The United and States Labels
Part I (1951-1953)

Revision note: We have added scans of States 114 by Grant Jones, plus a little information about the still rather mysterious United 118 by Robert Anderson.

United/States Records was founded by Leonard Allen, a tailor and neophyte in the record business, and Lew Simpkins, who had previous experience working A&R at Miracle and then Premium, two labels owned by Lee Egalnick. When Premium went bust in June 1951, Simpkins was itching to stay in the record business; he talked his friend Allen into getting involved and into providing the initial seed money for the operation.

The company was formed in July of 1951 with the establishment of the United imprint. In May 1952 the company added a second imprint, States. As was typical in the business in those days, each label had its own line-up of distributors.

Miracle and Premium were both hit-making labels, and their demise will forever remain a mystery. Simpkins took over a good portion of the Miracle/Premium artist stable, some of them after stays at other companies, and signed them to the United and States imprints: Tab Smith, Robert Anderson, Tommy Dean, Jack Cooley, Memphis Slim, Eddie Chamblee, Terry Timmons, and Browley Guy.

United/States recorded the whole gamut of African-American popular music styles of the day: blues, jazz, vocal groups, rhythm and blues jumps, and gospel. The jazz roster was fairly impressive. It included Tab Smith, Jimmy Forrest, Tommy Dean, Paul Bascomb, Jimmy Coe, Cozy Eggleston, Leo Parker, Chris Woods, Gene Ammons, the Mil-Con-Bo Trio, Debbie Andrews, Della Reese, Jimmy Hamilton, Eddie Chamblee, Tiny Grimes, and Lefty Bates. The operation recorded its jazz artists for the rhythm and blues singles marketplace, which meant beat-driven hook-laden jumps and smooth renditions of ballad standards. United, with a few exceptions, looked for complete melodies and catchy hooks from its jazz artists rather than adventurous bebopping. It was jazz as entertainment rather than art.

The company recorded an invaluable number of great blues. The focus was primarily on urban blues artists from the 1940s, such as Roosevelt Stykes, Memphis Slim, Grant Jones, and J.T. "Nature Boy" Brown. Especially outstanding were the sides recorded by Robert Nighthawk, whose Delta blues slide-guitar stylings represent one of the finest legacies in citified country blues. The famed Chicago bar band style of blues, which the rival Chess operation especially thrived on, was represented by such artists as Junior Wells, L. C. McKinley, Big Walter Horton, and Alfred "Blues King" Harris.

Vocal groups such as the Danderliers, Five C's, Moroccos, and Hornets served a small part of the catalogue. Gospel acts included Robert Anderson, the Genesa Smith Singers, the Lucy Smith Singers, Singing Sammy Lewis, and the Caravans. The label also put out some of the first records by the Staples Singers, but fame for that group would not come until they signed with Vee-Jay. The Four Blazes and the Dozier Boys represented the vocal/instrumental group tradition of the 1940s.

Simpkins made Universal Recording his studio of choice for his operation; until 1956, nearly everything that United and States recorded in town would be done there. However, the company occasionally recorded at Boulevard Studios at 25 East Jackson to save money, and at least one session was cut at Balkan Studio--a cheap outfit, located on the West Side, that specialized in recording music from Yugoslavia.

The company was essentially shaped by Simpkins, who was born November 7, 1918, in Mississippi. He knew the music, had personally signed all the artists, and understood the record business. But the veteran record man took ill and died on April 27, 1953, at the age of 34, leaving the unprepared Allen in charge. Assisting Leonard Allen at the company was his nephew-in-law, Samuel Smith (Smitty), who did the A&R with the vocal groups, and Miss Harris, the secretary, who was the mainstay of the company's administrative work. Also working with United's recording artists was bandleader Al Smith (1923 - 1974), who would rehearse the acts in his basement and then direct the musicians at the sessions. Smith, however, was an independent contractor who had no position at the company; he also worked for Chance and Parrot and his most extensive involvement after 1954 would be at sessions for the Vee-Jay label. United's headquarters were located at 5052 South Cottage Grove, in the heart of the South Side "record row."

Leonard Allen was born 21 March 1900, in Montgomery, Alabama, of a highly religious mother and a Methodist minister father. Young Leonard attended high school in Birmingham with the intention of entering the ministry. Alabama was a hotbed of gospel quartet singing and he began singing in such ensembles. In 1917 he moved up to Chicago, and for many years there likewise sang in various quartets, none of which recorded. Allen joined the Chicago police department in 1928 and remained in the force until the late 1940s. He then entered the tailoring and cleaning business and met Lew Simpkins as a customer.

The United label took off impressively, scoring two number one R&B hits among its first ten releases: Tab Smith's "Because of You," and Jimmy Forrest's "Night Train." United formally opened for business with a long recording session on July 12, 1951. According to some recollections, the electricity hadn't even been turned on the new enterprise's office. This of course posed no deterrent to the session, which took place at old reliable Universal Recording.

Blues pianist/vocalist Roosevelt Sykes (1906 - 1983) was a long-time recording veteran by 1951, when Simpkins inked him to United, having first recorded in 1929 for OKeh. After several other label associations (Paramount, Victor, Melotone, Champion, Bluebird), often using different names, Sykes signed with Decca in 1935. At Decca, Sykes emerged as a star and became a mainstay of the label, recording such classics as "Driving Wheel," "Night Time Is the Right Time," and "44 Blues." He picked up with the Columbia subsidiary OKeh (1941-42), RCA Victor (1944-49), and Regal (1950), before joining United. On his first session for the brand-new label he enjoyed the hot saxophone support of "Little Sax" Crowder on tenor, Sax Mallard on alto, Ransom Knowling on bass, and Jump Jackson on drums. There is some controversy over the identity of the guitar player but we'll put our money on Robert Nighthawk, a versatile artist who ranged far beyond his trademark slide work.

Robert Nighthawk (1909 - 1967), whose real name was Robert Lee McCollum, was an extraordinary slide guitarist in the Mississippi Delta tradition, whose country blues manner diverged significantly from United's initial urban blues emphasis. He began recording as Robert Lee McCoy or Rambling Bob for Bluebird (1937 - 39), and followed with a session as Peetie's Boy for Decca (1940). "Prowling Nighthawk," from his first Bluebird session, provided his latter-day stage name. Robert did some rambling during the 1940s, precluding recording opportunities until Aristocrat caught up with him in late 1948. He cut three sessions for Aristocrat (through early 1950) under the "Nighthawks" name. During an extended stay in Chicago in 1951 (Musicians Union Local 208 posted his indefinite contract with the Qunicy Club on March 1; this was soon replaced by an indefinite contract with the 708 Club on March 15), McCollum signed on with United. The billing on his United releases was Robert Nighthawk and His Nighthawks Band.

