1903 Barrelhouse Buck McFarland*
1925 B.B. King*
1926 Fred Below*
1927 Jack Kelly*
1931 Little Willie Littlefield*
1935 Billy Boy Arnold*
1946 Mamie Smith+
1990 Jimmy Bowskill*
2011 Willie „Big Eyes“ Smith+
Tommy Malone*
1926 Fred Below*
1927 Jack Kelly*
1931 Little Willie Littlefield*
1935 Billy Boy Arnold*
1946 Mamie Smith+
1990 Jimmy Bowskill*
2011 Willie „Big Eyes“ Smith+
Tommy Malone*
Happy Birthday
B.B. King *16.09.1925
http://mattizwoo.blogspot.de/2013/09/bb-king.html
Es war zu erwarten - trotzdem bin ich unendlich traurig
The thrill is gone - The King is gone
Dein Blues lebt in uns weiter
Du kannst jetzt mit Janis, Jimmy, Curt, jim, Brian, Muddy, J.J. und Johnny jammen
der Fritz organisiert das schon
einen Wunsch ich hätt
Sonny Boy und Little Walter blasen die Harp im Duett
Memphis Slim das Piano spielt
The Thrill is gone -The King is gone
An Deinem Grab mögen Dir alle Gitarristen der Welt ihren Respekt zollen
Eric macht noch ein Crossroad-Festival für Dich
und alle spielen gemeinsam
The thrill is gone - The King is gone
It was to be expected - but I'm still very sad
The thrill is gone - The King Is Gone
Your blues lives on in us
You can now jam with Janis, Jimmy, Curt, Jim, Brian, Muddy, JJ and Johnny
Fritz organized already
one wish I would have
Sonny Boy and Little Walter blow the harp duet
Memphis Slim plays the piano
The Thrill Is Gone -The King is gone
On your grave you like all guitarists in the world pay their respects
Eric does not make a Crossroad Festival for you
and all play together
The thrill is gone - The King Is Gone
B. B. King (* 16. September 1925 in Itta Bena, Mississippi, bürgerlich Riley B. King + 14.05.2015 in Las Vegas) war einer der einflussreichsten Blues-Gitarristen und -Sänger und einer der „drei Kings des elektrischen Blues“, neben Albert King und Freddie King. Das „B. B.“ in seinem Namen steht für Blues Boy, was wiederum eine Verkürzung von Beale Street Blues Boy ist, seinem Moderationspseudonym beim Radiosender WDIA.
Kindheit und Jugend
B. B. King wurde am 16. September 1925 als Riley B. King in Itta Bena, Mississippi, geboren. Als er vier Jahre alt war, trennten sich seine Eltern und er wuchs fortan in Kilmichael bei seinen Großeltern mütterlicherseits auf. Als er neun Jahre alt war, starb seine Mutter. 1940 zog er für zwei Jahre zu seinem Vater nach Lexington (Mississippi). Danach kehrte er nach Kilmichael zurück, zog dann weiter nach Indianola und landete schließlich 1946 in Memphis (Tennessee).
Als Kind und Jugendlicher sang er Gospelmusik, war aber auch begeistert von Bluesmusikern wie Blind Lemon Jefferson oder Lonnie Johnson, deren Musik er auf Schellackplatten seiner Tante hörte. Zu seinen weiteren Vorbildern zählten vor allem der Bluesgitarrist T-Bone Walker, aber auch Jazzmusiker wie Charlie Christian und Django Reinhardt.
Memphis
In Memphis traf B.B.King einen entfernten Verwandten seiner Mutter, den Bluesmusiker Bukka White, der ihm eine Arbeit als Schweißer besorgen konnte. Zusammen mit Walter Horton gründete King schließlich ein Blues-Duo und gemeinsam traten sie in Juke Joints und Parks auf. Nach acht Monaten in Memphis kehrte King jedoch zurück nach Indianola. Er zweifelte an seinem instrumentalen Können, da es seiner Meinung nach bessere Musiker in Memphis gab.
Trotzdem kehrte er Ende 1948 nach Memphis zurück und lernte in West Memphis den Gitarristen Robert Lockwood kennen, mit dessen Hilfe er sein Gitarrenspiel wesentlich verbessern konnte. Anfang 1949 traf er Sonny Boy Williamson II., der ihm gestattete, in seiner Radioshow auf KWEM ein Stück zu singen. Durch Bukka White erfuhr King kurze Zeit später von der Radiostation WDIA. Im April 1949 bekam er dort seine eigene – von Lucky Strike gesponserte – 15-minütige Sendung, in der er live spielte. Im folgenden Jahr übernahm er als DJ den Sepia Swing Club auf WDIA. Nun hatte er Zugriff auf Tausende von Platten, die er intensiv anhörte und auch nachzuspielen versuchte.
Erste Aufnahmen
Seine ersten Aufnahmen machte B. B. King 1949 für Bullet Records in Nashville. Die beiden daraus resultierenden Singles verkauften sich jedoch sehr schlecht und gaben seiner musikalischen Karriere keinen Anstoß. Während eines Besuchs der Radiostation WDIA im Juni 1950 hörten die Brüder Jules und Saul Bihari von Modern Records B. B. King und waren so begeistert, dass sie ihn für ihr Sublabel RPM unter Vertrag nahmen. Modern Records mit Sitz in Los Angeles zählte zwar damals zu den führenden unabhängigen Plattenlabels im Bereich des Jazz und Blues, verfügte jedoch in Memphis über kein eigenes Aufnahmestudio. Deshalb fanden die ersten Aufnahmesessions mit B. B. King für RPM im damals neuen Studio von Sam Phillips statt.[4]
Kings Band bestand zu dieser Zeit aus Richard Sanders (Saxofon), Johnny Ace (Klavier), einem Bassisten namens Wiley und Earl Forest (Schlagzeug). Diese frühen Einspielungen waren zwar innovativ, aber kommerziell wenig erfolgreich.
Erste Erfolge
Nachdem die Biharis sich Mitte 1951 aufgrund geschäftlicher Konflikte mit Sam Phillips überworfen hatten, fand im September 1951 in einer Schule und mit portablem Aufnahmegerät jene Session statt, die B. B. Kings ersten Hit 3 o’Clock Blues hervorbrachte, der Platz Nr. 1 der R&B-Charts wurde. Aufgrund des großen Erfolgs dieser Single folgte eine Tournee mit Tiny Bradshaws Orchester. Wenig später schloss sich B. B. King mit der Band des Saxofonisten Bill Harvey zusammen, die dann bis 1955 seine Tour-Band blieb.
1952 bzw. 1953 hatte King mit You Know I Love You und Please Love Me zwei weitere Nr-1-R&B-Hits, die seiner Karriere einen entscheidenden Auftrieb gaben. Am 24. April 1954 zierte sein Bild die Titelseite des Cash Box Magazins. Einen Monat später gab King sein Debüt mit Bill Harvey’s Orchester im Apollo Theater in Harlem. Unter Produzent Johnny Pate wurde von King der Bluesklassiker Everyday I Have the Blues am 18. und 19. August 1954 in den alten Capitol-Studios (Los Angeles, Melrose Avenue) in der Besetzung B. B King (Gesang/Gitarre), Millard Lee (Piano), Floyd Newman (Saxophon) und Kenny Sands (Trompete) aufgenommen. Im Dezember 1954 erschien dann Everyday I Have the Blues / Sneakin’ Around (RPM #421) und drang bis auf Rang 8 der Rhythm & Blues-Hitparade vor. Nach Veröffentlichung berichtete Billboard von anfangs hohen Plattenumsätzen,[5] die über die Jahre zu über 4 Millionen Exemplaren anwuchsen.[6] Damit avancierte Everyday I Have the Blues zu den meistverkauften Bluessongs aller Zeiten.
Noch im Dezember 1954 folgte eine Westcoast Tournee. B. B. King war nun aufgestiegen zum nationalen Star, ganz dem Blues verschrieben und kaum interessiert an der sich bereits abzeichnenden Rock-’n’-Roll-Revolution.
Quer durch die USA
Anfang 1955 brach King wegen geschäftlicher Differenzen mit Bill Harvey und seinem Manager Morris Merritt. Kurzerhand stellte King eine neue Band – die B. B. King Revue – unter der Leitung von Millard Lee zusammen. Die Band bestand zunächst aus Calvin Owens und Kenneth Sands (Trompeten), Lawrence Burdine (Altsaxofon), George Coleman (Tenorsaxofon), Floyd Newman (Baritonsaxofon), Millard Lee (Klavier), George Joyner (Bass) und Earl Forest und Ted Curry (Schlagzeug). Onzie Horne als geschulter Musiker wurde Kings Arrangeur und half ihm, seine musikalischen Ideen umzusetzen.
Es folgten weitere Tourneen quer durch die USA mit Auftritten in den großen Theatern der Städte (wie etwa Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit und St. Louis), sowie zahlreiche Gigs in den kleineren Clubs und Juke Joints der Südstaaten. King tourte mittlerweile den kompletten Chitlin’ Circuit und war 1956 mit 342 Konzerten recht ausgebucht.
Nebenher gründete er im gleichen Jahr sein eigenes Plattenlabel Blues Boys Kingdom mit Sitz an der Beale Street in Memphis. Dort produzierte er unter anderem Künstler wie Millard Lee oder Levi Seabury. Die Plattenfirma scheiterte letztlich daran, dass King seinen eigenen Verpflichtungen als Musiker nachkommen musste und deshalb keine Zeit hatte, eine Firma zu leiten. Dazu kamen seine Defizite als Geschäftsmann. Seine Plattenaufnahmen machte B. B. King nun fast ausschließlich im Modern Studio in Los Angeles mit Musikern unter der Leitung von Maxwell Davis.
Blues und Pop
Das Aufkommen des Rock ’n’ Roll führte schon Mitte der 1950er Jahre zu einem enormen Popularitätsverlust des Blues in der afroamerikanischen Gesellschaft. Obwohl King weiterhin Hits vorweisen konnte, stellte das Jahr 1957 für ihn den Beginn eines ruhigeren Karriereabschnitts dar. Um Kings Popularitätsverlust entgegenzuwirken, versuchten die Biharis ihn in den Bereich der Popmusik zu drängen. Zu dieser Zeit coverte er unter anderem Tennessee Ernie Fords Sixteen Tons und nahm auch den Song Bim Bam auf. Auch weitere Versuche mit Popballaden scheiterten und brachten nicht den kommerziellen Erfolg früherer Tage zurück. Nach einem kurzen Zwischenspiel bei Chess Records verlängerten die Biharis 1958 Kings Vertrag – ein Zeichen dafür, dass sie nach wie vor auf ihn setzten. Ab diesem Zeitpunkt erschienen B. B. Kings Singles auf dem neu gegründeten Sublabel Kent Records.
Sweet Sixteen
Zu Beginn der 1960er-Jahre war B. B. King einer der wenigen Bluesmusiker, die nach wie vor regelmäßig in den R&B-Charts vertreten waren. So landete er im Frühjahr 1960 mit seiner Interpretation des Big Joe Turner Klassikers Sweet Sixteen sogar nochmal einen No. 2 Hit in den R&B Charts. Während andere Bluesmusiker wie Muddy Waters oder John Lee Hooker infolge des Folk-Musik Booms ein neues, vor allem weißes Publikum fanden, blieb B. B. King seiner angestammten Zuhörerschaft treu. Anstatt ein trendiges Folk-Blues-Album einzuspielen, trat er weiterhin mit seiner 13-köpfigen Band in Hauptzentren der afroamerikanischen Kultur, wie etwa dem Apollo Theater in Harlem auf. In Europa waren seine Platten kaum erhältlich, da sich die Bihari-Brüder beim Lizenzieren ihres Katalogs recht schwer taten.
Crown Records
Allerdings hatte B. B. King mittlerweile gute Gründe, Modern Records zu verlassen. Da die Biharis seine Alben auf dem Billig-Sublabel Crown Records für 99 Cent das Stück veröffentlichten, landeten diese LPs meist in den Ramschkisten der Läden und wurden vom Billboard Magazine völlig ignoriert. Infolgedessen fanden diese Alben (zwölf Stück zwischen 1957 und 1963) auch keinerlei Anerkennung in der breiten Öffentlichkeit. Weiterhin beanspruchten die Biharis bis zu drei Viertel der fließenden Tantiemen aus B. B. Kings Platten, indem sie den Komponistenangaben (in der Regel King) eigene Pseudonyme wie Jules Taub, Joe Josea oder Sam Ling hinzufügten. Diese illegale Praxis des Cut In und die Veröffentlichungspolitik des Labels führten dazu, dass B. B. King Modern Records den Rücken kehrte und auf Anraten seiner Musikerkollegen Lloyd Price und Fats Domino im Januar 1962 einen Vertrag beim damaligen Major-Label ABC-Paramount unterschrieb.
