Don Byas - Savoy Jam Party (The Savoy Sessions)

Side 1:
01) Riffin' And Jivin'
02) Free And Easy - 1 (alt)
03) Free And Easy - 2
04) Worried And Blue
05) Don's Idea - 1 (alt)
06) Don's Idea - 2
07) Savoy Jam Party Part 2
08) Savoy Jam Party Part 1

Side 2:
01) 1944 Stomp
02) What Do You Want With My Heart
03) Bass C Jam
04) Sweet And Lovely
05) White Rose Kick
06) My Deep Blue Dream
07) Byas'd Opinion
08) Candy

Side 3:
01) How High The Moon
02) Donby
03) Byas A Drink
04) I Don't Know Why
05) Danny Boy
06) Old Folks
07) Cherokee
08) September In The Rain

Side 4:
01) Living My Life
02) To Each His Own
03) They Say It's Wonderful
04) Cynthia's In Love
05) September Song
06) St. Louis Blues
07) I Found A New Baby
08) Marie

Savoy Jam Party (Mega)

Savoy Jam Party (Zippy)

We continue our look at early Savoy sides and the NYC club scene with another 2LP set from the "Savoy Sessions" series, this time devoted to a major figure of jazz tenor sax - Don Byas. As with the recently posted "The Changing Face Of Harlem" collection there are outstanding sleevenotes by Dan Morgenstern which provide an outline of the early career of Don Byas and an in depth commentary on the tracks on this double LP set.

Carlos Wesley Byas came from Muskogee, Oklahoma. His musical career followed a path which will be familiar to readers of this blog - local bands in Oklahoma, bigger outfits in the Midwest, then a jump to California where he settled in LA for a while. In 1937 he arrived in New York, had spells with the Don Redman, Lucky Millinder and Andy Kirk bands and in early 1941 he took over the seat vacated by Lester Young in the Count Basie band, although it should be noted that it wasn't a direct substitution as Paul Bascomb (future R&B hero) had briefly occupied the position. Some of Don's work with Basie can be heard on the previous post of "Count Basie and his Orchestra - One o'Clock Jump."

Don left the Basie Orchestra in November 1943 and began the most interesting club-based part of his career, working with small groups on 52nd Street (especially with Coleman Hawkins and Dizzy Gillespie) and jamming at the Harlem clubs of Minton's and Munroe's.

NYC 1944 - Coleman Hawkins, Benny Harris, Don Byas, Thelonious Monk and Denzil Best

You can find a critical account of the recordings of Don Byas, particularly with Basie and then in small group settings between 1944 and 1946 on the excellent Jazz Archeology website. The document is here: http://www.jazzarcheology.com/artists/don_byas_part_1.pdf

This document provides marvellous detail of Don's recording activity both under his own name and as part of groups led by other musicians. The list includes not only official recordings for release on a multiplicity of labels, but also radio broadcasts and "unofficial" recordings by enthusiasts, all of which gives insight into the working life of a top class musician in 1940s New York.

The July 28th 1944 session featured on Side 1 of this collection was Don's first recording session under his own name. The August 1946 session on Side 4 of this collection turned out to be Don's second last recording date in the USA. The following month he recorded 4 sides for Gotham shortly before departing on a European tour with Don Redman. 

Thereafter Europe became the permanent home of Don Byas, a decision which may have caused his importance to be subsequently underestimated by Stateside jazz fans. Whether playing small group swing or alongside boppers, Don was a formidable but tasteful soloist as you can hear on this fine collection.

All The "Savoy Jam Party" 78rpm Releases ... and more:

Disc 1:

Bass-C-Jam / Free And Easy - Don Byas's Swing Shifters - Savoy 524 - October 1944

What Do You Want With My Heart / Don's Idea - Don Byas - Savoy 552 - April 1945 - released as part of the 78rpm album "Tenor Sax Album" (Savoy A-500)

 

Worried And Blue / Riffin and Jivin - Don Byas - Savoy 582 - January 1946 - released as part of the 78rpm album "Tenor Sax Album No. 2" (Savoy S-502)

Savoy Jam Party Part 1 - released on EP "Jam Session At Savoy Vol. 1" - Savoy XP 8077

Savoy Jam Party Part 2 - released on EP "Jam Session At Savoy Vol. 2" - Savoy XP 8078

Alternate takes of "Free And Easy" and "Don's Idea" first released on this LP

1944 Stomp (Just Can't Make Up My Mind) first released on this LP

Sweet And Lovely / White Rose Kick - The Emmett Berry Five - National 9001 - October 1944

Deep Blue Dream / Byas'd Opinions - The Emmett Berry Five - National 9002 - October 1944

Disc 2:

Candy / Byas-A-Drink - Don Byas Quintette - Savoy 574 - February 1946

How High The Moon - Don Byas Quintette / Ko Ko - Charlie Parker's Ri Bop Boys - Savoy 597 - April 1946

The following 6 tracks were recorded on May 17th, 1946 and not in 1945 as stated on the LP sleeve. Note that "Danny Boy" was released as "London-Donnie".

Donby - released on EP "Don Byas - Tenor Sax Solos Vol. 5" - Savoy XP 8039

I Don't Know Why / Cherokee - Don Byas Quartette - Savoy 609 - probably May / June 1946

Vot's Dot - Allen Eager Quartette / September In The Rain - Don Byas Quartette - Savoy 621 - October 1946 - released as part of the 78rpm album "Tenor Sax Stylists" (Savoy S-503)

London-Donnie / Old Folks - Don Byas Quartet - Savoy 628 - August 1950

The remaining tracks (Side 4) were recorded on August 21st, 1946 as per LP sleeve:

They Say It's Wonderful / Cynthia's In Love - Don Byas Quartet - Savoy 625 - September 1950

September Song / St. Louis Blues - Don Byas Quartet - Savoy 626 - September 1950 (?)

I Found A New Baby / Marie - Don Byas Quartet - Savoy 627 - September 1950

To Each His Own / Living My Life - Don Byas Quartette - Savoy 640 - September 1946

With thanks to The Internet Archive, The Jazz Disography Project, Bruyninckx, and Billboard. Keep swingin' y'all!

Ladies Sing The Blues Volume 2 (Roots of Rock N' Roll Vol. 12)

Side A:
01) Fine And Mellow - Albinia Jones
02) Silver Dollar Blues - Albinia Jones
03) What's The Matter With Me (Don't You Wear No Black) - Albinia Jones
04) Ee Baba Leba - Helen Humes
05) If I Could Be With You - Helen Humes
06) Take Out Some Time - ‎Little Miss Sharecropper
07) I'll Try (I've Tried) - Little Miss Sharecropper
08) I Want To Rock - ‎Little Miss Sharecropper

Side B:
01) Alley Cat - Dolly Cooper
02) I Need Romance - Dolly Cooper
03) I Wanna Know (What'cha Doin' Down There) - Dolly Cooper
04) Me And My Baby - Dolly Cooper
05) You Promised Love - Annie Laurie
06) I Can't Stop Being A Fool - Annie Laurie
07) Stop, Don't Go - Annie Laurie
08) Rockin' And Rollin' - Annie Laurie

Side C:
01) No Kinda Good No How - Varetta Dillard
02) Johnny Has Gone - Varetta Dillard
03) So Many Ways (To Love You) - Varetta Dillard
04) Hurry Up - Varetta Dillard
05) Please Tell Me Why - Varetta Dillard
06) Love That Man - Varetta Dillard
07) I Cried And Cried - Varetta Dillard
08) A Letter In Blues - Varetta Dillard

Side D:
01) All Of Me - Big Maybelle
02) Baby Won't You Please Come Home - Big Maybelle
03) Rockhouse - Big Maybelle
04) Jim - Big Maybelle
05) It's A Sin To Tell a Lie - Big Maybelle
06) I Could Make You Care - Big Maybelle
07) I Don't Want To Cry - Big Maybelle
08) Stay As Sweet As You Are - Big Maybelle

Ladies Sing The Blues Volume 2 (Mega)

Ladies Sing The Blues Volume 2 (Zippy)

Thank you once more to Steve Barrow as we feature his donation of Volume 2 of "Ladies Sing The Blues" which was also Volume 12 of the great Savoy series "Roots Of Rock 'N' Roll." The tale of how these LPs were transferred from vinyl to CD-R and then once they'd come to me by mail to mp3 is told in the previous post.

Let's get down to a brief resume of what's hot on these discs. The Albinia Jones tracks are from her first session in 1944 for National which remained unreleased in its entirety. Included is an early version of "Don't You Wear No Black" (aka "What's The Matter With Me") which she recorded again for release the following year.

Helen Humes was of course a big name act. Her disc featured here consists of live recordings from a 1950 "Blues Jubilee" concert promoted by Frank Bull and Gene Norman. Included is a short reprise of her big 1945 hit on Philo / Aladdin, "Be Baba Leba." Backing is probably by Roy Milton's Solid Senders.

"Little Miss Sharecropper" (or "Miss Sharecropper" as she is billed on the original single releases on National of these tracks) is Dolores Baker, better known as LaVern Baker, the big, big R&B star of Atlantic Records from 1953 into the early 1960s. The story not only of her time at Atlantic, but also how she found herself being billed as a Little Miss Cornshucks ripoff is told in this post - 

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2018/01/lavern-baker-real-gone-gal.html

-And while you're there pick up an LP of LaVern's Atlantic sides -

Of Dolly Cooper I know but little - but here she is backed by bands led by Hal Singer and Leroy Kirkland. "I Wanna Know" is a cover of the hit disc on RCA by The Du Droppers.

I compared and I'm not convinced

Annie Laurie is in rip roaring blues belting form on her tracks here. She is of course always associated with the New Orleans based outfit led by Paul Gayten with whom she enjoyed considerable chart success in the late 1940s and early 1950s on DeLuxe and Regal. On these 1956 sides for Savoy she is backed by some of New York's finest session players including Hal Singer, Buddy Lucas, Budd Johnson and Mickey Baker. For the Paul Gayten and Annie Laurie story see this post -

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2018/06/paul-gayten-annie-laurie-creole-gal.html

And of course while you're perusing the fascinating info over there, pick up this Paul Gayten / Annie Laurie LP -

Varetta Dillard - a bloozy chantoozy to match the best of 'em. She was with Savoy from 1951 to 1956 when she decamped to the Groove subsidiary of RCA. Her biggest hits on Savoy were "Mercy Mr. Percy," "Easy, Easy Baby" and included here "Johnny Has Gone," the exploitative tribute to the recently deceased Johnny Ace in January 1955.

For more info, more Savoy sides, plus Groove and other platters by Varetta, go to this post -

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2011/12/varetta-dillard-double-crossing-daddy.html

Here's the LP you can pick up there. It is most definitely all killer and no filler -

Side D and it's Big Maybelle time again but with a change of style from the R&B tracks of "Ladies Sing The Blues." The 8 tracks here were all included on a 1957 ten track LP "Big Maybelle Sings" (Savoy MG 14005). This consisted almost entirely of standards recorded in a soft pop-jazz style with backing by Ernie Wilkins. The one exception, which is included here on "Ladies Sing The Blues Volume 2,"  is "I Don't Want To Cry" which was recorded in 1956 with an R&B backing which included Warren Lucky, Buddy Lucas and Mickey "Guitar" Baker. Some of the tracks were also released on singles. For details see below.

