Walter 'Furry' Lewis was one of the most successful of the early bluesmen to re-emerge during the folk-blues boom

Walter 'Furry' Lewis was one of the most successful of the early bluesmen to re-emerge during the folk-blues boom of the '50s and '60s and enjoy a second career as one of the elder statesmen of the genre. Born in the Mississippi delta in 1893, he moved to Memphis and developed a warm and expressive singing style, with a smooth and lyrical guitar approach that combined slide and finger-picking techniques as he played at parties, in bars and on street corners. In 1927 he headed to Chicago, and made his first recordings for Vocalion, followed by further titles for Victor the following year, and a few more for Vocalion in Memphis in 1929 before the Depression brought a halt to his recording career. He returned to sweeping the streets in Memphis and playing occasionally, until being rediscovered by music historian Samuel Charters in 1959, and recording a session for Folkways, which resulted in his first album release. There were further sessions in 1961 which led to albums on Prestige/Bluesville, establishing him on the burgeoning blues scene of the '60s, and enjoying a second career as a performer which lasted until his death in 1981. This great-value 46-track 2-CD set comprises most of the 53 recordings from the sessions mentioned which were released during the two eras covered, and it therefore captures in fascinating fashion the essence of his music as he expressed it across a gap of three decade, and it's a fine showcase for one of the lesser-known, but important and intriguing personalities of blues

Track Listing

• Rock Island Blues
• Everybody's Blues
• Jelly Roll
• Mr. Furry's Blues
• Sweet Papa Moan
• Billy Lyons And Stack O'Lee
• Good Looking Girl Blues
• Falling Down Blues
• Big Chief Blues
• Mean Old Bedbug Blues
• Why Don't You Come Home Blues
• Judge Harsh Blues (Tk. 2)
• I Will Turn Your Money Green (Tk. 2)
• Mistreatin' Mama
• Furry's Blues
• Dry Land Blues
• Cannon Ball Blues
• Kassie Jones - Part 1
• John Henry (The Steel Driving Man) Part 1
• Black Gypsy Blues
• Creeper's Blues
• I'm Going To Brownsville
• Early Recording Career (FL talking)   
• Judge Boushay Blues   
• John Henry   

• I Will Turn Your Money Green   
• Pearlee Blues   
• Longing Blues
• The Medicine Shows (FL talking)   
• Casey Jones   
• East St. Louis Blues   
• When My Baby Left Me   
• Shake 'Em On Down   
• Big Chief Blues   
• Old Blue   
• Back On My Feet Again   
• White Lightnin'   
• Roberta   
• St. Louis Blues   
• Baby You Don't Want Me   
• Done Changed My Mind   
• Goin' to Kansas City   
• This Time Tomorrow   
• Frankie and Johnnie   
• Longing Blues   
• Long Tall Gal Blues   

Additional Details

Label: Acrobat

Genre: Blues

Language: English

Run Time: 142 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 04/06/18

UPC: 824046323929