John T. "Nature Boy" Brown (1918 - 1969) was a tenor sax player in the blues idiom who supplemented his robust blowing with rather rough-hewn singing. In his liner notes for the Brown United reissues on Delmark, Jim O'Neal remarked that he "was a bluesman. By jazz standards, he was not a great instrumentalist. His lack of sophistication, subtlety, and tonal variations prevented him from moving into more 'progressive' circles." Brown first performed as a member of the Rabbit Foot Minstrels in the South before moving to Chicago in the early 1940s. He first appears in the Board minutes of Musicians Union Local 208 on December 21, 1944, when his "indefinite" contract with the Boogie Woogie Inn was accepted and filed. When recording by the majors resumed in 1945, Brown began taking part in sessions for RCA Victor behind such artists as Roosevelt Sykes, Eddie Boyd, and Washboard Sam. He first recorded under his own name for the Harlem label in 1950. He cut a session for Premium that saw no releases, but Simpkins did not forget him and he was one of the first signings for the United label. The July session was the first of two. United featured him on the label as "'Nature Boy' Brown and his Blues Ramblers." The lineup on Brown's part of the session has been subject to dispute, but besides Little Brother Montgomery on piano (Roosevelt Sykes can be heard providing "encouragement and zest," as the Delmark reissue CD puts it), Ransom Knowling doing some prominent slap-bass work, and Jump Jackson on drums, it appears to include King Kolax on trumpet. King K had toured with Brown from January through March of 1951 and appears to have stayed in his group until after this session.

According to Leonard Allen, of the three earliest artists on United "Brown was the only one that sold records, with that honk he did."

The new label's second session turned out a good deal more lucrative.

The alto saxophonist Talmadge (Tab) Smith was born in Kinston, North Carolina, in 1909, and made his professional debut with the Carolina Stompers in 1929. In 1931 he joined Eddie Johnson and his Crackerjacks in St. Louis, and in later years he worked with Lucky Millinder and Count Basie. By the time he began recording, with Millinder in 1936, he was a saxophonist of high technical accomplishment working in the tradition of Johnny Hodges; he would keep his idol's signature portamento for the rest of his life. From 1944 through 1949 he fronted his own combo, recording for small labels in New York area. Then he moved his base of operations back to St. Louis. After Tab Smith enjoyed a little success with the faltering Premium label in early 1951 (the remnants were cannily snapped up by Chess when Premium went out of business), Simpkins brought him over to the new label. When Smith joined United Records, his skill as an alto saxophonist was fully matured, and the result was a fine series of ballads, blues, and novelty numbers all superbly realized in full lush tone and masterful phrasing.

Besides his Fabulous Alto, as it was customarily billed in United's florid label copy, Tab Smith played a Velvet Tenor. His tenor saxophone sound was agile and polished to the nines, though on the light side—as might be expected from a career practitioner on a smaller horn. Tab Smith occasionally crooned a ballad, and probably did more vocalizing on club dates; United showed only limited interest in these, though the company did issue a few of his vocal features. Later on, Smith would experiment with other singers. The only one he stayed with for more than one session was Ray King, who joined him in 1956.

Smith's first session took place on August 28, 1951. Obviously a lot was expected from him, as this was a double-length outing that produced eight usable sides. Judging from the take numbers (there aren't any for his subsequent outings for the company), he and the band and the production team needed a little time to get used to one another. Smith brought his regular rhythm section: Teddy Brannon on piano, Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass, and the great Walter Johnson (who had been a major figure in the evolution of Swing when he played in Fletcher Henderson's big band during the early 1930s) on drums. Apparently Smith was not carrying other horn players at the time, so two mainstays of the Red Saunders band joined him in the studio. George "Sonny" Cohn (1925 - 2006) got an occasional lead or short statement on trumpet; Leon Diamond Washington (1909-1973), a solid tenor saxophone soloist in the Coleman Hawkins tradition, received no opportunities while backing a saxophone playing leader who stood in front of the band.

"Because of You"—a suave alto sax rendering of the Tony Bennett hit, plumped up a little with that Universal Recording reverb—was promptly released on United 104; it lasted twenty weeks on the Billboard R&B chart and went to #1. The source of inspiration was unmistakably Johnny Hodges. But its diskmate, "Dee Jay Special," was a medium-fast number featuring the Velvet Tenor, and there the inspiration came from Lester Young, a section mate during a couple of Smith's brief stints in the Count Basie band, though even when playing in the Lestorian mode Smith tended to articulate his notes more sharply than the master. "Milk Train" (which was reissued on Delmark under its file title, "Slow Motion") is an insinuating slow blues featuring the Fabulous Alto; "Wig Song," which was left in the box at the time, is a Basie-inspired jump for the Velvet Tenor—but this time a few bop licks work their way into Tab's solo. (A major saxophone technician, Smith had the chops to play bop when he wanted to, though his bassist and drummer never adopted any bop practices. Once again, we're reminded that in Chicago, the boundaries between Swing and bop were more permeable than the standard historical accounts would have us believe.) "One Man Dip," another excellent peformance left unissued, is an eloquent medium-slow blues for the Velvet Tenor; Teddy Brannon does the "After Hours" thing at the piano, and the backing horns lay out. "Down Beat" is a rocking medium blues, again featuring the tenor sax; it benefits from effective riffing by Cohn and Washington and strong drumming. The session concluded with two vocal features for the leader. "How Can You Say We're Thru" is a decently written ballad on which the leader's alto sax is inevitably more eloquent than his crooning. United decided to pass on it; the same thing happened with "Brown Baby," a slightly better tune that leaves less room for the Fabulous Alto.

Tab Smith would become United's most prolifically recorded artist. The company rushed him right back for 8 more sides on October 24 (in the meantime, Allen and Simpkins hadn't ponied up the funds to record anyone else). Smith used the same band (again with Cohn and Washington added), and this time it appears that most of the items were completed in one take.

The huge success of "Because of You" dictated a different balance on this session; Tab Smith left the Velvet Tenor in its case. The top item on the agenda was to lay down some ballads: "Can't We Take a Chance," "(It's No) Sin," "A Blanket of Blue," and "Hands across the Table," four better-than-average products of Tin Pan Alley done in the Hodges manner. Except for "Can't We Take a Chance," which was given a perked-up two-beat with a fair amount of call and response for Cohn and Washington, the ballads were played at strict slow-dance tempo. The propulsive yet laid-back "Boogie Joogie" was the sole jump. Closing the session with his own tune, "Love Is a Wonderful Thing," Tab Smith finally got his crooning onto a United single. His vocal was nicely framed with an alto sax intro and a transitional passage for a muted Sonny Cohn.

On the October session, Smith also tried out his first guest vocalist, uptown blues singer Lou Blackwell. Blackwell had first recorded ballads and blues for Chess on a session a few months earlier, but the Chess brothers were apparently unhappy with the results and nothing has ever been released. Here Blackwell's smooth baritone is put to good use on "Knotty-Headed Woman" with its extravagantly worded lyrics. "Ain't Got Nobody" is a low-down complaint that gets relaxed execution by the singer and the band. These were competitive with the sides that other standup blues singers would make for United, but the company decided not to use them. Lou Blackwell would finally get a single out when he recorded for Chance around November of 1952.

In all, Tab Smith ended up being responsible for 48 issued sides, running from the United label's fourth release in 1951 to its very last in 1957. His total output was 85 tracks, many of which were released only during the last decade. Smith's combo underwent a few personnel changes but on all but one of his sessions at United he enjoyed the services of famed jazz drummer Walter Johnson, who had been with him since 1944. Tab Smith became a steady if not spectacular seller for the company. In essence, he paid the bills for United, since the company had few hits after the early going.

Guitarist and bandleader Tiny Grimes was born Lloyd Grimes in 1917, in Newport News, Virginia. He played an unusual four-string guitar and experimented early with electrical amplification. In the late 1930s and early 1940s he worked in New York. He replaced Slim Gaillard in Slim and Slam when he teamed up with bowing, singing bassist Slam Stewart. From the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s Grimes regularly headed combos (one of his 1944 groups has caught extra recognition because it included Charlie Parker). Nearly all his work was done in New York and Philadelphia for such East Coast labels as Atlantic and Gotham, so this session in Chicago with New York musicians (tenorman Red Prysock and pianist Freddie Redd, an unidentified bassist, and drummer Jerry Potter) was somewhat an anomaly. The Board minutes of Local 208 of the Musicians Union indicate that Tiny Grimes had a contract to play the Brass Rail, a club in the Loop, for 2 weeks; it was accepted and filed on October 4, 1951. On November 15, Grimes posted a contract for 2 weeks at Club Silhouette. Allen and Simpkins approached Grimes during this stay in Chicago and got him to sign on the dotted line.

United's second national hit was Jimmy Forrest's "Night Train," which likewise lasted twenty weeks on the Billboard R&B chart and rose to #1 in early 1952. The record, one of the most memorable instrumentals in the history of rhythm and blues, became a jukebox standard for the next couple of decades. Forrest recorded many times after he laid down "Night Train" at Universal Recording, but if he had never done anything else his mark on popular music would still be assured.

Jimmy Forrest was a hard-swinging honker possessing splendid technique that was a joy to listen to on a pure visceral level. From Forrest and the other robust tenor sax men of the 1940s and 1950s--Coleman Hawkins, Illinois Jacquet, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, and Arnett Cobb--rhythm and blues inherited its basic sax sound.

Jimmy Forrest was born in Saint Louis on January 24, 1920. In high school he was already performing in the local bands of Eddie Johnson, Fate Marable, and Jeter-Pillars. He first made his mark in the jazz world in Don Albert's big band during 1938-39. Later he would play with Jay McShann (1942), Andy Kirk (1942-48), and Duke Ellington (1949-50). "Night Train" is, in fact, lifted from a 1946 composition by the Duke titled "Happy Go Lucky Local." In 1951 Leonard Allen and Lew Simpkins found Forrest honking the "Night Train" riff in a St. Louis club and the rest is history. Forrest had given it a dirty name, so (as often happened in those days) United reconfigured the title to something more radio-friendly. For his first session with the label, Forrest appears to have used his regular St. Louis combo: Bunky Parker, piano; Johnny Mixon, bass; Oscar Oldham, drums; Percy James, congas and bongos. Some of the items from this session (such as "Swingin' and Rockin'") show substantial bebop influence.

From the collection of Robert L. Campbell

One of the year's concluding sessions featured Grant "Mr. Blues" Jones, an uptown blues singer popular in the clubs at the time, notably the Club DeLisa (55th and South State), Joe's Rendezvous Lounge (2757 West Madison), Club 34 (3417 West Roosevelt), and New Apex Country Club (12614 Claire in Robbins). Jones had first recorded for J. Mayo Williams' Ebony label in 1949; he subsequently cut twice for Decca during 1949-50. It appears that Jones first attempted two of his sides on November 27 (with which band? Jimmy Forrest's?) but these came out unsatisfactorily and had to be remade on December 1.

Kitty O'Day, also a blues singer, was occasionally mentioned in Chicago Defender advertisements during this period. It appears she recorded on the December 1 session with the same Red Saunders-led combo that backed Jones, and she could have contributed to his version of "Hi Yo Silver," which uses female backup singers. But all of this needs confirmation, as her tracks have never been released.

Robert Anderson was born on March 21, 1919 in Anguila, Mississippi. He began his career in 1935 or 1936, as a star member of the Roberta Martin Singers, and left Martin in 1939. Before going solo he toured for a time with pianist and singer R. L. Knowles. Anderson was one of the acts that Lew Simpkins "inherited" from the Miracle and Premium operations, for whom he had recorded from 1949 through early 1951. After four quick sides for Modern, Anderson signed with United toward the end of 1951. Allen put out eight sides on him during 1952 and 1953, a period during which he was Chicago's top male gospel soloist. The chorus on his sessions of December 12 and 21, 1951 was Anderson's Gospel Caravan, the original incarnation of the famed Caravans: chorus members were Elyse Yancy, Ora Lee Hopkins, and Irma Gwynn. The piano was by Edward Robinson and organ by Louise Robert Wooten. For some reason, United rerecorded Anderson and his Gospel Caravan doing the same four numbers; the second efforts cannot strictly be referred to as remakes, because one of the versions selected for release apparently came from the first session.

By the end of 1951, United had cut 56 masters (we count alternate takes in the total, but not gaps in the matrix series). United looked to become the preeminent indie label in Chicago, judging from the number of hit records it had placed on the R&B charts. Chess, however, was coming up fast, even though it was yet to experience the huge hits that United got.

Emboldened by its initial success, United invested heavily in studio time during 1952, logging many hours at Universal Recording (and occasionally picking up material that had been done in Detroit). We have kept the sessions in chronological order. In June 1952 Universal opened a new block of master numbers (1200-1249) intended for the new States label. The 1200 numbers were applied to most States sessions during the second half of the year, while the 1100s were continued for most material intended for release on United. Not the best of bookkeeping, but organizing sessions by date reduces the confusion.

1952 opened for Allen and Simpkins with a real gift horse from Bill Putnam at Universal Recording Studio. A string-vocal band, the Four Blazes, went into the studio on January 4 to produce the hit "Mary Jo" and the venerable Duke Ellington number "Mood Indigo." The group had first recorded as the Five Blazes for Aristocrat in 1947. By the time of their session for Putnam, the group, slimmed down to four, consisted of Floyd McDaniel (guitar), William "Shorty" Hill (guitar), Tommy Braden (bass), and Paul Lindsley "Jelly" Holt (drums). Guesting on the session was tenor sax ace Eddie Chamblee. Putnam sold the two numbers to United. United 114 was released in March 1952; by August 1952, "Mary Jo" was #1 on the R&B charts. Later pressings of United 114 also give the names of all four members of the Blazes (with "F. McDaniels" for Floyd McDaniel) and add a credit "Lead Vocal - T. Braden" at the bottom of the "Mary Jo" side.

After months of steady work in South Side clubs, J. T. Brown was back in the studio on January 10, 1952. On this occasion, he probably used King Kolax (who had been in his band the previous year) on trumpet. The rest of the ensemble included Bob Call on piano, Big Crawford on bass, possibly Jump Jackson on drums, and an alto saxophonist named Huey Underwood who had recently arrrived in town from Pittsburgh. (Brown would regret recruiting him for the date, because Underwood was non-Union. On April 3, the Local 208 Board ended up fining Brown $100 for using him. Brown was also socked with a 90-day suspension.) United put out "Strictly Gone" b/w "House Party Groove" (again credited by Nature Boy Brown and his Blues Ramblers) but sat on the other two items from the session. One of the unissued compositions, "You Stayed Away Too Long," resurfaced in 1957 as a vehicle for Arbee Stidham under the title "I Stayed Away Too Long"—and that makes us wonder who actually wrote it.

As Daniel Gugolz has recently discovered, the issued takes of "Strictly Gone" and "House Party Groove" are not the same ones that have been used on Delmark reissues. Apparently the surviving session documentation didn't specify which takes had been chosen for issue. One wonders whether the same thing might have happened with some other sessions done for United and States...

Allen and Simpkins lost interest in Brown after this outing, despite his continuing popularity on the South Side. Simpkins, we may be sure, was none too pleased about being hauled in front of the Local 208 Board after Brown had falsely claimed that Underwood belonged to the Pittsburgh local, and got Simpkins to include this disinformation in the recording ledger. Meanwhile, Brown joined Elmore James' group, the Broomdusters, in the middle of 1952, touring with the group and recording with them for the Bihari brother's labels RPM, Flair, and Meteor. Brown would reappear as a sideman on the last Roosevelt Sykes session for United in March 1953, but his next recording session as a leader would have to wait a good while; he cut a session for Parrot in August 1953, which was left unissued at the time, and a session for JOB in January 1954 that led to one poorly distributed single.

Alerted by his Louisville connection, deejay Cliff Butler, Lew Simpkins brought in the strangest assemblage ever to record for United, or for any other label in the 1950s: Johnny Wicks' Swinging Ozarks. What he recorded on February 18 was a Louisville jazz band accompanying a tuba-playing blues singer, with significant guesting by Chicago-based violinist Ramon "Remo" Biondi. Members of the Louisville group were John Wicks [short for Wickliffe] (bass), John "Preacher" Stephens (tuba and vocals), Scott Johnson (alto sax), Gerald Blue (piano), and Skip Everett (drums). Biondi, who held down a full-time radio network job but liked to assist Simpkins and Allen with arranging as well as rhythm guitar and violin playing on various sessions, was apparently asked to add an interesting flavor to the session, which already had many interesting flavors. The tubaist tired his lip while the band struggled to get the first two numbers done, so there is less blues tuba on hand than one might hope for, but the overall results constitute an inspired oddity. Two rare singles (United 116 and 126) were all that came out during the lifetime of the company; the complete session finally made it onto the fairly rare Pearl PL-13 in 1989.

Smooth baritone balladeer Browley Guy was born around 1918 and graduated from Wendell Phillips High School in June 1936; from 1947 through 1949 he participated in six sessions (two of them unissued) for Miracle. We have not heard his sides from this February 1952 session, so we don't know who backed him instrumentally in the Guy Brothers Orchestra. "Marie" was apparently a remake of one of Guy's unissued 1949 sides.

The terribly obscure Gilbert Holiday, who recorded on February 25, may have been one of those artists that Leonard Allen occasionally picked up from Detroit. His one other recording session was held in Detroit the previous year, for Regent records.

On February 26, Tab Smith picked up where he had left off, waxing his third session for United. Again he used Sonny Cohn and Leon Washington to augment his rhythm section of Teddy Brannon, Wilfred Middlebrooks, and Walter Johnson. No fewer than 8 sides were cut. Again no take numbers survive, and one wonders how many extra takes were needed. "All My Life," "Cottage for Sale," "'Tis Autumn," and "This Love of Mine" (the last recently made popular by its co-composer, Frank Sinatra) are lovely ballad performances in the Hodges tradition.

"Strange," a pining ballad from this session, was one of just 4 sides featuring the leader's vocals that the company decided to release. Tab croons acceptably though rather thinly (like Benny Carter in his occasional vocal efforts), but it's his brief statement on the alto sax gets to the heart of things.

"Cuban Boogie" lets everyone have fun with the Latin rhythms; the number sounds like a slightly simplified version of "Barbados" by Charlie Parker. On "Nursery Rhyme Jump," an excellent vehicle for the Velvet Tenor, Tab Smith sounds like a thinner-toned Wardell Gray, and Teddy Brannon feeds him some "modern" chords at the piano; the fact that a performance of this quality was left in the can tells us what a profusion of releasable material Tab Smith was providing. "Jumptime," which did get released, has a jump-ropey theme, partly redeemed by interludes for the alto sax and the piano, but Tab redeems it with a driving tenor solo.

On March 3, tenor saxophonist Paul Bascomb came in to cut the first of three significant sessions for the company. Bascomb was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on February 12, 1910. He began to play the piano at age 7, and soon worked up to playing E-flat clarinet in his school band and clarinet and alto sax in a traveling show during the summer. Obtaining a scholarship to Alabama State College in Montgomery, he built up the college ensemble from 5 or 6 pieces up to a first-rate big band, and switched to tenor saxophone under the influence of Coleman Hawkins. On arriving in New York, the Bama State Collegians adopted trumpeter Erskine Hawkins as their leader. Leaving the popular Erskine Hawkins band in 1944, Bascomb formed his own combo to work the club scene in New York City. Around 1950 he began a long stand at El Sino Club in Detroit. In January 1953 he moved to Chicago, but was made to cool his heels waiting for Local 208 to accept his transfer; finally in July 1953 he was able to make a contract with the Strand Show Lounge in Chicago, opening there with a new band. Through the end of 1955 he commuted back and forth between the two cities, playing at the two venues with completely different bands.

Bascomb's Detroit group included Eddie Lewis (trumpet), Frank Porter (alto sax), Tommy Waters (alto sax), Harold Wallace (baritone sax), Duke Jordan (piano), James McCrary (bass), and George DeHart (drums); this is the group that recorded for States. Bascomb's sides could be either jazz or rhythm and blues, depending on the audience--so permeable is the line separating the styles.

