Even before yesterday’s discussion on Muddy Waters, I was already thinking about how I wanted to do part 3 (of 4 parts) of Muddy Waters and His Guitarists. But hearing all of the excellent EP207 in the style of Kenny Burrell Monthly Challenge posts was what shaped this week’s Blues Roots content, encouraging me to make the leap from “Chicken Shack Boogie” to Jimmy Smith’s “(Back at the) Chicken Shack” (which Kenny Burrell played on). Next Blues Roots should appear on Thursday, August 17 and I’m hoping to make it the Muddy Waters part 3 one.

The featured song is still from volume 1 of Ed Parker’s Yer Blues playlist. Here’s the whole playlist (the complete song listing can be found in the July 20 Blues Roots).

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Amos Milburn’s “Chicken Shack” (aka “Chicken Shack Boogie,” written by Amos Milburn and Ann Lola Cullum) is number 11 on the Yer Blues playlist, followed by Willie and the Poor Boys’ version at number 12 (Willie and the Poor Boys were Mickey Gee [deceased; guitar], Andy Fairweather Low [guitar], Geraint Watkins [piano, accordion], Bill Wyman [bass], Charlie Watts [drums]; they share a lot of people with Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, video also below).

Check out this YouTube algorithm-generated playlist of Amos Milburn’s popular videos. Not bad at all, huh?

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Amos Milburn’s original version was recorded in November 1947, released in September 1948.

The Five Scamps, released in March 1949

Lionel Hampton Sextette, 1949

Amos Milburn remade it in 1956. It appears on one of his most well-known albums, Let’s Have a Party, seen in the thumbnail.

Leroy Van Dyke, 1957

Here’s a harp and guitar version by Clifford King (while looking for a release date, I found out that if you like this, repro 45s of this, and many other old songs, are widely available for $10 each), 1960

Amos Milburn with Little Stevie Wonder, between 1962 and 1964

Champion Jack Dupree, live footage in England, 1964

Floyd Dixon (vocal, piano) and His Band, Maxwell Davis (tenor), Chuck Norris (guitar),

Hollywood Fats with Canned Heat, 1979

Champion Jack Dupree, live footage, about 1980

Willie Egan, 1984

Hank C. Burnette, 1984

Canned Heat from The Boogie Assault, Live in Australia, 1985

“Chicken Shack Boogie” is the tenth song on this self-titled 1985 album by Willie and the Poor Boys (song starts at 26:48)

Big Town Playboys, probably late 1980s (considering guess of YouTube commenter)

Rod Piazza and The Mighty Flyers, around 2003

Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, 2010

The Session (details at video). Have to think this was recorded about when it was posted, July 2011

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That brings us to the Incredible Jimmy Smith’s “Back at the Chicken Shack”—part 2 of this afternoon’s avian set. His 1963 Back at the Chicken Shack album was named for the first song. Jimmy Smith (organ), Stanley Turrentine (tenor), Kenny Burrell (guitar), Donald Bailey (drums); recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on April 25, 1960.

Do I ever loove this groove… Many great interpretations, usually set openers, it’s set the pace for many a set, this or “Green Onions” or “Watermelon Man” have a compelling power to get peepuls on their feet. I didn’t add any backing tracks or lessons to this playlist , and the “order” breaks down after the first two dozen or so (a lot of the songs on the playlist are ones I put there to hear to see if I can pick up something a little different). I could narrow it down to just about a dozen of my favorites, but any fewer than that I’d be looking for the next rocket out of here (no, don’t tell me, they still don’t have any?). There are two (of the three) Luther Johnsons present (see below for details); both of them played with Muddy Waters at one time and had other things in common.

If you like Jimmy Smith, also see the little 3-video Jimmy Smith “sidebar” below for an hour and a half documentary about Jimmy Smith from 1965, and two half-hour videos of live footage, one from 1962 and another from 1965, all in glorious period B&W. Just below that is a Kenny Burrell-Jimmy Smith sidebar with more Gibson-B3 goodness in Blue Bash!

These songs came up in Paul (mcnessa’s) Your Favorite Blues Instrumental? back in January. That was such a nice post, one of my favorites, I thought I’d recycle it here.

