1914 Smokey Hogg*
1918 Elmore James*
1930 Bobby Bland*
2005 Eddie Burks+
Happy Birthday
Bobby Bland *27.01.1930
Bobby „Blue“ Bland (* 27. Januar 1930 in Rosemark, Tennessee; eigentlich Robert Calvin Bland; † 23. Juni 2013 in Memphis, Tennessee[1]) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues- und Soulsänger.
Karriere
Bland wuchs in Memphis (Tennessee) auf, wo er schon als Teenager in verschiedenen Gospelchören sang. Später trat er der Rhythm-and-Blues-Band The Beale Streeters bei. Dort lernte er auch populäre Musiker wie Rosco Gordon, Johnny Ace, Earl Forrest und Junior Parker kennen. Es folgten erste Studio-Aufnahmen zusammen mit Ike Turner. Doch schon kurz nach seiner ersten Single-Produktion Army Blues musste er 1951 zum Wehrdienst. 1953 zog Bland nach Houston um, wo er Sieger eines Talentwettbewerbes wurde und die Single It’s My Life aufnahm.
Dadurch wurde die Plattenfirma Duke Records auf ihn aufmerksam, und 1957 tauchte Bland mit Farther Up the Road erstmals in den US-amerikanischen Pop-Charts auf. Bis 1970 war er fast durchgehend in den Top 10 der Rhythm-and-Blues-Charts vertreten und schaffte es mit zahlreichen Titeln auch in die obere Hälfte der Pop-Charts. Die meisten seiner Songs waren Werke des Komponisten-Teams Joe Scott, Don Robey und Deadric Malone. Bei seinen Live-Auftritten wurde Bland meist von der Gospel-Girlgroup The Bland Dolls begleitet.
Anfang der 1970er Jahre kehrte Bland Duke Records den Rücken, nachdem die Erfolge nachgelassen hatten. Stattdessen unterschrieb er 1973 bei ABC Records. Seine dortige Debüt-LP His California Album schaffte zwar keine nennenswerten Erfolge, bekam jedoch sehr gute Kritiken. Blands Produzent Steve Barri unterlegte die schwarze Blues-Musik nun mit Elementen weißer Rockmusik. Auch auf der 1974er Produktion Dreamer kann man diese Veränderung hören. Die LP Together for the First Time … Live eine Live-Mitschnitt zusammen mit B. B. King wurde Blands bis dahin größter Erfolg und erreichte Gold-Status. 1976 folgte Together Again … Live. Dieses zweite Live-Album mit King erreichte nicht so gute Verkaufszahlen wie das erste.
Ab 1979 erschienen Blands Platten bei MCA Records. Von seinen dortigen Alben erreichten immerhin fünf die Rhythm-and-Blues-Charts, in den Pop-Charts war er jedoch nicht mehr anzutreffen. Er betätigte sich nun vor allem im Show-Entertainment, wofür er einiges an Geld kassierte. Seine Songs erhielten jedoch miserable Kritiken. Trotzdem zeigten sich viele Fans, als er 1982 durch Großbritannien tourte. 1985 unterschrieb bei dem Label Malaco Records aus Jackson (Mississippi) und verabschiedete sich damit aus dem Show-Business. Nachdem er lange Zeit ohne seinen Beinamen „Blue“ aufgetreten war, nahm er diesen wieder auf und spielte nun auch wieder traditionsbewusste Bluesmusik. Mit der 1989 aufgenommenen Single Midnight Run schaffte er es noch einmal stolze 70 Wochen lang in die Rhythm-and-Blues-Charts. Nach 1990 tourte Bland mehrfach mit B. B. King und trat noch häufig in ausverkauften Arenen auf. Seine Alben Portrait of the Blues (1991) und Years of Tears (1993) erhielten ausgezeichnete Kritiken.
1992 erfolgte seine Aufnahme in die Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[2] und er erhielt einen Pioneer Award der R&B Foundation. Bei der Verleihung der Grammy Awards 1997 erhielt er einen Grammy für sein Lebenswerk.
Robert Calvin "Bobby" Bland (January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), né Brooks, also known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer.
Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B.[1] He was described as "among the great storytellers of blues and soul music... [who] created tempestuous arias of love, betrayal and resignation, set against roiling, dramatic orchestrations, and left the listener drained but awed."[2] He was sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues" and as the "Sinatra of the Blues";[3] his music was also influenced by Nat King Cole.[4]
Bland was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.[5] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as "second in stature only to B.B. King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene".[3]
Biography
Early life
Bland was born Robert Calvin Brooks in the small town of Rosemark, Tennessee.[1][6] His father was I. J. Brooks, who abandoned the family not long after Robert's birth. Robert later acquired the name "Bland" from his stepfather, Leroy Bridgeforth, who was also called Leroy Bland.[6] Bobby Bland never went to school, and remained illiterate throughout his life.[7]
After moving to Memphis with his mother in 1947, Bland started singing with local gospel groups there, including amongst others The Miniatures. Eager to expand his interests, he began frequenting the city's famous Beale Street where he became associated with an ad hoc circle of aspiring musicians including B.B. King, Rosco Gordon, Junior Parker and Johnny Ace, who collectively took the name of the Beale Streeters.[1][2][8]
Early career
Between 1950 and 1952, he recorded unsuccessful singles for Modern Records and, at Ike Turner's suggestion, for Sun Records — who licensed their recordings to the Chess label — before signing for Duke Records.[7] Bland's recordings from the early 1950s show him striving for individuality, but any progress was halted by a two-year spell in the U.S. Army, during which time he performed in a band with singer Eddie Fisher.[9]
When Bland returned to Memphis in 1954 he found several of his former associates, including Johnny Ace, enjoying considerable success. He joined Ace's revue, and returned to Duke Records, which by that time had started to be run by Houston entrepreneur Don Robey. According to biographer Charles Farley, "Robey handed Bobby a new contract, which Bobby could not read, and helped Bobby sign his name on it". The deal gave Bland just half a cent per record sold, instead of the industry standard of 2 cents.[7]
Bland released his first single for Duke in 1955.[8] In 1956 he began touring on the "chitlin' circuit" with Junior Parker in a revue called Blues Consolidated, initially doubling as Parker's valet and driver, roles he also reportedly fulfilled for B.B. King and Rosco Gordon.[10] He began recording for Duke with bandleader Bill Harvey and arranger Joe Scott, asserting his characteristic vocal style and, with Harvey and Scott, beginning to craft the melodic big band blues singles for which he became famous, often accompanied by guitarist Wayne Bennett.[7] Unlike many blues musicians, Bland played no instrument.[3]
Commercial success
His first chart success came in 1957 with the R&B chart no. 1 hit "Farther Up the Road", which also reached no.43 on the Billboard Hot 100, and followed it up with a series of hits on the R&B chart including "Little Boy Blue" (1958).[11] He also shared an album with Parker, Blues Consolidated, in 1958.[2] Bland's craft was most clearly heard on a series of early 1960s releases including "Cry Cry Cry", "I Pity The Fool" — an R&B chart no.1 in 1961 — and "Turn On Your Love Light", which became a much-covered standard. Despite credits to the contrary — often claimed by Robey— many such classic works were written by Joe Scott.[1] Bland also recorded a hit version of T-Bone Walker's "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)", which was wrongly given the title of a different song, "Stormy Monday Blues".[2]
His final R&B No.1 came with "That's The Way Love Is" in 1963.[11] However, he continued to enjoy a consistent run of R&B chart entries throughout the mid-1960s. Never truly breaking into the mainstream market, Bland's highest charting song on the pop chart, "Ain't Nothing You Can Do" peaked at #20 in the same week in 1964 that the Beatles held down the top five spots. Bland's records mostly sold on the R&B market rather than achieving crossover success. He had 23 Top Ten hits on the Billboard R&B charts, and in the 1996 Top R&B book by Joel Whitburn, Bland was ranked the #13 all-time top charting artist.[11]
Later career
Financial pressures forced the singer to cut his touring band and in 1968 the group broke up. He suffered from depression and became increasingly dependent on alcohol,[1] but stopped drinking in 1971. His record company Duke Records was sold by owner Don Robey to the larger ABC Records group. This resulted in several successful and critically acclaimed contemporary blues/soul albums including His California Album and Dreamer, arranged by Michael Omartian and produced by ABC staff man Steve Barri. The albums, including the later "follow-up" in 1977 Reflections in Blue, were all recorded in Los Angeles and featured many of the city's top session musicians at the time.
The first single released from His California Album, "This Time I'm Gone For Good" took Bland back into the pop Top 50 for the first time since 1964 and made the R&B top 10 in late 1973. The lead-off track from Dreamer, "Ain't No Love In the Heart of the City", was a strong R&B hit. Later it would surface again in 1978 by the hard rock band Whitesnake featuring singer David Coverdale. Much later it was sampled by Kanye West on Jay-Z's hip hop album The Blueprint (2001). The song is also featured on the soundtrack of the crime drama The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) starring Matthew McConaughey.[12] The follow-up, "I Wouldn't Treat A Dog" was his biggest R&B hit for some years, climbing to #3 in late 1974, but as usual his strength was never the pop chart (where it hit #88). Subsequent attempts at adding a disco/Barry White flavor were mostly unsuccessful. A return to his roots in 1980 for a tribute album to his mentor Joe Scott, produced by music veterans Monk Higgins and Al Bell, resulted in the album Sweet Vibrations, but it failed to sell well outside of his traditional "chitlin circuit" base.
In 1985, Bland was signed by Malaco Records, specialists in traditional Southern black music for whom he made a series of albums while continuing to tour and appear at concerts with fellow blues singer B. B. King. The two had collaborated for two albums in the 1970s. Despite occasional age-related ill health, Bland continued to record new albums for Malaco and perform occasional tours alone, with guitarist/producer Angelo Earl and also with B.B. King, plus appearances at blues and soul festivals worldwide. Bland was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as "second in stature only to B. B. King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene".[3]
Collaborations and tributes
The Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison was an early adherent of Bland, covering "Turn On Your Love Light" while with the band Them (he later covered "Ain't Nothing You Can't Do" on his 1974 live album It's Too Late to Stop Now) and has on occasion had Bland as a guest singer at his concerts. He also included a previously unreleased version of a March 2000 duet of Morrison and Bland singing "Tupelo Honey" on his 2007 compilation album, The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3.
In 2008 the British singer and lead vocalist of Simply Red, Mick Hucknall, released an album, Tribute to Bobby, containing songs associated with Bland. The album reached 18 in the UK Albums Chart.[13][14]
Death
Bland continued performing until shortly before his death. He died on June 23, 2013, at his home in Germantown, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis, after what family members described as "an ongoing illness". He was 83.[6][15][16][17] After his death, his son told news media that Bland had recently told his son (Rodd) that musician James Cotton was his half-brother.
Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B.[1] He was described as "among the great storytellers of blues and soul music... [who] created tempestuous arias of love, betrayal and resignation, set against roiling, dramatic orchestrations, and left the listener drained but awed."[2] He was sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues" and as the "Sinatra of the Blues";[3] his music was also influenced by Nat King Cole.[4]
Bland was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.[5] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as "second in stature only to B.B. King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene".[3]
Biography
Early life
Bland was born Robert Calvin Brooks in the small town of Rosemark, Tennessee.[1][6] His father was I. J. Brooks, who abandoned the family not long after Robert's birth. Robert later acquired the name "Bland" from his stepfather, Leroy Bridgeforth, who was also called Leroy Bland.[6] Bobby Bland never went to school, and remained illiterate throughout his life.[7]
After moving to Memphis with his mother in 1947, Bland started singing with local gospel groups there, including amongst others The Miniatures. Eager to expand his interests, he began frequenting the city's famous Beale Street where he became associated with an ad hoc circle of aspiring musicians including B.B. King, Rosco Gordon, Junior Parker and Johnny Ace, who collectively took the name of the Beale Streeters.[1][2][8]
Early career
Between 1950 and 1952, he recorded unsuccessful singles for Modern Records and, at Ike Turner's suggestion, for Sun Records — who licensed their recordings to the Chess label — before signing for Duke Records.[7] Bland's recordings from the early 1950s show him striving for individuality, but any progress was halted by a two-year spell in the U.S. Army, during which time he performed in a band with singer Eddie Fisher.[9]
When Bland returned to Memphis in 1954 he found several of his former associates, including Johnny Ace, enjoying considerable success. He joined Ace's revue, and returned to Duke Records, which by that time had started to be run by Houston entrepreneur Don Robey. According to biographer Charles Farley, "Robey handed Bobby a new contract, which Bobby could not read, and helped Bobby sign his name on it". The deal gave Bland just half a cent per record sold, instead of the industry standard of 2 cents.[7]
Bland released his first single for Duke in 1955.[8] In 1956 he began touring on the "chitlin' circuit" with Junior Parker in a revue called Blues Consolidated, initially doubling as Parker's valet and driver, roles he also reportedly fulfilled for B.B. King and Rosco Gordon.[10] He began recording for Duke with bandleader Bill Harvey and arranger Joe Scott, asserting his characteristic vocal style and, with Harvey and Scott, beginning to craft the melodic big band blues singles for which he became famous, often accompanied by guitarist Wayne Bennett.[7] Unlike many blues musicians, Bland played no instrument.[3]
Commercial success
His first chart success came in 1957 with the R&B chart no. 1 hit "Farther Up the Road", which also reached no.43 on the Billboard Hot 100, and followed it up with a series of hits on the R&B chart including "Little Boy Blue" (1958).[11] He also shared an album with Parker, Blues Consolidated, in 1958.[2] Bland's craft was most clearly heard on a series of early 1960s releases including "Cry Cry Cry", "I Pity The Fool" — an R&B chart no.1 in 1961 — and "Turn On Your Love Light", which became a much-covered standard. Despite credits to the contrary — often claimed by Robey— many such classic works were written by Joe Scott.[1] Bland also recorded a hit version of T-Bone Walker's "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)", which was wrongly given the title of a different song, "Stormy Monday Blues".[2]
His final R&B No.1 came with "That's The Way Love Is" in 1963.[11] However, he continued to enjoy a consistent run of R&B chart entries throughout the mid-1960s. Never truly breaking into the mainstream market, Bland's highest charting song on the pop chart, "Ain't Nothing You Can Do" peaked at #20 in the same week in 1964 that the Beatles held down the top five spots. Bland's records mostly sold on the R&B market rather than achieving crossover success. He had 23 Top Ten hits on the Billboard R&B charts, and in the 1996 Top R&B book by Joel Whitburn, Bland was ranked the #13 all-time top charting artist.[11]
Later career
Financial pressures forced the singer to cut his touring band and in 1968 the group broke up. He suffered from depression and became increasingly dependent on alcohol,[1] but stopped drinking in 1971. His record company Duke Records was sold by owner Don Robey to the larger ABC Records group. This resulted in several successful and critically acclaimed contemporary blues/soul albums including His California Album and Dreamer, arranged by Michael Omartian and produced by ABC staff man Steve Barri. The albums, including the later "follow-up" in 1977 Reflections in Blue, were all recorded in Los Angeles and featured many of the city's top session musicians at the time.
The first single released from His California Album, "This Time I'm Gone For Good" took Bland back into the pop Top 50 for the first time since 1964 and made the R&B top 10 in late 1973. The lead-off track from Dreamer, "Ain't No Love In the Heart of the City", was a strong R&B hit. Later it would surface again in 1978 by the hard rock band Whitesnake featuring singer David Coverdale. Much later it was sampled by Kanye West on Jay-Z's hip hop album The Blueprint (2001). The song is also featured on the soundtrack of the crime drama The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) starring Matthew McConaughey.[12] The follow-up, "I Wouldn't Treat A Dog" was his biggest R&B hit for some years, climbing to #3 in late 1974, but as usual his strength was never the pop chart (where it hit #88). Subsequent attempts at adding a disco/Barry White flavor were mostly unsuccessful. A return to his roots in 1980 for a tribute album to his mentor Joe Scott, produced by music veterans Monk Higgins and Al Bell, resulted in the album Sweet Vibrations, but it failed to sell well outside of his traditional "chitlin circuit" base.
