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Blues and Rhythm & Blues

1,458 articles

T-Bone Walker, Jimmy Witherspoon: T-Bone Opens to Capacity Crowd at Last Word

Live Review by J.T. Gipson, The California Eagle, 13 May 1948

Cafe Society Fetes Noted Blues Singer in High Fashion ...

Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers: Gip Calls Peppy Prince Best Drummer of Swing

Profile by J.T. Gipson, The California Eagle, 15 July 1948

ONE OF THESE days some enterprising person may decide to write the great American novel about swing music and its personalities. If that time ever ...

Nat King Cole: Gip Interviews King Cole in Columbus, O., and California

Report and Interview by J.T. Gipson, The California Eagle, 22 July 1948

I FIRST MET Nat Cole, leader of the world famous King Cole trio, at 2 ayem in the morning standing bareheaded in front of the ...

Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers: Downbeat Club, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by J.T. Gipson, The California Eagle, 29 July 1948

Joe Liggins And His Crew Click At Downbeat Nitery ...

Little Miss Cornshucks: Gipson Interviews Little Miss Cornshucks at Last Word Club

Report and Interview by J.T. Gipson, The California Eagle, 2 September 1948

EVER SO OFTEN an act comes along that merits our warmest praise; this week the nitelife spotlight points with pride on an energetic little lass ...

Lonnie Johnson: They don't listen today unless you play loud says Lonnie Johnson, the blues singer with electric box

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 5 July 1952

"HOW LONG have you had that Gibson electric guitar?" I asked Lonnie Johnson when he came round to my flat to hear some of his ...

Fats Domino, Big Joe Turner: The Alan Freed "Rock-n-Roll" Ball: St. Nicholas Arena, New York NY

Live Review by uncredited writer, Cash Box, 29 January 1955

THE ALAN Freed "Rock-n-Roll" Ball held at the St. Nicholas Arena, New York, on Friday and Saturday nights, January 14 and 15, had to be ...

Ken Colyer, Lonnie Donegan, Alexis Korner: Skiffle or Piffle?

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 July 1956

ALEXIS KORNER tells Max Jones ...

Chris Barber, Otis Spann, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, Chris Barber: St. Pancras Town Hall, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 25 October 1958

I WAS surprised to read that Muddy Waters was coolly received in Leeds. At his London appearance on Monday the applause was hot and strong. ...

Muddy Waters: This World of Jazz: Muddy Waters

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 November 1958

MUDDY WATERS, that astonishing blues artist from Lake Park Avenue, Chicago, departed for home on Monday night without too many regrets. ...

Fats Domino: Cover Personality — No Change, Fats is Still at the Top

Profile by June Harris, Disc, 9 January 1960

ROCK MAY not be dead, but it certainly has changed, and so have most of the singers. They change to try to be different but ...

John Lee Hooker: Several Styles of Blues Singing

Profile by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 7 April 1961

Genre's Wide Range Seen in Delivery of John Lee Hooker ...

Chris Barber, Blues Incorporated, Alexis Korner, Mantovani: Mr. Korner and his weird front line...

Profile and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 26 May 1962

TOGETHER, THEY MAKE THE BEST TWISTING NOISE I'VE HEARD ...

Little Richard: Well, look who's back — it's Little Richard

Profile and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 6 October 1962

BOBOBALOOMBA Abimbamboom all Rootti Tutti Frutti. With this gnomic verse about ice-cream and a shriek of masochistic ecstasy, Little Richard exploded before a wondering world ...

Freddy Cannon, Alexis Korner: Freddy Cannon Raves over OUR R & B music!

Interview by June Harris, Disc, 8 December 1962

STRICTLY NON-working hours for Freddy Cannon whenever he visits Britain are spent, whenever possible, at London's Marquee jazz club, watching Alexis Korner at work. As ...

Nat King Cole: Not Even Nat Cole Can Afford To Be Without A Hit

Interview by June Harris, Disc, 15 December 1962

AFTER 25 years in show business, with TV, radio and cabaret success his for the asking, you might think that Nat King Cole would count ...

Chris Farlowe, Davy Jones, Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, Alexis Korner, Jimmy Powell, Mel Turner: The Wildest Men in the World...

Overview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 15 December 1962

THE STORY OF THE BRITISH RHYTHM AND BLUES RIOT-RAISERS... ...

Fats Domino: The Man Who Sang Rock Before Haley

Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 12 January 1963

HIS first million-seller was named after himself. Until last year he had more million-sellers than Elvis, who finally caught up with him after a hard ...

A Year of R&B

Overview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 23 March 1963

EVERYONE IS talking about the Rhythm and Blues revival that's going on. But we wondered whether in fact there was a revival. ...

Cyril Davies, Alexis Korner: Cyril Davies: The Soul-Beat Revival...

Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 April 1963

MR. CYRIL DAVIS, purveyor of R&B is currently the white hope of Pye's new R&B campaign. With his new single, the scintillating, exciting 'Country Line ...

Bo Diddley: The Man With A Hundred Guitars... Diddley the Great

Retrospective by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 April 1963

ABOUT EIGHT years ago, a sound called Rock and Roll started to penetrate the music scene in a big big way, taking over completely from ...

Chuck Berry: When Chuck Shocked Jazz Fans

Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 20 April 1963

THE PROOF of the pudding is in the eating, they say. But the proof of the R&B pudding is in the after effects. How many ...

The Rolling Stones: Genuine R&B!

Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 11 May 1963

AS THE TRAD scene gradually subsides, promoters of all kinds of teen-beat entertainment heave a long sigh of relief that they have found something to ...

Ray Charles: "I Don't Know What Is The Real Me," Admits Ray Charles

Interview by Ian Dove, New Musical Express, 24 May 1963

"CARY GRANT, the film star. You know, he's a friend of mine and he used to tell me to come to England. He told me ...

Chuck Berry: At Last it's the Real Thing!

Profile by June Harris, Disc, 27 July 1963

CHUCK BERRY, THE WILD MAN OF BEAT MUSIC, GETS HIS BIG CHANCE ...

Chubby Checker: What 3 years of Twisting have done for Chubby

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 17 August 1963

CHUBBY CHECKER is one of the nicer people you meet in this business. He looks nicer for a start. He has a brown friendly face ...

Josh White

Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 24 August 1963

A ROOM in a plush London hotel. The centre of the attraction is an American Negro, 48 years old, his face leathery and worn. Dark ...

Howlin' Wolf: The Great Unknowns No. 11: Howlin' Wolf Burnette

Profile by Guy Stevens, Record Mirror, 31 August 1963

WHEN PYE records launched their second R & B campaign, one of the artists involved was a gentleman by the strange name of Howlin' Wolf. ...

Chuck Berry: Although He Crashes Into The Charts With Three Discs In One Week, Chuck Won't Be Here Yet!

Profile by Guy Stevens, Record Mirror, 5 October 1963

CHUCK BERRY, born on October 18th, 1931, has now become an almost legendary figure to many people in this country. ...

Willie Dixon, Memphis Slim, Muddy Waters, Big Joe Williams: Big Blues Tour

Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 12 October 1963

WITH R&B getting a deep hold in this country, many of the former fans of this type of music seem to be switching to the ...

Bo Diddley: So Ethel Mae stayed — and so did the guitar

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 12 October 1963

'THE BIGGER THE CLOWN YOU ARE, THE MORE RECOGNITION YOU GET,' SAYS BO. 'WE DO EVERYTHING EXCEPT STAND ON OUR HEADS.' ...

Muddy Waters: Great Unknowns: No. 15 Muddy Waters

Profile by Guy Stevens, Record Mirror, 12 October 1963

MUDDY WATERS was born McKinley Morganfield, at Rolling Fork, Mississippi, on April 4th, 1915. ...

Little Richard: Gaumont Theatre, Watford

Live Review by June Harris, Disc, 12 October 1963

RICHARD IS DYNAMIC ...

Willie Dixon, Memphis Slim, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Victoria Spivey, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller): Now It's The South's Turn At The Blues

Report by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 October 1963

BLUES IN Croydon may strike a funny note to enthusiasts steeped in the lore of Mississippi and Chicago's South Side. ...

Willie Dixon, Lonnie Johnson, Memphis Slim, Otis Spann, Victoria Spivey, Muddy Waters, Big Joe Williams, Sonny Boy Williamson: Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters et al: The American Folk Blues Festival, Fairfield Hall, Croydon, and the Twisted Wheel, Manchester

Live Review by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 2 November 1963

THAT FESTIVAL ...

Chuck Berry: He's Running an Amusement Park in Missouri!

Interview by June Harris, Disc, 9 November 1963

IT'S ALL happening for Chuck Berry! He's come hurtling back in the British charts with 'Memphis, Tennessee', and now he's all set for his debut ...

Duane Eddy, Little Richard, The Shirelles: Little Richard, Duane Eddy, The Shirelles: The Regal, Edmonton, London

Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 16 November 1963

THE OPENING night of the Duane Eddy/Little Richard/Shirelles tour was a lot better than most people expected at the Regal Edmonton, 2nd performance on Saturday. ...

Chuck Berry: I Can't Wait To Meet My Friends In Britain

Interview by Guy Stevens, Record Mirror, 30 November 1963

THE RECORD MIRROR TELEPHONES CHUCK BERRY IN MISSOURI ...

Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley: Chuck and Bo May Tour Here Together in March

Report by June Harris, Disc, 7 December 1963

WHAT DO you think of having Chock Berry and Bo Diddley headline a rhythm and blues package in England? Promoter Don Arden, just back from ...

Dock Boggs, Mississippi John Hurt: Alumni Hall, New York University, New York NY

Live Review by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 14 December 1963

2 OLD-TIMERS SHARE FOLK-SONG PROGRAM ...

1963: Rhythm And Blues Made The News

Overview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 21 December 1963

THIS HAS been THE year for rhythm and blues fans. There is no doubt about it. At the beginning of the year the R & ...

1963: Year Of Rhythm & Blues #2

Overview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 28 December 1963

Part two of a series spotlighting all the important events in the R & B world this year. ...

Long John Baldry, Chuck Berry, Graham Bond, Bo Diddley, Alex Harvey and His Soul Band, Manfred Mann, The Mojos, The Rolling Stones, Otis Spann, Muddy Waters: Rhythm and Blues

Report by uncredited writer, Pop Star Pictorial, 1964

The latest and greatest on the Beat Scene? — Yes, it's R&B groups like the Rolling Stones ...

The Rolling Stones: Pop Weirdies Set Out To Play It Grim

Profile by Chris Welch, The Bexleyheath & Welling Observer, January 1964

OF ALL the sensational groups to hit British pop music since the advent of the Mersey Sound and the rhythm 'n' blues revival, the weirdest, ...

Chuck Berry, Little Walter: Chuck Berry Tells Guy Stevens About "How I Write My Songs"

Report and Interview by Guy Stevens, Record Mirror, 4 April 1964

MY FIRST MEETING with Chuck Berry proved to be as exciting and interesting as I had expected. I met him in the offices of Chess ...

Jimmy Reed: Talks Like He Sings

Interview by Guy Stevens, Record Mirror, 4 April 1964

JIMMY REED is perhaps the most successful blues singer on the American scene today, for his music has found wide acceptance among both the white ...

Larry Williams: Heir To Little Richard

Profile by Guy Stevens, Record Mirror, 4 April 1964

IN OCTOBER 1958, Little Richard decided, in the words of the late Chuck Willis, to "Hang up his rock'n'roll shoes" and enter the Church. Many ...

Solomon Burke, Dee Clark, Freddie King, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Tymes, Dionne Warwick: The Tymes, Freddie King, Dionne Warwick, Dee Clark, Solomon Burke, The Miracles: Regal Theatre, Chicago IL

Live Review by Guy Stevens, Record Mirror, 4 April 1964

ON STAGE WITH THE R&B LEGENDS ...

Chuck Berry: Chuck — King of Beat

Report by Guy Stevens, Record Mirror, 25 April 1964

THE STORY OF CHUCK'S CAREER AND COMEBACK, BY GUY STEVENS ...

The Animals, Chuck Berry, The Nashville Teens, Carl Perkins, Kingsize Taylor: Chuck Berry, Kingsize Taylor & the Dominos, Carl Perkins, the Animals, the Nashville Teens: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 16 May 1964

CHUCK'S HERE AT LAST ...

Long John Baldry, Rod Stewart: Long John Baldry: The Walking Skyscraper

Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 16 May 1964

IT IS NOT often that you see a skyscraper actually walking around the streets of London. ...

The Yardbirds: The Blueswailers With The Mod Appeal

Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 30 May 1964

ALTHOUGH THE Sunday Telegraph insisted that the Yardbirds were called the Yardsticks, and also claimed they were public school boys it doesn't seem to have ...

Johnny Ace, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Junior Parker: Duke/Peacock Records: The Success Story

Overview by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, 12 June 1964

WITH THE emergence of interest in blues recordings after the war, with its resultant popularity, it was only natural that there should be a multitude ...

Jimmy Witherspoon: All About Spoon — And How He Got Another Chance

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 27 June 1964

JIMMY WITHERSPOON is a gigantic man of 41 with great bristling eyebrows and moustaches and a large winning smile. Intimates and admirers call him Spoon. ...

John Lee Hooker, Long John Baldry: Long John meets John Lee Hooker

Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 27 June 1964

THEY COULD hardly have been a bigger contrast in background and appearance: the young, very tall, bright white Englishman Long John Baldry, and the mature, ...

Inez & Charlie Foxx: Inez and Charlie Foxx: Gospel Voice and Lunatic Gestures...

Profile and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 11 July 1964

CHARLES AND Inez Foxx are a handsome pair. To the initiated and fortunate few in this country who have heard them, they are known as ...

Long John Baldry: LJB sticks his neck out...

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 25 July 1964

IF YOU really want to bore Long John Baldry, ask him if it's cold up there. His height is 6ft. 7½in., which makes him — ...

Little Walter — the man who sparked off a revolution

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 September 1964

I KNOW Little Walter only from records. ...

J.B. Lenoir

Profile by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, 15 September 1964

From Blues Unlimited compendium, Nothing but the Blues, ed. Mike Leadbitter (Hanover Books, London, 1971). Edited version of article, first published Blues Unlimited, 15, September ...

John Lee Hooker: Your kids dig the blues...

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 10 October 1964

IT IS hardly three months since John Lee Hooker was last in Britain, but even in that short time he's noticed a change in the ...

Howlin' Wolf, Lightnin' Hopkins, Long John Baldry, Sleepy John Estes, Sonny Boy Williamson: The American Folk-Blues Festival: All About The Croaker!

Report and Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 10 October 1964

Long John Baldry talks to RM's David Griffiths about the Folk-Blues Festival ...

Little Walter Arrives For First British Tour

Profile and Interview by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, 16 October 1964

From Blues Unlimited compendium, Nothing but the Blues, ed. Mike Leadbitter (Hanover Books, London, 1971). Edited version of article, first published Blues Unlimited 16, October ...

Sugar Pie DeSanto, Willie Dixon, Sleepy John Estes, Lightnin' Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf, Sunnyland Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller): Howlin' Wolf, Sleepy John Estes, Lightnin' Hopkins, Sonny Boy Williamson et al: American Blues Festival, Fairfield Halls, Croydon

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 October 1964

BLUES FALL ON CROYDON ...

Downliners Sect, Jimmy Reed: The Downliners Quiz R&B King Jimmy Reed...

Report and Interview by Guy Stevens, Record Mirror, 28 November 1964

JIMMY REED sat back into his chair and contemplated the five long-haired boys sitting opposite him. A group called the Downliners Sect. The subject of ...

The Rolling Stones: 'Little Red Rooster'/'Off The Hook' (Decca)

Review by uncredited writer, Beat Instrumental, December 1964

TOPSIDE IS an old Willy Dixon number 'Little Red Rooster' and it's a cert for the charts. ...

Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, The Rolling Stones: From Pop Singers To Rock Bands

Essay by Geoffrey Cannon, unpublished, 1965

Update, March 2019: I KNOW exactly when I wrote the piece below, where I was, and why I withdrew it from publication. It was January ...

Howlin' Wolf: The Marquee, London, November 26, 1964

Live Review by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, January 1965

FOLLOWING HIS performances at Croydon and elsewhere, Wolf's first visit to an English club was eagerly awaited by local blues enthusiasts, He was accorded a ...

Chuck Berry, Graham Bond, The Moody Blues, Simon Scott: Chuck Berry, the Moody Blues, Graham Bond Organisation, Simon Scott: Lewisham Odeon, London

Live Review by Ian Dove, New Musical Express, 15 January 1965

Olé, it's Chuck 'Crazylegs' now! Ian Dove covers latest Berry tour ...

Chuck Berry, Graham Bond, The Moody Blues: Chuck Berry, Moody Blues, Graham Bond Organisation: Lewisham Odeon, London

Live Review by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 16 January 1965

Chuck goes down a bomb on R & B tour ...

The Groundhogs, Jimmy Reed: Jimmy Reed: The Ricky Tick, Guildford

Live Review by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, 18 January 1965

14th November 1964 ...

Sue Records: Not So Much A Label

Profile by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 6 February 1965

STORY OF BRITAIN'S STRANGEST RECORD LABEL ...

Nat King Cole: The Lesson I Learned When They Told Me The Truth

Interview by Ivor Davis, Daily Express, 12 February 1965

TALKING FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE HIS GRAVE ILLNESS TO IVOR DAVIS, HOLLYWOOD, THURSDAY. ...

Screamin' Jay Hawkins: Flamingo Club/Bromley Court Hotel, London

Live Review by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 13 February 1965

STARS AND showbiz personalities rubbed shoulders with mods and even some rockers in Soho's Flamingo last week to witness a fantastic display by Screamin' Jay ...

Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters: Marshall Chess: End of the road for the Howlin' Wolfs, Muddies and Sonny Boys

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 27 February 1965

FROM NOW ON, many of your favourite American rhythm and blues records will appear under a label called Chess. This is owned by two brothers ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Beatles Backlash Spurs Modern Blues

Report by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 11 March 1965

Performers in 'Village' Influenced by Britons Paul Butterfield Band Stirs Excitement ...

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, T-Bone Walker: T-Bone Walker, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers: Flamingo, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 13 March 1965

THE GREAT T-Bone Walker opened at London's Flamingo on Friday with an hour of beefy blues. ...

Larry Williams: "I'm No Rock 'N' Roller"

Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 3 April 1965

LARRY WILLIAMS talks to Norman Jopling ...

John Hammond: Folk And Blues Friends

Profile and Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 1 May 1965

"DYLAN — WELL, let's say he gave me confidence when I needed it most." The speaker was John Hammond, 22 years old blues singer from ...

Larry Williams: The Return of Rock

Report by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 15 May 1965

SUDDENLY, ROCK 'N' ROLL isn't a dirty phrase any more. ...

Eric Clapton, John Mayall, The Yardbirds: Eric Clapton: The Yardbird Who Got Left Behind

Interview by Dawn James, Rave, June 1965

His name is Eric Clapton. His nickname in the Yardbirds was "Slow-Hand" because he clapped his hands. He played on the Yardbirds' No. 1 hit ...

John Lee Hooker: The Ricky Tik, Guildford

Live Review by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, June 1965

Witnessed by John J. Broven, May 14th '65 ...

Screamin' Jay Hawkins: King of Rock and Horror

Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 5 June 1965

EVERY ONCE in a while someone different comes along. In January, none other than the legendary Screamin' Jay Hawkins entered Britain, and established himself as ...

Jimmy Rogers (blues): Walking by Myself: a Commentary on Jimmy Rogers

Profile by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, 23 June 1965

MANY ERSTWHILE modern blues recordings are perhaps shrouded in a greater veil of mystery today than many of their earlier counterparts. That this is so ...

Bob Dylan: Beneath the Festival's Razzle-Dazzle

Report by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 1 August 1965

THE RAZZLE-dazzle of last weekend's Newport Folk Festival should not eclipse the quiet, unflamboyant work of enrichening American folk culture that the festival makes possible. ...

Georgie Fame: After many years Georgie realises an ambition...

Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 14 August 1965

GEORGIE FAME'S latest hit ('Like We Used To Be') represents an important step forward in the career of this 22-year-old singer-bandleader-pianist-organist. It's his first composition. ...

The Animals, Graham Bond, Georgie Fame, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, Manfred Mann, Spencer Davis Group, Steampacket, The Who, The Yardbirds: The Animals, Georgie Fame, the Who, the Yardbirds, Spencer Davis et al: Fifth National Jazz and Blues Festival, Richmond

Live Review by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 14 August 1965

RICHMOND RAVE-UP! ...

Hand-Me-Down R&B

Comment by Jerry Wexler, Record Mirror, 21 August 1965

by JERRY WEXLER, Manager of Atlantic Records ...

Georgie Fame: Negro Blues — a Talking Point by Georgie Fame

Comment by uncredited writer, Music Echo, 21 August 1965

NEGRO BLUES is an essential part of pop music. Since the popularisation of R&B and blues music the scene has improved 100 per cent. The ...

Steampacket: The How and When of the Steampacket

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 28 August 1965

IN A SOMEWHAT loud striped suit, blues singer Long John Baldry, with the help of organist Brian Auger, told the story of the formation of ...

The Animals, The Rolling Stones: English Artists Find 'Soul' Music Is More Than Skin Deep

Report and Interview by Louise Criscione, KRLA Beat, 4 September 1965

THE SOUL of today's music, the place "where it's at" is rhythm and blues. The type of music, this "soul", has been around the U.S. ...

Chris Barber: Now They Can Tell The Difference

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 September 1965

CHRIS BARBER, who has been leading bands off and on for sixteen years, still approaches the business with youthful enthusiasm. In spite of beat booms, ...

Sleepy John Estes: Brownsville Blues (Delmark DL613)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 September 1965

Estes (voc. gtr), acc. on some tracks by Hammie Nixon (harmonica) or Yank Rachel (gtr), Ed Wilkenson or Ransom Knowling (bass) on three tracks. 1964/5. ...

Big Mama Thornton, Buddy Guy, Dr. Ross, J.B. Lenoir, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Roosevelt Sykes, Walter "Shakey" Horton: J.B. Lenoir, Buddy Guy, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Big Mama Thornton et al: Fairfield Hall, Croydon

Live Review by Richard Green, Record Mirror, 21 October 1965

WHEN EIGHT blues artistes leap about a stage, blowing harmonicas, thumping drums and piano, playing guitars and singing and shouting their song, it is impossible ...

Elizabeth Cotten: Domestic, 71, Sings Folk Songs Of Own Composition in Village

Profile by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 6 November 1965

Elizabeth Cotten, Who Wrote 'Freight Train' Performs With Guitar and Banjo ...

Spencer Davis Group: New to the Charts: Spencer Davis Group Makes Stones Happy

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 10 December 1965

THE GROUP that every other group — from the Stones to the Animals — wanted to have a hit, that's the Spencer Davis Group, and ...

Jimmy Reed: Tempo: Jimmy Reed

Profile and Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, January 1966

A MISSISSIPPI cum Chicago Blues-man named Jimmy Reed is one of the original practitioners of what everybody is just discovering. He holds the thankless job ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, John Lee Hooker: John Lee Hooker: John Lee Hooker Plays And Sings The Blues (Chess CRL4500); Bobby Bland: Here's The Man (Vocalion VA-PS041)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 January 1966

HOOKER RECORDS abound, but the latest from Chess, John Lee Hooker Plays And Sings The Blues (CRL4500) is a more than usually satisfying set. ...

Mose Allison: A Chunk Of Indian Music In 'I Got Rhythm' Isn't A Jazz Influence

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 January 1966

LONDON — MOSE ALLISON, Mississippi piano player now ending a two-week cabaret season at Annie's Room in London, is not quite the figure you expect ...

Son House: Father Of Folk Blues (CBS BPC62604)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 January 1966

'Death Letter'; 'Pearline'; 'Louise McGhee'; 'John The Revelator'; 'Empire State Express'; 'Preachin' Blues'; 'Grinning In Your Face'; 'Sundown'; 'Levee Camp Moan'. ...

Woody Guthrie, Lightnin' Hopkins, Cisco Houston, Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, Dave Van Ronk: Albums from Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly and more

Review by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 27 February 1966

An Old Folk Line On a New Label ...

The Rising Sons: Rising Sons Sing Blue Tunes

Profile by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 18 March 1966

THEY RADIATE a complete spectrum of Pop haberdashery — odd vests, coats of varying cuts, one or two neckties, assorted shirts and a miscellany of ...

Alexis Korner: Back to Square 1 With 'R&B' Korner

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 19 March 1966

ALEXIS KORNER, once regarded as the founding father of British R&B, is to be seen weekly on TV's Five O'Clock Club. He also works with ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: A band with a new tradition of blues

Interview by Tracy Thomas, Melody Maker, 19 March 1966

TO A FIVE-year-old child, the blues are several colours, one for the sky, one for his eyes, one for Daddy's new car. To a forsaken ...

Otis Redding, the Rising Sons: Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 2 April 1966

Otis Redding's Southern-Style Blues Band Lets Off Steam ...

Bukka White: Sky Songs (Fontana 688804ZL)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 April 1966

BUKKA WHITE is one of the important Mississippi blues artists, an old-school singer and guitar player admired by just about every blues collector and performer ...

"Spider" John Koerner: Spider John and the 7-string itch

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 April 1966

ONE OF the first things to strike you when you hear Spider John Koerner on records, is the odd double-string flavour of the guitar work ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Closest Thing to Blues This Side of Chicago

Profile and Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 29 April 1966

THE PAUL Butterfield Blues Band is tearing audiences apart at The Living End with some of the grooviest sounds I've ever heard. The club is ...

Georgie Fame with the Harry South Orchestra: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 April 1966

Fame and South — what a marvellous swinging mixture ...

Jimmy Witherspoon: Ramjam Club, Brixton, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 30 April 1966

JIMMY WITHERSPOON'S appearances at R & B clubs like Brixton's Ramjam might seem out of place. But he cuts across the music barriers with his ...

Spencer Davis Group: Will Spencer Davis Go Pop?

Interview by Dawn James, Rave, May 1966

That's the question people in pop are all asking. Now that Spencer Davis and his group have crashed into pop-land will they go for all-out ...

Ornette Coleman: At the Golden Circle, parts 1 & 2 (Blue Note 4224-5); Chicago — The Blues Today! parts 1-3 (Vanguard 79216-7-8)

Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 7 May 1966

It's Coleman At His Best ...

Big Mama Thornton: Big Mama Thornton In Europe (Arhoolie 1028)

Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 21 May 1966

WILLIE MAE "Big Mama" Thornton, certainly the finest woman blues singer you'll hear these days, finally has a good recording on the market. Big Mama ...

Little Richard: A Living Legend In His Time

Interview by Eden, KRLA Beat, 28 May 1966

"THEY'RE THE greatest guys I ever worked with in my life... they're down to earth! People haven't really heard the Beatles yet. They are one ...

Roy Head

Profile by Bill Millar, Soul, June 1966

THE YEAR 1965 saw the recognition of a young American performer who was soon to be hailed as the new Jerry Lee Lewis in the ...

T-Bone Walker: Tempo: T-Bone Walker

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, June 1966

WHEN AARON T-Bone Walker plays guitar he makes people cry and he gets response from the audience as though the performance was really a church ...

Eric Clapton, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers: John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers: Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton

Sleeve notes by Neil Slaven, Decca Records, July 1966

IN JOHN MAYALL and Eric Clapton we have the two most dedicated blues musicians in this country. Together with John McVie and Hughie Flint, they ...

James Cotton, Muddy Waters: Tempo: Muddy Waters

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, July 1966

NOW THAT THE blues bands are on the threshold of "shaking their money maker," it's a curious fact that the original bands who have been ...

Clifton Chenier, Bob Dylan, Bert Kaempfert: Bob Dylan: Blonde on Blonde (Columbia C2L 41 028 841)

Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 1966

Playboy Hops on Dylan Bandwagon ...

Alexis Korner, Blues Incorporated, Duffy Power, John Mayall: Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 August 1966

IT WAS AN historic evening at London's Marquee on Monday night when Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated made their first appearance there for nearly four years. ...

Blues Look Lively

Overview by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 28 August 1966

AS THE accompanying checklist of blues LP recordings will testify, the past year has been an extremely active one for all forms of the blues ...

Howlin' Wolf: Blues '66: Howlin' Wolf

Interview by Paul Williams, Crawdaddy!, September 1966

(Howling Wolf is a well-known Chicago blues singer, who performs and records with an amplified band in the Chicago style. This interview was taped in ...

Eric Clapton, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers: John Mayall: Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (Decca LK 4804)

Review by uncredited writer, Beat Instrumental, September 1966

JOHN MAYALL'S voice may not be the greatest example of blues singing there is, but he is sincere, and with blues fans that counts for ...

Robert Johnson: King Of The Delta Blues Singers

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 September 1966

'Crossroads Blues'; 'Terraplane Blues'; 'Come On In My Kitchen'; 'Waltzing Blues'; 'Last Fair Deal Come Down'; '32-20 Blues'; 'Kindhearted Woman Blues'; 'If I Had Possession ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Jefferson Airplane, Muddy Waters: The Jefferson Airplane, Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Winterland, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 24 September 1966

Blues-Rock Spectacular ...

Lonnie Johnson, Memphis Slim: Albums from Memphis Slim and Lonnie Johnson

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 October 1966

Memphis leads a bunch of blues ...

Lightnin' Hopkins: Bluebird Blues (Fontana 688803 ZL)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 October 1966

Lightnin' strikes again ...

Sleepy John Estes, Little Brother Montgomery, Otis Rush, Roosevelt Sykes, Big Joe Turner, Sippie Wallace, Junior Wells, Robert Pete Williams: Sippie Wallace, Otis Rush et al: Fifth American Folk Blues Festival, Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 October 1966

Blues by three in the worst possible setting ...

Sippie Wallace: Very Much Alive And Singing...

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 October 1966

MEETING SIPPIE Wallace suddenly, after all these years of gazing at her name on ancient Okeh records, is an experience roughly comparable with running into ...

Charles Keil: Urban Blues (University of Chicago Press)

Book Review by Charlie Gillett, New Society, 13 October 1966

MOST WRITERS on popular music and the blues have approached post-1955 music with discomfort, concluding their books with despondent remarks about the commercialised depravity called ...

Dr. Ross, Lightnin' Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf: Albums from Howlin' Wolf, Dr. Ross and Lightnin' Hopkins

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 October 1966

RARE ITEMS FROM HOWLIN' WOLF ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Sammy Davis Jr., Marvin Gaye, The Temptations: Albums from The Temptations, Butterfield Blues Band, Marvin Gaye and Sammy Davis Jr.

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 15 October 1966

Temptations have got a big seller ...

Cream: Clapton Revs Into A New Gear

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 15 October 1966

NICK JONES talks to the loner who came in from the cold. ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Butterfield's Blues Men Aim To Spread Their Gospel In Britain

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 22 October 1966

THE PAUL Butterfield Blues Band, in London this week for an extensive tour with Georgie Fame and Chris Farlowe, aims to spread its blues gospel ...

Charles Keil: Urban Blues (The University Of Chicago Press)

Book Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 22 October 1966

THE BLUES AS AN URBAN NEGRO CULTURE ...

Dr. Ross, John Lee Hooker, Big Joe Williams: Blues Bargains from Hooker, Dr Ross, Big Joe

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 October 1966

SOME good rocking samples of Hooker R&B are found on Driftin' Thru The Blues (Ember EMB3371) 17s 9d, from John Lee's early recording days. A few tracks ...

Chris Farlowe, Eric Burdon, Geno Washington, Georgie Fame, Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Georgie Fame, Geno Washington, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Eric Burdon, Chris Farlowe: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 29 October 1966

A GREAT SHOW and a puzzling audience reaction. That was the net result of the first night of the Georgie Fame package tour at Finsbury ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Mike Bloomfield: The Sad Chicago Blues Scene

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 29 October 1966

NODDING A shock of dark curly hair, and gesticulating madly as he puts a point over, Mike Bloomfield, young lead guitarist with Chicago's Paul Butterfield ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: East-West (Elektra)

Review by uncredited writer, Disc and Music Echo, 29 October 1966

FOR TOO long the Paul Butterfield Blues Band has been buried in deepest Chicago, its unique brand of tough, modern — but from the roots ...

Otis Rush: Talking to Otis Rush

Interview by uncredited writer, Beat Instrumental, November 1966

OTIS RUSH is one of the top exponents of the Chicago style of blues guitar. His followers are many and include most of Britain's blues-influenced ...

Big Joe Williams, Chuck Berry, Duke Ellington, James Brown, John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Sonny Rollins: Tempo: R&B and Jazz Album Reviews

Review by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, November 1966

FOR SOME reason, recordings of live rock and roll shows are selling very well. You can hardly hear the music above the enthusiastic audience response ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Cream: Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Blaises, London; Cream: Marquee, London

Live Review by Hugh Nolan, Disc and Music Echo, 19 November 1966

CAN YOU TELL CREAM FROM BUTTERFIELD? ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 19 November 1966

THE PAVEMENT outside and the hallway inside were deserted. London's Marquee Club appeared dead and empty. The attraction was the Paul Butterfield Blues Band from ...

Peter Green, John Mayall: Player of the Month: Peter Green

Interview by Kevin Swift, Beat Instrumental, December 1966

HE'S NOT yet had the pleasure of being in a chart-jumping group nor has he played with any of the very big names. But, nevertheless, ...

T-Bone Walker: Thorny Problem Of Mixing The Blues With Modern Jazz

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 December 1966

I HAVE always looked on T-Bone Walker as being more of a jazz-blues singer than a folk or country-type artist. In other words, as a ...

Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Mike Bloomfield Puts Down Everything (part 1)

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, January 1967

BY NOW, MANY of you must have heard the Paul Butterfield Blues Band albums and marvelled over the guitar playing of Mike Bloomfield. Through Mike's ...

James Cotton: Blues Is Big At Chess Mate

Report by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 6 January 1967

Loraine Alterman looks forward to a Detroit appearance by bluesman James Cotton. ...

Reverend Gary Davis: Say No To The Devil (Xtra 5014)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 7 January 1967

THERE CAN be no doubting the emotional force of Gary Davis's music or the variety and strength of his guitar playing. He is among the ...

The Beatles, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Donovan, Manfred Mann, Ravi Shankar, The Walker Brothers, Lester Young: Platter Chatter: Albums from The Beatles, Donovan, Ravi Shankar et al

Review by uncredited writer, Hit Parader, February 1967

SUNSHINE SUPERMAN, Donovan's first big "commercial" success, is a
beautiful, poetic, soothing, soaring, lyrical, rhythmic, groovy experience. ...

Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Mike Bloomfield Puts Down Everything (part 2)

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, February 1967

HERE WE are back at the Cafe Au Go Go continuing the final half of our chat with Mike Bloomfield. Since last month, Mike and ...

Mose Allison: Down Home Piano (Transatlantic PR7423)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 February 1967

MOSE ALLISON and his work are both pretty well known by now to jazz and blues lovers over here. This album, to set down first ...

Nat King Cole: You're Listening To The Nat King Cole Trio (Music For Pleasure)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 February 1967

WE ALL SUFFER from blind spots, I guess, so I'll confess one of mine at once and admit that I'm almost totally proof against the ...

Chuck Berry: Rock Lives!

Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 4 March 1967

...especially it seems, at the Saville. Chuck Berry talks to RM's Norman Jopling for this in-depth interview ...

Chuck Berry: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 4 March 1967

Rockers Dominate Saville Again ...

Chuck Berry: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 4 March 1967

NO RIOTS, but plenty of good music were provided at London's Saville Theatre on Sunday night when Chuck Berry made a return appearance. ...

The Hollies, Paul Jones, Spencer Davis Group: Granada, Mansfield

Live Review by Derek Boltwood, Record Mirror, 18 March 1967

HOLLIES JONES DAVIS TOUR ...

Chuck Berry... "A Legend In His Own Time"

Interview by Kevin Swift, Beat Instrumental, April 1967

CHUCK BERRY, one of the very few "classic" names. "A legend in his own time!" That, of course, is a well-worn phrase, but there isn't ...

Fats Domino, Gerry & the Pacemakers: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 1 April 1967

FATS HAS 'EM JIVING IN THE AISLES! ...

The Bee Gees, Fats Domino, Gerry & The Pacemakers: Fats Domino, the Bee Gees, Gerry and the Pacemakers: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 1 April 1967

FATS TRIUMPH AT SAVILLE ...

Fats Domino: "I Should Have Been Here Years Ago"

Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 8 April 1967

FATS DOMINO had, at last, come five thousand miles from home to visit Britain, be cheered by delirious audiences, and meet devoted fans who knew ...

Fats Domino: Fats: Man From New Orleans

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 April 1967

DOMINO BRINGS A MISSISSIPPI TANG TO BRITAIN ...

The Alan Bown Set, Bo Diddley, Ben E. King: Bo Diddley, Ben E. King, Alan Bown Set: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 April 1967

THE AUDIENCE stole the show at London's Saville Theatre on Sunday, presenting their polished performance of Mass Idiocy — the new art form. ...

The Alan Bown Set, Bo Diddley, Ben E. King: Bo Diddley, Ben E. King, Alan Bown Set: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 22 April 1967

BO and BEN: the rock-soul truce men! ...

Little Richard: The Explosive Little Richard (OKeh 14117)

Review by Jim Payne, Crawdaddy!, May 1967

Little Richard: Ripping it up, Past and Present ...

John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Otis Spann: Welcome, Bluesway Records

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, May 1967

THERE AREN'T many new blues albums around, much less a label devoted to blues product. Why, you might ask, when the demand for blues is ...

Fats Domino & His Orchestra: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, 1 May 1967

LEGENDS ARE built with comparative ease in the anonymity of a recording studio. And how easily such myths are destroyed in the harsh reality of ...

The Animals, The Association, Big Brother & The Holding Company, The Blues Project, Booker T & The MGs, Buffalo Springfield, Electric Flag, Richie Havens, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, The Mamas and The Papas, Lou Rawls, Otis Redding, Ravi Shankar, Simon & Garfunkel, The Who: Keith Altham Planes West to Cover America's Monterey Pop Festival and Cables This Day-By-Day Report

Report by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 24 June 1967

WE DROVE to London Airport in Animal manager Mike Jeffery's Rolls-Royce while he dictated a few last minute instructions to assistant Tony Garland — "Ring ...

The Animals, The Association, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Country Joe & The Fish, Electric Flag, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, The Mamas and The Papas, Hugh Masekela, Moby Grape, Laura Nyro, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Lou Rawls, Otis Redding, Johnny Rivers, Ravi Shankar, Simon & Garfunkel: Monterey Pop Festival: The Hip Homunculus

Report by Richard Goldstein, The Village Voice, 29 June 1967

"The West is the best: Get here and we'll do the rest!" — The Doors ...

Jeff Beck, Cream, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers: Cream, Jeff Beck Group, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 8 July 1967

IT'S THE CREAM ALL THE WAY AT THE SAVILLE ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, the New Salvation Army Banned: Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 13 July 1967

The Biggest Show in Town ...

Junior Wells: Tempo: Junior Wells

Profile by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, August 1967

YOU CAN take Junior Wells out of Chicago but, thankfully, you can't take Chicago out of Junior Wells. The 31-year-old Wells, regarded for some years ...

Wayne Newton, Sonny & Cher: Ray Charles: Invites You To Listen (ABC); The Canned Heat Blues Band: Canned Heat (Liberty)

Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 6 August 1967

The Comeback of a Potent Singer ...

Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall: Fleetwood Mac: Peter Green – The Guitarist Who Won't Forsake The Blues

Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 19 August 1967

ANYONE WHO in a year has built up the reputation of being Britain's best blues guitarist, must have some interesting things to say, and therefore ...

Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Bukka White: Bo Diddley, Bukka White: Avalon Ballroom; Muddy Waters: Jazz Workshop, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 25 August 1967

Blues from City and Country ...

Eric Clapton, Aynsley Dunbar, Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall, Mick Taylor: John Mayall: Blues Purist

Interview by Kevin Swift, Beat Instrumental, September 1967

THERE'S A dearth of purists in Britain. What's happened to them all, where have they got to? Most of them have "gone pop", leaving behind ...

Taj Mahal, Steve Mann: Ash Grove, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 2 September 1967

Taj Mahal Back With Blue Flames Band ...

Nina Simone: Nina Simone Sings the Blues (RCA Victor RD7S33)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 September 1967

NINA SIMONE'S singing is very much an acquired taste, and I have to confess that it is not my favourite brand. I recognise, though, the ...

John Mayall, Mike Vernon: True Blues?

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 7 October 1967

ALAN WALSH investigates the plight of the British bluesman ...

Judy White, Josh White: Josh & Judy White: Josh and his Singing Family

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 October 1967

SOMETIMES IT seems as though Josh White brings a different member of his family every time he visits us, and every one is a singer. ...

Jimmy Cliff, Freddie King, Junior Walker & the All Stars: Junior Walker & the Allstars, Freddie King, Jimmy Cliff: Saville Theatre, London

Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 21 October 1967

IT WAS A 'soul show' at the Saville last Sunday, in the very widest sense of the term. Jimmy Cliff started off, and when he ...

John Mayall: O, Come And Join All Ye The Blues Faithful Crusade

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 28 October 1967

ROLL UP! Get your Bluesbreakers masks here. Peter Green 2s 6d, Eric Clapton five bob... ...

John Mayall: The Interesting Story of John Mayall

Profile and Interview by Wesley Laine, Record Mirror, 28 October 1967

MOST BLUES stars have interesting stories to tell about their life and career — and most of them have the ability to tell it in ...

B.B. King: Tempo: B.B. King

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, November 1967

B.B. King has been getting some attention lately; still not enough for a great master, but it's attention anyway. Charles Keil did a chapter on ...

Son House, Skip James, Little Walter, Brownie McGhee, Hound Dog Taylor, Koko Taylor, Sonny Terry: Skip James, Son House, Little Walter, Hound Dog Taylor et al: American Folk Blues Festival, Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 4 November 1967

THE BLUES roll on, as we're often told, and last Thursday they rolled up to the shores of Hammersmith in the form of the 1967 ...

"Brother" Jack McDuff: Silk and Soul (Transatlantic PR 7404)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 November 1967

BENNY GOLSON arranged some of the eight tracks on Brother Jack McDuff's SILK AND SOUL (Transatlantic PR 7404) for organ and big band, complete with ...

Jim Kweskin & the Jug Band: The Jim Kweskin Jug Band: Town Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 25 November 1967

Town Hall hostto Kweskin Band — Music of a Generation Ago is Attractively Presented ...

B.B. King: Tempo: B.B. King (part 2)

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, December 1967

ANYTHING YOU want to sell nowadays, all you've got to do is advertise. I think people are just beginning to advertise blues. Aretha Franklin, for ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: According to Paul, Butterfield Blues Is Really Music

Profile and Interview by Mike Gormley, The Ottawa Journal, 8 December 1967

ASK HIM. Paul Butterfield will tell you he doesn't play blues. ...

