I had the privilege of seeing the great Leon Atkins AKA Li’ Jimmy Reed in Hull yesterday.
The last of the Louisiana Blues men from around Baton Rouge, Jimmy is still going strong and putting on one hell of a show. If you like good electric Blues a la Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters and Elmore James then this is the real thing.
Ably supported by the keyboard genius Bob Hall and Ukulele Bass expert Hilary Blythe they put on a great authentic show of genuine Louisiana Blues that would have done the original Jimmy Reed proud.
Leon got his break at a young age when the original Jimmy Reed was too drunk to perform and he was persuaded to take his place under the moniker Lil’ Jimmy Reed. The show was a success, the name stuck, and he never looked back.
His guitar playing was crisp, intricate and rockin’, his harmonica playing equally superb. When he sang it was so real it sent your mouth straining into a big grin. You don’t get to hear real blues like this anymore. They are all dead. But Leon lives on. At 81 years old he is still full of it.
We got the whole story of his eight children, 37 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren and 4 great, great grandchildren (No wonder overpopulation is killing the world. Seemingly Jimmy is prolific in more ways than just music.
Hilary Blythe was superb on that ukulele bass and Bob Hall is a genius.
All told it was a great show!! I’d travel a long way to catch them again!!
