Willie Mae

There is only a slight difference between a street-corner blues singer and a sanctified street singer, since both need to hold a crowd and make a few bucks (no matter what they do with the money when the day is done), and as this four-disc collection of so-called guitar evangelists from the 1920s, '30s, and early '50s makes clear, playing slide for the Lord sounds pretty much like playing slide for the other side. If anything, the guitar preachers represented here might be even more out there and eccentric than their secular counterparts, making this box set a delightful addition to the standard country blues record collection. Blind Willie Johnson, the apex of the guitar evangelists, is well represented here with classic late-'20s tracks…

Willie May has performed in basements, barns, garages, street corners, speak-easies, house trailers, preschool, high school, colleges, radio, television, bars, county fairs, carnivals, grocery stores, a pigeon coop, concert halls, outdoor festival arenas, and inside Attica prison. Willie has taken his original blend of music to the blues clubs from The LaFayette Tap Room in Buffalo to Antones in Austin, TX, The Black Swan in Toronto, The Penny Arcade in Rochester, The Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse, Hard Rock Cafe Niagara Falls, The Slippery Noodle in Indianapolis, Fat Fish Blue in Cleveland, Bflo Blues in Pittsburgh, and to countless other venues on thousands, yes thousands, of occasions.

Memphis Willie B. - Introducing Memphis Willie B. (1961) {Prestige Bluesville OBCCD-573-2 rel 1994}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 233 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 86 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 10 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1961, 1994 Prestige Bluesville / Fantasy | OBCCD-573-2
Blues / Country Blues / Acoustic Memphis Blues / Piedmont Blues

I originally found this LP in a thrift store in the '90s and it has remained one of my very favorites ever since. I've always found the guitar riffs, simple tho' they might be, somehow perfect; and Memphis Willie B. (Borum)'s voice is very affecting and expressive. The harp's cool, too and the songs are also well chosen - blues with meaning and stories I'm interested in hearing. Bought it again as a cd, and find myself listening to it remarkably often - I do have an extensive collection, but Willie speaks to me! :D