Clyde McPhatter (1968)

Interview by Charlie Gillett, Rock's Backpages audio, 1968

From Harlem in the '50s to London in the late '60s: Clyde McPhatter on Billy Ward and the Dominos, The Drifters, Atlantic Records, Alan Freed and the usual trials and tribulations of an R&B artist.

File format: mp3; file sizs: 42.1mb, total interview length: 43' 50" sound quality: ***

Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: Hank Ballard Revisited

Report and Interview by Jim Payne, Crawdaddy!, January 1968

IN DAYTONA Beach it rains every afternoon for half an hour or so. When Hank Ballard arrived, it was raining. It's hard to make a ...

Mose Allison: Tempo: Mose Allison

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, January 1968

"BLUES IS A very limited thing to play. I have to keep adding things to it to keep it interesting. I keep striving for higher ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The Troubadour, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Tracy Thomas, New Musical Express, 6 January 1968

Butterfield come-back ...

Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall: Beyond the Blues Horizon

Profile and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 January 1968

THE EVER-growing acceptance of blues during the Sixties has decisively affected the direction in which the popular music business has travelled in country. On the ...

Canned Heat: The Troubadour, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Tony Leigh, KRLA Beat, 13 January 1968

CANNED HEAT, a blues oriented group that bases itself in the Los Angeles area, opened at the Troubadour to an enthusiastic audience. The response from ...

Canned Heat: Wailing With Canned Heat

Interview by Tony Leigh, KRLA Beat, 27 January 1968

CANNED HEAT plays the Blues. Not the Blues of the 1920s and '30s, but an extension of that sound, that era, brought up to date ...

Taj Mahal: Taj Mahal (Columbia)

Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 4 February 1968

TAJ MAHAL, a talented blues singer who has kicked around Los Angeles for several years as a soloist and a member of the now-dead Rising ...

T-Bone Walker: Stormy Monday Blues (Stateside Bluesway SL10223)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 February 1968

FIVE T-BONE originals, including his new version of the title song, are to be heard on Stormy Monday Blues (Stateside Bluesway SL10223), latest album from guitarist-singer T-Bone ...

Big Brother & the Holding Company, B.B. King, Aluminum Dream: Anderson Theater, New York NY

Live Review by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 19 February 1968

Janis Joplin Is Climbing Fast In the Heady Rock Firmament ...

Eddie Boyd Names Europe's Best Blues Guitar

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 February 1968

WHEN EDDIE Boyd, American blues pianist and singer, first came to Britain with the Folk Blues Festival in 1965 he was surprised to find such a ...

Love, Harry Nilsson: Love: Forever Changes (Elektra); Nilsson: 'One' (RCA); History of Rhythm and Blues (Atlantic, four volumes)

Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 25 February 1968

Love's Third Album Out on Elektra ...

Fleetwood Mac: Rock'n'Blues Via Peter Green

Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 9 March 1968

THE BIG BEAT BUG BITES BLUESMAN PETER ...

Little Walter: King Of The Blues Harmonica

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 9 March 1968

IT IS A sad work indeed to have to write of the death of Little Walter, outstanding harmonica player and fair blues singer, who came ...

T-Bone Walker: Schoenberg Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 12 March 1968

T-BONE WALKER, the Texas bluesman who composed 'Stormy Monday', treated a fair-sized crowd to an extended set of modern and traditional music for the second ...

Fleetwood Mac: How to Upset the Blues Purists

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 16 March 1968

AMONG BRITAIN'S young blues fans Eric Clapton was once hailed as a god, then discarded by the ethnics when he left John Mayall's Bluesbreakers for ...

Sydney Nathan Dead

Obituary by uncredited writer, Record World, 16 March 1968

Pioneered C&W Wax, Then R&B ...

Canned Heat, Fever Tree, Jefferson Airplane: Jefferson Airplane, Fever Tree, Canned Heat: The Kaleidoscope, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 25 March 1968

Rock Club Opens in Hollywood ...

Electric Flag, Mike Bloomfield: Electric Flag: Mike Bloomfield — Leader Of The Band

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, April 1968

THE FAILURE of the Electric Flag's first single, 'Groovin' Is Easy', on Columbia is by no means the fault of the Electric Flag. Lack of ...

1910 Fruitgum Company, Eddie Cochran, Sammy Davis Jr., Bo Diddley, Lee Hazlewood, Etta James, Little Walter, Cliff Richard, Nancy Sinatra: Albums from Nancy Sinatra, Etta James et al

Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 11 May 1968

ETTA JAMES Tell Mama — 'Tell Mama'; 'I'd Rather Go Blind'; 'The Love Of My Man'; 'I'm Gonna Take What He's Got'; 'The Same Rope'; ...

Albert King, Big Joe Turner, Booker T & The MGs, The Box Tops, The Dells, Jackie Wilson, James Brown, Lou Rawls, Merrill Moore, Otis Redding: James Brown, Box Tops, Albert King, Otis Redding et al, Album Reviews

Review by Peter Jones, Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 18 May 1968

Loads of R&B albums including Otis' great Dock Of The Bay LP ...

Little Walter: Little Walter (Marble Arch)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 18 May 1968

Walter — guv'nor of the harp ...

Booker T & The MGs, B.B. King, The Mothers Of Invention: Mothers of Invention, B.B. King, Booker T. & the MGs: Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 7 June 1968

America's Musical Soul Shines Through ...

Albert King: Born Under A Bad Sign (Stax)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 June 1968

'Born Under A Bad Sign'; 'Crosscut Saw'; 'Kansas City'; 'Oh, Pretty Woman'; 'Down Don't Bother Me'; 'The Hunter'; 'I Almost Lost My Mind'; 'Personal Manager'; ...

Albert King: Tempo: Albert King #1

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, July 1968

As Told To Jim Delehant ...

Johnny Shines, Sunnyland Slim: Chicago Blues are Dying

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 6 July 1968

and Britain's Mike Vernon tries resuscitation ...

Electric Flag, Buddy Guy, Freddie King: Electric Flag; Freddie King; Buddy Guy: Fillmore West, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 10 July 1968

Lots of Room at Fillmore West ...

Junior Wells: It's My Life, Baby (Fontana TFL6084)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 July 1968

'It's My Life Baby'; 'It's So Sad To Be Lonely'; 'Country Girl'; 'You Lied To Me'; 'Stormy Monday'; 'Shake It Baby'; 'Checking On My Baby'; ...

Britain Is Soul Country

Report by Ian Dove, Billboard, 17 August 1968

BRITAIN'S SOUL Surge continues. ...

Canned Heat: Coming from the States in September — A Hard Blues and Rock Group

Profile by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

CANNED HEAT, who crept into the bottom of the chart last week at 28 with 'On The Road Again' are a hard blues and rock ...

Mississippi Fred McDowell: Fred McDowell, Forest City Joe, Etc.: Roots Of The Blues (Atlantic Special 590019)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

ALAN LOMAX, assisted by Shirley Collins, made a recording expedition in the South during '59 which produced 80 hours of taped folksong and instrumental music. ...

John Lee Hooker: I'm John Lee Hooker (Joy 101)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

JOHN LEE Hooker is a fairly basic artist, and a collection of his songs from the Vee Jay label titled I'm John Lee Hooker (Joy ...

Canned Heat: Get set to boogie with Canned Heat

Interview by Judith Sims, Disc and Music Echo, 24 August 1968

JUDY SIMS in Los Angeles interviews the new British chartbusters ...

Canned Heat — Putting Blues Back on its Feet Again

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 31 August 1968

"WE ARE a country blues band. That's our main bag," said Bob "The Bear" Hite, lead singer of Canned Heat, the West Coast blues band ...

Fleetwood Mac: Mr. Wonderful (Blue Horizon 7-63205)

Review by Derek Boltwood, Record Mirror, 31 August 1968

WONDERFUL FLEETWOOD MAC ...

Snooks Eaglin

Retrospective by Charlie Gillett, Freedom Anarchist Weekly, 31 August 1968

That's All Right (Xtra 5051)Blues From New Orleans, Vol. 1 (Storyville 670119) ...

Albert King: Tempo: Albert King # 2

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, September 1968

As Told To Jim Delehant ...

Georgie Fame: Pop Singer With A Jazz Orientation

Interview by Tony Leigh, KRLA Beat, 11 September 1968

GEORGIE FAME is not very well known in America — his appeal has been sporadic at best. In 1964, with the British wave his recording ...

Canned Heat, The Group That Refused To Be A Juke Box And Got Fired

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 14 September 1968

AFTER THE tensions and hatred of America, Canned Heat, who claim they are the only white country blues group in the world, have found London ...

Canned Heat: Revolution, London

Live Review by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 14 September 1968

"IT'S A LOW-down... dirty shame," sang big Bob Hite, lead singer with Canned Heat, when the American blues group in the NME Chart with 'On ...

Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall: Mayall Helps Mac Break Into Singles

Report by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 14 September 1968

ACE BLUESMAN John Mayall went to a concert given by super ace bluesman B.B. King in America, took a tape recording of it and later ...

Canned Heat Have Sunflower, Bear & Tree Man!

Report by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 21 September 1968

THIS IS the story of Canned Heat, a young lady, myself and the Incredible Sliding Bed (in fact, two Incredible Sliding Beds). You are invited ...

Jimmy Witherspoon: Live (Stateside SL10232)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 September 1968

ON LIVE (Stateside SL10232), the rich-voiced Jimmy Witherspoon is heard in a typical club show accompanied by the Ben Webster quartet. ...

Lightnin' Hopkins: Earth Blues (Minit MLL40006E.)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 September 1968

SAM HOPKINS, one of the great Texas bluesmen, is well represented on records but this new release of some of his early titles is an ...

Skip James: Skip James Today! (Vanguard SVRLI9001.)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 September 1968

IN BLUES and other Negro folksong, as in jazz, judgments are much a matter of individual taste, though certain aspects of an artist's work are ...

Albert King: Steve Paul's Scene, New York NY

Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 17 October 1968

Albert King, Guitarist, Gives Loud Support to Blues Power ...

Talking The Blues

Report by Charlie Gillett, Shout, 19 October 1968

IF YOU HAD 35/- to spend on the 1st week-end of September, and more than a passing interest in popular music, there was what seemed ...

B.B. King Sings the Blues Evra Day, Evra Day

Report and Interview by Michael Lydon, The New York Times, 27 October 1968

A COOL breeze blew in the night outside, across the Mississippi and the cane fields that press against the town of Port Allen, La. Inside ...

Willie Dixon

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, November 1968

WILLIE DIXON was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1915. He came to Chicago in 1935 out of curiosity and the hope of making a better ...

Horace Silver, Joe Simon, The Stars of Faith, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, Horace Silver, Joe Simon, Stars of Faith: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 2 November 1968

Swinging down the aisles ...

Ten Years After, Dancing, Food and Entertainment: Fillmore West, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 November 1968

New Group at Fillmore West: Jazz Is Wildly Abandoned ...

Canned Heat Adds Blues to Its Rock: Band at the Fillmore East Performs With Power

Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 23 November 1968

CANNED HEAT is a soulful rock group that escaped from the psychedelic badlands of California and now is working hard to become the top blues ...

Lightnin' Slim, Slim Harpo: Slim Harpo and Lightnin' Slim: Steve Paul's Scene, New York NY

Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 29 November 1968

Slim Harpo Offers Authenticity In Country Blues at the Scene. Harmonica Player Joined by Lightning Slim, Guitarist, in Low-Key Performance ...

John Mayall: Blues
 From Laurel Canyon (Decca)

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 30 November 1968

THIS IS John's least interesting album for a long time, and the reason is quite simple, and explained best in his own words on the ...

Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation: Doctor Dunbar's Prescription (Liberty LBL93177E)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 7 December 1968

SADLY BRITISH blues groups seem to have reached the end of their creative ability, and a short road it has proved to be. Recording quality ...

Otis Spann, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters and Otis Spann: End of the Soul Half-Brothers

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 7 December 1968

I WAS playing some records with Otis Spann and S.P. Leary in their hotel on London's Cromwell Road last week. ...

Blossom Toes, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, Blossom Toes: Revolution Club, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 14 December 1968

MUDDY WATERS and his Blues Band may not have been at their magic best at London's Revolution before they left — they weren't playing for ...

The Groundhogs, John Lee Hooker: Out of the Groundswell the New Groundhogs

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 14 December 1968

IF IT'S doing nothing else, the present blues boom is drawing attention to a number of singers and players who have been around the country's ...

Elmore James: Something Inside Of Me (Bell MBLL104)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

A LOT HAS been written of late about Elmore James, one of the big men of post-war blues, who died in May of '63. His ...

Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston, Leadbelly, Sonny Terry: Leadbelly: Leadbelly Sings Folk Songs (Xtra 1064)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

"LEADBELLY is a hard name" says Woody Guthrie, "and the hard name of a harder man." The late Woody is quoted (from the book, American ...

Johnny Winter: The Making Of A Superstar

Report and Interview by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 1969

THERE WAS THE Fillmore East, the East Coast's major rock palace, located ingratiously in a heap of garbage, drunks and weekend freaks on Second Ave. ...

Amos Milburn, Fats Domino: Jump Boogie and Shuffle

Retrospective by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 1969

IT WOULD BE nice to be able to point to a man, a record, a year, and say, "There! Rock and roll started with him, ...

Chuck Berry, Johnnie Johnson: Tempo: Johnnie Johnson

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, January 1969

JOHNNIE JOHNSON, FIRST PIANIST WITH CHUCK BERRY As Told To Jim Delehant ...

Charlie Musselwhite: The Charlie Musselwhite Blues Band: The Scene, New York NY

Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 3 January 1969

Group at The Scene Shows It's Together. Gutsy Sound Delivered With Rock Excitement ...

B.B. King: The Men Who Make The Blues: B.B. King

Profile by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 4 January 1969

B.B. KING is among the most popular of the newer-generation blues-men; and he has certainly been the most influential. Charles Keil, who devotes a chapter ...

Johnny Winter: Blues Guitar Sound of Johnny Winter Comes North

Profile and Interview by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 7 January 1969

JOHNNY WINTER has spent years playing bars and lounges in the South and now, with fingers that fly across his guitar like a Texas tornado, ...

Chicken Shack, Christine Perfect/McVie, Fleetwood Mac: A Perfect Marriage: Christine Of Chicken Shack And John Of Fleetwood Fame

Interview by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 18 January 1969

BLONDE, GRITTY Christine Perfect not only bears the distinction of being lead singer of the famed Chicken Shack blues band, but is also married to ...

Fats Domino: Antoine Fats Domino: Fats Is Back (Reprise RS 6304)

Review by Miller Francis Jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 24 January 1969

ROCK ENTHUSIASTS sometimes like to quibble over just which rock and roll song started the whole thing: in the liner notes for this album producer ...

Chicken Shack: O.K. Ken? (Blue Horizon 7-63209)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 25 January 1969

SOLID GOOD humour abounds on Chicken Shack's O.K. Ken? (Blue Horizon 7-63209) of a British variety which makes it so more bearable and strangely authentic, compared to ...

Savoy Brown Take on a New Identity

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 1 February 1969

WHEN THE Savoy Brown first started the only other band on the British blues scene was John Mayall... but that was four years ago before ...

The Crystals, The Righteous Brothers, The Ronettes, Phil Spector, Ike & Tina Turner, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters: Electric Mud (Chess); Various Artists: Demand Performance (Decca)

Review by Geoffrey Cannon, The Guardian, 4 February 1969

Muddy Muddy Waters ...

Canned Heat Fight Blues Prejudice

Interview by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 8 February 1969

LIBERTY RECORDS took their time releasing Canned Heat's 'Going Up Country', follow-up to 'On The Road Again', and frankly I had thought that the heat ...

Fleetwood Mac, Otis Spann: Top of the chart Fleetwood Mac act as a backing group!

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 8 February 1969

WHICH TOP British group acted as a backing group for another artist while their own record was number one? ...

Buddy Guy, Albert King, King Curtis: Village Gate, New York City

Live Review by Ian Dove, Billboard, 15 February 1969

NEW YORK — The world of music moves closer as the long-established jazz spot, the Village Gate, took a brief weekend — but possibly regular ...

The Asylum Choir, Jeff Beck, Freddie King, Jerry Jeff Walker, Sonny Boy Williamson I: Platter Chatter

Review by uncredited writer, Hit Parader, March 1969

New Albums from Jeff Beck, Freddie King et al ...

John Mayall, Ten Years After: Ten Years After, John Mayall: Fillmore East, New York NY

Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 5 March 1969

10 Years After and John Mayall Present Blues at Fillmore East ...

The Illinois Speed Press, Slim Harpo: Slim Harpo, The Illinois Speed Press: Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 7 March 1969

SLIM HARPO, a harmonica-playing Southern bluesman, is headlining at the Whisky a Go Go through Sunday with the Illinois Speed Press, a hard rock quintet ...

Mississippi Fred McDowell: Church House, Farnham

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 8 March 1969

"I'M NOT a rock and roll singer. The only way you make me rock is by putting me in a rockin' chair. But if you ...

Jimmy Reed: Jimmy Reed at Soul City (Joys-127)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969

IN SPITE of its title, Jimmy Reed At Soul City (JOYS-127), and the sleevenote's proclamation that the LP "is a fine study of the man ...

Taj Mahal: The Natch'l Blues (Direction 8-63397)

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969

AMERICAN MUSICIANS have always scored over their British musical cousins, in their ability to RELAX, and still show off their mastery of whatever medium they ...

Danny Kalb, Karen Dalton, Tim Buckley: Tim Buckley: Philharmonic Hall, New York NY; Danny Kalb: Café Au Go Go, New York NY

Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 17 March 1969

Poet-Singer Draws Throng With Band at Philharmonic ...

Freddie King: Freddie Takes a British Cold Back Home

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 22 March 1969

"I DIDN'T have it tonight," said Freddie King after a hard workout at Art Saunders' Wood Green club on Tuesday last week. ...

Junior Wells: Coming At You (Vanguard SVRL 19011)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 22 March 1969

A GOOD TASTE, if not a feast, of modern Chicago blues is offered by the explosive Junior Wells on his latest from Vanguard (perhaps his ...

Taj Mahal: At Last — A Welcome New Voice

Profile by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 22 March 1969

A NEW VOICE on the music scene and a very welcome one, belongs to Mr Taj Mahal a young blues singer and guitarist from Massachusetts. ...

Taj Mahal: The Natch'l Blues (Columbia CS 9698)

Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 23 March 1969

Monumental Album From Taj ...

Albert Collins: The Ash Grove, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 28 March 1969

ALBERT COLLINS, appearing at the Ash Grove through this weekend, is an electric Texas bluesman who appears destined, for — and deserves — the kind ...

Howlin' Wolf: The Men Who Make The Blues: Howlin' Wolf

Profile by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 March 1969

HOWLIN' WOLF is, as his name suggests, one of the "heavy" bluesmen. A 6ft 3in singer, weighing 280 lbs or more, he is as tough ...

Howlin' Wolf: The Dave Godin Column: Howlin' Wolf

Essay by Dave Godin, Blues & Soul, April 1969

I RECENTLY READ a most scathing and critical review of the new Howlin' Wolf album which has been issued in the States on Cadet-Concept (the ...

Jimmy Witherspoon: A New Look For Spoon And Back To Authentic Blues

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 April 1969

IT WAS clear at first glance, when Jimmy Witherspoon and his wife walked into the MM offices last week, that I was confronted by a new-look Spoon. ...

Willie Dixon: The Men Who Make the Blues: Willie Dixon

Profile by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 April 1969

...

Howlin' Wolf: The Howlin' Wolf Album (Chess CRLS4543)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 26 April 1969

ON THE front cover of THE HOWLIN' WOLF ALBUM (Chess CRLS4543) is printed the message: "This is Howlin' Wolf's New Album. He doesn't like it. ...

Lowell Fulson: The Men Who Make The Blues: Lowell Fulson

Profile by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 26 April 1969

LOWELL FULSON is one of the leading post-war blues-men, a trendsetting artist who has made and sold a great many records since he cut his ...

Duster Bennett, Fleetwood Mac, B.B. King, Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry: B.B. King, Fleetwood Mac, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Duster Bennett: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 May 1969

B.B. KING SPELLS OUT THE BLUES ...

B.B. King: B.B. Brings the Story of Lucille to the Rescue

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 May 1969

EVERYONE KNOWS — everyone, that is, who knows much about the blues of the younger generation — that B.B. King is among the most original ...

Taj Mahal: The Natch'l Blues

Review by Ed Ward, Rolling Stone, 17 May 1969

TAJ MAHAL may not be the most authentic, the most technically proficient, or the most emotionally cathartic practitioner of the blues today, but he certainly ...

The Byrds, Albert King: Rose Palace, Pasadena CA

Live Review by John Mendelssohn, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 1969

Byrds in Spotlight at Pasadena Rose Palace ...

John Lee Hooker, Earl Hooker: Mandrake's, Berkeley CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 22 May 1969

Great Blues in the Night ...

Lowell Fulson: A Name to be Reckoned With in Blues

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 May 1969

LOWELL FULSON has been a name to be reckoned with in blues circles ever since he began recording some 23 years ago. Oddly, though, people ...

Lee Michaels, Big Mama Thornton: Rose Palace, Pasadena CA

Live Review by John Mendelssohn, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 1969

Rock Show Given at Pasadena Rose Palace ...

Slim Harpo: Tempo: Slim Harpo Talks To Jim Delehant

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, June 1969

I WAS BORN in Lobbell, Louisiana. I had to quit school to go to work and help support the family. When I was 18, I ...

Canned Heat, Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter: The Blues

Essay by Miller Francis Jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 16 June 1969

"All new technologies bring on the cultural blues, just as the old ones evoke phantom pain after they have disappeared." — Marshall McLuhan, War and ...

The Insect Trust, John D. Loudermilk, Johnny Winter, Mississippi Fred McDowell: The Memphis Country Blues Festival

Report by Miller Francis jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 23 June 1969

AN ARTICLE ON the Memphis Country Blues Festival in a local Memphis newspaper was headlined: "BLUES ARE REBORN IN COTTON-FIELD HEAT." ...

Bo Diddley (1969)

Interview by Mike Quigley, Rock's Backpages audio, July 1969

The Chicago gunslinger talks about his stage show; about being ahead of his time; about how, influenced by Joe Louis, he avoids being boastful, and his message to the people.

File format: mp3; file size: 1.5mb, interview length: 12' 12" sound quality: **

Lightnin' Slim: Tempo: Lightnin' Slim Talks To Jim Delehant

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, July 1969

I WAS BORN in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up like most any kid. After school I worked in a grocery store, sold newspapers. It ...

Joe Cocker, Lonnie Mack, Sweetwater, Big Mama Thornton: Joe Cocker, Big Mama Thornton, Lonnie Mack, Sweetwater: Magic Circus, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by John Mendelssohn, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 1969

Soul Music Presented at the Magic Circus ...

Otis Spann, Muddy Waters: Otis Spann: All Alone Otis Is Feeling No Pain

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 5 July 1969

ON OTIS Spann's last visit to this country, with Muddy Waters in November, I wrote that the Waters-Spann partnership would soon be ended. ...

R & B in Vogue

Overview by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 5 July 1969

THIS ARTICLE mentions a lot of singers you've never heard of. Why haven't you heard of them? (They're all very good, very important, and have ...

Buddy Guy: The Men Who Make The Blues: Buddy Guy

Profile and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 5 July 1969

BUDDY GUY is one of the younger generation of blues-men who is helping to carry the music to the younger generation of listeners. ...

Johnny Winter: He Waited, Worked and Worried; Then Overnight, Winter Was Here

Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 11 July 1969

HE'S A TALL, white Texan who not only plays the blues, he lives them. ...

Johnny Winter, Tony Joe White: Johnny Winter: Johnny Winter (CBS); Tony Joe White: Black And White (Monument)

Review by Mark Williams, International Times, 18 July 1969

THE ONLY OTHER record I possess on English Monument, is Ray Steven's single, 'Mr Businessman', which is beautiful and so is this album by Mr ...

Muddy Waters: Museum of Modern Art, New York NY

Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 25 July 1969

Easy Does It as Muddy Waters Plays Blues at Outdoor Concert ...

Albert King: Years Gone By (Stax STS2010)

Review by Loyd Grossman, Fusion, 26 July 1969

MEMO FROM: Loyd Grossman TO: Albert King Concerning: Years Gone By ...

Johnny Winter: Forest Hills Music Festival, Queens NY

Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 28 July 1969

Agility Marks Blues By Johnny Winter At Forest Hills Fete ...

The Beach Boys, Bunky & Jake, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Buddy Guy, Howlin' Wolf: Albums from Creedence Clearwater Revival, Howlin' Wolf et al

Review by uncredited writer, Hit Parader, August 1969

BAYOU COUNTRY is the second album by Creedence Clearwater Revival and they are undoubtedly the most joyful, exciting rock and roll band since Little Richard. ...

Little Richard: Schaefer Music Festival, Central Park, New York NY

Live Review by Mike Jahn, New York Post, 7 August 1969

Little Richard Rouses Crowd At Central Park Rock Concert ...

The Groundhogs: Groundhogs: Scratching The Surface (World Pacific WPS-21892)

Review by Loyd Grossman, Fusion, 8 August 1969

THE GROUNDHOGS are indicative of a new trend in British blues music. Until recently most British blues bands borrowed heavily from rock (the use of ...

Wynonie Harris: Death of a Blues Shouter

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 16 August 1969

TITLES LIKE 'Good Mornin' Judge', 'Lovin' Machine', 'Bloodshot Eyes', 'Keep On Churnin'' and 'All She Wants To Do Is Rock' may not ring a bell ...

B.B. King, Big Mama Thornton, Charlie Musselwhite, Clifton Chenier, Freddie King, Howlin' Wolf, J.B. Hutto, Lightnin' Hopkins, Luther Allison, Magic Sam, Muddy Waters, Son House, T-Bone Walker: Payin' Some Dues — Blues at Ann Arbor

Live Review by Miller Francis jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 18 August 1969

"I'd like for them to hear the real things. I don't think yet that most of the white people like my music because it's blues. I ...

Muddy Waters: After The Rain (Chess mono and stereo CRL 4553; 37s 5d.)

Review by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 23 August 1969

NEW ALBUM FROM MUDDY ...

B.B. King, The New York Rock & Roll Ensemble: B.B. King, New York Rock 'n' Roll Ensemble: Meadowbrook Theater, Oakland University, Rochester MI

Live Review by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 29 August 1969

B.B. IS the Blues King At Meadow Brook ...

Taj Mahal: The Mind Of A Modern Bluesman: Taj Mahal

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, September 1969

I AM A crazy swamp guy. I love swamps. Brick buildings are cool too, they have their own grotesque beauty and this is a very ...

Canned Heat, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Tim Hardin, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Melanie, Ravi Shankar, The Who: Woodstock

Report by Miller Francis Jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 1 September 1969

"Man, what done got into them ofays?" one asked. "It ain't nothing. They just trying to get back, that's all" "Get back?" said the ...

Little Richard: "He's Forgotten Me" — Little Richard Raps James Brown

Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 2 September 1969

LITTLE RICHARD is coming to Detroit along with Jerry Lee Lewis. They'll be at Cobo Hall Sept. 6. ...

Taste: Taste (Atco)

Review by Loyd Grossman, Fusion, 5 September 1969

FOR SOME reason Cream seems to have become the standard against which all other rock trios are judged. Not only is this unfair, it is ...

The Chambers Brothers, Albert King, Poco: Albert King, Poco, the Chambers Brothers: The Pavilion, Flushing Meadows, Queens NY

Live Review by Danny Goldberg, Billboard, 6 September 1969

King of the Blues Courts Fans ...

The Doors, Floating Bridge, The Fugs, Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, The Groundhogs, High Tide, Lightnin' Hopkins, Junior's Eyes, Gordon Lightfoot, Loretta Lynn, Gene Pitney, The Sir Douglas Quintet, The Stooges: Doors' Soft Parade leads US underground LP releases

Review by uncredited writer, Record Mirror, 13 September 1969

THE DOORS: The Soft Parade — 'Tell All The People'; 'Touch Me'; 'Shaman's Blues'; 'Do It'; 'Easy Ride'; 'Wild Child'; 'Runnin' Blue'; 'Wishful Sinful'; 'The ...

Little Milton and The New Black Blues

Overview by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 20 September 1969

THROUGH THE 1950's, men with loud voices, amplified guitars and a few noisy accompanists made a modest but sufficient living out of singing the blues ...

Bo Diddley: The Men Who Make the Blues: Bo Diddley

Profile by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 September 1969

BO DIDDLEY was born in Mississippi, in or near McComb, on December 30, 1928. Like many bluesmen from the South, he made the journey up ...

Johnny Winter: Living the Blues

Interview by Mike Gormley, The Ottawa Journal, 26 September 1969

Johnny Winter Tries to Live Up to His Image ...

Chicken Shack Full Of Clucking Sounds

Interview by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 27 September 1969

STAN WEBB was grinning evilly as he strode into a pub, but no maniacal deeds were going through his mind, he was just dead chuffed ...

Ten Years After: Ssssh (Deram mono and stereo DML 1052, 37s 6d)

Review by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 27 September 1969

TEN YEARS AFTER VERY ADVANCED ...

Graham Bond: Commissar Bond Is Back In Business

Report and Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 11 October 1969

"WE DON'T want any of that around here," threatened an elderly lady shaking a palsied fist from one of the ancient alleys of Cambridge, as ...

Chuck Berry, Elvin Bishop, John Mayall: Fillmore East, New York NY

Live Review by Ian Dove, Billboard, 18 October 1969

Berry, Bishop — Musical Brothers ...

Skip James

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 18 October 1969

October 3, 1969 Dear Max, Skip James died this morning after a very long and painful illness. One of his finest memories was going to Europe in ...

Cream, Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall: Union Jack Blues

Comment by Geoffrey Cannon, The Guardian, 21 October 1969

MEETING JANIS Joplin a few months ago, before her Albert Hall concert, I was staggered to feel how nervous she was. Then she explained. She ...

Little Richard (1969)

Interview by Joel Selvin, Rock's Backpages audio, November 1969

The Bronze Liberace looks back at songs like 'Tutti Frutti' and 'Good Golly Miss Molly'; the Beatles' cover of 'Long Tall Sally'; recording in New Orleans; Miss Ann Johnson and her Tik Tok club in Macon, Ga.; touring in the '50s and his outrageous stage act; appearing in movies such as The Girl Can't Help It; finding God in '57; returning to rock'n'roll in '62 and befriending the Beatles; on why young black audiences aren't interested in him; the Black Panthers, Black Muslims and racism, and his long experiences of police harassment...

File format: mp3; file size: 36.5mb, interview length: 38' 04" sound quality: **

Steve Cropper, Crosby Stills and Nash, Kaleidoscope, Albert King, Pops Staples, Muddy Waters: Platter Chatter: albums from Crosby Stills & Nash, Muddy Waters & more

Review by uncredited writer, Hit Parader, November 1969

CROSBY STILLS & NASH is an exquisite collection of words from this triumvirate. Steve Stills, the moody ex-Buffalo, seems to be the anchor here, as ...

Big Mama Thornton: Stronger Than Dirt (Mercury)

Review by John Morthland, Rolling Stone, 1 November 1969

ANYBODY WHO has ever seen Big Mama Thornton perform will vouch for the fact that she is a consummate entertainer. So good, in fact, that ...

John Mayall: Turning Point (Polydor mono and stereo 583 571; 37s 6d)

Review by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 1 November 1969

MAYALL MINUS DRUMS ...

Champion Jack Dupree, Albert King, Otis Spann: Albert King, Otis Spann, Champion Jack Dupree: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 5 November 1969

THE HERO of our times is a man who plays blues guitar, and the hero of heroes is Albert King. Huge, gentle, he holds his ...

Albert King: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 5 November 1969

THE HERO of our times is a man who plays blues guitar, and the hero of heroes is Albert King. Huge, gentle, he holds his ...

Champion Jack Dupree, Albert King, The Robert Patterson Singers, Otis Spann, The Stars of Faith: Albert King, Otis Spann et al: American Folk, Blues & Gospel Festival, Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969

JOHN LEE HOOKER'S absence from the American Folk, Blues & Gospel Festival was without the consequence that at first seemed likely when the tour opened ...

Albert King: Talking to the King

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969

IT HAS taken a long time for Albert King to get to this country. But now he is among us there can be little doubt ...

Chicken Shack, Christine Perfect/McVie: Christine Perfect part 1: Who's Perfect? Christine's Rise From Shopgirl To Stardom

Profile and Interview by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 8 November 1969

WHEN CHRISTINE Perfect was 19 and studying to be a sculptress in Birmingham, she was roped into playing bass for a local group that didn't ...

John Fahey, Jesse Fuller, Peter Grant: Giannini School, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 8 November 1969

Strange and Memorable Triple-Bill Folk Concert ...

B.B. King, The Rolling Stones, Ike & Tina Turner: The Rolling Stones, Ike & Tina Turner, B.B. King: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 10 November 1969

Rolling Stones End With an Uproar ...

Johnny Otis: The New Johnny Otis Show

Review by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 12 November 1969

"I'm gonna lay right here on this wall, And drink this beer, And watch her walk. You heard me call a while ...

B.B. King, Terry Reid, The Rolling Stones, Ike & Tina Turner: The Rolling Stones...

Report by Wayne Robins, The Berkeley Barb, 14 November 1969

... at Oakland Coliseum, November 9, 1969. Featuring Ike & Tina Turner, B.B. King, Terry Reid, with a special appearance by Bill Graham. Written November ...

Juke Boy Bonner, John Dummer Blues Band, Jo Ann Kelly, Freddie King: Freddie King, Juke Boy Bonner, Jo-Ann Kelly, John Dummer: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 November 1969

TUESDAY OF last week was Big Blues Night at London's 100 Club where a large, good-humoured crowd was afforded almost non-stop entertainment by the Killing ...

The Groundhogs, Howlin' Wolf: Howlin' Wolf, The Groundhogs: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 15 November 1969

THERE WAS nothing new about Chester Burnett's routine at the Marquee Club on Thursday, but the Wolf, nearing the end of his third British tour, ...

Screamin' Jay Hawkins: What That Is! (Phillips)

Review by John Mendelsohn, Rolling Stone, 15 November 1969

THE KEY TO this album is its honesty. Producer Milan Melvin has been faithful to Screamin' Jay and his music right down to the picture ...

Taj Mahal: Giant Step/De Old Folks At Home (CBS Direction S 8-63820, S 8-63821)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 22 November 1969

Mixed bag from Taj ...

B.B. King, Terry Reid, The Rolling Stones: Rolling Stones, B.B. King, Terry Reid: Olympia Stadium, Detroit MI

Live Review by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 26 November 1969

Rock's Rolling Stones Invade Olympia Stadium ...

Savoy Brown: A Step Further (Parrot PAS 71029)

Review by Gary Kenton, Fusion, 28 November 1969

IT'S PRETTY frustrating to be a victimized musician these days. It has always been, of course, but now, with all these quasi-blues heavies making it ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The Butterfield Blues Band: Keep On Moving (Elektra EKS 74053)

Review by Gary Kenton, Fusion, 28 November 1969

PAUL BUTTERFIELD seems to have fallen out of public grace recently. Back in the days of East-West, he gained recognition for being a true blues ...

Keef Hartley, John Mayall: John Mayall, Keef Hartley: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 29 November 1969

JOHN MAYALL must have fell like the father figure of British blues at the Albert Hall on Thursday as he surveyed Henry Lowther and Keef ...

Taste: Marquee, London

Live Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 29 November 1969

THERE AREN'T many groups in Britain who fans will queue in the rain for Taste, a trio of Irishmen formed a little over a year ...

The Band, Ronnie Hawkins: Ronnie Hawkins: Preaching Rock-A-Billy

Interview by Larry LeBlanc, Hit Parader, December 1969

LIFE ON Yonge St. in Toronto, is a crackerjack maze of flickering neon lights, honking car horns and fast people. ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, Maxayn: Bobby "Blue" Bland, Paulette Parker: Basin Street West, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 3 December 1969

Bobby 'Blue' Bland Is Right On ...

James Brown, Isaac Hayes, Taste: Albums from Isaac Hayes, Taste and James Brown

Review by Royston Eldridge, Melody Maker, 10 January 1970

Isaac Hayes: Hot Buttered Soul (Stax) Tremendously successful in the States, this is the first solo album from Isaac Hayes, better known as the hit songwriter with Dave ...

Taste: On The Boards (Polydor stereo 583 083. 37s 6d).

Review by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 10 January 1970

IF MY memory serves me correctly, Taste is an Irish group I first saw playing in Harrods Way In boutique a few months back. The ...

Memphis Slim: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 7 February 1970

MEMPHIS SLIM would have played on all night had he not been due back in Paris earlier the following morning. For when the American pianist's ...

Mike Cooper and the bottleneck revival

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 14 February 1970

MIKE COOPER, who has, in recent years, revived interest in the bottleneck and knifestyle of playing, uses two 1930s National steel guitars, as well as ...

Savoy Brown: 'Train to Nowhere' (Parrot 45-40039); 'I'm Tired' (Parrot 45-40042)

Review by John Mendelssohn, Rolling Stone, 21 February 1970

SAY WHAT you will about Savoy Brown, they've bestowed upon us two monstrously good singles in the last six months. ...

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup: The original rock and roller

Profile and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 14 March 1970

ARTHUR "BIG Boy" Crudup, the man responsible for firing Elvis Presley into one of the biggest crazes of all time, has been recording for over ...

Johnny Winter, Mississippi Fred McDowell: Johnny Winter And... Mississippi Fred?

Live Review by Rick McGrath, The Georgia Straight, April 1970

WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTED to go to every bloody concert that comes to town and try to reach a critical judgment (or something like that), sometimes ...

John Mayall

Profile by Miller Francis Jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 2 April 1970

NO ONE IN the entire world of rock has created a body of music to compare with the work of John Mayall. If the process ...

Johnny Winter: Winter Winter

Profile by Miller Francis Jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 13 April 1970

"I don't wanna wreck nobody's soul I just wanna rock & roll!"  — Johnny Winter ...

Dave Alexander, Luther Allison, Reverend Gary Davis, Furry Lewis, Brownie McGhee, L.C. "Good Rockin'" Robinson, Sonny Terry, Big Mama Thornton, T-Bone Walker, Bukka White: Big Mama Thornton, Bukka White, T-Bone Walker et al: Berkeley Blues Festival, University of California, Berkeley CA

Live Review by Michael Lydon, The New York Times, 19 April 1970

'Sing Your Own Blues' ...

Taj Mahal: Still One Of The Hardest Rockers

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 25 April 1970

A FANFARE of trumpets would have greeted Taj Mahal if the artist's British reception had been judged on his success. Instead he was quietly willing ...

Eric Clapton, Howlin' Wolf: Howlin' Wolf: Wolf Gathers His Flock In London

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 16 May 1970

WHEN THE early 1960s gave birth to the R&B boom in Britain, it was artists like Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters ...

Shuggie Otis: Here Comes Shuggie Otis (CBS)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Melody Maker, 16 May 1970

IF SHUGGIE Otis is this good midway through his teens, what's he going to mature into? ...

Christine Perfect/McVie: For Christine, Hard Work Hasn't Made Perfect

Interview by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 30 May 1970

HARD WORK is not always rewarded, as Christine Perfect is unfortunately finding out. Since leaving Chicken Shack to spend more time with her husband, Fleetwood ...

Peter Green

Interview by uncredited writer, Beat Instrumental, June 1970

"I felt I was doing nothing with my life because there was no challenge." ...

Taste, Toe Fat: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 6 June 1970

London likes raving Taste ...

Son House: Blues Is Getting Bigger All The Time, Says Son

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 27 June 1970

"THIS IS MY last time over here. Yes, sirree. I do this visit and that's it." The speaker was Eddie James (Son) House, a tallish ...

Lonnie Johnson — Bluesman Who Played Jazz

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 27 June 1970

LONNIE JOHNSON, who died last week, was a rarity in the blues field — a man who, though a folk artist in certain respects, played ...

Savoy Brown Start Another Chapter

Report and Interview by uncredited writer, Beat Instrumental, July 1970

NOT LONG home from their third exhausting tour of America, the Savoy Brown band were enjoying a necessary break – they have kept their British ...

Taste: the Marquee, London

Live Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 25 July 1970

NOT ONLY were there some incredible scenes going on inside the Marquee on Tuesday when the Taste completely shattered the all-time box office record held ...

Johnny Otis (1970)

Interview by Charlie Gillett, Rock's Backpages audio, August 1970

From Little Esther to Big Mama, "The Duke Ellington of Watts" takes us back to Central Avenue: the shysters, the talent, the clubs and record labels; the hits, the misses and the rip-offs.

File format: mp3; file size: 47.8mb, interview length: 49' 50" sound quality: ***

Delivery, Carol Grimes: Carol Grimes: Whole World Blues

Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 1 August 1970

FOR YEARS, girl singers were expected to conform to the pop music rules. Summed up: thou shalt not stomp around, rave, rampage or scream. Thou ...

Taste: Marquee Club, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 1 August 1970

RORY GALLAGHER is King, days Mailbag most weeks, and Taste are the new Zeppelin/Cream/Beatles/Shadows. The queue around the Marquee one night last week, where the ...

Margie Evans, Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Johnny Otis, Shuggie Otis, Big Joe Turner, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson: The Johnny Otis Show feat. Big Joe Turner, Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson et al: Basin Street West, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 15 August 1970

An Old-Timer Hangs Loose ...

Roy Brown

Retrospective by Charlie Gillett, Record Mirror, 22 August 1970

THE MOST influential singer of the last 25 years was Roy Brown. ...

Bo Diddley (1970)

Interview by Michael Lydon, Rock's Backpages audio, September 1970

When Bo's not being a boxer, truck driver, gunslinger, lumberjack etc. he's being A Man - a husband and father, dealing with life in the USA. The Gunslinger tells Michael Lydon of record company rip-offs, dealin' with the po-lice and the very meaning of life itself.

File format: mp3; total file size: 76.9meg, total interview length: 1h 20' 04" sound quality: **

Canned Heat: Future Blues (Liberty)

Review by Anne Moore, Phonograph Record, September 1970

CANNED HEAT is back with the familiar boogie blues with their new Liberty album, Future Blues. ...

Shuggie Otis: Shuggie's On His Own

Profile by uncredited writer, Hit Parader, September 1970

HIS FATHER is famous, the people he records with are famous, and now he's on his way as well. His name is Shuggie Otis. If ...

Canned Heat: Alan Kept Balance

Obituary by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 12 September 1970

THE DEATH of Alan Wilson at the weekend left more than a musical gap in the line-up of Canned Heat. Up against the earthiness and ...

Mose Allison, Chet Baker, Ramsey Lewis: Ramsey Lewis: Basin Street; Chet Baker: El Matador; Mose Allison: Jazz Workshop, all San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 17 September 1970

Cool Times On Broadway ...

