Happy New Year! I was out of town the first two weeks visiting my brother's adorable family, which means I'm full of vim and vigor for the new year. Who reaps the benefits? YOU!
  
      
        
 
          
| Artist | Song Title | Album | Label | 
        
 
          
| Gene Ammons | Hittin' the Jug | Giants of the Blues and Funk Tenor Sax | Prestige | 
| Cast | Lounging at the Waldorf | Ain't Misbehavin' | RCA | 
| Aretha Franklin | Night Time Is the Right Time | The Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings | Atlantic | 
| Bessie Smith | I'm Wild about That Thing | Chattanooga Gal | Proper | 
| Bobby Blue Bland | Turn on Your Love Light | Turn On Your Love Light | MCA | 
| Elmore James | Wild about You Baby | Lets Cut It: The Very Best of Elmore James | Flair | 
| Etta James | Tell Mama | Her Best: The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection | Chess | 
| Etta James | Spoonful | Life, Love & the Blues | Private Music | 
| Graham Central Station | Easy Rider | Ain't No Bout Adoubt It | Warner Brothers | 
| Ike & Tina Turner | Rock Me Baby | Sing the Blues | Acrobat Music | 
| James Brown | Go On Now | Soul Pride | Polydor | 
| Jimmy Reed | Oh John | Blues Masters: The Very Best of Jimmy Reed | Rhino | 
| King Curtis | More Soul* | The Best of King Curtis | Blue Note | 
| Lou Rawls | At Last | The Legendary Lou Rawls | Blue Note | 
| Nina Simone | Chill Winds Don't Blow | Pastel Blues/Let It All Out | Polygram | 
| Ray Charles | It Should've Been Me | The Best of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years | Atlantic | 
| Robert Johnson | When You Got a Good Friend | King of Delta Blues Singers | Columbia | 
| Sam Cooke | Ain't That Good News | The Man and His Music | RCA | 
| Staple Singers | Swing Down Chariot | Great Day | Milestone | 
| Staple Singers | Samson and Delilah | Freedom Highway | Sony Music Media | 
| Champion Jack Dupree | Me and My Mule | Chasin' the Blues | Direct Source | 
| Champion Jack Dupree | Everybody's Blues* | Livin' the Blues | Direct Source | 
| Champion Jack Dupree | Too Evil to Cry | Playin' the Blues | Direct Source | 
| Champion Jack Dupree | Shim Sham Shimmy | This Is the Blues | Direct Source | 
| Stanley Wilson | M Squad Theme* | Crime Jazz: Music in the First Degree | Rhino | 
| Paul Pena | Terraplane Blues | Genghis Blues |  | 
| Cast | Jitterbug Waltz | Ain't Misbehavin' | RCA | 
| Clyde McPhatter | A Shot of Rhythm and Blues | (45) |  | 
| Clyde McPhatter | a Lover's Question What'cha Gonna Do?
 | R&B Box | Rhino | 
| Clyde McPhatter | I'm Not Going to Work Today | (45) |  | 
| Chick Willis | Stoop Down Baby | If It Ain't a Hit, I'll Eat My .... | Bear Family | 
| The Drivers | Smooth, Slow and Easy | Risqué Blues | King | 
| Billy Ward & the Dominoes | Sixty Minute Man | Risque Blues | King | 
| Edith Johnson | Comb Your Kitty Cat | Bed Spring Poker | Indigo | 
| Bo Carter | Please Warm My Wiener | Copulatin' Blues | Mojo | 
| Dorothy Baker | Steady Grinding Blues | He Got Out His Big Ten Inch | Indigo | 
| Big Bill Broonzy | How You Want It Done | Let Me Squeeze Your Lemon | GVC | 
| Johnny Temple | Sit Right on It | Ride Daddy Ride | Buzzola | 
| Ruby Glaze & Blind William McTell | Rollin' Mama Blues | Sissy Man Blues | Mojo | 
| Connie Allen | Rocket 69 | Sugar in My Bowl | Buzzola | 
| Mary Dixon | Daddy, You've Got Everything | Them Dirty Blues | Jass | 
| Cab Calloway | Minnie the Moocher | Reefer Songs | Mojo | 
| Don Redmond | Reefer Man | Reefer Songs | Mojo | 
| Ray Charles | Let's Go Get Stoned | Uh-Huh | Direct Source | 
| Helen Humes | They Raided the Joint | Outside the Law | Buzzola | 
| Andre deShields | Viper's Drag | Ain't Misbehavin' | RCA | 
| Los Lobos | I Got Loaded | Will the Wolf Survive |  | 
| Sista Monica Parker | Baby Workout! | People Love the Blues | Mo Muscle | 
| Jimmy Forrest | Bolo's Blues | Giants of the Blues and Funk Tenor Sax | Prestige | 
| Temptations | Take a Stroll through Your Mind | Psychedelic Soul | Motown | 
| Sista Monica Parker | People Love the Blues | People Love the Blues | Mo Muscle | 
      
