Willie '61' Blackwell, Memphis, June 7, 1971 photographer: Stephen C. LaVere

Willie  "61" Blackwell b. December 25, 1905 in LaGrange, Tennessee d. after March 1972, possibly in Memphis, Tennessee discography

Willie "61" Blackwell, Beale Street, Memphis 1970 source: Back cover of Flyright FLY 541; photographer: Mike Rowe

This discography is a non-commercial labor-of-love and is in no way associated with any business firm. All I know about the resp. artist's / label's musical output is shown on this page. To purchase out-of-print records I recommend an ebay, gemm or google search. And - sorry for that - I have not the time to answer any e-mails asking me about further information, let alone duplicating out-of-print recordings I happen to own. Stefan Wirz   www.wirz.de Willie "61" Blackwell 78 rpm / LPs / CDs # year of release title / label # / notes 10 inch 78 rpm 1 1941 Willie "61" Blackwell - Noiseless Motor Blues (064631-1)   @ youtube - She's Young And Wild (064630-1)   @ youtube   @ Spotify rec. July 30, 1941 in Chicago; Willie "61" Blackwell, voc, g; Alfred Elkins, imb Bluebird B8810 2 1941 Willie "61" Blackwell - Don't Misuse Me, Baby (064632-1)   @ youtube   @ Spotify - Bald Eagle Blues (064633-1)   @ youtube   @ Spotify rec. July 30, 1941 in Chicago; Willie "61" Blackwell, voc, g; Alfred Elkins, imb Bluebird B8845 3 1941 Willie "61" Blackwell - Chalk My Toy (064635-1)   @ youtube - Machine Gun Blues (064636-1)   @ youtube   @ Spotify rec. July 30, 1941 in Chicago; Willie "61" Blackwell, voc, g; Alfred Elkins, imb Bluebird B8876 4 1941 Willie "61" Blackwell - Four O'Clock Flower Blues (064634-1)   @ youtube - Rampaw Street Blues [sic] (064637-1)   @ youtube   @ Spotify rec. July 30, 1941 in Chicago; Willie "61" Blackwell, voc, g; Alfred Elkins, imb Bluebird B8921     Willie "61" Blackwell - Four O'Clock (Flower) Blues (6605-A-1) #   @ youtube   @ Spotify - interview (6605-A-2) *   @ youtube - Junian, A Jap's Girl Christmas For His Santa Claus [sic] (6605-B) []   @ youtube (starting at 0:35)   @ Spotify rec. July 16, 1942 at Sadie Beck's Plantation, Arkansas; Willie "61" Blackwell, voc, g; William Brown, g; * Willie "61" Blackwell, speech with Alan Lomax Library of Congress # LoC AFS L59 * Rounder CD [] LoC LBC 10;   Flyright 541 LP / CD compilations 5 1962 Negro Blues And Hollers From the Archive of Folk Song - Camp Hollers. Sung by an Unidentified Singer [Son House] At Clarksdale, Mississippi, 1941 - Cornfield Hollers. Sung by Charley Berry At Clarksdale, Ms. - I'm A Soldier In The Army Of The Lord. Sung by The Congregation Of Silent Grove Baptist Church With Trombone And Guitar At Clarksdale, Ms. - I'm Gonna Lift Up A Standard For My King. Sung by The Congregation Of The Church Of God In Christ At Moorehead Plantation, Lula, Ms. - Worried Life Blues. Sung by David Edwards(Honey Boy Edwards) With Guitar At Clarksdale, Ms. - Ragged And Dirty. Sung by William Brown With Guitar At Clarksdale, Ms. - Special Rider Blues. Sung and played by Son House With Guitar At Robinsonville, Ms. - Depot Blues. Sung and played by Son House With Guitar At Robinsonville, Ms. - Mississippi Blues. Sung by William Brown With Guitar At Sadie Beck's Plantation, Arkansas, 1942 - Four O'Clock Blues. Sung and played by Willie Blackwell and William Brown With Guitar At Sadie Beck's Plantation, Arkansas, 1942 - East St. Louis Blues. Sung by William Brown With Guitar At Sadie Beck's Plantation, Arkansas, 1942 - Low Down, Dirty Dog Blues. Sung and played by Son House With Guitar At Robinsonville, Ms, 1942 ed. by Marshall W. Stearns notes by Marshall W. Stearns Library of Congress AFS L59 6 1978 Songs Of War & History Blue Sky Boys - Great Grand Dad John Bray - Trench Blues William and Versey Smith - Everybody Help the Boys Come Home Wladyslaw Polak - W Amerykan'skiem Mies'cie Wilmoth Houdini and His Humming Birds - African Love Call Antti Syrjäniemi - Daytonin Apinajuttu Oscar Ford - Race Between A Ford And Chevrolet Hiski Salomaa - Värssyjä Sieltä Ja Täältä Hazekiah Jenkins - The Panic Is On Roy Acuff and His Smoky Mountain Boys - Old Age Pension Check Springback James - New Red Cross Blues David 'Honeyboy' Edwards - The Army Blues Willie '61' Blackwell - Junior, A Jap Girl's Christmas For Her Santa Claus Duke of Iron - Convoy L. W. [Lambert] and Harold [Tomlin] and the Carolina Neighbors - The Battle In Korea Lulu Belle and Scotty - I'm No Communist Louisiana Red - Red's Dream edited by Richard K. Spottswood notes by Judith R. Harway, Pekka Gronow, Donald R. Hill Library of Congress LBC 10 7 1979 Walking Blues Son House - Levee Camp Blues - Goverment Fleet Blues - Walking Blues Fiddlin' Joe Martin - Fo' Clock Blues Willie Brown - Make Me A Pallet On The Floor - Goin' To Fishing Son House - Special Rider Blues Leroy Williams - Uncle Sam Done Called Willie '61' Blackwell - Junior's A Jap Girl's Christmas For His Santa Claus [sic] David Edwards - Spread My Raincoat Down - Water Coast Blues - Army Blues - Wind Howlin' Blues - Roamin And Ramblin Blues rec. by Alan Lomax in the early 1940s notes by John Cowley Flyright FLY 541 Flyright Records discography 8 1985 Going Back On The Farm Blues In Chicago 1940-1942 Roosevelt Sykes - Let The Black Have His Way Baby Doo - I'm Gonna Walk Your Log Big Bill Broonzy - Jivin' Mr. Fuller Blues Lil Green - 99 Blues Willie '61' Blackwell - Machine Gun Blues The Florida Kid - I'm Going Back On The Farm Little Bill Gaither - Life Of Leroy Carr Big Joe & His Rhythm - What Will I Do Yank Rachell - Katy Lee Blues Gene Gilmore - She Got Something There The Five Breezes - My Buddy Blues Frank Edwards - Three Women Blues Peetie Wheatstraw's Buddy - Sleeping By Myself Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup - Kind Lover Blues Peter Chatman & His Washboard Band - The Jive Blues Washboard Sam & His Washboard Band - Good Old Cabbage Greens notes by John Cowley Travelin' Man TM-809 Travelin' Man Records discography 9 1987 Mississippi Country Blues, Vol. 2 (1938-1942) "Delta Blues In Chicago" Tommy McClennan - Brown Skin Girl - New Highway No. 51 - Whiskey Head Man - Deep Blue Sea Blues - I'm A Guitar King - Mozelle Blues - Mr. So And So Blues - Bluebird Blues John Henry Barbee - Six Weeks Old Blues - God Knows I Can't Help It Willie "61" Blackwell - She's Young And Wild - Noiseless Motor Blues - Don't Misuse Me, Baby - Bald Eagle Blues - Four O'Clock Flower Blues - Chalk My To - Machine Gun Blue - Rampaw Street Blue John Henry Barbee - You'll Work Down To Me Someday - Against My Will Document DLP 520 Document Records discography 10 1990 Mississippi Blues: Library of Congress Recordings 1940-1942 - Uncle Sam Done Called - Leroy Williams - Water Coast Blues - Honeyboy Edwards - Army Blues - Honeyboy Edwards - Going To Fishing - Fiddlin' Joe Martin - Spread My Raincoat Down - Honeyboy Edwards - Wind Howlin' Blues - Honeyboy Edwards - Make Me A Pallet On The Floor - Willie Brown - Roamin' & Ramblin' Blues - Honeyboy Edwards - High Lonesome Hill - Lucious Curtis - Payday - Willie Ford - Train Blues - Lucious Curtis - Lonesome Highway Blues - Lucious Curtis - Mississippi River Blues - Lucious Curtis - Stagolee - Lucious Curtis - Farmin' Man Blues - Lucious Curtis - Santa Field Blues [sic] - Willie Ford - Sto' Gallery Blues - Willie Ford - Rubber Ball Blues - Lucious Curtis - Junior's A Jap Girl's Christmas For His Santa Claus [sic] - Willie Blackwell Travelin' Man TMCD 07 Travelin' Man Records discography 11 1994 Carl Martin (1930-1936), Willie "61" Blackwell (1941) Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Tennessee