Billboard 7th October 1957

Original Release Details

Albinia Jones:

Fine And Mellow; Silver Dollar Blues; What's The Matter with Me - unissued National session, December 1944.

Helen Humes:

Ee-Baba-Le-Ba / If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight - Helen Humes with Orchestra - Discovery 530 - released in December 1950.

Little Miss Sharecropper:

I've Tried / How Long - Miss Sharecropper - National 9151 - released in April 1951.

Take Out Some Time / I Want To Rock - Miss Sharecropper - National 9153 - released in June 1951.

Dolly Cooper:

Me And My Baby - unissued

I Wanna' Know / I'd Climb The Highest Mountain - Dolly Cooper with Hal Singer's Orch. - Savoy 891 - released in April 1953.

Alley Cat / I Need Romance - Dolly Cooper with Orchestra - Savoy 898 - released in June 1953.

Annie Laurie:

I Can't Stop Being A Fool; Stop, Don't Go - unissued

Rockin' And Rollin' Again / You Promised Love - Annie Laurie - Savoy 1197 - released in August 1956

Varetta Dillard:

Love That Man - unissued

Please Tell Me Why / Hurry Up - Varetta Dillard - Savoy 839 - released in February 1952.

Easy, Easy Baby / A Letter In Blues - Varetta Dillard - Savoy 847, released in May 1952.

I Cried And Cried / Double Crossing Daddy - Varetta Dillard - Savoy 871 - released in November 1952.

Mercy, Mr. Percy / No Kinda Good, No How - Varetta Dillard - Savoy 897 - released in May 1953.

Johnny Has Gone / So Many Ways - Varetta Dillard - Savoy 1153 - released in January 1955.

Big Maybelle:

All of the Big Maybelle tracks on this LP were included on the LP Savoy MG 14005 - "Big Maybelle Sings" - released in October 1957.

Some of the tracks were also released on singles as follows -

All Of Me / I Don't Want To Cry - Big Maybelle with Ernie Wilkins' Orch. - Savoy 1512 - released in April 1957.

Rock House / Jim - Big Maybelle with Ernie Wilkins' Orch. - Savoy 1519 - released in August 1957

Baby Won't You Please Come Home / Say It Isn't So - Big Maybelle - Savoy 1558 - released in January 1959.

It's A Sin To Tell A Lie; I Could Make You Care; Stay As Sweet As You Are - not released on single.

Of the ten tracks on "Big Maybelle Sings," the following are not included on "Ladies Sing The Blues Volume 2" - "Say It Isn't So" and "If I Could Be With You."

With many thanks to Steve Barrow who kindly supplied the sounds and cover art for "Ladies Sing The Blues" and "Ladies Sing The Blues Volume 2."

Ladies Sing The Blues (Roots Of Rock 'n' Roll Vol. 5)

Side One:
01) Blues In My Heart - Miss Rhapsody
02) Sugar - Miss Rhapsody
03) Downhearted Blues - Miss Rhapsody
04) Sweet Man - Miss Rhapsody
05) He May Be Your Man - Miss Rhapsody
06) The Night Before Judgement Day - Miss Rhapsody
07) I Fell For You - Miss Rhapsody

Side Two:
01) Salty Papa - Albinia Jones
02) Evil Gal Blues - Albinia Jones
03) Albinia's Blues - Albinia Jones
04) What's The Matter With Me* - Albinia Jones
05) Walkin' And Talkin' Blues - Linda Hopkins
06) Sad And Lonely - Linda Hopkins
07) Me And Dirty Blues - Linda Hopkins
08) Baby Please Come Home - Linda Hopkins

* - originally released as "Don't You Wear No Black"

Side Three:
01) Longing In My Heart - Little Esther
02) You Can Bet Your Life I Do - Little Esther
03) T'ain't What You Say - Little Esther
04) If It's News To You - Little Esther
05) It's So Good - Little Esther
06) Do You Ever Think Of Me - Little Esther
07) Oo Papa Do - Little Esther

Side Four:
01) Pitiful - Big Maybelle
02) There I Said It Again - Big Maybelle
03) So Long - Big Maybelle
04) Tell Me Who - Big Maybelle
05) Ramblin' Blues - Big Maybelle
06) A Little Bird - Big Maybelle
07) Blues Early Early - Big Maybelle
08) A Good Man Is Hard To Find - Big Maybelle

Ladies Sing The Blues (Mega)

Ladies Sing The Blues (Zippy)

* Note - the first upload links had "Salty Papa" and "Evil Gal Blues" by Albinia Jones wrongly tagged (see Daddy Cool's comment). I have corrected the tagging, and re-upped the whole 2LP set. There are now new links above with which you can download "Ladies Sing The Blues (Version 2)" with the correct tagging. - BW

** Further update - we're now on Version 3 as I have adjusted the filenames of the two tracks slightly! And that's enough of that ... :D

The 15 volume Savoy Roots of Rock'n'Roll series has been collected on several other blogs, specifically on "Don't Ask Me I Don't Know" and on "Blues, Blues, Blues." Quite a few of the volumes were uploaded to Be Bop Wino many years ago but the posts disappeared in various takedowns plus my cover scans were so poor that I didn't repost!

Reassembling the 15 volumes has been a collaborative effort among various bloggers and commenters with the last major "hole" being filled by "Blues, Blues, Blues" - the 2 volumes of "Ladies Sing The Blues" available as Flac downloads.

While that was happening a generous donor sent in both sets to Be Bop Wino in the form of 4 CD-Rs which arrived through the post! And thereby hangs a tale.

Our kind donor is Steve Barrow who transferred both LP sets to digital format using an audio CD burner and then sent the resulting CD-Rs, plus a CD of sleeve photos through the post to myself. The cover photos aren't scans but digital photographs. Covers include front, back and gatefold insides. I've ripped mp3s @ 320 kbps from the CD-Rs and the results are posted here after a few weeks' work (and delay).

