Do The Boogie

by B.B. King

Product Description:

DO THE BOOGIE! contains tracks from 1954 to 1957, including alternate takes and unreleased tracks.

Personnel includes: B.B. King (vocals, guitar); George Coleman (alto & tenor saxophones); John Alexander, Connie Mack Booker (piano); Charles Crosby (congas).

Producers: Joe Bihari, Maxwell Davis.

Compilation producer: Ray Topping.

Includes liner notes by Ray Topping and Carol Fawcett.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

DO THE BOOGIE!, a collection of early B.B. King recordings, allows listeners to hear the blues master developing the sound that eventually made him the blues' biggest star. But DO THE BOOGIE! is not merely of interest to blues fanatics and historians: measured by any yardstick, these are smoking hot blues records. Many of the tracks approximate the West Coast 'jump' blues sound popularized by Louis Jordan, while others are classic Memphis shuffles and boogies. These tunes feature a much raunchier guitar sound than the one King later became associated with; on most, King shares soloing duties with the excellent saxophonist George Coleman.

This set was originally released by the meticulous British label Ace, and as a result both track selection and mastering on this disc are extremely satisfying. Anthologist Ray Topping sifted through King's voluminous 1950s unreleased recordings to find the best complete alternate takes, ignoring the single releases (which were created by editing several takes together and are thus less 'authentic.') As an added bonus, the front cover has a very cool photo of King on stage in a jacket, tie, and Bermuda shorts!