Chicago Blues Masters, Volume 1: Muddy Waters And Memphis Slim - 1995

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Chicago Blues Masters, Volume 1: Muddy Waters And Memphis Slim - 1995

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Memphis Slim Biography: An amazingly prolific artist who brought a brisk air of urban sophistication to his frequently stunning presentation, John "Peter" Chatman — better known as Memphis Slim — assuredly ranks with the greatest blues pianists of all time. He was smart enough to take Big Bill Broonzy's early advice about developing a style to call his own to heart, instead of imitating that of his idol, Roosevelt Sykes. Soon enough, other 88s pounders were copying Slim rather than the other way around; his thundering ivories attack set him apart from most of his contemporaries, while his deeply burnished voice possessed a commanding authority.

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Chicago Blues Masters, Volume 1: Muddy Waters And Memphis Slim - 1995

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As befits his stage name, John "Peter" Chatman was born and raised in Memphis; a great place to commit to a career as a bluesman. Sometime in the late '30s, he resettled in Chicago and began recording as a leader in 1939 for OKeh, then switched over to Bluebird the next year. Around the same time, Slim joined forces with Broonzy, then the dominant force on the local blues scene. After serving as Broonzy's invaluable accompanist for a few years, Slim emerged as his own man in 1944.

After the close of World War II, Slim joined Hy-Tone Records, cutting eight tracks that were later picked up by King. Lee Egalnick's Miracle label reeled in the pianist in 1947; backed by his jumping band, the House Rockers (its members usually included saxists Alex Atkins and Ernest Cotton), Slim recorded his classic "Lend Me Your Love" and "Rockin' the House." The next year brought the landmark "Nobody Loves Me" (better known via subsequent covers by Lowell Fulson, Joe Williams, and B.B. King as "Everyday I Have the Blues") and the heartbroken "Messin' Around (With the Blues)."

The pianist kept on label-hopping, moving from Miracle to Peacock to Premium (where he waxed the first version of his uncommonly wise down-tempo blues "Mother Earth") to Chess to Mercury before staying put at Chicago's United Records from 1952 to 1954. This was a particularly fertile period for the pianist; he recruited his first permanent guitarist, the estimable Matt Murphy, who added some serious fret fire to "The Come Back," "Sassy Mae," and "Memphis Slim U.S.A."

Before the decade was through, the pianist landed at Vee-Jay Records, where he cut definitive versions of his best-known songs with Murphy and a stellar combo in gorgeously sympathetic support (Murphy was nothing short of spectacular throughout).

Slim exhibited his perpetually independent mindset by leaving the country for good in 1962. A tour of Europe in partnership with bassist Willie Dixon a couple of years earlier had so intrigued the pianist that he permanently moved to Paris, where recording and touring possibilities seemed limitless and the veteran pianist was treated with the respect too often denied even African-American blues stars at home back then. He remained there until his 1988 death, enjoying his stature as expatriate blues royalty.

Muddy Waters Biography: Muddy Waters was the leading exponent of Chicago blues in the '50s. With him, the blues came up from the Delta and went electric, and his guitar licks and repertoire have fueled innumerable blues bands. Muddy Waters was the son of a farmer and, following his mother's death in 1918, was raised by his grandmother. He picked up his nickname because he fished and played regularly in a muddy creek. He learned to play harmonica, and as a teen he led a band that frequently played Mississippi Delta clubs. His singing was influenced by the style of local bluesman Son House. At 17, Waters began playing guitar by studying Robert Johnson records. In 1940 he traveled to St. Louis and in 1941 joined the Silas Green tent show as a singer and harmonica player. Sometime around 1941–42, Waters was recorded by folk archivists/researchers Alan Lomax and John Work in Mississippi for the Library of Congress.

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Chicago Blues Masters, Volume 1: Muddy Waters And Memphis Slim - 1995

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In 1943 he moved to Chicago, where he found employment in a paper mill. The following year, Waters got an electric guitar and began performing at South Side clubs and rent parties. He cut several sides in 1946 for Columbia's Okeh subsidiary, but none was released until 1981, when they appeared on a Columbia blues reissue, Okeh Chicago Blues. In 1946 bluesman Sunnyland Slim helped Waters get signed to Aristocrat Records, where he cut several unsuccessful singles, and Waters continued playing clubs every night and driving a truck six days a week.

