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Collecting blues music in all formats including 78rpms, LPs, 45rpms, cassettes, and CDs, has been one of my greatest joys. This classic 78rpm version of a Memphis Minnie blues is from my collection.

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Artist Profile

Speckled Red – Vibrant, Bawdy, And Irresistible Blues And Boogie Woogie

Dr. Steven Dolins’ The Sirens Records label is to be highly lauded for “…its mission is to preserve authentic Chicago blues, boogie woogie, gospel, and jazz piano music.”  The distinguished imprint has released stellar collections by many of the most renowned blues pianists including my dear departed friend Barrelhouse Chuck, the living patriarch of Chicago piano Erwin Helfer, Muddy Waters Band alum Pinetop Perkins, the scampish Detroit Junior, along with legendary names of yesteryear such as Chicago blues piano titan Sunnyland Slim, Willie Mabon (“I Don’t Know”), the greatly revered Blind John Davis, and Speckled Red, he of “The Dirty Dozens” fame.  And that’s just the blues piano roster of artists of The Sirens Records.  The label’s roll of gospel and jazz giants too significantly impresses.

The other evening, I was enjoying Primitive Piano (The Sirens Records SR5005), a tremendous assemblage that includes superb 1950s era blues offerings from Billie Pierce, James Robinson, Doug Suggs, and Speckled Red.  As I sat and reveled in the distinctively remarkable CD selections, each cut a gem, yet again I was enamored by Speckled Red’s forays.  Since I’ve not before provided a brief overview of his life and career, now seems the ideal time to do so.

He came into the world as Rufus Perryman in late October, 1892 in Monroe, Louisiana, a town in, and the parish seat of, Ouachita Parish, a region in the state’s north central area.  Red (as we shall call him going forward) was one of eight children in his family.  Without going into too much about this fact here, Red was the older brother sibling to Willie Lee Perryman, the noted barrelhouse piano man known as both Piano Red and Dr. Feelgood.  There was a 19-year age gap between the two, and it is noteworthy that the two siblings never recorded collectively.  But his story will be told another time.

Red’s family eventually established a home in Hampton, Georgia, a town in the state’s mid-section, where as a youth he self-taught himself playing keyboards on the organ of his family’s church.  Research indicates that there wasn’t much, if any, musical aptitude in his family.  As an aside, his brother was also a self-taught piano player.

At some point in Red’s teen years, his family moved to Atlanta, Georgia.  By this time, Red’s proficiencies on the piano were sufficiently developed as to find him plying his trade at various social events including picnics and house parties, and in the area’s juke joint establishments. 

As the 1920s rolled around, Red made a major move northward to Detroit, Michigan where he became a familiar face on the big city’s bustling music scene, playing the various nightspots, the party circuit, and even the brothels.  Red continued to hone his savory style of piano, particularly favoring boogie woogie, in Detroit, but after a few years in the metropolis he made a move southward to Memphis, Tennessee.  However, just before Red departed for Memphis, he was spotted by a rapt Brunswick Records talent scout who became captivated by his playing and singing.

In Memphis, in late September, 1929 at the famed Peabody Hotel, Red first recorded his music.  He laid-down two tracks, “The Dirty Dozens” and “Wilkins Street Stomp” (Brunswick 7116).  It can certainly be argued that Red’s raucous boogie woogie piano playing first got him noticed by Brunswick, but the “off color” nature and the success of “The Dirty Dozens” found him quick notice.  With its spoken words and saucy lyrics such as “…I want all you women to fall in line”/”And shake yo shimmy like I’m shakin’ mine” led to much notoriety for Red.  And this is not to in any way suggest that “Wilkins Street Stomp” was anything but also a resounding success; it was, as well, with the record buying public.

