The contribution of Mickey Baker to 1950s music puts him next to titans like Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry. He is undoubtedly the king of 50s R&B guitar as well as an inventor of the sound called Rock and Roll. The difference between these two and Baker is that his career has been unfairly undervalued, if not almost unknown. And his recorded output is FIVE times more than Chuck and Bo combined.
The most in-demand studio musician/session guitarist par excellence during the golden years of the R & B laid the foundation for Rock and Roll. This tireless hard working musician spent half his life in the studio and the other half on tour and left his mark on hundreds, thousands of recordings, among which are hits from artists like Big Joe Turner, Ruth Brown or the Coasters.
His incendiary riffs and solos were always aggressive, twisted but elegant sounding. He possessed creativity ahead of his time with excellent taste, and completely transformed the concept and role of the electric guitar into rock and roll forever.
But don't panic. This is far from being an album for guitarists or academics. It is a selection of rare recordings that showcase him backing various singers and a few instrumentals easily moving through styles of R&B, Blues, Rock, Gospel and Folk done for different labels between 1953 and 1961. We are happy to present this diverse compilation with stunning sound quality and much of the material never before reissued. And we hope you enjoy the experience of discovering or remembering the immeasurable Mickey Baker, the king of and most recorded guitarist in 1950s rhythm and blues.
Blam - Big John Greer And His Combo / Don’t Leave Poor Me - Big Maybelle / Anna MaeBrownie - Mcghee Sextet / The Storm Is Passing Over - Marie Knight / Honky Tonk In Silk -Doc Bagby / I’m Doing All This Time (And You Put Me Down) - Stick Mcghee / Big Boat Up The River - Brother John Sellers / Give Me Love - The Cyclones Featuring Eddie Jones / St. Louis Blues - Mickey And Kitty / Night Life - Jesse Stone / A Long Time - Nappy Brown / Took My Feet Out Of The Miry Clay - Brother John Sellers / That’s A Pretty Good Love - Big Maybelle / Shake It Up - Mickey And Sylvia
La aportación de Mickey Baker a la historia y construcción del Rock and Roll tal y como lo conocemos le sitúan al lado de titanes como Bo Diddley o Chuck Berry. Así de claro. La diferencia entre estos dos y Baker es que la carrera de este ha sido injustamente infravalorada, cuando no directamente desconocida.
La labor de Mickey Baker -solicitadísimo músico de estudio, el guitarrista de sesión por excelencia durante los años dorados del R&B- sentó las bases de un género que jamás nos cansaremos de reivindicar. Este incansable currante –pasó media vida en el estudio y la otra media de gira – dejó su sello en cientos, miles de grabaciones, entre las cuales se encuentran montones de hits de artistas de la talla de Big Joe Turner, Ruth Brown o los Coasters.
Sus incendiarios riffs y solos, su sonido siempre agresivo pero elegante, una creatividad adelantada a su tiempo y un excelente gusto, transformaron por completo el concepto y el papel de la guitarra eléctrica en el rock and roll para siempre.
Pero que no cunda el pánico: lo que aquí presentamos, lejos de ser un disco para guitarristas sesudos, o académicos del rock´n´roll, es solo una selección de singles grabados en NY para distintos sellos entre 1953 y 1961. Un magnífico recopilatorio con mucho material nunca antes reeditado, donde tendrás el gusto de descubrir –o recordar- al inconmensurable Mickey Baker.
Blam - Big John Greer And His Combo / Don’t Leave Poor Me - Big Maybelle / Anna MaeBrownie - Mcghee Sextet / The Storm Is Passing Over - Marie Knight / Honky Tonk In Silk -Doc Bagby / I’m Doing All This Time (And You Put Me Down) - Stick Mcghee / Big Boat Up The River - Brother John Sellers / Give Me Love - The Cyclones Featuring Eddie Jones / St. Louis Blues - Mickey And Kitty / Night Life Jesse Stone / A Long Time - Nappy Brown / Took My Feet Out Of The Miry Clay - Brother John Sellers / That’s A Pretty Good Love - Big Maybelle / Shake It Up - Mickey And Sylvia
