1 	Baby How Long 	3:27
2 	Second Man 	5:48
3 	I'll Be The Judge Of That 	2:52
4 	I Like Women 	3:55
5 	Blow Wind Blow 	3:50
6 	I Got Two Woman 	4:04
7 	Somebody Gotta Do It 	3:09
8 	Mama And Papa Hopkins 	5:45
9 	Rush Hour Blues 	3:20
10 	I'm Gonna Shoot Her 	4:19
11 	Pure Grain Alcohol 	2:40
12 	Midnight Drag 	3:41

Bass – Bob Kommersmith
Drums, Vocals – Sam Lay
Harmonica – Greg "Fingers" Taylor
Lead Guitar – Larry Burton, Fred James (tracks: 10)
Organ, Piano – Celia Ann Price
Rhythm Guitar – Fred James

Sam Lay deserves to have a red carpet unrolled before him when he walks away from his drum kit; he's one of the outstanding drummers of the modern blues era. Rush Hour Blues, recorded in Nashville in 1996 under the direction of ace guitarist Fred James, is Lay's latest effort. He sings here in a forthright manner over the rhythmic background provided by his masterful drums, Celia Ann Price's organ and piano, James's second guitar, and a string bass plucked by James's sidekick Bob Kommersmith. While his singing isn't as strong and steady as in the past, it retains all of its emotional authenticity. The album's songs mostly concern women, nothing new there. Remakes of venerable Chicago blues numbers are more interesting than the new compositions. On Muddy Waters's "Blow Wind Blow," Lay and company expertly balance relaxation and exhilaration. They also inject new life into two more covers, Howlin' Wolf's "Baby How Long" and Big Boy Crudup's "Second Man." In sum, Rush Hour Blues is worth hearing. ---Frank-John Hadley, Editorial Reviews

I had never heard of Sam Lay until driving home late one night and there he was at the far left end of the dial. It was an instrumental number called "midnight Drag". That song prompted me to take a chance on this album and I was surprised at how good this album is. The style is Chicago blues, with an emphasis on the shuffle. Sam is one of the few singing blues drummers around, and he has been playing since the 50's. He really works the shuffle well, and is backed by very tight band. The lead guitar work of Larry Burton is outstanding, and the keyboards played by Celia Ann Price are equally good. There is a good variety of tunes, from the classic chicago style opening number to the raucous "Rush Hour Blues", and ending with the jazzier instrumental "midnight drag". If you enjoy the blues this is one quality album worth getting. ---amazon.com

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1 	29 Miles	3:38
2 	Walkin' Thru The Park	3:43
3 	I Got Wise	3:42
4 	Short Haired Woman	2:49
5 	Birmingham	3:21
6 	Hide And Seek	2:55
7 	Jelly Jelly		5:54
8 	Red White And Blues		4:31
9 	The Shuffle Master	3:46
10 	That's Alright Mama		3:23
11 	Stone Blues		4:07

Acoustic Bass – Bob Kommersmith
Backing Vocals – Clifford Curry (tracks: 5), Mary-Ann Brandon (tracks: 3), The Of Chorus (tracks: 5)
Drums, Lead Vocals – Sam Lay
Harmonica – Billy C. Farlow
Organ [Hammond] – Phil Rugh (tracks: 7)
Piano – Jay Spell 

Chicago blues drummer Sam Lay's creditiantals speak for themselves. At various times his patented shuffle beat has been heard on classic discs by Howlin' Wolf, the initial version of the Butterfield Blues Band, Bob Dylan (when he first went electric), James Cotton, Muddy Waters, and the list goes on. This session, recorded in 1994, dosen't rival any of those past acheivements. However Stone Blues does have its classic moments including "Red White and Blues" with burning harp provided by Billy Farlow, "Walkin' Thru the Park" with Lay doing a vocal imitation of Muddy Waters that is dead on and the Bo Diddley shuffle of "I Got Wise." No big suprises here, just a consistantly great performance. ---Al Campbell, AllMusic Review

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Side 1
01. Maggie's Farm (5.20)
02. Mean Mistreater (4.32)
03. Sam Lay & Mississipi John (5.05)
04. Crying For My Baby (3.25)

Side 2
01. Sloopy Drunk (3.15)
02. My Fault (3.59)
03. Roll Over Beethoven (2.50)
04. Asked Her For Water (7.30) - Vocals by Nick Gravenites
05. I Got My Mojo Workin' (3.24)

Sam Lay - Vocals & Drums
Mike Bloomfield - Guitar  (not credited)
Nick Gravenites - Vocals
Mark Naftalin - Piano, organ  
Jerome Arnold ??? - Bass (not credited)
Paul Butterfield ??? - Harmonica   (not credited)

Sam Lay was born March 20, 1935, in Birmingham, Alabama, and began his career as a drummer in Cleveland in 1954, working with the Moon Dog Combo. In 1957 he joined the Original Thunderbirds and stayed with that group until 1959, when he left for Chicago to work with the legendary Little Walter.

Lay began to work with Howlin' Wolf in 1960 and spent the next six years with that group. He and bassist Jerome Arnold were hired away from Wolf's band by Paul Butterfield in 1966 and became part of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, recording that classic first album. Lay toured with Butterfield until late year when he accidentally shot himself.

Lay backed Bob Dylan at the historic 1965 Newport Folk Festival, when Dylan first introduced electric rock to the folk crowd. He went on to record with Dylan on Highway 61 Revisited. He can be heard on more than 40 classic Chess blues recordings, and his famous double-shuffle is the envy of every would-be blues drummer. In 1969, Lay played drums for the Muddy Waters' Fathers and Sons album, now a classic. He was also the original drummer for the James Cotton Blues Band.

Later in 1969, he also worked with the Siegel-Schwall Band. He went on to form the Sam Lay Blues Revival Band, which has involved many players over the years including Jimmy Rogers, George "Wild Child" Butler, Eddie Taylor, and others.

Lay was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1992 and received a nomination for a W.C. Handy award. He formed the Sam Lay Blues Band and recorded on Appaloosa Records (Shuffle Master, Sam Lay Live) and on Alligator with the Siegel-Schwall Band, with whom he often plays. 1996's Stone Blues was followed four years later by Rush Hour Blues. Live on Beale Street followed in fall 2000. ---Michael Erlewine, allmusic.com

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