AFBF 1970/ The Complete Sessions

 

AFBF 1970/ The Complete Sessions

 

 

            The 1970 edition of the annual American Folk Blues Festival was, for the first time since its beginning in 1962, much less attended than the previous ones. German promoters Lippmann and Rau had largely contributed to open important and mostly young audiences to the real blues. But the idea to feature on the same stage many different artists while very exciting the first years had become more and more criticized by blues fans and magazines who, by now, had become more well aware of the blues, the bluesmen, the way the blues had to be shown, played and heard. The AFBF's didn't change their formula and continued to feature blues acts who played three or four tunes before leaving room for another one during a too short two hour show. While other European tours were by now presenting lengthy shows with only one tight band able to ignite fire on the scene even when there were several vocalists.

           

As usual, I attended to the Paris' concert of the AFBF1970. As far as I remember – 50 years ago!- the sound system was absolutely awful, preventing the great Big Walter Horton to be really audible. The whole Willie Dixon's Chicago Blues All Stars was much less exciting than when they toured Europe on their own the previous years (when Johnny Shines and Sunnyland Slim were featured). Lee Jackson, although a fine bluesman on his own, seemed very shy and lost somewhere on the Paris' too big stage. Leake was hidden behind his piano and Dixon very dissatisfied with how the things were going on even put Walter out of the stage! It's probable than the band was better in other places but in France their performance was rather poor, even pedestrian and gained only small applauses.

            Champion Jack Dupree who was leaving permanently in Europe was picked up at the last moment (Otis Spann was at first planned) and featured his usual good set. But by now he was playing almost all the year here and there across France (I even had the opportunity to take care of him during a couple of days earlier in 1970) and he was certainly not a revelation to the majority of the audience.

            Bukka White and old Brownie and Sonny were once again on the tour and they each delivered some good country blues, Bukka being particularly in good form.

           

The highlight of the Paris concert was undoubtedly Sister Rosetta Tharpe who, despite her health troubles which would force her to leave the tour a couple of days after to get back to the USA, did a masterful set of her gospel favorites with shouting vocals and great rocking guitar.

            Anyway, the music recorded here in Germany and on other European dates is quite nice and shows mostly good unaltered blues played by artists knowing their stuff. The original double LP is not easily available and the CD version omits several tracks. I have added whatever titles possible recorded here and there in Western Europe to give the most possible complete photography of this tour.

                                                                       Gérard HERZHAFT

 

 

AFBF 1970/ The Complete Sessions

Recorded in Europe on various locations during october-november 1970

Chicago All Stars: Big Walter Horton, hca; Lee Jackson, g; Lafayette Leake, pno; Willie Dixon, bs; Clifton James, dms.

01. All Stars blues

02. Everybody's bluesin'

03. Chicago boogie

Big Walter Horton, vcl/hca; Lee Jackson, g; Lafayette Leake, pno; Willie Dixon, bs; Clifton James, dms.

04. Hard hearted woman I

05. Hard hearted woman II

06. That ain't it

07. Big Walter's boogie

Bukka White, vcl/g.

08. Maggie Lee

09. World boogie

10. Old Lady

Champion Jack Dupree, vcl/pno; Willie Dixon, bs; Clifton James, dms.

11. Going to Louisiana

12. Blues before sunrise

Sonny Terry, vcl/hca; Brownie Mc Ghee, vcl/g.

13. Hootin' the blues

14. Backwater blues

15. Walk on

16. When I was drinking

Lee Jackson, vcl/g; Big Walter Horton, hca; Lafayette Leake, pno; Willie Dixon, bs; Clifton James, dms.

17. Juanita

18. Came home this morning

19. Why don't you let me be

Lafayette Leake, pno; Big Walter Horton, hca; Lee Jackson, g; Willie Dixon, bs; Clifton James, dms.

20. After hours

21. Leake's jump

22. Wrinkles

Clifton James, vcl/dms; Big Walter Horton, hca; Lee Jackson, g; Lafayette Leake, pno; Willie Dixon, bs.

