Paul Jones (* 24. Februar 1942 in Portsmouth, Hampshire als Paul Pond) ist ein britischer Sänger, Schauspieler und Mundharmonikaspieler. Bekannt wurde Jones in den 1960er Jahren als Sänger der Popgruppe Manfred Mann. Nach seinem Ausstieg 1966 verfolgte er zeitweilig eine Solokarriere als Sänger. In Großbritannien gelangen ihm mit High Time, das 1966 auf Platz 4 der Singles-Charts kam, und mit I've Been A Bad Bad Boy, 1967 auf Platz 5, zwei Hits.[1] Er wirkte außerdem in Film- und Musicalproduktionen mit wie 1967 in dem britischen Film Privileg und war mit Alexis Korner im Rockpalast zu hören (The Party Album, 1978). Seit den 80er Jahren ist Paul Jones Sänger der Blues Band, seit 1991 Mitglied bei The Manfreds, einer Band aus ehemaligen Mitgliedern der früheren Manfred-Mann-Band. Dazu gehört auch Mike d’Abo, der ihn einst als Sänger bei Manfred Mann abgelöst hatte, und mit dem er bis heute gelegentlich zusammen auftritt. 2005 war Jones auf dem Album Piece by Piece der britischen Sängerin Katie Melua, 2009 auf dem Album Sessions der Nick Vernier Band zu hören. 2007 wurden 2 DVDs mit Dave Kelly und Paul Jones veröffentlicht. (An Evening with Paul Jones & Dave Kelly [live] Vol.1 & Vol.2) 2009 war er als Gastmusiker auf Joe Bonamassas DVD und CD Live from the Royal Albert Hall vertreten.
Paul Jones (born Paul Pond, 24 February 1942)[1] is an English singer, actor, harmonica player and radio personality and television presenter. Career Paul Jones was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire. As "P.P. Pond" he performed duets with Elmo Lewis (aka future founder member of the Rolling Stones, Brian Jones) at the Ealing Club, home of Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, whose singers included Long John Baldry and Mick Jagger. He was asked by Keith Richards and Brian Jones to be the lead singer of a group they were forming, but he turned them down.[2] He went on to be the vocalist and harmonica player of the successful 1960s group Manfred Mann.[1] Paul Jones had several Top Ten hits with Manfred Mann before going solo in July 1966.[1][3] He remained with His Master's Voice.[3] He was less successful without the band than they were with his replacement, Mike d'Abo, but did have a few hits, notably with "High Time" (1966) and "I've Been a Bad, Bad Boy" and "Thinkin' Ain't for Me" (both 1967) before branching into acting.[1] While his solo career in the UK was mildly successful,[1] he sold few records in the US. He had enough hits in Sweden to have a greatest hits album released there on EMI. Subsequent single releases in Britain in the late 1960s on the Columbia label, as a result of EMI transferring their remaining pop acts from His Master's Voice[citation needed], included "Aquarius", from the musical "Hair", and a cover version of a Bee Gees song, "And the Sun Will Shine". From 1966 he also worked as an actor, first in films and television and then on stage, including West End shows such as Conduct Unbecoming (also on Broadway), plus the musicals Cats and Pump Boys and Dinettes. He has worked with directors such as Sir Richard Eyre, Peter Gill and Toby Robertson. His performance opposite model Jean Shrimpton in the 1967 film Privilege,[1] directed by Peter Watkins, did not bring the hoped-for stardom, although the film later became a cult classic.[3] Jones was cast as a pop singer in the film, and sang the songs "I've Been a Bad, Bad Boy" and "Set Me Free", which Patti Smith covered in the 1970s.[1] In 1971 Jones recorded Crucifix in a Horseshoe with White Cloud, a New York-based session group featuring Teddy Wender on keyboards and Kenny Kosek on fiddle.[4] In 1973 he played the title role in Bob Fosse's production of Pippin at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. In 1975 he guest starred in a TV episode of The Sweeney ("Chalk & Cheese") as a boxer turned gangster named "Tommy Garret". In 1976 he performed the role of Peron on the original concept album of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Evita alongside Julie Covington as Eva, Colm Wilkinson as Che and Barbara Dickson as the Mistress. His gold albums include one for Evita. In 1978 he released a single on the RSO label, orchestrated versions of the Sex Pistols' Pretty Vacant and the Ramones' Sheena is a Punk Rocker, both produced by Rice. Four years later he appeared as one of the guest vocalists on the British Electric Foundation's Music of Quality and Distinction, on a new version of There's a Ghost In My House. In 1985, he became the host of the children's TV quiz Beat the Teacher, and stayed for the next series the following year. In 1990 he appeared in the children's series, Uncle Jack. In the meantime, he enjoyed a parallel career as presenter of radio programmes focusing mainly on rhythm and blues, notably a long-running weekly show on BBC Radio 2, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2011. He founded The Blues Band and is a member of the Manfreds, a group reuniting many[who?] original members of Manfred Mann,[1] and has also played harmonica as a session musician on recordings by artists including Gerry Rafferty, Dave Edmunds, Katie Melua, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ray Jackson and Marti Webb.
In 2001 Showcase appeared on Hallmark Records. His most recent solo album is 2009's Starting All Over Again on Continental Record Services (aka CRS) in Europe and Collectors' Choice in the US.[1] It was produced by Carla Olson in Los Angeles and features Eric Clapton, Jake Andrews, Ernie Watts, Percy Sledge, Alvino Bennett, Tony Marsico, Michael Thompson, Tom Morgan Jr., Oren Waters and Luther Waters. The sequel "Suddenly I Like It" was recorded in Los Angeles, and will be released in early 2015. Among the guests: Joe Bonamassa and Jools Holland. On 4 May 2009 Jones and his harmonica featured in a song during a concert by Joe Bonamassa in the Royal Albert Hall, London. That same month saw the single release of "I'm Your Kingpin" by Nick Vernier Band with Paul Jones on harmonica.[5] In 2010, Jones also featured on two versions of "You’re Wrong" from Nick Vernier Band's Sessions album. In 2012, he featured on a song "Solid Ground" on Oli Brown's album Here I Am. Jones is currently the president of the National Harmonica League[6] and was awarded "harmonica player of the year" in the British blues awards of 2010 and 2011, as well as Blues Broadcaster of the year in 2011[7] Personal life Jones attended Portsmouth Grammar School and Jesus College, Oxford, although he did not graduate. Jones was first married (1963-76) to novelist and reviewer Sheila MacLeod. There were two sons from the marriage, Matthew and Jacob. He is currently married to the former actress, and latterly Christian speaker, Fiona Hendley-Jones. He converted to Christianity in the mid 1980s as the result of being invited by Cliff Richard to a Luis Palau evangelistic event. Jones had appeared opposite Richard in the 1960s, on a television debate show where he had, at the time, opposed Richard's viewpoint. In December 2013 Jones was featured in BBC One's Songs of Praise, performing and talking with Aled Jones about his faith.[8] Jones was pictured with his son, Matthew, for the front cover of the Radio Times in 1973 along with actor Jon Pertwee (then starring in Doctor Who) and broadcaster Michael Parkinson.
