1912 Merline Johnson* 1)
1917 Moses Rascoe*
1945 James Beck "Jim" Gordon*
1953 Roger Wilson*
1956 Kat Baloun*
1974 Lightnin’ Slim+
1982 Morris Pejoe+ *1924 1)
2002 Roscoe Shelton+
Otilia Donaire*
1) der genaue Termin ist dem Autor nicht bekannt
Happy Birthday
James Beck "Jim" Gordon *27.07.1945
This photo, taken on March 19, 1996, is Sounds Incarcerated. From L-R:
Randy Chaplain, Boston Woodard, Jim Gordon, Joe Shelton, Wolfgang
Cribbs.
Jim Gordon (* 1945 in Los Angeles, Kalifornien; eigentlich James Beck Gordon) ist ein Grammy-ausgezeichneter, US-amerikanischer Schlagzeuger und Songwriter und war Mitglied von Derek and the Dominos.
Seine Karriere als Schlagzeuger begann 1963, als er für die Everly Brothers zum Einsatz kam. In der Folgezeit wurde er ein vielgefragter Studiomusiker und spielte auf zahlreichen Alben namhafter Stars und Bands, unter anderem auf Pet Sounds der Beach Boys und Imagine von John Lennon.
Zwischen 1969 und 1970 tourte er mit der Band Delaney & Bonnie. Zu dieser Zeit spielte dort auch Eric Clapton, der in der Folge die komplette Rhythmusgruppe, bestehend aus Gordon, Bassist Carl Radle und Keyboarder Bobby Whitlock, in seine neue Band Derek and the Dominos übernahm. Hierdurch kam auch die Mitwirkung Gordons am Album All Things Must Pass von George Harrison zustande.
Auf dem ersten und einzigen Album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970) spielte Gordon nicht nur das Schlagzeug, sondern auch das Piano auf dem Titelstück Layla, welches er zusammen mit Clapton geschrieben hatte. Noch bevor das zweite Album aufgenommen worden war, trennten sich Derek and the Dominos bereits ein Jahr später wieder, u.a. bedingt durch den Tod von Duane Allman.
1970 tourte Gordon mit Joe Cocker, 1971 mit Traffic, 1972 mit Frank Zappa. Auf dem 1974er Zappa-Album Apostrophe (’) wirkte er am Titelstück als Schlagzeuger und Songwriter mit. Fester Schlagzeuger einer Band war er zwischen 1973 bis 1975 bei der Souther-Hillman-Furay Band.
Ende der 1970er Jahre begann sich Gordon über Halluzinationen zu beklagen, er glaubte Stimmen in seinem Kopf zu hören. Da sich sein Zustand nicht besserte, zog er sich 1981 aus der Öffentlichkeit zurück. 1984 wurde er wegen Mordes an seiner Mutter zu mindestens 16 Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt. Gordon sitzt nach wie vor hinter Gittern.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Gordon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th3ycKQV_4k
James Beck "Jim" Gordon (born July 14, 1945)[1] is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was a very frequently used session drummer in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording with many well-known musicians of the time,[2] and was the drummer in the blues rock supergroup Derek and the Dominos, Little Richard and Delaney & Bonnie. Gordon played drums on George Harrison's 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. In 1983, Gordon, at the time an undiagnosed schizophrenic, murdered his mother and was sentenced to sixteen years to life in prison.
Music career
Gordon was raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles and attended Grant High School.[3] He passed up a music scholarship to UCLA in order to begin his professional career in 1963, at age seventeen, backing The Everly Brothers, and went on to become one of the most sought-after recording session drummers in Los Angeles. The protégé of studio drummer Hal Blaine, Gordon performed on many notable recordings in the 1960s, including Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys (1966), Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers by Gene Clark (1967), The Notorious Byrd Brothers by The Byrds (1968) and the hit "Classical Gas" by Mason Williams (1968). At the height of his career Gordon was reportedly so busy as a studio musician that he flew back to Los Angeles from Las Vegas every day to do two or three recording sessions, and then return in time to play the evening show at Caesars Palace.
In 1969 and 1970, Gordon toured as part of the backing band for the group Delaney & Bonnie, which at the time included Eric Clapton. Clapton subsequently took over the group's rhythm section — Gordon, bassist Carl Radle and keyboardist-singer-songwriter Bobby Whitlock. They formed a new band that was later called Derek and the Dominos. The band's first studio work was as the house band for George Harrison's first solo album, the three-disc set All Things Must Pass.
Gordon then played on Derek and the Dominos' 1970 double album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, contributing, in addition to his drumming, the elegiac piano coda for the title track, "Layla." In later years, Whitlock claimed that the coda was not written by Gordon: "Jim took that piano melody from his ex-girlfriend Rita Coolidge. I know because in the D&B days I lived in John Garfield's old house in the Hollywood Hills and there was a guest house with an upright piano in it. Rita and Jim were up there in the guest house and invited me to join in on writing this song with them called 'Time.'... Her sister Priscilla wound up recording it with Booker T. Jones.... Jim took the melody from Rita's song and didn't give her credit for writing it. Her boyfriend ripped her off."[4] In his book, Graham Nash made the same claim for his one-time girlfriend.[5] "Time" was not released by Priscilla Coolidge and Booker T. until their 1973 album Chronicles.[6]
He also played with the band on subsequent U.S. and UK tours. The group split in spring 1971 before they finished recording their second album.
