Percy Mayfield - Poet Of The Blues (1950-1954)

Compilation
Percy Mayfield was an American R&B singer and songwriter.

Percy Mayfield was born in Louisiana in 1920. He started singing at a young age, and made the move to L.A. in 1942 to further his career. Success eluded him until 1950 when he was signed to Speciality Records. His own composition "Please Send Me Someone To Love" then gave him a #1 R&B hit. A smooth, classy ballad, it became an instant blues classic, memorable for its poetic lyrics which juxtaposed romantic themes with more thought-provoking social messages against discrimination. It has been covered by countless other artists, and remains to this day the song he is best known for

More hits followed, but his career was then suddenly derailed by a serious car accident which left him facially disfigured. It pretty much ended his performing career for the rest of the decade, though he continued with his songwriting. He parted ways with Speciality in 1954, and resigned with Chess Records.

This twenty-five song compilation covers his four years at Speciality. Some excellent jazzy west-coast blues from the man universally recognised as the 'Poet Laureate Of The Blues'.

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