Walter Davis - The Essential Walter Davis

Walter Davis may not be listed among the front runners in the race for blues popularity, but anybody who sold as many records as he did, must have been saying something worthwhile. Like many other musicians he did not enjoy the life of a sharecropper in Mississippi and Davis relocated to St. Louis, a city with a piano tradition of its own (Peetie Wheatstraw, Roosevelt Sykes, Stump Johnson, Henry Brown). He made his first recordings as a singer, with Sykes aka Willie Kelly to supply piano accompaniment. Between that first day and his last session he cut over 150 sides. In 1952 Walter Davis turned his back on the blues life for good and moved on to the church. He became a preacher until his death in 1964.

File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Source: LL (from CD)
Released: 2001
Styles: Blues
Time: 54:54 + 53:03
Size: 126,5 MB + 122,3 MB
Covers: Full

Album: The Essential Disc 1
(3:05) 1. Mr. Davis' Blues
(3:04) 2. Sloppy Drunk Again
(2:56) 3. Biddle Street Blues
(3:22) 4. That Stuff You Sell Ain't No Good
(3:07) 5. M. and O. Blues
(2:49) 6. Sweet Sixteen
(2:46) 7. Come Back Baby
(3:04) 8. Lonesome Hill Blues
(2:33) 9. Good Gal
(3:18) 10. Lay Around on Your D.B.A.
(3:00) 11. Dentist Blues
(3:07) 12. Cotton Club Blues
(3:14) 13. Don't You Want to Go?
(3:02) 14. Just Wondering
(3:13) 15. I Hear My Baby Crying
(3:20) 16. Railroad Man Blues
(3:11) 17. Engineer's Blues
(2:34) 18. Worried Man Blues

Album: The Essential Disc 2
(3:15) 1. Root Man Blues
(2:52) 2. It's Been So Long
(2:56) 3. Frisco Blues
(2:50) 4. M. and O. Blues No. 3
(2:43) 5. You Don't Smell Right
(2:46) 6. You Are the One I Love
(2:48) 7. Stop That Train in Harlem
(2:31) 8. What May Your Trouble Be
(2:38) 9. I Just Can't Help It
(3:26) 10. I Think You Need a Shot
(2:42) 11. Call Your Name
(2:42) 12. Poor Grinder Blues
(3:15) 13. Blue Ghost Blues
(2:52) 14. The Only Woman
(3:15) 15. Jacksonville, Pt. 1
(3:41) 16. Jacksonville, Pt. 2
(2:42) 17. Oil Field Blues
(3:00) 18. New B & O Blues

The Essential Disc 1
The Essential Disc 2
The Essential artwork

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Various - That's Chicago's South Side

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:57
Size: 171.6 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 2002
Art: Front

[2:49] 1. Sam Theard - That's Chicago's South Side
[3:15] 2. Peetie Wheatstraw - Pete Wheatstraw
[2:59] 3. Roosevelt Sykes - Devil's Island Gin Blues
[3:16] 4. Amos Easton - Sail On, Little Girl, Sail On
[3:27] 5. Joe Pullum - Black Gal, What Makes Your Head So Hard
[2:49] 6. Lil Johnson - I Lost My Baby
[2:50] 7. Big Bill Broonzy - Keep Your Hands Off Her
[2:55] 8. Leroy Carr - When The Sun Goes Down
[2:51] 9. Memphis Minnie - Selling My Pork Chops
[3:06] 10. The Sparks Brothers - Every Day I Have The Blues
[2:48] 11. Walter Davis - Sweet Sixteen
[2:57] 12. Meade Lux Lewis - Honky Tonk Train Blues
[2:39] 13. Richard M. Jones - Trouble In Mind
[3:21] 14. Merline Johnson - He Roars Like A Lion
[3:01] 15. Robert Lee Mccoy - Prowling Nighthawk
[2:58] 16. Sonny Boy Williamson I - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
[3:09] 17. Speckled Red - You Got To Fix It
[2:41] 18. Washboard Sam - Bucket's Got A Hole In It
[2:45] 19. Tommy Mcclennan - Bottle It Up And Go
[2:37] 20. Jazz Gillum - Key To The Highway
[2:56] 21. Tampa Red - Don't You Lie To Me
[2:53] 22. Johnny Temple - What Is That She Got
[3:10] 23. St. Louis Jimmy Oden - Goin' Down To Slow
[3:17] 24. James Yank Rachel - Hobo Blues
[3:15] 25. Lonnie Johnson - He's A Jelly Roll Baker

