EDDY
CLEARWATER/ Early Recordings
Jadis quelque peu considéré
uniquement comme un imitateur de Chuck Berry, Eddy Clearwater (né Eddie
Harrington le 10 janvier 1935 à Macon, Ms de parents Noirs et Cherokees) est
aujourd'hui reconnu à juste titre comme un des derniers grands représentants toujours
actifs du Chicago blues traditionnel de l'après-guerre.
Il est vrai que Clearwater a été
aussi prolifique et versatile dans sa vie que dans sa musique: plongeur,
videur, chauffeur de taxi, éducateur, producteur, éditeur de disques mais
toujours musicien, Eddy Clearwater a aussi pratiqué toutes sortes de musiques,
des blues profonds à la Country Music, du Rockabilly au Gospel, etc... Il cite
d'ailleurs parmi ses influences marquantes Hank Williams, Louis Jordan, Muddy
Waters ou Chuck Berry.
Il arrive à Chicago en 1950 après un
passage à Birmingham (Alabama) ou il a joué et chanté dans plusieurs groupes de
Gospel. A Chicago, il est hébergé et influencé par son oncle Houston
Harrington, un amateur (et bientôt fondateur des disques Atomic-H) de blues
grâce auquel il connaît de nombreux autres jeunes bluesmen comme Otis Rush,
Magic Sam, Morris Pejoe.. ainsi que son cousin l'harmoniciste Carey Bell
Harrington.
A partir de 1953, c'est sous le nom
de Guitar Eddy qu'il entame une carrière de musicien sur le marché aux puces de
Maxwell Street ainsi que dans les bars de Chicago. C'est sur le label de son
oncle (et sous le surnom de Clear Waters pour concurrencer Muddy Waters!) qu'il
enregistre ses premiers disques en 1958, en particulier le savoureux Hillbilly blues qui est un petit succès
dans le classement Country local!. Mais c'est son A minor Cha Cha, un instrumental très inspiré de Jody Williams qui
lui vaudra l'attention des fans de blues du monde entier.
Parallèlement, il continue à jouer du
blues sous son nom dans les bars de Chicago, enregistrant sporadiquement des
45t pour de petits labels sans grande distribution.
Ce n'est en fait qu'en 1973-74 et son
association avec le pianiste Bob Riedy qu'Eddy Clearwater peut réellement
développer sa propre carrière de bluesman. Il enregistre de magnifiques albums
comme The Chief pour Rooster, le
label de Jim O'Neal avant de graver d'autres excellents disques pour Delmark,
MCM, Charly, Blind Pig, Bullseye...
Cette visibilité lui permet de
participer à de nombreuses tournées européennes où son dynamisme, la qualité de
sa musique, son jeu de guitare et son sens de la scène lui assurent un constant
succès.
Nous avons ici regroupé la
quasi-totalité des premiers 45t qu'il a enregistrés avant ses premiers albums
(il manque deux titres: merci à ceux qui pourront nous les faire parvenir!)
auxquels nous avons ajouté certains des disques gravés en compagnie de Eddy
Bell.
Gérard
HERZHAFT
Photo: © Gérard Herzhaft
|
It's
true that Eddy has been as versatile in his life than in his music: dishwasher,
bouncer, cab driver, teacher, producer and of course musician... Eddy has also
played a lot of musical styles with the same ease, whether Rockabilly, Country Music,
Gospel than deep Chicago blues.
After
a stint in Birmingham (Alabama) where he seemed to have played and sung with
local Gospel groups, Eddy reaches Chicago in 1950 where he is welcomed by his
eccentric uncle Houston Harrington who is also a staunch blues fan and soon
blues producer who will create his famed label Atomic-H. Through Houston, Eddy
meets and befriends with Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Morris Pejoe, Sunnyland Slim as
well as his own cousin, future harmonica ace, Carey Bell Harrington. Eddy
learns a lot with and from them as well as listening to R'n'R records,
particularly Chuck Berry's.
