1903 Montana Taylor* +unknown 1)
1906 Monkey Joe* +unknown 1)
1928 Lee Chester Ulmer (L.C. Ulmer)*
1937 James Wheeler*
Shaun Booker*
Happy Birthday
Shaun Booker *28.08.
Shaun Booker‘s Familie stammt aus Mississippi, so ist es nicht verwunderlich, daß ihre Wurzeln im Gospel liegen. Drei Jahrzehnte auf Tour in den USA machte sie zu einer vielseitigen Sängerin, die nicht zuletzt dafür geschätzt wird, mit dem Publikum zu kommunizieren und es zu bewegen – im doppelten Sinn.
Shaun Booker bringt eine feurige und heißblütige Show voller Soul auf die Bühne, die Erinnerungen an eine frühe Tina Turner wach werden lässt.
Shaun Booker bringt eine feurige und heißblütige Show voller Soul auf die Bühne, die Erinnerungen an eine frühe Tina Turner wach werden lässt.
How could anyone forget the mysterious quality in her voice? Something intangible and not easily identified that makes folks want to holler and shout. Something that makes feet want to move and dance to where they do not care if anyone thinks they are crazy. Shaun Booker can do that to a lot of people. "You know I get goose bumps too," Shaun admits. "So at some point, I'm connecting to someone or something or a whole bunch of people and we all feel it at the same time and it blows my mind every time."
"I think if you have it, it is not arrogant to be confident about it. I want all women especially to feel like they are IT." True to her words, Shaun's primary mission is to lift up her sisters in the crowd by making them feel powerful within themselves as evidenced by her brilliant cover of the old song, 'Wild Women Don't Get the Blues.' It is easy to guage the ladies' approval at that point as they react in a unified show of aerial fist pumps and cheers.
The men in the audience who appreciate strong women are not disappointed either. Shaun Booker offers herself as a cheerleader of sorts for the ladies and a sweet and sassy word of warning to the men. She entertains all equally but makes sure everyone knows who is talking.
It is a windy Saturday afternoon a week earlier and we are sitting in her kitchen over cocktails and catching up like old girlfriends. Periodically, the room erupts in laughter over something she has said in her characteristic sugar-free way. She was talking about her grandmother, Beatrice Anna Lee Williams; the woman she credits as helping to build her own backbone. Beatrice, born in 1899, was a sharecropper in Meridian, Mississippi, with nine children- the first was born when she was only eleven years old. Her husband often had to travel during the seasons and she would have to stay home and tend to their piece of farmland while also doing other jobs such as washing and cleaning to supplement her income.
“My grandmother was a self employed entrepreneur woman, and people told her, ‘You’re not going to be able to take care of nine kids during the day’. And she would say ‘can’t nothin’ can’t like a butthead bull’.” Beatrice bought her first house in Warren, Ohio, in 1950, and moved during a blizzard, the first time she had ever seen snow. This, of course did not sit well with the folks back home in Mississippi who tried to discourage her more. Shaun continues, “They said, 'You gonna move to Ohio? Have you lost your mind Beatrice? You can’t take a hold of all those kids and….'” Shaun flexes her bicep muscles and shouts “HA!” as the room erupts in more laughter.
Shaun continues, “And all her kids got college degrees and were professional people that could still plant a seed and grow a garden and could still slaughter a hog if need be. And that is the type of woman I wanted to be all my life. The nerve to think that I can pull it off comes from my grandma. That is exactly where my strength comes from.”
She explains that while she got her backbone from Beatrice, her ability to sing and perform was groomed in her grandfather’s church by the tender age of three. She watched the reaction her grandfather would get from the pulpit and knew even then she wanted to get that same reaction. “I was in my grandfather’s church and I was ready to sing my song and he let me. ‘Jesus loves me this I know for the bible tells me so…..’ And I had another one- ‘this little light of mine’. And I could see the ladies in the church reacting and they liked it. I was doing my thing and it was the day the spirit of the music connected for me. I knew I wanted to do it. I knew I could do it.”
Her grandmother’s strength and stubbornness coupled with her grandfather’s lessons in stage presence have served her well over the years. It was evident as a teenager early in her music career that she was not easily broken. Shaun had already been picked apart as far as her look and complexion were concerned, becoming all too familiar with the superficial side of the business that chose to package young women as products, molding them into an ideal rather than enhancing what made them unique and beautiful in their own right.