Johnny Jenkins: Nothing But The Blues

Interview by Miller Francis Jr., The Great Speckled Bird, 28 September 1970

TON TON Macoute! was recorded in Macon, Georgia at Capricorn Records, at an 8 track studio built "in memory of Otis Redding" by Phil Walden, ...

The Sound of the City — The Rise of Rock and Roll by Charlie Gillett 375 pp. (Outerbridge & Dienstfrey, New York — distributed by E.P. Dutton)

Book Review by Greg Shaw, Who Put The Bomp!, October 1970

WITH THIS book, the study of rock & roll reaches a level of sophistication matching that of blues and jazz research. The day is gone ...

Archibald: 'Ballin' With Archie'

Profile by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, October 1970

DUE TO OUR tight schedule we had only one more day in New Orleans. It was all systems 'go' on Saturday from first light (almost) ...

Savoy Brown: Lookin' In, Lookin' Out

Profile and Interview by Dave Marsh, Circus, October 1970

IF THE BRITISH blues scene seems circular, both in terms of the way it has progressed over the last few years and in terms of ...

CCS, Alexis Korner, The Rolling Stones: Alexis Korner Couldn't Afford Jagger As Radio Vocalist So Mick Started Stones!

Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 2 October 1970

Blues pioneer thinks Union out of date ...

Son House (part 1): Living King of the Delta

Retrospective and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 10 October 1970

IT WAS the final day of 
Eddie "Son" House's 
final sortie away from 
America. Outside, the
 rain was pouring
 down; inside the car 
sat Son, ...

The Sound Of The City: The Rise Of Rock And Roll (by Charlie Gillett. Outerbridge and Dienstfrey, 375 pp., $2.95)

Book Review by John Morthland, Rolling Stone, 15 October 1970

CHARLIE GILLETT is a very likeable Englishman who recently released the most exhaustive study yet of rock and roll and the music industry. He's 28, ...

Johnny Winter, Rick Derringer: Johnny Winter: On Music, Hype and Happiness

Interview by John Morthland, Rolling Stone, 15 October 1970

FOR TOO long there, it seemed to Johnny Winter like he would never be known for his music as much as he would be known ...

The McCoys, Johnny Winter: Johnny Winter Speaking

Interview by Royston Eldridge, Sounds, 17 October 1970

THE IDEA of Johnny Winter, Texan albino, blues guitarist and underground legend, working with the McCoys, bubble-gum lightweights sold on their teenage looks, would have ...

Johnny Winter: Johnny Winter And... (CBS)

Review by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 17 October 1970

OH YES! Great stuff, funky, pumpy, loud and brash and damned uncouth — which is the way R&B should be played. ...

Muddy Waters: The Man Who Urbanised The Blues

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 17 October 1970

TOP CHICAGO bluesman Muddy Waters, still crippled from a car crash nine months ago, will be wearing a smile when he returns to England in ...

Son House (part 2): Robert Johnson Overshadowed Son and the Whole Delta

Report and Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 17 October 1970

SINCE 1966 Son House had only recorded once, a very poor performance for Roots which had failed to capture any of the emotion and lyricism ...

Eric Burdon, Canned Heat, Michael Chapman, John Sebastian, Stoneground, War: Canned Heat: The People Leave Hyde Park Slowly

Report by Robert Greenfield, Rolling Stone, 29 October 1970

LONDON — Rain is sloshing down all the streets and windows, and when Bob Hite of Canned Heat wakes up in his hotel room in ...

B.B. King: Indianola Mississippi Seeds (Probe SPBA6255)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 31 October 1970

HOW TIMES have changed. Gone is the harsh strident guitar of the early '50s which characterised the sound of B.B. and influenced many. Of course ...

Homesick James: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 31 October 1970

A LARGE and somewhat over enthusiastic audience saw Homesick James with Grizelda at the 100 Club on Tuesday last week, and spurred the delighted old ...

Homesick James: Homesick Finds a Home From Home

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 31 October 1970

HOMESICK JAMES is a likeable faintly extrovert character whose first British visit seems to have made a mockery of his nickname. For homesickness seemed to ...

Robert Johnson: King Of The Delta Blues Singers, Vol II (CBS 64102)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 31 October 1970

THE LEGENDARY Robert Johnson showed up at the ARC Field Studios five times between November 1936 and June 1937, cutting a mere 29 sides in ...

The Jones Girls, Little Richard: Little Richard: Music Hall Theater, Detroit MI

Live Review by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 9 November 1970

150 See Little Richard: Music Hall No 'Apollo' Yet ...

Little Willie John

Retrospective by Charlie Gillett, Fusion, 13 November 1970

TO START where I should, with autobiographical recollection: the only Little Willie John single I can remember hearing when it came out was 'Leave My ...

Johnny Winter And: Johnny Winter And (CBS stereo, 64117, 39s 11d)

Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 21 November 1970

I THINK IT'S about time that certain people stopped getting themselves hung-up on what they figure to be Johnny Winter's somewhat bizarre appearance and got ...

Little Richard: The Far-Out Little Richard

Interview by Mike Gormley, Detroit Free Press, 21 November 1970

'Bronze Liberace' Has Some Unusual Ideas About the State of Music — and the World ...

Freddie King: Ash Grove, Los Angeles

Live Review by David Rensin, The Valley State Daily Sundial, 18 December 1970

No one matches F. King ...

Big Bill Broonzy, Cab Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie, Little Miss Cornshucks, Charlie Parker: Ahmet Ertegün (1971) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Charlie Gillett, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 1971

This is a transcript of Charlie's audio interview with Ahmet. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Champion Jack Dupree: Travelling North

Report and Interview by Philip Norman, The Sunday Times, 1971

AROUND 1920, Champion Jack Dupree left the Coloured Waifs Home for Boys, New Orleans, and started walking. He had nobody. His father and mother were ...

Muddy Waters

Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, Oz, January 1971

MUDDY WATERS has been my favourite singer since I was twelve years old, and since that time one of my primary objectives has been to ...

Little Richard: Electric Circus, New York NY

Live Review by Geoffrey Cannon, The Guardian, 21 January 1971

ST MARK'S PLACE, the high street of New York's East Village, hums with memories these days. Among them, at the new year, was little Richard, ...

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Elvis Presley: Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup: No Payment For My Elvis Songs Says Crudup

Interview by James Johnson, New Musical Express, 20 February 1971

SIXTY-FIVE year old blues-man Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, whose songs 'That's Alright Mama' and 'My Baby Left Me' were hits for Elvis Presley back in ...

Alexis Korner: REACTION with Alexis Korner

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 March 1971

ALEXIS KORNER — guitarist, singer, blues fancier and scholar, and bandleader with a remarkable record as a nurseryman of young jazz talent — sat for ...

Various: British Blues Archive Series Vols. 1 And 2

Review by Loyd Grossman, Rolling Stone, 18 March 1971

IT ALL SEEMED TO happen quite suddenly when in late 1966 and 1967 the United States’ record stores were deluged with a staggering number of ...

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup: Arthur Big Boy Crudup: Roebuck Man (United Artists UAS29092)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 March 1971

Big Boy in Britain ...

Canned Heat, John Lee Hooker: John Lee Hooker, Canned Heat: Carnegie Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 17 April 1971

Hooker Performs With a Pop Group He Helped Inspire ...

Bo Diddley: The Second Coming Of Bo Diddley

Special Feature by Michael Lydon, Ramparts, May 1971

"A person is an individual, and being an individual person is a gas. I have my own way of expressing my soulful feelings. I never ...

Otis Rush Keeps On Pushin'

Interview by Joel Selvin, Rolling Stone, 27 May 1971

SAN FRANCISCO — Otis Rush is tired. After finishing four weeks recording a new album, that's no surprise. But Otis has been tired for a ...

B.B. King: Question & Answer with B.B. King, legendary guitarist

Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 19 June 1971

IT'S NOT every day of the week that one gets the rare opportunity of meeting a legend, let alone a childhood idol. For that is ...

B.B. King: Background To A Living Legend

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 25 June 1971

B.B. KING is the undisputed King of the Blues – fact! Every press release in existence on B.B. will tell you that he is a ...

Canned Heat, Harvey Mandel, John Mayall: Harvey Mandel

Profile and Interview by uncredited writer, Hit Parader, July 1971

RECOGNITION AS an outstanding musician hasn't come overnight for Harvey Mandel, but he prefers it that way. He's been moving up slowly and steadily and ...

Juke Boy Bonner, Freddie King: Freddie King, Juke Boy Bonner: The Ash Grove, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by John Mendelssohn, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 1971

Freddie King Performs on Ash Grove Stage ...

Alexis Korner, Father of Us All

Interview by Andrew Bailey, Rolling Stone, 8 July 1971

The man who has influenced a universe of British musicians and movements ...

The Sound of the City by Charlie Gillett (Outerbridge & Dienstfrey, $2.50paperback, $6.50 hard cover)

Book Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 22 July 1971

A Fine Text on the Rise of Rock ...

Taj Mahal: The Real Thing (CBS)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 31 July 1971

FOR SOME reason it all seems to have gone wrong for Taj Mahal. ...

Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Leon Russell, Ravi Shankar: George Harrison et al: Concert for Bangla Desh, Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Mike Jahn, The New York Times, 2 August 1971

Raga and Rock Link 2 Cultures ...

Badfinger, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, Ravi Shankar, Ringo Starr: George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar et al: Concert for Bangla Desh, Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Nancy Lewis, New Musical Express, 7 August 1971

GEORGE CREATES GREATEST ROCK SPECTACLE OF DECADE ...

Taj Mahal: Taking The Music Back To The People... But Is Taj Mahal The Real Thing?

Profile and Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Sounds, 7 August 1971

ON HIS latest album (reviewed in SOUNDS last week), recorded live at the Fillmore East, Taj Mahal makes the assertive claim that he is indeed ...

Reverend Gary Davis: Rev. Gary Davis: Song of a Preacher Man

Report and Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 21 August 1971

MANY BLACK SINGERS draw an artificial distinction between holy music — gospel — and sinful music — the blues. ...

CCS, Alexis Korner: CCS: Alexis Kornered

Interview by Tony Stewart, New Musical Express, 2 October 1971

CCS: with 21 people it needs to be commercial ...

Rick Derringer, Johnny Winter: Johnny Winter: Behind the Scene With Steve Paul

Report and Interview by Ed McCormack, Rolling Stone, 14 October 1971

THE BIG dusty black Cadillac limousine comes rolling around the comer at Twenty-First Street, turns into the dimly-lighted stage-set stillness of Gramercy Park East, and ...

King Curtis: A Good Man Gone

Obituary by Michael Lydon, Fusion, 29 October 1971

MAYBE THIS should be a collection of unrelated notes. I’m not sure how the things I’m thinking about fit together. King Curtis is dead. That ...

Johnny Otis: Doin' That Hand Jive With His Feet

Interview by John Morthland, Creem, November 1971

When the Johnny Otis Show appears on stage, it brings years and years of rhythm and blues history with it. ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Larry Williams: Larry Williams and Johnny Guitar Watson: The Two Who Weren't 'Revived'

Profile by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 3 November 1971

DESCRIBING Larry Williams as a "great unknown" might raise a few eyebrows for he had a hit with 'Bony Moronie', a rock 'n' roll classic, ...

Clifton Chenier, The Wackers: Clifton Chenier: St. Mark's church hall, Richmond CA; The Wackers: New Orleans House, Berkeley CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 6 November 1971

Down Home Boogie Band ...

Osibisa, Three Dog Night, The Who: The More Successful You Get, The More Equipment You Get, So Teams Are Needed To Get Everything From Place To Place

Report and Interview by Ian Dove, Billboard, 6 November 1971

THEY ALSO SERVE WHO ONLY LIFT AND HANDLE... ...

B.B. King: 'I Owe My Popularity To The Beatles. They Started The People Towards Really Listening...'

Interview by Danny Holloway, New Musical Express, 13 November 1971

GUITARIST-SINGER B. B. King, at 45 the toast of many young musicians, arrives at London Airport next Friday (19) to appear in London and Bristol ...

Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Junior Parker: Memphis Blues: Sun Rise

Overview by Colin Escott, Record Mirror, 13 November 1971

IN 1950 WHEN Sam Phillips gave up his job as band promoter for the Peabody Hotel in Memphis and opened the studio of the Memphis ...

Alexis Korner, Blues Incorporated, Cyril Davies, Dick Heckstall-Smith: A Conversation With Alexis Korner

Interview by John Pidgeon, unpublished, 15 November 1971

This is a straight transcription of John Pidgeon's interview with Alexis Korner from November 1971 ...

Bo Diddley: Sounds of the Seventies: A Bo Diddley Revival

Profile and Interview by Mike Jahn, Baltimore Sun, 28 November 1971

LAST SUMMER at a Creedence Clearwater Revival concert there was an unannounced special, a warm-up band. Its leader was a middle-aged black man carrying a ...

B.B. King: King O' The Blues

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 3 December 1971

PERHAPS MORE than any other single entertainer, B.B. King has contributed a good deal to "opening the doors" for the blues and for making it ...

Big Mama Thornton, Phillip Walker: Ash Grove, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 4 December 1971

Big Mama Thornton on Stage at Ash Grove ...

B.B. King, Freddie King: B.B. King and Freddie King: Kings Of The Blues

Interview by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 11 December 1971

Two bluesmen who have become living legends talk about their careers and the state of the blues today. And B.B. King and Freddie King both ...

Hammie Nixon, Sleepy John Estes: Sleepy John Estes: Sleepy, Getting Sleepier

Report and Interview by Philip Norman, The Sunday Times, 1972

THE ROAD stops at Sleepy John's house, at the top of a ploughed field, outside Brownsville, Tennessee, where the earth is thick and unyielding as ...

Willie Dixon: It's Not the Singer, It's the Song

Report and Interview by Jim Esposito, Rock, 1972

2013 NOTE: Hard to imagine today but even as late as 1972 the contributions of the old black blues masters were still not recognized by ...

Junior Parker: Junior's Last Stand

Obituary by Charlie Gillett, Cream, January 1972

WHILE I WAS in New York for a short time last April, I noticed some billposters up near Columbia University on the upper West Side, ...

B.B. King: Will Success Spoil B.B. King?

Comment by Tony Russell, Cream, January 1972

ANY ARTIST who becomes noticeably successful soon has the more inquisitive, the harder-to-satisfy, of his followers asking ‘What’s he going to do now?’. Some sit ...

Big Mama Thornton: The Hound Dog Howler Who Inspired Janis

Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 1 January 1972

IN THE DEEPEST depths of Transatlantic's Marylebone High Street (London) headquarters there's a wire cage which looks like Death Row in your favourite neighbourhood prison. ...

Rory Gallagher: Music For Belfast: Rory Gallagher

Report and Interview by Roy Hollingworth, Melody Maker, 8 January 1972

BELFAST GOT A rock'n'roll concert on New Year's Day in the City's notorious Ulster Hall. Heading the bill was Rory Gallagher.  It was the first ...

Jefferson Airplane, Papa John Creach: Papa John Creach: Papa John Makes It With Rock

Profile and Interview by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 22 January 1972

THE ONE-TIME phenomenon of young white rock musicians playing on records by old black blues musicians has become a commonplace thing. ...

Alan Lomax: Making a Science of Man's Music

Profile and Interview by Geoffrey Cannon, Los Angeles Times, 23 January 1972

Alan Lomax, the man who went into the fields of the southern states in the 1930s and brought the glory of the blues to the attention ...

Lightnin' Slim: Gone Fishin'

Profile and Interview by Tony Russell, Melody Maker, 12 February 1972

A FAMILIAR blues story is the one of the musician who held his first guitar almost before he clambered out of the cradle. As the ...

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Elvis Presley: Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup: Rock's Debt to Crudup

Report by Mike Jahn, Baltimore Sun, 20 February 1972

BLUES SINGER Arthur (Big Boy) Crudup has spent most of his 67 years staring at bad crops, worse bills, garbage trucks and empty promises. He ...

John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters: Blues reissues: Muddy Waters/John Lee Hooker/Little Walter/Smokey Hogg/Frankie Lee Sims

Review by Tony Russell, Cream, March 1972

EACH OF THESE bluesmen began to make his name soon after World War II, most of them profiting from the new urban audiences of blacks ...

J.B. Hutto: Southside Hawk

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 4 March 1972

IT'S NOT surprising that there should be more than a trace of Elmore James and Muddy Waters in the playing of J.B. Hutto, described in ...

Willie Dixon, Walter "Shakey" Horton: Willie Dixon All-Stars: Ash Grove, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 9 March 1972

Willie Dixon Fronting All-Stars at Ash Grove ...

Savoy Brown: Kim Simmonds Makes Savoy Brown A New Group

Interview by Danny Goldberg, Circus, April 1972

SAVOY BROWN is an oddity in the rock pantheon. Never really disappearing, yet never really together they can be compared most easily to John Mayall. ...

Rory Gallagher: On the Road with Rory

Report and Interview by Andrew Tyler, Disc and Music Echo, 8 April 1972

Andrew Tyler found out just how hard life on the road is when he followed Rory Gallagher north on a couple of gigs. ...

Dr. John From Way Down Yonder in New Orleans

Interview by Danny Holloway, New Musical Express, 29 April 1972

DR. JOHN'S contributions to pop music have been highly original and creative. Even if he claims that all the credit is due to the music ...

John Mayall: Town Hall, Auckland

Live Review by Tom McWilliams, Playdate, May 1972

Mayall: music as never before ...

Savoy Brown: Shadow Boxing with Savoy Brown's Mgr.

Interview by Andrew Bailey, Rolling Stone, 11 May 1972

LONDON — HARRY rose from the chair and his mouth went slack. His eyes rolled around and his tongue slid out like an epileptic's. He ...

Rory Gallagher: Travelling Full Circle

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 13 May 1972

RORY GALLAGHER admitted this week, that his new year European tour had been a tremendous morale booster.... reinforcing old favourites like 'Laundromat' and 'Sinner Boy' ...

Fats Domino: Walking To New Orleans

Profile by Martin Hawkins, Record Mirror, 20 May 1972

IN RECENT years the music of New Orleans in the 50's has been well documented on albums, but maybe now is the time to be ...

Reverend Gary Davis: Rev. Gary Davis: Farewell to the Holy Bluesman

Obituary by Karl Dallas, Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 May 1972

THOUGH I'M not what most people would call a religious man, when I heard that at the age of 76 and after several strokes the ...

Dr. John: The Dr. John Story, Part One: Talking 'bout New Orleans

Retrospective and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 20 May 1972

DOCTOR JOHN is The Night Tripper, purveyor of Gris-Gris and Voodoo since 1967. ...

Ry Cooder: The stars' star steps out

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 27 May 1972

RY COODER is a familiar name to groups like the Rolling Stones and Crosby, Stills and Nash who regularly utilised — I sometimes wonder whether ...

Big Joe Turner, T-Bone Walker and Otis Spann: Super Black Blues

Review by Bob Fisher, Cream, June 1972

IT'S TAKEN Phillips a long time to get around to issuing this superb album, probably the only genuine spontaneous blues jam ever commited to wax. ...

Dr. John: Gumbo (Atlantic)

Review by Danny Holloway, New Musical Express, 3 June 1972

A survey of New Orleans, by Dr John ...

Dr. Ross, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, Dr. Isiah Ross: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 10 June 1972

IF AUTHENTIC blues music really is dying on its feet, perhaps someone should inform the thousand enthusiasts who packed the 100 Club to see Muddy ...

The Asylum Choir, Marc Benno, Mance Lipscomb, Leon Russell: Marc Benno: More Minnows to Come

Interview by Judith Sims, Rolling Stone, 22 June 1972

LOS ANGELES — Marc Benno used to be Leon Russell's musical partner; as the notorious Asylum Choir they made two albums together in Los Angeles ...

The Drifters, Clyde McPhatter: Clyde McPhatter: A Personal Tribute

Obituary by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 June 1972

CLYDE McPhatter is dead. I would be a liar if I said I was surprised because Clyde has been 'lost' for quite a few years. ...

Muddy Waters Now Records in London with the British Blues-Rockers

Interview by Tony Stewart, Hit Parader, July 1972

MUDDY WATERS went to Britain. Virtually unannounced. He stayed a week. ...

Ike Turner, Ike & Tina Turner: The Roots of Ike Turner

Essay by Colman Andrews, Phonograph Record, July 1972

IKE TURNER'S roots are blues roots. That's obvious, right? You hardly need some wise-ass young punk kid writer in good old PRM to lay that ...

Alexis Korner: Kornering The Market

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 15 July 1972

ALEXIS KORNER has been for so long at the heart of rhythm and blues in Britain, and touched off so many groups who have gone ...

Mississippi Fred McDowell: Fred McDowell: Unspoiled Master

Obituary by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 22 July 1972

Tribute by Jerry Gilbert ...

Johnny Otis: The Godfather of R&B

Retrospective by Bill Millar, Record Mirror, 29 July 1972

I THOUGHT Johnny Otis was suffering from over-exposure Dave Wolf who has drained his life savings to bring over Johnny's entire package thinks not. So ...

Little Richard: What Richard Said

Report by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 12 August 1972

"UH, HOWdo you do. Mr. Penniman, it's a great..." "HALLELUJAH BROTHER it's great to be here in your wunnerful country. I want y'all to know ...

Bo Diddley: Hey! Bo Diddley: The Man Whose Sexuality Was Too Much For America

Report by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 26 August 1972

Diddley Freak Charles Shaar Murray, in the presence of the main man... ...

Ike Turner: Blues Roots

Review by Greg Shaw, Rolling Stone, 31 August 1972

PEOPLE ALWAYS ask why Ike Turner is content to stand in the background, playing those fine guitar riffs to an audience totally oblivious to him ...

Wilf Carter (Montana Slim), Lightnin' Hopkins, Hank Snow, Lester Young: Rocking Chair

Column by Michael Lydon, Fusion, September 1972

JUNE TODAY, not busting out in Boston where the sky is as grey as the pigeons, but here. My trip has continued from Bloomington across ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Spotlighting the Man: Bobby Blue Bland

Comment by Colman Andrews, Phonograph Record, September 1972

THERE'S A new Bobby Bland single out ('I'm So Tired') that is both typically fine and frustrating: fine in that it is another two and ...

Johnny Otis, Shuggie Otis: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 2 September 1972

DO YOU FEEL all right? I mean, are you ready to put yo' hands together one time and say yeah? Louder, I wanna hear you ...

Hound Dog Taylor And The House Rockers

Profile by Ben Edmonds, Creem, November 1972

CONTRARY TO whatever stereotypes have been created to cover the contemporary bluesman, there is a side to the blues that has absolutely nothing to do ...

Howlin' Wolf

Profile by Ben Edmonds, Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival program, November 1972

"Howlin' Wolf, man...he's the guts of America spilling out on the floor, that's all."Greil Marcus/CREEM ...

Luther Allison

Profile by Dave Marsh, Creem, November 1972

"LUTHER ALLISON come into the picture about the middle of 1957. I needed a bass player and I met Luther Allison walkin' on Ogden Avenue ...

John Hammond, Hot Tuna, Peter Kaukonen, Johnny Winter: Hot Tuna, Black Kangeroo, John Hammond: Academy of Music, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 2 November 1972

SATURDAY WAS white blues night at the Academy of Music. But the evening really began with a semi-frenzied escape from Captain Beefheart's disappointingly dull and ...

Bonnie Raitt: Music Makers: Bonnie Raitt

Profile and Interview by Michael Oberman, Evening Star, The (Washington DC), 4 November 1972

ONE OF the strongest shows in recent months has been booked into the Cellar Door starting Monday. John Prine and Bonnie Raitt open for one ...

Bonnie Raitt: Troubadours: Why Bonnie Raitt Wants a Break

Interview by Judith Sims, Rolling Stone, 9 November 1972

LOS ANGELES — "Freebo, my bass player, he's a jock, he sits in his hotel room watching football games on television." Bonnie Raitt gestured in ...

Little Richard: A Bizarre Interview With The Amazing, Self-Styled King Of Rock 'N' Roll

Interview by Danny Holloway, New Musical Express, 18 November 1972

HE CALLS HIMSELF the Georgia Peach, the Bronze Liberace and the King of Rock and Roll. Little Richard calls himself a lot of things. Some ...

Ray Charles, B.B. King: B.B. King, Ray Charles: Circle Star, San Carlos CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 1 December 1972

Let's Call Him King of the B-B-Blues ...

Clover, Sunnyland Slim: Long Branch Saloon, Berkeley CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 22 December 1972

Clover Now a Great Sextet ...

Grand Funk Railroad, Freddie King: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 25 December 1972

Grand Funk Railroad Steams Into the Garden at Full Throttle ...

Bonnie Raitt: "I Don't Want to Be a Star," Says Blues Singer Bonnie Raitt

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 31 December 1972

DON'T LET her looks fool you. Behind that golden-haired, dimpled face lurks a lusty, rowdy blues mama. So what if she went to Radcliffe, her ...

Muddy Waters Rarely Eats Fish

Interview by Nick Tosches, Oui, January 1973

THREE OF Oui's finest encountered Muddy Waters in his hotel room one recent afternoon, and an interview took place. Here it is: ...

Mose Allison, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, Mose Allison, John Lee Hooker: Philharmonic Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 11 January 1973

UNMASKED FLAVORS ...

Eddie "Guitar" Burns, Dr. Ross, Johnny Mars: Eddie "Guitar" Burns: Bottle Up & Go; Johnny Mars: Blues from Mars; Dr. Ross: Live at Montreux

Review by Bob Fisher, Let It Rock, February 1973

ALL THESE ALBUMS were recorded (apart from Dr. Ross) in England at the Chalk Farm studios and produced by Jim Simpson. They represent probably the ...

Mance Lipscomb: Portrait of a Texas Bluesman

Profile and Interview by Harold Bronson, Music World, February 1973

MANCE LIPSCOMB is one of those bluesmen who has been promulgated by the blues revival. It's really too bad that his status is not one ...

Chris Barber, Blues Incorporated, Cyril Davies, Lonnie Donegan, Alexis Korner, The Rolling Stones: Rock Routes: The London R&B Scene

Retrospective by John Pidgeon, Let It Rock, February 1973

AT A TIME when most receptive organs — eyes, ears, pockets — were turned to Liverpool and its Merseybeat, another (and as it turned out ...

Don "Sugarcane" Harris: Sugarcane Harris

Guide by Charlie Gillett, Fusion, February 1973

An appreciation in the form of a letter from Charlie Gillett to — I.C. Lotz c/o The Mad Peck Flash Burn Funnies Fusion 909 Beacon St. Boston, Mass. 02215 ...

Louisiana Red, Taj Mahal: Louisiana Red: It's All Blues

Report and Interview by Peter Kent, New Musical Express, 3 February 1973

"I AM LOUISIANA Red and I come from behind the sun" — those words, belting out of a cheap mono record-player, introduced me to the ...

Ten Years After: Alvin Lee & Company

Interview by Jim Esposito, Zoo World, 3 February 1973

ONE OF THE most eagerly awaited albums lately was Alvin Lee & Company. "That's old material that was recorded a long time ago," Alvin stated ...

Chuck Berry

Interview by Martin Hayman, Sounds, 17 February 1973

AFTER THE success of 'My Ding-a-Ling' and the arguments about its making people go blind endlessly aired in the national press, everybody will have heard ...

Savoy Brown: Lion's Share

Review by Jim Esposito, Zoo World, 17 February 1973

TALK ABOUT a programmed response: why is it that every time you pick up a new Savoy Brown album, the first thing you do is ...

Elvin Bishop, Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield's Better Days: Paul Butterfield's Better Days, the Elvin Bishop Group, Mike Bloomfield: Winterland, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 24 February 1973

3 Bs' Rock Blues Jam Exciting ...

Clyde McPhatter: Atlantic Masters (Atlantic)

Review by Charlie Gillett, New Musical Express, 10 March 1973

WELL, IS SINGING coming back or not? The signs are, maybe yes. Billy Paul, for instance, and the Chi-Lites, Stylistics, and Detroit Emeralds. ...

The Coasters: Atlantic Masters (Atlantic).

Review by Charlie Gillett, New Musical Express, 17 March 1973

HOW CRUEL fate is. At the very moment that Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller are proving themselves to be perfectly tuned in to 1973, with ...

Fats Domino: The Fat Man

Profile by Danny Holloway, New Musical Express, 28 April 1973

IF YOU asked someone who, apart from Elvis, has contributed the most to rock and roll, he'd probably say Chuck Berry, Little Richard or Jerry ...

Foghat: Scrabble Named Group

Report and Interview by Jim Esposito, Zoo World, 10 May 1973

2013 NOTE: A big Savoy Brown fan back in the day, much as I loved the group's transformation which produced Street Corner Talking I was ...

John Hammond, Tom Waits: John Hammond Jr. and Tom Waits: Folk-Blues — Two Times And Places

Profile by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 30 May 1973

POPULAR MUSIC generations are particularly short in recent years — styles change, young artists establish new norms, a huge maturing audience sets new standards twice ...

Dave Bartholomew, The Coasters, Fats Domino: Behind The Sun: New Orleans

Report by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, June 1973

IT HARDLY SEEMED three years ago that Robin Gosden and myself were making the same journey from his Weybridge home to Heathrow Airport. Nothing had ...

Howlin' Wolf, Larry Johnson: Howlin' Wolf: Max's Kansas City, New York NY

Live Review by Howard Wuelfing, The Village Voice, 7 June 1973

WELL, IT'S OFFICIAL now. New York is the glitter capital of the rock world and Max's is its major stronghold. That's what an article in ...

John Mayall: Mayall supremacy

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 June 1973

JOHN MAYALL has been living in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, for four years now, and identifying with California and American people for longer than that. ...

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, B.B. King, Big Mama Thornton, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Muddy Waters: B.B. King and Guests: Philharmonic Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 1 July 1973

B.B. King's Blues Barn Creates Echoes of Past ...

Professor Longhair: Longhair, the man who started it all

Interview by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 14 July 1973

ROY CARR MEETS PROFESSOR LONGHAIR, THE WORLD'S MOST RIPPED-OFF LEGEND ...

J. Geils Band: The Boston wranglers

Interview by Michael Watts, Melody Maker, 21 July 1973

THEY HAD said the J. Geils Band was a democracy, and they were right. All six of them are ranged around three sides of this ...

Freddie King: The Cannonball Blows Into Town

Interview by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 28 July 1973

WHEN THE Texas Cannonball blows into town it's quite an event, and when he's only in for a couple of days then everybody wants to ...

Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Interview by Nick Tosches, Creem, August 1973

Valerie's torrid flesh sings with the lyrics of passion and singes with the heat of burning desire ...

Professor Longhair: The Professor of Rock

Interview by Rob Partridge, Melody Maker, 8 September 1973

THE PROFESSOR, THEY SAY, influenced just about every musician in New Orleans. And it’s not a claim he’s about to deny. "I taught most of ...

Louis Jordan, The Pointer Sisters: The Pointer Sisters, Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five: Roseland Ballroom, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 20 September 1973

THE FALL is upon us at last, and the theme for the season, the dreary, greasy '50s having run their course, is the revival of ...

Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Mike Bloomfield — Superstar — Had It All and Didn't Know It

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 September 1973

"I DECIDED I didn't believe all that tortured genius crap," Mike Bloomfield, the 30-year-old musician explained, "that some how there was a corollary between pain ...

Peter Yarrow, Professor Longhair: Peter Yarrow: Max's Kansas City/Professor Longhair: Kenny's Castaways, both New York NY

Live Review by Ian Dove, The New York Times, 21 October 1973

Solo YarrowPETER YARROW would appear to have shed all semblance of times past when he fronted an all-electric group at Max's Kansas City on Park ...

ZZ Top: Tres Hombres (London XPS 631)

Review by Bruce Malamut, Zoo World, 25 October 1973

THE TOTAL Tank. ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, Mott The Hoople, Roomful of Blues: Mott the Hoople: Radio City Music Hall; Bobby Blue Bland, Roomful of Blues: Max's Kansas City, New York NY

Live Review by Dan Nooger, The Village Voice, 1 November 1973

I RAN INTO Eric Emerson (Formerly of the Magic Tramps and now playing guitar and singing with his new band Angel) on the way into ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: Ruthie's Berkeley; Club Long Island, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 7 November 1973

Bobby Bland and his brilliant band ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Blue Bland: Arrival!

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 23 November 1973

WHEN THE news was announced that the vast ABC/Dunhill Record complex had purchased the Duke-Peacock group of companies, speculation began as to what ABC would ...

Clarence "Frogman" Henry: Henry's Back For A Hit

Profile and Interview by John Broven, Melody Maker, 22 December 1973

CLARENCE (Frogman) Henry hasn't had a top-selling record for more than 12 years, but he is still managing to pull the crowds in to hear ...

Johnny Winter: Still Alive And Well

Review by Jim Esposito, Zoo World, Spring 1973

BY NOW EVERYONE must know the reason it took Johnny Winter such a long time to get around to recording this album was not simply ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: This Time He's Here for Good

Retrospective by Tony Cummings, Black Music, January 1974

"HE'S HAD more Hot 100 entries than the Beatles." That's the claim — a totally accurate one — in the Bobby Bland adverts being scattered ...

Louis Jordan: "Still Feeling Good"

Retrospective and Interview by Michael Lydon, Ramparts, January 1974

"DRINK SOME beer and be of good cheer!" Louis Jordan stood on the dimly lit stage of Ruthie's Inn. Before him was a crowded floor ...

Willie Dixon & his Chicago All-Stars: Brewery, East Lansing MI

Live Review by Dave DiMartino, Michigan State News, 16 January 1974

Dixon classics, band thrill blues lovers ...

Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: Hank Ballard: The Man Who Twisted Himself

Profile by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 19 January 1974

COVER VERSIONS have long been the bane of the rhythm and blues field of music. During the 'Fifties, the major record companies kept their ears ...

Little Milton

Retrospective by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 26 January 1974

SOUL MUSIC and the blues have boundaries which are largely indefinable — a factor which has allowed many artists to straddle the two. ...

Marshall Sehorn: We Had Some Good Times

Interview by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, February 1974

Marshall Sehorn of Sansu talks to John Broven about his start in the business ...

The Staple Singers, Pops Staples: MM Staple Singers special: Top of the Pops!

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 2 February 1974

THE STAPLE SINGERS, who gave one charging show in London on Friday, are one of America's most justly famed gospel groups. They have come a ...

Canned Heat: One More River To Cross

Review by John Swenson, Zoo World, 14 March 1974

CANNED HEAT is one of those groups who hang on by the skin of their teeth, jumping over a spate of mediocre albums from success ...

Paul Butterfield's Better Days: It All Comes Back (Bearsville K44517)

Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 16 March 1974

AS A FAN of most of the music that's been going on in Woodstock, the formation of Better Days looked like the perfect solution. ...

Johnny Winter: Saints And Sinners

Review by Jim Esposito, Zoo World, 28 March 1974

YOU'D THINK that anyone who's paid as many dues as Johnny Winter would just wanna sit back and collect residuals, now wouldn't you? Not Johnny, ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: Blue Eyed Soul

Profile and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 30 March 1974

BOBBY "BLUE" Bland is on stage now, smiling at Mel Jackson as he takes the microphone from him and swings into 'Reconsider Baby'. Then a ...

Johnny Winter, Roy Buchanan: Johnny Winter: Saints and Sinners/Roy Buchanan: That's What I Am Here For

Review by John Morthland, Phonograph Record, April 1974

IT'S A SAD DAY indeed for guitar freaks when two of the best in the business turn out the spottiest albums of their careers. But ...

Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Profile by Cliff White, Black Music, April 1974

IN 1965 Nina Simone strengthened her newly-won acclaim as the High Priestess of Soul with a dramatic reworking of a unique echo from the fifties. ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland

Profile and Interview by Dan Nooger, Phonograph Record, 11 April 1974

BOBBY BLUE Bland is a big, genial man, born 1931 in Rosemark, Tenn., former vocalist of the legendary Memphis "Beale Street Blues Boys," (along with ...

Graham Bond: Pioneer and catalyst

Obituary by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 18 May 1974

Chris Welch pays tribute to Graham Bond, who died last week ...

Graham Bond: The Death Of Graham Bond

Obituary by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 25 May 1974

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS before his death two weeks ago, Graham Bond phoned the NME offices. He sounded purposeful, optimistic, enthusiastic, and full of energy. ...

Etta James

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 2 July 1974

THE WELCOME revival in the musical fate of Etta James is highlighted by the release of a fine new album, produced by Gabriel Mekler and ...

Mickey Baker: l00 Club, London

Live Review by Roger St. Pierre, New Musical Express, 10 August 1974

THE EPITHET "Living blues legend" has been much overworked. but in Mickey Baker's case it doesn't even begin to be adequate. He's that, and so ...

Danny Gatton

Interview by Richard Harrington, Unicorn Times, September 1974

SOMEWHERE ALONG the line, guitarist Danny Gatton played in a group called Fat Chance. That name may have been appropriate for the gentle portliness of ...

John Mayall: Empty Rooms/The Turning Point

Review by Bob Woffinden, New Musical Express, 7 September 1974

WHAT WE HAVE here is a shrewd exercise in marketing. Two deleted albums reissued as one double package for the apparently reasonable price of £2.99. ...

Howlin' Wolf: All The Man Wants To Do Is Sing The Blues

Report by Jim Esposito, The Gainesville Sun, 8 September 1974

Born Chester Burnett on June 10, 1910 on a plantation near Tupelo, Mississippi, Howlin' Wolf is a legendary black bluesman, ranking with the likes of ...

John Hammond: Singin' The Blues

Interview by Jim Esposito, The Gainesville Sun, 13 October 1974

JOHN HAMMOND is sitting on a black wooden box hunched over his guitar, which is balanced on a two-by-four suspended between two wooden chairs in ...

Hot Tuna, Journey: Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 28 October 1974

Folk-Blues Program Offered by Hot Tuna ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, B.B. King: Soul, Man: New York Johnny meets L.A. Jane for a Medium Massage

Report by Vernon Gibbs, Crawdaddy!, November 1974

L.A. IS A great big freeway they say, pay a hundred down and buy a car, if you don't you won't get very far. Tooling ...

Rory Gallagher, If, Rush: Rory Gallagher, Rush, If: Beacon Theater, New York NY

Live Review by Dave Marsh, Newsday, 6 November 1974

Rock in a gilded cage ...

B.B. King, Johnny Cash: Johnny Cash: The Junkie And The Juicehead Minus Me (CBS); B.B. King: Friends (ABC)

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 23 November 1974

IN WHICH two culture heroes find themselves well and truly on the artistic skids. ...

Freddie King: Roundhouse, London

Live Review by Philip Norman, The Times, 2 December 1974

AN IMPRESSIVE crowd awaited Freddie King at the Roundhouse last night, wound about its cylindrical structure or massed on its inhospitable boards for several hours ...

John Lee Hooker: Free Beer And Chicken (ABC)

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 7 December 1974

ANYBODY WHO'S ever listened to a fair amount of John Lee Hooker will have realised that recording him with a band is a task on ...

Alexis Korner (1975)

Interview by Karl Dallas, Rock's Backpages audio, 1975

The Father of British Blues talks about splitting from skiffle in the late '50s; working with such luminaries as Chris Barber and Cyril Davies; his band Blues Incorporated which, at various times, included Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts; meeting Brian Jones and wet-nursing the early Rolling Stones; and talks at length about where the Stones go post Mick-Taylor.

File format: mp3; file size: 36.6mb, interview length: 39' 36" sound quality: ****

Chris Barber, Blues Incorporated, Jack Bruce, Ken Colyer, Cyril Davies, Alexis Korner, Steve Marriott, The Rolling Stones: Alexis Korner (1975) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Karl Dallas, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 1975

This is a transcript of Karl's interview. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Hound Dog Taylor, Junior Wells: Chicago: Big City Blues

Report by Brian Case, New Musical Express, 4 January 1975

How ya gonna pull a black chick, honkie baby? The answer: Don't try. You could get wasted — BRIAN CASE prowls round the rough, tough blues joints ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, B.B. King: B.B. King, Bobby Bland: Winterland, San Francisco CA

Live Review by Tom Vickers, Midnight Sun, 16 January 1975

North Beach walk ...

Johnny Winter: Will The Real John Dawson Winter III Stand Up And Rock?

Report and Interview by Dan Nooger, Circus Raves, February 1975

THE RECORD Plant, one of New York's finest recording studios, occupies a floor of an otherwise unprepossessing office building in the heart of the Times ...

Bo Diddley - Bo's a Lumberjack!

Essay by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 8 February 1975

THE WHOLE THING about Bo Diddley was that he was by far the weirdest and craziest musician ever to come out of either blues or ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: Whisky A Go Go, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 8 February 1975

LOS ANGELES: At a time when today's music seems to be suffering from forced theatrics, and a lack of talent disguised in glitter and gold, ...

Syl Johnson: Johnson — A Rough Gem

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 February 1975

AFTER HIS first visit to Britain, guitarist-singer-songwriter Syl Johnson returned last weekend to his home, outside Chicago. His final gigs were at Barbarella's in Birmingham ...

Albert King: I Wanna Get Funky

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 15 February 1975

I WANNA GET Funky is the best album I've heard all year. ...

Alexis Korner: Why Alexis Won't Join The Stones

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975

ALEXIS KORNER laughed, his suntanned face creasing up into laughter lines, his body rocking very gently back and forth. "Oh," he said. "No way." ...

Louis Jordan: A First Class Original

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975

MAX JONES pays tribute to a fine blues singer/alto player ...

Geoff Muldaur: Blues Is The Basis

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 22 February 1975

You're probably more familiar with Maria — but Geoff Muldaur has an impressive track record of his own, taking in the legendary Blues Project, the ...

Roy Buchanan: Community Theater, Berkeley CA

Live Review by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 5 April 1975

Buchanan show, was it sabotage? ...

T-Bone Walker: T-Bone — Showman and Guitar Pioneer

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 5 April 1975

Max Jones pays tribute to T-Bone Walker ...

Alvin Lee: In Flight

Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 10 April 1975

BRITISH BLUES has always been a workmanlike form, as much a job as a pleasure. Alvin Lee is smart enough to realize this, and having ...

T-Bone Walker Dead at 64

Obituary by Jerry Wexler, Rolling Stone, 24 April 1975

LOS ANGELES — Aaron "T-Bone" Walker died of bronchial pneumonia March 16th at the Vernon Convalescent Hospital. The 64-year-old Texas blues guitarist, famous for standards ...

Albert King, Big Joe Turner, Champion Jack Dupree, Freddie King, John Lee Hooker, Otis Rush, T-Bone Walker: Various Blues Albums

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 3 May 1975

If you're a living blues master, are you better off dead? ...

Dr. Feelgood: Maximum R&B

Profile and Interview by Mick Gold, Let It Rock, June 1975

"We didn't set out to look like deranged bank clerks..." ...

