1938 Leon “Lil’ Jimmy Reed” Atkins*
1956 Dave Sadler*
1965 Spencer Williams+
1984 Amy Hart*
Johnny Burgin*
Happy Birthday
Dave Sadler *14.07.1956
Growing up on the edge of the Delta, blues inspired music surrounded Dave. Where a typical kid might have been found listening to the latest top 40 rock hit, Dave, a self-taught musician who plays by ear, would often be found locked away in his room listening to the likes of B.B. King and Elmore James, trying to emulate their playing styles.Also heavily influenced by modern players such as Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Stevie Ray Vaughn and others, Dave's playing style is a blend of blues, rock, jazz and funk, utilizing both electric and acoustic guitars.
"I have always had a passion for blues, blues/rock and jazz. These genres seem to influence most everything I play, compose and record", Dave says.
Music by Dave Sadler has been featured on numerous radio programs and has been used in various production music libraries, advertisements, videos, films and PR campaigns.
Dave Sadler is affiliated with BMI as a songwriter/composer publishing and recording for the independent label, BluezArt Records.
Matchbox
Amy Hart *14.07.1984
Amy Hart is a Chicago-born singer-songwriter who currently resides in Nashville.[1] After performing as a blues musician at festivals, she formed her first original music band, Amy Hart and The Attack, before creating Amy Hart and the Essential Trio in the late 1980s.
Amy Hart's debut solo album, Every Beat of My Heart, was released in 2000 under the Paint Chip label after she moved to Nashville, and re-released in 2001 by Orchard. A country music album showing rock and blues influences, it was followed in 2011 by Congratulations,[2] her second solo album which retained a country and rock flavor, but focused on the blues.[3][4]
In 1980's, Amy Hart recorded the song "Too Cruel" for the Girls Just Want to Have Fun soundtrack. The song was written with Tim Tobias.
was born and raised in Chicago. She began her musical career at the family piano at age 2. When she was in high school she began playing guitar and writing songs. Her first professional gig was in 1979 with Flash Point, a west side Chicago Blues Band. Her first appearance was at Mayor Jane Byrne's Summertime Chicago Concert Series on Broadway at the Armory in Chicago. She was soon a regular on the Blues stages, playing at Kingston Mines on Lincoln Avenue and at B.L.U.E.S. with Junior Wells. She has also opened for Koko Taylor and James Cotton. She entered and won the WLUP sponsored Chicago Rocks Contest twice and released two compilation records with the radio station. She took her music to California to work with producer John Ryan (Doobie Brothers, Santana) and released a song on the Mercury Records Soundtrack "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" in 1985. The song "Too Cruel" was co written by Tim Tobias and Amy and Tim were a duo for some time performing in L.A. In the early nineties Amy moved to Lake Tahoe and played the ski resorts and casinos for a season before heading to Nashville to develop and record her own sound.
In 1999 she started her own label, Painted Rock Records and released her first solo cd in 2000."Every Beat of My Heart" was critically acclaimed. The title track is a haunting ballad written for her mother who had passed in 1998. Amy Hart lived in Destin FL for ten years playing and supporting herself and her daughter on the music scene. In 2011 her daughter graduated high school within weeks of the Horizon Oil Spill, which devastated the local economy.The pair headed up to Chicago. Her daughter enrolled in Columbia College, and Amy was offered a deal on Out The Box Records.
It looked like her return to Chicago was going to be smoothe and easy, but there were problems between the label and the studio that she decided not to get between. So she drove back to Music City with 40 bucks in her pocket and lived above a barn until she got her finances together and then she started cutting tracks.
Her second cd, "CONGRATULATIONS" released in 2011 on Painted Rock Records gained her wider recognition in the the Blues arena. The title track was inspired by the challenges she faced during her move, being homeless for a time and her ultimate redemption. She spent the next four years writing and touring with her band based n Nashville. She was tapped to headline the Himalayan Blues Fest in 2012. Other cities she tours include Atlanta, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Pensacola, Charlotte, Asheville, Knoxville, Memphis an Chicago.
Her band rocks many famous Blues clubs including BB Kngs, The Hard Rock Cafe, Bradfordville Blues Club, The Double Door Inn, The Paradise, and Ground Zero Blues Club and The Kings Palace on Beale Street. In 2014 She was invited to perform at The Mayne Stage in Chicago for "Music From The Mayne Stage" which will air on PBS Spring 2015.
