Melvin "Lil Son" Jackson   Blues Come to Texas
Label Arhoolie 
Original  Year 1981
Format: Flac

Like a number of Texas bluesmen, Lil' Son Jackson had a short-lived music career during the post-W.W.II period when labels like Gold Star put out singles for the rural jukebox trade, only to have the rug pulled out from under him when music tastes shifted to R&B and R&R. For Jackson that meant he went back to making a living as a garage mechanic and occasionally singing in church. But unlike other transitional bluesmen who disappeared into the gap between acoustic and electric music, Jackson had something of a second career when Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie located him during the summer of 1960 in Dallas and convinced Jackson to try recording once again. From these sessions came nearly two dozen songs in the traditional Texas blues style that seems to be an offshoot from the music of the Mississippi delta region. Among the tracks included in this reissue are 'Blues Come to Texas,' 'West Dallas Blues,' 'I Walked from Dallas,' and, in something of a stretch, 'Cairo Blues,' a particularly fine performance. This is a fine collection.

Tracklist:

1. Blues Come to Texas 1:40
2. Cairo Blues 2:30
3. Ticket Agent 1:36
4. Louise Blues 2:35
5. Sugar Mama 2:10
6. The Girl I Love 2:56
7. Santa Fe Blues 2:24
8. Turn Your Lamp Down Low 2:39
9. Groundhog Blues 2:17
10. Gambler Blues 2:24
11. Charley Cherry (Take 1) 1:57
12. Charley Cherry (Take 2) 3:00
13. West Dallas Blues 1:56
14. Rollin' Mill Went Down 2:14
15. Red River Blues 1:49
16. Johnnie Mae 2:30
17. Buck Dance 1:56
18. I Walked From Dallas 1:57
19. Rock Me 2:33
20. Roberta Blues 2:23

Recorded by Chris Strachwitz in summer of 1960 in Dallas, Texas. #s 17-19 previously unissued; # 16 previously on AR LP 1006. All other selections previously issued on AR LP 1004.
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