NEW ORLEANS BLUES/ Volume 2

 

 

NEW ORLEANS BLUES/ Volume 2

 

           

Let's go back once again to New Orleans, folks!

            For this new volume of our New Orleans series, we are starting with singer, guitarist/ bassist Billy Tate. Born blind, Billy Tate was quite active in New Orleans during the 1950's, doing many club and venues appearances, a lot of session works and recording 13 tracks under his name for several labels like Imperial or Peacock. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find much biographic details on this fine and underrated artist.

            Sylvester Saunders (George Sanders Le Blanc) is another very fine New Orleans singer who recorded only three singles for famous producer Cosimo Matassa during 1953-54. He was born in New Orleans on 24^th December 1929 and died at home in New Orleans, 14 September 1998.

            Allen (or Alan) "Fats" Matthews, also known as Fat Man Matthews was the front singer for Dave Bartholomew's band during the 1950's after Dave saw him perform at the Tijuana Club, searching for a Clyde McPhatter type of vocalist. Matthews recorded three singles under his name with Bartholomew's band. He was for a while member of the vocal groups, The Hawks but resurfaced as a solo leader during the late 1966 for a last session, still fronting Bartholomew's band. Fats Matthews was born in 1931 probably in New Orleans. At that time, I've not been able to be sure of when (or even if) he died and where.

            Almost all of the facts in this article come from John Broven (his first rate book Walking to New Orleans), Bob Eagle (Blues/ A regional experience) and Marv Goldberg's article about The Hawks. Thanks also to Rockthishouse for helping me get some rare tracks.

                                              Gérard HERZHAFT

 

 

BILLY TATE, vcl/g; band. New Orleans, La. 1953

01. I've got news for you baby

02. Love is a crazy thing

Billy Tate, vcl/g; Lee Allen, t-sax; Huey Smith, pno; bs; dms. New Orleans, La. november 1953

03. Ooh ohh baby

04. Cryin' in the morning

Billy Tate, vcl/g; Lee Allen, t-sax; Herb Hardesty, a-sax; Fats Domino, pno; Frank Fields, bs; Cornelius Coleman, dms. New Orleans, La. 19 november 1954

05. You told me

06. Single life

Billy Tate, vcl/g; band. New Orleans, La. october 1956

07. Don't call my name

08. Right from wrong

Billy Tate, vcl/g/acc; band. New Orleans, La. 1956

09. Lifetime in prison I & II

Billy Tate, vcl/g; band. Crowley, La. 1959

10. Pray on my child

11. Special lesson n°1

12. Teasin' around with me

13. Right or wrong

SYLVESTER SAUNDERS, vcl; band. New Orleans, La. may 1953

14. I want you

15. My dreams are all in vain

Sylvester Saunders, vcl; Big Boy Myles, tb; Alfred Bernard, a-sax; David Lastie, t-sax; Sugar Ray Crawford, pno; Snooks Eaglin, g; Frank Fields, bs; Eric Warner, dms. New Orleans, La. november 1953

16. Let's have some fun

17. Get away

Sylvester Saunders, vcl; James Sugar Boy Crawford, pno/vcls; Big Boy Myles, tb; Alfred Bernard, a-sax; David Lastie, t-sax; Snooks Eaglin, g; Frank Fields, bs; Eric Warner, dms. New Orleans, La. january 1954

18. Please believe me

19. Long lost stranger

FATS MATTHEWS, vcl; Dave Bartholomew, tpt; The Four Kittens, vcls; band. New Orleans, La. november 1952

20. Later baby

21. When boy meets girl

Fats Matthews, vcl; band. New Orleans, La. 17 march 1953

22. Down the line

23. You know it

Fats Matthews, vcl; band. New Orleans, La. 3 august 1953

24. I'm thankful

25. Goin' down

Fats Matthews, vcl; Dave Bartholomew, tpt/vcls; band. New Orleans, La. december 1966

26. Junk man

27. Hey hey

 

MERCY DEE WALTON/ Complete Recordings

 

MERCY DEE WALTON/ Complete Recordings

                                               (revised and updated)

 

Ce pianiste texan est aujourd'hui trop oublié. On ne retient souvent de lui le seul fait qu'il est l'auteur du célèbre One room country shack, repris jusqu'à aujourd'hui par des dizaines de musiciens de blues et de rock. Mais son oeuvre enregistrée déborde largement ce chef d'oeuvre.

