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Posts mit dem Label Bonds_Son werden angezeigt. Alle Posts anzeigen

Mittwoch, 31. August 2016

31.08. Part 2 Alan Munson, Ben Heuer, Chris Whitley, Guido Vom Flockenberg * Son Bonds +







1907 Dan Pickett*

1937 Bobby Parker*

1938 „Spider“ John Koerner*

1945 Bob Welch*

1945 Van Morrison*

1947 Son Bonds+

1955 Kay Kay Greenwade*

1960 Chris Whitley*

1962 Joanna Connor*

1978 Guido Vom Flockenberg*

1991 Ben Heuer*

2000 Saunders King+

2009 Jesse Fortune+

Steve Edmonson*

Michael Juan Nunez*

Alan Munson*




Happy Birthday

 

 Ben Heuer  *31.08.1991

 

Ben ist am 31. August 1991 in Hildesheim in Niedersachsen geboren. Heute lebt er mit seiner Familie in Kaaks - einem kleinen Dorf bei Itzehoe (Schleswig-Holstein).
Geprägt durch seine Familie hat Ben schon sehr früh zur Musik gefunden. Mit 14 Jahren `entdeckte´ er die Mundharmonika und lernte von seinem Vater die Bluesharp
zu spielen. Mit viel Energie und Spaß bildete er sich weiter anhand von Lehrbüchern von Steve Baker, bei dem er inzwischen auch Unterricht nahm.
Schnell fand er heraus wie man die Bluesharps auseinander nehmen und reparieren kann und ist dabei, durch Feilen des `Innenlebens´, den für sich besten Sound zu entwickeln.
Er hat sich ein großes Wissen über dieses Instrument angeeignet.
Mit seinem Vater macht Ben Musik als Duo und Band `AcousticBlue´, im Duo `Blaney und Heuer´, auch in einer Oldieband und immer wieder bei Schulaufführungen.
Bei seinen Auftritten legt er seine ganze Kraft ins Spiel und geht völlig in der Musik auf.

Ben spielt exklusiv `HOHNER´- Harmonicas.

Vom 28. Oktober bis 1. November war Ben beim World Harmonica Festival in Trossingen 
und nahm am Wettbewerb in der Kategorie `Solo Diatonic  Blues/Rock/Folk/Country´ teil.
Er freut sich sehr, den 3. Platz belegt zu haben.
Bei den Sessions, die an den Abenden stattfanden, musizierte er zusammen unter anderem 
mit Steve Baker, Dick Bird, Martin Roettger,...

Ben Heuer was born 1991 in Hildesheim, Niedersachsen, Germany.
In the age of one his family moved to Schleswig-Holstein near Itzehoe.

Ben´s family has a strong relationship to music.
His mother is a singer and his father is a blues guitar player and also a singer.
When Ben became 13, he had the strong desire to learn an instrument and tried several
instruments like drums, guitar and accordeon. But he didn´t feel confident with any of these.
With 14 years of age he heard a recording of Steve Baker and found the harmonica as a
very interesting and thrilling instrument.
He was facinated by the many different ways this tiny little sound-machine can be played.
His father gave him his first harp. It was a HOHNER Proharp his father used to play for a
long time.
After that Ben started to practise. First he began to listenen to songs by the old masters of
blues harmonica like Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson I/II and Sonny Terry.
Later he began to learn with Steve Baker´s harmonica practising materials.
When he was 16 he met Steve Baker at a workshop in Hannover and became his student.

In 2009 he played at the "World Harmonica Championship" in Trossingen, Germany, where he
made the third place.
After that he became a Newcomer-endorser of HOHNER-Harmonicas.

During his musical career Ben played with many good and famous musicians like
Abi Wallenstein, Martin Röttger, Georg Schroeter, Marc Breitfelder ,Lillian Boutté, B.B. and the Bluesshacks, Blues Package, Boulevard Blues (ZA), Tony Sheridan, Jo Bohnsack and Kyla Brox.

Ben also works for studio productions and plays in different bands like
"AcousticBlue", "SSG BigBand" (solist), "Heuer and Plotz", "Blaney, Heuer and Plotz", "Loup Garou".

