Bman's Blues Report

David Migden & The Dirty Words are an exciting electric five piece, performing unique original material in a genre-busting crossover of rock, blues and twisted American roots. David Migden was raised in Little Rock Arkansas and moved to the UK as a teenager. After playing and touring around London and Europe, initially in the Lee Sankey Group with Matt Schofield and Ian Siegal, he then teamed up with ‘The Dirty Words’ and released ‘Second Hand Tattoo’ to a fantastic response from critics and fans alike. Gigs across London and the Southeast followed at venues such as The Jazz Cafe, Dean Street Pizza Express, Ronnie Scott’s, the Borderline, and the American Embassy. The band members have played with many other internationally renowned artists including Robert Plant, James Brown, Corinne Bailey Rae, Snowboy, Ian Shaw, Matt Berry, Hamish Stuart (Average White Band), Andy Newmark (Sly & the Family Stone, Roxy Music, John Lennon, Bowie), and have gained a reputation for putting o...

Willie Cobbs (born July 15, 1932, Smale, Arkansas, United States) is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known for his song, "You Don't Love Me". Cobbs was born in Smale, Arkansas and moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1951, occasionally performing in local clubs. He served in the American armed forces and then returned to Chicago, recording a number of singles on such labels as Ruler, a subsidiary of J.O.B. Records. He went on to release the albums Hey Little Girl for the Wilco label in 1986, and Down to Earth on the Rooster Blues label in 1994. Cobbs has performed at the King Biscuit Blues Festival and the Chicago Blues Festival. Cobbs also appeared in the 1991 film Mississippi Masala; he performed the songs "Angel from Heaven" and "Sad Feelin'" for the film. "You Don't Love Me" has been covered by various artists including The Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead, Richie Kotzen Kaleidoscope (US band), Quicksilv...

An exciting and expressive jazz-influenced blues vocalist, Arbee Stidham also plays alto sax, guitar and harmonica. His father Luddie Stidham worked in Jimme Lunceford's orchestra, while his uncle was a leader of the Memphis Jug Band. Stidham formed the Southern Syncopators and played various clubs in his native Arkansas in the '30s. He appeared on Little Rock radio station KARK and his band backed Bessie Smith on a Southern tour in 1930 and 1931. Stidham frequently performed in Little Rock and Memphis until he moved to Chicago in the '40s. Stidham recorded with Lucky Millinder's Orchestra for Victor in the '40s for Victor. He did his own sessions for Victor, Sittin' In, Checker, Abco, Prestige/Bluesville, Mainstream, and Folkways in the '50s and '60s, and appeared in the film The Bluesman in 1973. Stidham also made many festival and club appearances nationwide and internationally. He did occasional blues lectures at Cleveland State University in the ...

Big John Greer (November 21, 1923 – May 12, 1972) was an American blues tenor saxophonist and vocalist, best known for his recordings from 1949 to 1955, which included "Got You On My Mind" and "Bottle It Up And Go." Born John Marshall Greer in Hot Springs, Arkansas, United States, he was a friend of Henry Glover from childhood, and both attended college at Alabama A&M together. Glover was playing in Lucky Millinder's band when Bull Moose Jackson left the group in 1948; Glover suggested that Greer be chosen as Jackson's replacement. Greer played with Bob Shad and appeared on Millinder's RCA recordings until 1950, when Millinder signed to King Records. Greer stayed with RCA and played with Wynonie Harris and Jackson among others. He sang lead vocals on his biggest hit, 1952's "Got You On My Mind". In 1954 he switched to Groove Records, but did not make much impact on the American record charts there. In October of that year, he released ...

Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American vocalist in a wide variety of genres, from rhythm and blues, soul, blues and gospel to pop, doo-wop and disco. Johnnie Taylor was born in Crawfordsville, Arkansas. As a child, he grew up in West Memphis, Arkansas and performed in gospel groups as a youngster. As an adult, he had one release, "Somewhere to Lay My Head", on Chicago's Chance Records label in the 1950s, as part of the gospel group Highway QCs, which had been founded by a young Sam Cooke. His singing was strikingly close to that of Sam Cooke, and he was hired to take Cooke's place in the latter's gospel group, the Soul Stirrers, in 1957. A few years later, after Cooke had established his independent SAR Records, Taylor signed on as one of the label's first acts and recorded "Rome Wasn't Built In A Day" in 1962. However, SAR Records quickly became defunct after Cooke's death in 1964. In 1966, Taylor moved to Sta...

Richard Broadnax was born in 1948 in the small town of Vellie, a community just outside of the city of Camden, Arkansas in the USA. Home to his four brothers and one sister was a farm operated by his parents, Elmer and Nettie. In addition to managing their farm, raising six children, and taking on extra work wherever they could, his parents were also active members of their local church. Elmer was the Deacon and Nettie assumed the responsibility of Church Mother.Richard_film.jpg Every Sunday and some weekdays too - the entire family would walk together to church to attend services. The older brothers and sisters would help carry the children who were too young to walk the entire distance. God, church, and Gospel Music were the foundation and motivation of this family’s life. When Richard was only five years old, he was asked to recite a poem before the congregation. Because of the manner in which Richard recited the poem at such a young age, the congregation was so emotionally touched...

Widely acclaimed as one of the best drummers in the blues, Sam Carr was born Samuel Lee McCollum in 1926 outside of Marvell, Arkansas. His father was the influential blues guitarist and vocalist Robert Lee McCollum, who recorded under the names Robert Lee McCoy and Robert Nighthawk, but Carr didn’t meet him until he was seven years old. About a year and half after his birth, Sam’s mother, Mary Griffin McCollum, left Sam to the care of the Carr family, who adopted him and raised him on their farm near Dundee, Mississippi. Carr’s first instruments were the harmonica and "Jew’s harp," and around age 16 he moved to Helena, his father’s then residence, where he collected money at the door during his father’s performances at the river city’s thriving clubs. During this time Carr also worked as a chauffeur and played bass for his father, who was already an established professional musician. Between 1937 and 1940, McCollum recorded twenty-six songs under the name "Robert Lee M...

Frank Frost (April 15, 1936 — October 12, 1999 (aged 63) was one of the foremost American Delta blues harmonica players of his generation. Frost was born April 15, 1936 in Auvergne, Arkansas. Frost began his musical career at a young age by playing the piano for his family church. At the age of 15, Frost left for St. Louis, where he became a guitarist. At the age of 18, Frost began touring with drummer Sam Carr and Robert Nighthawk. Soon after touring, he toured again with Sonny Williamson for several years, who helped teach him how to play the harmonica. While playing with guitarist Big Jack Johnson, Frost attracted the interest of the record producer Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Records. Some recordings of note that followed included "Hey Boss Man" and "My Back Scratcher". Frost also recorded for the Jewel label, four years later. The Sun Records and Jewel Records material was re-released on one CD by Charly Records of London, England. Album cover of "Hey Bo...

Jerome Louis "J.J." Jackson [AKA "Leo Robinson" in Brasil] (born November 8, 1942, Gillett, Arkansas) is an American soul/R&B singer, songwriter, and arranger. His singing style is as a belter. Jackson started out as a songwriter and arranger for "Brother" Jack McDuff, Jimmy Witherspoon, and the Shangri-Las, among others. He also composed the Pretty Things' 1966 hit single, "Come See Me." He is perhaps best known for the bombastic soul hit "But It's Alright", which after its 1966 release became one of the best known dance music tunes of the decade. The single was recorded in the United Kingdom, featuring some of Britain's top jazz musicians of the day, including Terry Smith on guitar, Dick Morrissey on tenor sax and John Marshall on drums, and who would later make up his backing band for the following two albums. Jackson currently lives in Jacksonville, Florida.   If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blu...

Amina Claudine Myers (born March 21, 1942) in Blackwell, Arkansas; (a small community on US 64 in western Conway County) is an American jazz pianist, organist, vocalist, composer, and musical arranger Myers started singing and playing the piano and organ as a child in church choirs in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in Texas, where she grew up, and directed choirs at an early age. She graduated in concert music and music education at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas in the early 1960s. After graduation, Myers moved to Chicago where she taught music, attended classes at Roosevelt University and worked with musicians such as Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons. In 1966 she joined the AACM in Chicago, focusing on vocal compositions and arrangements, and recording her first jazz album with Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre in 1969. In 1976 Myers relocated to New York City, where she intensified her compositional work and expanded it into the realm of Off-Broadway productions. She also conti...

source : liner notes of Sunnyland KS 101 Poor Bob Woodfork born March 13, 1925 LAKE VILLAGE, Arkansas died May 3, 1988 in Chicago, Illinois (vcl/gtr), Henry Gray (pno), Buddy Guy (gtr), Mighty Joe Young (gtr), Willie Dixon (bs), Clifton James (dms)   If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

"Blind Joe" Reynolds (1900 or 1904 - March 10, 1968), was a singer-songwriter. Reynolds is thought to have been born in Tallulah, Louisiana in 1904, although his death certificate stated his birthplace as Arkansas in 1900. He was blinded by a shotgun blast to the face in Louisiana in the mid-late 1920s, which resulted in the physical loss of his eyes. Despite this handicap, Blind Joe became known for his distinctive bottleneck style as well as his reported accuracy with a pistol, with which it is said he could judge the position of a target by sound alone. Reynolds was known to be outspoken and flamboyant, often using his music as a medium to attack society. It is uncertain what name Reynolds' was given at birth. Whilst it is widely thought to have been Joe Sheppard, his nephew Henry Millage claimed it was Joe Leonard. Throughout his career, Reynolds traveled the country performing under various aliases as a way of evading the police, as he had served two jail sente...

King Biscuit Time is the longest-running daily American radio broadcast in history. The program is broadcast each weekday from KFFA in Helena, Arkansas, and has won the George Foster Peabody Award for broadcasting excellence. The first broadcast of King Biscuit Time was on November 21, 1941 on KFFA in Helena, and featured the African-American blues artists Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller) and Robert Lockwood, Jr. Williamson and Lockwood played live in the studio and were the key musicians in the original studio band, the King Biscuit Entertainers. Other musicians who joined the original band were Pinetop Perkins on piano and James Peck Curtis on drums. Williamson left the program in 1947 but returned for a stint in 1965 just prior to his death. The 30-minute long live radio program is broadcast at 12:15 every weekday and was named after the local flour company, King Biscuit Flour. The local grocery distributor financed the show at the behest of Williamson in exchange for endorsem...

John R. "Johnny" Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author who was considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Although he is primarily remembered as a country music icon, his songs and sound spanned other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll—especially early in his career—and blues, folk, and gospel. This crossover appeal won Cash the rare honor of induction in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Cash was known for his deep, distinctive bass-baritone voice,[a] for the "boom-chicka-boom" sound of his Tennessee Three backing band; for a rebelliousness, coupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor; for providing free concerts inside prison walls; and for his dark performance clothing, which earned him the nickname "The Man in Black".[b] He traditionally began his concerts with the phrase "...

Driftin' Slim (February 24, 1919 – September 15, 1977) was an African American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. Born Elmon Mickle in Keo, Arkansas, he not only recorded as Driftin' Slim, but also as Model 'T' Slim and under his real name. His recordings were released on the - amongst others - Modern, RPM, Blue Horizon, Styletone, Milestone, Kent, and Flyright record labels. By the turn of the 1970s, ill health had forced Slim to retire from the music industry and when he died, a chapter of American music — that of the one-man band — had virtually died with him. Slim died in Los Angeles, California, in September 1977.  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

