This weekend marks the fourth anniversary of Be Bop Wino's appearance on the rocking interweb. The first music post (a cassette of Savoy and National movers and groovers) went up on Sunday, the 23rd of September 2007. A couple of years down the line the blog got taken down but reappeared in its current vinyl-only format, which I think is preferable to the old blog. I would like to thank all contributors and collaborators who have done so much to turn Be Bop Wino into something that I never anticipitated it would become when I started it four years ago.
Many thanks to those of you who take the trouble to comment. I've learned a lot from many of those comments. And thanks also to those of you who have corresponded via email over the years. It's been fascinating to hear from fellow bloggers, deejays (both club and radio), musicians from R&B revival bands, record retailers, relatives of the original 1950s musicians, journalists, researchers and fellow enthusiasts.
Here's the Be Bop Wino anniversary playlist. Some of these tracks may still be found somewhere on the blog, but others have been and gone. So for your listening (but not downloading) pleasure we present a round dozen platters from back when R&B was R&B.
Side One:
1. The Fat Man - Fats Domino
2. Rootin' And Tootin' - Smiley Lewis
3. All That Wine Is Gone - Big Jay McNeely
4. Fats' Frenzy - Fats Domino
5. An Old Cow Hand From A Blues Band - Dave Bartholomew
6. Don't Cry Baby - Big Jay McNeely
Side Two:
1. Ain't Gonna Do It - The Pelicans
2. '44' - Fats Domino
3. Shame, Shame, Shame - Smiley Lewis
4. Good News - Dave Bartholomew
5. I Don't Need You - James "Sugar Boy" Crawford
6. Don't Leave Me This Way - Fats Domino
Here’s the second compilation in the “R&B All-Stars” series. This time round it’s the turn of Imperial Records out of Hollywood, California, although you’d think it was a New Orleans label when you look at the track list and listen to the rollicking rhythm and blues contained within the bits and bytes available for your downloading pleasure.
This is definitely a case of “all killer, no filler.” The Fats Domino tracks date from before “Ain’t It a Shame” and “Blueberry Hill” and are raw roughhouse R&B, with his first ever recording, “The Fat Man” kicking off the whole shebang in a welter of stomping piano. There’s a couple of belters from Smiley Lewis while Dave Bartholomew not only contributes recordings under his own name, but also arranges and plays on just about every other track in the collection. The two Big Jay McNeely tracks are the only reminder here that Imperial was in fact a West Coast label. Don’t worry – they fit right in with the good time rockin’ and rollin’ from New Orleans.
So play it LOUD, with a little bit of cross fading, and be prepared to dance, jump, howl and play air piano as the rhythm takes a hold of you.
Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon
Listen to some highlights from "Imperial R&B All-Stars" here:
With thanks to "Spyder John" for pointing me towards the great Dave Bartholomew instrumental "Good News." Thanks also to Joan K for the 45 rpm record sleeve scan, and to "Brian with a B" for the "R&B All-Stars" idea.
Side 1:
1. Choo Choo's Bringing My Baby Home
2. My Friend Told Me
3. Good Time Sue
4. Stinkin' From Drinkin'
5. Slippin' And Slidin'
6. I Can't Stop Crying
7. Beal Street On A Saturday Night
8. Hey Lawdie, Miss Claudie
9. Have You Ever Had The Blues
Side 2:
1. Waiting And Drinking
2. Blow Man Blow
3. Safronia B
4. Angel City Blues
5. Baby You're Tops With Me
6. I'm Gonna Steam Off The Stamp
7. Looped
8. Look Out For Tomorrow Today
9. Fish-Tail
10. I've Got News For You
I first came across the music of Calvin Boze back in the early 1980s via the old Pathe Marconi compilation “Aladdin’s Rock’n Roll Sock Hop.” When I heard his “Hey Lawdy, Miss Claudie” on Side One of the LP, three thoughts raced through my mind:
(1) Nope, that’s not the Lloyd Price song which was brilliantly covered by Elvis
(2) That guy sounds just like Louis Jordan
(3) What’s this old 1940s jump blues doing on a rock and roll album?
Not that I didn’t like “Hey Lawdy, Miss Claudie,” mind you. There was another Calvin Boze track on Side Two, “Good Time Sue” which wasn’t quite as good, but it had the same eerie resemblance to the sound of Louis Jordan. And it turned out that both tracks were from the early 1950s rather than the 1940s. Apart from a 1949 Amos Milburn opus (“Bow Wow”), the rest of the tracks on the album WERE rock and roll by the likes of Gene & Eunice, Thurston Harris, Shirley & Lee, The Jivers, Lee Allen and Little Wilbur and the Pleasers.
In the late 1980s two Calvin Boze compilation LPs appeared. “Havin’ A Ball” was issued on Moonshine. The LP had indifferent sound quality, having been obviously mastered from shellac or vinyl records. The LP on this post, “Choo, Choo’s Bringing My Baby Home” was issued by Route 66 in 1989. As with the Moonshine LP, the tracks are mastered from old records but with slightly better sound quality.
Some Calvin Boze tracks turned up in pristine sound quality on the great Billy Vera double CD compilation on Capitol, “Jumpin’ Like Mad: Cool Cats & Hip Chicks.” The second track on the first disc was the unforgettable “Safronia B” and there were three more gems on the set: “Looped,” “Blow Man Blow,” and “Keep Your Nose Out Of My Business”. How could the last track not be by Louis Jordan? Heck, even the song title was pure Louis. “Safronia B” also turned up on the terrific “The Aladdin Records Story” double CD set.
What was noticeable from these reissues was that very little was known about Calvin Boze. Indeed there seemed to be only one photograph of him, the photo that’s on the front of this Route 66 LP. “Rock and Roll Sock Hop” used a drawing of him that originally appeared on Aladdin record sleeves of the 78 era and this drawing was adapted for the illustration on the front of “Havin’ a Ball.” The most thorough notes on him were by Dave Penny for “Choo, Choo’s Bringing My Baby Home” and even at the time of the writing of these notes in 1989, Calvin’s place and date of birth were unknown.
However, time moves on and more facts about Calvin Boze have come to light. He was born in Trinity County, Texas on October 15th, 1916. He was educated in Houston and in the 1930s he played trumpet and led the Wheatley High School band which numbered Tom Archia, Russell and Illinois Jacquet, and Arnett Cobb among its members. Thereafter Calvin attended Prairie View College where he led the Collegians who included his old school band mate Tom Archia and Charles Brown.
At some time in the mid 1940s Calvin relocated to Los Angeles, possibly after his military service. His first recording was for Globe Records in LA in 1944-45 with Russell Jacquet’s band which included Teddy Edwards on alto sax, Charles Mingus on bass and Chico Hamilton on drums. Two sides were issued on Globe 105 – “Penny’s Worth of Boogie” and “Look What You’ve Done To Me.”
Calvin’s next recordings were as vocalist with Marvin Johnson and his Orchestra (in reality a seven piece jump band) on November 2nd, 1945, for the G&G label. Billed as Calvin Boaz, he sang on “Just A Dream” and “Saffronia Bee,” which he would re-record several years down the line for Aladdin.
In August 1949 Calvin signed for Aladdin Records for whom he recorded a total of seven sessions, commencing on August 15th, 1949 and ending on August 15th, 1952. The recordings, under the supervision of Maxwell Davis, showed a remarkable resemblance to the jump blues hits of Louis Jordan. Not only was Calvin’s singing voice very like that of Jordan (perhaps with the exception of a couple of the slow blues numbers), but the material itself can be described as Jordanesque. It was mostly melodic good humoured jump and jive with “Beal (sic) Street on a Saturday Night” being similar to Jordan’s “Saturday Night Fish Fry” with its description of street life and rambunctious goin’s on – in Memphis in Calvin’s song, as opposed to New Orleans in Jordan’s number. There’s lots of fun for jump blues fans here in spotting the similarities between Calvin’s songs and various Louis Jordan numbers.
As we’ve seen in a previous post, only “Safronia B” had a brief brush with the national R&B chart. However it has stood the test of time and has featured in numerous official and unofficial jive compilations and to this day remains a favourite at jumpin’ record hops. Calvin and his road band were a successful live act, with residencies and appearances in the LA area and several national tours supporting Dinah Washington. Aladdin promoted Calvin’s sides well and even featured his likeness on their record sleeves, but after his final session in August 1952, Calvin faded from the music scene.
Back in the 1980s and early 90s his disappearance from the entertainment world was seen as another aspect of the Calvin Boze mystery. In fact we now know that he took up a career in teaching.
A few years back I posted the Moonshine LP “Havin’ A Ball” and last year I received an email from a former pupil of Mr. Boze. I can’t say how long a gap there was between Calvin Boze’s final recording session in 1952 and the start of his new career as an elementary school teacher. According to our anonymous correspondent he was teaching at George Washington Carver Elementary School in the Willowbrook district of South Los Angeles by 1963.
In a short series of emails our informant has painted a picture of a dedicated and very effective teacher. Mr. Boze was able to guide his young charges through the difficult days in the aftermath of the assassination of JFK. In a lighter moment one Friday afternoon he gave his class a demonstration of how to do “The Mashed Potato” much to their noisy delight. Once a hep cat, always a hep cat.
Sadly Calvin Boze passed away in June 1970 at the comparatively young age of 53.
Further information:
The J.C. Marion website has a page “Remembering Calvin Boze” at this link:
The article has interesting information about his live appearances.
“Spyder John” has informed me that issues 9 and 10 (volume 1) of ‘Fessa John Hook’s “Dancing on the Edge Journal” contain a two part article on the origins of “Safronia B.” There is an exploration of the California big band scene of the 1930s as well as info on Marvin Johnson and Calvin Boze. See:
“Calvin Boze: the Complete Recordings, 1945 –52 (Blue Moon BMCD 6014) was issued in 2007 and is still available.
“Marvin Johnson: Jumpy Rhythm Jive, the Complete Recordings, 1946–51 (Blue Moon BMCD 6050) was issued in 2006 and is also still available at mid-price if you look around.
I’ve ordered my copies of the Blue Moon CDs from Amazon.co.uk marketplace. So much for the argument that blogs discourage CD sales.
There are twelve of Calvin Boze’s Aladdin sides on the previously recommended 4 CD collection on JSP “Rare West Coast Jump ‘n’ Jive 1945 – 1954.” Tip - search around for a reasonable price on this set. The people at Amazon.co.uk are doing it for £9.99. Don’t go paying around £20 for it!
Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon
Side One
1. Tell The Truth - The 5 Royales
2. I'll Go Crazy - James Brown & his Famous Flames
3. Driving Sideways - Freddy King
4. Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong - Albert King
5. Over The Rainbow - The Checkers
6. Cherry Wine - Little Esther
Side Two
1. I'm Tore Up - Billy Gayles
2. Goofy Dust Blues - Little Willie Littlefield
3. Tonk Game - Hank Marr
4. It Won't Be This Way Always - The King Pins
5. Teardrops On Your Letter - Hank Ballard & The Midnighters
6. Need Your Love So Bad - Little Willie John
I hope this will be the first in a series of "R&B All-Stars" posts which will present short label based compilations of 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues sides. As I believe in the old adage that "less is more", these compilations will be presented as 12 track LPs complete with front and back covers. The tracks may be few in number but I like to think that "all killer, no filler" is an apt description for these mythical 12 inchers. Every selection is a gem, says I, chosen from well-worn vinyl.
The LP covers will be based on scans of original 78 rpm and 45 rpm record sleeves supplied by Joan K and El Enmascarado. The idea for these covers originated with our photoshopper "Brian with a B" although the covers on this post are by myself, so all complaints should be directed to me!
"King R&B All-Stars" is a mix of mainly mid to late 1950s sides, most of which were originally released on Federal, a subsidiary label of King. Soul fans should be pleased by the impassioned gospel-style pleading on the sides by James Brown, The 5 Royales and The King Pins. Hank Ballard and Little Willie John get deep down in the two classic weepers "Teardrops On Your Letter" and "Need Your Love So Bad" and there's some raunchy blues guitar on the tracks by Freddy King, Albert King and Billy Gayles (with the Ike Turner band).
Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon
Side One
1. Rocket 88
2. Green Tree Boogie
3. Rock The Joint
4. Rockin' Chair On The Moon
5. Real Rock Drive
6. Crazy Man, Crazy
Side Two
1. Wat'cha Gonna Do
2. Fractured
3. Live It Up
4. Farewell, So Long, Goodbye
5. I'll Be True
6. Chattanooga Choo Choo
With thanks to Joan K for the pics and audio. A couple of years back Joan sent in a whole heap of Bill Haley vinyl rips and label scans. I’ve distilled the material down to this twelve track compilation of his Holiday and Essex sides which I hope shows his importance to the development of early rock and roll. Aside from the history, it’s good entertainment. I just can’t get “I’ll Be True To You” and “Rockin’ Chair On The Moon” out of my head!
These are rips from 1950s vinyl, so there is more than a little surface noise. But what care we, the fans of true rock and roll? But to our tale ...
He was Yodelling Bill Haley back then in the years before he became the first King of Rock and Roll. A country-music crazed kid who lived in Chester, Pennsylvania, about 15 miles from Philadelphia, he worshipped at the altar of Gene Autry the singing cowboy. By the mid 1940s Bill had his own ten gallon hat and the rest of the required cowboy costume as he embarked on a country and western career. His first full time professional gig was as singer and rhythm guitarist with Shorty Cooke’s Down Homers in early 1946. A salary dispute led to Bill and several other group members leaving to form their own four man country combo called the Range Drifters.
It ended in tears a few months later with Bill heading back home to Pennsylvania tired, broke and busted before the summer of ’46 had run its course. It was time for a career change, and Bill heeded the call of the turntable, becoming a radio disk jockey initially in New Hampshire, then Connecticut, and moving ever nearer to Chester, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
When a new station, WPWA, opened in Bill’s home town he landed the job of musical director and instituted a policy of programming “specialist” forms of music such as R&B, Hillbilly, Polka and Jazz. He formed a new musical group called the 4 Aces of Western Swing but once more this turned out to be a short lived band as Bill buckled under the strain of managing a radio station while at the same time playing the honky tonks and bars with the Aces. He disbanded the group and apparently gave up on his dream of being a musician.
The dream was revived in late 1949 when Bill was approached by pedal steel guitarist Billy Williamson and accordionist / pianist Johnny Grande with a view to forming a new group. Bill was persuaded and the three became partners in The Saddlemen. This time round there was a determined effort to succeed, with the band rehearsing every day at the WPWA studio as they worked on developing a danceable sound with a heavier than usual beat (for country music, that is.)
In 1950 bassist Al Rex was brought in as a non-partner salaried member of the Saddlemen. The band did acquire a fourth and final partner, a part-time WPWA announcer, ex-carney and pal of Colonel Tom Parker, one “Lord Jim” Ferguson who became the group's manager. These arrangements would bear bitter fruit a few years down the line. The boys recorded some sides for Atlantic, including a cover of Ruth Brown’s “Teardrops from my Eyes” but the sides remained unreleased.
Local record label owner Dave Miller approached Bill in June 1951 with a view to the Saddlemen recording a cover version of the year’s big R&B hit, “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats who, as followers of Be Bop Wino know, were really Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm with sax player Brenston on vocals and a crazily distorted electric guitar by Willie Kizart buzzing frantically throughout the disc. Of course the whole shebang was just a slightly updated rendition of the 1947 Jimmy Liggins jump blues “Cadillac Boogie” but that is by the by and may distract us from the thread of our tale.
For “Rocket 88” The four Saddlemen were augmented by electric guitarist Bob Scaltrito who provided tasty lead guitar licks over Al Rex’s slap bass, Bill’s rhythm guitar and Billy Williamson’s steel guitar. The resulting opus, complete with automobile sound effects, was released on Miller’s Holiday label and sold well enough locally. Bill’s next stab at R&B wasn’t until April 1952 when the band recorded a cover of fellow Chester PA musician Jimmy Preston’s wild “Rock The Joint.” Although the Saddlemen had released several records on Holiday after “Rocket 88” they were pure country with the more uptempo numbers such as “Green Tree Boogie” and “Sundown Boogie” being in the hillbilly boogie style.
By the time the band came to record “Rock The Joint” Al Rex had left and had been replaced by Marshall Lytle on bass. The recording featured a blistering guitar break by Danny Cedrone who would play on many of the boys’ subsequent recordings. As he was leader of his own group, The Esquire Boys, Danny never became a permanent member of the Saddlemen. “Rock The Joint,” released on another Dave Miller label, Essex, was even more successful than “Rocket 88” and although it failed to chart nationally it sold strongly in several territories in the States.
