Calvin Boze - If You Ever Had The Blues 1945-1952

On the back of the 1970s R&R revival, trumpeter/singer Calvin Boze enjoys the reputation of having been a major figure in late 1940s Jump Blues. Yet ironically he was a one-hit wonder, with his 1950 R&B top tenner, 'Safronia B'. A huge hit, both over the counter and through the Jukeboxes, which accounted for anything up to 30% of a hit record's sales in those days, it owes a lot to the style of Louis Jordan, who was clearly Boze's main source of inspiration, as many of the sides on this set confirm. Indeed, when his 'Working With My Baby' was played by a New York Disc jockey as a 'mystery record', 90% of the listeners identified it as being Jordan. This compilation includes everything that Boze recorded between 1945-52, including his debut with Marvin Johnson & His Orchestra, an early version of 'Safronia Bee' (sic), on which he was billed as 'Calvin Boaz'.