Jimmy Witherspoon - Ain't Nobody's Business!

Side 1:
01) Ain't Nobody's Business Part 2
02) In The Evening
03) Frogomore Blues
04) McShann Bounce Part 1
05) How Long
06) Money's Getting Cheaper

Side 2:
01) Skid-Row Blues
02) Spoon Calls Hootie
03) Back Water Blues
04) Louie's Guitar Boogie
05) Destruction Blues
06) Ain't Nobody's Business Part 1

Ain't Nobody's Business! (Mega)

Ain't Nobody's Business! (Zippy)

Another LP which has lain unplayed for decades on the shelves of the vinyl vault. An unfortunate state of affairs as it provides a valuable snapshot of a period when one of the all time great blues shouters, Jimmy Witherspoon, enjoyed considerable success on the R&B charts. Witherspoon, of course, went on to have a decades long career as a jazz and blues singer but here we concentrate on 1947 - 1949 when his recordings for Supreme Records made a big noise on the sales charts.

Although the sleevenotes for this LP say that these recordings were made for Jack Lauderdale's Down Beat / Swing Time label, in fact with the exception of "Spoon Calls Hootie" and "Destruction Blues'" these tracks were recorded in November 1947 for Supreme Records, a small LA based label owned by dentist Al Patrick. The label had a limited but interesting roster of R&B artists which included Jimmy Witherspoon, Jay McShann, Buddy Tate, Paula Watson and Eddie Williams. Two lawsuits (brought by Decca and Black & White) plus the inevitable financial pressures of a small label having to support a nationwide smash hit (Witherspoon's "Ain't Nobody's Business") brought about the closure of the label in 1950 with most of its masters being bought up by Swing Time.

In the previous post "Jay McShann - The Band That Jumps The Blues!" we saw how pianist and former big band leader Jay McShann had migrated to the West Coast, leading small jump groups rather than full bands. In Vallejo California McShann came across Witherspoon and immediately signed him to his band which for a while could boast three vocalists - Crown Prince Waterford, Witherspoon and Numa Lee Davis. The band cut sides for Philo, Premier and Mercury (1945 - 1947) with Waterford and Davis dropping out, leaving Witherspoon as the sole vocalist fronting the band.

Supreme started recording Witherspoon who was now a solo act in October 1947. Further sessions followed in November 1947 with backing by Jay McShann who generously provided studio support for his former singer, and in a final late December 1947 session, backing was provided by the Buddy Tate band. To confuse matters somewhat, Witherspoon and McShann also recorded for Modern in late December 1947 with the Al "Cake" Wichard band.

Although a stash of recordings had been built up, Supreme didn't start releasing Witherspoon sides until the spring of 1948. Just as these platters hit the record shops, Witherspoon started recording for Down Beat, again backed by Jay McShann. He continued to record for Down Beat into the summer of 1948 and then started recording for Modern in the autumn of that year, staying with that label until 1952 when he switched to Federal.

Amidst the flurry of releases on Supreme, Down Beat and Modern in 1948-49, it was the Supreme recordings which made the biggest impact sales wise, with the two parter "Ain't Nobody's Business"  reaching number 1 in the R&B chart in the spring of 1949, and its follow up, "In The Evening" reaching number 7 in October of that year. Witherspoon enjoyed further success in 1950 with a double sided hit on Modern, "No Rollin' Blues" and "Big Fine Girl" both of which reached number 4 R&B.

Release Details - Titles as on original single releases

01) Ain't Nobody's Business Part 2 - Supreme 1506 / Swing Time 263

02) In The Evening - Supreme 1533

03) Frogomore Blues  - Supreme 1505

04) McShann's Bounce Part 1 - Supreme 1540 (Jay McShann)

05) How Long - Supreme 1545

06) Money's Getting Cheaper - Supreme 1501

07) Skid-Row Blues - Supreme 1545 / Swing Time 244

08) Spoon Calls Hootie - Down Beat / Swing Time 157

09) Back Water Blues - Supreme 1520

10) Louie's Guitar Boogie - Supreme 1501 (Louis Speiginer)

11) Destruction Blues - Down Beat / Swing Time 161

12) Ain't Nobody's Business Part 1 - Supreme 1506 / Swing Time 263

In chronological order. All tracks credited to Jimmy Witherspoon unless otherwise noted (in brackets):

Louie's Guitar Boogie (Louis Speiginer) / Money's Getting Cheaper - Supreme 1501 - May 1948

Frogomore Blues / Wee Baby Blues - Supreme 1505 - August / September (?) 1948

Call My Baby / Spoon Calls Hootie - Down Beat 157 - circa October 1948

Funny Style Baby / Destruction Blues - Down Beat 161 - circa October 1948

Ain't Nobody's Business Part 1 / Ain't Nobody's Business Part 2 - Supreme 1506 - February 1949

Back Water Blues / Third Floor Blues - Supreme 1520 - April 1949

In The Evening (Jimmy Witherspoon) / Six-Foot-Two Blues (Buddy Tate Orchestra vcl - Jimmy Witherspoon) - Supreme 1533 - September 1949

McShann's Bounce Part 1 / McShann's Bounce Part 2 (Jay McShann At The Piano) - Supreme 1540 - circa October 1949

How Long / Skid-Row Blues - Supreme 1545 - November 1949

 

Label shots adapted from The Internet Archive.

Recommended Purchase:

Cold Blooded Boogie (Night Train International NTI CD 7008)

20 hollerin' tracks from Supreme and Down Beat. At the time of posting there are copies going very cheaply on ebay.co.uk. Worth a look!

Jay McShann - The Band That Jumps The Blues!

Side 1:
01) Hot Biscuits - Jay McShann
02) Slow Drag Blues - Jay McShann
03) M. R. Boogie - Maxine Reed
04) Buttermilk - Jay McShann
05) Skid-Row Blues (alt take) - Jimmy Witherspoon
06) Soft Winds - Jay McShann

Side 2:
01) No Name Boogie - Boogie Woogie Jackson
02) Thinking About My Baby - Lois Booker
03) Jeronimo - Jay McShann
04) 12 O'Clock Whistle - Jay McShann
05) Mello Drag - Jay McShann
06) Eatin' Watermelon - Crown Prince Waterford

The Band That Jumps The Blues (Mega)

The Band That Jumps The Blues (Zippy)

In August 2010 (I can't believe it was that long ago) I posted an LP of pianist and bandleader Jay McShann's early 1940s big band sides recorded for Decca in Dallas, Chicago and New York. The post explored the story of McShann's start in Kansas City back in the 1930s when the city's corrupt administration maintained a rather flexible and doubtlessly well greased attitude towards liquor licensing and other aspects of a convivial nightlife which led to KC acquiring a reputation as the Gomorrah of the Mid West. A by product of all this laxity was a burgeoning jazz scene which spawned great bands such as those of Count Basie, Andy Kirk and Jay McShann.

When KC became a rather more respectable city in the late '30s, there was an exodus of musicians as venues closed down. Jay's big band was one of the last to leave but soon built themselves a formidable reputation when they hit NYC and took on more established outfits in band battles. They had a big hit with "Confessin' The Blues" which featured band vocalist Walter Brown. See "Hootie's K.C. Blues" post for more tales and music from that period.

"The Band That Jumps The Blues" brings together tracks from the late '40s when Jay's big band days were well behind him and he was recording with a series of small groups in a much more R&B vein. All of the tracks were recorded in 1948 and 1949 for Jack Lauderdale's LA based Down Beat label, with the exception of Jimmy Witherspoon's "Skid-Row Boogie" which was recorded in 1947 for Supreme, another LA label whose masters were bought by Lauderdale for reissue on Down Beat and / or its renamed successor Swing Time.

McShann had arrived on the West Coast around 1945, picking up a new blues shouter in Jimmy Witherspoon. Numa Lee Davis and Crown Prince Waterford were also vocalists in the band which had its first LA recording session in July 1945 for the newly formed label Philo which would later become Aladdin. In the same month the band recorded for Premier with the masters eventually being acquired by Mercury. "Shipyard Woman Blues" for example was first released on Premier in late 1945 and then rereleased on Mercury in August 1946. There were further sessions for Mercury in September and November 1946, and in May 1947.

In November 1947 McShann's band backed Jimmy Witherspoon, who had gone solo, on sessions for Supreme. There was a massive R&B hit for one of the resulting discs, a two parter version of "Ain't Nobody's Business." The Supreme masters were later purchased by Jack Lauderdale the owner of Down Beat / Swing Time records and reissued in the early 1950s.

In early 1948 the McShann band backed Lois Booker on a session for Down Beat. "Thinking About My Baby" was credited to Booker, while the B-Side instrumental, "No Name Boogie" was credited to "Boogie Woogie Jackson", a pseudonym for McShann. The McShann band also provided backing for Jimmy Witherspoon at more Down Beat sessions in the spring of 1948 and in June 1948. In July 1948 McShann and his band, which included Buddy Floyd on tenor sax and Tiny Webb on guitar, were back in the studio for a Down Beat session which produced a top ten R&B hit instrumental in "Hot Biscuits." Another release from this session was under the name of vocalist Maxine Reed - "M.R. Boogie."

