|
|
Crazy Blues The Best of Mamie Smith A Compilation from Sony Legacy: Roots & Blues 2004 |
|
|
Crazy Blues The Best of Mamie Smith A Compilation from Sony Legacy: Roots & Blues 2004 |
| Most of these songs were originally recorded on Okeh Records from 1920 to 1923. This CD is comprised of the very best of the very first African American vocalist to sing on a commercial record. Mamie Smith was a vaudeville act when she started out. She moved to New York in 1913 and was working in Harlem as a dancer and singer (complete with trapeze work!) with Jazz and Blues incorporated in the act. It wasn’t until manager Perry Bradford got her to record 1 or 2 songs (which went over well) that he was able to convince Okeh Records that there was a market for her particularly earthy Blues sound. He put a band called The (Her) Blues Hounds together and they and Ms. Smith recorded together until 1923. The advent of the original Crazy Blues opened the door for a slew of “race records” and the industry cleaned up. |
| Sony Legacy once again justifies its name with this spectacular compilation of Mamie Smith’s recordings. The Jazz Hounds include Johnny Dunn on coronet, Dope Andrews on trombone, Ernest ‘Sticky’ Elliot on clarinet, Leroy Parker on violin and Perry Bradford on piano. Legends like Charles Matson, Clarence Williams (piano), Nathan Glantz (clarinet & sax) and Buddy Christian (banjo) float through like musical angels and the production entire proved to me that I was born 70 years too late. Land! How I wanted to be in the audience to hear this live. Some recordings from ’29 and ’31 round out the CD though much of the accompaniment is unknown. "My Sportin’ Man" is an exception, as it features Billy Fowler (piano) and His Orchestra and is the standout recording for me. The notes show that it was “Unissued on 78 rpm” which I would think translates to “never before released,” unless of course it was on an Edison cylinder. |
|
|
In the 30s and 40s Ms. Smith appeared in films including Paradise in Harlem (39), Sunday Singers (40), Stolen Paradise (41) and Murder on Lenox Avenue (41). She continued to perform and record until her death in New York in 1946 at the age of 53. Too soon, m’love, too damned soon: the story is that she was killed in a hit and run in New York City. Yeah, it’s a tad scratchy here and there but who the hell cares? Sad words coupled with lively music and marvelous melody give you a Blues sound you don’t expect but know all the way down to your toes that this is where today’s sound started. If you love Blues, you must get your hands on this. You’ve not heard anything like it. —Jessie Lilley |