Driftin’ Slim (* 24. Februar 1919 in Keo, Arkansas; † 17. September 1977 in Los Angeles, Kalifornien) war ein afroamerikanischer Blues-Sänger, Gitarrist und Mundharmonikaspieler.
Er hat nicht nur als Driftin' Slim Schallplatten aufgenommen, sondern auch als Model 'T' Slim und unter seinem wirklichen Namen Elmon Mickle.
Driftin' Slim (February 24, 1919 – September 15, 1977[1]) was an African-American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player.
Biography
Born Elmon Mickle in Keo, Arkansas, he not only recorded as Driftin' Slim, but also as Model 'T' Slim and under his real name. His recordings were released on the - amongst others - Modern, RPM, Blue Horizon, Styletone, Milestone, Kent, and Flyright record labels.
By the turn of the 1970s, ill health had forced Slim to retire from the music industry and when he died, a chapter of American music — that of the one-man band — had virtually died with him.[1] Slim died in Los Angeles, California, in September 1977.
John Jackson (February 24, 1924 – January 20, 2002)[1] was an American Piedmont blues musician; his music did not become primary until his accidental "discovery" by folklorist Chuck Perdue in the 1960s. He had effectively given up playing for his community in 1949.
He was born in John H Jackson[1] in Woodville, Virginia, United States into a musical family, and learned to play guitar at a young age. He moved to Fairfax in his twenties, where he worked as a gravedigger, among other jobs.[2]
His first recordings were released the early 1960s on the Arhoolie Records label.[2] He visited Europe several times, played at folk festivals, and also recorded for Rounder and Alligator Records.[2] He also appeared around Washington, D.C. with 'the Travelling Blues Workshop', which included Jackson, Archie Edwards, Flora Molton, Mother Scott, Phil Wiggins and John Cephas.[3]
Jackson died in 2002 of liver cancer in Fairfax Station, Virginia, at the age of 77.[1]
Jackson had six boys and one girl with his wife Cora Lee Carter Jackson. He was preceded in death by his wife Cora Lee (1990), and his sons John Jackson Jr (1978), Ned Jackson (1978), and MacArthur Jackson (1996). Two of his remaining sons died after him; Lee Floyd Jackson (2006) and Timothy Jackson (2008). His daughter Cora Elizabeth (Beth) Johnson and James Edward Jackson still live in the Fairfax, Virginia area.
In January, 2011, Jackson was nominated in the Blues Album and Live Performance Album categories for the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards.
Willie Kent (* 24. Februar 1936 in Inverness, Sunflower County, Mississippi; † 2. März 2006 in Englewood, Kalifornien) war ein amerikanischer Bluessänger, Bassist und Songwriter.
Seine ersten Gesangserfahrungen machte Willie Kent in seiner Jugend in der Kirche. Durch die Radiosendung von KFFA "King Biscuit Time" lernte er Arthur Crudup, Sonny Boy Williamson II. und besonders Robert Nighthawk schätzen.[1] Mit elf Jahren hörte er im Harlem Inn die dort auftretenden Künstler wie beispielsweise Raymond Hill, Jackie Brenston, Howlin’ Wolf, Clayton Love, Ike Turner und Little Milton.
1952 kam er nach Chicago, wo er arbeitete und den Blues hörte. Er kaufte sich eine Gitarre, 1959 trat er der Band Ralph and the Red Tops als Fahrer, Manager und gelegentlicher Sänger bei. Eines Nachts war der Bassist der Gruppe zu betrunken, um zu spielen, und so spielte er Bass, das Instrument, das er den Rest des Lebens spielte.[2] Seine Arbeit für andere Musiker liest sich wie das Who is Who des Blues, er spielte für Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Junior Parker, Arthur Stallworth and the Chicago Playboys, Hip Linkchain und Jimmy Dawkins.[3] In den 1970er-Jahren[4] unternahm er seine erste Europatournee und wurde Frontmann der Hausband in Ma Bea's Lounge in der Madison Avenue (Sugar Bear & the Beehives, Gitarre-Willie James Lyons Schlagzeug-Robert Plunkett)[5]1982 wurde er Mitglied von Eddie Taylors Blues Band. Nach dessen Tod gründete er seine eigene Band, Willie Kent & The Gents. In verschiedenen Besetzungen blieb sie bis zu Kents Tod bestehen.
1989, nach einer Bypassoperation, gab er seinen Job auf und widmete sich ganz der Musik, wie man auch seiner Diskographie entnehmen kann. Vor 1989 erschienen nur zwei Alben von ihm.
Willie Kent (February 24, 1936[1] – March 2, 2006)[2] was an American blues singer, bassist and songwriter.
Career
Kent was born in Inverness, Sunflower County, Mississippi. Although he had played the bass guitar in Chicago's clubs since the 1950s, Kent worked full-time in careers other than music until he was over 50 years of age.[3] Following heart surgery, he stopped work as a truck driver, and formed a band.[3]
Kent continued to play live shows, even after being diagnosed with colon cancer in early 2005. He died in Englewood, Illinois in March 2006.
Listen to the music: when he sings, Willie Kent’s voice blazes out from the heart of the blues. Below the singing, you hear his bass guitar, flawless and rich. Between these two runs the music, a deep, honest blues that flowed from rural Mississippi to urban Chicago and remembers everything it learned along the way.
Willie Kent was born in 1936 in the small town of Inverness, Mississippi, just a hundred miles south of the border with Tennessee, and the blues ran all through his childhood. His first experience singing came in church, where he went "all the time" with his mother and brother. "Blues and gospel come from the same place," he would say later in life. "They're both from the heart." But the blues always called to him. Dewitt Munson, a neighbor wending homeward late nights with a guitar in his hand and a bottle in his pocket, would stop a while at the Kent porch to rest, letting the young Willie hold his guitar while he told stories. Through radio station KFFA’s famous "King Biscuit Time", Willie basked in the sounds of Arthur Crudup, Sonny Boy Williamson, and especially Robert Nighthawk. By the time he was eleven, he was regularly slipping out to the Harlem Inn on Highway 61 to hear it all live: Raymond Hill, Jackie Brenston, Howlin’ Wolf, Clayton Love, Ike Turner, Little Milton.
He left home at the age of thirteen. In 1952 he arrived in Chicago, where he soon was working all day and listening to music all night. One of his co-workers was cousin to Elmore James - and Willie Kent (still underage) took to following that famous bluesman from club to club, absorbing his music. Each weekend he’d go out looking for blues, and he found it: Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, J.B. Lenoir, Johnnie Jones, Eddie "Playboy" Taylor, A.C. Reed, J.B. Hutto, and Earring George Mayweather.
