New "Remembering Little Walter" video!

NEW JAMES HARMAN VIDEO FROM LIVE LITTLE WALTER TRIBUTE Last December five of the finest harmonica players on the current blues scene - Billy Boy Arnold, Charlie Musselwhite, Mark Hummel, Sugar Ray Norcia, and James Harman - gathered to pay tribute to harp virtuoso and innovator Little Walter Jacobs. All are featured on the tribute recording entitled Remembering Little Walter performing songs written by or associated with the late blues icon. Blind Pig Records has just released another in a series of videos from that memorable evening - James Harman's performance of  "It's Too Late Brother."  To watch the video, please click HERE. Harman is accompanied in performance by Little Charlie Baty on guitar, Nathan James on guitar, June Core on drums and RW Grigsby on upright bass. For more info and sound samples from Remembering Little Walter, please click HERE.

Charlie Musselwhite video from Remembering Little Walter

CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE VIDEO FROM LITTLE WALTER TRIBUTE

On December 6th, five of the finest harmonica players on the current blues scene - Billy Boy Arnold, Charlie Musselwhite, Mark Hummel, Sugar Ray Norcia, and James Harman - gathered to pay tribute to harp virtuoso and innovator Little Walter Jacobs.  All are featured on the tribute recording entitled Remembering Little Walter.

Here's the second Blind Pig video release from that memorable evening - Charlie Musselwhite's performance of Walter's "One of These Mornings."  To watch the video, please click HERE.

Charlie is accompanied by Little Charlie Baty on guitar, Nathan James on guitar, June Core on drums and RW Grigsby on upright bass.

To hear more from the album, or to learn more about it, please click HERE.

First video of Remembering Little Walter tribute

On December 6th, five of the finest harmonica players on the current blues scene - Billy Boy Arnold, Charlie Musselwhite, Mark Hummel, Sugar Ray Norcia, and James Harman - gathered to pay tribute to harp virtuoso and innovator Little Walter Jacobs.  All are featured on the tribute recording entitled Remembering Little Walter. Blind Pig Records has released the first video from that memorable evening - Mark Hummel's performance of Walter's "I Got To Go."  To watch the video, please click HERE. Mark is accompanied by Little Charlie Baty on guitar, Nathan James on guitar, June Core on drums and RW Grigsby on upright bass. To hear more from the album, or to learn more about it, please click HERE

Blind Pig Records artists: Billy Boy Arnold, Charlie Musselwhite, Mark Hummel, Sugar Ray Norcia and James Harman - Remembering Little Walter

I just received a new Blind Pig release, Remembering Little Walter and it's great! Featuring 5 of today's greatest harp players, Billy Boy Arnold, Charlie Musselwhite, Mark Hummel, Sugar Ray Norcia and James Harman this live recording gives each of the featured artists a chance to perform 2 of their choice little Walter tracks and then of course a collaboration. Opening with Mark Hummel on I Got To Go, the band featuring Nathan James on guitar, June Core on drums and RW Grigsby on bass really gets it going. Charlie Musselwhite steps up next with Just A Feeling. James plays some great guitar riffs under the lead and Musselwhite really does a nice job delivering the goods. Billy Boy Arnold has a great sound coming right out of the chute on You're So Fine. James Harman is next in line with It's Too Late Brother. Keeping it tight on his solos and presenting his fine vocals Harmon has the crowd hopping. Sugar Ray Norcia does a terrific version of Mean Old World getting just the right amount of distortion on harp to push the track into the ozone. Norcia also has a great voice and James again shows nice guitar chops on this track. Musselwhite is back with One Of These Mornings, a great Chicago groove. Charlie really does a super job on this track playing creative runs and unique phrasing. Mark Hummel returns on instrumental, Blue Light, a real deep track. His feel and sensitivity really shine through on this track. Again James is delivering really nice guitar runs that nicely compliment the lead player. On Crazy Mixed Up World, Harman keeps his vocals subdued but grabs a hold on the track and literally blows the top off with his harp. Norcia steps back to the mic for Up The Line. This time with less blow and more voice, Norcia trades riffs with James for a clean track. Arnold is the final soloist up and does a dynamite job on Can't Hold Out Much Longer. His vocals are rich and he blows some real mean riffs on this track. On the finale, My Babe, each of the players takes his turn at the mic and also added is Little Charlie Baty on vocal and guitar. This really is a great track featuring the players exchanging rather than competing and it is nicely done. This is a great tribute to Little Walter and the people in the crowd of this recording at Anthology in San Diego saw a super show.

  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”
 

I Don't Believe A Word You Say - Ben Harper, Charlie Musselwhite

Charlie Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage. Musselwhite was reportedly the inspiration for Dan Aykroyd's character in the Blues Brothers Charles Douglas Musselwhite was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi, United States. He has said that he is of Choctaw descent, and he was born in a region originally inhabited by the Choctaw. However, in a 2005 interview, he said his mother had told him he was actually Cherokee. His family considered it normal to play music, with his father playing guitar and harmonica, his mother playing piano, and a relative who was a one-man band. At the age of three, Musselwhite moved to Memphis, Tennessee. When he was a teenager, Memphis experienced the period when rockabilly, western swing, and electric blues and other forms of African American music were combining to give birth to rock and roll. The period featured Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, as well as lesser known musicians such as Gus Cannon, Furry Lewis, Will Shade, and Johnny Burnette. Musselwhite supported himself by digging ditches, laying concrete and running moonshine in a 1950 Lincoln automobile. This environment was Musselwhite's school for music as well as life, and he acquired the nickname "Memphis Charlie." In true bluesman fashion, Musselwhite then took off in search of the rumored "big-paying factory jobs" up the "Hillbilly Highway", the Highway 51 to Chicago, where he continued his education on the South Side, making the acquaintance of even more legends including Lew Soloff, Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Sonny Boy Williamson, Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Big Walter Horton. Musselwhite immersed himself completely in the musical life, living in the basement of, and occasionally working at Jazz Record Mart (the record store operated by Delmark Records founder Bob Koester) with Big Joe Williams and working as a driver for an exterminator, which allowed him to observe what was happening around the city's clubs and bars. He spent his time hanging out at the Jazz Record Mart at the corner of State and Grand and the nearby bar, Mr. Joe's, with the city's blues musicians, and sitting in with Big Joe Williams and others in the clubs, playing for tips. There he forged a lifelong friendship with John Lee Hooker; though Hooker lived in Detroit, Michigan, the two often visiting each other, and Hooker served as best man at Musselwhite's third marriage. Gradually Musselwhite became well known around town. In time, Musselwhite led his own blues band, and, after Elektra Records' success with Paul Butterfield, he released the legendary Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band album in 1966 on Vanguard Records (as "Charley Musselwhite"), to immediate and great success. He took advantage of the clout this album gave him to move to San Francisco, where, instead of being one of many competing blues acts, he held court as the king of the blues in the exploding countercultural music scene, an exotic and gritty figure to the flower children. Musselwhite even convinced Hooker to move out to California. Since then, Musselwhite has released over 20 albums, as well as guesting on albums by many other musicians, such as Bonnie Raitt's Longing in Their Hearts and The Blind Boys of Alabama's Spirit of the Century, both winners of Grammy awards. He also appeared on Tom Waits' Mule Variations and INXS' Suicide Blonde. He himself has won 14 W. C. Handy Awards and six Grammy nominations, as well as Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Monterey Blues Festival and the San Javier Jazz Festival in San Javier, Spain, and the Mississippi Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. In 1979, Musselwhite recorded The Harmonica According to Charlie Musselwhite in London for Kicking Mule Records, intended to go with an instructional book; the album itself became so popular that it has been released on CD. In June 2008, Blind Pig Records reissued the album on 180-gram vinyl with new cover art. Charlie Musselwhite at the Liri Blues Festival, Italy, in 2000. Unfortunately, Musselwhite, as with many of his peers, fell into alcoholism, and by his own admission[citation needed], he had never been on stage sober until after he stopped drinking entirely in 1987. In 1990 Musselwhite signed with Alligator Records, a step that led to a resurgence of his career. In 1998, Musselwhite appeared in the film Blues Brothers 2000. He provided the harmonica position in the super-ensemble The Louisiana Gator Boys, which also featured many other rhythm and blues legends such as B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Eric Clapton, Koko Taylor, Jimmie Vaughan, Dr. John, and Jack DeJohnette. Over the years, Musselwhite has branched out in style. His 1999 recording, Continental Drifter, is accompanied by Cuarteto Patria, from Cuba's Santiago region, the Cuban music analog of the Mississippi Delta. Because of the political differences between Cuba and the United States, the album was recorded in Bergen, Norway, with Musselwhite's wife ironing out all the details. Musselwhite believes the key to his musical success was finding a style where he could express himself. He has said, "I only know one tune, and I play it faster or slower, or I change the key, but it’s just the one tune I’ve ever played in my life. It’s all I know." His past two albums, Sanctuary and Delta Hardware have both been released on Real World Records. Musselwhite plays on Tom Waits' 1999 album Mule Variations. He can be heard at the beginning of the song "Chocolate Jesus" saying "I love it". Waits has mentioned that he feels this is his favorite part of the song. In 2002, he featured on the Bo Diddley tribute album Hey Bo Diddley - A Tribute!, performing the song "Hey Bo Diddley". Musselwhite lost both of his elderly parents in December 2005, in separate incidents. His mother, Ruth Maxine Musselwhite, was murdered. Musselwhite joined the 10th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers. He was also a judge for the 7th and 9th Independent Music Awards. Charlie Musselwhite was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2010. 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”

Rock Me Baby - Charlie Musselwhite, Luther Tucker, Bobby Murray

Recorded at the Sleeping Lady Cafe, Fairfax, California, July 6, 1981 Charlie Musselwhite, harmonica & vocals Luther Tucker, guitar Francis Clay, drums Mark Naftalin, piano Bobby Murray, guitar Henry Oden, bass Gary Silva, drums Guitarist Luther Tucker was born on January 20, 1936, in Memphis, Tennessee, but relocated to Chicago's South Side when Tucker was around seven years of age. His father, a carpenter, built Tucker his first guitar, and his mother, who played boogie-woogie piano, introduced him to Big Bill Broonzy around that time. He went on to study guitar with Robert Jr. Lockwood, for whom he had the greatest admiration and respect. Tucker worked with Little Walter Jacobs for seven years and played on many of Walter's classic sides. He also recorded with Otis Rush, Robben Ford, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Jimmy Rogers, Snooky Pryor, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Elvin Bishop, and James Cotton. In the mid-'60s, Tucker was featured in the James Cotton Blues Band and traveled with that band extensively. He relocated to Marin County, California in 1973 and formed the Luther Tucker Band. He played in clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area until his death on June 18, 1993, in Greenbrae, California. Luther Tucker, who was soft-spoken and even shy, was one of a handful of backup artists (the Four Aces/Jukes were others) who helped to create and shape the small-combo sound of Chicago blues. Unfortunately, they seldom get much credit. Yet, as the history of Chicago blues gets written, there will be more and more time to discover the wonderful understated rhythmic guitar mastery of Luther Tucker. 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 PIG RECORDS ANNOUNCES LITTLE WALTER TRIBUTE RECORDING

