1928 Lonesome Sundown*
1943 Dickey Betts*
1965 Russell Batiste, Jr.*
1965 Henning Pertiet*
1981 Dan Patlansky*
1985 Ian Andrew Robert Stewart+
1987 Clifton Chenier+
2006 Oscar Klein+
2007 Ike Turner+
2010 James Peterson+
Mickey Meinert*
Happy Birthday
Dickey Betts *12.12.1943
Forrest Richard "Dickey" Betts (* 12. Dezember 1943 in West Palm Beach, Florida) ist ein US-amerikanischer Gitarrist und Rockmusiker.
Leben
Der Gitarrist Richard "Dickey" Betts gehört zu den Gründungsmitgliedern der US-amerikanischen Allman Brothers Band, die sich Ende der 60er um die Brüder Duane & Gregg Allman formierte und deren Stil (Blues-Rock, Jazz, Country) als Southern Rock bezeichnet wird. Seine bekanntesten Kompositionen bei den Allman Brothers waren der Hit „Ramblin' Man“, der seiner Tochter gewidmete Instrumental-Song „Jessica“ sowie das in zahlreichen Improvisationen immer wieder veränderte, längere Instrumentalstück „In Memory of Elizabeth Reed“. 1995 wurde „Jessica“ mit einem Grammy als Best Rock Instrumental Performance ausgezeichnet.[1]
Das Album Live at Fillmore East (1971) wird bis heute als ein Meilenstein aller Live-Alben der Rockmusik angesehen. Seit den späten 1990er-Jahren ist Betts kein Mitglied der ABB mehr, dies war ihm per Fax mitgeteilt worden. Seither verfolgt er (wie auch schon in den 1970er Jahren) seine Soloprojekte (unter anderem mit seiner eigenen Band Great Southern).
Dickey Betts befindet sich auf der Liste der 100 besten Gitarristen aller Zeiten der amerikanischen Musikzeitschrift Rolling Stone Magazine an 58. Stelle[2].
Gitarren
In den frühen Jahren der Allman Brothers Band benutzte Betts oft eine Gibson SG, die später vor allem vom anderen Gitarristen Duane Allman als Slide-Gitarre gebraucht wurde.[3]Trotzdem ist Betts bis heute vor allem als langjähriger Spieler einer Gibson Les Paul Goldtop in Erscheinung getreten. Diese Gitarre nannte er "Goldie". Betts war so vernarrt in diese Gitarre, dass er sie so gut wie immer mit auf Konzerttourneen nahm. Es gibt kaum Aufnahmen aus den 1970er Jahren, bei denen er nicht diese Gitarre spielt. Trotzdem wechselte er später für längere Zeit zu PRS Guitars.[4][5]Hierbei spielte auch eine Rolle, dass sich Betts als langjähriger, berühmter Nutzer von der Firma Gibson nicht genug gewürdigt fühlte. Heute spielt Betts allerdings wieder Gibson Les Paul Gitarren, auch weil es inzwischen zwei sogenannte Dickey-Betts-Signature Gitarren der Marke gibt.
Forrest Richard "Dickey" Betts (born December 12, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band.
He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995[1] and also won with the band a best rock performance Grammy Award for his instrumental "Jessica" in 1996 [2] Recognized as one of the greatest rock guitar players of all time,[3] he had early on in his career one of rock’s finest guitar partnerships with Duane Allman[4] introducing melodic twin guitar harmony and counterpoint which "rewrote the rules for how two rock guitarists can work together, completely scrapping the traditional rhythm/lead roles to stand toe to toe".[5] Dickey Betts was ranked #58 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list in 2003, and #61 on the list published in 2011.[3][6]
Biography
Born in West Palm Beach and raised in Bradenton, Florida,[7] Betts grew up in a musical family listening to bluegrass, country and Western Swing music. He started playing ukulele at five and, as his hands got bigger, moved on to mandolin, banjo and guitar. At sixteen and feeling the need for something "a little faster", he played in a series of rock bands on the Florida circuit, up the East Coast and into the midwest before forming the Second Coming with Berry Oakley in 1967. According to Rick Derringer, the "group called the Jokers" referenced in "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" was one of Betts' early groups.[8]
He is currently living in Sarasota, Florida.
Major recording career
In 1969, Duane Allman had parlayed success as a session player into a contract with former Otis Redding manager Phil Walden. Walden planned to back a power trio featuring Allman, who needed to put together the rest of the band. When Allman organized jam sessions as part of his effort to recruit Oakley for the group, Betts sat in. During those jams twin guitar parts, influenced by the harmonized fiddle and guitar parts Betts had heard on bluegrass and Bob Wills records growing up, began to emerge and give the sound a unique flavor. Those harmonies gave the putative power trio an additional guitarist (the band eventually grew to six members) and Dickey Betts the opening for stardom as a co-founder and key contributor to the Allman Brothers Band. In addition to the harmonies, his melodic, country-esque lead guitar style contrasted perfectly with Duane's fiery, blues/jazz-based style. He also wrote songs including "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and "Blue Sky" that became radio and concert staples.
After the death of Duane Allman in late 1971, Betts became the band's sole guitarist and also took on a greater singing and leadership role. Betts, over the course of one night's traveling, practiced slide guitar intensively in order to cover the majority of Duane's parts. He went on to write such Southern Rock classics as "Jessica" and the Allmans' biggest commercial hit, "Ramblin' Man".
Jessica was inspired by his daughter, Jessica Betts, born on May 14, 1972 to Betts' third wife, Sandy Bluesky Wabegijig, a Native American whom Betts married in 1973. The pair was divorced in 1975 and Betts married Paulette, a close friend and personal assistant of entertainer Cher (to whom Gregg Allman was married during the mid- to late-1970s). Betts has four children total: Kimberly from his first marriage to Barbara Hudgins, Christy from his second wife, Dayle, Jessica from his third union to Sandy and his only son, Duane from his marriage to Paulette. Betts is currently wed to Donna. They have been married for over twenty years.
Betts's first solo album, Highway Call, was released in 1974, and featured fiddle player Vassar Clements. After the Allmans fell apart in 1976, Betts released more albums, starting with Dickey Betts & Great Southern in 1977, which featured the hit "Bougainvillea", co-written with future Hollywood star Don Johnson. In 1978 he released an album entitled Atlanta's Burning Down.
The Allman Brothers reformed in 1979 for the album Enlightened Rogues with two members of Great Southern replacing ABB members unwilling to participate in the reunion: guitar player Dan Toler (for pianist Chuck Leavell) and bassist David “Rook” Goldflies (for bassist Lamar Williams). Several albums would follow with various personnel changes until steadily declining record and concert ticket sales and tensions around management issues led the group to again disband in 1982.
Betts returned to his solo career, performing live at smaller venues and releasing the album Pattern Disruptive in 1989. When a one-off reunion tour was proposed in support of the ABB "Dreams" box set released in 1989 to commemorate the bands 20th anniversary, Betts' solo band again supplied the ABB's other guitarist, this time slide guitar master Warren Haynes. The one-off tour's success resulted in a permanent reunion which absorbed Betts' energies for the remainder of the '90's. This band lineup went on to release three acclaimed studio albums between 1990 and 1994.
Betts was replaced on numerous tour dates throughout the mid-to-late 90s for what were reported in the media as "personal reasons". While remaining active as a touring band, they failed to release an album of new studio material after 1994's Where It All Begins until 2003's "Hittin' the Note." Haynes and ABB bassist Allen Woody formed Gov't Mule with former Dickey Betts Band drummer Matt Abts as a side project in 1994 and left the Allman Brothers for Gov't Mule full-time in 1997. Bett's last show with the ABB was at the Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta, Georgia.
Things reached a breaking point when the remaining original ABB members, Allman, Trucks and Jaimoe, suspended Betts (reportedly via fax) prior to the launch of the band's Summer Campaign Tour 2000.[9] According to Betts himself, the band told him in the fax to get clean (presumably from alcohol and/or drugs). Betts was subsequently ordered out of the band after the dispute went to arbitration. [10]
Betts was temporarily replaced for the 2000 tour by Jimmy Herring, formerly of the Aquarium Rescue Unit. When Betts filed suit against the other three original Allmans the separation turned into a permanent divorce. Betts re-formed the Dickey Betts Band in 2000 and toured that summer. The band reassumed the name Dickey Betts & Great Southern and added Betts' son Duane (named after Duane Allman) on lead guitar.
In 2005 Betts released the DVD "Live from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame".
Betts announced that a December 17, 2009 performance in New York City, on his 66th birthday and at the site of many of his greatest achievements, would be his last touring date. "I’m not retiring from playing. I’m sure there will be some great special events that I’ll be at in the future. But for now, I look forward to waking up tomorrow with nothing on my schedule." He has since taken up touring again with Great Southern and the lineup sometimes features his son, Duane Betts.[11]
Betts' May 9 2014 at BergenPac [12]
The style of Betts' first name (actually his middle name, as his actual first name is Forrest) varied throughout the years:
1969: "Dick Betts" in the jacket of The Allman Brothers Band self-titled album.
1970-72: "Dicky Betts" in the jackets of Idlewild South and Eat A Peach.
1973-74: "Richard Betts" on Brothers and Sisters and his first solo album, Highway Call.
Afterward: "Dickey Betts".
Guitars
In the early days of the Allman Brothers, Betts played a 1961 Gibson SG, given to Duane Allman in 1971 to use as an all-slide guitar. He then used a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop, calling it "Goldie". Early on in the Allman Brothers days he occasionally played a Fender Stratocaster, and has been an on-and-off endorser and player of PRS guitars. In 1974 Betts procured an Alembic custom guitar inlaid with his name "Richard Betts" up the fretboard. He is pictured with it in a Guitar magazine article from around that time. As of April 2009, Betts is using a red Fender Telecaster with a pearloid pickguard. In pictures posted on his website he is playing a Gibson Les Paul most of the time. Betts can also be seen playing a Cherry Red 1961 Gibson ES-335.[13]
DICKEY BETTS - "JESSICA" (8/30/11)
Lonesome Sundown *12.12.1928
Cornelius Green (December 12, 1928 – April 23, 1995), known professionally as Lonesome Sundown, was an American blues musician, best known for his recordings for Excello Records in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Biography
Green was born on the Dugas Plantation near Donaldsonville, Louisiana.[1] At the age of 18, he moved to New Orleans and worked in various jobs including as a porter at the New Southport Club, a casino in Jefferson Parish. He returned to Donaldsonville by 1948 and, inspired by Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, began taking guitar lessons from a cousin. In 1953, after a brief period as a truck driver in Jeanerette, Louisiana, he moved again to work at the Gulf Oil Refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. By this time he had begun to take his music more seriously, jamming at local clubs, and in 1955 was invited by Clifton Chenier to sit in with his new band, the Zydeco Ramblers, at the Blue Moon Club in Lake Charles. Chenier offered him the post of second guitarist in the band, alongside first guitarist Phillip Walker. Green toured with them as far as Chicago and Los Angeles, where Chenier's recording of "The Cat's Dreaming" was inspired by Green falling asleep during a session, and where Green auditioned for producer Bumps Blackwell but failed to get a contract.[1][2][3][4]
Green married later in 1955, left the Zydeco Ramblers, and moved to Opelousas, Louisiana where he began playing with Lloyd Reynauld and writing his own material. He recorded a demo tape, and took it to producer J. D. "Jay" Miller in Crowley. Miller was impressed, gave the singer/ guitarist the stage name "Lonesome Sundown", and recorded his debut single, "Leave My Money Alone" b/w "Lost Without Love", which he leased to Excello Records in 1956. The follow-up, "Lonesome Whistler" b/w "My Home Is A Prison", was more successful, and Sundown became one of Miller's south Louisiana stable of musicians. Although he never had a chart hit, he recorded for Miller for eight years, and his records sold in respectable quantities, his output including "Don't Say A Word" (featuring Lazy Lester on harmonica), "I'm a Mojo Man," "You Know I Love You," "I Stood By (And Watched Another Man Steal My Gal)," "My Home Ain't Here," and the much covered, "Gonna Stick To You Baby."[1][2][3][4] Unusually for Louisiana musicians, Sundown's style of the blues was more in keeping with the sound of Muddy Waters than that of Jimmy Reed,[2] and his sombre and melancholic recordings and instantly recognizable style were described by Miller as "the sound of the swamp".[3]
Sundown continued to work with Miller into the early 1960s, and in 1964 recorded "Hoo Doo Woman Blues" b/w "I've Got A Broken Heart", recordings which have been described as among "the last ethnic down-home blues 45s aimed exclusively at the Negro market".[1] However, by 1965 Sundown had become disillusioned with his lack of success, experienced a traumatic divorce, retired from the music industry to work as a laborer, and joined the Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith Fellowship Throughout the World Church, where he eventually became a minister.[2][4] He was persuaded back to the recording studios in 1977, and recorded another blues album, Been Gone Too Long, co-produced by Bruce Bromberg and Dennis Walker, originally for Joliet Records.[2] Despite its quality, disappointing sales ensued, even after being reissued on Alligator.[2] His final single release was 1977's "I Betcha".[5]
Sundown did several concerts, including an appearance at the 1979 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and tours of Sweden and Japan with Phillip Walker, but then walked away from the music business for good.[3][4] In 1994 he suffered a stroke, and he was no longer able to speak. Sundown died in Gonzales, Louisiana, in April 1995, aged 66.[6] He was posthumously inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame in 2000.[3]
Lonesome Sundown / Louisiana Lover Man
Russell Batiste, Jr. *12.12.1965
Biography
Brought up in a musical family, Batiste started playing drums at the age of four.[1] He also learned to play keyboards, saxophone, guitar and bass, and started to play in the family band when he was seven.[2]
Batiste left college after two years to join Charmaine Neville's band.[2] He joined the funky Meters, the reincarnation of the funk band The Meters, in 1989. The funky Meters without Art Neville currently plays under the name Porter Batiste Stoltz (PBS). (with George Porter, Jr. on bass, and Brian Stoltz on guitar)
As a solo artist, he leads his own band Russell Batiste Jr. and the Orkestra from 'Da Hood and has released two albums under the name.
Batiste also plays regularly with organ player Joe Krown and guitarist Walter "Wolfman" Washington as the Krown Washington Batiste trio. This unit released a live CD Live at the Maple Leaf in 2008.[3]
Batiste has performed with wide range of musicians and bands including Papa Grows Funk,[4] Vida Blue,[5] Harry Connick, Jr., Champion Jack Dupree, Robbie Robertson and Maceo Parker.[1] In 1987 Batiste was in the New Orleans funk band Nuclear Rhythms featuring percussionist songwriter Rosie Rosato, psychedelic funk guitarist songwriter Dirk Billie and bassist songwriter Mark Adam Miller.
Joe Krown - Walter Wolfman Washington - Russell Batiste Jr. @ Louisiana Music Factory JazzFest 2013
Henning Pertiet *12.12.1965
Henning Pertiet (* 1965 in Hamburg) ist ein Boogie Woogie und Blues-Pianist, dessen Einflüsse von Vince Weber, Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons über Otis Spann bis hin zu modernen Jazzpianisten wie Thelonious Monk reichen. Von 1993 bis 1996 war er festes Mitglied in der österreichischen Mojo Blues Band.
Im Alter von 23 Jahren entdeckte Henning zunächst das Boogie Woogie-Piano für sich; eine Schallplatte von Axel Zwingenberger begeisterte ihn derart, dass er fortan alles daran setzte Boogie-Pianist zu werden.
Durch den Kontakt zur Hamburger Musikszene und den dort lebenden Pianisten Axel Zwingenberger, Jo Bohnsack, Joja Wendt und Gottfried Böttger (der ein Onkel von Henning Pertiet ist) konnte er die die Grundlagen dieser Musik direkt von jenen lernen, die er bewunderte. Zunächst war er solistisch und im Trio tätig.
Auf Empfehlung Zwingenbergers stieß Henning auf die Mojo Blues Band aus Wien. Im Sommer 1993 wurde Henning Pertiet Mitglied dieser Formation und tourte drei Jahre als Bandpianist durch ganz Europa. In dieser Zeit wurden zwei Alben eingespielt (live und im Studio).
Im April 1996 veröffentlichte Henning sein erstes Soloalbum (teilweise unterstützt vom damaligen Schlagzeuger der Mojo Blues Band Peter Müller). Zugleich ist dieses Album der Wieder-Einstieg als Solopianist; 1999 folgte das zweite Soloalbum.
Er ist in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz gemeinsam mit Axel Zwingenberger, Vince Weber, Martin Pyrker, Abi Wallenstein, Henry Heggen, Jeanne Carroll, Jan Harrington, Little Willie Littlefield, Frank Muschalle, Tibor Grasser, B.B. & The Bluesshacks aufgetreten.
2003 folgt die dritte CD-Produktion unter eigenem Namen, diesmal unterstützt vom Berliner Drummer Michael Maass: Boogie Woogie Live 2003. Hier sind erstmals Einflüsse neuerer Musikstile des Jazz oder auch Elemente der Rockmusik zu hören. Pertiet hat seitdem an der stilistischen Erweiterung seiner Musik gearbeitet und sich intensiv mit Modern Jazz und Klassik beschäftigt.
Im Mai 2004 gründete er ein Trio mit Klavier, Bass und Schlagzeug; im Dezember 2005 erschien ein repräsentativer Auszug des Repertoires auf CD („Boogie Woogie And Blues Variety“). Im Mai 2006 tourte das Trio mit Red Holloway als Gast (u. a. mit Auftritten auf dem Bluesfest Ingolstadt und im Birdland Hamburg). Im selben Jahr gründete er das Duo The Fabulous Boogie Duo mit Schlagzeuger Andreas Bock (zuvor Mitglied von BB & The Blues Shacks), mit dem er ein Album bei Stormy-Monday-Records veröffentlicht.
Am 27. Januar 2012 erschien - ebenfalls bei Stormy-Monday-Records - die CD 'Masterpieces Vol. 1'. Start einer Trilogie mit Blues, Boogie Woogie und angrenzenden Musikstilen.
Neben der Beschäftigung mit Blues & Boogie Woogie-Piano spielt Henning Pertiet E-Bass, Kontrabass, Gitarre, diverse Keyboards und benutzt Grooveboxen und Synthesizer in seinem Studio-Projekt Teitreph.
Seit Sommer 2013 spielt Henning Pertiet regelmäßig frei improvisierte Orgelkonzerte.[1]
Auszeichnungen
Im Jahre 2011 wurde Henning Pertiet für den German Blues Award nominiert in den Kategorien Solo/Duo und Piano; ebenfalls nominiert wurde er für die German Blues Challenge.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henning_Pertiet
Henning Pertiet, who was born in 1965 in Hamburg is today one of the most expressive Blues and Boogie Woogie-Pianists in Europe.
At the age of 23 he discovered the Boogie-Piano for himself: It was a record of Axel Zwingenberger that carried him off his feet, so he did everything to become a Boogie-Pianist himself.
With contact to the Hamburg music scene and the local artists Axel Zwingenberger, Jo Bohnsack, Joja Wendt and Gottfried Böttger (who is one of his uncles by the way!) he had the best framework to learn the basics of this music directly from the people he admired.
Very soon his fingers did what he wanted and many concerts all over Germany followed.
Henning either played piano solo or with drum and vocals.
Henning Pertiet becomes pianist of the Mojo Blues Band
By recommendation of Axel Zwingenberger Henning joined the Mojo Blues Band from Vienna in 1993.
It is one of the best and most well known authentic blues bands of Europe.
In the summer of the same year he became an integral part of this formation and he started touring Europe for 4 years as a band piano player.
During this period the Mojo Blues band recorded two CDs (live and studio published by EMI Austria) on which Henning not only proved to be a sensitive accompanist but also had a strong influence on the band with his boogie style.
First Solo CD
By playing with the Mojos Hennings style matured, his blues repertoire widened and he decided to publish his first solo album in 1996.
This album demonstrates very well that barrelhouse blues and boogie woogie can have the same "flair" as at the beginning of the 20th century even today.
At the same time this album was the milestone of Hennings way back to working as a solo pianist.
A way that he started in 1996 and still goes today, nevertheless always playing as an accompanist for other musicians.
Up to now he has played many hundred concerts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Belgium or Holland together with Axel Zwingenberger, Vince Weber, Abi Wallenstein, Henry Heggen, Michael Maass, Jeanne Carroll, Jan Harrington, Little Willie Littlefield, Frank Muschalle, Tibor Grasser, B.B. & The Bluesshacks and many more.
He has spent many hundred hours in front of his record and CD player and he has made many personal experiences that he incorporates easily into his music.
Second Solo CD
At the beginning of 1999 Henning published his second solo album: My Style.
The title speaks for itself: Henning plays his style, he lets his instrument groove, he creates a tension that lets the atmosphere crackle, you can't keep your feet from moving ...
The international press was full of compliments for his recordings.
But Henning not only tries to spread hismusic by public concerts, he also initiated various concert series and a big jazz & blues festival: the "Verdener Jazz- und Blues-Tages.
Nourished by these impressions as well Henning nowadays tells stories with his music that nobody else is able to tell in the same way. His music is expressive in a way that can not be imitated: not searching for effects and without any needless acrobatics. The audience rather experiences an authentic presentation of old blues and boogie classics as well as many personal compositions that are strongly influenced by Hennings personality and which capture anybody who allows to be taken away into the world of blues and boogie.
At the age of 23 he discovered the Boogie-Piano for himself: It was a record of Axel Zwingenberger that carried him off his feet, so he did everything to become a Boogie-Pianist himself.
With contact to the Hamburg music scene and the local artists Axel Zwingenberger, Jo Bohnsack, Joja Wendt and Gottfried Böttger (who is one of his uncles by the way!) he had the best framework to learn the basics of this music directly from the people he admired.
Very soon his fingers did what he wanted and many concerts all over Germany followed.
Henning either played piano solo or with drum and vocals.
Henning Pertiet becomes pianist of the Mojo Blues Band
By recommendation of Axel Zwingenberger Henning joined the Mojo Blues Band from Vienna in 1993.
It is one of the best and most well known authentic blues bands of Europe.
In the summer of the same year he became an integral part of this formation and he started touring Europe for 4 years as a band piano player.
During this period the Mojo Blues band recorded two CDs (live and studio published by EMI Austria) on which Henning not only proved to be a sensitive accompanist but also had a strong influence on the band with his boogie style.
First Solo CD
By playing with the Mojos Hennings style matured, his blues repertoire widened and he decided to publish his first solo album in 1996.
This album demonstrates very well that barrelhouse blues and boogie woogie can have the same "flair" as at the beginning of the 20th century even today.
At the same time this album was the milestone of Hennings way back to working as a solo pianist.
A way that he started in 1996 and still goes today, nevertheless always playing as an accompanist for other musicians.
Up to now he has played many hundred concerts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Belgium or Holland together with Axel Zwingenberger, Vince Weber, Abi Wallenstein, Henry Heggen, Michael Maass, Jeanne Carroll, Jan Harrington, Little Willie Littlefield, Frank Muschalle, Tibor Grasser, B.B. & The Bluesshacks and many more.
He has spent many hundred hours in front of his record and CD player and he has made many personal experiences that he incorporates easily into his music.
Second Solo CD
At the beginning of 1999 Henning published his second solo album: My Style.
The title speaks for itself: Henning plays his style, he lets his instrument groove, he creates a tension that lets the atmosphere crackle, you can't keep your feet from moving ...
The international press was full of compliments for his recordings.
But Henning not only tries to spread hismusic by public concerts, he also initiated various concert series and a big jazz & blues festival: the "Verdener Jazz- und Blues-Tages.
Nourished by these impressions as well Henning nowadays tells stories with his music that nobody else is able to tell in the same way. His music is expressive in a way that can not be imitated: not searching for effects and without any needless acrobatics. The audience rather experiences an authentic presentation of old blues and boogie classics as well as many personal compositions that are strongly influenced by Hennings personality and which capture anybody who allows to be taken away into the world of blues and boogie.
Crazy Hambones, Kulturcafe Rautenkranz Isernhagen, 28.07.2012
Only 2 Crazy Hambones: Henry Heggen, Micha Maass + als Gastmusiker, der Blues & Boogie-Piano Meister, Henning Pertiet.
Dan Patlansky *12.12.1981
Dan Patlansky ist Mitte 30 und in Johannesburg geboren. Die Musikkritik kriegt sich kaum ein vor Lob: Was Dan Patlansky auf seiner Fender Strat spielen könne, das schafften andere Musiker nicht am Ende eines langen Lebens.
Zum Besten Blues Guitaristen Südafrikas wurde er gekürt, seine Alben erscheinen zum Beispiel beim legendären Label Blue Note. Bruce Springsteen und Everlast nahmen Patlansky schon mit auf Tour, heute Abend ist er im Vorprogramm von Joe Satriani im Admiralspalast zu erleben.
Never far from likeminded genius, guitarist, singer/songwriter and globally respected purveyor of the blues, Dan Patlansky sidles into his second successive decade as one of the world’s finest blues-based storytellers of his generation.
Ever since his debut album, Standing At The Station, followed by his 2004 major label (Blue Note, EMI produced) masterstroke True Blues, Dan Patlansky has been immersing himself in the rich and rollicking world of blues rock music. In February 2005, and again in July 2006, Selwyn Miller, the New Orleans based manager of David Gates, Bread, Randy Crawford and Petula Clark (amongst others), took Patlansky to New Orleans to showcase his outstanding talent.
In 2006 Fender acknowledged his talent with a guitar and amp endorsement, making him only one of six on the continent to enjoy such a privilege.
As Dan settled into his groove, what followed was a barrage of brilliantly executed eclectic and acoustic blues albums. 2006 brought with Real, Move My Soul in 2009, 20 Stones in 2012, and the unplugged wonder of 2013’s acoustically anchored Wooden Thoughts release.
With each new release, Patlansky’s albums brought with him a tighter and more engaging lyrical twist and even more interesting turns, all of which led beautifully to his much anticipated 2014 full- electric album released in May. In December 2014, DEAR SILENCE THIEVES (produced by Theo Crous) was voted the nr. 1 Blues Rock Album in the world released for 2014 by BLUES ROCK REVIEW/USA, alongside names such as Joe Bonamassa, Rival Sons, Devon Allman, The Black Keys, Philip Sayce, and many more.
“After over a decade of making albums for us, Dan’s seventh album continues to deliver the goods that have made him the premier blues rock guitar player in South Africa, if not one of the top in the world.” – Kevin O’Rourke, Blues Rock Review, USA.
As Dan settled into his groove, what followed was a barrage of brilliantly executed eclectic and acoustic blues albums. 2006 brought with Real, Move My Soul in 2009, 20 Stones in 2012, and the unplugged wonder of last years’ acoustically anchored Wooden Thoughts release.
Dan started 2014 off with a bang when he was chosen to open for BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN in front of 64 000 people at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg in February on his High Hopes tour. Dan was personally approved by Springsteen as support act, seeing as Springsteen rarely has guest artists for his shows. Also a milestone for Dan’s career when he played in front of the biggest audience he has ever played to.
After touring Europe in 2013 with Everlast, Dan returned to the continent in October 2014 for another tour to promote Dear Silence Thieves internationally. He impressed Norway when he headlined theFJORD BLUES FESTIVAL with words such as ‘magic’ and ‘religious experience’ used to describe his performance.
With successful shows in the Netherlands and Germany, Dan ended his European tour by headlining the HORSENS BLUES FESTIVAL in Denmark, a festival where he played at the ‘Showcase Stage’ in the basement in 2013.
As for coming up with brand new material, all neatly and exclusively penned by the man himself, one through track 10, Patlansky’s confident in Dear Silence Thieves’ popularity potential. “Everything we do, as people, has been done before,” he purports. “How we set it up in the stew is what separates the wheat from the chafe.” And as master chef of all things six-stringed and wired for sound, Patlansky’s perpetual nod to the essence of the blues tradition is exemplary. “The older you get, the better you become,” he says with a smile.
In recording Dear Silence Thieves, Dan was frugal when it came to dishing out meaty middle eights. “Solos on the album are fewer and farther between than on my earlier releases,” he declares. “Solos are more of a gift, but when I play these tracks live, my band and I get to lose ourselves in the layers of each new song, and they unravel beautifully and differently every time.”
Playing as a three-piece, Dan’s tight trio make for impressive listening and watching live. “After a week of fine-tuning the new songs, and a full month in studio, Dear Silence Thieves is the confident and concise statement that will be heard in Europe, across South Africa, and all the way back to the genesis of Patlansky’s passion, the blues. And, as with its maker, Dear Silence Thieves bursts with a bold personality. “I’m the chef and my songs are recipes music fans can most certainly try at home.” The secret ingredients now percolating, the only way to get any closer to the stuff of legend is to catch him live, in concert, where Dear Silence Thieves enjoys a nightly remix.
Dan Patlansky - Preachin' Blues - live @ Bluesmoose Radio
Mickey Meinert *12.12.
https://www.facebook.com/mickey.meinert
http://www.mickeymeinert.de/
Genetisch gesehen, gab und gibt es in meiner erweiterten Familie keine musischen Berühmtheiten, doch es wurde früher sehr viel gesungen, vielstimmig, traditionelles Liedgut, aus meiner jetzigen Sicht zauberhaft harmonisiert. Derart inspiriert, wird mir noch heute von meiner älteren Cousine Inge überzeugend versichert, - sie war damals mein ständig singendes Kindermädchen - ich hätte, bevor an Sprechen auch nur zu denken war, als Baby im Kinderwagen und auch sonst wo bereits Melodien intoniert, nachgesungen, sehr wohlwollend ausgedrückt!
Als ich im zarten Alter von 6 Jahren bei meinen Großeltern väterlicherseits meinen ersten “Beat - Club” im Fernsehen sah, waren die Weichen eigentlich schon gestellt. Spätestens aber mit dem Auftritt von “Jimi Hendrix” im März ´67 in eben jener Musik - TV – Serie wurde klar, das mir soeben jemand oder etwas mein Schicksal prophezeit hatte. Nachdem mein Vater, wohl einer der wenigen automobilen Geschäftsreisenden im Osten Europas, mir aus der Tschechoslowakei etwas später eine ca. 30,- DM – Sperrholz – Gitarre mitbrachte, gab es kein Halten mehr. Den durch meine Mutter ausgesetzten Hörgewohnheiten folgend, - es gab auch damals schon LPs die wir heute Sampler nennen würden, sozusagen Chart–Paraden, präsentiert von Entertainment–Größen wie „Chris Howland,- klampfte ich bald Michel Polnareff´s „La poupée qui fait non “ vor mich hin und auch sonstige, eher simple Riffs und Licks, wie z.B. „With A Girl Like You“ von den „Troggs“ oder „Sunny Afternoon“ von den „Kinks“.
