Take 5 With Tampa Red

Hudson Whittaker, known as Tampa Red, was one of the most popular and most recorded blues artists of the Twenties through the early 1950s. He was known as a guitarist, kazoo player and one of the blues greatest songwriters.

We start this brief celebration of his music with a bit of Hokum he did with Georgia Tom Dorsey, "It's Tight Light That."

Next up is "Black Angel Blues." Lucille Bogan recorded this first, but it was Tampa Red's recording that more directly influenced later blues recordings by the likes of Robert Nighthawk and B.B. King (who did this as "Sweet Little Angel."). Note Tampa Red's immaculate slide guitar that would be echoed in the guitar of Robert Nighthawk and Earl Hooker.

Among his most celebrated songs is "It Hurts Me Too" also known as "When Things Go Wrong." Elmore James later made a famous recording of this song.

Another signature song of Tampa Red was "Love Her With a Feeling," later performed by a number of other great blues artists such as Freddie King, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, and Junior wells.

We close this brief playlist with one of Tampa Red's last commercial recordings, "Evalena" with Little Johnnie Jones on piano, Walter Horton on harmonica, Ransom Knowling on bass and Odie Payne on drums. I believe Willie Lacey plays the dazzling electric guitar on this.

Perhaps sometimes soon, I will return with another Tampa Red playlist.