STAR BLUES on 1st April 2012 at 22:00

March 27th was a remarkable anniversary that we put at the centre of STAR BLUES last night, Sam Phillips formed Sun Records that date in 1952. With 60 years of back catalogue available. it was a daunting challenge to choose an hour or so's worth in celebration of blues from his label.

He only set out to have make recordings with his brainchild The Memphis Recording Service based at 706 Union Avenue Memphis - his main competitor at the time had a decent living by taping parties and weddings. Sam wanted to also capture local musicians, particularly country, gospel and blues artists. One of his earliest successes has often been described as the first rock'n'roll record: "Rocket 88" masterminded by Ike Turner and credited to sax man Jackie Brenston. Trouble is it led to many of Sam's artists moving to Chicago to work with Chess direct. And when Sam couldn't get the Chess brothers to take more of his output, he was forced to start his own label: Sun. He intended a recording featuring Walter Horton as the first issue and gave it a catalogue number Sun 174 ("Blues in My Condition" b/w "Sellin' My Whiskey" credited to Jackie Boy & Little Walter) - only a fragment of the b-side remains on cd - but poor feedback made him keep the record back, so the first single was Sun 175.(Johnny London's "Driving Slow").

Jim Buillet was an early financial partner and Sam bought him out in 1954, the same year he sold Elvis Presley to RCA Records for $40000 (the Colonel got $35k and Elvis the rest in back royalties). I speculated Sam's hand was forced in light of resolving urgent cash flow challenges?? He never publicly regretted the trade and he often asserted Howlin' Wolf to be the greater talent. Our survey touched all those bases and more, well known like Little Milton and Jerry Lee Lewis as well as lesser know spirits like Eddie Snow.  Phillips' problem however as time went on was not being able to replace Presley, Johnny Cash, Lewis and others with big names to keep the tills ringing. He sold the label to Shelby Singleton in the late Sixties. His blues legacy was rich and we only touched it lightly last night.

News also came through that Jerry 'Boogie' McCain had died at the age of 81, a master of amplified harmonica who gigged ceaselessly and never made a poor record. We went to his earliest hits on Rex as well as his later period career with the Music Maker organisation. In between he made several fine albums for Ichiban. His discography shown on Wikipedia is scant but in reality there's plenty of really good projects out there to sample his work. The tributes elsewhere remember him with much fondness and he never got the full acclaim his talent deserved.

Music Maker is also the home of Shelton Powe whose new album gave us our gospel spot and we took two more dips into the story of American studios courtesy of Ace. Those couple of hours flew past and I felt incredibly privileged to share my choice of Sun Blues with you last night. I'm planning some more special shows and I hope you'll want to come along - I'm back next week which only makes sense if you're there as well so until then take care of yourselves and tale care of those that take care of you

Track.Title	Track.ArtistSort	Index	Album.Title	Album.ArtistSort	Label
Good Rockin' Tonight	Elvis Presley	11	King Of Rock'n'roll : Complete 50's Masters	Elvis Presley	RCA
I'm Gonna Forget About You (Matchbox)	Ike Turner	25	Sun Blues Box : 1950-1958	Various Artists	CHARLY
Shake A Tail Feather	James & Bobby Purify	3	Memphis Boys: The Story Of American Studios	Various Artists	ACE
Wife Woman And Hoochie	Clay Hammond	5	I Kissed Her Gone	Clay Hammond	Desert Sounds
Boogie is My Name	Jerry McCain	1	Boogie Is My Name	Jerry McCain
Courtin' in a Cadillac	Jerry McCain & His Upstarts	13	It's Your Voodoo Working: The Best Of Excello	Various Artists	universal music operations
Crazy 'bout That Mess	Jerry McCain	12	Strange Kind Of Feelin'	Various Artists	ALLIGATOR // TRUMPET
Selling My Whiskey	Jackie Boy & Little Walter	1	50 Golden Years : Sun Record Company	Various Artists	FABULOUS
Tiger Man	Joe Hill Louis	7	The Sun Story - Vol.1	Various Artists	INSTANT
T-Model Boogie	Rosco Gordon	22	Sun Blues Box : 1950-1958	Various Artists	CHARLY
Feelin' Bad	Little Junior's Blue Flames	147	50 Golden Years : Sun Record Company	Various Artists	FABULOUS
The Hucklebuck	Earl Hooker	22	Sun Blues Box : 1950-1958	Various Artists	CHARLY
Lookin' for My Baby	Little Milton	18	Sun Blues Box : 1950-1958	Various Artists	CHARLY
Jelly Roll King	Frank Frost	155	50 Golden Years : Sun Record Company	Various Artists	FABULOUS
Cotton Crop Blues	James Cotton	24	Sun Blues Box : 1950-1958	Various Artists	CHARLY
Sweet Home Chicago	David 'Honeyboy' Edwards	13	Sun Records - Ultimate Blues Collection	Various Artists	VARESE
Tiger Man (King of the Jungle)	Rufus Thomas Jr.	18	Sun Blues Box : 1950-1958	Various Artists	CHARLY
Just Walkin' in the Rain	Prisonaires, The	29	50 Golden Years : Sun Record Company	Various Artists	FABULOUS
Don't Dog Me Around	Eddie Snow	14	Sun Blues Box : 1950-1958	Various Artists	CHARLY
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' on	Jerry Lee Lewis	32	50 Golden Years : Sun Record Company	Various Artists	FABULOUS
Baby Let's Play House	Elvis Presley	14	King Of Rock'n'roll : Complete 50's Masters	Elvis Presley	RCA
Bluebird Blues	Howlin' Wolf	18	Sun Blues Box : 1950-1958	Various Artists	CHARLY
Suspicious Minds	Mark James	11	Memphis Boys: The Story Of American Studios	Various Artists	ACE
This Train	Shelton Powe	5	Gountry Blues & Gospel	Shelton Powe	Music Maker
She's Tough	Jerry McCain	10	The Ace Story - Volume 3	Various Artists	Ace Records
Steady	Jerry McCain	23	Tuff Enough - Ace (Ms.) Blues Masters Vol.3	Various Artists	WESTSIDE
Can't Find My Way Home	Snakes-n-Angels	13	Back 2 The Weasel Ranch	Snakes-n-Angels	cdb

Created: 02/04/2012 09:00:46

STAR BLUES on 25th March 2012 at 22:00

Humdingers promised? Humdingers we had! A marvelous 22 track anthology compiled by Mark Lamarr on the VEETONE label kept the excitement levels way up against the end stops last night on STAR BLUES. Five tracks from that one made it a featured platter and then we topped up with four more from Percy Milem, Big Joe Turner, Tiny Grimes and Don Covay. Who says blues is just youthful guitar flash? We particularly loved the understated approach of Screamin' Jay Hawkins for his vocal with Tiny Grimes.

Far from youthful, Mr. B B King has a new cd plus dvd package out as a souvenir of his Royal Albert Hall concert in June last year. Much has been made of the guests: Ronnie Wood, Slash, Mick Hucknall and so on - B did his usual job as ringmaster for the turns. Brooks Williams will be in Cambridge a week on Thursday for a project called "State of the Union" with Boo Hewerdine - we found him in the songbook of Son House "Grinning in your Face". I've just reviewed Bessie Smith's Definitive collecion for Blues & Rhythm magazine and the only fault I could find is that they've had to limit themselves to two dozen tracks on a single disk - another selection of 24 would still not adequately showcase the empress of the blues. We were well off for female vocal talent last night, Bessie was there with Ruthie Foster, Janiva Magness, Bettye LaVette and the sadly less well known Bettye Swann. Janiva's latest project has her best singing yet.

Harrison Kennedy made a name in the vocal group Chairman of ther Board; these days he's a solo artist on Electro-Fi - his "Shame the Devil" project is his most blues-worthy yet. Irma Thomas reinvented the classic "Another Man Done Gone" and she's part of the New Orleans bluescene - by way of Edgbaston Birmingham we stayed in Louisiana courtesy of the band known as Tipitina who did a first rate version of some old sheet music dating back to the period before the blues. That was our piano spot and for the sacred feature Marie Knight brought her Dependable Boys on her Gospel Train. Even though the clock through the studio glass still showed an hour to go (on GMT) we had to wrap up on BST after our allotted span.

