Video of Leadbelly

I've posted some mp3s of Leadbelly in this blog but until now I have not posted any video of him. These songs probably fit more in the folk music catagory, but I like them all the same. I love folk music (I love all kinds of music), but I like the simple lyrics and the presentation of most folk performers. Kind of the same way that I love the simple presentation of the early blues music.

Leadbelly for example had a very rhythmic way of playing his guitar as he sang. And seeing him on video is a much more satisfying experience then just hearing him sing. With that in mind, please take a look at this video of Leadbelly doing several of his songs. Note how he seems to be dancing with his guitar as he sings.

file under;
music, blues, video

Blues Instruments - The Guitar.

I've read in Gerard Herzhaft's Encyclopedia of The Blues and other places that the guitar, became popular and cheap just as the first bluesmen began to develop their sound. At the time among white rural musicians the banjo and the fiddle were just as important as the guitar if not more popular.

The guitar was more flexible and allowed for making blue notes and the creation of a true blues scale. Because the guitar was a cheap instrument and it could produce a wide range of effects it dominated the playing of the early black musicians. The early bluesmen, did not play the guitar the way it was played by classically trained musicians, just as they also played the harmonica in a different way then in classical music. Most black musicians were not trained in classical music at the time anyway.

The early bluesmen, such as Blind Blake and Blind Lemon Jefferson adapted fingerpicking, in which the melody is interwoven among the alternating bass notes and flatpicking, which helps to create the idea of a lead guitar. In flatpicking, the musician plays the melody line, note by note, with a pick. This allows the guitar to accompany a singer in a call and response technique which is familiar to almost every fan of the blues. Where the singer sings a line, and then the guitar repeats that line or vice versa.

It is reported that Lonnie Johnson probably invented this technique thus forever codifying the guitar's place in both blues and later rock and roll. The idea of flat picking lead to the electric guitar, which really allowed the bluesmen and women to express themselves. Thus you get guitars crying and displaying emotions as seen in the playing styles of musicians like B.B. King, T. Bone Walker and later Stevie Ray Vaughn.

To read more about the many blues guitarist check this out Blues Guitarists @ wikipedia.

A little guitar trivia; The guitar has come to be called many different colloquial names over time such as:

axe,
box,
guit-box,
guit-fiddle,
guit-box-fiddle,
guit-axe,
bread-box,
bread-winner,
bread-box-winner,
bread-box-fiddle.

This post is brought to you by ActoGuitar.com, a guitar learning community with free guitar video lessons.

Otis Rush "I Can't Quit You Baby" Video

Here is a cool video of another one of my favorite bluesmen. A man who not only played the blues but lived the blues. Otis Rush's guitar style is what intrigues me the most about him. He plays a right handed guitar left handed, upside down without restringing it. I think this makes the sound of his guitar playing unique. He has a big old tone on almost every note. Then there is the voice, he has a very powerful tenor voice that is shown well here.

I like how Mr. Rush totally looks the part of a bluesman in this video, neat dress, black sunglasses, processed hair. And then there is the audience in this video, straight out of the sixties. Too cool.

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell!
I can't quit you baby, but I got to put you down for a while,
Well, you know I can't quit you baby, but I got to put you down for a while,
Yes, you messed up my happy home baby, you made me mistreat my only child."

Otis Rush DVDs



Mr. Rush suffered a stroke in 2004 and has since recovered and by all accounts is doing well.

file under;
music, blues, video, Otis Rush

Great Blues Recordings: Slim Harpo, The Best of Slim Harpo

Great Blues Recordings: Slim Harpo, The Best of Slim Harpo

I have been thinking about starting a new series where I list my favorite blues recordings. I thought it might be helpful to those blues music lovers who are not familiar with much of the prewar blues music.

My idea is that there is so much good prewar blues music out that it is difficult for someone who is new to the blues. I want help my readers know what the good stuff is.

Slim Harpo, The Best of Slim Harpo (Hip-O 40072)

Slim Harpo is another one of those musicians from my home state of Louisiana, and I think that has a great effect on his style of music. His real name was James Moore and he was from Lobdell, Louisiana. He was on of the most sucessful bluesmen of the late 1950s and early '60s. His music as dipicted on this CD is swamp blues, which is a laid back, heavy on the back beat, and totally dancable blues music.

