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Joe's Blues Blog May 2022

4/29/2022

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First off, let me wish all performers who are vying for a spot or shot at making it to the National Blues competition, via a win here, at home, with the help and backing of NEOBA, and all of it's hard-working people, the best of luck (that's read "a quality performance") in your efforts.

Some May Blues Births:
  • May 8th.,1979-- "Smokin' " Joe Bonamassa
  • May 17th.,1922-- Vance "Tiny" Powell​
  • May 28th.,1917-- John Henry Creach, aka Papa John Creach
Answer To The March/ April Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Jimmy Johnson, born as James Earl Thompson, on November 25,1928, in Holly Springs, Mississippi. In his youth he sang in gospel groups and played piano. His family moved to Chicago around 1950, where he worked as a welder, and played guitar in his spare time.  Two of his brothers were also musicians, and they were all influenced by their neighbor, one "Magic Sam" (Samuel Gene Maghett). In '59 Jimmy also changed his last name to Johnson, as did his brother Syl (Sylvester Thompson, who was advised to do so by a record producer with whom he was working). The third brother kept his name as it was-- Mac Thompson. Jimmy liked the styles of both Buddy Guy and Otis Rush, and that's what influenced his playing.He performed with people such as both Freddie and Albert King, Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Eddy Clearwater, and many other of the big names in the Chicago blues area. In the early '60's he went more toward the soul end of the music, where he performed with notable people, such as Otis Clay, Denise LaSalle, Garland Green, and others. By '74 he was back to playing the blues, with Jimmy "Fast Fingers" Dawkins, and toured Japan in '75 with Otis Rush. In '80 Jimmy was awarded at the first annual Blues Music Awards, in Memphis. His career kept growing after that until December 2,1988, when his touring van crashed in Indiana, killing his band's keyboardist St. James Bryant, and Larry Exum the band's bassist. Jimmy was also injured, and took an extended break from performing. In '94 he returned to it, and did a recording for Verve Records, album titled "I'm A Jockey". In 2002 he and brother Syl recorded an album on Evangeline Records, titled "Two Johnson's Are Better Than One". He was inducted into The Blues Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2020, he was honored as "the Best Blues Guitarist", by Living Blues Magazine, and a year later he was named "Best Blues Artist of The Year". A year after that, he passed away at his home in Harvey, Illinois, on January 31,2022, just six days before his brother Syl also passed away. The third brother, Mac, born January 28,1934, had passed away, earlier, on October 10,1991.

Blues Question For May 2022: This person isn't a bluesman, per se, but is known as an actor, but he is an excellent writer (songs included) and singer. For someone with his abilities he's not well known by most, but he sure has a long list of credits. He did do some touring with an unknown blues band, as the vocalist. Any ideas who this person might be ??

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For May 2022: The song is "Crying At Daybreak", and the artist is Howlin' Wolf. This was the "b" side of an RPM recording , with the "a" side being "Passing By Blues", RPM #340, recorded October 2,1951, at KWEM radio in West Memphis, Arkansas. The artists on this were: Howlin' Wolf on harmonica and vocals, Ike Turner (yes, that Ike) on piano, Willie Johnson on guitar and bass, and Willie Steel on drums. This is the first recording of the Wolf's where he mentions "smoke stack lightning" in the lyrics. The song "Smokestack Lightning" was recorded in February of '56, on Chess Records, #1618. Incidentally, the "smoke stack lightning" referred to in the songs is the description of the sparks being emitted  from the smoke stack of a locomotive, in the darkness of night.

Blues Trivia For May 2022: The radio station mentioned earlier, KWEM, was a leading station that started broadcasting on February 9,1947,(990AM) on the dial, officially opened two weeks later. It was started by the owners of a Little Rock area station, KXLR,(1450AM), who wanted to build a network of radio stations, to broadcast Arkansas Razorback's Football. Howlin' Wolf had a show on KWEM(990AM) from 1949 to 1952. The people who got their music careers started at or through this station were many, such as Paul Burlinson (rockabilly guitarist), B.B.King, on a show that was run by Sonny Boy Williamson II, Jim Stewart, who founded STAX records, and also James Cotton and Hubert Sumlin. Johhny Cash's first radio broadcast was on this station, as was also the first for an unknown performer who wasn't very well received by the station's audience because he didn't have a band. You might have heard of him: Elvis Presley. The station has gone through a lot of changes over the years since those days-- moving the offices to Memphis (on the other side of the river) while keeping the transmitter in West Memphis, changing call letters, ownership of it, and on and on. It is now still functioning again as KWEM-LP (low power)FM (93.3). It is now owned by Arkansas State University. It broadcasts blues and gospel musics, and is used as a "training ground" for the community college's digital media program, as it's on-line also.

Some May Blues Passings:
  • May 2nd.,1975-- Milton Morse Love, aka Billy "Red" Love
  • May 16th.,2002-- James Dewar​
  • May 20th.,2012-- Carrie Louise Smith

A Footnote re the March/April Blues Blog:  There was an album listed/ provided for your entertainment, "Heartbreakin' Woman", by Marva Wright. The one that was chosen/is pictured is the third and the last, to this date, re-issue of the album, and it's on Mardi Gras Records, # MG1038, released in 1998. The original on Tipatina's label, # T-007, shows Marva in black leather slacks and jacket, astride a blue motorcycle (possibly a Harley or other V-twin),outside the front of Tipatina's, and was issued in 1990. The second re-issue is on Sky Ranch Records (out of France), # SR652307, released in 1991 (France only). That has a cover with what I'd call a "ghosted picture" of Marva, looking to the left, and singing. Just thought I'd let you know !!
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Joe's Blues Blog March/April 2022

3/28/2022

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First of all, let me wish all a Happy St.Paddy's Day (Yeah, I know I'm late), a Happy April Fool's Day, and most of all, a Happy, Safe, And Blessed Easter (even for the marshmallow Peeps and the Cadbury Bunny).
Since I couldn't get the March Blog out on time, even though I had it almost finished, I've decided to re-do it and combine it with the April Blues Blog, as I've used the info combined to do so. I've added a little and scrapped a little to do this.Some March Blues Births:
  • March 7th.1962-- Vernon Chico Banks
  • March 12th.,1896-- Jesse "Lone Cat" Fuller
  • March 21st.,1902-- James "Son" House
Some April Blues Births:
  • April 9th.,1917-- Woodrow Wilson Adams
  • April 13th.,1922-- Roy Sidney Dunn
  • April 26th.,1908-- Shirley Griffith. (Yes, it's a man named Shirley !!)

Answer To The February 2022 Blues Question: The blues artist we were looking for was/is Marva Wright, born Marva Maria Williams, on March 20,1948, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her mother was Mattie P. Gilbert, and her father was Rev. Arthur Williams. Marva graduated from Booker T. Washington High School, then attended Southern University in Baton Rouge. Her musical "career" started with her singing gospel, in church, with her mother, who was a pianist and gospel singer there too. Her mother was a big influence in her singing, as was a family friend by the name of Mahalia Jackson. Marva's very first singing on a recording was "I Walk With The King", a gospel song, accompanied by her mother, at the age of 9. Marva didn't turn professional until 1987, at almost 40 years of age. She was working a second job to support her then family. The song that got her noticed was her performance of "Dr. Feelgood', an Aretha Franklin tune. In 1989, she was at Tipatina's, along with several other local artists, doing a show, when she recorded "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean", a song originally recorded in 1952 and released in '53, by none other than Ruth Brown. That night's performances were recorded, and later in 1989, released on the Ooh-La-La label, #1401, as "Tipatina's Proudly Presents Live And In Person". It's 10 great tracks, recorded in Dec. 1988 & Jan. 1989, all by different artists. The first tune on it is Marva, doing the song I just listed earlier. Later in '89, she recorded/released her first album, "Heatbreakin' Woman", on the Tipatina Records label, #T-007. She wrote that title song, and if you get a chance to hear this c.d., you'll see why and how she got the title "The Blues Queen of New Orleans". There are 2 other c.d.'s worth mentioning here. One, under her own name, is "After The Levees Broke", done in 2007, her extremely heartfelt album, done after she lost everything she and her family had, when hurricane Katrina broke the levees, and destroyed so many lives. It took her bandleader quite awhile to convince her to record this heartbreak, and yet, have a positive outlook for the future album. The man who recorded it was also from New Orleans, and he too, lost everything to the flooding, including his recording studio and all it's equipment. He recorded this c.d., with Marva, her band leader--Benny Turner, and the rest of the musicians, in his new studio location and place of residence-- Australia. The other one worth noting, is a compilation c.d., put together and distributed in Germany, in 1993, of New Orleans musicians. It was sponsored by Tabasco Sauce, released on the ARIS / Ariola BMG label, and has 14 tracks, all by different artists. If you want that c.d., you're going to have to get it from Germany (yes, I have that one too). She has 12 albums under her own name, and quite a few compilation albums. Marva has 4 children from her previous marriages: Gerry and Elizabeth Martin, and Jeanne and James Kelly Jr. The daughters all have different last names now, as they're all married. She also has quite a few grand-babies. After a series of strokes, from which she never fully recovered, she had the last one, which was fatal, on March 23, 2010, a few days after her 62nd. birthday, at her daughter's house, in New Orleans.

Blues Question For March And April 2022: This bluesman was quite a versatile player/singer/writer in the blues genre. He has a younger brother, also a gifted bluesman. Both of them are well-known in their own areas of the music. Both have shared the stage with the big names in the blues, and have also been the lead act(s). Any idea who this bluesman might be  ???

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For March And April 2022: Referring to the Blues Question & Answer sections on Marva, it's her song-- "Heartbreakin' Woman", on Tipatina's Records album, # T-007. Also on this album is her doing "St.James Infirmary", and it's the only album of hers that that particular song is on. Also on it is "Born Under A Bad Sign". If you get on youtube, you can get either just the individual songs, or the full album. I'd personally opt for the full album (but I have the c.d.). The other musicians on that album are: Ronald Jones-- backing vocals,, drums, piano; Juanita Brooks-- backing vocals; Marva Wright-- backing vocals,,lead vocals; Sammy Perfect-- organ,,piano; and Daryl Johnson-- bass.

Blues Trivia For March And April 2022: If you have Amazon Prime (I don't, but I borrowed it), they made a movie/series (8 episodes so far), titled "Jack Reacher", after the main character in the Lee Child series of books (there are 26 published, with the 27th. due out in October 2022), and I've read all but #25- The Sentinal (I'm part way through it), and #26-BetterOff Dead, which I have on order. Anyhow, this first movie series is based on the first book- "Killing Floor", with the tv series titled simply "Jack Reacher". The story is set in Margrave, Georgia (a fictional town, as there is no Margrave town, township,city or county anywhere that I could find). Reacher's older brother, Joe, had told him that it was in that town that bluesman Blind Blake had possibly died. That actually was a clue from Joe that there were some problems in Margrave that needed looking into by a qualified investigator, since Jack was just that, in the Army, up until he retired. The whole story revolves around the fact that, once there, Jack's arrested for murder, with an unidentified victim. It's discovered by Reacher when he's at the Morgue, that this "victim" is his brother, Joe. From that point, his entire being and purpose is to eradicate all/ anyone connected to Joe's murder. Reacher originally went there to check the story about Blake. (Arthur "Blind" Blake actually died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) As you go through all the episodes in the series, you'll hear a lot of bluesmen on the soundtrack, such as Blake, Howlin' Wolf, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Corey Harris, and others. You'll hear Blind Blake doing "Police Dog Blues", at least in part, Howlin' Wolf doing "Spoonfull", again, in part, as are all the tunes. Child mentions Blake in 2 or 3 of the other books in the Reacher series. That Police Dog Blues tune was recorded on the Paramount label, in Richmond, Indiana, on August 17,1929. Blake recorded exclusively on and for the Paramount label. If you've read any Dean Koontz or Stephen King books, you will also find that they both, at times, mention some early and also current bluesmen, and/or their songs. There's  some trivia items here: the actor who plays Reacher in this series is Alan Ritchson, who is listed, in different places, as being either 6'3" or 6'2" in height, and in the books he's shown to be 6'5". The actor Tom Cruise, who played Reacher in 2 movies, is 5'7", a long way from Reacher's description. Want to guess who comes off better in the role ? Another item is what I mentioned earlier-- that there's a lot of great cuts on the soundtrack. A third item is that Ritchson read all the books in this series, in their order, to prepare himself for the role. Yes, I know, it's not straight-up blues, but it should tell you that you can find the blues almost everywhere you choose to look, or you may just stumble into them. Don't ever complain--just enjoy !!

Some March Blues Passings:
  • March 2nd.,1988-- Roy Sidney Dunn
  • March 19th.,2011-- Archie "Aashid" Himmons
  • March 23rd.,1988-- Moody Jones.
   Some April Blues Passings:
  • April 12th.,1979-- Pernell Charity
  • April  14th.,1954-- Lillian "Lil" Green
  • April 26th.,1976-- Mable Hillery


​Also, by the way, Alligator Records has 3 artists on the Blues Chart: Tinsley Ellis, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, and Shemekia Copeland, and mentions of several other of their artists, including Chris Cain, Tommy Castro, Curtis Salgado, and others.

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Joe's Blues Blog February 2022

1/19/2022

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First, Some Info On Where We've Been: Due to some family health issues, which caused some nasty financial issues, we were forced to shut down the parent company, Balista & Associates, which, by law, had to also first shut down any & all susidiary companies, one of which was The Sound of Blue. Well, I'm still here, but with a new name: Blues Hipp-O. To reach me you'll have to go through NEOBA, who will get in touch with me, to answer questions, or whatever. The Hipp-O thing was chosen because the Blues is a lot like the animal: most times peaceful and quiet, other times, up to 8,000 pounds of bad attitude, with no sense of humor when tampered with. I'll try to get the Blog written each month, as time and health permits.

Some February Blues Births:
  • February 8th.,1889-- Alonzo "Lonnie" Johnson, aka Jimmy Jordan,Tommy Jordan
  • February 17th.,1911-- John Tyler "J.T." Adams​
  • February 24th.,1952-- Bob Carter

Answer To The September 2021 Blues Question: (yes, I know I'm late) The bluesman we were looking for was/is Johnny Mars, born December 7, 1942, in Laurent, South Carolina. In his early years, his family moved frequently, as they were sharecroppers. At the age of 9, he got his first harmonica. When he was 14, after the death of his mother, Mars and his younger siblings moved to Paltz, New York. Having left high school, he began performing in various clubs in New York City. He signed a recording contract with Mercury Records in the early '60's, with the band "Burning Bush". By the mid-'60's he'd moved to California and started a band, got lots of gigs, but no recognition, other than in Northern California. He got some advice from Rick Estrin, of "Little Charlie and The Night Cats", to tour the U.K. (England). While there, he did some recording for/ with Big Bear Records, then re-located to Somerset, England. He taught for 15 years, at / for primay schools in England. He is still touring and performing in such places as The Bath Music Fest (in England), The Pocono Blues Festival (in the U.S.A.), and the Kastav Blues Festival (in Croatia), with Michael Roach, with whom he had partnered up with in 2008.

