Listen: Aw! Shucks Baby / Tiny
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Not unlike Big Maybelle, Tiny could belt it out. With only a few minor hits to claim, she came and went in relative obscurity. Despite being signed to King/Federal, and touring with, amongst others, Joe Turner, Bo Diddley, Little Willie John, Etta James and Ray Charles, it seems her star never properly shined. From the sound of this single, she was a powerhouse. Originally released in ‘57 (she was signed from ‘57 – ‘60), King decided on reissuing this, her most successful record in ‘63 which is pressing above.
I was in Washington DC in the early 90’s, returning to New York on a Sunday. Duane and I were there to see a band for Medicine, my label. Next morning, I scoured the yellow pages for a vinyl shop. One small listing was close by and sounded interesting, claiming doo-wop, gospel and blues amongst it’s specialties – so we gave it a go. It was in a pretty run down section of town and to be honest, we were the only two white folks in sight. The elderly man who ran the place, as he had for 30+ years, was behind the counter making small talk with a few women his age, all in their Sunday best, fresh from church. The shop was filled with cd’s and only a small section of 7″ vinyl in a back corner – not at all like he described his stock when I’d called earlier. Even more frustrating, the very vast majority of them were recent reissues – really dreadful. But I did notice a few Chess, Checker and King originals amongst them, all of which I selected and eventually made my way up to the counter with them in hand. Duane too had picked out a bunch. When I asked the price, he looked through them and said ‘They’re usually $4 but I think we should have a half price sale today – seeing as you boys have chosen some really nice stuff here”. We immediately launched into all kinds of questions – from both sides – how did we know about these records from him, and did you ever get to see Inez & Charlie Foxx or Slim Harpo from us. That kind of banter. We were having a great old time. Then he says it’s about time to close (2pm) but if you’d like, I’ll let you into the basement as I have a lot more records down there and you might find a few good ones. We were taking the shuttle home, they flew hourly and therefore in no hurry. Seemed a little odd to close your shop midday and invite the only two customers, clearly from a different part of town, behind the counter then down to the basement. We took the chance.
Oh my God, the place was heaving with boxlots of 45’s. Loads and loads, mostly Chess and King. He came down and started spinning Sonny Boy Williamson and Hank Marr records, so many others too. We were there for hours – high as kites on the buzz. I still ask Duane – what were we thinking? We should have bought them all. I came home with at least 200, all in company sleeves. Tiny’s ‘Aw! Shucks Baby’ was just one of the endless jems.
After all that – he drove us to the airport in his big old, polished, oversized 70’s car. No lie.
Above: A shot of the King Records shipping room. I wonder if any of Tiny’s were being picked and packed?
