Mercury Records Collection: MG-20242: Somebody Up There Digs Me

MG-20242: Somebody Up There Digs Me / Louis Jordan

Label Type :	black Mercury type A
Matrix Number :	SIDE-A	MG20242A MS1 MSI B3 I F-S
	SIDE-B	MG20242B MS1 MSI B4 F-S I

Comments

Has several stains on the cover, but the disc itself is in excellent condition.

Inside The Groove

One of his Mercury albums (there's one more), full of re-recordings of his hit tunes, by the true giant and the creator of “Jump” music, backed up with nice jazz musicians most of whom Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones took care of.

Personal Impression (and brief notes)

Ah, Louis Jordan! One of the greatest originators of black music. He has been a hero of Jump music, and actually his left a gem of greatest black music full of energy.

This album is his first full-album on Mercury (the other is MG-20331), recorded in 1956, and this album is nothing but awesome.

Although all of the tunes are “re-make” of his huge hit-tunes in the 1940s, this sound is truly great! Arranged by Quincy Jones, Jouis Jordan is backed up with famous Jazz musicians such as Sam Taylor, Mickey Baker, Jimmy Cleveland, Ernie Royal, etc. The band really rocks and rolls. The finest example of “Re-Recordings”. Of course Jouis Jordan himself plays and sings (and even raps) so cool and funky. Maybe everybody will like this album. A great great album.

Strictly Personal Rating (to what extent I could enjoy this album)

10 out of 10

Track Listing

SIDE-A
A-1	14366-2	Caldonia (Moore)	2:23
A-2	14368-4	Is You Is Or Is You Ain't Ma Baby (Austin - Jordan)	3:16
A-3	14375-6	Run Joe (Jordan - Herrick - Willoughby)	3:10
A-4	14376-5	Early In The Morning (Hickman - Jordan - Bartley)	3:23
A-5	14364-5	Choo Choo Ch Boogie (Horton - Darling - Gabler)	2:16
A-6	14376-4	Knock Me A Kiss (Jackson)	2:52
SIDE-B
B-1	14367-5	Let The Good Time Roll (Theard - Moore)	2:41
B-2	14372-6	Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying (Greene)	3:12
B-3	14369-2	Beware Brother Beware (Moore - Adams - Lasco)	2:41
B-4	14373-2	I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town (Weldon - Jacobs)	3:20
B-5	14374-9	Salt Pork West Virginia (Tennyson - Moore)	2:46
B-6	14363-4	Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens (Kramer - Whitney)	2:32

Personnel

Personnel/recorded date/master numbers confirmed with the Ruppli's discography.
(“The Mercury Labels - A Discography” by Ruppli and Novitsky, Greenwood Press, 1993)

A-1, A-2, A-5, A-6, B-1, B-3, B-6:
Louis Jordan (vo & as), with Ernie Royal (tp), Jimmy Cleveland (tb),
Budd Johnson (ts, bs), Sam “The Man” Taylor (ts),
Ernie Hayes (p), Mickey Baker (g), Wendell Marshall (b), Charlie Persip (ds),
Quincy Jones (arr. & cond.).
Recorded in New York City, October 22, 1956.

A-3, A-4, B-2, B-4, B-5:
same personnel as above, plus Francisco “Chino” Pozo (bongo).
Recorded in New York City, October 23, 1956.