Blues Music Now Blog

Legends help celebrate Delmark's 55th

editorbluesmusicnow — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:46:00 +0000

By Steve Sharp
CHICAGO -- A frail-looking Delmark Records founder Bob Koester greeted admirers near the front of the stage throughout the evening of March 7, 2008 at Buddy Guy's Legends, enjoying his label's 55th anniversary celebration. The marathon concert featured performances by Delmark's still-impressive stable of talent, including Taildragger, Lurrie Bell, Billy Branch, Aaron Moore and Byther Smith. These and many other artists were backed by a superb rhythm section including drummer Kenny Smith and bass legend Bob Stroger.

Read more...

Get on the blues bus

editorbluesmusicnow — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:21:00 +0000

Our latest installment of "Scenes from the Road" takes us back to Chicago's Maxwell Street, circa 1992. Today's photo features the blues bus, a fixture on the street back in the day.

Photographer Steve Sharp writes this about the bus: "Painted blue, it was operated each weekend at the Maxwell Street Market in the 1980s and 1990s by a couple of old gentlemen from Mississippi. They sold crusty blues tapes by everyone imaginable -- from Isaac Hayes to Muddy Waters, from Lightnin' Hopkins and John Lee Hooker to Poonanny."

For more about the blues bus, visit Blues Music Now.com.

And the blues GRAMMYS go to...

editorbluesmusicnow — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:39:00 +0000

If you're a blues fan, you don't have to bother to watch tonight's GRAMMY telecast, as both blues album winners were announced in the infamous "pre-tel" awards ceremony earlier in the day.

The best traditional blues album went to "Last Of The Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live In Dallas." The recording, released on the Blue Shoe Project label, featured Henry James Townsend, Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins, Robert Lockwood, Jr. and David "Honeyboy" Edwards.

Other nominees in the category included "Pinetop Perkins On The 88's - Live In Chicago" by Pinetop Perkins [Sagebrush Productions/Vizztone Label Group], "10 Days Out: Blues From The Backroads" by Kenny Wayne Shepherd Featuring Various Artists [Reprise Records] and "Old School" by Koko Taylor [Alligator Records].

The GRAMMY for best contemporary blues album was awarded to JJ Cale & Eric Clapton for "The Road To Escondido" [Reprise Records/Warner Music Group]. The duo beat out "Into The Blues" by Joan Armatrading [429 Records], "Is It News" by Doyle Bramhall [Yep Roc Records], "Truth" by Robben Ford [Concord Records] and "The Scene Of The Crime" by Bettye LaVette [Anti].

GRAMMY Web site

Boston bluesman dies in house fire

editorbluesmusicnow — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 20:53:00 +0000

"Weepin'" Willie Robinson, an elder statesman of Boston blues, died Sunday, Dec. 30, 2007, in a house fire. He was 81.

According to The Boston Globe, Robinson died in bed in a fire caused by his own cigarette in his Boston rest home.

A fixture on the Boston blues scene since 1959, Robinson didn't record his first solo album until 1999 at age 72. "At Last, On Time," released on the APO label, featured Mighty Sam McClain, Susan Tedeschi and Jimmy D. Lane.

Boston Globe article

APO Records

AllMusic.com

Help save Internet radio!

editorbluesmusicnow — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 16:22:00 +0000

Blues fans -- and fans of music typically not heard on commercial radio stations -- should be alarmed by a recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB).

On March 2, 2007, the CRB, which oversees sound recording royalties paid by Internet radio services, increased royalties for Internet radio stations. According to Jason Fry of the Wall Street Journal, an online radio station would pay .08 cent per song per listener for 2006 (the rates are retroactive), .11 cent in 2007, .14 in 2008, .18 cents in 2009 and .19 cents in 2010.

Currently, under a deal brokered in 2002, small Webcasters are paying artists and record labels 12% of their revenue, but the new rules would do away with that exemption. The new system could increase royalties for Internet radio stations by between 300 and 1200 percent.

So, why does this matter to the blues? Quite simply, these higher fees would bankrupt many Internet radio providers, as the proposed royalties would exceed revenues for most independent net radio providers. Some of these providers feature music typically not heard on regular, over-the-air radio stations, includes blues. The surviving Internet radio stations would be run by larger, commercial interests that are less likely to play diverse styles of music.

This all seems grim, but there is a glimmer of hope. The Internet Radio Equality Act has recently been introduced in both the House (H.R. 2060) and Senate (S. 1353) to save the Internet radio industry.

This bipartisan effort is being led by Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.) and Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.). Their legislation would set Internet radio royalty rates at 7.5 percent of revenue, the same as those of satellite radio.

If you'd like to support the effort, please consider calling your representatives in Congress and tell them that you support the legislation. You can get more information, including contact information, from SaveNetRadio.org, a coalition of artists, labels, listeners and webcasters in support of Internet Radio.

It's time for a blues road trip

editorbluesmusicnow — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 17:16:00 +0000

We're introducing a new feature on BluesMusicNow.com called "Scenes from the Road." We're sharing some of the many photos we've taken over the years, ranging from juke joints in Mississippi to blues clubs in Chicago.

Our first photo was taken by Steve Sharp, who is a frequent contributor to our Web site as well as Living Blues and other blues publications. This photo was taken from Chicago's Maxwell Street, described by Steve as a "little bluesy street scene ... I shot back in July of 1995, a summer morning of blues, tacos and beer in a bag."

Follow this link to view the photo.

Ike Turner, Irma Thomas win blues Grammys

editorbluesmusicnow — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 03:48:00 +0000

At this year's GRAMMY Awards, held at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Ike Turner won best traditional blues album for "Risin' With The Blues" (Zoho Roots). Turner beat out Tab Benoit With Louisiana's Leroux, Dion, James Hunter and Duke Robillard.

Also, Irma Thomas won a Grammy for "After The Rain" (Rounder) for best contemporary blues album. Her competition was the Robert Cray Band, Dr. John & The Lower 911, Keb' Mo' and Susan Tedeschi.

Buddy Guy plans return to studio this summer

editorbluesmusicnow — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 20:44:00 +0000

Buddy Guy is planning to return to the studio in a few months to record a follow-up to his 2005 Silverstone album, "Bring 'Em In," according to Billboard.com.

"I want to go in the studio now and be more creative than I have been," Guy tells Billboard.com. "I'm asking my record company now, just give me a shot like (Jimi) Hendrix and Eric (Clapton) and stop having too many people trying to teach me in the studio. You don't see a boxer learn how to box when he gets in the ring, so I just really want to go into the studio and have a chance at four or five of my own songs with nobody saying a damn thing to me, except for me and my guitar."

The 70-year-old Guy, who doesn't have a label at this point, said he plans to wait until at least May to record because the cold weather doesn't help his singing. ""I've never had the greatest voice and this kind of weather don't help it. So my recording, we'll probably start putting something together about May, June, July and August when the temperature don't fool with you," Guy said.

PBS History Detectives to investigate historic blues label

editorbluesmusicnow — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 02:29:00 +0000

The historic blues label, Paramount Records, will be featured on the PBS television show, "History Detectives." The show will air on most PBS stations on Sept. 4. Check your local listings for the broadcast time in your area.

From 1929 to 1932, the studio of Paramount Records was located in the Wisconsin Chair Factory in Grafton, Wisconsin. Some of the blues recorded and pressed by Paramount include big blues legends Skip James, Charley Patton, Son House, Louise Johnson, Ida Cox, King Solomon Hill, Big Bill Broonzy, and Blind Joe Reynolds. to name a few.

The History Detectives will investigate two metal masters that were used to press shellac records in the 1920s and 30s to determine their significance, especially as they relate to Paramount Records.

History Detectives Web site

ParamountHome Web site

Web site offers free downloads from last Johnnie Johnson recording

editorbluesmusicnow — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 03:07:00 +0000

Fans of the late, great Johnnie Johnson can download three songs, for free, from his last recording, "Johnnie Be Eighty! And Still Bad," from the Cousin Moe Music Web site (www.cousinmoemusic.com.) Recorded about four months before his death on April 13, 2005, the CD features six original songs and can be purchased directly from the site.

Johnson, of course, played piano on many of Chuck Berry's seminal recordings from the early days of rock 'n roll. The free downloads coincide with the June 27 release date of the DVD for the Chuck Berry documentary, "Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll," which also includes performances from Johnson.

The Web site also features a newly posted interview with Johnnie's wife, Frances, held June 19. The free downloads will be available until July 8, Johnson's date of birth.

Pinetop Perkins hospitalized

editorbluesmusicnow — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 03:10:00 +0000

According to his official Web site, www.pinetopperkins.com, legendary piano man Pinetop Perkins was hospitalized in Austin, Texas on April 10, for internal bleeding caused by a stomach disorder. One day later, he seemed to be doing better, according to the Web site, which said Pinetop was "sitting up playing solitaire and flirting with the nurses."

As of April 12, Pinetop was moved from the ICU into a private room "where he continues to complain about not getting to eat any McDaniels - a sure sign of recovery!" The Web site states that Pinetop is expected to be released within a few days and is expected to resume touring in May.

Chicago bluesman Willie Kent loses battle to cancer

editorbluesmusicnow — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 16:05:00 +0000

Bassist Willie Kent, a mainstay on the Chicago blues scene, died on March 2 after a battle with cancer, according to his Web site, www.williekentblues.com.

In an article written by Bill Dahl on www.allmusic.com, Kent and his band, the Gents, were "among the last of a dying breed around Chicago: a combo that intuitively knows the meaning of ensemble playing, rather than functioning as a generic backdrop for endless guitar solos."

Big Ray Stewart, who played with Kent for several years, called his friend "the godfather" of Chicago blues, according to The Associated Press.

"Willie Kent was the last traditional blues player in Chicago," Stewart said. "Any time you could find Willie Kent in the club, you could always find two things: a lot of lying and a lot of laughing."

Like many bluesmen, the Mississippi-born Kent moved to Chicago. By 1952, at age 16, he became a regular at clubs, backing legends including Little Walter, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, to name a few.

He also played with Jimmy Dawkins and Eddie Taylor before forming his own band, Willie Kent and the Gents, in the mid-1980s. For more than two decades, the band helped define the modern-day blues scene in Chicago. Appropriately, Kent won 10 W.C. Handy Awards for best blues instrumentalist, bass. Living Blues magazine also honored him six times with its critic's choice award for bass players.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Ruth; by nine children, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and by a brother, Walter, of New York. Click here for the obituary.

Buddy Guy: The Kingpin

editorbluesmusicnow — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 21:35:00 +0000

The latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine (Feb. 23) features an extensive feature on Buddy Guy called "The Kingpin." The article about the legendary Chicago blues guitarist brings readers up-to-date on the latest from Buddy, as well as a nice recap of his career.

Rich Cohen writes: "Though Buddy is nearing seventy, he spends more than half the year on the road. It's as if he's more comfortable on the road, as if moving is the only way he can stand still. On the road, the world is only road, a collection of rides and flights, the cities speeding past, faces going by, bubble wrap that you tear away to get to that pearl of a moment where you play. At home he is less at home, out of place in his suburban house south of the South Side. You sense his days here are precious and rare, like the life of a boxer between rounds. He sleeps late, drives fast, entertains, hangs out at Legends, spends afternoons in his garden, trying to grow vegetables that taste like the ones he used to eat in Louisiana as a boy."

Rolling Stone article on Buddy Guy

B.B. King not ready for "farewell tour" yet

editorbluesmusicnow — Sun, 05 Feb 2006 17:34:00 +0000

Despite reports to the contrary, B.B. King says he isn't ready to quit performing just yet.

"The people are printing these things and they didn't get permission to do it and no one asked me," King told The Associated Press in a recent phone interview.

According to the AP article, King's publicist, Jerry Digney, said the 80-year-old King would be embarking on an international farewell tour in March, starting with a U.S. tour starting in Chicago on Feb. 16.

Another King publicist, Jerry Brown, said the "Farewell Tour" does not mean this is a last chance to see the singer perform.

"This is probably the last all-in-one encompassing worldwide tour and when it's over there will be some one-off dates, but B.B. will tour North America for the most part," Brown said.

B.B. King interview by The Associated Press