12/31/2013

Louis Prima - Just a Gigolo & I Ain't Go Nobody

"Fiel do Rock" Family wish you a very Happy 2014!!!

Of all the musical giants of the past seven decades, specifically since the days of the big swing bands and Dixieland jazz, there is one who stands out amongst them all as the greatest contributor towards modern music and the course it eventually took. His name is Louis Prima and it all started when he took off at the once-famed 52nd Street in New York City.
As a bold, talented, ambitious youngster, Prima rose from the rank-and-file of musicians in the now acknowledged great training ground of New Orleans in 1934 and headed for the "Big Time" in the city of New York. After a few weeks of waiting for the right opening, he was finally given the opportunity to debut at the then inconspicuous "Famous Door." By virtue of the Louis Prima Band becoming a smash hit in the small-but-jumping club, the entire 52nd Street, between Fifth Avenue and Broadway, was renamed "Swing Street."



12/23/2013

John Lennon - Stand by Me

If John Lennon had only been one of the four members of the Beatles, his artistic immortality would already have been assured. The so-called “smart Beatle,” he brought a penetrating intelligence and a stinging wit both to the band’s music and its self-presentation. But in such songs as “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown),” “Rain” and “In My Life,” he also marshaled gorgeous melodies to evoke a sophisticated, dreamlike world-weariness well beyond his years. Such work suggested not merely a profound musical and literary sensibility – a genius, in short — but a vision of life that was simultaneously reflective, utopian and poignantly realistic.


12/22/2013

Ben E. King - Stand by Me

Possessing one of the most elegant baritone voices ever, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alumnus Ben E. King's imprint on the musical landscape is so indelible that an optimum barometer has been set for countless aspiring performers. From a youngster in Harlem to an embraceable solo artist, Ben E. King's contributions to the pop music spectrum are incalculable.


11/29/2013

Chuck Berry and John Lennon - Johny B Goode


"Johnny B. Goode" is a 1958 rock and roll song written and originally performed by Chuck Berry. The song was a major hit among both black and white audiences peaking at #2 on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart and #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song is one of Berry's most famous recordings, has been covered by many artists, and has received several honors and accolades. It is also considered to be one of the most recognizable songs in music history.


11/22/2013

Little Richard - Hound Dog

"Hound Dog" is a twelve-bar blues written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton in 1952. Other early versions illustrate the differences among blues, country, and rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The 1956 remake by Elvis Presley is the best-known version; it is his version that is No. 19 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

11/20/2013

John Lennon - Hound Dog

"Hound Dog" is a twelve-bar blues written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton in 1952. Other early versions illustrate the differences among blues, country, and rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The 1956 remake by Elvis Presley is the best-known version; it is his version that is No. 19 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

11/15/2013

Transatlantic - Duel with the Devil

Transatlantic is a progressive rock supergroup consisting of Roine Stolt of The Flower Kings, Pete Trewavas of Marillion, Mike Portnoy formerly of Dream Theater and Neal Morse formerly of Spock's Beard. They formed in 1999 as a side project to their full time bands until 2002. They have reunited in 2009.

Transatlantic Official Site


11/13/2013

Let It Be - Ray Charles

Let It Be is a song by The Beatles, released in March 6th 1970 as a single, and as the title track of their album Let It Be. Although credited to Lennon/McCartney it is generally accepted to be a Paul McCartney composition. The single reached #1 in the U.S., Australia, Italy, Norway and Switzerland and #2 in the UK. It was the final single released by the Beatles while the band was still active.

Here, an amazing version by Ray Charles. And seriously, I do believe no other comment is required.

Just Let It Be!


11/10/2013

Transatlantic - We All Need Some Light

Transatlantic is a progressive rock supergroup consisting of Roine Stolt of The Flower Kings, Pete Trewavas of Marillion, Mike Portnoy formerly of Dream Theater and Neal Morse formerly of Spock's Beard. They formed in 1999 as a side project to their full time bands until 2002. They have reunited in 2009.

Transatlantic Official Site


11/08/2013

Transatlantic - Mystery Train

Transatlantic is a progressive rock supergroup consisting of Roine Stolt of The Flower Kings, Pete Trewavas of Marillion, Mike Portnoy formerly of Dream Theater and Neal Morse formerly of Spock's Beard. They formed in 1999 as a side project to their full time bands until 2002. They have reunited in 2009.

Transatlantic Official Site


11/06/2013

Transatlantic - My New World

Transatlantic is a progressive rock supergroup consisting of Roine Stolt of The Flower Kings, Pete Trewavas of Marillion, Mike Portnoy formerly of Dream Theater and Neal Morse formerly of Spock's Beard. They formed in 1999 as a side project to their full time bands until 2002. They have reunited in 2009.

Transatlantic Official Site


11/01/2013

Wilson Pickett - 634-5789

"634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.)" is a soul song written by Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper. It was first recorded by Wilson Pickett on his 1966 Atlantic Records album The Exciting Wilson Pickett. The single reached #1 on the "Black Singles" chart and #13 on the "Pop Singles" chart. The song has been covered by performers including Otis Redding, Ry Cooder, and Tower of Power.
Eddie Floyd, Wilson Pickett, and Jonny Lang appeared in the 1998 movie Blues Brothers 2000 and performed "634-5789". Floyd and Pickett played the proprietors of "Ed's Love Exchange," which according to the storyline in the movie can be reached at 1-900-634-5789.

Wilson Pickett brought the gruff, throaty power of his gospel-trained voice to bear on some of the most incendiary soul music of the Sixties. Some of his best work, including “In the Midnight Hour” and “634-5789,” was cut in the mid-Sixties at Stax studios in Memphis and released on Atlantic Records. Pickett also connected with the crew of house musicians at Muscle Shoals, where, beginning in 1966, he cut such memorable soul smashes as “Land of 1,000 Dances,” “Mustang Sally” and “Funky Broadway.” Pickett enjoyed a steady run of hits on Atlantic, leaving behind a legacy of some of the deepest, funkiest soul music ever to emerge from the South.

Wilson Pickett was born on March 18, 1941, in Prattville, Alabama. He sang in the town’s Baptist church as a boy. Then, in 1955, his family moved to Detroit. He began singing in a local gospel-harmony group, the Violinaires. Then, around 1959, he crossed over into secular music, joining the Falcons. In addition to Pickett, the Falcons included future soul stars Eddie Floyd and Sir Mack Rice. The Falcons’ gospel-influenced R&B style gave shape to the Detroit soul scene of the early Sixties, and their biggest hit, “I Found a Love,” spent 16 weeks on the R&B chart, peaking at Number Six. The success of that record eventually led to Pickett’s signing to Atlantic Records.

Nicknamed “the Wicked Pickett” for his boasting, uninhibited style, the talented singer came into his own during his 1965 sessions at Stax, arranged by Atlantic’s Jerry Wexler. Pickett collaborated with Booker T. and the M.G.’s guitarist Steve Cropper on “In the Midnight Hour,” one of the most enduring soul classics of all time. The song was a Number One R&B smash and Pickett’s first Top 40 pop hit. Its success signaled a new era of soul, in which the focus shifted to the looser, funkier sounds of the South. It also launched a string of raucous hits by Pickett, including “Don’t Fight It,” “Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won’t Do)” and “634-5789.”

When he began recording at Muscle Shoals, Pickett continued to score hits. “He reminded me of a black leopard – you know, look but don’t touch, he might bite your hand,” Muscle Shoals engineer Rick Hall said. Pickett’s gleeful swagger and raw sexuality- - qualities particularly evident on 1968’s “I’m a Midnight Mover,” one of his biggest pop/R&B hits -- anticipated the boasting persona adopted by rappers in subsequent decades.

In the early Seventies, Pickett collaborated with the Philadelphia-based production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. He cut the album In Philadelphia (1970) and scored such sizable hits as “Engine Number 9” and “Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You” in the emerging Philly-soul style, which would become a cornerstone sound of that decade. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Pickett remained a viable hitmaker well into the Seventies. His 1971 album, Don’t Knock My Love, yielded four charting singles, including the title track, a Number One R&B hit. Subsequently, Pickett recorded for other companies, including RCA and Motown, and even founded his own Wicked label in the mid-Seventies.

Pickett remained active on the touring and recording fronts into the 21st Century. In 1993, he received the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, and in 2003, he starred in the D.A. Pennebaker-directed documentary Only the Strong Survive. Then, in 2004, Pickett began to suffer from various ailments and slowed down his career activity.

Wilson Pickett died of a heart attack on January 19, 2006, in Virginia. He was 64 years old.

