Champion Jack Dupree And His Blues Band

Champion Jack Dupree’s expressive voice and natural feel for the piano made him one of the greatest of the barrelhouse blues genre, the New Orleans native making a name for himself on the Chicago music scene, his stage name acquired after a stint as a champion boxer in Detroit, encouraged by Joe Louis. Dupree spent time in Europe in the late 1950s, which resulted in collaboration with a number of noteworthy British blues men, and following the success of From New Orleans To Chicago, featuring John Mayall and Eric Clapton, Mike Vernon brought Dupree onto his Blue Horizon label for When You Feel The Feeling You Was Feelin,’ another excellent set from 1968, this time with guest contributions on the B-side from guitar god Paul Kossoff and drummer Simon Kirke of Free, Pretty Things bassist Stuart Brooks and Fleetwood Mac associate, Duster Bennett on harmonica…

Recordings 1980-1988, featuring Memphis Slim, Louisiana Red, Axel Zwingenberger, Mickey Baker, Monty Sunshine's Jazz Band, Kenn Lending Blues Band.
A formidable contender in the ring before he shifted his focus to pounding the piano instead, Champion Jack Dupree often injected his lyrics with a rowdy sense of down-home humor. But there was nothing lighthearted about his rock-solid way with a boogie; when he shouted "Shake Baby Shake," the entire room had no choice but to acquiesce.

This CD is volume two in a series produced by Frenchman Bernard Frémeaux and his associates that explores the roots of rock & roll in the blues and rhythm & blues of the late '30s, the '40s, and the early '50s. The songs of that era were sung by primarily African American musical artists and became the inspiration for the phenomenon known as rock & roll. The music features hard-driving rhythms, as well as a sensuousness in both style and lyrics. Many of the early rock & roll stars, notably Elvis Presley, drew on this rich tradition. Unlike the King, most of these musicians received little notice or remuneration from the white audiences that devoured rock & roll music from the '50s on. In this volume of the collection, the music comes from as early as 1938 and carries up through 1946…