Billy Boy Arnold's Classic Vee-Jay Sides Reissued!!

Back in the early 90's when Billy Boy Arnold signed with Alligator Records, I grabbed his Alligator debut, Back Where I Belong, as soon as I could and I was really impressed with him as a harmonica player and a singer.  Being the blues novice I was, I wished that I could find more music from him.  

I was rewarded a few months later when I found a cassette tape from Charly Records called I Wish You Would that collected his Vee-Jay sides recorded between 1955 and 1957, plus a couple of sides he recorded with Chess Records while backing Bo Diddley.  Those sides weren't released at the time.  Arnold was in his early 20's at the time of these recordings, but he sounded like a seasoned veteran and several of those tracks ended up being Chicago blues standards...."I Wish You Would," "I Ain't Got You," "Don't Stay Out All Night Long," and "Prisoner's Plea," for starters.

Several years later, when I finally made the conversion from cassettes to CDs, I tried to update some of my previous collection and the Billy Boy Arnold albums were part of the set.  I was able to get both of his Alligator sets....1993's Back Where I Belong and 1995's Eldorado Cadillac, but was never able to track down the Charly set at a price that wouldn't require me refinancing my house.  

In the meantime, I was able to track down a copy of his 1963 classic More Blues On The South Side, and received a couple of his Stony Plain releases for review from the label in the early 2000's and, amazingly, though there was a considerable time gap between More Blues On The South Side and the two Stony Plain releases, it was apparent that Arnold hadn't lost an inch off his fast ball.  I promise if you're not familiar with Billy Boy Arnold, if you listen to any release from any time period of his nearly 70 year career, you will become a fan.

In the meantime, the UK label Jasmine made my day when they reissued those great Arnold 50's sides on a wonderful collection called Come Back Baby, I Wish You Would, which not only included those Chess tracks and the Vee-Jay sides, but also his first recordings for the Cool label as a teenager ("I Ain't Got No Money" and "Hello Stranger") and several tracks from the Chess label where he backed Bo Diddley.....wonderful stuff.

If you're a fan of early Chicago blues and don't have these sides in your collection, I highly recommend this set.  The liner notes are great and informative, which is the case for all of Jasmine's releases.  It's also a good place to start your Billy Boy Arnold listening experience, but by all means, don't stop there.  Everything he recorded is worth a listen and he sounds as good now as he did in 1955.  

Also, check out his autobiography, which we discussed here way back in January.  His recollection of details throughout his life, dating back to meeting Sonny Boy Williamson I as a youth is remarkable.  He recently signed a recording deal with Delmark Records, so hopefully we will get to hear new music from the soon-to-be 89 year old.

(By the way, if you run through the FBF archives, you'll find a more-detailed post devoted to Billy Boy Arnold from nearly ten years ago if you'd like more information.)

(Another BTW, check out Jasmine Records' website.  If you're a blues fan, you will more than likely find an album to your liking that you'll want to purchase.)