In 1970, Gordon was part of Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour and played on Dave Mason's album Alone Together. In 1971, he toured with Traffic and appeared on two of their albums, including The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. That same year he played on Harry Nilsson's Nilsson Schmilsson album, contributing the drum solo to the track "Jump into the Fire". In 1972, Gordon was part of Frank Zappa's 20-piece "Grand Wazoo" big band tour, and the subsequent 10-piece "Petit Wazoo" band. Perhaps his best-known recording with Zappa is the title track of the 1974 album Apostrophe ('), a jam with Zappa and Tony Duran on guitar and Jack Bruce on bass guitar, for which both Bruce and Gordon received a writing credit (Zappa, when introducing Gordon onstage, frequently referred to him as "Skippy" due to his youthful appearance). Also in 1974, Gordon played on the majority of tracks on Steely Dan's album Pretzel Logic, including the single "Rikki Don't Lose That Number". He again worked with Chris Hillman of the Byrds as the drummer in the Souther–Hillman–Furay Band from 1973 to 1975. He also played drums on three tracks on Alice Cooper's 1976 album, Alice Cooper Goes to Hell. Gordon was the drummer on the Incredible Bongo Band's Bongo Rock album, released in 1972, and his drum break on the LP's version of "Apache" has been frequently sampled by rap music artists.[7]
Mental health and Murder of mother
Gordon developed schizophrenia and began to hear voices, including those of his mother, which forced him to starve himself and prevented him from sleeping, relaxing or playing drums.[8] His physicians misdiagnosed the problems and instead treated him for alcohol abuse.[citation needed]
In 1983, he attacked his 72-year-old mother, Osa Marie Gordon, with a hammer before fatally stabbing her with a butcher knife, after claiming the voice told him to kill her.[7][9][10]
It was after he was arrested for murdering his mother that he was properly diagnosed with schizophrenia and, although at the trial the court accepted that Gordon had acute schizophrenia, he was not allowed to use an insanity defense because of changes to California law due to the Insanity Defense Reform Act.,[8] dismissed by Lawrence Z. Freedman as "ineffective".[11]
On July 10, 1984 Gordon was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison.[12] While first eligible for parole in 1992, he was denied several times. At a 2005 hearing he claimed his mother was still alive. In 2014 he declined to attend his hearing, and was denied parole until at least 2018. A Los Angeles deputy district attorney stated at the hearing that he was still "seriously psychologically incapacitated" and "a danger when he is not taking his medication".[13] As of 2015 he is serving his sentence at the California Medical Facility, a specialist medical and psychiatric prison in Vacaville, California.
Music career
Gordon was raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles and attended Grant High School.[3] He passed up a music scholarship to UCLA in order to begin his professional career in 1963, at age seventeen, backing The Everly Brothers, and went on to become one of the most sought-after recording session drummers in Los Angeles. The protégé of studio drummer Hal Blaine, Gordon performed on many notable recordings in the 1960s, including Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys (1966), Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers by Gene Clark (1967), The Notorious Byrd Brothers by The Byrds (1968) and the hit "Classical Gas" by Mason Williams (1968). At the height of his career Gordon was reportedly so busy as a studio musician that he flew back to Los Angeles from Las Vegas every day to do two or three recording sessions, and then return in time to play the evening show at Caesars Palace.
In 1969 and 1970, Gordon toured as part of the backing band for the group Delaney & Bonnie, which at the time included Eric Clapton. Clapton subsequently took over the group's rhythm section — Gordon, bassist Carl Radle and keyboardist-singer-songwriter Bobby Whitlock. They formed a new band that was later called Derek and the Dominos. The band's first studio work was as the house band for George Harrison's first solo album, the three-disc set All Things Must Pass.
Gordon then played on Derek and the Dominos' 1970 double album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, contributing, in addition to his drumming, the elegiac piano coda for the title track, "Layla." In later years, Whitlock claimed that the coda was not written by Gordon: "Jim took that piano melody from his ex-girlfriend Rita Coolidge. I know because in the D&B days I lived in John Garfield's old house in the Hollywood Hills and there was a guest house with an upright piano in it. Rita and Jim were up there in the guest house and invited me to join in on writing this song with them called 'Time.'... Her sister Priscilla wound up recording it with Booker T. Jones.... Jim took the melody from Rita's song and didn't give her credit for writing it. Her boyfriend ripped her off."[4] In his book, Graham Nash made the same claim for his one-time girlfriend.[5] "Time" was not released by Priscilla Coolidge and Booker T. until their 1973 album Chronicles.[6]
He also played with the band on subsequent U.S. and UK tours. The group split in spring 1971 before they finished recording their second album.
In 1970, Gordon was part of Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour and played on Dave Mason's album Alone Together. In 1971, he toured with Traffic and appeared on two of their albums, including The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. That same year he played on Harry Nilsson's Nilsson Schmilsson album, contributing the drum solo to the track "Jump into the Fire". In 1972, Gordon was part of Frank Zappa's 20-piece "Grand Wazoo" big band tour, and the subsequent 10-piece "Petit Wazoo" band. Perhaps his best-known recording with Zappa is the title track of the 1974 album Apostrophe ('), a jam with Zappa and Tony Duran on guitar and Jack Bruce on bass guitar, for which both Bruce and Gordon received a writing credit (Zappa, when introducing Gordon onstage, frequently referred to him as "Skippy" due to his youthful appearance). Also in 1974, Gordon played on the majority of tracks on Steely Dan's album Pretzel Logic, including the single "Rikki Don't Lose That Number". He again worked with Chris Hillman of the Byrds as the drummer in the Souther–Hillman–Furay Band from 1973 to 1975. He also played drums on three tracks on Alice Cooper's 1976 album, Alice Cooper Goes to Hell. Gordon was the drummer on the Incredible Bongo Band's Bongo Rock album, released in 1972, and his drum break on the LP's version of "Apache" has been frequently sampled by rap music artists.[7]
Mental health and Murder of mother
Gordon developed schizophrenia and began to hear voices, including those of his mother, which forced him to starve himself and prevented him from sleeping, relaxing or playing drums.[8] His physicians misdiagnosed the problems and instead treated him for alcohol abuse.[citation needed]
In 1983, he attacked his 72-year-old mother, Osa Marie Gordon, with a hammer before fatally stabbing her with a butcher knife, after claiming the voice told him to kill her.[7][9][10]
It was after he was arrested for murdering his mother that he was properly diagnosed with schizophrenia and, although at the trial the court accepted that Gordon had acute schizophrenia, he was not allowed to use an insanity defense because of changes to California law due to the Insanity Defense Reform Act.,[8] dismissed by Lawrence Z. Freedman as "ineffective".[11]
On July 10, 1984 Gordon was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison.[12] While first eligible for parole in 1992, he was denied several times. At a 2005 hearing he claimed his mother was still alive. In 2014 he declined to attend his hearing, and was denied parole until at least 2018. A Los Angeles deputy district attorney stated at the hearing that he was still "seriously psychologically incapacitated" and "a danger when he is not taking his medication".[13] As of 2015 he is serving his sentence at the California Medical Facility, a specialist medical and psychiatric prison in Vacaville, California.
Layla - Derek and the Dominos
Released in 1970, Layla is one of the most known and loved rock songs of
all time. Originally a ballad composed by Clapton about his unrequited
love for Pattie Boyd, wife of his friend George Harrison, with an added
piano coda by Jim Gordon, Duane Allman signed on to the project, turning
the ballad into the riff-driven rocker that it is today. It was
released on the album "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs," Derek and
the Dominos' sole album, although an unplugged version performed by just
Clapton was released on "Unplugged" twenty years later.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th3ycKQV_4k
Moses Rascoe *27.07.1917
Moses Rascoe got his first guitar in North Carolina at the age of 13 and turned professional in Pennsylvania some 50-odd years later. In between, he traveled the roads as a day laborer and truck driver, playing guitar only for "a dollar or a drink," as he told Jack Roberts in Living Blues. But he'd picked up plenty of songs over the years, from old Brownie McGhee Piedmont blues to Jimmy Reed's '50s jukebox hits, and when he retired from trucking at the age of 65, he gave his music a shot. The local folk-music community took notice, as did blues and folk festivals from Chicago to Europe. Rascoe recorded his first album live at Godfrey Daniels, a Pennsylvania coffeehouse, in 1987.
