Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis, was born on April 30, 1896 and he passed away on May 5, 1972. He was a blues and gospel singer and guitarist. His guitar playing was a unique finger-picking style that influenced many other artists.
In his prime of life, which is to say the late '20s, the Reverend Gary Davis was one of the two most renowned practitioners of the East Coast school of ragtime guitar; 35 years later, despite two decades spent playing on the streets of Harlem in New York, he was still one of the giants in his field, playing before thousands of people at a time, and an inspiration to dozens of modern guitarist/singers including Bob Dylan, Taj Mahal, Donovan, Grateful Dead, Wizz Jones, Keb Mo, Ollabelle and Resurrection Band among others; and Jorma Kaukonen, David Bromberg, and Ry Cooder, who studied with Davis.
Amazon.com Review
His real name is Riley B. King, but the B.B. stands, as any aficionado knows, for Blues Boy, a nickname he was given in the late 1940s when he was a disk jockey in Memphis, Tenn. Of course, he's best known as the King of the Blues to millions of fans throughout the world.
At 70, B.B. King is still singing the blues and this is his story, from his childhood growing up in the Mississippi Delta, to the purchase of his first guitar at age 12, from his first real break after his appearance on Sonny Boy Williamson's King Biscuit Time radio show, to his ascent to international acclaim as America's ambassador of the blues.
"With my little band, I did everything they did with a big band. I made the blues jump. " ~ Louis Jordan
I have seen this floating around on the internet for some time now, and have even recieved it in my emial inbox a couple of times. It is an old joke and a good one too. I hope it makes you laugh.
How To Sing the Blues
1. Most Blues begin "woke up this morning."
2. "I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you stick something nasty in right away: I got a good woman-with the meanest face in town.
3. Blues are simple. After you have the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes. Sort of.
I got a good woman-with the meanest face in town.
I got a good woman-with the meanest face in town.
She got teeth like Condoleeza Rice and she weighs 500 pounds.
4. The Blues are not about limitless choice. You stuck in a ditch, you stuck in a ditch; ain't no way out.
5. Blues cars are Chevies, Cadillacs and broken-down trucks. Other acceptable Blues transportation modes include Greyhound buses and southbound trains. Walkin' plays a major part in the Blues lifestyle. So does fixin' to die. Blues don't travel in Volvos, BMWs, or SUVs. Jet aircraft and state-sponsored motor pools ain't even in the running.
6. Adults sing the Blues. Teenagers can't sing the Blues. They ain't fixin' to die yet. In the Blues, "adulthood" means old enough to get the electric chair when you shoot that man in Memphis.
7. You can have the Blues in New York City, but not in Brooklyn or Queens. Hard times in Vermont, Tucson, or North Dakota are just depression. The best places to have the Blues are still Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City and New Orleans. You cannot have the blues in any place that don't get rain.
8. A man with male pattern baldness ain't the blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg while skiing is not the blues. Breaking your leg when your broken-down pickup truck rolled over on it is.
9. The following colors do not belong in the Blues: violet, beige, mauve (unless you're truly desperate for a rhyme).
9. You can't have the Blues in an office or a shopping mall. The lighting is just plain wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster.
10. Good places to have the Blues: the highway, a jailhouse, an empty bed, the bottom of a whiskey glass. Bad places to have the Blues: ashrams, gallery openings, weekends in the Hamptons, golf courses, Tiffany's, and Ivy
League institutions.
11. No one will believe it's the Blues if you wear a suit, unless you happen to be an old black man-and it's an old black suit.
12. Do you have the right to sing the Blues?
Answer "Yes" if:
a. your first name is a southern state-like Georgia
b. you're blind
c. you shot a man in Memphis.
d. you can't be satisfied.
e. you're older than dirt
Answer "No" if:
a. you once were blind but now can see.
b. you're deaf
c. the man in Memphis lived.
d. you have a trust fund or an IRA.
e. you have all your teeth
f. you were once blind but now can see
13. Blues is not about color, it's about bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the blues; Gary Coleman could. Ugly old white people got a leg up on the blues. Julio Iglesias and Barbra Streisand will never sing the Blues.
14. If you ask for water and baby gives you gasoline, it's the Blues. Other acceptable Blues beverages are: wine, whiskey, muddy water, beer, black coffee.
Blues beverages are NOT: mixed drinks, kosher wine, sparkling water, Snapple, Starbucks Frappuccino, or Slim Fast. Although Rubber Biscuits and the Wish Sandwich are famous blues snacks, better stick to common blues grub
like Greasy Bar-b-que, Fatback and beans, and Government cheeze.
Blues food is never: Club sandwich, Sushi, or Crème brule.
15. If it occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is a Blues death. So is substance abuse, the electric chair, or being denied treatment in an emergency room. It is not a Blues death to die during liposuction or from tennis elbow.
16. Excellent names for female Blues singers: Sadie, Big Momma, Bessie, or Fat River Dumpling. Excellent names for male Blues singers: Willie, Joe, Little Willie, Lightning, or Big Willie.
