Release Date: 1971.
Recording Date: August, 1967.
Release Info: RVS 1009, Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Mono.
A compilation album of Delta blues recordings released in 1971 by the UK-based label Revival Records. The album features field recordings captured by renowned musicologist George Mitchell during his trips to Mississippi in the late 1960s. These recordings were part of a broader effort to document "downhome" blues artists who had remained largely undocumented by major labels.
* * * * *
Recorded for Revival by George Mitchell. Photography by George Mitchell. Sleeve design and artwork by Sallian. Recordings mastered at Command Studios, London. Executive Producer: Tony Martin.
Recommended blues reading:
Blues Unlimited, 38a Sackville Rd., Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex. Blues World, 22 Manor Crescent, Knutford, Cheshire. Jazz and Blues, 4 Mill Street, London WIR OJL.
"Blow My Blues Away" by George Mitchell. The life and music of the black people of the Mississippi Delta. Published by Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge.
Credits: Design (Sleeve), Artwork - Sallian; Executive-Producer - Tony Martin; Recorded By, Photography By - George Mitchell.
Tracklist:
- A1. Robert Diggs - Chick Neal Blues (Written-By - R. Diggs)
- A2. Robert Diggs - Done Lost All My Health (Written-By - R. Diggs)
- A3. Jesse Lee Vortis - When My Baby Got On Board (Written-By - J. L. Vortis)
- A4. Ditty Mason - Don't Know What Mercy Means (Written-By - D. Mason)
- A5. Tom Turner - 44 Blues (Written-By - T. Turner)
- B1. Do-Boy Diamond - Shaggy Hound (Written-By - D. Diamond)
- B2. R.L. Burnside - Rolling And Tumbling (Arranged By - R.L. Burnside; Written-By - Traditional)
- B3. R.L. Burnside - Sat Down On My Bed And Cried (Written-By - R.L. Burnside)
- B4. Teddy Williams - Hard Time Blues (Written-By - T. Williams)
- B5. Teddy Williams - Catfish Blues (Arranged By - T. Williams; Written-By - Traditional)
- B6. Houston Stovall - Juke (Written-By - W. Jacobs)
All tracks rec. by George Mitchell.
Robert Diggs (rec. Friars Point, MS, Aug. 1967);
Do-Boy Diamond (rec. Canton, MS, Aug. 1967);
R.L. Burnside (rec. near Coldwater, MS, Aug. 24, 1967).
Notes:
While this specific LP is a compilation of various artists, the title "Hard Time" is a recurring theme in Mississippi blues, most famously associated with Skip James's "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues". Many of George Mitchell's original field recordings, including those on this Revival Records release, have since been reissued by Fat Possum Records as part of their George Mitchell Collection.