Bob Corritore Blues News

February 23, 2012

• This weekend at the Rhythm Room; Lucius Parr CD Release Party, A Blues Benefit and The Rocket 88s with guests!  The Rhythm Room in Phoenix will present the blues this weekend with Lucius Parr (the nephew of Albert Collins) hosting a CD release party for his new CD Gotta Go. Guests include George Bowman, Charlie Rae, Gloria Bailey, Bob Corritore (who plays of 3 tracks of the new CD) and others.To see the event flier click here. On Saturday afternoon beginning at 3:30 Mary Godfrey hosts a benefit called Breathe The Blues Away. To see the event flier with the lineup of many bands click here . On Saturday night the veteran Rocket 88s (Bill and Susie Tarsha and Dave Forster) bring their traditional blues sound to the Rhythm Room with special guests Johnny Rapp, Keith Rogers, Dave Riley and Bob Corritore. The Rhythm Room is located at 1019 E. Indian School Rd,. Phoenix, AZ 85014.
• Blues is celebrated at the White House! Last Tuesday night President Barack Obama presented an evening honoring the blues as part of Black History Month. Many aspects of the blues and it's popular crossover were featured and the artist's included were B.B. King, Mick Jagger, Buddy Guy, Shemekia Copeland, Trombone Shorty, Warren Haynes, Jeff Beck, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Gary Clark, Jr. and a house band led by Booker T (of Booker T. and the MGs fame). President Obama even joined in for a few lines of "Sweet Home Chicago"! Both Etta James and Hubert Sumlin were memorialized. The filming in it's live raw form was viewable online last night, and the edited presentation will be available on PBS on Monday night (Consult your local listings for the exact time). The White House blues celebration will be watched by millions and should give all of us in this industry a boost! To see the Yahoo News article and some clips from the night click here.
• First Mud Morganfield CD reviews! The highly anticipated new CD, Mud Morganfield / Son Of The Seventh Son on the Severn label has a release date of March 20. But it is already garnering some great initial airplay and the first batch of rave reviews. To see the first two published reviews click here. Look out for Mud's CD release party on March 31st at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago!
• 2011 BMA Photo Page! As the voting for the 2012 BMA is in it's last week, we have put together a photo page of some of the fun times from last year's event. The BMAs are simply the greatest blues hang that there is. This year's BMA ceremony takes place on Thursday May 10, 2012 at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee. For more information on the BMAs go to the Blues Foundation website at www.blues.org. Note that Voting ends at 07:59:59 (CST) Thursday, March 1, 2012. To see our 2011 BMA photo page click here.
• Chicago Blues Guide pays tribute to Maxwell Street! Please enjoy this beautiful article and photo expose recently posted by the Chicago Blues Guide. Tom Smith provides an insider's look at the grand blues tradition of Chicago's Maxwell Street market. Each Sunday morning a gathering of street vendors, hustlers, bargain seekers, and blues and gospel street performers came to this street. It was a cultural smorgasbord with healthy servings of blues dished up in fine form. To see this article click here.
• B.B. King on Sesame Street! B.B. King sings the blues about the letter "B" on a 2004 episode of the children's show Sesame Street! This performance, complete with Big Bird, Bert and other show characters, is simply amazing! Click here. 
• Jimmy Rogers on harmonica! It is not well known that Jimmy Rogers was a great harmonica player as he is most celebrated for his intricate guitar-work and his elegant blues vocals. Please enjoy the "Round About Boogie" from 1948, which happens to be Jimmy Rogers' first record, where he sings and plays harmonica:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-oNtUSbgJA. And here is a nice write-up on the song and how it fits into Chicago blues history by the renown blues journalist / harmonica player Scott Dirks http://www.the-blindman.com/text.htm.
• Junior Wells with Buddy Guy on YouTube! Please enjoy this riveting 1970 performance showing the musical chemistry of Junior Wells and Buddy Guy from the movie Chicago Blues. Click here.