Little Joe Blue - Blue And The Blues Are Back

Size: 166 MB
Time: 29:16
File: Flac
Released: 1978
Styles: Blues
Art: Front, back

1. Doing Some Serious Living (4:15)
2. I Got You On My Mind (3:15)
3. Who's The Fool (5:09)
4. Been Nowhere And Don't Care (2:46)
5. Lonesome Feeling (3:24)
6. Wasn't Born Yesterday (3:00)
7. Shopping Instead (4:04)
8. You Got To Come To Me (3:23)

The clincher that puts Little Joe Blue a notch above most B.B. King imitators is the fact that he took the former’s mannerisms and affectations and added a few twists of his own. This made him an extremely emotive original, aside from the fact that he possessed the skills to write uniquely infectious lyrics like the anguished “Dirty work going on” (Movin 1966), the urgent “Standing on the threshold” (Jewel 1968) and the poetic “Give me an hour in your garden” (Miles Ahead 1974). He was born Joseph Valery Jnr. in Vicksburg, Miss. on September 23, 1934 to Abraham Fields and Willie Hodges. He was raised across the Mississippi River in Tallulah, La. through the 1940s then moved to Detroit. As a youngster in Tallulah, Joseph came to be called “Little Joe Blue” because he constantly played Eugene Field’s traditional “Little boy blue” on his harmonica. His first encounters with the blues were in Vicksburg at the Green Lantern dance hall where he snuck around the back and peeked in the door. Jimmy Liggins and T-Bone Walker, among others, played there. From 1951-53 he served in the U.S. Army and was posted out to the Korean front. With a natural propensity to use his hands, he worked on auto assembly lines before he started (at the urging of his hero B.B. King) entering talent shows and sit-in gigs with local bands as a stand-up singer. One of these gigs involved the great “Bobo” Jenkins from Forkland, Alabama. Around 1958 he formed the Midnighters and worked local niteries like the Apex. After touring clubs and bars in the Reno, Nevada area he moved out to California where he settled in Los Angeles. Now and then he would work clubs like the Tropicana and Skylock.

Blue And The Blues Are Back FLAC (vinyl)

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Little Joe Blue, Eddie Burns - Chicago Blues Festival '86

Size: 156,3 MB
Time: 67:30
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1993
Styles: Blues
Art: Full

1. Dirty Work Goin' On (4:52)
2. You're Breaking My Heart (4:47)
3. Me And My Guitar (3:35)
4. If You Let Me Love You (5:34)
5. Give Me One Hour In Your Garden (2:42)
6. Big Leg Woman (2:50)
7. You Can Help Me If You Want To (4:04)
8. She Did It Again (5:45)
9. Lonesome Feeling (4:46)
10. I Dig You Baby (5:31)
11. In The State Highway (3:38)
12. You Got To Love Me With Feeling (5:35)
13. New Inflation Blues (6:17)
14. This Old House (3:59)
15. Wee Baby Blues (3:28)

Little Joe Blue (tracks 1-8): Little Joe Blue, born Joseph Valery, Jr., was a relatively late starter as a blues artist. Born in Mississippi in 1934, his musical sensibilities were heavily influenced by the work of Louis Jordan, Joe Liggins, and B.B. King, which he encountered from his teens into his 20s. He didn't turn to music as a profession until the late '50s, when he was well into his twenties, forming his band the Midnighters in Detroit at the end of the decade. By the early '60s, Valery had moved to Reno, Nevada, where he began recording as an adjunct to his performances in local clubs before moving on to Los Angeles. He recorded for various labels, including Kent and Chess' Checker Records division during the early to mid-'60s, and never entirely escaped the criticism that he was a B.B. King imitator, which dogged him right into the '80s.

The style that King popularized also happened to suit Valery, however, and he gained some credibility in 1966 when he racked up a modest hit in 1966 with the song "Dirty Work Is Going On," which has since become a blues standard. He had extended stints with Jewel Records and Chess from the late '60s into the early '70s, and recorded until the end of the '80s. Valery performed throughout the south, and later Texas and California, during that decade, and later toured Europe, including performances as part of the International Jazz Fest during the '80s. There is currently one CD of his work in print, the Evejim disc Little Joe Blue's Greatest Hits, a reissue of two LPs, I'm Doing Alright and Dirty Work Going On, that he cut in the '80s. His "Standing on the Threshold," featuring a powerful vocal performance and some beautifully soaring horns behind some lean, mean guitar and piano, also appears on Jewel Spotlights the Blues, Vol. 1. /Biography by Bruce Eder, AllMusic

