Down Home Blues: Miami, Atlanta & The South Eastern States – Blues In The Alley

Featuring Richard Armstrong, Willie (W.C.) Baker, Willie Brown, John Bullard, Ray Charles, Earl Hooker, Tommy Malone, Jerry McCain, Poor Jim, Jimmy Wilson and many more

Wienerworld is proud and excited to present to you the fifth box set in our unmissable Down Home Blues series, exploring the unique regions of the black American blues scene.

Described by Vintage Guitar magazine as “a voyage into a wondrous, unsung corner of American Blues”, Blues In The Alley features 29 artists that were influential in continuing and developing the traditions of the blues in the southeast. This release includes early down home blues recordings from none other than Ray Charles, before his climb to fame with his bigger sounding jazz-tinged blues. Alongside this, there are early recordings from Earl Hooker and Jerry McCain, two exceptionally gifted musicians who were always left from the cusp of success. Don’t forget to check out the first recordings from Frank Edwards, who captivated audiences with his rack-mounted harmonica guitar one man band style, from the 1940s right up to his last years of performing and recording in 2003.

Down Home Blues: Miami, Atlanta & The South Eastern States is a three CD set, packaged in a deluxe digipak with outer slipcase, featuring 83 tracks, all of them superbly remastered. This collection has been collated thanks to the generous help of blues collectors from both sides of the Atlantic, with rare recordings that are for the first time made available for listening via today’s compact disc medium.

An outstanding 78-page book, featuring a 15,000-word essay by blues historian Chris Bentley, accompanies the release. Rare period photographs illustrate the essay throughout with a complete sessionography and extensive gallery of original 78 and 45 record labels.

Blues In The Alley is a close companion to Wienerworld’s Tough Enough collection (WNRCD5104), with both sets dovetailing the post-war blues from America’s north and southeastern states. The southeastern states were known as slow starters in having record companies to start up to record, produce and distribute the artistes that were performing on their own doorsteps after the Second World War.

The best chance for any blues artistes in this region, looking to record, was to get up to New York for any opportunity to arise. By 1950 things certainly were different, and new recording companies who had taken the time and trouble to record such fine music had made up for a lot of lost time. Blues In The Alley captivates the efforts of those producers who gambled on their feel for the music – and their pockets to produce sounds from unadulterated country blues to the hard-edged electric tough blues sounds similar to that then being recorded in Chicago and Detroit.

CD1
1. SWEET MAN BLUES
Frank Edwards
2. THREE WOMAN BLUES
Frank Edwards
3. BROWN SKIN WOMAN *
Curley Weaver
4. SHE DON’T TREAT ME GOOD NO MORE *
Curley Weaver
5. I KEEP ON DRINKIN’ *
Curley Weaver
6. BABY, YOU DON’T MEAN ME NO GOOD *
David Wylie
7. BABY, YOU’RE GONNA CHANGE MY MIND *
David Wylie
8. TERRAPLANE BLUES
Frank Edwards
9. WE GOT TO GET TOGETHER
Frank Edwards
10. SPOTS BOOGIE
Poor Jim
11. BRAND NEW WOMAN
Poor Jim
12. BABY PLEASE DON’T GO *
John Lee
13. SLAPPIN’ THE BOOGIE
John Lee
14. LOVE MY BABY *
Frank Edwards
15. GOTTA GET TOGETHER *
Frank Edwards
16. SHE FOOLED ME
Poor Jim
17. RUBBER BALL BLUES
Poor Jim
18. THE MONKEY SONG
Marylin Scott (Marylyn Scott)
19. JOHN HENRY BOOGIE
John Ferguson
20. NO GOOD WOMAN BLUES
Rudy Greene
21. FLORIDA BLUES
Rudy Greene
22. GENE NOBLES BOOGIE – INSTRUMENTAL
Richard Armstrong
23. GENE NOBLES BLUES – INSTRUMENTAL
Richard Armstrong
24. BEER BOTTLE BOOGIE
Marylin Scott (Marylyn Scott)
25. UNEASY BLUES
Marylin Scott (Marylyn Scott)
26. AIN’T I GOT YOU
John Bullard
27. BONUS BLUES
John Bullard