23. All the things we used to do

24. Wee wee hours

Willie Dixon, vcl/bs; Big Walter Horton, hca; Lee Jackson, g; Lafayette Leake, pno; Clifton James, dms.

25. Crazy for my baby

26. Sittin' and cryin' the blues

27. My babe

28. Twenty nine ways

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, vcl/g; Big Walter Horton, hca; Lee Jackson, g; Lafayette Leake, pno; Willie Dixon, bs; Clifton James, dms.

30. When the Saints

31. Down by the riverside

32. Didn't rain

33. Games people play

34. Nobody knows

35. That's all

36. Up above my head

 

 

ACE HOLDER/ Complete Recordings

 ACE HOLDER/ Complete Recordings

          

  Ace Holder est un harmoniciste relativement obscur bien qu'il ait enregistré treize excellents titres dans les années 1960 dont certains comme Lonesome harmonica ou Homeless boy ont été réédites de nombreuses fois et figurent aujourd'hui comme de petits classiques de l'harmonica blues.

            Le peu que l'on connaît de la vie de Ace Holder provient largement d'une interview effectuée par le chercheur Darryl Stolper et publiée dans la revue britannique Blues Unlimited (n° 133). J'y ai ajouté quelques informations que j'ai glanées récemment.

            Albert C. Holder est né le 18 décembre 1937 dans la bourgade de Evergreen, au Sud de l'Alabama, dont la population est toujours majoritairement composée d'Africains Américains. Les parents Holder étaient des métayers et Albert a dû quitter l'école très jeune pour les aider. C'est vers l'âge de douze ans qu'il suit sa mère à Shreveport où il voit jouer Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) et Little Walter Jacobs. C'est sur ces modèles que Albert décide de devenir lui aussi harmoniciste. Il joue dans des clubs locaux sous le nom de Ace (i.e. A.C.) Holder, rencontre Junior Parker, Jimmy Reed et B.B. King avec lesquels il fait le boeuf.

         

Evergreen, Al. railroad station

    En 1957, Ace part à Los Angeles pour trouver de meilleures conditions de vie et de travail tout en continuant à jouer son blues dans les différents clubs de l'agglomération. Il se lie d'amitié avec le pianiste/ producteur Gus Jenkins grâce auquel il va enfin enregistrer une petite oeuvre mais de grande qualité pour des labels indépendants californiens comme Pioneer, Vanessa, Lulu, Movin' and Downey.

            Après s'être marié avec Clarie Roberts en 1966 et alors que leur famille s'agrandit, Holder est obligé de mieux gagner sa vie et abandonne plus ou moins la musique dans les années 1970-80. Il décède le 2 juillet 1993 à Los Angeles.

                                                                       Gérard HERZHAFT

            Ace Holder is a relatively obscure blues singer and harp player although he has recorded 13 excellent tracks during the 1960's, several (Lonesome harmonica, Homeless boy) having gained the status of minor classics among blues aficionados.

            Whatever we know of Holder's life and whereabouts comes largely from a sole interview conducted by blues researcher Darryl Stolper who interviewed Mr Holder and published the results in the British blues magazine Blues Unlimited (n° 133). I have added some infos that I gleaned recently.

            Albert C. Holder is born on 18 December 1937 in Evergreen, a small town in South Alabama, with a large African American population. His parents were poor sharecroppers and Albert had to quit school at an early age to help them in the fields. He followed his mother to Shreveport when he was about twelve and there he heard and met Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) and Little Walter Jacobs who inspired him to learn the harmonica and begin to play in local venues. He met (and jammed) with Jimmy Reed, Junior Parker, B.B. King and numerous others.

            In 1957, he went to live into the Los Angeles area, looking for better wages and also better musical opportunities. He soon was playing in the numerous clubs of that big city. But it was his meeting and friendship with pianist, singer, producer and label owner Gus Jenkins that gave him the opportunity to record during the 1960's for tiny West Coast indies labels like Pioneer, Vanessa, Lulu, Movin' and Downey. But after he married Clarie Roberts in 1966 and while their family was growing, Ace Holder had to make a decent living more and more outside the music. During the following decades, he almost quit the music business. He died in Los Angeles on 2nd July 1993.

