James, Elmore – Hits & Rarities – New LP

James 1951 - circa 1963 (he died in 1963).

Elmore James is known as the "King of the Slide Guitar." He was inspired by the local performances of Robert Johnson, whose "Dust My Broom" became James' signature song and laid the foundation for his recording career. First cut by James in August 1951, "Dust My Broom" contains the strongest example of his stylistic signature: a swooping, full-octave opening figure on slide guitar. He has been credited with practically inventing blues rock by energizing primal riffs with a raw, driving intensity. James left behind a raft of classic blues songs that influenced a legion of Chicago slide players. "You can hear his signature riff at least once a night from every slide guitarist working," music historian Tony Glover has written, "but no one has ever quite matched that vocal intensity, which transformed the lonesome moan of the Delta into a Chicago scream."

Hit Side A1 The Sky Is Crying

A2 Shake Your Moneymaker

A3 It Hurts Me Too

A4 Something Inside Me

A5 Look On Yonder Wall

A6 Stranger Blues

A7 Dust My Broom (Chicago-Cut Mono Version)

Rarities Side B1 My Kind Of Woman B2 Strange Angel B3 One Way Out B4 Person To Person B5 So Unkind B6 Mean Mistreatin' Mama B7 I Gotta Go Now