Yank Rachell – Tappin’ That Thing 1929-41
Jasmine Records JASMCD3307
26 songs – 79 minutes
Born in Brownsville, Tenn., in the early 1900s – the exact year is in dispute, Yank Rachell was an unusual figure in the world of blues. Not only did he rise to fame primarily playing the mandolin, an instrument that’s as rare as hen’s teeth in the artform, he was the last surviving member of the first generation of blues stars, still dazzling audiences with his picking prowess into the mid-’90s, shortly before his passing.
He and guitarist Sleepy John Estes were among the first artists to emerge from the cottonfields and farms of the South to bring their music into the studio. They toured together frequently for 40 years, often accompanied each other on their individual sessions. And he worked with Sonny Boy Williamson, Washboard Sam and other talents, pumping out hit after hit in the pre-War era.
The co-writer with Taj Mahal of the standard, “She Caught the Katy,” Rachell recorded for Delmark, Blue Goose and Blind Pig and could often be found in his later years at the Slippery Noodle Inn, the legendary blues club in his adopted home, Indianapolis, Ind. – his adopted home.
But this set captures Yank at his youthful best, dazzling on the strings and delivering powerful vocals. It serves as a welcome companion piece to Estes’ Working Man Blues 1929-52, which came out on Jasmine two years ago.
Superbly remastered from shellac originally released by the Victor, Banner, Vocalion and Bluebird labels, the rotating lineup includes Sleepy John on three early cuts, and the lineup shines with appearances by Sonny Boy, Washboard Sam and Dan Smith, Elijah Jones, Jab Jones, William Mitchell and Alfred Elkins, all stars in their own right during the era. Three songs believed to be accompanied by guitarist Joe Williams spice things up even more.
Disc one opens with Estes aboard for “Little Sarah, “T-Bone Steak Blues” and “Expressman Blues,” for which the pair were paid $300 each, Yank recalled. It was more money than either man had seen in their life. The stock market crashed shortly thereafter. But with their songs being played on jukeboxes across the South, the duo hit the road and cashed in.
The remainder of the first half of the set features Smith – who’s also billed as Dan Jackson – on second guitar. The duo met in Jackson, Tenn., and – according to Alfred Rhode’s extensive liner notes — a young Sonny Boy badgered him to let him join sessions, which were laid down in Aurora, Ill., in 1938. The standout tracks include “J.L. Dairy Blues,” “Rachel Blues” and “I’m Wild and Crazy as I Can Be.”
A few weeks later, Rachell and Williamson made the short trip east to Chicago, where they teamed with Big Joe (?) for three pleasers: “Texas Tommy,” “It’s All Over” and “My Mind Got Bad.” Sonny Boy is present on all of the remaining numbers, which were captured in the Windy City during two sessions in 1941. The April set included Washboard Sam and Mitchell and produced the hits “Hobo Blues,” “Seems Like a Dream,” “Worried Blues,” “Biscuit Baking Woman” and “Insurance Man Blues.”
The final five tracks were laid down in December with Sam and bassist Elkins holding down the bottom. The hits kept coming with “Tappin’ That Thing,” “She Loves Who She Pleases,” “Bye-Bye Blues,” “Loudella Blues” and “Katy Lee Blues.”
This one’s a treasure trove for lovers of first-generation blues.