His love for the music led him further and further into it. He bought himself a guitar, and in 1959 through guitarist friend Willie Hudson, linked up with the band Ralph and the Red Tops, acting as driver and manager and sometimes joining them onstage to sing. He made a deal with Hudson, letting him use the new guitar in trade for lessons on how to play it. One night’s show was decisive: the band’s bass player arrived too drunk to play, and because the band had already spent the club’s deposit, they couldn’t back out of the gig; so Willie Kent made his debut as a bass player, on the spot. He never looked back.
From that point on, his credits as a musician read like a "Who’s Who" of Chicago blues. After the Red Tops, he played bass with several bands around the city and stopped in often for Kansas City Red’s reknowned "Blue Monday" parties. He was increasingly serious about his music and formed a group with guitarists Joe Harper and Joe Spells and singer Little Wolf. By 1961, he was playing bass behind Little Walter, and by the mid-60’s was sitting in with Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Junior Parker. Toward the end of the 60’s, he joined Arthur Stallworth and the Chicago Playboys as their bass player, worked briefly with Hip Linkchain, then played bass behind Jimmy Dawkins.
He joined Jimmy Dawkins on his 1971 European tour, but when they returned to the States, their paths diverged: Dawkins wanted to keep touring and turned over his regular gig at Ma Bea’s Lounge to Willie Kent, who wanted to stay in Chicago. For the next six years, the Ma Bea’s house band was known as Sugar Bear and the Beehives, headed by Willie Kent (the Sugar Bear himself) with guitarist Willie James Lyons and drummer Robert Plunkett. In that setting, he set the tone of the club and backed up a stellar guest list including Fenton Robinson, Hubert Sumlin, Eddie Clearwater, Jimmy Johnson, Carey Bell, Buster Benton, Johnny Littlejohn, Casey Jones, Bob Fender, Mighty Joe Young, B.B. Jones, and Jerry Wells. (For a taste of the music, check out the superb 1975 recording Ghetto – Willie Kent and Willie James Lyons live at Ma Bea’s.)
Willie Kent had played occasionally with Eddie Taylor’s blues band during the late 70’s, and in 1982 became a regular member of the band, which then included Eddie Taylor on guitar, Willie Kent on bass, Johnny B. Moore on guitar, and Larry and Tim Taylor on drums. His relationship with Eddie Taylor was both a solid friendship and a warm musical partnership (evidenced in Eddie Taylor’s fine recording Bad Boy on Wolf Records).
After the death of Eddie Taylor, Willie Kent devoted his energies to his own band, Willie Kent and the Gents, with Kent on bass and vocals, Tim Taylor on drums, and Jesse Williams and Johnny B. Moore on guitar. And the Gents endured. Over the years, the composition of the group shifted as musicians joined or moved on, but the music remained as clear, powerful and steady as the bass line that held it true: a pure Chicago West Side blues.
By the end of his life, Willie Kent was well-known and respected in the blues world, but getting there wasn’t easy. In 1989, a series of heart problems led to life-changing triple bypass surgery. As he healed, he spent time reflecting on blues music, his career, and the future. He gave up his day job and turned his full attention to music.
His discography bears witness: before 1989, there were just two recordings to his credit; in the years since, he had ten releases under his own name, recorded behind many other blues artists, and appeared in countless blues compilations.
Carl Weathersby and Billy Branch at the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival (2005?)
Carl Weathersby wurde 1953 in Jackson, Mississippi, geboren. Seine Familie zog nach East Chicago, Indiana, als er acht Jahre alt war. Als Teenager begann er, Gitarre zu spielen. Zu jener Zeit besuchten eine Menge Musiker, Freunde seines Vaters, das Haus der Familie. Einer, der regelmäßig vorbei schaute, war ein massiger Typ, den Carl nur als Albert, der Mechaniker, kannte. Eines Tages passierte es, dass Albert beobachtete, wie der junge Weathersby versuchte, einige Albert King-Songs auf der Gitarre nachzuspielen. Carl sagt, er habe diesen einen Song, ‚Cross Cut Saw‘, immer und immer wieder geübt, bis er sich schließlich sagte: „Ich glaub‘, ich hab’ ihn jetzt drauf!“ Also spielte er diesen Song und der Typ sagte schließlich: „Ey, so geht dieser Song nicht, so habe ich den nie gespielt.“ Es stellte sich heraus, der Typ war Albert King selbst, und der zeigte einem verblüfften Weathersby nun, wie dieser Song gespielt werden sollte. King gab Carl ein paar willkommene und ermunternde Worte mit auf den Weg und begann, den Jungspund zu mögen.
Nachdem er seine staatsbürgerliche Pflicht in Vietnam erfüllt hatte, fand Carl einen Job im Stahlwerk, danach als Gefängnisaufseher und sogar als Polizist. Von 1979 bis 1982 war er Albert Kings Rhythmusgitarrist, und danach verbrachte er als Leadgitarrist fünfzehn Jahre mit Billy Branchs Sons Of Blues, bevor er sich um seine eigene Karriere kümmerte. Sein erstes eigenes Album, auf Evidence Records, wurde mit einem W.C. Handy Award in der Kategorie ‚Bluesalbum des Jahres‘ ausgezeichnet. 2002 entstanden im Rahmen der ‚In The House‘-Serie Liveaufnahmen beim alljährlichen Lucerne Blues Festival in der Schweiz, die im darauffolgenden Jahr auf CrossCut veröffentlicht wurden, sein einziges Album für die Bremer Firma.
Carl Weathersby verbindet den Charme des Südens und feuriges Gitarrenspiel mit soulgetränktem Gesang. Er spielt den Blues in allen Variationen, von dreckig und bodenständig bis hin zu funkelnden, von Albert King inspirierten Läufen. Er gilt als kraftstrotzender Live-Musiker, der sein Publikum begeistert und hundertprozentig unterhalten zurück läßt.