Moses Rascoe - John Henry
Kat Baloun *27.07.1956
Born Katherine Elise Baloun, July 27, 1956 in El Paso, Texas, I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. My mother, Mary Lou (deceased Dec. 06) was a classical pianist & organist, and she directed the church choir in which my father and I sang. My mother got me started on the piano with 5 and at 7 I learned the violin and then at 13 I picked up the harmonica. At this time there was a new genre of blues music coming out, along with the old, that had influenced me. During my teens and twenties I played only occasionaly. 22 years later (1991) I met several musicians as I was living in San Francisco. They encouraged me to start playing the harmonica again. Shortly thereafter (1992), I joined the Elmer Lee Thomas Blues Band as harp player and then was later encouraged to sing. In 1994 I moved to Berlin and put my own band together. Through the years I'd met several accomplished musicians in Berlin and the surrounding areas. In 2002 I formed a band with Nina T. Davis. Together, we assembled the Alleycats (see Alleycats) and have two cd's. In 1998 I met Hattie St. John, who had also moved to Berlin from New Zealand. Together we have our duo, called, Ladies First. We have done two cd's together. Our program consists of an acoustic-folk-blues- jazz formulation. I've also been invited to play with Blues Rudy from Wittenberg, and with the Wild Women. The Wild Women is a band formulated by Micha Maass (on drums) with Nina, on piano, Amy Zapf on bass, Tina Tandler, sax, and Veronica Vogel on the guitar. Together we are one powerful band to be reckoned with. Also, I need to give thanks to my higher power and a big thank you to the help of family, friends and fans. Without them I would not have survived the lean years.Not only do I work with local Berliner musicians, but I am always encouraging my friends from the S.F./ Bay Area to come over and play. Thanks for taking a look at my website and hope to see y'all real soon.
"Down Home Blues" - Kat Baloun - Oxident-session
Roger “Hurricane” Wilson *27.07.1953
Guitarist and songwriter, Roger “Hurricane” Wilson, was born on July 27, 1953 in Newark, New Jersey. When he was a year old, his parents moved to a little town on the Jersey shore, in search of a life other than in the city. Life there was typical for a young family in the early 50′s. There are memories of Elvis singing “Love Me Tender”, and Tennessee Ernie Ford singing “Sixteen Tons” ringing from radios and turntables everywhere-melodies that would haunt him forever. In September of 1960, the peaceful existence was turned upside down when the town was virtually destroyed by the still legendary hurricane “Donna”. The town was never the same from that day on.
One day, Roger discovered that one of his friends was taking guitar lessons. Immediately, as kids typically do, he wanted to do the same. His mother took him to his first lesson on January 7, 1963, at the age of 9, and rented a plastic beginner guitar. As his teacher taught him individual notes week after week, Roger was still inclined to find cool sounds coming out when the strings were struck together as chords. This music thing sure appeared to come quite easily, and naturally. Although the teacher would have preferred Roger give priority to his assigned lessons, they tended to take a back seat. The teacher, a mild-mannered white gentleman with horned rimmed glasses and winged tipped shoes, just did not understand. Later on, Roger started taking trumpet lessons in order to join the elementary school marching band, and tolerated them while in reality, all he wanted to do was play the drums. He later saved up to buy his own drum paraphernalia, and started wood shedding that too. On one special parade day in Red Bank, NJ, while in the eighth grade, the school band drummers didn’t show up. The band director handed a snare drum to Roger, and said “this is your shot”! He received a special award on the last day of school in front of the whole student body for saving the day.
The next year, in February of 1964, Roger was in front of the TV on Sunday night when the Beatles made their American debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. Being an only child, he was unaware of the curve ball being thrown at American kids everywhere. All he noticed, other than the screaming girls, was that there were THREE guitars on the stage, and one was being played BACKWARDS! The next day, all of the kids were acting crazy! They were combing their hair down in front, and some had these wild looking pointed boots; and they were all playing air guitar! Roger had already been playing guitar, and making his teacher mad for well over a year. Next to the Kennedy assassination during the previous November, this was pretty traumatic. Next, Roger got his first electric guitar, and the next couple of years were spent playing, or attempting to play music in various garage bands by The Kinks, The Beatles, The Yardbirds, The Animals, Paul Revere & The Raiders, while of course trying to match the lead licks of “Louie, Louie” and “Hang On Sloopy”. Ironically, most of that music was remakes of old blues tunes.
In 1967, upon graduating from grammar school, the little Jersey shore town didn’t have their own high school. The surrounding townships were bussing kids wherever they could fit them in. Roger’s parents thought it best to place him in a more positive environment. They sent him to a private prep school in Atlanta. The “bubble-gum” music era was in full swing, and after being subjected to “Monkees” TV show for the last year or two, Roger found it quite nauseating. While there, the 14 year old became addicted and taken in by the music of Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Eddie Floyd, and Booker T. & The MG’s. The Memphis sound and feel started unknowingly planting its obsession. Roger, of course was immediately drafted by the school band to play trumpet, but the band director would occasionally let him replace undependable drummers. 1968 showed up when Hendrix, The Doors, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Janis Joplin, and “psychedelic” music, referred to then as “underground” music, raised its sleeping head. B.B. King’s “The Thrill is Gone” hit the airwaves, and according to Roger, “there was something going on”. The single lead, vibrato notes pioneered by B.B. were essentially drawing him in. He bore down on the guitar, and learned as much as he could about the music, and the artists that made it. When meeting B.B. King in later years, he explained to the blues master what had happened.
1970 had Roger making weekly pilgrimages to Atlanta’s Piedmont Park to hear bands, mainly The Allman Brothers Band. Not much was remembered in detail until the night of June 16, 1971, when The Brothers played their first sold out show in Atlanta’s Municipal Auditorium. The 17 year old stood 6 feet away from Duane Allman, and was completely swept off of his feet. After years of guitar lessons, a knee-high stack of guitar books and sheet music, the boy was never the same! The slide guitar playing that night in itself was another force to be reckoned with. In the days that followed, he was haunted by what he had seen, and heard. Roger began wearing out Allman Brothers Band albums trying to capture that sound. His next reaction was, “the hell with everything else”! All he wanted to do now was play as well as he could.
