Curtis Jones – Lonesome Bedroom Blues – Delmark Records DD-605

Born in the early 1900s in Naples, Texas to sharecropping parents, Curtis Jones was directly responsible for the roots of a song that has gone on to be a blues benchmark, “Tin Pan Alley,” via his 1938 Vocalion label release “Alley Bound Blues,” and for the title track for the Delmark Records recording being reviewed here, “Lonesome Bedroom Blues,” a tune also recorded for the Vocalion Records label back in 1937. 

Originally a blues guitarist, Jones switched to the piano after a move the roughly 135 miles southwest to Dallas, Texas.  Jones ended up in Chicago, Illinois in the mid-to-late 1930s, beginning a performing and recording career with a succession of labels including Vocalion, Bluebird, OKeh, and Parrot.  In 1960, Jones saw the release of a Prestige Bluesville outing at a time when his core audience was shifting to one steeped on the big city’s folk scene, upon which he became a familiar and welcome presence. 

Lonesome Bedroom Blues was released in 1962, finding him in a solo format that ideally captures the peak of his vocal and piano proficiencies.  As a lyricist, Jones was strong, and he was highly capable of delivering his writings.  His piano style was obviously steeped in blues feeling, yet he had a way of frequently adding rather offbeat passages into his playing.  All components adjoined, Jones’ blues were great musical art.

Jones eventually left Chicago for a quite more comfortable life in Europe, with a short stint in Morrocco, enjoying more welcoming societies, consistent gigging, and better money.  He passed away in mid-September, 1971.

This is as close to an essential recording as a recommended one will ever get, and it should be in any serious blues collection.