VA - Ain't Gonna Hush, The Queens of Rhythm & Blues [2015] (3 x CD's)

QUEENS OF RHYTHM & BLUES

VA - Ain't Gonna Hush, The Queens of Rhythm & Blues [2015] (3 x CD's)

From the mid-50s to the early 60s, R&B belonged not just to men with guitars, but to women who sang with hungry voices on stages and in studios across the US. Their roots were planted in the blues of Ma Rainey, Mamie Smith, Ida Fox and Bessie Smith, the gospel of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the jazz of Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington. Their legacy lies in the recordings collected on Ain't Gonna Hush by journalist (Mojo, Record Collector) and R&B authority Lois Wilson. Selected because of their collectability and popularity on the club scene, the 32 tracks selected from the 3CD set Ain't Gonna Hush include contributions by crowned queens of soul Etta James and Aretha Franklin, and other luminaries like Big Maybelle, Little Esther, LaVern Baker and Baby Washington. But lesser-known names are also well represented, whose recordings, like most of the songs collected here, sold poorly, but fetch huge prices today. Their lack of success was not due to ability, performance or quality of songwriting; every artist here shouts, screams and hollers as if their lives depend on it, every song is perfectly crafted. But due to bad luck, lack of promotion or simply the fact that with a market flooded with choice, the competition was tough and these 45s fell through the cracks. Here those unfortunate turns of fate are redressed with a collection that compiles the forgotten alongside the famed. Ain't Gonna Hush reasserts the eminence of revered voices and proposes the coronation of a larger cast of R&B Queens.

These late 50's and early 60's female blues singers belt out R&B perfection, most of the singers obscure, most of the songs obscure but with solid chart sounds. Just a great CD set with some great music; this does not sound much like the later soul which is better known, here the connective tissue with the blues is stronger and the singers are still shouting the blues, terrific music. You have to dance to this music. These girls ain't gonna hush.  (Amazon)

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Track Lists

CD 1
01. Aretha Franklin - Rough Lover (2:48)
02. Mary Ann Fisher - Put On My Shoes (2:14)
03. LaVern Baker - Love Me Right (1:57)
04. Cordella De Milo - Ain't Gonna Hush (2:34)
05. Wynona Carr - Jump Jack, Jump! (2:17)
06. Dakota Station - My Babe (2:05)
07. Mari Jones - Down In Texas (2:20)
08. Big Mama Thornton - You Did Me Wrong (2:46)
09. Lula Reed - Say Hey Pretty Baby (2:27)
10. Tiny Topsy - Miss You (2:06)
11. Evelyn Freeman - Didn't It Rain (3:16)
12. Rose Mitchell - Baby Please Don't Go (2:25)
13. Etta James - Nobody Loves You Like Me (2:28)
14. Ruth Brown - Mambo Baby (2:43)
15. Annisteen Allen - Fujiyama Mama (2:31)
16. Blanche Thomas - You Ain't Such A Much (2:24)
17. Etta James - Tough Lover (2:12)
18. Aggie Dukes - John John (1:49)
19. Carmen Taylor - Ding Dong (2:52)
20. Baby Washington - Move On (2:03)
21. Varetta Dillard - Scorched (2:43)
22. Odessa Harris - A Rockin' Good Way (2:35)
23. Big Maybelle - Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On (2:46)
24. Big Mama Thornton - Big Mama's Coming Home (2:26)
25. Mamie Jenkins - Hambone (2:38)

CD2

01. Annisteen Allen - G'wan About Your Business (2:24)
02. Little Miss Jessie - My Baby Has Gone (1:54)
03. Big Maybelle - One Monkey Don't Stop No Show (2:53)
04. Myrtle Jones - Right To Love You (2:39)
05. Betty Everett - Killer Diller (2:26)
06. Jeannie Barnes - Can't Get You Off My Mind (2:47)
07. Tiny Topsy - Come On, Come On, Come On (2:41)
08. LaVern Baker - Whipper Snapper (2:13)
09. Big Mama Thornton - Don't Talk Back (2:48)
10. Ann Cole - I've Got Nothing Working Now (2:31)
11. Anna Mae Rogers - I Called You Up Daddy (2:30)
12. Jimmie Lee - Blue And Lonesome (2:24)
13. Baby Jean - If You Wanna (1:51)
14. Baby Washington - You Never Could Be Mine (2:48)
15. Varetta Dillard - Good Gravy Baby (2:36)
16. Vikki Nelson - Bright And Early (2:10)
17. June Bug Bailey - Lee Street Blues (2:00)
18. Mamie Perry - I'm Hurted (2:37)
19. Betty Everett - Ain't Gonna Cry (2:00)
20. Annisteen Allen - I've Got Troubles (2:11)
21. Kitty White - I'm Gonna Be A Fool Next Monday (2:10)
22. Anna Belle Caesar - Little Annie (2:29)
23. Shirley Gunter - Oop Shoop (2:16)
24. June Bug Bailey - Louisiana Twist (1:38)
25. Mamie Perry - My Baby Waited Too Long (2:45)

CD3

01. Annie Williams - I've Got A Man (2:42)
02. Wynona Carr - Till The Well Runs Dry (2:06)
03. Lula Reed - Puddentane (2:18)
04. Tiny Topsy - You Shocked Me (2:36)
05. Big Mama Thornton - They Call Me Big Mama (2:04)
06. Little Esther & Johnny Otis Orchestra - Hound Dog (2:36)
07. Mary Ann Fisher - Wild As You Can Be (2:43)
08. Joyce Harris - No Way Out (2:15)
09. Paula Grimes - You Move Me So (2:15)
10. Dorothy Berry - I Say You're Driving Me Crazy (2:12)
11. Cherri Lynn - Your Money Ain't Long Enough (2:39)
12. Pearl Reaves - You Can't Stay Here (Step It Up And Go) (2:42)
13. Baby Washington - Medicine Man (2:23)
14. Honey Brown - Ain't No Need (2:42)
15. Dakota Staton - A Little You (2:15)
16. Berna-Dean - One Gal In Town, Five Men Hanging Around (2:40)
17. Vicki Evans - Don't Talk That Talk To Me (2:05)
18. Mamie Jenkins - Jump With Me Baby (2:33)
19. Ruth Durand - I'm Wise (2:17)
20. Jessie Mae - Don't Freeze On Me (2:18)
21. Katie Webster - Hoo Wee, Sweet Daddy (2:07)
22. Carmen Taylor - Big Mamou Daddy (2:40)
23. Little Marie Allen - Humdinger (2:17)
24. Little Esther & Johnny Otis Orchestra - Hollerin' And Screamin' (2:56)
25. Dorothea Fleming - The Devil Is Mad (2:06)
26. Ernestine Allen - Love For Sale (2:58)
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