1922 Tiny Powell*
1942 Taj Mahal (eigentlich Henry St. Clair Fredericks)*
1946 Udo Lindenberg*
1954 Hollywood Fats*
1969 Craig Erickson*
1989 Good Rockin' Charles+
1996 Johnny Guitar Watson+
2002 Little Johnny Taylor+
Keith Dunn *
Shakey Sam *
Noam Dayan*
Happy Birthday
Craig Erickson *17.05.1969
Blues/funk guitarist Craig Erickson learned to play while working in his father's record store in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He formed his first band at 13, and began playing around the area. Erickson signed a contract with Blues Bureau Intl. in the early '90s, releasing Roadhouse Stomp! in 1992 and Retro Blues Express the following year. Though the albums featured John Onder on bass and Atma Anur on drums, Erickson's regular band -- with which he has supported blues legends such as Koko Taylor, Little Ed & the Blues Imperials, Elvin Bishop and Lonnie Brooks -- includes bassist Al Robinson and drummer Kerri Collings. Erickson recorded Two Sides of the Blues for a 1995 release, and followed up with Force Majeure one year later. He appeared on tribute albums to Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert King (Hats Off to Stevie Ray, Fit for a King), and also co-wrote and played on Blues, the solo album by Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Trapeze).
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/craig-erickson-mn0000128275
http://www.reverbnation.com/craigerickson1
Craig Erickson is a singer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, writer, and producer. Raised in the midwest heartland, his stylistic brew includes blues, fusion, rock, jazz, funk, reggae, acoustic, and more.
Throughout Craigs heavy bluesrock CD’s, there has always been a fusion jam flavor which is multiplied 100 times in live shows. Influences and comparisons include Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Trower, Shawn Lane, Eric Johnson, Eric Gales, Walter Trout, Kings X, Chris Whitley, SRV, Govt Mule, Jimmy Herring, Larry Carlton, Steve Lukather, Mike Stern, Glenn Hughes, Free, Monte Montgomery and many many more…
He has toured with Rob Lamothe, Glenn Hughes, Rob Wasserman, and solo in the US and Europe. He has over 10 solo CDs, and special guest appearances on tributes to SRV,Albert King,Shawn Lane ,and Gary Moore.
Festival appearances and European tours have been plenty and more are upcoming. Most recent CDs include “Castle Blues”(Nerves Wos-France),”The Porch Of PlanetPluto Pt. 1″(traintone),and “New Earth Blues”(Grooveyard). Craig has had songs included in shows on MTV, VH1, ABC, PBS, and in 2011 on “Chicago Code” and “Justified” (FX)
Craig played during the summer in France and has more touring on tap for 2012 in the US and overseas. Rave reviews in France and Germany led Craig to multiple tours in Europe which in turn, opened the door to endorsement deals with French guitar company Vigier and other companies like Seymour Duncan and Rivera.
An upcoming release (“Galactic Roadhouse”) for Shrapnel/BBI records, is on the table for April 2012 as well. He has been busy producing ,recording and co-writing with other artists as well.
Taking a further look back…
The son of a great jazz guitarist father, Craig Erickson started out at age 12 playing covers of Hendrix, Mountain, Jeff Beck, Cream, etc. A trip to New York at 13 led to seeing John Mclaughlin and Mahavishnu Orchestra playing high energy fusion at Central Park. This inspired Craig to branch out and listen to more jazz, fusion, classical, funk, etc. and he also started playing drums, keyboards, and bass… in addition to guitar. This enabled him to understand composition, arrangement and musical interaction more intensely. Free-form jamming in the basement and various nightclubs with the best musicians in town furthered his musical chops.
One Iowa City band he composed and played guitar/keys with, included musicians that later went on to perform with artists such as Ornette Coleman, Anthony Braxton, Pharoah Sanders and Charlie Hunter.
The 80′s brought Craig a large clientele of guitar students who wanted to learn to shred like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Steve Morse, Eric Johnson, etc. He began composing funk and shred fusion instrumentals which caught the ear of Mike Varney (Shrapnel, BBI and Tone Center records). Craig was signed and flown to San Francisco to work with killer musicians to record “Roadhouse Stomp”, an intense funky blues rock showcase, echoing Hendrix, ZZ Top, and Johnny Winter, with a fusion edge. This led to more CD’s in S.F. and L.A., including a musical association with legendary vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Trapeze). Hughes has worked lately with Chad Smith and Joe Bonamassa, among others.
He had long planned to put out a fusion jam-band type CD which coalesced into the amazing Cosmic Farm CD for tone Center records. The affair was a collaboration with Rob Wasserman(Banyan, Ratdog, Lou Reed), T. Lavitz(Widespread Panic, Jazz Is Dead) and Jeff Sipe(ARU, Shawn Lane, Leftover Salmon, Susan Tedeschi, etc.). A tour with Willie Waldman and Rob Wasserman had preceded the concept of the album and led to other gigs and jams with Sipe, Wasserman and others.
http://craig-erickson.com/bio/Throughout Craigs heavy bluesrock CD’s, there has always been a fusion jam flavor which is multiplied 100 times in live shows. Influences and comparisons include Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Trower, Shawn Lane, Eric Johnson, Eric Gales, Walter Trout, Kings X, Chris Whitley, SRV, Govt Mule, Jimmy Herring, Larry Carlton, Steve Lukather, Mike Stern, Glenn Hughes, Free, Monte Montgomery and many many more…
He has toured with Rob Lamothe, Glenn Hughes, Rob Wasserman, and solo in the US and Europe. He has over 10 solo CDs, and special guest appearances on tributes to SRV,Albert King,Shawn Lane ,and Gary Moore.
Festival appearances and European tours have been plenty and more are upcoming. Most recent CDs include “Castle Blues”(Nerves Wos-France),”The Porch Of PlanetPluto Pt. 1″(traintone),and “New Earth Blues”(Grooveyard). Craig has had songs included in shows on MTV, VH1, ABC, PBS, and in 2011 on “Chicago Code” and “Justified” (FX)
Craig played during the summer in France and has more touring on tap for 2012 in the US and overseas. Rave reviews in France and Germany led Craig to multiple tours in Europe which in turn, opened the door to endorsement deals with French guitar company Vigier and other companies like Seymour Duncan and Rivera.
An upcoming release (“Galactic Roadhouse”) for Shrapnel/BBI records, is on the table for April 2012 as well. He has been busy producing ,recording and co-writing with other artists as well.
Taking a further look back…
The son of a great jazz guitarist father, Craig Erickson started out at age 12 playing covers of Hendrix, Mountain, Jeff Beck, Cream, etc. A trip to New York at 13 led to seeing John Mclaughlin and Mahavishnu Orchestra playing high energy fusion at Central Park. This inspired Craig to branch out and listen to more jazz, fusion, classical, funk, etc. and he also started playing drums, keyboards, and bass… in addition to guitar. This enabled him to understand composition, arrangement and musical interaction more intensely. Free-form jamming in the basement and various nightclubs with the best musicians in town furthered his musical chops.
One Iowa City band he composed and played guitar/keys with, included musicians that later went on to perform with artists such as Ornette Coleman, Anthony Braxton, Pharoah Sanders and Charlie Hunter.
The 80′s brought Craig a large clientele of guitar students who wanted to learn to shred like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Steve Morse, Eric Johnson, etc. He began composing funk and shred fusion instrumentals which caught the ear of Mike Varney (Shrapnel, BBI and Tone Center records). Craig was signed and flown to San Francisco to work with killer musicians to record “Roadhouse Stomp”, an intense funky blues rock showcase, echoing Hendrix, ZZ Top, and Johnny Winter, with a fusion edge. This led to more CD’s in S.F. and L.A., including a musical association with legendary vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Trapeze). Hughes has worked lately with Chad Smith and Joe Bonamassa, among others.
He had long planned to put out a fusion jam-band type CD which coalesced into the amazing Cosmic Farm CD for tone Center records. The affair was a collaboration with Rob Wasserman(Banyan, Ratdog, Lou Reed), T. Lavitz(Widespread Panic, Jazz Is Dead) and Jeff Sipe(ARU, Shawn Lane, Leftover Salmon, Susan Tedeschi, etc.). A tour with Willie Waldman and Rob Wasserman had preceded the concept of the album and led to other gigs and jams with Sipe, Wasserman and others.
http://www.reverbnation.com/craigerickson1
Craig Erickson Roadhouse Stomp! Full Album 1992
Hollywood Fats *17.05.1954
Hollywood Fats (* 17. Mai 1954, Los Angeles, Kalifornien, als Michael Leonard Mann; † 8. Dezember 1986) war ein US-amerikanischer Bluesgitarrist.
Er begann im Alter von zehn Jahren mit dem Gitarrespiel. Nachdem er als Teenager den Blues entdeckt hatte, fuhr ihn seine Mutter in verschiedene Bluesclubs in South Central Los Angeles, wo er verschiedene Größen der Bluesmusik hörte und mit ihnen spielte. [1] Er trat mit Shakey Jake Harris, Magic Sam, Buddy Guy und Junior Wells auf. Nachdem er in den 1970ern mit dem Mundharmonikaspieler James Harman gearbeitet hatte und kurze Zeit bei Canned Heat spielte (Tondokument:Canned Heat in Concert)[2], gründete er mit dem Mundharmonikaspieler Al Blake, dem Pianisten Fred Kaplan, dem Schlagzeuger Richard Innes und dem Bassisten Larry Taylor die Hollywood Fats Band. 1979 veröffentlichte die Band ihr einziges Album. Nicht lange danach löste sich die Band auf, Mann spielte danach wieder mit James Harman und einer Band namens Dino´s Revenge, mit der er auch live spielte.1986 trafen sich die Mitglieder der Hollywood Fats Band und spielten einen Gig, bei dem sie sich entschlossen, wieder gemeinsam aufzutreten. Nach der anschließenden Feier mit Freunden starb Hollywood Fats aber an einer Überdosis Heroin.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Fats
Bildquelle: http://www.bostonblues.com/features.php?key=storyUnsung-HollywoodFats
Bildquelle: http://www.bostonblues.com/features.php?key=storyUnsung-HollywoodFats
Hollywood Fats (March 17, 1954 – December 8, 1986)[1] was an American blues guitarist, active in Los Angeles, California.
Biography
Hollywood Fats was born Michael Leonard Mann in Los Angeles, and started playing guitar at the age of 10. While in his teens, his mother would drive him to various clubs in South Central Los Angeles to jam with well-known blues musicians when they came to town. Hollywood Fats' father was a doctor and his siblings went on to become doctors and lawyers. He met Buddy Guy and Junior Wells who gave him the nickname.[2] Hollywood Fats toured with James Harman, Jimmy Witherspoon, J. B. Hutto, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, and Albert King.
During the 1970s and 1980s he worked with the blues harmonica player and singer James Harman. He played on a number of his records including Extra Napkin's, Mo' Na'Kins, Please, Those Dangerous Gentlemans and Live in '85. Other guitarists with whom he played included Junior Watson, Kid Ramos and Dave Alvin.
Hollywood Fats was invited to be a sideman to Muddy Waters and later met the harmonica player Al Blake. Blake had just moved to Los Angeles from Oklahoma. In 1974, Hollywood Fats and Blake formed a band consisting of pianist Fred Kaplan, Richard Innes on drums and Canned Heat bassist Larry Taylor called the Hollywood Fats Band.[3]
For a King Biscuit Flower Hour concert on September 7, 1979, which was later to be released on record, Hollywood Fats played the lead guitar in Canned Heat.
The Hollywood Fats Band released a self-titled album in 1979, the only album under their name. The band broke up not long after and Hollywood Fats continued to play with Harman's band, and The Blasters in 1986 replacing Dave Alvin.
Hollywood Fats also played with a non-blues band called Dino's Revenge from 1985 through 1986. He recorded three songs with Dino's Revenge as well as playing several live performances.[4] The band consisted of Marshall Rohner of T.S.O.L. as well as Kevan Hill, Butch Azevedo and Steven Ameche all of The Twisters.[5]
Hollywood Fats died of a heroin overdose in 1986 in Los Angeles at the age of 32. At the time of his death, he was playing with the James Harman Band, the Blasters and Dino's Revenge.
The band reunion
Around 2002, the remaining original members of the Hollywood Fats Band were reunited with young Kirk Fletcher on guitar, and recorded some new material. The first of the recordings came out on Al Blake's solo album Dr. Blakes Magic Soul Elixir released in 2002. This new version of the band started calling themselves the Hollywood Blue Flames. They released two albums under their name from Delta Groove Productions. The second album Road To Rio came with a CD titled Larger Than Life which consisted of previously unreleased live recordings of the original Hollywood Fats Band.
Biography
Hollywood Fats was born Michael Leonard Mann in Los Angeles, and started playing guitar at the age of 10. While in his teens, his mother would drive him to various clubs in South Central Los Angeles to jam with well-known blues musicians when they came to town. Hollywood Fats' father was a doctor and his siblings went on to become doctors and lawyers. He met Buddy Guy and Junior Wells who gave him the nickname.[2] Hollywood Fats toured with James Harman, Jimmy Witherspoon, J. B. Hutto, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, and Albert King.
During the 1970s and 1980s he worked with the blues harmonica player and singer James Harman. He played on a number of his records including Extra Napkin's, Mo' Na'Kins, Please, Those Dangerous Gentlemans and Live in '85. Other guitarists with whom he played included Junior Watson, Kid Ramos and Dave Alvin.
Hollywood Fats was invited to be a sideman to Muddy Waters and later met the harmonica player Al Blake. Blake had just moved to Los Angeles from Oklahoma. In 1974, Hollywood Fats and Blake formed a band consisting of pianist Fred Kaplan, Richard Innes on drums and Canned Heat bassist Larry Taylor called the Hollywood Fats Band.[3]
For a King Biscuit Flower Hour concert on September 7, 1979, which was later to be released on record, Hollywood Fats played the lead guitar in Canned Heat.
The Hollywood Fats Band released a self-titled album in 1979, the only album under their name. The band broke up not long after and Hollywood Fats continued to play with Harman's band, and The Blasters in 1986 replacing Dave Alvin.
Hollywood Fats also played with a non-blues band called Dino's Revenge from 1985 through 1986. He recorded three songs with Dino's Revenge as well as playing several live performances.[4] The band consisted of Marshall Rohner of T.S.O.L. as well as Kevan Hill, Butch Azevedo and Steven Ameche all of The Twisters.[5]
Hollywood Fats died of a heroin overdose in 1986 in Los Angeles at the age of 32. At the time of his death, he was playing with the James Harman Band, the Blasters and Dino's Revenge.
The band reunion
Around 2002, the remaining original members of the Hollywood Fats Band were reunited with young Kirk Fletcher on guitar, and recorded some new material. The first of the recordings came out on Al Blake's solo album Dr. Blakes Magic Soul Elixir released in 2002. This new version of the band started calling themselves the Hollywood Blue Flames. They released two albums under their name from Delta Groove Productions. The second album Road To Rio came with a CD titled Larger Than Life which consisted of previously unreleased live recordings of the original Hollywood Fats Band.
Taj Mahal (eigentlich Henry St. Clair Fredericks) *17.5.1942
Taj Mahal (eigentlich Henry St. Clair Fredericks; * 17. Mai 1942 in New York City) ist ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Musiker.Sein Vater war ein Jazz-Pianist, Komponist und Arrangeur jamaikanischer Abstammung, seine Mutter eine Schullehrerin aus South Carolina, die auch Gospel sang.
Zu Beginn der 1960er-Jahre studierte er Ackerbau und Viehwirtschaft an der Universität von Massachusetts. Dort gründete er Taj Mahal & The Elektras. Sein Künstlername Taj Mahal ist durch einen Traum inspiriert.
Taj machte 1963 seinen Abschluss an der Universität von Massachusetts-Amherst und zog nach Los Angeles. Er gründete dort 1966 mit Ry Cooder die Gruppe Rising Sons. Nachdem Columbia Records die Band unter Vertrag genommen hatten, wurde eine Single veröffentlicht und auch ein Album aufgenommen, das aber erst 1992 von Columbia vermarktet wurde. Aus Enttäuschung über die gemischten Reaktionen auf seine Musik verließ Taj die Band und begann alleine aufzutreten. Sein Album Taj Mahal von 1968 erschien wieder bei Columbia und verkaufte sich gut. Der Erfolg ließ ihn im selben Jahr noch eine weitere Langspielplatte Natch’l Blues produzieren. Seit dem Doppelalbum Giant Step von 1969 besteht schließlich kein Zweifel mehr an der Bedeutung, die Taj Mahal für den amerikanischen Blues hat. Das gleichnamige Lied hat bei seinem Konzertpublikum bis heute Kultstatus.
1979 trat er im Madison Square Garden von New York City auf dem Konzert zum zehnjährigen Jubiläum des Woodstock-Festivals auf.Taj Mahal wurde zweimal mit dem Grammy in der Kategorie „Bestes zeitgenössisches Blues-Album“ ausgezeichnet, zum ersten Mal 1997 für Señor Blues und 2000 für Shoutin’ in Key. Er hat mehrmals Musik zu Filmen beigesteuert, darunter Sounder und Blues Brothers 2000. In letzterem wirkte er auch in Person mit. Weitere kurze Filmauftritte hatte er in Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, in The Song Catcher, in Feel Like Going Home (Martin Scorsese) und in Six Days Seven Nights (1998). 2009 wurde er in die Blues Hall of Fame aufgenommen.
Seit einem Besuch in Westafrika 1979 ist Taj Mahal davon überzeugt, von der Griot-Sippe der Kouyaté abzustammen, und ließ sich im Senegal spontan auf den Namen Dadi Kouyate taufen. Mit einem Angehörigen dieses Clans, dem Ngonispieler Bassekou Kouyaté, arbeitete er später auf der Platte Kulanjan (auch mit Toumani Diabaté) zusammen.
Zu seinem vierzigjährigen Bühnenjubiläum erschien im Herbst 2008 das Album Maestro, an dem unter anderem Ben Harper, Ziggy Marley, Jack Johnson, Angelique Kidjo und Los Lobos als Gastmusiker beteiligt sind.
