Willie Dixon [born 1st July 1915, Vicksburg] refused to serve in the Second World War, he formed a vocal group called the Big Three in ironic tribute to Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill. "29 Ways" was a song in their early repertoire, though they never recorded it. The band broke up in 1952 and Dixon joined the Chess label full-time. He was so valuable as session leader, writer and bass-player that Leonard Chess didn't want to let Willie record under his own name (reasoning that any hit would need Willie to go out on tour). Toward the end of Dixon's first stint with Chess, on 27th July 1956, he was joined by Lafayette Leake on piano for a rare chance to record. They chose to cut a version of that early song: "29 Ways". It was released as a single:
"Twenty-Nine Ways" b/w "Pain In My Heart" [Checker 851]
Willie Dixon's next project was over at Cobra Records with a young left hand player that Chess didn't want: Otis Rush. But that's another story. STAR BLUES on 13th March 2011 selected the track from the MCA/Chess anthology "Chess Blues Classics: 1947-1956".
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