Old Maid Boogie

Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 16, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Culture Press
• ASIN: B000007S1T
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #836,792 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Cherry Red

2. Things Ain't What They Used to Be

3. Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby?

4. Somebody's Gotta Go

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Be Selective When It Comes To Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson Compilations, September 8, 2007

By 

AvidOldiesCollector (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Old Maid Boogie (Audio CD)

If you're looking for hit singles featuring Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson you have to be selective. For example, while Eddie and his powerfully-pure blues voice did sing hit versions of Is You Is Or Is You Ain't, Cherry Red Blues, and Somebody's Gotta Go, he did so for Hit Records while a member of the Cootie Williams Orchestra in 1944 and 1945.

The versions here are obviously re-makes by Vinson and his own band, as is the b-side to Cherry Red Blues - Things Ain't What They Used To Be. If you want the originals, seek out the CD 1941-1944 Cootie Williams.

It's also unclear as to whether these are the original Mercury Eddie Vinson & His Orchestra renditions of Old Maid Boogie [# 1 R&B in 1947] b/w Kidney Stew Blues [# 5 R&B on its own].

His only other charted hit was the comical 1949 "answer" song to 1944's Cherry Red Blues - Somebody Done Stole My Cherry Red - which, under the billing Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, made it to # 6 R&B that November. Done for the King label, that is not included in this CD, although the original IS available on Vol. 3 - Battle Of The Blues.

Another reviewer was correct in his opinion that there is a "sameness" to many of the selections. Like certain aspects of Country music, this is a fact of the early blues, and if it happens to be coming from a Texas bluesman - as was the case with Vinson - you also get that unique "squeal" which permeates their sound.

Eddie Vinson passed away on July 2, 1988 at age 70.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best big-band blues, July 27, 2000

By 

Charles Platt (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Old Maid Boogie (Audio CD)

Vinson played alto sax, fronting his own big band in the 1940s. You get the great big-band sound with truly excellent blues feel, and some raunchy lyrics. This CD is the best-value intro to Vinson; the only criticism might be that there's a sameness to some of the cuts.

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Jazz's most dynamic singers in one of a few rare albums, May 2, 2009

By 

Jesse H. Simpson "kupyets" (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Old Maid Boogie (Audio CD)

I first heard Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson on a public radio blues program in 1996, and I was overwhelmed by his performance of Cherry Red with the Cootie Williams Orchestra. Finding this rendition of Cherry Red Blues seemed almost impossible throughout the past 12 years, until I was able to locate it through Amazon-dot-com.

Every song on this CD is a treasure to listen to, even for someone who never was a fan of big band music.

Vinson's unique almost-screeching voice, is not unpleasant and is almost hypnotic in its appeal. If you're a fan of the blues, this CD is a must to have.