Arbee Stidham - The Complete Recordings Vol. 2 (1951-1957) - 2004

Notes: The memory of Arbee Stidham (1917-1988) may have dimmed in recent years, but a half century ago he stood as one of America's major blues figures. The Arkansas-born, Chicago-based singer-guitarist hit the top of Billboard's "race" chart in 1948 with his recording of "My Heart Belongs to You" and recorded prolifically over the next two decades for a variety of labels. He retired from music in 1974.

Biography: An exciting and expressive jazz-influenced blues vocalist, Arbee Stidham also plays alto sax, guitar and harmonica. His father Luddie Stidham worked in Jimme Lunceford's orchestra, while his uncle was a leader of the Memphis Jug Band. Stidham formed the Southern Syncopators and played various clubs in his native Arkansas in the '30s. He appeared on Little Rock radio station KARK and his band backed Bessie Smith on a Southern tour in 1930 and 1931. Stidham frequently performed in Little Rock and Memphis until he moved to Chicago in the '40s. Stidham recorded with Lucky Millinder's Orchestra for Victor in the '40s for Victor. He did his own sessions for Victor, Sittin' In, Checker, Abco, Prestige/Bluesville, Mainstream, and Folkways in the '50s and '60s, and appeared in the film The Bluesman in 1973. Stidham also made many festival and club appearances nationwide and internationally. He did occasional blues lectures at Cleveland State University in the '70s. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide

* Born: February 09, 1917, DeValls Bluff, AR
* Active: '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s
* Genres: Blues
* Instrument: Vocals, Guitar
* Representative Albums:

"Complete Recordings, Vol. 1: 1947-1951"
"Complete Recordings, Vol. 2: 1951-1957"

Review: Arbee Stidham, born on February 9, 1917 in Devalls Bluff, Arkansas, was a child musical prodigy who came by his talent honestly (he could play the clarinet, alto sax and harmonica and formed a band called The Southern Syncopaters before he hit his teens), as his father Luddie performed with the Jimmie Lunceford orchestra while an uncle, at one time, headed the famous Memphis Jug Band. By 1945 he had relocated to Chicago where, after working in Lucky Millinder's orchestra, Stidham eventually came into contact with Lester Melrose who, in 1947, got him a contract with one of the giants of the industry, RCA Victor. That, you would think, would lead, if not necessarily to a long, successful recording career, then at least to a modest string of hits, considering their ability to promote their artists - unlike some smaller independent labels. And it certainly looked that way when My Heart Belongs to You rocketed to # 1 Most Played Juke Box Race Records - a forerunner of what is now known as the R&B charts - in the summer of 1948 b/w I Found Out For Myself on RCA Victor 20-2572. But that was to be it insofar as a hit record was concerned as the next RCA release, In Love With You b/w I Don't Know How To Cry (RCA Victor 20-2767) failed to even dent the lower regions of those same charts. Nothing else he turned out would work either, and that included recording for a multitude of companies through the 1950s, a period where he was injured in a car accident, the results of which left him unable to play the sax. So, with the guidance of R&B legend Big Bill Broonzy, he turned to the guitar with equal dexterity. Output in that decade included three singles for Morty and Bob Shad's Sittin' In With in New York City in 1951 (Nothing Seems Right b/w Sixty Minutes To Wait on Sittin' In With 596, Feelin' Blue And Low b/w I've Got News For You Baby on Sittin' In With 606, and Bad Dream Blues b/w Why Did I Fall In Love With You? on Sittin' In With 617), two for the Checker subsidiary of Chess belonging to Leonard and Phil Chess in 1953 (Someone To Tell My Troubles To b/w Mr. Commissioner on Checker 751, and Don't Set Your Cap For Me b/w I Don't Play on Checker 778), and one as a vocalist with the Lefty Banks Band on States in 1957 (I Stayed Away Too Long b/w Look Me Straight In The Eye on States 164. There may also have been a release or two by Eli Toscana and Joe Brown's Abco Records in Chicago in 1956. In terms of albums, Arbee had one for Prestige Records' Bluesville label in 1960 titled Tired Of Waiting For You (also available here), and a couple more for Folkways and Mainstream, right into the early 1970s, while also lecturing on the Blues at Cleveland State University. He passed away at age 71 in April 1988. The tracks in this first of two volumes covering his complete output, with excellent sound reproduction, are: 1. In Love With You; 2. I Found Out For Myself; 3. I Don't Know How To Cry; 4. My Heart Belongs To You; 5. Your Heart Belongs To Me; 6. Stidham Jumps; 7. What The Blues Will Do; 8. A Heart Full Of Misery; 9. Falling Blues; 10. You'll Be Sorry; 11. I've Got So Many Worries; 12. So Tired Of Dreaming; 13. I Send My Regrets; 14. Barbecue Lounge; 15. Feel Like I'm Losing You; 16. Let My Dreams Come True; 17. Squeeze Me Baby; 18. Any Time You Ring My Bell; 19. Nothing Seems Right; 20. Sixty Minutes To Wait.

This second volume from the European distributor contains the following tracks:

1. Feeling Blue And Low; 2. I've Got News For You Baby; 3. Bad Dream Blues; 4. Why Did I Fall In Love With You?; 5. I'm In The Mood; 6. I Want To Rock; 7. Someone To Tell My Troubles To; 8. Mr. Commissioner (master); 9. Mr. Commissioner (alt take); 10. Baby Stop The Clock; 11. Blues Why Do You Pick On Me?; 12. Don't Set Your Cap For Me; 13. I Don't Play; 14. I'll Always Remember You; 15. Meet Me Halfway; 16. When I Find My Baby; 17. Please Let It Be Me; 18. Look Me Straight In The Eye (alt take); 19. Look Me Straight In The Eye (master); 20. I Stayed Away Too Long (alt take)' 21. I Stayed Away Too Long (2nd alt take); 22. I Stayed Away Too Long (master). ~ Amazon Customer