Bob Geddins produced a treasure trove of records that defined the down-home blues and gospel sounds of the San Francisco/Oakland area in the post-World War II years. While West Coast blues is often associated with smoother, polished urban styles, Geddins’ most memorable records often were raw excursions into desolation and gloom—“Tin Pan Alley” by Roy Hawkins being a prime example. His productions reflected the influences and tastes of many Black workers and musicians who migrated to the Bay Area for jobs during and after the war from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Most of Lowell Fulson’s early records were cut for Geddins, who also recorded Jimmy McCracklin, Roy Hawkins, K.C. Douglas, Johnny Fuller, L.C. “Good Rockin’” Robinson, Mercy Dee Walton, Juke Boy Bonner, Saunders King, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Big Mama Thornton, and many gospel groups. The records often spotlighted the guitar exploits of Lafayette Thomas, Ulysses James or Johnny Heartsman.
Robert Lee Geddins was born on February 6, 1913, in Highbank, Texas, near Marlin (onetime home of fellow 2025 Blues Hall of Fame inductee Blind Willie Johnson). He had heard the blues on records and at Saturday night suppers before he hopped a westbound train in the 1930s. He saw an opportunity to market music in the Bay Area after starting out in Los Angeles, where he worked at a drug store and for the city’s streets department before opening a record store. He began recording in 1945 at Bay Area radio stations and over the years operated record stores, repair shops, studios and pressing plants from several business locations. His earliest releases included the Rising Star Gospel Singers, Fulson, and his own vocal blues “Irma Jean Blues,” named after his wife. He owned or partnered in various record labels, including Down Town, Cava-Tone, Big Town, Rhythm, Irma, Art-Tone, Plaid, Check, Shirley, Vel, Veltone, Gedinson’s and Wax, and made deals to release his songs or productions on other labels—Trilon, Gilt Edge, Swing Time, Modern, Specialty, Aladdin and Chess/Checker among them.
McCracklin had the biggest hit with “Just Got to Know” on Art-Tone in 1961, while other records that charted nationally included Sugar DeSanto’s “I Want to Know” (1960), Jimmy Wilson’s “Tin Pan Alley” (1953), Fulson’s “Three O’Clock Blues” (1948), and Roy Hawkins’ Modern sides “Why Do Things Happen to Me” (1950) and “The Thrill Is Gone” (1951). The latter three were all later recorded by B.B. King, and other Geddins productions or compositions likewise gained more fame through cover versions. The Steve Miller Band and Alan Jackson scored with K.C. Douglas’ “Mercury Boogie” and Jumpin’ Gene Simmons hit the pop charts with “Haunted House,” which Johnny Fuller had waxed as a rock ‘n’ roll novelty in 1958 for Specialty. Fuller and Geddins also came up with “Johnny Ace’s Last Letter,” which only made the charts when covered by Johnny Moore’s Blazers, and “Fool’s Paradise,” recorded by Charles Brown and Mose Allison. Buddy Guy’s Chess single “My Time After While” is much better known than the original Tiny Powell version on Geddins’ Wax label. Geddins had paid little attention to writing and publishing rights when he began but was able to file 74 compositions with BMI over the years. McCracklin and Geddins disputed each other’s authorship of various songs but worked together for years. McCracklin taught piano to Geddins’ son Bob Jr. and brought him into his band, and the junior Geddins participated in recording sessions with many artists.
Although he profited from occasional hits, too many business arrangements resulted in Geddins’ loss of money, master tapes, or song rights. He rarely had the cash to build and promote his would-be music empire—especially when he had a wife and 13 children to support. Record-keeping was not a strong suit either, and piecing together a definitive chronology of his massive output has posed a task for puzzled discographers and historians. But the musical legacy he left was singularly impressive. Lowell Fulson recalled, “Bob Geddins would bring out the best in an artist. If you had talent he’d draw it out of you. He taught me how to rephrase the blues and how to breathe properly.”
Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records compiled some of Geddins’ quintessential gutbucket blues productions on an “Oakland Blues” LP in 1970. JSP and other labels have issued more extensive CD anthologies in the years since, showcasing blues of both hardcore and more contemporary varieties, rock ‘n’ roll, soul, R&B and novelty material such as a song by “The Mystery Man” (Geddins himself) taking on an Italian accent on “Loueggie Blues.”
Geddins’ work stands as an enduring legacy of the days when Oakland’s 7th Street was a vibrant center of Black business and nightlife, overflowing with musical talent. Geddins, who was awarded a key to the city in 1983, is honored with a plaque on the 7th Street Walk of Fame. He died on February 16, 1991, of liver cancer, still recovering from a stabbing suffered when was robbed while cashing a royalty check.