Down In Mississippi by Jimmy Reed from 'Mr. Luck'

Jimmy Reed - Mr. Luck: The Complete Vee-Jay Singles. Order now: http://found.ee/GafON-b

Craft Recordings is pleased to announce the forthcoming release of Mr. Luck: The Complete Vee-Jay Singles, celebrating the defining body of work of one of the most influential and popular blues musicians of the 20th century, Jimmy Reed. Due out August 4th, the 3-CD collection spans Reed’s most prolific period – from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s, and includes not only his biggest hits – all remastered in their original mono format – but also several rarities from newly discovered master tapes that have never been released digitally. An annotated discography, plus detailed session notes and liner notes have been meticulously compiled by the album’s GRAMMY® award-winning producer, Scott Billington, who, as a music historian and blues musician, offers deep insight into Reed’s artistic process.

Jimmy Reed’s lazy drawl, paired with his unique harmonica stylings, and highly-accessible lyrical hooks are part of the bedrock of American roots music. Yet the musician’s story is also that of an unlikely hero. Born to Mississippi sharecroppers in the 1920s, Reed moved north to Chicago in search of work, and, despite suffering from epilepsy, slowly transformed himself from a street musician to one of the most popular blues artists in America, crossing over to the pop charts with songs like “Big Boss Man” and “Baby What You Want Me to Do.”

With his simple, yet effective songs, the self-taught musician influenced hundreds of artists on both sides of the Atlantic. Over the years, a wide range of acts have covered Reed’s compositions, including The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Sly and the Family Stone, Etta James and Elvis Presley. In his notes, Billington muses “Of all the blues musicians who began recording in Chicago in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Jimmy Reed might have seemed least likely to succeed … Yet, until B. B. King’s run of best-selling records in the late 1960s, no post-war blues artist sold more records or showed up as often on the Billboard R&B and pop charts. Jimmy Reed’s music was approachable and, at least on the surface, easy for other musicians to play.”

Mr. Luck: The Complete Vee-Jay Singles will be available on CD, as well as across all digital retailers and streaming sites. A complete track listing is below:

Disc One
1 High and Lonesome introduction
2 High and Lonesome
3 Roll and Rhumba
4 Jimmy's Boogie
5 Found My Baby Gone
6 You Don't Have to Go introduction
7 You Don't Have to Go
8 Boogie In the Dark
9 I'm Gonna Ruin You
10 Pretty Thing
11 She Don't Want Me No More
12 I Don't Go For That
13 Ain't That Lovin' You Baby introduction
14 Ain't That Lovin' You Baby
15 Baby, Don't Say That No More
16 Can't Stand to See You Go
17 Rockin' With Reed
18 My First Plea
19 I Love You Baby
20 You Got Me Dizzy introduction
21 You Got Me Dizzy
22 Honey Don't Let Me Go
23 Little Rain
24 Honey Where You Going
25 The Sun Is Shining
26 Baby What's On Your Mind
27 Honest I Do introduction
28 Honest I Do
29 Signals of Love
30 You're Something Else
31 A String To Your Heart

Disc 2
1 Go On to School
2 You Got Me Crying
3 I Know It's a Sin
4 Down In Virginia
5 I'm Gonna Get My Baby
6 Odds and Ends
7 I Told You Baby
8 Ends and Odds
9 Take Out Some Insurance
10 You Know I Love You
11 Going to New York introduction
12 Going to New York
13 I Wanna Be Loved
14 Baby What You Want Me To Do introduction
15 Baby What You Want Me To Do
16 Caress Me Baby
17 Found Love
18 Where Can You Be
19 Hush Hush
20 Going By the River, Part 2
21 Close Together
22 Laughing at the Blues
23 Big Boss Man introduction
24 Big Boss Man
25 I'm A Love You
26 Bright Lights, Big City
27 Bright Lights, Big City
28 I'm Mr. Luck
29 Aw Shucks Hush Your Mouth
30 Baby, What's Wrong

Disc 3
1 Good Lover
2 Tell Me That You Love Me
3 I'll Change My Style
4 Too Much
5 Let's Get Together
6 Oh John
7 Shame Shame Shame introduction
8 Shame Shame Shame
9 There'll Be a Day
10 Mary, Mary
11 I'm Gonna Help You
12 (I'm Gonna Move) to the Outskirts of Town
13 St. Louis Blues
14 See See Rider
15 Wee Wee Baby Blues
16 Help Yourself
17 Heading For a Fall (Things Ain't What They Used To Be)