CHARLES BROWN -DRIFITING BLUES- ORIG. SCORE

$

192

One of the finest (PERHAPS: the finest) West Coast blues in existence, by the guy who practically invented the genre. Charles Brown's Drifitin Blues, Score SLP-4011. 

This recording was so influential (originally recorded in the early 1950’s for Aladdin label and then released as a 12” album for it’s successor, Score in 1958), that none other than Sam Cooke covered a quarter of the album – three tracks – on his various albums, most notably on his classic “Nightbeat” album. 

The jacket is in excellent condition, no splits and only very modest edgewear.  The labels show some play.  The record has some hairlines, but it plays quietly with a little surface noise in spots and some occasional soft tics; no skips or serious disruptive tics.  Keep in mind this is an early 50's record.  I rate it VG+/VG++

Charles Brown had a successful career dating from the mid 40's. His incredible piano skills and laid-back vocal delivery remained every bit as mesmerizing at the end of his life as they were way back in 1945, when his groundbreaking waxing of "Drifting Blues" with guitarist Johnny Moore's Three Blazers invented an entirely new blues genre.  Brown's smooth trio format was tremendously influential to a host of high-profile disciples -- Ray Charles, Amos Milburn, and Floyd Dixon, for starters.

Brown was classically trained on the piano.   Brown earned a degree in chemistry before moving to Los Angeles in 1943. He soon hooked up with the Blazers (Moore and bassist Eddie Williams), who modeled themselves after Nat "King" Cole's trio but retained a bluesier tone within their ballad-heavy repertoire. With Brown installed as their vocalist and pianist, the Blazers' "Drifting Blues" for Philo Records remained on Billboard's R&B charts for 23 weeks, peaking at number two. Follow-ups for Exclusive and Modern (including "Sunny Road," "So Long," "New Orleans Blues," and their immortal 1947 Yuletide classic "Merry Christmas Baby" ) kept the Blazers around the top of the R&B listings from 1946 through 1948, until Brown opted to go solo.

If anything, Brown was even more successful on his own. Signing with Eddie Mesner's Aladdin logo, he visited the R&B Top Ten no less than ten times from 1949 to 1952, retaining his mournful, sparsely arranged sound for the smashes "Get Yourself Another Fool," the chart-topping "Trouble Blues" and "Black Night," and "Hard Times." Despite a 1956 jaunt to New Orleans to record with the Cosimo's studio band, Brown's mellow approach failed to make the transition to rock's brasher rhythms, and he soon faded from national prominence (other than when his second holiday perennial, "Please Come Home for Christmas," hit in 1960 on the King label)  I have A copy of this classic also listed. 

(EXCERPTS FROM AN ONLINE BIO BY BILL DAHL, /ALLMUSIC.COM/)

I try to grade records accurately.  I  have found over the years that records don't always play or sound the same on different systems.  I will refund your purchase price (less shipping costs) upon return of the record if you feel my description was inaccurate or incomplete in some way.

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