Some February Blues Births:
- February 1st.,1951-- Clyde Vernon "Sonny" Landreth
- February 17th.,1954-- Lou Ann Barton
- February 28th.,1930-- Jesse Fortune
Answer to the January 2018 Blues Question: I indicated that this gospel/bluesman was "obscure", when I should have said that he was/is obscure only to the average blues fan and well-known to the majority of blues musicians. He was/is "Blind" Willie Johnson, born January 22nd.,1897, in Independence, Texas. Willie's mother, Mary Fields, died when he was four years old. At the age of five his father gave him his first instrument: a cigar-box guitar. He wasn't born blind and most of his biographers agree that, at the age of seven, he was blinded by a solution of lye water splashed on him by his stepmother, who was being violently confronted by his father, about her "infidelity". Other theories have been offered, but this one seems to be the most likely to be correct. Not much else is known about his childhood years. In 1926 or early 1927 Blind Willie entered into an unregistered marriage with Willie B. Harris, who would sometimes perform with him on the streets and other gatherings. She was the one who recorded with him on vocals and/or piano at some of his recording sessions. He only did five sessions total, recording 30 songs, all of them released in his own name. They were released on the Columbia Records label, with two of those also released under the name "The Blind Pilgrim", on the Anchor label, a subsidiary of Columbia. There were also two songs recorded by him, under the name "Blind Texas Marlin", but they were never titled or released by Columbia, and the masters of them have yet to be found. In the early 1930's, Johnson is said to have married Angeline Robinson, sister of Louis Charles "L.C."/ "Good Rockin' Charles" Robinson. As of this time, no marriage certificates have been found for either marriage. At some point, probably sometime in the '20's, Blind Willie had become a minister and was an evangelist preacher, which is shown in his recordings. He travelled and performed with Evangeline (Anne) from the early '30's into the early '40's, in various towns in Texas. They ended up in Beaumont, where he opened a church, the House of Prayer. In 1945 his home burned to the ground and he had nowhere else to go and no money, so he continued to live in the remains of his house. There, exposed to the heat and humidity, he contracted malarial fever. Angeline stated in a later interview, that no hospital would admit him, either because he was blind, or because he was black. As near as I can find, that fire was early in 1945, and, over the course of the year he grew weaker from his illness. He finally passed away on September 18, 1945. His death certificate states that the factors contributing to his death were syphilis and blindness. If you are truly a blues fan, you MUST listen to his recording "Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground". This is THE prime example of an acoustic guitar "weeping"(the slide sound). If you want to hear his gravelly voice, you have to listen to his recording of "John The Revelator". That one will surprise you as well. A couple of other points: in 1977 Carl Sagan was directed to compile a group of songs, to be recorded on a gold disc, and placed on the Voyager space probe, to be sent into space so if found by other life forms, they might have a point of reference about the human race. "Dark Was The Night" is one of those 27 songs (another artist included was Chuck Berry). In 2010, the Library of Congress added that song to it's list of songs it deems to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Blues Question for February 2018: This "bluesman" is listed as an R & B and/or Rock and Roll singer and songwriter, but his career also shows him to be in the blues vein. He was most active in music from the mid-1940's up into the late '70's. He has the distinction of never having a hit, but some of his recorded songs have been hits for others. Any idea who this "bluesman" might be ??
Blues Song(s) and Artist(s) for February 2018: Let's be a little adventurous here! The song is "Devil Woman", by Bruce Willis and the Bruce Willis Blues Band-- a live recording. Who knew?
Blues Trivia for February 2018: You're probably familiar with "fife and drum" music, such as that by Otha (Othar) Turner, but how about a flute on a blues song? One of the bluesmen to use the flute is/was Johnny Heartsman. He also played bass, piano, electronic organ, guitar, and did vocals as well. He is listed as a singer, songwriter, musician, and arranger. Some of the songs he wrote were: "Are You Gonna' Leave Me?", for Jesse James, "Goose Grease", for Roy Buchanan, "Got To Find My Baby", for John Hammond Jr., "Move On Down The Line", for Amos Garrett, along with several others for Joe Simon, with whom he toured, playing as an organist. His first all blues album was "Sacramento", in 1987. His second one was "The Touch", on Alligator Records in 1991. On that second album, he shows his versatility by playing different instruments and doing vocals. The song "Tongue" is an instrumental featuring the flute up front, with other instruments there, but subdued. The song "Walkin' Blues" features the organ, and the song "Let Me Love You Baby" features the guitar, both along with vocals. Sadly, he passed away in 1996, of a stroke, in Sacramento, California.
Some February Blues Passings:
- February 4th.,1974--Henry "Rufe" Johnson
- February 15th.,1968-- Marion Walter Jacobs, aka Little Walter, Little Walter J
- February 28th.,1992-- Sylvia Burton, aka Blues Queen Sylvia (Embry)
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