Chris Thomas King

New Orleans.com has a nice history of bluesman Chris Thomas King. Some of you may remember him from the George Clooney movie O Brother Where Art Thou. King played Tommy Johnson who's legend of selling his soul to the devil was mixed up with the more famous Robert Johnson. In fact the King shows up first on the movie standing on the crossroads just after he sold his soul to the devil.

However, King is much more than a delta bluesman and actor. King has also gained fame as a musican who has combined Hip Hop and blues. The article found HERE is very detailed and covers his career back into the early 90s.

Louie Prima: Hey Marie

Louie Prima with Sam Butera.

Eddie Bo RIP

March 20, 2009

• RIP Eddie Bo 9/20/1930-3/18/2009: One of the great legends of New Orleans has left us. Singer/pianist/songwriter/arranger Edwin Joseph Bocage, who is known to the world as Eddie Bo, passed away on Wednesday of a sudden heart attack. He was 78. Eddie was part of the formative 1950s and 60s phenomenon of New Orleans rhythm & blues, and remained active throughout his long career. Eddie cut numerous records for labels including Ace, Apollo, Scam, Swan, Bluejay, Nola, Arrow, Cinderella, At Last, Seven B, Ric, Checker, Chess, Telarc, and his own Bo-Sound imprint. Eddie wrote songs covered by Etta James, Tommy Ridgely, and Little Richard. His biggest hit "Check Mr. Popeye" coined a term for a particular beat characteristic of many New Orleans songs. In later years, Eddie joined up with fellow Louisiana musicians Raful Neal and Tabby Thomas and put out a beautiful record on Telarc called Hoodoo Kings. His influence and significance to the music of New Orleans cannot be overstated. For the Associated Press obituary, click here. For Eddie Bo's complete bio, click here, and for a great Wikipedia overview of his life, click here.

---

Mem Shannon:Good-Bye Mr. President (Time For You To Go)

Got this great email from Mem Shannon. He has a going away song for President Bush!!:-) As a New Orleans resident I am sure Mem has something to say!

Dear Blues Historian,

I was wondering if I could get you to post the following on your blog site:

New Orleans Blues/Funk Man Mem Shannon releases new single: “Good-Bye Mr. President (Time For You To Go)”.

It’s a funny funky little tune wishing “you-know-who” a final farewell.

It is only available as an mp3 download ($1.50) at www.cdbaby.com and www.memshannon.com

Stop by and listen to a clip.

Thanks Mem

Treat Other's The Way YOU Want to be treated--It Comes Back........

Fats Domino: Blue Berry Hill

The great Fats Domino doing his big hit from the 50s! It also was one of Jimmy Pryor's favorite songs. This one's for you Jimmy.

Fats Domino - Blueberry Hill
Uploaded by LeBalayeur

Brian Setzer: Jump Jive And Wail

An old Louie Prima song remade by the number one Stray Cat Brian Setzer!

Marc Broussard: Home

I got a request for this video from email for Marc Broussard's Home. This is a cool song. Thanks Lu for the heads up!

Wilson " Willie Tee" Turbinton RIP

Wilson "Willie Tee" Turbinton passed away yesterday. He was one of the great New Orleans piano players. For information about his death Click here for the Obit from the New Orleans Times Picayune. For more info on Willie Tee Check out his website HERE.

Chris Thomas King Interview

The BBC has a great slide show, and interview of Chris Thomas King. King portrayed delta great Tommy Johnson in O Brother Where Art Thou. It is a very nice interview about Katrina and its affect not only on King who lost his home, but also on the city of New Orleans itself.

Click Here to see it.

Bringing Back Music To New Orleans

We all know about the mess that New Orleans has become. Two years after Katrina many parts of the Big Easy, are still in a shambles. However, the LA Times, has a nice article about a music community being built in New Orleans. Harry Connick JR, and Branford Marsalis, along with Habitat For Humanity, have come up with a cool plan to help low income musicians buy a house. It is a neat idea for a town that still needs some good news. Check it out HERE.

Marcia Ball: Louisianna 1927

a nice clip of Marcia Ball from the Hurricane Katrina Benefit. Marcia is a heck of a blues piano player, and she has incredibly strong hands. A friend of mine let her use his keyboard for a gig in Des Moines. This was a rugged weighted keys digital piano. after the gig he had several broken keys! Its not like she is pounded on it like Jerry Lee, but she can really attack the keys with her hands. Truly amazing!

Do You Know More About This Bluesman?????

The Shreveport Times has an interesting story about a 90 year old bluesman from New Orleans who has shown up in Shreveport playing the blues out of the back of his car. His name is McCoy Williams, but that is about all you learn from the article. I would like to know is he living in his car?? He has CDs and cassettes for sale, so where did he come from?? There must be a history of him in New Orleans. The article is way too short, and makes me worry about this forgotten bluesman. Anyone with any information please comment or email me.

Oliver Morgan RIP

Just received this from the Yahoo Post war email list. New Orleans musician and recording artist Oliver Morgan died. He had one hit back in the mid 60s known as Who Shot The La La. According to his obit, he returned to New Orleans and played there until Hurricane Katrina. He then moved to Atlanta. In 1998 he recorded an album called I'm Home.

To read his obit Click HERE.

Tab Benoit video interview

This is an documentary of Hurricane Katrina and relief efforts from the Weather Channel. This short section is about Tab Benoit. has some nice Cajun blues.

Professor Longhair Tipatina

The great Professor Longhair performing his signature song Tipatina. This is kinda of a funky version, but typical of the Professor, that you would get a different version depending on the night:-)

PROFESSOR LONGHAIR - Tipitina
Uploaded by nighttripper

Ponderosa Stomp New Orleans

Here is a music fest that I hadn't heard about. It is going on in New Orleans. Here is the info from Infozine

New Orleans, LA - infoZine - The sixth annual Stomp extravaganza is set to roll on Wednesday, May 2, at New Orleans' House of Blues, encompassing three separate stages with non-stop music from 5:30 p.m. til 2 a.m. Tickets for the Stomp are now on sale through Ticketmaster outlets and at ponderosastomp.com. Wednesday, May 2 rests comfortably between the two weekends of JazzFest in new New Orleans, and many Fest-goers stay late or come early to experience Ponderosa Stomp.

This year's Stomp promises to bend ears with the inclusion of many legends of blues, rR&bB, soul, garage rock, New Orleans music, traditional country, rockabilly and swamp pop. Among the featured artists are garage rock legend Roky Erickson, rockabilly wild man Dale Hawkins, legendary Muscle Shoals singer/songwriter/producer Dan Penn, R&B soprano Little Jimmy Scott, New Orleans songwriting legend Dave Bartholomew, master arranger Wardell Quezergue, Texas Tornado Augie Meyers, Texas shouter Roy Head, keyboardist extraordinaire Willie Tee, Houston blueswoman Barbara Lynn, Mississippi Hill Country bluesman Kenny Brown, chitlin' circuit kingpin Bobby Rush, Detroit guitar monster Dennis Coffey, and "Mr. Big Stuff" soul songstress Jean Knight, among dozens of others. Stanley "Buckwheat Zydeco" Dural will play the Hammond B3 organ behind many of the artists.

This sounds like a great show. If you are heading down to New Orleans you might want to catch it.