C-Jam Blues - Harlem Blues & Jazz Band

Lawrence Lucie (December 18, 1907 – August 14, 2009) was an American jazz guitarist. Lucie was born in Emporia, Virginia. He learned banjo, mandolin, and violin as a child and played with his family at dances. Lucie's father, a barber, also played jazz music. He studied banjo in New York City at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, but switched to guitar when he started a professional career. Lucie spent his career as a rhythm guitarist, seldom taking solos. In 1931, he subbed for Freddy Guy of Duke Ellington's band, being the last surviving musician to have played the Cotton Club with Ellington. He then became an original member of Benny Carter's band in 1932. This association lasted through 1934, including the opening of the Apollo Theater, where Carter's was the house band. He also performed with Fletcher Henderson (1934, 1936-39), the Mills Blue Rhythm Band (1934-36), Coleman Hawkins (1940), and Louis Armstrong (1940-44); he was also the best man at one of Armstrong's weddings. He recorded with all of them except Ellington. He can also be found on record with Teddy Wilson and Billie Holiday, Spike Hughes, Putney Dandridge, Big Joe Turner, Red Allen, and Jelly Roll Morton. After the big band era passed, he played in a quartet with his wife Nora Lee King, also a guitarist as well as a singer. In the 1950s he played with Luis Russell, Louie Bellson, and Cozy Cole, in addition to copious session work. Lucie continued to record with his wife for his own label, Toy Records, into the 1980s. Lucie taught at the Borough of Manhattan Community College for three decades, retiring in 2004. He died at age 101, in New York City. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving musician to have recorded with Jelly Roll Morton. 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 Love - Pernell Charity

Pernell Charity was a quiet unassuming man born in Waverly on November 20, 1920. Except for a short period of time in New York City in the late 1940's, Mr. Charity spent his entire life in the Waverly area. He worked primarily at construction jobs but was forced to retire in 1970 because of a back injury. From that time until his death on April 12, 1979, of cancer, Pernell lived in a small house behind a noxious-smelling sawmill on Robert Wilkins Avenue. His music was shaped by the popular blues records from the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's, and the local musicians he heard playing at house parties and weekend gatherings. "Blind Love" is based on a 1953 recording by B.B. King (issued on RPM 395). The text of Pernell's version follows the original quite closely and is a fine example of a thematic/stable blues composition. Although Pernell often utilized lyrics and themes found on records, his interpretations are hardly slavish imitations. He was quite adept at adopting material and changing it to suit his own musical personality. Many such fine examples can be heard on Trix 3309 "The Virginian", including "Black Rat Swing" (Little Son Joe), "Mamie" (Bull City Red), and "Dig Myself A Hole" (Arthur Crudup). The version of "Blind Love" on the Trix album is an alternate take to the one issued here. ~ Kip Lornell (from the liner notes) 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”

As the Years Go Passing By - Shirley Johnson

Like so many African-American vocalists, Shirley Johnson started out singing in church and then went on to embrace secular music. The Chicago resident, whose influences range from Mahalia Jackson to Koko Taylor, Etta James, and Ruth Brown, is a gritty, big-voiced blues singer who can also handle soul and gospel. Although Johnson has spent much of her adult life in Chicago, the Windy City is not her hometown; she was born in Franklin, VA and raised in Norfolk, VA. Johnson came from a very religious family and she was only six when she started singing gospel in a church choir. Johnson's family didn't think much of either the blues or R&B, which are considered sinful in some of the stricter, more fundamentalist Christian churches. Nonetheless, she managed to hear the blues as a little girl and fell in love with secular black music; despite her parents' disdain for the blues and R&B, she developed a healthy appreciation of Brown, James, and Taylor, as well as male bluesmen like B.B. King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Little Milton, and the late Z.Z. Hill. None of those artists have been blues purists and James, in fact, is primarily a soul singer who often detours into the blues and listening to them obviously taught her that the blues and classic soul often go hand in hand. When Johnson reached adulthood in the late '70s, she was free to pursue a career in secular music, so she made her presence felt in Norfolk's blues and R&B circles and went on to become an opening act for Aretha Franklin, Jerry Butler, Z.Z. Hill, and other well-known artists who were passing through town. In the early '80s, she recorded some singles for two regional labels in Virginia and those recordings caught the attention of a man who was planning to start a label in Chicago. The aspiring record man expressed interest in recording Johnson and sent her a plane ticket to Chicago, but when she arrived in the Windy City she learned he didn't have enough money to pay for a session. Nonetheless, she decided to remain in Chicago and became active on the city's blues circuit, where she has performed both blues and soul. The people she worked with in Chicago included Little Johnny Christian, Artie "Blues Boy" White, and keyboardist Eddie Lusk (who took Johnson on the road with him on international tours). In the '90s, Johnson made some recordings for the Appaloosa label, including her 1996 album Looking for Love. Then, in the early 2000s, she signed with the Chicago-based Delmark, which released Killer Diller in May 2002, following it up with Blues Attack in 2009. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide “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!

Eddie Shaw & The 757 Allstars - Still Riding High - New Release Review

I was talking to my new friend Jackie Scott a few weeks back and she asked if i was familiar with the new Eddie Shaw recordings. I am now and it is hot! The release has 8 tracks opening with a hopping instrumental, Sack Full Of Blues with Eddie leading the way on sax. It's a screamer! Stilladog! It's the saxbomb! I know you'll love it. It features Shaw on Tenor, Chuck Williams on Alto, Bill Kelly on bass, Mark Hopkins on guitar , Henry M Johnson on guitar and Philip Johnson on drums.(Stilladog is my lifelong friend and blues music aficionado in Maryland). Oh Baby is a laid down boogie featuring Williams on vocals and some hot riffs from HM Johnson on guitar. What Comes First features Shaw on vocal for a standard 8 bar blues jam. Paris In The Fall, a loping swing boogie, features Bruce Gray on vocal and super sax from Shaw and Williams. Tom Fisher does some really sweet piano work on this track. Black-Eyed Peas and Fatback features Shaw and Tom Dikon on harp for a primitive little blues track. Louisiana Blues really picks up the pace with Bruce Gray again on vocals and Dikon on harp. Great piano work again on this track by William Ledbetter. Blues Dues hit's square on the head for me with Jackie Scott taking the lead on vocals (can I say holy crap!) and a really deep blues track. Scott can say more with one note than all of the Star Search/American Idol arpeggios I've heard! Hopkins takes the lead on guitar and really digs in for a nice solo. William Garrett leads off on vocal on Stole My Daughter, a Chicago blues style track. You can smell the smoke. This is a real strong track and the band really gets the groove going. Lickskillett Mississippi gets with that Jimmy Reed sound and Ron Fetner on lead vocals. HM Johnson again throws down some tasty guitar riffs and Dikon is hot on harp. HM Johnson leads off I Got To Go Now with some nice guitar riffs and William Garrett takes the lead on vocal. The sax men step back up front on Rock This House and really get the band hopping. Bruce gray sings lead vocals and Mark Hopkins plays a cool slide solo as well. Eddie Shaw and Jackie Scott team up on vocals for I Want A Pretty Woman, written by Fernando Jones. This track has a a bit of a back beat and sets up well for Scott and Shaw to trade vocal licks. This is a really strong cd is so many ways, vocals, saxes, groove factor... it''s all here! If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

DEBORAH COLEMAN

Deborah Coleman (born October 3, 1956, Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American blues guitarist, songwriter and singer. Coleman won the Orville Gibson Award for "Best Blues Guitarist, Female" in 2001,and was nominated for a W.C. Handy Blues Music Award nine times Coleman was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and raised in a music-loving military family that lived in San Diego, San Francisco, Bremerton, Washington, and the Chicago area. With her father playing piano, two brothers on guitar, and a sister who plays guitar and keyboards, Deborah felt natural with an instrument in her hands, picking up guitar at age 8. She has played at the top music venues such as North Atlantic Blues Festival (2007), Waterfront Blues Festival (2002), the Monterey Jazz Festival (2001), Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival (2000), Sarasota Blues Festival (1999), the San Francisco Blues Festival (1999) and the Fountain Blues Festival (1998). Coleman's Blind Pig debut, I Can't Lose (1997), was an album of ballads and blues stories, and guitar playing and singing. Her version of Billie Holiday's "Fine and Mellow" got a lot of airplay on college and public radio stations around the U.S. Soul Be It (2002) included the opener "Brick", "My Heart Bleeds Blue", "Don't Lie to Me," and a jump blues track, "I Believe". These were followed by What About Love? (2004) and Stop the Game (2007). Time Bomb (2007) featured three women blues musicians: Coleman, Sue Foley and Roxanne Potvin. If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

Bman's Exclusive Interview - Jackie Scott

I have to admit … sometimes I think that I live under a rock. A number of months back I got a cd by Jackie Scott and the Housewreckers , Going To The Westside, for review and I wasn’t familiar with her work. At the time, I gave it a good review and stuck it in a drawer with CD’s to listen to later because it was good. My regular readers know I have been going through that drawer recently and pulling out the best of the best. Jackie Scott is high on the list. Her recording is incredible and when I watch video of her I wonder how I could have missed her. I mean this is the real deal! http://www.bmansbluesreport.com/2012/01/going-to-west-side-jackie-and.html"

Jackie has been kind enough to take some time out to talk with me and I’m ready to listen!

Bman: Hi Jackie! Where did you come from? I mean you are off the charts with talent and you can’t just be starting out! Tell me what you have been up to and how you got started.

Jackie: I actually started singing blues about 10 years ago after my son left for college. Prior to that, I sang in church. Going from gospel to blues was an easy transition for me simply because blues is the only music I know that can move me like gospel. They both speak to me in different ways but moving all the same. The musicians where I live were playing blues long before I came on the scene and I’m so glad they did. They gave me a foundation to draw upon, inspired me and left the door open for others like myself that were just getting into the blues .

Bman: I thought that there might be some gospel in there. There is a whole feeling to gospel and how it is so real. That’s where I see the real blues come from. That feeling.

Jackie: I attended a wedding in Chicago and had the opportunity to hear live Chicago blues in it’s element. It was there in Chicago that I received my baptism into the blues. I was swept off my feet. I fell hook, line and sinker in love with the blues. I can really say that my life was never the same after that. It became my passion. I don’t know if I found it or it found me but whatever it was I knew that I’d find it in Chicago. Months later I was flying back to Chicago to understudy with Ms. Nellie “Tiger” Travis. Long story short I learned a lot from listening, watching and being surrounded by the Chicago sound and the musicians and entertainers that have made Chicago a great Mecca for blues. She was a blessing and helped me to develop in the blues arena. From there I’ve had the opportunity to witness some of the most talented musicians and entertainers in the world right there in Chicago. No place like it!

Bman: This recording of yours, Going To The Westside, is really strong. Have you been working on the material for a long time or are you really prolific?

Jackie: It funny how things kinda work out. GTTW was dedicated to Eddie who many know as a Muddy Waters and Howlin Wolf alumni. I had an opportunity to interview Eddie (Shaw) while in California with Nellie. I was moved by recollections of Howlin Wolf and their very special relationship. I was blown away by his candor, humor and of course his vast knowledge and experiences in the blues. Like with Nellie, I became a student and couldn’t wait for the teacher to start class. I learned and continue to learn so much from them and many, many others. Over the years I’ve collected a lot of Eddie’s music and know much, much more about him as a musician and the very special part he has played in blues. Excellent writer... I mean creative and inspiring. Even Howlin’ Wolf and Willie Dixon have recorded his songs. As an arranger, the Unk and the Funk album by Muddy Waters and Howlin Wolf’s London Session are some of his handy work. I could go on and on.The fact of the matter is, I thought it would be fitting to honor, in the small way that I could, his contribution to those of us that are passionate about the blues. I wrote the title track, GTTW in honor of Eddie. He often would tell me stories about the Westside of Chicago and painted a very vivid picture of what the blues scene was like years ago. I never tire of hearing it.

The bible says there is nothing new under the sun and I believe that to be true. Everything has been here before and I think music is the same way whether it be a bass line or the lyrics in song. All words and notes we’ve heard before. What makes them different is the way they are expressed. Prolific ?? I think not. Blessed … yes !!! I’ve had the privilege to encounter and interact with really, really great musicians and entertainers who in themselves are inspiring.

Bman: Really love your sound! I’ve included a clip of you performing How Much Woman Can You Stand from back in 2010 and it is really hot.

Jackie: Eddie came down and celebrated my birthday with me and I had a wonderful time. He loves it here and my town really gave him a king’s welcome from start to finish. It was up close and personal. Friends, family, fans and everybody that loved the blues was there. It was a night filled with hot smoking blues … the way it’s supposed to be. People are always talking about blues being on the decline but for me it never will be. I can listen to some of this stuff over and over again and each time it brings me more joy. I recently took my grandsons to see Black Joe Louis & the Honeybears and they really liked them. I wanted to introduce them to something that they wouldn’t normally listen to. We had a great night out together and they were introduced to blues with a twist.

Bman: I agree with you. I don’t see a decline in interest in Blues music at all. What I may see is a decline in the purity of some of what is being produced now. The real blues music, the heartfelt music will always be here. And of course the pop trend will change in cycles as it always has. What may be more noteworthy is the demographic of people who frequent live venues. As that demographic has stayed the same, those who truly love the blues music are less likely to go out.

Are you touring right now? Coming to Phoenix?

Jackie: I work a regular job so I’m not touring although we’ve had the opportunity to perform at great festivals and venues. I was blessed to perform at the 2012 Chicago Blues Festival as part of the tribute to Koko Taylor and then to tour with Cookie, Koko’s daughter, to continue that tribute around the country. If I wasn’t working a regular job it might be a different story. We’ve toured areas in a 8 hr driving range. Beyond that it’s little pay by the time you take care of your expenses. I, on the other hand, have been further out and performed with other bands. It’s kinda panning out that way since very few venues and organizational are willing to take on the added expense of getting a band to their events.

I would love to come to Phoenix !! Every region seems to have their own take on blues. Chicago has it’s sound, New Orleans has it’s sound, St. Louis, etc. It’s very interesting to see what the blues scene is like around the country. Who knows. One day I might just be in the neighborhood!

Bman: That would be excellent.

You aren’t alone suffering that “not enough cash in travel” issue. There are really well known artists that I have loved for years, that don’t do much but major festivals outside of their home area. That road life is hard and the pay isn’t always great. Are the Housewreckers a band that you tour with or are they a studio band? They are really hot as well.

Jackie: The Housewreckers are my band and we’ve been in the studio together 3 times so I guess that kinda makes them both. Some played on one project and some on another. It just depended on what the songs called for. Of course the longer you play together and get a feel for each other the band becomes tighter.

Bman: I can definitely see that. I hear that you’re working on material.

Jackie: I recently completed a cd project called “Eddie Shaw & the 757 Allstars..Still Riding High”. I asked Eddie to come to Norfolk to do a project that would help to promote blues and live entertainment in this area (757 is our area code) and encourage area musicians to continue to perform blues. Eddie was kind enough to let us record from his vast catalogue of songs that have spanned his 60 year career in the blues business. We had about 14 people to participate in the project and it was just amazing. No big I’s and little u’s. Eddie treated everyone with respect and as equals. Just musicians jamming together. It was a testament to the drawing power of the blues and it’s ability to stand the test of time. They really bonded and became a team. It was a project just waiting to happen. Eddie’s love and commitment to the blues just overflowed into everybody that was involved in the project. I have a saying …Blues is our inheritance. Passing it on gives it value. We have to begin to reach back and pass the blues forward to continue to give it value and introduce it to a new generation of music lovers. Eddie has done just that.

It was released on Jul 6^th in Virginia Beach at a venue called the Jewish Mother. It was a packed house and the 757 showed up and showed out. I raised part of the money by doing benefits and other projects and then with blues lovers who support the blues and picked up the rest with a Kickstarter project. It was really encouraging to see how folk came together to support the project. The cd is available at Http://www.eddieshaw.com. It’s really is a great project.

Bman: I need to get a copy of that! What can we expect as far as solo work? Is there any timing for the release?

Jackie: Professor Fernando Jones, who teaches at Columbia College in Chicago and runs the Fernando Jones Blues Camp in Chicago, has written a few songs that I’m crazy about and I will be going there very soon to record them for my next cd project, Hell On Wheels. I’m not gigging as much now. I wanted to take some time to really focus on writing more. I don’t have any idea as to when it will be released. I’m just gonna put the cake in the oven and take it out when I think it’s done.

Bman: Well, I for one can’t wait! Thanks a lot Jackie. I really appreciate your time! Is there anything else that you’d like to share with your fans?

Jackie: Check out the CD with Eddie! G to his website to read more about it.

If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

The Road Is Rough And Rocky - Archie Edwards

Archie Edwards (September 4, 1918 – June 18, 1998) was an American Piedmont blues guitarist, who in a sporadic career spanning several decades, worked variously with Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, and John Jackson.His best known tracks included "Saturday Night Hop", "The Road is Rough and Rocky", and "I Called My Baby Long Distance". In the 1950s, his own barber shop attracted blues musicians, who helped to kickstart Edwards' musical career.

Edwards described his performing as "I play what they call the old Piedmont style, but I call it East Virginia blues 'cause that's where I learned it"
Born on a farm near Union Hall, Virginia, United States, his early work left some time to engage with local musicians, but he had to share his first guitar with his two brothers. Inspired by recordings of Blind Boy Fuller and Blind Lemon Jefferson, he played locally and found employment in a sawmill. In 1937, he relocated to New Jersey, working as a chauffeur and later in an hotel in Columbus, Ohio.Edwards served time in the military police during World War II, but struggled to settle in the post-war years. He eventually found work as a barber, opening his own shop in Washington, D.C. in 1959. It was frequented by Mississippi John Hurt, and the duo formed a loose working relationship with Skip James, which endured several years before his friend Hurt's death in 1966. After mourning Edwards wrote the song, "The Road is Rough and Rocky".

Edwards found more regular work at music festivals and in local clubs, and also joined John Jackson, John Cephas and Phil Wiggins, Flora Molton and Mother Scott, and played around Washington billed as the Travelling Blues Workshop.

In 1978, Edwards appeared with the American Folk Blues Festival playing across Europe. L & R Records subsequently released Living Country Blues USA, Vol. 6: The Road Is Rough (1982), and after returning from touring Continental Europe, Edwards teamed up with Eleanor Ellis and Flora Molton. The threesome toured across the United States, Canada and Europe, including Charlie Musselwhite in the entourage in 1987.

Edwards then recorded for Mapleshade Records, releasing Blues 'n Bones in 1989.

Edwards died in Seat Pleasant, Maryland in June 1998, at the age of 79. His posthumous release, The Toronto Sessions, was based on work he recorded in Canada in 1986.
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Crazy Fingers - CLAUDE HOPKINS

A talented stride pianist, Claude Hopkins never became as famous as he deserved. He was a bandleader early on, and toured Europe in the mid-'20s as the musical director for Josephine Baker. Hopkins returned to the U.S. in 1926, led his own groups, and in 1930 took over Charlie Skeete's band. Between 1932-1935, he recorded steadily with his big band (all of the music has been reissued on three Classics CDs), which featured Jimmy Mundy arrangements and such fine soloists as trumpeter/vocalist Ovie Alston, trombonist Fernando Arbello, a young Edmond Hall on clarinet, and baritone and tenorman Bobby Sands, along with the popular high-note vocals of Orlando Roberson. The orchestra's recordings are a bit erratic, with more than their share of mistakes from the ensembles and a difficulty in integrating Hopkins' powerhouse piano with the full group, but they are generally quite enjoyable. Mundy's eccentric "Mush Mouth" is a classic, and Hopkins introduced his best-known original, "I Would Do Anything for You." Although they played regularly at Roseland (1931-1935) and the Cotton Club (1935-1936), and there were further sessions in 1937 and 1940, the Claude Hopkins big band never really caught on and ended up breaking up at the height of the swing era. Hopkins did lead a later, unrecorded big band (1944-1947), but mostly worked with small groups for the remainder of his career. He played with Red Allen's group during the second half of the 1950s, led his own band during 1960-1966, and in 1968 was in the Jazz Giants with Wild Bill Davison. Claude Hopkins led an obscure record for 20th Century Fox (1958) and three Swingville albums (1960-1963), but his best later work were solo stride dates for Chiaroscuro and Sackville (both in 1972), and a trio session for Black & Blue in 1974; it is surprising that his piano skills were not more extensively documented.
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My Four Reasons - Banjo" Ikey Robinson

"Banjo" Ikey Robinson performs his signature song "My Four Reasons" sometime in the early 1980's with Howard Armstrong (mandolin), Ted Bogan (guitar) and an unknown upright bass player.
Isaac L. "Banjo Ikey" Robinson (July 28, 1904 – October 25, 1990) was an American banjoist and vocalist.

Born in Dublin, Virginia, Robinson moved to Chicago in 1926, playing and recording with Jelly Roll Morton, Clarence Williams, and Jabbo Smith during 1928-1929.

His groups included Ikey Robinson and his Band (w/ Jabbo Smith), The Hokum Trio, The Pods of Pepper, Windy City Five, and Sloke & Ike.

His jazz style influenced many subsequent players, and his 1929 recording "Rock MeMama" is often cited as an early use of the term "rock" as it evolved from black gospel into rock and roll.

Robinson reunited in the 1970s with Smith for a global tour.

Robinson appeared in the 1985 film Louie Bluie, directed by Terry Zwigoff, a documentary about fellow musician Howard Armstrong. Robinson had not known Armstrong previously, but the two got on well and performed together in the documentary.
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Eller Soul Records artist: Li'l Ronnie and the Grand Dukes - Gotta Strange Feeling - New Release review

I just received Gotta Strange Feeling, the newest release from Li'L Ronnie and the Grand Dukes. This is a really interesting blend of blues sounds featuring Li'L Ronnie Owens on vocals and harp, Ivan Appelrouth on guitar, John Sheppard on bass, Mark Young on drums, John Fralin on piano and North Side Slim on percussion. Owens wrote or co wrote 12 of the 14 tracks on the release demonstrating well his capabilities not only to play and sing but also as a writer. The recording starts off with Can't Buy My Love, a slow shuffle tune. The track shows a slinky tightness as well as nice guitar and harp riffs. Cold Hard Cash is a great southern funk track along the lines of Little Feat.They get a great groove going here and nice vocal harmonies. Sweet Sue is a smart jump style blues and gives Owens the opportunity take a sweet harp solo. One of my favorite tracks on the recording is She's Bad Bad News, a loping Texas style blues. On Louis Jordan track, Buzz Me, Appelrouth gets a chance to step out a bit. He is a very stylistic player and I enjoy his playing quite a bit. The harp tones on Fat City are great. This is what people listen to harp players for. The title track, Gotta Strange Feeling, is a cool swing blues and everyone gets a chance to stretch a bit. It's always nice to hear the supporting players step up and show what they got. Late Night Blues is a great slower blues with Owens showing his capabilities again with great harp tones and Appelrouth getting some spot time. Bring Your Love Home is a great swing blues and Appelrouth lays down some really tasty riffs on this one. Fralin also gets a pretty good shot on keys to keep the groove moving. Owens brings it all home with is harp playing to finish the track.

I found this a surprisingly good recording and one that I believe many listeners will really love.
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The following is not from the cd.

Hey There Lonely Girl- Eddie Holman

Eddie Holman (born June 3, 1946) is an American singer and recording artist. He is best known for his 1970 hit song "Hey There Lonely Girl".
His specialty ranges from R&B and pop to gospel. Although born in Norfolk, Virginia, Holman later grew up in New York. His mother, noticing that he loved to sing, even as early as the age of two, introduced him to the piano and the guitar, where he quickly revealed a natural aptitude. His abilities, however, were confined mostly to church and family gatherings until 1956. It was then, at the age of ten, that Little Eddie Holman stepped onto the stage on Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater and showed his smooth tenor voice. His victory at the Apollo began to open many other doors for the young prodigy. Soon, Holman was performing at theaters on Broadway and even at Carnegie Hall. Not wanting her son to miss any opportunity, his mother was able to get him enrolled at the Victoria School of Music in Harlem. At Victoria, he learned the technical craft of music and began to blossom. In 1962, Holman made his first record.

As a teenager, Holman and his family moved to Philadelphia. After graduating from high school, he attended Cheyney State University where he graduated with a degree in music. It was in the Philadelphia soul scene that he began to develop his trademark style. While still in college, he recorded his first hit record, "This Can't Be True" (1965). Other hits began to follow: "Am I A Loser From The Start" (1966), "I Love You" (1969), "Don't Stop Now" (1970), and "Cathy Called" (1970). After singing with the Philadelphia groups The Delfonics and The Stylistics, Holman finally struck personal gold in 1970 with his ballad, "Hey There Lonely Girl" (originally "Hey There Lonely Boy" recorded in 1963 by Ruby and the Romantics), which peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The track peaked at number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1974.[1] It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc from the R.I.A.A. in March 1970.[2]

British journalist Tony Cummings once wrote, "Eddie Holman's voice, an astonishing precision instrument which can leap octaves with the speed of mercury and bend notes into shapes unimagined by lesser singers, has assured its possessor a place in soul history."[citation needed]

In 1977, Eddie had a brief resurgence in popularity with his last two hit singles, "This Will Be A Night To Remember" and "You Make My Life Complete".

Eddie Holman and his wife Sheila have three children. He is an ordained Baptist minister who uses his musical talents both as a tool of entertainment and as a medium to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ. He believes that his talent is a gift from God and therefore must be used to glorify his Maker. Furthermore, it is his belief "that those who are blessed with creative talent have a responsibility to encourage personal accountability and to set the best example possible because of the powerful influence that they have on the lives of so many young ones." [quoted from eddieholman.com]

Today, Holman owns his own record label (Agape Records) and music publishing company (Schoochiebug Music Publishing). He also continues to tour with the Eddie Holman Band. He still resides in Philadelphia, and spends time as a local community volunteer helping reach out to those less fortunate. He also works within the Philadelphia School System encouraging young people to become involved in the performing arts. During the summer of 2007, Holman performed weekly for the passengers abroad the MS Sun Princess cruise ship while it was en route to the inside passage of Alaska.
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Your Enemy Can't Carm You - Flora Molton

Born 1908, Virginia, USA, d. 31 May 1990, Washington DC, USA. Molton began preaching at the age of 17, not taking up guitar until 1943, when she moved to Washington DC. Virtually blind, she supported herself by playing in the streets. From 1963, she made appearances on the folk circuit, and was later signed by a European record company when she visited Europe in 1987. Her slide guitar playing in "Vastopol" (open D) was basic but intense, owing much to the blues whose verbal content she fiercely rejected. Her delivery was generally reminiscent of an unsophisticated Sister Rosetta Tharpe, particularly when Molton was assisted by more skilful musicians.
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Discography

Late One Saturday Evening - Alec Seward

Alec Seward (March 16, 1902 - May 11, 1972) was an American Piedmont and country blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. Some of his records were released under pseudonyms, such as Guitar Slim, Blues Servant Boy, King Blues and Georgia Slim.His best remembered recordings were "Creepin' Blues" and "Some People Say.
Seward, one of fourteen siblings, was born in Charles City County, Virginia. Similar to Gabriel Brown, Ralph Willis and Brownie McGhee, Seward relocated from the Southern United States to New York, in his case in 1924.

Seward befriended Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry, and retained his Piedmont blues styling despite changes in musical trends. He met Louis Hayes (who later became a minister in northern New Jersey) and the duo performed variously named as the Blues Servant Boys, Guitar Slim and Jelly Belly, or The Back Porch Boys. During the 1940s and 1950s Seward played and recorded with Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, McGhee and Terry. Around 1947 Seward, Guthrie, and Terry, recorded several chain gang related songs including "Chain Gang Special", and some other older songs adapted to having chain gang themes. They were later released on the compilation album, Best of the War Years.

Under his own real name, Seward issued Creepin' Blues (1965, Bluesville) with harmonica accompaniment by Larry Johnson. Later in the decade Seward worked in concert and at folk-blues festivals.

Seward died at the age of 70, in New York of natural causes, in May 1972.

He is not to be confused with Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones, Guitar Slim, Jr., James "Guitar Slim" Stephenson nor Norman "Guitar Slim" Green
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Instrumental Blues - Deborah Coleman, Hiromasa Suzuki

Deborah Coleman (born October 3, 1956, Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American blues guitarist, songwriter and singer. Coleman won the Orville Gibson Award for "Best Blues Guitarist, Female" in 2001, and was nominated for a W.C. Handy Blues Music Award nine times.
Coleman was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and raised in a music-loving military family that lived in San Diego, San Francisco, Bremerton, Washington, and the Chicago area. With her father playing piano, two brothers on guitar, and a sister who plays guitar and keyboards, Deborah felt natural with an instrument in her hands, picking up guitar at age 8. She has played at the top music venues such as North Atlantic Blues Festival (2007), Waterfront Blues Festival (2002), the Monterey Jazz Festival (2001), Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival (2000), Sarasota Blues Festival (1999), the San Francisco Blues Festival (1999) and the Fountain Blues Festival (1998).

Coleman's Blind Pig debut, I Can't Lose (1997), was an album of ballads and blues stories, and guitar playing and singing. Her version of Billie Holiday's "Fine and Mellow" got a lot of airplay on college and public radio stations around the U.S. Soul Be It (2002) included the opener "Brick", "My Heart Bleeds Blue", "Don't Lie to Me," and a jump blues track, "I Believe". These were followed by What About Love? (2004) and Stop the Game (2007)
Hiro Suzuki[ http://soundcloud.com/hiro-suzuki/ ] ...
1962 born in Chiba, Japan.
1981 started the career as a professional musician in Tokyo Japan.
1992 moved to the U.S.. played with NYC bands such as
Moose and The Bulletproof Blues Band,
Jerry Dugger and Black Pearl,
Christine Santelli Band, Oxford Blues, Roxy Perry,
Last Tribe, Lil' Mama,
Frank Bay, Ed Dicapua & Big City, etc….
1997 played with Sam Taylor Blues Band, Jimmy Vivino,
Leslie West, Nick Gravenites, Bill Sims,
Little Milton, Tod Wolfe, Shemekia Copeland, Son Seals,
Elvin Bishop, Johnnie Johnson, Richie Cannata,
Little Sammy Davis, etc….
2003 started the Original project “Grumpy Juke”.
Joined Deborah Coleman’s back up band as the rhythm guitarist.
toured more than 15 countries in
North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Played with Magic Slim, Kenny Neal, Arthur Williams, etc...
2004 joined Deborah Coleman’s recording session
for the album “What about love”,
worked as the recording conductor,
and played all of slide guitar parts and rhythm guitar parts.
2006 toured in Japan for 3 weeks with Grumpy Juke.
Played with one of the most innovative Japanese guitar player
Shinji Shiotsugu.
Started working with “The GasHouse Gorillas”.
Toured with Joe Louis Walker's band.
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Tag - Earl Clifton and The Pin-Ups

We have been inspired by many great bands both new and old, and I hope we will always be inspired by new music as well as those classics .. ...... .. .. Iggy-Beatles-white stripes-Ramones-Sabbath-Zepplin-The Who-Kinks-Hendrix-Cream-Kings of Leon-Wolf Mother-Black Keys-Hound Dog Taylor-Detroit Cobras-John Cash-Waylon Jennings- and everything else in our record collection! .. .. Our biggest influences are the mid sixties to early seventies rock

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Blind Lemon's Blues - Pernell Charity

Pernell Charity,(d April 12, 1979) vocal and guitar.
Pernell Charity spent his whole life around Waverly, VA and was inspired by the records of Blind Boy Fuller, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Blind Blake. The Virginian is his only album. "Pernell is a Kip Lornell discovery, done during his Federal Youth Grant year – I was his mentor and supervisor for that! I did the first tapes for him, then got them back – then did a few sessions on my own later, when I got my NEA Folkarts grant." Lornell wrote the liner notes and noted that "the phonograph record has had an important effect in shaping the song repertoire of many blues musicians…such is the case with Pernell Charity… It was the records of Blind Boy Fuller, Blind Blake, and Blind Lemon Jefferson that inspired Pernell to take up guitar."
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Deja Vu Blues - Gaye Adegbalola

Gaye Adegbalola (born Gaye Todd, March 21, 1944, Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States) is an American blues singer and guitarist, teacher, lecturer, activist, and photographer.
Gaye Todd was born and raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She graduated as valedictorian of the then-segregated Walker-Grant High School. She finished Boston University with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry. Prior to becoming a teacher, she worked as a technical writer for TRW Systems, a biochemical researcher at Rockefeller University, and a bacteriologist at Harlem Hospital. She has a Master’s degree in Educational Media (with a concentration in photography) from Virginia State University.

