BEA & BABY RECORDS DEFINITIVE COLLECTION

BEA & BABY RECORDS DEFINITIVE COLLECTIONLABEL: EARWIG MUSIC
RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 16, 2019

When you think of historic Chicago blues and R&B labels, Chess, Vee-Jay, Brunswick, and
Delmark probably first come to mind. However, the city’s famous black music scene spawned
many indie labels, and Bea & Baby Records ranks among the very best of them. Founded by the
ever-colorful Chicago entrepreneur Narvel “Cadillac Baby” Eatmon, Bea & Baby Records — along
with its subsidiaries and subsidiary labels Key, Keyhole, Miss and Ronald — put out an impressive
selection of blues, gospel, doo-wop, soul, hip-hop, and comedy releases between 1959 and1989.
Now, a comprehensive retrospective, “Cadillac Baby’s Bea & Baby Records: The Definitive
Collection,” is set for release August 16, 2019 by Chicago-based blues label Earwig Music
Company.



The project has long been a labor of love for Earwig owner Michael Robert Frank.
Frank first met Cadillac Baby in the early ’70s and when they met up again in the late ’80s,
Cadillac Baby wanted to get back into music after being away from the business for over 15
years. Despite ailing health, “he was feisty and cantankerous, and still hustling,” according to
Frank. “He was buying and selling used hubcaps, a few used tires, candy and sundries, and an
occasional 45 record.” The two decided to co-produce a rising 17-year-old hip-hop singer,
Richard Davenport (who went by the name 3D). Sadly, both Cadillac Baby and Davenport died as
the project was about to launch; however, 3D’s two tunes is released on this collection.
Earwig ended up purchasing Cadillac Baby’s labels from his widow because Frank was “concerned
the Bea & Baby’s varied catalog and Cadillac Baby’s history might be lost or merely a footnote in
music history.” On his journey to uncover and share Cadillac Baby’s captivating story and musical
legacy, Frank says that he “started thinking that a box set of the entire label’s music catalog, not
just the blues recordings was the right way to go.”

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“Cadillac Baby’s Bea & Baby Records: The Definitive Collection” reveals that this small label
featured big-time blues performers as well as up and coming R&B and gospel artists. Boogiewoogie piano wizard Sunnyland Slim, harmonica master James Cotton, and slide-guitar wizard
Earl Hooker are all represented; you’ll also find Hound Dog Taylor’s first single, ‘Baby Is Coming
Home’/’Take Five,’ as well as ‘Please Give Me A Chance’ and ‘I Still Love You,’ two suavely
crooned tunes from R&B legend Andre Williams that were released on the rare Ronald label; and
several previously unissued tracks by the fabled acoustic blues duo Sleepy John Estes & Hammie
Nixon.
This compilation also spotlights a number of well-regarded but lesser known blues musicians,
such as Detroit Junior, Little Mack (a.k.a. Little Mac and St. Louis Mac) Simmons, Homesick
James, Eddie Boyd, L.C. McKinley, and Bobby Saxton (the singer of Bea & Baby’s biggest hit,
‘Trying To Make A Living’), all who’ll be familiar to blues aficionados and welcome discoveries to
others. You may recognize Andrew “Blue Blood” McMahon as Howlin’ Wolf’s longtime bassist, but
this retrospective shares four of his hard-to-find Bea & Baby sides.

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Arelean Brown, whose ’70s funky novelty tunes ‘Impeach Me Baby’ and ‘I’m A Streaker Baby’
brought her notoriety, also gets showcased here with two early soulful songs (‘I Love My Man’
and ‘Hello Baby’) and T. Valentine, who developed a cult following through his off-kilter blues
releases on Norton Records, is represented by his first single, ‘Little Lu-Lu Frog/Teen-Age Jump

Betsie Brown, Blind Raccoon, betsie@blindraccoon.com