1923 Eddie Taylor*
1930 George Higgs* 1)
1946 Paul-Gerhard Lange*
1949 Stefan Diestelmann*
1976 Jesse Fuller+
1981 Jonny Lang*
1992 Willie Dixon+
2013 George Higgs+
1930 George Higgs* 1)
1946 Paul-Gerhard Lange*
1949 Stefan Diestelmann*
1976 Jesse Fuller+
1981 Jonny Lang*
1992 Willie Dixon+
2013 George Higgs+
Happy Birthday
Eddie Taylor *29.01.1923
Edward „Eddie“ Taylor (* 29. Januar 1923 in Benoit, Mississippi; † 25. Dezember 1985 in Chicago, Illinois) war ein US-amerikanischer Bluesgitarrist.
Kindheit und Jugend
Als Kind brachte sich Eddie Taylor das Gitarrespielen selbst bei. Memphis Minnie, die eine ehemalige Klassenkameradin seiner Mutter war und ab und zu als Babysitter bei der Freundin einsprang, brachte den jungen Eddie erstmals mit der Gitarre in Berührung. Zuerst spielte er ein selbstgebasteltes Instrument, bis ihm seine Mutter 1936 für zwölf Dollar eine Gitarre bei Sears & Roebuck bestellte.
Frühe musikalische Einflüsse
Zu diesem Zeitpunkt hatte er bedeutende Musiker wie Charley Patton, Son House, Robert Johnson und Big Joe Williams live gesehen. Diese Musiker nahmen Schallplatten auf und sind daher heute noch bekannt. In einem Interview aus den frühen 1970er Jahren erwähnte Eddie Taylor aber auch Musiker wie Popcorn, Nedass und Tango, die ebenfalls einen Einfluss auf ihn ausübten, aber nie Platten herausbrachten. Popcorn zeigte ihm auch einige Stücke auf der Gitarre, als der Teenager sich wieder einmal heimlich in die Kneipen und auf die Housepartys einschlich. Aber er wurde auch durch das Medium Schallplatte und dem Radio geprägt: Während im Radio hauptsächlich „Cowboy-Songs“ liefen, hörte er auf den Seeburgs, den damaligen Jukeboxen, Little Brother Montgomery, Tommy McClennan und Peetie Wheatstraw.
Vom Amateur zum Semiprofi – von Mississippi nach Memphis
Mittlerweile lebte Eddie Taylor mit seinen beiden jüngeren Geschwistern und der Mutter in Stringtown, Mississippi und arbeitete in der Landwirtschaft. In jungen Jahren trat er in der Gegend um Leland, Mississippi, meist Samstagabend auf, an Straßenecken oder auf Plätzen in der Innenstadt. Sein damaliges Programm bestand aus Liedern von Charley Patton, Arthur Crudup und Peetie Wheatstraw sowie aus einem Mix dieser Stücke, wenn das Repertoire ausgeschöpft war. Falls weißes Publikum anwesend war, spielte Taylor auch Songs von Roy Acuff. Laut eigener Aussage verdiente Taylor zwischen 25 und 30 Dollar die Nacht. 1943 zog er in die Bluesmetropole Memphis. Dort arbeitete er als Lkw-Fahrer für eine Firma, die einen speziellen Vertrag mit der Army hatte, so dass Taylor das Glück hatte, nicht eingezogen zu werden. Er lernte die etwas älteren Gitarristen Johnny Shines und Robert Lockwood Jr. kennen, die schon einen lokalen Bekanntheitsgrad genossen, im Gegensatz zu B. B. King, der - genau wie Eddie Taylor - Mittwochabend bei den wöchentlichen Talentshows auf der Beale Street sich erste Sporen verdiente. Zu dieser Zeit spielten alle Gitarristen noch auf akustischen Instrumenten, weil ein Verstärker und eine E-Gitarre bei Sears & Roebuck mit 120 Dollar einen zu hohen Anschaffungspreis darstellte. Eddie Taylor tätigte dennoch die Investition und gründete eine Band mit Joe Hill Louis und Eddies Bruder Milton am Schlagzeug. Das geschah 1947.
Chicago – Aufstieg zum Gitarrenstilisten in den 50er Jahren
Zwei Jahre später zog Taylor mit seinem tief im Delta Blues verwurzelten Stil nach Chicago und spielte sofort auf der sehr populären Maxwell Street für Trinkgeld. Natürlich gab es damals sehr viele, sehr gute und sehr bekannte Bluesmusiker in Chicago; daher spielte Eddie Taylor mit seinem Bruder Milton und Jimmie Lee Robinson im „Alibi Club“ für die nicht sehr hohe Gesamtgage von 15 Dollar pro Nacht. Aus diesem Grund arbeitete er in verschiedenen Jobs außerhalb der Musikszene, um seine Grundversorgung zu gewährleisten.
Glücklicherweise traf er in Chicago seinen Freund Jimmy Reed, der schon seit seiner Entlassung aus der Navy hier lebte. Taylor und Reed kannten sich schon aus Jugendtagen und der etwas ältere Eddie hat seinem Freund damals Gitarrenunterricht gegeben. Jimmy Reed stieß zu den anderen Bandmusikern, nachdem Eddie Taylor sagte, er solle sich auf Gesang und Bluesharp konzentrieren und die komplexeren Gitarrenlinien ihm überlassen. Eigentlich spielte also Jimmy Reed in der Band von Eddie Taylor und nicht etwa umgekehrt als beide ihr Plattendebüt 1953 bei „Chance“ und kurze Zeit später bei „Veejay“ machten, allerdings war Jimmy Reed der erfolgreichere, so dass Jimmy Reed mehr Platten veröffentlichte, die weitaus höhere Verkaufszahlen erzielten; trotzdem war Eddie Taylor nach wie vor Bandleader und Arrangeur, Jimmy der Frontman und Liedschreiber. Eddie Taylor spielte bei „Veejay“ mehrere Singles ein: darunter die Titel „Bad Boy“, „Big Town Playboy“ (sein kommerziell erfolgreichster), „Find My Baby“, „Looking for Trouble“.
Obwohl er nie die Bekanntheit mancher seiner Kollegen erreichte, wurde er ein fester Bestandteil der Chicagoer Bluesszene. So spielte er 1953 mit der Muddy Waters Band im „Zansibar Club“ in Chicago, 1956 mit Elmore James bei „Silvio's“, dem bevorzugten Bluesclub von Howlin' Wolf. Bekannt wurde er aber vor allem als Begleiter von Jimmy Reed, mit dem er ab 1955 bis in die sechziger Jahre quer durch die USA bis nach Mexiko tourte, und durch seine Zusammenarbeit mit John Lee Hooker, mit dem er zwischen 1954 und 1957 ins Studio ging und durch die USA tourte. Neben seiner Tätigkeit bei Jimmy Reed fand er 1963/64 genug Zeit sowohl mit der Paul Butterfield Blues Band oder Floyd Jones zu spielen.
Die Zeit nach Veejay
Nachdem das Label „Veejay“ den Bankrott erklärt hatte, wechselte Jimmy Reed zum Label „Bluesway“, bei dem er mit Eddie Taylor als Bandleader zwischen 1966 und 1968 etliche Singles und Alben veröffentlichte. Aber Taylor war nicht nur ein begehrter Gitarrist in den Studios, sondern ebenso als E-Bassist gefragt. Ein Beispiel dafür ist das Homesick James Album „Blues from the Southside“ auf „Prestige Records“ von 1964. 1966 spielte Taylor ein Album unter eigenen Namen für das Label „Testament“ in Chicago ein. 1968/69 tourte er oft durch Europa mit John Lee Hooker und dem AFBF 1968. 1969 begleitete er zusammen mit Pinetop Perkins, Jimmy Dawkins und anderen den Bluesharpspieler und Sänger Carey Bell auf dessen Plattendebüt als Frontman „Carey Bell's Bluesharp“ auf „Delmark Records“. Diese Platte - in Chicago aufgenommen - war etwas rau und klang eher nach einer Session, aber hatte dennoch hörenswerte Musik zu bieten.
