Henry Copper
Henry Cooper is in love, in love with a sound, a high-water-mark of blues guitar tone that had been set by the likes of Elmore James, Earl Hooker, Robert Nighthawk and Hop Wilson. It is clear from his newest release, "Slide Man", that it is influence, not imitation, that he has learned from the blues masters. He has taken to heart the importance of keeping things uncluttered and of driving straight down the middle of the groove until the last note has faded. The slide into the blues began for Henry at the age of 16, while he was working at the Eugene (OR) Hotel as a busboy. It was while listening to a local radio station that he heard The Paul Butterfield Band playing "The Work Song" off of "East West". Henry recalls, "I heard that amplified harp and thought "My God! What's that sound? It was amazing, I'd never heard anything like it." Henry began buying Blues records - one of the first ones he bought was "Fathers and Sons...