Robert Nighthawk, Forest City Joe – Black Angel Blues
Label: Chess/ Charly Records
Released: 1991
Format: [email protected]
Robert Nighthawk was among the most remarkable slide guitarists in blues history, widely admired among his peers and the southern audiences he spent his life entertaining. Nighthawk influenced a generation of bluesmen such as Muddy Waters, B. B. King, Earl Hooker, and supposedly Elmore James. He was the archetype of the rambling bluesman, roaming all over the South with frequent trips to the North, though he chose Helena—present-day Helena-West Helena (Phillips County)—as his home base. This rambling nature and his decision to remain in the South likely explain why Nighthawk never achieved greater fame.
Robert Nighthawk was born Robert Lee McCollum in Helena on November 30, 1909, to Ned and Mattie McCollum. He was one of three children. His was a musical family that performed at dances, parties, and picnics. His first instrument was the harmonica, which he recalled picking up in 1924. Nighthawk married for the first time in 1928 to Mary Griffen in Friars Point, and they had two children. He was married a second time in 1947 to Hazel Momon, whom he met in 1945. They stayed together until 1953 and had three children.
Blues harpist Forest City Joe was heavily influenced by John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. He not only played like him, but sang like him as well. Unlike his idol, however, who was murdered on June 1, 1948, Joe lived long enough to record for the Chess brothers in the early days of their activities, when Chess was known as Aristocrat. Joe was remembered as a "great harp player" by Muddy Waters, who only missed playing at Joe's one major Chess recording session on December 2, 1948, when Joe was only 21. Joe had more of a country sound than most Chicago artists of the period, so it's surprising that the Chess brothers paired him up with J.C. Coles, a jazz guitarist of no seeming special account, who added little to a session but a few barely audible chords.
Tracklist
1–Robert Nighthawk Down The Line
2–Robert Nighthawk Handsome Lover
3–Robert Nighthawk My Sweet Lovin' Woman
4–Robert Nighthawk Sweet Black Angel
5–Robert Nighthawk Anna Lee Blues
6–Robert Nighthawk Return Mail Blues
7–Robert Nighthawk Sugar Papa
8–Robert Nighthawk She Knows How To Love A Man
9–Robert Nighthawk Good News
10–Robert Nighthawk Six Three O
11–Robert Nighthawk Prison Bound
12–Robert Nighthawk Jackson Town Gal
13–Robert Nighthawk Sorry My Angel
14–Robert Nighthawk Someday
15–Forest City Joe Memory Of Sonny Boy
16–Forest City Joe Special Delivery Man
17–Forest City Joe Shady Lane Woman
18–Forest City Joe A Woman Of Every Street
19–Forest City Joe Sawdust Bottom
20–Forest City Joe Ash Street Boogie
21–Forest City Joe Mean Mistreatin' Woman
22–Forest City Joe Lonesome Day Blues
