JIMMY DAWKINS

With Little Johnny Christian, Tail Dragger, Queen Sylvia Embry, Vance Kelly, Nora Jean, Big Mojo Elem and Sister Margo and Healing Center Choir

The Leric Story

Delmark

By Mark Baier

When Stevie Ray Vaughan exploded onto the scene in 1984, Blues music was forever changed. From the moment Texas Flood hit the collective consciousness, Vaughan’s mix of Lightnin’ Hopkins, Albert King and Jimi Hendrix would usher in a modern renaissance for the idiom, and in the process brand his own sound as “Blues”. Were a typical music lover asked to describe Blues in 1987, SRV would’ve been the answer. It is in this context that Jimmy Dawkins’ The Leric Story becomes more than a mere CD repackaging of old sides. Dawkins’ fascinating reissue of rare 45s and unissued tracks on The Leric Story (Delmark DE808) is a treasure trove of Chicago Blues history; an artifact from a bygone past where 45s still spun on inner city juke boxes and the Blues was music recorded for urban black audiences. This is the time directly predating Vaughan’s domination of the scene, and The Leric Story gives the listener a window into the development of Blues as an African-American art form, and preserves its evolution up to that point.

             As Dave Whiteis’ terrific liner notes cover in detail, Dawkins formed the Leric label in the early 1980s to document local artists then working on the city’s South and West Sides. The raucous environment of neighborhood clubs like Mr. T’s, the Majestic and the Checkerboard are summoned by the music found on this CD; in fact, the diversity of styles and variety of artists found on The Leric Story is comparable to an evening’s pub crawl through Chicago's storied urban landscape, circa 1984.  A bevy of blues stalwarts, some no longer living, accompany Dawkins and his artists on the tracks: Willie Kent, Chico Banks, Johnny B. Moore, Lafayette Leake, Eddie Burks and Michael Coleman.

Little Johnny Christian’s “New Life” and “Luv Sumbody” [sic] kick it off and are terrific examples of Blues ensemble playing, decidedly uptown in style; the latter being a lesson in superb soul grooves. This is the sound that’s derivative of nothing; it really stands as a definition of the idiom. West Side stalwart Tail Dragger is represented with two sides from 1982 that pulsate and stomp so effectively that you can almost the smell the smoke and whiskey of Lee’s Unleaded Blues when “So Ezee” and “My Head Is Bald” fills the air. Dawkins himself steps up as guitarist on Queen Sylvia’s “I Know I Ain’t Number One” and “Too Bad Baby”. The performances are raw and unadulterated by modern processing with Dawkins’ stabbing guitar suitably effected with 1980s phase shifter and Sylvia’s contralto upfront and powerfully visceral.

The next stop on the tour is a trio of Vance Kelly tunes recorded prior to his ascendancy to the role of A.C. Reed’s main guitarist. These previously unissued sides resonate with dark corners at the bar, well-worn vinyl booths and cigarette smoke. It’s smooth and sexy stuff. Dawkins again takes control of the band in Nora Jean’s “Untrue Love” and “Oh My Love”. Nora Jean’s swagger and sensuality are well documented here. One can imagine many nights with lovers dancing cheek to cheek, while “Oh My Love” is spinning on the jukebox in the background. It’s slow soul at its finest.

            Big Mojo Elem is up next with a backbeat that’s perfect for a 1 a.m. round of shots. Dawkins’ guitar is again featured and it speaks with the wisdom of the ages. No Blues time trip should be without it. Little Johnny Christian is revisited on a couple sides that are notable for their being the late great guitarist Chico Banks’ recording debut. Hearing Banks take his solos is to be reminded that virtuosic technique and tasty phrasing were well in vogue on Chicago’s West Side in 1982. Bank’s incendiary guitar playing here predates Vaughan’s emergence by almost two years. The two selections, “Ain’t Gonna Worry About Tomorrow” and “I Gotta Sad Feeling” are a perfect last call on this sonic trip through the era

The journey through a Saturday night in Chicago circa 1984 wouldn’t be complete without the redemptive power of the Sunday morning gospel, and The Leric Story concludes with just that. Sister Margo and Healing Center Choir provide a joyous coda with “My God Is Real” and “Peace Be Still”, both moving statements to the genesis and roots of the secular Blues. The ghost of Thomas A. Dorsey is not far away from these devotional sides.

The sounds found here are a veritable soundtrack to a time when authentic  Chicago Blues was still a rich neighborhood tradition and Texas Blues meant T-Bone Walker. Jimmy Dawkins’ The Leric Story has provided Blues lovers rare glimpse of a world gone forever, and the sound of the Blues before Stevie Ray.

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