New release date for Sandi Thom's "Flesh And Blood" album

Sandi Thom releases new album
"Flesh and Blood" on September 17th

Produced by Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes
Featuring duet with the iconic Buffy Sainte-Marie

Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Sandi Thom, best known for her 2006 No.1 hit single I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair), is pleased to confirm the September 17th release of her fourth studio album Flesh and Blood. Produced by the Black Crowes’ Rich Robinson, and featuring a rare duet with Buffy Sainte-Marie, the album was recorded at 16 Tons studio, Nashville, Tennessee, making it Sandi’s fourth album following 2010’s critically acclaimed Merchants and Thieves.

Sandi's new song, Sun Comes Crashing Down will be available as a free download from www.sandithom.com on Monday May 21st.

Flesh and Blood is a significant release, being Sandi’s sophomore studio album, released solely by her independent label Guardian Angels Records (distributed in the UK by Nova through Universal Music Operations).

The highly anticipated new album radiates the raunchy blues rock bravado of the opening track Help Me, followed by the country-flavoured Leadbelly classic In The Pines. The album also features the strutting, clavinet-led Stormy Weather; and the emotionally compelling finale Lay Your Burden Down.

The album features an all-star ensemble led by Black Crowes Rich Robinson, drummer Steve Gorman and fellow Black Crowe and widely travelled session guitarist Audley Freed, respected Nashville stars Mike Webb (keys/Dobro) and James Haggerty (bass) complete the line-up with special guest performances from Rolling Stones collaborator, saxophonist Bobby Keys, and stunning duet with the legendary singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie on her 1992 classic The Big Ones Get Away.

“Sandi really stretched herself and made a bold new album,” reflects Rich Robinson, “Her songs are honest, vulnerable and very strong. Her vocal abilities are showcased really well, as is her guitar work, and harp playing. I think Sandi’s made a great record. It was a joy to work with her.”

Legendary classic rock producer Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, The Black Crowes, Joe Bonamassa) also mixed two tracks, Sun Comes Crashing Down and a duet with Buffy Sainte-Marie on the latter’s classic song, The Big Ones Get Away.

“Sandi’s writing is fantastic,” says Shirley, “and her singing is wonderful. Sun Comes Crashing Down has all the right ingredients to be a hit.”

The intriguingly titled I Love You Like A Lunatic, is based on her “life-changing” love affair with superstar blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa. The couple have been together three years now, living and loving on and off the road. Sandi likens it to a modern-day Johnny Cash and June Carter fairy-tale. “My life just turned crazy,” says Sandi. “Yet that’s what everybody wants, that insane kind of love that utterly consumes you.”

Sandi feels that Flesh and Blood is her coming of age album. “All I ever want to do is write songs that connect with people,” says Sandi. “With this album I’ve finally found a place where I can make the very best music I can achieve. The people that only know me from Punk Rocker won’t recognise me on this album. But they are going to find out another side of me.”

Download Sandi Thom's "Album Track-By-Track" commentary

LONDON ISLINGTON 02 ACADEMY 2
Thursday 1 November
Tickets: £17.50 adv / £18.50 door
Box Office: 0844 477 2000
Doors: 7.00pm
N1 Centre 16 Parkfield Street London
www.ticketweb.co.uk

SOUTHAMPTON THE BROOK
Friday 2 November
Tickets: £13.00 adv / £15.00 door
Box Office: 023 8055 5366
Doors: 8.00pm
The Brook, 466 Portswood Road, Portswood, Southampton SO17
www.the-brook.com

GATESHEAD SAGE HALL 2
Tuesday 6 November
Tickets: £15.00
Box Office: 0191 443 4661
Doors: 8.00pm
St Mary's Square, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, NE8 2JR
http://thesagegateshead.org

WOLVERHAMPTON ROBIN2
Thursday 7 November
Tickets: £12.00 adv / £15.00 door
Box Office: 01902 401211
Doors: 8.00pm
20-28 Mount Pleasant, Bilston, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV14 7LJ
www.therobin.co.uk

LIVERPOOL ERICS
Friday 9 November
Tickets: £12.50
Box Office: 0151 236 9994
Doors: 8.00pm
9 Mathew Street, Liverpool, L2 6RE
www.ericslive.com

GLASGOW KING TUT’S
Saturday 10 November
Tickets: £12.00
On Stage: 8.00pm
272a St. Vincent Street, Glasgow
www.kingtuts.co.uk

ABERDEEN LEMON TREE
Sunday 11 November
Tickets: £15.00
Box Office: 01224 642230
Book Online: www.ticketmaster.co.uk
5 West North Street, Aberdeen, AB24 5AT
www.lemontree.org

EDINBURGH HMV PICTURE HOUSE
Monday 12 November
Tickets: £15.00
HMV Tickets: 0843 221 0100 / TicketWeb: 0844 847 174
Venue Number: 0131 221 2280
Doors: 7.00pm
31 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH1 2DJ
http://venues.meanfiddler.com

MILTON KEYNES THE STABLES
Wednesday 14 November
Tickets: £16.50
Box Office: 01908 280 800
On Stage: 8.00pm
Stockwell Lane, Wavendon, Milton Keynes, MK17 8LU
www.stables.org

BURY THE MET
Thursday 15 November
Tickets: £12.00 adv / £15.00 door
Box Office: 0161 761 2216
Doors: 7.30pm / Stage: 8.00pm
Market Street, Bury, Greater Manchester, BL9 0BW
www.themet.biz

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Mighty Cash Cats Bring Music Of 'The Man In Black' To Norwood Library In The IE

Mighty Cash Cats performing at Norwood Library in El Monte; they return to play on Saturday, July 21 at 2 p.m. Mighty Cash Cats front man and band leader Michael J. goes behind the scenes and tells "the rest of the story" about the Man In Black, presenting a musical workshop about the roots of Johnny Cash's music including the Carter Family, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Sun Records. The Mighty Cash Cats were recently featured on Germany's RTL Punkd 12 reality TV show.

MIGHTY CASH CATS PRESENT A FAMILY-FRIENDLY MUSICAL WORKSHOP ABOUT THE ROOTS OF THE LATE JOHNNY CASH'S MUSIC!

Performing At Norwood Library In El Monte - Saturday, July 21

(EL MONTE, CA) - Everyone knows the popular culture image of Johnny Cash - the hard-living, defiant "rockabilly country rockin' rebel" and the iconic photo of Cash's middle finger salute.

On Saturday, July 21 at 2 p.m., at the Norwood Library in El Monte, Mighty Cash Cats front-person Michael Jay and his musical partner. vocalist/bassist Leticia, will present their world-renown Tribute To Johnny Cash and tell the "rest of the story." He will go behind the myth and music of the "Man In Black" and present a musical workshop about the roots of Cash's music including the Carter Family, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins. Roy Orbison, and Sun Records. Michael J will tell stories about how Cash defied the Country music establishment and wrote songs about the plight of Native Americans, prisoners, and the downtrodden, giving a voice to the voiceless. Included will be humorous tunes like a "By Named Sue" as well as Johnny Cash/June Carter duets such as "Jackson." These library shows usually encompass a wide demographic, ranging from Elementary-aged students and their parents to Teens and Seniors.

The Norwood Library is located at 4550 N. Peck Rd., El Monte. Admission is free. Info: (626) 443-3147 or http://www.colapublib.org/libs/norwood/index.php.

In Other Mighty Cash Cats News:

When top-rated German television reality program RTL Punkd 12 recently sought a live touring band in the U.S. to profile, they looked no further than Ventura County's own Mighty Cash Cats. The German TV show had seen a glowing live review of the 'Cats dead-on Johnny Cash tribute show, and with The Man In Black still hugely popular throughout Europe, the Mighty Cash Cats were an easy choice.

Other Upcoming Mighty Cash Cats Special Events:

A special "Johnny Cash Cruise" sailing out of Ventura Harbor on Saturday, July 28; headlining show at Sutter Creek Theater (just outside Sacramento) Saturday, August 4; and an appearance at the always-popular Sonoma County Fair Sunday, August 5 (on the Park Stage at 6:00, 7:15, and 8:15 p.m.).

What The Press Is Saying About Mighty Cash Cats:

"Michael J Smith leads the performance playing a black acoustic guitar. It is impossible not to be drawn to the bass texture of his voice -- and his physical and aural resemblance to Johnny Cash is practically eerie. The Mighty Cash Cats are purely live entertainment for a live audience. They know how to talk to the crowd and manuver their instruments and voice to create a body of sound for each song, no matter the genre or mood. They closed with Cash's Orange Blossom Special to raucous applause." MUSIC CONNECTION MAGAZINE

Mighty Cash Cats - Live:

Check out a live Mighty Cash Cats performance of Johnny Cash favorite "Jackson:"

About The Mighty Cash Cats

Mighty Cash Cats are a world-renowned tribute show honoring the music and spirit of the late, great rebel country rocker Johnny Cash, who would have turned 80 this year and for whom there remains an ever-growing and fiercely loyal and devoted fan base. During each show MCC front man/guitarist/vocalist (and Johnny Cash lookalike) Michael J goes behind the music and myth of the "Man in Black" and talks about the roots of Cash's music including the Carter family, Elvis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and Sun Records. Michael J also tell stories about how Cash defied the Country Music establishment and wrote songs about the plight of Native Americans, prisoners, and the downtrodden giving a voice to the voiceless.

The Mighty Cash Cats cover Johnny Cash's career from his early hits that audiences all know and love to his final Rick Rubin-produced album "American Recordings" including fun Johnny Cash and June Carter duets. The band also plays Hot New Country Music, Rock 'N' Roll, and Blues. The band tours extensively in the USA, Las Vegas, Europe, Ireland and Israel while performing at festivals, fairs, casinos, summer concerts in the park, and corporate events.

The band's latest CD, "Americana Made," is available on CD Baby at this link: http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=8175031

http://www.mightycashcats.com

CD Review BMANS BLUES REPORT
MUSIC CONNECTION Live Show Review
SAN BERNARDINO SUN Feature
ALL ACCESS MAGAZINE Interview
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”

Bob Stroger

Have Bass Will Travel.... I was born in South East Missouri in a small town Haiti, where I lived on a farm. I moved to Chicago in 1955. I lived in the back of a night club on the West Side, where Howling Wolf and Muddy Waters played. It looked like they were having a lot of fun and I made up my mind that what I wanted to do was play music. I got married at an early age and I used to watch my brother-in-law play music. His name was Johnny Ferguson and he and JB Hutto had a band they called the Twisters. They were working on 39'th and State Street in Chicago and I would carry them to work every night and watch them. Then at home I would try to teach myself to play. My cousin Ralph Ramey said that we should start a band and we did just that. We got my brother (John Stroger), who played the drums, to learn the songs we knew and in four months we were making some noise. We went to a club and played two songs and the man said we had a job. It was one of the better clubs, where musicians like Memphis Slim worked. The owner wanted us to wear uniforms but we had no money to buy them, so we got black tams and put a red circle in the top and called the band the Red Tops and that was the way it started. We got so good that they wanted the band to travel, but Ralph's wife did not wont him to travel. so my brother formed a band with Willie Kent and myself and called it Joe Russel and the Blues Hustlers. We played together for a while,but eventually I decided to move on, because i wanted to travel more and see the world and I found out you can make money doing this. I joined a jazz band and played with Rufus Forman for about 3 years, but we were doing very little work. Then I met Eddie King and we talked. I told him I was in a jazz band and we needed a guitar player that could play blues. He sead OK and joined our groop, and we started playing blues and RB and things took off. We called the band Eddie King and King Men, and we stayed together for 15 years. Then we split up for about 2 years and later we started the band up as Eddie King and Babee May and the Blues Machine and we stayed together until Eddie King moved out of town. I quit playing for 2 years becouse we were so close I did not want to play with anyone but Eddie. Then I met Jessie Grean when I was playing with Morris Pejo and he liked the way I played bass and one night Otis Rush need a bass player, so Jessie said come and work with him. The rest is history. I have been playing music for 39 years and I am still having fun.
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'Gotta Strange Feeling' Li'l Ronnie & the Grand Dukes Debuted at #17 on Living Blues Radio Charts for June!

Debuted at #17 on Living Blues Radio Charts for June!

You Don't love Me - Jimmy Dawkins

James Henry "Jimmy" Dawkins (born October 24, 1936, Tchula, Mississippi, United States) is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer. He is generally considered a part of the "West Side Sound" of Chicago blues.
He moved to Chicago in 1955. He worked in a box factory, and started to play local blues clubs, gaining a reputation as a session musician.

In 1969, thanks to the efforts of his friend Magic Sam, he released his first album Fast Fingers on Delmark Records, winning the "Grand Prix du Disque" from the Hot Club de France. In 1971 Delmark released his second album All For Business with singer, Andrew "Big Voice" Odom, and the guitarist, Otis Rush. Dawkins also toured in the late 1970s backed up by James Solberg (of Luther Allison and The Nighthawks fame) on guitar and Jon Preizler (The Lamont Cranston Band, The Drifters), a Seattle based Hammond B-3 player known for his soulful jazz influenced style. Other musicians that toured with Jimmy Dawkins in the late 1970s were Jimi Schutte (drummer), Sylvester Boines (bass), Rich Kirch and Billy Flynn (guitars). With this combination of musicians Dawkins also toured Europe.

Dawkins began to tour in Europe and Japan and recorded more albums in the United States and Europe. Dawkins also contributed a column to the blues magazine Living Blues. In the 1980s he released few recordings, but began his own record label, Leric Records, and was more interested in promoting other artists, including Taildragger, Queen Sylvia Embry, Little Johnny Christian and Nora Jean Wallace.
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”

Superstition - Andreas Kisser & Vasco Faé

Vasco Fae bought his first harmonica in 1987, when he was 16, all by sudden. He started to dedicate himself to the instrument and with the diatonic harmonica and a velvet voice, has been achieving respect and attention from a great audience and harmonica players all over the country. On Brazilian television, Vasco has already showed up in some programs such as: Musikaos (Cultura), Bem Brasil (Cultura), Altas Horas (Globo), Fábio Jr. (Record) and Video Show (Globo). In 2007 he releases his second CD “Manoblues” preceded by “Saudacoes (2003)”. From 1992 until 2009 he has made over 1.550 shows in Brazilian Blues circuit.

Formed in 1993, “Irmandade do Blues” is his “home-band” and released the first CD of a Brazilian Blues quartet (Veneno) in 1996 by Eldorado Records, witch released the second CD (Good Feelings) in 2007 by Eldorado Records as well, and the DVD and CD “Ao Vivo (Live)” in 2009 by Universal Music. Irmandade do Blues has the same members since 1995 so that is the oldest formation in Brazil. From 2003 to 2005 he joined the band Blues Etilicos as one of the singers, harmonica players and composers where he recorded the CD “Cor do Universo”. Played with Kleber Albuquerque during 2001. In 2002 he joined the band Andreas Kisser and Brazil Rock Stars, where he still plays, sings and recorded the CDs “AKBRS – 50 years of rock” and “Hubris”, he also could share stage with Caetano Veloso, Herbert Viana, Lobao, Simone, Samuel Rosa, Dinho Ouro Preto, Frejat, Bocato, Pitty, Nando Reis, and others.

In Brazil Vasco Fae is considered as a great brazilian harmonica player and singer. “The Band man” as he was nicked by Jazz’n Blues magazine, is known as well by his notorious motor coordination technique of playing harmonica and guitar at the same time, and sometimes even with a bumbo – he’s the first one to seriously dedicate its self on developing this technique in Brazil – besides, Vasco Fae composes, sings, produces, plays almost every instrument he gets in his hands. He also plays with the band Triangulista that plays brazilian music, idealized in 1997 “Blueseiros do Brasil”, that already counts on two CDs released containing the best of Brazilian Blues musicians in jam sessions recorded in studio.

He also recorded many CDs with different artists, gave harmonica workshops at SESC net and showed up in the International Harmonica Meeting in Sao Paulo in 2003
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”

Samma lea snea blues - Peps Persson

Peps Persson (born 20 December 1946 in Helsingborg) is a Swedish blues and reggae musician from Tjörnarp, Scania. Throughout his career he has mostly made music in Swedish and is well known for his Scanian dialect. At an earlier stage he made a few albums in English.
Persson's career up to 1975 was mostly inspired by the blues, and Peps is known for having reworked many famous blues and reggae tunes into Swedish, by such artists as Muddy Waters, Elmore James and Bob Marley.

After 1975, his career turned away from the blues and focused mostly on reggae. Some of his songs, like "Falsk matematik" and "Hög standard", made a political statement, and were considered part of the progg movement.
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”

Steam Roller Blues - Marc Broussard

Marc Broussard (born January 14, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter. His style is best described as "Bayou Soul," a mix of funk, blues, R&B, rock, and pop, matched with distinct Southern roots. In his career, he has released four studio albums and has charted twice on Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks.
Marc Broussard is the son of acclaimed Louisiana Hall of Fame guitarist and former member of The Boogie Kings, Ted Broussard. Marc was raised in Carencro, Louisiana and Lafayette, Louisiana
In 2001 Broussard was part of Y, a Christian band. The short-lived band was based out of New Iberia, Louisiana. Broussard's solo career started with the release of several independent efforts, including 2002's Momentary Setback which spawned the hit "The Wanderer", a song about self-discovery. A re-worked version of the song appears on his first major album Carencro (Island Records). It was released on August 3, 2004. The album's title pays tribute to the musician's hometown of Carencro, Louisiana, where he still resides.

In 2007, he released S.O.S.: Save Our Soul, an album consisting almost entirely of cover songs. The album was his first to reach the top 100 of the Billboard 200 in the U.S., debuting and peaking at #96: this had the effect of "graduating" him from the Top Heatseekers chart, which consists of albums by artists who have never reached the top 100.

Broussard finished recording the Must Be The Water EP on the Rock Boat VII in January 2008. He is no stranger to The Rock Boat, which is an annual cruise and music festival. This is Broussard’s first release with his new label, Atlantic Records, with which he signed a multi-album contract in 2007.

Broussard's music has been featured on shows such as Clash of the Choirs in which "Home" was performed by a Blake Shelton led choir. Singer Kelly Clarkson performed "Home" as part of her live setlist in 2006-07. Most recently, "Must Be the Water" was the theme song for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game. Broussard has been a featured performer on many TV programs including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, A&E Breakfast with the Arts, The Jimmy Kimmel Show, The Late Show with Conan O’Brien, CBS Saturday Early Show, Larry King Live "Lopez Tonight", and CBS’s Saturday Morning’s Second Cup Cafe.

In 2008, he released his third full-length studio album, Keep Coming Back. The song "Hard Knocks" from this album was featured in the last episode of the 2009 season of Hard Knocks on HBO featuring the Cincinnati Bengals.

Broussard's newest album, Marc Broussard was released on June 14, 2011. An early release called Marc Broussard EP was released on March 22, 2011 and features the new singles "Lucky" and "Only Everything."
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Urban Eagle artist: Zac Harmon - Music Is Medicine - New Release Review

I just got a copy of the new Zac Harmon release, Music Is Medicine. Harmon is joined by Cedric Goodman on Drums, Corey Lacy on Keys and Buthel on Bass. The recording opens with Miss American Girl, a lighter R&B style blues and is actually pretty catchy. Blue Pill Thrill (pretty self explanatory)sets a modern blues groove path and Harmon plays very stylistic blues riffs throughout. This track with it's great bass line and story line is destined for airplay... and the Albert Collins like guitar riffs spell icing on the cake. Running From The Devil takes a Stevie Wonder sounding intro riff and parlays it into a totally different style of soul rocker. Grandma's Prayer is a strong soul ballad that starts off quiet and on the final third of the song Harmon turns up the heat. Really cool track. Drowning in Hollywood again takes the rock side of the blues and Harmon plays one of the longer guitar solo's on the recording. Country Boy snaps out there and grabs ya with a cool blues guitar riff. This track has some real nice background vocals which add some particularly cool textures to the track. Overall this may be the coolest track on the recording. Talk To Me actually pulls a lot from the Philly sound but takes a reggae influenced spin. Again an interesting trip. Harmon sings a smooth duet with Sueann Cardwell on Wounded and setting up a pretty nice blues infused guitar solo. Another track that could easily garner strong airplay. Harmon wraps the recording with Joanna. This track is a very commercially strong track and has all of the components to take the cake .... strong vocal harmonies, dance rhythm, catchy horn riffs, stinging Johnny Guitar Watson like guitar riffs and just overall great sound. Someone looking for a deep blues recording won't find it here but if you like your music with a bit of soul, strong ballads, cool, smooth vocals and stinging guitar.... this may be one of the coolest of the year.
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Sorry... could not find any of the cuts from this release on youtube...here's an example of Harmon's playing.

TROTLINE: Geronimo!

THE TRI-STATE TROTLINE

From the Desk of...Captain Catfish

July 9, 2012

Boy, oh boy, we've got a lot of exciting news here for you Trotline Runners! Buckle up, 'cuz here goes....

Work on the "White Buffalo" is now complete, as we've mastered the recording at Salt Mastering in New York. Thanks to "Roscoe" Ambel and our Kickstarter donors, I have been privileged to created the most powerful, best-sounding work of my career. As a producer, Roscoe was a perfect fit and brought a great rock-n-roll swagger to this project. Hats off once again to Roscoe, Timbo & Mario at Cowboy Technical Services for a job well done.

I'll also mention here the great Tri-State Coalition and their stellar performance in the studio and on the road. Way to go, boys, I definitely can't do it alone! So, here's to MATT "PIZZLE" PIERCE, ERIC "CARLOS SAN PEDRO" CARLTON, RYAN "RANDO" ROGERS and our newest members, TERRENCE "T-MONEY" BISHOP & KELL KELLUM. With T-Money in the mix, we're taking Tri-State back to its roots, representing the great states of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tenn-o-see. We'll be seeing y'all out there on the road this summer & Fall, bringing the sound of the "White Buffalo" directly to your doorstep.

I am also pleased to announce that Jimbo Mathus & The Tri-State Coalition's "White Buffalo" will be released in OCTOBER 2012 on Oxford's own FAT POSSUM label. I am thrilled at this new and unexpected development. Bruce Watson & Matthew Johnson there at the label loved the sound and really wanted to get behind it. We were able to work out the details quickly and get it done! This will insure higher visibility for "White Buffalo" and see that more folks get the chance to hear it. Can't thank you enough, Fat Possum, for this opportunity.

With a slot just secured in the Americana Music Awards showcase in Nashville and a full calendar for the rest of the summer, be assured, Trotline Runners, that your support is paying off...and the "White Buffalo" will rise in 2012.

Thank you & God bless you all,

James "Captain Catfish" Mathus

The Honeydripper - Joe Liggins & The Honeydrippers

Joe Liggins (July 9, 1915 – July 26, 1987) was an American R&B, jazz and blues pianist, who was the frontman in the 1940s and 1950s with the band, Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers.
Liggins was born in Guthrie, Oklahoma, United States, and moved to San Diego, California in 1932. By the time he moved again, to Los Angeles in 1939, he began playing with various groups, including Sammy Franklin's California Rhythm Rascals. When Liggins asked him to record his song "The Honeydripper", Franklin declined, prompting Liggins to start his own band, which created many more hits in the next years, including "Got a Right to Cry" and the widely covered songs, "Tanya" and "Roll 'Em". Earl Hooker is noted for his cover of "Tanya". The original Joe Liggins and His Honeydrippers recordings were issued on the Exclusive Records imprint of brothers Leon and Otis Rene. Joe Liggins' Honeydrippers was formed in the basement of the Los Angeles home of the saxophonist Little Willie Jackson, who co-founded the group and who, at the time of his death in 2000, was the last original surviving member of the Honeydrippers.

In March 1954, the band took part in a benefit show held at the Club 5-4 in Los Angeles for the wife of Stan Getz.

Joe joined his brother Jimmy at Specialty Records in 1950, where he gained more hits including: "Rag Mop", "Boom-Chick-A-Boogie", "Pink Champagne", and "Little Joe's Boogie". His songs were mostly a blend of jump blues and basic R&B. With Roy Milton, he was an architect of the small-band jump blues of the first post-war decade. Liggins often toured with such acts as Jimmy Witherspoon, Amos Milburn and the jump blues shouter H-Bomb Ferguson. His 1950 releases, "Pink Champagne" and "I Gotta Right to Cry," both sold over one million copies and were awarded gold discs.

Although Liggins' success stopped in the late 1950s, he led a big band until his death following a stroke, in Lynwood, California, at the age of 72.

His band was often a staple on the US Billboard R&B chart in those years, with their biggest hit being "The Honeydripper", released in 1945. That single topped the R&B chart, then called the race chart, for 18 weeks. More than 60 years later, "The Honeydripper" remains tied with Louis Jordan's "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" for the longest-ever stay at the top of that chart. It logged a reported two million sales.
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Baker Shop Boogie - Willie Nix

Willie Nix (August 6, 1922 — July 8, 1991) was an American Chicago blues singer and drummer, active in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, in the 1940s and 1950s.
Born in Memphis, as a child he learnt to tap dance, later working as a teenager as part dancer, part comedian, with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. This led to work in various variety shows in the 1940s, and Nix later became a part of the blues scene that grew up around Beale Street (see Memphis Blues). His musical work saw him appear on local radio with Robert Lockwood Jr., and work alongside Willie Love, Joe Willie Wilkins and Sonny Boy Williamson II, billed as the Four Aces, who toured the Deep South. Further Memphis based radio work in the mid 1940s, saw Nix appear with both B.B. King and Joe Hill Louis, and later the same decade Nix worked with the Beale Streeters. In 1951, Nix made his first recording for RPM Records in Memphis, and a year later he later recorded for Checker Records.

He recorded for the Sun Records label and others in the 1950s, including the Chicago, Illinois based duo of Chance[4] and Sabre. Nix wrote the songs "Nervous Wreck" and "Prison Bound Blues", and variously worked with Elmore James, Johnny Shines, and Memphis Slim.

By the end of the 1950s, Nix returned to Memphis, and spent a short time in prison before the 1960s started. The next twenty years saw Nix perform sporadically, and as his health declined, his behaviour became more eccentric. He did not record again, although his mid 1950s work is held in high regard for his lyrical dexterity and compelling beat.

Nix died in Leland, Mississippi, in 1991
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”

Horton's Shuffle - Flávio Guimarães

Flávio Guimarães (born November 10, 1963) is a Brazilian composer, harmonica player and singer. Considered a blues pioneer in Brazil, he founded the band Blues Etílicos in 1986, which is considered the most successful Brazilian blues group. He has also played with many famous artists along his career, such as Alceu Valença, Ed Motta, Luiz Melodia, Paulo Moura, Zeca Baleiro, Buddy Guy, Charlie Musselwhite, Sugar Blue e Taj Mahal.
Flávio Guimarães was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and in that city he studied harmonica with Maurício Einhorn.

He started his musical career around 1985. In 1986, he formed the group Blues Etílicos, with Greg Wilson (vocals and guitar), Otávio Rocha (guitar), Gil Eduardo (drums) and Cláudio Bedran (bass). With the group, Guimarães did many show around Brazil and world and recorded several albums.

In 1988, Guimarães travelled to Chicago, where he played with many American musician, including the harmonicist Sugar Blue. One year later, he opened Festival de Blues, in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil, playing with Buddy Guy. In that same year, he also opened shows for John Lee Hooker and John Mayall, during Free Jazz Festival. In the following years, Guimarães played in the most important festival in Brazil, such as Blues Fest, Rock in Rio II and Nescafé in Blues. During this period, he also played with many famous Brazilian artists, like Ed Motta, Roberto Frejat and Paulo Moura. He played with internacional artists too, such as Midnight Blues Band.

Since 1990, when Bizz magazine indicated Guimarães as one of the best hamonicists of Brazil, he has participated of many hamonica players meetings. In fact, Guimarães became famous between Brazilian harmonicists because he was the first one to play diatonic harmonicas in that country, introducing new possibilities of timbre to the music of his nation. In 1998, he participated of Harmonica's Night, with Carey Bell and Peter Madcat. In this same period, with a new band, he opened show for B. B. King, in Via Funchal, Brazil. He, with Tavares da Gaita, was considered one of the most important attractions in the history of Rec-Beat festival, in Recife, Brazil.

Along his career, Guimarães recorded many album. His first solo album was Little blues, in 1995. In 2000, he recorded his second disc, named On the loose. In 2007, celebrating 20 years of Blues Etílicos, his band recorded an album in honor of Muddy Waters, one of the biggest exponent blues musician. Around two years later, Guimarães recorded another solo album, named The blues follows me, and he realized many shows around Brazil, spreading this work.
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Bulldog Boogie - Blues Wire

In the words of blues prodigy Katie Webster, "Blues Wire are the best blues band in Europe and deserve to be heard by a wider audience".
According to many who has ever witnessed a Blues Wire gig this band is one of Europe's best kept blues secrets and they should finally get the chance to be known to blues lovers around the world.
The Blues Wire formed in 1983. A year later they recorded the first blues album ever to be made by Greek musicians.
Thousands of gigs in every kind of venue imaginable, scores of TV and radio show appearances in Greece as well as abroad and an enviable recording expertise have helped define their tight and recognizable sound, a mix of passion and maturity that only comes with experience. Playing festivals and clubs in countries like France, Italy, Austria and Hungary (among others) consolidated their reputation and earned them many an enthusiastic press reviews all around Europe.

Through the years Blues Wire have often backed up top blues artists such as Katie Webster, John Hammond, Larry Garner, Big Time Sarah, Carey and Lurrie Bell, Angela Brown, Louisiana Red & Al Copley, to mention a few, proving they can keep up with the best of them. They have also opened for legendary musicians like Buddy Guy, John Mayall, Albert King, Otis Rush and The Fabulous Thunderbirds.
Their skill and musicianship led to memorable jam sessions with blues pioneers like Champion Jack Dupree, rising stars like Sherman Robertson and well-known British blues players like Dave Kelly & Doctor Feelgood .
Blues Wire have provided the foundation of the Greek blues scene and the main inspiration for many younger musicians, while leader Elias Zaikos (guitar, vocals) is considered the most important blues artist in the country.
2006 marks the release of their first – ever DVD entitled “Two Shows” capturing the band at its best, including many new original songs.
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Blues From Elmo - Henry Qualls

Born July 8, 1934, Cedar Grove, Elmo, Texas, USA, d. 7 December 2003. Probably the last elder statesmen of Texas blues, it fell to individuals such as Qualls to carry the mantle, in a less than competent way, a tradition that has all but succumbed to the passage of time. While performing songs first recorded by artists such as Lightnin’ Hopkins and Lil Son Jackson, his faltering guitar technique, including a very wayward slide style, was more reminiscent of Willie ‘Smokey’ Hogg, an artist who built a reputation on his incapacity to observe the formalities of 12-bar blues. Taught as a youth by Emmitt Williams, Qualls supplemented his instruction by making regular visits to Dallas to watch Hopkins, Jackson and Frankie Lee Sims in action. Through most of his adult life, music was an intermittent hobby as he earned his living ploughing fields and mowing the lawns of the Dallas élite. Found by Dallas Blues Society men Scottie Ferris and Chuck Nevitt, Qualls became a reluctant local celebrity. His album contained the expected material from the Hopkins and Jackson songbooks, along with Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup’s ‘Death Valley Blues’ and fumbled versions of ‘Motherless Children’ and ‘I Shall Not Be Moved’. The touchstone of his importance as a Texas bluesman was his ability to place the Newbeats’ ‘Bread And Butter’ alongside Lowell Fulson’s ‘Reconsider Baby’.
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Honky Tonk - Ry Cooder with Johnnie Johnson

Johnnie Johnson (July 8, 1924 – April 13, 2005) was an American pianist and blues musician. His work with Chuck Berry led to his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
He was born Johnnie Clyde Johnson in Fairmont, West Virginia and began playing piano in 1928. He joined the United States Marine Corps during World War II where he was a member of Bobby Troup's all serviceman jazz orchestra, The Barracudas. After his return, he moved to Detroit, Illinois and then Chicago, where he sat in with many notable artists, including Muddy Waters and Little Walter.

He moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1952 and immediately put together a jazz and blues group, The Sir John Trio with drummer Ebby Hardy and saxophonist, Alvin Bennett. The three scored a regular gig at the Cosmopolitan Club in East St. Louis. On New Year's Eve 1952, Alvin Bennett had a stroke and could not perform. Johnson, searching for a last minute replacement, called a young man named Chuck Berry, the only musician Johnson knew who because of his inexperience, would likely not be playing on New Year's Eve. Although then a limited guitarist, Chuck Berry added vocals and showmanship to the group. As Bennett would not be able to play again because of his stroke, Johnson hired Berry as a permanent member of the trio.

They would remain the Sir John's Trio until Berry took one of their tunes, a reworking of Bob Wills' version of "Ida Red" to Chess Records. The Chess brothers liked the tune and soon the trio were in Chicago recording "Maybellene" and "Wee Wee Hours" – a song Johnson had been playing as an instrumental for years for which Berry quickly penned some lyrics. By the time the trio left Chicago, Berry had been signed as a solo act and Johnson and Hardy became part of Berry's band. Said Johnson, "I figured we could get better jobs with Chuck running the band. He had a car and rubber wheels beat rubber heels any day."

Over the next twenty years, the two collaborated in the arrangements of many of Berry's songs including "School Days", "Carol", and "Nadine". The song "Johnny B. Goode" was reportedly a tribute to Johnson, with the title reflecting Johnson's usual behavior when he was drinking. The pianist on the "Johnny B. Goode" session was Lafayette Leake, one of the two main session pianists for Chess (the other being Otis Spann). Leake also played on "Oh Baby Doll", "Rock & Roll Music", "Reelin' and Rockin'", and "Sweet Little Sixteen".

Berry and Johnson played and toured together until 1973. Although never on his payroll after 1973, Johnson played occasionally with Berry until Johnson's death in 2005.

Johnson was known to have a serious drinking problem. In Chuck Berry's autobiography, Berry tells of how he declared there would be no drinking in the car, while on the road. Johnson and bandmates complied with the request by putting their heads out the window. Johnson denied the story but said he did drink on the road. Johnson quit drinking entirely in 1991, after nearly suffering a stroke on stage with Eric Clapton.

Johnson received little recognition until the Chuck Berry concert documentary, Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll in 1987. That attention helped Johnson, who was supporting himself as a bus driver in St. Louis at the time, return to music. He recorded his first solo album, Blue Hand Johnnie, that same year. He later performed with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley and George Thorogood on Thorogood's 1995 live album Live: Let's Work Together. In 1996 and 1997, Johnson toured with Bob Weir's band, Ratdog, playing 67 shows.

In 1999, Johnson's biography was released, Father of Rock and Roll: The Story of Johnnie B. Goode Johnson by 23-year-old Travis Fitzpatrick. The book was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize by Congressman John Conyers, and garnered Johnson more recognition.

In 2000, Johnson was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

In late 2004,Johnson recorded his final project, "Johnnie Be Eighty. And Still Bad!" it was recorded in St.Louis, and all the songs were originals (written with the producer, Jeff Alexander), this was a first for Johnson. the project was released the same week he died in April 2005.

In 2005 He played piano on Styx's Big Bang Theory album on the rerecording of Blue Collar Man, entitled Blue Collar Man @ 2120, since it was recorded at the legendary Chess Studios at 2120 S. Michigan Ave in Chicago. Recorded on the 46th anniversary of the recording of Johnnie B. Goode, at that studio
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Feel So Glad - Jaimoe Jasssz Band

Jai Johanny Johanson (born on July 8, 1944, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi), frequently known by the stage name Jaimoe, is an American drummer and percussionist. He is best known as one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band.
Johanson came up in the R&B world and began drumming at an early age, often accompanied by friend Lamar Williams on bass. Johanson backed soul singers, including a membership in Otis Redding's touring band in 1966, and afterward touring with the acclaimed soul duo, Sam & Dave. After joining up with Duane Allman in February 1969, he quickly became the first recruit into Allman's new group, soon joined by bassist Berry Oakley, fellow drummer Butch Trucks, guitarist Dickey Betts and lastly Allman's younger brother, singer, organist and pianist Gregg Allman. The group, quickly named after the brothers Allman, began recording demos that April in Macon, Georgia, which became the group's spiritual home.
After being terminated from the band in late 1980 due to increasing back problems stemming from a 1974 automobile accident, and the group's financial woes, Johanson lived near poverty in Macon for nearly a decade (playing off and on with "SouthBound" - Coop Frazier, Mike Joseph, Edd Anderson, and Stan Daniell at a small honkytonk in Forsyth, Georgia), before being invited back into the group in 1989. Reunited with the group and rejuvenated by the growing jam band scene that viewed the Allman Brothers Band as one of the pioneering influences in the newly named genre, Johanson helped lead the band back into national prominence. Though guitarist Warren Haynes, bassist Allen Woody and pianist Johnny Neel (all having joined the Allmans with their second reformation in 1989) would all leave, as would Haynes' replacement, Jack Pearson, Jaimoe remained. However, he watched Dickey Betts' acrimonious departure in 2000, which was ultimately to be replaced by a returning Warren Haynes. Despite their difficulties, he continued with the band.
The past two decades have seen renewed success for the band. Jaimoe, Butch Trucks and Gregg Allman have been joined by percussionist Marc Quiñones, bassist Oteil Burbridge, guitar and vocalist, Warren Haynes, and slide guitarist Derek Trucks. Every March, the band had taken up a residency at New York's Beacon Theatre for several weeks of shows, often featuring an extended percussion battle between Trucks, Jaimoe and Quiñones. This practice came to a final halt, after forty years of performances since the Cirque du Soleil was given a permanent contract year-round at the Beacon Theatre. To celebrate this final tradition, in 2009, the band dedicated that year's multiple concerts to the late Duane Allman, inviting special guests from many genres to participate with them, including Eric Clapton, Levon Helm, Trey Anastasio, and many others.

Jaimoe leads a jazz-rock collective known as Jaimoe's Jasssz Band during Allman Brothers Band breaks, playing clubs in New York and his adopted home of Connecticut.

Jaimoe and the Allman Brothers Band are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Cold Chills - Larry Garner

Larry Garner was comfortable in the 9-to-5 routine of commuting to his day job, and making a good salary working for Dow Chemical. On his drive home one night, he was forced to take an alternate route. “There was an accident on the interstate, and I took a detour to avoid it,” remembers Garner. “I drove by this place that had a sign outside on wheels, with a couple lights that said, ‘Blues Jam Tonight.’ I went in, and they said to be back at 10 that night. I went home and told my wife about it. She said, ‘You know you’ve got to go to work tomorrow.’ I went anyway, played, and got home at 2:30 in the morning. That was Tabby’s Blues Box.”

The scene at the legendary Baton Rouge blues hotbed was a marked contrast to the occasional weekend gigs Garner was playing at the time. It was the early 1970s, and Garner had just returned from an 3 year tour in the army. “There were no gigs,” he remembers. “It was all disco. There were occasionally American Legion gigs or weddings or rent parties. I played in my garage. I took a job with Dow Chemical, and I rarely played in public.”

Garner started moonlighting for the first few years he played out at Tabby’s Blues Box. He met such Baton Rouge bluesmen as Silas Hogan, Whispering Smith, Arthur Kelly and Raful Neal. He occasionally played in New Orleans at Rhythms on Bourbon Street, or with Bryan Lee at the late, lamented Old Absinthe Bar. But eventually he couldn’t keep burning the candle at both ends. He recalls hanging out at Tabby’s one night with Kenny Neal, who’d just finished touring. When Neal pleaded with him to stick around for another drink instead of getting ready for work in the morning, Garner tried to explain. “He said, ‘You got to quit that job.’ I said, ‘I know, but I still got to go to work in the morning.’ I left, but Kenny saying that stuck in my head. I had to quit.”

It was a chance for Garner to play the music he’d loved since his early childhood. Growing up near Baton Rouge in the small town of Oaknolia, Garner heard the music coming from the church near his house. “There were traveling preachers coming through, and I heard that, and I listened to WLAC in Nashville on Friday and Saturday night,” he say. “I started playing guitar because I had an uncle, George, who taught me. He was a paraplegic, and he played like Jimmy Reed. I learned through him, and started playing at the church and behind a gospel group that played on the radio.

“My parents didn’t want me playing the blues,” Garner continues. “They thought it was the devil’s music — then I guess the juke joint a quarter-mile down the road was the devil’s recruitment office. I never went into the juke except during the day, when it was a store.”

Garner continued playing music during his military service, and playing in army bands — while stationed in Korea — steeled him for the life of a full-time musician. Leaving Dow Chemical was initially tough for him, but now he has a devoted following throughout the country and across the Atlantic Ocean. “I’m on tour all the time,” he says. “I go to Europe and England a few times a year. Over there they really like my original stuff. They hear guys playing the blues, but when I come in, they come right up and say, ‘Thank God — a real blues band.’ We take it for granted here. They’re really appreciative there, and so am I.
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Blues for T-Bone - Duke Robillard

Guitarist. Bandleader. Songwriter. Singer. Producer. Session musician. And a one-man cheering section for the blues, in all its forms and permutations. And every one of those names has shared recording studio space or stage time with a man who is a legend in the blues community.

The Blues Music Awards (formerly W.C.Handy Awards) have named Duke Robillard "Best Blues Guitarist" four years out of five (2000,2001,2003,2004) making him the second most honored guitarist for that award! He was also nominated in that category in 2005, 2007 and again this year of 2008.

In 2007 Duke received a Grammy nomination for his "Guitar Groove-a-rama" CD and was also honored with the prestigious Rhode Island Pell Award for "excellence in the arts" along with actress Olympia Dukakis, actor Bob Colonna, and R.I. Choreographer/Festival Ballet director Mihailo "Misha" Djuric.The Pell award is named for Senator Claiborne Pell who help establish the the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities in 1965.

Other awards over the last decade include three Canadian Maple Blues Awards in 2001, 2002, and 2003 for "Best International Blues Artist," The Blues Foundation's "Producer of the Year" award in 2004, The French Blues Association "Album of the Year" award in 2002 (Living with the Blues) and "Guitarist of the Year" awards in 1999 and 2002.

BB King himself has called Duke "One of the great players," The Houston Post called him "one of God's guitarists. And the New York Times says "Robillard is a soloist of stunning force and originality.

None of that goes to Robillard’s head. He’s still on the road, still playing as many as 250 dates a year. And still proving, night after night, that his true talent is bringing people out to hear the music, appreciate the show, and dance to the blues.

Duke had his first band in high school — he was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island — and he was fascinated from the beginning by the ways in which jazz, swing, and the blues were linked. In 1967, he formed Roomful of Blues, and the band was tight enough and tough enough to accompany two of its heroes, Big Joe Turner and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson on record and in live appearances.

Always ahead of his time, Duke’s first band pre-dated the renewed interest in jump blues by more than a decade — and almost 20 years later, in 1986, when he recorded with jazz sax master Scott Hamilton, he recorded a collection of classic big band tunes from the ’30s and ’40s, thus skillfully pre-dating the neo-Swing craze of the mid ’90s.

Roomful of Blues — which still continues, forty years later — gave Duke his first exposure to a wide public, and when he left after a dozen years, he played briefly with rockabilly king Robert Gordon, then cut two albums with the Legendary Blues Band (a sterling collection of former members of Muddy Waters’ band). He led his own band until 1990, and then replaced Jimmy Vaughan in the Fabulous Thunderbirds.

In 1993, as he was about to sign a world-wide recording deal with Virgin/Pointblank, he met Holger Petersen, head of the Canadian independent label Stony Plain, at a folk festival in Winnipeg. In conversation, he mentioned he wanted to record a complete album of blues, without the r & b and jazz influences of his work to date.

Petersen was interested; Virgin gave the go-ahead, and the resulting album, Duke’s Blues, earned rave reviews. It was so successful, in fact, that Virgin soon licensed the record from Stony Plain and released it around the world (except in Canada, where it continues in the Canadian company’s catalogue.

In the years since his relationship with the Canadian label has been astonishingly fruitful. As a soloist , he has released eleven CDs, plus one with label mate Ronnie Earl and one with The New Guitar Summit. Duke's next release will be in May/June of 2008

Just as remarkable have been the projects he has produced (and played on) for Stony Plain, including two albums with the late Jimmy Witherspoon, two with Kansas City piano king Jay McShann, comeback CDs for Billy Boy Arnold and Rosco Gordon, a swinging confection with the Canadian band The Rockin’ Highliners, and a superb album of guitar duets with the jazz legend Herb Ellis.

As if this growing catalogue was not enough, he has found time to share studio gigs with Bob Dylan (the Daniel Lanois-produced Time Out of Mind sessions), Ruth Brown, the late Johnny Adams, John Hammond, Pinetop Perkins, and Ronnie Earl, among many others. He now has his own 24-track studio in his home, and he has become deeply involved in graphic design and photography as well as record production.

Duke Robillard is a man in command of a full range of creative talents — unique in the blues, and rare in the music industry as a whole. He is, in fact, a complete artist at the height of his power.
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Great Blues Medley - John Lee Hooker with Muddy's band

Born near Clarksdale, Mississippi on August 22, 1917 to a sharecropping family, John Lee Hooker's earliest musical influence came from his stepfather, Will Moore. By the early 1940's Hooker had moved north to Detroit by way of Memphis and Cincinnati. Hooker found work as a janitor in the auto factories, and at night, like many other transplants from the rural Delta, he entertained friends and neighbors by playing at "house parties". He was "discovered" by record storeowner Elmer Barbee who took him to Bernard Besman, who was a producer, record distributor and owner of Sensation Records, Besman leased some of his early Hooker recordings to Modern Records. Among Hooker's first recordings in 1948, "Boogie Chillen" became a number one jukebox hit for Modern and his first million seller. This was soon followed by an even bigger hit with "I'm In The Mood" and other classic recordings including "Crawling Kingsnake" and "Hobo Blues." Another surge in his career took place with the release of more than 100 songs on Vee Jay Records during the 1950's and 1960's.

When the young bohemian audiences of the 1960's "discovered" Hooker along with other blues originators, he and various he and others made a brief return to folk blues. Young British artist such as the Animals, John Mayall, and the Yardbirds introduced Hooker's sound to the new and eager audiences whose admiration and influence helped build Hooker to superstar status in the mid - 60's England. By 1970 he had moved to California and worked on several projects with rock musicians, notably Van Morrison and Canned Heat. Canned Heat modeled their sound after Hooker's boggie and collaborated with him on several albums and tours.

During the late 1970's and much of the 1980's, Hooker toured the U.S. and Europe steadily but grew disenchanted with recording, through his appearance in the Blues Brothers movie resulted in a heightened profile. Then, in 1989, The Healer was released to critical acclaim and sales in excess of a million copies. Today the "The King Of The Boggie" is enjoying the most successful period of his extensive career. In the past ten years Hooker's influence has contributed to a booming interest in the blues and, notably, its acceptance by the music industry as a commercially viable entity.

Hooker's career has been a series a highlights and special events since the release of The Healer. In addition to recording his on albums Mr. Lucky, Boom Boom, Chill Out, and Don't Look Back for Pointblank / Virgin, he contributed to recordings by B.B. King, Branford Marsalis, Van Morrison, and Big Head Todd and the Monsters and portrayed the title role in Pete Townshend's 1989 epic, The Iron Man.

His influence on younger generations has been documented on television with features on Showtime and a special edition of the BBC's 'Late Show' as well as appearances on "The Tonight Show" and "Late Night With David Letterman" among many others. John Lee was invited to perform The Rolling Stones and guest Eric Clapton for their national television broadcast during The Stones' 1989 Steel Wheels tour. In 1990, many musical greats paid tribute to John Lee Hooker with a performance at Madison Square Garden. Joining him on some or all of these special occasions were artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Ry Cooder, Joe Cocker, Huey Newton, Carlos Santana, Robert Clay, Mick Fleetwood, Al Cooper, Johnny Winter, John Hammond, and the late Albert Collins and Willie Dixon.

Hooker's 1991 induction into the Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame was fitting for the man who has influenced countless fans and musicians who have in turn influenced many more. Honors continue, with recent inductions into Los Angeles' Rock Walk, The Bammies Walk Of Fame in San Francisco, and, in 1997, a star in the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

John Lee's style has always been unique, even among other performers of the real deep blues, few of whom remain with us today. While retaining that foundation he has simultaneously broken new ground musically and commercially. At the age of 80, John Lee Hooker received his third and fourth Grammy Awards, for Best Traditional Blues Recording (Don't Look Back) and for Best Pop Collaboration for the song "Don't Look Back" which Hooker recorded with his long time friend Van Morrison. This Friendship and others are celebrated on Hooker's newest Pointblank / Virgin album, The Best Of Friends. The album also celebrates a return, exactly 50 years later, to Hooker's first hit, Boogie Chillen and serves as a perfect bookend for Hooker's first fifty years in the business.

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