BIOGRAPHY AND DISCOGRAPHY

The prototypical rock frontman in every way – a good looking sexually charged hell-raiser with a voice to raise the dead, a master showman and a memorable character.

Harris was one of the few rock stars to pre-date the idiom with notable success as a singer for Lucky Millinder’s band. By the time his “Who Threw The Whiskey In The Well” hit #1 on the Race Charts in 1945 he’d already left for a solo career. Despite scoring two quick follow-up hits in the months to come he soon was creatively adrift, jumping from label to label and style to style, while the quality and success of his output diminished with each move. Though Harris was initially offered “Good Rockin’ Tonight” by its writer Roy Brown, he turned it down only to see Brown himself score with it soon after, launching the rock era in the process. An undaunted Harris promptly covered it for the bigger hit which cemented rock’s place in the music world and revived his own fortunes, placing him at the forefront of the new style.

Over the next five years he was one of rock’s biggest stars with a succession of bold and bawdy tunes celebrating loose women, potent booze and rock music itself in the most explicit of terms. As Harris stated unequivocally in regards to the appeal of his music, “I deal in sex”.

When rock music began being discovered by a younger whiter audience by the mid-1950’s and crossing over into the pop market Harris was forty years old and unable and unwilling to tone down his notoriously ribald style, making him far too threatening a presence to make headway with the next generation of rock fans. However his legacy as a performer lived on in that era, as producer Henry Glover stated, “With Elvis Presley you were seeing a mild version of Wynonie Harris”.

His later years found him lavishly spending what was left of his money, recording sporadically and drinking heavily, all but forgotten as time went on. When he died in 1969 at the age of 54 few in rock even noticed, though without him they wouldn’t have had careers.

Despite possessing a rather limited style his records were never less than entertaining and his legacy as rock’s first bad boy remains strong well into the 21st Century.
 
 

WYNONIE HARRIS DISCOGRAPHY (Reviews To Date On Spontaneous Lunacy):
 
 
BIG CITY BLUES
(Aladdin 196; September, 1947)
A slow, tedious and uninspiring song by a rock artist who’s yet to discover he’s a rock artist. (2)

WYNONIE’S BOOGIE
(King 4202; January, 1948)
Aside from the sly attitude Harris projects there’s nothing much going on, you can tell he wants to break free but doesn’t quite feel he’s able to. (3)

ROSE, GET YOUR CLOTHES
(King 4202; January, 1948)
Aside from a promising title there’s not much of note here, as a sleepy Harris plods through an uninteresting come-on to a nameless girl as the musicians dutifully keep pace with him until they all fall asleep. (3)

HARD RIDIN’ MAMA
(Aladdin 208; February, 1948)
Racy if not quite dirty song with sexual euphemisms galore, what sets it apart is the gleeful abandon Harris sings this with. (5)

YOU GOT TO GET YOURSELF A JOB, GIRL
(Aladdin 208; February, 1948)
One of Harris’s best efforts lyrically, dealing with his lazy girlfriend who’s using her skills in the bedroom to keep Wynonie from kicking her ass to the curb, making this an amusing situation for the usually fully in control singer to find himself in. (6)

GOOD ROCKIN’ TONIGHT
(King 4210; February, 1948)
With the first rock record to top the charts Harris establishes the swaggering attitude that would become rock’s calling card as the doors to the blast furnace are ripped from their hinges and in one fell swoop the tentative rock narrative suddenly becomes set. ★ 10 ★

GOOD MORNING, MR. BLUES
(King 4210; February, 1948)
An off-the-cuff composition that fares poorly due to a lack of direction that would’ve been smoothed out in a more formal writing session and is further hampered by the slow pace which makes its flaws all too noticeable. (3)

LOVE IS LIKE RAIN
(King 4217; April, 1948)
A desultory song aiming at the waning interest of those stuck in the recent past, Harris may give it his all but the band merely goes through the motions resulting in a career misstep after such a promising revival of his fortunes the last time out. (3)

YOUR MONEY DON’T MEAN A THING
(King 4217; April, 1948)
A blind drunk Wynonie Harris embarrasses himself in his second studio date for King Records who responds by releasing this hot mess possibly to embarrass the egotistical, incorrigible troublemaker now that he was back on top. (1)