Eddie 'Guitar' Burns (tracks 9-15): Detroit boasted a vibrant blues scene during the postwar era, headed by John Lee Hooker and prominently featuring Eddie Burns, who hit the Motor City in 1948 and musically flourished there. While still in Mississippi, Burns picked up his early blues training from the 78s of Sonny Boy Williamson, Tommy McClennan, and Big Bill Broonzy. When he hit Detroit, Burns was exclusively a harp player. He cut "Notoriety Woman," his first single for Holiday in 1948, with partner John T. Smith on guitar. Burns added guitar to his personal arsenal the next year, cutting sessions with Hooker. Burns' own discography was slim but select - he cut singles for DeLuxe in 1952 ("Hello Miss Jessie Lee"), Checker in 1954 ("Biscuit Baking Mama"), JVB, and Chess in 1957 ("Treat Me Like I Treat You").

In 1961, Burns waxed the slashing "Orange Driver" and several more R&B-slanted sides for Harvey Fuqua's Harvey Records. Later, Burns made a fine album for Blue Suit Records, Detroit, that showed his versatility on two instruments to good advantage. Incidentally, blues talent runs in the Burns family: brother Jimmy is a blues-soul performer based in Chicago, with his own impressive discography stretching back to the '60s. /Biography by Bill Dahl, AllMusic

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Little Joe Blue - The Very Best Of Little Joe Blue (Expanded Edition)

Year: 2012
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:50
Size: 103,1 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Full

1. Standing On The Threshold (2:44)
2. Don't Stop Loving Me (2:41)
3. Shakin' Hands With The Judge (3:46)
4. If There's A Better Way (3:15)
5. Southern Country Boy (3:15)
6. Peaceful Man (2:19)
7. Gonna Walk On (3:47)
8. Right There Where You Left It (2:40)
9. My Tomorrow (3:41)
10. Your Hands May Be Tied (But Your Heart's Got To Be Free) (4:05)
11. I'm Not Your First Love (2:51)
12. Encourage Me Baby (3:24)
13. Little Joe Blue (3:04)
14. Sometime Tomorrow (3:09)

Throughout his estimable career, the identity of Little Joe Blue's primary role model was never in doubt. From the beginning of Joe's days on wax to the end, he was a B.B. King disciple. But the Los Angeles-based bluesman brought something of his own to the table too, resulting in a string of satisfying singles and stellar LPs that made him a drawing card in his own right.

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Little Joe Blue - Little Joe Blue's Greatest Hits

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:19
Size: 135.8 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[4:11] 1. Big Leg Woman
[4:04] 2. Dirty Work Going On
[4:17] 3. Don't Start Me To Talking
[4:10] 4. Encourage Me Baby
[3:17] 5. Just Your Fool
[3:48] 6. Stop Wasting My Time Don't Waste My Time
[3:07] 7. Let Me Love You
[3:56] 8. How Could You Do It To Me
[4:15] 9. I'm Doing All Right Again
[3:45] 10. As Mean As I've Been Good (Double Dealing)
[3:07] 11. Who
[3:29] 12. I'm Not Blind
[3:28] 13. Me And My Woman
[3:41] 14. Devil In Disguise
[3:04] 15. My Tomorrow
[3:32] 16. You Keep My Nose To The Grinding Stone

Tracks 1-8 are taken from 'Dirty Work Going On', Tracks 9-16 are taken from 'I'm Doing All Right Again'.

This greatest hits collections is phenomenal for anyone who loves classic horn-based Chicago blues. Joe is in his prime here and he really delivers! Great blues guitar licks, fantastic lyrics, and beautiful brass fill this collection. With a full back up band, every tune sparkles; no filler here! Highly recommended for Chicago blues lovers.

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Little Joe Blue - Dirty Work Goin' On

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:34
Size: 122.6 MB
Styles: Blues, Funk, Soul
Year: 1987/2005
Art: Front

[4:51] 1. Dirty Work Goin' On
[3:35] 2. Me And My Guitar
[5:34] 3. If You Let Me Love You
[4:48] 4. You're Breaking My Heart
[2:41] 5. Give Me One hour In Your Garden
[2:50] 6. Big Leg Woman
[4:03] 7. You Can Help Me If You Want To
[5:45] 8. She Did It Again
[2:42] 9. I Want To Make Love To You
[5:07] 10. The Thrill Is Gone
[6:02] 11. Devil In The Sky
[5:30] 12. How Could You Do It To Me

LITTLE JOE BLUE, guitar, vocal; BILLY BRANCH, harmonica; MELVIN TAYLOR, guitar; NICK CHARLES, bass; JULIAN VAUGHN, drums. Recorded in Heelsum, Holland, November 24 & 25, 1986.