"Little Walter Jacobs was one of the best singers of the blues and a blues harp player par excellence" - Keith Richards "Little Walter was a very, very powerful influence on me" - Eric Clapton Blind Pig Records has announced a live recording date for a special tribute to Little Walter Jacobs featuring some of the finest harmonica players on the current blues scene - Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Boy Arnold, Mark Hummel, James Harman, and Sugar Ray Norcia. The show will take place on Thursday, December 6th at Anthology in San Diego, California. The virtuosic Little Walter is without doubt one of the most influential blues harmonica players of all time. AllMusicGuide said, "The fiery harmonica wizard took the humble mouth organ in dazzling amplified directions that were unimaginable prior to his ascendancy. His daring instrumental innovations were so fresh, startling, and ahead of their time. His influence remains inescapable to this day -- it's unlikely that a blues harpist exists on the face of this earth who doesn't worship Little Walter." The idea for the Little Walter tribute recording grew out of a number of highly successful West Coast concerts in early 2012 that were part of an ongoing series of "Blues Harmonica Blowout" concerts organized by Hummel, who will serve as producer of the recording project, to be entitled Remembering Little Walter. Said Hummel, "Walter changed all the rules and raised the bar so high that nobody has yet surpassed him either in innovation or technical prowess. Walter's original sides have become the holy grail all other harpers are still trying to aspire to." Those sentiments were echoed by Charlie Musselwhite and Billy Boy Arnold, who both knew and were friends with Little Walter. In fact, both used Walter's backing musicians (Louis and Dave Myers, Fred Below, and Luther Tucker) in their own bands in the 60's and early 70's. Musselwhite said, "If you listen to Walter's earliest recordings you can see that he came from a down-home country style much like John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. And then, probably with the urban influence of Chicago horn players, started phrasing like a saxophone. This phrasing combined with his creativity and amplification really took harmonica playing to a whole new level that hadn't been heard before. For me personally, besides Walter's being an influence, he was even more of an inspiration; an inspiration and invitation to experiment, take chances, see where it'll take you and to always follow your heart." He went on to recall, "Walter was always real nice to me. He'd give me a ride home after the gig or sometimes he'd walk with me to the bus stop and wait until the bus came. He was always acting like he was looking out for me; like he was going to be there if somebody started some nonsense with me." Billy Boy Arnold added, "When I heard Little Walter's harmonica playing on the recordings with Muddy Waters and others, I knew that Little Walter was the new Harmonica King. I bought every record that Muddy Waters made with Little Walter's harp playing on it. He was miles ahead of all the other harp players on the scene. No one could touch him. He was creative, innovative, and spontaneous. Little Walter is still the top and most influential harp player that ever played." CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE is one of the most recognized names in blues harmonica. Born in 1944, Musselwhite has traveled the long road from backwoods Mississippi to a teenaged upbringing in Memphis, where he first heard and learned the blues from its originators. On the South Side of Chicago, Charlie served his apprenticeship with Robert Nighthawk, JB Hutto, Johnny Young and Big Walter Horton and developed close friendships with blues icons Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Joe Williams, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. In the late 60's and mid '70s he and Paul Butterfield were very influential in introducing traditional blues to white audiences and the burgeoning scene of young rock and rollers. Renowned for his mastery of the traditional blues idiom, in recent years he's introduced elements of jazz, gospel, Tex-Mex, Cuban and other world music into his recordings. In 2010 he was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Blues Hall Of Fame. In addition, Charlie, who is one of the most beloved blues musicians in the world, has been nominated for six Grammy Awards and has won 24 Blues Music Awards. BILLY BOY ARNOLD, a contemporary of James Cotton and Junior Wells, started with Ellis McDaniels (later to be known as Bo Diddley) in Chicago in 1955, where they created the "Bo Diddley" sound at Chess Records. Billy Boy learned harp at the feet of the legendary John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson when Billy was just 12 years old. Billy went on to record singles for VeeJay like "Wish You Would", "Ain't Got You" and "You Got Me Wrong." In the mid-60's young British groups The Yardbirds and The Animals discovered Billy Boy's 45s and had hits with their own cover versions. In the early 90's Arnold firmly reestablished himself as one of the foremost practitioners of classic Chicago blues with a pair of critically acclaimed releases on Alligator. His most recent CD, Billy Boy Arnold Sings Bill Broonzy, has been receiving extensive airplay. MARK HUMMEL has been touring nationally since 1984 and has most recently written a memoir, "Big Road Blues: 12 Bars on I-80," put out by Mountain Top Publishing. Mark started his band The Blues Survivors in 1977 with Mississippi Johnny Waters and has since toured/recorded with Lowell Fulson, Eddie Taylor, Charles Brown, Brownie McGhee, Jimmy Rogers and many other blues legends. In 1991 Mark started the Blues Harmonica Blowouts which have grown to be a much heralded blues event on the national scene. These multi harp packages have included John Mayall, Huey Lewis, Snooky Pryor, James Cotton, Kim Wilson, Rod Piazza, Carey Bell, Lazy Lester plus almost every other player of note on the blues harp. Mark has been nominated four times for the best harmonica player Blues Music Award. Hummel's eighteenth and most recent CD is entitled Retroactive. JAMES HARMAN was born and raised in Anniston, Alabama, where he quickly picked up on the black blues and soul music being played on juke boxes and the radio in the Deep South. In his teens, he started playing juke joints and dance clubs throughout the South and recorded a number of 45s. In 1968 Harman moved to Southern California, where he became friends with Canned Heat, The Blasters, and led bands with top-notch talent such as Hollywood Fats and Kid Ramos. He's released numerous albums over the years, picking up 10 W.C.Handy/BMA nominations along the way. He has been inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and is the harmonica player of choice on recordings and live performances by ZZ Top, appearing with them on both David Letterman and Jools Holland's TV shows. SUGAR RAY NORCIA started the popular East Coast blues band The Bluetones 30 years ago with guitarist Ronnie Earl. They backed Big Walter Horton, Big Joe Turner, Jimmy Rogers, Otis Rush, JB Hutto and countless others in the early '80s all over the Northeast. In 1991 Norcia hooked up with the legendary Roomful of Blues band and toured the world with the 11 piece band, appearing on their Grammy-nominated release Turn It On, Turn It Up. Norcia also recorded the Grammy nominated release Superharps during his Roomful tenure with harmonica heavyweights Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton and Billy Branch. In 2001, he reunited the Bluetones with guitarist Kid Bangham and later Monster Mike Welsh. The latest Sugar Ray and the Bluetones album, Evening, received four BMA nominations in 2012 including "Album of the Year" and "Traditional Blues Album" of the year. Following Little Walter's approach of having the very best musicians in his bands, Hummel has handpicked a sterling lineup of musicians for the show and recording in San Diego - Little Charlie Baty, the world renowned guitar slinger and former bandleader of Little Charlie and the Nightcats; second guitar will be Harman bandmate, Nathan James; June Core (Musselwhite, Little Charlie and Nightcats, Robert Jr. Lockwood and Hummel) will be on drums and RW Grigsby (Mike Morgan, Gary Primich and Hummel) will play upright bass. To see a video of the finale of the Little Walter tribute in Eugene, Oregon last February “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson 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”

