Midnight Steppers celebrates the post war blues pianists and explores how their sound had its origins in the 30s and 40s, when boogie woogie piano and the Chicago-centric small combo Bluebird Beat held sway. Compiled by blues and early jazz authority Mike Rowe, Midnight Steppers presents 70 masterpieces by 34 pianists, including legendary names like Otis Spann, Memphis Slim, Big Maceo, Sunnyland Slim and Albert Ammons, as well as the unsung heroes of the keyboards.
The roots of piano blues can probably be traced back to the late 19th Century, as a crude offshoot of ragtime. Midnight Steppers picks up the story in the 30s, by which time the elements of boogie woogie were in place. The 30s and 40s saw a boom in the popularity of boogie woogie (Disc 2), spearhead by the trio of Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson and Meade Lux Lewis. The phenomenon crossed over to the big bands and popular singers, before ultimately falling victim to this very commercialisation, but not before great sides had been cut by the likes of Jimmy Yancey, Montana Taylor and Cripple Clarence Lofton. Simultaneously the post-Depression years saw a proliferation of urban blues, with piano blues very much to the fore, and much of it emerging on Victor s Bluebird label, thanks to producer Lester Melrose cornering the Chicago blues market. Exponents of what was retrospectively dubbed Bluebird Beat (Disc 1) include Memphis Slim, Roosevelt Sykes, Big Maceo, Walter Davis, Champion Jack Dupree and Little Brother Montgomery. Some of the players continued to record post-WWII (Disc 3), but had to compete with emerging names like Eddie Boyd, who adopted a more upbeat, raucous sound. Sunnyland Slim and Otis Spann recorded in their own right, but were often employed in (and better known for) a supporting role in combos, led by the likes of Robert Lockwood Jr and Muddy Waters. Henry Gray can be heard in this role on tracks by Howlin Wolf and Morris Pejoe. The combos came to be dominated by other instruments, especially the electric guitar, but great piano blues could still be heard, courtesy of Amos Milburn, Piano Red and Little Willie Littlefield. Part of the beauty of this selection is the inclusion of lesser-known names like Big Chief Ellis, Thunder Smith, Dr Hepcat, Lonnie Lyons and Leroy Ervin. Compiler Mike Rowe founded the pioneering 60s label Post-War Blues, edited Blues Unlimited magazine, and is author of Chicago Breakdown (reissued as Chicago Blues: The City & The Music).
Disc 1
1. Beer Drinking Woman (Memphis Slim) - Memphis Slim
2. Junker Blues (Champion Jack Dupree) - Champion Jack Dupree
3. Midnight Steppers (Big Bill Broonzy feat. Josh Altheimer) - Big Bill Broonzy
4. Let Me Hang My Stocking in Your Christmas Tree (Roosevelt Sykes) - Roosevelt Sykes
5. Sugar Bowl Blues (Curtis Jones) - Curtis Jones
6. Worried Life Blues (Big Maceo) - Big Maceo
7. You Got to Help Me Some (Memphis Slim) - Memphis Slim
8. 44 Blues (Roosevelt Sykes) - Roosevelt Sykes
9. New Mistake in Life (Roosevelt Sykes) - Roosevelt Sykes
10. Can't You Read? (Big Maceo) - Big Maceo
11. New Come Back Baby (Walter Davis) - Walter Davis
12. I See My Great Mistake (Memphis Slim) - Memphis Slim
13. I'm the Woogie Man (Bob White) - Bob White
14. Frisco Blues (Walter Davis) - Walter Davis