Gathering 18 tracks from 1957 to 1965, The Best of Slim Harpo is a selection of Harpo's best known hits and some of his not as well known but memorable sides. The combination of good sound quality and a good selection of songs makes this a highely listenable and danceable CD. It is hard for me to listen to this swamp blues sound and not want to dance.

You can read about Slim Harpo @ Wikipedia.

The 18 tracks on this CD include;

1. Baby Scratch My Back
2. I Got Love If You Want It
3. "I'm a King Bee" <<< Click to hear a sample of this song.
4. My Little Queen Bee (Got a Brand New King)
5. Shake Your Hips
6. Te-Ni-Nee-Ni-Nu
7. Buzz Me Babe
8. Buzzin'
9. Rainin' in My Heart
10. Still Rainin' in My Heart
11. Late Last Night
12. Tip on in, Pt. 1
13. Bobby Sox Baby
14. Don't Start Crying Now
15. I Need Money (Keep Your Alibis)
16. Strange Love
17. Rock Me Baby
18. Blues Hangover



file under;
music, blues, Slim Harpo

B.B. King & Jeff Beck - Paying the Cost to be the Boss

Speaking of B.B. King, here is a video of Jeff Beck and B.B. doing Mr. King's classic blues song, "Paying the Cost to be the Boss."

My daughter tells me that I walk around singing this song too often. But hey, what can I say? I mean every now and then you have to explain to people how it is you got to be the boss. Right? Enjoy the video.

Jeff Beck with B.B. King - Paying The Cost to be the Boss

Kind of curious how this video was titled, "Jeff Beck with B.B. King" it should be "B.B. King with Jeff Beck" seeing that they are playing a song that Mr. King made popular, and B.B. does all the singing. Mr. Beck does deliver on the guitar solo, and I think his playing complements B. B.'s song very well. The end of this video is a cliff hanger. Over the years B.B. has done many duets with other noted musicians. I think this is a little more lively than the version on B. B.'s CD "Duces Wild" with the Rolling Stones.

Below are a couple of my favorite B.B. King duet CDs.

Songs and musicians on "Duces Wild."

1. If You Love Me with Van Morrison
2. The Thrill Is Gone with Tracy Chapman
3. Rock Me Baby with Eric Clapton
4. Please Send Me Someone To Love with Mick Hucknall
5. Baby I Love You with Bonnie Raitt
6. Ain't Nobody Home with D'Angelo
7. There Must Be A Better World Somewhere with Dr. John
8. Confessin' The Blues with Joe Cocker Marty Stuart
9. Paying The Cost To The Boss with the Rolling Stones
10. Dangerous Mood with Joe Cocker
11. Keep It Coming with Heavy D
12. Cryin' Won't Help You Babe with David Gilmour & Paul Carrack
13. Night Life with Willie Nelson



Some complain about this CD not being based in the blues enough, but I have to say that I like how some of the musicians that perform on this CD help B.B. to update his sound, and move the blues closer to music like R&B and even rap. I know it is a point of contention amongst some blues fans, but rap and R&B overlap with blues music too, just as rock and roll does.

Songs and musicians on "Blues Summit."

1. Playin' With My Friends duet with Robert Cray
2. Since I Met You, Baby duet with Katie Webster
3. I Pity The Fool duet with Buddy Guy
4. You Shook Me duet with John Lee Hooker
5. Something You Got duet with Koko Taylor
6. There's Something On Your Mind duet with Etta James
7. Little By Little duet with Lowell Fulson
8. Call It Stormy Monday duet with Albert Collins
9. You're The Boss duet with Ruth Brown
10. We're Gonna Make It duet with Irma Thomas
11. I Gotta Move Out Of This Neighborhood/Nobody Love - B.B. King & Orchestra
12. Everybody's Had The Blues duet with Louis Walker

This CD is a bit more rooted in the blues as can be seen from the performances of noted blues musicians such as Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Koko Taylor and Albert Collins.



file under;
music, blues, B.B. King, Jeff Beck

The King is Still in the News.

Here are a few recent news articles about B. B. King.

The King of the blues at 80 @ CNN.com.

