Thought I’d share another little slab of my History of Rock Music in the hope that I might entice you to purchase a copy or two!
Extract:
British R&B of the early 1960s
For some inexplicable reason Europe has always shown a greater interest in the Blues than has been shown in its own home country. Blues artists who made the crossing were pleasantly surprised to find they were so warmly received.
Chris Barber was not only instrumental in the birth of Skiffle but was also responsible for bringing the Blues to Britain. His Jazz Band incorporated Blues and provided a platform for artists like Big Bill Broonzy, Leadbelly and Lonnie Johnson to visit Britain in the mid to late 1950s. They were closely followed by such luminaries as Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson and John Lee Hooker. Some of these found the experience so rewarding that they stayed and took up permanent residence. These included Memphis Slim, Jimmy Witherspoon and Champion Jack Dupree.
These seminal artists stimulated a lot of interest in genuine Blues. Musicians began breaking away from the Jazz and Skiffle scene to form R&B groups playing authentic black American Blues. There was a lot of cross-over. Musicians, such as the saxophonist Dick Hexstall-Smith, found themselves playing in both R&B and Jazz bands. The Blues was a cult scene. There was an ardent following for the few bands in existence. But these bands acted as a proving ground and launching pad for both the Beat Explosion of the mid 1960s and the later Blues Bands of the 1960s underground. Many important personnel involved in these two movements were first blooded in the R&B Bands of these early pioneers.
The fact that these early R&B bands were successful, attracting regular audiences at a number of venues enabled promoters to bring other City and Country Blues artists across and in the early 1960s, while most youth was absorbed with the Teen Idols of Cliff, Ricky, Bobby, Billy, Marty, and their ilk, a small contingent of discerning kids were grooving to the beat of Muddy, John Lee, Sonny Boy, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Otis Spann and Howlin’ Wolf. These were major exponents of the Blues and it exposed our young developing musicians to a very high standard of musicianship that was to have a big influence their playing and had a tremendous effect on the direction their music was to take. It is amazing how many of our top British Blues musicians were in those early audiences watching those Blues guys perform.
The leading exponents of this British R&B movement were Alexis Korner (who lead the seminal R&B band Blues Incorporated), Graham Bond (who led the subsequent R&B band ‘The Graham Bond ORGANisation), Zoot Money, Cyril Davies, Georgie Fame and a little later John Mayall. Then there was Steampacket who did not record but seemed to contain just about everyone from Rod Stewart and Vic Briggs to Long John Baldry, Brian Auger & Julie Driscoll.
These were the pioneers who richly deserve the title of ‘Fathers of British R&B’. There early efforts in the first years of the 1960s, while not being very commercial or widely appreciated, were instrumental in pushing British Rock to the forefront of world popularity. The list of eminent Rock Stars who came out of this training ground is immense: Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, Jack Bruce, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Ginger Baker, Long John Baldry, Jimmy Page, Rod Stewart, Keith Richards and Art Wood. Without them the Rolling Stones would not have happened, nor John Mayall, Cream, Fleetwood Mac. Probably the whole Beat and British Blues scene would have been impoverished. It does not bear thinking about.
Blues Incorporated and the later Graham Bond ORGANisation and Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band may not have been brilliant but they brought rawness and a new level of vigor back into the music. They were seminal to all that followed. Without them the whole of the Merseybeat scene might have descended back into Teen Pop trivia. Britain would have returned to being a Rock backwater as has happened in so many other countries.
Fortunately Alexis Korner and his compatriots, particularly Cyril Davis, shared a vision and made it happen. They set up a club, imported genuine Black Blues musicians from the States, formed a seminal R&B band and trained up or enthused a whole generation of budding R&B musicians. This new breed of evangelical enthusiasts created a new generation of R&B bands that swept across the world like a plague and transformed the whole music business.
You could argue that Alexis Korner, not a brilliant musician in his own right, is a relatively unsung hero and is responsible for everything that followed on from the British invasion of the USA in 1964. That might be stretching it a bit thin but every movement needs its fulcrum point. Alexis was that fulcrum.
| Artist | Stand out tracks |
| Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated | I wanna put a tiger in your tank I got my mojo working I got my brand on you I need your loving |
| Graham Bond ORGANisation | Long tall shorty Wade in the water Long legged baby |
| Zoot Money Big Roll Band | The Uncle Willie Bring it on home to me Please stay |
| Cyril Davis | Hoochie Coochie man Country line special |
Rock Routes: Amazon.co.uk: Goodwin, Opher: 9781514873090: Books