2:35
Blues, Candy & Big Maybelle, 1956
Written by Fred Mendelsohn and Buddy Lucas
The uptempo rocking rhythm & blues song has stinging guitar, riffing saxophones and a rollicking drum. A member of the band shouts out vocal prompts and questions like "Baby, my love will last (How long?) / Long as life in my body (You swear?)" between Maybelle's vocal, turning the performance into a live conversation, giving it an immediacy that draws the listener in. But her raw, powerful, intense vocal is really what makes the song. In a just world where "race music" wasn't pushed aside for watered-down white versions, Maybelle would have been bigger than Elvis. The charisma, power, and emotional immediacy were all there. Records like this prove she didn’t need translation.
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