Bob Corritore And Friends

Ernestine Blues

Vizztone/SWMAF Records

Bob Corritore was born in Chicago in 1956 and became hooked on blues harmonica at the age of twelve. By the time he was twenty-five, Corritore had moved to Phoenix, where he would eventually become one of the central figures in that city’s blues scene. Ten years later he opened his own club, The Rhythm Room, a venue that quickly became a major destination for touring blues artists. With his house band, The Rhythm Room All-Stars, Corritore regularly backed visiting musicians and helped keep traditional blues alive in a live setting.

Since 2017, Corritore has earned thirteen Blues Music Awards nominations. He won his first Blues Music Award in 2011 for Historical Album of the Year and won again in 2025 for Traditional Blues Album for “Crawlin’ Kingsnake,” recorded with John Primer. He is also nominated for a 2026 Blues Music Award in the category of Best Instrumentalist–Harmonica. This new compilation serves as a brilliant survey of his work with many guest artists, with Corritore playing harmonica on all sixteen tracks.

Corritore opens with “How’d You Learn To Shake It Like That,” written by Snooky Pryor in 1985. The track features Tony Coleman on vocals and drums, Jimi ‘Primetime’ Smith on guitar, Bob Stroger on bass, and Anthony Geraci on piano, as Coleman sings, “I had a good woman, she was as good as gold, she used to let me play but she don’t no more, how’d you learn to shake it like that, you’re daddy was a preacher, your mama an alley cat”.

“Tell Me Darling,” written by Betty Everett and Lucious Porter Weaver in 1959, features Carla Denise on vocals alongside Smith, Stroger, Geraci, Wes Starr on drums, and Doug James on saxophone, as Denise chimes, “Please tell me, how can I go on without your love, you know I want ya, to be my turtle dove”.

“Big Fat Mama,” first released in 2013, features Pat Thomas on guitar and vocals, as she chants, “well everytime she makes a drink, well it’s white lightnin’, and the days are comin’…she got lovely kisses”.

“Blind Man,” written by Sugaray Rayford, includes Rayford on vocals with Smith and Johnny Rapp on guitars, Russ Harwood on organ, Yahni Riley on bass, and Brian Fahey on drums, as Rayford moans, “I been around the world seen many things, saw birds flying in the sky, fish swimming in the sea, but the saddest thing I’ve ever seen is a blind man cry”.

“Ernestine,” written and first recorded by Sam Cooke in 1963, features Smith and Bob Margolin on guitars, Stroger on bass, Geraci on piano, Starr on drums, Doug James on saxophone, and backing vocalists Eboni McDonald, Diamond Porter, and Yolanda Tharrington, with Tia Carroll vocalizing, “Ernestine, Ernestine I believe this is the beginning of the end for me…when your dancing with him, I can tell your mesmerized by his charms”.

“Trouble No More,” originally recorded by Muddy Waters in 1955, features Willie Buck on vocals with Smith and Margolin on guitars, joined by Stroger, Geraci, and Starr. Buck sings, “I don’t care how long your gone, I don’t care how long you stay, but this time baby, I’ll bring you home someday, but someday baby you won’t be trouble, for me, any more”.

“I Love The South,” written and recorded by Johnny Rawls, features Rawls on vocals and guitar, joined by Smith on guitar, Terry “D” Harris on organ, Yahni Riley on bass, and Brian Fahey on drums, with backing vocalists Eboni McDonald, Yolanda Tharrington, and Clarke Rigsby. Rawls sings, “I been up north too long…I need to get back down south, I need to get back home to where I come from…going back to Mississippi where I can smell the green grass after the rain”.

“Going Fishing,” written by Jimmy Reed, features Smith on vocals and guitar, Margolin on guitar, Stroger on bass, Geraci on piano, and Starr on drums, with the lyric, “I was fishin’ one day and it crossed my mind, I want to go fishin’ baby, and I want you to take the line”.

On “Troubles On Your Mind,” written by Henry Glover and Sonny Thompson in 1952, Carla Denise returns on vocals with pianist Ben Levin, as she wails, “you have so many troubles on your mind…now you heard my story everything, I saw is true, I’m gonna leave you behind, you got so many troubles on your mind”.

“Wild As You Can Be,” written by Ricky Harper, again features Carla Denise, with Smith and Margolin on guitars, Stroger on bass, Geraci on piano, Starr on drums, and Doug James on saxophone, as she howls, “you tell me that you love me, but I don’t believe a word you tell me…all you want to do is fight…I don’t believe a word you say, ’cause your lyin’ to me”.

“Pretty Girls Everywhere,” written by Eugene Church and Thomas Williams in 1958, once again features Smith and Margolin on guitars, Geraci on piano, and Starr on drums, while Stroger takes the vocal lead singing, “everywhere I go, there’s some pretty girls there, pretty girls, pretty girls everywhere, when I go to the show there’s a pretty girl there, pretty girls, pretty girls, every where”.

“Standing On The Bank,” written by William Crawford and later covered by Tab Benoit, features Willie Buck on vocals with Smith and Margolin on guitars, Stroger on bass, Geraci on piano, and Starr on drums, as Buck cries, “well I was standing on the bank, when I saw a pretty girl walk and sit down, I would do anything I could to get next to her…well I don’t care, I’m like a catfish, swimming in a deep blue sea”.

“Sorry I Had To Leave You Behind,” written by Albert Holder and Ferdinand Washington, features Charles Wilson on vocals with Kid Ramos and Johnny Main on guitars, Mike Turturro on bass, and Brian Fahey on drums, as Wilson sings, “sorry I had to leave you darlin’, sorry I had to leave you behind, when you broke my heart, I just can’t stay in this old house and listen to your big mouth, sorry I had to leave you behind”.

“She Might Need Me,” written by Joe Tex, features Oscar Wilson of The Cash Box Kings on vocals, with Nick Moss on guitar, Ross Harwood on organ, Rodrigo Mantovani on bass, and Pierce Downer on drums. Wilson sings, “so they say go on to Dallas and leave this old town behind, go see the six flags over Texas…so they say go on to Las Vegas, you’ll have so much fun in Vegas, but if I go to Vegas that’s where she might be, but she might need me and not know where I am”.

“Down in Mississippi,” another Jimmy Reed composition, again features Oscar Wilson with Smith and Margolin on guitars, Stroger on bass, Geraci on piano, and Starr on drums, as Wilson sings, “Down in Mississippi where cotton grows tall, oh yeah, boll weevil, overall”.

The closer, “Shoes,” written by Teeny Tucker and Robert Hughes, features Tia Carroll on vocals with Smith and Billy Flynn on guitars, Stroger on bass, Geraci on piano, and Starr on drums, as Carroll croons, “I got shoes in the closet, lined up across the wall, I got one’s that make me tall, a pair when I want to put a spell on you, I got shoes for every season, I got shoes, shoes, shoes, in every room”.

On this edition of Bob Corritore & Friends, Corritore’s musical adventures once again showcase stunning collaborations with many of today’s finest blues performers. These storytelling songs provide the perfect setting for his masterful harmonica. The performances move through straight traditional Chicago blues, early rhythm and blues, Mississippi country blues, and soul blues. Corritore captures the nuanced purity of each style, creating a guided tour through the many branches of blues tradition and its living extensions.

Richard Ludmerer

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