During his senior year in high school, he was bestowed the title of drum major in the high school marching band. On October 29, 1971, Roger was conducting the school band through the national anthem on the field at a football game. After the game, he heard the radio report of Duane Allman’s death in a motorcycle accident in Macon – another traumatic moment in addition to JFK’s assassination, The Beatles, and the death of his grandfather in ’67. He immediately started bearing down on the music even harder. When the Duane Allan “Anthology” came out in late 1972, the enclosed literature spoke of how Duane’s eyes used to light up at the mention of Robert Johnson. Who was that? Thus began the search for the origins of the music that made all of this happen. Robert Johnson, Willie McTell, and Elmore James albums were only the scratching of the surface for this musically consumed 19 year old.RW SR 2
After a year back in New Jersey following high school, Roger headed back to Georgia in 1973, determined to play guitar. He got a job teaching in a private studio, and eventually took it over as his own business. Success came about by teaching people what THEY wanted to learn. He named his business “The Roger Wilson Guitar Studio”, and he soon had an extensive waiting list of students wanting to learn how to have fun with the instrument, as opposed to suffering with it. With the business up and running, and fed up with playing with mediocre bands, he started the “Roger Wilson Band” in 1978. If the name worked for the studio, why not a band? It did! He went from the garage to opening shows for people like Albert Collins, 38 Special, and various Skynyrd spin-off bands. Roger says he mostly enjoyed working with a very young Johnny van Zant, now lead singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd, on numerous occasions. A jam with Stevie Ray Vaughn at a now defunct club in 1980, along with a two and a half hour jam with Albert Collins in 1979 at Atlanta’s Agora Ballroom are 2 of Roger’s highlighted memories. These along with a close friendship formed with guitarist Roy Buchanan make for book material alone. The RWB lasted until 1983. Still not quite at home with the other band members’ visions, he made some personal changes in 1983, and formed a 3 piece unit called “Roger Wilson & The Low Overhead Band.” This act was simple, cheap, and easy to move. With this act up and running, Roger did shows with Dickey Betts, Little Feat, Three Dog Night, Leon Russell & Edgar Winter, Marshall Tucker Band, Roomful of Blues, and was starting to regain momentum. While on a northeast tour in 1993, it came to the attention of Roger’s soon to be producer that people were screwingup his name. After a disc jockey virtually butchered it during a North Carolina radio interview, with the name in BOLD LETTERS in front of him that was it! Hottrax record producer, Aleck Janoulis, said you need a “moniker”, something for people to remember you by. He also noted that Roger had a habit of going into a town, virtually making a mess with the music, and then leaving early in the morning to go back to work. This along with the childhood hurricane experience led to the stage name, Roger “Hurricane” Wilson. It became official at the next show in Washington, DC. It was determined that you could forget his name, but no one would forget “Hurricane”. Since then, there have been shows and festivals with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Little Milton, John Mayall, and Savoy Brown, to name just a few.
The most recent highlight was in New York City while attending the regular Monday night gig of guitar and recording pioneer, Les Paul at the Iridium Jazz Club at 51st and Broadway. After the first show, Roger introduced himself to and spoke briefly with Les’ son, Rusty Paul, and was invited to get onstage for a few tunes with the master in September of 2003. Since then, no visit to New York City is complete without stopping by on Monday night to hang out and jam with Les Paul.
The first CD, “Hurricane Blues”, released in 1994 on Hottrax Records, has received airplay on well over 100 stations across the U.S., and is being distributed nationally. The second Hottrax project, “Live From The Eye Of The Storm”, was released in 1996, and enjoyed the same, if not better response than “Hurricane Blues”. In addition to playing between 250 and 300 nights a year, Roger also produced and hosted his own syndicated radio show on nearly 10 stations around the country.
In 1997, Roger decided that it was time to step to the next level. At the advice of his distributor, he decided to form his own record company, Bluestorm Records. This venture gave rise to the third CD, “The Business of The Blues”. The title track was written about the daily challenges of daily life on the road. Also featured on this CD are 5 acoustic tunes, which started to establish Roger’s acoustic work, which has become a separate entity, and occasional combination with his electric sound. The fourth CD is called “Live At The Stanhope House”, recorded at that legendary blues club in New Jersey. A fifth effort, all solo acoustic, “Pastime” has received critical acclaim, and the sixth CD called “The Ohio Connection” was released in late April, 2004. Since then, there have been more than 10 CD’s and download singles released.
It was just about 50 years ago in 1963 when Roger, barely 10 years old at the time, took his first guitar lesson and since then there’s been no looking back. Over the last 40 years, Roger’s involvement has reached into pretty much every aspect of the music business. Being a musician, a singer, a songwriter, a record label owner/operator, an advisory board member of the Georgia Music Industry Association, an International Blues Competition judge, and having 40 years of broadcasting experience on TV, radio and the Internet, finding something in the industry he’s not familiar with would equal finding the needle in the haystack. On top of all of that, for the last 10 years, Roger has been involved with one of the strongest tools that exist in the efforts of keeping the blues alive and that’s educating young people about the genre. Through his involvement with the Blues in the Schools Program, he does just that. If I may, I would like to tell you about two personal experiences I have had with Roger and his educational endeavors.
In 2006 while attending the “Springing The Blues” festival in Jacksonville Beach, FL, I was one of the thousands of people witnessing Roger being given the Key To The City for his participation in Blues In The Schools in Jacksonville area schools during the week of the event.
Additionally, while emceeing the 2012 Amelia Island Blues Festival at Fernandina Beach, FL, it was my honor to introduce Roger Hurricane Wilson and the Fernandina Beach High School Blues In The Schools Band and then watch them put on one heck of a performance. The look on these kids’ faces, while playing in front of a large festival crowd with Roger, was priceless. Again, during the week of the event Roger had been not only rehearsing with the boys and girls but educating them about the genre as well.
One day, Roger discovered that one of his friends was taking guitar lessons. Immediately, as kids typically do, he wanted to do the same. His mother took him to his first lesson on January 7, 1963, at the age of 9, and rented a plastic beginner guitar. As his teacher taught him individual notes week after week, Roger was still inclined to find cool sounds coming out when the strings were struck together as chords. This music thing sure appeared to come quite easily, and naturally. Although the teacher would have preferred Roger give priority to his assigned lessons, they tended to take a back seat. The teacher, a mild-mannered white gentleman with horned rimmed glasses and winged tipped shoes, just did not understand. Later on, Roger started taking trumpet lessons in order to join the elementary school marching band, and tolerated them while in reality, all he wanted to do was play the drums. He later saved up to buy his own drum paraphernalia, and started wood shedding that too. On one special parade day in Red Bank, NJ, while in the eighth grade, the school band drummers didn’t show up. The band director handed a snare drum to Roger, and said “this is your shot”! He received a special award on the last day of school in front of the whole student body for saving the day.
