As a way of easing gently into the project we were happy to help pianist Henry Gray celebrate his 89th birthday - he is still very active with the Cats combo. The remake of "Gray's Bounce" on his Blind Pig album was a need reminder of his skill. Barbara Lynn had her 72nd birthday on Thursday, though her soulful voice is memorable she is also a very nifty left-handed guitarist. Chris Beard was born in August 1957 (his dad is Joe Beard) and he brought along a track from his Electro Glide offering of a couple of years ago. The final list of Current Blues Artists will have a smattering of players at the fringes of the definition and I'd venture that's where you'd find the name of Harrison Kennedy (though not on the aural evidence of his gritty down home performance off his brand new Soulscape album). Our last entrant was the individualistic Lil Joe Washington; he is nowhere near as well known as he should be and his manic version of "Go Crazy" was like nothing anyone else could do.
The list is being built and tweaked all the time and that's to be expected given the vintage of some names still out there. However you can be sure there'll be a cross-section of generations to include Jerron "Blind Boy" Paxton at one end and B. B. King at the other.
The other real treat was to get chance to bring some of my favourite electric guitar slingers round to your place: Goree Carter, Jimmy Nolen, Pete "Guitar" Lewis", Larry Davis and Cal Green. Spice that mix with Blind Blake and Big Bill Broonzy and you'll never want for more. The Rev. Gary Davis did gospel duties warning us away from the Devil and the late Earl Gilliam was at the piano stool. Like Li'l Joe Washington he cut an album for Eddie Stout's Dialtone outfit; the piece celebrated the Sunday afternoon jam sessions he held at his Houston home up until his death in 2011.
Ma Rainey and Lynn Hope are both featured in some depth in the new edition of Blues & Rhythm magazine (now within touching distance of thirty years continuous - and regular - publication). I recently wrote a review of a new anthology of Little Esther's earliest recordings for them and had no hesitation in putting her duetwith Little Willie Littlefield into the show.
I'm a shameless jackdaw when it comes to ideas for what to play - I nicked the Ray Charles thought that way and similarly stole the reason for playing that rare 1954 side by Otis Hinton. Calvin Boze dealt with the issue of alcohol and Tarheel Slim tarried awhile in a familiar jungle; while Roy Hawkins original reading of his composition "Thrill Is Gone" was truly sublime and with six minutes of Lowell Fulson's "Three O'Clock Blues" via Larry Davis we had to say our farewells for another week. There's more on the 400CBA roster next Sunday at 10pm (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 |
I DON'T NEED NO DOCTOR | RAY CHARLES | 2-10 | ULTIMATE RAY CHARLES | RAY CHARLES | ATLANTIC |
Hop, Skip and Jump | Lynn Hope | 4 | The R'n'b Years 1952: 100 Hot Rhythm And Blues Tunes From 1952 | Various Artists | BOULEVARD VINTAGE |
Turn on the Bright Lights | Albert Washington W. Lonnie Mack | 11 | Blues & Soul Man | Albert Washington W. Lonnie Mack | ACE |
Wildcat Tamer | Tarheel Slim (Aka Alden Bunn) | 33 | Rock The Joint | Various Artists | PULSE |
I'M IN THE BIG CITY | Juke Boy Bonner | 11 | Let's Have A Blues Ball! | Various Artists | ACE |
Southern Man | Walter Beasley | 42 | East Coast Blues | Various Artists | CATFISH |
See See Rider Blues | Ma Rainey | 7 | The Mother Of The Blues 1923/1928 | Ma Rainey | BLUES COLLECTION |
Gotta Find My Baby | Chris Beard | 9 | Who I Am & What I Do | Chris Beard | ELECTRO Glide |
I'LL GO CRAZY | LIL JOE WASHINGTON | 1 | TEXAS FIRE LINE | LIL JOE WASHINGTON | DIALTONE |
YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO | BARABARA LYNN | 11 | YOU'LL LOSE A GOOD THING | BARABARA LYNN | JAMIE |
THE DOGHOUSE | EARL GILLIAM | 5 | TEXAS DOGHOUSE BLUES | EARL GILLIAM | DIALTONE |
GRAY'S BOUNCE | HENRY GRAY | 3 | LUCKY MAN | HENRY GRAY | BLIND PIG |
crapshooter blues | harrison kennedy | 4 | soulscape | harrison kennedy | electro-fi |
All Right Miss Moore | Jimmy Witherspoon | 10 | Daves Latest Selection Feat. Jimmy Rogers And More.... | Various Artists | |
Come on Let's Boogie | Goree Carter | 10 | Unsung Hero | Goree Carter | COLLECTABLES |
Louisiana Hop | Pete "Guitar" Lewis | 3 | That's Your Last Boogie! | Johnny Otis | Fantastic Voyage |
walking down hill | otis hinton | 2-1 | blackk cat trail | various artists | sunflower |
The Thrill is Gone | Roy Hawkins | 22 | Let Me Tell You About The Blues: West Coast | Various Artists | Fantastic Voyage |
Turn The Lamps Down Low (Featuring Little Willie Littlefield) | Little Esther Phillips | 20 | Am I That Easy To Forget 1950 - 1962 | Little Esther Phillips | Jasmine Records |
Looped | Calvin Boze | 22 | Rhythm And Booze | Various Artists | EMI |
Canned Heat Blues | Tommy Johnson | 35 | Mississippi Blues | Various Artists | CATFISH |
Too Many Drivers | Big Bill Broonzy | 15 | I Feel So Good | Big Bill Broonzy | INDIGO |
Southern Rag | Blind Blake | 11 | The Blues Box | Various Artists | METRO |
say no to the devil | rev. gary davis | 8 | all that blues | various artists | o b c |
Rattlesnake | John Brim | 10 | Whose Muddy Shoes | Elmore JamesJohn Brim | CHESS |
Wipe Your Tears | Jimmy Nolen | 15 | Scratchin'-Federal 52-56 | Pete 'Guitar' Lewis-Jimmy Nolen-Cal Green | charly R&B |
Green's Blues | Cal Greeen | 16 | Scratchin'-Federal 52-56 | Pete 'Guitar' Lewis-Jimmy Nolen-Cal Green | Charly R&B |
three o'clock blues | larry davis | 1 | blues round midnight | various artists | ace |
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