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| Baker, LaVerne - See See Rider
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(Atlantic SD-8071 US-62 EX 500:-)
LaVern Baker was one of the sexiest divas gracing the mid-'50s rock & roll circuit, boasting a brashly seductive vocal delivery tailor-made for belting the catchy novelties for Atlantic Records during rock's first wave of prominence.
SEE SEE RIDER was LaVern Baker's last official album for Atlantic Records. There was a little something for everyone on the album, starting with the raunchy "You Better Stop," highlighted by Sam "The Man" Taylor and Dave McRae's tenor saxes, plus a hint of blues guitar opening the whole song -- very much period "big band" R&B-cum-rock & roll.
Original US pressing; both Sleeve and Vinyl are graded EX.
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| Brunning Sunflower Band - I Wish You Would
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(Saga Eros SAGA-8150 UK-70 VG+ 500:-)
The Brunning Sunflower Band was the part-time British blues-rock outfit led by former Fleetwood Mac bassist Bob Brunning.
Brunning worked briefly with Savoy Brown and became a schoolteacher, but still found time to release four albums: 1968's "Bullen Street Blues", 1969's "Trackside Blues", 1970's "I Wish You Would", and 1971's "The Brunning/Hall Sunflower Blues Band".
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| Guy, Buddy - Buddy and the Juniors
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(Blue Thumb BTS-20 US-70 VG+ 500:-)
A one of-a-kind album featuring one of Chicago blues’ most dynamic duos, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, together with the talented pianist Junior Mance. The result is a relaxed down-home detour – acoustic and improvised – recorded in December 18, 1969.
Original US pressing on multicolored "marble" vinyl.
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| Hogg, Smokey - Folk Blues, vol 6
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(Time 6 US-62 wos EX 500:-)
Smokey Hogg was a rural bluesman navigating a postwar era infatuated by R&B, but he got along quite nicely nonetheless, scoring a pair of major R&B hits in 1948 and 1950 and cutting a thick catalog for a slew of labels. During the early '30s, Hogg, who was influenced by Big Bill Broonzy and Peetie Wheatstraw, worked with slide guitarist Black Ace at dances around Greenville, TX. Both his chart hits -- 1948's "Long Tall Mama" and 1950's "Little School Girl" -- were issued on Modern, but his rough-hewn sound seldom changed a whole lot no matter what L.A. logo he was appearing on. Hogg's last few sides were cut in 1958 for Lee Rupe's Ebb label.
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| Hopkins, Lightin' - Blues of Lightnin' Hopkins
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(Storyville SLP-174 UK-72 NM 500:-)
Sam Hopkins was a Texas country bluesman of the highest caliber whose career began in the 1920s and stretched all the way into the 1980s. Along the way, Hopkins watched the genre change remarkably, but he never appreciably altered his mournful Lone Star sound, which translated onto both acoustic and electric guitar. Hopkins' nimble dexterity made intricate boogie riffs seem easy, and his fascinating penchant for improvising lyrics to fit whatever situation might arise made him a beloved blues troubadour.
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| James, Elmore - The Best of Elmore James
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(Sue Records ILP-918 UK-65 VG+ 300:-)
Elmore James was the best bottleneck player to pick up an electric guitar, and an exceptionally good singer and single note player as well. The combination of James's groundbreaking distorted guitar tone and energetic, loud-as-hell vocals changed the face of blues and rock music.
UK compilation of Fire and Flair singles. Yellow and red label. Front-laminated, non-flipback cover. Label variation: Side designations are written as 'Side One' and 'Side Two' rather than 'Side I' and 'Side II.'
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| James, Etta - Tell Mama
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(Cadet LPS-802 US-68 VG+ 1500:-)
A really unique album from the great Etta Jones – a session recorded down in Muscle Shoals, and not in Chicago – a setting that gives James an extra sort of deep soul power!
The backing is nicely different than some of the other Chess material – killer work from the legendary Fame Studios lineup that included Barry Beckett on organ, David Hood on bass, and Roger Hawkins on drums – all coming together with the great Rick Hall at the production helm!
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| Johnson, Ella - Swing Me
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(Mercury MG-20347 US-56 VG+ 400:-)
Ella Johnson made her mark as the vocalist with Buddy Johnson's big band during the '40s and '50s, and it is in that context she really shines. Although many of Ella's hits are uptempo, it is on ballads and torchy blues that she really brings it together. At her best, Ella sounds like a pouty, vulnerable, and very sexy young girl. Like so much of her life, it was no affectation. The comparison to Billie Holiday is inevitable, but Ella was her own singer.
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| Ross, Isaiah - Call the Doctor
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(Bounty BY-6020 UK-66 EX 500:-)
Doctor Ross (1925–1993) was an American Blues singer, guitarist, harmonica player and drummer — a one-man band — who was born Charles Isaiah Ross, in Tunica, Mississippi. Ross played various forms of the blues that have seen him compared to John Lee Hooker and Sonny Boy Williamson I, and is perhaps best known for the recordings he made for Sun Records in the 1950s, notably "The Boogie Disease" and "Chicago Breakdown".
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