The Legend of Sleepy John Estes

Hammie Nixon, Sleepy John Estes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 18, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Delmark
• ASIN: B000004BI0
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #362,516 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Rats In My Kitchen

2. Someday Baby

3. Stop That Thing

4. Diving Duck Blues

5. Death Valley Blues

6. Married Woman Blues

7. Down South Blues

8. Who's Been Telling You, Buddy Brown

9. Drop Down Mama

10. You Got To Go

11. Milk Cow Blues

12. I'd Been Well Warned

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In The Times Of Sleepy John Estes, December 4, 2009

By 

Alfred Johnson (boston, ma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Legend of Sleepy John Estes (Audio CD)

I have spent considerable time in this space detailing the musical careers of a number of old time, mainly black, country blues musicians, especially, like the artist under review Sleepy John Estes, those who were "discovered" during the folk revival of the 1960s. Not everyone got the publicity of the likes of Mississippi John Hurt, Son House and Skip James, but they at least got some well deserved notice on "discovery". Or, really rediscovery because most of them, like Sleepy John, had careers back in the day. But you get the point.

That said, I have remarked elsewhere that some of these two career stalwarts also had two musical voices. I always like to bring up the example of Mississippi John Hurt. If you hear him (and you should do so) on a recording from the late 1920s like you can on Harry Smith famous "Anthology of American Folk Music" where he is both dexterous on the guitar and velvety-voiced on the lyrics and melody and then check out a folk revival production where his guitar is still smoothly worked but his voice had become raspy (although very serviceable) you will see what I mean. The same holds true for Sleepy John. But here is the kicker. In both cases they still give that very deeply-rooted passionate voice in telling in song the lives of woe they have led and the music they have made.

Thus, as with Mississippi John the only question left is what are the stick outs you should pay special attention to: "Divin' Duck Blues," the much covered, especially by Geoff Muldaur of the old Jim Kweskin Jug Band, "Drop Down Mama," "Milk Cow Blues," and the mournful and heartfelt "I've Been Well Warned".

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great album of an unforgetable deep bluesman!!!, May 13, 2001

By 

Ricardo Neves Gonzalez (Petrópolis-R.J. [e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Legend of Sleepy John Estes (Audio CD)

Many of the great bluesmen weren't recognized.In spite of this fact they've left a great treasure of good moments and Sleepy John Estes was one of them.This album shows Este's way to play and sing with intensity heart feelings,his great songs with soulful lyrics almost all of them of his own composition.We must thanks the opportunity that Bob Koester gave to bluesfans to hear and know something more about this legendary bluesman,died December 1,1977,at 77.Rest in peace John Estes,you've passed by....so your music, will be eternal!!!