http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1I3D1V0A

01 - Damp Rag (Gordon)
02 - Fat Mama Blues (Gordon)
03 - Oooh Yes! (Parker, Putnam, Ward)
04 - Please Don’t Pass Me By (Gordon)
05 - Devil’s Daughter (Gordon)
06 - Hide the Bottle (Gordon)
07 - Pennies from Heaven (Burke, Johnston)
08 - My Mother’s Eyes (Baer, Gilbert)
09 - Sloppy Daddy Blues (Gordon)
10 - Juicy Lucy (Gordon)
11 - Dragnet (Gordon)
12 - What’s Her Whimsey, Dr. Kinsey (Gordon)
13 - Walk Around the Corner (Gordon)
14 - The Grind (Gordon)
15 - Don’t Do Me That Way (Gordon)
16 - Oh Tell Me Why (Gordon)
17 - Ride Superman, Ride (Gordon)

http://www.4shared.com/file/kP4048Gi/Stomp_Gordon_-_1952-56.html

Effie Smith
Born:  Effie Bly, 10 April 1914, Oklahoma
Died:  11 February 1977, Los Angeles, California

01 - Effie’s Blues
02 - I’m in the Groove Tonight
03 - Ooh, What I Dream About You
04 - Ditty Bag Jump
05 - I Been Down in Texas
06 - Root Lie Voot
07 - Gettin’ Out
08 - Wee Baby Brother Blues
09 - Nothin’ You Can Do
10 - Effie’s Boogie
11 - Haunted by the Blues
12 - What You Puttin’ Down
13 - Go Ahead With Your Lucky Self
14 - Sugar Daddy
15 - Answer to R.M. Blues
16 - It’s Been So Long
17 - Ain’t Nothin’ Baby Without You
18 - Crazy Crazy
19 - He Treats Your Daughter Mean
20 - Shoo My Blues Away
21 - Cry Baby Cry
22 - Three Men in My Life
23 - Don’t Cha Love Me
24 - Dial That Telephone

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=X4NV361V

01 - Have You Gone Crazy
02 - Beggin’ at Your Mercy
03 - A Mother’s Love
04 - I’m Your Best Bet, Baby
05 - What Can I Do
06 - ‘Til I Say Well Done
07 - No One but Me
08 - Eating and Sleeping
09 - Sitting and Wondering
10 - Funny Face
11 - Baby You Can Get Your Gun
12 - Those Lonely, Lonely Nights
13 - Mother Told Me Not to Go
14 - Is Everything All Right
15 - Everybody Got to Cry
16 - Little Girl
17 - My Love Is Strong
18 - It Must Have Been Love
19 - I’ll Take You Back Home
20 - I Met a Stranger
21 - I’m Packing Up
22 - Nobody Cares

http://www.4shared.com/file/vv1uI7ZY/Earl_King_1953-55.html

01 - Atomic Baby      
02 - She’s Gone Again      
03 - Just a Fool in Love      
04 - Tell Me How Long the the Train’s Been Gone      
05 - Button Your Lip      
06 - Sax Shack Boogie      
07 - Birmingham Bounce      
08 - Let’s Rock a While      
09 - Hard Luck Blues      
10 - Two Years of Torture      
11 - Remember      
12 - I’m Gonna Tell My Mama      
13 - Bad Bad Whisky      
14 - Everybody Clap Hands      
15 - Tears Tears Tears      
16 - Glory of Love      
17 - I Love You Anyway      
18 - Ain’t Nothing Shaking      
19 - Real Crazy      
20 - This Was Your Last Mistake - Goodbye      
21 - Women, Women      
22 - Just One More Drink  

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RUMDWWQN

01 - Rockin’ Boogie (Lutcher)
02 - Blues for Sale (Lutcher)
03 - The Traffic Song (Lutcher)
04 - Society Boogie (Lutcher)
05 - Shuffle Woogie (Lutcher)
06 - Sunday Blues (Lutcher)
07 - Lucy Lindy Boogie (Lutcher)
08 - Strato Cruiser (Lutcher)
09 - Bebop Blues (Lutcher)
10 - How Fine Can You Be (Lutcher)
11 - Mo-Jo (Lutcher)
12 - Bagdad Bebop (Lutcher)
13 - Sauterne Special (Ellis)
14 - Hit the Block (Cooper)
15 - I Knew You When
16 - No Name Boogie (Lutcher)
17 - Watch It Gate
18 - Joe-Joe Jump (Lutcher)
19 - Walk into My Heart (Lutcher)
20 - Toodle-Oo (Lutcher)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XPSDPUPE

