L.C. WILLIAMS/ Complete Recordings

L.C. WILLIAMS/Complete Recordings

           L.C. (apparemment son vrai et seul prénom) Williams a été un de ces chanteurs et musiciens qui gravitaient autour de Lightnin' Hopkins à Houston et sur lequel le bluesman régnait un peu à la façon des maîtres féodaux. Ces "vassaux" obtiennent le droit de jouer avec lui, de l'accompagner sur les scènes locales, de gagner quelques dollars en échange d'une véritable allégeance à leur "maître", une sorte de servitude digne de certains gangs mafieux. C'est ainsi que Luke "Long Gone" Miles qui effectuera aussi de très bons enregistrements est chargé d'ouvrir à Lightnin' un passage vers les toilettes du bar à travers la nombreuse clientèle, le très original harmoniciste Billy Bizor sert de valet à Hopkins, s'occupe du pressing de ses vêtements...

           L.C. Williams qui émarge de la même manière à ce cercle de serviteurs du bluesman de Houston effectuera, en partie grâce à Lightnin', une carrière discographique assez conséquente.

           Né à Crockett au Texas le 12 mars 1930, L.C. a gagné Houston vers 1945, chantant et 

L.C. Williams. photo: Chris Strachwitz

dansant les claquettes un peu partout dans la région. C'est dans un de ces dancings qu'il rencontre Lightnin' Hopkins qui le prend avec lui et lui permet d'enregistrer sous le nom de Lightnin' Jr trois blues très profonds et immanquablement texans pour le producteur Bill Quinn avec Hopkins au piano et à la guitare. Ces morceaux rencontrent un certain succès et Williams retrouve le chemin des studios de façon conséquente les années suivantes. Comme son mentor, Williams saute allégrement de label en label, tente un peu (et avec bonheur) tous les styles alors en vogue dans le blues texan: downhome avec ou à la Hopkins, urbain et très swinguants avec différents orchestres de R&B texans comme ceux du saxophoniste Conrad Johnson ou du pianiste Lonnie Lyons. Parmi ses accompagnateurs, on trouve généralement la crème des bluesmen de Houston dont le guitariste Goree Carter.

           En 1951, après une très belle séance avec Lightnin', L.C. Williams part tenter sa chance en Californie. C'est un échec complet. Il finit en prison pour quelques mois et revient à Houston, vivotant autour du clan Hopkins. C'est là qu'il sera "retrouvé" et interviewé par Mack Mc Cormick et Chris Strachwitz. Très peu loquace, L.C., pressé de dire à quoi correspondait ses initiales, répond "Love Crazy"!

           Il semble qu'il devait enregistrer un album pour Arhoolie qui aurait certainement pu lui ouvrir les portes du Blues Revival qui commençait alors à prendre son essor quand il décède le 18 octobre 1960 à Houston.

           Il laisse une œuvre finalement assez variée, alternant de grands moments du Country blues texan avec des séances plus entraînantes mais certainement aussi plus convenues où il est accompagné d'excellents orchestres de Rhythm & Blues. Grâce à plusieurs généreux collectionneurs (et en particulier notre ami Pierre Monnery), nous sommes désormais en mesure de proposer l'intégrale de l'œuvre de L.C. Williams, certainement non négligeable.

                                                                 Gérard HERZHAFT

           L. C. (apparently his real first name!) Williams was one of those blues singer/ musicians who were trying to make a living or a career on Lightnin' Hopkins's orbit. Lightnin' used them every time he needed them and ruled this coterie like a feudal Lord, every one having a special role serving the "master". Among those numerous vassals, L. C. Williams was certainly the one who succeeded the most to make a name for himself.

           Born at Crockett, Texas, on March, 12th 1930, L.C. went to Houston around 1945 and soon tried to make a living singing and tap dancing on the streets. His growing reputation earned him to play in night clubs where Hopkins, appreciating his talents, brought him to the famous record producer Bill Quinn who had hired Hopkins as a semi-talent scout. L.C. recorded several very downhome blues backed by Lightnin', either playing the guitar or the piano. Moreover, the records were issued under the name Lightnin' Jr that assured them good sales. During a couple of years, Williams visited quite often the Houston studios, recording his brand of Texas blues in different settings, from the deep Country blues of his beginnings to the current fashionable swinging R&B, backed by the cream of the Houston session men, from pianists Lonnie Lyons and Elmore Nixon to saxophonists like Conrad Johnson through stellar guitarist Goree Carter.