Running Time: 77 minutes

CD2
1. GUITAR BLUES – INSTRUMENTAL
Ray Charles
2. WHY DID YOU GO
Ray Charles
3. SHAKE ‘EM UP – INSTRUMENTAL *
Earl Hooker
4. RACE TRACK – INSTRUMENTAL
Earl Hooker
5. TRAIN PORTER BLUES
Charlie Harding
6. I’M A MAN OF EXPERIENCE
Charlie Harding
7. HELP ME TO FIND MY RIGHT MIND
John Bullard
8. WESTERN UNION BLUES
John Bullard
9. SPOILED HAMBONE BLUES
John Bullard
10. SKIN TO SKIN
Willie Baker (C. B. Baker)
11. GOIN’ BACK HOME
Willie Baker (C. B. Baker)
12. MOONRISE BLUES – INSTRUMENTAL
Charlie Harding
13. PEACH TREE BOOGIE – INSTRUMENTAL
Charlie Harding
14. HAPPY BLUES – INSTRUMENTAL *
Earl Hooker
15. BLUE GUITAR BLUES – INSTRUMENTAL
Earl Hooker
16. I WENT BACK HOME
Willie Baker (W. C. Baker)
17. KENNY’S HOP – INSTRUMENTAL
Willie Baker (W. C. Baker)
18. GOING’ BACK HOME TODAY
Willie Baker (W. C. Baker)
19. MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
Jerry McCain
20. CRAZY ‘BOUT THAT MESS
Jerry McCain
21. FALL GUY
Jerry McCain
22. I’M WADING IN DEEP WATER
Tommy Malone
23. IT’S BEEN SO LONG BABY
Tommy Malone
24. WHISKEY, OL’ WHISKEY
Bill Reese
25. I GOTTA FIND MY BABY
Bill Reese
26. ALLEY BLUES
Jimmy Wilson
27. POOR, POOR LOVER
Jimmy Wilson
28. ALLEY BLUES – ALTERNATE *
Jimmy Wilson

Running Time: 76 minutes

CD3
1. SWEET ANGEL
Earl Hooker
2. AFTER HOURS – INSTRUMENTAL *
Earl Hooker
3. I’VE FOUND OUT
Jimmy Wilson
4. BLUES IN THE ALLEY
Jimmy Wilson
5. A FOOL NO MORE
Eddie Hope
6. LOST CHILD
Eddie Hope
7. YOU’RE MINE
Robert Willis
8. NEVER LET ME GO
Robert Willis
9. REDSTONE JOHN
Shorty Long
10. ALICE MAE BLUES
Sonny Boy Williams
11. WIGGLE IT BABY
Crook Jr
12. PLEASE BELIEVE ME DARLING
Crook Jr
13. OH BABY
Rudy Greene
14. PINEY BROWN BLUES
Dan Harrison
15. STRAIGHTEN UP JUICE HEAD
Dan Harrison
16. MAY’S SHUFFLE
Johnny Shaw
17. ANY MAY
Johnny Shaw
18. CHICKEN SHACK BOOGIE
Clifford King
19. WANT TO JUMP WITH YOU BABY
Clifford King
20. SWEET MAN BLUES
Leroy Dallas
21. SHE CAUGHT THE M & O
Leroy Dallas
22. KOKOMO ME BABY
Danny Boy Thomas
23. WILD WOMEN
Danny Boy Thomas
24. SHE’S TOUGH
Jerry McCain
25. STEADY – INSTRUMENTAL
Jerry McCain
26. CUT IT OUT
Willie Brown
27. DO IT LIKE THAT – INSTRUMENTAL
Willie Brown
28. TELL ME WHY LOVE DON’T LAST
Willie Brown

Running Time: 77 minutes

KEY
* Track originally not issued, unavailable elsewhere