Roosevelt Sykes

Next time somebody voices the goofball opinion that blues is just too big depressing to embrace, sit ’em straight down and expose ’em to some heady dose of Roosevelt Sykes. If he doesn’t transformation their minds, nothing at all will. There is nothing at all downbeat concerning this roly-poly, effervescent pianist (nicknamed “Honeydripper” for his fresh prowess around girls), whose extended profession spanned the pre-war and postwar eras without interruption whatsoever. Sykes’ romping boogies and hilariously risqué lyrics (his double-entendre gems included “Dirty Mom for you personally,” “Glaciers Cream Fridge,” and “Peeping Tom”) characterize his monumental efforts towards the blues idiom. He was a pioneering piano pounder in charge of the seminal parts “44 Blues,” “Generating Steering wheel,” and [RoviLink=”MC”]”NIGHTTIME Is the Best Period.” [/RoviLink]Sykes started playing while we were young in Helena. At age group 15, he strike the street, developing his rowdy barrelhouse design round the blues-fertile St. Louis region. Sykes began documenting in 1929 for OKeh and was authorized to four different brands the next yr under four different titles (he was variously billed as Dobby Bragg, Willie Kelly, and Easy Papa Johnson)! Sykes became a member of Decca Information in 1935, where his recognition blossomed. After relocating to Chicago, Sykes inked a pact with Bluebird in 1943 and documented prolifically for the RCA subsidiary along with his combo, the Honeydrippers, rating a set of R&B strikes in 1945 (addresses of Cecil Gant’s “I Question” and Joe Liggins’ “The Honeydripper”). The next year, he obtained one more nationwide graph item for the mother or father Victor logo design, the lowdown blues “Sunny Street.” He also frequently toured and documented with vocalist St. Louis Jimmy Oden, the originator of the traditional “HEADING DOWN Sluggish.” In 1951, Sykes became a member of Chicago’s United Information, cutting more good sides on the next year or two. A set of Dave Bartholomew-produced 1955 times for Imperial in New Orleans included a rollicking edition of “Nice House Chicago” that presaged all of the covers that could surface down the road. A slew of albums for Bluesville, Folkways, Crown, and Delmark held Sykes on the racks through the ’60s (a period when European trips began to occupy a substantial amount of the pianist’s itinerary). He resolved in New Orleans through the past due ’60s, where he continued to be an area treasure until his loss of life. Precious few pianists could boast the thundering boogie prowess of Roosevelt Sykes, and also fewer could run after aside the blues along with his blues because the rotund cigar-chomping 88s ace do.