Blues Question For February 2022: This blues artist started out, as have many, singing in a church choir, eventually progressing to performing the blues, after listening to it for many years. She has a great blues voice, and is well- known in her native area. Any idea who this performer might be ???

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For February 2022: The song is  "(It) Wuden't Me" (sometimes shown as Wudn't Me), and the Artist is Chuck Berry. I know it's not strictly a blues song, but it's descriptive of how, years ago, a young Black man, might have been treated in Alabama. It was done on the ATCO label (a susidiary of Atlantic Records), on the L.P. # SD-38-118, in 1979. The other players on this record were Bob Wray and Jim Marsala on bass, Johnnie Johnson on piano, Kenneth Buttrey on drums, and, of course, Chuck Berry on guitar and vocals. It became available on c.d. in 2017, on the Varese Sarabande label. It's under the original album's name: "Rockit", with the same picture as the original L.P. cover.

Blues Trivia For February 2022:  Back in the early '70's, some musicians in the U.K. got together and formed a company called Magnum Music Corp.. Some sources list this company as the one that recorded & released that recording of Chuck Berry's Rockit L.P. in 1988. You ever heard backround music in an elevator, in a retail store, in a restaurant, in a doctor's office, or any other place ? Well, that's what was started by Magnum Music back then, re-releasing some of those old albums and/ or recording for the "backround" music that you hear today. The original of "Rockit" was, of course, on ATCO, which was released in 1979. Listen to the song  "Wuden't Me"'s lyrics  and pay attention. In it, you'll hear Chuck mention the "Delford County Jail". Nowhere could I find a Delford County itself, or an associated jail. What I did find was that in Chuck's hometown, St. Louis, there is an 8 block long area called the "Delmar Loop". On it there are are over 150 specialty shops/ businesses. It is located on the border of St. Louis (the city) and St.Louis County. It got that name because over  a hundred years ago, it's where the streetcars "looped around" for their return runs.  Some of the current notables are "Salt and Smoke", at 6525 Delmar Blvd., an "everything made from scratch" barbeque joint. Another is called "Blueberry Hill", at 6504 Delmar Blvd., founded in 1972, now known as an entertainment venue, with a restaurant. It has one area known as "The Duck Room", as Chuck played there for many years. Imagine going there and seeing/ hearing him live, while you're eating. By the way that album, "Rockit", was released on c.d. in 2017, on the Varese Sarabande label, featuring the artwork from the original L.P.. Little hard to find, but it is available. If you can't clearly hear the lyrics to the song, get on your computer, and type into your search browser: "Wudn't Me lyrics", and you'll get multiple choices to look at/ see them. There are quite a few other "artists" listed, but just disregard them. It also will bring up another similar song by Chuck:"It Wasn't Me", but that's from 1965(?), and is totally different.

Here's a little info for you: if you like Southern blues- rock, you'll like the January 21st. release  from Alligator Records,: Tinsley Ellis-- "Devil May Care".  If you like some good fret work and string- bending, and active vocals, have a listen !!

Some February Blues Passings:
  • February 7th.,2013-- Roscoe Chenier
  • February 12th.,1978-- Robert "Bob" Edward "Cyclone McCoy​
  • February 22nd.,2003-- Earl Lacy Forest
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Joe's Blues Blog September 2021

9/1/2021

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Some September Blues Births:
  • September 3rd.,1915-- Peter "Memphis Slim" Chatman,aka Leroy
  • September 18th.,1929-- Louis Myers, aka Louie Meyers
  • September  29th.,1937-- Joe "Guitar" Hughes, born Maurice Hughes

Answer To The August 2021 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Frank Edwards, aka Mr. Frank, Black Frank, and/or Mr. Cleanhead, born March 20,1909, in Washington, Georgia. He worked as a singer, guitarist, and/or a harmonica player for roughly 80 years. His day job(s), to pay the bills and allow him to play the blues, was as a carpenter, painter, and/or plumber, except for a two year stretch, when a house fire left him without a guitar. He left home at fourteen years of age, after an argument with his father, and headed to St.Augustine, Florida. Once there, he bought a guitar and was encouraged to learn how to play it by a local bluesman, one Tampa Red (Hudson Whittaker), who was only six years his senior. During that period he also learned to play the harmonica, influenced by listening to recordings by John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson (the first). He had also met and become friends with Tommy McClennan, who encouraged him to make some recordings. In his career he recorded for 4 labels: OKeh, on March 28,1941; Regal, in August 1949, but that one is shown to be done in May of 1950, which went unreleased at that time (those are now on several compilation c.d.'s); Trix, on September 27, November 17, and December 8, of 1972 (#3303, titled "Done Some Travelin'"); Music Maker Relief Foundation's recordings of him were done from 1996 to 2002, at different locations (venues), with a couple of his early recordings added in to showcase his talent. Those were released on a c.d. titled "Chicken Raid", named after one of his songs. He was being driven home from that last session, done on March 22, 2002, just two days after his 93rd. birthday. His driver was in Greenville, South Carolina, on the way to Frank's home in Atlanta, Georgia. when Frank had a heart attack. An ambulance was called to transport him to the hospital, but while in it, he passed away, March 22, 2002. There is one other recording of him, done live, at a blues festival in Georgia, on the Southland label, in 1984. You'd have to read his full bio, to get a true idea of how much he travelled while honing his craft.

Blues Question For September 2021: This bluesman was born in South Carolina, and now lives in England. He's a songwriter, singer, and harmonica player, who, at various times, lived in New York, the Carolina's, and good ole' northern California. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For September 2021: The song is "Blue Midnight- Alternate Version", and the artist is Little Walter (Jacobs), recorded in October of 1952. The other players on it are Louis Myers Dave Myers on guitars, with Fred Below on drums. Nothin' like a good blues instrumental !!  So, ENJOY !!

Blues Trivia For September 2021: While digging for facts on Frank Edward's recordings, I wondered about the OkeH label, and how it came to be. Ah, yes--open another can of worms, please! It's a figure of speech and not meant to degrade the poor worms, just don't want to upset the word police. Anyhow, Otto K. E. Heinemann founded the Otto Heinemann Phonograph company in 1916. In 1918, he changed the "parent" company's name to The General Phonograph Corp., and began cutting records. The label's were changed to read OKeh. That label has been re-done many times over the years, in what's in caps, mixed with lower case letters. That company was sold to Columbia in 1926, and re-named The American Record Corp. (ARC). CBS bought the company in 1938. It's now owned by Sony Entertainment. Many things about OKeh have changed over all these years; the way the name is on the actual record or c.d. label, the types of musics recorded, the registered owner of the company, what label gets to distribute those recordin medias, and on and on. And, yes, it's name has been shut down/discontinued many times, by all the different owners, only to be resurrected for another time. You want to really scramble your brain, research the OKeh record label's full history, from it's inception in 1916, to the present day ! And people tend to think there's nothing to all this info being checked. Yeah, right !

Some September Blues Passings:
  • September 3rd.,1998-- Spike Ravenswood, born Uwe Gleich in Germany
  • September 18th.,1983-- Roy "Bunny" Milton

  • September 26th.,1976-- Louis Charles Robinson, aka Good Rockin' Charles
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Joe's Blues Blog August 2021

8/1/2021

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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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Joe's Blues Blog July 2021

6/30/2021

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First, a note about the June 2021 Blog. In the Blues Births section, I listed Robert "Rockin' Robin" Montgomery, and I should have added to that entry that he was Wallace Coleman's keyboardist, and besides blues he was also a knowledgeable player of folk and rockabilly music, and these music's histories.

Some July Blues Births:
  • July 4th.,1965-- Jimmy D. Lane
  • July 17th.,1939-- Samuel Moore, aka "Ironing Board Sam"​
  • July 26th.,1943-- Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger

Answer to The June 2021 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Jim Jackson, born June 1876, but, as usual, other sources show other possible years being either 1884 or 1890, though no specific date has been found, in Hernando, Mississippi. While being raised on a farm, he learned to play guitar. By 1905, he was working as a dancer, singer, and musician, in visiting traveling medicine shows, and also at local parties and dances. Before long, he was traveling and performing with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, who featured "Ma Rainey" (the original) and Bessie Smith. I said, in the June Blog, that he landed an early gig at a "prestigious" spot, and that was at the Peabody Hotel, in 1919 (ever seen the hotel's duck walk?). With his abilities, he became a popular attraction there. On October 10, 1927, with a contract agreement with Vocalion Records, he recorded "Jim Jackson's Kansas City Blues", which became a hit for him, along with being a best-seller both for him and Vocalion. It has since been covered many times in both the blues and Rock&Roll genres, by many artists, who have also had hits with it. Over the next couple of years, he would record more versions and/or additional titles to the original "Kansas City Blues", creating a "series" of them. One of his recorded songs, which is my favorite of his work, is a medicine show song -- "I Heard the Voice of a Pork Chop". In late '29 and early '30, he ran a traveling medicine show, "The Red Rose Minstrels", throughout Mississippi, Arkansas, and Alabama. In February of '30, he recorded his last session, in Memphis. Then he moved back to Hernando, where he continued to perform locally, until his death, on December 18, 1933.

Blues Question For July 2021: This bluesman, born in Alabama, ended up in Chicago, where he would become a fixture in the blues clubs. He played both piano and guitar, but is best known for his vocals. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For July 2021: The song I'm going to show is how to type it in to get the correct recording. The song is "Big Chief: Parts 1 & 2-Watch", and the artist is Henry Roland "Roy" Byrd, aka "Professor Longhair" or "Fess". I listed this song this way because there are several different versions of that he recorded, but this is the original, recorded in 1964, on the Watch label, with Part 1 on one side and Part 2 on the flip side of a &" 45 rpm record. When you listen to this, realize that this is the man who influenced so many New Orleans keyboard players, be it on the piano or organ, such as Dr.John, James Booker, and Fats Domino.

Blues Trivia For July 2021: This is kind of an expansion of last month's Trivia section. If you read it, then you know that I briefly touched on slavery's early days and the fact that it included Blacks (African- Americans) and Indians (the only true Native Americans). The two races were often grouped together in the "slave camps", and would eventually "co-mingle", from or out of which came their offspring. The decendents of those would eventually start the beginnings of the Mardi Gras Indian Tribes. At the time I wrote that, I only knew of two tribes who had recorded: The Wild Tchoupitoulas and The Wild Magnolias. Boy, was I wrong !! Never satisfied that my research is complete, I started digging further into the Mardi Gras Indian tribes and their music. I found at least six more tribes who've recorded a full album or c.d. Then I found quite a few compilations c.d.'s that had other tribe's recordings, sometimes only one song or up to four or six. In June's Trivia, I mentioned Big Chief Bo Dollis and The Wild Magnolias. Here are some of the other chiefs: Chief Smiley Ricks, Big Chief Victor Harris, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux (the person who founded the Wild Magnolias), and Big Chief Alfred Doucette, to name a few. Some of the other Tribes are: Fi Yi Yi, The Treme Brass & Indian Band, Cha Wa, Hundred & One Runners, 79rs. Gang, Fi Yi Yi & The  Mandingo Warriors, and The Flaming Arrows. There are more of them, but, you get the picture. My whole point being, never stop learning about all of the aspects of the blues and it's influence and interaction with other music genres, over all these years.

Some Blues Passings For July:
  • July 3rd.,1972-- Mississippi Fred McDowell
  • July 16th.,2013-- James Lewis Curtis Ford, aka "T-Model Ford

  • July 25th.,1984-- Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton
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Joe's Blues Blog June 2021

5/25/2021

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Some Blues Births For June 2021:
  • June 1st. 1948-- Robert Paul Montgomery, aka "Rockin' Robin"
  • June 17th. 1985-- Matt Hill​
  • June 30th. 1961-- Michael Lewis "Mike" Wheeler

Answer To The May 2021 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Cornelius Green III, aka "Lonesome Sundown", born on the Dugas Plantation (near Donaldsonville) Louisiana, on December 12, 1928. Growing up there, while in gradeschool, he taught himself how to play piano.  When he was 18, in '46 or '47, he moved to New Orleans, to work outside the music field, as a porter. He returned to Donaldsonville in '48, where, after listening to records by Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, he decided to get serious about his music career, and took guitar lessons from a cousin. In '52, he moved to Jeanerette, where he took a job as a truck driver. In '53, he moved to Port Arthur, Texas, where he worked at the Gulf Oil refinery. While living there, he took some gigs playing in some local clubs and bars. In '55, he was listening to a band at the Blue Moon Club. He was asked, by the band's leader, if he'd like to sit in with them. That was Clifton Chenier, with his new band, The Zydeco Ramblers. He ended up touring with Chenier and the band, as the second guitarist, next to the first guitarist-- one Phillip Walker. They toured/performed throughout the South, then up to Chicago. From there, across the country, to play the West Coast. He recorded with Chenier, in '55, in Los Angeles, on the Specialty label. He also got married that year. Later in '55, he moved to Opelousas, Louisiana. He put together a demo tape, and took it to Jay Miller, in Crowley. Miller, after hearing the tape, gave him the "Lonesome Sundown" name, because of the melancholy tone in Green's vocals, tempered with the strongly-influenced Chicago style of his guitar work. Another strong influence to the sound of swamp blues recordings that Miller made, and then leased to Excello Records, which was based in Nashville.Sundown wrote most all of his own songs, which he recorded with Miller, over an 8 year period. By 1965, he was "disillusioned" with the music business and his lack of success in it. About this same time, he was going through a rough divorce, and missing his seven children. He joined The Apostolic Faith Fellowship Church, where he would eventually become a minister. In '77, he was persuaded to go back into the recording studio, where he recorded an album, titled "Been Gone Too Long", on the Joliet label. It would be released a second time on the Alligator Records label, but the sales of either/both of these releases were never that great. My own copy is on the Hightone label, released 1n 1991. In '79, he played at the New Orleans Jazz Heritage Festival, and also toured and performed with Phillip Walker, in Sweden and Japan, then walked away, completely, from the music business. In '94, he suffered a stroke, and could no longer speak. He died April 23,1995, from the effects of that stroke.

Blues Question For June 2021: This bluesman, like Leadbelly, knew and played hundreds of songs in the blues, folk, country, and gospel genres. Though he travelled and performed extensively, one of his earliest "gigs" was a residency at a famous spot. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For June 2021: The song is "It Hurts Me Too", and the artist is Jimmy Nolen, recorded May 4, 1956, in Los Angeles, on the Federal label (a subsidiary of King Records), #12278, in both 78 and 45 rpm versions. The musicians on this recording are: Jimmy Nolen on vocals and guitar; Eldee Williams on tenor sax; Kenny Battle on baritone sax; Devonia "Dee" Williams on piano; Johnny Parker on bass, and Earl Hyde on drums. I'm guessing, but I think that these people were "borrowed" from Johnny Otis' band, since he was bandleader, talent scout, etc, for King Records. We have a c.d. in stock titled Jimmy Nolen "Before The Funk", which has all his Federal sides, from the time, before he joined the James Brown band. Incidentally, this song was originally written and recorded in 1940, by Hudson Whittaker, aka "Tampa Red", even though the writing credit on the record's label shows Nolen as the writer.

