Arbee Stidham | Big Road Blues

Big Road Blues Show 9/17/23: She Run Me Out On The Road – Mix Show

September 17, 2023September 17, 2023 Jeff Leave a comment

Mix Show	SONG	ALBUM
Spider Carter	Dry Spell Blues	St. Louis 1927-1933
Ell-Zee Floyd	Snow Bound and Blue	Down On The Levee
Charles Avery	Dearborn Street Breakdown	Shake Your Wicked Knees
Muddy Waters	Strange Woman	Hollywood Blues Summit 1971
Muddy Waters	Walkin' Through the Park	Hollywood Blues Summit 1971
Memphis Jug Band	Going Back To Memphis	Best Of
Peg Leg Howell	Monkey Man Blues	Peg Leg Howell Vol. 2 1928-1930
Sleepy John Estes	Drop Down Mama	Blues At Newport 1964
Louis Armstrong	Long Long Journey	Satchmo In The Forties
Big Joe Turner & Pete Johnson	Kansas City Blues	Hollywood Rock And Roll Record
Arbee Stidham	Standin' In My Window	A Time For Blues
Ivy Smith & Cow Cow Davenport	Southern High Waters Blues	Ivy Smith & Cow Cow Davenport 1927-1930
Annie Turner & Little Brother Montgomery	Hard on You	Little Bother Montgomery: Vocal Accompaniments & Early Post-War Recordings 1930-1954
Lucille Bogan	My Georgia Grind	Lucille Bogan Vol. 1 1923-1929
Walter Horton	Now Tell me, Baby	Lowdown Memphis Harmonica Jam
Big John Wrencher	I'm A Root Man	American Blues Legends 1974
Easy Baby	Good Morning Mr Blues	Barrelhousin' Around Chicago The Legendary George Paulus 1970s Recordings
Kid Wiggins	Lonesome Road	Playing For The Man At The Door
James Tisdom	Steel Guitar Rag	Playing For The Man At The Door
Lightnin’ Hopkins	Blues Jumped a Rabbit	Playing For The Man At The Door
Frank Evans	Red River Blues	Field Recordings Vol. 13 1933-1943
Josh White	Lazy Black Snake Blues	Blues Singer 1932-1936
Poor Bill	Way Up on the Mountain	East Coast Blues In The Thirties 1934-1939
Robert Petway	Bertha Lee Blues	Catfish Blues
Jealous James Stanchell	Anything from a Foot Race to a Resting Place	Playing For The Man At The Door
Lightnin’ Hopkins	The Foot Race Is On	Autobiography in Blues
Big Moose Walker & Jump Jackson´s Combo	Footrace To A Resting Place	Blues Complete
Tom Bell	Storm in Arkansas	I Can Eagle Rock: Jook Joint Blues Library of Congress Recordings 1940-1941
Sam Chatmon	God Don't Like Ugly	I Have to Paint My Face
Lum Guffin	Johnny Wilson	On The Road Again
Joe Cooper	She Run Me Out On The Road	Living Country Blues USA Vol. 2: Blues On Highway 61
Sippie Wallace	You Gonna Need My Help	Sippie Wallace Vol. 2 1925-1945
Sara Martin	Hole In The Wall	Sara Martin Vol. 4 1925-1928
Billie (Willie Mae) McKenzie	Woke Up With The Rising Sun	Female Chicago Blues 1936-1947
Lizzie Miles	Lizzie's Blues	Jazzin' The Blues 1943-1952

Show Notes:

Dearborn Street Breakdown / Dry Spell Blues We tackle a wide gamut of blues from the 20s through the 70s today. On deck today is a set revolving around superb pianists Charles Avery, two live recordings by Muddy Waters, we hear from some excellent women singers and some blues shouters and crooners. In addition we spin some great field recordings captured by Mack McCormick, John Lomax and others, a strong set of harmonica blues, trace the history of an obscure song and much more.

Active in Chicago in the 20’s and 30’s, Charles Avery worked as a session musician backing artists such as Lil Johnson, Freddie ‘Red” Nicholson, Red Nelson, Victoria Spivey and others. He cut one record under his own name, 1929’s “Dearborn Street Breakdown” (the other side of the 78 was Meade Lux Lewis’ “Honky Tonk Train Blues”). It’s been suggested that Avery plays behind Ell-Zee Floyd and Spider Carter who we hear today. Carter cut three sides in 1930 for Brunswick and Floyd cut two sides on Sept. 19, 1930 at the same session Carter recorded.

The eight-song set Hollywood Blues Summit 1971, was recorded at the legendary Ash Grove club in Los Angeles on the Blue Summit weekend (which also featured Freddie King and Lightnin’ Hopkins) from July 27 to Aug. 1, 1971. The band includes: Calvin Fuzz Jones on bass, Pee Wee Madison & Sammy Lawson on guitars, Paul Oscher & Shakey Horton on harmonica and Pinetop Perkins on piano.

We spotlight several fine blues ladies today including Ivy Smith, Sippie Wallace, Sara Martin, Lizzie Miles and others. Cow Cow Davenport’s early career revolved around carnivals and vaudeville. Davenport didn’t cut a 78 record until 1927 (two 1925 sides for Gennett were unissued) although prior to that he made a number of piano rolls. Davenport briefly teamed up with singer Ivy Smith in 1927, backing her on some two-dozen sides as well as waxing around thirty sides under his own name through 1938. we hear the duo on the fine flood blues “Southern High Waters Blues.”

Sara Martin was singing on the Vaudeville circuit by 1915 and made her debut for Okeh Records in 1922. She cut close to one hundred sides through 1928. She recorded four sides with Clarence Williams that included King Oliver on cornet in 1928 of which we spin “Hole In The Wall.”

Last week we delved into the box set, Playing for the Man at the Door: Field Recordings from the Collection of Mack McCormick, 1958–1971, produced by the Smithsonian which collects Mack’s, mostly unreleased, field recordings captured between 1958 and 1971. There were several tracks we didn’t get to on that show and today we hear from pianist Kid Wiggins, James Tisdom and Lightnin’ Hopkins who Mack recorded extensively.

Hollywood Blues Summit

In addition we hear a track from Jealous James Stanchell cut in 1959 titled “Anything from a Foot Race to a Resting Place” which always fascinated me for it’s unique title and lyrics. This track first appeared on the album Treasury Of Field Recordings Vol. 2. These albums were compiled by McCormick and issued on the British 77 label in 1960. Regarding the song and it’s performer he wrote: “Evenings he goes from bar to bar along Dowling St. Singing for tips, some songs like “Jambalaya” derive from the jukeboxes, but mostly his own personal observations. The song is Jealous James’ own composition, well known around Houston and Kansas City from his own singing, but not previously recorded or published. The recording came about one afternoon when Lightnin’ Hopkins was scheduled to make some tapes but, as usual, found himself without an acoustical guitar. He went out and found Jealous James inviting him and his guitar to come along. After finishing ‘Corrine, Corrina’ – in Volume I of this set – Lightnin’ turned things over to Jealous James who sang several of his own songs including this. Lightnin’ was so delighted with it that he promptly recorded a boogie which he dubbed ‘The Footrace is On’ which takes its inspiration from Jealous James his song. Lightnin’s song, elaborating on the foot-race idea, is in his Autobiography in Blues, Tradition LP 1040.” In 1960 Big Moose Walker with Jump Jackson’s Combo cut two takes of “Footrace To A Resting Place” for End Records which is essentially the same song. He recorded the song again which appeared on and Elmore James album titled To Know A Man (Blue Horizon, 1969) and credited to an unidentified singer possibly “Bushy Head!” He cut the song several times over the years including a fine version simply titled “Footrace” on the album Rambling Woman for Bluesway in 1969. I wonder where he heard this song? I don’t know of any other versions.

As usual we spin some interesting field recordings, this time out by Tom Bell, Joe Cooper, Lum Guffin, Frank Evans and others. In 1940, recording for the Library of Congress, John Lomax captured some fine recordings in his travels, first in Texas in October then Louisiana, Mississippi, and finally Georgia by November. Many of these tracks can be found on the excellent Travelin’ Man album, I Can Eagle Rock: Jook Joint Blues from Alabama and Louisiana. One of these artists was a fine dance and blues artists named Tom Bell who we hear on his “Storm in Arkansas.” Frank Evans was recorded by Lomax in 1936 in Parchman Farm.

Red River Blues

The title of today’s show is taken from a song by Joe Cooper. Cooper was discovered in the late ‘60s by researcher Bill Ferris and was the uncle of Son Thomas. both are featured in Ferris’s book Blues from The Delta. Cooper played with Henry Stuckey, considered one of the founders of the Bentonia blues style and played at local house parties. He was recorded by Gianni Marcucci in the 70s and by my friends Axel Küstner in 1980 and Michael Hortig in 1981.

We hear some fine blues singing today from Louis Armstrong, Big Joe Turner and Arbee Stidham. Louis Armstrong sings on “Long Long Journey” from 1946 in an all-star band featuring Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges. Next week I’ll be devoting a show to Big Joe Turner and chatting with Derek Coller who is the author of the new book, Feel So Fine, which is a biography and discography. As the blurb states: “Big Joe Turner was the greatest of the blues shouters. For more than five decades, from Kansas City saloons to Carnegie Hall, through the swing era, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and soul music, Joe Turner sang, never wavering. Small bands, big bands, trios, pianists, rock groups, choirs, all styles of accompaniment rocked to his rhythm. Joe Turner was like a force of nature, making everyone feel fine.” Today we feature a live track with Big Joe back by his pal Pete Johnson.

We spin a set of tough post-war harmonica today by Walter Horton, Big John Wrencher and Easy Baby. From his first recording session we hear from Walter Horton going under the name Mumbles on “Now Tell Me Baby” waxed in 1951. I first heard this on the great Nighthawk album Lowdown Memphis Harmonica Jam.

Storm in Arkansas Several years back I found myself in the segregated black section of Shufordville Cemetery (outside of Clarksdale) which contains the graves of blues fiddler Henry “Son” Simms, who recorded with Muddy Waters and Charley Patton and harmonica man Big John Wrencher. A marker was erected in 2014 for Wrencher. We hear a fine live number by him today when he was touring Europe as part of the 1974 American Blues Legends tour.

Fame and fortune never found Easy Baby who worked as a mechanic by day and the Chicago clubs at nights. We play a track from Sweet Home Chicago Blues, a real gem released on the small Barrelhouse imprint (released on CD on the Japanese P-Vine label). A large part of the record’s success goes to the band: Eddie Taylor’s fleet fingered playing is every bit as inventive as his band leader while Kansas City Red’s drumming is so crisp and in-the-pocket it should be used as a clinic for up and coming blues drummers. Easy cut another good one in for Wolf in 2000 titled If It Ain’t One Thing, It’s Another.

Big Road Blues Show 4/23/23: Forgotten Chicago Horn Men Pt. 2 – Summit Ridge Drive

April 23, 2023April 23, 2023 Jeff Leave a comment

ARTIST	SONG	ALBUM
Big Bill Broonzy w/Buster Bennett	I'm Woke Up, Now	Big Bill Broonzy Vol. 11 1940-1942
Big Bill Broonzy w/Buster Bennett	Cell No.13 Blues	Big Bill Broonzy Vol 12 1945-1947
Big Bill Broonzy w/Buster Bennett	Partnership Woman	Big Bill Broonzy Vol 12 1945-1947
Eddie Boyd w/ Sax Mallard	Blue Monday Blues	Eddie Boyd 1947-1950
Eddie Boyd w/ Sax Mallard	Rosa Lee Swing	Eddie Boyd 1947-1950
Eddie Boyd w/ Sax Mallard	You Got To Leave That Gal	Eddie Boyd 1947-1950
Roosevelt Sykes w/ Sax Mallard	Flames of Jive	Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 8 1945-1947
Charles Gray and his Rhumboogie Five w/Buster Bennett	I'm A Bum Again	Chicago Jump Bands: Early R&B Vol. 1 1945–53
"Red" Saunders and his Band w/Buster Bennett	Red, the Be Bop Guy	"Red" The Bebop Guy 1945-1951
Buster Bennett Trio	Mr Bennett Blows	Buster Bennett 1945-1947
Washboard Sam w/ Sax Mallard	Facing Life	Washboard Sam Vol. 7 1942-1949)
Washboard Sam w/ Sax Mallard	Love Me Or Let Me Be	Washboard Sam Vol. 7 1942-1949)
Washboard Sam w/ Sax Mallard	She's Just My Size	Washboard Sam Vol. 7 1942-1949)
J.T. Brown w/ King Kolax	When I Was a Lad	J. T. Brown 1950-1954
J.T. Brown w/ King Kolax	Black Jack Blues	J. T. Brown 1950-1954
Sax Mallard & His Orchestra	The Mojo	Hidden Gems Vol 4: The Aristocrat of Records
Sax Mallard & His Orchestra	Rolling Tears	Hidden Gems Vol 4: The Aristocrat of Records
Sax Mallard & His Orchestra	Summit Ridge Drive	Hidden Gems Vol 3: The Aristocrat of Records
Buster Bennett Trio	Don't Jive Me Baby	Buster Bennett 1945-1947
Buster Bennett Trio	Jersey Cow Bounce	Buster Bennett 1945-1947
Roosevelt Sykes w/ Sax Mallard	Mama Mama	Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 8 1945-1947
Eddie Boyd w/ Sax Mallard	Playmate Shuffle	Eddie Boyd 1947-1950
Tampa Red w/ Sax Mallard	Roaming and Rambling	Tampa Red Vol.13 1945-1947
King Kolax and Orchestra	Lonesome Man Blues	Those Rhytmn And Blues
Rudy Green w/ King Kolax	No Need of Your Crying	Those Rhytmn And Blues
Big Bill Broonzy w/ Sax Mallard	Rambling Bill	Big Bill Broonzy Vol 12 1945-1947
Big Bill Broonzy w/ Sax Mallard	Stop Lying Woman	Big Bill Broonzy Vol 12 1945-1947
Rosetta Howard w/ Sax Mallard	Plow Hand Blues	Roots 'n' Blues: the Retrospective
Chicago All Stars w/ Sax Mallard	Strange Strange Lover	Chicago Jump Bands: Early R&B Vol. 1 1945–53
Grant "Mr. Blues Jones w/ Bob Call & His Orchestra w/ Sax Mallard	Talking Baby Blues	In The Dark: 1949-1958
Bob Call & His Orchestra w/ Sax Mallard	Call's Jump	Coral Rhythm & Blues, Vol. 3
Eddie Sugarman Penigar and his Band w/ LaVern Baker & Sax Mallard	Easy Baby	LaVern Baker 1949-1954
Arbee Stidham w/ Sax Mallard	You'll Be Sorry	Arbee Stidham Vo. 1 1947-1951
Sax Mallard and His Orchestra	Slow Caboose	78
Sax Mallard and His Orchestra w/ Mitzi Mars	Roll 'Em	In Session:The Mojo 1946-1954

Show Notes:

Summit Ridge Drive Several years back I devoted a show to sax men Buster Bennett & Sax Mallard. Do to a programming conflict that show was cut short. This time out we revisit that show, greatly expanding it over the course of three shows and add another Chicago horn man, King Kolax to the mix.

As writer Mike Rowe notes “it was a white businessman, Lester Melrose, who was really responsible for shaping the Chicago sound of the late 30’s and 40’s.” From March 1934 to February 1951 he recorded at least 90 percent of all rhythm-and-blues talent for RCA Victor and Columbia Records…” The “Bluebird Sound”, as it’s been called, anticipated the Chicago blues of the post-war era featuring tight, smooth small band arrangements that were filled out with piano, bass drums and often clarinet or saxophone. Among the horn players in demand in the 30’s and 40’s were Buster Bennett who made his debut in 1938 and his successor Sax Mallard, who hit his stride in the mid-to-late 40’s. The music they made evolved into the Chicago R&B and jump music scene of the 1940’s and ’50’s Bennett’s career divides into two phases; In the first part of his career he worked as a blues accompanist in the studios backing artists such as Monkey Joe, Big Bill Broonzy, Merline Johnson, Washboard Sam and Jimmie Gordon; during the second part, after being signed as a leader, he was presented as a gut-bucket instrumentalist and blues singer. Sax Mallard led his own combos and did some recording under his own name but was best known as a reliable session artist backing some of the same artists as Bennett as well as working with likes of Tampa Red, Roosevelt Sykes, Eddie Boyd and others. Trumpeter and bandleader King Kolax had his own bands in the late 30s and 40s and worked with Billy Eckstine. In 1948 he recorded for the Opera label as a leader and singer and in1949 and played in J. T. Brown’s band in 1951. Establishing a new band of his own, he recorded for J.O.B. in a session that featured his blues singing. In 1952, he backed Joe Williams on his singles for Checker and recorded with Danny Overbea. He also led orchestras behind Mabel Scott and Rudy Greene. He recorded again for Vee-Jay at the end of 1954 and in September 1955 and did later work with Otis Rush and Roosevelt Sykes.

