Robert Nighthawk, also known during the early years of his career by the name of Robert Lee McCoy, as well as other pseudonyms like Ramblin' Bob and Peetie's Boy, was a blues slide guitarist, singer and songwriter whose influence far outweighs the recognition and visibility his recordings have enjoyed in subsequent decades. Born in Arkansas, he was an itinerant musician, working in Memphis and St. Louis, before doing his first recordings for Bluebird in 1937 in Chicago, and continued his rambling lifestyle during what was a fitful recording career over the next fifteen years. Having recorded initially for Bluebird with Sonny Boy Williamson I (the original "Sonny Boy") as Robert Lee McCoy and Ramblin' Bob, he recorded in 1940 for Decca under the name Peetie's Boy, and during the late '40s for Aristocrat and it's later guise as Chess under the name Robert Nighthawk, taking the name from the best-known title from his first sessions "Prowlin' Nighthawk". His final recordings during this era were in 1951 and '52 for the United and States labels. He was rediscovered during the '60s and enjoyed a brief revival before his death in 1967. This great-value 48-track 2-CD set comprises the main body of his significant recorded output under his own names, with noted performers like Speckled Red, Willie Dixon, Ernest Lane, Pinetop Smith and Ransom Knowling featured on his sessions, and is a showcase for the intense bottleneck style he developed as he made the transition from acoustic to electric guitar which charted the way for the likes of Elmore James and others, for whom he was a significant influence.

Tracklist:

Prowling Night Hawk
Lonesome World
Don't Mistreat Your Woman
Sweet Pepper Mama
G-Man
Tough Luck
Mean Black Cat
I Have Spent My Bonus
Mamie Lee 1
Take It Easy Baby 1
Brickyard 1
My Friends Have Forsaken Me 1
C.N.A 1
She's Got What It Takes 1
Big Apple Blues 1
Ol' Mose 1
Every Day and Night 1
Next Door Neighbour 1
Good Gambling 2
You're All I've Got to Live for 2
Freight Train Blues 2
Gonna Keep It for My Daddy 2
Mama Don't Allow Me to Stay Out All Night Long 2
Friars Point Blues 2
Never Leave Me 2
My Sweet Lovin' Woman 2
Down the Line 2
Handsome Lover 2
She Knows How to Love a Man 3
Annie Lee Blues - the Nighthawks 3
Black Angel Blues - the Nighthawks 3
Return Mail Blues 3
Sugar Papa 3
Six Three O - the Nighthawks 3
Jackson Town Gal - the Nighthawks 3
Good News 3
Prison Bound 3
Kansas City Blues 3
Crying Won't Help You 4
Feel So Bad 4
Take It Easy Baby 4
Nighthawk Boogie 4
The Moon Is Rising 4
Maggie Campbell 4
Seventy Four 4
Bricks in My Pillow 4
Us Boogie 4
You Missed a Good Man

UPC: 824046322526
Label: Acrobat
Release Date: 1.19.18
Format: CD

Robert Nighthawk - Collection 1937-52 (CD)