Jesse Allen – Rockin’ & Rollin’ In New Orleans, 1951-1958

JESSE ALLEN remains one of New Orleans’ “Great Unknowns”, and his entire recording career is believed to be encapsulated in the twenty tracks featured on this set. Yet the quality of these sides is so impressive that you can’t help wondering (a) why he didn’t register hits, and (b) how come he didn’t cut more records.
In particular, powerful discs like ‘Rockin’ and Rollin’’ and ‘Love You Baby’ b/w ‘After A While’ have become highly-touted collectors’ items.
For many years very little was known about Allen - even from where he’d originated - and the various written articles and sleevenotes about him were largely conjecture. But in the Internet era his daughter contacted the bebopwino.blogspot.com website, after they’d done a track-by-track analysis of a collectors’ LP, and was able to correct several factoids and fill in some of the gaps.

Track Listing

JESSE ALLEN
1 SHAKE 'EM UP BABY
2 ROCK THIS MORNING
3 GONNA MOVE AWAY FROM TOWN
4 BOOGIE WOOGIE MAMA
5 MY SUFFERING
6 LET'S PARTY
7 DRAGNET
8 TAKE IT EASY

JESSE ALLEN and AUDREY WALKER
9 GOTTA CALL THAT NUMBER
10 I'M GONNA TELL MY MAMA

JESSE ALLEN
11 I WONDER WHAT'S THE MATTER
12 THE THINGS I'M GONNA DO
13 SITTIN' AND WONDERIN'
14 WHAT A PARTY
15 ROCKIN' AND ROLLIN'
16 I LOVE YOU SO
17 BABY SAY YOU WILL
18 GOODBYE BLUES
19 LOVE MY BABY
20 AFTER A WHILE