PEETIE WHEATSTRAW — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order Volume 3 · 1935- 1936 | DOCD-5243 (1994) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The third installment in Document's seven-volume Peetie Wheatstraw edition opens with songs about pimping and hustling, mixing cocktails, and making love like a spider. Tracks 1-11 were recorded in Chicago, alone at the piano and with guitarists Charley Jordan or Charlie McCoy. Peetie and Charley Jordan were the best of friends, and many of the songs in the Wheatstraw discography have Jordan listed as composer. The two men maintained a musicians' club and rehearsal space adjacent to Jordan's pad at 17th and O'Fallon where people like Roosevelt Sykes, Walter Davis, and Big Joe Williams would pay their 35-cent dues in order to be able to practice, jam, and prepare for their own recording sessions. Peetie gigged all over the Midwest during this period, and listening to his records, one can imagine him performing at length in all kinds of settings without ever running out of stories to tell. "Up the Road Blues" and "Last Dime Blues" are noteworthy for the absence of the famous Wheatstraw introduction, a musical fingerprint that instantly stamped dozens of other records with his unmistakable presence because he used the same structural template as a reusable canvas for his many improvised lyrics. "Johnnie Blues" kicks up the tempo a bit, and is considered one of this artist's stronger offerings. Peetie's first recording of 1936 was "No Good Woman (Fighting Blues)," a duet with Amos Easton, popularly known as Bumble Bee Slim. During the spoken introduction, Slim tries to pick a fight over a disputed female companion, to which Peetie replies "...don't fight, just play the blues and sing a little while, forget it." In his well-researched biography of Wheatstraw, Paul Garon marvels over the words to the "Kidnapper's Blues," noting the unlikelihood of a Depression-era bluesman being able to pay $10,000 ransom for a kidnapped black woman, or that a Chief Detective of that time period would even bother with such a case. He also points out that low-profile abductions were not unknown in the high-crime neighborhoods where Peetie and his primary audience lived and worked. Five days after this Vocalion record was cut in Chicago, Wheatstraw was in New York City making records for Decca with guitarist Kokomo Arnold, forging a working friendship that would bear fruit while strengthening Wheatstraw's relations with Decca. In October of 1936, he would become an exclusive Decca artist and would remain so until his sudden death in 1941. arwulf arwulf
Tracklist :
1.    Good Hustler Blues    2:58
2.    Cocktail Man Blues    2:43
3.    King Spider Blues    2:58
4.    Hi-De-Ho Woman Blues 3:11
Guitar [Possibly/Or] – Charlie Jordan
Guitar [Probably/Or] – Charlie McCoy 
5.    Sorrow Hearted Blues 3:13
Guitar [Possibly/Or] – Charlie Jordan
Guitar [Probably/Or] – Charlie McCoy 
6.    Up The Road Blues 3:05
Guitar [Possibly/Or] – Charlie Jordan
Guitar [Probably/Or] – Charlie McCoy 
7.    Last Dime Blues 3:10
Guitar [Possibly/Or] – Charlie Jordan
Guitar [Probably/Or] – Charlie McCoy 
8.    King Of Spades 3:00
Guitar [Possibly/Or] – Charlie Jordan
Guitar [Probably/Or] – Charlie McCoy 
9.    Johnnie Blues 2:42
Guitar [Possibly/Or] – Charlie Jordan
Guitar [Probably/Or] – Charlie McCoy 
10.    Santa Claus Blues 3:12
Guitar [Possibly] – Charlie Jordan
11.    Lonesome Lonesome Blues 3:00
Guitar [Possibly] – Charlie Jordan
12.    No Good Woman (Fighting Blues) 2:49
Vocals – Bumble Bee Slim
13.    First And Last Blues 2:46
Guitar – Unknown Artist
14.    True Blue Woman 2:35
Guitar – Unknown Artist
15.    Kidnapper's Blues (C-1259) 2:40
Guitar – Unknown Artist
16.    Sweet Home Blues (Take 1) 2:44
Guitar – Unknown Artist
17.    Sweet Home Blues (Take 2) 2:44
Guitar – Unknown Artist
18.    Good Woman Blues 2:41
Guitar – Unknown Artist
19.    Working Man (Doing The Best I Can) 2:31
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
20.    Low Down Rascal 2:51
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
21.    When I Get My Bonus (Things Will Be Coming My Way) 2:32
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
22.    Coon Can Shorty 2:52
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
23.    Meat Cutter Blues 3:00
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
24.    The First Shall Be Last And The Last Shall Be First 2:46
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
25.    Kidnapper's Blues (60527) 3:04
Credits : 
Compiled By, Producer – Johnny Parth
Liner Notes – Paul Garon
Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
Remastered By – Gerhard Wessely
Vocals – Peetie Wheatstraw (tracks: 1 to 11, 13 to 25) 