Clifford Scott was the tenor saxman in McShann's band when they recorded a session for Aladdin in February 1949 with only one single being released. Another Down Beat session sometime in mid 1949 had Maxwell Davis on tenor sax. A session with Crown Prince Waterford on an unknown date in 1949 was perhaps the last Down Beat session by Jay McShann. He recorded for the Rex Hollywood label sometime in 1949 with two released discs including the two parter "Jay's Blues" being on sale in April 1949.

McShann backed Witherspoon on a few Modern sides in 1950 and in October 1951 he was back at Mercury recording with a band which included Ben Webster. In September 1955 he recorded a session in Chicago for Vee Jay which resulted in a big R&B hit - "Hands Off" credited to McShann and vocalist Priscilla Bowman. Another Vee Jay session in January 1956 with Priscilla Bowman marked the end of McShann's R&B recording career but in common with other KC musicians he had the jazz reputation which ensured a long and fruitful working life in that field. He died in December 2006, one of the last survivors of the roaring days of Kansas City jazz.

Original Release Details

01) Hot Biscuits - Down Beat 165 - Jay McShann
02) Slow Drag Blues - Down Beat 165 - Jay McShann
03) M.R. Boogie - Down Beat 159 - Maxine Reed

04) Buttermilk - Down Beat 172 - Jay McShann

05) Skid-Row Blues - alt. take of Supreme 1545 / Swing Time 244 - Jimmy Witherspoon
06) Soft Winds - Down Beat 205 - Jay McShann

07) No Name Boogie - Down Beat 150 - "Boogie Woogie Jackson"
08) Thinking About My Baby - Down Beat 150 - Lois Booker
09) Jeronimo - Swing Time 314 - Jay McShann
10) 12 O'Clock Whistle - Down Beat 172 - Jay McShann

11) Mello Drag - Swing Time 314 - Jay McShann
12) Eatin' Watermelon - Torch 6911- Crown Prince Waterford

Thinking About My Baby / No Name Boogie - Lois Booker, B-Side instrumental credited to "Boogie Woogie Jackson" - Down Beat 150 - circa September / October 1948

M.R. Boogie / Afraid Of Darkness - Maxine Reed and The D.B. Orchestra - Down Beat 159 - October 1948

Hot Biscuits / Slow Drag Blues - Jay McShann and The Band That Jumps The Blues - Down Beat 165 - October 1948

Buttermilk / 12 O'Clock Whistle - Jay McShann and The Band That Jumps The Blues - Down Beat 172 - February 1949

Soft Winds / Someone To Watch Over Me - Jay McShann & His Band That Jumps The Blues - Down Beat 205 - May 1949

Skid-Row Blues - track on this LP is an alternate take of the track released on Supreme 1545 - Jimmy Witherspoon, B-Side of How Long, released November 1949, and re-released as Swing Time 244 in December 1951

Jeronimo / Mello Drag - Jay McShann - Swingtime 314 - October 1952

Eatin' Watermelon / Love Awhile - Crown Prince Waterford - Torch 6911 - released 1952 (purchased 1949 Down Beat master). Torch was a small Dallas TX label with only 3 known releases.

Elsewhere on the blog:

Hootie's K.C. Blues

 

Joe Turner and Pete Johnson - Jumpin' The Blues

Side 1:

01. Wine-O-Baby Boogie - Joe Turner

02. B & O Blues - Joe Turner

03. Rocket Boogie "88" Part 1 - Pete Johnson & His Orchestra

04. Old Piney Brown's Gone - Joe Turner

05. Baby, Won't You Marry Me - Joe Turner

06. Skid Row Boogie - Pete Johnson & His Orchestra

Side 2:

01. Christmas Date Boogie - Joe Turner

02. Radar Blues - Joe Turner

03. Tell Me Pretty Baby - Joe Turner

04. Rocket Boogie "88" Part 2 - Pete Johnson & His Orchestra

05. Trouble Boogie - Joe Turner

06. Half Tight Boogie - Pete Johnson & His Orchestra

Joe Turner & Pete Johnson - Jumpin' The Blues (Mega)

Joe Turner & Pete Johnson - Jumpin' The Blues (Zippy)

When Big Joe Turner left Decca in 1944 having recorded a series of classic sides from November 1940 to October 1944, he couldn't have foreseen that he would spend nearly seven years hopping from label to label in the search for recording success. In 1945 and 1946 he was with National, in July 1947 he recorded a couple of sides for Imperial ("Ice Man Blues" and "Roll 'em Pete"). In November 1947 he recorded a version of "Around The Clock Blues" for Stag under the pseudonym Big Vernon and in the same month he had a session for Aladdin, and at the end of that month and in early December he had his final sessions for National.

At the end of 1947 he was recorded live at a Gene Norman promoted "Just Jazz" concert for RPM. The AFM recording ban brought a temporary halt to Joe's discographic wanderings, but when he resumed recording in June 1948, it was for yet another label, Jack Lauderdale's Down Beat which was renamed Swing Beat in October 1949 and then six months later Swing Time.

