Various - San Francisco - Post-War California Down Home Blues (2007)

The blues played on America’s western seaboard is generally grouped under one of two headings, either “California” or “West Coast” blues, but a special place must be reserved for the Black music played in the San Francisco Bay area, and particularly in the cities of Richmond and Oakland, which saw a massive influx of Black immigrants both during and after the Second World War.
San Francisco was originally a mission founded by the Spaniards in the 17thcentury, and for a hundred years it remained a small harbour providing shelter for just a few vessels. By the time it was annexed by The United States in 1848 however – and especially with the Gold Rush that followed – the town had become a great port bustling with activity; even after the earthquake of 1906, which razed Frisco to the ground, both the seaport & city made a dynamic recovery. For a long time, however, the Black population remained small, as Jesse Fullerpointed out (listen to him here on Leaving Memphis, Frisco Bound); he’d been an actor in silent-films in Hollywood, and later settled in San Francisco where he remembered being one of the few active coloured musicians…

Tracklist:
1.01 - Lowell Fulson - San Francisco Blues (2:49)
1.02 - Black Diamond - Lonesome Blues (2:30)
1.03 - K.C. Douglas - Big Road Blues (3:19)
1.04 - Jesse Fuller - Leaving Memphis Frisco Bound (5:15)
1.05 - Mercy Dee - Lonesome Cabin Blues (2:38)
1.06 - Lowell Fulson - Double Trouble Blues (3:34)
1.07 - Little Caesar - Can't Stand It All Alone (2:13)
1.08 - Johnny Fuller - Buddy (3:16)
1.09 - Johnny Fuller - Train Train Blues (2:44)
1.10 - Willie B. Huff - Beggar Man Blues (2:52)
1.11 - Walter Robinson - I've Done Everything I Can (3:00)
1.12 - Lafayette Thomas - Sam's Drag (2:59)
1.13 - Jimmy Wilson - Tin Pan Alley (3:04)
1.14 - Jimmy Wilson - A Woman Is To Blame (3:01)
1.15 - James Reed - Doctor Brown (3:02)
1.16 - James Reed - My Mama Told Me (2:41)
1.17 - Lafayette Thomas - Don't Have To Worry (2:46)
1.18 - Lafayette Thomas - Lost Mind (3:22)
1.19 - Jimmy McCracklin - The Panic's On (3:36)
1.20 - Jimmy McCracklin - The End (3:08)
1.21 - Johnny Parker - What You Did To Me? (2:32)
1.22 - Lafayette Thomas - Cockroach Run (2:40)