Anyone hear like blues?

I like the blues and need to hear it, and now there's Etta..
but I'll listen to Willie.

Here's Bo Diddley doing a live version of one of his early blues tunes, "Little Girl." Bo was one of the few bluesmen who put a female guitarist upfront in his band, and only one that I know of, who had one of the Asian persuasion.

Notwithstanding the swaggering braggadocio of some of his early numbers (like "I'm a Man," and "Who do you love") Bo was a gentle, kind, and humble man. I met him in a grocery years ago in the small Florida town of Archer (a few miles from Gainesville) where he lived his last years.

I knew who he was, but I didn't let on. I asked him if he knew where I could buy some beer in that town. He said: "****, boy, I got cases back at my place. Follow me when I leave, and we'll knock a few back." He lived in a relatively modest home, sitting on 80 acres back up in the woods. I spent about an hour with him--a visit I will never forget. He even played some blues while we drank (he had an amp and a drum machine right in his living room). He was also a private man. He told me he wouldn't have invited me if he thought I knew who he was. He preferred anonymity.



Here's Bo having some fun with another one of his early tunes "Ride on, Josephine," which was loosely modeled on Chuck Berry's hit, "Maybellene."

B.B. King came to Baltimore about 12 years ago. My son won tickets to see the show via a local radio station. Along with the tickets, they were allowed to meet B.B. King after the show. He was thrilled, and said the artist was incredibly friendly. I bet the artists get really tired of meeting fans after the shows.

You said it.
I get so tired of those meet-and-greets.

Here's an old tune, "When the sun goes down," done here by Josh White in 1933, several years before Robert Johnson recorded "Love in Vain." The similarities (lyrics aside) are unmistakable, especially on the third and fourth verses.

Has anyone mentioned Tracy Chapman? There is a sadness but not hopelessness in her voice and guitar.

I haven't mentioned her, nor has anyone else that I recall. I really know very little about her. I think she did the tune "give me one reason," which got some airplay (that's how I heard it), and which I thought was quite good.

She also sang 'Fast Car". That's the first one I remember.

Just getting back to the thread. (I need it).

I saw Tracy at the Santa Monica Civic, can visualize it, hear her.

I haven't read up on her and that was probably in the eighties, but we both were drawn in by voice and words, her presence.
My ex has been a theater person, including setting up performances for community centers, but before all that as a way to make a living, a guy with an ear. My ear is tin but my emotional range can zing.

We also might have talked about her on a2k before.

Johnny Shines, who travelled extensively all over the country with Robert Johnson back in the day, and Snooky Prior (on the right in this picture), who played a lot with Homesick James, as well as being an accomplished solo frontman, doing the classic: "Trouble in Mind."

A popular tune from 1957 by Nawlins native Huey "Piano" Smith. Huey played piano in Little Richard's band and recorded hit with Fats Domino, Lloyd Price, Smiley Lewis, Eddie Jones (Guitar Slim), and others.

He also recorded the tune "Sea Cruise," but the record company deleted the vocals and replaced them with the same lyrics sung by a white boy, also from New Orleans, Frankie Ford. The record was a huge hit for Ford.

And of course, Seasick Steve........

Huey 'piano' Smith wrote and played the piano on Sea Cruise but Bobby Marchand sang lead on the original cut. It was Marchand's vocal that was cut and replaced with Frankie Guzzo (ACE records changed his last name to Ford) Ford. I have Smith's version (unreleased) on a DVD. I remember both artists from old "Golden Oldie" sessions on AM radio. My favorite Huey Smith tune is "Don't you just know it", the old dust cover claims the group improvised the song driving between gigs in D.C. and Baltimore.

You also have to remember that black groups traveled in different club circuits because of segregation. But the music began playing on AM stations, the preteen and teens loved the music and sheer demand really drove the market. I thought I lucked out in high school when we got tickets to a ton of artists performing at the Civic Center, in one night we saw 'The Drifters', 'The Four Tops', we actually saw James Brown who was crowned the king of rocking soul during that show. He did Please, Please, Please with the cape and everything. What I didn't realize at the time was we saw all these wonderful acts because they could showcase all the talent on stage in Baltimore because the city could accommodate housing and restaurants for the performers. We watched acts go on for three hours, and then there was an intermission. After the intermission, Moms Mabley was going to perform but we couldn't stay any longer because we were kids and had a curfew. So we missed Moms.

Also according to my old dust covers, booking agents who brought Frankie Ford to clubs were often shocked to see he was white, Chuck Berry often surprised club owners when they realized he was black. In the 50's, we didn't have 24 hour access to artists or music.

Nice

Hated that one to end..

OK.

George is a whiz at making old blues and pop tunes his.

Milburn first did One Scotch, but John Lee Hooker covered it in his own (quite different) way. It was actually Hooker's version that Thorogood was covering. And George's version actually combined two Hooker tunes, the other one being "House Rent Blues:



You're sho nuff right about Thorogood--he only covers the cream of the crop.

You're quite right, and, of course, I didn't say it was Huey's vocals that were cut. Marchand was a singer in Huey's band (Huey Smith and the Clowns) and that's why I said he recorded it. His name would have been on it instead of Ford's. His piano stayed, and Ford sang over it. From then on, it was "by Frankie Ford."