Joseph Buster Bennett was born in Pensacola, Florida, on March 19, 1914. As the Red Suanders Research page notes: “We know nothing about his early days. When he cut his first recordings in 1938, he was a highly distinctive, gutbucket stylist with many 1920s features still adhering to his playing (not least of them his continued use of the soprano sax, which was way out of fashion by this time). All of this suggests that he learned early and was playing professionally in his teens. …Our very first written record of Buster Bennett, who by then was 24 years old and had been playing professionally for at least 8 years, is a one-paragraph blurb in the Chicago Defender, from July 9, 1938.” Bennett got his recording start for Lester Melrose in September 1938. He would work the studios with Big Bill Broonzy, Merline Johnson, Monkey Joe and Washboard Sam. He also did two non-Melrose sessions with Jimmie Gordon, under the direction of Sammy Price.

I'm A Bum Again A 1939 Washboard Sam session marks the first time that Buster’s voice is heard on a record; besides his contribution to the dialogue, on “Block and Tackle” (the title commemorates a variety of moonshine whiskey) and participates in the ensemble vocal on “We Gonna Do Some Rug Cuttin’.”Bennet is featured on several sessions by Big Bill in 1938, 1939, 1942. A 1945 session with Big Bill was the last session work Buster would before starting a recording career under his own name which began the same year.

The quirks of “Leap Frog Blues”, from Bennett’s first session as leader, (abrupt tempo shifts, unusual intervals for 1945) earned Buster the nickname “Leap Frog,” which figured in advertisements for his combo thereafter. All of his recordings under his own name can be found on the Classics album Buster Bennett 1945-1947. Charles Gray and his Rhumboogie Five recorded in 1946, were recorded for Rhumboogie in 1946.Charles Gray was in fact Buster Bennett, disguising his identity while under contract to Columbia. Buster’s singing is instantly recognizable, and anyone can see why he wasn’t being advertised as the leader.

Bennett was obviously a favorite of Jesse Coleman AKA Monkey Joe appearing on over twenty sides. Coleman was most likely born in Mississippi, and though the year of birth is not known. He worked locally in Jackson, Mississippi in juke joints in the 1930’s, and recorded with Little Brother Montgomery in 1935 on Bluebird Records. Late in the 1930’s he worked as a session musician for Lester Melrose, and recorded under his own name with Charlie McCoy, Fred Williams, Big Bill Broonzy, and Buster Bennett as backing musicians. Coleman also appears to have worked under several other names. He also recorded on Okeh Records for a time. He worked often in Chicago blues clubs in the 1960’s & 70’s and made his final recordings in 1961.

Bennet made his last recording in December 1947 and dropped off the scene completely after 1954. Bennett died in Houston on July 3, 1980. By then he was long retired from music. The Houston newspapers did nothing to commemorate his passing—no obituary, no notice in “area deaths.” His later years remain a complete blank to us.

Oett M. Mallard was born on September 2, 1915, in Southern Illinois. While Mallard was still a boy his mother brought him to Chicago. He got his first saxophone at 16, while still at Wendell Philips High School and almost immediately landed a gig playing on the radio with vocalist Frankie “Half Pint” Jaxon. After graduation Mallard toured the US and Canada with Nat “King” Cole. Up through the beginning of World War II, Sax Mallard seems to have been on the road a lot, working at various times with Fats Waller, the Deep River Boys, the Original Ink Spots, the Andy Kirk Band, and the Mary Lou Williams Quartet. In 1942, Mallard was a member of a 12-piece band in Chicago led by drummer and singer Floyd Campbell. Mallard worked with Duke Ellington on five broadcasts, all originating in New York City, from April and May 1943.

No Need Of Your Crying Like so many Swing musicians, Mallard had to contend with changing popular tastes as the war ended and the Big Bands wound down. When he returned to Chicago, after a stint in the navy, and picked up studio work, it was for the Melrose combine, and the music was urban blues or R&B. It appears that his ticket to the studios was his membership in Armand “Jump” Jackson’s combo. In the studios Mallard took over a role that had belonged to Buster Bennett before the war. He became an extremely active participant in blues recordings for Victor and Columbia through the end of 1947. His skills as a clarinetist and arranger and his extremely reliable work habits him repeat calls for session work. Mallard was well enough liked by some of these blues artists (notably Big Bill Broonzy and Roosevelt Sykes) to pick up work with them after Victor and Columbia had retreated from blues recording and they had moved to other labels. Mallard backed Tampa on a four-song session on September 16, 1946. On “New Bad Luck Blues” Tampa Red calls out Sax Mallard’s name during his clarinet solo.

There was a lull in Mallard’s recording activities for the first 5 months of 1947 when Mallard reappeared on record, it was for a new independent called Aristocrat. He recorded with Jump Jackson for Aristocrat and Columbia during this period. The same year he recorded with Eddie Boyd. Boyd refers to Sax Mallard by name on all three of Mallard’s solo features: “You Got to Love That Gal,” “Rosa Lee Swing” and “Blue Monday Blues.” Aristocrat 2001 (“Lets Love Again b/w The Mojo”) was released in March 1948. Sax Mallard’s first release enjoyed at least regional success. In February 1948, Cash Box opened its “Hot on Central Avenue” feature, covering R&B hits in Los Angeles. “The Mojo” first appeared at number 6 on April 2. It was in 9th position on April 24, 1948, #6 on May 1, #4 on May 15, and #9 on May 22. Clearly the record was selling in LA and getting on the jukeboxes there.

During this period he also worked with singer Andrew Tibbs and The Dozier Boys with label credits to Sax Mallard’s Combo. Mallard also appeared during this period on Arbee Stidham’s first session as a leader. “My Heart Belongs to You” was a sizeable R&B hit. So sizeable, in fact, that it ended up being released three times. Mallard cut more sides as leader in 1951 for Mercury and in 1951 and 1952 for Checker. Mallard plays on a United session recorded with Roosevelt Sykes, Robert Nighthawk, and J. T. Brown during a single “gang” session on this date, in which each worked with his own group. However, Sykes probably played on the Nighhawk sides, and, while not handling the keyboard on the J. T. Brown numbers, can be heard whooping and shouting encouragement. He played again with Sykes on Roosevelt Sykes Sings the Blues a 1962 Crown album. He continued recording as a session artists with various vocal groups as well as Roosevelt Sykes, Earl Hooker, Sunnyland Slim and others. Sax Mallard died of cancer on August 29, 1986, at West Side Veterans Administration Hospital. He was 70 years old.