Live at the Regal
Seine neue Plattenfirma wusste zunächst nicht genau, welche Richtung B. B. Kings musikalische Laufbahn einschlagen würde. Die beiden anderen R&B-Stars des Labels Ray Charles und Lloyd Price hatten bereits ihre Nischen irgendwo im weiten Bereich zwischen Pop und R&B gefunden. Doch B. B. King war ein reiner Bluesmusiker; ein Übertritt ins Pop- oder Soul-Lager schien nicht möglich. Nach einigen Singles und zwei von Johnny Pate produzierten Alben, veröffentlichte ABC-Paramount 1965 das Album Live at the Regal, das ein Überraschungserfolg wurde. Mitgeschnitten im Chicagoer Regal Theater am 21. November 1964, präsentierte es einen sehr lebhaften und mitreißenden Auftritt Kings vor einem afroamerikanischen Publikum.
Bereits seit seinem Weggang von Modern Records hatten die Bihari-Brüder parallel zu den ABC-Veröffentlichungen weitere King-Titel aus ihrem Archiv herausgebracht, zum Teil mit beachtlichem Erfolg. Rock Me Baby – im Sommer 1964 als Single auf dem Kent-Label erschienen – schaffte es bis auf Platz 34 der US-Popcharts. Angestachelt durch den Erfolg von Live at the Regal folgte eine Flut weiterer paralleler Veröffentlichungen auf dem Kent-Label. Zur Verwirrung der Fans waren das – neben bislang unveröffentlichten Archivtiteln – auch alte Titel, die man durch Overdubs in ein neues, modernes Gewand zu hüllen versuchte.
The Thrill Is Gone
Etwa um 1966/67 stellte B. B. King fest, dass sich die Zusammensetzung seines Publikums langsam zu ändern begann. Während die afroamerikanische Jugend sich vom Blues distanzierte, interessierten sich plötzlich immer mehr weiße Jugendliche für Kings Musik und besuchten seine Konzerte. Das zu dieser Zeit erschienene Buch Urban Blues von Charles Keil enthält ein Kapitel über B. B. King und stellte ein Pionierwerk dar. 1967 wurde Sidney Seidenberg Kings neuer Manager. Sein Hauptziel war es, mit einem neuen Konzept B. B. King einem breiteren Publikum zugänglich zu machen.
Fortan trat er auch bei Rockfestivals und in Zentren der Hippiekultur – wie etwa dem Fillmore West – auf. Obwohl er unter Seidenbergs Management einige Hits auf dem ABC-Sublabel Bluesway Records hatte, dauerte es fast weitere drei Jahre, bis das Konzept vollständig aufging und B. B. King mit The Thrill Is Gone seinen bis dahin größten Hit (Platz 15 in den US-Popcharts) landen konnte. 1969 spielte B. B. King neben Ike & Tina Turner bei der US-Tournee der Rolling Stones im Vorprogramm. Im folgenden Jahr war er der erste Bluesmusiker, der in der Tonight Show auftrat, und im Oktober 1970 folgte ein Auftritt in der Ed Sullivan Show.
Internationale Erfolge
Nach dem Erfolg von The Thrill Is Gone spielte B. B. King 1970 das Album Indianola Mississippi Seeds mit weißen Rockmusikern wie Carole King und Leon Russell ein. Dies war eine Idee seines Produzenten Bill Szymezyk. Insgesamt klang das Album sanfter und weicher als seine vorherigen Veröffentlichungen und enthielt mit Chains and Things, Ask Me No Question und Hummingbird drei Hit-Singles. 1971 nahm B. B. King in London mit britischen Gastmusikern wie Alexis Korner, Peter Green, Steve Winwood und anderen das Album In London auf. Hier spielte er zum ersten Mal seit 1946 bei einem Titel wieder eine akustische Gitarre.
1972 nahm B. B. King an einem Konzert teil, von dem er im Anschluss sagte: „Das war das beste Konzert, das ich jemals gegeben habe.“ Zwei Dokumentarfilmer hatten ein Filmprojekt mit Insassen von Sing Sing, dem großen New Yorker Gefängnis, ins Leben gerufen und es ein Jahr lang begleitet (Sing Sing Thanksgiving). Als Abschlussarbeit war dieses Gefängniskonzert zum amerikanischen Thanksgiving geplant, zu dem viele Künstler eingeladen wurden, aber nur wenige zugesagt hatten. Die Musiker waren The Voices of East Harlem, Joan Baez und eben B. B. King.
Im folgenden Jahr spielte B. B. King in Philadelphia das Album To Know You Is To Love You ein. Dieses Album war stark beeinflusst von der Soul-Musik jener Tage. Begleitet wurde King unter anderem von den Memphis Horns sowie bei dem Titelstück von Stevie Wonder.
Vor dem Boxkampf um den Weltmeistertitel zwischen Muhammad Ali und George Foreman im Stadion von Kinshasa, Zaire, im Oktober 1974 („Rumble in the Jungle“) trat B.B. King mit seiner Band auf. Dieses Konzert wurde auf einer DVD veröffentlicht.
Mit U2 spielte er für deren Album Rattle and Hum den Song When Love Comes to Town ein. Außerdem nahm B. B. King an der darauffolgenden „Lovetown“-Tour im Jahr 1989 teil. Im Jahr 2000 produzierte er mit Eric Clapton das Album Riding with the King . Über seine Jazz-Kollegen Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis und Charlie Parker äußerte sich King einmal: „was die machen, geht schlicht über meinen Horizont“.
King besitzt mehrere Bluesclubs in den USA, unter anderem an der Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, in New Orleans und in Nashville, in denen er hin und wieder auftritt. Unter seinem Namen werden auch Merchandising-Artikel wie Barbecue-Zubehör und Gitarrensaiten vermarktet. Er unternahm regelmäßig ausgedehnte Tourneen und spielte mitunter über 200 Konzerte pro Jahr. Seit 2004 tritt B. B. King, der seit über 60 Jahren fast ununterbrochen unterwegs war, altersbedingt und aus gesundheitlichen Gründen seltener auf. Im Sommer 2005 unternahm er eine „Final Farewell Tour“ durch Europa. Aber auch 2006 trat er in den Vereinigten Staaten und erneut in Europa auf und 2009 folgte eine weitere Europatournee.
In den 1980ern trat er wie viele andere Stars in der erfolgreichen Bill Cosby Show auf, und zwar in der Folge Der Heirats-Blues.
1980 wurde B. B. King in die Blues Hall of Fame aufgenommen, 1987 in die Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[7] 2004 erhielt er den inoffiziellen „Nobelpreis für Musik“, den Polar Music Prize. 2008 wurde in seiner Heimatstadt Indianola das B. B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center eröffnet, dessen Ausstellung die Karriereschritte B. B. Kings darstellt.[8]
Das Rolling Stone Magazine listet ihn auf Platz 3 der 100 großartigsten Gitarristen aller Zeiten.[9]
Lucille
B. B. King spielt ein Gibson-Gitarrenmodell, dem er traditionell seit den 1950er-Jahren den Kosenamen „Lucille“ gibt. Der Grund dafür liegt in einem Erlebnis, das er 1949 in einem Musik-Club im US-Bundesstaat Arkansas hatte. Bei einem Konzert kam es zu einem Brand. Der bereits geflüchtete King lief zurück, um seine Gitarre zu retten. Als er erfuhr, dass der Brand versehentlich durch zwei Männer entstanden war, die um eine Frau namens Lucille stritten, nannte er die Gitarre Lucille. Das sollte ihn daran erinnern, so etwas nie wieder zu tun.[10]
Eine Besonderheit in der Bauart von Kings Gitarre liegt darin, dass sie zwar halbresonant ist, aber keine charakteristischen F-Löcher hat. Außerdem verfügt das Modell über eine erweiterte Klangregelung namens Varitone-Drehschalter. Seit 1999 bewirbt B. B. King auch ein anders konstruiertes Modell Gibsons, die Little Lucille.
Gegenüber der Presse erklärte King einmal: „Abgesehen von richtigem Sex mit einer richtigen Frau gibt es nichts, was mir solch eine innere Ruhe gibt wie Lucille“. Laut eigener Aussage besitzt B. B. King insgesamt sechzehn Exemplare des Gitarrenmodells.[10] Einige seiner Gitarren sind auch im Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi, ausgestellt.
Er war zweimal verheiratet und hat fünfzehn Kinder.
The Life Of Riley
Im Mai 2013 kam der Dokumentarfilm The Life Of Riley (Großbritannien, 2012, 119 Min.) des Regisseurs Jon Brewer in einer OmU-Fassung in deutsche Kinos, der sich Kings Leben widmet und im Titel auf dessen eigentlichen Vornamen Bezug nimmt.[11] Erzählt wird Kings Lebensgeschichte darin von Oscar-Preisträger Morgan Freeman und neben King selbst kommen Zeitzeugen sowie Musikerkolleg(inn)en wie Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Bono, Carlos Santana oder Mick Jagger zu Wort.
B.B.
King (born Riley B. King; September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015) was an
American blues musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No. 6 on its 2011 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time (previously ranked No. 3 in the 2003 edition of the same list),[2] and he was ranked No. 17 in Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time".[3] According to Edward M. Komara, King "introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that would influence virtually every electric blues guitarist that followed."[4] King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. King was also inducted into 2014 class of the R&B Music Hall of Fame. He is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname "The King of Blues", and one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and Freddie King).[5][6][7] King was also known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing at 250–300 concerts per year until his seventies. In 1956 it was noted that he appeared at 342 shows. King continued to appear at 100 shows a year through the end of his career.
Over the years, King developed one of the world's most identifiable guitar styles. He borrowed from Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker and others, integrating his precise and complex vocal-like string bends and his left hand vibrato, both of which have become indispensable components of rock guitarists' vocabulary. His economy and phrasing has been a model for thousands of players.[8] King mixed blues, jazz, swing, mainstream pop and jump into a unique sound. In King's words, "When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille."
Early lifeRiley B. King was born on September 16, 1925,[8] on a cotton plantation near the town of Itta Bena, Mississippi,[9][8] the son of sharecroppers Albert and Nora Ella King.[9] He considered the nearby city of Indianola, Mississippi to be his home.[citation needed] When Riley was 4 years old, his mother left his father for another man, and the boy was raised by his maternal grandmother, Elnora Farr, in Kilmichael, Mississippi.[9]
While young, King sang in the gospel choir at Elkhorn Baptist Church in Kilmichael. It seems that at the age of 12, he purchased his first guitar for $15.00,[9] although another source indicates he was given his first guitar by Bukka White, his mother's first cousin (King's grandmother and White's mother were sisters).[10] In 1943, King left Kilmichael to work as a tractor driver and play guitar with the Famous St. John's Quartet of Inverness, Mississippi, performing at area churches and on WGRM in Greenwood, Mississippi.[11][12]
In 1946, King followed Bukka White to Memphis, Tennessee. White took him in for the next ten months.[9] However, King shortly returned to Mississippi, where he decided to prepare himself better for the next visit, and returned to West Memphis, Arkansas, two years later in 1948. He performed on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program on KWEM in West Memphis, where he began to develop an audience. King's appearances led to steady engagements at the Sixteenth Avenue Grill in West Memphis and later to a ten-minute spot on the Memphis radio station WDIA. King's Spot became so popular, it was expanded and became the Sepia Swing Club.
Initially he worked at WDIA as a singer and disc jockey, gaining the nickname Beale Street Blues Boy, which was later shortened to Blues Boy and finally to B.B.[13][14][15] It was there that he first met T-Bone Walker. King said, "Once I'd heard him for the first time, I knew I'd have to have [an electric guitar] myself. 'Had' to have one, short of stealing!"[16]
Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No. 6 on its 2011 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time (previously ranked No. 3 in the 2003 edition of the same list),[2] and he was ranked No. 17 in Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time".[3] According to Edward M. Komara, King "introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that would influence virtually every electric blues guitarist that followed."[4] King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. King was also inducted into 2014 class of the R&B Music Hall of Fame. He is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname "The King of Blues", and one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and Freddie King).[5][6][7] King was also known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing at 250–300 concerts per year until his seventies. In 1956 it was noted that he appeared at 342 shows. King continued to appear at 100 shows a year through the end of his career.
Over the years, King developed one of the world's most identifiable guitar styles. He borrowed from Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker and others, integrating his precise and complex vocal-like string bends and his left hand vibrato, both of which have become indispensable components of rock guitarists' vocabulary. His economy and phrasing has been a model for thousands of players.[8] King mixed blues, jazz, swing, mainstream pop and jump into a unique sound. In King's words, "When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille."
Early lifeRiley B. King was born on September 16, 1925,[8] on a cotton plantation near the town of Itta Bena, Mississippi,[9][8] the son of sharecroppers Albert and Nora Ella King.[9] He considered the nearby city of Indianola, Mississippi to be his home.[citation needed] When Riley was 4 years old, his mother left his father for another man, and the boy was raised by his maternal grandmother, Elnora Farr, in Kilmichael, Mississippi.[9]
While young, King sang in the gospel choir at Elkhorn Baptist Church in Kilmichael. It seems that at the age of 12, he purchased his first guitar for $15.00,[9] although another source indicates he was given his first guitar by Bukka White, his mother's first cousin (King's grandmother and White's mother were sisters).[10] In 1943, King left Kilmichael to work as a tractor driver and play guitar with the Famous St. John's Quartet of Inverness, Mississippi, performing at area churches and on WGRM in Greenwood, Mississippi.[11][12]
In 1946, King followed Bukka White to Memphis, Tennessee. White took him in for the next ten months.[9] However, King shortly returned to Mississippi, where he decided to prepare himself better for the next visit, and returned to West Memphis, Arkansas, two years later in 1948. He performed on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program on KWEM in West Memphis, where he began to develop an audience. King's appearances led to steady engagements at the Sixteenth Avenue Grill in West Memphis and later to a ten-minute spot on the Memphis radio station WDIA. King's Spot became so popular, it was expanded and became the Sepia Swing Club.
Initially he worked at WDIA as a singer and disc jockey, gaining the nickname Beale Street Blues Boy, which was later shortened to Blues Boy and finally to B.B.[13][14][15] It was there that he first met T-Bone Walker. King said, "Once I'd heard him for the first time, I knew I'd have to have [an electric guitar] myself. 'Had' to have one, short of stealing!"[16]
Career
1949–2005In 1949, King began recording songs under contract with Los Angeles-based RPM Records. Many of King's early recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, who later founded Sun Records. Before his RPM contract, King had debuted on Bullet Records by issuing the single "Miss Martha King" (1949), which did not chart well. "My very first recordings [in 1949] were for a company out of Nashville called Bullet, the Bullet Record Transcription company," King recalled. "I had horns that very first session. I had Phineas Newborn on piano; his father played drums, and his brother, Calvin, played guitar with me. I had Tuff Green on bass, Ben Branch on tenor sax, his brother, Thomas Branch, on trumpet, and a lady trombone player. The Newborn family were the house band at the famous Plantation Inn in West Memphis."[17]
King assembled his own band; the B.B. King Review, under the leadership of Millard Lee. The band initially consisted of Calvin Owens and Kenneth Sands (trumpet), Lawrence Burdin (alto saxophone), George Coleman (tenor saxophone),[18] Floyd Newman (baritone saxophone), Millard Lee (piano), George Joyner (bass) and Earl Forest and Ted Curry (drums). Onzie Horne was a trained musician elicited as an arranger to assist King with his compositions. By his own admission, he cannot play chords well[19] and always relies on improvisation. This was followed by tours across the USA with performances in major theaters in cities such as Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit and St. Louis, as well as numerous gigs in small clubs and juke joints of the southern US states.
In the winter of 1949, King played at a dance hall in Twist, Arkansas. In order to heat the hall, a barrel half-filled with kerosene was lit, a fairly common practice at the time. During a performance, two men began to fight, knocking over the burning barrel and sending burning fuel across the floor. The hall burst into flames, which triggered an evacuation. Once outside, King realized that he had left his guitar inside the burning building. He entered the blaze to retrieve his beloved instrument, a Gibson hollow electric. The next day, King learned that the two men were fighting over a woman named Lucille. King named that first guitar Lucille, as well as every one he owned since that experience, as a reminder never again to do something as stupid as to fight over a woman or run into a burning building.
Following his first Billboard magazine Rhythm and Blues charts number one, "3 O'Clock Blues" (February 1952),[20] B.B. King became one of the most important names in R&B music in the 1950s, amassing an impressive list of hits[15] including "You Know I Love You," "Woke Up This Morning," "Please Love Me," "When My Heart Beats like a Hammer," "Whole Lotta Love," "You Upset Me Baby," "Every Day I Have the Blues", "Sneakin' Around," "Ten Long Years," "Bad Luck," "Sweet Little Angel", "On My Word of Honor," and "Please Accept My Love." This led to a significant increase in his weekly earnings, from about $85 to $2,500,[21] with appearances at major venues such as the Howard Theater in Washington and the Apollo in New York, as well as touring the entire "Chitlin' circuit". 1956 became a record-breaking year, with 342 concerts booked and three recording sessions. That same year he founded his own record label, Blues Boys Kingdom, with headquarters at Beale Street in Memphis. There, among other projects, he produced artists such as Millard Lee and Levi Seabury. In 1962, King signed to ABC-Paramount Records, which was later absorbed into MCA Records, and this hence into his current label, Geffen Records. In November 1964, King recorded the Live at the Regal album at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois.
King won a 1970 Grammy Award for the song "The Thrill Is Gone";[22] his version became a hit on both the pop and R&B charts, which was rare during that time for an R&B artist. It also gained the number 183 spot in Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. He gained further visibility among rock audiences as an opening act on The Rolling Stones' 1969 American Tour. King's mainstream success continued throughout the 1970s with songs like "To Know You is to Love You" and "I Like to Live the Love".
King was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2004 he was awarded the international Polar Music Prize, given to artists "in recognition of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music."[23]
From the 1980s onward he has continued to maintain a highly visible and active career, appearing on numerous television shows and performing 300 nights a year. In 1988, King reached a new generation of fans with the single "When Love Comes to Town", a collaborative effort between King and the Irish band U2 on their Rattle and Hum album. Also that year King played for the 1988 Republican National Convention at the behest of Lee Atwater, chairman of the Republican Party. King has remained friendly with the Bush Family ever since and in 1990 was awarded the Presidential Medal of the Arts by George H.W. Bush and the Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush in 2008. In 2000, King teamed up with guitarist Eric Clapton to record Riding With the King. In 1998, King appeared in The Blues Brothers 2000, playing the part of the lead singer of the Louisiana Gator Boys, along with Clapton, Dr. John, Koko Taylor and Bo Diddley. King performed a version of "Chains & Things" with Carole King on his box set King of the Blues.
2006–2015: farewell tour and later activitiesIn 2006, King went on a "farewell" world tour, although he remained active afterward during the last years of his life. The tour was partly supported by Northern Irish guitarist Gary Moore, with whom King had previously toured and recorded, including the song "Since I Met You Baby". It started in the UK, and continued with performances in the Montreux Jazz Festival and in Zürich at the Blues at Sunset. During his show in Montreux at the Stravinski Hall he jammed with Joe Sample, Randy Crawford, David Sanborn, Gladys Knight, Lella James, Andre Beeka, Earl Thomas, Stanley Clarke, John McLaughlin, Barbara Hendricks and George Duke. The European leg of the Farewell Tour ended in Luxembourg on September 19, 2006, at the D'Coque Arena (support act: Todd Sharpville). In November and December, King played six times in Brazil.
In June 2006, King was present at a memorial of his first radio broadcast at the Three Deuces Building in Greenwood, Mississippi, where an official marker of the Mississippi Blues Trail was erected. The same month, a groundbreaking was held for a new museum, dedicated to King.[24] in Indianola, Mississippi.[25] The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center opened on September 13, 2008. In late October 2006, he recorded a concert CD and DVD entitled B.B. King: Live at his B.B. King Blues Clubs in Nashville and Memphis. The four-night production featured his regular B.B. King Blues Band and captured his show as he performs it nightly around the world. It was his first live performance recording in 14 years.
In 2007, King played at Eric Clapton's second Crossroads Guitar Festival (Parts of this performance were subsequently aired in a PBS broadcast and released on the Crossroads II DVD.), contributed the song "Goin' Home", to Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (with Ivan Neville's DumpstaPhunk), and "One Shoe Blues" to Sandra Boynton's children's album Blue Moo, accompanied by a pair of sock puppets in the video.
In the summer of 2008, King played at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, the Chicago Blues Festival, and at the Monterey Blues Festival. On the winter, King was the closing act at the 51st Grammy Nomination Concert, and played at The Kennedy Center Honors Awards Show; his performance was in honor of actor Morgan Freeman. Also in 2008 he was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame alongside Liza Minnelli and Sir James Galway, and Sirius XM Radio's Bluesville channel was renamed B.B. King's Bluesville.
In Summer 2009, King started a European Tour with concerts in France, Germany, Belgium, Finland and Denmark.
King performed at the Mawazine festival in Rabat, Morocco, on May 27, 2010.[26] In June 2010, King performed at 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival with The Robert Cray Band, Jimmie Vaughan and Eric Clapton. In March 2010, King contributed to Cyndi Lauper's album Memphis Blues, which was released on June 22, 2010.
In 2011, King played at the Glastonbury Music Festival, and in The Royal Albert Hall, London, supported by Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Ronnie Wood, Mick Hucknall and Slash.
On February 21, 2012, King was among the performers of "In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues", during which Barack Obama sang part of "Sweet Home Chicago".[27] King recorded for the debut album of rapper and producer Big K.R.I.T., who also hails from Mississippi.[28] On July 5, 2012, King performed a concert at the Byblos Festival, Lebanon.
On May 26, 2013, King appeared at New Orleans Jazz Festival[29]
Over a period of 64 years, King has played in excess of 15,000 performances.[30]
A feature documentary about B.B. King narrated by Morgan Freeman, and directed by Jon Brewer was released on October 15, 2012.[31]
Equipment
B.B. King used simple equipment. He played guitars made by various manufacturers early in his career: he played a Fender Telecaster on most of his recordings with RPM Records (USA).[32] However, he was best known for playing variants of the Gibson ES-355. In 1980 Gibson Guitar Corporation launched the B.B. King Lucille model. In 2005 Gibson made a special run of 80 Gibson Lucilles, referred to as the "80th Birthday Lucille", the first prototype of which was given as a birthday gift to King, and which he used ever since.[33]
King used a Lab Series L5 2x12" combo amplifier and had been using this amplifier for a long time. It was made by Norlin Industries for Gibson in the 1970s and 1980s. Other popular L5 users are Allan Holdsworth and Ty Tabor of King's X. The L5 has an onboard compressor, parametric equalization, and four inputs. King also used a Fender Twin Reverb.[34]
He used his signature model strings "Gibson SEG-BBS B.B. King Signature Electric Guitar Strings" with gauges: 10-13-17p-32w-45w-54w and D'Andrea 351 MD SHL CX (Medium .71mm, Tortoise Shell, Celluloid) Picks.[34]
B.B. King's Blues ClubIn 1991, B.B. King's Blues Club opened on Beale Street in Memphis, and in 1994, a second club was launched at Universal City Walk in Los Angeles. A third club in New York City's Times Square opened in June 2000. Two further clubs opened at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut in January 2002[35] and another in Nashville in 2003.[36] A club in West Palm Beach opened in the fall of 2009[37] and an additional one, based in the Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas, opened in the winter of 2009.[38] In 2007, a B.B. King's Blues Club in Orlando opened on International Drive. The Memphis, Nashville, Orlando, West Palm Beach and Las Vegas clubs are all the same company.
LegacyKing was widely regarded as one of the most influential blues guitarists of all time, inspiring countless other electric blues and blues rock guitarists.[8]
PhilanthropyIn 2001, King signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a non-profit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underprivileged public schools throughout the United States. He sits on LKR's Honorary Board of Directors.
Television appearancesB.B. King made guest appearances in numerous popular television shows, including The Cosby Show, The Young and the Restless, General Hospital,[39] The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sesame Street,[40] Married... with Children, Sanford and Son, and Touched by an Angel. He also had a cameo in the movie Spies Like Us.[41] He voiced a character in the last episode of Cow and Chicken.[42]
A version of B.B. King was made for the popular children's show, Between The Lions, in which Theo played as a singer named "B.B. the King Of Beasts".
King appeared in a 2014 commercial for the Toyota Camry with the Lucille guitar after the guitar was found in a storage locker and signed by King.[43]
King, who was also a diabetic, appeared in television commercials for OneTouch Ultra from 2002 to 2005, and again in 2011 with Crystal Bowersox.
Personal lifeKing was married twice, to Martha Lee Denton, 1946 to 1952, and to Sue Carol Hall, 1958 to 1966. Both marriages ended because of the heavy demands made on the marriage by King's 250 performances a year.[9] It is reported that he has fathered 15 children and, as of 2004, had 50 grandchildren.[9] He has lived with Type II diabetes for over 20 years and is a high-profile spokesman in the fight against the disease, appearing in advertisements for diabetes-management products along with American Idol season 9 contestant Crystal Bowersox.
