Who was/is Jimmy Witherspoon ? - CDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD and more

Jimmy Witherspoon

Although he hailed from the Kansas City blues shouting tradition led by Big Joe Turner and Jimmy Rushing, Jimmy Witherspoon made the great majority of his early solo sides out in Los Angeles, where there were more than enough R&B indie labels to keep him busy in the studio virtually non-stop. Chief among them was Modern Records, which cut him extensively during the postwar years. But they were by no means the only label to welcome 'Spoon to their rosters.

"Boy, I think I ran out of companies, I was on so many," the late singer said. "They didn't give you that much money anyway. If you didn't have a hit record, they didn't need you no more."  Witherspoon was born August 8, 1923 in Gurdon, Arkansas. "I've been singing all my life, in church, since I was about five years old," he said. "I always did want to sing." He got his big chance in 1943 in Calcutta, India, of all places. "I was in the Merchant Marines in World War II, and I was singing there with Teddy Weatherford's band," he said. "In '44, I came back to Vallejo, California, where my mother was living, and I joined Jay McShann then. That was my first job, really. I stayed with Jay for about four years."

 Spoon replaced Walter Brown in pianist McShann's mighty orchestra (its alumni included Charlie Parker). He fronted the band on sides for Philo/Aladdin, Premier, and Mercury before making his own debut 78s for the L.A.-based Supreme logo in late 1947.  That's the label he waxed his eternal calling card for: the two-part Ain't Nobody's Business, recast dramatically from Billie Holiday's downtrodden version, copyrighted as T'aint Nobody's Bizness If I Do in 1922, and first recorded by Anna Meyers and the Original Memphis Five. "Somebody came up with it—Al Patrick, who owned Supreme Records,"  he said. "Then I changed the lyrics. It's not the same as 'T'ain't Nobody's Business.' It's a takeoff steal from it, but it's not the same lyric." McShann was there to roll the 88s. "That was in Los Angeles, and he came out there to play, and I asked him to do it with me, which he did. The changes and everything, that was his." The two-sider sat on theR&B charts an unbelievable 34 weeks in 1949, including one at number one.

Witherspoon jumped to Modern in 1948 and made a motherlode of swinging R&B and mellow blues, displaying his way-behind-the-beat phrasing on the latter. Who's Been Jivin' You falls into the former camp, driving like mad over guitarist Chuck Norris' relentless chord work (Maxwell Davis and Vido Musso were the saxists, with Henry McDade on piano, Ralph Hamilton on bass, and Jesse Sailes on drums). Spoon shared writer's credit with Modern co-owner Joe Bihari (as Joe Josea).

From Modern, Jimmy migrated to Federal, Checker, Atlantic, RCA Victor, World Pacific, and Vee-Jay before an acclaimed appearance at the 1959 Monterey Jazz festival introduced him to a new demographic. He remained highly active, even triumphantly coming back from a 1981 bout with throat cancer, until the disease came back to permanently silence him on September 18, 1997.

 

Bill Dahl
Chicago, Illinois

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Electric Blues 1939-2005. - The Definitive Collection!

 

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More information about Jimmy Witherspoon on Wikipedia.org

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Hey Mr. Landlord (LP)
Jimmy Witherspoon: Hey Mr. Landlord (LP) Art-Nr.: LPKIX31

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(Route 66) 17 tracks Jimmy Witherspoon is the blues singer of today, a band blues artist who is actually more at home in a jazz group than on a backwoods guitar.He is a shouter in the great tradition of Oe Turner, Jimmy Rushing and...
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With The Junior Mance Trio (CD)
Jimmy Witherspoon: With The Junior Mance Trio (CD) Art-Nr.: CDSPCD1231

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(1969 'Stony Plain') (37:21/11) Zuvor unveröffentlichte Aufnahmen aus Frankreich / previously unreleased recording from France. JIMMY WITHERSPOON - voc, JUNIOR MANCE - pno, JIMMY WOODE - bass, KENNY CLARKE - drums.
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Jimmy Witherspoon (7inch, EP, 45rpm, PS)
Jimmy Witherspoon: Jimmy Witherspoon (7inch, EP, 45rpm, PS) Art-Nr.: 45ET15066