01 - Tiny’s Tempo (Grimes, Hart)
02 - I’ll Always Love You Just the Same (Grimes)
03 - Romance Without Finance (Grimes)
04 - Red Cross (Parker)
05 - Groovin’ With Grimes (Grimes)
06 - C Jam Blues (Bigard, Ellington)
07 - Flying Home, Pt. 1 (Goodman, Hampton, Robin)
08 - Flying Home, Pt. 2 (Goodman, Hampton, Robin)
09 - Tiny’s Boogie Woogie (Grimes)
10 - Profoundly Blue (Lewis)
11 - Blue Harlem (Grimes, Quebec)
12 - That Old Black Magic (Arlen, Mercer)
13 - Boogie Woogie Barbecue (Grimes)
14 - Annie Laurie (Scott)
15 - Hot in Harlem (Movin’ Out) (Grimes, Prysock)
16 - Flying High (High Flyin’) (Grimes)
17 - Nightmare Blues (Red’s Blues) (Grimes, Prysock)
18 - Midnight Special (See See Rider) (Grimes)
19 - See See Rider (Rainey)
20 - Jealousy (Bloom, Gade)
21 - The Sidewalks of New York (Blake, Lawler)
22 - Rock the House (Grimes)
23 - Jumpin’ at Gleason’s (Grimes)

Tiny Grimes
Born: Lloyd Grimes on Jul 7, 1916 in Newport News, VA
Died: Mar 4, 1989 in New York, NY

Biography by Scott Yanow, All Music
Tiny Grimes was one of the earliest jazz electric guitarists to be influenced by Charlie Christian, and he developed his own swinging style. Early on, he was a drummer and worked as a pianist in Washington. In 1938, he started playing electric guitar, and two years later he was playing in a popular jive group, the Cats and the Fiddle. During 1943-1944, Grimes was part of a classic Art Tatum Trio which also included Slam Stewart. In September 1944, he led his first record date, using Charlie Parker; highlights include the instrumental “Red Cross” and Grimes’ vocal on “Romance Without Finance (Is a Nuisance).” He also recorded for Blue Note in 1946, and then put together an R&B-oriented group, “the Rockin’ Highlanders,” that featured the tenor of Red Prysock during 1948-1952. Although maintaining a fairly low profile, Tiny Grimes was active up until his death, playing in an unchanged swing/bop transitional style and recording as a leader for such labels as Prestige/Swingville, Black & Blue, Muse, and Sonet.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HKIDF6KJ

01 - Deep Sea Diver (Brown)
02 - Bye Baby Bye (Brown)
03 - Good Rockin’ Tonight (Brown)
04 - Lolly Pop Mama (Brown)
05 - Special Lesson, No. 1 (Brown)
06 - Woman’s a Wonderful Thing (Brown)
07 - Mighty, Mighty Man (Brown)
08 - Miss Fanny Brown (Brown)
09 - Whose Hat Is That (Brown)
10 - Long ‘Bout Midnight (Brown)
11 - ‘Fore Day in the Mornin’ (Brown)
12 - Rainy Weather Blues (Brown)
13 - Miss Fanny Brown Returns (Brown)
14 - Roy Brown’s Boogie (Brown)
15 - Judgement Day Blues (Brown)
16 - Rockin’ at Midnight (Brown)
17 - Please Don’t Go (Brown)
18 - Ridin’ High (Brown)
19 - Boogie at Midnight (Bernard, Brown)
20 - The Blues Got Me Again (Bernard, Mann)
21 - I Feel That Young Man’s Rhythm (Brown)
22 - End of My Journey (Brown)
23 - Butcher Pete, Pt. 1 (Bernard, Brown)
24 - Butcher Pete, Pt. 2 (Bernard, Brown)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HYYZ8Y0M

Roy Brown
Born:  Roy James Brown on Sep 10, 1925 in New Orleans, LA
Died: May 25, 1981 in San Fernando, CA

Biography by Bill Dahl, All Music
When you draw up a short list of the R&B pioneers who exerted a primary influence on the development of rock & roll, respectfully place singer Roy Brown’s name near its very top. His seminal 1947 DeLuxe Records waxing of “Good Rockin’ Tonight” was immediately ridden to the peak of the R&B charts by shouter Wynonie Harris and subsequently covered by Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many more early rock icons (even Pat Boone). In addition, Brown’s melismatical pleading, gospel-steeped delivery impacted the vocal styles of B.B. King, Bobby Bland, and Little Richard (among a plethora of important singers). Clearly, Roy Brown was an innovator—and from 1948-1951, an R&B star whose wild output directly presaged rock’s rise.