King was an FAA certificated Private Pilot and learned to fly in 1963 at what was then Chicago Hammond Airport in Lansing, Illinois.[44][45] He frequently flew to gigs, but under the advice of his insurance company and manager in 1995, King was asked to fly only with another certificated pilot; and as a result, King stopped flying around the age of 70.[46]
External video Oral History, B.B. King reflects on his greatest musical influences. interview date August 3, 2005, NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Oral History Library
His favorite singer was Frank Sinatra. In his autobiography King spoke about how he was a "Sinatra nut" and how he went to bed every night listening to Sinatra's classic album In the Wee Small Hours. King credited Sinatra for opening doors to black entertainers who were not given the chance to play in "white-dominated" venues; Sinatra got B.B. King into the main clubs in Las Vegas during the 1960s.[47]
Health and deathOn May 1, 2015, after two hospitalizations caused by complications from high blood pressure and diabetes. King announced on his website that he was in hospice care at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada.[48] King died on May 14 at home.
B.B. King - The Thrill Is Gone Live From Crossroads Festival 2010
B B King Live At The Royal Albert Hall 2011 1080p HD
B.B.King Live in Bonn 1994
Billy Boy Arnold *16.9.1935
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1948 zog es den jungen Arnold ins Mississippi-Delta,[Anm. 1] wo er sein Idol Sonny Boy Williamson aufsuchte. Der brachte ihm bereitwillig einige Kniffe bei, wurde aber wenig später ermordet.
1952 machte Arnold seine ersten Aufnahmen für das kleine COOL Label, die jedoch ohne Erfolg blieben. Zu dieser Zeit spielte er regelmäßig mit Johnny Shines, Johnny Temple und Otis Rush bei Auftritten. 1955 begleitete er Bo Diddley bei dessen Debüt-Hitsingle Bo Diddley und I'm a Man. Arnold hatte mit I Wish You Would bei Vee Jay Records einen Hit, der später von den Yardbirds neu eingespielt wurde, ebenso wie I Ain't Got You - einem Original von Jimmy Reed. Er spielte zu dieser Zeit auch im berühmten APOLLO in New York City.
In den 1960er-Jahren ließ Arnolds Popularität nach. Er arbeitete zeitweise als Busfahrer in Chicago, später für die Regierung des Bundesstaates Illinois. In den 90ern hatte er jedoch ein vielbeachtetes Comeback mit den Alben Back Where I Belong (1993) und Eldorado Cadillac (1995). 2001 erschien das Album Boogie 'n' Shuffle.
Der Bassist Jerome Arnold ist ein Bruder von Billy Boy (er ist eines von 16 Kindern) und spielte u.a. mit Paul Butterfield. Ein anderer Bruder ist Augustus „Gus“ Arnold, der ebenfalls Mundharmonika spielt und Bücher schreibt. Augustus Arnold ist besser bekannt unter dem Namen Julio Finn und hat mit so verschiedenen Künstlern wie dem Art Ensemble of Chicago, Archie Shepp, Linton Kwesi Johnson, dem Bluesgitarristen Eddie C. Campbell aufgenommen oder gespielt.
William "Billy Boy" Arnold (born September 16, 1935, Chicago, Illinois)[1] is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter.
Biography
Born in Chicago, he began playing harmonica as a child, and in 1948 received informal lessons from his near neighbour John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, shortly before the latter's death. Arnold made his recording debut in 1952 with "Hello Stranger" on the small Cool label, the record company giving him the nickname "Billy Boy".[1]
In the early 1950s, he joined forces with street musician Bo Diddley and played harmonica on the March 2, 1955 recording of the Bo Diddley song "I'm a Man" released by Checker Records.[1] The same day as the Bo Diddley sessions, Billy Boy recorded the self-penned "You Got to Love Me" which was not released until the box set Chess Blues 1947-1967 in 1992.[2]
Arnold signed a solo recording contract with Vee-Jay Records, recording the originals of "I Wish You Would" and "I Ain’t Got You".[3] Both were later covered by The Yardbirds.[3] "I Wish You Would" was also recorded by David Bowie on his 1973 album Pin Ups and by Sweet on their 1982 album, Identity Crisis.
In the late 1950s Arnold continued to play in Chicago clubs and in 1963 he recorded a LP, More Blues From The South Side, for the Prestige label, but as playing opportunities dried up he pursued a parallel career as a bus driver and, later parole officer.[1]
By the 1970s, Arnold had begun playing festivals, touring Europe and recording again. He recorded a session for BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel on 5 October 1977.
In 1993, he released the album Back Where I Belong on Alligator Records, followed by Eldorado Cadillac (1995) and on Stony Plain Records with the Duke Robillard Band Boogie ’n’ Shuffle (2001). In 2012, he released Blue and Lonesome featuring Tony McPhee and The Groundhogs.[4] Another tribute to Sonny Boy was the album The Blues Soul of Billy Boy Arnold (Stony Plain - SPCD 1378, 2014).[5]
In 2014, he was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the 'Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year' category.
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/barrelhouse-buck-mcfarland-mn0000123263/songs
st louis fire blues, barrelhouse buck mcfarland, 1930
Jack Kelly *16.09.1927
Singer/guitarist Jack Kelly was the frontman of the South Memphis Jug Band, a popular string band whose music owed a heavy debt to the blues as well as minstrel songs, vaudeville numbers, reels and rags. Little is known of the hoarse-voiced Kelly's origins; he led the group in tandem with fiddler Will Batts, and they made their first recordings in 1933, followed in 1939 by a second and final session. Although the South Memphis Jug Band's lineup changed frequently, Kelly remained a constant, leading the group in various incarnations until as late as the mid-'50s; he died in Memphis in 1960.
Dick Heckstall-Smith *16.09.1934
Richard Malden ("Dick") Heckstall-Smith (* 26. September 1934 in Ludlow, Shropshire; † 17. Dezember 2004 in London) war ein einflussreicher britischer Blues-, Rock- und Jazz-Saxophonist.
Im Laufe seiner Karriere arbeitete Heckstall-Smith mit vielen Blues-, Jazz- und Rock-Musikern zusammen. Er übertrug auf dem Saxophon Jazztechniken in die Rockmusik und wurde auch dafür bekannt, ein Tenor- und ein Sopran-Saxophon gleichzeitig zu spielen.
Heckstall-Smith leitete schon als Student ein Jazzorchester, wurde 1957 Profi-Musiker und trat u. a. mit dem Klarinettisten Sandy Brown auf. Alexis Korner brachte ihn 1962 zu Blues Incorporated. Weitere Stationen waren die Graham Bond Organization (mit Jack Bruce und Ginger Baker, den späteren Cream-Gründern) und John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, bevor er 1968 mit dem Schlagzeuger Jon Hiseman die legendäre Jazzrock-Gruppe Colosseum ins Leben rief. Nach dem vorläufigen Ende dieser Formation im Jahr 1971 folgten Solo-Alben (A Story Ended) und eine Reihe weiterer Engagements in Rock-, Jazz-, Blues- und Folk-orientierten Ensembles. 1978 war er mit Alexis Korner im Rockpalast zu sehen (The Party Album, 1978). 1993 trat er in der Band von Jack Bruce anlässlich dessen 50. Geburtstages im E-Werk in Köln auf. Dick Heckstall-Smith, studierter Agrarwissenschaftler, widmete sich jedoch auch einer akademischen Karriere.
Seit 1994 wurde Colosseum von Hiseman und ihm mehrfach reaktiviert (1994: Reunion Concert im "Rockpalast"). In den letzten Jahren vor seinem Tod war Dick Heckstall-Smith mit der Hamburg Blues Band in Deutschland zu sehen.
Er starb am 17. Dezember 2004 an Krebs.
Im Laufe seiner Karriere arbeitete Heckstall-Smith mit vielen Blues-, Jazz- und Rock-Musikern zusammen. Er übertrug auf dem Saxophon Jazztechniken in die Rockmusik und wurde auch dafür bekannt, ein Tenor- und ein Sopran-Saxophon gleichzeitig zu spielen.
Heckstall-Smith leitete schon als Student ein Jazzorchester, wurde 1957 Profi-Musiker und trat u. a. mit dem Klarinettisten Sandy Brown auf. Alexis Korner brachte ihn 1962 zu Blues Incorporated. Weitere Stationen waren die Graham Bond Organization (mit Jack Bruce und Ginger Baker, den späteren Cream-Gründern) und John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, bevor er 1968 mit dem Schlagzeuger Jon Hiseman die legendäre Jazzrock-Gruppe Colosseum ins Leben rief. Nach dem vorläufigen Ende dieser Formation im Jahr 1971 folgten Solo-Alben (A Story Ended) und eine Reihe weiterer Engagements in Rock-, Jazz-, Blues- und Folk-orientierten Ensembles. 1978 war er mit Alexis Korner im Rockpalast zu sehen (The Party Album, 1978). 1993 trat er in der Band von Jack Bruce anlässlich dessen 50. Geburtstages im E-Werk in Köln auf. Dick Heckstall-Smith, studierter Agrarwissenschaftler, widmete sich jedoch auch einer akademischen Karriere.
Seit 1994 wurde Colosseum von Hiseman und ihm mehrfach reaktiviert (1994: Reunion Concert im "Rockpalast"). In den letzten Jahren vor seinem Tod war Dick Heckstall-Smith mit der Hamburg Blues Band in Deutschland zu sehen.
Er starb am 17. Dezember 2004 an Krebs.
Dick Heckstall-Smith (16 September 1934 – 17 December 2004) was an English jazz and blues saxophonist.[1] He played with some of the most influential English blues rock and jazz fusion bands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Early years
Heckstall-Smith was born Richard Malden Heckstall-Smith in the Royal Free Hospital, in Ludlow, England, and attended a York boarding school. However, he refused a second term there, instead enrolling in Gordonstoun, where his father had accepted a job as headmaster of the local Grammar School. Dick Heckstall-Smith was raised in Knighton, Radnorshire. He learned to play piano, clarinet and alto saxophone in childhood.[1]
Heckstall-Smith completed his education at Dartington Hall School before reading agriculture – and co-leading the university jazz band – at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, from 1953. Aged 15, he had taken up the soprano sax while at Dartington, captivated by the sound of Sidney Bechet. Then Lester Young and tenor saxophonist bebop jazzman Wardell Gray proved to be major influences for him.[2][3]
Musical career
Heckstall-Smith was an active member of the London jazz scene from the late 1950s. He joined Blues Incorporated, Alexis Korner's groundbreaking blues group, in 1962, recording the album R&B from the Marquee. The following year, he was a founding member of that band's breakaway unit, The Graham Bond Organisation. (The lineup also included two future members of the blues-rock supergroup Cream: bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker.)
In 1967, Heckstall-Smith became a member of guitarist-vocalist John Mayall's blues rock band, Bluesbreakers. That jazz-skewed edition of the band, had also included drummer Jon Hiseman and future Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, released the album Bare Wires in 1968.
From 1968 to 1970, Heckstall-Smith and Hiseman were the key creative members of the pioneering UK jazz-rock band Colosseum. The band afforded Heckstall-Smith an opportunity to showcase his writing and instrumental virtuosity, playing two saxophones simultaneously.[1]
After exiting Colosseum, Heckstall-Smith fronted and played in several other fusion units, including Manchild, Sweet Pain, Big Chief, Tough Tenors, The Famous Bluesblasters, Mainsqueeze, Big Chief and DHSS. Collaborating musicians common to many of these outfits included Victor Brox, Keith Tillman and harp player John O'Leary, a founder member of Savoy Brown. He participated in a 1990s reunion of the original Colosseum lineup and played the hard-working Hamburg Blues Band. In 2001 he recorded the all-star project Blues and Beyond, which reunited him with Mayall, Bruce, Taylor, ex-Mayall and Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green. In the 1980s in his Electric Dream ensemble Heckstall-Smith also worked with the South African percussionist Julian Bahula.
The BluesBigBand feat. Chris Farlowe & Dick Heckstall-Smith
Fred Below *16.09.1926
Fred Below (* 16. September 1926, Chicago, Illinois; † 14. August 1988, Chicago, Illinois) war ein US-amerikanischer Bluesmusiker, der Schlagzeug spielte. Bekannt ist er für seine Arbeit als Sessionmusiker bei Chess Records und als Drummer der Band von Little Walter in den 1950er-Jahren.