The next year, in February of 1964, Roger was in front of the TV on Sunday night when the Beatles made their American debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. Being an only child, he was unaware of the curve ball being thrown at American kids everywhere. All he noticed, other than the screaming girls, was that there were THREE guitars on the stage, and one was being played BACKWARDS! The next day, all of the kids were acting crazy! They were combing their hair down in front, and some had these wild looking pointed boots; and they were all playing air guitar! Roger had already been playing guitar, and making his teacher mad for well over a year. Next to the Kennedy assassination during the previous November, this was pretty traumatic. Next, Roger got his first electric guitar, and the next couple of years were spent playing, or attempting to play music in various garage bands by The Kinks, The Beatles, The Yardbirds, The Animals, Paul Revere & The Raiders, while of course trying to match the lead licks of “Louie, Louie” and “Hang On Sloopy”. Ironically, most of that music was remakes of old blues tunes.
In 1967, upon graduating from grammar school, the little Jersey shore town didn’t have their own high school. The surrounding townships were bussing kids wherever they could fit them in. Roger’s parents thought it best to place him in a more positive environment. They sent him to a private prep school in Atlanta. The “bubble-gum” music era was in full swing, and after being subjected to “Monkees” TV show for the last year or two, Roger found it quite nauseating. While there, the 14 year old became addicted and taken in by the music of Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Eddie Floyd, and Booker T. & The MG’s. The Memphis sound and feel started unknowingly planting its obsession. Roger, of course was immediately drafted by the school band to play trumpet, but the band director would occasionally let him replace undependable drummers. 1968 showed up when Hendrix, The Doors, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Janis Joplin, and “psychedelic” music, referred to then as “underground” music, raised its sleeping head. B.B. King’s “The Thrill is Gone” hit the airwaves, and according to Roger, “there was something going on”. The single lead, vibrato notes pioneered by B.B. were essentially drawing him in. He bore down on the guitar, and learned as much as he could about the music, and the artists that made it. When meeting B.B. King in later years, he explained to the blues master what had happened.
1970 had Roger making weekly pilgrimages to Atlanta’s Piedmont Park to hear bands, mainly The Allman Brothers Band. Not much was remembered in detail until the night of June 16, 1971, when The Brothers played their first sold out show in Atlanta’s Municipal Auditorium. The 17 year old stood 6 feet away from Duane Allman, and was completely swept off of his feet. After years of guitar lessons, a knee-high stack of guitar books and sheet music, the boy was never the same! The slide guitar playing that night in itself was another force to be reckoned with. In the days that followed, he was haunted by what he had seen, and heard. Roger began wearing out Allman Brothers Band albums trying to capture that sound. His next reaction was, “the hell with everything else”! All he wanted to do now was play as well as he could.
During his senior year in high school, he was bestowed the title of drum major in the high school marching band. On October 29, 1971, Roger was conducting the school band through the national anthem on the field at a football game. After the game, he heard the radio report of Duane Allman’s death in a motorcycle accident in Macon – another traumatic moment in addition to JFK’s assassination, The Beatles, and the death of his grandfather in ’67. He immediately started bearing down on the music even harder. When the Duane Allan “Anthology” came out in late 1972, the enclosed literature spoke of how Duane’s eyes used to light up at the mention of Robert Johnson. Who was that? Thus began the search for the origins of the music that made all of this happen. Robert Johnson, Willie McTell, and Elmore James albums were only the scratching of the surface for this musically consumed 19 year old.RW SR 2
After a year back in New Jersey following high school, Roger headed back to Georgia in 1973, determined to play guitar. He got a job teaching in a private studio, and eventually took it over as his own business. Success came about by teaching people what THEY wanted to learn. He named his business “The Roger Wilson Guitar Studio”, and he soon had an extensive waiting list of students wanting to learn how to have fun with the instrument, as opposed to suffering with it. With the business up and running, and fed up with playing with mediocre bands, he started the “Roger Wilson Band” in 1978. If the name worked for the studio, why not a band? It did! He went from the garage to opening shows for people like Albert Collins, 38 Special, and various Skynyrd spin-off bands. Roger says he mostly enjoyed working with a very young Johnny van Zant, now lead singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd, on numerous occasions. A jam with Stevie Ray Vaughn at a now defunct club in 1980, along with a two and a half hour jam with Albert Collins in 1979 at Atlanta’s Agora Ballroom are 2 of Roger’s highlighted memories. These along with a close friendship formed with guitarist Roy Buchanan make for book material alone. The RWB lasted until 1983. Still not quite at home with the other band members’ visions, he made some personal changes in 1983, and formed a 3 piece unit called “Roger Wilson & The Low Overhead Band.” This act was simple, cheap, and easy to move. With this act up and running, Roger did shows with Dickey Betts, Little Feat, Three Dog Night, Leon Russell & Edgar Winter, Marshall Tucker Band, Roomful of Blues, and was starting to regain momentum. While on a northeast tour in 1993, it came to the attention of Roger’s soon to be producer that people were screwingup his name. After a disc jockey virtually butchered it during a North Carolina radio interview, with the name in BOLD LETTERS in front of him that was it! Hottrax record producer, Aleck Janoulis, said you need a “moniker”, something for people to remember you by. He also noted that Roger had a habit of going into a town, virtually making a mess with the music, and then leaving early in the morning to go back to work. This along with the childhood hurricane experience led to the stage name, Roger “Hurricane” Wilson. It became official at the next show in Washington, DC. It was determined that you could forget his name, but no one would forget “Hurricane”. Since then, there have been shows and festivals with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Little Milton, John Mayall, and Savoy Brown, to name just a few.
The most recent highlight was in New York City while attending the regular Monday night gig of guitar and recording pioneer, Les Paul at the Iridium Jazz Club at 51st and Broadway. After the first show, Roger introduced himself to and spoke briefly with Les’ son, Rusty Paul, and was invited to get onstage for a few tunes with the master in September of 2003. Since then, no visit to New York City is complete without stopping by on Monday night to hang out and jam with Les Paul.
The first CD, “Hurricane Blues”, released in 1994 on Hottrax Records, has received airplay on well over 100 stations across the U.S., and is being distributed nationally. The second Hottrax project, “Live From The Eye Of The Storm”, was released in 1996, and enjoyed the same, if not better response than “Hurricane Blues”. In addition to playing between 250 and 300 nights a year, Roger also produced and hosted his own syndicated radio show on nearly 10 stations around the country.
In 1997, Roger decided that it was time to step to the next level. At the advice of his distributor, he decided to form his own record company, Bluestorm Records. This venture gave rise to the third CD, “The Business of The Blues”. The title track was written about the daily challenges of daily life on the road. Also featured on this CD are 5 acoustic tunes, which started to establish Roger’s acoustic work, which has become a separate entity, and occasional combination with his electric sound. The fourth CD is called “Live At The Stanhope House”, recorded at that legendary blues club in New Jersey. A fifth effort, all solo acoustic, “Pastime” has received critical acclaim, and the sixth CD called “The Ohio Connection” was released in late April, 2004. Since then, there have been more than 10 CD’s and download singles released.
It was just about 50 years ago in 1963 when Roger, barely 10 years old at the time, took his first guitar lesson and since then there’s been no looking back. Over the last 40 years, Roger’s involvement has reached into pretty much every aspect of the music business. Being a musician, a singer, a songwriter, a record label owner/operator, an advisory board member of the Georgia Music Industry Association, an International Blues Competition judge, and having 40 years of broadcasting experience on TV, radio and the Internet, finding something in the industry he’s not familiar with would equal finding the needle in the haystack. On top of all of that, for the last 10 years, Roger has been involved with one of the strongest tools that exist in the efforts of keeping the blues alive and that’s educating young people about the genre. Through his involvement with the Blues in the Schools Program, he does just that. If I may, I would like to tell you about two personal experiences I have had with Roger and his educational endeavors.
In 2006 while attending the “Springing The Blues” festival in Jacksonville Beach, FL, I was one of the thousands of people witnessing Roger being given the Key To The City for his participation in Blues In The Schools in Jacksonville area schools during the week of the event.
Additionally, while emceeing the 2012 Amelia Island Blues Festival at Fernandina Beach, FL, it was my honor to introduce Roger Hurricane Wilson and the Fernandina Beach High School Blues In The Schools Band and then watch them put on one heck of a performance. The look on these kids’ faces, while playing in front of a large festival crowd with Roger, was priceless. Again, during the week of the event Roger had been not only rehearsing with the boys and girls but educating them about the genre as well.
BY MY SIDE by Roger 'Hurricane" Wilson
Otilia Donaire *27.07.
"May music charm me last on earth, and greet me first in heaven"
Dreams are renewable, no matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born, -- Dale E. Turner
Music has been my refuge, reigniting my spirit in opening and feeding my soul in being the healing medicine to a broken heart. But it also has it's shares of highs and lows. My heart hasn't been healed but my spirit is reignited and I'm ready to spread my wings and fly as high as I can. Amazing Grace, that beautiful song of hope is my mantra and I will never let anyone get in my way of following my yellow brick road!
My last show of the summer with Against Leo was this past August for the 2014 Antioch Summer Concert Series. It was extremely painful to walk away from the band I loved that was so much a part of my life for the past 5+ years but it was time to branch out on my own. I will be eternally grateful to Tom Polling for being a part of my musical journey.
In Sept. of 2014 I started my own project, Otilia & The Back Alley Boys and you can catch my monthly shows at The Surf Spot in Pacifica and in SF at the historic Condor Club. We play up-beat, vintage rock and electric blues/soul covers and also blend in some of my originals that'll keep you on the dance floor. Please check out my website www.otiliadonaire.com for all my upcoming shows throughout the SF Bay area. I've got many more exciting things in the works in including a solo CD of blues-rock originals.
Otilia has a special ability to connect with her audience. Her confident and commanding stage presence, along with the passion and infectious energy she brings to every performance has drawn inspiration from music icons, Tina Turner and Mick Jagger, two of her childhood idols. Otilia consistently delivers a fun and interactive show filled with rock, blues and soul that'll make you want more. One thing you can always count on: when Otilia is singing, people are dancing.
A native of San Francisco, Otilia began singing at a very young age. As a performer on the local talent show circuit, she realized early on that music was in her blood and that singing was her true calling. Sadly, her vocal talents lay dormant for several decades. She reignited her passion for music some ten years ago when she first enrolled in San Francisco’s Blue Bear School of Music. There, she was mentored by the late bluesman Johnny Nitro, who helped her refine her vocal abilities and encouraged her to pursue her dreams.
In 2009, Otilia and one of her fellow students at Blue Bear – guitarist Tom Polling – formed the group Against Leo, which has been touring Bay Area music venues for the past five years. Against Leo released a CD of original blues, rock and country songs, titled “Need Band Will Travel,” in 2011. [Link to CD purchase site] Otilia left Against Leo in August of 2014 and is eternally grateful to Tom Polling for being an instrumental force in helping Otilia hone her musical abilities that enabled her to branch out and start her own band.
Otilia’s current project – “Otilia Donaire and The Back Alley Boys” – has her combining her singing talents with some of the Bay Area’s finest rock and blues musicians. You can find Otilia and her bandmates rocking the house at clubs, bars, festivals and parties around San Francisco and beyond. You can catch her monthly show in San Francisco at the famous Condor Club in North beach every first Sunday of the month and also on the coast at The Surf Spot in Pacifica every third Sunday of the month.
What to expect next? We just recorded our EP at Greaseland Studios in San Jose and expect to have a CD release party in early June.
Otilia and The Back Alley Boys Rockin' Long Tall Sally at The Fabulous Turf Club, Hayward, CA
Otilia Donaire and Club Fox jammers - 4/1/2015
Happy Birthday/R.I.P.
Merline Johnson Geb. ca. 1912*
* genaues Geburtsdatum und der Todestag sind dem Autor nicht bekannt
Merline Johnson (geboren als Merline Baker, * ca. 1912 oder 1918; † unbekannt[1]) war eine US-amerikanische Blues-Sängerin, die in den 1930er- und 1940er-Jahren als The Yas Yas Girl bakannt war.[2]
Leben und Wirken
Merline Johnson war eine Tante von LaVern Baker und wuchs in Carrington im Callaway County (Missouri) auf. Erste Aufnahmen entstanden 1937, wobei sie von Eddie Miller (Piano) begleitet wurde („Make Me a Pallet On the Floor“ und „I'm Leaving You“[3]). Zu ihren bekanntesten Songs gehörten „I'll Try to Forget“, der nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg von Piano Red als „Goodbye“ gecovert wurde,[4] „Good Old Easy Street“ und „Sold It To The Devil“. Insgesamt nahm Johnson bis 1941 u.a. für Vocalion und Conqueror Records über neunzig Songs auf, meist Juke Joint Songs wie „Don't You Make Me High“, „I'd Rather Be Drunk“ und „Love With a Feeling“.[5] Bei ihren Aufnahmen wurde sie u. a. von Blues- und Jazz-Musikern wie Big Bill Broonzy, Lonnie Johnson, Josh Altheimer, Blind John Davis, Buster Bennett und Punch Miller begleitet. Ihre letzten Plattenaufnahmen entstanden 1947, blieben aber zunächst unveröffentlicht.