Born in the Crescent City, Brown grew up all over the place: Eunice, LA (where he sang in church and worked in the sugarcane fields); Houston, TX; and finally Los Angeles by age 17. Back then, Bing Crosby was Brown’s favorite singer—but a nine-month stint at a Shreveport, LA, nightclub exposed him to the blues for the first time. He conjured up “Good Rockin’ Tonight” while fronting a band in Galveston, TX. Ironically, Harris wanted no part of the song when Brown first tried to hand it to him. When pianist Cecil Gant heard Brown’s knockout rendition of the tune in New Orleans, he had Brown sing it over the phone to a sleepy DeLuxe boss, Jules Braun, in the wee hours of the morning. Though Brown’s original waxing (with Bob Ogden’s band in support) was a solid hit, Harris’ cover beat him out for top chart honors.

Roy Brown didn’t have to wait long to dominate the R&B lists himself. He scored 15 hits from mid-1948 to late 1951 for DeLuxe, ranging from the emotionally wracked crying blues of “Hard Luck Blues” (his biggest seller of all in 1950) to the party-time rockers “Rockin’ at Midnight,” “Boogie at Midnight,” “Miss Fanny Brown,” and “Cadillac Baby.” Strangely, his sales slumped badly from 1952 on, even though his frantic “Hurry Hurry Baby,” “Ain’t No Rockin’ No More,” “Black Diamond,” and “Gal From Kokomo” for Cincinnati’s King Records rate among his hottest house rockers.

Brown was unable to cash in on the rock & roll idiom he helped to invent, though he briefly rejuvenated his commercial fortunes at Imperial Records in 1957. Working with New Orleans producer Dave Bartholomew, then riding high with Fats Domino, Brown returned to the charts with the original version of “Let the Four Winds Blow” (later a hit for Domino) and cut the sizzling sax-powered rockers “Diddy-Y-Diddy-O,” “Saturday Night,” and “Ain’t Gonna Do It.” Not everything was an artistic triumph; Brown’s utterly lifeless cover of Buddy Knox’s “Party Doll”—amazingly, a chart entry for Brown—may well be the worst thing he ever committed to wax (rivaled only by a puerile “School Bell Rock” cut during a momentary return to King in 1959).

After a long dry spell, Brown’s acclaimed performance as part of Johnny Otis’ troupe at the 1970 Monterey Jazz Festival and a 1973 LP for ABC-BluesWay began to rebuild his long-lost momentum. But it came too late; Brown died of a heart attack in 1981 at age 56, his role as a crucial link between postwar R&B and rock’s initial rise still underappreciated by the masses.

Review by Steve Leggett, All Music
With his gospel-inflected vocals, full of melismatic swoops and sighs, and a penchant for speeded-up jump blues songs with strong sax lines, Roy Brown created the very template for early rock & roll in the late 1940s and early ‘50s. This first installment in Classics Records’ chronological survey of Brown’s recorded work includes both sides of his rare first single, “Deep Sea Diver” b/w “Bye Baby Bye,” cut for the Houston independent Gold Star Records in 1947, and then moves on to feature his initial sides for the Braun Brothers’ DeLuxe Records imprint, the first of which was the seminal “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” which Wynonie Harris turned into a huge hit with a cover version. Brown wrote nearly all of his material, and the nascent roots of rock & roll are clearly outlined in his songs. That he is so little known to the public at large is a complete shame, particularly since many music historians have cited “Good Rockin’ Tonight” as arguably the first true rock & roll record. If so, then this is where it all began.

