STAR BLUES on 11th November 2012 at 22:00

Permission to speak Mr Mainwaring?




With the passing of the Corporal, the handover from Neil and our opening from Johnnie we had more Joneses at ten on STAR BLUES than in a miner's snug in the Rhonda Valley. (I just thought: Are they open on Sundays in Wales these days?) Johnnie's "Chip Off the Old Block" was a robust peformance from a man usually known for grace and subtlety; he had a decent voice too leading us neatly into the consummate blues artist, Little Milton. He was on four of the seminal record labels of 50s 60s 70s 80s (Sun, Chess, Stax, Malaco) and had "Greatest Hits" on each with no overlaps. His final project in 2005 on Telarc was done with Jon Tiven who brought out some late period gems from our hero. We also had the final album from Michael "Iron Man" Burks - he got the nickname from his energetic and enthusiastic work ethic that meant he never gave anything less than full measure, his big loud guitar could well put off a few of our purist bretheren but that huge voice forgives him anything in my hum. Robert Cray's new album has a decent set of songs looking at traditional blues themes from the perspective of this century - the tales of rejection, pain and misery arent about never having had things like family, comforts and stuff, these are about taking it for granted and losing them suddenly and unexpectedly from outside forces.



We weren't short of female stars either: Koko Taylor at her imperious best (with Buddy Guy on guitar); Etta James with one of the finest Chess records ever made outside Chicago (down at Muscle Shoals); the lithe singing and playing of a very young Bonnie Raitt captured live on a Philadelphia Radio Show; (she just had a birthday); the irrepressible Candye Kane who just doesn't know how to slow down in spite of her recent health worries (she has a birthday on 13th) and Ruth Brown did "RB Blues" in 1950 and showed why at the time she was the only hit maker Atlantic could rely on. Richard Rosenblatt runs Vizztone and he is having a great birthday celbration with new releases on Doug Demming and Dennis Gruenling, the same band but double the fun.



Sugar Chile Robinson was the official piano blues standard bearer as well as being our youngest ever contender, Jimmy Liggins was on hand with the "Honeydripper" and it was a real pleasure to do the full version of Ramsey Lewis' "Wade in the water" - so often you just get a minor smidge as backing bed to a promo or advert. Mark Lamarr's big stack of records provides fabulous anthologies to the Vee-Tone label, the second volume of "Screaming gospel and Holy Rollers" was our dip into the gospel pot for the Soul Seekers. Mighty Joe Young did some good stuff for Blind Pig, shame his wikipedia entry is a film about a gorilla. Dave sent through a fine Magic Slim single on Mistreater and we had chance to enjoy it together last night. Slim still epitomises the spirit of modern Chicago blues.



While we are now ensconsed officially as "Britain's Other Blues Show", it's never just about the blues: I have a family to care for too! On getting into the studio last night, I could see Ernest Borgnine and Deefa but not Mrs Doubtfire or Spot. They usually flaunt themselves from the top of the speaker to make sure the webcam gets the best angle (Deefa Duck is a real tart I can tell you). About half way through the show, I glimpsed a flash of yellow and found Spot and Mrs D hiding behind the monitor where they'd been since the fireworks on Bonfire night. Before those men with the natty white coats that do up at the back catch up with me, I'll be off to plan some more trivia and tomfooolery for next Sunday at ten pm (GMT) until then take care of yourselves and take care of those that take care of you

Track.Title	Track.ArtistSort	Index	Album.Title	Album.ArtistSort	Label
Chip Off The Old Block	Johnny Jones	1	I Was Raised On The Blues	Johnny Jones	BLACK MAGIC
Second Hand Love	Little Milton	10	Think Of Me	Little Milton	TELARC
(I Got) All You Need	Koko Taylor	8	Wang Dang Doodle	Koko Taylor	ORBIS BLUES COLLECTION
Wade In The Water	Ramsay Lewis Trio	1	Mojo Chess Classics	Various Artists	MOJO
don't you lose a good thing	dan penn	4	the fame recordings	dan penn	ace
Cadillac Assembly Line	Albert King	18	Best Music Catalogue In The World	Various Artists	CHARLY
Sitting On Another Man's Knee	Lonesome Sundown	20	Genuine Excello R'n'b	Various Artists	ACE
Family Rules	Guitar Jr.	7	On Bended Knee - The Birth Of Swamp Pop	Various Artists	GREAT Voices Of The Century
Flip, Flop And Bop	Floyd Cramer	4	Teen Beat Vol.2	Various	ACE
Willie Mae Blues	Billy Boy Arnold	7	Billy Boy Arnold Sings: Big Bill Broonzy	Billy Boy Arnold	Electro-Fi
Mighty Tight Woman	Bonnie Raitt	1	The Lost Broadcast: Philadelphia 1972	Bonnie Raitt	Left Field Media
nobodys fault but mine	John Renbourn	18	The Essential: The Best Of John Renbourn	John Renbourn	Castle Pulse
wonder why	magic slim	2	magic slim	magic slim
Fix This	Robert Cray	7	Nothing But Love	Robert Cray	PROVOGUE
end of the line	Mighty Joe Young	7	Mighty Man	Mighty Joe Young	blind pig
R. B. Blues	Ruth Brown	6	Miss Rhythm - Greatest Hits And More	Ruth Brown	SEQUEL
Security	Etta James	20	Tell Mama	Etta James	CHESS
Numbers Boogie	Sugar Chile Robinson	4	The R'n'b Years 1949: 100 Hot Rhythm And Blues Tunes From 1949	Various Artists	BOULEVARD VINTAGE
the honeydripper	roy milton	7	The R'n'b Years 1949: 100 Hot Rhythm And Blues Tunes From 1949	Various Artists	BOULEVARD VINTAGE
somethings gotta hold of me	soul seekers	18	screamin gospel and holy rollers	various artists	vee-tone
Count On You	Michael Burks	1	Show Of Strength	Michael Burks	Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc.
I'm My Own Worst Enemy	Candye Kane	7	Guitar'd And Feathered	Candye Kane	Ruf
whoevers thrilling you is killing me	z z hill	17	rolling with the punches: allen toussaint songbook	various artists	ace
Cotton Picking Blues	Big Mama Thornton	6	They Called Me Big Mama	Big Mama Thornton	Proper Introduction
bloodshot eyes	dennis gruenling	11	rockin all day	dennis gruenling	vizztone
one good reason	doug demming	3	whats it gonna take	doug denning	vizztone

Created: 12/11/2012 00:02:03