Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Black Snake Moan - Blind Lemon Jefferson
2. Broke and Hungry - Blind Lemon Jefferson
3. Match Box Blues - Blind Lemon Jefferson
4. Shake That Thing - Papa Charlie Jackson
5. Shave 'Em Dry Blues - Ma Rainey
6. Countin' the Blues - Ma Rainey
7. Jailhouse Blues - Bessie Smith
8. Mama's Got the Blues - Bessie Smith
9. Backwater Blues - Bessie Smith
10. Special Delivery Blues - Sippie Wallace
11. Death Sting Me Blues - Sara Martin
12. Barbecue Blues - Barbecue Bob
13. Man Trouble Blues - Jaybird Coleman
14. Long Lonesome Day Blues - Alger "Texas" Alexander
15. Kansas City Blues, Pts. 1 & 2 - Jim Jackson
16. Why Don't You Come Home Blues - Furry Lewis
17. Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground) - Blind Willie Johnson
18. Minglewood Blues - Cannon's Jug Stompers
19. Cool Drink of Water Blues - Tommy Johnson
20. Big Road Blues - Tommy Johnson
21. Bull Doze Blues - Henry Thomas
22. How Long, How Long Blues, Pt. 1 - Leroy Carr

Disc 2:

1. Blues Before Sunrise - Leroy Carr
2. Downtown Blues - Frank Stokes
3. Stack O' Lee Blues - Mississippi John Hurt
4. Rolling Mill Blues - Peg Leg Howell
5. Mr. Johnson's Blues, No. 2 - Lonnie Johnson
6. Pony Blues - Charley Patton
7. 44 Blues - Roosevelt Sykes
8. Bumble Bee Blues - Memphis Minnie
9. I'm So Glad - Memphis Minnie
10. Dirty Dozens No. 1 - Speckled Red
11. Divin' Duck Blues - Sleepy John Estes
12. K.C. Moan - Memphis Jug Band
13. Sitting on Top of the World - Mississippi Sheiks
14. M & O Blues - Walter Davis
15. Dry Spell Blues, Pt. 1 - Son House
16. Devil Got My Woman - Skip James
17. Chain Gang Bound - Bumble Bee Slim
18. Broke Down Engine - Blind Willie McTell
19. Big Bill Blues - Big Bill Broonzy
20. I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town - Big Bill Broonzy
21. Old Original Kokomo Blues - Kokomo Arnold
22. Strut That Thing - Cripple Clarence Lofton
23. Crow Jane - Carl Martin
24. Baby Please Don't Go - Big Joe Williams

Disc 3:

1. First Time I Met You - Little Brother Montgomery
2. Dust My Broom - Robert Johnson
3. Cross Road Blues - Robert Johnson
4. Peetie Wheatstraw Stomp - Peetie Wheatstraw
5. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl - Sonny Boy Williamson
6. Sloppy Drunk Blues - Sonny Boy Williamson
7. Sent for You Yesterday (And Here You Come Today) - Jimmy Rushing
8. Roll 'Em Pete - Big Joe Turner
9. Wee Baby Blues - Big Joe Turner
10. Fixin' to Die Blues - Bukka White
11. Step It up and Go - Blind Boy Fuller
12. Anna Lou Blues - Tampa Red
13. Worried Life Blues - Big Maceo Merriweather
14. I've Been Treated Wrong - Washboard Sam
15. T-Bone Blues - T-Bone Walker
16. Stormy Monday - T-Bone Walker
17. Mozelle Blues - Tommy McClennan
18. It's a Low Down Dirty Shame - Louis Jordan
19. Cherry Red - Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
20. That's All Right - Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
21. Driftin' Blues - Charles Brown
22. Mr. Blues Jumped the Rabbit - Wynonie Harris
23. Boogie Chillen' - John Lee Hooker
24. Tim Moore's Farm - Lightnin' Hopkins
25. No Rollin' Blues - Jimmy Witherspoon

Disc 4:

1. Louisiana Blues - Muddy Waters
2. Honey Bee - Muddy Waters
3. Reconsider Baby - Lowell Fulson
4. Eyesight to the Blind
5. Monkey Woman Blues - Jimmy Yancey, Mama Yancey, Jimmy Yancy
6. Hound Dog - Big Mama Thornton
7. Mystery Train - Junior Parker
8. Hoodoo Man - Junior Wells
9. Every Day I Have the Blues - Joe Williams
10. Smokestack Lightning - Howlin' Wolf
11. Sky Is Crying - Elmore James
12. Woman Blues Boogie - Memphis Slim
13. Farther up the Road - Bobby "Blue" Bland
14. I'll Take Care of You - Bobby "Blue" Bland
15. First Time I Met the Blues - Buddy Guy
16. Rooster Blues - Lightnin' Slim
17. So Many Roads, So Many Trains - Otis Rush
18. Big Boss Man - Jimmy Reed
19. I Got a Woman - Ray Charles
20. Join the Army - Henry Johnson
21. Let's Straighten It Out - Latimore
22. Dog Days of August - John Cephas, Phil Wiggins

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #94946 in Music
• Released on: 1994-02-01
• Number of discs: 4
• Format: Box set

Customer Reviews

Chestnut Stew!
It's hard to imagine a better introduction to pre-war American blues than this. It combines the well-known (e.g. Robert Johnson) with the obscure (e.g. Sippie Wallace) in such perfect proportion that anyone with any interest in blues will love it. The accompanying book makes for great history, great storytelling, and drawing the unifying threads. I love the piano-based tunes like Peetie Wheatstraw's "Peetie Wheatstraw Stomp" - don't let anyone fool you into thinking pre-wars is all National Steel Guitar! This and Rhino's Blues Masters series show the astonishing breadth and depth of the blues. A must!

If you love & appreciate the Blues, you will LOVE this set!
I have been a blues fan for many years and have attended many blues festivals, including the BEST BLUES FESTIVAL in the United States - the Chicago Blues Festival. This CD box set more than surpasses its expectations of what Blues is meant to represent. A 5 STAR set! The music of today pales in comparison to this truly lost art. If you love Robert Johnson, you will absolutely love this box set. I recommend without hesitation. Do yourself a favor and enjoy life - order this box set!

This set is the "Real Set"!
I purchased this set last week and went crazy over how great it is. It really took me back to all the time I spent down on the Gulf between Corpus and Mobile when I was in the Merchant Marines. Boy can these selections take you back,it reminds me of my early days when a real treat cooked by a Sea Cook was nothing more then stewed okra and tomatoes. A lot of young kids won't have a clue about this music ,but if you can really dig the likes of the real pros like Robert Johnson and Bessie Smith you will have a ball with this priceless set as these songe are the real orginals not remakes by some new Motown group. I am even playing this stuff for my Grandchildren and they are enjoying it as much as I did when I first heard a lot of it over 40+ years ago ! If you ever lived with the Blues and loves listening to people who made it real then this set will mean as much to you as it does to me. "Enjoy"