In 1948 the Chess brothers changed Aristocrat to Chess. Waters' first single on the new label was "Rollin' Stone," a major blues hit. "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" from that year secured his position as a major blues performer. Most of Waters' early recordings featured him on electric guitar, Big Crawford or writer/producer Willie Dixon on bass, and occasionally Little Walter on harmonica. By 1951 he was supported by a complete band with Otis Spann on piano, Little Walter on harmonica, Jimmie Rodgers on second guitar, and Elgin Evans on drums.

"Honey Bee" in 1951; "She Moves Me" (Number 10 R&B) in 1952; "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" (Number Eight R&B), "I Just Wanna Make Love to You" (Number Four R&B), "I'm Ready" (Number Five R&B), and "Got My Mojo Working" in 1954; and "Mannish Boy" (Number Nine R&B) in 1955 are all regarded as blues classics and have been recorded by numerous rock groups. During the '50s, many of the top Chicago bluesmen passed through Waters' band, including Walter Horton, Junior Wells, Jimmie Rodgers, James Cotton, and Buddy Guy. In addition, Waters was helpful in the early stages of both Howlin' Wolf's and Chuck Berry's careers.

During his peak years as a record seller, most of Waters' sales were confined primarily to the Mississippi Delta, the New Orleans area, and Chicago. But his reputation and music were internationally known, as the attendance at concerts on his 1958 English tour revealed. The Rolling Stones named themselves after his song "Rollin' Stone." After the mid-'50s Waters never had another Top 10 R&B single, but his albums began to reach rock listeners. Into the '60s, Waters appeared at concerts and festivals nationally, such as the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival, where Muddy Waters at Newport was cut. In the late '60s and early '70s, he recorded several albums either with rock musicians or in a rock direction, the best of which were The London Sessions and Fathers and Sons, the latter with many of the players he had influenced, including Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. In 1971 Waters won the first of several Grammys with They Call Me Muddy Waters.

In the early '70s Waters left Chess and sued Chess's publishing arm for back royalties. He signed with Steve Paul's Blue Sky records in 1976, the year he appeared at the Band's farewell concert. Using members of his '50s bands and producer/guitarist Johnny Winter, Waters made three of his best-selling albums, Hard Again, I'm Ready, and King Bee. Winter and Waters frequently performed together in the '70s and '80s. He last performed publicly at a June 1982 Eric Clapton show. Waters died of a heart attack. In 1987 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ~ The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll

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Chicago Blues Masters, Volume 1: Muddy Waters And Memphis Slim - 1995

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Review: About a handful of these seventeen songs were recorded live at Carnegie Hall in April, 1959…the rest are studio tracks of a more dubious origin, probably committed to tape in early 1961.

There are many excellent performances here, though, including Memphis Slim's stately reading of Leroy Carr's "How Long, How Long Blues" (with electric slide guitar by Muddy Waters), and a really great rendition of Muddy's 1954 hit "Hoochie Coochie Man" which features James Cotton on harmonica and superb piano playing by an uncredited pianist who may have been Memphis Slim, but sounds more like Muddy's own piano player, the great Otis Spann.

Other highlights include Muddy Waters' tough, swinging "Blow Wind Blow", Slim's highly personal (and very good) versions of "Stack Alee" and "John Henry", and a strikingly urbane rendition of the country blues classic "Rollin' And Tumblin'".
"How Long" is here in a studio recording as well, played slightly faster than the live version, and Muddy Waters' Carnegie performance of "Walkin' Thru The Park" is probably the best recording of that song I've heard to date. And Memphis Slim shows off his versatility, playing everything from rollicking, up-tempo boggie and R&B ("Love My Baby") to slow, jazzy after-hours blues ("When The Sun Goes Down").

The liner notes are thorough and insightful, and the sound is very good for late-50s live recordings (and early 60s studio waxings as well, for that matter), and this collection brings together a number of rare performances which definitely deserve to be heard.

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Chicago Blues Masters, Volume 1: Muddy Waters And Memphis Slim - 1995

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Chicago Blues Masters, Volume 1: Muddy Waters And Memphis Slim - 1995

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