Koko Taylor: I Got What It Takes

Review by Greg Shaw, Phonograph Record, June 1975

ANYONE WHO maintains that blues is a dead or dying form must not be aware of Alligator Records. This tiny, dedicated company has been operating ...

Jackie Wilson said... 'Reet Petite'. And the mothers of Harlem said 'No'

Retrospective and Interview by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 21 June 1975

BOB FISHER traces the sometimes controversial career of 'Mr. Excitement,' currently stomping his way across Britain. ...

Elvin Bishop: Juke Joint Jump

Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, July 1975

ELVIN BISHOP'S place in the scheme of post-Beatles US Rock has been pretty much undervalued over the years. This is probably owing to his uncanny ...

Bonnie Raitt: Bonnie Comes Marching Home

Report and Interview by Penny Valentine, Sounds, 12 July 1975

When Bonnie Raitt comes marching home to pack Carnegie Hall, Penny Valentine is there to talk to "the one woman who is a pure musician ...

Ronnie Wood - Now Look

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 19 July 1975

MY H.A.L. PRINT-OUT on Ron Wood sez that his guitar-playing veers from the sublime to the ridiculous (i.e., his playing on Rod Stewart's solo albums ...

Johnny Ace, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, Junior Parker, Elvis Presley, Big Mama Thornton: Obituary: Don D. Robey, R&B Pioneer, Dead at 71

Obituary by Joe Nick Patoski, Rolling Stone, 31 July 1975

HOUSTON — DON D. Robey, a leading figure in rhythm & blues and gospel recordings in the Fifties and Sixties, died early Monday, June 16th, ...

Johnny Ace, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Junior Parker: Obituary: Don D. Robey, R&B Pioneer, Dead at 71

Obituary by Joe Nick Patoski, Rolling Stone, 31 July 1975

HOUSTON — Don D. Robey, a leading figure in rhythm & blues and gospel recordings in the Fifties and Sixties, died early Monday, June 16th, ...

Charlie & Ray, Frankie "Half-Pint" Jaxon, Valentino: Gay Soul

Overview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975

Valentino's 'I Was Born This Way' is probably the most upfront "gay" record ever to get played in the discos (where it's a big hit). ...

Eric Clapton: E.C. Was Here

Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 23 August 1975

HOWEVER ERIC CLAPTON spent his couple of years in isolation from the world, he returned to active performing refreshed and revitalised. ...

Jive Bombers: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 13 September 1975

THERE'S ALWAYS A good time to be had at the 100 Club. ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: Moving Ahead

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 16 September 1975

IN RETROSPECT, when the historians or whoever decide to document the music of the fifties, sixties and seventies, the omission of the name Bobby Bland ...

Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson: Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter

Review by Don Snowden, Pasadena Guardian, November 1975

Howlin' Wolf: Change My Way (CHV 418)Sonny Boy Williamson: One Way Out (CHV 417)Little Walter: Confessin' The Blues (CHV 416)Chess Vintage Series (Chess/Janus Records) ...

Freddie King: New Victoria, London

Live Review by Chas de Whalley, New Musical Express, 1 November 1975

A NIGHT TO remember. "It's Blues time, ladies and gentlemen. Please welcome Freddie King." ...

James Booker, Bo Diddley, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Johnny "Guitar" Watson: European Blues and R&B Festival

Report by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 22 November 1975

TEN YEARS AGO Britain was set to become the R&B capital of the world. Between 1962 and '67 we were visited by so many legendary ...

Victoria Spivey: Queen of the Blues

Profile and Interview by Richard Harrington, Unicorn Times, December 1975

HALFWAY INTO her 70th year, Victoria Spivey is a queen with a diminishing court. She is perhaps the last of the great women blues singers, ...

Climax Blues Band: Stamp Album

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 13 December 1975

I'M SICK AND tired of bloody good bands. ...

Geoff Bradford: Jeff Bradford: Bradford Boogies Again

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 13 December 1975

ROCK MUSIC has taken its toll both of lives and careers, the victims either unable or unwilling to cope with the demands and temptations of ...

B.B. King: Lucille Talks Back (ABC ABCL 5149)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 December 1975

B.B. KING IS back on the lists with an album of his own production on which he plays sophisticated blues, near-blues and one religioso. ...

Santana: Lotus

Review by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 20 December 1975

OVER ONE HUNDRED Santana fans coughed up the full twenty pounds for this triple live album when it first appeared on import. ...

Fats Domino: Rockin' in Your Seat

Profile and Interview by Philip Norman, The Sunday Times, 1976

FATS DOMINO is relaxing among his half-unpacked luggage, his glass-heeled shoes, his address-book, his diamonds and his Gideon Bible. ...

Hound Dog Taylor: a goodtime "rocker"

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 10 January 1976

ALTHOUGH he was not a major figure of postwar blues, Theodore Roosevelt Taylor — known professionally as Hound Dog Taylor — was a good representative ...

Howlin' Wolf: A Tribute

Obituary by Dave Godin, Blues & Soul, 27 January 1976

"I have had my fun, even if I never get well no more. Oh my health is failing, oh yes, I'm going down slow..." ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Givin' the Blues a Shot

Retrospective and Interview by Cliff White, Black Music, February 1976

'I Don't Want To Be A Lone Ranger' recently hit the top ten of the U.S. soul charts and heralded yet another return for a ...

Paul Butterfield, KGB: KGB: KGB (MCA): Paul Butterfield: Put It In Your Ear (Bearsville)

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 20 March 1976

"I saw young Vanderbilt playing down at the tennis club and he doesn't hit the ball any better than a fellow without money " — ...

Fats Domino: Fats life!

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 April 1976

RESPLENDENT IN sharp chrome yellow suit and diamond-studded rings and things, beaming with the joys of life, and seemingly untired by the series of interviews ...

Dr. John, The Meters, Professor Longhair, The Wild Magnolias, The Wild Tchoupitoulas: Special Report: Running The Streets Of The Crescent City

Report by John Sinclair, The Ann Arbor Sun, 22 April 1976

Well I'm going to New Orleans,  I wanna see the Mardi Gras  When I see the Mardi Gras,  I wanna know what the carnival for. ...

Louis Jordan: The Best Of Louis Jordan/Choo Choo Ch'Boogie

Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 1 May 1976

SUFFERING FROM HEAVY metal fatigue? Bunions on your disco feet? Are you too pooped to pop, too puked with punk rock, rasta'd rigid by reggae ...

Chuck Berry, 49, Denies Knowledge of the Previous 48

Interview by Mick Farren, New Musical Express, 29 May 1976

Chuck (Crazy Legs) Berry, top ten contender for the title "King of rock and roll", has been referred to as the greatest black folk poet ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Phelps' Lounge, Detroit MI

Live Review by Frank Bach, The Ann Arbor Sun, 15 July 1976

JUST ABOUT every time a holiday rolls around nowadays, Bobby "Blue" Bland can be found singing down at Phelps' Lounge, a comfortable nightclub located in an otherwise bleak ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Johnny Guitar Watson albums

Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 24 July 1976

Vivien Goldman explains why she's been drooling over Johnny 'Guitar' Watson for the past month. ...

Albert King Delineates the Blues...

Interview by Lita Eliscu, Phonograph Record, August 1976

Lita Eliscu Listens! ...

Luther Allison: Luther Dusts His Broom

Report by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 7 August 1976

HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW that Motown had a blues man on their books? Yeah that's right, blues. Amazing, is it not? Luther Allison's his ...

Albert King an' where he's comin' from

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 10 August 1976

Been stood up by your girl? Low on cash? Behind with your payments? Then you must know the blues. They'll be around as long as ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, B.B. King: Bobby Bland & B.B. King: Together Again... Live (Impulse IMPL-8027) ***

Review by Mick Brown, Sounds, 28 August 1976

BOBBY BLAND and B.B. King's last collaborative recording posed the question "When is a live album not a live album?" The answer is when it's ...

Jimmy Reed: A Chicago blues great dead at 50

Obituary by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 31 August 1976

JIMMY REED, one of the great Chicago blues artists, died early yesterday morning in Oakland. He had been playing club engagements throughout Northern California in ...

Cab Calloway: Of Minnie the Moocher and a Cab with ciass

Profile and Interview by Philip Elwood, The San Francisco Examiner, 6 September 1976

CAB CALLOWAY, sharp, nimble, full of stories and laughs, moved through the noontime crowd at the Washington Square Bar and Grill and onto the sundrenched ...

B.B. King: Keepin' The Blues Alive

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 7 September 1976

THE WORD "blues" has become almost synonymous with the word "king", be it Albert, Freddie or B.B. The blues as a musical form has existed ...

Rory Gallagher: Calling Card (Chrysalis)

Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 2 October 1976

His first venture into the land of overdub and experimentation – and an unqualified success ...

Eric Clapton: Farther On Up The Road

Interview by Barbara Charone, Sounds, 9 October 1976

DROUGHT? What drought? The green green grass of Surrey looks so healthy you'd think the local farmers had been secretly pumping chlorophyl injections into the ...

Rory Gallagher: The Rory of the Crowd

Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 16 October 1976

RORY GALLAGHER looked ruffled, most annoyed indeed. He cast a reflective eye across the current mode of pyrotechnical wizardry in rock and was not happy ...

James Booker: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 27 October 1976

IT CAN BE argued, with, some conviction, that popular music of this century has had no true main stream, simply a complex network of tributaries ...

Victoria Spivey: Black Queen Spivey

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 30 October 1976

Max Jones pays tribute to VICTORIA SPIVEY ...

James Booker: A Winner Never Quits, A Quitter Never Wins

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, November 1976

'THE BLACK LIBERATCHI' That's what it says on the card and you can tell that it's going to be one of those interviews when you ...

Lowell Fulson: 40 Years Of Playing The Blues

Interview by Steven Rosen, Guitar Player, November 1976

THOUGH his name may not be as familiar as B.B. King’s, Ray Charles’, or T-Bone Walker’s, Lowell Fulson (with an n, not an m) has ...

Sonny Rollins, McCoy Tyner, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins: New Victoria Theatre, London

Live Review by Brian Case, Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 6 November 1976

GETTIN' BACK TO IT: MUDDY WATERS, McCOY TYNER & SONNY ROLLINS brought Newport to London's New Victoria Theatre on Saturday. CSM & BRIAN CASE went ...

Muddy Waters: Muddy's Blues Power

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

AT THE London New Victoria concerts last week, Muddy Mississippi Waters — which is the way McKinley Morganfield announced himself — proved not for the ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: Johnny Guitar Watson: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Maureen Paton, Melody Maker, 27 November 1976

THE GUITAR HERO stakes is such an overworked concept that it seems almost poetic justice to overact it outrageously to the point of parody. Johnny ...

James Booker: A winner never quits, a quitter never wins...

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 30 November 1976

'THE BLACK LIBERATCHI' That's what it says on the card and you can tell that it's going to be one of those interviews when you ...

Cousin Joe Pleasants: Cousin Joe: 69 years young, an' the fire's still burnin'!

Profile and Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, December 1976

THE ONLY reason that the Blues is dying out is that the young folk simply don't want to know about the Blues. Even Blues legends ...

Luther Allison, Eddie Boyd, Eddie "Guitar" Burns, John Lee Hooker, Memphis Slim, Muddy Waters: Woke Up This Mornin', Blues Gone Down The Drain

Report and Interview by Brian Case, New Musical Express, 4 December 1976

The Blues is getting old, and young black kids ain't taking over where the old-timers are leaving off. BRIAN CASE talks on the subject with ...

Ry Cooder (1976)

Interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages audio, Fall 1976

The great guitar player talks about the musicians who influenced him; his friendship with John Fahey; the Rising Sons, and Ed Cassidy and Taj Mahal; his encounter with Captain Beefheart; film scores (and more) with Jack Nitzsche; other things he did and didn't do; his early Warner Bros. albums, and Depression-era songs; his unique album covers; Paradise and Lunch, and not being a songwriter; getting into Hawaiian and Tex-Mex music, and his latest album, Chicken Skin Music.

File format: mp3; file size: 51.1mb, interview length: 53' 14" sound quality: ****

Roy Brown Part 1: Good Rockin' Tonight

Interview by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, January 1977

ROY BROWN became one of R&B's first stars when his seminal recording of 'Good Rockin' Tonight' hit the charts in 1948 and 1949. In this illuminating ...

Freddie King: King of rhythm 'n' blues

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 January 1977

SOME BLUESMEN are pure country artists, folk musicians really, others are traditional-mixed-with-Chicago, others West Coast, jazz-blues Memphis stylists soul singers and what-have-you. ...

Roy Brown Part 2: Hard Luck Blues

Interview by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, March 1977

The second part of this interview with Roy Brown takes his story from 1950, with his time at King Records, through the rock'n'roll era and ...

Muddy Waters: Reborn At 62

Interview by Ian Dove, Phonograph Record, April 1977

MUDDY WATERS, the blues singer, relaxed in the kitchen of his home in the Chicago suburbs. He likes Chicago although rarely goes into the city ...

Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter: Muddy Waters: Hard Again (Blue Sky)

Review by Gary Kenton, Circus, 28 April 1977

IT IS NEVER an easy task to record a legend. What, after all, could Muddy Waters — at the age of 60 — do on ...

Muddy Waters: The Blues Had A Baby… And They Called It Rock 'N' Roll

Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 30 April 1977

"THE KIND OF BLUES I play there's no money in it. You makes a good livin' when you gets established like I did, but you ...

Valerie Wilmer: "Art is a luxury. Music is a functional thing."

Interview by Brian Case, New Musical Express, 7 May 1977

Photographer-writer VALERIE WILMER opts for unlearning and the sovereignty of the heart ...

John Mayall: Falkshaus, Zurich

Live Review by Tony Stewart, New Musical Express, 21 May 1977

AS A TALENT scout John Mayall is a shrewd, calculating operator with few equals. Now with 26 albums to his credit and almost as many ...

Taj Mahal: Music Fuh Ya (Musica Para Tu) (Warner Brothers); A Taj Mahal Anthology Vol. 1 (CBS import)

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 18 June 1977

Taj Me In The Morning ...

Bonnie Raitt (1977) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 28 July 1977

This is a transcript of John's audio interview with Bonnie. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

John Lee Hooker: Interview: John Lee Hooker, October 1977, at the Main Point, Bryn Mawr, Pa.

Interview by Peter Stone Brown, unpublished, October 1977

JOHN LEE HOOKER was one of my all-time favourite blues singers. This interview was done between shows in the basement of the Main Point, a ...

The Darts: Darts: Darts (Magnet)

Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 19 November 1977

THEY PROBABLY won't thank me for saying so, but there's no getting around the fact that there are marked – if only coincidental – similarities ...

ZZ Hill: ZZ and The Making Of A Soul Classic

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 3 January 1978

'Love Is So Good When You're Stealing It' is one of '77's most soulful sides. David Nathan talks to ZZ Hill about his earlier days ...

Blues Incorporated, Graham Bond, Colosseum, Cyril Davies, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Alexis Korner, John Mayall: Dick Heckstall-Smith: He Didn't Make A Million...

Interview by Brian Case, New Musical Express, 28 January 1978

Although he paid a lot of dues — with Korner, Bond, Mayall, Colosseum and a handful of Rolling Stones — veteran R 'n' B tenorman ...

Johnny Winter, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters: I'm Ready

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 28 January 1978

"If you're watching me and Johnny Winter, the show is MEANT to be in black and white." ...

Professor Longhair: Childe Harold, Washington DC

Live Review by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 25 February 1978

LISTENING TO Roy Byrd, also known as Professor Longhair and playing at the Childe Harold through Sunday, it is almost necessary to hear between the ...

Roy Brown: New London Theatre

Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 11 March 1978

HALFWAY through, this chaotic gig had all the makings of one of the Great Disasters Of Our Time. ...

Professor Longhair: Late Riser

Interview by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 22 March 1978

Mick Brown talks to a survivor ...

Eric Clapton: Return Of The Reluctant Hero

Interview by John Pidgeon, Creem, April 1978

THERE WAS once a movie actor who, having made his name as a heavy, took to playing the romantic lead. But no matter how often ...

Fats Domino: Live in London

Live Review by Peter Silverton, Sounds, 1 April 1978

FATS DOMINO is and always has been the most unlikely looking bona fide Fifties rock and roller you can imagine. Where Elvis, Eddie and Gene ...

Professor Longhair: I'm A Little Rowdy With My Playing

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 April 1978

Professor Longhair talks to Max Jones ...

Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter: Muddy Waters: The Bottom Line, New York NY

Live Review by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 6 April 1978

Muddy Waters' mojo is still in working order ...

Professor Longhair: Live On The Queen Mary (EMI Harvest SHSP 4086)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 April 1978

LONGHAIR THE pianist, singer, songwriter and potent entertainer is something of a New Orleans phenomenon. He is (as he said himself in a recent MM ...

Professor Longhair: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 15 April 1978

I HAVE immense admiration for Professor Longhair. ...

Alexis Korner: Korner in Blues

Interview by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 21 April 1978

IT IS WHOLLY fitting that the guest-list for Alexis Korner's 50th birthday party this week at Pinewood Studios should have read like a Who's Who ...

Muddy Waters: I'm Ready (Blue Sky)

Review by Mitchell Cohen, Creem, May 1978

IT ISN'T JUST the natural process of attribution and the creative stagnation afflicting his competitors that have made Muddy Waters the premier master of his ...

Bo Diddley's a Gunslinger

Interview by Brian Case, New Musical Express, 6 May 1978

That was the title of one of the influential, flamboyant R'n'B man's hits, for you punks too young to remember. But nowadays, believe it or ...

The Darts: Gaumont Cinema, Southampton

Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 20 May 1978

CLIFF WHITE CRIPPLES THE STARS! (No. 3 in an exciting, if tasteless, new series) ...

Rory Gallagher: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, 5 June 1978

RORY GALLAGHER'S return to London, with two shows at the Hammersmith Odeon at the weekend, emphasized the sway the eternally youthful Irish guitarist holds over ...

Etta James (1978) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 12 July 1978

This is a transcription of Cliff's audio interview with Etta. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Muddy Waters: Interview with Muddy Waters at the Temple Music Festival, Ambler, PA

Interview by Peter Stone Brown, unpublished, 31 July 1978

I GUESS I FIRST heard Muddy Waters in 1965 when my brother bought The Best of Muddy Waters. ...

Buddy Guy, Junior Wells: Buddy Guy and Junior Wells: Why Are These Guys Grinning?

Report and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 5 August 1978

...They've been 'between contracts' since 1969, there's hardly any such thing as a black audience for their music and on their recent visit to London ...

Smiley Lewis: I Hear You Knocking

Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 5 August 1978

WHEN FATS Domino first bounced out of the bayou with his bronze voice, gold rings, pumping piano and infectious grin, half a pace behind him ...

Roy Brown: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 19 August 1978

AT ABOUT 3 pm the Sunday before last, one American rhythm 'n' blues pioneer and six British beer 'n' peanut-circuit musicians got together for the ...

Etta James: Soul Punk Etta: Superstardom the Hard Way on a Dollar a Day

Profile and Interview by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 19 August 1978

"THANKSGIVING DAY in November will be my silver anniversary: 25 years since I cut my first record and I haven't become a superstar yet. It ...

Etta James: James The First

Profile and Interview by Cliff White, Black Music, October 1978

Etta James, a star of this year's Montreux Jazz Festival, visited London after her show there en route for her American home. While here, she ...

Skip James: I'm So Glad

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 14 October 1978

SKIP JAMES scares me. ...

B.B. King: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 21 October 1978

IF ONLY B.B.King had let his fingers, and not his likeable but oversized ego, do the talking then I would have enjoyed his return to ...

B.B. King: BB King: The Las Vegas Tax Deductible Blues

Interview by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 28 October 1978

PETE WINGFIELD played with B.B.King seven years ago, on one of the guitarist's less celebrated albums. They met up again last week – only this ...

George Thorogood & The Destroyers: Keystone, Berkeley

Live Review by j. poet, Creem, November 1978

AS THE FRIDAY nite police cars go drooling thru the streets the air inside Keystone, Berkeley is thick enough to cut with a chain-saw. The ...

Fats Domino: Interview: Fats Domino, November 9, 1978, Palumbo's Restaurant, Philadelphia, Pa.

Interview by Peter Stone Brown, unpublished, 9 November 1978

IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE to escape Fats Domino's music growing up.  'Blueberry Hill', 'I'm Walkin'," and 'Walkin' To New Orleans' were staples of Top 40 radio.  ...

George Thorogood & The Destroyers: Move It On Over

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 11 November 1978

THE BOTTLENECK that ate Delaware returns to your hearts and turntables: no steps forward, no steps back. Move it On Over is this or any ...

Roy Brown: Cheapest Price In Town

Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 11 November 1978

ALTHOUGH AT 53 going on 25, Roy Brown is relatively young for an R&B star who first recorded just after the war, there's no getting ...

B.B. King: An Audience With The King

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 14 November 1978

The King in question is Mr. B.B. King and in this exclusive interview he talks to John Abbey about the future of the blues as ...

Dr. John: Interview: Dr. John (Mac Rebennack), November 14, 1978

Interview by Peter Stone Brown, unpublished, 14 November 1978

THIS INTERVIEW TOOK place on Dr. John's tour bus right before a show at the Bijou Café in downtown Philly.  I'd been a fan of ...

Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters: City Hall, Newcastle

Live Review by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 2 December 1978

THE OLD Testament followed by the New (also written some while ago you will recall). For once there was hardly a vacant seat by half ...

Eric Clapton: Portrait Of The Artist As A Working Man

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 9 December 1978

IT HAS OFTEN been said that one of Eric Clapton's major problems over the years has been to find his own identity, a role in ...

Rory Gallagher (1978)

Interview by Cliff White, Rock's Backpages audio, 9 December 1978

The late Irish blues-rocker talks about the struggles involved in recording Photo-Finish; about breaking his thumb and getting a new drummer; about the recording process; about stagecraft and songwriting; about his admiration for Bo Diddley and his experience in the studio with Jerry Lee Lewis.

File format: mp3; file size: 32.6mb, interview length: 33' 54" sound quality: ****

Muddy Waters: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 23 December 1978

FAST TALK/hard bargain: as Mr Muddy Waters was spending a few days of his 64th year in Great Britain in the faintly congruous role of ...

Arnold Shaw: Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues (Collier)

Book Review by Dave Marsh, Rolling Stone, 28 December 1978

Birth of Rhythm, Death of the Blues ...

Dr. John, Lloyd Price: Ace Records: Dealing Aces Vols. 1 and 2

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 13 January 1979

THESE TWO volumes, together with the indispensable Huey "Piano" Smith and the Clowns collection in the same series (Ace CH 9) represent the first time ...

Albert Collins: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Giovanni Dadomo, Sounds, 20 January 1979

CONFESSION: WHEN it comes to blues I don't know shit from sugar. But I know what I like. Albert Collins hails from Texas, cut his ...

Albert Collins: Ice Pickin' (Sonet)

Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, March 1979

IN THE game of guitar-hero one-upmanship during the blues boom days of the mid-late Sixties, Albert Collins' was the name to zap 'em with. Through ...

The Inmates: City Rhythms and Jailhouse Blues

Interview by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 3 March 1979

BILL HURLEY, lead singer with The Inmates, was definitely built for the job. Bill Hurley clocks in six foot solid from the ground, a hard ...

Bo Diddley: Lyceum, London

Live Review by Pete Wingfield, Melody Maker, 17 March 1979

Diddley grandaddy ...

Albert Collins, George Thorogood & The Destroyers: Thoroughly Bluesy George

Live Review by Bill Millar, Melody Maker, 24 March 1979

George Thorogood, Albert Collins: Electric Ballroom, London ...

George Thorogood & The Destroyers: George Thorogood: The Delaware Destroyer!

Profile and Interview by John Tobler, ZigZag, April 1979

IF RECENT REPORTS are to be believed, Beserkley Records may be in some kind of difficulties, at least as far as their English office is ...

The Blues Brothers: The Horrifying True Story!

Special Feature by Robert Duncan, Creem, April 1979

(or, Ain't Got No Love, Don't Want No Starch) ...

J. Geils Band, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes: J. Geils Band, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes: Boston Garden, Boston

Live Review by Ariel Swartley, Rolling Stone, 19 April 1979

The J. Geils Band puts on the ritz ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Lone Star Café, New York NY

Live Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 28 April 1979

Two nights of Bland magic ...

Professor Longhair: An Interview with Professor Longhair

Interview by Peter Stone Brown, unpublished, 10 June 1979

MAKE NO MISTAKE about it, New Orleans R&B would not have been what it is without Professor Longhair, Henry Roeland Byrd, and there are some ...

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 16 June 1979

CLEANHEAD MAY have lost his hair, but whisps of Charlie's Wig cluster about his alto. In fact, everything about his performance preserves the flavour of ...

B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, BB King, Chuck Berry: Woke Up This Mornin'…

Report and Interview by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 28 July 1979

...Blues Giants All Round My Bed. NICK KENT meets the Three Wise Men of the Blues. ...

B.B. King: B.B King: Reds and Blues

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 31 July 1979

"I learnt the true meaning of freedom...But I also believe that music is the international denominator for bringing people together" ...

Wynonie Harris: Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll — Wynonie Harris: The Man Who Shook Down The Devil

Retrospective by Nick Tosches, Creem, August 1979

WE KNOW that rock 'n' roll, like panty hose and the sea, was not a human invention; that it was the work of the Holy ...

Taj Mahal: Recycling the Blues

Interview by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 11 August 1979

"I'm goin to the river goin to sit down on the ground/I'm goin to the river goin to sit down on the ground/And let the ...

The Fabulous Thunderbirds: The Fabulous Thunderbirds (Takoma TAK 7068) ***

Review by David Hepworth, Sounds, 25 August 1979

IT WILL not have escaped your attention that America is one beast of an extensive country. As far as it concerns rock and roll music ...

John Fahey: The Passage Of Time In Open G And Other Stories

Interview by Ian Penman, New Musical Express, 1 September 1979

A FEW WEEKS ago, in the middle of a full week for me and a nice Saturday for Shepherds Bush, I met John Fahey, who ...

New Orleans: Crescent City's Other Legacy

Report by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 15 September 1979

NEW ORLEANS IS widely recognized as the birthplace of jazz, but the Crescent City has also played a part in rock 'n' roll. Its rhythm ...

Louis Jordan: Hep And The Art Of Alto-Sax Repair

Retrospective by Nick Tosches, Creem, October 1979

IN THE 1940's, there were two black singers who crossed over from Race Records (as Billboard called its bluegum charts until 1949, when the phrase Rhythm & ...

The Clash, Screamin' Jay Hawkins: Ritchie Coliseum, College Park MD

Live Review by Joe Sasfy, The Washington Post, 1 October 1979

ENGLAND'S CLASH brought their version of rock's civil war to Ritchie Coliseum Saturday night. By the time they ended their second encore, a hypersonic invitation ...

The Fabulous Thunderbirds: The Bayou, Washington DC

Live Review by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 1 October 1979

THE FABULOUS Thunderbirds, who appeared at the Bayou last night, recall an era when the emphasis of rhythm and blues was definitely on the blues, ...

The Blues Band, The Inmates, Red Beans & Rice: Basil Brush Didn't Write 'Boom Boom': The R&B Revival in London

Overview by John Pidgeon, Melody Maker, 8 December 1979

Okay, so there isn't an R&B revival around the London clubs – but there are certainly a whole lot of bands borrowing their material from ...

Queen Ida: Zydeco Is Her Realm

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 1980

IN THE LAST 18 months, zydeco musician Queen Ida Guillory has spent more than 250 days on the road. Contributed some background music to Francis ...

Cecil Gant: Unsung Heroes of Rock'n'Roll: Cecil Gant — Owl Stew, and All That

Retrospective by Nick Tosches, Creem, January 1980

CECIL GANT was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1915. His early years are a faded stain, of which nothing is known, nor probably ever will ...

Muddy Waters: The Tide's Turning for Muddy Waters

Profile and Interview by Michael Goldberg, San Francisco Chronicle, 27 January 1980

ON THEIR first visit to America, back in 1964, the Beatles were asked by reporters what they wanted to see most. "Muddy Waters," they replied ...

Bobby Rush: Rush Hour (Philly International Import)

Review by Paul Rambali, New Musical Express, 2 February 1980

WITH A FEW honourable exceptions, the satin sounds of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's branded Philadelphia International label usually leave this writer's mojo idling. But ...

B.B. King: Thirty years on the road

Interview by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 21 February 1980

LOS ANGELES — B.B. King sat quietly in the American Bandstand dressing room, sipping a diet soda and staring at the words to a song ...

Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: Interview: Hank Ballard at the Locust, Theater, Philadelphia, PA. February 23, 1980

Interview by Peter Stone Brown, unpublished, 23 February 1980

THERE WAS THIS company in Philadelphia called Sherjam and in the winter of 1979-1980 and maybe the following year they put on a series of ...

Fabulous Thunderbirds: The Fabulous Thunderbirds: Fab Funbirds

Profile and Interview by John Pidgeon, Melody Maker, 15 March 1980

Playing R & B isn't a passport to instant fame and wealth. The Fabulous Thunderbirds play R&B that makes everyone go wild. JOHN PIDGEON caught them in ...

B.B. King: B B King: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Phil Sutcliffe, Sounds, 19 April 1980

THE QUALITY of B. B. King is not strained, it droppeth as the gentle dew from heaven...and I only wish Bill Shakespeare (what a fine ...

The Fabulous Thunderbirds: The Good Word

Profile and Interview by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 20 June 1980

THANK GOD, I guess, for reality. ...

The Blues Brothers, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Rev. James Cleveland, Aretha Franklin: Various artists: The Blues Brothers Soundtrack (Atlantic SD16017)

Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 1980

DESTRUCTION OF THE BLUES ...

Billy "The Kid" Emerson: Billy 'The Kid' Emerson: Red Hot And Still Rocking

Profile and Interview by Martin Hawkins, Melody Maker, 19 July 1980

MARTIN HAWKINS talks to the 'resurrected' Billy 'The Kid' Emerson, a blues legend in his own lifetime. ...

Roy Brown: Still Rockin' Good

Interview by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 25 July 1980

THEY'RE EVERYWHERE, and it is beginning to feel a little bit like old home week as they get together to show they're still around. Ruth ...

Fabulous Thunderbirds: Blue(S) Metal Flake on a Big White Fab T-Bird

Report and Interview by Don Waller, New York Rocker, November 1980

(Cue music: Juke Boy Bonner's 'Runnin' Shoes') ...

Ry Cooder: Vinyl Choice: Ry Cooder

Interview by Mick Brown, The Sunday Times Magazine, November 1980

RY COODER was once described as a "curator of American music". A fair assessment, but it hardly captures the joy and affection of his modern ...

Lloyd Price

Retrospective by Bill Millar, The History of Rock, 1981

FROM BLUES SHOUTER TO BLACK ENTREPRENEUR ...

Rhythm and Blues

Retrospective by Bill Millar, The History of Rock, 1981

Crude, powerful, loud… and the racing pulse of rock ...

George Thorogood & The Destroyers

Interview by Jim Sullivan, Trouser Press, February 1981

GEORGE THOROGOOD sits in a hotel room in western Massachusetts, watching television. It's a bitter cold November night; in a couple of hours he will ...

Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Mike Bloomfield 1943-1981

Obituary by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 February 1981

SLUMPED DEAD in his car seat from an apparent drug overdose was Mike Bloomfield, 37, arguably the greatest white blues guitarist of his generation. He ...

Phast Phreddie & Thee Precisions: Phast Phreddie Finds His Calling

Interview by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 27 February 1981

PHAST PHREDDIE, one of rock & roll's die-hard enthusiasts and actual true believers in the power of American jungle music to transform workaday stiffs to ...

Dave Van Ronk: Van Ronk Remembers

Interview by Karl Dallas, Melody Maker, 21 March 1981

Karl Dallas discusses asthma, cigarettes and the nature of music with blues veteran Dave Van Ronk ...

Canned Heat: Missing Bob Hite

Obituary by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 16 April 1981

DEATH HAS no mercy. It's a blues line that applies to everyone, naturally, just as it did to Bob Hite, 38, leader and "Bear" extraordinaire ...

Sam Charters: Chains that Gave Birth to the Blues

Profile and Interview by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 6 June 1981

Mick Brown reports how the musicologist Sam Charters learned to stop feeling guilty about slavery ...

Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon: Roxy, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 12 September 1981

WATERS SHORTAGE ...

Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive: Savoy, New York NY

Live Review by Jon Young, Trouser Press, October 1981

WHITE ROCK musicians are notorious for "borrowing" from blacks. Were it not for the inspiration of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, James Brown and so ...

The Neville Brothers, Professor Longhair: New Orleans: "The city that time forgot"

Report by Don Snowden, New York Rocker, October 1981

One City And Its Romance With R&B ...

James Cotton: Hop Singh's, Marina Del Rey CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 26 January 1982

COTTON'S BLUES AT HOP SINGH'S ...

George Thorogood & The Destroyers: George Thorogood Cuts Through The USA

Interview by Dave Zimmer, Creem, February 1982

YOU COULD see it coming. About a hundred yards off, an old Checker Marathon cab was roaring along the asphalt, eating up the broken white ...

Tav Falco's Panther Burns: Some Smoke Raises Burns Panther

Report and Interview by Byron Coley, New York Rocker, February 1982

A MEMPHIS BAND TAKES ROCKABILLY'S SKELETONS OUT OF THE CLOSET ...

Walter "Shakey" Horton: The Blues, for Walter Horton

Report by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 25 February 1982

WHILE MAGIC Dick of the J. Geils Band was blowing a mean harmonica for 15,000 people at Boston Garden Monday night, Sugar Ray Norcia was ...

Bo Diddley: University of East Anglia, Norwich

Live Review by Penny Reel, New Musical Express, 27 February 1982

BO DIDDLEY, as we all know, spans a 27 year career permutating a single riff to a sole conclusion: he is Bo Diddley! ...

Dr. John: Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack (Clean Cuts)

Review by J.D. Considine, Musician, March 1982

AS THE TITLE implies, this is Dr. John being himself, stretching out on the piano and doing what comes naturally. At the same time, there's ...

Eric Clapton: Farther Up The Road

Interview by John Hutchinson, Musician, May 1982

FEW MUSICIANS have been more misunderstood, more overburdened with great expectations and more erroneously worshipped than Eric Clapton. ...

Dr. John: Dr John: On Becoming Mac Rebennack

Interview by J.D. Considine, Musician, June 1982

The legend of Dr. John and his gumbo ragtime voodoo funk medicine, as told by the man who invented him, lived him and let him ...

B.B. King: Love Me Tender (MCA)

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 5 June 1982

"HE HAS one musical ambition as yet unfulfilled: to make a series of classic albums. These consist of one album with a big band, one ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: The Best Of (MCA)

Review by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 5 June 1982

FIRST time I've heard Bobby Bland and it's obvious – the man's a star. ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King: Talkin' Blues: John Lee Hooker/B.B. King/Bobby 'Blue' Bland

Retrospective and Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 5 June 1982

THE BLUES speaks haltingly at first, haltingly and quietly in a darkened room. The curtains are drawn to shut out whatever passes for daylight during ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, Millie Jackson: Millie Jackson, Bobby Bland: Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 1982

THE WAY Millie Jackson carries on in concert would make Bette Midler blush. Jackson, who sprang to prominence in the early '70s with a batch ...

George Thorogood & The Destroyers: Visitors: George Thorogood

Interview by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 14 October 1982

IF GEORGE Thorogood didn't exist, a true-blue rock & roll fan would be tempted to invent him. The guy obviously believes Chuck Berry created the ...

George Thorogood & The Destroyers: Thorogood's Blues-Rock Has Made Big Leagues

Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 17 December 1982

IN 1980, GEORGE Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers, were really gathering momentum with their traditional brand of blues-based rock. Their second album, Move It On ...

Huey "Piano" Smith

Retrospective by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 23 December 1982

LET'S COME clean and confess that nowadays Christmas has about as much to do with baby Jesus' birthday as E.T. does with the Pope. Consumerism ...

Charles Brown: Brown Christmas

Interview by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 30 December 1982

  THERE ARE a lot of ways to tell when it's time for Santa's sleigh to make its annual orbit. In black nightclubs across the country, ...

B.B. King

Book Excerpt by John Tobler, Stuart Grundy, The Guitar Greats (BBC Books), 1983

IN CONSIDERING the dozens of potential candidates for this book, one essential ingredient was a representative of the blues/R&B heritage, for without the inspiration of ...

B.B. King: King Of The Blues

Profile by Tony Russell, The History of Rock, 1983

Riley King was born in Itta Bena, Mississippi, on 16 September 1925. For a young black boy growing up amid the poverty and racial segregation ...

Lightnin' Hopkins: Lightnin' Strikes

Retrospective by Tony Russell, The History of Rock, 1983

When the great bluesman Big Bill Broonzy died in 1958 there were some who obituarised him as the last of the blues singers. ...

T-Bone Walker: Rare Blues and a Worldwide Reputation

Retrospective by Tony Russell, The History of Rock, 1983

T-BONE WALKER, had he been that sort of man, might have carried a chip on his shoulder the size of the Chrysler Building. ...

Willie Dixon: Hop Singh's, Marina del Rey CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 8 February 1983

DIXON HOLDS COURT AT HOP SINGH'S ...

Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: Hank Ballard & The Midnighters: From The Sins Of Annie To The Twist

Retrospective by Nick Tosches, Creem, March 1983

IT WAS TOWARDS the end of 1951 that Johnny Otis (born John Veliotes; he found it gainful to pass as black), the 30-year-old Savoy recording ...

Muddy Waters 1915-1983

Obituary by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 14 May 1983

CHARLES SHAAR MURRAY SALUTES THE MAN WHO ELECTRIFIED THE BLUES AND PUT THE RHYTHM INTO ROCK'N'ROLL ...

Muddy Waters 1915-1983 — Let's Say He Was A Gentleman

Obituary by Dave Marsh, Record, July 1983

IT IS ALL but impossible to concisely summarize Muddy Waters' achievements, much less get a handle on mourning him. If Muddy were merely the first ...

Fabulous Thunderbirds: The Fabulous Thunderbirds: They're Tearing It Up Again!

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, July 1983

THIS IS WHAT we call the irresponsible rock crit at his worst, enjoying the company of the band he's talking to so much he doesn't ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble: Texas Flood (Epic BFE 3S734)

Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 1983

ELECTRIC STORM ...

Queen Ida: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 28 July 1983

IDA GUILLORY is the nearest thing Louisiana has to offer to a housewife superstar. A 55-year-old grandmother, Queen Ida had spent almost her entire life ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan: Backbeat: Stevie Ray Vaughan

Interview by Steven X Rea, High Fidelity, August 1983

His first album is just hitting the streets, but Vaughan and his blues guitar are already well-known among rock's elite. ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble: Texas Flood (Epic AL 38734)

Review by Mitchell Cohen, High Fidelity, August 1983

STEVIE RAY Vaughan's guitar playing is designed to elicit gasps: Every cluster of notes is an invitation to amazement. This multiple-climax approach could easily prove ...

Dr. John: Dr John: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Max Bell, The Times, 5 August 1983

DESPITE AN unfortunate illness, rumours of Dr John's early retirement have been greatly exaggerated. As if to emphasize his recent recovery New Orleans's favourite white ...

Clifton Chenier: Club Lingerie, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 6 August 1983

CHENIER GETS THE LINGERIE ON ITS FEET ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble: Palace Theatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 24 August 1983

A TOWERING DISPLAY OF BLUESICIANSHIP ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan: Double Your Trouble, Double Your Fun

Profile by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 25 August 1983

AS THE irascible rhythm & blues guru of New Orleans, Ernie K-Doe, is wont to say when seized by a philosophical spirit, "It's not understanding ...

Roy Milton: R&B Life-saver

Profile by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 8 September 1983

IF MUSICAL pioneer Roy Milton had never put soul to sound, we might all have had to become insurance salesmen. And though that may be ...

Albert King: Full Circle For Albert King

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 11 September 1983

Albert King is no stranger to passing pop fashions. ...

Slim Gaillard: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Sheryl Garratt, New Musical Express, 17 September 1983

FOR ABOUT the tenth time that evening, Slim Gaillard spotted a camera pointing in his direction and stopped a song mid-way to pose. "Yes, I'm ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble: The Venue, London

Live Review by Mat Snow, New Musical Express, 24 September 1983

SIX MONTHS ago Stevie Ray Vaughan couldn't have sold out a telephone box east of the Azores. Now, a comfortably full Venue has gathered to ...

ZZ Hill: Z.Z. Hill Is Happy He's Got The Blues

Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 2 October 1983

Z.Z. Hill's most recent blues albums have surpassed the sales of those recorded by bigger names. ...

Robert "Bumps" Blackwell (1983)

Interview by John Pidgeon, Rock's Backpages audio, 15 October 1983

Songwriter and producer 'Bumps' Blackwell looks back at his illustrious career in pop and R&B: on Sam Cooke and 'You Send Me', Specialty Records and the West Coast indie scene, and at great length about his major discovery Little Richard.

File format: mp3; file size: 41.3mb, interview length: 45' 08" sound quality: ****

James Booker, 1939-1983 — "Piano Prince" of New Orleans

Obituary by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 1 December 1983

JAMES BOOKER cut a broad swath. As a piano-playing fool, he had no equal in New Orleans — which is somewhat like saying there wasn't ...

James Booker: R&B's Invisible Great

Obituary by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 4 December 1983

The late James Booker fit comfortably into the New Orleans R&B piano tradition of Fats Domino but he also was a contemporary equivalent of the ...

Screamin' Jay Hawkins: Life For Jay Hawkins Is Still A Scream

Profile and Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 25 December 1983

"MAN, I WAS 20 years ahead of my time," says rocker Screamin' Jay Hawkins, whose early '50s recording of 'I Put a Spell on You' ...

B.B. King: A True Blues Christmas

Memoir by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 29 December 1983

HOW MANY memories can one man have? My own mind often feels like an overworked runway at LAX, with a million details buzz-bombing the brain, ...

Alexis Korner: Man of the Blues

Obituary by Mick Brown, The Guardian, 2 January 1984

THE DEATH of Alexis Korner at the age of 55 from cancer marks the closing of a chapter in British music. Korner's role as one ...

Alexis Korner: Blues For Mr Korner

Obituary by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 14 January 1984

BOB FISHER, who worked with Alexis Komer on a TV history of rock, pays tribute to the man who was the chief architect of British ...

Irma Thomas, Lee Dorsey: New Orleans R&B Hits The Club Lingerie

Report and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 15 January 1984

Bill Bentley and Harold Battiste hope to trigger renewed local interest in New Orleans music at Club Lingerie. ...

Dr John: The Brightest Smile In Town (Demon)

Review by Andy Gill, New Musical Express, 4 February 1984

THERE WAS an interview with Mick Jagger in some magazine or other recently in which the ageing plutocrat titteringly told of how Dr John had ...

Lonnie Brooks' Bayou Blues

Guide by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 12 February 1984

PERSONNEL: Brooks, lead guitar/vocals. Dion Payton, guitar. Tom Giblin, keyboards. Lafayette Evans, bass. Earl Howell, drums. ...

B.B. King: King B Stings: B.B. King: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 5 May 1984

A GIANT of a man and a giant of the post-war blues boom, B.B. King is the figure most prominently placed to express the essential ...

Roy Head: Club Lingerie, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 1984

YEAAHHH, MAH man. As a semi-legend, Joan Rivers has nothing on Roy Head, whose '65 smash 'Treat Her Right' remains one of the toughest, most ...

Ruth Brown: Miss (Ruth) Brown To You

Interview by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 28 June 1984

IT HURTS the heart to have to drive by the remains of the Parisian Room, festering in the summer sun like some fenced-off sore on ...

Big Mama Thornton: Willie Mae Thornton: Big Mama to the end

Obituary by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 16 August 1984

WILLIE MAE Thornton, called Big Mama by friends and fans, sang the sort of boisterous blues that made one want to roll around in the ...

Big Mama Thornton: Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton 1926-1984

Obituary by Cynthia Rose, New Musical Express, 18 August 1984

ONE OF the founding careers in rock and roll ended on Wednesday, July 25, when a heart attack took the life of Willie Mae ‘Big ...

Robert Cray Band: Bad Influence (Demon)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 15 September 1984

LOOKS LIKE a blues album, but this is some of the tightest, earthiest soul music of the '80s. A beautiful record, originally out on the ...

Little Richard, Earl Palmer, Bruce Springsteen: Earl Palmer: Palmer Days

Profile by Bill Bentley, L.A. Weekly, 1 November 1984

WAY BACK when rock & roll radio was first coming into its own, stuffing listener's ears with the likes of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Fats ...

Bull Moose Jackson: A Bull Moose Party

Profile by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 30 December 1984

Personnel: Jackson, vocals, backed by the Flashcats: Cindy Sotak, vocals, guitar; Dave Kent, vocals, guitar; Pete Loria, trumpet; Phil Brontz, saxophone; Jim Fanning, bass; Carl ...

Cosimo Matassa (1985)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 1985

The legendary New Orleans studio owner and producer talks about Crescent City race relations; NOLA vs. Memphis; the indie record business and, at length, about Aaron Neville, Professor Longhair, and the inability of the city's artists to sustain careers.

File format: mp3; file size: 44.7mb, interview length: 48' 47" sound quality: ****

The Making Of Rhythm & Blues

Overview by Pete Grendysa, Collecting Magazine, 1985

IT WOULD BE HARD to imagine a stranger combination of factors than those that brought about the formation of rhythm & blues. Crucial to the ...

Magic Sam: Bluesman Magic Sam: His Legend Lives On

Retrospective by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 6 January 1985

WHAT IF HE HADN'T died so young? Among rock fans, that kind of speculation usually centers on icons like Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Holly. Among ...

Earl Palmer (1985)

Interview by Ira Robbins, Rock's Backpages audio, 15 February 1985

The legendary session drummer looks back at his time in Cosimo Matassa's New Orleans studio backing the likes of Fats Domino and Little Richard, through his time in the L.A. studios where he played behind just about everybody!

File format: mp3; file size: 15.2mb, interview length: 16' 36" sound quality: ***

Little Richard (1985)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 5 March 1985

Little Richard on the demonic nature of Rock'n'Roll of which, nonetheless, he is King; on how he came out of the American South; on Otis Redding and much more. Hear him sing!

File format: mp3 File size: 50.3mb Interview length: 52' 23", sound quality: ****

Little Richard (1985) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 5 March 1985

This is a transcript of Barney's audio interview with Little Richard. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Roy Buchanan: Dominion, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 7 March 1985

TO THE majority of rock enthusiasts, Roy Buchanan may be remembered as little more than an American guitarist who achieved one minor British chart success ...

Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: Hank Ballard (1985)

Interview by Ira Robbins, Rock's Backpages audio, 8 March 1985

The chief Midnighter talks about his 'Twist' royalty legal entanglements, a loan from the notorious Morris Levy and his current musical activities.

File format: mp3; file size: 17.7mb, interview length: 20' 29" sound quality: * (phoner)

Eric Clapton, Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Can Blue Boys Play The Whites Revisited?

Retrospective by Don Snowden, The Boston Phoenix, 19 March 1985

ANYONE WHO TAKES the crapped-out lethargy of his recent output as proof positive that Eric Clapton never played a worth while lick in his life ...

Los Lobos: Hour Of The Wolves

Interview by Gene Santoro, Downbeat, April 1985

FROM THE beginning, the real "news" about rock & roll has been the way it's ransacked, revitalized, and rearranged the musical styles that gave birth ...

Otis Rush Singing The Blues About Obscurity

Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 17 April 1985

THE IMAGE OF THE under-appreciated blues artist laboring in obscurity has almost become a cliche, but Otis Rush genuinely fits that description. ...

Robert Cray: The Robert Cray Band: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Bill Black, Sounds, 20 April 1985

ROBERT CRAY is to blues what Wynton Marsalis is to jazz. That is, a young, mercurial talent who's arrived on the scene with a fresh, ...

Slim Harpo: The Best of Slim Harpo (Rhino Records)

Review by Glenn O'Brien, Spin, May 1985

THIS IS actually a 1983 release, but I just bought it a few weeks ago; it took two years to find, so you might want ...

Johnny Copeland, Stevie Ray Vaughan: Stevie Ray Vaughan: Montreux Jazz Festival, Casino de Montreux

Live Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 3 August 1985

AS WITH limpid Blue Eyes there's always a ready-made market for or'nery-looking electric guitar slingers. The sight of devotees in the audience holding aloft large ...

Robert Cray: The Robert Cray Band: Electric Ballroom, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Sounds, 3 August 1985

Cray of Sunshine ...

Jimi Hendrix, Curtis Knight: Jimi Hendrix: Curtis Knight's Encounter With The Divine Light

Interview by Gene Santoro, Guitar World, September 1985

As told to Gene Santoro ...

Linda Hopkins Sticks To The Gospel Truth

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 13 September 1985

GOING FROM the glitzy glamour of opening four shows for Joan Rivers to the down-home atmosphere of the Long Beach Blues Festival this Saturday afternoon ...

Allen Toussaint (1985)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, October 1985

The New Orleans master talks about the music of his youth; the Second Line; the piano and Professor Longhair; black music in the south; the musicians he worked with, and what makes New Orleans music different.

File format: mp3; file size: 36.3mb, interview length: 39' 36" sound quality: ***

Ry Cooder, Frank Frost: Ry Cooder's Crossroads Blues

Report and Interview by Tony Scherman, Rolling Stone, 10 October 1985

THERE'S NO MONEY IN BEING A ROOTS-MUSIC VIRTUOSO, BUT THIS GUITARIST'S CAREER TURNED THE CORNER WHEN HE STARTED WRITING SOUNDTRACKS. ...

Robert Cray Bringing The Blues Up To Date

Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 17 October 1985

YOU CAN UNDERSTAND why Robert Cray felt uncomfortable about the stir he created among blues fans two years ago. The arrival of an accomplished young ...

Etta James: Her Voice Can Get A Hold On You

Interview by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 26 October 1985

"WHAT'S HAPPENING now is that all the kids who grew up listening to me on their transistor radios in the '50s and '60s are now ...

Jerry Wexler (1985)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, November 1985

Speaking at the Friars Club in midtown Manhattan, the great Atlantic producer recalls the black bands he loved as a kid and talks about Louis Jordan, Tiny Bradshaw and the birth of R&B. "Wex" also holds forth on the growth of urban black America; the influence of gospel on black pop; the importance of Western Swing; the other labels and white entrepreneurs involved in black music; discovering Stax and Muscle Shoals in the dog days of the early '60s; tying the knot with Stax... and getting back in the studio with Wilson Pickett.

ile format: mp3; file size: 43.7mb, interview length: 45' 30" sound quality: ****

John Lee Hooker: King of the Boogie

Interview by Dave Zimmer, Buzz, November 1985

JOHN LEE Hooker is a prideful man. When he looks back over his lengthy blues career – more than five decades old now – he ...

Johnny Winter: The Bluesman Do Play Rock and Roll...

Interview by Steven Rosen, Guitar World, November 1985

...and Cajun-style, and country ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan: Hip Deep in the Blues

Review and Interview by John Swenson, Record, December 1985

STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN IS ABOUT NOTHING BUT MUSIC, WHICH SETS SOUL TO SOUL DRAMATICALLY APART FROM ITS COHABITANTS ON THE 1985 ALBUM CHARTS ...

Big Maybelle: Blues, Candy & Big Maybelle

Sleeve notes by Dan Nooger, Savoy Jazz, 1986

BIG MAYBELLE has been called a legend, one of black music's tragic figures and one of the greatest blues shouters of all time. And she ...

Lonnie Mack: Double Whammy

Interview by Gene Santoro, Guitar World, January 1986

If you consider yourself a vibrato-bar player, you owe a huge debt to Lonnie Mack ...

Dr. Ross: Blues – What The Doctor Ordered

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 16 January 1986

SAM PHILLIPS' Sun Records has a special place in rock history as the musical birthplace of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: Members Only (Malaco)

Review by Brian Case, Melody Maker, 1 February 1986

MEMBERS' ENCLOSURE ...

Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, Robert Cray, Microdisney, Yma Sumac: Microdisney: The Clock Comes Down The Stairs; Albert Collins et al: Showdown!; Yma Sumac: Legend Of The Sun Virgin

Review by Max Bell, The Times, 1 February 1986

Irish quirkiness and venom ...

Roy Buchanan on turning down the Stones and being flattered by Beck

Interview by Steve Newton, The Georgia Straight, 7 February 1986

NOT MANY guitarists can say they were invited to join the Rolling Stones. Not many can say they turned the offer down either. But Roy ...

B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf: Various Artists Sun Records: The Blues Years 1950 — 1956

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, New Musical Express, 15 February 1986

"The blues is a chair, not a design for a chair, or a better chair… it is the first chair. It is a chair for ...

Richard Berry (1986)

Interview by John Pidgeon, Rock's Backpages audio, 17 February 1986

The 'Louie Louie' man on pre-rock'n'roll R&B, the relationship between black music and white singers and fans, the double entendre in black music, indies v the majors, and that song.

File format: mp3; file size: 62.2mb, interview length: 1h 07' 55" sound quality: *****

Johnny Adams, Earl King: Earl King, Johnny Adams: Nugget Club, Long Beach CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 3 March 1986

KING: ORIGINAL LICKS ...

George Thorogood & The Destroyers: Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles

Live Review by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 4 March 1986

GEORGE THOROGOOD & the Destroyers have added a few wrinkles, but the quartet hasn't changed much since Thorogood first danced on local tabletops seven years ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, Denise LaSalle, The Rose Brothers: Saenger Theatre, New Orleans

Live Review by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 31 May 1986

THE DEEPER you go into the heart of them ol' United States, the deeper the soul, and way down yonder in N'awlins this kind of ...

Fabulous Thunderbirds: The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Interview by J.D. Considine, Musician, June 1986

FROM RIB JOINTS TO MOVIES, THE T-BIRDS MAKE IT TOUGH ENOUGH ...

Charles Brown: Music Machine, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 1986

BROWN: SMOKY BLUES ...

Fabulous Thunderbirds Are Go

Interview by Glenn O'Brien, Spin, July 1986

DO YOU have any aliases? KIM WILSON (vocals, harmonica): I was Galita Slim once, as in Galita, California. And I was also Chesterfield King. ...

Nick Cave, Screamin' Jay Hawkins: Screamin' Jay Hawkins: The Man Who Ate Nick Cave

Interview by Lynden Barber, New Musical Express, 19 July 1986

The bats screech, and inside a rockin' coffin, something stirs...up fly the nails and out pops SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS, longtime voodoo swamp beast back to ...

Johnny Otis: Blues, R&B, Jazz

Live Review by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 1986

"THE BARRELHOUSE used to be right down there on the northeast corner of Wilmington," Johnny Otis said Saturday afternoon, referring to the nightclub – a ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan: Greek Theater, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Don Waller, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 1986

YA-HOO! STEVIE VAUGHAN AT GREEK ...

Ry Cooder: Blues & Roots

Interview by Gene Santoro, Downbeat, August 1986

LATELY A lot of folks have been going back to school again studying the roots of the music they're making so they can grow their ...

Fabulous Thunderbirds: The Fabulous Thunderbirds: Tuff Enuff, Were They Actual Meat

Interview by Karen Schlosberg, Creem, August 1986

THE FABULOUS Thunderbirds have been something of a musical anomaly; their current well-deserved success, after four albums and roughly 12 years of playing steel-packed, blues-drenched ...

Jimmy Johnson: Johnson At Peace With His Music

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 19 September 1986

LARGE EGOS are common in the music world, but Jimmy Johnson is one performer who doesn't believe in loudly trumpeting the virtues of his music. ...

Little Milton: Long Beach Blues Festival, Long Beach

Live Review by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 22 September 1986

IF SOMEONE HAD distributed a checklist following Little Milton's set Saturday afternoon – rating his performance for singing, instrumental solos, arrangements, set pacing, use of ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan: Hammersmith Palais, London

Live Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 4 October 1986

A COUPLE OF minutes before the lights came on were almost worth the price of admission. Already steaming with the sweat of an audience that ...

B.B. King: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 17 October 1986

AFTER 30-ODD years in the trade, in which he's travelled millions of miles and used up lord knows how many sets of guitar strings, it's ...

Little Richard: This Man Invented Rock'n'roll

Interview by William Shaw, Smash Hits, 22 October 1986

Little Richard was wearing make-up and singing pervy songs and shocking audiences before Prince or Sid Vicious or Martin Degville were even born. "I'm a living legend!" ...

Robert Cray, B.B. King: B.B. King and Robert Cray: "Being a Blues Singer is Like Being Black Two Times"

Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, November 1986

Ask the besuited patriarch or the bedenimed young turk. Charles Shaar Murray talks to B.B. King and Robert Cray. ...

Joe Louis Walker: Dark Is The Night (High Tone)

Review by Don Snowden, The Boston Phoenix, 11 November 1986

OVER THE YEARS, persistent claims that a blues renaissance is at hand have sunk to the credibility of the little boy who cried howling wolf. ...

Sam Charters on Folkways Records' Moe Asch (1987)

Interview by Tony Scherman, Rock's Backpages audio, January 1987

Charters talks about his friend, colleague and mentor Moe Asch: about starting to release his field recordings through Folkways; the importance of the label; the Harry Smith anthology; Sam Goody's support for the label; the label's bankruptcy and tax problems; Asch's brilliance, but being a difficult man to work with; the magnificent catalogue, and the scene surrounding the label.

File format: mp3; file size: 56.8mb, interview length: 59' 08" sound quality: **

B.B. King: King of America

Interview by Gavin Martin, New Musical Express, 10 January 1987

300 nights a year, Lucille-loving BB KING is the world's premier blues ambassador, still carrying the standard for black heroes long gone. GAVIN MARTIN swings ...

Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: Hank Ballard: The Original Twister

Interview by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 20 January 1987

B&S TALKS TO ONE OF THE TRUE UNSUNG HEROES ...

Joe Louis Walker: Blues With A Gospel Tint

Profile by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 25 January 1987

Band: Joe Louis Walker & the Boss Talkers.Personnel: Walker, guitar and vocals; Kevin Zuffi, keyboards; Henry Oden, bass; Sieve Griffith, drums. ...

Clifton Chenier, Lightnin' Hopkins, Mance Lipscomb: Arhoolie Records: Do-It-Yourself Library Of Congress

Interview by Gene Santoro, Pulse!, February 1987

Arhoolie Records' Chris Strachwitz is Still Finding Great Music in Out-of-the-Way Places ...

Joseph Spence: The King Of Sling

Discography by Gene Santoro, Guitar World, April 1987

THE VERY bedrock of an entire school of folk and rock guitar is the idiosyncratic work of Bahamanian guitar great Joseph Spence.  ...

Robert Cray: New Twist On The Blues

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 26 April 1987

"IT'S REALLY FUNNY now, because when you're really down and out, nothing comes to you," reflected Robert Cray. "But when things start going for you, ...

Paul Butterfield's Better Days, Paul Butterfield Blues Band: Paul Butterfield 1942-1987

Obituary by uncredited writer, Rolling Stone, 18 June 1987

ON MAY 4TH, bluesman Paul Butterfield was found dead in his North Hollywood, California, apartment. He was forty-four. Though he had been in a Pittsburgh ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan Overcomes Double Trouble: Alcohol and Drugs

Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 25 June 1987

NEXT WEDNESDAY, Stevie Ray Vaughan plays Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts, a concert co-sponsored by Miller Genuine Draft. That's about as close to ...

Charles Brown: Still Deep in the Blues

Profile and Interview by Jon Young, Musician, July 1987

"PEOPLE WHO come to see me play say, 'Are you Charles Brown or are you his son? After all these years, you should be walking ...

Albert Collins: Town And Country Club, London

Live Review by Hugh Fielder, Sounds, 18 July 1987

LADIES AND gentlemen, it's showtime for the blues. Which means that everybody in the band gets a solo and the crowd get a chance to ...

Nathan Abshire, Brave Combo, Buckwheat Zydeco, Joe "King" Carrasco, Clifton Chenier, Fernest and the Thunders, Flaco Jimenez, Steve Jordan, Los Lobos, Wayne Toups: What's wrong with this instrument? Nothing!

Overview by John Morthland, High Fidelity, August 1987

The rehabilitation of the accordion: American pop's got a squeeze-box. ...

Albert Collins: The Ice Man

Profile and Interview by Mike Atherton, The Wire, September 1987

Our blues section opens with a profile of the man who put a chill on the heart of the music. ...

Albert Collins: The Ice Man

Profile and Interview by Mike Atherton, The Wire, September 1987

Our blues section opens with a profile of the man who put a chill on the heart of the music. ...

Snooks Eaglin: The Eclectic Blues Of Unpredictable Eaglin

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 19 September 1987

WHAT DO WASHINGTON'S Go-Go masters Trouble Funk, California instrumental rockers the Ventures and New Orleans R&B singer Smiley Lewis have in common? ...

Little Milton: Touring Little Milton Still Big On The Blues

Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 2 October 1987

LITTLE MILTON'S set was the clear highlight of the 1986 Long Beach Blues Festival, and it turns out that performance was just as memorable for ...

Albert Collins Puts The Blues On The Map

Interview by Gene Santoro, Guitar World, November 1987

THE MASTER of the Telecaster. The Ice Man. The Houston Twister. The Razor Blade. Those are just a sampling of the titles that have hung ...

Living Colour: Blindfold Test: Vernon Reid

Interview by Gene Santoro, Downbeat, December 1987

VERNON REID first hit the scene in Ronald Shannon Jackson's swaggering harmolodic adventure, the Decoding Society, where his role rapidly expanded as he evolved different ...

Robert Cray: Stax 'N' Blues

Profile and Interview by Simon Witter, i-D, December 1987

With the highest charting blues album ever under his belt, soulful Robert Cray is laughing as he brings "my parents' music" into the '80s, and ...

Clifton Chenier: Remembering Clifton Chenier, the King of Zydeco

Obituary by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 20 December 1987

THE ONLY WAY Angelenos could get a true glimpse of the musical world of Clifion Chenier, who died last weekend at 62, was to attend ...

Memphis Slim: Obituary: Memphis Slim

Obituary by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, May 1988

FOLLOWING RECENT reports of his serious illness, it came as little surprise to many blues fans that Memphis Slim sadly passed on of February 24th ...

Buckwheat Zydeco Happily Plays to the Younger Set

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 1988

STANLEY (BUCKWHEAT) DURAL Jr. played organ with Clifton Chenier from 1976 to 1978 – a stint that left more than a musical mark on the ...

John Lee Hooker (1988)

Interview by Roy Trakin, Rock's Backpages audio, 7 July 1988

An avuncular (if occasionally inaudible) John Lee talks about making The Healer, doing Iron Man with Pete Townshend, his roots, and the state of the world today

File format: mp3 File size: 24.9mb Interview length: 27 minutes 12 seconds Sound quality: ***

Bo Diddley, Ronnie Wood: Bo Diddley & Ron Wood: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Cathi Unsworth, Sounds, 9 July 1988

AND WHAT a delightful pair they made, Bo 'Jesus' Diddley and Ron 'Not Exactly Picasso' Wood. The main difference between them, I suspect, is that ...

John Lee Hooker: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Jon Wilde, Melody Maker, 16 July 1988

EVERYONE SHOULD have three favourite bluesmen. It should be made compulsory. Like not wearing clothes in Central London. Or scraping the sides of Porches with ...

Public Enemy, Muddy Waters: Public Enemy: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Def Jam DEF 462415); Muddy Waters: Hoochie Coochie Man (Epic 461186)

Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 16 July 1988

Fast and furious ...

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson: "Goodbye Mr. Cleanhead – things ain't what they used to be…" A Tribute to Eddie Vinson

Obituary by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, August 1988

EDDIE "CLEANHEAD" Vinson, who died on July 2nd at the California Hospital in Los Angeles after suffering a coronary and cancer of the throat and ...

Robert Johnson: Demons on the Delta

Retrospective by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 14 August 1988

Standing at the crossroadsI tried to flag a rideNobody seemed to know meEverybody passed me by.– 'Crossroads Blues' by Robert Johnson ...

Howard Armstrong: Louie Bluie Still Plucking Away at Strings of His Heart

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 20 October 1988

HOWARD ARMSTRONG may be the music world's leading 79-year-old rapscallion. ...

Bo Diddley: The Note For Note Interview

Interview by Steve Roeser, Note For Note, Summer 1988

IT IS A Monday morning in March, in the coffee shop of a hotel located on Highland, near the Hollywood Bowl. ...

Nelson George: Nelson's column

Interview by Andy Gill, The Independent, 6 January 1989

American Black Music writer Nelson George talks to Andy Gill about the "death of Rhythm and Blues" ...

John Lee Hooker: Comin' Home

Interview by Bob Ruggiero, The Daily Texan, 26 January 1989

Legendary John Lee Hooker to bring Delta blues, classic tunes to Antone’s ...

Robert Cray: Young Bob's Blues

Interview by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, February 1989

ON OCTOBER 24th, 1988, Robert Cray played a sell out gig at the Manchester Apollo. He was riding high and on this extensive UK tour ...

Jeff Healey Band: Jeff Healey: Have Guitar, Will Sit

Interview by Ted Drozdowski, Musician, March 1989

JEFF HEALEY is the most unorthodox guitarist since Stanley Jordan. He plays seated, most of the time, with his guitar flat on his lap. As ...

Dr. John: Dr John: In A Sentimental Mood (Warner Bros LP/Cassette/CD)

Review by Roy Carr, New Musical Express, 20 May 1989

FUNNY OL' game the record business! First, we have the triumphant return of the Neville Brothers to the A&M stable after a ten year absence ...

Doug Sahm: He's About A Rocker

Interview by Luke Torn, Austin Chronicle, 9 June 1989

DEFINING DOUG Sahm is no easy task. The original Texas Tornado. Doug Saldana. Sir Douglas. Talk to a dozen different people and you'll get a ...

Etta James (1989)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 13 July 1989

Etta James tells Barney Hoskyns about her struggles with addiction, meeting Billie Holiday, making Seven Year Itch and staying contemporary.

File format: mp3 File size: 40.4mb; Interview length: 44 minutes 5 seconds Sound quality: **

Charles Brown: The Rebirth Of Charles Brown And His Blues

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 1989

A resurgence of interest in a big man of the post-World War II era ...

Robert Cray: Music Man

Interview by Pippa Lang, What Hi-Fi?, September 1989

Don't go to record company parties or mix with producers to catch a glimpse of Robert Cray. As he tells Pippa Lang, making music is ...

Eric Clapton (1989)

Interview by Adam Sweeting, Rock's Backpages audio, 4 October 1989

Ol' Slowhand on the perils and pressures of success; on drinking and addiction; on blues; on his romance and emotional immaturity; on those endless Albert Hall shows; on his love of the Band, Little Feat, the Stones and Jimi Hendrix; on punk rock and cricket; and on voting for Thatcher and why he still thinks racist demagogue Enoch Powell had a point...

File format: mp3; file size: 80.5mb, interview length: 1h 23' 53" sound quality: ***

John Lee Hooker: Nothin' shakes a true blue legend

Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 27 October 1989

David Sinclair talks to rugged, illiterate bluesman John Lee Hooker, at 69 sounding like a man who breakfasts on iron filings. ...

B.B. King: Mississippi Homecoming

Report and Interview by Fred Schruers, Rolling Stone, 30 November 1989

RILEY B. KING, a son of the Mississippi Delta and by everyone's admission but his own the King of the Blues, stands by a two-lane ...

Bonnie Raitt: High Raittings

Live Review by Tim Riley, The Boston Phoenix, Spring 1989

Bonnie rebounds with the blues ...

Eric Clapton: Journeyman (Warner Bros.)/Homeboy (Virgin soundtrack)

Review by Don Snowden, L.A. Weekly, 18 January 1990

SOMEBODY EXPLAIN this to me – why do so many venerable rock icons keep coming up with album or song titles that just beg for ...

John Lee Hooker: The Voodoo Guru

Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, February 1990

ON 74TH & BROADWAY, the Gotham fog freezes your lungs with every breath, but inside the Beacon Theatre, Van Morrison has just spent something under ...

Johnny Otis (1990)

Interview by Steve Roeser, Rock's Backpages audio, 24 February 1990

'50s R&B King Otis talks about the songs: 'Willie and the Hand Jive', 'Hound Dog'; the artists: Little Esther, Etta James; his son Shuggie and music education; and he rails against the ravaged black ghettos, and the lie of "integration".

File format: mp3; file size: 31.4mb, interview length: 34' 17" sound quality: ****

Johnny Otis (1990) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Steve Roeser, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 24 February 1990

This is a transcript of Steve's audio interview with Johnny. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Muddy Waters: Chess Records Round-Up

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, April 1990

THE NAME OF Chess Records spells "Chicago Blues" just as clearly as Levi's spells jeans, Zippo spells lighters and Special Brew spells headaches. ...

Robert Plant: Manic Nirvana

Review by Mat Snow, Q, April 1990

ROBERT PLANT'S ALBUM Now And Zen was one of 1988's more delightful surprises: whilst quoting in jest from his own proud past in Led Zeppelin ...

Pussy Galore: Kittens of Distinction

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 2 June 1990

THEIR NEW ALBUM, HISTORIA DE LA MUSICA ROCK, CONTAINS SONGS LIKE THE QUAINTLY-NAMED 'ERIC CLAPTON MUST DIE' AND PROVES THAT PUSSY GALORE ARE STILL THE ...

Albert King: An Old Blues Artist Is Easing Away

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 1990

"It's Time to Quit," Says Famed Guitarist Albert King, 67 ...

John Mayall (1990)

Interview by Mat Snow, Rock's Backpages audio, July 1990

British Blues legend John Mayall looks back to the start of the Blues Boom; on his guitar players Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor; revisits the Flamingo in Wardour Street; harp lessons from Sonny Boy Williamson and through to living in the USA and that house fire.

File format: mp3; file size: 107.3mb, interview length: 1h 51' 45" sound quality: ***

Little Willie John: Fever

Sleeve notes by Barney Hoskyns, Charly, July 1990

LITTLE WILLIE JOHN's is one of the saddest stories in the book of soul. A pintsized hipster from the Motor City, he notched up 14 ...

Esquerita: The First Wild Man of Rock'n'roll

Retrospective by Miriam Linna, Spin, August 1990

ONE OF THE truly enigmatic characters in rock'n'roll history, Eskew Reeder (AKA Esquerita) falls somewhere between the Phantom and Screamin' Jay Hawkins, although he could ...

Johnny Ace, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Big Mama Thornton, O.V. Wright: Galen Gart and Roy C. Ames: Duke/Peacock Records – An illustrated history with discography (Big Nickel Publications)

Book Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, August 1990

BIG NICKEL PUBLICATIONS continue their unsurpassed service of providing a mine of information to R&B record collectors with another addition to its catalogue of books, ...

ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons (1990)

Interview by Tony Scherman, Rock's Backpages audio, August 1990

The hirsute guitar wonder starts off with memories of recently-deceased fellow Texan Stevie Ray Vaughan, then discusses the new ZZ Top album Recycler... plus the trio's return to a rootsier sound; the technology used on preceding albums Eliminator and Afterburner; the place of the blues in today's music; and getting to play cards with Muddy Waters.

File format: mp3; file size: 23.8mb, interview length: 24' 48" sound quality: ***

Albert King: An Interview

Interview by Steve Newton, The Georgia Straight, 30 August 1990

THE INFLUENCE of the blues on British supergroups is well documented. The Stones, Zeppelin, Cream – they all lapped up the seminal works of people ...

Robert Johnson: Peter Guralnick: Searching For Robert Johnson

Book Review by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, September 1990

THE POWERFUL FASCINATION which the legend of Robert Johnson still exerts over virtually all blues fans is derived, in almost equal proportion, from his genius ...

Robert Cray: Bobbing Along

Interview by Paul Elliott, Sounds, 1 September 1990

Robert Cray has gotten himself hitched to a girl from Leicester and gone back to the Stax and Volt labels for inspiration on his new ...

Koko Taylor: A Blues Belter Bounces Back From Adversity

Profile and Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 6 September 1990

Pop music: Koko Taylor was injured in a van accident and then suffered the death of her husband-manager. ...

Robert Cray: Wedded Bliss Blues

Profile and Interview by Mark Cooper, Daily Telegraph, 15 September 1990

Mark Cooper asks, can contented men sing the blues? I do, says Robert Cray ...

T-Bone Walker: The Complete Recordings of T-Bone Walker, 1940-1954 (Mosaic)

Review by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 16 September 1990

The Complete Recordings of T-Bone Walker, 1940-1954 display the bluesman's seminal influence on the genre ...

Charles Brown: His Blues Get a New Audience

Interview by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 29 September 1990

Comeback: The low-key, urbane music of veteran singer-pianist Charles Brown fell out of favor during the rock era, but he is winning new fans opening ...

Robert Cray: The Robert Cray Band: Midnight Stroll

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, October 1990

ANOTHER ROBERT CRAY album: we all know what to expect by now, right? ...

24-7 Spyz, Bad Brains, Bo Diddley, Fishbone, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Johnson, Living Colour, Elvis Presley, Prince, Public Enemy: Black Rock & Roll

Essay by RJ Smith, L.A. Weekly, 4 October 1990

RJ Smith on Living Colour and pop's buried history ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan 1954-1990

Obituary by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 4 October 1990

STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN has died, and with him goes the spirit of Jimi Hendrix once again. Vaughan was linked to Hendrix throughout his playing life. ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan: Lost and Found and Lost Again: Stevie Ray Vaughan 1954-1990

Retrospective by Tony Scherman, Musician, November 1990

"STEVIE WAS on it. Playin' great, kickin' butt," says Robert Cray, and when Double Trouble was done, everybody — the Vaughan brothers, Cray, Buddy Guy ...

The Vaughan Brothers: Family Style (Epic)

Review by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 1 November 1990

Brothers Beyond Tears ...

Robert Johnson: Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, December 1990

And the days keeps on worryin' me There's a hellhound on my trail ...

The Rolling Stones: Bill Wyman: Stone Alone

Book Review by Mat Snow, Q, December 1990

UNTIL HE WAS 26, Bill Perks was a suburban South Londoner, married with a kid and a secure job, having done his National Service rising ...

Champion Jack Dupree: The Joe Davis Sessions 1945-1946

Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, December 1990

IT IS PERHAPS fitting that the last CD of the Month for 1990 features a bluesman who began his recording career half a century ago ...

Robert Lockwood Jr.: Blues From The Delta

Profile by John Sinclair, Detroit Metro Times, Summer 1990

THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA, that fertile strip of silt-rich land stretching south from Memphis to Jackson on the east and Vicksburg on the river, has for ...

Albert King, Otis Rush: Albert King/Otis Rush: Door To Door

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, Chess Records, Fall 1990

CERTAINLY IT made sense for Chess to release an album combining the handful of songs recorded by Albert King and Otis Rush during their short-lived ...

Robert Johnson, ZZ Top: Billy Gibbons on Robert Johnson (1990)

Interview by Tony Scherman, Rock's Backpages audio, Fall 1990

The ZZ Topper talks about his enduring love for bluesman Robert Johnson: on first hearing Columbia's 1961 release King of the Delta Blues Singers; the dark impact of his music; the aspects of mystery surrounding Johnson; his favourite songs; Johnson's superb technique and delivery; the "pact with the Devil" myth, and being given dirt from that crossroads; the newly discovered photograph of Johnson, and his hands; his impact on ZZ Top, and the blues psychogeography of the Mississippi Delta.

File format: mp3; file size: 32.9mb, interview length: 34' 18" sound quality: ** (phoner)

Birth of the Blues: Touring the Mississippi Delta

Guide by Ira Robbins, unpublished, 1991

"YOU MAY BURY MY BODY DOWN BY the highway side...so my old evil spirit can catch a Greyhound bus and ride." ...

Koko Taylor: What It Takes - The Chess Years

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, Chess/MCA Records, 1991

IT'S ALTOGETHER FITTING that Koko Taylor's first Chess single was ‘I Got What It Takes’. Nearly three decades in the blues business--years punctuated by a ...

Lowell Fulson: Hung Down Head

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, Chess Records, 1991

HUNG DOWN HEAD was a profoundly shocking record when it was first released in 1970 as Chess LP 408. ...

Professor Longhair: Mardi Gras In Baton Rouge (Rhino)

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, Rhino, 1991

AHH, YES, THE virtues of the repertoire.Admittedly, it's a foreign concept these days, when artists are almost universally expected to write and perform fresh material ...

T-Bone Walker: The Complete Imperial Recordings, 1950-1954 (Imperial/EMI)

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, Guitar World, 1991

CONTEMPORARY BLUES guitar starts here. True enough, everything has its origins in something else: Aaron Thibaux "T-Bone" Walker (1910 – 1975) had hung out in ...

Various Artists: The Blues Guitar Box

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, January 1991

FORTY-THREE tracks featuring 39 guitarists for over three hours of music: if this bouncing, bulging blue box demonstrates anything other than the blues' current high ...

Jimmie Vaughan, Stevie Ray Vaughan: Jimmie Vaughan: Picking Up the Pieces

Interview by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 7 February 1991

After the death of his brother, Jimmie Vaughan carried on ...

Rory Gallagher: In The Midst Of A Blues Boom, Rory Gallagher Roars Back

Interview by Susan Whitall, Detroit News, March 1991

WHEN RORY Gallagher decides to take a flyer, he doesn't mess around. After years of soul-numbing touring up and down the American continent, the Irish ...

Dr. John: New Orleans is Rising

Profile and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, HMV Magazine, April 1991

DR. JOHN AND New Orleans. Although the legendary pianist has made New York City his home for almost a decade now, his name still conjures ...

Charles Brown: Jazzin' the Blues with Charles Brown

Interview by Alan di Perna, Musician, April 1991

Sneaking something extra between those three chords ...

The Alligator Records 20th Anniversary Collection (Alligator)

Review by Tom Graves, Rock & Roll Disc, May 1991

REMEMBER THOSE Lowery Organ displays that were once a staple of every suburban shopping mall in North America? The ones where some weenie in a ...

Ruth Brown: Fine and Mellow

Sleeve notes by Kirk Silsbee, Fantasy Records, June 1991

FRANK OWENS, arranger/pianist and strawboss of the music on this album, was running down his chart to the band at Sage and Sound in Hollywood ...

Albert King: An Interview with Albert King

Interview by Alan Paul, Guitar World, July 1991

2003 note: Just days after I became the Guitar World Managing Editor in February 1991, I sat at my desk listening two of my colleagues ...

Robert Johnson: The Devil's Work: The plundering of Robert Johnson

Special Feature by Robert Gordon, L.A. Weekly, 4 July 1991

THE SUN did not shine but it was hot as hell the day a memorial stone was unveiled for bluesman Robert Johnson near a country ...

Danny Gatton: The Fastest Guitar in the East

Interview by Richard Harrington, The Washington Post, 11 August 1991

The fastest guitar in the East. Or the West, or the South — or anywhere on the planet, really. A lot of people think Danny ...

Chris Whitley: His Moody Blues Burn at Candlelight Sessions

Interview by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 18 August 1991

WHEN SINGER-guitarist Chris Whitley talks about house, he's not referring to the neo-disco dance style known as house music. He means the New Orleans home ...

John Lee Hooker: Mr Lucky

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, October 1991

TALK ABOUT COOL: it's as if John Lee Hooker is so relaxed he can afford to be late for his own album. ...

Fabulous Thunderbirds: The Fabulous Thunderbirds: Walk That Walk, Talk That Talk (Epic)

Review by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 3 October 1991

IT'S HARD TO imagine the fabulous Thunderbirds without founding member Jimmie Vaughan. ...

Dave Alvin, The Blasters, Rosie Flores, Big Joe Turner: A Headstone for Big Joe Turner Is Aim of Benefit Concert Sunday

Report by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 4 October 1991

BIG JOE Turner's powerful vocals on the original version of 'Shake, Rattle & Roll' propelled the late blues shouter into the Rock and Roll Hall ...

The Band, Roy Buchanan, Ronnie Hawkins, Robbie Robertson, Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller): Youngblood: The Wild Youth of Robbie Robertson

Interview by Tony Scherman, Musician, December 1991

Before Storyville, before the Band, a Toronto street punk headed down the Crazy River. ...

Big John Greer

Sleeve notes by Pete Grendysa, Bear Family, 1992

JOHN GREER, one of the forgotten men of rhythm & blues, had all the talent necessary to succeed, and a few extra advantages besides. ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby “Blue” Bland: I Pity The Fool – The Duke Recordings, Vol. 1

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, Chess/MCA Records, 1992

AN ENDURING IRONY of the periodic blues revivals that rear their heads is that each and every one has managed to pass by the immense ...

Buddy Johnson

Sleeve notes by Pete Grendysa, Bear Family, 1992

A LINE OF golden saxophones held carefully aslant over the showy blue and white "BJ" bandstands catches the eye first. Arrayed behind are trombones flanked ...

Bob Dylan, Eric Von Schmidt: Eric Von Schmidt on Bob Dylan (1992)

Interview by Larry Jaffee, Rock's Backpages audio, 1992

The venerable folkie looks back to the Yale folk scene, and first meeting Dylan; discusses who actually wrote 'Baby Let Me Follow You Down' — the Rev. Gary Davis? Blind Boy Fuller? Von Schmidt? — and Dylan's magpie tendencies; he also recounts meeting Dylan in London in 1963 with Richard Fariña, and drinking gin and smoking pot.

File format: mp3; file size: 37.8mb, interview length: 39' 47" sound quality: ** (phoner)

Howlin' Wolf: Live and Cookin' at Alice's Revisited

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, Chess/MCA Records, 1992

BY 1972, HOWLIN' WOLF was on the downhill side of his fabled career as one of the twin titans of Chicago blues. ...

John Lee Hooker (1992)

Interview by Tony Scherman, Rock's Backpages audio, 1992

The blues veteran talks about his roots outside Clarksdale, Mississippi; the influence of his stepfather Will Moore; how his style evolved into the "boogie" rhythm; his memories of B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, and Sonny Boy Williamson; his first big hit 'Boogie Chillen’; hanging out with Bob Dylan in early ’60s New York; his latest album Mr. Lucky and his experiences in the studio; covering ‘I'm in the Mood’ with Bonnie Raitt; his friendship with Van Morrison... and what he's up to next.

File format: mp3; file size: 46.1mb, interview length: 47' 59" sound quality: ** (phoner)

King Curtis: Blow Man, Blow! (Bear BCD 15670)

Sleeve notes by Pete Grendysa, Bear Family, 1992

"BLOW MAN, BLOW!" The big man with the glittering horn sent showers of squeals and shrieks out over the heads of his ecstatic shouting audience, ...

Ray Charles: Rapping with Ray Charles

Interview by Robert Gordon, Interview, 1992

IN THE 1950s, Frank Sinatra tagged Ray Charles "Genius," an appropriate nickname for one of American music's most innovative figures. Charles brought a sophistication to ...

Buddy Guy: The Complete Chess Studio Recordings

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, Chess Records, January 1992

THE BEST measure of Buddy Guy's talents as a bluesman could well be the fact that he's been presiding over the most distinguished fan club ...

Earl Palmer the Rhythm Bomber, the Funk Machine from New Orleans

Retrospective and Interview by Tony Scherman, Musician, January 1992

From Bessie Smith to Elvis Costello, the Amazing Life and Perfect Time of a Great Rock 'n' Roll Pioneer ...

Chuck Berry, Johnnie Johnson: Johnnie Johnson: From 'Johnny B. Goode' to Johnnie B. Bad

Profile and Interview by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 25 January 1992

LOTS OF musicians would consider it a career highlight to play with a musical legend, but pianist Johnnie Johnson has done it at opposite ends ...

Willie Dixon: Dixon Wrote His Blues With an Eye to the Future

Obituary by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 1 February 1992

The late, great songwriter saw his craft as a fountain of wisdom for people to draw upon. ...

The Holmes Brothers, Tom Russell: The Holmes Brothers: Where It's At (Rounder); The Tom Russell Band: Hurricane Season (Philo/Rounder)

Review by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 20 February 1992

MUSICIANS WHO live in New York City have often learned the hard way that the music industry can he short-sighted when it comes to recognizing ...

Jeff Beck: Beckology

Review by David Sinclair, Q, March 1992

IN 1990, IN A REGULAR feature called "The Experts' Expert", The Observer canvassed a cross-section of guitarists (David Gilmour, Hank Marvin, Brian May and others) ...

Buckwheat Zydeco: On Track (Charisma) ***½

Review by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 19 March 1992

STANLEY DURAL JR. made an error in choosing the stage name Buckwheat Zydeco. ...

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown: But Don't Fence Me In

Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Downbeat, April 1992

WHEN CLARENCE "Gatemouth" Brown visited Washington, D.C., recently, the 67-year-old Texan presided over his eight-piece band like a professor leading a survey course in American ...

John Lee Hooker: Mannish Boy

Interview by Mark Cooper, Q, April 1992

MONDAY IS TRADITIONALLY a slow night in the music calendar, especially the first Monday in January in clubs like the Sweetwater, a small but chic ...

Dinah Washington: Mad About The Boy (Mercury)

Review by Terry Staunton, New Musical Express, 9 May 1992

IF THE LIFE STORIES of Billie Holiday, Loretta Lynn and Pasty Cline were interesting enough to inspire major Hollywood movies, it's surely only a matter ...