PEETIE WHEATSTRAW — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order Volume 4 · 1936- 1937 | DOCD-5244 (1994) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The recordings compiled onto the fourth of Document's sevenfold Peetie Wheatstraw retrospective were made in 1936 and 1937 when the East St. Louis-based bluesman was experiencing his greatest surge of popularity. Singing while kneading the piano, he was accompanied by guitarists Charlie McCoy and (on eight out of 23 titles) Kokomo Arnold, whose wonderful technique added an extra dimension to Peetie's musical landscape. Interestingly, "Deep Sea Love" appears to have been the only record ever to be released with "The High Sheriff from Hell" printed right on the label. Like "Beggar Man Blues," his "Jungle Man Blues" describes the plight of the homeless during the Great Depression. Wheatstraw didn't have to look very far to find a "hobo jungle" in St. Louis, as most cities of that size contained sizeable homeless encampments. On October 26, 1936, Wheatstraw became an exclusive Decca recording artist and cut half-a-dozen sides including the animated "Little House (I'm Gonna Chase These Peppers)," which has references to feline measles, a canine cough, and Peetie's pressing need to get his hambone boiled. The participation of a string bassist added rhythmic ballast to this session as well as the next, with the two takes of the "Peetie Wheatstraw Stomp" standing out among the liveliest, most entertaining performances in his entire discography. Here more than anywhere else, the Devil's Son-In-Law presents his definitive self portrait. arwulf arwulf
Tracklist :
1.    Old Good Whiskey Blues 2:56
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
2.    When A Man Gets Down 2:50
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Unknown Artist
3.    Deep Sea Love 2:53
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
4.    Drinking Man Blues 3:09
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
5.    Country Fool Blues 3:10
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
6.    Jungle Man Blues 3:05
Guitar – Unknown Artist
7.    Santa Fe Blues 3:07
Guitar – Unknown Artist
8.    Mistreated Love Blues 3:07
Guitar – Unknown Artist
9.    Remember And Forget Blues 3:09
Guitar – Unknown Artist
10.    Don't Take A Chance 3:05
Guitar – Unknown Artist
11.    Froggie Blues 3:02
Guitar – Unknown Artist
12.    Block And Tackle 3:16
Guitar – Unknown Artist
13.    Cut Out Blues 3:18
Guitar – Unknown Artist
14.    When A Man Gets Down 2:50
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Unknown Artist
15.    I Don't Want No Pretty Faced Woman
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Unknown Artist
16.    False Hearted Woman 2:46
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
17.    Little House (I'm Gonna Chase These Peppers) 2:42
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
18.    Fairasee Woman (Memphis Woman) 2:43
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
19.    Beggar Man Blues 2:41
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
20.    Crazy With The Blues 3:06
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Unknown Artist
21.    Ramblin' Man 3:03
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Unknown Artist
22.    Peetie Wheatstraw Stomp 2:27
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Unknown Artist
23.    Peetie Wheatstraw Stomp No. 2 2:37
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Unknown Artist
Credits : 
Compiled By, Producer – Johnny Parth
Liner Notes – Paul Garon
Remastered By – Gerhard Wessely
Vocals, Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
Notes :
Mispress: Track 2 listed as "Poor Millionaire's Blues," but "When A Man Gets Down," identical to track 14, plays instead. This error was corrected by Document Records when they issued "Poor Millionaire's Blues" on "Too Late, Too Late": More Newly Discovered Titles And Alternate Takes, Volume 6 (1924-1946) (DOCD-5461). 

PEETIE WHEATSTRAW — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order Volume 5 · 1937- 1938 | DOCD-5245 (1994) RM | FLAC (tracks), lossless

Peetie Wheatstraw's complete recordings were reissued during the '90s by the Document label in an unprecedented seven-CD series. Vol. 5, which covers a timeline from March 1937 through October 1938 and features some fine guitar work by Kokomo Arnold and Lonnie Johnson, contains several songs inspired by the harsh realities in the St. Louis area during a time when an already disenfranchised African American working class faced difficult working conditions, low wages, job insecurity, unemployment, poverty, and homelessness. "Working on the Project" and its sequel describe what it was like to try and subsist on the lean earnings awarded to laborers who signed up with the Federal relief program known as the Works Progress (and later Work Projects) Administration, or W.P.A. While during the '30s various blues musicians referenced this program on their records (Big Bill Broonzy, Casey Bill Weldon, and Merline Johnson, for example), few laid down as many consecutive W.P.A.-related tunes as Peetie Wheatstraw did in 1937 and 1938. The context for "304 Blues" lies in a slip of paper that would appear in your pay envelope when your job was being terminated. "The Wrong Woman" has as its subtitle the straightforward message: "Lost My Job on the Project." Appropriately, the photograph on the cover of this album, which first appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on February 25, 1936, depicts a group of workers standing at the riverfront which was in the process of being radically altered; before the project was over with, the workers had to go on strike in order to be provided with hip boots while working in standing water. "Third Street's Going Down" is a poignant account of what happened to entire neighborhoods when highways were installed smack on top of areas where people lived and worked. In Peetie's case, this hit very close to home, because he lived on Third Street in East St. Louis, which was at the heart of "The Valley," a rough section of town largely consisting of gin joints, gambling dens, and houses of prostitution. While the city, state, and federal authorities obviously saw nothing wrong with evicting the inhabitants and razing many of the buildings to make way for a new highway, Peetie felt strongly enough about it to devote an entire song to the subject. Another tune in this set that references part of the urban landscape is "Cake Alley," one of three short thoroughfares that ran "from Blair Avenue on out to Fifteenth Street," According to Wheatstraw biographer Paul Garon, this existed at the edge of one of St. Louis' biggest African American ghettos, near Biddle Street and the red light district known as Deep Morgan. The alley was named for a bakery that once stood on the corner at Blair. According to the lyrics, Wheatstraw lived there at some point, but by the time he immortalized it with a song, the neighborhood had become so dangerous that visitors were likely to get assaulted and robbed, leading him to declare: "I don't go there no more." arwulf arwulf
Tracklist :
1.    Crapshooter's Blues 3:08
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Unknown Artist
2.    Would You Would You Mama 2:50
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Unknown Artist
3.    Give Me Black Or Brown 2:55
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
4.    Working On The Project 3:01
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
5.    Sick Bed Blues 3:11
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar [Possibly] – Charlie Jordan
6.    I'm Gonna Cut Out Everything 2:55
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar [Possibly] – Charlie Jordan
7.    New Working On The Project 3:02
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar [Possibly] – Charlie Jordan
8.    Baby Lou, Baby Lou 3:02
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar [Possibly] – Charlie Jordan
9.    Devilment Blues 3:06
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar [Possibly] – Charlie Jordan
10.    Third Street's Going Down 3:03
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar [Possibly] – Charlie Jordan
11.    304 Blues 3:04
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Lonnie Johnson
12.    The Wrong Woman (Lost My Job On The Project) 3:03
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Lonnie Johnson 
13.    Hard Headed Black Gal 3::12
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Lonnie Johnson 
14.    Banana Man 3:11
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Lonnie Johnson
15.    Shack Bully Stomp 2:31
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Drums – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Lonnie Johnson 
16.    Road Tramp Blues 2>59
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Lonnie Johnson 
17.    Sweet Lucille 3:09
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Lonnie Johnson 
18.    Saturday Night Blues 3:11
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Lonnie Johnson
19.    Good Little Thing 2:58
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Lonnie Johnson 
20.    Cake Alley 3:00
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Lonnie Johnson
21.    What More Can A Man Do? 3:02
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Drums – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Lonnie Johnson 
22.    Truckin' Thru Traffic 2:23
Drums – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Lonnie Johnson 
23.    Hot Springs Blues (Skin And Bones) 2:56
Drums – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Lonnie Johnson 
24.    A Man Ain't Nothin' But A Fool 3:04
Drums – Unknown Artist
Guitar – Lonnie Johnson 
Credits : 
Compiled By, Producer – Johnny Parth
Liner Notes – Paul Garon
Remastered By – Gerhard Wessely
Vocals, Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw

KOKOMO ARNOLD — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order ★ Volume 1 : 1930-1935 | DOCD-5037 (1991) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

