Elmore James / Fleetwood Mac / The Nighthawks / Peter Green

Splinter Group

It probably wasn’t difficult to justify, (to himself, anyway), Elmore James’s aversion to contracts.

He had signed on with Trumpet Records in January of 1951, mainly working on sessions for other artists on the label, notably Sonny Boy Williamson II.  He also worked with Willie Love and His Three Aces and with Tiny Kennedy for a session from which no tracks were released at the time.

In August of 1951, he recorded one song (supposedly without his knowledge); the number would become his signature and a touchstone for countless blues guitarists for generations, an “update” of Robert Johnson’s ‘I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom’.

He never did record a second song for the label.

In January of 1952, he began working for the Bihari Brothers’s family of labels, including Meteor, Modern and Flair.  Three singles were released under his own name and he played on a session for his saxophone player J. T. Brown.

In January of 1953, he did a session for the Bihari’s chief rivals, the Chess brothers.  Five numbers were recorded, with three remaining in the vaults.  The one released single was quickly pulled off the market when the Bihari’s threatened a lawsuit.

Once back with the Biharis, they set him to recording and doing session work once again.  His singles were released on their Flair label starting in 1953. 

He left the reservation twice that year, once to do a session with Junior Wells for the States label, and then again in October of that year to record with Atlantic Records for a session with Big Joe Turner.  While at Atlantic, he also backed his pianist, Little Johnny Jones on a five song session.

Despite his straying, he cut his last session for the Biharis in January of 1956.

In April of 1957 he began to record for Mel London.  His records were released on London’s Chief label and licensed for release on Vee-Jay.

That relationship ended after two years and James began recording for Bobby Robinson from 1959 to his passing in April of 1963.

In 1960, he recorded for Chess once again, with four titles being recorded, one, ‘The Sun Is Shining’ in two takes.  Again, one single was released from the session and the other numbers remaining in the vault.

After James’s unexpected passing, a minor industry was inaugurated in releasing previously unreleased and long out of print Elmore James recordings.

In 1968, Chess Records licensed eight Elmore James tracks to the Blue Horizon label in the U.K.  Blue Horizon combined these with four more by John Brim on a compilation titled “Tough”.  Four of James’s titles were from the five song 1953 session (only the instrumental ‘Country Boogie’ was left off; and four were from the 1960 session including the uncut version of ‘The Sun Is Shining’ (the single release of the song was edited for time) and ‘Madison Blues’. 

For reasons unknown, the two original B-sides from the singles had their titles changed for this release, with ‘She Just Won’t Do Right’ (a ‘Dust My Broom’ variation) changed to ‘Going For Good’ and ‘Talk to Me Baby’ changed to ‘I Can’t Hold Out’.

It is easy to imagine Blue Horizon owner Mike Vernon happily sharing this treasure trove of “new” recordings with Jeremy Spencer and Spencer was the first to release a cover of ‘Madison Blues’ on record.

               The song was classic Elmore James (meaning exactly what you wanted from him); gritty vocals, stinging guitar, Little Johnny Jones’s always meticulous piano fills, J. T. Brown’s “billy goat” saxophone and propulsive drumming. 

               Why this wasn’t chosen as the A-side of a single remains a mystery.

Elmore James

Elmore James: guitar & vocal / J. T. Brown: tenor saxophone /

Johnny Jones: piano / Homesick James: guitar /

Henry “Sneaky Joe” Harris or Sam Myers: drums

Recorded April 14, 1960, Chicago, IL

Released on Tough (Blue Horizon 1968)

Elmore James – Madison Blues –

               It should come as no surprise that Spencer was all over these “new” Elmore James recordings, rolling out his take on ‘Madison Blues’ during the band’s (at the time, a quartet) during their first U.S. tour in the summer of 1968.

Two performances were captured on tape within weeks of one another.  Here is the earliest, from the Carousel Ballroom.

Fleetwood Mac

Peter Green: vocal & guitar /

Jeremy Spencer: vocal & guitar /

John McVie: bass / Mick Fleetwood: drums

Probable venue:

Carousel Ballroom, San Francisco, CA

Possible dates: June 20, 22 or 23 – 1968

Released on: Before The Beginning 1968 – 1970 Live & Demo Sessions (Sony 2019)

Fleetwood Mac – Madison Blues (4:34) –

The Blue Horizon label owner, Mike Vernon, with help from Chicago Blues potentate Willie Dixon, arranged for Fleetwood Mac to record at Chess Records’s new studio Ter-Mar in Chicago alongside some of the city’s finest session players.

Fleetwood Mac

Jeremy Spencer: vocal & guitar / J.T. Brown: tenor sax /

Danny Kirwan: guitar /

Willie Dixon: upright bass / Mick Fleetwood: drums

Recorded January 04, 1969 Ter-Mar Studios, Chicago IL – released December 05, 1969

Released on: The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions 1967 – 1969 (Blue Horizon 1999)

Fleetwood Mac – Madison Blues (4:35)

The rhythm section builds the momentum to lead Spencer into the breaks where Spencer plays his part and then hands it over to Brown. Toward the end of Brown’s break, the rhythm section again begins to pick up the energy to launch Spencer into the next verse.

On the second break, Dixon comes on strong throughout Spencer’s solo, his elastic bass sound providing the plummeting drop after Spencer’s steady climb to the top of the roller coaster. Brown’s saxophone lines outline the twists and turns of the track as Kirwan echoes the roar of the wind and the shouts of excitement as the ride rolls on.

Later in 1969, Chess Records released an expanded version of the Blue Horizon compilation “Tough” under the title “Whose Muddy Shoes” in the U.S..  The previously issued James instrumental ‘Country Boogie’, was included under the title ‘Tool Bag Boogie’ and three additional John Brim numbers were also added.

               Almost all of the posthumous Elmore James compilations released over the next ten years were built around his earliest recordings for the Bihari family of labels, and his later recordings for Bobby Robinson; the Chess recordings could only be found on the Blue Horizon and Chess compilations and those songs didn’t  draw many covers.

               The next to come to market was from the Washington D. C. Blues band, The Nighthawks, with guitarist Jimmy Thackery.

               They put a different spin on James’s number by dropping the saxophone and putting the emphasis on Mark Wenner’s harmonica.

The Nighthawks

Mark Wenner: vocal & harmonica /

Jimmy Thackery: guitar /

Jan Zukowski: bass / Pete Ragusa: drums

Recorded 1976

Released on Open All Nite (Adelphi 1976)

The Nighthawks – Madison Blues (2:56)

A year later, George Thorogood and The Destroyers brought the song to its widest audience yet when they recorded it for their self-titled debut LP.

In 1999, Peter Green revisited the number with his band The Splinter Group, on their third album, “Destiny Road”.  Produced by Pete Brown, it is unknown who brought the song to the session.

Green too uses harmonica to keep the engine stoked, along with his nephew, Joe Green on tenor saxophone and Derek Nash on baritone.

Peter Green Splinter Group

Peter Green: vocal, harmonica & slide guitar /

Nigel Watson: rhythm guitar / Roger Cotton: piano /

Joe Green: tenor saxophone / Derek Nash: baritone saxophone /

Pete Stroud: bass / Larry Tolfree: drums

Recorded 1999

Released on Destiny Road (Artisan Recordings 1999)

Peter Green Splinter Group – Madison Blues (3:40)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_b2R9YG3uE&list=RDg_b2R9YG3uE&start_radio=1