From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Sat Aug 3, 2002  2:23 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Mercy Dee Walton
 
MERCY DEE WALTON

Born 3 (or 13 or 30) August 1915, Waco, Texas
Died 2 December 1962, Stockton, California

Singer / pianist / songwriter.
Mercy Dee (Walton) was one of the finest Texas blues and barrelhouse
pianists. He had an expressive voice and was among the best composers
of blues, which often reflected his own experiences. Mercy Dee's lyrics
were well crafted, honest, humorous, sardonic, philosophical, extra-ordinary
poetry. Add to this his wonderful rolling barrelhouse playing, and it's clear
that we are dealing with an important, albeit underrated artist.
Walton was a Texas émigré, like so many other postwar California R&B
pioneers, who had played piano around Waco from the age of 13 before
hitting the West coast in 1938. Once there, the pianist gigged up and
down the length of the Golden State before debuting on record in 1949 with
"Lonesome Cabin Blues" for the tiny Spire logo, which became a national
R&B hit (# 7). Those sides were cut in Fresno, but Los Angeles hosted
some of the pianist's best sessions for Imperial in 1950 and Specialty in
1952-53. His best known recording from the Specialty period is "One Room
Country Shack" (# 8 R&B, his second and last hit), later covered by Mose
Allison and others.
Mercy was an adaptable performer who recorded in a number of different
styles, both as Mercy Dee and as Mercy Dee Walton. The Bihari brothers
tried to change him into a rocker during his stay at their Flair imprint in
1955.
Six tracks were recorded, including "Come Back Maybellene" (originally done
by Big John Greer, a cover of an answer record!) and the great "Romp And
Stomp Blues".
After a lengthy layoff, Walton returned to the studio in a big way in 1961,
recording prolifically for Chris Strachwitz's Arhoolie label with his
northern California compatriots: K.C. Douglas on guitar, harpist Sidney
Maiden, and drummer Otis Cherry (some of this material ended up on
Prestige's Bluesville subsidiary). It's very fortunate that Strachwitz took
an interest in documenting Walton's versatility, for in December of 1962,
the pianist died.

Recommended listening:
One Room Country Shack (Ace 475). Complete Specialty recordings.
Troublesome Mind (Arhoolie 369).