Various – The Bobby Robinson Story – Selected Sides 1951–1960 – 4CD

Morris Lane, Charlie Singleton, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Tiny Grimes, Junior Lewis, Allen Bunn, Hal Paige & The Wailer, Tarheel Slim & Little Ann, Johnny Acey, Willis Jackson, Paul Perryman, Riff Ruffin, Billy LewisJimmy Spruill, Elmore James, Wilbert Harrison, Sam Meyers, Mary Ann Fisher, Bobby Marchan, The Upsetters, Lightnin' Hopkins, Buster Brown.

Bobby Robinson was a hard working man. He was the owner of Harlem's most successful record store, he worked as an amateur talent scout and, as well as advising major blues record companies, he ran his own now legendary labels Red Robin, Whirlin' Disc, Fire and Fury.

‘The Bobby Robinson Story' is a 4 CD box set containing 104 tracks that demonstrate how he tracked down and recorded some of the best talent of the time. His labels boasted catalogues that included such quality releases as Buster Brown's Fannie Mae, Jimmy Spruill's Hard Grind, Wilbert Harrison's Kansas City, Lightnin' Hopkins' Mojo Hand, Tarheel Slim's Number Nine Train, Jack Dupree's Shake Baby Shake, not to mention Elmore James' landslide of hits which included The Sky is Crying, Rollin' and Tumblin' and Make My Dreams Come True.

Other blasters include Red Prysock's The Hammer, The Upsetters' Jay Walkin', Sam Myers' You Don't Have To Go and Bobby Marchan's There Is Something On Your Mind. Then there's hard rocking R&B from Morris Lane and Willis Jackson, deep blues guitar wrangling by the mysterious Riff Ruffin, the raw, almost ska, feel of Hal Page and The Wailers and the soulful blues beat of Junior Lewis who later became known as soul man CL Blast.

This box set is an impressive collection of tremendous blues recorded at a time when it was hot hot hot! There are some nice surprises courtesy of the more obscure artists and the whole thing is completed with copious informative sleeve notes by compiler Bob Fisher. A top class release indeed!

Track Listing: 

CD1:
Morris Lane: 1. Bobby's Boogie - 2:40   2. Ghost Town - 2:42   Charlie Singleton Orchestra: 3. Earthquake - 2:31   Red Prysock: 4. Wiggles - 2:44   5. Crying My Heart Out - 2:40   Champion Jack Dupree: 6. Stumbling Block Blues - 2:47   7. Number Nine Blues - 3:09   Sonny Terry: 8. Harmonica Hop - 2:38   9. Doggin' My Heart Around - 2:53   Brownie McGhee: 10. Don't Dog Your Woman - 3:06   11. Daisy - 2:59   Champion Jack Dupree: 12. Highway Blues - 2:53   13. Shake Baby Shake - 2:25   Red Prysock: 14. Hard Rock - 2:42   15. Jump For George - 2:32   Tiny Grimes: 16. Second Floor Rear - 2:55   17. Juicy Fruit - 2:49   Allen Bunn: 18. Too Much Competition - 2:42   19. My Kinda Woman - 3:08   Champion Jack Dupree: 20. Shim Sham Shimmy - 2:44   21. Drunk Again - 3:04   Junior Lewis: 22. Your Heart Must Be Made of Stone - 2:44   23. Lost Everything - 3:06   Red Prysock: 24. The Hammer - 2:30   25. Jackpot - 2:39

CD2:
Hal Paige & the Wailers feat. Bobby Robinson: 1. Pour the Corn - 2:57   Tarheel Slim: 2. Wildcat Tamer - 3:01   3. Number Nine Train - 3:02   Wilbert Harrison: 4. Kansas City - 2:28   5. Listen My Darling - 2:43   Hal Paige & the Wailers: 6. Going Back To My Hometown - 2:43   7. After Hours Blues - 3:01   Wilbert Harrison: 8. Cheating Baby - 2:16   9. Don't Wreck My Life - 2:55   10. 1960 - 2:23   11. Goodbye Kansas City - 2:36   June Bateman: 12. Believe Me Darling - 2:54   Wilbert Harrison: 13. C.C. Rider - 2:13   14. Why Did You Leave - 2:44   Junior Lewis: 15. Half A Heart - 2:04   16. Cupid's Little Helper - 2:00   Sam Meyers: 17. You Don't Have To Go - 2:30   18. Sad Sad Lonesome Day - 2:51   Wilbert Harrison: 19. Little Schoolgirl - 2:03   20. Since I Fell For You - 2:20   Junior Lewis: 21. Come On Back Where You Belong - 2:42   22. (You're Just My Speed) and That's All I Need - 2:31   23. Can She Give Me Fever - 2:43   24. Your Heart Must Be Made of Stone - 2:25   Tarheel Slim and Little Ann: 25. It's Too Late - 2:42   26. Don't Ever Leave Me - 2:48

