James 'Sugar Boy' Crawford - Hey Now! New Orleans Classic Recordings 1953 - 1958 (2023)

Renowned for the vibrancy and energy of his live shows as much as he was for the quality of his relatively slender discography, the late James 'Sugarboy' Crawford was and always will be a leading light of the New Orleans R&B scene of the mid to late 1950s. His most famous song and recording 'Jockamo' - better known as 'Iko Iko' - has been covered by artists as famous as the Dixie Cups (who had a 60s hit with it) and Dr. John (and as infamous as Rolf Harris…) and remains one of the Crescent City's musical 'National Anthems', played to this day.

It's here - of course - with 29 other prime examples of Crawford's craft, most of which are making their UK CD debut in this essential Jasmine collection, almost all of them recorded at the famous studio of the late Cosimo Matassa and all of them chock full of that classic New Orleans sound. Sadly few were hits at the time and, indeed, more than half the recordings here were not issued at the time - but that is no reflection whatsoever on their premium quality!

We couldn't fit Crawford's entire discography onto one CD, but not much is missing here from his 50s sessions. (Sadly there were virtually no 60s sessions in a career that ended abruptly after a terrible incident that, for a long while, left Crawford unable to sing or play…)

Crawford was very proud of his great records - and he had every reason to be. Here are the very best of them presented, as with all Jasmine CDs, in the highest audio quality with expert remastering and copious annotation.