Der Solokünstler und Sideman seit den 1970er Jahren
Seine beste Platte war aber die hervorragende LP „I Feel so Bad“, erschienen 1972 auf dem Label ‚Advent‘ (aufgenommen in Hollywood). Außer Eddie Taylor spielten hier keine Chicago Bluesmen, sondern eher West Coast Bluesmusiker wie George Smith und der aus Louisiana stammende Gitarrist Phillip Walker oder der Swingpianist Jimmy Jones (1918–82), der mit den Sängerinnen Sarah Vaughn und Ella Fitzgerald gespielt hatte. Wahrscheinlich beflügelte es aber Taylor sich auf einen anderen Stil einzulassen bzw. selbst andere Wege vorzugeben. Acht der zwölf Titel waren Eigenkompositionen, unter anderem der funky soul Blues „There'll Be a Day“, das Akustiksolo „Stroll Out West“, welches Taylor bereits 1957 schon einmal für Veejay aufgenommen hatte und „Catfish Blues“ von Robert Petway als Vorbild hatte, aber damals nicht veröffentlicht worden war und der mid-tempo-Blues „Sitting Here Thinking“. In den Coverversionen zollt Eddie Taylor Jimmy Reed mit „Going Upside Your Head“, Robert Johnson mit „Stop Breaking Down“, Robert Nighthawk mit „Jackson Town“ und Charley Patton mit „Bullcow Blues“ Tribut. Das Zusammenspiel der Band – besonders der beiden abwechslungsreichen Gitarristen – gefällt sehr.
Anfang der 1970er Jahre spielte Taylor ab und an für Livegigs bei der Band des Bluesdrummers Sam Lay. 1973 war er Gast auf dem „Ann Arbor Bluesfestival“ und besuchte mit dem „Chicago Blues Festival“ erneut Europa. Im April 1974 tourte er – dieses Mal mit den American Blues Legends – ein weiteres Mal durch Europa und nahm für die englische Plattenfirma „Big Bear Records“ auf. Auf diesen Aufnahmesessions wurde er unter anderem von Pete York und dem Pianisten Bob Hall, der ein sehr frühes Mitglied von Savoy Brown und den Groundhogs war, begleitet. Diese Sessions brachte gute Versionen von Drifting Slims „My Little Machine“ und eine jazzige Version von „Ready for Eddie“ hervor.
Im „Savoy Club“ von San Francisco kam es im Todesjahr von Jimmy Reed (1976) noch einmal zu einer erneuten Zusammenarbeit zwischen den beiden Blueslegenden. Im darauf folgenden Jahr spielte Taylor wieder in Europa und sogar in Japan: Er spielte mit den Aces (Odie Payne, Louis und Dave Myers), die ursprünglich Fenton Robinson begleiten sollten, dem aber auf Grund von Visumproblemen die Einreise verwehrt worden war. Von dieser Tour ist eine CD auf dem Label „Blind Pig“ erschienen.
1980 nahm er für „L+R Records“ (Lippmann und Rau) eine LP auf, u. a. mit Hubert Sumlin, Sunnyland Slim, Carey Bell in Chicago. Im gleichen Jahr tourte er im Rahmen des American Folk Blues Festivals durch Europa und spielte fast bis zu seinem Tod Clubgigs und Festivalauftritte in Chicago, aber sehr oft auch in New York City.
Gitarrenstil
Eddie Taylor war ein Daumenpickspieler. Er spielt sowohl E-Gitarre als auch akustische Stahlsaitengitarre. In der Regel ist die Gitarre normal gestimmt, aber besonders bei akustischen Stücken ist das Instrument oft auf einen offenen Akkord gestimmt.
Sonstiges
Eddie Taylor starb 1985. Er wurde in Alsip, Illinois, beigesetzt. Sein Sohn Eddie Taylor Junior, geboren 1966, ist als Bluesgitarrist in Chicago aktiv und spielt im Stil seines Vaters, allerdings ohne allzu großen kommerziellen Erfolg.
Eddie Taylor (January 29, 1923 – December 25, 1985)[1] was an American electric blues guitarist and singer.[2]
Biography
Born Edward Taylor in Benoit, Mississippi, United States, as a boy Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing at venues around Leland, Mississippi, where he taught his friend Jimmy Reed to play guitar.[3] With a guitar style deeply rooted in the Mississippi Delta tradition, in 1949 Taylor moved to Chicago, Illinois.
While Taylor never achieved the stardom of some of his compatriots in the Chicago blues scene, he nevertheless was an integral part of that era. He is especially noted as a main accompanist for Jimmy Reed, as well as working with John Lee Hooker, Big Walter Horton, Sam Lay,[4] and others. Earwig Music Company recorded him with Kansas City Red and Big John Wrencher on the album, "Original Chicago Blues".,[5] Taylor's own records "Big Town Playboy" and "Bad Boy" on Vee Jay Records became local hits in the 1950s.
Taylor's son Eddie Taylor Jr. is a blues guitarist in Chicago, his stepson Larry Taylor is a blues drummer and vocalist, and his daughter Demetria is a blues vocalist in Chicago. Taylor's wife Vera was the niece of bluesmen Eddie "Guitar" Burns and Jimmy Burns.
Taylor died on Christmas Day in 1985 in Chicago,[6] at age 62, and was interred in an unmarked grave in the Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1987.
Biography
Born Edward Taylor in Benoit, Mississippi, United States, as a boy Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing at venues around Leland, Mississippi, where he taught his friend Jimmy Reed to play guitar.[3] With a guitar style deeply rooted in the Mississippi Delta tradition, in 1949 Taylor moved to Chicago, Illinois.
While Taylor never achieved the stardom of some of his compatriots in the Chicago blues scene, he nevertheless was an integral part of that era. He is especially noted as a main accompanist for Jimmy Reed, as well as working with John Lee Hooker, Big Walter Horton, Sam Lay,[4] and others. Earwig Music Company recorded him with Kansas City Red and Big John Wrencher on the album, "Original Chicago Blues".,[5] Taylor's own records "Big Town Playboy" and "Bad Boy" on Vee Jay Records became local hits in the 1950s.
Taylor's son Eddie Taylor Jr. is a blues guitarist in Chicago, his stepson Larry Taylor is a blues drummer and vocalist, and his daughter Demetria is a blues vocalist in Chicago. Taylor's wife Vera was the niece of bluesmen Eddie "Guitar" Burns and Jimmy Burns.
Taylor died on Christmas Day in 1985 in Chicago,[6] at age 62, and was interred in an unmarked grave in the Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1987.
Jonny Lang *29.01.1981
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Jonny Lang (* 29. Januar 1981 in Fargo, North Dakota, eigentlich Jon Gordon Langseth, Jr.) ist ein US-amerikanischer Musiker aus dem Bereich des Blues und Bluesrock, der schon in jugendlichem Alter durch seine Stimme und seine Fähigkeiten auf der E-Gitarre auf sich aufmerksam machte.Biografie
Jonny Lang wurde am 29. Januar 1981 in Fargo, North Dakota, USA geboren. Mit 12 Jahren bekam er seine erste Gitarre und Gitarrenunterricht von Ted Larsen, Gitarrist der Gruppe "Bad Medicine Blues Band". Bereits nach wenigen Monaten wurde er Mitglied und Frontmann der "Bad Medicine Blues Band", welche sich von da an "Kid Jonny Lang & the Big Bang" nannte. Als er 1995 sein erstes Album veröffentlichte, war er erst 14 Jahre alt, was man aber weder an seiner Stimme noch an seinem Gitarrenspiel erkennen konnte - Lang klang zu diesem Zeitpunkt bereits wie manch 30 Jahre alter Bluesmusiker. Durch seine Werke wurde Lang in der Bluesszene bereits sehr bekannt, wodurch er einen Auftritt im Film Blues Brothers 2000 bekam. Er spielte dort Seite an Seite mit Stars wie B. B. King. Jonny Lang begleitete in den folgenden Jahren Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, B. B. King und Blues Traveler auf ihren Tourneen und spielte 1999 vor Präsident Clinton und seiner Frau während einer Audienz im Weißen Haus. Mit 19 wurde Jonny Lang für das Album Wander This World für den Grammy nominiert.
Seit seinem 20. Lebensjahr ist er mit Haylie (* 29. Januar 1980) verheiratet. Sie ist in dem Musikvideo zu seinem Song Missing Your Love zu sehen.
Jonny Lang (born Jon Gordon Langseth, Jr., January 29, 1981) is an American blues, gospel, and rock singer, songwriter, guitarist and recording artist. Lang's music is notable for both his unusual voice, which at 13 was compared to that of a 40-year-old blues veteran,[1] and for his guitar solos. His solo patterns have especially been noted[who?] for his frequent use of wide vibratos.[citation needed] He has five albums that charted on the top 50 of the Billboard 200 chart and has won a Grammy Award for Turn Around.