Ask a rock & roller to discuss Chicago's contributions to the blues, and he/she is likely to talk about Chess Records and electric post-World War II greats like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon, Little Walter, Buddy Guy, and Junior Wells. But the Windy City had a healthy blues scene long before the rise of Chess -- one that went back to the days of Al Capone and Prohibition. Spanning 1931-1942, When the Sun Goes Down, Vol. 3: That's Chicago's South Side spotlights the acoustic pre-Chess, pre-Muddy Waters era of Chicago blues -- an era that helped pave the way for Chess Records as well as rock & roll. The recordings on this excellent CD point to fact that, long before Chicago became synonymous with electric blues, the city had its own unique blues sound. Gems like Sonny Boy Williamson's "Good Morning, Schoolgirl" (1937), Roosevelt Sykes' "Devil's Island Gin Blues" (1933), and Tommy McClennan's "Bottle It Up and Go" (1939) are quite different from the blues that were coming from the Deep South in the '30s and early '40s -- these artists offer an acoustic sound, but a harder, tougher acoustic sound than the Southern country blues that were coming from Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee back then. Of course, some of the artists who blues fans associate with Chicago blues were originally from the South; Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, for example, were born in Mississippi. But when Southern bluesmen moved north and interacted with Chicago-based musicians, their music could easily take on a more urban outlook. And an urban outlook definitely prevails on this CD, which underscores the richness of Chicago's pre-Chess blues scene. ~Alex Henderson

That's Chicago's South Side

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VA - Risque Blues Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3 & Vol. 4

Size: 169,9 MB
Time: 72:25
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2012
Styles: Dirty Blues
Art: Front

01 Mae West - A Guy What Takes His Time (2:38)
02 Ray Noble & His Orchestra - Oh, You Nasty Man (3:06)
03 Helen Kane - Do Something (2:36)
04 Sippie Wallace - Bedroom Blues (3:12)
05 Hunter & Jenkins - Lollypop (2:57)
06 Clara Smith - For Sale (Hannah Johnson's Big Jack Ass) (2:58)
07 Ruth Wallis - The Pistol Song (3:02)
08 Lucille Bogan - Coffee Grindin' Blues (3:24)
09 Georgia Tom - Terrible Operation Blues (2:50)
10 Roosevelt Sykes - The Honey Dripper (2:41)
11 Blind Boy Fuller - What's That Smell Like (2:41)
12 The Light Crust Doughboys - Give Me Some Of That (2:26)
13 Barrell House Annie - If You Don't Force It (2:48)
14 Washboard Sam - I'm Gonna Keep My Hair Parted (2:36)
15 Bo Carter - Ram Rod Daddy (2:57)
16 Hannah May - Pussy Cat Pussy Cat (2:41)
17 Walter Davis - I Think You Need A Shot (3:22)
18 Napoleon Fletcher - She Showed It All (2:32)
19 Lonnie Johnson - Wipe It Off (3:17)
20 Lil Johnson - Meat Balls (2:52)
21 Kokomo Arnold - 'Cause You're Dirty (2:59)
22 Mississippi Sheiks - Driving That Thing (3:23)
23 Art McKay - She Squeezed My Lemon (2:38)
24 Big Bill Broonzy - Horny Frog (3:02)
25 Jimmie Gordon - She Smells Good Meat (2:34)

Dirty blues encompasses forms of blues music that deal with socially taboo subjects, including sexual acts and/or references to drug use of some kind. Due to the sometimes graphic subject matter, such music was often banned from radio and only available on a jukebox. The style was most popular in the years before World War II and had a revival in the 1960s.

