VA - Good for What Ails You - Music of the Medicine Shows (1926-1937) [2 CD, 2005/FLAC]

 

The American medicine show came into its own shortly after the Civil War with the rise of so-called patent medicines and the almost complete lack of regulations concerning the ingredients that went into them, and any number of noxious tonics, elixirs, and nostrums with trumpeted healing powers were hawked by silver-tongued pitch doctors to the audiences who flocked to see the various acrobats, dancers, fire-eaters, snake handlers, comedians and musicians who entertained at these free extravaganzas. As a cost efficient way of merging entertainment with merchandising (and where manufacturing meant mixing ingredients in a bathtub), these medicine shows successfully traveled the so-called "kerosene circuit" of rural and small town America until the dawn of the 20th century, when the rise of radio and movies, and the passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, combined to render them obsolete. The medicine show blueprint of offering free entertainment to attract audiences and then using intermissions to push products on them has hardly gone away, however, and is still the driving force behind radio and television in the 21st century. 

The musicians featured in these colorful traveling medicine shows were professionals, at least professional enough to leave their home communities and take to the road, and luckily several of these musicians were still active in the 1920s and early '30s when the fledgling recording industry was just getting off the ground, and numerous commercial 78s by former medicine show entertainers were issued in the prewar era. Two discs' worth of these 78s have been assembled here by Old Hat Records, an independent label out of North Carolina dedicated to the preservation of American vernacular and regional music, and if listening to these tracks isn't exactly like standing out under those kerosene lights, it's the next best thing. Among the gems on Good for What Ails You are the version of "I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal, You" by Daddy Stovepipe (Johnny Watson) and Mississippi Sarah (Sarah Watson) called "The Spasm" that opens the set; the bizarre "Beans" by Beans Hambone (James Albert) and El Morrow, a record so odd it is remarkable that it was ever considered for commercial release (a rambling, half-improvised monologue on beans, it rides over a maddening single-string guitar riff that seems always on the edge of breaking down completely); the delightful "Railroadin' Some" by Henry Thomas, which recalls a train trip across Texas and north to Chicago in an impressive litany of towns and train stops, and Jim Jackson's 1928 recording of "I Heard the Voice of a Porkchop," a surreal parody of the Scottish hymn "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say." Mixed in are an engaging assortment of blues, rags, re-formatted minstrel tunes, jug and string band pieces that continually surprise and delight. Old Hat is to be commended for the obvious care in which this collection is assembled, and fans of Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music may well find that this one is even wilder.

CD 1

01. Daddy Stovepipe & Mississippi Sarah - The Spasm (2:52)

02. Gid Tanner & Riley Puckett - Tanner's Boarding House (3:05)

03. Lil McClintock - Don't Think I'm Santa Claus (3:06)

04. Dallas String Band with Coley Jones - Hokum Blues (3:14)

05. Shorty Godwin - Jimbo Jambo Land (2:58)

06. Fiddlin' John Carson & His Virginia Reelers - Gonna Swing on the Golden Gate (2:58)

07. Pink Anderson & Simmie Doley - Papa's 'Bout to Get Mad (3:00)

08. Charlie Parker & Mack Woolbright - The Man Who Wrote Home Sweet Home Never was a Married Man (3:14)

09. Jim Jackson - By, Bye, Policeman (3:04)

10. Walter Smith - The Bald-headed End of a Broom (2:56)

11. Allen Brothers - Bow Wow Blues (3:21)

12. Beans Hambone & El Morrow - Beans (2:54)

13. Stovepipe #1 & David Crockett - A Chicken Can Waltz the Gravy Around (3:08)

14. Grant Brothers & Their Music - Tell It to Me (2:57)

15. Carolina Tar Heels - Ain't No Use Working So Hard (3:09)

16. Walter Cole - Mama Keep Your Yes Ma'am Clean (2:48)

17. Kirk McGee & Blythe Poteet - C-H-I-C-K-E-N Spells Chicken (2:55)

18. Banjo Joe - My Money Never Runs Out (2:53)

19. Henry Thomas 'Ragtime Texas' - Railroadin' Some (3:20)

20. Prince Albert Hunt's Texas Ramblers - Travelling Man (2:55)

21. Johnson-Nelson-Porkchop - G. Burns is Gonna Rise Again (3:01)

22. Blue Ridge Mountain Entertainers - Baby All Night Long (2:47)

23. Chris Bouchillon - Born in Hard Luck (3:19)

24. Memphis Sheiks - He's In the Jailhouse Now (3:12)

CD 2

01. Pink Anderson & Simmie Dooley - Gonna Tip Out Tonight (3:10)

02. Sam McGee - Chevrolet Car (3:10)

03. Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers - It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo' (2:58)

