Bman's Blues Report

b. 26 December 1922, Lee County, Texas, USA, d. 8 January 1999. Bell did not take up blues guitar until his early 20s, following military service. The major influence on his style was T-Bone Walker. His band was one of the major attractions on the Austin scene, and backed visiting artists at the Victory Grill, and on tour through west Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. Bell gave up playing in the early 70s when disco made live musicians uneconomical, but resumed in the late 80s in partnership with his long-time associate Erbie Bowser; they were still an impressive team. In the late 90s he was still performing with his band the Blues Specialists. He died of cancer in 1999. 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!

Featuring performances and/or interviews of: T.D.Bell and the Cadillacs---Grey Ghost---W.C. Clark---Blues Boy Hubbard and The Jets---Erbie Bowser---L.P. Peterson---Eveta Turner---Jean and The Rollettes---Hosea Hargrove---Major Burkes---Bill Campbell---Ural DeWitty---Little Willie Bell---A J Manor---Little Herman Reese---Lavada Durst Plus interviews with B.B.King, Clifford Antone, Bobby Blue Bland and Victory Grill proprietor and promoter Johnny Holmes 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!

BOWSER, ERBIE (1918–1995). Erbie Bowser, blues, jazz,qqv and boogie-woogie pianist, was born in Davila, Texas, on May 5, 1918, the youngest of ten children. Bowser's parents moved the family to Palestine, Texas, when he was five. His father played the violin, and his mother played piano, violin, and accordion. Erbie began playing piano and singing in the church choir, as his musical parents expected. While still attending Lincoln High School he joined the North Carolina Cotton Pickers Review and began performing throughout the South during summer vacations. After high school he joined the Sunset Entertainers and toured Texas with the Tyler-based band, playing blues, jazz, and big band tunes. He soon toured Europe and North Africa with the Special Services Band, playing at USO shows in England, Sicily, Italy, and Africa. Upon his discharge from military service he worked as a brick mason, and then attended Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas, for two years. His parents' d...

BOWSER, ERBIE (1918–1995). Erbie Bowser, blues, jazz,qqv and boogie-woogie pianist, was born in Davila, Texas, on May 5, 1918, the youngest of ten children. Bowser's parents moved the family to Palestine, Texas, when he was five. His father played the violin, and his mother played piano, violin, and accordion. Erbie began playing piano and singing in the church choir, as his musical parents expected. While still attending Lincoln High School he joined the North Carolina Cotton Pickers Review and began performing throughout the South during summer vacations. After high school he joined the Sunset Entertainers and toured Texas with the Tyler-based band, playing blues, jazz, and big band tunes. He soon toured Europe and North Africa with the Special Services Band, playing at USO shows in England, Sicily, Italy, and Africa. Upon his discharge from military service he worked as a brick mason, and then attended Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas, for two years. His parents' d...

Tyler D. "T.D." Bell (Dec. 26,1922- Jan 1999) Guitarist/vocalist Bell is a local legend, the leader of the hottest band on the East Side, T. D. Bell and the Cadillacs, during the heyday of the Victory Grill in the 1950s. Bell, who came to Austin in the early 1950s, provided early performing experience in his bands for many of the blues and jazz players on the East Side of Austin. Bell's bands, which generally featured Erbie Bowser on piano, backed up virtually all of the touring blues and R&B acts to come through Austin in the 50s. He had a long association with Victory grill owner Johnny Holmes. One of the few older musicians in town to work full-time during his early years, Bell did not take on outside work until later in life. He now has a small trucking business and had essentially retired from music until Erbie Bower asked him to reform their band for the Victory Grill reunion in 1987. While Bell has some touring experience, he never worried about making the big ...