Biography
Jonny Lang is of Norwegian descent and was born in Fargo, North Dakota, USA. He started playing the guitar at the age of twelve. He got his start playing guitar for his friends on the Vallager's porch at their lake place. He would play everything from modern hits to the classics; even performing an astounding rendition of Jimi Hendrix's take on the National Anthem. After his father took him to see the Bad Medicine Blues Band, one of the few blues bands in Fargo. Lang soon started taking guitar lessons from Ted Larsen, the band's guitar player. Several months after Lang began, he joined the band, which was then renamed Kid Jonny Lang & The Big Bang.
The band moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and independently released the album Smokin' when Lang was fourteen. Lang was signed to A&M Records in 1996. He released the critically acclaimed multi-platinum Lie to Me on January 28, 1997. The next album, Wander this World, was released on October 20, 1998 and earned a Grammy nomination. This was followed by the more soulful Long Time Coming on October 14, 2003. Lang also made a cover of Edgar Winter's "Dying to Live". Lang's 2006 album, the gospel-influenced Turn Around, won him his first Grammy Award.
In his earliest performing years, Lang always performed barefoot on stage, because "it feels good" and once in tribute to Luther Allison, a friend who had recently died. He has since given up that practice, after several near-accidents and electric shocks.
In more than ten years on the road, Lang has toured with the Rolling Stones, Buddy Guy, Aerosmith, B.B. King, Blues Traveler, Jeff Beck and Sting. In 1999, he was invited to play for a White House audience including President and Mrs. Clinton. Earlier that year he was selected by the newly elected Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura to perform at his Inaugural Ball. Lang also makes a cameo appearance in the film Blues Brothers 2000 as a janitor. In 2004, Eric Clapton asked Lang to play at the Crossroads Guitar Festival to raise money for the Crossroads Centre Antigua.
Lang also appears regularly as a part of the Experience Hendrix Tour along with many other well-known guitarists to pay tribute the deceased guitar legend.
Musical equipment
Jonny Lang, since the beginning with The Big Bang, has slung a 1972 Fender Thinline Telecaster made by the Fender Custom Shop, as well as a 1958 reissue custom shop Gibson Les Paul in more recent years as his sound and style have grown and flourished. His original Custom Shop Tele-a deep cobalt blue with flamed maple top, flamed maple neck, pearl signature inlay and his trademark pinup girl character on the aft body was stolen some years ago. He's added a couple more custom thinline teles-all carrying the basic aesthetic motif, but with varying colors from a burnt orange/amber to a deep violet throughout the years since. The 1972 Fender Thinline Telecaster is a semi-hollow alder body, ash top and a maple neck and fretboard. Jonny kept the alder and ash, adding a flamed maple top and a flamed or sometimes birdseye maple neck, and has even added a rosewood fretboard. He hasn't, however, sported the pearl "Jonny Lang" signature inlay since his original custom tele, but still stays true to his WWII-style pinup girl aftbody artwork. Jonny uses Bill Lawrence Pickups (500L Neck, 500XL Bridge) and a Seymour Duncan P-90 in the middle. He uses a Route 66 pedal of Visual Sound and a Vox 847 reissue Wah Wah pedal for some songs. He plays through a 3-10" Fender Tube King amplifier. Jonny also used an arbiter Fuzz Face and an Electro Harmonix POG for The Experience Hendrix tour. Lang has also used Audiotech Guitar Products ABC Selector CCM on his 2005 acoustic tour.
The Fender Telecaster featured on the cover of Lie to Me is in fact not a Telecaster at all, but an original Fender Esquire. Upon filming the music video for the title track "Lie to Me" which took place in a San Francisco music store, the owner of the store suggested Jonny play the Esquire in the video. Jonny fell in love with the guitar and it was purchased and given to him as a gift. He continues to use it, but not as often as his Custom Shop Telecaster and Signature Series Les Paul.
Band personnel
From 1993 to 1996, Lang's backing band was The Big Bang. This group consisted of three founding members of the Bad Medicine Blues Band: Ted "Lightnin' Boy" Larsen on guitar, his brother Michael Rey Larsen on drums, and Jeff Hayenga on bass. Keyboardist Bruce McCabe joined The Big Bang in 1995 after Lang and this young band from Fargo impressed him with their set opening for McCabe's band at the time, The Hoopsnakes.
From 1996 to 2004, Lang's backing band included Paul Diethelm on guitar, Bruce McCabe on keyboards, Doug Nelson on bass and Billy Thommes on drums. Also appearing on keyboards during 2003 and 2004 was Donnie La Marca, filling in for McCabe during his break from touring. Nelson was killed in a traffic accident in 2000 and was replaced by Billy Franze. Franze was in turn replaced by Jim Anton in 2003. Saxophone player David Eiland was added in 2000, providing Lang with a foil for extended instrumental jams. In 2005, Lang replaced the entire lineup, except for Anton, and embarked on an acoustic tour. He performed with Wendy Alane Wright at the 2000 pre-Grammy party. Guitarist Reeve Carney was the band's opening act for several shows in 2005, as well as for the 2006 and 2007 tours. The new band also includes organist and Houston, Texas native Charles Jones, drummer Barry Alexander, and organist Bill Brown from Minneapolis.
The current band line up includes:
Barry Alexander from Minneapolis, MN on drums
James Anton from Minneapolis, MN on bass
Akil Thompson from Nashville, TN on rhythm guitar
Dwan Hill from Nashville, TN on keys
Missi Hale from Los Angeles, CA on background vocals
Recent years
On September 17, 2013 Lang released his first studio album in seven years, Fight for My Soul.
Personal life
Lang married former Kids Incorporated cast member Haylie Johnson on June 8, 2001. Lang and his wife share the same birthday, although she is one year older. They live in Los Angeles, California.[citation needed]
Lang and Johnson have 4 children. Fraternal twins - son Raimy Lee and daughter Saylor Monroe, daughter Rennix Belle, and daughter Lilou Jaymes. [2]
Lang has two older sisters, Stephanie and Heidi Jo. He also has one younger sister, Jessica ("Jesse"), who was a contestant on season 8 of American Idol. Actress Ashley Johnson (Growing Pains, What Women Want) is Lang's sister-in-law.
Conversion to Christianity
After a period of alcoholism and drug abuse, Jonny Lang became a Christian in 2000, which led him to stop substance abuse.[3][4] In an interview with Sara Groves on Christianity Today, Lang gave details about his conversion, assuring he had a supernatural experience with the Holy Ghost.[4] In his own words, he has said that he formerly "hated Christianity"[5] and "despised the things of God", but now he wants to share with others about Jesus' love.[6]
The songs "Only a Man" and "Thankful" from his album Turn Around, are about his belief in God. He has also co-written a couple of songs with Christian-music artist Steven Curtis Chapman, notably "My Love Remains".
Biography
Jonny Lang is of Norwegian descent and was born in Fargo, North Dakota, USA. He started playing the guitar at the age of twelve. He got his start playing guitar for his friends on the Vallager's porch at their lake place. He would play everything from modern hits to the classics; even performing an astounding rendition of Jimi Hendrix's take on the National Anthem. After his father took him to see the Bad Medicine Blues Band, one of the few blues bands in Fargo. Lang soon started taking guitar lessons from Ted Larsen, the band's guitar player. Several months after Lang began, he joined the band, which was then renamed Kid Jonny Lang & The Big Bang.
The band moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and independently released the album Smokin' when Lang was fourteen. Lang was signed to A&M Records in 1996. He released the critically acclaimed multi-platinum Lie to Me on January 28, 1997. The next album, Wander this World, was released on October 20, 1998 and earned a Grammy nomination. This was followed by the more soulful Long Time Coming on October 14, 2003. Lang also made a cover of Edgar Winter's "Dying to Live". Lang's 2006 album, the gospel-influenced Turn Around, won him his first Grammy Award.
In his earliest performing years, Lang always performed barefoot on stage, because "it feels good" and once in tribute to Luther Allison, a friend who had recently died. He has since given up that practice, after several near-accidents and electric shocks.
In more than ten years on the road, Lang has toured with the Rolling Stones, Buddy Guy, Aerosmith, B.B. King, Blues Traveler, Jeff Beck and Sting. In 1999, he was invited to play for a White House audience including President and Mrs. Clinton. Earlier that year he was selected by the newly elected Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura to perform at his Inaugural Ball. Lang also makes a cameo appearance in the film Blues Brothers 2000 as a janitor. In 2004, Eric Clapton asked Lang to play at the Crossroads Guitar Festival to raise money for the Crossroads Centre Antigua.
Lang also appears regularly as a part of the Experience Hendrix Tour along with many other well-known guitarists to pay tribute the deceased guitar legend.
Musical equipment
Jonny Lang, since the beginning with The Big Bang, has slung a 1972 Fender Thinline Telecaster made by the Fender Custom Shop, as well as a 1958 reissue custom shop Gibson Les Paul in more recent years as his sound and style have grown and flourished. His original Custom Shop Tele-a deep cobalt blue with flamed maple top, flamed maple neck, pearl signature inlay and his trademark pinup girl character on the aft body was stolen some years ago. He's added a couple more custom thinline teles-all carrying the basic aesthetic motif, but with varying colors from a burnt orange/amber to a deep violet throughout the years since. The 1972 Fender Thinline Telecaster is a semi-hollow alder body, ash top and a maple neck and fretboard. Jonny kept the alder and ash, adding a flamed maple top and a flamed or sometimes birdseye maple neck, and has even added a rosewood fretboard. He hasn't, however, sported the pearl "Jonny Lang" signature inlay since his original custom tele, but still stays true to his WWII-style pinup girl aftbody artwork. Jonny uses Bill Lawrence Pickups (500L Neck, 500XL Bridge) and a Seymour Duncan P-90 in the middle. He uses a Route 66 pedal of Visual Sound and a Vox 847 reissue Wah Wah pedal for some songs. He plays through a 3-10" Fender Tube King amplifier. Jonny also used an arbiter Fuzz Face and an Electro Harmonix POG for The Experience Hendrix tour. Lang has also used Audiotech Guitar Products ABC Selector CCM on his 2005 acoustic tour.
The Fender Telecaster featured on the cover of Lie to Me is in fact not a Telecaster at all, but an original Fender Esquire. Upon filming the music video for the title track "Lie to Me" which took place in a San Francisco music store, the owner of the store suggested Jonny play the Esquire in the video. Jonny fell in love with the guitar and it was purchased and given to him as a gift. He continues to use it, but not as often as his Custom Shop Telecaster and Signature Series Les Paul.
Band personnel
From 1993 to 1996, Lang's backing band was The Big Bang. This group consisted of three founding members of the Bad Medicine Blues Band: Ted "Lightnin' Boy" Larsen on guitar, his brother Michael Rey Larsen on drums, and Jeff Hayenga on bass. Keyboardist Bruce McCabe joined The Big Bang in 1995 after Lang and this young band from Fargo impressed him with their set opening for McCabe's band at the time, The Hoopsnakes.
From 1996 to 2004, Lang's backing band included Paul Diethelm on guitar, Bruce McCabe on keyboards, Doug Nelson on bass and Billy Thommes on drums. Also appearing on keyboards during 2003 and 2004 was Donnie La Marca, filling in for McCabe during his break from touring. Nelson was killed in a traffic accident in 2000 and was replaced by Billy Franze. Franze was in turn replaced by Jim Anton in 2003. Saxophone player David Eiland was added in 2000, providing Lang with a foil for extended instrumental jams. In 2005, Lang replaced the entire lineup, except for Anton, and embarked on an acoustic tour. He performed with Wendy Alane Wright at the 2000 pre-Grammy party. Guitarist Reeve Carney was the band's opening act for several shows in 2005, as well as for the 2006 and 2007 tours. The new band also includes organist and Houston, Texas native Charles Jones, drummer Barry Alexander, and organist Bill Brown from Minneapolis.
The current band line up includes:
Barry Alexander from Minneapolis, MN on drums
James Anton from Minneapolis, MN on bass
Akil Thompson from Nashville, TN on rhythm guitar
Dwan Hill from Nashville, TN on keys
Missi Hale from Los Angeles, CA on background vocals
Recent years
On September 17, 2013 Lang released his first studio album in seven years, Fight for My Soul.
Personal life
Lang married former Kids Incorporated cast member Haylie Johnson on June 8, 2001. Lang and his wife share the same birthday, although she is one year older. They live in Los Angeles, California.[citation needed]
Lang and Johnson have 4 children. Fraternal twins - son Raimy Lee and daughter Saylor Monroe, daughter Rennix Belle, and daughter Lilou Jaymes. [2]
Lang has two older sisters, Stephanie and Heidi Jo. He also has one younger sister, Jessica ("Jesse"), who was a contestant on season 8 of American Idol. Actress Ashley Johnson (Growing Pains, What Women Want) is Lang's sister-in-law.
Conversion to Christianity
After a period of alcoholism and drug abuse, Jonny Lang became a Christian in 2000, which led him to stop substance abuse.[3][4] In an interview with Sara Groves on Christianity Today, Lang gave details about his conversion, assuring he had a supernatural experience with the Holy Ghost.[4] In his own words, he has said that he formerly "hated Christianity"[5] and "despised the things of God", but now he wants to share with others about Jesus' love.[6]
The songs "Only a Man" and "Thankful" from his album Turn Around, are about his belief in God. He has also co-written a couple of songs with Christian-music artist Steven Curtis Chapman, notably "My Love Remains".
Stefan Diestelmann *29.01.1949
Leben
Stefan Diestelmann kam 1949 als Sohn des Schauspielerehepaares Hildegard und Jochen Diestelmann zur Welt. Er beschäftigte sich schon frühzeitig mit dem Blues und brachte sich seine Fähigkeiten autodidaktisch bei. 1961 siedelte er auf Wunsch der Eltern, die beide für die DEFA arbeiteten, zusammen mit ihnen in die DDR um.[2] Als Zwölfjähriger erhielt er von seinen Eltern die erste Gitarre geschenkt und begann zu spielen, sammelte Schallplatten und studierte Literatur über das Leben und Wirken afroamerikanischer Bluesinterpreten. Seine ersten Auftritte hatte Stefan Diestelmann bei den Teddys. Danach spielte er in verschiedenen Amateurbands, bis ihn 1975 Axel Stammberger in dessen Band Vai hu holte. Seiner Neigung zu authentischem, urwüchsigem Blues konnte er jedoch bei Stammberger nicht entsprechen. So gründete er im Mai 1977, nach einem kurzen Zwischenspiel bei der Bluesband Engerling, seine eigene Band. Zur Gründungsbesetzung der Stefan Diestelmann Folk Blues Band gehörten:
Stefan Diestelmann (Gitarre, Gesang, Mundharmonika)
Dietrich Petzold (Violine, Perkussion)
Rüdiger Phillipp (Bass)
Bernd Kleinow (Mundharmonika).
Dietrich Petzold hatte sein Handwerk bei Klaus Lenz und Uschi Brüning erlernt, bevor er mit Diestelmann zusammen spielte. Rüdiger Phillipp kam ebenfalls von Uschi Brüning zunächst zu Vai hu. Obwohl sich die Stefan Diestelmann Folk Blues Band durch ihre betonte Anlehnung an die afroamerikanischen Bluesmusiker (T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, B. B. King) und stilistisch (zum Beispiel durch den Verzicht auf ein Schlagzeug) deutlich von anderen Bands wie Engerling, Monokel oder Freygang unterschied, fand sie in der Blueserszene der DDR großen Anklang. Die Nähe zum Publikum und seine Texte brachten Stefan Diestelmann zunehmend den Unmut der DDR-Staatsmacht ein und führte in einigen DDR-Bezirken zu Auftrittsverboten. Bereits am 5. März 1967 war Stefan Diestelmann wegen „Staatsverleumdung“ und „Vorbereitung zur Republikflucht“ zu einer Bewährungsstrafe verurteilt worden. Seine Texte (Der Alte und die Kneipe oder Hof vom Prenzlauer Berg) spiegelten den Alltag wider und erzählten von verfallenen Häusern, dem Kohlenmann, Kneipen und Besoffenen, und passten nicht in das offizielle Bild der DDR.