On June 28th, 1948, in Los Angeles, Joe Turner and his longtime collaborator, boogie pianist Pete Johnson, recorded eight sides for release on Down Beat. They were accompanied by what was essentially the Jay McShann band at that time. Personnel - Joe Turner (vocals) with: James Ross, Art Farmer (trumpets); Frank Sleet (alto sax); Pete Peterson (tenor sax); Milburn Newman (baritone sax); Pete Johnson (piano); unknown (guitar); Addison Farmer (bass) Robert Brady (drums).

Four singles were released from the session. Tracking down the original release dates of these singles has proved to be more difficult than usual and indeed there seems to be some contradiction in the information I found. For once I've failed to find label shots for all of the original discs, so I can't be sure of the original artist attribution on the first of these records. Anyway, here goes -

Down Beat 151 - Radar Blues / Trouble Blues presumably issued in 1948.

Down Beat 152 - Wine-O-Baby Boogie / B&O Blues - Joe Turner with orchestral accompaniment featuring Pete Johnson at the "88". This disc was reviewed in Billboard on 28th May 1949 and also featured in an ad in Billboard on 9th April 1949. The take of "B&O Blues" on this LP is probably a different take to the one issued on 78rpm single.

Down Beat 153 - Tell Me Pretty Baby / Christmas Date Boogie - Joe Turner's Orchestra with Pete Johnson at the "88". Release date unknown. Presumably before Christmas 1948. This disc was re-released on Swing Time 269 as "How D'Ya Want Your Rollin' Done" / "Christmas Date" in December 1951 and was credited to Joe Turner, with no mention of Pete Johnson.

Down Beat 154 - Baby Won't You Marry Me / Old Piney Brown's Gone - Joe Turner's Orchestra with Pete Johnson. "Old Piney Brown Is Gone" was number 10 in the Hot In New Orleans chart in The Cash Box magazine on October 9th, 1948. Either this disc was issued before Down Beat 152 or else "Wine-O-Baby Boogie" was issued earlier than the Billboard review and ad of 1949. It may be that all 4 Joe Turner discs were issued in the second half of 1948.

adapted from audiopreservationfund.org

In late 1948 or early 1949 (exact date unknown), Pete Johnson was back in the studio to record some sides for Down Beat, this time without Joe Turner but instead in the company of a group led by Maxwell Davis. Three singles were released from this session, two of which are on this LP. The missing single is Wrinkle Head Boogie / Roadhouse Boogie (Swing Time 175).

Personnel - Jewell Grant (alto sax); Maxwell Davis (tenor sax); Pete Johnson (piano); Herman Mitchell (guitar); Ralph Hamilton (bass); Jesse Sailes (drums).

Down Beat 168 - Skid Row Boogie / Half Tight Boogie - Pete Johnson Sextette. Released in February 1949. The single was featured in Billboard ads on the 12th February and 9th April 1949. "Skid Row Boogie" was number 4 in The Cash Box magazine's "Hot In Other Cities" chart for Merion, Pennsylvania, on March 19th, 1949.

Billboard, 12th February 1949

adapted from Discogs.com

Swing Time 169 - Rocket Boogie "88" Part I / Rocket Boogie "88" Part II - Pete Johnson. Probable release in November 1950. Reviewed in the "Hot Jazz" section of Billboard, 11th November 1950.

adapted from rateyourmusic.com

"Rocket Boogie 88 - Part I" and "Rocket Boogie 88 - Part II" are virtually identical on this LP. It's possible that the "Part - II" issued on the original 78rpm single was a different track.

Joe Turner's label hopping continued after his Down Beat session. In the second half of 1948 he had two Los Angeles sessions for MGM in which he was backed by much the same band which featured in Pete Johnson's Down Beat session. He recorded two sides for the small Coast label with the same musicians in October 1948.

After a barren recording period which lasted most of 1949, he cut sides for Houston label Freedom in December 1949 and early 1950. The 1949 session was with Connie Johnson's band which included Joe Houston, Lonnie Lyons and Goree Carter, while the early 1950 session was backed by the Pluma Davis Orchestra.

April 1950 found Joe in New Orleans recording for Imperial with Dave Bartholomew's band. Joe was then without a recording contract for a year until April 1951 when he was signed by Atlantic. And the rest is history ...

Elsewhere On The Blog

Have No Fear, Big Joe Turner Is Here - the National sides

Jumpin' Tonight - Aladdin and Imperial sides

Jumpin' With Joe - Atlantic sides

That's all on Joe Turner for the moment. Once I get round to buying a new turntable I'll be able to add another LP with sides from Big Joe's pre-Atlantic years.