..king of all post-war blues harpists,…. The fiery harmonica wizard took the humble mouth organ in dazzling amplified directions that were unimaginable prior to his ascendancy.
~Bill Dahl (allmusic.com)
Induction of Little Walter into R&R Hall of Fame in 2008:
…..Waters sings as though his life depended on it, Johnny Winter proves with every note how right he was to want to do this, and James Cotton–well, James Cotton doesn’t open his mouth except to make room for the harmonica, which sounds just great.
~Robert Christgau (robertchristgau.com)
This is Muddy Waters’ best “late” album.. Johnny Winter sure inspired the old blues legend to peak performance…. a wonderful record.
Mannish Boy:
Continue reading Jan 10: Muddy Waters released “Hard Again” in 1977
This 1954 recording (the second, after 1952’s original) of blues standard “Hoochie Coochie Man” by Muddy Waters is one of the all-time classic blues records; a vital piece of Chicago-style electric blues that links the Delta to rock & roll..
~Bill Janovitz (allmusic.com)
Hoochie Coochie Man ( Chess 1954):
Continue reading Jan 7: Muddy Waters recorded “(I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man” in 1954
DeepdowninLouisiana’crossfromNewOrleans,
waybackupinthewoodsamongtheevergreens.
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode,
Who never ever learned to read or write so well
But he could play a guitar just like a ringin’ a bell.You can’t copyright guitar licks and maybe that’s good, because if you could, Chuck might have hoarded them as he does his Cadillacs. Without The Chuck Berry Riff, we’d lose not just the Beach Boys, but essential elements of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, and Bruce Springsteen — to mention only the most obvious examples. In a way, what was at the center of the first wave of the British Invasion could be described as a Chuck Berry revival.
~Dave Marsh (The Heart of Rock and Soul)
Live 1958:
Continue reading Jan 06: Chuck Berry recorded “Johnny B. Goode” in 1958
it’s been such a long long time
since we loved each other when our hearts were true
one time, for one brief day, i was the man for you
last night i heard you talkin in your sleep
saying things you shouldn’t say, oh baby
you just may have to go to jail someday
Great song, performance & video.
Continue reading Bob Dylan: Long and Wasted Years, Chicago Nov 10 (Video)