Nighthawk,Robert Collection 1937-52 CD

Robert Nighthawk, also known during the early years of his career by the name of Robert Lee McCoy, as well as other pseudonyms like Ramblin' Bob and Peetie's Boy, was a blues slide guitarist, singer and songwriter whose influence far outweighs the recognition and visibility his recordings have enjoyed in subsequent decades. Born in Arkansas, he was an itinerant musician, working in Memphis and St. Louis, before doing his first recordings for Bluebird in 1937 in Chicago, and continued his rambling lifestyle during what was a fitful recording career over the next fifteen years. Having recorded initially for Bluebird with Sonny Boy Williamson I (the original "Sonny Boy") as Robert Lee McCoy and Ramblin' Bob, he recorded in 1940 for Decca under the name Peetie's Boy, and during the late '40s for Aristocrat and it's later guise as Chess under the name Robert Nighthawk, taking the name from the best-known title from his first sessions "Prowlin' Nighthawk". His final recordings during this era were in 1951 and '52 for the United and States labels. He was rediscovered during the '60s and enjoyed a brief revival before his death in 1967. This great-value 48-track 2-CD set comprises the main body of his significant recorded output under his own names, with noted performers like Speckled Red, Willie Dixon, Ernest Lane, Pinetop Smith and Ransom Knowling featured on his sessions, and is a showcase for the intense bottleneck style he developed as he made the transition from acoustic to electric guitar which charted the way for the likes of Elmore James and others, for whom he was a significant influence.

1. Prowling Night Hawk 2. Lonesome World 3. Don't Mistreat Your Woman 4. Sweet Pepper Mama 5. G-Man 6. Tough Luck 7. Mean Black Cat 8. I Have Spent My Bonus 9. Mamie Lee 10. Take It Easy Baby 11. Brickyard 12. My Friends Have Forsaken Me 13. C.N.A 14. She's Got What It Takes 15. Big Apple Blues 16. Ol' Mose 17. Every Day and Night 18. Next Door Neighbour 19. Good Gambling 20. You're All I've Got to Live for 21. Freight Train Blues 22. Gonna Keep It for My Daddy 23. Mama Don't Allow Me to Stay Out All Night Long 24. Friars Point Blues 25. Never Leave Me 26. My Sweet Lovin' Woman 27. Down the Line 28. Handsome Lover 29. She Knows How to Love a Man 30. Annie Lee Blues - the Nighthawks 31. Black Angel Blues - the Nighthawks 32. Return Mail Blues 33. Sugar Papa 34. Six Three O - the Nighthawks 35. Jackson Town Gal - the Nighthawks 36. Good News 37. Prison Bound 38. Kansas City Blues 39. Crying Won't Help You 40. Feel So Bad 41. Take It Easy Baby 42. Nighthawk Boogie 43. The Moon Is Rising 44. Maggie Campbell 45. Seventy Four 46. Bricks in My Pillow 47. Us Boogie 48. You Missed a Good Man