Mystery Train - The Band & Paul Butterfield

The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko (bass guitar, double bass, fiddle, trombone, vocals), Garth Hudson (keyboard instruments, saxophones, trumpet), Richard Manuel (piano, drums, baritone saxophone, vocals), Robbie Robertson (guitar, vocals), and Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, vocals). All five members were notable musicians in their own right.

The members of the Band first came together as they joined rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins's backing group, The Hawks, one by one between 1958 and 1963. Upon leaving Hawkins in 1964, they were briefly known as the Levon Helm Sextet with sax player Jerry Penfound being the sixth member, then Levon and the Hawks after Penfound's departure. In 1965, they released a single on Ware Records under the name Canadian Squires, but returned as Levon and the Hawks for a recording session for Atco later in 1965. At about the same time, Bob Dylan recruited Helm and Robertson for two concerts, then the entire group for his U.S. tour in 1965 and world tour in 1966, as well as the informal 1967 recordings that later became The Basement Tapes. Dylan continued to make various appearances with The Band, including a joint 1974 tour.

Because they were always "the band" to various frontmen, Helm said the name "The Band" worked well when the group came into its own and left Saugerties, New York, to begin recording their own material. They recorded two of the most acclaimed albums of the late 1960s: their 1968 debut Music from Big Pink (featuring the single "The Weight") and 1969's The Band. In 2004, "The Weight" was ranked the 41st best song of all time in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

The Band broke up in 1976, but reformed in 1983 without guitarist Robbie Robertson. They were recorded live in concert at Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre that year, assisted by four extra musicians. It was their first taped performance since The Last Waltz. That show has been released as The Band Reunion and The Band is Back in 59 and 87 minute versions.

Although the Band was always more popular with music journalists and fellow musicians than with the general public, they have remained an admired and influential group. The group was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them #50 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and in 2008, they received the Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award
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Too Old To Swing - Tiny Grimes

Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes (* 7th July, 1916 in Newport news, Virginia; † 4th March, 1989 New York city) was an US-American jazz and Rhythm and blues guitarist and singer. With his quartet he played in with Charlie Parker the first Bebop pieces by a regular admission meeting.
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Sweet Home Chicago - Lubos Bena and Charlie Slavik

1995 Začína v rodnej Skalici na Slovensku ako gitarista a spevák skupiny Trdelník Band 1998 Hraje na rezofonickú gitaru a venuje sa akustickému blues 2002 Zakladá projekt Hudba v Meste v Skalici, ktorý získal špeciálne ocenenie za podporu koncertných podujatí, na ktorých pravidelne vystupujú bluesoví umelci 2005, 2006, 2008 Študijné pobyty v štátoch Teneessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama a Mississippi 2005 Ako prvý hudobník v histórii Slovenska oficiálne pozvaný hrať na juhu USA 2006 Ako prvý Slovák nahráva blues v Memphise 2008 Zapísaný v encyklopédii osôb Who is Who v Slovenskej republike medzi osobnosťami z hospodárstva, politiky, vedy, kultúry a umenia 2009 Cena primátora Mesta Skalica za vynikajúce výsledky dosahované na poli rozvoja mesta v oblasti kultúry 2010 Ocenenie Trnavského samosprávneho kraja za prínos v oblasti menšinových hudobných žánrov 2011 Účinkovanal a nahral hudbu "Dobré ráno blues" v českom filme Občanský průkaz. Ocenenia: Objav roka 2001, Bluesman roka 2004, Bluesman roka 2008. Zaujímavosti: Narodil sa a žije na Záhorí, rodisku Johna Dopyeru, vynálezcu rezofonickej gitary.
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Terceiro Whisky - Blues Etílicos

Blues Etílicos é a mais popular banda de blues rock e a que está há mais tempo em atividade no Brasil. Comemorando 25 anos de estrada, a banda lança seu primeiro DVD, com repertório autoral e músicas de seus 10 CDs lançados, tais como Cerveja, Dente de Ouro, Misty Mountain e o Sol Também Me Levanta, além das inéditas Jokers e Dinossauro Manco. Gravado totalmente ao vivo e sem qualquer tipo de correção em estúdio ou overdubbing, o DVD é um fiel registro da mais criativa banda brasileira no gênero.