           In 1951, after another wonderful deep session with Hopkins, L.C. - persuaded he could thus make much more money with his music under the Hollywood sun - went to Los Angeles to try his luck. This was unfortunately a complete failure, L.C. even going in jail for awhile. He finally went back to Houston, struggling for a living on several menial jobs, staying close to Hopkins in a desperate hope to record again, that never materialized. He was around Lightnin' when researchers Mack Mc Cormick and Chris Strachwitz met him and interviewed him. Not very talkative about himself, L.C. only said that his initials meant "Love Crazy"!

           It seems there were some plans to record L.C. for the Arhoolie label that certainly would have opened him some doors but he died brutally in Houston on October, 18th, 1960.

           Thanks to several generous friends and collectors and particularly Pierre Monnery, we are now able and for the first time to give the really complete recordings made by this excellent Texas bluesman.

                                                      Gérard HERZHAFT

L.C. WILLIAMS/ Complete Recordings

L.C. Williams, vcl; Lightnin’ Hopkins, pno. Houston, Tx. juillet 1947

01. Trying trying

L.C. Williams, vcl; Lightnin’ Hopkins, g. Houston, Tx. juillet 1947

02. You’ll never miss the water

03. I wonder

L.C. Williams, vcl; Lightnin’ Hopkins, g. Houston, Tx. janvier 1948

04. Hole in the wall

05. Boogie all the time

06. Strike blues

07. You can take it with you baby

L.C. Williams, vcl; Leroy Carter, pno. Houston, Tx. juin 1948

08. Black woman

L.C. Williams, vcl; Elmore Nixon, pno. Houston, Tx. juin 1948

09. I won’t be here long

L.C. Williams, vcl; Nelson Mills, tpt; Conrad Johnson, a-sax; Sam Williams, t-sax; Lonnie Lyons, pno; Louis Pitts, bs; Allison Tucker, dms. Houston, Tx. décembre 1948

10. I don't want your baby

11. Why don't you come back

L.C. Williams, vcl; Lonnie Lyons, pno; Goree Carter, g; Sam Williams, t-sax; Conrad Johnson, a-sax; Louis Pitts, bs; Allison Tucker, dms. Houston, Tx. février 1949

12. That's alright

13. Rich women blues

14. I want my baby back

15. I know that chick

16. Shout baby shout

17. Jelly roll

18. Louisiana boogie

19. Ethel Mae

20. Gonna change my love

21. My darkest hours

L.C. Williams, vcl; Lightnin’ Hopkins, g; Elmore Nixon, pno. Houston, Tx. décembre 1949

22. All through my dreams

23. Mean and evil blues

L.C. Williams, vcl; Lightnin’ Hopkins, g. Houston, Tx. janvier 1951

24. The Lazy J

25. Baby child

26. Fannie Mae

27. So sorry

L.C. Williams, vcl; Willie Johnson, pno; Frank Minn, tpt; Ed Wiley, t-sax; Henry Hayes, a-sax; Goree Carter, g; Don Cooks, bs; Ben Turner, dms. Houston, Tx. 29 novembre 1951

28. I don’t want no woman

29. Louise

30. I don’t like to travel

I posted an article about L.C. Williams some years ago on this blog but this one is the definitive one with english text added

SMOKY BABE/ Complete Recordings

SMOKY BABE/ Complete Recordings

           

Born Robert Brown on July, 31st 1927 in Itta Bena (Ms), Smoky Babe has been one of the very best discovery from the Blues Revival era. A sharecropper helping his family at an early age and during years around Itta Bena, Smoky Babe has taken the guitar and the blues under the strong influence of Robert Petway and Tommy McClennan, seeing them performing and listening to their records. He developed the same rhythmic guitar style, full of a furious energy, the similar passionate singing and, if one adds a great ability to compose autobiographic blues and to make every standard his own, you sure have with him a major bluesman!