Mit dem Schlagzeugspiel begann er als Jazzdrummer in der High School, nachdem er zur Armee eingezogen wurde, spielte er in der 427th Army Band, wo er mit Lester Young auftrat. 1951 wurde er aus der Armee entlassen und vom damaligen Schlagzeuger der Muddy Waters Band an die Aces empfohlen, die dringend einen Schlagzeuger suchten. Die Aces waren Junior Wells (Mundharmonika und Gesang) und die Brüder Louis and Dave Myers. Kurz darauf verließ Little Walter die Muddy Watersband und Junior Wells übernahm seine Stelle, während die Aces mit Below und den Brüdern Myers Walters Band wurden. Später wurden sie in The Jukes umbenannt. Ihre Auffassung von Musik passte so gut zusammen, dass sie die heißeste Bands Chicagos wurden und ein großer Teil des Erfolges ist auf das raffinierte und elegante Spiel Belows zurückzuführen. Auf beinahe allen Hits Little Walters war er zu hören. [1]
1955 verließ er Walters Liveband und konzentrierte sich auf die Arbeit als Sessionmusiker bei Chess Records. Er ist auf Aufnahmen von Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry (so auf der Hitsingle:School Days), Otis Rush, Elmore James, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Dinah Washington, The Platters, The Moonglows, The Drifters, Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf und vielen mehr zu hören.[2]
In den 1970er-Jahren taten sich Below und die Myers-Brüder wieder zusammen und gingen auf Tournee in Europa, am Ende trennten sie sich aber wieder und gingen eigene Wege.
Fred Below starb 1988 in Chicago an Krebs.
Mit dem Schlagzeugspiel begann er als Jazzdrummer in der High School, nachdem er zur Armee eingezogen wurde, spielte er in der 427th Army Band, wo er mit Lester Young auftrat. 1951 wurde er aus der Armee entlassen und vom damaligen Schlagzeuger der Muddy Waters Band an die Aces empfohlen, die dringend einen Schlagzeuger suchten. Die Aces waren Junior Wells (Mundharmonika und Gesang) und die Brüder Louis and Dave Myers. Kurz darauf verließ Little Walter die Muddy Watersband und Junior Wells übernahm seine Stelle, während die Aces mit Below und den Brüdern Myers Walters Band wurden. Später wurden sie in The Jukes umbenannt. Ihre Auffassung von Musik passte so gut zusammen, dass sie die heißeste Bands Chicagos wurden und ein großer Teil des Erfolges ist auf das raffinierte und elegante Spiel Belows zurückzuführen. Auf beinahe allen Hits Little Walters war er zu hören. [1]
1955 verließ er Walters Liveband und konzentrierte sich auf die Arbeit als Sessionmusiker bei Chess Records. Er ist auf Aufnahmen von Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry (so auf der Hitsingle:School Days), Otis Rush, Elmore James, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Dinah Washington, The Platters, The Moonglows, The Drifters, Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf und vielen mehr zu hören.[2]
In den 1970er-Jahren taten sich Below und die Myers-Brüder wieder zusammen und gingen auf Tournee in Europa, am Ende trennten sie sich aber wieder und gingen eigene Wege.
Fred Below starb 1988 in Chicago an Krebs.
Fred Below (September 16, 1926 – August 14, 1988[1]) was an American blues drummer, best known for his work with Little Walter and Chess Records in the 1950s. According to Tony Russell, Below was creator of much of the rhythmic structure of Chicago blues, especially its backbeat.[2]
Career
Below was born in Chicago, and started playing drums in a high school jazz band. After being conscripted into the United States Army, he joined the 427th Army band, where he played with Lester Young. After war service, he played in nightclub in Germany before returning to the United States in 1951.
Back in Chicago, Below joined a group called The Aces, comprising Junior Wells and brothers Louis and Dave Myers. Little Walter had just left Muddy Waters' band to pursue a solo career, Wells taking over Walter's role on harp in the Muddy Waters band and Walter commandeering the Aces (Myers brothers and Below). As Little Walter and the Nightcats, they became one of the top electric blues bands in Chicago.
In 1955, Below left Little Walter's live band to concentrate on working as a session musician for Chess Records.[2] However, he continued to play on Little Walter's records, as well as hit records for Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Jimmy Rogers, Elmore James, Otis Rush, Junior Wells, Howlin' Wolf and others.[2]
Below worked with bassist Willie Dixon, Little Walter, and guitarist Robert Lockwood, Jr., on John Brim's last single for Chess, "I Would Hate to See You Go" (1956).[1]
Amongst his more famous work was playing on Chuck Berry's 1957 hit single, "School Days".
Below rejoined the Myers brothers to tour Europe in 1970.[3]
Below died from cancer on August 14, 1988 in Chicago at the age of 61.
Career
Below was born in Chicago, and started playing drums in a high school jazz band. After being conscripted into the United States Army, he joined the 427th Army band, where he played with Lester Young. After war service, he played in nightclub in Germany before returning to the United States in 1951.
Back in Chicago, Below joined a group called The Aces, comprising Junior Wells and brothers Louis and Dave Myers. Little Walter had just left Muddy Waters' band to pursue a solo career, Wells taking over Walter's role on harp in the Muddy Waters band and Walter commandeering the Aces (Myers brothers and Below). As Little Walter and the Nightcats, they became one of the top electric blues bands in Chicago.
In 1955, Below left Little Walter's live band to concentrate on working as a session musician for Chess Records.[2] However, he continued to play on Little Walter's records, as well as hit records for Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Jimmy Rogers, Elmore James, Otis Rush, Junior Wells, Howlin' Wolf and others.[2]
Below worked with bassist Willie Dixon, Little Walter, and guitarist Robert Lockwood, Jr., on John Brim's last single for Chess, "I Would Hate to See You Go" (1956).[1]
Amongst his more famous work was playing on Chuck Berry's 1957 hit single, "School Days".
Below rejoined the Myers brothers to tour Europe in 1970.[3]
Below died from cancer on August 14, 1988 in Chicago at the age of 61.
CHICAGO BLUES NIGHTS (Eddie Clearwater, Jimmy Dawkins, Sylvester Boines, Fred Below) - Let's Jam
Eddie Clearwater, Jimmy Dawkins, Sylvester Boines and Fred Below
Recorded at "Ma Bea's" club in November, 1976
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naBEuHH2pkQ
Little Willie Littlefield *16.09.1931
Little Willie Littlefield (* 16. September 1931 in El Campo, Texas; † 23. Juni 2013 in den Niederlanden[1]) war ein US-amerikanischer Boogie-Woogie-Pianist, -Sänger und Songwriter.
Frühe Erfolge
Über Littlefields Kindheit und frühe Plattenkarriere ist wenig bekannt. Er lernte Klavier und Gitarre unter dem Einfluss seiner Baptistengemeinde. Erste Aufnahmen machte er 1948 für das kleine Rhythm & Blues-Label Eddie’s Records in Houston. Im August 1949 wurde er von einem der Inhaber des mächtigen R&B-Labels Modern Records - Jules Bihari - entdeckt[2]; dieser war auf der Suche nach einem talentierten Bluesinterpreten wie Amos Milburn[3]. Die erste Aufnahmesession für Modern fand noch in Houston statt, wo Littlefield mit seinem Freund Don Wilkerson (Tenorsaxophon) am 1. März 1949 den Titel Drinkin‘ Hardacol[4] aufnahm. Am 1. Juli 1949 folgte Farewell, das als A-Seite der im Oktober 1949 erschienenen Single (Modern #709) diente und gleich Rang fünf der Rhythm & Blues-Hitparade erreichte. Kurz danach zog Littlefield nach Los Angeles, dem Standort von Modern Records. Hier entstand der noch erfolgreichere Titel It’s Midnight, der nach Veröffentlichung im August 1949 gar den dritten Rang der Charts erklomm. Innerhalb von drei Monaten entstanden mit der Begleitband Jimmy „Maxwell Street“ Davis (Saxophon), Chuck Norris und Johnny Moore (Gitarre) sowie Al Wichard und Jessie Price (Schlagzeug) bis Dezember 1949 insgesamt 22 Titel, doch weitere Singles aus diesem Repertoire gelangten nicht mehr in die Charts. Nach insgesamt 13 Singles verließ er Modern Records im Jahr 1952 und erhielt einen Plattenvertrag mit dem noch jungen Label Federal Records, einem Tochterlabel von King Records.
Neues Plattenlabel
Bei Federal wurde er produziert von Ralph Bass. Bereits aus seiner ersten Aufnahmesession ging das von Leiber/Stoller komponierte Kansas City hervor, das Produzent Bass in „K.C. Loving“ umbenannte, weil es flotter klang. Der Song wurde am 18. August 1952 aufgenommen und nach Veröffentlichung am 29. Dezember 1952 als Federal #12110 ebenfalls chartmäßig nicht wahrgenommen, aber Jahre später entwickelte er sich unter dem ursprünglichen Titel Kansas City mit über 300 Versionen zu einem der am meisten gecoverten Rock'n'Roll-Songs[5]. Enormen Bekanntheitsgrad erreichte hiermit Wilbert Harrison, dessen Version von Kansas City im Jahr 1959 drei Millionen Mal verkauft wurde[6]. Am 18. August 1952 wurden noch drei weitere Leiber/Stoller-Kompositionen aufgenommen, nämlich Pleading At Midnight (B-Seite von K.C. Loving) und Striking on You Baby / Blood is Redder Than Wine. Ralph Bass gelang es jedoch nicht, Littlefield in die Hitparade zurückzubringen. Am 30. Oktober 1953 war dann für Littlefield bei Federal Records die letzte Aufnahmesession anberaumt, aus der vier Titel hervorgingen. Auch die hieraus gepressten zwei Singles blieben ohne Resonanz.
Zäsur
Die gesundheitlichen Folgen eines schweren Autounfalls im Jahr 1954 hinderten ihn an Auftritten und Plattenaufnahmen. Erst im Juni 1957 veröffentlicht das Don Barksdale gehörende Rhythm Records in San Francisco eine Platte von ihm, die jedoch genauso erfolglos bleibt wie die nächsten vier Singles. Seine selbstkomponierte Single Ruby-Baby erscheint hier im November 1957. Seither konzentrierte sich Littlefield auf seine eigentliche Stärke - die Liveauftritte insbesondere bei Musikfestivals ab 1978 in Europa. Er erhielt eine Rolle in dem australischen Film Love in Limbo (Just one Night), einer Komödie über Liebe und Rock & Roll, die am 20. Mai 1993 in Australien in die Kinos kam.
Nach zahlreichen Auftritten auf verschiedenen Festivals, unter anderem auf dem Montreux Jazz Festival, legte er im Jahre 2000 eine 5-jährige kreative Pause ein. Littlefield lebte zuletzt in den Niederlanden und spielte dort häufig auf dem jährlich stattfindenden International Boogie Woogie Festival Holland mit, aber tourte auch durch Deutschland und Österreich, 2007, mit Michael Pewny.
Frühe Erfolge
Über Littlefields Kindheit und frühe Plattenkarriere ist wenig bekannt. Er lernte Klavier und Gitarre unter dem Einfluss seiner Baptistengemeinde. Erste Aufnahmen machte er 1948 für das kleine Rhythm & Blues-Label Eddie’s Records in Houston. Im August 1949 wurde er von einem der Inhaber des mächtigen R&B-Labels Modern Records - Jules Bihari - entdeckt[2]; dieser war auf der Suche nach einem talentierten Bluesinterpreten wie Amos Milburn[3]. Die erste Aufnahmesession für Modern fand noch in Houston statt, wo Littlefield mit seinem Freund Don Wilkerson (Tenorsaxophon) am 1. März 1949 den Titel Drinkin‘ Hardacol[4] aufnahm. Am 1. Juli 1949 folgte Farewell, das als A-Seite der im Oktober 1949 erschienenen Single (Modern #709) diente und gleich Rang fünf der Rhythm & Blues-Hitparade erreichte. Kurz danach zog Littlefield nach Los Angeles, dem Standort von Modern Records. Hier entstand der noch erfolgreichere Titel It’s Midnight, der nach Veröffentlichung im August 1949 gar den dritten Rang der Charts erklomm. Innerhalb von drei Monaten entstanden mit der Begleitband Jimmy „Maxwell Street“ Davis (Saxophon), Chuck Norris und Johnny Moore (Gitarre) sowie Al Wichard und Jessie Price (Schlagzeug) bis Dezember 1949 insgesamt 22 Titel, doch weitere Singles aus diesem Repertoire gelangten nicht mehr in die Charts. Nach insgesamt 13 Singles verließ er Modern Records im Jahr 1952 und erhielt einen Plattenvertrag mit dem noch jungen Label Federal Records, einem Tochterlabel von King Records.