            Né le 30 août 1915 à Waco (Texas), de Fred et Bessie Walton, des métayers. Il abandonne l'école à l'âge de huit ans pour les aider dans les champs. Mais sous l'influence de pianistes locaux comme Sam Brewster, Pinetop Shorty ou Delois Maxey (aucun n'a enregistré), le jeune Mercy Dee devient à son tour un pianiste accompli qui joue dans les barrelhouses ou dans des réunions privées à partir de la fin des années 20.

            Cependant, le jeu de piano de Mercy Dee, tel que nous les connaissons par les disques, traduit aussi une forte influence des pianistes de big bands des années 1920/30 et ce mariage entre la rudesse rythmée de l'école Texane et le toucher plus sophistiqué des jazzmen de Kansas City fait l'originalité de Walton. De même, son chant prenant, mélancolique, détaché mais passionné, si caractéristique du blues texan a parfois aussi des accents jazzy, notamment dans l'utilisation du scat ou dans le phrasé des blues shouters qu'il emploie dans les pièces les plus rapides.

            En 1938, Mercy Dee gagne Fresno à Californie pour avoir de meilleurs salaires en cueillant les fruits de cette riche région. Il a aussi davantage de possibilités de jouer et on le voit dans les clubs de Oakland, San Francisco, Fresno, Stockton et jusqu'à Los Angeles. Il lui faut cependant attendre 1949 pour enfin enregistrer quatre titres pour le petit label indépendant Spire de Chester Lew (parfois à tort orthographié en Lu). G.I. Fever et Lonesome cabin blues réussissent, malgré les aléas d'une distribution chaotique à figurer brièvement dans les classements Billboard et Cashbox et installent soudain Mercy Dee comme un artiste californien qui compte. Ces deux titres, pleins d'un humour amer, sont effectivement excellents et révèlent un artiste en pleine possession de ses moyens. Les années suivantes, Walton enregistre pour des labels importants comme Imperial et Specialty et en 1952-53, le magnifique One room country shack, poignant blues de la solitude absolue, atteint la 8 ème place du Top 40 R&B. Mercy Dee tourne alors à travers tous les Etats Unis. Mais son style de blues profond qui plaisait tant aux migrants ruraux cesse d'être à la mode et, après une vaine tentative de la part des Biharis de lui faire enregistrer des titres plus Rock'n'roll, Mercy Dee doit retourner dans son exploitation fruitière, jouant les week ends dans des bars à cocktails de Fresno et Stockton.

            C'est là que le redécouvre l'infatigable Chris Strachwitz en 1961 qui lui fait enregistrer quatre séances qui paraîtront sur deux magnifiques albums Arhoolie et Bluesville. Mercy Dee devait apparaître à l'affiche de festivals du folk boom quand il est mort d'une attaque à Murphys (Californie) le 2 décembre 1962

 

                                               Gérard HERZHAFT

 

            This wonderful Texan pianist and singer is too neglected today, generally only mentioned to have been the composer of the all-time classic blues, jazz and rock One room country shack. But his first-rate recorded output is certainly not limited to this masterpiece.

            Born in Waco (Texas) on August, 30th, 1915 from two sharecroppers, Fred and Bessie Walton, Mercy Dee had to help his parents and leave school at an early age. He also learned the piano from several local musicians like Sam Brewster, Pinetop Shorty or Delois Maxey (none has ever recorded) and, when the 1930's began, he was seen playing at private parties and then local barrelhouses.

            Mercy Dee's piano playing although strongly rooted in the rhythmical efficient roughness of the barrelhouse Texas school has also very often a much more jazzy and light touch, coming from the big bands' pianists of the 1930's. His style of singing, melancholic, impassioned and gloomy, tends also sometimes to borrow jazz manners with scat tricks and shoutings, particularly on his later fast and rockin' pieces.

