Destination Jail, Vol. 2

With Destination Jail, Vol. 2 Bear Family Records offers another intriguing collection of blues and rhythm & blues obscurities and classics from the '40s to the '60s about life behind bars. It deals with the various elements of the US justice system: prison = county farm, chain gang; jail and penitentiary. Among the better-known highlights are Jailhouse Rock by Frankie Lymon, the heartbreaking Please Mr. Jailer by Wynona Carr, the Prisoner's Song by Fats Domino - in this case a classic from the Anglo-Celtic tradition - and the tongue-in-cheek Good Morning Judge by Wynonie Harris. An exciting introduction to an important topic of Afro-American roots music, with liner notes by Roland Heinrich Rumtreiber and originals remastered with finesse.

Sonny Knight: But Officer / Wynonie Harris: Good Morning Judge / Frankie Lymon: Jailhouse Rock / Smiley Lewis: Jailbird / Danny Cobb: Hey, Mr. Warden / Lonsesome Sundown: My Home Is A Prison / Eddie Boyd: I'm A Prisoner / Ottilie Patterson: Jailhouse Blues / Roosevelt Sykes: Jailbait / Billy Boy Arnold: Prisoner's Plea / El Pauling and Royal Abbit: Jail Bird / Josh White: Ball And Chain Blues / T-Bone Walker: Prison Blues Wynona Carr: Please Mr. Jailer / André Williams: Jail Bait / The Robins: Riot In Cell Block No. 9 / Joe Jones: The Prisoner's Song / Sonny Knight: Jail Bird / Willie Nix: Prison Bound Blues / Magic Sam: 21 Days In Jail / Theola Kilgore: Chain Gang - The Sound Of My Man / Fats Domino: Prisoner's Song / The Prisonaires: A Prisoner's Prayer / The Larks: When I Leave These Prison Walls