The Beatles played 292 gigs at The Cavern Club between February 1961 and August 1963, laying the foundations for their forthcoming worldwide music domination. Whilst The Cavern should be rightly recognised for its part in the Beatles phenomenon, there is so much more to this club than just The Beatles and Mersey Beat. To mark the 60th Anniversary of the world’s most famous nightclub, The Cavern Club have teamed up with Vee-Tone Records to produce a long overdue tribute to the pioneers of Blues, Rock n Roll and Soul that have graced The Cavern stage over the decades. This very special limited edition vinyl collection (only 500 individually numbered copies worldwide) represents the many faces of the Blues, from tough Chicago Blues, to Piano Boogie, to Rockin’ Blues and finishing off with the soulful Rhythm and Blues sounds of the early 60s. More than just a ‘Best of The Blues’ compilation, there’s something here for everyone. Great care has been taken to ensure that ‘The Cavern Club Blues & Rhythm’ LP delivers the right mix of dancefloor fillers (fast ‘n’ slow), alongside some hard to find gems. Featuring specially selected recordings from artists who performed at The Cavern Club - Big Bill Broonzy, John Lee Hooker, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Bo Diddley, Rufus Thomas, Champion Jack Dupree, Memphis Slim, Chuck Berry, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Stevie Wonder, The Ikettes, Wilson Pickett, Lee Dorsey, Ben E. King and Solomon Burke. ‘The Cavern Club Blues & Rhythm’ LP contains 16 killer tracks recorded between the 1940s and the 1960s, some of which have been covered throughout the years by multiple artists. A very early example is Champion Jack Dupree’s ‘Junker Blues’ from 1940 (Okeh Records), a tale of substance abuse and its social impact. Fats Domino took the song, cleaned up the lyrics and released ‘The Fat Man’ for Imperial Records in 1950, giving him a No. 2 on the Billboard R&B charts. ‘You’ll Be Mine’ by Howlin’ Wolf was re-interpreted by Marc Bolan’s T-Rex in 1971 as ‘Jeepster’, peaking at No. 2 in the UK singles charts. Let’s now fast forward to 2016 and the Rolling Stones critically acclaimed album ‘Blue & Lonesome’, where you can hear their version of ‘Hate To See You Go’ by Little Walter, proving that good music never dies