As for the music, both albums are excellent listening and how I wish I'd bought them back when they were much easier to find. And so to "Ladies Sing The Blues (Roots of Rock 'n' Roll Vol.5) -

I'm not going into an in-depth examination of each of the featured artists as their careers are covered in the sleevenotes by Sheldon Harris as are the recording details. However I've done my usual digging around to add the original release details of the tracks on this album. The music ranges from the "classic blues" influenced Miss Rhapsody (Viola Wells) and the similar Albinia Jones to the mid-to-late-1950s rockin' R&B of Little Esther and Big Maybelle.

The second disc with the sides by the latter two artists is outstanding. This is the first time I've heard the later Savoy sides by Little Esther and I'm pretty much blown away. Of course we've already featured Little Esther on Be Bop Wino, from her recording debut with Johnny Otis for Modern Records, through her big hits around 1950-51 on Savoy, again as part of the Johnny Otis Show, and on to her fine recordings for Federal from 1951 to 1953.

Many of the Federal recordings were also with the Johnny Otis band going under other names (e.g. Earle Warren, Preston Love) as they were contracted to Mercury then Peacock. On Esther's return to Savoy in 1956 she was backed by such notable musicians as Hal Singer, Warren Lucky and Mickey "Guitar" Baker. Her second and final session for Savoy came in 1959 and backing probably included Sam "The Man" Taylor and Mickey Baker.

It seems pretty certain that the gap between recording sessions was due to Esther's drug problem. Marvin Goldberg has written an article on the "Little Esther" phase of her career before she re-emerged as Esther Phillips. You can find it here (and it is well worth the read) -

http://www.uncamarvy.com/LittleEsther/littleesther.html

As for the other artists - Big Maybelle was already an established hitmaker with OKeh / Columbia when she arrived at Savoy. Her biggest hit for her new label was "Candy" which isn't on either volume of "Ladies Sing The Blues" but can be found on the first album of the series - "The Roots of Rock'N Roll." On this collection Big Maybelle (who had her own drug issues) is in fine bawlin' and squallin' form. "Ramblin' Blues" and "Blues, Early Early" (originally a two parter but here presented as one continuous track) are knock 'em dead blues performances.

As for the earlier wartime tracks of Miss Rhapsody and Albinia Jones (for National), it's all good! And the Linda Hopkins tracks from the early 50s fill in the chronological gap. There's more Albinia Jones and Big Maybelle in Volume 2 which will be coming up real soon. Hang on in there, blues fans!

Original Issues:

Miss Rhapsody: 

 

Sweet Man / Downhearted Blues - Miss Rhapsody with Reuben Cole's Orchestra - Savoy 534 - released in April 1945.

Blues In My Heart / Sugar - Miss Rhapsody with Reuben Cole's Orchestra - Savoy 536 - released in April 1945.

Night Before Judgement Day / We're Sisters Under The Skin - Miss Rhapsody and Orchestra (tenor sax solo Eddie Davis) - Savoy 565 - released 1945?

He May Be Your Man / I Fell For You - Viola Wells - Savoy 5532 - released in January 1947.

 Billboard 5th April 1947

Albinia Jones:

Evil Gal Blues / Don't You Wear No Black - Albinia Jones with Don Byas' Swing Seven - National 9012 - released in May 1945.

Salty Papa Blues / Albinia's Blues - Albinia Jones with Don Byas' Swing Seven - National 9013 - released in May 1945.

 Billboard 19th May 1945

Linda Hopkins:

Walkin' And Talkin' Blues / Sad And Lonely - Linda Hopkins - Savoy 834 - released in February 1952.

Me And Dirty Blues / Baby Please Come Home - first released on this LP, Savoy SJL 2233.

Little Esther:

T'Ain't Watcha Say It's Watcha Do / You Can Bet Your Life - Little Esther - Savoy 1193 - released in May 1956.

Longing In My Heart / If It's News To You - Little Esther - Savoy 1516 - released in July 1957.

It's So Good / Do You Ever Think Of Me - Little Esther - Savoy 1563 - released in March 1959.

Oo Papa Do - first released on this LP.

 Billboard 16th June 1956

Big Maybelle:

Mean To Me / Tell Me Who - Big Maybelle - Savoy 1500 - released in September 1956.

So Long / Ring Dang Dilly - Big Maybelle - Savoy 1527 - released in December 1957.

Blues, Early Early (Part 1) / Blues, Early Early (Part 2) - Big Maybelle - Savoy 1536 - released in May 1958.

A Good Man Is Hard To Find / Pitiful - Big Maybelle - Savoy 1572 - released in July 1959.

Ramblin' Blues; There I've Said It Again - first released on Savoy LP MG 14011: Blues, Candy And Big Maybelle, in 1958.

A Little Bird Told Me - first released on this LP.

 Billboard 10th November, 1956

With many thanks to Steve Barrow.

The Vocal Group Album (Roots of Rock 'n' Roll Volume Eight)

Side A:
01. Poor Butterfly - The Three Barons
02. Milk Shake Stand - The Three Barons
03. Palace Of Stone - The Toppers
04. I'm Living For You - The Toppers
05. If Money Grew On Trees - The Toppers
06. These Are Things I Want To Share With You - The Syncopaters
07. River Stay Away From My Door - The Syncopaters
08. Out In The Cold Again - The Syncopaters

Side B:
01. It Could Have Been Me - The Four Buddies
02. You Left Me Alone - The Four Buddies
03. Ooh Ow - The Four Buddies
04. I'd Climb The Highest Mountain - The Four Buddies
05. It All Comes Back To Me Now - The Marshall Brothers
06. I Didn't Know - The Marshall Brothers
07. My Life Is My Life - The Marshall Brothers
08. I Won't Believe You Anymore - The Marshall Brothers

