Some August Blues Births:
- August 1st.,1953-- Robert Cray
- August 19th.,1953-- Richard Dennis Duran, aka "Lynwood Slim"
- August 26th.,1978-- Cedric O. Burnside
Answer To The July 2021 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Curtis Ray, who was also known as Ray Curtis, and/or "Alabama Red", which is the one I'll use. He was born December 21, 1926, in Penola, Alabama (there's another bluesman of some fame from that town also-- Benjamin Joe "Bennie" Houston, aka "Boston Blackie"). Just to give you an idea of how small that "town" is, it is 0.72 square miles, with a 2010 census population of 144. By the age of 14 he'd learned how to play and sing, both piano and guitar. As he was growing up, he played for Sumter High School, some local churches, house parties, "box suppers", throughout the South. He moved to Birmingham, where he attended Parker Industrial High School. His first band included at least 3 other players/ singers. Sometime in the '40's he moved to Chicago, where he put another band together. They performed in many nightclubs, churches, many "senior citizen" affairs, and at both the Mississippi and Chicago Blues Festivals. Red recorded several 45 rpm records for some small Chicago labels. By '74, he was working at Florence's on Chicago's South Side. About '75, he recorded for the ACE/Westside and Palos labels. He also recorded for the Wasp label, #751-1 on the A side, "Going Back to Alabama, Part 1", which was the first time one of his recordings was credited to "Alabama Red". On the flip side, #751-2, was the same title, labeled as "Part 2". Later on in '75, he performed with others in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. By October, he was back in Chicago, playing at The South Park Lounge. From '79, up into '89, he recorded for several small labels again. Those recordings were credited, seemingly with no rhyme or reason, to Curtis Ray, Ray Curtis, or Alabama Red.He passed away on August 2, 2006, in Chicago. The only c.d. available of some of his work is "Alabama Red: Windy City Blues", on the Wolf label, out of Austria, of songs he wrote/ recorded in the '70's and '80's, which we have in stock.
Blues Question For August 2021: This bluesman, again, a not well-known figure, was adept with guitar, harmonica, jug, and washboard, but he also worked regular jobs, as blues wasn't his main source of income. He made his first recording in 1941, and his last in 2002. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For August 2021: The song is "Blues After Hours", and the artist is Connie Curtis "Pee Wee" Crayton. He first recorded it in 1948, for the Bihari Brothers' Modern Records label, a 10" shellac, 78 rpm record, #20-624, at 2:31 in length. On the flip side was "I'm Still in Love With You". On that first recording of Pee Wee's, the backing musicians were David Lee Johnson on piano, Bill Davis on bass, and Candy Johnson on drums. Though that's a good version, I prefer the one on Blind Pig Records, #5052, released in 1999, at 5:23 in length.
Blues Trivia For August 2021: This spins off the Song Of The Month (the prior entry). I gave you the info on the first version about the backing musicians, and the length, and listed my preferred version on Blind Pig's c.d. The Trivia part is what went into/on that c.d. It was a re-release compilation put together from 2 Murray Brothers L.P.'s. The tracks on the c.d. aren't in the same order as they were on those L.P.'s, so explaining this is a little difficult, but I'm workin' on it anyhow. Those albums were, first, #MB-1005, recorded on August 23, 1983. On it, besides Pee Wee, were Rod Piazza on harmonica, Doug MacLeod on rhythm guitar, Don Fredman on bass, Honey Alexander (later to become Piazza) on keyboards, Claude Williams on trumpet, Bill Clark and Marshall Crayton Jr. on tenor sax (on different tracks), Fred Clark on alto, tenor, and baritone sax, and Soko Richardson on drums. The second L.P.#MB-1007, used on this c.d., was recorded in December of 1984, and released in 1985. The players on that L.P. were, of course, Pee Wee, Llew Matthews on keyboards, Fernando Harkles on sax, Eric Ajaye on bass, and Lee Spath on drums. Both of those L.P.'s were produced by Bob Murray and Rod Piazza. They were recorded at Vinnick Studio, in Riverside, California, with Wayne Vinnick as the recording engineer. For the c.d., some of the mixing/mastering was done by Steve Savage, at Different Fur Recording, in San Francisco. We have that c.d. in stock here.
Some August Blues Passings:
- August 2nd.,2009-- Billy Lee Riley
- August 14th.,2014-- Andy Rodgers, aka "Midnight Cowboy", "Grand Daddy of The Blues"
- August 29th.,2007-- Kipling Taquana "Kip" Anderson
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