Roots For Red Cross

M.C. Records To Donate A Portion Of All Sales To The American Red Cross For Sandy Victims 30% Of All Sales Through November 15 B  Contact: Catherine Mannarino                                       Phone: 631-754-8725                                               E-Mail: catherine@mc-records.com                             web: www.mc-records.com Northport N.Y. Long Island company M.C. Records is proud to announce that it will donate 30% of all direct sales to the Red Cross to help Hurricane Sandy Victims. The offer is good from now through Thursday November 15.  Mark Carpentieri, President of M.C. Records said, My power and heat was out for over seven days and I still have family in the area who still are without electricity. There are people who have lost everything and the Red Cross is on the ground making a genuine difference. I believe music can be very healing so it's way to for people to enjoy our music and help others. M.C. Records has currently over 60 items for sale including CDs, vinyl and posters PLUS free shipping in the U.S. & Canada. M.C. Records has been nominated or won over 30 Blues Music Awards and has received five Grammy nominations. Artists include Odetta, Rick Holmstrom, Cyril Neville, Cindy Bullens, Big Jack Johnson, R.L. Burnside and Debbie Davies. Click the logo to check it out. If you would like to make a direct donation to The American Red Cross, please click the logo below. By clicking on the album covers below you can check out reviews and music samples of our releases. From now through November 15, M.C. Records will donate 30% of all of our sales to the Red Cross to help Hurricane Sandy victims.                           Released August 28               Released July 17 We have a new Facebook page. To keep up to date on all that's blues & roots, give us a like! Thanks in advance for all your support! Mark Carpentieri President and Founder

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.

  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”

 

"Working On The Building"- Brother Joe May

Dubbed "The Thunderbolt of the Middle West" by his mentor, the legendary Willie Mae Ford Smith, Brother Joe May was arguably the greatest male soloist in the history of gospel music; a tenor whose dramatic sense of showmanship was surpassed only by his unparalleled command of vocal dynamics and projection, he possessed a voice of unimaginable range and power, moving from a whisper to a scream without the slightest suggestion of effort. May was born in Macon, MS on November 9, 1912; raised in the Church of God denomination -- where all men are called "Brother," hence his stage name -- he began singing at the age of nine, later joining the Little Church Out on the Hills' senior choir. His subsequent tenure as a soloist with the Church of God Quartet solidified his strong reputation throughout the Southern gospel circuit. After graduating high school, May worked as a day laborer in Macon before he and his family relocated to East St. Louis, IL in 1941, at which time he hired on at a chemical plant. In the St. Louis area he became a protégé of the pioneering Smith, and with her aid honed his sense of phrasing, modeling his own vocal acrobatics on hers; their connection was so strong that May even copied her theatrical performing style. Smith was also the director of the Soloists' Bureau of songwriter Thomas A. Dorsey's National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses, at whose conventions May began to build a name for himself throughout the country. During one such convention in Los Angeles in 1949, he came to the attention of Specialty Records talent scout J.W. Alexander, and upon signing to the label, cut his first session later that same year, scoring a major hit with his debut release "Search Me Lord." May's initial success allowed him to quit his day job by 1950, and he began touring the nation, often performing alongside the likes of the Soul Stirrers and the Pilgrim Travelers. With his titanic voice and commanding stage presence, he was often called "the male Mahalia Jackson," a comparison suggested even by Jackson herself. However, despite his popularity -- both "Search Me Lord" and 1950's "Do You Know Him?" were estimated to have sold over one million copies each, making him Specialty's best-selling artist of the period -- May never crossed over to white audiences, the ultimate measure of commercial success at that time. Despite acknowledging Bessie Smith as a major early influence, May also refused to pursue a career as a secular blues singer, and his adamant rejection of all musical traditions but gospel likely played a role in his exit from Specialty in 1958. Now a free agent, May quickly signed with the Nashboro label, where he also began recording many of his own original compositions. As a result of the Nashville-based company's regional focus, the majority of his subsequent live appearances were scheduled across the Deep South, where his fame continued to grow enormously in the years to follow. An extended stretch of the early '60s also found May starring in the musical Black Nativity in the company of Marion Williams, and after playing Broadway, the production toured the U.S. and Europe. After its run was completed, May returned to the South, where his health began to slowly fail; regardless, he maintained his strenuous touring pace, keeping his declining condition a secret even from family members. Finally, while en route to a performance in Thomasville, GA, May suffered a massive stroke and died on July 14, 1972 at the age of 60. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi 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”

Stormy Monday - Linda Hopkins

Linda Hopkins (born December 14, 1924) is an African American actress and blues and gospel singer. She has recorded classic, traditional, and urban blues, and performed R&B and soul, jazz, and show tunes, all with distinction and style since the 1950s She was born Melinda Helen Matthews in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, the second child of the Reverend Fred Matthews, Sr. and Hazel Smith. She grew up in the section of New Orleans known by the locals as "Zion City". She went to school in "Gert Town" which bordered the Xavier University of Louisiana. Known as "Lil Helen Matthews" as a child, she was discovered at the age of eleven by Mahalia Jackson when she persuaded Jackson to perform at a fundraiser at her home church, St. Mark's Baptist Church. Lil Helen opened the children's fundraising program with a rendition of Jackson's gospel hit, "God Shall Wipe Your Tears Away". Jackson was reportedly so impressed by Helen's determination and talent that she arranged for the young girl to join the Southern Harp Spiritual Singers in 1936. Hopkins remained with the group for a decade. She first saw Bessie Smith perform Empty Bed Blues at The New Orleans Palace Theatre in 1936. Hopkins greatly admired Smith and later won critical plaudits for her rendition of Smith in the 1959 theatrical presentation Jazz Train.Matthews left New Orleans in the 1950s, and, in 1951, began performing at Slim Jenkin's Night Club in the Oakland/Richmond area. There she met Johnny Otis and Little Esther Phillips who created her stage name, Linda Hopkins. In 1952, Hopkins toured Hawaii and Japan for two years which included a stint with Louis Armstrong at The Brown Derby in Honolulu. She recorded for the Crystalette, Forecast, Federal and Atco labels and often appeared at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. In 1960, Hopkins first toured Europe in the Broadway Express, the restaged production of Jazz Train. She recorded "Shake a Hand" with Jackie Wilson on the Brunswick label, which is her sole hit single reaching #21 on the US Billboard R&B chart. She also attended Stella Adler's Acting School in New York City. During the 1970s, Hopkins performed in the Broadway musical, Purlie, and with Sammy Davis, Jr. for nine months. In addition, she performed at one of President Jimmy Carter's inaugural balls. In 1972 she was awarded a Tony and Drama Desk Award for her performance in Inner City. Hopkins starred in Me and Bessie, a one-woman show paying homage to blues singer Bessie Smith, conceived and written by Hopkins and Will Holt. The world premiere was in Washington, D.C. in 1974. After a run in Los Angeles it transferred to the Ambassador Theatre on Broadway. The critically acclaimed show ran for thirteen months and 453 performances, and Hopkins was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience. In 1985, Black and Blue, written by Claudio Segovia and Hector Orezzoli, premiered in Paris at the Théâtre Musical Paris. The musical revue opened on Broadway in 1989 and ran for 829 performances. Hopkins received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical. Wild Women Blues, conceived by Hopkins and produced by Mel Howard, premiered in Berlin in 1997. In 1998 Hopkins celebrated 50 years in show business. In 2005, Motherin' The Blues: Linda Hopkins - The Continuing Legacy of The Blues Woman, researched and written by Erany Barrow-Pryor, Ph.D. through the Department of English at UCLA, was published. In October 2005, Hopkins received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 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”

Medley - Ivory Joe Hunter

Bespectacled and velvet-smooth in the vocal department, pianist Ivory Joe Hunter appeared too much mild-mannered to be a rock & roller. But when the rebellious music first crashed the American consciousness in the mid-'50s, there was Ivory Joe, deftly delivering his blues ballad "Since I Met You Baby" right alongside the wildest pioneers of the era. Hunter was already a grizzled R&B vet by that time who had first heard his voice on a 1933 Library of Congress cylinder recording made in Texas (where he grew up). An accomplished tunesmith, he played around the Gulf Coast region, hosting his own radio program for a time in Beaumont before migrating to California in 1942. It was a wise move since Hunter -- whose real name was Ivory Joe, incidentally (perhaps his folks were psychic!) -- found plenty of work pounding out blues and ballads in wartime California. He started his own label, Ivory Records, to press up his "Blues at Sunrise" (with Johnny Moore's Three Blazers backing him), and it became a national hit when leased to Leon Rene's Exclusive imprint in 1945. Another Hunter enterprise, Pacific Records, hosted a major hit in 1948 when the pianist's "Pretty Mama Blues" topped the R&B charts for three weeks. At whatever logo Hunter paused from the mid-'40s through the late '50s, his platters sold like hot cakes. For Cincinnati-based King in 1948-1949, he hit with "Don't Fall in Love with Me," "What Did You Do to Me," "Waiting in Vain," and "Guess Who." At MGM, then new to the record biz, he cut his immortal "I Almost Lost My Mind" (another R&B chart-topper in 1950), "I Need You So" (later covered by Elvis), and "It's a Sin." Signing with Atlantic in 1954, he hit big with "Since I Met You Baby" in 1956 and the two-sided smash "Empty Arms"/"Love's a Hurting Game" in 1957. Hunter's fondness for country music reared its head in 1958. Upon switching to Dot Records, he scored his last pop hit with a cover of Bill Anderson's "City Lights." Hunter's Dot encores went nowhere; neither did typically mellow outings for Vee-Jay, Smash, Capitol, and Veep. Epic went so far as to recruit a simmering Memphis band (including organist Isaac Hayes, trumpeter Gene "Bowlegs" Miller, and saxist Charles Chalmers) for an LP titled The Return of Ivory Joe Hunter that he hoped would revitalize his career, but it wasn't meant to be. The album's cover photo -- a closeup of Hunter's grinning face with a cigarette dangling from his lips -- seems grimly ironic in the face of his death from lung cancer only a few years later. 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!

The Twelves - KOKOMO ARNOLD

Kokomo Arnold (February 15, 1901 – November 8, 1968) was an American blues musician. Born as James Arnold in Lovejoy's Station, Georgia, he got his nickname in 1934 after releasing "Old Original Kokomo Blues" for the Decca label; it was a cover of the Scrapper Blackwell blues song about the city of Kokomo, Indiana. A left-handed slide guitarist, his intense slide style of playing and rapid-fire vocal style set him apart from his contemporaries. Having learned the basics of the guitar from his cousin, John Wiggs, Arnold began playing in the early 1920s as a sideline while he worked as a farmhand in Buffalo, New York, and as a steelworker in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1929 he moved to Chicago and set up a bootlegging business, an activity he continued throughout Prohibition. In 1930 Arnold moved south briefly, and made his first recordings, "Rainy Night Blues" and "Paddlin' Madeline Blues", under the name Gitfiddle Jim for the Victor label in Memphis. He soon moved back to Chicago, although he was forced to make a living as a musician after Prohibition ended in 1933. Kansas Joe McCoy heard him and introduced him to Mayo Williams who was producing records for Decca. From his first recording for Decca on September 10, 1934, until his last on May 12, 1938, Arnold made 88 sides, seven of which remain lost. Arnold, Peetie Wheatstraw and Bumble Bee Slim were dominant figures in Chicago blues circles of that time. Peetie Wheatstraw & Arnold in particular were also major influences upon musical contemporary seminal delta blues artist Robert Johnson and thus modern music as a whole. Johnson turned "Old Original Kokomo Blues" into "Sweet Home Chicago", "Milk Cow Blues" into "Milkcow's Calf Blues", while another Arnold song, "Sagefield Woman Blues", introduced the terminology "dust my broom", which Johnson used as a song title himself. Arnold's "Milk Cow Blues" was covered by Elvis Presley (as "Milk Cow Blues Boogie") at the Sun Studios produced by Sam Phillips and was issued as one of his early singles, it was later performed by Tyler Hilton who played Elvis in the 2005 film Walk the Line. Aerosmith covered "Milk Cow Blues" on their 1977 album Draw the Line, In the eighties, a version appeared in Spanish by Marco T y los Gatos Montañeros.Dead Moon covered it on their 1990 album Defiance, George Strait on his 1991 album Chill of an Early Fall and Willie Nelson on the 2000 album Milk Cow Blues. In 1938 Arnold left the music industry and began to work in a Chicago factory. Rediscovered by blues researchers in 1962, he showed no enthusiasm for returning to music to take advantage of the new explosion of interest in the blues among young white audiences. He died of a heart attack in Chicago, aged 67, in 1968, and was buried in the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois 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!

CC Rider - Terry Big T Williams

Just a quarter mile from the legendary “crossroads,” a blues guitarist crawls across the floor on his knees as sweat streaks down his face. He's well into his first set of the night as he takes “Catfish Blues” from 0 to 11 and back again. The crowd is on its feet. The cameras are flashing. The sound falls somewhere between Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy and another world. The backing band is all smiles as it locks in tight, waiting for all hell to break loose. He's back on his feet now... slaughtering the guitar as he makes his way into the crowd that quickly surrounds him. Again, he takes the volume up before bringing it back down. The band follows his lead impeccably. He's back on stage now... singing and punctuating each phrase with his deep Delta guitar riffs. He's the real deal. A sure thing. He's the man they call “Big T.” And whether it's a neighborhood juke joint in Clarksdale, Mississippi or a big city blues club in Chicago, Illinois, the result is the same. The crowd stays late, leaves happy and asks, “when's Big T coming back?” As a young boy Big T was inspired by the blues that poured forth from the radio at home, and from the stories his grandmother told about the great blues musicians who lived along the Delta, such as Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. And Big T would visit Ike Turner, who lived one block away, to watch him play with his band. Today, Big T is a Delta blues legend, touring the world and recording for Matt The Scatt Records. 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!

Attention Guitar Publications Editors, Suggestion For Feature: Guitarist Alastair Greene

                                        

Southern California Guitarist Alastair Greene has been perfecting his craft for over two decades,  

both as a solo act and also as touring guitarist with the Alan Parsons Project for the last several years.

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"Alastair should be playing with the biggest bands in the world. I believe it's just a matter of time."                                          - ALAN PARSONS

"I've known Alastair since we were kids and he's always been a ripping guitarist. Glad to hear he's still going strong."              -  CHRIS SHIFLETT (FOO FIGHTERS)

  Attn. Guitar Publications Editors: Suggestion For Feature - Guitarist Alastair Greene

   Background: Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Alastair Greene has been a mainstay of the Southern California music scene for over two decades. Currently the lead guitarist for the Alan Parsons Live Project, Alastair is best known for his blues-based, soulful, and melodic guitar playing as well as one of a rare breed to play slide guitar. Alastair can be heard on CDs by Alan Parsons; Aynsley Dunbar, Glen Phillips (Toad the West Sprocket), and contemporary blues artists Mitch Kashmar, Franck Golwasser, and many others. 

   

   The Alastair Greene Band - formed in 1997, and with five albums released - has opened shows for The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Robin Trower, John Mayall, Tommy Castro, the late Michael Burks, Jonny Lang, Mike Campbell's Dirty Knobs, and many more. Alastair accepted the offer to join the Alan Parsons Live Project in 2012 and continues to perform over 150 dates a year with his own band. 

  Gear:  2009 GIBSON Les Paul Standard with SEYMOUR DUNCAN pickups ('59 bridge and neck); ERNIE BALL Regular Slinky Strings; CLAYTON 1.14 mm custom guitar picks. All cables by PLANET WAVES; Pedal Board from input to output: KORG Pitch Black Tuner FULLTONE OCD Overdrive/XOTIC RC Booter/ELECTRO-HARMONIX Memory Boy delay/MXR M148 Micro Chorus. Then out to Amplifier. Amplifiers vary depending on the back-line company but typically: MARSHALL JCM2000 Dual Super Leal 100watt head into MARSHALL 4x12 1960A Cabinet.

    Reviews On Alastair Greene's Latest Album, Through the Rain (Riatsala Music)  

     

"Greene's opener, the incendiary, Eruption-like "Before The Storm," makes it crystal clear he's a gunslinger who could tear the roof off of any roadhouse blues bar...and his role as a Alan Parsons sideman only beefs up his guitar cred. All told, "Through The Rain," the swaggering "Stoneroller" and the Tony Iomi-influenced "Madman" are solid platforms for his exceptional musicianship."

                                                                                                    MUSIC CONNECTION   

"Alastair Greene has a day gig that could cause guitar envy, balancing the lead guitar seat since 2010 for the Alan Parsons Project while still releasing solo efforts. Like classic rock heavy hitters in the vein of Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, Greene rocks hard on "Through the Rain" and then rocks a little harder, just to make sure you get it."                                   THE ALTERNATE ROOT

"Rock influences are interwoven with some amazing slide guitar work giving this a feel that is unique and just a roaring good time."                                ROCK OVER AMERICA 

     

"Another good blues rock CD has come my way...Greene's guitar sound in full-bodied with a grinding lived-in quality...the guitar solos are expressive saying, 'yeah check out these cajones!" 

                                                                                                     ALL ACCESS MAGAZINE

"Blazingly hot, unadulterated, heavy rock and roll record...Greene's consistent and dynamic guitar work shines throughout...plays some of the most rip-roaring guitar solos of the year and combined with valuable use of the slide, which Greene plays with authority, gives the record a different edge."

                                                                                                     BLUES ROCK REVIEW 

"There's a rockin' swagger that comes to the forefront as soon as you put the disc into your player on the opening cut, 'Before the Storm'...the guitars are also loud and proud throughout Through The Rain, especially on the churning title cut."                         MUSIC NEWS NASHVILLE               

 Seymour Duncan Feature/Interview

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”

Get well soon, George!

George Higgs recovering in the hospital   Photo by Jimmy Williams We've just gotten word that Tarboro, NC Bluesman George Higgs has been moved out of the ICU after an issue with his lungs, and is on the mend. Unfortunately George has had to cancel his gigs for the rest of 2012 to re-cooperate, but Music Maker will continue be there for him as he recovers. If you'd like to send Get Well cards or wishes to George, please send them to Music Maker at PO Box 1358 Hillsborough, NC 27278, and we will pass them on to him.  We are happy to hear the hopeful report of George's continued improvement and he, as well as his family, remain in our thoughts. Diggin: "I'm Going Home" photo by Axel Kustner Just like the opening line in George Conner's "I'm Going Home" stutters its way to the root note, I return to my desk here at Music Maker. I am just returning from a two-and-a-half-week journey with my new wife, Nicolle, to Indonesia. We had a wonderful time, but as fun as it was, it felt good to come home and see my cat, cook at my own stove and sleep in my bed. This track from George's forthcoming release, his first with Music Maker, is a celebratory romp.  It tells of a man who is taking control of his life in the best way he knows how--he goes home. Whatever troubles he left behind, he made his decision and the way he's singing, it was the right one. Of course, the root of this song comes from the spiritual tradition and home in that instance refers to the home we all have in the great beyond. I think whether we are talking about that home or just plain home home, the meaning is the same.  The pace and feel of "I'm Going Home" off of Brother's Tone coming out next month expresses what that concept of home means to us all. -- Aaron Annual Fund letters in the mail! Are you on our mailing list? If so, watch out for our letter coming to you shortly! If you're not, and you'd like to be, please email corinne@musicmaker.org and we'll make sure you're added! Listen:  George Conner -   I'm Going Home  Adolphus Bell Photo of the Week by Tim Duffy Keep up with Music Maker!      Support Music Maker, and help keep the music alive!

Upcoming Shows: Click here for more info on upcoming events  11/11 - John Dee Holeman -  Pinecone Music of the Carolinas, NCMoH, Raleigh, NC 11/17 - Lakota John and Kin - American Indian Heritage Festival, NCMo, Raleigh, NC 11/20 - Dr. Burt - So Blues Festival, Coulaines, France 11/22 - Dr. Burt - Salle Jaques Brel, Montigny Les Bretonneux, France 11/23 - Dr. Burt - Beautiful Swamp Blues Festival, Calais, France 12/01 - Albert White - Northside Tavern, Atlanta, GA   Music Maker Relief Foundation, Inc. helps the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music gain  recognition and meet their day to day needs. We present these musical traditions to the world so American culture will flourish and be preserved for future generations.

Eli Cook - Ace, Jack & King

I just received the new release, Ace, Jack & King by Eli Cook and it's really smokey. The recording opens with Death Rattle, one of 9 original tracks on this release. I really like this track which conjures up the feeling of the back country south and ancient blues.The band consists of Cook on vocal, guitar and mandolin; Brian "Boogie" Thomas on bass; Wade Warfield on drums, percussion and hand claps and Wavorly Milor on harmonica. Please, Please has the feel of a country blues with simple acoustic guitar, slide and tambourine and Cooks deep rich voice. Snake Charm has a rockier blues but raw sound. Plugged in with simple rhythm, driving grinding guitar, solid bass, drums and screaming harp. This is a very cool modern interpretation of ancient blues. Skip James' Catfish Blues is up next. This track is literally an acoustic guitar, tambourine and Cook's deep rich voice. Although a startling difference from Skip James voice, Cook has a very strong melodic voice. Draggin' My Dogs is a much more contemporary track, still stripped down to it's simplest elements of acoustic guitar, vocal and percussion but lending itself nicely to commercial airplay with a smart melody and hook. Afrossippi Breakdown is really a bluesy folk tune and very strongly written and performed. Sugar and Rain, another track which has a more contemporary sound but again retaining the open feel of the country. Resonator and acoustic guitar along with simple drumming and vocals. The classic Driftin' gets a slower and more soulful treatment with squakin' harp and tom drumming supporting Cook's voice and a cool slide solo. Porter Irving's Cocaine Blues gets a pretty straight forward cover with Cooks massive voice set into a small environment processor. This has an interesting effect as well as the resonator work that accompanies it. Skip James' Crow Jane is brought forward with "Bonham" like drums and solid rock rhythms. Cook on electric guitar and vocals, this is one of my favorite tracks on the release. Suicide King has a much more heavy undertone with acoustic finger picking but with minor chord melody and contemporary rock style drumming. Nick Drake's Black Eyed Dog gets a very eastern folk oriented cover with only vocal, percussion and guitar. Death Rattle (slight return) is done electric style and has a resemblance to Come Together if performed by Black Label Society. It's actually quite cool. I really think that this cd is interesting. It has a little taste of a number of things and the things I like a bit I like a lot.  

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”

 

Wait On It - EDDIE VAAN SHAW

Guitarist and singer Eddie "Vaan" Shaw, Jr., is the son of blues saxophonist EDDIE SHAW. Because his father was a fixture on the Chicago blues scene during the '70s - he was a member of HOWLIN' WOLF'S band and a blues club owner - Shaw met many of the city's greatest blues musicians as a child. MAGIC SAM and HUBERT SUMLIN taught Shaw the basics of blues guitar. Shaw jammed with Sumlin and other Bluesmen who frequented his father's West Side club, Eddie's Place (aka The 1815 Club), and plays in the house band. Shaw eventually became a member of his father's band, the Wolf Gang, made up of musicians that had backed Howlin' Wolf in the early and mid-'70s. Since then, Shaw has begun a solo career, though he also continues to work with his father. His album Morning Rain was released on the Wolf label in 1993. In the autumn of 1994 "Vaan" made a solo tour to Vienna/Austria and Lahnstein/Germany. In Vienna he played an unplugged studio session, supported by members of the Vienna Blues Band "Hooked on Blues". Later that evening he played different sessions at Vienna's "Jazzland" Club, supported by Chris Sandera on harp and Al Cook on guitar (#13). You can feel this intimate club atmosphere on this CD. Trough listening this CD you know that "Vaan" learned a lot of the masters - Howling Wolf, his father Eddie Shaw and Magic Sam. 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” Video

Pride And Joy - Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Raitt, (born November 8, 1949) is an American blues and R&B singer, songwriter, and guitarist who was born in Burbank, California, the daughter of Broadway musical star John Raitt. Raitt began playing guitar at an early age, something not a lot of her high school girlfriends did. “I had played a little at school and at camp,” she later recalled in a July 2002 interview. “My parents would drag me out to perform for my family, like all parents do, but it was a hobby—nothing more…I think people must wonder how a white girl like me became a blues guitarist. The truth is, I never intended to do this for a living. I grew up…in a Quaker family, and for me being Quaker was a political calling rather than a religious one.” In 1967 Raitt continued her pursuit in that path when she entered Harvard’s Radcliffe College as a freshman, majoring in African Studies. “My plan was to travel to Tanzania, where President Julius Nyerere was creating a government based on democracy and socialism,” Raitt recalled. “I wanted to help undo the damage that Western colonialism had done to native cultures around the world. Cambridge was a hotbed of this kind of thinking, and I was thrilled.” One day, Raitt was notified by a friend that blues promoter Dick Waterman was giving an interview at WHRB, Harvard’s college radio station. An important figure in the blues revival of the 1960s, Waterman was also a resident of Cambridge. 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”

Somebody's Got to Go - Gatemouth Moore

Arnold "Gatemouth" Moore (November 8, 1913, Topeka, Kansas - May 19, 2004, Yazoo City, Mississippi) was an American blues and gospel singer, songwriter and pastor. A graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis, he claimed to have earned his nickname as a result of his loud speaking and singing voice. During his career as a recording artist, Moore worked with various jazz musicians, including Bennie Moten, Tommy Douglas and Walter Barnes, and had songs recorded by B.B. King and Rufus Thomas. In 1949, Moore was ordained as a minister First Church of Deliverance in Chicago and went on to preach and perform as a gospel singer and DJ at several radio stations in Memphis, Birmingham and Chicago. Moore holds distinctions as a survivor of the 1940 Natchez Rhythm Club Fire and as the first blues singer to perform at Carnegie Hall. A brass note on Beale Street Walk of Fame was dedicated to Moore in 1996. He was also featured in Martin Scorsese's 2003 documentary The Blues. 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”

Delaney and Bonnie with Eric Clapton

Bonnie Bramlett is at full throttle and the vocal engine that propelled her into musical history books is as fine-tuned as ever. Bonnie was born in Alton, Illinois, and grew up in East St. Louis. At 14, she was allowed to sing on Gaslight Square, a St. Louis nightclub area much like the French Quarter in New Orleans. She was groomed by the best - Jazz greats Stan Getz, The Quartet Tres Bien, Herbie Mann, Miles Davis, and Nat and Cannonball Adderly gave her a musical foundation par excellence. But it was her love for rhythm and blues that brought her to the attention of Albert King and Little Milton. She made musical history as the first white Ikette for Ike and Tina Turner. When she expanded her career and moved to Los Angeles in 1967, she met Delaney Bramlett and married him seven days later. Delaney & Bonnie & Friends shared the stage with "Friends" that included Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, George Harrison, Dave Mason, Rita Coolidge, Gram Parsons and John Lennon to name just a few. A complete list of collaborations both in songwriting and performance reads like a history of Rock and Roll. Delaney & Bonnie released five outstanding albums, their first recording being "Home" on Stax Records. Hit singles such as "Soul Shake," "Never Ending Song of Love," and "Only You Know & I Know" kept them on the charts. The duo broke up personally and professionally in 1973. Bonnnie's songwriting credits include "Superstar" (nominated for a Grammy in 1972), and "Give Peace a Chance," both co-written with Leon Russell. Bonnie then moved to Georgia and embarked upon a solo career. She enlisted a little known backup band from Scotland, The Average White Band. On the Southern Rock label, Capricorn, she issued solo LP's in 1974, 1976, and 1978. Bonnie was also the number one "gotta have" backup singer on albums by Joe Cocker, Carly Simon, Gregg Allman, Little Feat, Jimmy Hall, Steve Cropper, Jimmy Buffett and Dwight Yoakam, just to name a few. Her harmonizing with Delbert McClinton in the 1980's launched the award-winning "Givin' it Up for Your Love" that has become a rock standard. After touring with Stephen Stills, Dickey Betts and Gregg Allman invited her on the Allman Brothers tour, and she became known as the only "Allman Sister" to the acclaimed Southern rock group. Bonnie returned to LA in the 1980s. A chance to act lured her into a guest role on the TV series "Fame", followed by a role in Oliver Stone's film, "The Doors," with Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan and Billy Idol. While working with Tom Arnold on a theater production, Roseanne Barr asked Bonnie to be on her #1 Hit TV series "Roseanne" as Bonnie Watkins, her fellow waitress at the Mall. 1991-92 proved to be a fun two years, with David Crosby appearing as her husband and an outstanding episode of backyard singing of "You've Really got a Hold on Me" that capped her appearances on the popular show. She also appeared on stage in the musical, "Cowboy Café." Bonnie moved to Idaho with her family to write and regroup and then in 1999, she moved to Nashville, TN. She signed with Corlew Music Group and Blue Hat Records released the critically acclaimed "I'm Still The Same" in 2001. Jerry Wexler stated, "Her vocals are stunning in every respect; intonation on the money; dynamics intense; phasing lyrical and logical, and above all, burning with the feeling that we have come to recognize as deep soul." In 2005, Bonnie signed with Zoho Records. George W. Harris reviews her March 2006 release, "Roots, Blues & Jazz": "Some artists change with the times. Others simply refuse to grow. Praise God for the queen of 'hazel eyed soul', Ms. Bonnie Bramlett, for sticking to her guns for all of these years… this rousing disc… puts to shame every wanna be female rocker. There is nothing like a lady who roars like a female lion, and means it. Backed by a burning "Mr. Groove Band", Ms. Bramlett growls, shouts and wails with abandon only dreamed of by the present crop of youthful darlings. In complete contrast to today's whiney and whispering groaners, Bramlett lays down the law with authority on the soul jazz classic "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy". She takes Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" and breathes fire into this anthem. Even Chuck Berry's ironic 50's teenage anthem of angst, "No Particular Place To Go" is given a hilarious rendition, with a completely modernized and rearranged groove. With her world weary voice, Bramlett's ode to enduring the turmoil of the '60s "I Can Laugh about it Now," leaves the listener wondering whether to applaud or console the winner of the attrition that betook her peers. This is the sound of a lady that has lived through it all, and still has a smile on her face. Defiant, brash and brazen, Ms. Bramlett still has a few lessons to teach the innocents abroad and at home. This CD will clean out the clogs in your ears caused by synthetic sounds like a musical Drano." In addition to touring, writing and the new CD, Bonnie participated in the 25 year cast reunion for the Roseanne Show on Larry King Live. She also completed shooting her role in an Touchstone movie "The Guardian" featuring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. The film was released in the fall of 2006. Bonnie's latest album, "Beautiful" on the Rockin' Camel label, keeps the standards right up there with another engaging mix of American roots music, delivered with customary musicality and passion. "I am a singer who writes songs," Bonnie says. But she is really much more: a musical legend, a national treasure and a classic beauty of a rocker in every sense of the word. 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”

Twist and Shout - Top Notes

This is the very first rare recording of Twist and Shout done by a new rising Philadelphia R & B band in 1961, the Top Notes on Atlantic Records. This was produced at the time by up-coming staff producer Phil Spector. Spector was previously known before that as a singer with the group "The Teddy Bears" and their smash hit of 1958 "To Know Him Is To Love Him". However, when songwriter Bert Berns (aka Bert Russell) heard the final mix, he told Spector that he had "messed up the song" and predicted a quick demise for the single. The Beatles were mostly inspired by the Isley Brothers cover done a year later in 1962 (which by the way was produced this time by Bert Berns himself by revenge to Spector's butchered version) but still it's interesting to hear how the original differs from the Isley Brothers and then the famous Beatles version. Bert Berns was one of the great rock and soul songwriters of the 1960s, as well as being a producer of note. He worked in the studio with the Drifters, Ben E. King, the Isley Brothers, and Solomon Burke. He wrote or co-wrote a raft of classics, including "Twist and Shout," the Drifters' "I Don't Want to Go On Without You," Burke's "Cry to Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love," Garnet Mimms' "Cry Baby" and "It Was Easier to Hurt Her," and "Hang on Sloopy." By the mid-'60s, he was proving adaptable to changing trends in white rock too, successfully collaborating with Lulu, Them, and Neil Diamond. With executives of Atlantic Records, he founded the Bang! label, which had hits with the McCoys, the Strangeloves, Diamond, and Van Morrison before Berns' death at the end of 1967. When writing and producing for soul artists, Berns was notable for his ability to combine the best of pop and R&B. As with the compositions of his sometimes writing partner Jerry Ragovoy, there was an earthy gospel and down-home soul feel that was surprising coming from the pen of a white New Yorker. Berns, however, was more pop savvy than Ragovoy, as can be most audibly heard in his productions for the Drifters, which often backed the vocal group with smooth yet inventive strings (as on "Under the Boardwalk"). For Solomon Burke he proved capable of generating earthier and churchier tracks that sometimes drew from country music as well as R&B. Partially as a result of playing in Caribbean night clubs in the 1950s (he had been a student at the Juilliard School of Music), and his admiration of salsa music as played in New York, Berns infused his writing and production with a pronounced Latin spice. This can be heard in the composition done by the Jarmels for a hit in the early '60s, "A Little Bit of Soap," and also in the rhythms of some of his Drifters productions. He was especially fond of an ascending chord progression whose origins have been attributed to Latin music, as heard in songs like "La Bamba." The most obvious and famous example in the Berns catalog is "Twist and Shout," very much like "La Bamba" in chord structure; the song was a huge seller not once but twice, both as a Top 20 hit for the Isley Brothers in 1962, and a number-two hit for the Beatles in 1964. (If you're wondering why the writing credit for "Twist and Shout" reads "Medley-Russell," it's because Berns sometimes wrote under the name of Bert Russell.) It was recycled yet again for a number-one hit in 1965 by the McCoys on "Hang on Sloopy." Van Morrison would later be critical of Berns' passion for these kinds of chord progressions, noting that Berns wanted to record such songs even when they didn't suit the artist. In the mid-'60s, Berns did some work in London with Lulu and Them, including the original version of his composition "Here Comes the Night," recorded by Lulu. In a move that could have been sloppiness or just Berns and Decca Records trying to fire on all cylinders, Berns produced covers by both Lulu and Them at around the same time; Them's superior version of this classic tune became the big hit, although Lulu's version was released slightly earlier. Although lead singer Van Morrison was already writing quality material for the group, Them recorded several other decent Berns songs in the mid-'60s, including "(It Won't Hurt) Half as Much," "I Gave My Love a Diamond," and "Go on Home Baby." In 1965, Berns founded the Bang! label, with Atlantic executives Ahmet Ertegun, Nesuhi Ertegun, and Jerry Wexler as partners; "Bang" was just an acronym of their first initials (Jerry Wexler being considered "Gerald Wexler" for this purpose). In its brief existence, Bang! was very successful: recording pop-garage rock with the teenage McCoys, getting a Bo Diddley-derived hit with "I Want Candy" by the Strangeloves, and issuing Neil Diamond's first hit singles. Bang! also had a subsidiary, Shout!, for soul material, including releases by Freddie Scott and Erma Franklin, who did the original version of "Piece of My Heart" for the label. For Bang!, Berns favored material that had a driving, upbeat feel, clean production, and catchy chord progressions; ethos that were bound to drive him into conflict with Van Morrison when he produced the singer's first solo work in 1967. Morrison had been at loose ends after leaving Them in 1966, and was just hanging around Belfast trying to get something different going when Berns came to the rescue by asking Morrison to come to New York; although Morrison has said that Berns did not, as has sometimes been written, pay for the fare. Morrison became a Bang! artist and recorded his first singles, and debut solo album, in New York with Berns as producer. Although this quickly yielded a big hit with "Brown Eyed Girl," Morrison, already a serious singer/songwriter, was frustrated by conditions in the studio that were too commercially pressurized for his liking. In fairness to Berns, it should be noted that Morrison was not (and has never been) the easiest of musicians to work with due to his mercurial artistic temperament. One of the root problems was that Morrison, despite the success of "Brown Eyed Girl," was in truth already more suited to being treated as an album-oriented artist for the expanding LP market, an area that Bang! was not tapped into. It might have been interesting to see if Berns could have evolved with Morrison and like-minded artists into such directions, but he unexpectedly died of a heart attack on December 31, 1967. In a footnote to Bang!, control of the label had passed to Berns' widow Eileen, who agreed to release Morrison from his contract if he gave them publishing rights for an album's worth of new songs. Morrison complied, in letter if not spirit, with about 30 compositions that are little more than extemporized ditties, some of which seem to blatantly satirize Berns' taste for "La Bamba"-like patterns and rhythms, and Bang!'s pressure to deliver commercial material. These tapes were eventually issued in the mid-'90s on European compact discs, as a perverse postscript to the Berns legacy. 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”

Diggin A Hole - Big Sugar

-Gordie Johnson – guitar/vocals -Garry Lowe – bass -Kelly “Mr Chill” Hoppe – harmonica/sax/melodica -Friendlyness – keyboards/toasting -Stephane “Bodean” Beaudin – drums With its successful 2011 release of “Revolution Per Minute”, BIG SUGAR announced that they were not merely content to rest on their considerable laurels of past hits. Known for their innovative style that refuses to be easily labelled, as well as for their extraordinary live performances, which saw them close out last year with a full 40 city national tour, BIG SUGAR is back. “Revolution Per Minute” was the first new studio release for BIG SUGAR in almost a decade, and the first two singles – “Roads Ahead” and “Little Bit A All Right” received extensive radio play, with “Roads Ahead” staying in the top 10 on the charts for the entire summer. Fans were quick to embrace the sounds of not only the singles but of all the songs on the critically acclaimed new album. Led by Gordie Johnson on guitar and vocals, BIG SUGAR consists of Kelly “Mr. Chill” Hoppe on harmonica and saxophone, Garry Lowe on bass, Stephane “Bodean” Beaudin on drums and Friendlyness, who besides keyboards handles toasting duties for the band. It is hard to find a fan of the band who has not found ways to attend multiple live performances, for as classic and well known as their music is, it is the impact the band makes while performing in front of an audience that resonates with music lovers – both old and new. Respect for the past will always see BIG SUGAR lovingly perform their classics which can be heard hundreds of times every week across Canada, but concertgoers have learned to expect the unexpected. BIG SUGAR’s new tunes take the band into exciting original directions and are a harbinger of things to come as they travel the roads ahead. 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!

Up To You - Jason King Band

They say that blues will make you feel. If this is true, then anyone sensitive to touch should steer clear of the Jason King Band. Led by Jason King Roxas on lead guitar and vocals, the Jason King Band deals only in the heartiest of blues. Backed by the talents of Tommy Stiles (guitar, lap slide, pedal steel), Wilbert Banks (Bass) and Michael Patrick Moore (drums), the Jason King Band is a focused, power-packed blues quartet determined to make you move. Jimi Hendrix once said “Blues is easy to play but hard to feel.” Comprised of members that were born for this genre, the Jason King Band make what they do look easy. But, what sets the Jason King Band apart from other blues bands is the amount of heart in their songs. Their lyrics help set the mood while their instruments tell the story. Jason’s Stratocaster cries and wails out, luring listeners deep into the band’s seductive, captivating grooves. With the chords his uncle taught him when he was eleven years old dimpled into his fret boards, his family’s musical history is scratched up and down the necks of his guitars. Jason’s guitar is an extension of his soul. He only approaches song writing with his six-string partner strapped over his shoulder. He crafts his melodic songs from his extensive musical past. Jason’s influences, ranging from the Allman Brothers to Zeppelin, provide the color in all of the band’s memorable songs. Tommy’s lap slide tells his story, which is filled with over 40 years of playing experience. Growing up in the foothills of Claremont, California with a soft spot for Bluegrass, Tommy was introduced to the guitar and lap slide in 1967. Ten years later he traveled to Reno, played in the casino circuit, raised a family and jammed with a handful of talented bands before joining the Jason King Band in 2008. Wil’s bass provides structure. It has backbone. Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Wil made his way to Reno after gigging in Lake Tahoe with a number of gifted bands. While inspired heavily by Bill Wyman of the Stones, Barry Oakley of the Allman Brothers and James Jamerson from Motown—Wil says he has never heard a bass player from which he did not borrow something. Michael’s drum fills punctuate the Jason King Band’s story. Born in the musical hotbed that is San Francisco, California, Michael’s early years were riddled with dynamic concerts including Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Cream and Janis Joplin, to name a few. Such concerts gave Michael a well-rounded perspective on music and soon he was playing in concerts as part of long-time Bay Area band Butch Whacks and the Glass Packs. Michael’s smooth, solid drumming even earned him a spot playing behind the legendary Chuck Berry. The Jason King Band has performed all over Northern Nevada. Their eclectic mix of sounds has earned them a spot on some of the area’s biggest stages, including the Big Easy Festival, the Nugget’s Best in the West Rib Cook-off, and the El Dorado’s BBQ, Brews, & Blues Festival. The band’s power and determination shines through on their first full-length album, Blue Skies and Black Shoes; a compilation of 11 original songs that showcase the band’s talent and musical range. 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!

Henry McCullough Rock guitarist seriously ill in hospital ! - John Francis Kavanagh - Dublin Blues Club

Henry McCullough is an Irish guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, who has played guitar in such bands as Sweeney's Men, Spooky Tooth, Paul McCartney & Wings, and The Grease Band.
Henry McCullough is in a critical condition in hospital after suffering a heart attack.
The 69-year-old from Portstewart, Northern Ireland, was taken ill on Monday night.
McCullough, who played with Joe Cocker at the famous Woodstock festival in 1969, is being treated at the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine.
A spokeswoman for the hospital said he was in a "critical condition".
The rock guitarist embarked on a successful solo career after his time playing with Paul McCartney in Wings.
He is perhaps best known for his playing on Wings' number one hit My Love.
His sister Rae Morrison said the family were very distressed.
"He is very special person," she said. "It really is a very worrying time for us."
Henry McCullough is an Irish guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, who has played guitar in such bands as Sweeney's Men, Spooky Tooth, Paul McCartney & Wings, and The Grease Band.

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”