“Rock The Joint” was the B-side of the disc, the A-side being a Hank Williams rip off called “Icy Heart.” It was the rocker that sold, and this was as strong an indication as Bill could get that the way ahead lay down the road of heavily R&B tinged music rather than country. The next issue on Essex in August 1952, “Dance With A Dolly” b/w “Rockin’ Chair On The Moon” was the group’s last release as the Saddlemen. On their November 1952 release, “Stop Beatin’ Around The Mulberry Bush” b/w “Real Rock Drive,” they were billed as Bill Haley with Haley’s Comets. On these sides session drummer Billy Gussack was brought in as the band’s sound moved further away from country. He would play on most of the subsequent Essex records although he didn’t play with the band on the road.
It all came together on their next release, “Crazy Man, Crazy” which is a strong candidate for the title of the “first rock and roll record.” Well we can argue about that all day, but “Crazy Man, Crazy” with its teen hep talk title and shouted chorus of “Go! Go! Go, Everybody!” is most definitely rock and roll. It reached number 12 in the Billboard pop chart in May / June 1953. “One for the Money, two for the show, three to get ready, and here I go!” shouted Bill on the intro to the B-side, “Wat’cha Gonna Do” which was another good rocker.
The next release on Essex, in July 1953, was a weaker effort with an annoying “nursery rhyme” rocker “Pat-a-Cake” backed with a not-so-good original “Fractured.”
The Comets release in October 1953 was a considerable improvement – “Live It Up” b/w “Farewell, So Long, Goodbye.” On these numbers baritone sax player Tony Lance provided strategic honking blasts. He was also on the December release of a good cover version of the Faye Adams R&B stomper “I’ll Be True To You.” The B-side was another rock and roll nursery rhyme, “Ten Little Indians.” God help us. It was on this record that the band was first billed as Bill Haley and His Comets.
The final release on Essex was in March 1954. It had a so-so version of the old Glenn Miller favourite, “Chattanooga Choo Choo” while the reverse side “Straight Jacket” was notable for having Joey d’Ambrosio on tenor sax as the band chanted the song title in a manner similar to the Big Jay McNeely number “Mule Milk.” Billboard gave it an optimistic review: “The younger set could go for this novelty with its crazy lyric: two words repeated hundreds of times before the end is reached.” They didn’t go for it. The success of “Crazy Man, Crazy” was now but a memory. Something new was needed to revive the band’s chart career. Dave Miller let the Essex contract lapse and major label Decca moved in for the Comets. Would this move return our heroes to the charts? Stay tuned for further posts on Bill Haley and His Comets!
Ripped from ‘50s vinyl at 192 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon
1. Rocket 88
2. Green Tree Boogie
3. Rock The Joint
4. Rockin' Chair On The Moon
5. Real Rock Drive
6. Crazy Man, Crazy
7. Wat'cha Gonna Do
8. Fractured
9. Live It Up
10. Farewell, So Long, Goodbye
11. I'll Be True
12. Chattanooga Choo Choo
Recommended listening:
For Dancers Only (Rev-Ola CR Rev 95). This is probably the most accessible and affordable comp of Bill’s Holiday, Essex and early Decca sides. 25 tracks from “Rocket 88” to “Dim Dim The Lights” with liner notes by Dave Penny. Midprice and easily available in the UK.
From Western Swing to Rock (Properbox 118). 4 CD set charting Bill’s progress from hillbilly yodeller to rock ‘n’ roll star. Includes some Jodimars tracks.
The Real Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll (Bear Family – Rollercoaster). Astonishingly thorough 5 CD exploration of Bill’s early career with all sorts of rarities (including those Atlantic sides.) Also astonishingly expensive. The Rollercoaster label released comps of Bill’s Holiday and Essex sides years before any other reissue company in the UK. Their definitive “Rock The Joint” collection is still available as a 22 track CD.
Recommended Reading:
“Rock Around The Clock: the record that started the rock revolution!” by Jim Dawson. Backbeat Books, 2005. Entertaining and detailed account of Bill’s rise to rock and roll fame. Loads of great background info. Every fan of 50s rock and R&B should have this book.