Singers with names like Muffy, Sierra, Auburn, Alexis, Gwenyth, Sequoiz, Brittany or Rainbow are not permitted to sing the Blues, no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.
17. The Build Your Own Blues Singer Name Starter Kit:
a. Name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, Asthmatic)
b. First name (from above lists) or name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Kiwi)
c. Last name of a U. S. president (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.)
Examples: Blind Lime Jefferson, Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Okay, maybe not "Kiwi".)
18. I don't care how tragic your life; if you own a computer, you cannot sing the Blues. You'd best destroy it. Fire, a spilled bottle of Mad Dog, or shotgun. Maybe your big ass woman just done sit on it. I don't care
19. Hey there, you can READ! This too be a big ol' problem. Most folks singin' the Blues ain't never had much a chance for education. In the Blues. the three R's stand for Railroads, Runnin' and Rehab.
20. It gots to be dark to sing the blues, preferably after midnight. Singin' da blues at noon is forbidden.
21. If none of the above works, try one last, pathetic stab at authenticity: name your guitar. Remember, Lucille is taken.
22. Epitaph on a blues musician's tombstone: "I didn't wake up this morning"
Smokestack Lightning: Complete Chess Masters
Click above for more info
NPR recently reviewed Chess's Howlin' Wolf's masters from the Chess label in and article titled:
Howlin' Wolf: A Blues Legend With An Earthy Sound by Ed Ward
The four-disc set is titled Smokestack Lightning: Complete Chess Masters 1931-1960.
Albert King was born on April 25, 1923 and he passed away on December 21, 1992. He is one of the three Kings of the blues (along with BB King and Freddie King).
During his time, he was according to Wikipedia;
Albert King stood 6' 4" (192 cm) and weighed 250 lbs (118 kg) and was known as "The Velvet Bulldozer". He was born Albert Nelson on a cotton plantation in Indianola, Mississippi. During his childhood he would sing at a family gospel group at a church. He began his professional work as a musician with a group called In The Groove Boys, in Osceola, Arkansas. He also briefly played drums for Jimmy Reed's band and on several early Reed recordings. Influenced by blues musicians Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lonnie Johnson, but also interestingly Hawaiian music, the electric guitar became his signature instrument, his preference being the Gibson Flying V, which he named "Lucy".
Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: A Musical Journey
click image
Notes from Amazon.com
A companion to the groundbreaking PBS documentary series, this volume is a unique and timeless celebration of the blues, from writers and artists as esteemed and revered as the music that moved them.
Included in this stunning collection are
* Essays by David Halberstam, Hilton Als, Suzan-Lori Parks, Elmore Leonard, Luc Sante, John Edgar Wideman, and many others
* Timeless archival pieces by writers such as Stanley Booth, Paul Oliver, and Mack McCormick
* Evocative color illustrations and rare vintage photography
* Illuminating and in-depth conversations and portraits of musicians, ranging from Robert Johnson and Bessie Smith to John Lee Hooker and Eric Clapton
* Lyrics of legendary blues compositions
* Personal essays by the series directors Martin Scorsese, Charles Burnett, Richard Pearce, Wim Wenders, Marc Levin, Mike Figgis, and Clint Eastwood
* Excerpts from literary masters James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, Eudora Welty, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and William Faulkner Tracing the art form's path from juke joints, house parties, and recording studios to musicians such as Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles, Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues proves, in the words of Willie Dixon, "The blues are the roots; every-thing else is the fruits."
Overall, though this is a beautiful and subtle work, and a must for Mali music fans.A reviewer on Amazon sums up the album
I highly recomend this CD for anybody who is looking for a relaxing alternative to just about anything modern life has to offer.
The blues tells a story. Every line of the blues has a meaning.John Lee Hooker
This is the best work Salgado’s ever done and that is saying something. This will most definitely be an instant classic and this is a CD that needs to be listened to from front to back.His web site has some excellent promotional material - but there is nothing there to listen to yet - please tell me if you find anything because all reviews sound really good. Just have to post some older stuff
I really love this line from a BB King CD that I own, it seems to be him making a sound check or something, but it hits the blues right on the head;
Nobody loves me but my mother,
and she could be jiving too....
... Nearly as well known as his ambitious music was Mingus' often fearsome temperament, which earned him the nickname "The Angry Man of Jazz." His refusal to compromise his musical integrity led to many on-stage eruptions, exhortations to musicians, and dismissals
He is best known for his work as a blues musician, but embraced other styles of music, having "spent his career fighting purism by synthesizing old blues, country, jazz, Cajun and R & B styles" (New York Times obituary).[2]
He was an acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, who played an array of musical instruments such as guitar, fiddle, mandolin, viola as well as harmonica and drums. He won a Grammy Award for Traditional Blues in 1983 for his album, Alright Again!
I've been listening to Bonnie Raitt's new release Slipstream, and I like it. I've been waiting some years now to hear from her. Here are two of my favorite songs so far.
