 "Down Beat" described "Standing Room Only" as “bold, brassy and highly danceable jump blues with contemporary energy and sophistication...swings with a vengeance.”

In addition to their band recordings, Roomful of Blues often backed musicians like Jimmy Witherspoon, Jimmy McCracklin, Roy Brown, Joe Turner, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson and Earl King — stars of the 1940s and 1950s jump blues scene.Roomful recorded albums with Turner, Vinson and King during the 1980s, and all three recordings received Grammy nominations.They played with rocker Pat Benatar on her 1991 blues album "True Love".