Blues Trivia For June 2021: How do you feel about paying restitution to whomever, for things that our forefathers may or may not have done 300 or so, years ago? Where does this "political correctness" stop, so we can get back to reality? We have it "right here in River City" (Cleveland Oh.), with the Cleveland Indians, "The Tribe". The images and name are "demeaning to Native Americans". O.K., so you want to do away with the "Tribe" name, pictures, portraits, or anything else that might be offensive. Think about this: how long will it be before one of these morons wants to get rid of the memories of "Bo "Big Chief" Dollis and The Wild Magnolias", a New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian tribe. There are currently 38 Mardi Gras Indian tribes, where, at one time, there were 61. They are 1 of 2 Tribes who recorded their music, the other being "The Wild Tchoupitoulas", formed by George "Big Chief Jolly" Landry, and that album was self-titled. It wasn't a commercial success, but it was a critical one, and, as such, it's in the Library of Congress National Registry, with a designation of "cultural, artistic, and historic importance in the nation's aural legacy". You might be wondering how this particular recording relates to the blues, well, here's your answer: the musicians on this were put together by Big Chief Jolly, and 4 of them were his nephews, all musicians, but who had never before worked together. You know them as The Neville Brothers-- Art, Charles, Aaron (Tell It Like It Is), and Cyril. This album was done in '76, and the discography of the Neville Brothers recordings as starting in '78. All blues fans know that much of the blues was born in the Delta, with slaves working the fields. The part that they don't know, because you have to do some serious digging into the history of slavery, is that that "trade" was started by the Danes, with African people who they "purchased" from tribal chiefs. Now, when they arrived here, they were put into "slave camps", along with native (American) Indians, so, no, all slaves were not black. The mingling of the Africans and native indians is where the Mardi Gras Indians got their start. All of our history is not good, but we'd better start teaching the coming generations that because it's bad or reflects bad people, times, events, it should not be removed, but should be studied to keep from repeating the past. Stop removing monuments, places, memorials of our past, as it's what made us who we are, and right now, that's not a pretty picture. Now, Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias started to make recordings in '70, and made many singles and albums from that time forward. They got enough recognition and praise that they performed at Carnegie Hall, and the Capital Centre in Washington, D.C., at the height of their popularity. They have 1 c.d. titled "1313 Hoodoo Street", which showcases their talents in the blues, R&B, soul, funk, and the New Orleans sound. I don't stock either of these group's recordings, but I do have my own copies, which I'll be happy to show you if you stop in. I can still get these, new, if you want. You want to learn about the blues ? It's a lot of work, Bubba.

Some Blues Passings For June 2021:

  • June 6th.,2010-- Calvin James Leavy
  • June 13th.,2015-- Sarah Streeter, aka "Big Time Sarah"
  • June 29.,1979-- Lowell Thomas George
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Joe's Blues Blog May 2021

5/3/2021

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First-off, I want to let you know that on June 18th., Alligator Records 50th Anniversary 3CD set should be here, in stock. It has 58 tracks, or you can opt for the 2 LP gatefold set, with 24 tracks, but that will be special order only.

Some Blues Births For May 2021:
  • May 1st.,1936-- Lacy Gibson
  • May 14th.,1943-- John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce
  • May 24th.,1941-- Robert Allen Zimmerman, aka Bob Dylan

Answer To The April 2021 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Frank Stokes, born January 1,1877 or 1888, in Whitehaven (known earlier as White Haven), Tennessee, a couple of miles from the Mississippi state line. One source shows that his daughter gave the year as 1888, while another source says that his WW I draft card shows the 1877 year. His parents died when he was young, and he was raised by his stepfather, Fred Corbin, in Tutwiler, Mississippi, which is where he learned to play the guitar. He worked on a farm, but did some performing at local parties and suppers, in and around the Memphis area. He settled in Hernando, MS, around 1900, which is where he met local residents and bluesmen Dan Sane (born Daniel Sains), Elijah Avery, Robert Wilkins, and Jim Jackson. He partnered up with Sane, and they travelled, on weekends, to busk in and around Memphis. His "day job" at that time was as a blacksmith. He then met Garfield Akers, then performed with him as a buck dancer, comedian, and as a "blackface Songster", in the Doc Watts Medicine Show, from around the mid-'10's to the mid-'20's. Stokes and Sane worked with Jack Kelly's Jug Busters (aka Jack Kelly's South Memphis Jug Band). The two of them did some recordings for the Paramount label, in Chicago, in 1927, as "The Beale Street Sheiks". They then did some recordings for the Victor label, in Memphis, under that same name. Some of those recordings are credited to Stokes, rather than the Sheiks, but Sane was on them. Some of the last Victor recordings have him accompanied by Will Batts, rather than Sane. The Sheiks recorded in ,27,'28, and '29, on both labels. One oddball here is a song titled "Unnamed Blues", recorded by Stokes in March of '29, on the Paramount label, #21246-1, which was never released. The other song on that session, however, "Jumpin' On The Hill", was released. The only place you can find that previously un-released song is on Yazoo Records LP-1056, issued in 1977, or on CD #1056, released in 1990. That album was put together with the assistance of Frank's daughter, Mrs.Helen Kent. The mastering on that LP was done by Nick Perls, and the jacket(cover) notes were done by Steve Calt. Through the '30's and early '40's, Stokes sometimes travelled alone, and at other times with others, such as Sane, Willie Borum, or Roosevelt Stokes (son), and performed in and around Memphis, at parties, suppers, some clubs, and in Church's Park (now known as W.C.Handy Park). He also did some tent and medicine shows, including working with the Ringling Brothers outfit. Around '49 he moved to Clarksdale,MS, and settled there, occasionally performing with Bukka White, in local "tonks". He retired from musical work in '51, as he was having trouble with his blood pressure, according to his daughter. He passed away in Memphis, on September 12, 1955, from the effects of a stroke. By the way, for you country music fans, when Stokes was performing at tent and/or medicine shows, there was a young man who copied his guitar style, and even performed some of his songs, and later, patterned his style after him. That person you should know-- one Jimmie Rodgers.

Blues Question For May 2021: This bluesman played piano and guitar. In his early days he worked as a porter, then, later on, as a truck driver, and still later, in an oil refinery. His first playing gigs were on an offer for him to sit in with a Zydeco band. He, like many others of his quality blues work, is mostly overlooked. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For May 2021: The song is "I Had A Dream", and the artist is Lafayette Jerl "Thing" Thomas on vocals and guitar, recorded September 9, 1968, in Berkely, CA. Others on this recording were L.C."Good Rockin" Robinson on steel guitar and guitar, Charles Thomas on guitar, Dave Alexander on piano, Malachi "Big Daddy" Spencer on bass, And Garwell Barfield on drums. It wasn't released until 1969, and I'll get to that in the following Trivia section.

Blues Trivia For May 2021: As stated above, this is about 1 LP, but the idea pertains to others, in all genres of music, as well. When you go looking for an older recording of a particular artist or song, you have to be careful. A lot of the early recordings, and I'm talking about shellac records, then vinyl, both LP's and 45's, cassette tapes (yes, even 8-tracks), and some of the early CD's, sometimes have incorrect info on them. On the above-listed song, I gave you the recording date for it. The album that that song is on is World Pacific Records, #WPS-21893, which was released sometime in late April 1969 or shortly thereafter, in the U.S.. It was also released in the U.K., on Liberty Records, #LBS-83234. Side 1 shows 5 songs, side 2 shows 6. The song's listings on the jacket (cover) and on the LP's labels match, but the actual vinyl record has a different order in which the songs are listed. I could give you all the wrong and correct listings, but that'd be a lot if typing and space. The 5 songs on side 1 and the first 3 on side 2, show the writer as being "Beulah Lacyson". I could find no record of this person. The person who arranged and directed those 8 songs was Jimmy McCracklin. I believe that the writing credit was to honor his wife (and possibly get the royalties), whose maiden name was Beulah Fayson. The last three songs on side 2 were recorded on March 7, 1969, in Los Angeles, rather than in Berkely, and with totally different backing band. The rear cover shows that the notes were done by Pete Welding in April of 1969. At this date, I can find no other place where that song can be found. You never know, it might show up on a compilation some day. All I'm saying is that when you find something you like, do some research so that you know that it's right, then get it, because it may never be again.

Some Blues Passings For May 2021:
  • May 6th.,2012-- Michael "Iron Man"Burks
  • May 17th.,1989-- Henry Lee Bester (went by Charles Edwards later), aka "Good Rockin' Charles
  • May  29th.,2005-- Percy Lee Strother
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Joe's Blues Blog April 2021

4/6/2021

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Some April Blues Births:
  • April 2nd.,1942-- Claude Russell Bridges, aka Leon Russell
  • April 16th.,1937-- Artie "Blues Boy" White​
  • April 27th.,1947-- Ann Lee Peebles

Answer To The March 2021 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Robert L. "Bob" Geddins, born February 6, 1913, in Highbank, Texas. Some records show him being born in Martin, but that's a county in another part of the state. I believe those records should be changed to read Marlin, which is 10 miles north of Highbank, though Marlin is still wrong. I'm skipping the history of Highbank, but, that too, is an interesting story. In 1933 Geddins got his feet wet in the blues and gospel areas-- he started a record store in a building next to his grandmother's garage, in Los Angeles. In '42, he went to West Oakland to visit his mother, who had just moved there-- he stayed ! He heard complaints from migrant workers who had come from the South, that they couldn't find any blues or gospel records, so he took a job at Wolf Record Store. He then got some training in welding at the Kaiser Shipyards, and also went to night school to learn radio repair. After those efforts, he and a friend of his, Jack Gutshall, with a loan from his stepfather, worked around the clock for 2 weeks, and built his first record manufacturing plant, at Center and Eighth Streets. So was the start of a long and varied career. Over the next 17 or 18 years, he founded/ owned several record labels, among them, Down Town, Big Town, Cavatone, Irma (named after his wife), Art-Tone, Veltone, and many others, much smaller ones, to do small production runs. Most of his deals, whether with other record producers or artists, were done on a handshake basis. That probably wasn't a good idea for his part, as some of those other producers and promotors were selling product pirated from him, behind his back. He made a lot of those deals to pay his business expenses, and to support his large family: wife Irma Jean (nee Dyer) and 16 children, 8 boys and 8 girls, 2 were deceased, so, raising 14. By '52 or '53, he was "unhappy" with the way the music business, in general, was going, so he opened a radiator repair shop; remember he was a Mr.Fixit, mechanically talented. At the same time, he also went into songwriting, which he was also good at. Some of the songs he wrote are: "Tin Pan Alley" for Jimmy Wilson, "Mercury Boogie" for/with K.C.Douglas, "My Time After A While" for Tiny Powell, and "Hydramatic Woman" for Joe Hill Louis. His best-known song, however, is "Haunted House", sung by Johnny Fuller, released in 1958, on Specialty Records, #655. It became a big, national hit, when it was covered by Jumpin' Gene Simmons, a rockabilly artist, on Hi Records, #45-2076, in 1964. If you look at the label on the Hi release, you'll see the performer is Jumpin' Gene Simmons, but you'll also see that the writer is listed as "Geddins". The original by Fuller is still the best version, though it's been covered by many artists since then, and has become a Halloween favorite. A lot of Geddins' early recordings were also early recordings of quite a few who went on to become highly successful, including Jimmy McCracklin, Big Mama Thorton, Johnny Fuller, Jimmy Wilson, James Reed (a piano player, not the one you're familiar with), Lowell Fulson, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Etta James, Juke Boy Bonner, and many others, including many gospel groups. He performed/recorded 1 song under his own name-- "Irma Jean Blues". He recorded a few others as "The Mystery Man". His studio band for other's recordings was known as "The Bob Geddins Cavaliers". His Cava-Tone records was as an advertisement for them. Up into the '80's, Bob and his offsprings were still making deals for small pressing runs. He passed away February 16,1991, of liver cancer, a month after he was stabbed when he was robbed by 2 teenagers, of a royalties check he had just received.

Blues Question For April 2021: This bluesman developed a blues guitar style, over the years, that others now use. His parents died when he was young, and he was raised by his stepfather. He recorded quite a bit, but almost all of it was either just himself, or one other person at a time, a different person on the next session. Any idea as to who this might be ??

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For April 2021: The song is "He Won't Bite Me Twice", and the artist is Big Amos Patton, the nephew of one Charley Patton, who is considered to be the father of the Delta Blues. Big Amos went to Stax Records with this song, hoping to get a contract with them. They wanted the song, but they wanted Albert King to record it. Big Amos was having none of that, so he went to Hi Records and pitched the same deal. He ended up doing 6 songs for them, including that one. It's now available on a 2 cd set on Hi Records: Rivertown Blues + R & B Sessions + The Soul (in stock here). He then went back to his own locale, performing a gig, now and then. After that, he just disappeared.

Blues Trivia For April 2021: As I was sitting here typing this in, I looked at what I'd put together for the trivia section and realized that it was way larger than what I'd already written in the blog, so here's the modified version. As I was researching the info for the Geddins section, I was led to more West Coast and Bay Area indie blues people and labels. I accumulated 70 or so pages, both printed and hand-written. It should be said that there is a definite style here in this music, much like the blues in other areas of the country. Did you know that the West Oakland/ Oakland area was called the Harlem of the West ?  For this section, I had put together a list of "indie" labels and their owners, plus the artists they recorded. As I said, it turned out way too big to put in here, so maybe, sometime in the future, I'll put them in here, one at a time. I'll keep trying to do better at this.

