THE POST-WAR BLUES
RECORDS
Independent label: The Post War
Blues was a record label setup in 1965 by Mike Rowe. It specialized in reissuing
obscure post war blues recordings on LP-Samplers and at least one EP. The label has been one of the first to systematically put out
compilations of recordings by more or less known post war blues artists like Big
Walter Horton, Joe Hill Louis, Willie Love, Levi Seabury, Charley Booker,
Harmonica Frank, Junior Brooks, Driftin' Slim, Luther Huff, Boyd Gilmore, Dan
Pickett, Doug Quattlebaum, Skoodle Dum Doo & Shefield, Leroy Dallas, Country
Paul (aka Carolina Slim), Curley Weaver, Julius King, Jesse Thomas, Alex Moore,
Manny Nichols, Soldier Boy Houston, Buddy Chiles, Andy Thomas, Country Jim, Nat
Terry, Harvey Hill & His String Band, L.C. Green, Henry Smith & His Blue
Flames, Sylvester Cotton, Slim Pickens, Baby Boy Warren, Bobo Jenkins and Andrew
Durham and thus - while the so-called 'Blues Revival' of the 1960s was going on
- helped gratify the needs of a growing number of white customers to hear those
artists' work without having to search for the rare 78 rpm records on which
those recordings were originally released. Blues
scholar (and Blues & Rhythm co-editor) Keith Briggs in his 1986 Blues &
Rhythm article on bootleg blues record labels has the following to say about The
Post War Blues: "Post War Blues only produced five albums but they remain
sought-after items to this day. They were 'Chicago', 'Memphis and the Delta',
'Detroit', 'East Coast States' and 'Texas'. Although just about every track on
the Chicago album is now available elsewhere the other four all carry rare items
otherwise unavailable on LP. 'Chicago' has a standard 'bootleg' sleeve and
includes a booklet but from then on P.W.B. managed to produce laminated sleeves
of professional quality each embellished with photographs and copious notes. The
sound of these records is outstandingly good and all are worthy of attention. A
few issues later Phil Turton - commenting on the Briggs article - added the
following: "Mike Rowe's Post War Blues should always be given pride of place
both as the start of it all and also as a series of well thought out records
designed to give attention to artists and styles that the major companies were
totally ignoring.Label founder Mike Rowe is best
known as contributor to Blues Unlimited and other blues magazines, writer of
album liner notes, and author of Chicago Blues: The City and the Music (Da Capo
Paperback), first published in 1973 as 'Chicago Breakdown', one of the blues'
signature reference works and still in print. Distributed By The Post-War
Blues Records.
66
Various
Artists
Hobos And
Drifters
THE POST-WAR
BLUES
BRL
100