Customer Reviews

Old Maid Boogie

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.