01. Baby Don't Tear My Clothes
02. Black Widow Spider
03. Cadilac Funeral
04. Cherry Red
05. Genuine Canine
06. Had To Take A Chance On You
07. I'm So Lonesome
08. Sinners Prayer
09. Talk About Love
10. Texas On My Mind
11. The President Lawyer
12. To Be With The One You Love

The contemporary blues boom resuscitated the career of many a veteran blues artist who had been silent for ages. Take guitarist Peppermint Harris, who in 1951 topped the R&B charts with his classic booze ode "I Got Loaded." Nobody expected a new Peppermint Harris CD in 1995, but Home Cooking producer Roy C. Ames coaxed one out of old Pep for Collectables nonetheless. Texas on My Mind may not be as enthralling as Harris' early-'50s output, but it was nice to have him back in circulation. By the time he was in his early twenties, Harrison Nelson, Jr. was lucky enough to have found a mentor and friend on the Houston blues front: Lightnin' Hopkins took an interest in the young man's musical development. When Harris was deemed ready, Lightnin' accompanied him to Houston's Gold Star Records. Nothing came of that jaunt, but Harris eventually recorded his debut 78 for the company in 1948 (as Peppermint Nelson).

Bob Shad's Sittin' in With label was the vehicle that supplied Harris' early work to the masses -- especially his first major hit, "Raining in My Heart," in 1950. These weren't exactly formal sessions; one legend has it one took place in a Houston bordello. Nor was Shad too cognizant of Pep's surname; when he couldn't recall it, he simply renamed our man Harris.

Harris moved over to Eddie Mesner's Aladdin Records in 1951, cutting far tighter sides for the firm in Los Angeles (often with the ubiquitous Maxwell Davis serving as bandleader and saxist). After "I Got Loaded" lit up the charts in 1951, Harris indulged in one booze ode after another: "Have Another Drink and Talk to Me," "Right Back on It," "Three Sheets in the Wind." But try as they might, the bottle let Harris down as a lyrical launching pad after that.

He drifted from Money and Cash to RCA's short-lived subsidiary "X" and Don Robey's Duke logo (where he allegedly penned "As the Years Go Passing By" for Fenton Robinson) after that, but it wasn't until a long-lasting association with Stan Lewis' Shreveport, Louisiana-based Jewel Records commenced in 1965 that Harris landed for longer than a solitary single. Later, Harris worked various day jobs around Houston, including one at a record pressing plant, before moving to Sacramento, California, and then to New Jersey to be with his daughter. ---Bill Dahl, allmusic.com

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A1 	I'll Wipe Away Your Tears 	
A2 	All For You 	
A3 	Here Come The Blues 	
A4 	I'd Rather Be Hurt 	
A5 	Sinner's Prayer 	
A6 	I'm So Lonesome 	
A7 	Cherry Red 	
B1 	Key To The Highway 	
B2 	The President's Lawyer 	
B3 	Talk About Love 	
B4 	Is There Someone Else 	
B5 	I'll Learn To Love Again 	
B6 	To Be With The One You Love 	
B7 	Fantasy

Peppermint Harris - Primary Artist, Vocals, Guitar
George Brown - Bass
Jeff Grails - Drums
Clarence Green - Guitar
Clarence Holliman - Guitar
Honeymoon Davis - Piano
Leo O'Neal - Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar (Steel)
Ted Reynolds - Piano
Teddy Reynolds – Piano

A curious collection of late-1950s and early-'60s recorded titles with unissued mid-'70s sides to pad things out. Oddly enough, Pep sounds the same despite the intervening years; his pleasing baritone rumbles through a set of his originals and standards like "Cherry Red" and "key to the Highway." Collections of Harris' best are not exactly plentiful, but this one isn't the place to start; seek out his Aladdin sides instead. ---Cub Koda, AllMusic Review

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1. True Love - 2:23
2. Marking Time - 2:39
3. Bad Bad Woman - 2:39
4. Mama Mama - 1:58
5. Anything You Can Do - 2:36
6. Raining In My Heart - 3:27
7. My Time After Awhile - 3:00
8. Unlucky - 2:25                        play
9. True Confession - 2:41
10. Tell Me I Can Come Home - 2:19
11. Anytime Is The Right Time - 2:38
12. Wait Until It Happens To You - 2:09
13. Bad Bad Whiskey - 2:16
14. Lonesome As I Can Be - 2:26
15. Little Girl - 2:02                   play
16. 24 Hours - 2:39
17. My Woman - 4:17
18. Nighty Night - 3:00
19. I'm Leaving - 2:59
20. Key To The Highway - 3:12
21. Raining In My Heart - 3:24

Texas R&B singer Peppermint Harris is best known for two early-'50s hits, the classic "Rainin' in My Heart" and "I Get Loaded," a drunken boast that led to a slew of other drinking songs from Harris, typecasting him as the man with a bottle in his hand, a mixed blessing at best. With an easy baritone that came across as a sort of late-night version of Sam Cooke on too many whiskey shots, Harris arguably did his best work with Jewel Records, a Louisiana label owned and run by Stan "The Record Man" Lewis. While he didn't have any huge hits between 1965 and 1971, the length of his stay at Jewel, Harris nonetheless produced some solid material, as this anthology shows. He reprises his self-penned "Rainin' in My Heart" twice here, and turns in a fine version of Big Bill Broonzy's "Key to the Highway," as well, and working with a large band, he shows a real talent for songwriting, vocal phrasing, and arrangement. There aren't a lot of Peppermint Harris CDs on the market, and while the 1950s Aladdin sides are more famous, this one, given its consistent tone and excellent sound, makes for probably a better introduction to Harris' unique version of Texas R&B. ---Steve Leggett, Rovi

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