The Blues: A Smithsonian Collection of Classic Blues Singers

~ Release by Various Artists (see all versions of this release, 1 available)

Annotation

Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Disc 1, Mirrored): DIDP-079962 3
Mould SID Code (Disc 1): IFPI 5089
Matrix / Runout (Disc 2, Mirrored): DIDP-079963 3
Mould SID Code (Disc 2): IFPI 5069
Matrix / Runout (Disc 3, Mirrored): DIDP-079964 2
Mould SID Code (Disc 3): IFPI 5087
Matrix / Runout (Disc 4, Mirrored): DIDP-079965 1

Annotation last modified on 2025-08-09 12:47 UTC.

Tracklist

1▶CD
2▼CD
#TitleArtistRatingLength
1Blues Before Sunrise
recording of:
Blues Before Sunrise
lyricist and composer:
Leroy Carr
publisher:
MCA Music Publishing (renamed since c. 1996 as Universal Music Publishing Group)
Leroy Carr3:35
2Downtown Blues
guitar:
Dan Sane and Frank Stokes
vocal:
Frank Stokes
recording of:
Downtown Blues
writer:
Dan Sane and Frank Stokes
Frank Stokes3:14
3Stack O'Lee Blues
recorded in:
New York, New York, United States (on 1928-12-28)
guitar:
Mississippi John Hurt (on 1928-12-28)
vocals:
Mississippi John Hurt (on 1928-12-28)
recording of:
Stack O'Lee Blues
writer:
Mississippi John Hurt
Mississippi John Hurt2:58
4Rolling Mill Blues
guitar and vocal:
Peg Leg Howell
Peg Leg Howell53:07
5Mr. Johnson's Blues No. 2
guitar and vocal:
Lonnie Johnson (American blues and jazz musician)
recording of:
Mr. Johnson's Blues No. 2
writer:
Lonnie Johnson (American blues and jazz musician)
Lonnie Johnson2:59
6Pony Blues
recorded in:
Richmond, Indiana, United States (on 1929-06-14)
guitar:
Charley Patton (American Delta blues musician) (on 1929-06-14)
vocals:
Charley Patton (American Delta blues musician) (on 1929-06-14)
part of:
Blues Hall of Fame: Classic of Blues Recording Single (number: 1988)
recording of:
Pony Blues (on 1929-06-14)
lyricist and composer:
Charley Patton (American Delta blues musician)
publisher:
EMI Longitude Music and SBK United Partnership Ltd.
Charley Patton2:59
7Forty-Four Blues
piano and vocal:
Roosevelt Sykes
recording of:
Forty-Four Blues
writer:
Ernest "44" Johnson, Robert Johnson (1930s blues legend), Little Brother Montgomery and Roosevelt Sykes
Roosevelt Sykes3:07
8Bumble Bee Blues
guitar:
Charlie Burse (on 1930-05-26) and Memphis Minnie (on 1930-05-26)
harmonica:
Will Shade (on 1930-05-26)
jug:
Hambone Lewis (on 1930-05-26)
vocals:
Memphis Minnie (on 1930-05-26)
recording of:
Bumble Bee Blues
writer:
Lizzie Douglas (Lizzie Douglas Lawlers; songwriter; aka. Memphis Minnie, Minnie McCoy, Minnie Lawlers, Gospel Minnie, Texas Tessie, Mamie Smith; member of Memphis Minnie And Her Jug Band)
Memphis Minnie2:50
9I'm So Glad
bass:
Ransom Knowling (on 1946-02-26)
guitar:
Little Son Joe (on 1946-02-26) and Memphis Minnie (on 1946-02-26)
vocals:
Memphis Minnie (on 1946-02-26)
Memphis Minnie2:41
10The Dirty Dozens No. 1
piano:
Speckled Red (on 1929-09-22)
vocals:
Speckled Red (on 1929-09-22)
recorded at:
Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, United States (on 1929-09-22)
recording of:
The Dirty Dozens (on 1929-09-22)
lyricist and composer:
Rufus Perryman
Speckled Red3:15
11Diving Duck Blues
guitar and vocal:
Sleepy John Estes
mandolin:
Yank Rachell
piano:
Jab Jones
recording of:
Diving Duck Blues
lyricist and composer:
John Estes
publisher:
Peer International Corporation (BMI)
Sleepy John Estes3:16
12K.C. Moan
recorded in:
Memphis, Tennessee, United States (on 1929-10-04)
guitar:
Charlie Burse (on 1929-10-04) and Tewee Blackman (on 1929-10-04)
harmonica:
Will Shade (on 1929-10-04)
jug:
Jab Jones (on 1929-10-04)
kazoo:
Ben Ramey (on 1929-10-04)
lead vocals:
Tee Wee Blackman (on 1929-10-04)
vocals:
Charlie Burse (on 1929-10-04), Ben Ramey (on 1929-10-04) and Will Shade (on 1929-10-04)
recording of:
K.C. Moan (on 1929-10-04)
writer:
Tewee Blackman
Memphis Jug Band42:33
13Sittin' on Top of the World
recorded in:
Shreveport, Louisiana, United States (on 1930-02-17)
guitar:
Walter Vinson (performance name for Walter Vinson) (on 1930-02-17)
violin:
Lonnie Chatmon (on 1930-02-17)
vocals:
Walter Vinson (performance name for Walter Vinson) (on 1930-02-17)
part of:
Blues Hall of Fame: Classic of Blues Recording Single (number: 2009)
recording of:
Sitting on Top of the World (“Now she’s gone, I don’t worry…”) (on 1930-02-17)
