Blues Music Now Blog

"Queen of the Blues" Koko Taylor dies at 80

2009-06-03T21:01:00.003-05:00

Alligator Records reported the death of Koko Taylor, 80, on June 3, 2009, in her hometown of Chicago. The Grammy Award-winning blues singer died as a result of complications following her May 19 survey to correct a gastrointestinal bleed.

Taylor’s final performance was on May 7, 2009 in Memphis at the Blues Music Awards, where she sang “Wang Dang Doodle” after receiving her award for Traditional Blues Female Artist Of The Year.

Born Cora Walton on a sharecropper’s farm just outside Memphis, TN, on September 28, 1928, Koko, nicknamed for her love of chocolate, fell in love with music at an early age. Inspired by gospel music and WDIA blues disc jockeys B.B. King and Rufus Thomas, Taylor began belting the blues with her five brothers and sisters, accompanying themselves on their homemade instruments. In 1952, Taylor and her soon-to-be-husband, the late Robert “Pops” Taylor, traveled to Chicago with nothing but, in Koko’s words, “thirty-five cents and a box of Ritz Crackers.”

In Chicago, “Pops” worked for a packing company, and Koko cleaned houses. Together they frequented the city’s blues clubs nightly. Encouraged by her husband, Koko began to sit in with the city’s top blues bands, and soon she was in demand as a guest artist. One evening in 1962 Koko was approached by arranger/composer Willie Dixon. Overwhelmed by Koko’s performance, Dixon landed Koko a Chess Records recording contract, where he produced her several singles, two albums and penned her million-selling 1965 hit “Wang Dang Doodle,” which would become Taylor’s signature song.

Survivors include Taylor’s husband Hays Harris, daughter Joyce Threatt, son-in-law Lee Threatt, grandchildren Lee, Jr. and Wendy, and three great-grandchildren.

Follow this link for more information.

Podcast features words and music of Buddy Guy

2009-03-01T12:46:00.002-06:00

As part of Black History Month, Legacy Recordings has posted a number of podcasts from great African-American artists. (OK, Black History Month was in February, but you can still listen to the interviews anyway!)

For blues fans, the Buddy Guy podcasts are especially interesting. Hosted by journalist Anthony DeCurtis, the four-part series features recollections and insights from the blues man and includes 15 classic tracks from throughout Guy’s career.

Other podcasts are available from Ashford & Simpson, Philadelphia soul, Miles Davis, Fats Waller, Sam Cooke and Bill Withers.

Follow this link to listen to the Buddy Guy podcasts.

What a shock! B.B. King wins 15th Grammy award

2009-02-08T20:25:00.005-06:00

With all due respect to Elvin Bishop, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker Jr. and Pinetop Perkins, they never had a chance against B.B. King in the competition for best traditional blues album. The King of the Blues racked up his 15th Grammy award on Feb. 8 for "One King Favor."

The other blues Grammy went to another multiple Grammy winner, Dr. John. He took home his fifth Grammy for "City That Care Forgot," which was recorded by Dr. John and The Lower 911. Other nominees in the category for best contemporary blues album were Marcia Ball, Solomon Burke, Taj Mahal and Irma Thomas.

Old vets B.B. King, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith still bringing the blues

2008-09-19T23:58:00.004-05:00

Two new blues CDs from two grizzled old pros crossed my desk recently and they were a much welcomed reprieve from much of the mediocre crap that passes for blues these days.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that one of the CDs was from the legendary B.B. King, who turned 83 years young on Sept. 16.

B.B. King has never gone away for very long in his storied career, but his new recording, "One Kind Favor," (Geffen Records) represents sort of a comeback for the King of the Blues. Much of the credit goes to producer T. Bone Burnett, who tried to duplicate the sound of King's recordings from the 1950s with much success.

Wisely, Burnett bypassed the current formula of pairing blues legends with rock stars, a technique that might sell CDs, but often produces bland, if not lifeless, recordings.

Instead, Burnett recruited a crack band of session pros, including Nathan East on stand up acoustic bass and Jim Keltner on drums. Dr. John, who contributes on piano, is the best known band member, but he never steals the show, leaving the spotlight for B.B. and Lucille, his trusty guitar.

Speaking of King, his playing and vocals are in fine form, as usual. And, the song selection of old blues covers are impeccable, including songs by T-Bone Walker, Lemon Jefferson, John Lee Hooker, Chester Burnett (Howlin' Wolf)and Lonnie Johnson, to name a few.

The other CD comes from Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. "Born in Arkansas" (Big Eye Records) is state-of-the-art Chicago blues from Muddy Waters' former drummer from the 1960s and 1970s. Smith also played with Bo Diddley, Johnny Shines, James Cotton, Pinetop Perkins, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells and Howlin' Wolf, a veritable who's who of blues legends.

On "Born in Arkansas," Smith is backed by veterans of the Chicago blues scene, including Bob Stroger on bass, Barrellhouse Chuck on piano, Billy Flynn on guitar, Little Frank Karkowski on guitar and Smith's son, Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith on drums.

"Big Eyes" Smith contributes vocals and harmonica on the recording, which doesn't stray far from the tried and true sound of Chicago blues. That's meant as a compliment of the highest order ... if anyone else does a better job with this genre of blues, I'd like to hear it. Certainly, the old man himself, Muddy Waters, would be proud of his former band mate if he were alive to tell us.

--Jeff Stevens

Kings of Rhythm still feel Ike Turner's presence

2008-08-20T20:21:00.005-05:00

Ike Turner may have left this world when he passed away late last year, but apparently he isn't quite ready to leave the recording studio, according to the drummer of his backing band, the Kings of Rhythm.

Drummer Bill Ray said the band felt Turner's presence during a recording session at a home studio in Santa Monica, California, in late July.

"Ike made an appearance in a very bizarre way. We were recording a song called "After Hours' -- one of Ike's favorite songs," Ray told Blues Music Now.com. "There's a part where Mack Johnson screams 'Turn out the lights and call the law." When that part arrived the lights in the studio mysteriously dimmed and we all thought the engineer did it but there was no one near the light switches."

Ray continued: "We all instantly knew who it was -- Ike. I don't find that far-fetched at all, as the same people who were in the house when he passed were on this session as well."

Despite Ike's "ghostly" practical joke, the Kings of Rhythm recovered to record about 10 songs. Ray said the session was "amazing" and should lead to a great album, although there are currently no plans for releasing the tracks. "Right now we are 'building it' in hopes that 'they' will come,'" he said.

The musicians, most of whom backed Turner on his Grammy-winning album, "Risin' with the Blues," were:

Seth Blumberg- Guitar
Armando Cepeda- Bass
Kevin Cooper - Bass
Leo Dombecki- Sax
Paulie Cerra- Sax
Mack Johnson- Trumpet
Paul Smith- Hammond
Ernest Lane- Piano
Bill Ray- Drums

B.B. King returns to the 1950s for his latest disc

2008-08-04T22:46:00.004-05:00

The latest disc by the legendary B.B. King will return to the vintage sound of 1950s-era blues when "One Kind Favor" is released by Geffen Records on Aug. 26.

Producer T Bone Burnett and King have formed the type of blues band used by the King of the Blues back in the formative years of modern blues. Featured players include Dr. John on piano, Nathan East on stand up acoustic bass and Jim Keltner on drums. In addition, vintage studio conditions were reproduced at The Village Recoder in Los Angeles for the sessions.

The full track listing for One Kind Favor, along with the name of the artist who originally recorded the track, is:” See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” (Lemon Jefferson), “I Get So Weary” (T-Bone Walker), “Get These Blues Off Me” (Lee Vida Walker), “How Many More Years” (Chester Burnett), “Waiting For Your Call” (Oscar Lollie), “My Love Is Down” (Lonnie Johnson), “The World Is Gone Wrong” ( Walter Vinson, also known as Walter Jacobs, and Lonnie Chatmon, core members of the Mississippi Sheiks), “Blues Before Sunrise” (John Lee Hooker), “Midnight Blues” (John Willie “Shifty” Henry), “Backwater Blues” (Big Bill Broonzy), “Sitting On Top Of The World” (Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon) and “Tomorrow Night” (Lonnie Johnson).

New Buddy Guy album drops July 22

2008-07-08T22:45:00.003-05:00

Five-time Grammy winner Buddy Guy will release his latest recording, Skin Deep on July 22. His tenth studio release on the Silverstone/Zomba label, "Skin Deep" features Eric Clapton, Robert Randolph, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks.