Some April Blues Passings:
  • April 5th.,1998-- Colin Trevor "Cozy" Powell
  • April 14th.,2005-- James (or Johnny) Miller, aka "Cootie Stark"

  • April 23rd.,2013-- Bob Brozman
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Joe's Blues Blog March 2021

3/1/2021

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Some March Blues Births:
  • March 2nd.,1890-- Bessie Brown, aka Sadie Green, Caroline Lee
  • March 15th.,1928-- Johnny Charles "J.C." Burris​
  • March 31st.,1921-- Lowell Fulson, aka Lowell Fulsom, Tulsa Red

Answer To The February 2021 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Willie Nix, aka Memphis Blues Boy, born August 6,1918, in Memphis, Tennessee. As a youth he learned to tap dance. In his teen years he toured and performed with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, as a dancing comedian, in the late '30's. In the early '40's he did the same with the Royal American Show. Somewhere around this time he learned how to play guitar, drums, and do vocals. In the mid '40's he worked in the parks and streets around Memphis and close-by towns. According to some sources he performed on a radio show with Robert Lockwood Jr., in Little Rock, Arkansas, but a different source says that that took place in Memphis. This was around '47. Then Willie joined up with Sonny Boy Williamson II, Willie Love, and Joe Willie Wilkins. This group performed in jukes and clubs in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi, as "The Four Aces". After that, he performed around Memphis (Tn.) and West Memphis, Arkansas. He made his first recordings on June 18,1951, at Memphis Recording Service (later that year to become Sun Records), on the RPM record label, which was a subsidiary of Modern Records of Los Angeles. His second session, made at the now renamed Sun Records, were released on the Checker label, a subsidiary of Chess Records. Shortly after that, he made some on and for Sun. This was when he started to record as a drummer for the recordings of other artists, such as Joe Hill Louis, Big Walter Horton, Muddy Waters, and others. He moved to Chicago in '53, and made some recordings there, as the vocalist, shown as "Willie Nix and His Band" on the Chance label, and as "Willie Nix and His Combo" on the Sabre label (a subsidiary of Chance Records). The backing band consisted of Snooky Pryor on harp, Sunnyland Slim on piano, Eddie "Playboy" Taylor on guitar, and Alfred Wallace on drums. In '58 he returned to Memphis to serve a term in jail ('58 & '59). When he returned to Chicago, he performed with such notables as Elmore James, Sonny Boy II, Sunnyland Slim, Johnny Shines, and others. In the mid-'50's he toured and performed with Elmore James all over the South and Midwest. After that, he kept on as a hobo, working mostly outside the music field, as a migrant laborer, though he did play the local jukes and clubs in the West Memphis area. In '59, he teamed up with Willie Cobb and his band, to tour, up into '67. In '68, he recorded with Willie Cobb, on the Riceland label, in Memphis. While in Memphis, he also worked with Big Amos Patton. During and after that time, he continued to work outside the music business, but he did perform to entertain the other workers around him, up into the '70's. He moved to Leland, Mississippi, where he performed on occasion, in the local jukes and clubs, when his worsening health would allow him to do so. He suffered a fatal heart attack and passed away on July 8,1991, in Leland. You can't find a good collection of his own works, but most of his recordings are 2 or 3 here and there on compilations. You can also find him on the drums on other artist's recordings, if you look.
Blues Question For March 2021: This bluesman's name you've probably seen if you've done any reading or research on the blues. He recorded only 2 sides under his own name, but he and his band backed many other artists. He was a big influence on the West Coast blues scene. Any ideas on who this bluesman might be ??

Blues Song And Artist For March 2021: The song is "The Thrill Is Gone", and the artist is Roy Hawkins. He was backed on this by Maxwell Davis on tenor sax, Willard McDaniel on piano, Johnny Moore on guitar, bass, and drums. This is the original first recording of this song. It was done on April 25,1951, at Modern Records in Los Angeles. Take 5 of the song is on Youtube and Spotify. Take 4 is on Spotify only, and on Ace Records U.K. c.d # CDCHD-754, out of print, in stock here, but not cheap, as it came from France. The title is Roy Hawkins: The Thrill Is Gone. There is a second c.d. frm Ace, # CDCHD-1096, titled Roy Hawkins: Bad Luck Is Falling. It's on order, but not here yet. It lists another previously un-released version of the song, which I believe, is track 5. The difference between the 2 is on the sax lead-in: #5 starts with a higher note. It's been covered by Luther Allison, Joe Bonamassa, B.B.King (as his signature song), Aretha Franklin, Patricia Barber, and Willie Pooch, just to name a few. If you look it up, you'll find it's been covered by well over a hundred performers.

Blues Trivia For March 2021: This ties in, kinda, with the Song Of The Month. If you've listened to the song on Youtube and seen the picture of the record's label, notice that the song writing credit on it. It's Modern Records # 826 and it shows Hawkins-Taub to be the ones who got the credit. This is a little deceptive, and if you dig a little further, you'll find the writing of it incorrectly credited to Dale Petite and Art Benson. WRONG again. The original writer was Rick Darnell, working with Roy Hawkins. Darnell wrote over a hundred blues tunes, some that became standards, but usually not credited to him. Modern Records was founded in 1945, by the 4 Bahari brothers,; Lester Louis Bahari, Julius Jeramiah Bahari, Saul Samuel Bahari, and Joseph Bahari. Besides the money being made by Modern, they soon learned that they could make more by getting writing credits. That was a pretty common practice for the record producers, from the small labels right on up to the larger ones. It wouldn't look good to use their own names, so most used pseudonyms, and the Bahari's were no exception. Julius was Jules Taub, or just Taub, Joe was Joe Josea, and Saul used Sam Long. Taub, by the way, was their mother's maiden name. And some of the musicians were just as good at doing the same thing, usually so they could record for another record company without being caught not honoring their contracts. Just think about these things when you see song writing credits !

Some March Blues Passings:
  • March 1st.,2005-- George "Wild Child" Butler
  • March 16th.,2015-- Andrew McLan "Andy" Fraser
  • March 23rd.,2010--Marva Wright 

​And a Happy St. Paddy's Day !! to ya'.
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Joe's Blues Blog February 2021

1/28/2021

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Some February Blues Births:
  • February 3rd.,1935-- Joseph Leon "Jody","Joe","Sugarboy" Williams,aka Little Papa Joe, Little Joe Lee, but best-known as Jody Williams
  • February 14th.,1950-- Otis Grand​
  • February 27th.,1943-- Jimmy Burns

Answer To The January 2021 Blues Question: The group we were looking for was/is The Dixie Blues Boys. As I said in the Question, their name would suggest a Southern heritage or starting point, but they recorded in Los Angeles, on June 6,1955. They recorded 5 sides, with only 2 being released, on the Flair Records label, a subsidiary of Modern Records, which was founded in 1946 by the 4 Bihari brothers. The 2 sides that were released were "Monte Carlo" and "My Baby Left Town". One or the other can be found now on different compilations, on quite a few labels. You can get both on 1 c.d., P-Vine Records (out of Japan), #PCD-3038, which is now out of print, so expect to pay the long dollar for it. A CD that has all 5 of those sides on it is ACE Records U.K., #CDCHD-1003, which is also out of print. Since it's got all 5 sides on it, it's even more expensive. There's 1 currently advertised on Amazon for $902.81 plus $3.99 freight, with tax on top of that. I contacted ACE in England, and they told me that due to slow sales of that disc, they were not planning to re-issue it. I have located and ordered 3 of them, from different sources, 2 from France, and 1, from, of all places, Russia, and NO, they weren't cheap, but they are definitely ordered. Just for your info, the P-Vine disc title  is "Blues From The Deep South", and the ACE title is "The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions, Volume 3". Now, about the group itself, about which not much is known. When John Broven of ACE Records was researching for the liner booklet in that disc, he found the original contract that the group had signed with Modern Records. There were 4 signatures: Charles S .Johnson, Ozie (or O.Z.) Saxton (most likely the "Dee Dee" credited on the releases as the vocalist), Dan Winston, and Clarence Wilkins. The odd thing on this disc is that there were 2 harp players, 1 being Saxton, the other only known as "Leonard". Supposedly the two worked together on gigs in Los Angeles. Those sides featured the 2 harps, guitar, upright bass, and drums, and not sure (other than the harps) who played what instrument. The debate is ongoing about from where the group originated and/ or where their base of operations was. Some of the suggestions are: Itta Bena, Mississippi; Helena, Arkansas; Monroe, Louisiana; St.Louis and Kansas City, Missouri. Some of the players were born in Mississippi or Louisiana. Maybe someday more info will be found about the group's founding and travels.

Blues Question For February 2021: This bluesman is another you've never heard of, but you should. He was a great vocalist who also played guitar and/ or drums. An early example of post-war electric blues, but he didn't record that much of his own work, most of his many recordings are with him as a sideman for many of the big names, both in the studio and on tours with them. Any ideas on this one ??

Blues Song(s) and Artist(s) For February 2021: The song is "The Devil's Shoestring", and the artist is Jimmy Reed. To understand why I picked this song, see the "Blues Trivia" section.

Blues Trivia For February 2021: As promised last month, it's about Hoodooists (and more). First off, gotta' clear something up:  Hoodoo is NOT Voodoo ! Both have their basis in religions, and in some cases, similar practices. Voodoo is a combination of different African tribal religions and some from Haiti, and sometimes requires animal sacrifices (unless you believe what Hollywood seems bent on supplying). Haiti was a French territory until a war between the 2 led to Haiti becoming it's own country. New Orleans was a port city, so immigrants (and some who had been slaves) settled there, after the end of the civil war. One of those was a woman named Marie LaVeau, who was a Haitian Voodoo priestess. She didn't as yet, have a church there, and a Catholic priest allowed her to use his church for her followers to have their services. She would eventually be known as "the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans". The French language was spoken in Haiti, since it had been a French-controlled territory for years, so that's what most immigrants from there spoke. When in New Orleans, it was combined with the Creole (Indians) language, and became known as Cajun. That's why when you hear Cajun music (and sometimes Zydeco) it's usually done with French vocals. The immigrants from Haiti and West Africa countries who settled in Memphis, spoke in English, then throw in a little bit of European folklore, Christianity, and Judaism and --presto-- you have Hoodoo. In it, spells are cast in the hope that good fortune, in all aspects of an individual's desires or needs, are met. The Hoodooist often uses roots, animal body parts, or an article of a person's personal property, to work a mojo (cast a spell). Enter Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett Rainey (the original Ma Rainey) with the recording "Louisiana Hoodoo Blues" in 1925. She was rumoured to be a caster of Hoodoo spells. Then came Lillie Mae Glover, known, after Ma Rainey's death in '39, as Ma Rainey II, or Big Memphis Ma Rainey, in later years. Besides her music, she was also recognized as a highly-skilled Beale Street Hoodooist. Not always easy to find, she was sought out by other musicians, to help with their difficulties in writing songs, matters of the heart, or getting work, or to get a mojo hand (a charm bag) from her. She only worked with items that were inexpensive and easily found, such as sugar, flour, lumps of coal, or something small from the person being helped. Then came Elizabeth "Kid" Douglas, who you should know as "Memphis Minnie", recording a song called "Hoodoo Lady", on February 18,1936. All 3 of them were considered to be "Hoodoo Ladies". Sonny Boy Williamson and  Amos "Junior"wells also sang about Hoodoo. Some of the items used in the practice of Hoodoo are: White Snakeroot--a branched herb; Aspan Seed-- an herbal seed; and here's the one referred to in the Blues Song Of The Month, Devil's Shoe String-- a member of the honeysuckle family of plants, it's long,white roots (like shoe strings) are used in Hoodoo. A man-made item, 1 of 2, used is red flannel, to make small bags in which to put spell ingredients or a gris-gris. A Gris-Gris is the other man-made item-- an amulet (a good luck charm) used in both Hoodoo and Voodoo. The early ones had Islamic scripture engraved on them. If you're going to go to Memphis' Beale Street for the first time or you've been there before, you should go into the A.Schwab store. it's the last original business on Beale (it was founded in 1876), and it's in the oldest original building on Beale (built before 1870's). When it first opened, it was a haberdashery, and now it's a tourist's delight, as far as souvenirs, and hard-to-find items too. It now has an original old-time soda fountain, and they also serve sandwiches. The real attraction there, though, is, or was, on the second floor. It was a museum on the history of the store and of Beale Street, and had Hoodoo potions, lotions, and other items used in Hoodoo. There was also a large selection of blues vinyl. I've heard that, since the new owners bought it in 2011, the second floor is now reserved for large gatherings or luncheons, and that what was up there is now downstairs, on the first floor. Unfortunately, it's called "progress". I hope you've taken time to read all of this, and understand what I keep saying-- the blues is so much bigger than most realize. We need to always keep seeking knowledge and learning more about what makes the blues what it really is !  'Nuff said !

(Editors note: In January 2020 we stopped at A. Schwab and while there is now a meeting area much of the 2nd floor is as Joe describes)


Some February Blues Passings:
  • February 1st.,1958-- John Grayton Dolphin--murdered--but that's another story
  • February 13th.,1989-- Hip Linkchain, born as Willie Richard​
  • February 27th.,1994-- Roosevelt Holts
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Joe's Blues Blog January 2021

1/5/2021

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Some January Blues Births:
  • January 3rd.,1904-- Joel "Squatty" Hopkins (yes, Lightning's brother)
  • January 15th.,1980-- Christoffer "Kid" Anderson​
  • January 27.,1930-- Robert Calvin "Bobby"/"Bobby Blue" Bland
Answer to the December 2020 Blues Question: The blueswoman we were looking for was/is Lillie Mae Glover, born September 9, 1907, in Columbia, Tennessee. When she was 13, the family was living in Nashville. Her father was a preacher, but she wanted to sing blues, so she ran away from home. She would later say that she ran away , since her father was a preacher, and she believed that to sing blues, which was considered to be "dirty music", would bring shame to the family. In the early to mid-'20's, she travelled and performed as either/or a blues singer or comedian, with such groups as the Tom Simpson Traveling Medicine Show, Rabbit Foot Minstrels, The Bronze Mannequins, The Vampin' Baby Show, The Georgia Minstrels, Harlem In Havana, and Nina Banson's Medicine Show. Some of these shows were on the road, and some were at venues in Memphis, which is where she settled. She performed all over Beale Street, and downtown Memphis, in the '20's. In April of '27, she recorded 6 sides under the name May Armstrong, for a Chicago record company. Around August of '27, she recorded 6 sides as Side Wheel Sally Duffie, and 2 of those sides have not been found. In Richmond, Indiana, on July 29, 1929, she recorded 4 sides as Mae Glover. On February 24, 1931, she recorded 10 sides, again as Mae Glover, and 2 of those have not been found. I have the titles and numbers for them, and, hopefully, some day, maybe they'll be found. By the way, 1 title from that last session was "Forty Four Blues", when it was released under her name. Another release of that song was titled "Big Gun Blues", when it was released on the Varsity label, under the name of Mae Muff. Under it's original name, it was released on the Supertone and Champion labels. One source lists her birth name as being Lillie Mary Hardison, born September 9, 1906, but that date doesn't work with any of the confirmed info I could find. I went back and tried to research the Hardison family. Turns out, it was a fairly common name in both Carolinas and in Maury County Tennessee, from th 1600's through the early 1850's, but record-keeping after that is sketchy, at best. Back to the person in this, Mae. In '28, she married Willie Glover, shown in some sources as a preacher, and in others, a cook. From the mid-'20's on, she performed at venues up and down Beale Street, and downtown Memphis, such as the Midnight Rambles, The Coca-Cola Club, The Citizen's Club, The Manhattan Club, Hotel Improvement, and a venue that's still popular today, The Peabody Hotel. Early in her career, her then manager had told her that she could make more money as a hoodooist than as a performer. She had taken that to heart, and practiced that craft, along with her singing career, and became a sought-after hoodooist on Beale Street. Her inspiration in her singing was Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett "Ma" Rainey, and after the original Ma Rainey's death in '39, Glover started to go by the name Ma Rainey II. She would not record again until '53, when she recorded under the name "Big Memphis Ma Rainey". Some sources  say "she recorded several sides for Sun Records", while some others say "she recorded a few sides for Sun Records". Well, she recorded TWO only, get it right, people. Now, some of the recordings she made earlier were with a Mississippi guitarist, named John Byrd, backing her (with others also). There's a cd, now out of print, on the da Story Blues label, #3517-2, titled John Byrd & Walter Taylor (1920-1931). That label and brand is a spin-off of Document Records, out of Austria at that time. Included on that cd are 2 tracks , basically sermons, by the Reverend George Jones and Congregation, titled "That White Mule of Sin" and "The Heavenly Airplane", featuring guitar accompaniment by Byrd, along with vocals by Byrd and Sister Jones, which is believed to be Mae Glover. I have a new copy of all of Glover's recordings, along with an excellent pre-owned copy of the Byrd/Taylor cd, in the store. A man named Paul Savarin, who owned a blues and barbecue restaurant in downtown Memphis, around 1970, hired her to sing with the Blues Alley All Stars. She performed there, even after requiring help to walk, until her health declined enough that she went to the hospital. When she checked out of the hospital, she went to Iuka, Mississippi, to live with a friend, in December of '84. Most sources show her passing away on March 25, 1985, but, after some serious digging, I believe the correct date to be April 3rd. She had said, in one interview, that "I was the Mother of Beale Street, and I ruled that street between Fourth and Hernando". A UPI press story about her death said that former owner of Blues Alley, Paul Savarin, said she would be buried near her longtime Memphis political boss E.H.Crump, and that her gravestone's inscription will read " I don't care  what Mr.Crump don't allow, I'm gonna barrelhouse anyhow". If your'e a true blues fan, you might know that the Mr. Crump being referred to here was a Democratic candidate for the mayor of Memphis, in 1909.  There was a campaign song written for him titled "Mr. Crump", by a mister W.C.Handy (ever heard of him ?) Handy re-wrote the song later and changed it's title to "Memphis Blues". Though she was a hard worker all her life, there was never enough money to live on, and the actual epitaph on her pink granite headstone says " I'm Ma Rainey #2, the Mother of Beale Street / I'm 78 years old / I never had enough of nothing and it's too damn late now ! ". Some other names she used at different times were Sister Jones, Big Sister, Flossie Brown, Sally Sad, and Bessie Jones.

Blues Question For January 2021: This blues group only recorded four songs, with a fifth one being a different take on one of those four. The group's name throws off where their actually from. Any ideas on this one ??

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For January 2021: The song is "Sputterin' Blues", and the artist is Walter Robertson, a west coast harmonica player. Yes, I know -- in today's "culture" (I use that term loosely), that this recording is not "politically correct". Robertson only recorded 2 songs, one's a sad blues, the other--this one-- was, when recorded, was as a laugh-getter in the clubs of the day. So, incorrect as it is, get over it, live with it, and, most of all, enjoy it!

Blues Trivia For January 2021: Due to the length of the answer above, the amount of research that it required, and a concern about the reader being overwhelmed by info, I'm going to forego the hoodooist and related info till February's Blog. I hope I got the above info on Mae Glover clear enough for you. If not, call me and I'll cover more ground.

Some Blues Passings In January:
  • January 8th.,2012-- Dave Alexander
  • January 17th.,1961-- "Blind" Simmie Dooley​
  • January 29th.,1993-- "Big" Willie James Dixon
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Joe's Blues Blog December 2020

11/28/2020

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Hope all had a nice, safe, and enjoyable Thanksgiving, even with our current health "situation". Just remember what that particular day was, and is all about, from it's first one forward.

Some December Blues Births:
  • Either on the 20th., 1902, or the 4th., 1903 (depends on where you look)--Walter Roland
  • on the 16th.,1949--William Frederick "Billy" Gibbons​
  • on the 27th.,1930--Bob Stroger

Answer To The November 2020 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is John Henry Barbee, born November 14, 1905, in Henning, Tennessee. He claimed he was born as William George Tucker, and the confusion starts. One source states, according to a U.S. Census record, that his parents were father, Beecher Barbee, and mother, Cora Gilford. Another source, however, lists his parents as Becker Tucker, father, and Cora Gilton, mother. The first names are close, so maybe it was just an error in translating the notes from which these entries were made. At any rate, John taught himself how to play guitar at a young age, but his normal work was on his parent's farm. He did play at some house parties and suppers in the area during that time. In the early '30's he travelled around the South, all the way to the Delta. Along those travels, he would work with other bluesmen, such as Big Joe Williams, John Lee "Sonny  Boy" Williamson, and Sunnyland Slim (Albert Luandrew), through that area and in Memphis. Around the mid-'30's, he was living in Luxora, Arkansas (0.9 sq.miles), most likely with his girlfriend. It's directly north of Memphis, in the northeastern part of Arkansas, and is located next to the old "blues highway", Route 61. He travelled from there, to Chicago, to play the blues. He sometimes performed on the famed Maxwell Street. He did four recordings for Vocalion on September 8, 1939. 2 were released, 2 were not, but the released ones sold well enough that Vocalion wanted him to do some more recording, but he couldn't be found at his last known location, which was Luxora. I don't have exact dates for some of this, other than the recording date. He would later say that he changed his name to John Henry Barbee to pay tribute to his favorite folk song-- "The Ballad of John Henry". Some surmise that he did it to evade detection under his real name, to avoid the legal system. He believed that he had shot and killed his girlfriend's lover, and it wasn't till many years later that he found out that he had only wounded him. He had quit the music business and worked odd jobs instead. He served in the U.S. Army in the early '40's. When the blues revival started in the '60's, Willie Dixon tracked him down, so he could take John on a European tour with The American Folk Blues Festival group. He had been working as an ice cream server somewhere. When he returned to the U.S. after that tour, John used some of the money he had earned from it, to buy his first car. Just 10 days after he bought it, he was involved in an accident in which he ran over and killed a man. While waiting in jail for disposition of the case, he had a heart attack and died on November 3, 1964, 11 days shy of his 59th. birthday. NOTE: Those 4 original songs for Vocalion can be found on Document Records DLP520 vinyl, or DOCD5159 cd, or Wolf Records #107 cd. He also recorded on several smaller labels in the U.S. and Europe, when he was on that tour. The big label he recorded for over there was Storyville. There's a  Storyville cd  "Blues Masters Vol.3" that has all the studio tracks he recorded for them, it's out of print, but it can be found, used. They also did a live recording of him, along with one of Sleepy John Estes, at a club in Copenhagen, doing a set each, at different times.  That one I found new and it's on it's way, and it has both of them on it. The Wolf cd is also on order.

Blues Question For December 2020: This blues person was active for many years. She recorded under four different names, at different times. She worked the streets and parks of Memphis, and was known as "gifted hoodooist". Any idea who this blues lady might be ??

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For December 2020: The song is "The Twelve Blue Days of Christmas", and the artist is Jack de Keyzer. Covid or not, 'tis the season!!

Blues Trivia For December 2020: In each month's blog, I put in a list of Blues Births, and Deaths. In last month's blog I had listed in the Births section John Paul Hammond. I noticed when it was published that the Editor had added Jr. to the end of his name, which is O.K., as it's a pretty common thing with Hammond's name. This is not meant to be critical of that, nor trivial, at least to me. I've often wondered about that Sr./Jr. tag, so I thought O.K., time to dig into this. The common thought is that all the name has to be the same: first, middle, and last. What I found is that there is no set rule on what's the correct way to use these tags, but there are ways that are commonly agreed upon for it. John's great grandfather was John Henry Hammond, a general in the Civil War. His son, John Henry Hammond, was a Columbia Law School graduate, who, along with his legal work, also did other jobs to take care of his family. John Henry Hammond II (actually the III,  our John's father) was a record producer, a music critic, and a civil rights activist. Even though our John is often tagged with the Jr., according to the commonly accepted way, he's not, since his middle name is Paul. As each generation passes away, the Sr. tag goes to the next in lineage, with the next then being now Jr., instead of III. It goes that way as each generation passes away. If you follow that line of thought, our John would be either Sr. or the First. Again, I'm not being critical, but rather, pointing out how hard I try to get the info I give you, Correct, to the Nth. degree. You can drive yourself a little nuts with some of this. Think about Robert Lockwood Jr. How many times do you see him incorrectly shown as Robert Jr. Lockwood ?

Some December Blues Passings:
  • on the 3rd.,1978-- William Grant Still
  • on the 17th.,1989-- Johnny "Little Sonny" Jones​
  • on the 23rd.,1958 Henry "Son" Sims
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Joe's Blues Blog November 2020

10/30/2020

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First, a couple of notes: The 2021 Blues Calendars with free c.d. are in stock here now, and secondly, we'd like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, and hope you can celebrate it with family, whether that be just a small one, with immediate family, or a large one, with many relatives or friends. Please, just be mindful of today's health concerns or conditions or needs of those around you.
Some November Blues Births:
  • November 6th.,1941-- Roscoe Lanier
  • November 13th.,1942-- John Paul Hammon​d, Jr.
  • November 28th.,1928-- "Little" Sammy Davis

Answer To The October 2020 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is "Big John" Thomas Wrencher, aka "One Arm John", born February 12,1923, in Sunflower, Mississippi. Interested in music at an early age, he taught himself to play the harmonica. By his early 20's, he was working as a roving musician, performing in Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois. By the mid to late 1940's, he was in Chicago, playing on Maxwell Street and at house parties, sometimes with other local bluesmen. In the '50's, he moved to Detroit, performing in that area with Robert Henry "Baby Boy" Warren. While living there, he also sometimes travelled to Clarksdale, to perform and/ or visit with family. As I stated in last month's Blog, some blues musicians were injured and got even better at their craft, and he was no exception. In 1958, just outside of Memphis, Big John was injured in an automobile accident. Because of those injuries he lost his left arm, hence, the "One Arm John" name he sometimes used. In the early '60's he settled in Chicago, and eventually spent Sundays playing on Maxwell Street, from around 10:00 AM to around 3:00 PM. In 1964, he was filmed and recorded, with that material to be used in a documentary film titled "And This Is Free" (we have both versions of this, on dvd, in stock here), and these were the earliest recordings of him as a solo performer. He was also recorded on Maxwell Street, as a sideman, with Robert Nighthawk, and also as a member of the Chicago String Band. There are 2 recordings of Nighthawk on Maxwell, one with Big John, the other featuring Carey Bell (Harrington). In '73 and '74, Big John travelled with (in '73) The Chicago Blues Festival, and (in '74) with The American Blues Legends, performing all over Europe. His work on that '74 tour, backed by Eddie Taylor and his band,  was recorded and put on an LP, by Big Bear Records, and later released by them, on c.d. In '77, he was on a trip to visit with family, in Clarksdale, and was in Wade Walton's barbershop (that place is on the Blues Trail; check it out), had a sudden heart attack and passed away, on July 15th. One of his recordings with his own band, done on Maxwell, is on LP only, and is considered to be one of the best ever blues recordings. I've seen that one for sale, from different sources, at anywhere from $250.00 to $475.00. If you want more info on his work or recordings, stop in and see me.

Blues Question For November 2020: This bluesman has said he took his name from a song he liked. He did a lot of work with some of the biggest names in blues, and also did some recording of his own. Due to some legal problems, he dropped out of sight for many years, before returning to touring and performing again. He did vocals and played slide guitar. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For November 2020: The artist is Shemekia Copeland, and the song is " Apple Pie And A .45 ", off her new Alligator Records album "Uncivil War", which came out on 10/23/20, and is in stock here. This is a good album, but a little on the sad side, as it deals with some of the pressing problems we face today. But-- let me say, there's also a somewhat hopeful note in it's content. We met and worked with her at a festival in New York, at a ski resort. She was 19 at the time, and was traveling with 2 of her aunts, in support of her first Alligator album "Turn The Heat Up", in '98.

Blues Trivia For November 2020: In the October 2019 Blog, I told of Sonny Boy Williamson III, and the fact that he only recorded 4 songs before disappearing. I also said that there is only one cd that has all four songs on it, but that it's out of print, and if you could find one, expect to pay a collector's price for it. It is "Red River Blues; Shreveport Blues From R A M Records". I've since found three of them, one each in France, Belgium, and England, and they're now in stock here. Yes , there is one currently shown for sale here in the U.S., but it's at twice what we have it for. We are always trying to find the things that some others can't, and to take care of all the blues fan's requests for help. May seem trivial to you, but it's important to us.

Some November Blues Passings:
  • November 1st.,2008-- Rosetta Reitz
  • November 17th.,2008-- Pat Ramsey
  • November 24th.,1964-- Edwin Goodwin "Buster" Pickens
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Joe's Blues Blog October 2020

9/28/2020

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Some October Blues Births:

  • October 2nd.,1951-- Henry "Co Co" Montoya
  • October 14th.,1957-- Kenny Neal
  • October 30th.,1930-- Haywood S. Warner, aka Little Sonny Warner.

Answer To The September Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Edward P. "Eddie"/"Ed" Harris, aka "Country Paul", "Jammin' Jim", "Lazy Slim Jim", "Paul Howard", and the one he is best known by - "Carolina Slim", born August 22, 1923, in Leasburg, North Carolina. While he learned guitar from his father, his main influences were Sam "Lightnin' " Hopkins and Blind Boy Fuller (born Fulton Allen), both considered to be Piedmont-style blues performers. In 1950 he moved to Newark, New Jersey, and made his recording debut. That first session was on July 24, 1950, and 4 songs were recorded, listing the performer's name as "Carolina Slim", on the Acorn Records label, a subsidiary of Savoy. I stated, in the September blog that he only recorded 27 songs, but I have to add here that those 27 were the total songs of his that were released, and then add that there were 4 more songs recorded that were never released, and still, to this day, haven't been found. I do have those 4 song titles, their recording dates and recording numbers, if they are ever found and issued. Those first sessions for him were at the Nola Recording Studios, which were on the top floor of the Steinway Building, so, because of that, you may find the Nola studio referred to as Penthouse Recordings. His best-known songs were "Black Cat Trail" and "I'll Never Walk In Your Door", for the King Records label, on April 11, 1952, on record numbers K8215 and K8214, respectively. . The odd part of that is that there were 3 label printings of it: 1 on a white label, 1 on a light blue label, and 1 on a dark blue label. He made a total of 8 recordings for King, all under the "Country Paul" name, showing Paul Harris as the writer on the disc's label. Paul, by the way, was Slim's middle name. There were 4 songs done on December 14, 1951 and 4 done on April 11, 1952. He then went back to the Savoy label and did 5 songs on June 5, 1952, under the name "Lazy Slim Jim", which would be his final recordings. Henry Glover, a record producer, songwriter, trumpet player, and arranger, who met Slim at his sessions for King, said that Slim "was a very sickly young man at the time". At some point in '53 Slim entered the hospital in Newark for surgery on his back. While undergoing that operation, he had a heart attack and died, on October 22, 1953. His body was returned to and buried in Roxboro, North Carolina. The 27 songs of his that were released can be found on Document Records #BDCD 6043, done in 1993, and is now out of print. They can also be found on the 4 disc set "New York Blues", by JSP records, #77108. Disc #4 has the 27 tracks, with each song listed under the name on which it was originally released. That set we have in stock.

Blues Question For October 2020: Over the years, some of the bluesmen (and blueswomen too), lost limbs, or, even sometimes, their lives, in any number of ways or causes, that were not "natural". Some of those who were so injured, went on to be better at their craft, maybe because they just endured another of the life's trials that the blues was/is based on. This bluesman was one of those who went on to become better. He worked most often as a sideman, but did do some recording on his own. Any ideas on who this bluesman might be, or for that matter, what instrument he plays ??

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For October 2020: The song is "Bad Luck Shadow" and the artists are Johnny and Shuggie Otis. I couldn't establish exactly when or where this was recorded, but it seemed appropriate for Halloween. Also, just for your information, we have roughly 75 c.d.'s here, in stock, for or about Halloween: blues, garage blues, rockabilly, stories to scare the kids, sound effects, rock and rock and roll, and even Elvira.

Blues Trivia For October 2020: This is just going to be a random collection of thoughts that come from the research that goes into what I do, here, at the store, and to put together this blog. The blues is kind of like building a house-- it must have a solid foundation, or what follows will be flawed, or, on a lesser note, never be quite right. Let's go from the top floor now, then descend into the basement. If you get on your computer, listen to Sirius radio, your cable channels, or some other device, you can put together a pretty accurate picture of today's performers. You're saturated with info about them all the time. Now, do the same search for an old-timer, long since gone from us. You'll be doing a lot of looking, as there is so much conflicting info into the early history. One of them might be well-documented, but the next one you look for can't be found. Let's look at an early blues song that's still performed today-- "Catfish Blues". It's most often credited to first being recorded and written by Robert Petway, in 1939. Around those years, Petway travelled, most of the time, with Tommy McClennan. Some say McClennan recorded it first. His recording, however, used a different title, and was recorded in 1942. So, let's dig some more. Ending in 1928, Jim Jackson recorded 6 records, for Vocalion, the first 4 titled Kansas City Blues, the last 2 titled as "I'm Gonna Move to Louisiana". He was a medicine show performer who did these, for a long time, at his shows. The one which was the third one, had the line inclusive of the word "catfish" on it. There is evidence of it being recorded in 1926, under a different title. It's still being performed and recorded today. Jimi Hendrix did it on his blues album. Muddy Waters changed a few of the words in it and recorded it as "Rollin' Stone" (that one aught to sound familiar to you). Most recently, it's been recorded on Alligator Records, by Christone "Kingfish" Ingram. It's been performed by Gary Clark Jr., Eric Gales and Beth Hart, just to name a few. Sound like I'm rambling ? It should, because I am--but, with purpose. It just shows how something that should be real simple, takes off and goes wherever. When you dig into this stuff, be prepared for a long journey !

Some October Blues Passings:
  • October 4th.,1994-- Daniel "Danny" Wood Gatton
  • October 18th.,2011-- Robert "Bob" Brunning

  • October 26th.,1952-- Hattie McDaniel. 
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Joe's Blues Blog September 2020

9/13/2020

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 Some Blues Births:
  • September 4th.,1930-- "Bowling Green" John Cephas
  • September 16th.,1931-- "Little" Willie Littelfield
  • September 30th.,1925-- Arzell J. Hill, aka Z.Z. Hill (think "Down Home Blues")

Answer To The August 2020 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Henry Stuckey, most well-known birth date is April 11, 1897, and there's the first problem. Different sources list several alternative dates, such as December 12, 1896, March of 1898, and April 11, 1898, but at least they're consistent in showing the place as Bentonia, Mississippi. In 1905, he was taught some chords on the guitar by an older local bluesman, Rich Dickson (or Dixon ?) He was in the military in France in 1917, where he heard a different sound from the guitars of some Black soldiers. They claimed to be from the Caribbean, and used a completely different tuning on their guitars, which they taught him. Upon his discharge, Henry returned to Bentonia, where he, for about the next 6 years, up to c1924, would use that new tuning when playing dances and suppers. During that period there was a young man who attended those gatherings, to watch and listen and to learn from Henry's performing. That young man was Nehemiah "Skippy"/"Skip" James. After they finally met, Henry began to teach Skip, and from that point, they travelled and performed together, up to c1930. Some believed them to be brothers. They played house parties, jukes, and barrelhouses, from Bentonia to Yazoo City, and on down to Jackson. In Jackson, they met and performed with Johnnie "Geechie" Temple. During that travelling time, one of the songs that Henry wrote and that they performed was titled by him as "Devil's Dream". Skip would re- title it as "Devil Got My Woman" when he recorded it in his recording sessions for Paramount, in 1931. It would become James' signature song, the one that is recognized to be the one that made him famous. When Skip returned to Bentonia, disillusioned with the music business, quit that business, and moved to Texas, to become a minister. Henry sold his barrelhouse and moved to Morgan City, where he worked on a plantation, but still performed with local musicians. In '35, Henry moved back to Bentonia, only to find that Skip had returned and was preaching locally. It didn't take long for the pair to get back together and start playing blues again. During the '30's, they performed at a local barrelhouse, now known as the Blue Front Cafe, which is on the "Historic Blues Places Trail of today, with others, such as Cornelius Bright, Rich Griffith, Jack Owens, and the current owner, Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, who actually learned guitar from Stuckey. Out of all that, the unrecorded Henry Stuckey, is considered to be the "father of Bentonia blues". Holmes, right now, is considered to be the "last of the Bentonia bluesmen". There was a period when Stuckey played in a local band in Omaha, Nebraska. When he filed for social security in '52, he listed his residence as being in North Platte. I'm not aware of much more info on his time in Nebraska, but it's still being hunted. In Henry's later years, he was living in abject poverty, with a granddaughter, in Satartia, not far from Bentonia. He entered the V.A. hospital in Jackson, where he died of cancer, on March 9, 1966.

Blues Question For September 2020: This bluesman recorded 27 songs that were released, with possibly a few more unreleased. Those recordings were done over a two year period, and on several different labels, and he was only 30 when he died. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) for September 2020:​ The song is "(You'll Never Find Anyone) To Be a Slave Like Me", and the artist is "T-Bone" Walker. Others on this are Willard Burton on piano, Johnny Copeland on rhythm guitar, Jimmy Jones on bass, with an unknown drummer. I found it listed as first being recorded on the "Wet Soul" label album, #WS-1002, done in 1967. Then I found other listings saying that that date was incorrect, and that it was recorded in 1970 or '71, in Pasadena, Texas. I have an original LP on the way, to hopefully get the correct info on players and date.

Blues Trivia For September 2020: Aaron Thibeaux Walker, had his middle name shortened to a pet name by his mother-- T-Bone. This is the bluesman who gave us "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday's Just As Bad), back in 1949. It has since been covered by just about every blues bar band in history. One of the best versions I've heard was by Cleveland's own P.C. Williams, a bass player with a perfect voice for this song. Like T-Bone, another player who started when young, really didn't get good at the blues, until he made his "deal with the devil"-- Robert Johnson. T-Bone also started early and learned most stringed instruments, plus piano and organ. BUT, his true early start was at age 10, when he was "lead-boy" for Blind Lemon Jefferson, up and down Central Ave., in Dallas, Texas. T-Bone would later be billed as "the Daddy of the Blues", because he was one of the first to play electric guitar, in the '30's.

Some Blues Passings:
  • September 3rd., 2003-- Charlie Caldwell
  • September 11th., 2004-- Cosimo Vincent Matassa
  • September 26th., 1980-- Auburn "Pat" Hare
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Joe's Blues Blog August 2020

7/30/2020

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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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Joe's Blues Blog July 2020

6/27/2020

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Some July Blues Births: 
  • July  4th., 1943-- Alan Christie "Blind Owl" Wilson
  • July 19th., 1940-- Fred Eugene Martin, aka Little Freddie King
  • July 23rd., 1946-- Percy Lee Strother

Answer To The June 2020 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Eugene "Buddy" Moss, born January 16, 1914 (some sources show the year as 1906), in Jewell, Georgia, one of 12 children. When he was 4, his family moved to Augusta, where he remained for the next 10 years. At an early age he taught himself how to play the harmonica. By 1928 he was busking in the streets of Atlanta, where he was noticed by Curley Weaver (aka Slim Gordon) and "Barbecue Bob" (Robert Hicks), who then mentored him. On December 7, 1930 he went with them, to record for Columbia Records, at the Campbell Hotel in Atlanta. They recorded 4 songs, with Barbecue Bob and Weaver on guitars and Moss on harmonica, as the "Georgia Cotton Pickers". He wouldn't record again until '33, and by that time he had learned how to play guitar. Bob died October 21, 1931. Since the two had been performing together up 'till then, he needed to find another partner, which he did: that was Blind Willie McTell, with whom he performed at house parties around Atlanta. In January of '33, he went to New York City, to record for/ on the ARC label. Over a four day period, he recorded 11 songs, accompanied by Curley Weaver and Fred McMullen. Also, during those sessions, playing harmonica, he accompanied Weaver, McMullen, and vocalist Ruth Willis, recording as The Georgia Browns. September of '33 saw him return to New York City, with Weaver and McTell. With Weaver, he recorded some of his own songs, and accompanied the two on their recordings. By mid-'34, his records were outselling both Weaver's and McTell's. Then he teamed up with a new recording partner, Joshua "Josh" White, who recorded as " The Singing Christian".  By mid-'35, his recordings had become so popular that his recording fee went from $5.00 to $10.00 a song. In mid-August, Buddy and Josh recorded 15 songs. This was shortly before his legal problems started, when he was arrested, tried, and convicted of the shooting death of his wife, and sentenced to a long prison term. There have been arguments since the trial, about the validity of the whole case-- evidence, trial, the sentence, all of it. What we need to remember here is that, since Blind Blake died in '32 and Blind Boy Fuller died in '41, the recordings of Moss and White, from '33 through '35, are the basis or the big link to the start of the Piedmont blues style development. In '41, J.B. Long, Fuller's manager, petitioned to get Moss released from prison, to fill the gap left by Fuller's death. He was assisted in those efforts by Columbia Records. The effort was successful. In '41, while working for Long, at Elon College, which was part of his parole agreement, Moss met Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. In October of '41, the three went to New York City to record for Columbia. Of the 13 songs they recorded, only 3 were released. In December of '41, the U.S. entered WW II. Because of that, shellac was an item that was rationed, since it was termed as a war material. Since that is what records were made of, that postponed the musical careers of all but the top performers of the time, who could still be allowed the material to make their records. That put Buddy's career on hold for slightly more than 20 years. In '64, Buddy heard that his old partner, Josh White, was performing at Emory University, in Atlanta. He went to visit him, backstage, and White persuaded him to perform together for other college audiences. White also got Buddy a contract to record for Columbia, in Nashville. Buddy went on to perform at many festivals, mostly in the Eastern states. He passed away October 19, 1984, in Atlanta.
Blues Question For July 2020: This bluesman is another of those who didn't quite get the recognition that he should have, both for his voice and the feeling with which he sang. Most often he worked as a sideman, but did do some recording as the frontman. Any ideas on who this bluesman might be ??

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For July 2020: The song is "My Grandpa Is Old, Too!", and the artist is Sam Lightnin' Hopkins. The only info I have on it's history is that it first shows up on Bluesville LP #1045, released in 1962. Thought you could use a couple of chuckles hearing the lyrics !

Blues Trivia For July 2020: While going through materials on Buddy Moss, I saw that most of his early recordings, 1930 to 1941, were shown to be on either the Columbia/OKeh label, or ARC. ARC, if you'll remember from an earlier blog, had control of many labels, and determined who got released on what label. The cd that we stock here is a collection of 23 tracks from throughout his career, on the Wolf label. Wanting to find more of his early works, I found listed Travelin' Man Records, which, along with Flyright, Krazy Kat, and Magpie, are trademark labels of Interstate Music,Ltd., out of East Sussex, England. Travelin' Man was started in 1983, and their first LP was TM-800, Buddy Moss: Georgia Blues. In '84, they issued a second one, TM-802, Buddy Moss: Red River Blues (Vol.2). The first one covered 1930-1935, the second one covering 1933-1941. Of note here is that the Vol.2 version was taken off an LP from Kokomo Records, a U.S. company, #K-1003, which was manufactured in 1968. There were only 99 copies pressed. Kokomo Records specialized in pre- WW II recordings. They were only in business from 1967 into 1971. They released a total of 7 different LP's, all re-issues of earlier recordings. In 1990, Travelin' Man started to release some cd compilations of some of their LP's. Their fifth one #TMCD-05 is Buddy Moss: 1930 - 1941, and is of some of the songs on the 2 LP's of him that they did. They produced a total of 9 different cd's, with one of them, Son House, getting two different cd's, both identical in content and information, the difference being that the first one was manufactured in France, as were all their cd's, withe the exception of one other. The second Son House was manufactured in the Czech Republic. The only difference I see is that the one in France had a blue backround on the liner notes cover and on the disc itself. The one from the Czech Republic was yellow in the same places. The other one from the Czech factory is TMCD-09 "I Can Eagle Rock", a compilation of Chicago Blues from 1940--'41, also done in yellow. This was Travelin' Man's final release of any kind, and that was in 1996. Since, in some of the past blogs, I've said that a lot of the earlier bluesmen had been in prison, I'm gonna' throw in a couple of tidbits, one on blues, one on folk musics: tidbit #1- we stock a cd done of Jimmy Reed's songs, by Bill Cosby. And here's the real zapper-- we don't stock this budding folk singer/songwriter/guitarist's LP's or cd's, but we can order them for you-- that would be Charles Manson (by law, the proceeds from those sales go toward restitution to the victims families) and I don't think he's related to Marilyn).