01 - Detroit City Blues (Bartholomew, Domino)
02 - The Fat Man (Bartholomew, Domino) Hot
03 - Hide Away Blues (Bartholomew, Domino)
04 - She’s My Baby (Bartholomew, Domino) Hot
05 - New Baby (Bartholomew)
06 - Little Bee (Bartholomew)
07 - Boogie Woogie Baby (Bartholomew) Hot
08 - Hey! La Bas Boogie (Bartholomew, Byrd) Hot
09 - Korea Blues (Bartholomew, Young)
10 - Every Night About This Time (Bartholomew, Domino)
11 - Careless Love (Handy, Koenig, Williams)
12 - Hey! Fat Man (Domino) Hot
13 - Tired of Crying (Domino)
14 - What’s the Matter Baby (Bartholomew, Domino)
15 - I’ve Got Eyes for You (Bartholomew, Domino)
16 - Stay Away (Bartholomew, Domino) Hot
17 - Don’t Lie to Me (Domino)
18 - My Baby’s Gone (Domino)
19 - Rockin’ Chair (Domino, Young)
20 - Sometimes I Wonder (Domino, Young)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=95EEZFHA

This is a Very Hot and Cool Album of Fats Domino

Review by Thomas Ward, All Music
An exemplary release showcasing Domino at the very outset of his career, 1949-1951 documents a vitally important time for Fats, as well as for New Orleans music and rock & roll as a whole. “The Fat Man” is often seen as one of the first rock & roll records, but it’s by no means the only highlight on this disc. Indeed, almost every cut is a fabulous example of 1950s New Orleans R&B, and far from being a historical curiosity, these cuts (especially “Detroit City Blues” and “Boogie Woogie Baby”) are some of the most exciting of the period. A fabulous release.

01 - Castle Rock (Drake, Sears, Shirl)
02 - All Night Long (Night Train) (Forrest)
03 - Pink Champagne (Liggins)
04 - Slow Drag (Marr)
05 - Merry Go Round (Sacco)
06 - House Rocker (Marr)
07 - Blow Rusty Blow (Marr)
08 - Danger Blues (Bryant)
09 - Back Street (Chamblee, Simpkins)
10 - Baby, Please Don’t Go (Williams)
11 - Record Delivery Blues
12 - A La Mambo
13 - The Honeydripper (Liggins)
14 - Hot Fudge (Singer)
15 - Moonlight Garden Stomp (Marr)
16 - Ridin’ with Rusty (Marr)
17 - Hank-A-Boom (Marr)
18 - I Need Somebody
19 - Rock On
20 - Frankie and Johnny (Traditional)
21 - Don’t Stop Now

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=A1RATW6C

Rusty Bryant
Born: Nov 25, 1929 in Huntington, WV
Died: Mar 25, 1991 in Columbus, OH

Biography by Steve Huey, All Music
The muscular, groove-oriented tenor of Rusty Bryant was heard to best effect on his funky soul-jazz albums for Prestige in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, though he’d actually been leading bands since the ‘50s. Born Royal G. Bryant in Huntington, WV, on November 25, 1929, he grew up in Columbus, OH, where he became an important part of the local jazz scene, playing a robust, wailing tenor sax inspired by the likes of Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt. He first worked as a sideman with Tiny Grimes and Stomp Gordon, and began leading his own bands in 1951. In the mid-‘50s, Bryant signed with the Dot label and landed a major R&B hit with “All Night Long,” a double-time cover of “Night Train.” Bryant toured the country, but his association with Dot only lasted for a few sessions (including some where he attempted to introduce vocalist Nancy Wilson), and he soon returned to Columbus, where he was content to play on a strictly local basis. After around a decade, he returned to recording in 1968 on Groove Holmes’ classic That Healin’ Feelin’, and began leading his own sessions again for Prestige, beginning with 1969’s Rusty Bryant Returns, an anomaly where he played a Lou Donaldson-inspired, sometimes-electrified alto. His next few albums—including Night Train Now!, Soul Liberation, Fire Eater, and Wildfire—successfully updated his sound for the times, and became cult classics among acid jazz aficionados for their strong, funky grooves. Bryant returned for a couple of albums in the early ‘80s before settling back into his hometown once again. He passed away on March 25, 1991.