Side C:
01. Call For Me - The Carols
02. I Got A Feelin' - The Carols
03. Mighty Lak A Rose - The Carols
04. Fifty Million Women - The Carols
05. I'm Losing My Mind - The Dreams
06. Under The Willow - The Dreams
07. My Little Honeybun - The Dreams
08. I'll Be Faithful - The Dreams

Side D:
01. I Won't Cry - Little David & The Harps
02. You'll Pay - Little David & The Harps
03. Baby Dee - Little David & The Harps
04. Wah Diddy Wah - Little David & The Harps
05. Say You're Mine - Jimmy Jones & The Savoys
06. We Made A Vow - Jimmy Jones & The Savoys
07. I Love Only You - Jimmy Jones & The Savoys
08. With All My Heart - Jimmy Jones & The Savoys

The Vocal Group Album (Mega)

The Vocal Group Album (Zippy)

Over on the "Don't Ask Me ... I Don't Know" blog, Xyros is collecting together the Savoy Roots of Rock 'n' Roll series which was a 15 volume set of double and single LPs of rhythm and blues originally released on the Savoy and National labels. They started appearing in 1977 and were probably the first attempt by a record company to demonstrate that rock and roll had roots and antecedents from a time before Elvis or Bill Haley or Chuck Berry.

I started to pick up copies of the albums some time in the early 1980s and such was the impression they made on me I can still remember where I bought some of them. I bought "The Original Johnny Otis Show Volume 1" in a little record shop in a back street in Tulle in southwestern France. I picked up the second volume of Johnny Otis in Doug Dobell's record shop in Soho. "Honkers and Screamers" was purchased in the much missed Tower records in Glasgow and the first volume in the series, "The Roots Of Rock 'n' Roll," was found in the crammed browsers of Backbeat Records in Edinburgh.

You can now browse through most of the series on Xyros' blog here - "Savoy Roots of Rock 'n' Roll Volume 1 -15" and I'm pleased to say that this volume, "The Vocal Group Album," will be joining its companions with my full blessing.

The sharp eyed among you will have noticed that two volumes remain missing - both volumes of "Ladies Sing The Blues." Can anyone out there help?

As for this double LP set, it serves as a good guide to the changing style of vocal group recordings over a period of 12 years. The collection kicks off with hip harmonies from The Three Barons accompanied by Tiny Grimes and then moves onto the self contained instrumental / vocal group The Five Red Caps, here recording as The Toppers. 

As the years roll by we encounter groups who show the varied influences of the Ink Spots, The Ravens, and The Drifters. The Dreams, Little David And His Harps, and Jimmy Jones take us into more rock and roll territory. The Dreams are backed by a Leroy Kirkland led band which features Sam "The Man" Taylor and Mickey "Guitar" Baker, so we have moved pretty far from the world of 1940s Harlem and Tiny Grimes. Little David is David Baughan who was in the earliest lineup of The Drifters and later returned for a brief spell as replacement for Clyde McPhatter. You can hear the obvious vocal similarity between the two.

The download includes the full gatefold sleeve and its essay by vocal group expert Marv Goldberg.

More Info On The Trax

The Three Barons:

Milkshake Stand / I'd Give My Life - Savoy 527 - The Three Barons with The Tiny Grimes Quintette

Poor Butterfly - unissued recording. Recorded as The Three Riffs with The Tiny Grimes Quartette.

The Toppers:

Steve Gibson and the Five Red Caps recording under a pseudonym.

If Money Grew On Trees / Palace Of Stone - The Toppers - Savoy 559

I'm Living For You / I'm All Alone - The Toppers - Savoy 656 - a 1947 reissue of "Palace of Stone" retitled "I'm All Alone."

The Syncopators:

Mule Train / These Are Things I Want To Share With You - National 9093

River Stay Away From My Door / These Are Things I Want To Share With You - National 9095

The Four Buddies:

It Could Have Been Me - unissued recording.

Ooh-Ow / My Mother's Eyes - The Four Buddies with Hal Singer's Orchestra - Savoy 888

I Wanna' Know / I'd Climb The Highest Mountain - A-Side credited to Dolly Cooper with Hal Singer's Orchestra; B-Side credited to Dolly Cooper with The Four Buddies - Savoy 891.

You Left Me alone - unissued recording.

The Marshall Brothers:

The Marshall Brothers with the Rene Hall Quartet -

It All Comes Back to Me Now; I Didn't Know; My Life Is My Life; I Won't Believe You Anymore - unissued Savoy session.

The Carols: 

Fifty Million Women / I Got A Feelin - The Carols - Savoy 896

Call For Me; Mighty Lak A Rose - unissued recordings.

The Dreams:

I'm Losing My Mind / Under The Willow - The Dreams - Savoy 1140

I'll Be Faithful / My Little Honeybun - The Dreams - Savoy 1157

Little David and His Harps:

Little David = David Baughan

I Won't Cry / You'll Pay - Little David and His Harps - Savoy 1178

Baby Dee; Wah Diddy Wah - unissued recordings.

Jimmy Jones & The Savoys:

Say You're Mine / You - The Savoys featuring James Jones - Savoy 1188

With All My Heart / Please Say You're Mine - Jimmy Jones And The Savoys - Savoy 1586

We Made a Vow - unissued recording.

