Etta James

This special release on vinyl includes 18 studio tracks, consisting of a wide selection of those sensational sides Etta James made for the Bihari brothers’ Modern and Kent labels between1955 and 1961. Highlights include “Good Rockin’ Daddy,” “W-O-M-A-N” (a response to Bo Diddley’s “I’m a Man”), “Hey Henry”, “Be Mine” and “How Big a Fool.” It also features touching mid-tempos (“Tears of Joy”), novelties (“Shortnin’ Bread Rock”), and a convincing attempt to beat Little Richard at his own game (“Tough Lover”), among many other R&B staples.

This set also contains a number of James’ hard to find sides and lesser-known songs which were not originally released as singles (7-inch format). They were included instead on the obscure long play compilation, The Best of Etta James (issued by the Bihari’s subsidiary Crown label in 1961). The compilation features lesser-known songs like “Nobody Loves You Like Me,” and the funny “Hickory Dickory Dock,” as well as the splendid “You Know What I Mean” (which was written by Tamla-Motown’s founder, Berry Gordy, Jr.).

PERSONNEL:

ETTA JAMES, lead vocals, plus:

SIDE 1, tracks 1-9: probable personnel:
The Maxwell Davis Orchestra. Also featuring The Dreamers (female backing vocals). Recorded in Los Angeles, California, 1955 & 1956.

SIDE 2, tracks 1-9:
Unidentified rhythm section. Recorded in. Los Angeles, California, 1957-1959.

SIDE 1

01. HEY HENRY – Modern 957, 1955
02. BE MINE – Modern 957-B, 1955
03. GOOD ROCKIN’ DADDY – Modern 962, 1955
04. W-O-M-A-N – Modern 972, 1955
05. MY ONE AND ONLY – Modern 984, 1956
06. SHORTNIN’ BREAD ROCK – Modern 988, 1956
07. TEARS OF JOY – Modern 988-B, 1956
08. TOUGH LOVER – Modern 998, 1956
09. FOOLS WE MORTALS BE – Modern 998-B, 1957

SIDE 2

01. GOOD LOOKIN’ – Modern 1007, 1957
02. THE PICK-UP – Modern 1016, 1957
03. BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON – Modern 1022-B, 1957
04. HOW BIG A FOOL – Kent 352, 1961
05. DANCE WITH ME, HENRY – Crown LP 5001, 1957
06. STRANGE THINGS HAPPENING – Kent LP 3002, 1958
07. HICKORY DICKORY DOCK – Crown LP 5234, 1961
08. NOBODY LOVES YOU LIKE ME – Crown LP 5234, 1961
09. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN – Crown LP 5234, 1961