Craft Recordings is pleased to announce the forthcoming release of Mr.
Luck: The Complete Vee-Jay Singles, celebrating the defining body of work of
one of the most influential and popular blues musicians of the 20th century,
Jimmy Reed. Due out August 4th, the 3-CD collection spans Reed’s most prolific
period – from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s, and includes not only his
biggest hits – all remastered in their original mono format – but also several
rarities from newly discovered master tapes that have never been released
digitally. An annotated discography, plus detailed session notes and liner
notes have been meticulously compiled by the album’s GRAMMY® award-winning
producer, Scott Billington, who, as a music historian and blues musician,
offers deep insight into Reed’s artistic process.
Jimmy Reed’s lazy drawl, paired with his unique harmonica
stylings, and highly-accessible lyrical hooks are part of the bedrock of
American roots music. Yet the musician’s story is also that of an unlikely
hero. Born to Mississippi sharecroppers in the 1920s, Reed moved north to
Chicago in search of work, and, despite suffering from epilepsy, slowly
transformed himself from a street musician to one of the most popular blues
artists in America, crossing over to the pop charts with songs like “Big Boss
Man” and “Baby What You Want Me to Do.”
With his simple, yet effective songs, the self-taught
musician influenced hundreds of artists on both sides of the Atlantic. Over the
years, a wide range of acts have covered Reed’s compositions, including The
Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Sly and the Family Stone, Etta James and Elvis
Presley. In his notes, Billington muses “Of all the blues musicians who began
recording in Chicago in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Jimmy Reed might have
seemed least likely to succeed … Yet, until B. B. King’s run of best-selling
records in the late 1960s, no post-war blues artist sold more records or showed
up as often on the Billboard R&B and pop charts. Jimmy Reed’s music was
approachable and, at least on the surface, easy for other musicians to play.”
Mr. Luck: The Complete Vee-Jay Singles will be available on
CD, as well as across all digital retailers and streaming sites.
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