Tommy Mcclennan & Robert Petway - Shake 'Em On Down: Collected Recordings 1939-42 (2024)

Tommy McLennan and Robert Petway were blues singers, guitarists and songwriters from Mississippi, who were active during the 1930s and ‘40s and both made records around the same time for the Bluebird label from 1939 to 1942, some of which were early precursors of rock ‘n’ roll. They often performed together, but only collaborated on a couple of titles that they recorded. McLennan released around 40 titles during his career, and Petway released 14, so this 50-track 2-CD collection comprises the majority of their career output, mostly, as noted above, recording solo or with an improvised bass, but with McLennan joining Petway on his recording of “Boogie Woogie Woman”. It features some important songs, most notably McLennan’s “Bottle It Up And Go”, “Baby, Don't You Want To Go”, “Shake ‘Em On Down” and “New Highway No. 51”, plus “Cross Cut Saw” and “My Baby’s Gone”, both covered by other artists in later years, plus Robert Petway’s “Catfish Blues”, adapted by Muddy Waters as “Rollin’ Stone”. They were both relatively obscure figures of the blues, not featuring in the burgeoning of the genre during the late ‘40s and 1950s, but they were distinctive Delta performers, with this collection offering a comprehensive insight into their music.