Many songs used innuendo, slang terms, or double entendres, such as Lil Johnson's "Press My Button (Ring My Bell)" ("Come on baby, let's have some fun/Just put your hot dog in my bun"). However, some were very explicit. The most extreme examples were rarely recorded at all, Lucille Bogan's obscene song Shave 'em Dry (1935) being a rare example ("by far the most explicit blues song preserved at a commercial pre-war recording session").

The more noteworthy musicians who utilised the style included Bo Carter, Bull Moose Jackson, Myra Johnson, The Lamplighters, Harlem Hamfats, Wynonie Harris, and Hank Ballard and The Midnighters.

Risque Blues Vol. 1

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Size: 170,1 MB
Time: 72:29
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2012
Styles: Dirty Blues
Art: Front

01 Lillie Mae Kirkman - He's Just My Size (2:46)
02 St. Louis Jimmy - Pipe Layin' Blues (3:18)
03 George Hannah - The Boy In The Boat (2:37)
04 Isabel Sykes - In Here With Your Heavy Stuff (3:02)
05 Georgia Tom - My Wash Woman's Gone (3:07)
06 Buddy Woods - Don' Sell It (Don't Give It Away) (2:56)
07 Georgia White - If I Can't Sell It, I'll Keep Sittin' On It (Before I Give It Away) (2:54)
08 Mae Glover - Gas Man Blues (2:44)
09 Cow Cow Davenport - I'm Gonna Tell You In Front So You Won't Feel Hurt Behind (3:20)
10 Bo Carter - Don't Mash My Digger So Deep (2:54)
11 Memphis Minnie - My Butcher Man (2:56)
12 Barbeque Bob - She Shook Her Gin (3:11)
13 Walter Davis - Poor Grinder Blues (2:41)
14 Georgia Tom - What's That I Smell (2:34)
15 Papa Charlie Jackson - Shave 'em Dry (2:35)
16 Dorothy Baker - Steady Grinding Blues (3:10)
17 R.T. Hansen - She Got Jordan River In Her Hips (2:49)
18 Jesse James - Sweet Petunia (3:00)
19 Lucille Bogan - Struttin' My Stuff (2:47)
20 Carl Rafferty - Dresser With The Drawers (3:34)
21 Georgia Tom - Fish Hous Blues (2:29)
22 Jimmie Gordon - Little Red Dress (Mary Usta Wear) (2:49)
23 Victoria Spivey - One Hour Mama (2:40)
24 Roosevelt Sykes - Hard Lead Pencil (2:52)
25 Tampa Red - Let Me Play With Your Poodle (2:33)

Risque Blues Vol. 2

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Size: 167,2 MB
Time: 71:19
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2012
Styles: Dirty Blues
Art: Front

01 Georgia Pine Boy - One More Greasing (3:10)
02 Stella Johnson - Don't Come Over (2:52)
03 Little Boy Fuller - Bed Springs Blues (2:43)
04 Brownie McGhee - Auto Mechanic Blues (2:55)
05 Marylin Scott - I Got What My Daddy Likes (2:38)
06 Ralph Willis - Boar Hog Blues (2:37)
07 Champion Jack Dupree - I'm A Doctor For Women (2:38)
08 Julia Lee - King Size Papa (2:38)
09 Sippie Wallace - A Man For Every Day In The Week (3:07)
10 Lil Johnson - Sam The Hot Dog Man (2:59)
11 Lil Johnson - Hot Nuts (Get 'em From The Peanut Man) (3:08)
12 Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Rock Me (2:46)
13 Sippie Wallace - I'm A Mighty Tight Woman (3:01)
14 Victoria Spivey - Garter Snake Blues (3:12)
15 Barrel House Annie - If It Don't Fit (Don't Force It) (2:48)
16 Albina Jones - What's The Matter With Me (2:45)
17 Papa Charlie Jackson - You Put It In, I'll Take It Out (3:10)
18 Charlie Lincoln - Doodle Hole (3:21)
19 Bo Carter - Let Me Roll Your Lemon (2:54)
20 Eddie Miller - Good Jelly Blues (2:50)
21 Frankie 'Half-Pint' Jaxon - (It Must Be Jelly 'cos You Know) Jam Don't Shake (2:39)
22 Crown Prince Waterford - Move Your Hand Baby (2:30)
23 Johnny Temple - Sit Right On It (2:16)
24 Modern Mountaineers - Everybody's Truckin' (2:25)
25 Bo Carter - Banana In Your Fruit Basket (3:05)