There's a heck of a lot of new music at present with a blues sticker on it, I'll promise we'll include as much as we can that fits our two hour format - as long as you're magnificent I'll be Gary Blue at ten next Sunday evening. 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
Blues Hotel	Jordan Patterson	5	Blues Hotel	Various Artists	EASYDISC
Key To The Highway	B.B. King	2	Live At The Royal Albert Hall	B.B. King	Shout Factory
Blues Headache	Nathan James & The Rhythm Scratchers	9	What You Make Of It	Nathan James & The Rhythm Scratchers	Delta Groove
Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad	Bettye Lavette	11	Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook	Bettye Lavette	Anti
(You Keep Me) Moving on	Ruthie Foster	3	Ruthie Foster Live At Antone's	Ruthie Foster	Blue Corn Music
Blues Get Off My Shoulder	Little Milton	16	Stand By Me	Little Milton	ORBIS BLUES COLLECTION
Isabella (Deluxe 6119)	Roy Gaines	21	R&B Humdingers Volume 11	Various Artists	Vee-Tone Records
Grinnin' in Your Face	Brooks Williams	2	Baby O!	Brooks Williams	red guitar blue music
Young Woman's Blues	Bessie Smith	16	Blues Queen. The Definitive Collection	Bessie Smith	Phoenix Records
I Don't Want To Do Wrong	Janiva Magness	8	Stronger For It	Janiva Magness	Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc.
I Don't Know What You've Got (But It's Got Me)	Percy Milem	22	Memphis Boys: The Story Of American Studios	Various Artists	ACE
Wild Child (Deluxe 6156)	Donnie Elbert	22	R&B Humdingers Volume 11	Various Artists	Vee-Tone Records
Done Got Old	Tail Dragger & Bob Corritore	8	Longtime Friends in the Blues	Tail Dragger & Bob Corritore	Delta Groove Productions
Shame the Devil	Harrison Kennedy	4	Shame the Devil	Harrison Kennedy	Electro-Fi Records
Rockin at Midnight	Roy Brown	63	Gettin' Funky	Various Artists	PROPER
Round And Round (Montel 1003)	Sugar Boy Crawford	1	R&B Humdingers Volume 11	Various Artists	Vee-Tone Records
Why Do You Waste My Time	Tiny Grimes w. Screaming Jay Hawkins	13	We’re Gonna Rock, We’re Gonna Roll	Various Artists	PROPER
Sweet Louisiana	Tipitina	14	Taking Care of Business	Tipitina	Big Bear Records
Another Man Done Gone	Irma Thomas	7	After The Rain	Irma Thomas	Rounder
Gospel Train	Marie Knight And The Dependable Boys	10	Gospel - The Ultimate Collection	Various Artists	RED Box
These Arms of Mine	Bettye Swann	16	Bettye Swann	Bettye Swann	Capitol
See About Me	Don Covay	3	Definitive	Don Covay	RAZOR & TIE
Don't You Cry	Big Joe Turner with Harry Van Walls and his Orchestra	14	The Very Best Of Burlesque	Various Artists	Not Now Music
Chop Chop Hole In The Wall (Everest 19316)	Boulevards, The	6	R&B Humdingers Volume 11	Various Artists	Vee-Tone Records
Ramblin' Man (Deluxe 6123)	Larry Darnell	9	R&B Humdingers Volume 11	Various Artists	Vee-Tone Records

Created: 26/03/2012 13:24:35

STAR BLUES on 18th March 2012 at 22:00

With historical content, new blues, St Patrick's Day and some old favourites you'd be forgiven for thinking it's a typical STAR BLUES but that assumes you'd be brave enough to predict what will happen between 10 and midnight on a Sunday night...
Someone asked Jimi Hendrix what is was like to be the world's greatest guitarist; he replied he didn't know and they should ask Rory Gallagher. He was a consummate guitarist taken from us too early by a failed liver damaged with prescription drugs he took to conquer his fear of flying. The film documentary "Ghost Blues" about Rory is sat at home on my iplayer and I wanted to pay tribute with a previously unissued go at "BullFrog Blues": that and a two-handed piece from John Lee Hooker and Van Morrison capped our St Patrick's Day celebration. Of all the albums and guests who attended the Hook's Indian Summer career, Van was the one who understood his friend best.
Pee Wee Crayton crossed my radar during the week through an extensive feature in issue 56 of Living Blues from 1980/81. He learned ukelele and built himself a banjo out of a cigar box before moving to guitar. He used a four finger style that allowed him big chords and he got early chart success with his first singles on Modern.  Disputes over royalties meant he didn't stay long with them though he stopped off at Vee-Jay just long enough to cut a session with our slow blues "Telephone Is Ringing" on last night's STAR BLUES. He was shamefully ignored by most thereafter and even dropped out of music and drove a truck in the early Sixties. Johnny Otis gave him a job in 1970 with the Revue and Crayton found his way back to the studios again. He was under the spotlight in the You,Me & 1001b Blues feature.
The centrepiece of the show was the handful of tracks by Lightnin' Hopkins who would have been 100 on 15th March. Robert Plant's Band of Joy loosely interpreted "Central 209" a couple of years ago, Hopkins did the original for us; he covered both the risque Tampa Red song "Play With Your Poodle" and Big Joe Williams' "Baby Please Don't Go" and he got down dirty and boogied with "Jake Head". I once tried to count all Hopkins compact discs in print - I stopped when I got to 200. He ploughed that furrow that wandered in and out of the standard 12-bar form and had a fascinating life that began at the knee of Blind Lemon Jefferson.
Our new crop included Eddie Taylor Jr, proving that great blues runs in the genes - we were lucky because the album on Wolf just about snuck out with no advance warning in this direction. Bob Corritore is a master harp player, his new project hooks him up with Tail Dragger for top-notch blues playing all round. They first net on 11th Jan 1976, the day after Howlin' Wolf died - a connection kept alive here by Henry Gray who played piano for the Wolf and does sterling stuff here too.
Sunday Wilde hasn't been on STAR BLUES before, but this Ontario blues artist will surely be back if she can ever shake that man. Her third album came our way and we could hear why she's started to win those awards,. She was shaded (just) in the new release stakes by   Janiva Magness with her "Stronger Now" project for Alligator. In my humble opinion this is her best singing yet and there is a very pleasant graininess now to her timbre that has come from taking on life's latest challenge. This has the most soulful vocals I've heard since Bettye LaVette's album from 2010 "Interpretations".

