The Blues Blogger

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 knew his cue… Late at night when he heard our father snoring; he would grab his guitar from underneath the bunk bed and begin to play… On most nights I would only pretend I was sleeping. I would listen as he would re-create the sounds he had earlier spun on our console stereo system. It always sounded perfect to me… Not too shabby for a 14 year old guitar player! I was only six years old.

I remember three volumes of an LP called Chicago The Blues Today! My first recollection of Otis Rush is from that album. Along with many others, Otis will always be a part of my earliest musical memories. Chicago The Blues Today! represented the first time that many people were introduced to the sounds of Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, James Cotton, Otis Spann, Buddy Guy and of course Otis Rush… He pioneered what was known as The West Side Sound and this album is a perfect example of that era.

One of the tunes I recall my brother playing in the middle of the night was from that LP. The song in particular was called “I Can’t Quit You Baby.” It was the first single and a vehicle for arranger/producer Willie Dixon to launch both Otis Rush’s career and Cobra Records.

“I Can’t Quit You Baby.” was originally released in 1956 and reached number 6 on the Billboard R&B charts… In Willie Dixon’s biography he explains that the song was written about a relationship that Otis was in at the time. Dixon drew from Rush’s experience and captured an emotional performance. The version of the song on 1966’s Chicago The Blues Today! was a little different than the original. However it ended up being the most covered version of the song…

Led Zeppelin did their take on the song on their 1969 debut self entitled album. Zeppelin regularly performed the song at concerts around 1968 to 1970… As well as so many other performers such as Buddy Guy & B.B.King, and Gary Moore.

Otis Rush

was born one of seven children in April 29, 1934, in Philadelphia, Mississippi …He sang occasionally in the church choir, but remained drawn to the country blues sounds of Tommy McClennan and Lightnin’ Hopkins.

In the winter of 1948 Rush went to Chicago and stayed with this sister. While working in the Chicago stockyards, he played harmonica and was inspired by watching Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers perform. Rush then began to study the guitar in 1953. A year later, he fronted a band under the name of “Little Otis.” He played his first job with Arkansas-born guitarist Bob Woodfolk. Otis was self taught and plays his right handed axe left handed and upside down without restringing it. It certainly contributed to his unique sound.

Rush combined his Mississippi roots with modern urban styles of the time. He produced a solid soulful sound with vocals that were capable of really wild falsetto shouts. During the sixties blues revival, Otis emerged as a guru to many well known musicians.

Even though it was his original version in 1956 that got inducted in the blues hall of fame in 1994, for me it was Otis’ sixties take of his song that I commonly remember. And how my brother was able to capture that energy; solo on the bunk bed below… One thing for sure, it’s a great memory for me.

If you are not familiar with Otis Rush, you can get more information regarding this amazing artist on his website. I think if you asked the question… What do Clapton, Hendrix, Bloomfield, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Peter Green all have in common? The answer is they were all influenced by Otis Rush.

Well I hoped you enjoyed another one of my little trips down memory lane? I could go on and on, but the idea is to get the readers of this blog involved in the discussion. So many of you have your own stories to tell… Please make sure you comment below.

Have a good one. I’ll be back soon…

The Blues Blogger

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Tags: Blues Reflections, Reflections, The Sixties // 5 Comments »

Flashback Summer 1969

I recall it well… I was helping The Big F, my brother’s friend/roadie, bring in the gear from last night’s gig… My brother was in his glory admiring his latest acquisition; a red 1964 Gibson SG standard. Then the boys, as they usually did on Saturday afternoons, started to rehearse. This time they were inspired by some tunes they heard on the latest Johnny Winter album…

I hung out for a while and then decided to go to the store for some soda. So I took my bike and starting making my way down the sidewalk… I remember thinking how cool it was that I could still hear them playing Mean Mistreater halfway down the block… I got distracted by my next door neighbor, who said something I didn’t quite hear as I cycled by. I glanced back momentarily to acknowledge her, and then as I turned around, I cycled right into a tree. If that didn’t suck, I fell off my bike and broke my arm.

My neighbor ran to my house and after ringing the doorbell several times, she managed to finally get The Big F’s attention. I still remember that crazed look of concern on his face as he ran down the street telling people to get out of his way. Without hesitation, he picked me up like I was a football. And proceeded to run into the house and let everyone know what happened… Off I went to the hospital. Yes, I guess I ended the rehearsal prematurely that day… Oh well, life is hard sometimes. No wonder I love the blues so much.

Present Time

Today almost 40 years later, I reflected about this while recovering from my ridiculous dirt bike incident over a week ago… Reminiscing, I went downstairs into my gym closet. After a moment, I pulled out my personal copy of Johnny Winter’s 1969 LP. It had been a while since I listened to it, so I put the album on my turntable and converted it to digital. I then get the sound of the vinyl with the convenience of MP3. It helps get my creative mind in motion… I started a mild walk on the treadmill, did some stretching and listened once again as I got swept away in one of my many reflective vinyl moments.

Johnny Winter

was born in February 23 1944. Playing clarinet at the age of 5, Winter made his first television appearance at 10 years old playing ukulele and singing on a local children’s show with his brother Edgar.

He first recorded with his band Johnny and the Jammers when he was 15 and released the single School Day Blues, which became a local hit. Winter was further inspired at the time by the live performances of classic blues artists like Muddy Waters, B.B. King and Bobby Bland.

After a string of ventures throughout the sixties, Winter released his first album on Sonobeat Records called The Progressive Blues Experiment in 1968. On 1969’s self titled LP, Johnny Winter found himself backed by blues stars such Willie Dixon and “Big” Walter Horton on harp. As well as bass player Tommy Shannon, who would later get recognized as backing Stevie Ray Vaughan in Double Trouble.

The accomplishments and inspiration Johnny Winter has garnered is enormous. His life long dream of playing with Muddy Waters became reality in 1977, where he produced Muddy’s album Hard Again. The following year, he continued that success with Muddy’s I’m Ready, and then one final time in 1980 on King Bee. Together Muddy Waters and Johnny Winter’s partnership produced a number of Grammy Awards.

Winter performed at Woodstock, was on the cover of the first issue of Guitar World in 1980, and in 1988 was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. And if that ain’t cool enough, he even jammed with Jimi Hendrix.

“Like Bloomfield’s band and the Blues Project, Johnny Winter pulled blues classics, like ‘Mean Mistreater’ and ‘When You Got A Good Friend,’ back into the mainstream of rock music and forced rock guitarists once again to pay attention to their musical heritage and draw from it.” ~Gene Santoro

Listening to this album again sort of gave me the shivers. It certainly will go down as the soundtrack to some of my broken bones…. All kidding aside, I love this record. There are some albums that act like a time machine, and this one took me way back. It contains some of the most genuine and memorable blues that I recall then and now.

Johnny Winter On Tour

Winter gigged this past weekend with upcoming blues artist Joanne Shaw Taylor and continues touring this summer and throughout the year… Here is a brief itinerary of his summer tour. Times and dates are subject to change, so make sure you double check.

Johnny Winter Summer Tour Schedule

MAY 2009

Mon 05/25/09 Cardiff, United Kingdom The Globe
Tue 05/26/09 Cardiff, United Kingdom The Globe
Wed 05/27/09 Bilston, United Kingdom The Robin 2
Thu 05/28/09 Falmouth, United Kingdom Princess Pavilion
Fri 05/29/09 Leamington Spa, United Kingdom TBA

JUNE 2009

Mon 06/01/09 Copenhagen, Denmark Pumpehuset Club
Wed 06/03/09 Helsinki, Finland Finlandia Hall
Fri 06/05/09 Solvesborg, Sweden Sweden Rock Festival Grounds
Sat 06/06/09 Fredrikstad, Norway Blues Camp Festival Grounds
Wed 06/17/09 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
Thu 06/18/09 Palatine, IL Durty Nellie’s
Fri 06/19/09 Canton, OH Downtown Canton
Sat 06/20/09 Lexington, MI Lexington Music Theatre Company
Fri 06/26/09 Carrboro, NC The ArtsCenter
Sat 06/27/09 Charlotte, NC Neighborhood Theatre
Sun 06/28/09 Virginia Beach, VA 31st Street Park

JULY 2009

Fri 07/03/09 Portland, OR Tom McCall Park
Sun 07/05/09 Saskatoon, SK Bessborough Gardens
Fri 07/17/09 Chicago, IL Beverly Arts Center
Sat 07/18/09 Bay City, MI TBA
Sun 07/19/09 Windsor, ON Downtown Windsor

AUGUST 2009

Sat 08/01/09 Bellingham, WA TBA
Sun 08/02/09 Coos Bay, OR The Green Spot
Mon 08/03/09 Bend, OR Tower Theatre
Thu 08/06/09 Petaluma, CA McNears Mystic Theatre
Fri 08/07/09 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst
Sat 08/08/09 Sonora, CA Mother Lode Fairgrounds
Mon 08/10/09 Grand Junction, CO Mesa Theater & Club
Tue 08/11/09 Denver, CO Oriental Theater
Wed 08/12/09 Colorado Springs, CO Armstrong Hall
Thu 08/13/09 Salt Lake City, UT Jeanne Wagner Theater
Fri 08/14/09 Boise, ID Knitting Factory Concert House
Sat 08/15/09 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory Concert House
Sun 08/16/09 Salmon Arm, BC Fairgrounds
Fri 08/21/09 Toronto, ON Exhibition Place
Sat 08/22/09 Gravenhurst, ON Peter’s Player

SEPTEMBER 2009

Wed 09/02/09 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theatre
Thu 09/03/09 Phoenix, AZ Celebrity Theatre
Tue 09/08/09 Exeter, CA Orange Blossom Junction
Thu 09/17/09 New York, NY B.B. King Blues Club
Sat 09/19/09 Alexandria, VA Birchmere

During the Course of This Blog

I’ve featured some albums that were released in 1969. Johnny Winter’s self titled release came out almost 40 years ago to the date that I am writing this. If you’re unfamiliar I strongly suggest getting a copy of this. Sony Legacy re-issued this recording with five extra bonus tracks 5 years ago. It’s a great album for any fan old or new who wants a good dose of the blues from a true music legend. Just try not to hurt yourself when you listen.

This post represents only a small portion of Winter’s work. It’s impossible to cover the rich history and his contribution to the music world in just one blog post. Perhaps you can add your comments and help fill in some of the many gaps… Is there any Johnny Winter moments that comes to mind for you? Will you be checking out any of the shows listed above?

TheBluesBlogger

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Tags: 1969, Blues News, Blues Reflections, Reviews, The Sixties // 10 Comments »

Ten Random Music Blips

Many of the posts you read on this blog have me venturing out to the country and engaging on a hike with my dog Lucille. Well, the past weekend Lucille stayed home and I took the family dirt biking instead. It was certainly a different experience for us.

Unfortunately, I guess I’m not as familiar with the word clutch as I thought and lost control of the bike. One thing for sure, I realized dirt biking was not my scene. Later that night, battered and bruised my wife gave the following Twitter update:

DIRT BIKE ACCIDENT: @TheBluesBlogger sustains injury. He is fine… However, the shed will never be the same. More to follow. ~TBBW

Not wanting to concern anyone, I sent the following tweets the next day:

Yesterday my doctor gave me some good advice when she said, “You should really stick to hiking.”

“I feel very fortunate… Thankfully, the barbecue & lawn mower cushioned my blow on the way into the steel shed.”

As a result of my accident, there won’t be an @TheBluesBlogger post this weekend. However, I will be doing some random blips shortly.

It’s unusual for me not to bring you a post each and every weekend. I felt bad and was a little bummed Sunday night. So I went on Twitter and came up with ten music blips that randomly came to mind at the time… So, while my writing skills are a little off at the moment, I thought for those that are either not on Twitter, didn’t see my sidebar updates, or just missed it, I’ve decided to publish this post… I’ve also added two additional videos to further enhance the piece.

You can click on each highlighted blip to hear that individual song… Enjoy.

Blip 1 of 10: Let’s get this BlipFest started with The Allman Brothers Band “Whipping Post.” ♫

Blip 2 of 10: If you’re feeling funky… Billy Preston – “It´s Alright Ma (I´m Only Bleeding)” ♫

Blip 3 of 10: Pretty hard to feel down when you’re listening to Electric Flag “Killing Floor.” ♫

Blip 4 of 10: Some medicine for the soul. Gary Moore “Hard Times.” ♫

Blip 5 of 10: With music like this, I’ll be up & running laps in no time. Joe Bonamassa “Blues Deluxe.” ♫

Blip 6 of 10: Recovering from this weekend’s dirt bike accident. So you’re “Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues.” ♫

Blip 7 of 10: Now that the meds have kicked in, here’s a wild choice… Jimi Hendrix “If 6 Was 9.” ♫

Blip 8 of 10: Susan Tedeschi is a fantastic artist. Her song “Learning the Hard Way” comes to mind. ♫

Blip 9 of 10: One more to go. Hope u liked the selections… Here’s Junior playing “Hoodoo Man Blues.” ♫

Blip 10 of 10: That’s it for me. Nite everyone. Here’s Luther taking it back to “Sweet Home Chicago.” ♫

Thanks to all who sent their messages my way. I truly appreciate your concern in regards to this most ridiculous scenario…. I’m sore, but will be up and around very soon.

TheBluesBlogger

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Tags: 1969, Blues Reflections, Reflections, The Seventies, The Sixties, Twitter // 3 Comments »