Tommy Ridgley - 1949-54 (BRCC 5161)

01 - Boogie Woogie Mama (Ridgley)
02 - Shrewsbury Blues (Ridgley)
03 - Early Dawn Boogie (Ridgley)
04 - Lonely Man Blues (Ridgley)
05 - Anything But Love (Bartholomew, Ridgley)
06 - Once in a Lifetime (Ridgley)
07 - Come Home Baby (Ridgley)
08 - Tra La La (Bartholomew, Ridgley)
09 - Got You on My Mind (Biggs, Thomas)
10 - Booted (Gordon)
11 - Lavinia (Bartholomew, Ridgley)
12 - I Live My Life (Bartholomew, Ridgley)
13 - Good Times (Bartholomew, Ridgley)
14 - A Day Is Coming (Bartholomew, Ridgley)
15 - Looped (Allen)
16 - Junie Mae (Bartholomew, Ridgley)
17 - Monkey Man (Bartholomew, Ridgley)
18 - Nobody Cares (Bartholomew, Ridgley)
19 - Ooh Lawdy My Baby (Ridgley)
20 - I’m Gonna Cross That River (DeVore, Sturgell)
21 - Wish I Had Never (DeVore)
22 - Jam Up (Twist) (Ridgley)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LTDRLJ8U

Tommy Ridgley
Born:  Oct 30, 1925 in New Orleans, LA
Died:  Aug 11, 1999

Biography by Bill Dahl, All Music
Tommy Ridgley was on the Crescent City R&B scene when it first caught fire, and he remained a proud part of that same scene until his death in 1999. That was a lot of years behind a microphone, but Ridgley never sounded the slightest bit tired; his 1995 Black Top album Since the Blues Began rated as one of his liveliest outings.

Ridgley cut his debut sides back in 1949 for Imperial under Dave Bartholomew’s direction. His “Shrewsbury Blues” and “Boogie Woogie Mama” failed to break outside of his hometown, though. Sessions for Decca in 1950 and Imperial in 1952 (where he waxed the wild “Looped”) preceded four 1953-1955 sessions for Atlantic that included a blistering instrumental, “Jam Up,” that sported no actual Ridgley involvement but sold relatively well under his name (incomparable tenor saxist Lee Allen was prominent).

New York’s Herald Records was Ridgley’s home during the late ‘50s. The consistently solid singer waxed “When I Meet My Girl” for the firm in 1957, encoring with a catchy “Baby Do-Liddle.” From there, it was on to his hometown-based Ric logo, where he laid down the stunning stroll-tempoed “Let’s Try and Talk It Over” and a bluesy “Should I Ever Love Again” in 1960. He recorded intermittently after leaving Ric in 1963, waxing a soulful “I’m Not the Same Person” in 1969 for Ronn.

Ridgley always remained a hometown favorite even when recording opportunities proved scarce. Happily, Since the Blues Began ranked with 1995’s best albums, Ridgley sounding entirely contemporary but retaining his defining Crescent City R&B edge. Not long after the appearance of 1999’s How Long, Ridgley passed away, on August 11th of that year.

Review by Steve Leggett, All Music
Although Tommy Ridgley was a big star in his native New Orleans for close to half a century, he never really broke nationally with any of his blues-inflected R&B sides. This set includes his very earliest recordings, including sessions with Imperial (1949-1953), Decca (1951), and his two Atlantic releases from 1953 and 1954. Ridgley wasn’t a particularly distinctive singer—although he certainly got the job done—and most of these sides are fairly generic R&B outings. When he dips into some of that Crescent City gumbo atmosphere like he does on the slow stroll “Got You on My Mind,” the derivative but winning “Lavinia,” or his version of Melvin Smith’s “Looped” (which features some crisp drumming from the great Earl Palmer), things fare a good deal better. Ridgley’s later Atlantic sides (not included here) are probably his best, although he released a pair of nice comeback albums in the mid-‘90s.

01 - She Ain’t Got No Hair (Byrd)
02 - Bye Bye Baby (Byrd)
03 - Professor Longhair’s Boogie (Byrd)
04 - Mardi Gras in New Orleans (Byrd)
05 - Byrd’s Blues (Byrd)
06 - Her Mind Is Gone (Byrd)
07 - Bald Head (Byrd)
08 - Hey Now Baby (Byrd)
09 - Oh Well (Byrd)
10 - Hadacol Bounce (Byrd)
11 - Longhair Stomp (Byrd)
12 - Been Foolin’ Around (Byrd)
13 - Between the Night and Day (In the Wee Wee Hours) (Byrd)
14 - Hey Now Baby (Byrd)
15 - Mardi Gras in New Orleans (Byrd)
16 - She Walks Right In (Byrd)
17 - Hey Little Girl (Byrd)
18 - Willie Mae (Byrd)
19 - Walk Your Blues Away (Byrd)
20 - Professor Longhair Blues (Byrd)
21 - Boogie Woogie (Byrd)
22 - Longhair’s Blues-Rhumba (Byrd)
23 - Mardi Gras in New Orleans (Byrd)
24 - She Walks Right In (Byrd)