Wilson Pickett Official Web Site

10/30/2013

Wilson Pickett - Mustang Sally


"Mustang Sally" is an R&B song written and first recorded by Mack Rice in 1965. It gained greater popularity when Wilson Pickett covered it the following year on a single, a version also released on his 1966 album, The Wicked Pickett.
In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Wilson Pickett's recording of the song at #434 on a list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.The song dropped seven spots to #441, when the magazine published its 2010 update of the list.
It has been performed by many artists, including: BB King and Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy and Jeff Beck.

Wilson Pickett brought the gruff, throaty power of his gospel-trained voice to bear on some of the most incendiary soul music of the Sixties. Some of his best work, including “In the Midnight Hour” and “634-5789,” was cut in the mid-Sixties at Stax studios in Memphis and released on Atlantic Records. Pickett also connected with the crew of house musicians at Muscle Shoals, where, beginning in 1966, he cut such memorable soul smashes as “Land of 1,000 Dances,” “Mustang Sally” and “Funky Broadway.” Pickett enjoyed a steady run of hits on Atlantic, leaving behind a legacy of some of the deepest, funkiest soul music ever to emerge from the South.

Wilson Pickett was born on March 18, 1941, in Prattville, Alabama. He sang in the town’s Baptist church as a boy. Then, in 1955, his family moved to Detroit. He began singing in a local gospel-harmony group, the Violinaires. Then, around 1959, he crossed over into secular music, joining the Falcons. In addition to Pickett, the Falcons included future soul stars Eddie Floyd and Sir Mack Rice. The Falcons’ gospel-influenced R&B style gave shape to the Detroit soul scene of the early Sixties, and their biggest hit, “I Found a Love,” spent 16 weeks on the R&B chart, peaking at Number Six. The success of that record eventually led to Pickett’s signing to Atlantic Records.

Nicknamed “the Wicked Pickett” for his boasting, uninhibited style, the talented singer came into his own during his 1965 sessions at Stax, arranged by Atlantic’s Jerry Wexler. Pickett collaborated with Booker T. and the M.G.’s guitarist Steve Cropper on “In the Midnight Hour,” one of the most enduring soul classics of all time. The song was a Number One R&B smash and Pickett’s first Top 40 pop hit. Its success signaled a new era of soul, in which the focus shifted to the looser, funkier sounds of the South. It also launched a string of raucous hits by Pickett, including “Don’t Fight It,” “Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won’t Do)” and “634-5789.”

When he began recording at Muscle Shoals, Pickett continued to score hits. “He reminded me of a black leopard – you know, look but don’t touch, he might bite your hand,” Muscle Shoals engineer Rick Hall said. Pickett’s gleeful swagger and raw sexuality- - qualities particularly evident on 1968’s “I’m a Midnight Mover,” one of his biggest pop/R&B hits -- anticipated the boasting persona adopted by rappers in subsequent decades.

In the early Seventies, Pickett collaborated with the Philadelphia-based production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. He cut the album In Philadelphia (1970) and scored such sizable hits as “Engine Number 9” and “Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You” in the emerging Philly-soul style, which would become a cornerstone sound of that decade. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Pickett remained a viable hitmaker well into the Seventies. His 1971 album, Don’t Knock My Love, yielded four charting singles, including the title track, a Number One R&B hit. Subsequently, Pickett recorded for other companies, including RCA and Motown, and even founded his own Wicked label in the mid-Seventies.

Pickett remained active on the touring and recording fronts into the 21st Century. In 1993, he received the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, and in 2003, he starred in the D.A. Pennebaker-directed documentary Only the Strong Survive. Then, in 2004, Pickett began to suffer from various ailments and slowed down his career activity.

Wilson Pickett died of a heart attack on January 19, 2006, in Virginia. He was 64 years old.

Wilson Pickett Official Web Site

10/27/2013

Wilson Pickett - In The Midnight Hour

"In the Midnight Hour" is a song originally performed by Wilson Pickett in 1965 and released on the 1965 album of the same name, also appearing on the 1966 album The Exciting Wilson Pickett. It was composed by Pickett and Steve Cropper at the historic Lorraine Motel in Memphis where Martin Luther King, Jr. would later be murdered in April 1968. Pickett's first hit on Atlantic Records, it reached #1 on the R&B charts and peaked at #21 on the pop charts.
The song has become a 1960s soul standard, and placed at #134 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time, Wilson Pickett's first of two entries on the list (the other being "Mustang Sally" at #434). It is also one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, Pickett's only such entry. The song is currently ranked as the 89th greatest song of all time.

Wilson Pickett brought the gruff, throaty power of his gospel-trained voice to bear on some of the most incendiary soul music of the Sixties. Some of his best work, including “In the Midnight Hour” and “634-5789,” was cut in the mid-Sixties at Stax studios in Memphis and released on Atlantic Records. Pickett also connected with the crew of house musicians at Muscle Shoals, where, beginning in 1966, he cut such memorable soul smashes as “Land of 1,000 Dances,” “Mustang Sally” and “Funky Broadway.” Pickett enjoyed a steady run of hits on Atlantic, leaving behind a legacy of some of the deepest, funkiest soul music ever to emerge from the South.

Wilson Pickett was born on March 18, 1941, in Prattville, Alabama. He sang in the town’s Baptist church as a boy. Then, in 1955, his family moved to Detroit. He began singing in a local gospel-harmony group, the Violinaires. Then, around 1959, he crossed over into secular music, joining the Falcons. In addition to Pickett, the Falcons included future soul stars Eddie Floyd and Sir Mack Rice. The Falcons’ gospel-influenced R&B style gave shape to the Detroit soul scene of the early Sixties, and their biggest hit, “I Found a Love,” spent 16 weeks on the R&B chart, peaking at Number Six. The success of that record eventually led to Pickett’s signing to Atlantic Records.

Nicknamed “the Wicked Pickett” for his boasting, uninhibited style, the talented singer came into his own during his 1965 sessions at Stax, arranged by Atlantic’s Jerry Wexler. Pickett collaborated with Booker T. and the M.G.’s guitarist Steve Cropper on “In the Midnight Hour,” one of the most enduring soul classics of all time. The song was a Number One R&B smash and Pickett’s first Top 40 pop hit. Its success signaled a new era of soul, in which the focus shifted to the looser, funkier sounds of the South. It also launched a string of raucous hits by Pickett, including “Don’t Fight It,” “Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won’t Do)” and “634-5789.”

When he began recording at Muscle Shoals, Pickett continued to score hits. “He reminded me of a black leopard – you know, look but don’t touch, he might bite your hand,” Muscle Shoals engineer Rick Hall said. Pickett’s gleeful swagger and raw sexuality- - qualities particularly evident on 1968’s “I’m a Midnight Mover,” one of his biggest pop/R&B hits -- anticipated the boasting persona adopted by rappers in subsequent decades.

In the early Seventies, Pickett collaborated with the Philadelphia-based production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. He cut the album In Philadelphia (1970) and scored such sizable hits as “Engine Number 9” and “Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You” in the emerging Philly-soul style, which would become a cornerstone sound of that decade. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Pickett remained a viable hitmaker well into the Seventies. His 1971 album, Don’t Knock My Love, yielded four charting singles, including the title track, a Number One R&B hit. Subsequently, Pickett recorded for other companies, including RCA and Motown, and even founded his own Wicked label in the mid-Seventies.

Pickett remained active on the touring and recording fronts into the 21st Century. In 1993, he received the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, and in 2003, he starred in the D.A. Pennebaker-directed documentary Only the Strong Survive. Then, in 2004, Pickett began to suffer from various ailments and slowed down his career activity.

Wilson Pickett died of a heart attack on January 19, 2006, in Virginia. He was 64 years old.

Wilson Pickett Official Web Site

10/25/2013

Memphis Minnie - This Is Your Last Chance


Born June 3, 1897, in Algiers, Louisiana, Lizzie Douglas was raised on a farm before moving in 1904 to Walls in northern Mississippi. The following year Douglas was given a guitar for her birthday and quickly learned to play. A child prodigy, she began playing local parties as "Kid" Douglas before running away from home to play for tips at Church's Park ( the current W.C. Handy Park) on Beale Street in Memphis. During the 1910s and early 1920s, Douglas adopted the handle of Memphis Minnie and toured the South, playing tent shows with the Ringling Brothers Circus.

During the late 1920s Minnie began playing guitar with a variety of ad hoc jug bands during Memphis's jug band craze. Minnie also began a common law marriage with Kansas Joe McCoy, a musician with whom she had begun playing and would soon record. Their very first session yielded the hit song "Bumble Bee" (later recorded by Muddy Waters as "Honey Bee"), and McCoy would be her musical partner for the next six years. Within a year of her first recording date, Minnie had logged a half-dozen more sessions, including a reprise of "Bumble Bee" with the Memphis Jug Band. Bukka White claimed that Minnie sang backup on his 1930 gospel recordings. By the time the effects of the Great Depression had shackled the recording industry, Minnie had recorded fifty sides that showcased her powerful voice and energetic guitar picking. She affected wealth as her idol Ma Rainey had done, traveling to shows in luxury cars and wearing bracelets made of silver dollars on her wrists.

