Re: [Harp-L] SBW I revisited / Rhythm Willie

[scott <checker758@xxxxxxxxx>]

> martin oldsberg wrote:
> 
> Are you sure this is SBW I? Robert Nigthawk did some stuff with Rythm 
> Willie -- know for his top octave fluency -- and I´ve seen these cuts 
> attributed to other players several times (not to take anything from 
> SBW, but I´ve never heard him play much in the top octave -- perhaps 
> I´ve yet to learn?).
 
 
This is incorrect.  Rhythm Willie never recorded with Robert Nighthawk.  
 
John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson recorded quite a bit with Robert McCoy/Nighthawk, and was an excellent first position player who spent a lot of time at the top end of the harp.  Since Nighthawk never recorded with any harp player other than Williamson him until the 1960s, I think we can safely say that the Nighthawk recordings referred to below do in fact feature Williamson on harp.
 
The complete Rhythm Willie discography consists of 16 recordings.  I'm a little surprised that some European label hasn't compiled them onto a "Complete Rhythm WIllie" CD yet, since all of the recordings are out of copyright protection now over there.  For those who are interested, here is the list of every known Rhythm Willie recording:
 
RHYTHM WILLIE DISCOGRAPHY
(Based on Blues & Gospel Records 1902-1943, Blues Records 1943-
1970, and personal research.)

PEETIE WHEATSTRAW                    Chicago Sept. 14, 1939   
Peetie Wheatstraw, vocals; probably Lee Brown, piano; possibly 
Lonnie Johnson or Bill Gaither, guitar; Rhythm Willie, hca; 
unknown drums 
91776-A  You Can't Stop Me From Drinkin'      Decca 7692, Wolf  B.O.B 8 CD
91777-A  I Want Some Seafood                  Decca 7657 
91778-A  Rollin' Chair                        Decca 7676 
91779-A  Love Bug                             Decca 7676, Blues Col./EPM CAD-465 
91780-A  Confidence Man (or Confidence Blues) Decca 7692 
(Rhythm Willie is not present on 91775-A from this session) 
(All above titles also issued on Document DOCD-5246) 

LEE BROWN                            Chicago Sept. 14, 1939  
Lee Brown, piano and vocals, Rhythm Willie, hca; poss. Bill 
Gaither or Lonnie Johnson, gtr; unknown drums     
91781-A  Little Brownskin Girl                Decca 7686
91782-A  Lock And Key Blues                   Decca 7654
91783-A  Treated Like A Dog                   Decca 7654
91784-A  My Drivin' Wheel                     Decca 7686, Yazoo 1053
(All above titles issued on RST Records/Blues Documents album 
BD-2005 and Document CD DOCD-5344) 

RHYTHM WILLIE & HIS GANG             Chicago Oct. 10, 1940   
Rhythm Willie, hca; unknown piano, bass; poss. Red Saunders, drums
       
C-3407-1 New Block And Tackle Blues           Okeh 05856
C-3408-1 Breathtakin' Blues                   Okeh 05960
C-3409-1 Bedroom Stomp                        Okeh 05856
C-3410-1 Boarding House Blues                 Okeh 05960
(All above titles also on Wolf WSE 109) 

EARL BOSTIC ORCHESTRA--RHYTHM WILLIE, HARMONICA                    
                                      New York City   Sept. 1947 
Earl Bostic, as; Rhythm Willie, hca; poss. R. Jones, tp; R. 
Powell, as/cl; T. Barnett, ts; G. Parker, p; J. Shirley, g; V. 
King, b; C. Cruickson, d      
275      Willie's Boogie                      Aladdin/Pathe-Marconi 1561321 (F)
276      untitled boogie                      unissued
277      untitled                             unissued
278      untitled slow blues                  unissued 

RHYTHM WILLIE, HIS HARMONICA AND ORCHESTRA    Chicago 1950 
Rhythm Willie, hca; unknown saxes; p; b; d (poss. Memphis Slim & 
His Orchestra) 
UB50-1062 Wailin' Willie                      Premium PR-866, Sundown CG708-06(NL)
UB50-1063 I've Got Rhythm                     Premium PR-866 
 
 
> > 
> > 
> > I got a Robert Nighthawk cd a few months ago that contains his pre-war 
> > recordings. I've been listening to it again over the last few days. SBW 
> > I plays on a lot of the tracks. In reference to the recent thread on 
> > SBW I's technical skill, you might be surprised at what he does on some 
> > of the records. There's some top octave stuff that's really good. In 
> > general his playing is better than it was on a lot of his recordings as 
> > a leader.
> > 
> > A search on "Robert Lee McCoy" or "Robert Nighthawk" should turn it up. 
> > The cd I have is on the Wolf label, but I think there's at least one 
> > more.
> 
> 
> -- 
> Hear Barrelhouse Solly on the internet--that's me
> 
>   http://www.soundclick.com/barrelhousesolly
> _______________________________________________
> Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
> Harp-L@xxxx
> http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com