Anfang Oktober 1977 trat er auch im Rahmen eines Jugendgottesdienstes der oppositionellen „Offenen Arbeit“ um Pfarrer Christoph Wonneberger in der Dresdner Weinbergsgemeinde sowie 1980 gemeinsam mit „Holly“ Holwas bei der Blues-Messe in der Ost-Berliner Auferstehungskirche auf.[3]
Dennoch erhielt Stefan Diestelmann die Möglichkeit zu Rundfunkproduktionen, Auslandsgastspielen und Auftrittsmöglichkeiten bei offiziellen Veranstaltungen, beispielsweise im Berliner Palast der Republik[4], wo er am 25. Mai 1978 gemeinsam mit Memphis Slim auf der Bühne stand. 1978 erschien bei Amiga seine erste LP, auf der als Gäste Wolfgang Fiedler und Volker Schlott von der Jazz-Rock-Band Fusion zu hören sind. Ein Jahr später trat er in Der Mann aus Colorado 2 erstmals im DDR-Fernsehen auf, und 1981 spielt Diestelmann an der Seite von Dean Reed im DEFA-Film Sing, Cowboy, sing einen Barkeeper. 1984 erhielt Stefan Diestelmann, allerdings ohne die Band, die Möglichkeit, in Hildesheim in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland aufzutreten. Von diesem Konzert kehrte der „Blueskönig der DDR“ nicht mehr in die DDR zurück.[1]
Er lebte seitdem am Ammersee in Bayern. In der Bundesrepublik konnte er nicht an seine Erfolge in der DDR anknüpfen. Mitte der 1990er Jahre beendete er seine musikalische Laufbahn, um die Firma Diestelfilm zu gründen. Diestelfilm produzierte Präsentations- und Dokumentarfilme.
Diestelmann starb 2007. Sein Tod wurde erst Ende 2011 durch einen Artikel des Journalisten Steffen Könau bekannt.
Stefan
Diestelmann was born on January 29, 1949 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.
Stefan was a singer, guitarist, harmonica player, lyricist, composer
and film producer. From 1961 to 1984 he lived in East Germany. He had
years of practical experience, with intensive study of the forms of
expression in the blues and jazz. He performed with such blues
musicians as Louisiana Red, Memphis Slim, Alexis Korner and Phil
Wiggins which helped make him an accomplished blues musician.
He later lived in Ammersee in Bavaria. In the Federal Republic, he
was unable to repeat his success in the GDR. In the mid-1990s, he
ended his musical career and founded the company Diestel Film, where
he produced film presentations and documentaries.
Diestelmann
died in obscurity on March 7, 2007 in Tutzing, Bavaria, Germany. He
was only 58. The news was not released until 2012 nearly five years
after his passing.
Paul-Gerhard Lange *29.01.1946
1963 - The Thimbles Skifflegroup : Günter Dolezal, Jörg Weigel, Michael Brinkmann, P.G.Lange, Udo Kollmeier, Frank Priess
1965 - The Green Onions : Udo Lummer, Peter Kindermann, Fred Brachmann, Manfred Matser
1976 - HEUTE Worried Men Skiffle Group : Wolfgang Friedrich, Udo Kollmeier, Günter Kollmeier, Helmut Schibilsky, Stefanie Richter
1978 - 2006 The Skiffle Revival : Bernd Ehlebracht-Büchel, Gustav Griemert, Chris Bridgen, Wolfgang Puls, Achim König, Rainer "Buddy" Badenberg.
1981 - 1994 Flatfoot Sam Bluesband :Wolfgang Friedrich, Helmut Schibilsky, Jürgen Schildmann, Wolfgang Kipp, Klaus Brachmann, Bernd Klawa, Reinhard "Iffi" Iffländer
1989 - 2003 Songs Unlimited :Friedhelm Droß, Stefanie Richter, Bernd Klawa, Helmut Schibilsky, Achim König
1995 The Bluesburgers :Chris Bassarak, Dieter Hahler, Bernd Klawa, Dieter Krahe
1997 - HEUTE Alligator Bluesband :Andreas Grünert, Ellen Hildebrandt, Bernd Klawa, Dieter Hahler, Wolfgang Kipp, Dieter "Kraki" Krahe
2005 - 2013 Jam Factory :Chris Bridgen, Herbert Pliskat, Christian Laser, Björn Behrendt, Maik Detmers, Ellen Hildebrandt, Frank Wedekind, Dirk Heidbreder
2007 - HEUTE Old Fellows :Bernd Ehlebracht-Büchel, Gustav Griemert, Wolfgang Puls
2007 - 2008 The Berlin Skiffle Session :Marco Göllner, Carsten Köhler, Stefan Humke, Maik Detmers, Dirk Heidbreder, Sonja Heckner, Andrea Limpke, Chris Bridgen, Gustav Griemert, Friedhelm Droß
Diskographie :
Songs Unlimited : MC "Crossing Lines", CD "Phönix" * Worried Men : "…won´t be worried long", CD "Live in der Hamburger Fabrik" *
Alligator Bluesband : Shake the boogie * Skiffle Revival : Skiffle Revival * Berlin Skiffle Session :The Berlin Skiffle Session
Morning Coffee Blues
R.I.P.
Jesse Fuller +29.01.1976
Jesse "Lone Cat" Fuller (* 12. März 1896 in Jonesboro nahe Atlanta, Georgia, USA; † 29. Januar 1976 in Oakland, Kalifornien) war ein afroamerikanischer Blues-Musiker.
Er ist vor allem durch seinen Song "San Francisco Bay Blues" bekannt geworden, der von einer großen Anzahl von Musikern nachgespielt wurde, so u.a. von The Blues Band, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Richie Havens, Hot Tuna, Janis Joplin, Mungo Jerry und Peter, Paul & Mary. Auch die Grateful Dead coverten einige seiner Stücke. Der erste Song auf Bob Dylans erster, 1962 erschienener LP ist Jesse Fullers Song "You're No Good".
Weil er gleichzeitig 12-saitige Gitarre, Mundharmonika bzw. Kazoo, Hi-Hat und ein selbst gebautes Bass-Instrument, die 'Fotdella', spielte, wurde er auch als Ein-Mann-Band ('one-man-band') bezeichnet.
Erst im Jahre 1955 ist seine erste, 1954 aufgenommene Schallplatte herausgegeben worden, eine 10-Inch-LP auf dem Label 'World Song'. Es folgten Aufnahmen für diverse Firmen wie Good Time Jazz, Prestige, Bluesville, Folk Lyric, Topic, Fontana und Arhoolie. In den 1960er und Anfang der 1970er Jahre machte er ausgedehnte Tourneen. Er spielte auf dem 1964 Newport Folk Festival, in Europa, und war regelmäßig in Colleges, Kaffeehäusern und anderen Szene-Auftrittsorten zu sehen. Zu seinem Repertoire gehörten nicht nur Bluesstücke, sondern auch traditionelle Folksongs, Ragtimenummern und religiöse Lieder.
Jesse Fuller (March 12, 1896 – January 29, 1976) was an American one-man band musician, best known for his song "San Francisco Bay Blues".[1][2]
Early life
Fuller was born in Jonesboro, Georgia, near Atlanta. He was sent by his mother to live with foster parents when he was a young child, in a rural setting where he was badly mistreated. Growing up, he worked a multitude of jobs: grazing cows for ten cents a day, working in a barrel factory, a broom factory, a rock quarry, on a railroad and a streetcar company, shining shoes, and even peddling hand-carved wooden snakes.[3] By the age of 10 he was playing guitar in two techniques, as he described it, "frailing" and "picking."
He came west and in the 1920s he lived in Southern California, where he operated a hot-dog stand and was befriended by Douglas Fairbanks. He worked briefly as a film extra in The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and East of Suez. In 1929 he settled in Oakland, California, across the bay from San Francisco, where he worked for the Southern Pacific railroad for many years as a fireman, spike driver, and maintenance-of-way worker. He married, and he and his wife Gertrude had a family. During World War II, he worked as a shipyard welder, but when the war ended he found it increasingly difficult to secure employment. Around the early 1950s, Fuller's thoughts turned toward the possibility of making a living playing music.
Start of career
Up to this point, Fuller had never worked as a full-time professional musician, but he was an accomplished guitarist and he had carried his guitar with him and busked for money by passing the hat. He had a good memory for songs and had a large repertoire of crowd-pleasers in diverse styles, including country blues, work songs, ragtime and jazz standards, ballads, spirituals, and instrumentals. For a while he operated a shoe-shine stand, where he sang and danced to entertain passersby. He began to seriously compose his own songs, many of them based on his personal life experiences on the railroads, and he also set about reworking older pieces into his own syncopated style. However, when he decided to try music as a career, he had difficulty finding reliable musicians to work with: thus his one-man band act was born, and he took on the name "The Lone Cat" or Jesse "Lone Cat" Fuller.