Times Getting Tougher Than Tough - Will Tucker and Charlie Musselwhite

Will Tucker was raised on blues and southern rock in Memphis, Tennessee. He was playing drums at age five, piano at eight, and guitar at the age of twelve. His love of music led him to BB King's Blues Club where he was discovered by owner, Tommy Peters, who calls Will "the axe man." At age 14, Will was performing with the house band, and soon had a regular slot with his own band playing to enthusiastic crowds. During 2008 and 2009, Will performed on stage with Charlie Musselwhite, G. Love and Special Sauce, and the Beach Boys with John Stamos. Living in the home of the blues has advantages. Will and his band have opened for BB King five times, and met legends such as Bobby Blue Bland, Billy Gibbons, David Porter and Walter Trout.

Will produced his first CD in the fall of 2009 called "Stealin' the Soul" at Ardent Studios with Grammy nominated producer, Paul Speer. His CD can be purchased from his website, iTunes or Amazon.com.

In 2010, Will was introduced to Randy Jackson who invited him to play on the soundtrack to a movie called "The Jenson Project." In the fall of 2010, Will's original song, Your Sacrifice, was included in the companion CD for the movie, "A Walk in My Shoes" with soundtrack again produced by Randy Jackson.

Will was a finalist in the Commercial Appeal's MemphisMost contest in the categories of "Best Blues Performer," "Best Performer," and "Best Band" in 2011 and a 2010 finalist finishing third for Best Blues Performer behind BB King and Al Green.

His band can be heard every Friday and Saturday night at BB King's Blues Club in Memphis on world-renowned Beale Street. Will anticipates the release of his second CD in late 2011.
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Clothesline Revival - Orange Clown Train (featuring Charlie Musselwhite)

Conrad Praetzel and....

GUEST MUSICIANS including Robert Powell, Charlie Musselwhite, Chris Rovetti, Kimi "Bass" Sato, Brantley Kearns, Mark Fuller, Bruce "Creeper" Kurnow, Scoop McGuire and John Patrick Murphy III.

"GUEST" VOCALISTS including Leadbelly, Tom Armstrong, E. M. Martin and Pearline Johns, Florence Stamp, Sukhawat Ali Khan, Ora Dell Graham, Mrs Vernon Allen, Lum Wilson "Bill" Jackson, Mrs Myra Pipkin, Almeda Riddle, Charles Haffer Jr, Wendy Allen, Lillie Knox, Fred Fox Lee, Pearl Brewer, Neil Morris, Doug Wallin, Aric Leavitt and an Unidentified Train Caller.
Music and arrangement by Clothesline Revival and Charlie Musselwhite. "Orange Clown Train" released on Clothesline Revival's cd "They Came From Somewhere" (Paleo Music 2010). Visuals from Kit Davidson's film "Third Avenue El" (1950), an "impressionistic picture of the Third Avenue Elevated Railway in Manhattan, New York City, before it was demolished". Interesting soundtrack to great imagery.
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Highway Bound - Lloyd Jones new release review

This new release by Lloyd Jones is a great mixture of old traditional blues tunes and a few originals played in the style of Elizabeth Cotten, John Brim, Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Mc Tell, Big Bill Broonzy and Mississippi john Hurt. The recording is very consistent and entertaining. I think you'll find it a good go to album if you want the old finger picking accompaniment along with Charlie Musselwhite on harp and solid singing all done acoustic style.

Good job

BLUES WHY DO YOU WORRY ME - Charlie Musslewhite

Charlie Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944 in Kosciusko, Mississippi) is an American blues-harp player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage. Musselwhite was reportedly the inspiration for Dan Aykroyd's Blues Brothers.