O Blues Etílicos foi o primeiro grupo nacional a criar um público fiel nesse segmento. Participou de todos os principais festivais do Brasil, dividindo o palco com alguns dos maiores nomes do blues, tais como B. B. King, Robert Cray e Buddy Guy.

Em 2010, a banda está no auge da sua maturidade musical e inicia sua turnê de lançamento do DVD comemorativo. A energia do rock, a densidade do blues e o balanço da música brasileira são os ingredientes dessa receita de sucesso e boa música. O Blues Etílicos é como um bom vinho que só melhora com o tempo.


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Hesistation Blues - Jook Jam

Jook Jam was founded by its leader Joric “Delta Slim” Maglanque as a showcase of acoustic blues and roots music that he and like-minded musician-friends love performing. Delta Slim has been playing blues since the early 1990s, either solo, in duets, or with a full band. Delta Slim and Jook Jam's strength is the traditional, classic country blues from the Delta, Jackson, Bentonia, and other regions of Mississippi, Texas, Piedmont, and Eastern seaboard ragtime. These include material from Charley Patton, Blind Willie Johnson, Son House, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Johnny Shines, Fred McDowell, Rev. Gary Davis, Big Bill Broonzy, Lightnin Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt, Henry Thomas, Tampa Red, Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, Mississippi Sheiks, Memphis Jug Band, Bessie Smith, etc. Delta Slim/Jook Jam also performs traditional black spirituals, gospel, and old-timey/early bluegrass songs from Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Mae Smith, Brother Joe May, Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, Bill Monroe.

Delta Slim and/or Jook Jam has played in many major blues festivals, including the 1st Crossroads Blues Festival in Music Museum (mid 90s), Kidd Creole Mardi Gras-Blues Festival (late 90s), and Fete de la Musique 2006. Past small bar/cafe gigs include Backdoor Blues Cafe, Conspiracy Cafe, and Magnet Cafe in QC, Penguin Cafe in Malate, and The German Club in Makati. They have also guested in Howlin Dave's blues/classic rock radio show at RJUnderground. As a solo performer, Delta Slim has also performed (or busked!) in small pubs, barbershops, and other places in Alexandria, Virginia and Washington DC.

With him at the core, Jook Jam is in fact a very flexible group, with guest musicians regularly being invited to jam and preform (hence the name, “Jook Jam”). This and it's improvisational (ergo, “Jam”) approach in terms of instrumentation, interpretation, and even song selection lends excitement to the group's performances. Delta Slim plays regular and 12-string guitars in finger or flat-pick style, bottleneck/slide on metal-bodied resonators, and a guitjo (6-string banjo). In Jook Jam, he is with Ruben Flores on lap-steel guitar, Chester Manalang rhythm/lead guitar, Kakoy Legaspi on guitar/dobro/mandolin/harp, and Ronnie Badilla on harp and kazoo.
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Medely - Bobby Womack

Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack (play /ˈwoʊmæk/; born March 4, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40 years and has spanned a repertoire in the styles of R&B, soul, rock and roll, doo-wop, gospel, and country.

Womack wrote and originally recorded The Rolling Stones' first UK No. 1 hit, "It's All Over Now" and New Birth's "I Can Understand It" among other songs. As a singer he is most notable for the hits "Lookin' For a Love", "That's The Way I Feel About Cha", "Woman's Gotta Have It", "Harry Hippie", "Across 110th Street" and his 1980s hit "If You Think You're Lonely Now".

In 2009, Womack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Prowling Ground Hog - Thomas Shaw

Thomas Edgar Shaw was born in Brenham, Texas, and as a young man he worked with Blind Lemon Jefferson, J. T. Smith and Ramblin' Thomas. In the 1960s and 1970s he recorded for the Advent, Blue Goose and Blues Beacon labels.

He recorded "Hey Mr. Nixon" and "Martin Luther King".

Shaw died during open heart surgery in February 1977
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For a complete discography: "Discography"

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For a complete discography: "Discography"

Save a Seat For Me - Nat Reese

Nathaniel H. "Nat" Reese was born in 1924 in Salem, Virginia, moving to Itmann, Wyoming County, in 1928. He now lives in Princeton, Mercer County. Nat grew up in the coal camps, surrounded by gospel, swing, and blues music. A former coal miner himself, Nat later turned to music as a profession, plying his skill as a guitarist and singer in a wide array of musical styles. Today Nat is a consummate performer, focused primarily on the traditional blues and swing music he learned as a boy in the coalfields. Photograph by Michael Keller.
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Don't Start Me To Talkin - Good Rockin Charles

Good Rockin' Charles (March 4, 1933 – May 17, 1989) was an American Chicago blues and electric blues harmonicist, singer and songwriter. He released one album in his lifetime, and is best known for his work with Johnny "Man" Young, Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers, Arthur "Big Boy" Spires and Jimmy Rogers
He was born Henry Lee Bester in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, and later known as Charles Edwards. He relocated from his birthplace to Chicago, Illinois in 1949, and was inspired by fellow harmonica players, Sonny Boy Williamson I, Sonny Boy Williamson II and Little Walter. In the following decade, Charles found steady work with local Chicago blues musicians such as Johnny "Man" Young, Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers, and Arthur "Big Boy" Spires. In 1955 he settled on working in the backing band for the blues singer, Jimmy Rogers. Two years later, the short-lived independent record label, Cobra Records, offered Charles the opportunity to record his own work. However, Charles turned it down.

This wariness of working in a recording studio, had earlier seen him replaced at the last minute, as the harmonica player on Jimmy Rogers recording of "Walking by Myself" (1956). The role fell to Big Walter Horton, who greatly enhanced his reputation by playing on the track.

In 1975, Charles was finally convinced to record his own album. His eponymous effort initially appeared on vinyl on Mr. Blues Records in 1976, having been recorded the previous November. It was subsequently re-issued by P-Vine Records. Charles later suffered with ill health and was unable to record any significant further work.

Charles died in Chicago in May 1989, aged 56. (photo court. Delmark Records)

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For a complete discography: "Discography"

I Can't Be Satisfied - Eric Sardinas and Big Motor

Eric Sardinas (born 1970) is an American blues-rock guitarist born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is noted for his use of the electric resonator guitar and his live performances. He sometimes sets his guitar alight on stage and during shows. In 2000 in Sydney, Sardinas suffered third degree burns to his left wrist.

Sardinas began to play the guitar at age six and leaned toward vintage recordings by such Delta bluesmen as Charlie Patton, Bukka White, Big Bill Broonzy, Elmore James and Muddy Waters. Although he was left-handed, he eventually started to play right-handed.

In 2002, he featured on the Bo Diddley tribute album Hey Bo Diddley - A Tribute!, performing the song "Ride On Josephine".

He signed to Steve Vai's Favored Nations record label and was the opening act for Vai's The Real Illusions Tour 2005 around the world.

In 2008, Sardinas released Eric Sardinas and Big Motor on Steve Vai's Favored Nations record label in the U.S.
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Dont Call Me - KNiKi

Having a love of the music art form, KNiKi started singing at 14. At 20, she started writing her own music, and formed a garage band called, Tempus.

At 24, KNiKi started co-writing with singer/songwriter Andy James Court. For the next three years, she stepped into a world of priceless musical discovery, whilst experimenting with various music styles, writing and refining songs that would feature on her 2003 released, debut album
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Arthur Guitar Kelley with Silas Hogan

Arthur "Guitar" Kelly
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Arthur Kelley was born on November 14, 1924 in Clinton, Louisiana. By the age of 14, Kelly was playing the guitar when he moved to Baker, Louisiana. There he performed at local parties from 1947 to 1950, and with Lightnin' Slim through the 1950's and 1960's. Kelly performed with Silas Hogan at clubs, bars, and dance halls in the Baton, Rouge area from 1966 into the 1970's.
..
Some of his songs include: Count the Days I'm Gone, I Got a Funny Feeling, Hurry Down Sunshine, and If I Ever Get Back Home.
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Kelley has been described by Terry Pattison of Blues Unlimited magazine of the United Kingdom in the 1970 September issue (p. 7-8) as "truly representative of traditional Louisiana blues...".

Silas Hogan
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Silas Hogan was born on September 15, 1911 in Westover, Louisiana and his family moved to Irene, Louisiana when Silas was two years old. He learned to play the guitar from his uncles in the late 20's. During the 1930's he performed at local parties, clubs, and picnics. In the late 1950's Hogan formed his own band working local cafes in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and during the years 1962-1966 he recorded for the Excello label playing guitar and harmonica. From 1966 until the late 1970's Hogan performed in a trio with Guitar Kelly and Gene Douzier recording for Arhoolie and Excello.
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Some of his songs include: Airport Blues, Darks Clouds Rolling, Honey Bee Blues, and Lonesome La La

For a complete discography: "Discography"

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Every Day I Have The Blues - David Lee Durham

Born in Sunflower, Mississippi, in 1943, David Lee Durham was raised in the blues. He never darkened the door of a schoolhouse and moved from farm to farm to pick cotton. He could pick 400 pounds of cotton by the age of thirteen. Music was his release.
Durham performed with a handful of famous bluesmen over the years and was part of a few different bands. But most knew him as the front man for The Ladies’ Choice Band, which originated in 1975. The band was the Sunday night house band at Club Ebony in Indianola for several years, where they also opened for B. B. King at his annual homecoming concert. In 2004, the band won the Delta’s Regional Blues Challenge.That same year, the Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola named Durham “Blues Musician of the Year.”

Durham’s style was an amalgamation of all of the bluesmen he listened to over the years: B. B. King, Albert King, and Little Milton Campbell. That signature sound inspired his last group, The True Blues Band. The band recorded a CD, "Struggling and Straining," released in 2006 which included a couple of original songs by Durham.

Durham passed away unexpectedly on January 24, 2008 at the age of sixty-five.
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Oh, Qué Bueno - Soto Blues Band

EDUARDO SOTO, born in Caracas, acquires the pleasure for interpreting the FLUTE and HARMONICA from very young, instruments in whose execution he began self-paced. He started at the school Jos.. Lorenzo Llamozas and carried out formal studies with Alejandra Rodr..guez and in the school Lino Gallardo where he completed music theory with Salvador Toromoya and Violeta Lares, and Flute with Ernesto Santini and Jos.. Antonio Naranjo .

Simultaneously, he continued his studies in the Conservatory of Music Sim..n Bol..var. It is important to highlight in this artist’s career the teachings that he received between 1980 and 1988 with the outstanding musician and teacher Antonio Est..vez at an artistic-musical level, one of the most important Venezuelan composers. Likewise, he studied with Gerry Weil, a well-known figure in the jazz world in Venezuela. Eduardo Soto has taken masterful courses of improvement for the interpretation and repertoire of the flute with Pedro Eustache and Jos.. Garc..a (Venezuela), Barbara Jones ( USA), Jean Pierre Pinet (France), Nels Lindebland (France), Jorge Caryerschi (Holland) and Shignori Kudo (Japan). He has been constantly in the Venezuelan musical arena with Rock, Jazz, Blues, Folkloric Music, Music of Camera and Symphonic Music with the Cuarteto Avilanes, Top Latin Band, the duet Soto-De Los Reyes, the Quartet Miranda (Flute and Trio of Strings), and the Symphonic Orchestra of Miranda.


He has also studied the HARMONICA, Diatonic as Chromatic from early age. Between 1989 and 1991 he has mastered the interpretation of BLUES with Dr. David Evans (Memphis State University, Tennessee, USA); a notable guitarist of this gender, winner of numerous distinctions in this field, among those the Grammy and the W.C. Handy Award in 1983.
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Hear me Calling - Ten Years After

To me TYA was always about Alvin Lee but I have to give these guys their due. I have listened to their subsequent recordings and they are really good. Not just the amazing musicianship of the original members but Joe Gooch does a grat job. It may not be "TYA" but it's still a good band. Last year the band played around fifty-six shows mostly in Europe with a short run to Canada for three festival dates. There are a number of shows planned throughout 2012 so keep an eye on our web site for ones local to you.

I'd like to thank all of you that come along time after time to support us, some old some young. Many of you have become friends over a number of years and we know your names but there are also many familiar faces we see every time out there in the crowd. Thank you for your enthusiastic welcome at every gig we play. It makes the journey worthwhile.

Many of you have asked about a new TYA record. There's no studio recording planned for this year but we are reviewing material already in the can to see what could be interesting to release. I'm keen on Vinyl these days. I'm amazed how much better the sound is compared with MP3s. I’m trying to persuade TYA to do something on Vinyl and it would be great to hear what you think about the idea for some vinyl releases from TYA as well as the usual CD.
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7th Annual Simi Valley Blues Festival Less Than 2 Months Away!!!

Tommy Castro, Curtis Salgado, Walter Trout:
Heavy Hitters Headline

7th Annual Simi Valley Blues Festival

A Full Day Of Blues Music And Family Enjoyment At
The Scenic Hummingbird Nest Ranch In Simi Valley;
Benefits American Diabetes Association & Local Charities

(SIMI VALLEY, CALIF) - Michael John's 7th Annual Simi Valley Blues Festival, one of the most anticipated Blues festivals of the year in Southern California, takes place at beautiful Hummingbird Nest Ranch, 2940 Kuehner Drive, Simi Valley, Saturday, April 28, 2012. Gates open at 10 a.m. Tickets $25. in advance, $30. at the gate; available now at www.simiblues.org. Info: (805) 675-8668. Portion of proceeds from the festival benefit the American Diabetes Association along with other local charities. Presented by the Kiwanis Club of Simi Valley.

Heavy hitters headlining this year's Simi Valley Blues Festival include renowned guitar aces Tommy Castro and Walter Trout, along with harp virtuoso/vocalist, Curtis Salgado. Also on the bill: popular longtime SoCal act The Delgado Brothers (with dynamic guest vocalist Sherry Pruitt); and former IBC Finalist (as well as festival founder), Michael John And the Bottom Line. Special Guest Emcee: Mickey Jones. Also Food & Craft Vendors, Guitar Giveaway, Kids Areas and more.

Check out an interview with Festival founder Michael John here.

The Performers....

Tommy Castro has received multiple awards throughout his career and was nominated in four Blues Music Awards categories this year: B.B. King Entertainer of the Year; Contemporary Blues Artist of the Year; Band of the Year; and Contemporary Album of the Year (for Tommy Castro Presents The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue - Live!!). www.tommycastro.com.

Curtis Salgado is widely regarded as one of the most soulful singers around who also plays an amazing harmonica. Salgado - a cancer survivor and one of the most well-liked musicians on the Blues circuit - has been nominated for the 2012 BMA Soul and Blues Album of the Year. www.curtissalgado.com.

Walter Trout may very well be the most popular U.S.-born guitarist in all of Europe, once placing #6 in a BBC poll voting on the best guitarists in the world. Trout's guitar playing is high energy, soulful, and always entertaining. His new CD is Blues For The Modern Daze. www.waltertrout.com.

The Delgado Brothers and their tasty "Latin Blues" sound are big favorites on the Southern California Blues scene and were finalists at this year's 2012 International Blues Challenge (IBC) Finals in Memphis, TN. Joining the band as Special Guest Vocalist at the Festival is another name very familiar to longtime SoCal Blues fans, silky vocalist Sherry Pruitt. www.delgadobrothers.com; www.sherrypruitt.com.
Michael John And the Bottom Line: In addition to being the Simi Valley Blues Festival's founder, Entertainment Director and main driving force, Michael John fronts a pretty talented bunch of musicians in their own right. The group are past IBC finalists; their most recent album is Family and Friends. www.michaeljohnandthebottomline.com.

Watch a scintillating live performance by Walter Trout performing his song "Reason I'm Gone" here:


A History....

Michael John's Simi Valley Blues Festival, formerly the Write4hope Blues Festival, was the vision of Simi Valley resident Michael John Basowski. John (who also recently founded the Ventura County Blues Society) has been a musician all his life and had always dreamed that someday he could do something which would make an impact on his community.

Being a blues musician, the idea of a blues festival was the ideal way to turn his dream into reality. At the first festival - held in 2006 - Michael John teamed up with the local non-profit organization Write4Hope, who was instrumental in helping with the logistics for the event and made it possible to hold the first three blues festivals in Oak County Park in Simi Valley.

Simi Valley resident musician/actor and celebrity figure Mickey Jones has emceed the Simi Valley Blues Festival every year since its beginning. In addition, Michael John's family and friends have donated their time and talent to help make this event a yearly success, with over three thousand attendees at the 2011 Simi Valley Blues Festival. The 2012 presenters are the Kiwanis Club of Simi Valley. With the support of our Sponsors and the generosity of Hummingbird Nest Ranch (our Title Sponsor), the 7th Annual Simi Valley Blues Festival will be the biggest and best one yet!

Simi Valley Blues Festival Sponsorship Levels

I Asked For Water - Houston Stackhouse

Houston Stackhouse (September 28, 1910 – September 23, 1980) was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer. He is best known for his association and work with Robert Nighthawk. Although Stackhouse was not especially noted as a guitarist nor singer, Nighthawk showed gratitude for being taught to play by Stackhouse, by backing him on a number of recordings in the late 1960s. Apart from a tour to Europe, Stackhouse confined his performing around the Mississippi Delta.

Stackhouse was born Houston Goff, in Wesson, Mississippi, and was the son of Garfield Goff. He was raised by James Wade Stackhouse on the Randall Ford Plantation, and Stackhouse only learned the details of his parentage when he applied for a passport in later life.

Relocating in his teenage years with his family to Crystal Springs, Mississippi, he became inspired listening to records by Blind Blake, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lonnie Johnson, and by local musicians. By the late 1930s, Stackhouse had played guitar around the Delta states and worked with members of the Mississippi Sheiks, plus Robert Johnson, Charlie McCoy and Walter Vinson. He also teamed up with his distant cousin, Robert Nighthawk, whom he taught how to play guitar.Originally a fan of Tommy Johnson, Stackhouse often covered his songs. In 1946, Stackhouse moved to Helena, Arkansas to live near to Nighthawk, and for a time was a member of Nighthawk’s band, playing on KFFA radio.

He split from Nighthawk in 1947 and alongside the drummer James "Peck" Curtis, appeared on KFFA's "King Biscuit Time" programme, with the guitar player Joe Willie Wilkins plus pianists Pinetop Perkins and Robert Traylor. Sonny Boy Williamson II then rejoined the show, and that combo performed across the Delta, using their radio presence to advertise their concert performances.

Stackhouse tutored both Jimmy Rogers and Sammy Lawhorn on guitar techniques. Between 1948 and 1954, Stackhouse worked during the day at the Chrysler plant in West Memphis, Arkansas, and played the blues in his leisure time. He did not move from the South, unlike many of his contemporaries, and continued to perform locally into the 1960s with Frank Frost, Boyd Gilmore and Baby Face Turner. In May 1965, Sonny Boy Williamson II, who was by then back on "King Biscuit Time", utilised Stackhouse when he was recorded in concert by Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records. The recording was issued under Williamson's name, titled King Biscuit Time. Shortly afterwards, Williamson died, but Stackhouse continued briefly on the radio program, back in tandem with Nighthawk
Stackhouse returned to Helena, where he died in September 1980, at the age of 69. A son, Houston Stackhouse Jr., survived him
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Driving Wheel - Little Junior Parker

Junior Parker (May 27, 1932 – November 18, 1971) was an American Memphis blues singer and musician. He is best remembered for his unique voice which has been described as "honeyed," and "velvet-smooth". He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001.

