Some June Blues Births:
- June 3rd.,1924-- James "Jimmy" Rogers, born as James A. Lane
- June 12th.,1910-- Boyd Gilmore
- June 24th.,1912--Ransom Knowling
Answer to the May 2016 Blues Question: the bluesman we were looking for is/was John Mayon "Johnny" "Big Moose" Walker, aka "Bushy Head", "Moose John" and "J.W. Walker", born in Stoneville, Mississippi on June 27th.,1927. He became interested in music at about 15. He took tuba lessons as a youth and later went on to learn organ, piano, vibraphone, guitar, bass and vocals. Though he was one of the "background" players, he not only had recordings of his own but also recorded/ performed with most of the great Chicago bluesmen, such as John Lee and Earl Hooker, Lefty Dizz, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Mighty Joe Young, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Jimmy Dawkins, Son Seals, Junior Wells, and Pinetop Perkins, just to name a few. He actually settled in Chicago about 1959, after many years touring/ recording with the fore-mentioned players. About the "Big Moose" nickname: him being part Native American, he had long, flowing hair (most of his life!) as a youth. He hung out at a pool hall in Greenville, Mississippi, where other youths also hung out. He asked them why they called him "Big Moose", to which the reply was "we thought it was a good fit for you". His two best-known songs are "Moose is on the Loose" and "Footrace". He suffered a massive stroke in the late 1980's and then resided in a rest home in Chicago until he passed away on November 27th., 1999.
Blues Question for June 2016: this bluesman is/was not a full-time bluesman as you know them. His professional career began with him as an R & B vocalist, in a trio, performing in New York City's fanciest clubs. From there he went into song-writing and wrote some that were hits for others. He then went into acting and did both bit parts in several sit-coms and also some major motion pictures. He is a good acoustic guitarist and vocalist. If you follow the blues at all, once you know the credits, you'll know the man! Any ideas on who he is ??
Blues Trivia for June 2016 (kinda'): instead of writing the normal trivia, I'm going to share some observations and comments on how this blog is put together. I hope to clarify what I try to do with it. Over the years, going to blues festivals, performances in clubs, or any other type of venue, if you listen to the fans or the crowd, you'll hear how well an act is being received (or not). Then as you talk with some of the people/ fans around you, chances are good that they will make some comparative comments about the earlier players (Muddy, the Wolf, the Sonny Boys, etc, on down the line). That's when different "facts" or "opinions" start to disagree. As I write these blogs, there are usually three sources, minimum, that are cross-checked to make sure the info I'm giving you is accurate and correct. That can easily get to 10 or 12 sources, because the more you dig, the more it becomes clear that some of the "facts" are someone's opinion and other sources don't bear that out as correct. Let's say that you want to check out the bio of a particular bluesman and you have a couple of books on the blues (large or small- it doesn't matter). You look up that artist's bio and it gives you the info you think is correct. In that bio is usually a list of other artists with whom the artist you're interested in has performed, so you check out some of them. Now you're in the same book, by the same author, but the info on the second person you're checking is in direct conflict with what you read in the first bio. NOW WHAT?? You check your other book and discrepancies also show up, though they may be different. OK, now we'll check the internet. What do we find? Another set of "facts", not quite like the first two inquiries results. At this point you have to keep digging until facts and info start tying things together. Sometimes you still have to guess, but you'll at least know you gave it your best shot. Want a small taste of that, already put together? Check out the earlier blog in the series about Ann Cole (shortened from Coleman), Muddy Waters, and the song " I Got My Mojo Working". That one was pretty easy, but they can get a whole lot more complex!
Some June Blues Passings:
- June 5th.,1977-- "Sleepy" John Adams Estes
- June 15th.,2001-- Joseph J. "Joe" Carter, aka "Elmore James Jr.
- June 28th.,1950-- Burl C. "Jaybird" Coleman, aka "Rabbit's Foot Williams"
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