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My favorite, and everyone’s, Luther “Snake” Johnson (see songs 6 through 8 on the “Chicken Shack” playlist above), who named this 1967 album for the song (featuring the Muddy Waters Blues Band). Luther lived to 41, and walked the earth the same years as Freddie King, from 1934 to 1976. His other nickname was Georgia Boy.

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Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson was born in 1939, and is still going strong (see song 15 on the “Chicken Shack” playlist above). His version of “Chicken Shack” is from his 1993 album, Luther’s Blues, not presently available on YouTube, but the following is his Talkin’ About Soul from 2001.

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Pinetop Perkins does a version that combines both Amos Milburn’s and Jimmy Smith’s music and uses the former’s lyrics. One of these is directly below; three more are on the playlist (numbers 12 through 14).

Pinetop Perkins (vocals), Willie “Big Eyes” Smith (harmonica), Lisa Otey (piano), Ms. Carmen Getit (guitar), Bob Stroger (bass), Kenny Smith (drums), from Ladies Man, released in 2004

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…there was an English blues band named Chicken Shack. Fleetwood Mac always overshadowed them in reality and in my perception but Stan Webb was a strong guitarist and vocalist. Christine Perfect played with them before she joined Fleetwood Mac and became Christine McVie. This is their debut album, their best, in my opinion, with three knockout Freddie King covers “Lonesome Whistle Blues,” “San-Ho-Zay” and “See See Baby.”

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That was just one of many brilliant songs from Amos Milburn, Amos Milburn and His Aladdin Chickenshackers also did the original “One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer” in 1953.

John Lee Hooker turned it around to say “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” which is how I heard it. Hearing it with the scotch first seems wrong.

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“Big Town Playboy” was a song by Little Johnny Jones (pianist extraordinaire, notably associated with Tampa Red and Elmore James).

But it was adopted by Eddie Taylor (guitarist extraordinaire, notably associated with Jimmy Reed and John Lee Hooker), who released the first version in 1955.

The flipside was “Ride ’em on Down.”

Eddie Taylor (vocals, guitar), Big Walter Horton (harp), Otis Spann (piano), Floyd Jones (bass), Fred Below (drums), from Masters of Modern Blues Volume 3, 1972

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West German–made documentary, 1965

A half hour live in the BBC studios, 1965

A half hour with Fats Domino on vocals and piano, Dave Bartholomew on trumpet, a tasteful guitar solo by Roy Montrell kicks in at 15:10, are you kidding me? 1962.

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Having already dipped into Midnight Blue a few times (with Stanley Turrentine), posted a few from Bluesy Burrell (with Coleman Hawkins) and mentioned Blue Bash back in May, here it is in its entirety. Kenny Burrell (guitar); Jimmy Smith (organ); George Duvivier, Milt Hinton (bass); Bill English, Mel Lewis (drums).

Recorded in three locations between July 16 and July 29, 1963.

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Big Road Blues airs on Sundays 5 to 7 PM (EST) on WGMC Jazz90.1 and streams live on the web. The show is an exploration of African-American music, namely the music that falls in the standard blues discographies, spanning the 1920s through the 1970s…

The same website has the most complete Robert Nighthawk biography/discography (same link as is in his name below, so if you click here, don’t click there).

The weekly radio show is named for Tommy Johnson’s 1928 song.

Tommy Johnson’s song inspired Floyd Jones’ “On the Road Again” (1951 and 1953) which begat Canned Heat’s.

“On the Road Again,” Floyd Jones (1953)

“Big Road Blues,” Canned Heat from their first album (1968)

“On the Road Again,” Canned Heat from The Beat Club (German TV, 1968)

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“Cool Water Blues” from Robert Nighthawk…Houston Stackhouse…Masters of Modern Blues with Houston Stackhouse (vocal, lead guitar), Robert Nighthawk (guitar), James “Peck” Curtis (drums), Dundee, Mississippi, 1967

“Cool Drink of Water,” Houston Stackhouse (vocal, guitar), Joe Willie Wilkins (guitar), Memphis, January 19, 1976

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“Some Cold, Rainy Day” (1974) “Just” a really straightforward, beautiful song.