Release Date: 1962.
Recording Time: 51 minutes.
Recording Date: January 1-3, 1962.
Recording Location: Philadelphia, PA.
Release Info: Studio Recording, TCD 5014, Reissue.
Styles: Songster, Acoustic Blues, Country Blues.
Blues by Maryland Songster Bill Jackson. Released 1963 on Testament Records. Recorded and produced by Pete Welding. This is Bill Jackson's first and only album he put out before returning back to obscurity.
This is a reissue of the first album on Pete Welding's pioneering Testament label and is unique in being the only available recording of a traditional bluesman from the state of Maryland. Bill Jackson, 57 at the time of these recordings in 1962, was a delightful singer and nimble guitarist who sang and performed in a style akin to that of the Piedmont bluesmen of the Carolinas and Georgia. Like other bluesmen of his generation from the Eastern States his music drew on both black and white musical idioms.
Unlike other discoveries of the early 60s, Jackson did not become part of the thriving folk club and blues revival scene and of the evidence of these recordings, it is our loss.
This compact disc features several previously unissued songs as well as two delightful folk tales.
* * * * *
Bill Jackson, a likable blues singer and guitarist, only made this one recording in his career, although he came close to recording in 1928. On the first album released by Pete Welding's Testament label (and reissued on CD in 1994), Jackson is heard at the age of 55 in superior form. He performs in a '30s acoustic blues style, telling stories both verbally and musically. Unfortunately there was no follow-up album and he slipped back into obscurity, but at least this one record survives to show how talented a performer he was. The CD reissue adds four selections (two of which are stories) to the original program and is easily recommended to fans of acoustic blues. ~ Scott Yanow
Credits: Bruce Bromberg - reissue supervisor; W.C. Handy - composer; Bill Jackson - guitar, guitar (12 string), primary artist, vocals; Martha E. Koenig - composer; Frank Scott - reissue supervisor; Paul Stubblebine - mastering; Brian C. Walls - art direction; Pete Welding - liner notes, producer; Spencer Williams - composer.
Tracklist:
- 01. Old Rounder Blues - Bill Jackson
- 02. Long Steel Rail - Bill Jackson
- 03. Last Go Round - Bill Jackson
- 04. Careless Love - Bill Jackson
- 05. Titanic Blues - Bill Jackson
- 06. Freight Train Runs So Slow - Bill Jackson
- 07. Trouble In Mind - Bill Jackson
- 08. Blues In The Morning - Bill Jackson
- 09. You Ain't No Woman - Bill Jackson
- 10. Freight Train Blues - Bill Jackson
- 11. Moaning Guitar Blues - Bill Jackson
- 12. Going Back South - Bill Jackson
- 13. Blood Red River - Bill Jackson
- 14. Don't You Put Your Hands On Me - Bill Jackson
- 15. Jailhouse Blues - Bill Jackson
- 16. Key To The Highway - Bill Jackson
- 17. Master & John (Story) - Bill Jackson
- 18. Monkey, Baboon & Ape (Story) - Bill Jackson
Recorded in Philadelphia, PA, January 1 & 3 1962.
Tracks 7, 15 to 18 previously unissued. All other tracks previously issued on Bill Jackson (6) - Long Steel Rail (Testament T-201), released in 1963.