Get on Down With Buddy Ace!

Buddy Ace - Fingerprints

It's funny how quickly time flies by; I knew I had featured soul-blues singer Buddy Ace on this blog before, but I'm surprised to find out that it was a year ago! I'll defer to this Blues Critic profile of Ace for biographical info so I can jump right into today's selection.

After a lengthy tenure at Duke, where he scored a couple of minor hits but generally remained in the shadow of labelmate Bobby Bland, whose vocal style Buddy emulated (and in whose band he played in back in the '50s), Ace moved on to Stan Lewis' Jewel/Paula/Ronn concern. "Fingerprints" was a 1971 Paula single, and over a buoyant groove Buddy works the song's great lyrics with aplomb. (Interestingly enough, Bobby Bland would turn the tables on his soundalike ex-labelmate/sideman and record a less-funky but very good version of "Fingerprints" for his ABC-Dunhill LP Get on Down With Bobby Bland a few years later.)