Paul Bascomb's tenor sax could squall and squawk on the punchy swing numbers and it could be soulful and tender on the ballads. No matter how he played, his fine blowing was immensely popular with R&B audiences, especially on such standards as "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Body and Soul" (transparently retitled "Soul and Body" on States; Bascomb confessed to having learned Coleman Hawkins' celebrated 1939 paraphrase of the tune note for note.) The element of Swing is always in his music (he stuck closer to the Hawk model than most of the R&B saxophonists were accustomed to doing) and the eight sides released by Allen were typical of his output.

The surviving documentation from Bascomb's first session appears not to be in the best shape, leading to confusion over titles when the material was reissued on Delmark. "Blues and the Beat," as released on States 102, is, well, a close imitation of Red Saunders' "4 A. M. Blues." Harold Wallace's baritone sax solo is nearly a note-for-note copy of Mac Easton's on the original, but Bascomb also contributes on tenor sax.

What came to be called "More Blues-More Beat" is a jump tune with solos by all three saxes on 1087-2, but just tenor and alto sax on 1087-4. It turns out that the piece was first issued in 1953 on a French Vogue 78, under the title "False Alarm." (There were almost certainly other Vogue 78s derived from United and States during this period; they have not all been traced.) Then, when the Bascomb sessions were first gathered together on Delmark DL-431, Bad Bascomb, the titles of "Blues and the Beat" and "More Blues-More Beat" were reversed! The mistake was corrected when Bad Bascomb was reissued on CD. Our thanks to Armin Büttner for comparing Vogue V.3271, States 102, Delmark DL-431, and Delmark DD-431. A cross comparison with Delmark DD-438 is still needed.

On two excursions to Detroit on March 10 and 21, Leonard Allen and Lew Simpkins sought to add more gospel artists to their roster. On both occasions they recorded a larger ensemble called The Veteran Singers, which originated before World War II in the Detroit area, and a quartet unit drawn from its ranks, the Southern Tornadoes. We know next to nothing about the personnel, although the lead singer for the Veterans was one Rev. Glover. Apparently, Allen and Simpkins went to Detroit to record these groups, which rarely performed outside of Michigan, on the recommendation of Al Benson, who broke into radio with a gospel show. Indeed, The Veteran Singers turned up again in Chicago on Benson's own Parrot label, where they cut a session in the fall of 1953. The Veteran Singers broke up not long after the Parrot session. The company put out just one single on each group, and apparently both sold poorly; United and States never recorded either ensemble again, and the rest of their material remained in the vaults for 50 years, until the 2002 release of Delmark DE-760, On the Battlefield... Great Gospel Quartets. Even then, a few tracks were withheld from release (including two versions of "Little David").

Jimmy Forrest was back for a second session on March 30, 1952, using the same lineup as on his first one, except that Chauncey Locke was added on trumpet and Bob Reagen took over on the Latin percussion. Musically, this outing was just as productive as the first. There was some benefit to the company as well: "Hey, Mrs. Jones" (released on United 130) hit #3 on the R&B charts in December 1952.

The Reverend Robert Anderson was back for his second session on April 18, which produced two singles, United 122 and 134. The legendary Caravans were formed as a separate act when Albertina Walker, Elyse Yancy, Ora Lee Hopkins, Nellie Grace Daniels, and pianist Edward Robinson stayed at Universal Recording after Anderson completed his numbers to make further sides. The success of their first release, on States 103, enabled the Caravans to leave Anderson and strike out on their own. Anderson continued with a new, all-male group, but his popularity began to decline and the company did not keep him on the roster. After his style of gospel went out of fashion, Anderson spent some years away from music, working as a housekeeper for columnist Ann Landers and delivering flowers for a shop owned by a friend. He was able to record again for the Spirit Feel label in the 1980s. Robert Anderson died in Chicago in June 1995.

Allen switched his attention to The Caravans, who sold pretty well for him. He kept releasing their material through his company's final year, but it was after he sold their contract to Savoy Records in 1957 that the group skyrocketed to success.

Pianist Tommy Dean was a seasoned leader of jazzy R&B combos when Lew Simpkins brought him to the new States imprint in June 1952. Dean was born in Franklin, Louisiana, on September 6, 1909, and grew up in Beaumont, Texas. He did his earliest work in carnivals and circuses. Moving northward to St. Louis in 1937 or 1938, he joined Eddie Randle's Seven Blue Devils, then began leading combos of his own. His groups often toured the Southwest, sometimes appearing in Mexico; his first known gig in Chicago did not take place until 1945. His made his first record for the small St. Louis label Town and Country in 1947. Dean next recorded for Miracle in 1949. By the time of his first session for States on June 4, he been leading a combo with stable personnel--Chris Woods, alto sax; Edgar Hayes, tenor; Gene Easton, baritone; Eugene Thomas, bass; Pee Wee Jernigan, drums--for several years and was a steady draw in St. Louis as well as a frequent visitor to Chicago's South Side. The rhythm was tight and tasty and all three of his saxophonists were good bebop soloists; vocalist Jewel Belle was on hand for jukebox appeal.

On June 11, Tab Smith returned for his fourth session for United. This was the last one to use Leon Washington and Sonny Cohn in the front line; it may have been the last one for a while to use Teddy Brannon at the piano. At least we know who was responsible for a number called "Teddy's Brannin'," a medium blues whose opening and closing choruses feature the pianist doing the locked-hands thing. And Brannon's solo contributes to the drowsy 3 AM ambience of "A Bit of Blues." "Sunny Side of the Street" is small-group Ellingtonia, done at the perfect tempo; some of the leader's pecking embellishments suggest an intimate acquaintance with the soprano sax (which so far as we know he was not playing professionally during this period). "These Foolish Things" is a superb ballad performance that contrasts portamenti (slides between notes on the alto sax) with extra-sharp articulation in Smith's 1940s manner. "My Mother's Eyes" is a much more sentimental tune (check out that piano introduction and interlude) but the leader's heartfelt intensity makes up for it. (The song must have had a personal meaning to Tab Smith, because it is the only one he would record twice during his tenure at United--and both versions were released.)

The Caravans returned for their second session some time in June; obviously Simpkins and Allen had high expectations for them. On the labels to States 108, Robert Anderson is mentioned as the group's director, so the quartet had not stopped working with him just yet. On future releases, Anderson's name would no longer appear. For some reason, this session was never used in any reissue series; we wonder whether Savoy took posession of the masters when it took over the Caravans' contract, and we hope the tapes have not been lost.

From the collection of Robert L. Campbell

Allen recorded the Four Blazes on his own on July 4 (with some overdubs added on August 18); again Chamblee joined the quartet, sitting out only on "Stop Boogie Woogie," a guitar feature for Floyd McDaniel. United 125 was released in August 1952; as was typical on United and States releases, the actual take numbers did not appear on the record, but 78 and 45 rpm masters sometimes got numerical suffixes, as did remastering jobs. United 127 followed promptly in September 1952. The original label of United 127 incorrectly gives "1025" as the matrix for "Stop Boogie Woogie."

