Snatch & Grab It 1944-1949

Julia Lee | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 15, 2000)
• Original Release Date: August 15, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Epm Musique
• ASIN: B00004WFD3
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #788,017 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Come on Over to My House

2. Trouble in Mind

3. If It's Good

4. Dream Lucky Blues

5. Lotus Blossom

6. Gotta Gimme What'cha Got

7. Snatch and Grab It

8. If You Hadn't Got Away

9. Bleeding Hearted Blues

10. Mama Don't Allow It

11. I Was Wrong

12. That's What I Like

13. King Size Papa

14. I Didn't Like It the First Time

15. Christmas Spirit

16. Tonight's the Night

17. Do You Want It?

18. My Man Stands Out

19. Don't Come Too Soon

20. Ugly Papa

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Her salacious songs ("the songs my mother told me not to sing," she said) and great blues voice made Julia "Kansas City's Sweetheart of Song," and her '40s Capitol sides made her an R&B star. Here are the best of those influential sides: her Top 10 hits Snatch and Grab It; King Size Papa; I Didn't Like It the First Time; Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got; That's What I Like; Tell Me, Daddy , and 18 more! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Queen Of Risque R&B, July 31, 2007

By 

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

This review is from: Snatch & Grab It 1944-1949 (Audio CD)

This import CD, which captures the best offerings of Julia Lee And Her Boyfriends [Dave Cavanaugh on tenor sax and the great Benny Carter on alto sax, among others], amply demonstrates why she was regarded in many quarters as the "Queen of Risque R&B."

Born in 1902 in Boonville, Missouri, she took to the stage at age four with her father's band, and from 1920 to 1933 was a featured performer with her brother George E. Lee's orchestra. Her earliest known recordings date from 1927 on the Merritt label, but she really came into her own in 1944 when she formed her own group.

After securing a contract with Capitol, she hit the charts for the first time in 1946 with Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got which made to # 3 b/w Lies on what then passed for the R&B charts {Most-Played Juke Box Race Records]. She followed that up in early 1947 with the # 5 I'll Get Along Somehow b/w Young Girl's Blues. Not one of those four sides is included here.

Later in 1947, the smash (Opportunity Knocks But Once) Snatch And Grab It [track 7] made it to # 1 and held that spot for TWELVE weeks b/w I Was Wrong [track 11], and the A-side also became her first Pop crossover, reaching # 24. That also was the case with her first hit in 1948 when King Size Papa peaked at # 1 R&B, where it stayed for NINE weeks, and # 15 Pop b/w When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You) - not here. Three more hits followed in 1948, That's What I Like [# 6 R&B - track 12] b/w Crazy World (not here), Tell Me, Daddy [# 9 R&B) b/w (It Will Have To Do) Until The Real Thing Comes Along - neither side included here, and Christmas Spirits [# 14 R&B - track 15] b/w Charmaine [not here].

Her final three charters came in 1949, beginning with I Didn't Like It The First Time (The Spinach Song) which topped out at # 4 R&B and # 29 Pop (track 14) b/w Sit Down And Drink It Over (not here), followed by Tonight's The Night [# 13 R&B - track 16] b/w After Hours Waltz (not here) and You Ain't Got It No More [# 9 R&B - track 22) b/w Oh Chuck It (In A Bucket) - not included here.

Julia, who died of a heart attack at age 56 on December 8, 1958, is not as well known today as some of her more famous contemporaries who sang similar songs [e.g., Dinah Washington], but for a time there she certainly ranked with the best.

A decent enough collection from the folks at Epm Musique, but I had to deduct 2 stars due to the missing hits and all those great flipsides.