Eddie Boyd
Few postwar blues standards have retained the universal appeal of Eddie Boyd's "Five Long Years." Cut in 1951, Boyd's masterpiece has attracted faithful covers by B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Buddy Guy, and too many other bluesmen to recount here. But Boyd's discography is filled with evocative compositions, often full of after-hours ambience.
Like so many Chicago blues stalwarts, Boyd hailed from the fertile Mississippi Delta. The segregationist policies that had a stranglehold on much of the South didn't appeal to the youngster, so he migrated up to Memphis (where he began to play the piano, influenced by Roosevelt Sykes and Leroy Carr). In 1941, Boyd settled in Chicago, falling in with the "Bluebird beat" crowd that recorded for producer Lester Melrose. He backed harp legend Sonny Boy Williamson on his 1945 classic "Elevator Woman," also accompanying Bluebird stars Jazz Gillum, Tampa Red, and Jazz Gillum on wax. Melrose produced Boyd's own 1947 recording debut for RCA as well; the pianist stayed with Victor through 1949.
Boyd reportedly paid for the date that produced "Five Long Years" himself, peddling the track to JOB Records (where the stolid blues topped the R&B charts during 1952). Powerful DJ Al Benson signed Boyd to a contract with his Parrot imprint and promptly sold the pact to Chess, inaugurating a stormy few years with Chicago's top blues outlet. There he waxed "24 Hours" and "Third Degree," both huge R&B hits in 1953, and a host of other Chicago blues gems. But Boyd and Leonard Chess were often at loggerheads, so it was on to Narvel "Cadillac Baby" Eatmon's Bea & Baby imprint in 1959 for eight solid sides with Robert Jr. Lockwood on guitar, and a slew of lesser labels after that. A serious auto wreck in 1957 had stalled his career for a spell.
Sick of the discrimination he perceived toward African Americans in this country, Boyd became enamored of Europe during his tour with the 1965 American Folk Blues Festival, so he moved to Belgium. The recording opportunities long denied him in his native land were plentiful overseas; Boyd cut prolifically during the late '60s, including two LPs for producer Mike Vernon. In the early '70s, he settled in Helsinki, Finland, where he played often and lived comfortably until his death.
© Bill Dahl /TiVo
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7936 South Rhodes
Blues - Erschienen bei Sony Music Entertainment am 26.01.1968
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Five Long Years
Blues - Erschienen bei L+R Records am 20.10.1965
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The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions (Remastered 2005)
Pop - Erschienen bei Columbia am 09.03.2006
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The Sonet Blues Story
Blues - Erschienen bei Universal Music AB am 01.01.2005
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The complete recordings vol.2
Blues - Erschienen bei EPM am 04.05.2004
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"Live" In Switzerland 1968 (Live)
Blues - Erschienen bei Storyville am 20.03.1995
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Blue Monday Blues: 1950 - 1960 Sides
Blues - Erschienen bei Blues & Roots Records am 20.06.2016
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The Singles Collection 1947-62
Blues - Erschienen bei ACROBAT am 11.05.2018
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Anthology: His First Recordings (Remastered)
Blues - Erschienen bei Master Tape Records am 29.05.2020
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The Blues Is Here to Stay, 1947 - 1959
Blues - Erschienen bei Jasmine Records am 24.11.2013
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A Sad Day (Blues Collection)
Blues - Erschienen bei EPM am 22.02.1996
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Preseting Eddie Boyd
Blues - Erschienen bei Universal Digital Enterprises am 08.07.1947
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I Had to Let Her Go - Eddie Boyd
Jazz - Erschienen bei ISIS am 03.12.2021
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Nothing but the Good Old Blues
Blues - Erschienen bei EXZITED Music Productions am 27.09.2019
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Barrelhouse, Blues & Boogie Woogie Vol. II
Little Brother Montgomery, Jack DuPree, Speckled Red, Memphis Slim, Sunnyland Slim, Eddie Boyd
Blues - Erschienen bei Storyville am 20.08.1998
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Five Long Years
Pop - Erschienen bei Black Sheep Music am 13.08.2013
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Classic Silver
Blues - Erschienen bei Hoogan Records am 06.05.2016
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Rockin' This House: Chicago Blues Piano 1946-1953, CD D
Blues - Erschienen bei JSP Records am 01.08.2006
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