The Front Porch Blues Show
JD Esquire
Rich Blackmarr will host the Front Porch Blues Show this evening. The program will focus on jazz and blues recordings from the year 1952. Featured artisits will range from saxophonists like Lou Donaldson, Illinois Jacquet, and Wardell Gray to singers like Varetta Dillard, Little Esther, and Johnny Hartman. While tenor saxist Jimmy Forrest had a huge instrumental hit with Night Train, we'll also hear vocal versions by the Four Blazes and Wynonie Harris. There will also be rarely heard tracks by B. B. King, Muddy Waters, Memphis Minnie, Eddie Boyd, and Willie Mabon.
Genre
Blues
Missed the Show?
Sunday 7/21/2019 @ 8:00PM - 10:00PM
| Artist | Song | Album | Label | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Mabon | Worry Blues | VA - Chess Blues Piano Greats | MCA/Chess 50th Anniv. 2-cd set | 1952 Chicago rec. for Parrot by singer pianist Mabon with Ernest Cotton (ts), Bill Anderson (b), Bill Stepney (d); flip side of #1 R&B hit I Don't Know |
| Big Maybelle with Leroy Kirkland Orch. | Rain Down Rain | Big Maybelle - The Complete OKeh Sessions 1952-1955 | Epic/Legacy/OKeh | Oct. 1952 NYC rec. for OKeh by singer Big Maybelle Smith; flip side of her #3 R&B hit Gabbin' Blues |
| Johnny Hartman | Black Shadows | A Proper Introduction to Johnny Hartman - There Goes My Heart | Proper Records | Feb. 1952 NYC rec. for RCA Victor by singer Hartman backed by studio band led by Howard Biggs |
| Little Esther Phillips | The Storm | Little Esther Phillips - Am I That Easy To Forget? 1950-1962 | Jasmine | Jan. 1952 LA rec. for Federal by singer Phillips backed by Johnny Otis's band incl. Devonia Williams (p), Preston Love (as), Ben Webster (ts) |
| Jimmy Witherspoon | Blues In Trouble | The Very Best Of Jimmy Witherspoon - Miss Miss Mistreater | Collectables/King | June 1952 LA rec. for Federal by singer Witherspoon with backing by tenor saxist Maxwell Davis and band |
| B.B. King | Someday Somewhere | B.B. King - The Complete Singles As & Bs 1949-62 | Acrobat 5-cd box set | Jan. 1952 Memphis rec. for RPM with quintet backing by group incl. Johnny Ace (p) |
| Varetta Dillard | Double Crossing Daddy | Varetta Dillard - Mercy, Mr. Percy | Great Voices of the Century (GVC) 2-cd set | July 1952 NYC rec. for Savoy by singer Dillard with band incl. Mickey Baker, Jack Parker |
| Airbreak | ||||
| Jimmy Forrest | Night Train | Jimmy Forrest - Night Train | Delmark LP | Late Nov. 1951 rec. released in March 1952 on United Records by tenor saxist Jimmy Forrest and band; #1 R&B hit song can be traced from elements of Johnny Hodges' That's the Blues Old Man (1940) and Duke Ellington's Happy Go Lucky Local |
| Joe Morris & His Orch. | Ghost Train | Joe Morris Orchestra - Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere | Acrobat | 1951 rec. for Atlantic by trumpeter/bandleader Joe Morris & Orch. ; based on Night Train |
| The Four Blazes | Night Train | The Four Blazes - Mary Jo | Delmark United Series | July 1952 Chicago rec. for United by the Four Blazes vocal/string band group with Eddie Chamblee (ts); vocal version of Jimmy Forrest's Night Train hit on same label |
| Bill Doggett Combo | Big Dog Blues | Bill Doggett - All His Hits | Gusto/King LP | Jan. 1952 NYC rec. for King by organist Doggett with Jimmy Cannady (gtr), drums |
| Wynonie Harris with Lucky Millinder's Orch. | Night Train | Wynonie Harris - Lovin' Machine | Ace (UK)/King | June 1952 NYC rec. for King by singer Harris |
| Airbreak | ||||
| Joe Carroll with the Dizzy Gillespie Sextet | Pops Confessin' | Dizzy Gillespie - School Days | Savoy Jazz (Japan) | July 1952 NYC rec. for Dee Gee by singer Joe Carroll backed by Dizzy Gillespie Quintet with Wynton Kelly (p); vocal imitation of Louis Armstrong doing I'm Confessin' |
| Gene Ammons Sextet | Good Time Blues | Gene Ammons - Red Top | Past Perfect | Nov. 1962 Chicago rec. for Savoy by tenor saxist Gene Ammons with octet |
| Thelonious Monk Sextet | Let's Cool One | Thelonious Monk - Monk's Moods | Proper Records 4-cd box set | May 1952 NYC rec. for Blue Note by pianist Monk with Nelson Boyd, Max Roach, Kenny Dorham, Lou Donaldson, and Lucky Thompson |
| Benny Carter Quintet | Key Largo | Benny Carter - The Music Master | Proper Records 4-cd box set | August 1952 LA rec. for Clef/Verve by alto saxist Carter backed by Oscar Peterson, Barney Kessel, Ray Brown, Buddy Rich |