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(2017/El Toro) 4-Track EP - 45rpm, wide center hole available for jukebox use and a picture sleeve!
$11.26
Blowin' In From Kansas City (LP)
Jimmy Witherspoon: Blowin' In From Kansas City (LP) Art-Nr.: LPCHD279

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(Ace) 16 tracks - Original 1948 to 1952 'King' recordings Blues shouting is a dying art form in the field of rhythm & blues and is only a memory from its hey-day in the forties and early fifties. Most of its main practitioners. such as...
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Quadromania - California Blues (4-CD)
Jimmy Witherspoon: Quadromania - California Blues (4-CD) Art-Nr.: CD224989

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(Membran) 58 tracks
$14.66 $20.31
Rockin' L.A. (LP)
Jimmy Witherspoon: Rockin' L.A. (LP) Art-Nr.: LPF966016

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(Fantasy) 9 tracks
$16.92 $22.58
Urban Blues Singing Legend (4-CD)
Jimmy Witherspoon: Urban Blues Singing Legend (4-CD) Art-Nr.: CDJSP7778

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(1945-53) (297:40/108)
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Spoon - Hey, Mrs. Jones!
Jimmy Witherspoon: Spoon - Hey, Mrs. Jones! Art-Nr.: CDFS849

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(2015/Fresh Sound) 24 tracks. His two reprise LPs from 1959 and 1961, on a CD .
$16.92
I'll Be Right On Down
Jimmy Witherspoon: I'll Be Right On Down Art-Nr.: CDCHD1182

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The final collection of Witherspoon's Modern output. Contains plenty of previously unavailable alternate takes and versions in superior quality. Those were Witherspoon never sounded better when he set the standard for all blues shouters...
$18.05
Gone With The Blues (with Jay McShann) (CD)
Jimmy Witherspoon: Gone With The Blues (with Jay McShann) (CD) Art-Nr.: CDJAS3002

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(2002/Jasmine) 26 tracks
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Live At The Renaissance & At Monterey (CD)
Jimmy Witherspoon: Live At The Renaissance & At Monterey (CD) Art-Nr.: CDSJ877

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(2016/Soul Jam) 20 tracks. Two of his best live albums. For the present CD this 24-bit digitally remastered and were provided with five bonus tracks from the same period.
$11.26 $16.92
Dr. Blues (2-CD)
Jimmy Witherspoon: Dr. Blues (2-CD) Art-Nr.: CD250244

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(1947-59) (150:11/50)
$21.79
Roots
Jimmy Witherspoon & Ben Webser: Roots Art-Nr.: LPAPB6057

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​(2011/Analogue Prod.) 12 tracks. His 1961 LP feat. Ben Webster.
$39.33
Spoon So Easy
Jimmy Witherspoon: Spoon So Easy Art-Nr.: CD42911

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(1997/MCA) 14 tracks. 1954-59.
$11.03 $16.92
Feelin' The Spirit (LP, 180g Vinyl)
Jimmy Witherspoon: Feelin' The Spirit (LP, 180g Vinyl) Art-Nr.: LPDOY683

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(2013/Doxy) 10 tracks - Re-issue of the 1959 'Hi-Fi' album
$22.58
Blues Forever - The Best Of Jimmy Witherspoon (CD)
Jimmy Witherspoon: Blues Forever - The Best Of Jimmy Witherspoon (CD) Art-Nr.: CD68008

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(SAAR srl) 18 Tracks - Original recordings 1945-1951, featuring Jay McShann and His Orchestra!
$9.00 $18.05
Rockin' With Spoon (CD)
Jimmy Witherspoon: Rockin' With Spoon (CD) Art-Nr.: CD168428

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(Charly R&B) 15 tracks
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The Very Best Of Jimmy Witherspoon - Miss Miss Mistreater (CD)
Jimmy Witherspoon: The Very Best Of Jimmy Witherspoon - Miss Miss... Art-Nr.: CD289525

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(Collectables Records) 24 tracks
$14.66
Spoon So Easy (CD)
Jimmy Witherspoon: Spoon So Easy (CD) Art-Nr.: CD300329

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(MCA Records) 14 tracks
$22.58