Stockyard Blues - Floyd Jones

Floyd Jones (July 21, 1917 – December 19, 1989) was an American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter, who is significant as one of the first of the new generation of electric blues artists to record in Chicago after World War II. A number of Jones' recordings are regarded as classics of the Chicago blues idiom, and his song "On The Road Again" was a top ten hit for Canned Heat in 1968. Notably for a blues artist of his era, several of his songs have economic or social themes, such as "Stockyard Blues" (which refers to a strike at the Union Stockyards), "Hard Times" or "Schooldays" Jones was born in Marianna, Arkansas. He started playing guitar seriously after being given a guitar by Howlin' Wolf, and worked as an itinerant musician in the Arkansas and Mississippi area in the 1930s and early 1940s, before settling in Chicago in 1945. In Chicago, Jones took up the electric guitar, and was one of a number of musicians playing on Maxwell Street and in non-union venues in the late 1940s who played an important role in the development of the post-war Chicago Blues sound. This group included Little Walter and Jimmy Rogers, both of who went on to become mainstays of the Muddy Waters band, and also Snooky Pryor, Floyd's cousin Moody Jones and mandolin player Johnny Young. His first recording session in 1947, with Snooky on harmonica and Moody on guitar, produced the sides "Stockyard Blues" and "Keep What You Got", which formed one of the two records released by the Marvel Label, and was one of the first examples of the new style on record. A second session in 1949 resulted in a release on the similarly short-lived Tempo-Tone label. During the 1950s Jones also had records released on JOB, Chess and Vee-Jay, and in 1966 he recorded for the Testament label's Masters of Modern Blues series. Jones continued performing in Chicago for the rest of his life, although he had few further recording opportunities. Later in his career the electric bass became his main instrument. He died in Chicago in December 1989. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

Chicken House Shorty - Shorty Gilbert

Shorty moved to Chicago in 1969 at the age of 18. He started gigging on bass with Homesick James, Eddie Clearwater and Kansas City Red. He's also backed up Little Johnny Taylor and Jimmy Reed. But by far the biggest feather in his cap is when Shorty was asked to join Howlin Wolf's band by the Wolf himself in 1974. He held that position until 1976 when the Wolf passed away. After that he joined Eddie Shaw's Wolfgang who he's played with for over 35 years, touring all over the world. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

I Wanna Boogie - Jimmy Anderson

The son of sharecroppers, Jimmy Anderson was born in 1934 and began playing harmonica at the age of 8. He mastered the instrument with ease, entertaining customers at a friends snowball wagon. “That’s how I started off. There was blues in Natchez at the Cross Key Club, that’s about it,” he said. “No big names travelled through but they did have a band by the name of Earl Lee. They had horns, and played mostly jazz and blues together. “Then I was inspired by Jimmy Reed. I tried to sound like him. I learned the low parts of the harmonica and the ‘squeal’ as they call it. “ Back then we didn’t have TV and the local radio didn’t play the blues. At night I would listen to WDIA out of Memphis and they would play all the old blues by Smokey Hogg, Muddy Waters, Lightnin’Slim, Howlin’Wolf, all sorts of music like that. “We’d get around the radio just like the kids do around the TV today. There was no electricity and the radio was battery operated” Jimmy Anderson moved to Baton Rouge at the age of 25 to find employment. He found work with soft drink companies. He later put together a band, Jimmy Anderson and the Joy Jumpers, with two guitar players, a drummer and Jimmy would sing and play the harmonica. Associating with blues legend such as Lightnin’Slim, Silas Hogan and Slim Harpo, the band recorded their first record, I wanna boogie, in early 1962 with their second, Naggin’, coming at the end of the year on the Crowley music label of Baton Rouge. Naggin’ made it to Europe where it gained fame and allow Jimmy Anderson to participate in blues tours in Austria, Holland and London. Jimmy recorded a total of 15 records between 1962 and 1964 before disputes with his label over royalties left a bitter taste on his appetite for the music business. He still performed with other blues acts of the area for the next seven years or so returning to Natchez. Here he became a policeman and later a disc jockey. “I wanted a man for myself so I played the song Soul Man as my intro and I called myself Soul Man Lee. “ Jimmy left WANT in the early 1980s due to disputes with the stations program directors. Working in radio for the next 10 years , he found his way to Vidalia’s KVLA which he left in 1991 following the death of his mother. Later in that year he returned to Europe with the Mojo Blues Band to perform in Austria and England. In 1997 Jimmy suffered a stroke that paralyzed the right side of his body, but this has ceased stop him. He’s still performing around Natchez. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!

Tough Times - John Brim

John Brim (April 10, 1922 – October 1, 2003) was an American Chicago blues guitarist, songwriter and singer. He wrote and recorded the original "Ice Cream Man" that Van Halen covered on their first album and David Lee Roth also covered on Diamond Dave. "Ice Cream Man" was also covered by Martin Sexton on his 2001 double album, Live Wide Open. Brim picked up his early guitar licks from the gramophone records of Tampa Red and Big Bill Broonzy, before venturing first to Indianapolis in 1941 and Chicago four years later. He met his wife Grace in 1947; fortuitously, she was a capable drummer and harmonica player who played on several of Brim's records. She was also the vocalist on a 1950 single for the Detroit-based Fortune Records, that signaled the beginning of Brim's discography. Brim recorded for Random Records, J.O.B. Records, Parrot Records (the socially aware "Tough Times"), and Checker Records ("Rattlesnake," his answer to Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog" was pulled from the shelves by Chess for fear of a plagiarism lawsuit). All of his 1950s recordings for the Chess brothers were later included on the compilation LP/CD "Whose Muddy Shoes" (which also included the few recordings Elmore James made for Chess and Checker; because they share this LP/CD, it has sometimes been assumed that they performed or recorded together, but this is not the case.) On some tracks Little Walter played the harmonica, whilst Jimmy Reed, Snooky Pryor, or James Dalton were also featured blowing the harp. Cut in 1953, the suggestive "Ice Cream Man" had to wait until 1969 to enjoy a very belated release. Brim's last Chess single, "I Would Hate to See You Go," was waxed in 1956 with a combo consisting of Little Walter, guitarist Robert Lockwood, Jr., bassist Willie Dixon, and drummer Fred Below. In between touring, Brim operated dry-cleaning businesses and a record store. When the royalties from Van Halen’s recording of "Ice Cream Man" came through, they enabled him to open John Brim’s House of the Blues Broadway Nite Club in Chicago. Brim continued to perform occasionally around Chicago, and was a regularly featured performer on the Chicago Blues Festival beginning in 1991, when he was backed by the local Chicago blues band The Ice Cream Men (drummer Steve Cushing, guitarists Dave Waldman and "Rockin'" Johnny Burgin, and harmonica player Scott Dirks; the band name was coincidental - they were not Brim's regular band, but had been using that name because the members had previously worked with Chicago bluesman Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers, who worked as an ice cream man on Chicago's south side.) He was tempted back into the recording studio again in 1989 to record four songs for the German Wolf label, and renewed interest in him finally led to his recording his first solo CD, Ice Cream Man, for Tone Cool Records in 1994. It received a W. C. Handy nomination as the best Traditional Blues Album of the Year. Brim also appeared at the 1997 San Francisco Blues Festival. He recorded again in 2000, 50 years after his recording debut, and continued to tour, playing in Belgium in 2001. One of his final appearances was at the 2002 Chicago Blues Festival. Brim, who lived in Gary, Indiana remained active on the Chicago blues scene until his death, on 1 October 2003 at the age of 81. He is survived by seven daughters and two sons. One son predeceased him If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!

Fourteen Stories - Red Lotus Revue - New Release Review

I just received the new (11/6/12) release, Fourteen Stories by Red Lotus Review. Red Lotus is named for it's debut at the Red Lotus Society in San Diego by founding members Karl Cabbage (vocal and harp), Jimmy Zollo (guitar) and Pete Fazinni (guitar). Drums are handled by Kurt Kalker. This recording includes 7 original tracks and 7 older classics. First up is Suzanne which actually reminds me of a Frank Black track (Nadine) and I really like it. This has just the right amount of overdrive on the harp with great riffs and Cabbage with a super dark blues voice. The drums are kept to a solid rhythm and guitar adds texture. For the second time in not so long a time I have to apologize for myself knowing a blues track first by a rock band. I Ain't Got You, made popular by Jimmy Reed was first exposed to me by the Yardbirds. RLR does a great job on this track with very tasty harp work, underlying guitar work and Cabbage's vocals are strong. Smokey Smothers' Drinkin' Muddy Water is up next and classic guitar styling throughout supporting clean vocals by Cabbage makes for a very enjoyable track. Johnny Shines' Please Don't has a crisp rockin' blues tempo with a nice understated guitar lead and strong harp riffs. Cabbage's vocals suit the tune to a tee. SB Williamson's Key To Your Door is done at a moderately slow pace giving both guitar and harp nice openings for short tidy riffs. Both take a nice extended bridge solo making this one of the coolest tracks on the recording. Original track, Homebody, is done with an understated light pace early on and then breaks down to a deeper rhythm track. I also want to mention that the guitar tone on this track is particularly cool. Another original track, Barkin', has that Chicago lope and is another contender for coolest track on the recording. With plenty of guitar, harp and swingin' vocals this track just has it! Another Johnny Shines track, Fish Tail, has a bit more of a primitive sound with resonator slide work and drum brush work. Kept light, it allows focus on the interesting vocal style of Cabbage to dominate an equally interesting instrumental track. Jimmy Reed's Honest I Do sets up really nicely for this band playing into the strong suit of the vocal, guitar and harp styling of this band. Sounds like it was written for them. Original track, River, opens with some nice acoustic slide work but quickly becomes a rockin' blues frenzy along the lines of Rollin' And Tumblin'. Another original, Smoker, nods to the 50's R&B but with an interesting modern chord change giving it a fresh sound. Howlin' Wolf track You Can't Be Beat, follows and has some really sweet "under the cuff" lead guitar riffs that compliment the track nicely. The final track, Santee, is cut out of the "Red Hot" cloth and done in a retro styling with mono sounding recording techniques. More hot licks and riffs from the guitars and harp make this a cool track to wrap it all up.

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Charlie Brown/ So Fine/ Splish Splash - Ike Turner & his Kings of Rhythm

Ike Wister Turner (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. In a career that lasted more than half a century, his repertoire included blues, soul, rock, and funk. He is most popularly known for his 1960s work with his then wife Tina Turner in the Ike & Tina Turner revue. Growing up in Clarksdale, Mississippi, he began playing piano and guitar when he was eight, forming his group, the Kings of Rhythm as a teenager at high school. He employed the group as his backing band for the rest of his life. His first recording, "Rocket 88" with the Kings of Rhythm credited as "Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats", in 1951, is considered a possible contender for "first rock and roll song". Relocating to St. Louis, Missouri in 1954, he built the Kings into one of the most renowned acts on the local club circuit. It was there he met singer Anna Mae Bullock, whom he married and renamed Tina Turner, forming the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, which over the course of the sixties became a soul/rock crossover success. In the 1950s, Turner was employed by Sun Studios and Modern Records as an arranger and talent scout for blues artists. Turner recorded for many of the key R&B record labels of the 1950s and 1960s, including Chess, Modern, Trumpet, Flair and Sue.With the Ike & Tina Revue he graduated to larger labels Blue Thumb and United Artists. Throughout his career Turner won two Grammy Awards and was nominated for three others. Alongside his former wife, Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and in 2001 was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Allegations by Tina Turner in her autobiography of her abusive relationship with Turner and the film adaptation of this coupled with his cocaine addiction damaged Turner's career in the 1980s and 1990s. His name became a synonym for wife beater, which overshadowed his contributions to music. Addicted to cocaine and crack for at least 15 years, Turner was convicted of drugs offenses, serving seventeen months in prison between July 1989 and 1991. He spent the rest of the 1990s free of his addiction, but relapsed in 2004. Near the end of his life, he returned to live performance as a front man and produced two albums returning to his blues roots, which were critically well received and award-winning. Turner has frequently been referred to as a 'great innovator' of Rock and Roll by contemporaries such as Little Richard and Johnny Otis. Phil Alexander (then editor-in-chief of Mojo magazine) described Turner as 'the cornerstone of modern day rock 'n' roll' Turner was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on 5 November 1931, to Beatrice Cushenberry (1909–195?), a seamstress, and Isaiah (or Izear) Luster Turner, a Baptist minister. The younger of two siblings, Turner had an elder sister, named Ethel May. Turner believed for many years that he was named Izear Luster Turner, Jr. after his father, until he discovered his name was registered as Ike Wister Turner while applying for his first passport. He never got to discover the origin of his name, as by the time he discovered it, his parents were both dead. Turner said when he was very young, he witnessed his father beaten and left for dead by a white mob. His father lived for 3 years as an invalid in a tent in the family's yard before succumbing to his injuries. Writer and blues historian Ted Drozdowski has told a different version of the story, stating that Turner's father died in an industrial accident. His mother remarried to a man called Philip Reeves. Turner said his stepfather was a violent alcoholic and they often argued and fought, after one fight Turner knocked out his stepfather with a piece of wood. He then ran away to Memphis where he lived rough for a few days before returning to his mother. He reconciled with his stepfather years later, buying a house for him in the 1950s around the time Turner's mother died. Turner recounted how he was introduced to sex at the age of six by a middle-aged lady called Miss Boozie. Walking past her house to school, she would invite him to help feed her chickens, and then take him to bed. This continued for some years. Turner claimed to not be traumatized by this, commenting that "in those days they didn't call it abuse, they called it fun". He was also sexually molested by two other women before he was twelve. Around his eighth year Turner also began frequenting the local Clarksdale radio station, WROX, located in the Alcazar Hotel in downtown Clarksdale. WROX was notable as one of the first radio stations to employ a black DJ, Early Wright, to play blues records. DJ John Frisella put Turner to work as he watched the record turntables. Soon he was left to play records while the DJ went across the street for coffee. Turner described this as "the beginning of my thing with music."This led to Turner being offered a job by the station manager as the DJ on the late-afternoon shift. The job meant he had access to all the new releases. On his show he played a diverse range of music, playing Louis Jordan alongside early rockabilly records. Turner was inspired to learn the piano on a visit to his friend Ernest Lane's house, where he heard Pinetop Perkins playing Lane's fathers' piano. Turner convinced his mother to pay for him to have piano lessons with a teacher; however he did not take to the formal style of playing, instead spending the money in a pool hall, then learning boogie-woogie from Perkins. . He taught himself to play guitar by playing along to old blues records. At some point in the 1940s, Turner moved into Clarksdale’s Riverside Hotel, run by Mrs. Z.L. Ratliff. The Riverside played host to a great number of touring musicians, including Sonny Boy Williamson II and Duke Ellington. Turner associated and played music with many of these guests. In high school, a teenage Turner joined a huge local rhythm ensemble called The Tophatters, who played dances around Clarksdale, Mississippi. Members of the band were taken from Clarksdale musicians, and included Turner's school friends Raymond Hill, Eugene Fox and Clayton Love. The Tophatters played big-band arrangements from sheet music. Turner, who was trained by ear and could not sight read music, would learn the pieces by listening to a version on record at home, pretending to be reading the music during rehearsals. At one point, the Tophatters had over 30 members, and eventually split into two, with one act who wanted to carry on playing dance-band jazz calling themselves The Dukes of Swing and the other, led by Turner becoming the Kings of Rhythm. Said Turner: "We wanted to play blues, boogie-woogie and Roy Brown, Jimmy Liggins, Roy Milton." Turner would keep the name of the band throughout his career, although it went through considerable lineup changes over time. Their early stage performances consisted largely of covers of popular jukebox hits. They were helped by B. B. King, who helped them to get a steady weekend gig and recommended them to Sam Phillips at Sun Studio. In the 50s, Turner's group got regular airplay from live sessions on WROX-Am, and KFFA radio in Helena, Arkansas. Sun Studio at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, where in 1951 Turner and the Kings of Rhythm recorded Rocket 88, one of the first Rock and roll records. Turner would later work at the studio as in-house producer for Sam Phillips. Around the time he was starting out with The Kings of Rhythm, Turner and Ernest Lane became unofficial roadies for blues singer Robert Nighthawk, who often played live on WROX. The pair sat in playing drums and piano on radio sessions and supported Nighthawk at blues dates around Clarksdale. Playing with Nighthawk allowed Turner to gig regularly and build up playing experience. He would also provide backup for Sonny Boy Williamson II (Alex "Rice" Miller), playing gigs alongside other local blues artists such as Howlin' Wolf, Charley Booker, Elmore James, Muddy Waters and Little Walter. Performances typically lasted for about twelve hours, from early evening to dawn the next day. Turner described the scenario to an interviewer: “ We played juke joints; we'd start playing at 8.00pm and wouldn't get off till 8.00am. No intermissions, no breaks. If you had to go to the restroom, well that's how I learned to play drums and guitar! When one had to go, someone had to take his place. ” It was around this time that Turner and his band came up with the song, "Rocket 88". The song was written as the group drove down to Memphis to record at Sam Phillips' Sun Studios. Turner came up with the introduction and first verse, the band collaborated on the rest with Brenston, the band's saxophonist, on vocals. Phillips sold the recording to Chess in Chicago, who released it under the name "Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats". The record sold approximately half a million copies. In Turner's account book he recorded that he was paid $20. The success of Rocket 88 caused tensions and ego clashes in the band, causing Jackie Brenston to leave to pursue a solo career, taking some of the original members with him. Turner, without a band and disappointed his hit record had not created more opportunities for him, disbanded the Kings of Rhythm for a few years. In the weeks leading up to his death, Turner became reclusive, in contrast to his normal gregarious personality. On 10 December 2007, He told his personal assistant Falina Rasool that he believed he was dying, and would not make it to Christmas. Turner died on 12 December 2007, at 76 years of age, at his home in San Marcos, California, near San Diego. He was found dying by his ex-wife Ann Thomas. Rasool was also in the house and administered CPR. Turner was pronounced dead at 11:38am. The funeral was held on 22 December 2007 at the City of Refuge Church in Gardena, California. Among those who spoke at the funeral were Little Richard, Solomon Burke and Phil Spector. Hundreds of friends, family members and fans attended the service. The Kings of Rhythm played versions of "Rocket 88" and "Proud Mary". On 16 January 2008, it was reported by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office that Turner had died from a cocaine overdose. "The cause of death for Ike Turner is cocaine toxicity with other significant conditions, such as hypertensive cardiovascular disease and pulmonary emphysema," Supervising Medical Examiner Investigator Paul Parker told CNN. His daughter Mia Turner was said to be surprised at the coroner's assessment, believing his advanced stage emphysema would have been a bigger factor in his death. On 5 August 2010, Ike Turner was posthumously recognized by his Mississippi hometown. Clarksdale officials and music fans gathered to unveil two markers on the Mississippi Blues Trail in downtown Clarksdale honoring Turner and his musical legacy. The unveilings coincided with the 23rd annual Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival, dedicated that year to "Rocket 88". If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

Nothing In This World - James Peterson

Alabama-born and Florida-based guitarist, singer, and songwriter James Peterson played a gritty style of Southern-fried blues at times reminiscent of Howlin' Wolf and other times more along the lines of Freddie King. He formed his first band while he was living in Buffalo, New York and running the Governor's Inn House of Blues in the 1960s. He and his band would back up the traveling musicians who came through, including blues legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Big Joe Turner, Freddie King, Lowell Fulson, and Koko Taylor. Peterson was born November 4, 1937 in Russell County, Alabama. Peterson was strongly influenced by gospel music in the rural area he grew up in, and he began singing in church as a child. Thanks to his father's juke joint, he was exposed to blues at an early age, and later followed in his footsteps in upstate New York. After leaving home at age 14, he headed to Gary, Indiana, where he sang with his friend John Scott. While still a teen, he began playing guitar, entirely self-taught. Peterson cited musicians like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf (Chester Burnett), Jimmy Reed, and B.B. King as his early role models. After moving to Buffalo in 1955, he continued playing with various area blues bands, and ten years later he opened his own blues club. Too Many Knots In 1970, Peterson recorded his first album, The Father, the Son, the Blues on the Perception/Today label. While he ran his blues club at night, he supplemented his income by running a used-car lot during the day. Peterson's debut album was produced and co-written with Willie Dixon, and it featured a then-five-year-old Lucky Peterson on keyboards. Peterson followed it up with Tryin' to Keep the Blues Alive a few years later. Peterson's other albums included Rough and Ready and Too Many Knots for the Kingsnake and Ichiban labels in 1990 and 1991, respectively. Don't Let the Devil Ride The album that put Peterson back on the road as a national touring act was 1995's Don't Let the Devil Ride for the Jackson, Mississippi-based Waldoxy Records. Throughout the '90s and up to the mid-2000s, Peterson was also an active live presence on the Tampa, Florida blues scene, and the 2000s also saw Peterson record another duo album with son Lucky, 2004's If You Can't Fix It on the JSP label. Peterson returned to Alabama in the mid-2000s, and died of a heart attack there on December 12, 2010. A master showman who learned from the best and knew how to work an audience, James Peterson left a legacy not only as an accomplished blues guitarist, but also as a crafty songwriter endowed with a deep, gospel-drenched singing style. If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!

BLIND PIG RECORDS ANNOUNCES LITTLE WALTER TRIBUTE RECORDING

"Little Walter Jacobs was one of the best singers of the blues and a blues harp player par excellence" - Keith Richards "Little Walter was a very, very powerful influence on me" - Eric Clapton Blind Pig Records has announced a live recording date for a special tribute to Little Walter Jacobs featuring some of the finest harmonica players on the current blues scene - Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Boy Arnold, Mark Hummel, James Harman, and Sugar Ray Norcia. The show will take place on Thursday, December 6th at Anthology in San Diego, California. The virtuosic Little Walter is without doubt one of the most influential blues harmonica players of all time. AllMusicGuide said, "The fiery harmonica wizard took the humble mouth organ in dazzling amplified directions that were unimaginable prior to his ascendancy. His daring instrumental innovations were so fresh, startling, and ahead of their time. His influence remains inescapable to this day -- it's unlikely that a blues harpist exists on the face of this earth who doesn't worship Little Walter." The idea for the Little Walter tribute recording grew out of a number of highly successful West Coast concerts in early 2012 that were part of an ongoing series of "Blues Harmonica Blowout" concerts organized by Hummel, who will serve as producer of the recording project, to be entitled Remembering Little Walter. Said Hummel, "Walter changed all the rules and raised the bar so high that nobody has yet surpassed him either in innovation or technical prowess. Walter's original sides have become the holy grail all other harpers are still trying to aspire to." Those sentiments were echoed by Charlie Musselwhite and Billy Boy Arnold, who both knew and were friends with Little Walter. In fact, both used Walter's backing musicians (Louis and Dave Myers, Fred Below, and Luther Tucker) in their own bands in the 60's and early 70's. Musselwhite said, "If you listen to Walter's earliest recordings you can see that he came from a down-home country style much like John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. And then, probably with the urban influence of Chicago horn players, started phrasing like a saxophone. This phrasing combined with his creativity and amplification really took harmonica playing to a whole new level that hadn't been heard before. For me personally, besides Walter's being an influence, he was even more of an inspiration; an inspiration and invitation to experiment, take chances, see where it'll take you and to always follow your heart." He went on to recall, "Walter was always real nice to me. He'd give me a ride home after the gig or sometimes he'd walk with me to the bus stop and wait until the bus came. He was always acting like he was looking out for me; like he was going to be there if somebody started some nonsense with me." Billy Boy Arnold added, "When I heard Little Walter's harmonica playing on the recordings with Muddy Waters and others, I knew that Little Walter was the new Harmonica King. I bought every record that Muddy Waters made with Little Walter's harp playing on it. He was miles ahead of all the other harp players on the scene. No one could touch him. He was creative, innovative, and spontaneous. Little Walter is still the top and most influential harp player that ever played." CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE is one of the most recognized names in blues harmonica. Born in 1944, Musselwhite has traveled the long road from backwoods Mississippi to a teenaged upbringing in Memphis, where he first heard and learned the blues from its originators. On the South Side of Chicago, Charlie served his apprenticeship with Robert Nighthawk, JB Hutto, Johnny Young and Big Walter Horton and developed close friendships with blues icons Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Joe Williams, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. In the late 60's and mid '70s he and Paul Butterfield were very influential in introducing traditional blues to white audiences and the burgeoning scene of young rock and rollers. Renowned for his mastery of the traditional blues idiom, in recent years he's introduced elements of jazz, gospel, Tex-Mex, Cuban and other world music into his recordings. In 2010 he was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Blues Hall Of Fame. In addition, Charlie, who is one of the most beloved blues musicians in the world, has been nominated for six Grammy Awards and has won 24 Blues Music Awards. BILLY BOY ARNOLD, a contemporary of James Cotton and Junior Wells, started with Ellis McDaniels (later to be known as Bo Diddley) in Chicago in 1955, where they created the "Bo Diddley" sound at Chess Records. Billy Boy learned harp at the feet of the legendary John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson when Billy was just 12 years old. Billy went on to record singles for VeeJay like "Wish You Would", "Ain't Got You" and "You Got Me Wrong." In the mid-60's young British groups The Yardbirds and The Animals discovered Billy Boy's 45s and had hits with their own cover versions. In the early 90's Arnold firmly reestablished himself as one of the foremost practitioners of classic Chicago blues with a pair of critically acclaimed releases on Alligator. His most recent CD, Billy Boy Arnold Sings Bill Broonzy, has been receiving extensive airplay. MARK HUMMEL has been touring nationally since 1984 and has most recently written a memoir, "Big Road Blues: 12 Bars on I-80," put out by Mountain Top Publishing. Mark started his band The Blues Survivors in 1977 with Mississippi Johnny Waters and has since toured/recorded with Lowell Fulson, Eddie Taylor, Charles Brown, Brownie McGhee, Jimmy Rogers and many other blues legends. In 1991 Mark started the Blues Harmonica Blowouts which have grown to be a much heralded blues event on the national scene. These multi harp packages have included John Mayall, Huey Lewis, Snooky Pryor, James Cotton, Kim Wilson, Rod Piazza, Carey Bell, Lazy Lester plus almost every other player of note on the blues harp. Mark has been nominated four times for the best harmonica player Blues Music Award. Hummel's eighteenth and most recent CD is entitled Retroactive. JAMES HARMAN was born and raised in Anniston, Alabama, where he quickly picked up on the black blues and soul music being played on juke boxes and the radio in the Deep South. In his teens, he started playing juke joints and dance clubs throughout the South and recorded a number of 45s. In 1968 Harman moved to Southern California, where he became friends with Canned Heat, The Blasters, and led bands with top-notch talent such as Hollywood Fats and Kid Ramos. He's released numerous albums over the years, picking up 10 W.C.Handy/BMA nominations along the way. He has been inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and is the harmonica player of choice on recordings and live performances by ZZ Top, appearing with them on both David Letterman and Jools Holland's TV shows. SUGAR RAY NORCIA started the popular East Coast blues band The Bluetones 30 years ago with guitarist Ronnie Earl. They backed Big Walter Horton, Big Joe Turner, Jimmy Rogers, Otis Rush, JB Hutto and countless others in the early '80s all over the Northeast. In 1991 Norcia hooked up with the legendary Roomful of Blues band and toured the world with the 11 piece band, appearing on their Grammy-nominated release Turn It On, Turn It Up. Norcia also recorded the Grammy nominated release Superharps during his Roomful tenure with harmonica heavyweights Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton and Billy Branch. In 2001, he reunited the Bluetones with guitarist Kid Bangham and later Monster Mike Welsh. The latest Sugar Ray and the Bluetones album, Evening, received four BMA nominations in 2012 including "Album of the Year" and "Traditional Blues Album" of the year. Following Little Walter's approach of having the very best musicians in his bands, Hummel has handpicked a sterling lineup of musicians for the show and recording in San Diego - Little Charlie Baty, the world renowned guitar slinger and former bandleader of Little Charlie and the Nightcats; second guitar will be Harman bandmate, Nathan James; June Core (Musselwhite, Little Charlie and Nightcats, Robert Jr. Lockwood and Hummel) will be on drums and RW Grigsby (Mike Morgan, Gary Primich and Hummel) will play upright bass. To see a video of the finale of the Little Walter tribute in Eugene, Oregon last February “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

Big Boss Man - Big George Brock

Well, the days when blues was pop music and bluesmen were heroes have sadly passed, but there are still a few of those real-deal men (and women) out there. Big George Brock is just such a man. Sharecropper, boxer, club owner and, through it all, an honest-to-Muddy bluesman. From the cotton fields to the bright lights, big city, Brock has done it all. He's faced personal and professional ups and downs but never given up. Even today, with all the aches and pains of old age, the blues still lift him up. .. Born in Grenada, Mississippi on May 16, 1932, Big George spent his teenage years near Clarksdale, Mississippi, before settling in St. Louis, Missouri, in the 1950s. While living in the Clarkdale area, he did back-breaking fieldwork, boxed on weekends, and played the blues. He remembers hanging out at house parties in the Delta where folks like Memphis Minnie would show up. Even today, he still has relatives in the Clarksdale area, including his blues-playing nephew James "Super Chikan" Johnson and brother-in-law Big Jack Johnson. .. In St. Louis, Big George owned a series of blues clubs in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, including Club Caravan (formerly the Early Bird Lounge) – where his wife at the time was killed by stray bullets from a drunk's pistol – and New Club Caravan. Later, Big George & the Houserockers was the house band at Climmie's Western Inn for 12 years. During his career, Big George has played shows with blues legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed and many others. Garrick Feldman of the Arkansas Leader has said Big George is "about as good a harmonica player as any of the blues greats, and he knew and played with most of them." At various times, he's had fellow Mississippians Willie Foster, Big Bad Smitty, Terry "Big T" Williams, Jimbo Mathus and Bill Abel back him at shows, but most often, you'll find him with one of the best "unknown guitar players" in the biz: Mr. Riley Coatie. .. Besides his 6-string skills, this native of the Arkansas Delta is also known for his amazing family blues band. Coatie taught his children Tekora, Latasha and Riley Jr. to play in the old classic style that Big George Brock loves. May 12, 2006 — exactly one year and five days after he recorded his Club Caravan album — Big George Brock returned to a Mississippi studio to lay down tracks for a much anticipated follow-up CD. In those 370 days, a lot happened in Brock's world. In August 2005, he took part in Mississippi Public Broadcasting's Native Sons concert film project (since re-named Mississippi Bluesmen). In October, Steven Seagal tapped Brock to blow harp on the actor-musician's all-star blues album, Mojo Priest. In November, the Blues Foundation announced Brock's "Comeback of the Year" Blues Music Award nomination — a designation soon followed by several "year end" top CD lists and even a Living Blues Award nomination. By January 2006, Brock's own story in words and music had been captured on film by director Damien Blaylock and, on May 8, 2006, was released nationally on the DVD Hard Times “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band!

Smokestack Lightning - Don't Laugh At Me - Howlin Wolf with Clifton James

One of the best blues lineups you'd likely dream of. Howlin Wolf : Vocal Guitar Sunnyland Slim: Piano Hubert Sumlin: Guitar Willie Dixon: Bass Clifton James: Drums One of a half-dozen essential drummers from the Chicago scene, Clifton James was closely associated with the mighty guitar slinger Bo Diddley for 16 years. This places James front and center at the creation of one of the most important beats in rock music, known as the "Bo Diddley beat" -- as if there was anything else it could be called. Actually, there might just be some other things that this beat might be called, as it is traceable back to ceremonial drummers of the African nation of Burundi, as well as forward into the avant-garde rock of Captain Beefheart, who often credited this beat as being the source of most of his songs. Although in the latter case, at least one of his Magic Band drummers, Jimmy Carl Black, has indicated that the exact instructions were to "play the Bo Diddley beat backwards." James worked off and on with Diddley, who also adopted the African traditions of praising himself through song, from 1954 through 1970, and is also heard on straight-ahead Chicago blues recordings by artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Muddy Waters, and Buddy Guy. The drummer was also one of the Chicago players who was involved in bringing this great genre of blues directly to audiences, when the public's interest in the style mushroomed in the '60s. As a member of the Chicago Blues All Stars in the late '60s, under the loose direction of bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon, he toured Europe, the United States, and Canada, hitting many cities where this style of blues had never been performed live. Other members of this group included pianist Sunnyland Slim, harmonica champ Shakey Walter Horton, and the fine guitarist Johnny Shines. He had also toured Europe in 1964 as part of an especially stripped down Howlin' Wolf quartet rounded out by Slim and Dixon. A live recording released by this outfit, although not legitimate, is certainly worth seeking out. Better known, but not as strong musically, are the European recordings of Sonny Boy Williamson II, which combined Chicago bluesmen with members of the British blues-rock combo the Yardbirds. Another all-star outfit was the Chicago Blues Band, which included both Shines and John Lee Hooker in the frontline, despite the fact that the latter blues great was not from the Windy City at all. The Super Super Blues Band The drummer was also a popular choice if a loose jam session was the order of the day, as he had a pleasant, giving personality that helped smooth out any rough spots that might occur between these highly competitive blues stars. Although albums such as Super Super Blues Band, featuring four of the top names in Chicago blues, or Two Great Guitars, which brings together archrivals Diddley and Chuck Berry, tend to be disappointing, the tracks show off the ease with which James can lay down a nice groove, even if the stars can't seem to think of anything to do on top. James was also granted the occasional vocal number when performing with these type of all-star outfits, and sang the blues with enough aplomb to make some listeners wish he had had more of a solo career. He has led bands occasionally, including a tour of Holland in the '70s. 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”

Hideaway - Left Hand Frank Craig

Southpaw guitarist Frank Craig (like many of his peers, he played an axe strung for a right-hander, strapping it on upside down) never really transcended his reputation as a trusty sideman instead of a leader -- and that was just fine with him. But he stepped into the spotlight long enough to sing four fine tunes for Alligator's Living Chicago Blues anthologies in 1978. Craig was already conversant with the guitar when he moved to Chicago at age 14. Too young to play inside the Club Zanzibar (where Muddy Waters, Little Walter, and Wolf held forth), Frank and his teenaged pals, guitarist Eddie King and bassist Willie Black, played outside the joint for tips instead. Legit gigs with harpist Willie Cobbs, guitarist James Scott, Jr., Jimmy Dawkins, Junior Wells, Good Rockin' Charles, Jimmy Rogers, and Hound Dog Taylor kept Frank increasingly active on the Chicago circuit from the mid-'50s to the late '70s. He moved to Los Angeles not too long after the Alligator session, eventually hanging up his guitar altogether due to health problems. 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” Video

Mississippi Heat

On the back of Mississippi Heat's CD Footprints On The Ceiling, there is a photograph of a man with his eyes closed, playing the harmonica with such passion, that one is almost stunned by the actual silence of that frozen moment. Yet when he is heard live or on record on his harmonica, the listener is caught up by its fervent, inspiring presence. The man behind the harmonica is Pierre Lacocque, Mississippi Heat's band leader and song writer. Pierre was born on October 13, 1952 in Israel of Christian-Belgian parenthood. However, shortly after his birth, Pierre's family moved to Germany and France before going back to Belgium in 1957. By the age of 6, Pierre had already lived in three countries. A preview to his future musical career on the road. Pierre's childhood in Brussels resonated with the intense and impassioned Scriptural upbringing of his father, a Protestant minister, now living in Chicago, who became a worldfamous Old Testament scholar. Pierre, his brother Michel (Mississippi Heat's General Manager) and his sister Elisabeth (who did the artwork design on the Heat's first three CD's) went to a Jewish Orthodox School in Brussels. After the Holocaust, Pierre's parents and paternal grandfather (also a minister) felt that their children and grandchildren should learn about the suffering and plight of the Jews, as well as about Judaism in general and its philosophical and theological depths. At the Athenee Maimonides (Brussels) they were the only non-Jews ever (and since) to attend. At the Athenee Maimonides they learned old and modern Hebrew, all the religious rites and prayers, as well as studied the rabbinical commentaries on the books of the Old Testament. With the devotion to his studies, there was little time or room for much else. The family culture and priority was on intellectual pursuits, not on play such as soccer or music (two old interests of his). Serious studying, the reading of existential philosophers and theologians, were the only worthwhile activities condoned and encouraged by Pierre's parents, his father in particular. But thanks to the radio in young Pierre's room, there was just enough opportunity to unravel the subtle auditory endowments of Destiny. From the radio he heard and was moved by such soulful singers as Ray Charles, Otis Redding, and Aretha Franklin. Pierre was careful to keep the volume down. This is where he began to appreciate African- American music. ... The sound of the harmonica was first introduced to him when he lived in Alsace, France. His father was then a minister in a small village called Neuviller (1955-1957), not far from Albert Schweitzer's birthplace in Gunsbach. Pierre's father had bought him a green plastic harmonica toy. He was about three years old at the time. He remembers blowing in and out of it and feeling a surge of sadness that felt so familiar. As he experimented with the toy he often cried listening to its plaintive sounds. It was not until he came to Chicago in 1969, however, that he finally detected his destiny: playing the blues on the harmonica. He had never heard the blues saxophone-like amplified harmonica sound until then. In 1969 Pierre's father received a full-time Old Testament professorship at the Chicago Theological Seminary, located on the University of Chicago's campus. The family decided to move permanently to the Windy City and leave Belgium for good. Pierre was sixteen years old. The golden era of the 1950's electric Chicago sound was still having a vibrant impact on local bands. Luminaries such as Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Little Walter, Junior Wells, Elmore James, James Cotton, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Rogers, Jimmy Reed, and so many others, were still dynamic forces to reckon with in the late 1960's. Unfortunately some had died by the time Pierre arrived in Chicago. Little Walter, Pierre's mentor and main influence, died in 1968 following a head wound he acquired during a fight. ... Otis Spann, Muddy Waters' long-time band member and perhaps the best blues piano player ever, had also recently died of cancer. On a Saturday night in the early Fall of 1969, Pierre decided to go to a concert being held at the University of Chicago's Ida Noyes. He had no exposure to Chicago Blues before then, and had no expectations as to what he was about to hear. As he listened to the band playing, he became overwhelmed with emotion and excitement at a sound he never heard before: A saxophone-sounding amplified harmonica! In his own words, " I was absolutely stunned and in awe by the sounds I heard coming from that harmonica player and his amplifier ... It sounded like a horn, yet distinct and unique". The harmonica player went by the name of Big Walter Horton, a name he had never heard before but who changed his life forever. What he heard that night, the music, the mood, the style and sounds, moved his soul. From that moment on, Blues music, and blues harmonica in particular, became an obsession. Two days later, on a Monday morning, Pierre bought himself his first harmonica (or "harp" as it is called in blues circles). Next he was buying records, instruction books, anything to do with the blues harp. He was talking to people, picking up new knowledge wherever he could. Obsession led to passion and intense dedication, and Pierre was practicing the harp six, seven hours a day, notpaying attention to the clock (although he is known to check the clock now to remind him when he needs to get off the stage, because if it was up to him he would keep on playing beyond the scheduled sets! His band members tease him about that). Pierre eventually finished High School (like Paul Butterfield, Pierre graduated from the University of Chicago's High School, better known as "The Lab School". The two never met, however, as Butterfield had left the school before 1969). Pierre then left Chicago to go to College in Montreal, Canada. He played harp through his College years, making a few dollars here and there. While at Stanislas College and later, at McGill University, both located in Montreal, Pierre got his first live experience with a local blues group named the ALBERT FAILEY BLUES BAND. About a year later, Pierre joined another band: OVEN. That was in the early 1970's when he lived for six years in that French-Canadian city (1970-1976). OVEN gigged regularly, and eventually won the Montreal Battle of The Bands contest in the summer of 1976. Unfortunately, the promoter who promised the winner $1,000 Canadian dollars and a record contract skipped town, and was never seen or heard from again. The news of the winand of the shady promoter did make the Montreal newspapers though... Not having the ill-fated Canadian blues career anymore, Pierre, 24 at the time, and disillusioned, came back to Chicago. Although playing the blues on the harp could never be more fitting as it was at this point, it couldn't pay the bills. And it was at this point (1976) that Pierre described his life as going "the intellectual route". Pierre decided to further his education in Clinical Psychology. It was during this period that Pierre met his Social Worker wife Vickie, and began working as a clinician at a Mental Health center in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. For the next decade, Pierre was involved with his psychological work and research, finishing a doctorate at Northwestern University and publishing professional articles and a book, until a major insight took place in 1988. Pierre, an accomplished 36 years-old man, who had been studying Existentialism, Theology, History of Religions, etc. began to feel a void in his life. He began to re-evaluate his life and look into his own heart. Eventually he heard the answer loud and clear: He missed playing the blues. The awareness struck him like a beautiful horn, coming from an amp, distinct and unique, and yet a sound he had heard before, hidden all these years, but definitely not lost. And this is where Pierre's passion revived, his fire and "joie de vivre" rekindled, his ability to take what was lost inside of him all these years and turn it into the raw, powerful heat that it is today. 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”

