Elmore James

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Elmore James (January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues singer and guitarist. He was known as The King of the Slide Guitar.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Sound 3 Influence 4 Discography 4.1 Singles 4.2 Original Albums 4.3 Compilation Albums 5 Notes 6 External links

[edit] Biography

James was born Elmore Brooks in Richland, Mississippi, 50 miles north of Jackson (not to be confused with another Richland just south of Jackson). He was the illegitimate son of 15-year-old Leola Brooks, a field hand. His father was probably Joe Willis James, who lived with Leola. He began making music at the age of 12 using a broom wire strung up on a shack wall. As a teen he was playing at local dances, under the names Cleanhead and Joe Willie James. At the age of 19 he married Josephine Harris, the first of many wives.^[1]

His regular gigging enabled him to avoid manual labor to a great extent, and to meet other musicians such as the 'second' Sonny Boy Williamson, and the legendary Robert Johnson. Robert Johnson would be murdered in 1938, but he passed on a lot of musical knowledge to James, including what would become James's trademark song, "Dust My Broom".^[2]

During World War II James joined the United States Navy and was stationed in Guam. Upon his discharge Elmore returned to central Mississippi and eventually settled in Canton. At this time he learned that he had a heart condition. He began to play amplified electric guitar.^[3] He began recording with Trumpet Records in nearby Jackson in January 1951, first as sideman to the second Sonny Boy Williamson and others, then debuting as a session leader in August with "Dust My Broom". It was a surprise R&B hit in 1952 and turned James into a star. His "I Believe" was another hit a year later. During the 1950s he recorded for the Bihari brothers' Flair Records, Meteor Records^[4] Triumph Records^[5] and Modern Records labels, as well as for Chess Records. His backing musicians were known as the Broomdusters. In 1959 he began recording what are perhaps his best sides for Bobby Robinson's Fire Records label. These include "The Sky Is Crying" (credited to Elmo James and His Broomdusters), "Stranger Blues", "Look On Yonder Wall", "Done Somebody Wrong", and "Shake Your Moneymaker", all of which are among the most famous of blues recordings.

Elmore James died of his third heart attack in Chicago in 1963

[edit] Sound

James played a folk-tinged electric blues similar to that of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, or John Lee Hooker, but distinguished by its aggressive simplicity. Although he could at times sound as smooth as Buddy Guy, the more raw "Delta sound" was more influential. His best songs, recorded for the Fire label, typically feature symmetrical and driving rhythms, contrasted with wild hollering and bursts of distorted, dissonant guitar, almost reaching into noise. Les Fancourt describes it as a combination of "anguished vocals and a slashing bottleneck guitar sound". A blues fan who saw him play in Chicago in 1959 recalled, "Before we even pushed open the door of the club, we could hear Elmore's violent guitar sound."^[6]

His best known song is the blues standard "Dust My Broom" (also known as "Dust My Blues"). The song gave its name to James's band, The Broomdusters. The song's opening slide guitar riff is one of the best-known sounds in all of blues. It is essentially the same riff that appears in the recording of the same song by Robert Johnson, but James played the riff with electric slide guitar. It was even transformed into a doo-wop chorus on Jesse Stone's "Down in the Alley", recorded by The Clovers and Elvis Presley. Stone transcribed the riff as: "Changety changety changety changety chang chang!"

Listen to this 8-second sample of the riff:

[edit] Influence

Most electric slide guitar players will admit to the massive, if not, total influence of James' style. He was also a major influence on rock guitarists such as The Rolling Stones' Brian Jones and Fleetwood Mac's Jeremy Spencer. His songs "Done Somebody Wrong" and "One Way Out" were often covered by The Allman Brothers Band, who cited him as a major influence. James was also covered by blues-rock band Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble many times in concert. The most famous of these covers is Vaughan's take on "The Sky Is Crying". That song was also covered by George Thorogood on his sophomore effort, "Move It On Over".^{[citation needed]}

Another guitarist who admired Elmore James was Jimi Hendrix. On the cover of the posthumously released Hendrix CD Blues, there is a photo of Hendrix in London wearing his famous military jacket and holding Elmore James's UK LP The Best Of Elmore James (Hendrix performed James' "Bleeding Heart" during the Experience's Royal Albert Hall concert in 1969, also with the Band of Gypsys at their new years concerts at the Fillmore East in 1969/70 and recorded two different versions of it in the studio).

