This 4CD set is the long out of print: Charly R&B "Red Box" series, from 1992, and is the complete sessions Elmore made for the Chess, Chief and Fire labels.
The first time I heard Elmore, "Shake Your Moneymaker", it was playing on my little transistor radio late one night, and by the time the guitar break came in, I was hooked. When the song ended, the DJ didn't announce what he just played, so I had to call the radio station, WWRL a.k.a. The Big RL (it catered to a Black audience) to find out. The phone at the station rang and rang, finally a woman picked up the phone, she was gigging and said "Big RL", I said "Hi, What was the name of the song, with the slide guitar?" She said, "How should I know, sweetie?" (It sounded like a party was going on in the background). I asked her "Do you think, you could ask someone please?" to which she replied, "My, aren't we a polite white girl?" I told her "I'm respectful" she said "I can dig that...hold on" she then shouted out "What was the tune, with the slide?" I heard someone say "Elmore James, Shake Your Moneymaker", she then repeated to me what she heard. I thanked her, and she said, "You got it, miss polite white girl" and I heard a click as she hung up.
There's a prevailing myth that all Elmore songs sound the same, and that he only knew one riff (the opening of "Dust My Broom" one). Of course, people familiar with Elmore's music know differently. While there are literally hundreds of Elmore's albums available, he never actually recorded an album.
Elmore was influenced by Robert Johnson, Kokomo Arnold and Tampa Red. Elmore's influence casts a long shadow, including blues guitarists Homesick James, Hound Dog Taylor, and J. B. Hutto. His single string playing also influenced B.B. King and Chuck Berry. Rock guitarists Duane Allman, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones, Jeremy Spencer, and Frank Zappa (I was surprised, too) are just a few that have acknowledged Elmore's influence.
To qualify for 'King Of The Slide Guitar', tell us what your favorite blues tune is.
Easy one - Howlin' Wolf and Killing Floor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C4PsXoFslM
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog and on my 2nd G&T.... https://youtu.be/NpM-J39Js88?si=ytoiORZMW4rxqkRw
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to pick a favorite of the classic blues so I'll just ad a memory. One summer my neighbor on the bordering 5 acres, installed horseshoe pits lit by streetlights. I had loaded the Creedence box set onto his brother's iPod. He amplified it. Over and over he played Graveyard Train on repeat. It was summer and I had my windows open. Late into the night I would hear that song and the clank of horseshoes. Rather than tire of it I thought, this is really good blues.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great share. It's a system!
DeleteHowlin' Wolf - "Tail Dragger"
ReplyDeleteDeacon Blues ;-)
ReplyDeleteMine is "Something Inside Me" by Elmore James, and is track 9, on CD2 on the forthcoming 'King Of The Slide Guitar' link. The intro is sublime, and the entire song is four minutes and fifty-one seconds of blues perfection
ReplyDeleteDuane Allman must have listened to it thousands of times. I've played this for people, and during the intro, they ask, "Is this the Allman Bros?".
Milk Cow Blues - Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys
ReplyDeletemumbles beat me to it, so I'll say Sittin' On Top Of The World (Cream's version).
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago I heard a fantastic version of Sitting On Top Of The World performed by Asleep At The Wheel, they were promoting their Bob Wills tribute album.
DeleteKind of amazing that Ray Benson is now older than Bob Wills was and the Wheel keeps on going!
DeletePerhaps the first blues record as such I bought was an EP of Jack Dupree singing Leroy Carr songs. I re-found it lately as part of a 3 CD set.
ReplyDeleteAnyway Blues Before Sunrise.
Gee, how do you choose a favorite song of ANY genre? One that I never get tired of is "You Don't Love Me", which was borrowed by Willie Cobbs from a Bo Diddley tune.
ReplyDeleteJamaican sound system DJ's used to travel to the US and bring back blues, R&B and Motown records. The song was borrowed again to create Dawn Penn's timeless reggae hit "No, No, No" (which in turn was repeatedly "versioned" by reggae and dub producers). Meanwhile, loads of American and British white blues artists (and garage rock bands) recorded their own takes on "You Don't Love Me". It's a well-traveled and durable tune!
Link
ReplyDeletehttps://we.tl/t-bnwPPtHuKC
My introduction to the blues came from one of the first albums I ever owned. David Bowie's 'Pin-Ups' and by extension the UK 1964 Beat/ R& B Scene. So think Stones, Pretty Things, Yardbirds, Animals, Downliners Sect, Alexis Korner etc and songs like 'Little Red Rooster', 'Rosalyn', 'Don't Bring Me Down', 'I Wish You Would', 'I'm Crying', 'Smokestack Lightnin', 'Boom Boom', 'Green Onions' etc. However my two favourites are Rod Stewart's version of 'Good Morning Little Schoolgirl' and the second one might arguably be considered Motown rather than Blues either the Birds or the Who's version of Eddie Holland's 'Leavin' Here'. I'm also rather partial to the Misunderstood's version of 'Who Do You Love'. The QMS version ain't bad either.
ReplyDeleteAnother, that somedays is my favorite, is Have You Ever Loved A Woman? by Derek & the Dominos. I kinda remember hearing that & I was moved by it, lotta soul on display in that one
ReplyDeleteAny thing by Derek & the Dominos counts! Bell Bottom Blues...
ReplyDeleteBroke Down Engine - Blind Willie McTell cos no-one sings the blues like...
ReplyDeleteJonder wrote a comment that resonated with me. One favorite, though, is "Police Dog Blues." I heard Ry Cooder's interpretation long ago:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68Qkw9WtdxQ
I now know it isn't far from the original by Blind Blake:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5bKFqlebzg
Thanks for the fantastic link!
D in California
Dark Is the Night, Cold Is the Ground
ReplyDeleteBlind Willie Johnson's version is second to none.
Impossible to say as there are so many of them that are classics. For me, possibly Statesboro Blues or Mama Táint Long for Day by Willie McTell. All of the 'blind" guys were up there, I felt.
ReplyDeleteno expectations
ReplyDelete