The Blues Blogger

Every year my wife and I host a Christmas Eve party where family and friends come over to reflect and discuss the usual pros and cons of life and wrap up yet another year. While tidying up the house and thinking about what music to put together for the party, I came across a box of goodies and found an old copy of The Blues Brothers album Briefcase Full of Blues. The album was released 29 years ago this month and at the time I played it constantly. I was entertained by the band, its energy and general upbeat humorous style.

I was thinking about Matt “Guitar” Murphy lately. He is celebrating what I believe to be his 80th birthday this holiday season. Depending on your source of information there seems to be confusion as to whether his birthday is Dec.29th, 1927 or Dec. 27th, 1929. I don’t want to add extra years to Matt, but I didn’t want to take a chance on missing out on the opportunity to wish him a Happy Birthday, especially if he is turning 80 as I suspect.

Last time I heard, Matt suffered a stroke several years back, and there doesn’t seem to be much news of him as of late. I searched high and low to find information on his current status and found very little. I realized that perhaps I would have to put something together and see if I could stir up any feedback. I decided I would make a point to raise some awareness and generate some discussion on this cool bluesman, and of course to celebrate and acknowledge a fantastic musician and major influence to so many.

Twenty nine years ago I was guilty of the typecasting that made Murphy such a staple with The Blues Brothers. You can’t blame people; the band and the movie was excessively popular and became a phenomenon.

When listening to blues albums of the fifties and sixties, many may be unacquainted that they were listening to Murphy when they played songs by Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Victoria Spivey, Etta James and Sonny Boy Williamson. Even though being a Blues Brother is pretty cool, blues enthusiasts are well aware that there is more to Matt than that …

Ok … Its Christmas time and I have to prepare for my party. It’s been over 20 years since I have played Briefcase Full of Blues and I have decided that I was going to give it a listen and play it at the get-together this season… I have a turntable that converts albums to digital. I love the original sound of the vinyl as it helps me ponder when I write these posts. … So once again my MP3 player would get its workout and my wife would wonder where I was while I

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Tags: Blues Reflections by The Blues Blogger
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This weekend was really exciting for me. After several months of building up strength due my recent heart attack, I finally took my Golden Retriever Lucille for a walk. I missed going for walks with my dog as it was an opportunity for some exercise, some bonding time with my canine buddy and a chance to use my MP3 player.

I recently received a copy of Dion’s latest release Son of Skip James. I never really paid much attention to Dion’s career lately, so I didn’t know what to expect. I did recall reading that he was focusing more on his early blues influences, so I loaded the album on my MP3 and Lucille and I set out for our short journey.

Now I am not a music reviewer, so I won’t pretend to be. I didn’t feel the need to dig into any profound meanings or dwell on the historic detail of each song. I just wanted to go out for a walk with Lucille and let the music do its thing … Anyway …I started listening and I’ve got to admit, I really got into it . The album opens up with Dion’s rendition of Chuck Berry’s “Nadine.” and from there Willie Dixon’s “My Babe.” A tune made famous by recent Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductee Little Walter. As I listened to the third song; Junior Well’s “Hoodoo Man Blues” I knew I was going to be entertained by this. I found that each song held my attention and I didn’t feel the necessity of skipping ahead. This release is self produced and accompanied only by Dion’s acoustic guitar, great voice and only a few other musicians. The selection of tunes is fantastic. I have included the complete song listings and their original artists below:

TRACK LISTING/ ORIGINAL ARTIST

1. Nadine - Chuck Berry
2. My Babe - Willie Dixon
3. Hoodoo Man Blues - Junior Wells
4. Drop Down Mama - Sleepy John Estes
5. Hoochie Coochie Man- Muddy Waters
6. Baby I’m In the Mood For You - Bob Dylan
7. I’m a Guitar King - Tommy McClennan
8. The Thunderer- Dion
9. Interlude - Spoken Word - Dion
10. Son of Skip James - Dion
11. Preachin’ Blues- Robert Johnson
12. If I Had Possession (Over Judgement Day)- Robert Johnson
13. Devil Got My Woman - Skip James
14. Dust my Broom- Robert Johnson
15 I Just Wanna Make Love to You- Willie Dixon

As the album continued I got to a couple of Dion originals which can be heard on track’s 8 thru 10. These are excellent tunes that compliment the rest of the selections…. I kept trying to remember the last time I heard a Dion recording? One thing for sure, he never sounded like this to me before! Then as I normally do I drifted off and reflected on one of the many stories from my early childhood as told by my family and friends…

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Tags: Blues Reflections, Reviews by The Blues Blogger
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Rehearsal 1968

I love Saturdays. In the basement of our house we were getting ready for another band rehearsal later in the afternoon, and there was no place I would rather be. However there were a few things that needed my attention in the morning. It was essential to watch my television shows; Programs like Underdog, The Flintstones, Spiderman, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and then American Bandstand. After all, I was only eight.

My brother and I would have some alphagetti for lunch. He would indulge in a piece of chocolate cake and a slice of processed cheese, which made me wince with disgust. After helping setup for practice, I would pay close attention to what needed to be done and try to learn better for the next time.

BROTHER: That type of character I can do without.

My brother had to leave for a while to get something that can only be left to the imagination. My parents were at work and my sister was nowhere to be seen. No one thought much of leaving a kid alone for a few hours back then. Besides I could be trusted. So while he was doing what he had to do, I was left alone to gawk at all the gear. I would never think of actually sitting down by the drum kit … Well… maybe just a few snaps on the snare….
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Tags: Blues Reflections, The Sixties by The Blues Blogger
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