Foxy J&O – Richard Stamz Chicago Blues

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Richard Stamz was a colorful Chicago R&B and soul DJ who operated throughout the 50s and 60s. He was a slick jive-talker who hosted a groundbreaking black TV show in the city in 1956. He took over the Cobra /Artistic/Abco studio around 1960; this also included the ownership of the owner’s active Paso label which he continued to run alongside his own Foxy operation.

Bluesman Harold Burrage was already at Paso and he and Richard Stamz began to work closely together with Burrage recording, composing songs, playing sessions and even voicing ads for Stamz’s radio show. His three 45s for the two labels are superb examples of the early 60s where the blues was beginning to move towards soul. Burrage would eventually do this completely at M-Pac. The extremely rare original version of Betty Everett’s Please Love Me is featured here which will be of great interest to New Breed R&B fans, as will many of the tracks on these largely uncharted labels.

Out-and-out blues fans will be thrilled by the presence of some of Howlin’ Wolf’s sidemen in the Willie Williams band including guitarist Hubert Sumlin. That outfit provide three previously unreleased blues jam instrumentals. Influential guitarist Freddy Robinson appears as a session-man on many tracks and adds his own 45 from the Queen label including an alternate take of one side of the disc.

Tough-voiced female blues singers Mary Johnson and Flora D provide excellent R&B sides that complement the male contenders from Burrage, Lee ‘Shot’ Williams and Detroit Jr, while the Ideals and Ze Majestics represent the vocal group side with R&B-flavored numbers. The other previously unheard masters include a good R&B dance tempo song from Tony Gideon (a member of the Daylighters), a jazz influenced groover from one Loretta Branch, while the rare and mysterious Robert & The Rockin’ Robins are as cool as it comes singing about Romeo Joe.

US musicologists Richard Shurman and Patrick Roberts, who has written a book on Stamz’ life, provide fascinating musical and entertaining sociological facts about the recordings and the man. Richard Stamz’ daughter Phyllis has given the compilers and writers access to the family’s memorabilia and the package is well illustrated to provide a taster of Chicago musical life at the start of the 60s.

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