Tag Archive: Blues


RIP Lonnie Mack

Lonnie Mack Dead: Blues Guitar Great Dies At 74

 

 

 

 

” Blues guitar great Lonnie Mack is dead at 74, Alligator Records announced late Thursday. According to a press release, he died of natural causes on Thursday at Centennial Medical Center near his home in Smithville, Tennessee.

  Central New York native and fellow blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa spread the sad news on social media early Friday morning”

 

 

 

 

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Legendary Country Blues Guitarists

 

 

 

Published on Dec 6, 2013

This DVD collection presents some of the rarest footage of legendary Country Blues artists that we have been fortunate to find. The footage varies from hi-quality film to analog videos taped over 40 years ago. But above all, the music and performances are powerful and evocative. The sounds of Skip James, Bukka White, Big Bill Broonzy, Son House, Will Shade, Rev. Gary Davis and others on this 115 minute collection will give you shivers up your spine and get your feet tapping. This is the Country Blues of a time long past.

  Titles include: CHARLIE BURSE & WILL SHADE Kansas City Blues BIG BILL BROONZY Trouble In Mind, Backwater Blues SON HOUSE Talk about the Blues, So Hard To Love Someone SKIP JAMES Cherry Ball Blues SON HOUSE Sick and Bad Blues BUKKA WHITE Aberdeen Blues, Tombstone Blues, Brownsville Blues, REV. GARY DAVIS Blind Gary Davis – A Documentary by Harold Becker UNKNOWN ARTIST Take My Hand, Precious Lord, I’m Going Too RALPH WILLIS & WASHBOARD PETE SANDERS Dream I Had On My Mind, I’ve Been Living With The Blues, Midnight Special SAM CHATMON Sales Tax Blues, Outside Friend, Fishing Blues (Evil Jackson), Glad When You’re Dead MANCE LIPSCOMB I Want to Do Something for You, Alabama Jubilee HENRY JOHNSON Blood Red River WILLIE TRICE Be Your Dog, Run Here Gal, Poor Boy Long Ways From Home, Good Time Boogie, Sweet Sugar Mama, Stand and Welcome Jesus, When The Saints Go Marching In SON HOUSE & BUDDY GUY I Wish I Had My Whole Heart In My Hand”

Running Time: 115 minutes

For details go to: http://www.guitarvideos.com/products/… “

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday “Big” Bill Broonzy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Biography

 

” Big Bill Broonzy was born William Lee Conley Broonzy in the tiny town of Scott, Mississippi, just across the river from Arkansas. During his childhood, Broonzy‘s family — itinerant sharecroppers and the descendants of ex-slaves — moved to Pine Bluff to work the fields there. Broonzy learned to play a cigar box fiddle from his uncle, and as a teenager, he played violin in local churches, at community dances, and in a country string band. During World War I, Broonzy enlisted in the U.S. Army, and in 1920 he moved to Chicago and worked in the factories for several years. In 1924 he met Papa Charlie Jackson, a New Orleans native and pioneer blues recording artist for Paramount. Jackson took Broonzy under his wing, taught him guitar, and used him as an accompanist. Broonzy‘s entire first session at Paramount in 1926 was rejected, but he returned in November 1927 and succeeded in getting his first record, House Rent Stomp, onto Paramount wax. As one of his early records came out with the garbled moniker of Big Bill Broomsley, he decided to shorten his recording name to Big Bill, and this served as his handle on records until after the second World War. Among aliases used for Big Bill on his early releases were Big Bill Johnson, Sammy Sampson, and Slim Hunter.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

” Broonzy‘s earliest records do not demonstrate real promise, but this would soon change. In 1930, the Hokum Boys broke up, and Georgia Tom Dorsey decided to keep the act going by bringing in Big Bill and guitarist Frank Brasswell to replace Tampa Red, billing themselves as “the Famous Hokum Boys.” With Georgia Tom and Brasswell, Broonzy hit his stride and penned his first great blues original, “I Can’t Be Satisfied.” This was a hit and helped make his name with record companies. Although only half-a-dozen blues artists made any records during 1932, the worst year in the history of the record business, one of them was Big Bill, who made 20 issued sides that year.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