SUNNYLAND CHARLES: (T.J.) One of the few living old Chicago bluesmen.....80 + years and still going strong...He played with the likes of Snooky Pryor; Homesick James and Jimmy Reed...Inclued in his band at different times, were female drummer and vocalist,Johnnie Mae Dunson;harmonica players,Big Walter Horton;Gene Dennis and John T. Colman; drummer,Ray Scott;guitar player Luther"Guitar Jr." Johnson. Although he never recorded, he was well known and respected through out Chicago by blues fans and other blues musicians as an out standing guitar player..SUNNYLAND CHARLES.. by way of Dumas,Arkansas,Chicago,Illinois and West Crossett,Arkansas   If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”  

Calvin H. Frazier (February 16, 1915 – September 23, 1972) was an American Detroit blues and country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Despite leaving a fragmented recording history, both as a singer and guitarist, Frazier was an associate of Robert Johnson, and recorded alongside Johnny Shines, Sampson Pittman, T.J. Fowler, Alberta Adams, Jimmy Milner, Baby Boy Warren, Boogie Woogie Red, and latterly Washboard Willie. His early work was recorded by the Library of Congress (now preserved by the National Recording Registry) prior to the outbreak of World War II, although his more commercial period took place between 1949 and 1956 Frazier was born in Osceola, Arkansas, and originally performed with his own brothers. Befriending Johnny Shines, in 1930 they jointly travelled to Helena, Arkansas where they met Robert Johnson. The threesome moved on to Detroit, Michigan, performing hymns on local radio stations. Frazier and Johnson returned south where they played along with the drumme...

Little Johnny Taylor (born Johnny Lamont Merrett; February 11, 1943 – May 17, 2002) was an American blues and soul singer, who made recordings throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and continued public performances through the 1980s and 1990s. Born in Gregory, Arkansas, United States, he is frequently confused with his contemporary and near namesake Johnnie Taylor, especially since the latter made a cover version of the song that Little Johnny Taylor was most famous for, "Part Time Love" (1963), and the fact that both men began their careers as gospel singers. Little Johnny Taylor moved to Los Angeles in 1950, and sang with the Mighty Clouds of Joy before moving into secular music. Influenced by Little Willie John, he first recorded as an R&B artist for the Swingin' record label. However, he did not achieve major success until signing for San Francisco-based Fantasy Records' subsidiary label, Galaxy. His first hit was the mid-tempo blues "You'll Need Anoth...

Arbee Stidham (February 9, 1917 – April 26, 1988) was an American blues singer and multi-instrumentalist, most successful in the late 1940s and 1950s. He was born in De Valls Bluff, Arkansas, United States, to a musical family - his father, Luddie Stidham played with Jimmie Lunceford and his uncle with the Memphis Jug Band. Arbie Stidham learned to play harmonica, clarinet and saxophone as a child. Before his teens he had formed his own band, the Southern Syncopators, which backed Bessie Smith on tour in 1930-31, and played on radio and in clubs in Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee. In the mid-1940s he moved to Chicago and met Lester Melrose, who signed him to RCA Victor in 1947.His biggest hit, "My Heart Belongs to You", was recorded at his first session, and reached # 1 on the US Billboard R&B chart in June 1948. He spent the rest of his career trying to emulate its success, recording for Checker, States, and other independent record labels as a jazz-influenced blues...

Vance Powell was born in Warren, AR. on May 17, 1922. He was known to be a vocalist in the gospel group The Paramount Singers from the mid-1940's up until 1951, when he became a singer with The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi. In the 1960's he decided to try his hand at being a blues artist on the West Coast cutting a few singles for small labels such as Wax, Ocampo, & Earlybird up until 1968. Not getting any recognition in the blues field, he soon rejoined The Paramount Singers as a member until 1973. Powell passed away in Oakland, CA. on February 5, 1984. There is a photo of Powell that was published in "Blues Who's Who" by Sheldon Leonard, but I was unable to find it on the internet. "My Time After Awhile" was later covered by Buddy Guy Vance "Tiny" Powell:Vocals Johnny Heartsman:Guitar Gino Landry:Tenor Sax Possibly Bobby Forte:Sax If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues ne...