Red was in demand as a “live” performer, and he continued to play the clubs and events to appreciative and enthusiastic crowds.  In 1930, he again entered the studio and recorded eight more songs for Brunswick (Brunswick 7164, 1428, 7137, and 7151), including a follow-up to “The Dirty Dozens” entitled simply “The Dirty Dozens No. 2.”  Unfortunately, the second incarnation of the ribald “The Dirty Dozens” failed to be a smash with the public, and Red found himself void of a record deal.  As such, he was relegated to continuing to play the Memphis clubs.

It wasn’t until late December, 1938 that Red was signed to the Bluebird label (a subsidiary of the larger RCA-Victor family) where he cut four selections in Aurora, Illinois that included Robert Nighthawk on guitar, Sonney Boy Williamson I on harmonica, and Willie Hatcher on mandolin on certain of the cuts.  However, the records languished, selling poorly, and once again he was without a record contract.

At some point in the early 1940, Red moved the 285 miles northward to St. Louis, Missouri to ply his raucous, rowdy brand of blues and boogie woogie in the city’s nightclubs.  For roughly 15 years, Red’s loud, confident singing and rhythmic approach to piano playing lit-up the city’s nightlife circle.  One thing about Red’s approach to piano playing was that though his chord progressions may not always have been on-point (he meandered a bit), there was no doubt about his vigorous enthusiasm for the music and presenting it to the people.

But as fate would deal it, in 1954, Red was found by various blues devotees.  And not only blues and boogie woogie fans, but record label types, too.  Finally in 1956, Red returned to the recording studio, this time for the Tone imprint, a venture that revitalized his career and led to a tour with dates not only in America, but overseas, as well. 

This revival came during a time when Red’s musical talents were still significant and, when he wasn’t touring, he continued to play the St. Louis scene, including a stint as the break piano player at shows by The Dixie Stompers (a jazz outfit) at various jazz venues, and in general, wherever his formidable musical skill set was demanded.

 The 1960-1961 period saw Red cut LPs for Bob Koester’s fledgling Delmar (later Delmark) label (his first blues artist on the label), and the Storyville and Folkways imprints.  1961 also saw Red travel north to Chicago to play the heralded University Of Chicago Folk Festival.

Yet, just as the folk and blues revival got started in the early 1960s, the years began to catch up with Red, and he only sporadically performed through the rest of the decade.  Red remained in St. Louis for the rest of his life, succumbing to the ravages of cancer in early January, 1973.

Red’s unique blend of blues and boogie woogie, bawdy and enthusiastic delivery, and earnest musical joy should be enjoyed and appreciated by all blues fans.  Below are a number of collections that should highlight Red’s broad talents to the curious blues admirer.  All are highly recommended.

  • Primitive Piano – The Sirens Records SR5005
  • The Barrel-House Blues Of Speckled Red – Folkways Records FG 3555 (LP)
  • The Dirty Dozens – Delmark Records DE-601
  • Speckled Red – Complete Recorded Works 1929-1938 – In Chronological Order + Bonus Tracks -Document Records DOCD-5205

Essential Blues Recording

Blind James Campbell And His Nashville Street Band - That Glorious Multi-Genre Street Music

Blind James Campbell And His Nashville Street Band –Blind James Campbell And His Nashville Street Band – Arhoolie Records CD 438

This 1995 23-song re-release of an original 1963 12-cut offering from Chris Strachwitz’s eminent Arhoolie Records highlights the astounding sounds of Blind James Campbell And His Nashville Street Band, offering cuts recorded in late October, 1962 and mid-April, 2963 in Nashville, Tennessee.  The expanded roll of tunes found here only allows the magic of this musical assemblage to shine even more brightly.

Campbell, a blues singer and guitarist, was a regular on the Nashville music landscape for many years dating back to the 1930s and into the 1960s.  Aligning himself with the phenomenal banjo and fiddle artist Beauford Clay, guitarist and fiddle man Bell Ray, Ralph Robinson on tuba, and George Bell on trumpet, Campbell and his sterling crew cross multiple genres including blues, jazz, old timey, skiffle, and jug band, presenting for consideration music, that while it certainly traditional in many senses, also veers into new waters.  For instance, instead of someone laying down a low-end framework on a washtub or upright bass, Robinson’s tuba formulates the heavy bass structures.