Born Joseph Valery, Jr. in Vicksburg, Mississippi, his musical style is often compared to B. B. King. Living in Detroit, Michigan, he formed the band the Midnighters in the late 1950s. He moved to Los Angeles, California, where he cut some records for Kent and Checker Records in the 1960s. His 1966 song "Dirty Work Going On"(R&B #40) was covered by Magic Sam & Shakey Jake, and Willie Kent & His Gents. He recorded for various labels throughout the 1980s. He played at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1974, travelled to Europe in 1982, and appeared at the Chicago Blues Festival in 1986.

He died in Reno, Nevada in 1990 at the age of 55 from stomach cancer. He had two children: one son, Joseph Devon Valery (born February 26, 1959), and one daughter, Angela Maria Valery (born July 5, 1960).

Dirty Work Goin' On

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Various - Wake Up To The Blues

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:27
Size: 117.8 MB
Styles: R&B, Chicago blues
Year: 1990
Art: Front

[4:31] 1. Curtis Griffin - Wake Up Baby
[3:51] 2. Curtis Griffin - Ain't Never Coming Back
[3:10] 3. Jim Gamble - The Blues (All For You)
[4:53] 4. Jim Gamble - Going Down The Road
[7:58] 5. Jim Gamble - It's Hard To Explain
[4:04] 6. Barbara Moore - By 3 O'clock In The Morning
[5:08] 7. Barbara Moore - Married Man Blues
[2:36] 8. Charlie Taylor - I Work Hard For You Woman
[4:25] 9. Little Joe Blue - Give What You Got
[3:58] 10. Honest John Pembroke - Whipping Her, Killing Me
[3:51] 11. Honest John Pembroke - Cold Chicago
[2:58] 12. Jimmy Ellis - Sweet Dreams

Granted, there’ll be days where we just can’t seem to shed the blues, but if that’s the case you just keep on movin’, keep on truckin’, and know that those troubles might just weigh a lot of little bits less if you divest your energy towards anything besides getting caught up on them.

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Various - Evejim's Collector's Edition Vol. 1

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:10
Size: 121.7 MB
Styles: R&B, Modern electric blues
Year: 1996
Art: Front

[4:07] 1. Little Joe Blue - Big Leg Women
[4:04] 2. Little Joe Blue - Dirty Work Going On
[4:14] 3. Little Joe Blue - Don't Start Me To Talking
[4:11] 4. Buddy Ace - Root Doctor
[3:54] 5. Buddy Ace - I Kicked The Habit
[4:03] 6. Buddy Ace - Love Of Mine
[4:22] 7. Clay Hammond - License To Steal
[3:26] 8. Clay Hammond - Streets Will Love You
[3:24] 9. Jimmy McCracklin - All Shucks
[3:41] 10. Jimmy McCracklin - Games To Strong
[2:36] 11. Jimmy McCracklin - I Just Got To Know
[4:15] 12. Little Joe Blue - I'm Doing All Right Again
[3:44] 13. Little Joe Blue - As Mean As I've Been Good (Double Dealing)
[3:01] 14. Little Joe Blue - My Tomorrow

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Little Joe Blue - Little Joe Blue's Greatest Hits

Size: 138,4 MB
Time: 58:54
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1996
Styles: Modern Electric Blues, Blues Soul
Art: Front

01. Big Leg Woman (4:06)
02. Dirty Work Going On (4:03)
03. Don't Start Me To Talking (4:14)
04. Encourage Me Baby (4:09)
05. Just Your Fool (3:17)
06. Stop Wasting My Time/Don't Waste My Time (3:44)
07. Let Me Love You (3:06)
08. How Could You Do It To Me (3:54)
09. I'm Doing All Right Again (4:14)
10. As Mean As I've Been Good (Double Dealing) (3:45)
11. Who (3:07)
12. I'm Not Blind (3:26)
13. Me And My Woman (3:27)
14. Devil In Disguise (3:41)
15. My Tomorrow (3:01)
16. You Keep My Nose To The Grinding Stone (3:30)