Neues Plattenlabel
Bei Federal wurde er produziert von Ralph Bass. Bereits aus seiner ersten Aufnahmesession ging das von Leiber/Stoller komponierte Kansas City hervor, das Produzent Bass in „K.C. Loving“ umbenannte, weil es flotter klang. Der Song wurde am 18. August 1952 aufgenommen und nach Veröffentlichung am 29. Dezember 1952 als Federal #12110 ebenfalls chartmäßig nicht wahrgenommen, aber Jahre später entwickelte er sich unter dem ursprünglichen Titel Kansas City mit über 300 Versionen zu einem der am meisten gecoverten Rock'n'Roll-Songs[5]. Enormen Bekanntheitsgrad erreichte hiermit Wilbert Harrison, dessen Version von Kansas City im Jahr 1959 drei Millionen Mal verkauft wurde[6]. Am 18. August 1952 wurden noch drei weitere Leiber/Stoller-Kompositionen aufgenommen, nämlich Pleading At Midnight (B-Seite von K.C. Loving) und Striking on You Baby / Blood is Redder Than Wine. Ralph Bass gelang es jedoch nicht, Littlefield in die Hitparade zurückzubringen. Am 30. Oktober 1953 war dann für Littlefield bei Federal Records die letzte Aufnahmesession anberaumt, aus der vier Titel hervorgingen. Auch die hieraus gepressten zwei Singles blieben ohne Resonanz.
Zäsur
Die gesundheitlichen Folgen eines schweren Autounfalls im Jahr 1954 hinderten ihn an Auftritten und Plattenaufnahmen. Erst im Juni 1957 veröffentlicht das Don Barksdale gehörende Rhythm Records in San Francisco eine Platte von ihm, die jedoch genauso erfolglos bleibt wie die nächsten vier Singles. Seine selbstkomponierte Single Ruby-Baby erscheint hier im November 1957. Seither konzentrierte sich Littlefield auf seine eigentliche Stärke - die Liveauftritte insbesondere bei Musikfestivals ab 1978 in Europa. Er erhielt eine Rolle in dem australischen Film Love in Limbo (Just one Night), einer Komödie über Liebe und Rock & Roll, die am 20. Mai 1993 in Australien in die Kinos kam.
Nach zahlreichen Auftritten auf verschiedenen Festivals, unter anderem auf dem Montreux Jazz Festival, legte er im Jahre 2000 eine 5-jährige kreative Pause ein. Littlefield lebte zuletzt in den Niederlanden und spielte dort häufig auf dem jährlich stattfindenden International Boogie Woogie Festival Holland mit, aber tourte auch durch Deutschland und Österreich, 2007, mit Michael Pewny.
Willie Littlefield, billed as Little Willie Littlefield (September 16, 1931 – June 23, 2013),[2] was an American R&B and boogie-woogie pianist and singer[3] whose early recordings "formed a vital link between boogie-woogie and rock and roll".[3] Littlefield was regarded as a teenage wonder and overnight sensation when in 1949 at the age of 18 he popularised the triplet piano style on his Modern Records debut single "It's Midnight".[4] He also recorded the first version of the song "Kansas City" — originally issued as "K. C. Lovin'" — in 1952.
Career
Early career
Littlefield was born in El Campo, Texas, and grew up in Houston with his mother. By 1947, at the age of sixteen, Littlefield was already a local attraction on many of Houston's Dowling Street clubs and was recording for local record shop proprietor Eddie Henry who ran his own label, "Eddie's".[5] He formed his first band with saxophonist Don Wilkerson, a school friend.[3]
Littlefield was strongly influenced by boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons. A particular favourite of his was Ammons' Swanee River Boogie, which he later recorded for Eddie's Records.[5] Other major influences on Littlefield's style were Texas musicians Charles Brown and Amos Milburn[2] Littlefield learned most of their "chops" and soon developed his own distinctive "triplet style", which, by the early 1950s, was widely copied in the R&B field, particularly by Fats Domino who incorporated it into his successful New Orleans rhythms.[5]
His first recording, "Little Willie’s Boogie" was a hit in Texas in 1949, and brought him to the attention of Jules Bihari, one of the Bihari brothers of Modern Records in Los Angeles, California, who were searching for a performer to rival the success of Amos Milburn.[3] Bihari flew to Houston in July 1949 to investigate the city's black entertainment venues and heard of a "teenage wonder boy pianist" who was causing a stir at the Eldorado Ballroom. Bihari went to hear Littlefield and soon arranged for an audition at a local studio. The session was captured on acetate disc, with Bihari, clearly audible in the background, calling for Littlefield to play the popular R&B tunes of the day.[5]
Success at Modern records
Back at Modern Records, he recorded "It's Midnight", which became a national hit reaching #3 on the Billboard R&B chart. Its follow-up, "Farewell", reached #5 on the R&B chart.[6] He became a major nightclub attraction and recorded with West Coast musicians such as Maxwell Davis. Don Wilkerson, Littlefield's old school buddy and the leading saxman in his band, also travelled to Los Angeles, but Milburn promptly stole him to lead his own new band 'The Aladdin Chickenshackers'.[5]
Modern Records booked Littlefield for three recording sessions during October 1949, followed by more sessions in the following two months at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. During these three months alone, over 22 sides were cut - an unusual output when compared to most other artists who averaged only two sessions a year. Other musicians for these sessions included saxophonists Maxwell Davis and Buddy Floyd, guitarists Chuck Norris and Johnny Moore, and drummers Al Wichard and Jessie Price.[5] One of his 1950 recordings, "Happy Pay Day", a song written by Jack Holmes, was later rewritten by Holmes with entirely different lyrics as "The Blacksmith Blues", which became a hit for Ella Mae Morse.[7]
In 1951, his duet with Little Lora Wiggins, "I've Been Lost", reached #10 on the R&B chart.[6]
In 1952 he moved to the Federal subsidiary of King Records, his first session producing "K. C. Loving", written by Leiber and Stoller and later re-recorded by Wilbert Harrison as "Kansas City".
By 1957 Littlefield had moved to Northern California and continued to record for Don Barksdale's Rhythm label in San Francisco where he produced the single "Ruby, Ruby".[5] Littlefield’s recording and his subsequent releases were not successful, although he remained a popular club act in the San Francisco area.
In the late 1970s he toured Europe successfully, settling in the Netherlands and releasing a number of albums from 1982 into the late 1990s for the Oldie Blues label from Martin van Olderen.[8]
Retirement and comeback
After touring for more than 50 years, Littlefield stopped in 2000. After five years of retirement in his adopted home country, the Netherlands, he decided to play again, starting in 2006, declaring: "I went fishing for five years - now I know every herring in Holland by name - it got boring. I feel great and I want to be back with my audience."[9]
In his later years Littlefield continued to perform occasionally, mainly at festivals, particularly in the UK. In 2008 he played at the 20th Burnley Blues Festival and in July 2009 at the 5th annual UK Boogie Woogie Festival at Sturminster Newton in Dorset. Having appeared at Shakedown Blues Club, at Castor Hall, near Castor, Peterborough in 2006, Littlefield made a return appearance in October 2010.[10]
He died at his home in Voorthuizen, Netherlands, in 2013 at the age of 81. He had cancer.
Career
Early career
Littlefield was born in El Campo, Texas, and grew up in Houston with his mother. By 1947, at the age of sixteen, Littlefield was already a local attraction on many of Houston's Dowling Street clubs and was recording for local record shop proprietor Eddie Henry who ran his own label, "Eddie's".[5] He formed his first band with saxophonist Don Wilkerson, a school friend.[3]
Littlefield was strongly influenced by boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons. A particular favourite of his was Ammons' Swanee River Boogie, which he later recorded for Eddie's Records.[5] Other major influences on Littlefield's style were Texas musicians Charles Brown and Amos Milburn[2] Littlefield learned most of their "chops" and soon developed his own distinctive "triplet style", which, by the early 1950s, was widely copied in the R&B field, particularly by Fats Domino who incorporated it into his successful New Orleans rhythms.[5]
His first recording, "Little Willie’s Boogie" was a hit in Texas in 1949, and brought him to the attention of Jules Bihari, one of the Bihari brothers of Modern Records in Los Angeles, California, who were searching for a performer to rival the success of Amos Milburn.[3] Bihari flew to Houston in July 1949 to investigate the city's black entertainment venues and heard of a "teenage wonder boy pianist" who was causing a stir at the Eldorado Ballroom. Bihari went to hear Littlefield and soon arranged for an audition at a local studio. The session was captured on acetate disc, with Bihari, clearly audible in the background, calling for Littlefield to play the popular R&B tunes of the day.[5]
Success at Modern records
Back at Modern Records, he recorded "It's Midnight", which became a national hit reaching #3 on the Billboard R&B chart. Its follow-up, "Farewell", reached #5 on the R&B chart.[6] He became a major nightclub attraction and recorded with West Coast musicians such as Maxwell Davis. Don Wilkerson, Littlefield's old school buddy and the leading saxman in his band, also travelled to Los Angeles, but Milburn promptly stole him to lead his own new band 'The Aladdin Chickenshackers'.[5]
Modern Records booked Littlefield for three recording sessions during October 1949, followed by more sessions in the following two months at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. During these three months alone, over 22 sides were cut - an unusual output when compared to most other artists who averaged only two sessions a year. Other musicians for these sessions included saxophonists Maxwell Davis and Buddy Floyd, guitarists Chuck Norris and Johnny Moore, and drummers Al Wichard and Jessie Price.[5] One of his 1950 recordings, "Happy Pay Day", a song written by Jack Holmes, was later rewritten by Holmes with entirely different lyrics as "The Blacksmith Blues", which became a hit for Ella Mae Morse.[7]
In 1951, his duet with Little Lora Wiggins, "I've Been Lost", reached #10 on the R&B chart.[6]
In 1952 he moved to the Federal subsidiary of King Records, his first session producing "K. C. Loving", written by Leiber and Stoller and later re-recorded by Wilbert Harrison as "Kansas City".
By 1957 Littlefield had moved to Northern California and continued to record for Don Barksdale's Rhythm label in San Francisco where he produced the single "Ruby, Ruby".[5] Littlefield’s recording and his subsequent releases were not successful, although he remained a popular club act in the San Francisco area.
In the late 1970s he toured Europe successfully, settling in the Netherlands and releasing a number of albums from 1982 into the late 1990s for the Oldie Blues label from Martin van Olderen.[8]
Retirement and comeback
After touring for more than 50 years, Littlefield stopped in 2000. After five years of retirement in his adopted home country, the Netherlands, he decided to play again, starting in 2006, declaring: "I went fishing for five years - now I know every herring in Holland by name - it got boring. I feel great and I want to be back with my audience."[9]
In his later years Littlefield continued to perform occasionally, mainly at festivals, particularly in the UK. In 2008 he played at the 20th Burnley Blues Festival and in July 2009 at the 5th annual UK Boogie Woogie Festival at Sturminster Newton in Dorset. Having appeared at Shakedown Blues Club, at Castor Hall, near Castor, Peterborough in 2006, Littlefield made a return appearance in October 2010.[10]
He died at his home in Voorthuizen, Netherlands, in 2013 at the age of 81. He had cancer.
UK Boogie Woogie Festival : Little Willie Littlefield - "Sweet Home Chicago"
Jimmy Bowskill *16.09.1990
Jimmy Bowskill (born 16 September 1990) is an award-winning Canadian blues musician, originally from Bailieboro, a small village near Peterborough, Ontario,[1] and later based in Toronto.
Bowskill began performing at a young age, and first played on stage at the age of eleven at Jeff Healey's club in Toronto, Ontario.[2][3] The next year he recorded his first album, Old Soul and performed on the main stage at the Peterborough Folk Festival.
Bowskill's second album, Soap Bars and Dog Ears, was nominated for a Juno Award when he was fourteen years of age.[4]
In 2005 he was presented with a Maple Blues Award as "Best New Artist of the Year".[2]
In 2010 he toured in Europe with Joe Bonamassa and Jeff Beck.[5] He also performed more locally at the Belleville Blues Festival.[6]
In 2011 he released his first live album, Jimmy Bowskill Band Live, produced by Ruf Records.[7]
In 2012 Bowskill introduced his album Back Number at the Kincardine Lighthouse Blues Festival[8] and also performed at the Windsor International BluesFest.[9] The album was recorded at Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario
While on tour in 2009 the Jimmy Bowskill Band included Wayne Deadder on bass and Dan Neill on drums.[10] In 2012 the band members were Ian McKeown on bass and Dan Reiff on drums.
Bowskill began performing at a young age, and first played on stage at the age of eleven at Jeff Healey's club in Toronto, Ontario.[2][3] The next year he recorded his first album, Old Soul and performed on the main stage at the Peterborough Folk Festival.
