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Mississippi Sheiks
Honey Babe Let the Deal Go Down:
The Best of Mississippi Sheiks
(Columbia/Legacy)
First Appeared in The Music Box, October 2004, Volume 11, #10
Written by John Metzger
In the early 1930s, it was hard to find a more successful string band than
Mississippi Sheiks. Founded by fiddler Lonnie Chatman, the group earned
widespread recognition throughout the South for its eclectically groundbreaking
displays of folk, pop, and country blues, so much so, that it made forays to New
York City and Chicago on the strength of its biggest hits Sittin’ on Top of
the World and Stop and Listen Blues #2. The former, of course, was
covered by the Grateful Dead (which likely learned it from Bill Monroe) on its
self-titled 1967 debut, while the latter undoubtedly served as the loosely-based
inspiration for the ensemble’s Caution (Do Not Stop on Tracks), which
appeared on Anthem of the Sun.
The recently released, 20-song compilation Honey Babe Let the Deal Go
Down: The Best of Mississippi Sheiks provides even more fodder for
budding music historians of the Grateful Dead as well as other more
contemporary artists, simply because of the many elements percolating throughout
its dusty strains that elude to tunes that had yet to be written by a myriad of
acts. Although the collection focuses entirely upon Mississippi Sheiks’ 1930-31
recordings, most of which were made for the OKeh label, this was a time when the
group was at the peak of its abilities. Although Chatman’s brothers Bo and Sam
joined the proceedings on occasion, particularly to serve as the accompanists to
Texas Alexander — a blues star in his own right — most of the songs were
performed as duets between Lonnie Chatman and guitarist/vocalist Walter Vinson,
who share a rather special and magical chemistry. As a result, The Best of
Mississippi Sheiks is an intriguing examination of an ensemble that survived
for less than a decade but helped shape the future of blues, bluegrass, folk,
and rock for a far longer period of time. 
Honey Babe Let the Deal Go Down is available
from Amazon.com. To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
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For UK orders, please
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2004
The Music Box
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