Illustrated Smoky Babe discography

S M O K Y B A B E; source: Front cover of of Bluesville BV 1063
source: Front cover of Bluesville BV 1063
photographer: Harry Oster Smoky Babe
real name: Robert Brown
b. July 31, 1927 in Itta Bena, Leflore County, Mississippi
d. May 1973, presumably in Scotlandville, East Baton Rouge, Louisiana
discography S M O K Y B A B E; source: Front cover of Arhoolie R 2019
source: Front cover of Arhoolie R 2019
photographer: Harry Oster

#	year of release	title / label / notes
		- Shake, Shake Mattie - Biscuit Bakin' Mama rec. February 6, 1960 in Scotlandville, LA; Smoky Babe, voc, g unissued
1	1960	Country Negro Jam Sessions@ youtube (full album) Butch Cage & Willie Thomas - 44 Blues * @ youtube Robert Pete Williams & Guitar Welch, 2nd g - Mississippi Heavy Water Blues @ youtube Clarence Edwards - Smokes Like Lightning Butch Cage & Willie Thomas - Who Broke The Lock \|\| @ youtube Clarence Edwards - You Don't Love Me Butch Cage & Willie Thomas - It's The Sign Of The Judgement \|\| @ youtube Ben Douglas - Foxhunt Sally Dotson with Smoky Babe & Hillary Blunt - Your Dice Won't Pass (2:51) # [aka "Someday Baby"] @ youtube @ Spotify Butch Cage & Willie Thomas - Jelly Roll Rebecca Smith etc. - I've Got Religion Smoky Babe - Going Downtown Boogie (3:44) [Talkin' Blues or Talkin' Baby] ## @ youtube @ Spotify Clarence Edwards - Stack O' Dollars Willie Thomas & Butch Cage - Brown Skin Woman Leon Strickland with Lucius Bridges - I Won't Be Your Low Down Dog No More unissued track from November 3, 1960 session: Smoky Babe - Leavin' Blues ## additional tracks on Arhoolie CD 372: Butch Cage & Willie B Thomas - The Piano Blues Smoky Babe - Cotton Field Blues (3:32) [] @ youtube @ Spotify Otis Webster - The Farm Blues - The Boss Man Blues Butch Cage & Willie B Thomas - Whoa Mule! Otis Webster - Boll Weevil Blues Clarence Edwards/Cornelius Edwards/Butch Cage - Thousand Miles From Nowhere Butch Cage & Willie B. Thomas - Dead And Gone - Called For You Yesterday - Me & My Chauffeur - Baby Please Don't Go rec. during the late 1950s and early 1960s in southwest Louisiana by Harry Oster; Arhoolie R 2018 prod. by Harry Oster & Chris Strachwitz # rec. April 14, 1960 at the home of Mable Lee Williams (Robert Pete Williams' sister) in Scotlandville, LA; Smoky Babe, voc, g; Sally Dotson, voc; Hillary Blunt, g ## rec. November 3, 1960 at the home of Mable Lee Williams (Robert Pete Williams' sister) in Scotlandville, LA; Smoky Babe, voc, g [] rec. August 10, 1961 during a visit to Smoky Babe's home area in Vance, MS; Smoky Babe, voc, g (using a Chevrolet bushing as slide) cover photo of Butch Cage and Willie Thomas with their wives [Rosie Cage and Martha Thomas] by Harry Oster back cover & booklet notes by Harry Oster Folk-Lyric FL 111 (US 1960) notes by Harry Oster (with some additional comments by Chris Strachwitz) = Arhoolie R 2018 (US 1969) = Trio PA-6028 (Jp 1974) notes by Chris Strachwitz Arhoolie CD 372 (US 1993) Dr. Harry Oster discography Butch Cage & Willie Thomas discography Arhoolie Records discography