            In 1938, Mercy Dee went to Fresno (California) to work as a fruit picker and found a lot of opportunities for paid gigs for his kind of piano blues. He played a little bit everywhere in local clubs, private parties from Fresno to Oakland and even Los Angeles. He nevertheless had to wait 1949 to make his recording debuts on the tiny Fresno label Spire, operated by Chester Lew (and not Lu as it is sometimes written). Despite poor distribution, the excellent single G.I. Fever/ Lonesome cabin blues proved to be successful, hitting the Billboard and Cashbox Top 100's. The following years saw Mercy Dee playing clubs, touring the USA and recording for strong labels like Imperial and Specialty. In 1952-53, his One room country shack, an harrowing down home blues about loneliness was a smash hit, climbing up to number 8 of the Top 40 R&B for several weeks.

            But this deep blues style so in favour among the numerous Southwest black migrants during and after the war, was quickly going out fashioned and, after some attempts with mixed results to cash on the new Rock'n'roll trends, Mercy Dee had to return to fruit picking for a living while playing Fresno cocktail lounges on week ends.

            This is where Chris Strachwitz rediscovered him in 1961. He recorded with Mercy Dee four sessions the same year in different settings which were issued as two excellent LP's still available (particularly the Arhoolie CD Troublesome mind). Walton was scheduled on several folk festivals when he died from a massive stroke at Murphys (California) on 2 December 1962.

                                                           Gérard HERZHAFT

 

 

MERCY DEE WALTON   Complete Recordings

Mercy Dee Walton, vcl/pno. Fresno, Ca. 1949

01. Lonesome cabin blues

02. G.I. Fever (Baba Du Lay fever)

03. Evil and hanky

04. Travellin' alone blues

Mercy Dee Walton, vcl/pno; g.; bs. Los Angeles, Ca. novembre 1950

05. Homely baby

06. Empty life

07. Please understand

08. Bird brain baby

Mercy Dee Walton, vcl/pno; g; bs. Los Angeles, Ca. décembre 1950

09. Big foot country

10. Danger zone (Crepe on your door)

11. Roamin' blues

12. Straight and narrow

13. Bought love

14. Old fashioned ways

15. Happey bachelor blues

16. The Pay off (Anything in the world)

Mercy Dee Walton, vcl/pno; Jesse Sailes, dms. Los Angeles, Ca. 13 mai 1952

17. One room Country shack

18. My woman knows the score

19. Misery blues

20. The great mistake

21. Save me some

22. Strugglin' with the blues

23. Lonesome cabin blues

Mercy Dee Walton, vcl/pno; Jesse Sailes, dms. Los Angeles, Ca. 25 avril 1953

24. Rent man blues (vcls: Thelma Walton)

25. Fall guy

26. The drifter

27. Hear me shout

28. Love is a mystery

29. Winter blues

30. Pauline

Mercy Dee Walton, vcl/pno; t-sax; Jesse Sailes, dms. 4 octobre 1953

31. Get to gettin'

32. Dark muddy bottom

33. Whatcha gonna do?

34. My woman and the Devil

35. Big minded daddy

36. Perfect health

37. Problem child

38. Pull'em and pop'em

39. Eighth wonder of the world

40. Rock and roll fever

Mercy Dee Walton, vcl/pno; L.C. Robinson, g; bs; dms. Oakland, Ca. novembre 1954

41. Trailing my baby

42. Trying to kick this habit

Mercy Dee Walton, vcl/pno; Big Jim Wilson, t-sax; band. Oakland, Ca. décembre 1954

43. The main event

Mercy Dee Walton, vcl/pno; band. Los Angeles, Ca. 1955

44. Romp and stomp blues

45. Oh Oh Please

46. Come back Maybelline

47. True love

48. Have you ever

49. Stubborn woman

Mercy Dee Walton, vcl/pno; Sidney Maiden, hca; K.C. Douglas, g; Otis Cherry, dms. Stockton, Ca. 5 février 1961

50. Walked down so many turnrows

51. Eighth wonder of the world

52. I been a fool

53. Red light

54. Jack Engine

55. Call the asylum

56. Mercy's party

Ebony baby

Mercy Dee Walton, vcl/pno; K.C. Douglas, g; Otis Cherry, dms. Stockton, Ca. 12 février 1961

57. Mercy's troubles

58. Troublesome mind

59. After the fight

60. Bird brain baby

61. Shady Lane

Mercy Dee Walton, vcl/pno; Marcellus Thomas, vcl on *; Sidney Maiden, hca; Otis Cherry, dms. Berkeley, Ca. 16 avril 1961

62. Pity and a shame

63. Shady Lane

64. After the fight

65. Your friend and woman

66. One room Country shack

67. The drunkard*

68. Five card hand*

69. Have you ever been in the country?

70. My little angel

71. Mercy's shuffle

72. Sugar daddy

73. Call the asylum

74. Lady Luck

75. Betty Jean*

TEXAS BLUES/ Volume 9

 

TEXAS BLUES/ Volume 09

 

           

After our Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown post, let's stay in Texas with a 9^th volume of our popular series about "Texas blues"... yesterday of course and as usual in this blog!

