
Well, I've got a blog. Might as well use it. Events in this piece will seem disjointed for a bit, but it'll all come together in the end.
A while back, someone was asking "What artist do you have the most of in your collection?" It wasn't a Christmas music question...just general knowledge. And I started thinking that I'd faithfully bought most of the albums from Elton John and Billy Joel in the 70s and 80s. I figured they were the likely suspects.
Silly me. Not even close.

Even as a very young Stubby--a Bubblegum kid--I was always drawn to Joe Williams. He showed up frequently on The Tonight Show. He'd sing standards, show tunes, Pop songs, Jazz & Blues. Every song was performed with such ease and perfection and he had an amazing presence. I'm a kid and this is The Tonight Show. Well past my bedtime. But, if Joe Williams was on, I'd stay up (and, amazingly, my parents let me...usually). It was to be years before I would learn about Jazz and Blues and gain an appreciation of those genres. I had no clue who Count Basie was, even. But Joe Williams. Man. He was IT.
As I grew older, my love for the music of Joe Williams grew greater. In college, I started to frequent the used record stores, picking up old Joe Williams albums. I still knew little about Jazz and Blues. Small beginnings, there.
One night, working college radio, I was tired after a long day and just wanted to unwind. I found a new release in the station library, "Joe Williams & The Capp Pierce Juggernaught Live At The Century Plaza". The last two tracks--"Joe's Blues" and "What The World Needs Now" ran about 12 minutes. I turned out the lights and put that on. And I was born again. It was at that precise moment that the flame of my love for Jazz and Blues was lit. As if I wasn't already a huge fan, I am forever in his debt for this. It's only shocking that it took me that long to make the leap from Joe's music to the kind of music he was making. Oddly enough, this is not the song I've been craving for two weeks (but I can not recommend the album highly enough).

But, no, the song I've been wanting to hear--from my own, warm, crackling vinyl copy--is this one. And I finally got to scratch that itch, today. I got my satisfaction. And, now, I share that sensation with you...whether you want me to or not (you, of course, get a YouTube video). Because I've got a blog and I might as well use it. Here's Joe Williams and his 1958 recording of "A Man Ain't Supposed To Cry".