http://www.4shared.com/file/WoApi1fm/Prof_Longhair_1949.html

Professor Longhair
Born:  Henry Roeland Byrd on Dec 19, 1918 in Bogalusa, LA
Died: Jan 30, 1980 in New Orleans, LA

Biography by Bill Dahl, All Music
Justly worshipped a decade and a half after his death as a founding father of New Orleans R&B, Roy “Professor Longhair” Byrd was nevertheless so down-and-out at one point in his long career that he was reduced to sweeping the floors in a record shop that once could have moved his platters by the boxful.

That Longhair made such a marvelous comeback testifies to the resiliency of this late legend, whose Latin-tinged rhumba-rocking piano style and croaking, yodeling vocals were as singular and spicy as the second-line beats that power his hometown’s musical heartbeat. Longhair brought an irresistible Caribbean feel to his playing, full of rolling flourishes that every Crescent City ivories man had to learn inside out (Fats Domino, Huey Smith, and Allen Toussaint all paid homage early and often).

Longhair grew up on the streets of the Big Easy, tap dancing for tips on Bourbon Street with his running partners. Local 88s aces Sullivan Rock, Kid Stormy Weather, and Tuts Washington all left their marks on the youngster, but he brought his own conception to the stool. A natural-born card shark and gambler, Longhair began to take his playing seriously in 1948, earning a gig at the Caldonia Club. Owner Mike Tessitore bestowed Longhair with his professorial nickname (due to Byrd’s shaggy coiffure).

Longhair debuted on wax in 1949, laying down four tracks (including the first version of his signature “Mardi Gras in New Orleans,” complete with whistled intro) for the Dallas-based Star Talent label. His band was called the Shuffling Hungarians, for reasons lost to time! Union problems forced those sides off the market, but Longhair’s next date for Mercury the same year was strictly on the up-and-up. It produced his first and only national R&B hit in 1950, the hilarious “Bald Head” (credited to Roy Byrd & His Blues Jumpers).

The pianist made great records for Atlantic in 1949, Federal in 1951, Wasco in 1952, and Atlantic again in 1953 (producing the immortal “Tipitina,” a romping “In the Night,” and the lyrically impenetrable boogie “Ball the Wall”). After recuperating from a minor stroke, Longhair came back on Lee Rupe’s Ebb logo in 1957 with a storming “No Buts - No Maybes.” He revived his “Go to the Mardi Gras” for Joe Ruffino’s Ron imprint in 1959; this is the version that surfaces every year at Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Other than the ambitiously arranged “Big Chief” in 1964 for Watch Records, the ‘60s held little charm for Longhair. He hit the skids, abandoning his piano playing until a booking at the fledgling 1971 Jazz & Heritage Festival put him on the comeback trail. He made a slew of albums in the last decade of his life, topped off by a terrific set for Alligator, Crawfish Fiesta.

Longhair triumphantly appeared on the PBS-TV concert series Soundstage (with Dr. John, Earl King, and the Meters), co-starred in the documentary Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together (which became a memorial tribute when Longhair died in the middle of its filming; funeral footage was included), and saw a group of his admirers buy a local watering hole in 1977 and rechristen it Tipitina’s after his famous song. He played there regularly when he wasn’t on the road; it remains a thriving operation.

Longhair went to bed on January 30, 1980, and never woke up. A heart attack in the night stilled one of New Orleans’ seminal R&B stars, but his music is played in his hometown so often and so reverently you’d swear he was still around.