            Bassist and bandleader Milton Willis (12 December 1929 in Houston, † 13 September 2005 in Houston) played quite frequently around Houston during the late 1940's before embarking in a long career in radio and broadcast programmes. He was general manager of the KODA radio station in the 1970's. Willis recorded only six tracks with his excellent Texas band comprising saxophonists like R.P. Rogers, Popeye Whitehead, Elmore Nixon on the 88s and featuring Hubert Robinson or Popeye Whitehead as vocalists. Here are four of his quite rare tracks. The last two Lost you and Take me back again are here, thanks to our generous friend Mike from Australia.

            Singer and pianist Lonnie Lyons (born 29 September 1926 in Galveston, † 12 August 1953 in Houston) also played regularly in and around Houston with his own and various other bands during the immediate post-war years. Strongly influenced by fellow Texans Amos Milburn and Charles Brown, Lyons recorded 13 great tracks for Freedom and Gold Star with a tough band featuring excellent guitarist Goree Carter. Some of his numbers had been widely reissued through the years but other are much hard to find. I have managed to gather all his recordings minus 4 titles. Again, if anyone would want to share those rarities, it would be great. And thanks to our generous friend Mike from Australia here are two very rare Lyons's tracks (Lonely heart blues / Barrelhouse nightcap)

           

Singer Mabel Franklin (born 24 August 1919 in New Orleans - † 21 April 1997 in Houston) gained some reputation thanks to a handful of down home blues records she made with guitarist D.C. Bender between 1965 and 1967. She stopped singing the blues in the 1970's to become a Minister of God and waxed some Gospel records later on, even a whole and very rare album with her Franklin Singers I came to Jesus.

            Clarence "Candy" Green (Clarence Wilbert Green) is another two fisted Texas pianist and singer (born in Galveston 15 March 1929 - † 3 April 1988 in Houston). He recorded three 78s between 1948 and 1952, played in New York and Mexico before relocating in Scandinavia, playing all over Europe in night clubs and venues and alongside the Leo Wright's band, entertaining American soldiers in West Germany. He also recorded a LP for the Supraphon label, reissued on JSP. Clarence "Candy" Green must not be confused with fellow Texas guitarist Clarence Green.

                              Gérard HERZHAFT

 

 

MILTON WILLIS,bs; Leon "Popeye" Whitehead, a-sax; R.P. Rogers, t-sax; Joe Jones, pno; Johnnie Jackson, dms. Houston, Tx. décembre 1948

01. Five ace boogie

02. You know I love you baby (vcl: Leon Whitehead)

Milton Willis, bs; Elmore Nixon, pno; R.P. Rogers, t-sax; Johnnie Jackson, dms. Houston, Tx. février 1949

03. Little Joe's boogie

04. Three o'clock blues (vcl: Hubert Robinson)

Lost you

Take me back again

LONNIE LYONS, vcl/pno; band. Houston, Tx. 10 septembre 1947

Never trust a woman

10 o'clock jump

Lonnie Lyons, vcl/pno; Nelson Mills, tpt; Conrad Johnson, a-sax; Sam Williams, t-sax; Goree Carter, g; Louis Pitts, bs; Allison Tucker, dms. Houston, Tx. juin 1949

05. Far away blues

06. Fly chick bounce

Lonely heart blues

Barrelhouse nightcap

Lonnie Lyons, vcl/pno; Nelson Mills, tpt; Conrad Johnson, a-sax; Sam Williams, t-sax; Goree Carter, g; Louis Pitts, bs; Allison Tucker, dms. Houston, Tx. septembre 1949

07. Neat and sweet I & II

08. Helpless

09. Down in the groovy

10. Betrayed

11. Sneaky Joe

Lonnie Lyons, vcl/pno; Henry Hayes, a-sax; Goree Carter, g; Don Cooks, bs; Ben Turner, dms. Houston, Tx. 1950

