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Thirteen Great Soul-Blues Album Covers

A baker's dozen of picture-stories to stimulate your salacious curiosity.

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by John Nova Lomax

Bobby Bland: Two Steps from the Blues -- This oldie-but-goodie might be the one that started the whole story-based album cover tradition, and it remains one of the best ever. What form will those blues take, those blues that are just two short steps away from Bobby “Blue” Bland? An empty house? An angry woman brandishing a kitchen knife? A busted refrigerator? A sick cat? Buy the album and find out.

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by John Nova Lomax

Poonanny: That Baby Ain't Black Enough -- Poonanny is the blues comedian, the Weird Al of this genre. The title here says it all. Expect to see this unhappy threesome on one of Jerry Springer’s DNA testing episodes pretty soon.

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by John Nova Lomax

Bigg Joe: I Like Big Girls -- Bigg Joe will not lie, you other brothers might deny. And from the atmosphere of peace that pervades Joe and his three women, it looks like he might have it going on Big Love style too. But Bigg Joe doesn't like them as big as...

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by John Nova Lomax

Bobby Rush: Lovin' a Big Fat Woman -- ...Bobby Rush, whose fetish for tractor-sized derrieres is legendary and visible every time he takes the stage with his plush-bottomed dancers.

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by John Nova Lomax

Marvin Sease: A Woman Would Rather Be Licked -- We can only guess what word follows "than" in the next couple of words of this album’s title track. Hint: it probably starts with a "D" and rhymes with "licked."

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by John Nova Lomax

Denise Lasalle: I Get What I Want -- Is there a more bad-ass woman in music than Denise LaSalle?

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by John Nova Lomax

Denise LaSalle: Pay Before You Pump -- Exhibit two in Ms LaSalle's case as the most bad-ass woman in music.

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by John Nova Lomax

Millie Jackson: Back to the Shit -- Even sexpots get a little irregular sometimes…

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by John Nova Lomax

Clarence Carter: Dr CC -- I'm not sure what they were going for here – don’t go to a blind doctor who is as pervy as Clarence Carter, maybe? -- but this is one of the most iconic covers in the genre.

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by John Nova Lomax

Theodis Ealey: Let Me Put the Head In It -- Here’s another one that doesn’t need much explanation.

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by John Nova Lomax

Johnny “Guitar” Watson: A Real Mother For Ya -- Once again, Watson foresees the future. This time, he predicts the pimp-a-riffic bluesman’s lot in the age of prohibitively expensive gasoline. And not once, but…

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by John Nova Lomax

Johnny “Guitar” Watson: What the Hell is This? -- …Twice. It looks like his luck has improved if he can trade in his mama as a rickshaw driver for three hotties.

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