                                                           Gérard HERZHAFT

ACE HOLDER/ Complete Recordings

Ace Holder (Albert C. Holder), vcl/hca; Gus Jenkins, pno; band. Los Angeles, Ca. 1961

01. Lonesome harmonica

02. Homeless boy

Ace Holder, vcl/hca; band. Los Angeles, Ca. 1962

03. Wabba Suzy Q

04. Leave my woman alone

05. Happy anniversary

06. When you are around

07. This love of mine

08. Doris Tee

09. I've been thinking of you

Ace Holder, vcl/hca; band. Los Angeles, Ca. 1964

10. I'm in love with you

11. Encourage me baby

Ace Holder, vcl/hca; g; g; Curtis Tillman, bs; Chuck Thomas, dms. Los Angeles, Ca. 1966

12. Sorry I had to leave

13. The eatingest woman

Two more tracks by Ace Holder (from 1969) are here

Ace Holder, vcl/hca; band. Los Angeles, Ca. 1969

Everything I took away/ Never been in love before

Thanks to Tom Thumb for this info.

EARL BELL/ Complete Recordings

 EARL BELL/ Complete Recordings

      

    Earl Bell n'est certainement pas un nom très connu des amateurs de blues aujourd'hui même s'il a été dans les années 1950-60 un acteur reconnu du Country blues de Memphis.

          Né le 19 février 1914 sur une plantation près d'Hernando (Ms), Earl est venu travailler à Memphis dans les années 1940, exerçant divers métiers dont celui de garde-barrière. Il avait sans doute appris à jouer très jeune de la guitare puisqu'il semble s'intégrer facilement dans la riche scène musicale de Beale Street, jouant avec différents jug bands ou se produisant seul dans les rues. Bien qu'il ait affirmé avoir enregistré à cette époque, aucune trace de ses disques n'est visible. Il a aussi affirmé avoir beaucoup joué dans les juke joints du Mississippi et de l'Arkansas, aurait connu Robert Johnson et aurait même été le véritable compositeur de Terraplane blues!

          Dans les années 1960, Earl Bell qui continue à jouer sporadiquement dans les rues de Memphis ou au bord du fleuve, souvent en compagnie du guitariste Walter Miller et de l'harmoniciste Memphis Sonny Boy (Marshall Jones) attire l'attention des pionniers du blues revival comme George Mitchell et le suédois Olle Helander qui l'enregistrent enfin en 1964 (il reste plusieurs titres inédits de cette séance) et en 1967. Il participe à quelques petits festivals locaux, grave aussi une très belle version de Catfish blues en compagnie de Memphis Sonny Boy pour le label Adelphi de Gene Rosenthal (il semble qu'il y ait cette fois-là aussi plusieurs titres inédits). Sa santé chancelante, son apparent manque de goût pour tout déplacement hors de sa ville de Memphis l'empêchent de participer davantage au blues revival, notamment avec une tournée en Europe qui lui aurait donné une plus grande visibilité.

          

 En fait, il n'enregistre plus qu'un titre "live" en 1973 et décède le 12 juillet 1977 à Memphis.

          Sa courte œuvre est, à quelques exceptions, très difficile à trouver, la séance de 1967 n'ayant jamais été publiée en LP ou en CD et impossible à obtenir en Europe!. Sans être un géant du Memphis blues, Earl Bell mérite d'être mieux connu et apprécié.

                                                              Gérard HERZHAFT

             Although not a major Country bluesman, Earl Bell - born on February 1914 in Hernando, Ms - was a quite well-known figure in and around Memphis for three decades.

             He seems to have played with several Beale Street jug bands during the 1940's after he came to live in Memphis. He said he was constantly playing the juke joints in Mississippi and Arkansas. Still according to him, he would have known Robert Johnson, being the composer of his "Terraplane blues"! He also said he had recorded before and just after the war but no evidence of those could be found.

             Whatever it is, Earl has worked many jobs in Memphis, hauling freight, railroad employee, factory worker... While playing regularly in the streets of Memphis and along the Mississippi river, often with guitarist Walter Miller and harp player Memphis Sonny Boy (Marshall Jones).

