CD Review: Various Artists, The OKeh Blues Story

Highly recommended

OKeh Records has a long and storied history. It was started as an all-genre label in 1918, but when Mamie Smith's “Crazy Blues” became a surprise hit in 1920, they decided to specialize in jazz and blues. From then until about 1932, it was one of the three major blues labels (along with Paramount and Columbia). Major jazz artists that recorded for OKeh included Louis Armstriong and Duke Ellington. The label was revived between 1940 and 1946, and later in 1951 as an R&B label. The majority of the recordings on this blues compilation are from the '20s, with a few from the early '40s.

The set is a bargain. It's a 2-CD package with 50 songs and over 2½ hours of music. I paid less than $10 for it. It was produced in England, where copyrights expire after 50 years. I don't see any reason to feel guilty about buying a “bootleg,” since there is little chance that OKeh will release this material in the U. S.

During the '20s, classic female blues singers with either piano or small jazz band accompaniment were quite popular. This compilation differs from most early blues sets in the relatively high number (18 out of 50) of cuts by women, some of which are seldom heard. In addition to Mamie's Smith's ground-breaking release, there are songs by Alberta Hunter, Victoria Spivey, Sippie Wallace, and many lesser-known names. Some great instrumental solos had me reaching for my discography. (The liner notes are minimal.) Bertha “Chippie” Hill's “Pratt City Blues” features amazing trumpet breaks by Louis Armstrong; Margaret Johnson is backed by Sidney Bechet on soprano sax, and Dora Carr has piano accompaniment by Cow Cow Davenport.

As the '20s progressed, country bluesmen and guitarists gradually supplanted women as fan favorites. The majority of these 50 songs are country blues, and OKeh recorded some of the very best. Included are classic recordings by Big Bill Broonzy, Blind Boy Fuller, Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lonnie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, Memphis Minnie, Roosevelt Sykes and Bukka White. There are also early recordings by artists who went on to became more popular after World War II, such as Champion Jack Dupree, Memphis Slim, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee and Big Walter Horton.

There are great instrumentals—a whooping harmonica solo by Terry, and a groundbreaking slide guitar solo by Sylvester Weaver. White guitarist Eddie Lang's “Blue Blood Blues,” accompanied by Lonnie Johnson and an unknown trumpeter, is a favorite of mine. Of historical interest is a clunky version of “St. Louis Blues” by W. C. Handy's Orchestra. String and jug bands are represented by the Mississippi Sheiks (“Sitting on Top of the World”) and the Birmingham Jug Band (“Giving It Away”), respectively.

All artists are limited to one song apiece, so you get quite a variety of performers. You probably won't care for all of them. Some of the early recordings are fairly primitive. The sound quality is good considering their age, but the combination of low fidelity and 78 rpm surface noise can be off-putting. Some of the songs are corny and sound as much like country as blues. If I've heard a man play the stovepipe once, that's probably enough for my lifetime.

Whether this is an essential purchase for you may depend on how many other country blues compilations you have. This makes a great starter set. I have about half of these songs on other CDs, but I was happy to get the rest, given the reasonable price.

Disc 1: Mamie Smith, Crazy Blues; Blind Lemon Jefferson, Black Snake Moan; Sonny Terry, Blowin' the Blues; Lonnie Johnson, Wrong Woman Blues; Roosevelt Sykes, .44 Blues; Georgia Bill (Blind Willie McTell), Scary Day Blues; Champion Jack Dupree, Warehouse Man Blues; Victoria Spivey, T. B. Blues; Sylvester Weaver, Guitar Rag; Martha Copeland, Penetrating Blues; Texas Alexander, Levee Camp Moan Blues; Irene Scruggs, Sorrow Valley Blues; Little Hat Jones, Roiled From Side to Side Blues; Eva Taylor, Irresistible Blues; Snitcher Roberts, Low Meaning Blues; Rosa Henderson, Every Woman's Blues; Uncle Bud Walker, Stand Up Suitcase Blues; Alberta Hunter, Your Jelly Roll is Good; Charlie McCoy (with Bo Carter), That Lonesome Train Took My Baby Away; Sippie Wallace, Walkin' Talkin' Blues; Peter Chatman (Memphis Slim), Miss Ora Lee Blues; Papa Freddie (Spruill), Muddy Water Blues; Peter Cleighton (Doctor Clayton), Something is Going On Wrong; Hambone Willie Newborn, Roll and Tumble Blues; The Mississippi Sheiks, Sittin' on Top of the World. (76 min.)

Disc 2: Mississippi John Hurt, Stack o' Lee Blues; Big Bill Broonzy, When I Been Drinkin'; Brownie McGhee, Double Trouble; Bertha “Chippie” Hill, Pratt City Blues; Mississippi Bracey, You Scolded Me and Drove Me From Your Door; Blind Boy Fuller, When You Are Gone; Memphis Minnie, Me and My Chauffeur Blues; W. C. Handy, St. Louis Blues; The Birmingham Jug Band, Giving It Away; Dora Carr, Cow Cow Blues; Rosetta Crawford, Lonesome Woman's Blues; Esther Bigeou, Panama Limited Blues; Stovepipe No. 1 and David Crockett, A Woman Gets Tired of One Man All the Time; Blind Willie Dunn's (Eddie Lang) Gin Bottle Four, Blue Blood Blues; Blues Birdhead, Mean Low Blues; Sara Martin, Achin' Hearted Blues; Macon Ed and Tampa Joe, Tickle Britches; Gladys Bentley, Worried Blues; Bo Carter, Ants in My Pants; Ada Brown, Evil Mama Blues; Little Buddy Doyle (with Big Walter Horton), Hard Scufflin' Blues; Carrie Edwards, Fattening Frogs For Snakes; Sloppy Henry, Canned Heat; Margaret Johnson, If I Let You Get Away With It Once, You'll Do It All of the Time; Bukka White, Parchman Farm Blues. (75 min.)

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