The History of Rhythm & Blues Boxset, by Various (CD box set on Rhythm & Blues)

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Rhythm & Blues has become one of the most identifiable art-forms of the C20th, with an enormous influence on the development of both the sound and attitude of modern music. But it wasn't always that way.  The History of Rhythm and Blues investigates the accidental synthesis of jazz, gospel, blues, ragtime, country and pop into a definable form of black music, which in turn would influence pretty well all popular music from the 1950s to the present. The end of the 19th century was a period of major social upheaval for the black population in America. Musicians who had previously been maintained on plantations were no longer required, and took to the road begging, as the abolition of slavery led to huge numbers of itinerant workers. The hardships of segregation caused by the ensuing Jim Crow laws caused a cultural revolution within Afro-American society. New forms of music arose:  spirituals, ragtime, barrelhouse, jazz, black ballad form. Over the years, these distinctive sounds would come to merge into a recognisably “new” musical style. From its humble rural beginnings in the early 1900s as a method of self-expression in the southern states, the blues gradually became a form of public entertainment, initially for workers and drinkers, in lumber camps, barbeques and juke joints, picking up dance rhythms along the way. The blues, originally a slow dance, only evolved into the form we know today after the introduction of sound recording - the first blues record, Mamie Smith’s Crazy Blues, was released in 1921. Over the course of 4 thematically arranged CDs, The History of Rhythm and Blues illustrates how these dramatic social and economic upheavals were reflected in the congruence of different musical styles into a form that became recognisable both in terms of sound and marketing. Old songs were turned into new. Cow Cow Blues mutated into Ray Charles’ Mess Around. Little Richard appropriated Keep a Knockin’ from an old hillbilly tune via Louis Jordan. A new form of commercial dance music was born from these many disparate sources, few of which survived in its original form. The History of Rhythm and Blues Part One takes the story up to the eve of the American entry into the Second World War. It will appeal to anyone interested in the evolution of the blues, or simply curious as to how the sounds of today continue to be shaped and forged by the aural fusions and experiments of the early decades of the C20th.The first-ever attempt to chronicle from a historical perspective, the rise of Rhythm & Blues - the accidental synthesis of jazz, gospel, blues, country and pop - into a definable form of black popular music, by showcasing the most important and influential records. The Volume One Boxset - The Pre-War Years, 1925 - 1942  taking the story up to the eve of the American entry into the Second World War. A 4CD box set DVD box-size complete with 32 page booklet including comprehensive track by track analysis of all 97 songs. Disc One - The Blues From The Delta To The City / Country Blues And Spirituals, Jug Bands And Hokum  / Disc Two - The Rhythm / Piano Boogie-Woogie, Ragtime And Jazz / Disc Three - Up River To Chicago / Urban Blues And Gospel / Disc Four - Jazzin’ The Blues /  After Hours, Swing Boogie And Jive. Examining the roles of such luminaries as Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, The Mills Brothers, Leroy Carr, Albert Ammons, Count Basie,The Harlem Hamfats, Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Jimmie Rodgers,  Tampa Red, Big Joe Turner, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Bill Broonzy, Louis Jordan, Lionel Hampton,T-Bone Walker, Arthur Crudup

Disc One - Blues From The Delta To The City - Country Blues And Spirituals, Jug Bands And Hokum / 1 My Soul Is A Witness Austin Coleman 2 It's Nobody's Fault But Mine Blind Willie Johnson 3 The Crucifixion Of Christ Jessie May Hill 4 Shake That Thing Papa Charlie Jackson 5 Outside Woman Blues Blind Joe Reynolds 6 It's A Good Thing Frank Stokes/Beale Street Sheiks 7 Minglewood Blues Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers 8 Match Box Blues Blind Lemon Jefferson 9 Diddie Wah Diddie Blind Blake 10 Milk Cow Blues Sleepy John Estes 11 Ease It To Me Blues Barbecue Bob 12 No No Blues Curley Weaver 13 Apaloosa Blues Bobby Leecan and Robert Cooksey 14 Little Rock Blues Pearl Dickson 15 Kansas City Blues Jim Jackson 16 Train Whistle Blues Jimmie Rodgers 17 Goin’ Back To Texas Memphis Minnie 18 Roll And Tumble Blues Hambone Willie Newbern 19 If You Haven't Any Hay Skip James 20 Kokomo Blues Scrapper Blackwell 21 It's Tight Like That Georgia Tom 22 Didn't It Rain Bryant's Jubilee Quartet 23 Beale Street Breakdown Jed Davenport 24 Milk Cow Blues Kokomo Arnold

Disc Two - The Rhythm - Piano Boogie-Woogie Ragtime And Jazz / 1 Get Low-Down Blues Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra 2 Mr Johnson's Blues Lonnie Johnson 3 Backwater Blues Bessie Smith 4 Knockin' A Jug Louis Armstrong 5 Bullfrog Blues Muggsy Spanier 6 Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie Pinetop Smith 7 Cow Cow Blues Cow Cow Davenport 8 Guitar Boogie Blind Roosevelt Graves And Brother 9 How Long, How Long Blues Leroy Carr 10 The Dirty Dozen Speckled Red 11 Vicksburg Blues Little Brother Montgomery 12 Sweet Miss Stella Blues Rufus and Ben Quillian 13 Minnie The Moocher Cab Calloway & His Orchestra 14 St. Louis Blues The Mills Brothers 15 Somebody Stole Gabriel's Horn Three Keys 16 Midnight Hour Blues Leroy Carr 17 Lafayette Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra 18 Flaming Reeds And Screaming Brass Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra 19 Strut That Thing Cripple Clarence Lofton 20 Dirty Mother For You Roosevelt Sykes 21 Weed Smoker's Dream The Harlem Hamfats 22 Press My Button Lil Johnson 23 Night Time Is The Right Time Roosevelt Sykes 24 The Blues Ain't Nothing But Georgia White

Disc Three - Up River To Chicago - Urban Blues And Gospel / 1 Teasin’ Brown Blues Louie Lasky 2 Barrelhouse Woman Leroy Carr 3 Lead Pencil Blues Johnnie Temple 4 Policy Dream Blues Bumble Bee Slim 5 Naptown Stomp Bill Gaither 6 Sloppy Drunk Again Walter Davis 7 Jockey Blues Jazz Gillum 8 Holy Mountain Elder Otis Jones 9 Standing By The Bedside Of A Neighbour Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet 10 Louise Louise Blues Johnnie Temple 11 Barrelhouse When It Rains Big Bill Broonzy 12 Good Morning Little Schoolgirl John Lee 'Sonny Boy' Williamson 13 Preachin' Blues Robert Johnson 14 Number Runner's Blues Jimmie Gordon 15 Tell Me Baby John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson 16 Rockin' Chair Blues Big Bill Broonzy 17 Diggin’ My Potatoes Washboard Sam 18 This Train Sister Rosetta Tharpe 19 Don’t You Lie To Me Tampa Red 20 Jivin' The Blues John Lee "Sonny Boy Williamson 21 I Feel So Good Big Bill Broonzy 22 Worried Life Blues Big Maceo 23 Junker Blues Champion Jack Dupree 24 Ain't No Business We Can Do Doctor Clayton 25 Mean Ol' Frisco Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup

Disc Four - Jazzin' The Blues - After Hours Swing Boogie And Jive / 1 Boogie Woogie Stomp Albert Ammons And His Rhythm Kings 2 Boogie-Woogie Count Basie [Jones-Smith Inc.] 3 One O’Clock Jump Count Basie Orchestra 4 Sing Sing Sing Benny Goodman 5 Keep A-Knockin' Louis Jordan 6 T'Aint What You Do Jimmie Lunceford 7 Jumpin' Jive Cab Calloway 8 I Like To Riff King Cole Trio 9 That's The Rhythm Three Sharps And A Flat 10 I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water The Cats & The Fiddle 11 After Hours Erskine Hawkins and his Orchestra 12 Floyd’s Guitar Blues Andy Kirk And His Clouds Of Joy 13 Gangster's Blues Peetie Wheatstraw 14 Roll'em Pete Joe Turner And Pete Johnson 15 Down The Road A Piece Will Bradley 16 Central Avenue Breakdown Lionel Hampton 17 Natchez Mississippi Blues Lewis Bronzeville Five 18 Death Ray Boogie Pete Johnson 19 Confessin' The Blues Jay McShann 20 What's The Use Of Getting Sober Louis Jordan 21 Take It And Git Andy Kirk And His Clouds Of Joy 22 Cow Cow Boogie Ella Mae Morse 23 Flying Home Lionel Hampton Orchestra 24 Mean Old World T-Bone Walker