Shaun was told by the first group that hired her that she had legs like tree stumps. “I didn’t really know how to take it. It made me feel funny but I still got the job”. Later, after she had moved to Columbus, she went to work as a songwriter at a different studio. The owners actually told her that she had some talent and might actually go somewhere but that she was really “brown” and just did not have the look. They even sent a lighter skinned girl instead of Shaun to a record company audition in California to sing a song Shaun had written.
How did Shaun Booker take that? “I took that like “I’m gonna whoop your little ass!” (more laughter) Watch Me! That’s what I took it like. Watch Me! Yes they were looking for a certain look. Well, you know the lighter the skin, the more saleable you were especially back in those days. I think a lot of that has blurred now and I am so happy but it wasn’t helping me back then. I was the last one to be noticed until I opened my mouth and then they heard the voice and when they heard the voice they could get past what they thought they saw, you know what I mean? I didn’t get discouraged, I just got more angry!
“But I knew one day that justice would be done. Somehow someway, one day it’s gonna come around. And you know the girl…. I saw her at the bus stop ( laughter) trying to get on the bus one day and she don’t have that pretty face no more, ok? And I still think I’m kinda cute!”
It is not difficult to understand perhaps where Shaun Booker may have been mistaken for an enigma considering her larger than life voice, dramatic stage personae, and chiseled, striking features. Shaun exudes an almost elusive charm. She seems to grab you by the collar with her forceful delivery, all while her eyes pierce you, giggle at you and shy away all at the same time. Taut, firm and graceful arms float around like a butterfly alighting from a flower.... but only a really tough flower could hold her. It would have to be fragrant, delicate, and strong all at the same time. My vote would be the magnolia, despite obvious irritating references to the stage play and movie that mentions the word ‘steel’ in its title.
Even still, she is quite comfortable walking among us mere mortals and prefers it, actually. A self-described crossword nerd with a fondness for getting her hands dirty in the garden...believe it or not, she knows that part of what makes her relatable to the rest of us is her humanness. Shaun Booker may seem a lot of things to a lot of people: goddess voice, backbone of steel to some, an enigma and perhaps even too cocky to others. It is accurate to describe her as at least half understood. What some recognize as assertive confidence in her, others diminish as arrogant cockiness. She acknowledges, “I think some people may think that I am scary (laughter), some might say I’m tough. But what a lot of folks might not know is I am really a soft-hearted person. I work off emotion and even if it comes across as…..boisterous or whatever, it’s just really passion”.
Still, she knows where she has come from, knows she has taken detours, and knows exactly how to get herself back on track whenever she strays from the path she has set for herself. She makes no apology for any of it.
Shaun is moved instinctively wherever the spirit takes her. “ I think it may have gotten me into trouble a couple times because things I say may be taken in the wrong context but my intentions are good and that’s what I really work at, the intent of my lyrics. I don’t really want to be misunderstood but I was called an enigma one time. I looked up the word in the thesaurus and it means puzzling. So I thought about that. If I am puzzling to people, it’s because I have so many different places that I come from. My family is so varied and I love all different sorts of music and I have been thrown into so many situations where I have had to have a sort of buoyancy to make me be prepared for anything. That’s why I guess I’m bold in my statements because I’ve actually done it and what’s to be scared of? I can’t live my life scared.”
Shaun emphasizes that she wants to pass on some of that resoluteness and assuredness especially to the women in her audience. “I just know that there are so many demands and so many things that a woman has to do and we get down on ourselves sometimes and maybe we don’t have that right dress and maybe our hair isn’t acting right all the time and I want us all to know that we still have a place in this world and we have to put it out there anyway. You know, maybe someone needs to see some of our raggedy days. There are days when I am raggedy! I don’t put on a stitch of makeup and those are some of my best days when I’m digging in the dirt out there and that is probably a side of me most people don’t see. They don’t know that I do but I love planting in the garden and things like that. I don’t mind getting mud and dirt under my nails and I might have to go and do a quick manicure after the fact but I love to do it!”
Perhaps the most profound moment while watching her that day at the Thirsty Ear came when her face shone with pride and love as she introduced her son, Sam , aged 11, to sit in with the band. It was clear that she did not possess the words to sum up her intense feelings not only to have such a handsome, thoughtful and talented young man as a son, but to also have him join her “on the job”. Rather, it was written, emblazoned all over her face. “I appreciate all that I have. If I had gone out there and been a rock star when I was in my twenties and stuff like that, I could have been used and abused and done like hell and then I would not have what I have now. Raising my son, holding a job as long as I did and buying property kept me grounded enough because I probably would have went off the charts.”
