Danny Overbea isn't well known. Hell, I don't know anything about him. This guy does. But I have his version of "40 Cups Of Coffee" on a Chess comp. It was a Checker release in 1953. Ella Mae Morse released a version of it the same year that seems to be better known now (Bob played it on his radio show); I don't know which came first. And the indefatigable Bill Haley also did it, in 1957.
Give me Overbea's version (and I'm sorry the youtube cuts off early). It's just a perfect slice of assured Chicago blues: the balance between the guitar and piano and the horns and the voice is just right. His delivery of the lyrics is perfect - you can completely believe him pacing the floor, loading up on cigs and coffee, waiting for his baby to come home (and she does - that's why I'm sorry it cuts off). Ella Mae Morse's version is fine, but she has to shout it to create a tenth of the authority that Overbea lets drop like a drip of honey.
They don't make songs like this anymore. No bullshitting, no cleverness, just honest straightforward my-baby's-gone blues. Fresh.
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