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Automatic Mama on CD

Leon Chappel (1909-1962) is one of the most compelling and unusual major label recording artists of the early 1950s, a hard-to-classify, almost anachronistic artist whose, spare and loose, blues- dominated recordings were perfect for beer joint jukeboxes. There was an earthy feel of prewar hokum and early western swing to Chappel's 1950-1953 Capitol sides, and no wonder: his recording career went back to 1932, when he performed under his real name, Leon Chappelear. With Bob and Joe Shelton, performing as the Lone Star Cowboys, he cut seminal versions of classics like Deep Elem Blues and Just Because, then recorded extensively for Decca with his own band, Leon's Lone Star Cowboys, one of the earliest and jazziest western swing groups.

Leon Chappel's postwar recordings combined his sophisticated background with a rural East Texas feel for spare, lowdown blues. The results have continued to fascinate country, western swing, hillbilly boogie, even rockabilly fans almost a half century on. Collected here are all of Leon Chappel's 1950-1953 Capitol recordings, including six unissued tracks and such memorable sides as True Blue Papa (later covered by Texas honky-tonker Frankie Miller), True Detective and Double Up And Catch Up.