Sonny Boy Williamson RCA Victor 20-1875 Early In The Morning Blues 78 RPM
£
30
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Description
John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson (Sonny Boy Williamson I) was a foundational architect of American roots music, widely regarded as the father of modern blues harmonica playing. This RCA Victor (20-1875) original 10-inch single pairs two critical compositions that established his reputation:
"Early In The Morning" (often titled 'Bout the Break of Day): A historic blues standard driven by Williamson's rhythmic, fluid harmonica lines and crying vocal style
."You're An Old Lady": A sharp, energetic performance showing his witty narrative delivery and signature rhythmic vocal stammering.
Year Recorded: 1937 & 1945 (Released June 1946). "Early In The Morning" was cut during his classic pre-war Bluebird sessions in 1937, while "You're An Old Lady" was captured during a mid-1945 post-war studio session.
Released in mid-1946, this disc captures the immediate post-World War II transition in Black American society. As the Great Migration accelerated, millions of Southern rural workers flooded into industrial northern hubs like Chicago. This pressing sits at the crossroads of that musical migration. It combines the raw, unpolished Mississippi acoustic country foundation of the late 1930s with the tighter, ensemble rhythm structures demanded by the evolving juke joints and labor communities of the mid-1940s Chicago urban landscape.
The runout wax displays the specific technical code 20-1875-1S. This confirms that this side was pressed from the very first physical production master stamper generated for the release, indicating a true initial production run directly from the original recording matrix.
During the mid-1940s era when this pairing was finalized for release, a newly arrived Muddy Waters worked regularly as a live sideman guitar player for Sonny Boy Williamson across Chicago's South Side club network.
The 1937 recording of "Early In The Morning" is cited as one of the single most influential milestones in blues history. It became a standard framework covered for decades by artists ranging from Junior Wells to Eric Clapton.
Condition Report (VJM 78rpm Grading System)
Overall Visual Grade: Excellent Plus (E+).
Media Surfaces: Beautifully preserved archival condition. The vintage shellac surfaces carry a deep, glossy mirror reflection under bright light. A highly clean specimen completely free of feelable surface scratches, deep needle lines, groove graying, structural hairline cracks, or edge chips.
Audio Playback: Clear, loud, and robust audio tracking. The harmonica leads and vocals cleanly dominate a minimal level of light, native background surface noise.
Labels: Highly crisp. The gloss-black RCA Victor paper labels with gold font lines are completely clean, showing virtually no spindle wear or track rubbing around the center hole.
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