Arbee Stidham - Feeling Blue & Low: 1947-1957

ARBEE (not R. B. ) STIDHAM was an American Blues/R&B singer and multi-instrumentalist (he played sax, clarinet, and guitar), active between the late 1940s until just before his death, in 1988. Before WWII?he played tenor sax, leading his own Jazz band, who backed Bessie Smith for a couple of years. He cut his first record in 1947 and quickly became a member of that unlucky - if distinguished - group of artistes who scored a R&B #1 with their very first record, in his case 'My Heart Belongs To You', but then failed to register another national hit. He nonetheless enjoyed significant regional successes with sides like 'I Send My Regrets', 'Feeling Blue And Low' and 'Meet Me Half Way'. Despite his career longevity Stidham recorded only sporadically; this compilation presents the very best of his sides for RCA Victor, Sittin' In With, Checker, Abco and States between 1947-57. This body of work is currently unavailable elsewhere on CD.