TONY SMITH & ARISTOCRATS Rare Jump Blues Exotica 45 MAD

$

26

Rare 45 by Tony Smith & His Aristocrats. Songs are "Big Nellie's" and "Rippling Waters". Original U.S. issue on Chicago label Mad Records #1006. This is the first Mad release to feature the new label design. Early issue with Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. (U.S. Patent Office printed on label) and Seeley Music Inc. B.M.I. later pressings were Josette Pub. B.M.I. and U.S. Pat. Off. was removed. Condition is VG+ (Big Nellie's)/VG- (Rippling Waters) light surface marks on Big Nellie's side, plays excellent, Rippling Waters side has a long surface scratch

"Rippling Waters" (designated as Side 1 on the 45) is a piano feature for Gilmore; it borders on exotica and would have been right at home on a Sun Ra recording from the same era. "Big Nellie's" sounds like a closing instrumental, with members of the band joining ensemble-style to shout out "going down to Big Nellie's." The band played this number throughout their career to energize their audiences.

Tony Smith and the Aristocrats, who organized in 1947, represented the proto-rock 'n' roll element of postwar African American club music. The group had the typical instrumentation of a 1940s jazz combo--saxophone, piano, guitar, and drums--but related leader and drummer of the group, Tony Smith, "All our music we made had a more driving beat than other groups, because I was heavy on the drums. I really did keep my foot heavy on the drums." In their heyday in the late 1940s, Tony Smith and the Aristocrats developed a strong club presence, but failed to get on record. It was not until 1956 that the group first hit the studios, for Mercury. Tony Smith was born in St. Louis (on July 28, 1926), and while attending Sumner High formed his first band. After the war, he moved up to Chicago and formed the Aristocrats, in 1947. Chicago served as a magnet for black entertainment, as all the other members of this group came from the South--Bill Casimir (tenor saxophone), from New Orleans; Curley Jackson (piano), from Mississippi; and Lynn Sherrill (guitar) from Dallas. Sherrill (born February 28, 1918) was somewhat older than the other members, and Smith recruited him by going to the Musicians Union and asking for a guitarist. The group's first club date of note was at Ada's Chicken Shack & Tavern (5114 Prairie), on the city's South Side. Nearly at the same time, however, a Lefty Bates group, the Aristo-Kats, were playing regularly in town and promoting their latest Victor recording, "Jack, You're Dead." Thus, discographers and historians have long confused the two groups. By the early 1950s, the group, now called Tony Smith and the Aristocrats of Rhythm, For nine years during the decade, the group performed at The Whip (4334 North Pulaski Road). Tony Smith got in the nightclub business, joining with bandleader Harold Youngblood to open the Cotton Club (6249 South Cottage Grove) in early 1954. One of the acts that played the club was Jimmie "Gene" Gilmore, who wa bs promoted as a romantic balladeer. Gilmore had been around, having performed as a solo pianist/singer for some years, after beginning his career in the early 1940s with two Willie Dixon groups, the Five Breezes and the Four Jumps of Jive. In 1956, Smith's group finally got on record, recording a session of jump tunes for Mercury--"Wiggle Waggle Walk" b/w "Wacker Drive." By this time, Jimmy Gilmore had taken over the piano stool from Curley Jackson, and he was featured as the primary vocalist.

Check the clip below to hear a soundclip from the actual record being offered here.

BIG NELLIE'S

RIPPLING WATERS

Grading Scale:

10: Mint Perfect record, clean gloss, no marks, beautiful in every way. Very few records will make mint.

9: Mint- Very clean, only a few light marks. A great record.

8: Excellent (VG++) Condition between 7 and 9.

7: VG+ Used, but not abused. Light scratches only. Should play, and look very nice with minimal surface noise.

6: VG Still a nice record. Looks a bit used, light scratches, no gouges, still plays well, some surface noise.

5: VG- A bit rough but will play ok. Fills the collection.

4: G Plays very rough. Has multiple scratches. What a bargain!!

3-2-1: It only goes down from here.

*** I'll gladly take any record back if not satisfied. ***

Shipping is: $3.50 US/Canada-air// $6.50 UK/Europe/Asia/Pacific Rim. Will combine shipping on multiple auction wins (.50 each additional 45 in US or Canada. For overseas $1.50 each additional, larger break the more you win).