Slow Caboose King Kolax was originally known as William Little and was born in Kansas City, Missouri on November 6, 1912. Kolax hit the scene in 1935 and one of the first bands he played in as a professional was a Swing aggregation led by Les Wilcox. The band had morphed into the Ruth Ellington band. Sometime later, after returning to Chicago, Kolax had taken over leadership himself. Kolax and his band played regularly at the Savoy Ballroom (47th and South Parkway) in the 1940s. In the early 1940s the King Kolax Orchestra was reportedly the first Black band to play on an NBC radio broadcast. The band toured outside of Chicago as well. King Kolax’s big band broke up in May or June 1946. Its former leader put off being downsized by joining Billy Eckstine’s last big band. Despite 10 years of constant musical activity, most of it leading his own bands, Kolax didn’t make it onto a single recording until his stint with Eckstine. He made his debut under his own names as King Kolax His Trumpet and His 17 Knights in 1947 for Miltone. The following year he recorded for the small Chicago label Opera. During this period he worked with Tom Archia, Grant “Mr. Blues” Jones, Harold Burrage and others.

In 1948 he played in Sonny Parker’s band same year and recorded for the Opera label as a leader and singer. He had a steady job at the Ritz Lounge in 1949 and played in J. T. Brown’s band in 1951. “Windy City Boogie” was a single released in September 1951 by J.T. Brown featuring King Kolax. According to Leonard Allen, it was the only record in the company’s initial release that sold well. Brown played tenor and worked as a session musician for several artists and made some records on Harlem and United, J.O.B. among other labels, in the 1950s. Brown later played and recorded with Elmore James, Howlin Wolf and a 1969 date with Fleetwood Mac. Mabel Scott was normally based in LA. but came to Chicago for this May 1953 Parrot session. The band s the Red Saunders band with King Kolax as a guest soloist. Mabel Scott was the star attraction at the Club DeLisa for the week of May 16, 1953.

Establishing a new band of his own, he recorded for J.O.B. in a session that featured his blues singing. In 1952, he backed Joe Williams on his singles for Checker. While playing at the Paris Club in 1953, Kolax recorded with Danny Overbea, also for Checker. That same year, Kolax and orchestra backed The Flamingos on Chance. He also led orchestras behind Mabel Scott and Rudy Greene. He recorded again for Vee-Jay at the end of 1954 and in September 1955

Kolax made regular engagements at hotels and ballrooms throughout the 1950s in Chicago and elsewhere; he had a working relationship with Sun Ra, who wrote arrangements for him. In the second half of the decade Kolax recorded with Earl Pugh, Brooks & Brown, Clyde Williams, and Harvey Ellington; in the early 1960s records followed with Wilbur White, The Chanteurs, Jerry Butler, McKinley Mitchell, Otis Rush, and The Vondells. Kolax became an A&R representative for Marvello Records, owned by the Chicago businessman James P. Johnson, between 1961 and 1965. Sporadic recording followed later in the 1960s both as a leader and behind Willie Mabon, Brother Jack McDuff, Gene Ammons, and Roosevelt Sykes, whose August 1970 recording session was Kolax’s las and also featured Sax Mallard. He retired around 1981 and died in Chicago ten years later after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for an extended period.

Big Road Blues Show 4/16/23: Forgotten Chicago Horn Men Pt. 1 – Carry My Business On

April 16, 2023April 16, 2023 Jeff Leave a comment

ARTIST	SONG	ALBUM
Big Bill Broonzy w/Buster Bennett	Going Back to Arkansas	Good Times Tonight
Big Bill Broonzy w/Buster Bennett	Trucking Little Woman No. 2	Big Bill Broonzy Vol. 8 1938-1939
Big Bill Broonzy w/Sax Mallard	Old Man Blues	Big Bill Broonzy Vol 12 1945-1947
Big Bill Broonzy w/Sax Mallard	I Can't Write Big Bill	Big Bill Broonzy Vol 12 1945-1947
Roosevelt Sykes w/ Sax Mallard	Living in a Different World	Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 8 1945-1947
Roosevelt Sykes w/ Sax Mallard	That's My Gal	Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 8 1945-1947
Roosevelt Sykes w/ Sax Mallard	Flames of Jive	Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 8 1945-1947
Washboard Sam w/Buster Bennett	Block and Tackle	Let The Good Times Roll
Washboard Sam w/Buster Bennett	Don't Fool With Me	Jook Joint Blues
Washboard Sam w/Buster Bennett	I Won't Be Sober Long	Washbaord Sam Vol. 4 1939-1940
King Kolax and His Combo	Straight Woman Blues	Those Rhytmn And Blues
King Kolax and His Combo	Back Door Blues	Why Don’t They Tell Me?
Jump Jackson & Orchestra w/ Sax Mallard	Hey Pretty Mama	Rare West Coast Jump 'n' Jive
Chicago Allstars w/ Sax Mallard	No No Baby	Chicago Jump Bands: Early R&B Vol. 1 1945–53
Chicago Allstars w/ Sax Mallard	I Love You Mama	Chicago Jump Bands: Early R&B Vol. 1 1945–53
Ramona Hicks w/Buster Bennett	Where The Eagle Build His Nest	The Ivory Ladies: Aletha and Myrtle and Other Melrose Pianists
Washboard Sam w/Buster Bennett	Diggin' My Potatoes	Washbaord Sam Vol. 4 1939-1940
King Kolax and Orchestra	Why Don’t They Tell Me?	Those Rhytmn And Blues
Johnny Sellers w/ King Kolax Orchestra	Blues This Ain't No Place for You	Rare Chicago R&B Vol. 2
Monkey Joe w/Buster Bennett	Must I Break 'Em On Down?	Monkey Joe Vol. 1 1935-1939
Monkey Joe w/Buster Bennett	Carry My Business On	Monkey Joe Vol. 1 1935-1939
Monkey Joe w/Buster Bennett	Old Time Blues	Monkey Joe Vol. 1 1935-1939
Arbee Stidham w/ Sax Mallard	My Heart Belongs To You	Arbee Stidham Vol. 11941-1951
Big Bill Broonzy w/ Sax Mallard	Big Bill's Boogie	Big Bill Broonzy Vol 12 1945-1947
Andrew Tibbs w/ Sax Mallard	Married Man Blues	The Aristocrat Blues Story
Merline Johnson w/Buster Bennett	Got A Mind To Ramble	Merline Johnson Vol. 2 1938-1939
Big Bill Broonzy w/Buster Bennett	Fightin' Little Rooster	Big Bill Broonzy Vol. 8 1938-1939
Monkey Joe w/Buster Bennett	Trouble Comin' On	Monkey Joe Vol. 1 1935-1939
Tampa Red w/ Sax Mallard	Sitting Down Thinking	J.B. Lenoir 1951-1958
Tampa Red w/ Sax Mallard	Poor Stranger Blues	Tampa Red Vol.13 1945-1947
Tampa Red w/ Sax Mallard	She's a Solid Killer Diller	Tampa Red Vol.13 1945-1947
Washboard Sam w/Buster Bennett	Chiselin' Blues	Washboard Sam Vol. 1940-1941
Washboard Sam w/Buster Bennett	Greyhound Bus	Washboard Sam Vol. 1940-1941
Buster Bennett Trio	Leap Frog Blues	Buster Bennett 1945-1947
Buster Bennett Trio	Don't Worry About A Thing	Buster Bennett 1945-1947
Buster Bennett and his Band	These Different Woman	Buster Bennett 1945-1947