The Ravens - The Greatest Group Of Them All

Side 1:
01. Mahzel
02. For You
03. Would You Believe Me
04. Write Me A Letter
05. Until The Real Thing Comes Along
06. September Song
07. Always
08. Searching For Love

Side 2:
01. I'm Afraid Of You
02. Fool That I Am
03. Together
04. There's No You
05. How Could I Know
06. It's Too Soon To Know
07. White Christmas
08. Silent Night

Side 3:
01. Deep Purple
02. There's Nothing Like A Woman In Love
03. Careless Love
04. If You Didn't Mean It
05. Someday
06. Lilacs In The Rain
07. I've Been A Fool
08. I'm Going To Paper My Walls

Side 4:
01. Sylvia
02. Tea For Two
03. Without A Song
04. It's The Talk Of The Town
05. No More Kisses For Baby
06. Moonglow
07. Who's Sorry Now
08. I've Got The World On A String

The Greatest Group Of Them All (Mega)

The Greatest Group Of Them All (Zippy)

Two LPs of Ravens sides recorded for National between 1947 and 1950. I found this double LP set a few years ago in a record fair at Glasgow University (in the QMU for those of you familiar with that noble seat of learning) and despite its rather beat up condition the fact that it was part of the Savoy "Roots Of Rock And Roll" series meant that it just had to be purchased. After the first play I was underwhelmed by the crackles, clicks and pops, the rather muddy sound quality, and what seemed to be track after track of schlock sung in a Delta Rhythm Boys or even Ink Spots style.

We're all a few years down the line now and this set has grown on me. A lot of the "schlock" now sounds like pretty hip interpretations of the standards of the day, mainly thanks to the dominant feature of the Ravens' sound, the deep bass voice of Jimmy Ricks. There are a few bluesier sides plus one out and out rocker, "Write Me A Letter" which was the group's biggest hit on National. A sign, surely, that if only they had rocked a little harder they may have sold more records. But then we have to remember that the most commercially successful vocal groups who preceeded The Ravens were The Mills Brothers, The Ink Spots and The Delta Rhythm Boys, and it is likely that The Ravens were hoping to emulate the pop success of those groups.

I should also point out that this collection followed the release of a single LP on Savoy of The Ravens' National sides, "Old Man River" (SJL 1156) which had 15 tracks and was the better introduction to The Ravens on National.

The go-to site for information on The Ravens is of course Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebooks with this being the first of four pages on the Ravens' career:

http://www.uncamarvy.com/Ravens/ravens01.html

The Ravens came together in New York City in 1946 with the intitial lineup being Jimmy Ricks (bass), Warren Suttles (baritone), Leonard "Zeke" Puzey (tenor) and Henry Oliver "Ollie" Jones (tenor).

Their first recordings were for the Hub label in June 1946 with three records being issued from August to October 1946. In early 1947 Ollie Jones was replaced by tenor Maithe Marshall and the new lineup re-recorded the sides they had already recorded on Hub.The group signed for National Records in April 1947 and recorded 4 sides on the 23rd and 24th of that month - "Mahzel," "Ol' Man River," "For You" and "Would You Believe Me."

Their second release on National, "Ol' Man River" / "Would You Believe Me" was a hit, reaching #10 in the R&B charts, but this was surpassed by their third release, "Write Me A Letter" / "Summertime" which not only climbed the R&B chart to #5 but also reached #24 in the pop chart. This success was followed by a series of pop standard and ballad releases which while always classy didn't really bring about much chart action.

"September Song," "Until The Real thing Comes Along," "There's No You," "Together" and others were stellar performances, but the next National chart success wasn't until the autumn of 1948 with a double sided hit - a cover of The Orioles' best selling "It's Too Soon To Know" reached #11 R&B while its flip side, the bluesy "Be On Your Merry Way" reached #13. Just prior to this, The Ravens had a chart hit on the King label which had bought up the Hub masters. "Bye Bye Baby Blues" / "Once And For All" reached #8 in the R&B chart. There was more success and another double sided hit for The Ravens with their Christmas 1948 smash "Silent Night" / "White Christmas." The latter was very much the inspiration for a hit version by Clyde McPhatter and The Drifters in 1954/55.

The autumn of 1948 had also seen some personnel changes within the group. Warren Suttles left in September, being replaced by Joe Medlin. The following month Maithe Marshall left and was replaced by Richie Cannon. Then Medlin left and Marshall returned! In early 1949 Suttles returned and Cannon left, so basically the group was back to what it was when they started with National.

In 1949 failures to chart dominated the Ravens' output although there was one hit with "Ricky's Blues" / "The House I Live In" which reached #8 R&B. As 1949 turned to 1950 there was one last hit on National - "I Don't Have To Ride No More" / "I've Been a Fool" hit #9 in the R&B chart. It's noticeable that the last two hits were both strong blues performances which went down well with R&B audiences. In early 1950 Warren Suttles left again and was replaced with Louis Heyward.

The Ravens recorded their last session for National in August 1950 and then signed to Columbia. Their last release on National was in February 1951- the tender "Lilacs In The Rain," featured a beautiful vocal by Maithe Marshall, while the other side "Time Is Marching On" was a rousing rockin' blues with a lead by Jimmy Ricks and some stinging electric guitar in the arrangement. It failed to chart.

For the rest of the Ravens story - get yourself over to Marv Goldberg's website.

Original Release Details

01. Mahzel - National 9034
02. For You - National 9034 / 9039
03. Would You Believe Me - National 9035
04. Write Me A Letter - National 9038 / Rendition R-5001
05. Until The Real Thing Comes Along - National 9045
06. September Song - National 9053
07. Always - National 9064
08. Searching For Love - National 9039
09. I'm Afraid Of You - National 9098
10. Fool That I Am - National 9040
11. Together - National 9042
12. There's No You - National 9042
13. How Could I Know - National 9059
14. It's Too Soon To Know - National 9056
15. White Christmas - National 9062
16. Silent Night -National 9062

01. Deep Purple - National 9065
02. There's Nothing Like A Woman In Love - National 9085
03. Careless Love - National 9085
04. If You Didn't Mean It - National 9089
05. Someday - National 9089
06. Lilacs In The Rain - National 9148
07. I've Been A Fool - National 9101
08. I'm Going To Paper My Walls - National 9111

The remaining eight tracks (Side 4) were not released on single -
09. Sylvia

10. Tea For Two

11. Without A Song

12. It's The Talk Of The Town

13. No More Kisses For Baby

14. Moonglow

15. Who's Sorry Now

16. I've Got The World On A String

Ravens Singles On National

Titles in italics are not on this compilation. They are mostly on the LP "Old Man River" (SJL 1156) with the exception of - Be On Your Merry Way; I'm Gonna Take To The Road; Phantom Stage Coach.