With Liam Blaney ("Blaney & Heuer") Ben already toured in Denmark and the Netherlands. In 2011 "Blaney & Heuer" were invited to the "Table Mountain Blues Summit" and played some gigs in Capetown afterwards.


 

 

 If the River was Whisky


 

Ben Heuer 





Blaney, Heuer & Plotz - Guided by Hope 


 

 

 

 

 

Alan Munson  *31.08.





Since joining his first band at 13 years old, Alan Munson has performed with numerous rock bands over the years as lead vocalist and guitar player, has performed with acoustic guitar/vocal duets, and as a solo artist.

In 1972, he and fellow rock band member, Bill Cooley, recorded and released their first record album entitled "In Debt". "That album recording experience changed everything," Munson recalls. "I really enjoyed playing in bands and performing on stage, but I found the recording studio environment to be more musically challenging and creatively rewarding". Although he continued playing in bands, most of his energy was shifted into recording studio work, songwriting and music composition. That focus led to the recording and release of two "solo" record albums ("Good Morning World" and "First Light") with all original songs, Munson playing all of the instruments and performing all lead/background vocals. His recording studio work continues, and, to date, he has written and recorded over 400 songs.

Over the last few years, the Cooley-Munson "In Debt" album and Munson's solo record albums have attracted the attention of the fans/collectors of 1970's Psychedelic / Psych Folk music. The original vinyl LP album releases are sought after by record collectors who have paid over $800.00 for a single copy of the original albums.

Alan has recently signed with Guerssen Records, based in Catalonia, Spain. In March 2008, Guerssen produced and released the first ever reissues of Alan's "In Debt", Good Morning World" and "First Light" record albums. Alan's latest CD / solo album "The Road Goes On" was released in December 2010.


ALAN MUNSON ~ Back to the canyon 








Chris Whitley  *31.08.1960

 


Christopher Becker Whitley, genannt: Chris Whitley, (* 31. August 1960 in Houston, Texas, USA; † 20. November 2005 in Houston, Texas, USA) war ein US-amerikanischer Musiker und Songwriter.

Leben

Chris Whitley arbeitete mit vielen bekannten Musikern zusammen. 1991 wurde sein Debütalbum Living With the Law von Malcom Burns produziert, einem Protegé von Daniel Lanois. Im Jahr 2000 arbeitete er zusammen mit Chris Wood und Billy Martin (vom Trio Medeski, Martin and Wood) am Album Perfect Day. Auf seinem Album Rocket House (2001) fanden sich unter anderem auch Gastauftritte von Dave Matthews und Bruce Hornsby. Für die Untermalung einer Liebesszene im Film Thelma & Louise mit Geena Davis und Brad Pitt wurde vom Regisseur Ridley Scott der Titel Kick the Stones von Whitley ausgewählt.

Während der Aufnahmen zum Soundtrack Pigs Will Fly (2003) arbeitete Whitley mit den beiden Deutschen Heiko Schramm (Bass) und Matthias Macht (Schlagzeug) zusammen. Schramm war bereits auf der „Rocket-House“-Tournee als ständiger Bassist dabei. Im Folgenden entstand das Album Hotel Vast Horizon (ebenfalls 2003). Während dieser Arbeit entwickelte sich eine gewisse Liebe zur Stadt Dresden, die in den folgenden Jahren bis kurz vor seinem Tod auch seine neue Heimat werden sollte.

Chris Whitley, Vater der Musikerin Trixie Whitley (* 1987), starb am 20. November 2005 im Kreise seiner Familie im Alter von 45 Jahren an Lungenkrebs.

Stil

Whitley spielte unter anderem Resonatorgitarre und Banjo. Besonders auffällig war dabei die spröde Art und Weise, in der Whitley seine Songs instrumentierte. Seinen Stil könnte man als psychedelischen Blues beschreiben. In seinen Texten mischten sich politische, religiöse und sexuelle Themen auf surreale, aber poetische Weise.

Whitleys Gitarrenspiel gilt für viele als wegweisend und äußerst eigenständig. Seine Technik entspricht nicht den Regeln, aber bestach dennoch durch atemberaubende Intonation und Schnelligkeit (siehe z. B. Home is Where You Get Across auf der CD Live At Martyrs von 1999). Auch verwendete er eine Vielzahl an Gitarrenstimmungen („Tunings“), was wohl auch auf seine Verehrung für Nick Drake zurückgehen mochte.

Das in nur zwei Tagen in seines Vaters Scheune in Vermont eingespielte Album Dirt Floor charakterisierte die MusikWoche: „Nur mit Akustikgitarre oder Banjo schuf er eine faszinierende Songkollektion, die in ihrer Intimität und Intensität an Country-Blues-Legenden wie Robert Johnson und Son House, zuweilen auch an Songwriter-Größen wie Nick Drake oder Townes van Zandt erinnert. Whitleys soulige Stimme und seine feinfühligen Saitenkünste bringen schöne, schlichte Melodien und meist traurige, allegorische Texte über die Härten, Hindernisse und unerfüllten Sehnsüchte des Lebens eindrucksvoll zur Geltung.“

Christopher Becker Whitley (August 31, 1960[1] – November 20, 2005)[2] was an American blues/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. During his 25-year career he released more than a dozen albums, had two songs in the top 50 of the Billboard mainstream rock charts and received two Independent Music Awards. Whitley's sound was drawn from the traditions of blues, jazz and rock and he recorded songs by artists from many genres. He died in 2005 of lung cancer at the age of 45.

Early life

Whitley was born in Houston, Texas and learned to play guitar when he was fifteen.[3] His father was an art director and his mother was a sculptor. During his youth he lived in Dallas, Texas, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Mexico and Vermont. His parents "grew up on race radio in the South" and their musical tastes—including Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix—influenced Whitley.[4]

Career

During the early 1980s Whitley was busking on the streets of New York City and collaborating with musicians Marc Miller, Arto Lindsay and Michael Beinhorn.[4][5] He was given a plane ticket to Ghent, Belgium in 1981, and lived there for six years, recording several albums and playing with the bands Kuruki, 2 Belgen, Nacht Und Nebel, Alan Fawn, and A Noh Rodeo.[6]

In 1988, producer Daniel Lanois heard Whitley perform at the Mondo Cane club in New York City and he helped Whitley obtain a recording contract with Columbia Records. In 1991 two of Whitley's songs charted on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts: "Big Sky Country" (#36) and "Living with the Law" (#28).[7]

In 2000, Whitley recorded his album Perfect Day, an album of cover songs, with Chris Wood and Billy Martin and followed up with the album Rocket House in 2001.[citation needed]

Whitley's song "Breaking Your Fall" from the album Hotel Vast Horizon (2003) won in The 3rd Annual Independent Music Awards for Folk/Singer-Songwriter Song.[8] In 2004 he won The 4th Annual Independent Music Award for Blues/R&B Song for his composition "Her Furious Angels" from the album War Crime Blues.[9] Whitley was an inaugural member of The Independent Music Awards' judging panel to support independent artists[10] and collaborated with Jeff Lang on an album called Dislocation Blues in 2005.[11]

Style

Whitley's style drew on an array of influences.[2] In 2001, the New York Times described him as "restless, moving into noise-rock and minimalist jazz evoking Chet Baker and Sonic Youth as much as Robert Johnson".[12] He recorded songs by Robert Johnson and Bob Dylan as well as Lou Reed, James Brown, J.J. Cale, The Clash, Nat King Cole, The Doors, Willie Dixon, The Flaming Lips, Jimi Hendrix, Howlin' Wolf, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, The Passions, Prince, The Stooges, and Sonny Boy Williamson II.[11]

Notable fans of Whitley's music include, ATO co-founder Dave Matthews,[13] blues guitarist Robert Lockwood, Jr., Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Hornsby, Tom Petty, Jacob Golden, Myles Kennedy, Don Henley, Iggy Pop, Alanis Morissette, Sandi Thom, John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, Joey DeGraw, Johnny A., Joe Bonamassa and Keith Richards.[14][15][16][17]

Whitley used various alternate tunings and often played slide guitar on a National resonator guitar and other musical equipment such as:[18]

Death

In fall 2005, Whitley canceled his tour due to health issues. In November he was reported to be terminally ill with lung cancer and under the care of hospice. He died on November 20, 2005 in Houston, Texas at the age of 45.[2][13][19] After his death, musician John Mayer said, "[Whitley's] somewhat prostrated place in pop culture earned him a sidebar of an obituary, but to those who knew his work, it registers as one of the most under appreciated losses in all of music."[14] Whitley is survived by his brother Dan and his musician daughter, Trixie Whitley.


