Nothing but ......

One more

2006-10-24T01:00:00.000+02:00

Today I have a compilation that comes from the collection of that same friendly neighbor. "If you like Rev. Gary Davis, you should listen to track 8!' That's what he told me when he handed me this CD.
The CD is a sample from all the wonderful stuff that was collected for the Original Blues Classics series, This series consists of over 50 CD with all truly great classics. In order to promote this series this CD was launched.
There are some real beauties on it! How about Willie Dixon together with Memphis Slim (track 1), Pink Anderson (track 12) or Jimmy Whitterspoon (track 18). And ........Reverend Gary Davis with a very powerful 'Say No To The Devil' in track 8.
This one has been uploaded to MegaUpload as Rapidshare has been an absolute mess for the last few days (weeks?)

1994 - All That Blues

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More re-posts

2006-10-19T01:00:00.000+02:00

For some odd reason I have the feeling that I'm spending a lot of time reloading stuff to Rapidshare.
Anyway, by request I just reloaded the Troy concert of Stevie Ray Vaughan.

August 26 1990, East Troy, Stevie Ray Vaughan his last performance

If you're missing something more (that has to be reloaded), please let me know and I'll see what I can do.

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More Reverend

2006-10-16T01:00:00.000+02:00

On August 31 I posted the wonderful album 'Pure Religion & Bad Company' (reloaded) by Reverend Gary Davis. Ever since I occasionally get request for more 'from that guy'. Unfortunately I don't have any more Davis in my collection (as I answered them). But now.....Jump, Shout, Scream for joy! Guess what I found in the collection of a friendly neighbor (thanks Klaas-Jan).
This album is as much an original as a compilation. 'I Am A True Vine' is the title of on original 1962 Rev. Gary Davis album. But...... In 1991 the album was re-issued as an CD with some additional tracks. As the casing says all recording date from 1962 - 1963, New York, I guess that the bonus tracks are from 1963.
But these bonus tracks are really worth listening to. As the compiler of this album (Stefan Grossman) tells in the booklet, this album focuses on his finger picking playing style (so particular for the Piedmont Blues). This is how a recording like Candyman (track 13) made it on the album. It's obvious there is something wrong with Davis his voice. Apparently he had a slight throat infection at the time. But the recording is still great!
I could be that you'll recognize track 12 (Cocaine Blues) as the song Cocaine from the great 1977 Jackson Browne record Running On Empty. Yes....That's correct. That's a Reverend Gary Davis song.
Just for the record: Tracks 7,8,9,12 and 13 are the bonus tracks.

1991(1962) - I Am A True Vine

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Nothing But The Blue XXXV

2006-10-14T01:00:00.000+02:00

Disc 35, and we finally come to 'The father of the Electric Guitar Blues'. We finally get to T-Bone Walker. See earlier postings Good Feelin' and Imperial, both reloaded.
T-bone his real name is Aaron Thibeaux Walker. The nickname T-Bone is just 'an easy way' to pronounce his name. He was born in 1910 in Texas. At an early age T-Bone was exposed to great guitar musicians. Leadbelly was a house friend of the family and T-Bone use to lead Blind Lemon Jefferson through the streets of Dallas during the early 20's. It is said that T-Bone was a gifted guitar player at the age of 12 (!). He also played banjo and accompanied Ida Cox in the late 20's. During the early 30 he toured with the legendary 'Cab Calloway Orchestra'. It took him until 1942 to form his first won band. During the late 40's T-Bone created, almost entirely by himself, the unique sound of what we now know as the West-Coast Blues. He stuck to this jazzy Blues sound until his death in 1975. At that time T-Bone was just as much appreciated as an innovator, a Blues musician as a Jazz musician. Leaving an enormous legacy influencing people like B.B. King, Albert Collins, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and many more.
Tracks 11 and 12 date from December 1929 (Dallas). I'm not sure these are the oldest T-Bone recordings, but these are at least the oldest T-Bone recordings I know. Track 10 date from June 1940 (New York). Tracks 1 and 5 are recorded in Hollywood in July 1942. Track 3 is from 1944 (LA). Tracks 2,4,6,7,8 and 9 are recorded in Chicago inn May 1945. Tracks 17,18,19 and 20 are also recorded in Chicago in December 1945. Finally tracks 13,14,15 and 16 date from September 1946 (LA).

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 35 - Mean Old World

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Reloads

2006-10-12T01:00:00.000+02:00

Apparently discs # 21 through 25 were no longer available on Rapidshare.
I managed to reload them:

Nothing But The Blues - CD21 - Got The Blues
Nothing But The Blues - CD22 - Shake 'Em On Down
Nothing But The Blues - CD23 - Georgia Rag
Nothing But The Blues - CD24 - Jailhouse Blues
Nothing But The Blues - CD25 - Night Time Blues

If you're missing something more (that has to be reloaded), please let me know and I'll see what I can do.

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What a Change

2006-10-07T01:00:00.000+02:00

In 1994 it's another 10 years after Solomon Burke album 'Soul Alive!'. Perhaps even another 10 years after the last decent soul album. By now nobody does soul anymore. Some greats have died, some just disappeared. Even the once that 'converted' to Disco of funk were hanging by their finger nails. Soul Alive! in 1984 was the best soul album (perhaps even the only) in five years! And it took Solomon another 10 years before he came with this A Change Is Gonna Come. And what an album it is! Great Deep Soul with every now and then a drop off funk. Some new stuff and some classics. Solomon's version of Sam Cook's A Change Is Gonna Come is great. And his version of the Percy Sledge hit When A Man Loves A Woman? So much better than Percy ever held for possible! I have to admit that this is not Solomon's best album. But that is only because he was to make even better later! (please remind me to post some later)
Yes, I consider myself a bit of a Solomon Burke fan. Or should I say considered?
In September this year Solomon released his new album called Nashville. And....yes, it's a country record. What is it with this country shit? Mark Knopfler touring with Emmylou Harris. Jakkkkk!!! Van Morrison recording a full disc with Hank Williams covers that isn't worth the box that it comes in.... And now Solomon Burke doing duets with Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton! You better forget this. Listen to these wonderful 1994 recordings and forget about the present.

1994 - A Change Is Gonna Come

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Re-posts

2006-10-06T01:00:00.000+02:00

apparently discs # 9 and # 10 (Big Bill Broonzy) were no longer available on Rapidshare. I therefore re-posted them

Nothing But The Blues - CD09 - Mississippi River Blues
Nothing But The Blues - CD10 - The Southern Blues

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Nothing But The Blues XXXIV

2006-10-05T01:00:00.000+02:00

Oran Thadeus Page aka Hot Lips Page is the first is the first trumpet player in this series. Hot Lips was born in Texas in 1908. His mother taught him to play the clarinet and saxophone at a very early age. By the time Oran was twelve he already 'turned' to the trumpet and was traveling through the area as a musician. During the early 20's Oran had already worked for Ma Rainy. He furthermore toured quite a while with Walter Page's Blue Devils. In 1929 he got to the recoding studios.
During the major part of the 30's he worked in Kansas for both Bennie Moten and Duke Ellington.
In 1938 he formed his own band and moved to New York where John Hammond contracted him for the 'Spirituals to Swing Concert' (see also Big Joe Turner). Within a year he played with Ida Cox, Pete Johnson and Billie Holliday.
Although he had his own band, for the next 10 years Oran spent most of his time on stage or in the studio backing other performers. In 1949 he joined Charlie Parker, Sidney Bechet and Miles Davis at the 'Salle Pleyel Jazz festivall'. This was such a success that his long European Tour years later was enthusiastically received. From that moment on his health became a problem. When Hot Lips died in 1954 he left a huge crowd of fans that still miss him today. Hot Lips Page was one of the few greats (together with T-Bone Walker) that constantly walked the thin line between Blues and Jazz.
All the tracks on this CD are recorded in New York. Tracks 2,4,6, and 11 in December 1940. Tracks 1,7,12 and 16 were recorded in March 1944. Tracks 3,5 and 9 in June 1944. Tracks 8 and 10 on September 12 1944. Tracks 13 and 15 on September 29 and track 14 on November 1944 the same year.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 34 - The Blues Jumped The Rabbit

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Happy birthday

2006-10-04T13:00:00.000+02:00

Today 22 years ago, Stevie Ray Vaughan played the Carnegie Hall in New York. As Stevie himself is born on October 3 1954 it's the day after his birthday. As a matter of fact Stevie calls this performance "My best birthday ever......forever". And although I've never been to any of his birthday parties, I can believe this to be true!
The CD opens with a rather lengthy introduction. But even this is fun. You'll hear somebody introducing John Hammond, who will introduce Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble. Yes, this is the same John Hammond who organized the 'Spirituals to Swing concerts' in the same Hall in 1938 and 1939 (see Nothing But The Blues 32 and 34).
John Hammond (74 at the time) promises a 'smoking show'. And hell it is! After doing a few numbers together they are joined by brother Jimmy Lee Vaughan, an extra drummer, Dr John on keyboard, Angela Strehli (vocals) and 5 'blues horns'. As an encore Stevie plays a song he wrote for his wife Lenny. I swear this guy forgets he is holding a guitar instead of a woman: he is making love to his guitar!
All and all a wonderful live registration and one of the most remarkable SRV releases.
But....Be warned! Listen once to this album and you'll regret for the rest of your life you weren't there!

1997 - Live At Carnegie Hall

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Nothing But The Blues XXXIII

2006-10-03T01:00:00.000+02:00

With disc 33 we have a closer look at Blind John Davis. Blind John was born as John Henry Davis in 1913 somewhere in Mississippi, but grew up in Chicago. At the age of ten he lost his sight (tetanus infection). Despite this handicap John taught himself to play the piano, and took up performing at an early age. In that period there were a lot of illegal drinking clubs in Chicago, and all needed musicians!
John's first recordings date from 1938. Strangely enough he recorded this for the Vocalion label, while at that time he was the hous pianist for the Bluebird label. Here he backed legends like Lonnie Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson and Big Bill Broonzy. Although John traveled all over the world, Chicago always stayed his 'hometown'. Here he kept on backing famous Blues artists until his death in 1985.
John made dozens of records and backed other musicians on hundreds! of Blues albums.
For the track list I owe you an apology (again). I've been boosting that none of the recordings of this great series are any younger than 1948. Well, here we have the exception. In my defense I would like to emphasize that the box of the series claims this as well.
Anyway, all the tracks on this disc date from one live performance in Hamburg (Germany) on April 16, 1973.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 33 - My Own Boogie

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Reaction

2006-10-02T01:00:00.000+02:00

Time to look at some serious soul again. On April 15 this year I offered you Howard Tate's remarkable life story and his 2003 comeback album Rediscovered (reloaded). Today we turn to his past. When Howard recorded this Reaction album in 1969 he had been a part of the soul scene for a few years. As a matter of fact he was considered to be a veteran of the scene. At that time it's two years ago that Howard released his legendary Get It While You Can album, and soul isn't as hot anymore. Many soul artists make the move into disco, just to survive. Howard makes a living by appearing in nightclubs, mainly in New York.
This album doesn't even come close to Get It While You Can, but again, which album does? Reaction still holds some pretty damn' good soul. Most songs are written by Lloyd Price and Johnny Nash, who also produced the album. But you will find a wonderful cover of Sam Cooke's Chain Gang on here as well. Track 11: My Soul's Got a Hole In It was to be Howard's last entry in the R&B charts (# 31, spring 1970). All and all an album you can't afford to miss if you are into soul!

1969 - Reaction

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Nothing But The Blues XXXII

2006-10-01T01:00:00.000+02:00

With this disc we get to the next Big Joe: Big Joe Turner. Big Joe Turner was born as Joseph Vernon Turner in May 1911 in Kansas City and died in November 1985 in California. Joe had an ordinary childhood that changed when his father died. Joe left school and started to work in the nightclubs of Kansas City. Here he met Pete Johnson (piano), who would accompany Joe at many occasion throughout the rest of his career. They tried to make it outside Kansas City, but failed until the famous scout John Hammond contracted them for the 'Spirituals to Swing' concert at Carnegie Hall in 1938. Here they started a wave of Boogie woogie fever. That year Turner recorded his first song. In the years following Turner was a very successful performer. In 1941 he even joined Duke Ellington's revue as a singer. In the 50's the Boogie woogie wasn't hot anymore and Turner turned to R&B. He dominated the charts from 1951 - 1956. During the 60's and 70's Turner performed at all the major festivals in America and Europe. He kept on performing and recording all the way to his death in 1985. Some of his more famous fans are B.B. King, Ray Charles and Jimmy Witherspoon. Due to his success during the 50's he is often remembered as 'Father figure of Rock 'n' Roll'. Because the recordings on this disc date from before this period you will not find great hits like 'Shake, Rattle and Roll' (Nr 1 hit in 1954) here.
Tracks 3,5, 10 and 11 are recorded in New York in July 1941. Tracks 1,4,12 and 18 date from September the same year are were recorded in LA. Tracks 6 and 8 were recorded in La in January 1942. In October 1944 tracks 7,9,13 and 14 were recorded in Chicago. In New York in February 1945 tracks 2,15,17 and 19 were recorded. Tracks 16 and 21 are from May 1945 , Chicago . And finally track 14 from LA, January 1946.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 32 - Nobody in Mind

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More Trouble!

2006-09-30T01:00:00.000+02:00

There is enough said, and written, about McKinley Morganfield aka Muddy Waters. The world isn't waiting for another Muddy compilation. Although......Today's offering is something special. Perhaps even a treat. This disc contains all his Chess singles from the period 1955 - 1959!
As the (great) liner notes of the album say:
"Sometimes it looks like Muddy Waters' recording career ended after the May 1955 session when he cut Mannish Boy".
And they are correct. It often looks like that. All the real Muddy Waters classics are recorded before this breaking point. And with Mannish Boy Muddy gave his particular style it's last ingredients. At that time Muddy was at the height of his popularity with the black Blues fans, and it was still another 5 years before the folk and rock lovers of the early 60's picked up.
However, after May 1955 he kept recording and performing. All the way up to his death in 1983. Please listen carefully and enjoy a Muddy Waters who finally created 'his sound' and kept recording in this style. Perhaps this record does not contain any great classics (perhaps Trouble No More is an exception), but it is Muddy at his best and well worth your time.

1989 - Trouble No More

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Nothing But The Blues XXXI

2006-09-29T01:00:00.000+02:00

It's been a while. I've been busy, busy, busy. In my case that means no uploads! Sorry for that. On the other hand: If I wouldn't be busy every now and then, I wouldn't make any money. And no money means no (new) music.
Ages ago I got a question from somebody asking me if there was any Jimmy Yancey in the collection. Well...... there is, and today's disc is dedicated to this great pianist.
James Edward Yancey was born in February 1898. His father, a variety artist, learned little Jimmy to sing and dance and took the boy 'on the road'. By the time Jimmy was 16 he had been all over America and Europe!
At that time Jimmy settled in Chicago and focused on his piano playing. Within no-time he established himself as a known Blues and Boogie woogie player. His preference for the Boogie woogie and his central role in the Chicago Blues and Jazz scene earned him his nickname "Papa of Boogie woogie".
It took 'Papa' until 1939 before his recording career started. At that time he already had been a influential member of the Chicago scene for over 20 years!
Most Jimmy Yancey recordings are solo. It wasn't until shortly before his death that he used a 'backing band'. On the other hand Jimmy accompanied a wide variety of artists himself.
When 'Papa' died in 1951 the world lost one of it's three greatest Boogie woogie pianists.
Tracks 1 - 17 are all recorded in April 1939 in Chicago. Tracks 18 - 23 are from the same location, same year, but from October. Tracks 24 dates from December 1943 (Chicago)

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 31 - Jimmy's Stuff

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Nothing But The Blues XXX

2006-09-02T01:00:00.000+02:00

With disc 30 we turn to Big Joe Williams. Big Joe, born as John Lee Turner in 1903 in Mississippi, always has been a roamer. He was the eldest of 15 brothers and sister. At what age his father 'disappeared' I don't know, but it is said that his brutal stepfather was the reason he left home at an early age. This is also said to be the reason he could never really settle some where.
The oldest recordings with Big Joe are from 1930. However it would take him until 1935 before he would record under his own name. In that year Lestor Melrose, a famous scout, took him to Chicago to record for the Bluebird label. The second recording session that year delivered them Big Joe's first, a probably greatest, hit: Baby, Please don't go. In the years folowing Big Joe came to work and play with people Sonny Boy Williamson (Nothing But The Blues discs 5 & 6 )and Peetie Wheatstraw. Big Joe was a multi intrumentalist. Appart from his accordeon playing, his skills with the harmonica and kazoo, his most remarkable musical feature was his 9-string (!) guitar.
Big Joe is considered to be one of the greatest representatives of the Delta Blues. This is partly because of his background and his obvious talents, but also partly because of the fact that he is the only one who 'survived'. I already wrote earlier that a lot of musisians gave it up during the 40's to never return to the scene of to resurface somewhere in the mid 60's. For unkown reasons this is particulary through for the representatives of the Delta Blues. But not for Big Joe. Big Joe was around for the complete ride. When Joe died in 1982, in his beloved Mississippi, he was remembered as the man that kept the Blues from the South alive.
The tracks 2,5,10 and 16 date from Big Joe's first recording session under his own name (Chicago, February 1935). Tracks 3,12 and 17 date from October 1935 (Chicago). On these 3 tracks you can also hear Old Tracy on a 1-string fiddle! Tracks 4,13,18, and 19 are recorded in Aurora in 1937 (together with Sonny Boy Williamson). Tracks 1,6,8 and 20 take us back to Chicago (1941). Tracks 5,7,15 and 21 are recorded with Sonny Boy again in December 1941 in Chicago. Track 7 is a re-recording of Baby, Please don't go, called Please don't go. This version, only recorded 6 years later show both the enormous development of Big Joe, as the influence of Sonny Boy. Track 9 is also recorded in Chicago, but in 1945. The other tracks (14 and 22) are also from 1945, Chicago, but with Sonny Boy again.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 30 - Meet Me Around The Corner

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Great company

2006-08-31T01:00:00.000+02:00

A Dutch band from the late 70's (Gruppo Sportivo) once wrote a song explaining the rules for making successful Blues. The first 3 rules were:
1. Be black
2. Be blind
3. Try to see a lot of misery.
This definitely goes for some of the heroes we talked about earlier. When we turn today to Reverend Gary Davis the link with Fulton Allen (Blind Boy Fuller) and Saunders Terrel (Sonny Terry) is proof of these rules. As you may have read in earlier postings, these 3 representatives of the Piedmont worked a lot together.
Gary Davis was born in 1896 and learned to play the guitar at an early age. So he started out in Ragtime.This might be the reason for his particular 'fingerpicking' style of playing. This style, together with the more mellow approach, as compared to city Blues, makes him one of the great representatives of the Piedmont Blues, together with Sonny Terry, Blind Boy Fuller, Brownie McGhee, Mississippi John Hurt and Skip James. Gary got his nickname 'Reverend' from the fact that he was a Christian minister and showed great interest in gospel. There style of guitar playing influenced a complete generation of Blues and Pop legends (for instance Ry Cooder).
But that isn't the only thing Gary left us when he died in 1972. He also left us a bunch of wonderful compositions. Over the years these have been covered by people like: Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, Jackson Brown, etc.
Today offering is a original album from 1957. That is..... This post contains 2 bonus tracks that were added later (release 1991). These tracks, however, are from the same recording sessions as the rest of the album.

1957 Pure Religion & Bad Company, part 1 & part 2

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Nothing But The Blues XXIX

2006-08-30T01:00:00.000+02:00

Is it coincidence? Is it fate. Which ever way....It all comes together today. Disc 29 is completely dedicated to John Lee Hooker. From Cuban Heels (August 13) I got to R. L. Burnside (yesterday). And with Burnside I wrote that he was inspired to 'pick up the guitar and play the blues' by an 1948 John Lee Hooker recording called Boogie Chillen. This particular song is reputed to inspire a complete generation of Blues players. Even Buddy Guy often told that it was this song that made him 'do the Blues'. And this wonderful song is on today disc!
As I mentioned earlier it is impossible to create something like 'the complete recordings of John Lee Hooker'. It is even impossible to create a 'definitive'. John Lee Hooker (1920 - 2001) had a recording career of over 50 years. He spent more or less the complete 60's in studio's. We worked for over 10 different labels. That is....as John Lee Hooker. We know he used at least 7 different names as well. This has all together resulted in over 50! original album since the mid 50's. There are over 40 compilations dedicated to John Lee Hooker. I do not even dare to guess on how many different Blues-compilations he is!
With this we get the first disc in this wonderful series which doesn't have good liner notes on the recordings. As a matter of fact, the box only contains a apology. There was so much material and so little good documentation on the recordings that they didn't even try. Fact is that these are old John Lee Hooker recordings, but still the youngest recordings in this box. Hooker didn't start recording until 1948 (as far as we know!). His first single is this infamous Boogie Chillen, which was an instant hit. The Boogie Chillen on this disc is probably (!) this particular recording. But with John Lee Hooker you never know for sure.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 29 -Sally Mae

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Come on in!

2006-08-29T01:00:00.000+02:00

A little while back I had the honor of introducing you to Cuban Heels. In this introduction I told you that this wonderful band sometimes reminded me of 'a late R.L. Burnside'. It is only now that I realize that I never posted R.L. Burnside material. So it is possible that a few of you are not able to make this comparison yourself.
R. L. (Robert Lee) was born in 1926 some where in Mississippi, where he would spent the major part of his life. Robert worked as a sharecropper, supporting his considerable family. He got interested in the Blues somewhere during the early 50's, when he heard John Lee Hooker's 1948 single Boogie Chillen. So Robert picked up the guitar and started playing. During that period he moved his family to Chicago, where his brother, his uncle and his father were killed within one month. Shortly after that he moved back to Mississippi.
The oldest recordings on Robert date from 1967. But even after these recordings he had to work the land in order to sustain his family. It wasn't until the 90's, when he joined the Fat Possom label, that he got recognition of his talent. Reading up on Robert (I tend to do that while writing an blog post) I find it not surprising I heard some Burnside in Cuban Heels. Fred McDowell was Roberts teacher and Junior Kimbrough was also connected to Fat Possom and is often mentioned with Burnside.
This album is a special one. As John Lee Hookers influence is heard throughout all Roberts recordings, they all have a very strong drive and a very 'recognizable' rhythm. So in the late 90's Roberts work was used by re-mixers and samplers. And one of them (Tom Rothrock) made this album together with Robert. Although not every song is 'my thing', some of the stuff on here is brilliant!

1998 - Come On In part 1 & part 2

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Nothing But The Blues XXVIII

2006-08-28T01:00:00.000+02:00

It seems only logical that disc 28 focuses on this third great performer from this little Piedmont Blues group: Sonny Terry.
Sonny was born as Saunders Terrel in North Carolina in 1911. In contrary to Fuller his musical examples came from his own family. His father (Reuben) was a gifted mouth organ player who taught him the secrets of this instrument when he was only 6. Saunders originally wanted to be a framer, like his father, but with two accidents (1922 and 1927) he lost the light in both eyes. As a blind boy he had to make a living as a musician. When Saunders father died in the mid twenties Saunders was more or less forced to join traveling musical companies or live as a street musician.
After his meeting with Blind Boy Fuller he became a well respected blues musician. His very first recordings are tracks 3 and 8 on our posting of yesterday. When Blind Boy Fuller died in 1941 he was 'replaced' by Brownie McGhee (disc 19 & 20). Sonny switched from Blind Boy to Brownie without any troubles. As a matter of fact. With Brownie McGhee he was probably the most successful folk / blues duo of the 40's and 50's. The most amazing part of this success might be the fact that the two more or less became the centre of the white folk scene in New York. Here they inspired and worked with people like: Leadbelly (disc 11 & 12), Woody Guthrie, Pete Seegers and Cisco Houston. Terry also worked together with Harry Belafonte.
When Sonny Terry died in 1986 he left a large audience which had to miss his 'whoops', 'hollers' and train imitations.
All the tracks on this disc date from New York 1947. On tracks 1, 5, 7, 10, and 11 the guitar is played by Brownie McGhee. The guitar on the other tracks is played by Stick McGhee (Brownie's younger brother). All the compositions are Sonny Terry's originals.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 28 - Worried Man Blues

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Thank you SRV!

2006-08-27T01:00:00.000+02:00

I've never been much of a bootlegger. But today is an exception. Today it is 16 years ago that Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter crash. And, as you know....I do like SRV.
On August 27 1990, very early in the morning, the helicopter that carried Stevie from East Troy where he performed at the Alpine Valley Festival to his next gig, flew into a mountain. Stevie Ray Vaughan died instantly.
At East Troy SRV didn't only put up a hell of a show consisting of 14 songs like The things that I used to do, Pride & Joy, Crossfire and Voodoo Child, but later that evening, just minutes before his departure by helicopter, he jammed with a.o. Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and his brother Jimmy Vaughan.
The recordings of this evening, including the jam on Sweet Home Chicago, are never released. Still, at a day as today I couldn't withhold this unique material from you. So, for once....
Don't go out there and try to get this album. It doesn't exist. Don't throw these file away within 24 hours. You will find them hard to replace. Just download, listen to them and treasure them!

August 26 1990, East Troy, SRV his last recordings, part 1 & part 2

Please check also out: Couldn't stand the weather (1984) and Blues at sunrise (2000)

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Nothing But The Blues XXVII

2006-08-26T01:00:00.000+02:00

This next disc is all about Blind Boy Fuller. Although.....All about?.... What this series shows is that you can not discus Blind Boy Fuller without looking (and listening) to Sonny Terry or even Brownie McGhee. With the discs 19 and 20 (about Brownie) I explained that Brownie McGhee got his recording career started as Blind Boy Fuller II. And like Blind Boy Fuller they both worked extensively with Sonny Terry.
Born as Fulton Allen in 1907 he learned to play the guitar as a boy. At the age of twenty he married a 14 year old (!) girl. One year later he got blind on both eyes. Another year later he moved to Durham where his musical career got a boost through meeting and working with Reverend Gary Davis. In 1935 he was scouted by J. B. Long and got his first recording sessions in New York for RCA.
In 1937 he met Sonny Terry. Rumor has it they both played in the same street, just on opposite sides. Ever since that day they have been working together. Blind Boy Fuller only recorded for 5 years as he died in February 1941. Leaving us with about 140 fine recordings.
The recordings on this disc reflect the close association between Fulton and Sonny. Not only are all almost all the songs Fuller of Terry originals, Sonny is on all the songs and Fuller isn't.
Tracks 3 and 8 are from 1937 New York. Tracks 1, 4, 10 and 14 are also from New York, but one year later. From the same year date the tracks 9, 19 (Columbia). Tracks 6, 7 and 12 are from Memphis (1939). Tracks 13, 15, 16, 17, 23, 25 (New York) 2, 20, 21, 22, 24 and 26 (Chicago) date from 1940. Finally tracks 5, 11 and 18 are from after Fulton died and date from 1944 / 1945 New York. A nice extra. Track 18, Lonesome Train features Sonny Terry and Woody Guthrie.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 27 - Lonesome Train

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No guts, no glory!

2006-08-13T01:00:00.000+02:00

A while back a friend (Joop) told me that he liked this weblog, but....... It's all about Blues greats, famous album and 'big names'. "If you really want to share Blues with people, you should also show them the lesser-known stuff and what's happaning today! Take a risk!".
Just the other day I was browsing in a record store where I came along this album of Cuban Heels. I remembered the name from the comments I got from Joop and bought the album. And what an album it is!
Cuban Heels is a band from the east of the Netherlands. With their solid Blues-Rock sound a comparison to Cuby& the Blizzards (a famous 60's Blues-Rock formation from the same region) is easely made. But that would be selling these young man short! This is Blues-Rock with an edge! To me some songs even sound like a pleasant mixture between a late R.L. Burnside and the early Doors!
Gutbucket Music is the third album by this band. The album contains two songs by F. McDowell (tracks 2 and 9) and one by J. Kimbrough (track 11). The other eight songs are Cuban Heels originals. Although the songs all have the same 'ring' to them they are so different that it's hard to say which one is my favorite.
Please do yourself a favor. Download this, listen carefully and then go out and buy this album!

2005 - Gutbucket Music

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Nothing But The Blues XXVI

2006-08-12T01:00:00.000+02:00

Today we turn to another representative of 'the most important female singers'. After Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey it's time to look at Memphis Minnie. Minnie was born as Lizzie Douglas in 1897. She used several stage names before she started using Memphis Minnie, which was 'invented' for her first recording for Columbia Records in the early 20's. She got this name as she was found by a talent scout on Beale Street, Memphis. At that time she had been touring from 1916 -1920 throughout the South and been 'playing' Beale Street for a few years. After she moved to Chicago she got to work with blues greats like Tampa Red and Big Bill Broonzy. Although Minnie's roots are obviously Country Blues she was able to survive all innovations to the Blues for a period of about 30 years. As a matter of fact she is one of the unknown, but great , innovators herself. In my earlier posting on Big Bill Broonzy I stated that Big Bill was one of the first to...... Well, Minnie was the first. She wasn't only the first female artist on an electrical guitar, but she was the first to produce the 'band sound' with bass, guitar, piano and drums. With this she laid the foundation for future blues greats like Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters. Minnie more or less retreated from the Blues scene in 1949. In 1957 she entered an old people's home after a heart attack, where she died in 1973. Leaving us with just over 200 recordings.
The tracks on this CD span a period of 12 years, from 1929 till 1941. Track 1 was recorded in 1929 in New York together with her first husband Joe McCoy. Tracks 2 and 3 are also with Joe McCoy, but are from Memphis, 1930. Track 4: Chicago 1935; track 5: Chicago 1936; Track 6: same town, 1937; Tracks 7 and 8: Chicago 1940; Tracks 9,10,11 and 12 again Chicago, but 1941. Remarkable is that her, at that time former husband Joe McCoy, reappears on tracks 11 and 12. Track 2: Bumble Bee is a 1930 re-recording of her first early 20's recording on which her stage name Memphis Minnie was used for the first time.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 26 - Moonshine

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Nothing But The Blues XXV

2006-08-11T01:00:00.000+02:00

After another hectic period I've found some time to continue with this wonderful series. And what a wonderful next CD we have! Disc no. 25 is totally dedicated to Ma Rainey. With Gertrude Pridgett (1886 - 1939), as she was actually called, we return to the first generation of Blues performers.
Getrude got her nickname Ma Rainey from her marriage in 1904 with William 'Pa' Rainey. She is also known as the 'Mother of the Blues'.
Ma Rainey began her recording career in 1924, at the age of 38, and ended in 1928. In this relatively short period of time she recorded aprox. 100 songs for Paramount Records, of which C. C. Rider, track 15 (also known as See See Rider), Jelly Bean Blues, track 11 and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom are still very popular.
although not so successful as Bessie Smith she was a close friend of her. Both on stage as of stage. She shared Bessie's extravagance lifestyle and was, like Bessie, known for her enormous bisexual appetite. Like Bessie she also recorded with some of the absolute greats from both the Blues as the Jazz scene. As a matter of fact she recorded all three earlier mentioned all time favorites with Louis Armstrong.
Tracks 7 and 9 are recorded in Chicago in August 1924, Tracks 5,8,10,11,15 and 16 are from October 1924, New York. Track 6 is recorded in November 1924 in Chicago. Tracks 3,4,13 and 14 are also recorded in Chicago, but in May the next year. Finally tracks 1, 2, and 12 date from July 1925 (Chicago).

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 25 - Night Time Blues

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The agency

2006-07-31T01:00:00.000+02:00

Although there are three fine other musicians in this band (Graham Bell: rhythm guitar and harmonica, Jeff Allen: drums and Kuma Harada: Bass) the Snowy White's Blues Agency is of course named after the lead guitarist Snowy White. The strange thing is that Snowy White is generally best known for his hit Bird of Paradise, his close association with Pink Floyd of his time with Thin Lizzy, but he originates from the Blues. So after quite a few years in pop Snowy founded, together with his mate Kuma, this Blues band.
If you look into Snowy's biography it's not surprising. Ever since 1974 Snowy has been playing with Peter Green, with as highlight in 1979 the album In the Skies.
In order to write these blogs I mostly read up on these guys. To my amazement I read that Snowy actually did some studio work for the Pink Floyd album Animals. But what......? I listened (again) to this album a few times, but couldn't figure it out. Until.... I found the answer on the internet. Apparently Snowy's solo was only published on the US version of the 8-track release!
Anyway.....Snowy is a gifted Blues player who regards the Blues as the bases for all his work. As far as I know the Snowy White's Blues Agency has made two albums, of which this is the first! Listen and regret with me that it were only two albums!

1987 - Change My Life

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Nothing But The Blues XXIV

2006-07-28T01:00:00.000+02:00

Time to post disc 24 from this fabulous collection. Time to turn to Sleepy John Estes. Sleepy John was born as John Adam Estes somewhere in Tennessee at the end of the 19th century. Although John's father was a guitarist story goes that John taught the guitar himself on an instrument made out of a cigar box.
John lost the 'the light in his left eye' after an accident at the age of six. Some odd forty years later he became completely blind.
Although John played all over the world until his death in 1977, he 'disappeared' several times for a couple of years. The longest period he vanished was between 1951 and 1962. At that time he got international recognition after playing in two documentaries on the Blues in 1962 and 1963.
John got his nickname from the fact that he took little naps in between recording sessions.
The tracks 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 are all recorded on August 2 and 3 1937 in New York . Tracks 7,8,9,10,11,12,13 and 14 are also from New York but in April a year later. The other tracks are all recorded in Chicago. Tracks 15,16,17,18,19,20 in June 1940. Tracks 21,22,23,24,25 and 26 in September 1941, shortly before John would disappear for a period of almost 9 years.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 24 - Jailhouse Blues

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Nothing But The Blues XXIII

2006-07-22T01:00:00.000+02:00

Although I posted a wonderful Blind Willie McTell compilation earlier, called The Definitive Blind Willie McTell, I'll post this 23rd disc from this great collection as well. If not only to keep this series complete. For a long time there hasn't been much information about Eddie McTier's musical career. Eddie use of a wide variety of stage-names was partly to blame for this.
It was David Evans who published a lot new facts about Eddie after an interview with Eddie's first wife in 1977. According to this interview Eddie's first recordings date from 1927 for the RCA label Victor in Atlanta. Some of the names Eddie used during his first recording years are: Blind Sammie for Columbia, Georgia Bill for OKeh records, Red Hot Willie Glaze for the Blackbird label and Blind Willie for Vocalion. If I have the dating correct this means that tracks 1, 3, 6 (October 31 1931, Atlanta) 2, 4, 5 (October 23 1931, Atlanta) are recorded as Georgia Bill. Tracks 7, 8, 9, 10 are probably recorded as Red Hot Willie Glaze. Tracks 11, 12, 15 (September 1933 14, New York) tracks 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 (September 18 1931, New York) and tracks 21, 22. 23 and 24 (New York, September 19 1931) are all recorded as Blind Willie.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 23- Georgia Rag

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Two guys, two days

2006-07-21T01:00:00.000+02:00

In April I had the honor to introduce you to Grams & Krieger by offering their second Album That's The Way We work. So perhaps it's time to post some more work of this friendly duo.
This is their first album, from 2000, which was recorded in a friends living room. Although this has some consequences for the quality of the recordings (the singing could have more dynamics in the recording) it creates a warm and intimate atmosphere. Listening to this album is like being at one of their performances yourself. This effect is enhanced by the fact that there are no overdubs at all! The CD contains a wonderful blend of Urban Blues, Country Blues and 'Roots Rock' and demonstrates not only their musical skills but perhaps even more the fun they have working together.
The songs on this CD are covers, Danny Krieger originals, Steve Grams originals or composition that reflect the unique chemistry between the two!
Please do not hesitate to let me know what you think of it.

2000 - Two Days

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Three tries......

2006-07-20T01:00:00.000+02:00

There is a Dutch saying: 'Drie maal is scheepsrecht'. This, freely translated would mean something like: 'You will get it right the third time'. This will definitely go for me and Bo Diddley. Bo Diddley has been the one that I missed by a day twice. In 1995 I was in Tampa, Florida and got to a club where Bo Diddley played.....the night before. In 2001 I arrived at the Blues festival in Chicago.....two hours after Bo's opening act. But last Tuesday I was having a drink when somebody told me he was going to see Bo Diddley the next evening in the Melkweg in Amsterdam. So I gave it my third try and went the next evening. And it worked. There were a few tickets left and I got two!
Now, I don't suppose I need to tell you about Bo Diddley, the man often referred to as 'the Originator of Rock 'n' Roll'.
So to celebrate my finally seeing Bo Diddley last night I offer today an album from the great Chess 50th anniversary series, containing Bo's best known songs. It's amazing to see how this man created such powerful songs, often with just one chord and a driving rhythm.

1997 - Bo Diddely: His Best (Chess 50th anniversary collection)

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Nothing But The Blues XXII

2006-07-16T01:00:00.000+02:00

Disc 22 is completely dedicated to the infamous Booker T. Washington White, better known as Bukka White. The life story of Bukka is one more of those unbelievable stories! Bukka was born in late 1906 in the Mississippi delta, as so many of his contemporaries. Booker learned to play the guitar at the age of 9 from his father, who was part-time railroader, part-time musician. Only two years later Booker was a proficient guitar and piano player.
At the age of 15 Booker left home to roam the delta. In 1930 he had his first recording session. But the music wasn't enough to live from, so Booker earned his money as a professional baseball player, or even as a boxer. The real discovery of Booker came in 1937 when he met Lester Melrose, a well known scout, in Chicago. But again his career went 'on ice' as Booker was sentenced and sent to prison for shooting a man. Now, the story goes that he made his first recordings for Melrose while he escaped after his arrest. Although he was recaptured shortly afterwards he recorded Shake' em On Down, which was an instant hit. In prison Booker recorded with Alan Lomax. But after his release he recorded 24 songs in just two days for Melrose.
When the Blues-scene more or less came to a stop during the mid 40's, Booker stopped as well. Only to resurface during the revival of the early 60's, to continue capturing his audience until he died in 1977.
On this disc the tracks 2 and 9 are from the 1937 Chicago session while he was running from the law. On these tracks there is a second guitar of which we do not know who is playing it. The other tracks date from 1940 (also Chicago) and are from the two days in the studios. On all these tracks Bukka is accompanied by Washboard Sam. Make sure you listen to Fixin' To Die Blues which was later re-arranged into Fixin' To Die for the 1962 debut album of Bob Dylan, called Bob Dylan.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 22 - Shake' em On Down

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Nothing But The Blues XXI

2006-07-15T01:00:00.000+02:00

Mississippi John Hurt was born as John Smith Hurt in 1893 somewhere in the Mississippi delta, where he spent the major part of his life in a town called Avalon. Hence the name Mississippi John Hurt.
He left school at the age of 9 and earned his living as a cotton-picker. John's musical example was the country star Jimmie Rodgers. But as John taught himself to play the guitar he developed his own technique. This three-finger-picking technique later influenced a complete generation of musicians. John was discovered in Avalon and sent to Memphis in February 1928 where he recorded 8 songs, of which only 2 songs were ever released. These two songs where such a success that John recorded some more in December 1928 in New York. From this point on John's life story sounds a lot like the story of Skip James.
After this recording session nobody ever heard anything of John until a great Blues fan traced him during the early 60's. John was found thanks to a song he recorded in December 1928: Avalon Blues. He brought John to the 1964 Newport Festival where, together with Skip James, he was the sensation of the festival. (I have some video coverage of John and Skip backstage at this festival playing together!) At this same festival Bob Dylan was so impressed with John's guitar technique that he changed his way of playing.
John was an instant hit and performed on big stages for a mainly white audience until he died in November 1966 in his beloved state Mississippi.
This disc contains the two released songs from February 1928: Frankie (track 10) and Nobody's dirty business (track 3). The other tracks all date from the December 1928, New York recording session.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 21 - Got The Blues

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Major influence

2006-07-12T01:00:00.000+02:00

A while back (April 20) I already mentioned that Robert Cray was one of the great reformers of the US Blues scene during the '80. So perhaps it's time to post some more of his recordings. So today I offer Bad Influence.
Although this is his second album, it is the first album for Mercury Records, with which he signed in 1982. This album itself dates from 1983. This leaves us with the fact that Wikipedia is dead wrong dating this album 1982! The original record, the CD I ripped this off and the official Robert Cray website all have 1983 for this album. However, the CD I'm holding has 1985 as year as well. The answer is simple. The CD is the 1985 CD re-issue of the original record from 1983, with 2 bonus tracks: I got loaded and Share what you've got, keep what you need. This last song is a beautiful Booker T Jones ans Steve Cropper composition. (I told you I'm a great Steve Cropper fan).
Interesting is to read how Robert Cray is 'sold' to the people. Remember that in 1983 he was unknown to the great public. The text with this album is 'stuffed' with names in order to place Robert Cray. Fun is to read that John Belushi, the man said to have spotted Robert Cray, partly based the Blues Brothers act on Robert Cray's Blues and Soul style.
Enjoy!

1983 - Bad Influence

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Nothing But The Blues XX

2006-07-09T01:01:00.000+02:00

So, there it finally is, disc # 20, the second on Walter Brown McGhee. I already explained you the 'Blind Boy Fuller trick' used to start Brownie's career. And it worked. But must people will know Brownie McGhee from his cooperation with Sonny Terry. They where 'put together' by the same producer who used the 'Blind Boy Fuller trick': James Baxter Long. The two of them were such an instant hit that they probably were the must successful folk/blues duo of the 40's and 50's. The two moved to New York where they worked with people like Leadbelly, Gary Davis and Woody Guthrie. Walter also looked after young talent and later opened his 'Home Of The Blues Music School' in Harlem. One of the more famous proteges of Brownie was Alexander Seward, better known as Magic Slim.
Although Brownie continued a solo career after Sonny stopped, Brownie quit when Sonny died in 1986. Walter Brown McGhee died in 1996 in California.
This second disc still is about the 'pre-Sonny' era. Although all the songs are Walter Brownie McGhee originals tracks 1,2,3,4,5,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23 and 24 are all recorded as Blind Boy Fuller (2). As a matter of fact the only 3 recordings on this disc not by Blind Boy Fuller (2) are recorded by Brother George and his Sanctified Fingers (tracks 6,7, and 8). This was a 'band' with Brownie McGhee, Jordan Webb and Robert Young, who was better known as Washboard Slim.
All these recordings date from 1941 and were either made in Chicago or New York.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 20 - Key To The Highway 70

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Back again!

2006-07-09T01:00:00.000+02:00

After an extremely busy period I hope we just entered a period of relative rest. That means I should be able to pick up where I so abruptly left of just over a month ago. So....Be prepared. I still have to finish the 40 disc Nothing But The Blues collection. And there is so much more beautiful, interesting music to share........

Humble apologies

2006-06-14T12:17:00.000+02:00

I've been extremely busy over the last few days. That's the reason I've not been able to upload new albums. Every now and then one has to work in order to generate enough cash-flow in order to by new music. However......
I promise to make up for the lost time, and upload albums over the next few days.
Hang on in there!

Nothing But The Blues XIX

2006-06-06T01:00:00.000+02:00

Today we turn to Walter Brown McGhee, aka Brownie McGhee. Brownie was born in 1915 into a very musical family. His father was a professional musician who was proficient on several instruments. Apparently he played with white people, what was quite unique in those days. His uncle was a famous violinist who gave Brownie his first instrument: a 5 string homemade banjo.
Brownie had polio at the age of 4. As a result of this he could hardly walk. It wasn't until the age of 22 that an operation enabled Brownie to really walk, and thus move into the world with just his guitar.
Brownie was 'discovered' by James Baxter Long, the producer of the successful Blind Boy Fuller. He made the first Brownie recordings in 1940. When Blind Boy Fuller died in 1941, Long wanted brownie to replace him. To achieve this Long use several tricks. He had Brownie record under the name Blind Boy Fuller No. 2, had Brownie use Blind Boy Fuller's original guitar for the recordings and released records with songs of Blind Boy Fuller and Brownie on it.
This disc contains the songs from Brownie's first recording session on August 6 and 7 1940 in Chicago (tracks 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10,11,12). The rest of the tracks date from may 22 and 23 1941 and feature 'Blind Boy Fuller No 2'.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 19 - Born For Bad Luck

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A forgotten hero

2006-06-05T01:00:00.000+02:00

The title of this blog says more about me then about Jimmy Rogers, the hero I forgot. In fact it wasn't until a guy I've been working with for the better part of two years now, handed me this album that I became aware of the importance of Jimmy for the Blues. (thank you Johan!)
Jimmy Rogers was born in 1924 under the name James A Lane. Jimmy was the hart of Muddy Waters Blues Band during the second half of the 40's and during the major part of the 50's. As a matter of fact it was Jimmy rhythm guitar that created the freedom for muddy to improvise. These two man were such a perfect duo that it is said that there must have been a telepathic link between the two when they were playing. It was Jimmy who introduced Muddy Waters to Little Walter and Otis Spann.
although many of Jimmy's own recordings are well worth listening he was mainly in demand as a sessions player. It was Jimmy who handled the guitar on the five live tracks from the album by Koko Taylor I posted earlier.
This album is Jimmy's last project. He made, and finished, it himself in 1997, but it was not released until 1998, when Jimmy had already died of cancer. On this album Jimmy plays with people like Jeff Healy, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Keith Richards. Pretty unique is the version of Sweet Home Chicago (track 6) with Stephen Stills and track 9 with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and Eric Clapton. Enjoy!

1998 - Blues Blues Blues

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Nothing But The Blues XVIII

2006-06-04T13:00:00.000+02:00

It is absolutely not surprising that the life and works of Robert Johnson are surrounded by so many legends and stories. This man is considered to be one of the most influential musicians ever. He took the work of Son House, Charlie Patton (with whom he both played), but also Kokomo Arnold, Leroy Carr, Skip James and Lonnie Johnson (no relative) and converted them in a new direction of the Blues. He played with people like Howlin' Wolf and Alec Miller. As mentor to Elmore James and a major influence on Muddy Waters his work can be traced to the roots of Rock 'n' Roll. His influence was not only trough a later generation. There is a direct influence as well, as the first compilation of his recordings was issued in 1961.
People like Keith Richards and Eric Clapton have always admitted this influence. But also performers like Bob Dylan, or even the Red Hot Chili Peppers, are known admirers of his work.
Combine this influence with the knowledge that Robert only had two recording sessions, the fact that there are only two (!) picture available which are confirmed pictures of Robert and his lifestyle. Yep all the ingredients are there to be legendary!
The most amazing is perhaps the fact that there is no honorary title for Robert Leroy Johnson. Although the earlier mentioned compilation from 1961 was titled King Of The Delta Blues Singers, this never stuck. May I introduce a new one? How about The Delta Roamer?

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 18 - Cross Road Blues

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Nothing But The Blues XVII

2006-06-03T01:00:00.000+02:00

These next two disc are dedicated to Robert Johnson. I know I already posted his complete recordings, but I also know there are people who want these wonderful collection complete, so......
There are a lot of stories and uncertainties about Robert Johnson and his life. Some of these stories are really great. You probably all heard the story about Robert standing at a crossroad somewhere in the Mississippi delta at night, striking a deal with the devil. According to this story Robert sold his soul to the devil in return for his amazing abilities on the guitar. I do not know where this story originates, but as all good legends it has some truth to it.
In order to interpret this one you should be aware that in those days all Blues was considered to be the Devils work. There wasn't a preacher in the delta who would not 'fight' this music. Not it the least because of it's close association with Juke Joints, drinking, gambling and loose women. And Robert was one of the 'worst'. He roamed throughout the delta, playing in these Juke Joints, drinking, gambling and chasing women. Story has it that Robert died as result of a jealous husband poisoning his drink! On top of that there is a famous quote of Son House. When Son House first met Robert he was not really impressed with his guitar playing. Just a few years later, when they met again, Robert's playing had improved so dramatically that Son House said: "You must have sold your souls to the Devil in order to play like that!".
Re-reading Robert's life story I found another error in one of my earlier posting. I told you that Elmore James married a daughter of Robert. That still stands. Another fact is that they did play together. But knowing that Robert died at the age of 27 it is unlikely Robert ever knew Elmore as his son in law.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 17 - Phonograph Blues

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Again the thrill is there!

2006-06-02T01:00:00.000+02:00

Riley B. King was born on September 16, 1925 in Berclair Mississippi. He started his career as a Blues musician by playing under the name of The Pepticon Boy. This later became The Beale Street Blues Boy, after the famous Beale Street in Memphis, where it was all happening at that time. This name was shortened to Blues Boy, which eventually became B.B.
Born in 1925? He must be 80 by now!
Correct. And to commemorate his 80th birthday he recorded a special album called......80!
On this album he repeated the success formula of 1997 (Deuces Wild) by having for every track a famous pop idol as a special guest. For this album they are: Van Morrison, Billy F. Gibbons (ZZ Top), Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Daryl Hall, John Mayer, Mark Knopfler, Glenn Frey (The Eagles), Gloria Estefan (still alive apparently), Roger Daltrey, Bobby Bland and Elton John.
Some of these liaisons I don't get (for instance Gloria Estefan CAN NOT DO BLUES!!!!!). But some are really fun. Remarkable is, for instance, the combination of B.B. With Eric Clapton on The Thrill Is Gone. How many times has B.B. played this song. How many times has he recorded this song? With how many people has he recorded this? And it still works!
But perhaps the most remarkable is John Mayer. This young man (born in 1977) is relatively unknown. He was a price winning singer / songwriter and now is....... A Blues musician.
Did his working with B.B. had anything to do with it?

2005 - 80

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Nothing But The Blues XVI

2006-06-01T01:00:00.000+02:00

Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup wasn't a keen performer. The reason for this is not known. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that he wasn't a master on the guitar while so many of his fellow musician were. Fact is that Big Boy didn't climb the stage often. But on the occasions he did it would often be with people like Alec Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson II) or Elmore James. He furthermore was a friend of Nat King Cole.
After Big Boy left the Blues scene in the mid 50's the was 'rediscovered' in the middle of the 60's. The difference with people like Mississippi John Hurt and Skip James here is that Big Boy recorded in those days a few records with new stuff again.
This new interest in the boys changed Big Boy's audience from mainly black to dominantly white. Just before his death Big Boy toured with Bonnie Raitt. Arthur Crudup died in March 1974.
Today's disc is prove of the immortality of Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup's work. All recordings date from either 1946 (Tracks 1,2,3,4,8,9,10,20) or 1947 (rest). Again Crudup is credited for all songs alongside R. Knowling and L. Riley. Today's disc will also take away any doubt you may have had about his honorary title ' Father of Rock 'n' Roll'. Listen to Track 6 Crudups Vicksburg Blues and know. You also might recognize track 3 That's All Right as the songs that delivered Elvis Presley his big breakthrough.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 16 - Crudups' After Hours

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Nothing But The Blues XV

2006-05-31T01:00:00.000+02:00

Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup may be different. Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup may be lesser known. But....Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup is definitely not a 'lesser god', or of lesser importance. On the contrary.
Arthur Crudup was born in 1905 in Forest, Mississippi. Although he came from a very musical family and he had been singing in church choirs ever since he was 10, he didn't take up the guitar until he was 32! And than he taught the guitar himself. He immediately started working as a street musician all over the delta. But it wasn't until that time that he for the first time heard records of Tampa Red, Big Bill Broonzy and Memphis Slim.
Most of these old 'warlords' got there nickname as a young boy from there family (muddy waters), from there producer (big Bill Broonzy) or from their audience (Mojo Buford). Not Arthur Crudup. He started to call himself Big Boy the moment he started to play the guitar.
Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup started making Blues at a late age. He never really became a 'grand master' on the guitar. But we all know his music. Arthur went into history as the 'Father of Rock 'n' Rolll' inspiring people like John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Lightnin' Hopkins, Elvis Presley, etc.
Big Boy's recording career started in the early 40's and went on till the mid 50's.
The recordings on this disc all date from 1941 (Tracks 3,7,8 and 9), 1942 (tracks 1,2,4,6,10 and 12), 1944 (tracks 5,11,13 and 14), 1945 (tracks 15,16,19 and 20 ) and 1946 (tracks 17 and 18). I'm not really sure if the 1941 recordings are from Big Boy's first recording sessions ever. If not, then they are from one of his first recording sessions. Although Arthur is credited for all these songs, none of these songs he wrote alone. Most of these songs he wrote together with R. Knowling, with whom he kept on writing during the remainder of his career.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 15 - I'm In The Mood

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She had me

2006-05-30T01:00:00.000+02:00

Just two weeks ago, May 14 to be precise, I uploaded the pre-debut album of Joss Stone. So now it's time for her real debut album: Mind, Body & Soul. This album delivered Joss a couple of hits, of which Right To Be Wrong (track 1 ) and You Had Me (Track 3) were the biggest. But, perhaps the most surprising thing about this album is that Joss got credits on every song on the album. Never alone, always along people like Steve Greenberg and Daniel Pierre (who both produced as well) or Dozier & Dozier (track 4). I don't now what her contribution was to these songs: music, lyrics or inspiration, but any which way still impressive.
Of course there has been some fuzz over her voice. How can a petite white good looking girl have a voice like that? That must be a studio trick. It's amazing what you can do with computers now a days. But it was Soul legend Patty LaBelle who came to Joss' aid by saying:
"Joss Stone just happened to wake up one morning with all this soul that had to come out. So people better not be thinking it's a gimmick. It's for real. She was born like that. She didn't practice it. It just happened that she opened her mouth and a big black woman comes out. The girl can just sing."
Curious what the turmoil is about? Find out for yourself.

2004 - Mind, Body & Soul

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Help!!!!!

2006-05-29T01:00:00.000+02:00

I've never been a Bonnie Raitt Fan, but Today I offer you her most recent album. This is her sixteenth album or so. She released her debut album in 1971. This means that with this 2005 release she has a recording career of 35 years so far. During that period she also recorded with .....Almost everybody who is somebody in Blues. Certainly something to respect. The only trouble is .... I don't get it! What's all the fuzz about? Yes, I agree it isn't bad what she's doing. Most of her albums, certainly this one, is well produced. Perhaps there is something in her voice I do not hear? Something in her songs I do not see? Something in her recording I do not get? If there are any Bonnie Raitt fans out there, or people who evaluate this album and do get it, please enlighten me. I'm eager to be converted. But her really impressive career so far hasn't done it for me yet. Please help me!

2005 - Souls Alike

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Nothing But The Blues XIV

2006-05-28T01:00:00.000+02:00

Lightnin' Hopkins was a performer with a enormous ability to improvise. And he would do so. Both on stage or in the studio, he would never play a song twice the same way. And it was not just that he would change the music. The lyrics would change as well. His particular style of improvising was later called 'air music'. A Style he shared with John Lee Hooker.
Although Lightnin's recording career didn't start until 1946 he was at the center of the blues scene for over 35 years. He stayed an active performer until his death, of lung cancer, in 1982. During those 35 years he played with people like Joan Baez and Pete Seeger. He also inspired an entire rock generation like Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead.
A while back the weblog Zero G Sound had a wonderful collection of Lightnin' Hopkins albums posted.
From the faults of Everest part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4. Please check them out.
All the recordings on this disc date from one session! Houston, Texas, February 25, 1948. Apart from tracks 11 Honey Babe (Steiner - Webster) and the well known See See Rider by Ma Rainey (track 14) they are all written by Sam Hopkins.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 14 - Morning Blues

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Nothing But The Blues XIII

2006-05-27T01:00:00.000+02:00

For the next two days we will be looking at some early recordings of Lightnin' Hopkins. Sam Hopkins, as he was really called, was born in Texas in 1912 as a son to Abe Hopkins, also a musician. It was his brother Joel, also a Blues musician, who learned Sam to play the guitar. But it wasn't until Sam met Blind Lemon Jefferson (playing with T-Bone Walker and his father) that Sam decided he would be a Blues musician. As a teenager Sam accompanied Alger "Texas" Alexander, a cousin of him. For reasons unknown Sam was sent to prison half way through the 30's, not to be released before the end of the 30's. At that time he picked up where he left of with Texas Alexander. It wasn't until 1946 before the two of them were discovered in Houston.
Sam got his nickname from these first recordings in 1946. He was put in the studio together with pianist and singer Wilson "Thunder" Smith. The titles from there first recording session where released under the name "Thunder & Lightnin'" and delivered him his first hit Katie May.
This first disc contains this first hit and some more titles from this first recording session on November 9 1946 (tracks 4,5,6,7,8 and 9). Tracks 1,2,3,10,11,12 and 14 are also Thunder & Lightnin' recordings from LA. But this time from August 1947. The rest are Lightnin' recordings from Houston Texas and date from 1947 and 1948. All these recordings are Sam Lightnin' Hopkins originals except for tracks 2,4 and 8 (Wilson Smith) and track 11 (H. Whittaker).

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 13 - West Coast Blues

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The tables turned

2006-05-26T01:00:00.000+02:00

It is 1993 and the tables are turned. This time we have a Van Morrison album on which John Lee Hooker is the guest.
I've got this strange Love - Hate thing towards Van Morrison. I've seen Van the Man as an absolute God triumphing over festivals. But I've seen festival organizations scared to hell because Van might not come to stage because he had the wrong peanuts in his dressing room. I've seen bands completely frozen in their attempt to please the master. I've seen sound technician scared shitless for this guy.
He made some truly brilliant albums which deserve a place in the album top 100 ever in the pop hall of fame. But....I've heard albums which weren't worth the packaging in which they came. Only last year he made a truly fabulous album called Magic Time and only this year a released an uninspired album (Hell to pay) not worth the time listening to it!

This 1993 album is ok. It contains 15 songs. Most of these songs are recorded with Georgie Fame on Hammond organ and backing vocals. Two songs however are with John Lee Hooker. These two recordings are the absolute gems of the album. On track 9 (Wasted Years) John Lee Hooker just shares the honor of leading vocals. But on track 7, a wonderful recording of the old Them/Morrison hit Gloria, they both play and sing. Do yourself a favor and listen to it!

1993 - Too Long In Exile Part 1 & Part 2

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Lucky man

2006-05-25T01:00:00.000+02:00

After his 1989 success The Healer John Lee Hooker was under quite a bit of pressure to produce another album like that. If he succeeded depends on whom you're asking. The record company thinks he failed. This 1991 album misses a hit like The Healer, and therefore sales didn't come close. On the other hand however, there are people who will claim that he did succeed. This album is, from a musical point of view, at least as good.
The album contains 10 songs on which John Lee Hooker can be heard with some outstanding performers. The Robert Cray Band of track 2, Albert Collins on track 3, Ry Cooder on track 4, Johnnie Johnson on track 1, with Van Morrison on I Cover The Waterfront (track 5), Track 7 together with Carlos Santana, track 8 with Johny Winter and Track 9 with Rolling Stones icon Keith Richards on guitar. John Hammond lays down a wonderful foundation for track 6 using a slide guitar. He also is the featuring guest on guitar and harmonica on track 10.
Personally I think this album beats (artistically and musically) The Healer on any given day of the week. John Lee Hooker was a very lucky man, getting the opportunity to work and record with these people.

1991 - Mr Lucky

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Nothing But The Blues XII

2006-05-24T01:00:00.000+02:00

Yes, Leadbelly was definitely the man to get into trouble. He was tall and very strong. He had a sensational appetite for woman, not caring how old they were or if they happen to be married. On the other hand woman fell for Leadbelly. He was father to at least two children as a teenager.
There are also stories about drinking and gambling. Combine this with the fact that he had an explosive temperament and you have trouble.
In 1916 he was 26 and sent to jail for attacking a man (and doing some serious damage). But Leadbelly broke out and used the name Walter Boyd to elude the law enforcement. Shortly after this he was again sentenced, but now for thirty years, for murder. This time, after being in prison for seven years, he was pardoned by the governor because he wrote a song for the governor pleading for his release.
In 1930 he was sent to prison for a third time for robbery and attempted murder. There he was discovered by John Lomax in 1933. Lomax, using his influence in congress, got him out in 1934 and took him to New York where his recording career began.
The tracks on this disc give a nice overview of Leadbelly's recording career and cover the period between 1935 and 1945. Apart from track 12 they are all Leadbelly originals. And I mean originals! Track 21 dates from 1935 and is Midnight Special, which we all know, Track 14 is the famous Take this hammer (from 1945) and track 22 (from 1943) is the wonderful Irene.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 12 - Good Morning Blues

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Nothing But The Blues XI

2006-05-23T01:00:00.000+02:00

The Story of Leadbelly is one of the most amazing stories of the 'early blues' ever! Leadbelly was, in many ways, the complete opposite of all his contemporaries. Every one from his generation was born in a very poor and big family. They made there own first instrument, or got an old worn down instrument from a relative. Worked hard on the fields and eventually used the music, Blues, to get away from that all.
Leadbelly, born as Huddie William Ledbetter, was an only child to well off parents. He had former lessons on several instruments. By the time he was 26 he was 'fluent' on at least 4 instruments among which his favorite, the 12 string guitar. Yes, if for most of these old guys the Blues was a way to get away from the daily misery and poverty, for Leadbelly it was the way to get into trouble.
This box gives three possible explanations for the nickname Leadbelly. Explanation number 1 is the most likely one, but the dullest one as well. Leadbelly is just an abbreviation of his family name. Explanation number two is that he was named after his (very) muscular build. Explanation number three is the one which makes the best story. Leadbelly nickname was the result of a gunshot wound in his belly.
Leadbelly was 'discovered' by John Lomax, the father of Allan. When they met John was very impressed by Leadbelly's extensive knowledge of tradition music, folk and Blues. It is said that, at that time, Leadbelly knew over 500 songs by heart.
On this disc are some interesting Leadbelly recordings. Some are Leadbelly originals (tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15), there are some traditionals (tracks 8 and 16) and the rest (tracks 1, 9, 13 and 17) are written together with father or son, or both, Lomax. All recordings date from somewhere between 1934 and 1945.
Listen to this powerful voice, this guitar picking.
Listen to track #1, Good morning Blues, and then say that Rock & Roll doesn't come from Blues. Every rocker still starts with this riff.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 11 - Death Letter Blues

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Moving through the shadows

2006-05-22T01:00:00.000+02:00

As you may have guessed from an earlier post I'm quite a Tony Joe White fan. I like 'the edge' on his guitar playing, his deep and warm voice, the simplicity of his music, even though it isn't straight forward Blues. But....perhaps the thing I like the best is the way this man moves through the shadows of the twilight zone between blues, soul and rock.
I'm very fond of this particular sound that is sometimes referred to as Swamp Rock. Robbie Robertson has it, Willy Deville, Dr John, even John Fogerty has it every now and than . I've heard the Allman Brothers Band doing it and Dickey Betts playing it. But nobody has it like the old Swamp Fox himself.
Today's album is a compilation issued in 1993 that covers Tony's recording career in the period 1969 - 1973. This means it contains stuff from his first five albums Black and White - 1969, ....Continued - 1970, Tony Joe White - 1971, The train I'm on -1972, Homemade ice cream - 1973.
Listen to his, almost John Lee Hooker like, Stockholm Blues (track 6), his Southern Rock in Even Trolls Love Rock and Roll, the Gospel influences on Willy and Laura Mae Jones. And who cares if The train I'm on is a Deep Soul song or just a Country Ballad? It works for me either way!

1993 - The Best of Tony Joe White Part 1 & Part 2

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Nothing But The Blues X

2006-05-21T01:00:00.000+02:00

Disc # 10 is, like disc # 9 , dedicated to William Lee Conley 'Big Bill' Broonzy.
Big Bill died in 1958 of lung cancer. He kept recording to late 1952. Now the irony of it all is that Big Bill was during his recording career never able to support his family (5 kids) with just the earnings of his music. With over 260 recorded songs to his name and performing with every major blues artist during a period of almost thirty years was not enough.
By the end of the 40's Big Bill's sound was a bit out of date. So in 1951 Big Bill re-invents his own music, making it sound simpler and adding more folk influences. With this sound Big Bill started a second career in music touring the world, and Europe in particular. This enabled him to finally live of his earnings as a musician in 1953.
All the tracks on this disc are Big Bill originals recorded under the name Big Bill Broonzy and date from 1932 (3), 1934 (5,6), 1935 (1,8,11,13,14), 1936 (2,9,12) and 1937 (4,7,10,15).

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 10 - The Southern Blues

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Nothing But The Blues IX

2006-05-20T01:00:00.000+02:00

The next two discs are all about Big Bill Broonzy. As I already told you the headlines of his life, we have time (space) to get into some of the details. You must know by now that William Lee Conley originally was a fiddle player (see: William Lee Conley) But how could William's parents afford a fiddle? These people were extremely poor. You would be, if you had 17 children. His first fiddle was made out of a cigar box by an uncle, who also learned him how to play it.
He was already 27 (or 23) years old before he learned to play the guitar. And his first recordings were made in 1927 at the age of 34 (or 30). During this first recording he recorded a song called Big Bill Blues. As William Lee Conley was over 6 foot tall the secretary of the manager of the label (Paramount) gave William the nick name that would stick with him for the rest of his life.
During his musical career which lasted about 30 years William Lee recorded under several names. Even after his stage name Big Bill Broonzy was well established. Even on this disc. It's William Lee Conley Broonzy on all tracks, but......Tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12 and 13 are recorded as Big Bill, tracks 4, 6, 7, 14, 15, 17 and 18 are recorded as Big Bill Broonzy. Track 16 is recorded as Big Bill & the Memphis Five and tracks 9 is recorded as Sammy Sampson! The tracks on this discs cover aprox. 16 years of his career: 1930 (9), 1932 (2,3,8,10,13), 1934 (1,12), 1935 (4,6,7), 1937 (5,11,15,18), 1938 (16,17), 1946 (14). Track 4, Rising Sun Shine On, is the only songs not by Big Bill.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 9 - Mississippi River Blues

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Nothing But The Blues VIII

2006-05-19T01:00:00.000+02:00

Today, with disc 8, we continue with Kokomo Arnold.
As I told you yesterday, Kokomo was never too thrilled about the music business. As a matter of fact, he hated it and claimed on more then one occasion that he had been robbed by managers and labels.
This doesn't change the fact that Kokomo's work, with his distinct style, has been of tremendous influence on the Blues. Just one story:
James got his nickname Kokomo from a song he wrote: Old Original Kokomo Blues (1934) . Kokomo was a coffee brand. This particular song was later 're-written' by Robert Johnson and became Sweet Home Chicago. Robert Johnson re-modeled Kokomo's Milk Cow Blues into Milkcow's Calf Blues.
The recordings I put up yesterday are all from 1937 and made in Chicago in 4 sessions. The tracks 1-7 on this disc are, again from 1937, Chicago. But this time from two sessions in October and November. Tracks 8-15 date from that same year but were recorded in two days in New York.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 8 - Midnight Blues

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Nothing But The Blues VII

2006-05-18T01:00:00.000+02:00

Let's put up discs number 7 and 8 of this marvelous collection. These two discs are both dedicated to Kokomo Arnold.
James 'Kokomo' Arnold was born in 1901 in Georgia. He learned to play the guitar at the age of 10 by his cousin. Although his obvious talents James remained working in a factory. As a matter of fact, he would remain holding 'daytime jobs' for the rest of his life.
In 1929 he moved to Chicago to work in the illegal distilling. Some people say that's what made Chicago big: Prohibition and Blues. And James worked in both!
He recorded his first songs in 1930 under the stage name Gitfiddle Jim, and kept recording mainly through the 30's. A lot of people don't know Kokomo's work, but it still sounds familiar to them. And no wonder.....Kokomo was a source of inspiration to people like Ellmore James and Robert Johnson.
Kokomo, as a contradiction to people lie Big Bill Broonzy, Big Joe Williams and Tampa Red, only made music as an easy way to get money. He never really got 'the hang of it'. As a matter of fact he left the music industry as a disappointed man in 1941.
During the early 60's a lot of these old Blues heroes were rediscovered by a young white audience. So was Kokomo. But, different from people like Skip James and Mississippi John Hurt, Kokomo didn't care. He was happy working at a steel factory spending his weekends fishing.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 7 - Fool Men Blues

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Got My Mojo Working

2006-05-17T01:00:00.000+02:00

Last Monday I told you I went to Mojo Buford Sunday night. And believe me.....it was fun!
George 'Mojo' Buford was born somewhere in Mississippi in 1929. Later, aprox. at the age of 10, he moved to Memphis. Here Mojo was inspired by people like Little Walter and B.B. King. So Mojo took up the Blues Harp. In 1954 he moved to Chicago where he, together with Sam Burden and Dave Members started a band called The Savage Boys. After a while they got the attention of Muddy Waters and called the band Muddy Waters Jr Band. This band became something of a stand-in for Muddy Waters if he was out of town. Later, after the band split up, Mojo pursued his own career. During that period of time he gained his nickname Mojo, because his audience always requested his version of Got My Mojo Working. After returning to Chicago Mojo toured for many years with Muddy Waters.
Today Mojo lives in Memphis again.
The album today is his most recent one from 2005. On this album we find one of Mojo's versions of Got My Mojo Working. But the most remarkable of this album I find Dust My Broom. Here we have a performer who has been in the heart of both the Chicago and Memphis blues, and still 'leans on' Robert Johnson. And track # 11 Take A Little Walk With Me sound very much like Sweet Home Chicago of Robert Johnson.

2005 - Blues Ain't A Color

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Nothing But The Blues VI

2006-05-16T01:00:00.000+02:00

On disc # 6 we stick to the The Father Of The Blues Harmonica, Sonny Boy Williamson. Sonny Boy is considered the man who made the mouth harmonica a real Blues instrument. During his career Sonny Boy recorded with people like Big Joe Williams, Sleepy John Estes, Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red.
His harmonica playing was so fast that he inspired complete generations of 'Blues Harp' player after him. As a matter of fact Alec Miller, a mouth harmonica player from the next generation, earned himself the stage name "Sonny Boy Williamson II". What better credits than people naming themselves after you.
On June 1 1948 Sonny Boy was beaten up by a person of persons unknown at the stage-entrance. He died shortly after as a result of the internal injuries. Although a motive was never officially established it is generally considered to be on racial grounds.
This disc covers about three years from Sonny's Career. Tracks 1,3,6,7,11,12 date from 1937, tracks 2,4,5,8,9,10,13,14,15 date from 1938 and tracks 16,17 and 18 are from 1939. As a matter of fact the tracks 3,7,11 and 12 are from his first recording session on May 5 1937. And on all four of those tracks it is Big Joe Williams on guitar. He also appears on the tracks 2,8,9,10,13 and 15. On tracks 16, 17 and 18 the guitar is played by Big Bill Broonzy.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 6 - Down South

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Nothing But The Blues V

2006-05-15T01:00:00.000+02:00

I, for one, believe in change. But there are a lot of people who will say that coincidence doesn't exist. Everything is set by destiny. I'll let you make up your own mind. Last night I went to see Mojo Buford. On my way home I realized that I didn't put any mouth harmonica Blues up (so far). Then, when I opened this magic box to load the next two CD's I saw that......The next two CD's are dedicated to Sonny Boy Williamson.
Sonny Boy, born as John Lee Williamson, was born in 1914, somewhere in Tennessee. He got his first mouth harmonica from his mother, as a present, at the age of 11. Sonny Boy, as so many in his generation, left home as a young boy to travel the south. At the age of 20 he started hanging around clubs and playing street corners. During this time he meets, and start playing with, 'Sleepy' John Estes. In 1934 Sonny Boy went to Chicago and met Big Joe Williams.
In 1937 Sonny Boy made his first recordings (for the Bluebird label). When Sonny Boy died in 1948 he left us about 120 recordings.

On this CD you will find recordings from Sonny Boy's whole career. Track # 1 Black Gal Blues, dates from his second recordings session in 1937 and while # 10, Better Cut That Out, dates from 1947.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 5 - Welfare Store Blues

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A promise never to be fulfilled

2006-05-14T01:00:00.000+02:00

In 1987 a little girl is born in Dover, England. Only 16 years later(!) this girl makes, more as less by accident, the most promising debut album is soul I've seen in twenty years.
As Joss Stone later says, the whole project started as a 'side project', and she was a surprised by it's success as the world was to hear her sing.
In 2002 this young girl wins a talent competition with the BBC. Through this she gets in the studio with Steve Greenberg and they started to work on her debut album which will be called Mind, Body and Soul. But working on that album they get the idea of making a cover album which precedes the official debut by half a year: The Soul Sessions.
And, although there are things to be sad about both albums, the major sentiment is: Wow. She could very well become the biggest ever! She is still very young, but with the years and some guiding...........
Then suddenly on Feb 9 2006 a news break: Joss Stone quits singing to pursue a career as midwife! Now, I'm the last to deny somebody the wright to choose his or her own career. But still.........

2003 - The Soul Sessions

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Shell shocked

2006-05-13T01:00:00.000+02:00

After two days of the Bessie Smith it's time to emphasize that there are a lot of wonderful female Blues singers. We all know woman like Koko Taylor and Etta James (please remind to post some stuff of her one day), and it is a joy to listen to them, but..... I get the most fulfilling feeling of finding someone new, someone you never heard before. And today I want to share this feeling with you. So I introduce.....Linda Shell.
Linda Shell has been a valued member of the Kansas City Blues/Soul scene for quite a few years now. As so many, she started her singing career in church, where she did solo's at the age of nine! Ever since then she wanted to be a singer. And so became one. Her career came to a stand the moment she had children, only to pick up again when her children were grown up. Her mother opened in 1984 a blues club in Kansas City where Chick Willis his band was going to be the house band for the next 6 years. Linda and her sister did backing vocals for Chick. But after a few years Linda started her own band, together with her husband.
On this album from 1997 Linda walks that thin, but interesting, line between blues and soul. There are some straight forward blues songs, but some wonderful soul on it as well. Listen to I'd rather go blind, the song we all know from , amongst others, Chicken Shack.
Just for the record Sherman Robertson plays the guitar on tracks 2, 4 and 11.

1997 - Under The Influnece

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Nothing But The Blues IV

2006-05-12T01:00:00.000+02:00

Disc #4 is also completely dedicated to the 'Empress of the Blues", Bessie Smith.
By the end of the 20's it went down with Bessie's success. Her music sounded slightly out of date and record sales dropped dramatically. This resulted in Columbia canceling her contract in 1931, after recording 160 songs fort this label.
This didn't stop Bessie. She went back to the nightclubs and musical theatres. It didn't stop her 'party animal' life style either. Bessie was known for her sexual appetite for both man and woman. In 1933 a rich fan of Bessie offered her a new contract and she went back to the studio's. It looked like her career was picking up again.
On tour in Mississippi she got into a serious car accident. It's been said that the hospital she was taken to refused her on racial grounds. This however is disputed by some other sources. Fact is that she lost an arm and died later on.
It wasn't until 1966(!) before her grave was marked with her name and the inscription: "The world 's greatest blues singer".
The recordings on this disc all date from 1923-1924., Except for track 20 (1929), track 21 (1930), Track 22 (1931) and track 23 (1925). This last track features a young Louis Armstrong on cornet, with whom she recorded some duets as well for the Columbia label.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 4 - Nashville Woman's Blues

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Nothing but the Blues III

2006-05-11T01:00:00.000+02:00

Time to get back again to the 40CD box. Time to get to Bessie Smith.

Bessie Smith was the most successful Blues artist during the 1920's. Both performing and recording, making over 2000 US dollars a week!
Bessie was born in Tennessee in 1894. It was her brother, who was a vaudeville artist, who introduced her into the show business in 1912. From that time on Bessie worked in minstel shows, cabarets, night clubs or even street corners. Then something would change history. In 1920 Mama Smith (no relation of Bessie) had a hit with a Blues record called Crazy Blues. Since that moment every record label was constantly on the look out for female Blues singers. None the less, it would take Bessie another 2 years before she made her first recordings.
On this disc you will find some very old Bessie Smith recordings. Except for track 19 (1924) and tracks 20 & 21 (1927) all the recordings date from 1923. As a matter of fact the first two recordings ever (February 16, 1923, Down Harted Blues and Gulf Coast Blues) are on here as well (tracks 4 & 17). Pretty unique material!

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 3 - Lady Luck Blues

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Another 'Nothing but'

2006-05-10T01:00:00.000+02:00

On this 1988 record of Robben Ford we find another 'Nothing but'. Track # 4 is called Ain't got nothin' but the blues.
Robben Ford (born 1951, California) is a guitar player who has been recording ever since the age of 20. He started out as a Blues musician. This is no surprise because his father used to have his own blues band which also featured Robben's two brothers. After a few records with mostly Blues and some Rock Robben gained international recognition when he accompanied Miles Davis on his world tour in 1986. I for one had never heard of him when I saw him play, with Miles Davis, at the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. Since that day I always had a soft spot for this amazing guitar player.
Today offer is a 1988 album called 'Talk to your daughter' and contains 9 beauties that all have this 'slightly Californian over the top' sound to it. Have fun listening to this. It's obvious Robben had fun recording it.

1988 - Talk to your daughter

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I'm not alone

2006-05-09T01:00:00.000+02:00

As I mentioned earlier, there are quite a few people who think that Eric Clapton has lost the ability to 'do Blues'. There are even people who will claim that he never could!. I tend to disagree. And I'm not Alone. Fortunately Slowhand himself believes he still can. That's why he treats us every now and then with a real Blues album.
This album from 2004 pays his respect to the grand master Robert Johnson. Clapton has been an admirer of this 'inventor' of the urban Blues. It is said that Clapton has had periods in his life in which he wouldn't speak to people who were not familiar with Robert Johnson's work. I quote from the album:
"It is a remarkable thing.....to have been driven and influenced all of my life by the work of one man, And even though I accept that it has always been the keystone of my musical foundation, I still would not regard this as an obsession, instead, I prefer to think of it as a landmark that I navigate by, whenever I feel myself going adrift."

2004 - Me and mr. Johnson

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Nothing But The Blues II

2006-05-08T01:00:00.000+02:00

As promised today the second disc of this collection. And, as promised, a second disc dedicated to old Muddy Waters stuff.
About Muddy Waters: McKinley Morganfield was born in the South in 1915. He got nickname Muddy Waters at a young age from one of his (many) sisters. As a young boy McKinley would play all day in a muddy creek just behind their house and would get home dirty. Muddy learnt to play the mouth harmonica at the age of 9 and picked up the guitar one year later. As so many in those day Muddy worked as a cotton-picker on plantations.
Later, when Muddy moved to Chicago, he worked as a truck driver. That is at day time. At nights he would play in the clubs together with people like Tampa Red and Sonny boy Williamson.
After a short while Muddy signed with the Aristocrats label, a predecessor of the famous Chess label. (See this wonderful posting of Bastet & Cowyn's). With this label he, together with people like Willie Dixon and Howlin' Wolf, created a sound we game to know as Chicago Blues.

About the recordings: On disc 1 (see posting yesterday) there is some really old Muddy waters recordings. As a matter of fact. These probably are the oldest Muddy Waters recordings available. These recordings are made before Muddy moved to Chicago. As so many great old recordings these come from the archives of the Library of Congress, and made by the famous Alan Lomax in the Mississippi delta. The first three tracks date from August 1941, the rest is from July 1942.
The recordings on disc 2 are, unfortunately, not dated. But be assured that this is a young Muddy waters. As matter of fact, none of the recordings on any of the 40 discs of this collection date after 1948. This disc got his name after track 5 Little Anna Mea. All these tracks are Muddy originals except track # 1, which is a Robert Johnson composition. Please pay attention to track # 11. This track inspired, many years later, a group of young Englishman to call their band The Rolling Stones.

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 2 - Little Anna Mea

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Nothing But The Blues

2006-05-07T01:00:00.000+02:00

Although I named this weblog after a line from T-Bone Walker from the album Good Feelin' I realized that there is a whole box of Blues music called this way. I 'came across it' when I was looking for some old Muddy Waters stuff.
In 2000 TIM (The International Music Company) published a forty CD box (40 !!!!) with just old Blues. All the recordings are original and date from 1923 up to 1948. And all these wonderful recordings have been digitally remastered. I know there are a lot of collectors out there. So, just for the fun of it, I will be posting all of it. However, I hope you will forgive me if I do not post them all at the same time. Expect me to post a few every week for the coming weeks.
The first two CD's are completely dedicated to Muddy Waters and contains some rare, very old, recordings. The first one got the subtitle Country Blues after the first song on this disc.
Tomorrow I will get into Muddy Waters and in particular to the recordings on these CD's. In the meantime, download and listen. It's worth the time!

2000 - Nothing But The Blues - disc 1 - Country Blues

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Take a walk

2006-05-06T01:00:00.000+02:00

During the early 80's the appreciation for Deep Soul hit rock bottom in the US. On the other hand it's popularity grew steadily in Europe. It isn't surprising to find that some Deep Soul artists made the crossing and settled in Europe (UK mainly). So did Charles Walker. Charles (or Charlie) cut his first single in 1959 for the Champion label. In those days Charlie was one from the Nashville blues scene. After his first album Charlie moved to New York where he started a locally very popular R&B/Blues band "Little Charles & The Sidewinders". During the earlier mentioned period in the 80's an English label starts reissuing some of Charlie's older stuff. With success. So Charlie moved to the UK. Later, in 1993, he moved back to Nashville, where he recorded a few albums. In the first half of this decade there has been some sort of Deep Soul revival going on in Europe. So it isn't strange that we rediscovered Charles Walker again. This album was released shortly after Solomon Burke's his award winning Don't Give Up On Me. Although different in approach and style I, for one, feel that this album is no less than Solomon's. There is one remarkable detail. On both albums there is a Elvis Costello song. Solomon recorded The Judgement and Charlie Allison. Before these two albums I never thought of Costello's music as Soul. But it definitely is.

2003 - Number By Heart

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There it is!

2006-05-05T01:00:00.000+02:00

It is said that you will always remember the place, the people you were with and what you were doing when you get some really shocking news. I, for one, has this experience with 9/11 and an older generation has the same thing with the murder on JFK. These events are engraved in our memories.
The same thing happened the first time I heard Stevie Ray Vaughan. In those days I used to frequent a local bar of which the owner was a good friend of mine and an absolute music freak. On Fridays he would spent his afternoon in the local record store listening to every new record. He would by at least 5, but often enough 10 or more records. Friday nights I would go to the bar and wait for closing time. Then we would clean the place up and sit down to listen to music. Old and new.
That night Dorus (that was his name) showed me Couldn't Stand The Weather and told me that this was something I definitely would enjoy. And I did. The guitar playing, the timing.......The next morning I was at the local record store about 10 minutes before they opened. At opening time the shop keeper simply said 'Hello" and let me in. He went straight for the counter and took, from below the counter, Couldn't Stand The Weather, and said: "There it is".

1984 - Couldn't Stand The Weather

P.S. Dorus and I never figured out why we 'missed' Stevie's first record. But we found a way to make up for this omission.

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Good old Jeff

2006-05-04T01:00:00.000+02:00

Today I write my 50th blog. Not bad in just over a month. Anyway, I went trough them all and realized that I did mention Jeff Healy as one of the innovators of the late 80's. I did, however, forget to post some of his music. So, let my try to make up for this by offering Jeff's second album Hell To Pay. In my opinion the second is just as good as the first. This is always an achievement if a debut is so well received as his. Imaging: your debut album with such praising words from B.B. King! Yep. No pressure for the second album. But Jeff came through.
My personal favorite from this album? Track 7: While my guitar gently weeps. And old Beatles classic from the hand of George Harrison.

1990 - Hell To Pay

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My kind of Blues

2006-05-03T01:00:00.000+02:00

The problem with some of the old 'war lords' of the Blues, like muddy waters, John Lee Hooker and B.B. King, is that these guys have been at it for numerous years, and have been very productive all these years. This combined with their obvious popularity has resulted in so, perhaps too, many compilations. There isn't a compilation of Blues music and they are on it. On top of this there a so many compilations dedicated to one of these man. Talking about B.B. King there are over a hundred compilations released with 'older stuff' since 1998!
This results in the fact that it is pretty hard to find an 'older' original of this Blues man. It is therefore that I'm glad to present you with an original B.B. King that is over 45 years old.
My Kind Of Blues is an original album released in 1960. It features a relative young B.B. (see picture) without a large band behind him. It is the basics for this kind of Blues: bass, drums, piano, Lucille and B.B's powerful voice. An album with 10 absolute gems of slow Memphis Blues.

1960 - My Kind Of Blues

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Slippin' back

2006-05-02T01:00:00.000+02:00

It's time to return to some straight forward Chicago Blues. It's time to listen to some Buddy Guy. Buddy has been around for quite a while. As a matter of fact he is the last survivor of the 'legends from Chicago' that inspired the next generation of blues players. Jimi Hendrix himself has named Buddy several times as one of his examples.
Buddy was born in Louisiana and moved in 1957, at the age of 21, to Chicago to become one of the most important representatives of the 'West Side Blues', together with Muddy Waters, Otis Rush and Magic Sam.
There are several reason why I like this album so much. I'll just give you a few. To start with I think that this album from 1994 is the best thing he did since the mid seventies. It's the basic screaming guitar in his own style with very powerful vocals. The real original Buddy! Secondly there are some nice guests on this album as well. Perhaps the most important and prominent guest is the famous blues piano player Johnnie Johnson who is on virtually every track, but is the absolute hero on "7-11". Further more there are Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton on over half of the tracks. These two guys are better known as Double Trouble.
Another reason why I really like this album is the atmosphere. Although recorded in a studio (or actually two) it sounds like being in Buddy's club "Legends" in Chicago. Just listen to track # 7 Someone else is steppin' in and you'll be there!

1994 - Slippin' in

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I´m Hooked

2006-05-01T01:00:00.000+02:00

Somewhere in the late 50´s a French newspaper compared Gilbert Becaud with a small power plant because of his display of energy during concerts. This gave him a nickname that would stick with him for the rest of his life (1927 - 2001). Now, 45 years later, we definitely entered the nuclear age with Ellis Hooks. This guy has enough energy to light up New Work.
The story of Ellis sounds familiar in the sense that there are a lot of Blues / Soul artists with similar life stories. The difference is that Ellis is relatively young and it all happened just a few years ago. Ellis is the thirteenth kid from a nest of sixteen. His father was (is) an African-American share-cropper and his mother was (is) partly Cherokee.
Ellis left home at the age of 15 and traveled all over the US doing odd jobs. In that period Ellis became more and more a street musician. He must have been pretty good already, because the story goes that Diana Ross heard him perform on a street corner in New York and offered him some recording time in a studio. Ellis turned her down. He wasn´t ready´.
Later Ellis went to Europe and by accident got in a studio with John Tiven (producer of B.B. King and Wilson Picket). That´s the start of his recording career.
Ellis´mixture of Blues, Soul and Rock gained him international recognition and by now he can count people like Bonnie Raitt and Solomon Burke to his ever increasing crowd of fans
This album is his second album. Listen to it and know why I´m hooked.

2003 - Up Your Mind

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Absolute royalty

2006-04-30T01:00:00.000+02:00

April 30 is traditionally the day the Dutch celebrate their connection with the royal family. That makes this a perfect day to share this album.
In September 1981 The Crusaders gave a concert in London. Now, normally the music of The Crusaders is 'not my cup of tea'. But in this case it's something different. This particular concert was held in The Royal festival Hall together with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. But that's not the reason why I treasure this album. I treasure this album because halfway through the concert B.B. King walks in. For me that saves the day (or in this case the album). Suddenly the chemistry is there. Specially between B.B. King and Joe Sample. And it is fun hearing the Crusaders with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on The thrill is gone, or B.B. King singing Street life. All and all an album that deserves her title.

1982 - Royal Jam

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Bluzman

2006-04-29T01:00:00.000+02:00

Otis Redding was not only accompanied by Booker T and the MG's. They had a career of their own. At those times Sam Taylor was his band leader.

Sam Taylor has been a professional musician ever since 1950 and all this time he has been "keepin' the blues alive". He is a talented songwriter, a gifted guitar player, but when he starts to sing.......He has one of the most beautiful (male) voices I ever heard perform. No wonder that Sam has been playing / recording with people like Otis, but also T-bone Walker, Albert Collins, Big Joe Turner, Sam & Dave. He sang a.o with The Drifters and Maxime Brown. In short: Sam has lived the blues for over 50 years now.

I've had the privilege to meet Mr. Taylor three times now. And I can tell you that apart from his obvious talents he is a sympathetic and warm person who is genuinely interested is his audience.

On this album from 2003 Sam wrote: This CD is dedicated to the memory of two of the finest tenors that ever sang. My son Bobby Taylor who passed over on July 1997 and my ex-partner Mr. Bennie Earl, who passed in 2002. Thank God for the music I was able to make with both of them.
Mr Taylor, thank God for all your music!

2003 - Blue Tears

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OTIS! Live........

2006-04-28T01:00:00.000+02:00

The last volume from this magnificent box is the only disc with a title: The Ultimate Live Otis Redding Show. And ultimate it is. They took a bunch of life recordings from different dates and locations and mixed them up in a way that the outcome sounds like one life concert. Somebody has been very smart here! And the result is wonderful. Beautiful ballads like Pain In My Heart and These Arms Of Mine, Beatles covers like A Hard Day's Night and of course............Try A Little Tenderness. For this closing song they took the recording from June 17 1969, the earlier mentioned Monterey International Pop Festival. This recording shows a Otis so vibrant, so alive. Otis at a point that we later came to know as the highlight of his career!
Fortunately from this Festival there is a wonderful film (I don't know if it's available on DVD). But whenever you get a change, watch the performance of Otis. See this particular version of Try A Little Tenderness. Tel you what, don't wait for this change. Make sure you see these recordings. Its well worth the effort.

1993 - Otis - disc 4: The Ultimate Live Ottis Redding Show pt 1 & pt 2

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OTIS! The tragedy

2006-04-27T01:00:00.000+02:00

Disc # 3 covers the time period from February 1967 up to the end. Actually beyond the end. The first track is another rarity. It is an announcement from a promo only album from various artist to get kids to stay in school: Stay in school. Don't be a dropout.
Otis made an appearance during the Monterey International Pop Festival on June 17 that year. Together with Jimi Hendrix he was the sensation of the festival. His performance here is generally considered an important breakthrough to a wider (white) audience. Otis had never been more popular than in the months following the festival. And during those months Otis was really productive. He toured and recorded like a mad man.
On November 22 1967 Otis came to the STAX-studio and told Steve Cropper that he wrote something completely different. He sat down and recorded an demo of.....(Sitting On) The Dock Of The Bay. Everybody in the studio was stunned. With this song Otis took Soul into a completely new direction. But before they could talk this thing over Otis left already. He had to make it to the airplane that would take him to the next gig.
On December 10 1967 Otis his airplane crashed and the king of Soul died. He never made it back to the STAX-studio. Steve Cropper took the demo and finished it as a tribute to Otis. It was released on January 8 1968 to become Otis his biggest hit. It ranked #1 both in the pop and the R&B charts.
As far as I know this was to be Otis his only #1 hit. A recording he never heard himself!
Now you know why there are no live recordings of (Sitting On) The Dock Of The Bay. Otis only sang it only once in public. And there were only 4 man witnessing this turning point in the history of soul.

1993 - OTIS! Disc 3

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Some more OTIS!

2006-04-26T01:00:00.000+02:00

Today volume two of OTIS! The definitive Otis Redding Box Set.
This volume picks up where volume 1 left off. We're somewhere in 1965. The disc opens with Respect, an Otis original that later became the breakthrough hit for Aretha Franklin. The disc contains beautiful Otis originals, but quite a few remarkable recordings where Otis covers songs of other superstars: Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones), Chain Gang (Sam Cooke) and Day Tripper (Beatles).
Furthermore this disc holds a beautiful recording of Steve Croppers Knock On Wood. I never figured out if Steve wrote this song specially for Otis. Anyway, as far as I can tell this is the oldest recording of this legendary song. And recorded and produced by the composer himself!
The most remarkable song on this disc is Things Go Better With Coke, a radio advertisement for Coca Cola that, according to the liner notes, has never been issued before or even aired! Even the recording date of this commercial is unknown.
The disc leaves us with Otis in February 1967.

1993 - Otis - disc 2 pt 1 & pt 2

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OTIS!

2006-04-25T13:00:00.000+02:00

It's time for some soul. Some serious soul! Let's get to the absolute king of soul: Otis Redding.
Today I'm offering the first disc of a 4 disc luxury box set called "Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding". This box is an absolute gem. Anyone who's into soul should get hold of this box. 4 CD's and a 100 pages book with a biography, testimonials by people like Al Green, Steve Cropper, Youssou N'Dour and many more, pictures, etc. Really wonderful.
On this first disc there 24 songs from the period '60 till '65. Otis originals, but also compositions of Sam Cooke and Solomon Burke. Even a recording of the Shooters (featuring Otis) from 1960 and a recording of Otis Redding & the Pinetoppers.
Listen to his voice, his songs, his interpretations.
Listen to Otis!

1993 - OTIS! Disc 1

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Playing with his friends

2006-04-24T01:01:00.000+02:00

In 1990 U2 released their famous live album "Rattle and Hum" on which they did a song with B.B. King: When Love Come To Town. Not only was this a big hit for U2, but it introduced B.B. King to a whole new generation of music lovers. I for one know for sure that after "Rattle and Hum" it began twice as hard to get ticket to his concerts, and the average age of the audience was cut by half. B.B. King used this renewed attention for his work not only to make a few well received (and sold) albums, but also to bring the blues, in a wider perspective to the attention of this audience. This album from 1993 is a beautiful example of this.
On Blues Summit B.B. King truly plays with his friends! The album is recorded in two weeks on two locations (Memphis, Tn - B.B.'s hometown, and Berkeley, Ca) and contains duets with Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins, Koko Taylor, etc, and the playlist contains both very famous blues classics as new, specially written, material.
The album proved to be an 'instant hit' and is one of B.B.'s best sold original albums ever. Perhaps only beaten by "Deuces Wild".

1993 - Blues summit

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But.....it's Ella (part 10)

2006-04-23T19:31:00.000+02:00

Today the final volume (#10) of the Ella wallet.
After uploading 10 discs as 10 RAR-files, containing 196 MP3 songs, there is all togther almost 820 MB to download!

2005 - Everyone's wrong but me - Disc 10

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And then the truth came out

2006-04-23T01:01:00.000+02:00

Yes, All these innovations and re-inventions during the (mainly second half of the) 80's let to a renewed interest in the blues. Life long blues fans suddenly had a lot more music to select from and a whole new generation of blues lovers was created. To my opinion it can't be coincidence that 1991 and old legend resurfaced. With his album "Closer to the truth" Tony Joe White was back as a performer in the international scene.
Tony already had a successful career as a performer between, roughly, 1968 and 1975. During this time he was also a successful songwriter with people like Elvis Presley (Polk Salad Annie) and Brook Benton (Rainy night in Georgia) recording his songs. Although he regularly toured between '75 and '90, he was during this period mainly a songwriter recorded by artists like Joe Cocker, Etta James, Ray Charles and Tina Turner, but also wrote music for movies and commercials (a.o. Levis). In this period he only recorded 2 albums himself.
Then, suddenly, in 1991 there is "Closer to the truth". A remarkable album that brings Tony back on the road again. For the next two years he be climbing every stair to every podium, of which quite a few in Europe.
Ever since Tony Joe White has been very productive as a recording artist and a performer. And still with the same distinguishable style that made him stand out in 1968. If ever get a change to see this man play live, don't hesitate and go!

1991 - Closer to the truth

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But....it's Ella (part 9)

2006-04-23T01:00:00.000+02:00

And here we have disc 9 of the Ella wallet.

2005 - Everyone's wrong but me - Disc 9

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John Lee

2006-04-22T01:01:00.000+02:00

Yes, there was a lot of exiting stuff happening to the Blues during the 80's. There was a whole generation of experienced artist still going strong, a new generation of innovators like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray, old heroes resurfacing, people rediscovered, etc. But....the most remarkable, at least for me, was an old guitar player who had been at it for close to 50 years. John Lee Hooker re-invented......himself! John Lee had been playing Blues recording under at least 8 different names. Although widely recognized within Blues circles, he never got the recognition her deserved from a wider audience. This is even displayed in a commercial successful film like "The Blues Brothers". In this film there is wide variety of well known artists. Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, James Brown all got a (small) part to play in the film. John Lee Hooker is in this film as well. But he is just a street musician they pass along the way to meet with Aretha! This album from 1989 would change all that. With this album John Lee Hooker became a household name within the complete pop scene. The album contains recordings with Carlos Santana, Robert Cray, Bonnie Raitt, Los Lobos, Roy Rogers, etc. The combination between Carlos and John Lee was even good for a worldwide hit single: The Healer. And for good reason. John Lee Hooker demonstrates that he can adept to his guest and still remain who he has been for so many decades.

1989 - The Healer

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But.....it's Ella (part 8)

2006-04-22T01:00:00.000+02:00

Voila! Number 8 of the Ella wallet.

2005 - Everyone's wrong but me - Disc 8

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Slow blues at sunrise

2006-04-21T01:01:00.000+02:00

One of the key figures of this innovation wave of the 80's was Stevie Ray Vaughan. This brilliant guitar player from Austin, Texas did not just create a new sound for his own. There have been a lot (and I mean A LOT!) of people who have been trying to copy his style ever since he so tragically died in a helicopter crash in August 1990. The album I choose to share today is a special one. It has been released in 2000 (ten years after Stevie Ray died) and is a compilation of 'slow' Blues. It is from these tracks that you can hear SRV's respect for the old masters. He listened to them and interpreted their work with his very recognizable style. The album holds not only SRV compositions, but also work from Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf and Albert King. With Albert King he recorded (live) Albert's song Blues at Sunrise, which gave this album it's title. Furthermore you will find a duet with Johnny Copeland on this album. To be short: A wonderful album of one of the biggest ever!

2000 - Blues at sunrise

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But.....it's Ella (part7)

2006-04-21T01:00:00.000+02:00

And here is # 7 of the Ella wallet.

2005 - Everyone's wrong but me - Disc 7

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Don't be afraid

2006-04-20T01:01:00.000+02:00

During the 80's there was a wave of innovation going through the Blues. A relatively small group of (then) young men, each with his own style, influenced the Blues in a way it had not been for two decades. And people noticed. These few man got more attention of the media than the generation prior to them. I'm talking about, of course, people like Stevie Ray Vaughan, George Thorogood, Jeff Healy and...Robert Cray. Robert was noticed not only for his very recognizable guitar playing. His compositions had a different drive than the other three gentleman I mentioned and.........Robert Cray has a beautiful, soft toned, warm soul voice. And the combination of these three worked. Robert even has a series of modest hits to his name. One of those hits, perhaps the biggest, comes from this album.
'Don't be afraid of the dark' is the fifth album of Robert and was recorded and released in 1988. This was two years after 'Strong Persuader', the album that gained Robert the attention of a wide audience. This album did well in the charts as well.
If you do not know the album.......Here's your change to find out why.

1988 - Don't be afraid of the dark

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But.....it's Ella (part 6)

2006-04-20T01:00:00.000+02:00

After 5 comes disc # 6 of the Ella wallet.

2005 - Everyone's wrong but me - Disc 6

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Still got the blues

2006-04-19T01:01:00.000+02:00

Eric Clapton has been one of the driving forces behind the blues revival during the early 60's in the UK. This revival wasn't only the survival of blues in general but was also a very important influence on pop-music as we know it today.
Clapton career took him through The Yardbirds, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and Cream to Derek and the Dominos. By that time Eric had gained 'God' status and a lot of Blues fans thought he couldn't play the Blues anymore. He had lost it!
After several solo albums (some succesful and some not so) Clapton proofed his Blues critics wrong with this 1994 album: From The Cradle.
This album contains 16 straight forward Blues songs and brings Clapton back to the cradle: the Blues.

1994 - From The Cradle

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But.....it's Ella (part 5)

2006-04-19T01:00:00.000+02:00

Here is disc # 5 of the Ella wallet.

2005 - Everyone's wrong but me - Disc 5

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William Lee Conley

2006-04-18T01:10:00.000+02:00

Big Bill Broonzy (born as William Lee Conley Broonzy) is one of those man who mastered several instruments and several styles. Big Bill was either born in 1893 or 1898. Again different sources have different dates. Big Bill was born in the country but moved in 1924 to Chicago. With this move he changed instruments (from fiddle to guitar) and style (country-folk-blues to Chicago blues).
Chicago blues in 1924? Yes, Big Bill was one of the pioneers of Chicago blues. Big Bill was a pioneer. Period. He was one of the first to record with a little band (bass and drums) instead of just a single guitar. Big Bill used electric instruments as early as 1942! And he toured and recorded in Europe about 10 years prior to some of the other legends.

This album (again from the "Roots 'n' Blues" series) is a compilation that roughly covers the 1930's. Fortunately Big Bill left a lot of recordings. That made it possible to release this album in 1990 with 14(!) previous unissued recordings. And the other 6 tracks are worth listening as well.

1990 - Big Bill Broonzy: Good Time Tonight

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But.....it's Ella (part 4)

2006-04-18T01:00:00.000+02:00

Here is the fourth volume of the Ella wallet.

2005 - Everyone's wrong but me - Disc 4

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News

2006-04-17T01:10:00.000+02:00

In 1990 this album was released in the famous "Roots 'n' Blues" series. It is a wonderful compilation that focuses on one of the important original functions of the blues: Tell people the news! Hence the title of the album:
"News & The Blues: Telling Like It Is".
The album holds 20 recordings by legends as Bessie Smith, Victoria Spivey, Memphis Minnie, Big Bill Broonzy, Charlie Patton, Bukka White, etc. All the recordings are originals and date between 1927 and 1953. Tracks 19 (Homer Harris - 1946) and 20 (Willie "Long Time" Smith" - 1947) are previously unissued recordings. An absolute 'must have' for anyone who is into old original blues!

1990 - News & the Blues: Telling It Like It Is

The password = "scrooge".

Please delete these files within 24 hours. If you like this music buy the album and support the industry

Possible solution to the RAR problem

2006-04-17T01:05:00.000+02:00

As promised I looked into the RAR problem on the MAC. After asking around I got a tip from Caesar Tjalbo. So far I've been using WINACE to package. Caesar has been using WINRAR and has had no complaints so far. So time for me to try something new. The next few postings will be made with WINRAR. Unfortunately I do not have a MAC (I'm using computers....lol), so I can't test it myself. Dear MAC-users: Please be so kind to test one (or more) of the next few downloads and let me know if this solved the problem. regards, Scrooge

But.....it's Ella (part 3)

2006-04-17T01:00:00.000+02:00

Here is the third volume of the Ella wallet.

2005 - Everyone's wrong but me - Disc 3

The password = "scrooge".

Please delete these files within 24 hours. If you like this music buy the album and support the industry

New looks

2006-04-16T21:22:00.000+02:00

Please do not worry. It is still the same Blog. I just changed the looks by choosing a different template.
If you have a preference for the 'old' feeling of the Blog. Please let me know. (I'm also interested in what you think of the new look-and-feel).

Scrooge.

The Poet

2006-04-16T01:02:00.000+02:00

The title of this posting is stolen from an other album. "Willie Dixon, poet of the blues". But I like it so much that I'll re-use this honorary title here.
Willie Dixon is probably one of the most influential man in Blues (and that means in pop in general) ever. First of all he was a great performer. Willie had a beautiful voice and was a gifted bass player. More important he was a talented composer / songwriter with a productivity you wouldn't believe. I think he has over 1000 (THOUSAND) songs to his name. There is hardly any band in the world which hasn't covered Willie Dixon songs. And thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, He was the main recording man with Chess. During those famous Chess years (50's and 60's) Willie more or less ran the studio and was the bass player on all the recordings of Howlin' Wolf, Koko Taylor, Muddy Waters, etc.
It is for that reason that this 2 CD box with 36 recordings only holds 5 songs where Willie was the recording artist. For the remaining 31 songs he was the bass player, the producer and sometimes the composer.
Of all the Chess boxes, that I know of, this is one of my favorites.

1990 - Willie Dixon : The Chess Box - Disc 1

1990 - Willie Dixon : The Chess Box - Disc 2 (part 1)

1990 - Willie Dixon : The Chess Box - Disc 2 (part 2)

The password = "scrooge".

Please delete these files within 24 hours. If you like this music buy the album and support the industry

But.....it's Ella (part 2)

2006-04-16T01:01:00.000+02:00

Here is the second volume of the Ella wallet.

2005 - Everyone's wrong but me - Disc 2

The password = "scrooge".

Please delete these files within 24 hours. If you like this music buy the album and support the industry

Problems with RAR files

2006-04-16T01:00:00.001+02:00

I have been getting some 'complaints' from MAC-users about the RAR-files I've been posting. So it's obvious I'm doing something wrong here.

I'm trying to figure out what it is I have to change. I'll get back to you the moment I've got a possible solution. Then, after some test, we can see if I can re-load some of my posts.

For the time being: thank you for you're consideration.

Scrooge

(Re)discovered

2006-04-15T01:05:00.000+02:00

Howard Tate's story is a sad but famous story. Somebody makes a record, scores some hits, don't get the royalties, is screwed by his manager. Disappointed as he is starts drinking, doing drugs and winds up as a bump in the gutters.
So far you've heard the story probably a thousand times. But then....Two people can't forget about this truly unique voice. His former producer and a DJ from Philidelphia start a real man hunt to find Howard. And they succeed . Some twenty-five years after Tate left 'the business' they find him. By that time he is a preacher. In 1994, after numerous failures in whatever he tried, he found God and started his own church. Shortly after Howard reunion with the man who produced his first record ( Jerry Ragavoy) they started working on a new album. And a miracle happened. All the years of suffering had no ill effects on Howard's voice. On the contrary. It had matured, softened a bit, but still had the same expression.
This album is the result of that reunion. When I saw Howard Tate perform at the 'Blues Estafette' in Utrecht (Netherlands) in 2003 I really must have looked silly. Tears in my eyes and an open mouth!

2003 - Rediscovered

The password = "scrooge".

Please delete these files within 24 hours. If you like this music buy the album and support the industry