2	1961	Smoky Babe and his friends: Hot Blues Folk-Lyric FL 118 / 77-LA-12-12 track sequence: - Rabbit Blues [] @ youtube - Too Many Women # - Two Wings * - Mississippi River So Deep & Wide # @ youtube - I'm Broke And I'm Hungry @ youtube - My Baby She Told Me # - Black Ghost [] @ youtube - Ain't Got No Rabbit Dog - Bad Whiskey @ youtube - Black Gal // [not on Arhoolie R 2019!] - My Baby Put Me Down - Going Back Home Arhoolie R 2019 track sequence: - Too Many Women # - Two Wings * - I'm Broke And I'm Hungry - Mississippi River # - My Baby She Told Me # - Rabbit Blues [] - Black Ghost [] - Ain't Got No Rabbit Dog // - Bad Whiskey - My Baby Put Me Down # - Going Back Home all tracks rec. February 1960 in Scotlandville, LA by Harry Oster # Smoky Babe, voc, g; Henry Thomas [= Lazy Lester], hca * Smoky Babe, voc, g; William Dotson, voc [] Smoky Babe, voc, g; Sally Dotson, voc // Smoky Babe, voc, g; Clyde Causey, hca photographer: Harry Oster notes by Harry Oster Folk-Lyric FL 118 (US 1961) notes by Harry Oster = 77 LA 12-12 (1962) notes by Harry Oster = Arhoolie R 2019 (1971) "Hot Blues" notes by Harry Oster Arhoolie CD 440 (US 1996) Dr. Harry Oster discography Arhoolie Records discography 77 Records discography
3	1963	The Blues of Smoky Babe: Hottest Brand Goin' - Now Your Man Done Gone [] - Hottest Brand Goin' // - Something Wrong With My Machine \\ ^^^ - Insect Blues § - Long Way From Home # @ youtube - I'm Goin' Back To Mississippi # - Melvanie Blues * - Locomotive Blues * ^ @ youtube - Ocean Blues * - Boogy Woogy Rag * - Coon Hunt * ^ ^^ - Cold, Cold Snow \|\| all tracks rec. in Scotlandville, LA by Harry Oster # rec. February 10, 1960; Smoky Babe, voc, g [] rec. February 27, 1960; Smoky Babe, voc, g * rec. February 10/25/27, 1960; Smoky Babe, voc, g; Clyde Causey, ^ hca, ^^ voc; ^^^ Henry Thomas [= Lazy Lester], hca \\ rec. February 10, 1961; Smoky Babe, voc, g; Henry Thomas [= Lazy Lester], hca // rec. March 10, 1961; Smoky Babe, voc, g § rec. March 27, 1961; Smoky Babe, voc, g \|\| rec. June 14, 1961; Smoky Babe, voc, g notes by Harry Oster Bluesville BV 1063 (US 1963) = Ace CH 261 (UK 1/1989) = OBC OBCCD-595-2 (US 2001) Dr. Harry Oster discography Bluesville Records discography OBC Records discography
4	196?	The Country Blues Storyville Blues Anthology Vol. 10 Clarence Edwards, Cornelius Edwards, Butch Cage - Mean Old Frisco Smoky Babe - Boogy (2:45) @ youtube Clarence Edwards, Cornelius Edwards, Butch Cage - Miss Sadie May Smoky Babe - I Went Down 61 Highway (2:30) Clarence Edwards, Cornelius Edwards, Butch Cage - Stagalee Smoky Babe & Sally Dotson - Black Ghost (4:20) @ youtube Lemon Nash & Henry Thomas [= Lazy Lester] - New Orleans Blues Smoky Babe - Regular Blues (2:30) Clarence Edwards, Cornelius Edwards, Butch Cage - I Can't Quit You Baby Hillary Blunt - A Thousand Miles From Nowhere Clarence Edwards, Cornelius Edwards, Butch Cage - This Is My Life Butch Cage & Willie Thomas - Bugle Call Blues Clarence Edwards, Cornelius Edwards, Butch Cage - Goin' Back To New Orleans Smoky Babe - Talkin' Baby (3:30) rec. at informal sessions in the homes of Butch Cage & Mabel Lee Williams near Baton Rouge, LA by Harry Oster notes by Harry Oster Storyville SLP 129 (Denmark 196?) = Teichiku ULS-1825-R (Jp 1975) Dr. Harry Oster discography Butch Cage & Willie Thomas discography Storyville Records discography
5	1979	Blues Roots: Give Me The Blues The Living Tradition LP 1: Smoky Babe - Boogy Avery Brady - I Don't Want You No More Doug Quattlebaum - Good Woman Blues Huddie Ledbetter - Frankie And Albert, parts 1 + 2 [Jimmy Brewer - Big Road Blues Even though shown on the cover as well as on the label track listing and even though there's a picture and a short bio of Jim Brewer in the liner notes, this Jim Brewer track is actually / erroneously? not included; instead there's the following Arthur Weston track !!!] Arthur Weston - Someday Baby Big Joe Williams - Long Road Blues Big Bill Broonzy - You Better Mind Clarence Edwards - Mean Old Frisco Bert Logan, Russ Logan, Big Joe Williams - Four O'Clock In The Morning Big ~~Joe~~ John Henry Miller, Jimmy Lee Miller - Down Here By Myself Arthur 'Big Boy' Spires - 21 Below Zero Johnny Young - Green Door Blues Arthur Weston - Roll Me Over Slow LP 2: Champion Jack Dupree - Back Door Special Roosevelt Sykes - Southern Style Piano Henry Brown - Low Down Drag Memphis Slim - Funky Blues Jimmy Yancey - Yancey Special Sunnyland Slim - Sunnyland's Boogie Speckled Red - Cow Cow Blues Otis Spann - The Skies Are Blue Memphis Slim - A Letter Home Otis Spann - Boots And Shoes Memphis Slim - Rebecca Blues Willie Mabon - I'm The Fixer Champion Jack Dupree - I Just Want To Be Free compiled by Manfred Miller front cover lino-cut by Hartmut Heumann accompanying flyer gatefold DLP notes by Manfred Miller (English translation by Christa M. Gowing) Storyville 6.28470 (Germany 1979) to read liner notes click on pictures of covers: G = German / E = English text has been black/white reversed to improve readability = PGP RTB 2LP 3220044 (Yugoslavia 1981) Storyville Records discography
6	1996	Smoky Babe, Herman E. Johnson: Louisiana Country Blues Smoky Babe - I'm Broke And I'm Hungry (2:57) - Too Many Women (2:46) - Two Wings (2:13) - Mississippi River (3:16) - My Baby She Told Me (2:36) - Rabbit Blues (3:25) - Black Ghost (5:02) - Ain't Got No Rabbit Dog (3:18) - Bad Whiskey (2:42) - Black Gal (3:50) - My Baby Put Me Down (3:14) - Going Back Home (2:49) - Regular Blues (2:34) Herman E. Johnson - I Just Keeps On Wanting You - You Don't Know My Mind - Motherless Children - Depression Blues - She's A-Looking For Me - She Had Been Drinking - I'm Growing Older - Po' Boy - Leavin' Blues - Piano Blues - Where The Mansion's Prepared For Me Smoky Babe rec. 1960 in Scotlandville, LA by Harry Oster; previously issued on Folklyric LP 118 and Arhoolie LP 2019 Herman E. Johnson rec. 1961 in Baton Rouge, LA by Harry Oster; previously issued on Arhoolie LP 1060 notes by Harry Oster Arhoolie CD 440 (US 1996) Dr. Harry Oster discography Arhoolie Records discography Herman E. Johnson discography
7	1996	Arhoolie presents American Masters Vol. 1 15 Down Home Country Blues Classics Mississippi Fred McDowell - Frisco Line [Arhoolie 1027, CD 304] @ youtube Lightning Hopkins - Have You Ever Loved A Woman [Arhoolie 1063] @ youtube John Jackson - Going Down In Georgia On A Horn [Arhoolie 1025, CD 378] @ youtube Melvin "Lil' Son" Jackson - Cairo Blues [Arhoolie 1004, CD 352] @ youtube Mance Lipscomb - 'Bout A Spoonful [Arhoolie 1001, CD 306] @ youtube Black Ace - Drink On Little Girl [Arhoolie 1003] @ youtube Snooks Eaglin - Country Boy Down In New Orleans [Arhoolie CD 348] @ youtube Bukka White - Columbus, Mississippi Blues [Arhoolie 1005] @ youtube Dr. Ross - Shake 'em On Down [Arhoolie 1065, CD 371] @ youtube Robert Pete Williams - Just Tippin' In (4:10) [Arhoolie CD 394] @ youtube [not "Just Trippin' In", as youtube video suggests] Jesse Fuller - Hump In My Back [Arhoolie CD 360] @ youtube Big Joe Williams - Brother James [Arhoolie 1002, CD 315] @ youtube Smoky Babe - I'm Broke And I'm Hungry [Arhoolie 2019, CD 440] @ youtube R.L. Burnside - Poor Black Mattie [Arhoolie 1042, CD 402] @ youtube K.C. Douglas - Mercury Blues [Arhoolie CD 432] @ youtube prod. and edited by Chris Strachwitz cover photo (Big Joe Williams) by Chris Strachwitz Arhoolie CD 101 (US 1996) Arhoolie Records discography
8	1999	The Bluesville Years, Vol. 9 "Down the Country Way" J.T. Adams And Shirley Griffith - Match Box Blues - O Mama How I Love You Robert Curtis Smith - Get A Real Young Woman - I'm Going Away Smoky Babe - Hottest Brand Goin' - Locomotive Blues Robert Pete Williams - Free Again - Rolling Stone Wade Walton - Rock Me, Mamma - Blues, Stay Away From Me Big Joe Williams - Jockey Ride Blues - Coal And Iceman Blues Pete Franklin - I Got To Find My Baby - Black Gal Scrapper Blackwell - Blues Before Sunrise - A Blues Blind Willie Mctell - Broke Down Engine Blues - Don't Forget It Tampa Red - Dark And Stormy Night - You Better Let My Gal Alone Prestige PRCD-9917-2 Bluesville discography
9	1999	Shake 'Em On Down The Real Country Blues - Shake 'Em On Down - Fred McDowell - Sloppy Drunk Blues - Big Joe Williams - Alabama Blues - Bukka White - Need More Blues - Sleepy Joe Estes - Judge Boushay Blues - Furry Lewis - Pardon Denied Again - Robert Pete Williams - Rabbit Blues - Smoky Babe - Take Me Out Of The Bottom - Big Joe Williams - Fred's Worried Life Blues - Fred McDowell - Poor Black Mattie - R.L. Burnside - Come Home To Me Baby - Joe Callicott - Smokestack Lightning - Clarence Edwards - Write Me A Few Lines - Fred McDowell - Mississippi River - Smoky Babe - Just Tippin' It - Robert Pete Williams - She Left Me A Mule To Ride - Big Joe Williams - Canned Heat - Houston Stackhouse - Three O'Clock In The Morning - Johnny Woods - 'Bout A Spoonful - Nathan Beauregard - You Call Yourself A Cadillac - Robert Nighthawk - Keep Your Nose Out Of My Business - Johnny Young & Otis Spann - Oh Baby - Napeleon Strickland Arhoolie/Ace CD 527 (US/UK 1999) Arhoolie Records discography
10	2014	Smoky Babe: Way Back in the Country Blues the lost Dr. Oster recordings - Boss Man Blues @ Spotify - Backyard Boogie @ youtube @ Spotify - Bad Luck And Trouble @ Spotify - Diggin' My Potatoes @ Spotify - What's Wrong With You @ Spotify - Chicago Bound @ Spotify - If I Had Listened To What My Mama Say @ Spotify - On Mr. Walter's Farm @ Spotify - I'm Going Home On The Morning Train @ Spotify - I'm Goin' Away Baby °° @ Spotify - Way Back In The Country Blues @ Spotify - Shake, Shake Mattie @ Spotify - I'm Wild About You, Black Gal °° @ Spotify - Arkansas Blues °° @ Spotify - Terraplane Blues [] °° @ Spotify - Goin' Home Blues @ Spotify - Boogie Gal @ Spotify °° CD bonus tracks edited and prod. by Chris Strachwitz and Adam Machado # rec. February 1960 in Scotlandville, LA by Harry Oster [] rec. August 1961 in Vance, MS by Harry Oster notes by Adam Machado Arhoolie LP 548 (US 2014) notes by Adam Machado (=) Arhoolie CD 548 (US 2014) Dr. Harry Oster discography Arhoolie Records discography
11	2014	The Roots Of It All: Acoustic Blues - The Definitive Collection, Vol. 3 disc 1: The 1960s Mance Lipscomb - Shake, Shake, Mama (2:50) John Lee Hooker - Tupelo (3:19) Rev. Gary Davis - Samson And Delilah (4:05) Robert Pete Williams - I've Grown So Ugly (2:48) Lightnin' Hopkins - Mojo Hand (3:03) Lonnie Johnson - Moaning Blues (4:01) Smoky Babe - Hottest Brand Goin' (4:06) Herman E. Johnson - I Just Keeps On Wanting You (2:45) Scrapper Blackwell - Shady Lane (5:27) Pink Anderson - I Got Mine (3:07) Pete Franklin - Prison Bound (4:21) Shirley Griffith - Bye Bye Blues (4:11) R.C. Smith - Please Don't Drive Me Away (2:25) Memphis Willie B. - Wine Drinking Woman (3:36) Baby Tate - What Have I Done To You (2:42) Leroy Dallas - She Caught The M & O (3:43) Sleepy John Estes - Vernita's Blues (2:19) J.D. Short - I'm Just Wastin' My Time (5:25) Muddy Waters - Feel Like Going Home (3:52) Buddy Moss - Amy (2:42) Johnny Young - Want My Lovin' (3:30) Arvella Gray - Corrine, Corrina (2:13) Mississippi John Hurt - Candy Man (2:53) Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis - Alberta (2:56) disc 2: The 1970s Son House - Empire State Express (3:41) Mississippi Fred McDowell - Frisco Lines (3:59) J.B. Lenoir - If I Get Lucky (2:59) Skip James - Sickbed Blues (4:06) R.L. Burnside - Long Haired Doney (2:45) Furry Lewis - Old Original Furry Lewis Blues (3:46) Joe Callicott - Lonesome Katy Blues (3:04) John Jackson - Rocks And Gravel (3:15) Babe Stovall - Worried Blues (3:33) Howlin' Wolf - Ain't Goin' Down That Dirt Road #2 (4:20) Larry Johnson - Four Women Blues (2:33) Jack Owens - I Love My Baby (4:50) Johnny Shines - Your Troubles Can't Be Like Mine (4:18) Brownie McGhee - My Last Suit (3:53) Juke Boy Bonner - Tired Of The Greyhound Bus (2:26) Tarheel Slim - So Sweet, So Sweet (3:19) Tom Shaw - Baby Be A Boy Child Named Him After Me (5:44) Eddie Taylor - Bullcow Blues (3:10) Bill Williams - Salty Dog (4:37) Guitar Shorty - Jessie Jones (3:58) Rev. Pearly Brown - It's A Mean Old World To Try To Live In (2:24) Louisiana Red - Dead Stray Dog (3:56) David "Honeyboy" Edwards - Big Fat Mama (2:56) Henry Townsend - Can't You See (3:18) front cover photo (of Big Joe Williams) by Axel Küstner 112-pp. booklet notes by Bill Dahl Bear Family BCD 17231 (Germany 2014)
12	2019	Blues Kings Of Baton Rouge CD 1: Slim Harpo - Blues Hang-Over [Excello 2184] Butch Cage & Willie B. Thomas - Who Broke The Lock [Folk-Lyric FL 111] Lightnin' Slim - Bad Luck [Feature 3006] Lightnin' Slim - Bugger Bugger Boy [Feature 3012] Schoolboy Cleve - Strange Letter Blues [Feature 3013] Clarence Edwards - Smokestack Lightning [Folk-Lyric FL 111] Robert Pete Williams - Angola Special [Folk Lyric FL 109, 77 LA 12/17, Arhoolie CD 394] Butch Cage & Willie B. Thomas - Jelly Roll [Folk-Lyric FL 111] Slim Harpo - I'm A King Bee [Excello 2113] Lonesome Sundown - My Home Is A Prison [Excello 2102] Lightnin' Slim - Mean 'Ol Lonesome Train [Excello 2106] Clarence Edwards - Stack O' Dollars [Folk Lyric FL 111] Robert Pete Williams - Come Here Baby [Folk Lyric FL 109, 77 LA 12/17, Arhoolie R 2015, CD 394] Sally Dotson & Smoky Babe - Your Dice Won't Pass [Folk-Lyric FL 111, Arhoolie R 2018, CD 372] Lazy Lester - They Call Me Lazy [Excello 2107] Jimmy Dotson - Looking For My Baby [Zynn 511] Raful Neal - Crying Hard [Peacock 1686] Lazy Lester - I'm A Lover Not A Fighter [Excello 2143] Lightnin' Slim - Lightnin's Troubles [Excello 2160] Slim Harpo - One More Day [Excello 2162] Lightnin' Slim - Rooster Blues [Excello 2169] Lightnin' Slim & Lazy Lester - Trip To Chicago (alt tk) [Ace CDCHD 1403] Slim Harpo - What A Dream [Excello 2184] Smoky Babe, Clyde Causey - Black Gal [Folk-Lyric FL 111, 77 LA 12-12, Arhoolie CD 440] Smoky Babe & Lazy Lester - Mississippi River So Deep And Wide [Folk-Lyric FL 111, 77 LA 12-12, Arhoolie R 2019, CD 440] Herman E. Johnson - Depression Blues [Arhoolie 1060, CD 440] CD 2: Slim Harpo - Rainin' In My Heart [Excello 2194] Lightnin' Slim - I'm Tired Waitin' Baby [Excello 2203] Tabby Thomas - Hoodoo Party [Excello 2212] Lonesome Sundown - My Home Ain't Here [Excello 45-2213] Jimmy Anderson - Naggin' [Excello 2220] Silas Hogan - Trouble At Home Blues [Excello 2221] Lightnin' Slim - Winter Time Blues [Excello 2224] Jimmy Anderson - Going Through The Park [Excello 2227] Lightnin' Slim - I'm Evil [Excello 2228] The Nitehawks - Boogie Chillun [Montel 913] Moses "Whispering" Smith - Mean Woman Blues [Excello 22] Silas Hogan - I'm Goin In The Valley [Excello 2241] Silas Hogan - Dark Clouds Rollin' [Excello 2251] Lightnin' Slim - Can't Live This Life No More [Excello 2267] Isaiah Chattman - Cold In Hand [Flyright FLY 512] Slim Harpo - Baby, Scratch My Back [Excello 2273] Slim Harpo - I'm Gonna Miss You (Like The Devil) [Excello 2173] Silas Hogan - Hoo Doo Blues [Excello LPS-8015/16] Henry Gray - Showers Of Rain [Excello LPS-8015/16] Arthur Kelley - Number Ten At The Station (And Number 12 Is On The Road) [Excello LPS-8015/16] Arthur Kelley - How Can I Stay (When All I Have Is Gone) [Excello LPS-8015/16] Moses "Whispering" Smith - Baton Rouge Breakdown [Excello LPS-8015/16] Silas Hogan - Honey Bee Blues [Excello LPS-8015/16] Silas Hogan - I Didn't Tell Her To Leave [Excello LPS-8015/16] Slim Harpo - The Music's Hot [Excello LPS-8013] Robert Pete Williams - Goodbye Slim Harpo [Ahura Mazda AMS 2002, 45-AMS-101, Fat Possum CD 80349] Slim Harpo - Talking Blues [Flyright 558] reissue prod. by Martin Hawkins 2 CD set notes by Martin Hawkins Bear Family Records BCD 17512 (Germany 2019) Excello Records discography Slim Harpo discography Butch Cage & Willie B. Thomas discography Lightnin' Slim discography Robert Pete Williams discography Lonesome Sundown discography Lazy Lester discography Herman E. Johnson discography Silas Hogan discography Moses "Whispering" Smith discography Arthur "Guitar" Kelley discography

Sources / Further reading:
- own record collection
- eBay auctions
- Bob Eagle & Eric S. LeBlanc: Blues - A Regional Experience.- Santa Barbara (Praeger Publishers) 2013, p. 198
- Les Fancourt & Bob McGrath: The Blues Discography 1943 - 1970 (2nd edition).- Vancouver 2012, p. 575
- http://www.fonorama.cz/firmy/A/ACE.htm
- diverse internet resources
thanks to Benoît Brière for additional info

Robert 'Smoky Babe' Brown & Sally Jenkins Dotson
source: Back cover of Arhoolie LP 548
photographer: Harry Oster

Annie Brown & Robert 'Smoky Babe' Brown
source: Front cover of Arhoolie LP 548
photographer: Harry Oster