Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers
Encyclopedia
Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers is the 1971 (see 1971 in music
) debut album of Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor
.
Cub Coda of Allmusic describes it as "wild, raucous, crazy music straight out of the South Side
clubs", and calls it "one of the greatest slide guitar
albums of all time". The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings describes its sound as "loud, harsh, boxy and exciting".
Originally issued on LP
as the first release on the Alligator
label, it has subsequently been reissued on CD.
label. The label was founded by Bruce Iglauer
for the specific purpose of releasing an album of Taylor's music after he had been unable to persuade Bob Koester
, then his boss at Delmark
, to record Taylor.
The album features only three musicians: Taylor himself on vocals and slide guitar, Brewer Phillips on guitar
and Ted Harvey on drums
. For solos, the two guitarists alternate between playing lead and accompanying the other guitarist.
The record sold 9,000 copies in its first year, a large number for a blues record on an independent label, and by 1998 had sold around 100,000 copies. At the time of the recording, Taylor was playing locally in taverns, but the higher profile the album's success gave him enabled him to obtain work further afield, eventually touring as far away as Australia.
Further material from the same sessions was released on the posthumous album Genuine Houserocking Music.
1971 in music
-Events:*February 1 – after months of feuding in the press, Ginger Baker and Elvin Jones hold a "drum battle" at The Lyceum.*February 8 – Bob Dylan's hour-long documentary film, Eat the Document, is premièred at New York's Academy of Music...
) debut album of Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor
Hound Dog Taylor
Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor was an American Chicago blues guitarist and singer.-Career:Taylor was born in Natchez, Mississippi in 1915 . He originally played piano, but began playing guitar when he was 20...
.
Cub Coda of Allmusic describes it as "wild, raucous, crazy music straight out of the South Side
South Side (Chicago)
The South Side is a major part of the City of Chicago, which is located in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Much of it has evolved from the city's incorporation of independent townships, such as Hyde Park Township which voted along with several other townships to be annexed in the June 29,...
clubs", and calls it "one of the greatest slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
albums of all time". The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings describes its sound as "loud, harsh, boxy and exciting".
Originally issued on LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
as the first release on the Alligator
Alligator Records
Alligator Records is a Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971.Iglauer started the label with his own savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, declined to record...
label, it has subsequently been reissued on CD.
Background
As well as being Taylor's debut album, Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers was the first release on the AlligatorAlligator Records
Alligator Records is a Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971.Iglauer started the label with his own savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, declined to record...
label. The label was founded by Bruce Iglauer
Bruce Iglauer
Bruce Iglauer is the American founder and head of the independent blues record label Alligator Records in Chicago.Iglauer was born in Ann Arbor and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Cincinnati, Ohio...
for the specific purpose of releasing an album of Taylor's music after he had been unable to persuade Bob Koester
Bob Koester
Robert Gregg "Bob" Koester is the American founder and owner of Delmark Records, one of the oldest independent record labels in the United States, and one of jazz's best-known imprints...
, then his boss at Delmark
Delmark Records
Delmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in...
, to record Taylor.
The album features only three musicians: Taylor himself on vocals and slide guitar, Brewer Phillips on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and Ted Harvey on drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
. For solos, the two guitarists alternate between playing lead and accompanying the other guitarist.
The record sold 9,000 copies in its first year, a large number for a blues record on an independent label, and by 1998 had sold around 100,000 copies. At the time of the recording, Taylor was playing locally in taverns, but the higher profile the album's success gave him enabled him to obtain work further afield, eventually touring as far away as Australia.
Further material from the same sessions was released on the posthumous album Genuine Houserocking Music.
Track listing
Except where otherwise noted, tracks composed by Hound Dog TaylorHound Dog Taylor
Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor was an American Chicago blues guitarist and singer.-Career:Taylor was born in Natchez, Mississippi in 1915 . He originally played piano, but began playing guitar when he was 20...
- "She's Gone" - 3:46
- "Walking the Ceiling" - 3:12
- "Held My Baby Last Night" (Elmore JamesElmore JamesElmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
) - 4:14 - "Taylor's Rock" - 3:50
- "It's Alright" - 3:10
- "Phillips' Theme" - 4:27
- "Wild About You, Baby" (Elmore James) - 3:35
- "I Just Can't Make It" - 3:15
- "It Hurts Me Too" (Elmore James) - 3:47
- "44 Blues" - 2:52
- "Give Me Back My Wig" - 3:31
- "55th Street Boogie" - 2:59
Performance
- Ted Harvey - drums
- Brewer Phillips - Guitar
- Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor - Vocals, Guitar
Production
- Peter Amft - designGraphic designGraphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
, photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film... - Stu Black - engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Bruce Iglauer - producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Wesley Race - producer, liner notesLiner notesLiner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
- Michael Trossman - design