In 1985, Bland was signed by Malaco Records, specialists in traditional Southern black music for whom he made a series of albums while continuing to tour and appear at concerts with fellow blues singer B. B. King. The two had collaborated for two albums in the 1970s. Despite occasional age-related ill health, Bland continued to record new albums for Malaco and perform occasional tours alone, with guitarist/producer Angelo Earl and also with B.B. King, plus appearances at blues and soul festivals worldwide. Bland was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described him as "second in stature only to B. B. King as a product of Memphis's Beale Street blues scene".[3]
Collaborations and tributes
The Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison was an early adherent of Bland, covering "Turn On Your Love Light" while with the band Them (he later covered "Ain't Nothing You Can't Do" on his 1974 live album It's Too Late to Stop Now) and has on occasion had Bland as a guest singer at his concerts. He also included a previously unreleased version of a March 2000 duet of Morrison and Bland singing "Tupelo Honey" on his 2007 compilation album, The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3.
In 2008 the British singer and lead vocalist of Simply Red, Mick Hucknall, released an album, Tribute to Bobby, containing songs associated with Bland. The album reached 18 in the UK Albums Chart.[13][14]
Death
Bland continued performing until shortly before his death. He died on June 23, 2013, at his home in Germantown, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis, after what family members described as "an ongoing illness". He was 83.[6][15][16][17] After his death, his son told news media that Bland had recently told his son (Rodd) that musician James Cotton was his half-brother.
Elmore James *27.01.1918
Elmore James (* 27. Januar 1918 in Mississippi; † 24. Mai 1963 in Chicago, Illinois) war ein US-amerikanischer Bluesmusiker. Er gehört neben Muddy Waters zu den einflussreichsten Slide-Gitarristen des Chicago Blues, dessen Stil viele Bluesrock- und Rockmusiker geprägt hat.
Stil
Typisch für James war sein kraftvoller, rauher Gesang, den er mit seinem elektrisch verstärktem Slideguitar-Spiel, das deutlich von Robert Nighthawk und vor allem Robert Johnson beeinflusst worden war, begleitete.
Leben
Elmore James wurde 1918 als unehelicher Sohn von Leora Brooks in Richland (nach anderen Quellen in Lexington oder Canton), Mississippi geboren. Er arbeitete in der Landwirtschaft, bevor er seine Karriere als Wandermusiker begann. Hier arbeitete er mit Musikern wie Robert Johnson, der ihn stark prägte, und Sonny Boy Williamson II. (Rice Miller) zusammen. Robert Johnson beeinflusste sowohl seinen Gitarrenstil als auch einen Teil seines Repertoires (Dust My Broom und Crossroads). Begleitet von seinem kraftvollen Spiel auf einer verstärkten Slide-Gitarre und seiner Falsettstimme wurde Elmore James zu einem der einflussreichsten Musiker des elektrifizierten Chicago Blues.
Zwischen 1943 und 1945 lebte er, ausgenommen die Zeit als Marinesoldat, als Hobo und trampte durch die Südstaaten. Seine Plattenkarriere begann Elmore James 1951 bei Lillian McMurrys Plattenlabel Trumpet Records. In den folgenden zwölf Jahren machte James unter anderem Aufnahmen bei den großen Blueslabels Modern Records und Chess Records. Seine größten Hits waren Dust My Broom (Blues Hall of Fame 1983, Grammy Hall of Fame 1998), The Sky Is Crying, Shake Your Money Maker und It Hurts Me Too, die bis heute von unzähligen Musikern der Blues- und Rockszene nachgespielt werden. Der Song Dust My Broom wurde bereits zuvor 1936 von Robert Johnson aufgenommen. Auf Seiten der Bluesgitarristen haben vor allem Homesick James – ein Cousin von Elmore James, sein erster Slide-Gitarrenlehrer und späterer Band-Bassist – Hound Dog Taylor und J. B. Hutto das musikalische Erbe von Elmore James bewahrt und weitergeführt. Bei den Rockgitarristen wurden Duane Allman von The Allman Brothers Band, Billy Gibbons von ZZ Top und Johnny Winter maßgeblich von Elmore James beeinflusst.
Begleiten ließ sich Elmore James häufig von Musikern der Band von Tampa Red, in der auch der Saxophonist J. T. Brown spielte, welcher bei Rockfans vor allem durch seine Aufnahmen mit Fleetwood Mac Bekanntheit erlangte, sowie von dem Jazzmusiker Boyd Atkins.
Gerade als man ihn in Europa (besonders in Großbritannien) im Rahmen des Blues Revivals zur Kenntnis genommen hatte, verstarb Elmore James an einem Herzanfall.
Er wurde 1980 in die Blues Hall of Fame aufgenommen.
Erbe
Elmore James beeinflusste mit seinem Stil vor allem junge britische Bands, die sich in den frühen 1960er Jahren auf den afro-amerikanischen Blues beriefen. Zu seinen Verehrern gehören neben anderen Keith Richards und Brian Jones von den Rolling Stones, John Mayall,Jimi Hendrix und Eric Clapton
Die britische Band Fleetwood Mac war ursprünglich eine Bluesband – in den 1960er-Jahren mit dem Gitarristen Peter Green. Ein weiteres Mitglied dieser Formation war Jeremy Spencer. Er war dazu in der Lage, Elmore James gesanglich und instrumental (fast) perfekt zu imitieren und war in seiner Zeit bekannter als das Original.
Elmore James (January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader.[1] He was known as King of the Slide Guitar, but he was also noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.
