God, I’m just a fat bald guy, 60 years old, singing the blues, you know?
~Joe CockerIt’s all a matter of hearing what I like and seeing if I can make it fit into my style.
~Joe CockerMK: Who are your favorite contemporary singers?
BD: Oh, let me see, Joe Cocker, I suppose. Graham Nash can sing. Van Morrison’s fantastic.
And so is Stevie Wonder, but of all of them, Joe’s the greatest.
~Bob Dylan (to Martin Killer – July 1983)
With A Little Help From My Friends– 1969 Woodstock:
High water risin’—risin’ night and day
All the gold and silver are bein’ stolen away
Big Joe Turner lookin’ east and west
From the dark room of his mind
He made it to Kansas City
Twelfth Street and Vine
Nothin’ standing there
High water everywhere
– Bob Dylan (High Water (for Charley Patton)The premier blues shouter of the postwar era, Big Joe Turner’s roar could rattle the very foundation of any gin joint he sang within — and that’s without a microphone. Turner was a resilient figure in the history of blues — he effortlessly spanned boogie-woogie, jump blues, even the first wave of rock & roll, enjoying great success in each genre.
~Bill Dahl (allmusic.com)
Shake, Rattle & Roll:
Continue reading May 18: The late Big Joe Turner was born in 1911
Bob Dylan and Taj Mahal – Happy birthday bluesman Taj Mahal
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks (born May 17, 1942),who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music. A self-taught singer-songwriter and film composer who plays the guitar, banjo and harmonica (among many other instruments), Mahal has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his almost 50 year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa and the South Pacific.
He has done some Dylan songs, and he add his own signature to his interpretations. I have also included a short show with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, John Fogerty and Taj Mahal.
Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band – Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream (Audio from the Amnesty album, Chimes Of Freedom: The Songs Of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years Of Amnesty International):
Continue reading Bob Dylan and Taj Mahal – Happy birthday bluesman Taj Mahal
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
– Revelation 1:1-3
John the Revelator is a traditional gospel blues call and response song. Music critic Thomas Ward describes it as “one of the most powerful songs in all of pre-war acoustic music … [which] has been hugely influential to blues performers”. Blind Willie Johnson recorded John the Revelator in 1929 (or 1930) and is the first known recording (at least to me) and subsequently a variety of artists have recorded their renditions of the song, often with variations in the verses and music.
The song’s title refers to John of Patmos (or traditionally John the Apostle) in his role as the author of the Book of Revelation. A portion of that book focuses on the opening of seven seals and the resulting apocalyptic events. In its various versions, the song quotes several passages from the Bible in the tradition of American spirituals.
This is a dark and brooding masterpiece!
Blind Willie Johnson recorded the song on April 20, 1929 (or 1930) in Atlanta (his second (1929) or his fifth and final recording session for Columbia Records (1930)). He is accompanied by his first wife (probably), Willie B. Harris. Johnson was a gospel blues singer and guitarist. While the lyrics of his songs were usually religious, his music drew from both sacred and blues traditions. It is characterized by his slide guitar accompaniment and tenor voice, and his frequent use of a lower-register ‘growl’ or false bass voice.
Blind Willie Johnson – John The Revelator:
And I know no one can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell
~Bob Dylan (“Blind Willie McTell”)He was a songster of wide repertoire and as fine a 12-string guitarist as ever lived. The dexterity of his playing was extraordinary, and his voice was an unusually smooth tenor. The interplay between voice and guitar also brought into the equation McTell’s intelligence and wit, and it was the fusion of all these elements that led Bob Dylan to write in his 1983 tribute song that ‘no-one can sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell.’
~Michael Gray (The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia)
Willie Samuel McTell was one of the blues’ greatest guitarists, and also one of the finest singers ever to work in blues.
~Bruce Eder (allmusic.com)
Statesboro Blues:
Continue reading May 5: Blind Willie McTell was born in 1898