Midnight Lady Called the Blues | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1986 | |||
Label | Muse [1] | |||
Producer | Doc Pomus, Dr. John | |||
Jimmy Witherspoon chronology | ||||
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Midnight Lady Called the Blues is an album by the American musician Jimmy Witherspoon, released in 1986. [2] [3] It was recorded shortly after Witherspoon recovered from throat cancer. [4] Midnight Lady Called the Blues was dedicated to Big Joe Turner. [5]
The album was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male" category. [6]
The album was cowritten and coproduced by Doc Pomus and Dr. John; it was allegedly recorded in eight hours. [7] [8] [9] It was the first time that Witherspoon had songs written explicitly for him. [10] Hank Crawford played saxophone on the album. [9] Bernard Purdie played drums. [11]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [12] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [13] |
MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide | [14] |
The Miami Herald determined that, "while Witherspoon is responsible for the blues vibrations in the studio, every musician shines in support." [9] The Washington Post called Midnight Lady Sings the Blues "one of the grittiest R&B albums he's ever made." [11] Cash Box deemed it "a saucy, creamy, steamy LP." [15]
AllMusic wrote that "the spirited set has more than its share of interesting and exciting moments despite the obscurity of the material." [12] The Guardian noted that the album "gave [Witherspoon's] admirers almost unalloyed satisfaction, thanks partly to sympathetic collaborators, but chiefly to his sheer professionalism." [16] MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide dismissed it as "bland, uninspired." [14]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "New York Blues" | |
2. | "The Barber" | |
3. | "Blinded by Love" | |
4. | "Happy Hard Times" | |
5. | "Something Rotten in East St. Louis" | |
6. | "Midnight Lady Called the Blues" | |
7. | "Blues Hall of Fame" |
Jerome Solon Felder, known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer in 1992, the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1992), and the Blues Hall of Fame (2012).
Leiber and Stoller were an American Grammy award-winning songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerry Leiber and composer Mike Stoller. As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wrote numerous standards for Broadway.
James Witherspoon was an American jump blues singer.
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