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 - Released by Blind Pig Records on 24 sep. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Feel Like Blowing My Horn
Blues - Released by Delmark Records on 10 jun. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nasty but It's Clean
Blues - Released by Catfish Records on 9 okt. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blues Piano And Guitar (Live)
Henry Townsend, Roosevelt Sykes
Blues - Released by Omnivore Recordings on 22 mrt. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Honey Dripper's Ball
Blues - Released by Fuel 2000 on 9 apr. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Honey Dripper
Jazz - Released by Black Sheep Music on 27 nov. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 2 (1930-1931)
Blues - Released by Document Records on 12 apr. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 9 (1947-1951)
Blues - Released by Document Records on 27 sep. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roosevelt Sykes 1929 - 1942
Blues - Released by Wolf Records International GmbH on 20 mei 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roosevelt Sykes "Live" At Webster College 1974 (Live)
Blues - Released by Document Records on 3 feb. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Raining in My Heart
Blues - Released by Delmark Records on 17 okt. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Honeydripper & Face to Face With the Blues
Blues - Released by Vocalion on 26 dec. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Essential Blues Masters
Blues - Released by Master Classics Records on 1 feb. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Jazz Figures / Roosevelt Sykes, (1941 - 1944), Volume 7
Jazz - Released by Collector Records Greece on 14 dec. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Milestones of Legends - Boogie Woogie & Blues Piano, Vol. 10
Champion Jack Dupree, Roosevelt Sykes
Blues - Released by Documents 2 on 13 jan. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Ultimate Collection
Blues - Released by Vintage Masters Inc. on 1 sep. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo