By all accounts, Eddie Boyd did not have the greatest working relationship with Leonard Chess, which goes a long way to explain why he never became a star in the same way his cousin – a certain Muddy Waters – did.
The boss of Chess Records might not have been Boyd’s greatest fan, but there’s no doubting that he was a songwriter, singer and piano player to be reckoned with, as this comprehensive collection of tracks recorded during the 50s proves. Backed by a host of Chess regulars, including Willie Dixon on bass, Boyd belts out his big hit Five Long Years, as well as lesser known gems, such as Third Degree and I’m A Prisoner.
Boyd might not have been in the same league as Waters or Dixon, but this is the Chicago sound everyone knows and loves. File under the best-kept secrets of the blues.