CD3:
Mary Ann Fisher: 1. Put On My Shoes - 2:27   2. Wild As You Can Be - 2:42   Willis "Gator" Jackson: 3. Good To the Bone - 2:32   4. Makin' It - 2:30   Wild Jimmy Spruill: 5. Hard Grind - 3:00   6. Kansas City March - 2:42   Rockin' Bradley: 7. Lookout - 1:41   Buster Brown: 8. Fannie Mae - 2:58   9. Lost In a Dream - 2:20   Tarheel Slim and Little Ann: 10. Much Too Late - 3:04   11. Lock Me In Your Heart - 2:12   Elmore James: 12. Bobby's Rock - 2:12   13. Make My Dreams Come True - 2:53   Bobby Marchan: 14. Snoopin' and Accusin' - 2:10   15. This is the Life - 2:21   Johnny Acey: 16. Why - 2:51   17. Please Don't Go (Back To Baltimore) - 2:01   Elmore James: 18. The Sky is Crying - 2:50   19. Held My Baby Last Night - 2:53   Tarheel Slim and Little Ann: 20. Can't Stay Away, Pt. 1 - 2:11   21. Can't Stay Away, Pt. 2 - 2:22   Paul Perryman: 22. Look At My Baby - 2:25   23. Keep a Callin' - 1:49   Riff Ruffin: 24. Gravy Train - 2:30   25. All My Life - 2:18   Buster Brown: 26. John Henry - 2:35   27. The Madison Shuffle - 2:32

CD4:
Tarheel Slim & Little Ann: 1. Forever I'll Be Yours - 3:15   2. Anything For You - 2:33   Bobby Marchan: 3. There is Something On Your Mind, Pt. 1 - 2:01   4. There is Something On Your Mind, Pt. 2 - 2:50   Buster Brown: 5. Don't Dog Your Woman - 2:55   6. Is You is or is You Ain't My Baby - 2:30   7. St. Louis Blues - 3:42   8. When Things Go Wrong - 3:56   9. Blueberry Hill - 3:09   10. Sincerely - 3:52   11. I'm Going But I'll Be Back - 1:46   Elmore James: 12. Rollin and Tumblin - 2:30   13. I'm Worried - 2:48   Billy Lewis: 14. Heart Trouble - 2:33   Bobby Marchan: 15. Booty Green - 2:59   16. It Hurts Me To My Heart - 2:46   17. You're Still My Baby, Pt. 1 - 2:05   18. You're Still My Baby, Pt. 2 - 2:06   The Upsetters: 19. Jay Walkin' - 2:28   Elmore James: 20. Done Somebody Wrong - 2:20   21. Fine Little Mama - 2:33   Lightnin' Hopkins: 22. Mojo Hand - 3:04   Buster Brown: 23. Fannie Mae is Back - 2:43   24. Candied Yams - 2:21   Wild Jimmy Spruill: 25. Scratch 'N' Twist - 2:08   26. Slow Draggin' - 2:35

Reviews:

1. AllMusic - Steve Leggett
Bobby Robinson may not be a household name, but his influence is subtly pervasive in the 21st century. Born in South Carolina, he moved to New York City after serving in the Army during World War II, where he opened a record shop in Harlem. Branching out into record production, he worked with Ahmet Ertegun for a time at Atlantic Records before he began to establish a series of his own independent labels, which would go on to include Red Robin Records (established in 1952), Whirlin’ Disc Records (1956), Fury Records (1957), Everlast Records (1957), Fire Records (1959), and Enjoy Records (1962), and later he worked as an early hip-hop producer in New York in the 1970s and 1980s. This expansive four-disc box set collects some of the early sides Robinson produced and released through his various labels between 1951 and 1960, and it’s quite an archival treasure trove of blues, R&B, and doo wop.