Bowskill's second album, Soap Bars and Dog Ears, was nominated for a Juno Award when he was fourteen years of age.[4]
In 2005 he was presented with a Maple Blues Award as "Best New Artist of the Year".[2]
In 2010 he toured in Europe with Joe Bonamassa and Jeff Beck.[5] He also performed more locally at the Belleville Blues Festival.[6]
In 2011 he released his first live album, Jimmy Bowskill Band Live, produced by Ruf Records.[7]
In 2012 Bowskill introduced his album Back Number at the Kincardine Lighthouse Blues Festival[8] and also performed at the Windsor International BluesFest.[9] The album was recorded at Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario
While on tour in 2009 the Jimmy Bowskill Band included Wayne Deadder on bass and Dan Neill on drums.[10] In 2012 the band members were Ian McKeown on bass and Dan Reiff on drums.
Jimmy Bowskill's prowess as a killer guitar player and convincingly soulful singer has long been established, and his evolution as a songwriter is now fully confirmed on the new record, marking him a genuine triple threat. Back Number is the most fully realized Jimmy Bowskill Band album to date. The trio features drummer Dan Reif and bassist Ian McEwan, and Back Number captures the sound of a band firing on all cylinders. Jimmy increasingly involved his bandmates in the writing process, with winning results. "Generally, we approach a song with a riff idea I may have and we'll expand the song together from there. It's a new experience for me, building a song that way, and it's a lot of fun," he explains.
A rural retreat proved the ideal spawning ground for new material. "I did a lot of writing at a friend's farm near Cobourg, Ontario. I set up all my recording gear there, laid down ideas, and came up with a bunch of these new tunes. It's very easy to get distracted in the city, and this was an inspiring place to be."
Armed with a batch of killer new songs (some of them already road-tested at gigs), The Jimmy Bowskill Band headed into famed Toronto recording studio Metalworks. Jimmy had recorded his self-titled third album there in 2008, and felt very comfortable in that environment. On hand this time to co-produce the album with the band was Brian Moncarz (Dean Lickyer, Moneen - other credits?. Described by superstar producer Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper) as "one of the hottest young producer/engineers around," Moncarz proved an inspired choice.
"We were all on the same page, and the recording went quickly and smoothly," says Jimmy. "We did all the bed tracks live off the floor. We wanted to capture what we do live, without sugarcoating anything."
The result on Back Number is an album that exhibits real dynamic range, while adhering to the classic sound of a blues-rock trio. Canadian blues great Colin Linden has already given his seal of approval to "Spirit Of the Town," a powerful horn-fuelled ballad. In fact, Linden joined The Jimmy Bowskill Band in performing it a gala blues concert at The Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto in - Feb 2011. That song has deep personal resonance for Jimmy. "I wrote it about my home town of Bailieboro [near Peterborough, Ontario]. I have a really strong connection to that town, and it's about the changes I've seen there over the years."
A notable songwriting peer who admires Jimmy's work is Ron Sexsmith, and the two collaborated on Back Number's "Little Bird." "Ron has definitely been an influence on me over the years," explains Bowskill. "For that song, he came up with a really cool melody and lyrics, and I gave him a riff idea I'd recorded. Sitting down together to write was a lot of fun." Sexsmith also wrote the song "Least Of My Worries" specifically for Jimmy. That tune, a cool jazzy shuffle, features Bowskill playing some fluent barrelhouse piano.
Jimmy's lyrical skills are also in full evidence on "Seasons Change," an epic and soulful song featuring a vocal performance Paul Rodgers (a fan and friend of Bowskill) would be proud to call his own. The propulsive and catchy "Linger On Sweet Time" is another highlight of this consistently strong, filler-free album.
The Jimmy Bowskill Band is now eager to take the new album on the road, and a Highways & Skyways European tour has already been set for Jan. and Feb. 2012. In performance, they are a powerhouse outfit whose fiery and crowd-pleasing sound was showcased vividly on their well-received 2009 album, The Jimmy Bowskill Band Live. The group are favourites on the festival and club circuit in Europe as well as Canada, having toured Europe several times, including as openers for British rock veterans Wishbone Ash. Last year, they shared a stage in Bonn, Germany, with fellow JBs, Joe Bonamassa and Jeff Beck, another career highlight.
Jimmy Bowskill has been impressing his musical elders for a full decade now. At age 11, he attracted the attention of late great bluesman Jeff Healey by busking outside his Toronto club. Healey and the local blues community quickly sensed Bowskill's passion and potential, helping him record his 2003 debut album, the fittingly named Old Soul. The following year, Jimmy's second album, Soap Bars & Dog Ears, was nominated for a Juno Award (Canada's Grammy equivalent), making him the youngest ever Juno nominee.
Since then, he has worked tirelessly on his craft. The fruits of those labours can now be heard on Back Number, one you definitely won't want to forget.
A rural retreat proved the ideal spawning ground for new material. "I did a lot of writing at a friend's farm near Cobourg, Ontario. I set up all my recording gear there, laid down ideas, and came up with a bunch of these new tunes. It's very easy to get distracted in the city, and this was an inspiring place to be."
Armed with a batch of killer new songs (some of them already road-tested at gigs), The Jimmy Bowskill Band headed into famed Toronto recording studio Metalworks. Jimmy had recorded his self-titled third album there in 2008, and felt very comfortable in that environment. On hand this time to co-produce the album with the band was Brian Moncarz (Dean Lickyer, Moneen - other credits?. Described by superstar producer Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper) as "one of the hottest young producer/engineers around," Moncarz proved an inspired choice.
"We were all on the same page, and the recording went quickly and smoothly," says Jimmy. "We did all the bed tracks live off the floor. We wanted to capture what we do live, without sugarcoating anything."
The result on Back Number is an album that exhibits real dynamic range, while adhering to the classic sound of a blues-rock trio. Canadian blues great Colin Linden has already given his seal of approval to "Spirit Of the Town," a powerful horn-fuelled ballad. In fact, Linden joined The Jimmy Bowskill Band in performing it a gala blues concert at The Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto in - Feb 2011. That song has deep personal resonance for Jimmy. "I wrote it about my home town of Bailieboro [near Peterborough, Ontario]. I have a really strong connection to that town, and it's about the changes I've seen there over the years."
A notable songwriting peer who admires Jimmy's work is Ron Sexsmith, and the two collaborated on Back Number's "Little Bird." "Ron has definitely been an influence on me over the years," explains Bowskill. "For that song, he came up with a really cool melody and lyrics, and I gave him a riff idea I'd recorded. Sitting down together to write was a lot of fun." Sexsmith also wrote the song "Least Of My Worries" specifically for Jimmy. That tune, a cool jazzy shuffle, features Bowskill playing some fluent barrelhouse piano.
Jimmy's lyrical skills are also in full evidence on "Seasons Change," an epic and soulful song featuring a vocal performance Paul Rodgers (a fan and friend of Bowskill) would be proud to call his own. The propulsive and catchy "Linger On Sweet Time" is another highlight of this consistently strong, filler-free album.
The Jimmy Bowskill Band is now eager to take the new album on the road, and a Highways & Skyways European tour has already been set for Jan. and Feb. 2012. In performance, they are a powerhouse outfit whose fiery and crowd-pleasing sound was showcased vividly on their well-received 2009 album, The Jimmy Bowskill Band Live. The group are favourites on the festival and club circuit in Europe as well as Canada, having toured Europe several times, including as openers for British rock veterans Wishbone Ash. Last year, they shared a stage in Bonn, Germany, with fellow JBs, Joe Bonamassa and Jeff Beck, another career highlight.
Jimmy Bowskill has been impressing his musical elders for a full decade now. At age 11, he attracted the attention of late great bluesman Jeff Healey by busking outside his Toronto club. Healey and the local blues community quickly sensed Bowskill's passion and potential, helping him record his 2003 debut album, the fittingly named Old Soul. The following year, Jimmy's second album, Soap Bars & Dog Ears, was nominated for a Juno Award (Canada's Grammy equivalent), making him the youngest ever Juno nominee.
Since then, he has worked tirelessly on his craft. The fruits of those labours can now be heard on Back Number, one you definitely won't want to forget.
The Jimmy Bowskill Band - Three o´clock in the morning / Schwarzer Adler Rheinberg 2012
R.I.P.
Mamie Smith +16.09.1946
Mamie Smith (* 26. Mai 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio als Mamie Robinson; † 30. Oktober 1946[1] in New York) war eine US-amerikanische Vaudeville-Sängerin, Tänzerin, Pianistin und Schauspielerin. Sie war die erste, die 1920 einen gesungenen Blues aufnahm.
Mamie Smith zog mit afroamerikanischen Vaudeville- und Minstrel-Shows umher, bis sie sich 1913 in New York niederließ, wo sie als Kabarett-Sängerin arbeitete. 1918 trat sie in Perry Bradfords Musical Made in Harlem auf.
1920 sprang Smith bei Okeh Records für die erkrankte Sophie Tucker ein und nahm die Stücke That Thing Called Love und You Can’t Keep A Good Man Down auf. Sie wurde zu einer zweiten Sitzung eingeladen, bei der mit ihren Jazz Hounds am 10. August 1920 die Titel Crazy Blues und It’s Right Here For You, If You Don’t Get It, ’Tain’t No Fault of Mine aufgenommen wurden. Die Jazz Hounds waren zu diesem Zeitpunkt Johnny Dunn auf dem Kornett, Dope Andrews auf der Posaune, Leroy Parker auf der Violine und Willie „The Lion“ Smith am Piano.[3] Den Jazz Hounds gehörten auch Buster Bailey, Coleman Hawkins, Cecil Carpenter, Elmer Snowden und Bubber Miley an.
Crazy Blues verkaufte sich zur Überraschung aller als erste Blues-Aufnahme eines schwarzen Künstlers mehr als eine Million Mal innerhalb eines Jahres. Viele Käufer waren Afroamerikaner, ein bisher eher unbeachteter Markt. Dieser unerwartete Erfolg veranlasste die Plattenfirmen, weitere Bluessängerinnen aufzunehmen und so die Ära des klassischen Frauenblues einzuläuten.
Es folgten weitere Blues-Aufnahmen und Tourneen in den Staaten und Europa mit Mamie Smith & Her Jazz Hounds als Teil der Revue Mamie Smith’s Struttin’ Along Review. Mamie Smith erhielt den Beinamen „Königin des Blues“ (Queen of the Blues).
1929 spielte Smith eine Rolle in einem frühen Tonfilm, Jail House Blues. 1931 zog sie sich aus dem Musik- und Filmgeschäft zurück. Ab 1939 spielte sie wieder in mehreren Filmen mit.
Mamie Smith starb 1946 nach längerer Krankheit in New York.
Mamie Smith (née Robinson; May 26, 1883 – September 16, 1946) was an American vaudeville singer, dancer, pianist and actress, who appeared in several films late in her career. As a vaudeville singer she performed a number of styles, including jazz and blues. She entered blues history by being the first African-American artist to make vocal blues recordings in 1920. Willie "The Lion" Smith (no relation) explained the background to that recording in his autobiography, Music on My Mind.