Eddie Cusic and Maurice Jean Vaughan don't get much of an outing on blues radio in theUK, STAR BLUES was pleased to put matters right yesterday. We also squeezed in a new R&B anthology on VeeTone compiled by the redoubtable Mark Lamarr - my only regret is I've missed out on the first ten volumes in the set. Deffo on my list. All too soon it was over and all I can say is watch out next week - I've got more of the same for 10pm next Sunday on Cambridge and Ely's STAR RADIO, 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
Bullfrog Blues	Rory Gallagher	11	Notes From San Francisco	Rory Gallagher	Eagle Rock Entertainment
Gloria	Van Morrison With John Lee Hooker	1	Gloria	Van Morrison	POLYDOR
Get it Over Baby	Bobby JonesMannish Boys, The	5	Comin' Back Hard	Bobby JonesMannish Boys, The	DELTAGROOVE
Early in the Morning	Charlie Musselwhite	10	Stand Back! Here Comes	Charlie Musselwhite	VANGUARD
Give Me Central 209	Lightnin' Hopkins	19	His Blues	Lightnin' Hopkins	ACE
Telephone is Ringing	Pee Wee Crayton	22	The Best Of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour	Various Artists	CHROME
I Didn't Take Your Woman (You Gave Her to Me)	Lou Pride	13	Twisting The Knife	Lou Pride	ICHIBAN
I Been Mistreated	Raful Neal	1	I Been Mistreated	Raful Neal	ICHIBAN
I Wonder Why	Debbie DaviesAlbert Collins	7	25th Anniversary Collection	Various Artists	BLIND PIG RECORDS
I Wonder Why	Lightnin' Hopkins	16	(1946-1960)	Lightnin' Hopkins	STORY OF THE BLUES
Use What You Got	Eddie Taylor Jr.	6	So Called Friends	Eddie Taylor Jr.
Cut You Loose	Eddie Cusic	4	Leland Mississippi Blues	Eddie Cusic	WOLF
Slop Around	Buddy Guy	10	R & B Humdingers	Various Artists	veetone
I Can't Shake That Guy	Sunday Wilde	10	What Man!?? Oh That Man!!	Sunday Wilde	INDEPENDENT
Cold Outdoors	Tail DraggerBob Corritore	5	Longtime Friends in the Blues	Tail DraggerBob Corritore	Delta Groove Productions
Jake Head Boogie	Lightnin' Hopkins	2	His Blues	Lightnin' Hopkins	ACE
Let Me Play With Your Poodle	Lightnin' Hopkins	7	The History Of Rhythm And Blues Volume Two 1942-1952	Various Artists	Rhythm and Blues Records
Back to New Orleans	Lightnin' Hopkins	1	The Best Of Lightnin' Hopkins	Lightnin' Hopkins	PRESTIGE
Up Above My Head (I Hear Music in the Air)	Sister Rosetta Tharpe & Marie Knight	15	Gospel - The Ultimate Collection	Various Artists	RED Box
You Got What You Wanted	Janiva Magness	7	Stronger For It	Janiva Magness	Alligator Records & Artist Management, Inc.
I Want to Be Your Spy	Maurice John Vaughan	8	25th Anniversary Collection	Various Artists	Alligator
Telephone Song	Stevie Ray Vaughan	14	The Real Deal! Greatest Hits Volume 2	Stevie Ray Vaughan	SONY

Created: 19/03/2012 08:39:33

STAR BLUES on 11th March 2012 at 22:00

oh dear... The wise Buddhas who sit in the place marked Health and Safety are worried - they've heard folks enjoying STAR BLUES and they now wish to act to mitigate claims in the event of a further outbreak of unconfined jollity. Hence last night's audit and stern edict thus:

You must not perpetrate, perpetuate, participate or encourage tomfoolery on your STAR BLUES show. You may not facilitate or encourage good time behaviour in any fashion, manner or degree. Gay wild abandon is strictly forbidden and we will monitor your output to ensure you comply. There will be a three stage traffic light system to indicate transgressions in your transmission - you must ensure the green light is lit throughout. Instances where tomfoolery is hinted at will illuminate the amber bulb. Sanctions will follow if the red light shows.

Well I think we got away with it - there were murmurings of jitterbugging and frivolity when I played Ronnie Earl but the orange light just flickered. Don't tell anyone I took the lamp out of the red. Ryan may have noticed this morning because I left a nasty mark on his Love Shack when I stood on the desk to reach over when I did it.

Nor did it stop me from getting the very best out of BB King, Etta James, James Cotton and Bobby Bland - if anyone has any doubts on why these are judged as the greats, rush home now and listen to the tracks we chose last night. I probably upset a few Whitney Houston fans in my assertion of the greater influence from Etta James but I don't care. Ol B always thought Hendrix to be a master blues player and the 1966 go at "Red House" provided ample evidence. I also got drawn into a Facebook discussion during the week on the best blues piano player - too hard to call I said but don't forget Leroy Carr. Living Blues magazine proposed him as best of all time on any instrument a few years ago (more influential than Robert Johnson et al). Who was I to argue?

Chris Thomas King was on hand with another piece at the outer envelope of blues and Jimmy Nolen came along with some raw guitar playing not often heard on blues radio. We've played versions of Tom Waits' "Down in the Hole" before but I don't think we've had the one used by Hans Theesink on his project Jederman,.

They haven't said anything about my white tee shirt so I'm going XXL next week to smuggle in as many dirty deeds as you can do on the cheap (ref: AC/DC). I hope you'll want to be there to hear how it turns out, 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
Johnny Got a Boom Boom	Imelda May	15	More Mayhem	Imelda May	DECCA
(Ain't That) Just Like a Woman	B. B. King	10	B. B. King The Crown Recordings: Disc 7 : More B. B.. King	B. B. King	ACE
Red House	Jimi Hendrix	3	:Blues	Jimi Hendrix	MCA
Limetown (fragment)	Guy Davis	1	Chocolate To The Bone	Guy Davis	RED HOUSE
I Believe I'll Lose My Mind	Guy Davis	4	Chocolate To The Bone	Guy Davis	RED HOUSE
Baghdad Blues	Beverly 'Guitar' Watkins	2	The Feelings Of ...	Beverly 'Guitar' Watkins	MUSIC MAKER
Sad Hours	Little Walter (Aka Marion Walter Jacobs)	4	His Best	Little Walter (Aka Marion Walter Jacobs)	MCA/CHESS
I Pity the Fool	Bobby 'Blue' Bland	4	Deep Soul Treasures - Vol. 4	Various Artists	Kent (U.K.)
I'd Rather Go Blind	Etta James	16	Her Best	Etta James	MCA/CHESS
Way Down in the Hole	Hans Theessink	1	Jedermann Remixed - The Soundtrack	Hans Theessink	BLUE GROOVE
Half a Mind	Bobby Marchan	14	Get Down With It The Soul Sides 1963-67	Bobby Marchan	Kent
Fever	Little Willie John	24	The History Of Rhythm & Blues, Volume 3 - The Rocknroll Years	Various Artists	Rhythm and Blues Records
The Way You Do	Jimmy Nolen	7	Scratchin'-Federal 52-56	Pete "Guitar" Lewis-Jimmy Nolen-Cal Green	charly R&B
Pack it Up	Freddie King	16	Ultimate Collection	Freddie King	HIP-O
T-Bone Boogie	Ronnie Earl	2	Blues T-Bone Style	Various Artists	EASYDISC
I've Got Love if You Want it	John Hammond	1	Got Love If You Want It	John Hammond	POINTBLANK
Two Trains Runnin'	James CottonJoe Louis Walker	9	Deep In The Blues	James CottonJoe Louis Walker	VERVE
Cairo Blues	Melvin 'Lil Son' Jackson	4	American Masters Vol. 1 : Country Blues	Various Artists	Arhoolie Records
Mojo Hand	Lightnin' Hopkins	1	His Blues	Lightnin' Hopkins	ACE
Naptown Blues	Leroy Carr	7	Naptown Blues	Leroy Carr	ORBIS BLUES COLLECTION
I Asked for Water	Howlin' Wolf	3	Howlin' Wolf / The Wolf Is At Your Door: The Singles 1951-1960	Howlin' Wolf	Jasmine
O Brother Where Art Thou?	Chris Thomas King	1	Legend Of Tommy Johnson	Chris Thomas King	21ST CENTURY
Bad Feeling Blues	Lightnin' Slim	11	Tuff Enough - Ace (Ms.) Blues Masters Vol.3	Various Artists	WESTSIDE
Fannie Mae	Holmes Brothers, The	4	Righteous! Rounder Heritage Essential Collectio	Holmes Brothers, The	Rounder
Little Sister	Ry Cooder	9	Why Don't You Try Me	Ry Cooder	WEA