writer:
Lonnie Carter and Walter Vinson (performance name for Walter Vinson)
publisher:
Chappell Music Ltd., E. H. Morris & Co., Inc. (a division of MPL Communications Inc.) and Mayfair Music Corp.
Mississippi Sheiks33:15
14M & O Blues
Walter Davis3:05
15Dry Spell Blues, Part 1
recorded in:
Grafton, Wisconsin, United States (on 1930-05-28)
guitar and lead vocals:
Son House (on 1930-05-28)
slide guitar:
Son House (in 1930-06)
vocals:
Son House (in 1930-06)
recorded at:
Paramount Records Studio (Recording studio of Paramount Records) in Grafton, Wisconsin, United States (on 1930-05-28)
recording of:
Dry Spell Blues, Part 1 (on 1930-05-28)
writer:
Son House
Son House3:10
16Devil Got My Woman
recorded in:
Grafton, Wisconsin, United States (in 1931-02)
guitar and lead vocals:
Skip James (in 1931-02)
part of:
Blues Hall of Fame: Classic of Blues Recording Single (number: 2006)
recording of:
Devil Got My Woman (in 1931-02)
lyricist and composer:
Skip James (in 1931)
publisher:
Wynwood Music Company Inc
Skip James3:00
17Chain Gang Bound
guitar and vocal:
Bumble Bee Slim
recording of:
Chain Gang Bound
writer:
Bumble Bee Slim
Bumble Bee Slim3:44
18Broke Down Engine Blues
guitar:
Blind Willie McTell (on 1931-10-23)
vocals:
Blind Willie McTell (on 1931-10-23)
recording of:
Broke Down Engine Blues (on 1931-10-23)
lyricist and composer:
Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell3:10
19Big Bill Blues
guitar and vocal:
Big Bill Broonzy
recording of:
Big Bill Blues
lyricist and composer:
Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy2:59
20I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town
alto saxophone:
Buster Bennett
drums (drum set):
Lawrence "Judge" Riley (early blues drummer)
guitar and vocal:
Big Bill Broonzy
piano:
Memphis Slim
trumpet:
Punch Miller
cover recording of:
I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town
writer:
Roy Jordan and William Weldon (blues slide guitar player)
publisher:
MCA, Inc. (this was the US media company that became Universal Studios, Inc. in Dec 1996)
Big Bill Broonzy2:55
21Old Original Kokomo Blues
guitar and vocal:
Kokomo Arnold
recording of:
Old Original Kokomo Blues
writer:
Kokomo Arnold
Kokomo Arnold2:54
22Strut That Thing
recorded in:
Chicago, Illinois, United States (on 1935-04-02)
drums (drum set) and piano and washboard:
[unknown] (Special Purpose Artist – Do not add releases here, if possible.) (on 1935-04-02)
piano:
Cripple Clarence Lofton (on 1935-04-02)
vocals:
Cripple Clarence Lofton (on 1935-04-02)
recording of:
Strut That Thing (on 1935-04-02)
writer:
Cripple Clarence Lofton
Cripple Clarence Lofton2:53
23Crow Jane
recorded in:
Chicago, Illinois, United States (on 1935-07-27)
guitar and lead vocals:
Carl Martin (1930s US guitar & violin player) (on 1935-07-27)
recording of:
Crow Jane
writer:
Carl Martin (1930s US guitar & violin player)
Carl Martin2:55
24Baby Please Don't Go
recorded in:
Chicago, Illinois, United States (on 1935-10-31)
fiddle:
Dad Tracy (on 1935-10-31)
guitar and lead vocals:
Big Joe Williams (American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter) (on 1935-10-31)
washboard:
Kokomo (on 1935-10-31)
background vocals:
Chasey Collins (on 1935-10-31)
vocals:
Big Joe Williams (American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter) (on 1935-10-31)
recording of:
Baby, Please Don’t Go (on 1935-10-31)
lyricist and composer:
[traditional] (special purpose artist)
publisher:
EMI Full Keel Music, Leeds Music Corp., MCA Music (not for release label use! this is a music publisher, ASCAP-affiliated), MCA Music Ltd. and Universal/MCA Music Ltd. (not for release label use!)
version of:
Another Man Done Gone
Big Joe Williams33:21
3▶CD
4▶CD

Credits

Release

liner notes:W. K. McNeil (liner notes related)
producer:Dennis Britton
W. K. McNeil (liner notes related)
Bruce Talbot
mastering:John Tyler (American engineer)
manufactured by:Sony Music Special Products
copyrighted (©) by:Smithsonian Institution
phonographic copyright (℗) by:Sony Music Entertainment (NOT FOR RELEASE LABEL USE! company owned by Sony Corporation of America since Oct 1, 2008; operates worldwide except in JP)
glass mastered at:DADC
Discogs:https://www.discogs.com/release/12076013 [info]