The Blues Blogger

As many of you are already aware, I grew up listening to a lot of music. My earliest memories are of my father spinning his vast collection of jazz records. It was his appreciation of jazz that introduced me to the music of Duke Ellington and so many other jazz greats... My love of music carried over into my late teens and throughout high school. Most of my friends were musicians and… Read More

Like most beginning bloggers I was struggling with what might be a good idea for my very first post. I thought about going back and reflecting on icons like Robert Johnson and W.C. Handy. They were incredible human beings who motivated so many people. However, my influences come from people inspired by these delta bluesman. When I thought about this for a moment, I realized I had my firs… Read More

When you look back and think of all the major influences when it comes to the electric blues in the mid to late sixties, you cannot ignore what Jimi Hendrix brought to the music scene. Not usually known as a blues player to the general public, there was no doubt to many of the musicians who played with Hendrix that he had a great blues feel. He was influenced by musicians like Albert Kin… Read More

This month marks the 40th anniversary of Led Zeppelin’s debut album. It’s a record that not only made a distinct impression on the music world, but also stimulated our imaginations; leading us on a alternate path into the blues/rock world. And a newly discovered one that would eventually give birth to heavy metal… January 1969 was the last year my family spent together in the… Read More

My son was asking me the other day about a picture I have hanging in my basement. It’s called The Blue Man and the artist is the late Jean Michel Folon. The artwork is also on the cover and is the title of one of my favorite guitarists Steve Khan’s albums. As my son is now 13 he is trying to understand the significance of some of the pieces of art I choose to display on the wall. He… Read More

After school and on the weekends I enjoyed watching shows like Batman, Star Trek, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, and my personal favourite Get Smart. My brother would also add that I was watching Lassie. Yes I admit it! Lassie was in syndication and I watched the show as much as I could. Did I mention in 1966 I was five years old? I-I-I … don’t care … I loved that dog! In the middl… Read More

(Today I'm featuring a guest post by Grace Beckett, who briefly notes some of the top jazz musicians of all time. I've also included video and audio playlists for each artist, as well as links for additional  information. Please share your thoughts in the comment area below the post... If you'd like to contribute a guest post for The Blues Blogger, please click here for further detai… Read More

One Of My Favorite Performers Joe Louis Walker will be appearing on TBS’s Conan on Monday March 5th, 2012. JLW and his band will perform the song "Ride All Night" from his new Alligator Records debut CD Hellfire. Walker is no stranger to the music business. His discography includes 23 albums and 2 DVDs. And throughout his illustrious career has gathered four Blues Music Award… Read More

This was an amazing album for me to produce and perform on... already one of my top favorites of recent times! ~ Lee Ritenour As you look back and explore through close to three years worth of material featured on The Blues Blogger, you’ll discover the vast majority of the articles are guitar influenced. Of course it has a lot to do with growing up surrounded by lots of music. I… Read More

The fall time flu has set in… The Blues Blogger has got it bad man! And yes …Like any typical guy, I’m whining and complaining like you wouldn’t believe. My wife TBBW has gone out because she says I look hideous. “You’re a mess, man. Get some sleep.” She’s right... So what do I do? Stare at my laptop screen and blink a lot… As I continued my gaze, a tune from my past began to play… Read More

For the past year or so I've been listening to this guy called Andy McKee on Youtube. His playing reminded me of another guy that my wife TBBW just loves. And his name is Don Ross... I often thought to myself ... I wonder if TBBW has heard of Andy McKee? I also keep forgetting to ask her. So I decided to write a post that would help me not forget! Andy McKee was born in Topeka… Read More

If there’s one thing you should know about me it’s this; I drive my wife nuts ... I’m always asking her about my articles. “What you think?” “Is this a good idea?” “How does it look?” After hearing me pontificate yet again, my wife TBBW gives me a steady gaze and says, TBBW: Your articles are nice dear. They’re interesting … They have a good flow. (mockingly)…Yo… Read More

"I feel the respect and affection for him that a father feels for his son. He is one of the most serious blues guitarists you can find today. He makes me proud." ~ B. B. King Early Morning The clanking of blinds could be heard as the approaching autumn breeze sailed throughout the open north windows. Getting out of bed I couldn’t help think how time seems to move faster wit… Read More

"I'm excited about releasing some new music for the audience and for my band and for me to play. This material we're just releasing now we've been working on stage for the last couple of years and it's been going over really, really well and it's just worked out that now seemed like a good time to release a record."~ Steve Miller Saturday Morning - Breakfast My wife TBBW and I… Read More

The Blues Foundation will present the 31st Annual Blues Music Awards (formally known as "W.C. Handy Awards,") on May 6, 2010, from the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee. Artists, industry reps and supporters from around the world will have the opportunity to celebrate the finest in Blues recording and live performance from 2009. Growing up in the sixties many of the… Read More

I feel a whole lot better this weekend! It's funny, every time I get sick or injured, I always seem to trip back to the sixties. I guess forced relaxation can do that to some people... On that note, I'm going to take it easy this weekend. In the meantime, here's a post from last year you may enjoy if you missed it the first time around. ~tbb It Was The Year 1966 My brother kn… Read More

"You like blues? I'll give you the blues. Don't call your mother for another week, and I guarantee you'll have the blues..." ~ my mom During the last 18 months that I’ve written for TheBluesBlogger site, I rarely mention my mother. Since its Mother’s Day, I thought I’d give her a bit of a plug… This year I bought her a digital photo frame that plays music. So I've been loading a b… Read More

The previous post I wrote featured Etta Baker. It was derived by some rather mocking and playful remarks made TheBluesBloggersWife or for short TBBW. She felt I was totally overlooking some of the more influential women that played the blues. She was right! I then started the research process … What I was looking for was a woman that made a major influence on the blues that didn’t… Read More

.....This album is my way of marking all of my TIMEs with music; accepting and celebrating all of the TIMEs and ways that the BLUES ROCK'ed my SOUL.... ~Shakura S'Aida A little over two years ago when I first heard the powerful and spirited voice of Shakura S’Aida , I knew something special was happening. I was so knocked out with her previous release Brown Sugar, that I wrote a piece e… Read More

On Stronger For It Janiva Magness manages to rise above all the loss & hurt; providing us with her most inspiring release to date. Read More

"There is nothing wrong with electronic music as long as you're putting some soul behind the technology." ~ Joe Zawinul Today marks what would have been Joe Zawinul's 78th birthday. I remember first hearing Zawinul in my early teens when I worked part time in the blues and jazz department of a trendy record boutique back in the seventies. One of my many responsibilities was to kee… Read More

"At that time, my writing partner was William Bell. He came over to my house the night before the session. William wrote the words and I wrote the music in my den that night. That was one of my greatest moments in the studio as far as being thrilled with a piece of music. The feeling of it, it's the real blues done by the real people... I was there in the middle of it and it was exhi… Read More

"I am truly blessed by all the incredible opportunities I have had." My life has been filled with amazing adventures; I can't wait to see what happens next!" ~ Shakura S’Aida My wife and I packed our bags. After the crazy year we've had so far we decided to run away. Well, at least for the day anyway… So we took a car ride in the country and visited some old stomping grounds whe… Read More