Alben wie „Potrait In Musik“ von Francoise Hardy und „Rubber Soul“ von den Beatles erweiterten meine vorpubertären Höreindrücke. Dermaßen beeinflusst bekam ich also bald innerlichen Bezug zu meinem Instrument, ohne zu wissen, was ich da eigentlich tue. Das war sehr prägend, einfach Augen zu und los, das Gefühl ließ mich die Töne sozusagen finden, auswählen. Richtig los ging die ganze Sache dann mit Beginn der Siebziger, auch inspiriert von meinem ältesten Bruder. Er hatte zeitgleich mit mir ein baugleiches Instrument bekommen und dank seines Umfeldes, - „Flower – Power“ hatte endlich auch Ostwestfalen – Lippe erreicht, wurde schulbandmäßig musiziert und entsprechendes hippiereskes Verhalten an den Tag gelegt.
Da konnte ich mir einiges abschauen und nachvollziehen sowie für mich selbst weiterentwickeln, auch meine Hörgewohnheiten wurden dadurch geprägt: LED ZEPPELIN, PINK FLOYD, NEIL YOUNG, JIMI HENDRIX, ROD STEWART, YES, BOB DYLAN, JOAN BAEZ, C,S, N & Y …….. . Als jüngster unter 3 Brüdern zog mich natürlich alles „Ältere“ extrem an – obwohl auch nur knapp 4 Jahre Unterschied bestanden – aber das waren damals gefühlte Welten. So entdeckte ich denn einige Bereiche des „Lebens“ zu früh. Das führte unweigerlich zur Ausgrenzung insbesondere auf dem konservativen Jungen – Gymnasium der „Alten Hansestadt Lemgo“. Das selbst erwählte Exil hinter dem Korpus meiner Gitarre lud mich sozusagen zum autodidaktischem Tun ein. Dem kam ich ergiebig nach, die Schule blieb außen vor und mein Leben wurde stärker denn je von den „Großen“ beeinflusst. So entstanden bereits in sehr jungen Jahren eigene Lieder, anfangs mit englischen ( teilweise Phantasie – ) Texten. Der Sternenhimmel hat mich schon immer fasziniert, und so stammte der Name meiner ersten Band nicht zufällig aus dem Astronomie – Bereich: „ORI ALPHA“ ( nach dem Hauptstern des Sternbildes Orion,- Beteigeuze ). Zwei meiner damaligen besten Freunde waren als Mitmusiker auserwählt, wie das so häufig in der Jugend passiert, ganz nach dem Motto:“Du spielst Bass!“
Dieses Los fiel auf meinen Nachbarn „Stefan Fricke“, viele Jahre später unautorisiert umgetauft von seinem jüngeren Bruder auf den Namen „Miller“ ( wegen eines Posters der „Steve Miller Band“ in seinem Zimmer). Immerhin spielt er noch heute Bass, zwar nicht beruflich, aber aus Liebe und gut. Der andere Mitstreiter war „Thomas Fulhage“, ein weiterer Freund ( leider besteht schon lange überhaupt kein Kontakt mehr ), welcher den vakanten Rhythmus – Job übernahm. Da es kein Schlagzeug gab, spielte er Bongos, durchaus leidenschaftlich und somit auch schmerzhaft. Galt es doch, gegen meine erste E – Gitarre anzukommen, eine ochsenblutrote Ibanez - SG – Kopie in Verbindung mit einem „Big Muff“ – Verzerrer in einen „Schaller“ – Amp. Bei unserem ersten Auftritt in der Turnhalle meines Heimat – Dorfes „Bentrup – Loßbruch“ anlässlich eines Turner – Jugend -Ferienlagers und entsprechender sportlicher Wettbewerbe wurden die Bongos mangels spezieller Hardware an einer Stehleiter befestigt.
Fast müßig zu sagen, das auch mein Bruder Uwe bei jenem denkwürdigem Auftritt mitgewirkt hat. Er spielte seinerzeit eine 12 – saitige Framus – Akustik – Gitarre mit Tonabnehmer und sang. Rückblickend habe ich manchmal das Gefühl, er war dabei, um ein wenig auf mich zu achten,- denn wohlgemerkt: ich war eigentlich viel zu jung für all die teils auch ungewöhnlichen Aspekte in unserem Freundeskreis. Nennen wir ihn ruhig meinen persönlichen, menschlichen Schutzengel. Neben einigen eigenen Titeln waren auch Nummern von „Status Quo – Gerdundula“, „Rod Stewart & The Faces – Stay With Me“, „Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter“ usw. im Programm. Mein Ruf war nach besagtem Auftritt im Dorfe auf jeden Fall so ziemlich ruiniert, das hatte sich auch schon mehrfach während der Proben mit entsprechender „Ordnungshüter gegen Lautstärke“ – Präsenz sowie auch mein äußeres Erscheinungsbild angebahnt. Nach einer spontanen Umbenennung in „SOUNDTRACK“ folgte ein weiterer Auftritt als Vorgruppe zu „FRANZ K.“ in Lemgo / Brake. Das war dann selbst meinem Bruder zuviel. Thomas lieh sich ein Schlagzeug, ohne fast jemals darauf gespielt zu haben. Trotzdem war die Intensität der Darbietung relativ hoch, wohl auch durch den Einsatz weiterer Tretminen für Gitarre,- es wurde recht experimentiell. Danach wurden Inhalte wichtiger, Texte, Politik, konkreterer Sprachgebrauch, deutsche Texte, pazifistisch antimilitärisch und hippiehaft geprägt.
Ich begann Solo – Konzerte zu spielen, folkig, nicht nur politisch, auch mit Songs von „Simon & Garfunkel“, „Neil Young“, „Yes“, „Rod Stewart“, aber eben auch immer eigenes Herzblut, meistens politisch, aber auch emotional – romantisch. Titel wie: „Was ist Frieden?“, „Laßt es gut sein“, „Der Schatten des Todes“, Hippie´s Traum“ waren die Folge, anfangs alleine intoniert, später mit „MEINERT´S FOLK COMPANY“ zusammen mit meinem Bruder Uwe (natürlich er schon wieder!) und unserem gemeinsamen Freund Hansel Pethig. Hinzu gesellte sich noch ein gewisser „Fritz Blitz“, welcher mich zum Blues brachte und überdies seine alte Strat an mich veräusserte, das Instrument, mit dem ich seitdem quasi verwachsen bin. Natürlich hatte auch Fritz in vielen Lebensbereichen großen Einfluß auf mich! Nie werde ich seinen „Easy Rider von der Waterkant“ vergessen, für uns alle ein echter Riesen – Hit, nur hat ihn leider der Rest der Welt niemals gehört. Mit „MFC“ entstanden weitere lippische Hymnen wie z.B.: „Schonzeit“, „Der Stein der Weisen“, „Mr. Blues“ usw..
Auf Umwegen machte ich mein Fachabi und begann, auf energischen Wunsch meiner Eltern hin ein „Physik – Studium“. Nach drei Semestern hatte ich mir in der Wohnung meines Bruders Uwe, welcher weiterhin für mich vorbildhaft lebte und somit rein zufällig das gleiche Studium betrieb, die wichtigsten theoretischen Grundlagen der Musik und des Gitarrespiels draufgeschafft, um entsprechenden Unterricht erteilen zu können, da ich nach meiner Exmatrikulation auf eigene Einkünfte extrem angewiesen war, denn sie hatte den absolut erwarteten Rausschmiss aus meinem Elternhaus zur Folge. Ich hatte mich also entschieden, bedingungslos, - für die Musik! Dabei half mir meine damalige Freundin, die später auch meine Frau und Mutter unsere zwei Söhne Dominique und Joshua wurde.
Im Zuge familiärer Wiedervereinigung einige Zeit später (meine Eltern resignierten ob meiner absoluten Sturheit) wurde mir entgegen jeder Veranlagung ein kleiner Musikalienhandel eingeschenkt. Das war nicht ganz unpraktisch, hatte ich zu der Zeit doch einige Gitarrenschüler.
Richtig sinnvoll geriet es aber durch den Rebellen in mir. Politische Songs verhallen nun mal sehr schnell, macht man es nicht sein Leben lang und wird deswegen verhaftet oder ausgewiesen. Also hieß die Alternative: Sei laut, frech und aggressiv! Somit war die „LIPPISCHE LANDPLAGE“ geboren. Und was braucht es dafür? Eine gewaltige P.A., Monitore, Mixer, usw.! Da ich an der Quelle saß, hatten wir bald die in Lippe gefürchtete 3-Weg-Aktiv-P.A.. Natürlich ruinöser Wettbewerb, da die Auftritts– und Verleihmöglichkeiten in Lippe doch sehr begrenzt waren (und heute noch viel mehr sind).
Wir gerieten so zu einer Art Kult–Band (wirklich!), aber leider ist Lippe sehr klein und die Mauer drum herum sehr hoch. „Miller“ (remember the first Bass–player) war mit von der Partie, „Joe Page“ (Joachim Paga) nannte sich der Drummer (möglicherweise ein Stiefbruder von Keith Moon), und „Schelp“ alias Dirk Schelpmeier bediente die Gitarre, sang und erforschte schon damals Ausdrucksformen inner– und außerhalb ethischer und physikalischer Möglichkeiten, ein für mich damals noch nicht so ganz klar erkennbarer Künstler! In seinen Anfängen war er einer meiner Gitarrenschüler, Jahre zuvor, und er trieb mich in der ganz heißen Phase des teilweise hoch sportlichen zweistimmigen Gitarrenspiels zu Performance–Übungen, die uns Beiden zumindest ansatzweise Sehnenscheidenentzündungen beibrachte (Gitarrensoli á la “Thin Lizzy“, aber auf dem Rücken gespielt). Ja, wir waren laut und aggressiv. Titel gefällig: „Ich seh rot“, „Wenn`s uns nicht gut geht, geht´s uns mies“, „Leben ist so schwer“.
Unsere Region war bald plattgespielt, Resignation, fast Wut ob der gefühlten Isolation machte sich breit. Also musste eine LP her, auf Teufel komm raus. Jetzt zeigte sich meine ganze Sturheit, der Willen, die personifizierte Leidenschaft zur brotlosen Kunst. Alles oder Nichts, leider ohne Geldgeber und vernünftige Hoffnung. In diese Zweifel mischten sich denn auch Einflüsse, die ein wenig von der Authentizität und ursprünglichen Klarheit, Härte wegnahmen und stattdessen poppigere Sounds wie Keyboards, die vorher keinerlei Rolle gespielt hatten, feinere Arrangements, Harmonie–Vocals mit sich brachten. Ich war zwar auch schon damals ein Künstler–Egoist,- so sind wir nun mal, aber eben auch unsicher. Wenn ich überhaupt etwas an der Landplagen–LP: „PERSPEKTIVEN“ bemängeln will, dann ist es ein wenig dieser Pop–Weichspül–Einfluß. Trotzdem ein wunderbares Zeitzeugnis und Dokument.
Höre ich Titel davon, so begebe ich mich unmittelbar auf eine Zeitreise. Immerhin hat es die Hymne: “Leben ist so schwer“ mit der Kult–Zeile: „Ich steh in Lemgo am Bahnhof und ich weiß nicht wohin!“, der ewig junge Polit–Gag: „Die rosarote Brille“ und der „MFC“–Klassiker „Schonzeit“ auf die LP geschafft. Von der LP gibt es, so glaube ich, noch 20 Exemplare. Allerdings hat Miller meines Wissens nach das Master–Tape digitalisiert. Möglicherweise kann man davon also CD´s machen, das will ich aber vorher mit dem Verlag und dem Label abklären. Die „LANDPLAGE“ hatte neben der weitestgehend „Meinert–geprägten“ Musik aber auch Witz, Satire und Theater zu bieten. Die sogenannte „Neue Deutsche Welle“ hatten wir zwar nicht ausgelöst, aber ihre Frechheit und Unbekümmertheit boten wir schon länger dar, ebenso wie eine heute sehr populäre Art von Humor, vertreten durch die „BOYKOTT–BROTHERS“ Dirk „Schelp“ Schelpmeier und Joe Page. Wie gesagt, die unsichtbaren Mauern ums Lipperland sind sehr hoch. Passend zur VÖ der LP lösten wir uns also auf, aus Frust, Enttäuschung, Stillstand. Welchen Stellenwert die „Landplage“ hatte, zeigte sich bei zwei Revival-Konzerten viele Jahre später, wo jeweils unabhängig voneinander, (5 Jahre dazwischen) für lippische Verhältnisse unglaubliche 700 Zuhörer erschienen, - und es wären noch mehr gekommen, aber die Halle war überfüllt.
Mickey Meinert & Dieter Kropp IN CONCERT
Der 1961 in Barntrup/Lippe geborene Dieter Kropp gilt schon seit langem als einer der ausdrucksstärksten und versiertesten Blues Harmonica-Spieler Deutschlands. Die Liebe zur Musik und ganz speziell zum Blues brachte ihn zur Mundharmonika. Seit 1986 Profi, wurde er schon früh als „einer der besten deutschen Blues Harp-Spieler“ bezeichnet. Sein Blues ist tief in den Traditionen verwurzelt, ohne sich dabei neuen Einflüssen zu verschließen. Kritiker erwähnen seinen Namen bereits in einem Atemzug mit Götz Alsmann und Roger Cicero: Deutschlands „Blues Harp – Papst Dieter Kropp“ (Gießener Allgemeine). Er reißt mit und weiß zu begeistern.
Wir freuen uns sehr, an diesem Abend einen weiteren Musiker vorstellen zu können, dessen internationale Reputationen ihm weit vorauseilen. Ein Künstler, dessen beseeltes Gitarrenspiel geschätzt wurde und wird von Stephan Eicher, Al Bano Carrisi, Schiller, Marianne Rosenberg, Juliane Werding, Otto Waalkes und ganz aktuell auch von den korsischen Weltmusikern „I Muvrini“. Auf globalen Tourneen durch ganz Europa, Kanada, Japan, China oder auch die USA hat er tausende Menschen im Publikum mit seinem stilistisch vielseitigem Gitarrenspiel und seiner facettenreiche Stimme begeistert. Das Beste allerdings ist, dass der Mann aus Kohlstädt stammt, in Bentrup lebt und bereits seit Mitte der siebziger Jahr mit seinen verschiedenen Formationen auch hier in der Region immer wieder für neue musikalische Impulse sorgt. Angefangen von Solo-Konzerten, über die legendären Auftritte mit „Meinert’s Folk Company“ sowie der schon längst Kult-Status anerkannten „Lippischen Landplage“. Seit Anbeginn seines musikalischen Schaffens und seiner Neugierde auf Musik spürte Mickey Meinert eine sehr enge Verbundenheit zum Blues, und das nicht nur in seinen traditionellen Formen. Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck und Fritz Blitz sind seine Einflüsse. Nicht von ungefähr kam schließlich auch die Einladung des Crossroad Hamburg e.V., als Dozent, Juror und Mentor bei einem der größten deutschen Nachwuchs-Festivals dabei zu sein: dem Robert-Johnson–Guitar-Award. In verschiedenen Musiker-Kombinationen werden all die Facetten des bluesigen Mickey Meinert präsentiert. Sein einzigartiger Zugang und wunderbarer Umgang mit akustischen Gitarren, sowie seine Fähigkeit, die intensiven “on the road“ – Erfahrungen durch Töne in Geschichten zu verwandeln, sein Geschick und Gespür für den musikalischen Moment werden uns sicherlich einen spannenden Abend bereiten. Hier wird Leidenschaft sicht – und hörbar zum Lebensinhalt.
