Blues, Sweat and Tears

From ‘Sweat & Tears’ to ‘It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry’ , we have mixed 20 ‘Blues‘ tunes around the theme of ‘Crying and Working‘. It has Rod Piazza, Little Joe Blue, Earl Hooker & Junior Wells, Little Charlie & The Nightcats and many more.

LINER NOTES
IMAGE : i cry though my eyes are shut Photo by Prakhar Amba
INFORMATIONS

Eclectic ShadyLand: As it happened, John “Big Moose” Walker and Otis Spann were good friends who often hung out together and Moose’s laid-back singing is sometimes reminiscent of Spann’s smoky manner. One night during a Muddy Waters tour, the two men found themselves in a hotel lobby with a couple of grand pianos and played duets for several hours.

The Red Hot Archive : Throughout his career exas Alexander often performed with his guitarist cousin Lightnin’ Hopkins. During the Depression and afterwards Hopkins and Alexander often resorted to working as street musicians or outside of music altogether. Alexander didn’t play an instrument so he always performed with accompanists or in a band setting.

Musician Biographies : Born in a New Orleans’ residence on Rampart and Franklin streets on February 8, 1899, Alonzo “Lonnie” Johnson grew up the son of a violinist who encouraged his children to take up music. “We all played–five sisters and six brothers, mother and father,” recalled Johnson in Conversation with the Blues.

Big Boy Crudup on allmusic : Arthur Crudup may well have been Elvis Presley‘s favorite bluesman. The swivel-hipped rock god recorded no less than three of “Big Boy’s” Victor classics during his seminal rockabilly heyday: “That’s All Right Mama” (Elvis’ Sun debut in 1954), “So Glad You’re Mine,” and “My Baby Left Me.” Often lost in all the hubbub surrounding Presley’s classic covers are Crudup’s own contributions to the blues lexicon.

Little Joe Blue on Myspace : Joseph Valery Jr., known as “Little Joe Blue”, was born on September 23, 1934 in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Valery was greatly influenced by the music legend B.B. King as well as Louis Jordan, Joe Liggins, Roy Milton, and Lafayette Thomas. Valery began his professional music career in the late 1950’s when he formed the group, The Midnighters in Detroit, Michigan.

Alligator Records : The story of Little Charlie & The Nightcats began back in the early 1970s when Baty–a harmonica-playing UC Berkeley student–first met Estrin. With Rick already an accomplished harp player, Baty decided to switch to guitar full-time and the two formed a blues band.

Jessie Mae Hemphill Foundation on Myspace : Of course Miss Jessie don’t drink; never has and she’s thankful for that! “White whiskey’ll make your head raggelly as a can of kraut, maan”, she says, and of course she’s right. Experience teaches you these things but sometimes it’s just best not to listen.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum : While on staff at Chess Records, Willie Dixon produced, arranged, and played bass on sessions for Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson, and others. In no small way, he served as a crucial link between the blues and rock and roll.

PLAYLIST : Lonnie Mack – Sweat & Tears (4.13) . Little Charlie & The Nightcats – Crying Won’t Help You (5.23) . Big Boy Crudup – Cry Your Blues Away (3.07) . Albert King & John Lee Hooker – I Worked Hard (6.26) . Willie Dixon – Sittin’ And Cryin’ Blues (3.23) . Johnny ‘Big Moose’ Walker – The Sky Is Crying (5.27) . Texas Alexander – Work Ox Blues (3.20) . Lonnie Johnson – It’s Too Late To Cry (4.41) . Rod Piazza – Standing Around Crying (4.32) . Earl Hooker & Junior Wells – I Could Cry (2.52) . Aretha Franklin – Drown In My Own Tears (4.06) . Blind Boy Fuller – Ain’t it A Cryin Shame (3.03) . Muddy Waters – Standing Around Crying (3.23) . Little Joe Blue – Dirty Work Goin On (2.47) . B.B. King – Walking And Crying (3.21) . Lightnin’Hopkins – I Work Down On The Chain Gang (5.10) . Brownie Mcghee – Crying At The Station (3.53) . Taj Mahal – It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry (4.31) . Jessie Mae Hemphill – Standing In My Doorway Crying (4.40) . Little Milton – Waslking The Back Streets Crying (6.13) .

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