Little Joe Blue, born Joseph Valery, Jr., was a relatively late starter as a blues artist. Born in Mississippi in 1934, his musical sensibilities were heavily influenced by the work of Louis Jordan, Joe Liggins, and B.B. King, which he encountered from his teens into his 20s. He didn't turn to music as a profession until the late '50s, when he was well into his twenties, forming his band the Midnighters in Detroit at the end of the decade. By the early '60s, Valery had moved to Reno, Nevada, where he began recording as an adjunct to his performances in local clubs before moving on to Los Angeles. He recorded for various labels, including Kent and Chess' Checker Records division during the early to mid-'60s, and never entirely escaped the criticism that he was a B.B. King imitator, which dogged him right into the '80s. The style that King popularized also happened to suit Valery, however, and he gained some credibility in 1966 when he racked up a modest hit in 1966 with the song "Dirty Work Is Going On," which has since become a blues standard. He had extended stints with Jewel Records and Chess from the late '60s into the early '70s, and recorded until the end of the '80s. Valery performed throughout the south, and later Texas and California, during that decade, and later toured Europe, including performances as part of the International Jazz Fest during the '80s. There is currently one CD of his work in print, the Evejim disc Little Joe Blue's Greatest Hits, a reissue of two LPs, I'm Doing Alright and Dirty Work Going On, that he cut in the '80s. His "Standing on the Threshold," featuring a powerful vocal performance and some beautifully soaring horns behind some lean, mean guitar and piano, also appears on Jewel Spotlights the Blues, Vol. 1. ~by Bruce Eder

Little Joe Blue's Greatest Hits

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Various - American Blues Legends 75

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 49:33
Size: 113.5 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Year: 1980/2001
Art: Front

[2:25] 1. Eddie 'Guitar' Burns - Biscuit Bakin' Mama
[4:20] 2. Eddie 'Guitar' Burns - Bury Me Back In The Usa
[3:41] 3. Billy Boy Arnold - I Wish You Would
[4:44] 4. Billy Boy Arnold - Sugar Mama
[4:40] 5. Tommy Tucker - Alimony
[5:10] 6. Tommy Tucker - Hard Luck Blues
[4:20] 7. Homesick James - If I Could Live My Life All Over Again
[2:55] 8. Homesick James - Baby Please Set A Date
[3:38] 9. Little Joe Blue - A Fool Is What You Want
[3:47] 10. Little Joe Blue - Five Long Years
[3:56] 11. Lonesome Jimmie Lee Robinson - Chicken Head
[3:06] 12. Lonesome Jimmie Lee Robinson - Mean Mistreater
[2:45] 13. American Blues Legends '75 - Got My Mojo Working

These were recorded live in London, May 5th & 6th 1975. Jon Lord did some piano playing on 2 tracks and Pete York is the drummer on all the tracks.

American Blues Legends 75

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Various - Jewel Spotlights The Blues Vols 1 & 2

Album: Jewel Spotlights The Blues Vol 1
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 35:49
Size: 82.0 MB
Styles: Electric blues, Soul blues
Year: 1994
Art: Front

[2:48] 1. Carter Brothers - Southern Country Boy
[2:31] 2. Frank Frost - My Back Scratcher
[2:44] 3. Elmore James - Dust My Broom
[3:57] 4. Lightnin' Hopkins - Back Door Friend
[2:42] 5. Little Joe Blue - Standing On The Treshold
[2:49] 6. George Wild Child Butler - Put It All In There
[3:06] 7. Lowell Fulson - Sleeper
[2:59] 8. Big Joe Turner - Night Time Is The Right Time
[2:48] 9. Mac Big With Hubert Sumlin - Rough Dried Woman Pt. 1
[2:44] 10. Hubert Sumlin - Rough Dried Woman Pt. 2 (Instrumental)
[3:48] 11. Willie Dixon - Sex Appeal
[2:49] 12. J.B. Lenior - The Mojo

Jewel Records was founded by Stan Lewis in 1963, and the company became something of a life raft for artists whose contracts with older companies had ended -- thus, Willie Dixon, Frank Frost, Lightnin' Hopkins, Lowell Fulson, Big Joe Turner, and other internationally known names brushed up against more localized talent such as the Carter Brothers and a mysterious figure named Big Mac. This disc is the first in a series of releases highlighting Lewis' blues recordings, which tended toward extrovert electric blues. All of the artists are in good form, if not the top of their game, including Fulson who sings with a graceful soulfulness, while Turner provides the kind of lean, big-band-based R&B on which he built his reputation, slimmed down slightly for '60s sensibilities. The strangest track here is "Rough Dried Woman" parts one and two, featuring Hubert Sumlin on guitar and Big Mac on vocals. Mac, whoever he was, obviously thought he was Howlin' Wolf, even though his voice lacked the depth and power of Wolf's pipes. He tries hard, however, and Sumlin pitches in with a flashy, crunchy performance behind him (and is featured throughout the instrumental second half in one of his best recorded performances). Also, be warned that Kenny Wayne Shepherd, then 16 years old, redubbed the guitar part on Willie Dixon's "Sex Appeal" -- that kid knows his blues, even if his playing is a little flashier than would've been the case circa 1960-whatever, and Dixon gives one of his more charismatic vocal performances. The sound needs no apologies, nor does the series, which is first-rate and starts off really well with this disc. ~Bruce Eder