I Forget You Every Day - Chris Whitley 









Guido Molzberger aka Guido Vom Flockenberg  *31.08.1978





Back On The Road haben der Blues Rock-Gemeinde endlich ihren lange erwarteten Zweitling "Best Before" auf den Tisch gelegt. Nachdem ihr erster Output My Kind Of Blues auch bei unserem anspruchsvollen Kritiker Norbert Neugebauer auf positives Ohren-Feedback stoßen durfte, laden die Herren aus Siegen in NRW zum neuen Blues-Menü ein. Der Humor ist ihnen zumindest seither nicht ausgegangen, wie man dem Folder der CD entnehmen darf. Ihren eigenen Stil definieren sie als Musik mit Saiteninstrumentenfüllung und Schlagwerkzugaben nach Art einer Blues Rock-Band. Diesem selbst auferlegten Anspruch, guten, handgemachten Blues (Rock) zu spielen, werden sie auch auf "Best Before" hundertprozentig gerecht. Stimmlich wie eine Dampflok - und wie nicht anders zu erwarten - muss sich auch hier 'The Voice' Guido Molzberger aka vom Flockenberg nicht hinter den US-Größen dieses Genres verstecken. BOTR lassen es dampfen und rollen, der Blues wird in allen Varianten durch die Amplifier gejagt. Vom klassischen Blues inspirierten "Bad Beer Blues" bis zum rockigen "Get Back" - hier sind die Einflüsse von Chicago bis zum Delta unüberhörbar. Dazu kommt noch Spaß im Überfluss und die perfekte Beherrschung der musikalischen Zutaten. Das fängt beim Songwriting an und findet den krönenden Abschluss bei den Instrumenten.

Mit dem ursprünglich selbstveröffentlichten Album „Best Before“ haben Back on the Road 2013 beim Deutschen Rock & Pop Preis groß abgeräumt: Bestes Album, Beste Band und Bester Song. Sänger Guido Molzberger kam in der Kategorie Bester Sänger auf den 2. Platz. Jetzt ist das Album der Bluesrocker bei Stormy Monday Records neu veröffentlicht worden. Und „Best Before“ bringt eine Mixtur aus klassischem Bluesrock, etwas Chicago Blues, Boogies und Shuffles gerniert mit gelegentlichen Ausflügen in den Country.

Ich lass mich wirklich gerne überraschen. Besonders wenn es um Musiker und Bands aus Deutschland geht, die mir bislang unbekannt waren. „Best Before“ ist eine wirklich angenehme Überraschung: Hier ist eine Band, die den Blues deftig rocken lassen können, die aber ab und zu auch die leiseren Töne beherrschen. Und vor allem: Sie haben auf ihrem Album fünfzehn Songs aus eigener Feder, die mit einem Humor daherkommen können, dass es einfach Spaß macht, ihnen zuzuhören. Schon der Opener „Bad Beer Blues“ macht einfach gute Laune. Doch es geht hier zum Glück nicht nur um Alkohol und Kneipen (wenn auch das ein Thema etlicher Lieder ist). Es geht um harte Arbeit, um lügende Frauen und die Einsicht, dass manchmal die Liebe zu zerbrechen droht, wenn man feststellt, dass man halt doch nicht der King ist.

Musikalisch ist das Ganze eine runde Sache: Sänger Molzberger hat eine prägnante Powerstimme, die Harp von Oliver Nöll kann immer ihre ganz eigene Note hinzufügen, Gitarrist Heiko Schmidt sollte man sich auf jeden Fall merken. Und für den Rhythmus sind Vater und Sohn Klappert eine sichere Bank. (Stormy Monday)
 


Gegenbeweis: Weiße können doch den Blues singen
Für ausgelassene Stimmung und Jubelstürme sorgte in der Musikkneipe Café Carré in Idar die Band "Sniffy Dogs"

IDAR-OBERSTEIN. Eine ausgelassene Stimmung herrschte wieder einmal im sehr gut besuchten Café Carré. Regelrechte Jubelstürme gab es am Ende des Auftritts für die in Siegen und Gummersbach beheimatete Band "Sniffy Dogs", die mit ihrem schweißtreibenden Bluesrock fast drei Stunden lang für beste Unterhaltung sorgte.

Es ist die raue Art des Blues, wie ihn etwa ein Rory Gallagher spielte, die Guido Molzberger (Gesang), Uwe E. Hombach (Gitarre), F. (fünfsaitiger Bass) und Benny Schmitges (Schlagzeug) bevorzugen. Dabei setzt das Quartett oftmals in der Interpretation solcher Klassiker wie "Messin' with the Kid" eigene Akzente.

Ein erstes Glanzlicht war dabei ihre Version von "Shake your Moneymaker", bei dem Sänger Guido Molzberger und Gitarrist Uwe Hombach es schafften, ein Zwiegespräch zwischen Stimme und Gitarre herzustellen. Überhaupt setzte Molzberger die These, dass Weiße keinen Blues singen können, an diesem Abend mit seiner rauen, kraftvollen Stimme vom ersten Ton an außer Kraft.

Höhepunkte seiner Gesangskunst waren die Einlagen, wenn er fast originalgetreu eine Mundharmonika kopierte. Aber auch die anderen Mitglieder der "Sniffy Dogs" sind sehr gute Musiker. Bestes Beispiel dafür ist ihre Interpretation des Jimi-Hendrix-Klassikers "Voodoo Chile". Dabei ließ Hombach seine Gitarre heulen, dass es eine Freude war zuzuhören.

Auch das Solo von Bassist F. war absolut hörenswert. Dass Schlagzeuger Schmitges es versteht, einen Drive in die Stücke zu legen, zeigte er bereits vor drei Wochen eindrucksvoll, als er mit der Rockabilly-Band "King Freeze" im Carré auftrat.

Doch es ist nicht nur die Musik, die den Auftritt der "Sniffy Dogs" so unterhaltsam macht. Auch ihre Bühnenshow enthält einige Überraschungen. So spielte beim Klassiker "High Heel Sneakers" die gesamte Band mitten im Publikum. Schlagzeuger Schmitges saß mit einer Trommel auf dem Boden; Bassist F. stand auf der gegenüberliegenden Seite an der Eingangstür, und Sänger Molzberger animierte das bereitwillige Publikum zum Mitmachen. Gitarrist Hombach hatte seinen großen Auftritt bei der Z.Z.Top-Nummer "Tush", als er sein Instrument zeitweise auf dem Rücken spielte. Mit einer gut viertelstündigen Fassung von "Baby please don't go" endete kurz vor Mitternacht das Programm. Danach schaffte es das Publikum, das zeitweise richtig aus dem Häuschen war, dass die Band, der man es anmerkte, dass auch sie sehr viel Spaß hatte, noch rund 30 Minuten Zugaben zu erzwingen. 


Back On The Road -Teaser Live-DVD


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9cmklh6VKY



Back On The Road - Working Hard For A Living 












R.I.P.

 

Son Bonds  +31.08.1947

 


http://www.allmusic.com/album/complete-recorded-works-in-chronological-order-1934-41-mw0000882677

Son Bonds (March 16, 1909 – August 31, 1947)[2] was an American country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a working associate of both Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon, and was similar in his guitar playing style. According to Allmusic journalist, Jim O'Neal, "the music to one of Bonds's songs, "Back and Side Blues" (1934), became a standard blues melody when Sonny Boy Williamson I from nearby Jackson, Tennessee, used it in his classic "Good Morning, School Girl"."[1] The best known of Bonds's other works are "A Hard Pill To Swallow" and "Come Back Home."[2]

Biography

Born in Brownsville, Tennessee,[1] Bonds was also billed on record as "Brownsville" Son Bonds, and Brother Son Bonds.[3][4]

Sleepy John Estes earlier recorded work had used backing from Yank Rachell (mandolin) or Hammie Nixon (harmonica), but by the late 1930s he was accompanied in the recording studio by either Bonds or Charlie Pickett (guitar).[5] Bonds also backed Estes at a couple of later recording sessions in 1941.[6] In reverse, either Estes or Nixon played on every one of Bonds's own recordings.[1] In the latter stages of his career, Bonds played kazoo as well as the guitar on several of his tracks.[7]

According to Nixon's later accounts of the event, Bonds suffered an accidental death in August 1947. While sitting on his own front porch late one evening in Dyersburg, Tennessee, Bonds was shot to death by his short-sighted neighbor, who mistook Bonds for another man with whom his neighbor was having a protracted disagreement.