He sang in gospel groups as a child, and played on the various blues circuits beginning in his teenage years. His biggest influence as a harmonica player was Sonny Boy Williamson,with whom he worked before moving on to work for Howlin' Wolf in 1949. Around 1950 he was a member of Memphis's ad hoc group, the Beale Streeters, with Bobby 'Blue' Bland and B.B. King.

In 1951 he formed his own band, the Blue Flames, with the guitarist Pat Hare.Parker was discovered in 1952 by Ike Turner, who signed him to Modern Records. He put out one single on this record label, "You're My Angel." This brought him to the attention of Sam Phillips, and he and his band signed onto Sun Records in 1953. There they produced three successful songs: "Feelin' Good" (which reached # 5 on the US Billboard R&B chart), "Love My Baby," and "Mystery Train", later covered by Elvis Presley. For Presley's version of "Mystery Train", Scotty Moore borrowed the guitar riff from Parker's "Love My Baby".

Later in 1953, Parker toured with Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace, and also joined Duke Records. Parker and Bland headed the highly successful Blues Consolidated Revue, which became a staple part of the southern blues circuit. He continued to have a string of hits on the R&B chart, including the smooth "Next Time You See Me" (1957); re-makes of Roosevelt Sykes' song "Driving Wheel" (1961), Robert Johnson's "Sweet Home Chicago", Guitar Slim's "The Things That I Used to Do" (1963), and Don Robey's "Mother-in-Law Blues" (1956); plus his own "Stand by Me" (1961).

His success was limited after he left Duke in 1966. He recorded for various labels, including Mercury, Blue Rock, Minit, and Capitol.

Parker died on November 18, 1971, at age 39, in Blue Island, Illinois, during surgery for a brain tumor.
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RAGTIME MILLIONAIRE - William Moore

This is a pretty cool song. This guy has it all...couldn't find much on him but here's his supposed vitals compliments of Stefan Wirz (graphic by Robert Crumb).

b. March 3, 1893 in Dover, Georgia
in 1904 moved to Tappahannock (Essex County), Virginia
d. November 22, 1951 in Warrenton (Fauquier County), Virginia
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Call Me If You Need Me - Magic Sam and Shakey Jake

Shakey Jake Harris (April 12, 1921 – March 2, 1990) was an American Chicago blues singer, harmonicist and songwriter. Harris released five albums over a period of almost 25 years, and he was often musically associated with his nephew, Magic Sam.
James D. Harris was born in Earle, Arkansas, but relocated with his family to Chicago, Illinois, at the age of seven. He played in several Chicago blues ensembles in the late 1940s. He also worked as a mechanic, and a professional gambler (from whence his nickname came - "Shake 'em"). His debut recording did not take place until 1958. His single, "Call Me If You Need Me" / "Roll Your Moneymaker", was released by Artistic Records, featured Magic Sam and Syl Johnson on guitar, and was produced by Willie Dixon. Harris was not paid for the session, but won $700 shooting craps with label owner Eli Toscano.

In 1960, Bluesville Records teamed Harris with the jazz musicians Jack McDuff and Bill Jennings, for the album Good Times. His later recording of Mouth Harp Blues returned to more traditional blues ground. Harris toured, and was part of the American Folk Blues Festival in 1962.

Throughout the 1960s Harris and Sam appeared regularly in concert together around Chicago, and Harris's patronage of younger musicians helped secure Luther Allison's recording debut. Harris moved on in the late 1960s, and recorded with Allison in Los Angeles on Further on Up the Road. He also played with other harmonica players, such as William Clarke.

Harris subsequently recorded for World Pacific. He also owned his own nightclub and a record label, but was forced by ill health to eventually return to Arkansas, where he died, at the age of 68, in March 1990
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