Release Date: July 15, 1993.
Recording Time: 62 minutes.
Recording Date: c. November, 1929 - January 23, 1931.
Release Info: Compilation (DOCD-5151) Studio Recording.
Styles: Acoustic Blues, Country Blues, Pre-War Blues, Texas Blues.
Virtually nothing is known about vocalist-guitarist Gene Campbell other than the fact he recorded 24 solo selections. 22 are on this CD with the other two being lost. Campbell is heard on five dates recorded in Dallas and Chicago recorded within a 14-month period. A fine if not overly memorable singer, Campbell is expressive on such numbers (probably mostly his own originals) as "Mama, You Don't Mean Me No Good No How," "Somebody's Been Playing Papa," "Levee Camp Man Blues," the two-part "Freight Train Yodeling Blues," "Married Life Blues" and "Crooked Woman Blues." Although not quite essential, this is certainly the definitive Gene Campbell CD! But what happened to him after the final Jan. 23, 1931 record date is not known. ~ Scott Yanow
Abridged from this album's original booklet notes.
Gene Campbell remains a complete biographical cipher. The few people who have written about Campbell suggested that Texas was his home or that he spent part of his adult life there. In Western Plain Blues (C-5708) he describes himself as "born in Texas, raised in Texas, too". More specifically, it would seem that East or Central Texas was his residence during the 1920s. This supposition is underscored by the fact that he recorded at Dallas, Texas, field sessions held in late 1929 and again one year later. At the first session, he was in the same company as such known Texan's as Blind Norris and Sammy Price. I also think that his references in Levee Camp Man Blues (C-5707-A) to working with mules on the levee, while pan-Southern, are more likely to have occurred in eastern or central Texas where such construction was more commonplace along the Red, Sabine, or Trinity Rivers. Several of his songs, such as Don't Leave Me Blue Blues (DAL-6789-A) contain references to other cities (Waco, Fort Worth and San Antonio) in eastern and central Texas. His voice has some of the relaxed qualities - an expressive, though easy drawl - that one hears on the recordings of Willard "Rambling" Thomas and Jesse Thomas, for example. These two men worked around the Ar-La-Tex (the tristate area where Arkansas. Louisiana, and Texas meet), meandering as far west as Dallas. Campbell's vocal inflections are restricted in their range, almost always less than an octave, and his diction is unusually clear. In addition, his penchant for descending vocal phrases calls Dennis "Little Hat" Jones to mind. Campbell's picking is also reminiscent of other Texas players; his arrpegiated breaks remind me of Blind Lemon Jefferson, though he lacks Jefferson's technical facility. His technical ability to provide a moderately interesting chordal accompaniment is heard to good advantage on Doggone Mean Blues (DAL-6790-A). His guitar phrasing the short, rhythmic, breaks on Main Papa's Blues (C-72520-A), for instance], also recalls the work of King Solomon Hill, who lived just east of Shreveport, Louisiana, not far from the Texas border. Like so many bluesmen of the late 1920s, Campbell listened closely to the recordings of Lonnie Johnson. He emulates some of Johnson's musical ideas, particularly the way he strongly attacks guitar phrases at the very beginning of instrumental breaks. Clifford Gibson is another non-Texas bluesman who comes to mind when listening to Campbell. His voice has some of Gibson's mannerisms, though it is less nasal; he also lacks Gibson's ability to turn a pithy or ironic phrase, though Gene Campbell almost succeeds with lines such as:
"Going to find my baby, she's got to meet me face-to-face (x2) And tell me why she let another man take my place."
In short, Gene Campbell seems to have absorbed influences from many sources. Some of them are no doubt from other local, almost certainly unknown bluesmen, whom Campbell met during his ramblings. Campbell was also part of the larger east/central Texas scene from which many of my comparisons are drawn. Finally, there are the clear inspiration from phonograph records by several artists, most notably the unambiguous Jimmy Rodgers' mannerisms on Freight Train Yodeling Blues - Parts 1 & 2 (C-5709/10). You mix these together with Gene Campbell's own creative impulses and you have a regional bluesman of the second tier, whose interesting records are illustrative of his musical times and cultural milieu. ~ Kip Lornell Smithsonian Institution 1993, Document Records.
Credits: Gene Campbell - Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist, Vocals; Kip Lornell - Liner Notes; Johnny Parth - Producer.
Tracklist:
01. Mama, You Don't Mean Me No Good No How - Gene Campbell
02. Bended Knee Blues - Gene Campbell
03. Wandering Blues - Gene Campbell
04. Somebody's Been Playin' Papa - Gene Campbell
05. Wash And Iron Woman Blues - Gene Campbell
06. Robbin' And Stealin' Blues - Gene Campbell
07. I Wish I Could Die - Gene Campbell
08. Lazy Woman Blues - Gene Campbell
09. Levee Camp Man Blues - Gene Campbell
10. Western Plain Blues - Gene Campbell
11. Freight Train Yodeling Blues, Part 1 - Gene Campbell
12. Freight Train Yodeling Blues, Part 2 - Gene Campbell
13. Don't Leave Me Blue Blues - Gene Campbell
14. Doggone Mean Blues - Gene Campbell
15. Married Life Blues - Gene Campbell
16. Fair Weather Woman Blues - Gene Campbell
17. Lonesome Nights Blues - Gene Campbell
18. Wedding Day Blues - Gene Campbell
19. Main Papa's Blues - Gene Campbell
20. Face To Face Blues - Gene Campbell
21. Crooked Woman Blues - Gene Campbell
22. Overalls Papa Blues - Gene Campbell
Original Matrix Information:
01: Dallas, Texas, c. November 1929 (DAL-515, Brunswick 7139)
02: Dallas, Texas, c. November 1929 (DAL-516, Brunswick 7139)
03: Chicago, c. May 1930 (C-5701-A, Brunswick 7170)
04: Chicago, c. May 1930 (C-5702, Brunswick 7177)
05: Chicago, c. May 1930 (C-5703, Brunswick 7177)
06: Chicago, c. May 1930 (C-5704-B, Brunswick 7170)
07: Chicago, c. May 1930 (C-5705, Brunswick 7184)
08: Chicago, c. May 1930 (C-5706, Brunswick 7184)
09: Chicago, c. May 1930 (C-5707-A, Brunswick 7154)
10: Chicago, c. May 1930 (C-5708, Brunswick 7154)
11: Chicago, c. May 1930 (C-5709, Brunswick 7161)
12: Chicago, c. May 1930 (C-5710, Brunswick 7161)
13: Dallas, Texas, c. November 1930 (DAL-6789-A, Brunswick 7214)
14: Dallas, Texas, c. November 1930 (DAL-6790-A, Brunswick 7214)
15: Dallas, Texas, c. November 1930 (DAL-6791-A, Brunswick 7227)
16: Dallas, Texas, c. November 1930 (DAL-6792-A, Brunswick 7227)
17: Chicago, January 22, 1931 (C-7250, Brunswick 7197)
18: Chicago, January 22, 1931 (C-7251, Brunswick 7197)
19: Chicago, January 22, 1931 (C-7252-A, Brunswick 7206)
20: Chicago, January 22, 1931 (C-7253-A, Brunswick 7206)
21: Chicago, January 23, 1931 (C-7257-A, Brunswick 7225)
22: Chicago, January 23, 1931 (C-7258-A, Brunswick 7225)
Notes:
Remastered by Studio Klement.
2 additional titles by Gene Campbell, undiscovered at the time of this issue, were subsequently found and issued on Document DOCD-5216.