First, an apology: On the Blues Passings section for August and September. In the August Blog when I listed the first person, I listed the correct date, but the wrong name. Thankfully, that whole first line was omitted. In the September Blog I missed all three listings. I'll keep trying to improve!

Answer to The September 2019 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Sonny Boy Williamson III. In some records he is shown to have been born as Jeffery "Jeff" Williamson, which has been determined to be incorrect. According to the birth certificate for his son, Charles E. Johnson, his listed name as the father is shown to be Edward William Johnson. This info was found by researchers/ writers Bob Eagle and Alan Balfour. It is also shown in some sources he was known as Sonny "Golden Boy" Williamson. A little note on that one in just a bit. He arrived in Shreveport, coming from New Orleans, Louisiana, wanting to make a record. In the 'phone book, he found a listing for Mira Ann Smith's R A M Records (Royal Audio Music). He called and made arrangements with Mira for an interview and possible recording session. When he got there, he was met by Margaret Lewis, a singer, recording artist, and song writer, who was working with Mira. Lewis would later say of that meeting, that "he was a tall, slim man, who had a Little Richard style pompadour, dyed gold". He was accompanied by his own guitarist/ drummer, a James Moore, from Birmingham, Alabama (no, not James "Slim Harpo" Moore). He was quoted as saying to Lewis that "in New Orleans they call me the Golden Boy". He recorded 4 songs, 2 of which were released, while 2 were not. Yes, he was a harp player. Sometime after that, he moved to East Texas, where he signed with Don Robey's Buffalo Bookings Agency, better known as the owner of Duke and Peacock record labels. It's rumored that this Sonny Boy died sometime between 1964 and 1968, in Houston, after being hospitalized due to an automobile accident. The actual places and dates of both his birth and death, all remain, at this time, unknown. You can hear his 2 released recordings on YouTube, or all 4 on Spotify. On all compilation discs I've seen, only one song comes up: "Mailman, Mailman". There is 1 cd, "Red River Blues: Shreveport Blues from R A M Records", on Ace Records U.K., #CDCHD 725, that has all 4 of his recordings, along with several really obscure artists and labels. It was released in 1999, and now, is out of print. If you can find one, expect to pay a "Collector's Price" for it.

Blues Question for October 2019: This blues artist is another in the barely known group, but certainly should be better-known. After writing hit songs for most all of Chicago's bluesmen, and knowing all of them, and being the most knowledgeable person about the history of Maxwell Street -- well, maybe at sometime, will be recognized. Any idea who this person might be??

Blues Song And Artist(s) for October 2019: The song is "Black Cat Bone", and the artist is Johnny Copeland. This is off the "Showdown!" album, on Alligator Records, featuring Albert Collins and Robert Cray as the other headliners, with Danny Gayden on bass, Allen Batts on organ, and Casey Jones on drums. Picked this one because Halloween is coming, and it fits. If you listen closely, at the beginning of the song, you'll hear Johnny and Albert referring to Harding "Poppa Hop" Wilson, who, along with Ivory Lee Simien, aka "King Ivory Lee", wrote and recorded the original of this song, with the title being "My Woman Has A Black Cat Bone", with Wilson on lap steel and vocal and Simien on drums. There is some debate on the vocals on the original ACA recordings, from which the Poppa Hop version was taken, as poor notes on the masters didn't show that other vocalists at/on this session were none other than Fenton Robinson and/or Larry Davis. The Alligator album, since it's 1985 release, has sold more than 285,000 copies, and has been remastered, with 1 song added, in 2011.

Blues Trivia For October 2019: This ties in with the aforementioned cd "Red River Blues". RAM Records appears to be the featured label, but, if you look closely, you'll see that the included labels of K, Jo, Clif, Speed, and Red River are there too. They were all tied to Mira Smith's RAM Records label. Think about this: she was one of the first women to own a recording company, which was difficult in the male dominated music business of that time. Anyhow, I don't know where the Jo name came from, but the K Records was in recognition of her sister, Katherine. Clif Hagin, a songwriter, teamed up with Mira, and the Clif Records subsidiary of R A M came to be. Speed Records, owned by Oscar Wills, aka T.-V. Slim, also became a subsidiary. There are 5 tracks on the Red River Records label, performed by Jesse "Baby Face" Thomas, who also owned that label. It wasn't a subsidiary of R A M, but rather, another Shreveport bluesman. A couple of other notes here: the recordings on this disc, from Speed Records, featured T.-V. Slim on vocals, Eddie Williams on piano, Jimmy White on drums, and Joe Young on guitars. Young would later move to Chicago, where he went on to be one of the best -- he was then known as "Mighty" Joe Young. Also on this cd are several other artists who recorded for these labels, but obviously didn't own them There were a lot of reasons for the "subsidiary" thing, but that's a whole 'nother story.

Some October Blues Passings:

• October 1st.,2005-- Paul J. Pena
• October 18th.,2009== Freddi Robinson, later known as Abu Talib
• October 25th.,2016-- Robert "Bob" Lowery
  

Answer To The August 2019 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Robert Percell Ferguson, best- known as H-Bomb Ferguson, born May 9, 1929, in Torrest, South Carolina, the 11th. of twelve children. As Robert was growing up, his father, a Baptist preacher, said he'd pay for piano lessons, but only if Robert learned sacred melodies. In a later interview, H-Bomb said that during the services, he'd play sacred music, then, when the services were over and the congregation would move outside to talk and socialize, he and his friends would run back inside, where Robert would play the blues on the piano. When he was 19, he toured and performed with Joe Liggins (also a piano player) and The Honeydrippers, after which the band ended up in New York. He went out on his own after that, and landed a gig at The Baby Grand Club, a Harlem nightclub, where he was billed as "The Cobra Kid". He first recorded as Bob Ferguson, in 1950, 4 tracks, on the Derby label, in New York City. The band backing him was The Jack "The Bear " Parker Orchestra. Parker became Ferguson's manager, and is credited as the one who gave him the " H-Bomb " nickname. It has also been said that he was given that name by Savoy Records producer Lee Magid, for whom he started recording in 1951, but I find that titles credited to "H-Bomb Ferguson" recorded in 1950 and early '51, on the Atlas and Prestige labels, were prior to his move to Savoy. He went on to record for at least 12 more labels in his career, as the featured artist. He toured with people such as Ruth Brown, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, and even Redd Foxx, working clubs, performing as a singer and telling jokes. In '57 he moved to Cincinnati, where he signed with King Records. He formed his own band, "H-Bomb Ferguson and The Mad Lads, with whom he worked, to further develop his own style, focusing on his piano playing, up through the '60's. He quit performing in the early '70's but made a come-back in the '80's and on into the '90's, performing mostly in Britain and Europe, in his own self-developed wild style, wearing different multi-colored wigs. In 1990 he recorded a vinyl album for local Cincinnati record label Papa Lou Recordings, for local only release. In '93 he recorded a cd for Earwig Records, out of Chicago, titled "Wiggin' Out", backed by The Medicine Men. As near as I can tell, this was his last recording. He passed away November 26, 2006, in Cincinnati, of emphysema and cardiopulmonary disease. I only got to meet and talk with him once, at a blues festival at Antioch College, in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where we had a booth and worked that festival. We also met Guy Davis there. We had a bluesman spend those 2 days with us, sitting at our booth, talking with us and festival go-ers. His name was James Reed, and no, not THE Jimmy Reed, but the one with us was also a harp player. I'll never forget the red suit he was wearing!

Blues Question For September 2019: This is an almost totally unknown blues harp player who recorded only four tracks on the now long defunct RAM Records before he more or less, vanished from the business. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) for September 2019: The song is "Airport Blues", and the artist is Silas Hogan. This was recorded in January 1963, in Crowley, Louisiana. It features Silas Hogan on guitar and vocal, Sylvester Buckley on harmonica, Isiah Chatmon on the second guitar, and Samuel Hogan (Silas' son) on drums. This was done long before today’s airport congestion, and the T S A.

Blues Trivia For September 2019: Are you familiar with Alden Bunn, better-known as "Tarheel Slim" ? Probably not, though he recorded in many music genres, including blues, gospel, pop duets of the day, with groups in R & B, and rockabilly. He recorded under the names Alden Bunn, Allen Bunn, Allen Baum, and, of course, Tarheel Slim. Around 1955 he married Anna Lee Sandford, and they first recorded as "The Lovers", and later, going by "Tarheel Slim and Little Ann" on recordings. One of his interesting songs is "The Guy With A .45". The trivia part here is that another guitarist, as a sideman, recorded with him. That was James "Wild Jimmy" Spruill. Never heard of him either, right ? Well, you've probably heard his guitar work on things, such as Dave "Baby" Cortez's "The Happy Organ", Wilbert Harrison's "Kansas City", Buster Brown's "Fannie Mae", and many of Elmore James' recordings. Bunn didn't record in all the genres he played, but Spruill did--and then some. The list of all the people/bands with whom he recorded is waay too long to be included here, but please, check him out, you'll be surprised! One last little bit of trivia on "Wild Jimmy"; he was well-known for playing his guitar with his teeth. Speaking of his guitar, he started out with the traditional "cigar box" guitar, with an elastic band, as a youngster, learning to play. After a few years, he stepped up to a Fender Telecaster. After that, he graduated to a Gibson Les Paul. This part, if you're a guitar player or collector, you might not want to read. He sawed off most of the Gibson's body, leaving maybe 2 inches of it on each side, parallel to the fret board, retained the pick-ups and controls, and replaced the sides to complete the soundboard, to suit his style of play. To hear some of that, listen to his tune "Hard Grind", on the "Fire" label, #1006, or "June's Blues", with King Curtis on sax, on the Symbol label (a subsidiary of Sue Records), #900, with the artist listed on the label as "The Commandos".