Remembering Pete Cosey
Miles Davis (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Pete Cosey, guitarist extraordinaire, passed away on May 30, 2012. He was 68. He was a session guitar player at Chess Records until 1973, playing on recordings by Etta James, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, among many others. In 1973, he joined the Miles Davis Band and played with them until 1975. When the band broke up in 1975, he pretty much disappeared, surfacing from time to time to play on someone’s record. He resurfaced somewhat in 2001, forming a band, The Children of Agharta. Check out the clips I have included. The guy was amazing.
Pete Cosey Jamming
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Calypso Frelimo
Remembering Doc Watson
English: From Flickr: Doc Watson, 86 years old, plays to the crowd at another fantastic Sugar Grove Music Fest. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
May 29 was a very sad day for me. Doc Watson passed away. What a player!! Nothing to say, just listen.
Deep River Blues
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Windy and Warm
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Sitting On Top Of The World
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What a talent, and a connection to the old blues and folk singers of the 20′s, 30′s and beyond. Greatly missed.
Song Of The Day – Remembering Donald “Duck” Dunn
Photo of musician Donald “Duck” Dunn (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Just a quick note to acknowledge the passing of a great one, Donald “Duck” Dunn, on May 13. A member of Booker T & the MG’s, he replaced the original bassist, he is forever connected to Green Onions, even though he was not on the original recording.
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He was also notable as a session player for Stax Records, which means he is on about 50 zillion songs recorded there. He also performed with a multitude of bands, such as CCR, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Rod Stewart, Levon Helm, Bob Dylan and the list goes on and on. He was also the pipe smoking, wild hair bass player in the Blues Brothers.
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Related articles
- Late bassist Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn honoured on Memphis’ Beale Street (canada.com)
- RIP Donald “Duck” Dunn of Blues Brothers Fame (musicians4freedom.com)
Let’s Explore The Blues – Georgia Tom
Precious Lord: New Recordings of the Great Songs of Thomas A. Dorsey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Georgia Tom, (Thomas Dorsey) is considered by many to be the father of black gospel music. He was born in Villa Rica, Georgia in 1899, living to the ripe old age of 93, passing away in 1993. His early career was spent with such famous blues men as Tampa Red. Later in his career, he turned to gospel, writing many current standards. These include “Peace In The Valley” (recorded by Mahalia Jackson) and “Precious Lord, Take My Hand“. His songs have been recorded by a veritable who’s who of the music world. think, Elvis Presley, think Aretha Franklin, even Roy Rogers. Now to some music.
First up is a blues number sung by the man himself.
Maybe It’s The Blues
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This next one is a recording of Mahalia Jackson.
Peace In The Valley
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Here is Elvis singing Precious Lord
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As a final treat, we have Thomas Dorsey discussing gospel music and the story behind Precious Lord. Great stuff.
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- Thomas A Dorsey, the Father of Gospel (showedupandshowedout.wordpress.com)
Song Of The Day – Remembering Michael Burks
Cover of Iron Man
Blues-man Michael Burks passed away on May 6, after having a heart attack. He was 54. If you love the blues (like I do), then you will really like what Michael had to offer. He recorded 4 albums between 1999 and 2008, with “Iron Man” reaching number 4 on the Billboard Blues Chart. I have attached a couple of videos in memorial.
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“Empty Promises”
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Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue – Michael Burks – Cadillac Assembly Line
Trivia Question of the Day
Who did (and wrote) the first recording of Aretha Franklin’s classic “Respect”?
The last Question answered
Q: What was the first album released on CD?
A: ABBA – The Visitors in 1981
Let’s Explore The Blues – Tampa Red
Salutes the Chicago Blues Tradition (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Tampa Red was born in 1904, passing in 1981. His real name was Hudson Woolridge. Born in Georgia, his parents died when he was young and he moved to Tampa, Florida to live with his grandparents. He the took their surname and became Hudson Whitaker.
Red moved to Chicago in the 20′s, taking his silky smooth bottleneck guitar style with him. He went on to influence a generation of Chicago Blues players. He teamed up with Georgia Tom, creating most of his music with him. I will be doing a piece on Georgia Tom next week. Although they were best known as a team. they were the sum of 2 distinct parts. Each was a giant. To continue Red’s story, he kicked around the Chicago scene until he started recording in 1928. His first recording was “It’s Tight Like That”. In recording this song,, he started (created) a style of blues that became known as “hokum”.
It’s Tight Like That
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His partnership with Georgia Tom ended in 1932 and Red went on to become a much in demand session player. He played on recordings by Memphis Minnie and Sonny Boy Williamson, among others. By the 1940′s, he had moved on to the electric guitar. He recorded “Let Me Play with Your Poodle” which hit #4 on Billboard’s Harlem Hit Parade. A nice little blues tune which contained many elements of 50′s rock. The piano is especially early rock like. The title and lyrics are typical of the era for its bawdiness and innuendo.
“Let Me Play With Your Poodle”
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His story, as did many of these early blues-men, ended tragically. His wife died in 1953 and he turned to alcohol. He became an alcoholic and died destitute at 77 in 1981. Let’s do a few cover versions. This first gem covers th Tampa Red tune, “Don’t Lie To Me’”, with Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughn. A terrific video.
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This another interesting cover of “Mean Mistreater Blues” by the rather eclectic combo of Johnny Winter and Dr John. Brilliant!!
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Next week, I will take a look at Georgia Tom, Tampa Red’s partner in the early 30′s.
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Remembering Levon Helm
Levon Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A tough couple of days.
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Let’s Explore The Blues – Memphis Jug Band
Memphis-Minnie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In the late 20′s and early 30′s a group of Memphis musicians played in an ensemble known as the Memphis Jug Band. The players came and went, with one constant, Will Shade. Will wrote the songs, played harmonica and guitar as well as handling vocals. The players were many. It was almost a school for up and coming artists. Will would book the gigs and recording sessions and arrange the players. The venue never knew who would show up, Some of the people who passed through were Casey Bill Weldon, Memphis Minnie, Charlie Burse, Charlie Nickerson, an endless list. their sound was, how to say it, interesting. They used jugs, kazoos, washboards, you name it, it was in there. The bands heyday extending into the mid 30′s when demand for their services died off. The band’s members drifted off and the Memphis Jug Band was defunct. Will Shade recorded one last album in 1963. He died of pneumonia in 1966. In their time, the group recorded over 100 sides. Her’s a couple of them.
Cocaine Habit Blues
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K.C. Moan
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This is a cover, live, of KC Moan by Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead. It cuts off towards the end, but still a worthy listen.
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This might be their biggest and most important song. A great song for kazoo lovers.
Stealin’ Stealin’
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The song has been recorded a multitude of times. Here are a few versions.
Grateful Dead
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Taj Mahal
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And finally a version by Jim Kweskin, live, unfortunately, without jugs.
Jim Kweskin
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You gotta love the blues!
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Remembering Jerry McCain
Tremolo harmonica. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Jerry “Boogie” McCain passed away on March 28. He was 81. He was best known for his harmonica. Most active in the 50′s and 60′s, he was still recording well into the 1990′s. Jerry recorded with some greats, including Johnnie Johnson and Jimmy Vaughn. Here is some music. You will recognize some of the styling as representative of early rock and roll.
I Want Somebody To Love
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Wine-O-Wine
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One final song, and this one is hot, hot hot.
Twist 62
Let’s Explore The Blues – Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell, with 12-string guitar, hotel room, Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
William McTier was born in 1898 in Thomson, Georgia. He was born blind in one eye, losing the rest of his sight during childhood. He began playing in his teens and became proficient with the 12 string guitar using a finger-style. This was unusual among his contemporaries. He also played slide guitar. He took the name Blind Willie McTell early in his career.
He was first recorded in 1927 on Victor records. His recording career was also different from most of his fellow players of the day in that he was still playing and recording into the 1950′s. As we have seen, most either died young, or quit during the depression and went home. He was one of the artists that John Lomax put on record for posterity in the Library of Congress, making several recordings of him during the 1940′s. He died of a stroke in 1959. During his career, he never truly had a major hit, yet was extremely prolific, leaving a legacy that would influence many. Take a listen to this song and think of who this could be today.
B&O Blues
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I don’t know about you, but I clearly hear Eric Clapton buried in there. Great song. Here is one of his most covered songs.
Statesboro Blues
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Here is a live version by the Allman Brothers recorded in 1982.
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Here is a version of Lord Send Me An Angel by the White Stripes.
Lord Send Me An Angel
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This one is a classic, Mick Taylor doing a Bob Dylan tribute song, “Blind Willie McTell” live. It does not get any better than this.
Blind Willy McTell
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Remembering Eddie King
Eddie King, Chicago blues guitar player passed away on March 14, 2012. He was 73. He played with many of the greats, including Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. He is best known as both a solo artist and as the backing guitar player for Koko Taylor. He played with Koko for 20 years. The video attached is Eddie with his band “The Swamp Bees”. There is a short interview then some very good live blues.
Eddie King and the Swamp Bees
Let’s Explore The Blues – Peetie Wheatstraw
Peetie Wheatstraw (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Tonight we take a look at the life and the music of Peetie Wheatstraw. Born 1n 1902, his real name was William Bunch. There is some confusion on where he was from, some saying Tennessee, while others, noting his body was returned to Arkansas. In his career, he recorded 161 songs. This was a huge volume of work in an era that saw an almost complete shutdown of blues recordings due to the great depression. His skills with the piano were without peer in his time. He also played guitar, and was a very popular singer. He was based in St Louis and seldom left, other than to record.
He had wide influence over others of the time and after. The great Robert Johnson basically reworked many of Peetie’s songs, using the vocal and lyrical styles of his songs. His influence can also be noticed in such piano players as Jerry Lee Lewis.
Tragically, Peetie died in a horrific car crash on his birthday in 1941, at the age of 41. The vehicle he was in hit a freight train. The people in the car with him died instantly and he passed away a few hours later of massive head trauma.
The music remains, and we will start with his classic “Police Station Blues”.
“Police Station Blues”
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Some say that the song below by Robert Johnson is a reworking of Police Station Blues. Take a listen, the similarities are definitely there.
Hellhound On My Trail
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This song was used on the soundtrack of Mafia II.
Gangster Blues
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You can hear what influenced Jerry Lee Lewis very clearly in this tune.
Stomp
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Let’s Explore The Blues – Bo Carter
Bo Carter was born in 1892 and passed on in 1964. He was first known as a member of the Mississippi Sheiks with his brothers, and ended up as a very successful solo artist. His playlist was, simply, bawdy. Some of the songs. “Please Warm My Wiener”, “My Pencil Won’t Write No More” and “Banana In Your Fruit Basket”. Classic names for any song. He is also responsible for the first recording of “Corrine. Corrina” so he was not just a vaudeville sideshow. He recorded 110 sides in the 1930′s, making him both prolific and important. In fact, some say he was the most important artist of the era. His guitar playing still has influence on the stars of today. Enough of the man, let’s dig into the music.
Lets begin with bawdy songs.
“Please Warm My Wiener”
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“My Pencil Won’t Write No More”
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Now to some his more “contemporary” songs and some covers. The first is a cover of All Around Man by Rory Gallagher. If you have 10 minutes to spare, listen to the greatest guitar player – EVER, do a version that absolutely scintillates (ooo big word).
All Around Man
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The next three songs show a classic song and how modern artists have made it, well, better, yet true to the original. The progression shows how these guys had and have, such a huge influence over modern music.
Corrine, Corrina – Bo Carter
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If you have another 10 minutes, this version of Corrine Corrina is great.
By Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton
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And finally, one more by Leon Russell and JJ Cale. Life is good.
Leon Russell and JJ Cale
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Remembering Bugs Henderson
Image via Wikipedia
Blues guitar phenom, Bugs Henderson passed away on March 8. He was 68. You can catch his biography here. He was a quality player as shown by the videos I have attached. Give him your thoughts today.
Highway 61
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Sleepwalk
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Rocket In My Pocket
Remembering Red Holloway
Tenor saxophonist James (Red) Holloway passed away on February 25, 2012. He was 84. Red was a long time collaborator of Etta James as well as an in demand sideman for many others. The list is extensive. Besides Etta James, he played with George Benson, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Sonny Rollins, Aretha Franklin and many, many others He also found the time to record 17 albums as band leader, the last in 2009. An amazing talent who will be missed greatly. Here is a sampling of his talent, now his legacy.
Cleanhead Blues
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The Very Thought Of You
This song features Etta James doing the vocals. The saxophone is all Red Holloway. Sublime!
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Locksmith Blues
Cool song with Red on sax and doing the vocals.
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- Red Holloway Has Died (current.com)
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Let’s Explore The Blues – Mississippi Sheiks
Highway 61 Blues Mural (Photo credit: joseph a)
The Mississippi Sheiks were a country blues group (who could play anything) that recorded in the 1930′s. Their style was a combination of guitar and fiddle. The group consisted mainly of the Chatmon family, namely Armenter (aka Bo Carter), Lonnie and Sam Chatmon. The other key member was Walter Vinson. Their first recording was cut in 1930. In that year, they recorded what may be their most famous song, “Sitting On Top Of The World“. The version here is the original.
“Sitting On Top Of The World”
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Here is a version by Howlin’ Wolf.
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And by Cream, a live version from 2005.
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The group continued to record and tour until 1936. Their legacy consisted of 70 odd recordings. They broke up and headed back home to Mississippi to again be farmers. Walter recorded 3 songs in 1961 and Sam did a few more records in the 1960′s during the blues revival and legacy projects. Their music has been redone by many of the giants. Enjoy the next few selections by a wide gamut of artists. I especially liked the Rory Gallagher tune, man he could play.
Honey Babe Let the Deal Go Down – Bruce Cockburn
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Kind Treatment – John Hammond
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Tribute done by Rory Gallagher
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Remembering – Harry Muskee
Cuby & The Blizzards
Harry Muskee, lead vocalist for renowned Dutch blues band, Cuby & The Blizzards, passed away today. Who you say? A bit of history. Cuby & The Blizzards was formed in 1964 by Harry Muskee and Eelco Gelling. Eelco Gelling went on to form another Dutch group, this one you may have heard of, Golden Earring, famous for Radar Love. The video attached is from 1968 and is a live recording, with Harry on vocals and Gelling on guitar. If you are a Led Zepplin fan, you will love this tune.
Remembering – Willie “Big Eyes” Smith
Grammy Award winning artist Willie “Big Eyes” Smith passed away today, September 16, 2011. He was 75. Exceptionally talented, he played harmonica, guitar, sang and was a renowned drummer. He was the drummer for Muddy Waters band, and was the drummer on every Grammy award-winning album by Muddy Waters. His most recent Grammy was this year when he, along with Pinetop Perkins were awarded the Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album. His list of accomplishments is huge. He was the harmonica player on Bo Diddly‘s hit “Diddy Wah Diddy”. He formed and was an integral part of “The Legendary Blues Band“. This band backed up John Lee Hooker in the movie “The Blues Brothers” and toured with Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. An astounding career without a doubt.
The first video is a 2006 live performance featuring Willie, the second celebrates the lives of Willie Smith and the late Pinetop Perkins, with some interviews and some playing. The playing part is very cool as it was done when Pinetop was 100 years old. Amazing.
Remembering – David “Honeyboy” Edwards
Image by joseph a via Flickr
Blues great and Grammy winner, David “Honeyboy” Edwards passed away on August 29 of heart failure. He was 96. He was a friend of, and played with legendary Robert Johnson and was with him the night he died. His story of that night became the definitive version of what happened. He describes his life as blues performer in this quote from “Deep Blues” by Robert Palmer.
“On Saturday, somebody like me or Robert Johnson would go into one of these little towns, play for nickels and dimes. And sometimes, you know, you could be playin’ and have such a big crowd that it would block the whole street. Then the police would come around, and then I’d go to another town and where I could play at. But most of the time, they would let you play. Then sometimes the man who owned a country store would give us something like a couple of dollars to play on a Saturday afternoon. We could hitchhike, transfer from truck to truck, or if we couldn’t catch one of them, we’d go to the train yard, ’cause the railroad was all through that part of the country then…we might hop a freight, go to St Louis or Chicago. Or we might hear about where a job was paying off – a highway crew, a railroad job, a levee camp there along the river, or some place in the country where a lot of people were workin’ on a farm. You could go there and play and everybody would hand you some money. I didn’t have a special place then. Anywhere was home. Where I do good, I stay. When it gets bad and dull, I’m gone.”
Edwards was still touring well into his 90′s, actually only retiring in July of 2011. A chapter in Blues history just closed.
The first video is his classic “Gambling Man”, the second is live 2009 (he was 94) version of Sweet Home Chicago).
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Listening to Joss Stone – New Album LP1
Joss Stone - Image via Wikipedia
Joss Stone has released a new album called LP1. Just purchased it and wanted to share. After dabbling out of her zone with “Introducing Joss Stone” (her preceding album, which I enjoyed as well), she has moved back into her wheelhouse with a bit more bluesy, rocking style. The songs are growing on me and I am really starting to enjoy. The clip I have attached is “Karma” and was done live on Leno. Note the guitar player, Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame. He collaborated with Joss Stone on this album. He is, or has, created a new entity called SuperHeavy with himself, Mick Jagger and Joss Stone, but that will be another story.
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Remembering Amy Winehouse
Cover of Back to Black
A life led tragically. Amy Winehouse joins an elite group of musical superstars who have passed away at 27. This magical list includes, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones and Janis Joplin. All coincidences aside, Amy was a potential icon. When we first discovered her she had just released her second album “Back to Black”. We were stunned and immediately went and got “Frank“, her first disc. Incredible. We did some research and discovered she was being backed up by some great players we already knew, The Dap Kings of Sharon Jones fame, which explained the great sound behind her on several songs. Instant love it was. Fabulous potential in this one. But, as happens so often, the lifestyle caught up with her, and some cannot handle it. It took her away from us several years ago and has now taken her permanently. Say what you want, but I will sorely miss her voice and talent, the rest, not so much.
Other Links
The first is to a blog I follow, the second is to Th Daily Mail which gives some insight on how she died and the third is a link to her last concert where she was booed offstage. The video is one of my favourites by her “In My Bed”
http://musiccourt.wordpress.com/2011/07/23/amy-winehouse-dies-at-27/
