Search - Elmore James :: Hits & Rarities

During the last three-and-a-quarter years of his tragically shortened life, slide guitar wizard Elmore James was as prolific and innovative a presence in the recording studio as he'd ever been. Maybe even more so. Under the savvy production aegis of Bobby Robinson, owner of Harlem-based Fire Records, Elmore took more stylistic chances than he ever had, recording with Sammy Myers' plaintive harmonica behind him on one session and a frisky uptown horn section on another. Robinson was clearly a fan; he'd searched for James long and hard before accidentally coming across him in a bar on Chicago's West Side. Once he located Elmore (who hadn't been near a studio for a couple of years prior to Robinson's intervention), Bobby recorded him repeatedly in Chicago, New York, and New Orleans. Elmore's blistering slide technique inspired a small legion of Chicago disciples led by his cousin Homesick James, J.B. Hutto, Hound Dog Taylor, and Johnny Littlejohn. Later on, Chuck Berry, Fleetwood Mac, and Duane Allman exhibited their allegiance as Elmore's inventions expanded into the rock realm.