Chris Gardner’s Bill Haley Database is the web site for all the facts on Bill’s recordings. Where, when and who. The product of years of hard work.
And to complete this post, here’s a selection of Bill Haley EPs released on Essex, probably around 1954. The resemblance to the posted LP cover is of course purely coincidental. Many thanks to Joan for making this post possible.
Side One
1. Cotton Tail - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
2. Flying Home No 2 - Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra
3. Honeysuckle Rose - Ben Webster
4. Blowing The Blues Away - Billy Eckstine & His Orchestra
5. Lunatic - John Hardee
6. IQ Blues - Ike Quebec
Side Two
1. Riffin' At 24th Street - Illinois Jacquet
2. I'm Confessin' - Lester Young
3. The Spider - Joe Morris
4. Long Tall Dexter - Dexter Gordon
5. Hot In Harlem - Tiny Grimes
6. Cole Slaw - Frank Culley
My thanks to the anonymous donor who sent in this comp. It’s a good collection of 1940s tenor sax sides, beginning with some big band swing, and ending with some jazzy R&B combos via detours into boppish small group jazz. However you want to label it, it makes for some mighty fine listening. In fact never mind the label thing, just call it good music.
The sleeve notes are pretty uninformative as you would expect from a bootleg. I’ve looked up the recording details of all the tracks on the LP and listed them at the end of the post. Ben Webster is the soloist on “Cottontail,” Arnett Cobb is on “Flying Home No. 2” and Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons serve up an early example of a tenor sax “chase” on “Blowing The Blues Away.”
On Side Two, Johnny Griffin delivers the most frantic performance of the set on “The Spider” while Red Prysock is the tenor man on “Hot in Harlem.” Ike Quebec’s “I.Q. Blues” on Savoy is really just another version of “Blue Harlem” which he had previously recorded for Blue Note in July 1944. I think I actually prefer the Savoy version for its gorgeous piano break by Johnny Guarnieri. The Blue Note original does have some nice guitar from Tiny Grimes, though.
Listen to “Blue Harlem” and “I.Q. Blues” here:
As for the origins of this comp – there is no label number on the front or back cover, although the back cover does bear the legend “Bop u Rhythm Schallplatten, Saarland.” The sleeve notes are written pseudonymously and claim to date from 1952. I think this is probably a bootleg of a bootleg, or a reissue of an album which originally appeared in the mid to late 1950s on the legendary Bop-Rhythm label. I’m sure that the original release would have had a different front cover from the one which was sent to me. It doesn’t look like a 1950s style cover at all.
Bop-Rhythm was a strictly “underground” label whose issues of jazz, R&B and even some early rock and roll were much coveted by hopheads and beatniks around Europe. Their operation was based in the Saarland which for much of the 1950s was detached from the German Federal Republic and thus provided a haven for a motley group of jazz fanatics and dope fiends who were zealous spreaders of the gospel of groove. They took advantage of the Saarland’s unique status of being beyond the reach of German civil law and set up a record pressing plant from which they distributed all kinds of bopmungous vinyl goodies to adjacent countries. The music was sourced from records provided by American service personnel based in West Germany.
When the Saarland was incorporated into West Germany in 1957, Bop-Rhythm Records was doomed, although they managed to keep going until 1960 when their pressing plant (situated in the basement of a house of ill repute in Fraulautern, Saarlouis) was raided by an Interpol organised task force of police from three different countries – France, Germany and Belgium – plus a contingent of US Military Police. I hope that at the last, the stoned jazzers of Bop-Rhythm went down swinging as the forces of law and order stormed into their HQ.
Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon
1. Cotton Tail - Duke Ellington & His Famous Orchestra
Recorded in Hollywood CA, 4th May, 1940. Released on Victor 26610
Personnel: Rex Stewart (cnt) Cootie Williams, Wallace Jones (tp) Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol, Lawrence Brown (tb) Barney Bigard (cl,ts) Johnny Hodges (as,sop) Otto Hardwick (as, bassax) Ben Webster (ts) Harry Carney (bar,as,cl) Duke Ellington (p) Fred Guy (g) Jimmy Blanton (b) Sonny Greer (d )
2. Flying Home No 2 - Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra
Recorded in New York City, 2nd March, 1944. Released on Decca.
