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