And while the tuba work is necessarily deep sounding by the very nature of the instrument, it is Campbell’s singularly rough utterances that plough even lower troughs than those provide by Robinson’s tuba ventures.

If you are a lover of traditional jug band music, acoustic blues, traditional old-time music, or the gifts of string bands, this supreme collection is for you.  In this reviewer’s mind, no better document of this stunning blend of early 1960s street band music can be found.

Upon the previously mentioned excellences, this collection is rightfully considered highly essential, indeed! 

Recommended Blues Recording

Carey & Lurrie Bell – Chicago’s Bell Family Patriarch And His Exceptional Son Mightily Deliver The Blues

Carey & Lurrie Bell – Son Of A Gun –Rooster Blues Records R 2617 (LP)

Extremely skillful on both diatonic and chromatic blues harmonica, Carey Bell was a modern-day blues treasure.  Across the panorama of this release on the diatonic harmonica, he magnificently bestows his blues concepts.  He provides solos that utilize to the best effects the full aural scope of the instrument, regularly within the same solo and tune.  When Bell switches to the usage of the chromatic harmonica, he ably sets both dark, serious blues temperaments, and yet also engages the instrument to skate joyously with equally rich cumulative tonal merits. 

One area where Bell maybe hasn’t gotten his fair shake is for his vocals.  His is a world-weary type, outwardly communicating that he has genuinely lived his blues, the situations and circumstances that he is singing about.  Yet, Bell is entirely skilled in rejoicing a given life situation via his vocals.  He, one more time, should be known more abundantly for his vocal might.

Lurrie Bell ideally complements the program here, and is discerning, yet just amply experimental in his guitar solos and overall efforts to suggest what impending blues guitar accomplishments he would later realize.  His blues pedigree offered him the knowledge to superlatively hone and refine his artistry, and he never over-steps.  Rather, his six-string labors appear a flawless musical factor within the structures of the compositions found here. 

Lurrie’s singing is strong and confident, and presents a young bluesman with a purpose.

On this blues journey, the impression is that it was the convictions of two blues minds, father and son, framing the same desired ends for the blues being offered.

This 1984 collection, with guest backing vocalist Karen Carroll, drummers James Harrington and Theodore Davies, bassist John Ervin, guitarist Eli Murray, and backing vocalist Jimmie Sims captures the Bell family patriarch and his extremely gifted son in superb form.  

Below are the tracks from this superlative modern-day blues collection.

Song Titles

  • Ballbuster
  • Better Break It Up
  • I’m A Fool
  • I’ll Be Your 44
  • Kick Me In The Pants
  • Rollin’ & Tumblin’
  • Worried Heartache Blues
  • Highway Is My Life
  • My baby
  • If The Ocean Was Whiskey
  • I’ve Got To Leave Chi-Town
  • Gate Bait

This is a highly recommended document, and one your collection would benefit from!

Short Take CD Reviews & Other Information

Upcoming Short Take CD Reviews

New CDs are needed in for review!  Labels, artists, and publicists, now’s the time to get CDs mailed for review as you bring new collections to the market!  Remember, please, only blues CDs!

 

Blues Song Of The Week

“Have A Good Time” – Shakey Horton – Cobra Records Corp. #5002 – Released in 1956

 

New Jasmine Records Releases

A new round of Jasmine Records CD was released on October 11th.  Jasmine Records is to be applauded for their continuing cycle of exciting releases.  Of particular interest to readers of Curt’s Blues Blog should be:

  • JASCD1207 – Ted Taylor – The Very Best Of Ted Taylor – Be Ever Wonderful, 1955-1962
  • JASMCD2819 – Dinah Washington – Wake The Town & Tell The People – Hits And Hot Shots 1957-1962
  • JASMCD3286 – Bessie Smith – The Empress Of Boogie Woogie
  • JASMCD3288 – Camille Howard – In A Tangle – Complete Singles As Bs, 1955-1962

 

New Delmark Records And Alligator Records Offerings

Delmark Releases

Tad Robinson is slated to release a new full-length Delmark collection with an as yet undetermined release date.  Also, Live At Buddy Guy’s Legends by Willie Buck & The Delmark All Stars is now available and receiving excellent reviews.  Plus, check out all the new singles by various artists on the label’s web page.

