Three items I'd like to cover before the blog:
1: The 2019 blues calendars are in. We now have all of that series of them in stock, starting with the 1st. one, 2004, through the newest, 2019, all with free cd.
2: Thanks to Dennis McCartney for his comment on the September 2018 Blog. It's comments like that which makes all the work that goes into putting the blog together worth the effort!
3: I have to apologize for my errors in the October 2018 Blues Blog. Before it gets into the form that you see/read, it's written out longhand, pen on paper. Then items are added to or removed from that draft. That usually takes 3 to 5 days, working on it part or fulltime, as necessary/available. It's checked for content, structure, chronology, or any other of those items that can be better shown. The Blues Births and Passings shown are from another hand-written list that I put together and is also constantly add to or/and updated. The next header shown is "Answer to the Blues Question" of the previous months blog. After that content, the next header should have been "Blues Question for November 2018". Instead, in error, I put the header "Blues Song and Artist for---". Following that content should have been the header "Blues Trivia for---". What I typed in was "Blues Question for---", but, if you read that content, you'd have seen that it was actually the Trivia info. What I did was omit the content for the next months' Question and the header for the Trivia section, and get what was there out of the proper order. Again, I apologize for those mistakes--I don't know how I made them, but it's certain that I did! Now, on to the blog--
1: The 2019 blues calendars are in. We now have all of that series of them in stock, starting with the 1st. one, 2004, through the newest, 2019, all with free cd.
2: Thanks to Dennis McCartney for his comment on the September 2018 Blog. It's comments like that which makes all the work that goes into putting the blog together worth the effort!
3: I have to apologize for my errors in the October 2018 Blues Blog. Before it gets into the form that you see/read, it's written out longhand, pen on paper. Then items are added to or removed from that draft. That usually takes 3 to 5 days, working on it part or fulltime, as necessary/available. It's checked for content, structure, chronology, or any other of those items that can be better shown. The Blues Births and Passings shown are from another hand-written list that I put together and is also constantly add to or/and updated. The next header shown is "Answer to the Blues Question" of the previous months blog. After that content, the next header should have been "Blues Question for November 2018". Instead, in error, I put the header "Blues Song and Artist for---". Following that content should have been the header "Blues Trivia for---". What I typed in was "Blues Question for---", but, if you read that content, you'd have seen that it was actually the Trivia info. What I did was omit the content for the next months' Question and the header for the Trivia section, and get what was there out of the proper order. Again, I apologize for those mistakes--I don't know how I made them, but it's certain that I did! Now, on to the blog--
Some December Blues Births:
- December 4th.,1936-- Larry "Totsy" Davis
- December; on the 16th.,1931-- Bill Willis
- December 25th.,1905-- Joe Pullum
Answer to The November 2018 Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for is/was Peetie "Pete" Wheatstraw, born William Bunch, on December 21, 1902, in either in Ripley, Tennessee, or Cotton Plant, Arkansas. Supposedly, he was born in Ripley and the family moved to Cotton Plant when he was very young. That's where he grew up, so it's what he considered to be his hometown, at least, according to Big Joe Williams. Peetie was born to James and Mary (Burns) Bunch, one of many children, and was interested in music at an early age. In 1927 he left home to hobo through the Southern states, then settled in East St. Louis, Illinois, in 1929. By that time he had become proficient with the guitar and not quite as good on the piano. While living there he played at the Lovejoy Club and a juke joint above a barbershop, on West Biddle Street. There's a Delmark cd titled "Biddle Street Barrelhousin' " (we stock that disc), that features some of the piano players who worked the clubs/juke joints on that street, but he's not on it, as it was made at a later time. His only "touring" was done between East St. Louis and St. Louis, Missouri and towns in between that had a club or juke joint where he could play. His travelling was only done for recording sessions in Chicago and New York City, for the Vocalion, Decca, and Bluebird labels. He recorded with Bumble Bee Slim (Amos Easton), "Neckbones", real name unknown, James "Kokomo" Arnold, and Lonnie Johnson. All his recordings except 2 were done under the name "Peetie Wheatstraw, The Devils' Son-In-Law", or "Peetie Wheatstraw, The High Sheriff From Hell". His recordings show a hardened and somewhat egotistical attitude, which go along with those nicknames. Some sources show he made 161 recordings, while some others show 164, so I can't confirm either for sure. Because of his thumping style he is often compared to or believed to be an influence on todays' rap artists. He only played piano on his recordings, though the only known picture of him shows him with a National steel guitar. He influenced many of the bluesmen of the day, both pianists and guitarists, but that list is too long to show. One for sure, however, was Robert Johnson. On his 39th. birthday, Peetie and a couple friends decided to take a ride. One friend of his, "Blind" Teddy Darby, wanted to also ride along, but his wife wouldn't let him go. The three then left in a Buick one of his friends owned, with Peetie in the back seat. The car hit a standing train, and his buddies were killed. Peetie died a couple of hours later, at the hospital, on his birthday, December 21, 1941.
Blues Question For December 2018: This bluesman's first work was in a circus. Later in his life, after learning guitar and piano, he wanted to become a songwriter and comedian. Any thoughts on who this bluesman might be ??
Blues Song(s) and Artist(s) for December 2018: The song is "Christmas Present Blues", and the artist is Jimmy Reed, recorded in 1969, at/for Columbia Studios, for release on/for Roker Records, out of Hollywood. At the time of its release, it was sold on a lp titled "As Jimmy Is". It was also released on an Ampex reel to reel stereo tape (that's before 8 tracks and/or cassettes). Ampex reel to reel tape decks were/are considered to be the gold standard of/for tape decks. It was released shortly thereafter on a 45.
Blues Trivia for December 2018: In this one I'm going to slightly expand on the Item #3 at the beginning of this blog. Yes, I made some errors in a blog-- no denying that-- they're here for all to see. We all make them. Some admit it, some deny it, and some try to hide them. The purpose for which I started this store, and the reason I do this blog, is a simple one-- to help the true blues fan by keeping the true blues alive, and providing information, when I can. If I do any less than my best at either of these endeavors, I am defeating the whole purpose of both of these, besides doing a disservice to all the blues fans out there. If you see an error in what I've done or shown, please make and leave a comment so I can see or figure out what I got wrong. Tell me where you found the info you have so I can take a look at it too. Thanks for being patient with me and I hope you enjoy what I/we do!
Some December Blues Passings:
- December 1st.,1934-- Arthur "Blind" Blake
- December 12th.,2007-- Izzar "Ike" Luster Turner Jr.
- December 30th.,2000-- Willie D. Warren
RSS Feed