| Artist: | Elmore James |
| Compilation: | 9+ |
| Singles: | 41 |
| 1Option: | 5 |
| 1Option Name: | Singles as accompanist |
Elmore James was an American blues slide guitarist and singer who recorded from 1951 until 1963. His most famous song, "Dust My Broom", an electrified adaptation of a Robert Johnson tune, was his first hit and features one of the most identifiable slide guitar figures in blues. James' composition "The Sky Is Crying" (which became a blues standard) and his rendition of Tampa Red's "It Hurts Me Too" were among his most successful singles on the record charts. Other popular James songs, such as "I Can't Hold Out", ""Madison Blues", "Shake Your Moneymaker", "Bleeding Heart", and "One Way Out", have been recorded by several other artists, including Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, and the Allman Brothers Band.
As with most blues artists in the 1950s and early 1960s, James' recordings were originally issued on two-song record singles. "Dust My Broom" was first issued by the small Trumpet Records label in 1951. Shortly thereafter, James began recording for several larger companies. From 1952 to 1956, he recorded for the Bihari brothers, who issued singles on their Meteor, Flair, and Modern labels. In 1957, he recorded for Mel London's Chief Records, and from 1959 to 1963, for Bobby Robinson's Fire Records. In 1953 and again in 1960, James also recorded some songs that appeared on Checker/Chess Records. He also played guitar on several recordings by other artists, including J. T. Brown, Big Joe Turner, Little Johnny Jones, and Junior Wells.
In 1960, the Biharis released the compilation, Blues After Hours, on their budget Crown label, which was the only album released during James' career. After his death in 1963, his former record companies began re-issuing a number of his singles on subsidiaries and leasing them out to other companies. These various labels also began releasing numerous compilation albums, often with significant overlap in song selection. With the advent of compact discs, this trend continued. However, some box sets have appeared that collect most or all of James' recordings for a particular label or time period. The Chess,[1] Capricorn,[2] and Virgin America/Flair[3] collections also include some previously unreleased material and alternate takes.
On record releases, Elmore James is sometimes listed as "Elmo James", "Elmore James and the Broomdusters", and "Elmore James and His Broomdusters".
| Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | "Dust My Broom" / "Catfish Blues" | Bobo Thomas performs B-side without James; re-released in 1966 by Jewel (764) | Trumpet (146) | |
| 1952 | "I Believe" / "I Held My Baby Last Night" | Meteor (5000) | ||
| 1953 | "Baby, What's Wrong" / "Sinful Women" | Meteor (5003) | ||
| "Early in the Morning" / "Hawaiian Boogie" | Flair (1011) | |||
| "Country Boogie" / "She Just Won't Do Right" | Checker (777) | |||
| "Can't Stop Lovin" / "Make a Little Love" | Flair (1014) | |||
| "Please Find My Baby" / "Strange Kinda Feeling" | Flair (1022) | |||
| 1954 | "Hand in Hand" / "Make My Dreams Come True" | Flair (1031) | ||
| "Sho' Nuff I Do" / "1839 Blues" | Flair (1039) | |||
| "Dark and Dreary" / "Rock My Baby Right" | Flair (1048) | |||
| "Standing at the Crossroads" / "Sunny Land" | Re-released in 1964 by Kent (433) | Flair (1057) | ||
| 1955 | "Late Hours at Midnight" / "The Way You Treat Me" | Flair (1062) | ||
| "Happy Home" / "No Love in My Heart" | Flair (1069) | |||
| "Dust My Blues" / "I Was a Fool" | Flair (1074) | |||
| "I Believe My Time Ain't Long" / "I Wish I Was a Catfish" | Re-titled re-release of Trumpet (146) | Ace (508) | ||
| "Blues Before Sunrise" / "Goodbye Baby" | Flair (1079) | |||
| 1956 | "Wild About You" / "Long Tall Woman" | Modern (983) | ||
| 1957 | "Coming Home" / "The 12 Year Old Boy" | Also released by Vee-Jay (249) | Chief (7001) | [4] |
| "It Hurts Me Too" / "Elmore's Contribution to Jazz" | Also released by Vee-Jay (259) | Chief (7004) | ||
| "Cry for Me Baby" / "Take Me Where You Go" | Also released by Vee-Jay (269), USA (815), and S&M (101) | Chief (7006) | ||
| 1959 | "Bobby's Rock" / "Make My Dreams Come True" | Re-release of Flair (1031 B-side) | Fire (1011) | |
| 1960 | "Dust My Blues"/ "Happy Home" | Re-release of Flair (1074 A-side) with Flair (1069 A-side); re-released in 1963 by Kent (394) and Sue UK (WI–335) | Kent (331) | |
| "The Sky Is Crying" / "Held My Baby Last Night" | Fire (1016) | |||
| "I Can't Hold Out" / "The Sun Is Shining" | Chess (1756) | |||
| "Rollin' and Tumblin'" / "I'm Worried" | Fire (1026) | |||
| "Knocking at Your Door" / "Calling All Blues" | Earl Hooker performs B-side without James; also released by Sue UK (WI-392) | Chief (7020) | ||
| "Done Somebody Wrong" / "Fine Little Mama" | Fire (1031) | |||
| 1961 | "Shake Your Moneymaker" / "Look on Yonder Wall" | Also released by Enjoy (2022) | Fire (504) | |
| 1962 | "Stranger Blues" / "Anna Lee" | Also released by Bell (719) | Fire (1503) | |
Only one album by Elmore James was released during his lifetime. The compilation album, titled Blues After Hours, was issued by the Bihari budget Crown label in 1960.[5] In 1960, Fire Records planned a second compilation album featuring 1959–1960 singles, but did not issue it.[6] A compilation with a similar track listing was released in 1965, titled The Sky Is Crying (see below).
| Title | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Blues After Hours | 10 Flair tracks released as singles in 1954 and 1955; re-released as The Blues in My HeartThe Rhythm in My Soul (Custom CS 1054) and The Late Fantastically Great (Ember UK 3397) | Crown (5168) | |
| Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | "It Hurts Me Too" / "Bleeding Heart" | The Enjoy release of "It Hurts Me Too" was recorded in 1962–1963; also released by Sue UK WI–383 | Enjoy (2015 1st. pressing) | [7] |
| "It Hurts Me Too"/ "Pickin' the Blues" (instrumental) | Re-released by Fire in 1969 (2020) and 1976 (5000) | Enjoy (2015 2nd. pressing) | ||
| "Bleeding Heart" / "Mean Mistreatin' Mama" | Enjoy (2020) | |||
| "Everyday I Have the Blues" / "Dust My Broom" | The Enjoy release of "Dust My Broom" was recorded in 1959 | Enjoy (2027) | ||
| "My Bleeding Heart"/ "One Way Out" | Re-release of Enjoy 2020 A-side with new B-side | Sphere Sound (702) | ||
| 1966 | "Shake Your Moneymaker"/ "I Need You" | Re-release of Fire 504 A-side with new B-side | Sphere Sound (708) | |
| "Sunny Land" / "Goodbye Baby" | Re-release of Flair 1057 B-side with re-release of Flair 1079 B-side | Kent (465) | ||
| "Dust My Broom"/ "Rollin' and Tumblin'" | Re-release of Enjoy 2027 B-side with re-release of Fire 1024 A-side | Sphere Sound (712) | ||
| "Something Inside of Me" / "She Done Move" (instrumental) | Sphere Sound (713) | |||
| 1968 | "I Believe"/ "1839 Blues" | Re-release of Meteor (5000 A-side) with re-release of Flair (1039 B-side) | Kent (508) | |
| 1972 | "Everyday I Have the Blues"/ "Up Jumped Elmore" (instrumental) | Re-release of Enjoy 2027 A-side with new B-side | Fury (2000) | |
| "Something Inside of Me"/"Fine Little Mama" | Re-release of Sphere Sound (713 A-side) with re-release of Fire (1031 B-side) | Fire (5001) | ||
Numerous Elmore James compilation albums issued by a number of record companies have been released over the years.[8] The following lists some of the more notable and current releases, including box sets:
| Title | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | The Sky Is Crying | 12 Fire/Fury/Enjoy tracks | Sphere Sound (SSR 7002) | [9] |
| 1969 | Whose Muddy Shoes | All Checker/Chess recordings; also includes songs by John Brim | Chess (1537) | |
| 1975 | Street Talkin | All Chief recordings; also includes songs by Eddie Taylor | Muse (MCD 5087) | |
| 1992 | Elmore James: King of the Slide Guitar | All Fire/Fury/Enjoy recordings | Capricorn (9 42006–2) | |
| 1993 | Elmore James: The Classic Early Records 1951–1956 | All Meteor/Flair/Modern recordings | Virgin America/Flair (7243 8 39632 2 5) | |
| The Sky Is Crying: The History of Elmore James | 21 tracks from various labels | Rhino (R2 71190) | ||
| 1995 | The Best of Elmore James: The Early Years | 28 Meteor/Flair/Modern tracks | Ace (CDCHD 583) | |
| 2001 | Shake Your Money Maker: The Best of the Fire Sessions | 16 Fire/Fury/Enjoy tracks | Buddha (99781) | [10] |
Although it is documented that Elmore James performed with Sonny Boy Williamson II, it is unclear which, if any, of Williamson's early recordings include James as a sideman. It is unknown if James performed on additional recordings by Big Joe Turner and Junior Wells.
| Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | "Round House Boogie" / "Kickin' the Blues Around" | with J. T. Brown as Bep Brown Orchestra | Meteor (5001) | |
| "Sax-ony Boogie" / "Dumb Woman Blues" | with J. T. Brown as Saxman Brown (A-side) and J. T. (Big Boy) Brown (B-side) | Meteor (5016) | ||
| 1953 | "TV Mama" / "Oke-She-Moke-She-Pop" | with Big Joe Turner as Joe Turner and His Blues Kings | Atlantic (1016) | |
| "Sweet Little Woman" / "I May Be Wrong" | with Little Johnny Jones as Little Johnny Jones and the Chicago Hound Dogs | Flair (1010) | ||
| "Somebody Done Hoodooed the Hoodoo Man" | with Junior Wells as Junior Wells and His Eagle Rockers; Wells performs "Junior's Wail" without James | States (134) | ||
| 1951 | "Dust My Broom" | Trumpet (146) | 9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | "I Believe" | Meteor (5000) | 9 | |
| 1953 | "TV Mama" (with Big Joe Turner) | Atlantic (1016) | 6 | |
| 1960 | "The Sky Is Crying" | Fire (1016) | 15 | |
| 1965 | "It Hurts Me Too" | Enjoy (2015 1st. pressing) | 25 | |
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