Big Bill Broonzy & Washboard Sam (self titled)

1986 Chess reissue, restored and mastered by Steve Hoffman

Vinyl rip at 24/96 | FLAC (4% RAR recovery) | m3u, no cue or log (vinyl) | artwork

674 MB | Rapidshare | Blues | 1953 recordings

“In terms of his musical skill, the sheer size of his repertoire, the length and variety of his career and his influence on contemporaries and musicians who would follow, Big Bill Broonzy is among a select few of the most important figures in recorded blues history. Among his hundreds of titles are standards like "All by Myself" and "Key to the Highway." In this country he was instrumental in the growth of the Chicago Blues sound, and his travels abroad rank him as one of the leading blues ambassadors.

Literally born on the banks of the Mississippi, he was one of a family of 17 who learned to fiddle on a homemade instrument. Taught by his uncle, he was performing by age ten at social functions and in church. After brief stints on the pulpit and in the Army, he moved to Chicago where he switched his attention from violin to guitar, playing with elders like Papa Charlie Jackson. Broonzy began his recording career with Paramount in 1927. In the early '30s he waxed some brilliant blues and hokum and worked Chicago and the road with great players like pianist Black Bob, guitarist Will Weldon and Memphis Minnie.

During the Depression years Big Bill Broonzy continued full steam ahead, doing some acrobatic label-hopping (Paramount to Bluebird to Columbia to Okeh!). In addition to solo efforts, he contributed his muscular guitar licks to recordings by Bumble Bee Slim, John Lee (Sonny Boy) Williamson and others who were forging a powerful new Chicago sound. - Allmusic.com”

“Washboard Sam (born Robert Brown) was the illegitimate son of Frank Broonzy, who also fathered Big Bill Broonzy. Sam was raised in Arkansas, working on a farm. He moved to Memphis in the early '20s to play the blues. While in Memphis, he met Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon and the trio played street corners, collecting tips from passer-bys. In 1932, Washboard Sam moved to Chicago. Initially he played for tips, but soon he began performing regularly with Big Bill Broonzy. Within a few years, Sam was supporting Broonzy on the guitarist's Bluebird recordings. Soon, he was supporting a number of different musicians on their recording sessions, including pianist Memphis Slim, bassist Ransom Knowlin, and a handful of saxophone players, who all recorded for Bluebird.

In 1935, Washboard Sam began recording for both Bluebird and Vocalion Records, often supported by Big Bill Broonzy. Throughout the rest of the '30s and the '40s, Sam was one of the most popular Chicago bluesmen, selling numerous records and playing to packed audiences. After World War II, his audience began to shrink, largely because he had difficulty adapting to the new electric blues. In 1953, Washboard Sam recorded a session for Chess Records and then retired. In the early '60s, Willie Dixon and Memphis Slim tried to persuade Sam to return to the stage to capitalize on the blues revival. Initially, he refused, but in 1963 began perfoming concerts in clubs and coffeehouses in Chicago; he even played a handful of dates in Europe in early 1964.

Washboard Sam made his final recordings for the small Chicago-based label Spivey in 1964. The following year, his health quickly declined and he stopped recording and playing shows. In November of 1966, he died of heart disease.- Allmusic.com”

Big Bill was one of the first to record an electric guitar. Washboard Sam is clearly a master of the instrument, particularly evident on the track "Shirt Tail." These sides were recorded in Chicago for Chess in 1953, and released as Chess LP 1468, in 1962. This reissue sounds fantastic, the recordings have a real "breath of life." This is probably the best sounding recordings of either of these guys.

1986 reissue, Chess/MCA CH-9251

originally released as Chess LP 1468, in 1962

all tracks recorded in Chicago, 1953

matrix/deadwax info:

MCA-5697-M-ASR-2

MCA-5698-M-ASR-2

restored and mastered by Steve Hoffman

vinyl LP transfer at 24-bit 96khz

tracks:

A1 - Little City Woman

A2 - Lonesome Road Blues

A3 - Jacqueline

A4 - Romance Without Finance

A5 - By Myself

A6 - Shirt Tail

B1 - Diggin' My Potatoes

B2 - Bright Eyes

B3 - Mindin' My Own Business

B4 - Never, Never

B5 - Horse Shoe over My Door

B6 - I'm a Lonely Man

musicians:

Big Bill Broonzy - vocals, guitar

Washboard Sam - vocals, washboard

Ernest "Big" Crawford" - bass

Lee Cooper - guitar

Memphis Slim - piano

transfer infomint record

Nitty Gritty 1.5 RCM

Music Hall MMF 9.1

sticky hand stylus cleaning

Grado Master Reference 1 cartridge

Graham Slee Era Gold Reflex phono preamp

Mytek Stereo192 ADC (analog to digital converter)

cork platter mat, Blue Jean LC-1 interconnects, KAB super record grip Mk2

software used: Soundforge 9.0, ClickRepair 3.0.1 (in manual mode), Flac frontend 1.7.1

*note: all tracks mono, but needledrop is in stereo throughout. I thought the sound had more air and "space" this way.

flac fingerprints

A1 - Little City Woman.flac:d26e67147648b2ed59b56ae96f342788

A2 - Lonesome.flac:03533253a82868f15e86594d2bbb6e11

A3 - Jacqueline.flac:0ba21655388818ea83e5682a6ee5f660

A4 - Romance Without Finance.flac:67688c2254616b9ee5e6b20fa422e5bf

A5 - By Myself.flac:025436e81a38957bd70dd93e826161a2

A6 - Shirt Tail.flac:ba4a4740cf0637a0c9b6d13e49d287b0

B1 - Diggin' My Potatoes.flac:a0ee213edd75698d4242d66002736464

B2 - Bright Eyes.flac:5b2b5d927a95c8e8490755f952d63c7c

B3 - Minding My Own Business.flac:62fabec10318a60a56441fc84815d33a

B4 - Never, Never.flac:070d6a1e27db41ec0fc99dc4115775ca

B5 - Horse Shoe Over My Door.flac:a95b4eb1f3896c856788590f5cced290

B6 - I'm A Lonely Man.flac:678f80b2b6b7605f96fca74ed5c64c34

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