Search - Amos Milburn :: Best Of: Down the Road Apiece

Mixing good-time jump blues à la Louis Jordan with two- fisted, boogie-woogie piano-pounding, smooth-voiced Amos Milburn was one of the brightest stars in post-WWII R&B. Recorded in 1946, the rousing title track (a cover of a popular country and western tune, later recorded by Chuck Berry and the Rolling Stones) and the trail-blazing "Chicken Shack Boogie" (a 1948 smash) are almost indistinguishable from what we now call rock & roll. Milburn is also justifiably famed for his long string of hit drinking songs: "Bad, Bad Whiskey," "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer," "Vicious, Vicious Vodka," and "Milk and Water," to name a few. All the hits, all the dipsomania, and all the related party numbers--"House Party (Tonight)" is typical--are poured into this 26-song collection. Ironically, the rock revolution Milburn helped foment all but killed his career. Living a life inspired by his song titles did the rest, and he died in 1980. Play this record and raise a glass in his memory. --Don Waller