Wynonie Harris

Biography

No blues shouter embodied the rollicking good times that he sang of quite like raucous shouter Wynonie Harris. "Mr. Blues," as he was not-so-humbly known, joyously related risque tales of sex, booze, and endless parties in his trademark raspy voice over some of the jumpingest horn-powered combos of the postwar era.

Those wanton ways eventually caught up with Harris, but not before he scored a raft of R&B smashes from 1946 to 1952. He was already a seasoned dancer, drummer, and singer when he left Omaha for L.A. in 1940 (his main influences being Big Joe Turner and Jimmy Rushing). He found plenty of work singing and appearing as an emcee on Central Avenue, the bustling nightlife strip of the black community. Harris' reputation was spreading fast -- he was appearing in Chicago at the Rhumboogie Club in 1944 when bandleader Lucky Millinder hired him as his band's new singer. With Millinder's orchestra in brassy support, Harris made his debut on shellac by boisterously delivering "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well" that same year for Decca. By the time it hit in mid-1945, Harris was long gone from Millinder's organization and back in L.A.

The shouter debuted on wax under his own name in July of 1945 at an L.A. date for Philo with backing from drummer Johnny Otis, saxist Teddy Edwards, and trumpeter Howard McGhee. A month later, he signed on with Apollo Records, an association that provided him with two huge hits in 1946: "Wynonie's Blues" (with saxist Illinois Jacquet's combo) and "Playful Baby." Harris' own waxings were squarely in the emerging jump blues style then sweeping the West Coast. After scattered dates for Hamp-Tone, Bullet, and Aladdin (where he dueled it out with his idol Big Joe on a two-sided "Battle of the Blues"), Harris joined the star-studded roster of Cincinnati's King Records in 1947. There his sales really soared.

Few records made a stronger seismic impact than Harris' 1948 chart-topper "Good Rockin' Tonight." Ironically, Harris shooed away its composer, Roy Brown, when he first tried to hand it to the singer; only when Brown's original version took off did Wynonie cover the romping number. With Hal "Cornbread" Singer on wailing tenor sax and a rocking, socking backbeat, the record provided an easily followed blueprint for the imminent rise of rock & roll a few years later (and gave Elvis Presley something to place on the A-side of his second Sun single).

After that, Harris was rarely absent from the R&B charts for the next four years, his offerings growing more boldly suggestive all the time. "Grandma Plays the Numbers," "All She Wants to Do Is Rock," "I Want My Fanny Brown," "Sittin' on It All the Time," "I Like My Baby's Pudding," "Good Morning Judge," "Bloodshot Eyes" (a country tune that was first released on "King" by Hank Penny), and "Lovin' Machine" were only a portion of the ribald hits Harris scored into 1952 (13 in all) -- and then his personal hit parade stopped dead. It certainly wasn't Harris' fault -- his King output rocked as hard as ever under Henry Glover's supervision -- but changing tastes among fickle consumers accelerated Wynonie Harris' sobering fall from favor.

Sides for Atco in 1956, King in 1957, and Roulette in 1960 only hinted at the raunchy glory of a few short years earlier. The touring slowed accordingly. In 1963, his chaffeur-driven Cadillacs and lavish New York home a distant memory, Harris moved back to L.A., scraping up low-paying local gigs whenever he could. Chess gave him a three-song session in 1964, but sat on the promising results. Throat cancer silenced him for good in 1969, ending the life of a bigger-than-life R&B pioneer whose ego matched his tremendous talent. 

Bill Dahl (Allmusic Guide)

Discography

Philo

103 - Around The Clock Pt 1/Around The Clock Pt 2 - 1945

104 - Cock-A-Doodle-Doo/Yonder Goes My Baby – 1945

Apollo

360 - Young Man's Blues/Straighten Him Out - 1945

361 - That's The Stuff You Gotta Watch/Baby Love - 1945

362 - Somebody Changed The Lock On My Door/Wynonie's Blues - 1945

363 - She's Gone With The Wind/Here Comes The Blues - 1945

372 - Poppa Treetop/Playful Baby - 1945

378 - Time To Changer Your Town/Everybody's Boogie - 1945

381 - Young And Wild/Take Me Out Of The Rain - 1945

387 - I Gotta Lyin' Woman/Rebecca's Blues - 1945 
Hamp-Tone 

100 - Hey, Ba-Ba-Re-Rop Pt 1/Hey, Ba-Ba-Re-Rop Pt 2 - 1946 

103 - Good Morning, Corrine/In the Evenin’ Blues - 1946

Bullet

251 - Dig This Boogie/Lightning Struck The Poor House - 1946

252 - Drinkin' By Myself/My Baby's Barrell House - 1946

Aladdin

171 - Mr. Blues Jumped The Rabbit/Whiskey And Jelly Roll Blues - 1947

172 - Rugged Road/Come Back Baby - 1947

196 - Ghost Of A Chance/Big City Blues - 1947

208 - You Got To Get Yourself A Job Girl/Hard Ridin' Mama - 1947

3036 - Battle Of The Blues - Pt 1/Battle Of The Blues - Pt 2 - 1947

King

4202 - Rose Get Your Clothes/Wynonie's Boogie - 1947

4210 - Good Rockin' Tonigh/Good Morning Mister Blues - 1947

4217 - Love Is Like Rain/Your Money Don't Mean A Thing 1947

4226 - Lollipop Mama/Blow Your Brains Out - 1947

4252 - Bite Again Bite Again/Blowin' To California - 1947

4276 - I Feel That Old Age Coming On/Grandma Plays The Numbers - 1948

4292 - Drinkin' Wine Spo Dee O Dee/She Just Won't Sell No More - 1949

4304 - All She Wants To Do Is Rock/I Want My Fanny Brown - 1949

4330 - Sittin' On It All The Time/Baby Shame On You - 1950

4342 - I Like My Baby's Pudding/I Can't Take It No More - 1950

4378 - Good Morning Judge/Stormy Night Blues - 1950

4389 - Be Mine My Love/Rock Mr. Blues - 1950

4402 - I Want To Love You Baby/Mr. Blues Is Coming To Town - 1950

4415 - Put It Back/Triflin’ Woman - 1950

4445 - I Believe I'll Fall In Love/A Love Untrue - 1951

4448 - Just Like Two Drops Of Water/Tremblin' - 1951

4461 - Bloodshot Eyes/Confessin' The Blues - 1951

4468 - I'll Never Give Up/Man Have I Got Troubles - 1951

4485 - Lovin' Machine/Luscious Woman - 1951

4507 - My Playful Baby's Gone/Here Comes The Night - 1952

4526 - Keep On Churnin'/Married Women Stay Married - 1952

4555 - Do It Again Please/Night Train - 1952

4565 - Drinking Blues/Adam Come And Get Your Rib - 1952

4592 - Greyhound/Rot Gut - 1953

4593 - Bad News Baby (There'll Be No Rockin' Tonight)/Bring It Back - 1953

4620 - Mama Your Daughter Done Lied On Me/Wasn't That Good - 1953

4635 - Song Of The Bayou/The Deacon Doesn't Like It - 1953

4662 - Tremblin'/Rot Gut - 1953

4668 - Please Louise/Nearer My Love To Thee - 1953

4685 - Down Boy Down/Quiet Whiskey - 1953

4716 - Shake That Thing/Keep A-Talking - 1954

4724 - I Get A Thrill/Don't Take My Whiskey Away From Me - 1954

4763 - All She Wants To Do Is Mambo/Christina - 1955

4774 - Good Mambo Tonight/Git To Gittin' Baby - 1955

4789 - Fishtail Blues/Mr. Dollar - 1955

4814 - Drinkin' Sherry Wine/Get With The Grits - 1955

4826 - Wine, Wine, Sweet Wine/Man's Best Friend - 1955

4839 - Shot Gun Wedding/I Don't Know Where To Go - 1955

4852 - Good Morning Judge/Bloodshot Eyes - 1955

Atco

6081 - Destination Love/Tell A Whale Of A Tale - 1956

King

5050 - That’s Me Right Now/Big Old Country Fool – 1957

5073 - A Tale of Woe/No Substitute for Love - 1957

Roulette

4291 - Bloodshot Eyes/Sweet Lucy Brown - 1960

Calvin Boze

Biography

In the mid thirties in Texas, a band at Wheatley High included Tom Archia on saxophone in the orchestra, while Richie Dell played piano. Their bandmates included Illinois and Russell Jacquet, Arnett Cobb (tenor saxophone), Calvin Boze (trumpet), and George Haynes on drums. Later in college the Prairie View Collegians included Calvin Boze, and his high school band mate Tom Archia . The band also included a pianist-vocalist and chemistry major and future teacher named Charles Brown. In the early forties Calvin Boze also branched out as a vocalist with the Southwestern territory band of Marvin Johnson. By the mid forties Boze was a member of the Milton Larkins Orchestra where he joined another Texas born high school band mate, hard charging tenor sax star Illinois Jacquet. Another member of the band was alto sax player and vocalist Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. During the latter forties Boze developed a vocal style patterned after Louis Jordan.

By January of 1950 Boze was in the middle of a long extended gig at Los Angeles' Georgia's Playroom. The other members of the combo were Don Wilkerson on tenor sax, Floyd Turnham on alto sax, Chuck Waller on baritone sax, Willard McDaniel on piano, Ulysses Livingston on guitar, bassist Bill Cooper, and drummer Walter Murden. The current record out on Aladdin of "Workin' With My Baby" and "Satisfied" proves to be a moderate R & B hit in his home state of Texas. In February the Calvin Boze Combo is scheduled to follow Johnny Otis into the Barrelhouse Club on Central Avenue in Watts. In March Aladdin #3045 - "Waitin' And Drinkin'" and "If You Ever Had The Blues" is released. Soon after the new record is out the Boze band appears at the annual Easter Promenade Show hosted by the L.A. Sentinel.

In April Boze and his band help celebrate the second anniversary of disc jockey Joe Adams at KOWL radio. In may Aladdin #3055 is released featuring the songs "Safronia B" and "Angel City Blues". The band embarks on a West coast tour with The Ravens and a new lineup for the band now includes Sheridan Black on alto sax, Chuck Thomas on tenor, Fletcher Smith on piano, Clarence Jones on bass, and Leroy McCleary on drums. In June Calvin is on stage with Dinah Washington at the Club Oasis in L.A. , and soon after makes his first tour of the Northeast as they do a tour of theaters including the Howard in D.C., Royal in Baltimore, the Uptown in Philadelphia, and the Apollo in New York. "Safronia B" turns out to be the best selling tune in the career of Boze and gets good reaction by audiences during the band's in person appearances. In late September Aladdin Records releases #3065 - "Lizzie Lou" parts one and two as listed by The Calvin Boze All Stars.

In October Calvin and Dinah Washington appear at Chicago's Pershing Ballroom. In November Aladdin Records plans to release a R & B LP album that will include three tunes by Boze. The album will be called "Blues After Hours". At years end Calvin and Dinah Washington continue their Midwest tour with stops at Cleveland and Gary, Indiana, at the city armory. After returning to Los Angeles for the new year Aladdin releases #3097 - ""Beale Street On A Saturday Night" and "Choo Choo's Bringing My Baby Back To Me". This was followed by #3086 - "Baby You're Tops With Me" and "Slippin' And Slidin'" and in July #3100 - "I've Got News For You" and "I Can't Stop Crying". Boze continues to get work in the Los Angeles area, while his record sales don't measure up to some of his earlier efforts. In November the instrumental "Fish tail" and the interesting title, "I'm Gonna Steam Off The Stamp" to wind up the year.

In early 1952 Boze is back at a favorite location with his band, the Club Alabam on Central Avenue. In March Aladdin #3122 is released and the tunes featured on the new record are "Hey Lawdy Miss Claudie" and "My Friends Told Me". In June Boze records "Good Time Sue" and "Keep Your Nose Out Of My Business" on #3132. In the fall Calvin Boze and his combo record "Looped" and "Blow Man Blow" on #3147. The song "Looped" is the big R & B tune of the fall. Tommy Ridgely also has a version of the song and he and Boze fight it out for top R & B honors. The song is also covered by Wally Mercer on Dot and Mel Smith on RCA, both pop music versions. Boze closes out the year with Aladdin #3160 - "Shamrock" and "Having A Time" with the Maxwell Davis Orchestra. By early 1953 Calvin Boze had virtually disappeared from the recording scene in L.A. and today remains a distant memory for those that were a part of the scene in the late 40s and early 50s.
JCMarion The World Of Marion-Net E Zines
 
Discography

Aladdin Records
3045 - Waiting And Drinking/If You Ever Had The Blues - 1950
3055 - Safronia B/Angel City Blues - 1950
3065 - Lizzie Lou, Part 1/Lizzie Lou, Part 2 - 1950
3072 - Stinkin' From Drinkin'/Look Out For Tomorrow Today - 1950
3079 - Beale Street On Saturday Night'/Choo Choo Ch' Boogieing My Baby Back Home - 1951
3086 - Slippin' And Slidin'/Baby, You're Tops With Me - 1951
3100 - I Got News For You/I Can't Stop Crying - 1951
3110 - I'm Gonna Steam Off The Stamp/Fish Tail - 1951
3122 - My Friend Told Me/Hey, Lawdy Miss Clawdy - 1952
3132 - Keep Your Nose Out Of My Business/Good Time Sue - 1952
3147 - Blow Man Blow/Looped - 1952
3160 - Havin' A Time/Shamrock - 1952
3181 - Shoot De Pistol/That Other Woman - 1953
Imperial Records
5844 - Safronia B/Shamrock - 1962

Amos Milburn

Biography

Boogie piano master Amos Milburn was born in Houston, and he died there a short 52 years later. In between, he pounded out some of the most hellacious boogies of the postwar era, usually recording in Los Angeles for Aladdin Records and specializing in good-natured upbeat romps about booze and its effects (both positive and negative) that proved massive hits during the immediate pre-rock era.

The self-taught 88s ace made a name for himself as "the He-Man Martha Raye" around Houston before joining the Navy and seeing overseas battle action in World War II. When he came out of the service, Milburn played in various Lone Star niteries before meeting the woman whose efforts would catapult him to stardom.

Persistent manager Lola Anne Cullum reportedly barged into Aladdin boss Eddie Mesner's hospital room, toting a portable disc machine with Milburn's demo all cued up. The gambit worked — Milburn signed with Aladdin in 1946. His first date included a thundering "Down the Road Apiece" that presaged the imminent rise of rock & roll. But Milburn was capable of subtler charms too, crooning mellow blues ballads in a Charles Brown-influenced style (the two would later become close friends, playing together frequently).

The first of Milburn's 19 Top Ten R&B smashes came in 1948 with his party classic "Chicken Shack Boogie," which paced the charts and anointed his band with a worthy name (the Aladdin Chickenshackers, natch). A velvet-smooth "Bewildered" displayed the cool after-hours side of Milburn's persona as it streaked up the charts later that year, but it was rollicking horn-driven material such as "Roomin' House Boogie" and "Sax Shack Boogie" that Milburn was renowned for. Milburn's rumbling 88s influenced a variety of famous artists, notably Fats Domino.

With the ascent of "Bad, Bad Whiskey" to the peak of the charts in 1950, Milburn embarked on a string of similarly boozy smashes: "Thinking and Drinking," "Let Me Go Home Whiskey," "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer" (an inebriating round John Lee Hooker apparently enjoyed!), and "Good Good Whiskey" (his last hit in 1954). Alcoholism later brought the pianist down hard, giving these numbers a grimly ironic twist in retrospect. Milburn's national profile rated a series of appearances on the Willie Bryant-hosted mid-'50s TV program Showtime at the Apollo (where he gave out with a blistering "Down the Road Apiece").

Aladdin stuck with Milburn long after the hits ceased, dispatching him to New Orleans in 1956 to record with the vaunted studio crew at Cosimo's. There he recut "Chicken Shack Boogie" in a manner so torrid that it's impossible to believe it didn't hit (tenor saxist Lee Allen and drummer Charles "Hungry" Williams blast with atomic power as Milburn happily grunts along with his pounding boogie piano solo). In 1957, he left Aladdin for good.

Milburn contributed a fine offering to the R&B Yuletide canon in 1960 with his swinging "Christmas (Comes but Once a Year)" for King. Berry Gordy gave him a comeback forum in 1962, issuing an album on Motown predominated by remakes of his old hits that doesn't deserve its extreme rarity today (even Little Stevie Wonder pitched in on harp for the sessions).

Nothing could jump start the pianist's fading career by then, though. His health deteriorated to the point where a string of strokes limited his mobility and his left leg was eventually amputated. Not too long after, one of the greatest pioneers in the history of R&B was dead.

Bill Dahl (Allmusic Guide)

Discography

Aladdin Records

159 - After Midnight/Amos' Blues - 1946

160 - My Baby's Boogin'/Darling How Long - 1946

161 - Down The Road A Piece/Don't Beg Me - 1946

173 - Amos' Boogie/Everything I Do Is Wrong - 1946

174 - Operation Boogie (Blues)/Cinch Blues - 1946

191 - Money Hustlin' Woman/Real Gone - 1947

201 - My Love Is Limited/Blues At Sundown - 1947

202 - Sad And Blue/That's My Chick - 1947

206 - Train Time Blues/Bye Bye Boogie - 1947

211 - I Still Love You/Pool Playing Blues - 1947

3014 - Chicken Shack Boogie/It Took A Long, Long Time - 1947

3018 - Bewildered/A & M Blues - 1947

3023 - Hold Me Baby/Jitterbug Parade - 1949

3026 - In The Middle Of The Night/Pot Luck Boogie - 1949

3032 - Rooming House Boogie/Empty Arms Blues - 1949

3037 - Let's Make Christmas Merry Baby/Bow Wow - 1949

3038 - Real Pretty Mama/Drifting Blues - 1949

3043 - I'm Just A Fool In Love/How Long Has This Train Been Gone - 1950

3049 - Walkin' Blues/Johnson Rag - 1950

3056 - Square Dance Boogie/Anybody's Blues - 1950

3058 - I Love Her/Birmingham Bounce - 1950

3059 - Hard Luck Blues/Ten Years Of Fortune - 1950

3054 - Sax Shack Boogie/Remember - 1950

3068 - Bad Bad Whiskey/I'm Going To Tell My Mama - 1950

3080 - Let's Rock A While/Tears, Tears, Tears - 1951

3090 - Everybody Clap Hands/That Was Your Last Mistake - 1951

3093 - Ain't Nothin' Shaking/Just One More Drink - 1951

3105 - She's Gone Again/Boogie Woogie - 1951

3124 - Thinkin' And Drinkin'/Trouble In Mind - 1952

3125 - Put Something In My Hand/Flying Home - 1952

3133 - Roll Mr. Jelly/I Won't Be Your Fool Any More - 1952

3146 - Button Your Lip/Everything I Do Is Wrong - 1952

3150 - Greyhound/Kiss Me Again - 1952

3159 - Rock, Rock, Rock/Boo Hoo - 1952
3164 - Let Me Go Home Whiskey/Three Times A Fool - 1953

3168 - Long, Long Day/Please Mr. Johnson - 1953

3197 - One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer/What Can I Do - 1953

3218 - Good, Good Whiskey/Let's Have A Party - 1953

3226 - How Could You Hurt Me So/Rocky Mountain - 1954

3240 - Milk And Water/I'm Still A Fool For You - 1954

3248 - Baby, Baby All The Time/Glory Of Love - 1954

3253 - Vicious, Vicious, Vodka/l Done, Done It - 1954

3269 - One, Two, Three Everybody/That's It - 1954

3281 - Why Don't You Do Right/I Love You Anyway - 1955

3293 - All Is Well/My Happiness Depends On You - 1955

3306 - House Party/I Guess I'll Go - 1955

3320 - French Fried Potatoes And Ketchup/I Need Someone - 1956

3332 - Juice, Juice, Juice/Chicken Shack Boogie - 1956

3340 - Everyday Of The Week/Girl Of My Dreams - 1956

3363 - Rum And Coca-Cola/Soft Pillow - 1957

3370 - Greyhound/Dear Angel - 1957

3383 - Thinking Of You Baby/If I Could Be With You - 1957
Ace Records

561 - w Charles Brown - I Want To Go Home/Educated Fool - 1959

King Records

5405 – w Charles Brown - Christmas Comes But Once A Year/Please Come Home For Christmas - 1960

5464 - w Charles Brown - I Wanna Go Back Home/My Little Baby - 1961

5483 - My Sweet Baby's Love/Heartaches That Make You Cry - 1961

5529 - Movin' Time/The Hammer - 1961
Imperial Records 
5831 - I'm Still A Fool For You/Rocky Mountain - 1962

Motown Records

1038 - I'll Make It Up To You Somehow/My Baby Gave Me Another Chance - 1963