First, I have to correct a couple of mistakes in the July 2020 Blues Blog (not including the "fat-finger" ones: a couple of keys at once or missing a space between words). In the Blues Births section, the second person I listed, the artist now known as "Little Freddie King", I showed his birth name being spelled Fred Eugene Martin, when his correctly spelled first name is FREAD. Don't know why his parents spelled it that way, but they did. Second, in The Blues Trivia section, I listed some record labels, one of which was Travellin' Man. I listed their final release, a cd, in 1996, number TMCD 09, titled "I Can Eagle Rock; Chicago Blues From 1940-1941". I don't know what I was thinking, but that was wrong. It should have read "I Can Eagle Rock; Jook Joint Blues From Alabama and Louisiana 1940-1941". If you've never heard this before, you should-- it's exactly what you would have heard, walking into the local jook joint, minus the crowd and associated noises-- talking, laughing, maybe having something to eat, and, most certainly, drinkin', all with no amps or electric guitars! This cd features artists you've never heard of, all recorded by Alan Lomax, for the Library of Congress. I have one pre-owned copy in the store, for sale. Now, on with the Blog.
Some August Blues Births:
- August 2nd., either 1917 or 1915-- Walter Travis "Big Walter" Price
- August 14th.,1937-- Terry Lee Evans
- August 27th.,1926-- Odie Payne Jr.
Answer To The July 2020 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Luther Johnson, born August 30, 1934, in Davisboro, Georgia, one of at least 10 children. His birth name was Lucius Brinson Johnson, but during his life and career, he was also known as Luther "Georgia Boy", "Snake", "Snake Boy" Johnson; Little Luther, and Luther King. His birth year, depending on where you look, is anywhere from 1934 to 1941. His father, Willis, was a guitarist. Luther learned guitar when he was 7, and worked on a farm up into the '40's. He ran away from home, ended up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was placed in reform school. While there, he was active in the music program, from around 1947 to '50. He served in the U.S.Army from '50 to '53, and frequently performed at service clubs. From '53 to the early '60's, he worked in the Milwaukee area, early, with a gospel group, later on with a blues trio. He moved to Chicago in the early '60's, and by '64 was working with Elmore "Elmo" James at Narvel Eatmon's "Cadillac Baby Lounge". He did some recordings on the Checker label as Little Luther. From '65 to '67, he performed and recorded with Muddy Waters' Blues Band. During that same time period, he did the same with Otis Spann. In 1970 he moved to Boston, Massachusetts, formed his own band to work local club dates, with the occaisional work in New York City. He then toured and performed with The Chicago Blues Festival, and toured with them in Europe, from '72 to '75. When he was home (Boston) he performed around the area, with occiasional gigs at universities in Vermont. In '75, he entered St. Elizabeth's Hospital, in Boston, where he died of cancer on March 18,1976. NOTE: do not confuse "Snake Boy" Johnson with Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson (1939 - ) (he too played in Muddy's band, but from '72 to '80, and yes, he's still performing), or Luther "Houserocker" Johnson (1939 - 2019), a local Atlanta bluesman, who also did a few recordings.
Blues Question For August 2020: This bluesman made ZERO recordings, but he should be up toward the top of the list of bluesmen to be recognized and remembered, as his was a great contribution to the field. You've probably never heard of him, but you, for darn sure, should know his foremost "student". Any idea who this might refer to or be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For August 2020: The song is "Hookin'", and the artist is Earl Hooker. In the backing band were Johnny "Big Moose" Walker on piano, Paul Asbel on rhythm guitar, Chester E. "Geno" (sometimes spelled Gino) Skaggs on Fender bass guitar, Jeffrey M. Carp on harmonica, and Roosevelt Shaw on drums. This was recorded May 29,1969, #70040, on the album titled "You Don't Have To Worry".
Blues Trivia For August 2020: As I'm sitting here thinking about where to go with this section this month, when it dawns on me: why go too far from where I already am? So, the above song, "Hookin", is an instrumental that features some really great players. Earl contracted tuberculosis as a youth, and had bouts with it throughout his life, sometimes requiring lengthy hospital stays. From that, he had difficulty with stuttering, which is why a lot of his recordings are instrumentals. He did record some vocal work, but didn't have the strong voice needed for the blues. This is also why he played on so, so many recordings of other artists, performing as a sideman. B.B. King was quoted as saying once, in response to an interviewer's question, that "I'm not afraid to follow any guitarist's show on stage, except maybe for Earl Hooker". This particular song that I listed is kind of rare to hear. Almost all who hear it, like it. And then there are those who immediately say " he stole the use of that Wah-Wah pedal from Jimi Hendrix". In my personal opinion, Hendrix was a Rock and Roll, or just rock guitarist, not a bluesman. Could he play the guitar well ?--Yup; was he a showman, and sometimes, a show-off ?? Yup. You want to see what makes a bluesman, a really good one, find and read a good bio on Earl Hooker. And yes, his cousin was John Lee Hooker, with whom he sometimes played and/ or recorded.
Some Blues Passings For August 2020:
- August 5th., 2003-- J.W. Warren
- August 14th., 1988-- Leroy "Roy" Buchanan
- August 27th., 1990 -- Stephen "Stevie" Ray Vaughan, aka "Skeeter"
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