He
starts to play in clubs and on Maxwell Street under the nickname Guitar Eddy
that Uncle Houston will soon turns into Clear Waters, then Clearwater to match
with Muddy Waters' popularity! It's also on his uncle's new label Atomic-H that
in 1958 Eddy waxes his first 45s, particularly Hillbilly blues which stirs some interests in the Country &
Western local circles. But this is the top instrumental A minor Cha Cha (largely derived from Jody Williams) that draws the
attention of the blues buffs from around the world, still a classic!
In
1959, probably through the reputation of Hillbilly
blues, Clearwater is approached by Eddie Blazonczyck (1941-2011: a recent
polish migrant who will become one of the top names of "Polka" music)
who is launching his own Rock'n'roll band, Eddy Bell and The Hill Boppers who
will soon turn into Eddy Bell and the Bel-Airs. To be an African American
musician with an all-white band is certainly very seldom viewed at that time! Clearwater
will then play and record regularly with this successful R'n'R band,
demonstrating his skills as a Rockabilly guitarist which earns him a reputation
among Rockabilly fans up to this day.
He
anyway manages to play also blues under his name into Chicago clubs and records
some 45s for very small labels with poor distribution. He will have to wait
until the early 70's and an association with the Bob Riedy's blues band to
become a well-known Chicago blues name. He records a wonderful album for Jim
O'Neal (The Chief) then a large
number of generally excellent LPs and CD's for Blind Pig, Delmark, Charly, MCM,
Bullseye... He also tours Europe quite often, gaining a large following thanks
to his excellent music, guitar playing and dynamic stage presence.
We
have been able to gather almost all his early recordings (two tracks are still
missing: thanks in advance for any .mp3 copy if possible!) to which we have
added some of the titles he made with Little Eddy and the BelAirs.
Gérard
HERZHAFT
EDDY CLEARWATER
Early Recordings
Eddy
Clearwater, vcl/g; Lazy Bill Lucas, pno; John Hudson, g; bs; Richard Rogers,
dms. Chicago, Ill. mai 1958
01. Boogie
woogie baby
02. Hillbilly
blues
03. Jumpin' at
Charley's
04. Neckbones
everyday
Eddy
Clearwater, vcl/g; Rayburn Williams, pno; Chuck Slmith, t-sax; b-sax; Jimmy Lee
Robinson, bs; Richard Rogers, dms. Chicago, Ill. février 1959
05. I don't
know why
06. A-minor Cha
Cha
07. Ain't that
a shame
08. Dancin'
time
Eddy
Bell & The Rock-A-Fellas: Eddie Blazonczyck Sr, vcl/dms; Eddy Clearwater,
g; The Rock-A-Fellas, band. Chicago,
Ill. 18 mai 1959
09. Counting
the days
10. Night party
Eddy
Clearwater, vcl/g; Lee Jackson, g; Sunnyland Slim, pno; Tom Archia, t-sax;
Corky Robertson, bs; Jump Jackson, dms. Chicago, Ill. July 1960
11. Hillbilly
blues
12. Wanna be
cool
Eddy
Bell & The Bel-Aires: Eddie Blazonczyck Sr, vcl/dms; Eddy Clearwater, g;
band. Chicago, Ill. septembre 1960
13. The masked
man (Hi Yo Silver)
14. Anytime
Eddy
Bell & The Bel-Aires: Eddie Blazonczyck Sr, vcl/dms; Eddy Clearwater, g;
band. Chicago, Ill. février 1961
15. Knock knock
knock
Eddy
Clearwater, vcl/g; Rayburn Williams, pno; Jesse Pariles, g; Chuck Smith, t-sax;
b-sax; bs; Pete Perez, dms. Chicago, Ill. mai 1961
16. Cool water
17. Cool clear
water
18. Baby please
Eddy
Bell & The Bel-Aires: Eddie Blazonczyck Sr, vcl/dms; Eddy Clearwater, g;
band. Chicago, Ill. octobre 1961
19. Johnny B.
Goode is in Hollywood
Eddy
Clearwater, vcl/g; Mitchell Robinso, pno; Hank Marr, og; Freddy King, g;
Osborne Whitfield, t-sax; Laurence Frazier, bs; Philip Paul, dms, vcl grp.