All of Kokomo Arnold's 1930s recordings have been made available on four Document CDs. Vol. 1 features the singer/guitarist on two songs from 1930 (recorded in Memphis, TN, as "Gitfiddle Jim") and then the first 22 selections that he cut in Chicago during 1934-1935, two of which were previously unreleased. Best known is "Milk Cow Blues," but the memorable and sometimes haunting blues singer also performs such numbers as "Old Original Kokomo Blues," "Front Door Blues," "Back Door Blues," "Chain Gang Blues," and "Hobo Blues." Blues collectors will definitely want all four CDs in this perfectly done series. Scott Yanow

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. Putting a bottleneck onto the little finger of the fretting hand and ‘sliding’ it up and down the strings of a guitar to produce a spine-chilling and almost vocal sound is a trick employed by many blues players. From Bukka White to Joe Louis Walker, many blues players have made startling use of the style, two of the most famous being Elmore James and James Kokomo Arnold. Kokomo, often placing his guitar in his lap Hawaiian-style and ran a glass across the strings. He was left-handed and had a somewhat erratic sense of time – but he was probably the fastest bottleneck guitarist ever to record.

On 17 May 1930 he was in Memphis, Tennessee, cutting a record for Victor under the pseudonym of Gitfiddle Jim. The two sides were outstanding – and, in the early depression, went nowhere. One was his own blues Rainy Night Blues and the other, Paddlin’ Blues, a manic, breakneck display piece with a vocal loosely based on the popular song “Paddling Madelaine Home”. Unimpressed by his own debut, Kokomo went back to Chicago and it was here that Kansas Joe McCoy, some-time husband of Memphis Minnie, heard him and introduced him to Mayo ‘Ink’ Williams who was producing records for Decca. Despite a lack of interest on the part of Kokomo, who was reluctant to leave his basement bootlegging business unattended, they finally got him into a studio on 10th September 1934 when he recorded four tracks. The first coupling released from this session produced a two sided hit. Old Original Kokomo Blues, a tune he remembered from a Jabo Williams recording, gave him his nickname and supplied the model for dozens of later variants, the most famous being Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago” in which form it remains a blues standard to this day. Equally prolific was Milk Cow Blues which spawned no less than four more versions by Kokomo himself and saw reanimation in the rock and roll repertoires of Elvis Presley and Eddie Cochran in the fifties. Sagefield Woman Blues utilises the same tune as “Milk Cow” but includes the line “I believe I’ll dust my broom” another thread stretching between Arnold, Robert Johnson and Elmore James. To complete the session Arnold cut Charlie Spand’s Back To The Woods picking like a mad-man. The unexpected success of these recordings ensured that Mayo Williams got Kokomo back into the studio at the first opportunity – and kept him there for the next four years.

Of the remaining recordings offered here, revel in the elaborate threats of You Should Not ‘A Done It and pay particular attention to the rollicking versions of The Twelves (The Dirty Dozens) and Monday Morning Blues (which sees the first appearance of ‘John Russel’). Things ‘Bout Coming My Way, is a reading of the staple “Sittin’ On Top Of The World” and there are two tracks that were not released until microgroove age; the railroad blues Lonesome Southern Blues and the classic depression song Hobo Blues. DOCD-5037
Tracklist :
1    Gitfiddle Jim–    Rainy Night Blues    2:55
2    Gitfiddle Jim–    Paddlin' Madeline Blues    3:16
3    Kokomo Arnold–    Milk Cow Blues    3:07
4    Kokomo Arnold–    Old Original Kokomo Blues    2:50
5    Kokomo Arnold–    Back To The Woods    3:03
6    Kokomo Arnold–    Sagefield Woman Blues    3:01
7    Kokomo Arnold–    Old Black Cat Blues (Jinx Blues)    3:20
8    Kokomo Arnold–    Sissy Man Blues    3:07
9    Kokomo Arnold–    Front Door Blues (32 20 Blues)    3:20
10    Kokomo Arnold–    Back Door Blues    3:22
11    Kokomo Arnold–    The Twelves (Dirty Dozens)    3:09
12    Kokomo Arnold–    Feels So Good    3:12
13    Kokomo Arnold–    Milk Cow Blues - No. 2    3:05
14    Kokomo Arnold–    Biscuit Roller Blues    3:10
15    Kokomo Arnold–    Slop Jar Blues    2:57
16    Kokomo Arnold–    Black Annie    2:58
17    Kokomo Arnold–    Chain Gang Blues    3:02
18    Kokomo Arnold–    Monday Morning Blues    3:01
19    Kokomo Arnold–    How Long, How Long Blues    3:10
20    Kokomo Arnold–    Things 'Bout Coming My Way    2:44
21    Kokomo Arnold–    You Should Not A'Done It (Gettin' It Fixed)    3:13
22    Kokomo Arnold–    Lonesome Southern Blues    3:02
23    Kokomo Arnold–    Black Money Blues    3:03
24    Kokomo Arnold–    Hobo Blues    3:09
Credits :
Vocals, Guitar – Kokomo Arnold

