LONG JOHN BALDRY

Boogie Woogie: The Warner Bros. Recordings

$39.98 CD

An individually numbered, limited edition of 2500 copies from Rhino Handmade.

 Like one of his famous producers, Rod Stewart, Long John Baldry is a rocker with an arsenal full of blues, R&B, acoustic folk, and goosebump balladry. The star-studded albums he released on Warner Bros. in 1971 and 1972, respectively, are two of the finest in a discography that spans four decades. 

 Born in London in 1941, Baldry got his start singing in church choirs before discovering his soon-to-be hero, Leadbelly, at age 12. In 1958 he went on the road with Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, playing Leadbelly tunes across Europe. By the early ’60s his busking had become so legendary as to inspire both Eric Clapton and Spencer Davis to pick up the guitar. After a stint in Blues Incorporated (Cyril Davis, Alexis Korner, Charlie Watts, Jack Bruce, Mick Jagger), Baldry joined the Cyril Davis All-Stars and brought on Rod Stewart, whom he’d seen drunkenly singing Rolling Stones songs on the train platform. Then came The Hoochie Coochie Men (with Stewart) and then Bluesology (with Reg Dwight, soon to be Elton John). 

 Warner’s Joe Smith signed Baldry to a solo deal in 1970 and tapped Stewart to produce. When recording fell behind schedule, Elton volunteered enthusiastically, and the two future stars each produced half of what would become 1971’s It Ain’t Easy, an album that was in many ways a blueprint for Rod’s own Every Picture Tells A Story. Ronnie Wood, Klaus Voormann, and Mick Waller played on the record, and the single “Don’t Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The King Of Rock & Roll” became the first Baldry song to get attention in the U.S. Exactly a year later the same formula was used for Everything Stops For Tea, this time with Elton producing side one. 

 As he states in Sid Griffin’s liner notes to this release, Baldry never had a favorite between the two Warner albums. “Rod was just feeling his way,” he says, “Elton was just feeling his way, and I doubt I was feeling anything.” 

 Well, You could’ve fooled us. 

 This remastered Rhino Handmade release includes the albums It Ain’t Easy and Everything Stops For Tea in their entirety, plus 10 previously unreleased bonus tracks. 

 Boogie Woogie: The Warner Bros. Recordings is available as an individually numbered limited edition of 2,500 copies. 

Selection # 7896