LOLLIPOP MAMA
(King 4226; May, 1948)
The best of three versions of this racy song to be released in the nine months since rock’s birth yet still not all it could be, nor quite up to the standards of Harris’s breakthrough from earlier in the year. (6)

BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT
(King 4226; May, 1948)
An improvised throwaway but surprisingly one of the more creative ideas of Harris’s first round of sessions with King Records in which the singer takes a back seat to the dueling tenor sax workouts of Tom Archia and Hal Singer, spurring them on with his contagious enthusiasm. (5)

BITE AGAIN, BITE AGAIN
(King 4252; October, 1948)
Seemingly ad-libbed song left over from 1947, now brought out of mothballs to serve as an A-side thanks to King Records adhering to the recording ban, making this release by their top artist decidedly behind the curve despite his usual enthusiastic delivery. (4)

BLOWIN’ TO CALIFORNIA
(King 4252, October, 1948)
Another seemingly improvised song featuring extended solos by four horns, two saxes, a trumpet and trombone, but while it’s chaotic and unstructured their irrepressible vitality manages to win you over just enough to suffice. (5)

GRANDMA PLAYS THE NUMBERS
(King 4276; February, 1949)
After a year out of the studio Harris comes back with a vengeance, his lusty shouting the best attribute of this otherwise very shallow song, a record that sounds better than it really is. (6)

I FEEL THAT OLD AGE COMING ON
(King 4276; February, 1949)
An entirely new and unlikely persona for Harris, that of a worn down beaten man coming face to face with his mortality and giving his most affecting vocal performance in the process. (8)

DRINKIN-WINE-SPO-DEE-O-DEE
(King 4292; May, 1949)
An unnecessary cover version of an already perfect song but not one without some charms of its own, as Joe Morris’s moonlighting band spurs Harris to match their delivery in the second half to get you reasonably tipsy. (6)

SHE JUST WON’T SELL NO MORE
(King 4292; May, 1949)
A good idea that almost seems content to leave it at that, never delving too deep into the more colorful possibilities the topic provides, but Harris, along with Joe Morris’s band behind him, sell it well enough to work. (6)

ALL SHE WANTS TO DO IS ROCK
(King 4304; August, 1949)
A return to form for Harris who wrote an unambiguous song to state his case to remain in rock’s upper echelon and then delivered it with fire breathing intensity to leave no doubt he belonged there, and even as he’s let down somewhat by Joe Morris’s band it topped the charts and validated his legacy. (8)

I WANT MY FANNY BROWN
(King 4304; August, 1949)
Another Harris cover of Roy Brown which finds him using a more full-throttle delivery which strips the song of the nuance Brown featured but somehow Wynonie makes it work, aided immeasurably by the rousing backing of Joe Morris’s band. (7)

BATTLE OF THE BLUES (PART ONE)
(Aladdin 3036; October, 1949)
A two year old track on a different label hauled out of mothballs shows Harris and his idol Joe Turner already had the rock aesthetics down to a science just as the genre was taking root as Wynonie announces rock’s imminent arrival to the world with aplomb. (7)

BATTLE OF THE BLUES (PART TWO)
(Aladdin 3036; October, 1949)
An unrelated, unfocused and mostly unexciting let-down compared to “Part One”, notable only for some moderately foul language by Turner and Harris acting like school-kids showing off when the teacher is out of the room. (3)

SITTIN’ ON IT ALL THE TIME
(King 4330; December, 1949)
Harris plays to his strengths, offering something just racy enough to meet expectations in which his enthusiasm, strong vocal performance and a few good lines overwhelm the rather shallow story and mixed bag backing… a good record but not a great attempt to stay fresh. (6)

BABY, SHAME ON YOU
(King 4330; December, 1949)
In spite of a fire breathing Harris vocal which gets off a few good lines along he way the song itself is creatively uninspired and marred by an abhorrent trumpet which dominates the record to the detriment of mankind. (3)

I LIKE MY BABY’S PUDDING
(King 4342; February, 1950)
Harris is in top form here, singing this with the salacious charm he’s famous for, but aside from the rather obvious euphemism of the title line itself the lyrics don’t take the subtext far enough, nor is the music contributing to the naughty vibe they want to give off. (6)

I CAN’T TAKE IT NO MORE
(King 4342; February, 1950)
So much of this is really admirable, from Harris taking on a subdued and henpecked persona to his exasperated delivery of some colorful lines, but repeated slip-ups undercut the effectiveness as does a lack of musical kick to set it off, that it winds up a slightly missed opportunity. (5)

GOOD MORNING JUDGE
(King 4378; June, 1950)
Maybe the definitive Harris record thanks to the humorous subject matter that perfectly embodies his real-life image as a troublemaker, all of which is delivered with an easy-going rhythmic swing and vocal panache, slightly wicked but ultimately charming. ★ 10 ★

STORMY NIGHT BLUES
(King 4378; June, 1950)
Though Harris approaches this with his usual lusty vocal style, the arrangement differs from his usual line of attack as he’s paired with a vocal group that adds a unique flavor which are helped by a few key instrumental touches as well. (5)

ROCK MR. BLUES
(King 4389; September, 1950)
Despite claiming that he’s done with this rowdy music once and for all, Harris’s deeds don’t match his words as he delivers a roaring vocal that leaves little doubt he’s going to be rocking until he dies while the over-matched band futilely tries to keep up. (7)

BE MINE MY LOVE
(King 4389; September, 1950)
A recycled song dressed up somewhat to disguise the source but designed to be inconsequential with its slightly outdated arrangement and generic story, meaning it’s left to Harris’s vocals to carry the entire weight of the record. (4)

MR. BLUES IS COMING TO TOWN
(King 4402; October, 1950)
Maybe the ideal encapsulation of all that was great about Harris as he’s singing boastful lyrics about sex with lusty enthusiasm, rakish charm and an undercurrent of humor while a solid rhythm and some decent solos keep pace behind him. (8)

I WANT TO LOVE YOU BABY
(King 4402; October, 1950)
After some slightly anachronistic horns give way to a solid backbeat Harris is in his element here, laying down the song with the swagger and charm he’s known for while the rest of the arrangement serves to highlight his strengths, formulaic maybe but still effective. (7)

OH BABE!
(King 4418; October, 1950)
Paired with his old boss for the first time in six years, Harris gets a hit with this cover record thanks entirely to his robust charm while Lucky Millinder’s crew provides energetic but woefully outdated support, a vindication that Harris had to have enjoyed. (6)

TEARDROPS FROM MY EYES
(King 4419; October, 1950)
A dismal effort wherein Harris is clearly not enthused to be singing someone else’s song while Lucky Millinder desecrates its memory with a moldy arrangement and if not for the familiarity of the composition itself there’d be no reason to even listen to this. (2)

TRIFLIN’ WOMAN
(King 4415; December, 1950)
A decent subject for Harris to tackle, this cover of a Moon Mullican country song doesn’t have enough life to really stand out as the arrangement is subdued and Harris has no chance to really bust loose… there’s nothing wrong with it, just nothing compelling either. (5)

PUT IT BACK
(King 4415; December, 1950)
To call this rip off of their recent hit Good Morning Judge “uninspired” would be giving it far too much credit… this is shameless in how it steals from that record without trying to improve a single aspect of it, so much so that even Harris seems annoyed by the very idea of it. (1)

JUST LIKE TWO DROPS OF WATER
(King 4448; March, 1951)
An inappropriate song thematically and musically for Harris, but thanks to a more rhythmic backing than the many country versions used he does his best to steamroll the sentiments in his own inimitable way and is helped by Big John Greer’s great sax solo. (4)

TREMBLIN’
(King 4448; March, 1951)
A song that presents Harris as love struck and awed by a female’s interest in him is hardly his usual fare and with the jazzy backing this comes across as something he might’ve done had rock ‘n’ roll never taken hold… interesting and fairly well done but not essential. (5)

A LOVE UNTRUE
(King 4445; May, 1951)
Trying to show some diversity with a slower lament means Harris isn’t playing to his strengths and though he tries hard to be convincing he’s got very little musical punch behind him to take the focus of what is a rather mundane song and arrangement. (3)

I BELIEVE I’LL FALL IN LOVE
(King 4445; May, 1951)
An ancient recording from December 1947 hauled out of mothballs now only shows how much the musical world has shifted in three and a half years, largely due to Harris himself, making this decent performance simply a relic of a bygone age. (3)

BLOODSHOT EYES
(King 4461; June, 1951)
A welcome return to the kind of inappropriately offensive behavior that Harris was known for, this time around scolding his girlfriend for getting drunker than he usually is while using a litany of classic put-downs even if the accompanying music is a little too sober. (8)

