Weepin And Cryin': The Singles Collection 1950-55

The Griffin Brothers, comprising Jimmy and Edward “Buddy” Griffin, were an R&B duo from Virginia, who formed a band in the post-war years to perform around Washington D.C., bringing in singer Margie Day and winning a recording contract with Randy Wood’s newly-established Dot label. They had a number of hits in the early ‘50s and became famous for their rocking R&B workouts which presaged the arrival of rock ‘n’ roll in the charts a few years later, by which time their primary career was over. This great-value 52-track 2-CD collection comprises the A and B sides of their singles on Dot, including recordings with featured vocalists Margie Day and Tommy Brown, plus releases by Buddy Griffin with Claudia Swann for Chess, and solo releases by Margie Day and Tommy Brown. It includes their and Margie Day’s US hits, with R&B No. 1 “Weepin’ And Cryin’” and their other Top 10 R&B hits, “Hoppin’”, “Street Walkin’ Daddy”, “Little Red Rooster”, “Tra-la-la” and “Pretty Baby”, along with many original compositions, plus versions of R&B and blues classics like Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster”, Tampa Red’s “Pretty Baby” and the Chuck Willis hit “My Story”. It captures the essence of the R&B scene around this time, and is a fairly comprehensive overview of the Griffin Brothers’ primary career.