After their success with Blind Lemon Jefferson, Chicago’s Paramount was scouting for more male blues talent, and they found it in 1926 in a man called Blind Blake (1893-1933), a sophisticated guitar player who was the antithesis of Delta blues. In fact, Blake soon became Paramount’s best-selling and most recorded artist, with over a hundred sides to his name. Blake—one of the greatest blues guitarists of all time—is best known for his development of the “ragtime” guitar style, the sheer complexity of which has baffled would-be imitators for the past eight decades. His mastery of this approach was so complete that none have ever come close to being able to imitate him. These recordings from 1929 are a collection of sessions Blake recorded for Paramount in the Gennett Studios in Richmond, Indiana. Blake is accompanied by Charlie Spand on piano on several tracks. Spand was the king of the 1920s barrelhouse piano style and one of the most influential piano players of his day. Track list – SIDE A: 1. Poker Woman Blues 2. Doing A Stretch 3. Fightin' The Jug 4. Hookworm Blues 5. Slippery Rag 6. Hastings Street 7. Diddie Wah Diddie SIDE B: 1. Too Tight Blues 2. Chump Man Blues 3. Ice Man Blues 4. Police Dog Blues 5. I Was Afraid Of That 6. Georgia Bound