Singin' the Blues/The Blues (CD - 1992)

SINGIN' THE BLUES was originally released on Crown (LP 5020), THE BLUES on Crown (LP 5063).

Includes liner notes by Cy Schneider.

SINGIN' THE BLUES/THE BLUES are B.B. King's first two original Crown albums on 1 CD.

Personnel: B.B. King (vocals, guitar).

Liner Note Author: Cy Schneider.

Two great original Crown albums from the '50s appear on one import CD, including most of King's Top Ten R&B hits from the period: "3 O'Clock Blues," "Please Love Me," "You Upset Me Baby," "You Know I Love You," "Woke Up This Morning," and "Sweet Little Angel," plus one of his best, "Crying Won't Help You." This is the stuff that was so hugely influential to other blues guitarists and singers in its original recorded version. Here is lots of the real early, gritty stuff: "That Ain't the Way to Do It," "When My Heart Beats like a Hammer," "Don't You Want a Man like Me?" The guitar intro to "Early in the Morning" is one of the finest examples of King in a jazzy mode. Great guitar! ~ George Bedard

B.B. King is an American original. His signature sound is as unmistakable as that of Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra or a thunder storm coming down hard on Beale street. This reissue of B.B.'s first two records is a King-size treat. While sometimes he's still experimenting here with the tone that would eventually define his guitar sound and become his alone, his attack on the instrument is already peppered with the boxer's short, snapping jabs and rapid fire combinations.

King's vocals are exciting, playful and soulful; the horns are jumpin' and the piano honky tonks that thang all the way home. A number of the songs contained on these first recordings went on to become B.B. King classics, performed and re-recorded down through the years, but here are the first fresh, hot-from-the-oven versions of such tunes as "Did You Ever Love A Woman," "Every Day I Have The Blues" and "Sweet Little Angel." This is home cookin' and these are the original recipes. minimize