Take 5 With "Get Out Of My Life Woman"

As I type this, I am watching a video of the late Allen Toussaint on Qwest TV. It is a Baloise Session in Basel, Switzerland and was his next to last performance. He passed away after his performance the next day in Barcelona. During this performance, he performed "Get Out of My Life Woman," which he introduced noting he was the most recorded of the songs he had written. This week's Take 5 playlist is a short playlist of versions of this number.

First up we have Lee Dorsey, who made the original recording. This is from a live performance.

Next up is a version that many will be familiar with from the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. This though is also from a live performance.

Next up is Joe Williams, the blues and balladeer master backed by the great Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra.

So many artists have done this including Jerry Garcia, Chris Robinson, the Jerry Garcia Band, and the great Albert King who recorded this on his classic album, "Born Under A Bad Sign."

We conclude with a live performance by Mr. Toussaint himself at the "2015 Dear Jerry Concert."

The Okeh Rhythm & Blues Story 1949-1957

The Okeh Rhythm & Blues Story 1949-1957 (Epic/Okeh/Legacy E3K 48912) is a three compact disc set surveys excellent rhythm and blues recordings that appeared on Okeh between 1949 and 1957. Okeh was the label that first issued a blues recording with Mamie Smith. During the 1920’s it was acquired by Columbia and faded with the depression. Columbia reactivated Okeh to replace the Vocalion logo which passed to Decca in 1940, although wartime exigencies led to its demise in 1942. Okeh was revived in 1948 to expand Columbia’s presence in the nascent rhythm’n’blues market, although the label was unable to make the market impression the small hustling independent labels did. Despite not being a major market force, Okeh had a number of records hit the charts, and recorded some of the earliest recordings by major postwar stars Chuck Willis, Joe Williams and Big Maybelle. Also on Okeh were artists who may have had some success with small independents and moved on to Okeh such as Joe ‘Mr. Google Eyes’ August, Larry Darnell, Hadda Books, Paul Gayten and Annie Laurie. Other Okeh artists had a couple records and disappeared into obscurity.

Much of the music here is in the jump blues vein best represented by the young Joe Turner influenced Joe Williams, who certainly gets a groove going backed by drummer Fred Saunders’ tough combo. These brash vocals will be a revelation for those familiar only with Williams’ ballad style or his work with Count Basie. Williams was not the only one to show a heavy debt to Joe Turner. Singer Irlton French’s My Run Around Baby  is a rocker with phrasing and shouting style very much like Big Joe’s pre-Atlantic recordings. Earl Williams also shows a debt to the Turner-Wyonnie Harris school of singing. The small combo, Chris Powell & the Five Blue Flames cover Jimmy Preston’s hot jump blues Rock This Joint which later would be a hit for Bill Haley, while the Five Scamps show more indebtedness to Nat Cole than Amos Milburn on their reworking of Milburn’s Chicken Shack Boogie.

Chuck Willis show his roots as he urges everyone to Let’s Jump Tonight. The harmonies of one of the earliest of the postwar vocal groups, The Ravens, enliven the jumping Honey I Don’t Want You, while the ballad singing of New Orleans vocalist Annie Laurie, is showcased in It’s Been a Long Time. Another New Orleans artist, Joe ‘Mr. Google Eyes’ August evokes Roy Brown’s influence on the crying blues Rough and Rocky Road. Hadda Brooks had enjoyed commercial success for Modern. A torch and cabaret singer (she recorded That’s My Desire before Frankie Laine), and a sophisticated pianist, her two songs here are in a jump blues vein with solid boogie based piano. In contrast to Brooks cabaret influenced style, Big Maybelle’s church rooted vocals come at you with the force of a hurricane and she is represented by Gabbin’ Blues and the rocking One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show.

Okeh adapted with the times and also recorded novelties like The Treniers’ salute to dee jay Allen Freed, The Moondog and Hurricane Henry’s rendition of The Last Meal, one of Jimmy Rogers’ more unusual recordings. Sometimes Okeh hit the jackpot with Screaming Jay Hawkins’ I Put a Spell on You. Of local interest are recordings by Billy Stewart and the short-lived group, the Marquees, that included a young Marvin Gaye from sessions organized by Bo Diddley

An attractive booklet provides information on Okeh’s history and the performers. Information on recording dates and initial release (where applicable) of the songs is also provided, although not full discographical information. This collects many artists whose recordings have been hard to find on compact disc at all. It is a well programmed anthology with plenty of variety, and will be a must for jump blues devotees.

This was part of a review with other Columbia/Legacy reissues that I reviewed this past Friday. It originally appeared in issue 188 of Jazz and Blues Report in 1994. I received review copies from Columbia Records.

Joe Williams Always Had a Good Time

The late Joe Williams was one of the great male big band singers from his association with Count Basie, and later remained an extraordinary vocalist of blues, ballads and standards. The following review appeared in the January-February 2006 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 279). I likely received my review copy from that publication

Hyena has just issued a posthumorous release by the great Joe Williams, Havin’ a Good Time! Recorded at Pio’s in Providence, Rhode Island in the snowy winter of 1964, this tape was among the items that the Estate of Joe Williams gave the Hamilton (NY) College jazz Archive.


This is a club recording the great blues and ballad singer backed by the Junior Mance Trio (Bob Cranshaw on bass and MIckey Roker on drums) with Ben Webster joining the proceedings. Sound is generally good with Williams’ voice and Webster’s sax having a definite presence in the mix. The backing trio can be felt if not as prominent listening to this, although Mance has plenty of space for his strong, bluesy piano playing.

There is a real nice mix of material opening with Duke Ellington number Just a Sittin’ and A Rockin’ , using the lyrics of the Delta Rhythm Boys 1946 rendering of this number and a nice song for Webster who took the solo on Ellington’s original. Its followed by Kansas City Blues, Williams’ rendition of the Pete Johnson-Big Joe Turner blues classic, Piney Brown Blues, with Williams pointedly saluting the Boss of the Blues in his intro. While not sure he knew all the words of the standard That’s All, Williams more than gamely handles it for the request of the audience member who braved the blizzard conditions for the show. Also on the program are a couple of Fats Waller classics, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Honeysuckle Rose, some other standards and Williams’ hit Alright, Ok, You Win.


I suspect the presence of Webster is a factor in the release of this material which is a welcome addition to Williams discography. This is a release that is consistently enjoyable, if perhaps not an essential release. It does lead to anticipation of further releases of Williams recordings from the Hamilton College Jazz Archives.