Ligfespan Boyd

Edward Riley Boyd was born on Frank Moore’s Stovall Plantation, Mississippi in 1914. Teaching himself to play piano and guitar, he moved to Memphis in 1936 where he played on Beale Street with his band the Dixie Rhythm Boys. Hoping to record, Boyd left Memphis for Chicago in 1941 where he worked in the city’s blues joints with Johnny Shines, Sonny Boy Williamson and Muddy Waters, and played in the recording studio regularly.In 1952 Eddie achieved his greatest success with ‘Five Long Years’, ‘24 Hours’ and ‘Third Degree’ all becoming hits within a twelve month span.Boyd journeyed to Europe during the “Blues Boom” of the 60’s, which is when this album was recorded – 1967…

The vocalist, saxophonist, composer and arranger Bobby Boyd, arrived in New York at a young age after completing his schooling in Augusta, GA. His musical adventures began in the mid-60s with the release of his debut single “My Type Of Dancin’” on Veep Records in 1965, a fledgling R&B subsidiary label of United Artists. Encouraged by their positive impact on his career, he went on to release his second single “Whatcha ‘Gonna Do About It” on Bang Records in 1968.

Chicago blues pianist Eddie Boyd only released one album for Mike Vernon's Blue Horizon label (7936 South Rhodes), so in addition to those 12 tracks, this reissue scrapes together another four rarities from around the same period (1967-1968) and two from 1960 to expand the song listing to 18. The bulk of this recording was laid down in a single day, a situation that kept the energy flowing in the studio. This was producer Vernon's second session with Boyd – two leftover tunes from his 1967 Decca album open the disc – so he was acquainted with the bluesman's method of working. The project was originally credited to Eddie Boyd with Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, and indeed three quarters of that band (Green, Fleetwood, and McVie) provide backing duties for the majority of these tracks. The Mac, which had started to experience their first shot of stardom in the U.K., are in typically fine form with Green's slashing, quicksilver leads a particular treat. There are also vocal similarities between Green (who doesn't sing here) and Boyd, showing that this session was a two-way street.