Bman's Blues Report

Calvin Newborn (born April 27, 1933, Whiteville, Tennessee, United States) is an American jazz guitarist. He is the brother of pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. (1931–89), with whom he recorded between 1953 and 1958. They also formed an R&B band, with their father Phineas Newborn Sr. on drums and Tuff Green on bass. The group also included Willie Mitchell and Ben Branch. The group was the house band in West Memphis, Arkansas, from 1947 until 1951 at the Plantation Inn Club. The group recorded as B. B. King's band on his first recordings in 1949, and also the Sun Records sessions in 1950. On the 1950 recording of "B. B.'s Boogie", recorded at the Sun Studios, it was Newborn playing the lead guitar. Newborn also gave guitars lessons to Howlin' Wolf and is credited as being a big influence on Elvis Presley, who frequented the Plantation Inn Club twice a week to watch Newborn. "Elvis got swiveling his hips and wiggling his legs from me," said Newborn. Presle...

The Dixie Hummingbirds are an influential American gospel music group, spanning more than 80 years from the jubilee quartet style of the 1920s, through the "hard gospel" quartet style of Gospel's golden age in the 1940s and 1950s, to the eclectic pop-tinged songs of today. Formed in 1928 in Greenville, South Carolina, by James B. Davis and his classmates, they sang in local churches until they finished school, then started touring throughout the South. Lead singer Ira Tucker joined the group in 1938 at age 13, and they signed with Decca Records. In addition to his formidable vocal skills, Tucker introduced the energetic showmanship - running through the aisles, jumping off stage, falling to his knees in prayer - copied by many quartets that followed. Tucker also took the lead in the stylistic innovations adopted by the group, combining gospel shouting and subtle melismas with the syncopated delivery made popular by The Golden Gate Quartet, as well as adventuresome harmon...

Little Arthur Duncan (February 5, 1934 – August 20, 2008) was an American Chicago blues and electric blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. He was a member of the Backscratchers, and over his working lifetime associated with Earl Hooker, Twist Turner, Illinois Slim and Rick Kreher Duncan was born in Indianola, Mississippi, United States, and initially learned to play the drums. In 1950, aged 16, he moved to Chicago, Illinois, and made acquaintance with both Little Walter, who helped Duncan to learn the rudiments of harmonica playing, and Jimmy Reed. He found work playing his harmonica by accompanying Earl Hooker, John Brim and Floyd Jones. Billed and henceforth commonly known as 'Little Arthur Duncan', he played primarily in and around Chicago, and built up a local reputation over the years. He appeared with his own band in the Backscratcher's Social Club, which he also owned. Duncan worked in construction during the 1960s and 1970s, so was restricted to playing an...

Steven Bryan Johnson, born January 12, 1956, started playing guitar in 1963 after his Uncle Mickey Johnson played his electric guitar for him. Played in rock blues bands in California untill moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1982. There he met Albert Collins, Willie Dixon, Luther Allison, Duke Robillard, Johnny Winter, and lots of Chicago and Detroit area blues players. Moved to New York City in 1983 and formed The Tanks, a Blues Power Trio and recorded 3 albums all independently released in the U.S. Played with Paul Butterfield, Johnny Copeland, Paul Schaeffer, Albert Collins, Little Jimmy King, Jaco Pastorious, Fernando Saunders, Tony Smith, Little Mike, Hubert Sumlin, Popa Chubby, Big Ed Sullivan, Jon Paris, Bill Perry, Michael Hill and most New York Blues players.  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 a...

Richard Broadnax was born in 1948 in the small town of Vellie, a community just outside of the city of Camden, Arkansas in the USA. Home to his four brothers and one sister was a farm operated by his parents, Elmer and Nettie. In addition to managing their farm, raising six children, and taking on extra work wherever they could, his parents were also active members of their local church. Elmer was the Deacon and Nettie assumed the responsibility of Church Mother.Richard_film.jpg Every Sunday and some weekdays too - the entire family would walk together to church to attend services. The older brothers and sisters would help carry the children who were too young to walk the entire distance. God, church, and Gospel Music were the foundation and motivation of this family’s life. When Richard was only five years old, he was asked to recite a poem before the congregation. Because of the manner in which Richard recited the poem at such a young age, the congregation was so emotionally touched...

Singer/Guitarist Mike Zito Has Up and Gone to Texas on Label Debut CD for Ruf Records, Coming June 11 Royal Southern Brotherhood Member Steps Out on New Solo Album with Special Guests Delbert McClinton, Sonny Landreth, Susan Cowsill and Others BEAUMONT, TX – Ruf Records announces a June 11 release date for Gone to Texas , the solo label debut CD from singer/guitarist Mike Zito. Also along for the ride are special guests Delbert McClinton on vocals and harmonica, Sonny Landreth on guitar, Susan Cowsill on vocals and Lewis Stephens (Delbert McClinton, Freddie King) on keyboards. Zito expertly matches them with his core band, The Wheel: Jimmy Carpenter – sax and guitars; Rob Lee – drums; and Scot Sutherland – bass. The result effectively announces one of the most exciting and highly-anticipated new releases of the year. Recorded at Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana, Gone to Texas was produced by the Beaumont, Texas-based Zito and engineered b...

San Diego Music TV Presents... Monday Night Jams @the 710 Beach Club , San Diego's Pacific Beach Monday, April 29: Charles Burton Blues Band & Two Other Quality Acts (San Diego) - San Diego Music TV and Starlit Productions turns the 710 Beach Club at Pacific Beach into a rockin' beach party with the best live music every Monday night! This Monday, April 29 features the always-lively music of the Charles Burton Blues Band plus special guests, Morgan Leigh Band and 22 Kings. 9 pm-closing. No cover. Info: (858) 483-7844 or https://www.facebook.com/710beachclubpb. All sets filmed for San Diego Music TV on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvJqr5UY0xHXg4jAeiY30UA Check out a feature on Burton, also known as "San Diego's  Blues Ambassador to the World," in the March 2013 issue of Blues E-News :   Guitarist-singer-songwriter Charles Burton has performed for over forty years and has released four Cd'...

    HISTORY ® ’ S SWAMP PEOPLE ® CELEBRATES THE MUSIC AND CULTURE OF THE DEEP DELTA   Collection from the heart of alligator country features the Neville Brothers, Hank Williams, Jerry Reed, Tony Joe White,  Buckwheat Zydeco, Zachary Richard,    Bobby Charles and introducing Steel Bill   Thirteen-song set, due out May 21 on Rounder Records through Concord Music Group, in partnership with HISTORY ® , captures the spirit of the top-rated series of the same name   NEW ORLEANS, La. — The storied backcountry of southern Louisiana is a place of rich history and fascinating cultural lineage. Its inhabitants — the Cajuns and their “Swamp People” brethren — are part of a unique tradition that dates back some three centuries to the immigration of Acadian refugees. In the 21st century, the region boasts not only a flavorful cuisine, distinctive music and a vastly vibrant culture, but also a d...

I have just received and had the opportunity to review the newest release, Singing In My Soul , by Lisa Biales with Ricky Nye and The Paris Blues Band . You want real wholesome Americana/Blues music, this is it. Opening with A Little Bird Told Me , Biales sings a song so real it could be right out of a Roy Rogers movie. You an tell that Biales really enjoys her work and her voice is really well suited for this material. Nye and the Paris Blues Band, Thibaut Chopin on upright bass, Anthony Stelmaszack on guitar, Ricky Nye on piano and Simon "Shuffle" Boyer on drums add substantial realism to the track with vocal backing. On Sister Rosetta Thorpe's Strange Things Happening Every Day , Biales gets the house swinging and Stelmaszack adds a real slick guitar solo to tip off the track. John Hurt's Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me is up next and Biales really does a nice job bringing new life to this track. Doug Hamilton also adds a real nice violin solo on this track. Sipp...

Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he had a string of hit records, produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young". He had sold 12 million records by 1963. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 Born in Corning, New York, he began playing the guitar at the age of five. In 1951 his family moved to Tucson, and then to Coolidge, Arizona. At the age of 16 he obtained a Chet Atkins model Gretsch guitar, and formed a duo, Jimmy and Duane, with his friend Jimmy Delbridge (who later recorded as Jimmy Dell). While performing at local radio station KCKY they met disc jockey Lee Hazlewood, who produced the duo's single, "Soda Fountain Girl", recorded and released in 1955 in Phoenix. Hazlewood then produced Sanford Clark's 1956 hit...

Dorothy Donegan (April 6, 1922 – May 19, 1998) was an American classically trained jazz pianist primarily known for performing in the stride piano and boogie-woogie style. She also played bop, swing jazz, and classical music. Donegan was born and grew up in Chicago, Illinois and began studying piano at the age of eight. She took her first lessons from Alfred N. Simms, a West Indian pianist who also taught Cleo Brown. She graduated from Chicago's DuSable High School, where she studied with Walter Dyett, a gifted teacher who also worked with, among others, Dinah Washington, Johnny Griffin, Gene Ammons, and Von Freeman. She also studied at the Chicago Musical College and, later, the University of Southern California. In 1942 she made her recording debut. She appeared in Sensations of 1945 with Cab Calloway, Gene Rodgers and W. C. Fields and was known for her work in Chicago nightclubs. She was a protégée of Art Tatum, who once called her "the only woman who can make me practice....

Gilbert Vandine 'Cisco' Houston (August 18, 1918 – April 29, 1961) was an American folk singer and songwriter who is closely associated with Woody Guthrie due to their extensive history of recording together. Houston was a regular recording artist for Moses Asch's Folkways recording studio. He also performed with such folk/blues musicians as Lead Belly, Sonny Terry, and the Almanac Singers. Gilbert Vandine Houston was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on August 18, 1918, the second of four children. His father, Adrian Moncure Houston, was a sheet-metal worker. The family moved to California while Houston was still young, and he attended school in Eagle Rock, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. During his school years, Cisco began to play the guitar, having picked up an assortment of folk songs from his family. It is reported[1] that Houston was regarded as highly intelligent during his time at school, despite the nystagmus that afflicted his eyesight, leaving him to rely hea...

Dexter Gordon is considered to be the first musician to translate the language of Bebop to the tenor saxophone. Dexter Keith Gordon was born on February 27, 1923 in Los Angeles, California. His father, Dr. Frank Gordon, was one of the first African American doctors in Los Angeles who arrived in 1918 after graduating from Howard Medical School in Washington, D.C. Among his patients were Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton. Dexter’s mother, Gwendolyn Baker, was the daughter of Captain Edward Baker, one of the five African American Medal of Honor recipients in the Spanish-American War. Dexter began his study of music with the clarinet at age 13, then switched to the alto saxophone at 15, and finally to the tenor saxophone at 17. He studied music with Lloyd Reese and at Jefferson High School with Sam Browne. In his last year of high school, he received a call from alto saxophonist Marshall Royal asking him to join the Lionel Hampton Band. He left Los Angeles with the band, traveling down s...

Frederick Martin "Freddie" Roulette (born May 3, 1939) is an American electric blues lap steel guitarist and singer. He is best known as an exponent of the lap steel guitar. In a lengthy career, he has collaborated with Earl Hooker, Charlie Musselwhite, Henry Kaiser, and Harvey Mandel, and released several solo albums. Roulette, whose family came from New Orleans, was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois, and learned to play steel guitar in high school. He started playing in clubs in Chicago in his teens, and in 1965 began work in Earl Hooker's backing band, continuing to tour and perform with him until 1969. That band, with pianist Pinetop Perkins, harmonica player Carey Bell, vocalist Andrew Odom, and Roulette, was "widely acclaimed" and "considered as one of the best Earl had ever carried with him". Roulette participated on several of Hooker's singles, his 1967 album, The Genius of Earl Hooker, and the 1969 follow-up, Two Bugs and a Roach. He ...