"Perfect Woman" was not released at the time, presumably because of the weird sonic impact of overdubbing a second Eddie Chamblee sax line over one already "enriched" with excessive studio reverb. Instead, the tune was redone from scratch at the next session.

Roosevelt Sykes returned for an unusual followup session on August 21, 1952. On hand was John "Schoolboy" Porter on guitar (instead of the tenor sax he played on his recordings for the Chance label--Sykes can be heard shouting "Schoolboy" on the session). The band was rounded out by Ransom Knowling on bass, and probably Jump Jackson on drums. Remo Biondi gave the session a unique flavor with his guest appearance on violin: "Toy Piano Blues," on which Sykes plays the celeste and Biondi is the featured soloist, is unique among Sykes' vast output. Sykes also experimented with backing vocals (not always in tune, and evidently the work of his sidemen). One of the items with rough vocal harmony, "Security Blues" (apparently intended as Sykes' response to Memphis Slim's "Mother Earth") is alleged to have sold respectably for Leonard Allen. "Listen to My Song," on the other hand, seems to have been too schmaltzy for Allen's taste and was left unreleased.

Tenor sax player Cyril J. "Cozy" Eggleston (born May 12, 1920) emerged during the flourishing Chicago postwar scene. An early gig (October 1946 through January 1947) was at the Macomba Lounge (39th and Cottage Grove) where for a time he worked alongside Tom Archia. His first advertised appearance as a leader was in the Cozy Cottage (4019 Indiana) in late 1946 under the name Cozy Eggleston and His Imps of Swing. In 1947 he recorded for Columbia with a group called the Memphis Seven. For a time he played in Lil Green's band, and used a pianist named Sonny Blount (who had likewise been in the Green band) in his own combo. In 1949, he was appearing at the Manchester Grill (31st and Rhodes) with his wife, Marie Stone Eggleston (born March 3, 1918), who was described as a "blues singer, ace musician, and the bombshell of the alto sax." In August 1950 he was holding down a spot at the Victory Club, as his "indefinite" contract (accepted and filed by Musicians Union Local 208) indicates. Late 1950 saw Cozy and Marie at the Club Evergreen (1322 Clybourn), where they would "leave the stand and come down to blow among the guests," according to the caption of a December 30 Chicago Defender

By the time of his States session on August 23, 1952, Eggleston had one hot and popular band. Despite holding off the release for over a year, United got something of a hit with "Big Heavy," which Alan Freed used as his theme on WINS in New York. The group on this session featured Cozy and Marie Eggleston, Jimmy Boyd on piano, Ellis Hunter on guitar, Curtis Ferguson on bass, and Chuck Williams on drums.

While he was still holding forth at the Evergreen in 1954, the advertisement recognized Eggleston's recording activities at States, calling him "Cozy 'Boogie' Eggleston, and His Recording Band." We are mystified that Leonard Allen didn't bring Cozy Eggleston back into the studio; it would be quite a few years before the saxophonist got another chance to record as a leader. Not, in fact, until the 1970s, when Cozy and Marie Eggleston cut an LP for his self-produced Co-Egg label.

On August 25, Paul Bascomb was back for his second session, though for reasons that remain obscure, States didn't release any of the tracks at the time. One coupling, "Nona" b/w "Mumbles' Blues," ended up being licensed to Mercury instead; Simpkins and Allen had never done this before, and would make no further deals with Mercury, so the rationale remains obscure. On the first three tracks, Bascomb's band provided sterling backing for Browley Guy and his vocal group the Skyscrapers, who did get a release out of the session. Guy and group tilted more toward blues and less toward lounge than usual (our thanks to Yves François Smierciak for alerting us to Bascomb's involvement on these). The vocalist on such numbers as "Mumbles' Blues" that appeared under Bascomb's name remains uncredited--the bass/baritone on these could also be Guy's. (Interestingly, "Mumbles Blues" was also recorded for Chess by Bobby Lewis, in September 1952.) "Got Cool Too Soon" is intriguing, and not just for the band vocal. It is one of those paraphrases of "How High the Moon" that the beboppers went in for. According to stereotype, a Swing veteran like Bascomb wouldn't be interested. (Steven Tamborski, who has been trying to track down the publisher of this piece, has discovered that its original title was "Got High Too Soon.")

A performer named Ray McKinstry cut three sides for United on August 29. Judging from "Dinah," which was included in a Delmark CD compilation from 2004 titled The United Records Story, McKinstry was a multi-instrumentalist whose angle was assembling "one man band" recordings through multi-tracking. This was a lot easier to do with analog tape than had been the case with direct-to-disk recording, but "generation loss" was still a significant issue. "Dinah" features nice fluid solo clarinet with accompaniment by two tenor saxes plus what sounds like a third tenor played at half speed to make a virtual bass sax, rhythm guitar, string bass, and drums (played with brushes). The purposely saggy rhythm of the saxes, exacerbated with slap-back echo, makes "Dinah" sound more like a Raymond Scott number than a Swing performance. The middle and end get more gimmicky, with speeded up tapes of the rhythm guitar and a clarinet and a couple of tenors run at double speed to make a virtual sopranino clarinet and soprano saxes, mixed with normal-speed tapes of the tenor saxes and the half-speed "bass sax."

Tab Smith was back on September 15 for his fifth session--just five tunes on this occasion. The front line was now staffed by Irving Woods on trumpet and Charlie Wright on tenor sax, both members of his working combo. And Lavern Dillon may have taken over on piano. Wilfred Middlebrooks and Walter Johnson continued to anchor the rhythm section.

A typical critical reaction of the time comes from Down Beat (February 25, 1953); in those days the magazine maintained separate jazz and rhythm and blues sections, classifying Tab Smith with the R&B. The review of United 140, "These Foolish Things" (from his fourth session; four stars) b/w "Red Hot and Blue" (three stars), declared, "Tab's full piercing sax follows the same pattern here as on his recent good sellers, and there is little reason to suspect that these won't do as well. "Things" is played straight, "Red" is forceful, neatly-swung riff item." A medium-tempo blues for Tab's alto, to be exact, but the riffing has a militant edge to it that comes from pushing the beat.

"Ace High" is another uptempo swinger, this one featuring the Velvet Tenor. (Of course, the Smith combo played for dancers, so for them uptempo never meant frenetic.) "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" is a sentimental tune that the leader caresses on the alto sax, but as sometimes happened to this group when the tempo was just medium-slow, the accompaniment keeps wandering into the cornfields. "You Belong to Me," a better tune taken slower, steers clear.

The Caravans returned for their third gospel session some time in September. On States 109, which came out in November, or thereabouts, the entire group was still listed on the label--and Robert Anderson was no longer mentioned. No fewer than 8 tracks were recorded (one of which was somehow passed over when master numbers were assigned) and the company dipped back into this session for three further States releases.