My Head Is Bald - Tail Dragger with Jimmy Dawkins and Lurrie Bell

James Yancy Jones, aka Tail Dragger, was born in Altheimer, AR, in 1940. He was brought up by his grandparents and was influenced as a child by the electric Chicago blues of Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, and especially Chester Burnett, the Howlin' Wolf. Jones was a Howlin' Wolf devotee, right down to his deep, gruff voice. After moving to Chicago in the '60s, he began playing with blues legends on the West Side and South Side. It was Howlin' Wolf who gave Jones the title "Tail Dragger" because of his habit of showing up late to gigs. When Jones first appeared on the Chicago blues circuit he was known as Crawlin' James. A number of local West Side and South Side blues artists, including Hubert Sumlin, Carey Bell, Eddie Shaw, Mack Simmons, and Willie Kent, got their start playing in Tail Dragger's bands. American People The difficult lifestyle that contributes to many blues lyrics caught up with Tail Dragger in 1993 when he shot and killed fellow bluesman Boston Blackie, supposedly over profits owed from a show. Jones spent 17 months in an Illinois jail. Following years of playing juke joints and releasing a handful of singles, his first full-length disc, Crawlin' Kingsnake, was released in 1996. Three years later he returned with American People on the legendary Chicago blues and jazz label Delmark. My Head Is Bald: Live at Vern's Friendly Lounge followed in 2005 on Delmark, which also released a DVD of the show under the same title. 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”

Lollipop Mama - Cadillac Wreckers

Cadillac Wreckers play traditional yet uptown, swinging, urbane American music, steeped in the roots of vintage Jazz, Blues, Swing and R&B. Their music is at once contemporary and familiar, yet somehow reminiscent of the dance halls, speakeasies and juke joints of an era past.


Guitarist Dana Duplan and Harmonica player Dane Terry founded the 'Wreckers to play music born from the classic sides they love, combined with their own arrangements and energy. They sprinkled in a good mix of tunes from artists like Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Guitar Slim, Louis Jordan, Charles Brown, T-Bone Walker, Little Walter, Hound-dog Taylor, Howlin' Wolf, Amos Milburn, George "Harmonica" Smith, Willie Dixon and others. Before long, they started collaborating on original blues music together.


Cadillac Wreckers brings classic American roots music alive with a sophistication, swing and feel seldom heard today. Whether you're into dancing or just grooving along with the band, Cadillac Wreckers is the vehicle that will carry you away to another time and place with their soulful intent, inventive instrumental improvisations and incredibly tight, solid performance.

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Boogie - ROOSEVELT SYKES with FRED BELOW

Fred Below (September 16, 1926 – August 14, 1988) was a leading blues drummer, best known for his innovative work with Little Walter and Chess Records in the 1950s. Nobody laid more of the Chicago blues rhythmic foundations, particularly its archetypal backbeat, than Fred Below.


He was born in Chicago, and started playing drums in a high school jazz band. After being conscripted into the United States Army, he joined the 427th Army band, where he played with Lester Young. After war service, he played in nightclub in Germany before returning to the United States in 1951.

Back in Chicago, Below joined a group called The Aces, comprising Junior Wells and brothers Louis and Dave Myers. Little Walter had just left Muddy Waters' band to pursue a solo career, Wells taking over Walter's role on harp in the Muddy Waters band and Walter commandeering the Aces (Myers brothers and Below). As Little Walter and the Nightcats, they became one of the top electric blues bands in Chicago.

In 1955, Below left Little Walter's live band to concentrate on working as a session musician for Chess Records. However, he continued to play on Little Walter's records, as well as hit records for Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Jimmy Rogers, Elmore James, Otis Rush, Junior Wells, Howlin' Wolf and others.

John Brim's last Chess single, "I Would Hate to See You Go," was waxed in 1956 with a musical ensemble consisting of Little Walter, guitarist Robert Lockwood, Jr., bassist Willie Dixon, and Fred Below.

Amongst his more famous work was playing on Chuck Berry's 1957 hit single, "School Days".

The Myers brothers and Below re-formed under the Aces moniker in 1970 to tour Europe before again going their separate ways.

Fred Below died from cancer on August 14, 1988 in Chicago at the age of 61
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Have You Ever Loved A Woman - Freddie King

Freddie was born in Gilmer Texas on September 3 1934 with the given name of Freddy King to Ella May King and J.T. Christian. My father's mother told him that her grandfather ( who was a full-blooded Choctaw Indian) prophesied to her that she would have a child that will stir the souls of millions and inspire and influence generations. My grandmother and her brother Leon played the guitar. Freddie's mother recognized early her first born interest in music. She and her brother Leon began teaching him to play rural country blues at the age of six. His early music heroes were Sam Lightnin Hopkins (who he credits his proficiency of the down home thumb-finger picken style) and Louis Jordan (the jump blues saxophonist). He told me that he would play Jordan's record over and over again until he could match his horn, note for note. This discipline would have a major impact on his phrasing.

His first guitar was a silvertone acoustic. His most prized guitar at that time was his Roy Roger acoustic. In a interview years later he recalled going to the general store to order it. The store owner asked him if his mother knew he was trying to order a guitar on her store account. Freddie replied " no". The store owner told him to get permission. His mother said "no". She told him, "if you want a new guitar you will have to work for it." He stated that he picked cotton just long enough to earn the money to purchase a Roger's guitar.

By 1949 two of Freddie's uncles, Felix and Willie King had already moved to Chicago. They were earning good money working in the steel mill. Ella now married to Ben Turner saw opportunity for her family in Chicago. Freddie's father J.T. didn't want Freddie to go to Chicago, He wanted Freddie to finish high school and go to college in Texas like some of his family. J.T.'s sister Melissa was a teacher at the local black school. Ella and J.T. agreed to let Freddie finish high school. The family left for Chicago in the fall of 1949.
Freddie and his family moved to Chicago in 1949. This was a dream come true. He was now living on the southside of chicago, the playground of the post -war blues greats Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, T-Bone Walker, Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson and others. At age16 Freddie would sneak in to the clubs (on double dares from his friends) to listen and watch these blues greats perform. One night he bet his friends that, not only would he sneak into the club, but he would also sit in with the house band and play his box guitar. Freddie won the bet. After sitting in with the band, the club owner realized how young Freddie was. He ordered the bouncers to escort him out of the club. Howlin Wolf intervened by telling the club owner" the kid is with me. Howlin was impressed by the way Freddie picked the acoustic guitar. Howlin told Freddie" young man you pick that guitar like a old soul"..."The lord sure enough put you here to play the blues" This would be the beginning of a great friendship. Howlin took young Freddie under his wing and taught him how to take care of himself in the streets of Chicago. Along with Muddy Water and his side men EddieTaylor, Jimmy Rogers, Robert Lockwood Jr.and Little Walter they accepted him into their inner circle. These guys were the cream of the crop the best that Chicago blues had to offer. Freddie started hanging out and jamming with Muddy's sidemen. My father credits Eddie Taylor with teaching him how to use the metal index finger pick and a plastic thumbpick verses the flat pick. My father really respected these guys talents as musicians and grew to understand their true worth.



By 1952 Freddie had met and married a Texas girl, Jessie Burnett. She proved to be the foundation and maturity he needed. She also would be the inspiration and co-contributor to some of his compositions. He worked in the steel mill during the day and worked gigs at night. He would ocassionally work as a sideman in recording sessions. He and his running buddies Jimmy Rogers and Eddie Taylor were young, fresh and eager to venture out in search of something new, something different. The southside of Chicago served up its blues with the big blues band sound that included a rhythm section, horns, a piano,and sometimes a harp. The westside of Chicago with its small taverns, eagerly embraced these young blues maverick and their blues sound that consisted of a electrifying lead guitarist who usually doubled as the lead vocalist. a bassman, and drummer. Freddie jumped at the chance that the westside travens offered. So he along with two other young guys, guitarist Jimmy Lee Robinson and drummer Sonny Scott formed his first band,"The Every Hour Blues Boys".

In 1953 Freddie cut several sides for the Parrot Label. He continued to do session recordings whenever possible.

It was not until 1956 that Freddie recorded a 45 with a local label El-Bee. Side A was a duet with Margaret Whitfield "Country Boy" and side B was a fast tempo blues, " Thats What You Think". His friend Robert Lockwood Jr. added guitar licks. Chess Records was one of the biggest blues labels at that time. Their home office and recording studio was located in Chicago. Many big name Chicago blues artists were signed, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf and Little Walter, just to name a few. My father auditioned several times with no success. They stated that he sounded vocally like B.B. King. He would later say that Chess rejection was a blessing in disguise, because it forced him to develope his own vocal style.

It is now 1957 and Freddie is performing with bluesmen like blues pianist Memphis Slim ( who left the Chicago scene to find success in France.) and blues guitarist Magic Sam Maghett( a good friend and neighbor). As a favor Freddie did some uncredited session work for Magic Sam who at the time was signed to the Cobra Label. 1958 Uncle Sam came calling on the blues community. My father was not drafted because he had no arch support (flat feet). Magic Sam was not so lucky he was drafted.

1959 Freddie is rejected once more by Chess Records, but he meets Sonny Thompson a pianist who happens to be a contract artist and front man for King/Federal label. Sonny recognized something unique about Freddie's blues style.

In 1960 Freddie signed with Syd Nathan's King /Federal Label. Syd Nathan was a total control freak, a smart hard nose businessman who at times could be fairer than most record label owners of this period. His contract artists range from Blues, Freddie King ,Albert King,Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Memphis Slim, John Lee Hooker and others, Country & Western, Ferlin Huskey, The Stanley Brothers, Hank Penny, Grandpa Jones and others, R&B, Hank Ballad, Bill Doggett, James Brown, Little Willie John, Little Esther Phillips, The Platters, The Ink Spots, Chantals, Royals,and others, Jazz, Nina Simone, Carmen McRae, Errol Garner, Bobby Scott, Bobby Troup and others, Gospel artists and International artists. All artists recorded at one location in Cincinnati Ohio, at the Brewster locations. Records were mastered, pressed,stored, and distributed from this location. The album covers were designed and printed from the same location. Yes Syd Nathan was a control freak. Freddie's time with King label was bitter sweet. He was happy to be under contract, but he did not like being control and manipulated artistically. Nathan would suggest ideas for songs that Freddie disagreed with. Nathan wanted Freddie to cover some of his country and western artist tunes. Freddie had always been a fan of C&W but Nathan and Freddie could never agree on which tune to record. Then one day Nathan over heard a studio jam session that consisted of some country and western musicians and Freddie doing a blues swing version of" Remmington Ride". Nathan quickly had Freddie nail that tune to vinyl. The collaboration of Freddie King and Sonny Thompson on instrumentals such as "The Stumble," "Low Tide," "Wash Out," "Sidetracked," "HeadsUp," "Onion Rings," "The Sad Nite Owl," and "Hide Away", contains some of the most brilliant and most awsome guitar licks in blues history. Instrumentals like these would soon wake up the young British music community to a new groove " Blues Rock".

Many of Freddie's songwriting credits under the King label contract were shared with Sonny Thompson. They would have marathon sessions of 16 hrs and more. The first 45 release: side A " Have You Ever Loved A Woman", side B "Hide Away". Both sides were big hits on the R&B charts. The surprise was the Hide Away release. It became a crossover hit on the Pop chart reaching # 29. This was a first, a blues artist registering a hit on the Pop chart. No other blues artist had accomplished this before. Young whites were digging Freddie's blues style. Nathan quickly capitalized on it. He insisting that Freddie and Sonny concentrate on instrumentals. Freddie sold more albums during this period (1961-63) than any other blues artist including B.B. King.
It is now 1962 and Freddie was still riding the crest of success from his King recordings. Freddie King was hotter than molten steel. But with success comes the down side. Freddie Loved the Chicago night life. Gambling til dawn in the backroom of Mike's cleaners and getting into mischief with his cronies.My mother was now a housewife with six children. She didn't like what the Chicago nightlife was doing to her husband, it provided to many distractions. The fall of 1962 she left her husband and she and her six children moved to Dallas Texas. After she arrived in Dallas she called Syd Nathan demanding that he send her royalties that she knew her husband was entitled to. She stated that she needed it for her children and herself to start a new life. Nathan proved to be a few notches above the other record company owners of this period. He sent my mother two thousand dollars. My mother place a down payment on a house. It did not take my father long to realize that his family was not returning to Chicago. Freddie left his beloved Chicago and joined his wife and children in Dallas in the spring of 1963. Freddie's move to Texas proved to be a blessing in disguise. Freddie began fine tuning his vocals he evolved from a B.B. king singing style to his own more soulful sound. Music was changing and so was he. He was experimenting with and incorporating different types of music. Freddie's contract with King ended in 1966. Gone were the big name revues and national tour packages, but Freddie continued to draw pack houses where ever he performed black and white clubs. He got an opportunity in 1966 to do a series of appearances on a R&B program called "The!!!Beat". The Beat had this 60's "Mod"look that featured a house band lead by Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, artists like Otis Redding, Etta James, Little Milton, Carla Thomas, and Louis Jordan. to name a few appeared weekly. These appearance caught the attention of Atlantic Records front man King Curtis.

In 1968 Freddie signed a contract with Cotillion Records a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. Two albums were released:

Freddie king is a Blues master

My Feeling for the Blues

Both releases were soulful and funky and showcased his singing talents,both albums had moderate success. Freddie was disappointed in the lack of success in the two releases. His spirits was soon lifted with the success of his first overseas tour in 1968. He was originally booked for a month and it was extended to three. He was amazed by his popularity in England, a new generation of young white musicians like Eric Clapton,MickTaylor, and others were trying to emulate Freddie King. In 1969 Freddie hires a new manager Jack Calmes. Jack is young, white and part of the "counter culture" that has discovered the blues. Jack helped orchestrate Freddie's career into high gear with the 1969 Texas Pop Festival,there he shared billing with Led Zeppelin, Sly and the family stone,Ten years After, B.B. King, among others, " Led Zeppelin's guys were standing there watching him perform with their mouth open" Jack said. Calmes secured a contract deal for Freddie with Leon Russell's new label Shelter Records . Leon had been a fan of Freddie's sizzling guitar style for years. Leon was now creating the Oklahoma blues culture with the start up of his own label. Leon Russell record label included Joe Cocker and The Nitty Gitty Dirt Band. Leon spared no expense the sessions were top shelf he flew the studio crew to Chicago and recorded the first album "Getting Ready" at the old Chess Records studio. Freddie was allowed to showcase his showmanship, Leon wanted the listening audience to experience the brilliance and raw essences of Freddie King. Shelter was the perfect springbroad for Freddie's style of blues, hard driving and in your face. This collaboration put Freddie into the mainstream of the white blues /rock explosion. The release of "Getting Ready" produced Freddie's signature blues/rock hit "Going Down".
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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”

How Blue Can You Get - Guitar Ray & The Gamblers

Smokin’ guitarist and singer Guitar Ray went home to Italy to record his latest dvd, “As The Years Go Passing By”, and the result is an eclectic mix of styles that recalls the great masters of blues guitar, his biggest inspirations: T-Bone Walker, the great B.B. King, Johnny Guitar Watson and the Chicago guitarist Otis Rush. Born and raised in Chiavari, Italy, in 1963, Guitar Ray started to play music at the age of thirteen. He soon got his first real guitar, a Fender Strat, bought with his own pocket money and still with him after 30 years of career. Felt in love with the Blues after listening to the classic records of Jimmy Reed, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, he never stopped to keep the Blues alive. Soon after coming off the road, he got a call to do a tour with California Blues guitarist Otis Grand and everything changed: Otis wanted to produce “New Sensation” Ray’s first record, and the second, “Poorman Blues”, came naturally. Immediately top 5 on “Pool 2008 International” Blues News Germany, “Poorman Blues” is now receiving airplay in Europe and the United States. Guitar Ray’s style is that of elegant notes, of sudden accelerations and dynamics which recount his own life story and his everlasting love for the Blues. His particular “groove” is authentic and genuine which is always required by the idiom and his many prestigious collaborations and performances in Italy and abroad confirm his artistic stature. Guitar Ray and his band, The Gamblers, make a Blues mission of their travels around the world. The Blues as played by Guitar Ray reflects everyday life and his fascinating nuances will grab your attention like an great photograph, a wonderful book to read, or a life-passion to be lived intensely.
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Henry Gray & Tail Dragger with Bob Corritore's Rhythm Room All-Stars

JAMES YANCY JONES, known as THE TAIL DRAGGER, is a long-time disciple of Howlin' Wolf; in fact, the Wolf gave James the moniker "Tail Dragger" emanating from one of the Wolf's now-classic songs. The Tail Dragger followed Wolf from club- to-club, watching and getting pointers from the larger-then-life Howlin' Wolf for more than 20 years. The Wolf allowed

"The Dragger" to perform his blues while Wolf took a break on weekend shows. Soon "The Dragger" was playing his own numerous club dates on the West and South Sides of Chicago.

TAIL DRAGGER is from Altheimer, Arkansas and during his formative years he saw Sonny Boy Williamson and Boyd Gilmore perform at house parties and country suppers. Dragger soon heard the records of Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters and Elmore James and his musical tastes were set in stone.

Tail Dragger remains intensely loyal to his early influences. The Tail Dragger, by his own admission, sings only lowdown blues. "Lowdown blues is all I like...All I feel...and I sing what I feel," flatly states The Dragger. "Its's like I get into a trance when I sing the blues, I forget about everything else. Nothing else matters," concludes The Tail Dragger.
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I Found Love - Nacho Ladisa Blues Club

NACHO LADISA: Su primera formación musical lo acerca al Blues y al rock, participando en varias bandas hasta el año 2000 donde se une a la banda de blues tradicional "La Caterva", con esta agrupación ha tocado en lugares como: Blues Special Club, Jazz & Blues, Honkers Club, participando también en el programa de cable Jazz & Blues y en programas radiales de Blues como el de Adrián Flores. Con Brotzman y Torres Blues Band participó dos años consecutivos del festival de Jazz en el Subte. Además se sumó a la Blues Special Band como guitarrista ocasional y acompañó a distintos armonicistas de la escena local. En el 2003 perfecciona sus estudios en el SADEM como músico interprete de música popular. A partir del año 2006 se suma a las Ranas Criollas, banda formada por el legendario Javier "ciego" Gofman a quien acompaña por mas de tres años. Desde el 2007 se desempeña como profesor de guitarra en la Escuela de Blues. Es integrante del equipo de Blues En Movimiento... A principios de 2010; Nacho Ladisa, forma la agrupación "Nacho Ladisa blues club" que propone revisar un repertorio de Blues clásico de los años '50 y '60 de grandes artistas de este genero como Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Eddie Boyd, Little Walter, Elmore James y Howlin' Wolf... Nacho ladisa colabora ademas en los proyectos personales de los armonicistas, Huguis Lopez y Junior Bizugna, con quienes se presenta en distintos lugares del circuito de blues de Buenos Aires.
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Wicked Tongue - Fife and Drom

Fife & Drom is the collaborative endeavor of NYC-based musicians Abby Ahmad and Mark Marshall. Established in early 2012, FIfe & Drom pen original songs inspired by the works of blues pioneers Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Son House and beyond. Their name pays tribute to fife and drum blues music, a highly influential genre which emerged from Mississippi, the heart of Delta blues.

Joined by bassist/vocalist Adam Minkoff and drummer Sean Dixon, Fife & Drom's music incorporates the infectious rhythms/sounds from classic-era blues but adapts with content for today's life and times. Their explosive live shows have audiences captivated by the band's raw passion, ceaseless energy and powerful dynamics.

Something old, new, borrowed...something Blues.
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