James is mentioned in The Beatles' song "For You Blue": while John Lennon plays the slide guitar (James' trademark), George Harrison says, "Elmore James got nothin' on this, baby." Other artists influenced by Elmore James include Frank Zappa ^[7] and Jeffrey Evans of the band 68 Comeback.^[8][9]

James's older cousin "Homesick" James Williamson, a regular companion of Elmore's from an early age, played with Elmore in the Broomdusters from 1957 on. He was also a successful blues man who played electric slide guitar in Elmore's style. He continued to record and tour until his death in 2006.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Singles

• 1951 Dust My Broom b/w Catfish Blues [by Bobo Thomas, no Elmore] (Trumpet 146 [78])
  
• 1952 I Believe b/w I Held My Baby Last Night (Meteor 5000)
  
• 1953 Baby, What's Wrong b/w Sinful Women (Meteor 5003)
  
• 1953 Early In The Morning b/w Hawaiian Boogie (Flair 1011)
  
• 1953 Country Boogie b/w She Just Won't Do Right (Checker 777)
  
• 1953 Can't Stop Lovin b/w Make A Little Love (Flair 1014)
  
• 1953 Please Find My Baby b/w Strange Kinda' Feeling (Flair 1022)
  
• 1954 Hand In Hand b/w Make My Dreams Come True (Flair 1031)
  
• 1954 Sho Nuff I Do b/w 1839 Blues (Flair 1039)
  
• 1954 Dark And Dreary b/w Rock My Baby Right (Flair 1048 [78])
  
• 1954 Sunny Land b/w Standing At The Crossroads (Flair 1057)
  
• 1955 Late Hours At Midnight b/w The Way You Teat Me (Flair 1062)
  
• 1955 Happy Home b/w No Love In My Heart (Flair 1069)
  
• 1955 Dust My Blues b/w I Was A Fool (Flair 1069)
  
• 1955 I Believe My Time Ain't Long b/w I Wish I Was A Catfish (Ace 508 [re-release of Trumpet 146])
  
• 1955 Blues Before Sunrise b/w Good Bye (Flair 1079)
  
• 1956 Wild About You b/w Long Tall Woman (Modern 983)
  
• 1957 The 12 Year Old Boy b/w Coming Home (Chief 7001 & Vee Jay 249)
  
• 1957 It Hurts Me Too b/w Elmore's Contribution To Jazz (Chief 7004)
  
• 1957 Elmore's Contribution To Jazz b/w It Hurts Me Too (Vee Jay 259)
  
• 1957 Cry For Me Baby b/w Take Me Where You Go (Chief 7006 & Vee Jay 269)
  
• 1959 Make My Dreams Come True [re-release of Flair 1031 'B'side] b/w Bobby's Rock (Fire 1011)
  
• 1960 Dust My Blues [re-release of Flair 1074] b/w Happy Home [re-release of Flair 1069] (Kent 331)
  
• 1960 The Sky Is Crying b/w Held My Baby Last Night (Fire 1016)
  
• 1960 I Can't Hold Out b/w The Sun Is Shining (Chess 1756)
  
• 1960 Rollin' And Tumblin' b/w I'm Worried (Fire 1024)
  
• 1960 Knocking At Your Door b/w Calling All Blues [by Earl Hooker/Junior Wells] (Chief 7020)
  
• 1960 Done Somebody Wrong b/w Fine Little Mama (Fire 1031)
  
• 1961 Look On Yonder Wall b/w Shake Your Moneymaker (Fire 504)
  
• 1962 Stranger Blues b/w Anna Lee (Fire 1503)
  
• 1962/3? The Sky Is Crying b/w Held My Baby Last Night [re-release of Fire 1016] (Down Home 775/6)
  
• 1964 Dust My Blues b/w Happy Home [re-release of Kent 331] (Kent 394)
  
• 1964 Dust My Blues b/w Happy Home [re-release of Kent 394] (Sue 335)
  
• 1965 Bleeding Heart b/w It Hurts Me Too (Enjoy 2015 [1st pressing])
  