Carl Weathersby (born Carlton Weathersby, 24 February 1953, Jackson, Mississippi)[1] is an American electric blues vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter.[2] Weathersby has worked most notably with Albert King and Billy Branch, and is now a solo artist. Weathersby was also nominated in 1997 for a W.C. Handy Award for 'Best New Blues Artist. Biography Weathersby spent his early years in Meadville, Mississippi, a place he still considers home, although when he was aged eight, his family moved to East Chicago, Indiana.[1] Pre-musician years (1953-1979) As a teenager, Weathersby began to learn the guitar. One day, after practicing "Cross Cut Saw" many times through, he decided to show his father. After he finished playing it, his father's friend, a man Weathersby knew as Albert, the diesel mechanic, said, "Man, that ain't the way that song goes, that ain't the way I played it." The mechanic turned out to be Albert King, who then showed Weathersby how to play it. Despite Weathersby's mistake, King was impressed and eventually signed Weathersby on to play rhythm guitar with him on tour.[1] However his career as musician started many years later. Before then, Weathersby worked many jobs ranging from steel mill worker to prison guard and police man. He also served in the U.S. Army from 1971 to 1977, during the Vietnam War.[1] Collaborative years (1979-1995) After the Vietnam War, Weathersby began playing rhythm guitar with Albert King. It was only on short road trips between 1979–81,[1] but the experience solidified Weathersby's identity as a blues musician. He then started filling in for the guitarist of the Sons of Blues, Carlos Johnson, who Weathersby described as "a pretty shaky guy, you know. He could show up just as easy as he couldn't show up..."[3] Eventually the band hired Weathersby on as their full-time guitarist, a position he held for the next fifteen years. Solo years (1995-present) His position as guitarist for the Sons of Blues earned him a name among the blues fans of Chicago, it also left him feeling discontent. Because of his growing popularity, Evidence Records released Weathersby's first album, Don't Lay Your Blues on Me (1996).[1] They published all of his subsequent albums, up to Best of Carl Weathersby. His only live album, In the House, was recorded at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland, when he was joined by the harp player and past band mate Billy Branch. In The House was released under the CrossCut record label. Weathersby has since self produced the album, Hold On.
George Thorogood (* 24. Februar 1950[1] in Wilmington, Delaware) ist ein US-amerikanischer Bluesrock-Musiker. Thorogoods musikalischen Vorbilder sind Elmore James, Hound Dog Taylor und Chuck Berry. Obwohl er ab den 1980er-Jahren eine große Zahl von Fans erreichte, erhielt er nie die Anerkennung der Bluespuristen. Ursprünglich Baseballspieler, entschied er sich für die Musik, nachdem er ein Konzert mit John P. Hammond besucht hatte. 1973 gründete er in Delaware seine Begleitband The Destroyers. Bald gingen sie nach Boston, wo sie regelmäßig in Bluesklubs auftraten. Sein erstes Album Better Than the Rest erschien 1974. 1977 kam der Durchbruch mit seinem zweiten Album George Thorogood, das er mit seiner Band "The Destroyers" aufgenommen hatte. 1978 folgte das Album Move It On Over mit dem gleichnamigen Hit. Während der 1980er und 1990er nahm Thorogood einige seiner bekanntesten Titel auf, darunter Bad to the Bone (in den Filmen Christine, Terminator 2, Ein Zwilling kommt selten allein (1998), Auf Kriegsfuß mit Major Payne und den Fernsehserien Eine schrecklich nette Familie und Eureka eingesetzt), I Drink Alone (vom Album Maverick), You Talk Too Much und If You Don't Start Drinking, I'm Gonna Leave. Mit Beginn der 1990er-Jahre fielen seine Plattenverkäufe, trotzdem ist er immer noch wichtiger Teil der Klubszene, und seine Konzerte bringen immer noch große Zuschauermassen in Bewegung.
George Thorogood (born February 24, 1950) is an American blues rock musican from Wilmington, Delaware.[1] His "high-energy boogie-blues" sound became a staple of 1980s rock radio, with hits like his original songs "Bad to the Bone" and "I Drink Alone".[2] He has also helped popularize older songs by American icons, such as "Move It On Over," "Who Do You Love?" and "House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer", which became staples of classic rock radio.
With his band, the Delaware Destroyers, Thorogood has released over 20 albums, of which two have been certified Platinum and six have been certified Gold. He has sold 15 million albums worldwide. Thorogood and band continue to tour extensively and in 2014 celebrated their 40th anniversary performing.
Music career
Thorogood began his began career in the early 1970 as a solo acoustic performer in the style of Robert Johnson and Elmore James[2] after being inspired by a John P. Hammond concert.[3] However, he soon formed a band, the Delaware Destroyers (or just the Destroyers) with a high school friend, drummer Jeff Simon.[2] With additional players they developed their own sound, a mixture of Chicago blues and rock and roll.[3] Their first shows were in Lane Hall at the University of Delaware.[4] Thorogood's demo, Better Than the Rest, was recorded in 1974, but was not released until 1979. His major recording debut came in 1976 with the album George Thorogood & The Destroyers, which was released in 1977. In 1978, Thorogood released his next album with the Destroyers titled Move It On Over, which included a remake of Hank Williams' "Move It On Over". "Please Set a Date" and their reworking of the Bo Diddley song "Who Do You Love?" both followed in 1979. The band's early success contributed to the rise of folk label Rounder Records.[5]
During the late 1970s, Thorogood and his band were based in Boston. He was friends with Jimmy Thackery of the Washington, D.C.-based blues band, The Nighthawks. While touring in the 1970s, the Destroyers and the Nighthawks happened to be playing shows in Georgetown (DC) at venues across the street from each other. The Destroyers were engaged at The Cellar Door and the Nighthawks at Desperados. At midnight, by prior arrangement, while both bands played Elmore James' "Madison Blues" in the same key, Thorogood and Thackery left their clubs, met in the middle of M Street, exchanged guitar patch cords and went on to play with the opposite band in the other club.[6] The connection with the Nighthawks was extended further, when Nighthawks bass player Jan Zukowski supported Thorogood's set at the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia, PA on July 13, 1985.
Thorogood gained his first mainstream exposure as a support act for The Rolling Stones during their 1981 U.S. tour. He also was the featured musical guest on Saturday Night Live (Season 8, Episode 2) on the October 2, 1982 broadcast. During this time, Thorogood and the Destroyers also became known for their rigorous touring schedule, including the "50/50" tour of 1981,[7] on which the band toured 50 US states in the space of 50 days.[8] After two shows in Boulder, Colorado, Thorogood and his band flew to Hawaii for one show and then performed a show in Alaska on the following night. The next day the band flew to Washington State, met their roadies who had their Checker car and a truck, and continued a one show per state tour for all fifty states in exactly fifty nights. In addition, they played Washington, D.C. on the same day that they performed a show in Maryland.
This increased visibility occurred as Thorogood's contract with Rounder Records expired. He signed with EMI America Records and in 1982 released his best-known song, "Bad to the Bone", and an album of the same name. The song has been used frequently in television and film, including the television drama Miami Vice, the sci-fi thriller Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the animated cartoon Alvin and the Chipmunks, the comedies Problem Child, and Problem Child 2, Stephen King's Christine, and many episodes of the television sitcom Married... with Children. The track was also used during the intro to the movie Major Payne and in the 1988 drama film Talk Radio. The song is also featured in the game Rock 'n Roll Racing. It is also played during football pregame festivities at Mississippi State University and at USHRA Monster Jam events to introduce Grave Digger (regardless of driver). "Bad to the Bone" was used for the 1984 Buick Grand National advertisements. Thorogood's version of "Who Do You Love?" is played in all Samuel Adams beer commercials.
