"Midnight Steppers" 70 Masterpieces By 34 Blues Piano Heroes

“Heaps and heaps of solid boogie-woogie and blues...so much of it is just a kick in the pants away from rock n roll” Now Dig This
"The 34 pianists are termed heroes – and it’s easy to hear why" Record Collector
"Essentially, the first great blues pianists compiled for your pleasure" Vintage Rock
"Great sound quality and lovingly put together...you can buy with confidence" Blues & Rhythm
"This set hands you 88 keys to the kingdom of the blues" MojoMidnight Steppers celebrates the post war blues pianists and explores how their sound had its origins in the 30s and 40s, when boogie woogie piano and the Chicago-centric small combo “Bluebird Beat” held sway. Compiled by blues and early jazz authority Mike Rowe, Midnight Steppers presents 70 masterpieces by 34 pianists, including legendary names like Otis Spann, Memphis Slim, Big Maceo, Sunnyland Slim and Albert Ammons, as well as the unsung heroes of the keyboards. The 3CD set complements our recent blues guitar and harmonica bestsellers, Screaming And Crying and Just Wailing, which have enjoyed significant success crossing over to the rock market

The roots of piano blues can probably be traced back to the late 19th Century, as a crude offshoot of ragtime. Midnight Steppers picks up the story in the 30s, by which time the elements of boogie woogie were in place. The 30s and 40s saw a boom in the popularity of boogie woogie (Disc 2), spearhead by the trio of Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson and Meade Lux Lewis. The phenomenon crossed over to the big bands and popular singers, before ultimately falling victim to this very commercialisation, but not before great sides had been cut by the likes of Jimmy Yancey, Montana Taylor and Cripple Clarence Lofton. Simultaneously the post-Depression years saw a proliferation of urban blues, with piano blues very much to the fore, and much of it emerging on Victor’s Bluebird label, thanks to producer Lester Melrose cornering the Chicago blues market. Exponents of what was retrospectively dubbed “Bluebird Beat” (Disc 1) include Memphis Slim, Roosevelt Sykes, Big Maceo, Walter Davis, Champion Jack Dupree and Little Brother Montgomery.

Some of the players continued to record post-WWII (Disc 3), but had to compete with emerging names like Eddie Boyd, who adopted a more upbeat, raucous sound. Sunnyland Slim and Otis Spann recorded in their own right, but were often employed in (and better known for) a supporting role in combos, led by the likes of Robert Lockwood Jr and Muddy Waters. Henry Gray can be heard in this role on tracks by Howlin’ Wolf and Morris Pejoe. The combos came to be dominated by other instruments, especially the electric guitar, but great piano blues could still be heard, courtesy of Amos Milburn, Piano Red and Little Willie Littlefield. Part of the beauty of this selection is the inclusion of lesser-known names like Big Chief Ellis, Thunder Smith, Dr Hepcat, Lonnie Lyons and Leroy Ervin.

Compiler Mike Rowe founded the pioneering 60s label Post-War Blues, edited Blues Unlimited magazine, and is author of Chicago Breakdown (reissued as Chicago Blues: The City & The Music).

trax dusc 1:

1. Beer Drinking Woman - Memphis Slim 2. Junker Blues Champion - Jack Dupree 3. Midnight Steppers - Big Bill Broonzy 4. Let Me Hang My Stocking in Your Christmas Tree - Roosevelt Sykes 5. Sugar Bowl Blues - Curtis Jones 6. Worried Life Blues - Big Maceo 7. You Got to Help Me Some - Memphis Slim 8. 44 Blues - Roosevelt Sykes 9. New Mistake in Life - Roosevelt Sykes 10. Can't You Read? - Big Maceo 11. New Come Back Baby - Walter Davis 12. I See My Great Mistake - Memphis Slim 13. I'm the Woogie Man - Bob White 14. Frisco Blues - Walter Davis 15. Tin Pan Alley - Curtis Jones 16. Chicago Breakdown - Big Maceo 17. Grinder Man Blues - Memphis Slim 18. This Tavern Boogie - Roosevelt Sykes 19. Won't Be a Fool No More - Big Maceo 20. Drunk Again - Champion Jack Dupree 21. Vicksburg Blues - Little Brother Montgomery 22. Tears Came Rolling Down - Walter Davis 23. Blues N’ Boogie - Roosevelt Sykes

trax disc 2:

1. Honky Tonk Train Blues - Meade "Lux" Lewis 2. Boogie Woogie Prayer - Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson & Meade Lux Lewis 3. Boogie Woogie Stomp - Albert Ammons 4. B And O Blues - Pete Johnson 5. Pine Top's Boogie Woogie - Cripple Clarence Lofton 6. State Street Special - Jimmy Yancey 7. Boogie Woogie Blues - Albert Ammons 8. Climbin' And Screamin' - Pete Johnson 9. Indiana Avenue Stomp - Montana Taylor 10. Pine Creek - Pete Johnson & Albert Ammons 11. I Don't Know - Cripple Clarence Lofton 12. Albert's Special Boogie - Albert Ammons 13. Blues On The Down Beat - Pete Johnson 14. Rising Tide Blues - Meade "Lux" Lewis 15. At The Window - Jimmy Yancey 16. In De Mornin' - Cripple Clarence Lofton 17. Kaycee Feeling - Pete Johnson 18. Five O'Clocks - Montana Taylor 19. Had A Dream Cripple Clarence Lofton 20. Yancey Stomp - Jimmy Yancey 21. Jimmy's Rocks - Jimmy Yancey 22. Roses Of Picardy - Albert Ammons 23. Lady Be Good - Albert Ammons

trax disc 3:

1. Dices! Dices! - Big Chief Ellis 2. Little Mama Boogie - Thunder Smith 3. Miss Minnie Lee Blues - Jimmy McCracklin 4. Five Long Years - Eddie Boyd 5. Chicken Shack Boogie - Amos Milburn 6. Big Town Play Boy - Little Johnny Jones & Muddy Waters 7. The Mojo - J.B. Lenoir 8. Tired of Crying Over You - Morris Pejoe 9. I Have a Little Girl - Howlin' Wolf 10. Time Will Tell - Cecil Gant 11. Roll, Tumble and Slip - Sunnyland Slim 12. Hattie Green - Dr. Hepcat 13. Monday Woman - Willie Mabon 14. Red's Boogie - Piano Red 15. I Had to Let Her Go - Eddie Boyd 16. Young Fashioned Ways - Muddy Waters 17. Down in the Groovy - Lonnie Lyons 18. Blue, Black and Evil - Leroy Ervin 19. Little Willie’s Boogie - Little Willie Littlefield 20. Bicycle Boogie - Bob Gaddy 21. Hepcat's Boogie - Dr. Hepcat 22. Sampson Street Boogie - Willie Johnson

23. Dust My Broom - Robert Lockwood Jr. 24. Otis in the Dark - Otis Spann

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