Various Artists - Blues Masters, Volume 3: Texas Blues (1992)

This blues compilation is Volume 3 in an extensive blues series of CDs from Rhino which is slowly finding its way to my collection. The previous Texas blues compilation that appeared in this space focused on the southeastern part of the state, including Houston (that area is represented on the map below in pink/red). This compilation features artists from the central and northeastern parts of the state in a swath that includes Austin, the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and parts of East Texas (blue on the map).

Only two artists appear on both compilations: Albert Collins & Gatemouth Brown. It is hardly surprising that the part of the state known for creation of the Texas blues subgenre is on the eastern side, closest to Mississippi, birth of the blues. Chronologically arranged (for the most part), this disc takes us from early Texas blues with its similarity to Texas swing music, through the introduction of boogie and R&B influences in the '50s and '60s, culminating in the rise in the '80s of Stevie Ray Vaughan's scorching electric blues.

Excellent, detailed liner notes by writer and music critic Alan Govenar, author of Meeting the Blues: The Rise of the Texas Sound.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:

	Song	Artist	Year
1	Matchbox Blues	Blind Lemon Jefferson	1927
2	Cravin' A Man Blues	Lilian Glinn	1930
3	Driftin' Blues	Charles Brown	1945
4	Short-Haired Woman	Lightnin' Hopkins	1947
5	Call It Stormy Monday	T-Bone Walker	1947
6	Lucy Mae Blues	Frankie Lee Sims	1953
7	Texas Hop	Pee Wee Crayton	1948
8	Please Send Me Someone To Love	Percy Mayfield	1950
9	Why Don't You Eat Where You Slept Last Night	Zuzu Bollin	1952
10	Hound Dog	Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thorton	1953
11	Okie Dokie Stomp	Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown	1954
12	The Freeze	Albert Collins & His Rhythm Rockers	1958
13	Ella Speed	Mance Lipscomb	1960
14	Down On Bending Knees	Johnny Copeland	1962
15	The Stumble	Freddy King	1970
16	C-Boy's Blues	The Fabulous Thunderbirds	1979
17	Flood Down In Texas	Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble	1986
18	Changing Neighborhoods	Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets	1987

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but I'm thankful to my friend Jim for introducing me to Stevie Ray Vaughan's solo work when he bought the Couldn't Stand The Weather album back in 1984. Seventeen year-old me probably said something along the lines of "Hey! That sounds like David Bowie's guitarist on the Let's Dance album!" I may be a little slow on the uptake, but at least I eventually made the connection.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Blues Masters Sampler (1993)
Volume 8: Mississippi Delta Blues (1993)