Der 1961 in Barntrup/Lippe geborene Dieter Kropp gilt schon seit langem als einer der ausdrucksstärksten und versiertesten Blues Harmonica-Spieler Deutschlands. Die Liebe zur Musik und ganz speziell zum Blues brachte ihn zur Mundharmonika. Seit 1986 Profi, wurde er schon früh als „einer der besten deutschen Blues Harp-Spieler“ bezeichnet. Sein Blues ist tief in den Traditionen verwurzelt, ohne sich dabei neuen Einflüssen zu verschließen. Kritiker erwähnen seinen Namen bereits in einem Atemzug mit Götz Alsmann und Roger Cicero: Deutschlands „Blues Harp – Papst Dieter Kropp“ (Gießener Allgemeine). Er reißt mit und weiß zu begeistern.
Wir freuen uns sehr, an diesem Abend einen weiteren Musiker vorstellen zu können, dessen internationale Reputationen ihm weit vorauseilen. Ein Künstler, dessen beseeltes Gitarrenspiel geschätzt wurde und wird von Stephan Eicher, Al Bano Carrisi, Schiller, Marianne Rosenberg, Juliane Werding, Otto Waalkes und ganz aktuell auch von den korsischen Weltmusikern „I Muvrini“. Auf globalen Tourneen durch ganz Europa, Kanada, Japan, China oder auch die USA hat er tausende Menschen im Publikum mit seinem stilistisch vielseitigem Gitarrenspiel und seiner facettenreiche Stimme begeistert. Das Beste allerdings ist, dass der Mann aus Kohlstädt stammt, in Bentrup lebt und bereits seit Mitte der siebziger Jahr mit seinen verschiedenen Formationen auch hier in der Region immer wieder für neue musikalische Impulse sorgt. Angefangen von Solo-Konzerten, über die legendären Auftritte mit „Meinert’s Folk Company“ sowie der schon längst Kult-Status anerkannten „Lippischen Landplage“. Seit Anbeginn seines musikalischen Schaffens und seiner Neugierde auf Musik spürte Mickey Meinert eine sehr enge Verbundenheit zum Blues, und das nicht nur in seinen traditionellen Formen. Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck und Fritz Blitz sind seine Einflüsse. Nicht von ungefähr kam schließlich auch die Einladung des Crossroad Hamburg e.V., als Dozent, Juror und Mentor bei einem der größten deutschen Nachwuchs-Festivals dabei zu sein: dem Robert-Johnson–Guitar-Award. In verschiedenen Musiker-Kombinationen werden all die Facetten des bluesigen Mickey Meinert präsentiert. Sein einzigartiger Zugang und wunderbarer Umgang mit akustischen Gitarren, sowie seine Fähigkeit, die intensiven “on the road“ – Erfahrungen durch Töne in Geschichten zu verwandeln, sein Geschick und Gespür für den musikalischen Moment werden uns sicherlich einen spannenden Abend bereiten. Hier wird Leidenschaft sicht – und hörbar zum Lebensinhalt.
Dieter Kropp & Mickey Meinert - Schoenen Gruss vom Blues
Fernsehkonzert: Mickey Meinert & Dieter Kropp aus Detmold
Live-Musik - präsentiert von Kanal 21, Bielefeld
R.I.P.
Clifton Chenier +12.12.1987
Clifton Chenier (* 26. Juni 1925 in Opelousas, Louisiana; † 12. Dezember 1987 in Lafayette, Louisiana) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues- und Zydeco-Musiker. Er spielte Akkordeon und sang seine Texte in Französisch.
Cheniers musikalischer Erfolg begann 1954 mit Cliston's Blues, einem regionalen Hit. 1955 folgte Ay Tete Fille (Hey, Little Girl) (im Original von Professor Longhair), das Chenier auch überregional bekannt machte. Mit seiner Band „Zydeco Ramblers“ war er von nun an ständig auf Tour.
Seine Popularität erreichte in den 1980ern mit der „Red Hot Louisiana Band“ ihren Höhepunkt. 1983 gewann er als zweiter Kreole überhaupt einen Grammy für sein Album I'm Here!.
Clifton Chenier litt an Diabetes, weswegen ihm ein Fuß teilweise amputiert werden musste. Er starb 1987 an Nierenversagen. 1989 wurde er postum in die Blues Hall of Fame aufgenommen. Der Gitarrist und Songwriter Rory Gallagher schrieb einen Tribute-Song für Clifton Chenier mit dem Namen „The King Of Zydeco“. Außerdem wird sein Name im Titel That was your Mother auf dem Album Graceland des US-amerikanischen Sängers und Songwriters Paul Simon aus dem Jahr 1986 erwähnt.
Sein Sohn C. J. Chenier führt die Zydeco-Tradition seines Vaters weiter; sein Großcousin Roscoe Chenier (1941–2013) war ebenfalls Blues-Musiker.
Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 – December 12, 1987),[1][2] a Creole French-speaking native of Opelousas, Louisiana, was an eminent performer and recording artist of Zydeco, which arose from Cajun and Creole music, with R&B, jazz, and blues influences. He played the accordion and won a Grammy Award in 1983.[1] In 1984 he was honored as a National Heritage Fellow [3] in 1989 was inducted posthumously into the Blues Hall of Fame,[4] in 2011, The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame, and in 2014, a Grammy recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
He was known as the 'King of Zydeco',[1][2][5] and also billed as the 'King of the South'.[4]
Career
Chenier began his recording career in 1954, when he signed with Elko Records and released Clifton's Blues, a regional success. His first hit record was soon followed by "Ay 'Tite Fille (Hey, Little Girl)" (a cover of Professor Longhair's song).[1] This received some mainstream success. With the Zydeco Ramblers, Chenier toured extensively. He also toured in the early days with Clarence Garlow, billed as the 'Two Crazy Frenchmen'.[6] Chenier was signed with Chess Records in Chicago, followed by the Arhoolie label.
In April 1966, Chenier appeared at the Berkeley Blues Festival on the University of California campus and was subsequently described by Ralph J. Gleason, jazz critic of the San Francisco Chronicle, as "... one of the most surprising musicians I have heard in some time, with a marvelously moving style of playing the accordion ... blues accordion, that's right, blues accordion."[7]
Chenier was the first act to play at Antone's, a blues club on Sixth Street in Austin, Texas. Later in 1976, he reached a national audience when he appeared on the premiere season of the PBS music program Austin City Limits.[8] Three years later in 1979 he returned to the show with his Red Hot Louisiana Band.[9]
Chenier's popularity peaked in the 1980s, and he was recognized with a Grammy Award in 1983 for his album I'm Here.[1] It was the first Grammy for his new label Alligator Records. Chenier followed Queen Ida as the second Louisiana Creole to win a Grammy.
Chenier is credited with redesigning the wood and crimped tin washboard into the vest frottoir, an instrument that would easily hang from the shoulders. Cleveland Chenier, Clifton's older brother, also played in the Red Hot Louisiana Band. He found popularity for his ability to manipulate the distinctive sound of the frottoir by rubbing several bottle openers (held in each hand) along its ridges.
During their prime, Chenier and his band traveled throughout the world.
Later years and death
Chenier suffered from diabetes which eventually forced him to have a foot amputated and required dialysis because of associated kidney problems.[1]
He died of diabetes-related kidney disease in December 1987 in Lafayette, Louisiana,[2] and was buried in All Souls Cemetery in Loreauville, Iberia Parish, Louisiana.
Legacy and tributes
Since 1987, C. J. Chenier (born Clayton Joseph Thompson) has carried on the zydeco tradition by touring with Chenier's band and recording albums.[10][11]
In 1989, Chenier was inducted posthumously into the Blues Hall of Fame, and in 2011, was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame.
Rory Gallagher wrote a song in tribute to Chenier entitled "The King of Zydeco". Paul Simon mentioned Chenier in his song "That Was Your Mother", from his 1986 album Graceland. John Mellencamp refers to "Clifton" in his song "Lafayette", about the Louisiana city where Chenier often performed. The song is on Mellencamp's 2003 album Trouble No More. Zachary Richard mentioned Chenier in his song "Clif's Zydeco" (on Richard's 2012 album Le Fou).
The jam band Phish often covers Chenier's song "My Soul" in live performances.[12]
Chenier is the subject of Les Blank's 1973 documentary film, Hot Pepper.
He was known as the 'King of Zydeco',[1][2][5] and also billed as the 'King of the South'.[4]
Career
Chenier began his recording career in 1954, when he signed with Elko Records and released Clifton's Blues, a regional success. His first hit record was soon followed by "Ay 'Tite Fille (Hey, Little Girl)" (a cover of Professor Longhair's song).[1] This received some mainstream success. With the Zydeco Ramblers, Chenier toured extensively. He also toured in the early days with Clarence Garlow, billed as the 'Two Crazy Frenchmen'.[6] Chenier was signed with Chess Records in Chicago, followed by the Arhoolie label.
In April 1966, Chenier appeared at the Berkeley Blues Festival on the University of California campus and was subsequently described by Ralph J. Gleason, jazz critic of the San Francisco Chronicle, as "... one of the most surprising musicians I have heard in some time, with a marvelously moving style of playing the accordion ... blues accordion, that's right, blues accordion."[7]
Chenier was the first act to play at Antone's, a blues club on Sixth Street in Austin, Texas. Later in 1976, he reached a national audience when he appeared on the premiere season of the PBS music program Austin City Limits.[8] Three years later in 1979 he returned to the show with his Red Hot Louisiana Band.[9]
Chenier's popularity peaked in the 1980s, and he was recognized with a Grammy Award in 1983 for his album I'm Here.[1] It was the first Grammy for his new label Alligator Records. Chenier followed Queen Ida as the second Louisiana Creole to win a Grammy.
Chenier is credited with redesigning the wood and crimped tin washboard into the vest frottoir, an instrument that would easily hang from the shoulders. Cleveland Chenier, Clifton's older brother, also played in the Red Hot Louisiana Band. He found popularity for his ability to manipulate the distinctive sound of the frottoir by rubbing several bottle openers (held in each hand) along its ridges.
During their prime, Chenier and his band traveled throughout the world.
Later years and death
Chenier suffered from diabetes which eventually forced him to have a foot amputated and required dialysis because of associated kidney problems.[1]
He died of diabetes-related kidney disease in December 1987 in Lafayette, Louisiana,[2] and was buried in All Souls Cemetery in Loreauville, Iberia Parish, Louisiana.
Legacy and tributes
Since 1987, C. J. Chenier (born Clayton Joseph Thompson) has carried on the zydeco tradition by touring with Chenier's band and recording albums.[10][11]
In 1989, Chenier was inducted posthumously into the Blues Hall of Fame, and in 2011, was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame.
Rory Gallagher wrote a song in tribute to Chenier entitled "The King of Zydeco". Paul Simon mentioned Chenier in his song "That Was Your Mother", from his 1986 album Graceland. John Mellencamp refers to "Clifton" in his song "Lafayette", about the Louisiana city where Chenier often performed. The song is on Mellencamp's 2003 album Trouble No More. Zachary Richard mentioned Chenier in his song "Clif's Zydeco" (on Richard's 2012 album Le Fou).
The jam band Phish often covers Chenier's song "My Soul" in live performances.[12]
Chenier is the subject of Les Blank's 1973 documentary film, Hot Pepper.
I'm Comin Home - Clifton Chenier (Live 1973)
Ike Turner +12.12.2007
Ike Turner (* 5. November 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA; † 12. Dezember 2007 in San Marcos, Kalifornien), (eigentlich Izear Luster Turner Jr.[1] oder Ike Wister Turner) war ein US-amerikanischer Musiker (Piano, Gitarre, Bass) und Produzent.
Leben
Turner war der Sohn der Näherin Beatrice Cushenberry und des Baptistenpfarrers Izear Luster Turner. Nach eigenen Angaben musste Turner im Alter von vier oder fünf Jahren die Lynchung seines eigenen Vaters miterleben, der innerhalb von wenigen Jahren den zugefügten Wunden am Bauch erlag.[2] Seine musikalische Karriere verdankte Turner dem Blues-Pianisten Pinetop Perkins, der ihm und seinem Schulfreund Ernest Lane ab dem Alter von sechs oder sieben Jahren[3] Boogie-Woogie beibrachte, den Turner später zu einer frühen Form des Rock 'n' Roll weiterentwickelte. In seiner Heimatstadt Clarksdale, wo Turner als Liftboy in einem Hotel arbeitete, in dem sich auch eine Radiostation befand, sammelte er seine ersten Erfahrungen mit der Musikbranche.[4] Später war Turner als Pianist für Sonny Boy Williamson II. und Robert Nighthawk tätig.[5] Als Talentscout für verschiedene Plattenlabel entdeckte er u.a. Howlin' Wolf und B.B. King. [6] Bald wurde er zu einem gefragten Sessionmusiker und steuerte u.a. Piano-Partien zu Howlin' Wolfs „How Many More Years" und B.B. Kings Interpretation des „Three O'Clock Blues" bei.
