1906 Blind Teddy Darby*
1924 Papa George Lightfoot*
1925 Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis*
1948 Larry Carlton*
1948 Rory Gallagher*
1963 Alvin Youngblood Hart*
1988 Roy Dunn+
1990 Shakey Jake Harris+
2006 Willie Kent+
2008 Jeff Healey+
Happy Birthday
Alvin Youngblood Hart *02.03.1963
Alvin Youngblood Hart (* 2. März 1963 in Oakland, Kalifornien) [1] ist ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Musiker aus Memphis, Tennessee. Hart spielt akustische und elektrische Gitarren, sowie Banjo und Mandoline. Sein Beiname Youngblood verweist auf seine indianischen Vorfahren.
Alvin Youngblood Hart gilt als einer der bedeutendsten Interpreten des Country Blues seiner Generation, obwohl er mit seinen Plattenaufnahmen die Grenzen des Genres stets überschritten und stilistische Vielfalt gezeigt hat. Als Kind kam Hart über seine musizierenden Eltern und Großeltern zum Delta Blues. Sein Gitarrenspiel entwickelte er anhand der Blues-Plattensammlung seiner Eltern und der Aufnahmen von Jimi Hendrix und den Rolling Stones. Seine Musik, die sich aus allen amerikanischen Musiktraditionen nährt, bezeichnet er selbst mittlerweile als Hard Americana.Mit seinem Debüt-Album Big Mama’s Door, das 1996 bei Sony Music auf dem Label Okeh Records erschien, erntete Hart von der Fachpresse sowie von Musikerkollegen wie Taj Mahal und Eric Clapton positive Kritiken. Im Folgejahr wurde Hart als bester Newcomer mit dem W.C. Handy Award ausgezeichnet.
Der Nachfolger Territory, mit dem sich Hart bereits vom reinen akustischen Country-Blues weg bewegte und seine stilistische Bandbreite um Country, Ska und Rock erweiterte, wurde von den US-amerikanischen Musikmagazinen Down Beat und Living Blues jeweils zum Album des Jahres gewählt. Ebenso erhielt er in diesem Jahr den Living Blues Award als bester Gitarrist, 2004 den als bester Gitarrist und Sänger. Mit Start With The Soul ging Hart noch einen Schritt weiter und machte mit Soul- und Southern Rock-Elementen deutlich, dass er sich nicht in eine stilistische Schublade stecken lassen will. Die New York Times wählte die CD unter die zehn besten Platten des Jahres 2000. Die britische BBC ernannte sie zur Blues-Platte des Jahres.
Für das Album Down In The Alley kehrte Hart wieder zum akustischen Country-Blues zurück. Hier interpretierte er den Blues seiner Vorbilder Bukka White, Leadbelly, Charlie Patton, Skip James oder Sleepy John Estes auf restaurierten Instrumenten und veröffentlichte das Ergebnis als monophone Aufnahme. Das Album wurde 2003 für den Grammy Award als bestes traditionelles Blues Album (Best Traditional Blues Recording) nominiert.
2003 gründete Hart das Bandprojekt JoB Cain, bei dem Audley Freed von den Black Crowes mitwirkte. Die Band entwickelte einen härteren Gitarren-Bluesrock, der auf Harts folgendem Album Motivational Speaker zum Ausdruck kam.
Hart tritt sowohl solo als auch mit seiner Band Muscle Theory auf. Gelegentlich ist er auch auf Bühnen in Deutschland anzutreffen. Alvin Youngblood Hart lebt in Memphis im US-Staat Tennessee.
Alvin Youngblood Hart (born March 2, 1963 in Oakland, California, United States)[1] is a Grammy Award-winning American musician.
Career
Hart was born in Oakland, California, and spent some time in Carroll County, Mississippi, in his youth, where he was influenced by the Mississippi Country Blues performed by his relatives.[2] Hart is known as one of the world's foremost practitioners of country blues. He is also known as a faithful torchbearer for the 1960s and 1970s guitar rock of his youth, as well as Western Swing and vintage country. His music has been compared to a list of diverse artists ranging from Lead Belly, Spade Cooley to acoustic and electric guitar as well as banjo and sometimes the mandolin. Bluesman Taj Mahal once said about Hart: "The boy has got thunder in his hands." Hart himself said, "I guess my big break came when I opened for Taj Mahal for four nights at Yoshi's."[2]
His debut album, Big Mama's Door, came out in 1996.[2] In 2003, Hart's album Down in the Alley was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.[3] In 2005, Hart received a Grammy Award for his contribution to Beautiful Dreamer – The Songs of Stephen Foster.
Hart was featured in the 2003 Wim Wenders film The Soul of a Man, which was featured in Martin Scorsese's film series The Blues. Hart was also featured in the documentary Last of the Mississippi Jukes.
Hart appeared in the film The Great Debaters in 2007, playing a 1930s juke-joint musician.
Career
Hart was born in Oakland, California, and spent some time in Carroll County, Mississippi, in his youth, where he was influenced by the Mississippi Country Blues performed by his relatives.[2] Hart is known as one of the world's foremost practitioners of country blues. He is also known as a faithful torchbearer for the 1960s and 1970s guitar rock of his youth, as well as Western Swing and vintage country. His music has been compared to a list of diverse artists ranging from Lead Belly, Spade Cooley to acoustic and electric guitar as well as banjo and sometimes the mandolin. Bluesman Taj Mahal once said about Hart: "The boy has got thunder in his hands." Hart himself said, "I guess my big break came when I opened for Taj Mahal for four nights at Yoshi's."[2]
His debut album, Big Mama's Door, came out in 1996.[2] In 2003, Hart's album Down in the Alley was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.[3] In 2005, Hart received a Grammy Award for his contribution to Beautiful Dreamer – The Songs of Stephen Foster.
Hart was featured in the 2003 Wim Wenders film The Soul of a Man, which was featured in Martin Scorsese's film series The Blues. Hart was also featured in the documentary Last of the Mississippi Jukes.
Hart appeared in the film The Great Debaters in 2007, playing a 1930s juke-joint musician.
Alvin Youngblood Hart - "Pony Blues" at Music in the Hall: Episode Twelve
Papa George Lightfoot *02.03.1924
Born in Natchez, Mississippi, Lightfoot recorded several sessions in his late twenties – for Peacock Records in 1949 (which were never issued), Sultan Records in 1950, Aladdin Records in 1952, and Imperial Records in 1954. After final singles for Savoy Records in 1955 and Excello Records in 1956, Lightfoot quit recording, still an obscure Southern blues harmonica player.
As interest grew in rural Delta blues in the 1960s, Lightfoot's name became more well-known, and in 1969 record producer Steve LaVere went to Lightfoot's home town of Natchez, and asked him to record again. The result was the album Natchez Trace, released on Vault Records in 1969, which brought Lightfoot briefly to the forefront of the blues revival. Rural Blues Vol. 2 followed on Liberty Records later that same year.
However, his comeback was cut short by his death in late 1971 of respiratory failure.
The recordings were reissued in 1995 as Goin' Back to the Natchez Trace, with six additional tracks and recorded monologue.
PAPA GEORGE LIGHTFOOT GOIN' DOWN THAT MUDDY ROAD.wmv
Rory Gallagher *02.03.1948
Rory
Gallagher - Versuch einer Biographie
Juni 1995 – ein Idol
meiner Jugend ist tot. Es kam in den Nachrichten. Wie bitte? Rory
Gallagher ist tot? Er war doch gar nicht so alt. 47 Jahre ist doch
kein Alter um den Sensenmann zu treffen. Nun waren wir ein geeintes
Deutschland und ich hätte Rory mal live sehen können, hoffte ich zu
mindestens, in meiner Jugend ging das ja nicht. Der Rockpalast mit
seinen Loreleikonzerten und den Konzerten in der Essener Grugahalle
war unerreichbar und den WDR bekamen wir in Berlin ja auch nicht.
Ja, ja, die Leber beendete
ziemlich drastisch ein Ära des Blues und des Bluesrocks.
Heute bleiben uns noch
DVD´s, um Rory´s Konzerte zu sehen. Ich kann hier diese zwei DVD´s
empfehlen:
Rory Gallagher - Live at Rockpalast [3 DVDs] und natürlich die Irish Tour '74.
Um mich auf diesen Artikel
einzustimmen, habe ich mir nochmal die Irish Tour angeschaut.
Ich bin wieder infiziert.
Rory wird wieder öfter laufen – ganz sicher.
„Cradle Rock“, „I
wonder who“, „Too much alcohol“ und „A million miles away“
sind und bleiben Meilensteine Rory´s Musik.
„Geprägt
war Gallaghers E-Gitarrenspiel-Stil durch ein Blues-Rock-Fundament.
Aber auch akustische Gitarre, Mandoline, Mundharmonika und
Altsaxophon zeugten von Gallaghers irischem musikalischen Erbe. Die
Bilderwelt der Texte bewegte sich dementsprechend zwischen dem
"Mythos Amerikas" und der "Melancholie Irlands".
1)
Jürgen Kerth hatte damals
schon „What´s going down“ von Taste im Programm.
Das war einer dieser
Coverhits, weswegen wir damals auf die Konzerte gegangen sind, damals
im Florapark Mahlow bei Kurt. Jürgen Kerth spielt den Titel heute
noch und er spielt ihn gut.
William Rory Gallagher erblickte am 2.März 1948 in Ballyshannon, einem Ort mit 3.486 Einwohnern im äußersten Süden des County Donegal im Nordwesten Irlands das Licht der Welt.
Mit
9 Jahren begann Rory Gitarre zu spielen, Seine Vorbilder waren Muddy
Waters, Lonnie Donegan
und Leadbelly.
Rory entwickelte sich zu einem hervorragenden Gitarristen, der
durchaus einen Vergleich mit Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton oder Jeff
Beck stand hielt.
Ab
1963 (mit
15) spielte
er in der Fontana
Show Band. 1966
gründete er mit Norman Damery (Schlagzeug) und Eric Kitteringham
(E-Bass) das „Powertrio“ Taste.
Ab
1968 trat durch sehr gute Konzerte der Erfolg ein. Taste zählte mit
Free und Cream zu den besten Powertrios der Welt.
Es gibt im Musikgeschäft niemanden, der so viele
Studioeinladungen von Musikern, die selbst seine eigenen Vorbilder
waren, wie z. B. Muddy Waters, Albert King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chris
Barber erhalten hat.
1970 begann Rory seine
Solokarriere mit dem Album "Rory Gallagher". Dieses wurde
von seiner Mutter finanziert, da Rory durch seinen letzten Manager E.
Kennedy und die damalige Plattenfirma POLYDOR in den finanziellen
Ruin getrieben wurde.
Ab diesem Zeitpunkt war sein bester Freund und Bruder Donald für das Management zuständig. Für Rory waren seine Musik und die damit verbundenen Liveauftritte das Wichtigste. Er bekam, ohne dass er es wollte, das Image des "Anti-Stars", da er trotz großer Popularität mit dem Musikbusiness und dem dazugehörigen Rummel nichts zu tun haben wollte. Ihm war nur eins wichtig: Musik machen. Um dies zu unterstreichen, sagte er immer in Interviews: "I'm a Irish-Man".2)
Ab diesem Zeitpunkt war sein bester Freund und Bruder Donald für das Management zuständig. Für Rory waren seine Musik und die damit verbundenen Liveauftritte das Wichtigste. Er bekam, ohne dass er es wollte, das Image des "Anti-Stars", da er trotz großer Popularität mit dem Musikbusiness und dem dazugehörigen Rummel nichts zu tun haben wollte. Ihm war nur eins wichtig: Musik machen. Um dies zu unterstreichen, sagte er immer in Interviews: "I'm a Irish-Man".2)
1971
gründete Rory seine eigene Band – Rory, Gitarre; Wilgar
Campbell, Schlagzeug; und Gerry McAvoy, Bass
1972
Das Album Live in Europe kam heraus, Rod de Ath am Schlagzeug und Lou
Martin am Klavier vervollständigten die Band.
1974
Rory
tourte durch Irland. Das Ergebnis kann sich sehen lassen. Das Album
„Irish Tour“ kam dabei heraus, ein Meilesteinalbum, wie ich
finde. Gleichzeitig gab es auch noch den gleichnamigen Film von Tony
Palmer.
Rory
hat in der Zeit, die ihm zur Verfügung stand, eine beeindruckende
Diskografie erschaffen. Bis
1982 brachte er fast jährlich ein Album auf den Markt.
1976 – Calling
Card und
1978 – Photo Finish sind
für mich die besten Alben dieser Zeit. Auffällig bei Rory sind die
vielen Livekonzerte. Er war mit Herz und Seele ein Bühnenmusiker
dessen Markenzeichen ein kariertes Hemd und eine Fender Stratocaster
des Baujahrs
1961 waren.
Charakteristisch für Gallaghers Gitarre war deren Korpus, der ursprünglich eine Lackierung in der Farbgebung Sunburst getragen hatte, die durch intensiven Gebrauch des Instruments im Laufe der Jahre weitgehend abgetragen und nie erneuert worden war. Andere Teile des Instruments wurden dagegen regelmäßig repariert und modifiziert. Nach Gallaghers Tod brachte der Musikinstrumentenhersteller Fender eine Sonderauflage des Modells Stratocaster heraus, die bis ins Detail der Lackschäden eine exakte Nachbildung von Gallaghers Gitarre ist. Mit seiner zerschundenen Stratocaster sagte er der Welt alles, was er zu sagen hatte", erinnert sich Roger Glover, Bassist und Produzent von Deep Purple, an den irischen Blues-Gitarristen Rory Gallagher. 3)
Nach dem Ausscheiden der Topgitarristen Eric Clapton bei Cream, Ritchie Blackmore bei Deep Purple und Mick Taylor bei den Stones stand Rory jedes mal zur Disposition, die vakante Position zu übernehmen. Das widerstrebte Rory und er spielte weiter seinen Bluesrock.
Mitte der 80iger wurde es etwas ruhiger um Rory
Anfang der 90iger startete Rory ein Comback mit seiner Band: Mit Mark Feltham (Mundharmonika), Richard Newman (Schlagzeug), David Levy (Bass) und Jim Leverton (Keyboards) ging er auf Tour.
In dieser Zeit war Gallagher gesundheitlich schon stark angeschlagen. Das gipfelte darin, dass die Konzerte 1994 in Münden und in Amsterdam in einer Katastrophe endeten. Nach dem Konzert in Amsterdam begab sich Rory ins Krankenhaus und unterzog sich einer Lebertransplantation. Diese schien erst gut zu verlaufen, sein Zustand verschlechterte sich aber wieder, was am 14. Juni 1995 zu Tod führte
Wolfgang
Niedecken (BAP)
verehrte
Rory ebenfalls Vor der Interpretation
von Millione Meile 2012 (
)gibt
er eigentlich
immer folgendes
von sich:
Er
erzählt, dass er 1982
am 30.08. auf der Loreley backstage
Rory vorgestellt wurde. Wolfgang war hypernervös. Er war beeindruckt
von dem normalen Verhalten von Rory,
ohne Starallüren.
Rory hat
Niedecken
als Kollegen behandelt und ihm angeboten auf der abgegriffenen
61iger Stratocaster
zu spielen. Vor
Aufregung
hat Niedecken gerade mal den G-Dur-Accord hinbekommen. Am
Ende gab es noch eine Session, wo wie fast immer, „Knocking
on heavens door“ gespielt
wurde.
Der
immer bescheiden gebliebene Bluesgitarrist Rory Gallagher war
sicherlich einer der besten Gitarristen, die es jemals gab und er
wird uns ewig in guter Erinnerung bleiben.
Rory
Gallagher Discography 1969-2008 4)
1969.
London Invasion
1969. Taste
1969. Taste Live In Stockholm
1970.
On The Boards
1970. Taste The West - Live In Basel Feb 1970
1971.
Live Taste
1971. Taste First
1971. Deuce
1971. Rory
Gallagher
1972. Live In Europe
1972. The London Muddy Waters
Session
1973. Blueprint
1973. Bullfrog Blues
1973.
Tattoo
1974. Irish Tour
1975. Against The Grain
1976.
Calling Card
1978. Photo Finish
1979. Top Priority
1980.
Stage Struck
1982. Jinx
1987. Defender
1990. Fresh
Evidence
1992. Live At The Isle Of Wight
1994. The Best Of
Taste
1995. A Blue Day For The Blues
1998. Etched In Blue
1999.
BBC Sessions
2003. Wheels Within Wheels
2005. Big Guns - The
Very Best Of Rory Gallagher
2006. Live At Montreux
2008. The
Essential
Release Jahr: 1969-2008
Genre: Blues, Rock, RnB, Jazz, Folk, Rock n Roll
CDs: 32
Weitere
Weblinks:
Timeline http://archive.is/EdeQ3
http://www.rory.de/twelker2.html
William Rory Gallagher (/ˈrɔːri ˈɡæləhər/ GAL-ə-hər; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995)[1][2] was an Irish blues-rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal,[3] and raised in Cork, Gallagher recorded solo albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, after forming the band Taste during the late 1960s. He was a talented guitarist known for his charismatic performances and dedication to his craft. Gallagher's albums have sold in excess of 30 million copies worldwide.[4][5] Gallagher received a liver transplant in 1995, but died of complications later that year in London, UK at the age of 47.[6]
Biography
Gallagher was born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal in 1948. His father Daniel was employed by the Irish Electricity Supply Board, who were constructing a hydro-electric power plant on the Erne River above the town. The family moved, first to Derry City, where his younger brother Dónal was born in 1949. His mother, Monica, and the two boys then moved to Cork, where the brothers were raised. Rory attended North Monastery School. Daniel Gallagher had played the accordion and sang with the Tir Chonaill Ceile Band whilst in Donegal; their mother Monica was a singer and acted with the Abbey Players in Ballyshannon. The Theatre in Ballyshannon where Monica once acted is now called the Rory Gallagher Theatre.[7]
Both sons were musically inclined and encouraged by their parents. At age nine, Gallagher received his first guitar from them. He built on his burgeoning ability on ukulele in teaching himself to play the guitar and perform at minor functions. After winning a talent contest when he was twelve, Gallagher began performing in his adolescence with both his acoustic guitar, and an electric guitar he bought with his prize money. However, it was his purchase three years later of a 1961 Fender Stratocaster for £100 that became his primary instrument and most associated with him for the span of his lifetime.[8]
Gallagher was initially attracted to skiffle after hearing Lonnie Donegan on the radio. Donegan frequently covered blues and folk performers from the United States. He relied entirely on radio programs and television. Occasionally, the BBC would play some blues numbers, and he slowly found some song books for guitar, where he found the names of the actual composers of blues pieces. While still in school, playing songs by Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran, he discovered his greatest influence in Muddy Waters. He began experimenting with folk, blues, and rock music. Unable to find or afford record albums, Gallagher stayed up late to hear Radio Luxembourg and AFN where the radio brought him his only exposure to the actual songwriters and musicians whose music moved him most.[9]
Influences he discovered, and cited as he progressed, included Woody Guthrie, Big Bill Broonzy, and Lead Belly. Initially, Gallagher struck out after just an acoustic sound.[8] Singing and later using a brace for his harmonica, Gallagher taught himself to play slide guitar. Further, throughout the next few years of his musical development, Gallagher began learning to play alto saxophone, bass, mandolin, banjo, and the coral sitar with varying degrees of proficiency.[10] By his mid-teens, he began experimenting heavily with different blues styles.[11]
Gallagher began playing after school with Irish showbands, while still a young teenager. In 1963,[12] he joined one named Fontana, a sextet playing the popular hit songs of the day.[13] The band toured Ireland and the United Kingdom, earning the money for the payments that were due on his Stratocaster guitar. Gallagher began to influence the band's repertoire, beginning its transition from mainstream pop music, skirting along some of Chuck Berry's songs and by 1965, he had successfully moulded Fontana into "The Impact", with a change in their line-up into an R&B group that played gigs in Ireland and Spain until disbanding in London.[10] Gallagher left with the bassist and drummer to perform as a trio in Hamburg, Germany.[12] In 1966, Gallagher returned to Ireland and, experimenting with other musicians back home in Cork, decided to form his own band.
Taste
Having completed a musical apprenticeship in the showbands, and influenced by the increasing popularity of beat groups during the early 1960s, Gallagher formed "The Taste", which was later renamed simply, "Taste", a blues rock and R&B power trio, in 1966.[14] Initially, the band was composed of Gallagher and two Cork musicians, Norman Damery and Eric Kitteringham (died 2013), however, by 1968, they were replaced with two musicians from Belfast, featuring Gallagher on guitar and vocals, drummer John Wilson, and bassist Richard McCracken.[14] Performing extensively in the UK, the group played regularly at the Marquee Club, supporting both Cream at their Royal Albert Hall farewell concert, and the blues supergroup Blind Faith on a tour of North America. Managed by Eddie Kennedy, the trio released the albums Taste and On The Boards, and two live recordings, Live Taste and Live at the Isle of Wight.[14] The latter appeared long after the band's break-up shortly after their appearance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.[15]
Solo career
After the break-up of Taste, Gallagher toured under his own name, hiring former Deep Joy bass player Gerry McAvoy to play on Gallagher's self-titled debut album, Rory Gallagher.[16]
It was the beginning of a twenty-year musical relationship between Gallagher and McAvoy; the other band member was drummer Wilgar Campbell.[14] The 1970s were Gallagher's most prolific period. He produced ten albums in that decade, including two live albums, Live in Europe and Irish Tour '74. November 1971 saw the release of the album Deuce.[16] In the same year he was voted Melody Maker's International Top Musician of the Year, ahead of Eric Clapton.[17] However, despite a number of his albums from this period reaching the UK Albums Chart, Gallagher did not attain major star status.[14]
Gallagher played and recorded what he said was "in me all the time, and not just something I turn on ...". Though he sold over thirty million albums worldwide, it was his marathon live performances that won him greatest acclaim.[15] He is documented in Irish Tour '74, a film directed by Tony Palmer. During the heightened periods of political unrest in Northern Ireland, as other artists were warned not to tour, Gallagher was resolute about touring Ireland at least once a year during his career, winning him the dedication of thousands of fans, and in the process, becoming a role model for other aspiring young Irish musicians.
He himself admitted in several interviews that at first there were not any international Irish acts until Van Morrison, Gallagher, and later, Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy grew popular during the 1970s. The line-up which included Rod de'Ath on drums and Lou Martin on keyboards, performed together between 1973 and 1976. However, he eventually dropped down to just bass, guitar and drums, and his act became a power trio. Other releases from that period include Against the Grain, Calling Card, Photo-Finish, and Top Priority.[16] Gerry McAvoy has stated that the Gallagher band performed several TV and radio shows across Europe, including Beat-Club in Bremen, Germany and the Old Grey Whistle Test.[18] He recorded two "Peel Sessions" (both February 1973) and containing the same tracks, but only the first was broadcast.[19] Along with Little Feat and Roger McGuinn, Gallagher performed the first Rockpalast live concert at the Grugahalle, Essen, Germany in 1977.[20]
Gallagher collaborated with Jerry Lee Lewis[21] and Muddy Waters[22] on their respective London Sessions in the mid-1970s. He played on Lonnie Donegan's final album.[16] He was David Coverdale's second choice (after Jeff Beck) to replace Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple. Gallagher chose to perform in his own band.
In the 1980s he continued recording, producing Jinx, Defender, and Fresh Evidence. After Fresh Evidence, he embarked on a tour of the United States. In addition he played with Box of Frogs—a band formed in 1983 by former members of The Yardbirds. Becoming obsessive over details and plagued by self-doubt, Gallagher nevertheless retained a loyal fanbase. During this period he stated "I agonize too much".[14]
Notes From San Francisco, an album of unreleased studio tracks and a San Francisco 1979 concert, was released in May 2011.[23]
Band line-up
Rory Gallagher (guitar, vocals)
1971–1972: Gerry McAvoy, bass guitarist, and drummer Wilgar Campbell.
1972–1978: Gerry McAvoy (bass), keyboardist Lou Martin, and drummer Rod de'Ath.
1978–1981: Gerry McAvoy (bass), Ted McKenna (drums)
1981–1991: Gerry McAvoy (bass), Brendan O'Neill (drums) + frequent guest: Mark Feltham (harmonica)
1992–1994: David Levy (bass), Jim Leverton (keyboards), John Cooke (keyboards), Richard Newman (drums) and frequent guest Mark Feltham, on harmonica.
Guitars and equipment
Gallagher's Stratocaster
Gallagher was always associated with his well-worn sunburst 1961 Stratocaster (Serial Number 64351), which his brother Dónal officially retired.
It was reputedly the first in Ireland, and was ordered from Fender by Jim Connolly, a showband member performing with The Irish Showband. Connolly ordered a cherry red Stratocaster through Crowley's music shop in Cork in 1961. When Fender shipped a sunburst Stratocaster instead, it was put up on sale in 1963 as a second-hand instrument, which Gallagher bought in August 1963 for just shy of £100 at Crowley's Music Store on Cork's McCurtain Street.[24] Speaking about Gallagher's purchase of the famous Stratocaster his brother Dónal recalled: "His dream ambition was to have a guitar like Buddy Holly... This Stratocaster was in the store as a used instrument, it was 100 pounds... in today's money you couldn't even compare you might as well say it was a million pounds... my mother was saying we'll be in debt for the rest of our lives and Rory said well actually with a guitar like this I can play both parts, rhythm and lead, we won't need a rhythm player so I can earn more money and pay it off so the Stratocaster became his partner for life if you like."[25]
The guitar was extensively modified by Gallagher. The tuning pegs are odd (5 Sperzel pegs and one Gotoh), and all of these have been found to be replacements. Second, it is thought that the nut has been replaced[26] and interchanged a number of times. Third, the pickguard was changed during Gallagher's time with Taste. The pick-ups — none of which are original — were also changed. The final modification was that of the wiring: Gallagher disconnected the bottom tone pot and rewired it so he had just a master tone control along with the master volume control. He installed a 5-way selector switch in place of the vintage 3-way one.[26]
The most notable effect that the years of touring have had on the guitar is the almost complete removal of its original sunburst finish.[27] Although the Strat was left abandoned in a rainy ditch for days after being stolen from the back of a tour van in Dublin, this is not believed to have caused any ill effect. All of the wear was caused by Gallagher's playing, not misuse. A borrowed Telecaster was also stolen at the same time but never recovered. When the Strat was recovered after two weeks, Gallagher swore he would never sell it or paint it after that.
It also had a period of time of having a replacement neck, with the original neck bowing due to the amount of moisture it absorbed during continuous touring. The neck was taken off and left to settle, and was eventually reunited with the Strat after returning to its correct shape. Other quirks include a 'hump' in the scratch plate which moves the neck pick-up closer to the neck on the bass side, and a replacement of all of the pick-ups, though this replacement was due to damage rather than the perception of a tonal inadequacy. One final point of interest is that one of the clay double-dot inlays at the 12th fret fell out and was replaced with a plastic one, which is why it is whiter than the other clay inlays. On Friday the 21st and Saturday 22 October 2011, Rory's brother Dónal brought the guitar out of retirement to allow Joe Bonamassa to perform with it on his two nights at the London Hammersmith Apollo. Bonamassa opened both night's performances with his rendition of "Cradle Rock" using Gallagher's Stratocaster. Photos and video of the performance can be seen on the official Rory Gallagher website.[28]
Patrick Eggle 'JS Berlin Legend' electric guitar
In April 2014 one of the last guitars owned by Gallagher, a Patrick Eggle 'JS Berlin Legend' was put up for auction in Cumbria, England. Custom built for Gallagher, the guitar was placed for auction by one of his close friends to whom it was given after his death.[29] On 11 April it was sold for £25,000.[30]
Amplifiers and effects
Gallagher used various makes and models of amplifiers during his career. In general, however, he preferred smaller 'combo' amplifiers to the larger, more powerful 'stacks' popular with rock and hard rock guitarists. To make up for the relative lack of power on stage, he would often link several different combo amps together.
When Gallagher was with Taste, he used a single Vox AC30 with a Dallas Rangemaster treble booster plugged into the 'normal' input. Examples of this sound can be heard on the Taste albums, as well as the album Live in Europe. Brian May, of the band Queen, has admitted in interviews that as a young man, he was inspired to use a Vox AC30 and treble booster setup after meeting Gallagher and asking him how he got his sound. The British company, Flynn Amps, now makes a Rory Gallagher Signature Hawk Treble Booster pedal based on Gallagher's original unit. Gallagher also used Ibanez Tube Screamers, an MXR Dyna Comp, and various Boss effects, often using a Flanger and Octaver.
In the early to mid-1970s, Gallagher began to use Fender amplifiers in conjunction with a Hawk booster, most notably a Bassman and a Twin, both 1950s vintage. An example of this sound can be heard on the Irish Tour '74 album. He also had a Fender Concert amplifier.
In the mid to late 1970s, when Gallagher was moving towards a hard rock sound, he experimented with Ampeg VT40 and VT22 amps. He also began using Marshall combos. During this period and beyond, Gallagher used different combinations of amps on stage to achieve more power and to blend the tonal characteristics of different amps including Orange amplification.
On the introduction of the Boss ME-5 all-in-one floor based effects unit, Rory was known to have been an early adopter and used it readily it for his live work up until his death in the mid-1990s.
Not that well known is his use of various German amplifiers. He used Stramp 2100a amps, which can be seen in his appearances on the German Beat Club program. Another company that hand built amplifiers for Gallagher was PCL Vintage Amp. The company is located in St. Wendel in the Saarland and they still produce high quality audio and guitar equipment.[31]
Death
In the later years of his life Gallagher developed a phobia of flying. To overcome this he received a prescription for a powerful sedative. This medication, combined with his alcohol use resulted in severe liver damage. Despite this he continued touring. By the time of his final performance on 10 January 1995 in the Netherlands, he was visibly sick and the tour had to be cancelled. Gallagher was admitted to King's College Hospital in London in March 1995, and it was only then that the extent of his ill health became apparent: his liver was failing and the doctors determined that in spite of his young age a liver transplant was the only possible course of action.[32] After 13 weeks in intensive care, while waiting to be transferred to a convalescent home, his health suddenly worsened when he contracted a staphylococcal (MRSA) infection, and he died on 14 June 1995.[16] He was unmarried and had no children.
Gallagher was buried in St Oliver's Cemetery, on the Clash Road just outside Ballincollig near Cork City, Ireland. His headstone is a replica of an award he received in 1972 for International Guitarist of the Year.
Tributes
On 25 October 1997 a tribute sculpture to Gallagher was unveiled in the newly renamed
Rory Gallagher Place (formerly St. Paul's St. Square) in his hometown of Cork. The
sculptor, Geraldine Creedon, was a childhood friend of Gallagher.[46] The band who
played at the unveiling of the statue was the Dave McHugh band, who formed Ireland's
first tribute to Gallagher, "Aftertaste", in 1995.
Rory Gallagher Corner at Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin, where a life-size
bronze statue in the shape of his Stratocaster has been installed. Some of those who
attended the unveiling include The Edge of U2 and the Lord Mayor of Dublin.
In 2004 the Rory Gallagher Music Library was opened in Cork.[47]
In 2006 a plaque was unveiled at the Ulster Hall in Belfast.[48][49]
A street in Ris-Orangis, a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, was renamed Rue
Rory Gallagher.[50]
New York City-based Celtic rock band Black 47 paid tribute to Rory Gallagher on their
1996 major-label release, "Green Suede Shoes". The track titled "Rory" features
vocalist/guitarist Larry Kirwan delivering a passionate and heart-felt tribute to Rory
Gallagher's talent and unrealised stardom.[51]
Flynn Amps manufacture a Rory Gallagher signature Hawk pedal, cloned from
William Rory Gallagher (/ˈrɔːri ˈɡæləhər/ GAL-ə-hər; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995)[1][2] was an Irish blues-rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal,[3] and raised in Cork, Gallagher recorded solo albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, after forming the band Taste during the late 1960s. He was a talented guitarist known for his charismatic performances and dedication to his craft. Gallagher's albums have sold in excess of 30 million copies worldwide.[4][5] Gallagher received a liver transplant in 1995, but died of complications later that year in London, UK at the age of 47.[6]Biography
Gallagher was born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal in 1948. His father Daniel was employed by the Irish Electricity Supply Board, who were constructing a hydro-electric power plant on the Erne River above the town. The family moved, first to Derry City, where his younger brother Dónal was born in 1949. His mother, Monica, and the two boys then moved to Cork, where the brothers were raised. Rory attended North Monastery School. Daniel Gallagher had played the accordion and sang with the Tir Chonaill Ceile Band whilst in Donegal; their mother Monica was a singer and acted with the Abbey Players in Ballyshannon. The Theatre in Ballyshannon where Monica once acted is now called the Rory Gallagher Theatre.[7]
Both sons were musically inclined and encouraged by their parents. At age nine, Gallagher received his first guitar from them. He built on his burgeoning ability on ukulele in teaching himself to play the guitar and perform at minor functions. After winning a talent contest when he was twelve, Gallagher began performing in his adolescence with both his acoustic guitar, and an electric guitar he bought with his prize money. However, it was his purchase three years later of a 1961 Fender Stratocaster for £100 that became his primary instrument and most associated with him for the span of his lifetime.[8]
Gallagher was initially attracted to skiffle after hearing Lonnie Donegan on the radio. Donegan frequently covered blues and folk performers from the United States. He relied entirely on radio programs and television. Occasionally, the BBC would play some blues numbers, and he slowly found some song books for guitar, where he found the names of the actual composers of blues pieces. While still in school, playing songs by Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran, he discovered his greatest influence in Muddy Waters. He began experimenting with folk, blues, and rock music. Unable to find or afford record albums, Gallagher stayed up late to hear Radio Luxembourg and AFN where the radio brought him his only exposure to the actual songwriters and musicians whose music moved him most.[9]
Influences he discovered, and cited as he progressed, included Woody Guthrie, Big Bill Broonzy, and Lead Belly. Initially, Gallagher struck out after just an acoustic sound.[8] Singing and later using a brace for his harmonica, Gallagher taught himself to play slide guitar. Further, throughout the next few years of his musical development, Gallagher began learning to play alto saxophone, bass, mandolin, banjo, and the coral sitar with varying degrees of proficiency.[10] By his mid-teens, he began experimenting heavily with different blues styles.[11]
Gallagher began playing after school with Irish showbands, while still a young teenager. In 1963,[12] he joined one named Fontana, a sextet playing the popular hit songs of the day.[13] The band toured Ireland and the United Kingdom, earning the money for the payments that were due on his Stratocaster guitar. Gallagher began to influence the band's repertoire, beginning its transition from mainstream pop music, skirting along some of Chuck Berry's songs and by 1965, he had successfully moulded Fontana into "The Impact", with a change in their line-up into an R&B group that played gigs in Ireland and Spain until disbanding in London.[10] Gallagher left with the bassist and drummer to perform as a trio in Hamburg, Germany.[12] In 1966, Gallagher returned to Ireland and, experimenting with other musicians back home in Cork, decided to form his own band.
Taste
Having completed a musical apprenticeship in the showbands, and influenced by the increasing popularity of beat groups during the early 1960s, Gallagher formed "The Taste", which was later renamed simply, "Taste", a blues rock and R&B power trio, in 1966.[14] Initially, the band was composed of Gallagher and two Cork musicians, Norman Damery and Eric Kitteringham (died 2013), however, by 1968, they were replaced with two musicians from Belfast, featuring Gallagher on guitar and vocals, drummer John Wilson, and bassist Richard McCracken.[14] Performing extensively in the UK, the group played regularly at the Marquee Club, supporting both Cream at their Royal Albert Hall farewell concert, and the blues supergroup Blind Faith on a tour of North America. Managed by Eddie Kennedy, the trio released the albums Taste and On The Boards, and two live recordings, Live Taste and Live at the Isle of Wight.[14] The latter appeared long after the band's break-up shortly after their appearance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.[15]
Solo career
After the break-up of Taste, Gallagher toured under his own name, hiring former Deep Joy bass player Gerry McAvoy to play on Gallagher's self-titled debut album, Rory Gallagher.[16]
It was the beginning of a twenty-year musical relationship between Gallagher and McAvoy; the other band member was drummer Wilgar Campbell.[14] The 1970s were Gallagher's most prolific period. He produced ten albums in that decade, including two live albums, Live in Europe and Irish Tour '74. November 1971 saw the release of the album Deuce.[16] In the same year he was voted Melody Maker's International Top Musician of the Year, ahead of Eric Clapton.[17] However, despite a number of his albums from this period reaching the UK Albums Chart, Gallagher did not attain major star status.[14]
Gallagher played and recorded what he said was "in me all the time, and not just something I turn on ...". Though he sold over thirty million albums worldwide, it was his marathon live performances that won him greatest acclaim.[15] He is documented in Irish Tour '74, a film directed by Tony Palmer. During the heightened periods of political unrest in Northern Ireland, as other artists were warned not to tour, Gallagher was resolute about touring Ireland at least once a year during his career, winning him the dedication of thousands of fans, and in the process, becoming a role model for other aspiring young Irish musicians.
He himself admitted in several interviews that at first there were not any international Irish acts until Van Morrison, Gallagher, and later, Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy grew popular during the 1970s. The line-up which included Rod de'Ath on drums and Lou Martin on keyboards, performed together between 1973 and 1976. However, he eventually dropped down to just bass, guitar and drums, and his act became a power trio. Other releases from that period include Against the Grain, Calling Card, Photo-Finish, and Top Priority.[16] Gerry McAvoy has stated that the Gallagher band performed several TV and radio shows across Europe, including Beat-Club in Bremen, Germany and the Old Grey Whistle Test.[18] He recorded two "Peel Sessions" (both February 1973) and containing the same tracks, but only the first was broadcast.[19] Along with Little Feat and Roger McGuinn, Gallagher performed the first Rockpalast live concert at the Grugahalle, Essen, Germany in 1977.[20]
Gallagher collaborated with Jerry Lee Lewis[21] and Muddy Waters[22] on their respective London Sessions in the mid-1970s. He played on Lonnie Donegan's final album.[16] He was David Coverdale's second choice (after Jeff Beck) to replace Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple. Gallagher chose to perform in his own band.
In the 1980s he continued recording, producing Jinx, Defender, and Fresh Evidence. After Fresh Evidence, he embarked on a tour of the United States. In addition he played with Box of Frogs—a band formed in 1983 by former members of The Yardbirds. Becoming obsessive over details and plagued by self-doubt, Gallagher nevertheless retained a loyal fanbase. During this period he stated "I agonize too much".[14]
Notes From San Francisco, an album of unreleased studio tracks and a San Francisco 1979 concert, was released in May 2011.[23]
Band line-up
Rory Gallagher (guitar, vocals)
1971–1972: Gerry McAvoy, bass guitarist, and drummer Wilgar Campbell.
1972–1978: Gerry McAvoy (bass), keyboardist Lou Martin, and drummer Rod de'Ath.
1978–1981: Gerry McAvoy (bass), Ted McKenna (drums)
1981–1991: Gerry McAvoy (bass), Brendan O'Neill (drums) + frequent guest: Mark Feltham (harmonica)
1992–1994: David Levy (bass), Jim Leverton (keyboards), John Cooke (keyboards), Richard Newman (drums) and frequent guest Mark Feltham, on harmonica.
Guitars and equipment
Gallagher's Stratocaster
Gallagher was always associated with his well-worn sunburst 1961 Stratocaster (Serial Number 64351), which his brother Dónal officially retired.
It was reputedly the first in Ireland, and was ordered from Fender by Jim Connolly, a showband member performing with The Irish Showband. Connolly ordered a cherry red Stratocaster through Crowley's music shop in Cork in 1961. When Fender shipped a sunburst Stratocaster instead, it was put up on sale in 1963 as a second-hand instrument, which Gallagher bought in August 1963 for just shy of £100 at Crowley's Music Store on Cork's McCurtain Street.[24] Speaking about Gallagher's purchase of the famous Stratocaster his brother Dónal recalled: "His dream ambition was to have a guitar like Buddy Holly... This Stratocaster was in the store as a used instrument, it was 100 pounds... in today's money you couldn't even compare you might as well say it was a million pounds... my mother was saying we'll be in debt for the rest of our lives and Rory said well actually with a guitar like this I can play both parts, rhythm and lead, we won't need a rhythm player so I can earn more money and pay it off so the Stratocaster became his partner for life if you like."[25]
The guitar was extensively modified by Gallagher. The tuning pegs are odd (5 Sperzel pegs and one Gotoh), and all of these have been found to be replacements. Second, it is thought that the nut has been replaced[26] and interchanged a number of times. Third, the pickguard was changed during Gallagher's time with Taste. The pick-ups — none of which are original — were also changed. The final modification was that of the wiring: Gallagher disconnected the bottom tone pot and rewired it so he had just a master tone control along with the master volume control. He installed a 5-way selector switch in place of the vintage 3-way one.[26]
The most notable effect that the years of touring have had on the guitar is the almost complete removal of its original sunburst finish.[27] Although the Strat was left abandoned in a rainy ditch for days after being stolen from the back of a tour van in Dublin, this is not believed to have caused any ill effect. All of the wear was caused by Gallagher's playing, not misuse. A borrowed Telecaster was also stolen at the same time but never recovered. When the Strat was recovered after two weeks, Gallagher swore he would never sell it or paint it after that.
It also had a period of time of having a replacement neck, with the original neck bowing due to the amount of moisture it absorbed during continuous touring. The neck was taken off and left to settle, and was eventually reunited with the Strat after returning to its correct shape. Other quirks include a 'hump' in the scratch plate which moves the neck pick-up closer to the neck on the bass side, and a replacement of all of the pick-ups, though this replacement was due to damage rather than the perception of a tonal inadequacy. One final point of interest is that one of the clay double-dot inlays at the 12th fret fell out and was replaced with a plastic one, which is why it is whiter than the other clay inlays. On Friday the 21st and Saturday 22 October 2011, Rory's brother Dónal brought the guitar out of retirement to allow Joe Bonamassa to perform with it on his two nights at the London Hammersmith Apollo. Bonamassa opened both night's performances with his rendition of "Cradle Rock" using Gallagher's Stratocaster. Photos and video of the performance can be seen on the official Rory Gallagher website.[28]
Patrick Eggle 'JS Berlin Legend' electric guitar
In April 2014 one of the last guitars owned by Gallagher, a Patrick Eggle 'JS Berlin Legend' was put up for auction in Cumbria, England. Custom built for Gallagher, the guitar was placed for auction by one of his close friends to whom it was given after his death.[29] On 11 April it was sold for £25,000.[30]
Amplifiers and effects
Gallagher used various makes and models of amplifiers during his career. In general, however, he preferred smaller 'combo' amplifiers to the larger, more powerful 'stacks' popular with rock and hard rock guitarists. To make up for the relative lack of power on stage, he would often link several different combo amps together.
When Gallagher was with Taste, he used a single Vox AC30 with a Dallas Rangemaster treble booster plugged into the 'normal' input. Examples of this sound can be heard on the Taste albums, as well as the album Live in Europe. Brian May, of the band Queen, has admitted in interviews that as a young man, he was inspired to use a Vox AC30 and treble booster setup after meeting Gallagher and asking him how he got his sound. The British company, Flynn Amps, now makes a Rory Gallagher Signature Hawk Treble Booster pedal based on Gallagher's original unit. Gallagher also used Ibanez Tube Screamers, an MXR Dyna Comp, and various Boss effects, often using a Flanger and Octaver.
In the early to mid-1970s, Gallagher began to use Fender amplifiers in conjunction with a Hawk booster, most notably a Bassman and a Twin, both 1950s vintage. An example of this sound can be heard on the Irish Tour '74 album. He also had a Fender Concert amplifier.
In the mid to late 1970s, when Gallagher was moving towards a hard rock sound, he experimented with Ampeg VT40 and VT22 amps. He also began using Marshall combos. During this period and beyond, Gallagher used different combinations of amps on stage to achieve more power and to blend the tonal characteristics of different amps including Orange amplification.
On the introduction of the Boss ME-5 all-in-one floor based effects unit, Rory was known to have been an early adopter and used it readily it for his live work up until his death in the mid-1990s.
Not that well known is his use of various German amplifiers. He used Stramp 2100a amps, which can be seen in his appearances on the German Beat Club program. Another company that hand built amplifiers for Gallagher was PCL Vintage Amp. The company is located in St. Wendel in the Saarland and they still produce high quality audio and guitar equipment.[31]
Death
In the later years of his life Gallagher developed a phobia of flying. To overcome this he received a prescription for a powerful sedative. This medication, combined with his alcohol use resulted in severe liver damage. Despite this he continued touring. By the time of his final performance on 10 January 1995 in the Netherlands, he was visibly sick and the tour had to be cancelled. Gallagher was admitted to King's College Hospital in London in March 1995, and it was only then that the extent of his ill health became apparent: his liver was failing and the doctors determined that in spite of his young age a liver transplant was the only possible course of action.[32] After 13 weeks in intensive care, while waiting to be transferred to a convalescent home, his health suddenly worsened when he contracted a staphylococcal (MRSA) infection, and he died on 14 June 1995.[16] He was unmarried and had no children.
Gallagher was buried in St Oliver's Cemetery, on the Clash Road just outside Ballincollig near Cork City, Ireland. His headstone is a replica of an award he received in 1972 for International Guitarist of the Year.
Legacy
In 2003, Wheels Within Wheels, a collection of acoustic tracks, was released posthumously by Gallagher's brother Donal Gallagher. Collaborators on this album included Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy, The Dubliners, Spanish flamenco guitarist Juan Martin and Lonnie Donegan.
Many modern day musicians, including The Edge from U2, Slash[33] of Guns N' Roses, Johnny Marr of the Smiths,[34] Davy Knowles,[35] Janick Gers of Iron Maiden,[36] James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers,[37] Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest,[38] Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard,[39] Gary Moore[40] and Joe Bonamassa,[41][42] cite Gallagher as an inspiration in their formative musical years.
Brian May, lead guitarist of Queen, relates: "so these couple of kids come up, who's me and my mate, and say 'How do you get your sound Mr. Gallagher?' and he sits and tells us. So I owe Rory Gallagher my sound."[43] In 2010, Gallagher was ranked No. 42 on Gibson.com's List of their Top 50 Guitarists of All Time.[44] Gallagher was also listed on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, ranked at 57th place.[45]
In 2003, Wheels Within Wheels, a collection of acoustic tracks, was released posthumously by Gallagher's brother Donal Gallagher. Collaborators on this album included Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy, The Dubliners, Spanish flamenco guitarist Juan Martin and Lonnie Donegan.
Many modern day musicians, including The Edge from U2, Slash[33] of Guns N' Roses, Johnny Marr of the Smiths,[34] Davy Knowles,[35] Janick Gers of Iron Maiden,[36] James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers,[37] Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest,[38] Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard,[39] Gary Moore[40] and Joe Bonamassa,[41][42] cite Gallagher as an inspiration in their formative musical years.
Brian May, lead guitarist of Queen, relates: "so these couple of kids come up, who's me and my mate, and say 'How do you get your sound Mr. Gallagher?' and he sits and tells us. So I owe Rory Gallagher my sound."[43] In 2010, Gallagher was ranked No. 42 on Gibson.com's List of their Top 50 Guitarists of All Time.[44] Gallagher was also listed on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, ranked at 57th place.[45]
Tributes
On 25 October 1997 a tribute sculpture to Gallagher was unveiled in the newly renamed
Rory Gallagher Place (formerly St. Paul's St. Square) in his hometown of Cork. The
sculptor, Geraldine Creedon, was a childhood friend of Gallagher.[46] The band who
played at the unveiling of the statue was the Dave McHugh band, who formed Ireland's
first tribute to Gallagher, "Aftertaste", in 1995.
Rory Gallagher Corner at Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin, where a life-size
bronze statue in the shape of his Stratocaster has been installed. Some of those who
attended the unveiling include The Edge of U2 and the Lord Mayor of Dublin.
In 2004 the Rory Gallagher Music Library was opened in Cork.[47]
In 2006 a plaque was unveiled at the Ulster Hall in Belfast.[48][49]
A street in Ris-Orangis, a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, was renamed Rue
Rory Gallagher.[50]
New York City-based Celtic rock band Black 47 paid tribute to Rory Gallagher on their
1996 major-label release, "Green Suede Shoes". The track titled "Rory" features
vocalist/guitarist Larry Kirwan delivering a passionate and heart-felt tribute to Rory
Gallagher's talent and unrealised stardom.[51]
Flynn Amps manufacture a Rory Gallagher signature Hawk pedal, cloned from
Gallagher's 1970s pedal.[52]
On 2 June 2010, a life-sized bronze statue of Gallagher was unveiled in the town centre
On 2 June 2010, a life-sized bronze statue of Gallagher was unveiled in the town centre
of Ballyshannon.[53] An award-winning[54] annual blues festival is held in his
honour at the same location.
Blind Teddy Darby *02.03.1906
+Dezember 1975
Blind Teddy Darby (eigentlich Theodore Roosevelt Darby; * 2. März 1906 in Henderson, Kentucky; † Dezember 1975) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Gitarrist und -Sänger.
Als Kind kam Darby nach St. Louis, Missouri. Seine Mutter brachte ihm das Gitarrespielen bei. Er wuchs in einem rauen Umfeld auf und verbrachte einige Zeit in Erziehungsheimen, weil er z. B. „Mondschein“ (illegal gebrannter Schnaps: „moonshine“) verkaufte.
Im Alter von 20 Jahren erblindete Darby an grünem Star und begann sich als Musiker durchzuschlagen, vor allem in East St. Louis, Illinois, oft begleitet von seinem Vetter Tom Webb (Piano). Er beschrieb sein hartes Leben in Stücken wie Lawdy Lawdy Worried Blues, She Thinks She’s Slick, Bought a Bottle of Gin und Bootleggin' Ain’t Good No More. Bisweilen begleitete Darby Peetie Wheatstraw bei seinen Auftritten.
Zwischen 1929 und 1937 machte er als „Blind Teddy Darby“, „Blind Darby“, „Blind Blues Darby“ und „Blind Squire Turner“ Aufnahmen für die Plattenlabels Paramount, Victor, Bluebird, Vocalion und Decca. 1960 wurde er „wiederentdeckt“ und von Pete Welding von Testament Records aufgenommen – diese Aufnahmen wurden jedoch nie veröffentlicht.
Darbys Song Built Right On The Ground wurde seit 1970 als I Never Cried mehrfach neu eingespielt, u. a. von John Miller (der als Erster den Titel änderte), Roy Book Binder, Howard Bursen und Phil Heywood.
Als Kind kam Darby nach St. Louis, Missouri. Seine Mutter brachte ihm das Gitarrespielen bei. Er wuchs in einem rauen Umfeld auf und verbrachte einige Zeit in Erziehungsheimen, weil er z. B. „Mondschein“ (illegal gebrannter Schnaps: „moonshine“) verkaufte.
Im Alter von 20 Jahren erblindete Darby an grünem Star und begann sich als Musiker durchzuschlagen, vor allem in East St. Louis, Illinois, oft begleitet von seinem Vetter Tom Webb (Piano). Er beschrieb sein hartes Leben in Stücken wie Lawdy Lawdy Worried Blues, She Thinks She’s Slick, Bought a Bottle of Gin und Bootleggin' Ain’t Good No More. Bisweilen begleitete Darby Peetie Wheatstraw bei seinen Auftritten.
Zwischen 1929 und 1937 machte er als „Blind Teddy Darby“, „Blind Darby“, „Blind Blues Darby“ und „Blind Squire Turner“ Aufnahmen für die Plattenlabels Paramount, Victor, Bluebird, Vocalion und Decca. 1960 wurde er „wiederentdeckt“ und von Pete Welding von Testament Records aufgenommen – diese Aufnahmen wurden jedoch nie veröffentlicht.
Darbys Song Built Right On The Ground wurde seit 1970 als I Never Cried mehrfach neu eingespielt, u. a. von John Miller (der als Erster den Titel änderte), Roy Book Binder, Howard Bursen und Phil Heywood.
Theodore Roosevelt Darby, better known as Blind Teddy Darby (March 2, 1906 – December 1975), was an American blues singer and guitarist.[1]
Darby was born in Henderson, Kentucky. He moved to St. Louis with his family when he was a child.[1] His mother taught him to play guitar. He served some time for selling moonshine, and in 1926 he lost his eyesight because of glaucoma.[2]
He recorded from 1929 until 1937 under the names of "Blind Teddy Darby", "Blind Darby", "Blind Blues Darby" and "Blind Squire Turner" for the Paramount, Victor, Bluebird, Vocalion and Decca labels. In 1960 he was "rediscovered" and recorded by Pete Welding of Testament Records, yet the recordings from this session were never released.
In the late 1930s he gave up the blues and became an ordained deacon.[2]
His song "Built Right On The Ground" has been covered (under the title of "I Never Cried"), from the 1970s onwards, by John Miller (who first changed the title), Roy Book Binder, Howard Bursen, and Phil Heywood.
BLIND TEDDY DARBY HEART TROUBLE BLUES.wmv
Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis *02.03.1925
Maxwell
Street Jimmy Davis (March 2, 1925 – December 28, 1995)[1] was an
American electric blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. He played with
John Lee Hooker, recorded an album for Elektra Records in the
mid-1960s, and remained a regular street musician on Maxwell Street,
Chicago, for over 40 years.[2]
He was also known as Jewtown Jimmy,[3] and is best remembered for his songs "Cold Hands" and "4th And Broad".
He was born Charles W. Thompson, in Tippo, Mississippi.[1][2] In his teens, Davis learned to play guitar from John Lee Hooker, and the two of them played concerts together in Detroit in the 1940s, following Davis' relocation there in 1946.[2][4] Prior to his move to Detroit, Davis had worked in traveling minstrel shows.[3] This included a spell with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels.[5] Davis later spent nearly a year living in Cincinnati, Ohio, before he moved to Chicago in 1953.[3] He started performing regularly in the marketplace area of Maxwell Street, playing a traditional and electrified style of Mississippi blues.[2]
In 1952, he recorded two songs under his real name for Sun Records. They were "Cold Hands" and "4th and Broad", and despite being offered to both Chess and Bullet, they were not released.[4] The exact timing of Davis' adoption of his new name is uncertain,[6] but in 1964, under his new pseudonym, he waxed a couple of tracks for Testament.[4] They appeared on the 1965 Testament compilation album, Modern Chicago Blues. His songs were "Crying Won't Make Me Stay" and "Hanging Around My Door".[7] The album also included a track from another Chicago street performer, John Lee Granderson, as well as more established artists such as Robert Nighthawk, Big Walter Horton, and Johnny "Man" Young. Music journalist, Tony Russell, wrote it was "music of great charm and honesty".[8]
In 1966, Davis recorded a self-titled album for Elektra Records, which Allmusic's Jason Ankeny called "a fine showcase for his powerful guitar skills and provocative vocals".[2] Davis recorded several tracks for various labels over the years without commercial success.[4]
He owned a small restaurant on Maxwell Street called the Knotty Pine Grill, and performed outside the premises during the summer months.[4] Davis continued to play alfresco in Chicago's West Side for decades, up to his latter years.[2] In July 1994, Wolf Records released the album, Chicago Blues Session, Vol. 11, the tracks of which Davis had recorded in 1988 and 1989. The collection included Lester Davenport on harmonica, and Kansas City Red playing the drums.[9]
Davis died of a heart attack in December 1995, in his adopted hometown of Chicago. He was 70 years old.[1]
A 1989 photograph of Davis performing on Maxwell Street, appeared on the front cover of BluesSpeak: The Best of the Original Chicago Blues Annual, published in 2010.[10]
He is not to be confused with the West Coast R&B saxophonist and record producer, Maxwell Davis (1916–1970).
He was also known as Jewtown Jimmy,[3] and is best remembered for his songs "Cold Hands" and "4th And Broad".
He was born Charles W. Thompson, in Tippo, Mississippi.[1][2] In his teens, Davis learned to play guitar from John Lee Hooker, and the two of them played concerts together in Detroit in the 1940s, following Davis' relocation there in 1946.[2][4] Prior to his move to Detroit, Davis had worked in traveling minstrel shows.[3] This included a spell with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels.[5] Davis later spent nearly a year living in Cincinnati, Ohio, before he moved to Chicago in 1953.[3] He started performing regularly in the marketplace area of Maxwell Street, playing a traditional and electrified style of Mississippi blues.[2]
In 1952, he recorded two songs under his real name for Sun Records. They were "Cold Hands" and "4th and Broad", and despite being offered to both Chess and Bullet, they were not released.[4] The exact timing of Davis' adoption of his new name is uncertain,[6] but in 1964, under his new pseudonym, he waxed a couple of tracks for Testament.[4] They appeared on the 1965 Testament compilation album, Modern Chicago Blues. His songs were "Crying Won't Make Me Stay" and "Hanging Around My Door".[7] The album also included a track from another Chicago street performer, John Lee Granderson, as well as more established artists such as Robert Nighthawk, Big Walter Horton, and Johnny "Man" Young. Music journalist, Tony Russell, wrote it was "music of great charm and honesty".[8]
In 1966, Davis recorded a self-titled album for Elektra Records, which Allmusic's Jason Ankeny called "a fine showcase for his powerful guitar skills and provocative vocals".[2] Davis recorded several tracks for various labels over the years without commercial success.[4]
He owned a small restaurant on Maxwell Street called the Knotty Pine Grill, and performed outside the premises during the summer months.[4] Davis continued to play alfresco in Chicago's West Side for decades, up to his latter years.[2] In July 1994, Wolf Records released the album, Chicago Blues Session, Vol. 11, the tracks of which Davis had recorded in 1988 and 1989. The collection included Lester Davenport on harmonica, and Kansas City Red playing the drums.[9]
Davis died of a heart attack in December 1995, in his adopted hometown of Chicago. He was 70 years old.[1]
A 1989 photograph of Davis performing on Maxwell Street, appeared on the front cover of BluesSpeak: The Best of the Original Chicago Blues Annual, published in 2010.[10]
He is not to be confused with the West Coast R&B saxophonist and record producer, Maxwell Davis (1916–1970).
R.I.P.
Jeff Healey +02.03.2008
Norman Jeffrey „Jeff“ Healey (* 25. März 1966 in Toronto, Ontario; † 2. März 2008 ebenda[1]) war ein kanadischer Blues-, Rock- und Jazzgitarrist, Trompeter und Sänger.
Als Einjähriger erblindete Healey an einem Retinoblastom (bösartiger Netzhauttumor).[2] Zwei Jahre später bekam er seine erste Gitarre, die er auf ungewöhnliche Weise spielte: Healey spielte meist sitzend, wobei er sich das Instrument flach auf seine Oberschenkel legte und die Gitarre wie eine Zither spielte. Mit sechs Jahren trat Healey erstmals öffentlich auf. Als er Teenager wurde, hatte er bereits in zahlreichen Bands verschiedenster Genres gespielt. In Brantford (Kanada) besuchte Healey eine Blindenschule, in deren Jazzband er Gitarre und Trompete spielte. Bereits mit vierzehn Jahren hatte er eine eigene Radioshow, in der er aus seiner 25.000 Tonträger starken Plattensammlung Songs auswählte. Später gründete er das Bluesunternehmen Blue Directions.
1985 lud sein Idol Albert Collins Healey zu einer Session und einem Auftritt mit Stevie Ray Vaughan ein; 1986 spielte er mit B. B. King. Durch solche Auftritte wurde er in Blueskreisen bekannt. Während dieser Zeit trafen sich sonntagnachts viele Rockgrößen Nordamerikas in Grossman’s Tavern in Toronto zu Jam Sessions. Healey spielte dort unter anderem mit Robbie Robertson, der Downchild Blues Band, Stevie Ray Vaughan und Bob Dylan. Bei solchen Sessions lernte Healey auch den Bassisten Joe Rockman und den Drummer Tom Stephen kennen, mit denen er 1986 die Jeff Healey Band gründete. Die Band spielte vornehmlich einen traditionsbewussten Bluesrock, der bei der Kritik sehr gut ankam. Healeys Live-Auftritte waren beliebt, da er dabei die Gitarre u. a. mit den Zähnen, über Kopf oder hinter dem Rücken spielte.
Auch in den Jahren vor seinem Tod war Jeff Healey auf Tour – mit dem Projekt Jeff Healey & The Jazz Wizards; in diesem Projekt profilierte er sich als Trompeter. Eine Jazz-Platte erschien unter dem Titel It’s Tight Like That. Sein letztes Blues-Album Mess Of Blues wurde am 20. März 2008 auf dem deutschen Label Ruf Records veröffentlicht.
Jeff Healey verstarb am Sonntagabend, dem 2. März 2008, im Alter von 41 Jahren, im St. Joseph’s Health Centre Krankenhaus, in seiner Geburtsstadt Toronto, an den Folgen des Retinoblastoms. Er litt zeit seines Lebens unter der Erkrankung, sie führte auch zu seiner frühen Erblindung (siehe oben). In den letzten Lebensjahren metastasierte der Tumor in seinen Lungen und Beinen. Healey hinterließ eine Ehefrau und zwei Kinder.
Norman Jeffrey "Jeff" Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a blind Canadian jazz and blues-rock vocalist and guitarist who attained musical and personal popularity, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s.
Early life
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Healey was raised in the city's west end. He was adopted as an infant;[1] his adoptive father was a firefighter. When he was almost one year old, Healey lost his sight to retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eyes. His eyes had to be surgically removed, and he was given ocular prostheses.
Early career and success
Healey began playing guitar when he was three, developing his unique style of playing the instrument flat on his lap. When he was 15,[2] Jeff Healey formed the band Blue Direction, a four-piece which primarily played bar-band cover tunes and featured bassist Jeremy Littler, drummer Graydon Chapman, and a schoolmate, Rob Quail on second guitar. This band played various local clubs in Toronto, including the Colonial Tavern.
Healey began hosting a jazz and blues show on radio station CIUT-FM where he became known for playing from his massive collection of vintage 78 rpm gramophone records.[3]
Shortly thereafter he was introduced to two musicians, bassist Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen, with whom he formed a trio, The Jeff Healey Band. This band made their first public appearance at the Birds Nest, located upstairs at Chicago's Diner on Queen Street West in Toronto. They received a write-up in Toronto's NOW magazine, and soon were playing almost nightly in local clubs, such as Grossman's Tavern and the famed blues club Albert's Hall (where Jeff Healey was discovered by guitarists Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins).
After being signed to Arista Records in 1988, the band released the album See the Light, featuring the hit single "Angel Eyes" and the song "Hideaway", which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. While the band was recording See the Light, they were also filming (and recording for the soundtrack of) the Patrick Swayze film Road House.[4] Healey had numerous acting scenes in the movie with Swayze, as his band was the house cover band for the bar featured in the movie. In 1990, the band won the Juno Award for Canadian Entertainer of the Year. The albums Hell to Pay and Feel This gave Healey 10 charting singles in Canada between 1990 and 1994, including a cover of The Beatles' While My Guitar Gently Weeps which featured George Harrison and Jeff Lynne on backing vocals and acoustic guitar.[5]
Later work and life
By the release of the 2000 album Get Me Some, Healey began to concentrate his talent in a different musical direction closer to his heart, the appreciation for another original American music form, jazz.
He went on to release three CDs of music of traditional American jazz from the 1920s and 1930s. He had been sitting in with these types of bands around Toronto since the beginning of his music career. Though known primarily as a guitarist, Healey also played trumpet during live performances. His main jazz group for touring and recording being Jeff Healey's Jazz Wizards.
Healey was an avid record collector and amassed a collection of well over 30,000 78 rpm records. He had, from time to time, hosted a CBC Radio program entitled My Kind of Jazz, in which he played records from his vast vintage jazz collection. He hosted a program with a similar name on Toronto jazz station CJRT-FM; as of 2010, the latter program continued to air in repeats.
For many years, Healey toured throughout North America and Europe and performed at his club, "Healey's" on Bathurst Street in Toronto, where he played with his blues band on Thursday nights and also with his jazz group on Saturday afternoons. The club moved to a bigger location at 56 Blue Jays Way and was rechristened "Jeff Healey's Roadhouse." Though he had lent his name to the club and often played there, Jeff Healey did not own or manage the bar. (The name came from the 1989 film, Road House, in which Healey appeared.)
At the time of his death, he had been planning to perform a series of shows in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands with his other band, the 'Jeff Healey Blues Band' (aka the 'Healey's House Band') in April 2008.
Over the years, Healey toured and sat in with many legendary performers, including The Allman Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, BB King, ZZ Top, Steve Lukather, Eric Clapton and many more. In 2006, Healey appeared on Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan's CD/DVD Gillan's Inn.
Healey discovered and helped develop the careers of other musical artists, including Terra Hazelton and Amanda Marshall.[6]
In early 2009, Healey's album Mess of Blues won in The 8th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Blues Album.[7]
Illness and death
On January 11, 2007, Healey underwent surgery to remove metastatic tissue from both lungs. In the previous eighteen months, he had two sarcomas removed from his legs.[8]
On March 2, 2008, Healey died of cancer[9] at St. Joseph's Health Centre in his home town of Toronto.[10] He was 41 years old. His death came a month before the release of Mess of Blues, which was his first rock/blues album in eight years.[11]
Healey is survived by his wife, Cristie, and two children.[12] A tribute concert was held on May 3, 2008, to benefit Daisy's Eye Cancer Fund, which, according to Cristie Healey, had helped make major strides in research and future advances for people born with the same genetically inherited retinoblastoma[13] which led to Healey's blindness at eleven months of age. Cristie and Jeff Healey's son was born with the same disability.[14]
In 2009, Healey was inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame.
In June 2011, Woodford Park in Toronto was renamed Jeff Healey Park in his honour.
In October 2012, his family launched the 'all-new' official website at Jeffhealey.com.
Early life
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Healey was raised in the city's west end. He was adopted as an infant;[1] his adoptive father was a firefighter. When he was almost one year old, Healey lost his sight to retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eyes. His eyes had to be surgically removed, and he was given ocular prostheses.
Early career and success
Healey began playing guitar when he was three, developing his unique style of playing the instrument flat on his lap. When he was 15,[2] Jeff Healey formed the band Blue Direction, a four-piece which primarily played bar-band cover tunes and featured bassist Jeremy Littler, drummer Graydon Chapman, and a schoolmate, Rob Quail on second guitar. This band played various local clubs in Toronto, including the Colonial Tavern.
Healey began hosting a jazz and blues show on radio station CIUT-FM where he became known for playing from his massive collection of vintage 78 rpm gramophone records.[3]
Shortly thereafter he was introduced to two musicians, bassist Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen, with whom he formed a trio, The Jeff Healey Band. This band made their first public appearance at the Birds Nest, located upstairs at Chicago's Diner on Queen Street West in Toronto. They received a write-up in Toronto's NOW magazine, and soon were playing almost nightly in local clubs, such as Grossman's Tavern and the famed blues club Albert's Hall (where Jeff Healey was discovered by guitarists Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins).
After being signed to Arista Records in 1988, the band released the album See the Light, featuring the hit single "Angel Eyes" and the song "Hideaway", which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. While the band was recording See the Light, they were also filming (and recording for the soundtrack of) the Patrick Swayze film Road House.[4] Healey had numerous acting scenes in the movie with Swayze, as his band was the house cover band for the bar featured in the movie. In 1990, the band won the Juno Award for Canadian Entertainer of the Year. The albums Hell to Pay and Feel This gave Healey 10 charting singles in Canada between 1990 and 1994, including a cover of The Beatles' While My Guitar Gently Weeps which featured George Harrison and Jeff Lynne on backing vocals and acoustic guitar.[5]
Later work and life
By the release of the 2000 album Get Me Some, Healey began to concentrate his talent in a different musical direction closer to his heart, the appreciation for another original American music form, jazz.
He went on to release three CDs of music of traditional American jazz from the 1920s and 1930s. He had been sitting in with these types of bands around Toronto since the beginning of his music career. Though known primarily as a guitarist, Healey also played trumpet during live performances. His main jazz group for touring and recording being Jeff Healey's Jazz Wizards.
Healey was an avid record collector and amassed a collection of well over 30,000 78 rpm records. He had, from time to time, hosted a CBC Radio program entitled My Kind of Jazz, in which he played records from his vast vintage jazz collection. He hosted a program with a similar name on Toronto jazz station CJRT-FM; as of 2010, the latter program continued to air in repeats.
For many years, Healey toured throughout North America and Europe and performed at his club, "Healey's" on Bathurst Street in Toronto, where he played with his blues band on Thursday nights and also with his jazz group on Saturday afternoons. The club moved to a bigger location at 56 Blue Jays Way and was rechristened "Jeff Healey's Roadhouse." Though he had lent his name to the club and often played there, Jeff Healey did not own or manage the bar. (The name came from the 1989 film, Road House, in which Healey appeared.)
At the time of his death, he had been planning to perform a series of shows in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands with his other band, the 'Jeff Healey Blues Band' (aka the 'Healey's House Band') in April 2008.
Over the years, Healey toured and sat in with many legendary performers, including The Allman Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, BB King, ZZ Top, Steve Lukather, Eric Clapton and many more. In 2006, Healey appeared on Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan's CD/DVD Gillan's Inn.
Healey discovered and helped develop the careers of other musical artists, including Terra Hazelton and Amanda Marshall.[6]
In early 2009, Healey's album Mess of Blues won in The 8th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Blues Album.[7]
Illness and death
On January 11, 2007, Healey underwent surgery to remove metastatic tissue from both lungs. In the previous eighteen months, he had two sarcomas removed from his legs.[8]
On March 2, 2008, Healey died of cancer[9] at St. Joseph's Health Centre in his home town of Toronto.[10] He was 41 years old. His death came a month before the release of Mess of Blues, which was his first rock/blues album in eight years.[11]
Healey is survived by his wife, Cristie, and two children.[12] A tribute concert was held on May 3, 2008, to benefit Daisy's Eye Cancer Fund, which, according to Cristie Healey, had helped make major strides in research and future advances for people born with the same genetically inherited retinoblastoma[13] which led to Healey's blindness at eleven months of age. Cristie and Jeff Healey's son was born with the same disability.[14]
In 2009, Healey was inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame.
In June 2011, Woodford Park in Toronto was renamed Jeff Healey Park in his honour.
In October 2012, his family launched the 'all-new' official website at Jeffhealey.com.
Shakey Jake Harris +02.03.1990
Shakey Jake Harris (* 12. April 1921 in Earle (Arkansas); † 2. März 1990 in Forrest City[1]) war ein US-amerikanischer Bluessänger und Songschreiber.
Harris wurde als James D. Harris in Earle geboren und ging im Alter von sieben Jahren mit seinen Eltern nach Chicago, wo er dann in verschiedenen Bluesensemble spielte[3]. Nebenbei war er als Mechaniker und Glücksspieler aktiv.
Harris' erste Single veröffentlichte er im Jahre 1958 unter dem Label von "Artistic Records" und unter Zusammenarbeit mit Magic Sam, Syl Johnson und Willie Dixon[2]. Erst zwei Jahre später veröffentlichte er mit dem Label "Bluesville Records" sein erstes Album mit Jack McDuff.
Er besaß einen Nachtclub und sein eigenes Musiklabel, musste dieses aber aus Krankheitsgründen aufgeben und verstarb im Alter von 68 Jahren.
Shakey Jake Harris (April 12, 1921 – March 2, 1990)[2] was an American Chicago blues singer, harmonicist and songwriter. Harris released five albums over a period of almost 25 years, and he was often musically associated with his nephew, Magic Sam.[1]
Biography
James D. Harris was born in Earle, Arkansas, but relocated with his family to Chicago, Illinois, at the age of seven. He played in several Chicago blues ensembles in the late 1940s.[3] He also worked as a mechanic, and a professional gambler (from whence his nickname came – "Shake 'em").[4] His debut recording did not take place until 1958. His single, "Call Me If You Need Me" / "Roll Your Moneymaker", was released by Artistic Records, featured Magic Sam and Syl Johnson on guitar, and was produced by Willie Dixon.[1][3] Harris was not paid for the session, but won $700 shooting craps with label owner Eli Toscano.[5]
In 1960, Bluesville Records teamed Harris with the jazz musicians Jack McDuff and Bill Jennings, for the album Good Times. His later recording of Mouth Harp Blues returned to more traditional blues ground.[1] Harris toured, and was part of the American Folk Blues Festival in 1962.[4]
Throughout the 1960s Harris and Sam appeared regularly in concert together around Chicago, and Harris's patronage of younger musicians helped secure Luther Allison's recording debut. Harris moved on in the late 1960s, and recorded with Allison in Los Angeles on Further on Up the Road.[3] He also played with other harmonica players, such as William Clarke.[6]
Harris subsequently recorded for World Pacific. He also owned his own nightclub and a record label, but was forced by ill health to eventually return to Arkansas, where he died, at the age of 68, in March 1990.
Biography
James D. Harris was born in Earle, Arkansas, but relocated with his family to Chicago, Illinois, at the age of seven. He played in several Chicago blues ensembles in the late 1940s.[3] He also worked as a mechanic, and a professional gambler (from whence his nickname came – "Shake 'em").[4] His debut recording did not take place until 1958. His single, "Call Me If You Need Me" / "Roll Your Moneymaker", was released by Artistic Records, featured Magic Sam and Syl Johnson on guitar, and was produced by Willie Dixon.[1][3] Harris was not paid for the session, but won $700 shooting craps with label owner Eli Toscano.[5]
In 1960, Bluesville Records teamed Harris with the jazz musicians Jack McDuff and Bill Jennings, for the album Good Times. His later recording of Mouth Harp Blues returned to more traditional blues ground.[1] Harris toured, and was part of the American Folk Blues Festival in 1962.[4]
Throughout the 1960s Harris and Sam appeared regularly in concert together around Chicago, and Harris's patronage of younger musicians helped secure Luther Allison's recording debut. Harris moved on in the late 1960s, and recorded with Allison in Los Angeles on Further on Up the Road.[3] He also played with other harmonica players, such as William Clarke.[6]
Harris subsequently recorded for World Pacific. He also owned his own nightclub and a record label, but was forced by ill health to eventually return to Arkansas, where he died, at the age of 68, in March 1990.
Willie Kent +02.03.2006
Willie Kent (* 24. Februar 1936 in Inverness, Sunflower County, Mississippi; † 2. März 2006 in Englewood, Kalifornien) war ein amerikanischer Bluessänger, Bassist und Songwriter.
Seine ersten Gesangserfahrungen machte Willie Kent in seiner Jugend in der Kirche. Durch die Radiosendung von KFFA "King Biscuit Time" lernte er Arthur Crudup, Sonny Boy Williamson II. und besonders Robert Nighthawk schätzen.[1] Mit elf Jahren hörte er im Harlem Inn die dort auftretenden Künstler wie beispielsweise Raymond Hill, Jackie Brenston, Howlin’ Wolf, Clayton Love, Ike Turner und Little Milton.
1952 kam er nach Chicago, wo er arbeitete und den Blues hörte. Er kaufte sich eine Gitarre, 1959 trat er der Band Ralph and the Red Tops als Fahrer, Manager und gelegentlicher Sänger bei. Eines Nachts war der Bassist der Gruppe zu betrunken, um zu spielen, und so spielte er Bass, das Instrument, das er den Rest des Lebens spielte.[2] Seine Arbeit für andere Musiker liest sich wie das Who is Who des Blues, er spielte für Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Junior Parker, Arthur Stallworth and the Chicago Playboys, Hip Linkchain und Jimmy Dawkins.[3] In den 1970er-Jahren[4] unternahm er seine erste Europatournee und wurde Frontmann der Hausband in Ma Bea's Lounge in der Madison Avenue (Sugar Bear & the Beehives, Gitarre-Willie James Lyons Schlagzeug-Robert Plunkett)[5]1982 wurde er Mitglied von Eddie Taylors Blues Band. Nach dessen Tod gründete er seine eigene Band, Willie Kent & The Gents. In verschiedenen Besetzungen blieb sie bis zu Kents Tod bestehen.
1989, nach einer Bypassoperation, gab er seinen Job auf und widmete sich ganz der Musik, wie man auch seiner Diskographie entnehmen kann. Vor 1989 erschienen nur zwei Alben von ihm.
Auszeichnungen
W.C. Handy Awards: Best Blues Instrumentalist, Bass (1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, und 2005)
Kritikerwahl: Most Outstanding Blues Musician, Bass Living Blues Magazin(1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001)
Leserwahl: Album of the Year 2001 Soul Bag Magazin, Frankreich, für Comin’ Alive
Kritikerwahl: Album of the Year 2001 Soul Bag Magazin, Frankreich, für Comin’ Alive
France Blues Award: Best Blues Musician, Bass (2002, 2003)
Chicago’s Album of the Year 1998 Make Room for the Blues
Library of Congress´ Best Blues Recording of the Year 1991 für Ain’t It Nice
Willie Kent (February 24, 1936[1] – March 2, 2006)[2] was an American blues singer, bassist and songwriter.
Career
Kent was born in Inverness, Sunflower County, Mississippi. Although he had played the bass guitar in Chicago's clubs since the 1950s, Kent worked full-time in careers other than music until he was over 50 years of age.[3] Following heart surgery, he stopped work as a truck driver, and formed a band.[3]
Kent continued to play live shows, even after being diagnosed with colon cancer in early 2005. He died in Englewood, Illinois in March 2006.
Career
Kent was born in Inverness, Sunflower County, Mississippi. Although he had played the bass guitar in Chicago's clubs since the 1950s, Kent worked full-time in careers other than music until he was over 50 years of age.[3] Following heart surgery, he stopped work as a truck driver, and formed a band.[3]
Kent continued to play live shows, even after being diagnosed with colon cancer in early 2005. He died in Englewood, Illinois in March 2006.
Roy Dunn +02.03.1988
Roy Dunn - Red Cross Store
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