            During the late 1940's and maybe at his mother's death, Smoky Babe leaves the miserable sharecropping to work in a factory in Alabama, then in New Orleans where he works as a longshoreman while playing sometimes in local clubs. Around 1953, he marries and the couple settles in Baton Rouge, buying a little farm and finding a good job as a car mechanic in a garage. He anyway plays here and there, mostly at friends' parties. It's like that and only by chance that Harry Oster discovers him in February 1960 during a party at Robert Pete Williams' house (his neighbor) where there are other Robert Pete's neighbors, Lazy Lester, Clyde Causey or William and Sally Dotson! Oster is stunned by Smoky's talents and then records him substantially during the following days. Those wonderful records when issued on several albums and anthologies stir interest in the then small coterie of blues buffs in the USA and Europe. But Smoky, quite suspicious, would turn down any offer to appear at colleges or festivals during the early 1960's, liking better to catch his steady work at his garage and his farm than trying his chance on a musical career.

            He is reported to have died in Scottlandville around May 1973.

            We have gathered here all his known recordings in chronological order. That still leaves at least 20 unissued tracks that are probably by now at the Smithsonian and that we certainly would be eager to be able to listen to!

                                                                       Gérard HERZHAFT

SMOKY BABE

Complete Recordings

 = unissued

Smoky Babe (Robert Brown), vcl/g. Scotlandville, La, 6 february 1960

01. Shake, shake Mattie

Biscuit bakin’ mama

Smoky Babe, vcl/g. Scotlandville, La, 10 february 1960

02. Long way from home

03. I’m goin’ back to Mississippi

04. I'm goin' away

Baby don’t you want to go?

Smoky Babe, vcl/g; Sally Dotson, vcl. Scotlandville, La. 25 february 1960

Dell on the mountain

05. Rabbit blues n°1

06. Rabbit blues n°2

07. Ghost blues

Smoky Babe, vcl/g; William Dotson, vcls. Scotlandville, 25 february 1960

08. Two wings

Smoky Babe, vcl/g. Scotlandville, La, 27 february 1960

09. Bad luck and trouble

10. Now your man done gone

11. I’m broke and I’m hungry

12. Bad whiskey

13. Going back home

14. Goin' home blues

15. Melvanie blues

16. Ocean blues

17. Boogie woogie rag

Low down woman

Smoky Babe, vcl/g; Lazy Lester, hca. Scotlandville, La. 27 february 1960

18. Mississippi River

19. Too many women n°1

20. Too many women n°2

21. My baby she told me

22. My baby put me down

Smoky Babe, vcl/g; Clyde Causey, hca. Scotlandville, La. 27 february 1960

23. Ain’t got no rabbit dog

24. Black gal

25. Locomotive blues

Smoky Babe, g. Scotlandville, La. 6 march 1960

26. Boogy

27. Boogie gal

28. If I had listened what my mama say

29. I'm goin' home on the morning train

Smoky Babe, vcl/g; Sally Dotson, vcls; Hilary Blunt, g. Scotlandville, La. 14 april 1960

30. Your dice won’t pass

31. Black ghost

Smoky Babe, vcl/g. Scotlandville, La. 3 november 1960

32. Talkin' baby

33. Backyard boogie

Leavin’ blues

Smoky Babe, vcl/g. Scotlandville, La. 6 january 1961

No special rider

Mean mistreatin’ woman

Smoky Babe, vcl/g; Sally Dotson, vcls on *; Lazy Lester, hca. Scotlandville, La. 10 february 1961

34. Chicago bound

35. Somethin’ wrong with my machine*

Down by the waterfall

Smoky Babe, vcl/g. Scotlandville, La. 10 march 1961

Hard times blues

Smoky Babe, vcl/g. Scotlandville, La. 27 march 1961

36. Insect blues

37. Boss man blues

38. Way back in the country blues

Smoky Babe, vcl/g. Scotlandville, La. 1 april 1961

39. I went down 61 Highway

40. Hottest brand goin’

41. Regular blues

42. Arkansas blues

43. What's wrong with you

44. Working on Mr Walter's farm

Smoky Babe, vcl/g. Scotlandville, La. 14 june 1961

45. Cold, cold snow

46. Diggin' my potatoes

47. I'm wild about you black gal

Smoky Babe, vcl/g. Vance, Ms, 10 august 1961

Cotton field blues

Smoky Babe, vcl/g. Vance, Ms, 11 august 1961

48. Terraplane blues

Friends, goodbye

Car trouble blues

Back home again

Smoky Babe, vcl/g. Annie Brown, vcls on *; Clyde Causey, hca; Hilary Blunt, g. Vance, Ms. 12 august 1961

