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"Papa" Charlie Jackson, and Cary Moskovitz et al. Papa Charlie Done Sung That Song: Celebrating The Music Of "Papa" Charlie Jackson. Document DOCD 7010 (2 CDs).
Various Artists. Charlotte Blues. Nehi Records 06 (1 CD).
Papa Charlie Jackson (1887-1938) was one of the first male stars for Paramount Records, scoring big in 1924 with his first releases "Papa's Lawdy Lawdy Blues" and "Salty Dog Blues." Mayo Williams claimed to have discovered him at the Maxwell Street Market, and while indeed Jackson busked there, he also played in clubs and vaudeville, sometimes with some early jazz musicians. He came from New Orleans, playing his way north by himself or as suggested by some of his recorded repertory, with a medicine show. He accompanied his singing by playing six-string fretted instruments, sometimes a guitar, more often a Gibson GB model six-string guitar-banjo. His records contain some of the earliest recordings of blues standards, including "Shake That Thing" (which would be reworked as "Tight Like That" in 1928 by Tampa Red and Thomas A. Dorsey for Vocalion) and, with singer Ida Cox, "How Long Daddy, How Long," which was later made more famous in 1928 as "How Long - How Long Blues" by Leroy Carr for Vocalion. He stayed with Paramount through 1930 and then recorded four sides for Okeh in 1934; his 1935 session for the American Recording Corporation was not issued. Hard times, changing musical styles and heavy drinking were factors in his commercial decline and eventual death.
Even though Jackson's complete recordings were reissued on CD by Document in 1991 (Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order, Volumes 1-3, Document DOCD 5087, -88, -89), and despite the fact that he provided antecedents to, if not created outright, several of the most enduring songs in the blues, he has seemed quite inaccessible to today's listeners. One reason why may be the dim playback sound of his early hit 78s, due to the acoustic recording process and the cheap pressing materials used by Paramount. Another reason may be that he did not play in the standard downbeat (1-2-3-4) and upbeat (1-2-3-4) patterns that we often hear in popular music today. Rather, he favored a light fourth-beat stress (1-2-3-4) that gave a hint of pulse without sacrificing the continuity...