During the 1930s, Minnie moved to Chicago where she set the musical style by taking up bass and drum accompaniment, anticipating the sound of the 1950s Chicago blues. After her breakup with Kansas Joe, Minnie married Ernest Lawlars, known as "Little Son Joe," and continued to record into the early 1950s. Poor health prompted her to return to Memphis and forsake the musician's life in 1958. Memphis Minnie was the greatest female country blues singer, and the popularity of her songs made her one of the blues most influential artists.

Memphis Minnie died August 6, 1973, in Memphis, Tennessee, and is buried in New Hope Cemetery in Walls, Mississippi.

10/20/2013

Wilson Pickett - Land of 1000 Dances


"Land of a Thousand Dances" (or "Land of 1000 Dances") is a song written and first recorded by Chris Kenner in 1962.
Wilson Pickett recorded the song during his first set of sessions at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. (He had previously recorded in Memphis.) His recording was released as a single and appeared on his album, The Exciting Wilson Pickett. The single became his third R&B #1 and his biggest ever pop hit, peaking at #6. In 1988 a re-recorded version by Pickett was featured in the end credits for The Great Outdoors. In 1989, the earlier Pickett version was ranked number 152 on Dave Marsh's list of The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.
Personnel:
Vocals: Wilson Pickett
Guitar: Chips Moman, Jimmy Johnson
Keyboards: Spooner Oldham
Drums: Roger Hawkins
Bass: Junior Lowe
Tenor sax: Charlie Chalmers, Andrew Love
Trumpet: Wayne Jackson
Baritone Sax: Floyd Newman

Wilson Pickett brought the gruff, throaty power of his gospel-trained voice to bear on some of the most incendiary soul music of the Sixties. Some of his best work, including “In the Midnight Hour” and “634-5789,” was cut in the mid-Sixties at Stax studios in Memphis and released on Atlantic Records. Pickett also connected with the crew of house musicians at Muscle Shoals, where, beginning in 1966, he cut such memorable soul smashes as “Land of 1,000 Dances,” “Mustang Sally” and “Funky Broadway.” Pickett enjoyed a steady run of hits on Atlantic, leaving behind a legacy of some of the deepest, funkiest soul music ever to emerge from the South.

Wilson Pickett was born on March 18, 1941, in Prattville, Alabama. He sang in the town’s Baptist church as a boy. Then, in 1955, his family moved to Detroit. He began singing in a local gospel-harmony group, the Violinaires. Then, around 1959, he crossed over into secular music, joining the Falcons. In addition to Pickett, the Falcons included future soul stars Eddie Floyd and Sir Mack Rice. The Falcons’ gospel-influenced R&B style gave shape to the Detroit soul scene of the early Sixties, and their biggest hit, “I Found a Love,” spent 16 weeks on the R&B chart, peaking at Number Six. The success of that record eventually led to Pickett’s signing to Atlantic Records.

Nicknamed “the Wicked Pickett” for his boasting, uninhibited style, the talented singer came into his own during his 1965 sessions at Stax, arranged by Atlantic’s Jerry Wexler. Pickett collaborated with Booker T. and the M.G.’s guitarist Steve Cropper on “In the Midnight Hour,” one of the most enduring soul classics of all time. The song was a Number One R&B smash and Pickett’s first Top 40 pop hit. Its success signaled a new era of soul, in which the focus shifted to the looser, funkier sounds of the South. It also launched a string of raucous hits by Pickett, including “Don’t Fight It,” “Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won’t Do)” and “634-5789.”

When he began recording at Muscle Shoals, Pickett continued to score hits. “He reminded me of a black leopard – you know, look but don’t touch, he might bite your hand,” Muscle Shoals engineer Rick Hall said. Pickett’s gleeful swagger and raw sexuality- - qualities particularly evident on 1968’s “I’m a Midnight Mover,” one of his biggest pop/R&B hits -- anticipated the boasting persona adopted by rappers in subsequent decades.

In the early Seventies, Pickett collaborated with the Philadelphia-based production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. He cut the album In Philadelphia (1970) and scored such sizable hits as “Engine Number 9” and “Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You” in the emerging Philly-soul style, which would become a cornerstone sound of that decade. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Pickett remained a viable hitmaker well into the Seventies. His 1971 album, Don’t Knock My Love, yielded four charting singles, including the title track, a Number One R&B hit. Subsequently, Pickett recorded for other companies, including RCA and Motown, and even founded his own Wicked label in the mid-Seventies.

Pickett remained active on the touring and recording fronts into the 21st Century. In 1993, he received the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, and in 2003, he starred in the D.A. Pennebaker-directed documentary Only the Strong Survive. Then, in 2004, Pickett began to suffer from various ailments and slowed down his career activity.

Wilson Pickett died of a heart attack on January 19, 2006, in Virginia. He was 64 years old.

Wilson Pickett Official Web Site


10/18/2013

Bonnie Raitt - Pride and Joy


Bonnie Raitt playing Pride and Joy.
From the DVD: Steve Ray Vaughan Tribute.

Bonnie Raitt (vocals, guitar; born November 8, 1949)


When Bonnie Raitt won a phenomenal four Grammys in 1990, it came as overdue recognition for an artist who had been breaking down barriers of gender and genre since the early Seventies. Her feel for the blues was evident on her first album, Bonnie Raitt (1971), and though she’s explored different kinds of material over the years -- including pop, rock and balladry -- a serious rooting in the blues has remained evident in her work.

Bonnie Lynn Raitt was born in 1949 in Burbank, California. Her father, John Raitt, became a major Broadway star in the Forties and Fifties, as a result of his roles in such musicals as Oklahoma!, Carousel, Annie Get Your Gun, The Pajama Game and Kiss Me Kate. Her mother, Majorie Haydock, was a piano player. The family spent most of Bonnie’s early years shuttling between the two coasts until 1957, when they settled in Los Angeles after her father landed a role in the film version of The Pajama Game. Bonnie got her first guitar – a $25 Stella – as a Christmas present when she was eight years old. At the time, her instrument of choice was piano, but within a few years, she changed her mind. Her maternal grandfather played Hawaiian lap-steel guitar, and he taught her a few chords. Then, while attending a Quaker summer camp in the Adirondacks, Bonnie was exposed to folk and protest music. In addition, when she was 14, she learned about the blues via an album recorded at the 1963 Newport festival, Blues at Newport 1963, and a batch of Ray Charles recordings a family friend had given her.

When she was 15, Bonnie and her family moved back East. She attended a Quaker high school in Poughkeepsie, New York, then enrolled in Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She took classes at both Radcliffe and Harvard and majored in social relations and African studies. While attending college in Boston, she gravitated to the Cambridge folk-blues scene of the late Sixties. She emerged as both a prodigy and anomaly: a young woman who sang blues with gritty passion and played slide guitar with authority, as if the genre’s fundamentals had been etched in her soul.

While at Radcliffe, Raitt met Dick Waterman, a former photojournalist who had helped many bluesmen resuscitate their careers in the wake of the Sixties blues revival. He took her under his wing, and Raitt was schooled by, and performed alongside, such estimable legends as Sippie Wallace, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Son House. “I’m certain that it was an incredible gift for me to not only be friends with some of the greatest blues people who’ve ever lived, but to learn how they played, how they sang, how they lived their lives, ran their marriages and talked to their kids,” she said.

Eventually, Raitt decided to pursue music full time. “I never expected to have a career in music,” she said. “But I thought, ‘Geez, if I want to take a semester off from college and support myself by making $50 here and there, well. . . .’ It was hilarious to me that it went over.” After one of her shows at the Gaslite Club in New York, Raitt was offered a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records. Throughout her career, she’s combined an old-school country-blues grounding with a contemporary outlook and willingness to experiment. She recorded eight albums for Warner Bros. from 1971 to 1986, progressively moving from straight blues into more pop-oriented areas without losing sight of her roots. All the while, she selected tunes by the choicest songwriters (e.g., Randy Newman, John Prine, Eric Kaz, Allen Toussaint and Jackson Browne), while working with the cream of Southern California musicians, including members of Little Feat. By the mid-Seventies, she’d accrued a loyal and growing following on the strength of such albums as Streetlights (1974) and Home Plate (1975). The commercial pinnacle of Raitt’s tenure with Warner Bros. was her cover of the Del Shannon song “Runaway,” which garnered radio airplay and became a minor hit.

Her graduation from respected cult figure to major artist occurred after her move to Capitol Records. Raitt’s breakthrough album, Nick of Time (1989), slowly gained momentum, reaching the top of the chart exactly a year after its release -- and a month after Raitt won the aforementioned batch of Grammys. On that memorable evening, Raitt put her awards in selfless perspective: “It means so much for the kind of music that we do,” she said. “It means that those of us who do rhythm & blues are going to get a chance again.” Indeed, the followup album Luck of the Draw fared even better, selling 5 million copies and winning three more Grammys. It also gave Raitt the first bonafide hit single of her 20-year career in “Something to Talk About,” which reached Number Five. In 1994, Raitt released Longing in Their Hearts. The album went to Number One and won two Grammys.

Subsequent albums have included the double-live CD Road Tested (1995), Fundamental (1998), Silver Lining (2002) and Souls Alike (2005). After the release of Souls Alike, Raitt took a break from touring and recording. Both of her parents had died, her brother had died and one of her best friends had died. “I took a hiatus from touring and recording to get back in touch with the other part of my life,” she said. In 2009, Raitt appeared at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.



Then, in 2012, Raitt released her first album in seven years, Slipstream. She issued the album on her own label, Redwing Records, and it sold more than a quarter-million copies and won a Grammy for Best Americana Album. Over the course of her career, Raitt has won 10 Grammys. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her at Number 50 in its list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and at Number 89 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.





10/13/2013

Bonnie Raitt - Runaway

Bonnie Raitt (vocals, guitar; born November 8, 1949)

Bonnie Raitt Official Web Site

When Bonnie Raitt won a phenomenal four Grammys in 1990, it came as overdue recognition for an artist who had been breaking down barriers of gender and genre since the early Seventies. Her feel for the blues was evident on her first album, Bonnie Raitt (1971), and though she’s explored different kinds of material over the years -- including pop, rock and balladry -- a serious rooting in the blues has remained evident in her work.

Bonnie Lynn Raitt was born in 1949 in Burbank, California. Her father, John Raitt, became a major Broadway star in the Forties and Fifties, as a result of his roles in such musicals as Oklahoma!, Carousel, Annie Get Your Gun, The Pajama Game and Kiss Me Kate. Her mother, Majorie Haydock, was a piano player. The family spent most of Bonnie’s early years shuttling between the two coasts until 1957, when they settled in Los Angeles after her father landed a role in the film version of The Pajama Game. Bonnie got her first guitar – a $25 Stella – as a Christmas present when she was eight years old. At the time, her instrument of choice was piano, but within a few years, she changed her mind. Her maternal grandfather played Hawaiian lap-steel guitar, and he taught her a few chords. Then, while attending a Quaker summer camp in the Adirondacks, Bonnie was exposed to folk and protest music. In addition, when she was 14, she learned about the blues via an album recorded at the 1963 Newport festival, Blues at Newport 1963, and a batch of Ray Charles recordings a family friend had given her.

When she was 15, Bonnie and her family moved back East. She attended a Quaker high school in Poughkeepsie, New York, then enrolled in Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She took classes at both Radcliffe and Harvard and majored in social relations and African studies. While attending college in Boston, she gravitated to the Cambridge folk-blues scene of the late Sixties. She emerged as both a prodigy and anomaly: a young woman who sang blues with gritty passion and played slide guitar with authority, as if the genre’s fundamentals had been etched in her soul.

While at Radcliffe, Raitt met Dick Waterman, a former photojournalist who had helped many bluesmen resuscitate their careers in the wake of the Sixties blues revival. He took her under his wing, and Raitt was schooled by, and performed alongside, such estimable legends as Sippie Wallace, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Son House. “I’m certain that it was an incredible gift for me to not only be friends with some of the greatest blues people who’ve ever lived, but to learn how they played, how they sang, how they lived their lives, ran their marriages and talked to their kids,” she said.

Eventually, Raitt decided to pursue music full time. “I never expected to have a career in music,” she said. “But I thought, ‘Geez, if I want to take a semester off from college and support myself by making $50 here and there, well. . . .’ It was hilarious to me that it went over.” After one of her shows at the Gaslite Club in New York, Raitt was offered a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records. Throughout her career, she’s combined an old-school country-blues grounding with a contemporary outlook and willingness to experiment. She recorded eight albums for Warner Bros. from 1971 to 1986, progressively moving from straight blues into more pop-oriented areas without losing sight of her roots. All the while, she selected tunes by the choicest songwriters (e.g., Randy Newman, John Prine, Eric Kaz, Allen Toussaint and Jackson Browne), while working with the cream of Southern California musicians, including members of Little Feat. By the mid-Seventies, she’d accrued a loyal and growing following on the strength of such albums as Streetlights (1974) and Home Plate (1975). The commercial pinnacle of Raitt’s tenure with Warner Bros. was her cover of the Del Shannon song “Runaway,” which garnered radio airplay and became a minor hit.

Her graduation from respected cult figure to major artist occurred after her move to Capitol Records. Raitt’s breakthrough album, Nick of Time (1989), slowly gained momentum, reaching the top of the chart exactly a year after its release -- and a month after Raitt won the aforementioned batch of Grammys. On that memorable evening, Raitt put her awards in selfless perspective: “It means so much for the kind of music that we do,” she said. “It means that those of us who do rhythm & blues are going to get a chance again.” Indeed, the followup album Luck of the Draw fared even better, selling 5 million copies and winning three more Grammys. It also gave Raitt the first bonafide hit single of her 20-year career in “Something to Talk About,” which reached Number Five. In 1994, Raitt released Longing in Their Hearts. The album went to Number One and won two Grammys.

Subsequent albums have included the double-live CD Road Tested (1995), Fundamental (1998), Silver Lining (2002) and Souls Alike (2005). After the release of Souls Alike, Raitt took a break from touring and recording. Both of her parents had died, her brother had died and one of her best friends had died. “I took a hiatus from touring and recording to get back in touch with the other part of my life,” she said. In 2009, Raitt appeared at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.



Then, in 2012, Raitt released her first album in seven years, Slipstream. She issued the album on her own label, Redwing Records, and it sold more than a quarter-million copies and won a Grammy for Best Americana Album. Over the course of her career, Raitt has won 10 Grammys. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her at Number 50 in its list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and at Number 89 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.


10/11/2013

Little Richard - Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On

Little Richard (vocals, piano; born December 5, 1932)

He claims to be “the architect of rock and roll,” and history would seem to bear out Little Richard’s boast. More than any other performer - save, perhaps, Elvis Presley, Little Richard blew the lid off the Fifties, laying the foundation for rock and roll with his explosive music and charismatic persona. On record, he made spine-tingling rock and roll. His frantically charged piano playing and raspy, shouted vocals on such classics as “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally” and “Good Golly, Miss Molly” defined the dynamic sound of rock and roll. Onstage, he’d deliver wild, piano-pounding epistles while costumed in sequined vests, mascara, lipstick, and a pompadour that shook with every thundering beat. His road band, the Upsetters, has been credited by James Brown and others with first putting the funk in the rock and roll beat.

In a 1990 interview, Little Richard offered this explanation for the birth of rock: “I would say that boogie-woogie and rhythm & blues mixed is rock and roll.” His frenzied approach to music was fueled by a genuinely outrageous personality. He was born Richard Penniman during the Depression in Macon, Georgia, one of twelve children who grew up in poverty in the Deep South. As a youngster, he soaked up music - blues, country, gospel, vaudeville - which was part of the fabric of life in the black community. He learned to play piano from an equally flamboyant character named Esquerita (who also recorded rock and roll early on for Capitol Records).

Little Richard first recorded in a bluesy vein in 1951, but it was his tenure at Specialty Records beginning in 1955 that made his mark as a rock and roll architect. Working at Cosimo Matassa’s now-legendary J&M Studio in New Orleans with producer Robert “Bumps” Blackwell and some of the Crescent City’s finest musicians, Little Richard laid down a stunning succession of rock and roll sides over the next several years, including “Rip It Up,” “Slippin’ and Slidin’,” “Lucille,” “Jenny Jenny” and “Keep a Knockin’,” in addition to the songs previously mentioned. He also appeared in rock and roll-themed movies such as Don’t Knock the Rock and The Girl Can’t Help It (both from 1956).

The bubble burst in late 1957 when, succumbing to the rigors of fame and personal conflicts engendered by his religious upbringing, Little Richard abruptly abandoned rock and roll to enroll in Bible college. However, he was lured back by the British Invasion in 1964, regaining his popularity as a concert performer and a living embodiment of the music’s roots in the Fifties. He has launched successful comebacks in every decade since and remains an active performer and icon - and an inimitable reminder of the joyful frenzy that galvanized rock and roll into being more than forty years ago.


10/09/2013

Little Richard-Good Golly Miss Molly

Little Richard (vocals, piano; born December 5, 1932)

He claims to be “the architect of rock and roll,” and history would seem to bear out Little Richard’s boast. More than any other performer - save, perhaps, Elvis Presley, Little Richard blew the lid off the Fifties, laying the foundation for rock and roll with his explosive music and charismatic persona. On record, he made spine-tingling rock and roll. His frantically charged piano playing and raspy, shouted vocals on such classics as “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally” and “Good Golly, Miss Molly” defined the dynamic sound of rock and roll. Onstage, he’d deliver wild, piano-pounding epistles while costumed in sequined vests, mascara, lipstick, and a pompadour that shook with every thundering beat. His road band, the Upsetters, has been credited by James Brown and others with first putting the funk in the rock and roll beat.

In a 1990 interview, Little Richard offered this explanation for the birth of rock: “I would say that boogie-woogie and rhythm & blues mixed is rock and roll.” His frenzied approach to music was fueled by a genuinely outrageous personality. He was born Richard Penniman during the Depression in Macon, Georgia, one of twelve children who grew up in poverty in the Deep South. As a youngster, he soaked up music - blues, country, gospel, vaudeville - which was part of the fabric of life in the black community. He learned to play piano from an equally flamboyant character named Esquerita (who also recorded rock and roll early on for Capitol Records).

Little Richard first recorded in a bluesy vein in 1951, but it was his tenure at Specialty Records beginning in 1955 that made his mark as a rock and roll architect. Working at Cosimo Matassa’s now-legendary J&M Studio in New Orleans with producer Robert “Bumps” Blackwell and some of the Crescent City’s finest musicians, Little Richard laid down a stunning succession of rock and roll sides over the next several years, including “Rip It Up,” “Slippin’ and Slidin’,” “Lucille,” “Jenny Jenny” and “Keep a Knockin’,” in addition to the songs previously mentioned. He also appeared in rock and roll-themed movies such as Don’t Knock the Rock and The Girl Can’t Help It (both from 1956).

The bubble burst in late 1957 when, succumbing to the rigors of fame and personal conflicts engendered by his religious upbringing, Little Richard abruptly abandoned rock and roll to enroll in Bible college. However, he was lured back by the British Invasion in 1964, regaining his popularity as a concert performer and a living embodiment of the music’s roots in the Fifties. He has launched successful comebacks in every decade since and remains an active performer and icon - and an inimitable reminder of the joyful frenzy that galvanized rock and roll into being more than forty years ago.


10/06/2013

Little Richard - Lucille

Little Richard (vocals, piano; born December 5, 1932)

He claims to be “the architect of rock and roll,” and history would seem to bear out Little Richard’s boast. More than any other performer - save, perhaps, Elvis Presley, Little Richard blew the lid off the Fifties, laying the foundation for rock and roll with his explosive music and charismatic persona. On record, he made spine-tingling rock and roll. His frantically charged piano playing and raspy, shouted vocals on such classics as “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally” and “Good Golly, Miss Molly” defined the dynamic sound of rock and roll. Onstage, he’d deliver wild, piano-pounding epistles while costumed in sequined vests, mascara, lipstick, and a pompadour that shook with every thundering beat. His road band, the Upsetters, has been credited by James Brown and others with first putting the funk in the rock and roll beat.

In a 1990 interview, Little Richard offered this explanation for the birth of rock: “I would say that boogie-woogie and rhythm & blues mixed is rock and roll.” His frenzied approach to music was fueled by a genuinely outrageous personality. He was born Richard Penniman during the Depression in Macon, Georgia, one of twelve children who grew up in poverty in the Deep South. As a youngster, he soaked up music - blues, country, gospel, vaudeville - which was part of the fabric of life in the black community. He learned to play piano from an equally flamboyant character named Esquerita (who also recorded rock and roll early on for Capitol Records).

Little Richard first recorded in a bluesy vein in 1951, but it was his tenure at Specialty Records beginning in 1955 that made his mark as a rock and roll architect. Working at Cosimo Matassa’s now-legendary J&M Studio in New Orleans with producer Robert “Bumps” Blackwell and some of the Crescent City’s finest musicians, Little Richard laid down a stunning succession of rock and roll sides over the next several years, including “Rip It Up,” “Slippin’ and Slidin’,” “Lucille,” “Jenny Jenny” and “Keep a Knockin’,” in addition to the songs previously mentioned. He also appeared in rock and roll-themed movies such as Don’t Knock the Rock and The Girl Can’t Help It (both from 1956).

The bubble burst in late 1957 when, succumbing to the rigors of fame and personal conflicts engendered by his religious upbringing, Little Richard abruptly abandoned rock and roll to enroll in Bible college. However, he was lured back by the British Invasion in 1964, regaining his popularity as a concert performer and a living embodiment of the music’s roots in the Fifties. He has launched successful comebacks in every decade since and remains an active performer and icon - and an inimitable reminder of the joyful frenzy that galvanized rock and roll into being more than forty years ago.


10/04/2013

Little Richard - Tutti Frutti

Little Richard (vocals, piano; born December 5, 1932)

He claims to be “the architect of rock and roll,” and history would seem to bear out Little Richard’s boast. More than any other performer - save, perhaps, Elvis Presley, Little Richard blew the lid off the Fifties, laying the foundation for rock and roll with his explosive music and charismatic persona. On record, he made spine-tingling rock and roll. His frantically charged piano playing and raspy, shouted vocals on such classics as “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally” and “Good Golly, Miss Molly” defined the dynamic sound of rock and roll. Onstage, he’d deliver wild, piano-pounding epistles while costumed in sequined vests, mascara, lipstick, and a pompadour that shook with every thundering beat. His road band, the Upsetters, has been credited by James Brown and others with first putting the funk in the rock and roll beat.

In a 1990 interview, Little Richard offered this explanation for the birth of rock: “I would say that boogie-woogie and rhythm & blues mixed is rock and roll.” His frenzied approach to music was fueled by a genuinely outrageous personality. He was born Richard Penniman during the Depression in Macon, Georgia, one of twelve children who grew up in poverty in the Deep South. As a youngster, he soaked up music - blues, country, gospel, vaudeville - which was part of the fabric of life in the black community. He learned to play piano from an equally flamboyant character named Esquerita (who also recorded rock and roll early on for Capitol Records).

Little Richard first recorded in a bluesy vein in 1951, but it was his tenure at Specialty Records beginning in 1955 that made his mark as a rock and roll architect. Working at Cosimo Matassa’s now-legendary J&M Studio in New Orleans with producer Robert “Bumps” Blackwell and some of the Crescent City’s finest musicians, Little Richard laid down a stunning succession of rock and roll sides over the next several years, including “Rip It Up,” “Slippin’ and Slidin’,” “Lucille,” “Jenny Jenny” and “Keep a Knockin’,” in addition to the songs previously mentioned. He also appeared in rock and roll-themed movies such as Don’t Knock the Rock and The Girl Can’t Help It (both from 1956).

The bubble burst in late 1957 when, succumbing to the rigors of fame and personal conflicts engendered by his religious upbringing, Little Richard abruptly abandoned rock and roll to enroll in Bible college. However, he was lured back by the British Invasion in 1964, regaining his popularity as a concert performer and a living embodiment of the music’s roots in the Fifties. He has launched successful comebacks in every decade since and remains an active performer and icon - and an inimitable reminder of the joyful frenzy that galvanized rock and roll into being more than forty years ago.


10/01/2013

Little Richard - Long Tall Sally

Little Richard (vocals, piano; born December 5, 1932)

He claims to be “the architect of rock and roll,” and history would seem to bear out Little Richard’s boast. More than any other performer - save, perhaps, Elvis Presley, Little Richard blew the lid off the Fifties, laying the foundation for rock and roll with his explosive music and charismatic persona. On record, he made spine-tingling rock and roll. His frantically charged piano playing and raspy, shouted vocals on such classics as “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally” and “Good Golly, Miss Molly” defined the dynamic sound of rock and roll. Onstage, he’d deliver wild, piano-pounding epistles while costumed in sequined vests, mascara, lipstick, and a pompadour that shook with every thundering beat. His road band, the Upsetters, has been credited by James Brown and others with first putting the funk in the rock and roll beat.

In a 1990 interview, Little Richard offered this explanation for the birth of rock: “I would say that boogie-woogie and rhythm & blues mixed is rock and roll.” His frenzied approach to music was fueled by a genuinely outrageous personality. He was born Richard Penniman during the Depression in Macon, Georgia, one of twelve children who grew up in poverty in the Deep South. As a youngster, he soaked up music - blues, country, gospel, vaudeville - which was part of the fabric of life in the black community. He learned to play piano from an equally flamboyant character named Esquerita (who also recorded rock and roll early on for Capitol Records).

Little Richard first recorded in a bluesy vein in 1951, but it was his tenure at Specialty Records beginning in 1955 that made his mark as a rock and roll architect. Working at Cosimo Matassa’s now-legendary J&M Studio in New Orleans with producer Robert “Bumps” Blackwell and some of the Crescent City’s finest musicians, Little Richard laid down a stunning succession of rock and roll sides over the next several years, including “Rip It Up,” “Slippin’ and Slidin’,” “Lucille,” “Jenny Jenny” and “Keep a Knockin’,” in addition to the songs previously mentioned. He also appeared in rock and roll-themed movies such as Don’t Knock the Rock and The Girl Can’t Help It (both from 1956).

The bubble burst in late 1957 when, succumbing to the rigors of fame and personal conflicts engendered by his religious upbringing, Little Richard abruptly abandoned rock and roll to enroll in Bible college. However, he was lured back by the British Invasion in 1964, regaining his popularity as a concert performer and a living embodiment of the music’s roots in the Fifties. He has launched successful comebacks in every decade since and remains an active performer and icon - and an inimitable reminder of the joyful frenzy that galvanized rock and roll into being more than forty years ago.


9/29/2013

Buddy Guy and Junior Wells - Rollin' And Tumblin'

"Rollin' and Tumblin'" is a blues song that has been recorded hundreds of times by various artists. Considered as a traditional, it has been recorded with different lyrics and titles. Authorship is most often attributed to Hambone Willie Newbern.
The song may bear relation to "Minglewood Blues", recorded January 30, 1928 by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers. Parts of the tune and harmonica accompaniment are similar to "Rollin' and Tumblin'". The earliest recorded version is "Roll and Tumble Blues" by Hambone Willie Newbern (Okeh 8679), recorded March 14, 1929. Other bluesmen recorded their own versions—such as "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day" by Robert Johnson in 1936, "Brownsville Blues" and "The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair" by Sleepy John Estes, "Goin' Back to Memphis" by Sunnyland Slim, "Banty Blues" by Charley Patton, and "Rollin' Blues" by John Lee Hooker.
The best known version became Muddy Waters' "Rolling and Tumbling", with Ernest "Big" Crawford on bass, for the Chess brothers' Aristocrat label in 1950. Leonard Chess insisted that Waters record the song less than a month after Waters had recorded a version for the rival Parkway label, featuring his band mates Little Walter and Baby Face Leroy Foster. The Parkway label credits the Baby Face Leroy Trio, with vocals by Leroy, and Muddy Waters as the songwriter. Elmore James recorded the song as "Rollin' and Tumblin'" in 1960, with himself credited as author.
In 1961, Howlin' Wolf recorded "Down in the Bottom", which employed a new set of lyrics and was credited to Willie Dixon. Delta bluesman Johnny Shines recorded a version called "Red Sun" (1975), with the traditional music but different, prison-themed lyrics. Mississippi Hill Country bluesman R. L. Burnside also recorded several versions of what he titled "Rollin' Tumblin'".


9/28/2013

Johnny Winter: Rollin' And Tumblin'

"Rollin' and Tumblin'" is a blues song that has been recorded hundreds of times by various artists. Considered as a traditional, it has been recorded with different lyrics and titles. Authorship is most often attributed to Hambone Willie Newbern.
The song may bear relation to "Minglewood Blues", recorded January 30, 1928 by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers. Parts of the tune and harmonica accompaniment are similar to "Rollin' and Tumblin'". The earliest recorded version is "Roll and Tumble Blues" by Hambone Willie Newbern (Okeh 8679), recorded March 14, 1929. Other bluesmen recorded their own versions—such as "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day" by Robert Johnson in 1936, "Brownsville Blues" and "The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair" by Sleepy John Estes, "Goin' Back to Memphis" by Sunnyland Slim, "Banty Blues" by Charley Patton, and "Rollin' Blues" by John Lee Hooker.
The best known version became Muddy Waters' "Rolling and Tumbling", with Ernest "Big" Crawford on bass, for the Chess brothers' Aristocrat label in 1950. Leonard Chess insisted that Waters record the song less than a month after Waters had recorded a version for the rival Parkway label, featuring his band mates Little Walter and Baby Face Leroy Foster. The Parkway label credits the Baby Face Leroy Trio, with vocals by Leroy, and Muddy Waters as the songwriter. Elmore James recorded the song as "Rollin' and Tumblin'" in 1960, with himself credited as author.
In 1961, Howlin' Wolf recorded "Down in the Bottom", which employed a new set of lyrics and was credited to Willie Dixon. Delta bluesman Johnny Shines recorded a version called "Red Sun" (1975), with the traditional music but different, prison-themed lyrics. Mississippi Hill Country bluesman R. L. Burnside also recorded several versions of what he titled "Rollin' Tumblin'".


9/25/2013

Eric Clapton - Rollin' and Tumblin'

"Rollin' and Tumblin'" is a blues song that has been recorded hundreds of times by various artists. Considered as a traditional, it has been recorded with different lyrics and titles. Authorship is most often attributed to Hambone Willie Newbern.
The song may bear relation to "Minglewood Blues", recorded January 30, 1928 by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers. Parts of the tune and harmonica accompaniment are similar to "Rollin' and Tumblin'". The earliest recorded version is "Roll and Tumble Blues" by Hambone Willie Newbern (Okeh 8679), recorded March 14, 1929. Other bluesmen recorded their own versions—such as "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day" by Robert Johnson in 1936, "Brownsville Blues" and "The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair" by Sleepy John Estes, "Goin' Back to Memphis" by Sunnyland Slim, "Banty Blues" by Charley Patton, and "Rollin' Blues" by John Lee Hooker.
The best known version became Muddy Waters' "Rolling and Tumbling", with Ernest "Big" Crawford on bass, for the Chess brothers' Aristocrat label in 1950. Leonard Chess insisted that Waters record the song less than a month after Waters had recorded a version for the rival Parkway label, featuring his band mates Little Walter and Baby Face Leroy Foster. The Parkway label credits the Baby Face Leroy Trio, with vocals by Leroy, and Muddy Waters as the songwriter. Elmore James recorded the song as "Rollin' and Tumblin'" in 1960, with himself credited as author.
In 1961, Howlin' Wolf recorded "Down in the Bottom", which employed a new set of lyrics and was credited to Willie Dixon. Delta bluesman Johnny Shines recorded a version called "Red Sun" (1975), with the traditional music but different, prison-themed lyrics. Mississippi Hill Country bluesman R. L. Burnside also recorded several versions of what he titled "Rollin' Tumblin'".


9/22/2013

Jeff Beck - Rollin' and Tumblin'

"Rollin' and Tumblin'" is a blues song that has been recorded hundreds of times by various artists. Considered as a traditional, it has been recorded with different lyrics and titles. Authorship is most often attributed to Hambone Willie Newbern.
The song may bear relation to "Minglewood Blues", recorded January 30, 1928 by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers. Parts of the tune and harmonica accompaniment are similar to "Rollin' and Tumblin'". The earliest recorded version is "Roll and Tumble Blues" by Hambone Willie Newbern (Okeh 8679), recorded March 14, 1929. Other bluesmen recorded their own versions—such as "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day" by Robert Johnson in 1936, "Brownsville Blues" and "The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair" by Sleepy John Estes, "Goin' Back to Memphis" by Sunnyland Slim, "Banty Blues" by Charley Patton, and "Rollin' Blues" by John Lee Hooker.
The best known version became Muddy Waters' "Rolling and Tumbling", with Ernest "Big" Crawford on bass, for the Chess brothers' Aristocrat label in 1950. Leonard Chess insisted that Waters record the song less than a month after Waters had recorded a version for the rival Parkway label, featuring his band mates Little Walter and Baby Face Leroy Foster. The Parkway label credits the Baby Face Leroy Trio, with vocals by Leroy, and Muddy Waters as the songwriter. Elmore James recorded the song as "Rollin' and Tumblin'" in 1960, with himself credited as author.
In 1961, Howlin' Wolf recorded "Down in the Bottom", which employed a new set of lyrics and was credited to Willie Dixon. Delta bluesman Johnny Shines recorded a version called "Red Sun" (1975), with the traditional music but different, prison-themed lyrics. Mississippi Hill Country bluesman R. L. Burnside also recorded several versions of what he titled "Rollin' Tumblin'".


9/21/2013

Little Walter - Rollin' and Tumblin'

"Rollin' and Tumblin'" is a blues song that has been recorded hundreds of times by various artists. Considered as a traditional, it has been recorded with different lyrics and titles. Authorship is most often attributed to Hambone Willie Newbern.
The song may bear relation to "Minglewood Blues", recorded January 30, 1928 by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers. Parts of the tune and harmonica accompaniment are similar to "Rollin' and Tumblin'". The earliest recorded version is "Roll and Tumble Blues" by Hambone Willie Newbern (Okeh 8679), recorded March 14, 1929. Other bluesmen recorded their own versions—such as "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day" by Robert Johnson in 1936, "Brownsville Blues" and "The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair" by Sleepy John Estes, "Goin' Back to Memphis" by Sunnyland Slim, "Banty Blues" by Charley Patton, and "Rollin' Blues" by John Lee Hooker.
The best known version became Muddy Waters' "Rolling and Tumbling", with Ernest "Big" Crawford on bass, for the Chess brothers' Aristocrat label in 1950. Leonard Chess insisted that Waters record the song less than a month after Waters had recorded a version for the rival Parkway label, featuring his band mates Little Walter and Baby Face Leroy Foster. The Parkway label credits the Baby Face Leroy Trio, with vocals by Leroy, and Muddy Waters as the songwriter. Elmore James recorded the song as "Rollin' and Tumblin'" in 1960, with himself credited as author.
In 1961, Howlin' Wolf recorded "Down in the Bottom", which employed a new set of lyrics and was credited to Willie Dixon. Delta bluesman Johnny Shines recorded a version called "Red Sun" (1975), with the traditional music but different, prison-themed lyrics. Mississippi Hill Country bluesman R. L. Burnside also recorded several versions of what he titled "Rollin' Tumblin'".


9/20/2013

Elmore James - My Bleedin Heart


Elmore James - The King of Slide Guitar

Born January 27, 1918, in Richland, Mississippi, Elmore James was raised on several different farms in the Durant, Mississippi, area by sharecropping parents. Before acquiring his first guitar, he played several different homemade instruments, including a strand of broomwire nailed to the front porch of his cabin. This was known locally as a "diddley bow." In 1932, at the age of fourteen, Elmore James, also known as Joe Willie, began playing guitar for parties and dances in the Durant area.

By 1937 James had moved on to plantations near the Delta town of Belzoni, Mississippi, and taken up with musicians Sonny Boy Williamson and Robert Johnson. Johnson's guitar prowess made a terrific impact on James, who would echo Johnson's slide technique in his own recordings. After Johnson's death, James toured the South with Williamson working juke joints and theaters. He assembled a band in 1939 after parting ways with Williamson. During the late 1930s or early 1940s James began playing electric guitar. He became a master of using the distortion and sustain of this instrument to create a dense, textured sound that provided the blueprint for postwar Chicago blues.

James was inducted into the Navy in 1943, taking part in the invasion of Guam before being mustered out in 1945. He was soon back home in Belzoni, sharing a room with Sonny Boy Williamson and working the local jukes. James also began a professional partnership with his guitar-playing cousin "Homesick" James Williamson, working clubs on Beale Street in Memphis. In 1947, James backed up Sonny Boy on KFFA radio's King Biscuit Time program in Helena, Arkansas. The show was initially broadcast from the Interstate Grocery Building before it moved to the Floyd Truck Lines Building. During his stint on KFFA, James fell under the spell of Robert Nighthawk, refining his style to reflect Nighthawk's liquid, crying slide guitar.

While working clubs with Williamson in Jackson, Mississippi, James made his first record for Lillian McMurry's Trumpet Label. On August 5, 1951, at the Trumpet Studios, James cut the Robert Johnson chestnut "Dust My Broom" which reached number nine on the national R&B charts within several months of its release. James established residency in Chicago the following year, forming his legendary band the Broomdusters. While never attaining the fame of fellow Mississippi expatriates Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, James became one of the city's most influential guitarists. He recorded for a variety of labels throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, leaving a legacy of slow blues, boogies, and full-fledged rave ups that dominate the musical vocabulary of Chicago blues.

Elmore James died May 24, 1963, in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of forty-five. Elmore James's grave is located near his native Durant, Mississippi.


9/16/2013

B.B King - Live in Stockholm 1974

Happy Birthday BB!
Born on September 16, 1925, on a plantation near Itta Bena, Mississippi, Riley B. "B.B." King was one of five children. His parents separated when he was four, and he moved with his mother to the hill country town of Kilmichael, Mississippi. Her death in 1935 forced Riley to move in with his maternal grandmother, who taught him to sharecrop. An aunt with a Victrola gave him an early introduction to records by blues greats Lonnie Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson.

King's first exposure to music was gospel singing in church. Archie Fair, a sanctified preacher from a local Pentecostal church, played the first electric guitar King ever heard. Fair taught him a few chords, but the youngster's voice was his favorite instrument. He soon formed his first gospel group, the Elkhorn Jubilee Singers. In 1940, King's grandmother died and he briefly returned to his father's custody before returning to his mother's relatives, the Hensons, in Kilmichael.

While in Kilmichael, he learned to drive a tractor and used the proceeds of his work to buy his first guitar. King was inducted into the army within months of his eighteenth birthday and fulfilled his service requirements driving a tractor on a Mississippi Delta plantation that had military contracts for cotton. He walked to Indianola on the weekends to hear live music by Robert Nighthawk, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie. At Jones' Night Spot (now Club Ebony), King first saw bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson backed by Robert Johnson protégé Robert Jr. Lockwood on guitar. Williamson was a popular performer on the King Biscuit Time radio program, broadcast on radio station KFFA from the Floyd Truck Lines Building in Helena, Arkansas. King soon started another gospel group, the Famous St. John Gospel Singers, and managed to appear on local radio stations in Greenville and Greenwood. He also played his guitar for tips at the corner of Church and Second Streets in Indianola.

After the war, King hitched a ride to Memphis. He stayed with his cousin Bukka White who bought him a guitar. He spent the next ten months playing amateur shows with White, Nighthawk, and Frank Stokes at the Palace Theater on Beale Street while working a day job. King went back to Indianola in 1947, working as a tractor driver on a plantation. He returned to Memphis a year later, seeking out Sonny Boy Williamson in hope of working as the harmonica wizard's sideman. Williamson did better than that, giving the young guitarist a gig playing the 16th Street Grill in West Memphis, Arkansas. To keep the job, King was required to have a radio show to promote his performances. He asked for and obtained a show on Memphis station WDIA, where he played guitar, sang, spun records, and acquired the nickname Blues Boy, subsequently shortened to B.B. He gained notoriety for playing the latest jump blues releases, learning to play them by plugging in and playing his guitar along with the records. While in Memphis during the late 1940s, King was tutored by Joe Willie Wilkins, who helped refine his technique.

Successful bluesmen in the late 1940s made records, and in 1949 King recorded four sides for the Bullet label. They were poorly received, but he was undaunted. He secured the services of Sam Phillips' recording studio at 706 Union Avenue, where he recorded four sides in July 1950. These titles, including "B.B. Boogie," were issued on the RPM label and sold well enough to warrant followup sessions in early 1951. In late summer of 1951, RPM recorded B.B. in the Memphis YMCA on Lauderdale Street. The resulting single from this session, "Three O'Clock Blues," became a national hit and launched King's career. His soulful singing relied heavily on the gospel technique called melisma, a bending and stretching of syllables in a musical phrase, which he had polished as a young man. His guitar playing featured jazzy single-string leads, reminiscent of T-Bone Walker and Robert Jr. Lockwood, that swung against the rhythm of the horn section for a distinctive sound. King's popularity signaled a new direction in blues music. He even backed his friend Williamson at Trumpet Records' 309 Farish Street studios during his 1954 session.

King's relentless touring schedule and carefully crafted records have made him the world's most famous bluesman.



9/15/2013

Cream - Rollin' And Tumblin'


Cream performing at the Tulip Bulb Auction Hall in Spalding. Monday 29th May 1967 . Rollin' And Tumblin'.

"Rollin' and Tumblin'" is a blues song that has been recorded hundreds of times by various artists. Considered as a traditional, it has been recorded with different lyrics and titles. Authorship is most often attributed to Hambone Willie Newbern.
The song may bear relation to "Minglewood Blues", recorded January 30, 1928 by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers. Parts of the tune and harmonica accompaniment are similar to "Rollin' and Tumblin'". The earliest recorded version is "Roll and Tumble Blues" by Hambone Willie Newbern (Okeh 8679), recorded March 14, 1929. Other bluesmen recorded their own versions—such as "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day" by Robert Johnson in 1936, "Brownsville Blues" and "The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair" by Sleepy John Estes, "Goin' Back to Memphis" by Sunnyland Slim, "Banty Blues" by Charley Patton, and "Rollin' Blues" by John Lee Hooker.
The best known version became Muddy Waters' "Rolling and Tumbling", with Ernest "Big" Crawford on bass, for the Chess brothers' Aristocrat label in 1950. Leonard Chess insisted that Waters record the song less than a month after Waters had recorded a version for the rival Parkway label, featuring his band mates Little Walter and Baby Face Leroy Foster. The Parkway label credits the Baby Face Leroy Trio, with vocals by Leroy, and Muddy Waters as the songwriter. Elmore James recorded the song as "Rollin' and Tumblin'" in 1960, with himself credited as author.
In 1961, Howlin' Wolf recorded "Down in the Bottom", which employed a new set of lyrics and was credited to Willie Dixon. Delta bluesman Johnny Shines recorded a version called "Red Sun" (1975), with the traditional music but different, prison-themed lyrics. Mississippi Hill Country bluesman R. L. Burnside also recorded several versions of what he titled "Rollin' Tumblin'".

9/14/2013

Muddy Waters - Rollin' And Tumblin'

"Rollin' and Tumblin'" is a blues song that has been recorded hundreds of times by various artists. Considered as a traditional, it has been recorded with different lyrics and titles. Authorship is most often attributed to Hambone Willie Newbern.
The song may bear relation to "Minglewood Blues", recorded January 30, 1928 by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers. Parts of the tune and harmonica accompaniment are similar to "Rollin' and Tumblin'". The earliest recorded version is "Roll and Tumble Blues" by Hambone Willie Newbern (Okeh 8679), recorded March 14, 1929. Other bluesmen recorded their own versions—such as "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day" by Robert Johnson in 1936, "Brownsville Blues" and "The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair" by Sleepy John Estes, "Goin' Back to Memphis" by Sunnyland Slim, "Banty Blues" by Charley Patton, and "Rollin' Blues" by John Lee Hooker.
The best known version became Muddy Waters' "Rolling and Tumbling", with Ernest "Big" Crawford on bass, for the Chess brothers' Aristocrat label in 1950. Leonard Chess insisted that Waters record the song less than a month after Waters had recorded a version for the rival Parkway label, featuring his band mates Little Walter and Baby Face Leroy Foster. The Parkway label credits the Baby Face Leroy Trio, with vocals by Leroy, and Muddy Waters as the songwriter. Elmore James recorded the song as "Rollin' and Tumblin'" in 1960, with himself credited as author.
In 1961, Howlin' Wolf recorded "Down in the Bottom", which employed a new set of lyrics and was credited to Willie Dixon. Delta bluesman Johnny Shines recorded a version called "Red Sun" (1975), with the traditional music but different, prison-themed lyrics. Mississippi Hill Country bluesman R. L. Burnside also recorded several versions of what he titled "Rollin' Tumblin'".


9/13/2013

Elmore James - Canton Mississippi Breakdown


Recorded in 1954 but not released until 1969 on the LP "The Legend Of Elmore James: Anthology of the Blues - Archive Series Volume One". Recorded at Universal Studios, Chicago.

Elmore James(Guitar), Raymond Hill(Tenor Sax), Johnny Jones(Piano), Ike Turner(Guitar), Odie Payne Jr.(Drums)

Elmore James - The King of Slide Guitar

Born January 27, 1918, in Richland, Mississippi, Elmore James was raised on several different farms in the Durant, Mississippi, area by sharecropping parents. Before acquiring his first guitar, he played several different homemade instruments, including a strand of broomwire nailed to the front porch of his cabin. This was known locally as a "diddley bow." In 1932, at the age of fourteen, Elmore James, also known as Joe Willie, began playing guitar for parties and dances in the Durant area.

By 1937 James had moved on to plantations near the Delta town of Belzoni, Mississippi, and taken up with musicians Sonny Boy Williamson and Robert Johnson. Johnson's guitar prowess made a terrific impact on James, who would echo Johnson's slide technique in his own recordings. After Johnson's death, James toured the South with Williamson working juke joints and theaters. He assembled a band in 1939 after parting ways with Williamson. During the late 1930s or early 1940s James began playing electric guitar. He became a master of using the distortion and sustain of this instrument to create a dense, textured sound that provided the blueprint for postwar Chicago blues.

James was inducted into the Navy in 1943, taking part in the invasion of Guam before being mustered out in 1945. He was soon back home in Belzoni, sharing a room with Sonny Boy Williamson and working the local jukes. James also began a professional partnership with his guitar-playing cousin "Homesick" James Williamson, working clubs on Beale Street in Memphis. In 1947, James backed up Sonny Boy on KFFA radio's King Biscuit Time program in Helena, Arkansas. The show was initially broadcast from the Interstate Grocery Building before it moved to the Floyd Truck Lines Building. During his stint on KFFA, James fell under the spell of Robert Nighthawk, refining his style to reflect Nighthawk's liquid, crying slide guitar.

While working clubs with Williamson in Jackson, Mississippi, James made his first record for Lillian McMurry's Trumpet Label. On August 5, 1951, at the Trumpet Studios, James cut the Robert Johnson chestnut "Dust My Broom" which reached number nine on the national R&B charts within several months of its release. James established residency in Chicago the following year, forming his legendary band the Broomdusters. While never attaining the fame of fellow Mississippi expatriates Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, James became one of the city's most influential guitarists. He recorded for a variety of labels throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, leaving a legacy of slow blues, boogies, and full-fledged rave ups that dominate the musical vocabulary of Chicago blues.

Elmore James died May 24, 1963, in Chicago, Illinois, at the age of forty-five. Elmore James's grave is located near his native Durant, Mississippi.


9/08/2013

Canned Heat - 'Rollin' and Tumblin'

"Rollin' and Tumblin'" is a blues song that has been recorded hundreds of times by various artists. Considered as a traditional, it has been recorded with different lyrics and titles. Authorship is most often attributed to Hambone Willie Newbern.
The song may bear relation to "Minglewood Blues", recorded January 30, 1928 by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers. Parts of the tune and harmonica accompaniment are similar to "Rollin' and Tumblin'". The earliest recorded version is "Roll and Tumble Blues" by Hambone Willie Newbern (Okeh 8679), recorded March 14, 1929. Other bluesmen recorded their own versions—such as "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day" by Robert Johnson in 1936, "Brownsville Blues" and "The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair" by Sleepy John Estes, "Goin' Back to Memphis" by Sunnyland Slim, "Banty Blues" by Charley Patton, and "Rollin' Blues" by John Lee Hooker.
The best known version became Muddy Waters' "Rolling and Tumbling", with Ernest "Big" Crawford on bass, for the Chess brothers' Aristocrat label in 1950. Leonard Chess insisted that Waters record the song less than a month after Waters had recorded a version for the rival Parkway label, featuring his band mates Little Walter and Baby Face Leroy Foster. The Parkway label credits the Baby Face Leroy Trio, with vocals by Leroy, and Muddy Waters as the songwriter. Elmore James recorded the song as "Rollin' and Tumblin'" in 1960, with himself credited as author.
In 1961, Howlin' Wolf recorded "Down in the Bottom", which employed a new set of lyrics and was credited to Willie Dixon. Delta bluesman Johnny Shines recorded a version called "Red Sun" (1975), with the traditional music but different, prison-themed lyrics. Mississippi Hill Country bluesman R. L. Burnside also recorded several versions of what he titled "Rollin' Tumblin'".


9/07/2013

Elmore James - Rollin' and Tumblin'

"Rollin' and Tumblin'" is a blues song that has been recorded hundreds of times by various artists. Considered as a traditional, it has been recorded with different lyrics and titles. Authorship is most often attributed to Hambone Willie Newbern.
The song may bear relation to "Minglewood Blues", recorded January 30, 1928 by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers. Parts of the tune and harmonica accompaniment are similar to "Rollin' and Tumblin'". The earliest recorded version is "Roll and Tumble Blues" by Hambone Willie Newbern (Okeh 8679), recorded March 14, 1929. Other bluesmen recorded their own versions—such as "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day" by Robert Johnson in 1936, "Brownsville Blues" and "The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair" by Sleepy John Estes, "Goin' Back to Memphis" by Sunnyland Slim, "Banty Blues" by Charley Patton, and "Rollin' Blues" by John Lee Hooker.
The best known version became Muddy Waters' "Rolling and Tumbling", with Ernest "Big" Crawford on bass, for the Chess brothers' Aristocrat label in 1950. Leonard Chess insisted that Waters record the song less than a month after Waters had recorded a version for the rival Parkway label, featuring his band mates Little Walter and Baby Face Leroy Foster. The Parkway label credits the Baby Face Leroy Trio, with vocals by Leroy, and Muddy Waters as the songwriter. Elmore James recorded the song as "Rollin' and Tumblin'" in 1960, with himself credited as author.
In 1961, Howlin' Wolf recorded "Down in the Bottom", which employed a new set of lyrics and was credited to Willie Dixon. Delta bluesman Johnny Shines recorded a version called "Red Sun" (1975), with the traditional music but different, prison-themed lyrics. Mississippi Hill Country bluesman R. L. Burnside also recorded several versions of what he titled "Rollin' Tumblin'".