The Blues Every Which Way - Memphis Slim & Willie Dixon

 

Home To Mama

The Blues Every Which Way

Memphis Slim (vocals & piano) and Willie Dixon (vocals & bass)

Cover: Joe Cardellio

Art Direction: Merle Shore

Verve STEREO V6-3007

1961

From the back cover: Memphis Slim is a huge (six feet, six inches), city-wise blues bard who also plays powerful piano. Slim performs with an implacable authority, an authority that come from his thorough command of the blues, every which way. Born Peter Chatman in Memphis on September 3, 1915, he as sixteen when he started getting paid for telling about the blues. The most important stage of Memphis' apprenticeship started in 1939 when he met Big Bill Boroonzy in Chicago. Memphis sounded very much like Roosevelt Sykes in those days, and Bill lectured him on the need to find his own way. Memphis did, helped considerably by the experience he gained working with Bill for several years. Since then, Memphis has continued to be based in Chicago; but he's roamed through the South, appeared in concert in the North and in Europe; and is now also a manager. His primary client as of this writing is, in fact, Roosevelt Sykes. Memphis also has written – The Comeback and Every Day – were widely popularized by Joe Williams and the Count Basie band.

Willie Dixon, bassist and blues singer, is not as tall as Memphis, but he's considerably wider. Willie comes from the fertile blues country of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Dixon first became immersed in the blues by osmosis while hearing the singing of his family and friends as he worked on a farm. In 1936, Dixon came to Chicago. He worked as a butcher, messenger, restaurant cook, and laborer. He also tired boxing, winning the heavy-weight division in the Golden Gloves tournament in 1937 under the name of James Dixon (James being his middle name), and later turning professional for a while. Gradually, he went into music full-time, working as a sideman with several of the fiercer blues combos, including that of Muddy Waters. He also wrote for Muddy, Little Walter and other blues shouters. Dixon too has been a manager; and in recent years, he has worked often with Memphis Slim in such rooms as the Gate Of Horn in Chicago, the Village Gate in New York, and the Ash Grove in Los Angeles.

From Billboard - April 24, 1961: A fine blues package. Some of the vocals are by Memphis Slim, some by Dixon and there's Memphis Slim's wonderful blues piano, with Dixon on bass. The recording is excellent with bright, clear sound. A highlight is "Rub My Root," with vocal by Dixon. Other sides are "Choo Choo," "John Henry," etc.

Choo Choo - Vocal by Memphis Slim

4 O'Clock Boogie

Rub My Root - Vocal by Willie Dixon

C Rocker

Home To Mama - Vocal by Willie Dixon

Shaky - Vocal by Willie Dixon

After Hours

One More Time - Vocal by Willie Dixon

John Henry  - Vocal by Memphis Slim

How Howdy - Vocal by Willie Dixon