In 2012, Thorogood was named one of The 50 Most Influential Delawareans of the Past 50 Years.[9]
Band members
The Destroyers
George Thorogood – lead vocals and lead guitar
Jeff Simon – drums, percussion (1973–present)
Billy Blough – bass guitar (1977–present)
Jim Suhler – rhythm guitar (1999–present)
Buddy Leach – saxophone, piano (2003–present)
Former member
Ron "Roadblock" Smith – rhythm guitar (1973–1980)
Hank "Hurricane" Carter – saxophone (1980–2003)
Steve Chrismar – rhythm guitar (1985–1993)
Abu Talib (* als Fred Leroy Robinson; 24. Februar 1939 in Memphis, Tennessee; † 8. Oktober 2009 in Lancaster, Kalifornien[1]), der bis zu seiner Namensänderung 1978 als Freddy Robinson agierte, war ein amerikanischer Blues- und Jazz-Gitarrist, Sänger und Mundharmonika-Spieler. Bekannt geworden ist er vor allem durch seine Zusammenarbeit mit so unterschiedlichen Musikern wie Little Walter, Howlin Wolf und Jimmy Rogers (in den 1950er und 1960er Jahren), den Jazz Crusaders, Monk Higgins, Blue Mitchell, Stanley Turrentine und John Mayall (in den 1970ern) und Bobby Bland (1980er). Neben seiner Arbeit im Studio und auf Tourneen mit Anderen hat er eine Reihe von eigenen Musikaufnahmen eingespielt und sich über die Jahrzehnte hinweg als ein sehr vielseitiger Musiker, sowohl in der Welt des Blues, als auch in der des Jazz behauptet.
Abu Talib (born as Fred Leroy Robinson and previously known as Freddie or Freddy Robinson; February 24, 1939 – October 8, 2009) was an African American blues and jazz guitarist, singer, and harmonica player.
Career
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he was raised in the state of Arkansas and moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1956. Inspired as a guitarist by Joe Willie Wilkins, he first recorded that year, backing harmonica player Birmingham Jones. In 1958, he began touring with Little Walter, and after seeing a jazz band perform was inspired to learn music formally at the Chicago School of Music. He also began working with Howlin' Wolf, recording with him such notable blues classics as "Spoonful", "Back Door Man" and "Wang Dang Doodle". In the mid-1960s, he played with R&B singers Jerry Butler and Syl Johnson, before joining Ray Charles' band in Los Angeles.[1] While there, he recorded the instrumental "Black Fox", which became a minor pop hit reaching #56 on the Billboard Hot 100 and # 29 on the R&B chart.[2]
In the early 1970s, he worked with English blues bandleader John Mayall, playing on the album Jazz Blues Fusion, and recorded LPs with trumpeter Blue Mitchell. He also recorded two albums in his own name - At The Drive In and Off The Cuff, on which he was supported by Joe Sample and Wilton Felder of the Crusaders - for Enterprise, a subsidiary of Stax Records.[1] He also worked with Earl Gaines and Jimmy Rogers in the 1950s and 1960s, Monk Higgins and Stanley Turrentine in the 1970s, and Bobby Bland in the 1980s. In addition to his studio and touring collaborations, Talib also recorded solo, re-emerging in 1994 with an album of his own compositions, The Real Thing at Last.[1]
Personal life
Talib converted to Islam in 1975 and changed his name to Abu Talib. After his first wife died, Talib remarried and fathered seven children in his two marriages.[3]
On October 8, 2009, Talib died of cancer in Lancaster, California.[4] He was 70.
Plays harmonica and drums at the same time, sings and occasionally writes cool songs. John is a member of the Society for Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica (SPAH) and has performed and taught seminars at SPAH conventions. Additionally, Harmonica John created a community event called “Spring Harp Fest”, which is held each spring on Easter weekend. This all day fundraising event involves many volunteer workers and performers. I am responsible for setting up the stage, arranging and coordinating the entertainers, setting the performance schedule, and acting as the Master of Ceremonies. Through or efforts, we raise funds to purchase harmonicas to be distributed at schools and youth organizations to promote music education
Paul
Jones (* 24. Februar 1942 in Portsmouth, Hampshire als Paul Pond) ist
ein britischer Sänger, Schauspieler und Mundharmonikaspieler.
Bekannt
wurde Jones in den 1960er Jahren als Sänger der Popgruppe Manfred Mann.
Nach seinem Ausstieg 1966 verfolgte er zeitweilig eine Solokarriere als
Sänger. In Großbritannien gelangen ihm mit High Time, das 1966 auf
Platz 4 der Singles-Charts kam, und mit I've Been A Bad Bad Boy, 1967
auf Platz 5, zwei Hits.[1] Er wirkte außerdem in Film- und
Musicalproduktionen mit wie 1967 in dem britischen Film Privileg und war
mit Alexis Korner im Rockpalast zu hören (The Party Album, 1978). Seit
den 80er Jahren ist Paul Jones Sänger der Blues Band, seit 1991 Mitglied
bei The Manfreds, einer Band aus ehemaligen Mitgliedern der früheren
Manfred-Mann-Band. Dazu gehört auch Mike d’Abo, der ihn einst als Sänger
bei Manfred Mann abgelöst hatte, und mit dem er bis heute gelegentlich
zusammen auftritt.
2005 war Jones auf dem Album Piece by Piece der
britischen Sängerin Katie Melua, 2009 auf dem Album Sessions der Nick
Vernier Band zu hören. 2007 wurden 2 DVDs mit Dave Kelly und Paul Jones
veröffentlicht. (An Evening with Paul Jones & Dave Kelly [live]
Vol.1 & Vol.2) 2009 war er als Gastmusiker auf Joe Bonamassas DVD
und CD Live from the Royal Albert Hall vertreten.
Paul
Jones (born Paul Pond, 24 February 1942)[1] is an English singer,
actor, harmonica player and radio personality and television presenter.
Career
Paul
Jones was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire. As "P.P. Pond" he performed
duets with Elmo Lewis (aka future founder member of the Rolling Stones,
Brian Jones) at the Ealing Club, home of Alexis Korner's Blues
Incorporated, whose singers included Long John Baldry and Mick Jagger.
He was asked by Keith Richards and Brian Jones to be the lead singer of a
group they were forming, but he turned them down.[2] He went on to be
the vocalist and harmonica player of the successful 1960s group Manfred
Mann.[1] Paul Jones had several Top Ten hits with Manfred Mann before
going solo in July 1966.[1][3] He remained with His Master's Voice.[3]
He
was less successful without the band than they were with his
replacement, Mike d'Abo, but did have a few hits, notably with "High
Time" (1966) and "I've Been a Bad, Bad Boy" and "Thinkin' Ain't for Me"
(both 1967) before branching into acting.[1] While his solo career in
the UK was mildly successful,[1] he sold few records in the US. He had
enough hits in Sweden to have a greatest hits album released there on
EMI. Subsequent single releases in Britain in the late 1960s on the
Columbia label, as a result of EMI transferring their remaining pop acts
from His Master's Voice[citation needed], included "Aquarius", from the
musical "Hair", and a cover version of a Bee Gees song, "And the Sun
Will Shine".
From 1966 he also worked as an actor, first in films
and television and then on stage, including West End shows such as
Conduct Unbecoming (also on Broadway), plus the musicals Cats and Pump
Boys and Dinettes. He has worked with directors such as Sir Richard
Eyre, Peter Gill and Toby Robertson.
His performance opposite
model Jean Shrimpton in the 1967 film Privilege,[1] directed by Peter
Watkins, did not bring the hoped-for stardom, although the film later
became a cult classic.[3] Jones was cast as a pop singer in the film,
and sang the songs "I've Been a Bad, Bad Boy" and "Set Me Free", which
Patti Smith covered in the 1970s.[1]
In 1971 Jones recorded
Crucifix in a Horseshoe with White Cloud, a New York-based session group
featuring Teddy Wender on keyboards and Kenny Kosek on fiddle.[4] In
1973 he played the title role in Bob Fosse's production of Pippin at Her
Majesty's Theatre in London.
In 1975 he guest starred in a TV
episode of The Sweeney ("Chalk & Cheese") as a boxer turned gangster
named "Tommy Garret". In 1976 he performed the role of Peron on the
original concept album of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical
Evita alongside Julie Covington as Eva, Colm Wilkinson as Che and
Barbara Dickson as the Mistress. His gold albums include one for Evita.
In 1978 he released a single on the RSO label, orchestrated versions of
the Sex Pistols' Pretty Vacant and the Ramones' Sheena is a Punk Rocker,
both produced by Rice. Four years later he appeared as one of the guest
vocalists on the British Electric Foundation's Music of Quality and
Distinction, on a new version of There's a Ghost In My House.
In
1985, he became the host of the children's TV quiz Beat the Teacher, and
stayed for the next series the following year. In 1990 he appeared in
the children's series, Uncle Jack. In the meantime, he enjoyed a
parallel career as presenter of radio programmes focusing mainly on
rhythm and blues, notably a long-running weekly show on BBC Radio 2,
which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2011.
He founded The
Blues Band and is a member of the Manfreds, a group reuniting many[who?]
original members of Manfred Mann,[1] and has also played harmonica as a
session musician on recordings by artists including Gerry Rafferty,
Dave Edmunds, Katie Melua, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ray Jackson and Marti
Webb.
In 2001 Showcase appeared on Hallmark Records.
His
most recent solo album is 2009's Starting All Over Again on Continental
Record Services (aka CRS) in Europe and Collectors' Choice in the
US.[1] It was produced by Carla Olson in Los Angeles and features Eric
Clapton, Jake Andrews, Ernie Watts, Percy Sledge, Alvino Bennett, Tony
Marsico, Michael Thompson, Tom Morgan Jr., Oren Waters and Luther
Waters. The sequel "Suddenly I Like It" was recorded in Los Angeles, and
will be released in early 2015. Among the guests: Joe Bonamassa and
Jools Holland.
On 4 May 2009 Jones and his harmonica featured in a
song during a concert by Joe Bonamassa in the Royal Albert Hall,
London. That same month saw the single release of "I'm Your Kingpin" by
Nick Vernier Band with Paul Jones on harmonica.[5] In 2010, Jones also
featured on two versions of "You’re Wrong" from Nick Vernier Band's
Sessions album. In 2012, he featured on a song "Solid Ground" on Oli
Brown's album Here I Am.
Jones is currently the president of the
National Harmonica League[6] and was awarded "harmonica player of the
year" in the British blues awards of 2010 and 2011, as well as Blues
Broadcaster of the year in 2011[7]
Personal life
Jones attended Portsmouth Grammar School and Jesus College, Oxford, although he did not graduate.
Jones
was first married (1963-76) to novelist and reviewer Sheila MacLeod.
There were two sons from the marriage, Matthew and Jacob. He is
currently married to the former actress, and latterly Christian speaker,
Fiona Hendley-Jones. He converted to Christianity in the mid 1980s as
the result of being invited by Cliff Richard to a Luis Palau
evangelistic event. Jones had appeared opposite Richard in the 1960s, on
a television debate show where he had, at the time, opposed Richard's
viewpoint. In December 2013 Jones was featured in BBC One's Songs of
Praise, performing and talking with Aled Jones about his faith.[8]
Jones
was pictured with his son, Matthew, for the front cover of the Radio
Times in 1973 along with actor Jon Pertwee (then starring in Doctor Who)
and broadcaster Michael Parkinson.
Aaron Corthen Reed (* 9. Mai 1926 in Wardell, Missouri; † 24. Februar 2004 in Chicago, Illinois), bekannt als A.C. Reed, war ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Saxophonist und Sänger.
Reed wuchs in Illinois auf. Aufgrund seiner Vorliebe für den Big-Band-Sound entschied er sich, Saxophon spielen zu lernen.
Während der Kriegsjahre kam er nach Chicago, wo er mit Größen wie Earl Hooker und Willie Mabon auftrat. Ab 1956 tingelte er mit Dennis „Long Man“ Binder, der zuvor bei Ike Turner gespielt hatte, durch den Südwesten der USA.
In den 1960er-Jahren begleitete er u. a. Hooker, Lillian Offitt und Ricky Allan bei ihren Aufnahmen. Eigene Singles in dieser Zeit waren „This Little Voice“, „Come on Home“, „Mean Cop“, „I Stay Mad“, „I’d Rather Fight than Switch“, „My Baby Is Fine“, „Talkin’ ’Bout My Friends“ und „Things I Want You to Do“, die Reed bei verschiedenen Plattenlabels einspielte.
Ab 1967 spielte er in der Band von Buddy Guy. 1969 waren sie in Afrika unterwegs. 1970 spielten sie, zusammen mit Junior Wells, als Vorband der Rolling Stones.
1977 verließ Reed Guy und Wells und schloss sich wenig später Albert Collins an, den er auf seinen ersten fünf Alben begleitete. Auch begann er wieder vermehrt, Soloaufnahmen zu machen. 1998 wurde er mit dem Living Blues Award ausgezeichnet. Mit Casey Jones hatte er ein eigenes Label „Ice Cube Records“. Mit seiner Band „The Spark Plugs“ war er bis zu seinem Tod in der Chicagoer Blues-Szene aktiv.