Louis Jordan, Forefather of Rock 'N' Roll

Retrospective by Nick Tosches, The Village Voice, 18 August 1992

He made some of the greatest music that has ever been made; if any one man is to be given credit for siring rock 'n' ...

John Lee Hooker, Keith Richards: The Blues Brothers: John Lee Hooker and Keith Richards – It's a Two-way Thing

Profile and Interview by Nick Coleman, Time Out, October 1992

BOOM BOOM boom boom – gonna shoot you right down… The blues is always the blues, even when it's advertising copy. Right off your feet. ...

Etta James: Rollin' With Etta

Interview by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 1 November 1992

Etta James has sung and lived the blues, but these are good times for the R&B matriarch bound for the Rock and Roll Hall of ...

Rory Gallagher: Town & Country Club, Leeds

Live Review by Simon Warner, The Guardian, 2 November 1992

IT WAS ALWAYS likely to be a heavy onus for the guitarist Rory Gallagher to bear when it was confirmed that he would be the ...

Etta James: Town And Country Club, London

Live Review by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 1 December 1992

ETTA JAMES is a big, big lady, with a big, big voice — and she certainly made full use of her lung-power in wowing her ...

Robert Cray, B.B. King: B.B. King, Robert Cray: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Roger St. Pierre, Blues & Soul, 15 December 1992

KING BY name, King by nature — B.B. of that ilk was certainly well named. ...

Albert King: Blues Guitarist Albert King Left An Indelible Legacy

Report by Fred Shuster, Los Angeles Daily News, 27 December 1992

AT LEAST as it applied to blues and rock artists, Wayne Jackson of the Memphis Horns got it right when he said the late Albert ...

Little Walter: The Essential Little Walter

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, Chess/MCA, 1993

LITTLE WALTER was a singular figure among the Chess artist roster by virtue of the fact that he was the only one whose popular appeal ...

Little Willie John

Sleeve notes by Pete Grendysa, Rhino, 1993

HE LOOKED LIKE he just stepped off the top of a wedding cake – a dapper, smooth-faced little man in a tailored suit topped off ...

Louis Jordan

Sleeve notes by Pete Grendysa, Bear Family, 1993

FOR TEN of the most crucial years in the history of American black music, Louis Jordan was the main man, the solid sender, the hep-est ...

Magic Sam, Otis Rush: Various Artists: The Cobra Records Story

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, Capricorn Records, 1993

STRANGE THAT The Cobra Story marks the first time that these late '50s recordings culled from three short-lived Chicago labels run by Eli Toscano have ...

Albert King, 1923-1992

Obituary by Robert Gordon, L.A. Weekly, 7 January 1993

ALBERT KING performed in overalls to the very end, even when he wore a tux. Like his music, King was urban but not ashamed of ...

B.B. King: Uneasy Lies The Head That Wears The Crown

Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, February 1993

From the no-horse town of Ita Bena, Mississippi, to the planet's most prestigious culture palaces, Riley "Blues Boy" King has spent half a century as ...

Louis Jordan: John Chilton: Let The Good Times Roll – The Story Of Louis Jordan And His Music (Quartet Books)

Book Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, February 1993

YOU'VE HEARD the records, maybe even bought the recent Bear Family nine-CD box set (The Complete Decca Recordings) – now read the biography. ...

Albert King: 1923-1992

Obituary by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 4 February 1993

Blues master dies at age sixty-nine ...

John Lee Hooker: Boom Boom (Pointblank/Charisma) ***½

Review by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 29 April 1993

JOHN LEE HOOKER is the last ofthe classic Mississippi Delta blues guitarists, the unaccompanied bards who could generate more energy sitting on a low stool ...

R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough: Junior Kimbrough & the Soul Blues Boys: All Night Long; R.L. Burnside & the Sound Machine: Bad Luck City (both Fat Possum)

Review by Robert Gordon, L.A. Weekly, 27 May 1993

BOTH THESE albums go to great lengths to take listeners to new places. Producer Robert Palmer fabricated a studio environment in the former sanctified church ...

Billy Boy Arnold: Back Where I Belong (Alligator)

Sleeve notes by Kirk Silsbee, Alligator, August 1993

SPEAK FACE to face with bluesman Billy Boy Arnold and you have the feeling that something about him doesn't quite add up. He looks to ...

Paul Rodgers: Muddy Waters Blues (Victory)

Review by Mat Snow, Q, August 1993

Whoever declared that new art is created when somebody gets old art wrong may well have had blues-rock in mind. ...

Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: Hank Ballard: A Talk With Mr. Twister

Interview by Kirk Silsbee, Los Angeles Reader, 13 August 1993

If you not movin' your hips, it just ain't happenin'. – Hank Ballard on dancing ...

Bo Diddley's Bar Mitzvah Beat Box

Report and Interview by Hank Bordowitz, Guitar Player, October 1993

BO DIDDLEY GETS into rap and even whips up tropical flavors on his first major-label release in 20 years, A Man Among Men. But he's ...

Richard Berry (1993)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 7 October 1993

The 'Louie Louie' man looks back at his youth in Los Angeles, cutting his first records, the crooks and the rip-offs, and his battle to regain the rights to his most famous song.

File format: mp3; file size: 42.1mb; Interview length: 45' 56"; sound quality: ****

James Booker: The Unsung Piano Genius with Star-spangled False Teeth

Profile by Ben Thompson, MOJO, January 1994

"IF ALL AMERICAN PIANO PLAYERS LINED UP IN A ROW, each knowing the other’s abilities and talents, all would take a step back to recognise ...

Ben Harper: Welcome to the Cruel World (Virgin)

Review by Jon Young, Spin, March 1994

STILL PONDERING his options, Ben Harper raises an array of tantalizing possibilities on this confident, sometimes inspired debut. His spicy guitar work and Dobro licks ...

Eric Clapton: The Odyssey: The Making Of Eric Clapton

Retrospective and Interview by Harry Shapiro, MOJO, March 1994

Of all the legends of the land of Greece, few are as epic and ill-starred as the tale of Eric Clapton, his five mates and ...

The Platters: Four Platters and One Lovely Dish

Sleeve notes by Pete Grendysa, Bear Family, March 1994

GOING FROM complete unknowns to classics of American pop music took the Platters only two short years. ...

Ali Farka Touré

Interview by Don Snowden, Escape, 12 April 1994

THE 18-WEEK run atop the Billboard World Music charts enjoyed by Ali Farka Touré's album The Source added the sweet touch of popular success in ...

Dr. John (1994)

Interview by Andy Schwartz, Rock's Backpages audio, 18 April 1994

The erstwhile Night Tripper on writing his autobiography Under a Hoodoo Moon; on the New Orleans music business — the rip-offs, lousy studios, useless Musician's Union, Jim Garrison; on his new album Television; on drugs and recovery; on moving to New York City; on the modern recording scene (and being sampled by Beck); on his early involvement in N.Y. hip hop... and how he started out just playing for fun.

File format: mp3; file size: 72.1mb, interview length: 1h 15' 03" sound quality: ****

B.B. King: The Fortunate Son

Retrospective by Colin Escott, Goldmine, 29 April 1994

B.B. KING'S misfortune is that we too often take him for granted. He has been there as long as most of us can remember, and ...

Ry Cooder, Ali Farka Toure: Ali Farka Touré with Ry Cooder: Talking Timbuktu (Hannibal)

Review by Richard Gehr, Spin, May 1994

DE BLUES is a harsh mistress. So what a pleasure when someone like Mali guitar giant Ali Farka Touré comes along to let us off ...

Duke Henderson: Get Your Kicks (Delmark)

Sleeve notes by Kirk Silsbee, Delmark Records, May 1994

ASK THE handful of remaining African-American performers and entertainers who were active during Los Angeles' Central Avenue heyday in the 1940s about blues singer Duke ...

John Hammond: The Long Road Leads Back To L.A.

Profile by Bill Wasserzieher, Southland Blues, May 1994

"If John Hammond put the same intensity that he puts into his guitar into something like, say, levitating, I suspect we'd all be looking up ...

Canned Heat, John Lee Hooker: Canned Heat: Still On The Road Again

Retrospective and Interview by Paul Gabriel, DISCoveries, August 1994

"I BELIEVE WE had the biggest response, of any group [at Woodstock]," says Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra, Canned Heat's drummer, who appeared with them ...

Eddie Boyd, 1914-1994

Obituary by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, September 1994

BLUES PIANIST and singer Eddie Boyd died on July 13th in Helsinki aged 79 on July 13th, in Helsinki, Finland, a city in which he'd ...

George Benson, Buddy Guy: Hammersmith Apollo, London

Live Review by Paul Sexton, The Times, 15 November 1994

Blues for Guy as Benson frets ...

Leadbelly: The Long Goodbye: Huddie Ledbetter’s Living Will

Essay by Carol Cooper, L.A. Weekly, 24 November 1994

According to their most recent videos, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones and Madonna all aspire to the power, wisdom and durability ...

John Lee Hooker: Chill Out (Point Blank VPB 22)

Review by Mark Cooper, Q, March 1995

John Lee Hooker: an Old Testament prophet for modern times. ...

Rory Gallagher 1948-1995

Obituary by Chris Welch, The Independent, 16 June 1995

RORY GALLAGHER was the People's Guitarist. Unassuming, but tenacious, the Irish blues man devoted his life to touring and playing his beloved Fender Strat to ...

Leroi Jones: Blues People

Review by Tony Russell, MOJO, July 1995

WHEN BLUES PEOPLE WAS PUBLISHED in 1963, LeRoi Jones became the first black American to have written a book about the blues. It did not ...

Robert Cray: Blues Pour L'Homme

Interview by Don Waller, MOJO, July 1995

MOJO catches up with handsome devil Robert Cray in that traditional milieu of the blues hero: on the road in Anchorage, Alaska… ...

Rory Gallagher 1948-1995

Obituary by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 10 August 1995

BONO CALLED him "one of the top 10 guitar players of all time," and there is no doubt that Rory Gallagher, who died in a ...

Excello: It Came From the Swamp

Overview by Kirk Silsbee, Huh, September 1995

ONE OF the hallmarks of a great regional record label is the ability to define a time and place in the mind's ear. Think of ...

Luther Allison: The Return of Luther Allison: A Prodigal Son of the Blues Comes Back to His Native Land

Profile and Interview by Bill Wasserzieher, Southland Blues, January 1996

GUITARIST LUTHER Allison, after a long apprenticeship in the clubs of Chicago's West Side, first came to national prominence with electrifying performances at the Ann ...

G. Love & Special Sauce: Electric Ballroom, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 13 January 1996

A whiter shade of blues ...

Charles Brown: Good Grief: Charles Brown's Up for a Blues Grammy, but He's Not Really Playin' the Blues

Profile and Interview by Bill Wasserzieher, Los Angeles View, 9 February 1996

FOR A MUSICIAN with a Grammy nomination for best traditional blues album of the year, pianist/vocalist Charles Brown is quick to say he is more ...

Bo Diddley: He's Fighting Mad and Mad That He Has to Fight

Interview by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 27 February 1996

Q&A with Bo Diddley ...

Archie Edwards: Jumpstartin' the Blues: Piedmont Bluesman Archie Edwards

Profile and Interview by Jerry Zolten, Living Blues, April 1996

Talks About Roots, Rights, and Rhythms ...

Brownie McGhee 1915-1996

Obituary by Geoffrey Himes, Rolling Stone, 4 April 1996

AS A GUITARIST, Brownie McGhee was a master of the intricate, ragtime-influenced patterns that define the blues of the South's Piedmont region. As a singer ...

Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Fela Kuti, John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Elvis Presley, Keith Richards, The Stone Roses: That's Another Fine Messiah You've Got Me Into

Comment by Johnny Cigarettes, New Musical Express, 6 April 1996

John Lennon thought The Beatles were bigger than IT, some people think Elvis is/was IT and Michael Jackson seems to think he is IT. So ...

Bo Diddley: Godfather Back On The Beat

Profile and Interview by Mark Cooper, Daily Telegraph, 11 May 1996

If guitar rhythms could be copyrighted, Bo Diddley would be a millionaire. As it is Mark Cooper finds him warily hitting the comeback trail again ...

Jimmy Witherspoon: 'Ain't Nobody's Business': The No Rollin' Blues of Jimmy Witherspoon

Retrospective and Interview by Steve Roeser, Goldmine, 24 May 1996

"I'D RATHER open up a show than to close it," Jimmy Witherspoon said emphatically. "'Cause I know whoever follows me is gonna have to sing." ...

Johnny "Guitar" Watson: The life and death of a guitar-slinger

Obituary by Andy Gill, The Independent, 26 May 1996

With his fedora and his Gibson, his pimp-chic style and his flamboyant playing, Johnny "Guitar" Watson lived and died, on stage, for the blues. Andy ...

Spencer Davis Group, Steve Winwood: The Spencer Davis Group: Eight Gigs A Week — The Steve Winwood Years

Review and Interview by Sylvie Simmons, MOJO, June 1996

BACK IN THE EARLY '60s, in their Golden Eagle residency days, The Spencer Davis Group played the whole gamut of American R&B from John Lee ...

Taj Mahal's ancestral music

Retrospective and Interview by Nicholas Jennings, Eye Weekly, 18 July 1996

TAJ MAHAL was deep into the pan-African diaspora long before anyone dreamed up the term "world music." Blues, ragtime, calypso, reggae, Mandinka soul from West ...

Keb' Mo': Kevin Moore Makes A Name For Himself As Blues Singer Keb' Mo'

Interview by Charles Bermant, Mr Showbiz, August 1996

JUST LIKE YOU, the second album from singer-songwriter Keb' Mo', raises a question: why is a forty-four-year-old, who's been playing music all his life, just ...

ZZ Top: Crazy 'bout a kitsch-dressed man

Interview by Andy Gill, The Independent, August 1996

ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons has reconnected his blues roots with African rhythm. Can he really be giving up trash in the interests of good taste, ...

R.L. Burnside, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: R.L. Burnside: A Ass Pocket Of Whiskey (Matador) **½

Review by Mark Kemp, Rolling Stone, 22 August 1996

...

Ike Turner: It Didn't Work Out Fine — Ike Turner: Tramps, New York NY

Live Review by Amy Linden, New York Daily News, 26 August 1996

Ike Turner still can light fires with his guitar, but new Ikettes lack the spark to keep it going ...

Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green: "I'm Peter Green"

Interview by Cliff Jones, MOJO, September 1996

OUTSIDE IT'S RAINING, THE KIND OF slick, greasy rain you only get in cities. The atmosphere is oppressive. Inside the Brewer's Inn, Wandsworth – a ...

Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green: The Shape I'm In: Peter Green

Profile by Johnny Black, MOJO, September 1996

IT'S MID-WINTER 1968. The five members of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac are huddled together, holding hands on the floor of the Gorham Hotel on West ...

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Now I Got Worry (Mute)

Review by Ben Thompson, MOJO, October 1996

• Spencer et al recently backed Holly Springs bluesman R.L. Burnside on his superb A Ass Pocket Of Whiskey — a Hooker'N'Heat for the '90s. • ...

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Astoria, London

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 9 October 1996

Out of the blues, onto the rack ...

Billy Boy Arnold: Back Where Billy Boy Arnold Belongs

Retrospective by Bill Wasserzieher, Southland Blues, December 1996

WHAT TO MAKE of one Billy Boy Arnold? First there's that nickname "Boy." Has anybody, other than John-Boy on The Waltons, ever liked being called ...

Buddy Guy: The Complete Chess Studio Sessions

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, Chess, 1997

THE BEST measure of Buddy Guy's talents as a bluesman could well be the fact that he's been presiding over the most distinguished fan club ...

Mother Earth, Tracy Nelson: Down So Low: Tracy Nelson's Long Hard Climb Into Obscurity

Retrospective and Interview by Bill Carpenter, Goldmine, 1997

EVERYTHING ONE should do to get a big name in showbiz seems to be the opposite of what Tracy Nelson does. No fancy duds to ...

Fabulous Thunderbirds: My Lunch with the Blues Guys

Interview by Bill Wasserzieher, unpublished, 1997

IT'S NOT NEWS that Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds is a good harmonica player. But he also cuts it as raconteur with stories about ...

The Groundhogs' Tony McPhee (1997)

Interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages audio, 1997

McPhee takes us back to the early days, turning down a gig with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers when Clapton left; his various bands between Groundhogs #1 and reviving the band; the early albums: Scratching the Surface and Blues Obituary; breakthrough album Thank Christ for the Bomb; the mental issues behind Split; subsequent albums, the sacking of drummer Ken Pustelnik, and his path to the present day.

File format: mp3; file size: 72.9mb, interview length: 1h 15' 57" sound quality: *****

Bo Diddley: Still Rockin'

Interview by Bill DeYoung, Goldmine, 28 February 1997

ELLAS BATES McDaniel, a.k.a. Bo Diddley, has lived the life of a rural squire in North Florida since 1983, when a dentist, making small talk, ...

Earl Palmer, Dave Bartholomew and Alvin "Red" Tyler (1997)

Interview by Tony Scherman, Rock's Backpages audio, March 1997

Three giants of New Orleans R&B — bandleader Bartholomew, drummer Palmer and sax player Tyler — look back on the days on the bandstand and NOLA studios: on recording with Fats Domino and Little Richard; on the characters — Lightnin' Slim, the unlucky Smiley Lewis and more; on hassles with the Musicians' Union; on Palmer leaving for L.A.; on squeezing in bebop; on the beloved Dew Drop Inn... and what made the Crescent City sound. [NOTE: The most audibly prominent voice belongs to Tyler, with Palmer's the most distant. Bartholomew's is somewhere in the middle, with the deepest register.]

File format: mp3; file size: 94.7mb, interview length: 1h 38' 35" sound quality: ***

Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson: Muddy Waters: Electric Mud; Sonny Boy Williamson: Bummer Road; Little Walter: Blues With A Feelin’

Review by Tony Russell, MOJO, April 1997

CHICAGO IN THE FIRST DECADE after World War II spawned record labels like a salmon on fertility drugs. Many of them dealt with blues, some ...

ZZ Top: Billy Gibbons: Rhythmeen & Blues

Report and Interview by Mike Mettler, Guitar, May 1997

SEEING ZZ TOP'S Billy Gibbons without his trademark shades on is like viewing the emperor with no clothes: it's a startling vision. Yet here's the ...

Peter Green: Things are rosier for Peter Green, but does he still have the blues?

Report and Interview by Colin Harper, The Scotsman, 5 May 1997

"I JUST took too many LSD trips," says Peter Green. "I couldn't get back from it – I didn't want to get back ... I ...

Alan Lomax: Outstanding In His Field

Profile by Matt Hanks, Memphis Flyer, 24 July 1997

I AM AN American citizen," he muttered, glaring around. "These Memphis cops call me vagrant, but I'm a musician. These Southern laws don't recognize a ...

King Cotton: Bad Acid, the Bonedaddys and the Blues! King Cotton Has Lived Through 'Em All

Profile and Interview by Kirk Silsbee, BAM, 25 July 1997

IF YOU happen to find yourself at B.B. King's at the Universal Citywalk on a Sunday night, you'll encounter an unusual musical aggregation. ...

Charles Brown: Honey Dripper: Charles Brown caresses the blues

Profile and Interview by RJ Smith, L.A. Weekly, 31 July 1997

THE MAN locking eyes with you from the cover of Charles Brown's last album is the kind of rogue so elegant he barely cocks his ...

Bumble Bee Slim: A Rough Rugged Road: From Georgia to Chicago to Hollywood with Bumble Bee Slim

Retrospective by Jerry Zolten, Living Blues, September 1997

MY ENTREE into the world of bluesman Bumble Bee Slim came not by choice, but by chance. It happened a few years ago in the ...

Dr. John: The Forum, London

Live Review by Gavin Martin, Uncut, September 1997

Dr John: organic groover ...

Jackie Brenston, Ike Turner, Ike & Tina Turner, Joe Louis Walker: Pop Quiz: Q & A With Ike Turner

Interview by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 September 1997

ONLY A HANDFUL of ex-husbands have been as publicly vilified as Ike Turner, but what Tina Turner's undoubtedly justified public excoriations have obscured is the ...

Ruth Brown Keeps Deep R&B's Fire Blazing

Profile and Interview by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 27 October 1997

MISS RHYTHM is on stage working the blues, and she's got the audience on a string. Sashaying up to the microphone in the ballroom of ...

Chess Records: The Original Blues Brothers

Interview by James Maycock, The Independent, November 1997

"WOW, YOU guys are really getting it on!" exclaimed Chuck Berry, observing the Rolling Stones cut 'Down The Road Apiece', a track he'd recorded himself ...

Dick Heckstall-Smith: Sax Blue

Interview by Harry Shapiro, BluePrint, December 1997

DICK HECKSTALL-Smith is one of the greatest R&B saxophonists in the world. His musical career started at university, in Cambridge, and he has played with ...

Chess Set Still Sings The Blues: Marshall Chess and Chess Records

Interview by James Maycock, Daily Telegraph, 1998

JUST OVER 50 YEARS AGO, brothers Phil and Leonard Chess, two industrious Polish immigrants in Chicago, tentatively established what would become the most famous blues ...

Howlin' Wolf, Hubert Sumlin: Hubert Sumlin: The Wolf’s Man

Interview by Alan Paul, Guitar World, 1998

INTRODUCTION: I had heard that Hubert Sumlin was a genuinely nice guy. But before I ventured uptown to a Manhattan club to interview him, there ...

John Lee Hooker: The Sound of Teardrops: John Lee Hooker

Profile and Interview by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 5 January 1998

HOW DEEP IS John Lee Hooker's blues? "You can't go no deeper than me and my guitar," he says. "I open my mouth, and it's ...

Georgie Fame: Fame at the Flamingo: Golden years in Soho

Retrospective and Interview by James Maycock, The Independent, 16 January 1998

Georgie Fame and his band were regular performers at a nightclub that was a catalyst for British music in the early '60s. He looks back ...

Junior Kimbrough 1930-1998

Obituary by Geoffrey Himes, Rolling Stone, 5 March 1998

DAVID "JUNIOR" Kimbrough didn't release his first album until 1992, when he was 62, but when Fat Possum Records issued All Night Long, Rolling Stone ...

Junior Wells 1994-1998

Obituary by Robert Gordon, Rolling Stone, 5 March 1998

JUNIOR WELLS, one of the greatest harmonica players in blues history, died of lymphatic cancer on January 15th in Chicago. He was 63. ...

B.B. King, Lowell Fulson, Robert Lockwood Jr.: B.B. King: Bright Lights Big City

Report and Interview by Paul Trynka, MOJO, May 1998

Fifty years ago B.B. King arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, and found himself in the eye of a musical hurricane. Today he celebrates the giants who ...

Honeyboy Edwards: Delta Delight: Honeyboy Edwards, Country Bluesman

Profile and Interview by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 18 May 1998

THE BLUESMAN Honeyboy Edwards got arrested in Greenwood, Mississippi, in 1936. His crime was being a black man. ...

John Lee Hooker

Interview by Will Hermes, Rolling Stone, 28 May 1998

THE ORIGINAL Mack Daddy, John Lee Hooker represents the funkiest lowdown essence of the blues. Born in the Mississippi Delta in 1917, Hooker was a ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Love Throat: Bobby "Blue" Bland

Interview by Robert Gordon, Rolling Stone, 28 May 1998

BOBBY BLAND'S people seat me at a table, make sure I'm comfortable. An effective entrance demands the proper set-up. ...

Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker: Buddy Guy/John Lee Hooker: Temecula, Ca.

Live Review by Bill Wasserzieher, Blues Revue, June 1998

TO GET TO Temecula, Calif., head southeast from Los Angeles, traverse a ring of mountains, skirt a lake and then stop, mercifully, before Arizona. ...

Down-home delights: The soulful blues of Malaco Records

Report by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 29 June 1998

THIRTY OR 40 YEARS AGO, the Jackson-based Malaco Records would have been called a "race" label. That was the tag for outfits like Specialty, King, ...

Little Walter, Dave Myers, Junior Wells: Dave Myers: They Used To Call Me The Thumper Because I Played So Hard

Interview by Robert Gordon, Oxford American, July 1998

THE FINGER-POPPING, head-bobbing joie de vivre that Dave Myers exudes all over his new CD is not readily apparent when I call him up to ...

Hal Blaine, Earl Palmer: A Vote for the Hired Guns of Rock-and-Roll

Comment by Tony Scherman, The New York Times, 26 July 1998

EVER SINCE the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame gave itself the ticklish job of anointing a rock-and-roll pantheon, one of its stated goals has been to ...

John Fahey: Blood on the Frets

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, August 1998

The original American Primitive, John Fahey's raw mixes of blues, folk and musique concrete embody the spirit of American alternative music. But during the 60s ...

Jimmy Dawkins, Yank Rachell, Junior Wells: Hoodoo Men: Delmark's Junior Wells, Jimmy Dawkins and Yank Rachell reissues

Review by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 10 August 1998

THE TORCH OF electric blues has burned no brighter than in the gritty clubs and studios of Chicago in the '50s and '60s. It was ...

Mr. Airplane Man: Mississippi Queens: Mr. Airplane Man's Delta dreams

Profile and Interview by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 31 August 1998

A RAIN’S PEELED the edge off a steamy August night in the Mississippi Delta. But a two-piece jukehouse band are roaring on stage in Clarksdale's ...

B.B. King: The Day B.B. King Went to Jail

Retrospective by James Maycock, The Independent, 11 September 1998

ON A SUBLIME autumn day in 1970, B.B. King performed for 2,117 prisoners in Cook County Jail. Against the sound of B.B. King's musicians ...

Robert Johnson: Demythologizing Robert Johnson: Chipping Away at the Myths That Encrust a Blues Legend

Essay by Tony Scherman, The New York Times, 20 September 1998

ALTHOUGH THE great blues singer and guitarist Robert Johnson died 60 years ago, swallowed up at 27 by the rural Mississippi demiworld of juke joints ...

R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough: Blues Chaos Theory: Burnside and Kimbrough file absentee albums

Review by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 21 September 1998

"OH SHIT, I can't see," said the great Mississippi hill-country bluesman R.L. Burnside as he stepped toward the microphone – just loud enough that it ...

Rory Gallagher Reissues

Review by Carol Clerk, Uncut, October 1998

DeuceIrish TourCalling CardPhoto-FinishFresh Evidence Random selection of work from late Irish guitar hero ...

Rory Gallagher: Ballad of a Thin Man

Retrospective by Colin Harper, MOJO, October 1998

"HE SUFFERED A LOT. His health was bad. He had a problem with drink. His relationships with women were all messed up because of his ...

R.L. Burnside: Stuff you really shouldn't do in public

Profile and Interview by Andy Gill, The Independent, 2 October 1998

R.L. Burnside has boogie in his shoes, among other things. And where better to walk the blues than in front of "the young people"? ...

Taj Mahal: The Birth Of His Blues: Taj Mahal

Review and Interview by Ben Edmonds, MOJO, November 1998

Tracks: Leaving Trunk / Statesboro Blues / Checkin' Up On My Baby / Everybody's Got To Change Sometime / E Z Rider / Dust My ...

Jools Holland, Squeeze: Jools Holland: Coolest cat on the tube

Profile and Interview by Sheryl Garratt, The Guardian, 7 November 1998

He's played piano with BB King and learned chords from Ruben Gonzalez — but deep down he's a rock 'n' roller who likes his nan's ...

Taj Mahal: In Progress and Motion (Columbia/Legacy)

Review by Tony Scherman, The New York Times, 29 November 1998

EMERGING IN THE late '60s as an anomaly – one of the few young black musicians to embrace the folk-blues revival – Taj Mahal flirted ...

Geoff Muldaur: The Secret Handshake

Review by Tony Scherman, The New York Times, 13 December 1998

"THE WHITE MAN cannot vocal the blues,'' said the blues singer Muddy Waters with grave finality, and his maxim has only rarely been disproved. ...

Gary Moore Goes Back to the Blues

Profile and Interview by Ian Fortnam, bol.com, 1999

CURIOUSLY UNDERVALUED, and rarely lauded in similarly hushed tones to the likes of Clapton, Beck and Page, Belfast-born Gary Moore is unequivocally one of the ...

Myth and the Mississippi: PBS explores the songs and heart of Middle America

Report and Interview by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 4 January 1999

THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER covers a lot of history along its 2,350 miles. Sometimes literally. There are communities that have been washed under its high waters, ...

Adam Gussow: Mr. Satan's Apprentice: A Blues Memoir (Pantheon)

Book Review by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 25 January 1999

NO, AUTHOR Adam Gussow hasn't sold his soul to Ol' Nick for wealth, fame, and power. Just the opposite, in fact, is the usual blues ...

T-Model Ford: Huntin' Possum: T-Model Ford's You Better Keep Still

Review by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 25 January 1999

IF T-MODEL FORD had the wings of a beautiful dove, he would fly to the gal he loved. If she spurned him, he would find ...

Eyewitness: March 1952 — The First Rock'n'Roll Concert

Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Q, February 1999

10,000 people smashed down the doors to get in, none of the bands were paid and one man was stabbed in the arse. After the ...

Geoff Muldaur: Nightstick: Geoff Muldaur

Profile by Kirk Silsbee, New Times Los Angeles, 4 February 1999

AN UNSUNG GIFT from a bygone era, the Jim Kweskin Jug Band had many things to recommend it: Kweskin's anachronistic, roughhouse vocals; Mel Lyman's stirring, ...

Roy Rogers & The Delta Rhythm Kings: Roy Rogers: King of the Console (Production, That Is)

Interview by Bill Wasserzieher, Blues Revue, March 1999

IT'S NIGHT TIME and a yellow moon is up over nearby Mexico. There are perhaps 20,000 people jammed into a cordoned off section of San ...

Luther Allison: Moonshine Blues: Luther Allison Revisited

Retrospective by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 29 March 1999

THE GREAT blues guitarist and singer Luther Allison once told me about an incident from his childhood that he carried as close to his heart ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan: Repackaging Stevie Ray Vaughan

Review by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 19 April 1999

YEAH, HE NEVER played alternative rock, and to him hip-hop was something the Easter bunny did. He also wore his influences like a neon suit. ...

Robert Cray, Lightnin' Hopkins, Robert Lockwood Jr., Robert Nighthawk: The Dirty Dozen: Twelve gritty new blues CDs

Review by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 7 June 1999

HERE'S MUD IN your ear: a dozen new or reissued blues albums that capture the gritty spirit of the music in a passel of different ...

Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green: Peter Green: The Man of the World Returns

Interview by Bill Wasserzieher, Blues Revue, July 1999

THERE IS A FILM from the late 1960s called The Hallucination Generation that purports to be, as the poster declared, the "Shocking Story of a ...

Backbeat — Earl Palmer's Story By Tony Scherman (Smithsonian Institution; 196 pages; $24.95)

Book Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 July 1999

Earl Palmer Laid Down the Rhythm of Rock 'n' Roll ...

Dr. John: Shepherd's Bush Empire, London

Live Review by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 7 August 1999

If it wasn't for the beard and white suit, you might mistake Dr John for the warm-up act. Tom Cox waits in vain for something ...

B.B. King: Waterfront Hall, Belfast

Live Review by Colin Harper, The Irish Times, 24 September 1999

CAREFULLY-PACED is the byword for the B.B. King show these days: he's 73, a little frail and vocally not as powerful as he once was. ...

Rick Holmstrom: Gonna Get Wild (Tone Cool)

Sleeve notes by Kirk Silsbee, Tone Cool, October 1999

IF YOU'VE partaken of the thriving blues scene in Los Angeles in the last 15 years, you've probably crossed paths with guitarist Rick Holmstrom. ...

Ben Harper at Byron Bay

Profile and Interview by Mark Mordue, Madison, November 1999

IT COULD BE the definition of what an artist does when he sets out to make something. ...

Ella Mae Morse, 1924-1999

Obituary by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, December 1999

ELLA MAE MORSE, whose 1942 hit 'Cow-Cow Boogie' became the first million selling disc for Capitol Records, died on October 16th at the Western Arizona ...

Herb Abramson, 1916-1999

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 3 December 1999

HERB ABRAMSON, who has died aged 82, was one of the architects of Atlantic Records, which in the 1950s and 60s was the most creative ...

B.B. King: Talk to the Boss: His Majesty Mr. King

Interview by Wayne Robins, Blues Access, Spring 1999

THE BLUE Note may be the most upscale of expensive jazz and blues clubs in New York and a major stop on the itinerary of ...

It Don’t Matter if You’re Dead … as Long as You’re Keepin’ the Blues Alive!

Report by Bill Wasserzieher, musicblitz.com, 2000

IT’S A HOT NIGHT in Memphis, the humidity thick enough for similes about wading neck-deep through steamy water, but inside the grand old Orpheum Theatre ...

Paul Butterfield's Better Days: Bearsville Anthology

Sleeve notes by Colin Escott, Rhino Bearsville, 2000

PAUL BUTTERFIELD was a legend long before he ever set foot in Woodstock. Perhaps the first authentic white voice in the blues, his legendary '60s ...

Otis Rush: Peoples is Peoples: The Otis Rush Interview

Interview by Kirk Silsbee, House of Blues Online, January 2000

THERE WERE three young guitarists in 1960s Chicago who moved the blues forward to new areas of expression: Buddy Guy, the late Magic Sam (Samuel ...

Don "Sugarcane" Harris, 1939-1999

Obituary by Dave Laing, The Guardian, 3 January 2000

THE JAZZ, BLUES and rock violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris, who has died of pulmonary illness aged 61, played on four of Frank Zappa's albums, including ...

Hall-of-Fame Hitter: Drummer Earl Palmer gets his due

Retrospective and Interview by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 31 January 2000

LIKE ANY GOOD GRANDFATHER, Earl Palmer has tried to find interests to share with his grandkids. So far, coin collecting has been a favorite. It's ...

Fred Ford, 1930-1999

Obituary by Andria Lisle, Living Blues, March 2000

FOLLOWING A STRUGGLE with cancer, legendary saxophonist Fred Ford died on November 26, 1999. He was 69. Ford, a pillar of the Memphis music community, ...

Screamin' Jay Hawkins: I Put A Spell On You: Bill Millar pays tribute to the late, great Screamin’ Jay Hawkins

Retrospective by Bill Millar, unpublished, March 2000

"WHY NOT BE at London Airport to welcome Jay?" That was the invitation in the late Roger Eagle’s R & B Scene. And so, on ...

Susan Tedeschi's Old-Fashioned Success Story

Profile and Interview by Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone, 2 March 2000

"YOU SAY you haven't been rocked in a long, long time/ And good hard rockin' is so hard to find."The opening lyrics to Susan Tedeschi's ...

Elvin Bishop, Little Smokey Smothers: Elvin Bishop and Little Smokey Smothers: Biscuits and Blues, San Francisco

Live Review by Jeff Calvin, Blues Revue, April 2000

THE STORY GOES that Elvin Bishop left a small town in Oklahoma for Chicago in the early '60s. Once there, drinking in the sounds and ...

Etta James, Johnny Otis: Johnny Otis on the early days of R&B

Retrospective and Interview by Jeff Calvin, Blues Revue, April 2000

IN ADDITION to the various musical hats he's worn over the past half-century, Johnny Otis is a painter, a sculptor, a conservationist, a businessman, a ...

Johnny Otis: The Complete Savoy Recordings (Savoy Jazz)

Review by Jeff Calvin, Blues Revue, April 2000

THIS THREE-CD set, which spans the years 1945 to 1951, marks Johnny Otis not just as a great bandleader and prescient talent finder, but as ...

Big Jack Johnson, Super Chikan: Delta Force: Big Jack Johnson and Super Chikan take Clarksdale on tour

Report and Interview by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 24 April 2000

IT WAS A Saturday night in Clarksdale, Mississippi. And blues were pumping through the door of the Rivermont, a low-ceilinged club tucked tight against the ...

Holy Toledo: The Hines Farm Blues Club

Retrospective by Paul Gorman, MOJO, May 2000

Midnight movers, Ohio players, Gypsy Angels and Atomic Pirates gathered at the Hines Farm juke joint. Paul Gorman pays a visit. ...

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Dr. John, Earl King, Jean Knight, Mighty Diamonds, The Neville Brothers, Professor Longhair, Robbie Robertson: Wardell Quezergue: Architect of the Sound

Profile and Interview by John Swenson, Offbeat, 1 May 2000

ON AN UNSEASONABLY warm December afternoon, Wardell Quezergue walks carefully into the Musicians Union meeting hall on Esplanade Avenue. ...

Peter Green: Now Play On…

Interview by Harry Shapiro, BluePrint, June 2000

"I've never been on a plantation but I have been on a kibbutz." Peter Green completes the Robert Johnson songbook, tours with John Mayall and ...

Larry Williams

Retrospective by Mick Farren, MOJO, July 2000

ON JANUARY 7, 1980, THE BODY OF LARRY WILLIAMS WAS FOUND lying in a pool of blood on the garage floor of his Laurel Canyon ...

Lonnie Johnson: The Unsung Blues Legend (Blues Magnet)

Review by Kirk Silsbee, New Times Los Angeles, 20 July 2000

SO THOROUGHLY has the myth of the hell-bound Mississippi Delta bluesman captured the public's imagination that it's narrowed the definition of just what constitutes a ...

Ali Farka Toure: Connections: Ali Farka Touré's Cross-Cultural Blues

Profile by Ted Drozdowski, The Boston Phoenix, 31 July 2000

THE BLUES CAME to America in chains, contained within the hearts of the enslaved people of Africa. Two hundred odd years later it went back, ...

Hubert Sumlin: Guinness Spot, Belfast Festival

Live Review by Colin Harper, unpublished, November 2000

HUBERT SUMLIN – best known as guitarist for the late Howlin' Wolf – is one of the bona fide legends of modern blues. At a ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble: SRV

Review by Joe Nick Patoski, Texas Monthly, November 2000

SRV BREAKS OUT of the gate with Little Stevie Vaughan before he was Stevie Ray. A member of Paul Ray and the Cobras, the kid's ...

Gregg Allman: Midnight Riders: Gregg Allman

Report and Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 9 November 2000

YOU WOULDN'T normally associate the phrase "jacket required" with a concert titled "Gregg Allman and Friends," but the gravelly-voiced singer and keyboardist hopes to find ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble: SRV

Review by J.D. Considine, Revolver, Winter 2000

CARLOS SANTANA was on British TV the other night, talking about those wondrous moments in a musician's life when conscious control dissolves and something just ...

Elvis Presley and the Impulse Towards Transculturation

Essay by Rob Bowman, Crawdaddy!, Spring 2000

ELVIS WAS A hero to most but he never meant shit to me/You see straight out racist the sucker was simple and plain/Motherfuck him and ...

Jimmy Reed, Emancipator of the South: An Oral History

Retrospective and Interview by Joe Nick Patoski, Blues Access, Summer 2000

IT BEGINS WITH the discovery of a black-and-white photograph dated 1961. The setting is Walker's Auditorium, a chitlin' circuit showcase for touring black musicians in ...

Amos Milburn

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 1 April 1926, Houston, Texas, USA, d. 13 January 1980, Houston ...

Big Maybelle

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Mabel Louise Smith, 1 May 1924, Jackson, Tennessee, USA, d. 23 January 1972 ...

Blind Willie McTell

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 5 May 1901, Thomson, Georgia, USA, d. 19 August 1959, Milledgeville, Georgia ...

Champion Jack Dupree

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. William Thomas Dupree, 4 July 1910, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, d. 21 January 1992 ...

Commander Cody

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, 'Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music', 2001

b. George Frayne, 19 July 1944, Boise, Idaho, USA ...

Dave Bartholomew

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 24 December 1920, Edgard, Louisiana, USA ...

Deford Bailey

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 1899, Carthage, Tennessee, USA, d. July 1982, Nashville, Tennessee ...

Earl Bostic

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 25 April 1913, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, d. 28 October 1965, Rochester, New York ...

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 18 December 1917, Houston, Texas, USA, d. 2 July 1988 ...

Furry Lewis

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Walter Lewis, 6 March 1893, Greenwood, Mississippi, USA, d. 14 September 1981, Memphis, Tennessee ...

J.B. Lenoir: J. B. Lenoir

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 5 March 1929, Monticello, Mississippi, USA, d. 29 April 1967, Urbana, Illinois ...

Johnnie Ray

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, 'Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music', 2001

b. John Alvin Ray, 10 January 1927, Dallas, Oregon, USA, d. 24 February 1990, Los Angeles ...

Johnny Ace

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. John Marshall Alexander Jnr, 9 June 1929, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, d. 23 December 1954, Houston, Texas ...

Johnny Copeland

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 27 March 1937, Haynesville, Louisiana, USA, d. 3 July 1997 ...

Josh White

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

September b. 11 February 1915, Greenville, South Carolina, USA, d. 5 1969, Manhasset, New York ...

Leadbelly

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Huddie Ledbetter, 29 January 1889, Mooringsport, Louisiana, USA, d. 6 December 1949, New York ...

Little Milton

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Milton Campbell, 7 September 1934, Inverness, Mississippi, USA ...

Lloyd Price

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 9 March 1933, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA ...

Louis Jordan

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 8 July 1908, Brinkley, Arkansas, USA, d. 4 February 1975, Los Angeles, California ...

Ma Rainey

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Gertrude Melissa Nix Pridgett, 26 April 1886, Columbus, Georgia, USA, d. 22 December 1939, Georgia ...

Magic Sam

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Samuel Maghett, 14 February 1937, Grenada, Mississippi, USA, d. 1 December 1969, Chicago, Illinois ...

Mance Lipscomb

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 9 April 1895, Navasota, Texas, USA, d. 30 January 1976, Navasota ...

Mose Allison

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 11 November 1927, Tippo, Mississippi, USA ...

Otis Rush

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 29 April 1934, Philadelphia, Mississippi, USA ...

Otis Spann

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 21 March 1930, Jackson, Mississippi, USA, d. 24 April 1970, Chicago, Illinois ...

Percy Mayfield

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 12 August 1920, Minden, Louisiana, USA, d. 11 August 1984, Los Angeles, California ...

Piano Red

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. William Lee Perryman, 19 October 1911, Hampton, Georgia, USA, d. 25 July 1985 ...

Roy Hamilton

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 16 April 1929, Leesburg, Georgia, USA, d. 20 July 1969 ...

Ruth Brown

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Ruth Weston, 30 January 1928, Portsmouth, Virginia, USA ...

Sleepy John Estes

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. John Adam Estes, 25 January 1899, Ripley, Tennessee, USA, d. 5 June 1977, Brownsville, Tennessee ...

Snooks Eaglin

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Fird Eaglin, 21 January 1936, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA ...

Sonny Boy Williamson I, Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller): Sonny Boy Willamson

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

Sonny Boy Williamson I, b. John Lee Williamson, 30 March 1914, Jackson, Tennessee, USA, d. 1 June 1948, Chicago, Illinois; Sonny Boy Williamson II, b. ...

Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry: Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

Brownie McGhee, b. Walter Brown McGhee, 30 November 1915, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, d. 16 February 1996, Oakland, California; Sonny Terry, b. Saunders Terrell, 24 October ...

Taj Mahal

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, 2001

b. Henry St Clair Fredericks, 17 May 1942, New York City, USA ...

Victoria Spivey

Book Excerpt by Phil Hardy, Dave Laing, The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music, 2001

b. 15 October 1906, Houston, Texas, USA, d. 3 October 1976, New York ...

Buddy Guy: A Bluesman for All Seasons

Profile and Interview by Bill Wasserzieher, Blues Revue, January 2001

FOR THE SOUTHERN rail traveler, The City of New Orleans runs from the Crescent City on the Gulf up through the Mississippi state capitol of ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan: SRV

Review by Tony Russell, MOJO, January 2001

Ten years after his death at 35, Vaughan's blues legacy is commemorated by four hours of his music on three CDs and a DVD. ...

Purple Prose From The Many Voices Of The Blues

Book Review by Charles Shaar Murray, The Independent, 12 February 2001

David Dalton: Been Here And Gone: A Memoir Of The Blues (Methuen, 386pp; £10.99) ...

B.B. King: Behind the B.B. King Box

Essay by John Broven, Blues & Rhythm, March 2001

The Ace Records 4-CD B.B. King box set The Vintage Years was released in June 2002. This is the story behind the production of this ...

Little Milton: Soul Survivor

Retrospective and Interview by Jeff Calvin, Blues Revue, March 2001

 THE LONG-DISTANCE call came on a spring day in 1965, from Chicago to the Lone Star State – from blues present to blues past. Leonard ...

Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield: Mike Bloomfield: Bloomfield's Doomed Field

Memoir by Al Kooper, Gadfly, March 2001

FOR SOME strange reason, we referred to each other by our "proper" names, Michael and Alan. To everyone else, it was Mike Bloomfield and Al ...

Chicken Shack: Stan Webb: What Can A Poor Boy Do?

Interview by Harry Shapiro, BluePrint, March 2001

Stan Webb has every right to be cynical about the music business and how the sharks in suits come on strong as your best friend ...

North Mississippi Allstars: Shake Hands with Cody: North Mississippi Allstars

Interview by Josh Rinkoff, Rock's Backpages, 7 April 2001

Josh Rinkoff meets one o’ the Dickinson boys ...

Rudy Ray Moore: 'I Ain't Lyin'!'...The Unexpurgated Truth about Rudy Ray Moore

Retrospective and Interview by Jerry Zolten, Living Blues, May 2001

2008 Prologue: RUDY RAY MOORE, a.k.a. "Dolemite," the "Godfather of Rap," the "World's Greatest X-Rated Comedian," and "Blaxploitation" filmmaker, passed away at age 81 in ...

Current 93: Invisible Jukebox: Current 93

Interview by Mike Barnes, The Wire, May 2001

Every month we play a musician a series of records which they're asked to identify and comment on — with no prior knowledge of what ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, R.L. Burnside, Reverend Gary Davis, Lightnin' Hopkins, Koko Taylor, Muddy Waters: Various Artists: Blues albums

Review by Ben Edmonds, Rolling Stone, 24 May 2001

A BOUNTY OF classic blues albums has recently become available on CD, fortified with bonus tracks and unissued material. ...

Charley Patton: The Definitive Charley Patton

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, MOJO, June 2001

THERE'S 'DEFINITIVE', and then there's definitive. This complete collection – 58 performances on three CDs – of the recorded works of Charley Patton certainly earns ...

John Lee Hooker: Goodbye Boogie Man

Obituary by Cleothus Hardcastle, Rock's Backpages, 23 June 2001

"Woke up this morning..." ...

Ike Turner: The Redemption Of Ike

Review and Interview by Andria Lisle, Stereotype, July 2001

ROCK AND BLUES trailblazer Ike Turner celebrates a new outlook, new album and his 50th year in music. ...

Ernie K-Doe obituary

Obituary by Dave Laing, The Guardian, 10 July 2001

IN 1961, into pop charts dominated by the likes of Elvis Presley, Connie Francis and Dion and the Belmonts came the novelty song, 'Mother-In-Law', whose ...

Dick Heckstall-Smith

Interview by Harry Shapiro, BluePrint, August 2001

Dick Heckstall-Smith: the unbearable lightness of being...or how one of the great unsung giants of jazz inspired a blues album, by Harry Shapiro ...

John Lee Hooker: The Boogie Man

Obituary by Charles Shaar Murray, MOJO, August 2001

JOHN LEE HOOKER DIED peacefully in his sleep on June 21, 2001, two months and one day short of what would have been his 84th ...

Andre Williams: Bait and Switch (Norton)

Review by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 24 August 2001

R & B LEGEND Andre Williams first achieved acclaim the mid-'50s on Detroit's Fortune Records with classics like 'Bacon Fat' and 'Jail Bait' on which ...

Boz Scaggs: The Boz is back

Interview by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 27 August 2001

The least driven man in rhythm and blues has somehow produced another album. Adam Sweeting gets the lowdown ...

Etta James: Matriarch Of The Blues

Review and Interview by Tony Russell, MOJO, September 2001

Magisterial readings of blues and soul classics from the folios of Otis Redding, Al Green, and O.V. Wright, with a dash of Dylan and a ...

Charley Patton, Skip James: The Spooky Blues Of Skip James

Comment by Michael Goldberg, Neumu, 20 October 2001

Mystical, otherworldly sounds from the '30s ...

Bob Dylan: Love and Theft

Review by Marc Weingarten, Slate, 25 October 2001

TO READ THE reviews of Bob Dylan's new album, Love and Theft, you would think the rock legend had returned to the salad days of ...

Charley Patton: Screamin’ and Hollerin’ the Blues (Revenant)

Review by David Dalton, MOJO, December 2001

HIS PEERS weren’t exactly trying to flatter him when they called him a rascal, a drunkard, a clown, a squabbler, a glutton, and hustler of ...

Dick Heckstall-Smith (2001)

Interview by Steve Roeser, Rock's Backpages audio, Spring 2001

Tenor-man Heckstall-Smith takes us on a trip through the Brit blues boom with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, Alexis Korner, Graham Bond and Cyril Davis, through to Colosseum.

File format: mp3; file size: 38.7mb, interview length: 42' 18" sound quality: * (phoner)

Jerry McCain: Absolutely the Best – The Complete Jewel Singles

Review by Andria Lisle, Oxford American, Summer 2001

BLUES HARMONICA fans beware: Jerry "Boogie" McCain's harp-blowing is anything but conventional, and this collection, featuring material cut a decade into his career, during the ...

John Lee Hooker: An Appreciation

Memoir by Peter Stone Brown, Gadfly, Summer 2001

JOHN LEE HOOKER'S death is tragic not so much for the loss of one of the greatest blues artists, but because there are so few ...

John Lee Hooker, Mississippi John Hurt: Mississippi John Hurt: Live/John Lee Hooker: Live at Newport (both Vanguard)

Review by Peter Stone Brown, Gadfly, 2002

EARLY IN 1963, two blues collectors, Tom Hoskins and Richard Spottswood, pulled into a town in Mississippi that wasn't on the map, called Avalon. ...

B.B. King: King Of The Road: On The Road With B.B. King In The Mid-1950s

Sleeve notes by John Broven, Ace Records, 2002

First published in the book accompanying the box set B.B. King: The Vintage Years (Ace Records), 2002. ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, ZZ Hill, Fern Kinney, Dorothy Moore, Johnnie Taylor: Malaco Records: The Last Soul Label

Report and Interview by Mike Atherton, Echoes, 2002

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, has been a music town for over half a century. In the early 1950s, Lillian McMurry's Trumpet label made Sonny Boy Williamson into ...

Mel Brown: Whaddya Mean You've Never Heard Of… Mel Brown?

Retrospective by James Maycock, MOJO, 2002

"WITH THE GUITAR outselling all other musical instruments today," declared a Down Beat editor confidently in 1967, "it's good to have Mel Brown around to ...

North Mississippi Allstars: North Mississippi All Stars: 51 Phantom (Tone-Cool)

Review by Andria Lisle, Living Blues, January 2002

EARLIER THIS YEAR, the North Mississippi All Stars received a nomination for a Grammy (Best Contemporary Blues Album), the LB Critics' Awards for Best Debut ...

R.L. Burnside: R. L. Burnside: Burnside On Burnside (Fat Possum)

Review by Andria Lisle, Living Blues, January 2002

IN THE LAST decade R.L. Burnside, the best-known purveyor of Mississippi hill country blues, has become almost an anti-hero of the blues scene. His label, ...

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown: The Lion in Winter: Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown

Interview by Bill Wasserzieher, Blues Revue, January 2002

IT IS 10:15 on a Saturday morning, and I am banging on a motel room door in San Juan Capistrano, having driven down from Los ...

No Doubt, P.O.D., Chuck E. Weiss: No Doubt: Rock Steady; P.O.D.: Satellite; Chuck E. Weiss: Old Souls & Wolf Tickets

Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 18 January 2002

California's No Doubt stay up with the pack, while P.O.D. have seen God. David Sinclair is awed ...

Lazy Lester: Blues Stop Knockin’

Review by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 24 January 2002

ONE OF THE LAST of that great fraternity of Excello bluesmen – and a throwback to the days when harp-blowers like Little Walter Jacobs, Jimy ...

Ike Turner: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 13 February 2002

IF YOU didn't know Ike Turner was 70 before this show, you certainly did within minutes of his swaggering entrance. ...

R&B's Good Times Roll on KLON

Report and Interview by Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 2 March 2002

The musical genre finally gets its day in the sun with an intimate and detailed documentary that's a coup of sorts for the lower-profile station. ...

North Mississippi Allstars: The North Mississippi Allstars: Irving Plaza, New York

Live Review by Kandia Crazy Horse, PopMatters, 22 March 2002

AT THIS POINT, going to witness the North Mississippi Allstars live in performance is somewhat akin to seeing god. Now a four-piece including guitarist/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist DuWayne ...

Dave Van Ronk: Folk's Missing Link

Retrospective by Gene Santoro, The Nation, 4 April 2002

I WAS IN HIGH school in the 1960s when I first saw Dave Van Ronk at the Gaslight, one of those little cellar clubs that ...

B.B. King (2002)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, July 2002

The Chairman of the Board of Blues Singers looks back at his early days in Memphis, and on the observational nature of his songs, and their universal subject matter.

File format: mp3; file size: 10mb, interview length: 10' 55" sound quality: ****

B.B. King (2002) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages transcripts, July 2002

This is a transcription of Barney's audio interview with B.B., conducted on a cold summer's evening in Liverpool. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Muddy Waters: Robert Gordon: Can't Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters (Jonathan Cape)

Review by Tim Clifford, Rock's Backpages, September 2002

MUDDY WATERS STANDING at a mike hollering "I’m a man", giving those three simple words a world of meaning – invitation, warning, primal statement and ...

W.C. Clark: From Austin With Soul

Profile and Interview by Jeff Calvin, Blues Revue, September 2002

A profile of Austin, TX bluesman W.C. Clark ...

The West Side Horns: West Side Horns: San Quilmas (Dialtone)

Review by Joe Nick Patoski, Austin Chronicle, 13 September 2002

WITHIN THE FIRST few bars of 'Rainbow Riot', the opening track of the West Side Horns' San Quilmas, three great revelations came to me while ...

Blues Explosion

Retrospective by Paul Gorman, MOJO, October 2002

FOR MANY A PUNK CHANCER, CRED comes with claims of attending the Sex Pistols' brace of gigs at Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall in the ...

Joe Bonamassa, The Derek Trucks Band: Joe Bonamassa: So, It's Like That/Derek Trucks Band: Joyful Noise

Review by Ted Drozdowski, Guitar World, October 2002

THE BLUES NEEDS a new messiah, a musician who can prove the style's vitality by exploding it across the barriers of age, culture and taste, ...

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Elvis Presley: Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup: Rock Me Mama: 22 Original Hits By The Godfather Of Rock & Roll

Sleeve notes by Colin Escott, Bluebird/RCA, 2003

"DOWN IN TUPELO," Elvis Presley famously remarked in June 1956, "I used to hear old Arthur Crudup bang his box the way I do now, ...

Ray Charles: 10 Questions for Ray Charles

Interview by Bill DeMain, MOJO, January 2003

Meeting Nat Cole, crafting genius songs on the spot and tips on sartorial cool. Bill DeMain gets the word from the emperor of soul. ...

Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper, Stephen Stills: Bloomfield/Kooper/Stills: Rock's First Supergroup?

Retrospective by Bill Wasserzieher, ICE, January 2003

MIKE BLOOMFIELD, Al Kooper and Stephen Stills were between gigs at the time they recorded Super Session for Columbia Records in 1968, with Bloomfield having ...

John Sinclair: Invisible Jukebox: John Sinclair

Interview by Edwin Pouncey, The Wire, January 2003

John Sinclair — poet, journalist and former manager of 60s revolutionary rockers The MC5 — was born in Flint, Michigan in 1941. His father worked ...

Roy Gaines: Backside of the Blues: Roy Gaines at the Chalkboard

Interview by Kirk Silsbee, Senior Life, March 2003

IF EDUCATORS WERE to design a college course on the history of the blues, they could do a lot worse than study Roy Gaines. ...

Joe Louis Walker Is A Regular

Profile and Interview by Jeff Calvin, Blues Revue, May 2003

"THEY HAVE THIS saying," explains Joe Louis Walker. "While we're making plans, God's laughing." ...

Joe "King" Carrasco, Ernie Durawa, Delbert McClinton, Doug Sahm: Designated Drummer: The Guru of Groove, Ernie Durawa

Retrospective and Interview by Bill Bentley, Austin Chronicle, 23 May 2003

DESIGNATED DRUMMER. IF YOU'RE GOING to hang a tag on the able shoulders of Ernesto "Ernie" Durawa, that would be the one. For almost 50 ...

Buddy Guy, Blues Singer

Interview by Ted Drozdowski, Guitar World Acoustic, June 2003

"WHEN I FIRST heard of the electric guitar, I thought somebody was bullshittin' me," says George "Buddy" Guy. "We lived so far in the country ...

Cassandra Wilson

Preview by John Lewis, Programme notes for gig at Barbican Hall, 13 July 2003

CASSANDRA WILSON's voice can startle you the first time you hear it. It's down, deep and bassy, almost androgynous, with a hint of menace that ...

B.B. King: Reflections

Review by Bill Wasserzieher, Blues Revue, August 2003

B.B. KING ALREADY had a career dating back 20 years - first playing to chitlin circuit audiences and then at the Fillmores and other psychedelic ...

Bonnie Raitt: Last Night A Record Changed My Life - Bonnie Raitt on Blues At Newport - Recorded Live At The Newport Folk Festival 1964

Memoir by Phil Sutcliffe, MOJO, August 2003

Tracks and artists: Mississippi John Hurt: Candy Man/Coffee Blues/Stagolee. Brownie McGhee: Long Gone/Key To The Highway. Rev. Gary Davis: Samson And Delilah/I Won't Be Back ...

Ten Years After

Retrospective and Interview by Hugh Fielder, Classic Rock, August 2003

Woodstock made Ten Years After into world stars, but instead of capitalising on their new-found fame they lost the plot. ...

ZZ Top: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 3 August 2003

IT WAS A STROKE of genius, when you think about it. Call it the Clive Dunn Factor, if you will. When Billy Gibbons and Dusty ...

The Blasters: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Gavin Martin, Uncut, October 2003

TONIGHT, DAVE ALVIN looks like a man out to settle an old score. With his gunslinger necktie and low-slung guitar, he fires off endless streams ...

James "Blood" Ulmer: James Blood Ulmer: No Escape From the Blues

Interview by John Swenson, Offbeat, 1 November 2003

THE SEPTEMBER release of James Blood Ulmer’s No Escape From the Blues: The Electric Lady Sessions is a milestone event in this centennial Year of ...

Cryin' the Blues

Overview by Charles Shaar Murray, Observer Music Monthly, 16 November 2003

In September 2002, the US Congress officially designated 2003 as 'The Year Of The Blues.' Why this year of all years? ...

Omar & the Howlers: Omar: Last of the Miss'ippi Howlers

Interview by Bill Wasserzieher, Southland Blues, December 2003

TOO BAD "road warrior" has been done to death as a descriptor for every long-haul job-wrangler on Earth because it works so well for musicians, ...

Charley Patton: Paramount Records and the Blues Twilight Zone

Report by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, December 2003

DISCOVERIES MAGAZINE in the USA has called it "the single most significant blues music related discovery – ever. It is so deep and vast there ...

Memphis Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson: Memphis Slim & Sonny Boy Williamson: Live In Europe

Sleeve notes by Bill Wasserzieher, Reelin' in the Years/Hip-O/Experience Hendrix DVD, 2004

MEMPHIS SLIM AND Sonny Boy Williamson - even their names, their performing aliases, have a bigger-than-life aura. And though both passed away decades ago, time ...

Buddy Guy Brings It All Back Home

Report and Interview by Bill Wasserzieher, Blues Revue, January 2004

LEGEND HAS IT that when novelist William Faulkner, who sometimes did hack work in Hollywood, was writing the screenplay for Land of the Pharaohs, he ...

Robert Johnson: Elijah Wald: Escaping the Delta - Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues

Book Review by Anthony Heilbut, Los Angeles Times Book Review, January 2004

WHOSE BLUES is it anyway? On his first trip to the Mississippi Delta, Elijah Wald found himself performing a Robert Johnson song at the Mt. ...

Howlin' Wolf: The Howlin' Wolf Story

Film/DVD/TV Review by j. poet, Paste, 23 January 2004

THE DEBATE ABOUT precisely when the blues became rock'n'roll will go on forever, but the footage of The Howlin' Wolf Story makes a good case ...

Eric Clapton, Howlin' Wolf, Hubert Sumlin: Talkin' 'Bout A Spoonful: Hubert Sumlin, Eric Clapton and the evolution of blues guitar

Essay by Adam Blake, Cosmik Debris, 22 February 2004

FOR THE RECORD, I would like to state that my favourite bluesmen are Sonny Boy (Aleck 'Rice' Miller) Williamson and Professor Longhair, neither of whom ...

Keb' Mo' Shakes the Roots

Profile and Interview by Wayne Robins, The Bergen Record, March 2004

FREE ASSOCIATION test for the musically informed: I say "Keb' Mo'", you say "blues". And that's the right answer, to a certain degree. ...

Elijah Wald: Escaping The Delta: Robert Johnson And The Invention Of The Blues

Book Review by Tony Russell, New Humanist, May 2004

FOR A MUSIC that has always been resolutely secular, the blues has attracted a remarkable crowd of hierarchs and hierophants. Scholars, musicians, record collectors and ...

Eric Clapton, Dogs Die In Hot Cars: Eric Clapton: Royal Abert Hall, London

Live Review by Simon Price, The Independent, 9 May 2004

WOKE UP this morning, got those "I'm going to see Eric Clapton" blues. Said I woke up this morning, and… OK, let's be honest. For ...

Taj Mahal: A Living Edifice To The Blues

Live Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 10 June 2004

Taj Mahal/Tinariwen, Barbican, London **** ...

Ray Charles, 1930-2004

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 12 June 2004

DURING THE 1960S, a generation of teenagers discovered America's hidden music of black blues, gospel and soul, and many of them promptly fissured into followings ...

Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page: Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page: The Guv'nors

Interview by Charles Shaar Murray, MOJO, August 2004

"Big loud chords, fuck-off guitar sound — we started it all. GOOD MORNING!" chimes Jeff Beck. "Now it's time to do something new and unexpected!" ...

George Thorogood & the Destroyers: Raiders of the Lost Axe

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, September 2004

Bluesman George Thorogood is celebrating 30 years of 12-bar brilliance with a new Best Of… and a global tour. He talks to Terry Staunton. ...

Jimmy Reed: At Carnegie Hall (Fidelity)

Review by Jeff Calvin, Blues Revue, September 2004

WHILE THIS IS a most welcome reissue for several reasons, it probably would have been good to note somewhere on the package that this is ...

Los Lobos: The Ride

Review by Joe Nick Patoski, Harp, September 2004

WHEN IT COMES to defining American music over the past quarter century, no band comes close to Los Lobos. ...

Ray Charles: I Believe to My Soul

Essay by Dave Marsh, Harp, September 2004

One of these days, and it won't be longYou gonna look for me, and I'll be gone ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The Butterfield Blues Band: The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw/In My Own Dream

Review by Barney Hoskyns, Uncut, September 2004

THE 1967 departure of BB Band axedude Mike Bloomfield provided fellow Windy City man Elvin Bishop with the chance to come in and revamp Paul ...

Jimbo Mathus, Squirrel Nut Zippers: Jimbo Mathus Is No Longer a Squirrel Nutter

Profile and Interview by Bill Wasserzieher, Blues Revue, October 2004

"JIMBO MATHUS is a link in what I call the 'crazy Mississippi white boy' chain of music that goes all the way back through Elvis ...

Rail Good Lesson in the Blues

Report by Michael Gray, Daily Telegraph, 24 October 2004

Michael Gray follows the trail of some great American musicians who moved from the rural South in the early 1900s. ...

Robert Johnson: Elijah Wald: Escaping The Delta; Tim Brooks: Lost Sounds; Ned Sublette: Cuba And Its Music

Book Review by Eric Weisbard, The New York Times Book Review, 31 October 2004

THE IMAGE OF the bluesman Robert Johnson standing at a crossroads in the Mississippi Delta, selling his soul to play guitar as though he had ...

Big Joe Turner: Shout Rattle & Roll (Proper)

Review by Neil Slaven, Proper Records, 2005

ROMANTICS CALLED it "The Paris Of The Plains" but no one ever decided which arrondissement of France's capital Kansas City actually resembled. The red light ...

Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green: Fleetwood Mac: The Making of Then Play On

Retrospective and Interview by Toby Manning, unpublished, 2005

IN 1969, FLEETWOOD Mac's prime mover had begun acting very strangely. First of all this East End Jew found Jesus, and began trying to convert ...

Robert Johnson: Travelling Riverside Blues (Clarksdale, Mississippi)

Book Excerpt by Graham Reid, Random House, 2005

Travelling Riverside Blues is a chapter in Graham Reid's Postcards From Elsewhere collection of travel stories (Random House) and is available through his website: www.elsewhere.co.nz ...

Al Kooper: Al’s Big Deal/Unclaimed Freight

Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, February 2005

Unsung hero's anthology of solo work and collaborations ...

Samuel Charters: Bluesthink

Report and Interview by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 18 February 2005

THE FIRST TIME Samuel Charters came to Memphis, it was in the fall of 1956. "I bought a car for a hundred and fifty bucks ...

Janiva Magness: Company at the Crossroads: Blues Singer Janiva Magness Makes Life's Journeys A Little Less Lonely

Report and Interview by Kirk Silsbee, LA CityBeat, 24 February 2005

THE BAR AT THE RITZ-CARLTON in South Pasadena has hand-rubbed wood on the walls and a copious amount of plush sofas and chairs. Bookcases ...

Ray Charles: O-Genio: Live In Brazil 1963

Film/DVD/TV Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, March 2005

AFTER LAST YEAR'S duets album became the best-selling release of his career, coupled with the Oscar buzz surrounding the new biopic, it was inevitable that ...

Spencer Davis Group: Gimme Some Lovin' – Live 1966 (MVD)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Bill Wasserzieher, ICE, 22 March 2005

FOR DECADES, Spencer Davis has taken heat for having named his British Invasion band the Spencer Davis Group. One critic likened it to calling the ...

Cream: Royal Albert Hall, London, 5 May 2005

Live Review by Richard English, Rock's Backpages, May 2005

THIRTY SEVEN YEARS ago my Mum wouldn't let me go to the Cream Farewell Concert. She didn't want me to mix with all those ...

Alvin Youngbood Hart: Alvin Youngblood Hart: His Way

Profile and Interview by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 20 July 2005

Ignoring the "blues Nazis", Alvin Youngblood Hart patches rock, blues, and country into a musical crazy quilt. ...

The White Stripes: The Truth In Red And White: The White Stripes' Romanticised Reality

Comment by Stevie Chick, The Stranger, 4 August 2005

"I SAW THIS documentary about a classical guitarist," Jack White told me recently. "He was playing Bach and Mozart, these really ridiculously complicated pieces, but ...

North Mississippi Allstars: In the Footprints of Giants

Review by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 7 September 2005

The North Mississippi Allstars salute hill-country blues as the culture loses a titan. ...

Mose Allison: Mose And His Muse

Profile and Interview by j. poet, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 October 2005

MOSE ALLISON can be summed up in two words – Mose Allison. ...

Stefan Grossman, Danny Kalb: Danny Kalb and Stefan Grossman: Crosscurrents

Review by Bill Wasserzieher, ICE, 22 November 2005

AL KOOPER WAS surely the ultimate "super session-er" in the late 1960s – all those star turns with Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, ...

Dion: The Wanderer Walks with the Blues

Interview by Gene Sculatti, ICE, Winter 2005

IT'S A SHAME that, these days, a singer this good needs a qualifier. Until the arrival of Celine, there was only one Dion — Dion ...

North Mississippi Allstars: The Real Deal

Interview by Bill Wasserzieher, Blues Revue, Spring 2005

EVEN GOOD BANDS play bad shows. Equipment malfunctions, guitars don't stay in tune, somebody has a cold or a hellacious hangover. Maybe the vibe is ...

R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Mississippi Fred McDowell, North Mississippi Allstars: North Mississippi Hill Country Blues

Overview by John Sinclair, Honest Tune, Spring 2005

WHEN YOU hear the word "blues" you're bound to think of Mississippi. The phrase "Mississippi blues" leads at once to thoughts of Clarksdale and Greenwood ...

Booker T & The MGs, Booker T. Jones: Booker T. Jones (2006) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Joel Selvin, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 2006

This is a transcript of Joel's radio interview with the great M.G.s mainmain. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Buddy Guy: Can't Quit The Blues **** ½

Review by Jeff Tamarkin, AllMusic.com, 2006

LEGEND STATUS CAME LATE to Buddy Guy, so it shouldn't be surprising that this is the first box set devoted to the blues giant's work. ...

Freddie King, Howard Tate: Freddie King and Howard Tate are the Soul of Gospel and Blues

Report by Kirk Silsbee, Pasadena Weekly, 16 February 2006

TOO OFTEN we're reminded that soul – the fundament of black gospel and blues—is fast slipping away from us.  Losing Wilson Pickett and Lou Rawls in ...

Saffire – The Uppity Blues Women: Deluxe Edition

Review by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 24 March 2006

IF YOU BUY only one acoustic blues album this year, why not a best-of from a self-affirming trio of feisty females? ...

Dion: Bronx in Blue (DMR)

Review by Larry Jaffee, The Audiophile Voice, April 2006

IN 2000, CAPITOL Records' imprint The Right Stuff released King of the New York Streets, which it deemed the "Ultimate Dion Collection", comprising 65 tracks ...

Otis Rush: All Your Love I Miss Loving – Live at the Wise Fools Pub, Chicago

Review by John Morthland, No Depression, 30 April 2006

FOR A VARIETY of reasons, ranging from producer/label interference to his own notorious mood swings, Otis Rush has probably made fewer great recordings than any ...

Blues In The Bottle: American Vernacular Music and the Medicine Show

Book Review by Tony Russell, Catalyst, May 2006

A review of the compilation Good For What Ails You: Music of the Medicine Shows, 1926-1937 (Old Hat Records) ...

This Be an Empty World Without the Blues – So Clifford Antone filled it

Retrospective by Bill Bentley, Austin Chronicle, 26 May 2006

THE FIRST TIME I met Clifford Antone, he sold me a sandwich. He had opened a shop on Guadalupe, right around the corner from the ...

Obituaries: Mercury Records' Irving Green, co-founder, and Art Talmadge, first vice president

Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, August 2006

BY PURE COINCIDENCE, two founding members of the first management team of Mercury Records have died within weeks of each other: Irving Green, co-founder and ...

Bonnie Raitt: Red Hot Mama

Profile by Jason Gross, Creative Loafing, 3 August 2006

ARE THERE ANY active old-school divas that we can still look up to? Cher? Retired. Tina Turner? Retired. Barbara Streisand? Her too. Joni Mitchell? Yep. ...

Marvin Sease: Candy Licker – The Sex And Soul Of Marvin Sease

Review by John Morthland, No Depression, 31 August 2006

YOU'VE PROBABLY never heard of Marvin Sease, but from 'Candy Licker' in 1986 until 2005, he was the only artist in the contemporary southern soul-blues ...

Clifford Antone: 1949-2006

Obituary by Bill Wasserzieher, Blues Revue, October 2006

CLIFFORD ANTONE liked to say he was "the blues in Austin." He was and then some. From 1975, when he opened his namesake club, until ...

Fleetwood Mac: The Return of Jeremy Spencer

Interview by Bill Wasserzieher, Blues Revue, October 2006

This the complete interview with (ex-Fleetwood Mac) Jeremy Spencer. The edited version will be published by Blues Revue in October 2006 ...

North Mississippi Allstars: South Toward Home

Report and Interview by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 12 October 2006

When the Allstars come home and play blues all night long, it's a family tradition. ...

Screamin' Jay Hawkins: The Whamee 1953-55 (Rev-Ola)

Review by Lois Wilson, MOJO, November 2006

Born bad: early recordings for Grand, Mercury, Wing, Timely and Gotham. ...

Goin' to Kansas City

Report and Interview by Kirk Silsbee, LA CityBeat, 3 November 2006

FLYING INTO Kansas City, Missouri, you see a huge patchwork landscape of eccentric green and brown shapes that is farmland acreage. These are both separated ...

Johnny Winter: After A Long Drought, Winter Blows Into Town

Interview by Fred Shuster, Los Angeles Daily News, 10 November 2006

THE CALL comes just before midnight on election night — a Texas accent thick as T-bone steak and as lived-in as the frets on T-Bone ...

Gnarls Barkley, Jonny Lang, John Legend, Robin Thicke: The Nu Sincerity

Guide by Kandia Crazy Horse, San Francisco Bay Guardian, 12 December 2006

JAMES TAYLOR'S early-'70s status as the king of sensitive male vocalists is mere VH1 countdown fodder now. Yet in 2006, more than a few male ...

Ahmet Ertegun

Obituary by Adam Sweeting, Richard Williams, The Guardian, 16 December 2006

A mogul who nurtured the careers of stars such as Ray Charles, Led Zeppelin, Aretha Franklin and Dusty Springfield ...

The Artwoods: Art Wood: An interview

Interview by Alan Clayson, Record Collector, 2007

Alan Clayson summarises the late R&B vocalist's career and conducts the final interview with him. ...

Joan Armatrading: Into The Blues (429 Records)

Review by Jeff Tamarkin, AllMusic.com, 2007

RECORDING Into The Blues, writes Joan Armatrading on the back sleeve of her first-ever blues album, "has given me so much pleasure," and that pleasure ...

The Holmes Brothers, Coco Montoya, Vesta Williams: The Holmes Brothers: State of Grace/Coco Montoya: Dirty Deal/Vesta Williams: Distant Lover

Review by Carol Cooper, The Village Voice, 29 January 2007

WHEN LED ZEP covered Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie's 'When the Levee Breaks', they thought they were making "rock 'n' roll." When the Pointer Sisters ...

Ray Charles: Ahmet Ertegun, 1923-2006

Obituary by Andy Gill, The Word, February 2007

AS MUSIC BUSINESS people go, Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun was a giant amongst pygmies, a mover and shaker whose colossal impact on the course ...

Robert Lockwood Jr.: Remembering Robert Lockwood Jr.

Obituary by Bill Wasserzieher, Blues Revue, February 2007

WHEN ROBERT LOCKWOOD JR. passed away at age 91 on Nov. 21, the obituaries in the major daily press made much of his connection to ...

Joe Boyd: The Music Man

Report and Interview by Andria Lisle, Memphis Flyer, 15 February 2007

Legendary producer Joe Boyd hits Memphis. ...

Junior Wells: Live At Theresa's 1975

Review by John Morthland, No Depression, 28 February 2007

IN A SENSE, blues harpist Junior Wells wanted across-the-board stardom so bad after he left Muddy Waters to go solo that it undermined his music, ...

Ruthie Foster: The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster

Review by Geoffrey Himes, The Washington Post, 30 March 2007

WHEN RUTHIE FOSTER performed at the South by Southwest Music Conference two weeks ago, the short, dreadlocked singer demanded attention with the sheer power of ...

Koko Taylor: Old School

Review by John Morthland, No Depression, 30 April 2007

SEVEN YEARS SINCE her last album, three and a half years after a life-threatening illness, Koko Taylor comes roaring back with an album meant to ...

Blind Willie McTell: Michael Gray: Hand Me My Travelin' Shoes: In Search of Blind Willie McTell (Bloomsbury)

Book Review by Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph, 17 August 2007

AS MICHAEL Gray makes clear from the outset, Blind Willie McTell confounds every popular stereotype of the southern blues man. McTell was no "roaring primitive, ...

Maria Muldaur: Sweet and Sassy, Bawdy and Blue

Profile and Interview by Kirk Silsbee, Detroit Metro Times, 29 August 2007

WHEN SINGER Maria Muldaur takes the stage at this week's Detroit Jazz Festival, it will be a culmination of a chain of events that run ...

Various Artists: Vee-Jay – The Definitive Collection

Review by John Morthland, No Depression, 31 August 2007

VEE-JAY RECORDS of Chicago was not the first successful black-owned label – Duke-Peacock of Houston stakes a better claim to that title – but until ...

Ike Turner

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Record Collector, September 2007

FUNNY HOW things change. A little over a decade ago, Ike Turner was rock'n'roll's terminal pariah. Damned by 1993's What's Love Got To Do With ...

Elvin Bishop: An Interview with Elvin Bishop

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 13 September 2007

HOW DO YOU write a blues song? Elvin Bishop, a founding member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band before launching a successful solo career, is ...

Eric Clapton: The Autobiography (Century)

Book Review by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 14 October 2007

IT IS HARD to believe that the first book to spill the beans on Eric Clapton should arrive more than 40 years after the graffitied ...

John Hammond

Profile and Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, November 2007

TOM WAITS owes it all to his wife, Kathleen Brennan. The one-time raggedy man and barfly, a sartorial amalgam of Frank Sinatra's Capitol covers, Be-Bop ...

Gov't Mule: Guitar wizard Haynes leads Gov't Mule to Fillmore

Report by Fred Shuster, Los Angeles Daily News, 9 November 2007

BLUES GUITAR that doesn't insult the intelligence is a dying art these days, but some, like Warren Haynes of Gov't Mule and the Allman Brothers, ...

Eric Clapton, Guns N' Roses, Joy Division, Slash: Music books: the most debauched tales of rock'n'roll excess

Book Review by Ben Thompson, The Independent, 16 December 2007

HOW BETTER to salve the pangs of remorse induced by a season of over-indulgence than by voraciously consuming the reminiscences of those whose lifestyles make ...

Bill Wyman: "I can't live off the Stones royalties"

Interview by Robert Sandall, Daily Telegraph, 10 January 2008

BILL WYMAN IS sitting in a booth at the back of his Sticky Fingers restaurant cuddling a beautiful young girl called Matilda. ...

Clyde Otis 1924-2008

Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, February 2008

CLYDE OTIS died on January 8, 2008, in Englewood Hospital, New Jersey at the age of 83. He was famous amongst NDT readers for writing ...

Ike Turner: Trouble Man

Memoir by Andria Lisle, MOJO, March 2008

Demonised during his lifetime, Ike Turner left a musical legacy that matched his fearsome reputation. Andria Lisle, a former associate, pays her respects to one ...

Seymour Stein: Shellac in My Veins

Retrospective and Interview by Jason Cohen, Cincinatti Magazine, March 2008

A New York City record man recalls his dearest mentor. ...

The Black Crowes: Warpaint

Review by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 26 March 2008

ON THEIR FIRST studio release since re-­forming in 2005, the Black Crowes show how a little time off from each other can work wonders. ...

John Lurie, Marvin Pontiac: Behind the Legend of the Legendary Marvin Pontiac: A Conversation with John Lurie

Retrospective and Interview by Wayne Robins, eMusic.com, 21 April 2008

BILLED AS THE posthumous music of a wilfully obscure musician named Marvin Pontiac, The Legendary Marvin Pontiac: Greatest Hits package came with a photo purported ...

James Hunter

Interview by Graham Reid, Elsewhere, June 2008

AT 46, JAMES Hunter from Colchester in Essex is an overnight soul-singing sensation who took a couple of decades to get to where he is. ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, Simply Red: Mick Hucknall meets Bobby "Blue" Bland

Interview by Andria Lisle, MOJO, June 2008

He revolutionised soul in the early '60s, sings like an angel in anguish, and has influenced everyone from Otis Redding to Van Morrison. Now Bobby ...

Bo Diddley

Obituary by Adam Sweeting, The Guardian, 2 June 2008

American pioneer of rock'n'roll who influenced the Beatles and the Rolling Stones ...

Bo Diddley and the Beat Surrender

Retrospective by Andy Gill, The Independent, 6 June 2008

Bo Diddley has shuffled off, but his trademark rhythm, and his part in the creation of rock'n'roll, will remain. ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, Simply Red: Mick Hucknall: From Red To Blue

Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, July 2008

As the multi-million-selling figurehead of Simply Red, Mick Hucknall found himself in a creative cul-de-sac. On his debut solo album, a tribute to his idol ...

Bo Diddley: Bo Meets The Maker

Obituary by Neil Slaven, Blues & Rhythm, August 2008

Neil Slaven turns up the volume as his hero refuses to go quietly into the night. ...

Solomon Burke, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Buddy Guy, Al Kooper, Steve Winwood: Eric Clapton: The Return of God

Profile and Interview by Bud Scoppa, Uncut, September 2008

To the faithful, Eric Clapton's guitar playing has always been sacred. But in 2008, from a Blind Faith reunion to a host of blazing session ...

Jimmy McCracklin: The Mercury Recordings

Review by Neil Slaven, Blues & Rhythm, September 2008

WHEN CHRIS BENTLEY reviewed this set's first appearance in Blues & Rhythm fifteen years ago, his enthusiasm for one of his favourite artists was tempered ...

Nappy Brown, 1929-2008

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 26 September 2008

1950s blues and R&B singer resurgent in the 80s and last year. ...

Jerry Wexler: Appreciating Jerry Wexler, the Supreme Atlantic Record Man

Memoir by John Broven, Now Dig This, October 2008

AS SOON AS Jerry Wexler's death was announced on August 15, 2008, daily newspapers and rock magazines had their already-written obituaries ready to go in ...

Robert Johnson: The Death of Robert Johnson

Book Excerpt by Tom Graves, DeMers Books, October 2008

Excerpt from the book Crossroads: The Life and Afterlife of Blues Legend Robert Johnson (DeMers Books) ...

Seasick Steve: I Started Out With Nothing And I Still Got Most Of It Left


Review by Mick Middles, The Quietus, 6 October 2008

ORGANIC TO the foot of every blue soaked note. Here we meet the real deal. 40 years in a hobo hell (well, mostly) this 60-something ...

Washboard Sam: She Belongs To The Devil

Review by Neil Slaven, Blues & Rhythm, November 2008

IF YOU WANTED the complete Washboard Sam, you'd be looking at seven CDs (DOCD-5171-7) but they wouldn't tell you any more about the artist than ...

Fleetwood Mac, Mick Fleetwood: Mick Fleetwood in Blue Hawaii

Interview by Kris Needs, Record Collector, December 2008

On the eve of a UK tour, Fleetwood Mac's "spiritual father"' Mick Fleetwood talks to Kris Needs about his new blues band and rediscovering his ...

Ike & Tina Turner: Sing The Blues

Review by Steve LaBate, Paste, 4 December 2008

Embattled husband-and-wife duo's last independent-label recordings ...

Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James, Muddy Waters: Hoochie Coochie Men: Cadillac Records (dir. Darnell Martin)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Bill Holdship, Metro Times, 10 December 2008

Hollywood's version of the Chess Records story combines the best and worst of the classic rock 'n' roll biopic ...

Led Zeppelin: Down the Tracks: The Music That Influenced Led Zeppelin (dir. Stephen Gammond)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 6 January 2009

EVEN THE MOST naïve and surface Led Zeppelin listener tell you at least that they were influenced "by the blues." But this insightful and surprisingly ...

Cyril Davies, The Rolling Stones: The Rolling Stones at the Ricky-Tick, January 1963

Memoir by John Pidgeon, Rock's Backpages, April 2009

THE FIRST TIME I hear Cyril Davies blow his harmonica is January 1963 at Leo's Jazz Club in Windsor. As I approach, shoulders hunched against ...

Sunny War: Songstress-Musician Sunny War

Profile and Interview by Michael Simmons, L.A. Weekly, 15 July 2009

ON THE TINY YouTube screen is a close-up of a diminutive black woman who looks about 12 but is, in the video, 16. Her hair's ...

Alexis Korner, Blues Incorporated, Cyril Davies: Blues Incorporated: How British R&B Trashed Trad

Retrospective by John Pidgeon, Rock's Backpages, 24 September 2009

ALEXIS KORNER'S Parisian birthplace, Austro-Greek parentage, noble features and languid growl endowed him with an aura of exoticism unreflected in his musical partner Cyril "Squirrel" ...

Chris Barber: Father of British R&B

Retrospective by John Pidgeon, Rock's Backpages, 28 September 2009

BY 1963, EVERYONE I knew had a TV. Two black-and-white channels: the one that was on and "the other side". So when the Rolling Stones ...

Dr. Feelgood: Dr Feelgood: Oil City Rockers

Retrospective and Interview by Nick Hasted, Uncut, October 2009

A fierce, gritty riposte to early-'7Os excess, Dr Feelgood weren't just trailblazers for punk but, fleetingly, the biggest band in England. With a new Julien ...

Blues Incorporated, The Rolling Stones: More British R&B: The Stones Start, Blues Incorporated Stumble

Retrospective and Interview by John Pidgeon, Rock's Backpages, 2 October 2009

THE FIRST PUBLIC appearance of what would one day be touted as "the greatest rock and roll band in the world" was hardly headline news, ...

Jim Dickinson: "I'm Just Dead: I'm Not Gone"

Memoir by Bob Mehr, MOJO, November 2009

A Sun Records artist who played with Dylan, the Stones and Aretha and produced key albums by Big Star and Ry Cooder, Jim Dickinson was ...

The Blues Band, Paul Jones, Manfred Mann: Paul Jones

Retrospective and Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, November 2009

SELDOM HAS the descriptive shorthand "long-awaited" been more apposite than in the case of Starting All Over Again, a rare Paul Jones solo album released ...

Seasick Steve: Man From Another Time

Review and Interview by Andrew Mueller, Uncut, November 2009

More hobo blues, ruthlessly pared on fourth LP. ...

Valerie June, Whispering Pines: In the Whispering Pines

Report by Kandia Crazy Horse, San Francisco Bay Guardian, 25 February 2010

THIS IS THE YEAR when your scribing cowgirl returns wholly to the barn — or at least the fabled Cabin-in-the-Pines where folks used to pick, ...

Various Artists: Gastonia Gallop – Cotton Mill Songs & Hillbilly Blues

Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, March 2010

Piedmont Textile Workers On Record, Gaston County, North Carolina 1927–1931 ...

Tom Jones: Why Applause Is The Greatest Drug Of All

Interview by Julian Marszalek, The Quietus, 13 May 2010

Living legend and Wales' finest son talks exclusively to Julian Marszalek about his life, work and loves... and why a round of applause and a ...

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Dirty Shirt Rock'n'Roll

Review by Julian Marszalek, The Quietus, 19 May 2010

THE JON SPENCER Blues Explosion? Well, it's all kinda … ...

Delbert McClinton: Tarrytown Music Hall, New York

Live Review by Kris DiLorenzo, Rock's Backpages, 21 May 2010

IT'S BEEN A WAAAY too long time, but I'd be stupidly remiss if I didn't rave about Delbert McClinton's show at the Tarrytown Music Hall ...

Bobby Charles: 'See You Later Alligator': Bobby Charles and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll in South Louisiana, with Harry Simoneaux

Retrospective and Interview by John Broven, Now Dig This, July 2010

WHEN BOBBY Charles recorded 'Later Alligator' for Chess at Cosimo Matassa's J. & M. Studio in New Orleans in autumn 1955, he was not only ...

The Black Keys: The Ongoing Adventures Of Two Complete Knuckleheads

Interview by Johnny Black, R2/Rock'n'Reel, July 2010

"WE DIDN'T KNOW what the hell we were doing," laughs the Black Keys' frontman Dan Auerbach, in a not entirely successful attempt to sum up ...

The Black Keys: "It's ridiculous to say that we play the blues"

Report and Interview by Andrew Purcell, The Guardian, 9 July 2010

FOR EIGHT MONTHS NOW, since the end of a relationship, the Black Keys drummer Pat Carney has been living in New York's Lower East Side. ...

Little Axe: From blues to hip-hop and back

Interview by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 15 July 2010

SKIP MCDONALD was playing a gig in Portugal, billed as just him and guitar. A fair portion of the audience had seen the billing and ...

The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmie Vaughan: Beacon Blues: Jimmie Vaughan's Lifelong Song

Retrospective and Interview by Bill Bentley, Austin Chronicle, 16 July 2010

THE ONE KNITE was an oasis of soul. The room was a little box, sitting at the corner of Red River and Eighth Street. Cut ...

Dave Bartholomew, Fats Domino: Dave Bartholomew

Sleeve notes by Bob Fisher, unpublished, August 2010

AUTHOR'S NOTE: In 2010, I put together a 4-CD box set for JSP Records which was never actually released. Year later, I produced a new ...

Dave Bartholomew

Sleeve notes by Bob Fisher, unpublished, August 2010

ON CHRISTMAS EVE 2016, Dave Bartholomew celebrated his 98th birthday and over 65 years as a professional musician. ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: For Members Only: Bobby Bland on Malaco

Sleeve notes by Barney Hoskyns, Malaco Records, October 2010

TWENTY-FIVE years ago, searching for the extant spirit of southern soul, I made my way to a former Pepsi-Cola warehouse in a decidedly unlovely industrial ...

Blazers, the: The Blazers: East Side Soul

Sleeve notes by Don Snowden, New Rounder, 5 October 2010

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA – the first weekend of March, 1995. Mudslides wiped out nine homes in a town near Ventura while OJ trial junkies debated the ...

James Booker, Alison Krauss, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss: Various Artists: 40 Years Of Rounder Records

Review by Kate Mossman, The Word, January 2011

Now in new hands, Rounder Records looks back after four decades of progressive signings in country, blues and folk. ...

Woody Guthrie, Burl Ives, Leadbelly, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Muddy Waters: John Szwed: The Man Who Recorded the World – A Biography of Alan Lomax

Book Review by Richard Williams, The Guardian, 8 January 2011

Richard Williams hails the man who devoted his life to recording the songs and soundscapes of America and beyond. ...

Leadbelly: John Szwed: The Man Who Recorded the World – A Biography of Alan Lomax

Book Review by Richard Williams, The Guardian, 8 January 2011

Richard Williams hails the man who devoted his life to recording the songs and soundscapes of America and beyond. ...

Captain Beefheart: Booglarized Wonderland

Memoir by Mike Barnes, The Wire, February 2011

IN EVERY PERSON'S experience of listening to music come certain crucial challenges in learning how to actually hear. ...

Gregg Allman: Low Country Blues

Review by Andy Gill, The Word, February 2011

T-Bone Burnett brings Gregg Allman back from the brink with a blues injection. It's the best solo album he's ever made. ...

Obituary: Bobby Robinson, Harlem record man

Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, February 2011

MORGAN CLYDE "Bobby" Robinson, the longtime Harlem record man and record shop owner, died on January 7, 2011, at the grand age of 93 while ...

Mick Taylor, Ronnie Wood: Saving the 100 Club

Report and Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, MOJO, February 2011

"RONNIE WOOD was one of the first musicians I ever met," says Mick Taylor, seated deep in the murk of the 100 Club. "The Cherry ...

Junior Kimbrough, Ali Farka Toure: African Connections

Comment by Don Snowden, Rock's Backpages, 16 February 2011

LISTENING TO Junior Kimbrough again recently brought it all back home—how much that guitar tone had nagged and nagged at me, so damn familiar you ...

Belated Props: Arhoolie Records at 50

Comment by Don Snowden, Rock's Backpages, 20 March 2011

DON'T IT FIGURE that Arhoolie's 50th anniversary just happened to overlap with the publication of John Szwed's biography of Alan Lomax? An unfortunate but appropriate ...

Raphael Saadiq: Stone Rollin'

Review by Lloyd Bradley, bbc.co.uk, 25 March 2011

Vintage touches and modern twists combine on an irrepressible soul record. ...

Robert Johnson: The Very Last Fair Deal Gone Down? A preview of the "ultimate" Robert Johnson reissue package

Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, May 2011

ONE HUNDRED years ago, on 8th May, 1911, Robert Johnson was born – so expect to read a lot about Po' Bob, especially in the ...

Robert Johnson: The Centennial Collection

Review by Andy Gill, The Word, June 2011

Robert Johnson used a variety of tricks to hide his remarkable technique from copyists, even dancing while he played. ...

The Coasters: Carl Gardner, 1928-2011

Obituary by Dave Laing, The Guardian, 13 June 2011

Singer and founding member of the R&B hitmakers the Coasters. ...

Benny Spellman: New Orleans R&B stalwart Benny Spellman

Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, July 2011

BENNY SPELLMAN, the New Orleans R&B singer, died of respiratory failure on June 3, 2011, in Pensacola, Fla., at the age of 79. He was ...

Rory Gallagher: Blues for the Muse

Retrospective by Charles Shaar Murray, The Word, July 2011

A lost studio album is out – by Rory Gallagher, the man who put all he had into his music and took nothing back in ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Charles Farley: Soul of the Man – Bobby "Blue" Bland

Book Review by Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph, 22 July 2011

I HAVE TWO REASONS to vividly remember the first occasion I saw Bobby "Blue" Bland perform in a Los Angeles nightclub 35 years ago. ...

David "Honeyboy" Edwards, 1915-2011

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 30 August 2011

Blues singer and guitarist with an enthralling style, he played with Robert Johnson. ...

Chris Rea: Santo Spirito Blues

Review by Luke Turner, bbc.co.uk, September 2011

As blues homage this can't be faulted, but Rea doesn't allow his great voice to shine. ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: The Old Steady: Soul Of The Man: Bobby "Blue" Bland by Charles Farley (University Press of Mississippi)

Book Review by Andy Gill, The Word, September 2011

FORGET JAMES BROWN: the hardest working man in show business is surely bluesman Bobby "Blue" Bland, who played over 300 shows per year, for decades ...

The Tedeschi Trucks Band

Profile and Interview by Holly Gleason, Relix, 9 September 2011

TWO JUBILANT kids are dancing amid a gaggle of homegrown hippie girls in the wings of the Savannah Civic Center in Georgia. The Civic has ...

The Coasters, The Drifters, Ben E. King, Big Mama Thornton: Jerry Leiber, 1933-2011

Obituary by David Hepworth, The Word, October 2011

The man who made "15-minute radio plays" into hits. ...

Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings – The Centennial Collection

Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, October 2011

THIS IS THE complete Robert Johnson on one double CD – the lot, all 42 Robert Johnson recordings – including all thirteen alternate takes plus ...

Howlin' Wolf, Hubert Sumlin: Hubert Sumlin, 1931-2011

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 5 December 2011

Revered blues guitarist who combined musically with Howlin' Wolf "like gasoline and a lit match" ...

Gregg Allman: Low Country Blues

Review by Larry Jaffee, Audiophile Review, Fall 2011

BEFORE YOU EVEN HEAR a note, the coupling of Gregg Allman produced by T-Bone Burnett seems like a match made in heaven. ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Two Steps From The Blues (Soul Jam)

Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, 2012

WHEN BOBBY BLAND'S debut LP Two Steps From The Blues crept out over here on Vogue in the early '60s, one reviewer, whether through bitchiness, ...

Johnny Otis, 1921-2012

Obituary by Kirk Silsbee, L.A. Weekly, 19 January 2012

BANDLEADER, drummer/pianist, talent scout, club owner, broadcaster, recording executive, writer, and recording artist Johnny Otis passed away Jan. 17 at the age of 90 in ...

The Black Keys: Black Keys: Keys to the Kingdom

Interview by Andy Gill, Uncut, February 2012

How an unassuming garage blues duo from Akron became the biggest new rock band of the decade. With a little help from Danger Mouse, two ...

Various Artists: 100 Years Of The Blues (Universal)

Review by Mike Atherton, Echoes, February 2012

BLUES HAS BEEN an integral part of popular music for decades, and this new 4CD set celebrates its birth, its growth and its ever-widening influence. ...

Etta James 1938-2012

Obituary by David Hepworth, The Word, March 2012

JOHNNY OTIS was relaxing in his San Francisco hotel room one afternoon in 1954 when his manager called from the lobby and said he was ...

Jack White: What's Jack White made of?

Comment by Kate Mossman, New Statesman, 2 May 2012

White never stops working and everything he works with turns to gold. ...

Buddy Guy on his autobiography

Interview by Alan Light, MSN.com, June 2012

"A LOT OF people have the blues and don't even know they got it," says Buddy Guy. "But just keep living and you'll figure out ...

Freddie King

Retrospective by Ted Drozdowski, Guitar World, August 2012

NOTE: This is an expanded version of a piece that was in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame's induction program in 2012: the lengthier ...

Robert Plant: How I got my "big voice" out again

Report and Interview by Paul Sexton, Daily Telegraph, 22 August 2012

ROBERT PLANT stands on a small stage 4,500 miles from his birthplace, and yet he's never been so close to home. ...

Kid Koala: 12 Bit Blues

Review by Stevie Chick, bbc.co.uk, September 2012

Canadian turntablist goes to meet the devil down by the crossroads. ...

Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds: Got Dem Ol' Home Counties Blues Again, Mama: How the Surrey Delta shaped British rock from the early Stones to Led Zeppelin

Retrospective by Barney Hoskyns, The Times, 3 September 2012

RIPLEY... EPSOM... WALLINGTON. The names hardly resonate in the way that Clarksdale or Greenville or Natchez do. Yet in their way these Surrey towns are ...

ZZ Top: La Futura

Review by James Hunter, Rolling Stone, 22 September 2012

IN THE 1970s, ZZ Top broke through with a regional sound – simmering Texas blues – and then, in the next decade, reimagined their sound ...

The Black Keys, ZZ Top: Billy Gibbons and Dan Auerbach

Interview by Ted Drozdowski, Guitar World, October 2012

MISSISSIPPI FRED McDowell's haunted, woody voice sails through the air as the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach nurses a cup of coffee and flips through a ...

The Black Keys, Lightnin' Hopkins, ZZ Top: When Lightnin' Strikes: Billy Gibbons and Dan Auerbach talk Lightnin' Hopkins

Interview by Ted Drozdowski, Guitar World, October 2012

BILLY GIBBONS AND Dan Auerbach are standing shoulder to shoulder on Easy Eye Studio's checkerboard floor, trading lazy blues licks through a battered old Gibson ...

Tav Falco's Panther Burns: Tav Falco: Talking with a Panther

Retrospective and Interview by Kris Needs, Record Collector, 6 October 2012

FEW FIGURES to emerge from post-punk's anarchic musical battle-boudoir have charted such an intensely idiosyncratic or enigmatic path as Tav Falco, a.k.a. Panther Burns. Roaring ...

Mickey Baker, 1925-2012

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 2 December 2012

Versatile American guitarist who had a million-selling hit with 'Love Is Strange' ...

Jimmy McCracklin, 1921-2012

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 28 December 2012

Versatile blues singer and songwriter whose compositions included 'Tramp', recorded by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas. ...

Elmore James: How Elmore James Invented Metal

Retrospective by John Morthland, Wondering Sound, 25 January 2013

ELMORE JAMES is often demeaned as a one-trick pony — or, in his case, a one lick pony. That would be the swooping, stinging slide ...

Etta James

Retrospective by Lois Wilson, MOJO, February 2013

Abandoned as a child, addicted as an adult, Etta James lived a life punctuated by self-destruction and "wrong-headed men". Then came redemption. As the first ...

Magic Slim, 1937-2013

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 24 February 2013

Singer and guitarist considered an icon of Chicago blues ...

Alvin Lee: Finally Going Home: Alvin Lee

Interview by Roy Trakin, Rock's Backpages, March 2013

This tribute piece is based on an interview conducted on the release of Alvin's 2012 album Still on the Road to Freedom, a sequel of ...

Allman Brothers Band, Eric Clapton, Booker T. Jones, John Mayer, Keith Richards: Crossroads Guitar Festival: Madison Square Garden, New York

Live Review by Alan Light, MSN.com, April 2013

Two nights. Nine-and-a-half hours. Thirty-three guitar players (more or less). Ninety-one songs. ...

Mud Morganfield: Blues scion stands up at last

Interview by Lois Wilson, MOJO, April 2013

"LIFE WAS ROUGH," says Mud Morganfield, the 57-year-old blues singer and son of Muddy Waters. "Pop left us when I was seven, we were poor, ...

Mike Bloomfield, Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Rolling Stones: Born in Chicago: Butterfield, Bloomfield & the Sixties' Young Turks

Comment by Gene Sculatti, Rock's Backpages, 18 April 2013

IS IT JUST ME? Or has anyone else who's seen the PBS special Muddy Waters and the Rolling Stones Live found the whole affair cringe-worthy ...

Bonnie Raitt interview

Profile and Interview by Rob Hughes, Daily Telegraph, 6 June 2013

SOMETIMES, JUST sometimes, the good ones win out. Ask Bonnie Raitt. In a career now into its fifth decade, and which once appeared to be ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland dies at 83

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 24 June 2013

BOBBY "BLUE" BLAND, who has died aged 83, was among the great storytellers of blues and soul music. In songs such as 'I Pity the ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Caught by the Reaper: Bobby "Blue" Bland, 1930-2013

Obituary by Tim Tooher, Caught by the River, 26 June 2013

FIRST GEORGE JONES, and now Bobby "Blue" Bland. If Billie Holiday were still alive, she'd be feeling very nervous right now. Jones and Bland were ...

T-Model Ford: obituary

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 19 July 2013

Mississippi blues guitarist who captivated audiences with his hypnotic playing and random storytelling ...

The Rising Sons: Scions of the Times: Rising Sons Featuring Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder

Retrospective and Interview by Paul Trynka, MOJO, August 2013

Doubly slept-on in the annals of the unlauded, two guitar masters' fleeting fusion of ancient and modern. ...

Valerie June: Dingwalls, London

Live Review by Lois Wilson, MOJO, August 2013

Memphis singer follows the gravelled road to Camden Lock. ...

Lloyd Price: Good Lawdy: Rock'N'Roll Pioneer Lloyd Price, At 80, Tells How a Classic R&B Hit Changed America

Profile and Interview by Wayne Robins, Billboard, 14 September 2013

NOTE: This is an unedited version of the Billboard article that appeared on 14 September, 2013. ...

Howlin' Wolf's London Sessions

Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blues, November 2013

NOW REVERED AS a lynchpin moment in the history of the blues, Howlin' Wolf's 1970 London Sessions with a superstar assemblage of England's rock royalty, ...

The Birth Of The Blues and The Myth Of Authenticity

Essay by Mick Gold, Rock's Backpages, November 2013

Film-maker Mick Gold on the blues, authenticity and Blues America – broadcast by BBC4 on Friday 29 November and Friday 6 December at 9pm. ...

Fats Domino

Retrospective by David Burke, Vintage Rock, Spring 2013

WHEN HURRICANE KATRINA devastated New Orleans in 2005, resulting in the deaths of some 1,833 people and causing property damage estimated at £1,300 billion, a ...

Steve Miller (2014) [transcript]

Audio transcript of interview by Holger Petersen, Rock's Backpages transcripts, 2014

This is a transcript of Holger's audio interview with Steve. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...

Eric Bibb

Interview by David Burke, R2/Rock'n'Reel, January 2014

DR JOY DEGRUY coined the term Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome to describe the multi-generational trauma experienced by African Americans as a consequence of slavery. In ...

Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green: Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac

Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blues, January 2014

PETER GREEN IS, arguably, the most underrated lead guitarist of the British mid-'60s blues boom, consistently relegated to a position somewhere below the holy triumverate ...

Fleetwood Mac: Then play on

Retrospective and Interview by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, March 2014

British blues band Fleetwood Mac rose to fame on the strength of Peter Green's playing and writing. Their success as an Anglo-American AOR act is ...

Reverend Gary Davis, Brownie McGhee, Cousin Joe Pleasants, Sonny Terry, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Muddy Waters: The Folk Blues and Gospel Caravan, 1964

Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blues, April 2014

LEGEND HOLDS that on October 22, 1962, a van set out from London, headed north. In that van were Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian ...

Steve Miller (2014)

Interview by Holger Petersen, Rock's Backpages audio, 6 April 2014

From a childhood with Les Paul and T-Bone Walker as family friends, through to his recent Bingo! album, Miller looks back at his career: his first bands at school; the revelation that was Paul Butterfield, and his own involvement in the Chicago blues scene; San Francisco, the Haight and the Fillmore; legendary bluesmen such as John Lee Hooker and James Cotton; hitting big with The Joker; and the death of dear friend Norton Buffalo.

File format: mp3; file size: 46mb, interview length: 50' 15" sound quality: *****

Mike Bloomfield: Michael Bloomfield: From His Head to His Heart to His Hands (Columbia/Legacy)

Review by Will Hermes, Rolling Stone, 13 April 2014

Anthology captures the titanic legacy of the late talent who inspired Clapton, Dylan and more. ...

Bill Medley: Still Having the Time of His Life

Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 22 April 2014

BILL MEDLEY IS speaking to Rocks Off from the back of a car somewhere on the streets of New York City, on the way to ...

The Black Keys: Turn Blue (Nonesuch)

Review and Interview by Bud Scoppa, Uncut, June 2014

Following the triumph of El Camino, Auerbach, Carney & Danger Mouse roll the dice, play it where it lays.  ...

Joe Bonamassa: He remembers opening for BB King in 1989

Memoir by Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph, 26 September 2014

The guitarist recalls supporting the King of Blues at just twelve years old ...

Art Laboe, 1925-2022

Book Excerpt by Harvey Kubernik, 'Turn Up The Radio! Pop!' (Santa Monica Press), October 2014

NO ONE IN the history of Los Angeles radio did more to promote the music throughout Southern California – and indeed, the world – than ...

Dr. John: Welcome to the Big Easy

Retrospective and Interview by Michael Simmons, MOJO, October 2014

FROM HIS 1968 DEBUT ONWARDS, THE MUSIC OF DR. JOHN HAS BEEN MARINADED IN THE PSYCHEDELIC VOODOO OF NEW ORLEANS. NOW, WITH A TRIBUTE TO ...

Paul Butterfield Blues Band: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band

Essay by Bill Bentley, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, December 2014

THE PAUL BUTTERFIELD Blues Band rocketed the blues straight into the stratosphere. One of the first integrated blues bands with mass appeal, the Paul Butterfield ...

Bloodstone, David Bowie, Chicken Shack, Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall, Rocky Sharpe & the Replays, Mike Vernon: Mike Vernon: Beyond the Blue Horizon

Retrospective and Interview by Alan Clayson, unpublished, 2015

If known chiefly as a blues paladin, Mike Vernon plunged headfirst into many other – often unexpected – musical waters. Alan Clayson investigates. ...

Canned Heat: The badass blues band that death couldn't kill

Retrospective and Interview by Max Bell, Classic Rock, January 2015

PICTURE THE SCENE: April 4, 1981, outside the World Famous Palomino Club in North Hollywood. The members of Canned Heat and their friends are smoking ...

Cyril Davies

Retrospective by Kris Needs, Record Collector, January 2015

"It is interesting to look back to the birth of the British blues scene when one man pioneered a sound that was to give incentive ...

Benjamin Booker, DD Dumbo, Rag'N'Bone Man, Ike Turner: "A little punk, a little jazz, a little shoegaze": Meet the new blues

Report and Interview by Laura Barton, The Guardian, 1 January 2015

From the spirituals of the deep south to the White Stripes, it's a music that has constantly reimagined itself. But is anyone really ready for ...

Studebaker John Keeps It Raw

Interview by Kirk Silsbee, Glendale News-Press, 12 March 2015

EPIPHANIES can be spurred by the most unlikely occurrences, and that can certainly hold true for practitioners of the blues. ...

Leadbelly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection

Review by Lois Wilson, MOJO, May 2015

The last word on the convicted killer and extraordinary musician who shaped the future of white music. ...

The Rolling Stones: Norman Jopling: Shake It Up Baby! Notes From A Pop Music Reporter 1961-1972

Book Review by Mark Paytress, MOJO, May 2015

ON MAY 8,1963, an issue of New Record Mirror hit the London streets with a lead story that had enormous unforeseen consequences. ...

Blind Boy Fuller: Piedmont Blues' Notorious B.I.G.

Retrospective by Geoffrey Himes, American Songwriter, 13 May 2015

WHERE DID the Rolling Stones get the title for their 1970 live album, Get Yer Ya-Yas Out? From Blind Boy Fuller's 1938 single of the ...

B.B. King, 1925-2015

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 15 May 2015

Self-deprecating but with a magisterial stage presence, King developed a style that was both innovative and rooted in blues history. ...

Jimi Hendrix and the Birth of Heavy Blues

Retrospective by Johnny Black, Blues, July 2015

LIKE ALL THE great overnight sensations, Jimi Hendrix took years to get off the ground. His was a long road to fame, from the little ...

Little Richard: Directly From My Heart – The Best Of The Specialty & Vee-Jay Years

Review by Bud Scoppa, Uncut, July 2015

Richard & Bumps had a baby and they called it rock'n'roll... ...

Susan Tedeschi's "Wheels of Soul" Speed On to Houston

Report and Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 9 July 2015

DURING THE SUMMER months, audiences in recent years are used to seeing multi-act package tours, especially of the classic-rock and '80s vintage. The format allows ...

Doug Sahm: Joe Nick Patoski on Doug Sahm

Interview by Stephen K. Peeples, stephenkpeeples.com, 25 July 2015

Totally true tall tales from Texas about Biblical floods, Doug Sahm, Texas music, Texas Tornados, rednecks, cowboys, hippies, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Huey P. Meaux, ...

B.B. King: The Making of B.B. King in London

Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Blues, August 2015

AFTER FIFTEEN years as the undisputed King Of The Blues, B.B. King's career seemed to have sailed into some kind of doldrums when the '60s ...

B.B. King: Vinyl Icon: B.B. King's Live at the Regal

Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Hi-Fi News & Record Review, August 2015

ON NOVEMBER 21, 1964 Chicago's historic Regal Theater became the recording location for B.B. King's incendiary in-concert album Live at the Regal, which would not ...

Blick Bassy: "I want to expose the dangers of the immigration dream"

Interview by Laura Barton, The Guardian, 9 September 2015

The Cameroonian singer-songwriter draws on figures from Miles Davis to African freedom fighters to produce his soulful, melodic sound — but it wasn't until he ...

Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones: Black and Blue: Keith Richards interviewed

Interview by Julian Marszalek, The Quietus, 16 September 2015

Julian Marszalek meets the Rolling Stones guitarist and living legend to talk race, drugs and persistence. ...

Elvis Presley: Elvis and Black Music

Retrospective by David Burke, Vintage Rock, October 2015

SO THE STORY goes that Elvis stole black music, exploited the influences he absorbed while growing up on the blurred edges of the coloured line ...

David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Hubert Sumlin, Mike Vernon: New Horizons: Mike Vernon (Part One)

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Hughes, Classic Rock, December 2015

WITHOUT PRODUCER and label boss Mike Vernon, the history of British blues would look very different. In the first part of a feature charting his ...

Howlin' Wolf, Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich: Peter Guralnick: New Bio Finally Gives Rock and Roll Architect Sam Phillips His Due

Report and Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 29 December 2015

WELL, AS Guralnick clarifies shortly into his foreword, if Sam Phillips didn't exactly "invent" rock and roll, he at least discovered it. Or so it ...

The Blues Project, The Lovin' Spoonful: How the Lovin' Spoonful and the Blues Project Electrified New York City

Retrospective by Mitchell Cohen, Music Aficionado, 2016

THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL were NYC's Beatles. Lillian Roxon, in her indispensable Rock Encyclopedia, called them "our own little moptops, born, bred and raised right here ...

Johnny Otis, Pete "Guitar" Lewis, T-Bone Walker: Various Artists: Masters Of West Coast Guitar 1946-1956

Sleeve notes by Neil Slaven, JSP Records, 2016

THE ROUTE TO the West Coast guitar skills so influential in the development of blues-and rock-guitar is a well-travelled one that can't avoid its well-spring, ...

Professor Longhair: Live In Chicago

Review by Michael Simmons, MOJO, January 2016

Previously unreleased live set of the New Orleans R&B pianist at his best. ...

Joe Bonamassa: Blues Of Desperation

Review by Hugh Fielder, Classic Rock, March 2016

THE INDEFATIGABLE Joe Bonamassa shows no sign of easing up any time soon. The past four years have seen him involved in a dozen releases. ...

Bonnie Raitt: Dig In Deep

Review by Holly Gleason, Paste, 4 March 2016

BONNIE RAITT HAS ALWAYS BEEN a pilot light, powering hard love, broken love, lost love and yes, unrequited love. In the valley of the unfulfilled ...

Eric Clapton: I Still Do

Review by Hugh Fielder, loudersound.com, 13 May 2016

WHILE HIS live albums have maintained a remarkable degree of consistency and professionalism, Eric Clapton's studio albums have sometimes wavered in comparison. Essentially, Clapton needs ...

Robert Finley: At 63, Louisiana bluesman Robert Finley living musical dream

Profile and Interview by Bob Mehr, The Commercial Appeal, 29 September 2016

Sixty-three year old singer Robert Finley marks the release of his debut album with a show at Lafayette's Music Room on Oct. 6. ...

Mose Allison: Who Is... Mose Allison?

Retrospective by Geoffrey Himes, Music Aficionado, October 2016

THE LEGENDARY British organ player Georgie Fame once described his hero Mose Allison as "the jazz version of Bob Dylan." When an interviewer asked Fame's ...

Seasick Steve: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Ian Gittins, The Observer, 16 October 2016

The artist may have been a session musician rather than a hobo, but only a harsh critic would deny that he has the blues. ...

Nina Simone: What happened, Miss Simone?

Film/DVD/TV Review by Richard Williams, Uncut, November 2016

The often harrowing life and times of a musical and political force. ...

Rag'n'Bone Man: Electric, Brixton

Live Review by John Aizlewood, The Evening Standard, 25 November 2016

FAR FROM slender, festooned with tattoos which suggest he's spent the past few years at her majesty's pleasure, the wrong side of 30 and blessed ...

Colin Blunstone, Jack Bruce, Al Kooper, Tracy Nelson, Michael Nesmith, Paul Revere & The Raiders, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, Ringo Starr, Bob Weir, Zal Yanovsky: What happened when these '60s artists decided to go solo?

Retrospective by Mitchell Cohen, Music Aficionado, 2017

GOING SOLO IS an ancient musical tradition. Probably there was a Gregorian monk whose yearning for the spotlight made him think, "I can do this ...

Manfred Mann: Why Manfred Mann Is the Most Underappreciated Group of the British Invasion

Retrospective by Mitchell Cohen, Music Aficionado, January 2017

MANFRED MANN were one of only two British groups to have a #1 single in 1964 without a Lennon-McCartney song. They were endorsed by Bob ...

Big Mama Thornton: Big Mama's Blues

Retrospective by David Burke, Vintage Rock, November 2017

BIG MAMA THORNTON – alias Willie Mae Thornton – knew how it worked. Like her black R&B contemporaries, male and female (but especially female), she ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Talking Blues: Bobby Bland in 1973

Interview by Dan Nooger, Record Collector, December 2017

Bobby Bland was one of the most beloved blues (and soul) singers of the '60s and '70s, an influence on rock vocalists from Rod Stewart ...

Robert Finley

Retrospective and Interview by Lois Wilson, MOJO, January 2018

"IT NEVER FELT like it was going to be a life-changing moment," says Robert Finley. "It was just an ordinary Saturday morning, and I was ...

Cliff White 1945-2018

Obituary by Bill Millar, Now Dig This, March 2018

Bill Millar raises a glass to the well-known and highly respected record industry veteran, long-time R&B, rock 'n' roll, soul and blues fan who passed ...

Dan Auerbach:"I don't think I'm that much of a control freak any more..."

Interview by Jaan Uhelszki, Uncut, May 2018

Musician, label boss, entrepreneur, empire builder... Will the real Dan Auerbach please stand up? As Jaan Uhelszki joins Auerbach and his Easy Eye Sound crew ...

Tav Falco's Panther Burns: Tav Falco

Book Excerpt by Robert Gordon, 'Memphis Rent Party' (Bloomsbury), June 2018

TAV LOOKED at me and said, "Our show was great. We cleared the room." A pal of mine was at the smallish San Francisco club ...

Billy Gibbons, ZZ Top: Billy Gibbons: The Songfacts Interview

Interview by Carl Wiser, Songfacts, 31 August 2018

Billy Gibbons on his solo album The Big Bad Blues, the hidden gem in the ZZ Top catalog, and how he feels about having a ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, Shemekia Copeland, Charley Crockett, Anderson East, Sam Lewis, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, The War and Treaty: Tracing the Influence of Bobby "Blue" Bland in Americana

Report and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Nashville Scene, 6 September 2018

A look at new work by Nathaniel Rateliff, Anderson East, Shemekia Copeland and other artists playing AmericanaFest ...

Otis Rush: 1935-2018

Obituary by Ted Drozdowski, Premier Guitar, 1 October 2018

FOR GUITARISTS, seeing Otis Rush in peak form was like grabbing a lightning rod as it was struck. ...

James Booker: Real genius

Essay by Geoffrey Himes, American Songwriter, November 2018

MANY NEW ORLEANS pianists are better known — Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Harry Con- nick Jr., Professor Longhair, Fats Domino and Art Neville — but those ...

The Rolling Stones, Ronnie Wood: Ronnie Wood: "These men were dangerous…"

Interview by Henry Yates, Classic Rock, November 2018

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my original version, as submitted to the magazine. ...

Van Morrison: The Prophet Speaks

Review by Stevie Chick, Metro, 4 December 2018

NOVEMBER MARKED the 50th anniversary of Van Morrison's masterpiece, Astral Weeks, but for the longest time, the artist formerly known as Van The Man might ...

Screamin' Jay Hawkins: Spellbound

Retrospective by David Burke, Vintage Rock, Summer 2018

FOR SOMEONE whose live performances involved climbing out of a coffin, it came as no surprise that Screamin' Jay Hawkins resurrected his career in the ...

Bessie Smith: How Bessie Smith Really Died

Book Excerpt by Tom Graves, 'White Boy' (Devault-Graves), 2019

THE LONGEST AND best job I had during the 1980s not long after I got my college degree was as the copywriter for a major ...

Buddy Guy, Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich: Take The Music Seriously: An Interview with Peter Guralnick, 20th August, 2009

Book Excerpt by Maud Berthomier, 'Encore Plus De Bruit' (Éditions Tristram), 2019

"Because in the end to me, even today, it's never entirely clear exactly what any interview is about. Sometimes, the most important thing in an ...

Les Fancourt and Bob McGrath: The Blues Discography 1943–1970 (Third Edition)

Book Excerpt by Tony Burke, Eyeball Productions, February 2019

WELCOME TO the expanded and revised third edition of The Blues Discography 1943–1970. It is now 50 years since Mike Leadbitter and Neil Slaven first ...

Lazy Lester, Lightnin' Slim, Slim Harpo: Randy Fox: Shake Your Hips – The Excello Records Story

Book Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, March 2019

FOR MANY UK blues fans, Mike Vernon's Blue Horizon Records opened the door to Excello Records. ...

Robert Johnson: Gayle Dean Wardlow and Bruce Conforth: Up Jumped The Devil – The Real Life of Robert Johnson (Chicago Review Press)

Book Review by Tony Burke, Morning Star, May 2019

THOUGH HE only made 40 recordings, US blues artist Robert Johnson's legacy has endured for over eight decades and his songs are now part of ...

Dr. John: Revisitation Rights: Some People Call Me "Professor Dr. John"

Retrospective by Don Snowden, Rock's Backpages, 21 June 2019

"SOME PEOPLE call me Professor Dr. John…" No, that doesn't work. ...

Black Sabbath: Jim Simpson with Ron Simpson: Don't Worry 'Bout The Bear – From the Blues To Jazz, Rock & Roll and Black Sabbath (Brewin Books)

Book Review by Tony Burke, Morning Star, 24 June 2019

BIG BEAR BOSS Jim Simpson holds a unique place in UK music business. A promoter, record producer, festival director, rock band manager and photographer, his ...

Tinariwen, Ali Farka Toure: Various Artists: The Rough Guide To Mali Blues

Review by Tony Burke, Morning Star, 8 July 2019

THE CONNECTION between blues music and the African continent and how African slaves carried their music to the Americas has been well documented for almost ...

Donnie Fritts, 1942-2019; Jimmy Johnson, 1943-2019; Larry "The Mole" Taylor, 1942-2019

Obituary by Tony Burke, Record Collector, November 2019

SINGER, SONGWRITER and piano player Donnie Fritts – a key member of the session musicians who shaped the sound of soul music recorded in Muscle ...

Hank Ballard and the Midnighters: Hank Ballard: A Simple Twist of Fate

Retrospective and Interview by David Burke, Vintage Rock, November 2019

Chubby Checker may have become synonymous with 'The Twist', but that didn't bother the song's composer. "It was a blessing for me," said Hank Ballard ...

The Animals, Manfred Mann, The Rolling Stones: The History of the Blues-Rock Press: Part 1

Retrospective by Don Armstrong, Music Journalism History, November 2019

Based on a series of posts published in Music Journalism History from November 9, 2019 to March 13, 2020. ...

Screamin' Jay Hawkins: Steve Bergsman: I Put A Spell On You – The Bizarre Life Of Screamin' Jay Hawkins (Feral House)

Book Review by Bill Wasserzieher, Ugly Things, Summer 2019

WHAT CAN BE said about the artist known as Screamin' Jay Hawkins? Perhaps that he did more to promote over-population than any other American, fathering ...

Various Artists: The Rough Guide To Country Blues/The Rough Guide To The Roots Of Country Music

Review by Tony Burke, Vintage Jazz Mart, Fall 2019

Two 25-track CD sets containing an excellent cross section of artists representing the best in 1920s and 1930s country blues and hillbilly music. ...

Big Bill Broonzy: The Midnight Special – Live in Nottingham, 1957

Sleeve notes by Larry Jaffee, ORG Music, 2020

IF BLUES LEGEND Big Bill Broonzy (1893-1958) plied his trade in the 21st century, he'd probably be an Uber driver. A gig-economy practitioner in his ...

Little Richard, Billy Vera: Billy Vera: Rip It Up – The Specialty Records Story

Book Review by Tony Burke, Record Collector, January 2020

ONE OF THE most important independent post-war record labels, Specialty is up there with Chess, Modern/RPM, King, and Atlantic. ...

John and Colin Mansfield: As You Were – The True Adventures Of The Ricky Tick Club

Book Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, February 2020

THE RICKY TICK Club has a permanent place in the development of British rhythm and blues and rock music. I can't recall any decent history ...

Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Howlin' Wolf: The History of the Blues-Rock Press: Part 2

Retrospective by Don Armstrong, Music Journalism History, March 2020

Based on a series of posts published in Music Journalism History from November 9, 2019 to March 13, 2020. ...

Fats Domino: The Return Of The Big Beat: Fats Domino's I've Been Around – The Complete Imperial and ABC Paramount Recordings (Bear Family)

Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, March 2020

WAY BACK IN Blues & Rhythm 85 (published in January 1994), Tony Watson – in a special feature on the original Fats Domino Bear Family ...

Count Basie: How Count Basie Brought Big Band Jazz Into the Atomic Age

Retrospective by Mitchell Cohen, Music Aficionado, April 2020

POST-WORLD WAR II America was a bleak period for the big-band business. It was the sound that accompanied the country during the Depression and through ...

Little Richard Is Everywhere

Retrospective by Jason King, Pitchfork, 11 May 2020

Remembering the undisputed architect of rock'n'roll ...

Peter Green: The End Of The Game (R.I.P.)

Memoir by Gary Lucas, Please Kill Me!, 3 August 2020

Peter Green, inheritor of Eric Clapton's spot in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and co-founder of Fleetwood Mac, was, said B.B. King, "the only guitarist who gives ...

Jimi Hendrix: Philip Norman: Wild Thing – The Short, Spellbinding Life of Jimi Hendrix

Book Review by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 11 September 2020

Wild Thing: the Latest — and best? — look at the Life of Jimi Hendrix ...

Various Artists: Barrelhousin' Around Chicago – The Legendary George Paulus 1970s Blues Recordings

Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, October 2020

BACK IN THE early 1980s John Stedman purchased a number of recordings made by George Paulus and released many of them on his JSP label. ...

Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite: Experience of Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite shine on 100 Years of Blues

Report and Interview by Geoffrey Himes, American Songwriter, 7 October 2020

THE TITLE OF the first album featuring Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite as co-leaders is called 100 Years of Blues. That's a reference to the ...

Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Lonnie Mack: Peter Guralnick Gets Lost in Profiles of Musical Giants

Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 3 December 2020

PETER GURALNICK didn't set out to be a music journalist. The occupation didn't really exist at the time when a combination of luck and bluster ...

Bear Family 45th anniversary

Book Excerpt by Kieron Tyler, unpublished, Spring 2020

ASTONISHINGLY, Bear Family Records celebrates its 45th year in business in 2020. During that time, the label has never stopped producing the ultimate in reissues ...

Dion: Blues With Friends

Review and Interview by Wayne Robins, Copper, Summer 2020

THE FIRST ALBUM I ever bought with my own money was Presenting Dion and the Belmonts (Laurie LLP 1002). In faded red ink from a ...

John Mayall: The First Generation, 1965–1974

Review by Tony Burke, Morning Star, 7 January 2021

JOHN MAYALL turned 87 recently, and the Godfather of the British Blues – a national treasure – has a new 35-CD box set out featuring ...

Buddy Guy: My Time After Awhile: Buddy Guy's Long Apprenticeship

Review by Geoffrey Himes, The Coda Collection, February 2021

BUDDY GUY turned 84 in 2020, and he's been a blues legend for a long time. It's a good thing he's lasted so long, because ...

Earl King: Poet Laureate of New Orleans

Retrospective by Geoffrey Himes, The Bitter Southerner, 2 February 2021

Earl King's lyrical blues and electric stage presence set him apart. But he's never been properly honored as a Louisiana writer who penned songs for ...

Rag'n'Bone Man: Back from the brink

Profile and Interview by Lisa Verrico, The Sunday Times, 7 February 2021

The singer tells Lisa Verrico why he went to Nashville to reinvent his bluesman image. ...

Bob Koester, 1932-2023

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 28 May 2021

Owner of Chicago's influential Jazz Record Mart and Delmark label, which recorded many of the city's blues greats ...

Ellen McIlwaine passes away at 75

Obituary by Holger Petersen, CKUA, 23 June 2021

LOCAL MUSIC legend Ellen McIlwaine passed away today at the age of 75. McIlwaine earned the nickname the "Goddess of Slide" for her slide guitar ...

Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Roy Milton, Billy Vera: Specialty Records: An Interview with Billy Vera

Interview by Tony Burke, Record Collector, September 2021

As the Specialty label celebrates 75 years, Tony Burke talks to Billy Vera – singer, songwriter, and the author of Rip it Up: The Specialty ...

Tina Turner: Regal, Fierce & Divine: Tina Turner Roars into the Rock Hall on her own terms

Retrospective and Interview by Holly Gleason, Pollstar, October 2021

TINA TURNER in a chain mail dress… Tina Turner in a black leather mini skirt, denim jacket, seam up the back of those legs… Tina Turner in ...

The Pretty Things: The Pretty Things: Live At The BBC, 1964-2018 (Repertoire)

Review by Tony Burke, Morning Star, 11 November 2021

DURING THE 1960s British R&B boom the Pretty Things were the band the UK press loved to hate.  Lead singer Phil May's shoulder-length locks were ...

Blind Lemon Jefferson, Leadbelly, T-Bone Walker: Various Artists: The Rough Guide To Texas Blues

Review by Tony Burke, Vintage Jazz Mart, Spring 2022

ROUGH GUIDE/WMN have issued some excellent pre-war blues sets recently. This set features 26 sides cut between 1926 and 1937 from the Lone Star State – ...

Elvis Presley, Ike Turner: Peter Guralnick: Here Comes The Sun

Interview by Tony Burke, Record Collector, February 2023

Peter Guralnick, co-author of the history of Sun Records, tells Tony Burke about the book. ...

Big Joe Turner: Feel So Fine

Book Excerpt by Tony Burke, Hardinge Simpole Books, June 2023

This is Tony's foreword to Derek Coller's biography Big Joe Turner – Feel So Fine ...

Keef Hartley, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Frank Zappa: Neil Slaven, 1944-2023

Obituary by Tony Burke, Rock's Backpages, January 2024

RECORD PRODUCER, researcher, author and discographer Neil Slaven, who died on December 23rd aged 79, was one of the leading lights of the 1960s British ...

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