"Rock Awhile" by Goree Carter - The First Rock n' Roll Song?????

Everyone is aware that rock n' roll has deep roots in the blues.  For a long time, I've heard that the first rock n' roll song was "Rocket 88," recorded in 1951 and credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, a.k.a.  Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm (Brenston played sax in the band and provided vocals), but there have been others that have also received consideration over the years, such as Roy Brown's "Good Rockin' Tonight," recorded in 1947, Jimmy Preston's "Rock This Joint" from 1949, and "Saturday Night Fish Fry," recorded by Louis Jordan in 1949.  

Those three songs were released a couple of years ahead of "Rocket 88," but the latter tune is usually acknowledged as the "first" song, based on the distorted guitar (guitarist Willie Kizart's amplifier was damaged during the drive to Memphis to record and wadded-up newspaper was stuffed into the amplifier, causing the distorted sound unintentionally) added to the rollicking Ike Turner piano-driven rhythm, which is similar to the Brown and Jordan tunes.  Sam Phillips recorded "Rocket 88" and licensed it to Chess Records and the record reached #1 and sold around a half million copies.  Phillips used profits from the record to start Sun Records in 1952.

All things considered, there's a good argument for "Rocket 88" as the first rock n' roll song, but what if I told you that there was an even earlier candidate for rock n' roll's first song.

Goree Carter

In 1949, 18-year-old Houston native Goree Carter recorded "Rock Awhile" for the Houston label Freedom Records.  Like many guitarists of his time, Carter was heavily influenced by T-Bone Walker, who was also a Texas native, but was also the top electric blues guitarist in the country during that time.  The Freedom label was owned by Solomon Kahal, who also owned the Eldorado Ballroom in Houston.  Carter and his band, The Hepcats performed frequently there, and Kahal, like most R&B label owners at the time, was looking for a guitarist to match the popularity of Walker.

Carter's first couple of sides for Freedom were more or less in the style of Walker, but for his second session he decided to move in a different direction, much to the chagrin of Kahal.  "Rock Awhile" included a guitar introduction that would be used by Chuck Berry from the mid-50's onward.  The guitar had a mean, distorted quality and his band provided a propulsive driving rhythm behind it with piano, horns, and drums giving the feeling of a runaway train.  Now, this sound may have been a part of other Texas guitarists' musical approach at the time, but Carter was the first to put it on record.

Here's what the late author Robert Palmer said in his 1995 book Rock & Roll:  An Unruly History:

“The clarion guitar intro differs hardly at all from some of the intros Chuck Berry would unleash on his own records after 1955; the guitar solo crackles through an overdriven amplifier; and the boogie-based rhythm charges right along. The subject matter, too, is appropriate — the record announces that it’s time to ‘rock awhile,’ and then proceeds to show how it’s done. To my way of thinking, Carter’s ‘Rock Awhile’ is a much more appropriate candidate for ‘first rock and roll record’ than the more frequently cited ‘Rocket ’88’.”

Despite his and the label's efforts, "Rock Awhile" didn't chart nationally, but Carter and his band remained a popular attraction in the South, and he continued to release singles for Freedom until the label folded in 1950, later cutting sides for Imperial, Bayou, Sittin' In With, Jade, and Coral.  He was drafted in 1953 and served a little over a year in Korea.  When he returned, he signed with Modern Records, where he released several more fine sides before leaving the business altogether in 1954.  

Carter with Joe "Guitar" Hughes - 1984 (photo by Alan Govenar)

Despite the quality of his recordings, nothing ever hit the charts or attracted any attention outside of the South, which may have accounted for his leaving the music business, never to return to performing.  In the late 80's, I saw a short article about Carter in Alan Govenar's excellent book Meeting the Blues:  The Rise of the Texas Sound, which was later revised and expanded into the even-better Texas Blues:  The Rise of a Contemporary Sound, He was pretty bitter in the interview, done by Govenar in 1984, expressing as much, so it more or less explains why he gave up the music some thirty years earlier.

“Then I had a lot [of songs] that I just tore up, and they were good songs. I tore them up because they wouldn’t let me cut them. They said I was ahead of myself. So I destroyed them. If I can’t perform them, then I’ll do like Moses did with the Ten Commandments. Can’t live by it, die by it.”

