A really well-recorded set by Lightnin Hopkins – one that's got a crisper, cleaner sound than some of his others of the time – yet which still comes across with all his best rootsy modes too! The instrumentation here is quite spare – just Hopkins' acoustic guitar behind his vocals, with a bit of bass and drums too – recorded with some of the folksy undercurrents that were common in some of the Prestige/Bluesville dates of the period. Titles include "Shinin Moon", "The Walkin Blues", "Katie Mae", "Down There Baby", "You Better Watch Yourself", and "Automobile Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's one of the more obscure Lightning Hopkins albums of the 60s – as it was issued on the short-lived label Candid, an imprint that was mostly known for modern jazz! Yet the approach here is wonderfully faithful to the music that Hopkins does best – a well-recorded solo date that's handled in ways that are similar to some of the Prestige Records blues albums of the time – maybe in part because as things went mainstream and more commercial, it was up to some of the jazz labels to preserve a more stripped-down sound! Hopkins sings and plays guitar – and even handles a bit of piano too – on titles that include "Take It Easy", "Mighty Crazy", "Trouble Blues", "Wonder Why", "Mister Charlie", and "I've Had My Fun If I Don't Get Well No More". LP, Vinyl record album

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Great vintage recordings from Lightning Hopkins – initially recorded by producer Bob Shad on his trips to the south in the early 50s, then later issued on Shad's label Mainstream in the 60s! The style here captures Hopkins at his best – very spare and lowdown, with gritty guitar alongside Lightning's wonderful vocals – both intertwined in a snakey mode that's extremely compelling. There's no other instrumentation on the tracks at all, but there's a presence and personality that's extremely full – maybe more so than most other Hopkins material of this vintage. Titles include "Coffee Blues", "Hello Central", "Long Way From Texas", "Gotta Move", "Dirty House Blues", "Freight Train", and "Everybody's Down On Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Rightly rootsy work from the great Lightnin Hopkins – captured beautifully here on a rare session for the mostly-folk Tradition label! A few tracks also feature some vocal assistance from Luke "Long Gone" Miles – and titles include "Long Time", "Baby", "Gonna Pull A Party", "Backwater Blues", "Hear My Black Dog Bark", and "Bunion Stew". LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual 70s release of work from Lightnin Hopkins – one with a cryptic photo of Hopkins behind bars! The material is most likely from earlier years, though – and it captures Lightnin at his best folk blues mode – just vocals and acoustic guitar on most numbers, the latter carrying equal duties on rhythm and some great solo inflections that break out between the lyrics! Titles include "Shiny Moon", "Big Mama Jump", "Rollin Woman Blues", "Automobile Blues", "Cairo Blues", and "Bad Whiskey". LP, Vinyl record album

Features 2LPs of 1963 live material with Lightnin' Hopkins, Brownie McGhee, & Sonny Terry – plus a 1959 recording with Jimmy Witherspoon on vocals, Teddy Edwards on tenor, and Groove Holmes on organ! LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic document of the first-ever Ann Arbor Blues Festival – the start of a great event that would blossom into other styles of music in the 70s, but which stood as a strong blues-based event in its initial year of 1969! In some ways, the three day series of concerts is a roots answer to Woodstock – which took place just a few weeks before – as the festival featured a great scope of blues talents, from the rootsier sort of artists who were recording for labels like Folkways or Arhoolie, to some of the sharper modern talents rising to the top on Chess or Delmark! The package alone is almost worth the price of admission – beautiful photographs of the event, detailed notes, and the first-ever release of this music – which has sat in the vaults for decades, finally to see the light of day. Titles on this second volume include "Long Distance Call" by Muddy Waters, "Off The Wall" by James Cotton Band, "Juanita" by Big Joe Williams, "Jelly Jelly Blues" by Shirley Griffin, "I Feel So Good" by Magic Sam, "Call It Stormy Monday" by T-Bone Walker, "Death Letter Blues" by Son House, "Key To The Highway" by Sam Lay, and "Mojo Hand" by Lightnin Hopkins. LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Texas Alexander, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Cannon's Jug Stompers, Robert Johnson, Speckled Red, Victoria Spivey, Leadbelly, Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Boy Williamson, Brownie McGhee, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Elmore James. LP, Vinyl record album

Featuring performances by Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Earl King, Lee Dorsey, Ernie K Doe, Robert Parker, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Professor Longhair! LP, Vinyl record album

Rootsy blues from the 78rpm years – a collection of well-recorded Specialty Records material by Frankie Lee Sims – an artist who was born in New Orleans, but was also a Texas-raised cousin of Lightnin Hopkins too! Sims' music here has lots of the styles we love in Hopkins' work of the time – kind of an evolution of blues past the delta years, but not too far either – mostly acoustic instrumentation, including bold lines by Sims that accompany his lyrics – and a stark sense of recording that really lets the simple elements come through. Titles include "Married Woman", "Lucy Mae Blues", "Don't Take It Out On Me", "I'm So Glad", "Jelly Roll Baker", and "Wine & Gin Bounce". LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Elmore James, John Lee Hooker, Frank Frost with The Nighthawks, Lightnin' Hopkins, Eddie Taylor, Howlin' Wolf, Billy Boy Arnold, Jimmy Reed, Robert Cray Band, Albert King, Wild Child Butler, Little Johnny Taylor, Otis Rush, Junior Wells, Magic Sam, and Fenton Robinson. LP, Vinyl record album

Features tracks by Texas Alexander, Mercy Dee, Frankie Lee Sims, John Hogg, Lightning Hopkins, LC Williams, Buddy Chiles, and even a title by an unknown artist! LP, Vinyl record album