She is very excited about the future as she discusses her plans in the next few years. “I wanna do some kid’s songs. I think with the new president, now they see that there is more opportunity than they thought. But I think I can make them understand in a little more immediate sense in the next couple of years. I wanna work with kids. I am trying to have this garden thing for the kids and some parents who are working and don’t necessarily have things for the kids to do while they’re at work. It would be sorta like a latchkey program. I want them working in the garden. I would like some songs to go along with that. You know give the kids some kinda “Cant nothing can but a bullhead bull kinda thing”.”
Shaun has also been working on a new concept for a record that incorporates more of a jazz sound that was inspired by one of her heroes, Ella Fitzgerald. “Yes, I have a lot of new songs, Some of these are really grown up, torch songs. Ella had an amazing quality and could do anything with her voice.” Shaun is working on crafting the arrangements that will showcase her amazing power and vocal versatility. “I am gonna work with my old friend, Lee Wexler who I adore and I also need some piano in them, so I am looking for the right piano player to help me paint the picture. I want a full horn section and piano to add to the bass drums and guitar.
“My thing now is beefing up the business end- making a viable, sustainable product and a brand that is self sustaining,” she explains, “ It is one thing to do a gig or two on the weekend to fill up your gas tank but it is actually another to make a decent wage. I will be working on traveling more. I plan eventually on going to Europe to do some shows. As you know the club scene is very limiting and I would like to branch out on trips to places like Chicago, California. I might even like to play Vegas!
These days, Shaun is backed by Justin Brown on the drums, L.A. Sky on the trumpet, Mike Dudley on the guitar and alternates between Ron Henderson and Larry Humphrey on bass. It is about seven in the evening on Sunday, June 28, and we are in front of the Bozo Stage at Comfest. I am watching Shaun and her band and thinking how far she must have come since singing “This Little Light of Mine” at the age of three in her grandfather’s church. I am trying to reconcile the person on stage with the person I was laughing over a beer with just a few weeks prior. Her voice is otherworldly, her outfit enhances her mysterious, sensual quality. She has the exclusive command of everyone’s attention that day. I decide after a while that Shaun Booker really is no enigma, as she herself excellently sums up to the audience, “I’m Shaun Booker, dammit!”
It is all explained in those four words. And then she lifts her hands to the sky and opens her mouth to sing. As if on cue, the hair on the back of everyone’s necks stands up in unison.
It is not difficult to understand perhaps where Shaun Booker may have been mistaken for an enigma considering her larger than life voice, dramatic stage personae, and chiseled, striking features.
Shaun exudes an almost elusive charm. She seems to grab you by the collar with her forceful delivery, all while her eyes pierce you, giggle at you and shy away all at the same time.
Taut, firm and graceful arms float around like a butterfly alighting from a flower.... but only a really tough flower could hold her. It would have to be fragrant, delicate, and strong all at the same time. My vote would be the magnolia, despite obvious irritating references to the stage play and movie that mentions the word ‘steel’ in its title.
Shaun is moved instinctively wherever the spirit takes her. “ I think it may have gotten me into trouble a couple times because things I say may be taken in the wrong context but my intentions are good and that’s what I really work at, the intent of my lyrics.
I don’t really want to be misunderstood but I was called an enigma one time. I looked up the word in the thesaurus and it means puzzling. So I thought about that. If I am puzzling to people, it’s because I have so many different places that I come from.
My family is so varied and I love all different sorts of music and I have been thrown into so many situations where I have had to have a sort of buoyancy to make me be prepared for anything.
That’s why I guess I’m bold in my statements because I’ve actually done it and what’s to be scared of? I can’t live my life scared.”