Carter never attempted a revival beyond playing a few local gigs in Houston, including sitting in with B.B. King.  His last known live performance was in 1970.  There were some efforts by others to get him started up again in the mid 80's, but he never could be convinced to return to the stage or the studio.  He died in 1990 in Houston, at the house where he was born.  Even during his recording and performing days, he never gave up his job working at the Comet Rice Mill in Houston, staying there until the company shut down in 1986.  In 1999, part of the old mill was converted into an indoor/outdoor venue that hosts music events, called The Silo.  

For a good taste of Goree Carter's recorded work, including "Rock Awhile," blues fans are encouraged to check out the Jasmine Records collection, Let's Rock Awhile 1949 - 1951, which gathers sides from Freedom, Bayou, Imperial, Sittin' In With, Jade, and Coral Records.  Carter's musical approach was influenced by T-Bone Walker, but his guitar work had a rougher edge that Walker's smooth, almost jazzy style, and it indirectly paved the way for the sounds to come.  There's also a two-volume set on Blue Moon Records.  The first volume captures most of the Jasmine set and the second volume, which is divided between him and Texas guitarist Lester Williams ("I Can't Lose With The Stuff I Use"), has nine songs by Carter, a few that are on the Jasmine set as well.

"Rock Awhile" is usually not recognized as the first rock n' roll song.  More than likely, it's due to the fact that it was recorded and released by what would be considered a regional label (Freedom Records), so it didn't receive the attention or sell on the scale of other records that are usually associated as the first songs of rock n' roll.  

Therefore, while it might not be recognized as the record that put rock n' roll on the map, it should definitely enter the discussion of being the FIRST rock n' roll record.  

 

Friday Blues Picks (9/4/26)

 

Friday Blues Fix returns with a couple of brand new releases, plus one you might have missed the first time around.  

As always, these albums will be reviewed in much more detail at the site where I usually contribute reviews, Blues Bytes.  I have been contributing reviews there for over 25 years and Bill Mitchell has done an outstanding job on the site for nearly 30 years.  Bill also does a weekly blues show on various stations, a mix of new and classic blues, that is a great listen for any blues fan, so check it out.  Stations are listed at Blues Bytes' website.

The Austin blues club Antone's has been celebrating its 50th anniversary for a bit now, releasing a massive box set last year (Antone's:  50 Years Of The Blues), which included The Last Real Texas Blues Album (also sold seperately and reviewed by FBF here).  They recently released Antone's 50th Presents:  Chicago Bound:  Honoring Muddy, Cliff & Blue (Blues Till 2 Recording Co./Select-O-Hits), which collects ten more songs from the Antone's 50th Allstars that continue the commemoration of the big 50th anniversary, plus an audio clip from Clifford Antone, who says "The blues is so big that no one person could ever learn it in a lifetime."

There are some really cool tracks here, several associated with Muddy Waters and Bobby "Blue" Bland, from an all-star cast....John Primer, Lil' Ed Williams, Doyle Bramhall II, Kim Wilson and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Anson Funderburgh, Lurrie Bell, and 95-year-old Miss Lavelle White.  Also contributing are drummer Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith, vocalist Kam Franklin and drummer Rodd Bland (Bobby's son).

Everything here is a winner, but two tracks are very interesting.  Billy Gibbons and the BFG's perform the brand new Gibbons original "Hangin' on a Cliff," a gritty blues rocker dedicated to Antone, that was released as the first single.  There's also a cool Clifton Chenier track called "One Step at a Time" that features quite a band.... Ivan Neville, C.C. Adcock sharing vocals, with Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood on guitars, Steve Riley on accordion and, get this, JIMMIE VAUGHAN on harmonica.  There are a lot of wonderful moments on this release.  Trust me, you need this in your collection!

Anyone who's visited this site over the past 16 years probably knows what a big Eddie Cotton fan I've been since I heard his amazing Live at the Alamo Theatre release in the early 2000's.  He is really the total package....an outstanding vocalist, a masterful guitarist, and a great songwriter.  His roots are in the church, where his dad was a preacher, and that's where he developed his style.  He won the 2015 I.B.C. and was the recipient of the 2025 Mississippi Governor's Arts Award for Excellence in Music.  

His brand new release (out today) is Bubble Gum Lover on Malaco Records and it's as good as any album he's cut.  I've always been amazed at the quality of his work.....there's never been a downswing at all on any of his releases.  They're as good or better than their predecessors.  Bubble Gum Lover is no exception.  Cotton cut this album with his band and he continues to explore and expand upon blues subjects that are familiar, but he always adds his own personal touch to his songs.

