Juke Boy Bonner - Ghetto Poet

Artist:

Bonner, Juke Boy

UPC:

096297904022

Description:

Recorded between 1967 & 1974.
Personnel: Alvin J. Simon (drums).
Liner Note Author: Chris Strachwitz.
Recording information: ACA Studios, Houston, TX (12/20/1967-05/14/1974); Berkeley, CA (12/20/1967-05/14/1974); KPFT, Houston, TX (12/20/1967-05/14/1974).
Editor: Erik Keilholtz.
Photographer: Chris Strachwitz.
Texas bluesman Weldon "Juke Boy" Bonner was a virtual one-man band with his stripped-down electric guitar playing, his constantly stomping foot, and the swampy sound of his racked harmonica, elements that made him sound like a cross between Jimmy Reed and Slim Harpo. Bonner`s carefully considered lyrics are what set him apart from any other bluesman, however, and the best of his songs have a kind of weary emotional balance that show why the blues is capable of being a great vernacular art form. The opening track on this disc of previously unreleased material, "Daylight Won`t Catch Me Here," is a perfect example of Bonner`s craft, as it teeters between defeat and resolve, all with a relentless, driving rhythm. Other highlights here include the desperate humor of "Rainin` in My Room" and the brilliant album closer "It`s Enough." Woefully underappreciated during his lifetime, Bonner ended up with a last-chance job loading crates of factory-raised chickens into the processing plant that would end their lives. This collection is drawn largely from a session on May 5, 1969. ~ Steve Leggett

Track Listing:

DISC 1

1. Daylight Won`t Catch Me Here
2. Animal Gap, The
3. Time to Say Goodbye
4. Blues for Elmo
5. If I Sound Lowdown
6. Sportsman`s Luck
7. California Here I Come
8. Zodico Jump
9. Getting Up from the Ground
10. Houston Beat
11. What Will I Tell the Children
12. All the Lonely Days
13. Childhood Dreams
14. Settin` the Record Straight
15. Rainin` in My Room
16. Let Me Run It Down to You
17. I Don`t Go for Games
18. It`s Enough

Album Information

Release Date:

10/21/2003

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Blues

Subgenre:

Texas/W. Coast Blues

Label:

Arhoolie

Producer:

Chris Strachwitz

Catalog Number:

ARHCD 9040

Original Release Year:

2003

# of Discs:

1

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Runtime:

59 : 8

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