Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall

 

'Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall' was released on the Vee-Jay Records label in August 1961.

The "Blues at Carnegie Hall" concert in May 1961 was headlined by Jimmy Reed.  Also on the bill was an all-star Blues lineup that included Big Maybelle, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Oscar Brown Jr.  At the time Jimmy's singles "Big Boss Man" and "Bright Lights, Big City" were huge hits on Billboard's Hot 100 R&B chart, and in some markets, crossed over (with less success) to the Hot 100 Pop chart.  Both songs were all over the black radio stations I was listening at the time, and explains why Jimmy was the show's headliner.  That said, I'd bet that Muddy Waters was just as big as a draw for the concertgoers that night.

"Blues at Carnegie Hall" was a show I wanted to attend, especially to see "Muddy", but it just wasn't to be.  At the time there were only two people in my life who could have made that happen, but they weren't around: My older brother, was in his freshman year at The United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.  Denise "The Grease" was in Montauk, Long Island.  In 1961 there was a "Mob" power struggle going on in New York, and "The Grease" and her mother were sent to Montauk out of harms way.  The official story was that they were, "Visiting relatives in Miami".  Denise "The Genius Grease" wrote me from Montauk, and on the return address section on the envelope, she included her first and last name as well as the address of the safehouse where she was staying. <sigh>. . . .

A few months later, I was record shopping in Manhattan, and saw 'Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall', which was a 2LP set.  So I bought it, took it home, put in on my record player, and to my dismay, I discovered that it was not a live album!

Once I got over the fact that I had one of, if not the most deceptive album titles in the history of music, I realized I had 2 LPs of Jimmy Reed at his absolute best.  To this day, this is the Jimmy Reed album I play the most.

The backstory to 'Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall' is that contractual and technical issues prevented the Vee-Jay label from recording the show.  So Vee-Jay records label manager and producer Calvin Carter decided to recreate the show.  Contrary to popular belief it was not recorded in an empty Carnegie Hall, but rather a few blocks away at Bell Sound Studios, with Jimmy Reed's touring backing band that consisted of William "Lefty" Bates on second guitar, Willie Dixon on bass, Earl Phillips on drums, and Mary Lee Reed on backing vocals – this was on the first LP.  The second LP is a compilation of Jimmy's greatest hits, and adds the guitars of Eddie Taylor. Phil Upchurch, and Lonnie Brooks to the above musicians.  It was later re-released as a single LP titled 'The Best of Jimmy Reed'.

Jimmy Reed, without doubt, is one of the most influential bluesmen of all time, and played a pivotal role in bridging the gap between traditional Chicago blues and the emergence of rock and roll.  Because Jimmy's songs were deceptively easy to grasp on the surface (a few minutes to learn, but years to master), he became the ultimate training ground for aspiring guitarists.  His distinctive sound laid the foundation for this musical evolution.

The freeload, is a Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab "Original Master Recording" from their Ultradisc 24KT Gold CD, series, and sounds pretty sweet.

For the freeload, tell us about things you bought, that were not as advertised.