1950-1951

Jimmy Witherspoon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 21, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Classics R&B
• ASIN: B000C74674
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #582,357 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Drinkin' Beer (Have a Ball)

2. Better Love Next Time, Pt. 1

3. Better Love Next Time, Pt. 2

4. Don't Ever Move a Woman into Your House

5. Hard Workin' Blues

6. Failing by Degrees

7. New Orleans Woman

8. I'm Goin' Around in Circles

9. Just a Country Boy

10. There Ain't Nothin' Better

11. Love and Friendship

12. Once There Lived a Fool

13. I'm Just Wonderin', Pt. 1

14. I'm Just Wonderin', Pt. 2

15. I'm Just a Ladies Man

16. You Can't Kiss a Dream Goodnight

17. Practice What You Preach

18. Blowing the Blues

19. It's Raining Outside

20. I Gotta Gal Lives Up on the Hill

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Spoon on Modern: Classic West Coast R&B, May 25, 2006

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1950-1951 (Audio CD)

This is the third volume in the Classics series of Jimmy Witherspoon's complete recorded output in chronological order. It covers the years 1950-51, and all the sides were done originally for the Modern label.

Spoonie was a powerful blues shouter, though there was a plaintive touch to everything he sang, even the quickest of numbers. He is best on slow, downhome blues, where he milks the tunes emotionally for everything they're worth: HARD WORKIN' BLUES, the two-part I'M JUST WONDERIN', IT'S RAINING OUTSIDE, and THE WIND IS BLOWIN' (which charted out at #7) are good examples. Tenorsax man Ben Webster is featured prominently on one session, and I'M JUST A COUNTRY BOY from that date is a real standout. Other outstanding accompanists include altosax player Jackie Kelso (AIN'T NOBODY'S BUSINESS) and tenorman Maxwell Davis (I'M JUST WONDERIN'). A number of the selections seem to be recorded before live audiences, and they really get into Jimmy's vocals, which often lend themselves to just that sort of response anyway. If the blues is a call-and-response type of music, Witherspoon knows better than most how to elicit that response from the audience. Jimmy was a great blues singer out of the Big Joe Turner school of blues belters, and this CD continues the superb reissue series of his early work on Classics.