| If You Can Beat Me Rockin'... | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1988 | |||
| Studio | Sound Lab Recording Studio, Atlanta | |||
| Genre | Blues | |||
| Length | 44:32 | |||
| Label | Ichiban | |||
| Producer | Gary B. B. Coleman | |||
| Gary B. B. Coleman chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Virgin Encyclopedia of the Blues |  [2] |
If You Can Beat Me Rockin'... is the second studio album by American blues musician Gary B. B. Coleman. [3] [4] [5] The album was released in 1988 by Ichiban Records label.
Niles J. Frantz of AllMusic stated: "He was influenced by Jimmy Reed, T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, and Lightnin' Hopkins, along with country & western, cajun, and early rock & roll." [1] In his review for The Virgin Encyclopedia of the Blues Gérard Herzhaft commented "The best album yet from this strange southern bluesman. Sometimes luckluster but sometimes also very tasty." [2]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Watch Where You Stroke" | Coleman | 6:00 |
| 2. | "Cloud Nine" | George Harrison | 5:38 |
| 3. | "Please Don't Dog Me" | Cora Taylor | 5:57 |
| 4. | "If the Washing Don't Get You (The Rinsing Sure Will)" | Allen Jones, Homer Banks, James Cross | 4:03 |
| 5. | "If You Can Beat Me Rockin' (You Can Have My Chair)" | Coleman | 3:30 |
| 6. | "It Just Ain't Right" | Coleman | 5:28 |
| 7. | "Rub My Back" | James Lewis, Arthur Adams | 4:52 |
| 8. | "St. James Infirmary" | Sid Fry, Frank Assunto | 4:50 |
| 9. | "Hide Away" | Freddy King, Sonny Thompson | 3:50 |
| Total length: | 44:32 | ||
New Orleans rhythm and blues is a style of rhythm and blues that originated in New Orleans. It was a direct precursor to rock and roll and strongly influenced ska. Instrumentation typically includes drums, bass, piano, horns, electric guitar, and vocals. The style is characterized by syncopated "second line" rhythms, a strong backbeat, and soulful vocals. Artists such as Roy Brown, Dave Bartholomew, and Fats Domino are representative of the New Orleans R&B sound.
Electric blues is blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930s and John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters in the 1940s. Their styles developed into West Coast blues, Detroit blues, and post-World War II Chicago blues, which differed from earlier, predominantly acoustic-style blues. By the early 1950s, Little Walter was a featured soloist on blues harmonica using a small hand-held microphone fed into a guitar amplifier. Although it took a little longer, the electric bass guitar gradually replaced the stand-up bass by the early 1960s. Electric organs and especially keyboards later became widely used in electric blues.
Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom is the third studio album by Tom Tom Club, released in 1988. It includes a cover of the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale", with David Byrne, Lou Reed, and Jerry Harrison. The track "Suboceana" was released as a single in the UK in late 1988 and received some radio airplay. In the US, a 12-inch single of the song was released, which featured a remix by Marshall Jefferson, and contains the track "Devil, Does Your Dog Bite". That song is a bonus on the Japanese issue of the album that has the original 10 songs. "Challenge of the Love Warriors" is played over the ending credits of Mary Lambert's 1987 mystery thriller Siesta though it is not included on the soundtrack album, also released in 1987, from Miles Davis and Marcus Miller.
The Honeydrippers were an English rock and roll band of the 1980s. Former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant formed the group in 1981 to satisfy his long-time goal of having a rock band with a heavy rhythm and blues basis. Formed originally in Worcestershire from an existing cover band, it has had many members come and go, including fellow former Led Zeppelin member Jimmy Page; Jeff Beck ; and other friends and well-known studio musicians including original Judas Priest guitarist Ernest Chataway. The band released only one recording, an EP titled The Honeydrippers: Volume One, on 12 November 1984.
