Estes, Sleepy John

***A retrospective of twenty-four songs recorded between 1929-1937 in Memphis, Chicago and NYC, when Tennessee native, SLEEPY JOHN ESTES was at the height of his abilities. Despite the fact that Estes wasn't the fastest or most technical blues guitarists out there, his distinct and emotional vocals, and uniquely relaxed style more than compensates for this, making him one of the genre's true geniuses. Estes, in fact, perhaps because he wasn't a guitar virtuoso, usually preferred to play in a group setting, and on these recordings he is often accompanied by great players like “YANK” RACHELL on mandolin or HAMMIE NIXON on harmonica. He is also frequently accompanied by piano and sometimes second guitar. Estes is also well known for his lyrics which talked about places and people he know. I Ain't Gonna Be Worried No More contains all of his best songs, including blues favorites like “The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair” (covered by Led Zeppelin), “Drop Down Mama,” “Milk Cow Blues” (covered by The Kinks), and “Someday Baby Blues” (covered by Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan).