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Canned Heat an American Blues Band
2009-04-08 09:01:00
People, I believe that music is like a tree, as Adolfo ('Fito') de la Parra, the drummer for Canned Heat says. This tree was planted so long ago. It has many branches, and from time to time I climb out onto one branch or the other and marvel at the fruit that grows there.One such branch, and yes I would say they are a whole branch, is the band Canned Heat . The word Love does not really convey what I feel toward them. There is a strong component of admiration, and also appreciation for what they did for blues music in the United States and the world. Almost more so then any other band of the time, they represented some of what is the best about blues music.Canned Heat is what some call "a hard-luck blues band of the '60s" and with that I would have to agree. Founded by blues historians and record collectors Alan Wilson and Bob Hite, the bands bio is filled with tragedy, drama and many hard times. But make no mistake, there were good times too, these cats really lived the blues. Fr...
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Expat
2009-04-07 20:36:00
Originally English, with a good website here. Her Wikipedia entry says she is a folk musician compared with Aretha and I saw her on a blues programme! She has a fine voice for sure. She is at a blues festival here in San Francisco
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Paul Jones 6th April 2009
2009-04-07 13:32:00
Hard Times Marcus BonfantiA young man starting out - but one to listen toMagic Slim & The TeardropsI couldn't find the track they played - but I could listen to this all day.Listing here
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The Men Behind the Bluesmen: Bill "Hoss" Allen
2009-04-07 09:07:00
Today I want to introduce you to another one of "The Men Behind the Bluesmen" Bill "Hoss" Allen . Because of his work in radio he is a Blues Hall of Fame inductee.According to Wikipedia;Bill Allen (aka "Hossman" or "Hoss"; born William Trousdale Allen III, December 3, 1922, Gallatin, Tennessee; died February 25, 1997, Nashville, Tennessee) was an American radio disc jockey who attained fame from the 1950s through the 1990s for playing rhythm and blues and black gospel music on Nashville radio station WLAC.Allen was the youngest of a quartet of disc jockeys known as "The 50,000 Watt Quartet." It included Gene Nobles, "John R." (Richbourg), and Herman Grizzard. Allen had the longest career of any. He worked for radio stations for 45 years before his 1993 retirement. Like Richbourg, from the 1960s through the 1980s, Allen was involved with Nashville's small but vibrant blues and gospel music scenes.On Air Famous phrases"All around, down for Royal Crown"--said during commercials for th...

Alexis Korner
2009-04-06 11:08:00
Alexis Korner "the Founding Father of British Blues"Blues Incorporated'The group included, at various times, such influential musicians as Charlie Watts, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Long John Baldry, Graham Bond, Danny Thompson and Dick Heckstall-Smith. It also attracted a wider crowd of mostly younger fans, some of whom occasionally performed with the group, including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Rod Stewart, John Mayall and Jimmy Page. One story is that The Rolling Stones went to stay at Korner's house late one night, in the early 1960s, after a performance. They entered in the accepted way, by climbing in through the kitchen window, to find Muddy Waters' band sleeping on the kitchen floor.'C.C.S.- short for The Collective Consciousness Society, you may recognise the second oneKorner also played on B. B. King's Super session or 'London' album, and cut his own, similar album, Get Off My Cloud, with Keith Richards,Peter Frampton,Nicky Hopkins, and members of Joe C...

Grinderswitch
2009-04-06 10:17:00
Can anyone tell me about this - John Peel was a UK hero for many of us, this was his signature tune

Blues Blogs In The Spotlight: Today's Chicago Blues
2009-04-06 09:21:00
Today I want to shine a spotlight on Today's Chicago Blues . This is one of my favorite blues blogs because it is choked full of the latest news and info on the Chicago blues scene.The blogger and author Karen Hanson post updated info on Chicago blues clubs and musicians. She also covers the Chicago blues festival each year.She is a freelance writer, who lives and works in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. Her book, Today's Chicago Blues , was published in 2007. It is available at major bookstores and online booksellers. Please click the image below for more info at Amazon.com.About her book;"Today's Chicago Blues is a guide book that is well worth checking out. In eight chapters Ms. Hanson covers not only the Blues venues in our Windy City but dedicates her book to informing the reader of the whole Blues experience Chicago has to offer. The book is steeped in history and well-researched facts. It also includes both vintage and current photos that spice up the pages nicely. It i...
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Midnight Special
2009-04-05 11:06:00
Three of my favourites appeared in the NBC showVan Morrison - he has a track called Midnight Special but it isn't posted as a video.Lonnie Donegan was a very early British performer - leader of the skiffle movement.Chris Barber: Trad Jazz reallyChris Barber- St Louis BluesUploaded by boberwig

I Feel Like Going To Church - Johnny Cash - God's Gonna Cut You Down
2009-04-05 10:00:00
Johnny Cash God's Gonna Cut You DownAccording to Wikipedia;"God's Gonna Cut You Down", also known as "Run On", is a traditional folk song which has been recorded by numerous artists representing a variety of genres. The lyrics are a warning to sinners that no matter how hard they try, they will not avoid God's judgment; in the chorus, God Himself tells the narrator of the song to "Go tell that long tongue liar, / go and tell that midnight rider, / tell the rambler, the gambler, the back slider, / tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down", with some versions inserting slight variations in lyrics.The song has, in the past, been modified to fit the boundaries of genres like country, folk, gospel and techno. As "God's Gonna Cut You Down", it was performed by Odetta on Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues (1956) and Johnny Cash on the posthumously released American V: A Hundred Highways (2006). As "Run On", it was recorded, among others, by Elvis Presley. A version featuring vocals by Bil...
More About: Church , Johnny Cash , Johnny , Feel

Paul Jones
2009-04-04 19:49:00
I listen every Monday evening to BBC2 and Paul 's' show.Paul was offered the job of leading singer by Brian Jones in a fledling band called The Rolling Stones. He became lead in the Manfred Mann Band they wrote a signature tune for the TV programme ?Ready, Steady, Go!? - providing their first hit, ?5-4-3-2-1?Manfred Mann Come TomorrowUploaded by morigannePaul is a major player - appears with Memphis Slim hereThe Blues Band were formed in 1979 by Paul on vocals and harmonica, Dave Kelly, who had formerly played with the John Dummer Blues Band, Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker .

Renee Geyer
2009-04-04 12:48:00
An Australian friend just sent me one of hers. A very cool sound I'll be checking her out a lot more
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It's the Birthday of Muddy Waters
2009-04-04 10:00:00
Happy birthday to the Godfather of the blues Mr. Muddy Waters , he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi in 1915. According to Muddy his grandmother gave him the nickname of Muddy Waters because he liked to play in the muddy creek near his house. He learned to play the blues by listening to other Mississippi Delta blues musicians such as Son House and Robert Johnson. He worked on the farm and drove a tractor during the week, but he started to perform at juke joints, fish fries and parties on the weekends.He was one of the blues musicians that was recorded by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress. When Muddy heard himself on Lomax's recordings he thought that he might have a chance making it as a professional musician. He is reported as having said, "Man, you don't know how I felt that afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice." In May of 1943 he moved from Clarksdale, Mississippi, to Chicago, Illinois. As the legend goes Muddy only took a suit of clothes and...
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Friday Blues Funny - Naw You Didn't
2009-04-03 10:00:00
I love the end of this scene when John Lee Hooker is explaining that he wrote Boom Boom Boom back in the fifties, and the little old man jumps up and shouts "Naw you didn't." It cracks me up every time.John Lee Hooker - Boom Boom (Blues Brothers 1980)
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Tribute to Odetta
2009-04-02 20:39:00
Very good, very gutsy. If you haven't heard of Ruthie check her out!
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Texas blues
2009-04-02 10:00:00
Growing up in Louisiana, in the shadow of the great state of Texas gives you a different perspective on things. Especially music. Especially blues music. I feel like I really understand what those great Texas blues musicians were singing about, you know what I mean?People like Lightin' Hopkins, Big Mama Thornton, T-Bone Walker and Leadbelly. Living there for a few years, and going to college there only served to make me appreciate the state, the people and the great Texas Blues music even more. According to Wikipedia;Texas Blues began to appear in the early 1900s among African Americans who worked in oilfields, ranches and lumber camps. In the 1920s, Blind Lemon Jefferson innovated the style by using jazz-like improvisation and single string accompaniment on a guitar; Jefferson's influence defined the field and inspired later performers, like Lightnin' Hopkins and T-Bone Walker. During the Great Depression in the 1930s, many bluesmen moved to cities like Galveston, Houston and Da...

A Wee Bit Of Introduction
2009-04-01 21:12:00
It is my pleasure to introduce to you my online friend, Ron Moorby. He is a fellow blogger, a guy who in my mind has very good taste in music, among other things. A British gentlemen who I met on line at the social networking site StumbleUpOn (though we have never met in real life), he is well traveled and wise in his selection of music. His taste to me seem eclectic and at the same time delightful. I was just commenting to him via PM that I enjoy his perspective on music. We enjoy a lot of the same music, and he has turned me on to many new artist.He has been contributing to my other music blog KK&R music blog for a few months now. And he never seems to run out of energy, so I suggested that he might want to post some blues with me here on SML. Not being a blues purist, he will probably lean more toward the R&B / British blues kind of music. But hey "it's all good" as we like to say.I am hoping that he will do the same here that he does over at KK&R, which is bring his energy, his...
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National Harmonica League
2009-04-01 20:05:00
Do we British sound too posh for the Blues?
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Y'all Know I'm A Fool For The Blues
2009-04-01 10:00:00
It's April Fool s day, and yes I'm a fool for that girls stockings, among other things ;)ZZ Top : Fool For Your Stockings
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Steve Marriott (British R&B)
2009-03-31 15:59:00
The Small Faces was a mod group founded in 1965 and included Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane. They were very influential in my youth and had a string of hits including Itchycoo Park, Lazy Sunday, All or Nothing and Tin Soldier.After they disbanded Steve helped form Humble Pie (1969-1975 and 1980-1981)I like Black CoffeeA very R&B tune is Thirty Days In A HoleSteve was influenced from an early age by his heroes including Buddy Holly, Booker T, Ray Charles, Otis Redding and Muddy Waters. In later life he became disillusioned with the music industry and turned his back on the big record companies remaining in relative obscurity. He returned to his music roots playing the pubs and clubs around London and Essex. He died on 20 April 1991 when a fire thought to have been caused by a cigarette swept through his 16th-century home. He was listed in Mojo as one of the top 100 greatest singers of all time. I agree!
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Humbled by the blues
2009-03-31 10:00:00
Friends, I just want to let you all know that I am humbled by the blues. I love this music so much, and when I started this blog I thought I had a good understanding of it all. I thought that because I was raised in the blues, listen to the blues, read about the blues, played the blues and had lived the blues that I really understood it.But there is just so much to know, so many great songs, so many great musicians. So much culture that is related to the blues. So much history, and it never stops it just keeps on going. This music is high art, and don't let anyone tell you anything different.You could spend your whole life studying just guitar players, you could spend your whole life just studying guitar players from the state of Mississippi . You could spend your whole life just studying slide guitar players from the state of Mississippi. Not to mention, singers, harmonica players, drummers, piano players and many other kinds of musicians in all different kinds of combinations from...
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Lyrics To Fatting Frogs For Snakes by Sonny Boy Williams II
2009-03-30 10:00:00
Fattening Frogs for Snakes , Sonny Boy Williams on & AnimalsIt took me a long time, to find out my mistakesTook me a long time, to find out my mistakes(it sho' did man)But I bet you my bottom dollar, I'm not fattenin' no more frogs for snakesI found out my downfall, back in nineteen and thirty(I started checkin')I found out my downfall, from nineteen and thirtyI'm tellin' all of my friends, I'm not fattenin' no more frogs for snakesAll right now... (solo)Yeh it is nineteen and fifty-seven, I've got to correct all of my mistakesWhoa man, nineteen and fifty-seven, I've got to correct all of my mistakesI'm tellin' my friends includin' my wife and everybody else,not fattenin' no more frogs for snakes
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I Feel Like Going To Church: Needed Time
2009-03-29 10:00:00
Note From YouTubeTexas blues giant "Lightning Hopkins " recorded this song in 1952. Organised religion wasn't an important element in Lightning's life, and "Needed Time " seems to have been the only religious song in his recorded repertoire.This song was also used in a great movie called "Sounder", directed by Martin Ritt in 1972. It tells the story of a sharecropper's family trying to survive the depression.
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The Sledge Grits Band
2009-03-28 18:39:00
I would not normally refer to a band that plays blues music as cute. But if you watch the videos below, I am sure you will agree that "The Sledge Grits Band " are some of the cutest little musicians around.They were featured on CBS' "The Early Show" Singing Family Face Off. These sisters from Salinas, Calif. performed Aretha Franklin's classic Reach Out And Touch Somebody's Hand. I think it will be worth keeping a close eye on these young ladies.Sledge Grits Singing FamilyThe Sledge Grits Band on The Early ShowThe Sledge Grits Band @LiveBluesWorldThe Sledge Grits Band @MySpaceGritsWorld.comOh, and I think this proves that the blues is alive and kicking.

Friday Blues Funny - Guitar Face - Michael Burks
2009-03-27 09:00:00
photo by Suzanne Foschino Photography
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It's the Birthday of Bo Carter
2009-03-25 09:00:00
Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order, Vol. 5, 1938-1940Armenter "Bo Carter " Chatmon was actually born on March 21, 1893 (the same day of the year as Son House) and he died on September 21 back in 1964. He was a popular early blues musician. According to wikipedia;He was a member of the Mississippi Sheiks in concerts, and on a few of their recordings. Carter also managed that group, which included his brother, Lonnie Chatmon, on fiddle and occasionally Sam Chatmon on bass, along with a non-relative, Walter Vincson, on guitar and lead vocal.Bo Carter Special Tribute VideoBo Carter @Amazon.com
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Robert Johnson-Traveling Riverside Blues
2009-03-24 09:00:00
You know what I'm talking about...Robert Johnson -Traveling Riverside Blues Copyright Wikipedia"Travelling Riverside Blues" is a blues song written and recorded in Dallas, Texas by legendary bluesman Robert Johnson . Johnson's June 20, 1937 recording has a typical 12 bar blues structure, played on a single guitar tuned to open G, with a slide. It was first released on the 1961 compilation LP King of the Delta Blues Singers. The song has proved popular with more recent blues musicians.Versions:A verse was incorporated into Cream's "Crossroads", their 1968 version of Johnson's "Cross Road Blues".English rock band Led Zeppelin's version of this song was recorded at the BBC studios on June 24, 1969, upon which Jimmy Page later dubbed extra guitar tracks. It was was broadcast four days later on John Peel's Top Gear show under the title "Travelling Riverside Blues '69". It is quite different from the original, and it is more a tribute to Robert Johnson than a straight cover. The song ...

It's the Birthday of Son House
2009-03-23 21:31:00
Well actually a couple of days ago was, but because he is one of my favorite blues men of all time I did not want to let his day go by without a nod and a tip of the hat.There are some bluesmen, who are a major part of blues music, and Son House definitely was one of those guy, but I would go so far as to say that Son House is a musician, who is a major part of music as a whole. If we consider those he influenced, like Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Stevie Ray Vaughnand and those he played with, like Charley Patton and Willie Brown, then I'm willing to say that Elvis, the Beatles and any other musicians you can think of are probably influnced by him in some small way also."He was born Eddie James House, Jr., on March 21, 1902, in Riverton, MS. By the age of 15, he was preaching the gospel in various Baptist churches as the family seemingly wandered from one plantation to the next. He didn't even bother picking up a guitar u...
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I Feel Like Going To Church: Fisk Jubilee Singers
2009-03-22 09:00:00
Here we see that the circle is complete, or at least we take another turn. An African American Gospel choir, goes back to Africa. And performs a traditional song. Who knows, some young African kid may be inspired to make some great music.Fisk Jubilee Singers : Sacred Journey - "Mister Banjo"Recorded live from Elmina Castle in Ghana, West Africa, the Fisk Jubilee Singers perform "Mister Banjo" featured on their new album "Sacred Journey."
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NPR Post on Sister Rosetta Tharpe
2009-03-21 22:57:00
As I type this I'm listening to an NPR report on Sister Rosetta Tharpe. A marker was recently placed on her grave.Today would have marked the 94th birthday of pioneering singer and guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe. She was a major influence on two generations of rock and soul musicians, but Tharpe is practically unknown today ? so unknown that she didn't have a proper headstone until recently."She would sing until you cried and then she would sing until you danced for joy. She helped to keep the church alive, and the saints rejoicing." Sister Rosetta Tharpe @SqueezeMyLemonSister Rosetta Tharpe @Amazon.com
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Friday Blues Funny - Guitar Face - Ana Popovic 2
2009-03-20 09:00:00
ANA POPOVIC @ The Rams Head Annapolisphoto by Glenn's photography
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