B.B. King to Perform at White House in Celebration of 'Black Music Month' @ USNewsWare.com.

file under;
music, blues, B.B. King

Son House - Forever on My Mind Video

The other day when I posted the video of the little speech by Howlin Wolf, Micheal Leddy the writer of Orange Crate Art pointed out that the person Howlin Wolf was chastising in that video was none other than Son House himself. And he brought this video to my attention. I love Son House and his guitar playing, and the intensity that he played his music.

The man was truly a master.

Son House - Forever on My Mind @ YouTube.

Other Son House videos that I have posted;

Son House Death Letter Video

Another Son House Death Letter Video

file under;
music, blues, video

John Lee Hooker's Estate Has the Blues

I can vividly remember seeing John Lee Hooker at Humphrey's over on Shelter Island here in San Diego. It was a great show, and seeing the venerable bluesman perform was the realization of one of my life long dreams. I have tried to keep up with John Lee's legacy and I try to turn on as many younger music lovers to his music as I can.

I recently pointed him out to my twenty something year-old daughter, while we were watching the movie the "The Blues Brothers", in the hopes that she will learn about him and enjoy his music as much as I do.

So when I read the below news about the trouble that Mr. Hooker's estate is in I thought I needed to write about this. When I say trouble, it really is the kind of trouble that we would all like to have when you think about it. But hey everyone has got to figure out how to pay the rent, that is what the blues is all about.

"The cash-strapped estate of legendary blues musician John Lee Hooker is hoping to educate people about his prolific 50-year career and get themselves back in the black at the same time."

John Lee Hooker's Estate Licenses Albums To Shout Factory @ ChartAttack.com

"John Lee Hooker could not read or write, according to his daughter, but the legendary Delta bluesman's estate is hoping to educate a new legion of fans about his 50-year musical legacy."

I Need Some Money: John Lee Hooker estate, pursued by IRS, licenses catalogue @ MediaBistro.com


Other JLH news; John Lee Hooker Jr.'s blues are is his own @ MLive.com.

John Lee Hooker "Hobo Blues" video @ SqueezeMyLemon.

If you don't have any John Lee Hooker music in your collection check these out at Amazon.com;

The Very Best Of John Lee Hooker

Hooker 'n Heat [BOX SET]

It Serves You Right to Suffer [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

DVD's of John Lee Hooker;

John Lee Hooker - Come and See About Me: The Definitive DVD (2004)

John Lee Hooker - That's My Story (2001)

Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues - Godfathers and Sons (2003)

If you didn't know, now you know. Well that should get you moving down the road of hearing some of the best blues by a great blues musician.


Thanks to Bluesmama Renee at Bluesmama's House of Blues for turning me on to this story.

file under;
music, blues, John Lee Hooker

How To Sing The Blues: An Old Joke

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"

file under;
music, blues, comedy, joke

Blues Places: Memphis

The blues is not just people, it is stating the obvious to say that this music is made by people for people, but the blues is also about places. From the old bluesmen and women of the prewar years to the young college kids of the sixties who fueled the revival, people made it happen and are what we think about when talking about the blues. But it could also be argued that the blues is as much about places as it is about people. I think because people make places and they also make music, they create places that focus the music and give it a foundation, one such places for the blues is Memphis, TN.

Author David L. Cohn, wrote in his book "Where I Was Born and Raised," "The Mississippi Delta begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis." That sounds right to me, when I look at a map it is obvious that Memphis is one of the great places of the blues. And that its influence stretches all the way down to the gulf of Mexico.

Here are a few of my favorite links that give information and history about the good city of Memphis;

The National Parks Service: Trail of the Hellhound Memphis site.

This page has some delightful photos and background information on the following Memphis blues sites.

Beale Street
Peabody Hotel
Orpheum Theater
706 Union Avenue the birthplace Sun Records.
W.C. Handy house.
W.C. Handy Park.

The National Parks Service: Memphis School History.

The above link is a detailed and interesting history of the Memphis blues scene and it goes a long way in describing how blues became the important blues center that it is.

a few other of my Memphis favorite links;
Memphis Official City Government Website
Memphis @ wikipedia.
Memphis Minnie @ wikipedia
Memphis Slim @ wikipedia
MemphisMojo.com
Stax Museum of American Soul Music


file under;
music, blues, Memphis, history