Bman's Blues Report

  QUEBEC BLUES ARTISTS SWEEP MAPLE BLUES AWARDS The Paul DesLauriers Band and Angel Forrest win multiple awards The fast-paced performance rich gala featured a moving memorial tribute to the late John Mays (Fathead), Brian Cober and past Blues With A Feeling Award Winner Bob Walsh (January 23, 2017) Toronto, ON – Canadian blues artists from coast-to-coast were honoured by their peers at the 20th Annual Maple Blues Awards gala in Toronto last night as a crowd of blues lovers gathered to celebrate Canadian blues at Koerner Hall.   Quebec blues artists swept the awards with honours going to trio The Paul DesLauriers Band who won Entertainer of the Year, Electric Act of the Year, Drummer of the Year for Sam Harrisson , and Bassist of the Year for Greg Morency . Blues belter Angel Forrest took home three awards including Female Vocalist of the Year, Recording/Producer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year...

Luke "Lone Gone" Miles (May 8, 1925 – November 23, 1987) was an American Texas blues and electric blues singer and songwriter. He was a protégé of Lightnin' Hopkins, and variously recorded or performed with Hopkins, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee and Willie Chambers. Miles is best known for his 1964 album, Country Born, issued on World Pacific Records. Luke Miles was born in Lachute, Louisiana, United States. Interspersed by a period serving in the United States Navy in 1943 and 1944, Miles worked on a cotton plantation until the early 1950s, and listened to blues music on the radio. Suitably inspired, Miles moved to Houston, Texas, in 1952, with the single aim of meeting Lightnin' Hopkins. Miles stated, "I went to Houston for one reason. I went to see Lightnin’ Hopkins. That's what I went for and that's what I did. Lightnin' Hopkins taught me just about everything about blues singing. The first time I ever sang in front of an audience was in 1952 wit...