VA - Gettin' Funky... The Birth Of New Orleans R&B [2001] (4 x CD's)

NEW ORLEANS SOUL

VA - Gettin' Funky... The Birth Of New Orleans R&B  [2001] (4 x CD's)

I love this box set; it contains 107 tracks covering early New Orleans-style R&B from about 1941 (starting with Champion Jack Dupree) and ends about 1950. This style of music helped shape rock and roll and later, soul. Of course, we have the legends, like Professor Longhair and Fats Domino, but we also have the unjustly forgotten singers like Annie Laurie, Chubby Newsom, and Jewel King. My only complaints: three songs from Champion Jack Dupree is not enough! He was a great and overlooked piano thumper who undoubtedly influenced all others that followed. He deserved more than three songs here. 

But the other songs range from really good to great...I love that Roy Brown was obviously influenced by Wynonie Harris. If you like Harris, then you'll like Roy Brown too. Brown himself was obviously a huge influence on early rock and roll. You'll find his original version of "Rockin' At Midnight" here (some might remember the poorly done cover by The Honeydrippers in the early 1980's), as well as the incredibly risque "Lolly Pop Mama" (how this one got past the censors I'll never know! This is one dirty song! And coming from me that's quite a statement). It was also funny to read in the booklet that Brown's biggest hero and influence was none other than Bing Crosby!

I loved almost all of the singers and musicians here, and I really loved hearing great music from the people I'd never heard before or only read about in passing. But one part of it made me sad, is that how many of them deserved more fame and didn't get it. For instance, Annie Laurie, Jewel King, Chubby Newsom, and Alma Mondy...fantastic female voices and whatever happened to them? Vanished into obscurity, tragically! Then there's the people who only few R&B fans know, like Archibald and Smiley Lewis (who is only remembered by way of "I Hear You Knockin", some people do not even know Smiley's version, only a cover by Dave Edmunds). Performers who were completely overshadowed, underrated, and forgotten. Archibald should be as legendary as Professor Longhair; most people do not know that Lloyd Price's hit "Stagger Lee" is actually an EXTREMELY close cover of Arch's cover of the standard "Stack-O-Lee"! It made me feel bad to read about all the people who disappeared or died forgotten and broke.

The Champion Jack Dupree, and Roy Brown are worth the price of admission alone. This also includes all of the Professor Longhair 1940's material from the Star Talent (Texas) label as well as the first recordings of The Fat Man (Domino). The rest of the artists are nearly impossible to find these days. Roots, roots and more roots. (Amazon)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Champion Jack Dupree Dupree Shake Dance 0:02:45

