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 - Pubblicato da Sony Music Entertainment il 26 gen 1968
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Five Long Years
Blues - Pubblicato da L+R Records il 20 ott 1965
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions (Remastered 2005)
Pop - Pubblicato da Columbia il 9 mar 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Sonet Blues Story
Blues - Pubblicato da Universal Music AB il 1 gen 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The complete recordings vol.2
Blues - Pubblicato da EPM il 4 mag 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
"Live" In Switzerland 1968 (Live)
Blues - Pubblicato da Storyville il 20 mar 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blue Monday Blues: 1950 - 1960 Sides
Blues - Pubblicato da Blues & Roots Records il 20 giu 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Singles Collection 1947-62
Blues - Pubblicato da ACROBAT il 11 mag 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anthology: His First Recordings (Remastered)
Blues - Pubblicato da Master Tape Records il 29 mag 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Blues Is Here to Stay, 1947 - 1959
Blues - Pubblicato da Jasmine Records il 24 nov 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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A Sad Day (Blues Collection)
Blues - Pubblicato da EPM il 22 feb 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Preseting Eddie Boyd
Blues - Pubblicato da Universal Digital Enterprises il 8 lug 1947
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Had to Let Her Go - Eddie Boyd
Jazz - Pubblicato da ISIS il 3 dic 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nothing but the Good Old Blues
Blues - Pubblicato da EXZITED Music Productions il 27 set 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Barrelhouse, Blues & Boogie Woogie Vol. II
Little Brother Montgomery, Jack DuPree, Speckled Red, Memphis Slim, Sunnyland Slim, Eddie Boyd
Blues - Pubblicato da Storyville il 20 ago 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Five Long Years
Pop - Pubblicato da Black Sheep Music il 13 ago 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classic Silver
Blues - Pubblicato da Hoogan Records il 6 mag 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Rockin' This House: Chicago Blues Piano 1946-1953, CD D
Blues - Pubblicato da JSP Records il 1 ago 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo