Release Date: June 9, 1994.
Recording Time: 63 minutes.
Recording Date: April 4, 1940 - 1949.
Release Info: Compilation (DOCD-5240) Studio Recording.
Styles: Delta Blues, Regional Blues, Acoustic Chicago Blues, Chicago Blues.
As far as anyone can tell, the 22 sides on Document's third volume of Johnny Temple's complete recorded works are the last he ever made. The first six titles, recorded in New York City for Decca on April 4 1940, have him backed by a quartet composed of clarinetist Buster Bailey, pianist Sam Price, guitarist Al Casey, and a drummer named Herb Cowans. Whereas these are characteristically bittersweet blues performances with lyrics that assess the positive and negative attributes of various women (including one who smells like a Tootsie Roll), the inclusion of jazz musicians like Bailey (a longtime Fletcher Henderson sideman who at that time was breaking new ground with the John Kirby Sextet) and Casey (world famous as Fats Waller's guitarist) greatly enhance the proceedings. Tracks 7-13, which document a follow-up Decca session that took place nearly six months later on September 23, find Temple and Bailey joined by trumpeter Henry Red Allen and pianist Lil Hardin Armstrong. Again, the jazz element makes for good listening, particularly "Corrine Corrina" and two takes of "Fix It Up and Go." Back in Chicago on September 11, 1941, Temple cut four titles for Bluebird accompanied only by pianist Horace Malcolm. During the Second World War, Temple gigged regularly in Chicago but was unable to record again until 1946 when he waxed two modern-sounding sides for King with a quintet that included a trumpeter and a tenor saxophonist believed to have been Lester Young devotee Paul Quinichette. "Yum Yum Yum" is extremely catchy and might be one of the best representative late-period Johnny Temple records in existence. "Olds '98' Blues," recorded in 1947 for the Barrelhouse label, pared the instrumentation down to one electric guitar and feels like an R&B taproot of rock & roll. Originally released on the Miracle label in 1949, "Between Midnight and Day" and "Sit Right on It" are the last Temple records in Document's chronological retrospective. He kept performing throughout the '50s and led a band called the Rolling Four that featured musicians with names like Pork Chop and Mess Around before leaving Chicago and returning home to Jackson, MS where he passed away in 1968. ~ arwulf arwulf
Credits: Henry "Red" Allen - Trumpet; Lil Armstrong - Piano; Buster Bailey - Clarinet; Marina Bokelman - Photography; Al Casey - Guitar; David Evans - Liner Notes; Horace Malcolm - Piano; Johnny Parth - Producer; Sam Price - Piano; Paul Quinichette - Sax (Tenor); Johnnie "Geechie" Temple - Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist, Vocals; Gerhard Wessely - Remastering.
Tracklist:
01. I'm Cuttin' Out - Johnnie Temple
02. Fireman Blues - Johnnie Temple
03. Lovin' Woman Blues - Johnnie Temple
04. Roomin' House Blues - Johnnie Temple
05. Sugar Bowl Blues - Johnnie Temple
06. Stick Up Woman - Johnnie Temple
07. Baby, Don't You Love Me No More? - Johnnie Temple
08. My Pony - Johnnie Temple
09. Jive Me, Baby - Johnnie Temple
10. Corrine Corrina - Johnnie Temple
11. Bowleg Woman - Johnnie Temple
12. Fix It Up And Go (Take A) - Johnnie Temple
13. Fix It Up And Go (Take B) - Johnnie Temple
14. Big Woman Blues - Johnnie Temple
15. Sundown Blues - Johnnie Temple
16. What Is That She Got? - Johnnie Temple
17. Jinks Lee Blues - Johnnie Temple
18. Yum, Yum, Yum - Johnnie Temple
19. I Believe I'll Go Down Town - Johnnie Temple
20. Olds "98" Blues - Johnnie Temple
21. Between Midnight And Day - Johnnie Temple
22. Sit Right On It - Johnnie Temple
Recording date, location, matrix, catalog number:
01. April 4, 1940, New York, 67491-A, Decca 7772
02. April 4, 1940, New York, 67492-A, Decca 7782
03. April 4, 1940, New York, 67493-A, Decca 7772
04. April 4, 1940, New York, 67494-A, Decca 7782
05. April 4, 1940, New York, 67495-A, Decca 7735
06. April 4, 1940, New York, 67496-A, Decca 7750
07. September 23, 1940, New York, 68136-A, Decca 7825
08. September 23, 1940, New York, 68137-A, Decca 7817
09. September 23, 1940, New York, 68138-A, Decca 7800
10. September 23, 1940, New York, 68139-A, Decca 7825
11. September 23, 1940, New York, 68140-A, Decca 7817
12. September 23, 1940, New York, 68141-A, Decca 7800
13. September 23, 1940, New York, 68141-B, Decca 7800
14. September 11, 1941, Chicago, 064869-, Bluebird B-8968
15. September 11, 1941, Chicago, 064870-, Bluebird B-8913
16. September 11, 1941, Chicago, 064871-, Bluebird B-8968
17. September 11, 1941, Chicago, 064872-, Bluebird B-8913
18. 1946, Chicago, K-5146, King 4151
19. 1946, Chicago, K-5152, King 4151
20. 1947, Chicago, (----), Barrelhouse LP 04
21. 1949, Chicago, M-2000, Miracle 156
22. 1949, Chicago, M-2001, Miracle 156