The 72-year-old Guy said he exercised more control over the recording of this album, which features all new material.

"This is the first time I really had more control," Guy says. "Everything in here is new. Most of the other albums have been a few new songs and then back to the older stuff or the covers-which is fine, but you gotta be creative. I would talk to Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck when they were all making records, and they would tell me that they would go in the studio with the freedom to play what they wanted. This time, I had that."

You can listen to streams of several songs, including the Eric Clapton collaboration, "Every Time I Sing the Blues, at the Earbender Web site.

Legends help celebrate Delmark's 55th

2008-03-16T22:46:00.002-05:00

By Steve Sharp
CHICAGO -- A frail-looking Delmark Records founder Bob Koester greeted admirers near the front of the stage throughout the evening of March 7, 2008 at Buddy Guy's Legends, enjoying his label's 55th anniversary celebration. The marathon concert featured performances by Delmark's still-impressive stable of talent, including Taildragger, Lurrie Bell, Billy Branch, Aaron Moore and Byther Smith. These and many other artists were backed by a superb rhythm section including drummer Kenny Smith and bass legend Bob Stroger.

Read more...

Get on the blues bus

2008-02-17T11:21:00.002-06:00

Our latest installment of "Scenes from the Road" takes us back to Chicago's Maxwell Street, circa 1992. Today's photo features the blues bus, a fixture on the street back in the day.

Photographer Steve Sharp writes this about the bus: "Painted blue, it was operated each weekend at the Maxwell Street Market in the 1980s and 1990s by a couple of old gentlemen from Mississippi. They sold crusty blues tapes by everyone imaginable -- from Isaac Hayes to Muddy Waters, from Lightnin' Hopkins and John Lee Hooker to Poonanny."

For more about the blues bus, visit Blues Music Now.com.

And the blues GRAMMYS go to...

2008-02-10T18:39:00.000-06:00

If you're a blues fan, you don't have to bother to watch tonight's GRAMMY telecast, as both blues album winners were announced in the infamous "pre-tel" awards ceremony earlier in the day.

The best traditional blues album went to "Last Of The Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live In Dallas." The recording, released on the Blue Shoe Project label, featured Henry James Townsend, Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins, Robert Lockwood, Jr. and David "Honeyboy" Edwards.

Other nominees in the category included "Pinetop Perkins On The 88's - Live In Chicago" by Pinetop Perkins [Sagebrush Productions/Vizztone Label Group], "10 Days Out: Blues From The Backroads" by Kenny Wayne Shepherd Featuring Various Artists [Reprise Records] and "Old School" by Koko Taylor [Alligator Records].

The GRAMMY for best contemporary blues album was awarded to JJ Cale & Eric Clapton for "The Road To Escondido" [Reprise Records/Warner Music Group]. The duo beat out "Into The Blues" by Joan Armatrading [429 Records], "Is It News" by Doyle Bramhall [Yep Roc Records], "Truth" by Robben Ford [Concord Records] and "The Scene Of The Crime" by Bettye LaVette [Anti].

GRAMMY Web site

Boston bluesman dies in house fire

2007-12-31T14:53:00.000-06:00

"Weepin'" Willie Robinson, an elder statesman of Boston blues, died Sunday, Dec. 30, 2007, in a house fire. He was 81.

According to The Boston Globe, Robinson died in bed in a fire caused by his own cigarette in his Boston rest home.

A fixture on the Boston blues scene since 1959, Robinson didn't record his first solo album until 1999 at age 72. "At Last, On Time," released on the APO label, featured Mighty Sam McClain, Susan Tedeschi and Jimmy D. Lane.

Boston Globe article

APO Records

AllMusic.com

Help save Internet radio!

2007-06-09T11:22:00.000-05:00

Blues fans -- and fans of music typically not heard on commercial radio stations -- should be alarmed by a recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB).

On March 2, 2007, the CRB, which oversees sound recording royalties paid by Internet radio services, increased royalties for Internet radio stations. According to Jason Fry of the Wall Street Journal, an online radio station would pay .08 cent per song per listener for 2006 (the rates are retroactive), .11 cent in 2007, .14 in 2008, .18 cents in 2009 and .19 cents in 2010.

Currently, under a deal brokered in 2002, small Webcasters are paying artists and record labels 12% of their revenue, but the new rules would do away with that exemption. The new system could increase royalties for Internet radio stations by between 300 and 1200 percent.

So, why does this matter to the blues? Quite simply, these higher fees would bankrupt many Internet radio providers, as the proposed royalties would exceed revenues for most independent net radio providers. Some of these providers feature music typically not heard on regular, over-the-air radio stations, includes blues. The surviving Internet radio stations would be run by larger, commercial interests that are less likely to play diverse styles of music.

This all seems grim, but there is a glimmer of hope. The Internet Radio Equality Act has recently been introduced in both the House (H.R. 2060) and Senate (S. 1353) to save the Internet radio industry.

This bipartisan effort is being led by Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.) and Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.). Their legislation would set Internet radio royalty rates at 7.5 percent of revenue, the same as those of satellite radio.

If you'd like to support the effort, please consider calling your representatives in Congress and tell them that you support the legislation. You can get more information, including contact information, from SaveNetRadio.org, a coalition of artists, labels, listeners and webcasters in support of Internet Radio.

It's time for a blues road trip

2007-03-11T12:16:00.000-05:00

We're introducing a new feature on BluesMusicNow.com called "Scenes from the Road." We're sharing some of the many photos we've taken over the years, ranging from juke joints in Mississippi to blues clubs in Chicago.

Our first photo was taken by Steve Sharp, who is a frequent contributor to our Web site as well as Living Blues and other blues publications. This photo was taken from Chicago's Maxwell Street, described by Steve as a "little bluesy street scene ... I shot back in July of 1995, a summer morning of blues, tacos and beer in a bag."

Follow this link to view the photo.

Ike Turner, Irma Thomas win blues Grammys

2007-02-11T21:48:00.000-06:00

At this year's GRAMMY Awards, held at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Ike Turner won best traditional blues album for "Risin' With The Blues" (Zoho Roots). Turner beat out Tab Benoit With Louisiana's Leroux, Dion, James Hunter and Duke Robillard.

Also, Irma Thomas won a Grammy for "After The Rain" (Rounder) for best contemporary blues album. Her competition was the Robert Cray Band, Dr. John & The Lower 911, Keb' Mo' and Susan Tedeschi.

Buddy Guy plans return to studio this summer

2007-02-10T14:44:00.000-06:00

Buddy Guy is planning to return to the studio in a few months to record a follow-up to his 2005 Silverstone album, "Bring 'Em In," according to Billboard.com.

"I want to go in the studio now and be more creative than I have been," Guy tells Billboard.com. "I'm asking my record company now, just give me a shot like (Jimi) Hendrix and Eric (Clapton) and stop having too many people trying to teach me in the studio. You don't see a boxer learn how to box when he gets in the ring, so I just really want to go into the studio and have a chance at four or five of my own songs with nobody saying a damn thing to me, except for me and my guitar."

The 70-year-old Guy, who doesn't have a label at this point, said he plans to wait until at least May to record because the cold weather doesn't help his singing. ""I've never had the greatest voice and this kind of weather don't help it. So my recording, we'll probably start putting something together about May, June, July and August when the temperature don't fool with you," Guy said.

PBS History Detectives to investigate historic blues label

2006-09-02T21:29:00.000-05:00

The historic blues label, Paramount Records, will be featured on the PBS television show, "History Detectives." The show will air on most PBS stations on Sept. 4. Check your local listings for the broadcast time in your area.

From 1929 to 1932, the studio of Paramount Records was located in the Wisconsin Chair Factory in Grafton, Wisconsin. Some of the blues recorded and pressed by Paramount include big blues legends Skip James, Charley Patton, Son House, Louise Johnson, Ida Cox, King Solomon Hill, Big Bill Broonzy, and Blind Joe Reynolds. to name a few.

The History Detectives will investigate two metal masters that were used to press shellac records in the 1920s and 30s to determine their significance, especially as they relate to Paramount Records.

History Detectives Web site

ParamountHome Web site

Web site offers free downloads from last Johnnie Johnson recording

2006-06-28T22:07:00.000-05:00

Fans of the late, great Johnnie Johnson can download three songs, for free, from his last recording, "Johnnie Be Eighty! And Still Bad," from the Cousin Moe Music Web site (www.cousinmoemusic.com.) Recorded about four months before his death on April 13, 2005, the CD features six original songs and can be purchased directly from the site.

Johnson, of course, played piano on many of Chuck Berry's seminal recordings from the early days of rock 'n roll. The free downloads coincide with the June 27 release date of the DVD for the Chuck Berry documentary, "Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll," which also includes performances from Johnson.

The Web site also features a newly posted interview with Johnnie's wife, Frances, held June 19. The free downloads will be available until July 8, Johnson's date of birth.

Pinetop Perkins hospitalized

2006-04-13T22:10:00.000-05:00

According to his official Web site, www.pinetopperkins.com, legendary piano man Pinetop Perkins was hospitalized in Austin, Texas on April 10, for internal bleeding caused by a stomach disorder. One day later, he seemed to be doing better, according to the Web site, which said Pinetop was "sitting up playing solitaire and flirting with the nurses."

As of April 12, Pinetop was moved from the ICU into a private room "where he continues to complain about not getting to eat any McDaniels - a sure sign of recovery!" The Web site states that Pinetop is expected to be released within a few days and is expected to resume touring in May.

Chicago bluesman Willie Kent loses battle to cancer

2006-03-04T10:05:00.000-06:00

Bassist Willie Kent, a mainstay on the Chicago blues scene, died on March 2 after a battle with cancer, according to his Web site, www.williekentblues.com.

In an article written by Bill Dahl on www.allmusic.com, Kent and his band, the Gents, were "among the last of a dying breed around Chicago: a combo that intuitively knows the meaning of ensemble playing, rather than functioning as a generic backdrop for endless guitar solos."

Big Ray Stewart, who played with Kent for several years, called his friend "the godfather" of Chicago blues, according to The Associated Press.

"Willie Kent was the last traditional blues player in Chicago," Stewart said. "Any time you could find Willie Kent in the club, you could always find two things: a lot of lying and a lot of laughing."

Like many bluesmen, the Mississippi-born Kent moved to Chicago. By 1952, at age 16, he became a regular at clubs, backing legends including Little Walter, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, to name a few.

He also played with Jimmy Dawkins and Eddie Taylor before forming his own band, Willie Kent and the Gents, in the mid-1980s. For more than two decades, the band helped define the modern-day blues scene in Chicago. Appropriately, Kent won 10 W.C. Handy Awards for best blues instrumentalist, bass. Living Blues magazine also honored him six times with its critic's choice award for bass players.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Ruth; by nine children, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and by a brother, Walter, of New York. Click here for the obituary.

Buddy Guy: The Kingpin

2006-02-11T15:35:00.000-06:00

The latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine (Feb. 23) features an extensive feature on Buddy Guy called "The Kingpin." The article about the legendary Chicago blues guitarist brings readers up-to-date on the latest from Buddy, as well as a nice recap of his career.

Rich Cohen writes: "Though Buddy is nearing seventy, he spends more than half the year on the road. It's as if he's more comfortable on the road, as if moving is the only way he can stand still. On the road, the world is only road, a collection of rides and flights, the cities speeding past, faces going by, bubble wrap that you tear away to get to that pearl of a moment where you play. At home he is less at home, out of place in his suburban house south of the South Side. You sense his days here are precious and rare, like the life of a boxer between rounds. He sleeps late, drives fast, entertains, hangs out at Legends, spends afternoons in his garden, trying to grow vegetables that taste like the ones he used to eat in Louisiana as a boy."

Rolling Stone article on Buddy Guy

B.B. King not ready for "farewell tour" yet

2006-02-05T11:34:00.000-06:00

Despite reports to the contrary, B.B. King says he isn't ready to quit performing just yet.

"The people are printing these things and they didn't get permission to do it and no one asked me," King told The Associated Press in a recent phone interview.

According to the AP article, King's publicist, Jerry Digney, said the 80-year-old King would be embarking on an international farewell tour in March, starting with a U.S. tour starting in Chicago on Feb. 16.

Another King publicist, Jerry Brown, said the "Farewell Tour" does not mean this is a last chance to see the singer perform.

"This is probably the last all-in-one encompassing worldwide tour and when it's over there will be some one-off dates, but B.B. will tour North America for the most part," Brown said.

B.B. King interview by The Associated Press