KOKOMO ARNOLD — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order ★ Volume 2 : 1935-1936 | DOCD-5038 (1991) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

For completists, specialists, and academics, Document's Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1935-1936) is invaluable, offering an exhaustive overview of Kokomo Arnold's early recordings. For less-dedicated listeners, the disc is a mixed blessing. There are some absolutely wonderful, classic performances on the collection -- "Policy Wheel Blues" and "'Cause You're Dirty" to name just two -- but the long running time, exacting chronological sequencing, and poor fidelity (all cuts are transferred from original acetates and 78s) are hard to digest. The serious blues listener will find all these factors to be positive, but casual listeners will find the collection of marginal interest for the very same reasons. Thom Owens

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. By 1935 Kokomo Arnold was firmly ensconced in Chicago. He was still a country boy to many of his associates but, never an unworldly man; he was quickly getting wise to the big city and its ways. Despite his dedication to his basement bootlegging business and a strong desire to “go fishing instead” he had become a fixture on the local entertainment scene, working beside most of the big names in the blues at that time. The session on July 23th 1935 saw the first use of a piano to support his highly personal slide style and speculation among collectors has it that this was his first collaboration with Peetie Wheatstraw. It was during the period covered by this albujm that Kokomo returned to Milk Cow Blues; covering his own hit in an attempt to recreate its success. This concentration on a winning theme may have made sense commercially but artistically Kokomo had much more to offer. He drew his subject matter from all over and if in April he was celebrating that rural scourge/hero the boll weavil by July he was commenting on the big city preoccupation of Policy. The mysterious John Russell also reappears in the sub title to Big Leg Woman where he seems to be giving Kokomo considerable trouble. I wonder if this was a real person who Kokomo felt the need to castigate in song or a fictional character from black urban mythology. DOCD-5038
Tracklist :
1    Kokomo Arnold–    Southern Railroad Blues    2:59
2    Kokomo Arnold–    Bo Weavil Blues    3:04
3    Kokomo Arnold–    Busy Bootin'    2:27
4    Kokomo Arnold–    Let Your Money Talk    2:47
5    Kokomo Arnold–    'Cause You're Dirty    2:59
6    Kokomo Arnold–    Tonic Head Blues    2:48
7    Kokomo Arnold–    Policy Wheel Blues    2:54
8    Kokomo Arnold–    Travelling Rambler Blues    2:54
9    Kokomo Arnold–    Stop, Look And Listen    3:04
10    Kokomo Arnold–    Doin' The Doopididy    2:57
11    Kokomo Arnold–    The Mule Laid Down And Died    2:51
12    Kokomo Arnold–    Big Leg Mama (John Russel Blues)    2:40
13    Kokomo Arnold–    Milk Cow Blues - No. 3    2:50
14    Kokomo Arnold–    Milk Cow Blues - No. 4    2:53
15    Kokomo Arnold–    Down And Out Blues    3:02
16    Kokomo Arnold–    Model "T" Woman Blues    2:54
17    Roosevelt Sykes–    Jet Black Snake    3:18
18    Kokomo Arnold–    I'll Be Up Someday    3:04
19    Kokomo Arnold–    I Can't Get Enough Of That Stuff    2:36
20    Kokomo Arnold–    Desert Blues    2:50
21    Kokomo Arnold–    Bull Headed Woman Blues    2:53
22    Kokomo Arnold–    Sundown Blues    2:38
23    Roosevelt Sykes–    The Honey Dripper    2:47
Credits :
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold (tracks: 17, 23)
Vocals, Guitar – Kokomo Arnold (tracks: 1 to 16, 18 to 22)
Vocals, Piano – Roosevelt Sykes (tracks: 17, 23)

