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Joe's Blues Blog May 2025

4/29/2025

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Some May Blues Births:
  • May  5th.,1922 -- Joseph Denton "JD"/"Jay" Miller
  • May 10th.,1903 -- Ann Cook, aka "Bad Ann"​
  • May 23rd.,1923 -- Helen Elizabeth Humes
Answer To The April 2025 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Jimmie Lee Robinson (some sources show his first name spelled Jimmy), aka "Lonesome Lee", was born April 30,1931, in the Cook County Hospital. He grew up in an apartment, living with his grandparents, just off Maxwell Street. One of his neighbors, Blind Percy (more on him in the Trivia section), taught him how to play the guitar. In 1942, at eleven years of age, he was good enough to be playing in the Maxwell Street Market, with other musicians, such as Memphis Minnie (born Lizzie Douglas), Big Bill Broonzy, and Robert Nighthawk (more on him in the June Blog). In '48 he met Eddie "Playboy" Taylor, and the pair played club dates up into '52, when they split. After they split Jimmie started a blues band, "The Every Hour Blues Boys", featuring Frank "Sonny" Scott on drums, and a young fledgling guitarist that he had met outside a welfare center, Fred Christian, who you should know by his performing name : Freddy King. King, in a later interview, said that it was Robinson who actually taught hin how to play the guitar, constantly watching and listening to him to make sure he was getting better. King also said that Jimmie had the greatest impact on his career from those times. That band lasted four years, and in '55 Jimmie signed on to perform with Little Walter (Jacobs), as a guitarist, bassist, or vocalist, as required. You can hear Jimmie on many of Little Walter's recordings from that period. In '58, when Little Walter was incapacitated from being shot, Robinson took over as the vocalist, but left the band later that year because of personnel differences.  Also in '58, he recorded two songs under the name "Lonesome Lee" on/ for the Bandera label. In '60 he recorded four more songs for them, giving him a total of six. In the early '60's the popularity of blues was declining in the U.S., though it was growing in popularity in England, thanks to the efforts of people like Long John Baldry, Duster Bennett, John Mayall, and a band that took its name from a Muddy Waters song : "A Rollin' Stone", but, due to the declining interest here, fewer gigs because of lowered demand, Jimmie decided to quit playing. That choice was also fueled by the death of his mother. He went to work for the Chicago Board of Education as a carpenter, drove a cab part- time, and opened a candy store. He still took occaisional gigs and toured with his longtime friend, Little Willie Anderson, up into the '80's. In '65 he went to Europe and peformed in The American Folk Blues Festival, working with all the big names involved there. In the late '80's a local blues band called Ice Cream Men ( a tribute to Doug Quattlebaum's profession, maybe ?), talked Jimmie into returning to the music and performing and recording, which he did. He capped that off with his active protests of the destruction of Maxwell Street. He was an active member of the Maxwell Street Preservation Coalition, and wrote that group's theme song: "Maxwell Street Teardown Blues". In 2000 he performed on Maxwell Street, playing that song and fasting for 81 days. In the end, it was all for naught, as by the end of the year, the University of Illinois got their way: Maxwell Street was gone they could now expand. Later that same year Jimmie changed his name to J.L. Latif, as part of his conversion to Islam. In 2002 it was found that he had a malignent cancer in his sinuses. He was recovering from dealing with that when it was found that the cancer had spread throughout his body. This is why I said he came to a bad end: he was found in his car, with a gunshot wound to the head. It was ruled a suicide, as it was felt that he didn't want to suffer through the lengthy pain associated with an incurable disease of this type: that was on July 6,2002.
Blues Question For May 2025: This bluesman came from a little town in Mississippi: Indianola, one of a few bluesmen born there who would eventually move to Chicago. He started off on one instrument, but switched to another after moving to Chicago. He was also a singer and songwriter. He never received the recognition or fame that others did, but he did leave a legacy of sorts. Any idea who this bluesman could be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For May 2025: The song is "Atomic Bomb Blues", and the artist is William "Homer" Harris, aka "The Seven Foot Tall Smiling Cowboy" or "Memphis Jimmy". It was recorded September 27, 1946, in Chicago. The players on it were Homer on guitar and vocals, Muddy Waters on guitar, James "Beale Street" Clark on piano, Ransom Knowling on bass, and Judge Riley on drums. I picked this one due to the current nuclear posturing and threatening being done by all the countries who have that capability. Fingers off the triggers, boys; don't be stupid.
Blues Trivia For May 2025: I mentioned in an earlier section of this blog that I'd cover Blind Percy in this section, so, here it is. It is not known whether or not Blind Percy and His Blind Band were blind at all, him or the band. There's evidence that Blind Joe Taggart, who recorded some non- gospel blues using the name Blind Joe Amos, and possibly also recorded using the name Six Cylinder Smith, was actually Blind Percy. So it's possible Blind Percy recorded using all those names I  just listed, but there's no positive proof of any of it, except for the sound and playing style. When you see pictures or movies of Jimmie Lee Robinson sitting in a chair, playing acoustic guitar, did you notice that he wore spurs, possibly for the "jingle" effect, much like the foot stomping style used by John Lee Hooker, referred to as the Bentonia style? Somewhere there's a picture of Jimmie Lee sitting in a chair on Maxwell Street, playing "Maxwell Street Teardown Blues", with a wrecking ball knocking down a section of a wall behind him. That was done during his hunger strike. Twist Turner, a drummer, has said of Maxwell Street that you had to be there to enjoy it, the smells, sounds, and the taste of it. He said "no movie you can find of it can't give you that". He further said that when he lived in Chicago, he went there every weekend of every year that he lived there, just to be able to experience all of it.
Some May Blues Passings:
  • May 7th.,1998 -- Louisa "Blue Lu" Barker, aka Lu Blue
  • May 14th.,1973 -- Elmer Chester Snowden​
  • May 18th.,2024 -- "Spider" John Koener
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Joe's Blues Blog April 2025

3/25/2025

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Some April Blues Births:
  • April 4th.,1952 -- Robert William Gary Moore, aka Gary Moore
  • April 12th.,1923 -- Dr. Harry Oster​
  • April 29th.,1941 -- Frankie Lee Jones, aka Little Frankie Lee
Answer To The March 2025 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Cecil Gant, born April 4, 1913, in Columbia, Tenessee (originally a 4 block area of Nashville on the banks of the Duck River), and there is no record of his parents names, but Cecil, along with older brother Ernest, were moved with/by their mother, to Cleveland, Ohio, to live with and be raised by their grandparents. It's thought that their mother moved back to Nashville to live among friends. By the mid- 30's he had a band of his own with which he toured, and also performed as a single musician in Nashville. He did that until he joined the U.S. Army, was assigned to the Quartermaster Corp., after performing at a war bond rally in Los Angeles, California. Being stationed there gave him the opportunity to record his song "I Wonder", on the black- owned Bronze Records label. When that recording started to gain in popularity, he re-recorded it on the newly- formed, white owned Gilt - Edge record label. On that label it was released under the name "Pvt. Cecil Gant, the G.I. Sing- Sation". All of his later releases on that label were listed the same way. Since he was stationed there, he was able to work local gigs, while also promoting war bonds up into the mid- '40's. He also recorded for the King Records label in Cincinnati, Ohio. He recorded for the Bullet Records label of Nashville up to '49. The co-founder of Bullet was Jim Bulleit, who said about Cecil "He drank too much. He would say "I  want to do a session", when he ran out of money. We would get a bass player and a guitarist, find and get him a piano. I'd go sit in the control room and he'd tinkle around on it, then he'd say "I'm ready", and tap that bottle; if we didn't get it the first time, we didn't get it, because he couldn't remember what he did. He'd dream up and write a song while he sat there, and he'd give me the title of it. And the uniqueness of it was that all of them sold ". He returned to Los Angeles and recorded for the Downbeat and Swing Time labels, prior to his move to  New Orleans, Louisiana, to record for the Imperial label, in 1950. Diminishing sales by both Bullet and Cecil, led to a 1950 recording by him credited to Gunter Lee Carr, which was a hit, titled "We're Gonna Rock". You can listen to that one on youtube under Cecil's name -- it will not appear under the Carr name. While in Nashville and preparing for a gig in Clarksdale, Mississippi, it was said that he died of pneumonia, but it's believed that it was from a heart attack, possibly from his alcoholism. He had been taken to Hubbard Hospital, admitted, and that's where he passed on February 4, 1951. His remains were shipped to Cleveland, where he was buried in the Highland Park Cemetery, which was the cemetery used for/ by African- Americans during those years.
Blues Question For April 2025: This bluesman is kind of an oddity, as he was born in Chicago, not far from Maxwell Street. Typical for a bluesman of / in the '50's and '60's period, he spent two years in the Cook County jail, convicted of an assualt charge, I believe. He performed with and was an influence to many of the Chicago bluesmen you would be familiar with. He's also one of those who met an unfortunate end. He was active for many years before that happened. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
artistBlues Song(s) And Artist(s) For April 2025: The song is "Sinful Woman" and the arrtist is Elmore James. It was recorded on November 22, 1952, in Chicago, on Meteor Records # 5002 (the "B" side), and it was released in April 1953, as Meteor # 5003. The "A" side was Meteor # 5000 -- titled "Baby, What's Wrong". Elmore played lead guitar and did vocals, with J.T.Brown on tenor sax, Johnny Jones on piano, Ransom Knowling on bass, and Odie Payne on drums. You might remember Elmore better if you've heard a song he wrote and recorded in 1959 -- "The Sky Is Crying", which he came up with, on the spot, because it was pouring down rain there in Chicago during his studio time, and it's been covered by many artists ever since. 
Blues Trivia For April 2025: I keep finding that not all that long ago, it was difficult for an African-American to be taken in at a lot of hospitals. When Cecil had his heart attack and was put in the hospital, it was in Hubbard Hospital and Meharry Medical College, founded and named after a retired Union soldier who recognized the need for a teaching and functional college for African- Americans. When I was looking into the Cecil Gant recording of "We're Gonna Rock" credited under the Carr name, I thought it was to avoid problems with the Imperial recordings. Turns out, that was way off base, but there were so many things that happened at and with Bullet and Jim Bulleit (who was one of the original partners at Sun Records), that it would take another whole blog to cover that story, so we'll move on.
Some April Blues Passings:
  • April 7th., 2024 -- Clarence "Frogman" Henry
  • April 24th., 2015 -- Frankie Lee Jones, aka Little Frankie Lee​
  • April 29th., 1990 -- Samuel David "Sammy" Lawhorn
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Joe's Blues Blog March 2025

2/28/2025

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First off, I have to apologize for what you are hearing if you listened to the recording of "Wild Cherry" that comes up if you click on what is shown in the Blog. You need to know that the one that comes up is the later, remastered version, which is what comes up when you type in "wild cherry leroy washington", and it's the first one shown, and it's a horrible version, plus, you'll think I'm nuts for listing it. So, here's how to hear the original release (at least it is on google): enter  WILD CHERRY - LEROY WASHINGTON - YouTube, and hit enter. The one that pops up first is the one you've already heard, so scroll down until you see the one with a small orange square off to the right (that's a picture of the center of the record's label). Move your cursor arrow to the left and click enter on the title that I listed above, and it should give you the original release, along with a video collage about Leroy. Make sure to watch it to the end and you'll see a picture of his gravestone that I described in the February Blog.
Some March Blues Births:
  • March 3rd.,1893 -- William "Bill" Moore
  • March 12th.,1913 -- William Du Bois "Do Boy" Diamond​
  • March 30th.,1945 -- Eric Patrick Clapton
Answer To The February 2025 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Clarence Clifford "C.C." Richardson, aka "Peg", born on a plantation farm near Sumter, South Carolina on December 18, 1918, and was raised on that farm. His mother was Elsie Richardson, and his grandmother was Janie Richardson. There is no mention of his father anywhere. He lost part of a foot and leg while a youngster, roving around the railyard that was Sumters "claim to fame" at that time. He worked in his uncles quartet in the Brown Chapel Church as a youth. He left home to tour with Silas Green in New Orleans minstrel tent shows as a singer and dancer, throughout the South, through the '30's. He travelled and performed with Blakes Carnival through the early '40's, throughout the South. He also worked with the Benny Carter Band, the Jay McShann Band, and the Nat Cole Group, working clubs and dances all over the U.S., from the '40's into the '50's. He worked at the Hammer Club in Charleston, West Virginia, from '49 through '51. He settled in Charleston and worked mostly outside the music field. This info on him I've listed so far has come from several sources, and now comes the interview by a member of Weenie Campbell (I'll give you some info on that group in the Trivia section). I'm not putting this in as it was written. What I have done is taken the basics of it and put it in a little more organized than the actual interview. I've done this in an effort to give you more info in a somewhat clearer order. Please remember that this interview was done over 50 years ago. "For my sins in '72, I got involved with a short- lived U.K. blues magazine. Digging through a box of items that had been sent to the editor, I found an envelope with a picture and letter from C.C. Richardson, along with a news clipping from the Charleston Gazette, dated January 20,1973, which reads: City blues artist C.C. Richardson getting attention from around the globe, by Ray Brack. That prompted this Weenie Campbell writer to go to Charleston to meet this C.C.. He was living at 410 C Morris Street. The bed in his bungalow was heeped with two piles of letters. One stack contained requests for his two blues singles, from all over the world. The other pile was thank you's from satisfied customers. C.C. was "beaming" because, he said "that ain't bad for a one- legged country bluesman, passed 50 years old, working at the post office, and "moonlighting" his music around the world, pretty much by himself". Almost a celebrity now, among college- age blues freaks (remember that this intervirw was done over 50 years ago), C.C. has scored a couple breaks, and has an international audience. He's big in Helsinki, Osaka, Beaunont, London, and Boston. While listening to a tape of a radio show he had done recently for Hugh McPhearson, C.C. said "if only I had two or three gigs around here, I could quit my job at the post office". In time, playing with the encouragement of local blues freaks like Terry Lowry, he's been getting more shows to do, festivals, and other gigs. Word is getting around about him, and when at new shows he meets a new preson/ possible connection, he writes down all of their information in a notebook. First thing he knows, a man named Bass from Oakland, California (a note from me: I don't at the moment, remember his first name , but I did stock several of his collections of obscure blues players), has sent his records and a biographical sketch of C.C. to the largest real blues collectors magazine, Blues Unlimited, published in England. Wasn't long before he was in magazine articles from various overseas countries, including Finland. One letter even arrived from Poland, in Polish, possibly from a MiroslawZajak, he thinks the person wants an album from spotting a close looking word, and that worries him because he doesn't have any. One letter from Wheeling sticks out: "I will tell some of my blues buddies in New York, Chicago, and Massachusetts about your records. I'm sure you'll be getting orders from some of them". C.C. did get orders, but not enough to quit the post office job. Got a letter from Marcel M. Voss, a Dutchman, member of "Blues Friends World Wide", saying "I have sent your records to a friend of mine in France, he's a disc jockey with the French radio,  and he'll see to it that your records will get some airplay in his program, which specializes in blues and jazz. Another Hollander, Hans Vergeer, sent an order, with a comment: "I have read a little article on you and the blues you made". Over in England (Sandhurst,Kent) a John Stedman read about , or maybe, heard him on the radio, and sent for C.C.'s two singles. He later wrote back that "perhaps one day you might have a chance to come to Europe. I'm sure you'd be very successful if you did. Another footnote from Joe: John Stedman Promotions  was started to gather, re-master, and clean up recordings, using the best actual records available to him, all or any that had become public domain. What is now available from JSP Records are single c.d.'s, 2,3,4,5, and 6 c.d. sets.  I stocked about 40 to 50 of those in our store. A Londoner, Bill Pearson wrote, saying "I liked the recordings you sent, particularly "C.C.'s Blues". That's a down home sounding cut. There's some nice piano tinkling on two sides on your own Richardson label. Your original home of South Carolina is quite famous among blues collectors for its many blues styles. Blues fans in other countries know the roots of the blues far better than American blues "fans". As I keep saying, you have to look at the roots to understand how it got to where it is today. That's it for the interview bit, now a couple other  items on C.C.  He worked / performed in/ at the John Henry Memorials in Beckley, Huntington, Cliff Top, and Princeton, West Virginia. He did make some other, later recordings before he passed away, but I've not found a reliable list of them. He passed away in Kanawha City, WV on January 30, 1984, I believe of cancer.
Blues Question For March 2025: This bluesman, by some, is considered to be the father of Rock & Roll because of his style of playing the piano. He was born in Tennessee, but raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He recorded on many different labels in California, Ohio, Tennessee, and Louisiana. He recorded under a couple of different names -- not sure why. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For March 2025: The song is "When Can I Change My Clothes?", and the artist is Booker T. "Bukka" Washington White, best known as Bukka White. It was recorded with Bukka on vocals and guitar, with Washboard Sam (Robert Brown) on washboard. It was recorded on March 7/8, 1940, in Chicago, on the Vocalion label, #WC-2979 being the A side. The B side was "High Fever Blues, # WC-2987, withthe actual record # being 05489. There's even an interesting story about the two day recording session when those were done, but that's for another time. 
Blues Trivia For March 2025: C.C.'s Sumter, South Carolina, was originally incorporated in 1845 as Sumterville, named after a Confederate general. The name was changed in 1855 to Sumter. It was an important supply and repair center for all train lines in the Confederacy, and it was comprised of plantation settlements. After the war and up into the early years of the 20th. century, it grew even more, with its shipping of cotton, timber, and tobacco. That's the railyard where C.C. was wandering around and lost his leg, as a boy. Now, Weenie Campbell: this is a collaboration of like minded blues FANaticS, who, over the years, have gathered information on barely known bluesmen, under one name, Weenie Campbell. Don't know how they picked it, but the system works, for any true blues fan who is looking to learn history. I don't use it real often, but I've run into blues people who are listed nowhere, not even with these guys.
Some March Blues Passings:
  • March 5th.,1968 -- Sydney "Syd" Nathan
  • March 14th.,2011 -- "Big" Jack Johnson, aka "The Oilman"​
  • March 21st.,2008 -- Dillard Crume
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Joe's Blues Blog February 2025

1/31/2025

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Some February Blues Births:
  • ​February 2nd.,1901 -- Walter Vinson
  • February 16th.,1951 -- James "Super Chikan" Johnson​
  • February 23rd.,1910 -- Lottie "The Wolf" Murrell
Answer To The January 2025 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Leroy Washington, born March 1, 1932 in Palmetto, Louisiana, a small farming community, just a little to the north and east of Opelousas, Louisiana, to parents John and Evelyn, who separated shortly after his younger brother Sidney was born. Then the two boys lived with their mother and her common-law husband Milton Bottom. Leroy picked up a guitar in his early teens and was self- taught. When he was a little older, he quit school and went to work on the railroad, to help his mother, who was, by then, raising the two boys by herself. Years later, his first cousin Albert Davis, who later in his own life would become a blues and Zydeco player, recalled that, in their youth, growing up together, he would go to visit his "Auntie" (Evelyn Washington), and said that Leroy was "always foolin' with that guitar". When he got good enough, he decided he wanted to be a musician full time, and left the railroad job. He teamed up with local drummer Chuck Martin, and the pair played in the white nightclubs, just drums and a guitar. They used to call Leroy "The Guitar Wizard". Davis said that his father, referring to back then, said to him "I never seen a man play lead and bass at the same time". Albert also said that he tried to take lessons from Leroy a couple of times, but "he was too fast and I couldn't keep up". Leroy spent most of his life in Opelousas, as it was one of those areas where you could hear and see live music seven nights a week. Jam sessions were big. On Monday it was at "Blues Paradise", on Tuesday it was at the "Hollywood Inn", on Wednesday at was at the "Blue Goose", and on Thursday it was at "Gabriel's Place". Friday, Saturday, and Sunday was "wide open" everywhere, according to Roscoe Chenier, a blues singer and guitarist, and Leroy's cousin. Davis also rembered that Mondays at the "Blues Paradise" were called "Blue Monday", where Leroy would hold court each week, attracting a large throng of fans and other musicians. One of those fans would come down from Baton Rouge, a teenager with no transportation. He would hitchhike the roughly 65 miles, just to watch and learn from Leroy. He would become a recognised bluesman later on. His name was George "Buddy" Guy. The really striking thing about Leroy that everyone seemed to remember was his guitar playing skills, at the top of the list of the great ones who had come from that area. Chenier said "he could play enough guitar that you'd swear that it was an orchestra. He played so many chords, man, and fast. He could do all that Mexican and Spanish stuff too. I asked him, I said Leroy, where'd you learn that stuff ? He said "right there, sittin' on the porch" ". Yeah, he could play, man. He could run chords, like big band orchestra chords. And he was self- taught. Oh, he was good, Leroy was a monster". Guitar Gable (Perrodin), who was quite good at the time, around the mid-'50's, also said about Leroy that "he was a nice, quiet fellow, and he was a hell of a guitar player. He could play, boy, could he play!". Knowing that Gable had been recording for J.D.Miller's Excello label for awhile, Leroy called him and asked him to set up an audition for him. He got a call back telling him when to be there. After the audition, J.D. told him to call back when he wanted to record. This is in 1958, and he called Gable and told him he had written a couple of songs he wanted to record. One turned out to be Leroy's biggest hit, "Wild Cherry", flip side being "Be Kind". If you listen to this, you have to hear the original release of it, as there is a later version of it most often the one you can find, and it's nothing like the originally released one. Incidentally, Guitar Gable played on both recordings, but I could find no listing of the other players on them, but listening to it, you'll know they were all good. Albert Davis lived in Lake Charles from '61 on, and said it was a hotbed for blues seven nights a week. Davis said that Leroy would play clubs there, using a big, old Fender amp he'd bought. He'd play them big chords off that, and they would say "that man's knockin' the boards off the walls". That's how bad Leroy would get 'em! But every time a guitar player was needed, he was never out of work. Leroy was playing in Lake Charles with another musician from Opelousas, "Good Rockin' Bob"(Ed Thomas), a bass player, singer, and band leader. That group was scheduled to play the last weekend of June in 1962, at the "Big Casino" club in Leesville, which was a popular spot with Black soldiers from nearby Fort Polk. The club was in a historically Black section of town called "The Crossing". Toward the end of Saturday's performance, Leroy was singing and had an aneurism, a broken blood vessel in his head. He was rushed across the street to his hotel room, where he was laid down --- a mistake, as the high blood pressure he had caused a fatal heart attack, June 30,1962. Davis remembered that besides being a highly respected and admired musician, he was also a good- natured and well- loved human being. Leroy lived with two or three women, but he wasn't married to none of them. I'll tell you what, man, Leroy had a bunch of women, you know-- friends, and I never seen so many women visit a casket, and bust out crying. You could tell everyone was in love with him. Every one of them women would bust out crying when they passed by the casket. He wasn't no problem guy. When his tombstone was finally located in Little Zion Baptist Cemetery in Opelousas, it was written in the ancient Biblical language of Phoenician Hebrew. I'll try to explain a lot of this in the Blues Trivia section.
Blues Question For February 2025: This is another obscure bluesman, even more so than the last few that I've covered. The old college die hards who followed the blues and this man hold him in high esteem. I couldn't dig up much info on him, save for an almost 50 year old interview. He recorded on several different labels from '70 to '79, the last one being an album on his own label. Here's one little clue -- he was born in South Carolina. Any idea on who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song (s) And Artist (s) For February 2025: The song is  "We're Ready" and the main featured artist is Amos "Junior" Wells. The song was recorded for an album called "Hoodoo Man Blues" on Delmark Records, #DL- 612 (mono) and DS- 612 (stereo). It was recorded in Chicago on September 22 & 23, 1965, and released in November. It was recorded by Stu Black, and featured Junior Wells on vocals and harmonica, "Friendly Chap" (Buddy Guy, listed that way because of a supposed contract with Chess records, which was later found to be not in force ) on guitar, Jack Myers on bass, and Billy Warren on drums. Just so you know, Buddy's amp broke, so his guitar was wired to the amp for the organ, which is why you get some strange sounds on different songs on the album.
 Blues Trivia For February 2025: These are some of the things found in the search for info on Leroy Washington. Not sure when or where I found Leroy's name listed but it had to be when tracking another old artist, and not finding anything on Leroy at the time. Most of what's included in this month's blog came from a featured article of Living Blues magazine of the December 2012 issue, called "Lost Blues Files", by Gene Tomko, a man who has dedicated his life to finding all info on all Louisiana musicians of the jazz, blues, cajun, creole, zydeco, swamp pop, and gospel musics. He has written a book called The Encyclopedia of Louisiana Musicians, with over 1600 entries. I interspersed some info from some of the researching I've done, and blended in some loose notes from other sources. Leroy passed away in Leesville, close to Fort Polk. When I was in the Army, outside the C.O.'s office was a list of "Off Limits" places. Those were the ones I'd always go to, as a lot of them had live music, usually blues or jazz. 'Course, if the M.P.'s or S.P.s' caught you, you were in trouble when you got back to base. The reason Living Blues got involved in tracking down info on Leroy, was that there were many other short, sparse, and sometimes incorrect info, such as when he actually passed. Also, between '58 and '61, he recorded more than 30 tracks for Miller, but none had the success of "Wild Cherry". You'd have to read the article/ story yourself to see that there was far more involved than what I've listed. If you want to listen to the original recording/ release on your own : under your search enter Wild Cherry  Leroy Washington  youtube. That'll bring up several pictures of the record, so look for the one that shows a small orange square on the right side of that listihg. Click on that listing and it should give you the original release, along with a pictoral about the song and Leroy. Good Luck!!

 Just a note: I've ordered that encyclopedia written by Gene Tomko, and another by a different author, Peter Krampert, The Encyclopedia of Harmonica, Players and Songs,  about 900 entries
Some February Blues Passings:
  • February 7th.,2000 -- David Jack "Dave" Peverett, aka "Lonesome Dave"
  • February 18th.,1995 -- Edward Earl "Eddie" Williams​
  • February 25th.,2012 -- James Wesley "Red" Holloway​
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Joe's Blues Blog January 2025

12/30/2024

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Some January Blues Births:
  • January 4th.,1948 -- Charles "Charlie" Sayles
  • January 14th.,1957 -- Stephen "Steve" Jordan​
  • January 29th.,1923 -- Eddie "Playboy" Taylor
Answer To The December 2024 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is J.D. Short (aka JayDee Short, Jelly Jaw Short, Neckbones, Spider Carter, Ell-Zee Floyd, Joe C Stone (or Stoat), and R.T Hanen) most probably born on a farm near Port Gibson, Mississippi, on December 26,1902, as his parents were migrant farm workers , and farmed in the Hollandale/ Shoals area of the Delta. His father, Preston, was a guitarist. JD was raised and worked on a farm in the Clarksdale area, from 1912 to 1923, learning guitar and piano, playing local house parties and suppers from 1919 into 1923 in the Delta area, until he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1923. There, he worked mostly outside the music business, but on occaision, did gigs and streetwork with Neckbones, Henry Spaulding, and sometimes with either of his cousins, Big Joe Williams, and David "Honeyboy" Edwards, up into the '30's. He made his first recordings for Paramount in '30, and some for Vocalion in '32. During those years he also learned to play the harmonica, saxaphone, clarinet, cymbals, and drums. He played these when working with different bands, as a sideman, on whatever instrument was needed. He did this with the Douglas Williams Band in East St. Louis, playing clarinet and/ or sax, from the mid- '30's. I believe JD had some sort of automobile accident, and the injury involved is what ended his ability to play a horn-type instrument. In '37 and '38 he worked with cousin Honeyboy Edwards in local clubs and house parties in St. Louis. He served in the U.S. Army, as a private in the Medical Corp. in '42 and '43. He was given a medical discharge, and then returned to St. Louis, where he worked mostly outside the music field, through the '40's and '50's. He did do some performing with cousin Big Joe Williams in hillbilly bars in St. Louis in the late '50's. One source has him married , first to Pearl, then to Lola Belle. JD himself, died of a heart attack on October 21, 1962, in St. Louis, arriving at the Homer G. Phillips Hospital, D.O.A. . He's buried in the Jefferson Barracks Cemetery, in St. Louis. Also buried there is his wife, Pearl. Her stone shows a December 25,1903 birth date, with a death date of July 12, 1966, a little over three years after JD, of heat exhaustion as  shown on her death certificate, which also shows her birth date as July 10, 1910. An item that popped up in Henry Townsend's biography, happened in the '30's. Henry was well known, with a large following in St. Louis, and he said in that bio that JD was playing the same areas, and was jealous of Henry's standing, which led to JD's  stabbing Henry twice at a gig. Henry retaliated by shooting JD in the genitals, destroying his testicles. I thought it would be interesting to read that account, which was published in the Guardian, a daily newspaper out of Manchester England, founded in 1821, and brought to the U.S. in the '50's. I'll cover more on all of this in the Trivia section, cause there's lots of it.
Blues Question For January 2025: This bluesman is another one that no one's familiar with, but he was a prominent player with J.D. Miller's recordings in Crowley, Louisiana. Unfortunately, Miller's record- keeping was horrible, and there are many "unknown's" he recorded. As far as I can tell, this player only recorded four songs under his own name, but he was the "go- to" player on many other artist's recordings, people such as B.B.King, Jimmy Reed (Reed used to stay at his house when he was in town to record), Clifton Chenier, and many others. Don't waste your time trying to figure out who this is, as you'll never get it. It took one man, a dedicated hound for finding the whole story, several years to put the history of this one together -- just enjoy when revealed !!
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For January 2025: I'm going to list for you how to find it, as I don't think this was ever put on a record, but done live, some time in the '50's. I used google, so I'll give you that way. Type in youtube, then enter this title "Willie Mea's Blues", then enter Big Mama Thornton, and hit search. That should give you, toward the bottom of the screen three titles, then pick the title I gave you. When you listen to this, remember that this woman also wrote "Ball and Chain", and, of course, the big one that was stolen from her by two under age persons, per the court, "Hound Dog". Enjoy Willie Mae's Blues, as it is the real thing, blues as it should be !!
Blues Trivia For January 2025: If you look at the November Blog, you'll see that the featured artist, Clifford "Granddaddy" Gibson was taken to the same hospital as JD, but donated his body to the med school for study, and is buried in the school's cemetery, where JD was buried in the Jefferson Barracks Cemetery, and that cemetery has a couple of other musicians buried there. One would be Henry James Townsend, JD's nemesis, and the  other one has a song written to honor him, song being "Johnny B Goode", written by Chuck Berry for his Rock & Roll piano player, Johnnie Johnson. In 1988, found in the Guardian's newspaper's library storage building, were 700 zinc storage containers, dated from 1930 to 1967. Those containers were built by the newspaper's plumber. They opened the first one, found that the special archival edition was in perfect, pristine condition, and sealed it back up, then put them all in their new storage building. No way now to read Townsend's bio. Port Gibson is actually land locked, and is not on the Mississippi river's banks. In his Vicksburg battles, when he got to Port Gibson, General Ulysses S. Grant was quoted as saying that "this town is too pretty to burn", and made it a temporary headquarters. That's why you can still go see that the town has been well preserved.
Some January Blues Passings:
  • January 5th.,2010 -- Laurence Willie Mitchell
  • January 16th.,1973 -- Clara Mae Ward
  • January 28th.,2007 -- Chico Chisum
​
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Special messages from Joe

11/27/2024

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Hope all have a Merry Christmas -- Happy and safe with family and friends !! Eat up, as Thanksgiving treats are replaced by Christmas cookies, breads, rolls, and lots of "bad for you" goodies !!    
I have an item for sale from the Sound of Blue: a small crate for albums, containing 2 rolls of shrink wrap, 1 large for album sized items, 1 for smaller books etc.;heat gun, silicone pad for cutting wrap, wrap cutter, wrap roller base, extension cord. 

If interested send me an email: [email protected] and I'll connect you with Joe. 
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Joe's Blues Blog December 2024

11/27/2024

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Some December Blues Births:
  • December 5th.,1938 -- John Weldon "J.J."Cale​
  • December 15th.,1969 -- Nick Moss
Answer To The November 2024 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking fo was/ is Rev. Rubin Lacy, and the problems and questions start right there. According to his gravestone his name is shown as Rev. Ruben L. Lacy. According to his "draft card" filing form, filled out by Lacy himself, shows his name as Reuben (no middle name or initial) Lacey, 41 years old, with an address as "6 miles west of Madison, Mississippi", and a mailing address of R3, Box 83A, Jackson, Mississippi. Also shown on that form, under "Employers Name " (at the same address as Lacy) is Walter Payton, so it's probably when Lacy was was employed as a plantation "overseer". It also shows the January 2,1901 birthdate, where his grave marker shows January 2,1902. Also on that form, under the listing "Name and address of person who will always know your address", is Ruben's wife and mother of their six children - Bunia Mae Lacey, shown at the same address. At any rate, he was born in 1901, in Palahatchie, Mississippi, the fourth of thirteen children. Music was always around in the family, mostly church music, vocally, along with guitar and harmonica. His father was a fireman who died when Rubin was ten. He was called a "peculiar child" because he was always motivated to learn all he could. He learned to be fluent in German from an uncle from New York, learning about world events of the time, and history. He went to school for five years, and worked in the afternoons. That studious attitude would, in later years, lead him to be a preacher (his grandfather was a minister), after he quit playing the blues. It's believed that George "Crow Jane" Hendrix, a local multi-instrumentalist who had a string band in Palahatchie,  is the one who taught/ influenced him to play the blues. There's no recorded work of Hendrix's, but his influence can be heard in the two recordings made in March of 1928 for Paramount in Chicago, his only blues songs that are available now. He had also recorded four songs for Columbia Records in Memphis, on December 9,1927. Those were never issued and the masters are lost, and they were interesting titles. By this time, due to his ability, he became the main influence among those with whom he performed. Some of those were Son Spand (no info on him and could have been the name used by anyone, as it was used commonly), Charlie McCoy, Walter Vinson (Vinscon/ Vincent), Tommy Johnson, Ishmon (Ishman) Bracey, Son House, and Tommy McClennan. Rube was staying with a friend in Greenwood, about 100 miles south of Jackson, and was playing that area with the aforementioned players, and he was known as or referred to as "the Blues King", because of his following. In the '20's he had started his career as an itinerant musician, travelling through Iowa, Ohio, Illinois, and, of course, Mississippi, but that didn't always pay the bills, so, along the way he also worked as a plantation overseer and a railroad brakeman, which is when he met jimmy Rodgers.  In 1932, after facing death from a serious injury, caused by a loose, flying brake shoe off a passing train striking him in the leg, he decided to become a preacher full time, quit the blues, and gave away his guitar. He did his preaching in the Missionary Baptist Churches in the area and some in Arkansas. He then moved to California, landing in Los Angeles, then on to Palmdale, then to Ridgecrest, in the Indian Wells Valley, where he was pastor of a small Missionary Baptist Church of African- Americans. In 1966 David Evans tracked him down, and, along with John Fahey and Alan Wilson, convinced Rev. Rubin to let them record himself and his congregation singing religious hymns and songs at their services. One of the lead singers was Chester Davis, Rubin's deacon. This was recorded February 15,1966, and Rubin and his wife had graciously been hosting Evans, Fahey, and Wilson for this time. In late '66, Rubin's wife, Bunia Mae, passed away. In '67 he moved to Bakersfield, remarried, and was working with Bruce Rosenberg in an investigation of American folk preacher's art. On November 14,1969, he was taken to Corcoran District Hospital and was D.O.A. He is buried in Union Cemetery, Bakersfield, California, the tribute on his grave-marker saying "SINGER OF THE GOSPEL BLUES".
Blues Question For December 2024: This bluesman is from the same time period as the last few I've listed, but was better known than some. He was a multi- instrumentalist and a cousin of one of the bigger names in the blues. The reason I picked him actually came from another bluesman's bio that showed how tough things could sometimes be when dealing with competitors for work (or play). He did a fair amount of recording, and wrote quite a few songs too. Any idea who this bluesman could be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For December 2024: The song is "Santa's Messin' With The Kid", and the artist is Eddie C. Campbell. The talent roster for this includes Eddie on guitar and vocals, Carey Bell (Harrington) on harmonica, Lafayette Leake on piano, Robert "Bob" Stroger on bass, and Clifton James on drums. It was recorded on June 13,1977, at Sound Studios in Chicago, and issued on the Mr. Blues label of Steve Wisner. It was Eddie's first album, titled "King Of The Jungle", # MB 7602, and this was the first song on the "A" side. Lurrie Bell sat in Stroger's spot on bass on one track on each side. The cover photo of the album shows Eddie with a full- on 'Fro and a "fur shirt top that looked like a vest or small jacket. Eddie named the song shortly after the release of "Messin' With The Kid", a hit by Junior Wells.
Blues Trivia For December 2024: Part of this comes out of the research on Rube Lacy. David "Honeyboy " Edwards had said during an interview, that Rube was staying at a friends house in Greenwood, and Edwards and other fans of Lacy that were his age, would work a full day's work, then go to that house and pitch in money they had just earned to give to Lacy to hear him play and sing. It's been said that Son House got his style of play from Lacy's "bottleneck" playing, except that Lacy didn't use a "bottleneck", but they both had one more thing in common: both were preachers/ ministers, House starting earlier of the two, at age 15. Here's some from December's Blues Song: the address of the Mr. Blue Recording co. was 4852 SO Lotus Ave., Chicago. You can look it up by address and you'll see that it's a house on a corner lot. It was built in 1960, so the time frame is correct. It's 4 bedroom, 1 & 1/2 baths, with a full, unfinished basement, as of today. I found an old picture of Steve Wisner and a guitarist, with steps behind them in the picture, a ladder leaning against the wall, which appears to be covered with some sort of black material, which would remind you of garbage bags of today. Sound deadener ? This picture is most likely of the unfinished basement of that very house. The Sound Studios that did the recording was at 230 N Michigan ave., Chicago, in the area called "the loop", which had many smaller type business'. Today, that address is occupied by a closed- up auto body repair shop.
Some December Blues Passings:
  • December 6th.,1949 -- Huddie William Ledbetter, aka Leadbelly, Lead Belly
  • December 12th.,1987 -- Clifton Chenier
  • December; 27th.,2008 -- Delaney Bramlett
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Joe's Blues Blog November 2024

10/28/2024

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Some November Blues Births:
  • November 4th.,1943 -- James "Boo Boo" Davis
  • November 16th.,1931 -- Hubert Sumlin​
  • November 26th.,1939 -- Travis "Moonchild" Haddix. Hey Travis-- long time - no see ! Joe and Lee
Answer To The October 2024 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Clifford "Grandpappy" Gibson, born April 17, 1901, in Louisville, Kentucky, to parents William and  Letha Gibson. Another source shows it being on April 11 (possibly a smudge on that person's source copy) in Walnut Bottom, which is west of Louisville. He is shown with an "aka" of "Sluefoot Joe", but that's incorrect. That aka belonged to Ed Bell, and the two of them recorded together, with Ed doing the vocals and Clifford backing him on guitar. In the late '20's the family moved to St. Louis, Missouri. By then, Clifford had gotten good enough on vocals and guitar that he performed in local and close-by clubs from the late '20's into the early '30's. His first recordings were the forementioned ones with Ed (as Sluefoot Joe), in Long Island City, in New York City, for/ on the Q S R (and Paramount) labels, in April of '29. Gibson recorded under his own name in June of '29. On November 26,1929, and December 10,1929, he recorded on the Victor label in New York City. One interesting track recorded in that November 26th. session was "Don't Put That Thing On Me", a song about Hoodoo, which is an African- American form of "folk music". If you're any kind of blues fan, you should be familiar with the "Hoodoo thing". Besides, it's right in line timewise with the October/ November rollover, so, Happy Halloween, and we hope you all have had a good one! Anyhow, in June of '31 Clifford recorded once again on the Victor label, but this time it was in Louisville, Kentucky, as a session guitarist, backing different lead artists, such as R.T. Hanan (believed to actually be J.D. Short), Jimmy Strange, Willie Kelly (who is actually Roosevelt Sykes), and an unissued at that time, single track with Jimmie Rodgers (the "Singing Brakeman"). That song was "Let Me Be Your Sidetrack". It was later issued on Document C.D. # BDCD- 6015. On December 18,1951, he recorded two tracks on the Baul Records label, in St.Louis, unissued at the time. In 1989 those two tracks were issued on an L.P., titled "Times Are So Tight", on the Swingtime label out of Denmark, album # BT 2017. They were later included on Document Records # DOCD 5619. In 1960 he recorded three tracks on Little Milton's (Campbell) Bobbin label, in St.Louis, to be released on 7" 45 rpm records.Other than that, Clifford worked as an itinerant street musician, with a trained dog, for tips. He did work at Gaslight Square in St.Louis for another three years. He was admitted to the Homer G. Phillips Hospital, where, on December 21,1963, at 3:50 A.M., he passed away from pulminary edema (excess fluid in the lungs). His body was donated to a local med  center. His remains are buried at the Anatomical Board Cemetery in St.Louis. Incidentally, the two songs he's known for are "Bad Luck Dice" and "Hard Headed Blues". If you ever see the picture that was taken of him for a record release cover ad, notice his exceedingly long fingers. It's said that's why he got the sounds out of his guitar that he did.
Blues Question For November 2024: This bluesman put in a lot of effort to learn to play and sing the blues. As with many early players who moved around a lot, he played the easy to carry guitar and mandolin, while often working other jobs. His recording career is almost non- existent under his own name, but he did record with many others as a sideman. He was a large influence to many early players. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For November 2024: The song is "The Telephone Is Ringing", and the artist is Connie Curtis "Pee Wee" Crayton. The original recording was done and issued in September of 1956 on  Vee Jay Records, # VJ- 214. After several days searching through the Clemson University's "The Early Years of Vee Jay; 1954- 1961", I found that Vee Jay recorded all types of musics, using different numbering systems at times, with an order clear to the owners only., so all research one does is to read the entire listing, one line at a time, and in no chronological or genre order or artist order. What I finally found was that it was Pee Wee on vocals and lead guitar, Red Holloway on tenor sax, Mac Easton on baritone sax, Horace Palm on piano, Quinn Wilson on string bass, and Paul Gusman on drums.  WHEW !!
Blues Trivia For November 2024: Did you know that the Peacock Records label, started in '49 in Houston by Don Roby, was named after his bar -- The Bronze Peacock ? The "Jiffy" label, started by Jiffy Fowler, in West Monroe, Louisiana, recorded six tracks by "Papa" Lightfoot, but never issued them. In fact, that label only ever issued eight tracks total, by four different artists.The "QRS" label mentioned in the Answer section of this month's blog supposedly used the same recording studio as Paramount, but selling records was only to get a bigger market share. That company, originally started in 1900, made piano rolls and the pianos to go with them, and designed them to accept and play rolls made by their competitors, most of whom, they bought out along the way. The factual source of the "QRS" name is unknown to this day, but was possibly from the words in their ads: Quality Reel Service. They were the only manufacturer of piano rolls who had figured out how to punch the rolls directly off the artist playing the song at that instant, live, and developed the way to do it. Some of the great artists who used this service and system have said that "that's the first time I've heard myself play". That's beause no other roll manufacturers, who punched their rolls off copies of sheet music, could match all the little personal nuances that their live punching captured. By the time QRS got into making records, they had grown considerably, as they had bought out most all of their competitors, taking over some of their facilities, buildings, workers, and closing some others. Founded in Chicago, but due to rapid growth, expanded to San Francisco, then opened a 5-story plant/ office building in The Bronx, NY. It was later moved to Buffalo. Over the years, QRS recorded 11,060 different rolls, physical count of sales well into the millions. All of this gave root to another theory of where the QRS name came from: that the company's mailbox at the post office was R, and that there was so much volume to it that the overflow went int the Q and S boxes next to it. Enough whacko trivia for this edition.
Some November Blues Passings:
  • November 8th.,1983 -- "Little" James Corroll Booker
  • November 18th.,1973 -- Luther Henry Huff
  • November 24th.,1993 -- Albert "the Iceman" Collins

And a remembrance and in recognition to our friend Robert Lockwood Jr., who passed away on November 21, 2006. We honor your memory and achievements. 
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Joe's Blues Blog October 2024

9/26/2024

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Some October Blues Births:
  • October 3rd.,1921 -- "Blind" James (Jimmy, Jim) Brewer
  • October 14th.,1907 -- Jewell "Babe" Stovall
  • October 27th.,1930 -- Benny Turner, younger brother of Freddie (Freddy) King
 Answer To The September 2024 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Alexander Donaldson "Papa" George Lightfoot, aka Little Papa Walter, born on March 2, 1924, in Natchez, Mississippi, to parents Andrew L. and Marie (nee; Donaldson) Lightfoot. As a boy, he taught himself to play the harmonica, and as he got a little older, up into the '40's,he worked outside the musicc field, in Natchez. In the late '40's he worked at the Project Bar, and other nearby bars and clubs. In '49 he recorded with the Gondoliers on the Peacock label in Houston, 2 tracks issued, 2 tracks unissued, and 2 tracks recorded under his own name shown as "withdrawn". In 1950 he recorded 2 tracks on the Sultan label of/ in Natchez. In '52 he recorded 5 tracks (1 unissued) on the Aladdin label in New Orleans. He recorded with Champion Jack Dupree, 4 tracks on the King records label on November 30,1953. Most sources show it being done in Cincinnati, Ohio, the home of King Records, but they were actually done in New York City, and were issued in '54. On April 17, 1954, he recorded 4 tracks on the Imperial label, in New Orleans. Some sources indicate that he recorded on the Aladdin label too, in '54, but I could find no listing for that. In around December of '54 he recorded 6 tracks on the Jiffy label, accompanied by Fred Dunn, in West Monroe, Louisiana. On February 22, 1955, he recorded 6 tracks on the Savoy label, with 2 being issued and 4 remaining un-issued. It has been shown, in some sources, that he recorded 2 tracks in Nashville, released on the Excello label, # 2086, under the name "Ole Sonny Boy", but listening to it, you'll know it isn't him. In '56 he appeared in the Jack Davis movie "Spooky Loot", but the current whereabouts of it are unknown. Throughout the '50's, he toured, as a sideman, in package shows with performers such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Fats Domino, and Dinah Washington. During this time, he also toured and performed with Smiley Lewis in Tennessee and Ohio. Also in the late '50's , he worked as a D.J. on a local Natchez radio show, and mostly outside the music field, and many remember him as an ice cream peddler. In 1969 Steve LaVere, a music historian and producer, tracked him down in Natchez, and talked him into recording his last album, on LaVere's Vault Records label, titled "Natchez Trace, # LP-130, released with 4 tracks per side. That recording was done at Malaco Sound Recording Studio in Jackson, Mississippi, on July 21,1969. It featured Papa Lightfoot on vocals and harmonica, Carson Whitsett on piano, Jerry Puckett on guitar, Don Barret (/Ron Johnson) on bass, and Tommy Tate on drums. In '94, ACE Records (UK) put out a c.d., # CDCHD 548, titled "Goin' Back to Natchez Trace". On it, the order of the original songs was changed, with 6 more tracks added to it. Those were from that same recording session as the original, and there are still 5 more tracks from that same session that have not been issued to date. In '70, he performed at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival in Michigan. He was scheduled to do a series of tour dates in'71, but he entered the Natchez Charity Hospital where he passed away on November 28,1971, of respiratory and cardiac arrest. He was only 47 !! If you've never heard him, you'll be impressed with both his harp work and vocals.
Blues Question For October 2024: This bluesman is another old- timer who made many recordings in his career, but that's not where he made most of his money in life. A guitarist who favored open tuning and using a capo placed high, an unusual choice for the period and on an acoustic guitar.  Any idea who this bluesman might be ??  
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For October 2024: The song is "Cotton Crop Blues", and the artist is James Cotton. It was recorded May 14, 1954, at Sun Records in Memphis. Artists on it were James Cotton on vocals, Mose Vinson on piano, Pat Hare on guitar , and John Bowers on drums. It was Sun Records # 206, BMI # U-120 (A side), with the flip side being "Hold Me In Your Arms", BMI # U-121 (B side). On that side Cotton does vocal and percussion.    
Blues Trivia For October 2024: This is all from different places in this Blog, so here we go. The Natchez Charity Hospital, Adams County: construction was started in 1849, all documented in 1933, and photographed in 1936. It is now an Historic Site/ Building as recorded by The Library of Congress. On the web you can see 2 pictures of it, a front and rear shot. Prior to the civil war Natchez had the dubious distinction of being the largest slave buying and selling place in Mississippi, at Forks of The Road, the intersection of Liberty Road and Washington Road. It was second largest in the U.S., the only larger market was in New Orleans. Auburn "Pat" Hare, born in Cherry Valley, Arkansas, played on both songs on the James Cotton "Cotton Crop Blues" record. At the same studio, same day, but with different sidemen, Billy "Red" Love on piano and Israel Franklin on drums, Hare cut 3 tracks, doing the vocal and playing guitar. The first 2 were originally recorded by Peter Joe "Doctor"/ "Doc" Clayton on November 11, 1941. The third track was recorded on Sun # SP-104, issued as a single on a 45 R.P.M. record , titled "Bonus Pay" (Ain't gonna be that way). The first track was "I'm Gonna' Murder My Baby" (2:38), and the second track was "Cheating and Lying Blues" (3:11), an alternate take of the first track. These tracks were not issued until many years later, and then it was on compilations. An introvert when sober, he was married to Dorothy Mae Good, and had 2 daughters and 1 son, but he had a serious problem of/ with alcohol abuse, which, most likely, brought an end to that marriage. On all the recordings of his that I've listed, he used a Sears & Roebuck guitar amp, slightly larger than a cereal box, turned to the max volume, until the speaker screamed, which has been credited as the base of all heavy metal sounds to follow, and he did it with just his fingers with two down-strokes and amp, not with an "effects pedal" that are now used -- remember -- this was done 70 years ago !! The first 2 tracks on his own recording turned out to be a double morbid forecast, as in December of '63, Hare shot and killed his girlfriend, and then shot the policeman who came to investigate. He pled guilty to murder and spent his last 16 years of life in Stillwater Prison in Bayport (near St.Paul). In there he started a band "Sounds Incarcerated". While in prison, he developed lung cancer, from which he pessed away on September 26, 1980. He's buried at Stillwater's Fairview Cemetery in Bayport (near St.Paul). 
Some October Blues Passings:
  • October 6th.,2012 -- Nicholas Michael "Nick" Curran
  • October 17th.,2010 -- Dennis Taylor​
  • October 23rd.,1998 -- Albert Washington
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Joe's Blues Blog

8/27/2024

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Some September Blues Births:
  • September 4th.,1945 -- Daniel "Danny" Wood Gatton
  • September 12th.,1885 -- Gus "Banjo Joe" Cannon​
  • September 20th.,1910 -- Houston Stackhouse, born Houston Goff
Answer To The August 2024 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Cornelius Green III, born December 12, 1928, on the Dugas Plantation (a sugar plantation supplying the Dugas - Le Blanc Sugar and Molasses business, which was located near Donaldsonville, Louisiana, which some sources show as being the town where he was born, incorrectly). He was one of 12 children. He taught himself to play the piano while still in school, but I couldn't find an exact age for that. In 1946, at the age of 18, he moved to New Orleans, where he worked as  a porter at the New Southport Club (a casino), then at a hotel, on to a rice mill, then for a construction company. In '48, he returned to Donaldsonville, and having heard recordings of Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, decided to learn to play the guitar. He took lessons from a cousin, and learned to play his first song, a John Lee Hooker tune called "Boogie Chillun' ". In '53, after working for a period as a truck driver in Jeanerette, Louisiana, he moved to Port Arthur, Texas, to work at the Gulf Oil Refinery. By this time he had gotten more serious about his music and was playing gigs where he could find them, and sometimes, when asked, sitting in with bands at their gigs.  In early '55 he was invited to sit in with the band of Clifton Chenier (the King of Zydeco), the Zydeco Ramblers. Chenier then offered him the second guitarist position, playing next to first guitarist Phillip Walker. Don't know if they, Chenier and Green, knew each other before this, because Chenier also worked at the Gulf Oil Refinery. The band travelled from Louisiana to California, Chicago, and points between. They recorded on the Specialty label in Los Angeles, California on September 8 & 9, 1955 (unissued, except for a single two-sided/song recording, released seperately). In late '55 he married Lillie Mae, quit the Zydeco Ramblers, and moved to Opalousas and began performing with Lloyd Renauld, and writing his own songs. About his marriage: some sources show he and Lillie Mae had 4 children, while other sources show his wife's name as Helen, and them having 7 children. The Lillie Mae part is most likely correct. He recorded a demo tape, and took it to producer J.D. "Jay" Miller. Miller was impressed enough that he recorded Green's debut single, "Leave My Money Alone", with the "B" side being "Lost Without Love", and promptly leased it to Excello Records for release. Miller didn't have a recording studio, so the recordings shown to be done in Crowley were actually done in New Orleans, at J & M Recording Services, a business started in 1945 by 18 year old Cosimo Matassa, in the back of his parents shop, just outside the French Quarter, at 838-840 N. Rampart Street. Before working with Miller, Green had recorded sometime in '56, one track with Clarence Garlow on accordian with others backing, on the Goldband label, in Lake Charles, which is unissued, and one track for Excello, in Crowley, also unissued.  Miller had Green staying in Crowley, which was a "sundown town" at that time. Green was obviously lonesome, and that's possibly why Miller gave him the performing name of "Lonesome Sundown". In sundown towns no non- whites were allowed outside after dark, and the whites were serious about it, enough so that it could get you beat up, shot, jailed, or even hung, and yes, those things happened. There was also no mixed race performing in public after dark allowed either. Miller did use mixed races in his studio bands. That first recording didn't sell all that well, but subsequent ones sold in much better quantities, though none ever charted. Lonesome recorded for/ with Miller for 8 years, up into '64. One of his last recordings was "Hoodoo Woman Blues", described as "the last ethnic downhome blues 45 directly aimed at the Negro market". In '65, three things happened to Lonesome: first, he was fed up with the lack of success he was looking for and quit the business; second, he went through a rough divorce; third, Miller got into a heated argument with the new owners of Excello Records, and they cut off all business with him, pretty much ending Miller's involvment in any more "swamp blues". Lonesome Sundown was gone and Green was back, as a common laborer. He then joined the "Lord Jesus Christ of The Apostolic Faith Fellowship Throughout The World Church", where he eventually became a minister. He did go back into the studio to record an album in '77, "Been Gone Too Long", and a single in '78. He did some appearances and also toured Sweden and Japan with Phillip Walker, then quit the music business for good. In '94, he suffered a stroke, and then couldn't speak. He passed away on April 23, 1995, at the age of 66.
Blues Question For September 2024: This bluesman, another "obscure" artist was a harmonica player and singer. He made his first recordings in 1949, which were never released. Over time, he recorded for 8 different labels in his career. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For September 2024: The song is "Washington Blues", and the artist is Elizabeth"Libba" Cotten. The album was recorded in February of 1965, on Folkways Records, titled " Elizabeth Cotten - Volume 2: Shake Sugaree". Though she was left- handed, she played a right- handed strung guitar UPSIDE DOWN. Those 1965 recordings were released in/ on Folkways Records, in 1967, numbers FTS- 31003 (stereo), and FT-1003 (mono). Just thought the title was "catchy", as is the current atmosphere in Washington, D.C..  
Blues Trivia For September 2024: This is a small part of the notes found and used in researching for the Answer section regarding Lonesome Sundown. Lonesome's birthplace is shown as being "near Donaldsonville", in Rice Parish, in one source, while another, more accurate group of sources show it to be in Ascension Parish. There is no Rice Parish in Louisiana, but there is a rice parish: it's a cajun and/ or creole food featuring rice. There is a Parish Rice, founded by Michael  Fruge, a second- generation rice farmer, in 2019. He, working with the L S U Ag Center for the study of rice, in Crowley, jointly grew a type of rice called Fronteir, which has 53% more protein than other currently available white rices, plus a lower glycemic index. Most have an index of 70, while that for Fronteir is 41. The lower the number, the quicker your body processes the nutrients in foods. Donaldsonville, which is in the Baton Rouge statistical metro area, was where, in 1868, the first African- American mayor was elected, in the U.S.A. -- Pierre Caliste Landry, a former slave. Suffice it to say that if I listed this man's accomplishments, it would be far longer than the above section on Lonesome Sundown. Also in Donaldsonville you'll find one of the oldest synagogues, a wooden building constructed in 1872, by the Congregation Bikur Cholim, which disbanded in the 1940's. It now houses an ACE Hardware store. The local Jewish cemetery, from the 1800's is located at the intersection of St. Patrick Street and Marchand Drive. Remember Cosimo Matassa from earlier?, who started J & M Recordings at 18 years old in 1945. Well, at 28 years old, in '55 it wasmoved to 521-23-25 Gov.Nicholls St, and it was now known as Cosimo Recording Studio. Prior to that it was a wholesale grocery warehouse. After Hurricane Katrina, the property was bought by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. They parted with it and each other in 2016. I've got more on this, but that's enough to give you an idea of just how much really goes into researching this info and the tidbits you run across, which all have to be cross- checked for accuracy. If you can't be sure of something in the records, you have to apply the WAG method (Wild A** Guess).
Some September Blues Passings:
  • September 7th.,1980 -- Blind Arvella Gray, born James Dixon
  • September 17th.,1996 -- Jessie Hill​
  • September 23rd.,1972 -- Calvin H. Frazier
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Joe's Blues Blog August 2024

7/28/2024

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Some August Blues Births:
  • August 2nd., 1914 or 1915 or 1917 -- Walter "Big Walter" Price
  • August 13th., 1942 -- Frank Junior "Son" Seals​
  • August 31st., 1902 -- Liza May "Mae" Alix
Answer To The July 2024 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Robert Williams "Fud" Shaw, born August 9, 1908 (some sources show 1907), in Stafford, Texas, to father Jesse and mother Hettie Shaw. His parents owned a 200 acre farm, raising cattle and hogs as a business. They had a Steinway Grand Piano, and had Robert's sisters take lessons on it. Robert was not permitted to play it, as his father was opposed to that because he wanted the young man to help with the farming work, which Robert did. He said, in a later interview, that he'd crawl under the house to listen to his sister's lessons. He'd play the piano when the rest of the family was away. He'd sneak out and go to any type of music venue in the area, so he could learn more. He said that the first song he learned to play was "Aggravatin' Papa Don't You Try To Two- Time Me". As soon as he could afford to pay for lessons, he found a piano teacher. He finally decided that he wanted to be a musician full- time, much to his father's disapproval. Robert learned the basics of his style of playing in the Fourth Ward, in Houston, which was the center of Black entertainment in the city. That style was called "barrelhouse piano", named after the barrelhouses where the music was played.. the construction of them was with large timbers and thick board walls where kegs of beer and alcohol were kept, though they had to be readily accessable for quick product movement, as refrigeration and pastuerization were somewhat rare at that time period, not to mention Prohibition. That meant that the center had to be kept open, so at the rear of the bare center aisle, in a corner was a slightly elevated platform with a piano on it. The back of the barrelhouse was used as a "bawdy house". Two of the best dance halls in the Fourth Ward were the "El Dorado" and the "Emancipation Park Dance Pavilion". In the '20's Fud was part of the itinerant band called "the Santa Fe Group', because the musicians would hop aboard the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe freight trains to do their tours. Robert played as far north as Chicago, but stayed mostly in Texas and that general area. He appeared as a soloist in Sugarland, Richmond, and in Kingsville during the cotton harvest, then on to Houston, Dallas, and Kilgore. In '32 he headed off to Kansas City, Kansas, to perform at the Black Orange Cafe. In '33 he had a radio show, before he returned to Fort Worth, then on to Austin in '35. That's where he would from then on, call home. While he was living there Robert was playing piano -- and running numbers. Shaw had met Martha Landrum in '36, and on December 22, 1939, they were married. Robert had been married before to a woman known only as "Blanche" (there are no records of her other than that), with whom he had 2 children -- a daughter named Verna Mae, and a son named William. He and Martha had no children.  On the numbers running, a little "nudge" from a judge, plus his marriage to Martha, he straightened up, and switched to a more legitimate pursuit. That's when he opened Shaw's Food Market, along with a barbecue place, at 1000 West Lyons Street, in Clarksville, working "side by side" in partnership with Martha (9/28/1913 -9/16/1997). The locals called it "the "Stop 'n' Swat". That store was the hub of the black community, but it was also a favorite spot of/ for politicians and the college crowd.  In the'50's he moved to a building at 1917 Manor Road, in Austin (now home of "The Salty Sow" restaurant). In the back building where Robert actually lived,he had on old upright piano and he'd go back there to play. That building, now a part of the Salty Sow, is called The Trough, and it's a smaller eatery with small tables, not the fancy style of the front restaurant. Fud did perform at private parties from the mid '30's up into the '70's. In 1960, a Houston- based music historian named Mack McCormick took a job as a census taker because he was so fascinated with the piano traditions in the Fourth Ward. Most of the greats had already passed on, but he heard about Fud Shaw who lived in Austin. Mack easily tracked Shaw down, as everyone knew him from the store.In '62, Robert was named the best Black businessman of the year. In '63, Mack recorded three sessions with/ of Robert, 1 on March 8, 1 on June 10, and 1 on August 9. Using those, Mack put together an L.P., on his own Almanac label, album # 10, with 10 tracks, and an 8 page booklet, titled "Robert Shaw: Texas Barrelhouse Piano". This was on Mack McCormack's "Book and Recording Company" (it's the only record and "book" that the company ever made). It was later re -released on Arhoolie Records L.P. # F1010, with the track order changed, then later on, on an Arhoolie c.d., # 377. In April of '66, Robert performed with Janis Joplin at a blues concert on the University of Texas campus. Due to his "rediscovery" and the recognition he was now getting, Robert travelled to Montreal, Canada, several cities in Germany, and Montreaux, Switzerland. Rod Kennedy, co- founder with his then- wife Nancylee Davis of the Kerrville Folk Festival in '72, booked Shaw for 14 straight years. Shaw said that his main influencers were All Night Jack (couldn't find any info for him), Black Boy Shine (Harold Holiday), Rob Cooper, and "Moanin' " Bernice Edwards. Shaw retired from the grocery business in '74, allowing him to concentrate on his musical career. Sadly, Robert passed on May 16, 1985, in Austin, of a heart attack.
Blues Question For August 2024: This bluesman , like the last 2 in June and July Blogs, also played piano, but he's best known for his guitar work, and he also played harmonica. He recorded a fair amount, but never charted. Because of that, he quit the music business for a period. He did return to it, but never got the recognition he should have. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song (s) And Artist (s) For August 2024: The song is "Someday, After Awhile (You'll Be Sorry), and the artist is Freddie King on vocal and lead guitar, with Fred Jordan on second (rhythm) guitar, Bill Willis on bass, Sonny Thompson on piano, Clifford Scott and Gene Redd on alto and tenor saxes, and Phillip Paul on drums. I was first looking at using the flip side as the song -- it was/ is titled "Driving Sideways", just thinking about how people seem to drive now.  It's an instrumental, but it just didn't capture Freddie's real ability. That was Briarcliff BFI # 45- 1428, Federal # 45- 12518. The side I actually used is Sonic BFI # 45- F807, Federal # 45- 12518. It was written by Sonny Thompson and Freddie. Enjoy !!
Blues Trivia For August 2024: When I looked at the length of what I had planned on using, and it turned out to be longer than the above Answer about Robert Fud Shaw, I scrapped it, but may use the info at a later date. So, this Trivia is going to be off the cuff, but in reference to Shaw's piece, a lot shorter than the originally intended info. In the "Answer" section of the blog, I listed the people Shaw cited as his main influences in/ to his style of play. One of those was Rob Cooper, who was part of the "Santa Fe Group", which was the name given to an itinerant band made up of piano players who hopped on the freight trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. It ran through the Fourth Ward in Houston, and went on, going through to the hill country of the Piney Woods, which gave them access to the bars, night clubs, juke joints and dance halls that were all along that railway. Some other players in the group were Conish "Pinetop" Burks, Andy Boy (Anthony Boyd), Black Boy Shine (Harold Holiday), Black Ivory King (David Alexander), and Buster Pickens (Edwin Goodwin Pickens). Those were the ones I could identify, as there were others. "Moanin" Bernice Edwards played and sang the same style as the "Group" but didn't travel with them, but she did record some duets with Black Boy Shine, and, she too, came out of the Fourth Ward. As you can see, Shaw, with his natural ability, learned from and also taught some while traveling with this group.  Here's the resulting trivia from all of this: Robert Fud Shaw got his entrepreneurial gene from his father who, besides raising cattle and hogs, also owned, just as his son, a market and barbecue joint. After Robert retired from the grocery business, that building housed several businesses, including the Red House Pizzaria, El Gringo, J Mueller's BBQ, and then it became today's Salty Sow.
Some August Blues Passings:

  • August  4th., 2014 -- William Dennis Duranaka, aka "Lynwood Slim"
  • August 11th., 1991 -- Nathan "Nat" Riddle
  • August 26th., 1972 -- Rev. Houston H. Harrington
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Joe's Blues Blog July 2024

6/30/2024

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Some July Blues Births:

  • July 4th.,1910 -- "Champion Jack" Dupree
  • July 17th.,1940 -- Marjorie Ann Johnson, aka "Margie Evans"
  • July 27th.,1897 -- Hattie Burleson
Answer To The June 2024 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is James "Jimmy" Walker, born March 8, 1905, in Memphis, Tennessee. The family moved to the South Side of Chicago when he was three. Somewhere in between then and the '20's, he learned piano. By the early '20's he was good enough to be performing with Lonnie Johnson and Leothus "Lee" Green, aka "Pork Chops" (who was a mentor to Roosevelt Sykes) at local dances and rent parties, along with working outside the music field. He did this from the '20's up into the early '30's. He also worked with "Homesick James (John A. Williamson) in the '30's, '40's, and up into the '50's. In the early '50's he toured with Big Joe Williams, playing club dates through Pennsylvania and Ohio. Around '55 he worked with Elmore James at a couple of clubs, and from '55 through '58 he worked with Billy Boy Arnold. He made his first recordings with Erwin Helfer (a then 28 year old) in 1964, released on the Testament label, L.P.  # T-2202, with seven tracks on each side. While Willie Dixon was on four tracks, all with Helfer, there were four tracks with Jimmy only, and six tracks with Jimmy and Erwin. It was issued on c.d. in 1994, Testament # TCD-5011, with six added tracks, two being alternate takes, and four being new tracks from the same original recording session. An interesting thing is about track # 17. It's titled in most sources as being "Mean and Exit". Almost everyone who lists it that way has used the same "original source", which is often wrong. The correct title, as you have probably already guessed, is "Mean and Evil". The thing about that track is that the vocal on it is by Lillian Walker, Jimmy's wife. All the songs were recorded in '64, in the Walker's basement apartment, in Chicago. Through the '60's and '70's he worked mostly outside the music field, as a janitor in a South Side apartment building. He recorded with Erwin on the Flying Fish label in '74. That was L.P. # 001, with mastering # of 21709, titled "Blues and Boogie-Woogie Piano: Duets and Solo", and it too, had 14 tracks. Besides Jimmy and Erwin, the only others on it were, on various tracks, Sam Lay and Alvino Bennett, both on drums, one drummer on different tracks, of course. In '76, Jimmy recorded on the Sirens label, album # SR-5002, titled "Heavy Timbre - Chicago Boogie Piano". He was still working club dates until he passed away on October 6, 1997, at the age of 92.
Blues Question For July 2024: This is another blues piano man. His father wanted him to work on the cattle ranch he owned. He was self- taught on the piano, and left home in his teens to work as an itierant pianist in juke joints, bordello's (you should know what those were), barrelhouses, and honky- tonks (tonks) in Texas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. At the age of 28 he had his own business in the town he finally settled in. He did do some touring and radio shows. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For July 2024: The song is "Brutal Hearted Woman", and the artist is Johnny Shines. Johnny did the guitar and vocal, with "Big Walter" "Shakey" Horton on harmonica, and Al Smith on bass. It was recorded January 22, 1953, in Chicago, on the J.O.B. Records label, # JOB- 1010, label # u- 2338. Incidentally, "Shoeshine Johnny's" birth name was John Ned Lee Shines Jr., and Big Walter was also known as Shakey Horton, Mumbles Horton, Tangle Eye, Mumbles. The "Shakey" and "Tangle Eye" most likely came from his involuntary movement of his head, caused by his nystagmus illness, and he hated the "Mumbles " moniker. Oh, and by the way, Willie Dixon said that Horton was the best harmonica player that he'd ever heard, bar none!, -- and that's saying something about Horton's ability on/ with the harmonica !!
Blues Trivia For July 2024: While looking at the above Song Of The Month, I noticed that Big Walter Horton was on that recording. Different sources show his birth year as 1917, 1918, or 1921. It's believed that the 1921 is correct, which would make him six years younger than Johnny, who was born in 1915. Walter could play the harmonica by the age of 5. He was self- taught after his father gave him a harmonica as a gift. He quit school at the age of seven. In his early teens, his family moved to Memphis. Johnny said that when you would walk by the house where Walter lived, he'd be sitting on the porch, blowing into tin cans, and getting sounds that you wouldn't believe, out of them. Shines said that he had met Walter in 1930, in Memphis. It's believed that Walter spent a short time in Chicago in '38, possibly already experimenting with an amplified harmonica. Two others were listening to and watching him perform, so they could work on their styles of playing: those would be Little Walter (Jacobs) and Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller). In the '40's he stopped playing harmonica due to health issues, possibly tuberculosis. In that period he worked as a cook, an iceman, and an undertaker. One time, when asked about that last job, he said, in an interview, that "ten minutes after you die, you turn to your natural color-- black". Also in the '40's he gave lessons to Little Walter and James Cotton. In the '50's he returned to recording, his first one being in '51 with Joe Hill Louis. Eddie Taylor invited him to play in Jimmy Reed's band, so he moved from Memphis to Chicago. A couple of weeks after getting to Chicago, he was invited to join Muddy Waters' band, after Junior Wells was drafted into the U.S.Army in late'52. He was with the band only long enough to record one session with them, in January of '53. Horton was fired by Muddy in late '53, because of his drinking (heavy) and his unreliability (not showing up for gigs with the band). Muddy had done some checking, and found out that Horton had been doing solo shows at the times he was supposed to be at a gig with Muddy's band. That, evidently, was the "last straw". He was replaced by a young but inexperienced harmonica player, who did show some promise. That was Henry "Pot" Strong. Now, here's the real trivia part: Strong and his girlfriend lived in the same apartment building that Muddy Waters lived in. Strong, during an argument with his jealous girlfriend, was stabbed by her with a pair of scissors. He died at age 26 (9/1/1928 - 6/3/1954), in the back seat of Muddy Waters' car, on the way to the hospital. 
Some July Blues Passings:

  • July 2nd.,1994 -- Marion W. Williams
  • July 17th.,1984 -- Mary Elizabeth "Bessie" Jones
  • July 26th.,2013 -- John Weldon "J.J." Cale
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Joe's Blues Blog June 2024

5/29/2024

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Some June Blues Births:
  • June 3rd.,1952 -- Louis X. Erlanger
  • June  13th.,1905 -- Lester "Esley" Riddle​
  • June  24th.,1920 -- Lester B. Williams
Answer To The May 2024 Blues Question: The blueswoman we were looking for was/ is Vera Hall, born Adele Vera Hall, on April 6,1902, on a farm in Payneville, Alabama, which is near Livingston, which is the city where some sources show her being born. The family, consisting of father Efron "Zully" Hall, mother Agnes, 2 older sisters, Bessie and Estelle, and a younger brother who died in infancy, lived on the land rented from Will Cobb, in Sumter County. While I'm on the name thing, I'll list some pertinent info. From different sources, these are some things that showed up: first name being spelled Adell; birth name listed as Vera Hall Ward; recording and other listings as Nora Reed: I'll list more on those later in the Blog. Vera learned most of her earliest songs from her parents, mostly their favorite ones, all spirituals. In a later interview, Vera said that her mother was always singing, espacially when cooking or doing the washing, and that her mother was the disciplinarian of the family. During her childhood she attended the Old Shiloh Baptist Church, and that's where she and her singing became known. She would return to that church in the '30's. She also learned songs from Livingston area locals Rich Amerson and Blind Jessie Harris, both blues and folksongs. Hall's family, though "poor" by today's standards, was better off than most in the area, as Ephron (I'm leaving this misspelling here on purpose, as the woman who wrote this particular bit of info spelled it both ways in her article, and she has both a BA and MAT from Livingston University [ now the University of West Alabama], and a PhD in American Literature from the University of Southern Mississippi) owned his own horse and wagon, and the family's farm fed them with vegetables and livestock. It is known that Vera could read and write, but there's no record of a formal education. At the age of 11 she started taking care of children for families in Livingston. While travelling with one of those families in Tuscaloosa she met Nels (some listings show his name as Nash) Riddle, who was a coal miner, in c1917. She was almost 16 at the time of their marriage in 1918. She and Nels had one daughter, Minnie Ada, in 1920. She said, in a later interview with John Lomax, that Nels was shot and killed in a fight in 1923 or '24. After Nel's death she continued to live in Tuscaloosa, working as a cook and washerwoman. Many sources believe that her daughter moved to Livingston to live with Vera's mother. In '40, after the beginnings of the Great Depression, Vera moved back to Livingston to work and be with family. She had met Lomax in '37, so when he recorded her in the late '30's, she got national exposure, as the recordings were for The Library of Congress. All of her recordings were done in Livingston, for several different labels -- she never left Alabama except for one trip to New York City. That trip was done with Alan, John Lomax's son, and Alan's wife, Elizabeth. Vera was scheduled to perform at the Fourth Annual Festival of Contemporary American Music, at the McMillin Theater, at Columbia University (yes, the same Columbia in the news today re: the protests -- my, how times and attitudes have changed!), on Saturday, May 15, 1948, at 8:30 P.M.. Back to her recordings: John Lomax was travelling the Southeast, doing field recordings for the W.P.A.. Ruby Pickens Tartt was chairman of the WPA's Writers Project for Sumter County. Her first assignment in that position was to submit/ document eight full - length spirituals. Those recordings got the attention of Lomax. He went to Sumter County to meet this Dock Reed, who was Vera's cousin. She's on those recordings with Dock, all spirituals, as he believed that all other songs were sinful. She did do some recordings by herself, of secular, folk, and blues when Dock wasn't present. Some of those were Railroad Bill, John Henry, Stagolee, Boll Weevil Blues, Wild Ox Moan, and Another Man Done Gone. That last one is the one she's best known for. Alan wrote a fictional biography of Vera titled "The Rainbow Sign", using stories from Vera that he and his wife had heard about on that trip to New York,  but used the Nora Reed name for her in it. Also, some of the earlier recordings with Dock may have listed her as Nora Reed to save confusion. John Lomax said, about that later interview, that she mentioned that a man named Willie Ward, a railroad worker from Greensboro, wanted to marry her. She also noted that she, Ward, and others frequented an area of Livingston called or referred to as Tin Cup, an area with many juke joints and entertainment venues on Saturday nights. There's been no record of a marriage found, but some sources list her name as Vera Hall Ward. The recordings that she made were on the Library of Congress, Folkways, Atlantic, and Prestige labels. Through the '40's, '50's, and '60's she was active in the Morning Star Baptist Church, which served the Livingston & Tuscaloosa area. She became inactive when, in the '60's, she is said to have lost her eyesight due to an illness. She had entered the Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa, where she passed away on  January 29,1964. She was reportedly buried in the Livingston Negro Cemetery. I found no listing for a cemetery with that name, but I did find one that says she was buried in a cemetery near her beloved Morning Star Baptist Church. A close one is "Myrtlewood", aka Livingston Cemetery, photos of which show a neatly kept location, with many markers, ie headstones, gravestones, wooden crosses, and other markers, the whole place accessed through a large entryway, with 2 iron gates. The actual closest one is the City of Livingston and Morning Star Baptist Church, located at 200-214 Johnson Street, which has a total of 4 headstone records. Pictures of that whole place (6 of them, anyhow) show mowed, trimmed, manicured clearings scattered about, in a wooded area. It shows all sorts of small groups of markers, areas with larger amounts of them: verticals, some flats, statues, and yes, wooden crosses. Most of the crosses are old , probably no readable info on them. Vera's will never be found, as it's been said that her cross marker and others were bulldozed away in the '70's, and this place looks like it could have been done here.
Blues Question For June 2024: This bluesman, born in Memphis, performed for many years before finally recording in the '60's. He learned piano in his teen years and started performing shortly after that. I know that's skimpy info, but would you like to take a shot at who we're looking for ?? 
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For June 2024: The song is "Bed Bug Blues", and the artist is Lightnin' Slim (Otis Hicks). The performers were: Slim on vocals and guitar; Lazy Lester (Leslie Johnson) on harmonica; Roosevelt Samples on drums, and possibly Vince Monroe (real name Willie Monroe Vincent, aka Polka Dot Slim) on percussion. This was the "B" side of Excello # 2173, possibly recorded June 10,1957, in Crowley, Louisiana. The "A " side was "Tomcat Blues", recorded July 6,1956. This side also featured "Guitar Gable" (Gabriel Perrodin) on rhythm guitar. Supposedly the bass player, who is shown as "unknown" may possibly have been Clinton "Fats" Perrodin (Guitar Gable's brother), as he was a studio session player for J.D. "Jay" Miller. That record, # 2173, was released in 1959, though some sources show a 1960 release date. If you look at the actual label on the record, you'll see that writing credit on the "A" side shows as J.West. On the "B" side, the credit shows as West- Hicks. That's the name used by Joseph D. Miller, to get writing credit, and to get his name out in the marketplace for better distribution of the records being pushed. That record, under the #2173, was a 10", 78 RPM vinyl record, with the 45 RPM 7" version being numbered 45-2173.
Blues Trivia For June 2024: This I ran across while researching the above listed recording. The label on the record itself shows, in large print, Excello Record Co. It also shows, around the edge of the label, Nashboro Record Co., which actually owns Excello, was originally started to record gospel music, so Excello was created to record R & B and blues. Not appearing on the label, but showing up in the production records, you'll see "Mastered at Sheldon". In the '50's and '60's it was a mastering, plating, and record pressing business in Chicago. It was owned and operated by Jack Weiner. Besides owning Sheldon and Sheldon Recording Studios, Inc., he was a recording and mastering engineer -- who also worked for Chess.  
Some June Blues Passings:
  • June 8th.,1972 -- James Andrew "Jimmy" Rushing
  • June 17th.,1994 -- Claire Austin​
  • June 27th.,2021 -- Per- Ake Tommy "Peps" Persson
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Joe's Blues Blog May 2024

4/28/2024

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Some May Blues Births:

  • May 1st.,1930 -- Marion Walter Jacobs, aka Little Walter, Little Walter J
  • May 11th.,1895 -- William Grant Stil​
  • May 25th.,1912 -- James Crutchfield
 Answer To The April 2024 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is John Leon T. Gross (couldn't find where/ when the T came along), born in New Orleans on September 14, 1912 (some sources indicate 1916). Just as a point of info, there was another Leon Gross, also a musician. He was a jazz band leader and sax player in Harlem, during the '30's and '40's, but there's not much of his music that was done specifically on records. He and his band can be seen in many films made by or in the black film industry, such as "Swing", "God's Step Children", and "Harlem After Midnight". Back to our Leon -- He was interested in music at a young age, and he learned piano as a child. Though he worked outside the music field, he was good enough by his early teens, to play at local house parties and fraternity houses. I believe that the listings that show him performing at "frat houses", were , most likely, more correctly known as brothels back then. Those "frat" gigs is where he got the Archie-boy nickname, which he later changed to "Archibald", which is how he was known going forward. That's the name he used in recording and live shows. This was through the '20's and '30's. In the '40's he was in the U.S.Army, serving in Bombay, India, during WW II. After he was discharged he returned to New Orleans, where he performed in bars and clubs. He signed with Imperial Records, for whom he recorded 13 songs, between '50 and '52. On his first recording, which he did at Cosimo Matassa's  J & M Studio, he recorded his own version of the true story of the shooting of Billy Lyons by "Stag" Lee Shelton, in St. Louis in 1895. Yes, that song had been recorded by many others, such as Duke Ellington, Ma Rainey, and Mississippi John Hurt. It was released on the Imperial label, Parts 1 and 2, A & B sides, # 5068, a 10" shellac, 78 RPM item. On the actual label the song's title is shown as "Stack - A'Lee, with Leon's name shown as L.T. Gross Sr. Players on that recording were: Leon on piano and vocals, Dave Bartholomew on trumpet (he's also the director of the session), Joe Harris on alto sax, and Clarence Hall on tenor sax. Looking at the session info in another source also shows other musicians Ernest McClean on guitar, Peter "Chuck" Badie on bass, and Thomas Moore on drums on that recording, recorded March 23,1950.  Shortly after its release, in the early summer, it became the # 10 hit on the Billboard R & B Chart, and got national recognition, which none of the earlier versions had achieved. Leon had a long residency at the Poodle Patio Club, but played many other clubs and bars. He played a gig at Nero's Club, Chicago, in '68. He worked with "Smilin Joe'" at The Court of Two Sisters, in New Orleans. He passed away January 8,1973, in New Orleans, of a heart atteck, supposedly caused by many years of alcoholism. He was a strong influence to "Fats" Antoine Domino, Huey "Piano" Smith,  Dr. John (Mac Rebennac), and many others.
Blues Question For May 2024: This blueswoman lived in one area her whole life, outside the music field, though she did sing her entire life. She did recordings (field recordings) in that area. She is known as a gifted singer in the country blues, the Piedmont blues, and folk songs types of music. Listening to her songs is a lesson of the good and the bad things that happen in lives. Not much info for you, but would you like to take a guess as to who she was ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For May 2024: The song is " Something You Ate ", and the artist is Earl Hooker. This was originally recorded/ released on the Cuca label, # KS - 3400, in April of 1967, in Sauk City, Wisconsin, titled " The Genius of Earl Hooker " Also later made available from P-Vine label, out of Japan, # PVCP 8159, in 1998. The only other info I have suggests that he was backed by Jimmy "Fast Fingers" Dawkins on rhythm guitar.
Blues Trivia For May 2024: Some time ago, in a Blog, I covered "Big John" Wrencher, and in another one, Wade Walton. In the story on Wade, I said he was professionaly, a barber. His shop was named "Big Six", and was the center of the blues music info and people in the area. From this point, it's all trivia. The shop started out at 304 Fourth Street. It moved to 317 Issaquena Avenue in 1989, which, incidentally, earlier, was the site of W.C.Handy's house. Wade was active in the NAACP during that time and had his shop bombed because of it. Don't know which address that happened at, but no injuries reported, that I could find. Wade's shop was a gathering place and barber shop of/ for bluesmen, like Howlin" Wolf, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy II, and many others. It's also where Big John Wrencher had a heart attack and died. Wade was good with the harmonica, guitar, and razor strop (he'd strike a rhythm on that with the back edge of his razor), and some of those in-shop sessions were recorded. Also, Big John Wrencher was born in Sunflower, Mississippi. Other notables born there are Matthew Tyler "Matt Guitar" Murphy and Jerry Butler. Erroneously, "Little" Milton Campbell is shown born there also, but he was born in Sunflower COUNTY, in the town of Inverness.
Some May Blues Passings:
  • May 3rd.,2010 -- Joseph Roy Carrier
  • May 20th.,1985 -- Johnny Fuller;

  • May 24th.,2008 -- James Harrell "Jimmy" Mc Griff
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Joe's Blues Blog April 2024

4/1/2024

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Some April Blues Births:

  • April 3rd.,1906 -- Walter G. "Fats" Pichon
  • April 13th.,1926 -- Cosimo Vincent Matassa
  • April 26th.,1924 -- Saul "Sol" Rabinowitz
Answer To The March 2024 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Oscar W. Wills, born February 10, 1916. I had stated in the March Blog that he was born in Texas or Louisiana: both are true, as he was born in the upper part of Bethany, an unincorporated community in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, while the southern part of Bethany is in Panola County, Texas, so, yes, he could claim either or both. By the way, the original name of Bethany was Vernon, which was named after the minister who founded the 56 member church. That name change was c1852. Oscar is best known as T.V.Slim, a name Stan Lewis of Stan's Music Shop of Shreveport, gave him because he was so thin. When I started to collect info on Oscar,, I quickly realized that there is far more on him than there was on Tony Hollins in the March 2024 Blog, so I decided to just hit some of the highlights on Slim. Oscar's main job was radio and t.v. repair, but he did have the basic recording and record pressing equipment, in the back part of his shop. He put a band together to back him: they were called T.V.Slim and The Heartbreakers. That consisted of Slim on vocals,, Mighty Joe Young on guitar, Eddie Williams on piano, and Jimmy White on drums. Their first recording was on Slim's own label, Speed Records, # 6863, in 1955, the song titled "The Fight". In 1957, Mira Ann Smith, owner of RAM Records (Royal Audio Music, which she started in'55), set up a new label, Clif Records, in partnership with Cliff Hagen. The label recorded an up-beat song, "Flat Foot Sam", # 103, featuring T.V.Slim and The Heatbreakers. It was regionally successful, which sparked interest from Leonard Chess for the Checker label. Some other songs of Slim's that are interesting are "Don't Reach Cross My Plate", "Flat Foot Sam Met Jim Dandy", and "T.V.Man". Slim travelled extensively, performing at gigs where he could book them. He'd have a limited number of records pressed to sell at his shows, by small, local labels, all over the country. There is no list of these, as the runs were so small, they were never tracked. Since they are so rare, they are highly valued by collectors, meaning that they can be VERY EXPENSIVE. If you just want the main recorded songs by him, there's a c.d., on the Official label, # 5660, put together and released in 1999, out of Denmark, featuring 31 tracks. Slim was killed in a car crash, on Route 66, just outside of Kingman, Arizona, while on his way to his Los Angeles home after playig a gig in Chicago, on October 21,1969. If you're interested in learning more about him, just do a little digging-- you'll be amazed. He was an excellent singer and songwriter, of Blues, R & B, and up-tempo playful songs.
Blues Question For April 2024: This bluesman , though relatively unknown, influenced many of the "big names' who followed in his footsteps. He only recorded 13 songs, between 1950 and 1952, but continued to perform live shows until his passing. Any idea as to who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For April 2024: The song is "Evil Ways", and the artist is Otis Spann. The personnel on this recording are Otis on piano and vocal, and Robert Lockwood Jr. on guitar. The song was written by St. Louis Jimmy Oden. Originally recorded and released on the Barnaby Records label, # KZ 31290, in 1972. Released later on Candid c.d., # CCD 79025.
Blues Trivia For April 2024: In the late '40's and into the '50's, many of the artists were credited on the label of the record under their own name, or one that they would use to get around other contracts. T.V. Slim's recording for Clif Rcords, for instance, gave writing credit to Clara Wills, most probably Slim's wife. When larger record companies agreed to sell those types of small companies records, for example Chess / Checker, they insisted on having 2 names on the writers credit on the record's label, the original writer and a second name, someone known in the industry, to make sure that it got a larger ciculation. If you look at some of those old record's labels, you'll notice that. And yes, it's all trivia.
Some April Blues Passings:
  • April 6th.,2000 -- Richard "Rich" Trice, aka Little Boy Fuller
  • April 11th.,2011 -- Lacy Gibson​
  • April29th.,1935 -- Leroy Carr, aka Blues Johnson
Note from Joe:

​Just on a personal note, my wife and I were on "Covid Quarantine" for 15 days, placed in a different apartment, with no access to anything to research this, along with our original room being treated for bedbugs, thanks to a resident on the floor above us. So, all in all, we were locked out of everything for 19 days total, hence the brevity of this month's Blog. Did the best I could in a very shortened time. Hope this finds all in good shape, enjoying the mild winter this year !!     
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Joe's Blues Blog March 2024

2/26/2024

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Some March Blues Births:
  • March 4th.,1908 -- Thomas Edgar "Tom" Shaw
  • March 15th.,1906 -- Manual "Manny" Nichols​
  • March 31st.,1944 -- Michael Geoffrey "Mick" Ralphs
Answer To The February 2024 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Tony Hollins, born June 25, 1909, in Mississippi, just not sure where. Some sources showing him being born in Clarksdale (Coahoma County), while other sources show it as Octibbeha County, with the city being Starkville (the county seat), neither of which I could confirm. Most sources show him being raised at / on Lucky's Plantation, which was supposedly near Clarksdale. Checking both of those counties, and a past/ current list of Mississippi plantations, I find no listing of a Lucky's anywhere. I couldn't find any info on where, how, or when he learned to play guitar, but it had to be when he was fairly young, as he was dating John Lee Hooker's sister Alice in the '20's. John Lee's actual birth year has never been truly found, but it's shown, in different places, as being in 1912, 1915, 1917, 1920, and 1923. Since Tony taught John Lee how to play when he was dating Hooker's sister, the correct year might be 1917, or maybe all the dates for both men are wrong. Reportedly the songs Tony taught him were "Crawling King Snake" and "Catfish Blues". A  contemporary of Tony's around that time was Tommy McClennan. If you're familiar at all about the early blues recordings, you know that one artist might have done the original recording, and others would like to record the song, so they'd change a few words or one chorus of it, record and sell it as their own. One of those was "Cross Cut Saw", which Tony recorded on the OKeh label, in Chicago, on June 13, 1941, which wasn't released at that time, but was years later. On September 15, 1941, Tommy McClennan recorded it for Bluebird Records, # 8897 A, at the RCA Studio A, also in Chicago. That recording session for Tony netted him nothing, since nothing was released. Disgusted with the music field, he went back to Clarkdale and resumed his old job as a barber. He served in the U.S. Army c 1943- 1945. In '52 he went back to Chicago when asked to record with Sunnyland Slim (Albert Laundrew). It's been reported that Tony passed away in Clarksdale in '57, while other sources show him passing in Chacago in '59. I couldn't verify either.
Blues Question For March 2024: This bluesman was born in Texas or Louisiana. No references as to how or when he learned/ started playing, but his stated influences on harmonica were DeFord Bailey and both Sonnyboy's, and on guitar was Guitar Slim (Eddie Jones). He also wrote many songs, and moved around quite a bit, performing and/ or recording. Stan Lewis, of Stan's Music Shop, in Shreveport, Louisiana,  gave him his "stage name". Any idea as to who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For March 2024: The song is "Hard Day Blues", and the artist is Muddy Waters. This was recorded on the Testament label, # T2207, "B" side, cco # 4653-1, on September 27, 1946, and was unissued at that time. The artists on it were: Muddy on guitar and vocal, James Clark on piano, Homer Harris on rhythm guitar, Ransom Knowling on bass, and Judge Riley on drums. There's another version titled "Hard Days", recorded for/ on the Aristocrat label, # U7152, on November 30, 1948, in Chicago. On it the artists were: Muddy on vocals and guitar, Leroy Foster on rhythm guitar, and Ernest "Big" Crawford on bass, unissued at the time, but released by the Chess label, on LP # 6641, in January of '74.

(Editor's Note: While this is the song Joe shares with us, I'm not sure it is the specific version mentioned.) 
Blues Trivia For March 2024: You should have noted in the preceding section the mention of the Aristocrat label.You're probably thinking that you're not familiar with it, but you are, just under the replacement name. This entire section is trivia, not just one item, so here we go. The original company was officially launched on April 10, 1947, by Charles Aron and his wife, Evelyn, with partners Fred and Mildred Blount, and Art Spiegel, though none of the partners took any leadership roles in the business. By June of '47, they became interested in recording Rhythm & Blues artists, so they hired talent scout Sammy Goldberg. Aristocrat's actual recordings were done by/at Universal Recording Corp., 20 N Wacker Dr., 7121 Ridge Ave., Chicago. By September of '47, Leonard Chess, proprietor of the neighborhood bar and after- hours joint, the Macomba Lounge (3905 South Cottage Grove) had invested money in the company and was involved in the sales end of the company. In the BILLBOARD published on October 11, 1947, he was listed as a new addition to the "sales staff". Basically, that meant he was "wholesaling" Aristocrat's products out of his car's trunk (a Buick), as many others were doing the same with other recordings from other labels. Then Leonard increased his share of the company by buying out the Brounts. Then his brother Phil, bout out Spiegel. In '48, when the Aron's separated, Leonard and Evelyn Aron ran the company. On December 16,1949, Evelyn married Art Sheridan, and left to start another company, American Distributing. The Chess brothers bought out her remaining shares, and thus became the sole owners. On June 3, 1950, the brothers changed the company name to Chess Records, started a new numbering system, as Aristocrat's system had been a mess. They started with number 1425, the address of their early childhood home on South Karlov Street, in Chicago. When they started issuing LP's in '57, they used the same 1425 as the first one. In '47 when Sammy Goldberg was doing the recruiting, one artist he signed for future recordings was Sunnyland Slim. In '48, having heard Sunnland at the Macomba, Leonard wanted to record him, as he believed that he would be a big success. Sunnyland called a guitarist he knew, and they were scheduled to record on the same day. That guitarist was Muddy Waters. Aristocrat did 292 recordings in the three years they existed, on an almost non-existant funding situation. Some of the recordings have yet to be found, but they're still being hunted.
Some March Blues Passings:
  • March 4th.,1933 -- "Blind" Willie Walker
  • March 13th.,1985 -- Robert "Bob" Shad, born Abraham Shadrinsky​
  • March 19th.,1976 -- Paul Francis Kossoff 
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Joe's Blues Blog Feburary 2024

1/30/2024

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Some February Blues Births:
  • February 4th.,1954 -- Curtis Salgado
  • February 13th.,1919 --  John Lee Henley, aka John Lee​
  • February  25th.,1912 -- Arthur "Big Boy" Spires
 Answer To The January 2024 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is John Wesley "Shortstuff" Macon, aka Mr. Shortstuff, born 1923 (could not find the exact date), in Shuqualak (pronounced "sugar lock"), halfway between Columbus and Meridian, Mississippi, and is only 1.13 square miles in area, population in last census - 399. His parents were father Albert Macon and mother Louvenia Hall. He taught himself guitar by the age of 9. He worked outside the music field around Shuqualak and Crawford area (24 to 25 miles apart), but did play some parties into the '60's. In '64 & '65 he performed, toured, and/ or recorded with his cousin, Big Joe Williams out in the West Coast area and in New York City. He then returned to the South, working outside the music field, into the '70's. In '71 Chris Strachwitz, owner of Arhoolie Records, made a recording of John, with some friends backing him: "Big" Joe Lee Williams on vacals & guitar, Austen Pete on vocals & guitar (also 2nd. guitar behind Big Joe), of course, John on vocals and "rattling" guitar, Glover Lee Connor on vocals, and Amelia Johnson on vocals. Those recordings were released on c.d. # 9015, titled "Going Back to  Crawford". It has 26 tracks on it, done on different dates: track #'s 20 through 26 cMarch, 1971, with tracks 1 through 19 recorded May 21, 1971. John entered Noxubee County Hospital, where he passed away from heart problems, on December 28, 1973. Here's where it gets a little confusing. Most records show him being buried in the Cross Road Cemetery, in Starkville, Mississippi. There are 42 cemeteries in Starkville, none named Cross Road Cemetery. Further hunting found a listing for John Wesley Macon being buried in the Lebanon Methodist Church Cemetery, in Sessums, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi. That listing shows his death date as being December 26, 1973. Also shown in that listing is  a picture of him on the cover of the "MR. SHORTSTUFF" album, on the Spivey label. 
Blues Question For February 2024: This bluesman, a bit obscure, but no less important than many others who helped fledgling blues players get their basics from. He was the main influence to one who went on to become a headliner. He did some recording, and wrote some songs that are now blues standards that you'd be familiar with. Any idea who this bluesman might be ?? 
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For February 2024: The song is "Flood Water Blues", and the artist is Alonzo "Lonnie" Johnson, recorded in New York City for Decca Records, matrix # 91341, on November 18,1937. I picked this one, recorded 87 years ago, because it speaks of weather and it's consequences, similar to what is happening today in parts of the U.S.A. and other countries. 
Blues Trivia For February 2024: Phillip Walker was a youngster when he started to play the "guitar", made with a cigar box and pieces of wire he snuck out of the window screens. When he was 15 his friends urged him to wear a fake mustache to get into the clubs, parties, juke joints, and anywhere else where he could get in to listen or, even sit in, with the bands. He made his first recording in '52, when he was 17, as a sideman with Roscoe Gordon. He also worked frequently with Cornelius Green III, aka "Lonesome Sundown", born in Louisiana. Phillip, also born in Louisiana, played that southern circuit where he developed sinus problems. He'd been to Los Angeles when he was 16 in '53, and said he always felt better there -- sunshine, clean air (this was in the late '40's early '50's) beautiful sights of the sea, etc, so he moved to the West Coast in '59. He mostly played R & B sites and gatherings, but had, by then, become very proficient with the guitar, harmonica, and piano, so he also played jazz, pop, R & R, Cajun, and blues. When he played R & B, he did guitar and vocals with Ina Beatrice "Bea Bopp" Walker (nee Gilkey). They were married in '63. She wrote or co-wrote a lot of his songs, still singing lead when they performed. His skills were finally getting some recognition, enough so that he was teaching others guitar. The trivia part here is that one of his "students" was a young man wanting to be a bluesman. That young man is now 70, you know his name : Robert Cray. Also, one of the early bands he travelled, recorded, and performed with for two years was Clifton Chenier. It was Chenier who gave him his first real guitar. 
Some February Blues Passings:
  • February 2nd.,1975 -- Herman E. Johnson
  • February 15th.,1981 -- Michael "Mike" Bernard Bloomfield​
  • February 22nd.,2001 -- John Aloysius Fahey
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Joe's Blues Blog anuary 2024

12/30/2023

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First off, we hope you and yours all had a merry and happy holiday season to usher in this new year. By the way, have any of you blues fans seen the Jack Daniel's commercial with a quick shot of Alligator Records artist Kingfish, as he is an up and comer who already has numerous awards and credits to his name ? Check him out !
Some January Blues Births:
  • January 2nd.,1903-- Elizabeth North Johnson, aka Mabelle Allen /Hattie North
  • January 12th.,1941-- Long John Baldr 
  • January; on the 30th.,1957-- Janiva Magness
Answer To The December 2023 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Lewis "Rabbit" Anderson Muse, born May 11, 1908, in Rock Mount, Virginia. His father, Bro Muse and his mother, Lillie Anderson, were both musicians; his father on guitar, tenor banjo, and piano and his mother on accordion, so he was around music very early in his life. By the time he was 12, he was performing in the family band, playing one of these instruments: flute, guitar, kazoo, but mostly ukulele, which was his favorite, his parents on one of their instruments, and a cousin on washboard completed the band. They played for local picnics, parties, and fairs. He was talented enough that he also performed as a dancer, singer, and comedian, besides on instruments, with hillbilly groups, minstrel shows, and bands passing through the area. He worked outside the music field in the Rock Mount - Roanoke area through the '20's. In the '30's he worked with a band he started, and also as an individual, throughout Virginia and North Carolina, at fairs and local dances. As a single performer he played at hospitals, and  radio shows. A lot of those gigs were played for free, just to make people feel better while they were recovering. He also was working as a day laborer to pay the bills. Around '40, he married Nellie and had children. Throughout his adult life he did a considerable amount of charity work, usually tying to help raise funds for one cause or another. He got that "Rabbit" nickname in his youth when he played baseball. He recorded 2 albums; one was recorded in '75, released in '76-- "Muse Blues", #STLP 1005, the other in '77-- "Sixty Minute Man", #STLP 1010, both recorded on the Outlet Records label.  He said his main influences were Cab Calloway and Bessie Smith, and most of his recordings were covers of songs that those two did originally.The only song that Rabbit wrote himself is "Cincinnati Shout". All of his songs are on youtube. He passed away August 27, 1982, of myocardial infarction (heart attack), in Roanoke, Virginia.
Blues Question For January 2024: This bluesman is all but unknown, but he has a cousin who is well known. Sometimes he's straight blues, but he's also called a "blues shouter". He frequently worked with his cousin, but also with some other "unknowns". Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For January 2024: The song is "Aimlessly Driftin' ", and the artist is Chuck Berry. This is off the album titled "Bio", from 1973, Chess Records # CH50043. The artists on it are: Chuck on lead guitar and vocal, supported by some members from the Elephant's Memory Band: Adam Ippolito on keyboards, Gary VanScyoc on bass, Wayne "Tex" Gabriel on guitar, Stan Bronstein on sax, and Rick Frank on drums. It was recorded in New York City and in St. Louis, Missouri, that's the album- not just this song.
Blues Trivia For January 2024: The blues is a big thing-- it's all over the world, but it's amazing how closely some of it is connected to the overall picture, especially in the past generations. Ever heard of Mathis Matthew Jacobs ? Maybe you've heard of him under his performing name-- "Boogie Jake" ?, born in Marksville, Louisiana. At a young age he learned to play piano and guitar. His biggest influence was Otis Hicks, aka "Lightnin' Slim", who was born in St. Louis, though his draft card and prison records from the Louisiana State Penitentiary show his birthplace as being Good Pine, Louisiana. Boogie Jake recorded with James Moore, aka "Slim Harpo". Moore's birthplace was Lobdell, Louisiana. According to Cub Koda, an instrumental by Moore, titled "Moody Blues", was what the Moody Blues Band was named after, but another source said that they took their name from Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo".  Hicks, who was married to Moore's sister Lovelle, often performed with Moore, as they worked gigs together. At different times all three recorded for the Excello label in Crowley, Louiaiana. The only one who Jake performed with was his own cousin, a musician named Marion "Little Walter" Jacobs, who was also born in Marksville. Just a collection of trivia bits.
Some January Blues Passings: 
  • January 1st.,1995-- Ted Hawkins
  • January 14th.,1992-- "Left Hand Frank" Craig
  • January 29th.,2004-- Soko Richardson. 
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Joe's Blues Blog December 2023

11/29/2023

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Some December Blues Births:
  • December 5th.,1910 -- Luther Henry Huff
  • December 14th.,1902 -- Viola Gertrude Wells, aka Miss Rhapsody and/ or Viola Underhill​
  • December 25th.,1946 -- L.V. Johnson (nephew of Elmore James)
Answer To The November 2023 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Iverson Minter. First, I'm going to give you some of his aka's: Iverson Bey, Cryin' Red, Playboy Fuller, Richard Lee Fuller, Alabama Sam, Sugarman George, Robert Lee Fuller, Guitar Red, Elmore James Jr., Rockin' Red, Walkin' Slim, among many others, and the one he's mostly known by -- Louisiana Red. That was the easy part, so now I need to fix that: some sources show him being born on March 23,1936, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, but I believe that that location is where he was put in an orphanage by an aunt when  he was 5. His mother died when he was a week old, and his father was lynched by the Ku Klux Clan, supposedly in Tupelo, in 1937, but another source shows that happening in 1941. Most other sources show him being born on March 23,1932, in Bessemer, Alabama. The 1936 date seems more likely to be the correct one, which fits  into other info about his life, but the 1932 Bessemer location might be correct, but showing the wrong year. One source showed him living with a grandmother in New Orleans, before being sent to the orphanage, which looks to be totally incorrect. Multiple other sources show him leaving the orphanage and going to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to live with his grandmother and an uncle. At 16, he lied about his age and joined the Army, which sent him to Korea for the Korean War. One source shows him in a labor battalion, but others show him being in the U.S. Army's Air Force, as an Airborne member. Since he was in a reformatory around 1950, the 1936 birth date would correspond to his being 16 and in the Korean war, which took place from 1950 to 1953. While he lived at his grandmothers, he taught himself how to play the harmonica. In the mid - '40's he learned guitar, and was good enough at it that he played in the streets for pennies. He had gotten better at it and had some luck sitting in at local bars/ clubs in Pittsburgh, where, one night Muddy Waters invited him up on stage to sit in. From out of that he would also work with other big names, such as John Lee Hooker and Jimmy Reed. After he'd come back from Korea, he kept working small gigs end did some recordings with the big names of that time. This is when a lot of those "aka's" were used in an effort to hit on a good moniker to get him the recognition he wanted. He recorded his first album, "Lowdown Back Porch Blues", in 1963, with Tommy Tucker (remember his hit with " High Heel Sneakers"?). His second album, "Seventh Son", was also released that year. In '64 he released the single "I'm Too Poor to Die" on the A-side (#GP1014, with the B-side being "Sugar Hips", #GP-1015) on/ for the Glover label. He would go on to record more than 50 albums.  Also in '63 he married Ealase. They had 3 children before Ealase died from cancer in '73. In '77 he married Odetta (Holmes), a singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and civil rights activist. Odetta said that they were "companions", not saying they were actually married. In '83 they split, so Red could move to Germany to further pursue the betterment his career. He moved to Hanover (German spelling is Hannover). In '84 he married Dora, a German - Ghanaian woman. She took over managing his career. She had 2 sons, and Red adopted them. The new family then lived togther in Hanover. Over there he got the recognition he should have had here. Sadly, he passed away February 25, 2012, in Hanover. NOTE: If you look up "Louisiana Red" on/ in Wikipedia, drop down to the footnotes list and look at # 16 -- "Louisiana Red Documentary" -- YouTube. Click on the words in parentheses in that entry; it's a 67 minute video of Red and others, shot in Germany and the U.S.A.. It'll give you a better idea of the man himself, and of how talented he was with a slide guitar, and his ability to instantly write a song about whatever was going on around him at that time, or in answer to someone's question. 
Blues Question For December 2023: This almost unheard of bluesman developed an interest in music as a result of his father taking him to a minstrel show when he was twelve. His father and mother were both musicians. He learned to play flute, guitar, kazoo, and ukulele.  Any idea who this "reclusive" bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) and Artist(s) For December 2023: The song is "Christmas Morning Blues", and the artist is John Lee "Sonny Boy I" Williamson. It was recorded on December 17 ,1938, in the Leland Hotel in Aorora, Illinois. It features Sonny Boy on vocals and harmonica, and most likely Speckled Red (Rufus Perryman) on piano, Willie Hatcher on mandolin, and Robert Lee McCoy on guitar. It was recorded on the Bluebird label, # B-8094. I was going to do 2 songs here, this one and 1 for New Years, but decided to let you pick your own for the latter.
Blues Trivia For December 2023: When I watched the video I listed in Louisiana Red's story, there's a short session with Sam Carr (a drummer) on Sam's porch, in rural Mississippi. Looked up a little more on Sam, and found he was born as Samuel Lee McCollum. Looking at the above song, you'll notice that the guitarist shown is Robert Lee McCoy, who was born as Robert Lee McCollum. Turns out he was Sam Carr's father. You are most likely, though, to know him as Robert Nighthawk. I haven't yet found any "family history" on Nighthawk, but I did find that Sam, born April 17,1926 (which would have made Nighthawk 17 years old at the time) was adopted as a toddler by the Carr family, and lived on their farm, near Dundee,Mississippi. Sam took their surname. Sam was known for his minimum drum kit, which was made up of a snare drum, bass drum, and a high - hat cymbal. He was a member of the Jelly Roll Kings, which consisted of himself, Frank Frost on keyboard and harmonica, and Big Jack Johnson on guitar. Sam also performed and/ or recorded with many others. It's all trivia !
Some December Blues Passings:
  • December 8th.,1986 -- Michael Leonard Mann, aka Hollywood Fats
  • December 18th.,1933 -- Jim Jackson​
  • December 28th.,2011 -- Larry James Hamilton
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Joe's Blues Blog November 2023

10/26/2023

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Some November Blues Births:

  • November 6th.,1949 -- Aurora "Rory" Block
  • November 14th.,1954 -- James Anson Funderburgh
  • November 26th.,1965 -- Bernard Allison
Answer To The October 2023 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is John Lee Henley, born February 13,1919, on a farm near Canton, Mississippi. His grandfather was a preacher and his father was a cotton farmer, and that's most likely where he was born. As a youngster he taught himself harmonica and he would eventually play with local musicians at suppers, parties, dances, and other country functions around Canton through the 1930's on into the early '40's, sometimes with Buddy Cobbs. He moved to Chicago in '43, to work outside the music field. In '45 he sat in with the Muddy Waters group at the Purple Cat. John Lee was influenced by two harpists he'd met  -- both Sonny Boys (I & II). Sonny boy II encouraged him to do some recording, which he did with different people. One of those was Arthur "Big Boy" Spires, on the Chance label in '53, which turned out to be between July of '52 to October of '53.  A little more digging shows that he also recorded for the J.O.B. Records label, where the dates are a little more confusing. The J.O.B. label was started in '49 by a businessman (and former boxer) Joe Brown and James "Saint Louis Jimmy" Burke Oden. Supposedly the J.O.B. was a transposed version of Jimmy's initials. The numbering of theirs started with 101 through 117, from '49 to early '51. Then the numbering changed to 1001 through 1016, then went from 1101 through 1127. The "fly in the ointment" here is that # 1004 is shown prefixed to read JB1004. More on that later, in the Trivia section. Back to John Lee -- his recording was # 114, showing the writer and musician as John Lee, leaving the Henley name off. It shows in some listings as being done "c1952". On that recording, the A- side song is "Rhythm Rockin' Boogie", the B-side song is "Knockin' On Lula Mae's Door, with John Lee on harp and vocals, with, to my surprise, Robert Lockwood Jr. on guitar, Johnny Holloway on guitar (probably rhythm), Moody Jones on bass, Sona Sago (shown on the A side) and Allan Williams (shown on the B side, both being the same man) on drums. John Lee worked as a sit- in with many locals in different clubs in Chicago through the '50's. In '64 he worked the Fickle Pickle with Big Joe Williams. He also recorded for the Testament label in '64 - a single, and again for them in '66, that session being released as a complete album. However, he mostly worked outside the music field through the '60's. He passed away in Chicago on March 12,1995.  Most all of his recordings can be found on compilations or Youtube. 
Blues Question For November 2023: This bluesman was born in Mississippi, or possibly Alabama: he gave both places as being correct, at different times. Depending on what source you're looking at, he was born in either 1932 or 1936. He lived and/ or performed in most of the states east of and including Illinois, south to the Gulf Coast. Spent some time in a reformatory and in the U.S.Army Air Force. Settled in Germany. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For November 2023: The song is "Going Back Home", and the artist is Travis Leonard Blaylock, aka "Harmonica Slim". This was recorded in 1954 on the Spry label, #103, and was the B side. The A side song was "Thought I Didn't Love You", both with Slim on harp and vocals, with Lloyd Glenn on piano. He was the pianist in Lowell Fulson's band. 
Blues Trivia For November 2023: This all pertains to the J.O.B., JOB, and JB labels. First, the JB- prefixed recording shows being done by an independent in Chicago, which is false. It was out of Louisiana, shown in the discography of J.O.B. records as JB1004. Turns out that was a recording featuring twelve year old Roy Sneed with the Sneed Family Band, and was a country- western recording. Now, the plain JOB story, which gets a little convoluted in the "how it came to be" category. The discography for the JOB label also showed the #1004, without prefix letters. Here we go: in 1923 WGAQ radio of Shreveport, Louisiana, contacted William Kennon Henderson Jr. (8-6-1880/5-28-1945), a well-to-do businessman from Bastrop, for help in replacing their low wattage transmitter with one more powerful. In '25 Henderson bought the station, re-named it's call letters to KWKH, using his initials, and added a 50,000 watt transmitter. He was outspoken about the government trying to control the airwaves (sound familiar?), and about the big chain stores and radio conglomerates. After some years fighting with the government, they cancelled his broadcasting license. That, along with the results of the Great Depression, forced him to declare personal bankruptcy, and he sold the station in '32. From that time forward the station changed ownership several times (it's still in existence and transmitting, although on a different frequency than was originally used).In '47, they brought in Ray Bartlett, for several different jobs, such as morning announcer, disc jockey, and as m.c. for the newley started "Louisiana Hayride" (it's first broadcast was April 3,1948). One of the shows that Bartlett did was "Groovie's Boogie", voicing it like a jive-talking d.j., "Groovy Boy", who played blues and R & B records. They had a Groovie's Record Department in the Hull Furniture Store. He had Elvis first perform on the show in'54, with the last time being in '56. That one hour show spot was sponsored by Stan's Record Store, located at 728 Texas Street, at the corner of Common Street. According to records, all the JOB recordings were done at the J & M Record Shop, shown at 728 Texas Street.Both the JOB Records and the J & M Record Shop were shown at that address. The original Stan's start-up location there was an 8' by 12' store that Stan Lewis, 21 years old at the time, and his wife Pauline bought for $2,500 in 1948. Eventually, they bought the next storefront (same building) and expanded. Later on they would own the entire block. That eventually grew to six retail stores. What records I could find indicate that only four sides were recorded on the JOB label. They were JOB #'s 100 and 105, supossedly in "50 and '51, the length of time JOB existed. By the way, 728 Texas Street is now a parking lot, as is the whole block. As they say "progress and s--t happens".
Some November Blues Passings:
  • November 8th.,1968 -- James "Ko Ko Mo" Arnold, aka "Gitfiddle Jim"
  • November 18th.,1940 -- Joshua Altheimer

  • November 27th.,1993 -- Lum Guffin
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Joe's Blues Blog October 2023

9/26/2023

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Some October Blues Births:
  • October 1st.,1910 -- Cary Tate
  • October 17th.,1929 -- Ernestine Jermany, aka Tina Mayfield (Percy's wife)​
  • October 26th., of either 1937 or 1938 -- John Henry "Jabo" Starks
Answer To The September 2023 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Johnie Lewis, born to parents Jimmie and Roxane, sharecroppers, on October 8, 1908, on a farm near Eufaula, Alabama. He was raised there up to 14 years old, when he left home to work different jobs in Alabama and Georgia, as the state line is only a short distance from Eufaula. He taught himself guitar in the late '20's, but continued to work outside the music field. In the '30's, still working at whatever job he could find, he was playing at house parties throughout the South. By '33 he was married, and was working as a house painter after, on a whim, he bought a paint brush. Shortly after that he moved to Chicago with some encouragement from relatives who lived there. After the move, he started doing house painting again, and he'd gotten good enough at it that he was getting referrals for it. One of those was for the Cokliss family, who had a son, Harley. When he and Harley met, and Harley heard his guitar playing and singing, he told Johnie that he was making a movie about blues in Chicago. He featured Johnie in his film, "Chicago Blues", which was filmed in 1969 (though some sources show it as 1972). That film role got Johnie the recognition he deserved, and led to Chris Strachwitz, founder/ owner of Arhoolie Records, to record him. Chris did so on August 13,1970, as the supervisor, 12 tracks, and again on January 9,1971, with Charlie Musselwhite as the supervisor, 6 tracks. In 1971, Arhoolie Records released an album, #1055, with 6 tracks from the '71 session (one with Charlie Musselwhite - "My Little Gal", on harmonica), on the "A" side, and 6 tracks on the "B" side from the '70 session. In '97, Arhoolie released a c.d. with all 18 tracks on it - #ACD 9007. On the c.d., Johnie plays harmonica on track #13, and kazoo on track #14, and guitar and vocals on all. Johnie (sometimes shown as Johnnie) passed away on October 6,1992, in Chicago. Some say that his playing and singing were average, which, in some ways, is true, BUT this is how the real blues sounded to most folks in it's early days -- primitive, raw, telling life's stories as they were, even without an amp !!
Blues Question For October 2023: This bluesman is a "sideman" who only recorded/ released 2 songs under his own name, but is on many other artist's recordings, though sometimes uncredited. When you start digging, you'll find him not only on many of the big names of the blues recordings, you'll also find him performing with them at their live gigs. If you haven't heard of him, I won't be surprised. Any faint idea who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For October 2023: The song is "20% Alcohol", and the artist is Joseph Benjamin "J.B." Hutto. It's from Delmark Records #DS 617, titled "J.B.Hutto and His Hawks-- Featuring Sunnyland Slim -- Hawk Squat". The Hawks were J.B. on lead guitar and vocals, Lee Jackson on rhythm guitar, Sunnyland Slim on either piano or organ, Junior Pettis on bass, and Frank Kirkland on drums. I thought that since the Bluesman Johnie Lewis was in the basic Alabama slide guitar, rough but good, that I should give you the same raw, imperfect, sometimes off key recording of a live performance in the true Chicago electric blues, so -- ENJOY ! (and learn)   
Blues Trivia For October 2023: Everything in this particular Trivia is the kind of trivia you find when you study the histories of the early blues performers. Ever heard of Rosa "Rose" Henderson ? She was also known as (aka) Flora Dale/ Rosa Green/ Mae  Harris/ Mamie Harris/ Sara Johnson/ Sally Ritz/ Josephine Thomas/ Gladys White/ and/ or Bessie Williams, but she was born as Rosa Deschamps. She's not related to Edmonia/ Fletcher/ or Katherine Henderson. Sally Ritz was her sister's name that she used on some of her recordings. She shouldn't be confused with Viola McCoy who also used the "Bessie Williams" pseudonym. Katherine Henderson shouldn't be confused with her aunt, Eva Taylor, who also used the "Catherine Henderson" pseudonym. Viola McCoy's birth name was Amanda Brown, which she sometimes used. Eva Taylor was born as Irene Gibbons, one of 12 children. She used the psuedonyms Catherine Henderson/ Irene Williams/ and/ or Irene Gibbons. She used her sister's given name -- Eva, and the Taylor name from the Taylor family she lived with in her youth. I hope you can see from this that, when studying the early blues artists to learn all you can, it sometimes gets a little crazy and/ or confusing. Hope you have enjoyed the tidbits in this section. Just remember -- try to learn about the basics -- you'll enjoy todays artists even more when you can see or hear from them who their influences in the blues were.
Some October Blues Passings:
  • October 3rd.,1976 -- Victoria "Vicky" Regina Spivey, aka Jane Lucas
  • October 11th.,1977 -- John Arthur Lee​
  • October 23rd.,1985 -- Joe Banashak
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Joe's Blues Blog September 2023

8/31/2023

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Some September Blues Births:
  • September 4th.,1930-- Jerry Ragovoy
  • September 15th.,1921-- James Edward "Snooky" Pryor
  • September 27th.,1927-- "Earring" George Mayweather
Answer To The August 2023 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is James "Son" Thomas, aka "Cairo", "Son/ Sonny Ford", born on October 14,1926, on an Eden, Mississippi farm. Don't have father's first name, but his mother was Annie Mae Estes. He got the Son/ Sonny Ford nickname as a child because he used the red "gumbo" clay of Yazoo County to make/ mold models of Ford tractors. With little money to be made in Eden, the family moved to Leland,  which was west and slightly north, about 60 miles away. Son worked as a field-hand, picking cotton. There's conflicting info on at what age he did this: some sources say he was in his teens, while others show that he moved in 1961, with his wife and 7 children. At any rate, during his tenure as a field-hand he started listening to blues on the radio. Then he heard his grandfather, Eddie Collins, and his uncle, Joe Cooper, playing blues at house parties. He has said that the 2 Mississippi bluesman who influenced his style of playing were Elmo Davis and Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. He'd been learning, self- taught, the guitar. He'd gotten good enough with it to start performing in the Leland/ Greenville areas, at barrelhouses, juke joints, house parties, fish fries, or wherever he could get a gig. To supplement his income from that, he worked as a gravedigger. His mother got him a job as a porter at the Montgomery Hotel, where she worked. He worked at a furniture store for a while. He was also a sculptor, using unfired red clay from the banks of the Yazoo River, making figures of local animals, such as birds,  rattlesnakes, and alligators, but the ones he's best known for were/ are funerary figures and busts, sometimes using real teeth and hair, adding beads, wire, and other items, as he saw fit. He always lived in run-down, rickety "shotgun" houses, because he said it fit his personality.Though well- known in his local area of Leland and Greenville, he didn't get more widely known until 3 films made by The Center for Southern Folklore that featured him, and 1 by Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi -- "Gateway to The Delta: Delta blues singer James ("Sonny Ford") Thomas", which was based on his life, and it won the Mississippi Arts Film Festival award in 1972. He did some recording in 1968, for some small, local record labels, but I haven't seen any of those. Because of his new-found recognition, he toured and performed in several European countries, where he did most of his recordings: France, Germany, Italy, and others. Most all of those can be found, but the prices for most of those L.P.'s is usually somewhere between $200.00 and $400.00, depending on condition and rarity. A couple of those have been made available on cd's. The cd that I prefer is "Beefsteak Blues", on the Evidence label, #26095-2, as it is a compilation featuring his best songs, with him mostly playing acoustic guitar, but also with him on the electric guitar, which was rare for him.  Sadly, he passed away on June 26,1993, after battles with a brain tumor, emphysema, and the main cause, a stroke, in Greenville, Mississippi.
Blues Question For September 2023: This bluesman was born in Alabama, spent some time in Georgia, and then settled in Chicago. He was known as a guitarist, but he also played harmonica and kazoo. He only recorded one album. Not famous, just good, as he can be found on many other recordings featuring a different lead artist. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
 Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) for September 2023: The song is "Going Fishing(ain't got no pole)", and the artist is Jimmy Reed. It was on an album titled: "Jimmy Reed at Soul City: His first Honest-to-Goodnes Live In-Person Recording!". It was VeeJay records album #1095. It was recorded in 1964, most likely in either July or August. Jimmy did the vocal, played guitar, harmonica, bass, and drums on it.
Blues Trivia For September 2023: Often when you look at the offspring of some of the big name bluesmen, you find that their sons and/or daughters have followed in their footsteps, such as: Muddy Water's sons Big Bill Morganfield and Mud Morganfield; Carey Bell and Lurie Bell, etc-- you get the idea. One that you hear nothing of is Jimmy Reed and Jimmy Reed Jr. Those two actually played and recorded together on occasion, with Jr. on either guitar or electric or stand-up bass. That's trivia, but here's a little more: James "Son" Thomas has that in common with one of his sons, Raymond "Pat" Thomas. Not only does he play and sing some of his father's songs, in the same, traditional Delta style, he also sculps like his father, the same types of animals, birds, etc, though he is mostly known for his extremely detailed cat's faces drawings. His singing and guitar playing aren't the best, by any means. But-- what they are is the true, deep Delta blues, telling stories of centuries past and up into the present, but in that honest, deep Delta style. His are the real blues !!
Some September Blues Passings:
  • September 6th.,2020-- Sterling Magee,aka "Mr. Satan"
  • September  13th.,1981-- Helen Elizabeth Humes
  • September 21st.,1974-- Jewell "Babe" Stovall
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Joe's Blues Blog August 2023

7/31/2023

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Some August Blues Births:
  • August 8th.,1926-- Alvin K. Smith, aka Al Smith and/or Al King
  • August 17th.,1936-- Johnny Jones (NOT Johnny "Yard Dog" Jones, born 1941)​
  • August 29th.,1927-- Marion Williams
Answer To The July 2023 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Herman Villere "Roscoe" Ernest III, born August 12, 1951, in New Orleans, Louisiana. I couldn't find any info on how he got started drumming, but his first job/gig as a professional drummer was in the touring band Rhythm Masters, of King Floyd, a vocalist, in 1971. When Floyd left the band, it was re- named World Blues, and they continued to play gigs around New Orleans. After some time, that group dissolved, Roscoe (as he was known), along with Teddy Royal, formed another club band called Cypress. Roscoe would also work at Sea- Saint Studios, for many years. His first recording, working as a studio musician, was with Patti LaBelle, on her album "Night Birds". Having known him for years, he started recording with Dr. John in the early '90's. In '96 he recorded with and became a member of the band, on the Dr. John album "Trippin' Live". Shortly after that he became the band leader,  the position he held until his death. He was known for his playing, but also for his humourous introductions and running commentary on Dr. John's performing actions at that time. He spent most of his time recording with many different artists, but he was also the drummer at his mother's church, the Greatest Liberty Baptist Church. He was a deputy sheriff with/ for the New Orleans Police Dept. during Mardi Gras and Thanksgiving, to make sure that they were peaceful and safe. Some of the other musicians he recorded  and/or performed with you might recognize are Marcia Ball, Junior Wells, Shemekia Copeland, Etta James, Earl King, and "Blind" Snooks Eaglin, just to name a few. He had also helped Dr. John through his myriad problems-- he was always there to help him. They had mutual respect for each other. Dr. John said that before he  would record a song/ album, that he'd give each musician a copy of what he wanted. When Roscoe was given his copy, he'd immediately shift it around, and it always came out better. That's respect. Dr. John gave him the nickname "Herman the German". Roscoe passed away at home, in New Orleans, on March 6,2011, of head and neck cancer. After his passing, Dr. John said, and I quote, "He was a cat that always lived. He wasn't one of those guys that was a survivor. He was a guy that lived. We're going to celebrate the cat's life to the max".
Blues Question For August 2023: This bluesman was a field worker when he first heard the blues on a radio. Shortly after that, he became a gravedigger. Besides being a bluesman, he was also a folk artist whose works are on display yet. His recorded works span roughly 30 years. Any thoughts on who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For August 2023: The song is "Mr. Tom Green's Farm", and the artist is Johnny "Shoeshine Johnny" Shines. The album it's on was/ is "Masters of Modern Blues, Vol.1", by the Johnny Shines Band, recorded in June of 1966, at One-derful Studios, in Chicago. The artists were: Johnny on guitar and vocal, Big Walter Horton on harmonica, Otis Spann on piano, Lee Jackson on bass, and Fred Below on drums. Picked this one just to be different.
Blues Trivia For August 2023: As with many "sidemen", their names are not always shown. Roscoe Ernest's name was always included. There was another sideman who worked that way with many of the "big names" in the blues. This one was working in his early days in bar bands, mainly with Sunnyland Slim (Albert Laundrew) and John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson (the first). He did some of the drumming, vocals, and guitar work for them, before he joined Muddy Water's band. On recorded tracks, he's always been listed as Leroy Foster, Baby Face, or Baby Face Leroy. The trivia is that on 2 sides where he played guitar backing Sunnyland Slim, on a recording for the Opera label, he is listed only as "Delta Joe". As I've said many times, if you're looking for a particular recording, ya better have all the info you can find on it.
Some August Blues Passings:

  • August 7th.,1984-- "Harmonica Frank" Floyd
  • August; 16th.,1925-- Edna Hicks, (possibly born as Edna Landreaux or Lucille Landry) aka Edna Landry​
  • August 30th.,2009-- Marie Knight (birth name Marie Roach)
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Joe's Blues Blog July 2023

6/24/2023

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Some July Blues Births:
  • July 7th.,1913-- Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins
  • July 14th.,1935-- Dick Waterman​
  • July 23rd.,1942-- Linsey Alexander, aka "Hoochie Man"
Answer To The June 2023 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Arthur Neal Gunter, born May 23,1926, in Vesta Georgia. I know in the June Blog I stated that he was born in Nashville (Tennessee), but further research indicated that the Vesta, Georgia location is correct. You can look on the 'net' and see some pictures of different buildings, built with local granite in the '20's and '30's, with the wooden parts long gone. One picture that is clear shows the Vesta Baptist Church (name shown on sign in edge of picture), built in 1912, and still in service (?). These pics are by Brian Brown. Point of the church shot  is that Arthur's father, William, was a preacher. That church is most likely where Arthur, brothers Al "Little Al" and Jimmy, along with cousin Junior Gunter, sang gospel songs as the Gunter Brother's Quartet. I believe the Gunter family moved to Nashville sometime in the '40's, where the brothers quartet continued to sing in various local churches, using the same name as before. Having learned guitar from older brother Larry, Arthur was playing with many blues bands in and around Nashville, and building a reputation. In '54 he was heard by Ernie Young, who thought he had a unique sound. If you're not familiar with Ernie, he was the owner of Ernie's Record Mart in Nashville, which in '51 was the largest mail order source for "Black" music of all genres. He sponsored a radio show that played all those types of musics, but specialized in blues and R & B/ soul types. It was one of only two stations with 50,000 watts of power, in Tennessee, both in Nashville. It was WLAC (1510 AM). The other was WSM (650 AM), which broadcast country- western music, and was, at one time, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry. But, I digress, so-- Ernie founded Nashboro Records in '51 to record Black gospel groups and individual artists who didn't have the connections to record for the major labels. In '52 he started Excello Records to do the same for those performing blues and R & B musics. So having heard Arthur in early '54, he brought him in to record some cuts. One of those was "Baby, Let's Play House", with the flip side being "Blues After Hours", recorded in November of '54, by Excello, #2047, A and B sides respectively   Arthur had written it in answer to Eddy Arnold's country song "I Wanna Play House With You".  When Arthur's song was played on WLAC, the requests started rolling in--"where can I get a copy" & "play it again". Sales of it really took off from there.It was Arthur's biggest hit, as well as being the first real hit for the Excello label. In '55, Elvis Presley did a cover of it, and it too was a big hit, bigger than Arthur's. Arthur later said his first royalty check from RCA was for  $6,500.00. From then up into '61 he recorded a total of 24 cuts for Excello. His brother, "Little Al" recorded 4 cuts for the label too. He'd have recorded more, but he was murdered in a bar fight shortly after the release of his last recordings. He'd done 2 in '56 and 2 in '58. During those times, obviously before Little Al's death, the two brothers frequently worked gigs together. In '55 Arthur had moved to Port Huron, Michigan, but continued to tour and perform with the Kid King Combo, all over the South and into Arkansas, in the late '50's and into the '60's. He worked mostly outside of the music field, around Port Huron, from '66 into the '70's. In '73 he won $50,000.00 in the Michigan State Lottery, and quit the music field altogether. He passed away at his home on March 16,1976, of pneumonia. A little further note about his biggest hit song , "Baby, Let's Play House": the last line of that song, recorded word for word on both his and Elvis's version was  "I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man". That line was "borrowed" by John Lennon for use in the Beatle's song "Run For Your Life", released on the Rubber Soul label in 1965.
Blues Question For July 2023: This is a Blues (and other genres) sideman. He's recorded with most of the greats in all genres of music. He's a band leader, a song writer, a vocalist, and a musician. It's amazing that he's performed/ recorded with so many blues musicians that most blues fans have never heard of him, though they've heard him on hundreds of recordings. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For July 2023: The song is "Sunny Land", and the artist is Elmore James, recorded in August of 1954, in Los Angeles. It was recorded and released on the Flair label, a subsidiary of Modern Records, # 1057 on the A side, with "Standing At The Crossroads" on th B side. The performers were: Elmore on vocals and guitar, James Parr on trumpet, Maxwell Davis on tenor sax, Jewell Grant on baritone sax, Willard McDaniel on piano, Ralph Hamilton on bass, and Jesse Sailes on drums. This is the original quiet countryfied version. You sometimes will see it listid in one word-- Sunnyland. Also, there's another version of the full-bore Elmore style you're more familiar with, but you'll find it titled "Sunnyland (Train)", which was recorded on the CBS label, #66218 in '61 (sometimes shown as '63).
Blues Trivia For July 2023: This is just for a point of information, using the above song as an example. I showed the Sunnyland (Train) version as being on CBS label, but as you would search for it, you'd also find it listed as being recorded on the Fire/ Fury label, owned by Bobby Robinson, located in Harlem. Further digging shows that it was done at a session that Bobby managed but not necessarily recorded on his label. This is why, when you're looking for an older recording, you must try to get/ have as much info about it that you can, to make sure you're getting the version you want.  Just tryin' to help people to understand that it isn't that easy sometimes, to get it right.  Good luck in your hunting !!
Some Blues Passings for July:
  • July 7th.,2011-- Frederick "Fred" Neal
  • July 18th.,1983-- James Scott Jr.​
  • July  22nd.,1978-- Lillian Glinn
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Joe's Blues Blog June 2023

5/29/2023

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Some June Blues Births:
  • June 9th., 1926-- Calvin "Fuzz" Jones
  • June 19th, 1930-- Jerry "Boogie" McCain​
  • June 24th.,1956-- Tad Robinson
Answer To The April & May Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Lowell Fulson, aka "Tulsa Red", born March 31, 1921, in Atoka, Oklahoma, a Choctaw Indian Reservation. He claimed that he was of Cherokee ancestry on his father's side, but also said he was part Choctaw. His father was killed when Lowell was just a youngster, and a few years after that, he and his brothers, moved with their mother, to Clarita, Oklahoma. At the age of 18, he moved to Ada, where he joined up with Alger "Texas" Alexander, but only for a few months in 1939 and 1940, touring in western Oklahoma and eastern Texas. He worked mostly as a field hand, but also performed with some local bands, groups, and by himself at parties and juke joints. He then moved to California, where he would remain throughout his life. He was drafted in '43 and served in the U.S. Navy until '45. After his discharge, he formed a touring band that included a young Ray Charles (Robinson Sr.), along with  17 year old Stanley Turrentine, a tenor sax player, who would later become great in the jazz genre. In the '40's he recorded on the Swing Time Records label, in the '50's for Chess Records (released on the Checker subsidiary label), in the '60's  on Kent Records, and in the '70's and later on Rounder Records (released on the Bullseye subsidiary label). Those were his main contracts, but you can find his many recordings on other labels, under any one of his "assumed" names. Lowell was a good song writer: he wrote " Three O'Clock Blues" (B.B.King's first hit), "Reconsider Baby" ( a cover of it by Elvis Presley was a hit for Presley), and "Tramp", co- written with Jimmy McCracklin, which, when covered by Otis Redding with Carla Thomas (yes, Rufus' daughter), became a hit also. The songs that are now blues standards were, recorded in '48, "Three O'Clock Blues" on the Swing Time Records label- #2002; "Reconsider Baby", recorded in '54, released on Checker Records- #804; and "Tramp", in '67, on the Kent Records label- #456. You have to remember that he wrote and recorded many others, many of which have been covered by others, and that he also wrote for others. You must also realize that, as have many other artists, record under different spellings of his name or use other names, so they could record on different labels, without "breaching" their contracts with labels. Lowell was considered to be second only to Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker in his influence on the West Coast blues genre. I only got to meet and talk with Lowell, and his traveling companion, Tina Mayfield (yes, Percy's widow), once. Spoke with Tina a couple of times after Lowell had passed. He passed away on March 7, 1999, in Long Beach, California.
Blues Question For June 2023: This bluesman was from Tennessee, with his father being a preacher. He was one of at least 13 children. He started out musically, in a gospel group, a common happening with blues performers. He was basically a "side-man" in his early career, but did go on to write another "blues standard". Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For June 2023: The song is "Strange Angel", and the artist is (correct spelling on his first name) Admirl Amos Easton, aka Bumble Bee Slim. On this recording, done on August 15,1951, in Los Angeles, on the Specialty label, #SP410, on the A side, the musicians were Amos on vocals and lead guitar, Mithcell "Tiny" Webb on rhythm guitar, Maurice Simon on alto sax, Maxwell Davis and Jewell Grant on tenor saxes, Billy Hadnott on bass, and Oscar Lee Bailey Sr. on Drums.
Blues Trivia For June 2023: Most of the people listed in the above Song Of The Month, were session players for whatever label or studio needed them for backing of the main artist they were recording. Let's take a look at Oscar Lee Bailey Sr., the drummer listed there. He also recorded with a young Ray Charles, Hadda Brooks, Percy Mayfield, Jay McShann, and many others. The trivia is that one of the artists he recorded with in 1947 & 1948 (12 songs), two more songs in '49, and 1 in '59, was someone you should definitely know. The ones in '47 were on the Black & White label; the ones in '48 & '49  were on the Comet label; the one in'59 was a compilation album on the Atlantic label. All of these that I've referred to here featured as the main artist, the #1 influence in the West Coast blues: T-Bone Walker. One of those early songs he recorded on was and still is a blues standard: "They Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday's Just As Bad)". Bradley also recorded with many others in the blues, jazz, and R & B genres.
Some June Blues Passings:
  • June 1st., 2011-- Rudy Williams​
  • June 24th., 1989-- Albennie or Albinia Jones
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    Joe Vassel

    Proprietor of The Sound of Blue record shop in Kent, Ohio. 

    You are probably familiar with the current crop of blues performers, so the next time you’re at a performance or listening to some sort of broadcast of them, you should wonder and find out what “old-timer” they were/ are influenced by!         

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