When it came to enthusiasm for the blues, no one living in 1969 could rival Dewey Corley, leader of the Beale Street Jug Band during the 1930s. Dewey served as the link to many of the aging blues artists located by the Adelphi Records crew in Memphis, calling all over the country to find cohorts and invite them to the studio to perform for the cameras and microphones. He even managed to put the drop on Hacksaw Harney, who had become, over the course of the past couple of months, the elusive legend Adelphi most sought.
One of Dewey's hidden treasures was Willie Morris, former guitarist for the jug band, who had moved to Ohio and abandoned the Devil's music by 1969. Born near Jackson, Mississippi, Morris learned guitar from Kokomo Arnold and traveled with Arnold before making Beale Street his home. Initially, Morris, an Elder in his COGIC congregation, was reluctant to revisit the music of his youth and performed only gospel songs like "Jesus on the Main Line" for his young admirers, but he loosened up a bit in the company of old friends like Dewey, Mrs. Van Hunt, Mose Vinson and Hacksaw and, hearing that Kokomo Arnold had recently passed away, Willie asked that his recordings be credited to "Kokomo Morris" in memory of his friend.
Walter Miller was another former Beale Street Jug Band guitarist rounded up by Dewey. This quiet, good humored gentleman had been away from music for years, but with a little prodding from Dewey, it soon came back to him, as you'll see in "Good Potatoes, Green Tomatoes."
"Good Potatoes, Green Tomatoes" features Dewey Corley and Walter Miller, with Mike Stewart on second guitar.
In "Jesus on the Main Line" Dewey Corley and pianist Mose Vinson accompany Willie Morris.
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