Aaron Corthen, better known as A.C. Reed (May 9, 1926 – February 24, 2004)[1] was an American blues saxophonist, closely associated with the Chicago blues scene from the 1940s into the 2000s.
Biography
Reed was born in Wardell, Missouri, United States, but grew up in southern Illinois. He took his stage name from his friend, Jimmy Reed.[2] He moved to Chicago during World War II, playing with Earl Hooker and Willie Mabon in the 1940s.[2] He toured with Dennis "Long Man" Binder in 1956, and did extensive work as a sideman for Mel London's blues record labels Chief/Profile/Age in the 1960s, with Lillian Offitt and Ricky Allen, amongst others. He had a regionally popular single in 1961 with "This Little Voice" (Age 29101), and cut several more singles over the course of the decade.
He became a member of Buddy Guy's band in 1967, playing with him on his tour of Africa in 1969 and, with Junior Wells, opening for The Rolling Stones in 1970.[2] He remained with Guy until 1977, then played with Son Seals and Albert Collins in the late 1970s and 1980s.[2] He began recording solo material for Alligator Records in the 1980s.[2] On his 1987 offering, I'm in the Wrong Business, came cameo appearances by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Bonnie Raitt.[2]
He toured extensively in the 1980s and 90's with his band The Spark Plugs, playing small venues throughout the United States. He and the Sparkplugs performed in Chicago before succumbing to cancer in 2004.
Memphis Slim (* 3. September 1915 in Memphis, Tennessee; † 24. Februar 1988 in Paris, Frankreich) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Sänger und -Pianist.
Leben
Als John Len Chatman geboren, spielte Memphis Slim seine ersten Plattenaufnahmen am 2. August 1940 für das Okeh-Label unter dem Namen Peter Chatman (& His Washboard Band) ein. Bereits die Ergebnisse seiner zweiten Plattensession (am 30. Oktober 1940 für das Label Bluebird) wurden unter seinem lebenslang beibehaltenen Künstlernamen Memphis Slim veröffentlicht.
Das musikalische Vorbild des jungen Musikers war sein Vater, ein Gitarren- und Klavierspieler, von dem er bereits im Alter von sieben oder acht Jahren das Klavierspielen lernte.
Ende der 1930er Jahre ging Memphis Slim nach Chicago. Dort begleitete er Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Boy Williamson II. und Washboard Sam. 1940 nahm er erste eigene Platten auf. Unter dem Titel Nobody Loves Me (B-Seite von Angel Child) nahm er eine Version vom Bluesklassiker Everyday I Have the Blues am 10. Oktober 1947 zusammen mit seinen The House Rockers auf. Sie erschien erstmals im Oktober 1949 bei dem kurzlebigen Label Miracle Records (# 145). Die A-Seite erreichte Rang sechs der Rhythm & Blues-Hitparade, die B-Seite wurde als seine Komposition ausgegeben, stammte in Wirklichkeit jedoch aus der Feder von Aaron Sparks.
In den nächsten Jahren wurde er nicht nur in den USA populär. Als einer der ersten Bluesmusiker unternahm Memphis Slim ausgedehnte Welttourneen. Zusammen mit Willie Dixon trat er in Israel auf und mit Muddy Waters in der New Yorker Carnegie Hall (1959, CD: Chicago Blues Masters, Vol.1, Capitol Records). In den 50ern entstanden auch einige Singles für das Label United.
Nach einer Europatour 1962 mit dem American Folk Blues Festival entschloss sich Memphis Slim nach Frankreich zu ziehen. Dort lebte er bis zu seinem Tod 1988.
Begraben liegt der Musiker im Galilee Memorial Gardens Cemetery, 8283 Ellis Road, Memphis, Tennessee.
1989 wurde Memphis Slim in die Blues Hall of Fame aufgenommen.
Memphis Slim (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988) was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. A song he first cut in 1947, "Every Day I Have the Blues", has become a blues standard, recorded by many other artists. He made over 500 recordings.
Memphis Slim's birth name was John Len Chatman, and he was born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. His father, Peter Chatman sang, played piano and guitar, and operated juke joints,[1] and it is now commonly believed that he took the name to honor his father when he first recorded for Okeh Records in 1940. Although he started performing under the name Memphis Slim later that same year, he continued to publish songs under the name Peter Chatman.
He spent most of the 1930s performing in honky-tonks, dance halls, and gambling joints in West Memphis, Arkansas, and southeast Missouri. He settled in Chicago in 1939, and began teaming with Big Bill Broonzy in clubs soon afterward. In 1940 and 1941 he recorded two songs for Bluebird Records that became part of his repertoire for decades, "Beer Drinking Woman," and "Grinder Man Blues." These were released under the name "Memphis Slim," given to him by Bluebird's producer, Lester Melrose.[2] Slim became a regular session musician for Bluebird, and his piano talents supported established stars such as John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, Washboard Sam, and Jazz Gillum. Many of Slim's recordings and performances until the mid-1940s were with guitarist and singer Broonzy, who had recruited Slim to be his piano player after Joshua Altheimer's death in 1940.
After World War II, Slim began leading bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump-blues, generally included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. With the decline of blues recording by the majors, Slim worked with the emerging independent labels. Starting in late 1945, he recorded with trios for the small Chicago-based label Hy-Tone.[3] With a lineup of alto saxophone, tenor sax, piano, and string bass (Willie Dixon played the instrument on the first session), he signed with the Miracle label in the fall of 1946. One of the numbers recorded at the first session was the ebullient boogie "Rockin' the House," from which his band would take its name. Slim and the House Rockers recorded mainly for Miracle through 1949, enjoying commercial success. Among the songs they recorded were "Messin' Around" (which reached number one on the R&B charts in 1948 and "Harlem Bound."[4] In 1947, the day after producing a concert by Slim, Broonzy, and Williamson at New York City's Town Hall, folklorist Alan Lomax brought the three musicians to the Decca studios and recorded with Slim's on vocal and piano. Lomax presented sections of this recording on BBC radio in the early 1950s as a documentary titled The Art of the Negro, and later released an expanded version as the LP Blues in the Mississippi Night. In 1949, Slim expanded his combo to a quintet by adding a drummer; the group was now spending most of its time on tour, leading to off-contract recording sessions for King in Cincinnati and Peacock in Houston.
