Smiley Lewis was one of the unluckiest artists to emerge during the R&B era of the early '50s and the formative years of rock 'n' roll, overshadowed as he was by another R&B star from New Orleans, Fats Domino, which meant he played second fiddle to Domino throughout his career, and even saw some of his biggest hits and best-known songs, such as I Hear You Knocking, One Night and Shame Shame Shame, covered by other mainstream pop artists. He was signed to Imperial, the same label as Domino, and had the same producer, Dave Bartholomew, which exacerbated his slightly secondary status, and his chart profile was relatively modest, but over the years he consistently recorded some fine blues and R&B material in the distinctive New Orleans style and was considerably more influential than his roster of hits would indicate. This great value 60-track 2-CD set collection comprises the A sides of all his Imperial releases, along with almost all the B sides, plus one of his early 1947 singles for the de Luxe label. It's a worthy and comprehensive overview of his career.
25 I Love You for Sentimental Reasons (Smiley Lewis)
26 The Rocks (Smiley Lewis)
27 Can't Stop Loving You (Smiley Lewis)
28 That Certain Door (Smiley Lewis)
29 Too Many Drivers (Smiley Lewis)
- Disc 2 -
1 Ooh la la (Smiley Lewis)
2 Jailbird (Smiley Lewis)
3 Farewell (Smiley Lewis)
4 Real Gone Lover (Smiley Lewis)
5 Nobody Knows (Smiley Lewis)
6 I Hear You Knocking (Smiley Lewis)
7 Bumpity Bump (Smiley Lewis)
8 Queen of Hearts (Smiley Lewis)
9 Come on (Smiley Lewis)
10 One Night (Smiley Lewis)
11 Ain't Gonna Do It (Smiley Lewis)
12 She's Got Me (Hook, Line and Sinker)
13 Please Listen to Me (Smiley Lewis)
14 Someday You'll Want Me (Smiley Lewis)
15 Down Yonder (We Go Ballin')
16 Shame, Shame, Shame (Smiley Lewis)
17 No No (Smiley Lewis)
18 You Are My Sunshine (Smiley Lewis)
19 Sweeter Words (Have Never Been Told)
20 Go on Fool (Smiley Lewis)
21 Goin' to Jump and Shout (Smiley Lewis)
22 Rootin' and Tootin' (Smiley Lewis)
23 I Can't Believe (Smiley Lewis)
24 Bad Luck Blues (Smiley Lewis)
25 School Days Are Back Again (Smiley Lewis)
26 Lil' Liza Jane (Smiley Lewis)
27 Oh Red! (Smiley Lewis)
28 I Want to Be with Her (Smiley Lewis)
29 Last Night (Smiley Lewis)
30 Ain't Goin' There No More (Smiley Lewis)
31 Stormy Monday Blues (Smiley Lewis)
Smiley Lewis was one of the unluckiest artists to emerge during the R&B era of the early '50s and the formative years of rock 'n' roll, overshadowed as he was by another R&B star from New Orleans, Fats Domino, which meant he played second fiddle to Domino throughout his career, and even saw some of his biggest hits and best-known songs, such as I Hear You Knocking, One Night and Shame Shame Shame, covered by other mainstream pop artists. He was signed to Imperial, the same label as Domino, and had the same producer, Dave Bartholomew, which exacerbated his slightly secondary status, and his chart profile was relatively modest, but over the years he consistently recorded some fine blues and R&B material in the distinctive New Orleans style and was considerably more influential than his roster of hits would indicate. This great value 60-track 2-CD set collection comprises the A sides of all his Imperial releases, along with almost all the B sides, plus one of his early 1947 singles for the de Luxe label. It's a worthy and comprehensive overview of his career.