 
| Artist | Song Title | Album | Label | 
| Nina Simone | Pirate Jenny |  |  | 
| Sam Cooke | A Long Time Coming | The Man and His Music |  | 
| Pops Staples | Black Boy |  |  | 
| James Brown | I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing | Star Time | Polydor | 
| Donny Hathaway | To Be Young, Gifted and Black | A Donny Hathaway Collection |  | 
| Graham Central Station | Ghetto | Graham Central Station |  | 
| Oscar Brown, Jr. | Bid 'Em In | Sin and Soul.. and Then Some |  | 
| Marvin Gaye | Inner City Blues | What's Going On | Motown | 
| Stevie Wonder | Living for the City | Innervisions | Motown | 
| Temptations | Run Charlie Run | Psychedelic Soul |  | 
| Pops Staples | Why Am I Treated So Bad | Father Father |  | 
| Martin Luther King, Jr. | Drum Major Instinct | Free at Last | Motown | 
| Nina Simone | Why the King of Love Is Dead Mississippi Goddam
 | Sugar in My Bowl |  | 
| War | The World Is a Ghetto | The World Is a Ghetto |  | 
| Oscar Brown, Jr. | Brown Baby | Sin and Soul.. and Then Some |  | 
| The Isley Brothers | Freedom | Am I Black Enough for You | Motown | 
| James Brown | Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud) | Star Time | Polydor | 
| Sly and the Family Stone | Skin I'm In | Fresh |  | 
| Labelle | Something in the Air/The Revolution Will Not Be Televised | Movin' On Up, Vol. 2 | Right Stuff | 
| Graham Central Station | Tell Me What It Is | Graham Central Station | Warner Brothers | 
| Temptations | Take a Stroll Through Your Mind | Psychedelic Soul | Motown | 
| Temptations | Message from a Black Man | Emperors of Soul | Motown | 
| Martin Luther King Jr. | 100 Years Later Segregation Is Wrong
 | The Great March to Freedom: Detroit, June 23, 1963 | Gordy | 
| Stevie Wonder | Village Ghetto Land | Songs in the Key of Life | Motown | 
| Dionne Ferris | I Wish I Knew How It Feels To Be Free | Promised Land |  | 
| Martin luther King | Sense of Dignity | The Great March to Freedom: Detroit, June 23, 1963 | Gordy | 
| Mahalia Jackson | I'm On My Way | Promised Land |  | 
| 5th Dimension | Light Sings | Up and Away |  | 
| Staple Singers | For What It's Worth | Freedom Road |  | 
| Nina Simone | Feelin' Good | Verve Unmixed | Verve | 
| Staple Singers | Masters of War | Great Day |  | 
| Stevie Wonder | The Shadow of Your Smile | Ma Cherie Amor | Motown | 
| Stevie Wonder | Blowing in the Wind | Movin' on Up | Right Stuff | 
| Curtis Mafield | Move on Up | Movin on Up | Right Stuff | 
 