National 9034 - April 1947 - Mahzel / For You

National 9035 - June 1947 - Ol' Man River / Would You Believe Me - #10 R&B

National 9038 - October 1947 - Write Me A Letter / Summertime - #5 R&B, #24 Pop

National 9039 - December 1947 - Searching For Love / For You

National 9040 - December 1947 - Fool That I Am / Be I Bumblebee Or Not

National 9042 - February 1948 - Together / There's No You

National 9045 - May 1948 - Until The Real Thing Comes Along / Send For Me If You Need Me

National 9053 - August 1948 - September Song / Once In A While

National 9056 - October 1948 - It's Too Soon To Know / Be On Your Merry Way - #11 R&B / #13 R&B

National 9059 - November 1948 - How Could I Know / I Don't Know Why I Love Like I Do

National 9062 - December 1948 - The Raven's Rendition Of: Silent Night / The Raven's Rendition Of: White Christmas - #8 R&B / #9 R&B

National 9064 - January 1949 - Always / Rooster

National 9065 - February / March 1949 - Deep Purple / Leave My Gal Alone

National 9073 - May 1949 - The House I Live In (That's America To Me) / Ricky's Blues - #8 R&B

National 9085 - August 1949 - There's Nothing Like A Woman In Love / Careless Love

National 9089 - September 1949 - Someday / If You Didn't Mean It

National 9098 - December 1949 - I'm Afraid Of You / Get Wise Baby

National 9101 - February 1950 - I've Been A Fool / I Don't Have To Ride No More - #9 R&B

National 9111 - April 1950 - Count Every Star / I'm Gonna Paper All My Walls With Your Love Letters

National 9130 - December 1950 - I'm Gonna Take To The Road / Phantom Stage Couch (Sic)

National 9148 - February 1951 - Lilacs In The Rain / Time Is Marching On

Rendition R-5001 - autumn? 1951 - Write Me a Letter / Marie 

(Rendition was a subsidiary of National)

Recommended listening -

Double CD spanning releases from Hub, National, King, Columbia / Okeh, Mercury and Jubilee.

Have No Fear, Big Joe Turner Is Here (2LP)

Side 1:

01. SK Blues, Part 1

02. SK Blues, Part 2

03. Johnson And Turner Blues

04. Johnson And Turner Blues - Master

05. Watch That Jive

06. Howlin' Winds

07. Low Down Dog

Side 2:

01. I Got My Discharge Papers

02. Miss Brown Blues

03. I'm Still In The Dark

04. My Gal's A Jockey

05. I Got Love For Sale

06. Sunday Morning Blues

07. Mad Blues

08. Playboy Blues (aka It's A Low Down Dirty Shame)

Side 3:

01. I'm Still In The Dark

02. Miss Brown Blues

03. Sally Zu-Zazz

04. Rock Of Gibraltar

05. Milk And Butter Blues

06. That's When It Really Hurts

07. I'm Sharp When I Hit The Coast

08. New Wee Baby Blues

Side 4:

01. Nobody In Mind

02. Lucille Lucille

03. Rocks In My Bed

04. Careless Love

05. Last Goodbye Blues

06. Whistle Stop Blues

07. Hollywood Bed

08. Howlin' Winds

Have No Fear, Big Joe Turner Is Here (Mega)

Have No Fear, Big Joe Turner Is Here (Zippy)

An excellent 2LP set containing everything Joe Turner recorded for National between February 1945 and December 1947. The gatefold sleeve has an excellent essay on Joe's life prior to his signing for National as well as a review of the sides on this collection. Warning - this is a larger than usual download as both discs plus artwork are contained in the Zip file. Be prepared for 186 rockin' megabytes.

Joe Turner's long career took him from the clubs of prohibition Kansas City to the Spirituals To Swing concert at Carnegie Hall in 1938 and onwards through the boogie woogie craze, the rise of R&B, and almost unbelievably when in his mid 40s to rock and roll. And when that turned to crap he simply went back to jazz and blues and kept ballin' and squallin' into the 1980s. Through it all he sounded much the same and quite a few of the songs were the same too. All that changed was the backing, and when he fetched up at Atlantic Records in 1951 he was given the best recording facilities and the best backing groups (usually produced and arranged by Jesse Stone), all of which brought him commercial success and a string of R&B hits.

The National sides, while not having the impact that his Atlantic sides would bring, were mostly very good indeed. The January 1946 sides featuring groups led by Wild Bill Moore are raucous but not as focused as the Atlantic material. If you're familiar with the Atlantic stuff and / or Joe's earlier oeuvre, quite a few of these tracks will sound familiar as earlier hits such as "Cherry Red, " "Careless Love" and "It's A Lowdown Dirty Shame" resurface, sometimes under new titles. And of course quite a few of Joe's songs consisted of familiar blues verses mixed into various concoctions. You know what you're going to get - and it's good. All killer, no filler!

Above: dapper Joe in 1944

Above: Joe's longtime collaborator Pete Johnson

Note - the Fax On The Trax section has the song titles as they were on the original releases on 78 rpm singles. Some titles on the LP track list are inaccurate. Joe Turner was never billed as "Big Joe Turner" on these releases. The actual artist attributions are also detailed below.