Personnel: Cat Anderson, Lamar Wright Jr., Roy McCoy (tp) Joe Morris (tp,arr) Al Hayse, Michael "Booty" Wood, Fred Beckett (tb) Earl Bostic, Gus Evans (as) Al Sears, Arnett Cobb (ts) Charlie Fowlkes (bar) Lionel Hampton (vib,p) Milt Buckner (p) Eric Miller (g) Vernon King (b) Fred Radcliffe (d)
3. Honeysuckle Rose – The Ben Webster Quartet
Recorded in New York City, 17th April, 1944. Released on Savoy 506.
Personnel: Ben Webster (ts) Johnny Guarnieri (p) Oscar Pettiford (b) David Booth (d)
4. Blowing The Blues Away - Billy Eckstine & His Orchestra
Recorded in New York City, 5th September, 1944. Released on Audiolab.
Personnel: Dizzy Gillespie, Shorty McConnell, Gail Brockman, Boonie Hazel (tp) Gerald Valentine, Taswell Baird, Howard Scott, Chips Outcalt (tb) John Jackson, Bill Frazier (as) Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons (ts) Leo Parker (bar) John Malachi (p) Connie Wainwright (g) Tommy Potter (b) Art Blakey (d) Billy Eckstine (vcl)
5. Lunatic – The John Hardee Quintet
Recorded in New York City, November, 1947. Released on Savoy 703.
Personnel: Joe Jordan (tp) John Hardee (ts) Billy Kyle (p) John Simmons (b) Cozy Cole (d)
6. I.Q. Blues – The Ike Quebec All Stars
Recorded in New York City, 7th August, 1945. Released on Savoy 570.
Personnel: Ike Quebec (ts) Johnny Guarnieri (p) Bill De Arango (g) Milt Hinton (b) J.C. Heard (d)
7. Riffin' At 24th Street - Illinois Jacquet & His Orchestra
Recorded in New York City, 18th December, 1947. Released on Victor 20-2702.
Personnel: Joe Newman (tp) Russell Jacquet (tp) Jay Jay Johnson (tb) Illinois Jacquet (ts) Leo Parker (bar) Sir Charles Thompson (p) John Collins (g) Al Lucas (b) Shadow Wilson (d)
8. I'm Confessin' - Lester Young & His Band
Recorded in New York City, 2nd April, 1947. Released on Aladdin 212.
Personnel: Shorty McConnell (tp-1) Lester Young (ts) Argonne Thornton (p) Nasir Barakaat (g) Rodney Richardson (b) Lyndell Marshall (d)
9. The Spider - Joe Morris & His Orchestra
Recorded in New York City, 23rd December, 1947. Released on Atlantic 859.
Personnel: Joe Morris (tp) Johnny Griffin (ts) Bill McLemore (bar) Wilmus Reeves (p) George Freeman (g) Emmett Dailey (b) Leroy Jackson (d)
10. Long Tall Dexter – The Dexter Gordon Quintet
Recorded in New York City, 29th January, 1946. Released on Savoy 603.
Personnel: Leonard Hawkins (tp) Dexter Gordon (ts) Bud Powell (p) Curly Russell (b) Max Roach (d)
11. Hot In Harlem – The Tiny Grimes Quintet
Recorded in Cleveland, 1st May, 1948. Released on Atlantic 869.
Personnel: Red Prysock (ts) Jimmy Saunders (p) Tiny Grimes (g) Ike Isaacs (b) Jerry Potter (d)
12. Cole Slaw - Frank “Floorshow” Culley
Recorded in New York City, 17th January, 1949. Released on Atlantic 874.
Personnel: Frank Culley (ts) Harry Van Walls (p) Tiny Grimes (g) unknown b and d.
Recorded on January 13th, 1950, in Los Angeles. Personnel include Calvin Boze (trumpet and vocal), Maxwell Davis (tenor sax), and possibly Marshall Royal (alto sax), Don Wilkerson (tenor sax) and Willard McDaniel (piano).
Listen to “Safronia B” here:
Released on Aladdin 3055, b/w “Angel City Blues” in May, 1950. In Billboard, 10th June 1950, the record reached number nine in the most played juke box rhythm & blues records chart. It failed to appear in the record sales chart. By the following week “Safronia B” had dropped out of the juke box chart. This was in fact the only chart appearance by any Calvin Boze recording.
