David “Honeyboy” Edwards – Delta Bluesman

All the tunes, including five band tracks, evoke the glory days before World War II, when Honeyboy developed his repertoire from his encounters with Big Joe Williams, Curtis Jones, Peetie Wheatstraw, Tommy McClennan and others. Especially noteworthy is Honeyboy's performance of "Big Katie Allen," a tune he learned from previously unknown Andrew Moore, a Mississippian whose guitar making and fingerpicking he admired. Equally delightful are Honeyboy's short tales about his life as a bluesman during the 1930s.

Track Listing:
1. Alan Lomas Introduces David Edwards - 0:27   2. Roamin' and Ramblin' Blues - 2:58   3. I'm from the Library of Congress - 4:26   4. You Got to Roll - 0:56   5. You Got to Roll - 2:29   6. Water Coast Blues -
5:51   7. Stagolee - 1:03   8. Just a Spoonful - 1:44   9. Spread My Raincoat Down - 2:28   10. Hellatakin' Blues - 0:47   11. Wind Howlin' Blues - 3:12   12. Worried Life Blues - 2:53   13. Tear It Down Rag - 1:06   14. The Army Blues - 3:47   15. They Called It Big Kate - 2:24   16. Big Katie Allen - 4:05   17. Black Cat -
3:33   18. I Met Peetie Wheatstraw in '39 - 0:58   19. Number 12 at the Station - 3:50   20. When I Came to Memphis - 0:37   21. Rocks in My Pillow - 4:16   22. We Used to Sing That When I Was a Kid - 1:11   23. Decoration Day - 4:35   24. Who May Be Your Regular Be - 3:28 25. I Studied Up That Song Myself - 1:15   26. Eyes Full of Tears - 3:17   27. Bad Whiskey and Cocaine - 4:26

Personnel:
David ‘Honeyboy’ Edwards (guitar, vocals, rack harmonica on 011,14,26)

Tracks 1,4-10,12-14 recorded July22,1942

Track 27 recorded June 8, 1979 at Acme Recording Studios Chicago
Arthur Lee Stevenson aka Kansas City Red (drums, comments), Floyd Jones (acoustic second guitar)

Track 17,19,21 recorded October 20, 1991at Ideal Sound Recorders London

Tracks 16,23,24,26 recorded December 31, 1991 at Acme Recording Studios Chicago
Carey Bell (harmonica) , Sunnyland Slim (piano) , Aron Burton (bass) , Robert Plunkett (drums)

Reviews:

1. AllMusic -Scott Yanow
One of the underrated greats of country blues, Honeyboy Edwards is heard on this superior release at the beginning and in the later part of his long career. A very authentic blues singer and guitarist who occasionally played harmonica, Edwards grew up in Mississippi and was captured by Alan Lomax in Clarksdale in 1942 for the first 14 selections on this CD. Already distinctive at the age of 27, Edwardswas in Chicago during the 1950s but, despite being quite active, he hardly recorded at all until the late '70s. The final 13 selections on this CD are mostly from 1991 and they find Edwards being featured both solo and with Sunnyland Slim and Carey Bell in an excellent quintet, still singing and playing guitar with power. He also tells a few stories about the distant past. As of this writing in 2006, the 91-year-old Honeyboy Edwards, nearly the last link to Robert Johnson and Charley Patton in the 1930s, is still performing at blues festivals. Delta Bluesman remains his definitive release.