bugs and a roach.

           

The album sold quite well among blues buffs around the world, allowing at last Earl to play on major festivals, recording several very nice albums for Blue Thumb (thanks to his old friend Ike Turner) and particularly Bluesway for which Hooker also was the lead guitarist on many albums by blues luminaries like Charles Brown, Jimmy Witherspoon, Johnny Walker, Brownie Mc Ghee & Sonny Terry, even pairing with his cousin John Lee Hooker on a memorable session (If you miss' em I got' em).

            In October 1969, Hooker and a lot of Arholie's artists toured Europe with the legendary American Folk Blues Festival (cf the entry on my blog), getting rave reviews. This was the only time I saw Earl Hooker (at the Paris show) and he performed a very great set. But this very tiring European tour damaged even more Earl's health and he came back to Chicago very ill. Hospitalized again in December 1969, Earl this time never fully recovered, had to stay in a Chicago sanatorium a couple of months where he died on 21 April 1970.

            A very accomplished and versatile major guitarist, Earl left us a very rewarding recording legacy. Sebastian Danchin who knew very well Earl wrote a nice biography of the man, from which I have taken most of this article.

            Thanks to Steve W., John "Boston" and some others friends for their help in gathering the complete studio recordings of this major artist.

                                                           Gérard HERZHAFT

EARL HOOKER Discography