Blues for Aficionados

Junior Wells

HOODOO MAN BLUES

Delmark   1965

Notes: "I went to this pawnshop downtown and the man had a harmonica priced at $2.00.  I got a job on a soda truck...played hookey from school...worked all week and on Saturday the man gave me a dollar and a half.  A dollar and a half! For a week of work.  I went to the pawnshop and the man said the price was two dollars.  I told him I HAD to have that that harp.  He walked away from the counter--left the harp there.  So I laid my dollar-and-a-half on the counter and picked up the harp.  When my trail came up, the judge asked me why I did it.  I told him I HAD to have that harp.  The judge asked me to play it and when I did he gave the man the 50 cents and hollered "case dismissed!" -- Chicago 1948

Wells' initial LP appearance, and maybe the first LP by any Blues band.


Early in the Morning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EBd3bN9Z3Y

Snatch It Back And Hold It
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6TwTmFbEd4

Hoodoo Man Blues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdKRWaIaZ14

Yonder Wall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy5DFOo6Ar8

Good Morning Schoolgirl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrGIB1eBL9Y

Cheers

Willie Dixon

THE BIG THREE TRIO

CBS Records    1990

wiki:

Next to Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post–World War II sound of the Chicago blues.

 A short list of his most famous compositions includes "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Little Red Rooster", "My Babe", "Spoonful", and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover". These songs were written during the peak years of Chess Records, from 1950 to 1965, and were performed by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Bo Diddley; they influenced a generation of musicians worldwide.

Dixon was an important link between the blues and rock and roll, working with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley in the late 1950s. In the 1960s, his songs were adapted by numerous rock artists. He received a Grammy Award and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  --  wiki

Born July 1, 1915 Vicksburg, Mississippi
Died January 29, 1992 (aged 76) Burbank, California

Hard Notch Boogie Beat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXMThTIYpfI

Since My Baby Gone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbDSvd_PYvw

You Don't Love Me No More

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6k---0B4k4

Come Here Baby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sh9mt1BMaQ

Tell That Woman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm8E7wtypIs

Cheers

Junior Wells

MESSIN' WITH THE KID

Paula Records     1957 to 1963

No notes.

It Hurts Me Too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQE0IY4uSIY

Come on in this House
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv5r6f83TG4

Messin' With The Kid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLz82AfE-R0

Little By Little
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEibNV4YA-E

So Tired
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqMQfgsnQz0

Calling All Blues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPE98v23kTY

Cheers

Willie Dixon

THE ORIGINAL WANG DANG DOODLE

MCA Chess   1995

Excellent informative booklet.

Notes: "By the time Willie Dixon died in Glendale, California, on January 29, 1992, his music had won him widespread recognition, numerous awards including a 1988 Grammy Award, and a certain measure of comfort in his later years.  His last wish was fulfilled early in 1993 by his wife Marie and daughter Shirli when the family purchased the historic Chess records building in Chicago to be the new home of Willie's long-cherished dream, the Blues Heaven Foundation."

Wang Dang Doodle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCWC4tTSPSA

So Long
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqtiYZGHQV0

Tail Dragger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZr5BYflkcQ

Walking The Blues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8oKiX5q3rI

Crazy For My Baby
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAfR7AEzojs

Cheers

Junior Wells

ON TAP

Delmark    1991

Notes: "Junior Wells held court at Theresa's Tavern at 4801 South Indiana on Chicago's south side.  If Junior was in town he was at Theresa's, a surprisingly small tavern several steps below street level with no bandstand, no ticket window, unreliable plumbing, an assortment of beer and liquor signs for brands the house never or no longer carried, and Christmas lights all year round."

Welcome to the world of the Blues.

What my Mama told Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoeKw76K6e0

The Train I Ride
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r9n9sfPDiM

Goin' Down Slow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIb0_-klFg4

Key To The Highway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_2-wcGqWAs

So Long
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I_Z0OtX6W4

Cheers