Roy Brown

El Toro R&B 112
Hurry, Hurry Baby – Old Age Boogie (Parts 1 & 2) – Laughing But Crying – Grandpa Stole My Baby – Money Can’t Buy Love – Letter From Home – Midnight Lover Man – Mr. Hound Dog’s In Town – Caldonia’s Wedding Day – Trouble At Midnight – Crazy, Crazy Women – Everything’s All Right – Bootleggin’ Baby – No Love At All – Up Jumped The Devil – Don’t Let It Rain – Ain’t No Rockin’ No More – Queen Of Diamonds – Gal From Kokomo – Worried Life Blues – Fanny Brown Got Married – Black Diamond – Shake ‘Em Up Baby – Saturday Nite – Everybody – The Tick Of The Clock – I’m Stickin’ With You – Party Doll – Let The Four Winds Blow
It would be a mistake to summarize Roy Brown’s discography to “Good Rockin’ Tonight”. In addition to Deluxe/King, he cut sides for Imperial, Home Of The Blues, DRA and even Chess and died in 1981 after making a well deserved triumphant return to New Orleans. This mammoth cd (29 songs) presents his lesser known sides recorded for King between 1952 and 1955, and 6 tunes from his Imperial sessions. Brown’s new home had no plan to change a formula that was successful and this sides are in the same vein of his precedent releases, sharing the same arrangements or themes (“Ain’t No Rockin’ No More” is a sequel to his massive hit). “Mr Hound Dog’s In Town” (which is nothing but a adaptation of Hound Dog) is slightly different accompanied by just a guitar-bass-drums trio. The Imperial sides show a different side of Brown with an unexpected cover of Buddy Knox’s Party Doll which saw his return in the charts in 1957 (#13) followed by “Let The Four Wind Blow” (#5). A good addition to anyone interested by Blues shouters and a good replacement to the Classics (1951-1953) cd which is now hard to find.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis