Earl Gaines - Crankshaft Blues (2007)

Earl Gaines was born in Alabama in 1935. He left home at age 16 and headed for Nashville, hoping for a career as a blues singer. He hooked up with the great saxophonist Louis Brooks whose group the High-Toppers were the first call R&B session musicians in Nashville at the time. Earl fronted the group as a vocalist and also played drums from time to time. In his career Gaines recorded with the cream of Nashville's R&B sidemen including Johnny Jones, Billy Cox, Larry Lee, Freeman Brown, Skippy Brookes, Arron Varnell, Harrison Calloway and The Commanders. This recording features many rarities and 1990's outtakes and showcases what an amazing artist Earl Gaines is and is a must for fans of Southern Soul and Blues. Crankshaft Blues features guest appearances by Roscoe Shelton, members of The Amazing Rhythm Aces and Roadrunners and is digitally remastered and packaged in digipak format with informative liner notation by Fred James.