Starting locally, in clubs and bars in San Francisco and across the bay in Oakland and Berkeley, Fuller became more widely known when he performed on television in both the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and in 1958, at the age of 62, his recording career started with his first album on the Good Time Jazz record label.[3] Fuller's instruments included 6-string guitar (an instrument which he had abandoned before the beginning of his one-man band career), 12-string guitar, harmonica, kazoo, cymbal (high-hat) and fotdella. He could play several instruments simultaneously, particularly with the use of a head-piece to hold the harmonica, kazoo, and a microphone. In addition, he would generally include at least one tap dance, soft-shoe, or buck and wing in his sets, accompanying himself on the 12-string guitar as he danced. His style was open and engaging, and in typical busker's fashion, he addressed his audiences as "Ladies and Gentlemen," told humorous anecdotes, and cracked jokes between pieces. However, if one listened closely, the stories were anything but cheerful, often including specific recapitulations of his tragic childhood, his mother's illness and early death, his determination to escape the segregated racial system of the South, mentions of suicide and death, and his love of his wife and family.
The fotdella
The fotdella was a musical instrument of Fuller's own creation and construction. He built at least two of them, in slightly different patterns, as evidenced in photographs and film footage of his performances.
As a one-man band, Fuller's problem was how to supply a more substantial accompaniment than the typical high-hat (cymbal) or bass drum used by other street musicians. His solution, the fotdella, was a foot-operated percussion bass, consisting of a large upright wood box, shaped like the top of a double bass. Attached to a short neck at the top of this box were six piano bass strings, stretched down over the body. The means to play the strings consisted of six piano or organ foot pedals, each connected to a padded piano hammer which struck the string.[4]
By removing his shoe and placing his sock-covered foot in a rotating heel-cradle, Fuller was able to play the six pedals of the fotdella like a piano, and the instrument's six notes allowed him to perform varied bass lines in several keys, though he occasionally would play without it if a song exceeded its limited range.[4]
The name was coined by his wife, who took to calling the instrument a "foot-diller" (as in a "killer-diller" instrument played with the foot), which was shortened to fotdella. The term "foot piano" has been used by some performers and musicologists to describe this type of devise.
Death
Fuller died in January 1976 in Oakland, California, from heart disease at the age of 79.[5] He was interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland.[6] Both his fotdella and his 1962 Silvertone Electric-Acoustic guitar (the latter purchased in Detroit at a Sears and Roebuck store to replace his Maurer guitar, which had been stolen while he was on tour) are in the possession of the Smithsonian Institution.
Early life
Fuller was born in Jonesboro, Georgia, near Atlanta. He was sent by his mother to live with foster parents when he was a young child, in a rural setting where he was badly mistreated. Growing up, he worked a multitude of jobs: grazing cows for ten cents a day, working in a barrel factory, a broom factory, a rock quarry, on a railroad and a streetcar company, shining shoes, and even peddling hand-carved wooden snakes.[3] By the age of 10 he was playing guitar in two techniques, as he described it, "frailing" and "picking."
He came west and in the 1920s he lived in Southern California, where he operated a hot-dog stand and was befriended by Douglas Fairbanks. He worked briefly as a film extra in The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and East of Suez. In 1929 he settled in Oakland, California, across the bay from San Francisco, where he worked for the Southern Pacific railroad for many years as a fireman, spike driver, and maintenance-of-way worker. He married, and he and his wife Gertrude had a family. During World War II, he worked as a shipyard welder, but when the war ended he found it increasingly difficult to secure employment. Around the early 1950s, Fuller's thoughts turned toward the possibility of making a living playing music.
Start of career
Up to this point, Fuller had never worked as a full-time professional musician, but he was an accomplished guitarist and he had carried his guitar with him and busked for money by passing the hat. He had a good memory for songs and had a large repertoire of crowd-pleasers in diverse styles, including country blues, work songs, ragtime and jazz standards, ballads, spirituals, and instrumentals. For a while he operated a shoe-shine stand, where he sang and danced to entertain passersby. He began to seriously compose his own songs, many of them based on his personal life experiences on the railroads, and he also set about reworking older pieces into his own syncopated style. However, when he decided to try music as a career, he had difficulty finding reliable musicians to work with: thus his one-man band act was born, and he took on the name "The Lone Cat" or Jesse "Lone Cat" Fuller.
Starting locally, in clubs and bars in San Francisco and across the bay in Oakland and Berkeley, Fuller became more widely known when he performed on television in both the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and in 1958, at the age of 62, his recording career started with his first album on the Good Time Jazz record label.[3] Fuller's instruments included 6-string guitar (an instrument which he had abandoned before the beginning of his one-man band career), 12-string guitar, harmonica, kazoo, cymbal (high-hat) and fotdella. He could play several instruments simultaneously, particularly with the use of a head-piece to hold the harmonica, kazoo, and a microphone. In addition, he would generally include at least one tap dance, soft-shoe, or buck and wing in his sets, accompanying himself on the 12-string guitar as he danced. His style was open and engaging, and in typical busker's fashion, he addressed his audiences as "Ladies and Gentlemen," told humorous anecdotes, and cracked jokes between pieces. However, if one listened closely, the stories were anything but cheerful, often including specific recapitulations of his tragic childhood, his mother's illness and early death, his determination to escape the segregated racial system of the South, mentions of suicide and death, and his love of his wife and family.
The fotdella
The fotdella was a musical instrument of Fuller's own creation and construction. He built at least two of them, in slightly different patterns, as evidenced in photographs and film footage of his performances.
As a one-man band, Fuller's problem was how to supply a more substantial accompaniment than the typical high-hat (cymbal) or bass drum used by other street musicians. His solution, the fotdella, was a foot-operated percussion bass, consisting of a large upright wood box, shaped like the top of a double bass. Attached to a short neck at the top of this box were six piano bass strings, stretched down over the body. The means to play the strings consisted of six piano or organ foot pedals, each connected to a padded piano hammer which struck the string.[4]
By removing his shoe and placing his sock-covered foot in a rotating heel-cradle, Fuller was able to play the six pedals of the fotdella like a piano, and the instrument's six notes allowed him to perform varied bass lines in several keys, though he occasionally would play without it if a song exceeded its limited range.[4]
The name was coined by his wife, who took to calling the instrument a "foot-diller" (as in a "killer-diller" instrument played with the foot), which was shortened to fotdella. The term "foot piano" has been used by some performers and musicologists to describe this type of devise.
Death
Fuller died in January 1976 in Oakland, California, from heart disease at the age of 79.[5] He was interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland.[6] Both his fotdella and his 1962 Silvertone Electric-Acoustic guitar (the latter purchased in Detroit at a Sears and Roebuck store to replace his Maurer guitar, which had been stolen while he was on tour) are in the possession of the Smithsonian Institution.
Willie Dixon +29.01.1992
Willie Dixon (* 1. Juli 1915 als William James Dixon in Vicksburg, Mississippi; † 29. Januar 1992 in Burbank, Kalifornien) war einer der bedeutendsten US-amerikanischen Bluesmusiker (Gesang, Bass, Songwriter und Produzent).Inhaltsverzeichnis
Leben und Werk
Dixon hat die Entwicklung des Chicago-Blues in den 1950er und 1960er Jahren entscheidend geprägt. Als Studiomusiker und Hausbassist bei Chess Records ist er auf zahlreichen Plattenaufnahmen zu hören. Als Bassist von Chuck Berry trug er auch zum Siegeszug des Rock'n'Rolls bei. Zudem war Dixon als Songwriter und Produzent für die Chicagoer Blues-Label Chess Records und Checker Records eine regelrechte Songfabrik. Er schrieb viele der bedeutendsten Blues-Songs, wie Hoochie Coochie Man, Evil oder Back Door Man, die vor allem in den Interpretation von Muddy Waters und Howlin' Wolf bekannt wurden. Aber auch viele andere Blues-Legenden griffen seine Songs auf.
Einem breiten Publikum wurden seine Kompositionen bekannt, als in den 1960er Jahren britische Rockbands etliche Titel von Willie Dixon aufnahmen, beispielsweise die Rolling Stones (Little Red Rooster), Cream und Ten Years After (Spoonful), Led Zeppelin (I can't quit you, baby). Auch Elvis Presley, Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors und viele spätere Bands wie die Black Crowes interpretierten seine Songs. Die Liste der Bands, die Dixons Songs interpretierten, ist lang und bedeutend. Willie Dixon konnte mit einem gewissem Recht von sich sagen: „I Am The Blues“; er gilt gleichzeitig als einer der wichtigsten Ecksteine der Rockgeschichte.