Turners 1951 erschienene, von Sam Phillips produzierte Single „Rocket 88“ gilt heute allgemein als eine der ersten Rock-’n’-Roll-Aufnahmen. Die Aufnahme erschien unter dem Namen von Jackie Brenston und seinen Delta Cats, wurde aber von Ike Turner und seinen Kings of Rhythm gespielt, bei denen Brenston Saxophon spielte und sang. Little Richard benutzte Turners Piano-Intro nahezu unverändert für seinen Song „Good Golly Miss Molly“ (1958). Außerdem gehört Rocket 88 zu einer der ersten Aufnahmen mit verzerrtem Gitarrenklang, verursacht durch einen möglicherweise durchnässten Amplifier.[7] E-Gitarre zu spielen lernte Turner erst in den frühen 1950er Jahren von seinem Band-Mitglied Willie Kizart. Charakteristisch für Turners Gitarrenstil ist der gezielte Einsatz von Whammy Bar. Anstatt den Tremoloarm zum Korpus hin zu bewegen, zerrte er ihn aus Unkenntnis vom Korpus weg und erzeugte auf diese Weise einen charakteristischen Sound.[8]
Turner gilt als Wegbereiter der klassischen Soul-Musik, die er in der „Ike and Tina Turner Revue“ einem großen Publikum darbot. Er war 16 Jahre lang, von 1962 bis 1978, mit Tina Turner verheiratet, die sich allerdings bereits 1976 von ihm trennte. Die Ehe wurde 1978 aufgrund seiner Drogensucht, mehrfachen Ehebruchs und schwerer Gewalttätigkeiten gegen seine Frau geschieden. Unter anderem warf ihm seine Frau Tina Vergewaltigung vor. 1989 wurde Ike Turner wegen Drogenbesitzes zu einer vierjährigen Gefängnisstrafe verurteilt, von der er allerdings wegen guter Führung nur 17 Monate verbüßte.[9]
Zu Turners bekanntesten Aufnahmen gehören „A Fool In Love“, „It's Gonna Work Out Fine“, „I'm Blue“, „I Wanna Take You Higher“, „Nutbush City Limits“, „Proud Mary“. Als Meisterwerk von Ike und Tina Turner gilt „River Deep − Mountain High“, eine von Phil Spector produzierte Popsymphonie, deren Produktion 1966 22.000 Dollar kostete. 1991 wurden Ike und Tina Turner in die „Rock and Roll Hall of Fame“ aufgenommen.[10] Ein Gastauftritt auf dem Album „Great Guitars“ des Bluesmusikers Joe Louis Walker animierte Turner, sich musikalisch verstärkt seinen Blues-Wurzeln zu widmen.[11] Sein Album „Here And Now“ brachte Ike Turner 2001 eine Grammy-Nominierung ein. Im Jahr 2004 wurde er mit einem „Memphis Heroes Award“ ausgezeichnet. Die Stadt St. Louis verlieh ihm einen Stern auf dem berühmten „St. Louis Walk of Fame“. Ein Jahr später wurde Ike Turner in die „Blues Hall of Fame“ aufgenommen und durfte auf „Hollywood's Rockwalk“ seinen Handabdruck hinterlassen. Im selben Jahr war er in dem Song „Every Planet We Reach Is Dead“ der Comic-Band Gorillaz aus dem Album „Demon Days“ mit einem Piano-Solo zu hören. In Deutschland war er 2006 bei der Nokia Night of the Proms live zu sehen. Sein Album „Risin' With The Blues“ erhielt am 11. Februar 2007 den Grammy in der Kategorie „Best Traditional Blues Album“.
Ike Turner starb am 12. Dezember 2007 im Alter von 76 Jahren in seinem Haus in San Marcos bei San Diego. Seine Witwe Jeanette Bazzell Turner gab keine Todesursache bekannt, sagte aber, Turner hätte an einem Lungenemphysem gelitten.[12][13] Untersuchungsergebnissen zufolge starb er an einer Überdosis Kokain.[14] Die beiden Musiker hatten 1995 geheiratet. Die Beisetzung fand am 21. Dezember 2007 in Gardena (Kalifornien) statt − in Form einer Mischung aus Trauerfeier und Rockkonzert.[15]
Izear Luster "Ike" Turner, Jr. (November 5, 1931[1][2] – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. An early pioneer of fifties rock and roll, he is most popularly known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with his then-wife Tina Turner in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.
Turner began playing piano and guitar when he was eight, forming his group, the Kings of Rhythm, as a teenager.[3] He employed the group as his backing band for the rest of his life. His first recording, "Rocket 88", credited to "Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats", in 1951 is considered a contender for "first rock and roll song". Relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1954, he built the Kings into one of the most renowned acts on the local club circuit.[4] There he met singer Anna Mae Bullock, whom he renamed Tina Turner, forming The Ike & Tina Turner Revue, which over the course of the sixties became a soul/rock crossover success.[5]
Turner recorded for many of the key R&B record labels of the 1950s and 1960s, including Chess, Modern, Trumpet, Flair and Sue.[6] With the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, he graduated to larger labels Blue Thumb and United Artists. Throughout his career Turner won two Grammy Awards and was nominated for three others.[7] With his former wife, Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and in 2001 was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
Allegations by Tina Turner of abuse by Ike, published in her autobiography I, Tina and included in the film adaptation of the book, coupled with his cocaine addiction, damaged Ike Turner's career in the 1980s and 1990s.[8] Addicted to cocaine and crack for at least 15 years, Turner was convicted of drug offenses, serving seventeen months in prison between July 1989 and 1991.[9] He spent the rest of the 1990s free of his addiction but relapsed in 2004. Near the end of his life, he returned to live performance as a front man and, returning to his blues roots, produced two albums that were critically well received and award-winning.[10] Turner has frequently been referred to as a 'great innovator' of Rock and Roll by contemporaries such as Little Richard[11] and Johnny Otis.[12] Phil Alexander (then editor-in-chief of Mojo magazine) described Turner as 'the cornerstone of modernday rock 'n' roll'.[13]
Early life (1931–45)
Turner was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on November 5, 1931, to Beatrice Cushenberry (1909–195?), a seamstress, and Isaiah (or Izear) Luster Turner, a Baptist minister. The younger of their two children, Turner had an elder sister named Ethel May.[10] Turner believed that he had been named after his father, but discovered his name had been mistakenly registered as Ike Wister Turner when applying for his first passport.[10][15]
Turner said that when he was very young he witnessed his father beaten and left for dead by a white mob. His father lived for three years as an invalid in a tent in the family's yard before succumbing to his injuries.[15][16] Writer and blues historian Ted Drozdowski told a different version of the story, stating that Turner's father died in an industrial accident.[17] His mother then married a man called Philip Reeves. Turner said his stepfather was a violent alcoholic[10] and that they often argued and fought. After one fight Turner knocked out his stepfather with a piece of wood. He then ran away to Memphis, where he lived rough for a few days before returning to his mother. He reconciled with his stepfather years later, buying a house for him in the 1950s around the time Turner's mother died.[18]
Turner recounted how he was introduced to sex at the age of six by a middle-aged lady called Miss Boozie. Walking past her house to school, she would invite him to help feed her chickens and then take him to bed. This continued for some years. Turner claimed not to be traumatized by this, commenting that "in those days they didn't call it abuse, they called it fun".[19] He was also raped by two other women before he was twelve.[10]
External video Oral History, Ike Turner shares moments of his life story and career. interview date December 1, 2005, NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Oral History Library
Around his eighth year Turner began frequenting the local Clarksdale radio station, WROX, located in the Alcazar Hotel in downtown Clarksdale. WROX was notable as one of the first radio stations to employ a black DJ, Early Wright, to play blues records.[20] DJ John Frisella put Turner to work. Turner described this as "the beginning of my thing with music."[21] Soon he was left to play records while the DJ went across the street for coffee.[22] This led to Turner being offered a job by the station manager as the DJ on the late-afternoon shift. The job meant he had access to all the new releases. On his show he played a diverse range of music, playing Louis Jordan alongside early rockabilly records.[18]
Turner was inspired to learn the piano on a visit to his friend Ernest Lane's house, where he heard Pinetop Perkins playing Lane's father's piano. Turner persuaded his mother to pay for piano lessons; however, he did not take to the formal style of playing, instead spending the money in a pool hall, then learning boogie-woogie from Perkins. He taught himself to play guitar by playing along to old blues records.[23][24] At some point in the 1940s, Turner moved into Clarksdale’s Riverside Hotel, run by Mrs. Z.L. Ratliff.[25] The Riverside played host to touring musicians, including Sonny Boy Williamson II and Duke Ellington. Turner associated with many of these guests and played music with them.[17]
Music career
In high school, Turner joined a local rhythm ensemble called The Tophatters who played dances around Clarksdale, Mississippi.[3] Members of the band were Clarksdale musicians and included Turner's school friends Raymond Hill, Eugene Fox and Clayton Love.[26] The Tophatters played big-band arrangements from sheet music. Turner, who was trained by ear and could not sight read, would learn the pieces by listening to a version on record at home, pretending to be reading the music during rehearsals.[3] At one point, the Tophatters had over 30 members and eventually split into two,[27] with one act who wanted to carry on playing dance-band jazz calling themselves The Dukes of Swing and the other, led by Turner, becoming the Kings of Rhythm. Said Turner, "We wanted to play blues, boogie-woogie and Roy Brown, Jimmy Liggins, Roy Milton."[3] Turner kept the name throughout his career, although it went through lineup changes over time. Their early stage performances consisted largely of covers of popular jukebox hits. B. B. King helped them to get a steady weekend gig and recommended them to Sam Phillips at Sun Studio.[28] In the 50s, Turner's group got regular airplay from live sessions on WROX-Am,[20] and KFFA radio in Helena, Arkansas.[29]
Sun Studio at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, where in 1951 Turner and the Kings of Rhythm recorded Rocket 88, one of the first Rock and roll records. Turner would later work at the studio as in-house producer for Sam Phillips.
Around the time he was starting out with the Kings of Rhythm, Turner and Lane became unofficial roadies for blues singer Robert Nighthawk, who often played live on WROX. The pair played drums and piano on radio sessions and supported Nighthawk at blues dates around Clarksdale. Playing with Nighthawk allowed Turner to gig regularly and build up playing experience.[30]
He provided backup for Sonny Boy Williamson II, playing gigs alongside other local blues artists such as Howlin' Wolf, Charley Booker, Elmore James, Muddy Waters and Little Walter.[21] Performances typically lasted for about twelve hours, from early evening to dawn the next day. Turner described the scenario to an interviewer:
We played juke joints; we'd start playing at 8.00pm and wouldn't get off till 8.00am. No intermissions, no breaks. If you had to go to the restroom, well that's how I learned to play drums and guitar! When one had to go, someone had to take his place.[21][31]
Around this time Turner and his band came up with the song "Rocket 88". The song was written as the group drove up to Memphis to record at Sun Studios. Turner came up with the introduction and first verse and the band collaborated on the rest; saxophonist Brenston sang vocals. Phillips sold the recording to Chess in Chicago, who released it under the name "Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats". The record sold approximately half a million copies. In Turner's account book, he recorded that he was paid $20.
The success of Rocket 88 caused tensions and ego clashes in the band, causing Brenston to leave to pursue a solo career, taking some of the original members with him. Turner, without a band and disappointed his hit record had not created more opportunities for him, disbanded the Kings of Rhythm for a few years.[31]
Session musician and talent scout (1952–1956)
After recording Rocket 88, Turner became a session musician and production assistant for Philips and the Bihari Brothers, commuting to Memphis from Clarksdale. He began by contributing piano to a B. B. King track, "You Know I Love You", which brought him to the attention of Modern Records' Joe Bihari, who requested Turner's services on another King track 3 O'Clock Blues. It became King's first hit.[4]
Wishing to exploit Turner's Delta music connections, Bihari contracted him as a talent scout, paying him to find southern musicians who might be worth recording.[31] Turner also wrote new material, which, unknown to him, the Bihari Brothers copyrighted under their own name. Turner estimated he "wrote 78 hit records for the Biharis." Artists Turner sourced for Modern included Bobby Bland, Howlin' Wolf and Rosco Gordon. He played piano on sessions with them and lesser-known artists such as The Prisonaires, Ben Burton Orchestra, Little Milton, Matt Cockrell and Dennis Binder.[4]
Turner was contracted to the Bihari Brothers, but he continued to work for Phillips, where he was effectively the in-house producer. This sometimes created conflicts of interest. Turner cut two Howlin' Wolf tracks, "How Many More Years" and "Moanin' at Midnight," which Phillips sent to Chess. Turner then took Wolf across the state border, rerecorded the tracks without Phillips's or Chess's knowledge, and sent the results to Modern/RPM. Turner also attempted to poach Elmore James from Trumpet Records and record him for Modern. Trumpet found out and Modern had to cancel the record. However, James did eventually sign for Modern, with Turner playing piano on a James recording at Club Desire in Canton.[4][32]
St. Louis (1956–1959)
In 1956, Turner took a reformed version of the Kings of Rhythm north to St. Louis,[33] including Kizart, Sims, O'Neal, Jessie Knight, Jr. and Turner's third wife, Annie Mae Wilson Turner, on piano and vocals. Turner moved over to playing guitar to accommodate Annie Mae, taking lessons from Willie Kizart to improve.[34][35]
Turner maintained strict discipline, insisting they live in a large house with him so he could conduct early-morning rehearsals. Up until the age of 30, Turner was a teetotaler and had never taken drugs. He insisted all band members also adopt this policy and fired anyone he even suspected of breaking the rules.[10] He also fined or physically assaulted band members if they played a wrong note and controlled everything from the arrangements down to the suits the band wore onstage. Starting off playing at a club called Kingsbury's in Madison, Illinois, within a year Turner had built up a full gig schedule, establishing his group as one of the most highly rated on the St. Louis club circuit, vying for popularity with their main competition, Sir John's Trio featuring Chuck Berry. The bands would play all-nighters in St. Louis, then cross the river to the clubs of East St. Louis, Illinois, and continue playing until dawn. In St. Louis for the first time, Turner was exposed to a developing white teenage audience who were excited by R&B. Turner played in St. Louis clubs including Club Imperial, which was popular with white teenagers, The Dynaflow, The Moonlight Lounge, Club Riviera and West End Walter's. In East St. Louis, his group played Kingsbury's, Club Manhattan and The Sportsman.[34][35]
In between live dates, Turner took the band to Cincinnati, Ohio, to record for Federal in 1956 and Chicago for Cobra/Artistic in 1958 as well as fulfilling his contract as a session musician back at Sun.
He befriended St. Louis R&B fan Bill Stevens, who in 1959 set up the short-lived record label Stevens financed by his father Fred. Turner released two singles on the Stevens label (#104 and #107) under the anagram, "Icky Renrut", as he was still under contract with Sun for several more months and did not want to cause friction with Phillips. He also contributed vocals and/or guitar on 5 additional Stevens singles: Johnny Wright (#101), Bobby Foster (#102 and #106), Chuck Wheeler (#103), and Little Cooper & The Drifters (#105). Additionally, Turner contributed vocals and/or guitar on numerous "lost" sessions that remained unreleased for decades. None of the Stevens singles had wide distribution when released and have since become collectible among vinyl record enthusiasts and deejays.[34][35]
Also in 1959, Turner was charged with what he described as "interstate transportation of forged checks and conspiracy" and was forced to stand trial in St. Louis. At the first trial, the jury failed to reach a verdict, and at the retrial a year later, Turner was found not guilty.[36]
The Ike & Tina Turner Revue (1960–1976)
In 1958, Turner's shows at Club Manhattan were frequently visited by an eighteen-year-old high school graduate and nurse aide, Anna Mae Bullock, whose sister Aillene was a barmaid at the club and was dating a band member. After months seeing the band, Anna asked to sing with the Kings of Rhythm, finally being given the chance to do so during an intermission. Impressed by her voice, Ike Turner invited her to join the band, giving her the stage name "Little Ann".[5][37] Later that year, she sang background on Ike's song, "Box Top", for Tune Town Records, and also gave birth to band member Raymond Hill's son.