Some July Blues Passings: 
  • July 4th.,1977-- Earl Bell
  • July 13th.,1979-- Lesley "Esley" Riddle
  • July 24th.,1997-- Bob Gaddy
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Joe's Blues Blog June 2020

5/28/2020

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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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Joe's Blues Blog May 2020

4/25/2020

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Some May Blues Births: 
  • May 8th.,1893-- Charlie Spand
  • May 6th.,1946-- Roger Earl
  • May 30th.,1965-- Rick Holstrow

Answer To The April 2020 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Simeon "Blind" Simmie Dooley, born July 3, 1881, in Hartwell, Georgia. When he was a young boy, he worked the streets around Spartanburg, South Carolina, singing and playing guitar, for tips, around 1900. While doing that, he attracted the attention of a slightly younger person, who liked to watch and hear him perform. The youngster introduced himself -- he was Pinkney "Pink" Anderson, who Simmie would teach how to play the guitar. The two would pair up and work the streets, house parties, picnics, fish fries, and whatever else they could work, to make money. From about 1916-18 up into the late '20's, they also performed and travelled with  "Doc" W.R. Kerr's Indian Remedy Company Medicine Show. When not on the road, the pair would return to Spartanburg and resume working as they had. In 1928, they travelled to Atlanta, to record for Columbia Records. On April 14th., they recorded four songs, with vocal and guitar duets, and possibly Simmie on kazoo. Two of those were released that year, the other two, the following year. All of them were good sellers. Pink was then invited to record more, but without Simmie. Pink refused to do that without Simmie. Those were/are the only recordings Simmie ever did, and Pink would not record again until 1950. Simmie went back to Spartanburg and continued to work the streets and other small venues, until his health would no longer allow him to perform. He passed away at 79 years of age, on January 17, 1961, in Spartanburg, of heart disease. You can find those 4 songs on compilation cd's, sometimes 1 or 2, never all 4. Some years ago Document Records made 2 different compilation cd's, with all 4 on each of them. I have 1 of each in my collection, and 1 new one in stock at The Sound of Blue.

Blues Question For May 2020: This bluesman, though somewhat obscure, did do quite a few recordings. He took his nickname from the title of one of his first recordings. His ability should put him with the likes of Eric Clapton and Ry Cooder. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For May 2020: The song is "Biscuit Baking Woman", and the artist is James "Yank" Rachell. It was done April 3,1941, in Chicago, and featured John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson I on harp, William Mitchell on bass, and Washboard Sam (Robert Brown) on washboard.

Blues Trivia For May 2020: This is just a collection of random thoughts, ideas, and opinions, some mine, others thrown into the mix by others. If any of you have a subscription to a blues magazine, whether it's a printed copy or a digital one, you'll note that they all have a "review" section for albums, dvd's, books, or whatever else is available for sale. They get copies sent to them by independent artists, record companies, etc. to evaluate. It's basically a cheap way to get a published and circulated ad, so it makes good business sense. When you look at the cd reviews, have you ever seen one that politely says "if you like this artist/band or if you just like one or two songs on it, then, by all means, buy it. If you don't like it for one of those reasons, don't waste your money-- skip it. Maybe the plastic in it should have been used to make a license plate frame." Have you noticed that it seems that 75 to 80% of the mag is ads? There are bright spots in them, too. I was just reading Blues Music Magazine (formerly Blues Revue), and in there is an interview/article featuring Charlie Musselwhite. In the interview he says the exact same thing that I've been trying to get across to blues fans for years. I won't quote it directly, just kind of a summary: "any decent musician can play blues music, but the blues isn't just music, it's a way of life. It's a story about life's ups and downs, on a daily basis, and if you really want to understand it, you have to go back and look at the old- timers, as that's where it started-- telling their stories". If I haven't made it clear, please read the article, and you'll see what I'm talking about. Let's shift gears here, a little bit. when I was picking the Blues Song for this month, I was considering one of many that are about different illnesses, diseases that are passed from one to another, afflictions that have plagued man for years, but I thought no, right now, though it's relevant, there's enough grief and suffering with this virus. So, sitting here on lockdown, I'm thinking about good food, and this goofy weather. An a-ha moment-- homemade hot biscuits and gravy, and yes, there are plenty of songs about food. Anyhow, good blues to 'ya, and I hope you're healthy, safe, and happy.!!

Some Blues Passings For May 2020: 
  • May 6th.,2007-- Carey Bell Harrington
  • May 12th.,1972-- "Big John" Marshall Greer
  • May 28th.,1993-- Charles Isiah "Doc"/"Doctor" Ross
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Joe's Blues Blog April 2020

3/30/2020

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Hope that this finds everyone well, and coping O.K. with the current situation. You'll have observed that some of the NEOBA events have been cancelled or postponed. This is going to be true for all types of musics and musicians. It's most likely to have a considerable negative effect on summer concerts, cruises, and other music venues, and may stretch into the fall/ winter period, though I do hope I'm wrong. But, as is said-- hope for the best, plan for the worst.

Some April Blues Births: 
  • April 5th.,1934-- "Big" Bill Collins
  • April 16th.,1979-- Sean Costello
  • April 29th.,1925-- Otis Rush

Answer To The March 2020 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Benny Turner, born October 27, 1939, in Gilmer, Texas. As I stated in the Question, he was the younger brother of a blues icon, one Fred "Freddie" King (shown on his early recordings as Freddy). Both boys learned how to play guitar from their mother, Ella Mae (King) Turner, along with the help of two of her brothers, Leon and Leonard King. Benny started his musical career playing guitar and doing background vocals with a gospel group, The Kindly Shepherds. During that period he also started playing with Freddie and his band, in some Chicago blues clubs. While doing that, he met Dee Clark (remember the song "Raindrops"?), who invited him to go on tour with him and his R&B band, which he did. After that, for a short time, he played bass for The Soul Stirrers. He, after a while, re-joined his brother's band. Freddie passed away three days after Christmas, in '76, which hit Benny hard, so hard, in fact, that he went into a state of deep depression, for which he was eventually hospitalized. When he recovered, two years after Freddie's death, Benny joined Mighty Joe Young's band, and performed with them for eight years. When he left that band, he moved to New Orleans, where, in '86, he became the band leader for Marva Wright, a blues singer of some note. He stayed in that spot for twenty years. After she passed away in 2010, Benny went out on his own and recorded four albums, the latest in 2019. The one that has garnered the most recognition and awards is "My Brother's Blues", a tribute to Freddie, being a collection of the songs Freddie liked the best, and yes, Benny's still alive 

Blues Question For April 2020: This bluesman only travelled one time and recorded only four songs. He was a guitarist and singer, who also played the kazoo. He's another of those "unknown" bluesmen, but you'll recognize his recording partner on those four songs. Any ideas on who this bluesman might be ??

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For April 2020: The song is "Ice Cream In Hell", and the artist is Tinsley Ellis. This was released on January 31st. of this year, on an album of the same title. I picked this one to show that I do listen to the newer artists, even though I favor the old "stuff". Those old artists and songs are how one learns about the blues, not just the songs, but the blues life in general. "There is much to be learned, Grasshopper".

Blues Trivia For April 2020: This ties in with Benny Turner (kinda'). Freddie King, his older brother, was a big man at 6ft.5in., and on the heavy side, where Benny was average height and skinny. When the family moved to Chicago, Freddie's first and main job, was working in a steel mill, and going to the blues clubs to listen, at night. At age 18, in 1952, he met and married another Texas transplant, Jessie Burnett, with whom, over the years, he/they had seven children. After sitting in with quite a few of the big names of the blues, he started his own band, and did a considerable amount of touring, about 300 shows a year, along with studio work. In 1960 he signed a recording contract with Cincinnati's King Records, and did his early recordings on King's subsidiary label, Federal Records, and was usually shown as Freddy King. His touring schedule in those years was the biggest contributor to his death, as he was a hard-partier. When he'd be setting up for a show, he'd usually, for lunch or dinner, have a Bloody Mary, because he didn't like to be feeling too full to work hard. That led to stomach ulcers, which caused his health to decline. If you get on YouTube and look at some concert footage of him performing, you'll see his size, how hard he worked, how in-command of the music, his playing, and his performance he was. He passed away at the age of 42, from the ulcers and acute pancreatitis. Now, a bunch of trivia: that 1960 contract with Federal got him to record four songs, two of which were released in '60, but not met with a lot of success. The other 2 were released in '61. One of those is now a blues standard, a blues instrumental, unheard of at that time as popular, "Hide Away", which was named after a Chicago West Side club, Mel's Hide Away Lounge. It made it onto and up the pop and R&B charts, not to the top, but close enough. There was a time when a guitarist, auditioning for a gig or a spot in a band would be asked "can you play Hide Away ?". If the answer was no, you were gone. It has been said that Freddie was the best of the four Kings, including Albert, B.B., and Earl. Now, let's back up a bit in time. In 1956, Freddie made his first recording (shown as Freddy King) on the small El-Bee Records label, #157. The "A" side was "Country Boy", and the "B" side was "That's What You Think". Freddie didn't play guitar on these, he only did vocals. The "A" side was a duet with Margaret Whitfield, while the "B" side was just him on the vocal. The surprise here is the musicians on these songs: Earlee Payton on harmonica, Billy "The Kid" Emerson (he's the one who did the original "The Woodchuck" song) on piano, and, depending on what source you're looking at, either Milton Rector or Robert "Big Mojo" Elem on bass. Fred Below was on drums, but the surprise here is the guitarists: Eugene Pearson, and our own Robert Lockwood Jr.. You often hear or see the phrase "small independent label" ? Well El-Bee is one of those. it recorded that #157 of Freddy's in '56. It recorded #161, "The Foster Bros.", in '57 (they went on to record quite a bit more on other labels), and #162, "Vera & The Three Jays" (the only recording by them that I've seen). That label was owned by Chicago lawyer John Burton, and those are the only three records that label put out, a total of six sides.

Some April Blues Passings: 
  • April 1st.,1997-- Booker T. Lexing, aka Jimmy "Count" Hughes
  • April; 12th.,2018-- Deborah Francine Coleman
  • April 26th.,1988-- Arbee Stidham
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Joe's Blues Blog March 2020

3/2/2020

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Some March Blues Births:
  • March 3rd.,1945-- John Primer
  • March 15th.,1947-- Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder
  • March; 28th.,1950-- Dennis Brooks

Answer To The February 2020 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/ is Eddie Shaw, born March 20, 1937, in Stringtown, Mississippi. In his teens he played tenor sax with the local blues musicians. When he was 14, he played at/ on a jam session with none other than The Ike Turner Band, in Greenville. In '57 he had a gig in Itta Bena (remember that town's name and some of the great bluesmen to come from there?), where he was spotted, then approached by Muddy Waters, who invited him to play in his Chicago- based band. Once in Chicago he found that he was splitting the sax position in the band with A.C.Reed (real name Aaron Corthen, with Reed being the type of instrument). Shaw then left Muddy's band and went with Howlin Wolf's band in '72, which he would take over the running of, a position he held up to Wolf's death in '76. He would continue to run that band, The Wolf Gang for several years, until it disbanded. In '74 Eddie "inherited" a blues club at which he and Wolf and the band had performed frequently, at that time known as the 1815 Club, which was it's street address on W. Roosevelt Road, on the corner at S. Wood Street. In '70, the club's owner, at that time called the Alex Club, was stabbed to death on the dance floor, while trying to stop a knife fight between two women. Different family members ran it and re- named it the 1815 Club, though they really didn't want to be running it. That's how and why Eddie ended up with it. He then made the Wolf Gang the house band, and re- named it Eddie's Place. Since he was still running the band, which was always touring and performing all over the U.S. and abroad, he wasn't there to manage it, and it went downhill. He decided to close it in '80. As I stated in the Question, he re- opened it almost 10 years later, re- named again as The New 1815 Club, with a new partner, LeRoy Edwards. He sold it shortly thereafter, and it was re- sold several times over the years, until it was bought by a Baptist church in '94, and was named the Howard Chapel Community Church, with the Rev. James Brooks running it. Eddie Vaan Shaw Jr. joined the Wolf Gang, performing with his dad. At that time Vaan used a three- necked Fender guitar. He eventually replaced Hubert Sumlin as the guitarist in the band. His second, younger son, Stan, is a character actor of some note, who lives in Hollywood. Eddie passed away on January 29, 2018, in Chicago, of natural causes.

Blues Question For March 2020: This bluesman is the younger brother of a blues icon. When his older brother died, he quit performing for several years. When he did return, he was mostly performing as a sideman, which he did for years, before going out on his own. He did one album of his brother's songs, as a tribute. Any ideas on who this bluesman might be ?

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For March 2020: The song is "Ain't Got No Rabbit Dog", and the artist is "Smoky Babe" (Robert Brown), accompanied on harmonica by Clyde Causey, recorded in February of '60, in Scotlandville, Louisiana. Possibly, this was based on the song "Uncle Bud", a "rowdy blues" song recorded in '29, by Georgia Tom (Thomas A.Dorsey) and Tampa Red (Hudson Whittaker), though neither is credited with writing it.

Blues Trivia For March 2020: You can count this entire section as a collection of trivia, all thrown into the pot. When I was trying to figure out which Smoky Babe song to put in this blog, I did some digging into his recordings history. Turns out, he was recorded at only two sessions, in '60 and '61, by Dr. Harry Oster, yes, the same one who did all the recordings of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola, prisoners. He specialized in field recordings of what he viewed as American folk musics of all types. He started a record company, Folk-Lyric, to gather and sell these recordings, using that income to go out and record more. As it turned out, he was assisted in Smoky's sessions by a young man interested in doing the same thing, born a count in his native Germany, one Christian Alexander Maria "Chris" Strachwitz. When he came to the U.S., he settled in California, but wanted to head to Louisiana to do some recording of locals in small towns. This came about after he had seen the 1934 movie "New Orleans". Chris started the Arhoolie Records company to do these releases, when he would get some recording done. The first album released under that label was one by Mance Lipscomb, which actually had been recorded/ released earlier by another young man by the name of Robert "Mack" McCormick, who would become a musicologist and folklorist of some note. He's the one who suggested the Arhoolie name to Chris, as it was a word used to describe the "field hollar", which is known as "call and response" music, used by field hands to have a cadence while working. It was also used by the prisoners on "chain gangs". Oster's recordings of the blues men and women were later released on the Arhoolie label. The balance of his recordings were of all different types of musics, including Cajun, country, and various other ethnic origins. His company was sold to/ merged with Folkways. Another note: Mack McCormick quit high school to work in the Cedar Point ballroom, taking care of the needs of the musicians. This section of the blog was put together to illustrate how many different things fall into place or come into being, as a result of chance, luck, and sometimes planning and hard work. Hope it gives some food for thought.

