John Broven
Renowned expert on blues, vintage R&B and rock ‘n’ roll, Broven has written for BLUES UNLIMITED, JUKE BLUES, NOW DIG THIS and many other magazines. He is the author of three definitive books, WALKING TO NEW ORLEANS (aka RHYTHM & BLUES IN NEW ORLEANS ), SOUTH TO LOUISIANA and RECORD MAKERS AND BREAKERS.
30 articles
List of articles in the library
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 ...
Chuck Berry: Hammersmith Odeon, London, May 10th
Live Review by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, July 1964
THE LONG-AWAITED visit of Chuck Berry to these islands came reality when he opened his tour at the Finsbury Empire on May 9th; I caught ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
The Groundhogs, Jimmy Reed: Jimmy Reed: The Ricky Tick, Guildford
Live Review by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, 18 January 1965
14th November 1964 ...
John Lee Hooker: The Ricky Tik, Guildford
Live Review by John Broven, Blues Unlimited, June 1965
Witnessed by John J. Broven, May 14th '65 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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) ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Jimmy Reed: Gimme That Harp, Boy!
Essay by John Broven, The History of Rock, 1982
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL DOWNHOME blues recording artist ever, Jimmy Reed chalked up 12 Billboard Hot 100 hits and 14 R&B chart entries during his career ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
Jerry Lee Lewis: PBS-TV Special
Review by John Broven, Now Dig This, November 2006
JERRY LEE LEWIS came to New York on September 28 and 29, 2006, with typical flourish and élan to film live performances for a PBS-TV ...
Joe Tex: Buddy Killen, 1932-2006: Nashville record man and music publisher
Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, December 2006
BUDDY KILLEN, the highly successful Nashville music publisher, songwriter and record man, died of liver and pancreatic cancer on November 1, 2006 at age 73. ...
Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Bobby Rydell: North Fork Theatre, Westbury, Long Island
Live Review by John Broven, unpublished, October 2007
A PACKED HOUSE comprising mainly of an adoring fan club of female 60-somethings, with their tagalong husbands, greeted the three South Philadelphia teen idols of ...
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 ...
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 ...
Obituary: Consummate Nashville record man Shelby Singleton, of Mercury and Sun
Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, November 2009
SHELBY SINGLETON, the consummate record man who was the most capable latter-day custodian of Sun Records, died of brain cancer in a Nashville, Tennessee hospice ...
Bobby Charles, the Inventor of Swamp Pop and Songwriter Supreme
Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, February 2010
WITH ROCK 'N' roll exploding in austerity-ridden England in the mid-1950s, there was one hip phrase that stood out from the rest: "See you later ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Obituary by John Broven, Now Dig This, Summer 2011
AFTER A PERIOD of failing health, Southern record man Huey Purvis Meaux died at home in Winnie, Texas, on April 23 at age 82. He ...
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