Risque Blues Vol. 3

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Size: 171,5 MB
Time: 73:09
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2012
Styles: Dirty Blues
Art: Front

01 Bob How - The Hottest Stuff In Town (2:46)
02 Black Bob - Press My Button, Ring My Bell (3:15)
03 Butterbeans & Susie - Elevator Papa, Switchboard Mama (3:11)
04 Milton Brown & His Brownies - Somebody's Been Using That Thing (2:50)
05 Ethel Waters - My Handy Man (2:53)
06 Alberta Hunter - You Can't Tell The Difference After Dark (2:58)
07 Harry Roy & His Bat Club Boys - My Girl's Pussy (3:10)
08 Ruth Wallis - Queer Things (3:24)
09 Bo Carter - Warm My Weiner (2:55)
10 Kansas City Joe - She Wouldn't Give Me None (2:56)
11 Yank Rachell - Tappin' That Thing (2:49)
12 Sophie Tucker - He Hadn't Up Till Yesterday (2:53)
13 The Light Crust Doughboys - Pussy, Pussy, Pussy (2:28)
14 Unkown - Once A Boy (3:03)
15 Six Jumping Jacks - Masculine Women, Feminine Men (3:01)
16 Memphis Minnie - Lean Meat Won't Fry (2:43)
17 Blind Boy Fuller - I Want Some Of Your Pie (2:39)
18 Bo Carter - You're Biscuits Are Big Enough For Me (2:06)
19 Memphis Minnie - Dirty Mother For You (2:45)
20 Bessie Smith - I Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl (2:45)
21 Kokomo Arnold - Sissy Man Blues (3:05)
22 Kokomo Arnold - The Twelves (Dirty Dozens) (3:07)
23 Helen Kane - I've Got It (But It Don't Do Me No Good) (2:23)
24 Harry Roy - She Had To Go And Lose It At The Astor (2:47)
25 Unknown - Silent George (4:05)

Risque Blues Vol. 4

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Walter Davis - Think You Need A Shot

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 48:21
Size: 110.7 MB
Styles: Acoustic blues, St. Louis blues
Year: 1970/2010
Art: Front

[3:03] 1. M. & O. Blues
[2:31] 2. Ashes In My Whisky
[3:23] 3. Think You Need A Shot
[2:48] 4. Sweet Sixteen
[2:59] 5. Moonlight Is My Spread
[3:11] 6. Don't You Want To Go
[2:54] 7. L. & N. Blues
[2:50] 8. The Only Women
[3:14] 9. That Stuff You Sell Ain't No Good
[3:13] 10. Root Man Blues
[3:02] 11. Just Want To Talk Awhile
[3:17] 12. Minute Man Blues Pt. 1
[3:16] 13. Minute Man Blues Pt. 2
[2:41] 14. New 'come Back Baby'
[3:17] 15. Let Me In Your Saddle
[2:36] 16. Howling Wind Blues

Classic recordings done between 1930-1935.

While never a contemporary superstar or latter-day legend on a par with many of his peers, singer/pianist Walter Davis was among the most prolific blues performers to emerge from the pre-war St. Louis scene, cutting over 150 sides between 1930 and 1952. Born March 1, 1912 in Grenada, Mississippi, Davis' two-fisted piano style bore the heavy influence of Leroy Carr, although he was better known for his funereal vocal style. He first attracted attention upon relocating to St. Louis during the mid-'20s, and soon made the first of his many recordings for the Victor label. Despite its abundance, his work -- much of it recorded in conjunction with guitarist Henry Townsend -- was solid but unspectacular, eclipsed by the likes of associates including Roosevelt Sykes and Peetie Wheatstraw. Still, he enjoyed a fair amount of success before a stroke prompted him to move from music to the ministry during the early '50s. Davis was still preaching at the time of his death on October 22, 1963. ~bio by Jason Ankeny

Think You Need A Shot mc
Think You Need A Shot zippy

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