| Milt Jackson | Bag's Groove | Milt Jackson: with John Lewis and the Thelonious Monk Quintet | Blue Note | April 1952 NYC rec. for Blue Note by vibist Jackson with Lou Donaldson (as), John Lewis (p), Percy Heath (b), Kenny Clarke (d) |
| Wardell Gray/Dexter Gordon Quintet | The Rubaiyat | Wardell Gray - The Wardell Gray Story | Proper Records 4-cd box set | June 1952 LA rec. for Swingtime by tenor saxist Gray with Dexter Gordon (ts), Gerald Wiggins (p), Red Callender (b), Chuck Thompson (d) |
| Illinois Jacquet with Count Basie | Port Of Rico | Illinois Jacquet - The Cool Rage | Verve 2 LP set | July 1952 rec. for Clef/Verve by Jacquet (ts) with Count Basie (org), Hank Jones (p), Freddie Green (gtr), Ray Brown (b), Jimmy Crawford (d) |
| Airbreak | ||||
| Memphis Minnie with Little Walter | Conjur Man | Memphis Minnie - The Complete Post-War Recordings, Vol. 3 (April 1949 to October 1953) | Wolf Records | July 1952 Memphis rec. for Checker (unrel.) by singer/guitarist Minnie with Little Son Joe (gtr), Little Walter Jacobs (hca), bass. drums |
| Eddie Boyd | Blues For Baby | VA - Chess Blues Piano Greats | MCA/Chess 50th Anniv. 2-cd set | Aug. 1952 Chicago rec. for Chess by singer/pianist Boyd with Robert Lockwood Jr. (gtr), Robert 'Little Sax' Crowder (ts), Alfred Elkins (b), Percy Walker (d) |
| Julia Lee | Goin' To Chicago Blues | Julia Lee & Her Boy Friends - Ugly Papa | RBD/Jukebox Lil | July 1952 Kansas City rec. for Capitol by singer/pianist Lee with Bob Dougherty (ts), James Scott (gtr), bass, drums |
| Muddy Waters & His Guitar | Gone To Main Street | Muddy Waters - The Complete Aristocrat & Chess Singles As & Bs 1947-62 | Acrobat 4-cd box set | Sept. 1952 Chicago rec. for Chess by Muddy (voc/gtr) with Junior Wells (hca), Jimmy Rogers (gtr), Elgin Evans (d) |
| Brownie McGhee | Bottom Blues | Brownie McGhee Featuring Sonny Terry - Back Country Blues: 1947-1955 Savoy Recordings | Southern Routes | March 1952 NYC rec. for Savoy by McGhee (voc/gtr) with Sonny Terry (hca), drums |
| Airbreak | ||||
| Ruth Brown | Have A Good Time | Ruth Brown and her rhythmakers/sweet baby of mine | RBD/KIX/Route 66 | July 1952 NYC rec. for Atlantic by singer Brown with unknown band plus vocal group, the James Quintet |
| Dinah Washington with Jimmy Cobb Orch. | Gambler's Blues | The Complete Dinah Washington On Mercury- Vol. 3 (1952-1954) | Nippon Phonogram/Mercury 3-cd set | Summer 1952 Chicago rec. for Mercury by singer Washington backed by Clark Terry, Russell Procope, Paul Gonsalves, Beryl Booker, Keter Betts, Jimmy Cobb |
| Bullmoose Jackson | (Let Me Love You) All Night Long | Bullmoose Jackson - Badman Jackson, That's Me | Charly R&B | April 1952 NYC rec. for King by singer Jackson with band incl. Herb Geller, Count Hastings, Bill Doggett |
| Percy Mayfield | Lonesome Highway | Percy Mayfield - Lost Love: The Singles As & Bs 1947-1962 | Jasmine 2-cd set | March 1952 LA rec. for Specialty by singer Mayfield backed by Jewell Grant (as), Maxwell Davis (ts), Willard McDaniel (p), Chuck Norris (gtr), others |
| Todd Rhodes Orch. with LaVern Baker | Pig Latin Blues | LaVern Baker - The Complete Singles As & Bs 1949-62 | Acrobat 3-cd box set | July 1952 Cincinnati rec. for King by singer Baker backed by pianist Rhodes' band |
| Sonny Parker with Lionel Hampton's Orch. | Don't Flee The Scene Salty | Sonny Parker - The Complete 1948-1951 | Blue Moon | Oct. 1951 LA rec. for M-G-M by singer Parker with Lionel Hampton Orch. |
| Amos Milburn | Flying Home | Amos Milburn & His Chickenshackers - Rock, Rock, Rock | KIX/Route 66 LP | Jan. 1952 LA rec. for Aladdin by singer/pianist Milburn with band led by Maxwell Davis (ts); vocal version of 1939 Goodman/Hampton tune that brought Illinois Jacquet to prominence in 1942; lyrics by Leiber & Stoller |
| Airbreak | ||||
| The Cardinals | She Rocks | The Cardinals - Under A Blanket Of Blue: The Singles As & Bs 1951-1957 | Jasmine | 1952 NYC rec. for Atlantic by the Cardinals vocal quintet |
| Lil Greenwood with the Four Jacks | Grandpa Can Boogie Too | Lil Greenwood - Walking And Singing The Blues | Ace (UK)/Modern/Federal | April 1952LA rec. for Federal by singer Greenwood with Four Jacks vocal group with band incl. Joe Lutcher (as), Tiny Webb (gtr), others |
| Ivory Joe Hunter | Rockin' Chair Boogie | Since I Met You Baby: The Best of Ivory Joe Hunter | Razor & Tie | Oct. 1952 NYC rec. for M-G-M by singer/pianist Hunter with unknown acc. |