He's a great guitarist and songwriter, as mentioned, but his vocals have always been the real deal as far as blues or soul music goes.  He really applies those gospel roots to his voice and he sells every song to the utmost.  You really can't go wrong with any of Eddie Cotton's releases...any of them are a great starting point....and Bubble Gum Lover is as good a place to start as any of them, but trust me when I say you will want to dig deeper once you've heard this talented blues man.  The album can be picked up from the platform of your choice at this link, or you can possibly grab a CD by contacting the Malaco Records site.  Below are a couple of preview clips, along with "Feet on The Floor," the album's opening cut.  You can also enjoy a recent Eddie Cotton track from the Jacktown USA album that ties in with the book of the same title (all reviewed by FBF here), which includes a chapter on Cotton.

Our Blast from the Past selection dates back to my earliest days listening to the blues.  One of the earliest blues albums that I loved was Talk to Your Daughter (Warner Brothers Records) by guitarist Robben Ford.  When I picked it up at the record store, one of the workers told me that I needed to buy it, so I did.  I didn't know anything about Ford, but he'd been playing the blues since the age of 18, backing Charlie Musselwhite and recording two albums with his brothers (The Charles Ford Band).  He also recorded with Jimmy Witherspoon, and recorded for jazz fusion bands L.A. Express and the Yellowjackets.  He also worked with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Bonnie Raitt, Kiss, and many, many others.

Talk to Your Daughter was his second solo album and it was released in 1988.  It was a return to his blues roots with nine songs, including several blues classics that he reshapes with his crisp, concise fretwork.  His guitar playing is a wonder throughout the disc and he also provides fine vocals.  This album was one that came at an opportune time for me.  I had listened to a lot of jazz guitar over the previous five or six years and started listening to the blues for real around 1986.  Ford managed to straddle blues, rock, and jazz with his sound and it really hit me hard..... I still love to hear this album on a regular basis.  I think anyone who wants to learn to play guitar would do well listening to a Robben Ford album, and Talk to Your Daughter is a great place to start.

Being a late 80's release, a few songs have synthesizers on them, but they aren't the really cheesy type that were prevalent back in those days, and the album really doesn't have a dated sound to it.  His brother Mark plays harmonica on a couple of tracks and Little Feat keyboardist Bill Payne and Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro guests on a track apiece.  My favorite track is a cover of Charlie Singleton's "Help the Poor," that's irresistibly funky and should put a hop in any listener's step.  Ford's guitar solo is just superb and there's plenty more great guitar to be heard on Talk to Your Daughter.

Friday Blues Picks (8/28/26)

This week, Friday Blues Fix will take a look at several different items that blues fans should definitely check out.  FBF will be looking at a couple of great new albums, a cool new single that's an appropriate fit for the current season, an excellent release from last year that you might have missed (I certainly did!), and a wonderful new book, all of which are worth any self-respecting blues fan's time.  

Way back in late 1986, nearly 40 years ago, yours truly attended his first blues concert.....The Fabulous Thunderbirds at Thalia Mara Hall in Jackson, MS.  I was a fan because I'd heard them on Carlos Santana's wonderful album Havana Moon when I was in college and that led me to pick up their most recent album at the time, the outstanding T-Bird Rhythm.  However, once I saw them perform in person, I was hooked.  Kim Wilson was such a charismatic front man and masterful harmonica player, and drummer Fran Christina and bassist Preston Hubbard were a rock solid rhythm section, but guitarist Jimmie Vaughan was the epitome of cool and I got to hear so much more of his guitar work live than I did on their recordings.  It was still one of my favorite performances.

In recent years, The Last Music Company has been reissuing a lot of Vaughan's solo work and all of The Fabulous Thunderbirds' catalog, but a few months back they released a performance that took place just before their breakthrough release Tuff Enuff, which earned them plenty of radio play and MTV appearances (back when the "M" stood for "Music").  The band was in England working with producer Dave Edmonds on the album and in April of 1985, they performed at London's Camden Palace Theatre.  The show was professionally filmed and recorded and is now available as a CD/DVD combo.  I have recently discovered that the show was available on VHS or DVD years ago, but I've never seen it anywhere until now.....this is the first time it's been available on CD.

Live in London 1985 is very similar to the show I heard a little over a year and a half later, with several songs that eventually appeared on Tuff Enuff, including the title track, "Two Time My Lovin'," "I Don't Care," "True Love," and an instrumental, "Jimmie's Song," that was retitled "Down at Antone's." on the finished album.  There are also several favorites that the band still plays in their current incarnation, such as "Can't Tear It Up Enuff," "My Babe," "She's Tuff," and "Full Time Lover" (a slow burner which I remember from the Jackson show, thanks to Vaughan's fabulous guitar work).

The CD and DVD have the same song list and both sound amazingly clear considering they were done over 40 years ago.  The DVD camera work is excellent, unlike many concert videos, there's plenty of focus on the artists playing their instruments.  If you were a fan of The Fabulous Thunderbirds back in the day, or even now....Kim Wilson continues to lead the band, most recently with Johnny Moeller in the guitar seat, then you definitely need to pick up this CD/DVD set.  (Note......the video on the DVD is much clearer than the video below, which was put on YouTube 13 years ago, probably off the original release)

Albert Castiglia has been one of the brightest stars on the blues rock scene for a number of years.  He started out in Florida as singer/guitarist for Miami Blues Authority before serving as guitarist for Junior Wells until the blues man's death in 1998.  Since 2002, he's been turning out quality releases one after the other, whether as a solo artist or teaming with fellow guitarist Mike Zito as the Blood Brothers on several successful collaborations.  

Castiglia's latest release is Grits & Glory (Gulf Coast Records) and it may be his most powerful release yet.  The album was recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London.  He grew listening to British blues rockers like John Mayall, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck, moving in that direcction after he heard The Beatles' Rubber Soul on 8-track (remember those?). Based on that background, making an album where the Fab Four made most of their recordings seemed like a natural move for the guitarist.

One thing I've always liked about Castiglia's releases is that his musical approach is pretty diverse and each track makes you pay attention....there are no lulls to speak of, or musical ruts.  His songwriting is rock solid, too.  He takes a pointed look at current affairs, but he also focuses on familiar blues topics like relationships and determination to achieve a goal.  There are bits of funk and even a touch of jazz interspersed.  He covers Albert King, Mongo Santamaria, and The Beatles....now that's diverse!  Blues fans for sure need to check out Castiglia on this release, then backtrack because he has some excellent releases in his catalog.

Alan Arena has issued what might be considered a perfect summer blues anthem with his single "Cape Cod Girl" (Alan Arena Records), which will have blues fans longing to dig their toes in the summer beach sand and maybe even do the Watusi while they're at it.  It's a great feel-good track with support from Monster Mike Welch on guitar, Brad Hallen on bass, Marty Richards on drums, Brooks Milgate on piano and "Sax" Gordon Beadle providing, well, tenor and baritone sax of course.  I know summer will be over soon, hopefully.....but this fun tune just might make the higher temperatures a little more bearable for the rest of the season.  There's no video on YouTube for the song, but here's a promo from Alan with details about how to grab the single.

For our Blast From The Past, it's the not-too-distant past this week.....I happened across Mike Farris' new release, The Sound of Muscle Shoals (Malaco/FAME Records), a couple of weeks back when someone shared one of the songs on Facebook.  Farris developed addiction issues as a youngster, was sent to reform school and nearly overdosed before turning to the guitar and songwriting, which helped him get back on track.  He formed the Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies back in the early 90's, a hard-driving, hard-living, hard rock band with a bit of blues and soul mixed in, thanks to Farris' powerful vocals.

Enjoying success with SCW and later the band Peaceful Knievel, and serving as vocalist for the Double Trouble rhythm section, Farris eventually fell off the wagon until 2004 when, at the funeral of a friend, he decided to give up drugs and alcohol and embrace Christianity.  He's released several solo albums since 2002, all of which put his wonderful mix of blues, country, and soul on display.  

The Sound of Muscle Shoals, released in 2025, is his first release since 2018 and it's just fantastic.  Farris' music has always reminded listeners of Muscle Shoals, so why not go directly to the source.  Rodney Hall (FAME Records founder Rick Hall's son) served as Executive Producer and several musicians from the area contributed, including guitarist Will McFarlane and Kelvin Holly, and keyboardist Clayton Ivey, to name a few.  Farris wrote or co-wrote most of the tunes, with a couple of nice covers from Tom Petty and William Bell/Steve Cropper included.  

This is an album that should be in any music fan's collection...the songs are well-crafted, the musicianship is first-rate, and Ferris' vocals are awesome.  Can you tell I really dig this one????

Finally, your humble fellow blues fan has been reading a lot over the past few months and one book that I've really enjoyed reading is Austin Blues:  The Austin Blues Monthly & Lone Star Interviews, by Randy "Tex" Hill.  Hill is a professional musician of over 40 years and he's hosted Roadhouse Revival Radio Show and the Lone Star Revival Radio Show in Austin.  He was also a graphic designer and began publishing the Austin Blues Monthly in 1994 to bring attention to the burgeoning blues scene in Austin.  Part of the magazine was an interview with some of movers and shakers of that scene.

What Hill did, intentionally or not, was provide a vivid picture of the Austin blues scene of the mid-90's.  The magazine only lasted a few years, but Hill was able to interview many inportant figures, nineteen interviews are included here - Clifford Antone, T.D. Bell, Marc Benno, W.C. Clark, Sue Foley, Billy Gibbons, Omar Dykes, Gary Primich, Tommy Shannon, Kim Wilson, and B.B. King are just a few of the interviewees.  

The interviews are pretty informative, most are four to five pages, and readers will gain a lot of insight as to how these musicians work and think.  Since Hill himself was a musician, he does a fine job with the questions and the artists really seem at ease with him.  I have to say that I learned a few things about some of these musicians that I didn't know and it was really interesting to read some of their thoughts.  Most of them came to Austin from other places, so they describe how they came to love the music and how they ended up in Austin.  For blues fans, especially fans of the Austin blues scene, this is a fascinating read and I'm glad that Hill compiled these interviews for us to read and enjoy.  

More blues to come, so be sure to come back next week!

Friday Blues Picks (8/21/26)

 

Once again, Friday Blues Fix looks at a few new releases that will be well worth any blues fan's time.  This has been a good summer for new blues releases and these should be on any blues fan's radar.

I have to apologize, sort of, for the banner I created to signal new releases to your left.  I have somewhat mixed feelings about AI…..I do see where it can be very useful and beneficial and I have used it a few times just playing around with it, asking general questions about blues artists and styles and songs.  It does provide me with links to where it gathers its information, so that's what I refer to instead of just what AI is telling me.  It actually misled me on a couple of blues songs, but fortunately, I was able to catch the mistake and I gave ChatGPT a good scolding.  😉

I also started playing around with logos and such, just goofing off, but I really love the Bill Steber picture that's featured here with his permission and really didn't want to change it, so I won't.  However, I figured it would be nice to have a logo just for Friday Blues Picks week, so we'll go with this one right now until I find something better.  

One day, I plan to do a post on the frequently awful AI blues music that's being generated out there, but I just really don't like having to listen to it that much for a number of reasons.  My daughter was telling me that some of the most popular blues tunes on whatever platform she listened to were AI-generated.  I don't like anything that takes money or credit away from the real past or present blues artists, but more about that later.....

Every couple of years, blues fans are treated to a new release from The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra, which is led by Bay Area-based guitarist/bandleader Paule.  The band is always great and fronted by a top notch singer, beginning with Frank Bey and later Wee Willie Walker.  Sadly, both have passed away and the last two albums have featured singer Willy Jordan, who fills the bill nicely, thank you very much.  

Jordan's second album with the band, What Can We Do? (Nola Blue Records) offers the usual superb original tunes written by Paule, Christine Vitale, Jordan, and Larry Batiste, with contributions from Marcel Smith and Tony Lufrano.  This is a fun set of blues that really puts the versatility of the band on full display as well as Jordan's powerful, soulful vocals.  Paule gets ample time in the spotlight to showcase his fretwork as well....check out the instrumental "Bigger Guitar." 

Batiste duets with Jordan on one song and The Sons of the Soul Revivers provide backing vocals on the topical title track.  There's also another instrumental, "Blue Mood Indica," that to allow listeners to hear how good this band really is.  The lone cover on the disc is the pop standard "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You," which is given a nice blues coating with Jordan's vocal.  There's really not a bad album as far as any releases from The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra, but the excellent What Can We Do? is certainly near the top of the heap.