| Artist | Song Title | Album | Label | 
| J.B. Hutto | Slidewinder | South Side Chicago Blues | Delmark | 
| Dr. John | How Come My Dog Don't Bark (When You Come Around) | Going Back to New Orleans |  | 
| Screaming Jay Hawkins | I Put a Spell on You | Heritage of the Blues, Vol. 6 |  | 
| B.B. King | Let the Good Times Roll Lucille
 | All Over Again |  | 
| Etta James | All the Way Down | Burnin' Down the House |  | 
| James Brown | I Guess I Have to Cry Cry Cry | Say It Live and Loud |  | 
| Henry Clement | Shoo Shoo Chicken | From the 50's to the 60's | Zynn Records | 
| Jimmy Smith | Back at the Chicken Shack | The Best of Jimmy Smith |  | 
| Amos Milburn | Chicken Shack Boogie | R&B Box | Rhino | 
| Cab Calloway | A Chicken Ain't Nothing But a Bird | Are You Hep to the Jive? |  | 
| Slim Gaillard | Chicken Rhythm | Laughing in Rhythm: The Best of the Verve Years | Verve | 
| Louis Jordan | Chicken Back | Rock 'n' Roll Call |  | 
| Big Joe Turner | The Chicken and the Hawk | Atlantic Rhythm and Blues, 1947-1974 | Atlantic | 
| James Brown | The Chicken | Soul Pride: The Instrumentals | Polydor | 
| Jimmy Smith | After Hours | Root Down |  | 
| Aretha Franklin | Just Right Tonight | Hey Now Hey | Atlantic | 
| James Brown | Forever Suffering | The Payback |  | 
| Charles Mingus | Put Me in That Dungeon | Ah Um |  | 
| Lil Bob & the Lollipops | I Got Loaded | New Orleans Party Classics |  | 
| Dr. John | Gris Gris Gumbo Ya Ya* | Mos Scocious |  | 
| Jimi Hendrix | Jelly 292 | Blues |  | 
| Albert King | Overall Junction | King of the Blues Guitar |  | 
| Sista Monica | Never Say Never* | Sista Monica | Mo Muscle | 
| Henry Clement & Gumbo | Meet Me at the Bank | Bar-Be-Queing in the Front Yard | Arlean West | 
| James Brown | Take Some... Leave Some | The Payback |  | 
| Ann Peebles | Didn't Take Your Man | Hi Records Years: The Best of Ann Peebles |  | 
| Bill Withers | Drowning' in a Sea of Love | Didn't It Blow Your Mind, Vol. 7 | Rhino | 
| The Isley Brothers | Freedom | Am I Black Enough for You | Motown | 
| Etta James | Medley: I Just Want to Make Love to You/ Born to Be Wild
 | Burnin' Down the House |  | 
| Howlin' Wolf | Back Door Man | His Best: The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection | Chess | 
| Ray Bryant Combo | The Madison Time, Part 1 | Rock Instrumental Classics, Vol. 2: 60s |  | 
| Oscar Brown, Jr. | Somebody Buy Me A Drink | Sin and Soul... and Then Some |  | 
| Oscar Brown, Jr. | But I Was Cool | Beat Generation | Rhino | 
| Christina Aguilera | Guy What Takes His Time | Burlesque |  | 
| Bessie Smith | Standin' in the Rain | This Is the Blues | Direct Source | 
| Ray Charles | My Baby (I Love Her, Yes I Do) | Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul |  | 
| Nancy Wilson | I'm Always Drunk in San Francisco | Welcome to My Love |  | 
|  | She's Mine, She's Yours |  |  | 
| Bobby Blue Bland | 36-22-36 | Anthology | MCA | 
| Ike & Tina Turner | Let Me Touch Your Mind | Let Me Touch Your Mind |  | 
| Aretha Franklin | Tracks of My Tears | Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings | Atlantic | 
| Lauren Hill | Everything Is Everything | The Miseducation of Lauren Hill |  | 
| Wyclef Jean | Gone 'til November | The Carnival |  | 
| Chinese Man | Artichaut |  |  | 
| Nina Simone | Four Women | Greatest Hits |  | 
| Cast | Jitterbug Waltz | Ain't Misbehavin' |  |