Episode #37: How Blue Can You Get


Woke up this morning -- actually, it was a few mornings ago -- 12 to be exact -- and decided it was past due for Star Time's first Blues Summit. It's wall-to-wall blues, covering more than 30 years (not 40, as I miscounted in the intro) of blues from all corners of the form. It's staggeringly consistent. We got Lead Belly, Lightnin' Hopkins, Magic Sam, Lonnie Johnson, Slim Harpo, Junior Wells, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, and two people I will never do a blues show without: Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker. Also blues from another planet in the guise of George Coleman. I like this show. It's good.


ArtistSongYearLabel
Set 1
Lead BellyGood Morning Blues1948Smithsonian Folkways
Marylyn ScottStraighten Him Out1950Regent
Smiley LewisTee-Nah-Nah1952Imperial
Doug QuattlebaumDon't Be Funny Baby1953Gotham
Big Mama ThorntonI Smell a Rat1954Peacock
Lightnin' HopkinsMovin' Out Boogie1954Herald
Brother John SellersWhen I've Been Drinking1958Vanguard
Magic Sam21 Days in Jail1958Cobra
Howlin' WolfI Asked for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)1958Chess
Set 2
Otis SpannTake a Little Walk With Me1960Candid
John Lee HookerLeave My Wife Alone1959Chess
Roosevelt SykesJailbait1961Prestige Bluesville
Lonnie JohnsonMy Little Kitten Susie1961Prestige Bluesville
OdettaLeavin' This Morning1962Riverside
Slim HarpoI Love the Life I'm Living1963Excello
Sally StanleyWhat It Means to Be Lonely1962Excello
B.B. KingHow Blue Can You Get1965ABC-Paramount
Set 3
Junior WellsSnatch It Back and Hold It1965Delmark
Skip JamesHard Time Killin' Floor Blues1965Melodeon
Buddy GuyThe Things I Used to Do1968Vanguard
Little Brother MontgomeryUp the Country Blues1968Folkways
Mercy Dee WaltonEmpty Life1968Imperial
T-Bone WalkerTreat Me So Low Down1968BluesWay
Albert KingIf the Washing Don't Get You the Rinsing Will1969Stax
Taj MahalStatesboro Blues1968Columbia
Set 4/Outro
Don Covay & the Jefferson Lemon Blues BandFour Women1969Atlantic
Luther AllisonRaggedy and Dirty1972Gordy
George ColemanI Wish I Could Sing1969Arhoolie
Sunnyland SlimI Had It So Hard1974GNP Crescendo
R.L. BurnsideJumper Hanging Out on the Line1979HMG
Lee JacksonRocks Is My Pillow1977Red Lightnin'
Muddy WatersI Can't Be Satisfied1948Aristocrat

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