In March 1960, Turner used Anna's voice on a recording of his self-penned song "A Fool in Love" to lay down a guide track for a male singer who did not attend the recording. He sent the recording to Sue Records in New York, where label owner Juggy Murray insisted on putting out the track with Bullock's vocal. Murray offered a $25,000 advance for the song, convinced it was a hit.[35] Around the time of the recording, Anna had been pursued by Raymond Hill to join his band and leave Turner's. When Ike Turner asked her to use his last name as an attempt to discourage Hill, Anna took the offer.[38] He then changed her first name to "Tina", completing the name change. In July 1960, "A Fool in Love" was released under the billing 'Ike & Tina Turner' and later became a national hit, selling a million copies and making the duo national stars. Turner added a backing girl group he renamed The Ikettes, and this also led to the first name change of the Kings of Rhythm as they began performing as The Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Robert Palmer writes, "There was never any doubt that Tina Turner was the star... the electrifying performer audiences came to see. Ike kept his own stage presence deliberately low-key, avoiding flamboyant moves and directing the band with underplayed, economical gestures. His songwriting, production and musical direction were geared toward showcasing Tina."[31]
The duo produced five more substantial hit singles, including "Poor Fool", "I Idolize You" and a cover of the Joe Seneca track "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", which gave them their second million-seller and their first Grammy nomination. After the duo's deal with Sue ended in 1964, Turner moved the band around to different labels, looking for the best deal and between that year and 1969 they recorded on Sonja, Warner Bros., Kent, Loma, Modern, Philles, Innis, Blue Thumb, Minit and A&M.[6] Phil Spector sought out the duo to work with on 1965's "River Deep - Mountain High" but paid Turner $25,000 to have no creative input into the sessions. The song was not a success in the States, causing Spector's retreat from the music industry, but was a big hit in Europe, reaching No. 3 in the UK singles chart.[39] This brought the duo to the attention of Mick Jagger, who in 1966 invited them to tour with and open for The Rolling Stones,[40] bringing them to a wider audience outside of soul.
Other notable records the duo released were covers of Sly & the Family Stone's "I Want To Take You Higher" and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary", and the Tina Turner-penned "Nutbush City Limits".
The success of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue gave Turner the finances to create his own recording studio, the Los Angeles-based Bolic Sounds next door to his mansion in Inglewood. The studio name was a reference to Tina's maiden name, Bullock.[12] Turner had two sixteen track studios built, a large one to rent out and a smaller one for his personal recordings. He fitted them out with state-of-the-art equipment, two 24-input 16-output mixing desks custom built by John Stephens and Daniel Flickinger, IBM mix memorizers, an early Eventide digital delay.[41] The studios were opened for public hire in March 1972. Artists who recorded there included Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Duane Allman, Little Richard and Gayle McCormick.[12] Frank Zappa recorded the Ruben and the Jets album For Real! as well as most of his own Overnite Sensation and Apostrophe (') lps in 1973 and 1974.[42] Ike and Tina's last hit, the Tina written Nutbush City Limits, was also recorded there.
In 1974, Turner was arrested for using illegal blue boxes at Bolic to make long-distance phone calls. At the time of the arrest, police officers spent several hours breaking through the studio's heavy security measures, as Ike worked feverishly inside trying to finish various recordings before being taken to jail. He was eventually cleared of the charges. After this the police began surveillance on the studio, believing that other illegal activities were taking place inside.[12]
His partnership ended abruptly in 1976 with Tina leaving after the last in a series of violent altercations with Turner.[35]
Legal problems and comeback (1976–2007)
After the breakup, Turner struggled to find success as a solo artist.[43] Holly Maxwell replaced Tina Turner on Turner's band from 1977 to 1985 and again for eight months in 1992. Maxwell reported a positive working relationship with Turner.[44]
Turner admitted that his behavior had become increasingly erratic.[43] During the 1980s he was arrested 10 times for drug and firearm offenses and was convicted on two occasions.[45]
In 1980, a SWAT team raided Bolic Sound, finding a live hand grenade and seven grams of cocaine. Turner was convicted for cocaine possession and sentenced to thirty days in the L.A. county jail with three years probation. This was Turner's first conviction. In April 1981, he was arrested for shooting a 49-year-old newspaper delivery man whom he accused of being physically and verbally abusive to his then wife, Ann Thomas and of kicking his dog. Turner said he only fired a shot to scare him off and that the man had injured himself when he climbed over the fence to get away. A jury in 1982 found him not guilty of assault. By 1985, Turner's finances were in disarray and he owed the state of California $12,802 in back taxes. He later settled his account. He had tried to sell Bolic Sound in 1980 to raise funds to avoid foreclosure, but the studio burned down in a fire in January 1981 on the day Turner was due to show it to a potential buyer.[12] Turner was arrested again on Friday, June 21, 1985, and charged with conspiracy to sell $16,000 worth of cocaine, possession and maintaining a residence for selling or using a controlled substance.[46] The police took $1,000 of rock cocaine from his North Hollywood apartment. Also arrested and charged with him were Eddie Coleman Jr., 32, of Altadena, a record producer, and Richard Lee Griffin, 35, of Los Angeles, a music company writer. Turner paid a $5,000 bond and was released.[47] A further arrest came in 1986 for cocaine possession, concealed carry of a handgun and traffic violations. Turner was released on $2,671 bail.[48] In January 1987, he was arrested for trying to sell 10 ounces of cocaine to an undercover police officer. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell the drug and not guilty to other counts.[49] On February 16, 1990, he was sentenced to four years in a California prison for cocaine possession.[50] He was incarcerated at the minimum security California Men's Colony, San Luis Obispo.[45] Turner completed 18 months of his sentence before being released on parole in September 1991.[51][52] Larry Kamien, associate warden of the California Men's Colony, said Turner was a model inmate.[51] In prison he became a trustee working in the library[52] and saved up $13,000 by selling cigarettes, candy bars and coffee to other inmates.[53] He played music with other inmates and wrote 15 new songs that he was planning to record when he was released.[51]
In 1991, while he remained in prison, Ike and Tina Turner were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which Spector accepted on their behalf. Released from prison, Turner said he was nervous about returning to performing, but had plans to return to the studio. He sold 20 unreleased Ike & Tina Turner recordings to independent label Esquire Records.[51] In 1993 Salt-n-Pepa sampled his Ikettes hit "I'm Blue (The Gong Gong Song)" for their 1993 single Shoop. The track went to No. 4 in the Billboard Hot 100, earning him around half a million dollars in royalties.[43] He rerecorded the song in a duet style with singer Billy Rogers. Produced by Rogers, the remake received favourable reviews.[54] He also appeared on the song "Love Gravy" with Rick James on the album Chef Aid: The South Park Album, the soundtrack to the TV series South Park.[55]
Turner credited Joe Louis Walker with encouraging him to return to his roots in blues music. Turner played guitar and assisted in production on Walker's 1997 album Great Guitars and toured internationally with him.[56] Walker paid him $5,000 a night for six songs.[57] The positive response to the tour encouraged Turner to reform the Kings of Rhythm, taking them on a US tour in 2001. The group headlined a showcase at South by Southwest and were hailed as one of the highlights of the conference.[58] His new wife Jeanette was Ike's lead singer. Turner's work on the tour led to his recording and releasing the 2001 Grammy-nominated Here & Now album. In September 2003, the PBS documentary series Martin Scorsese's The Blues included interviews and performances by Turner. He was featured in the episodes "The Road to Memphis" and "Godfathers and Sons".[59]
Emphysema and bipolar disorder
In 2005, Turner revealed he had been diagnosed with emphysema and in his last years was extremely weak, having to use an oxygen tank. His daughter Mia Turner said, "He was too weak from the emphysema to do anything. He'd go in the studio for a couple of minutes and play a couple of bars and say he had to go lay down."[60] Despite his ill health, he appeared on the Gorillaz' album, Demon Days, playing piano on the track "Every Planet We Reach Is Dead". Turner also performed the track at the live show at the Manchester Opera House from November 1–5, 2005; his performance was released on the DVD "Demon Days: Live at the Manchester Opera House."[61] Before his death, a collaboration between Turner and the rock band The Black Keys, was planned by Gorillaz's producer Danger Mouse in 2007. The Black Keys recorded tracks for Turner to work with.[62] Although Turner does not appear on the album (Attack & Release), Pitchfork noted his influence in the production.[63]
In the year before his death he was hospitalized several times after accidentally falling. After his death in December 2007 from a cocaine overdose, Turner's autopsy and toxicology report showed he was taking Seroquel at the time of his death. The medicine is most commonly used as treatment for bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. Ex-wife Audrey Madison claims Turner was bipolar and that she was helping him with his illness, a claim supported by Turner's personal assistant and caretaker, Falina Rasool. Rasool says she talked about his bipolar disorder with Turner many times and witnessed its effects:
I would come in the room and see him change like a lightbulb, switch on and switch off. I did ask him about it. He said he made a song about it ["Bi Polar", last track on Rising With the Blues] and we started laughing... He said, 'I know I'm bipolar.' He says, 'And I've been bipolar, but a lot of people is bipolar.'
However, Turner's daughter Mia Turner rejected this diagnosis, saying that the medication was unnecessary: "Daddy is not bipolar... He was so heavily medicated. He could hardly speak. He was double stepping and walking sideways." [10]
Artistry and legacy
Musical style
Turner grew up playing boogie woogie piano, which he learned from Pinetop Perkins. In his professional career, he originally worked in the style of 1950s R&B, or post-jump blues. Though primarily known as a guitarist, Turner began his career playing piano and personally considered it his main instrument. He decided he was not meant to be a frontman when at 12 years old he was coerced into giving a piano recital at high school. He found the experience terrifying and from then on preferred to be in the background, controlling every aspect of the music and choreography, but not being the focus of attention. At most times in The Ike & Tina Turner Revue he played with his back to the audience.[35] Donald Fagen has written: "[T]alented as he was, there wasn't anything really supernatural about Ike's skills as a musician... What Ike excelled at was leadership: conceptualization, organization, and execution."[64]
Turner's guitar style is distinguished by heavy use of the whammy bar to achieve a strong reverb-soaked vibrato, string bending, hammer-ons and triplets in his blues phrasing.[65] Turner was an early adopter of the Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, buying one from O.K. Houk's Piano Co. store in Memphis the year of its release in 1954.[66] Unaware that the guitar's tremolo arm could be used to subtle effect, Turner used it to play screaming, swooping and diving solos that predated artists such as Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck by a decade.[67] In The Stratocaster Chronicles, Tom Wheeler writes that Turner's "inventive style is a classic example of an artist discovering the Stratocaster, adapting to its features and fashioning something remarkable."[68] Turner himself said of his tremolo technique: "I thought it was to make the guitar scream—people got so excited when I used that thing."[67] Dave Rubin wrote in Premier Guitar magazine:
All those years of playing piano and arranging taught him a considerable amount about harmony, as he could certainly navigate I-IV-V chord changes. Ike modestly terms what he does on the guitar as "tricks," but make no mistake, he attacked his axe with the conviction of a man who knew precisely what he wanted to hear come out of it.[65]
In 1951, Turner's Kings of Rhythm recorded one of the first instances of use of amplifier distortion. Rocket 88 is notable amongst other things for Willie Kizart's distorted guitar sound.[69] In February 2005, Fender manufactured a limited edition Ike Turner Tribute Stratocaster. The model has an alder body in Sonic Blue with an Ike Turner signature in gold ink on the body under the clear-coat, with a maple neck in a 1960s "C" shape with a rosewood fingerboard, with 21 vintage frets. It had three custom single coil 1960s Strat pickups. Only 100 specimens were made, retailing at $3,399.99.
Influence
Robert Palmer wrote, "perhaps he [Turner] played the behind-the-scenes Svengali too seamlessly for his own good. To the fans who bought the records and concert tickets, his contribution was practically invisible. With his creative work of the '50s largely forgotten and his more recent efforts overshadowed by Tina's larger-than-life presence, he was easily dismissed as a purely exploitative figure riding on his wife's coattails." However, to contemporaries and blues fans Turner's contribution to music was substantial. Johnny Otis said, "Ike Turner is a very important man in American music. The texture and flavor of R & B owe a lot to him. He defined how to put the Fender bass into that music. He was a great innovator."[12] B.B. King was a great admirer of Turner, describing him as "The best bandleader I've ever seen".[70] Turner was also a big influence on contemporary Little Richard, who said in the introduction to Turner's autobiography, "Before all these people Ike Turner was doing his thing. He is the innovator."[11] Richard was inspired to learn to play the piano by Rocket 88[10] and borrowed the introduction for his hit Good Golly Miss Molly.[71]
Phil Alexander, editor-in-chief of Mojo magazine, has credited Turner arrangements of blues standards as being an influence on 1960s British Invasion groups: "He proceeded to influence British rockers from the mid-1960s onwards. Without Ike you wouldn't have had The Stones and Zeppelin. People like that wouldn't have had the source material on which they drew."[13]
Speaking of Turner's claim to have written one of the first rock 'n' roll records, broadcaster Paul Gambaccini said:
In musical terms [he was] very important. Rocket 88 is one of the two records that can claim to be the first rock 'n' roll record, the other being The Fat Man by Fats Domino from 1949. But Rocket 88 does have a couple of elements which the Fat Man did not. The wailing saxophone and that distorted electric guitar. It was number one in the rhythm and blues chart for five weeks, it is in the Grammy Hall of Fame and it was an indisputable claim to fame for Ike Turner ... To critics he will be known as a great founder, unfortunately to the general public he will always be known as a brutal man ... He was always on the road and he drove himself as well as punishing others.
Nigel Cawthorne—coauthor of Turner's autobiography—said:
Although there had been black rock 'n' rollers who had made it big already, they really only played to a white audience. Ike and Tina played to a mixed audience and he deliberately desegregated audiences in the southern states and he wouldn't play to any segregated audiences at all. Because he had such a big band and entourage he desegregated a lot of the hotels because the hotel chains wouldn't want to miss out on the money they would make from him touring the southern states.[13]
Turner's songs began to be sampled by hip hop artists, most notably Salt-n-Pepa sampling I'm Blue for use in their 1994 hit "Shoop"[43] and Jurassic 5 used "Getting Nasty" from A Black Man's Soul on the 1997 track Concrete Schoolyard. Main Source also sampled "Getting Nasty" on track "Snake Eyes" as well as Ike & Tina's "Bold Soul Sister" on "Just Hanging Out", both featured on their 1991 album Breaking Atoms. The track Funky Mule, also from A Black Man's Soul, has been sampled extensively by jungle DJs, with the drum introduction being a very popular break. It was sampled by producer Goldie for his 1994 hit "Inner City Life", in the same year by Krome & Time on "The License", and by Paradox in 2002 on track "Funky Mule".[72]
Portrayal in popular culture
In Tina Turner's autobiography, I, Tina, she described Ike's abusive behavior. He received intense, negative publicity that was exacerbated in 1993 by the release of the film adaptation What's Love Got to Do with It. The film rights to the book were acquired by Disney's Touchstone Pictures. Turner stated he had mistakenly signed papers waiving the right to sue Touchstone Pictures for his depiction after accepting a $50,000 payment in exchange for the right for them to depict him in any way they saw fit.[73] Ike was played in the movie by Laurence Fishburne. Tina Turner, commenting on the historical accuracy of the film, said, "I would have liked then to have more truth, but according to Disney, they said it's impossible, the people would not have believed the truth."[10] Phil Spector, speaking at Ike Turner's eulogy, called the film a "piece of trash".[74] However, Robert Palmer noted that "Long before Tina Turner cast him as the devil incarnate ... that was Ike Turner's show business persona."[31] In 2006, Vibe named the character of Ike Turner from What's Love Got To Do With It at number 4 in their list of the 20 best movie "bad guys".[75]
After the release of the film and Turner's drug conviction, the fictionalized version of Turner from the movie was seized on by comedians, who reused it in sketches. On the 1990s sketch comedy show In Living Color, Turner was parodied by David Alan Grier. In one skit, he sang a parody of Tina's song "What's Love Got to Do with It", in which he sings proudly of his abusive personality. The video also parodies Tina's video: whereas in her video Tina walks around stopping couples who are fighting, Ike walks around to couples and gives the men weapons.[76] He was portrayed on Saturday Night Live 's Weekend Update by Tim Meadows in a pageboy wig. This incarnation of Turner is played as desperate, making verbally derisive remarks to Kevin Nealon, later trying to win back Kevin's "love" with gifts and a cake, and finally shoving Kevin's face into the cake. On the John Boy and Billy radio show, cast member Jeff Pillars regularly performed an impersonation of Turner in a segment called "Ax/Ask Ike". He offered advice on interpersonal relationships, which always resulted in him giving inappropriate and humorous advice. These sketches were collected in a 2008 comedy album Ike at the Mike.[77]
In 1999, Turner's autobiography was published, entitled Taking Back My Name. It was written with Nigel Cawthorne with a foreword by Little Richard. In part, the memoir was a rebuttal of the public image presented of him in Tina Turner's memoir and the film.