Created: 12/03/2012 12:49:11

STAR BLUES on 4th March 2012 at 22:00

Plenty of new music from folks making a first appearance on STAR BLUES - and on this evidence it won't be their last. In that set, I'm chuffed to be able to include the soulful Jackie Johnson, a vibrant Hip Shakin' Mama and the fast upcoming star Cherry Lee Mewis. Jackie is a new name to me with a beautiful tone to her voice, she simp;ly oozes class and she neatly lead us toward our gospel spot with her "Keep The Faith". Shelley Lynne Hardinge is an ex-pat Brit based in Ontario and her "I Been Lovin' You Too Long" was written for her husband who plays bass in her band. She really admires Willie Dixon and she has that same line in wry observation. Young Cherry Lee Mewis mines the same vein as Imelda May but I hear both Ruth Brown and Brenda Lee in her voice that will set her apart in the long run. Volker Strifler doesn't sound like a name for a blues artist, thankfully we subscribe to the Bo Diddley dictum about books, covers and names to allow us to give airtime to this fine project on Vizztone.

Giles Robson has a track on the Blues cd given away with Classic Rock magazine (other rock mags are available), the rock god Neil Jones passed the disc over to us for inclusion in our playlist last night. Memphis Gold celebrated his birthday yesterday and he brought his wonderfully fluid guitar to our party and we pushed our purist needle hard up against the endstops on the dial with another track from his "Contraband" album. We lost John Cephas exactly three years ago and his partnership with Phil Wiggins gave us a reminder of a gentle man and skillful guitarist. Sean Taylor is a nice player who writes and sings well, sadly for us he sits on the outer edge of what I can get away with on STAR BLUES - his version of "Sixteen Tons" more than did the job for us and he deserves to get wider recognition.

Champion Jack Dupree's "Blues from the Gutter" album was recorded in 1958 for Atlantic, its been reissued now with a second album and a whole cd full of singles he did inn the early Fifties appearing on cd for the first time. Every self respecting blues fan will already have the vinyl album but the budget price on the current package and bonus stuff means a re-purchase is more than justified. Joe Liggins paired with Jack for the piano spot and the teenage Sam Cooke did splendid service in the gospel tent.

World Book Day was my chance to go back to Steve Franz' great biography of Elmore James, so it gave us an excuse to go to Elmore's first session for Trumpet - and the very different reading by Robert Lockwood - on Dust My Broom. Add in two women who arrived a day early looking for BB King and Willie Mabon - I had to look after them as best i could. Honestly two hours is just not enough to keep it all in, we'll do our best next Sunday at 10pm 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
T-Bone Intentions	Long John Hunter	13	25th Anniversary Collection	Various Artists	Alligator
Tell Me What's the Reason	T-Bone Walker	1	Blues Guitar Box	Various Artists	SEQUEL
Monday Woman	B. B. King	5	Makin' Love Is Good For You	B. B. King	MCA
Monday Woman	Willie Mabon	6	The Seventh Son	Willie Mabon	charly blues masterworks
Key to the Highway	Cephas & Wiggins	11	Richmond Blues	Cephas & Wiggins	SMITHSONIAN
Sixteen Tons	Sean Taylor	6	Love Against Death	Sean Taylor	SGO Records
Lay On My Delta Bed	Otis Taylor	9	Contraband Blues	Otis Taylor	TELARC
The Mighty Incinerator	Giles Robson	1	Giles Robson & Dirty Aces	Giles Robson
I Found Out	Mickey Murray	11	People Are Together	Mickey Murray	SECREt Stash
You're Gonna Make Me Cry	Chuck Roberson	1	I'll Take Care of You	Chuck Roberson	DESERT SOUNDS
Memphis Still Got Soul	Johnny Rawls	1	Memphis Still Got Soul	Johnny Rawls	Catfood
Country Girl	Johnny Otis Show	5	Shattered Dreams - Funky Blues 1967-1978	Various Artists	BGP
Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong	Sherman Robertson	6	Going Back Home	Sherman Robertson	AUDIOQUEST
Whole Lotta Woman	Memphis Gold	10	Memphis Gold - From Radiosubmit	Memphis Gold	Chet Chandler
I've Been Loving You Too Long	Hip Shakin Mama And The Leg Men	7	Reclaim Your Land	Hip Shakin Mama And The Leg Men	hipshakin music
Man Overboard	Cherry Lee Mewis	1	Heard It Here First	Cherry Lee Mewis	CLM
Keep The Faith	Jackie Johnson	11	Memphis Jewel	Jackie Johnson	Catfood
Peace in the Valley	Soul Stirrers Feat. Sam Cooke, The	1	Gospel - The Ultimate Collection	Various Artists	RED Box
The Honeydripper	Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers	12	The History Of Rhythm And Blues Volume Two 1942-1952	Various Artists	Rhythm and Blues Records
Evil Woman	Champion Jack Dupree	4	Two Classic Albums Plus Singles	Champion Jack Dupree	AVID
Dust My Broom	Elmore James	17	The History Of Rhythm And Blues Volume Two 1942-1952	Various Artists	Rhythm and Blues Records
Dust My Broom	Robert Lockwood Jr.	8	Down Home Blues Classics - Chicago (1946-1954)	Various Artists	BOULEVARD VINTAGE
Wait A Minute	Volker Strifler Band	5	Let The Music Rise	Volker Strifler Band	Vizztone

Created: 05/03/2012 20:32:17 

STAR BLUES on 26th February 2012 at 22:00

Neither Louisiana Red nor Joe Thompson held much sway outside fans of our music - there's a curious Law that says the more influential you are the less you'll be appreciated at the time. We had chance to celebrate both on this STAR BLUES through their deaths in the last day are so. Joe was described as the most historically important American traditional performers still working in the 21st Century: his familial roots go back as far as the American Civil War. Born in North Caroline he learned fiddle at age five and gigged ever since - playing dance music, pure and simple with subtlety amply replace with joyous enthusiasm. He had an album out on Rounder in the 90s and he joined the Carolina Chocolate Drops for a live concert they released on cd last year. Two tracks seemed barely enough to say a proper farewell.

Iverson Minter's mother died when he was two and his father was attacked by the Ku Klux Klan. He learned at the knee of John Lee Hooker, Elmore James and Muddy Waters - truth be told he could outplay them and for party pieces he'd imitate them. When he got to Detroit he signed with Hooker's label owner - Joe Von Battle - and recorded seven songs in JVB's basement. Minter called himself Rocky Fuller at the time. He became Louisiana Red thereafter and he seemed equally at home as a solo slide master or with a small robust combo of like minded musicians. We sampled just about every facet of his work from the first track I ever heard by him ("Valerie") to his most recent project. His gifts have been bouyed by collaborations with David Maxwell and Little Victor - the latest three projects all got great reviews and two gongs to show for them. He was a fan as well as a musician, with some lovely stories from fellow players about his words of kindness along the way.

We also event to the new project from Otis Taylor which has split the critics on the percentage blues quotient - we love it at STAR BLUES, Taylor has again pushed at the edges of our music while keeping the tradtitional African American core. The New Heritage Orchestra is also trying interesting arrangements on old themes - in a package which features "Beady-Eyes" Smith on drums. (The apple didn't fall far from that tree: exemplary drum skills indeed). Catherine Russell has a lovely voice, obviously schooled in the ways of jazz and we stretched our purview to welcome her into our fold (they can't touch you for stretching a purview, I checked). Other new albums concentrated on being fine retrospective surveys of Paul Kelly and George Jackson - both out through Ace.