"Baby, Please Don't Go" is a traditional blues song that was popularized by Delta blues musician Big Joe Williams in 1935. Many cover versions followed, leading to its description as "one of the most played, arranged, and rearranged pieces in blues history" by French music historian Gérard Herzhaft.
"Rock Me Baby" is a blues standard that has become one of the most recorded blues songs of all time. It originated as "Rockin' and Rollin'", a 1951 song by Lil' Son Jackson, itself inspired by earlier blues. Renditions by Muddy Waters and B.B. King made the song well-known. When B.B. King's recording of "Rock Me Baby" was released in 1964, it became his first single to reach the Top 40 in Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart.
"Wang Dang Doodle" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon. Music critic Mike Rowe calls it a party song in an urban style with its massive, rolling, exciting beat. It was first recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1960 and released by Chess Records in 1961. In 1965, Dixon and Leonard Chess persuaded Koko Taylor to record it for Checker Records, a Chess subsidiary. Taylor's rendition quickly became a hit, reaching number thirteen on the Billboard R&B chart and number 58 on the pop chart. "Wang Dang Doodle" became a blues standard and has been recorded by various artists. Taylor's version was added to the United States National Recording Registry in 2023.
When Love Comes Calling is an album by American singer Deniece Williams, released in June 1979 on ARC/Columbia Records. The album peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard Top Soul LPs chart.
Gary B.B. Coleman was an American soul blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and record producer.
Johnny B. Moore is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a member of Koko Taylor's backing band in the mid-1970s. He has recorded nine solo albums since 1987. Moore's music retains a link to the earlier Chicago blues of Jimmy Reed and Muddy Waters, who also travelled to Chicago from the Mississippi Delta.
"You Don't Love Me" is a rhythm and blues-influenced blues song recorded by American musician Willie Cobbs in 1960. Adapted from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "She's Fine She's Mine", it is Cobbs' best-known song and features a guitar figure and melody that has appealed to musicians in several genres.
"Don't You Lie to Me" is a song recorded by Tampa Red in 1940. It became popular with blues artists, leading it to become a blues standard. The song was also interpreted by rock and roll pioneers Fats Domino and Chuck Berry.
Blues Summit is the thirty-third studio album by B.B. King released in 1993 through the MCA label. The album reached peak positions of number 182 on the Billboard 200, and number 64 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart. The album won a Grammy Award in 1994 for Best Traditional Blues Album.
Nothin' but the Blues is a debut studio album by American blues musician Gary B. B. Coleman. The album was initially released by Coleman via his own Mister B.s Records label in 1986 and re-released in 1987 by Ichiban Records label to positive critical reviews.
One Night Stand is the third studio album by American bluesman Gary B. B. Coleman. The album was released in 1989 by Ichiban Records label.
Dancin' My Blues Away is the fourth studio album by American bluesman Gary B. B. Coleman released in 1990 by Ichiban Records label.
Romance Without Finance Is a Nuisance is a studio album by American bluesman Gary B.B. Coleman. The album was released in 1991 by Ichiban Records label and contains eight compositions written by Coleman.
The Best of Gary B.B. Coleman is a compilation album by American bluesman Gary B.B. Coleman. The album was released in 1991 by Ichiban Records label and contains 12 compositions from previous Coleman's releases.
Too Much Weekend is a studio album by American bluesman Gary B.B. Coleman. The album was released on July 27, 1992 by Ichiban Records label. This is his seventh and final album for Ichiban. Too Much Weekend was re-released on CD on December 13, 2010.
Cocaine Annie is the final studio album by American bluesman Gary B.B. Coleman. To record this release in 1993, he left Ichiban Records with which he had spent his previous five years and issued Cocaine Annie on his own imprint called Boola Boo. Later in 1994, the album was re-released by Icehouse Records. The album includes two covers by Albert King: "Personal Manager" and "Answer to the Laundromat Blues". The album was released on CD on January 13, 2010.