In the 2001 stage play Diary of a Mad Black Woman, the character Daddy Charles (Tyler Perry) uses Ike Turner portrayal references from the 1993 film What's Love Got To Do With It while talking with Helen (Marva King). Like the lines "You gonna eat this cake Anna Mae", and also "So you gonna leave me like all those other suckers Anna Mae" afterwards the intimated punch from the movie then begins to sing "Proud Mary" lyrics: "And we rolling, rolling, rolling on a river".
Awards and achievements
Ike and Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, while Turner was in prison. Turner was nominated for a Grammy in 2001 for his album Here & Now. He was awarded with a Heroes Award from the Memphis charter of NARAS in 2004.[7]
In 2006, he won his first solo Grammy in the Best Traditional Blues Album category for the album Risin' With the Blues, which was mixed at Future Sound Studios by Rene Van Verseveld. The album was also nominated in the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards for Blues Album of the year. Jerry D'Souza wrote of the album: "Turner has it all in the palm of his hand, his phrasing breathing life into the words. He still has the power to turn the blues into an unforgettable experience."[78]
On August 5, 2010, Ike Turner was posthumously recognized by his Mississippi hometown. Clarksdale officials and music fans gathered to unveil two markers honoring Turner and his musical legacy. The unveilings coincided with the 23rd annual Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival, dedicated that year to "Rocket 88". Turner has also been recognized with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.[79]
Personal life
Relationships
Turner was married at least five times. He sometimes claimed to have been married 13 times. Turner's first marriage was to an Edna Dean Taylor from Ruleville, Mississippi, while in his teens. He then married Rosa Lee Sane. The marriage took place in West Memphis. In 1953, he married pianist and singer Bonnie Mae Wilson, who was part of the Kings of Rhythm, but after two years she left him for another man.[3] After Bonnie, he became involved with Annie Mae Wilson, another female pianist in the band, whom he married in the mid-1950s. His next marriage was to Lorraine Taylor, who had two sons with him.[80]
The facts surrounding his "marriage" to Anna Mae Bullock (Tina Turner), including accusations of abuse, have been very publicly debated. Tina left the relationship after another violent argument on the way to a concert in 1976.[12] Their divorce was finalized in 1978.[81] In Tina's autobiography, she accused Ike of violent spousal abuse.[82] In a 1985 interview, Turner admitted: "Yeah I hit her, but I didn't hit her more than the average guy beats his wife ... If she says I abused her, maybe I did."[12] In his 1999 autobiography, he worded this slightly differently; "Sure, I've slapped Tina ... There have been times when I punched her to the ground without thinking. But I have never beat her." In a 1996 interview, Turner described his and Tina's occasional actions against each other as mutually violent, saying: "As far as abusing my family or abusing her, sure - I have slapped her, she have slapped me, we just lived normal people's lives, but I guess by me having the notoriety that I have, it's been totally exaggerated."[83]
Turner claimed on more than one occasion that he had never been officially married to Bullock. In an 1985 interview with Spin Magazine, Turner stated: "As God is my judge, of all my wives, Tina is the only one I was never legally married to."[12] He stated that she took his name in order to discourage a former lover from returning to her.[84] In his autobiography, Turner wrote "We didn't recognize marriages", which Margaret Moser believes "is true by the rural Southern standards of the times".[21] In a 1996 radio interview, he repeated the claim that the two had never been married, and also claimed that Tina's name had originally been Martha Nell (not Anna Mae) Bullock.[83]
Turner married former Ikette Margaret Ann Thomas in the early 1980s.[12] In 1995, after years of courtship, he married Jeanette Bazzell. Ike and Jeanette divorced in 2001, but remained friends. In 2006, he married Audrey Madison. She divorced him, but reconciled with him before his death.[10]
He had six children: sons Ike Jr. and Michael (with Lorraine Taylor), Ronald/"Ronnie" (with Tina Turner), and daughter Mia (with Margaret Ann Thomas). Mia Turner was conceived and born during Ike's marriage to Tina in the late 1960s. Tina's son Craig (fathered by saxophonist Raymond Hill) carries the Turner name. Ike Turner has two other daughters: Linda Trippeter, the eldest and Twanna Turner Melby, who took him in after he was released from prison.[85]
Drug addiction
Turner claimed that he was first introduced to cocaine around 1960, when he was given some to try by "two very famous people I'd been working with in Las Vegas at the same hotel". Daughter Twanna Turner and son Ronnie expressed the opinion that Turner's introduction to drugs was "a set-up"; an attempt to undermine him by those in the music industry who were jealous of his success and who wanted to make use of Tina Turner's talents themselves.[10] By 1970, Turner was heavily addicted to the drug, buying it in large quantities. He claimed that, in the early seventies, he spent $56,000 a month buying cocaine (although not all for his personal use). In a 2001 interview with Caroline Graham of The Mail on Sunday, Turner estimated that he had spent $11 million on cocaine. In 1986, he acknowledged that he had been addicted to cocaine for 15 years.[9][12][86] By 1974, his heavy usage meant he had worn a large hole through his nasal septum.[45] This hole caused him pain, which he relieved with further hits of cocaine. He then began freebasing crack cocaine.[10] While in prison in 1991, Turner managed to break his dependency on cocaine. He remained clean for ten years, with the help of family members. However, in 2004, while trying to help rescue a crack addict acquaintance from his addiction, Turner entered a crack house, smelled cocaine fumes, and had a relapse.[10]
Death
In the weeks leading up to his death, Turner became reclusive . On December 10, 2007, he told personal assistant Falina Rasool that he believed he was dying and would not make it to Christmas.[10] Turner died on December 12, 2007, at the age of 76, at his home in San Marcos, California, near San Diego.[8][87] He was found dead by his former wife Ann Thomas. Rasool was also in the house and administered CPR. Turner was pronounced dead at 11:38 a.m.[10]
The funeral was held on December 22, 2007 at the City of Refuge Church in Gardena, California. Among those who spoke at the funeral were Little Richard, Solomon Burke and Phil Spector. The Kings of Rhythm played versions of "Rocket 88" and "Proud Mary". Turner was cremated after the funeral service.
On January 16, 2008, it was reported by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office that Turner had died from a cocaine overdose. "The cause of death for Ike Turner is cocaine toxicity with other significant conditions, such as hypertensive cardiovascular disease and pulmonary emphysema," Supervising Medical Examiner Investigator Paul Parker told CNN.[88] His daughter Mia was said to be surprised at the coroner's assessment, believing his advanced stage emphysema was a bigger factor.[60]
On August 5, 2010, Turner was posthumously recognized by his Mississippi hometown.[89] Clarksdale officials and music fans gathered to unveil two markers on the Mississippi Blues Trail in downtown Clarksdale honoring Turner and his musical legacy.[90][91] On June 6, 2015 Turner was inducted into the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in Clarksdale, MS.
Ian Andrew Robert Stewart +12.12.1985
Ian
Andrew Robert Stewart (18 July 1938 – 12 December 1985) was a Scottish
keyboardist and co-founder of the Rolling Stones. He was dismissed from
the line-up in May 1963 but he remained as road manager and pianist. He
was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Role in the Rolling Stones
Born at Kirklatch Farm, Pittenweem, East Neuk, Fife, Scotland, and raised in Sutton, Surrey, Stewart (often called Stu) started playing piano when he was six. He took up the banjo and played with amateur groups on both instruments.[1] Stewart, who loved rhythm & blues, boogie-woogie, blues and big-band jazz, was first to respond to Brian Jones's advertisement in Jazz News of 2 May 1962 seeking musicians to form a rhythm & blues group.[2] Mick Jagger and Keith Richards joined in June, and the group, with Dick Taylor on bass and Mick Avory on drums, played their first gig under the name the Rollin' Stones at the Marquee Club on 12 July 1962.[3][4] Richards described meeting Stewart thus: "He used to play boogie-woogie piano in jazz clubs, apart from his regular job. He blew my head off too, when he started to play. I never heard a white piano player play like that before."[5] By December 1962 and January 1963, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts had joined, replacing a series of bassists and drummers.[6]
Stewart had a job at Imperial Chemical Industries. None of the other band members had a telephone; Stewart said, "[My] desk at ICI was the headquarters of the Stones organisation. My number was advertised in Jazz News and I handled the Stones' bookings at work." He also bought a van to transport the group and their equipment to their gigs.[7]
In early May 1963, the band's manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, said Stewart should no longer be onstage, that six members were too many for a popular group and that the older, burly, and square-jawed Stewart did not fit the image.[8] He said Stewart could stay as road manager and play piano on recordings. Stewart accepted this demotion. Richards said: "[Stu] might have realised that in the way it was going to have to be marketed, he would be out of sync, but that he could still be a vital part. I'd probably have said, 'Well, fuck you', but he said 'OK, I'll just drive you around.' That takes a big heart, but Stu had one of the largest hearts around."[9]
Stewart loaded gear into his van, drove the group to gigs, replaced guitar strings and set up Watts' drums the way he himself would play them. "I never ever swore at him," Watts says, with rueful amazement.[10] He also played piano and occasionally organ on most of the band's albums in the first decades, as well as providing criticism. Shortly after Stewart's death Mick Jagger said: "He really helped this band swing, on numbers like 'Honky Tonk Women' and loads of others. Stu was the one guy we tried to please. We wanted his approval when we were writing or rehearsing a song. We'd want him to like it."[11]
Stewart contributed piano, organ, marimbas and/or percussion to all Rolling Stones albums released between 1964 and 1986, except for Their Satanic Majesties Request and Beggars Banquet. Stewart was not the only keyboard player who worked extensively with the band: Jack Nitzsche, Nicky Hopkins, Billy Preston, and Ian McLagan all supplemented his work. Stewart played piano on numbers of his choosing throughout tours in 1969, 1975–76, 1978 and 1981–82.[6] Stewart favoured blues and country rockers, and remained dedicated to boogie-woogie and early rhythm & blues. He refused to play in minor keys, saying: "When I'm on stage with the Stones and a minor chord comes along, I lift my hands in protest."[12] Stewart also stated –
“ You can squawk about money, but the money the Stones have made hasn't done them much good. It's really gotten them into some trouble. They can't even live in their own country now. ”
NME – April 1976[13]
Stewart remained aloof from the band's lifestyle. "I think he looked upon it as a load of silliness," said guitarist Mick Taylor. "I also think it was because he saw what had happened to Brian. I could tell from the expression on his face when things started to get a bit crazy during the making of Exile on Main Street. I think he found it very hard. We all did."[14] Stewart played golf and as road manager showed preference for hotels with courses. Richards recalls: "We'd be playing in some town where there's all these chicks, and they want to get laid and we want to lay them. But Stu would have booked us into some hotel about ten miles out of town. You'd wake up in the morning and there's the links. We’re bored to death looking for some action and Stu's playing Gleneagles."[15]
Other work
Stewart contributed to Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" from Led Zeppelin IV and "Boogie with Stu" from Physical Graffiti, two numbers in traditional rock and roll vein, both featuring his boogie-woogie style. Another was Howlin' Wolf's 1971 The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions album, featuring Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Klaus Voorman, Steve Winwood, and Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. He also played piano and organ on the 1982 Bad to the Bone album of George Thorogood and the Destroyers. Moreover, he performed with Ronnie Lane in a televised concert.
In 1981 Stewart and Charlie Watts contributed to the song "Bad Penny Blues", which appeared on the album, These Kind of Blues by the Blues Band,[16] and was a founding member, with Watts, of Rocket 88.
Death and posthumous recognition
Stewart contributed to the Rolling Stones' 1983 Undercover, and was present during the 1985 recording for Dirty Work (released in 1986). In early December 1985, Stewart began having respiratory problems. On 12 December he went to a clinic to have the problem examined, but he suffered a heart attack and died in the waiting room.[17]
The Rolling Stones played a tribute gig with Rocket 88 in February 1986 at London's 100 Club, and included a 30-second clip of Stewart playing the blues standard "Key to the Highway" at the end of Dirty Work. When the Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, they requested Stewart's name be included.
In his 2010 autobiography Life, Keith Richards says: "Ian Stewart. I'm still working for him. To me the Rolling Stones is his band. Without his knowledge and organisation... we'd be nowhere."[18]
On 19 April 2011, pianist Ben Waters released an Ian Stewart tribute album, entitled Boogie 4 Stu. One of the songs recorded for this album was Bob Dylan's "Watching the River Flow", played by the Rolling Stones featuring Bill Wyman on bass. This was the first time since 1992 that Wyman joined his former band.[19]
Works inspired by Stewart
According to a Sunday Herald article in March 2006, Stewart was the basis for a fictional detective:
“ ...Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin has revealed that John Rebus, the star of 15 novels set in the grimy underbelly of the nation's capital, may have more to do with the Rolling Stones than any detective could have surmised. The award-winning novelist admits during a new Radio 4 series exploring the relationships between crime writers and their favourite music that he took some of his inspiration for the unruly inspector from the "sixth Stone", Ian Stewart. ”
The lyrics to Aidan Moffat & the Best-Of's song "The Sixth Stone" were written by Ian Rankin about Stewart. The song is included on Chemikal Underground's compilation Ballads of the Book, which features Scottish authors and poets writing lyrics for contemporary Scottish bands.
