Bman's Blues Report

Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984) was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. She was the first to record the hit song "Hound Dog" in 1952. The song was #1 on the Billboard R&B charts for seven weeks in 1953. The B-side was "They Call Me Big Mama," and the single sold almost two million copies. Three years later, Elvis Presley recorded his version, based on a version performed by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys. In a similar occurrence, she wrote and recorded "Ball 'n' Chain," which became a hit for her. In 1965 she performed with the American Folk Blues Festival package in Europe. While in England that year, she recorded Big Mama Thornton in Europe and followed it up the next year in San Francisco with Big Mama Thornton with the Chicago Blues Band. Both albums came out on the Arhoolie label. Thornton continued to record for Vanguard, Mercury, and other small labels in the 1970s and to work...

Traverse City Concert I had the opportunity to play a concert with Mr. B. (Mark Braun, the fantastic blues and boogie pianist from Ann Arbor, Michigan) in beautiful Traverse City. We had a blast playing duets with each other, and the attendees were so lovely and enthusiastic. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures or videos from this concert, but you'll have to take my word for it that there was a lot of energy in that auditorium! I also had some free time to enjoy the changing fall colors on the peninsula, as well as some delicious chocolate-covered dried cherries from the "cherry capital of the world!" Piano Summit in Cincinnati Another highlight of my travels was Ricky Nye's Blues and Boogie Piano Summit, which took place last weekend at the historic Southgate House in Newport, Kentucky.  Ricky is an excellent organizer and host, and the musicians had the chance to play together in many different situations.  So by the time the concert rolled around on S...

Dom Flemons is a multi-instrumentalist and a songster. Playing in a broad range of old-time blues, country, string band, rock and jazz, he has impressed audiences with his outrageous performance style. "I always try keep the audience guessing," Dom says, "it makes the performance more interesting." Dom currently in upper Manhattan in New York City. As a member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Dom has toured all over the world going as far as Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Holland and Belgium. He is up for most any type of gig having played from coffee houses to street corners to house parties to the big-time venues. Dom has performed at such venues as the National Folk Festival, the Newport Folk Festival, The Grand Ole Opry, Prairie Home Companion, Merlefest, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, The Tavis Smiley Show, The Bob Harris show on the BBC, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Spoleto Music Festival, Bonnaroo, The Fillmore in San Francisco, Telluride Bluegra...

Happy October! I hope you are doing well. As I'm writing this, I'm on the plane coming home from Seattle, after the two debut concerts of Nouveau Stride with Lorraine Feather... I get a big kick out of sharing this melodic, swinging music from the 1930s with people, and I'm grateful that I have these opportunities. Since my last newsletter, I had concerts in the Washington, DC area; Kansas City; Chicago; Syracuse, NY; and finally, the Seattle area. "It was a fun show! I didn't realize that I liked stride... I guess I didn't even know what stride was!" -- Comment from a recent thirty-something concert attendee It was fun to meet so many enthusiastic fans of this music at these events. Some had traveled hundreds of miles to come, including the Diamonds of Newport News, VA, who shot this video from the Northern Virginia Ragtime Society concert in Fairfax. Hyde Park Jazz Festival I really enjoyed being on the campus o...

Bob Dylan (play /ˈdɪlən/, born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly reluctant figurehead of social unrest. A number of his early songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" became anthems for the US civil rights and anti-war movements. Leaving his initial base in the culture of folk music behind, Dylan proceeded to revolutionize perceptions of the limits of popular music in 1965 with the six-minute single "Like a Rolling Stone". His lyrics incorporated a variety of political, social, philosophical, and literary influences. They defied existing pop music conventions and appealed hugely to the then burgeoning counterculture. Initially inspired by the son...