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Slim Harpo - I'm A King Bee
The Early Swamp-Blues Classics 1959-1964
Ace Records: Excello
Slim Harpo (February 11, 1924 – January 31, 1970) was an American blues musician. He was known as a master of the blues harmonica; the name "Slim Harpo" was derived from "harp," the popular nickname for the harmonica in blues circles.
Born James Moore in Lobdell, Louisiana, United States, the eldest in an orphaned family, he worked as a longshoreman and building worker during the late 1930s and early 1940s. He began performing in Baton Rouge bars under the name Harmonica Slim and later accompanied his brother-in-law, Lightnin' Slim, both live and in the studio.
Named Slim Harpo by producer J.D. "Jay" Miller, he started his own recording career in 1957. His solo debut was the Grammy Hall of Fame single "I'm a King Bee" backed with "I Got Love If You Want It."
Harpo recorded under A&R man J.D. "Jay" Miller, in Crowley, Louisiana for Excello Records based in Nashville, Tennessee, and enjoyed a string of popular R&B singles, including Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee "Rainin' In My Heart" (1961) and the number one Billboard R&B hit "Baby Scratch My Back" (1966). On these recordings he was accompanied by the regular stable of Excello musicians, including Lazy Lester.
British rock bands like The Rolling Stones, The Pretty Things, The Yardbirds, Pink Floyd and Them featured versions of his songs in their early repertoires. Later, the riff from Harpo's 1966 hit "Shake Your Hips", which itself was derivative of Bo Diddley's "Bring It to Jerome", was used in the ZZ Top hit "La Grange" and the Rolling Stones covered the song on their 1972 album Exile On Main Street. Also, Th' Legendary Shack Shakers covered and released "Shake Your Hips" in 2003 on their album Cockadoodledon't, also included on Joan Osborne’s new album Bring It On Home, to be released in March 2012.
Other notable covers of Slim Harpo songs include "I Got Love If You Want It," by The Kinks, "I'm A King Bee," by The Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead and The Doors, and "Don't Start Crying Now," by Them, with Van Morrison. Stevie Ray Vaughan backed Lou Ann Barton singing “Ti Ni Nee Ni Nu” and “Baby Scratch My Back” on Double Trouble’s early ‘lost’ Nashville recordings.
Slim Harpo brought a good bit of the Louisiana swamp vibe with him when he recorded these immortal sides for Jay Miller's Nashville-based Excello Records in the early '60s.This set sticks to Harpo's earliest Excello material, and therefore lacks some of his best-known tracks like "Baby Scratch My Back," the two-part "Tip on In," and "Te-Ni-Nee-Ni-Nu," but it does have his signature tune, "I'm a King Bee" as well as "Rainin' in My Heart." Also included is a rare Harpo cover of John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen'".
Slim Harpo had a profound influence on the development of rock music. Never a full-time musician, Harpo had his own trucking business during the 1960s. He died following a heart attack at the age of 46, and was buried in Mulatto Bend Cemetery in Port Allen, Louisiana, having left a permanent legacy with his unmistakable unique sound.
Tracklist:
01 - I'm a King Bee (J. Moore) 1957
02 - I Got Love If You Want It (J. Moore) 1957
03 - Wonderin' and Worryin' (J. Moore, J. West) 1958
04 - Strange Love (J. Moore) 1958
05 - You'll Be Sorry One Day (J. Moore) 1959
06 - One More Day (J. West) 1959
07 - Bobby Sox Baby (J. Moore, J. West) 1959
08 - Late Last Night (J. Moore, J. West) 1959
09 - Buzz Me Babe (J. Moore, J. West) 1959
10 - Dream Girl (J. Moore, J.D. Miller) 1960
11 - Yeah Yeah Baby (J. Moore) 1960
12 - What a Dream (J. Moore, J. West) 1960
13 - Don't Start Crying Now (J. Moore, J. West) 1960
14 - Blues Hangover (J. Moore, J. West) 1960
15 - Moody Blues (J. Moore, J. West) 1960
16 - My Home Is a Prison (J.D. Miller, Green) 1960
17 - Please Don't Turn Me Down (J. Moore) 1960
18 - Snoopin' Around (J. Moore, J. West) 1960
19 - Rainin' in My Heart (J. Moore, J. West) 1960
20 - That's Alright Baby (a.k.a. Don't Start Cryin' Now) (J. Moore) 1960
21 - Lover's Confession (J. Moore) 1960
22 - Buzzin' (J. Moore) 1963
23 - I Love the Life I'm Living (J. Moore) 1963
24 - Boogie Chillun (J.L. Hooker) 1964
Personnel:
Slim Harpo : Vocal & Harmonica (1-24), Guitar (24)
Gabriel 'Guitar Grable' Perrodin : Guitar (1-6)
Clinton 'Fats' Perrodin : Bass (1-6)
Clarence 'Jockey' Etienne : Drums (1-6)
Willie 'Tom Cat' Parker : Tenor Sax (7-24)
Rudolph Richard : Guitar (7-24)
James Johnson : Guitar (7-24)
T J Kitchen : Bass (7-24)
Sammy K Brown : Drums (7-24)
Sonny Martin : Piano (7-24)
Lazy Lester : Harmonica (16,21)
Media Info:
Bitrate: (VBR)
Channels: joint stereo
Samplerate: 44100
Encoder: LAME 3.97
MPEG-1 layer 3
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