''The Blues Is Now'' is a 1967 studio album by the American singer

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

, accompanied by organist Jack McDuff.

Reception

Thomas Ward reviewed the album for

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

and described ''The Blues Is Now'' as "arguably the finest" of Witherspoon's Verve albums and described his voice as "...in top form and hugely expressive. ...A light-night blues classic, this is Witherspoon at his most relaxed and assured and is a joy to listen to".

Track listing

# "

Sweet Slumber "Sweet Slumber" is a 1943 song written by Lucky Millinder, Al J. Neiburg and Henri Woode William Henri Woode (September 25, 1909 – May 31, 1994) was an American composer, lyricist, arranger, and singer. His compositions include '' A Night at the ...

" (

Lucky Millinder Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder (August 8, 1910 – September 28, 1966) was an American swing and rhythm-and-blues bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang, his showmanship and musical ...

, Al J. Neiburg,

Henri Woode William Henri Woode (September 25, 1909 – May 31, 1994) was an American composer, lyricist, arranger, and singer. His compositions include '' A Night at the Vanguard'', '' Sweet Slumber'', '' You Taught Me to Love Again'', and the jazz standard '' ...

) – 3:53 # "

I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town "We Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town" is a song originally recorded on September 3, 1936, by Piedmont blues musician Casey Bill Weldon. Weldon performed it as a solo piece, with vocals and acoustic guitar plus piano and double bass accompanime ...

" ( Andy Razaf, Will Weldon) – 2:48 # "Past Forty Blues" (Robert Lee Roach,

) – 4:23 # "S.K. Blues" ( Saunders King) – 2:25 # "Late One Evening" (Witherspoon) – 3:03 # "Part Time Woman" (Witherspoon) – 3:31 # "

Good Rocking Tonight "Good Rocking Tonight" is a jump blues song originally released in 1947 by its writer, Roy Brown and was covered by many recording artists (sometimes as Good Rockin' Tonight). The song includes the memorable refrain, "Well I heard the news, th ...

" ( Roy Brown) – 2:17 # "I Won't Tell a Soul (I Love You)" (Hughie Clark, Ross Parker) – 5:20 # "My Baby's Quit Me" (

Doc Pomus Jerome Solon Felder (June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall ...

) – 3:12 # "My Money's Long This Morning, Baby" (David Parker) – 2:11

Personnel

– vocals * Jack McDuff – arranger, organ * Leo Johnson, Danny Turner – alto saxophone,

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

, flute *

Melvin Sparks Melvin Sparks (March 22, 1946 – March 15, 2011) was an American soul jazz, hard bop and jazz blues guitarist. He recorded a number of albums for Prestige Records, later recording for Savant Records. He appeared on several recordings with musici ...

– guitar *

Jymie Merritt Jymie Merritt (May 3, 1926 – April 10, 2020) was an American jazz double-bassist, electric-bass pioneer, band leader and composer. Merritt was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers group from 1957 until 1962. The same year he left Blakey's b ...

– bass guitar * Ray Appleton – drums ;Production * Hollis King – art direction * Lew Futterman – producer * Nancy Reiner – cover art * Acy Lehman – cover design *

Val Valentin Luis Pastor "Val" Valentin (January 6, 1920 – March 24, 1999) was an American recording engineer with six decades of work in the music industry. Much of his work was done for MGM Records and Verve Records. His large discography includes Jazz ...

– engineer *

Ken Druker Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...

– executive producer * Bob Irwin – mastering * Jayme Pieruzzi – mastering * Raymond Ross – photography * Bryan Koniarz – reissue producer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blues Is Now 1967 albums Jimmy Witherspoon albums Verve Records albums