15. Tin Pan Alley (Curtis Jones) - Curtis Jones
16. Chicago Breakdown (Big Maceo) - Big Maceo
17. Grinder Man Blues (Memphis Slim) - Memphis Slim
18. This Tavern Boogie (Roosevelt Sykes) - Roosevelt Sykes
19. Won't Be a Fool No More (Big Maceo) - Big Maceo
20. Drunk Again (Champion Jack Dupree) - Champion Jack Dupree
21. Vicksburg Blues (Little Brother Montgomery) - Little Brother Montgomery
22. Tears Come Rolling Down (Walter Davis) - Walter Davis
23. Blues N Boogie (Roosevelt Sykes) - Roosevelt Sykes
Disc 2
1. Honky Tonk Train Blues (Meade Lux Lewis) - Meade 'Lux' Lewis
2. Boogie Woogie Prayer (Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson and Meade Lux Lewis) - Albert Ammons, Pete Johnso
3. Boogie Woogie Stomp (Albert Ammons) - Albert Ammons
4. B and O Blues (Pete Johnson) - Pete Johnson
5. Pine Top's Boogie Woogie (Cripple Clarence Lofton) - Cripple Clarence Lofton
6. State Street Special (Jimmy Yancey) - Jimmy Yancey
7. Boogie Woogie Blues (Albert Ammons) - Albert Ammons
8. Climbin' and Screamin' (Pete Johnson) - Pete Johnson
9. Indiana Avenue Stomp (Montana Taylor) - Montana Taylor
10. Pine Creek (Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons) - Pete Johnson & Albert Ammons
11. I Don't Know (Cripple Clarence Lofton) - Cripple Clarence Lofton
12. Albert's Special Boogie (Albert Ammons) - Albert Ammons
13. Blues on the Down Beat (Pete Johnson) - Pete Johnson
14. Rising Tide Blues (Meade Lux Lewis) - Meade 'Lux' Lewis
15. At the Window (Jimmy Yancey) - Jimmy Yancey
16. In De Mornin' (Cripple Clarence Lofton) - Cripple Clarence Lofton
17. Kaycee Feeling (Pete Johnson) - Pete Johnson
18. Five O'Clocks (Montana Taylor) - Montana Taylor
19. Had a Dream (Cripple Clarence Lofton) - Cripple Clarence Lofton
20. Yancey Stomp (Jimmy Yancey) - Jimmy Yancey
21. Jimmy's Rocks (Jimmy Yancey) - Jimmy Yancey
22. Roses of Picardy (Albert Ammons) - Albert Ammons
23. Lady Be Good (Albert Ammons) - Albert Ammons
Disc 3
1. Dices! Dices! (Big Chief Ellis) - Big Chief Ellis
2. Little Mama Boogie (Thunder Smith) - Thunder Smith
3. Miss Minnie Lee Blues (Jimmy McCracklin) - Jimmy McCracklin
4. Five Long Years (Eddie Boyd) - Eddie Boyd
5. Chicken Shack Boogie (Amos Milburn) - Amos Milburn
6. Big Town Play Boy (Little Johnny Jones) - Little Johnny Jones
7. The Mojo (J B Lenoir feat. Sunnyland Slim) - J.B. Lenoir
8. Tired of Crying Over You (Morris Pejoe feat. Henry Gray) - Morris Pejoe
9. I Have a Little Girl (Howlin' Wolf feat. Henry Gray) - Howlin' Wolf
10. Time Will Tell (Cecil Gant) - Cecil Gant
11. Roll, Tumble and Slip (Sunnyland Slim) - Sunnyland Slim
12. Hattie Green (Dr Hepcat) - Dr. Hepcat
13. Monday Woman (Willie Mabon) - Willie Mabon
14. Red's Boogie (Piano Red) - Piano Red
15. I Had to Let Her Go (Eddie Boyd feat. James Clark) - Eddie Boyd
16. Young Fashioned Ways (Muddy Waters feat. Otis Spann) - Muddy Waters
17. Down in the Groovy (Lonnie Lyons) - Lonnie Lyons
18. Blue, Black and Evil (Leroy Ervin) - Lonnie Lyons
19. Little Willie s Boogie (Little Willie Littlefield) - Leroy Ervin
20. Bicycle Boogie (Bob Gaddy) - Little Willie Littlefield
21. Hepcat's Boogie (Dr Hepcat) - Bob Gaddy
22. Sampson Street Boogie (Willie Johnson) - Dr. Hepcat
23. Dust My Broom (Robert Lockwood feat. Sunnyland Slim) - Willie Johnson
24. Otis in the Dark (Otis Spann) - Robert Lockwood