• 1965 It Hurts Me Too b/w Pickin' The Blues (Enjoy 2015 [2nd pressing])
  
• 1965 My Bleeding Heart b/w One Way Out (Sphere Sound 702])
  
• 1965 It Hurts Me Too b/w Bleeding Heart (Sue 383)
  
• 1965 Bleeding Heart b/w Mean Mistreatin' Mama (Enjoy 2020)
  
• 1965 Knocking At Your Door b/w Calling All Blues [re-release of Chief 7020] (Sue 392)
  
• 1965 Look On Yonder Wall b/w Shake Your Moneymaker (Enjoy 2022)
  
• 1965 The Sky Is Crying [re-release] b/w Standing At The Crossroads [alt. take] (Flashback 15)
  
• 1965 Standing At The Crossroads b/w Sunnyland [re-release of Flair 1057] (Kent 433)
  
• 1965 Everyday I Have The Blues b/w Dust My Broom [# 4] (Enjoy 2027)
  
• 1965 Cry For Me Baby b/w Take Me Where You Go [re-release of Chief 7006] (U.S.A. 815)
  
• 1965/6? Cry For Me b/w Take Me Where You Go [re-release of Chief 7006] (S&M 101)
  
• 1966 Shake Your Money Maker b/w I Need You (Sphere Sound 708)
  

[edit] Original Albums

• 1961 Blues After Hours (Crown 5168)
  
• 1965 The Best Of (Sue 918 [UK])
  
• 1965 The Sky Is Crying (Sphere Sound 7002)
  
• 1965 Memorial Album (Sue 927 [UK])
  
• 1966 The Blues In My Heart, The Rhythm In My Soul (re-release of Blues After Hours)(United 716)
  
• 1966 The Blues In My Heart, The Rhythm In My Soul (re-release of Blues After Hours)(Custom 2054)
  
• 1967 Original Folk Blues (Kent 5022)
  
• 1967 I Need You (Sphere Sound 7008)
  
• 1968 The Late Fantastically Great (re-release of Blues After Hours)(Ember 3397 [UK])
  
• 1968 Tough (Chess recordings + tracks by John Brim) (Blue Horizon 7-63204 [UK])
  
• 1968 Something Inside of Me (Bell 104 [UK])
  
• 1969 The Legend Of Elmore James (Kent 9001)
  
• 1969 Elmore James (Bell 6037)
  
• 1969 Whose Muddy Shoes (+ tracks by John Brim) (Chess 1537)
  
• 1969 The Resurrection Of Elmore James (Kent 9010)
  
• 1969 To Know A Man [2LP] (Blue Horizon 7-66230 [UK])
  

[edit] Compilation Albums

• Charly Blues Masterworks Volume 28: Standing at the Crossroad (1993)
• The Sky Is Crying: The History Of Elmore James (1993)
• Rollin' And Tumblin' (1999)
• Legends Of Blues, Pickin' The Blues ; The Greatest Hits (2002)
• King of the Slide Guitar: The Complete Trumpet, Chief and Fire Sessions (2005)
• A Proper Records Introduction to Elmore James: Slide Guitar Master (2006)

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Les Fancourt, liner notes to the compilation Elmore James: King of the Slide Guitar (Charly Records, 2003).
2. ^ Les Fancourt, liner notes to the compilation Elmore James: King of the Slide Guitar (Charly Records, 2003).
3. ^ Les Fancourt, liner notes to the compilation Elmore James: King of the Slide Guitar (Charly Records, 2003).
4. ^ Meteor Records. Retrieved on 2006-11-06.
5. ^ Trumpet Records Diamonds on Farish Street. Retrieved on 2006-11-06.
6. ^ Les Fancourt, liner notes to the compilation Elmore James: King of the Slide Guitar (Charly Records, 2003).
7. ^ http://home.online.no/~corneliu/gp83.htm
8. ^ http://www.answers.com/topic/68-comeback
9. ^ http://www.epitonic.com/index.jsp?refer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epitonic.com%2Fartists%2F68comeback.html

[edit] External links

• Elmore James on Find-A-Grave
• Discography at MusicBrainz
• 1980 Blues Foundation Hall of Fame Inductee
• http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta/blues/people/elmore_james.htm