             But it is only with the blues revival that Earl had at last the opportunity to record, first in 1964 for Swedish radio producer Olle Helander in 1964 (several titles are still unissued!), then in 1967 for George Mitchell, a lengthy session that has never been issued in LP or CD and that is even impossible to buy as .mp3 download from Europe!

             In 1970, Gene Rosenthal from Adelphi records waxes Earl Bell with his long-time partner Memphis Sonny Boy for a wonderful version of "Catfish" (it seems that there are also some unissued titles from that day?).

             At that point, Earl could have toured Europe that  certainly would have given him a greater recognition. But Earl - with a flailing health - was very reluctant to travel too far from his Memphis home. He appeared only in small local festivals, recording only one more title in 1973.

             He died in Memphis on July, 12th, 1977.

                                                                              Gérard HERZHAFT

THE COMPLETE EARL BELL

Earl Bell, vcl/g. Memphis, Tn. 26 mai 1964

01. Terraplane blues

02. Travellin' man

Earl Bell, vcl/g; Abe Mc Neil, vcl/g on +; Johnny Woods, hca on *. Memphis, Tn. septembre 1967

03. Black panther+

04. Crawling kingsnake

05. Dust my broom

06. Jump on down

07. K.C. blues*

08. Leave in the morning

09. Rocky mountain

10. Telephone is ringing+

11. Terraplane blues

12. Two trains running+

13. Vicksburg blues

Earl Bell, vcl/g; Memphis Sonny Boy, hca. Memphis, Tn. juin 1970

14. Catfish blues

Earl Bell, vcl/g. Memphis, Tn. 13 mai 1973

15. Travellin' blues

AFBF 1969/ The Complete Sessions

  

AFBF 1969/ THE COMPLETE SESSIONS

 

           

After Al Smith in 1968, the line up of the AFBF 1969 European tour was once again given to a blues producer. This time it was the great Arhoolie's founder and manager Chris Strachwitz who also introduced on stage each artist, mostly bluesmen who had recorded on Arhoolie with the exception of Magic Sam and Carey Bell.

            The Paris show which I attended was quite good with Juke Boy Bonner starting with several of his own compositions and some Jimmy Reed's numbers. As far as I remember, Alex Moore appeared a little frail and, alone on the big concert stage, seemed to be hidden behind his piano, playing more for himself than for the audience. John Jackson followed, certainly the first Piedmont style bluesman to grace those AFBF's. I will have the opportunity to visit Mr Jackson ten years after at his home near Washington DC and he remembered this tour fondly but apologized himself for being too restrained and shy at that time before an European audience that he didn't know previously.

           

Clifton Chenier and his brother were their usual excellent showmen, introducing himself in French and mocking Chris Strachwitz who "sait pas parler français, le pauvre gars" (can't speak French, the poor boy!). 

Earl Hooker lighted the stage on fire with several instrumentals, displaying a dexterity on his double neck guitar that stunned the audience, singing some numbers with a young Carey Bell who was at that time mostly unknown but blowed like hell.

         

  Magic Sam closed the show with his trio and played a wonderful driving set that started a thunder of applause. I chatted a little bit with him and he told me to come to visit him in Chicago, telling me he was going to sign a contract with a major label for which he had great expectations. Unfortunately, Sam would die less than two months after this show!

            So, here are the titles from this tour that I've been able to gather for my "Blue Eye" blog.

                                                                       Gérard HERZHAFT

 

 

All titles recorded in Europe during October 1969

 

Juke Boy Bonner, vcl/g/hca.

01. Jumping with Juke Boy

02. Running shoes

Alex Moore, vcl/pno.

03. Across the Atlantic Ocean

John Jackson, vcl/g.

04. Poor boy

05. John Jackson's breakdown

06. You ain't no woman

Clifton Chenier, vcl/acc; Cleveland Chenier, rubboard; Robert St Julien, dms.

07. Zydeco et pas sale (Les haricots sont pas salés)

08. Wrap it up

Earl Hooker, vcl/g; Carey Bell, hca; Mac Thompson, bs; Robert St Julien, dms.

