Mention Nashville and the first thing that enters most minds will be Country Music and the Grand Ole Opry. Then again, for true believers the city is also the nation s centre for Bible publishing. Perhaps less well-known but in striking contrast to God and double-knit suits is that throughout the late 1940s and 1950s, Nashville was also the home of a thriving blues and R&B recording industry. Principal among the labels were Bullet, Republic, Tennessee, Nashboro and Excello, with a welter of smaller ones such as World, Mecca, J-B and Cheker. Bullet, the creation of musician Wally Fowler, music publisher C.V. Hitchcock and deejay/artist manager Jim Bulliet (pronounced Boulay), dominated Nashville s recording scene in the immediate post-war years. Beginning with a country series in January 1946, it added a blues and R&B series three months later. The latter was launched with records by Wynonie Harris and G.I. Singsation Cecil Gant; Harris moved on but Gant became a prolific Bullet artist, soon joined by bluesmen Rudy Greene, Walter Davis, Max (Blues) Bailey and Rufus Thomas disguised as Mr Swing. Bullet was joined in 1951 by Republic, Tennessee and Nashboro, the latter run by Ernie Young, owner of Ernie s Record Mart. Tennessee s most popular artist was Christine Kittrell, a talented and powerful singer who never achieved nationwide fame, while Republic s Bernard Hardison cut the original version of Too Much , later made a hit by Elvis. Starting in August 1952, Excello soon swept its competition aside with a roster of artists that included Kid King s Combo, Shy Guy Douglas, Max Bailey, Arthur Gunter (Elvis commandeered Baby Let s Play House ), Gunter s brother Little Al, Louis Brooks, Good Rockin' Sam, Louis Campbell, Clarence Samuels (with a manic Johnny Copeland on guitar) and Jerry McCain, alongside a host of less commercial but no less interesting talent like Slim Hunt, the Dixie Doodlers, the Leap Frogs, the Blue Flamers and the Blues Rockers. Excello would go on to even greater (and international) success when in 1956 Young started to release Louisianan J.D. Miller s swamp blues recordings by the likes of Lightnin Slim, Lonesome Sundown and Lazy Lester but that s another story..........
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1. Cecil Gant: Nashville Jumps - Cecil Grant |
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2. Wynonie Harris: My Baby s Barrel House - Wynonie Harris |
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3. Rudy Greene: Evil Man Blues - Rudy Greene |
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4. Cecil Gant: Train Time Blues - Cecil Gant |
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5. Iona Wade with Sherman Williams Orchestra: Keep Your Man At Home - Iona Wade & S. Williams |
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6. Wynonie Harris: Dig This Boogie - Wynonie Harris |
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7. Don Q Orchestra: Tom, Tom The Piper s Son - Don Q Orchestra |
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8. Sherman Williams: I m Lucky With My Brown Gal - Sherman Williams |
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9. Walter Davis: Move Back To The Woods - Walter Davis |
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10. Lewis Campbell: Call On The Phone - Lewis Campbell |
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11. The Blue Jacks: Late Hour Blues - The Blue Jacks |
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12. Tom Douglas: Raid On Cedar Street - Tom Douglas |
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13. Max (Blues) Bailey: Delinquency Blues - Max Bailey |
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14. Mr Swing (Rufus Thomas): Beer Bottle Boogie - Rufus Thomas |
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15. Bernard Hardison: Hey Little Girl - Bernard Hardison |
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16. Christine Kittrell: Don t Do It - Christine Kittrell |
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17. Mr Swing (Rufus Thomas): Gonna Bring My Baby Back - Rufus Thomas |
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18. Sherman Johnson: Back Alley Boogie - Sherman Johnson |
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19. Tommy Brooks: Steam Pressing Woman - Tommy Brooks |
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20. Cecil Gant: Bullet Boogie - Cecil Gant |
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21. Vivian Verson: Payday Lover - Vivian Verson |
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22. Tucker Coles: Don t Get Excited - Tucker Coles |
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23. Charlie Dowell Band: Wail Daddy - Charlie Dowell Band |
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24. Billie McAllister: Well Alright Baby - Billie McAllister |
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25. Helen Foster: I Got A Big Fat Daddy - Helen Foster |
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1. Eddie Jones: Certainly All - Eddie Jones |
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2. Christine Kittrell: Old Man You re Slipping - Christine Kittrell |
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3. Little Eddie: My Baby Left Me - Little Eddie |
