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Jasmine's ongoing commitment to anthologising Post-WWII Blues and
R&B continues to bring forth great collections by some of the genre's
greatest names and, indeed, some of its greatest unknowns
The subject of this CD falls into the latter category, despite enjoying a career that
spanned almost a decade and a half and that introduced one of the all- time
classics of North California Rhythm & Blues.
Jimmy Wilson was never interviewed, and the (very) little we know about him
comes from the memories of a couple of musicians who worked with him at
various times. He started out as a gospel singer, but switched to R&B at the
instigation of west coast producer-songwriter Bob Geddins, with whom he was
closely associated in the period covered by "Blues In The Alley".
Most of his records sold well locally, without crossing over to the mainstream.
The one exception was Jimmy's 'signature song', the original version of the blues
standard 'Tin Pan Alley' which probably sold better than all his other records
combined, but which he was unable to follow up commercially in spite of making
many other recordings of comparable quality.
"Blues In The Alley" offers a superb overview not just of Jimmy's music, but also
of the Bay Area blues scene of the early 1950s - of which Jimmy was a key
component. Shortly after making the last of the sides featured here, Jimmy
moved away from North California and continued recording in Louisiana. A heavy
drinker, he passed away in 1966 at the age of just 42.
Jasmine is delighted to refocus attention on Jimmy's recorded legacy with a
collection that pulls together all the secular blues recordings that he cut with
Geddins between 1948 and 1956.
Tracklist
Honey Bee
Please Believe Me
It's A Sin To Tell A Lie (Monologue: Scatman Crothers)
Mistake In Life
Every Dog Has His Day
Lemon Squeezer
It's Time To Change
Any Man's A Fool
Tin Pan Alley
Call Me A Hound Dog
A Woman Is To Blame
Blues At Sundown
Ethel Lee
Tell Me
Baby Don't Want Nobody But Me
Crying Like A Baby Child
Strangest Blues
I Used To Love A Woman
Teardrops On My Pillow
Mountain Climber
Louise - Jimmy Wilson
Send Me Your Key
Poor Poor Lover
Trouble In My House
Jumping From Six To Six
I've Found Out
Oh! Red
Blues In The Alley