Fax On The Trax

Side 1, Tracks 1-5: S.K. Blues Part 1; S.K. Blues Part 2; Johnson And Turner Blues; Johnson And Turner Blues -master; Watch That Jive - recorded in NYC, February 2nd, 1945. Personnel: Joe Turner (vocals) with - Frank Newton (trumpet); Don Byas (tenor sax); Pete Johnson (piano); Leonard Ware (guitar); Al Hall (bass); Doc West (drums).

The second take of "Johnson And Turner Blues," labelled "master" on this collection is the released take (National 9011).

S.K Blues Part I / S.K. Blues Part II - Joe Turner with Pete Johnson's All Stars, released on National 9010, February, 1945.

Watch That Jive / Johnson & Turner Blues - Joe Turner with Pete Johnson's All Stars, released on National 9011, April, 1945

Side 1, Tracks 6 and 7: Howlin' Winds; Low Down Dog - recorded in Chicago, May 10th, 1945. Joe Turner with Dallas Bartley and his Small Town Boys. Personnel: Joe Turner (vocals) with - Bill Martin (trumpet); Flaps Dungee (alto sax); Josh Jackson (tenor sax); Pete Johnson (piano); unknown  (guitar); Dallas Bartley (bass); unknown (drums).

Howlin' Winds; Low Down Dog - not issued on singles.

Side 2, Tracks 1-5: I Got My Discharge Papers; Miss Brown Blues; I'm Still In The Dark; My Gal's A Jockey; I Got Love For Sale - recorded in Los Angeles, January 23rd, 1946. Personnel: Joe Turner (vocals) with - Warren Brocken (trumpet); Lloyd Harrison and Wild Bill Moore (tenor saxes); Al Williams (piano); Teddy Bunn (guitar); John "Shifty" Henry (bass); Alray Kidd (drums).

My Gal's A Jockey / I Got Love For Sale - Joe Turner with Bill Moore's Lucky Seven Band, released on National 4002, June 1946.

Rest of this session not released on singles.

Side 2, Tracks 6-8: Sunday Morning Blues; Mad Blues; Playboy Blues - recorded in Los Angeles, January 30th, 1946. Personnel - Joe Turner (vocals) with - Russell Jacquet (trumpet); Wild Bill Moore and Lou Simon (tenor saxes); Camille Howard (piano); Teddy Bunn (guitar); John "Shifty" Henry (bass); Walter Murden (drums).

Mad Blues / Sunday Morning Blues - Joe Turner with Bill Moore's Lucky Seven, released on National 4009, October 1946.

"Playboy Blues" was re-titled "It's A Lowdown Dirty Shame" and released on National 9099 b/w "Nobody In Mind" in January 1950.

Side 3, tracks 1-8 recorded in Chicago, tracks 1-4 (I'm Still In The Dark; Miss Brown Blues; Sally Zu-Zazz; Rock Of Gibraltar) recorded on October 11th 1946. Tracks 5-8 (Milk And Butter Blues; That's When It Really Hurts; I'm Sharp When I Hit The Coast; New Wee Baby Blues) recorded on October 12th 1946. Personnel on tracks 1-4: Joe Turner (vocals) with - Sonny Cohn (trumpet); Porter Kilbert or possibly Tab Smith (alto sax); probably Leon Washington (tenor sax); Albert Ammons (piano); Ike Perkins (guitar); Mickey Simms (bass); Theodore "Red" Saunders (drums).

Similar personnel on Side 3, tracks 5-8, but Albert Ammons drops out, replaced by Rudy Martin (probably).

Miss Brown Blues / I'm Sharp When I Hit The Coast - Joe Turner And His Boogie Woogie Boys, released on National 4011, January 1947.

Rock O' Gibralter / Sally Zu-Zazz - Joe Turner And His Boogie Woogie Boys, released on National 4016, May 1947.

That's What Really Hurts / Whistle Stop Blues - Joe Turner and his Boogie-Woogie Boys, released on National 4017, April 1948.

Above: Billboard, April 1948

Hollywood Bed / New Oo-Wee Baby Blues - Joe Turner, released on National 9100 in February (?) 1950.

Still In The Dark / My Gal's A Jockey - Joe Turner, released on National 9106 in March 1950.

Side 4, Tracks 1-4 (Nobody In Mind; Lucille Lucille; Rocks In My Bed; Careless Love), recorded in Chicago on November 29th, 1947. Personnel: Joe Turner (vocals) with - Charles Gray (trumpet); Riley Hampton (alto sax); Otis Finch (tenor sax); Ellsworth Liggett (piano); Ike Perkins (guitar); Robert Moore (bass); James Adams (drums). 

Side 4, Tracks 5-8 (Last Goodbye Blues; Whistle Stop Blues; Hollywood Bed; Howlin' Winds) recorded in Chicago on December 9th, 1947. Personnel as November 29th session.

Lucille Lucille, Careless Love, and Last Goodbye Blues were not released on singles.

That's What Really Hurts / Whistle Stop Blues - Joe Turner and his Boogie-Woogie Boys, released on National 4017, April 1948.

It's A Lowdown Dirty Shame / Nobody In Mind - Joe Turner, released on National 9099, in January 1950.

Hollywood Bed / New Oo-Wee Baby Blues - Joe Turner, released on National 9100 in February (?) 1950.

Rocks In My Bed / Howlin' Winds - Joe Turner, released on National 9144 in April 1951.

The last Joe Turner release on National. By the time this ad ran he had signed to Atlantic

Elsewhere On The Blog

Joe Turner - Jumpin' Tonight is a Pathe Marconi collection of sides recorded for Aladdin in July and November 1947 and for Imperial in April 1950. Originally posted in October 2009.

Joe Turner - Jumpin' With Joe is a Charly collection of sides recorded for Atlantic from 1951 to 1958. Originally posted in October 2009.

More Joe Turner coming soon. Jump with joy!