Our birthday book had Irma Thomas and the redoubtable Johnny Winter who both added to the celebrations started last week with Paul Jones. Some of my Facebook friends have been talking about Sonny Rhodes, LC Green and Eddie Cusic, reason enough for me to play them last night. Who knows for next week, I'll be here if you'll be there: 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 Wanna Get Your Boogie	Sonny Rhodes	9	A Good Day To Play The Blues	Sonny Rhodes	STONY PLAIN
Share What You Got Keep What You Need	Robert Cray	12	Bad Influence	Robert Cray	DEMON
Blues Power	Albert King	2	The Complete Stax-Volt Singles, Vol. 2: 1968-1971	Various Artists	STAX
Catfish Blues	Heritage Blues Orchestra	4	And Still I Rise	Heritage Blues Orchestra	MRI
Bad Company	Deitra Farr	2	The Search Is Over	Deitra Farr	JSP Records
Goin’ Down to the River Blues	L.C. Green	13	Let Me Tell You About The Blues: Detroit	Various Artists	Fantastic Voyage
I Walk the Water	Eddie Cusic	11	Leland Mississippi Blues	Eddie Cusic	WOLF
Dona	Carolina Chocolate Drops feat Joe Thompson	11	Dona Got A Ramblig Mind	Carolina Chocolate Drops	MUSIC MAKER
John Henry	Carolina Chocolate Drops feat. Joe Thompson	4	Carolina Chocolate Drops With Joe Thompson	Carolina Chocolate Drops, TheJoe Thompson
Come on Baby Now	Rocky Fuller	21	Down Home Blues Classics - Chicago (1946-1954)	Various Artists	BOULEVARD VINTAGE
Valerie	Louisiana Red	4	Pretty Woman	Louisiana Red	ORBIS BLUES COLLECTION
Get It While You Can	Johnny Rawls	8	Red Cadillac	Johnny Rawls	DEEP SOUTH SOUL
Only Your Love	Paul Kelly	6	Hot Runnin' Soul	Paul Kelly	Kent
Bright Lights, Big City	Johnny Winter & Susan Tedeschi	7	Roots	Johnny Winter	Megaforce
Steel Guitar Blues	Michael Messer	8	King Guitar	Michael Messer	CATFISH
Ride on Red, Ride on	Louisiana Red	4	Back To The Black Bayou	Louisiana Red	Ruf
I'm Getting Tired	Louisiana Red & Little Victor's Juke Joint	9	Memphis Mojo	Louisiana Red & Little Victor's Juke Joint	Ruf
First Degree	Louisiana Red w. Lefty Dizz	1	In The Tradition	Various Artists	BLUES ALLIANCE
Move on Up a Little Higher	Marie Knight	14	In The Tradition	Various Artists	BLUES ALLIANCE
Wake Up and Live	Catherine Russell	3	Strictly Romancin'	Catherine Russell	World Village
Share My Name	Cary Morin	6	Sing It Louder	Cary Morin	MUSIC MAKER
Don't Mess With My Man	Irma Thomas	3	Jockomo Jockomo	Various Artists	MUSIC CLUB
Greedy Over You	George Jackson	3	Don't Count Me Out: Fame Recordings Vol.1	George Jackson	Kent
Yell Your Name	Otis Taylor	2	Contraband Blues	Otis Taylor	TELARC
Tipitina	Tuts Washington	12	Jockomo Jockomo	Various Artists	MUSIC CLUB

STAR BLUES on 19th February 2012 at 22:00

We don't do many interviews on STAR BLUES. Paul Jones has a birthday this week so we marked the celebration by repeating our conversation that we did on Christmas Day. Many folks asked for us to do the show again as they'd missed it first time around midst turkey and trimmings.

As he is my counterpart on BBC Radio2 he doesn't get much chance to talk about his own life and work, especially what he does at the helm of his very popular weekly show. While he gets some flak about having an easy time with the resources of Auntie Beeb behind him he still only gets 58 minutes to represent the blues scene in the UK - that's not much time to touch a wide range of styles or delve back into the archives. We talked about his move from Thursday mid evening to Monday early slot and how it raised his profile and audience. By implication that can't be anything else but good news for the rest of us who love blues.

He's been a working musician for about fifty years and is one of a dwindling generation on hand in the 60s to be in support bands when promoters would only pay to ship over the headline acts (like John Lee Hooker etc). All of which gives him a nice fund of road stories to give colour to the personalities who did so much to establish a platform for our music here. Someone should pick up the task of documenting all this stuff while we still have the chance.

There's a strong faith that has kept him young at heart with a genuine enthusiasm for the next generation of players and an appetite for a full diary this year and onwards. His role as ambassador for blues in Britain is worn with some humility but is almost completely overlooked in the mainstream despite a recent clutch of awards. A real nice guy and a pleasure.

Next Sunday we resume the usual tomfoolery at 10pm (GMT) I hope you'll want to come along, white tee shirt and all - until then take care of yourselves and take care of those that take care of you