Buddy & Ella Johnson - Gotta Go Upside Your Head: The Rock'n'Roll Years 1953-55

Size: 187,1 MB
Time: 78:42
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2006
Styles: Jazz, Rock, R&B, Blues
Art: Front & Back

01. Mush Mouth (3:03)
02. That's How I Feel About You (3:12)
03. Hittin' On Me (3:07)
04. I'm Just Your Fool (2:53)
05. Aint'cha Got Me (Where You Want Me) (2:50)
06. My Old Man (2:27)
07. A12 (2:44)
08. One More Time (2:52)
09. Shut Your Big Mouth, Girl! (2:57)
10. Any Day Now (2:37)
11. Ain't But One (3:04)
12. Crazy 'bout A Saxaphone (2:33)
13. Jit Jit (3:08)
14. A Pretty Girl (A Cadillac And Some Money) (3:07)
15. Well Do It! (2:24)
16. Thinking It Over (2:42)
17. Someday (2:36)
18. It Used To Hurt Me (2:43)
19. Gotta Go Upside Your Head (2:43)
20. If You Would Only Say You're Sorry (3:03)
21. Alright, Okay, You Win! (2:46)
22. It's About To Break My Heart In Two (2:49)
23. Gone Walkin' (3:00)
24. So Good (2:30)
25. I Don’t Want Nobody Baby (To Have My Love But You) (2:41)
26. Bring It Home To Me (2:29)
27. It's Obdacious (2:36)
28. Doot Doot Dow (2:51)

One of the most unsung swing bandleaders of the 1940s, Buddy Johnson's astute mixture of jazzy R&B, pop, blues and jump coupled with his prolific composing ("That's the Stuff You Gotta Watch" and "Since I Fell for You" are among his standards) helped him transition his band into and throughout the '50s with a sound that came dangerously close at times to being actual rock & roll. Although Johnson featured several fine vocalists during his run, including Arthur Prysock, Nolan Lewis and Floyd Ryland, it was his younger sister Ella Johnson who arguably best interpreted her brother's material. This generous 28-track set from Rev-Ola Records features several of Ella's vocals on Buddy Johnson sides originally released by Mercury Records between 1953 and 1955, including Ella's perfectly nuanced (she sounds positively annoyed) "Hittin' on Me," the dubiously trusting "My Old Man," the gorgeous hitting-the-road threat "Any Day Now," the defiant "Well Do It!," and the aching "It's About to Break My Heart in Two," all of which are essentially jump numbers but they edge very close to the feel of rock & roll, particularly given Ella's playful vocal phrasing. With the rise of smaller guitar-led combos after Elvis Presley hit in 1956, Johnson found it increasingly difficult to sustain his large band concept, and consequently Ella and Buddy's hits fell off as the decade drew to a close. This intriguing set has all the essentials from the successful Mercury years. ~by Steve Leggett

Gotta Go Upside Your Head

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Ella Johnson With Buddy Johnson - Say Ella

Styles: Vocal, Piano, R&B

Year: 1983
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:25
Size: 106,7 MB
Art: Front

(2:30)  1. Stand Back and Smile
(3:25)  2. I Don't Care Who Knows
(2:20)  3. Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball
(3:09)  4. As I Love You
(2:40)  5. You Git to Walk That Chalk Line
(3:02)  6. Satisfy My Soul
(3:24)  7. Somehow, Somewhere
(2:52)  8. This New Situation
(2:25)  9. Till My Baby Comes Back
(3:16) 10. That's How I Feel About You
(3:13) 11. Hittin' on Me
(2:55) 12. One More Time
(3:09) 13. Mush Mouth
(2:46) 14. No! I Ain't Gonna Let You Go
(2:53) 15. Don't Turn Your Back on Me
(2:18) 16. Don't Shout At Me Daddy

Juke Box Lil's Say Ella contains 16 songs Ella Johnson recorded with her brother Buddy's big band for Decca and Mercury between 1942 and 1957. In other words, these 16 songs are among her very best recordings, containing such classics as "I Don't Care Who Knows," "You Got to Walk That Chalk Line," "Somehow, Somewhere," "'Til My Baby Comes Back," "That's How I Feel About You," "One More Time" and "Mush Mouth." 

In other words, it's an excellent single-disc introduction to one of the finest female R&B vocalists of her era. ~ Thom Owens http://www.allmusic.com/album/say-ella-mw0000569273

Say Ella

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Buddy Johnson And His Orchestra - 1947-1949

Styles: Piano Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:16
Size: 155,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:18)  1. Far Cry
(3:17)  2. Serves Me Right
(3:15)  3. You Can't Tell Who's Loving Who
(3:06)  4. Li'l Dog
(3:21)  5. I Don't Care Who Knows
(3:11)  6. I'm Tired Of Crying Over You
(2:50)  7. You Had Better Change Your Ways
(2:12)  8. If I Ever Find You, Baby
(2:34)  9. It Was Swell Knowing You
(3:10) 10. Somebody's Knocking At My Door
(3:08) 11. Someone So Sweet As You
(2:49) 12. Pullamo
(3:03) 13. As I Love You
(2:15) 14. Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?
(3:04) 15. Lovely In Her Evening Gown
(2:50) 16. Down Yonder
(2:51) 17. Because - Part 1
(2:44) 18. Because - Part 2
(2:45) 19. That's What My Baby Says
(3:05) 20. Keep Me Close To You
(3:04) 21. Tell Me What They're Saying
(3:15) 22. Shake 'Em Up

The Buddy Johnson Orchestra was one of the few big bands that were able to stay together during the second half of the 1940s. They did that by featuring the vocals of Ella Johnson and Arthur Prysock, leaning towards R&B at times and hinting at (but not outright playing) bebop. This CD has the music from Johnson's last three sessions of 1947 and his three 1949 dates; the 1948 recording strike caused a gap. 

There were no major soloists in the band, but the musicianship was high, the vocalists (heard along with Buddy Johnson himself on all but four numbers) were excellent and there was plenty of spirit. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/1947-1949-mw0000618350

Personnel: Buddy Johnson (vocals, piano); Ella Johnson, Arthur Prysock (vocals); Al Robinson (clarinet, alto saxophone); Harold "Geezil" Minerve (alto saxophone); Purvis Henson, David Van Dyke (tenor saxophone); Willis Nelson, Frank Royal (trumpet); Don Cole, William Harrison, Bernard Archer, Julius Watson, Steve Pulliam (trombone); Emmanuel Simms (drums).

1947-1949

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Buddy & Ella Johnson - A Family Affair

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 50:40
Size: 116.0 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[2:51] 1. One More Time
[2:40] 2. I Don’t Want Nobody Baby
[2:42] 3. Gotta Go Upside Your Head
[3:05] 4. A Pretty Girl Cadillac And Some Money
[2:35] 5. Someday
[2:49] 6. Aint'cha Got Me
[2:51] 7. Doot Doot Dow
[2:22] 8. Well Do It
[2:47] 9. Alright Okay You Win
[3:06] 10. Thats The Stuff You Gotta Watch
[3:02] 11. Mush Mouth
[2:36] 12. Any Day Now
[3:11] 13. That’s How I Feel About You
[3:06] 14. Hittin On Me
[2:26] 15. My Old Man
[3:03] 16. Aint But One
[2:48] 17. Its About To Break My Heart In Two
[2:31] 18. Crazy Bout A Saxophone

Ella Johnson made her mark as the vocalist with her brother Buddy Johnson's big band during the '40s and '50s, and that is the context where she really shines. Her later solo sides for Mercury are pale imitations of her work with the band. Although many of Ella's hits are uptempo (e.g., "I Don't Want Nobody"), it is on ballads and torchy blues that she really brings it together. In fact, her earliest work for Decca during the mid-'40s (much of which has not been reissued) is uncannily good. At her best, Ella sounds pouty, vulnerable, and very sexy. Like so much of her life, it was no affectation. The comparison to Billie Holiday is inevitable, but Ella was her own singer. Ella Johnson passed away February 16, 2004, in New York City. ~bio by Hank Davis

A Family Affair

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