Bands, mit denen Taj Mahal spielte
The Taj Mahal Trio
Taj Mahal - Gesang, Gitarre, Banjo, Keyboards, Kester Smith - Schlagzeug, Bill Rich - Bass
The International Rhythm Band
Taj Mahal - Gesang, Gitarre, Keyboards, Kester Smith - Schlagzeug, Bill Rich - Bass, Rudy Costa, Briant "Tee" Parker, Robert Greenidge
The Hula Blues Band
Taj Mahal - Gesang, akustische und elektrische Gitarre, Pancho Graham - akustischer Bass, Background Vocals, Kester Smith - Schlagzeug, Pat Crocket - Ukulele, Background Vocals, Michael Barretto - Baritonukulele, Background Vocals, Wayne Jacintho - Tenorukulele, Background Vocals, Fred Lunt - Hawaiian Steel Gitarre, Rudy Costa - Tenorsaxophon, Sopransaxophon, Altsaxophon, Kalimba, Piccoloflöte, Klarinette, Background vocals
The Phantom Blues Band
Stil
In der Musik Taj Mahals vereinigen sich verschiedene Stile: Blues, Reggae, Cajun, Gospel, Bluegrass, South Pacific, afrikanische und karibische Traditionen. Er achtet die Ursprünge dieser musikalischen Formen, wenngleich er unverkennbar eigene Elemente hinzufügt. Taj beherrscht auch eine Anzahl verschiedener Musikinstrumente: Gitarre, Banjo, Klavier und Mundharmonika.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal_%28Musiker%29
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks (born May 17, 1942), who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award-winning blues musician. He often incorporates elements of world music into his works. A self-taught singer-songwriter and film composer who plays the guitar, piano, banjo and harmonica (among many other instruments),[2] Mahal has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his almost 50-year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa and the South Pacific.[3]
Early life
Born Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, Jr. on May 17, 1942 in Harlem, New York, Mahal grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. Raised in a musical environment, his mother was the member of a local gospel choir and his father was a West Indian jazz arranger and piano player. His family owned a shortwave radio which received music broadcasts from around the world, exposing him at an early age to world music.[4] Early in childhood he recognized the stark differences between the popular music of his day and the music that was played in his home. He also became interested in jazz, enjoying the works of musicians such as Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and Milt Jackson.[5] His parents came of age during the Harlem Renaissance, instilling in their son a sense of pride in his West Indian and African ancestry through their stories.[6]
Because his father was a musician, his house was frequently the host of other musicians from the Caribbean, Africa, and the United States. His father, Henry Saint Clair Fredericks Sr., was called "The Genius" by Ella Fitzgerald before starting his family.[7] Early on, Henry Jr. developed an interest in African music, which he studied assiduously as a young man. His parents also encouraged him to pursue music, starting him out with classical piano lessons. He also studied the clarinet, trombone and harmonica.[8] When Mahal was eleven his father was killed in an accident at his own construction company, crushed by a tractor when it flipped over. This was an extremely traumatic experience for the boy.[7]
Mahal's mother later remarried. His stepfather owned a guitar which Taj began using at age 13 or 14, receiving his first lessons from a new neighbor from North Carolina of his own age who played acoustic blues guitar.[8] His name was Lynwood Perry, the nephew of the famous bluesman Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. In high school Mahal sang in a doo-wop group.[7]
For some time Mahal thought of pursuing farming over music. He had developed a passion for farming that nearly rivaled his love of music—coming to work on a farm first at age 16. It was a dairy farm in Palmer, Massachusetts, not far from Springfield. By age nineteen he had become farm foreman, getting up a bit after 4:00 a.m. and running the place. "I milked anywhere between thirty-five and seventy cows a day. I clipped udders. I grew corn. I grew Tennessee redtop clover. Alfalfa."[9] Mahal believes in growing one's own food, saying, "You have a whole generation of kids who think everything comes out of a box and a can, and they don't know you can grow most of your food." Because of his personal support of the family farm, Mahal regularly performs at Farm Aid concerts.[9]
Taj Mahal, his stage name, came to him in dreams about Gandhi, India, and social tolerance. He started using it in 1959[10] or 1961[7]—around the same time he began attending the University of Massachusetts. Despite having attended a vocational agriculture school, becoming a member of the National FFA Organization, and majoring in animal husbandry and minoring in veterinary science and agronomy, Mahal decided to take the route of music instead of farming. In college he led a rhythm and blues band called Taj Mahal & The Elektras and, before heading for the West Coast, he was also part of a duo with Jessie Lee Kincaid.[7]
Career
In 1964 he moved to Santa Monica, California, and formed Rising Sons with fellow blues musician Ry Cooder and Jessie Lee Kincaid, landing a record deal with Columbia Records soon after. The group was one of the first interracial bands of the period, which likely made them commercially unviable.[11] An album was never released (though a single was) and the band soon broke up, though Legacy Records did release The Rising Sons Featuring Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder in 1993 with material from that period. During this time Mahal was working with others, musicians like Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Muddy Waters.[8] Mahal stayed with Columbia after the Rising Sons to begin his solo career, releasing the self-titled Taj Mahal in 1968, The Natch'l Blues in 1969, and Giant Step/De Old Folks at Home with Kiowa session musician Jesse Ed Davis from Oklahoma, who played guitar and piano (also in 1969).[1] During this time he and Cooder worked with the Rolling Stones, with whom he has performed at various times throughout his career.[12] In 1968, he performed in the film The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. He recorded a total of twelve albums for Columbia Records from the late 1960s into the 1970s. His work of the 1970s was especially important, in that his releases began incorporating West Indian and Caribbean music, jazz and reggae into the mix. In 1972 he wrote the film score for the movie Sounder, which starred Cicely Tyson.[12]
In 1976 Mahal left Columbia Records and signed with Warner Bros. Records, recording three albums for them. One of these was another film score for 1977's Brothers; the album shares the same name. After his time with Warner Bros. Records he struggled to find another record contract, this being the era of heavy metal and disco music.
Stalled in his career, he decided to move to Kauai, Hawaii in 1981 and soon formed the Hula Blues Band. Originally just a group of guys getting together for fishing and a good time, the band soon began performing regularly and touring.[13] He remained somewhat concealed from most eyes while working out of Hawaii throughout most of the 1980s before recording Taj in 1988 for Gramavision.[12] This started a comeback of sorts for him, recording both for Gramavision and Hannibal Records during this time.
In the 1990s he was on the Private Music label, releasing albums full of blues, pop, R&B and rock. He did collaborative works both with Eric Clapton and Etta James.[12]
In 1998, in collaboration with renowned songwriter David Forman, producer Rick Chertoff and musicians Cyndi Lauper, Willie Nile, Joan Osborne, Rob Hyman, Garth Hudson and Levon Helm of The Band, and The Chieftains, he performed on the Americana album Largo based on the music of Antonín Dvořák.
In 1997 he won Best Contemporary Blues Album for Señor Blues at the Grammy Awards, followed by another Grammy for Shoutin' in Key in 2000.[14] He performed the theme song to the children's television show Peep and the big wide world, which began broadcast in 2004.
In 2002, Mahal appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot and Riot in tribute to Nigerian afropop musician Fela Kuti. The Paul Heck produced album was widely acclaimed, and all proceeds from the record were donated to AIDS charities.
Musical style
Mahal leads with his thumb and middle finger when fingerpicking, rather than with his index finger as the majority of guitar players do. "I play with a flatpick," he says, "when I do a lot of blues leads."[8] Early in his musical career Mahal studied the various styles of his favorite blues singers, including musicians like Jimmy Reed, Son House, Sleepy John Estes, Big Mama Thornton, Howlin' Wolf, Mississippi John Hurt, and Sonny Terry. He describes his hanging out at clubs like Club 47 in Massachusetts and Ash Grove in Los Angeles as "basic building blocks in the development of his music."[15] Considered to be a scholar of blues music, his studies of ethnomusicology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst would come to introduce him further to the folk music of the Caribbean and West Africa. Over time he incorporated more and more African roots music into his musical palette, embracing elements of reggae, calypso,[1] jazz, zydeco, rhythm and blues, gospel music, and the country blues—each of which having "served as the foundation of his unique sound."[4] According to The Rough Guide to Rock, "It has been said that Taj Mahal was one of the first major artists, if not the very first one, to pursue the possibilities of world music. Even the blues he was playing in the early 70s – Recycling The Blues & Other Related Stuff (1972), Mo' Roots (1974) – showed an aptitude for spicing the mix with flavours that always kept him a yard or so distant from being an out-and-out blues performer."[1] Concerning his voice, author David Evans writes that Mahal has "an extraordinary voice that ranges from gruff and gritty to smooth and sultry."[2]
Taj Mahal believes that his 1999 album Kulanjan, which features him playing with the kora master of Mali's Griot tradition Toumani Diabate, "embodies his musical and cultural spirit arriving full circle." To him it was an experience that allowed him to reconnect with his African heritage, striking him with a sense of coming home.[5] He even changed his name to Dadi Kouyate, the first jali name, to drive this point home.[16] Speaking of the experience and demonstrating the breadth of his eclecticism, he has said:
The microphones are listening in on a conversation between a 350-year-old orphan and its long-lost birth parents. I've got so much other music to play. But the point is that after recording with these Africans, basically if I don't play guitar for the rest of my life, that's fine with me....With Kulanjan, I think that Afro-Americans have the opportunity to not only see the instruments and the musicians, but they also see more about their culture and recognize the faces, the walks, the hands, the voices, and the sounds that are not the blues. Afro-American audiences had their eyes really opened for the first time. This was exciting for them to make this connection and pay a little more attention to this music than before.[5]
Taj Mahal has said he prefers to do outdoor performances, saying: "The music was designed for people to move, and it's a bit difficult after a while to have people sitting like they're watching television. That's why I like to play outdoor festivals-because people will just dance. Theatre audiences need to ask themselves: 'What the hell is going on? We're asking these musicians to come and perform and then we sit there and draw all the energy out of the air.' That's why after a while I need a rest. It's too much of a drain. Often I don't allow that. I just play to the goddess of music-and I know she's dancing."[6]
Views on the blues
Throughout his career, Mahal has performed his brand of blues (an African American artform) for a predominantly white audience. This has been a disappointment at times for Mahal, who recognizes there is a general lack of interest in blues music among many African Americans today. He has drawn a parallel comparison between the blues and rap music in that they both were initially black forms of music that have come to be assimilated into the mainstream of society. He is quoted as saying, "Eighty-one percent of the kids listening to rap were not black kids. Once there was a tremendous amount of money involved in it . . . they totally moved it over to a material side. It just went off to a terrible direction."[17] Mahal also believes that some people may think the blues are about wallowing in negativity and despair, a position he disagrees with. According to him, "You can listen to my music from front to back, and you don't ever hear me moaning and crying about how bad you done treated me. I think that style of blues and that type of tone was something that happened as a result of many white people feeling very, very guilty about what went down."
Awards
Taj Mahal has received two Grammy Awards (nine nominations) over his career.[2]
1997 (Grammy Award) Best Contemporary Blues Album for Señor Blues[14]
2000 (Grammy Award) Best Contemporary Blues Album for Shoutin' in Key[14]
2006 (Blues Music Awards) Historical Album of the Year for The Essential Taj Mahal[18]
2008 (Grammy Nomination) Best Contemporary Blues Album for Maestro[14]
On February 8, 2006 Taj Mahal was designated the official Blues Artist of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.[19]
In March 2006, Taj Mahal, along with his sister, the late Carole Fredericks, received the Foreign Language Advocacy Award from the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in recognition of their commitment to shine a spotlight on the vast potential of music to foster genuine intercultural communication.[20]
On May 22, 2011, Taj Mahal received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He also made brief remarks and performed three songs. A video of the performance can be found on the Wofford Commencement 2011 website.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal_%28musician%29
https://myspace.com/shakeysambluesband/mixes/classic-shakey-sam-395163/photo/121759634
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks (born May 17, 1942), who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award-winning blues musician. He often incorporates elements of world music into his works. A self-taught singer-songwriter and film composer who plays the guitar, piano, banjo and harmonica (among many other instruments),[2] Mahal has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his almost 50-year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa and the South Pacific.[3]Early life
Born Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, Jr. on May 17, 1942 in Harlem, New York, Mahal grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. Raised in a musical environment, his mother was the member of a local gospel choir and his father was a West Indian jazz arranger and piano player. His family owned a shortwave radio which received music broadcasts from around the world, exposing him at an early age to world music.[4] Early in childhood he recognized the stark differences between the popular music of his day and the music that was played in his home. He also became interested in jazz, enjoying the works of musicians such as Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and Milt Jackson.[5] His parents came of age during the Harlem Renaissance, instilling in their son a sense of pride in his West Indian and African ancestry through their stories.[6]
Because his father was a musician, his house was frequently the host of other musicians from the Caribbean, Africa, and the United States. His father, Henry Saint Clair Fredericks Sr., was called "The Genius" by Ella Fitzgerald before starting his family.[7] Early on, Henry Jr. developed an interest in African music, which he studied assiduously as a young man. His parents also encouraged him to pursue music, starting him out with classical piano lessons. He also studied the clarinet, trombone and harmonica.[8] When Mahal was eleven his father was killed in an accident at his own construction company, crushed by a tractor when it flipped over. This was an extremely traumatic experience for the boy.[7]
Mahal's mother later remarried. His stepfather owned a guitar which Taj began using at age 13 or 14, receiving his first lessons from a new neighbor from North Carolina of his own age who played acoustic blues guitar.[8] His name was Lynwood Perry, the nephew of the famous bluesman Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. In high school Mahal sang in a doo-wop group.[7]
For some time Mahal thought of pursuing farming over music. He had developed a passion for farming that nearly rivaled his love of music—coming to work on a farm first at age 16. It was a dairy farm in Palmer, Massachusetts, not far from Springfield. By age nineteen he had become farm foreman, getting up a bit after 4:00 a.m. and running the place. "I milked anywhere between thirty-five and seventy cows a day. I clipped udders. I grew corn. I grew Tennessee redtop clover. Alfalfa."[9] Mahal believes in growing one's own food, saying, "You have a whole generation of kids who think everything comes out of a box and a can, and they don't know you can grow most of your food." Because of his personal support of the family farm, Mahal regularly performs at Farm Aid concerts.[9]
Taj Mahal, his stage name, came to him in dreams about Gandhi, India, and social tolerance. He started using it in 1959[10] or 1961[7]—around the same time he began attending the University of Massachusetts. Despite having attended a vocational agriculture school, becoming a member of the National FFA Organization, and majoring in animal husbandry and minoring in veterinary science and agronomy, Mahal decided to take the route of music instead of farming. In college he led a rhythm and blues band called Taj Mahal & The Elektras and, before heading for the West Coast, he was also part of a duo with Jessie Lee Kincaid.[7]
Career
In 1964 he moved to Santa Monica, California, and formed Rising Sons with fellow blues musician Ry Cooder and Jessie Lee Kincaid, landing a record deal with Columbia Records soon after. The group was one of the first interracial bands of the period, which likely made them commercially unviable.[11] An album was never released (though a single was) and the band soon broke up, though Legacy Records did release The Rising Sons Featuring Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder in 1993 with material from that period. During this time Mahal was working with others, musicians like Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Muddy Waters.[8] Mahal stayed with Columbia after the Rising Sons to begin his solo career, releasing the self-titled Taj Mahal in 1968, The Natch'l Blues in 1969, and Giant Step/De Old Folks at Home with Kiowa session musician Jesse Ed Davis from Oklahoma, who played guitar and piano (also in 1969).[1] During this time he and Cooder worked with the Rolling Stones, with whom he has performed at various times throughout his career.[12] In 1968, he performed in the film The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. He recorded a total of twelve albums for Columbia Records from the late 1960s into the 1970s. His work of the 1970s was especially important, in that his releases began incorporating West Indian and Caribbean music, jazz and reggae into the mix. In 1972 he wrote the film score for the movie Sounder, which starred Cicely Tyson.[12]
In 1976 Mahal left Columbia Records and signed with Warner Bros. Records, recording three albums for them. One of these was another film score for 1977's Brothers; the album shares the same name. After his time with Warner Bros. Records he struggled to find another record contract, this being the era of heavy metal and disco music.
Stalled in his career, he decided to move to Kauai, Hawaii in 1981 and soon formed the Hula Blues Band. Originally just a group of guys getting together for fishing and a good time, the band soon began performing regularly and touring.[13] He remained somewhat concealed from most eyes while working out of Hawaii throughout most of the 1980s before recording Taj in 1988 for Gramavision.[12] This started a comeback of sorts for him, recording both for Gramavision and Hannibal Records during this time.
In the 1990s he was on the Private Music label, releasing albums full of blues, pop, R&B and rock. He did collaborative works both with Eric Clapton and Etta James.[12]
In 1998, in collaboration with renowned songwriter David Forman, producer Rick Chertoff and musicians Cyndi Lauper, Willie Nile, Joan Osborne, Rob Hyman, Garth Hudson and Levon Helm of The Band, and The Chieftains, he performed on the Americana album Largo based on the music of Antonín Dvořák.
In 1997 he won Best Contemporary Blues Album for Señor Blues at the Grammy Awards, followed by another Grammy for Shoutin' in Key in 2000.[14] He performed the theme song to the children's television show Peep and the big wide world, which began broadcast in 2004.
In 2002, Mahal appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot and Riot in tribute to Nigerian afropop musician Fela Kuti. The Paul Heck produced album was widely acclaimed, and all proceeds from the record were donated to AIDS charities.
Musical style
Mahal leads with his thumb and middle finger when fingerpicking, rather than with his index finger as the majority of guitar players do. "I play with a flatpick," he says, "when I do a lot of blues leads."[8] Early in his musical career Mahal studied the various styles of his favorite blues singers, including musicians like Jimmy Reed, Son House, Sleepy John Estes, Big Mama Thornton, Howlin' Wolf, Mississippi John Hurt, and Sonny Terry. He describes his hanging out at clubs like Club 47 in Massachusetts and Ash Grove in Los Angeles as "basic building blocks in the development of his music."[15] Considered to be a scholar of blues music, his studies of ethnomusicology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst would come to introduce him further to the folk music of the Caribbean and West Africa. Over time he incorporated more and more African roots music into his musical palette, embracing elements of reggae, calypso,[1] jazz, zydeco, rhythm and blues, gospel music, and the country blues—each of which having "served as the foundation of his unique sound."[4] According to The Rough Guide to Rock, "It has been said that Taj Mahal was one of the first major artists, if not the very first one, to pursue the possibilities of world music. Even the blues he was playing in the early 70s – Recycling The Blues & Other Related Stuff (1972), Mo' Roots (1974) – showed an aptitude for spicing the mix with flavours that always kept him a yard or so distant from being an out-and-out blues performer."[1] Concerning his voice, author David Evans writes that Mahal has "an extraordinary voice that ranges from gruff and gritty to smooth and sultry."[2]
Taj Mahal believes that his 1999 album Kulanjan, which features him playing with the kora master of Mali's Griot tradition Toumani Diabate, "embodies his musical and cultural spirit arriving full circle." To him it was an experience that allowed him to reconnect with his African heritage, striking him with a sense of coming home.[5] He even changed his name to Dadi Kouyate, the first jali name, to drive this point home.[16] Speaking of the experience and demonstrating the breadth of his eclecticism, he has said:
The microphones are listening in on a conversation between a 350-year-old orphan and its long-lost birth parents. I've got so much other music to play. But the point is that after recording with these Africans, basically if I don't play guitar for the rest of my life, that's fine with me....With Kulanjan, I think that Afro-Americans have the opportunity to not only see the instruments and the musicians, but they also see more about their culture and recognize the faces, the walks, the hands, the voices, and the sounds that are not the blues. Afro-American audiences had their eyes really opened for the first time. This was exciting for them to make this connection and pay a little more attention to this music than before.[5]
Taj Mahal has said he prefers to do outdoor performances, saying: "The music was designed for people to move, and it's a bit difficult after a while to have people sitting like they're watching television. That's why I like to play outdoor festivals-because people will just dance. Theatre audiences need to ask themselves: 'What the hell is going on? We're asking these musicians to come and perform and then we sit there and draw all the energy out of the air.' That's why after a while I need a rest. It's too much of a drain. Often I don't allow that. I just play to the goddess of music-and I know she's dancing."[6]
Views on the blues
Throughout his career, Mahal has performed his brand of blues (an African American artform) for a predominantly white audience. This has been a disappointment at times for Mahal, who recognizes there is a general lack of interest in blues music among many African Americans today. He has drawn a parallel comparison between the blues and rap music in that they both were initially black forms of music that have come to be assimilated into the mainstream of society. He is quoted as saying, "Eighty-one percent of the kids listening to rap were not black kids. Once there was a tremendous amount of money involved in it . . . they totally moved it over to a material side. It just went off to a terrible direction."[17] Mahal also believes that some people may think the blues are about wallowing in negativity and despair, a position he disagrees with. According to him, "You can listen to my music from front to back, and you don't ever hear me moaning and crying about how bad you done treated me. I think that style of blues and that type of tone was something that happened as a result of many white people feeling very, very guilty about what went down."
Awards
Taj Mahal has received two Grammy Awards (nine nominations) over his career.[2]
1997 (Grammy Award) Best Contemporary Blues Album for Señor Blues[14]
2000 (Grammy Award) Best Contemporary Blues Album for Shoutin' in Key[14]
2006 (Blues Music Awards) Historical Album of the Year for The Essential Taj Mahal[18]
2008 (Grammy Nomination) Best Contemporary Blues Album for Maestro[14]
On February 8, 2006 Taj Mahal was designated the official Blues Artist of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.[19]
In March 2006, Taj Mahal, along with his sister, the late Carole Fredericks, received the Foreign Language Advocacy Award from the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in recognition of their commitment to shine a spotlight on the vast potential of music to foster genuine intercultural communication.[20]
On May 22, 2011, Taj Mahal received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He also made brief remarks and performed three songs. A video of the performance can be found on the Wofford Commencement 2011 website.
Shakey Sam Blues Band - Big Boss Blues
Keith Dunn *17.05.
Keith Dunn is a harmonica player,[1] singer, producer and songwriter. He was born in Boston and has been playing blues music for over 30 years. He is the founder of record label DeeTone Records.
Biography
As a nine year old Dunn saw his first concert when T-Bone Walker played a free outdoor concert. At the age of 12 he bought a harmonica and began playing it at parties and with street players. He grew up listening to radio station W-I-L-D, initially taking a liking to Curtis Mayfield and Smokey Robinson. Later on he started listening to Archie Shepp and John Coltrane. He also bought records by Sonny Boy Williamson I and II). In his early career he played only acoustic harmonica.
After seeing the Junior Wells - Buddy Guy Band he put his first real band together, Blue Lightning. They played material by Junior Wells, Jimmy Rogers, Aleck "Rice" Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson II), and also James Cotton and Muddy Waters. Dunn's second band was called the Honeydrippers which was a guitar/saxophone driven group.
Dunn presently lives in the Netherlands. He has performed with James Cotton, Hubert Sumlin, Roy Eldridge, Big Walter Horton, Lurrie Bell, Jimmy Rogers and Big Mama Thornton. He works as a record producer and gives master classes in harmonica. He regularly tours with The Love Gloves and The International Blues Band and also appears as a guest musician with different artists, for instance Big Jack Johnson.
Awards
For the songwriting on his Alone With The Blues CD, Dunn received several awards (for the songs "Strange Things Are Happening" and "Need To Make A Dollar"). He also won the Talking Blues Award for the live performance of the songs on that CD.
Keith Dunn is a harmonica player, singer, producer and the founder of deeTone records. Born in Boston, he currently resides in Rotterdam, Holland. He has over thirty years of blues experience. He possesses a deep-blues voice and is an exciting harmonica soloist.
Keith's stage presence and charisma as a bandleader brings him to major festivals and venues all over the world. He is also an in-demand back-up musician. Keith has performed at the Sunflower River Blues Festival with Big Jack Johnson in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Big Jack's hometown. In Europe, he is a featured member of Big Jack Johnson’s touring band. Keith’s current group is the Keith Dunn Band.
Keith's songwriting, described as having "the political activism of J.B. Lenoir and the attitude of Junior Wells," is highlighted on "Alone With The Blues," released on his own deeTone records label (dcd 5501). On these recordings, Keith plays and sings his songs alone, without overdubs or guest musicians making this a first in the history of recorded blues. "Alone With The Blues" has received enthusiastic reviews from many of the leading music publications including Living Blues in the U.S.A. and Blues and Rhythm in England and Soul Bag in France. Two of his songs from the album, “Strange Things Are Happening” and “Need To Make A Dollar” have received songwriting awards.
Since the release of "Alone With The Blues," Keith Dunn has performed his solo show at the SPAH Festival in St. Louis, the Cognac Fest in France where he also performed with Lurrie Bell, the Amal Blues Fest in Sweden, the Blues Live Fest in Finland, the Koldo Mitxelena Cultural Center in San Sebastian, Spain, Copenhagen Blues Festival in Denmark, and the prestigious Hohner Harmonica Festival in Trossingen, Germany. He has played numerous radio and television shows, as well as festivals and harmonica workshops in Norway, France, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Greece, England and Holland.
He is active with record…
Keith's musical christening came at gospel practice sessions that he heard in the family home. When Keith was nine years old, T-Bone Walker came to town and gave a free outdoor concert at the field where Keith played baseball. This was his first blues concert. He bought his first harmonica shortly after his twelfth birthday and was soon playing at parties and with street players around town.
As a youngster in Boston, he listened to the radio station, W-I-L-D. Curtis Mayfield and Smokey Robinson were early favorites. He became very active in the politics of the day and thru these activities, started listening to Archie Shepp and John Coltrane.
Keith had records by Sonny Boys I and II. Though his style was developing, he still played purely acoustic harmonica. This was all about to change.
Seeing the Junior Wells - Buddy Guy Band, provided Keith with the model for the formation that he wanted. His first band, Blue Lightning, played material by Wells, Jimmy Rogers, Rice Miller and two artists that he often went to see at that time, James Cotton and Muddy Waters. His second band, the Honeydrippers, was a guitar/saxophone driven unit that played everything from Monk to Muddy. This experience had a big influence on Keith.
Keith Dunn's style is lyrical, melodic and percussive. It differs from that of most other harmonica players. It reflects his love of big bands and jazz singers; and is not surprising considering the time that he spent in the company of artists such as James Cotton, Hubert Sumlin, Roy Eldridge, Big Walter Horton and Jimmy Rogers, who was Keith's fishing partner for a summer in Rhode Island. His style and dedication saw him through successful stays in Boston, Providence, Austin and Dallas, Texas and San Francisco before bringing him to Europe.
With his harmonica master classes, recording productions for deeTone records, solo, performances, tours with the International Blues Band and guest appearances with artists such as Big Jack Johnson, Keith's fans enjoy the benefits of his three decades plus, around music. A dedicated artist, Keith Dunn provides the authentic blues experience. This passion is brought to life on his solo album, the critically acclaimed "Alone With The Blues."
Keith's stage presence and charisma as a bandleader brings him to major festivals and venues all over the world. He is also an in-demand back-up musician. Keith has performed at the Sunflower River Blues Festival with Big Jack Johnson in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Big Jack's hometown. In Europe, he is a featured member of Big Jack Johnson’s touring band. Keith’s current group is the Keith Dunn Band.
Keith's songwriting, described as having "the political activism of J.B. Lenoir and the attitude of Junior Wells," is highlighted on "Alone With The Blues," released on his own deeTone records label (dcd 5501). On these recordings, Keith plays and sings his songs alone, without overdubs or guest musicians making this a first in the history of recorded blues. "Alone With The Blues" has received enthusiastic reviews from many of the leading music publications including Living Blues in the U.S.A. and Blues and Rhythm in England and Soul Bag in France. Two of his songs from the album, “Strange Things Are Happening” and “Need To Make A Dollar” have received songwriting awards.
Since the release of "Alone With The Blues," Keith Dunn has performed his solo show at the SPAH Festival in St. Louis, the Cognac Fest in France where he also performed with Lurrie Bell, the Amal Blues Fest in Sweden, the Blues Live Fest in Finland, the Koldo Mitxelena Cultural Center in San Sebastian, Spain, Copenhagen Blues Festival in Denmark, and the prestigious Hohner Harmonica Festival in Trossingen, Germany. He has played numerous radio and television shows, as well as festivals and harmonica workshops in Norway, France, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Greece, England and Holland.
He is active with record…
Keith's musical christening came at gospel practice sessions that he heard in the family home. When Keith was nine years old, T-Bone Walker came to town and gave a free outdoor concert at the field where Keith played baseball. This was his first blues concert. He bought his first harmonica shortly after his twelfth birthday and was soon playing at parties and with street players around town.
As a youngster in Boston, he listened to the radio station, W-I-L-D. Curtis Mayfield and Smokey Robinson were early favorites. He became very active in the politics of the day and thru these activities, started listening to Archie Shepp and John Coltrane.
Keith had records by Sonny Boys I and II. Though his style was developing, he still played purely acoustic harmonica. This was all about to change.
Seeing the Junior Wells - Buddy Guy Band, provided Keith with the model for the formation that he wanted. His first band, Blue Lightning, played material by Wells, Jimmy Rogers, Rice Miller and two artists that he often went to see at that time, James Cotton and Muddy Waters. His second band, the Honeydrippers, was a guitar/saxophone driven unit that played everything from Monk to Muddy. This experience had a big influence on Keith.
Keith Dunn's style is lyrical, melodic and percussive. It differs from that of most other harmonica players. It reflects his love of big bands and jazz singers; and is not surprising considering the time that he spent in the company of artists such as James Cotton, Hubert Sumlin, Roy Eldridge, Big Walter Horton and Jimmy Rogers, who was Keith's fishing partner for a summer in Rhode Island. His style and dedication saw him through successful stays in Boston, Providence, Austin and Dallas, Texas and San Francisco before bringing him to Europe.
With his harmonica master classes, recording productions for deeTone records, solo, performances, tours with the International Blues Band and guest appearances with artists such as Big Jack Johnson, Keith's fans enjoy the benefits of his three decades plus, around music. A dedicated artist, Keith Dunn provides the authentic blues experience. This passion is brought to life on his solo album, the critically acclaimed "Alone With The Blues."
Keith Dunn Band
R.I.P.
Good Rockin' Charles +17.05.1989
Good Rockin' Charles (March 4, 1933 – May 17, 1989)[2] was an American Chicago blues and electric blues harmonicist, singer and songwriter.[1] He released one album in his lifetime, and is best known for his work with Johnny "Man" Young, Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers, Arthur "Big Boy" Spires and Jimmy Rogers.
He was born Henry Lee Bester in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, and later known as Charles Edwards.[3][4] He relocated from his birthplace to Chicago, Illinois in 1949, and was inspired by fellow harmonica players, Sonny Boy Williamson I, Sonny Boy Williamson II and Little Walter.[1] In the following decade, Charles found steady work with local Chicago blues musicians such as Johnny "Man" Young, Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers, and Arthur "Big Boy" Spires. In 1955 he settled on working in the backing band for the blues singer, Jimmy Rogers. Two years later, the short-lived independent record label, Cobra Records, offered Charles the opportunity to record his own work. However, Charles turned it down.[1]
This wariness of working in a recording studio, had earlier seen him replaced at the last minute, as the harmonica player on Jimmy Rogers recording of "Walking by Myself" (1956). The role fell to Big Walter Horton, who greatly enhanced his reputation by playing on the track.[1]
In 1975, Charles was finally convinced to record his own album. His eponymous effort initially appeared on vinyl on Mr. Blues Records in 1976, having been recorded the previous November.[1][3] It was subsequently re-issued by P-Vine Records.[5] Charles later suffered with ill health and was unable to record any significant further work.[4]
Charles died in Chicago in May 1989, aged 56.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Rockin%27_Charles
Good Rockin' Charles & The Aces Don't start me to talkin'
Johnny Guitar Watson +17.5.1996
Johnny „Guitar“ Watson (* 3. Februar 1935 in Houston, Texas; † 17. Mai 1996 in Yokohama, Japan) war ein einflussreicher US-amerikanischer Blues-, Soul- und Funk-Musiker der 1950er- bis 1990er-Jahre.Schon als Teenager trat Watson in Texas mit aufstrebenden Blues-Musikern wie Albert Collins und Johnny Copeland auf. Im Alter von gerade 15 Jahren zog er nach Los Angeles, wo er in der Band von Chuck Higgins an den Tasten saß. 1953 spielte er erste Aufnahmen als Young John Watson ein, immer noch am Piano, doch bereits im folgenden Jahr machte er als Gitarrist mit dem avantgardistischen Track Space Guitar auf sich aufmerksam. 1955 hatte er mit Those Lonely Lonely Nights einen ersten Hit.
Nach 1960 experimentierte das musikalische Chamäleon Watson mit verschiedenen Spielarten des Jazz und spielte ein Piano-Album ein, das vollständig auf den Einsatz von Gitarren verzichtete. In den folgenden Jahren tourte der experimentierfreudige Texaner dann mit seinem Kollegen Larry Williams durch Großbritannien, veröffentlichte mehrere Alben und landete im Zuge dessen 1967 in Europa einen Hit mit der Joe-Zawinul-Komposition Mercy, Mercy, Mercy. Danach hielt er sich zunächst mit weiteren Veröffentlichungen zurück.
Zurück in den Staaten, änderte Watson im Laufe der frühen 1970er dann Stil und Image radikal und wandte sich nun – inspiriert durch das selbstbewusste Auftreten schwarzer Soulstars wie Marvin Gaye oder Curtis Mayfield – gezielt einem wesentlich soul-lastigeren Rhythm & Blues zu. Auf den 1973 und 1975 veröffentlichten Alben Listen und I Don’t Want To Be A Lone Ranger kombinierte Watson den traditionellen Blues mit Rock ‘n’ Roll, Motown-Soul und P-Funk, integrierte eigene Ideen zu Rap und Street Speech und destillierte daraus im Laufe der Jahre einen eigenständigen, „positiv“ klingenden West-Coast-R&B.
Spätestens mit dem 1976 erschienenen Album Ain’t That a Bitch wurde der mittlerweile immerhin 41-Jährige schließlich zu einem der Wegbereiter des Funk, den er fortan konsequent weiterentwickelte. Das Album wurde in die Wireliste The Wire's "100 Records That Set The World On Fire (While No One Was Listening)" aufgenommen.In den Jahren bis 1981 brachte er für das Label DJM unter seinem eigenen Namen in rascher Folge sieben Studioveröffentlichungen heraus und hatte mit Songs wie Superman Lover, A Real Mother for Ya und Booty Ooty veritable Chart-Erfolge. Zudem spielte Watson 1978 und 1979 zwei Alben mit seinem Watsonian Institute ein, auf denen seine Begleitmusiker im Mittelpunkt standen. Watsons Markenzeichen war nun neben (Moog-)basslastiger Hook-Line, treibender Snare-Drum und den unverzichtbaren Blues-Gitarrensoli von hohem Wiedererkennungswert vor allem der breite Gesangsstil, in dem er bisweilen auch sozialkritische Lyrics humorvoll und selbstironisch vorzutragen wusste.
Trotz stilistischer Konzessionen blieb Watson stets entschieden im Blues verwurzelt. Beispielsweise veröffentlichte er seinen Klassiker von 1958 Love Bandit/Gangster Of Love – später von Steve Miller erfolgreich gecovert – 1962 sowie 1978 erneut. Ähnlich verfuhr er mit anderen Kompositionen, wie dem 1975 erstmals eingespielten Lone Ranger, der in einer wesentlich grooviger gemachten Version auch auf seinem 1980er-Album Love Jones zu finden ist. Die Werke dieser Periode zwischen 1975 und 1981 bilden gleichsam das Rückgrat der zahlreichen verfügbaren Best-Of-Compilations, obschon diese nur einen Bruchteil von Watsons Schaffen widerspiegeln.
In den 1980er-Jahren wurde es dann ruhiger um ihn. Nach einem Labelwechsel zu A&M brachte Watson Ende 1981 das Album That’s What Time It Is (Executive Producer: Herb Alpert) auf den Markt, das bei Kritikern wie Anhängern einen zwiespältigen Eindruck hinterließ. Anschließend legte er eine Schaffenspause ein, die bis 1985 anhielt, wiewohl der texanische Entertainer auch in dieser Zeit beinahe pausenlos durch die Clubs der Welt tourte. Dem Longplayer Strike on Computers folgte dann eine neuerliche Wartezeit bis zur Veröffentlichung seiner letzten Studioarbeit, Bow Wow, für die er 1994 eine Grammy-Nominierung für das beste R&B-Album erhielt. Auch diese Phase war geprägt durch ausgedehnte Tourneen rund um den Globus.
Watson hatte erheblichen Einfluss auf andere Größen der Rock- und Popmusik. Legendär ist die Antizipation des Gitarrenspiels per Mund, die Jimi Hendrix ein Jahrzehnt später zu seinem Markenzeichen perfektionierte. Manche seiner Alben (insbesondere Johnny Guitar Watson And The Family Clone) spielte Watson nahezu vollständig im Alleingang ein. Dem in dieser Hinsicht ähnlich vielseitigen Frank Zappa freundschaftlich verbunden, gastierte er auf dessen Alben One Size Fits All und Them or Us. Zappa gab an, dass das Watson-Stück Three Hours Past Midnight ihn inspiriert habe, Gitarrist zu werden.[1] Etliche der Songs von Johnny „Guitar“ Watson dienten später der Hiphop-Szene als Sample-Vorlagen. 1996 erhielt er gemeinsam mit Bo Diddley, Bobby Womack und den Isley Brothers den Pioneer Award der Rhythm & Blues Foundation.
Johnny „Guitar“ Watson starb im Mai 1996 im Alter von 61 Jahren auf offener Bühne während einer Tournee durch Japan im Blues Café, Yokohama, an Herzversagen. Watson wurde in Glendale in Kalifornien bestattet. 2008 wurde er in die Blues Hall of Fame aufgenommen.
“They called Elvis ‘The King’, but the sure-enough king was Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson.“ (Etta James)
Im Jahr 2006 wurde der Song Gangster of Love als Titelsong für eine AXE-Werbung benutzt. Während die europäische Version mit Ben Affleck besetzt war, sah man in der amerikanischen Version Nick Lachey in der Hauptrolle.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Guitar_Watson
John "Johnny 'Guitar'" Watson, Jr. (February 3, 1935 – May 17, 1996) was an American blues, soul, and funk musician and singer-songwriter.[1] A flamboyant showman and electric guitarist in the style of T-Bone Walker, Watson recorded throughout the 1950s and 1960s with some success. His creative reinvention in the 1970s with disco and funk overtones, saw Watson have hits with "Ain't That a Bitch", "I Need It" and "Superman Lover". His successful recording career spanned forty years, with his highest chart appearance being the 1977 song "A Real Mother For Ya".[2]
Early life
Watson was born in Houston, Texas.[3] His father John Sr. was a pianist, and taught his son the instrument. But young Watson was immediately attracted to the sound of the guitar, in particular the electric guitar as played by T-Bone Walker and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown.
His grandfather, a preacher, was also musical. "My grandfather used to sing while he'd play guitar in church, man," Watson reflected many years later. When Johnny was 11, his grandfather offered to give him a guitar if, and only if, the boy didn't play any of the "devil's music". Watson agreed, but "that was the first thing I did."[citation needed] A musical prodigy, Watson played with Texas bluesmen Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland. His parents separated in 1950, when he was 15. His mother moved to Los Angeles, and took Watson with her.
Early career
In his new city, Watson won several local talent shows. This led to his employment, while still a teenager, with jump blues-style bands such as Chuck Higgins's Mellotones and Amos Milburn. He worked as a vocalist, pianist, and guitarist. He quickly made a name for himself in the African-American juke joints of the West Coast, where he first recorded for Federal Records in 1952.[4] He was billed as Young John Watson until 1954. That year, he saw the Joan Crawford film Johnny Guitar, and a new stage name was born.
Watson affected a swaggering, yet humorous personality, indulging a taste for flashy clothes and wild showmanship on stage. His "attacking" style of playing, without a plectrum, resulted in him often needing to change the strings on his guitar once or twice a show, because he "stressified on them" so much, as he put it.[5] Watson's ferocious "Space Guitar" album of 1954 pioneered guitar feedback and reverb. Watson would later influence a subsequent generation of guitarists. His song "Gangster of Love" was first released on Keen Records in 1957. It did not appear in the charts at the time, but was later re-recorded and became a hit in 1978, becoming Watson's "most famous song".[6]
He toured and recorded with his friend Larry Williams, as well as Little Richard, Don and Dewey, The Olympics, Johnny Otis and, in the mid-1970s with David Axelrod. In 1975 he is a guest performer on two tracks (flambe vocals on the out-choruses of "San Ber'dino" and "Andy") on the Frank Zappa album One Size Fits All.[7] He also played with Sam Cooke, Herb Alpert and George Duke. But as the popularity of blues declined and the era of soul music dawned in the 1960s, Watson transformed himself from southern blues singer with pompadour into urban soul singer in a pimp hat. His new style was emphatic - the gold teeth, broad-brimmed hats, flashy suits, fashionable outsized sunglasses and ostentatious jewelry made him one of the most colorful figures in the West Coast funk scene.
He modified his music accordingly. His albums Ain't That a Bitch (from which the successful singles "Superman Lover" and "I Need It" were taken) and Real Mother For Ya were landmark recordings of 1970s funk.[citation needed] "Telephone Bill", from the 1980 album Love Jones, featured Watson rapping.
Later career
The shooting death of his friend Larry Williams in 1980 and other personal setbacks led to Watson briefly withdrawing from the spotlight in the 1980s. "I got caught up with the wrong people doing the wrong things", he was quoted as saying by the New York Times.
The release of his album Bow Wow in 1994 brought Watson more visibility and chart success than he had ever known. The album received a Grammy Award nomination.
In a 1994 interview with David Ritz for liner notes to The Funk Anthology, Watson was asked if his 1980 song "Telephone Bill" anticipated rap music. "Anticipated?" Watson replied. "I damn well invented it!... And I wasn't the only one. Talking rhyming lyrics to a groove is something you'd hear in the clubs everywhere from Macon to Memphis. Man, talking has always been the name of the game. When I sing, I'm talking in melody. When I play, I'm talking with my guitar. I may be talking trash, baby, but I'm talking".
In 1995, he was given a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation in a presentation and performance ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium. In February 1995, Watson was interviewed by Tomcat Mahoney for his Brooklyn, New York-based blues radio show The Other Half. Watson discussed at length his influences and those he had influenced, referencing Guitar Slim, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He made a special guest appearance on Bo Diddley's 1996 album A Man Amongst Men, playing vocoder on the track "I Can't Stand It" and singing on the track "Bo Diddley Is Crazy".
His music was sampled by Redman (who based his "Sooperman Luva" saga on Watson's "Superman Lover" song), Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, and Mary J. Blige. Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre borrowed P-Funk's adaptation of Watson's catchphrase "Bow Wow Wow yippi-yo yippi-yay" for Snoop's hit "What's My Name".
"Johnny was always aware of what was going on around him", recalled Susan Maier Watson (later to become the musician's wife) in an interview printed in the liner notes to the album The Very Best of Johnny 'Guitar' Watson. "He was proud that he could change with the times and not get stuck in the past".
Death
Watson died of a myocardial infarction on May 17, 1996, collapsing on stage while on tour in Yokohama, Japan.[8] His remains were brought home for interment at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Influence
Watson, a recognized master of the Fender Stratocaster guitar, has been compared to Jimi Hendrix and allegedly became irritated when asked about this comparison, supposedly stating: "I used to play the guitar standing on my hands. I had a 150-foot cord and I could get on top of the auditorium – those things Jimi Hendrix was doing, I started that shit."[9]
Frank Zappa stated that "Watson's 1956 song 'Three Hours Past Midnight' inspired me to become a guitarist". Watson contributed to Zappa's albums One Size Fits All (1975), Them or Us (1984), Thing-Fish (1984) and Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention (1985). Zappa also named "Three Hours Past Midnight" his favorite record in a 1979 interview.
Steve Miller not only did a cover of "Gangster of Love" on his 1968 album Sailor (substituting "Is your name "Stevie 'Guitar' Miller?" for the same line with Watson's name), he made a reference to it in his 1969 song "Space Cowboy" ("And you know that I'm a gangster of love") as well as in his 1973 hit song "The Joker" ("Some call me the gangster of love"). Miller had also borrowed the sobriquet for his own "The Gangster Is Back", on his 1971 album Rock Love.
Jimmie Vaughan, brother of Stevie Ray Vaughan, is quoted as saying: "When my brother Stevie and I were growing up in Dallas, we idolized very few guitarists. We were highly selective and highly critical. Johnny 'Guitar' Watson was at the top of the list, along with Freddie, Albert and B.B. King. He made magic."
Bobby Womack said: "Music-wise, he was the most dangerous gunslinger out there. Even when others made a lot of noise in the charts – I'm thinking of Sly Stone or George Clinton – you know they'd studied Johnny's stage style and listened very carefully to Johnny's grooves."
Etta James stated, in an interview at the 2006 Rochester Jazz Festival: "Johnny 'Guitar' Watson... Just one of my favorite singers of all time. I first met him when we were both on the road with Johnny Otis in the '50s, when I was a teenager. We traveled the country in a car together so I would hear him sing every night. His singing style was the one I took on when I was 17 – people used to call me the female Johnny 'Guitar' Watson and him the male Etta James... He knew what the blues was all about..."
James is also quoted as saying: "I got everything from Johnny... He was my main model... My whole ballad style comes from my imitating Johnny's style... He was the baddest and the best... Johnny Guitar Watson was not just a guitarist: the man was a master musician. He could call out charts; he could write a beautiful melody or a nasty groove at the drop of a hat; he could lay on the harmonies and he could come up with a whole sound. They call Elvis the King; but the sure-enough King was Johnny 'Guitar' Watson."[citation needed]
Pearl Jam recorded a song entitled "Johnny Guitar", about Watson, for their 2009 album Backspacer.
Watson's 1976 song "Superman Lover" features on the soundtrack of the video game Grand Theft Auto V.
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http://www.discogs.com/artist/294682-Little-Johnny-Taylor
John "Johnny 'Guitar'" Watson, Jr. (February 3, 1935 – May 17, 1996) was an American blues, soul, and funk musician and singer-songwriter.[1] A flamboyant showman and electric guitarist in the style of T-Bone Walker, Watson recorded throughout the 1950s and 1960s with some success. His creative reinvention in the 1970s with disco and funk overtones, saw Watson have hits with "Ain't That a Bitch", "I Need It" and "Superman Lover". His successful recording career spanned forty years, with his highest chart appearance being the 1977 song "A Real Mother For Ya".[2]Early life
Watson was born in Houston, Texas.[3] His father John Sr. was a pianist, and taught his son the instrument. But young Watson was immediately attracted to the sound of the guitar, in particular the electric guitar as played by T-Bone Walker and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown.
His grandfather, a preacher, was also musical. "My grandfather used to sing while he'd play guitar in church, man," Watson reflected many years later. When Johnny was 11, his grandfather offered to give him a guitar if, and only if, the boy didn't play any of the "devil's music". Watson agreed, but "that was the first thing I did."[citation needed] A musical prodigy, Watson played with Texas bluesmen Albert Collins and Johnny Copeland. His parents separated in 1950, when he was 15. His mother moved to Los Angeles, and took Watson with her.
Early career
In his new city, Watson won several local talent shows. This led to his employment, while still a teenager, with jump blues-style bands such as Chuck Higgins's Mellotones and Amos Milburn. He worked as a vocalist, pianist, and guitarist. He quickly made a name for himself in the African-American juke joints of the West Coast, where he first recorded for Federal Records in 1952.[4] He was billed as Young John Watson until 1954. That year, he saw the Joan Crawford film Johnny Guitar, and a new stage name was born.
