Search - Rosco Gordon :: Bootin'-Best of the Rpm Years

I'm gonna take my knife and operate!

Timothy C. Beasley | Crawfordsville, IN | 07/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As you folks may or may not know, 'Booted' is arguably THE mother of all bada** threat songs. This is by far the grittiest Rhythm & blues alblum I own. All the songs have that perfect, nasty sound to them. I think something in the liner notes said that most of what he recorded for RPM was (very inexpertly) recorded is some guy's living room. This sound of this alblum is absolutely perfect! It's an Ace, so you know its a excellent quality and besides, there are more than a few drinking songs on there. If you like Wynonnie Harris, you'll like Rosco."

Fabulous

M. Park | Woodstock, Ontario Canada | 01/06/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is a real treasure with rarely heard material but an essential for any blues fan. Makes you wish there were more recordings."

Hidden Genius

M. Park | 08/06/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Born in - where else? - Memphis, Roscoe Gordon, in addition to being a fine blues singer and pianist on his own, helped launch the careers of a number of notable artists, beginning in 1948 with the formation of the legendary group The Beale Streeters featuring B.B. King on guitar, Johnny Ace on piano and Earl Forest on drums. Gordon was also instrumental in later getting the great Bobby "Blue" Bland into the act.



His own accomplishments, in terms of singles hits, were not what you could call spectacular, with just four making the Top 100 R&B and only one, Just A Little Bit, crossing over to the Billboard Pop Hot 100. That came in 1960 when signed to Vee-Jay and it went # 2 R&B and # 64 Hot 100 that spring b/w Goin' Home, both billed as Rosco Gordon. Unfortunately, this being a collection of his RPM days, neither side is included.



But the other three are, beginning with Saddled The Cow (And Milked The Horse) b/w Ouch, Pretty Baby, a # 9 R&B in September 1951 under the title Roscoe Gordon & His Orchestra.



Then came the fabulous Booted. Released on both the RPM label and later leased to Chess, it went all the way to # 1 R&B in the spring of 1952 and stayed around for 13 weeks. Alas, whoever put this compilation together decided. for one reason or another, to leave off its flip-side, Love You 'Til The Day I Die. However, both sides of his next hit are here, with No More Doggin' b/w Maria hitting # 2 R&B in April/May 1952 and remaining on the charts for 15 weeks.



Clearly the man not only had talent, but a keen eye for other hidden stars, and wasn't afraid to offer advice and encouragement to potential rivals, as was the case with Bland who would go on to have a blazing career, charting 63 times on the R&B lists and seeing 42 of those cross over into the pop charts.



It's a CD you will truly enjoy."