Stewie: I have re-read the producer's note, and I now see that I misunderstood something. He actually says, "This Tampa Red collection presents all of the artist's known extant Bluebird recordings (as a leader) from March 22, 1934, to April 1, 1936." The notes don't say whether Tampa Red made additional Bluebird recordings outside this period, so I assumed he didn't. I also assumed that the qualification "as a leader" was trivial, so I omitted it.

I see that I made another mistake. I said he made "230 recordings … in his entire career from 1934 to 1953." That should have been "nearly 230 sides in his long association (1934 - 1953) with Bluebird and Victor." Again, I wrongly assumed that he never recorded for any other company – but elsewhere in the notes, it says he began recording in 1928.

Giac: I wasn't aware that WHEN I TAKE MY VACATION IN HARLEM was a parody. Thanks for pointing this out.

Here are some more things I learned: (1) The kazoo was called a "jazz horn." In a photo I saw on another album, it actually had a flared bell like a horn. (2) One of Tampa Red's collaborators was "Georgia Tom," actually Thomas A. Dorsey, who went on to become a writer of hymns, notably PRECIOUS LORD, which became a staple of Billy Graham crusades. Dorsey and PRECIOUS LORD figure prominently in the great documentary film "Say Amen, Somebody." I wasn't aware that Dorsey had a blues background. Dorsey and Tampa Red actually co-wrote SOMEBODY'S BEEN USING THAT THING and IT'S TIGHT LIKE THAT – two of Tampa's more risqué double-entendres. Dorsey doesn't appear on this CD set however.

And thanks for the praise, everybody, but… Some people perform music. I transcribe it. It's no harder, I figure, than learning an instrument, and for me anyway, just as much fun.