Roosevelt Sykes
Next time someone voices the opinion that blues music is simply too depressing to embrace, expose them to a heady dose of Roosevelt Sykes. There was absolutely nothing downbeat about this effervescent pianist, whose lengthy career spanned the pre-war and postwar eras. Sykes' romping boogies and hilariously risqué lyrics on songs like "Dirty Mother for You," "Ice Cream Freezer," and "Peeping Tom" characterize his monumental contributions to the blues idiom. He was a pioneering piano pounder responsible for the seminal pieces "44 Blues," "Driving Wheel," and "Night Time Is the Right Time."
Sykes began playing while growing up in Helena. At age 15 he hit the road, developing his rowdy barrelhouse style around the blues-fertile St. Louis area. He began recording in 1929 for OKeh and was signed to four different labels the next year under four different names (he was variously billed as Dobby Bragg, Willie Kelly, and Easy Papa Johnson). Sykes signed to Decca Records in 1935, where his popularity blossomed. After relocating to Chicago, Sykes inked a pact with Bluebird in 1943 and recorded prolifically for the RCA subsidiary with his combo the Honeydrippers, scoring a pair of R&B hits in 1945 (covers of Cecil Gant's "I Wonder" and Joe Liggins' "The Honeydripper"). The following year, he scored one more national chart item for the Victor logo, the lowdown blues "Sunny Road." He also often toured and recorded with singer St. Louis Jimmy Oden, the originator of the classic "Going Down Slow."
In 1951, Sykes joined Chicago's United Records, cutting more fine sides over the next couple of years. A pair of Dave Bartholomew-produced 1955 dates for Imperial in New Orleans included a rollicking version of "Sweet Home Chicago" that presaged all the covers that would surface later on. A slew of albums for Bluesville, Folkways, Crown, and Delmark kept Sykes on the shelves during the '60s (a time when European tours began to take up quite a bit of the pianist's itinerary). He settled in New Orleans during the late '60s, where he remained a local treasure until his death. Precious few pianists could boast the thundering boogie prowess of Roosevelt Sykes.
© Bill Dahl /TiVo
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The Original Honeydripper
Blues - Erschienen bei Blind Pig Records am 24.09.2013
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Feel Like Blowing My Horn
Blues - Erschienen bei Delmark Records am 10.06.1997
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Nasty but It's Clean
Blues - Erschienen bei Catfish Records am 09.10.2020
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Blues Piano And Guitar (Live)
Henry Townsend, Roosevelt Sykes
Blues - Erschienen bei Omnivore Recordings am 22.03.2019
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The Honey Dripper's Ball
Blues - Erschienen bei Fuel 2000 am 09.04.2007
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The Honey Dripper
Jazz - Erschienen bei Black Sheep Music am 27.11.2013
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Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 2 (1930-1931)
Blues - Erschienen bei Document Records am 12.04.2005
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Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 9 (1947-1951)
Blues - Erschienen bei Document Records am 27.09.2005
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Roosevelt Sykes 1929 - 1942
Blues - Erschienen bei Wolf Records International GmbH am 20.05.2000
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Roosevelt Sykes "Live" At Webster College 1974 (Live)
Blues - Erschienen bei Document Records am 03.02.2014
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Raining in My Heart
Blues - Erschienen bei Delmark Records am 17.10.2000
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The Honeydripper & Face to Face With the Blues
Blues - Erschienen bei Vocalion am 26.12.2012
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Essential Blues Masters
Blues - Erschienen bei Master Classics Records am 01.02.2010
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The Honey Dripper
R&B - Erschienen bei Blues Route am 31.07.2020
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Jazz Figures / Roosevelt Sykes, (1941 - 1944), Volume 7
Jazz - Erschienen bei Collector Records Greece am 14.12.2011
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Milestones of Legends - Boogie Woogie & Blues Piano, Vol. 10
Champion Jack Dupree, Roosevelt Sykes
Blues - Erschienen bei Documents 2 am 13.01.2017
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The Ultimate Collection
Blues - Erschienen bei Vintage Masters Inc. am 01.09.2012
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