Shaun Booker & Sean Carney - Tore Down (video Jyrki Kallio)
Lee Chester Ulmer (L.C. Ulmer) *28.08.1928
Lee
Chester Ulmer (August 28, 1928 – February 14, 2016) was an American
delta blues musician, known professionally as L. C. Ulmer. He was a
regular performer for over half a century, playing at festivals and
clubs throughout the United States and elsewhere,[2] but particularly in
the Deep South.[3] Ulmer was also featured in the 2008 documentary
film, M for Mississippi: A Road Trip through the Birthplace of the
Blues.[4] His earliest influences came from the music of Blind Roosevelt
Graves. Throughout his life, Ulmer met or played with numerous notable
musicians including Elvis Presley, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Brook Benton,
Nat King Cole, Fats Domino, Louis Armstrong, Muddy Waters, Elmore
James, Howlin' Wolf, and Buddy Guy.[3]
Ulmer was a multi-instrumentalist, and often performed in his younger days as a one-man band.[2]
Biography
Lee Chester Ulmer was born in Stringer, Jasper County, United States.[3] He was the son of Luther Ulmer and Mattie Brown,[1] the youngest of 14 children.[5] The family moved to a plantation near Moss Hill, where outside of their work in the fields the whole family played music. Jimmie Rodgers was a notable visitor, who played alongside the family while drinking whiskey from the plantation owner son's own whiskey still. Ulmer had learned to play the guitar by the age of nine, taking delight in listening to records by Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Boy Fuller, Tampa Red, and Peetie Wheatstraw. His main influence for slide guitar techniques came from the work of Blind Roosevelt Graves, who Ulmer saw perform on the streets of Laurel, Mississippi.[2] After starting to play on the streets himself, Ulmer found regular employment in his teenage years building wooden trestles to support a railway line across Lake Pontchartrain. He later worked near Heidelberg, Mississippi, helping in the construction of railways lines to nearby oil wells.[2]
In 1949, Ulmer traveled to Kansas City, Kansas to visit his sister, and his guitar playing experiences included backing J. B. Lenoir at a local venue. Ulmer was later based in Laurel and developed his one-man band show at various local clubs both there and in Meridian, Mississippi.[2] He continued to travel and, in 1955, found work at the Motoaurant on Route 66 in Holbrook, Arizona, and played in its own nightclub, 'The Cock 'n' Bull'.[2] It was there that he met Elvis Presley, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Brook Benton, Nat King Cole, Fats Domino, and Louis Armstrong.[5] Further travelling saw Ulmer join the musicians union in Hollywood, California, perform across most major States, and return home to visit his parents, before he relocated back to Laurel where he joined the Bel Air Clowns, playing at local clubs in the early 1960s. Ulmer eventually moved again, this time to Joliet, Illinois, his home for the next 37 years. There he worked in construction, and at his own automotive shop, while performing often as a one-man-band and as a club host. It was here that Ulmer met and worked with Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, Hound Dog Taylor, Jimmy Reed and Sonny Thompson amongst many others. He could then play up to 12 musical instruments at one time. Ulmer experimented at this time with various instruments, including an early synthesizer and a Gretsch White Falcon, which he bought new in 1965 for $1,800.[2]
In 2001, Ulmer returned home to the area around Ellisville, Mississippi, when he lived for the remainder of his life.[2] In his latter days using just a guitar as his accompaniment,[3] he performed locally on a regular basis, as well as at the Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale, the Shed Blues Festival in Ocean Springs, the Blues Today Symposium in Oxford and, in 2007, at the Roots and Blues Festival in Parma, Italy. In June the following year, Ulmer made his debut appearance at the Chicago Blues Festival.[2] Ulmer then featured in the 2008 documentary film, M for Mississippi: A Road Trip through the Birthplace of the Blues.[4] Ulmer became a committed vegetarian, and shared his wisdom and recipes with his friends. In 2009, he was named 'Blues Artist of the Year' by the Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola, Mississippi.[3] The same year he performed at the 8th annual Ponderosa Stomp,[1] and the Notodden Blues Festival.
Ulmer's 2011 album, Blues Come Yonder, was released by Hill Country Records and had Jimbo Mathus in the backing band.[6] The tracks included eleven self-penned efforts and a cover of Hank Williams', "I Saw the Light".[7] In 2012 and 2013, Ulmer performed at the Muddy Roots Music Festival.
Death
Ulmer died on February 14, 2016, in his home in Ellisville, Mississippi,[1] of natural causes, aged 87.
Ulmer was a multi-instrumentalist, and often performed in his younger days as a one-man band.[2]
Biography
Lee Chester Ulmer was born in Stringer, Jasper County, United States.[3] He was the son of Luther Ulmer and Mattie Brown,[1] the youngest of 14 children.[5] The family moved to a plantation near Moss Hill, where outside of their work in the fields the whole family played music. Jimmie Rodgers was a notable visitor, who played alongside the family while drinking whiskey from the plantation owner son's own whiskey still. Ulmer had learned to play the guitar by the age of nine, taking delight in listening to records by Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Boy Fuller, Tampa Red, and Peetie Wheatstraw. His main influence for slide guitar techniques came from the work of Blind Roosevelt Graves, who Ulmer saw perform on the streets of Laurel, Mississippi.[2] After starting to play on the streets himself, Ulmer found regular employment in his teenage years building wooden trestles to support a railway line across Lake Pontchartrain. He later worked near Heidelberg, Mississippi, helping in the construction of railways lines to nearby oil wells.[2]
In 1949, Ulmer traveled to Kansas City, Kansas to visit his sister, and his guitar playing experiences included backing J. B. Lenoir at a local venue. Ulmer was later based in Laurel and developed his one-man band show at various local clubs both there and in Meridian, Mississippi.[2] He continued to travel and, in 1955, found work at the Motoaurant on Route 66 in Holbrook, Arizona, and played in its own nightclub, 'The Cock 'n' Bull'.[2] It was there that he met Elvis Presley, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Brook Benton, Nat King Cole, Fats Domino, and Louis Armstrong.[5] Further travelling saw Ulmer join the musicians union in Hollywood, California, perform across most major States, and return home to visit his parents, before he relocated back to Laurel where he joined the Bel Air Clowns, playing at local clubs in the early 1960s. Ulmer eventually moved again, this time to Joliet, Illinois, his home for the next 37 years. There he worked in construction, and at his own automotive shop, while performing often as a one-man-band and as a club host. It was here that Ulmer met and worked with Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, Hound Dog Taylor, Jimmy Reed and Sonny Thompson amongst many others. He could then play up to 12 musical instruments at one time. Ulmer experimented at this time with various instruments, including an early synthesizer and a Gretsch White Falcon, which he bought new in 1965 for $1,800.[2]
In 2001, Ulmer returned home to the area around Ellisville, Mississippi, when he lived for the remainder of his life.[2] In his latter days using just a guitar as his accompaniment,[3] he performed locally on a regular basis, as well as at the Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale, the Shed Blues Festival in Ocean Springs, the Blues Today Symposium in Oxford and, in 2007, at the Roots and Blues Festival in Parma, Italy. In June the following year, Ulmer made his debut appearance at the Chicago Blues Festival.[2] Ulmer then featured in the 2008 documentary film, M for Mississippi: A Road Trip through the Birthplace of the Blues.[4] Ulmer became a committed vegetarian, and shared his wisdom and recipes with his friends. In 2009, he was named 'Blues Artist of the Year' by the Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola, Mississippi.[3] The same year he performed at the 8th annual Ponderosa Stomp,[1] and the Notodden Blues Festival.
Ulmer's 2011 album, Blues Come Yonder, was released by Hill Country Records and had Jimbo Mathus in the backing band.[6] The tracks included eleven self-penned efforts and a cover of Hank Williams', "I Saw the Light".[7] In 2012 and 2013, Ulmer performed at the Muddy Roots Music Festival.
Death
Ulmer died on February 14, 2016, in his home in Ellisville, Mississippi,[1] of natural causes, aged 87.
Blues
artist, L. C. Ulmer was found unresponsive in his Ellinsville,
Mississippi home by family members on Sunday morning. Reports from the
Jones County Medical Examiner’s office state that he died of natural
causes.
Born Lee Chester Ulmer on August 28th, 1928 in Stringer, Mississippi, he learned to play guitar by the age of nine from his father who often played with other area musicians including Jimmie Rodgers. From that point on Ulmer began busking on street corners, playing picnics and fish fries and learning to play several more instruments including fiddle, mandolin and banjo.
He developed a slide guitar technique by studying his biggest influence, Blind Roosevelt Graves. It wasn’t long before he was traveling to various other parts of the country and performing as a “12 Piece One-Man Band”. Cities where he settled for periods of time included Kansas City, Missouri; Joliet, Illinois; Holbrook, Arizona and Hollywood, California where he not only played music but also worked on the railroad, ran his own automotive shop, operated a tow truck and worked construction.
During his travels, he met and played with artists including J. B. Lenoir, Elvis Presley, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Fats Domino, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy, Hound Dog Taylor and many others. He also appeared at festivals world-wide including King Biscuit, the Chicago Blues Festival and the Roots and Blues Festival in Parma, Italy.
Ulmer settled back in Mississippi in 2001 and in 2009 was named Blues Artist of the Year by the Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola.
Born Lee Chester Ulmer on August 28th, 1928 in Stringer, Mississippi, he learned to play guitar by the age of nine from his father who often played with other area musicians including Jimmie Rodgers. From that point on Ulmer began busking on street corners, playing picnics and fish fries and learning to play several more instruments including fiddle, mandolin and banjo.
He developed a slide guitar technique by studying his biggest influence, Blind Roosevelt Graves. It wasn’t long before he was traveling to various other parts of the country and performing as a “12 Piece One-Man Band”. Cities where he settled for periods of time included Kansas City, Missouri; Joliet, Illinois; Holbrook, Arizona and Hollywood, California where he not only played music but also worked on the railroad, ran his own automotive shop, operated a tow truck and worked construction.
During his travels, he met and played with artists including J. B. Lenoir, Elvis Presley, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Fats Domino, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy, Hound Dog Taylor and many others. He also appeared at festivals world-wide including King Biscuit, the Chicago Blues Festival and the Roots and Blues Festival in Parma, Italy.
Ulmer settled back in Mississippi in 2001 and in 2009 was named Blues Artist of the Year by the Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola.
L.C. Ulmer - Dust My Broom - Pickathon Beardy Session
James Wheeler Geb. 28.08.1937
Bereits am Weihnachtstag ist James Wheeler verstorben, der 1937 geborene Künstler kam 1956 nach Chicago und spielte zunächst Harmonika. Größere Aufmerksamkeit erzielte er in den 60er-Jahren als Gitarrist in der Formation The Jaguars von Billy Boy Arnold, danach wurde er Mitglied in den Bands von Otis Clay (in den frühen 70er-Jahren) und Otis Rush (ca. 1986–1993), bevor er zu Mississippi Heat wechselte. Er arbeitete mit vielen weiteren Künstlern zusammen, darunter Willie Kent und Magic Slim. Unter eigenen Namen nahm er ab 1998 mehrere Platten für Delmark Records auf. „Er hat seine Musik gelebt war ein treues Bandmitglied und wurde von Fans und Bandmitgliedern gleichermaßen geliebt“, teilte Pierre Lacocque von Mississippi Heat unserer Redaktion mit. „Stille Wasser sind tief, würde seinen Charakter aber am besten beschreiben. Seine Lieder waren tiefgründig und oft sehr witzig“, so Lacocque.
Le Chicago bluesman James Wheeler died on Christmas day....
C'est avec un certain retard que tombe l'annonce du décès du guitariste James Wheeler âgé de 77 ans.
Sa page facebook annonçait il y a peu:
We regretfully announce the passing of the great James Wheeler, part of the Chicago Blues Kings. We lost him on December 24th. To all of his friends and fans, we will be sure to keep you updated with his arrangements. His new album was slated for a 2015 release and you can still look forward to a 2015 album release of his newest material.
Guitarist James Wheeler has died at the age of 77.
The latecomer to the blues, who started playing in his late teens, enjoyed a career that spanned 51 years. He’d been hosting a regular jam night at Rosa’s Lounge in Chicago until his passing.
He moved from Georgia to Chicago in 1956, joining elder brother, harpist Golden ‘Big’ Wheeler, in the city. That led to an interest in the blues and he formed his band the Jaguars in 1963, leading to work with B.B. King, Otis Rush, Otis Clay and others.
He joined Clay’s band the OCBs in 1972, then became a member of the Impressions three years later. He was working a day job in 1986 when he received a call from Rush to play a one-weekend gig that became a seven-year occupation, and included his first lead vocal performances. He then joined Mississippi Heat and recorded three albums with them in the 1990s, before continuing with Magic Slim.
Wheeler released debut solo album Ready via Delmark Records in 1998, featuring some of Golden’s last recordings before his death. Follow-up Can’t Take It was launched in 2000.
His earliest influences had been big band icons including Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller. He once said: “I like to tell people that I came in at college level and went down to starters level.”
A statement on the Rosa’s Lounge Facebook page says: “The great James Wheeler has passed away. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. James will be greatly missed at Rosa’s Lounge, in the Chicago blues community and throughout the world. He was one of the sweetest human beings we have ever encountered. Rest in sweet peace our dear James.”
The musician’s daughter Tammy says: “Thank you so very much to the blues community for the heartfelt love, compassion, and kindness you all have shown. The family are so very grateful for your support.
“He was a wonderful man with a passion for the blues that shone like stars in the sky. I found so much joy watching him do what he loved – playing the blues. A memorial and tribute to my father will be opened to all who knew him.”
The latecomer to the blues, who started playing in his late teens, enjoyed a career that spanned 51 years. He’d been hosting a regular jam night at Rosa’s Lounge in Chicago until his passing.
