PEE WEE CRAYTON
Early Hour Blues (Blind Pig)
Reviewed by Eric Steiner

---

Pee Wee Crayton is not a household word among blues fans. That's too bad, considering he was quite a fixture on the Los Angeles blues scene in the 1950's and put out some great sides on the Modern Records label. Pee Wee's blues recalls his mentor, T-Bone Walker, but Pee Wee has a sound all his own behind a prototype Fender Stratocaster. Blind Pig has compiled some of the best of Pee Wee Crayton's last recordings in the 1980's, around Pee Wee's 70th birthday. "Early Hours'" soulful fingerpicking, backed by swaggering horns and subtle rhythm section, shows that Pee Wee could pick the blues with the best of them. Another cut written by his wife Esther, "You Know Yeah," is an uptempo swing at the blues, perfect for today's dancehalls that cater to those that Jitterbug (or, on the West Coast, do the Lindy Hop). My favorite cuts are "Red Rose Boogie," "Come on Baby," and the too-short, full-tilt jump blues, "Head'n Home." Pee Wee recorded these with Rod and Honey Piazza, of Mighty Flyers fame, recorded on the small indie Murray Brothers label. The disc's closer, "Head'n Home" gives Pee Wee a chance to lead a great band, led by Piazza on harp and backed by Bill Clark, Marshall Crayton, Jr., and Fred Clark on sax. Early Hour Blues is a lot of fun, particularly when Pee Wee launches into another solo.

Track List:

Blues at Daybreak * Early Hours * Barefootin'* Blues After Hours * You Know Yeah * E.T. Blues * When I'm Wrong * Send for Me * Red Rose Boogie * Come on Baby * Head'n Home

© 1999 - Eric Steiner