Album Description

"A top-notch compilation of classic performances with superb booklet and photos as well. This is an essential album for anyone interested in blues or string band music." Terry Zwigoff - film director Art School Confidential, Bad Santa, Ghost World, Crumb, Louie Bluie - oldhatrecords.com/ZwigoffInt.html

The violin played a significant role in the early history of recorded blues, with its crying vibratos and sliding notes creating a dramatic and soulful sound. Violin, Sing The Blues For Me offers 24 tracks of this rare music, played by many of the greatest black fiddlers who recorded before mid-century. From the sophisticated style of Lonnie Johnson to the raw Delta blues of Henry Sims to the rollicking tunes of the Memphis Jug Band, these musicians demonstrate the depth and diversity of African-American fiddle music. Included are two early instrumentals by the multitalented Howard Armstrong, also known as "Louie Bluie," whose career in music spanned seven decades. This unique collection presents 73 minutes of vintage fiddle music carefully remastered from original 78rpm records. In addition to blues, the album contains country dances, rags and stomps, folk songs and medicine show music. The CD comes with a 32-page, full-color booklet with detailed history, complete discography, and a host of rare photographs and illustrations.

Amazon.com

Nearly essential for anyone interested in old-time music, Violin, Sing the Blues for Me may be quite simply the best single-disc anthology of the early 20th century black string-band movement available today. The emphasis here is on the bluesy fiddle playing heard between 1926 and 1949, but the music boasts reams of diverse styles and playing that is simply impossible to pigeonhole. Andrew Baxter milks his fiddle for all its plaintive worth against brother Jim's guitar on "K.C. Railroad Blues," the Mississippi Mud Steppers' "Alma Waltz" is as sublime as they come (perhaps the greatest side ever recorded to feature a banjo-mandolin), and there are plenty of other tracks featuring the now-forgotten wail of the blues violin. But the lively tunes steal the show here: the Mobile Strugglers's previously unissued "Memphis Blues" from 1949 is a classic breakdown; the Tennessee Chocolate Drops's "Vine Street Drag" (featuring the fast fiddling of Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong) showcases some true violin virtuosity; and the Memphis Jug Band's "Memphis Shakedown" is a tour de force of energy and great playing. Truth is, there's not a weak track here, and the copious liner notes will keep you busy long after the CD has played out. If you want to hear the roots of the blues, don't pass this disc up. --Jason Verlinde

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Discs and Tracks

Disc 1
  1 - Violin Blues - Johnson Boys
  2 - K.C. Railroad Blues - Andrew & Jim Baxter
  3 - Beaver Slide Rag - "Peg Leg" Howell & His Gang
  4 - Alma Waltz - Mississippi Mud Steppers
  5 - Window Pane Blues - Tommie Bradley
  6 - Travelin' Railroad Man - Alabama Sheiks
  7 - Pig Meat Blues - Whistler & His Jug Band
  8 - Right Now Blues - Frank Stokes
  9 - East Jackson Blues - Bo Chatmon
  10 - Memphis Blues - Mobile Strugglers
  11 - Vine Street Drag - Tennessee Chocolate Drops
  12 - Broken Bed Blues - Kansas City Blues Strummers
  13 - Lonesome Blues - Henry Williams & Eddie Anthony
  14 - Memphis Shakedown - Memphis Jug Band
  15 - Adam And Eve - Tommie Bradley
  16 - Tell Me Man Blues - Henry "Son" Sims
  17 - Blue Coat Blues - "Blue Coat" Tom Nelson
  18 - Salty Dog - Booker Orchestra
  19 - Baby, Please Don't Go - Joe Williams' Washboard Blues Singers
  20 - Stop & Listen Blues No. 2 - Mississippi Sheiks
  21 - Stealin' Blues - Cow Cow Davenport
  22 - The Moore Girl - Andrew & Jim Baxter
  23 - Highway No. 61 Blues - Jack Kelly & His South Memphis Jug Band
  24 - Ted's Stomp - Louie Bluie & Ted Bogan

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Impressive compilation!        Rating:

I bought this CD along with Folks, He Sure Do Pull Some Bow! Vintage Fiddle Music 1927-1935: Blues, Jazz, Stomps, Shuffles & Rags. Both I am very impressed with, with 24 songs each they give a wonderful overview of a largely under-rated area of music (African-American Fiddlers). If you are interested in Fiddle, Blues, Folk or music history generally these really are worth buying. The liner notes are the best, most informative I have ever seen in any compilation album and really worth the read alone. Excellent! Excellent! I can't praise this production enough! I will be checking out more of what Old Hat Records has on offer.

