WILLIAM HARRIS & BUDDY BOY HAWKINS — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order • 1927-1929 | DOCD-5035 (1991) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Two early singer/guitarists have their entire output reissued on this typically definitive release by the European Document label. Actually, William Harris had originally recorded 14 selections but five were unable to be located for this CD; one would later be rediscovered and reissued on a sampler. With the exception of "I'm Leavin' Town," Harris is heard performing solo and, despite his obscurity, he was a fine second-level blues and folksong performer. Among his better numbers (dating from 1927-1928) are "Kansas City Blues," "Early Mornin' Blues," and "Hot Time Blues." Buddy Boy Hawkins' 12 solos from 1927-1929 find him performing in a similar vein and at a slightly higher level. His "Voice Throwin' Blues" (which over "Hesitatin' Blues" finds Hawkins having a call and response between two of his voices, including one allegedly being a ventriloquist's dummy) is a bit odd. Other selections include "Jailhouse Fire Blues," "Raggin' the Blues," "A Rag Blues," and "Snatch It and Grab It." Both Harris and Hawkins deserved more opportunities to record but at least these formerly rare recordings (which are in pretty good shape, except for Harris' "Electric Chair Blues") keep them from being totally lost to history. Scott Yanow

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. Nothing is known about William Harris and Buddy Boy Hawkins as individuals, and field research has uncovered almost no details of their lives; what we know of them is a fragment of information or two, and the rest has to be deduced from their songs. From the evidence of his guitar style, with its emphasis on rhythmic complexity rather than on single-string work, William Harris may have come from the Mississippi Delta. He was an impressive performer, singing in his firm voice with a marked vibrato. He may have been inspired to make Electric Chair Blues by hearing Blind Lemon Jefferson’s record, and the poor state of the rare 78 suggests that even as gloomy a theme as this had its appeal to some listeners. On Bull Frog Blues and Leavin’ Town he suspends the resolution of the line by repeating a phrase, but in other respects his blues are unsophisticated, with lines that fail to rhyme on for example, Early Mornin’ Blues. Buddy Boy Hawkins was a singer about whom we know even less than Harris. He mentions Jackson, Mississippi several times on A Rag Blues where he says the piece came from, but stated on Snatch It Back that “these my blues I brought ‘em all the way from Birmingham”. It’s possible that, as Workin’ On The Railroad suggests, he had laid track; trains, especially Number Three figure in other blues. Yet Hawkins too, may have worked the shows: How Come Mama is a rural version of a vaudeville song, while Voice Throwin’ Blues is an uncommon example of attempted ventriloquism on record, the singer performing a standard “Hesitating Blues” with an assumed “second voice” set against his normal vocal style. His accomplished guitar work, with more than a hint of Spanish flourishes, reinforce the impression of a travelling performer. Like Harris he was most at home with the blues, of which his masterpiece is Jailhouse Fire on which he entreats the jailer to release his woman and save her from burning. The internal evidence of the few recordings made by William Harris and Walter “Buddy Boy” Hawkins points to an active blues link between Jackson, Mississippi and Birmingham, Alabama, by way of the old Great Southern railroad and the travelling minstrel and medicine shows. Not only do the records reveal two great, if little-known blues singers; they also tell us something of the way in which the blues was circulated in the early years. DOCD-5035
Tracklist :
1    William Harris–    I'm Leavin Town 2:59
Guitar, Voice [Speech] – Joe Robinson
Vocals, Guitar – William Harris
2    William Harris –    Kansas City Blues 3:01
Vocals, Guitar – William Harris
3    William Harris–    Kitchen Range Blues 3:08
Vocals, Guitar – William Harris
4    William Harris–    Keep Your Man Out Of Birmingham 2:52
Vocals, Guitar – William Harris
5    William Harris–    Electric Chair Blues 2:58
Vocals, Guitar – William Harris
6    William Harris–    Bullfrog Blues 3:06
Vocals, Guitar – William Harris
7    William Harris–    Leavin' Here Blues 3:09
Vocals, Guitar – William Harris
8    William Harris–    Early Mornin' Blues 2:46
Vocals, Guitar – William Harris
9    William Harris–    Hot Time Blues 2:51
Vocals, Guitar – William Harris
10    Buddy Boy Hawkins–    Shaggy Dog Blues 2:31
Vocals, Guitar – Buddy Boy Hawkins
11    Buddy Boy Hawkins–    Number Three Blues (Take 2) 2:47
Vocals, Guitar – Buddy Boy Hawkins
12    Buddy Boy Hawkins–    Jailhouse Fire Blues 2:28
Vocals, Guitar – Buddy Boy Hawkins
13    Buddy Boy Hawkins–    Snatch It Back Blues 3:00
Vocals, Guitar – Buddy Boy Hawkins
14    Buddy Boy Hawkins–    Workin' On The Railroad 2:41
Vocals, Guitar – Buddy Boy Hawkins
15    Buddy Boy Hawkins–    Yellow Woman Blues 2:46
Vocals, Guitar – Buddy Boy Hawkins
16    Buddy Boy Hawkins–    Raggin' The Blues 2:26
Vocals, Guitar – Buddy Boy Hawkins
17    Buddy Boy Hawkins–    Awful Fix Blues 2:28
Vocals, Guitar – Buddy Boy Hawkins
18    Buddy Boy Hawkins–    A Rag Blues 2:53
Vocals, Guitar, Voice [Speech] – Walter Hawkins
19    Buddy Boy Hawkins–    How Come Mama Blues 3:00
Vocals, Guitar – Walter Hawkins
20    Buddy Boy Hawkins–    Snatch It And Grab It 3:04
Vocals [Poss.] – Charlie Patton
Vocals, Guitar – Walter Hawkins
21    Buddy Boy Hawkins–    Voice Throwin' Blues 2:56
Guitar – Walter Hawkins