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4. Gay Crosse: No Better For You - Gay Crosse |
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5. Julius King: If You See My Lover - Julius King |
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6. JD Horton: Why Don t You Let Me Be - J.D. Horton |
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7. Lewis Campbell: Don t Want Nobody Hangin Around - Lewis Campbell |
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8. Eddie Jones: Feelin Sad - Eddie Jones |
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9. Helen Foster: Somebody Somewhere - Helen Foster |
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10. Robert Tucker: It Sure Costs Money To Live - Robert Tucker |
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11. Christine Kittrell: Sittin Here Drinking - Christine Kittrell |
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12. Charles Ruckles: Pitch A Boogie Woogie - Charles Ruckles |
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13. Ford Nelson: Still Feelin Sad - Ford Nelson |
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14. Christine Kittrell: I Ain t Nothing But A Fool - Christine Kittrell |
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15. Little Maxie Bailey: Brownskin Woman Blues - Little Maxie Bailey |
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16. Kid King s Combo: Chocolate Sundae - Kid King's Combo |
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17. Shy Guy Douglas: Detroit Arrow - Shy Guy Douglas |
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18. The Leap Frogs: Things Gonna Change - The Leap Frogs |
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19. Dixie Doodlers: She Was All I Had - Dixie Doodlers |
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20. Ford Nelson: Little Annie - Ford Nelson |
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21. Kid King s Combo: Skip s Boogie - Kid King's Combo |
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22. Bernie Hardison: Love Me Baby - Bernard Hardison |
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23. Little Maxie Bailey: Drive Soldiers Drive - Little Maxie Bailey |
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24. Robert Tucker: Changeable Woman Blues - Robert Tucker |
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25. The Leap Frogs: Dirty Britches - The Leap Frogs |
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1. Arthur Gunter: Baby Let s Play House - Arthur Gunter |
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2. Louis Brooks & His Hi-Toppers: Bus Station Blues - Louis Brooks & His Hi-Toppers |
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3. Kid King s Combo: The Brass Rail - Kid King's Combo |
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4. Dixie Doodlers: Best Of Friends - Dixie Doodlers |
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5. Tommy McGhee: Late Every Evening - Tommy McGhee |
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6. Shy Guy Douglas: I m Your Country Man - Shy Guy Douglas |
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7. Arthur Gunter: Blues After Hours - Arthur Gunter |
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8. The Blue Flamers: Driving Down The Highway - The Blue Flamers |
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9. Louis Brooks & His Hi-Toppers: It s Love Baby (24 Hours A Day) - Louis Brooks & His Hi-Toppers |
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10. Louis Campbell: Gotta Have You Baby - Louis Campbell |
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11. Jerry McCain: Courtin In A Cadillac - Jerry McCain |
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12. Slim Hunt: Lonesome For My Baby - Slim Hunt |
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13. Beulah Bryant: Prize Fightin Papa - Beulah Bryant |
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14. Bernard Hardison: Too Much - Bernard Hardison |
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15. Shy Guy Douglas: Wasted Time - Shy Guy Douglas |
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16. Louis Campbell: The Natural Facts - Louis Campbell |
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17. Blues Rockers: Johnny Mae - The Blues Rockers |
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18. Good Rockin Sam: Don t Let Your Daddy Slow Walk You Down - Good Rockin' Sam |
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19. Little Al: No Jive - Little Al |
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20. Rudy Green: Cool Lovin' Mama - Rudy Green |
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21. Jerry McCain: That s What They Want - Jerry McCain |
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22. Lillian Offitt: Miss You So - Lillian Offitt |
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23. Little Al: Little Lean Woman - Little Al |
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24. Earl Gaines with Louis Brooks & His Hi-Toppers: I Don't Need You Now - Earl Gaines & Louis Brooks and His Hi-Toppers |
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25. Jimmy Beck & His Orchestra: Pipe Dreams - Jimmy Beck & His Orchestra |