KOKOMO ARNOLD — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order ★ Volume 3 : 1936-1937 | DOCD-5039 (1991) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Another invaluable offering from the blues archivists at Document, Kokomo Arnold's Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 3 (1936-1937) compiles 22 performances, recorded between May 1936 and March 1937. Despite the inclusions of a few Arnold classics, including "Dark Angel" and "Wild Water Blues," the disc is a mixed blessing. The combination of a long running time, chronological sequencing, and poor fidelity make for a difficult listen. While serious blues listeners won't have a problem with any of these factors, beginners are advised to look elsewhere first. Thom Owens

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. On 22 May 1936 Decca proposed to record sessions with two of its female artists and needed a backing group. Both of the ladies came from a St. Louis background and belonged to the same loose aggregation of performers that included primitive trombonist Ike Rogers, pianists Henry Brown and Roosevelt Sykes, Charlie Jordan and… Peetie Wheatstraw. One of them, “Signifying” Mary Johnson had achieved her current surname by being married to blues guitarist Lonnie Johnson between 1925 and 1932. Alice Moore had a similar story, having recorded for Paramount during 1929-30 and joining Decca in 1934. She had worked with Peetie Wheatstraw before, so he was an obvious choice to back her up. And for a guitarist? Wheatstraw usually worked with Charlie Jordan or Casey Bill Weldon though, of late, Mayo Williams had paired him off with Kokomo Arnold. The results open this 3rd volume of the complete works of Kokomo Arnold. His efforts, both before and after this session, in the support of Peetie Wheatstraw and Roosevelt Sykes will be found on volumes dedicated to those worthies. Alice Moore had a somewhat nasal voice nicely set off by Wheatstraw’s rolling piano and some untypical single string work from Kokomo who only busts out with his trademark bottleneck rushes here and there on Three Men and I’m Going Fishing Too (a title that must have appealed to the angler in Arnold). Only one of the Mary Johnson tracks was issued; an ode to Delmar Avenue (actually Boulevard), formerly Morgan Street, a famous St. Louis thoroughfare running west from the Mississippi. Mary was just as tough voiced as her nickname made her out to be. Decca decided on a little experiment in July of 1936 when they incorporated Kokomo into Oscar’s Chicago Swingers a sort of Harlem Hamfats set-up backing the vocals of Lovin’ Sam Theard. Just how successfully Kokomo’s unique sound fitted in with a group that consisted of two guitars, a clarinet, piano and drums you can judge yourself. Kokomo’s career had about two years to run at this date. He was still recording under his own name and if his performances were getting to be a little stereotyped he could still pull minor blues masterpieces like Wild Water Blues out of the bag and was far from being a burnt out case. He was always a strong personality and in the final analysis would do what suited him best. At the moment he was sitting pretty, he worked for money as much as any enjoyment he might gain, and with his booze business to fall back on he could take or leave the music game at his choice. DOCD-5039
Tracklist :
1    Alice Moore–    Grass Cutter Blues 2:54
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
2    Alice Moore–    Telephone Blues 2:55
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
3    Alice Moore–    Dark Angel 3:06
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
4    Alice Moore–    Money Tree Man 3:02
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
5    Signifying Mary Johnson–    Delmar Avenue 3:02
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
Piano – Roosevelt Sykes
6    Alice Moore–    I'm Going Fishing Too 3:04
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
7    Alice Moore–    Three Men 3:08
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold
Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
8    Kokomo Arnold–    Shake That Thing 2:38
Piano – Unknown Artist
9    Oscar's Chicago Swingers–    Try Some Of That    2:57
10    Oscar's Chicago Swingers–    My Gal's Been Foolin' Me    2:40
11    Kokomo Arnold–    Running Drunk Again 3:06
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
12    Kokomo Arnold–    Coffin Blues 3:15
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
13    Kokomo Arnold–    Lonesome Road Blues 2:57
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
14    Kokomo Arnold–    Mister Charlie 2:40
Bass [String Bass] – Unknown Artist
Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
15    Kokomo Arnold–    Backfence Picket Blues    3:05
16    Kokomo Arnold–    Fool Man Blues    3:05
17    Kokomo Arnold–    Long And Tall    2:45
18    Kokomo Arnold–    Salty Dog    2:47
19    Kokomo Arnold–    Cold Winter Blues    3:08
20    Kokomo Arnold–    Sister Jane Across The Hall    2:37
21    Kokomo Arnold–    Wild Water Blues    3:12
22    Kokomo Arnold–    Laugh And Grin Blues    3:07
Credits :
Clarinet – Odell Rand (tracks: 9, 10)
Compiled By, Producer – Johnny Parth
Drums – Unknown Artist (tracks: 9, 10)
Guitar – Kokomo Arnold (tracks: 9, 10), Unknown Artist (tracks: 9, 10)
Piano – Albert Ammons (tracks: 9, 10)
Vocals – Alice Moore (tracks: 1 to 4, 6, 7), Signifying Mary Johnson* (tracks: 5), Sam Theard (tracks: 9, 10)
Vocals, Guitar – Kokomo Arnold (tracks: 8, 11 to 22)