Role in the Rolling Stones
Born at Kirklatch Farm, Pittenweem, East Neuk, Fife, Scotland, and raised in Sutton, Surrey, Stewart (often called Stu) started playing piano when he was six. He took up the banjo and played with amateur groups on both instruments.[1] Stewart, who loved rhythm & blues, boogie-woogie, blues and big-band jazz, was first to respond to Brian Jones's advertisement in Jazz News of 2 May 1962 seeking musicians to form a rhythm & blues group.[2] Mick Jagger and Keith Richards joined in June, and the group, with Dick Taylor on bass and Mick Avory on drums, played their first gig under the name the Rollin' Stones at the Marquee Club on 12 July 1962.[3][4] Richards described meeting Stewart thus: "He used to play boogie-woogie piano in jazz clubs, apart from his regular job. He blew my head off too, when he started to play. I never heard a white piano player play like that before."[5] By December 1962 and January 1963, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts had joined, replacing a series of bassists and drummers.[6]
Stewart had a job at Imperial Chemical Industries. None of the other band members had a telephone; Stewart said, "[My] desk at ICI was the headquarters of the Stones organisation. My number was advertised in Jazz News and I handled the Stones' bookings at work." He also bought a van to transport the group and their equipment to their gigs.[7]
In early May 1963, the band's manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, said Stewart should no longer be onstage, that six members were too many for a popular group and that the older, burly, and square-jawed Stewart did not fit the image.[8] He said Stewart could stay as road manager and play piano on recordings. Stewart accepted this demotion. Richards said: "[Stu] might have realised that in the way it was going to have to be marketed, he would be out of sync, but that he could still be a vital part. I'd probably have said, 'Well, fuck you', but he said 'OK, I'll just drive you around.' That takes a big heart, but Stu had one of the largest hearts around."[9]
Stewart loaded gear into his van, drove the group to gigs, replaced guitar strings and set up Watts' drums the way he himself would play them. "I never ever swore at him," Watts says, with rueful amazement.[10] He also played piano and occasionally organ on most of the band's albums in the first decades, as well as providing criticism. Shortly after Stewart's death Mick Jagger said: "He really helped this band swing, on numbers like 'Honky Tonk Women' and loads of others. Stu was the one guy we tried to please. We wanted his approval when we were writing or rehearsing a song. We'd want him to like it."[11]
Stewart contributed piano, organ, marimbas and/or percussion to all Rolling Stones albums released between 1964 and 1986, except for Their Satanic Majesties Request and Beggars Banquet. Stewart was not the only keyboard player who worked extensively with the band: Jack Nitzsche, Nicky Hopkins, Billy Preston, and Ian McLagan all supplemented his work. Stewart played piano on numbers of his choosing throughout tours in 1969, 1975–76, 1978 and 1981–82.[6] Stewart favoured blues and country rockers, and remained dedicated to boogie-woogie and early rhythm & blues. He refused to play in minor keys, saying: "When I'm on stage with the Stones and a minor chord comes along, I lift my hands in protest."[12] Stewart also stated –
“ You can squawk about money, but the money the Stones have made hasn't done them much good. It's really gotten them into some trouble. They can't even live in their own country now. ”
NME – April 1976[13]
Stewart remained aloof from the band's lifestyle. "I think he looked upon it as a load of silliness," said guitarist Mick Taylor. "I also think it was because he saw what had happened to Brian. I could tell from the expression on his face when things started to get a bit crazy during the making of Exile on Main Street. I think he found it very hard. We all did."[14] Stewart played golf and as road manager showed preference for hotels with courses. Richards recalls: "We'd be playing in some town where there's all these chicks, and they want to get laid and we want to lay them. But Stu would have booked us into some hotel about ten miles out of town. You'd wake up in the morning and there's the links. We’re bored to death looking for some action and Stu's playing Gleneagles."[15]
Other work
Stewart contributed to Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" from Led Zeppelin IV and "Boogie with Stu" from Physical Graffiti, two numbers in traditional rock and roll vein, both featuring his boogie-woogie style. Another was Howlin' Wolf's 1971 The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions album, featuring Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Klaus Voorman, Steve Winwood, and Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. He also played piano and organ on the 1982 Bad to the Bone album of George Thorogood and the Destroyers. Moreover, he performed with Ronnie Lane in a televised concert.
In 1981 Stewart and Charlie Watts contributed to the song "Bad Penny Blues", which appeared on the album, These Kind of Blues by the Blues Band,[16] and was a founding member, with Watts, of Rocket 88.
Death and posthumous recognition
Stewart contributed to the Rolling Stones' 1983 Undercover, and was present during the 1985 recording for Dirty Work (released in 1986). In early December 1985, Stewart began having respiratory problems. On 12 December he went to a clinic to have the problem examined, but he suffered a heart attack and died in the waiting room.[17]
The Rolling Stones played a tribute gig with Rocket 88 in February 1986 at London's 100 Club, and included a 30-second clip of Stewart playing the blues standard "Key to the Highway" at the end of Dirty Work. When the Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, they requested Stewart's name be included.
In his 2010 autobiography Life, Keith Richards says: "Ian Stewart. I'm still working for him. To me the Rolling Stones is his band. Without his knowledge and organisation... we'd be nowhere."[18]
On 19 April 2011, pianist Ben Waters released an Ian Stewart tribute album, entitled Boogie 4 Stu. One of the songs recorded for this album was Bob Dylan's "Watching the River Flow", played by the Rolling Stones featuring Bill Wyman on bass. This was the first time since 1992 that Wyman joined his former band.[19]
Works inspired by Stewart
According to a Sunday Herald article in March 2006, Stewart was the basis for a fictional detective:
“ ...Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin has revealed that John Rebus, the star of 15 novels set in the grimy underbelly of the nation's capital, may have more to do with the Rolling Stones than any detective could have surmised. The award-winning novelist admits during a new Radio 4 series exploring the relationships between crime writers and their favourite music that he took some of his inspiration for the unruly inspector from the "sixth Stone", Ian Stewart. ”
The lyrics to Aidan Moffat & the Best-Of's song "The Sixth Stone" were written by Ian Rankin about Stewart. The song is included on Chemikal Underground's compilation Ballads of the Book, which features Scottish authors and poets writing lyrics for contemporary Scottish bands.
The Rolling Stones - Stewed'n Keefed
... there would be no Stones without Ian Andrew Robert Stewart ... now,
listen, Brian and Stew do da whole job ... dat was and still is da
Rolling Stones ... just only take Stew in yer heart and feel da shit ...
YAY! ... so so thankful that they are with us ...
Oscar Klein +12.12.2006
Oscar Klein (* 5. Januar 1930 in Graz; † 12. Dezember 2006 in Plüderhausen, Deutschland) war ein österreichischer Musiker des Oldtime und Mainstream Jazz. Er spielte Trompete und Gitarre, aber auch Banjo, Klarinette und Mundharmonika. „Überzeugend wie kaum ein anderer europäischer Trompeter“ beherrschte er das traditionelle Ausdrucksspektrum dieses Instruments, während er als Gitarrist auf Einflüssen von Eddie Condon, Freddie Green und Toots Thielemans eine eigene Stilistik aufbaute.[1]
Leben und Wirken
Aufgrund der jüdischen Herkunft musste Kleins Familie vor den Nazis fliehen. Klein erhielt 1943, als er dort während des Faschismus mit seiner Familie in einem kleinen italienischen Bergdorf interniert war, Mandolinen-Unterricht beim Dorflehrer.[2] Während der Ausbildung an der Basler Kunstgewerbeschule ab 1944 entdeckte er im Hot Club Basel den Jazz. Bei den „Feetwarmers“ um den Trompeter Freddie Höhn und den Klarinettisten Otto Flückiger machte er erste Erfahrungen als Gitarrist. 1948 trat Klein in Florenz eine Stelle als Zeichen- und Handarbeitslehrer an und versuchte dort, gleichgesinnte Musiker zu finden. Für die geplante Original Florence New Orleans Band fehlte allerdings der Trompeter, und so kam er zu seinem zweiten Instrument. Bei einem Ferienbesuch in Innsbruck begegnete er dem Klarinettisten Fatty George; 1952 wurde er Mitglied von dessen Band. Diese Band war eine der wichtigsten der Wiener Jazz-Szene der 1950er Jahre, mit Musikern wie Bill Grah, Karl Drewo und Joe Zawinul. 1958 wechselte Klein zur Schweizer Chicago-Stil-Band Tremble Kids.
Er heiratete die Jazzsängerin Miriam Klein und gründete in Basel eine Familie. Von den vier gemeinsamen Kindern ist der 1961 geborene David Klein ebenfalls als Musiker und Komponist bekannt geworden.
Ab Ende 1959 arbeitete er mehrere Jahre in der Dutch Swing College Band.[3] Seit 1963 war er vor allem als Bandleader mit verschiedenen eigenen Formationen unterwegs. Zuerst in einem Trio mit Miriam Klein und Isla Eckinger, später vor allem mit Oscar Klein's Jazzshow. Daneben arbeitete er mit Gastsolisten, wie Albert Nicholas, Joe Turner, Cootie Williams und Joe Venuti und erwarb sich internationale Anerkennung. Seit 1973 legte er einen Reigen von Alben unter eigenem Namen vor, trat aber auch wieder mit den Tremble Kids auf und – bis zu dessen Tod im Jahre 1982 – mit Fatty George. 1981 gründete er „Big Four“, eine italienisch-schweizerische Gruppe des Chicago Jazz. Anfang der 1990er tourte er mit wechselnd besetzten „European Dixieland All Stars“ und trat auch mit seinen „European Alls Stars“ auf, zu denen Charly Antolini und Barbara Dennerlein gehörten. Er arbeitete auch mit Romano Mussolini, dem Sohn des faschistischen „Duce“, zusammen.
In einer Schweizer Fernsehserie „History of Jazz” wirkte er als Moderator. Er gab außerdem viele Jahre lang erzieherische Konzerte in Schulen, zuerst zusammen mit Jerry Ricks, später mit Thomas Moeckel. Er glaubte fest, dass eine Jazzdarbietung sowohl musikalisch hochstehend als auch unterhaltend sein kann.
Er war nicht nur einer der bedeutendsten Musiker des europäischen „Trad-Jazz“, sondern auch ein hervorragender Entertainer, mit (schon fast legendären) humoristischen Ansagen und der Kapitänsmütze als optischem Markenzeichen.
Oscar Klein hat weiterhin mit folgenden Musikern Aufnahmen gemacht: Lionel Hampton, Roy Eldridge, Earl Hines, Bud Freeman, Wild Bill Davison, Peanuts Hucko, Sammy Price, Ralph Sutton, Emil Mangelsdorff, Dexter Gordon, Slide Hampton, Wallace Bishop, Fritz Pauer, Lino Patruno, Jan Jankeje, Ludwig Stimmler, Hans Rettenbacher, Henri Chaix, Jimmy Woode, Gus Backus und Michael Pewny.
Insgesamt hat er mehr als 50 CDs und 130 LPs eingespielt.
Zusätzlich unterrichtete er Gitarre und veröffentlichte zusammen mit dem Schüler Caesar Perrig Pickin’ the blues. Ein Lehrbuch für Finger-Stil Gitarre,[4] zu dem auch zwei LPs gehören.
Oscar Klein starb in seiner Wahlheimat Plüderhausen in Baden-Württemberg, wo er zuletzt mit seiner zweiten Frau Karin lebte.
Leben und Wirken
Aufgrund der jüdischen Herkunft musste Kleins Familie vor den Nazis fliehen. Klein erhielt 1943, als er dort während des Faschismus mit seiner Familie in einem kleinen italienischen Bergdorf interniert war, Mandolinen-Unterricht beim Dorflehrer.[2] Während der Ausbildung an der Basler Kunstgewerbeschule ab 1944 entdeckte er im Hot Club Basel den Jazz. Bei den „Feetwarmers“ um den Trompeter Freddie Höhn und den Klarinettisten Otto Flückiger machte er erste Erfahrungen als Gitarrist. 1948 trat Klein in Florenz eine Stelle als Zeichen- und Handarbeitslehrer an und versuchte dort, gleichgesinnte Musiker zu finden. Für die geplante Original Florence New Orleans Band fehlte allerdings der Trompeter, und so kam er zu seinem zweiten Instrument. Bei einem Ferienbesuch in Innsbruck begegnete er dem Klarinettisten Fatty George; 1952 wurde er Mitglied von dessen Band. Diese Band war eine der wichtigsten der Wiener Jazz-Szene der 1950er Jahre, mit Musikern wie Bill Grah, Karl Drewo und Joe Zawinul. 1958 wechselte Klein zur Schweizer Chicago-Stil-Band Tremble Kids.
Er heiratete die Jazzsängerin Miriam Klein und gründete in Basel eine Familie. Von den vier gemeinsamen Kindern ist der 1961 geborene David Klein ebenfalls als Musiker und Komponist bekannt geworden.
Ab Ende 1959 arbeitete er mehrere Jahre in der Dutch Swing College Band.[3] Seit 1963 war er vor allem als Bandleader mit verschiedenen eigenen Formationen unterwegs. Zuerst in einem Trio mit Miriam Klein und Isla Eckinger, später vor allem mit Oscar Klein's Jazzshow. Daneben arbeitete er mit Gastsolisten, wie Albert Nicholas, Joe Turner, Cootie Williams und Joe Venuti und erwarb sich internationale Anerkennung. Seit 1973 legte er einen Reigen von Alben unter eigenem Namen vor, trat aber auch wieder mit den Tremble Kids auf und – bis zu dessen Tod im Jahre 1982 – mit Fatty George. 1981 gründete er „Big Four“, eine italienisch-schweizerische Gruppe des Chicago Jazz. Anfang der 1990er tourte er mit wechselnd besetzten „European Dixieland All Stars“ und trat auch mit seinen „European Alls Stars“ auf, zu denen Charly Antolini und Barbara Dennerlein gehörten. Er arbeitete auch mit Romano Mussolini, dem Sohn des faschistischen „Duce“, zusammen.
In einer Schweizer Fernsehserie „History of Jazz” wirkte er als Moderator. Er gab außerdem viele Jahre lang erzieherische Konzerte in Schulen, zuerst zusammen mit Jerry Ricks, später mit Thomas Moeckel. Er glaubte fest, dass eine Jazzdarbietung sowohl musikalisch hochstehend als auch unterhaltend sein kann.
Er war nicht nur einer der bedeutendsten Musiker des europäischen „Trad-Jazz“, sondern auch ein hervorragender Entertainer, mit (schon fast legendären) humoristischen Ansagen und der Kapitänsmütze als optischem Markenzeichen.
Oscar Klein hat weiterhin mit folgenden Musikern Aufnahmen gemacht: Lionel Hampton, Roy Eldridge, Earl Hines, Bud Freeman, Wild Bill Davison, Peanuts Hucko, Sammy Price, Ralph Sutton, Emil Mangelsdorff, Dexter Gordon, Slide Hampton, Wallace Bishop, Fritz Pauer, Lino Patruno, Jan Jankeje, Ludwig Stimmler, Hans Rettenbacher, Henri Chaix, Jimmy Woode, Gus Backus und Michael Pewny.
Insgesamt hat er mehr als 50 CDs und 130 LPs eingespielt.
Zusätzlich unterrichtete er Gitarre und veröffentlichte zusammen mit dem Schüler Caesar Perrig Pickin’ the blues. Ein Lehrbuch für Finger-Stil Gitarre,[4] zu dem auch zwei LPs gehören.
Oscar Klein starb in seiner Wahlheimat Plüderhausen in Baden-Württemberg, wo er zuletzt mit seiner zweiten Frau Karin lebte.
Bemerkenswert sind auch seine Darbietungen auf der Bluesharp zusammen mit Jerry Ricks (guitar).
Oscar Klein (5 January 1930 in Graz, Austria – 12 December 2006 in Baden-Württemberg) was an Austrian born jazz trumpeter who also played clarinet, harmonica, and swing guitar. His family fled the Nazis when he was young. He became known for "older jazz" like swing and Dixieland. In the early sixties he joined the famous Dutch Swing College Band in the Netherlands as first trumpeter and he is to be found on several of their recordings. He played with Lionel Hampton, Joe Zawinul, and others. In 1996 he was honored by then President Thomas Klestil.
Also noteworthy are his performances on the blues harp along with Jerry Ricks (guitar).
Oscar Klein & Philadelphia Jerry Ricks 'China Blues'
Country Farm – Oscar Klein & Philadelphia Jerry Ricks
Blues for Louis – Oscar Klein & Philadelphia Jerry Ricks
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