Biography
James was born Elmore Brooks in Richland, Holmes County, Mississippi, the illegitimate son of 15-year-old Leola Brooks, a field hand. His father was probably Joe Willie "Frost" James, who moved in with Leola, and so Elmore took this as his name. Elmore began making music at the age of 12 using a simple one-string instrument ("diddley bow" or "jitterbug") strung up on a shack wall. As a teen he was playing at local dances under the names Cleanhead and Joe Willie James. His first marriage, circa 1942, was to Minnie Mae.[2] He subsequently married at least twice more.[citation needed]
James was strongly influenced by Robert Johnson, as well as by Kokomo Arnold and Tampa Red. James recorded several of Tampa's songs, and even inherited from his band two of his famous "Broomdusters", "Little" Johnny Jones (piano) and Odie Payne (drums). There is a dispute as to whether Robert Johnson or Elmore wrote James' trademark song, "Dust My Broom".[2]
During World War II, James joined the United States Navy, was promoted to coxswain and took part in the invasion of Guam. Upon his discharge, James returned to central Mississippi and settled in the town of Canton with his adopted brother Robert Holston. Working in Robert's electrical shop, he devised his unique electric sound, using parts from the shop and an unusual placement of two D'Armond pickups.[2] Around this time James learned that he had a serious heart condition.
He began recording with Trumpet Records in nearby Jackson in January 1951, first as sideman to the second Sonny Boy Williamson and also to their mutual friend Willie Love and possibly others, then debuting as a session leader in August with "Dust My Broom", which was a surprise R&B hit in 1952.[1] He broke his recording contract with Trumpet Records to sign up with the Bihari Brothers through their "scout" Ike Turner who played guitar and piano on a couple of his early Bihari recordings. His "I Believe" was another hit a year later.[1] During the 1950s he recorded for the Bihari brothers' Flair Records, Meteor Records[3] and Modern Records labels, as well as for Chess Records and Mel London's Chief Records.[4]
He played lead guitar on Joe Turner's 1954 top 10 R&B hit "TV Mama".[5] His backing musicians were known as the Broomdusters.[1] In 1959, he began recording for Bobby Robinson's Fire Records label. These include "The Sky Is Crying", "My Bleeding Heart", "Stranger Blues", "Look on Yonder Wall", "Done Somebody Wrong", and "Shake Your Moneymaker".[1]
Death
James died of a heart attack in Chicago in 1963,[1] just prior to a tour of Europe with that year's American Folk Blues Festival. He was buried in the Newport Baptist Church Cemetery in Ebenezer, Mississippi.[6]
Sound
James played a wide variety of "blues" (which often crossed over into other styles of music) similar to that of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and some of B. B. King's work, but distinguished by his guitar's unique tone coming from a modified, hollow body traditional acoustic guitar, which sounded like an amped up version of the "more modern" solid body guitars. Muddy Waters took the Belgian blues fan George Adins to see James play in Chicago in 1959, Adins recalled,
Elmore will always remain the most exciting, dramatic blues singer and guitarist that I've ever had a chance to see perform in the flesh. On our way we listened to him on the radio as Big Bill Hill ... was broadcasting direct from that place. I was burning to see Elmore James and before we even pushed open the door of the club, we could hear Elmore's violent guitar sound. Although the place was overcrowded, we managed to find a seat close to the bandstand and the blues came falling down on me as it had never done before. Watching Elmore sing and play, backed by a solid blues band (Homesick James, J.T. Brown, Boyd Atkins and Sam Cassell) made me feel real fine. Wearing thick glasses, Elmore's face always had an expressive and dramatic look, especially when he was real gone on the slow blues. Singing with a strong and rough voice, he really didn't need a mike. On such slow blues as "I'm Worried - "Make My Dreams Come True" - "It Hurts Me", his voice reached a climax and created a tension that was unmistakably the down and out blues. Notwithstanding that raw voice, Elmore sang his blues with a particular feeling, an emotion and depth that showed his country background. His singing was... fed, reinforced by his own guitar accompaniment which was as rough, violent and expressive as was his voice. Using the bottleneck technique most of the time, Elmore really let his guitar sound as I had never heard a guitar sound before. You just couldn't sit still! You had to move...
Adins also witnessed James at 'Alex Club' in West Side Chicago where...
