JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS
Jimmy McCracklin
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A full half-century from when he started out in the blues business, Jimmy McCracklin was still touring, recording, and acting like a much younger man. In fact, he vehemently disputed his commonly accepted birth date, but since he began recording back in 1945, it seemed reasonable. McCracklin grew up in Missouri, his main influence on piano being Walter Davis (little Jimmy's dad introduced him to the veteran pianist). McCracklin was also a promising pugilist, but the blues eventually emerged victorious. After a stint in the Navy during World War II, he bid St. Louis adieu and moved to the West Coast, making his recorded debut for the Globe logo with "Miss Mattie Left Me" in 1945. On that platter, J.D. Nicholson played piano; most of McCracklin's output found him handling his own 88s.
McCracklin recorded for a daunting array of tiny labels in Los Angeles and Oakland prior to touching down with Modern in 1949-1950, Swing Time the next year, and Peacock in 1952-1954. Early in his recording career, McCracklin had Robert Kelton on guitar, but by 1951, Lafayette "Thing" Thomas was installed as the searing guitarist with McCracklin's Blues Blasters and remained invaluable to the pianist into the early '60s. By 1954, the pianist was back with the Bihari Brothers' Modern logo and really coming into his own with a sax-driven sound. "Couldn't Be a Dream" was hilariously surreal, McCracklin detailing his night out with a woman sent straight from hell, while a 1955 session found him doubling credibly on harp.
A series of sessions for Bay Area producer Bob Geddins' Irma label in 1956 (many of which later turned up on Imperial) preceded McCracklin's long-awaited first major hit. Seldom had he written a simpler song than "The Walk," a rudimentary dance number with a good groove that Checker Records put on the market in 1958. It went Top Ten on both the R & B and pop charts, and McCracklin was suddenly rubbing elbows with Dick Clark on network TV.
The nomadic pianist left Chess after a few more 45s, pausing at Mercury (where he cut a torrid "Georgia Slop" in 1959, later revived by Big Al Downing) before returning to the hit parade with the tough R & B workout "Just Got to Know" in 1961 for Art-Tone Records. A similar follow-up, "Shame, Shame, Shame," also did well for him the next year. Those sides eventually resurfaced on Imperial, where he hit twice in 1965 with "Every Night, Every Day" (later covered by Magic Sam) and the uncompromising "Think" and "My Answer" in 1966.
McCracklin's songwriting skills shouldn't be overlooked as an integral factor in his enduring success. He penned the funky "Tramp" for guitarist Lowell Fulson and watched his old pal take it to the rarefied end of the R & B lists in 1967, only to be eclipsed by a sassy duet cover by Stax stalwarts Otis Redding and Carla Thomas a scant few months later. McCracklin made a string of LPs for Imperial, even covering "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" in 1966, and segued into the soul era totally painlessly. Latter-day discs for Bullseye Blues proved that McCracklin still packed a knockout punch from behind his piano, no matter what his birth certificate said.
Jimmy McCracklin died in San Pablo, California on December 20, 2012 at the age of 91.
-- Bill Dahl of All Music Guide.
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01. Later On 02. The Walk 03. I�m Through 04. Country Baby 05. Hurt Me 06. New Orleans Beat |
07. I Know 08. I Am The Blame 09. He Knows The Rules 10. Get Tough 11. Come On 12. Take Care Of Yourself |
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01. Couldn�t Be A Dream 02. Oh Baby 03. You Don�t Seem To Understand 04. Reelin� And Rockin� Twist 05. I Can�t Tell |
06. I�m Gonna Tell Your Mother 07. My Mother Says 08. That Ain�t Right 09. Please Forgive |
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01. The Walk 02. You�re The One 03. Looking For A Woman 04. Just Like It Is 05. Believe In Me 06. Can�t Raise Me |
07. I Did Wrong 08. Let�s Do It All 09. Someone 10. Summertime 11. That�s The Way It Goes |
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01. Think 02. Slightest Idea 03. The Bitter & The Sweet 04. Just Pretending 05. My Best Friend 06. Speak Up |
07. Steppin' Up In Class 08. I'm The One 09. My Life 10. Head Over Flip 11. Advice 12. I'll See It Through |
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01. These Boots Are Made For Walkin' 02. Sorry 03. R-M Blues 04. You Don't Know 05. Tomorrow 06. Don't Suffer |
07. Come On Home (Back Where You Belong) 08. Just Let Me Cry 09. Something That Belongs To Me 10. Convince Me 11. Self Experience 12. Thinking Back |
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01. Double Dealing 02. Just Got To Know 03. Stay Away From That Monkey 04. Yesterday Is Gone 05. Would Man Be Satisfied |
06. Like My Mama 07. I finally Got You 08. You�re The One 09. The Love Money Can�t Buy 10. Think |
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01. Story Of Jimmy McCracklin 02. If I Won�t Talk 03. I Have A Copyright On Your Love 04. I Wanna Make Love To You 05. Mama Mama |
06. Reconsider Baby 07. I Just Got To Know 08. Hop, Skip And Jump 09. You�re The One |
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01. All Shucks 02. Games To Strong 03. Outside Help 04. Just Gotta Know |
05. Same Lovin' 06. Do It Together 07. My Answer 08. Think |
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01. The Walk 02. I�m To Blame 03. Later On 04. I�m Through 05. Minnie Lee 06. Take Care Of Yourself 07. Suffer 08. Get Tough |
09. Everybody Rock 10. Hurt Me 11. Country Baby 12. The Wobble 13. I�ll Take The Blame 14. He Knows The Rules 15. I know 16. Come On |
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01. Tomorrow 02. Real Love 03. Arkansas 04. Keep It Like It Is 05. It�s Got To Be Lovebr> 06. In The Alley |
07. After Hours 08. Stuck With Loneliness 09. Mama And Papa 10. Join The Club 11. My Story 12. Just A Matter If Time |
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01. Boogie On Down 02. Lie To Me 03. How Do You Like Your New Love 04. My Answer 05. Help The Bear 06. Yesterday Is Gone |
07. I Got Juiced 08. Put Up Or Shut Up 09. Not The Right Thing 10. Outside Help 11. Taste Of The Blues |
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01. Good Old Days 02. Hate Will Destroy The World 03. Some Lovin� In Return 04. Like My Mama 05. Would Man Be Satisfied 06. Think 07. I Just Got To Know 08. I Got Somebody 09. Stuck With Loneliness |
10. Put Up Or Shut Up 11. My Answer 12. Not The Right Thing 13. Bad Situation 14. Double Dealin� On Me 15. After Hours 16. In The Alley 17. Tell It To The Judge |
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01. Blues Blasters Boogie 02. Darlin� Share Your Love 03. Give My Heart A Break 04. The Panic�s On 05. Couldn�t Be A Dream 06. Please Forgive Me Baby 07. Jumpin� In The Heart Of Town 08. Standing In The Back Door Crying 09. Tired Of Everybody 10. What You Did To Me 11. People Are Wondering 12. I�ve Got The Feeling 13. Gonna Tell our Mother |
14. My Mother Says 15. That Ain�t Right 16. I Got Eyes For You 17. Rockin� All Day 18. Bad Health Blues 19. Gotta Cut Out 20. Just Won�t Let Her Go 21. Beer Drinkin� Woman 22. Love When It Rains 23. I�ll Get A Break Someday 24. Crying Blues 25. Bad Condition Blues |