Won’t be back til fall

Bad bad whiskey

Shoot him along

Ain’t it hard to be a nigger*

Ship-y-show

Segregation blues

Mr. Bug & Mr. Bug

KING SOLOMON/ Complete Recordings

KING SOLOMON/ Complete Recordings

              

Several bluesmen have used the "King Solomon" moniker, mainly ace pre-war guitarist King Solomon Hill, the pianist and sometimes singer Ellis Walters Jr (1919-63) who recorded under the name King Solomon or Soloman (sic) as well as a session man behind many West Coast bluesmen as Solomon Ellis. Soul star Solomon Burke also recorded as King Solomon as well as jazz tenor saxophonist Clifford Solomon! And there is now a young good bluesman playing and recording under the name King Solomon Hicks!

               But the only "real" King Solomon (his real name) is this blues singer that we are featuring here. Born King Sylvester Lee Melicious Solomon on 12th October 1934 (or 1940? but this year sometimes given seems to be improbable even impossible) at Tallulah, La, he began to sing in his mother's church before creating his own Gospel a-capella quartet.

               When King Solomon comes to Chicago in 1949 to work as a busboy in a restaurant, he listens more and more the blues in the Windy City's clubs, befriending with Sunnyland Slim. Soon one finds him singing the blues at Theresa's or at Du Sable Lounge. But, tired of the hard Chicago's winters, Solomon settles in Los Angeles in 1954, meeting Charles Brown, Lowell Fulson and Maxwell Davis who encourages him to form his own band. During the late 50's, King Solomon and his Soul Brothers Band play regularly in the L.A. area, Charles Wright holding the lead guitar. In 1961, his first autobiographic record Non Support blues Parts I & II hits the West Coast before being taken over by the Checker label, and then climbing to n°39 on Billboard.

               Solomon then tours the Western States for awhile with big stars like B.B. King, Little Milton, Etta James and even opens for Sammy Davis Jr during a couple of weeks in Davis' cabaret in Las Vegas.

               King Solomon records regularly during the 1960's for a large variety of labels, some important like Kent but generally for small independent ones like Don-J, Magnum or his own Mader-D. With a somewhat poor distribution, those records sell quite confidentially with the exception of the small local hit You are nothing but a teenager.

              

During the 1970's, Solomon seeks commercial success in turning his music towards the Rock/ Psychedelic audience, his guitarist Joe Kincaid playing constantly the wah-wah guitar and with heavy bass and drums. This is the music featured on the only album recorded as such by Solomon Energy Crisis, probably during the mid-70's (1977 is the date generally admitted).

               Outside a small article on Blues Unlimited, King Solomon was mainly unknown outside his L.A. area until the excellent Dutch Diving Duck label issued a compilation of some of his best tracks during the mid-80's!

               Today, one doesn't know if King Solomon is still living or if so where he lives. Anyway, his recorded work is much worthy. We have tried to gather the complete recordings by this King Solomon but there still are 5 numbers that have been impossible to find. Thanks by advance to anyone who would have them and would be willing to share!

               Thanks to Diving Duck label, Mr Mightygroove and the excellent Groovy Gumbo blog for their help.

                                                                                       

