Search - Edith Wilson;Mary Stafford :: "Ain't Gonna Settle Down": The Pioneering Blues of Mary Stafford and Edith Wilson

After Mamie Smith exploded onto the blues scene in 1920--proving once and for all that black artists and black consumers were a force to be reckoned with--all the other record companies responded with their best imitations. The earliest of these and surely among the best were Mary Stafford and Edith Wilson. Stafford began recording in January 1921 and Wilson, backed by a formidable Johnny Dunn ensemble, in September 1921. What resulted is the purest, generally overlooked, iteration of the classic or vaudeville style of blues singing--which only now can be appreciated for its trailblazing character right alongside the guitar-slinging and street-fighting kind of blues from the masculine set. Stafford recorded a total of 14 sides; too few sadly for a cabaret singer who could deliver the blues with strength and panache. Wilson fared better, and here are 32 sides recorded between 1921 and 1930. Includes notes by blues scholar Steve Tracy in a handsome 32-page booklet accompanying the two CDs. Remastering and design from Grammy winners Richard Martin and Meagan Hennessey. These records have never sounded better.