Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: The Duke Recordings

Performer: Bobby "Blue" Bland
Artist: Phil Upchurch
Producer: Andy McKaie; Andy McKaie (Compilation)
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel includes: Bobby "Blue" Bland (vocals); Wayne Bennett (guitar); Johnny Board, Jimmy Beck (alto & tenor saxophones); Bobby Forte (tenor saxophone); Rayfield Devers (baritone saxophone); Joe Scott, Melvin Jackson (trumpet); Pluma Davis (trombone); Skippy Brooks, Johnny Young (piano); Hamp Simmons, Phil Upchurch (bass); John "Jabo" Starks, Harrell Porter (drums). Recorded between 1961 & 1966. Includes liner notes by Chris Morris. Digitally remastered by Erick Labson (MCA Media Studios, North Hollywood, California). Personnel: Bobby "Blue" Bland (vocals); Gerald Sims, Wayne Bennett (guitar); Jimmy Beck, Johnny Board (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); L.A. Hill, Bill Harvey, Bobby Forte (tenor saxophone); Joe Scott (trumpet); Pluma Davis (trombone); Skippy Brooks, Johnny Young (piano); Teddy Reynolds (organ); John Starks, Sonny Freeman (drums). Liner Note Author: Chris Morris. Recording information: Chicago, IL (??/??/1957-02/28/1969); Detroit, MI (??/??/1957-02/28/1969); Houston, TX (??/??/1957-02/28/1969); Los Angeles, CA (??/??/1957-02/28/1969); Nashville, TN (??/??/1957-02/28/1969). Photographer: Ray Flerlage. Arranger: Jay Wellington. Though distilling Bobby Bland's staggering 29-year run at Duke records into one disc would be an impossible task, GREATEST HITS, VOULME 1 serves as a quick introduction for the uninitiated. What one takes away from listening to this collection is just how much Bland's style of blues differed from that of peers like B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, and others. Although Bland is a Memphis native with gospel roots, his recordings are not the macho guitar boogie stompers or swampy Delta voodoo numbers so often associated with the blues. The album contains a list of classics from the heyday of the blues: "Farther up the Road," "I Pity the Fool," and "Stormy Monday Blues" to name a few. Bland's classic ballad "Cry, Cry, Cry" is the first track on which listeners hear the famous Bland squall, a strangled cry of passion that was just as much physical as it was emotional. He raises his voice to pumping highs on the ripping "Turn on your Lovelight" and tones it down to something disarmingly gentle on the lovely "Call on Me." Although his name may not be as easily recognizable as his more celebrated peers, Bobby Bland is just as deserving of their icon status.

Bobby "Blue" Bland is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the blues world. Growing up in Memphis, he was influenced by gospel and country as well as blues, and his style has always shown a broader scope than that of most bluesmen. Early on he worked as a valet/driver for B.B. King, but eventually the two men would work together as peers. Bland began recording in the early '50s, but it was his '60s recordings, including the classics "I Pity the Fool" and "Turn on Your Lovelight" that would make him immortal. Among blues musicians his influence is seminal, and in the rock world, everyone from Eric Clapton to the Grateful Dead has reverently covered Bland's material.

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