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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