Some Blues Passings For March 2020: 
  • March 2nd.,2008-- Norman Jeffery "Jeff" Healey
  • March 18th.,1991-- Narvel Eatmon, aka Cadillac Baby
  • March 22nd.,2008-- Reg Isidore    
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Joe's Blues Blog February 2020

2/4/2020

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Some February Blues Births:
  • February 2nd.,1890-- Horace Sprott
  • February 15th.,1984-- Gary Lee Clark Jr
  • February 28th.,1934-- Giorgio Gomelsky

Answer To The January 2020 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Emery H. "Little Junior" Williams, better known as Detroit Junior, born October 26, 1931, in Haynes, Arkansas. While he was an infant, the family moved nine miles to the north, to Forrest City. In '39 they moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and then on to Pulaski, Illinois, in '43, where Junior was raised by his grandmother. He became interested in music in his early teens. In '47 he moved to Flint, Michigan, where he worked house parties and shows, into '50. In late '50 he worked outside of the music field, in Pontiac, Michigan, and then in Cleveland, Ohio, in '51. He made his first recordings in '52, on the Great Lakes label, in Pontiac, but they were never released. From '52 to sometime in '56, he performed with musicians who were travelling in the area, such as John Lee Hooker, Amos Milburn (the original writer and performer of the song "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer"), and Eddie Boyd. Most of that was done in the Detroit area. In '56, Boyd got him to move to Chicago, hopefully to get a recording contract with Chess Records. While in Chicago, Junior performed with J.T. Brown, Little Mack (Simmons), James Cotton, Sam Lay, Eddie "Playboy" Taylor, Johnny Twist (Williams), and others. During that time, he also toured with James Cotton’s band. He then went on to tour, perform, and record with Howlin' Wolf's band, up to when Wolf passed away in '76. He stayed on with that band for a number of years, The Wolf Gang, who continued to perform Wolf's tunes. As I mentioned in the Blues Question, his career was influenced by his idol, Amos Milburn, who wrote humorous songs about the evils of alcohol. Of the hundreds of songs that Junior wrote, his best were along those same lines. After the Wolf Gang broke up, he returned to Chicago, where he performed on his own, occasionally with others, in the local clubs. In his early career he developed a fan base because of his style of play, and his stage shows. He would play standing up, kneeling, and-- picture this --from underneath the piano (and people think that playing the guitar behind one's head is hard!). Even after he lost a leg to diabetes, he continued to play in Chicago's North Side clubs, such as B.L.U.E.S. and Kingston Mines. He passed away on August 9,2005, at home, of heart failure.

Blues Question For February 2020: This bluesman was known mostly as a sideman, though he did front a band for a number of years. He also owned a Chicago blues club, shut it down, and, some years later, re-opened it. Any idea who this bluesman might be?

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For February 2020: The song is "Strange Letter Blues", and the artist is Schoolboy Cleve (Cleveland White), recorded around August of '54, in Crowley, Louisiana, on the Feature label. Cleve did the vocal and harmonica work, with Lightnin' Slim (Otis V. Hicks) on guitar, and Sammy Drake on drums. Listen closely to the words in this song, as they relate what the blues is/are all about. If you don't hear them clearly, look up the lyrics, and you'll get it!

Blues Trivia For February 2020: I thought since the main artist in this month's answer section is a pianist, that I should have another one in this section. Accordingly, this is about Otis Spann, who was the piano player in Muddy Waters' early '50's band. He was recruited for that spot by Jimmy Rogers, who had found him to having been sleeping in his car, because he couldn't get enough gigs to afford an apartment. Since the early blues recordings at Chess Records were building the careers and name recognition of its roster of bluesmen, such as Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, and many others, Spann was also being noticed. He was tapped frequently to be a session player for many of the Chess artists, in different genres, though most of the time he was uncredited as being on those recordings. Those sessions led to Otis being sought after to be a session player for many other artists, on many other labels. Most of the time he was not credited on those either. Here's a little trivia on Otis. If you're familiar with Chuck Berry and his Chess recordings, you know that his piano player was Johnnie Johnson. What you may not know however, is that quite a few of Chuck's recordings used Otis Spann on piano, uncredited yet again.

Some February Blues Passings:
  • February 5th.,2008-- Cleveland "Schoolboy Cleve" White
  • February 16th.,2010-- Wilroy Sanders
  • February 26th.,1995-- Willie Lee Johnson
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Joe's Blues Blog January 2020

1/6/2020

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Hope all had a Merry and Safe Christmas, and a good start on New Year's Day, for 2020!
Some January Blues Births:
  • January 2nd.,1939--Albert "Little Smokey" Smothers
  • January 13th.,1959--David "Kid" Ramos
  • January 31st, either 1926 or 1928--Harold Jerome "Chuck" Willis

Answer to The December 2019 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Hammie Nixon, aka Hammie Nickerson, born as Hammie Davis (father was Green Nixon, mother was Martha Davis), on January 22,1908, in Brownsville, Tennessee. He was orphaned at an early age, and was raised, up to age 10, by a white family. He was interested in music at an early age and started playing at parties. He teamed up with a locally performing bluesman, one "Sleepy" John Estes, from 1924 to '27, playing picnics and country dances. Often, the pair went hoboing through Arkansas and Missouri. He worked in '30 and '31, mostly as a farmer, in Brownsville. In late '31 he moved to Chicago, where, up to '37, he worked house parties and street corners, with "Brownsville" Son Bonds, for tips. He recorded blues songs with Bonds, on the Decca label. He recorded more with Bonds, gospel songs, with Bonds being listed as "Brother" Son Bonds. In '35, Hammie teamed up with "Sleepy" John Estes, and recorded on the Champion label. Later on in '35 and '37, the pair recorded on the Decca label (in '34, Decca had bought out Gennett and its' subsidiary label, Champion records). From then, up into '62, he returned to Brownsville, to work mostly outside the music field, but did travel to record with Estes, Little Buddy Doyle, Charlie Pickett, Lee Green, and Clayton T. Driver. One source shows that he recorded with Estes, on the Victor label, in '29, but I find no record of that. Estes did record for Victor in '29, not with Nixon, but with Jab Jones and James "Yank" Rachell, as the "Three J's Jug Band". What I did find is that Nixon and Estes did, in '48, record 2 unreleased cuts, "Harlem Bound" and "Stone Blind", on the Ora Nelle label (more on that label shortly), but that recording also shows an "unknown" washtub bass player. It lists Estes as being on vocal and guitar, with Nixon shown on harmonica. Could it also be Nixon on that bass? His primary instrument was the harmonica, but he also played guitar, Jew's harp, washboard, jug, kazoo, and tub bass. Starting in '63, and from then on, until Estes' died in '77, the pair toured and performed all over the U.S., Canada, and most of the countries of Europe. Many of these performances were recorded and later released by the labels in the countries in which they took place. After Estes' death, Hammie toured and performed with the Beale Street Jug Band, up into the '80's. He suffered a cerebral hemmorage and passed away on August 17,1984, in Jackson, Tennessee. By the way, he was married to Estes' daughter, Virginia Estes.

Blues Question For January 2020: This bluesman played guitar and piano, with piano being his main focus. He was known for his ability as a player, but also for his stage presence and performance thereon. He was influenced by a couple of the greats in blues piano but favored and idolized one in particular. That one influenced both his playing and his songwriting. He wrote hundreds of songs, with many of those covered or performed by some of the leading names in the blues. Any idea who this bluesman might be ??

Blues Song(s) and Artist(s) For January 2020: The song is "Call My Job", and the artist is "Detroit Jr.". This is the original, the 1965 recording of what is now a blues standard. I picked this one as a "tip of the hat" to those who did the "party hearty" thing on New Year's Eve, and took two days to recover, before going back to work.

Blues Trivia For January 2020: Earlier in the Blog I listed a recording by Nixon and Estes on the Ora Nelle label, done in 1948. In 1947, the first issued recording on that label, #711, was done by Little Walter J. and Othum Brown, the "A" side being "Ora Nelle Blues, the "B" side being "I Just Keep On Loving Her". Vocal and guitar on the A side by Brown, with Little Walter on harp and the B side with Little Walter on vocal and harp and Brown on guitar. Two things to note on that record: it was Little Walter's first recording and it was two of the three recordings ever done by Brown. Some sources show that the "Ora Nelle Blues" title was in honor of Walter's girlfriend, while other sources show it was about Brown's girlfriend. Further research, however, has shown that it was to honor a cousin of Idel Abrams (known as "Red" to friends, because of her haircolor), the wife of Bernard Abrams. In 1945 Bernard opened the Maxwell Radio and Record company, at 831-833 West Maxwell Street. He sold and repaired radios and other electrical items. He bought a military surplus record cutting machine and set up an area in the store where blues musicians could make demo recordings. A lot of those recordings went out the door, after the musicians had paid the bill for the services. It didn't take long for him to figure out that there might be money to be made with an actual record label, hence the Ora Nelle label was born, sole distributor being Maxwell Radio Co. He built up quite a collection of those demo recordings and sold them out of the store. Idel handled the sales end of things. During that time, Bernard had bought up one whole block of buildings on Maxwell Street. Some sources show only 4 songs ever pressed and released, while others show 5 and/or 8. There's one that shows 14, including alternate takes of some of the songs. Bernard was quoted as saying that "a bluesman never plays a song twice the same way". One of the bluesmen who recorded demos there was Muddy Waters, who later confirmed that he had taken all his recordings with him when he left the store. He also said, and Bernard confirmed, that he performed on the sidewalk in front of the store, before he became well-known enough to start booking gigs locally. We'll never know what treasures were lost there, as the building burned down a few years later, with lots of demos inside. By the way, that store/recording "studio" was the only store of its' type on the fabled Maxwell Street. We have 3 different dvd's in stock that document the history of that street and the blues men and women who performed thereon, and the "market", some showing a little history of Ora Nelle Records, Bernard and Idel Abrams, and the Maxwell Radio and Record Store.

Some January Blues Passings:
  • January 5th.,2009-- Sam "Bluzman" Taylor
  • January 17th.,1975-- Elzadie Robinson
  • January 28th.,2017-- Gabriel Perrodin, better known as "Guitar Gable"
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Joe's Blues Blog December 2019

12/1/2019

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First off, wishing all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and hoping that all will have a safe and enjoyable holiday season!

Some December Blues Births:
  • December 6th.,1925-- Robert Daniel Ealey
  • December 15th.,1955-- Mark Hummel
  • December 25th.,1944-- Henry Charles Vestine, aka "The Sunflower"

Answer To The November 2019 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for was/is Calvin "Fuzz" Jones, born June 9, 1926, in Greenwood, Mississippi. He grew up on a farm near Inverness. While growing up, he learned to play the violin and acoustic bass. He would later switch to electric bass, which became his instrument of choice. In the following years he worked with many mainstream bluesmen, such as Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, Little Walter, James Cotton, Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, Muddy Waters, and Mississippi Heat. In 1970 he joined the Muddy Waters band, and toured and often recorded with them, through the '70's. In 1980 he appeared in the first Blues Brothers movie, playing on Maxwell Street, outside the Soul Food Cafe. Also, in '80, he joined others from Muddy's band, and formed the Legendary Blues Band, playing bass and, on occasion, doing the lead vocal. Between then and '83, they recorded 7 albums, before they broke up. In '93 he played bass on Mississippi Heat's first album. On that recording, he did the lead vocal on one song, "Ruby Mae", which was written by bandmember Billy Flynn, to honor Calvin's wife, Ruby Mae. Flynn had also been in the Legendary Blues Band, with Jones. Calvin also played in several tribute bands, honoring Muddy, Howlin' Wolf, and the Jelly Roll Allstars. In '99, he recorded with Barrelhouse Chuck, on Chuck's debut album. In 2003, Jones backed Cassandra Wilson on her album "Glamoured". He also recorded with Cassandra on her version of "Vietnam Blues" (originally written by J.B. Lenoir), which was/is featured in the 7- part video story "Martin Scorsese Presents The Best of The Blues". In his last few years, Jones lived in Senatobia, Mississippi. He passed away in Southaven, Ms., on August 9, 2010, of lung cancer and a heart attack. If you read the Blues Question in the November Blog, you'll remember that I said that the town where he was born (Greenwood) should be familiar to all blues fans, as many blues people were also born there. Some of those are Hubert Sumlin, Fenton Robinson, Nora Jean Bruso, Walter E. "Furry" Lewis, Betty Everett, and Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones. You've probably heard one of Guitar Slim's often-recorded songs (probably his best), "The Things That I Used To Do". If you're not familiar with some of those listed, there is one other person associated with the blues, though on a somber side in reference to Greenwood-- it's where Robert Johnson died.

Blues Question For December 2019: This bluesman started performing when he was 16. He spent most of his career as a sideman to a well-known bluesman, performing on the road, and recording with him. He was a multi-instrumentalist. Though you've probably heard his playing, backing others, but don't know him. Any idea who this bluesman might be?

Blues Song(s) And Artist(s) For December 2019: I must explain this one more than usual, so you can see what I was shooting for. The artist I was looking for is "Big Walter" "Shakey" Horton, when I found this clip. It's a 2-song medley, performed in 1970, in Copenhagen, Denmark, on November 7th. The song was shown titled as "Roundabout Midnight", but was really the "All Star Boogie", as the first song, with the 2nd. one being titled as "That Ain't It", but it's actually "Hard Hearted Woman". The featured players here are Willie Dixon (stand-up bass), "Big Walter" Horton (harp and vocal), Lee Jackson (guitar), Lafayette Leake (piano), and Clifton James (not shown, on drums). This performance shows 2 things: Horton's ability on the harp, along with showing the feeling that real bluesmen have for their musical stories, and why Little Walter was so influenced by Horton's work. Willie Dixon has been quoted as saying "Shakey Horton is the best harmonica player I've ever heard". This medley was done during The American Folk Blues Festival tour of Europe.

Blues Trivia For December 2019: Willie Nix toured, performing as a dancer and comedian, with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, in his early twenties, during the late'30's and into the early '40's. In the following years, up to the mid-'40's, he most frequently worked the parks and streets in the Memphis area. In '49 and '50, he toured and performed with Sonny Boy Williamson II, Willie Love, and Joe Willie Wilkins, as The Four Aces. Nix recorded on the R P M label in '51, on the Checker label in '52, and in '53 on the Sun label (as the "Memphis Blues Boy"), all in Memphis. In his later years he toured and/or recorded with many of the headliners, such as Sonny Boy II, Sunnyland Slim, Elmore James, "Shoeshine Johnny" Shines, Jimmy Cotton, Big Amos Patton, and Willie Cobbs, playing either drums or guitar, as required. Over his long career, he performed on many radio shows with some of these people, including with B.B. King, on "The Pepticon Boy" show. Here's the trivia: in 1947, for his first radio "on-air" show, he was backing one of the icons of the blues, one of whom I spent time with, talking about the blues and some of it's players, and was a strong influence in starting this store, one who I will call our own, Robert Lockwood Jr.

Some December Blues Passings:
  • December 2nd.,2008-- Odetta Felious Gordon, aka "Odetta"
  • December 19th.,1989-- Floyd Jones
  • December 27th.,2006-- Delaine Alvin "Delaney" Bramlett

We have lots of Christmas Blues CDs (and some in other genres, too) in stock, and, again, have a safe and happy holiday season!!
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    Joe Vassel

    Proprietor of The Sound of Blue record shop in Kent, Ohio. 

    You are probably familiar with the current crop of blues performers, so the next time you’re at a performance or listening to some sort of broadcast of them, you should wonder and find out what “old-timer” they were/ are influenced by!         


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