Our thoughts were with the good folks of Detroit who are having a real stinker of a time at the moment, so we played John Lee Hooker and John Brim for them The Hook was in a band setting to take on the Rosco Gordon classic and Brim was an early release for the Fortune label with his wife Grace on vocal and harp. Junior Parker was oh-so-much more than the man who did the original of Elvis' "Mystery Train", his supple soul voice added that something special to just about everything he did. There's a couple of surveys of his 1952-61 recordings out, surely can't be long before someone grasps the nettle for a decent career box-set to cover those last nine years as well?.
Little Hudson only cut five songs at a single session but he fell out with the J.O.B. label over which side should be featured on top of the single and he never made it back into the studio. Not sure I've ever seen a photo of him. Our show last week had a superb three hander under Jimmy Rogers' name with Little Walter and Big Crawford. Serendipitously I eavesdropped on a fascinating FB discussion on Crawfords skills as bass player. While Dave Penny's help I settled on some Big Bill Broonzy from 1953 to showcase his rock solid talents. we weren't done with Chicago until we'd had Howlin' Wolf, Magic Sam and Otis Rush.
Bessie Smith was imperious and Son House both brutal and exciting as we did an extended spell pre-war including a 1935 original from Gary Davis called "One True Vine"; Mavis Staples has the song as title track on her brand new album. She is the sole performer on the recently announced "London Blues Fest" who could easily fit the playlist here rather than the one Neil does on the Rock Show. I know they need the big names to sell tickets but there's absolutely no justification for totally ignoring African-American players. Look at this years running order at the Chicago Blues Festival for a glimpse of what is out there at the moment. Lazy Lester is a case in point and we had one of his singles last night. He still does the biz, so does Bobby Rush, John Primer, Bob Corritore, Guy Davis, Bob Margolin, Lurrie Bell, Candye Kane and so on. On the bill just announced there's no harp players or pianists just guitarists. I'm not arguing for anything other than balance and the *FULL* range of blues styles: if it sounds like rock, it ain't blues. Neil knows what goes into my show, I know what goes into his and I am extremely lucky to follow him in the live Sunday night schedule.
On that more serious than usual note, I'll just promise to be back round your place if you'll have me and my records 10pm (BST) Meantime I am practising my tie-knotting technique and Lady Blue does some curtsey's just in case Prince Mojo does tune in as well. Got a ring to it don't you think, Prince Mojo? Yes. Prince Mojo.
| Track.Title | Track.ArtistSort | Index | Album.Title | Album.ArtistSort | Label |
| No More Doggin’ | John Lee Hooker | 25 | Let Me Tell You About The Blues: Detroit | Various Artists | Fantastic Voyage |
| Fussin' and Fightin' Blues | Junior Parker | 19 | Feelin' Good | Junior Parker | Hoodoo Records |
| Goin' Back to La | Johnny Otis | 18 | On With The Show: The Johnny Otis Story Volume 2: 1957-1974 | Johnny Otis Show Live, The | ACE |
| I'm Gonna Leave You Baby | Lazy Lester | 21 | Bluesin' By The Bayou | Various Artists | ACE |
| Cool Disposition | Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup | 6 | My Baby Left Me The Definitive Collection | Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup | Fantastic Voyage |
| Dark Road | Floyd Jones | 4 | Down Home Blues Classics - Chicago (1946-1954) | Various Artists | BOULEVARD VINTAGE |
| I Can't Hold Out | Elmore James | 25 | The Chess Story | Various Artists | CHARLY |
| Steppin' Out | Syl Johnson | 2 | Hi Fidelity | Various Artists | HI |
| Cheater Man | Esther Phillips | 15 | A Road Leading Home | Various Artists | ACE |
| Rock Me Baby | Otis Redding | 15 | 100 Hits Legends - Otis Reading | Otis Redding | DEMON |
| rock me | sister rosetta tharpe | 1-1 | The Original soul sister | sister rosetta tharpe | proper |
| Strange Things Happening | Etta James | 12 | Miss Etta James - The Complete Modern And Kent Recordings | Etta James | ACE |
| I Am the True Vine | Rev. Gary Davis | 6 | I Am The Tree Vine | Rev. Gary Davis | CATFISH |
| I Smell Trouble | Bobby 'Blue' Bland | 23 | It's My Life, Baby: The Singles - As & Bs, 1951-1960 | Bobby 'Blue' Bland | Jasmine |
| Cheatin' and Lynin' Blues | Pat Hare | 19 | The Sun Blues Box Sampler - Blues, R&b And Gospel Music In Memphis 1950 - 1958 | Various Artists | bear family / b&r magazine |
| Strange Man | John Brim | 18 | Let Me Tell You About The Blues: Detroit | Various Artists | Fantastic Voyage |
| Move on Down the Line | Earl Hooker | 11 | The Sun Blues Box Sampler - Blues, R&b And Gospel Music In Memphis 1950 - 1958 | Various Artists | bear family / b&r magazine |
| Slowly Goin' Crazy | H-Bomb Ferguson | 5 | The R'n'b Years 1952: 100 Hot Rhythm And Blues Tunes From 1952 | Various Artists | BOULEVARD VINTAGE |
| got you on my mind | john greer | 22 | The R'n'b Years 1952: 100 Hot Rhythm And Blues Tunes From 1952 | Various Artists | BOULEVARD VINTAGE |
| Diggin' My Potatoes | Big Bill Broonzy | 22 | Rockin' in Chicago | Big Bill Broonzy | Rev-Ola Bandstand |
| Rough Treatment | Little Hudson | 11 | Blues Is Killin' Me | Various Artists | FLYRIGHT |
| Early in the Morning | Sonny Boy Williamson (Aka John Lee Williamson) | 5 | Sugar Mama | Sonny Boy Williamson (Aka John Lee Williamson) | INDIGO |
| Death Letter | Son House | 13 | Hard Times And Heartaches | Various Artists | COLUMBIA |
| Gimme a Pigfoot | Bessie Smith | 24 | Blues Queen. The Definitive Collection | Bessie Smith | Phoenix Records |
| Goin' Back Home | Howlin' Wolf | 5 | Howlin' Wolf / The Wolf Is At Your Door: The Singles 1951-1960 | Howlin' Wolf | Jasmine |
| three times a fool | otis rush | 2-15 | double trouble: cobra records story | various artists | one day |
| easy baby | magic sam | 1-18 | double trouble: cobra records story | various artists | one day |
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