‘The blues come to Texas, loping like a mule,’ Blind Lemon Jefferson sang through a shower of surface noise as he made his recording debut in March 1926. He established the primacy of Texas blues musicians that continued unchallenged for the next 30 years, encompassing the likes of Henry ‘Ragtime’ Thomas, Texas Alexander, T-Bone Walker, Smokey Hogg, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown, Clarence Garlow, Lil’ Son Jackson, Lowell Fulson and Frankie Lee Sims. Other famous musicians recorded when they were passing through Texas, and that included Lonnie Johnson, Walter Davis, The Mississippi Sheiks, Robert Johnson, Roy Brown, Joe Turner, Honeyboy Edwards, Memphis Slim and Jimmy McCracklin.
Two of the most influential blues musicians to come out of Texas in the postwar years were Lightnin’ Hopkins and T-Bone Walker, both of whom encountered Lemon Jefferson in their youth. Both also developed individual guitar styles, one cleaving to the country blues traditions that personified Texas blues, the other creating the basic vocabulary for all single-string electric guitar soloists, black and white. As Oak Cliff T-Bone, Walker made his recording debut in December 1929. It wasn’t until later, after a brief creative partnership with jazz guitarist Charlie Christian, that he developed the combination of jazz-inflected chords and single-string runs that would change the nature of guitar blues. Lightnin’ stayed within his country roots, creating an angular, minimalist style that became instantly recognisable, virtually defining Texas blues for the world at large.
Through the last years of the 1940s, small group Texas R&B also found its voice, driven by gifted pianists like Little Willie Littlefield, Lonnie Lyons and Willie Johnson (the latter heard here backing Hubert Robinson). Guitarist Goree Carter took his lead from T-Bone and appears here under two pseudonyms, Little T-Bone and Rocky Thompson. Gatemouth Brown’s guitar style grew from T-Bone’s, too, but he added aggression to the mix. Clarence Garlow used the same source, adding a Cajun edge to his work. Manny Nichols, Johnny Beck, Ernest Lewis and Soldier Boy Houston thrived within the country tradition, while Joe Turner led the way for blues shouters like Lester Williams, Peppermint Harris, Hubert Robinson, Clarence Samuels and Earl Gilliam. While remaining with their origins, both Smokey Hogg and Frankie Lee Sims became individual stylists. But no matter their diversity, all the artists represented here testify to the resilience of the Texas blues tradition.
Disc 1
01. Blind Lemon Jefferson / Jack O'Diamond Blues [00:02:48]
02. Henry ''Ragtime'' Thomas / John Henry [00:02:47]
03. Blind Willie Johnson / It's Nobody's Fault But Mine [00:03:13]
04. Coley Jones / Traveling Man [00:03:36]
05. Washington Phillips / Denomination Blues Pt. 1 [00:03:06]
06. Bessie Tucker / Penitentiary [00:03:29]
07. Frenchy's String Band / Texas And Pacific Blues [00:03:09]
08. Texas Tommy / Trinity River Bottom Blues [00:03:19]
09. Hattie Burleson / Jim Nappy [00:02:45]
10. Ramblin' Thomas / Hard Dallas Blues [00:03:06]
11. Willie Reed / Texas Blues [00:03:18]
12. Bobbie Cadillac / Carbolic Acid Blues [00:03:02]
13. Otis Harris / You'll Like My Loving [00:03:25]
14. Sammy Hill / Cryin' For You Blues [00:02:51]