09. Earl's boogie

10. Going up and down

11. Crosscut saw

12. Blue shadows fall

Carey Bell, hca; Earl Hooker, g; Mac Thompson, bs; Robert St Julien, dms.

13. Rocking with chromonica

Magic Sam, vcl/g; Mac Thompson, bs; Robert St Julien, dms.

14. Easy baby

15. Looking good

16. All your love

 

All photos taken from my programme by Chris Strachwitz, Horst Lippman, Tom Revis.

AFBF 1968

 

AFBF 1968

 

           

For the 1968 American Folk Blues Festival European tour, German promoters Lippman and Rau had given to producer, promoter and bandleader Al Smith the task to form a lineup of artists, almost entirely based on Al's roster of bluesmen he had under contract. At that time Al who had been one of the main A&R man at Vee Jay, had launched his own companies like Torrid, Blues on Blues (BOB) and recently Bluesway. Al Smith had just been beginning a several years collaboration with ABC, recording many first rate LPs by several big blues names who had signed a contract with him: John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, Jimmie Reed, Big Joe Williams and a lot of lesser names but certainly not lesser talented.

            So it was natural that those blues stars would form the line up of the AFBF 1968 tour. After the near disaster of 1967, the backing band this time was first rate with guitarist Eddie Taylor, longtime Reed's accompanist (and largely responsible of the best moments of Reed's career), impeccable bassist and drummer Jerome Arnold and J.C. Lewis. Plus the great harmonica of Big Walter Horton who had already been on the AFBF 1965 lineup. Roosevelt Sykes (a long time friend of Al Smith) who was at first scheduled, couldn't appear and was replaced by Curtis Jones who at that time was living permanently in Europe.

           

The show that I attended in Paris was certainly one of the very best among all of those AFBFs. Everybody was in great form except Jimmy Reed who, probably drunk, stumbled on stage, only saved by the always reliable Eddie Taylor. Big Joe Williams that I never saw less than excellent, was at his greatest this evening. At first, opening the show and the spotlights being badly adjusted, Big Joe, sitting on his stool, tuned his guitar for a long while. His charisma was such that the audience, completely mesmerized by this giant of the blues working on his old battered and well worn 9 string guitar, didn't make a single noise. Suddenly, Joe got up of his stool and wiping his face with a huge handkerchief, asked loudly: "Is somebody out there?". After a great round of applause he whispers " Ah, you

are here!" and he got back on his stool and started to deliver a masterful set. Walter and Eddie Taylor and the band were extremely tight. T-Bone was his usual great and John Lee Hooker, now a big favorite of European stages since 1962, also delivered one of the better set that I've seen from him. The finale was very exciting with T-Bone alternating guitar and piano while Hooker rocked like hell, finishing dancing frantically on stage while the band was following every of his movement.

            Unfortunately, 1968 would be the only AFBF without a record issued! Apparently there were disagreements between German promoters and Al Smith and Al, having almost all the artists under his wing, took back to the USA all the recordings with the idea to issue a double album of the tour on Bluesway in the future. Why didn't this happen? Anyway, Al confirmed this to me when I interviewed him lengthy some months before his untimely death. Those tapes (many hours of it) are somewhere in some unknown vaults with many still unissued Bluesway sessions that Al showed me by Floyd Jones, John Littlejohn, Big Walter and many others.

            So, I've modestly tried for this post to gather whatever possible from this great tour and give a glimpse of what happened during this very successful tour.

Enjoy it!

                                         Gérard Herzhaft

 

All tracks recorded in Europe October 1968

Big Joe Williams, vcl/g.

01. Baby please don't go

02. Crying shame

Big Walter Horton, hca; Eddie Taylor, g; Jerome Arnold, bs; J.C. Lewis, dms.

03. Juke

Curtis Jones, vcl/pno.

04. Cherie

Jimmy Reed, vcl/g/hca; Eddie Taylor, g; Jerome Arnold, bs; J.C. Lewis, dms.

