Joe's blues blog November 2014

Answer to October’s Blues Question: The bluesman we were looking for shares his stage name with a jazz musician-- Kid Thomas Valentine. The Kid Thomas bluesman was born Louis Thomas Watts on June 20th, 1934, in Sturgis, Mississippi. After his family moved to Chicago he was taking harmonica lessons from Little Willie Smith, in exchange for teaching Smith to play drums, which was Kid Thomas’s first instrument. In the late 40’s and early 50’s he blew harp in various Chicago clubs, where he often sat in with Muddy Waters, Elmore James, and Bo Diddley. He often sat in with Muddy when Little Walter was too drunk to get to the stage or to play. The first of Kid’s recordings to be released, a 45, on the Federal (King) label, #12298, was “Wolf Pack” and “The Spell”, which were made-up on the spot, with him thinking of Howlin’ Wolf and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. That happened because what he wanted to record and have issued did not suit Ralph Bass, who was in charge of the session. Bass liked the two made-up songs and ordered them pressed and released. The whole Kid Thomas story would take several pages to do him justice, so we’ll fast-forward to his untimely demise. Dissatisfied with record sales, he moved first to Wichita, Kansas, where he played some dates with Hound Dog Taylor. Then it was on to Denver Colorado. His next and final move was to Los Angeles, California, where he played anyplace he could find work. His “day job” was as a self-employed lawn maintenance man. While leaving a job in Beverly Hills he struck and killed a 10 year-old boy who rode his bicycle in front of Kid’s van too quickly for Kid to stop. The boy’s name was Ethan Friedman. The accident took place on September 3rd, 1969. On April 13th, 1970, Louis Thomas Watts was to appear in court on a charge of driving on a revoked license (he was found to have 5 of them,4 licenses obtained using false information). On his way into the courthouse he was confronted by the boy’s father, Eugene K. Friedman, 43, who pulled out a gun and shot Kid Thomas dead. By the way, he did meet Little Richard in the lobby of the hotel in which both of them were staying at in Chicago.

Some November Blues Births:
· November 1, 1924 - John “Little Johnnie/Johnny” Jones
· November 15, 1927 - Clayton Love
· November 30, 1975 - Joan-Alex Mason

The November 2014 Blues Question: This blues guitarist/singer learned from one of the best of the acoustic guitarists roughly around the age of 18, though he had been taught the basics by an aunt and uncle at the age of 10. When he was 20, he moved to Indianapolis from Mississippi. He recorded on only two labels. Any idea who this bluesman is?

November 2014 Blues Trivia: I think everyone has heard of Aaron Thibeaux Walker, better known as T-Bone Walker, the originator of “Call It Stormy Monday”.  He also wrote at least 66 other songs, many made even more famous by other artists, including “All Night Long”, “Mean Old World”, and “Sail On”.  All of the bluesman he influenced reads like a “Who’s Who” of the blues we know today.  Here are a couple of trivia items: first, the T-Bone nickname came from his mother, Movelia, as a shortening of his middle name --Thibeaux.  The second is that at 10 years of age, he worked as a lead-boy for Blind Lemon Jefferson on Central Avenue in Dallas, Texas, and that Blind Lemon was one of his main influences.

Some November Blues Passings:

· November 1, 1970 - James “Peck” Curtis
· November 15, 1978 - Matilda Witherspoon aka Mississippi Matilda
· November 27, 2012 - McHouston “Mickey/Guitar” Baker

Anybody remember the song “Love is Strange”: by Mickey and Sylvia??  Yes, that’s the same Mickey!! Sylvia, by the way, was Sylvia Vanderpool.