Show Notes:

Carry My Business On Several years back I devoted a show to sax men Buster Bennett & Sax Mallard. Do to a programming conflict that show was cut short. This time out we revisit that show, greatly expanding it over the course of three shows and add another Chicago horn man, King Kolax to the mix.

As writer Mike Rowe notes “it was a white businessman, Lester Melrose, who was really responsible for shaping the Chicago sound of the late 30’s and 40’s.” From March 1934 to February 1951 he recorded at least 90 percent of all rhythm-and-blues talent for RCA Victor and Columbia Records…” The “Bluebird Sound”, as it’s been called, anticipated the Chicago blues of the post-war era featuring tight, smooth small band arrangements that were filled out with piano, bass drums and often clarinet or saxophone. Among the horn players in demand in the 30’s and 40’s were Buster Bennett who made his debut in 1938 and his successor Sax Mallard, who hit his stride in the mid-to-late 40’s. The music they made evolved into the Chicago R&B and jump music scene of the 1940’s and ’50’s. Bennett’s career divides into two phases; In the first part of his career he worked as a blues accompanist in the studios backing artists such as Monkey Joe, Big Bill Broonzy, Merline Johnson, Washboard Sam and Jimmie Gordon; during the second part, after being signed as a leader, he was presented as a gut-bucket instrumentalist and blues singer. Sax Mallard led his own combos and did some recording under his own name but was best known as a reliable session artist backing some of the same artists as Bennett as well as working with likes of Tampa Red, Roosevelt Sykes, Eddie Boyd and others. Trumpeter and bandleader King Kolax had his own bands in the late 30s and 40s and worked with Billy Eckstine. In 1948 he recorded for the Opera label as a leader and singer and in1949 and played in J. T. Brown’s band in 1951. Establishing a new band of his own, he recorded for J.O.B. in a session that featured his blues singing. In 1952, he backed Joe Williams on his singles for Checker and recorded with Danny Overbea. He also led orchestras behind Mabel Scott and Rudy Greene. He recorded again for Vee-Jay at the end of 1954 and in September 1955 and did later work with Otis Rush and Roosevelt Sykes.

Flames Of Jive A 1939 Washboard Sam session marks the first time that Buster’s voice is heard on a record; besides his contribution to the dialogue, on “Block and Tackle” (the title commemorates a variety of moonshine whiskey) and participates in the ensemble vocal on “We Gonna Do Some Rug Cuttin’.”Bennet is featured on several sessions by Big Bill in 1938, 1939, 1942. A 1945 session with Big Bill was the last session work Buster would before starting a recording career under his own name which began the same year.

Like so many Swing musicians, Mallard had to contend with changing popular tastes as the war ended and the Big Bands wound down. When he returned to Chicago, after a stint in the navy, and picked up studio work, it was for the Melrose combine, and the music was urban blues or R&B. It appears that his ticket to the studios was his membership in Armand “Jump” Jackson’s combo. In the studios Mallard took over a role that had belonged to Buster Bennett before the war. He became an extremely active participant in blues recordings for Victor and Columbia through the end of 1947. His skills as a clarinetist and arranger and his extremely reliable work habits him repeat calls for session work. Mallard was well enough liked by some of these blues artists (notably Big Bill Broonzy and Roosevelt Sykes) to pick up work with them after Victor and Columbia had retreated from blues recording and they had moved to other labels. Mallard backed Tampa on a four-song session on September 16, 1946. On “New Bad Luck Blues” Tampa Red calls out Sax Mallard’s name during his clarinet solo.

Leap Frog Blues King Kolax was originally known as William Little and was born in Kansas City, Missouri on November 6, 1912. Kolax hit the scene in 1935 and one of the first bands he played in as a professional was a Swing aggregation led by Les Wilcox. The band had morphed into the Ruth Ellington band. Sometime later, after returning to Chicago, Kolax had taken over leadership himself. Kolax and his band played regularly at the Savoy Ballroom (47th and South Parkway) in the 1940s. In the early 1940s the King Kolax Orchestra was reportedly the first Black band to play on an NBC radio broadcast. The band toured outside of Chicago as well. King Kolax’s big band broke up in May or June 1946. Its former leader put off being downsized by joining Billy Eckstine’s last big band. Despite 10 years of constant musical activity, most of it leading his own bands, Kolax didn’t make it onto a single recording until his stint with Eckstine. He made his debut under his own names as King Kolax His Trumpet and His 17 Knights in 1947 for Miltone. The following year he recorded for the small Chicago label Opera. During this period he worked with Tom Archia, Grant “Mr. Blues” Jones, Harold Burrage and others.

Big Road Blues Show 9/25/22: Killer Diller – Wayne Bennett & Pals

September 25, 2022September 28, 2022 Jeff Leave a comment

ARTIST	SONG	ALBUM
Amos Milburn	Tears, Tears, Tears (Tears In My Eyes)	The Complete Aladdin Recordings
Amos Milburn	I'm Gonna Tell My Mama	The Complete Aladdin Recordings
Bobby "Blue" Bland	Little Boy Blue	I Pity The Fool: The Duke Recordings Vol. 1
Bobby "Blue" Bland	Stormy Monday Blues	Turn On Your Love Light: The Duke Recordings Vol. 2
Bobby "Blue" Bland	You Did Me Wrong	I Pity The Fool: The Duke Recordings Vol. 1
Bobby "Blue" Bland	Turn on Your Lovelight	Turn On Your Love Light: The Duke Recordings Vol. 2
Mr. Sad Head With Billy Ford And Orch.	Hot Weather Blues	RCA-Victor Jump 'n' Jive Vol. 2
Johnny "Guitar" Watson	No I Can't	Johnny "Guitar" Watson 1952-55
Johnny "Guitar" Watson	Highway 60	Johnny "Guitar" Watson 1952-55
Arbee Stidham	Meet Me Halfway	Arbee Stidham Vol. 2: 1951-1957
Arbee Stidham	When I Find My Baby	Arbee Stidham Vol. 2: 1951-1957
Arbee Stidham	Please Let It Be Me	Arbee Stidham Vol. 2: 1951-1957
Elmore James	It Hurts Me Too	The Complete Fire And Enjoy Recordings
Elmore James	The 12 Year Old Boy	The Complete Fire And Enjoy Recordings
Elmore James	Coming Home	The Complete Fire And Enjoy Recordings
Morris Pejoe	Maybe Blues	Goin´Down To Eli´s: The Cobra & ABCO Rhythm & Blues Anthology
Morris Pejoe	Screaming And Crying	Goin´Down To Eli´s: The Cobra & ABCO Rhythm & Blues Anthology
Buddy Guy	I Can't Quit The Blues	A Man And The Blues,
Jimmy Reed	Down in Virginia	Down in Virginia
Bobby Rush	Much Too much	45
Otis Rush	I Can't Quit You Baby	I Can't Quit You Baby: The Cobra Sessions 1956-58
Otis Rush	Sit Down Baby	I Can't Quit You Baby: The Cobra Sessions 1956-58
Betty Everett	Ain't Gonna Cry	Goin´Down To Eli´s: The Cobra & ABCO Rhythm & Blues Anthology
Betty Everett	Killer Diller	Goin´Down To Eli´s: The Cobra & ABCO Rhythm & Blues Anthology
Percy Mayfield	Please Send Me Someone To Love	Walking on A Tightrope
Percy Mayfield	Danger Zone	Walking on A Tightrope
Percy Mayfield	Walking on A Tightrope	Walking on A Tightrope
Elmore James	Knocking At Your Door	The Complete Fire And Enjoy Recordings
Elmore James	Elmore's Contribution To Jazz	The Complete Fire And Enjoy Recordings
Bobby "Blue" Bland	I Pity The Fool	I Pity The Fool: The Duke Recordings Vol. 1
Bobby "Blue" Bland	Yield Not To Temptation	Turn On Your Love Light: The Duke Recordings Vol. 2
Bobby "Blue" Bland	Good Time Charlie, Part 1	That Did It! The Duke Recordings Vol. 3
Bobby "Blue" Bland	One Horse Town	That Did It! The Duke Recordings Vol. 3
Junior Parker	I Need Love So Bad	Backtracking: The Duke Recordings Vol. 2
Reverend Gatemouth Moore	I Come To The Garden And I'm Going Through	After Twenty-One Years

Show Notes:

Today’s show follows in the footsteps of prior shows spotlighting great session guitarists like Teddy Bunn, Larry Dale, William Lacey, Lee Cooper, Lee Jackson Lefty Bates, L.C. McKinley, Jody Williams, Jimmy Spruill and others. Today we spotlight ace session guitarist Wayne Bennett who backed numerous artists in the 50s and 60s including a long stint with Bobby Bland whom he’s best remembered working with. He started playing guitar in his teens and in 1950 joined Amos Milburn’s band and appears on some recordings. In the early 1950s Bennett moved to Chicago, where he played in King Kolax’s band, and toured with The Moonglows. He also recorded in the mid-1950s with such blues musicians as Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Arbee Stidham, Jimmy Reed, and Elmore James. He spent several years in the late 1950s touring and recording with the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, before starting his long working relationship with Bobby Bland. Unlike some of his contemporaries he never recorded as a leader outside of a lone non-blues 45.

By the age of five, Amos Milburn was playing tunes on the piano. He enlisted in the United States Navy when he was fifteen and earned thirteen battle stars in the Philippines. He returned to Houston and organized a sixteen-piece band playing in clubs in the city. Milburn was a polished pianist and performer and in 1946 attracted the attention of a woman who arranged a recording session with Aladdin Records in Los Angeles. Milburn’s relationship with Aladdin lasted eight years, during which he recorded more than 75 sides. In an interview Bennett said: “When Amos Milburn came through Fort Worth looking for a guitarist, they told him about me. He called the High Scholl I was going to and wanted to know if I would join him. I told him I would have to talk to my parents about it. He talked with my Mother and she agreed and they drove all the way from Forth Worth to get me and I left with him. I joined Amos Milburn in 1950. …But that was the beginning of my professional career.”

By the summer of 1953 Bennett was in New York and recorded with William Thurman AKA Mr. Sad Head and in January of 54’ was back in Los Angeles playing guitar with Johnny “Guitar” Watson who was more often playing piano at this point.

The 12 Year Old Boy

Bennett moved to Chicago where he was able to get established as a studio player with help from King Kolax and Al Smit, two notable producers in the city. By 1956 Willie Dixon helped Bennett to become a session regular for Cobra Records and its subsidiary labels Abco and Artistic. Bennett recorded with Arbee Stidham, Otis Rush, Morris Pejoe and Betty Everett. It’s believed that Joe Scot, the arranger and producer of Bobby Bland’s recordings for Duke Records was inspired to hire Bennett based on these recordings. In 1957, before joining Bobby Bland, Bennett was featured on a session backing Elmore James for Chicago’s Chief label. These sides were then reissued on Vee Jay.

Morris Pejoe began his music career on the violin. In the late ’40s he moved to Beaumont, TX, where he switched to guitar. Fellow Louisiana pianist Henry Gray remained his musical sidekick throughout these years, and in the early ’50s the two relocated to Chicago together. During 1952 and 1953, he cut sides for Checker, accompanied by Gray, among others. The following year he recorded for United. The Pejoe discography continued on practically every independent label that sprang up in Chicago, including Vee-Jay, Abco, Atomic H, and Kaytown.

The story goes that Willie Dixon brought Otis Rush, who had just been turned down by Chess, to Cobra’s attention. Dixon, in turn, was feeling restricted by his relationship with the Chess and Checker labels and looking for more sessions to produce. Dixon started working for Cobra around he summer of 1956 and by December was a main staff member. Toscano promised Dixon 50 percent of business share because Dixon was responsible for important aspects of the company. As he had done for Chess, Dixon worked as a talent scout, songwriter, producer, and bassist. He was also a booking agent for the artists on the label. Otis Rush recalled that “Willie was helping with everything.”

Walking on a Tightrope

Continuing their never-ending quest for new talent, Bobby Bland and Junior Parker (they were touring together as Blues Consolidated), and producer/arranger Joe Scott, listened to a twenty-five-year-old Chicago guitarist who they believed possessed the seamless blend of blues and jazz playing that they had been seeking to replace Pat Hare. “Joe Scott heard him play,” Bobby remembered, “so he thought he would fit me—which he did.” They hired Bennett on the spot, and he continued with Bobby, playing a major role in creating the new urban R&B sound over the next twenty years.

Johnny Jones, the great Gibson ES-345 guitarist who joined Bobby’s band in the late 1970s, recalled the Bland guitar sound: “I had a chance to travel with Bobby Blue Bland from ’76 through ’79. Another one of my teachers was Wayne Bennett. He molded the sound of Bobby Blue Bland based on T-Bone [Walker]. To play for Bobby Blue Bland, you have to come off on a T-Bone mold. He don’t want you bendin’ no strings.” Bennett’s big chords and sweeping bends on the track turned out to be a major influence on many guitarists, including Duane Allman’s development of the Allman Brothers sound some years later. “See I was influenced by blues guitarists like T-Bone Walker and Pee Wee Crayton,” Bennett said. “It was good to see those guys reaching forth and coming into the blues.”

We hear Bennet on some fine sessions from the 60s and early 70s backing Percy Mayfield and Reverend Gatemouth Moore. After leaving Tangerine in the late sixties Mayfield recorded a fine album for Brunswick in in 1968 called Walking on a Tightrope. Featuring guitarist Wayne Bennett and a strong band, Mayfield is in top form on the title track plus gems like “May Pain Is Here To Stay” and “P.M. Blues.”

In 1941 Gatemouth Moore was in Kansas City where he sang at the Chez Paree. To cash in on Gatemouth’s popularity the club owner recorded him on her own Chez Paree label. The songs eventually came to the attention of National Records A&R man Herb Abramson. Gate recorded two sessions for National in 1945. In 1947 when he signed with the King label where he cut over two dozen sides. In 1949 he had a religious conversion and became a preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and served his first church on Florida and Colorado Street. He recorded gospel in the 50’s for labels such as Aristocrat, Artists and Choral. In 1960 he cut the a full length album Revival! for the Audio Fidelity label and After Twenty-One Years in 1973, another gospel outing this time for the Bluesway imprint. This record featured tasteful guitar by Wayne Bennett.

Here's The Man!!!

Bennett cut his own record in 1968, an instrumental called “Casanova, Your Playing Days are Over” on the now defunct Giant label after which he joined operation Push’s politically charged operation Breadbasket band, recording two albums for Chess Records. Though he would occasionally rejoin Bland’s touring band, Bennett moved to New Orleans and became a local fixture as a session player.

In 1981, Bennett was named Blues Guitarist Of The Year by the National Blues Foundation and in the early 90s he was based in Louisiana, performing with Willie Lockett and the Blues Krewe. In 1990, he played on Willy DeVille’s album Victory Mixture. Bennett also played with the Chi-Lites, the Lost Generation, The Hues Corporation; among many others. At one time or another Bennett had also been a member of the house orchestra at the Apollo in New York, the Regal Theatre in Chicago, the Howard in Washington, D.C., the Uptown Theatre in Philadelphia and the Royal Theatre in Baltimore. Bennett died from heart failure, a week before a scheduled replacement could be transplanted, at the age of 60. Bennett was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 2001.

-Greensmith, Bill. Wayne Bennett. Blues & Rhythm no. 357 (March, 2021): 12–15