Ende der 1960er-Jahre besann er sich wieder auf seine eigene Karriere und stellte verschiedene Begleitgruppen (Chicago Blues Allstars) auf, mit denen er auf Tournee ging.
1989 veröffentlichte Dixon eine Autobiographie unter dem Titel I am the Blues. Ein eindrucksvoller Höhepunkt seiner musikalischen Laufbahn kam 1988 heraus: Hidden Charms (mit den Stücken: Blues you can't loose, I don't trust myself, Jungle swing, Don't mess with the messer, Study war no more, I love the life I live, I cry for you, Good advice, I do the job). 1980 wurde er in die Blues Hall of Fame der Blues Foundation aufgenommen. 1992 starb Dixon an Herzversagen. 2010 wurde sein Song "Spoonful" in der Interpretation von Howlin' Wolf in die Blues Hall of Fame (Classic of Blues Recording ) aufgenommen.
William James "Willie" Dixon (July 1, 1915 – January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer.[1] A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the upright bass and the guitar and as a vocalist, Dixon is perhaps best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Next to Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post-World War II sound of the Chicago blues.[2]
Dixon's songs have been recorded by countless musicians in many genres as well as by various ensembles in which he participated. A short list of his most famous compositions includes "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Little Red Rooster", "My Babe", "Spoonful", and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover". These tunes were written during the peak of Chess Records, 1950–1965, and performed by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Bo Diddley; they influenced a worldwide generation of musicians.[3]
Dixon also was an important link between the blues and rock and roll, working with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley in the late 1950s. His songs were covered by some of the biggest artists of more recent times, such as Bob Dylan, Cream, Jeff Beck, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and The Rolling Stones.
Biography
Early life
Dixon was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 1, 1915.[1] His mother Daisy often rhymed the things she said, a habit her son imitated. At the age of seven, young Dixon became an admirer of a band that featured pianist Little Brother Montgomery. Dixon was first introduced to blues when he served time on prison farms in Mississippi as an early teenager. He later learned how to sing harmony from local carpenter Leo Phelps. Dixon sang bass in Phelps' group The Jubilee Singers, a local gospel quartet that regularly appeared on the Vicksburg radio station WQBC. Dixon began adapting poems he was writing as songs, and even sold some tunes to local music groups.
Adulthood
Dixon left Mississippi for Chicago in 1936. A man of considerable stature, at 6 and a half feet and weighing over 250 pounds, he took up boxing; he was so successful that he won the Illinois State Golden Gloves Heavyweight Championship (Novice Division) in 1937.[4] Dixon turned professional as a boxer and worked briefly as Joe Louis' sparring partner. After four fights, Dixon left boxing after getting into a fight with his manager over being cheated out of money.
Dixon met Leonard Caston at the boxing gym where they would harmonize at times. Dixon performed in several vocal groups in Chicago but it was Caston that got him to pursue music seriously.[5] Caston built him his first bass, made of a tin can and one string. Dixon's experience singing bass made the instrument familiar. He also learned the guitar.
In 1939, Dixon was a founding member of the Five Breezes, with Caston, Joe Bell, Gene Gilmore and Willie Hawthorne. The group blended blues, jazz, and vocal harmonies, in the mode of the Ink Spots. Dixon's progress on the Upright bass came to an abrupt halt during the advent of World War II when he resisted the draft as a conscientious objector and was imprisoned for ten months.[1] After the war, he formed a group named the Four Jumps of Jive and then reunited with Caston, forming the Big Three Trio, who went on to record for Columbia Records.
Pinnacle of career
Dixon signed with Chess Records as a recording artist, but began performing less, being more involved with administrative tasks for the label. By 1951, he was a full-time employee at Chess, where he acted as producer, talent scout, session musician and staff songwriter. He was also a producer for Chess subsidiary Checker Records. His relationship with Chess was sometimes strained, although he stayed with the label from 1948 to the early 1960s. During this time Dixon's output and influence were prodigious. From late 1956 to early 1959, he worked in a similar capacity for Cobra Records, where he produced early singles for Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and Buddy Guy.[6] He later recorded on Bluesville Records.[7] From the late 1960s until the middle 1970s, Dixon ran his own record label, Yambo Records, along with two subsidiary labels, Supreme and Spoonful. He released his 1971 album Peace? on Yambo, as well as singles by McKinley Mitchell, Lucky Peterson and others.[8]
Dixon is considered one of the key figures in the creation of Chicago blues. He worked with Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush, Bo Diddley, Joe Louis Walker, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Koko Taylor, Little Milton, Eddie Boyd, Jimmy Witherspoon, Lowell Fulson, Willie Mabon, Memphis Slim, Washboard Sam, Jimmy Rogers, Sam Lay and others.
In December 1964, The Rolling Stones reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart with their cover version of Dixon's "Little Red Rooster".[9]
Copyright battle
In his later years, Willie Dixon became a tireless ambassador for the blues and a vocal advocate for its practitioners, founding the Blues Heaven Foundation. The organization works to preserve the blues' legacy and to secure copyrights and royalties for blues musicians who were exploited in the past. Speaking with the simple eloquence that was a hallmark of his songs, Dixon claimed, "The blues are the roots and the other musics are the fruits. It's better keeping the roots alive, because it means better fruits from now on. The blues are the roots of all American music. As long as American music survives, so will the blues." In 1977, unhappy with the royalties rate from ARC Music, he and Muddy Waters sued the Chess-owned publishing company, and with the proceeds from the lawsuit set up Hoochie Coochie Music.[10]
In 1987, Dixon received an out-of-court settlement from Led Zeppelin after suing them for plagiarism, in relation to their use of his music for "Bring It On Home" and his lyrics from his composition "You Need Love" (1962) for their track "Whole Lotta Love".[11]
Dixon's health deteriorated increasingly during the seventies and the eighties, primarily due to long-term diabetes. Eventually one of his legs had to be amputated.[1] Dixon was inducted at the inaugural session of the Blues Foundation's ceremony, and into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980.[12] In 1989 he was also the recipient of a Grammy Award for his album, Hidden Charms.[13]
Death and legacy
Dixon died of heart failure[14] in Burbank, California on January 29, 1992,[1] and was buried in the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. Dixon was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the "early influences" (pre-rock) category in 1994.[15] On April 28, 2013, Dixon's grandson, Alex Dixon, was inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame along with his grandfather.[16]
Actor and comedian Cedric the Entertainer portrayed Dixon in Cadillac Records, a 2008 film based on the early history of Chess Records.[17][18]
Tributes
French singer-songwriter Francis Cabrel refers to Dixon in the song "Cent Ans de Plus" on his 1999 album Hors-Saison. Cabrel cites the artist as one of a number of blues influences, including Charley Patton, Son House, Blind Lemon, Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Blind Blake and Ma Rainey.
Canadian rock musician Tom Cochrane wrote a song entitled "Willie Dixon Said" that appeared on his 1999 album X-Ray Sierra.
Bob Dylan credited Willie Dixon for the music of the song "My Wife's Hometown" on his album Together Through Life and gave special thanks to Dixon's estate.
Bernie Taupin English lyricist, poet, singer and painter, best known for his long-term collaboration with Elton John is actively campaigning for Willie Dixon's posthumous induction in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Dixon's songs have been recorded by countless musicians in many genres as well as by various ensembles in which he participated. A short list of his most famous compositions includes "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Little Red Rooster", "My Babe", "Spoonful", and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover". These tunes were written during the peak of Chess Records, 1950–1965, and performed by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Bo Diddley; they influenced a worldwide generation of musicians.[3]
Dixon also was an important link between the blues and rock and roll, working with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley in the late 1950s. His songs were covered by some of the biggest artists of more recent times, such as Bob Dylan, Cream, Jeff Beck, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and The Rolling Stones.
Biography
Early life
Dixon was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 1, 1915.[1] His mother Daisy often rhymed the things she said, a habit her son imitated. At the age of seven, young Dixon became an admirer of a band that featured pianist Little Brother Montgomery. Dixon was first introduced to blues when he served time on prison farms in Mississippi as an early teenager. He later learned how to sing harmony from local carpenter Leo Phelps. Dixon sang bass in Phelps' group The Jubilee Singers, a local gospel quartet that regularly appeared on the Vicksburg radio station WQBC. Dixon began adapting poems he was writing as songs, and even sold some tunes to local music groups.
