Rock Me Baby - Charlie Musselwhite, Luther Tucker, Bobby Murray

Recorded at the Sleeping Lady Cafe, Fairfax, California, July 6, 1981 Charlie Musselwhite, harmonica & vocals Luther Tucker, guitar Francis Clay, drums Mark Naftalin, piano Bobby Murray, guitar Henry Oden, bass Gary Silva, drums Guitarist Luther Tucker was born on January 20, 1936, in Memphis, Tennessee, but relocated to Chicago's South Side when Tucker was around seven years of age. His father, a carpenter, built Tucker his first guitar, and his mother, who played boogie-woogie piano, introduced him to Big Bill Broonzy around that time. He went on to study guitar with Robert Jr. Lockwood, for whom he had the greatest admiration and respect. Tucker worked with Little Walter Jacobs for seven years and played on many of Walter's classic sides. He also recorded with Otis Rush, Robben Ford, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Jimmy Rogers, Snooky Pryor, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Elvin Bishop, and James Cotton. In the mid-'60s, Tucker was featured in the James Cotton Blues Band and traveled with that band extensively. He relocated to Marin County, California in 1973 and formed the Luther Tucker Band. He played in clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area until his death on June 18, 1993, in Greenbrae, California. Luther Tucker, who was soft-spoken and even shy, was one of a handful of backup artists (the Four Aces/Jukes were others) who helped to create and shape the small-combo sound of Chicago blues. Unfortunately, they seldom get much credit. Yet, as the history of Chicago blues gets written, there will be more and more time to discover the wonderful understated rhythmic guitar mastery of Luther Tucker. 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!

Got My Mojo - Working Muddy Waters with Francis Clay

Francis Clay (November 16, 1923 – January 21, 2008), born and raised in Rock Island, Illinois,he started playing Jazz, professionally at the age of 15, played drums behind many of the biggest names of 20th century popular American music. Best known for his work behind Muddy Waters in the '50s and '60s and as an original member of the James Cotton band, Clay's jazz-influenced style is cited as an influence by many of the British Invasion rock 'n' rollers of the '60s such as Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones and Faces, respectively. In his career, Clay claimed to have backed Gypsy Rose Lee, and played with Jay McShann and Charlie Parker early on and with Jimi Hendrix while in New York's Greenwich Village. He can be heard on recordings including John Lee Hooker's "Live at the Cafe Au Go-Go" and can be seen and heard on documents from the Waters band's 1960 Newport Jazz Festival appearance and on albums issued by the El Cerrito, California Arhoolie label by Big Mama Thornton and Lightning Hopkins, among many others. Clay made his home in San Francisco in the late 1960s and became a part of the music scene in the Bay Area throughout the rest of his life. His birthday parties at the Biscuits and Blues nightclub were an annual gathering of the tribe, and he was known also as "the ambassador" at the annual San Francisco Blues Festival, where he was the subject of a tribute in 2007, and mourned in 2008. Clay claimed to have been deprived of recognition for his compositional contributions to the Waters oeuvre. Songs he claimed to have composed and/or arranged included "Walking in the Park," "She's Nineteen Years Old" and "Tiger in Your Hole." 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!

Ball & Chain - Big Mama Thornton with Francis Clay

Big Mama's last appearance in 1984.Same year she died from heart and liver complications since she drunk too much and brought 350 pounds Big Mama to a mere of 95 pounds.Big Mama was nominated for the Blues Music Awards six times.In her history,1966 Thornton recorded Big Mama Thornton With The Muddy Waters Blues Band, with Muddy Waters (guitar), Sammy Lawhorn (guitar), James Cotton (harmonica), Otis Spann (piano), Luther Johnson (bass guitar), and Francis Clay (drums). Songs included "Everything Gonna Be Alright", "Big Mama's Blues", "I'm Feeling Alright", "Big Mama's Bumble Bee Blues", "Looking The World Over", "Big Mama's Shuffle", and "Since I Fell For You".
Her Ball 'n' Chain album in 1968, recorded with Lightnin' Hopkins (guitar) and Larry Williams (vocals), included the songs "Hound Dog", "Wade in the Water", "Little Red Rooster", "Ball 'n' Chain", "Money Taker", and "Prison Blues".

Francis Clay's work is well known to those who have studied Chicago Blues. If you've listened to Muddy Waters, you've heard Francis. He was Muddy's drummer on and off for about 15 years starting in 1957. Francis was in the thick of things during the heyday of Chicago blues and played with all the greats. His highly original and immensely propulsive drumming drives numerous recordings by Muddy Waters and others. You can find his name on some of the classics of Chicago blues, including the much-acclaimed album "Muddy Waters At Newport." He has toured and recorded with Little Walter, Otis Spann, Clifton Chenier, John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, Lightnin' Hopkins and Jimmy Reed (to name a few) and was a founding member of the James Cotton Blues Band. Francis Clay is truly one of the all-time masters of blues drumming.
One of Thornton's last albums was Jail (1975) that captures her charm during a couple of mid-'70's gigs at two northwestern prisons.Enjoy !!!
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