STAR BLUES on 27th April 2014 at 22:00

Not sure when Henry Townsend was last played on British FM Blues radio and he along with Jabo Williams marked a return to what STAR BLUES is best known for - celebrating the full heritage of our music. In two hours that whizzed past in a trice, the young Jarekus Singleton brought along his brand new album for Alligator and the nonagenarian Henry Townsend held up the other end of a bluesman's career. Jarekus has been tipped for great things since his debut album and with the profile afforded him by Bruce Iglauer's imprint, his second one may well get him there or thereabouts. His "Blame game isn't typical of the rest of the project but the more stripped back feel around a harp is a little gem in my humble. Henry did a piece for the Smithsonian as part of their celebrations for Robert Johnson, he was known for his piano skills inspired by Sunnyland Slim though he started on guitar copying Lonnie Johnson. LJ was according by many to be the founder of blues guitar and by remarkable coincidence was also in our crowd last night.

Johnnie Marshall, Robert Ealey and Chris Beard surfaced around the same time at the turn of the 90s and - sadly for us - none have recorded anywhere nearly enough. There are a couple of blues artists with pretty serious health worries at the moment and we send them much love and kind thoughts: Finis Tasby had a stroke last year and though paralysed remains in undiminished good spirits, we caught him front and centre singing for the Mannish Boys. Walter Trout had a lengthy spell in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers but these days has life-threatening liver troubles. There'll be a cd, book and DVD project in stores as of 4th June and we got an early look at the album: Mayall wrote and did rippling piano duties on the Boogie track to showcase the good cause.

Robert Cray starts his UK tour on Friday and he'll reach Cambridge on 10th with a follow-on gig in Norwich the day after. Don't have his new album yet but that single is a good taster. Can't believe he's slipped past the 60 mark now, its great to hear him in touch with those soulful roots. With Mr Singleton on the start line for new albums we find both Keb Mo and Kenny Blues Boss Wayne. The female blues voice didn't get much of a fair shake but what there was was pretty darn good: Helen Humes and Big Maybelle who got covered by Aretha Franklin. The new issue of Living Blues has Swamp Dogg on the cover and in th e early guise of Little Jerry Williams we had him on the show. Wynonie Harris, Kip Anderson and Earl Gaines effortlessly upped the vox quotient. The lone instrumental was the single Al Wichard cut for the Bihari brothers in a recording blitz designed to stockpile product ahead of the second Petrillo ban.

Somewhat bleary eyed I was roused by Lady Blue on Saturday morning telling me about Ben Harper on breakfast tv, hence our excursion into the 2004 collaboration he did with the Blind Boys of Alabama in the gospel tent. God willing we'll surface again with trivia, tomfoolery and blues at 10pm next Sunday, 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
Gotta Find My Baby	Chris Beard	9	Who I Am & What I Do	Chris Beard	ELECTRO Glide
you move me	robert cray	1	you move me	robert cray	provogue
I Had a Dream	Robert Ealey	1	Rounder Revue	Various Artists	Rounder
On My Way to Memphis	Johnnie Marshall	2	Live For Today	Johnnie Marshall	JSP Records
jumpin' the bone	Duke Robillard	10	Stomp! The Blues Tonight	Duke Robillard	Stony Plain Music
Take My Hand	Ben HarperBlind Boys Of Alabama, The	1	There Will Be A Light	Ben HarperBlind Boys Of Alabama, The	VIRGIN RECORDS
Mean Old World	Mannish Boys, The	2	Double Dynamite	Mannish Boys, The	Delta Groove
mayall piano blues	walter trout w. john mayall	7	blues came a calling	walter trout	provogue
Keep On Rockin'	Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne	10	Rollin' With The Blues Boss	Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne	STONY PLAIN
The Worst Is Yet To Come	Keb Mo	1	Bluesamericana	Keb Mo
blame game	jarekus singleton	11	refuse to lose	jarekus singleton	alligator
Lovin' Machine	Wynonie Harris	9	Jump Mr Blues	Wynonie Harris	Fantastic Voyage
Let's Go Again (Where We Went Last Night)	Hank Ballard & The Midnighters	5	Doo Wop Revival: The R&b Vocal Group Sound 1961-1962	Various Artists	Fantastic Voyage
Cake Jumps (Instrumental)	Al 'Cake' Wichard Sextette	11	Beating The Petrillo Ban. The Late December 1947 Modern Sessions	Various Artists	ACE
Burnt Toast And Black Coffee	Mike Pedicin	5	Get On The Right Track: Mod R&b, Jazz & Ska	Various Artists	Fantastic Voyage
respect	otis redding	1	Respect: Aretha's Influences & Inspirations	various artists	ace
Pitful	Big Maybelle	8	Respect: Aretha's Influences & Inspirations	Various Artists	ACE
today i sing the blues	helen humes	10	Respect: Aretha's Influences & Inspirations	Various Artists	ACE
Anytime is the Right Time	Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup	4	My Baby Left Me The Definitive Collection	Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup	Fantastic Voyage
Keep What You Got	Lonnie Johnson	6	Originator Of Modern Guitar Blues	Lonnie Johnson	BLUES BOY
Fat Mama Blues	Jabo Williams	25	Roll 'Em Pete : 25 Years Of Piano Blues And Boogie	Various Artists	INDIGO
I'm the Lover Man	Little Jerry Williams	4	It's All Good - A Singles Collection 1963 - 1989	Swamp Dogg	ACE
I Wanna Be The Only One	Kip Anderson	13	Where Southern Soul Began: 2	Various Artists	HISTORY OF SOUL
best of luck baby	earl gaines	19	Where Southern Soul Began	Various Artists	HISTORY OF SOUL