04. Cannon's Jug Stompers - Bring It With You When You Come (2:45)

05. Blind Sammie - Atlanta Strut (3:11)

06. Uncle Dave Macon & His Fruit Jar Drinkers - Go Along Mule (3:08)

07. Earl McDonald's Original Louisville Jug Band - Casey Bill (2:48)

08. Frank Stokes - I Got Mine (3:06)

09. Chris Bouchillon - Hannah (2:57)

10. Bogus Ben Covington - Adam & Eve in the Garden (2:43)

11. Alec Johnson & His Band - Mysterious Coon (3:16)

12. Carolina Tar Heels - Her Name was Hula Lou (3:00)

13. Three Tobacco Tags - Reno Blues (2:39)

14. Papa Charlie Jackson - Scoodle Um Skoo (3:17)

15. Frank Hutchison - Stackalee (3:06)

16. Walter Smith - The Cat's Got the Measles, the Dog's Got the Whooping Cough (3:00)

17. Hezekiah Jenkins - Shout You Cats (3:09)

18. Tommie Bradley - Nobody's Business if I Do (2:59)

19. Charlie Poole with The North Carolina Ramblers - Sweet Sixteen (2:53)

20. Charlie Parker & Mack Woolbright - Ticklish Reuben (2:40)

21. Jim Jackson - I Heard the Voice of a Porkchop (2:52)

22. Dallas String Band with Coley Jones - Shine (3:01)

23. Emmett Miller & His Georgia Crackers - The Gypsy (3:21)

24. J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers - Kiss Me Cindy (2:06)

Big Bill Broonzy discography [1950-2010]

 

Big Bill Broonzy (June 26, 1903 – August 15, 1958) was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with working class Black audiences. In the 1950s a return to his traditional folk-blues roots made him one of the leading figures of the emerging American folk music revival and an international star. His long and varied career marks him as one of the key figures in the development of blues music in the 20th century.

Broonzy copyrighted more than 300 songs during his lifetime, including both adaptations of traditional folk songs and original blues songs. As a blues composer, he was unique in that his compositions reflected the many vantage points of his rural-to-urban experiences.

Big Bill Broonzy & Pete Seeger - (1956) - In Concert  - Verve Folkways 9008

Big Bill Broonzy & Washboard Sam - (1962) - Big Bill Broonzy and Washboard Sam

Big Bill Broonzy - (1950) - The Southern Blues

Big Bill Broonzy - (1955) - Big Bill Blues

Big Bill Broonzy - (1957) - Blues et Gospel Vol.3

Big Bill Broonzy - (1957) - Country Blues Vol. 1  - LP Chant du Monde

Big Bill Broonzy - (1959) - Blues in the Mississippi night

Big Bill Broonzy - (1963) - Country Blues Vol. 1

Big Bill Broonzy - (1965) - XTRA 1004

Big Bill Broonzy - (1968) - The Young Big Bill Broonzy 1928 - 1935

Big Bill Broonzy - (1970) - Archive of Folk Music Everest

Big Bill Broonzy - (1970) - In Concert) - Verve Folkways

Big Bill Broonzy - (1971) - VA) -  A Treasury Of Folk Music

Big Bill Broonzy - (1973) - Do That Guitar Rag (1928 - 1935)

Big Bill Broonzy - (1989) - Big Bill Broonzy & Washboard Sam

Big Bill Broonzy - (1990) - Good Time Tonight

Big Bill Broonzy - (1990) - House Rent Stomp

Big Bill Broonzy - (1990) - Trouble In Mind

Big Bill Broonzy - (1991) - Big Bill Blues

Big Bill Broonzy - (1993) - The Southern Blues

Big Bill Broonzy - (1994) - The 1955 London Sessions

Big Bill Broonzy - (1994) - Volume 2 1930 Complete Edition

Big Bill Broonzy - (1994) - Whiskey And Good Time Blues

Big Bill Broonzy - (1998) - Warm, Witty & Wise

Big Bill Broonzy - (2000) - Big Bill Broonzy

Big Bill Broonzy - (2000) - Where The Blues Begin (2 CD)

Big Bill Broonzy - (2001) - Play Your Hand

Big Bill Broonzy - (2003) - Pye Blues Legends In London

Big Bill Broonzy - (2004) - Get Back

Big Bill Broonzy - (2006) - Amsterdam Live Concerts 1953 (2 CD)