Her third cd, "Live At The Mayne Stage" will be released March 24, 2015 by Vizztone Label Group and Painted Rock Records. This new cd delivers a fresh sound with Gene Bush on Dobro, Grammy nominated PT Gazell on Harp, husband Wally Hoffmann on Upright Bass and Matt McDowell on Drums. Her raw sound is leaning in a Roots/Americana/Country direction, but still strongly Blues influenced. This album offers gentler covers of some songs from 2011's Congratulations and several new unrecorded songs. Its reminiscent of an outdoor summer night concert... complete with fireflies and heat lighting on the horizon.
Amy Hart Band
Leon “Lil’ Jimmy Reed” Atkins *14.07.1938
Seinen Künstlernamen Lil‘ Jimmy Reed hat sich Leon Atkins (*1939, Hardwood, LA) wahrlich verdient. Als er 1957 in einem Blues Club den berühmten Jimmy Reed sehen wollte, landete er selber auf der Bühne. Jimmy Reed war schlicht zu betrunken, um aufzutreten. Leon nahm seinen Platz ein, und sorgte beim Publikum für Furore. Als Reed bald darauf starb, war Lil‘ Jimmy Reed geboren.
Der grosse, schlanke Mann ist eine charismatische Persönlichkeit. Seine Musik verkörpert die raue Blues Tradition Louisianas und ihrer Wurzeln in der Armut des tiefen Südens. Als ältester einer kinderreichen Familie erfuhr Leon hautnah die Schwierigkeiten und Diskriminierungen des Heranwachsens als armer Schwarzer. Wie viele andere fand auch er oft Trost in der Musik. Seine erste Gitarre, gebaut aus einer alten Zigarrenkiste, erhielt er als Sechsjähriger.
Als Teenager spielte er bereits in lokalen Clubs in der Gegend von Baton Rouge und träumte davon, als berühmter Gitarrist den ungeliebten Süden hinter sich lassen zu können. Als Lil‘ Jimmy Reed eröffneten sich ihm dann auch immer mehr Auftrittsmöglichkeiten, seine Popularität stieg. Doch irgendwann hatte er das Gefühl, dass er etwas Sichereres brauchte - er zog sich aus dem Musikgeschäft zurück und trat in die Armee ein, wo er 20 Jahre diente.
Doch er kam zurück, und war besser denn je. Seither wurde er mit einigen Awards ausgezeichnet, teilte die Bühne gar mit Legenden wie B.B. King oder Bobby Blue Bland. Der 76jährige Lil‘ Jimmy Reed ist, wie die Amerikaner sagen würden, „the real deal“.
Wer ihn mal gehört hat, schwärmt von seinem stechenden Gitarrenstil, seinem packenden Harpspiel und seinem rauhen Gesang.
Born in the late 1930's, to the parents of Morris and Velma Atkins, Leon Atkins (aka- LiL Jimmy Reed), is a native of Hardwood Louisiana, a small town outside of the City Baton Rouge. He who now resides in Enterprise, AL, with his wife of 35 years (Imogene). Leon is the eldest of five siblings, one sister, and four brothers. Being the eldest child, Leon learned first hand the struggles and the discrimination of growing up poor and black in the deep South. At an early age, to escape the depressions which many of the blacks experienced in the poverty stricken South, Leon adopted a love for music. He favored the guitar and the harmonica immediately, and often dreamed of some day becoming a famous guitar player and travel far beyond the hatred of Southern Louisiana. For Leon growing up across the street of a nightclub fascinated him, hearing the sounds of the guitars, pianos, and the jukebox music echoing throughout the night was to him a pure joy. When he saw the local Men playing music he would often imitate them on his childlike imaginary guitar. But soon that would change. When he was just six years old, one of the older Men who had taken notice of Leon's love for music surprised him by making him his very first guitar out of a small cigar box. Leon loved it and that sparked the beginning of a life long relationship of a Man and his guitar.
As Leon grew into his teenage years, he spent most of his after school days working in the local saw mill and the town shoe shop after school. Growing tired of fixing shoes, Leon let it be known to his father that he wanted to play music. One Monday after his father returned home from a good days work with gifts for the family, Leon patiently waited his turn and was speechless, when his Dad handed him a brand new guitar. By that Saturday evening, Leon was playing the guitar as if he had taken music lessons for years. Leon played music by ear without any teachings or lessons ever taken. Soon he entertained the locals around town and realized there must be a better way to help provide for his family and himself.