Gérard HERZHAFT

King Solomon, vcl; Charles Wright, g; band. Los Angeles, Ca. 1961

01. Non support blues I & II

King Solomon, vcl; Charles Wright, g; band. Los Angeles, Ca. 1962

02. I got to move

03. Uncle John's swinging farm

King Solomon, vcl; Charles Wright, g; band. Los Angeles, Ca. 1963

04. Louisiana groove

05. I'm in love with you

06. My dream

I'm in your corner baby

King Solomon, vcl; Charles Wright, g; band. Los Angeles, Ca. 1964

07. Separation n°1

08. I want to know

09. Yodeling this morning

10. Scratch my back

King Solomon, vcl; Charles Wright, g; band. Los Angeles, Ca. 1965

11. Big things

12. You ain't nothing but a teenager

King Solomon, vcl; Charles Wright, g; band. Los Angeles, Ca. 1966

13. Mr bad luck

14. S.K. blues

15. New figure

16. Let me be your eagle baby I & II

17. Almost midnight

18. Please Mr President

King Solomon, vcl; Charles Wright, g; band. Los Angeles, Ca. 1967

19. Separation n°2

20. Little dab will do it

21. Where is my shoe

22. What you got

Skidrow

Brainwashed woman

When a man loves a woman

I don't play that way

King Solomon, vcl; band. Los Angeles, Ca. 1968

23. Just a little faith

24. Sittin' here thinkin'

King Solomon, vcl; Joe Kincaid, g; band. Los Angeles, Ca. 1969

25. The natural look

26. No woman's no stranger

27. The miracle worker

28. The Moon Walk

29. Love bug

30. Something's wrong with me

King Solomon, vcl; Joe Kincaid, g; band. Los Angeles, Ca. c. 1977

31. I got a sweet tooth for your love

32. If I were a strong man

33. Energy crisis

34. Political rag

35. Ain´t it funky ya´ll I & II

36. Sexy baby

37. Get up soul brother

38. Don´t play this song

39. A little dab will do ya

BIG JOE TURNER/ The Pablo Sessions

BIG JOE TURNER/ COMPLETE PABLO SESSIONS

           

Quand Big Joe Turner (1911-85) enregistre pour Norman Granz, il est quelque peu oublié. Pionnier du blues de Kansas City, partie prenante de la folie du boogie woogie dans les années 30 auprès de Pete Johnson, chanteur ultra puissant archétype des Blues Shouters, Joe est le chanteur des grands orchestres de Benny Moten, Andy Kirk, Count Basie avant d'enregistrer en vedette du R&B une oeuvre copieuse pour de nombreux labels. Très avisé, superbe showman, Big Joe va savoir maintenir intacte sa popularité longtemps. Il est d'ailleurs un des rares artistes noirs du R&Blues capable de s'arrimer au courant du Rock n'Roll. Il signe sur le label Atlantic en 1951 qui l'entoure des meilleurs musiciens du moment, le produit intelligemment et distribue ses disques dans toute l'Amérique. Shake, rattle and roll; Flip, flop and fly et Teenage letter obtiennent autant de succès dans les Hit Parades "Rhythm & Blues" que "pop" et son nom est associé aux stars adolescentes du Rock'n'roll!, notamment dans plusieurs films.

            Mais dans les années 60, Big Joe apparaît largement comme une figure du passé. Il essaie de s'adapter aux goûts du blues revival mais, malgré la très grande qualité de ses disques (magnifique album Kent avec George Smith!), sa manière d'être et de chanter ne plaisent guère à ce nouveau public qui ne jure plus que par les bluesmen du Delta ou ceux du ghetto de Chicago.

            Big Joe s'installe alors en Californie et apparaît surtout dans des festivals de jazz et de façon irrégulière dans les clubs de Los Angeles. Lorsque le producteur de jazz Norman Granz, après une éclipse forcée, décide de relancer son label Pablo et de reprendre des tournées internationales de big bands, il pense en premier à Count Basie à qui il adjoint Big Joe Turner. Le succès de cette tournée au printemps 1972 est tel que Granz décide d'enregistrer live le concert parisien et de le sortir sur Pablo.

            Les dés sont lancés: Joe Turner revient à son rôle favori de blues shouter et, devenu très ami avec Granz, il va enregistrer pas moins de neuf autres albums pour Pablo entre 1972 et 78, entouré de certains des noms les plus prestigieux du jazz. Si l'album The Bosses (avec Count Basie mais en studio) recueille de bonnes critiques, les autres sont très fraîchement accueillis, notamment par les critiques de blues qui soulignent l'absence de nouveau répertoire, les solos très longs, les morceaux étirés, les disques enregistrés en très peu de temps. Joe n'est pas non plus toujours dans une grande forme. Sa santé se détériore beaucoup durant cette période et il ne se déplace plus que difficilement et à l'aide d'une canne.

            Malgré tout, ces disques prennent avec le temps une autre dimension: ils réunissent de grands musiciens qui ont marqué l'histoire et qui ont d'évidence du plaisir à se retrouver ensemble. Et finalement, ce long corpus permet à Big Joe Turner, un des plus grands noms de l'histoire du blues, d'ajouter - presque en fin de carrière - une nouvelle pierre solide à sa longue et riche oeuvre.

