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
-
-
Rock it
Blues - Released by Wolf Records International GmbH on 19 Jun 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 4 (1934-1936)
Blues - Released by Document Records on 12 Apr 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Honey Dripper
Blues - Released by Copyright Group on 21 Sep 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Country Blues Piano Ace 1929-1932
Blues - Released by Roots on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Jazz Figures / Roosevelt Sykes, (1931 - 1933), Volume 3
Jazz - Released by Collector Records Greece on 16 Dec 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hard Drivin' Blues
Blues - Released by Delmark Records on 18 Jul 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Mr Sykes Blues 1929 - 1932
Blues - Released by Roots on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Barrelhouse Blues
Blues - Released by Dobre Records on 4 May 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Jazz Figures / Roosevelt Sykes, (1931 - 1933), Volume 3
Jazz - Released by Collector Records Greece on 16 Dec 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Figures / Roosevelt Sykes, (1936 - 1939), Volume 5
Jazz - Released by Collector Records Greece on 16 Dec 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
The Roosevelt Sykes Collection 1929-47, Vol. 2
Blues - Released by ACROBAT on 9 Jun 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 3 (1931-1933)
Blues - Released by Document Records on 12 Apr 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
-
Roosevelt Sykes the Honey Dripper, Vol. 2: 1944-1950 (Blues Collection Historic Recordings)
Blues - Released by EPM on 10 Jul 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roosevelt Sykes, Vol. 2: The Honey Dripper 1944-1950 (Blues Collection Historic Recordings)
Blues - Released by EPM on 10 Jul 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo