I'm Shakin - Little Willie John

William Edward John (November 15, 1937 - May 26, 1968), better known by his stage name Little Willie John, was an American R&B singer who performed in the 1950s and early 1960s. Many sources erroneously give his middle name as Edgar. He is best known for his popular music chart successes with songs such as, "All Around the World" (1955), "Need Your Love So Bad" (1956) and "Fever" the same year, the latter covered in 1958 by Peggy Lee.An important figure in early R&B music, Little Willie John was a 1996 Inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was born in Cullendale, Arkansas, one of ten children, his family moving to Detroit, Michigan when he was four so that his father could pursue factory work. In the late 1940s, the eldest children, including Willie, formed a gospel singing group, and Willie also performed in talent shows, which brought him to the notice of Johnny Otis and, later, musician and producer Henry Glover. After seeing him sing with the Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams orchestra, Glover signed him to a recording contract with King Records in 1955. He was nicknamed "Little Willie" John for his short stature. His first recording, a version of Titus Turner's "All Around the World", was a hit, reaching # 5 on the Billboard R&B chart. He followed up with a string of R&B hits, including the original version of "Need Your Love So Bad", written by his elder brother Mertis John Jr. One of his biggest hits, "Fever" (1956) (Pop #24), was more famously covered by Peggy Lee in 1958. However, John's version alone sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Another song, "Talk to Me, Talk to Me" recorded in 1958, reached #5 in the R&B chart and #20 in the Pop chart, and also sold over one million. A few years later it was a hit once again by Sunny & the Sunglows. He also recorded "I'm Shakin'" by Rudy Toombs, "Suffering With The Blues", and "Sleep" (1960) (Pop #13). In all, John made the Billboard Hot 100 a total of fourteen times. A cover version of "Need Your Love So Bad" by Fleetwood Mac was also a hit in Europe. Another of his songs to be covered was "Leave My Kitten Alone", (1959). The Beatles recorded a version in 1964, intended for their Beatles for Sale album, but it went unreleased until 1995. Willie John was known for his short temper and propensity to abuse alcohol, and was dropped by his record company in 1963. In 1966, he was convicted of manslaughter and sent to Washington State Penitentiary for a fatal knifing incident following a show in Seattle. He appealed against his conviction and was released while the case was reconsidered, during which time he recorded what was intended to be his comeback album, but owing to contractual wrangling and the decline of his appeal, it was not released until 2008 (as Nineteen Sixty Six). Little Willie John died in 1968 at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, Washington. Despite counter claims, the official cause of death was listed in his death certificate as a heart attack. His interment was in Warren, Michigan's Detroit Memorial Park East. Little Willie John was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. He was the brother of singer Mable John, who recorded for Motown and Stax, and the father of Keith John, a long time backing vocalist for Stevie Wonder. James Brown, who early in his career had opened shows for John, recorded a tribute album, Thinking about Little Willie John... and a Few Nice Things. Robbie Robertson, former lead guitarist for The Band, referenced John in a song on his 1987 self-titled album titled "Somewhere Down the Crazy River." He was also referenced in Tom Russell's "Blue Wing." A biography, Fever: Little Willie John; A Fast Life, Mysterious Death and the Birth of Soul, written by Susan Whitall with Kevin John (another son of Little Willie John) was released in 2011 by Titan Books. 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!

I Wont Be Your Fool - Little Joe Hinton

Joe Hinton (November 15, 1929 – August 13, 1968) was an American soul singer. Hinton, who was born in Evansville, Indiana, began as a gospel singer with the Chosen Gospel Quartet and the Spirit of Memphis Quartet. Producer Don Robey asked the singer to try doing secular tunes, and Hinton began recording for Robey's record label, Peacock Records, in 1958. It was not until 1963, with his fifth single on the label, that he managed to chart with "You Know It Ain't Right"; the next single, "Better to Give Than to Receive", also hit the lower regions of the charts. His biggest hit was 1964's "Funny How Time Slips Away", written by Willie Nelson; the tune peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year. Cash Box magazine listed "Funny How Time Slips Away" as #1 for four weeks on their R&B chart. The track sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. "I Want a Little Girl", the next single, also charted, but it was his last hit. Hinton died of skin cancer in 1968 in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of 38, while still in the prime of his recording career. 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!

Kevin Eubanks - Live in Seattle

Kevin Tyrone Eubanks (born November 15, 1957 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an

American jazz guitarist and composer who was the leader of The Tonight Show Band with host Jay Leno from 1995 to 2010. He also led The Primetime Band on the short-lived The Jay Leno Show. Eubanks was born into a musical family. His mother, Vera Eubanks, is a gospel and classical pianist and organist. His uncle, Ray Bryant, was a jazz pianist. His older brother, Robin Eubanks, is a trombonist, and his younger brother Duane Eubanks is a trumpeter. Two cousins are also musicians, the late bassist David Eubanks and the pianist Charles Eubanks. Kevin studied violin and trumpet, before settling on the guitar. As an elementary school student, Eubanks was trained in violin, trumpet, and piano at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia. He later attended Berklee College of Music in Boston and then moved to New York to begin his professional career. Eubanks is a pescetarian and maintains a diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, egg whites, and fish. He is also an avid fan of Philadelphia sports teams. He once lost a bet on the Philadelphia 76ers, and he was forced to eat a corn dog when he lost. In 2007, he was voted PETA's "World's Sexiest Vegetarian Man" After Eubanks moved to New York, he began performing with noted jazzmen such as Art Blakey (1980–81), Roy Haynes, Slide Hampton and Sam Rivers. Like his brother Robin, he has played on record with double bassist Bill Dryden and Dave Holland. In 1983, while continuing to perform with others, he formed his own quartet, playing gigs in Jordan, Pakistan, and India on a tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department. 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!

Black Rat Swing - Little Son Joe

Little Son Joe(Ernest Lawlars), 18 May 1900, Hughes, Arkansas, USA, d. 14 November 1961, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Lawlars is best known for his musical partnership with his wife, Memphis Minnie, but he had been playing guitar and singing blues for some years around Memphis before they collaborated, including a period with Rev. Robert Wilkins, whom he accompanied on record in 1935. He teamed up with Minnie in the late 30s, replacing her previous husband and partner, Joe McCoy. Like McCoy, Lawlars also made records under his own name, including the well-known ‘Black Rat Swing’, but he mainly appeared in the supporting role, on a large number of sides covering most of the 40s and the early years of the following decade. As their popularity in Chicago waned, they settled back in Memphis and retired from music in the 50s.

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Living for today- Jeff Strahan

Jeff Strahan, aka Jeffrey V. Strahan Sr. (pretty lawyer-esque sounding name, huh?,) is a former trial lawyer turned full time musician. He knows Texas law and if it’s something he doesn’t know, he knows how to find the answer, so don’t mess with him. But he really just wants to be a performing musician now, .....and has wanted to do so all of his life, so now, that’s what he is doing. “It’s rewarding to be able to be an artist and play music, and difficult to be truly happy doing anything else.” That’s a truth that most artistic folks will have to agree with. Since 2002, Jeff has recorded 6 CD’s of original music, including a live album with 22 tunes that comes close to reproducing the energy that you feel when you’re watching and listening to Jeff Strahan live. His latest CD, (Wayward Son, Squaw Peaks Records) is probably his most diverse and strongest studio album to date. He masters the Stratocaster along with the best of them and does equally well playing keys. Sometimes he does both at the same time. When asked to describe his music he calls it “Music that doesn’t suck. - A blend of soulful-country-blues-rock-and folk.” Most people will agree - it doesn’t suck. It’s even pretty good. In some instances, real good. In an apparent attempt to hide any signs of his former career, Jeff Strahan wears his hair so big it makes Lyle Lovett’s former hairdo look like a crew cut. Not that Jeff is ashamed of being a lawyer, but that was his old life. Now he makes music full time, playing all over Texas, with frequent tours to other parts of the United States, combining his stage training from law school with his natural ability to connect with the audience. Throw in a thirst for writing songs that he can play in front of people, a spirituality that has guided him his whole life, and the intelligence to make it all come together, and you’ve got an Americana act that translates around the globe. 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!

Kid Man Blues - Johnny 'Man' Young

Johnny Young (January 1, 1918 – April 18, 1974) was an American blues singer, mandolin player and guitarist, significant as one of the first of the new generation of electric blues artists to record in Chicago after the Second World War, and as one of the few mandolin players to have been active in blues music in the post-war era. His nickname, "Man", came from his use of the mandolin. Young was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and played in string bands in Mississippi in the 1930s. He also claimed to have worked with Sleepy John Estes in Tennessee before moving to Chicago in 1940. By 1943 he was working with John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson and Muddy Waters and in the late 1940s he became a regular player on Maxwell Street, often with his cousin, guitarist Johnny Williams, as well as playing in clubs with Williams and Little Walter. His first recording was made in 1947 for the Ora Nelle label and featured Young singing "Money Taking Woman" on the A-side, accompanied by Williams, who sang "Worried Man Blues" on the B-side. A second session in late 1948, with Young and Williams joined by Snooky Pryor on harmonica, resulted in a single being released under the name "Man Young" on the Planet label. A further session for the J.O.B. label was unissued, and after a session playing guitar behind Snooky Pryor for Vee-Jay Young retired from performance for a time in the 1950s. The rise of white interest in blues in the early 1960s resulted in Young emerging from retirement in 1963, and he recorded for a number of labels including Vanguard, Testament, Arhoolie and Blue Horizon in the 1960s and early 1970s. Young died in Chicago in 1974 from a heart attack and was buried in Lincoln cemetery, Urbana, 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 favorite band!

Ruf Records Signs Devon Allman & Will Release His Debut Solo CD, "Turquoise," February 12, 2013

Ruf Records Signs Devon Allman and Will Release His Debut Solo CD, Turquoise, on February 12, 2013

New Album Produced by Multi-Grammy Winner Jim Gaines and Features Royal Southern Brotherhood Bandmate Yonrico Scott on Drums, Plus Special Guests Luther Dickinson and Samantha Fish

ATLANTA, GA – Ruf Records announces the signing of guitarist/singer Devon Allman and a February 12, 2013, release date for his debut solo album, Turquoise. Ruf Records is distributed in the U.S. by the Allegro Corporation. Turquoise was produced and mixed by multi-Grammy winner Jim Gaines and recorded at his Bessie Blue Studios in Stantonville, Tennessee, as well as at Ardent Studios in Memphis. Devon Allman (vocals and guitars) is joined on the new CD in a core trio set-up that features his fellow Royal Southern Brotherhood bandmate Yonrico Scott (drums and percussion), as well as Myles Weeks (upright and electric bass). Special guests include Luther Dickinson (guitar), Samantha Fish (vocals), Ron Holloway (sax), Bobby Schneck Jr. (guitar) and Rick Steff (Hammond B3 organ).  

Devon Allman is currently on tour in Europe as a member of Royal Southern Brotherhood, the Ruf Records band he formed along with Cyril Neville (percussion and vocals), Mike Zito (guitar and vocals), Charlie Wooton (bass) and Yonrico Scott (drums). The group’s debut self-titled CD was released in May and has been in the Top 15 on the Billboard blues chart for six months, also generating extensive radio airplay and rave critical reviews from the press.

Turquoise is loaded with very personal, honest and powerful tunes in its 11-track song list. In “Turn Off the World,” one of Devon’s most insightful compositions on the new CD, he asks to go where he can “wash off this rock and roll” so that he can cleanse his soul to start anew and refresh his mind after spending so much time on the road. “Homesick,” carries that sentiment further and was the first song written for Turquoise.

“The last 10 years I’ve spent in hotels, airplanes, taxis, truck stops, etc.,” says Allman about the track “This song is dedicated to my family for putting up with my absence.”  He demonstrates his affinity for Latin and African music on the rhythmic “There’s No Time” (co-written by rising star guitarist Tyler Stokes); weaves an insightful autobiographical tale on “When I Left Home” (with guest Luther Dickinson adding some slinky lead and slide guitar); and pares down to the quietest of places on the lovely “Yadira’s Lullaby” (which recalls his late uncle Duane’s acoustic guitar on the classic “Little Martha”). Turquoise represents some of the finest work in Devon Allman’s career thus far, engaging in its scope and thrilling in its execution. This is an album of reflection of Devon’s past life and it’s the stories that only he can tell.

“These songs are very special to me,” says Allman. “It’s part ‘dusty road driving music’ and part ‘tropical getaway’ music. These are the stories, feelings and reflections from my last couple of decades of forging my musical path.”

The 10 originals on Turquoise include two co-written with RSB brother Mike Zito, plus a blazing version of Tom Petty’s “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” that really rocks, courtesy of some righteous vocals by Devon and special guest Samantha Fish.

Currently based in St. Louis, Devon Allman was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he grew up surrounded by a humble life along with his mother. His first love affair with music came at a young age, eventually becoming a spiritual calling that wouldn’t stop. It wasn’t long before he and his guitar joined bands, and in 1999 Devon formed his Southern rock jam band, Honeytribe. While his breakthrough into the music industry may have been blunted by his choice not to use his illustrious surname, it served the purpose of his having to avoid the burden of the barrage of questions about his famous father that even he was unsure of how to answer. It was when Honeytribe began to release CDs and tour nationally that interviews slowly began to trickle out that Devon was the son of one of the biggest names in rock music, Gregg Allman. Over the years, Devon has joined his illustrious dad as a special guest during The Allman Brothers Band’s legendary series of shows at the Beacon Theater in New York City. Today, he embraces who he is and where he’s been, knowing that he has paved his own way on Turquoise.

In addition to his continuing tour work as a member of Royal Southern Brotherhood, Devon Allman will support the release of Turquoise by hitting the road with his own band. Pre-release tour dates are already booked for shows during November and December in the northeast and Florida. Devon is managed by Rueben Williams of Thunderbird Management (thunderbird@viscom.net) and booked by Blue Mountain Artists (www.bmatours.com).

Delmark artist: Mike Wheeler - Self Made Man - New Release Review

I just received a copy of the newest release, Self Made Man, from Mike Wheeler and it literally does have it all! Wheeler is a first rate soul style singer who can hold his own with just about anyone. The first track out of the gate is Here I Am, a funky blues track where Wheeler not only excels on vocal but rips out some awesome guitar riffs. This is a R&B style blues/dance track and it is a mover. Wheeler is backed by an extremely tight band of Brian James (keys), Larry Williams (bass), Cleo Cole (drums) and Omar Coleman (harp). Big Mistake is a great swing blues with a great tempo, well placed guitar riffs and strong key work from James. The title track, Self Made Man, another track based in R&B but with a funk edge really highlights Wheelers voice and guitar playing with harp by Coleman. It's really noticeable the similarities from Albert King in both guitar and singing styles. Wheeler has his own voice and guitar style but there are some of Albert's qualities present in the recordings. I'm Missing You has a cool shuffle rhythm and again Wheelers voice is sweet. James plays a nice organ bottom and solo on this track and Wheeler steps up again with a rippin guitar solo. Join Hands is a R&B track with some really heavy funk bass by Williams. Wheeler shows his versatility on guitar playing riffs that have a more jazz phrasing. Next up is Willie Dixon's Let Me Love You Baby with a modern jazz blues twist. James plays the Rhodes with a Ramsey Lewis flair adding great depth to this track. Wheeler comes back with some fleet foot guitar riffs and keeps the track sounding fresh. You're Doing Wrong is a terrific blues track to allow Wheeler the base to sing over but also a great basis to squeeze some really hot riffs from his Les Paul. This is a hot track and is the highlight of the package for me. Walkin' Out The Door is a light BB King phrased blues track. It has that happy rhythm and Wheeler of course taking his own route on guitar. On Get Your Mind Right, Cole sets the pace with a strong lead hi-hat rhythm and Wheelers singing style is a perfect compliment for this R&B style blues track. Coleman plays some nice back side harp on this track as well leaving plenty of room for Wheeler to stretch out on guitar. On I Don't Like It Like That, we got some funky blues and Wheeler get's right into the slot. Wheeler is best known as a guitar slinger (which he absolutely is)but his man could be lead vocalist for just about any band he would choose. Vocals are great. On Moving Forward Williams leads the way with some cosmic bass lines and we got us a progressive funk/blues track. Wheeler demonstrates that he knows what to do with any bottom presented to him flaming everything in his path with his searing solos. Wrapping up the recording is I'm Working which is an uptempo R&B style blues again with a funk bottom and well phrased guitars galore. This is a cool finish for this great cd. I think anyone but hard core delta blues enthusiasts would find this a terrific recording.

  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!

INDEPENDENCE BLUES - VALERIE WELLINGTON

Valerie Wellington (November 14, 1959 – January 2, 1993) was an African American, Chicago blues and electric blues singer and actress. Her 1984 album, Million Dollar $ecret saw her work with Sunnyland Slim, Billy Branch, and Magic Slim. In her early years, Wellington also worked with Lee "Shot" Williams. In a short career, she switched from opera to the blues. She was born Valerie Eileen Hall in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Wellington trained as an opera singer, graduating from the American Conservatory of Music, but in 1982 took up singing the blues in her local Chicago clubs. Her work extended to the theater, where she undertook roles portraying earlier blues singers such as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. Wellington's opera training enabled her to project her voice to theater audiences. She appeared at the 1984 San Francisco Blues Festival, on the bill alongside Marcia Ball and Katie Webster. Her recorded work blended the more traditional vaudeville approach with a contemporary Chicago blues format. Wellington appeared on a limited number of recordings, but her voice was used on several advertisements on both television and radio. Wellington's recording of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" was used on the soundtrack to the 1989 film, Great Balls of Fire!, in which she briefly appeared depicting Big Maybelle. In the same year, Wellington toured Japan, with Carlos Johnson. Wellington died of a cerebral aneurysm in Maywood, Illinois, in January 1993, at the age of 33. She was interred at the Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. In 1995, Rooster Blues re-issued Million Dollar $ecret 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!

Arthur "Guitar" Kelly, Smokin' Bob Harbour, Sam Hogan

Arthur Kelly was born on November 14, 1924 in Clinton, Louisiana. By the age of 14, Kelly was playing the guitar when he moved to Baker, Louisiana. There he performed at local parties from 1947 to 1950, and with Lightnin' Slim through the 1950's and 1960's. Kelly performed with Silas Hogan at clubs, bars, and dance halls in the Baton, Rouge area from 1966 into the 1970's. On guitars are Smokin' Bob Harbour & Sam Hogan during an interval @ the Spanish Moon in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where the Bravo Network sent a crew in to do some filming on the Smokehouse Porter & the Gutbucket Blues Band. They captured this in a relaxed moment. Arthur "Guitar" Kelly comes into the scene. Kelly is a Louisiana Legend, he recorded for Arhoolie Records and Jay Miller's Blue Horizon label over in Crowley, Louisiana. He also made a trip to Washington, D.C. representing Louisiana blues for the National Council for the Traditional Arts. Sam is the son of Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame Member Silas Hogan and at an early age played drums on some of his father's recordings which can still be found. Smokin' Bob was the house bass player at Tabby's Blues Box & Heritage Hall. 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!

Slow 'Em Down Blues - Art Hodes' Chicagoans

Arthur W. Hodes (November 14, 1904, Russian Empire – March 4, 1993, Harvey, Illinois), known professionally as Art Hodes, was an American jazz pianist. Hodes was born in Ukraine. His family settled in Chicago, Illinois when he was a few months old. His career began in Chicago clubs, but he did not gain wider attention until moving to New York City in 1938. In that city he played with Sidney Bechet, Joe Marsala, and Mezz Mezzrow. Later Hodes founded his own band in the 1940s and it would be associated with his home town of Chicago. He and his band played mostly in that area for the next forty years. In the late 1960s Hodes starred in a series of TV shows on Chicago style jazz called "Jazz Alley". Here he appeared with greats like Pee Wee Russell and Jimmy McPartland. He also wrote for jazz magazines like Jazz Record. He remained an educator and writer in jazz. During this period of his life and into the 1970s Hodes resided in south suburban Park Forest, Illinois. He toured the UK in 1987 recording with drummer John Petters. In 1988 he returned to appear at the Cork jazz Festival with Petters and Wild Bill Davison. A tour, the Legends of American Dixieland, followed in May 1989 with the same line-up. Other musicians he played and recorded with included Louis Armstrong, Wingy Manone, Gene Krupa, Muggsy Spanier, Joe Marsala, Mezz Mezzrow, Sidney Bechet, Albert Nicholas, Wild Bill Davison, and Vic Dickenson. In 1998, he was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall 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 favorite band!

Good Man - Anson Funderburgh & Kim Wilson

In recent years, Dallas-based guitarist Anson Funderburgh has taken his band the Rockets out of the clubs and onto the festival stages with his critically acclaimed recordings for the BlackTop label out of New Orleans. With Jackson, MS-native Sam Myers delivering the vocals and harmonica treatments, this band mixes up a powerful gumbo of Texas jump blues and Delta blues that can't be found anywhere else. Funderburgh & His Rockets are a particularly hard working band, performing across the U.S. and Europe nearly 300 nights a year. Funderburgh was born November 15, 1954, and got hooked on the blues when he got his first guitar at age seven or eight. His first musical experiences happened in the clubs in Dallas. He developed his team approach to blues music while learning from the likes of Freddie King, Jimmy Reed, and Albert Collins when these great bluesmen were passing through Dallas-area clubs, but Funderburgh had already taught himself guitar mostly from listening to classic blues records. He never had the chance to see Muddy Waters, but he did get to play with Lightnin' Hopkins in the late '70s. Funderburgh formed the Rockets in 1978, but didn't meet Sam Myers until 1982. Butt Rockin' Funderburgh recorded with the Fabulous Thunderbirds on their Butt Rockin' album, and went solo in 1981, when the New Orleans-based BlackTop label released Talk to You by Hand, the label's first release. Funderburgh added Myers on harmonica and lead vocals in 1986. Myers had traveled for years on the chitlin circuit, where he had the chance to accompany people like Elmore James and Robert Junior Lockwood. Funderburgh admits that adding Myers on vocals and harmonica was a turning point for the Rockets, partly because of the image they project from the stage, a big towering black man and three white guys backing him up. Funderburgh continued his association in the '90s with Black Top releasing Tell Me What I Want to Hear (1991), Live at Grand Emporium (1995), and That's What They Want (1997). After releasing nine albums on Black Top, in 1999 Funderburgh changed record labels with the release of Change in my Pocket for Bullseye Blues. At the beginning of the new millennium, Funderburgh is just coming into his prime by way of his songwriting talents, so his career deserves close watching in the coming years. The best is yet to come from this guitarist and bandleader. 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!

Easy to Love You - Carey Bell & The Sons Of Blues

Carey Bell (November 14, 1936 – May 6, 2007) was an American blues musician, who played the harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica (harp) and bass for other blues musicians during the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s before embarking on a solo career. Besides his own albums, he recorded as an accompanist or duo artist with Earl Hooker, Robert Nighthawk, Lowell Fulson, Eddie Taylor, Louisiana Red, Jimmy Dawkins as well as a frequent partner with his son, guitarist Lurrie Bell. Blues Revue called Bell "one of Chicago’s finest harpists." The Chicago Tribune said Bell is "a terrific talent in the tradition of Sonny Boy Williamson and Little Walter. Bell was born Carey Bell Harrington in Macon, Mississippi. As a child, Bell was intrigued by the music of Louis Jordan. Bell wanted a saxophone in order to be like his hero Jordan; however, Bell's family could not afford a saxophone he had to settle for the harmonica, colloquially known as a "Mississippi saxophone." Soon Bell was attracted by the blues harmonica greats: DeFord Bailey, Big Walter Horton, Marion "Little Walter" Jacobs, and Sonny Boy Williamson I and II. Bell taught himself to play. By the time he was eight, he was quite proficient on the instrument. When he was thirteen, Bell joined his pianist godfather Lovie Lee's blues band. In September 1956, Lovie Lee convinced Bell to go with him to Chicago. Not long after arriving, Bell went to the Club Zanzibar, where Little Walter was appearing. Bell met Walter and later learned some harp playing from him and his main Chicago teacher, Big Walter Horton. To help further his chances of employment as a musician, Bell learned how to play the electric bass (from Hound Dog Taylor). Despite Bell's learning from some of the greatest blues harp players of the genre, he arrived in Chicago at an unfortunate time. The demand for harp players was decreasing there as electric guitar became the prominent blues instrument. To pay the bills, Bell continued to play bass and joined several bands as a bassist. In the late 1960s, he appeared regularly on the west side of Chicago with guitarists Eddie Taylor and Royal Johnson, playing both harmonica and bass. In 1969 Bell toured Europe and the UK with the American Folk Blues Festival, and played at the Royal Albert Hall in London, appearing on a live recording of the event. In 1969, Delmark Records in Chicago released Bell's debut LP, Carey Bell's Blues Harp. Bell played with Muddy Waters in late 1970 and 1971 and later with Willie Dixon's Chicago Blues All-Stars. In 1972, Bell teamed up with Big Walter in the studio and released Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell for Alligator Records. A year later Bell released a solo project entitled Last Night for ABC Bluesway. Bell continued to play with Dixon as well as with his own groups, and in 1978, Bell was featured on the Grammy-nominated album Living Chicago Blues on Alligator. Also, in the 1970s, Bell appeared on two Bob Riedy Blues Band recordings. During the 1980s Bell continued to record for various labels and to tour. In 1990, Bell teamed up with fellow harpists Junior Wells, James Cotton and Billy Branch to record Harp Attack!. A modern Blues classic, Harp Attack! became one of Alligator Records's best selling albums. Despite years in the business and work with Alligator, Bell's first full-length solo album for the label was not until Deep Down, released in 1995. In 1997, Bell released the second album on the label Good Luck Man. Second Nature (originally recorded in Finland a few years earlier) followed in 2004; a duet album with his guitarist son, Lurrie Bell (who shared the guitar duties with Carl Weathersby on Deep Down). In 1998, Bell was awarded the Blues Music Award for Traditional Male Artist Of The Year. In 2007, Delmark Records released a live set by Bell, accompanied by a band which included his son Lurrie, guitarist Scott Cable, Kenny Smith, Bob Stroger and Joe Thomas. Carey Bell died of heart failure on May 6, 2007, in Chicago, 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 favorite band!

Early in The Morning - JOHN HENRY BARBEE

John Henry Barbee (November 14, 1905 – November 3, 1964) was an American blues singer and guitarist. He was born William George Tucker in Henning, Tennessee, United States, and changed his name with the commencement of his recording career to reflect his favorite folk song, "The Ballad of John Henry". Barbee toured in the 1930s throughout the American South singing and playing slide guitar. He teamed up with Big Joe Williams, and later on, with Sunnyland Slim in Memphis, Tennessee. Travelling down to Mississippi he also came across Sonny Boy Williamson I, and played with him off and on for several years. He released two sides on the Vocalion label in 1939 ("Six Weeks Old Blues" / "God Knows I Can't Help It"). The record sold well enough to cause Vocalion to call on Barbee again, but by that time he had left his last known whereabouts in Arkansas. Barbee explained that this sudden move was due to his evading the law for shooting and killing his girlfriend's lover. He later found out that he had only injured the man, but by the time this was discovered, Barbee had moved on from making a career out of playing music. Barbee did not show up again in the music industry until the early 1960s, whereby this time the blues revival was in full swing. Willie Dixon searched out for Barbee, and found him working as an ice cream server in Chicago, Illinois. In 1964 he joined the American Folk Blues Festival on an European tour with fellow blues players, including Lightnin' Hopkins and Howlin' Wolf. In a case of tragic circumstances, Barbee returned to the United States and used the money from the tour to purchase his first automobile. Only ten days after purchasing the car, he accidentally ran over and killed a man. He was locked up in a Chicago jail, and died there of a heart attack a few days later, November 3, 1964, 11 days before his 59th birthday. He is interred in the Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. On May 11, 2010 the third annual White Lake Blues Festival took place at the Howmet Playhouse Theater in Whitehall, Michigan. The concert was organized by executive producer, Steve Salter, of the nonprofit organization Killer Blues in order to raise monies to honor Barbee's unmarked grave with a headstone. The event was a success, and a stone was placed in June, 2010. 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!

Phantom Black Snake - Washboard Sam

Robert Brown (July 15, 1910 – November 6, 1966), known professionally as Washboard Sam, was an American blues singer and musician. Born in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, United States, and reputedly the half-brother of Big Bill Broonzy, Brown moved to Memphis, Tennessee in the 1920s, performing as a street musician with Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon. He then moved to Chicago in 1932, performing regularly with Broonzy, and appearing with him and other musicians including Memphis Slim and Tampa Red on innumerable recording sessions for Lester Melrose of Bluebird Records. In 1935 he began recording in his own right for both Bluebird and Vocalion Records, becoming one of the most popular Chicago blues performers of the late 1930s and 1940s, selling numerous records and playing to packed audiences. Between 1935 and 1949 he recorded over 160 sides, including such popular numbers as "Mama Don't Allow", "Back Door" and "Diggin' My Potatoes." His strong voice and talent for creating new songs overcame his stylistic limitations. By the 1950s, his audience began to shrink, largely because he had difficulty adapting to the new electric blues. His final recording session for RCA Victor was held in 1949, he retired from music for several years, and became a Chicago police officer. He recorded a session in 1953 with Broonzy and Memphis Slim, and in 1959 Samuel Charters included his "I've Been Treated Wrong" on the compilation The Country Blues for Folkways Records. Brown made a modest but short-lived comeback as a live performer in the early 1960s. He died of heart disease in Chicago, in November 1966, and was buried in an unmarked grave at the Washington Memory Gardens Cemetery in Homewood, Illinois. A September 18, 2009 concert held by executive producer, Steve Salter, of the Killer Blues organization raised monies to place a headstone on Washboard Sam's grave. The show was a success and a headstone was placed in October 2009. The concert was held at the Howmet Playhouse Theater in Whitehall, Michigan. It was recorded by Vinyl Wall Productions and filmed for television broadcast in the mid-Michigan area by a television crew from the Central Michigan University. The concert featured musical artists such as Washboard Jo, R.B. and Co. and was headlined by the Big House Blues 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 favorite band!

Brand New Baby - LESTER WILLIAMS

Lester Williams (June 24, 1920 – November 13, 1990) was an American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his songs, "Winter Time Blues" and "I Can't Lose with the Stuff I Use". His main influence was T-Bone Walker. Williams released several singles in the 1950s, but remained a stalwart of the Houston blues circuit for decades. His recording career lasted from 1949 to 1956. Williams was born in Groveton, Texas, United States, although when he was a young boy his family relocated to Houston. After serving in World War II, Williams sang at Houston's Eldorado Ballroom, but quit and enrolled at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts, to study piano and voice. He did not graduate, and returned to Houston where he taught himself to play guitar and started to write songs. Walker's influence inspired Williams, who said to himself "I could learn to play guitar and pull in some of that money that T-Bone made". Having formed his own group in 1949, he wrote "Winter Time Blues", which came from his own life experience of his wife and daughter travelling to Los Angeles for the summer, and leaving Williams to contemplate the winter alone. The song's lyrics included the lines "Winter without your baby, you might as well be dead". He signed a recording contract with Macy's Records, and Steve Poncio produced "Winter Time Blues" which was a regional hit. His next few releases did not fare well commercially and, by 1951, Williams had moved to Specialty Records. His first disc for them was his biggest success, "I Can't Lose with the Stuff I Use" (1952). His notability rose to the extent that he appeared in February 1953 on a Carnegie Hall, New York bill, which also included Dinah Washington, Billy Eckstine and Nat King Cole. The song "I Can't Lose with the Stuff I Use" was covered a decade later by B.B. King. His success was short-lived as subsequent releases did not sell but, by 1954, Williams started to perform on a regular basis on Houston's radio station, KLVL, and began a constant touring regime across the South. Further single releases appeared on both Duke and Imperial, the latter in 1956. For the ensuing decades, Williams continued to perform around Houston and beyond, and he undertook a tour of Europe in 1986. 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! Williams died in November 1990, in Houston, at the age of 70

Keep On Trying - Big Daddy Wilson & Doc Fozz

Big Daddy Wilson was born less than 50 years ago in a small town called Edenton, North Carolina. The population of Edenton counts less than 6000, 55% African Americans, 25% below the poverty line. “We were very poor but I had a very beautiful childhood“, Wilson remembers. “Me and my sisters were raised by Mom and Grandma. We lived a simple life, we went to church every Sunday, school on weekdays. I also worked back then on the tobacco plantation and in the cotton fields, I was a real country boy.“ Wilson sang in church but he never thought about going on stage. “I was extremely shy.“ His guardians meant well for the fatherless boy and they often sent him to church also during the week. “That won´t hurt him, keeps little Wilson away from drugs and off the streets.“ Young Wilson quit school at 16, and sometime later joined the US Army. Being a poor black man in the south and living in a small town, jobs were scarce. After being stations in Germany, the young man became homesick. “I found out the quickest way to go back home was to see that you got married. They’ll allow you a vacation time about two weeks to go home to get married. Wilson convinced his officers of his impending wedding and returned Stateside, refusing to return to Germany. After six weeks his mom was so worried that she begged him to go back to the military. “And so I was back in Germany.“ A few years later Wilson met a German girl who became his wife. She is the reason for him staying and also the reason for a poem which became Wilson´s first song. And then Wilson heard the blues for the first time. Back in Edenton he had listened to music only in church and from the local, country radio station. But now he went for the first time to a real blues concert. “I met the blues here in Germany. I didn’t know what the blues was before“ Big Daddy Wilson says. “It was here that I found a part of me that was missing for so long in my life.“ It did not take long and the shy guy who had written some poems started looking for melodies. He went on stage, jammed all over the German blues scene and made an impression with his warm and soulful voice. He began touring with bands and as a duo and even released a few records. “My sister came all the way to see me perform and she couldn’t believe it. No, that’s not my brother. It seems like all my shyness was gone – thanks to my music. “ Champion Jack Dupree, Louisiana Red, Eddie Boyd... many musicians who made Europe their home and brought the blues with them succeeded here better than in the U.S. Even Luther Allison lived in Europe for 14 years before his big break. And now there´s Big Daddy Wilson, an American singer and songwriter who found his home in northern Germany. But something is different regarding Big Daddy Wilson. When he came over from the U.S. there was no blues in his baggage. He initially discovered the blues here in Germany which is where he will begin his international career. With his international solo debut on RUF Records Big Daddy Wilson is going to take one step further in his late career as a musician. For “Love Is The Key“ he recorded his own songs exclusively with a small band; taking it back to the roots, often reduced to acoustic instruments, but always full of soul. You can listen to his very first song here,“ Anna“ the song about his wife. Gospel is the foundation for “Keep Your Faith In Jah“, but this doesn’t keep the songwriter Wilson from praising the talents of a gypsy queen from New Orleans, “Jazzy Rose“. In “Hard Days Work“, Big Daddy uses monotone drones for hypnotic effects on the listener, while breezy off beats Jamaica-style let “Dreaming“ to swing along. Autobiographic aspects can be found elsewhere: “Ain´t No Slave“reminds us of the African-American history and at the same time makes us aware of Wilson’s grown confidence. His good friend Eric Bibb guests on two songs about Wilson’s roots ,”Country Boy” , “Walk A Mile In My Shoes”. He’s very proud of Bibb´s presence because “I’ve learnt so much from him,” says Wilson. The fruits of this learning can be tasted on Big Daddy’s imminent European Tour. Does he dare to imagine that he could take this music all the way back to his roots in North Carolina? “That’s a dream, but one that makes me nervous“ the Father of three laughs; it’s clear that his homesickness is gone – along with his shyness. 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!

I Just Want To Make Love To You - Buddy Guy w/ Tony Z

Hammond B-3 blues organist Tony Z was long a fixture on the New England blues club circuit, and for two years as part of Boston-area guitarist Ronnie Earl's touring band, the Broadcasters. Born and raised in Boston, Tony Zamagni began playing organ at St. Patrick's School in Roxbury. He cut his musical teeth with the Boston band Combat Zone and then went on to play with the Platters for the next ten years. He spent most of the latter part of the 1980s trying to organize his own touring band (no small feat) and working as a session player in Miami for TK Records, where he recorded an LP with the group Miami. After meeting Ronnie Earl through a mutual friend, trumpeter Bob Enos, Zamagni teamed up with the guitarist and joined his road band, the Broadcasters, from 1989 to 1991. Get Down with the Blues In 1991, Zamagni moved to Chicago, where he worked for three years with guitarist Larry McCray and found work as a session musician on albums by Son Seals, Saffire, Little Smokey Smothers and Lee "Shot" Williams. Zamagni's debut album, Get Down With the Blues, was released on Rounder's Tone-Cool subsidiary in 1995. The outing is first-class, self-produced in Chicago's Streeterville Studios with some stellar backing musicians: former Roomful of Blues guitarist Duke Robillard, drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, saxophonist Houston Person, harmonica master Sugar Blue and former Albert Collins band bassist Johnny B. Gayden. Buddy Guy was so impressed by Get Down With the Blues that he hired Tony Z to tour with him. In 1998, Tony Z released his second record for Tone Cool, Kiss My Blues. The record featured another all-star cast including Cornell Dupree on guitar, Bernard "Pretty" Purdie on drums again, Chuck Rainey on bass, Lenny Pickett on sax and Kim Wilson blowing harp on two tracks. Since then he has toured with Buddy Guy and on his own, continuing to spread his unique take on the B-3 sound. 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!

One Kind Favour - John Hammond

John Paul Hammond (born November 13, 1942, New York City, United States) is an American blues singer and guitarist. The son of record producer John H. Hammond, he is sometimes referred to as "John Hammond, Jr." He is a son of the famed record producer and talent scout John Henry Hammond, Jr. and his first wife, Jemison McBride, an actress. He is a descendant of Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of the prominent Vanderbilt family. He has a brother, Jason, and by his father's second marriage to Esme O'Brien Sarnoff, he has a stepsister, (Esme) Rosita Sarnoff. Hammond's middle name, Paul, is in honor of a friend of his father, the actor Paul Robeson. However, the younger Hammond was raised by his mother and only saw his father a few times a year while growing up. He began playing guitar in high school, partially inspired by the album Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall. He attended Antioch College for one year, but dropped out to pursue a music career. By the mid-1960s he was touring nationally and living in Greenwich Village. He befriended and recorded with many electric blues musicians in New York, including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, The Hawks (later known as The Band), Dr. John and Duane Allman. Hammond usually plays acoustically, choosing National Reso-Phonic Guitars and sings in a barrelhouse style. Since 1962, when he made his debut on Vanguard Records, Hammond has made thirty four albums. In the 1990s he began recording on the Point Blank Records label. Hammond has earned one Grammy Award and been nominated for four others. He also provided the soundtrack for the 1970 film, Little Big Man, starring Dustin Hoffman. Although critically acclaimed, Hammond has received only moderate commercial success. Nonetheless, he enjoys a strong fan base and has earned respect from the likes of John Lee Hooker, Roosevelt Sykes, Duane Allman, Robbie Robertson and Charlie Musselwhite, all of whom have contributed their musical talents to Hammond's records. In addition, he is the only person who ever had both Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix in his band at the same time, if only for five days in the 1960s when Hammond played The Gaslight Cafe in New York City. To his regret, they never recorded together. It has been suggested by at least one author that Hammond deserves some credit for helping boost The Band to wider recognition. He recorded with several of the members of The Band in 1965, and recommended them to Bob Dylan, with whom they undertook a famed and tumultuous world tour. In the early part of the 1990s, Hammond hosted the 1991 UK television documentary The Search for Robert Johnson, detailing the life of the legendary Delta bluesman, Robert Johnson. Hammond at Hugh's Room in Toronto John performing in the 1980s Hammond has had a longstanding friendship with the songwriter Tom Waits, and has performed Waits' songs on occasion. In 2001, he released Wicked Grin, an album entirely of Tom Waits compositions with one exception, the traditional spiritual, "I know I've Been Changed." Waits himself provided guitar work and backing vocals as well as producing the project. In 2002 he released Ready for Love, produced by David Hidalgo of Los Lobos fame. It included a cover version of the Mick Jagger and Keith Richards penned, "The Spider and the Fly". His most recent album, entitled Push Comes to Shove produced by Garrett (G. Love) Dutton, was released in February 2007. In 2011 Hammond was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame of the Blues Foundation 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!

Sweet Home Chicago / Hoochie Choochie Man - Nat Dove

NAT DOVE has been playing blues, boogie-woogie and barrelhouse music for over four decades. And, as one of the last of a breed of blues pianist, Dove is the most sought after and respected blues pianist in the western United States. Dove has been featured on the recording of: Robert Cray, George “Harmonica” Smith, Freddie King, Big Mama Thornton, T-Bone Walker, Pee Wee Crayton, Louis Meyers and Big Joe Turner...just to name a few. He has tour the world many times playing all the major capitals of Europe, Asia and the United States. Dove has authored instructional books on Gospel Piano and has co-authored books with the great Memphis Slim and Mickey Baker. In a 1979 review of the album I’m a Southern Man by Louis Meyers, Living Blues Magazine notes that the song on it titled “Woke Up features “beautiful work from pianist Nathaniel “Nat" Dove, who shines throughout and should be recognized as one of today’s top bluesmen on his instrument. Westcoast Blues Review magazine states, “The art of blues piano is quickly dying out with only Nat Dove and perhaps a half-dozen other players left to carry on a tradition that is generations old. Nat Dove does not relish the idea of having a monopoly and sitting alone on the piano bench. He’s actively teaching and promoting blues, boogie-woogie and barrelhouse piano on the lecture circuit, in schools on video and in books. Nathaniel Dove, born in Mumford, Texas, on November 13, 1939, started to play the piano at the age of four. The second-oldest of five children all well-versed on the instrument, Nat and his siblings learned to play from their mother, a church pianist. With seven family members and only one piano, Dove says piano time was precious and family members played whenever they got a chance. He later learned to play the trumpet, bass and drums, eventually learning to write songs, arrange and compose music. Dove’s early experiences as a musician included playing upright bass in high school dance band, doing local gigs around his home town of Bryan, Texas, playing drums with Juke Boy Bonner in the mid 1950s, meeting Big Mama Thornton and sitting in on recording sessions with other soon-to-be greats at an uncle’s recording studio in Houston. The 60s found Dove in Hollywood, during which time he became a very influencing force in the very active blues scene. His all-star band at the time included Nat on piano, Pee Wee Crayton on guitar, Mickey Champion on vocals, Curtis Tillman on bass Bop Daddy on drums, Clifford “Honky Tonk” Scott on tenor sax, and Big Jim Wynn (band leader for T-Bone Walker) on baritone sax. It wasn’t long before Dove’s reputation as a talented and dependable musician brought him studio work as either a pianist and/or arranger. Dove’s talents can be sampled from his great body of recorded work on: Little Johnny Taylor’s 1963 mega-hit Part-time Love, Little Joe Blue's 1965 album Dirty Work Goin On , Lowell Fulson’s Live at the Pitt Inn recorded in Tokyo, Japan. On the 1967 album by George “Harmonica”Smith titled Mojo Workin, and on Robert Cray’s Who’s Been Talkin Other recordings featuring Dove are blues classics: Big Mama Thornton’s Stronger Than Dirt, Johnnie Shines, The Gospel Soul of Sam Cooke, and Lonesome Sundown’s Been Gone Too Long. In the early 1970s Dove left Hollywood and move to Paris France, As Dove states it, “Hollywood and I had creative differences Dove was determined to make his mark on the whole world. After a very successful engagement at The Olympiad Music Hall , the oldest and largest concert venue on the contineint of Europe. Nat became Composer-In-Residence at the American Culture Center in Paris, France. It was at this time in Nat’s life that teaching and writing became his passion. Writing books with his fellow expatriates Memphis Slim and Mickey Baker. Composing, performing music as art, and not for its preconceived commercial potential was a dream come true for Nat. In 1974, Dove composed music for the French stage play Sail To Everest , In 1977, he composed the original score for Petey Wheatstaw, a movie about the life of a bluesman by the same name. This brought Nat back to the United States and also a big hit record with his own band, The Most Requested Rhythm Band, a high energy disco band who toped the all of the bestseller charts to the end of the disco era. Continuing to pursue Music on his own terms, In 1980, Nat became a full time music educator. Teaching, writing books and lecturing on African-American Music and culture. “Blues, gospel and jazz music is America’s gift to the world. says Dove. “This is a tradition based in the musical expression of all basic human emotions. It can and does include one’s personal feelings: joy as well as pain, pride as well as anger, love as well as hate, victim as well as culprit .”Dove continues; “Blues music is cathartic for the performer and for his or her audience which is germane to the popularity and appeal this art form has enjoyed throughout the world for decades. Improvisation within a definable framework, and the ability to create extemporaneously are but two of the factors recognized which qualifies Blues music as a true modern folk art form. Nat has returned to Europe on numerous occasions to perform in music festivals and conduct music workshops and clinics in; The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and United Kingdom. Recently, Dove performed in what he stated was the most eclectic setting ever for blues music. This was at the The Volga., the most beautiful blues venue in the world is a Russian resturant in Tokyo, Japan across from the Tokyo Tower and the Russian embassy. The audiences were from every place on the planet. 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!

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!

Don't You Feel My Leg - Blu Lu Barker

Blue Lu Barker (November 13, 1913 – May 7, 1998) was an American jazz and blues singer. Her better known recordings included "Don't You Feel My Leg" and "Look What Baby's Got For You." She was born Louisa Dupont, in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, and often sang and performed with her husband Danny Barker, a regular of the New Orleans music scene. The recording of "A Little Bird Told Me" by Barker was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 15308. It first reached the Billboard chart on 31 December 1948 and lasted five weeks on the chart, peaking at #16. Barker was inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame in 1997, one year before she died in New Orleans at the age of 84 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!

James 'Buddy' Rogers - My Guitar's My Only Friend

James 'Buddy' Rogers New CD My Guitar's My Only Friend

 

 

   

In the few short months since its release, British Columbia  blues guitarist James 'Buddy' Rogers' new CD My Guitar's My Only Friend has been getting regular airplay and admirable reviews from critics in Canada and USA, as well as regular positions on the Roots Music Report charts.

 

Here is what some critics had to say:

"It is clear he has a passion for the blues. Listen to any of the instrumental portions of the songs and that is instantly recognizable. His guitar playing is stalwart and reminiscent of his blues heroes. He can write a blues tune; that becomes indisputable when listening to the title track. The album is solid and worth a second or third listen." - Blues Rock Review

 

"My Guitar's My Only Friend" was my first intro to James "Buddy" Rogers, and what a great intro is was, one that truly had me not only becoming an instant fan but also has me really looking forward to more of his music in the future, but for now, I am pretty glad I have this little treasure to listen to" - John Vermilyea, Blues Underground Network

"You would you be able to play these songs even 50 years ago. You can feel every moment. He has found his voice and his place in the blues tradition. When he plays his guitar, your questions are answered." - Wasser Prawada (Germany)

My Guitar's My Only Friend has been added to Radio Submit for programmers and stations to download for broadcast.

About James 'Buddy' Rogers:

Most blues musicians can proudly recall their age and stage in life when they received their introduction to blues music. It is a coming of age in a sense – before the blues and after the blues. For Vancouver’s James ‘Buddy’ Rogers, life as he knew it was inherently different after discovering the blues.

James ‘Buddy’ Rogers learned to love the blues close to home.  His dad, Bud worked for the railroad and often brought home records and a guitar and by the time little Buddy was 10 he was lifting licks. By 11 he’d formed a band and started gigging. Within two years he was a regular at local blues clubs. At 15 his band Texas Storm was being booked by Canada’s top agency for opening concert slots. “My dad went to the liquor control board and got a license that he would take to bars so I could legally play there.  I began playing shows sitting in with all the great blues guys around Vancouver back then. The ones that really stand out, who took me under their wing, so to speak were the late Muddy Fraser, Tom and Jack Lavin, Jim Byrnes and Russell Jackson.  These guys always invited me out to play with them and open for them.” Rogers recalls.  

At the age of 19, Rogers teamed up with former B.B. King bassist Russell Jackson and began tour that lasted five years.  Based in Kansas City, they played an endless string of clubs, concerts and festivals sharing the bill with Canned Heat, Sam Taylor, The Holmes Brothers, Elvin Bishop, Kenny Neal, Katie Webster and countless others.  In 2000 Buddy started his own band and played blues clubs across Canada and Europe.  When he wasn’t working under his own name he appeared on US tours and recordings with many other blues acts.

James ‘Buddy’ Rogers main influences on guitar -  Johnny Watson, Jimmie Vaughan and the three Kings - plus years of being a blues road warrior have helped shape him into one of the most inventive and penetrating blues guitarists performing today.

His new CD My Guitar’s My Only Friend was produced by Tom Lavin of Powder Blues fame and features 10 songs written by Lavin and Rogers.
This CD showcases a guitar and voice forged by a life in the blues.  James ‘Buddy’ Rogers; his blues is here to stay.

 

 

 

 

www.jamesbuddyrogers.com
www.radiosubmit.com/rs/James_Buddy_Rogers

Upcoming Performances

November 15
Sandpiper Pub -  Whiterock, BC  

November 24
Cresent Beach Legion #240 - Surrey, BC

November 29
Sandpiper Pub -  Whiterock, BC

December 1
Blackfish Pub -   Gibsons, BC

December 2
Garden Bay Pub Hotel & Marina -  Garden Bay, BC 

December 7 & 8
The Blues Can - Calgary, AB 

December 9
Inlet Theatre - Port Moody, BC 

 

 

Media contact:  

Sarah French Publicity Sarah French
416-566-4188
sarah@sarahfrenchpublicity.com

Shake What You Got - Dockery Dawgs

Vokal: Geir "Bacon" Engen Hansen Gitarer/ kor: John Ivar Reitan Bass/ kor: Odd Egil Gipling Trommer/gauling; Jomar Haarberg Dockery Dawgs ble startet i 1999 som akustisk duo. Geir Engen Hansen (vokal) og John Ivar Reitan (gitar) ga ut to CD’er og turnerte land og strand frem til 2006. De gjorde flere konserter på Notodden Bluesfestival, og likeså har de spilt på Nidaros Bluesfestival, Hell Blues Festival, Ørland Bluesfestival og flere andre. De har spilt på bluesklubber fra Svalbard i nord og til Kristiansand i sør. De har også spilt på bluesfestivaler i Riga, Latvia og Østersund bluesfestival. Etter en pause returnerte de i 2010. Da dro de med seg deres gamle musikalske venner Odd Egil Gipling (bass) og Jomar Haarberg (trommer). Nå som et tungt elektrisk delta blues band. I 2012 kommer ”SHAKE WHAT YOU GOT”, bandets tredje CD og deres første som band Musikken er tung, rufsete elektrisk blues inspirert av: R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Hound Dog Taylor, Bukka White, Howling Wolf, Son House samt en god porsjon selvkomponert materiale fra de to utgivelsene MOAN(2002), TORN AND TWISTED (2004) og ikke minst deres nye plate SHAKE WHAT YOU GOT som kommer etter sommeren. Tittelen til den nye plata er en liten hyllest til den 90 år gamle Mississippi bluesartisten: T-Model Ford, som brukte det utrykket hver gangen dame gikk over dansegulvet og tiltrakk hans oppmerksomhet da han spiltepå Notodden bluesfestival. Èn ting er i hvertfall sikkert – DETTE ER TØFFE SAKER!!!!!!!! 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!

My Cat Is A Zen Master - Chuck Colombo

Always loved the blues, but also jazz and swing, as well as good old rock-n-roll. My earliest influences were Lester Young, Eric Clapton and Django Reinhardt. 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!

Leavin' the Plantation - Gashouse Dave

David Randall Shorey 1947 - 2009 Antiquarian projectual/ backwards Slipping. fretless. Intrinsics, a lively ticket-taker, over-the-phone-punch it in, orderform and the dreams don't come. Not like the way they used to. Driveway cardboard. They don't arrive altogether. The treads of incomplete sentences. This thing is bigger than me now. I can tell the difference between good and bad writing (finally)> laughs. A short fall from insomnia and blessed chemical, return to the ozone. My perpetration. get offa my chip. Hit me band. Fellas. What it is. HEY. In the moment of now, like ECKART TOLLE, Lady oprah's dog, and I am down with it? Gimme three. horns. Kiss myself. The antiquity of the thing? Simple. ALL new Violet. The old, replaced en masse. It's broasted. Shane said something about it. Knowing when you're done. or sometimes the decision is made for you. -- Dave's Last MySpace Blog - Wednesday, January 07, 2009 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!

T-Model Ford Hospitalized

T-Model Ford is in the ICU in Greenville after collapsing at home yesterday... calling in the prayer for him... More info posted as available. 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!

Lather, Rinse Repeat - Jason Vivone & The Billy Bats - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Lather, Rinse, Repeat from Jason Vivone & The Billy Bats. The line up is Vivone on vocal, guitar and harp; Matt Bustamante on drums, Jeremy Clark on bass; Paula Crawford on vocal and guitar; Imani Glasgow on vocal and percussion and Ben Hoppes on vocal and banjo. The release opens with a seductive I Hear A Heartbeat, a Texas Boogie style track with tempting lyrics and rippin' cigar box slide. Baby Fat using a tongue in cheek rhythm features Vivone on solo vocal and minimal band backing except a slide melody and drums. The Nina, The Pinta, The Santa Maria is a sped up Chicago blues with 50's style vocals and classic blues riffs but with a touch of humor and instrumentals. The Black Lone Ranger, loosely based on a Muddy Waters track and with a touch of George Thorogood, keeps the groove and again gives the slide king a chance to show his stuff. One Hot Mother, a prototypical 12 bar blues track allows Vivone the freedom to sing clever lyrics to anotherwise basic track. My favorite track on the release by far, Photograph, has the characteristics of a Tex/Mex blues along the lines of something Ryland Cooder would do. I like the melody and the slide work is controlled and interesting. Do The Nod has hints of Bo Diddley and further modern punk music. It breaks away form a lot of the balance of the recordings in that it is much more loosely recorded. Liquid Diet is a funky scratch track on the simplest basis. Medusa Blues wraps the recording with a more complex track... not in execution but in composition. This song has very simple components but is actually quite interesting with a quiet wailing harp. This is a party blues recording so get out your stuff and have a ball.

  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!