First off, I'd like to say that I hope that all are doing well amid the restraints of the COVID-19 rules. As you know, many events, in all fields, have been postponed or cancelled. Postponed: maybe they'll be done in the future, but maybe not. Cancelled, they're just gone. All of this has an effect that, in one way or another, touches all who are involved, either directly, or indirectly. Some will have profited from this, while quite a few others will never recover. At any rate, if you can help someone who needs it, please do so--- we'll get through this!
Some Blues Births For June:
- June 1st.,1925-- Marie Knight
- June 15th.,1946-- Duris Maxwell, aka Mohawk, Ted Lewis
- June 29th.,1943-- Robert "Bob" Brunning
Answer To The May 2020 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is B.K. Turner, born Babe Kyro Lemon Turner, on December 21, 1905 (some sources list it as 1907), in Hughes Springs, Texas. He was also known as Babe Turner, Buck Turner, but he is best- known as "Black Ace". At a young age he taught himself how to play guitar on a homemade instrument. In the late 1920's and into the early '30's, he travelled and performed with a youth a few years his junior, who he was mentoring on the guitar, one Andrew "Smokey" Hogg. They played at dances, parties, picnics, and other venues, around East Texas. In the mid- '30's he moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he met a musician who played the guitar, with a slide, with it sitting in his lap. That would be Oscar "Buddy" Woods. Woods mentored Ace in playing in that manner. Ace bought a National steel guitar after that, and used it, with a slide when he performed. He recorded 2 songs on April 5, 1936, in Fort Worth, Texas, on the ARC Records label. Those were "Bonus Man Blues" and "Black Ace Blues", numbers FW-1260-1 and FW-1261-2, respectively, credited artist- Buck Turner. Those were never released. On February 15, 1937, he recorded six songs with an "unknown" accompanist, believed to be Smokey Hogg, in Dallas, on the Decca label. One of those songs was "Black Ace". Also in '37, he started a radio show in Fort Worth, on KFJZ. He used that "Black Ace" recording as the show's theme song, which is when he "assumed" that name. He would not record again until 1960, as he'd been drafted into the Army in '43, and gave up playing music. In 1960, Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records persuaded him to record an album. Part of it was recorded at Ace's home, and part of it was recorded in Fort Worth, and, yes, on different dates. That was on a vinyl lp. In '92, Arhoolie put together a cd, using most of those songs, added a couple of unreleased ones, and also adding the six from that '37 session. That cd is #374, and it's titled "I am the Boss Card in your Hand", and, yes it's in our stock. One critic labeled his sound as "Hawaii meets the Delta", and I have to agree. Ace passed away on November 7,1972, in Fort Worth, of cancer.
Blues Question For June 2020: This bluesman was putting a great career together, when some legal problems and a war put a crimp in what had looked like a great future. It wasn't until the '60's blues revival that his career recovered. He is considered to be one of the main influences in the early development of the "East Coast" blues. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For June 2020: The song is "Telephone Blues", and the artist is Floyd Dixon, shown to be backed by Johnny Moore and his Three Blazers. There are conflicting dates shown for this recording; one is October 26,1950, and the other is December 30,1950. Also, the people I found listed as being on it are: Floyd Dixon on piano and vocals, Johnny and Oscar Moore on guitars, Johnny Miller on bass, and Maxwell Davis on tenor sax. Regardless-- enjoy!
Blues Trivia For June 2020: This ties in with the answer on Black Ace. This is in reference to the ARC recordings of his in '36. By it's proper name, American Recording Corporation, was founded in 1929 through the merger of three record companies. Two of them contributed three record labels, while the third partner contributed five. ARC was sold, in 1930, to Consolidated Film Industries, who had leased Brunswick Records from Warner Brothers. The initial idea was to provide recordings to movie theaters, for use as background and/ or intermission music. From 1929 up to December 30, 1938, ARC recorded, issued, and/ or pressed records for at least 32 different labels, at least from what I could find. In '38, it was sold to Columbia Broadcasting System, and they started releasing under the Columbia Records, along with it's subsidiary label, OKeh Records. Today, it's still alive, but is shown as Sony Music Entertainment. Now, about those 2 recordings by Buck Turner (Black Ace): we'll never hear them, unless the masters can be found, and documented.
Some Blues Passings For June 2020:
- June 4th.,1980-- Coy "Hot Shot" Love
- June 18th.,1998-- Archie L. Edwards
- June 24th.,1975-- Charles Walker
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