In the early '70s, she began her teaching career. She was an educator in the Fredericksburg City Public School system for 18 years, and honored as Virginia State Teacher of the Year in 1982. Throughout her teaching career, she directed Harambee 360º Experimental Theater. She was able to creatively use performance as a tool to assist black youth in gaining confidence as they struggled with identity issues during the spread of "integration."

During her teaching career, Ms. Adegbalola moonlighted as a musician. By maintaining the blues legacy, she now sees herself as a contemporary griot – keeping the history alive, delivering messages of empowerment, ministering to the heartbroken, and finding joy in the mundane. As a founding member of Saffire – the Uppity Blues Women, she became a full-time performer. (Saffire ended in November, 2009, after making music together for 25 years.)

She has toured nationally and internationally, and has won numerous awards including the prestigious Blues Music Award (formerly the W.C. Handy Award – the Grammy of the blues industry). As of 2012, Adegbalola has 14 CDs in national distribution, including 4 on her own label, Hot Toddy Music. Gaye composes, sings and plays acoustic guitar, slide guitar, and harmonica.
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Late One Saturday Evening - Alec Seward

Alec Seward (March 16, 1902 - May 11, 1972) was an American Piedmont and country blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. Some of his records were released under pseudonyms, such as Guitar Slim, Blues Servant Boy, King Blues and Georgia Slim. His best remembered recordings were "Creepin' Blues" and "Some People Say.
Seward, one of fourteen siblings, was born in Charles City County, Virginia.Similar to Gabriel Brown, Ralph Willis and Brownie McGhee, Seward relocated from the Southern United States to New York, in his case in 1924.

Seward befriended Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry, and retained his Piedmont blues styling despite changes in musical trends. He met Louis Hayes (who later became a minister in northern New Jersey) and the duo performed variously named as the Blues Servant Boys, Guitar Slim and Jelly Belly, or The Back Porch Boys. During the 1940s and 1950s Seward played and recorded with Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, McGhee and Terry. Around 1947 Seward, Guthrie, and Terry, recorded several chain gang related songs including "Chain Gang Special", and some other older songs adapted to having chain gang themes. They were later released on the compilation album, Best of the War Years.

Under his own real name, Seward issued Creepin' Blues (1965, Bluesville) with harmonica accompaniment by Larry Johnson. Later in the decade Seward worked in concert and at folk-blues festivals.

Seward died at the age of 70, in New York of natural causes, in May 1972.

He is not to be confused with Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones, Guitar Slim, Jr., James "Guitar Slim" Stephenson nor Norman "Guitar Slim" Green.
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Flora Molton

Born 1908, Virginia, USA, d. 31 May 1990, Washington DC, USA. Molton began preaching at the age of 17, not taking up guitar until 1943, when she moved to Washington DC. Virtually blind, she supported herself by playing in the streets. From 1963, she made appearances on the folk circuit, and was later signed by a European record company when she visited Europe in 1987. Her slide guitar playing in "Vastopol" (open D) was basic but intense, owing much to the blues whose verbal content she fiercely rejected. Her delivery was generally reminiscent of an unsophisticated Sister Rosetta Tharpe, particularly when Molton was assisted by more skilful musicians.
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Manish Boy - Eli Cook

Eli Cook grew up on the blues: Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, the Wolf, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Mississippi John Hurt. He first picked up the guitar when he was fourteen, and began his own performance career playing vintage blues, gospel shows, and revivals in Nelson County, Virginia when he was fifteen. His first electric trio, The Red House Blues Band, was formed in 2002 while a junior at Monticello Highschool. Eli was called a 'blues phenomenon' by reviewers in near-by Charlottesville: "Featuring fast-fingered guitar and a powerful voice beyond his years, Cook doesn't need any Robert-Johnson-style pact with the devil to take him to the top."
Influenced by the songs of R.L.Burnside, Bukka White, and Son House, he recorded Miss Blues'es Child at The Sound of Music Studios In Richmond Virginia in a single autumn day, playing a borrowed 12-string and his own old Gibson, accompanying himself with a kick-drum or a tambourine tied to his boot. Patrick McCrowel, a talented friend from Greene County, stopped by to sing harmony and pick banjo on a few cuts, spontaneous and unrehearsed. Eli called it "...blue, blue, blues;" reviewers called him "...a young gun with an old soul...storming through banged-up slide guitar romps, tackling the storied form with the mean streak of his generation's metal men."
His band, christened ElectricHolyFireWater, opened for legendary guitarist Johnny Winter, Room Full of Blues ,and Shemekia Copeland. He chose African percussionist Darrell Rose to perform with him on The Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center, electrifying an audience of 300 with his own special brand of African Rhythm and American Blues, and he opened for B.B. King solo at The Paramount Theatre in February of 2007.
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