Third Man Records: Ann Arbor Blues Festival 1969 - Various Artists - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent 2 cd release, Ann Arbor Blues Festival 1969 from Third Man Records and it's terrific! Opening with Dirty Mother For You, a classic by Roosevelt Sykes, this classic track really gets the ball rolling with his suggestive language and his classic piano style. JB Hutto and his Hawk do a terrific Too Much Alcohol with Hutto's dynamic slide work. An excellent contribution by Jimmy Dawkins, I Wonder Why shows exactly why his nickname was Fast Fingers. Luther Allison and the Blue Nebulae play a super log take on Everybody Must Suffer/Stone Crazy and really gives his guitar a workout... makes you sweat just listening to it. Excellent! Another really fat guitar laden track is Otis Rush and So Many Roads. This is an excellent closer for disc one.

Disc 2 opens with Muddy Waters and Long Distance Call. Muddy's vocals are super and he has that crying slide work, backed by Paul Oscher on harp. Very nice. Charlie Musselwhite really brings the tempo up with Movin and Groovin, a super harp boogie. Of particular interest is Shirley Griffith's delta style rendition of Jelly Jelly Blues accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. Very strong. T-Bone Walker performs his classic, Stormy Monday and a nice long 10 minute plus guitar duet with Luthur Allison. Must be heard. Big Mama Thornton performs her classic, Ball and Chain, supported by T-Bone Walker. I mean, what else could you ask for...really? Sam Lay performs Key To The Highway with Luther Tucker another stellar track with excellent piano by possibly Skip Rose. When you think this is winding down you get the triple whammy. Lightnin' Hopkins on Mojo Hand with Luther Tucker, James Cotton blowing the walls down on Off The Wall with Luther Tucker and Bill Nugent on sax and Lastly... Son House... Son House...  on Death Letter Blues. I was born far too early. This concert is totally off the hook. Thankfully it is released by Third Man. Excellent!

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Delmark Records artist: Tail Dragger - Stop Lyin' - New Release Review

I just received the newest release of Tail Dragger's work, Stop Lyin' which was recorded in 1982 but never released, and I have to say I believe that it his best work to my ear. Opening with So Ezee, with Jimmy Dawkins on guitar and Little Mack Simmons on harp. A classic Chicago track, Burks really plays some nice riffs on harp and TD is in good form. Lafayette Leake is also a standout on piano on this track. Where Did You Go is a strong slice of "Smokestack Lightning" and a terrific track with solid vocals from TD. Ain't Gonna Cry No Mo is a terrific slower blues track featuring Johnny B Moore and Jesse Lee Williams on guitars, Willie kent on bass, Larry Taylor on drums and Eddie Jewtown Burks on harp. Solid harp and guitar work punctuate this track. Don't You Want A Good Man follows along the lines of Trouble No More and Moore shines nicely on this track. On classic TD track, My Head Is Bald, Jimmy Dawkins and Leake are again present with Little Mack Simmons on harp. Alabama Bound has a Elmore James feel featuring Moore on slide guitar. TD again shows how he got his reputation as a singer with a strong vocal outing. Another of my favorites on the release is Don't Trust Yo Woman, another track strongly affected by Wolf ... the strong rhythmic structure being accented by stinging guitar riffs. Please Mr Jailer has solid roots to Muddy and Moore again steps forward with some real nice guitar riffs. Stop Lyin', with a Muddy style gets a really great groove going and cool slide work from Moore. The release is capped by an interesting description of the immediate blues environment at the time. This is a cool release and certainly the most enjoyable Tail Dragger release that I have heard in a few years. If you like TD as a vocalist and you like Chicago blues, this is more than just another collectors only edition but a strong set to hear.  

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Update Jimmy Dawkins Passing

I have recieved confirmation from Delmark Records that Jimmy Dawkins has indeed passed. No further details are available at this time. I have been waiting to get more info but none have been released. My thoughts are with his family Bman







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Jimmy Dawkins dead?

I have seen references on Facebook that Delmark Records has announced the passing of Jimmy Dawkins. I have found no such verification anywhere. I will keep you posted as I do find further information. We hope that Jimmy is fine. James Henry "Jimmy" Dawkins (born October 24, 1936, Tchula, Mississippi, United States) is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer. He is generally considered a part of the "West Side Sound" of Chicago blues. He moved to Chicago in 1955. He worked in a box factory, and started to play local blues clubs, gaining a reputation as a session musician. In 1969, thanks to the efforts of his friend Magic Sam, he released his first album Fast Fingers on Delmark Records, winning the "Grand Prix du Disque" from the Hot Club de France. In 1971 Delmark released his second album All For Business with singer, Andrew "Big Voice" Odom, and the guitarist, Otis Rush. Dawkins also toured in the late 1970s backed up by James Solberg (of Luther Allison and The Nighthawks fame) on guitar and Jon Preizler (The Lamont Cranston Band, The Drifters), a Seattle based Hammond B-3 player known for his soulful jazz influenced style. Other musicians that toured with Jimmy Dawkins in the late 1970s were Jimi Schutte (drummer), Sylvester Boines (bass), Rich Kirch and Billy Flynn (guitars). With this combination of musicians Dawkins also toured Europe. Dawkins began to tour in Europe and Japan and recorded more albums in the United States and Europe. Dawkins also contributed a column to the blues magazine Living Blues. In the 1980s he released few recordings, but began his own record label, Leric Records, and was more interested in promoting other artists, including Taildragger, Queen Sylvia Embry, Little Johnny Christian and Nora Jean Wallace. Bman

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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”

You Don't love Me - Jimmy Dawkins

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

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

Dawkins began to tour in Europe and Japan and recorded more albums in the United States and Europe. Dawkins also contributed a column to the blues magazine Living Blues. In the 1980s he released few recordings, but began his own record label, Leric Records, and was more interested in promoting other artists, including Taildragger, Queen Sylvia Embry, Little Johnny Christian and Nora Jean Wallace.
If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

You Don't love Me - Jimmy Dawkins

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

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

Dawkins began to tour in Europe and Japan and recorded more albums in the United States and Europe. Dawkins also contributed a column to the blues magazine Living Blues. In the 1980s he released few recordings, but began his own record label, Leric Records, and was more interested in promoting other artists, including Taildragger, Queen Sylvia Embry, Little Johnny Christian and Nora Jean Wallace.
If you like what I’m doing, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”

Delmark Records artist: Tail Dragger - Live at Rooster's Lounge

The concert begins with Wolf's Louise and Dragger and the band are tearing it up. This is an authentic Chicago blues club with an authentic Chicago blues band playing! Louise shows great guitar solos by Rockin' Johnny Burgin and Kevin Shanahan as well as well as great harp work by Martin Lang. Next up is Big Joe Williams's Baby Please Don't Go. Dragger works the crowd as the band stays tight. Shanahan plays a cool older looking worn red 335 and Johnny what looks to be a tobacco burst Epi Emperor. Johnny plays particularly articulate licks and Lang's harp riffs are right on target. The video and sound quality is strong and you can almost smell the inside of this club (if you've ever been in a club like this). There's a dart board behind the drummer and stains on the ceiling tiles. The walls have the 4x8 luan mahogany paneling that was popular in the 60's running both horizontal and vertical. The walls are painted red elsewhere and you can see the inside of the toilet from the stage. This is the real deal. She's Worryin' Me, a Dragger original, finds Dragger crawlin on the floor and some nice raw slide riffs from Shanahan. Johnny takes a nice soulful solo and pulls some particularly cool vibrato bends out of his bag of guitar tricks. Stop Lying, another Dragger original, gives Lang the opportunity to lay down some nice harp riffs and Shanahan again some cool slide riffs. The entire band including Todd Fackler on Bass and Rob Lorenz on drums are tight. Keep It To Yourself, an old Sonny Boy Williamson tune, puts Dragger right in the crowd and gives Lang the opportunity to shine again. Johnny squeezes out some fluid runs that are brief but tasty. Be Careful, another Dragger original, gives the band another opportunity to play a slow number and again Shanahan steps up with some beefy playing. His style isn't scorching fast... it's deep and telling. I love his use of trem bends in contrast to Johnny's articulate blues run solos. Wander, another Dragger original, finds Jimmy Dawkins replacing Shanahan onstage. On Bought Me A New Home, another Dragger original, Johnny takes an extended solo and so does Shanahan. The style difference between these two men parallel Bloomfield and Bishop in Butterfield's band of a few decades ago. Each has his unique style and they are complimentary to each other behind a traditional Chicago blues band. Ooh Baby Hold Me, an old Wolf song, finds the crowd dancing and Dragger charming the women. John Lee Hooker's I'm In The Mood is next up and Johnny pulls out some old Hooker riffs on his guitar. Dragger even changes the timing on the song a few times as Hooker was know to do often when not overproduced. I like the authentic feel of this song in particular especially in Dragger and Johnny's presentations. Everything Gonna Be Alright, a Little Walter tune, is next up. Johnny uses a trill stroke to play the basic melody throughout and it gives the song a real great feel. Last Up Is Little Walter's Blues With A Feeling. Lang gets his harp talking right off of the bat. Dragger shows some of his best vocals on this last song and the band is tight.
There is also some story telling by Dragger as a bonus track which gives you some insight into his life and history.
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”