05. Big boss man

John Lee Hooker, vcl/g; T-Bone Walker, pno; Eddie Taylor, g; Jerome Arnold, bs; J.C. Lewis, dms.

06. Boom boom

07. It serves me right to suffer

08. Maudie

T-Bone Walker, vcl/g/pno; Eddie Taylor, g; Jerome Arnold, bs; J.C. Lewis, dms.

09. I wonder why

10. Stuttgart blues

11. Stormy monday blues

John Lee Hooker, vcl/g; T-Bone Walker, pno; Eddie Taylor, g; Jerome Arnold, bs; J.C. Lewis, dms.

12. Shake it baby

All photos taken from my AFBF 1968's programme by J.P.Leloir, Ambor, Dabrowski, M. Rowe, H. Lippmann

 

 

HONEYBOY EDWARDS/ Complete early recordings 1942-69

 HONEYBOY EDWARDS/ Complete Early Recordings 1942-69

 Honeyboy Edwards a été un acteur important de l'histoire de la migration du blues du Delta vers Chicago. Né à Shaw (Ms) le 28 juin 1915 au coeur du Delta, David Edwards a longuement voyagé avec Robert Johnson et Big Joe Williams, Forgeant son propre style au contact de ces deux compères ainsi que d'autres dont il a croisé la route un moment, tels Charlie Patton, Son House, Tommy Mc Clennan, Tommy Johnson, Robert Petway et bien sûr son voisin Muddy Waters. Guidés par John Work, les Lomax découvrent Edwards en 1942 sur la plantation Stovall où il est manoeuvre agricole et l'enregistrent à Clarksdale. Cette superbe série de titres non commerciaux enregistrés pour la Bibliothèque du Congrès révèlent en Edwards un des plus doués de ces bluesmen du Delta de ces années 1940, avec un jeu de guitare en fingerpicking fluide, imaginatif et substantiellement moderne.

        

Honeyboy Edwards. Clarksdale 1942

     Comme Muddy Waters, Honeyboy aurait dû émigrer vers Chicago mais il préfère traîner au Texas, le temps de graver un beau Build myself a cave pour un obscur label local. Il remonte à Memphis où il enregistre pour Sam Phillips une des plus belles versions de Sweet home Chicago qui restera inédite pendant deux décennies et qui sera même un temps attribué au pianiste Albert Williams! Mais Edwards est aussi à Chicago, attire l'attention des frères Chess qui le font enregistrer quelques grands titres (Drop down mama) mais décident de ne pas les exploiter pour ne pas concurrencer Muddy Waters! Il reste encore au moins trois titres inédits dans les archives de Chess si celles-ci existent encore quelque part!

            Par la suite, Honeyboy fait partie des premiers Aces avec Fred Below et les frères Myers mais les quitte juste avant qu'ils n'enregistrent. Il est du premier Blues Revival mais la plupart des séances que produit à l'époque Pete Welding resteront aussi inédites. La malchance frappe encore lorsque Honeyboy est en 1969 dans les studios Chess avec Fleetwood Mac et que les deux titres qu'il enregistre alors ne sont pas retenus sur l'album original!

            Heureusement, Honeyboy, grâce à sa longévité, finira par enregistrer plusieurs albums la plupart du temps en solo, apparaître dans les grands festivals, faire des tournées internationales, un des derniers témoins du passage du blues du Delta à celui de Chicago.

            Il décède le 22 août 2011 à Chicago après avoir publié en 1997 sa superbe autobiographie (The world don't owe me nothing) que nous recommandons chaudement.

                                     Gérard HERZHAFT

            Born in Shaw (Ms) on June 28th, 1915, David "Honeyboy" Edwards has known and played with most of his local contemporaries, Robert Johnson, Big Joe Williams, Tommy Mc Clennan, Robert Petway and of course his neighbour Muddy Waters. He also learned from Charlie Patton, Tommy Johnson and Son House, all of whom he met and sometimes played with.