Big Bill Broonzy - (2006) - Josh White Comes A - Visitin' Big Bill Broonzy Comes A - Singin'

Big Bill Broonzy - (2007) - Roots of the Blues

Big Bill Broonzy - (2010) - Four Classic Albums Plus (2 CD)

VA - That 70's [5 CD, 2009]

 

Another collection of golden 70's

 

Mungo Jerry - The Dawn Albums Collection (5 CD, 2017/FLAC)

 

Mungo Jerry - Mungo Jerry 1970 

Mungo Jerry - Electronically Tested 1971 

Mungo Jerry - You Don't Have To Be In The Army 1971

Mungo Jerry - Boot Power 1972 

Mungo Jerry - Long Legged Woman 1974 

 

Blind Boy Fuller - Complete Recorded Works Vol. 1-6 (1935-1940) [6 CD, 1992/FLAC]

 

Blind Boy Fuller (born Fulton Allen) (July 10, 1907 - February 13, 1941) was an American blues guitarist and vocalist. He was one of the most popular of the recorded Piedmont blues artists with rural Black Americans, a group that also included Blind Blake, Josh White, and Buddy Moss.

Vol. 1

"The finest collection ever of blues and ragtime. Fuller is here both solo and with Gary Davis, Sonny Terry, and Bull City Red. This is Piedmont blues at its best (1935-1936), a must for anyone interested in down-home blues."-- AMG review by Barry Lee Pearson

Vol. 2

"The second volume in Document's chronological overview of Blind Boy Fuller's life and music contains some of his most popular recordings, including the 1936 sessions which yielded both "Truckin' My Blues Away" (an update of Tampa Red's "What Is It That Tastes Like Gravy?") and "Mama Let Me Lay It on You" (a rendition of Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe's "Can I Do It for You?"), both of them definitive versions. Fuller's gift for making familiar songs his own pops again on his next session, from early February of 1937; backed by Dipper Boy Council and Bull City Red, he delivers renditions of "Mamie," "Untrue Blues" (a version of the "Crow Jane" theme) and "New Oh Red!," all of them revelatory and unforgettable."

Vol. 3

"The 22 sides which comprise the third volume in Document's Blind Boy Fuller retrospective were all culled from sessions cut in the latter half of 1937; the first session, from mid-July, was recorded under the auspices of the Decca label, a situation which left Fuller's longtime manager J.B. Long -- as well as ARC Records -- none too happy. As a result, at the bluesman's next session, Long insisted he re-record many of the titles earlier cut for Decca, resulting in alternate takes of "Bulldog Blues," "Throw Your Yas Yas Back in Jail" (a.k.a. "Put You Back in Jail") and "Steel Hearted Woman" (a.k.a. "Why Don't My Baby Write to Me"); for blues historians, the chance to compare and contrast the sessions will be irresistible, although more casual fans might find this particular release less engaging than the others in the series."

Vol. 4

"Beginning with the mid-December, 1937 session which kicks off this fourth volume in Document's retrospective, Blind Boy Fuller entered into a recording partnership with the legendary harpist Sonny Terry that continued for the remainder of Fuller's studio career. Terry's blistering harmonica and falsetto interjections lent an exciting new dynamic to Fuller's sound, as classic sides like "Pistol Snapper Blues," "Mean and No Good Woman" and "Georgia Ham Mama" amply prove, each musician pushing the other to new creative heights."

Vol. 5

"Volume five in Document's Blind Boy Fuller series is comprised primarily of two prolific sessions, the first recorded in Columbia, South Carolina on October 29, 1938 with harpist Sonny Terry and washboard player Bull City Red, the second a Memphis date from July 12, 1939 with Terry, Bull City Red (now going as Oh Red) and second guitarist Sonny Jones. The latter is perhaps the most impressive, yielding the signature song "I Want Some of Your Pie" as well as "You've Got Something There" (a rewrite of Buddy Moss' "Daddy Don't Care") and Fuller's immortal rendition of J.B. Long's "Step It Up and Go.""

Vol. 6

"The sixth and final volume in the series assembles the fruits of Blind Boy Fuller's final studio sessions, all dating to the first half of 1940. Despite failing health, Fuller is at his most incendiary on these sides -- "Shake It, Baby" is among his most galvanizing dance tunes, while "Little Woman You're So Sweet" stands as one of his finest originals. Most energetic, however, are the sanctified songs, including "No Stranger Now," "Jesus Is a Holy Man" and "Twelve Gates to the City" -- with his death less than a year away, Fuller burns with spiritual intensity, clearly yearning for some kind of redemption in his final months."