This transcript of the radio show is an approximation of what I said in the show. The real spoken parts may differ slightly.
And today we have the start of a legendary record label, here on the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman. You may not know the Philo label, that was started in 1945, but more likely you have heard of the Alladin label and that's what the name was changed into in early '46 - and that became one of the most succesful record labels on the West Coast.
A label that brought us some of the greatest of Rhythm & Blues including Lester Young, Johnny Moore's Three Blazers and later their lead singer solo Charles Brown, Helen Humes, Wynonie Harris, Amos Milburn , Floyd Dixon, Lowell Fulson, the Five Keys and many, many more.
But today's spotlight is on their first year of operation when they issued as the Philo label. And we'll start with Philo 101, their first release. Here is Illinois Jacket with a great instrumental double-sider, Flying Home.
101 - Illinois Jacket - Flying Home
103 - Wynonie Harris - Around The Clock
And another double-sider - terrific, great music. Wynonie Harris was that on Philo 103 with Around the Clock and that was his version - or at least heavily inspired on Trixie Smith's 1922 blues My Man Rocks Me (With One Steady Roll). In that song she sings about the lovemaking with her man around the clock, and just like in this song she notices the clock striking another hour. Finally the Rock 'n Roll classic Rock Around The Clock is inspired on this theme.
Philo released one more single of Wynonie Harris. That was Cock A Doodle Doo - number 104.
104 - Wynonie Harris - Cock-A-Doodle-Doo
106 - Helen Humes - Be Baba Leba
One of my favourite female blues singers, Helen Humes with - maybe you can call it her signature song, Be Baba Leba, on Philo 106, the first big hit for the label - it went number 3 on the Race Record list in December 1945. The release before was also hers, titled He May Be You Man, also originally a 1922 blues that I know from Trixie Smith, and by the thirties already this had become a classic women's blues.
Helen Humes had had seven releases on Philo before the name changed into Aladdin. The label was founded by two brothers, Eddie and Leo Mesner, and named after the record store they owned. The labels came in all kinds of colours mostly on a silver background and featured an Aladdin's lamp, where the name of the label formed of the smoke that came out. Radio manufacturer Philco, that was planning to start a record label themselves, forced them to change their name.
And so they came up with Med-Lee - starting with the initial of their last name, and their first names Ed and Lee for Leo, and they advertised it already, but apparently they changed their minds and they named the label after the lamp that featured their Philo releases - Aladdin. Well - that name stood and with it they became one of the most succesful labels in Rhythm & Blues.
So let's go back to the music that was on them and continu with Philo 107, again Helen Humes backed up by Bill Doggett and his band, with the Unlucky Woman.
107 - Helen Humes & Bill Doggett Octet - Unlucky Woman
108 - Jay Mcshann - Walkin' blues
Walking the Blues - Jay McShann and his band on Philo 108 and it took me some time to find out who did the vocals on this, until I found the tracklisting of an album titled Jumpin' the Blues that credit Numa Lee Davis. And she was also on release number 109 titled When I've Been Drinking.
109 - Jay McShann feat. Numa Lee Davis - When I've Been Drinking
110 - Jay McShann - Merry-Go-Round-Blues
And more of Jay McShann and his band, the Merry-Go-Round-Blues with Charles 'Crown Prince' Waterford on vocals, and that was Philo 110.
On 111 we find another great star but one that comes with a story. Johnny Moore's three blazers constisted of singer Charles Brown, bass player Eddie Williams and Johnny Moore on the guitar. Johnny Moore did not sign them with any record label so their releases were on various West coast labels such as Modern, Exclusive and Philo. Now Charles Brown was the real star of the trio, but Moore didn't want his name on the record credits. Finally the lack of reward made Charles Brown step out of the group and start a succesful solo career.
Here are Johnny Moore's Three Blazers, with Charles Brown on lead, with Baby Don't You Cry.
111 - Johnny Moore's Three Blazers - Baby Don't You Cry
112 - Johnny Moore's Three Blazers - Drifting Blues
More of Johnny Moore's Three Blazers - the Drifting Blues that went number two on the Billboard list of race records - as the R&B list was named back then. Of course the vocals were Charles Brown and if you listen to the earliest of Ray Charles recordings, it's easy to hear how he was influenced by Charles Brown.
Philo numbers 113 and 114 remained unissued - so next up is number 115 with Cousin Joe and My Love Comes Tumbling Down.
115 - Cousin Joe - My Love Comes Tumblin' Down
116 - Howard Mcghee - Lifestream
Cousin Joe had four subsequent releases for Philo, and all four of them had a track of Howard McGhee on the flip. From him you heard Lifestream, the flip of Couin Joe's Larency Hearted Woman.
So the numbers 117 and 118 were also recordings for Cousin Joe, whose real name was Pleasant Joseph, one of the few bluesmen who wrote an autobiography and thanks to this rare effort, we know a lot about him. He grew up in New Orleans but he toured the country extensively playing with the great names of New York, and the road must have brought him to Los Angeles too where he did his session for Philo. You'll get one more of him - Just another Woman, that was released as Philo 117.
117 - Cousin Joe - Just Another Woman
122 - Helen Humes - Central Avenue Boogie
123 - Lester Young - D.B. Blues
The D.B. Blues - That was Lester Young and that was released on Philo 123 and before that you got the Central Avenue Boogie of Helen Humes on number 122. And unfortunately that'll be all for today folks - I coulnd't stretch the hour longer than that. I had to leave some real nice issues on Philo out simply because there is no more time. Through the forthcoming shows, for sure I'll play them simply because Philo and Alladin brought some of the best of R&B in the grooves. Number 126 was the last to be released as Philo, another record of Helen Humes, who never saw a release of her on the new name of the label. Now it's still possible to find a record of her on Aladdin, simply because re-issues of the older Philo records were done as Aladdin. And they just kept on numbering the Aladdin discs where they left as Philo so the first release on Aladdin was 127.
And as my time is up, there's only time to say my usual words to end this episode of the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman. Like the e-mail address rockingdutchman@rocketmail.com and the website that you most easily find with a google search for the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman. As for now byebye and have a rocking day. See you next time here on the the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman!