WAYMON " SLOPPY " HENRY

 

To be upfront about it, I’m predisposed to like a guy called Sloppy Henry who sings songs with titles like "Long, Tall, Disconnected Mama". Be that as it may, the reasons that I enjoy the work of Mr. Henry don't end with the labels of his records.

Waymon "Sloppy" Henry was a singer who had a background in vaudeville and recorded several 78s from 1924-'29. Approximately half of his discography consists of fine blues songs where he's backed by the piano of Eddie Heywood. He also cut a few sides with Peg Leg Howell on guitar and great sawing violin from Eddie Anthony that are among my favorite prewar blues tunes. "Say I Do It" is particularly noteworthy: "Pete run with Mose because he powdered his nose and even wore ladies' hose...Say I do it, ain't nobody seen me, you sure got to prove it 'bout me..." Mr. Henry could also be a remarkably wistful singer, giving as much melancholy feeling to "Some Sweet Rainy Day" as he does to "The Best Cheap Car in the Market is a Ford". The subject matter of the lattermost number might not jibe with the usual 21st century picture of a bluesman, (the piano and cornet accompaniment probably doesn't, either) but I can't say that hinders my enjoyment of the song.

Some of the source 78s are pretty rough on this one (conveniently, all on side A), so a couple bucks have been knocked off our usual mark-up, giving a bit more incentive to pick up on the sounds of Sloppy Henry.

INFO : http://www.smokestacklightnin.com/Bios/Sloppy%20Henry.html