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Monday, February 13, 2012
FPR News February 2012
Aloha.....from the beaches of Maui. I know what you're thinking....most of you anyways. It's freezing cold...ice, snow and frigid temps.....gee thanks, Vanessa. Well, I'd apologize but I just cannot bring myself to say that I am sorry that our workshops are going great and yes, the weather has been picture perfect. We sure picked a great one this year. Blue skies, whales breaching from sun up to sun down and beautiful surf aside, the classes and the students are all that we'd hoped they would be. For those of you that managed to sneak away from your lives to join us....a big, big thank you.
workshops with us last year, as well as his touring schedule, due to a major health problem. We are pleased to announce that Pete is back on his feet again, and even training to walk a half-marathon! 
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Freight Train Blues - ROBERT LEE McCOY
Robert Lee McCollum (November 30, 1909 – November 5, 1967) was an American blues musician, who played and recorded under the pseudonyms Robert Lee McCoy and Robert Nighthawk.
The band here is Mc Coy on guitar, Sonny Boy Williamson on Harmonica and Speckled Red on Piano.
Born in Helena, Arkansas, he left home at an early age to become a busking musician, and after a period wandering through southern Mississippi, settled for a time in Memphis, Tennessee where he played with local orchestras and musicians, such as the Memphis Jug Band. A particular influence during this period was Houston Stackhouse, from whom he learnt to play slide guitar, and with whom he appeared on the radio in Jackson, Mississippi.
After further travels through Mississippi, he found it advisable to take his mother's name, and as Robert Lee McCoy moved to St. Louis, Missouri in the mid 1930s
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Hide & Seek- JB Hutto & His Hawks
J. B. Hutto (April 26, 1926 – June 12, 1983) was an American blues musician. Hutto was influenced by Elmore James, and became known for his slide guitar work and declamatory style of singing. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame two years after his death.
In Chicago, Hutto took up the drums and played with Johnny Ferguson and his Twisters. He also tried the piano before settling on the guitar and playing on the streets with the percussionist Eddie 'Porkchop' Hines. After adding Joe Custom on second guitar, they started playing club gigs, and harmonica player George Mayweather joined after sitting in with the band. Hutto named his band The Hawks, after the wind that blows in Chicago. A recording session in 1954 resulted in the release of two singles on the Chance label and a second session later the same year, with the band supplemented by pianist Johnny Jones, produced a third.
Later in the 1950s Hutto became disenchanted with music, and gave it up to work as a janitor in a funeral home after a woman broke his guitar over her husband's head one night.
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Things That I Used To Do - Eddie C. Campbell
Biography by Bill Dahl
Happily, Eddie C. Campbell returned to Chicago after spending a decade entrenched in Europe. His shimmering West Side-styled guitar playing and unusually introspective songwriting have been a breath of fresh air on the Windy City circuit, reuniting the veteran bluesman with fans he left behind in 1984.
Campbell left rural Mississippi for the bright lights of Chicago at age ten, sneaking a peek at Muddy Waters at the 1125 Club soon after he arrived and jamming with his idol when he was only 12. He fell in with some West Side young bloods -- Luther Allison, Magic Sam -- and honed a guitar attack rooted deep in the ringing style. Campbell paid his sideman dues on the bandstand with everyone from Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter to Little Johnny Taylor and Jimmy Reed. Koko Taylor recommended Campbell to Willie Dixon, who hired him as a Chicago Blues All-Star in 1976.
Campbell cut his own debut album, the rousing King of the Jungle, in 1977 for the Steve Wisner's short-lived Mr. Blues logo (now available on Rooster Blues, it includes the guitarist's lighthearted Yuletide perennial "Santa's Been Messin' With the Kid"). But he split the country for calmer European climates, recording a nice 1984 album with a Dutch group, Let's Pick It!, that first came out on Black Magic and now adorns the Evidence catalog.
When Eddie C. Campbell finally returned stateside for the birth of his son, he made up for lost time by gigging steadily around Chicago and making a comeback album for Blind Pig, That's When I Know, that contained some very unforgettable originals. Gonna Be Alright followed in 1999.
Eddie C. finally returns to the studio (with famed producer Dick Shurman) with his killer Delmark debut, Tear This World Up, in 2009.
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Good Friend Blues - Dave Arcari
"Dave plays like he got his skin turned inside out and pretty soon my skin was inside out too listening and it was all good. That boy bleeds for you – he a real down deep player and a soul man..." SEASICK STEVE
SLIDE guitarist & songwriter Dave Arcari’s alt.blues sounds owe as much to trash country, punk and rockabilly as they do pre-war Delta blues and have been showcased via six internationally-acclaimed solo CD releases. His latest album – Devil’s Left Hand – was released on Buzz Records on 1 November 2010.
In 2010 Arcari added two hugely successful shows at the legendary Glastonbury Festival to his impressive list of festival appearances which includes BluesAlive (Czech Republic & Poland shows), The Great British R&B Festival, Peer Festival (Belgium). He has also played industry showcases at the North by North East (NxNE) music festival in Toronto, Canada and he was a finalist the UK Indy Music Awards reaching the top four in his category (best male solo artist).
With more than 100 UK dates a year plus regular shows in Finland, Estonia, France, Germany, Belgium, Poland and Canada, Arcari is one of the hardest gigging live artists on the circuit.
A series of shows with folks including Steve Earle, Alabama 3, Seasick Steve and Jon Spencer along with his relentless UK and European tour schedule have established Arcari as a formidable international solo performer who is fast building a media reputation as a 'hell-raising National guitar madman'.
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I Need A Woman - Park Royal Blues Band
The Park Royal Blues Band formed in the spring of 2010 in North West London. They all reside in the same postcode and take their name from the area of London where they originally rehearsed.
After a bad finger break, and a lengthy, uncertain healing period for Anthony, Lewis felt it was time to try and take his guitar playing further. They decided to put a 4 piece together and linked up with David [an old school friend] and Michael who they met at a house party to become PRBB.
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Third Stone from the Sun - Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony Pastorius III (December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged as a virtuoso electric bass player.
His playing style was noteworthy for containing intricate solos in the higher register and for the "singing" quality he achieved on the fretless bass. His innovations also included the use of harmonics. Pastorius suffered from mental illness including a substance-related disorder, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982. He died in 1987 at age 35 following a violent altercation at a Fort Lauderdale drinking establishment.
Pastorius was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1988, one of only four bassists to be so honored (and the only electric bass guitarist). He is one of the most influential electric bass players of all time.
After sneaking onstage at a Carlos Santana concert on September 11, 1987, and being ejected from the premises, Pastorius made his way to the Midnight Bottle Club in Wilton Manors, Florida. After reportedly kicking in a glass door after being refused entrance to the club, he was engaged in a violent confrontation with the club bouncer, Luc Havan. Pastorius was hospitalized for multiple facial fractures and injuries to his right eye and left arm. He fell into a coma and was put on life support.
There were initially encouraging signs that he would come out of his coma and recover, but a massive brain hemorrhage a few days later pointed to brain death. Pastorius died on September 21, 1987, aged 35, at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale and was buried at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Cemetery in North Lauderdale.
In the wake of Pastorius' death, Havan was charged with second degree murder but later pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Because he had no prior convictions, and accounting for time served while waiting for the verdict, he was sentenced to 22 months in jail and five years probation. He was released after four months in jail for good behavior
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No Hay fFores En El Campo - Lolo Ortega
Un adolescente con quince años entra en unos grandes almacenes y descubre uno de esos fantásticos artefactos de madera y metal pintado en colores brillantes. Con 16 años le vemos tocando en Garra, haciendo incursiones desde Sevilla en el lado más duro del rock. Después llegarían los primeros amplificadores, las primeras bandas, Hendrix, el blues y más guitarras. Con tan sólo veinte años, y después de Pronóstico Reservado, Lolo Ortega y unos amigos de Sevilla fundan en 1986 Caledonia Blues Band, sin duda una de las mejores bandas de blues españolas de todos los tiempos.
Con varios discos en su haber, gran proyección internacional y una impresionante aceptación del público, la Caledonia recoge las mejores críticas. Respaldado por el potentísimo directo de la banda, Lolo Ortega empieza a demostrar en escenarios de todo el mundo su impresionante evolución como guitarrista. Tiene un toque eléctrico, potente, nervioso y a la vez sutil con los matices…mucho blues!
Esto es lo que debió apreciar el gran Albert Colins cuando le invitó a subir al escenario en 1987 y lo mismo ocurría con el público que asistió al mítico concierto de Caledonia en Chicago en su gira norteamericana de 1994.
Pese a que la Caledonia todavía hoy se reúne ocasionalmente, la actividad de Lolo Ortega no termina aquí; desde los primeros años de Caledonia compaginó su actividad con otros proyectos como Los Intocables, junto a Raimundo Amador, haciendo versiones de Hendrix, otra gran influencia en el estilo de Lolo Ortega. En diciembre de 1991 aparece con La Dama Eléctrica, una proyecto de vida breve que sin embargo llegó a actuar en importantes salas de ámbito nacional como la Sala Celeste de Barcelona, La Riviera y La Boca del Lobo en Madrid o Funclub en Sevilla, entre muchas otras. Debemos destacar que, por primera vez con La Dama Eléctrica Lolo Ortega tiene la oportunidad de cantar sus propios temas acompañado por una portentosa fuerza característica de él.
Trabaja mano a mano con Kiko Veneno en la grabación del Lp Échate un cantecito, Lolo Ortega es coautor del tema Lobo López. Al año siguiente le acompaña durante la gira del también exitoso 'Está muy bien eso del cariño', sustituyendo a Raimundo Amador. Por otra parte, trabaja como músico de sesión, gracias a su excelente capacidad de adaptación a diferentes estilos musicales.
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That's What Love Will Make You Do - Earl Green & The Right Time
Earl Green is the premier blues voice in the UK. Digital Blues voted him best UK Male vocal in 2004. He has been twice voted best vocalist by the British Blues Connection. Blues DJ Paul Jones – and member of Manfred Man and the Blues Band – described him as delivering "great vocal performances." Juke Blues magazine wrote - "There's surely no more soulful singer than Earl Green in this country."
Born in Jamaica he came to Britain on his thirteenth birthday. Raised in Lewisham he saw T Bone Walker and a host of blues giants in London's clubs. A founder member of Otis Grand and the Dance Kings he recorded two albums Always Hot and He Knows the Blues. In 2000 Earl joined Paul Lamb and the King Snakes and toured with them throughout Britain, Ireland and Europe.
Earl is a prolific and excellent songwriter. His debut solo album Feel the Fire (Abacabe Records ABACA CD 002) featured guest artists like WC Handy award winner Joe Louis Walker, UK guitarists Todd Sharpville and Pete Boss. His latest album A Different Picture (Snakestone Records 20SBO04305CD05) is his best to date. Blues in Britain concluded its review: "As this admirable set shows, class will out, and Earl Green is class."
His career as a vocalist spans close to twenty-five years. He has performed all over the world including the Belgium R&B festival, Jazz Pamplona, the Paloe Festival Lyon, VII festival Internacional Jazz en Escena, Malaga, the Dublin Blues festival, Cork Jazz Festival, Danish Blues festival and the Imatra Big Band Festival, Finland. In the UK he appears regularly at the top London blues venue, the 100 Club as well as at festivals and blues clubs all over the country.
Earl is going back to basics with his latest band. "I am singing just for the fun of it, performing the songs I love by the great blues singers I've always admired from Ray Charles to Jimmy Reed. We're playing the blues the way it should be done." In 2007 they performed at the Trescore Blues festival, Italy and at the Crystal Palace Bowl festival, London.
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How Many More Years - Big John Wrencher
John Wrencher at Elsewheres on Clark Grand Opening with Eddie Taylor guitar, Sunnyland Slim piano, Mickey Martin drums and Tom Buckley bass.
Big John Wrencher (February 12, 1923 - July 15, 1977), also known as One Arm John, was an American blues harmonica player and singer, well known for playing on Maxwell Street Market, Chicago in the 1960s, and who later toured Europe in the 1970s.
John Thomas Wrencher was born in Sunflower, Mississippi, United States. He became interested in music as a child, and taught himself to play harmonica at an early age, and from the early 1940s was working as an itinerant musician in Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois. By the mid 1940s he had arrived in Chicago and was playing on Maxwell Street and at house parties with Jimmy Rogers, Claude "Blue Smitty" Smith and John Henry Barbee. In the 1950s he moved to Detroit, where he worked with singer/guitarist Baby Boy Warren, and formed his own trio to work in the Detroit and Clarksdale, Mississippi areas.
In 1958 Wrencher lost his left arm as a result of a car accident outside Memphis, Tennessee. By the early 1960s he had settled in Chicago, where he became a fixture on Maxwell Street Market, in particular playing from 10am to 3pm on Sundays. In 1964 he appeared in a documentary film about Maxwell Street, titled And This Is Free; performances by Wrencher recorded in the process of making the film were eventually issued on the three CD set And This Is Maxwell Street. During the 1960s he recorded for the Testament label backing Robert Nighthawk, and as part of the Chicago String Band. In 1969 he recorded for Barrelhouse Records, backed by guitarist Little Buddy Thomas and drummer Playboy Vinson, who formed his Maxwell Street band of the time. The resulting album, Maxwell Street Alley Blues, was described as "superlative in every regard" by Cub Koda at Allmusic.
Wrencher toured Europe with the Chicago Blues Festival in 1973 and with the American Blues Legends in 1974, and during the latter tour recorded an album in London for the Big Bear label, backed by guitarist Eddie Taylor and his band.
During a trip to Mississippi to visit his family in July 1977, Wrencher died suddenly of a heart attack in Wade Walton's barber shop in Clarksdale, Mississippi
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Outside Woman Blues - Blind Joe ( Willie ) Reynolds
"Blind Joe" Reynolds (1900 or 1904 - March 10, 1968), was a singer-songwriter.
Reynolds is thought to have been born in Tallulah, Louisiana in 1904, although his death certificate stated his birthplace as Arkansas in 1900. He was blinded by a shotgun blast to the face in Louisiana in the mid-late 1920s, which resulted in the physical loss of his eyes. Despite this handicap, Blind Joe became known for his distinctive bottleneck style as well as his reported accuracy with a pistol, with which it is said he could judge the position of a target by sound alone.
Reynolds was known to be outspoken and flamboyant, often using his music as a medium to attack society.
It is uncertain what name Reynolds' was given at birth. Whilst it is widely thought to have been Joe Sheppard, his nephew Henry Millage claimed it was Joe Leonard. Throughout his career, Reynolds traveled the country performing under various aliases as a way of evading the police, as he had served two jail sentences in his early life, as well as "escaping [his] enemies".
In March 1968, Reynolds was admitted to a hospital in Monroe, Louisiana following a stroke, where he died on March 10. The cause of death was pneumonia.
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Mean Something - KARL MORGAN
Karl Morgan is a soulful Australian blues artist currently based in Austin TX. His style is influenced by Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and other blues and soul greats including Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway.
In 2006, with ARIA Award-Winning sound engineer, Anton Hagop, and some of Australia's finest blues and jazz players, Karl completed his impressive debut album, the equally rocking and soulful 'Talkin' With the Hands', and in October of 2011 released his second album, 'Burning Heart', recorded in Nashville, TN.
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How Long, How Long Blues - Bottleneck John
I was born and raised in a small town called Lit in the midst of Sweden(this area is also a junction for several rivers forming a true "delta".. Haha, so I can say I was born on the delta, folks!!). I still live here today..
Music has always been in my life!! My grandfather Erik made my first recordings on an old tape recorder when I was three years old. On the tape you can hear everything from stories of Bellman to ol'timey folk-tunes!! My grandmother Elna's relatives are(were) all awesome and well known musicians and she was the one who got me into singing.(thanks, grandma!). I used to sit in her lap when she played an old pump-organ and sang Swedish folk-tunes of old and spirituals like Swing low sweet chariot and Amazing Grace..
But it seems I'm always drawn back in time and place to the Mississippi Delta of the 1920's and 30's..
I guess this is THE music that touches my soul the most?! It must be, I haven't found any music yet that can compare to these old recordings in terms of soul, feeling and honesty..
When I perform it's mostly old-timey 1920's and 30's Delta, Hokum & Country blues stuff.. Spirituals, of course, are also an essential part of my repertoire.
Performing solo but also in duo’s and in full acoustic(and electric) bands, playing blues festivals, clubs, concert halls, private concerts, churches, coffee houses, schools & pubs.
Singin' my heart out and playin' resonator guitars, my beloved tin-cans in open tunings and having one foot pounding out the rhythm on the floorboards. Nowadays I think about what the the gig requires, and then if needed I put a band together. Got lots of very talented good friends, great musicians!
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Saturday, February 11, 2012
Dollar Got The Blues - Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (April 18, 1924 — September 10, 2005) was an American musician from Louisiana and Texas. He is best known for his work as a blues musician, but embraced other styles of music, having "spent his career fighting purism by synthesizing old blues, country, jazz, Cajun music and R&B styles"
He was an acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, who played an array of musical instruments such as guitar, fiddle, mandolin, viola as well as harmonica and drums. He won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1982 for his album, Alright Again! He is regarded as one of the most influential exponents of blues fiddle and has had enormous influence in American fiddle circles.
Brown's two biggest musical influences were Louis Jordan and T-Bone Walker
In the 1980s, a series of releases on Rounder Records and Alligator Records revitalized his U.S. career, and he toured extensively and internationally, usually playing between 250 and 300 shows a year. He won a Grammy in 1982 for the album Alright Again! and was nominated for five more. He was also awarded eight W. C. Handy Awards and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Heroes Award.
Clarence Brown was featured as one of the stellar musicians on the Southern Stars poster created by Dianna Chenevert to help promote him and historically document his contribution to the music industry. On October 12, 1983, USA Today reporter Miles White highlighted Brown as being included on the poster, which provided him with more nationwide attention. In 1997 he was honored by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, and in 1999 was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
In his last few years, he maintained a full touring schedule, including Australia, New Zealand, and countries with political conflicts in Central America, Africa, and the former Soviet Union.
In September 2004, Brown was diagnosed with lung cancer. Already suffering from emphysema and heart disease, he and his doctors decided to forgo treatment. His home in Slidell, Louisiana was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and he was evacuated to his childhood home town of Orange, Texas, where he died on September 10 at the apartment of a niece, at the age of 81. Brown is buried in the Hollywood Cemetery in Orange, Texas. However, flooding caused by Hurricane Ike in September 2008, damaged his grave.
His final album Timeless, was released in late 2004.
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Hip The Gip - The Chicago Kingsnakes
The Chicago Kingsnakes are an internationally touring rhythm & blues band that have been performing since 1983. The group averages over 100 dates a year, and here are some highlights from the past years:
- 2004 The Band introduces Gus Gotsis as their new Drummer
- 2003 (September) The band releases “Grass Roots”, an unplugged CD featuring 9 songs written by the group
- 2000 (June) The group performs at the 17th annual Chicago Blues Festival. This fest is the world’s largest free blues festival.
- 1999 (June) Walt Disney Entertainment Group selects the Kingsnakes for their new product launch of the "Blues Mickey". The band performs at the grand opening of the new Disney store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The show is covered by international media and gives the band worldwide exposure.
- 1998 (February) The Kingsnakes release their CD "Blues Island" on MusicKing records. The disk features 10 original compositions by the band.
- 1995 (February) Recorded "Live From The Southside" at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago.
- 1994 (June) Performed at The 11th Annual Chicago Blues Festival in Grant Park. This performance on the Main Stage with Byther Smith was witnessed by over 150,000 people as well as broadcast nationwide on National Public Radio.
- 1993 (May) "I'M A MAD MAN" released on the Bullseye Blues record label. This CD features Byther Smith and The Kingsnakes as well as the Memphis Horns.
- 1993 (February) Toured the Netherlands with Byther Smith.
- 1992 (June) Toured Finland with Byther Smith. This tour culminated at the 15th annual Puistoblues Festival in Jarvenpaa. Performing to a crowd of over 15,000 people, The Kingsnakes shared the stage with Byther, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Sugar Blue, Little Village and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
- 1991 (December) The Kingsnakes released "Ultrasound", a seven song cassette featuring all original songs, on their own MusicKing label.
- The 80's were filled with hundreds of club dates, festivals, and corporate events that helped form the Kingsnakes sound. Some describe the trio as tight, intense, powerful, hard driving, honest and real. As far as the band is concerned, they call it fun. These dedicated musicians love to perform and always deliver 110%.
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Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.
Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.
News of Houston's death came on the eve of music's biggest night — the Grammy Awards. It's a showcase where she once reigned, and her death was sure to case a heavy pall on Sunday's ceremony. Houston's longtime mentor Clive Davis was to hold his annual concert and dinner Saturday; it was unclear if it was going to go forward.
At her peak, Houston the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.
Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like "The Bodyguard" and "Waiting to Exhale."
She had the he perfect voice, and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise.
She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first came out sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston.
But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.
"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side.
It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.
She seemed to be born into greatness. She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin.
Houston first started singing in the church as a child. In her teens, she sang backup for Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson and others, in addition to modeling. It was around that time when music mogul Clive Davis first heard Houston perform.
"The time that I first saw her singing in her mother's act in a club ... it was such a stunning impact," Davis told "Good Morning America."
"To hear this young girl breathe such fire into this song. I mean, it really sent the proverbial tingles up my spine," he added.
Before long, the rest of the country would feel it, too. Houston made her album debut in 1985 with "Whitney Houston," which sold millions and spawned hit after hit. "Saving All My Love for You" brought her her first Grammy, for best female pop vocal. "How Will I Know," ''You Give Good Love" and "The Greatest Love of All" also became hit singles.
Another multiplatinum album, "Whitney," came out in 1987 and included hits like "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."
The New York Times wrote that Houston "possesses one of her generation's most powerful gospel-trained voices, but she eschews many of the churchier mannerisms of her forerunners. She uses ornamental gospel phrasing only sparingly, and instead of projecting an earthy, tearful vulnerability, communicates cool self-assurance and strength, building pop ballads to majestic, sustained peaks of intensity."
Her decision not to follow the more soulful inflections of singers like Franklin drew criticism by some who saw her as playing down her black roots to go pop and reach white audiences. The criticism would become a constant refrain through much of her career. She was even booed during the "Soul Train Awards" in 1989.
"Sometimes it gets down to that, you know?" she told Katie Couric in 1996. "You're not black enough for them. I don't know. You're not R&B enough. You're very pop. The white audience has taken you away from them."
Some saw her 1992 marriage to former New Edition member and soul crooner Bobby Brown as an attempt to refute those critics. It seemed to be an odd union; she was seen as pop's pure princess while he had a bad-boy image, and already had children of his own. (The couple had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, in 1993.) Over the years, he would be arrested several times, on charges ranging from DUI to failure to pay child support.
But Houston said their true personalities were not as far apart as people may have believed.
"When you love, you love. I mean, do you stop loving somebody because you have different images? You know, Bobby and I basically come from the same place," she told Rolling Stone in 1993. "You see somebody, and you deal with their image, that's their image. It's part of them, it's not the whole picture. I am not always in a sequined gown. I am nobody's angel. I can get down and dirty. I can get raunchy."
It would take several years, however, for the public to see that side of Houston. Her moving 1991 rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl, amid the first Gulf War, set a new standard and once again reaffirmed her as America's sweetheart.
In 1992, she became a star in the acting world with "The Bodyguard." Despite mixed reviews, the story of a singer (Houston) guarded by a former Secret Service agent (Kevin Costner) was an international success.
It also gave her perhaps her most memorable hit: a searing, stunning rendition of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," which sat atop the charts for weeks. It was Grammy's record of the year and best female pop vocal, and the "Bodyguard" soundtrack was named album of the year.
She returned to the big screen in 1995-96 with "Waiting to Exhale" and "The Preacher's Wife." Both spawned soundtrack albums, and another hit studio album, "My Love Is Your Love," in 1998, brought her a Grammy for best female R&B vocal for the cut "It's Not Right But It's Okay."
But during these career and personal highs, Houston was using drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2010, she said by the time "The Preacher's Wife" was released, "(doing drugs) was an everyday thing. ... I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. ... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself."
In the interview, Houston blamed her rocky marriage to Brown, which included a charge of domestic abuse against Brown in 1993. They divorced in 2007.
Houston would go to rehab twice before she would declare herself drug-free to Winfrey in 2010. But in the interim, there were missed concert dates, a stop at an airport due to drugs, and public meltdowns.
She was so startlingly thin during a 2001 Michael Jackson tribute concert that rumors spread she had died the next day. Her crude behavior and jittery appearance on Brown's reality show, "Being Bobby Brown," was an example of her sad decline. Her Sawyer interview, where she declared "crack is whack," was often parodied. She dropped out of the spotlight for a few years.
Houston staged what seemed to be a successful comeback with the 2009 album "I Look To You." The album debuted on the top of the charts, and would eventually go platinum.
Things soon fell apart. A concert to promote the album on "Good Morning America" went awry as Houston's voice sounded ragged and off-key. She blamed an interview with Winfrey for straining her voice.
A world tour launched overseas, however, only confirmed suspicions that Houston had lost her treasured gift, as she failed to hit notes and left many fans unimpressed; some walked out. Canceled concert dates raised speculation that she may have been abusing drugs, but she denied those claims and said she was in great shape, blaming illness for cancellations.
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Lonesome Road - Livin Blues
Livin' Blues was one of the best Dutch blues bands. Many people think the band's name came from the American magazine called Living Blues, but that wasn't established until 1970. Former members of the band claim it was based on the name of an American theatre group called Living Theatre.
They evolved in 1967 from Andy Star & the Stripes with Ted Oberg (g) and Ruud Franssen (b) and then added Björn Pool (v) and Niek Dijkhuis (d). In 1968, they took on board the blues duo Indiscrimination with John Lagrand (blues harp) and Nicko Christiansen (v, s), the latter replacing Pool. During the same year, Gerard Strötbaum replaced Franssen and Cesar Zuiderwijk (ex-Hu & the Hilltops, to Golden Earring) came in on drums. The band started getting more and more attention, resulting in a record contract with the mighty Phonogram (who distributed labels like Decca and Philips). They opened a show for Fleetwood Mac during a small winter tour of 1969.
After they had recorded two unsuccessful singles, Strötbaum was replaced by Henk Smitskamp (ex-Motions, to Sandy Coast). The line-up of Oberg, Lagrand, Christiansen, Zuiderwijk and Smitskamp recorded the highly acclaimed album, "Hell's Session" in 1969, the first production of former Golden Earrings drummer Jaap Eggermont (later world-famous through his Stars On 45 productions), for a new label, Red Bullet (owned by Willem van Kooten a.k.a. DJ Joost den Draaijer).
In 1970, Smitskamp was replaced by Ruud van Buuren (ex-Groep 1850, to Long Tall Ernie & the Shakers). When Zuiderwijk joined Golden Earring, Dick Beekman (ex-Cuby + Blizzards and Ro-d-ys) was next in the long line of drummers to join the band. Livin' Blues seemed to change drummers on a yearly basis. After "Wang Dang Doodle" became an international hit, the band started touring Europe, one highlight being their appearance at the Palermo Pop Festival in Sicily. Then John Le Jeune (ex-Island) took over the drum stool, but he also lasted for just one album. The band had another international hit with "LB Boogie" and made their first visit to Poland, where they'd become one of the most successful bands ever.
Le Jeune left for the Schick Band and was replaced by Arjan Kamminga, who was forced to quit not long after the release of "Rockin' At The Tweedmill" (recorded in England and produced by Mike Vernon) due to back problems. He would later resurface in Mark Foggo & Secret Meeting. In 1973, Englishman Kenny Lamb became the last drummer of the first era of Livin' Blues. The album "Ram Jam Josey" was again produced by Mike Vernon who'd also recommended Lamb (ex-Jellybread, a British blues band recording for Vernon's Blue Horizon label).
In 1974, “Mark I” Livin' Blues fell apart. John Lagrand joined Water, Nicko Cristiansen formed Himalaya, Kenny Lamb returned to England and Ruud van Buuren joined Long Tall Ernie & the Shakers. Ted Oberg had to continue with Livin' Blues because their manager (Ted's mother!) had signed new contracts with Ariola and Grandad Music. John Fredriksz (ex-George Cash and Q'65, the singer who always seemed to come in when a band's heyday was over) became the new vocalist. They also took on board Paul Vink (kb, ex-Finch, to Limousine), but he only lasted a few months. The line-up was completed by the returning Henk Smitskamp (b, from Shocking Blue), Ronnie Meyjes (g, ex-Brainbox) and Michel Driesten (d) and had a disco hit with "Boogie Woogie Woman", a far cry from the earlier blues-rock sound. By the time the album "Live '75" was recorded, Meyes and Driesten had disappeared and Cor van de Beek (also from Shocking Blue) was the drummer.
The 1976 line-up was: Ted, Johnny, André Reynen (bass, ex-Sympathy and Brainbox) and Jacob van Heiningen (drums, ex-Galaxis, replaced by Ed Molenwijk, ex-Dizzy Daisy, to Casino). In spite of the internationally successful album, "Blue Breeze" (1977), the band were without a recording contract by 1978. Pietjan Visser (h, ex-Houseband) joined in 1979, but a year after that the core of "Mark I" Livin' Blues reunited for the 1980 Haagse Beatnach: Oberg, Lagrand and Christiansen were joined by Evert Willemstijn (b) and Boris (Bo, Beau) Wassenbergh (dr, ex-Cashmere, to The Zoo). That line-up started touring again, but due to the lack of interest in the blues music, Livin' Blues slowly ground to a halt in the first half of the 1980s. In the meantime, Johnny Frederiksz, André Reynen and Pietjan Visser formed Nitehawk. When that band also turned out to be unsuccessful, Ted Oberg formed the J&T Band (Johnny & Ted) with Frederiksz, adding ex-Finch members Peter Vink (b) and Fred van Vloten (d).
In 1986, John Lagrand and Nicko Christiansen reformed Livin' Blues and, for the first time since 1967, Ted Oberg was not present. Other members were: Joop van Nimwegen (g, ex-Q'65 and Finch), Willem van de Wall (g, ex-Himalaya), Aad van Pijlen (b, ex-Freelance Band and Himalaya) and Art Bausch (d, ex-Barrelhouse, ex-Oscar Benton, and founder member of Blue Planet). After one unsuccessful album, "Now", Lagrand left to join the Muskee Gang and Christiansen got a new line-up together. However, the rights to the name Livin' Blues were owned by Ted Oberg's mother and Christiansen had to call the band New Livin' Blues. Just like all preceding line-ups, New Livin' Blues went through many changes, which are impossible to document (mainly due to the lack of press coverage and record releases). On the CD "Out Of The Blue" (1995), the line-up was: Christiansen, Loek van der Knaap (g), Frank Buschman (b) and Elout Smit (d).
In 1996, John Lagrand joined the reformed Cuby + Blizzards and two years later, Nicko Christiansen formed the Nicko C Band, keeping Loek van der Knaap on board. In 1998, Ted Oberg formed his own band Oberg with Jan Scherpenzeel (v, h), Frank Schaafsma (b) and Ramon Rambeaux (d, ex-Wild Romance, replaced by Ronald Oor, ex-Diesel and I've Got The Bullets). At the end of that year, Nicko Christiansen and John Lagrand toured with guitarist Eelco Gelling (ex-Cuby + Blizzards) as Nederblues Summit.
In 2003, Christiansen and Lagrand wanted to start performing again as Livin' Blues, but Oberg objected. The new band was then named Blues A-Livin' instead. Oberg reappeared the following year, touring with Simone Roerade (v), Rob Geboers (kb, ex-Flavium), Marco Oonincx (b, ex-Ana Popovic Band) and drummer Arie Verhaar (ex-Tom Principato and Tino Gonzales), as Grand Slam.
On 30th June, 2005, John Lagrand died at the age of 55 from emphysema. Christiansen continued as The Livin' Blues Experience with Loek van der Knaap (g), Yaroon Vanniele (bas), Kees van Krugten (d) and Francois Spannenburg (blues harp). In 2009, Livin' Blues was voted as the "best international blues band" by readers of the Two Blues magazine in Poland. Ted Oberg has called his band Oberg once again, although it is now fronted by female singer Liane Hoogeveen. The other members are: Mick Hup (g, replaced Will Sophie), Nico Heilijgers (b) and Paul Damen (d).
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JULIAN SAS BAND
Asked about influences, Sas replies; when I hear Jeff Beck play it starts to itch. He plays with such simplicity and at the same time with such fanaticism. Unbelieveable. I am a real Jimi Hendrix fan too. He has not yet been surpassed. Stevie Ray Vaughan I think is fantastic, but the difference between him and Jimi is that if you were to hear him every night you will notice there are only minor differences in his playing. Whilst Jimi could be stumbling over his strings one night and the next night be so brilliant that you would seriously consider selling all your gear. Jimi knew no boundaries. When he was doing Hey Joe, his mind was already busy with totally different things. What he wanted to do with Miles Davis I think is fascinating. I am a real Miles Davis fan. He is the Jimi of the Jazz world. When I was just 16 I saw Buddy Guy. He played with great dynamics. Dynamics, in my opinion, are one of the most important tools in music; a quiet song with a strong bridge or a loud song with a very quiet bridge. And of course Rory Gallagher, my greatest hero. I had the privilege and honor of playing with his band 3 times. The Allman Brothers Band is fantastic too. Once they get started, there is no stopping them. Just like us.
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