            Lead by African American musicologist John Work, John and Alan Lomax discovered Edwards on Stovall Plantation where David was a sharecropper. Work noted that here was "a skilled blues singer and guitarist as well as a clever young man". Thus Edwards was quite extensively recorded for the Library of Congress during two days of July 1942 in Clarksdale. Those recordings show an excellent singer and a very fluent, imaginative fingerpicking guitarist with a more modern approach than most of his local fellow bluesmen.

            Like Muddy Waters and so many others, Honeyboy should have migrate to Chicago and probably he would have started to record a thicker work and maybe become an important name of the post-war Chicago blues. But instead he preferred to drift here and there, working as a field hand a little bit everywhere in the Southern States and playing his music in juke joints and venues. His recorded output during the 1950's is unfortunately quite thin but of a very high quality. He waxed four sides in Texas (only two were issued), one striking version of Sweet Home Chicago in Memphis for Sam Phillips that will stay unissued for decades and even attributed to piano player Albert Williams (!)... When he hit Chicago in 1953, he eventually recorded for the Chess label four titles that Chess didn't issue because they thought Edwards's style was too close to Muddy Waters', which was of course true. Only one (Drop down mama) has been issued on LP, the remainder lays somewhere in the Chess vaults if there still is such a thing today!

            And that's it for his commercial recordings for the African American blues market! Honeyboy will also ne a member of the Aces with Below and the Myers brothers but once again won't record with them. He'll have to make a living outside of music during the 50's and 60's. And when Pete Welding brought him in the studio in 1964 and 1967 for the new public of the Blues Revival, most of the tracks Honeyboy recorded then would stay unissued until the CD years. In 1969, Edwards is part of the Fleetwood Mac's Chess sessions but - guess what - the two titles he takes as a leader will stay once again in the vaults until the 1990's!

            But at last, during the 1980's, Honeyboy's talents will be recognized. Edwards, as an elder witness of the henceforth legendary road that brought the Delta blues to Chicago and as an old partner of Robert Johnson, will record several CD's, be on major festival stages, tour Europe. He even will write in 1997 a gripping autobiography (The world don't owe me nothing) that should be in all blues libraries.

            Honeyboy Edwards died in Chicago on 22 August 2011.

                                                                       Gérard HERZHAFT

HONEYBOY EDWARDS/ Complete Early Recordings

Honeyboy Edwards, vcl/g/hca. Clarksdale, Ms. 20 juillet 1942

01. Spread my raincoat down

02. Chain Gang song 1 (You got to roll)

03. Chain Gang song 2

04. Stagolee

05. Just a spoonful

06. I love my Jelly roll

07. Hellatakin' blues

08. Worried life blues

09. Water Coast blues

10. The Army blues

11. Tear it down rag

Honeyboy Edwards, vcl/g/hca. Clarksdale, Ms. 22 juillet 1942

12. Wind howlin' blues

13. Roamin' and ramblin' blues

Honeyboy Edwards, vcl/g; Thunder Smith, pno. Houston, Tx. 1950

14. Build a cave

15. Who may your regular be?

Honeyboy Edwards, vcl/g; Albert Williams, pno; Joe Willie Wilkins, g; Dickie Houston, dms; James Walker, wbd. Memphis, Tn. 1952

16. Sweet home Chicago

Honeyboy Edwards, vcl/g; Gus Jenkins, pno; Willie Nix, dms. Chicago, Ill. 9 janvier 1953

17. Drop down mama

Honeyboy Edwards, vcl/g; John Lee Henley, hca. Chicago, Ill. 17 mars 1964

18. My baby's gone

19. Angel Child

20. Highway 61

21. Love me over slow

Honeyboy Edwards, vcl/g. Chicago, Ill. 29 juillet 1967

22. Just like Jesse James

23. Sweet home Chicago

24. Blues like showers of rain

25. Long tall woman blues

26. Love me over slow

27. Crawling kingsnake

28. Skin and bones blues

29. Bull cow blues

30. Worryin' woman blues

Honeyboy Edwards, vcl/g Big Walter Horton, hca; Buddy Guy, g; Peter Green, g; Willie Dixon, bs; Mick Fleetwood, dms. Chicago, Ill. 4 janvier 1969

31. My baby's gone

32. Honeyboy blues