12. I need romance

13. I'm waiting baby

MABEL FRANKLIN, vcl; D.C. Bender, g; C.W. Thornton, dms. Houston, Tx. 1965

14. Let's do the wiggle

15. Dream I had last night

Mabel Franklin, vcl; band. Houston, Tx. 1965

16. Come on and go

Mabel Franklin, vcl; D.C. Bender, g; Bob Goodwill, pno; Big H. Williams, g; Oscar Adams, bs; Ivory Lee Semien, dms. Houston, Tx. 11 juillet 1967

17. Lucille leave my man alone

18. Unhappy woman

19. I'm going home to rest

20. Make up your mind

Mabel Franklin, vcl; D.C. Bender, g; Big Houston Williams, bs; Ivory Lee Semien, dms. Houston, Tx. 16 juillet 1967

21. Wiggle wiggle

CLARENCE "CANDY" GREEN, vcl/pno; Johnny Fontenette, t-sax; Horace Richmond, bs; Rigs Bolden, dms. Houston, Tx. 1948

22. Galveston blues

23. Green's bounce

Clarence "Candy" Green, vcl/pno; Bill Harvey, t-sax; tpt; a-sax; Fred Ford, b-sax; poss. Pee Wee Crayton, g; Johnny Parker, bs; dms. Houston, Tx. 1950

24. Hard headed woman

25. Until the end

Clarence "Candy" Green, vcl/pno; Rathe Lee, t-sax; Kinroy Bailey, bs; Lawrence Harris, dms. Houston, Tx. 1952

26. My time is your time

27. Bye baby bye

BLUES GUITAR MASTERS Volume 10/ CLARENCE "GATEMOUTH" BROWN, 1964-66

 

CLARENCE 'Gatemouth" BROWN 1964-66

BLUES GUITAR MASTERS/ Volume 10

 

           

    Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (born 18^th April 1924 at Vinton, La - † 10 September 2005 at Orange, Tx) is of course a very well known bluesman, generally hailed as one of the master Texas style guitarists. But he is of course much more than that, a good fiddler, harmonica player, occasionally drummer and even a pianist (I saw him play quite well this instrument before a concert), a great singer, showman and talented composer.... In fact, his talents stretched far beyond the blues. As he was exposed during his youth to the best Western Swing bands, he learned a lot from them and was always full of appreciation for Bob and Johnny Lee Wills, Milton Brown and many other Western Swing creators. He then was very comfortable to play Country Music: I saw him during the Montreux Jazz Festival 1979 playing before two different audiences first on the Country Music scene (jamming with Roy Clark, Buck Trent or Barbara Mandrell) during the afternoon and a few hours after on the blues scene during the evening! And of course he made several good Country Music and Cajun albums alongside people like Asleep at the Wheel or Roy Clark. Gate was also a very nice jazzman and although he didn't have the chance to prove it on his US recordings, thanks to French promoters like Jean Marie Monestier, Brown recorded several jazz or very jazzy albums for Black & Blue, backing tastefully many jazz musicians.

            His first recordings for Aladdin and Peacock from the 1940's to 1960 are very well documented, reissued and largely available. But the early 1960's were a little bit lean years for Gate and he had to hold a day job outside of music for bread and butter. Between 1964 and 1966, he had the opportunity to resume his musical career, leading the house band for the pioneering Soul and blues TV program The Beat! produced and hosted by Hoss Allen and broadcasted from Nashville.

           

Photo by Jean Pierre Leloir from my book
 "Nouvelle Encyclopédie du blues"

During this short two years terms, Gate (with probably his Nashville band) recorded again several sessions for small labels, one of those sessions being finally issued later on by the British Charly label which found the unissued tapes on the Chess vaults! Gate was of course playing great music on The Beat! and a couple of his tunes have been issued on a Hoss Allen's compilation CD. Some others, picked from TV programmes, are displayed here for the first time.

            After 1966, Gate had very few gigs, couldn't keep a band and once again had to take a job outside music (he told us he was a sheriff somewhere in Louisiana!).

