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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Blues Piano and Guitar (Live)
Henry Townsend, Roosevelt Sykes
Blues - Editado por Omnivore Recordings el 22 mar. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music Is My Business
Blues - Editado por Fat Possum el 25 sept. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chicago Blues Festival '70 (Blues Reference)
Homesick James, Roosevelt Sykes, Eddie Taylor
Blues - Editado por Disques Black & Blue el 1 ene. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Roosevelt Sykes Collection 1929-47, Vol. 1
Blues - Editado por ACROBAT el 9 jun. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blues by Roosevelt "The Honeydripper" Sykes
Blues - Editado por Smithsonian Folkways Recordings el 17 oct. 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Return Of Roosevelt Sykes (Album Version)
Blues - Editado por Original Blues Classics el 1 ene. 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
This Is the Blues! Vol. 2 (Mono Version)
Blues - Editado por BNF Collection el 1 ene. 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Double Barreled Boogie
Jazz - Editado por Universal Music Division Decca Records France el 1 ene. 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
This Is the Blues, Vol. 2 (Recordings of 1939 + 1940)
Roosevelt Sykes, Roosevelt Sykes (The Honey Dripper)
Pop - Editado por Blues Classics el 31 ago. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Honeydripper's Duke's Mixture (Album Version)
Jazz - Editado por Universal Music Division Decca Records France el 1 ene. 1971
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 6 (1939-1941)
Blues - Editado por Document Records el 12 abr. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 1 (1929-1930)
Blues - Editado por Document Records el 12 abr. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 10 (1951-1957)
Blues - Editado por Document Records el 12 abr. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
1929-1941
Blues - Editado por Vintage Masters Inc. el 1 sept. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dirty Mother for You
Jazz - Editado por Jazzology el 23 dic. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 8 (1945-1947)
Blues - Editado por Document Records el 27 sept. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Way I Feel: The Best Of Roosevelt Sykes And Lee Green
Blues - Editado por Yazoo el 1 ene. 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Jazz Figures / Roosevelt Sykes, (1944 - 1951), Volume 8
Jazz - Editado por Collector Records Greece el 14 dic. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Roosevelt Sykes Vol. 5 (1937-1939)
Blues - Editado por Document Records el 12 abr. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo