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Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Dr. Ross: Feelin Good

Nice one man delta blues band:-)


Johnny Max Band: Mercy

I don't know where this band is from. The post says United States, but I swear the accent of the singer at the beginning is either British, or Irish. Either way, they do a great version of Don Covey's Mercy, especially considering that they are really a three piece band with a lead vocalist. Nice job! They do a second song that is pretty funky following Mercy.

Ed Vadas Interview


I must admit I don't know a lot about Ed Vadas, in fact I know nothing, but I love the picture of him, and article that goes with it from the Valley Advocate! As the author states their isn't a lot of blues in the valley, but then he rediscovers Ed! Read it HERE.

Honey Boy Edwards: Blues In Schools


A nice blues in schools article from Gazette.net, It features Honeyboy Edwards who played a blues in schools show at Georgetown Prep school in Maryland. What is amazing about Honeyboy, is that he is still doing 100 shows a year at the age of 92! Click here to read more.

Blog Critic: Nick Moss And The Flip Tops, Play It Till Tomorrow


Click Here, for a Blogcritic review of Nick Moss & The Flip Tops new double cd, Play It Till Tomorrow. According to the review it is a double CD. One is a studio release done in a Chicago blues style, while the other disc, is a live CD.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

George Harrison: Something

Might as well finish the trifecta :-) A Cool video of George Harrison doing Something live from the concert for Bangladesh.



Wow! Here is a video of George Harrison with Eric Clapton in Japan playing Something back in 1991.

Eric Clapton: Layla

Since Eric changed up the song in the 90s, many people have forgotten that Layla was a rocking tune! Here it is in its original format.

Eric Clapton: Late In The Evening

A song of Eric Clapton that was inspired by Pattie Boyd. Boyd was married to George Harrison when Clapton met her. He fell in love with her, and Harrison let her go to marry Clapton. Pattie Boyd inspired at least three hit songs between George Harrison and Eric Clapton. Harrison wrote Something, and Clapton wrote Layla, and Late in the Evening. BTW, if you play in a band it is important to know this song if you are playing a wedding, because almost everybody wants it as their first dance:-)

Biography and review of Eric Clapton's New Book


click here for a LA Times, review of Clapton's new book Clapton: The Autobiography. You might need a membership to read the article, but the La Times is free, and worth it. Much like the New York Times, the LA Times, has some great articles. I do understand that some of you that check the right side of the political box, have this bizarre belief that both these papers are liberal propaganda, but really think about it for a moment. Both of those papers are owned by huge corporations, and large corporations are very much conservative, and big time capitalists. Don't you think that they would get rid of those nasty liberals SINCE THEY OWN THE PLACE???? I hate to tell you this, but even Hollywood is run by corporations. hmmmmmmmmm, strange world we live in isn't it??????

All I can say is get over it, get a membership, and read a great article about Clapton. It will do you good:-)

Touring The Delta

This is a great story (Click HERE)that I found on the Canadian Press site, although I think that it is really a story from the AP by Justin Norton. It is about Norton and his tour of the Mississippi Delta. It is a really good story, and Norton writes a paragraph that tells me that he knows what he is talking about when it come to the Delta blues!


I arrive in Clarksdale after a daylong drive through Oklahoma and Arkansas, passing the famed "Crossroads" of blues legend as I enter town. The Crossroads have a special place in blues mythology as the location where aspiring musicians sold their soul to the Devil in exchange for musical prowess. A bluesman could wait at a crossroads at dark for the Devil, who would take the musician's guitar, tune it, and hand it back. The musicians could then play any song they wanted.

When blues artists referred to the Crossroads, they were likely talking about any number of backroads intersections, but the story has stuck to the intersection of Highways 61 and 49 in Clarksdale.

The story is usually associated with Robert Johnson, who hints at the diabolical on songs like "Hellhound on My Trail." But the myth of a Crossroads deal would be better attached to guitarist Tommy Johnson, who boasted about a backroads pact with a shadowy apparition. The Crossroads don't seem as menacing now with a kitschy sign of interlocking guitars marking the spot. But they are a sign that what matters here is the music - and your ability to play it well.


That is what good journalism is about. Doing your homework, and knowing what you are talking about!!

Eric Clapton Interivew


Eric Clapton interview by Matt Lauer on NBC. You can see the video, or read about it on the MSNBC website HERE.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Shemekia Copland: Who Stole My Radio

Shemekia Copeland performing a great rocking soul blues tune.

Billy Jones Bluez: Marry My Mother In Law

A really cool slow blues song from Billy Jones Bluez:-)

Young Jesse

I found a short clip of Young Jesse on Youtube! It is only a minute long, but it is nice to see he is still out there doing it!



Here is another short clip. this one is from the Rhythm Riot, which is a cool fest in
England that seeks out the forgotten blues, rhythm and blues, and doo wop artists.

Billy Jones bluez European Tour


Just got an email about the upcoming tour of Billy Jones Bluez. Those of you in Europe that read my blog need to check this guy out! This is the real deal people!!!!





European Tour Starts October 26th, 2007
Date Venue


26 Oct 2007 Club Bastion - Germany
27 Oct 2007 Elektra - Netherlands
28 Oct 2007 Blues Cruise @ De Meul'n
7 Nov 2007 Le Baladin - Italy
8 Nov 2007 Cafe Emmental - Switzerland
9 Nov 2007 Folkclub - Italy
10 Nov 2007 Cafe de Belsj - Netherlands
15 Nov 2007 Topos - Germany
16 Nov 2007 Cave 54 - Germany
17 Nov 2007 Folk Club - Austria
18 Nov 2007 Reigen - Vienna

Delta Blues Lives at The Ground Zero Club!


Ground Zero Club located in Clarksdale Mississippi, is keeping the blues alive by featuring great blues musicians from the delta. Click HERE, for an article from the National Post in Canada for an article about Ground Zero and their efforts to keep the blues alive.

Music Helps Alzheimer Patients

Not a post about blues, but an interesting discovery in Germany that music can help Alzheimer patients recover some memories. It does make sense that music has such a powerful impact on the mind. I think that sound, smell, and taste, are some very powerful senses that we know so little about. So get out those old records, and start playing them:-) (click here for the whole story from the Hindustan Times:-)

In Search Of Young Jessie


I recieved an email from a reader wanting more information about a forgotton doowop, blues singer named, Young Jessie. Young Jessie had a few hits in the 50s and has since sort of disappeared. I did a few internet searches, and came up with about the same information. If anyone knows if he is still around and performing PLEASE email me, or leave a comment! Thanks!!!




UPDATE

Loretta found this in a recent New Yorker online listing:


THE HOOK

18 Commerce St., Red Hook, Brooklyn (718-797-3007)—July 13: Young Jessie, a Los Angeles-based vocalist who once sang with the Coasters and the Flairs and whose contributions to the R. & B. cannon include “Hit, Git and Split,” “Shuffle in the Gravel,” and “I Smell a Rat,” makes his first New York City appearance in nearly half a century. He’ll be joined by the legendary R. & B. figure the Mighty Hannibal. The fine local act the Dansettes will provide the backing for both and will perform a set of their own.

So at least he is still playing!! Hopefully someone can track down where he is playing this week:-)