Classics 1950-1952

Wynonie Harris specialized in driving jump blues numbers that celebrated the party side of urban life, and his tales of whiskey-soaked nights and relentless hangovers reached its peak during his long stay at King Records. This collection covers his last years at the label, and while a couple of his biggest hits are here, like the cranked-up version of Hank Penny's country classic "Bloodshot Eyes" and the engaging novelty number about trying to outsmart the IRS, "Good Morning Judge," Harris by this time was on the sundown side of his zenith, and even though he would seem like an artist ready-made for the emerging rock & roll craze, he never really made the transition. The song "All Night Long" included here is actually by Detroit group the Royals (who later morphed into Hank Ballard & the Midnighters), with Harris doing a guest vocal on the bridge. "All Night Long," in an interesting bit of music trivia, was the flip side to the original version of "Every Beat of My Heart," which Gladys Knight & the Pips turned into a huge hit nearly a decade later. ~ Steve Leggett|