Bman's Blues Report

Smithsonian Folkways has been the ultimate vault for American roots music since 1948 , when founder Moses Asch started capturing raw, unvarnished sounds that mainstream labels ignored. Asch made it his mission to document the blues as living history, tracking legendary artists across decades. When the Smithsonian took over the catalog in 1987, they promised to keep every single recording permanently available, preserving the foundational DNA of American music. For years, their absolute gold-standard blues anthology was a 26-track CD from 2003 called Classic Blues . It packed 50 years of music—from the 1940s to the 1990s—into one masterclass collection, covering everything from gritty Delta styles to smooth Chicago electric tracks. It became a massive hit for the label, but vinyl fans had to wait more than twenty years to finally get it on wax. That wait ended in the summer of 2026 when Folkways finally dropped Classic Blues as a gatefold double-LP vinyl reissue . The remastered 2-LP ...

  I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Blues Legend , by Junior Wells , and it's terrific. This is a compilation of vintage singles from the 50's and 60's and includes the entire gamut. Opening with Cut That Out , Junior Wells trademark harp sound is front and center with his vocal, joined by Johnny Jones on piano, Louis Myers on guitar, Dave Myers on bass and Odie Payne on drums. Excellent! Well's most notable track, Hodo Man (HooDoo Man) is on deck with Wells paired with Elmore James on his infamous slide guitar. Early In the Morning features the great Otis Spann on piano pushing Wells to the limit with Muddy Waters on guitar, Willie Dixon on bass  and Odie Payne on drums... What a lineup! On Lawdy! Lawdy! Wells harp seems to float on air, Spann on piano is excellent and of course the entire band really rocks. Syl Johnson adds guitar flair to Two Headed Woman over an active bass line by Dave Myers.  Slow blues, I Could Cry is a really gre...

Lacy Gibson (May 1, 1936 – April 11, 2011) was an American Chicago blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He most notably recorded the songs, "My Love Is Real" and "Switchy Titchy", and in a long and varied career worked with Buddy Guy and Son Seals. One commentator noted that Gibson "developed a large and varied repertoire after long stays with numerous bands, many recording sessions, and performances in Chicago nightclubs". Gibson was born in Salisbury, North Carolina, United States, but relocated with his family to Chicago, Illinois, in 1949. Initially, he was taught guitar playing by his mother. His early influences included Sunnyland Slim, Muddy Waters, Lefty Bates, Matt Murphy, and Wayne Bennett. Gibson's earliest work was as a session musician, playing mainly rhythm guitar. In 1963 alone, he recorded backing for Willie Mabon, Billy "The Kid" Emerson and Buddy Guy. Gibson's own recording debut was also in 1963 with Chess Reco...

One of the best blues lineups you'd likely dream of. Howlin Wolf : Vocal Guitar Sunnyland Slim: Piano Hubert Sumlin: Guitar Willie Dixon: Bass Clifton James: Drums One of a half-dozen essential drummers from the Chicago scene, Clifton James was closely associated with the mighty guitar slinger Bo Diddley for 16 years. This places James front and center at the creation of one of the most important beats in rock music, known as the "Bo Diddley beat" -- as if there was anything else it could be called. Actually, there might just be some other things that this beat might be called, as it is traceable back to ceremonial drummers of the African nation of Burundi, as well as forward into the avant-garde rock of Captain Beefheart, who often credited this beat as being the source of most of his songs. Although in the latter case, at least one of his Magic Band drummers, Jimmy Carl Black, has indicated that the exact instructions were to "play the Bo Diddley beat backwar...

One of the great band lineups that Chuck had. The movie Hail Hail Rocn and Roll was based on Keith Richards desire that Berry have a chance to be recorded with a great band.... this may qualify. Like my Facebook Page, Post your video on my Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! Share your favorite posting and get more exposure for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

"Cigareets, Whuskey & Wild Women" the drunken version by 'Big Three Trio' formed in 1946 Chicago IL. USA. Willie Dixon bass, Leonard "Baby Doo" Caston piano, and Ollie Crawford guitar recorded on the Columbia label and had one national hit "You Sure Look Good To Me" in 1948. At the end of their run they recorded for OKeh label they broke up in 1952. Willie Dixon went on to great fame. Like my Facebook Page, Post your video on my Wall or post your Photos of great blues events! Share your favorite posting and get more exposure for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

William James "Willie" Dixon (July 1, 1915 – January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Dixon is recognized as one of the founders of the Chicago blues sound. His songs have been recorded not only by himself, or that of the trio and other ensembles in which he participated, but an uncounted number of musicians representing many genres between them. A short list of his most famous compositions include "Little Red Rooster", "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Evil", "Spoonful", "Back Door Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "I Ain't Superstitious", "My Babe", "Wang Dang Doodle", and "Bring It On Home". They were written during the...

William James "Willie" Dixon (July 1, 1915 – January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer.[1] A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Dixon is recognized as one of the founders of the Chicago blues sound. His songs have been recorded not only by himself, or that of the trio and other ensembles in which he participated, but an uncounted number of musicians representing many genres between them. A short list of his most famous compositions include "Little Red Rooster", "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Evil", "Spoonful", "Back Door Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "I Ain't Superstitious", "My Babe", "Wang Dang Doodle", and "Bring It On Home". They were written during ...

This is a top notch lineup with Helen Humes : vocal,Sonny Terry : harmonica,Brownie 'Kazoo' McGhee : vocal, guitar,Willie Dixon :vocal, bass,T-Bone Walker : vocal, guitar,Memphis Slim : vocal, piano and Jump Jackson : drums. Helen Humes (June 23, 1913 - September 9, 1981) was an American jazz and blues singer. Humes was successively a teenaged blues singer, band vocalist with Count Basie, saucy R&B diva and a mature interpreter of the classy popular song. Humes was born in Louisville, Kentucky, was spotted by the guitarist Sylvester Weaver and made her first recordings in 1927, her true young voice consorting oddly with bizarre material like "Garlic Blues" She moved to New York City in 1937 and became a recording vocalist with Harry James' big band. Her swing recordings with James included "Jubilee", "I Can Dream Can't I", Jimmy Dorsey's composition "It's The Dreamer In Me", and "Song of the Wanderer...

Jeff Beck did a number of old blues tunes on his first solo cd back in 1968. This is a modern update on his original take of the Willie Dixon tune featuring Beth Hart. While playing the Los Angeles clubs, she enlisted bassist Tal Herzberg and guitarist Jimmy Khoury. In 1993, Hart appeared on Ed McMahon's Star Search several times. "Beth Hart and the Ocean of Souls" was recorded in 1993. It includes "Am I the One" (re-worked on later albums) and a pop-rock cover of the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Hart released her album Immortal with her band Beth Hart Band in 1996. Her next album, Screamin' for My Supper (Atlantic, 1999), featured "LA Song (Out of This Town)," a top-5 Adult Contemporary Chart hit. At the same time, Hart was singing the lead role in "Love, Janis," an Off-Broadway musical based on Joplin's letters home to her mother. Hart's Leave the Light On was released in 2003. European releases o...

William James "Willie" Dixon (July 1, 1915 – January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as an acclaimed, prolific songwriter, and one of the founders of the Chicago blues sound. His songs have been recorded not only by himself, or that of the trio and other ensembles in which he participated, but an uncounted number of musicians representing many genres between them. A short list of his most famous compositions include "Little Red Rooster", "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Evil", "Spoonful", "Back Door Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "I Ain't Superstitious", "My Babe", "Wang Dang Doodle", and "Bring It On Home". They were written during the peak of Chess Records, 1950–1965,...