Jack Town USA

Emerald Tiger Artist Management

Jack Town USA is a comprehensive look at nine prominent Mississippi blues and southern soul artists and the states  prolific history of Grammy awards and nominations. This  book is loaded with history about Jackson, Mississippi, and most every genre of music, not just blues and southern soul. This review is of the accompanying CD.

“Hold Up” is by the Jacktown Sons, with heritage rooted in ska and Motown, “When I met her at the grocery store, over  by the milk and cheese, Cupid must have grabbed his bow,  shot me through my heart and knees, so I walked over by her way, and I asked her if she’d be my baby, she said you must be crazy…well maybe”.

“Hooked” is by Dexter Allen who has worked with Lady A and others as he sings “Oh yeah, we in the house, y’ all, well now,  let me tell you about something, when I was a little boy growing  up in Copiah County, Mississippi, my grandaddy used to take  me fishing, y’all, on the Pearl River, that is Catfishin’, y’all”.

“Delivered By The Blues” from Eddie Cotton includes the lyric  “Feels so good, I was born a sanctified preachers son, they call me Jr. Cotton, Stella Lee’s first grandson, I owe my life to the  sanctified church, it taught me how to play the blues with a  sacred touch, I’m thankful for the prophet that anointed me to  play. Sister Hickens said you’d play for multitudes one day, I  can’t lose with the stuff I use, I’m just a church boy, delivered by  the blues”, with some great harmonica.

“Dancing In Our Love” by Four Washington, a sibling acapella group from Jackson, consisting of Cameron, Carmen, Reginald Jr., and Arrianna Washington, “you’ve got a bad reputation in  my neighborhood, you drive me mad with temptation, ’cause it tastes so good”.

“Juke Joint Lover” is by Stevie J. Blues, as he chimes “if you  got a man…meet me by the juke joint…I’m a juke joint lover, I can love you like no other”.

“I Still Got The Blues” by Zac Harmon, an American blues  musician from Jackson, and a Blues Music Award winner in  2006, for ‘Best New Artist Debut’ for “The Blues According to Zacariah”, other albums include 2015’s “Right Man, Right Now”; 2019’s Mississippi Bar-b-que; and 2021’s “Long As I Got My Guitar”. On “I Still Got The Blues”, Harmon chants “I can get up and I can get down…but no matter what I choose,  no matter if I win or lose, I still got the blues”.

“Slow Down” is by Chad Wesley, as he moans “Slow down baby, yea take your time with me, slow down baby, yea take your time with me, slow down baby, we’ll burn the whole  world down, come back baby, oh, gimme your lovin’ one  more time”, with some great Hammond organ.

“Girl You Got It Going On” is by Rashad the Blues Kid, “Girl you make it so good, I just can’t help myself…come on move a little closer, come and whisper in my ear, I want to tell you all you need to hear, well, girl you got it going on”.

Although the book is about nine prominent blues musicians from around Jackson, Mississippi only eight are featured on this wonderful CD. Bobby Rush states, “when it comes to Jackson, Mississippi, it even surprised me how deep the  city’s roots are, and I’ve lived here a long time”. Perhaps the ninth is Bobby Rush. Two years in the making, you  can enjoy this diverse mix of ultra talented artists who  demonstrate why Mississippi is “The Birthplace of America’s Music.

Richard Ludmerer

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