Adulthood
Dixon left Mississippi for Chicago in 1936. A man of considerable stature, at 6 and a half feet and weighing over 250 pounds, he took up boxing; he was so successful that he won the Illinois State Golden Gloves Heavyweight Championship (Novice Division) in 1937.[4] Dixon turned professional as a boxer and worked briefly as Joe Louis' sparring partner. After four fights, Dixon left boxing after getting into a fight with his manager over being cheated out of money.
Dixon met Leonard Caston at the boxing gym where they would harmonize at times. Dixon performed in several vocal groups in Chicago but it was Caston that got him to pursue music seriously.[5] Caston built him his first bass, made of a tin can and one string. Dixon's experience singing bass made the instrument familiar. He also learned the guitar.
In 1939, Dixon was a founding member of the Five Breezes, with Caston, Joe Bell, Gene Gilmore and Willie Hawthorne. The group blended blues, jazz, and vocal harmonies, in the mode of the Ink Spots. Dixon's progress on the Upright bass came to an abrupt halt during the advent of World War II when he resisted the draft as a conscientious objector and was imprisoned for ten months.[1] After the war, he formed a group named the Four Jumps of Jive and then reunited with Caston, forming the Big Three Trio, who went on to record for Columbia Records.
Pinnacle of career
Dixon signed with Chess Records as a recording artist, but began performing less, being more involved with administrative tasks for the label. By 1951, he was a full-time employee at Chess, where he acted as producer, talent scout, session musician and staff songwriter. He was also a producer for Chess subsidiary Checker Records. His relationship with Chess was sometimes strained, although he stayed with the label from 1948 to the early 1960s. During this time Dixon's output and influence were prodigious. From late 1956 to early 1959, he worked in a similar capacity for Cobra Records, where he produced early singles for Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and Buddy Guy.[6] He later recorded on Bluesville Records.[7] From the late 1960s until the middle 1970s, Dixon ran his own record label, Yambo Records, along with two subsidiary labels, Supreme and Spoonful. He released his 1971 album Peace? on Yambo, as well as singles by McKinley Mitchell, Lucky Peterson and others.[8]
Dixon is considered one of the key figures in the creation of Chicago blues. He worked with Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush, Bo Diddley, Joe Louis Walker, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Koko Taylor, Little Milton, Eddie Boyd, Jimmy Witherspoon, Lowell Fulson, Willie Mabon, Memphis Slim, Washboard Sam, Jimmy Rogers, Sam Lay and others.
In December 1964, The Rolling Stones reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart with their cover version of Dixon's "Little Red Rooster".[9]
Copyright battle
In his later years, Willie Dixon became a tireless ambassador for the blues and a vocal advocate for its practitioners, founding the Blues Heaven Foundation. The organization works to preserve the blues' legacy and to secure copyrights and royalties for blues musicians who were exploited in the past. Speaking with the simple eloquence that was a hallmark of his songs, Dixon claimed, "The blues are the roots and the other musics are the fruits. It's better keeping the roots alive, because it means better fruits from now on. The blues are the roots of all American music. As long as American music survives, so will the blues." In 1977, unhappy with the royalties rate from ARC Music, he and Muddy Waters sued the Chess-owned publishing company, and with the proceeds from the lawsuit set up Hoochie Coochie Music.[10]
In 1987, Dixon received an out-of-court settlement from Led Zeppelin after suing them for plagiarism, in relation to their use of his music for "Bring It On Home" and his lyrics from his composition "You Need Love" (1962) for their track "Whole Lotta Love".[11]
Dixon's health deteriorated increasingly during the seventies and the eighties, primarily due to long-term diabetes. Eventually one of his legs had to be amputated.[1] Dixon was inducted at the inaugural session of the Blues Foundation's ceremony, and into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980.[12] In 1989 he was also the recipient of a Grammy Award for his album, Hidden Charms.[13]
Death and legacy
Dixon died of heart failure[14] in Burbank, California on January 29, 1992,[1] and was buried in the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. Dixon was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the "early influences" (pre-rock) category in 1994.[15] On April 28, 2013, Dixon's grandson, Alex Dixon, was inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame along with his grandfather.[16]
Actor and comedian Cedric the Entertainer portrayed Dixon in Cadillac Records, a 2008 film based on the early history of Chess Records.[17][18]
Tributes
French singer-songwriter Francis Cabrel refers to Dixon in the song "Cent Ans de Plus" on his 1999 album Hors-Saison. Cabrel cites the artist as one of a number of blues influences, including Charley Patton, Son House, Blind Lemon, Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Blind Blake and Ma Rainey.
Canadian rock musician Tom Cochrane wrote a song entitled "Willie Dixon Said" that appeared on his 1999 album X-Ray Sierra.
Bob Dylan credited Willie Dixon for the music of the song "My Wife's Hometown" on his album Together Through Life and gave special thanks to Dixon's estate.
Bernie Taupin English lyricist, poet, singer and painter, best known for his long-term collaboration with Elton John is actively campaigning for Willie Dixon's posthumous induction in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Willie Dixon - Bassology
Willie Dixon - Spoonful
North Carolina blues musician George Higgs died on Tuesday. He was 82 years old.
Higgs was known for singing the piedmont-style blues with his guitar and harmonica throughout the state and was honored as an important part of North Carolina’s musical heritage. In 1992, he received the North Carolina Folklore Society’s Brown-Hudson Award, and he was presented with the North Carolina Heritage Award the following year. Higgs performed throughout the region both solo and with the North Carolina Black Folk Heritage Tour, and released his debut album, Tarboro Blues, in 2001 in collaboration with the Music Maker Relief Foundation.
Higgs was born into a farming community 1930 in Speed, North Carolina. He picked up the harmonica as a child and grew up listening to his father play the instrument and sing spirituals. As a young man, he was inspired to purchase his first guitar after hearing a performance by Peg Leg Sam. He played at house parties and competed in guitar contest in Tarboro before singing and playing with the Friendly Five Gospel Quartet in the 1960s.
Higgs worked as a farmer, carpenter, and a father of six children with his wife Bettye in the town where he grew up.
“[For] as long as I’m alive, I think I’ll always have this urge for this old music,” he said. “I know I will. I’m going to try to carry it just as long as I’m able . . . because it’s like history to me.”
Learn more about George Higgs and his legacy here, and watch an interview with George Higgs by Grammy award-winning musician David Holt below.
Soko Richardson +29.01.2004
Biography
Born in New Iberia, Louisiana, Richardson began his musical career at the age of 16, when he left home to tour the South with local bands. Shortly thereafter Ike Turner, upon hearing Richardson play in Texas, hired him to play with his band, Kings of Rhythm, and then later with The Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Richardson worked with Turner for the next ten years. In March 1971 Richardson's arrangement of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song, "Proud Mary" reached number four on the pop charts, and number five on the R&B charts. The song became a signature song for Tina Turner, and won the band a Grammy for "Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Group."[1][3]
In 1971, Richardson joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, with whom he would tour and record for the next decade, playing with many of the diverse artists to whom Mayall gave a start.[4][5][6]
In the mid 1980s, Richardson joined Albert Collins and the Icebreakers, and became an influential member of the Chicago Blues scene. He helped earn the Icebreakers the WC Handy Award as Blues Band of The Year in 1985.[1][2]
Over the years Richardson recorded with many other artists, including Pee Wee Crayton, Bobby Womack and English guitarist Terry Reid, with whom he was recording an album at the time of his death. Though limited by health problems in later years, he continued to perform and record, and sit in on jam sessions with friends. He played his last gig a few weeks before his death, at a club with Reid.[1][2]
Richardson died in the early hours of January 29, 2004, in his home in Los Angeles, from complications of diabetes. He was 64.
John
Mayall_Hideaway
John
Mayall - from the album The Last Of The British Blues, BCO Records
1978/2000
John Mayall - James Quill Smith - Steve Thompson - Soko Richardson
John Mayall - James Quill Smith - Steve Thompson - Soko Richardson
These
legendary players are the member of "Albert Collins's Iceman
session", Jamming with the Houserockers, "Mister Magic"
and "Love and Happiness". Drums
: Soko Richardson, Guitar : Mabon "Teenie" Hodges,
Keybord : Charles Hodges, at "Jungle Studio" Akebono-cho,
Yokohama, Japan, 1991.
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