Chocolate Drops (1930) - Knox County Stomp - Vine Street Drag Louie Bluie & Ted Bogan (1934) - State Street Rag - Ted's Stomp Carl Martin (1934-1936) - You Can Go Your Way - Kid Man Blues - Farewell To You Baby - You Can't Play Me Cheap - Badly Mistreated Man - Good Morning, Judge - Crow Jane - Old Time Blues - That New Kind Of Stuff - Joe Louis Blues - Let's Have A New Deal - I'm Gonna Have My Fun (When I Get My Bonus) - High Water Flood Blues Willie "61" Blackwell (1941) - She's Young And Wild - Noiseless Motor Blues - Don't Misuse Me, Baby - Bald Eagle Blues - Four O'Clock Flower Blues - Chalk My Toy - Machine Gun Blues - Rampaw Street Blues notes by Dave Moore Document DOCD 5229 12 1995 Mississippi Blues & Gospel 1934-1942 Field Recordings Church Of God In Christ (1941) - No Condemnation Rev. McGhee (1942) - Testimony (One Day Lord I'll Give Up This World For You) - Jesus Is My Everything Charles Berry (1942) - Cornfield Holler (6629-a-4) - Cornfield Holler (6629-b-5) Willie 61 Blackwell (1942) - Four O'Clock (Flower) Blues William Brown (1942) - Mississippi Blues - East St. Louis Blues - Ragged And Dirty George Boldwin (1940) - Country Girl Blues - Lucious Curtis (1940) - Guitar Picking Song - Time Is Gittin' Hard - Nobody's Business Willie Ford (1940) Bukka White (1939) - Sic 'em Dogs On - Po' Boy Frazier Family (1938) - Oh Mary Don't You Weep Calvin Frazier - Welfare Blues (2475-b) Blind Pete & Partner (1934) - Booker - Stagolee - Cacklin' Hen - Black Bayou Ain't Got No Bottom - Banty Rooster (fragment) (243-a-2) - Blues (fragment) - Banty Rooster (243-b 1) - Banty Rooster (243-b-2) notes by Howard Rye Document DOCD 5320 13 2001 Negro Blues And Hollers The Library of Congress Archive of Folk Culture Son House, Willie Brown & Fiddlin' Joe Martin - Camp Hollers Charley Berry - Cornfield Hollers Silent Grove Baptist Church Conregation - I'm A Soldier In The Army Of The Lord Church of God Christ Congregation - I'm Gonna Lift Up A Standard For My King David Edwards - Worried Life Blues William Brown - Ragged And Dirty Son House - Special Rider Blues - Depot Blues William Brown - Mississippi Blues William Blackwell & William Brown - Four O'Clock Flower Blues William Brown - East St. Louis Blues Son House - Low Down Dirty Dog Blues Rounder CD 1501 14 2002 Alan Lomax Collection: The Land Where The Blues Began - Four O' Clock Flower Blues - William Blackwell & William Brown - Interview with Willie '61' Blackwell - Walking Blues - Eddie 'Son' House, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, Willie Brown, Leroy Williams - When I Lay My Burden Down - Turner Junior Johnson - Strange Things Happening In The Land - Charles Haffer, Jr. - Missionary Sermon By J.H. Terrell - Rock Daniel - Reverend C. H. Savage - Satisfied - Florence Stamp - I'm A Soldier In The Army Of The Lord - Congregation of the Church of God in Christ - Sermon: Hell Is A Place - Reverend Ribbins - The Preacher And The Bear - M.C. Orr - Mississippi Sounding Calls - Joe Shores - Roustabout Song - John Cameron - The Toast To Bud Doggett - Willie Stark - I Been Down In The Circle Before - Calvin Frazier, Sampson Pittman - Rosie - Dobie Red - Early In The Mornin' - 22, Tangle Eye, Hard Hair, Little Red - I'm Goin' Home - D.W. "Bama" Stuart - Go Down, Old Hannah - Ernest Williams - John Henry - Sid Hemphill, Lucius Smith, Alec Askew, Will Head - Emmaline, Take Your Time - Alex Askew - Jim And John - Ed Young, G.D. Young, Lonnie Young - Shake 'Em On Down - Mississippi Fred McDowell - Wind Howling Blues - David 'Honeyboy' Edwards - Country Blues - Muddy Waters - Black, Brown And White - Big Bill Broonzy - Life Is Like That - Memphis Slim, Big Bill Broonzy, and Sonny Boy Williamson - She Lived Her Life Too Fast - Forrest City Joe soundtrack to Alan