Sleepy John Estes • Street Car Blues

 

Biography
by Barry Lee Pearson
Big Bill Broonzy called John Estes' style of singing "crying" the blues because of its overt emotional quality. Actually, his vocal style harks back to his tenure as a work-gang leader for a railroad maintenance crew, where his vocal improvisations and keen, cutting voice set the pace for work activities. Nicknamed "Sleepy" John Estes, supposedly because of his ability to sleep standing up, he teamed with mandolinist Yank Rachell and harmonica player Hammie Nixon to play the house party circuit in and around Brownsville in the early 1920s. The same team reunited 40 years later to record for Delmark and play the festival circuit. Never an outstanding guitarist, Estes relied on his expressive voice to carry his music, and the recordings he made from 1929 on have enormous appeal and remain remarkably accessible today.

Despite the fact that he performed for mixed Black and white audiences in string bands, jug bands, and medicine show formats, his music retains a distinct ethnicity and has a particularly plaintive sound. Astonishingly, he recorded for six decades on Victor, Decca, Bluebird, Ora Nelle, Sun, Delmark, and others. Over the course of his career, his music remained simple yet powerful, and despite his sojourns to Memphis and Chicago he retained a traditional down-home sound. Some of his songs are deeply personal statements about his community and life, such as "Lawyer Clark" and "Floating Bridge." Other compositions have universal appeal ("Drop Down Mama" and "Someday Baby") and went on to become mainstays in the repertoires of countless musicians. One of the true masters of his idiom, he lived in poverty, yet was somehow capable of turning his experiences and the conditions of his life into compelling art.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sleepy-john-estes-mn0000022845/biography

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Biografía
por Barry Lee Pearson
Big Bill Broonzy llamó al estilo de canto de John Estes "crying" (llorar) el blues por su evidente calidad emocional. En realidad, su estilo vocal se remonta a su época de líder de una cuadrilla de mantenimiento del ferrocarril, donde sus improvisaciones vocales y su voz aguda y cortante marcaban el ritmo de las actividades laborales. Apodado "Sleepy" John Estes, supuestamente por su capacidad para dormir de pie, se asoció con el mandolinista Yank Rachell y el armonicista Hammie Nixon para tocar en el circuito de fiestas domésticas en Brownsville y sus alrededores a principios de la década de 1920. El mismo equipo se reunió 40 años después para grabar para Delmark y tocar en el circuito de festivales. Estes nunca fue un guitarrista destacado, sino que se apoyó en su expresiva voz para llevar su música, y las grabaciones que hizo a partir de 1929 tienen un enorme atractivo y siguen siendo notablemente accesibles hoy en día.

A pesar de que actuó para un público mixto de blancos y negros en bandas de cuerda, bandas de jarra y formatos de espectáculos de medicina, su música conserva un marcado carácter étnico y tiene un sonido especialmente lastimero. Sorprendentemente, grabó durante seis décadas en Victor, Decca, Bluebird, Ora Nelle, Sun, Delmark y otros. A lo largo de su carrera, su música siguió siendo sencilla pero poderosa, y a pesar de sus estancias en Memphis y Chicago, conservó un sonido tradicional y casero. Algunas de sus canciones son declaraciones profundamente personales sobre su comunidad y su vida, como "Lawyer Clark" y "Floating Bridge". Otras composiciones tienen un atractivo universal ("Drop Down Mama" y "Someday Baby") y se convirtieron en pilares del repertorio de innumerables músicos. Uno de los verdaderos maestros de su lenguaje, vivió en la pobreza, pero fue capaz de convertir sus experiencias y las condiciones de su vida en un arte convincente.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sleepy-john-estes-mn0000022845/biography

Tracklist:
1. Drop Down Mama
2. Stop That Thing
3. Drop Down
4. Someday Baby Blues
5. Brownsville Blues
6. Milk Cow Blues
7. Easin' Back To Tennessee
8. Street Car Blues
9. Little Laura Blues
10. Poor Man's Friend
11. Raildoad Police Blues
12. Working Man Blues
13. Jailhouse Blues
14. Lawyer Clark Blues
15. Mary Come Home
16. Airplane Blues
17. Fire Department Blues
18. Everybody Oughta Make A Change
19. Jack And Jill Blues
20. Liquor Store Blues
21. Floating Bridge
22. Mailman Blues
23. Mr. Tom's Blues
24. Need More Blues
25. Hobo Jungle Blues
26. Time Is Drawing Near

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