Sleepy John Estes with Hammie Nixon - Drop Down Mama

Recorded in July of 1935. When the Victor recording company sent a field recording unit to Memphis in September 1929, Estes recorded several sides backed by the Three J’s, with Jones playing piano instead of the jug. Other acts to record for Victor on this trip included the Memphis Jug Band, Frank Stokes, and Cannon’s Jug Stompers. Victor deemed the four songs Estes recorded during these sessions worthy of release. His stature as a Memphis bluesman was assured when he was invited to record again for Victor in May 1930. This session yielded the uptempo “Milk Cow Blues,“ a tune Robert Johnson would later record as “Milkcow Calf Blues.“ In “Milk Cow Blues,“ Estes’s clear, warbling vocals are propelled by his insistent guitar strumming. Jones pounds his piano in double time while Rachell’s mandolin trills echo the vocals. Pursuing their musical careers, Estes and Nixon moved to Chicago in 1931 where they played parties and the streets. Arkansas bluesman Big Bil