Lomax's book of the same name rec. between 1933 and 1959 by Alan Lomax, Lewis Jones, John W. Work, John A. Lomax, and Herbert Halpert. Remastered to 24-bit digital from the original metal and acetate discs, and the original paper and acetate-backed tape recordings Rounder CDROUN1861 15 2007 When The Levee Breaks - Mississippi Blues Rare Cuts 1926-1941 disc 1: - Cottonfield Blues Part 1 - Garfield Akers - (featuring Joe Calicott) - Bedside Blues - Jim Thompkins - Mississippi Bottom Blues - Kid Bailey - (featuring Unknown) - Poor Boy Blues - Sam Butler - I'm Leavin' Town - William Harris - (featuring Joe Robinson) - Hittin' The Bottle Stomp - Mississippi Jook Band - (featuring Roosevelt Graves/Aaron Graves/Coone... - Last Kind Words Blues - Geeshie Wiley - Third Street Woman Blues - Blind Willie Reynolds - Muddy Water Blues - Freddie Spruell - Fare Thee Well Blues - Joe Calicott - That Won't Do - Arthur Petties - Four O'Clock Flower Blues - Willie '61' Blackwell - (featuring Alfred Elkins) - Evil Devil Woman Blues - Joe McCoy - (featuring Charlie McCoy) - Jail House Blues, The - Sam Collins - Black Spider Blues - Robert Lockwood - (featuring Alfred Elkins) - Traveling Riverside Blues Take 1 - Robert Johnson - Baltimore Blues - Charlie McCoy - (featuring Joe McCoy) - Down The Big Road Blues - Mattie Delaney - You Scolded Me And Drove Me - Mississippi Bracey - (featuring Virginia Bracey) - Milk Cow Blues - Freddie Spruell - Ten Pound Hammer - Mose Andrews - Noiseless Motor Blues - Willie '61' Blackwell - (featuring Alfred Elkins) - Jailhouse Fire Blues - Walter 'Buddy Boy' Hawkins - 41 Highway - Freddie Spruell - (featuring Carl Martin) - Times Has Done Got Hard - King Solomon Hill disc 2: - Mississippi County Farm Blues - Son House - When The Levee Breaks - Joe McCoy - (featuring Memphis Minnie) - Ninety Nine Blues - Blind Joe Reynolds - Snake Doctor Blues - Jelly Jaw Short - Little Girl In Rome - Otto Virgial - It's Cold In China Blues - Mississippi Moaner - Bald Eagle Blues - Willie '61' Blackwell - Boodle-De-Bum Blues - Bogus Ben Covington - Bull Frog Blues - William Harris - Dangerous Woman - Mississippi Jook Band - (featuring Roosevelt Graves/Aaron Graves/Cooney Vaughn) - Shaggy Dog Blues - Buddy Boy Hawkins - Devil In The Lion's Den - Sam Collins - Quarrellin' Mama Blues - Arthur Petties - (featuring Unknown/Jed Davenport) - Devil And My Brown Blues - Sam Butler - Take A Little Walk With Me - Robert Lockwood - (featuring Alfred Elkins) - Last Time Blues - Charlie McCoy - Dough Roller Blues - Garfield Akers - Crowing Rooster, The - Walter Rhodes - (featuring 'Pet' And 'Can') - Motherless Child Blues - Geeshie Wiley/Elva Thomas - Married Woman Blues - George Torey - She's Young And Wild - Willie '61' Blackwell - (featuring Alfred Elkins) - Cherry Ball - Mississippi Bracey - (featuring Virginia Bracey) - Bad Notion Blues - Otto Virgial - Don't Cry Baby - Freddy Spruell - (featuring Carl Martin) - Rowdy Blues - Kid Bailey - (featuring Unknown) disc 3: - My Buddy Blind Papa Lemon - King Solomon Hill - Snatch It Back Blues - Walter 'Buddy Boy' Hawkins - Machine Gun Blues - Willie '61' Blackwell - (featuring Alfred Elkins) - Revenue Man Blues - Arthur Petties - (featuring Unknown/Jed Davenport) - Mr Freddie's Kokomo Blues - Freddie Spruell - (featuring Carl Martin) - Over To My House - Geeshie Wiley - (featuring Elvie Thomas) - Barefoot Blues - Jelly Jaw Short - Jumpin' And Shoutin' Blues - Garfield Akers - Look Who's Coming Down The Road - Georgia Pine Boy - (featuring Unknown) - Traveling Mama Blues - Joe Calicott - Leavin' Here Blues - William Harris - Got The Blues About Rome - Otto Virgial - Young Heifer Blues - Mose Andrews - Skippy Whippy - Mississippi Jook Band - (featuring Roosevelt Graves/Aaron Graves/Cooney