Pee Wee Crayton
Although he was certainly inexorably influenced by the pioneering electric guitar conception of T-Bone Walker (what axe-handler wasn't during the immediate postwar era?), Pee Wee Crayton brought enough daring innovation to his playing to avoid being labeled as a mere T-Bone imitator. Crayton's recorded output for Modern, Imperial, and Vee-Jay contains plenty of dazzling, marvelously imaginative guitar work, especially on stunning instrumentals such as "Texas Hop," "Pee Wee's Boogie," and "Poppa Stoppa," all far more aggressive performances than Walker usually indulged in.
Like Walker, Connie Crayton was a transplanted Texan. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1935, later moving north to the Bay Area. He signed with the Bihari brothers' L.A.-based Modern logo in 1948, quickly hitting pay dirt with the lowdown instrumental "Blues After Hours" (a kissin' cousin to Erskine Hawkins' anthem "After Hours"), which topped the R&B charts in late 1948. The steaming "Texas Hop" trailed it up the lists shortly thereafter, followed the next year by "I Love You So." But Crayton's brief hitmaking reign was over, through no fault of his own.
After recording prolifically at Modern to no further commercial avail, Crayton moved on to Aladdin and, in 1954, Imperial. Under Dave Bartholomew's savvy production, Crayton made some of his best waxings in New Orleans: "Every Dog Has His Day," "You Know Yeah," and "Runnin' Wild" found Crayton's guitar turned up to the boiling point over the fat cushion of saxes characterizing the Crescent City sound.
From there, Crayton tried to regain his momentum at Vee-Jay in Chicago; 1957's "I Found My Peace of Mind," a Ray Charles-tinged gem, should have done the trick, but no dice. After one-off 45s for Jamie, Guyden, and Smash during the early '60s, Crayton largely faded from view until Vanguard unleashed his LP, Things I Used to Do, in 1971. After that, Pee Wee Crayton's profile was raised somewhat; he toured and made a few more albums prior to his passing in 1985.
© Bill Dahl /TiVo
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Everyday I Have The Blues
Joe Turner, Pee Wee Crayton, Sonny Stitt
Jazz - Released by Pablo on 3/03/1975
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Golden Selection (Remastered)
R&B - Released by Master Tape Records on 22/10/2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blues At Daybreak (Live)
Blues - Released by Arkadia Records on 10/11/2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Things I Used To Do
Blues - Released by Vanguard Records on 1/01/1971
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Early Hour Blues
Blues - Released by Blind Pig Records on 22/06/1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blues in the Ghetto
Blues - Released by Dance Plant Records Inc on 19/07/2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pee Wee's Blues: The Complete Aladdin And Imperial Recordings
Blues - Released by Capitol Records on 1/01/1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Blues After Hours
Blues - Released by Music Manager on 24/07/2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Pee Wee Crayton Collection 1947-62
Blues - Released by ACROBAT on 5/05/2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blues At Daybreak (Live)
Blues - Released by Arkadia Records on 13/10/2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Telephone Is Ringing
Blues - Released by Old Town on 8/11/1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blues After Hours
Blues - Released by RMP Global Ltd on 19/02/2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blues After Hours - The Essential
Blues - Released by AP MUSIC LTD on 1/01/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Best of Blues
Big Joe Williams, Pee Wee Crayton, Ray Charles
Blues - Released by Music Manager on 19/06/2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Essential Masters
Blues - Released by Master Classics Records on 17/09/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Highlights of Pee Wee Crayton
Pop - Released by Weishaupt Music & Entertainment on 23/04/2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
If I Ever Get Lucky (Live)
Blues - Released by Arkadia Records on 15/09/2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo