Even in a genre known for some larger-than-life personalities, Champion Jack Dupree was one of the most colourful characters in blues in the post-war era, a blues and barrel-house pianist and singer, who flirted with a boxing career alongside his music during the 30s, the origin of the Champion nickname, before starting to perform and record in Chicago in the early 40s. Orphaned as a child, and brought up institutions, his songs often painted the familiar bleak low-life landscape of drugs, prison and personal strife, but he did it with an extrovert rough-hewn approach and a humorous way with lyrics which soon made him popular, although there was a career hiatus during WWII when he served in the US Navy and was a Japanese POW. After the war he hooked up in New York with guitarist Brownie McGhee, and many of the later recordings in this anthology feature his work with McGhee, often working in different line-ups of small bands, the later ones also including McGhees long-time harmonica-playing associate Sonny Terry.
This great-value 52-track 2-CD set comprises selected A & B sides from the forty or more records which he released, with at least one side of each release represented. They come from releases for a bewildering array of record labels - Okeh, Joe Davis, Continental, Celebrity, Alert, Apollo, Abbey & Red Robin reflecting the chequered nature of some blues artists careers. In subsequent years he became a popular fixture on the European blues scene, settling for a while in the UK. This substantial trawl across the first decade and more of his career includes many examples of blues music as one of the bedrocks of rock n roll, and provides an entertaining showcase for a distinctive personality of the blues.
REVIEWS
"There's a vast amount to enjoy here. In fact, this has rekindled my love for his unique character." Neil Slaven (Blues & Rhythm Issue 336)
Disc 1 |
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Track |
Title |
Artist |
1 |
Warehouse Man Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree |
2 |
Chain Gang Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree |
3 |
Black Woman Swing |
Champion Jack Dupree |
4 |
Cabbage Greens No. 1 |
Champion Jack Dupree |
5 |
Gamblin' Man Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree |
6 |
Angola Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree |
7 |
That's All Right |
Jack Dupree |
8 |
Dupree Shake Dance |
Champion Jack Dupree |
9 |
Junker Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree |
10 |
Bad Health Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree |
11 |
Big Time Mama |
Champion Jack Dupree |
12 |
Heavy Heart Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree |
13 |
All Alone Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree |
14 |
She Makes Good Jelly |
Champion Jack Dupree |
15 |
Rum Cola Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree |
16 |
Johnson Street Boogie Woogie |
Champion Jack Dupree |
17 |
F.D.R. Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree |
18 |
Fisherman's Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree |
19 |
Black Wolf |
Champion Jack Dupree |
20 |
Outside Man |
Champion Jack Dupree |
21 |
You've Been Drunk |
Champion Jack Dupree |
22 |
Santa Claus Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree |
23 |
I Think You Need A Shot |
Jack Dupree Trio |
24 |
How Long, How Long Blues |
Jack Dupree Trio |
25 |
Let's Have A Ball |
Jack Dupree Trio |
26 |
Hard Feeling |
Jack Dupree Trio |
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Disc 2 |
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Track |
Title |
Artist |
1 |
Mean Old Frisco |
Jack Dupree Trio |
2 |
Bad Whiskey And Wild Woman |
Champion Jack Dupree and His Trio |
3 |
Bus Station Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree and His Trio |
4 |
Love Strike Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree |
5 |
I'm A Doctor For Women |
Champion Jack Dupree |
6 |
Cecelia Cecelia |
Willie Jordan & His Swinging Five |
7 |
Fifth Avenue Blues |
Jack Dupree and His Quartet |
8 |
Come Back Baby |
Champion Jack Dupree and His Band |
9 |
Chittlins And Rice |
Champion Jack Dupree and His Band |
10 |
One Sweet Letter |
Champion Jack Dupree and His Band |
11 |
Mean Mistreatin' Mama |
Champion Jack Dupree and His Band |
12 |
Featherweight Mama |
Brother Blues & the Back Room Boys |
13 |
Day Break |
Brother Blues & the Back Room Boys |
14 |
Lonesome Bedroom Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree and His Band |
15 |
Old Woman Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree and His Band |
16 |
Deacon's Party |
Jack Dupree and His Band |
17 |
I'm Gonna Find You Someday |
Jack Dupree and His Band |
18 |
My Baby's Comin' Back Home |
Jack Dupree and Big Chief's All Stars |
19 |
Just Plain Tired |
Jack Dupree and Big Chief's All Stars |
20 |
The Woman I Love |
Brownie McGhee, His Guitar & Orch. |
21 |
All Night Party |
Brownie McGhee, His Guitar & Orch. |
22 |
Stumbling Block Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree |
23 |
Highway Blues |
Champion Jack Dupree |
24 |
Shake Baby Shake |
Champion Jack Dupree |
25 |
Drunk Again |
Champion Jack Dupree |
26 |
Shim Sham Shimmy |
Champion Jack Dupree |