...he always played for a dance audience and he made the people jump. "Bobby's Rock" was at that time one of the favourite numbers with the crowd and Elmore used to play [it] for fifteen minutes and more. You just couldn't stand that hysteric sound coming down on you. The place was rocking, swinging![7]
His best known song is the blues standard "Dust My Broom" (also known as "Dust My Blues"). The song gave its name to James' band, The Broomdusters. The song's opening slide guitar riff is one of the best-known sounds in all of blues. It is essentially the same riff that appeared in the recording of the same song by Robert Johnson, but James played the riff with electric slide guitar. B. B. King used this riff to open his 1953 #1 R&B hit "Please Love Me." It was even transformed into a doo-wop chorus on Jesse Stone's "Down in the Alley", recorded by The Clovers and Elvis Presley. Stone transcribed the riff as: "Changety changety changety changety chang chang!"[citation needed]
Influence
Many electric slide guitar players will admit to the influence of James' style. He was also a major influence on such successful blues guitarists as Homesick James, John Littlejohn, Hound Dog Taylor, J. B. Hutto and many others. He also influenced many rock guitarists such as The Rolling Stones' Brian Jones (Keith Richards wrote in his book that at the time he met Brian Jones, Brian called himself Elmo Lewis, and that he wanted to be Elmore James), Canned Heat's Alan Wilson and in particular Fleetwood Mac's Jeremy Spencer. John Mayall included "Mr. James" on his 1969 "Looking Back" album as a dedication to James. James' songs "Done Somebody Wrong" and "One Way Out" were often covered by The Allman Brothers Band, who were influenced by James.[8]
James was also covered by blues-rock band Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble many times in concert. The most famous of these covers is one that came by an indirect route - James' fellow bluesman Albert King recorded a cover of "The Sky Is Crying", and Stevie Ray Vaughan copied King's version of the song. That song was also covered by George Thorogood on his second album, Move It On Over and by Eric Clapton on his album There's One in Every Crowd. The most famous guitarist who admired James was Jimi Hendrix. Early in his career Hendrix styled himself variously as 'Maurice James' and subsequently as 'Jimmy James.' This, according to former bandmate and recording partner Lonnie Youngblood, was a tribute to Elmore James.[9] There is a photo of Hendrix (that can be seen in the sleeve of his Blues album) in London wearing his iconic military jacket and holding Elmore James's UK LP The Best Of Elmore James. (Hendrix was frequently photographed throughout his performing career holding LP covers of musicians that influenced him.) He performed James' "Bleeding Heart" during the Experience's Royal Albert Hall concert in 1969, and also with the Band of Gypsys at their New Year's concerts at the Fillmore East in 1969/70 as well as recording two different versions of it in the studio.[citation needed]
James is referenced in The Beatles' song "For You Blue": while John Lennon plays the slide guitar (James' trademark), George Harrison says, "Elmore James got nothin' on this, baby." Other artists influenced by Elmore James include Frank Zappa.
Biography
James was born Elmore Brooks in Richland, Holmes County, Mississippi, the illegitimate son of 15-year-old Leola Brooks, a field hand. His father was probably Joe Willie "Frost" James, who moved in with Leola, and so Elmore took this as his name. Elmore began making music at the age of 12 using a simple one-string instrument ("diddley bow" or "jitterbug") strung up on a shack wall. As a teen he was playing at local dances under the names Cleanhead and Joe Willie James. His first marriage, circa 1942, was to Minnie Mae.[2] He subsequently married at least twice more.[citation needed]
James was strongly influenced by Robert Johnson, as well as by Kokomo Arnold and Tampa Red. James recorded several of Tampa's songs, and even inherited from his band two of his famous "Broomdusters", "Little" Johnny Jones (piano) and Odie Payne (drums). There is a dispute as to whether Robert Johnson or Elmore wrote James' trademark song, "Dust My Broom".[2]
During World War II, James joined the United States Navy, was promoted to coxswain and took part in the invasion of Guam. Upon his discharge, James returned to central Mississippi and settled in the town of Canton with his adopted brother Robert Holston. Working in Robert's electrical shop, he devised his unique electric sound, using parts from the shop and an unusual placement of two D'Armond pickups.[2] Around this time James learned that he had a serious heart condition.
He began recording with Trumpet Records in nearby Jackson in January 1951, first as sideman to the second Sonny Boy Williamson and also to their mutual friend Willie Love and possibly others, then debuting as a session leader in August with "Dust My Broom", which was a surprise R&B hit in 1952.[1] He broke his recording contract with Trumpet Records to sign up with the Bihari Brothers through their "scout" Ike Turner who played guitar and piano on a couple of his early Bihari recordings. His "I Believe" was another hit a year later.[1] During the 1950s he recorded for the Bihari brothers' Flair Records, Meteor Records[3] and Modern Records labels, as well as for Chess Records and Mel London's Chief Records.[4]
He played lead guitar on Joe Turner's 1954 top 10 R&B hit "TV Mama".[5] His backing musicians were known as the Broomdusters.[1] In 1959, he began recording for Bobby Robinson's Fire Records label. These include "The Sky Is Crying", "My Bleeding Heart", "Stranger Blues", "Look on Yonder Wall", "Done Somebody Wrong", and "Shake Your Moneymaker".[1]
Death
James died of a heart attack in Chicago in 1963,[1] just prior to a tour of Europe with that year's American Folk Blues Festival. He was buried in the Newport Baptist Church Cemetery in Ebenezer, Mississippi.[6]
Sound
James played a wide variety of "blues" (which often crossed over into other styles of music) similar to that of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and some of B. B. King's work, but distinguished by his guitar's unique tone coming from a modified, hollow body traditional acoustic guitar, which sounded like an amped up version of the "more modern" solid body guitars. Muddy Waters took the Belgian blues fan George Adins to see James play in Chicago in 1959, Adins recalled,
Elmore will always remain the most exciting, dramatic blues singer and guitarist that I've ever had a chance to see perform in the flesh. On our way we listened to him on the radio as Big Bill Hill ... was broadcasting direct from that place. I was burning to see Elmore James and before we even pushed open the door of the club, we could hear Elmore's violent guitar sound. Although the place was overcrowded, we managed to find a seat close to the bandstand and the blues came falling down on me as it had never done before. Watching Elmore sing and play, backed by a solid blues band (Homesick James, J.T. Brown, Boyd Atkins and Sam Cassell) made me feel real fine. Wearing thick glasses, Elmore's face always had an expressive and dramatic look, especially when he was real gone on the slow blues. Singing with a strong and rough voice, he really didn't need a mike. On such slow blues as "I'm Worried - "Make My Dreams Come True" - "It Hurts Me", his voice reached a climax and created a tension that was unmistakably the down and out blues. Notwithstanding that raw voice, Elmore sang his blues with a particular feeling, an emotion and depth that showed his country background. His singing was... fed, reinforced by his own guitar accompaniment which was as rough, violent and expressive as was his voice. Using the bottleneck technique most of the time, Elmore really let his guitar sound as I had never heard a guitar sound before. You just couldn't sit still! You had to move...
