Everybody covered Jimmy Reed songs: Link Wray, Bill Cosby, Charlie Rich, The Blues Brothers (Jake and Elwood), Betty LaVette, Dale and Ronnie Hawkins, Etta James, Neil Young, The Texas Tornadoes – the list would go on and on.

Even the King, while jamming with his old buddies Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana during the televised 1968 Comeback Special, couldn't stop encoring Baby What You Want Me to Do (check uncut versions of the Special). If you think of the ‘60s R&B boom in England, Jimmy Reed was in everybody's repertoire – alongside Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. And his influence lasted well into the 1990s and beyond, with garage bands and rockabilly acts still mining the Reed catalog. Jimmy Reed was the first blues artist of the 1950s to crossover into the pop charts, and only B.B. King totaled more hits than Jimmy did. Reed was featured in significant rock & roll package tours crisscrossing the land, and audiences black and white loved him. His music was deceptively simple and invited many aspiring kids to try their hands on the laid‐back shuffles and blueish boogies. His lyrics were witty, wise, humorous, and always structured around an irresistible hook‐line. Jimmy Reed made you sing‐a‐long and dance all night! The Jimmy Reed sound and success would not have been possible without fellow Mississippian Eddie Taylor, responsible for the memorable guitar lines and riffs. We have included a few of Eddie's own recordings for Vee‐Jay as a bonus. They showcase his style from a different angle.