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Curtis Jones Vol. 1 1937-1938

45.1K streams

45,086

Highway 51 Blues

45.1K streams

45,086

Greatest Hits

24.6K streams

24,563

Trouble Blues

23K streams

23,013

Bluesville Vol. 2

18.6K streams

18,590

Curtis Jones Vol. 2 1938-1939

14.1K streams

14,119

Curtis Jones Vol. 4 1941-1953

7.7K streams

7,743

Curtis Jones Vol. 3 1939-1940

6.6K streams

6,627

The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions

3.5K streams

3,460

Legendary Bop, Rhythm & Blues Classics...

2.9K streams

2,884

Biography

The origins of the blues standard "Tin Pan Alley" can be traced directly back to pianist Curtis Jones, who also enjoyed considerable success in 1937 with his "Lonesome Bedroom Blues" for Vocalion (a song inspired by a breakup with his wife). Jones started out on guitar but switched to the 88s after moving to Dallas. He arrived in Chicago in 1936 and recorded for Vocalion, Bluebird, and OKeh from 1937 to 1941. But the war ended his recording career until 1953, when powerful DJ Al Benson issued a one-off single by Jones, "Wrong Blues"/"Cool Playing Blues," on his Parrot label with L.C. McKinley on guitar. In 1960, Jones waxed his debut album, Trouble Blues, for Prestige's Bluesville subsidiary with a classy crew of New York session aces and Chicagoan Johnny "Big Moose" Walker on guitar. By then, his audience was shifting drastically, as he became a fixture on the Chicago folk circuit. His next LP, Lonesome Bedroom Blues, was a 1962 solo affair for Delmark offering definitive renditions of the title cut and "Tin Pan Alley." Jones left Chicago permanently in January of 1962, settling in Europe and extensively touring the Continent until his 1971 death. ~ Bill Dahl, Rovi