Some not so pretty, but mostly Great. I want more from Old Hat!        Rating:

Inspired by my recent review of Sam Ku West's cd of Hawaiian steel guitar from 1927 and '28, and his version of Memphis Blues contained therein, I decided I need to review this disc which contains a killer Memphis Blues by the Mobile Strugglers.

What you get here is a very fine collection of mostly pre-war fiddle musics, covering a wide range of styles and abilities. From the abysmal toned, a-rhythmic atrocity of Alma Waltz (the very rare bad track) by the Mississippi Mudsteppers at the low end of the spectrum, to the bluesy drawl of Broonzy's fiddle, all the way up to the utter brilliance of the great Lonnie Johnson.

Still, the lesser-knowns are what this is about. Sure the titles of this and the "Folks, He..." disc put the emphasis on violins/fiddles but the music doesn't stop there. There are some seriously great bands here. Full-on killin groove units that will have you dancing on the couch as you listen... Memphis Shakedown and the "train impersonation" song, Moore Girl, for example. I've always found the latter interesting because, at least in my experiences thus far, I'm more familiar with black train-sound songs being done with harmonica, while whites seem to favor fiddle trains. A very cool track.

Also though, for me, Frank Stokes' Right Now Blues and the Alabama Sheiks' Travelin Railroad Blues give this disc a more pensive, vulnerable feeling than the "Folks, He..." disc.

Lots of stylistic variety, lots of great songs and playing. Had I reviewed this when it first came out I'd have probably given it 5 stars, but with the subsequent release of "Folks, He..." I do have to say that the "Folks, He..." disc has a touch better sound. A little less muffled. When I listen to these 2 right in a row, I listen to this one a few clicks louder to make it sound as good.

My continued thanks to all the collectors out there who saved this stuff, and to labels like Old Hat who've allowed people like me to enjoy!

Stunning recordings, rare music        Rating:

It's pretty amazing, this late in the folkloric/historic reissues game, to find a whole album's worth of "undiscovered" old-timey music that is of such a high caliber. Old Hat Records, a tiny North Carolina indie label, packs its discs with some of the best music in the style that you're ever likely to hear. (You might also want to check out the "Lost Provinces" and "Folks, He Sure Do Pull Some Bow" CDs...) This disc highlights a rare style of African-American fiddle music, featuring rare recordings by the bands that dotted the southern landscape 'way back when. These groups mixed stringband styles and jazzy jug-band blues and, not incidentally, made some of the catchiest music ever. In addition to great sound quality and great material, the CD is handsomely packaged; the insert booklets include some really cool archival photos, as well as extensive liner notes of the sort that have been woefully absent on similar recent reissue efforts.

An album to live with        Rating:

This has rapidly become one of my favorite discs. Excellent selection of tracks, excellent transfers, excellent booklet. My only complaint would be that the text in the booklet is not in the same order as the tracks on the disk.

Great music - great supporting documentation        Rating:

As early as colonial times, free and enslaved blacks were widely known for their virtuosity on the fiddle, so it was only natural that the instrument would eventually find a home in the blues...even though most people probably don't tend to think of it there. And that's the beauty of this CD. It contains samples of the blues and many of the traditions that preceded it: country dances, rags and stomps, folks songs and medicine show music, all lovingly remastered from early recordings to create 73 minutes of vintage fiddle music. The 32-page full-color booklet alone is worth the price. This is a must-have for any student of African American culture in general, or anyone who just enjoys good music.

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