Merline Johnson (born c. 1912, date of death unknown)[1] was an African-American blues singer in the 1930s and 1940s, billed as "The Yas Yas Girl".[2] "Yas Yas" was a common euphemism in blues hokum songs for "ass", for example in Blind Boy Fuller's "Get Yer Yas Yas Out" and Tampa Red's "The Duck's Yas-Yas-Yas".
Little is known of her life, but she is thought to have been born in Mississippi. She was the aunt of rhythm and blues singer LaVern Baker.[2] Johnson first recorded in Chicago in 1937. One early song was "Sold It To The Devil". Over the next four years she recorded over 90 songs, including "Don't You Make Me High", "I'd Rather Be Drunk", and "Love with a Feeling". She recorded a few risqué songs.[3]
Her speciality was a variety of juke joint-based blues, with songs such as "Drinking My Blues Away" and "I Just Keep on Drinking", delivered in her tough and unlovable voice.[3] She was backed on many of her recordings by top blues and jazz musicians including Big Bill Broonzy, Lonnie Johnson, Blind John Davis, Buster Bennett, and Punch Miller.[2] Many of these have been included on later blues compilations. Her final recordings, not issued at the time, were cut in 1947. Details of her later life are unknown.
R.I.P.
Lightnin’ Slim +27.07.1974
Lightnin’ Slim (eigentlich Otis Hicks; * 13. März 1913 bei St. Louis, Missouri; † 27. Juli 1974) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Gitarrist und Sänger, ein bedeutender Vertreter des Swamp Blues.
Geboren auf einer Farm bei St. Louis in Missouri, zog Lightnin’ Slim im Alter von 13 Jahren mit seiner Familie nach St. Francisville in Louisiana. Sein Bruder brachte ihm das Gitarrespielen bei, wenn auch nur rudimentär. In den 1940er-Jahren trat er in Baton Rouge mit Arthur Kelly auf. Während der 1950er und 1960er spielte er häufig mit seinem Schwager Slim Harpo. In dieser Zeit machte er etliche Plattenaufnahmen.
Mitte der 1960er-Jahre zog Lightnin’ Slim nach Detroit. Mit dem American Folk Blues Festival tourte er in Europa. 1972 trat er beim Jazz-Festival in Montreux auf. 1973 war er mit der American Blues Legend Tour unterwegs (Aufnahmen veröffentlicht auf Big Bear Records).
Lightnin’ Slim starb 1974 an Krebs. Er ist in Pontiac, Michigan, beigesetzt.
Zu den Stücken von Lightnin’ Slim gehören unter anderem Rooster Blues (1959), Bad Luck Blues, Just Made Twenty-one, Lonesome Cabin Blues, Nobody Loves Me But My Mother und Voodoo Blues.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightnin%E2%80%99_Slim
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Roscoe%20Shelton.html
Lightnin' Slim (March 13, 1913 - July 27, 1974) was an African-American Louisiana blues musician,[1] who recorded for Excello Records and played in a style similar to its other Louisiana artists. Blues critic ED Denson has ranked him as one of the five great bluesmen of the 1950s, along with Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson.[citation needed]
Career
Lightnin' Slim was born Otis V. Hicks on a farm outside St. Louis, Missouri.[2] moving to Baton Rouge, Louisiana at the age of thirteen. Taught guitar by his older brother Layfield, Slim was playing in bars in Baton Rouge by the late 1940s.[3]
He debuted on J. D. "Jay" Miller's Feature Records label in 1954 with "Bad Luck Blues" ("If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all").[4] Slim then recorded for Excello Records for twelve years, starting in the mid-1950s, often collaborating with his brother-in-law, Slim Harpo and with harmonica player Lazy Lester.[4]
Slim took time off from the blues for a period of time and ended up working in a foundry in Pontiac, Michigan,[citation needed] which resulted in him suffering from constantly having his hands exposed to high temperatures. He was re-discovered by Fred Reif in 1970, in Pontiac, where he was living in a rented room at Slim Harpo's sister's house. Reif soon got him back performing again and a new recording contract with Excello, this time through Bud Howell, the present President of the company. His first gig was a reunion concert at the 1971 University of Chicago Folk Festival with Lazy Lester, whom Reif had brought from Baton Rouge in January 1971.
In the 1970s, Slim performed on tours in Europe,[3] both in the United Kingdom and at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland where he was often accompanied by Moses "Whispering" Smith on harmonica. He last toured the UK in 1973, with the American Blues Legends package.[5]
In July 1974, Slim died of stomach cancer in Detroit, Michigan, aged 61.[6][7]
Slim has been cited as a major influence by several contemporary blues artists, including Captain Beefheart, who in a 1987 radio interview with Kristine McKenna, stated that Lightnin' Slim was the only artist he could recommend somebody listening to.
Career
Lightnin' Slim was born Otis V. Hicks on a farm outside St. Louis, Missouri.[2] moving to Baton Rouge, Louisiana at the age of thirteen. Taught guitar by his older brother Layfield, Slim was playing in bars in Baton Rouge by the late 1940s.[3]
He debuted on J. D. "Jay" Miller's Feature Records label in 1954 with "Bad Luck Blues" ("If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all").[4] Slim then recorded for Excello Records for twelve years, starting in the mid-1950s, often collaborating with his brother-in-law, Slim Harpo and with harmonica player Lazy Lester.[4]
Slim took time off from the blues for a period of time and ended up working in a foundry in Pontiac, Michigan,[citation needed] which resulted in him suffering from constantly having his hands exposed to high temperatures. He was re-discovered by Fred Reif in 1970, in Pontiac, where he was living in a rented room at Slim Harpo's sister's house. Reif soon got him back performing again and a new recording contract with Excello, this time through Bud Howell, the present President of the company. His first gig was a reunion concert at the 1971 University of Chicago Folk Festival with Lazy Lester, whom Reif had brought from Baton Rouge in January 1971.
In the 1970s, Slim performed on tours in Europe,[3] both in the United Kingdom and at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland where he was often accompanied by Moses "Whispering" Smith on harmonica. He last toured the UK in 1973, with the American Blues Legends package.[5]
In July 1974, Slim died of stomach cancer in Detroit, Michigan, aged 61.[6][7]
Slim has been cited as a major influence by several contemporary blues artists, including Captain Beefheart, who in a 1987 radio interview with Kristine McKenna, stated that Lightnin' Slim was the only artist he could recommend somebody listening to.