Alligator Releases

Alligator Records released Ronnie Baker Brooks’ Blues In My DNA on October 11th.  It is Brooks’ first release for the label.

The label has also signed Memphis roots, blues, and soul band Southern Avenue, with a release slated for Fall, 2024. 

Look for these collections!

November 29th will see a clear vinyl deluxe gatefold jacket release of Showdown!, the Grammy winning outing by Robert Cray, Johnny Copeland, and Albert Collins. 

It’s too bad that both Delmark Records and Alligator Records won’t provide this blues blogger with hard copy CDs of their upcoming releases for reviews.  As I’ve explained to both these labels, I do not perform reviews via electronic sound files.  I guess that 10,000 blog readers aren’t enough for the labels to send hard copy CDs!

Please visit Delmark’s and Alligator’s web sites for information on all the goings on at the labels.

DELMARK RECORDS – Blues & Jazz since 1953     

Features Grammy nominated blues artists including Tommy Castro, Marcia Ball, and Anders Osborne – Alligator Records – Genuine Houserockin’ Music Since 1971

 

Living Blues Magazine – Latest Edition

The latest edition of Living Blues Magazine is out with features on Tony Coleman, Tee Dee Youngs, Carlton Washington, and Linwood Taylor, along with their Let It Roll series that focuses on Stevie Ray Vaughan at Epic Records, and of course, the publication’s broad recording review section and additional extensive features.  This writer has been a Living Blues subscriber for 36+ years, and though I may not always agree with their record reviews or their journalistic direction, I can’t stress enough how vital this magazine is to the blues.  Please consider a subscription if you don’t already have one and support the magazine’s fine work, and the blues in general.

 

A Reminder To Support “Live” Blues And Purchase A Blues Recording

Touring blues musicians endure an arduous life of traveling city-to-city, sometimes with the distance between shows being many miles.  This equates to large outlays for gasoline, food, and lodging (if not often sleeping in vehicle while traveling), so when they get to the next town, the interactions with their fans and the time spent on-stage playing to welcoming fans being their greatest joys.  When these talented blues artists roll through your town, please consider parting with some of your hard-earned dollars and attending their shows.  A decent-sized crowd with enthusiastic fans is cathartic to the blues artists and you, as the interactions are mutually-pleasing.  Should your town enjoy places where the blues is being presented, please get out and back the music by taking in a show. 

Also, with so many online platforms offering blues recordings for sale (check out the Curt’s Blues Blog “Resources” page for many of them), please think about purchasing a new blues CD or MP3 recording for your collection.  It is yet another way we can all ensure that our favorite blues artists can continue to thrill us with their brilliant musicmaking and touring efforts.

 

CD Reviews

Once again, a reminder: If you want a CD reviewed, please contact me via the email address found on the Curt’s Blues Blog “Contact” page, and I will promptly answer with the mailing address to get the CD to meI do not perform reviews via electronic sound files.  Don’t put your promotions company sticker over the record company information on the back of the CD jacket.  Please be mindful that this is a blues blog, and that providing rock, pop, hip hop, or Americana CDs for review will not find them being considered.  And please, don’t mail me CDs with postage due! 

Also, please let me remind record companies, their publicity folks, and the artists themselves that both my “Essential” and “Recommended” blues CD reviews remain forever archived on the Blog on the “Recording Reviews” page, whereas the Short Take CD reviews remain on the Blog for one week only so as to move through as many reviews as possible.  It is a goal of mine to have as many CD reviews as possible pass through the Blog.

Thank you.

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