Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release, Grooving At The Crosse Roads , from Heather Crosse . This is an 11 track release of pure contemporary pop/light jazz music with a twist on R&B/Blues. Backed by Heavy Suga' & The SweetTones ,this release has some real bright spots. Crosse plays bass as well as performs on lead vocal and does a real nice job. On opener My Man Called Me ,Dan Smith hits a real nice guitar riff and Mark Yacovone sets a perfect stage on piano. On Why Does A Woman Need A Bass Guitar , Crosse really plays heavy bass with a few hot bass riffs in addition to what I'd call lead bass under the melody. Very nice! Clarksdale Shuffle is light and easy and Crosse's vocals are sweet as mama's home made pie. My favorite track, Hurryin' Up To Relax , has a cool R&B feel and warm backing vocals by Sandy Carroll. Nice shuffle track, Walking In Their Shoes finds Smith laysing out some really tasty guitar and slide solos and Yacovone's piano work is...

DEEP BLUES FESTIVAL 2015 KICKS OFF ITS SECOND YEAR IN CLARKSDALE, MS THIS OCTOBER! FOUR-DAY FEST TO FEATURE GREAT DEEP BLUES ACTS INCLUDING LEFT LANE CRUISER, SCOTT H. BIRAM, DALE BEAVERS, HENRY'S FUNERAL SHOE, ELEGANZA! AND MANY OTHERS!   ADDITIONAL BANDS TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON! Tickets are on sale to the general public for the Juke Joint Chapel venue at the Shack Up Inn.   $150 for the four day pass ( $40 individual days ). Other venues will have their own cover charge or tip jars. FOR MORE INFO ON THE DEEP BLUES FESTIVAL 2015: http://deepbluesfest.com https://www.facebook.com/deepbluesfest

Clarksdale, Mississippi's 12th annual Juke Joint Festival unites crazy old bluesmen and leaky juke joints with paddling pig races and greasy soul food!   2015 LINEUP ANNOUNCED FOR CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI'S WORLD-FAMOUS JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL   Clarksdale, Mississippi – Clarksdale, Mississippi’s Juke Joint Festival may only be celebrating its 12th edition, but it is already the stuff of blues legend.   “2014 was the biggest Juke Joint Festival yet, and so far, 2015 looks to top it,” according to festival co-organizer Roger Stolle. “Our annual festival now attracts attendees from almost 30 foreign countries, almost 50 states and over 50 Mississippi counties. Still, the most important number here is the number of bluesmen in their 70s, 80s and even 90s who play our fest."   JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL LINEUP: www.jukejointfestival.com   This year's from-the-old-school lineup includes blues legends like Cedell Davis, Big G...

Clarksdale, Mississippi's 2nd annual Delta Busking Festival pays tribute to blues music's street musician tradition   DELTA BUSKING FESTIVAL FEATURES THE HISTORIC STREETS OF CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI, AS A FREE STAGE FOR THE BLUES   Clarksdale, Mississippi – This weekend, the Delta Busking Festival returns for its second year in blues-historic Clarksdale, Mississippi. It is part of the tri-state area's Bridging The Blues roster of events.   "As far as we know, this is the only blues festival created in tribute to the Delta's street musician tradition," said festival co-organizer Roger Stolle, also owner of Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art. "From Robert Johnson to Foster 'Mr. Tater' Wiley, the blues has always been built on the tips and exposure that street performances offer hard-working musicians."   This year's Delta Busking Festival runs Friday-Sunday, September 26-28....

Growing up in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Ernest had the right background for a bluesman; his father was a barrelhouse pianist, his boyhood friend was Ike Turner and Pinetop Perkins was a family friend who showed the youngster a thing or two. Ike fell in love with the piano when he peered in at The King Biscuit Boys, featuring boogie pianist Joe Willie Pinetop Perkins, rehearsing in the basement of his buddy Ernest Lanes house. When he was just a teenager, Lane hooked up with legendary slide guitarist Robert Nighthawk. Nighthawk eventually took him to Chicago where his solid piano work graced a number of sides cut for the Chess label in 1948-49. These cuts include the blues classic Sweet Black Angel. After Nighthawk Ernest played with Earl Hooker, Houston Stackhouse and others before heading to the California in 1956. After arriving in California, Lane worked with Jimmy Nolen and George Harmonica Smith before being recruited by old buddy Ike Turner to be a member of the Ike and Tina Tur...

Marshall Drew was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, a town whose contributions to blues music many decades ago sealed its musical legacy. Drew himself became interested in music at a young age, learning his first guitar chords at age 5 and writing his first song at 8. “I guess I was a fairly normal kid,” Drew says. “The only thing that set me apart was that I really loved music. I’d invite my friends over to play and just put on one of my dad's old Beatles albums! To me, that was a good time, but they were probably bored out of their minds...” Drew’s dedication to music eventually paid off, and he became a renowned young guitarist around his hometown, playing with several local bands throughout his teens and early twenties. He logged countless miles playing blues music in bars and festivals around the Mississippi Delta. 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 Re...

Jackie Brenston (August 15, 1930 – December 15, 1979) was an African American R&B singer and saxophonist, who recorded, with Ike Turner's band, the first version of the proto-rock and roll song "Rocket 88". Brenston was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, United States. Returning to Clarksdale from army service in 1947, Brenston learned to play the tenor saxophone, linking up with Ike Turner in 1950 as sax player and occasional singer in his band. The local success of Turner’s Kings of Rhythm prompted B. B. King to recommend them to studio owner Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee, where the band made several recordings in early March 1951, including "Rocket 88", on which Brenston sang lead and which he was credited with writing. Phillips passed the recordings on to Chess Records in Chicago, who released "Rocket 88" as by "Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats", rather than under Turner's name. The record soon reached #1 on the U.S. Bil...

Clayton Love Jr. (November 16, 1927 – February 28, 2010)[1] was an American blues pianist, who led his own band, the Shufflers, in the early 1950s and later played in Ike Turner's band, the Kings of Rhythm. He was born in Mattson, Mississippi, and grew up in Clarksdale. He served in the US Navy in World War II, and then studied as a pre-med at Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College near Vicksburg. He began performing in Vicksburg clubs with his band, the Shufflers, before graduating in 1949. His cousin, bandleader Earl Reed, recommended him to the owner of Trumpet Records, Lillian McMurry, and he first recorded for the label in 1951. The next year he began recording for the Aladdin label, with Raymond Hill's band, and over the following years also recorded for the Modern and Groove labels. Clayton Love was a prominent member of Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm during the mid-'50s, making some of his finest platters with the legendary band. But Love made his first vi...

Wade Walton is a unique individual having spent his entire life in Clarksdale, cutting hair and slapping out blues rhythms on his razor strap. A barber for 55 years Wade has probably known more blues performers and has performed for and with more blues performers than anybody else around the Clarksdale area. No trip to Clarksdale would be complete without a trip to Wade Walton's barber shop. Many a Blues fan has made the trip to sit in his chair and listen to him talk about and perform the Blues. A great guitarist and harp player in his own right he's also a mean barber so you get double your money's worth. Wade is a favorite performer at Blues Festivals and he brings along his razor strap to show folks how it's done. 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 ...

Wade Walton is a unique individual having spent his entire life in Clarksdale, cutting hair and slapping out blues rhythms on his razor strap. A barber for 55 years Wade has probably known more blues performers and has performed for and with more blues performers than anybody else around the Clarksdale area. No trip to Clarksdale would be complete without a trip to Wade Walton's barber shop. Many a Blues fan has made the trip to sit in his chair and listen to him talk about and perform the Blues. A great guitarist and harp player in his own right he's also a mean barber so you get double your money's worth. Wade is a favorite performer at Blues Festivals and he brings along his razor strap to show folks how it's done. Don't miss him if he's scheduled in your town. 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 grea...

Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art store in Clarksdale, Mississippi, continues its 10th anniversary celebrations – October 4-7, 2012 ( Cat Head store in Clarksdale. Photo art by Chuck Lamb. ) "UMPTEENTH" CAT HEAD MINI BLUES FEST HIGHPOINT OF THIS WEEKEND'S EVENTS AT "1 OF AMERICA'S 17 COOLEST RECORD STORES" (CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI) – October 2, 2012 – 10 years ago, marketing executive Roger Stolle left his corporate job in St. Louis to pursue a blues mission in the Mississippi Delta. He opened Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art in the historic downtown of Clarksdale, Mississippi. He also started the "Cat Head Mini Blues Fest" tradition. "The first year I opened, I tried some live blues at my store after one of the area's big blues festivals was over," Stolle recalls. "I was surprised how many folks showed up. I usually book the older, more traditional blues players, and that really stru...

(CLARKSDALE, MS)  In 2008, music producers Jeff Konkel and Roger Stolle took viewers on a road trip through the birthplace of the blues in the award-winning film “M For Mississippi.” Now the duo is set to return with a new film exploring what remains of the once-thriving tradition of juke joints in the Mississippi Delta. Filming concluded last week for “We Juke Up In Here: Mississippi’s Juke Joint Culture at the Crossroads.” The DVD/CD set will be released in April 2012 but is available now for pre-order at www.wejukeupinhere.com . “Great blues music can be enjoyed anywhere, whether it’s at a big outdoor festival or an upscale supper club. But we believe the best place to hear it is in a dimly lit juke filled with tough characters, treacherous women and lukewarm beer,” Konkel said. “This film aims to prove our point.” Production for “We Juke Up In Here” began in May and continued through the summer and fall. The project reunites Stolle and Konkel with their “M...