TEXAS BLUES YESTERDAY/ Volume 11

 

TEXAS BLUES YESTERDAY/ Volume 11

 

        

  This post brings to the fore the Texas piano blues school, a big amount of piano players generally labelled as "Santa Fe piano blues" because the pioneers of the genre were playing in the juke joints scattered along the railway stations of the ATSF (Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe), a line that starting in Kansas brought travellers and goods to Santa Fe in New Mexico through Texas.

 

          One of the pioneer of this style is the enigmatic Andy Boy (probably Anthony Boyd), born in Galveston on 10^th November 1904. His playing has touches of older ragtime and he recorded behind Joe Pullum and Walter Cowboy Washington as well as eight beautiful titles in San Antonio in 1937. One don't know when and where he died. He was heard in the 50's in the juke joints of Kansas City although Blues/ A regional experience gives New York as the possible place of his death.

 

         

Earl Gilliam was born at Lafayette, La. on 13 January 1930. But he was raised at New Waverly, Tx. where he started to play the piano in his local church at an early age. Trying to make a living with his music, Earl went to Houston and found quickly a job as the piano man of Gatemouth Brown's band. He stayed in Houston almost all his life, playing constantly in local venues, bars and joints. He played as a solo act as well as an accompanist for many bluesmen like Albert Collins, Albert King, Lightnin' Hopkins, T-Bone Walker, Big Mama Thornton. He also played with Western Swing bands like the famous Light Crust Doughboys which allowed him to make his debut recordings under his name on the Sarg label, mostly a Western Swing and Hillbilly Music label. He only recorded a handful of numbers between 1955 and 1968 (all are here). This is while backing Joe Hughes that he as "rediscovered" and recorded at last a whole excellent album in 2004 for the Dialtone label. Gilliam died 19 october 2011 at his home of Tomball, Tx.

 

          Although Connie Mack Booker is the pianist of dozens of sessions throughout the years behind a big amount of artists (B.B. King, Jr Parker, Blues Boy Jones, Johnny Copeland etc...) he has not been very well documented. Born on 2 May 1931 at Edinburg, Tx. Connie was raised at Houston, starting to play a deep and bluesy style of piano in the clubs as soon as 1948. He recorded under his name a small amount of tracks that we have been able to gather here, I guess for the first time.

 

          A lot of thanks to Tom Thumb and Jose Yraberra for their help, sharing some of the rarest tracks on this collection.

 

                                                 Gérard HERZHAFT

 

 

ANDY BOY, vcl/pno. San Antonio, Tx. 24 February 1937

01. Evil blues

02. House raid blues

03. Too late blues

04. Church Street blues

05. Out o'line blues

06. Lonesome with the blues

07. Jive blues

08. Yellow gal blues

EARL GILLIAM, vcl/pno; Lucian Davis, a-sax; Gene Burke, t-sax; Russell Willis, g; Donald Cooks, bs; Leo Hopkins, dms. Houston, Tx. may 1955

09. Don't make me late baby

10. Nobody's blues

11. Wrong doing woman

12. Petite baby

Earl Gilliam, vcl/pno; B.J. Brooks, t-sax; g; bs; Ivory Lee Semier, dms. Houston, Tx. 1962

13. Just you and I

Earl Gilliam, vcl/pno; band. Houston, Tx. c. 1968

14. Funky twist

15. Going back home

CONNIE MACK BOOKER, pno; Eddie Green, dms; L.C. Williams, vcl. Houston, Tx. june 1949

16. Shout baby boogie

17. Rich women blues

Connie Mack Booker, vcl/pno; Goree Carter, g; band. Houston, Tx. 1949

18. Loretta

19. You're trying to bring me down

20. Rich woman blues

21. My baby left me

Connie Mack Booker, vcl/pno; Henry Hayes, a-sax; Ed Wiley, t-sax; Goree Carter, g; Donald Cooks, bs; Ben Turner, dms. Houston, Tx. 1950

22. Trouble making woman

23. Dolphin Street stomp

Connie Mack Booker, vcl/pno; Cal Green, g; band. Houston, Tx. 8 december 1953

24. Love me pretty baby

25. All alone

26. Freight train rollings