Tiny Murphy cut the first of two sessions for the company in late September. Murphy was a Country artist who played a broad repertoire, including an occasional boogie. Born in Kentucky, Murphy had relocated to Chicago by 1950. Known for his expertise on the steel guitar (as the title "Hot Steel" was no doubt meant to signify) Murphy also played electric guitar. In 1951, he was the guitarist in a group called The Sage Riders, which included jazz violinist Johnny Frigo and accordion player Lino Frigo (a distant cousin of Johnny's)--see http://www.abar.net/photos.html for a photo of the group in action. "It's All Your Fault," which appeared on Murphy's first United release, is co-credited to Remo Biondi and Bill Putnam. Whether Putnam (who ran Universal Recording) had a hand in writing the number we are entitled to doubt, but the other composer credit suggests that Biondi was sitting in, on rhythm guitar if not on fiddle, and finding other ways to contribute as well.

Three of Murphy's United sides have been reissued on White Label LP 2819, Boppin' Hillbilly's Vol. 19; the same three have more recently been included in a no-label cassette, Tiny Murphy Then & Now. Our thanks to Mark Seganish for help on this artist.

The final Paul Bascomb session for States took place on September 30, again with first-class results but less than the best documentation. Confusion still surrounds matrix numbers 1231 and 1232,"Matilda" (or "Mathilda") and a remake of "Got Cool Too Soon". Somehow, neither managed to get included in the Paul Bascomb reissues on Delmark. It was the remake of "Got Cool" that saw release on States 110, along with take 2 of "Coquette." But the LP and CD releases have used take 9 of "Coquette," along with a version of "Too Soon" from the previous session. For some reason, States 110 is not very common today, and Bascomb's last two releases, on States 121 and United 192, are more elusive still.

We find it mysterious that Simpkins and Allen didn't try to hold on to an artist who was obviously popular with their clientele (in fact, Allen put out United 192 long after Bascomb had left the company). What's more, he actually moved to Chicago in January 1953! Apparently Leonard Allen didn't want to record "Jan," a Latin-flavored composition by Norman Simmons who played piano in the new group that Bascomb assembled in Chicago during the summer of 1953, and that is why Bascomb was induced to defect to Al Benson's new Parrot operation in September of that year. (Bascomb had previously done a little moonlighting in August, at a Dinah Washington session for Mercury.)

Bascomb's Chicago groups at various times included Norman Simmons or Rozelle Claxton (piano), Gus Chappelle or Johnny Avant (trombone), Malachi Favors (bass), and Vernel Fournier or Marshall Thompson (drums). Pat Patrick (baritone sax) and Roland Faulkner (guitar) also made stops there. From 1953 through 1955 three or four different editions of the Chicago band recorded for Parrot. The last session, in July 1955, produced an entire LP that unfortunately has never seen release.

In 1956 and 1957, Bascomb's band worked steadily at such venues and Roberts Show Lounge. From 1958 through 1970, he adapted to the advent of rock 'n roll and soul music by holding sway at the Esquire (95th and Wentworth) with an organ trio. After that steady gig ended, Paul Bascomb scuffled for a time, even working as a garbage man. In 1976, his superb work for United was resurrected and released on Delmark LP-431, Bad Bascomb. In the mid-1970s Bascomb was able to tour Europe and in 1979 he was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in Birmingham. He was essentially retired when he joined in one last session in 1982, for Yves François Smierciak's Pinnacle label. Paul Bascomb died in Chicago on November 25, 1986.

Grant Jones followed him into the studio on October 7, again with the help of an uncredited Red Saunders combo featuring an alto saxophonist, probably Riley Hampton. Red was still under contract to OKeh at the time, so his presence on the record was once again not advertised. After his second and last session for United, Grant Jones would show up on a King Kolax session for Vee-Jay in 1954. His final session, which took place in 1958 for the Evanston-based Stepheny label, saddled him with titles like "Soda Pop Rock" in a futile effort by an adult blues singer to reach the now dominant teenage market.

The second session by the elusive Robert Nighthawk took place on October 25, 1952. It featured Curtis Jones at the piano, an unidentified second guitarist, Ransom Knowling at the bass, and a sonically prominent but unidentified drummer. Like Nighthawk's first session for United, it now figures among the classic blues recordings. However, Leonard Allen saw fit to release just one single from this outing (States 131, "Maggie Campbell" b/w "The Moon Is Rising"). "Maggie," a traditional Delta blues number associated with Tommy Johnson, apparently lacked mass appeal in 1953. Robert Nighthawk would not record again until the 1960s, when he was captured playing live on Maxwell Street in 1964, fortunately still at the peak of his powers. He was back on his home turf (Mississippi and Arkansas) when he succumbed to heart disease in 1967.

Four Kings and a Queen, who recorded on October 31, 1952, were a vocal group. None of their material has ever been released.

In November 1952, United was able to land the services of two legendary bebop saxophonists, Leo Parker and Gene Ammons, who both knew how to appeal to the R&B market; Parker's session on the 15th was followed closely by Ammons' studio visit on the 18th.

Baritone sax player Leo Parker, born in Washington DC on April 18, 1925, brought a wealth of experience to the company. Beginning in the early 1940s, he had recorded with such leaders as Coleman Hawkins, Dexter Gordon, and Sir Charles Thompson, and played in bands led by Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, and Illinois Jacquet. The Thompson recording date earned him his nickname as well as his combo name, "Mad Lad," after the tune he recorded of the same name. His first recordings under his own name came from three Detroit sessions for Savoy during 1947-48. These were followed by sessions for Prestige (1950), Gotham (1950), Chess (1951, in partnership with tenorman Eddie Johnson), and an obscure session for Mercury (behind vocalist Ray Snead, also in 1951), before he cut his one outing for United. In support of Parker were Ira Pettiford (trumpet, bass), Andy Johnson (piano), and Jack Parker (drums). Guitarist Bill Jennings is said to have been a member of the combo but isn't on the one side from this session that we have heard.

Leo Parker later recorded in Chicago for Parrot (a 1953 session that didn't see release till years later). Mounting a comeback after years lost to heroin addiction, he cut a farewell session for Blue Note (1961) before dying of cancer in New York City on February 11, 1962.

Tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons (1925 - 1974) was a native Chicagoan, the son of boogie woogie pianist Albert Ammons. He got local exposure while still in high school, playing in King Kolax's 1941 band. Like Leo Parker, he got further exposure in the Eckstine big band. Ammons did his first recordings in 1947 for Mercury and Savoy, followed by sessions for Aladdin (1948), Aristocrat (1948-49, one of them clandestine, another shared with his dueling partner Tom Archia, and a third with singer and pianist Christine Chatman), and Mercury (1949). After a few months in Woody Herman's band, Gene Ammons established a working group that often included his favorite dueling partner Sonny Stitt. The band alternated sessions for Chess and Prestige (1950-51), followed by a single appearance on Decca (1952).

For Chess he had produced an R&B hit, a smooth rendition of "My Foolish Heart," which helped launch the Chess brothers' new imprint in the summer of 1950. Obviously, United hoped Ammons would produce the same magic. By this time, the group that Ammons's group that often included Sonny Stitt had broken up for good; Stitt would spend the rest of his career as a single, playing with local rhythm sections wherever he met. The lineup for the late 1952 session was Ammons' current working group of Johnny Coles (trumpet), Lino Murray (trombone), John Houston (piano), Benny Stuberville (bass), George Brown (drums), and an unknown guitarist. McKinley Easton of the Red Saunders Orchestra was added on baritone sax.

Cliff Butler was a veteran deejay from the Louisville area. He was born on October 17, 1922, in Louisville, Kentucky. His early experience in music was with one of the many jug bands that made their home in Louisville. After serving in the Army Air Corps in World War II, he returned to his hometown and organized his first band to back his singing. His first recordings were with the Three Notes, for Signature (1948), followed by recordings for King (1949). Butler began recording for the States label with a session on November 17, 1952. On "Adam's Rib" he exhibits a strong Roy Brown influence. The session musicians included blind pianist Benny Holton, who regularly accompanied Butler, as well as Chicago stalwarts Leon Diamond Washington on tenor sax and Red Saunders in the drum chair. On another track from the session, "You’re My Honey, But the Bees Don’t Know It," Butler was accompanied by a vocal group from Louisville, The Doves.

Tommy Dean returned to the studio to cut four more tracks for States on November 19, 1952. His combo was about to break up, as it turned out. Just one single was issued, which seems to be quite rare. And for some reason nothing from this session has ever been reissued (we hope the tapes aren't lost). After Chris Woods defected and took several other members of this group with him, Dean assembled a new aggregation that made one veiled appearance on Chance in 1953 (accompanying a singer known to posterity as Barrel House Blott), then migrated to the new Vee-Jay label in 1954, where he would remain until his final session in 1958. Tommy Dean continued to tour with his combo until his sudden death, probably from a heart attack, in January 1965.

A most familiar name in the blues world first went to work for United on November 26, 1952. Memphis Slim had been recording since 1940. Based in Chicago during this phase of his career, he had been a mainstay at three postwar independents: first Hy-Tone, then Miracle, and finally Miracle's successor entity Premium. After Premium collapsed in the summer of 1951, Slim cut three sessions for Mercury in Chicago. Lew Simpkins, who knew Slim from the days when he was moving 78s for Miracle and Premium, brought him to United as soon as he could.

For his first session at United, Memphis Slim used his regular combo: Purcell Brockenborough and Neal Green (tenor saxes), Matt Murphy (newly added on electric guitar); Henry Taylor (bass); and Otho Allen (drums). Murphy was the first electric guitarist to be featured in Slim's groups; his post T-Bone Walker soloing is a major presence on all of Slim's United recordings. On "Midnight," which was left in the can at the time, Slim sang a duet with his then-girlfriend, Terry Timmons, whom he had previously accompanied on record during his stops at Premium and Mercury. (Terry Timmons was under contract to RCA Victor. This seems to be why Simpkins and Allen decided not to use her collaboration with Slim, as she was in great voice on the duet. She would sign with United the next year, after her RCA contract ran out.)

Philadelphia-born Edward "The Great Gates" White (1918 - 1992) was a standup blues-ballad singer with a smooth voice. Every one of his other recordings was made in Los Angeles, for such labels as Selective (1949), Kappa (1949), Miltone (1949), 4 Star (ca. 1950), Rex Hollywood (1950), Combo (1952), Aladdin (1955), 4 Star again (1957), and Specialty (1959). His States session of November 26, 1952--which represented an increasingly passé Charles Brown cocktail-lounge blues style--was accompanied by a group that included Eddie Williams and Tom Archia on the dueling tenor saxes, Ike Perkins on guitar, and Red Saunders at the drums. How White came to do this lone session in Chicago is unknown, but we are grateful to get a rare glimpse at Tom Archia after his Aristocrat days--caught in splendid fidelity, too.

The Mil-Com Bo Trio cranked out a lot of sides for the company but for its pains earned one solitary release on United, on which the band's name was misrendered as "Mil-ConBo." The combo directory in the July 15, 1953 Down Beat describes the group as "instrumental-vocal. Vocal material of Connie Milano is featured; instrumentation is piano, bass, guitar; unit hails from Milwaukee, has been playing in Wisconsin area." According to Gary E. Myers' book On That Wisconsin Beat (Downey, CA: MusicGem, 2006), the trio consisted of Sig Millonzi (1925 - 1977) on piano, Don Momblow (1920 - 1989) on guitar, and Connie Milano (born 1927) on bass and vocals.

Most likely the trio's one session took place on December 23, 1952. The original master numbers were not in United's series at Universal Recording. They probably did come from the same studio, however: the U2000 series used by Chance and some other small labels reached U2301 in late December 1952, just in time for this session. Koester's discography gives the recording date as December 23, 1953 but the Work Order number from Universal Recording (#1618) belongs to January 1953, United 159 was released in the late summer of 1953, and the new master numbers (1262-1265) assigned to four of the sides would slot into mid-February 1953 if all had been done in strict chronological order.

According to Myers, the Mil-Com Bo Trio went on to make an LP for Capitol in 1955 as the “Mil-Combo Trio.” Millonzi later formed The Sig Millonzi Trio, with Lee Burrows on bass and Jack Carr on drums, which recorded for the Milwaukee-based Stacy label in 1968.

Possibly recorded in late 1952 was Reverend Robert Ballinger (1921 - 1965). Nothing is known about the session, which carries no master numbers, except that it was recorded in one night at the Balkan Studio. Leonard Allen's voice can be heard on the tapes, which lay unreleased until 1997 when 5 of Ballinger's 7 performances were included in Delmark DE-702. In contrast to Robert Anderson, Ballinger represents the more impassioned sanctified form of gospel singing that originated in the celebrated Pentecostal denomination, the Church of God in Christ. He was born in Cincinnati and spent some of his career in Detroit, but it was in Chicago, where he served as an assistant to Bishop J. E. Watley, Sr., of the COGIC, that he made his reputation. On his United session, Ballinger accompanied himself with rough-hewn piano; an unidentified drummer was also present. In January 1955, Ballinger made one single for Chess; a second session, done in the middle of that year, was left unreleased. In 1958, he cut one single for the Artistic label. In 1961, he recorded more than an album's worth of material in two sessions for Chess, but the project was shelved. He signed with the Houston-based Peacock label in 1962. Still based in Chicago, he recorded extensively for Peacock through 1964 and enjoyed several gospel hits.

Despite adding a second imprint, the States label, in June to handle its burgeoning output (213 sides all told), the company had difficulty building on the success it had achieved in 1951. After "Night Train" and "Mary Jo," United charted one more record on the national Billboard surveys: "Hey, Mrs. Jones" by Jimmy Forrest.