            La plupart de ces LPs sont aujourd'hui introuvables et nous remercions tous ceux qui ont permis de les rassembler ici: Marc (Fr), Hartmut Münnich, Kempen, Steve 626...

                                                                       Gérard HERZHAFT

            When Big Joe Turner (1911-85) began his series of recordings for Norman Granz' rejuvenated Pablo label, he was a little bit forgotten. Pioneer of the Kansas City blues, linked with the boogie woogie craze of the 1930's, particularly with his fellow Pete Johnson, Joe is a consummate showman and an ultra-powerful blues shouter with the big bands of Andy Kirk, Benny Moten or Count Basie before launching a personal career as a major name of the R&B, heavily recording for numerous labels. Moreover, when signing with the Atlantic label in 1951, Joe became one of the few black R&B star to be able to crossover in the emerging Rock'n'roll field, singing before audience of teenagers, appearing in many R'n'R movies and placing records like Shake, rattle and roll; Flip, flop and fly or Teenage letter into the Tops 40 of R&B as well as Pop!

            But in the 60's, Big Joe seems to be a figure of the past. He tries to cope with the tastes of the new Blues Revival audiences, waxing excellent deep blues albums (one with George Smith) but he was not the Delta or the Chicago ghetto bluesman that this public wanted exclusively at that time.

            Big Joe comes to live in California and appears irregularly on jazz festivals and L.A. clubs. When in 1972 producer and former civic rights activist Norman Granz decided to launch a big band tour of Europe, he chose to reunite old Kansas City partners, Count Basie and his Orchestra with blues shouter Big Joe Turner. The tour proved to be so successful that Granz recorded live the Paris concert and issued it on his Pablo label. This started a new association between Turner and Granz that gave nine subsequent LP's until 1978! Joe is once again the blues shouter supreme surrounded by some of the biggest and most respected jazzmen still working then. But if The Bosses (with Count Basie) has some good reviews, the other albums are mildly welcomed, particularly by blues critics who point out the lack of new material, the overlong numbers and solos, the quickly recorded sessions and sometimes a lacking of rehearsal... Joe's health is also declining and it shows sometimes in his voice.

            Anyway, the passing years give those LPs a better significance: they brought together great musicians (and some of the greatest) who evidently enjoyed playing with each other and at last those late sessions are a welcomed addition to the recording works of one of the true giants of the blues.

            Most of those records are unavailable today, sometimes very hard to find and all those who have made possible this project must be thanked: Marc (Fr) particularly, Hartmut Münnich, Kempen, Steve 626..

                                                                       Gérard HERZHAFT

JOE TURNER/ THE COMPLETE PABLO SESSIONS

Joe Turner with Count Basie - Flip flop and fly

Joe Turner, vcl; Count Basie, pno; Freddie Green, g; Pete Minger, tpt; Waymon Reed, tpt; Sonny Cohn, tpt; Mel Wanzo, tb; Al Grey, tb; Frank Cooks, tb; Bill Hughes, tb; Bobby Platter, a-sax; Curtis Beagler, a-sax; John Williams, b-sax; Eddie Lockjaw Davis, t-sax; Eric Dixon, t-sax; Jimmy Forrest, t-sax; Norman Keenan, bs; Sonny Payne, dms. Paris, Fr. avril 1972

01. Hide and seek

02. T.V. Momma

03. Corrine Corrina

04. Cherry Red

05. Shake, rattle and roll

06. Since I fell for you

07. Flip flop and fly

08. Everyday I have the blues

09. Good morning blues

Count Basie & Joe Turner - The Bosses

Joe Turner, vcl; Count Basie, pno/og; Harry Edison, tpt; J.J. Johnson, tb; Eddie Davis, t-sax; Zoot Sims, t-sax; Irving Ashby, g; Roy Brown, bs; Louis Bellson, dms. Los Angeles, Ca. 11 décembre 1973

10. Honeydripper

11. Honey Hush

12. Cherry Red

13. Night time is the right time

14. Blues around the clock

15. Since I fell for you

16. Flip flop and fly

17. Wee baby blues

18. Good morning blues

19. Roll'em Pete

Joe Turner - Life Ain't Easy

Joe Turner, vcl; Roy Eldridge (trumpet) Al Grey (trombone) Lee Allen (tenor saxophone) Jimmy Robins (piano, organ) Thomas Gadson (guitar) Ray Brown (bass) Earl Palmer (drums) Los Angeles, CA, June 3, 1974