KOKOMO ARNOLD — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order ★ Volume 4 : 1937-1938 | DOCD-5040 (1991) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Like its predecessors, the final volume in Document's Complete Recorded Works series alternates a few excellent performances with many more additions intended for collectors only. Drawn from Kokomo Arnold's last few sessions, from the 14-month period between March 1937 and May 1938, the collection does include a few classics, like "Mean Old Twister" and "Red Beans and Rice." Still, many of the rest are period material with poor fidelity, of only marginal interest to most blues fans. Thom Owens

Abridged from this album’s booklet notes. At the time that the first records appearing on this album were made, March 1937, Kokomo Arnold had been with Decca for two and a half years and his relationship with Mayo Williams was deteriorating. It was all to end in the following year when Kokomo decided that Williams was not dealing fairly with him and broke away from recording altogether. He had never been a committed bluesman anyway, having he felt, many other rows to hoe. Not that you would have guessed that from the quality of the recordings that he made during his last sessions; from the contemporary blues reportage of Mean Old Twister through to his final, aptly named, display piece Something’s Hot he maintained an enviable level of excellence enlivened here and there by the odd flash of brilliance. Maybe it was a reflection of his clash with Williams that many of his recordings from this period remained unissued – or maybe it was part of its cause. DOCD-5040
Tracklist :
1        Mean Old Twister    2:57
 Kokomo Arnold
2        Read Beans And Rice    3:02
 Kokomo Arnold
3        Set Down Gal 2:40
 Kokomo Arnold
Piano [Added Piano, Probaby] – Peetie Wheatstraw
4        Big Ship Blues 3:07
 Kokomo Arnold
Piano [Added Piano, Probaby] – Peetie Wheatstraw
5        Crying Blues    2:56
 Kokomo Arnold
6        Grandpa Got Drunk    3:02
 Kokomo Arnold
7        Black Mattie    3:09
 Kokomo Arnold
8        Neck Bone Blues    2:50
 Kokomo Arnold
9        Buddie Brown Blues (Rolling Time)    2:52
 Kokomo Arnold
10        Rocky Road Blues    2:42
 Kokomo Arnold
11        Head Cuttin' Blues 2:52
 Kokomo Arnold
Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
12        Broke Man Blues 2:51
 Kokomo Arnold
Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
13        Back On The Job 2:58
 Kokomo Arnold
Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
14        Shine On Moon (Shine On, Shine On) 2:50
 Kokomo Arnold
Piano – Peetie Wheatstraw
15        Your Ways And Actions 2:45
 Kokomo Arnold
Bass [Added String Bass Or Imitation Bass] – Unknown Artist
16        Tired Of Runnin' From Door To Door 2:35
 Kokomo Arnold
Bass [Added String Bass Or Imitation Bass] – Unknown Artist
17        My Well Is Dry 2:38
 Kokomo Arnold
Bass [Added String Bass Or Imitation Bass] – Unknown Artist
18        Midnight Blues 2:47
 Kokomo Arnold
Bass [Added String Bass Or Imitation Bass] – Unknown Artist
Piano – Unknown Artist
19        Goin' Down In Galilee (Swing Along With Me) 2:26
 Kokomo Arnold
Piano – Unknown Artist
20        Bad Luck Blues 2:46
 Kokomo Arnold
Piano – Unknown Artist
21        Kid Man Blues 2:45
 Kokomo Arnold
Piano – Unknown Artist
22        Something's Hot 2:33
 Kokomo Arnold
Piano – Unknown Artist
Credits :
Vocals, Guitar – Kokomo Arnold