That is Sonny Boy Williamson the second, Willie Rice Miller. A superb harp player and showman. Another great that I never managed to see live. But I did see a lot of his stuff on TV. Very Impressive!!
I used to play those old Ches albums to death. Speaking of death – when we were in Mississippi we hunted out his grave and paid homage. It was in the middle of nowhere with an empty whiskey bottle and array of harmonicas! Very fitting.
So today I’m playing some of the great Sonny Boy!!
It is rare these days for me to find a band that I go overboard on. Most music seems overproduced, to inoffensive, too processed, meaningless pop, or trivial. Not the North Mississippi Allstars. They seem to have captured the old rawness of Blues. I’ve seen them play three times now and they were superb each time. The Cody Brothers are amazing. The music is alive!
So today I’ll be playing them loud and proud. The North Mississippi Allstars!! Bastions of Hill Country Blues!!
I saw these two guys twice and wish it could have been a lot more. Their style of Country Blues with a Folk tinge was very easy on the ear. Sonny was a great harp player and provided an interesting accompaniment to Brownie with his whoops and yells. Their voices blended well. They got to accompany Woody Guthrie too!!
The stand-out song from their performances for me was Sitting On Top Of The World. I’ve heard many people do it but their version tops them all for me.
So on this fine sunny day I shall reacquaint myself with these two and thoroughly enjoy it!
I only managed to see Hound Dog Taylor once. He was on the Blues package that came through in 1969 or 1970 – I forget which. Sadly he did not stand out. I was more smitten with Son House, Bukka White, Skip James and Big Joe Williams, who were all outstanding. So I did not take much note of him after that – until I heard the Natural Boogie album.
It knocked me out!!
I like music that is raw. I like good slide guitar. I like it rockin’!
Natural Boogie had it all – overamplified, distorted and mean. There was none of that overproduced commercial rubbish – all processed down to the lowest common denominator – this was the real thing!
So I went and bought all his albums!! Today I will be rockin’ with Hound Dog!!!
Bo Diddley used to busk on the corner in McComb. One day a car drew up, a guy leaned out and said ‘Jump in, man. I’m gonna make you a star.’
Bo Diddley was a genius – a macho, struttin’ bluesman who took that shuffle beat and made it his own. He was instrumental in Rock ‘n’ Roll and every R&B band from the UK British Boom played Bo Diddley songs – From the Stones and Yardbirds to the Animals and Prettythings.
Bo Diddley rules.
I met him in 1981 when he played in Hull. We went backstage to get albums signed and I had my picture taken with him. What a moment. He was a very friendly guy.
So when we did our Blues Trail in Mississippi and Lousianna I had to visit McComb and stand on that corner where Bo Diddley had played!
Quite a thrill.
In 2008 we set off through Louisiana and Mississippi to follow the Blues trail. We visited old Blues clubs, sought out signs, grave markers and monuments – but more importantly we got to soak up the area and see the places where these guys came from and played. Nothing much had changed. We found lots of markers, graves and monuments; what we didn’t find was any Blues being played!
We were told Mississippi was like a third world country and was dangerous. We talked to the people and they seemed friendly enough. It was an experience.
In Clarksdale we visited the Delta Blues Museum. Isn’t that weird? The Blues has a museum!
The museum was hosted by two very friendly and congenial young people. It was a fascinating place. Well worth a visit!
I just discovered this wonderful bit of history.
I only saw Son House once but it is an experience that is rivetted into my brain.
I’d never heard of him before. Hammersmith Odeon was packed. It was the Blues Festival. This old guy hobbled on stage and sat down with his national steel guitar.
He started off mumbling like Hillbilly Bear. He sounded too old to be doing this. Then he started playing and it was a transformation. He was a revelation. He bought the whole place to their feet. Amazing. Still to this day one of my favourite concerts!! Amazing!!
This is the guy who taught Robert Johnson to play and inspired Muddy Waters!! Well worth a watch and listen!! I was so chuffed to stumble across this!!
I discovered RL Burnside after purchasing a Fat Possum sampler. He’s a rockin’ Bluesman from North Mississippi – the same region as Howlin’ Wolf. You can hear that in the hypnotic rhythms that he specialises in.
Fat Possum was a great label. They specialised in producing raw exciting Blues, just how it should be.
Today I’ll be rockin’ to RL!!
It was way back in the sixties that this album came out called Swamp Blues. It was basically a compilation from the Excello label in Louisiana with the producer J J Miller.
It featured such wonderful characters as Slim Harpo, Lonesome Sundown, Lazy Lester and Lightnin’ Slim.
I instantly recognised a number of tracks covered by the Kinks, Yardbirds and Stones. Slim Harpo was an unknown genius. A blues legend.
I started collecting my Slim Harpo! Superb!
I couldn’t find my photo of Slim’s grave but here’s me with Lazy Lester!
When I went to Louisiana I went and hunted out his grave. It had trees growing out of it. I paid homage to one of the greats.
Today I will play Slim Harpo real loud!! Got Love If You Want It!! I’m a King Bee!!
I discovered Snooks way back in the sixties. I was a Blues nut and used to hunt through all the second-hand record shops looking for rare blues albums. I discovered this Folkways album with its thick cardboard cover. It was called Snooks Eaglin – New Orleans Street Singer.
It wasn’t quite the Blues album I thought it was. Snooks was not really a Blues singer. Neither was he a Folk singer.
I was unfamiliar with New Orleans music at the time – even though I’d heard a bit of Swamp Blues (Slim Harpo and Lazy Lester) and things like Huey ‘Piano’ Smith and Frankie Ford. I later got into the special hybrid vibe of New Orleans. Loved it.
But Snooks was always special. I love his melodic songs and warm voice. He’s so gentle and special.
So today I’m going to be playing Snooks real loud while I do a spot of decorating!