Early life
Mamie Robinson was probably born in Cincinnati, Ohio, although no records of her birth exist.[1][2] When she was ten years old, she found work touring with a white act called the Four Dancing Mitchells.[3] As a teenager, she danced in Salem Tutt Whitney's Smart Set.[1] In 1913, she left the Tutt Brothers to sing in clubs in Harlem and married a singer named William "Smitty" Smith.[3]
Musical career
On February 14, 1920, Mamie Smith cut "That Thing Called Love" and "You Can't Keep A Good Man Down" on Okeh Records, in New York City, after African-American songwriter and bandleader Perry Bradford persuaded Fred Hagar. The record marked the first time that a black, blues singer was recorded, the musicians however were all white. Fred Hagar had received multiple threats from Northern and Southern pressure groups saying they would boycot the company if he was to record a black singer. Despite these threats the record was a commercial success and opened the door for more black musicians to record their music.[4] Smith's biggest hit was recorded later, on August 10, 1920. Smith recorded a set of songs written by Perry Bradford, including "Crazy Blues" and "It's Right Here For You (If You Don't Get It, 'Tain't No Fault of Mine)", again on Okeh Records.,[5][6][7] and the record became a best seller, selling a million copies in less than a year.[8]
Large numbers of the record were purchased by African Americans, and there was a sharp increase in the popularity of race records.[9] Because of the historical significance of "Crazy Blues", it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1994,[10] and, in 2005, was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.[11]
Although other African Americans had been recorded earlier, such as George W. Johnson in the 1890s, they were African-American artists performing music which had a substantial following with European-American audiences. The success of Smith's record prompted record companies to seek to record other female blues singers and started the era of what is now known as classic female blues.[7]
Mamie Smith gravure in the New York Clipper, 1921
Smith continued to make a series of popular recordings for Okeh throughout the 1920s. In 1924 she made three releases for Ajax Records which, while heavily promoted, did not sell well.[12] She made some records for Victor. She toured the United States and Europe with her band "Mamie Smith & Her Jazz Hounds" as part of "Mamie Smith's Struttin' Along Review".[13]
She was billed as "The Queen of the Blues". This billing was soon one-upped by Bessie Smith, who called herself "The Empress of the Blues." Mamie found that the new mass medium of radio provided a way to gain additional fans, especially in cities with predominantly white audiences. For example, she and several members of her band performed on KGW in Portland, Oregon in early May 1923, and garnered positive reviews.[14]
Various recording lineups of her Jazz Hounds included (from August 1920 to October 1921) Jake Green, Curtis Moseley, Garvin Bushell, Johnny Dunn, Dope Andrews, Ernest Elliot, Porter Grainger, Leroy Parker, Bob Fuller, and (June 1922-January 1923) Coleman Hawkins, Everett Robbins, Johnny Dunn, Herschel Brassfield, Herb Flemming, Buster Bailey Cutie Perkins, Joe Smith, Bubber Miley and Cecil Carpenter.[15]
While recording with her Jazz Hounds, she also recorded as "Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Band", comprising George Bell, Charles Matson, Nathan Glantz, Larry Briers, Jules Levy, Jr., Joe Samuels, together with musicians from the Jazz Hounds, including Coleman, Fuller and Carpenter.[16]
Film career and later years
Mamie Smith appeared in an early sound film, Jailhouse Blues, in 1929. She retired from recording and performing in 1931. She returned to performing in 1939 to appear in the motion picture Paradise in Harlem produced by her husband Jack Goldberg.[11]
She appeared in other films, including Mystery in Swing, Sunday Sinners (1940), Stolen Paradise (1941), Murder on Lenox Avenue (1941), and Because I Love You (1943).[17]
Death
Mamie Robinson Smith died in 1946, aged 63, in Staten Island, New York.
Early life
Mamie Robinson was probably born in Cincinnati, Ohio, although no records of her birth exist.[1][2] When she was ten years old, she found work touring with a white act called the Four Dancing Mitchells.[3] As a teenager, she danced in Salem Tutt Whitney's Smart Set.[1] In 1913, she left the Tutt Brothers to sing in clubs in Harlem and married a singer named William "Smitty" Smith.[3]
Musical career
On February 14, 1920, Mamie Smith cut "That Thing Called Love" and "You Can't Keep A Good Man Down" on Okeh Records, in New York City, after African-American songwriter and bandleader Perry Bradford persuaded Fred Hagar. The record marked the first time that a black, blues singer was recorded, the musicians however were all white. Fred Hagar had received multiple threats from Northern and Southern pressure groups saying they would boycot the company if he was to record a black singer. Despite these threats the record was a commercial success and opened the door for more black musicians to record their music.[4] Smith's biggest hit was recorded later, on August 10, 1920. Smith recorded a set of songs written by Perry Bradford, including "Crazy Blues" and "It's Right Here For You (If You Don't Get It, 'Tain't No Fault of Mine)", again on Okeh Records.,[5][6][7] and the record became a best seller, selling a million copies in less than a year.[8]
Large numbers of the record were purchased by African Americans, and there was a sharp increase in the popularity of race records.[9] Because of the historical significance of "Crazy Blues", it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1994,[10] and, in 2005, was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.[11]
Although other African Americans had been recorded earlier, such as George W. Johnson in the 1890s, they were African-American artists performing music which had a substantial following with European-American audiences. The success of Smith's record prompted record companies to seek to record other female blues singers and started the era of what is now known as classic female blues.[7]
Mamie Smith gravure in the New York Clipper, 1921
Smith continued to make a series of popular recordings for Okeh throughout the 1920s. In 1924 she made three releases for Ajax Records which, while heavily promoted, did not sell well.[12] She made some records for Victor. She toured the United States and Europe with her band "Mamie Smith & Her Jazz Hounds" as part of "Mamie Smith's Struttin' Along Review".[13]
She was billed as "The Queen of the Blues". This billing was soon one-upped by Bessie Smith, who called herself "The Empress of the Blues." Mamie found that the new mass medium of radio provided a way to gain additional fans, especially in cities with predominantly white audiences. For example, she and several members of her band performed on KGW in Portland, Oregon in early May 1923, and garnered positive reviews.[14]
Various recording lineups of her Jazz Hounds included (from August 1920 to October 1921) Jake Green, Curtis Moseley, Garvin Bushell, Johnny Dunn, Dope Andrews, Ernest Elliot, Porter Grainger, Leroy Parker, Bob Fuller, and (June 1922-January 1923) Coleman Hawkins, Everett Robbins, Johnny Dunn, Herschel Brassfield, Herb Flemming, Buster Bailey Cutie Perkins, Joe Smith, Bubber Miley and Cecil Carpenter.[15]
While recording with her Jazz Hounds, she also recorded as "Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Band", comprising George Bell, Charles Matson, Nathan Glantz, Larry Briers, Jules Levy, Jr., Joe Samuels, together with musicians from the Jazz Hounds, including Coleman, Fuller and Carpenter.[16]
Film career and later years
Mamie Smith appeared in an early sound film, Jailhouse Blues, in 1929. She retired from recording and performing in 1931. She returned to performing in 1939 to appear in the motion picture Paradise in Harlem produced by her husband Jack Goldberg.[11]
She appeared in other films, including Mystery in Swing, Sunday Sinners (1940), Stolen Paradise (1941), Murder on Lenox Avenue (1941), and Because I Love You (1943).[17]
Death
Mamie Robinson Smith died in 1946, aged 63, in Staten Island, New York.
Willie „Big Eyes“ Smith +16.09.2011
Smith wuchs bei seinen Großeltern auf. Zu deren Nachbarn gehörten Robert Nighthawk und Pinetop Perkins. Mit 17 Jahren besuchte Smith seine Mutter in Chicago und blieb in der Stadt. Er brachte sich das Spielen auf der Mundharmonika und dem Schlagzeug bei und bildete mit Clifton James (Schlagzeug, Mundharmonika) und Bobby Lee Burns (Gitarre) ein Blues-Trio.
1955 heiratete er und gab die Musik für kurze Zeit auf. Bereits 1956 trat er mit Arthur „Big Boy“ Spires und 1957 mit dem „Red Devil Trio“ von Little Hudson Shower auf. 1961 kam Smith zur Band von Muddy Waters, nachdem er vorher schon in der „Muddy Waters Junior Band“ Schlagzeug gespielt hatte. 1980 gehörte er gemeinsam mit Pinetop Perkins, Louis Myers, Calvin Jones und Jerry Portnoy zu den Gründungsmitgliedern der „Legendary Blues Band“. Die Band wurde einige Male für den Grammy nominiert und nahm sieben von den Kritikern begeistert aufgenommene Alben auf. Sie spielten als Begleitgruppe mit Buddy Guy, Howlin’ Wolf und Junior Wells, auf Tourneen waren sie mit Bob Dylan, den Rolling Stones und Eric Clapton. Im Film The Last Waltz waren sie die Band hinter Muddy Waters, und in Blues Brothers spielten sie Straßenmusikanten, die John Lee Hooker begleiteten.
Erst 1995 nahm Smith mit Bag Full of Blues sein erstes Soloalbum auf, dem weitere folgten. Daneben trat er weiter mit der „Muddy Waters Reunion Band“ und der „Legendary Blues Band“ auf. Von 1996 bis 1998 und von 2002 bis 2007 wurde er jeweils mehrere Jahre hintereinander mit dem Blues Music Award als Blues-Drummer des Jahres ausgezeichnet. 2008 erhielt er den Living Blues Award als bester Schlagzeuger. Im Jahr 2011 wurden Smith und Pinetop Perkins für das Album Joined At The Hip mit dem Grammy Award in der Kategorie „Best Traditional Blues Album“ ausgezeichnet. Noch im selben Jahr am 16. September starb „Big Eyes“ an einem Schlaganfall.
Band
Willie „Big Eyes“ Smith Mundharmonika Gesang
Bob Stroger Bass
Little Frank Krakowski Guitar
Jimmy Mayes Drums
Kenny Smith Drums
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_%E2%80%9EBig_Eyes%E2%80%9C_Smith
Willie „Big Eyes“ Smith Mundharmonika Gesang
Bob Stroger Bass
Little Frank Krakowski Guitar
Jimmy Mayes Drums
Kenny Smith Drums
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_%E2%80%9EBig_Eyes%E2%80%9C_Smith
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (January 19, 1936 – September 16, 2011)[1] was a Grammy Award-winning American electric blues vocalist, harmonica player, and multi-award winning drummer.[2] He was best known for several stints with the Muddy Waters band beginning in the early 1960s.
Biography
Born in Helena, Arkansas, Smith learned to play harmonica at age seventeen after moving to Chicago. Smith's influences included listening to 78's and the KFFA King Biscuit radio show, some of which were broadcast from Helena's Miller Theater, where he saw guitar player Joe Willie Wilkins, and harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson II. On a Chicago visit in 1953 his mother took him to hear Muddy Waters at the Zanzibar club, where Henry Strong's harp playing inspired him to learn that instrument. In 1956, at the age of eighteen he formed a trio. He led the band on harp, Bobby Lee Burns played guitar and Clifton James was the drummer. As "Little Willie" Smith he played in the Rocket Four, led by blues guitarist Arthur "Big Boy" Spires, and made recordings that were later reissued on the Delmark label. In 1955 Smith played harmonica on Bo Diddley's recording of the Willie Dixon song "Diddy Wah Diddy" for the Checker label.[3] Drummers were in more demand than harp players so Smith switched to drums and starting playing with Muddy Waters band. Smith recorded with Muddy on the 1960 album Muddy Waters Sings Big Bill Broonzy, a tribute to Big Bill Broonzy.[4]
In 1961, Smith became a regular member of Muddy Waters' band, which then consisted of George "Mojo" Buford, Luther Tucker, Pat Hare and Otis Spann. By the mid '60s, he'd left the band for more steady work as a cab driver. In the late '60s he rejoined Muddy's band and remained a permanent member until 1980. All of Muddy's Grammy Award winning albums (Hard Again, I'm Ready, They Call Me Muddy Waters, Muddy "Mississippi" Waters Live, The London Muddy Waters Session, and The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album[5]) were released between 1971 and 1979 during Smith's tenure with the band. Though he did not play on all of these albums, Smith is estimated to have participated in twelve sessions yielding eighty-four tracks.[6]
In June 1980, Smith and other members of Muddy's band Pinetop Perkins (piano), Calvin Jones (bass) and Jerry Portnoy (harmonica) struck out on their own, also recruiting veteran Chicago blues man Louis Myers (harmonica/guitar) to form The Legendary Blues Band, with the vocals shared by all. Later that year, Smith and the Legendary Blues Band appeared backing John Lee Hooker in the movie The Blues Brothers (1980). Smith was the only band member, besides Hooker, to appear onscreen in close-up.[7] With varying personnel over the years, the Legendary Blues Band recorded seven albums, Life of Ease, Red Hot 'n' Blue, Woke Up with the Blues (nominated for a W. C. Handy Award), U B Da Judge, Prime Time Blues, and Money Talks, were recorded between 1981 to 1993. By the time Money Talks came out in 1993, Smith had become a very credible singer. The Legendary Blues Band toured with Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton (whom Smith had recorded with in the 1964 Otis Spann recording of Pretty Girls Everywhere[8]).
His first solo recording started in 1995 with Bag Full of Blues, with Pinetop Perkins, harpist Kim Wilson, plus guitarists James Wheeler, Nick Moss and Gareth Best. In 1999, Smith recorded with Muddy Waters' son Big Bill Morganfield on his album Rising Son. Smith's album Way Back (2006), contained 11 songs, half of which he wrote. He was backed by Bob Margolin and Frank Krakowski on guitar, Pinetop Perkins on piano, and guest shots by James Cotton and others.
Smith's 2008 album Born in Arkansas utilized bassman Bob Stroger, pianist Barrelhouse Chuck, guitarist Billy Flynn, guitarist Little Frank Krakowski (who has worked with Smith for years) and his son and drummer, Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith. In June 2010, Smith released Joined at the Hip with Pinetop Perkins. Joining these two in the studio were Stroger, and Kenny Smith on drums. John Primer, who was another Muddy Waters band alumnus, joined on lead guitar along with Frank Krakowski.
On February 13, 2011, Smith won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album for Joined at the Hip, an album he recorded with Pinetop Perkins. He remained active in his final year of life, encouraging Liz Mandeville to start her own record label (Blue Kitty Music) and he was featured on two tracts of her album, Clarksdale that was released in 2012.[9][10]
Death
Smith died following a stroke on September 16, 2011.
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