In the year 1957, Leon turned 18 and went to Barber College in Little Rock Ark. He continued to pursue his musical talent as he quickly advanced with simple jobs such as playing in the local juke joints and blues alleys. In these lumber walls and saw dust covered floors, Leon became a favorite of the locals, and others who heard him play. One night in an upper scale blues club, Leon was able to get that one lucky break. A well known blues artist by the name of "Jimmy Reed" was scheduled to perform. Leon knew Jimmy Reed's music really well, from childhood listening to jukebox music from the nearby nightclub. Leon had always wanted to see the real Jimmy Reed and finally he'd gotten the chance to do just that. Be it unknown to Leon, this night would change his life forever. As Leon recalls, Mr. Reed had obviously gotten drunk, and Leon was asked to take his place. "They snuck him out back, and came and got me" Leon recalls clearly. Mr. Reed was just too drunk to play". The crowd couldn't tell the difference and the show was a hit. Leon gave a show stopping performance. And thus he was born "LIL' JIMMY REED".
Now as Lil Jimmy Reed, it afforded him the opportunity to venture outside of his hometown, which made a tremendous impact for becoming a renowned blues entertainer. Leon also realized that he would need something more stable and therefore decided to join the military and fulfill a 20 year career in the Army. Upon retiring from his military duties he then was free to follow through with his childhood dream of being a full time Blues Entertainer. Lil Jimmy Reed has done opening acts and performed with well known artists such as, (USA) - Bobby Blue Bland, Ike Turner, Little Milton, Marvin Sease, Shirley Murdock, Clarence Carter, Rafel Neal and Family, Lyn White, Tabby Thomas, The Love Doctor, Billy Soul Bonds, Willie Clayton; (UK) - Otis Grand (2006); (Iceland) - Andrea og Bluesman; (Denmark)- Troels Jenson to HpLange; (Sweden) - Sven Zetterberg Bluesband, Harry Banks Buzzers, Paul & The Blue Delivery (Finland) - Pepe Ahqvist and many more would be a much appreciated reality.
His accomplishments have been recording his own 45 record, and CD's. Leon also continues to enjoy playing, and performing for various shows, Blues and Jazz concerts, schools, parties, weddings, promotional events, and many more. Leon has also entertained many in the political arena including Gov. Don Seigelman or Alabama. He has also made appearances on the Ann Varmun Morning Show - Dothan, AL. In 1995, the Alabama Blue Society presented Leon with the Alabama Blue Treasure Award. The Alabama Blues Project is dedicated to helping provide a support for the lesser known bluesmen and women living and performing regularly in Alabama. Leon has also played for many of the festivals around the South including the New Orleans Jazz and heritage Festivals, The Tampa Florida Blues Ship and many small and local clubs in Europe and Korea.
Lil Jimmy Reed continues to play as states "it just get better with time!!".
Lil' Jimmy Reed Band Feat. Robert Fossen.(USA/UK/NL)#8
Lil Jimmy Reed performs at the Wiregrass Blues Fest
Johnny Burgin *14.07.
Chicago Blues vom Feinsten mit Rockin Johnny, einem außergewöhnlichen Gitarristen und Sänger.
The Rockin’ Johnny Band zählt zu den beliebtesten Gruppen der Blues-Metropole Chicago. Durch ihre bodenständige und energiegeladene Live-Performance erlangte die Band um den Ausnahmegitarristen Johnny Burgin schnell lokalen Kultstatus. Nach und nach wurden dann alle wichtigen USA-Festivals gespielt, vier Alben veröffentlicht und es ging auf Europa-Tournee.The Rockin’ Johnny Band spielt Modern Chicago Blues, ist aber auch für Funk-, Rock- und Swing-Abstecher offen.
Auf Europa Tournee ist Rockin Johnny mit einer Band die bereits im Muddy's Club für Furore gesorgt hat. Die Little Boogie Boy Bluesband, die mit John Primer ihr Gastspiel gab.