Slipstream
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Slipstream @ Amazon.com
This video shows the power of music, I have seen this in my own life with some of the elders in my family. We all seem to go back to the music we love.
Music has the power to heal!
It doesn't pay to be serious all the time - as far away from the Blues as you can get. Their childrens' programmes are so funny - lots of videos out there
Locked Down
Here are a couple of Teaser videos from Dr. John's new album. First is the title track "Locked Down" and next is "Revolution". The album was produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys.
Locked Down @ Amazon.com
Muddy Waters - T-shirts - Mens Vintage
Vintage Distressed Boarding House 1965 San Francisco California Logo & Photo These Super Soft Distressed T-Shirts Are Custom Made To Be Much Thinner Than Regular Tees And Some Have An Outer Stitch. They Feel Like You Purchased It At A Concert In 1980, And Never Took It Off.
Tuskegee
Believe it or not, I have been listening to mostly country music over the past year or so. So it has been a challenge to keep up with my blues blog. I really do love all kinds of music, so imagine how excited I was when I heard about the Lionel Richie Tuskegee album. It mixes too of my favorite kinds of music, R&B and Country.
It reminds me when I was young and I sang these songs (if there is a sound track for my youth, these songs are on it), but then there is the fact that these songs are covered by some of my favorite country artist of today. It is good stuff, if you have not checked this one out you really need to.
Shania Twain & Lionel Richie - Endless Love - Recording Session
Lionel Richie, Jennifer Nettles - Hello (Behind The Scenes)
Lionel Richie, Willie Nelson - Easy
Darius Rucker - Stuck On You - ACM Lionel Richie Concert
There are more videos from this album, I'll have to post them later.
Track Listing on Lionel Richie's Album Tuskegee
1. You Are (Feat. Blake Shelton) 5:00
2. Say You, Say Me (Feat. Jason Aldean) 5:09
3. Stuck On You (Feat. Darius Rucker) 3:20
4. Deep River Woman (Feat. Little Big Town) 4:09
5. My Love (Feat. Kenny Chesney) 5:31
6. Dancing On The Ceiling (Feat. Rascal Flatts) 4:17
7. Hello (Feat. Jennifer Nettles) 4:28
8. Sail On (Feat. Tim McGraw) 5:04
9. Endless Love (Feat. Shania Twain) 4:19
10. Just For You (Feat. Billy Currington) 4:10
11. Lady (Feat. Kenny Rogers) 4:09
12. Easy (Feat. Willie Nelson) 4:30
13. All Night Long (Feat. Jimmy Buffett) 4:57
Tuskegee @ Amazon.com
Notes from YouTube: Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, Jan 2010. Ruthie Foster Guitar & Vocals, Tanya Richardson Bass, Samantha Banks Drums. "People Get Ready" (Curtis Mayfield) from the Phenomenal Ruthie Foster CD. You can buy Ruthie's CDs at http://www.ruthiefoster.com/
Soul Shot
Notes from YouTube: Curtis Salgado talks to Oregon Music News about his new album "Soul Shot." April 12, 2012.
Soul Shot @ Amazon.com
Notes from YouTube: The Black eye galaxy series will feature Anders Osborne acoustic playing each song from his upcoming CD "BLACK EYE GALAXY" due out on May 1st 2012
Click here to download a mp3 from Anders Osborne >>> Aligator Record Free Stuff
AndersOsborne.com
Anders Osborne @ Amazon.com
Drummers Shannon Ford and Joe Izzo
Bassists T. Bag Jade, Paul Ossola, Mark Epstein, and Larry Heinemann
Keyboardist Pete Drungle
From his 1962 Blue Note album Feelin' the Spirit, featuring Herbie Hancock
His songs have influenced several generations of musicians, being adapted or covered by Kansas Joe McCoy, Robert Johnson, Cream, Deep Purple, Chris Thomas King, Alvin Youngblood Hart, The Derek Trucks Band, Beck, Big Sugar, and Rory Block. He is hailed as "one of the seminal figures of the blues.Nehemiah "Skip" James studied the guitar at an early age until he became a master at it. When he was eight, people called him “Skippy” as a nickname. nearly half a million hits
Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt land
Tell old Pharaoh
To let my people go.
Now when Israel was in Egypt land
(Let my people go)
Oppressed so hard they could not stand
(Let my people go)
So the Lord said:
Go down, Moses
way down in Egypt land
Tell old Pharaoh
To let my people go.
So Moses went to Egypt land
(Let my people go)
He made old Pharaoh understand
(Let my people go)
Yes the Lord said:
Go down, Moses
way down in Egypt land
Tell old Pharaoh
To let my people go.
Thus spoke the Lord, bold Moses said,
(Let my people go)
If not I'll smite your firstborn dead
(Let my people go)
'Cause the Lord said:
Go down Moses
Way down in Egypt land
Tell old Pharaoh
To let my people go
Tell old Pharaoh to let my people go