            Fortunately, after 1971 French tour operator brought Gate back on music. He was featured alongside Jimmy Dawkins, Big Joe Williams, Cousin Joe et al at the very successful Chicago blues Festival 1971. Although of course his links with the Chicago blues weren't obvious, Gate stole the shows almost everywhere, amazing blues fans with his showmanship and extraordinary guitar playing. So, Gatemouth came back very often in Europe during the subsequent years, recording a lot of very good albums and, finally, making it again in his home country, headlining a lot of big US Festivals and recording more albums, particularly two masterpieces for Rounder.

            I have gathered, I hope!, all his 1964-66 recordings, 45s, odd sessions, TV show etc...  which are not easily available and never displayed as a whole. I feel it fills a gap between his two careers and testifies of the same great skills during this decade than before or after!

                                                                       Gérard HERZHAFT

 

 

CLARENCE "GATEMOUTH" BROWN 1964-66/ Blues Guitar Masters Volume 10

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, vcl/g; band. Houston, Tx. August 1964

01. Summertime I & II

02. Leftover blues

Clarence "Gatmouth" Brown, vcl/g/hca; band. Houston, Tx. july1965

03. The cricket

04. Okie Dokie 65

05. Here I am

06. Chicken shake

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, vcl/g; band. Houston, Tx. 2 september 1965

07. The grass is always greener

08. It's alright

09. Stop what you're doing to me

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, vcl/g/fdl/hca; Harrison Calloway, tpt; Mitch Arlen,tpt; David Newman, t-sax; Harvey Thompson, t-sax; Skippy Brooks, pno; Johnny Jones, g; Billy Cox, bs; Freeman Brown, dms. Nashville, Tn. avril 1965

10. May the bird of paradise? I & II

11. Cross my heart

12. Don't start me to talking

13. Gate's salty blues

14. My time is expensive

15. Ninety nine

16. Going down slow

17. Long way home

18. Tippin' in

19. For now so long

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, vcl/g/fdl/hca; Harrison Calloway, tpt; Mitch Arlen,tpt; David Newman, t-sax; Harvey Thompson, t-sax; Skippy Brooks, pno; Johnny Jones, g; Billy Cox, bs; Freeman Brown, dms. Nashville, Tn. 1965-66

20. Have you ever been mistreated

21. The Beat Medley

22. When the blue moon turns to gold again

23. Hot times tonight

24. Milk cow blues

25. Playboy n°2

26. I want you for my girlfriend

 

 

AFBF 1972/ The Complete Sessions

 

AFBF 1972/ The Complete Sessions

 

          For an unknown reason to me, there were no AFBF tour in 1971. The 1970 edition was probably too unsuccessful commercially and even musically? Whatever, for the 10^th Anniversary of this by now well established tour (and also more and more criticized by blues magazines and fans alike), the German promoters Lippman and Rau planned two tours of Europe, one in March the other in October with two rather different line-ups. But by now, those tours were less and less attracting audiences and dates that were numerous still a couple of years before were now scarcer. A mere six dates in March and October! Mostly in Germany with Rotterdam, Stockholm and Paris in March. And London and Paris again in October!

            At that time I was living in Champagne, so not too far from Paris and I certainly would never miss a blues show in the Capital city. So I was able to attend to the two shows. As far as I remember, the March concert in Paris was a total disaster despite an exciting lineup with Big Mama Thornton and T-Bone Walker coming back. If old Big Joe was his usual self good and Robert Pete Williams (who was a great revelation in 1966) did a too short set, Memphis Slim who was living in Paris and probably picked up at the last moment did his by now a little bit routine set of his old favorites. But the flop of the flop was T-Bone Walker who was so drunk that he was unable to do anything than stumble on stage, couldn't even put his guitar on his shoulder and had to be placed on the piano stool by the good Californian saxophonist Eddie Taylor (not the Chicago blues giant) where he tinkled away a few notes, generally out of tune, tentatively singing a couple of tunes while never succeeding to finish one! After some minutes of chaos, the audience booed him and he had to quit the stage, still stumbling and helped by the musicians who had to finish the set without their leader. What a sad show for such a blues giant! Big Mama was of course far better although she didn't get along too well with the band. But her set was totally ruined by T-Bone who was constantly coming back on stage, totally drunk and trying in vain to play guitar or piano behind poor Big Mama who had to throw him out of stage each time! No need to say that the audience was not very satisfied with this quite expensive concert!