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Album: Jewel Spotlights The Blues Vol 2
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 44:30
Size: 101.9 MB
Styles: Electric blues, Soul blues
Year: 1994
Art: Front

[3:30] 1. Buster Benton - Spider In My Stew
[2:37] 2. Buddy Guy - You Sure Can't Do
[3:29] 3. Otis Rush - Double Trouble
[4:53] 4. Lightnin' Hopkins - Mr. Charlie
[2:23] 5. Ike Turner - Matchbox
[4:28] 6. Willie Dixon - New Way Of Lovin'
[3:46] 7. Little Joe Blue - Gonna Walk On
[3:02] 8. Lightnin' Hopkins - Breakfast Time
[3:48] 9. Buster Benton - Money Is The Name Of The Game
[3:01] 10. Lowell Fulson - My Baby
[4:08] 11. John Lee Hooker - I Feel Good
[2:39] 12. Earl Hooker - Blue Guitar
[2:41] 13. Magic Sam - Everything Gonna Be Alright

The second volume in Jewel Records' blues retrospective features Buster Benton, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Lightnin' Hopkins, Willie Dixon, Magic Sam, John Lee Hooker, Lowell Fulson, Earl Hooker, Ike Turner, and Little Joe Blue. Dixon was also the producer on Benton's sessions and wrote "Spider in My Stew" for the latter. The best thing on here, worth the price of the disc, is Lightnin' Hopkins' "Mr. Charlie," with its extraordinary spoken-word introduction, and Ike Turner's "Matchbox" isn't far behind. Willie Dixon's "New Way of Lovin'" is a great showcase for the composer's vocal prowess, and an even better one for the guitar skills of then 16-year-old Kenny Wayne Shepherd, whose playing is dubbed onto the original recording, though one wishes that Dixon's voice were a little bit more upfront in the mix. Otherwise, the sound is state-of-the-art, and the only thing one could wish for that isn't here would be actual recording or release dates. ~Bruce Eder

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Little Joe Blue - Southern Country Boy

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 31:52
Size: 73.0 MB
Styles: Soul-blues, West Coast blues
Year: 1997
Art: Front

[2:37] 1. Just Love Won't Do
[2:54] 2. I'm Not Your First Love
[2:42] 3. Right There Where You Left It
[3:52] 4. Only A Fool
[3:49] 5. Gonna Walk On
[3:26] 6. Encourage My Baby
[2:52] 7. If You'd Only Let Me Love You
[3:23] 8. Southern Country Boy
[3:06] 9. Little Joe Bllue
[3:07] 10. Sometime Tomorrow

Little Joe Blue, born Joseph Valery, Jr., was a relatively late starter as a blues artist. Born in Mississippi in 1934, his musical sensibilities were heavily influenced by the work of Louis Jordan, Joe Liggins, and B.B. King, which he encountered from his teens into his 20s. He didn't turn to music as a profession until the late '50s, when he was well into his twenties, forming his band the Midnighters in Detroit at the end of the decade. By the early '60s, Valery had moved to Reno, Nevada, where he began recording as an adjunct to his performances in local clubs before moving on to Los Angeles. He recorded for various labels, including Kent and Chess' Checker Records division during the early to mid-'60s, and never entirely escaped the criticism that he was a B.B. King imitator, which dogged him right into the '80s. The style that King popularized also happened to suit Valery, however, and he gained some credibility in 1966 when he racked up a modest hit in 1966 with the song "Dirty Work Is Going On," which has since become a blues standard. He had extended stints with Jewel Records and Chess from the late '60s into the early '70s, and recorded until the end of the '80s. Valery performed throughout the south, and later Texas and California, during that decade, and later toured Europe, including performances as part of the International Jazz Fest during the '80s. ~bio by Bruce Eder

Southern Country Boy

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