Biography

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Founded in 1953, Delmark Records, from Chicago, is the oldest continuously operating blues & jazz record label in the world. Its catalogue contains over 12 thousand songs, all available in the digital format,

CONTACT DELMARK RECORDS: Any questions, needs, interview requests, etc contact Elbio Barilari elbio@delmark.com & Kevin Johnson promo@delmark.com.

Blues From Up The Country
Delmark DX 907 – Delmark 50th Anniversary Collection

Delmark Records is now almost 70 years old. Its 50th anniversary was celebrated with this anthology of amazing acoustic country blues featuring Blind Willie McTell, Champion Jack Dupree, Jimmy Rogers, Curtis Jones, J.D. Short, Jimmy Burns, Robert Nighthawk, Sleepy John Estes, Yank Rachel, Big Joe Williams & Arthur Big Boy Crudup. Your listeners will love it!


The blues are colloquial. They are sung in sometimes unintelligible accents, because they are the naked, unpolished expression of unpretentious people. But great poetry is uttered in blues lyrics. Metaphors loaded with layers of meaning. Humorous double-entendre. Beautiful imagery. Powers of description and phrasing worthy of study in anybody's literature class. -Bob Koester

The past half-century of jazz and blues, from the Chicago perspective of Delmark Records, is more fun, stranger, grittier and more intimate than the music typically purveyed by major companies, and less pretentious, mannered, abstract and impressionist than the bulk of the sounds promoted by other small, independent imprints. The Delmark guarantee of genuine jazz and blues, played without compromise, is the result of Delmark principle Bob Koester's way of doing things. And after 50 years, we've still got it!

1. Big Joe Williams - 49 Highway Blues (3:26)
2. Robert Nighthawk - Crying Won’t Help You (2:43)
3. Arthur Crudup - That's All Right (2:43)
4. Sleepy John Estes - Beale Street Sugar (3:49)
5. Jimmy Burns - Catfish Blues (3:21)
6. Curtis Jones - Lonesome Bedroom Blues (4:06)
7. Yank Rachell - I'm Gonna Get Up In The Morning (3:54)
8. Champion Jack Dupree - Rub A Little Boogie (2:16)
9. J.D. Short - You Got To Help Me Some (3:22)
10. Jimmy Rogers - That's All Right (2:24)
11. Blind Willie McTell - Hide Me In Thy Bosom (2:34)



1. BIG JOE WILLIAMS 49 Highway Blues 3:26 (Joe Williams, P.D.) From the album Highway 49 (Delmark 604)
BIG JOE WILLIAMS: vocal, guitar RANSOM KNOWLING: bass July 13, 1961

2. ROBERT NIGHTHAWK Crying Won't Help You 2:43 (Robert McCoy, P.D.) From the album Bricks In My Pillow (Delmark 711)
ROBERT NIGHTHAWK: vocal, guitar ROOSEVELT SYKES or BOB CALL: piano RANSOM KNOWLING: bass probably JUMP JACKSON: drums July 12, 1951

3. ARTHUR CRUDUP That's All Right 2:43 (Arthur Crudup, Crudup Music/Unichappell Music, Inc., BMI) From the album Look On Yonder's Wall (Delmark 614)
ARTHUR CRUDUP: vocal, guitar RANSOM KNOWLING: bass May 25, 1967

4. SLEEPY JOHN ESTES Beale Street Sugar 3:49 (John Adam Estes, Leric Music, BMI) From the album Broke And Hungry (Delmark 608)
SLEEPY JOHN ESTES: vocal, guitar YANK RACHELL: mandolin HAMMIE NIXON: harmonica March 3, 1964

5. JIMMY BURNS Catfish Blues 3:21 (Traditional, P.D.) From the album Leaving Here Walking (Delmark 694)
JIMMY BURNS: vocal, guitar MARTIN LANGE: harmonica SHO KOMIYA: bass KELLY LITTLETON: drums April 2, 1996

6. CURTIS JONES Lonesome Bedroom Blues 4:06 (Curtis Jones, Universal Duchess Music Corp./Wabash Music, BMI) From the album Lonesome Bedroom Blues (Delmark 605)
CURTIS JONES: vocal, piano January 12, 1962

7. YANK RACHELL I'm Gonna Get Up In The Morning 3:54 (James Rachell, Leric Music, BMI) From the album Mandolin Blues (Delmark 606)
YANK RACHELL: vocal, mandolin SLEEPY JOHN ESTES: guitar HAMMIE NIXON: harmonica March 6, 1963

8. CHAMPION JACK DUPREE Rub A Little Boogie 2:16 (Harris/Smith, Bess Music Co., BMI) From the album The Back Porch Boys (Delmark 755)
CHAMPION JACK DUPREE: vocal, piano BROWNIE MCGHEE: guitar
unknown 2nd guitar, drums, washboard, jug Fall, 1949

9. J.D. SHORT You Got To Help Me Some 3:22 (Traditional, P.D.) From the album Stavin’ Chain Blues (Delmark 609)
J.D. SHORT: vocal, harmonica, guitar BIG JOE WILLIAMS: guitar February 8, 1958

10. JIMMY ROGERS That's All Right 2:24 (Jimmy Rogers, Arc Music Corp., BMI) From the album House Rent Party (Delmark 655)
JIMMY ROGERS: vocal, guitar SUNNYLAND SLIM: piano probably ANDREW HARRIS: bass August 26, 1949

11. BLIND WILLIE MCTELL Hide Me In Thy Bosom 2:34 (Willie McTell, Merit, BMI) From the album The Back Porch Boys (Delmark 755)
BLIND WILLIE MCTELL: vocal, guitar 1949 or 1950

Celebrating the legacy of Delmark:
Delmark Records, 50 Years Of Jazz And Blues • JAZZ (904) 2 CD set featuring
Coleman Hawkins, Franz Jackson, Chicago Underground, Archie Shepp,
Jimmy Forrest, Francine Griffin...
Delmark Records, 50 Years Of Jazz And Blues • BLUES (905) 2 CD set featuring
Junior Wells, Magic Sam, Robert Ward, J.B. Hutto, Big Joe Williams,
Jimmy Burns, Big Time Sarah, Karen Carroll...
Delmark Records, 50 Years Of Jazz And Blues • Boxed Set (050) contains 904, 905 and bonus DVD

Other albums in the Delmark 50th Anniversary Collection are:
West Side Chicago Blues (906) with Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Luther Allison,
Jimmy Dawkins, Johnny B. Moore, Tail Dragger...
Masters Of Boogie Piano (908) with Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis, Pete
Johnson, Roosevelt Sykes, Speckled Red...
For Jumpers Only! (909) with Cab Calloway, Illinois Jacquet, Arnett Cobb,
Willis Jackson, Cat Anderson, Panama Francis...
Bop Lives! (910) with Bud Powell, Coleman Hawkins with Dizzy Gillespie, Sir
Charles Thompson with Charlie Parker, Cecil Payne...
Chicago's Avant Today! (911) with Chicago Underground, Ken Vandermark,
Kahil El’Zabar’s Ritual Trio, Ernest Dawkins’ New Horizons Ensemble...

Album Production: Robert G. Koester and Steve Wagner
Big Joe Williams in Brownsville, TN photo: Greg Roberts
Design: Al Brandtner

Call or write for a free catalog of jazz and blues:
Delmark Records • 1-800-684-3480 • 4121 N. Rockwell, Chicago, IL 60618 www.delmark.com
CP 2003 Delmark Records