The Rockin' Johnny Band has been one of Chicago's most loved blues bands since 1995. Their music has been played on WXRT's "Local Anaesthetic" and "Blues Breakers" radio shows, the band has often been featured at The Chicago Blues Festival, and they regularly work in Chicagoland's best blues clubs such as Buddy Guy's Legends. Their CDs and live performances have drawn great reviews in Living Blues, The Chicago Sun Times, Pioneer Press, and National Public Radio's "848".
Guitarist Johnny Burgin came to Chicago from South Carolina to attend the University of Chicago, and earned the name "Rockin' Johnny" as a DJ at the college radio station WHPK. Rockin' Johnny began playing in the ghetto clubs of Chicago's West Side with blues singer Taildragger, and then began touring nationally as a sideman with former Howlin' Wolf drummer Sam Lay and blues piano legend Pinetop Perkins.
After learning from the masters, he put his own band together. Things started happening for the Rockin' Johnny Band after they took a Monday night residency at The Smoke Daddy in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. Their original, energetic approach soon made them a strong local draw week after week and year after year, bringing in blues aficionados, every musician in town, and a younger crowd that normally didn't go to hear blues bands. The atmosphere the band generated was so electric, that Delmark Records offered them a contract after hearing just one set. This was especially exciting because the prestigious Chicago label is revered by blues aficionados as the home of Junior Wells and Johnny's idol, Magic Sam!
Since those days, they've regularly toured Europe, played festivals and headlined clubs all over the Midwest. The Rockin' Johnny Band has recorded five CDs including "Grim Reaper", released in April of 2012. A true "musician's musician",Rockin' Johnny has been one of Chicago's most in-demand blues session men since the 90s, contributing his incisive playing to over a dozen CDs by artists such as Billy Boy Arnold, Jimmy Burns, Tail Dragger, Little Arthur Duncan, Paul DeLay and many more.
The Rockin' Johnny Band plays vintage Chicago blues, but also is known for a wide repertoire which ventures into Stax style soul, swing, and lots of originals that are harder to classify. On stage, the band performs with spontaneity and fun, always showcasing fantastic guitar playing. Living Blues states: "top notch ensemble work, with power, drive, and a keen sense of dynamics". The band consists of true veterans: Rick Kreher (rhythm guitar) played rhythm guitar with Muddy Waters for four years; John Sefner (bass) was formerly with Studebaker John and Eddie Kirkland; and Steve Bass (drums) also plays with Chicago blues legend Eddy Clearwater.
Here's what some of Chicago's most in the know critics and music business figures have to say about Rockin' Johnny and The Rockin Johnny Band:
Bruce Iglauer, Alligator Records: "Rockin Johnny delivers the raw, rough-edged spirit of real Chicago blues".
Dick Shurman, writer for Living Blues, blues producer: "Rockin' Johnny has brought a refreshing jolt of talent, feeling and affirmation of the Windy City's guitar tradition. Johnny has always been known as a crowd pleaser with rawness, drive, a tight band and a scholarly and musical mastery of the local blues repertoire and vocabulary. He's extra interesting and distinctive because, instead of the overdone warhorses sometimes called "the set list from hell," Johnny mines more obscure building blocks like Little Smokey Smothers, Hip Linkchain or Willie James Lyons, adding to his appeal to hard core purists as well as more casual lovers of powerful Chicago blues. It adds up to a winning combination of depth, a bite like the winter wind, tradition and an up-to-the minute wallop, and offers a guaranteed winner for all who see or book the band."
Rockin' Johnny Burgin LIVE in California! 2015
Delmar recording artist Johnny Burgin at Monday Night Blues
R.I.P.
Spencer Williams +14.07.1965
Spencer Williams (* 14. Oktober 1889 in New Orleans; † 14. Juli 1965 in Flushing, New York) war ein US-amerikanischer Musiker (Piano, Gesang) und Komponist im Bereich des frühen Jazz und der frühen Popmusik.
