One Saturday afternoon (Phoenix) in the summer of 1960 my sister
rushed into our room, tossed an 'Augies Records' bag on the bed and said,
'See if you can open this and don't scratch it!' (I bought singles with
my allowance and she had a babysitting job and got to buy albums for $3.12).
She turned on the record player and I handed the record to her holding
the edges in two hands.
She checked the titles and set the record on the turntable, turned the
volume knob up as far as it would go, turned to me and said, 'Wait'll you
hear THIS!' I kept looking at the album cover, 'Rockin' With Reed'. It
was darkish red and only the back view of Jimmy in black, bent over playing
his guitar. It looked mysterious to me!
The first song she played was, 'Take Out Some Insurance.' The intro
was a bass shuffle-ish-boogie that made you want to get up and dance around
and snap your fingers. Just this great bass sultry rhythm. And then a kind
voice with a smooth southern slur; 'A-If you'r t'leave me bay-babe' (By
this time my sister was dancin' and in some kinda groove') I smiled! It
was so NEAT! I needed to hear it again and couldn't wait for her to leave
the house so I could sneak play it again and again. Which I did, hundreds
of times (to all her records, haha!).
As I came to learn years ago, many of Jimmy's songs were backed by his
childhood friend and bass player the wonderful, Eddie Taylor! What a super
duo! Many years later when my sister got married, she left ALL her albums
behind. I never understood how she could do that! She didn't take Jimmy
Reed, even! But I kept them all, lugging them around in boxes for 40 years
until 2000, when I replaced them almost all with CD's. The very first one
I bought was 'Rockin' With Reed' a Re-issue by Charly of original Vee-Jay
recordings with liner notes from the original release. with bonus tracks.
It's a GREAT album every blues person should own. Don't download songs,
buy the CD! ~ From the liner notes: 'Now you might not go for blues, but
when you hear Jimmy Reed, you'd better be careful not to pat your foot,
because like the old heads used to say, 'If you grin, you in' - 'cause
this stud is for real. Frank London Brown, Author of Trumbull Park ~ Anita
W. Cantor
"If you leave me, baby, say you won't be back That would be the end
of me, 'cause I'd have a heart attack Ya better get some insurance on me,
baby Take out some insurance on me, baby Ladies' Night 'Cause if ya ever,
ever, said, 'goodbye' I'm 'gonna haul right off an' die" "Take Out Some
Insurance" (J. Stone) Vee-Jay LP #1008, Jesse Stone aka Charles Calhoun
songwriter for Atlantic Records, recorded with Eddie Taylor and Lefty Bates
- guitars, Earl Phillips - drums Chicago March 26, 1959
