Category Archives: Blues

Blues, Great albums, Music Calendar

Today: Eric Clapton released From The Cradle in 1994

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Eric_Clapton-From_The_Cradle-Frontal

From the Cradle is a blues cover album by Eric Clapton. It is also his 12th studio album. Released on 13 September 1994, the album was Eric Clapton’s long-awaited follow-up to his massively successful live album, Unplugged. The liner notes states, “This is a live recording with no overdubs or edits except for dobro overdub on ‘How Long Blues’ and drum overdub on ‘Motherless Child’.”

Although he’d long been associated with the blues, From the Cradle was Clapton’s first attempt at an all-blues album.

When I listen to the album, I am transported to a small blues club where a group of fantastic players give us  their best, fantastic musicianship. I saw Martin Scorsese’s documentary, Nothing but the blues before I heard the album. I started to seek out the songs from the film, and found From the cradle. It is one of my favorite Clapton  albums.

Nothing but the blues:Eric Clapton discusses who has influenced him throughout his career, with clips of performances by Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, etc. Filmed by director Martin Scorsese, this documentary was broadcast once on PBS stations, but never officially released for reasons which remain unclear. A planned release on home video was slated for early summer 1995, and Warner/Reprise produced a limited number of advance copies to be used for promotion. (it is on YouTube in 10 parts)

Eric Clapton – Five Long Years (Eddie Boyd) from Nothing but the blues(doc/live):

“It takes the assurance of a titan like Eric Clapton to muster the humility that inspires From the Cradle. The guitarist’s tribute to the gods who formed him (Muddy Waters, Freddie King, Otis Rush among them), the disc sacrifices flash to sheer blazing force. “Groaning the Blues,” “Five Long Years” — this is the bone and sinew of blues.”
– Paul Evans (Rolling Stone Magazine)

Eric Clapton – Motherless Child:

From the cradle on Spotify:

– Hallgeir

Blues, Music Calendar

Today: R.L. Burnside passed away September 1 2005

RL_Burnside

“He was a happy-go-lucky nihilist…. he took things exactly as they were. No more, no less.”
– Matthew Johnson, the founder of Mr. Burnside’s record label, Fat Possum.


R. L. Burnside (November 23, 1926 – September 1, 2005), born Robert Lee Burnside, was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist who lived much of his life in and around Holly Springs, Mississippi. He played music for much of his life, but did not receive much attention until the early 1990s.

In the latter half of the 1990s, Burnside repeatedly recorded with Jon Spencer,  garnering crossover appeal and introducing his music to a new fan base within the underground garage rock scene.

One commentator noted that Burnside…. were “present-day exponents of an edgier, electrified version of the raw, uncut Delta blues sound.”

In the 1990s, he appeared in the film Deep Blues and began recording for the Oxford, Mississippi, label Fat Possum Records. Founded byLiving Blues magazine editor Peter Redvers-Lee and Matthew Johnson, the label was dedicated to recording aging North Mississippi bluesmen such as Burnside and Junior Kimbrough.

Burnside remained with Fat Possum from that time until his death.

Burnside’s 1996 album A Ass Pocket of Whiskey (recorded with Jon Spencer) gained critical acclaim, earning praise from Bono and Iggy Pop.

Style:

Burnside had a powerful, expressive voice and played both electric and acoustic guitars (both with a slide and without). His drone-based style was a characteristic of North Mississippi hill country blues rather than Mississippi Delta blues. Like other country blues musicians, he did not always adhere to 12- or 16-bar blues patterns, often adding extra beats according to his preference. He called this “Burnside style” and often commented that his backing musicians needed to be familiar with his style in order to be able to play along with him.

Burnside collaborated in the late 1990s with The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion on the album A Ass Pocket of Whiskey. Consequently, he gained the attention of many within this underground music scene, cited as an influence by Hillstomp and covered on record by The Immortal Lee County Killers.

Burnside’s “Skinny Woman” was also interpolated into the song “Busted” by fellow Fat Possum musicians The Black Keys, who have listed Burnside as an influence on their music.

Shake ’em on down – Live:

Album of the day – Rollin’ & Tumblin’ (Spotify):

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Blues, Music Calendar

Today: Stevie Ray Vaughan passed away in 1990 – 23 years ago

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Stevie-Ray-Vaughan

But between sets I’d sneak over to the black places to hear blues musicians. It got to the point where I was making my living at white clubs and having my fun at the other places.
~Stevie Ray Vaughan

He was the greatest blues guitarist of his generation.
~ Mick Jagger

Stevie was always playing. After he’d get offstage, he’d get on his bus. And he had all these Stratocasters hanging there. He’d grab one and start goin’.
~Gregg Allman

Texas Flood – Live:

From Wikipedia:

Birth name Stephen Ray Vaughan
Also known as SRV
Born October 3, 1954
Dallas, Texas, United States
Died August 27, 1990 (aged 35)
East Troy, Wisconsin, United States
Genres Rock, blues, blues rock,electric blues, Texas blues
Occupations Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer
Instruments Guitar, vocals
Years active 1965–1990
Labels Epic, Legacy, Sony
Associated acts Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Jimmie Vaughan, Doyle Bramhall,David Bowie, Lonnie Mack,Albert King, Jeff Beck
Website srvofficial.com

Stephen “Stevie” Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American guitarist, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Often referred to by his initials SRV, Vaughan is best known as a founding member and leader of Double Trouble. Together with drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon, they ignited the blues revival of the 1980s. With a career spanning seven years, Vaughan and Double Trouble consistently sold out concerts while their albums frequently went gold.

I remember when he first came out, he was doing that Hendrix song [Voodoo Chile], and I heard all these people going, “Ah, he’s just trying to do Hendrix. But he went a lot further than that. He was absolutely 100-proof, pure blues. Albert Collins, Muddy Waters – the essence of that was in everything he played. More than the Allman Brothers, he was straight-down-the-line blues.
~Gregg Allman

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With his astonishingly accomplished guitar playing, Stevie Ray Vaughan ignited the blues revival of the ’80s. Vaughan drew equally from bluesmen like Albert King, Otis Rush, and Muddy Waters and rock & roll players like Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Mack, as well as the stray jazz guitarist like Kenny Burrell, developing a uniquely eclectic and fiery style that sounded like no other guitarist, regardless of genre. Vaughan bridged the gap between blues and rock like no other artist had since the late ’60s. For the next seven years, Stevie Ray was the leading light in American blues, consistently selling out concerts while his albums regularly went gold. His tragic death in 1990 only emphasized his influence in blues and American rock & roll.    ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine @ allmusic.com

 

 

Pride & Joy – live at the Montreux 1985

Album of the day

Texas Flood (1983)

Stevie_Ray_Vaughan_And_Double_Trouble-Texas_Flood

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Blues, Music Calendar

Today: The late John Lee Hooker was born in 1917 – 96 years ago

John Lee Hooker

I don’t think about time. You’re here when you’re here. I think about today, staying in tune.
~John Lee Hooker

I don’t play a lot of fancy guitar. I don’t want to play it. The kind of guitar I want to play is mean, mean licks.
~John Lee Hooker

When they say true blues, pure blues, John Lee Hooker is as close to it as anyone I’ve ever heard.
~B.B. King

One bourbon, one scotch, and one beer
Hey mister bartender come here
I want another drink and I want it now
~John Lee Hooker (One bourbon, one scotch, and one beer)

JLH was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. Here from the ceremony he performs “In The Mood” together with Bonnie Raitt:

From Wikipedia:

Born August 22, 1917
Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States
Died June 21, 2001 (aged 83)
Los Altos, California, United States
Genres Blues, talking blues, country blues
Occupations Singer-songwriter, Musician, Songwriter
Instruments Guitar, vocals
Years active 1943–2001
Labels Vee-Jay, Chess, Bluesway, ++
Associated acts Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King,Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Canned Heat

John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001) was a highly influential American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.

Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally a unique brand of country blues. He developed a ‘talking blues’ style that was his trademark. Though similar to the early Delta blues, his music was metrically free. John Lee Hooker could be said to embody his own unique genre of the blues, often incorporating the boogie-woogie piano style and a driving rhythm into his blues guitar playing and singing. His best known songs include “Boogie Chillen'” (1948), “I’m in the Mood” (1951) and “Boom Boom” (1962), the first two reaching R&B #1 in the Billboard charts.

From Allmusic (Bill Dahl):
He was beloved worldwide as the king of the endless boogie, a genuine blues superstar whose droning, hypnotic one-chord grooves were at once both ultra-primitive and timeless. But John Lee Hooker recorded in a great many more styles than that over a career that stretched across more than half a century.
Read more -> allmusic.com

 

Awards and recognition

  • A Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980
  • Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991
  • Two of his songs, “Boogie Chillen” and “Boom Boom” were named to the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
  • “Boogie Chillen” was included as one of the Songs of the Century.
John Lee’s style has always been unique, even among other performers of the real deep blues, few of whom remain with us today. While retaining that foundation he has simultaneously broken new ground musically and commercially. At the age of 80, John Lee Hooker received his third and fourth Grammy Awards, for Best Traditional Blues Recording (Don’t Look Back) and for Best Pop Collaboration for the song “Don’t Look Back” which Hooker recorded with his long time friend Van Morrison.
~johnleehooker.com

 

Grammy Awards:

  • Best Traditional Blues Recording, 1990 for I’m in the Mood (with Bonnie Raitt)
  • Best Traditional Blues Recording, 1998 for Don’t Look Back
  • Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, 1998, “Don’t Look Back” (with Van Morrison)
  • Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000

Boom! Boom!:

One Bourbon, one Scotch, one Beer:

Album of the day – John Lee Hooker Plays & Sings The Blues (1961):

John Lee Hooker Plays and Sings the Blues

John Lee Hooker Plays and Sings the Blues back

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Blues, Memphis, Music Calendar

Today: Jim Dickinson passed away 4 years ago

jim dickinson

“(Jim Dickinson is)…. that magical musical maestro from Memphis….   he was the kind of guy you could call to play piano, fix a tractor, or make red cole slaw from scratch.”
-Bob Dylan

“There are cool cats and there are cool Memphis cats but no one, not Elvis, not Jerry Lee, not even the Wolf came close to epitomizing Memphis and cool like Jim Dickinson did. He was the Top Cat Daddy, an inspiration, a mentor and my friend.

If you knew his music and understood his role as one of the links between black and white culture and between blues and rock and roll, you know what I’m talking about. If he is unfamiliar to you, now’s as good time as any to get to know him, even though he’s checked out of the motel.”
-Joe Nick Patoski

John Brown (from his great 1972 album “Dixie Fried” – words by Bob Dylan):

From Wikipedia:

James Luther “Jim” Dickinson (November 15, 1941 – August 15, 2009) was an American record producer, pianist, and singer who fronted, among others, the Memphis based band, Mudboy & The Neutrons.

Some highlights:

  • In the late 1960s, Dickinson joined with fellow Memphis musicians Charlie Freeman, Michael Utley, Tommy McClure and Sammy Creason; this group became known as the “Dixie Flyers” and provided backup for musicians recording for Atlantic Records. Perhaps their best-known work was for Aretha Franklin’s 1970 Spirit in the Dark.
  • In December 1969, Dickinson played piano on The Rolling Stones’ track “Wild Horses” at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama
  •  In 1972 Dickinson released his first solo album, “Dixie Fried”, which featured songs by Bob Dylan, Furry Lewis, and the title song by Carl Perkins.
  • In 1974 he produced Big Star’s Third
  • Co-produced with Alex Chilton on the 1979 Chilton album Like Flies on Sherbert.
  • He has produced Willy DeVille, Green on Red, Mojo Nixon, Neon Wheels, Jason & The Nashville Scorchers, The Replacements,Tav Falco’s Panther Burns, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and The Dick Nixons, among many others
  • in 1977 an aural documentary of Memphis’ Beale Street, Beale Street Saturday Night, which featured performances by Sid Selvidge, Furry Lewis and Dickinson’s band Mud Boy and the Neutrons.
  • He has also worked with Ry Cooder, and played on Dylan’s album Time Out of Mind.
    He played keyboards, Wurlitzer electric piano, pump organ on “Love Sick”, “Dirt Road Blues”, “Million Miles”, “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven”, “Til I Fell in Love with You”, “Not Dark Yet”, “Can’t Wait”, and “Highlands”
  • In 1998, he produced Mudhoney’s, Tomorrow Hit Today.

jim dickinson

Introducing himself – from www.artistshousemusic.org:

jim dickinson

Down in Mississippi:

Check out this great blog:

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Spotify playlist of the day: 

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