Archive Review: Omar Kent Dykes & Jimmy Vaughan’s On the Jimmy Reed Highway (2007)

On paper, it must have seemed like a match made in heaven for German blues label Ruf Records. Combine gravel-throated vocalist Omar Kent Dykes, frontman for Texas blues-rock institution Omar & the Howlers, with extraordinary guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, formerly of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, for a tribute album to blues giant Jimmy Reed. ‘Nuff said…

Lofty conceptual albums – especially tributes – often tend to fall flat on their face when the execution fails to meet the high standard of creative expectations. In the case of On the Jimmy Reed Highway, however, Dykes and Vaughan succeed beyond the listener’s wildest dreams. On this entertaining tribute disc, the talented duo don’t try to recreate the Reed songbook for the modern era as much as they transport the listener back in time to the mid-1950s Chicago blues scene with their reverent, but highly-rocking interpretations of classic Reed material. 

Honoring The Jimmy Reed Legacy

The story of singer and songwriter Jimmy Reed is, perhaps, one of the most bittersweet in a blues genre filled with heartbreak and tragedy. After several missteps and false starts at launching a music career in Chicago during the early 1950s, Reed was introduced to the fledgling Vee-Jay Records label by bluesman Albert King. Recording with musical partner Eddie Taylor, and sporting songs often co-written by his wife Mary (Reed was said to be functionally illiterate), the blue singer reeled off a string of 14 R&B chart hits, eleven of which also hit the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.

Although most blues historians consider Reed to be a minor figure in the Chicago blues pantheon, his position as a popular artist is unassailable. Although he was a merely average guitarist and harmonica player (in a city littered with talented head-cutters), Reed possessed a warm, friendly voice with a way of lyrical phrasing and a sense of melody that appealed to record buyers. At his peak, Reed outsold contemporaries like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, and many of his songs – admittedly simple tunes that touched upon universal themes of life and romance – have become blues standards, covered by artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Jr. and the Rolling Stones.

Rocking & Rolling On The Jimmy Reed Highway

With On the Jimmy Reed Highway, Dykes and Vaughan celebrate the overwhelming achievements, not the tragedies of Reed’s short life. The rockabilly-tinged Dykes’ original, “Jimmy Reed Highway,” sets the stage for what would follow. Dykes honors Reed’s influence with this rollicking tribute song, name checking bluesmen like Lightning Slim, Lazy Lester, and Reed’s longtime partner, Eddie Taylor. Lou Ann Barton provides her welcome backing vocals while Vaughan injects a muscular guitar solo.

The rest of the track listing consists of songs that Reed either wrote or popularized, including R&B chart hits like “Big Boss Man,” “Baby What You Want Me To Do,” and “Bright Lights Big City” (the two combined here as a swinging medley). Dykes and Vaughan also tackle lesser-known Reed fare like “Good Lover,” presented here with a thick guitar tone and Barton’s brassy vocals juxtaposed against Dykes’ earthy growl. The slow-paced, sultry “Caress Me Baby” also features Barton and vintage mouth harp work courtesy of blues legend James Cotton.

The swaggering rhythm of “You Upset My Mind” is supported by a soulful vocal performance by Dykes, and blasting harmonica from Vaughan’s former bandmate Kim Wilson. “I’ll Change My Style” is an infectious R&B ballad with Vaughan’s great guitar resonance and tone behind the vocals. Other songs feature guest spots from skilled harmonica player Gary Primich and singer, harp-player, and Texas roots-music legend Delbert McClinton.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

If you’re a mark for the Chicago blues, grab a copy of On the Jimmy Reed Highway today – do not stop, and do not pass go. You’ll thank the Reverend later. If you’re new to the blues, you’ll find Omar Kent Dykes, Jimmie Vaughan and friends to be engaging hosts, providing an excellent introduction to the form with On the Jimmy Reed Highway. After listening to these passionate renditions from the Jimmy Reed songbook, you’ll be a blues fan for life. (Ruf Records, released 2007)

Hot Wax: Jimmy Reed’s I’m Jimmy Reed (1958/2024)

Singer, songwriter, guitar, harmonica wizard…bluesman Jimmy Reed could seemingly do it all. He rode a string of Top Ten-charting R&B hit singles like “You Don’t Have To Go,” “Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby,” “You Got Me Dizzy,” and “Honest I Do” to a modicum of fame during the 1950s. Reed carried his hit-making streak into the ‘60s with singles like “Close Together,” “Big Boss Man,” and “Bright Lights, Big City,” the latter two of which have since become blues standards covered by any contemporary artist worth their salt. But Reed’s singles began striking out more often than not when musical tastes changed towards folk-blues and he scored only one Top 40 charting song after 1962 until his death in 1975 at the too-young age of 50 years old.

Born in Dunleith, Mississippi in the heart of the Delta, Reed was taught guitar by his friend and fellow bluesman Eddie Taylor. After wandering across the state as a street performer, Reed immigrated to Chicago at the age of 18. He was drafted and served in World War II and, after being discharged in 1945, he began pursuing his blues career in Chicago clubs by night while working at the Armour meat-packing plant in nearby Gary, Indiana by day. Efforts to get a deal with R&B powerhouse Chess Records went nowhere, but Reed signed with Chicago’s Vee-Jay Records, where his labelmates included John Lee Hooker and Memphis Slim. Vee-Jay released roughly three-dozen Jimmy Reed 45s as well as a dozen albums before they went out-of-business in 1966, and it was with Vee-Jay that Reed found his greatest success.

Jimmy Reed’s I’m Jimmy Reed

Recently-reissued on vinyl by Craft Recordings’ Bluesville Records imprint, I’m Jimmy Reed was originally released in 1958 by Vee-Jay Records, the album a compilation of 12 songs previously released as singles between 1953 and 1958. The album’s original tracklist wasn’t in chronological order, so it opens with the slow-burning 1957 hit “Honest I Do” (#4 R&B), a slight shuffle complimented by Reed’s passionate vocals, fluid harmonica licks, and subtle fretwork. “Go On To School” was a single B-side but worthy of marquee billing, the song a much more aggressive shuffle closer in style to contemporary Chicago blues. Reed’s playful vocals are accompanied by fuller instrumentation, including his friend/mentor Eddie Taylor’s rhythm guitar.

Another B-side, 1955’s “Boogie In the Dark” is truth in advertising, an infectious instrumental booger-blues with a strutting, swaggering rhythm peppered by shots of harmonica and vibrating git play. Reed’s first big chart hit, 1956’s “Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby” (#3 R&B) is a real swinger, with a jaunty shuffling rhythm and Reed’s laconic vocals singing of unrequited affection. Reed’s blistering harpwork adds to the overall timelessness of the performance. Side two of I’m Jimmy Reed kicks off with the artist’s second big chart hit of 1956, the jumpin’ “You Got Me Dizzy” (#3 R&B), whereas the singer’s romantic prospects have improved with a rollicking performance offering plenty of walking bass lines, harp riffs, and nuanced guitarplay.  

The 1956 single “Can’t Stand To See You Go” (#10 R&B) amps up Reed’s typical shuffle formula with soulful vocals, a strong lyrical presence, and elegant guitarwork propelled by Vernell Fournier’s rolling drumbeats. The exotic “Roll & Rhumba” blends Reed’s typical shuffle with an Afro-Cuban dance beat, creating an effective toe-tapping instrumental. One of the few Reed singles that failed to chart, “You’re Something Else” is nevertheless a pulse-quickening R&B romp. I’m Jimmy Reed closes with what was actually the singer’s first hit single, 1955’s “You Don’t Have To Go” (#5 R&B), which displays hints of John Lee-styled boogie beneath its shuffling soundtrack, Reed’s harmonica pushed to the front, and steady timekeeping by drummer Albert Nelson, who would soon thereafter change his name to King, take up the guitar, and carve out his own slice of blues history.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Jimmy Reed was a musician’s musician, and although he’s often overlooked in any discussion of great bluesmen in favor of legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, or Junior Wells, Reed’s silky style and elegant fretwork influenced artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, the Rolling Stones, Eric Burdon & the Animals, the Yardbirds, and the Grateful Dead as well as contemporary bluesmen like Johnny Winter, Jimmie Vaughan, and Omar Kent Dykes. More than just an inspired debut, I’m Jimmy Reed is also a fine introduction to the artist’s immense charms, representing a more urbane sound than the Delta blues of Reed’s youth and pointing a way towards the future.

Like previous Bluesville reissues of classic albums in their Acoustic Sounds series, I’m Jimmy Reed was remastered from the original master tapes and pressed on thick, lustrous 180-gram black vinyl and packaged in a hefty cardboard sleeve with glossy cover art, the original back cover liner notes from 1958, and an obi strip with new notes by Bluesville’s Scott Billingham. It’s a beautiful package, and if you have any interest in blues music at all, this is the place to start! (Bluesville Records, released September 25th, 2024)

Buy the vinyl from Amazon: Jimmy Reed’s I’m Jimmy Reed