20. Life Ain't Easy

21. Plant Your Garden

22. So Long

23. For Growin' Up

24. (What's Your Story,) Morning Glory

25. Kick The Front Door In

The Trumpet Kings meet Joe Turner

Joe Turner, vcl; Harry Edison, Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry (trumpet) Jimmy Robins (piano, organ) Pee Wee Crayton (guitar) Chuck Norris (bass) Washington Rucker (drums) Los Angeles, CA, September 18, 1974

26. Stormy Monday

27. Mornin' noon and night

28. I know you love me baby

29. T.V. mama

30. Tain't nobody's bizness if I do

Joe Turner - Everyday I have the blues

Joe Turner, vcl; Sonny Stitt, a-sax/t-sax; J.D. Nicholson, Pee Wee Crayton, g; Charles Norris, bs; Washington Rucker, dms. Los Angeles, Ca. 3 mars 1975

31. Stormy monday

32. Piney Brown

33. Martin Luther King Southside

34. Everyday I have the blues

35. Shake rattle and roll

36. Lucille

Big Joe Turner Nobody in mind

Joe Turner, vcl; Roy Eldridge, tpt; J.D. Nicholson, pno; Milt Jackson, vb; Pee Wee Crayton, g; William Walker, bs; Charles Randall, dms. Los Angeles, Ca. 27 août 1975

37. I want a little girl

38. Nobody in mind

39. The Chicken and the Hawk

40. I just didn't have the price

41. How long how long blues

42. Crawdad hole

43. Juke Joint blues

44. Red Sails in the sunset

Joe Turner - In The Evening

Joe Turner, vcl; Bob Smith, a-sax; J.D. Nicholson, pno; Herman Bennett, g; Pee Wee Crayton, g; Winston McGregor, bs; Charles Randall, dms. Los Angeles, CA, 10 mars 1976

45. In The Evening

46. Summertime

47. Sweet Lorraine

48. Too Late, Too Late

49. I've Got The World On A String

50. Chains Of Love

51. Corrine, Corrina

52. J.T. Blues

53. Pennies From Heaven

54. Two Loves Have I

Joe Turner - The Midnight Special

Joe Turner, vcl; Jake Porter, tpt; Roy Brewster, b-sax; Curtis Peagler, t-sax; Curtis Kirk, hca; Sylvester Scott, pno; Cal Green, g; Bobby Haynes, bs; Washington Rucker, dms. Los Angeles, CA, 27 mai 1976

55. The Things That I Used To Do

56. The Midnight Special

57. You're Driving Me Crazy

58. So Long

59. I Left My Heart In San Francisco

60. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter

61. I Can't Give You Anything But Love

62. After My Laughter Came Tears

63. Stoop Down Baby

Joe Turner - Things That I Used To Do 

Joe Turner, vcl; Blue Mitchell, tpt; Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, a-sax; Rashid Jamal Ali, t-sax; Wild Bill Moore, t-sax; Lloyd Glenn, pno; Gildo Mahones, og; Greg Beck, g; Gary Bell, g; Lawrence Gales, bs; Bruno Carr, dms. Los Angeles, CA, 8 février 1977

64. Time After Time

65. The Things That I Used To Do

66. S.K. Blues

67. Jelly Jelly Blues

68. Hey Little Girl

69. Shake It And Break It

70. St. Louis Blues

71. Oke-She-Moke-She-Pop

72. My Train Rolled Up In Texas

Have No Fear, Joe Turner Is Here

Joe Turner, vcl; Joe Banks, tpt; Bobby Smith, a-sax; Bill Clark, t-sax; Hollis Gilmore, t-sax; Lloyd Glenn, pno; Pee Wee Crayton, g; Evan Walker, g; Bill Walker, bs; Charles Randall, dms; Frederick Woods, perc. Hollywood, CA, 22 juin 1978

73. Rocks In My Bed

74. So Long

75. Howlin' Wind

76. Woman You Must Be Crazy

77. How Come My Dog Don't Bark

78. Long Way From Home

79. Somebody Loves Me

80. Love Is Like A Faucet