First off, I need to apologize for not getting the info in the July Blog to transmit correctly. In the "Blues Passings" section, the first 2 names didn't come through, for some reason, so I'll give them to you now: On the 8th.,1991-- Willie Nix; on the 19th.,2002-- Alan Lomax. Hope that helps ! Then, on the Song and Artist section, I listed the live recording of "Linda Lou", made at the Knickerbocker Cafe, on the Fan Club label, out of France. The one that's in the Blog on the NEOBA site is actually on the Alligator label from an L.P. that was originally released in 1978. I'll cover that, in a reference mode, in the Trivia section of this blog. Now, on to the Blog.
Some August Blues Births:
- August 6th.,1900 -- Willie Lee Brown
- August 18th.,1921 -- Lee Jackson, aka Warren Lee
- August 28th.,1928 -- Lee Chester "L.C." Ulmer
Answer To The July 2022 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Earl Lacy Forest, born December 1, 1926, in Memphis, Tennessee. Not much I could find on his early years, but by the late '40's he performed with a group known as "The Beale Streeters". This wasn't a formally formed band, but rather, a collection of different musicians, performing together sometimes, and backing others of the group in performances and/ or recordings. Some of those were Adolph "Billy" Duncan, Johnny Ace (John Alexander), Willie Nix, Herman "Little Junior" Parker, Riley "B.B." King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and Roscoe Gordon. Earl was the drummer on many of B.B.'s early recordings. Different members, at different times, would front the group, while the others made up the backing band. In '51, they recorded for the Modern Records label, owned by the 4 Bihari brothers. Earl backed Bland on his session, and that particular session also included, in various parts of the backing band, Billy Duncan on tenor sax, Matt Murphy on guitar, and Ike Turner on piano, who was also the "talent scout" for Modern, and was the one who had set up this session. Earl was a great songwriter who co- wrote, with Bill Harvey, the blues standard "Next Time You See Me", which has been recorded by many different artists, including James Cotton, Junior Parker (he was the one who first recorded it in '57, on the Duke label), and Frankie Lymon. In '53, Earl recorded several singles on the Duke label, one of which was his first credited recording: "Whoopin' And Hollerin'", with Johnny Ace on piano.That one made it up to #7 on Billboard's R & B chart. Some of his singles records after that, listed his name as Earl "Whoopin' and Hollerin' " Forest. From '53 to '63 Earl also recorded singles that were released on the Duke, Meteor, and Flair labels, those last 2 being subsidiaries of the Modern Records label, owned by the Bihari brothers, and located in California. He's in backing band's recordings of many mainline artists. Earl passed away on February 26,2003, in the Memphis V.A. Med. Center, of cancer.
Blues Question For August 2022: This bluesman has been around a long time, and has nowhere near the recognition he should have. He's been a sideman on many mainliner's recordings, live performances, and tours. He only has 3 albums as the featured artist. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) and artist(s) For August 2022: The song is "Another Cow Dead Tonight", and the artist is Eddie King. It's on Roesch Records, #RR035, from 1997. The performing artists are: Eddie on lead guitar & vocals, Tim DeHuff on rhythm guitar, Scott Spray on bass, Roger Young on piano & organ, "Blue" Lou Marini on tenor sax, Birch "Slide" Johnson on trombone, Alan "Mr. Fabulous" Rubin on trumpet, and Joe Roesch on drums. How's that for a different title ? Enjoy one from another under-recognized artist !!
Blues Trivia For August 2022: I made reference to this in the beginning of this Blog, so here we go. That Alligator recording was on an L.P., issued in 1978. It was also issued in the U.K., Italy, and France, at the same time, on the Sonet label, 13 tracks on all of those. There are some listings that show 12 tracks only, minus 1 of Eddie Shaw's Band's songs. There are a total of 18 different releases of that album, including L.P.'s, cassettes, and C.D.'s. The first re-release of it by Alligator, on c.d., was in 1991. There are indications that it was released first, with 16 tracks, having added 4 tracks by Carey Bell's Blues Harp Band, and removing 1 track of Shaw's band. It was supposedly released again in 1991, with the removed Shaw recording put back in, for a total of 17. It was re- released again (maybe ?) by Alligator in 2006. The whole point of this is that you need to research thoroughly when you're shopping for your favorite older recording, as what's being advertised is not always what you're going to get ! A lot of these vendors use "stock photos" and descriptions, not always what they really have. Just be careful when buying !, because changes like these are common for most large record companies materials, usually on older recordings, whether done by the company itself or others, trying to make a buck.
Speaking of Alligator Records, they have a new Shemekia Copelnd album, #ALCD-5010, due out on a Friday, August 19. It's titled "Done Come Too Far", and it's a really great album, with a couple modern sound blues, some earlier style blues, and even a slightly country tune. Check it out ! It's kind of an extension on the thoughts in/on her last album.
Some August Blues Passings:
- August 7th.,1984 -- Esther "Little Esther" Phillips
- August 12th.,2008 -- Hosea Leavey
- August 31st.,1947 -- "Brownsville" Son Bonds
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