Description:
Singer and guitarist Big Bill Broonzy was crucial to the UK blues boom, sowing its first seeds when he came to London in the early 1950s. He'd already been amongst the earliest blues artists to play on a 'formal' Stateside stage, appearing at Carnegie Hall back in 1939. Born in Mississippi, raised in Arkansas, he'd settled in Chicago by the time of these recordings. This set follows on from Yazoo's The Young Bill Broonzy, and is an indispensable collection of early works. Like many of his peers, he went beyond pure blues, fulfilling the role of hokum troubadour, hopping from instrumentals ("Pig Meat Strut", "Guita
Singer and guitarist Big Bill Broonzy was crucial to the UK blues boom, sowing its first seeds when he came to London in the early 1950s. He'd already been amongst the earliest blues artists to play on a 'formal' Stateside stage, appearing at Carnegie Hall back in 1939. Born in Mississippi, raised in Arkansas, he'd settled in Chicago by the time of these recordings. This set follows on from Yazoo's The Young Bill Broonzy, and is an indispensable collection of early works. Like many of his peers, he went beyond pure blues, fulfilling the role of hokum troubadour, hopping from instrumentals ("Pig Meat Strut", "Guitar Rag") to humorous double entendre skits ("Terrible Operation Blues", "Pussy Cat Blues"), the latter enjoying the winking, saucy vocals of Jane Lucas. Georgia Tom Dorsey also contributes jangling piano on several numbers, nudging between Broonzy's resonating, almost harp-like, strings. For its time, the sound quality is mostly excellent, with lone 1928 representative "Down In The Basement" suffering from the worst 78 crackles, along with 1930's "Double Trouble Blues" and "Skoodle Do Do", both held in reserve until the disc's end. --Martin Longley
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Manufacturer: Yazoo
Release date: 26 November 1991
Number of discs: 1
EAN: 0016351013521 UPC: 016351013521
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