Chicago, Ill. 21-22 novembre 1961
20. A real good
time
21. I was gone
22. Twist like
this
23. Hey
Bernardine
Eddy
Bell & The Bel-Aires: Eddie Blazonczyck Sr, vcl/dms; Eddy Clearwater, g;
band. Chicago, Ill. décembre 1961
24. The great
great pumpkin
25. I'm still
in love with you
Eddy
Bell & The Bel-Aires: Eddie Blazonczyck Sr, vcl/dms; Eddy Clearwater, g;
band. Chicago, Ill. 1962
26. Rock'n'roll
USA
Eddy
Clearwater, vcl/g; g; Ernest Gatewood, bs; dms. Chicago, Ill. 1965
27. Momee momee
28. The duck
walk
Honey
bee
Eddy
Clearwater, vcl/g; Mighty Joe Young, g; tpts; Chuck Smith, t-sax; Bob Little,
b-sax; Mac Thompson, bs; Louis Batista, dms. Chicago, Ill. 1 mai 1969
29. Doin' the
model
I
don't know why #2
Eddy
Clearwater, vcl; Bob Riedy, pno; John Reda, g; Dan Draher, g; Mark Gaston, tpt;
Mike Cogan, t-sax; Mike Williams, a-sax; Bob Falvey, bs; Richard Robinson, dms.
Chicago, Ill. juillet 1974
30. Pretty baby
31. Caldonia
Eddy
Clearwater, vcl/g; Chuck Smith, t-sax: Abb Locke, t-sax; Bob Riedy, pno; Allen
Batts, og; Bob Falvey, bs; Richard Robinson, dms. Chicago, Ill. novembre 1974
32. True love
33. Lonely
nights
Thank you once again for a great compilation.
RépondreSupprimerOk, Gérard, OK indeed
RépondreSupprimerJamais entendu ses premiers enregistrements, mille mercis pour ces raretés et, de manière plus générale, pour la qualité de vos posts, un vrai bonheur de lecture.
RépondreSupprimerMerci. C'est le but de ce blog: documenter le jamais (ou presque) documenté et auxquel aucun label "officiel" ne s'intéresse.
SupprimerThanks again Gerard for the great music. Your site is one of the best music blogs out there.
RépondreSupprimerI'd like to return the compliment to you, Gyro. And a lot of thanks for what you did for me when started this blog
SupprimerAaaaaaaah! Gerard Santa Claus is back in town!!! Merci !!!
RépondreSupprimerthank you, Gerard, for a great music blog!
RépondreSupprimerThank you so much for keeping such music alive and, equally important, providing the historical background. The work you and Gyro, as well as Show Me The Way Honey, are doing is so important to learning about a music that frankly does get sufficient airplay anymore here in the United States. To me, all of your work amounts to an education in the blues for which I am very grateful. I have two of your books but it is the music that makes your words live in my ears. Milles mercis, et comme on dit en la langue irlandaise, Go raibh mile maith agat!
RépondreSupprimerDe sincères remerciements sont de mise. C'est du beau travail et l'écoute ne sera que plaisir.
RépondreSupprimerRalph11
Encore merci Mr G Herzaft.JPV
RépondreSupprimerSuperbe compil ! Merci doc.
RépondreSupprimerTanguy
Any chance for a re-up? Thank you - Michael Brooklyn, NY
RépondreSupprimerNew links for Eddy C. Here they are:
SupprimerCD1: https://www80.zippyshare.com/v/ajdiNk0r/file.html
CD2: https://www80.zippyshare.com/v/GlQ4HFOt/file.html
OK?