Mickey Baker - In the 50s (1952-56)

Mickey Baker - In the 50s (1952-56)

71 minutes. Mostly instrumental greasy, slinky, gut bustin' guitar. GIT IT!

Few rock & roll or R&B guitarists of the '50s and '60s have a more consistently frantic body of work than the great Mickey Baker, though his name isn't nearly as well-known as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, or Ike Turner. Baker did most of his work as a sideman, and his best-known recordings as a headliner found him playing second fiddle to Sylvia Robinson as half of Mickey & Sylvia (whose "Love Is Strange" remains a puzzling delight 50 years after it was recorded), but folks who know and love first-era rock & roll are aware of Baker's greatness, and this collection is a superb overview of his work, both as a bandleader and as a hired gun.

Containing a hefty 31 tracks recorded between 1952 and 1956, In the '50s: Hit, Git & Split runs the gamut from the low-key acoustic blues of Baker's "Love Me Baby" to the wailing electric dread of Larry Dale's "Midnight Hours," the uptempo rockabilly of Joe Clay's "Did You Mean Jelly-Bean," the easy-swinging jump blues of Sam Price's "Rib Joint," a double-time rewrite of Chuck Berry's "Maybellene" on Brownie McGhee's "Anna Mae," and a rockin' re-recording by Louis Jordan of "Caldonia" with Baker's guitar answering the hearty peals of the horn section and Jordan's vocals. The word "Wild" tended to pop up in the titles of Mickey Baker's solo albums, and one spin of this disc will show you why – the man's rough-and-tumble style screamed and hollered the blues whenever he hit the strings, and Baker's solos are death-defying hoodoo magic no matter what cut you cue up. Hit, Git & Split is a thoroughly enjoyable set of vintage R&B that's good and greasy throughout, and a peerless introduction to one of the great unsung heroes of rock & roll.

Personnel & tracklist:
01 - Bill Hendricks - Spinnin' Rock Boogie
02 - Mickey Baker - Love Me Baby
03 - Mickey Baker - Brandstand Stomp
04 - Mickey Baker - Riverboat
05 - Big Red McHouston - I'm Tired
06 - Big Red McHouston - Stranger Blues
07 - Larry Dale - You Better Heed My Warning
08 - Larry Dale - Midnight Hours
09 - Mickey Baker - Shake Walkin'
10 - Larry Dale - Down to the Bottom
11 - Mickey Baker - Greasy Spoon
12 - Larry Dale - Please Tell Me
13 - Mickey And Sylvia - Where Is My Honey
14 - Mickey And Sylvia - No Good Lover
15 - Mickey Baker - Rock With a Sock
16 - Mickey & Sylvia - Love Is Strange
17 - Joe Clay - Did You Mean Jelly-Bean
18 - Charles Calhoun - Runaway
19 - Little Willie John - I Need Your Love So Bad
20 - Titus Turner - All Around the World
21 - Sam Price - Rib Joint
22 - Brownie McGhee - Anna Mae
23 - Eddie Riff - My Baby's Gone Away
24 - Louis Jordan - Caldonia '56
25 - Tiny Kennedy - Country Boy
26 - Mr Bear And His Bearcats - The Bear Hug
27 - Roy Gaines - Worried 'Bout You Baby
28 - Square Walton - Pepper-Head Woman
29 - Champion Jack Dupree - Stumbling Block
30 - Big John Greer - Come Back Uncle John
31 - Young Jessie - Hit Git And Split 

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