Watson affected a swaggering, yet humorous personality, indulging a taste for flashy clothes and wild showmanship on stage. His "attacking" style of playing, without a plectrum, resulted in him often needing to change the strings on his guitar once or twice a show, because he "stressified on them" so much, as he put it.[5] Watson's ferocious "Space Guitar" album of 1954 pioneered guitar feedback and reverb. Watson would later influence a subsequent generation of guitarists. His song "Gangster of Love" was first released on Keen Records in 1957. It did not appear in the charts at the time, but was later re-recorded and became a hit in 1978, becoming Watson's "most famous song".[6]
He toured and recorded with his friend Larry Williams, as well as Little Richard, Don and Dewey, The Olympics, Johnny Otis and, in the mid-1970s with David Axelrod. In 1975 he is a guest performer on two tracks (flambe vocals on the out-choruses of "San Ber'dino" and "Andy") on the Frank Zappa album One Size Fits All.[7] He also played with Sam Cooke, Herb Alpert and George Duke. But as the popularity of blues declined and the era of soul music dawned in the 1960s, Watson transformed himself from southern blues singer with pompadour into urban soul singer in a pimp hat. His new style was emphatic - the gold teeth, broad-brimmed hats, flashy suits, fashionable outsized sunglasses and ostentatious jewelry made him one of the most colorful figures in the West Coast funk scene.
He modified his music accordingly. His albums Ain't That a Bitch (from which the successful singles "Superman Lover" and "I Need It" were taken) and Real Mother For Ya were landmark recordings of 1970s funk.[citation needed] "Telephone Bill", from the 1980 album Love Jones, featured Watson rapping.
Later career
The shooting death of his friend Larry Williams in 1980 and other personal setbacks led to Watson briefly withdrawing from the spotlight in the 1980s. "I got caught up with the wrong people doing the wrong things", he was quoted as saying by the New York Times.
The release of his album Bow Wow in 1994 brought Watson more visibility and chart success than he had ever known. The album received a Grammy Award nomination.
In a 1994 interview with David Ritz for liner notes to The Funk Anthology, Watson was asked if his 1980 song "Telephone Bill" anticipated rap music. "Anticipated?" Watson replied. "I damn well invented it!... And I wasn't the only one. Talking rhyming lyrics to a groove is something you'd hear in the clubs everywhere from Macon to Memphis. Man, talking has always been the name of the game. When I sing, I'm talking in melody. When I play, I'm talking with my guitar. I may be talking trash, baby, but I'm talking".
In 1995, he was given a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation in a presentation and performance ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium. In February 1995, Watson was interviewed by Tomcat Mahoney for his Brooklyn, New York-based blues radio show The Other Half. Watson discussed at length his influences and those he had influenced, referencing Guitar Slim, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He made a special guest appearance on Bo Diddley's 1996 album A Man Amongst Men, playing vocoder on the track "I Can't Stand It" and singing on the track "Bo Diddley Is Crazy".
His music was sampled by Redman (who based his "Sooperman Luva" saga on Watson's "Superman Lover" song), Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, and Mary J. Blige. Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre borrowed P-Funk's adaptation of Watson's catchphrase "Bow Wow Wow yippi-yo yippi-yay" for Snoop's hit "What's My Name".
"Johnny was always aware of what was going on around him", recalled Susan Maier Watson (later to become the musician's wife) in an interview printed in the liner notes to the album The Very Best of Johnny 'Guitar' Watson. "He was proud that he could change with the times and not get stuck in the past".
Death
Watson died of a myocardial infarction on May 17, 1996, collapsing on stage while on tour in Yokohama, Japan.[8] His remains were brought home for interment at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Influence
Watson, a recognized master of the Fender Stratocaster guitar, has been compared to Jimi Hendrix and allegedly became irritated when asked about this comparison, supposedly stating: "I used to play the guitar standing on my hands. I had a 150-foot cord and I could get on top of the auditorium – those things Jimi Hendrix was doing, I started that shit."[9]
Frank Zappa stated that "Watson's 1956 song 'Three Hours Past Midnight' inspired me to become a guitarist". Watson contributed to Zappa's albums One Size Fits All (1975), Them or Us (1984), Thing-Fish (1984) and Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention (1985). Zappa also named "Three Hours Past Midnight" his favorite record in a 1979 interview.
Steve Miller not only did a cover of "Gangster of Love" on his 1968 album Sailor (substituting "Is your name "Stevie 'Guitar' Miller?" for the same line with Watson's name), he made a reference to it in his 1969 song "Space Cowboy" ("And you know that I'm a gangster of love") as well as in his 1973 hit song "The Joker" ("Some call me the gangster of love"). Miller had also borrowed the sobriquet for his own "The Gangster Is Back", on his 1971 album Rock Love.
Jimmie Vaughan, brother of Stevie Ray Vaughan, is quoted as saying: "When my brother Stevie and I were growing up in Dallas, we idolized very few guitarists. We were highly selective and highly critical. Johnny 'Guitar' Watson was at the top of the list, along with Freddie, Albert and B.B. King. He made magic."
Bobby Womack said: "Music-wise, he was the most dangerous gunslinger out there. Even when others made a lot of noise in the charts – I'm thinking of Sly Stone or George Clinton – you know they'd studied Johnny's stage style and listened very carefully to Johnny's grooves."
Etta James stated, in an interview at the 2006 Rochester Jazz Festival: "Johnny 'Guitar' Watson... Just one of my favorite singers of all time. I first met him when we were both on the road with Johnny Otis in the '50s, when I was a teenager. We traveled the country in a car together so I would hear him sing every night. His singing style was the one I took on when I was 17 – people used to call me the female Johnny 'Guitar' Watson and him the male Etta James... He knew what the blues was all about..."
James is also quoted as saying: "I got everything from Johnny... He was my main model... My whole ballad style comes from my imitating Johnny's style... He was the baddest and the best... Johnny Guitar Watson was not just a guitarist: the man was a master musician. He could call out charts; he could write a beautiful melody or a nasty groove at the drop of a hat; he could lay on the harmonies and he could come up with a whole sound. They call Elvis the King; but the sure-enough King was Johnny 'Guitar' Watson."[citation needed]
Pearl Jam recorded a song entitled "Johnny Guitar", about Watson, for their 2009 album Backspacer.
Watson's 1976 song "Superman Lover" features on the soundtrack of the video game Grand Theft Auto V.
Little Johnny Taylor +17.05.2002
Little
Johnny Taylor (born Johnny Lamont Merrett; February 11, 1943 – May 17,
2002)[1] was an American blues and soul singer, who made recordings
throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and continued public performances
through the 1980s and 1990s.
Born in Gregory, Arkansas, United States,[1] he is frequently confused with his contemporary and near namesake Johnnie Taylor, especially since the latter made a cover version of the song that Little Johnny Taylor was most famous for, "Part Time Love" (1963), and the fact that both men began their careers as gospel singers.
Little Johnny Taylor moved to Los Angeles in 1950, and sang with the Mighty Clouds of Joy before moving into secular music.[2] Influenced by Little Willie John, he first recorded as an R&B artist for the Swingin' record label.
However, he did not achieve major success until signing for San Francisco-based Fantasy Records' subsidiary label, Galaxy. His first hit was the mid-tempo blues "You'll Need Another Favor," sung in the style of Bobby Bland, with arrangement by Ray Shanklin and produced by Cliff Goldsmith.[2][3] The follow-up, "Part Time Love", written by Clay Hammond and featuring Arthur Wright on guitar, became his biggest hit, reaching #1 in the U.S. Billboard R&B chart, and # 19 on the pop chart, in October 1963. However, follow-ups on the Galaxy label were much less successful.[4]
By 1971, Taylor had moved to the Ronn label subsidiary of Jewel Records in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he had his second R&B Top 10 hit with "Everybody Knows About My Good Thing".[3] The following year, he had another hit with "Open House at My House". While at Ronn, Taylor also recorded some duets with Ted Taylor (also unrelated).[1]
Though he recorded only sparingly during the 1980s and 1990s, he remained an active performer until his death in May 2002 in Conway, Arkansas.
Born in Gregory, Arkansas, United States,[1] he is frequently confused with his contemporary and near namesake Johnnie Taylor, especially since the latter made a cover version of the song that Little Johnny Taylor was most famous for, "Part Time Love" (1963), and the fact that both men began their careers as gospel singers.
Little Johnny Taylor moved to Los Angeles in 1950, and sang with the Mighty Clouds of Joy before moving into secular music.[2] Influenced by Little Willie John, he first recorded as an R&B artist for the Swingin' record label.
However, he did not achieve major success until signing for San Francisco-based Fantasy Records' subsidiary label, Galaxy. His first hit was the mid-tempo blues "You'll Need Another Favor," sung in the style of Bobby Bland, with arrangement by Ray Shanklin and produced by Cliff Goldsmith.[2][3] The follow-up, "Part Time Love", written by Clay Hammond and featuring Arthur Wright on guitar, became his biggest hit, reaching #1 in the U.S. Billboard R&B chart, and # 19 on the pop chart, in October 1963. However, follow-ups on the Galaxy label were much less successful.[4]
By 1971, Taylor had moved to the Ronn label subsidiary of Jewel Records in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he had his second R&B Top 10 hit with "Everybody Knows About My Good Thing".[3] The following year, he had another hit with "Open House at My House". While at Ronn, Taylor also recorded some duets with Ted Taylor (also unrelated).[1]
Though he recorded only sparingly during the 1980s and 1990s, he remained an active performer until his death in May 2002 in Conway, Arkansas.
Little Johnny Taylor - Everybody Knows About My Good Thing, Pt. 1 & 2 (1971)
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