Vaughn) - Yellow Dog Blues - Sam Collins - You Can't Keep No Brown - Sam Butler - Tallahatchie River Blues - Mattie Delaney - Stered Gal - Mississippi Bracey - Motherless And Fatherless Blues - Mississippi Mudder - (featuring Unknown) - Don't Misuse Me, Baby - Willie '61' Blackwell - (featuring Alfred Elkins) - I'm Gonna Train My Baby - Robert Lockwood - (featuring Alfred Elkins) - Out On Santa Fe Blues - Arthur Petties - It's Hard Times - Joe Stone - Your Good Man Is Gone - Freddie Spruell - (featuring Carl Martin) - Cold Woman Blues - Blind Joe Reynolds disc 4: - Clarksdale Moan - Son House - Adam And Eve In The Garden - Bogus Ben Covington - Lonesome Man Blues - George Torey - Leaving Home Blues - Walter Rhodes - (featuring 'Pet' And 'Can') - Loving Lady Blues - Sam Collins - Early Mornin' Blues - William Harris - Number Three Blues - Walter 'Buddy Boy' Hawkins - Tell Me Baby - King Solomon Hill - Little Boy Blue - Robert Lockwood - (featuring Alfred Elkins) - Cottonfield Blues Part 2 - Garfield Akers - (featuring Joe Calicott) - Chalk My Toy - Willie '61' Blackwell - (featuring Alfred Elkins) - Barbecue Bust - Mississippi Jook Band - (featuring Roosevelt Graves/Aaron Graves/Cooney Vaughn) - Two Time Blues - Arthur Petties - Back Door Blues - Joe Stone - Way Back Down Home - Freddie Spruell - Skinny Leg Blues - Geeshie Wiley - Meat Cutter Blues - Joe McCoy - (featuring Charlie McCoy) - Mississippi Moan - Mississippi Moaner - Married Man Blues - Blind Willie Reynolds - Jefferson County Blues - Sam Butler - Rampaw Street Blues - Willie '61' Blackwell - (featuring Alfred Elkins) - I'll Overcome Someday - Mississippi Bracey - (featuring Virginia Bracey) - Good Boy Blues - Arthur Petties - Grand Daddy Blues - Jelly Jaw Short - Let's Go Riding - Freddie Spruell - (featuring Carl Martin) 4 CD box JSP JSPCD 7781 Additional information appreciated !!!   Sources / Further reading: - own record collection - Görgen Antonsson discographies - Robert M.W. Dixon & John Godrich: Blues & Gospel Records 1902 - 1943, 3rd ed. 1982, p. 90 - Robert M.W. Dixon, John Godrich & Howard W. Rye: Blues & Gospel Records 1890 - 1943, 4th ed. 1997, p. 78 - Bob Eagle & Eric S. LeBlanc: Blues - A Regional Experience.- Santa Barbara (Praeger Publishers) 2013, p. 241 - Ronald Paul Harwood: Detroit blues.- Jazz Journal vol. 20 no. 6 (June 1967), pp. 6-7 - eBay auctions - diverse internet resources photo on top of left column: Willie "61" Blackwell, Memphis, June 7, 1971; source: The Blues - A Book of Postcards (Vol. 1).- San Francisco (Pomegranate Artbooks A534), 1995; photographer: Stephen C. LaVere thanks to Snežana Lazarevic for additional info   Jim O'Neal on song title "[I'm Going To Send] Junior A Jap's Skull [For] Christmas For His [Present from] Santa Claus" recorded just a few months after the surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory, on the morning of December 7, 1941   River City Blues Festival at Ellis Auditorium in Memphis, TN, December 3, 1971 l to r: Fred McDowell, Mrs. Van Hunt, Sweet Charlene, Willie "61" Blackwell, Mose Vinson (at piano), Sam Clark, Willie Morris, Richard "Hacksaw" Harney, Dewey Corley, Lee Baker (seated), Houston Stackhouse (partially obscured), Sleepy John Estes, Hammie Nixon, Earl Bell (face away from camera), Furry Lewis (seated), Bukka White, and assistant emcee T.R. The actual emcee, Nat D. Williams, is not pictured; Festival produced by Steve LaVere source: Living Blues 7 (Winter 1971-72), p. 10; photographer: Jim Godown   Dewey Corley, Willie '61' Blackwell (at the piano), George Paulus & Furry Lewis at the River City Blues Festival (produced by Steve LaVere), Ellis Auditorium in Memphis, TN, December 3, 1971 source: Living Blues 7 (Winter 1971-72), p. 8; photographer: Jim O'Neal         02/28/2018)