15. William McCoy / Central Tracks Blues [00:03:23]
16. Texas Alexander / No More Women Blues [00:03:05]
17. Lonnie Johnson / Broken Levee Blues [00:03:28]
18. Jesse "Babyface" Thomas / Blue Goose Blues [00:02:37]
19. Texas Bill Day / Burn The Trestle Down [00:03:02]
20. Whistlin' Alex Moore / Blue Bloomer Blues [00:03:17]
21. Oak Cliff T-Bone / Wichita Falls Blues [00:03:10]
22. Little Hat Jones / Kentucky Blues [00:03:16]
23. Gene Campbell / Doggone Mean Blues [00:02:43]
24. Eddie & Oscar / Nok-Em-All [00:02:46]
25. Walter Davis / Blue Ghost Blues [00:03:15]
Disc 2
01. Mississippi Sheiks / Sales Tax [00:03:10]
02. Bo Carter / Backache Blues [00:02:58]
03. Joe Pullum / CWA Blues [00:03:13]
04. Bernice Edwards / Butcher Shop Blues [00:03:11]
05. Dallas Jamboree Jug Band / Elm Street Woman Blues [00:02:52]
06. Black Boy Shine / Ice Pick and Pistol Woman Blues [00:02:28]
07. The Black Ace / Black Ace [00:02:50]
08. Black Ivory King / The Flying Crow [00:02:50]
09. Andrew Hogg / Kind-Hearted Blues [00:02:41]
10. Andy Boy / Evil Blues [00:03:38]
11. Robert Johnson / Traveling Riverside Blues [00:02:48]
12. Buddy Woods / Don't Sell It (Don't Give It Away) [00:02:35]
13. Smith Casey / East Texas Rag [00:02:13]
14. Lightnin' Hopkins / Short Haired Woman [00:02:48]
15. Roy Brown / Deep Sea Diver [00:03:01]
16. Charlie Bradix / Wee Wee Hours [00:02:43]
17. Little Willie Littlefield / Little Willie's Boogie [00:02:57]
18. Clarence ''Gatemouth'' Brown / My Time Is Expensive [00:02:48]
19. Lester Williams / Wintertime Blues [00:02:42]
20. Manny Nichols / Throw A Little Boogie [00:02:52]
21. Bea Johnson / No Letter Blues [00:02:42]
22. Johnny Beck / You Gotta Lay Down Mama [00:02:38]
23. Little T-Bone / Love's A Gamble [00:02:45]
24. Lonnie Lyons / Down In The Groovy [00:02:57]
25. Clarence Garlow / Bon Ton Roula [00:03:16]
Disc 3
01. Joe Turner / Adam Bit The Apple [00:02:52]
02. Ernest Lewis / Rosa Lee [00:03:09]
03. Smokey Hogg / You Gotta Go [00:02:27]
04. Mr Honey / Who May Your Regular Be [00:02:36]
05. Texas Alexander / Crossroads [00:02:40]
06. Rocky Thompson / Bull Corn Blues [00:02:45]
07. Soldier Boy Houston / Dallas Be Bop Blues [00:03:10]
08. PEPPERMINT HARRIS / Raining In My Heart [00:02:38]
09. Bettye Jean Washington / Why Oh Why (Did You Let Me Go) [00:02:54]
10. Willie Holiday / I've Played This Town [00:02:56]
11. Hubert Robinson with Willlie Johnson, his piano & orchestra / Got The Boogie Woogie Blues [00:02:22]
12. Joe Houston / Your Little Girl Is Gone [00:02:49]
13. Lil' Son Jackson / Rockin' And Rollin' [00:02:34]
14. L.C. Williams / I Don't Want No Woman [00:03:18]
15. Alexander Moore / If I Lose You Woman [00:02:40]
16. The Sugarman / She's Gone With The Wind [00:02:04]
17. Zuzu Bollin / Why Don't You Eat Where You Slept Last Night? [00:02:48]
18. Memphis Slim / Sittin' And Thinkin' [00:02:55]
19. Jimmy McCracklin / She's Gone [00:02:48]
20. Lowell Fulson / Reconsider Baby [00:03:13]
21. Earl Gilliam / Wrong Doing Woman [00:02:35]
22. Clarence Samuels / Chicken Hearted Woman [00:02:44]
23. Lightnin' Hopkins - Walkin' The Streets [00:02:44]
24. Frankie Lee Sims / What Will Lucy Do [00:02:24]
25. Mercy Baby / Mercy's Blues [00:02:45]
26. Just Like A Dog (Barking Up The Wrong Tree) [00:02:48]
