More taboos shattered on last night’s STAR BLUES with Furry Lewis, Bette Midler and Jimi Hendrix on the same show: possibly a world first? We marked Hendrix’ early demise 40 years ago with a magnificent version of “Red House” from 1966; Furry Lewis was on board with some rare and unissued recordings discovered by Fat Possum, and by request the Divine Ms Midler lead us through “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” cut during her time as a sauna attendant in New York. Put a rap song with BB King into the mix and you’ve got a typical feast from the man in the white tee-shirt.
Davis Coen, Ian Siegal, Gary US Bonds and Duke Robillard brought new wares to the party with the Duke’s “Text Me” coming right off the tabloid headlines. Its ok I didn’t mention any footballers or comedians. The Alligator label is starting to make its back numbers available for download so if you’ve heard names like Carey Bell and Raful Neal, there’s now little excuse for not finding some of their best work. To set you off running, both men got an outing last night. From the same imprint, Corey Harris and Henry Butler romped through some piano blues, I just can’t fathom why their duet hasn’t been repeated these past ten years?
Hendrix always gave props to Guitar Slim so we included one of his 1958 Atco pieces and then a landmark London appearance by Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee from the same year. BB King’s 85th gave us reason to do his 1954 songs like “You Upset Me Baby” and “Everyday I Have The Blues”, I’d have done “Thrill Is Gone” too if the left-hand cd deck had played ball as we closed the show – promise I’ll do better next time. That’ll be ten pm on the same channel – your Star Radio – next Sunday; I’ll just ask you to bring your best ears. Until then, take care of yourselves and take care of those that take care of you.
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