CONFESSIN’ THE BLUES
(King 4461; June, 1951)
A solid understated update of a classic jazz-blues song by Jay McShann, one which keeps the original spirit while adding enough rock elements to make it slightly more acceptable in the current market even if it can’t have the same impact as something entirely new. (5)

MAN, HAVE I GOT TROUBLES
(King 4468; August, 1951)
A decent enough song that never quite clicks, the guitar sounds as if it should be the dominant instrument but horns keep intruding even though they don’t exactly clash, all while Harris isn’t fully comfortable in the driver’s seat. (4)

I’LL NEVER GIVE UP
(King 4468; August, 1951)
An alternate reality Harris featuring a depressing look at what he may have been faced with had rock itself never been conceived, not just musically with the outdated horns here, but thematically as he sounds like someone who missed his calling, or had it miss him. (3)

LOVIN’ MACHINE
(King 4485; November, 1951)
His final national hit finds Harris back in the saddle singing about sex, or something reasonably similar, on a record that somehow evaded the censors who were either too confused by the technical jargon or distracted by Todd Rhodes’s band’s enthusiastic playing. (8)

LUSCIOUS WOMAN
(King 4485; November, 1951)
Though the title is purposefully misleading, the contents are a welcome change of pace featuring a subdued Harris looking for a deeper love than his usual one night stands while backed by a more complex Todd Rhodes arrangement. (6)

MY PLAYFUL BABY’S GONE
(King 4507; February, 1952)
A reflective, though still potent, Harris admitting to his diminishing virility is no less effective thanks to his patented roar and some solid playing by Todd Rhodes, but because of the musical changes in rock it’s no longer as commercial a sound as it once was. (7)

HERE COMES THE NIGHT
(King 4507; February, 1952)
Doubling down on the image of Harris no longer being as potent as his legend, this is a more somber record even though Wynonie tackles it at full volume, yet thanks to an understated arrangement the combination works well enough to convince you of his sincerity. (6)

KEEP ON CHURNIN’
(King 4526; April, 1952)
The perfect topic for Harris to cover, educational and entertaining in equal measure and only obscene if your mind is in the gutter, all of which is delivered with his usual panache over a steady rolling beat provided by Todd Rhodes and company… eat up. (8)

MARRIED WOMEN – STAY MARRIED
(King 4526; April, 1952)
A good stylistic curveball for Harris, not only in playing with his ladies man image, but also changing up his delivery, and that of the band, in order to sell it convincingly… though hardly commercial, it’s an unexpected treat all the same. (6)

NIGHT TRAIN
(King 4555; July, 1952)
A bad idea to have the irascible Harris cover a vocal version of an instrumental hit which requires a mournful low-key delivery that he’s not very invested in, while Lucky Millinder’s band shows why they never made the transition to rock effectively. (3)

DO IT AGAIN, PLEASE
(King 4555; July, 1952)
A once proud label and the definitive rock artist of his era seem to be throwing in the towel as this goes way beyond pop concession thanks to Lucky Millinder’s outdated arrangement while Harris can only swallow his pride to get this down without retching. (1)

ADAM COME AND GET YOUR RIB
(King 4565; September, 1952)
A really good composition gets a somewhat indifferent reading by Harris but is really undercut by Henry Glover’s out-of-date – and out-of-genre – horn chart which overwhelms everything in its path and in the process eliminates any chance for scoring a hit. (5)

DRINKING BLUES
(King 4565; September, 1952)
What should’ve been an ideal topic for the hard-drinking Harris to navigate becomes a sad coda to his time on top as the arrangement dates this to the point where Harris sounds like a beaten man, the fourth of four cuts with Lucky Millinder from June to suffer the same fate. (3)

GREYHOUND
(King 4592; November, 1952)
While they throw in a few changes to the delivery and arrangement to make it more suitable for Wynonie’s persona, this is still a cover record of a rival’s recent hit and as such is indicative of Harris’s declining fortunes that he’d have to stoop to this in search of sales. (5)

ROT GUT
(King 4592; November, 1952)
As evidence of the label having no idea how to revive Harris’s career they rework Todd Rhodes’ 1949 hit Pot Likker with new lyrics, which are actually pretty good, but keep the same outdated arrangement, which is bad and shows no effort or awareness of the market. (4)