STAR BLUES on 9th October 2011 at 22:00

A very fruitful expedition to Northern parts has put some extra width to the range of blues we can include on our playlists on STAR BLUES. The sun shone, the white tee shirt gleamed and Lady Blue relaxed - I got a bit behind with the computer bits and bobs.

We marked the death a year ago of Solomon Burke and that of Bert Jansch last week (say it with a J not a Y). Bert was the guitarist's guitarist and influenced dozens of great players (check out his "Black water slide" before you listen to Led Zeppelin); he often hitch-hiked to gigs expecting to be loaned a guitar when he got there making his extraordinary playing even more remarkable. Many of his early folk pieces are very blues-worthy.

Ricky Nelson made his first (and only?) appearance on the show last night by dint of the work done by his long time guitarist James Burton, whose sessions of the Sixties are now on an Ace cd. Burton is the only person to have recorded with both Elvis Presley and Elvis Costello. Johnny Heartsman was in the cache of treasures I found and John Lee Hooker did guest vocal duties for Michael Osborn in 1996 (one of his final recordings).

Kent have put Etta James' "Call My Name" album out on cd for the first time, it was her first go at an album (as opposed to a set of hit singles) and she was in great form down in Muscle Shoals. The cd has a dozen bonus cuts too. Parent label Ace have just anthologised the Los Angeles label called Flash and STAR BLUES included two of the singles (there were only 31 in total) 

Louisiana Red gets less airplay than he deserves and he works well solo or - as last night - with a full electric combo. The centenary project for Robert Johnson had Honeyboy Edwards sounding a little frail as he lead Charlie Musselwhite and others through the "Sweet Home Chicago" standard. Harriet Lewis will be playing in Castor in a couple of weeks, she did "Wade in the Water" for our gospel spot; the other half were the Isley Brothers from 1959 at their rawest hardest best. Somehow we left out our piano blues and I'll be sure to make amends next Sunday at 10pm (BST), I hope you'll want to join in the tomfoolery until then take care of yourselves and take care of those that take care of you

Fool Me Once	B. B. King	4	There Is Always One More Time	B. B. King	MCA
Everybody Needs Somebody To Love	Solomon Burke	18	Home Is In Your Heart	Solomon Burke	RHINO
Paint My Mailbox Blue	Johnny Heartsman	2	The Touch	Johnny Heartsman	Alligator
MY BABE	Ricky Nelson	4	Early Years 1956-1969	James Burton	ACE
Valerie	Louisiana Red	4	Pretty Woman	Louisiana Red	ORBIS BLUES COLLECTION
Sweet Home Chicago	Big Head Blues Club Featuring Big Head Todd & The Monsters	10	100 Years Of Robert Johnson	Big Head Blues Club Featuring Big Head Todd & The Monsters
Fannie Mae	Buster Brown	12	Stoned Alchemy	Various Artists	INSTANT
harmony st	D'MAR & GILL	6	Real Good Friend	D'MAR & GILL	Airtight
Come Back Baby	Bert Jansch	1	Best Of Bert Jansch	Bert Jansch
My Rooster Is King	Grady Champion	5	Payin' For My Sins	Grady Champion	SHANACHIE
Drowning On Dry Land	O. V. Wright	13	Soul Of O. V. Wright	O. V. Wright	MCA
Bring It On Home	Kenny Neal	8	A Taste Of Blues Harmonica	Various Artists	TELARC
When The Blues Are Bad	John Mayall	11	Padlock On The Blues	John MayallJohn Lee Hooker	CLEOPATRA
Mean Boss Blues	Cyril Neville	1	Brand New Blues	Cyril Neville	MC RECORDS
Mabel	Michael OsbornJohn Lee Hooker	9	A Background In The Blues	Michael Osborn	BLUE ROCK'IT
Candy Man	Spikedrivers	3	Front Porch Swing	Spikedrivers	PROPER
Wade In the Water	Harriet Lewis	1	Soulful Sounds	Harrit Lewis	ACOUSTIC MUSIC
Yes, Indeed	Isley Brothers, The	3	Shout! The Definitive Edition	Isley Brothers, The	Hoodoo Records
JUMP WITH ME BABY	Mamie Jenkins	5	The Flash Records Story	Various Artists	ACE
HURRY, HURRY, BABY	Sydney Maiden	3	The Flash Records Story	Various Artists	ACE
Right Time	Nappy Brown	6	Long Time Coming	Nappy Brown	BLIND PIG RECORDS
Ride My Automobile	Pete Mayes	2	Broke Down: Blues About Automobiles	Various Artists	COLLECTABLES
842-3089 (Call My Name)	Etta James	7	Call My Name	Etta James	Kent
Can't You See What You're Doin' To Me (Featuring Alex Schultz)	Big Pete	2	Choice Cuts	Big Pete	Delta Groove Productions
Sweet Dreams	Roy Buchanan	5	Chronicles - Sweet Dreams	Roy Buchanan	POLYDOR