He moved from Georgia to Chicago in 1956, joining elder brother, harpist Golden ‘Big’ Wheeler, in the city. That led to an interest in the blues and he formed his band the Jaguars in 1963, leading to work with B.B. King, Otis Rush, Otis Clay and others.
He joined Clay’s band the OCBs in 1972, then became a member of the Impressions three years later. He was working a day job in 1986 when he received a call from Rush to play a one-weekend gig that became a seven-year occupation, and included his first lead vocal performances. He then joined Mississippi Heat and recorded three albums with them in the 1990s, before continuing with Magic Slim.
Wheeler released debut solo album Ready via Delmark Records in 1998, featuring some of Golden’s last recordings before his death. Follow-up Can’t Take It was launched in 2000.
His earliest influences had been big band icons including Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller. He once said: “I like to tell people that I came in at college level and went down to starters level.”
A statement on the Rosa’s Lounge Facebook page says: “The great James Wheeler has passed away. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. James will be greatly missed at Rosa’s Lounge, in the Chicago blues community and throughout the world. He was one of the sweetest human beings we have ever encountered. Rest in sweet peace our dear James.”
The musician’s daughter Tammy says: “Thank you so very much to the blues community for the heartfelt love, compassion, and kindness you all have shown. The family are so very grateful for your support.
“He was a wonderful man with a passion for the blues that shone like stars in the sky. I found so much joy watching him do what he loved – playing the blues. A memorial and tribute to my father will be opened to all who knew him.”
Blues guitarist James Wheeler was born in Albany, GA, on August 28, 1937. His earliest musical influences were the big bands of the time, especially Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, and his first idol, Louis Jordan. Following his older brother Golden, Wheeler moved to Chicago in 1956. Golden had started playing harmonica in the clubs, becoming friends with many blues musicians, including Little Walter. It was after the move to Chicago that James Wheeler picked up the guitar and started jamming with local musicians. Wheeler's first big break came when he played guitar with Billy Boy Arnold, which lead to the formation of the Jaguars in 1963, backing up B.B. King, Millie Jackson, O.V. Wright, and Otis Clay. Clay was so impressed with Wheeler's playing that after the Jaguars broke up in 1972 he asked Wheeler to put together his touring band, which lasted three years. Following a brief tour with the Impressions, Wheeler took a non-music day job, picking up weekend gigs here and there for the next decade. In 1986, Wheeler received a call from Otis Rush asking him to play a weekend gig that turned full-time, lasting until 1993. After recording and touring stints with Mississippi Heat, Magic Slim, and Willie Kent, he released his much anticipated solo recording, Ready, in 1998 on Delmark Records. Featuring ten original tracks plus three covers, his band featured brother Big Golden Wheeler on harmonica and pianist Ken Saydak. Following a hectic tour schedule through Europe and South America, Wheeler's second release, Can't Take It, followed in 2000, again, on the Delmark label. Can't Take It spotlights all original compositions by Wheeler, fronting the same band, with the exception of Ron Sorin replacing Big Golden on harp.
James
Wheeler & Igor Prado Band 01
Happy Birthday/R.I.P.
Monkey Joe * um 1906, + unbekannt
Jesse "Monkey Joe" Coleman was an American country blues pianist and singer, who recorded sporadically from the 1930s into the 1970s.[1]
Jesse Coleman was most likely born in Mississippi, and though the year of birth is not known, he was probably born around 1906.[1] He worked locally in Jackson, Mississippi in juke joints in the 1930s, and recorded with Little Brother Montgomery in 1935 on Bluebird Records. He began using the moniker "Monkey Joe" in that decade. Late in the 1930s he worked as a session musician for Lester Melrose, and recorded under his own name with Charlie McCoy, Fred Williams, Big Bill Broonzy, and Buster Bennett as backing musicians. Coleman also appears to have worked under several other names, such as "Jack Newman" at Vocalion Records and "George Jefferson" as an accompanist on recordings for Lulu Scott. He also recorded on Okeh Records for a time.[1]
Little is known of Coleman's whereabouts, aside from recording credits, from before the 1960s. He worked often in Chicago blues clubs in the 1960s, and he became the subject of some interest due to the blues revival in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He worked again with Little Brother Montgomery in the 1970s on an album entitled Crescent City Blues. His date of death is unknown.[1]
Document Records released a two-volume CD set of Monkey Joe's works in 1996.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_Joe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcGrBu1I_B4
Monkey Joe & his Music Grinders I Was Laying 'Em Down (VOCALION 04926) (1939)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcGrBu1I_B4
Monkey Joe And His Music Grinders 10 Songs
Montana Taylor *1903, + 19541)
1)Die genauen Daten sind dem Autor nicht bekannt
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Montana Taylor (* 1903 in Butte, Montana; † 1954; eigentlich Arthur Taylor) war ein US-amerikanischer Boogie- und Bluespianist und in den 40er-Jahren einer der bedeutendsten Vertreter des Barrelhousestils.
Er wurde in Butte, Montana geboren, wo sein Vater einen Klub besaß. Seine Familie ging nach Chicago und später dann nach Indianapolis; dort begann er etwa um 1919 mit dem Klavierspielen. 1929 kehrte er nach Chicago zurück, wo er Platten für Vocalion Records aufnahm. Danach verschwand er aus der Öffentlichkeit und wurde erst 1946 vom Jazzfan Rudi Blesh wiederentdeckt. Er wurde wieder auf Schallplatten aufgenommen, sowohl Solo als auch als Duo mit Bertha Hill. 1948 nahm er seine letzten Platten auf. Montana Taylor verstarb 1954.
Bill Wyman, Mitglied der Rolling Stones, nannte Montana Taylor eine wichtige Grundlage für seine Entscheidung, Musiker zu werden.
Er wurde in Butte, Montana geboren, wo sein Vater einen Klub besaß. Seine Familie ging nach Chicago und später dann nach Indianapolis; dort begann er etwa um 1919 mit dem Klavierspielen. 1929 kehrte er nach Chicago zurück, wo er Platten für Vocalion Records aufnahm. Danach verschwand er aus der Öffentlichkeit und wurde erst 1946 vom Jazzfan Rudi Blesh wiederentdeckt. Er wurde wieder auf Schallplatten aufgenommen, sowohl Solo als auch als Duo mit Bertha Hill. 1948 nahm er seine letzten Platten auf. Montana Taylor verstarb 1954.
Bill Wyman, Mitglied der Rolling Stones, nannte Montana Taylor eine wichtige Grundlage für seine Entscheidung, Musiker zu werden.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana_Taylor
Arthur "Montana" Taylor (1903 – 1954) was an American boogie-woogie and piano blues pianist, best known for his recordings in the 1940s, and regarded as the leading exponent of the "barrelhouse" style of playing.[1]
Life and career
Taylor was born in Butte, Montana, where his father owned a club. The family moved to Chicago and then Indianapolis, where Taylor learned piano around 1919. Later he moved to Cleveland, Ohio. By 1929 he was back in Chicago, where he recorded a few tracks for Vocalion Records, including "Indiana Avenue Stomp" and "Detroit Rocks".[1]
He then disappeared from the public record for some years, during which he may have given up playing piano. However, in 1946 he was rediscovered by jazz fan Rudi Blesh, and was recorded both solo and as the accompanist to Bertha "Chippie" Hill. The later recordings proved he had lost none of his instrumental abilities, and had developed as a singer.[1]
Taylor's final recordings were from a 1946 radio broadcast and after that he was reported working as a chauffeur.[2]
Montana Taylor died in 1954.
In 1977, Taylor's complete recordings were compiled by Martin van Olderen for the Oldie Blues label. Included were two then recently discovered radio performances from 1946.[2] In 2002 Document Records released the complete recordings on CD.
Life and career
Taylor was born in Butte, Montana, where his father owned a club. The family moved to Chicago and then Indianapolis, where Taylor learned piano around 1919. Later he moved to Cleveland, Ohio. By 1929 he was back in Chicago, where he recorded a few tracks for Vocalion Records, including "Indiana Avenue Stomp" and "Detroit Rocks".[1]
He then disappeared from the public record for some years, during which he may have given up playing piano. However, in 1946 he was rediscovered by jazz fan Rudi Blesh, and was recorded both solo and as the accompanist to Bertha "Chippie" Hill. The later recordings proved he had lost none of his instrumental abilities, and had developed as a singer.[1]
Taylor's final recordings were from a 1946 radio broadcast and after that he was reported working as a chauffeur.[2]
Montana Taylor died in 1954.
In 1977, Taylor's complete recordings were compiled by Martin van Olderen for the Oldie Blues label. Included were two then recently discovered radio performances from 1946.[2] In 2002 Document Records released the complete recordings on CD.
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