The last few releases by GA-20 have been very exciting to hear and the band manages to top itself with each subsequent release.  The band (Matthew Stubbs - guitar, Cody Nilsen - guitar/vocals, Josh Kiggans - drums, with Marty Ballou playing bass on several tracks) invited harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite on board and the results are as explosive as anything they've released so far.  Blues Now (New West Records) is an appropriate title because the ten songs are sizzling, updated version of classic blues tunes, bringing the songs from the 20th Century to the 21st.

This is a raw, ragged, and raucous set that will satisfy any blues fan.   The band is truly inspired on this set of tunes originally recorded by Buddy Guy, Elmore James, Tampa Red, Earl Hooker, Otis Spann, Jimmy Reed, Eddie Taylor, and Muddy Waters, plus two tracks originally recorded by Musselwhite on his 1968 debut, Stand Back, including a wonderful reading of "Christo Redentor."  

The twin guitar attack of Stubbs and Nilsen is a marvel, while Musselwhite is spectacular on harmonica and vocals throughout as well....this certainly appears to be a match made in Blues Heaven.  Stubbs played guitar on tour with Musselwhite for years and so there's definitely a rapport there, but the whole album sounds like it was a blast to make and it serves as both a tribute to the great Musselwhite and as notice that the 82-year-old still has plenty left in the tank!!  Fans of blues with a modern edge need to grab Blues Now at once!!

Several years ago, I met Tim Lothar, a drummer from Denmark, on the old Blues Access message board, where we were discussing the legendary drummer Fred Below.  We struck up a long-distance friendship and I found out that he was the drummer in a band called Lightning Moe.  Tim eventually stepped away from the band and did something remarkable, at least to me.....he learned to play guitar.  

Tim has released several fine albums of acoustic blues over the years and he's also collaborated with several other European musicians, too, for some wonderful recordings.  About ten years ago, he joined up with Hungarian harmonica player Tomas Szabo and his band, The Mojo for a live album called Traveling Blues Nights, and later on the group, now called Traveling Blues Nights, recorded a great studio album called Old Cinema Sessions in 2019.  They also added Danish guitarist/singer/songwriter Jesper Theis to their ranks in 2018.  

Their latest release, Crossing Borders, is taken from a 2024 performance in Denmark with one song recorded earlier in Szolnok, Hungary, where Lothar and Szabo first met at a festival.  The set includes nine tracks, seven originals and two tasty covers.  The band shares vocals throughout and the instrumentation is intriguing as well, with acoustic, electric, and resonator guitars, diddley bow, electric mandolin, drums, harmonica, and tuba.  Tim has never ceased to amaze me over the years with his uncanny grasp of this American music called the blues and his bandmates are equally impressive.  If you like acoustic blues with a vintage feel, I highly recommend this marvelous set.

Our Blast From The Past review this week is a volume of the 1986 four-volume box set Atlantic Blues (Atlantic Records).  When I first started listening to the blues, I picked up various anthology collections to hear as much music by as many artists as I could.  The Atlantic Blues volumes were also sold separately, which was great for blues fans like me with a limited budget at the time.  I picked up a couple of the volumes on cassette back in the late 80's, including Atlantic Blues: Guitar, which I finally tracked down a few weeks ago on CD.

The set covers a lot of ground from a late 40's recording by pre-war guitar legend Blind Willie McTell and Texas Johnny Brown, 50's recordings from Mississippi Fred McDowell, John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, Guitar Slim, Big Joe Turner (with Elmore James playing guitar), and Mickey Baker, plus later recordings from Cornell Dupree, Albert King, B.B. King, Ike Turner (with Tina), John Hammond (with Duane Allman), and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

The main reason I wanted to track down this set was because I became a fan of Texas Johnny Brown via his late 90's recordings, his first in nearly 50 years.  While he wasn't a great singer, he hailed from Ackerman, MS (despite his nickname), which is not far from where I live and he was a great guitarist.  I had never been able to track these Atlantic recordings of his on CD anywhere....they were only released previously as singles, and one of the three tracks had never been released prior to this collection.  Brown played guitar in Amos Milburn's band and Milburn backed him on piano on these songs.  "There Go The Blues" was his signature tune.  Anyway, Atlantic Blues: Guitar is an outstanding collection of blues guitar that covers a lot of ground from Blind Willie McTell to SRV with some fascinating stops in-between, so it's definitely worth a listen.

We'll be looking at more new blues releases soon, so please stay tuned.