Bluesville Records, the Blues division of Craft Recordings, is returning two long-out-of-print classics to vinyl: Furry Lewis’ Back on My Feet Again (1961), which was captured in the initial years of the singer-songwriter and guitarist’s career revival, and 1959’s Memphis Slim at the Gate of Horn, recorded not long before the pianist, singer, and songwriter left Chicago for Paris.
Both will be arriving August 1st, 2025, and both LPs will be issued on vinyl in partnership with Acoustic Sounds and feature all-analog mastering by Grammy-nominated engineer Matthew Lutthans (The Mastering Lab). The albums are pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings (QRP) with reproduced tip-on jackets.
Rounding out each title is an obi strip with new notes by Grammy-winning Producer, writer and musician Scott Billington. Additionally, the remastered albums are available in hi-res and standard digital now.
More about Furry Lewis – Back on My Feet Again:
Known for his gentle vocals and nimble guitar technique, Walter “Furry” Lewis was among the earliest active bluesmen to find fame later in life, amid the ’60s folk/blues revival. Born in the 1890s, Lewis was inspired by Memphis’ vibrant music scene and, as a teenager, launched his career as a performer on Beale Street. In the late 1920s, he cut his first sides for Vocalion and Victor Records, including “Kassie Jones” Parts 1 and 2, “Billy Lyons and Stack O’Lee,” “Judge Harsh Blues” and “John Henry”—all of which would become signature tunes for him. But that momentum was short-lived. As the Great Depression took hold of the country, Lewis was forced to retire from his musical dreams and take a job as a street sweeper.
30 years later, however, Lewis was given a second chance at stardom when music historian Sam Charters sought out the bluesman, encouraging him to return to the studio. His second album from this period was 1961’s Back on My Feet Again, originally issued via Prestige Records’ Bluesville imprint. Recorded at Memphis’ Sun Studios by Scotty Moore (Elvis Presley’s original guitarist), Back on My Feet Again finds Furry in a stripped-down setting—his soulful vocals accompanied only by his acoustic guitar. His dynamic approach to the instrument is on full display, as he employs his signature stylings (including rolling finger-picking and slide playing) and revisits several of his well-known early recordings, including “John Henry” and “Big Chief Blues,” while weaving in traditional material (“Shake ’Em on Down”) as well as newer compositions—“Back on My Feet Again” among them. Despite Furry’s lengthy break from music, his talents never wavered. “As singers mature their music often achieves a new expressiveness,” Charters once remarked about Lewis’ career revival.
More about Memphis Slim at the Gate of Horn:
Known for his deep, commanding vocals and spirited piano technique, Peter “Memphis Slim” Chatman (1915 – 1988) was not only one of blues’ most versatile players but also one of its most prolific—with over 500 recordings to his name. Named for his hometown, Slim spent much of his youth touring the Southern bar and dance hall circuit before relocating to Chicago in 1939, where the city’s thriving blues scene offered greater opportunities. There, he found work as a sideman, working with some of the city’s biggest stars—most notably, Big Bill Broonzy. During their tenure together, the guitarist and singer encouraged Slim to find his signature voice as a performer, and, by the end of World War II, the younger artist was ready to fly on his own.
Over the next decade, Slim and his band released a string of Top 10 R&B hits, including “Blue and Lonesome,” the poignant “Mother Earth,” “The Come Back” and “Messin’ Around,” which topped the chart in 1948. A 1949 B-side, “Nobody Loves Me,” (known better as “Every Day I Have the Blues”) would soon become a standard, recorded over the years by B.B. King, Fleetwood Mac, Carlos Santana and Ray Charles, among many others. As American roots music found a new generation of fans, Slim signed to Vee-Jay Records, where he recorded a collection of his best-known songs for 1959’s Memphis Slim at the Gate of Horn.
The album featured many of the above-mentioned hits, plus favorites like the effervescent boogie “Rockin’ the Blues,” “Gotta Find My Baby” and “Slim’s Blues.” Making its debut was the instrumental “Steppin’ Out,” which would soon become a signature piece for Eric Clapton. Joining Slim was his longtime bandmate Matt “Guitar” Murphy (famously featured years later in The Blues Brothers film). Despite being recorded at The Gate of Horn, a 100-seat Chicago folk club, the album was not captured during a live performance. Rather, the set is intimate—offering fans a rare opportunity to catch the influential artist at his finest. “When you hear a blues artist sing something he himself created, you hear a performance in its most exciting, throbbing moment,” wrote Studs Terkel, who penned the album’s original liner notes. “A man is telling you of his heart and soul. Here is the beauty of this album.”
