Indianapolis Country Blues Vol. 2

2015-05-09T15:58:07Z

Indianapolis Country Blues Vol. 2


01. Kill it Kid
02. The Hop joint

J.T. Adams – vocals, guitar
Shirley Griffith -  guitar
Indianapolis, In. 1960

03. I don't feel welcome
04. Kentucky guitar blues

J.T. Adams – vocals, guitar 
Shirley Griffith - guitar 
Indianapolis, In. 1 june 1966

05. Maggie Campbell
06. Saturday blues
07. Indianapolis jump
08. Big road blues

Shirley Griffith – vocals, guitar 
J.T. Adams - guitar 
Indianapolis, In. 1960

09. Lowdown dirty ways
10. The fives
11. Penal Farm blues

Pete Franklin – vocals, guitar, piano
Indianapolis, In. 24 december 1963

12. Spanish blues

Bertha Lee Jones - guitar 
Indianapolis, In. 24 december 1963

13. Big leg woman

James Easley – vocals, harmonica
Pete Franklin - guitar 
Raymond Holloway - guitar 
Indianapolis, In. 17 june 1961

14. Mandolin Stomp

Yank Rachell – mandolin
Shirley Griffith - guitar 
Indianapolis, In. 17 june 1964

15. Tappin' that thing
16. Pack my clothes and go
17. Skinny woman blues
18. Matchbox blues
19. Texas Tony
20. Des Moines, Iowa
21. Shotgun blues
22. Sugar Farm blues
23. Diving duck blues
24. Wadie Green
25. Peachtree blues

Yank Rachell – vocals, guitar, mandolin
Mike Stewart -  guitar
Indianapolis, In. 1972

In this second volume dedicated to the Indianapolis Country blues, there are four more excellent titles (not in any LP under their names) by J.T. Adams and Shirley Griffith (1908-74), a welcome add to their legacy.

Pete Franklin (Edward Lamonte Franklin) (1928-75) was born in Indianapolis and knew quite well Scrapper Blackwell, learning to play guitar and piano. In the 40's, Pete went to Chicago to try his luck, recorded four titles for Victor in 1949, played also in the studio behind Jazz Gillum, Saint Louis Jimmy, John Brim or Sunnlyand Slim. But tired of the hectic Chicago life, he went back to Indianapolis where he played the blues only for house parties and friends. "Discovered" by Art Rosenbaum, he waxed a good Bluesville LP and three more titles. Those three are featured here.

Bertha Lee Jones and James Easley are also part time blues musicians that gravitated around Blackwell et al.

James Yank Rachell (1910-97) is certainly not a representative of the "Indiana Country blues" style, becoming just a resident of this town during the war years. Yank is mostly well known for being a major force behind the Brownsville blues of his friend Sleepy John Estes with whom he played and recorded extensively. He is also renowned as one of the few blues mandolin players. But Yank has also been an important figure of the then emerging Chicago blues bands. The records he made in 1941 with John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson with intertwining guitar and harmonica, a strong rhythm anticipate what Muddy and Little Walter will do later on. Some of his compositions like Ludella, Hobo blues or Army man blues will become classics after the war when recorded by others like Jimmy Rogers or John Lee Hooker. But his sessions featured here are much more in the Brownville blues of his youth and are full of deep blues feeling. ---Gérard Herzhaft

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Indianapolis Country Blues Vol. 1

2015-05-07T15:43:56Z

Indianapolis Country Blues Vol. 1


01. Cold blooded murder
02. Blues and trouble
03. I'm gonna move to Kansas City
04. Sun burnt all my cotton*

Brooks Berry -  vocals, guitar (4)
Scrapper Blackwell – guitar, piano
Indianapolis, In. december 1959

05. My man is studyin' evil
06. Bama bound
07. Can't sleep for dreaming
08. Life ain't worth living
09. Blues is a feeling
10. How long

Brooks Berry -  vocals
Scrapper Blackwell – guitar, piano
Indianapolis, In. july 1961

11. A blues
12. Blind Lemon's blues
13. Bright street jump
14. Indiana Avenue blues
15. Kansas City
16. Matchbox blues
17. Naptown boogie

J.T. Adams – vocals, guitar 
Shirley Griffith -  guitar
Indianapolis, In. 1960

Before the war, Indianapolis had a quite strong blues scene but only two major figures, piano man Leroy Carr et ace guitarist Francis "Scrapper" Blackwell. When a local storeowner and producer, Mr Guernsey teamed the two bluesmen, he not only created a powerful duo but invented a formula (piano and guitar together) that in many ways launched what can be called "urban prewar blues".

But in the 1940's, even if the black sections were flooded with new migrants from nearby States like Kentucky who played and sang their blues, Indianapolis, lacking any recording studio, was no longer featured on the map of the blues.

It took the end of the 1950's and Art Rosenbaum, a young folk and blues fan who came to live in Indianapolis in 1947, to "rediscover" Scrapper Blackwell who was still playing his old blues style for house parties and friends. He had aggregated around him quite a handful of Country bluesmen that very fortunately Rosenbaum recorded between 1959 and 1962. But those blues records are very hard to find, most having never been reissued in any form and having sold very poorly.

In this volume 1, we found the singer Brooks Berry (born in Sturgis, Ky on march 1915). As she settled in Indianapolis with her mother, she befriended with Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell and went to see and hear them each time she could (very often cheating upon her real birthdate!). During the 40's and 50's, she was quite often singing accompanied by her friend Blackwell, whether on the guitar or the piano. But it was mainly a hobby for her for she had to make a meagre living as a housekeeper. Although reluctant, she nevertheless waxed two gripping sessions in 1959 and 1961, appeared in a few college campuses and folk clubs but gave up the blues when her friend Scrapper was tragically murdered on october 6th, 1962. We don't know what happened to her after that.

Singer and guitarist John Tyler (J.T.) Adams is another quite obscure name. Born in Morganfield, Ky on February, 17th, 1911, he learned the blues with his father who was a name in the local juke joints. J.T. came to Indianapolis in 1941, working at Chrysler's and playing the blues in the local clubs and parties. He also befriended with Blackwell but, being already an accomplished blues guitarist, he wasn't as strongly influenced by the local maestro than the others. But thanks again to Scrapper, he recorded some sides accompanied by another excellent local guitarist Shirley Griffith (1908-1974). Their two guitars intertwine each other brilliantly, giving an excellent but unfortunately only session. We don't know what happened to J.T. Adams after these recordings.

Griffith recorded two more superb LP's under his name that never resurfaced in the digital era. But you now can hear them on the first rate blog Don't ask me... All your comments and feedbacks are most welcomed. If possible, I'll try to make a volume 2 of more Indianapolis blues! ---Gérard Herzhaft, jukegh.blogspot.com

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