One of Slim's 1947 recordings for Miracle, released in 1949, was originally titled "Nobody Loves Me". It has become famous as "Every Day I Have the Blues." The tune was recorded in 1950 by Lowell Fulson, and subsequently by a raft of artists including B. B. King, Elmore James, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Natalie Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimi Hendrix, Mahalia Jackson, Sarah Vaughan, Carlos Santana, John Mayer and Lou Rawls.[5] Joe Williams recorded it in 1952 for Checker; his remake from 1956 (included in Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings) was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1992.[6]
Early in 1950, Miracle succumbed to financial troubles, but its owners regrouped to form the Premium label, and Slim remained on board until the successor company faltered in the summer of 1951. His February 1951 session for Premium saw two changes in the House Rockers' lineup: Slim started using two tenor saxophones instead of the alto and tenor combination, and he made a trial of adding guitarist Ike Perkins. His last session for Premium kept the two-tenor lineup but dispensed with the guitar. During his time with Premium, Slim first recorded his song "Mother Earth".[7]
Slim made just one session for King, but the company bought his Hy-Tone sides in 1948 and acquired his Miracle masters after it failed in 1950. He was never a Chess artist, but Leonard Chess bought most of the Premium masters after the failure.
After a year with Mercury Records, Slim signed with United Records in Chicago;[8] the A&R man, Lew Simpkins, knew him from Miracle and Premium. The timing was propitious, because he had just added Matt "Guitar" Murphy to his group. He remained with United through the end of 1954, when the company began to cut back on blues recording.[9]
Slim's next steady relationship with a record company had to wait until 1958, when he was picked up by Vee-Jay. In 1959 his band, still featuring Matt "Guitar" Murphy, cut LP Memphis Slim at the Gate of the Horn, which featured a lineup of his best known songs, including "Mother Earth," "Gotta Find My Baby," "Rockin' the Blues," "Steppin' Out", and "Slim's Blues."[10]
Slim first appeared outside the United States in 1960, touring with Willie Dixon, with whom he returned to Europe in 1962 as a featured artist in the first of the series of American Folk Festival concerts organized by Dixon and promoter Willie Dixon that brought many notable blues artists to Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. The duo released several albums together on Folkways Records, including, Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon at the Village Gate with Pete Seeger, in 1962. That same year, he moved permanently to Paris and his engaging personality and well-honed presentation of playing, singing, and storytelling about the blues secured his position as the most prominent blues artist for nearly three decades. He appeared on television in numerous European countries, acted in several French films and wrote the score for another, and performed regularly in Paris, throughout Europe, and on return visits to the United States. In the last years of his life, he teamed up with respected jazz drummer George Collier. The two toured Europe together and became friends. After Collier died in August 1987, Slim appeared in public very little.
Two years before his death, Slim was named a Commander in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of France. In addition, the U.S. Senate honored Slim with the title of Ambassador-at-Large of Good Will.[11]
Memphis Slim grave
Memphis Slim died on February 24, 1988, of renal failure in Paris, France, at the age of 72. He is buried at Galilee Memorial Gardens in Memphis, Tennessee
In 1989, he was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
Sonny Boy Williamson & Memphis Slim - In Paris 1963
01. The Skies Are Crying. * 02. Your Funeral And My Trial. 03. Explain Yourself To Me. 04. Nine Below Zero. * 05. Fattening Frogs For Snakes. * 06. My One Room Cabin. 07. Getting Out Of Town.
Sonny Boy Williamson - Armónica. Memphis Slim - Piano. *
Memphis Slim - Nightstage, Cambridge, 1986 1 - Stepping Out 2 - Pat Along With Slim 3 - Misery 4 - The Animal In Me 5 - Didn't We Babe 6 - 7 - 8 - Train Is Gone 9 - Too Late Now 10 - Kansas City 11 - Movin' On 12 - Cat Story 13 - 14 - If You See Kay 15 - Beer Drinking Woman 16 - My Babe 17 - Bluesingly Yours 18 - Where Do I Go From Here 19 - Susan 20 - Youth Wants To Know 21 - Wish Me Well
Memphis Slim - Piano & Vocals George Collier - drums
Robert «Wolfman» Belfour gehörte zu den weniger bekannten Interpreten, war aber ein typischer Vertreter des Hill Country Stils. Der Blues aus dieser hügeligen, nördlichen Gegend in Mississippi unterscheidet sich vom weitaus berühmteren Delta Blues, er ist rauer und montoner, hypnotischer. Seine erste Aufnahme kam auf David Evans' Zusammenstellung The Spirit Lives On, Deep South Country Blues and Spirituals in the 1990s heraus, das auf dem deutschen Label Hot Fox heraus kam. Zur gleichen Zeit organisierte Evans auch eine Tour, es war seine erste grosse Reise. Bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt war er, wie er in einem Interview verriet, nie weiter als bis Nashville gekommen. Am 26. Februar 2015 ist er gestorben.
Belfour war ein authentischer Bluesman und entsprach weitgehend den Klischees: Geboren am 11. September 1940 in einer Bretterbude der Hurdle Farm in Red Banks, einer kleinen Gemeinde ausserhalb Holly Springs. Sein Vater starb 1953, als er betrunken vom Pferd fiel und in der Folge erfror. So endete seine Kindheit abrupt und er musste mithelfen, die Familie durch zu bringen. Die Grundlagen des Gitarrenspiels erlernte er von seinem Vater, den Rest brachte er sich autodidaktisch bei. 1959, nach seiner Heirat, siedelte er nach Memphis über und ab 1980 spielte er auf der Beale Street. Daneben arbeitete er in einer Baufirma. Die Hot Fox Aufnahmen erregten eine gewisse Aufmerksamkeit, so dass er schliesslich beim Label Fat Possum 2 Alben einspielte: What’s Wrong With You und Pushing My Luck. Sein Stil wurde von anderen Musikern des Hill Country Stils beeinflusst, vor allem von seinem Nachbarn Fred McDowell und ist etwa eine Mischung aus R.L. Burnside und John Lee Hooker.
Robert "Wolfman"
Belfour (September 11, 1940 – February 24, 2015) was an American
blues musician. He was born in Red Banks, Mississippi.[1] His father,
Grant Belfour taught him the guitar at a young age and he continued
his tutelage in the blues from musicians Otha Turner, R. L. Burnside,
and Junior Kimbrough. Kimbrough, in particular, had a profound
influence on him. His music is deeply rooted in Mississippi Hill
Country traditions, in contrast to those of delta blues. His playing
is characterized by a deeply percussive attack and alternate
tunings.[2]
His father died when Belfour was thirteen, and
his music was relegated to what free time he had, as his energy went
to helping his mother provide for the family. In 1959, he married
Noreen Norman and moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he would work in
construction for the next 35 years.
In the 1980s, Belfour
began playing on Beale Street and in 1994 he had eight songs featured
on David Evans's compilation album, The Spirit Lives On, Deep South
Country Blues and Spirituals in the 1990s, released by the German Hot
Fox label. This led him to Fat Possum Records and his first album
What's Wrong With You, released in 2000.
The album,
Pushin' My Luck, followed in 2003 to a positive critical
review.[3]
Belfour died on February 24, 2015, at the age
of 74.
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