Scan courtesy Joan K
Nevertheless, it’s a fine catchy jump blues which has stood the test of time. It was included in two of the best CD compilations of Aladdin material: “The Aladdin Records Story” and “Jumpin’ Like Mad – Cool Cats & Hip Chicks.” It also appeared on the two vinyl Calvin Boze collections – “Havin’ A Ball” and “Choo Choo’s Bringing My Baby Home.”
2 CD comp presented as a mini-78 rpm album
Well worn copy of classic 2CD set compiled by Billy Vera
However, this wasn’t the first version of “Safronia B” recorded by Calvin. In 1946 he sang on “Saffronia Bee” with the Marvin Johnson Orchestra on the small G&G label. He was billed as “Calvin Boaz” on the disc. The song itself is in some ways a throwback to the swing era with phrases like “I’se a muggin’” and “Shoot the liquor to me John boy,” both of which refer to 1930’s hits. The 1950 Aladdin version is very much a Louis Jordan style jump blues with a romping backing arranged by Maxwell Davis who manages to get a sly quote from “Buttons and Bows” into his sax break.
Aladdin's big seller - Amos Milburn gets promotion in Billboard, June 1950
For decades Calvin Boze remained a somewhat mysterious figure to fans of jump blues, with the date and place of his birth being unknown and his musical career suddenly stopping in 1952. A lot more is now known about his background and you’ll be able to catch up on more about Calvin in a soon-to-appear post. Stay tuned!
So what else was happening in the R&B charts in June, 1950? “Safronia B” may have had only the most fleeting appearance amongst the platters that mattered back then, but I’ve compiled a little playlist based on the real “stayers” in the R&B charts that month.
First up is the top selling R&B record of 1950 – “Pink Champagne” by Joe Liggins on Specialty Records. Easily the top selling R&B act of the year was the Johnny Otis Revue on Savoy, thanks to his sensational female vocalist Little Esther. Three of her smashes are in the June playlist – “Double Crossing Blues,” on which she was accompanied by The Robins, and “Cupid’s Boogie” and “Mistrustin’ Blues,” both of which were duets with Mel Walker.
Scan courtesy Joan K
There was more hot jump action from Tiny Bradshaw on King with “Well Oh Well” and two classic blues tracks also sold very well at this time – Lowell Fulson (with the Lloyd Glenn band) on Swing Time with “Every Day I Have The Blues” and Roy Brown’s “Hard Luck Blues” on De Luxe which crashed straight into the charts at number six towards the end of the month. Of interest to those of us who like jazz flavoured R&B is an advert in Billboard from June 1950 in which Prestige Records attempt to market jazz sides as rhythm and blues. Among the discs billed as “America’s newest - hottest rhythm - blues records” are sides by James Moody, Stan Getz, Sonny Stitt, Gene Ammons and Wardell Gray.
Anyway whether you’re an R&B fan or a jazzer, or preferably both at the same time, here’s the playlist for June 1950. Keep checking back for more on Calvin Boze!
Thanks to the good people who have contributed to Be Bop Wino. Many choose to remain anonymous, but I hope to namecheck pseudonymous contributors HERE.
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Dedicated to REAL R&B, Rock'n'Roll, Blues and Jazz
This is a site dedicated to rockin' 1940s and 1950s music, ripped from vinyl. Some cuts are a bit on the rough side. If you're looking for audio perfection you're on the wrong site baby!
I hope to promote interest in rhythm and blues, rock and roll, bebop, doowop, boogie, blues, swing and all that jazz. I aim to entertain and perhaps educate too. I also hope you can educate me by commenting on my posts. If you like what you hear on this site please buy this kind of music. There are many reasonably priced reissues available from web dealers or perhaps from your local record shop, if it still exists. These reissues will be in far better sound quality than the vinyl rips on this site and they will usually have more up to date liner notes and info, so go out and splash a little cash now and again. Help keep those reissue labels going in these difficult times.
No in-print CDs will be posted here. In fact no CDs will be posted here. I will occasionally list recommended purchases to help you hear more from artists featured on the blog.
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