           

The October show was better with a then favorite Roosevelt Sykes, a great Bukka White and too short but quite good sets by Lightnin' Slim and Whispering Smith who had been at their peak a few months back during the Montreaux Jazz festival (backed by the Aces). Jimmy Rogers also was good as well as Jimmy Dawkins and the blues belter Big Voice Odom. But the AFBF formula had then showed its limits. 3 or 4 tunes by each bluesmen didn't gave them room enough to really take over the audience and prove their talents.

            Those two AFBF 1972 tours didn't probably garnered enough money and they were the last. There won't be no AFBF the following years until Lippman and Rau would try to revive the formula without changing anything anyway during the early 1980's this time touring only in Germany and a few shows in Switzerland and Austria. With apparently not a tremendous success. I didn't attend to any of those 1980's tours, so I won't issue more AFBF's entries on my blog.

            The times had drastically changed for the blues. By now, the blues was (largely thanks to those early AFBF's) a music recognized at its value in Europe and many tours and festivals were displaying artists in a far better way. In 1979, I had the chance to be partly at the wheel of a Night of the Blues programme in Lyon. With the help of one of the most important Rock touring agent, we were able to gather Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Luther Allison, Taj Mahal and Sugar Blue (Lowell Fulson was programmed but couldn't come at the last moment) for a mammoth show that started at 7PM up to 3AM the next morning! The place was the Lyon's Roman Theatre (built during the 1st century) and the attendance was more than 4500 paying visitors!

            Well... I have here tried to gather the largest possible recordings from those AFBF 1972 tours, some "officials", most "unofficials". Despite the sloppy concerts, the music stands well the test of time and stays as a testimony of good blues by real bluesmen who had lived the blues and not only played it. All of them are by now dead and gone, so let's enjoy their recordings!

                                                                       Gérard HERZHAFT

 

AFBF 1972/ The Complete Sessions

Bukka White, vcl/g.

01. Aberdeen blues

02. Black cat

03. I'm gettin' ready

04. Miss Mary

05. Poor boy

06. Sic' em dogs on me

07. Stone

08. Tippin' in

09. World boogie

Big Joe Williams, vcl/g.

10. Baby please don't go

11. Blues all night long

12. Annie Mae blues

13. Blues how do you do?

14. Long tall woman

15. Louise

16. Mean old Frisco

17. Memphis Tn blues

18. My baby is gone

19. My boots and shoes

20. She left me a mule to ride

Robert Pete Williams, vcl/g.*

21. Look here woman

22. Louise

23. Better have your way

24. Two horses on a line

25. My hsoes torn up my feet

26. Texas blues when I was young

27. The new talking blues of Angolas

Roosevelt Sykes, vcl/pno.

28. Drivin' wheel

29. Sweet home Chicago

30. Boot that thing

Memphis Slim, vcl/pno; Michel Denis, dms. *

31. Baby please come home

32. Boogin' and bluesin'

33. Lonesome traveller

Johnny Young, mdln; Willie Kent, bs; Billy Davenport, dms.*

34. Instrumental boogie

Big Mama Thornton, vcl/hca; Paul Pena, g; Edward Taylor, t-sax; Phillip Morrison, bs; Hartley Severns, fdl/saxes; Vinton Johnson, dms.*

35. Ball and chain

36. Tell me baby

Jimmy Rogers, vcl/g; Whispering Smith, hca; Willie Kent, bs; Billy Davenport, dms.

37. Can’t keep from worrying

38 Tricky woman

39. Chicago bound

Lightnin' Slim, vcl/g; Whispering Smith, hca; Willie Kent, bs; Billy Davenport, dms.

40. Wintertime blues

41. Walking through the park

Whispering Smith, vcl/hca; Lightnin' Slim, g; Willie Kent, bs; Billy Davenport, dms.

42. Storm in Texas

T-Bone Walker, vcl/pno; Paul Pena, g; Edward Taylor, t-sax; Phillip Morrison, bs; Hartley Severns, fdl/saxes; Vinton Johnson, dms.*

43. Going back to church

44. Shake it baby

Andrew Big Voice Odom, vcl; Jimmy Dawkins, g; Jesse Williams, g; Roosevelt Sykes, pno; Willie Kent, bs; Billy Davenport, dms.

45. Don't ever leave me

46. Got my mojo working