” Through Georgia Tom and Tampa Red, Big Bill met Memphis Minnie and toured as her second guitarist in the early ’30s, but apparently did not record with her. When he did resume recording in March 1934 it was for Bluebird’s newly established Chicago studio under the direction of Lester Melrose. Melrose liked Broonzy‘s style, and before long, Big Bill would begin working as Melrose‘s unofficial second-in-command, auditioning artists, matching numbers to performers, booking sessions, and providing backup support to other musicians. He played on literally hundreds of records for Bluebird in the late ’30s and into the ’40s, including those made by his half-brother, Washboard Sam,Peter Chatman (aka Memphis Slim), John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson, and others. With Melrose,Broonzy helped develop the “Bluebird beat,” connoting a type of popular blues record that incorporated trap drums and upright string bass. This was the precursor of the “Maxwell Street sound” or “postwar Chicago blues,” and helped to redefine the music in a format that would prove popular in the cities. Ironically, while Broonzy was doing all this work for Melrose at Bluebird, his own recordings as singer were primarily made for ARC, and later Columbia’s subsidiary Okeh. This was his greatest period, and during this time Broonzy wrote and recorded such songs as “Key to the Highway,” “W.P.A. Blues,” “All by Myself,” and “Unemployment Stomp.” For other artists, Broonzy wrote songs such as “Diggin’ My Potatoes.” All told, Big Bill Broonzy had a hand in creating more than 100 original songs.”Continue reading

 

 

 

Discography

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Happy Birthday To A Master

 

 

JEFF BECK

” Beck grew up in Wallington, England. His mother’s piano playing and the family’s radio tuned to everything from dance to classical made sure Beck was surrounded by music from a young age.

“ For my parents, who lived through the war, music was a source of comfort to them. Life was tense and music helped them forget about their troubles. I’m sure that made an impression on me,” recalls Beck. “I was really small when jazz broke through in England and I can still remember sneaking off to the living room to listen to it on the radio—much to my parent’s disapproval.”

  Inspired by the music he heard, it wasn’t long before Beck picked up a guitar and began playing around London. He briefly attended Wimbledon’s Art College before leaving to devote all of his time to music. Beck worked as a session player, with Screaming Lord Sutch – the British equivalent to Screaming Jay Hawkins – and the Tridents before he replaced Eric Clapton as the Yardbirds’ lead guitarist in 1965.”

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ” Geoffrey Arnold “Jeff” Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds(Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page are the other two). Beck also formed The Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice.

  Much of Beck’s recorded output has been instrumental, with a focus on innovative sound and his releases have spanned genres ranging from blues-rockheavy metal, jazz fusion and an additional blend of guitar-rock and electronica. Although he recorded two hit albums (in 1975 and 1976) as a solo act, Beck has not established or maintained the sustained commercial success of many of his contemporaries and bandmates.

   Beck appears on albums by Mick JaggerKate BushRoger WatersDonovanStevie WonderLes PaulZuccheroCyndi LauperBrian May and ZZ Top. In 1988, he made a cameo appearance in the movie Twins.

  He was ranked 5th in Rolling Stone‘s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and the magazine has described him as “one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock”.  MSNBC has called him a “guitarist’s guitarist”.  Beck has earned wide critical praise and received the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance six times and Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance once. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of The Yardbirds (1992) and as a solo artist (2009).  “

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 All About Jazz is celebrating Jeff Beck’s birthday today!

 

” Jeff Beck isn’t your typical guitar legend. His goal, in fact, is to make you forget that he plays guitar. “I don\’t understand why some people will only accept a guitar if it has an instantly recognizable guitar sound,” says Beck.”Finding ways to use the same guitar people have been using for 50 years to make sounds that no one has heard before is truly what gets me off… Read more. “

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

” This Jeff Beck recordings listing is arranged in chronological order, except for the recordings he made with the Yardbirds. Jeff Beck was a member of the Yardbirds for two years and some of the recordings he made with them were not released until 14 years later. All records listed are US and England, unless otherwise specified.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Jeff , Long May You Play

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Belated Birthday Skip James

Born 6.21.02 Died 10.3.69

 

 

 

 

Biography

” Among the earliest and most influential Delta bluesmen to record, Skip James was the best-known proponent of the so-called Bentonia school of blues players, a genre strain invested with as much fanciful scholarly “research” as any. Coupling an oddball guitar tuning set against eerie, falsetto vocals,James‘ early recordings could make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Even more surprising was when blues scholars rediscovered him in the ’60s and found his singing and playing skills intact. Influencing everyone from a young Robert Johnson (Skip‘s “Devil Got My Woman” became the basis of Johnson‘s “Hellhound on My Trail”) to Eric Clapton (who recorded James‘ “I’m So Glad” on the first Cream album), Skip James‘ music, while from a commonly shared regional tradition, remains infused with his own unique personal spirit.” Continue reading

 

Discography

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Fathers Day Blues – Live At The Compound Grill

 

 

 

Uploaded on Mar 30, 2011

” We composed Father’s Day Blues in 2010. Our dad was not able to visit his father (our grandfather) on Father’s day and he said he felt kind of sad. So we made this song to cheer him up.
“Live” at the Compound Grill, Scottsdale, AZ “

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Juke Joint Blues – 42 Great Songs From The Mississippi Delta & The Deep South!

 

 

 

Published on Jun 30, 2014

” Juke Joint Blues — 42 great songs from the Mississippi Delta & the Deep South!

http://bit.ly/1gk8ayD
http://amzn.to/1mWezAm
http://bit.ly/SHESyN

00:00 – You Shook Me — Muddy Waters
02:43 – Dust My Blues — Elmore James
05:50 – Keep Your Hands to Yourself — John Lee Hooker
08:12 – Lightnin’ Blues — Lightnin Slim
11:10 – Hard Grind — Wild Jimmy Spruill
14:08 – Sugar Mama — Pee Wee Hughes
16:36 – Jealous Man — Johnny Lewis
19:09 – She’s So Good to Me — Little Sam Davis
21:20 – Neglected Woman — Alex Moore
24:02 – Chicken Hearted Woman — Clarence Samuels
26:44 – One Room Country Shack — Mercy Dee
29:34 – Week End Blues — Lafayette Thomas
32:41 – New Orleans Bound — Lightnin Slim
35:31 – I’m Him — Schoolboy Cleve
37:39 – Ride Hooker Ride — Earl Hooker
40:23 – Lillie Mae Boogie — Alex Moore
42:58 – Mama Does the Boogie — Red Johnson
45:47 – Wine Women and Whiskey — Papa Lightfoot
48:01 – Little Lean Woman — Little Al Thomas
50:03 – Cool Down Mama — Lost John Hunter
52:18 – I’m Gonna Leave You Baby — Lazy Lester
54:31 – She’s Mine All Mine — Arthur Gunter
56:56 – She’s Taking All My Money — Johnny Lewis
59:39 – Deep South Guitar Blues — Lafayette Thomas
01:02:43 – Philippine Blues — Country Jim
01:05:04 – Lost Child – Eddie Hope
01:07:14 – KC Boogie – KC Douglas
01:10:21 – Wine Head Baby – Lazy Slim Jim
01:12:13 – Good Road Blues — Wright Holmes
01:14:50 – Lester’s Stomp — Lazy Lester
01:16:45 – Dark Muddy Room — Mercy Dee
01:19:47 – TNT Woman — Sonny Boy Holmes
01:22:21 – Strange Letter Blues — Schoolboy Cleve
01:25:11 – On the Hook — Earl Hooker
01:27:53 – Try and Understand — Melvin Simpson
01:30:14 – Every Night About This Time — Magic Sam
01:32:31 – A Fool No More — Eddie Hope
01:34:55 – Jump the Boogie — Papa Lightfoot
01:37:18 – Santa Fe Blues — Pee Wee Hughes
01:39:43 – Congo Monbo — Guitar Gable
01:42:05 – Rub a Little Boogie — Duke Bayou
01:44:24 – Coming Home — Elmore James

  JazzAndBluesExperience – SUBSCRIBE HERE :http://bit.ly/10VoH4l (Re)Discover the Jazz and Blues greatest hits – JazznBluesExperience is your channel for all the best jazz and blues music. Find your favorite songs and artists and experience the best of jazz music and blues music. Subscribe for free to stay connected to our channel and easily access our video updates! – Facebook FanPage: http://www.facebook.com/JazznBluesExp… “

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Happy Birthday “Big Bill” Morganfield

 

 

 

 

 

 

Biography

” Many men try to fill their father’s shoes when they join the family business. Few, however, must prove they are up to the task in front of an audience as large as the one that watched Big Bill Morganfield. Blues lovers the world over revere his late father, Muddy Waters.

  Morganfield didn’t take up the challenge until several years after his dad passed away in 1983. When he realized he wanted to delve into the world of blues as his father had, he purchased a guitar, intending to pay homage to the legendary Waters, whose real name was McKinley Morganfield. That tribute was six long years in coming, years that Morganfield spent teaching himself how to play the instrument. An evening spent playing at Center Stage in Atlanta with Lonnie Mack followed. The audience, which numbered 1000, went wild over the performance and set the novice musician’s spirit afire.

  He went on to establish a contemporary blues group, but abandoned the idea after several months. Dissatisfied with the music he was making, he pulled back from performing to further hone his skills. He concentrated on traditional blues and also learned how to write songs. During this time, Morganfield supported himself by teaching. He possesses degrees in English and communications, which he earned at Tuskegee University and Auburn University, respectively.” Continue reading

Discography

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Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee – BBC – 1974

 

 

 

 

Published on April 1, 2013

SONNY TERRY
” Tedell Saunders was a blues harmonica player and singer, born in Greensboro, North Carolina, on October 24, 1911, and died in New York on 12 March 1986.
Tuerto by accident at the age of 14 years and blind as a result of a blow during a fight, several years later, Terry concentrated on the harmonica, partnering with Blind Gary Davis and Blind Boy Fuller, two blind musicians, with whom he played in the streets of Durham and Raleigh, accompanied by a red-haired guide, who played the washboard and eventually became known as Bull City Red. made ​​some recordings for a local label, with a sound genuinely to Style Piedmont. It was precisely network who introduced him to Brownie McGhee, who professed great admiration for Fuller. Terry emigrated to New York when John Hammond signed him to his concerts at Carnegie Hall (1938), sharing experiences with Leadbelly and at Fuller died in 1940, was definitely in town. From this moment, the musical careers of Terry and McGhee are joined in the duo “Sonny & Brownie”, one of the most stable and successful bands in the history of the blues, performing a large number of recordings. When, in the 1960s, the rural blues began to lose favor with the black public, Sonny & Brownie were welcomed by the public folk and the European public. In the early 1980s, Terry and McGhee separated, after a period of growing disaffection. Terry continued to record (with Johnny Winter or Willie Dixon), participated in the film “The Color Purple” by Steven Spielberg and starred frequently. Style The style of Terry was personal and original, exuberant and joyful, imitating harmonic sound trains, dogs barking, howling screams … combined with his falsetto voice. Very representative of mountain style, typical of the Apalaches.

  BROWNIE Mc Ghee Walter McGhee, was a blues guitarist and singer, born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on November 30, 1915, and died in Oakland, California on February 16 1996. McGhee, paralyzed in his right leg, he learned to play guitar from his father, who taught him the typical fingerpicking style typical of the Appalachians. He left home with only ten years and devoted himself to playing minstrel shows and medecine shows. During the 1930s, he formed a band McGhee own, with two guitars, harmonica and washboard. In one of his performances, Bull City Red introduced them to Blind Boy Fuller and Sonny Terry. McGhee has always shown a special admiration for Fuller, to the extent that after his death, made ​​several recordings under the name of Blind Boy Fuller II, in a clear Piedmont.1 When Fuller died in 1940, he went McGhee New York, with Sonny Terry.From this moment, the musical careers of Terry and McGhee are joined in the duo “Sonny & Brownie”, one of the most stable and successful bands in the history of the blues, performing a large number of recordings. When, in the 1960s, the rural blues began to lose favor with the black public, Sonny & Brownie were welcomed by the public folk and the European public. In the early 1980s, Terry and McGhee separated, after a period of growing disaffection. McGhee moved to Los Angeles, where he continued playing sporadically, until his death.”

Gary Moore – Parsienne Walkways Live Montreux 2010

 

 

 

 

Telephone Blues ~ Hollywood Fats Band

 

 

 

Published on May 9, 2013

” Recorded in 1976, Ted Brinson Recording Studios, Los Angeles, Ca

Al Blake,Vocals
Richard Innes,Drums
Hollywood Fats,Guitar
Freddy Kaplan,Piano
Larry Taylor,Bass

A rare and never released track from the sessions that produced the band’s seminal and now legendary LP ” Hollywood Fats Band .” “

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Paul Butterfield Blues Band – Driftin’ Blues – Monterey 1967

 

 

 

 

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Kim Wilson, Charlie Musselwhite, Mark Hummel

 

 

 

Uploaded on Mar 12, 2007

” Blues Harp Blowout – Three of the baddest harp players on the blues circuit.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Nemeth – Late Night Boogie

 

 

 

 

Uploaded on Jan 25, 2008

” John Nemeth, Kid Andersen, Kedar Roy and Paul Revelli on the Bruce Latimer Show performing Late Night Boogie.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Happy Birthday Kenny Wayne Shepard

 

 

 

 

 

 

Biography

 

” Kenny Wayne Shepherd and his group exploded on the scene in the mid-’90s and garnered huge amounts of radio airplay on commercial radio, which historically has not been a solid home for blues and blues-rock music, with the exception of Stevie Ray Vaughan in the mid-’80s. Shepherd was born June 12, 1977, in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Shreveport native began playing at age seven, figuring out Muddy Waters licks from his father’s record collection (he has never taken a formal lesson). At age 13, he was invited on-stage by New Orleans bluesman Brian Lee and held his own for several hours; thus proving himself, he decided on music as a career. He formed his own band, which featured lead vocalist Corey Sterling, gaining early exposure through club dates and, later, radio conventions.

  Shepherd‘s father/manager used his own contacts and pizzazz in the record business to help land his son a major-label record deal with Irving Azoff‘s Giant Records.Ledbetter Heights, his first album, was released two years later in 1995 and was an immediate hit, selling over 500,000 copies by early 1996. Most blues records never achieve that level of commercial success, much less ones released by artists who are still in their teens. Although Shepherd — who has been influenced by (and has sometimes played with) guitarists Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, Slash, Robert Cray, and Duane Allman — is definitely a performer who thrives in front of an audience, Ledbetter Heights was impressive for its range of styles: acoustic blues, rockin’ blues, Texas blues, Louisiana blues. The only style that he doesn’t tackle is Chicago blues, owing to Shepherd‘s home base being smack dab in the middle of the Texas triangle.” Continue reading 

Discography

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Key To The Highway – Harmonica – Åmål Blues Fest 2009

 

 

 

 

Uploaded on Jul 11, 2009

” Åmål´s Blues Fest 2009.
Harmonica: Hakan Ehn.
Intro: Crossroads (Robert Johnson), inspired by Adam Gussow and Eric Clapton/Cream.
0:10: Key to the Highway (Broonzy/Segar).
2:45: Rockabilly Boogie Harmonica (Markku & Hakan), Markku Sainmaa: guitars, keyboards, drums.
6:00: Hakan´s Harmonica Boogie.

Amplifier: Roland Cube Street.
Microphone: Shure 545SD, rewired for high impedance.
Ipod with backing tracks. “

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Happy Birthday “Howlin’ Wolf”

 

 

 

Biography

 

” In the history of the blues, there has never been anyone quite like the Howlin’ Wolf. Six foot three and close to 300 pounds in his salad days, the Wolf was the primal force of the music spun out to its ultimate conclusion. A Robert Johnson may have possessed more lyrical insight, a Muddy Waters more dignity, and a B.B. King certainly more technical expertise, but no one could match him for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits.”

 

 

 

 

 

” He was born in West Point, MS, and named after the 21st President of the United States (Chester Arthur). His father was a farmer and Wolf took to it as well until his 18th birthday, when a chance meeting with Delta blues legend Charley Patton changed his life forever. Though he never came close to learning the subtleties of Patton‘s complex guitar technique, two of the major components of Wolf‘s style (Patton‘s inimitable growl of a voice and his propensity for entertaining) were learned first hand from the Delta blues master. The main source of Wolf‘s hard-driving, rhythmic style on harmonica came when Aleck “Rice” Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson) married his half-sister Mary and taught him the rudiments of the instrument. He first started playing in the early ’30s as a strict Patton imitator, while others recall him at decade’s end rocking the juke joints with a neck-rack harmonica and one of the first electric guitars anyone had ever seen. After a four-year stretch in the Army, he settled down as a farmer and weekend player in West Memphis, AR, and it was here that Wolf‘s career in music began in earnest.

  By 1948, he had established himself within the community as a radio personality. As a means of advertising his own local appearances, Wolf had a 15-minute radio show on KWEM in West Memphis, interspersing his down-home blues with farm reports and like-minded advertising that he sold himself. But a change in Wolf‘s sound that would alter everything that came after was soon in coming because when listeners tuned in for Wolf‘s show, the sound was up-to-the-minute electric. Wolf had put his first band together, featuring the explosive guitar work of Willie Johnson, whose aggressive style not only perfectly suited Wolf‘s sound but aurally extended and amplified the violence and nastiness of it as well. In any discussion of Wolf‘s early success both live, over the airwaves, and on record, the importance of Willie Johnson cannot be overestimated.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

” Wolf finally started recording in 1951, when he caught the ear of Sam Phillips, who first heard him on his morning radio show. The music Wolf made in the Memphis Recording Service studio was full of passion and zest and Phillips simultaneously leased the results to the Bihari Brothers in Los Angeles and Leonard Chess in Chicago. Suddenly, Howlin’ Wolf had two hits at the same time on the R&B charts with two record companies claiming to have him exclusively under contract. Chess finally won him over and as Wolf would proudly relate years later, “I had a 4,000 dollar car and 3,900 dollars in my pocket. I’m the onliest one drove out of the South like a gentleman.” It was the winter of 1953 and Chicago would be his new home.

  When Wolf entered the Chess studios the next year, the violent aggression of the Memphis sides was being replaced with a Chicago backbeat and, with very little fanfare, a new member in the band. Hubert Sumlin proved himself to be the Wolf‘s longest-running musical associate. He first appears as a rhythm guitarist on a 1954 session, and within a few years’ time his style had fully matured to take over the role of lead guitarist in the band by early 1958. In what can only be described as an “angular attack,” Sumlin played almost no chords behind Wolf, sometimes soloing right through his vocals, featuring wild skitterings up and down the fingerboard and biting single notes. If Willie Johnson was Wolf‘s second voice in his early recording career, then Hubert Sumlin would pick up the gauntlet and run with it right to the end of the howler’s life.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

” By 1956, Wolf was in the R&B charts again, racking up hits with “Evil” and “Smokestack Lightnin’.” He remained a top attraction both on the Chicago circuit and on the road. His records, while seldom showing up on the national charts, were still selling in decent numbers down South. But by 1960, Wolf was teamed up with Chess staff writer Willie Dixon, and for the next five years he would record almost nothing but songs written by Dixon. The magic combination of Wolf‘s voice, Sumlin‘s guitar, and Dixon‘s tunes sold a lot of records and brought the 50-year-old bluesman roaring into the next decade with a considerable flourish. The mid-’60s saw him touring Europe regularly with “Smokestack Lightnin'” becoming a hit in England some eight years after its American release. Certainly any list of Wolf‘s greatest sides would have to include “I Ain’t Superstitious,” “The Red Rooster,” “Shake for Me,” “Back Door Man,” “Spoonful,” and “Wang Dang Doodle,” Dixon compositions all. While almost all of them would eventually become Chicago blues standards, their greatest cache occurred when rock bands the world over started mining the Chess catalog for all it was worth. One of these bands was the Rolling Stones, whose cover of “The Red Rooster” became a number-one record in England. At the height of the British Invasion, the Stones came to America in 1965 for an appearance on ABC-TV’s rock music show, Shindig. Their main stipulation for appearing on the program was that Howlin’ Wolf would be their special guest. With the Stones sitting worshipfully at his feet, the Wolf performed a storming version of “How Many More Years,” being seen on his network-TV debut by an audience of a few million. Wolf never forgot the respect the Stones paid him, and he spoke of them highly right up to his final days.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Dixon and Wolf parted company by 1964 and Wolf was back in the studio doing his own songs. One of the classics to emerge from this period was “Killing Floor,” featuring a modern backbeat and a incredibly catchy guitar riff from Sumlin. Catchy enough for Led Zeppelin to appropriate it for one of their early albums, cheerfully crediting it to themselves in much the same manner as they had done with numerous other blues standards. By the end of the decade, Wolf‘s material was being recorded by artists including the Doors, the Electric Flag, the Blues Project, Cream, and Jeff Beck. The result of all these covers brought Wolf the belated acclaim of a young, white audience. Chess’ response to this was to bring him into the studio for a “psychedelic” album, truly the most dreadful of his career. His last big payday came when Chess sent him over to England in 1970 to capitalize on the then-current trend of London Session albums, recording with Eric Clapton on lead guitar and other British superstars.Wolf‘s health was not the best, but the session was miles above the earlier, ill-advised attempt to update Wolf‘s sound for a younger audience.

  As the ’70s moved on, the end of the trail started coming closer. By now Wolf was a very sick man; he had survived numerous heart attacks and was suffering kidney damage from an automobile accident that sent him flying through the car’s windshield. His bandleader Eddie Shaw firmly rationed Wolf to a meager half-dozen songs per set. Occasionally some of the old fire would come blazing forth from some untapped wellspring, and his final live and studio recordings show that he could still tear the house apart when the spirit moved him. He entered the Veterans Administration Hospital in 1976 to be operated on, but never survived it, finally passing away on January 10th of that year.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

” But his passing did not go unrecognized. A life-size statue of him was erected shortly after in a Chicago park. Eddie Shaw kept his memory and music alive by keeping his band, the Wolf Gang, together for several years afterward. A child-education center in Chicago was named in his honor and in 1980 he was elected to the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. In 1991, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A couple of years later, his face was on a United States postage stamp. Howlin’ Wolf is now a permanent part of American history.” Read more

 

 

 

Discography

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David Gogo Plays The Blues – Dust My Broom

 

 

 

Uploaded on Aug 22, 2010

” From Rarearth in Vernon BC David Gogo plays the blues.

  Gogo was born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, and received his first guitar at the age of five. By the age of 16, he was getting regular work as a musician. Gogo formed a band called The Persuaders, which eventually opened for blues performers such as Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy and Albert Collins. After performing in Europe, Gogo signed a solo record deal with EMI Records.[1]

  His albums have included Dine Under the Stars, Change of Pace, Bare Bones, “Halfway to Memphis”, “Live At Deer Lake”, Skeleton Key, “Vibe” and “Acoustic”. He appeared as a guest musician on Tom Cochrane’s album Mad Mad World, Bob Walsh’s album “Bob Walsh Live — A Canadian Blues Rendez-Vous” and others. His “Acoustic” album, released in 2006, was nominated for a 2007 Juno Award. He is a two-time Maple Blues Award winner.
David Gogo is the cousin of Trooper keyboardist Paul Gogo.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bonnie Raitt & Roy Rogers – Gnawin’ On It

Clay Shelburn & Zac Stokes – Walmart Rockstars Pride and Joy

 

 

 

Dude Sits Down At Public Piano….Gives it a Schoolin

 

 

 

 

BB King & Joe Cocker – I’m In A Dangerous Mood

 

 

 

Uploaded on Jan 10, 2011

” Nice performance by BB King and Joe Cocker.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Happy Birthday Tinsley Ellis

 

 

 

 

 

 

Biography

 

” A hard-rocking, high-voltage blues guitarist most often compared to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tinsley Ellis is hardly one of the legions of imitators that comparison might imply. Schooled in a variety of Southern musical styles, Ellis draws not only from fiery Vaughan-style blues-rock, but also Texas bluesmen like Freddie King and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, the soulful blues of B.B. King, the funky grit of Memphis soul, and numerous other electric bluesmen. Ellis has been praised in many quarters for the relentless, storming intensity of his sound, and criticized in others for his relative lack of pacing and dynamic contrast (he’s also been dubbed a much stronger guitarist than vocalist). Yet no matter which side of the fence one falls on, it’s generally acknowledged that Ellis remains a formidable instrumentalist and a genuine student of the blues.

  Ellis was born in Atlanta in 1957, and spent most of his childhood in southern Florida. He began playing guitar in elementary school, first discovering the blues through the flagship bands of the British blues boom: John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, the Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac, the Yardbirds, the Rolling Stones, and so on. He soon moved on to a wide variety of original sources, becoming especially fond of B.B. King and Freddie King. After high school, Ellis moved back to Atlanta in 1975 to attend Emory University, and soon found work on the local music scene, joining a bar band called the Alley Cats (which also featured future Fabulous Thunderbird Preston Hubbard). In 1981, Ellis co-founded The Heartfixers with singer/harmonica player Chicago Bob Nelson, and they recorded an eponymous debut album for the tiny Southland imprint. They soon signed with the slightly larger Landslide and issued Live at the Moon Shadow in 1983, by which point they were one of the most popular live blues acts in the South. However, Nelson left the group shortly after the album’s release, and Ellis took over lead vocal chores.” Continue reading

 

 

Discography

 

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