Show 45: Alphabet Blues, Pt. 5: Delmark

I'm your host. For today's 45th episode of the CC Blues Show, we will be resuming our Alphabet Blues series where I aim to spin, for you, all the most important tracks from every blues label A through Z. The record label of interest today is Delmark Records, which was founded in 1953 by Bob Koester. Koester got started in the record industry in a highly unconventional way. He sold records by mail from his dormitory room at St. Louis University and, after dropping out of school, founded Delmar Records with his friend Ron Fister. The duo became famous for searching out old blues artists and jazzmen from across St. Louis who had recorded in the 1920s and '30s. When the label grew to a considerable size by the end of the 1950s, Koester moved his operation to Chicago, and it was here that the Delmark sound truly shined. The first tracks you'll hear were recorded at Delmark's Chicago studio. Here's a trio of tracks by Magic Sam where the Delmark producers undeniably caught lightning in a bottle. Here's "I Feel So Good," then "That's All I Need," and "All of Your Love," all by Magic Sam and his West Side Soul.