Review by arwulf arwulf, All Music
This exacting chronological survey of Professor Longhair’s first recordings is a welcome alternative to the usual reissue practice of mingling some of these tracks with later material from the early ‘50s. As is often the case with the Classics Chronological series, a succession of historical sessions bolstered with all of the available discographical information tells a story that is vital to the development of a clear comprehension of the musician’s life and creative accomplishments. In this case that means the saga of how Henry Roeland Byrd, born in Bogalusa, LA, in December of 1918, radically transformed the popular music of North America during the 1950s and ‘60s by making a handful of scruffy records in 1949 down in New Orleans. When Byrd’s band replaced Dave Bartholomew’s at the Caldonia Inn, the management decided to bill the group as Professor Longhair & the Four Hairs Combo, simply because of the fact that they wore their hair considerably longer than was the fashion at that time. Note that Lester Young, who also hailed from southern Louisiana, wore his hair uncommonly long. Byrd’s band at this time consisted of alto saxophonist Robert “Barefootin’” Parker, Walter “Papoose” Nelson on the guitar, and a drummer known as Big Slick, later to be replaced by Al Miller, who could also play trumpet. Longhair’s first recordings were made at the Hi Hat Club, where a rudimentary recording studio was set up. Four sides were issued on the tiny Star Talent label as by Professor Longhair & His Shuffling Hungarians. “She Ain’t Got No Hair,” later simply known as “Bald Head,” would eventually become one of his most popular tunes. All the ingredients of Longhair’s distinctive style are present on these wonderful recordings, in particular the bluesy rhumba rhythm that seemed to infiltrate nearly everything he played, most notably the boogie-woogie. On August 19, 1949, a second recording session occurred, this time at a Mercury studio on Canal Street. Longhair’s funky Crescent City piano was punctuated with his delightfully deep and wild-edged voice, backed by Lee Allen and Leroy “Batman” Rankins on tenor saxophones. One more session for Mercury took place in September and then Professor Longhair’s tenure as an Atlantic recording artist began in earnest with “Hey Now Baby” and a second and third version of his ultra-famous whistling rhumba, “Mardi Gras in New Orleans.” The band was billed either as Professor Longhair’s Blues Jumpers or Professor Longhair’s Blues Scholars. The records sold tolerably well. Longhair would record for Federal in 1951, returning to the Atlantic studios in 1953. For valuable first-hand eye- and ear-witness perspectives on just who Professor Longhair really was, see also Dr. John’s outstanding autobiography, Under a Hoodoo Moon, published in 1994 by St. Martin’s Press.

01 - Miss Mattie Left Me (McCracklin)
02 - Mean Mistreated Lover (McCracklin)
03 - Highway 101 (McCracklin)
04 - Baby Don’t You Want to Go (McCracklin)
05 - Achin’ Heart (McCracklin)
06 - Street Loafin’ Woman (McCracklin)
07 - You Decieved Me (Blunston, McCracklin)
08 - Ola May ()
09 - She’s a Wino ()
10 - Rock and Rye - Pt. 1 (Briant)
11 - Rock and Rye - Pt. 2 (Briant)
12 - You Had Your Chance (McCracklin)
13 - Special for You (McCracklin)
14 - Rock and Rye (Briant)
15 - Miss Minnie Lee Blues (McCracklin)
16 - Playin’ on Me ()
17 - Big Foot Mama ()
18 - Bad Luck and Trouble (Rosenbaum)
19 - Railroad Blues (Rosenbaum)
20 - Jimmy’s Blues (McCracklin)
21 - Bad Condition Blues (McCracklin)
22 - Blues Blasters Shuffle (McCracklin)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OHOBBAMI

http://www.4shared.com/file/zhhGKdMZ/Faye_Adams_1952_54.html

1 Hurry, Hurry
2 Indian Giver
3 Foolin’ Blues
4 Little Miss Muffet
5 Bad Dream Blues
6 Too Tight Mama
7 Sad and Disappointed Girl
8 Don’t Try to Fool Me
9 Dirty Deal Blues
10 Just Want Your Love
11 So Good to My Baby
12 Gabbin’ Blues
13 My Country Man
14 Rain Down Rain
15 Way Back Home
16 Stay Away from My Sam
17 Jinny Mule
18 Send for Me
19 Maybelle’s Blues

http://www.4shared.com/file/f9_sOh30/Big_Maybelle_1944_53.html

01 - Down Home Syncopated Blues
02 - The Meritt Stomp
03 - If I Could Be with You One Hour Tonight (Creamer, Johnson)
04 - Paseo Street
05 - Ruff Scufflin’
06 - St. James Infirmary (Primrose)
07 - He’s Tall, Dark and Handsome
08 - Won’t You Come Over to My House? (Lee)
09 - Come on Over to My House (Lee)
10 - Trouble in Mind (Jones)
11 - If It’s Good (Lee, Turner)
12 - Show Me Missouri Blues (Lee, Thomas)
13 - Lotus Blossom (Lee, Turner)
14 - Dream Lucky Blues (Lee)
15 - Julia’s Blues (Lee)
16 - Lies (Barris, Springer)
17 - Gotta Gimme Whatcha’ Got (Lee)
18 - When a Woman Loves a Man (Hanigher, Jenkins, Mercer)
19 - Oh Marie (Capua, Lee)
20 - I’ll Get Along Somehow (Fields, Marks)
21 - A Porter’s Love Song to a Chambermaid (Johnson, Razaf)
22 - Have You Ever Been Lonely? (Brown, DeRose)
23 - Since I’ve Been with You (Stone)
24 - Out in the Cold Again (Bloom, Koehler)
25 - Young Girl’s Blues (White)
26 - On My Way Out (Downey, Neiburg, Rule)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=R4SKBPTE

Julia Lee
Born: Oct 31, 1902 in Boonville, MO
Died: Dec 8, 1958 in Kansas City, MO

Biography by Scott Yanow, All Music
A popular entertainer who recorded frequently for Capitol during 1944-1950, Julia Lee’s double-entendre songs and rocking piano made her a major attraction in Kansas City. She played piano and sang in her brother George E. Lee’s Orchestra during 1920-1934, recording with him in 1927 and 1929 (including “If I Could Be with You One Hour Tonight”) and cutting two titles of her own in 1929 (“He’s Tall, He’s Dark and He’s Handsome” and “Won’t You Come Over to My House”). Lee worked regularly as a single in Kansas City after her brother’s band broke up. In 1944, she started recording for Capitol and among her sidemen on some sessions were Jay McShann, Vic Dickenson, Benny Carter, Red Norvo, and Red Nichols, along with many local players. After 1952, Julia Lee only recorded four further songs, but she was active up until her death in 1958.

Review by arwulf arwulf, All Music
Although this first volume in the Classics Julia Lee chronology is ostensibly part of the label’s Blues & Rhythm vintage R&B series, it begins with eight valuable early jazz recordings made in the notoriously wide-open nonstop party town of Kansas City during the years 1927 and 1928. On the opening track, lifted up off of a dusty old platter that bore the obscure Meritt record label, 25-year-old Julia Lee is heard singing “Down Home Syncopated Blues” with her big brother George E. Lee & His Novelty Singing Orchestra. For the flip side, a stomp named after the record company, the band conjures up something similar to Duke Ellington’s “East St. Louis Toodle-O.” A series of Brunswick sides cut during November of 1929 features both George E. Lee and a young Albert “Budd” Johnson in the reed section. George Lee sings James P. Johnson’s “If I Could Be with You” and Joe Primrose’s “St. James Infirmary Blues” in a rather shrill voice not unlike that of the young Cab Calloway. Two instrumentals, “Paseo Street” and “Ruff Scufflin’,” provide a piquant taste of Bennie Moten-era Kansas City hot jazz. The pianist on all of these early sides is said to have been Julia Lee and/or legendary Kansas City bandleader and future R&B composer Jesse Stone. All of this serves as a wonderful prelude to the records actually featuring Julia Lee the vocalist. She chortles “He’s Tall, Dark and Handsome” in a powerful voice edged with ringing vibrato similar to that which Alberta Hunter would use during the 1930s. In a neat maneuver, Julia Lee’s “Won’t You Come Over to My House?” of 1929 segues smoothly into her 1944 recording “Come on Over to My House,” a jump tune that clearly inspired Nellie Lutcher’s 1947 hit record “Hurry On Down.” What happened to Julia Lee during those missing 15 years? She is said to have remained in Kansas City working as pianist in her brother’s band, gigging steadily but apparently not preserving any of her performances on phonograph records. Her Capitol recordings, which began to materialize in the mid-‘40s, show listeners a mature woman who had gradually perfected her casual mannerisms in the 24-hour nightclubs of Kansas City. This is best demonstrated when she belts out the words to Richard M. Jones’ “Trouble in Mind” with a band anchored by the world’s toughest rhythm section of Jay McShann, Walter Page, and Sam “Baby” Lovett.