Leben und Wirken
Williams, dessen Mutter früh starb, wuchs bei seiner Patentante, der Bordellbesitzerin Lulu White, in der legendären Mahagony Hall auf (der er später seinen Mahagony Hall Stomp widmete). Er studierte an der St. Charles University seiner Heimatstadt Musik und war bald ein angesehener Ragtimepianist[1]
1907 konzertierte Williams in Chicago; um 1916 zog er nach New York City. Dort schrieb er mit Anton Lada von den Louisiana Five erste Songs und weitere Songs mit Fats Waller, etwa Squeeze Me (1918). 1925 begleitete er Josephine Baker auf ihrer ersten Europatournee, um nach drei Jahren wieder nach Amerika zurückzukehren. In den nächsten Jahren arbeitete er mit Lonnie Johnson und Teddy Bunn. 1936 ging er nach England, wo er mit Benny Carter wirkte (When Lights Are Low). Auch verbrachte er einen Großteil der 1950er Jahre in Schweden, Erst 1957 kehrte er wieder in die USA zurück.
Williams ist der Komponist zahlreicher Jazz- und Bluestitel - von ihm stammen zum Beispiel Basin Street Blues, I Ain’t Gonna Give Nobody None o’ This Jelly-Roll, I Ain't Got Nobody, Royal Garden Blues, I've Found a New Baby, Everybody Loves My Baby, Tishomingo Blues oder Careless Love, die er zum Teil auch mit (dem nicht verwandten) Clarence Williams verfasste.
Williams wurde 1970 in die Songwriters Hall of Fame aufgenommen.
Spencer Williams (October 14, 1889 – July 14, 1965) was an African-American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs "Basin Street Blues", "I Ain't Got Nobody", "Royal Garden Blues", "I've Found a New Baby", "Everybody Loves My Baby", "Tishomingo Blues", and many others.
Biography
Spencer Williams was born in New Orleans. He was educated at St. Charles University in New Orleans.[1][2]
Williams was performing in Chicago by 1907, and moved to New York City about 1916. After arriving in New York, he co-wrote several songs with Anton Lada of the Louisiana Five. Among those songs was "Basin Street Blues", which became one of his most popular songs and is still recorded by musicians to this day.[2]
Williams toured Europe with bands from 1925 to 1928; during this time he wrote for Josephine Baker at the Folies Bergère in Paris. Williams then returned to New York for a few years. In 1932, he moved to Europe for good, spending many years in London before moving to Stockholm in 1951, where he spent most of the rest of his life. Williams was married to Pat Castleton (a stage name of Agnes Bage). They had two daughters together called Della and Lindy.[3] Williams returned to New York shortly before his death in Flushing, New York on July 14, 1965.[2]
His hit songs include "Basin Street Blues", "She'll Be Comin Around That Mountain", "I Ain't Got Nobody", "Royal Garden Blues", "Mahogany Hall Stomp", "I've Found a New Baby", "Everybody Loves My Baby", "Shimmy-Sha-Wobble", "Boodle Am Shake", "Tishomingo Blues", "Fireworks", "I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None of My Jelly Roll", "Arkansas Blues", "Paradise Blues", "When Lights Are Low","Dallas Blues", and "My Man o’ War".
Williams was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
Biography
Spencer Williams was born in New Orleans. He was educated at St. Charles University in New Orleans.[1][2]
Williams was performing in Chicago by 1907, and moved to New York City about 1916. After arriving in New York, he co-wrote several songs with Anton Lada of the Louisiana Five. Among those songs was "Basin Street Blues", which became one of his most popular songs and is still recorded by musicians to this day.[2]
Williams toured Europe with bands from 1925 to 1928; during this time he wrote for Josephine Baker at the Folies Bergère in Paris. Williams then returned to New York for a few years. In 1932, he moved to Europe for good, spending many years in London before moving to Stockholm in 1951, where he spent most of the rest of his life. Williams was married to Pat Castleton (a stage name of Agnes Bage). They had two daughters together called Della and Lindy.[3] Williams returned to New York shortly before his death in Flushing, New York on July 14, 1965.[2]
His hit songs include "Basin Street Blues", "She'll Be Comin Around That Mountain", "I Ain't Got Nobody", "Royal Garden Blues", "Mahogany Hall Stomp", "I've Found a New Baby", "Everybody Loves My Baby", "Shimmy-Sha-Wobble", "Boodle Am Shake", "Tishomingo Blues", "Fireworks", "I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None of My Jelly Roll", "Arkansas Blues", "Paradise Blues", "When Lights Are Low","Dallas Blues", and "My Man o’ War".
Williams was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.
Tishomingo Blues by Spencer Williams (1917, Blues piano)
Basin Street Blues by Spencer Williams / Jennings
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