02 Champion Jack Dupree Junker Blues 0:02:43

03 Champion Jack Dupree Big Time Mama 0:02:38

04 Professor Longhair Byrd's Blues 0:02:48

05 Professor Longhair Her Mind Is Gone 0:02:40

06 Professor Longhair Bald Head 0:02:32

07 Professor Longhair Hey Now Baby 0:02:50

08 Professor Longhair Oh Well 0:02:29

09 Professor Longhair Hadacol Bounce 0:03:03

10 Professor Longhair Longhair Stomp 0:02:47

11 Professor Longhair Been Fooling Around 0:03:02

12 Professor Longhair Between The Night And Day (In The Wee Wee Hours) 0:02:46

13 Professor Longhair Hey, Now Baby (Alt. Take) 0:02:57

14 Professor Longhair Mardi Gras In New Orleans 0:02:53

15 Professor Longhair She Walks Right In 0:02:51

16 Professor Longhair Hey Little Girl 0:03:03

17 Professor Longhair Willie Mae 0:02:49

18 Professor Longhair Walk Your Blues Away 0:02:57

19 Professor Longhair Professor Longhair Blues 0:02:30

20 Professor Longhair Boogie Woogie 0:02:41

21 Professor Longhair Longhair's Blues-Rhumba 0:03:19

22 Archibald Stack-A-Lee (Pts. 1&2) 0:04:44

23 Archibald Shake, Baby, Shake 0:02:29

24 Archibald Ballin' With Archie 0:02:43

25 Archibald My Gal 0:02:32

26 Archibald Little Miss Muffet 0:02:26

27 Archibald Crescent City Bounce 0:02:32

28 Archibald She's Scattered Everywhere 0:02:35

CD2

01 Dave Bartholomew Mr. Fool 0:03:01

02 Dave Bartholomew Country Boy 0:03:06

03 Dave Bartholomew Gert Town Blues 0:03:03

04 Dave Bartholomew Basin Street Breakdown 0:02:45

05 Dave Bartholomew Pyramid 0:02:33

06 Dave Bartholomew Messy Bessie 0:03:00

07 Dave Bartholomew Nickel Wine 0:02:37

08 Dave Bartholomew Ain't Gonna Do It (Rest Of My Life) 0:02:35

09 Dave Bartholomew Good Jax Boogie 0:02:45

10 Paul Gayten Now That You're Gone 0:03:03

11 Paul Gayten Backtrackin' (Dr. Daddy-O) 0:02:58

12 Paul Gayten Baby, What's New? 0:02:56

13 Paul Gayten My Rough And Ready Man 0:02:28

14 Paul Gayten You Shouldn't 0:02:30

15 Paul Gayten Confused 0:02:52

16 Paul Gayten You Oughta Know 0:02:20

17 Paul Gayten Fishtails 0:03:11

18 Paul Gayten I'll Never Be Free 0:03:01

19 Paul Gayten I Ain't Gonna Let You In 0:02:32

20 Smiley Lewis Lowdown 0:02:47

21 Smiley Lewis Slide me down 0:02:54

22 Smiley Lewis Growing Old 0:02:27

23 Smiley Lewis If You Ever Loved A Woman 0:02:23

24 Smiley Lewis Dirty People 0:02:22

25 Smiley Lewis Where Were You? 0:02:30

26 Smiley Lewis My Baby Was Right 0:02:21

CD3

01 Roy Brown Good Rockin' Tonight 0:03:00

02 Roy Brown Lolly Pop Mama 0:02:24

03 Roy Brown Special Lesson No.1 0:02:53

04 Roy Brown Woman's A Wonderful Thing 0:03:06

05 Roy Brown Roy Brown Boogie 0:03:00

06 Roy Brown Miss Fanny Brown 0:02:50

07 Roy Brown Long About Midnight 0:03:05

08 Roy Brown Rainy Weather Blues 0:02:20

09 Roy Brown Rockin' At Midnight 0:02:44

10 Roy Brown Please Don't Go 0:02:46

11 Roy Brown Ridin' High 0:02:43

12 Roy Brown Rock-A-Bye Baby 0:02:41

13 Roy Brown (The Girls In) Big Town 0:02:39

14 Fats Domino Detroit City Blues 0:02:29

15 Fats Domino The Fat Man 0:02:39

16 Fats Domino Hide Away Blues 0:02:26

17 Fats Domino She's My Baby 0:02:42

18 Fats Domino Brand New Baby 0:02:37

19 Fats Domino Little Bee 0:02:30

20 Fats Domino Boogie Woogie Baby 0:02:18

21 Fats Domino Hey, La Bas Boogie 0:02:26

22 Fats Domino Korea Blues 0:02:20

23 Fats Domino Every Night About This Time 0:02:08

24 Fats Domino Careless Love 0:02:17

25 Fats Domino Hey! Fat Man 0:02:37

26 Larry Darnell For You My Love 0:02:40

27 Larry Darnell I'll Get Along Somehow (Pts.1&2) 0:06:03

28 Larry Darnell Lost My Baby 0:03:14

CD4

01 Cubby Newsome Hip Shakin' Mama 0:02:46

02 Cubby Newsome Chubby's Confession 0:02:27

03 Cubby Newsome Back Bitin' Woman 0:02:12

04 Cubby Newsome Bedroom Blues 0:02:50

05 Cubby Newsome Close To Train Time 0:02:55

06 Cubby Newsome New Orleans Lover Man 0:02:56

07 Alma Mondy Miss Lollipop's Confession 0:02:45

08 Alma Mondy Baby Get Wise 0:02:34

09 Alma Mondy Streetwalkin' Daddy 0:02:40

10 ALMA MONDY A Job For A Jockey 0:02:28

11 George Miller & His Mid-Driffs Boogie's The Thing 0:02:48

12 Little Joe Gaines She Won't Leave No More 0:02:27

13 Hosie Dwine Craven Mercury Boogie 0:02:39

14 James Locks Blazer Boy Blues 0:02:48

15 James Locks New Orleans Woman Blues 0:02:42

16 Erline Harris Jump And Shout 0:02:20

17 Erline Harris I Never Missed My Baby 0:02:18

18 Johnson Brothers Combo Mellow Woman Blues 0:02:45

19 Tommy Ridgley Shrewsbury Blues 0:03:04

20 Jewel King Don't Marry Too Soon 0:02:40

21 Jewel King 3 x 7 = 21 0:01:54

22 Jewel King I'll Get By 0:02:24

23 Jewel King I Broke My Mother's Rule 0:02:18

24 Joe August I Cried 0:04:06

25 Joe August Just To Be Home With You 0:03:14

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