Dust My Broom

Elmore James was one of the most exciting and powerful recording artists of the postwar blues explosion. From his earliest recording of “Dust My Broom” in the early ‘50s through his magnificent, soulful recording of “The Sky is Crying” in the early 1960s, Elmore James represents the updating in musical terms of the deep, dark Mississippi blues of the ‘20s and ‘30s. Influenced by Robert Johnson, Elmore, through his use of amplification, sustain, and his spine-chilling slide work, set the standard for electric slide guitar that many have strived for but so few have attained.

Shake Your Moneymaker: Fire Sessions

To experience his hoarse, almost shouted vocals over his wickedly searing electrified slide, one wonders how tunes such as “Hand in Hand,” “Hawaiian Boogie” and “Something Inside Me” never dented the charts. It’s said that seeing Elmore perform during this time was an “emotionally and physically draining experience.” His distant cousin and former bandmate Homesick James recounts nights when the audience, tired and sweaty, would shower the bandstand with 10 and 20 dollar bills in appreciation for the musical heat generated by the band.

     Elmore was born in January 1918, in Richland, Mississippi, and from the few firsthand accounts available, led a typical rural, sharecropper’s existence. As with most Mississippi guitarists, his first instrument was bailing wire nailed to the side of the house, and played with a bottle or metal pipe. He traveled the Delta with many of the most important players of the area, from Robert Johnson and J.B. Lenoir to Big Boy Crudup and Sonny Boy Williamson, appearing with Sonny on the famous King Biscuit Radio programs broadcast throughout the Delta in the late-‘40s and early-‘50s.
      His first trip to Chicago marked a decade of moving back and forth between the earthiness of the Delta (“down home” as they say) and the big city. During this time, he recorded for many different labels, many at the same time, and left a body of work that is virtually unparalleled in recorded blues history. He was first recorded, unknowingly, in Jackson, Mississippi for the Trumpet label where his first and most “down home” of the “Dust My Broom” recordings was made. Featuring Sonny Boy Williamson on a decidedly rural-sounding harmonica, this track was done while Elmore thought they were rehearsing, because he was too shy to record as planned. When he discovered this, he left the label and hence recorded this one side only for them. Incidentally, the Trumpet label story is a fascinating history of one woman’s experiences in the male-dominated postwar record industry, the label being owned and operated by Lillian McMurray.

      After his first trip to Chicago, Elmore started recording for the Memphis-based Meteor label which, with the help of ever-present talent scout Ike Turner, recorded some of the rawest, most visceral sounds ever put on a 78 rpm record. Many of the finest and most ferocious sides Elmore James recorded were done in a juke joint, know as the Club Bizarre, in Canton, Mississippi, by Ike Turner and label boss, Joe Bihari. If there ever was an approximation of what the Broomdusters sounded like live, these recordings, including “Hawaiian Boogie” and “Hand in Hand” are the best example of it. After tracking Elmore down at a radio repair shop in town, plans were made to record Elmore using Ike Turner on piano and two local musicians on sax and drums. The sessions ran over a few days with Joe Bihari using one of the early Magnachord tape machines to stockpile many of the most important, postwar blues recordings on little 7-inch reels. Subsequent sides were recorded in Chicago, New York and Hollywood, all with an astonishing degree of intensity and power. After his spell with the Meteor/Flair labels, Elmore moved around to many of the independent R&B labels of the Midwest, including Chess, Chief and Vee Jay, where he consistently turned out raw, but fully realized performances, including the amazing “Madison Blues” and the stunning “Twelve-Year-Old Boy” which had Elmore, Eddie Taylor and Wayne Bennett all playing through the same amplifier!

     In the late 1950s, Elmore began what ultimately were his last few recording sessions for Bobby Robinson’s Fire and Fury labels. More than any others, these sides show James at the height of his powers, with the guitar pyrotechnics being answered by the churchy moans of Elmore’s raspy vocals. Some of the finest of his sides during this period include the mesmerizing “Roll and Tumble,” the funky backbeat of “Shake Your Moneymaker” (incidentally, with Sam Meyers playing drums) and probably the one tune that embodies everything that Elmore James as an artist had accomplished. . . “The Sky is Crying.” It’s hard to believe that Elmore James’ recorded legacy spanned a brief 11 years, and even more sobering that he died at the age of 45. They say the brightest stars burn the hottest, and Elmore James was living proof of that. Elmore died May 24, 1963, at the home of his friend and bandmate, Homesick James, after returning to Chicago to appear at the grand opening of disc jockey and promoter Big Bill Hill’s Copacabana Club. Elmore’s impact on modern blues guitar was immense, and his recorded legacy stands as the yardstick for electric slide guitarists everywhere.