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BLIND JIM BREWER
with special guest
REVEREND DAN SMITH
ON THE EARWIG MUSIC ALBUM
"TAKE IT EASY GREASY"
RELEASE DATE : MARCH 21, 2025
(USA)
Credits:
01 Jim's Highway 61 04:19
Jim Brewer - acoustic guitar and vocals
recorded at Reel Recording Company, DeKalb, IL circa January 1978
02 Corinna Corinna 02:09
Jim Brewer - acoustic guitar and vocals
recorded at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, WI July 29, 1984
03 Crawdad Hole 02:04
Jim Brewer - acoustic guitar and vocals
recorded at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, WI July 29, 1984
04 The Train 02:44
Dan Smith - harmonica and vocals
recorded at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, WI July 29, 1984
05 Cotton Needs Pickin' 03:26
Dan Smith - vocals and harmonica, Jim Brewer - autoharp
recorded at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, WI July 29, 1984
06 Babylon Is Falling Down 04:34
Dan Smith - vocals and harmonica, Jim Brewer - autoharp
recorded at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, WI July 29, 1984
07 Step It Up and Go 03:23
Jim Brewer - acoustic guitar and vocals
recorded at an Evanston, IL house concert, May 13, 1966
08 That's Alright 03:59
Jim Brewer - acoustic guitar and vocals
recorded at an Evanston, IL house concert, May 13, 1966
09 Must I Go or Stay 0347
Jim Brewer - acoustic guitar and vocals
recorded at an Evanston, IL house concert, May 13, 1966
10 Oak Top Boogie 03:03
Jim Brewer - acoustic guitar and vocals
recorded at an Evanston, IL house concert, May 13, 1966
11 Jim Brewer's Talkin' Blues 05:11
Jim Brewer - acoustic guitar and talking vocals
recorded by Bill Fonvielle at an Evanston, IL house concert, May 13, 1966
12 Don't You Lie to Me 02:46
Jim Brewer - acoustic guitar and vocals
recorded at the Gentry Remedy Company, Bloomington, IN, November 15,
13 What You Gonna Do 02:48
Jim Brewer - acoustic guitar and vocals
recorded at the Gentry Remedy Company, Bloomington, IN, November 15, 1980
14 It Hurts Me Too 03:07
Jim Brewer - acoustic guitar and vocals
recorded at the Gentry Remedy Company, Bloomington, IN, November 15, 1980
15 See See Rider 03:24
Jim Brewer - acoustic guitar and vocals
recorded at Reel Recording Company, DeKalb, IL
16 Tell Me Mama 05:15
Jim Brewer - acoustic guitar and vocals
recorded at an Evanston, IL house concert, May 13, 1966
Samples
James Brewer aka Blind Jim Brewer
born October 3, 1920 in Brookhaven, Lincoln County, Mississippi
Died June 2, 1988 at a Chicago Housing Authority apartment in Chicago, Illinois
Reverend Dan Smith
born January 23, 1911 on a plantation called the "Old Coxel Place"
near Perdue Hill in Monroe County, Alabama
died November 16, 1994 in the Bronx, New York City
Historical recordings. Legend on the corners of Maxwell Street from the 1940s, Jim Brewer, and the man who played the blues to speak with God, Rev. Dan Smith, recovered in sessions and live performances unreleased until today. It's a true privilege to listen to recordings of these two genuine blues artists. Brewer only released two albums, and Smith, although he released seven recordings, did not have the distribution and popular recognition they undoubtedly deserved. Jim Brewer, born in the Delta, was a magnificent guitarist and majestic country blues singer who arrived in Chicago in the 1940s, where luck wasn't on his side. It wasn't until the blues boom twenty years later that he had the opportunity to enter a reduced circuit that allowed him to perform across the country. Street evangelist and harmonica player Rev. Dan Smith did not record his first album until 1970 after playing during the 1960s with legends like Reverend Gary Davis or the godfather of folk music, Pete Seeger, and being recognized as one of the most hidden gospel musicians. His album "Just Keep Going On" is considered a milestone in gospel blues.
JIM BREWER DISCOGRAPHY & APPEARANCES
"Jim Brewer"
Philo - 1974
Album
"Tough Luck
Earwig - 1983
Album
"Blues from Maxwell Street"
Heritage - 1961
(1 Track)
"Ramblin' On My Mind"
Milestone - 1966
(1 Track)
"Can't Keep Fron Crying"
Testament - 1967
(1 Track)
"Blues Scene USA Vol 4"
Storyville - 1975
(1 Track)
"Chicago Blues - Live at the Fickle Pickle"
Flyright - 1979
(2 Tracks)
"I Blueskvarter Chicago 1964, Volume One"
Jefferson - 1999
(5 Tracks)
"And This Is Maxwell Street"
P-Vine - 1999
(2 Tracks)
REV. DAN SMITH DISCOGRAPHY & APPEARANCES
"Dan J. Smith"
Real - 1970
Album
"Live at Fox Hollow"
Time & Strike Music - 1991
Album
"God Is Not Dead"
Biograph - 1971
Album
"Just Keep Going On"
Glasshouse - 1992
Album
"Now Is The Time"
Biograph - 1975
Album
"A Place To Be"
Biograph - 1975
(2 Tracks)
"Leadbelly, Reverend Gary Davis & Dan Smith"
Biograph - 1990
(4 Tracks)
"Down the King's Highway"
Time & Strike Music- 2001
(5 Tracks)
"Time & Strike Sampler Volume 2"
Time & Strike Music - 2002
(1 Track)
"Home In Zion"
Global Village - 2007
Album
"Unfinished Business"
Time & Strike Music - 2008
Album
"Shall We Gather At The River"
Florida Folklife - 2001
(1 Track)
"Time & Strike Sampler Volume 1"
Time & Strike Music - 1997
(2 Tracks)
Maxwell Street back in 1964
James Brewer: Vocal & Guitar
Mother Mary Northern: Vocal & Tamborine
Carrie Robinson: Vocal
Amos Gilmore: Tambourine
Albert Holland: Guitar
Rev. Dan Smith
"God Don't Like It" - 1960s
Rev. Dan Smith - harmonica, vocals
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