Ann Cole: In The Chapel - 30 of Her Greatest Hits! (2001)

Ann Cole was a genuinely great soul singer who had the misfortune to be too far ahead of her time. Born Cynthia Coleman, she had her first hits for Baton Records with ‘Are You Satisfied’ and ‘Easy, Easy Baby’, in 1956 and ‘In the Chapel’, in 1957. However, these songs are not the recordings for which she will be remembered. Though usually associated with Muddy Waters, it was Ann Cole who recorded the original version of ‘Got My Mojo Working’ on January 27, 1957. On a month-long tour through the South together, Ann sang with Muddy's band. ‘Mojo’ had not yet been released, but in spite of Sol Rabonowitz's warning not to sing unreleased material, Ann taught Muddy's band the song and performed it regularly during the tour. Muddy liked the song so much that he asked Leonard Chess to let him record it himself. Chess, who didn't know anything about the Ann Cole recording, gave the Waters record a rush release and both versions came out in the same week. The difference in the lyrics between the two versions resulted from Muddy's inability to remember the original words (written by Preston Foster). Waters claimed to have written the song. Eventually the matter went to court, where it was ruled that Foster was the composer. A year later Ann Cole appeared on the Fats Domino record ‘When I See You’ and soon after she left Baton. Through 1959 to 1960 Ann recorded for Sir Records, MGM and Roulette. Her sole single for the latter, ‘Have Fun’, peaked at # 21 on the R&B charts, while the flip ‘Don't Stop the Wedding’ (an answer to Etta James's ‘Stop the Wedding’) was a pop hit for one week. Not long thereafter, Cole had a serious car accident, which confined her to a wheelchair. That was the premature ending of the musical career of an enormous and incredibly underrated R&B vocalist who happens to be one of my favourites of that era. (Thanks once again, Daniele!!) http://www.rockabilly.nl