Adins also witnessed James at 'Alex Club' in West Side Chicago where...
...he always played for a dance audience and he made the people jump. "Bobby's Rock" was at that time one of the favourite numbers with the crowd and Elmore used to play [it] for fifteen minutes and more. You just couldn't stand that hysteric sound coming down on you. The place was rocking, swinging![7]
His best known song is the blues standard "Dust My Broom" (also known as "Dust My Blues"). The song gave its name to James' band, The Broomdusters. The song's opening slide guitar riff is one of the best-known sounds in all of blues. It is essentially the same riff that appeared in the recording of the same song by Robert Johnson, but James played the riff with electric slide guitar. B. B. King used this riff to open his 1953 #1 R&B hit "Please Love Me." It was even transformed into a doo-wop chorus on Jesse Stone's "Down in the Alley", recorded by The Clovers and Elvis Presley. Stone transcribed the riff as: "Changety changety changety changety chang chang!"[citation needed]
Influence
Many electric slide guitar players will admit to the influence of James' style. He was also a major influence on such successful blues guitarists as Homesick James, John Littlejohn, Hound Dog Taylor, J. B. Hutto and many others. He also influenced many rock guitarists such as The Rolling Stones' Brian Jones (Keith Richards wrote in his book that at the time he met Brian Jones, Brian called himself Elmo Lewis, and that he wanted to be Elmore James), Canned Heat's Alan Wilson and in particular Fleetwood Mac's Jeremy Spencer. John Mayall included "Mr. James" on his 1969 "Looking Back" album as a dedication to James. James' songs "Done Somebody Wrong" and "One Way Out" were often covered by The Allman Brothers Band, who were influenced by James.[8]
James was also covered by blues-rock band Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble many times in concert. The most famous of these covers is one that came by an indirect route - James' fellow bluesman Albert King recorded a cover of "The Sky Is Crying", and Stevie Ray Vaughan copied King's version of the song. That song was also covered by George Thorogood on his second album, Move It On Over and by Eric Clapton on his album There's One in Every Crowd. The most famous guitarist who admired James was Jimi Hendrix. Early in his career Hendrix styled himself variously as 'Maurice James' and subsequently as 'Jimmy James.' This, according to former bandmate and recording partner Lonnie Youngblood, was a tribute to Elmore James.[9] There is a photo of Hendrix (that can be seen in the sleeve of his Blues album) in London wearing his iconic military jacket and holding Elmore James's UK LP The Best Of Elmore James. (Hendrix was frequently photographed throughout his performing career holding LP covers of musicians that influenced him.) He performed James' "Bleeding Heart" during the Experience's Royal Albert Hall concert in 1969, and also with the Band of Gypsys at their New Year's concerts at the Fillmore East in 1969/70 as well as recording two different versions of it in the studio.[citation needed]
James is referenced in The Beatles' song "For You Blue": while John Lennon plays the slide guitar (James' trademark), George Harrison says, "Elmore James got nothin' on this, baby." Other artists influenced by Elmore James include Frank Zappa.
Smokey Hogg *27.01.1914
Andrew 'Smokey' Hogg (* 27. Januar 1914 bei Westconnie, Texas; † 1. Mai 1960 in McKinney, Texas) war ein Country Blues-Sänger und Gitarrist
Smokey Hogg war einer der populärsten Sänger/Gitarristen des Texas-Country Blues-Stils der Nachkriegszeit. Er wuchs auf einer Farm auf und bekam von seinem Vater Frank Hogg Gitarrenunterricht. Als Jugendlicher spielte er mit dem Slidegitarristen und Sänger B.K. Turner alias Black Ace und die beiden tourten und spielten in Dance halls rund um Kilgore, Tyler, Greenville und Palestine im östlichen Teil von Texas.
1937 hatten Smokey und Black Ace die Gelegenheit, in Dallas bei Decca Records Aufnahmen zu machen; so entstand Smokey Hoggs´ erste Aufnahme ("Family Trouble Blues"/"Kind Hearted Blues"), veröffentlicht unter seinem eigentlichen Namen Andrew Hogg. In den frühen 1940er Jahren heiratete Hogg und lebte in der Nähe von Dallas, wo er schon bald bekannt wurde. 1947 erlangte er die Aufmerksamkeit von Herb Ritter, dem Chef des Plattenlabels Bluebonnet Records in Dallas, der verschiedene Titel mit ihm aufnahm und die Masterbänder an das Label Modern Records schickte. Dieses kalifornische Blueslabel war mit der Aufnahme von Big Bill Broonzys Song "Too Many Drivers" bekannt geworden. In Los Angeles nahm Hogg den Titel "Long Tall Mama" (1949) und ein weiteres Broonzy-Stück namens "Little School Girl" (1950), das Platz 9 der amerikanischen Rhythm and Blues-Charts eroberte.
Hogg's Country Blues-Stil, der stark von Big Bill Broonzy, Peetie Wheatstraw and Black Ace beeinflusst war, war während der 1940er und in den frühen 1950er Jahren bei Plattenkäufern im Süden der USA sehr populär. Hogg nahm bis zum Ende der 1950er Jahre Platten auf und starb 1960 an Krebs.
Mit Titeln wie Country Gal, Shake A Leg und I Love You Baby machte sich Smokey Hogg auch in Jazzkreisen einen Namen.
