LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Yes, the Prince Of The Blues, the most genius bona fide 1950s R&B superstar you NEVER heard; ladies and gents we present Billy Wright! Behind the Magnolia curtain, lay a... well, frankly lavender curtain; a world derived in part from the weirdness of the Medecine shows, in which a total one off like Harmonica Frank Floyd could seem quite normal and a culture of sleazy burlesque, strippers, drag acts and open flamboyant homosexuality could flourish in the midst of the segregated South. In this world strode Billy Wright like a colossus; a man whose R&B stylings were legend, who was an immensely influential and big selling artist, and who dressed like Jimi Hendrix, Prince and Kid Creole all in one. In full make up too... and all this in the late 1940s! A huge influence on Little Richard, Elvis, James Brown, and the host of Southern Soulmen who came after, Billy Wright is one of THE blues stylists. Perhaps ignored slightly by the stuffy blues scholar establishment because of his flamboyance and sexuality (bluesmen are supposed to be morose and wear style-free rumpled suits after all!), his close relationship with Little Richard maybe a bit too open to fit comfortably into "Story Of The Blues" type books, but this is Rev-Ola, darn it, and those things only make Billy even more interesting in our eyes! And here for the first time on CD, is his complete run of late 1940s/early 1950s hits; all beautifully remastered in classic RevOla style and wonderfully packaged with full on notes and memorabilia!
Track listing: Man's Brand Boogie / You Satisfy / Billy's Boogie Blues / After Dark Blues / 'Fore Day Blues / Married Woman's Boogie / Keep Your Hand's On Your Heart / Stacked Deck / Mercy Mercy / Mean Old Wine / Drinkin' And Thinkin' / New Way Of Lovin' / Hey Little Girl / Gotta Find My Baby / When The Wagon Comes / Turn Your Lamp Down Low / If I Didn't Love You So / After Awhile (Savoy 1952) / Four Cold, Cold Walls (Savoy 1953) / I Remember / Live The Life / Every Evening / Let's Be Friends / Don't You Want A Man Like Me? / The Question / Bad Luck, Heartaches And Trouble / Do Something To Me