Lightnin' Slim - Rock Me Mama [HQ]
Roscoe Shelton +27.07.2002
Roscoe
Shelton (August 22, 1931 – July 27, 2002)[2] was an American electric
blues and R&B singer.[1] He is best remembered for his 1965 hit
single, "Strain on My Heart," and his working relationships with both
The Fairfield Four and Bobby Hebb. Other notable recordings include
"Think It Over" and "Baby Look What You're Doin' To Me".[2] Fred James,
who produced much of Shelton's later work, noted that Shelton moved
effortlessly into soul, unlike many of his 1950s blues and R&B
recording contemporaries.
Shelton was born in Lynchburg, Tennessee
and was raised in Nashville, Tennessee.[3][4] In 1949 he joined the
Fairfield Four, singing lead vocals on their gospel music output, before
spending four years conscripted in the United States Air Force.[3] Upon
discharge he joined The Skylarks in 1956 and recorded for Excello's
subsidiary label, Nashboro Records. After the group disbanded Shelton
sang alongside and toured with both Bobby Hebb and DeFord Bailey, Jr.[1]
In
1961 Shelton's debut album Roscoe Shelton Sings was released by
Excello, before various singles followed, including "Strain on My Heart"
(1965).[1] The track was a Top 40 success in the Billboard R&B
chart. By this time Shelton's work appeared on Sound Stage 7, and
another Top 40 hit was "Easy Going Fellow."[5] In 1966 his next album
Soul in His Music, Music in His Soul was released, but the long gap
between albums stalled his career. However, Shelton performed on the
same bill as Otis Redding at the Apollo Theater.[1]
The deaths of
both Redding and Sam Cooke, who had been friends of Shelton, took their
toll.[6] Shelton left the music industry in 1969, working for
Nashville's Meharry Medical College.[3] Finally in 1994 Shelton, Earl
Gaines, and Clifford Curry found work billed as the 'Excello
Legends'.[1] In 1995, Shelton's song "You Were the Dream" appeared on
the soundtrack of the film, Blue Juice.
His recording resumed under
the production of Fred James, spawning amongst others, Let It Shine in
1998,[3] plus Shelton's and Gaines' joint effort, Let's Work
Together.[1] In July 2002, at the age of 70, Shelton died of cancer in
Nashville.[2][6]
Two years after his death, Shelton's "Say You Really
Care" was included on the Grammy Award winning compilation album, Night
Train to Nashville.
Roscoe Shelton - Easy Going Fellow
R.I.P./Happy Birthday
Morris Pejoe +27.07.1982/ Geb. 1924
Morris Pejoe (* 1924 in Palmetto, Louisiana; † 27. Juli 1982 in Detroit, Michigan), eigentlich Morris Pejas, war ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Gitarrist und Bandleader. Er war der Mentor der Blues-Pianisten Henry Gray und Otis Spann.
Geboren in Louisiana, musizierte Pejoe zunächst auf der Geige. Ende der 1940er zog er nach Beaumont in Texas, wo er begann, Gitarre zu spielen. Er trat häufig mit dem Pianisten Henry Gray auf, mit dem er Anfang der 1950er nach Chicago ging.
1952 machte Pejoe erste Aufnahmen, u. a. begleitet von Gray. Es sollten zahlreiche weitere Aufnahmen folgen. Zu seinen erfolgreichsten Titeln gehört Let's Get High. 1989 erschien eine Zusammenstellung von Pejoe-Stücken unter dem Namen Wrapped in My Baby.
In den 1960ern wurde Pejoe oft von seiner Frau begleitet, der Bluessängerin Mary Lane. Ihre Tochter Lynne Lane und ihr Sohn Morris Pejoe Jr. singen ebenfalls den Blues.
A name that shows up on trivia tests among blues scholars, Morris Pejoe was a performer with heavy traces of both the country and the city, as well as a bit of outer space. The quality of many of his recordings proves the old adage that it is sometimes not the most famous performers who produce the greatest music in a genre. While the Chicago blues style normally more than holds it own in terms of interesting influences, Pejoe was one of the few performers in Chicago who brought in a strong Louisiana cajun and zydeco influence decades before this became a typical part of a touring, house-rocking band's repertoire. This was because he was actually from Louisiana, where he was born Morris Pejas, beginning his music career on the violin. In the late '40s he moved to Beaumont, TX, where he switched to guitar. Fellow Louisiana pianist Henry Gray remained his musical sidekick throughout these years, and in the early '50s the two relocated to Chicago together, rightfully seeing the big city as a much better opportunity for regular blues employment. Gray was one of two important blues pianists who mentored under Pejoe -- the other was Otis Spann, who worked in the Louisiana man's band in the early '50s prior to beginning the pianist's seemingly endless tenure with the great Muddy Waters. Pejoe's recording career began within a year of hitting the Windy City. During 1952 and 1953, he cut sides for Checker, accompanied by Gray, among others. The following year he recorded for United, this time really emphasizing a New Orleans rhythm & blues sound in a band again with Gray plus the unpleasant Stanley Grim on alto sax, an unknown tenor man, and the superb rhythm section of Milton Rector on electric bass and Earl Phillips on drums. The Pejoe discography continued on practically every independent label that sprang up in Chicago, including Vee-Jay, Abco, Atomic H, and Kaytown. Reissues of much of this material, either as parts of compilations or the complete Delmark retrospective entitled Wrapped Up in My Baby, have been received with enthusiasm almost as raucous as the music itself. One of the most popular numbers, particularly in terms of radio airplay, is "Let's Get High," and the status has not been won simply by having a provocative title. "Cranked-up, distorted classic "Let's Get High" by Morris Pejoe is worth the price alone," was an appraisal from one blues critic when the song appeared on an anthology. The Delmark project digs into the famed basement recordings of producer Al Smith, and show Pejoe's style off to great advantage, featuring plenty of both the unmistakable Louisiana beats as well as plenty of evidence that Pejoe was also paying attention to various Texas guitar blasters before he continued his migration north. During the '60s he often performed with his wife, the fine blues singer Mary Lane. The couple met in the late '50s in Waukegan, IL, where Pejoe's group frequently held forth. One of the couple's daughters, Lynne Lane, became a blues singer, as did Pejoe's son Morris Pejoe, Jr.. Papa Pejoe continued featuring horns in his units during this era, to the point where the group was even thought of as something of a big band.
Morris Pejoe - Gonna Buy Me a Telephone
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