Blues Texas Blues Texas Blues - Volume 7
Texas Blues - Volume 7
Texas Blues - Volume 7
01. Lien on your body 02. Unsatisfied mind Calvin "Loudmouth" Johnson - vocals, guitar D. C. Bender - guitar, bass, drums Houston, Tx. March 1964 03. Lost you baby Calvin "Loudmouth" Johnson - vocals, guitar, harmonica + band Houston, Tx. 23 June 1965 04. Lien on your body (Mortgage on your soul) 05. Unsatisfied mind 1967 06. Late on blues 07. They call me Loudmouth 08. Once I had a woman 09. Take my choice 10. Unwelcome in your town 11. Gangster of love 12. Alone in my bedroom 13. Hootchie Cootchie man 14. Moth Balls 15. She's mine 16. Rock me baby 17. Down and out Calvin "Loudmouth" Johnson - vocals, guitar, harmonica Johnny Winter - guitar + band Houston, Tx. 17 May 1967 18. Coming back home 19. Mr Ticket Agent Silver Cooks (John Cooks) - vocals, drums apa Lightfoot - harmonica Tommy Ridgley - piano Edgar Blanchard - guitar Don Cooks - bass Houston, Tx. 1949 20. Worry blues Jesse Lockett - vocals, guitar Brazoria, Tx. 16 April 1939 21. Hole in the wall 22. Mellow hour blues 23. Boogie woogie mama (prob. alt. take to Hole in the wall) Jesse Lockett - vocals Earl Sims - alto saxophone Jimmy Moorman - trumpet Doc Jones - tenor saxophone Laurence Robinson - piano C. Lechugo - bass Felix Gross - drums Los Angeles, Ca. 1946 24. Reefer blues 25. Don't lose your mind 26. Run rabbit run 27. Cold blooded woman Jesse Lockett - vocals Will Rowland - alto saxophone + band Houston, Tx. January 1949
This 7th Opus of our Texas Blues series brings to the fore three quite obscure Texas bluesmen who, nevertheless, leave us some quite interesting records.
Calvin "Loudmouth" Johnson was singing in the Houston area juke joints during the late 1950's and 60's. He seems to have lead a small band with guitarist D.C. Bender (cf Texas blues/ Vol. 6) with whom he recorded a self produced 45 which he was selling from the bandstand.
Calvin was "discovered" by producer Roy Ames around 1965 while he was mostly making a living from scrap dealing. Ames recorded him several times, particularly in 1967, first a session with his own band of friends. But the results were so awful that Roy decided to start back the whole affair, this time with his own protégé (and also discovery) Johnny Winter plus some good local musicians during a three days session that gave an excellent reworking of Lien on your body (Mortgage on your soul) that became soon a small local hit. The following years, Johnson is reported singing and playing bass at Houston venues with a group named The Ministers of Sinisters with Mike "Wezo" Wesolowsky at the harmonica and Russ Wilson on the drums... We unfortunately don't know when Calvin was born and when he (probably) died and where he was buried.
Drummer (and singer) Silver (John) Cooks, probably the brother of bassist Don Cooks, is just a name, possibly from New Orleans. He has recorded behind Edgar Blanchard and Papa Lightfoot and under his name only one excellent single.
Houston singer Jesse Lockett was playing regularly in the clubs of Houston's Third Ward during the 1940's, even issuing four 45s that shows a very convincing Texas blues belter. He had previously recorded half a track (unfortunately cut short by probably technical problems) in 1939 for John Lomax while he was serving a prison sentence at the Brazorias Penitentiary. The track is an excellent country blues where Jesse plays an unmistakable Texas guitar style. Local newspaper The Houston Informer wrote on July 31, 1943, that "Jesse Lockett, the blues shouter and composer, has returned to the Lincoln Theatre stage show after filling an engagement at the exclusive ofay nitery on the outskirts of town. Returning on the zoom, Lockett has knocked up some more of his low down numbers and (is) really blowing his tops.". And his last single, issued in January 1949, is also reported in the same paper by columnist John "Sid" Thompson with some laudatory comments: “Jesse Lockett, hefty blues singer, who is a native Houstonian, has returned to the city from California, where he went to cut a few records. Jesse is still doing the blues and his latest, which should get somewhere, is 'Run Little Rabbit Run' (sic ). A catchy tune with lots of blues tempo it still has a bit of be-bop. Have him sing it when you see him.” Elsewhere in the column, Sid notes the presence of an out-of-town band, Will Rowland, but doesn't specify that they were the backing band on "Rabbit": “Listen to the traveling band of Will Rowland, who came to Houston via Beaumont from Los Angeles. A seven piece combo, the band did jump a little but not in the class of recent small bands heard here. One of those fine girls (of the Jane Russell type). Elsie Jones, entertained with the group.”
We have unfortunately no idea of the whereabouts of Jesse Lockett who seems to have vanished during the early 50's. We have been able to gather all his recordings minus one title (Blacker the berry).
A lot of thanks to Cesare Malagodi, the excellent blog about Texas records labels Wired for Sound and the late Roy C. Ames with whom we had quite a long correspondance during the 1970's. --- Gérard Herzhaft, jukegh.blogspot.com
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