Andrew "Smokey" Hogg (January 27, 1914 - May 1, 1960)[1] was an American post-war Texas and country blues musician.
Life and career
Hogg was born near Westconnie, Texas, United States and grew up on the farm and was taught to play guitar by his father Frank Hogg. While still in his teens he teamed up with the slide guitarist and vocalist, B.K. Turner aka Black Ace and the pair travelled together playing the turpentine and logging camp circuit of country dance halls and juke joints that surrounded Kilgore, Tyler, Greenville and Palestine in East Texas.
In 1937 Smokey and Black Ace were brought to Chicago, Illinois by Decca Records to record, and Smokey had his first gramophone record ("Family Trouble Blues"/"Kind Hearted Blues") released, as by Andrew Hogg. It was an isolated occurrence - he did not make it back into a recording studio for over a decade.[1] By the early 1940s Hogg was married and making a good living busking around the Deep Ellum area of Dallas, Texas.
Hogg was drafted in the mid-1940s and after a brief spell with the U.S. military, he continued working in the Dallas area where he was becoming well known. In 1947 he came to the attention of Herbert T. Rippa Sr, boss of the Dallas based record label, Bluebonnet Records, who recorded several sides with him and leased the masters to Modern Records.
The first release on Modern was the Big Bill Broonzy song "Too Many Drivers", and this racked up sufficient sales to encourage Modern Records to bring Hogg out to Los Angeles, California to cut more sides with their team of studio musicians. These songs included his two biggest hits, "Long Tall Mama" in 1949 and another Broonzy tune "Little School Girl" (#9 U.S. R&B chart) in 1950.
His two-part "Penitentiary Blues" (1952) was a remake of the prison song, "Ain't No More Cane on the Brazos".[2]
Hogg's country blues style, influenced by Broonzy, Peetie Wheatstraw and Black Ace was popular with record buyers in the South during the late 1940s and early 1950s. He continued to work and record until the end of the 1950s, but died of cancer, or possibly a ruptured ulcer, in McKinney, Texas in 1960.[3]
Relations and confusion
Smokey's cousin, John Hogg, also played the blues, recording for Mercury in 1951.
Smokey was reputed to be a cousin of Lightnin' Hopkins, and distantly related to Alger "Texas" Alexander, although both claims are ambiguous.[4]
He is not to be confused with Willie "Smokey" Hogg, a New York based musician of the 1960s with a similar name.
R.I.P.
Eddie Burks +27.01.2005
Eddie
Burks (September 17, 1931 – January 27, 2005) was an American blues
harmonica player and singer, well known for playing in Maxwell Street
Market, Chicago, in the 1960s and 1970s, whose later career included a
number of album releases, frequent touring, and work on the festival
circuit.
Life and career
Burks was born on September 17, 1931, near Greenwood, Mississippi, the 14th and youngest child in a family of sharecroppers.[1] When he was a child one of his brothers was lynched by the Ku Klux Klan.[2]
After moving to Chicago in 1946 he worked in a steel mill. While he did not perform blues because of his religious beliefs, he often attended clubs on the West Side of Chicago.[3] In addition to his steel mill job, Burks was a minister in the Apostolic faith and had a storefront church, but he switched to playing blues full-time after the riots precipitated by the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968.[2]
He played so often on Maxwell Street Market in the late 1960s and 1970s that he became known as "Jewtown Eddie", after the local name for the area.[1] During this period he also worked as a sideman with the likes of Eddie Shaw and Jimmy Dawkins.[2] He released his first single, "Lowdown Dog", in 1977, and this was followed up by two further releases.[3] However, Burks remained largely unknown outside Chicago until 1990 when he released his debut album Vampire Woman on Rising Son Records (later renamed Rising Son Blues[3]), a label he founded with his wife Maureen Walker.[1] Following this, his solo career took off, and he released further albums, toured frequently, and gained steady work on the festival circuit.[2] In 1994 he appeared in the Academy Award nominated documentary Blues Highway.[1]
After his 70th birthday his health declined as a result of diabetes,[2] but he continued to play in the Chicago clubs until his death in a car accident near Miller, Indiana on January 27, 2005.
Life and career
Burks was born on September 17, 1931, near Greenwood, Mississippi, the 14th and youngest child in a family of sharecroppers.[1] When he was a child one of his brothers was lynched by the Ku Klux Klan.[2]
After moving to Chicago in 1946 he worked in a steel mill. While he did not perform blues because of his religious beliefs, he often attended clubs on the West Side of Chicago.[3] In addition to his steel mill job, Burks was a minister in the Apostolic faith and had a storefront church, but he switched to playing blues full-time after the riots precipitated by the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968.[2]
He played so often on Maxwell Street Market in the late 1960s and 1970s that he became known as "Jewtown Eddie", after the local name for the area.[1] During this period he also worked as a sideman with the likes of Eddie Shaw and Jimmy Dawkins.[2] He released his first single, "Lowdown Dog", in 1977, and this was followed up by two further releases.[3] However, Burks remained largely unknown outside Chicago until 1990 when he released his debut album Vampire Woman on Rising Son Records (later renamed Rising Son Blues[3]), a label he founded with his wife Maureen Walker.[1] Following this, his solo career took off, and he released further albums, toured frequently, and gained steady work on the festival circuit.[2] In 1994 he appeared in the Academy Award nominated documentary Blues Highway.[1]
After his 70th birthday his health declined as a result of diabetes,[2] but he continued to play in the Chicago clubs until his death in a car accident near Miller, Indiana on January 27, 2005.
Eddie Burks - Sugar Hill Blues (1993)
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