Son Bonds 80 Highway Blues (1941) 



Mittwoch, 16. März 2016

16.03. Bryan Lee, Yank Rachell, Butch Cage, Alec Seward, Udo Lummer, Son Bonds * Bobby Smith, T-Bone Walker, Arthur Gunter, Butch Cage, Andy Fraser +








1894 Butch Cage*
1902 Alec Seward*
1909 Son Bonds*
1910 Yank Rachell*
1943 Bryan Lee*
1975 T-Bone Walker+
1976 Arthur Gunter+
2013 Bobby Smith+
2015 Andy Fraser+
Udo Lummer*



Happy Birthday

 

Bryan Lee  *16.03.1943

 



Bryan Lee (born March 16, 1943, Two Rivers, Wisconsin)[1] is an American blues guitarist and singer based in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is also known by the nickname braille blues daddy and has been a fixture on Bourbon Street since the 1980s.
Lee completely lost his eyesight by the age of eight. His avid interest in early rock and blues was fostered through the 1950s by late night listening sessions via the Nashville-based radio station WLAC-AM, where he first encountered the sounds of Elmore James, Albert King and Albert Collins.
By his late teens, Lee was playing rhythm guitar in a regional band called The Glaciers that covered Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Chuck Berry material. Through the 1960s, Lee's interest turned to Chicago blues and he soon found himself immersed in that scene, opening for some of his boyhood heroes. In 1979 he released his first album named Beauty Isn't Always Visual.
In January 1982, Lee moved to New Orleans, eventually landing a steady gig at the Old Absinthe House on Bourbon Street becoming a favorite of tourists in the city's French Quarter. For the next 14 years, Lee and his Jump Street Five played five nights a week at that popular bar, developing a huge following and a solid reputation.
Today Lee continues to perform in New Orleans. He also tours several times a year in the Midwest, Eastern Seaboard, Rocky Mountain States and recently Europe and Brazil. Lee appeared with Kenny Wayne Shepherd as the musical guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on February 14, 2007.






Yank Rachell  *16.03.1910

 



James „Yank" Rachell (* 16. März 1910 in Brownsville, Tennessee; † 9. April 1997 in Indianapolis, Indiana) war ein amerikanischer Blues-Musiker, der die Mandoline als Blues-Instrument populär machte. Daneben spielte er Gitarre, Mundharmonika und Geige. Er machte Aufnahmen mit Sleepy John Estes und Sonny Boy Williamson.
Yank Rachells erste Begegnung mit der Mandoline ist eine der großen Blues-Legenden. Dem achtjährigen war von seiner Mutter ein Ferkel anvertraut worden, das im Herbst geschlachtet werden sollte. Der Junge tauschte das Ferkel gegen eine Mandoline ein, die er gehört hatte und die er unbedingt haben wollte. Seine erzürnte Mutter soll gesagt haben: „Wenn wir alle im nächsten Herbst Schweinefleisch essen, dann kannst du diese Mandoline essen."
Rachell brachte sich das Spielen auf der Mandoline selbst bei. Hambone Willie Newborn, der 1929 als erster Rollin' And Tumblin aufnahm, gab ihm den letzten Schliff. Die beiden traten in der Gegend um Brownsville zusammen auf, wo Rachell auch den Gitarristen Sleepy John Estes kennenlernte, der sein langjähriger Partner werden sollte.
Rachell und Estes bildeten mit dem Jug-Spieler Hammie Nixon ein Jugband-Trio, das sich Mitte der 1920er in Memphis (Tennessee) einfand. Hier waren Rachell und Estes später mit dem Pianisten Jab Jones als die Three J's Jug Band eine der erfolgreichen Musikgruppen der Beale Street. Ab 1929 machten sie einige Aufnahmen, von denen vor allem Divin' Duck Blues erfolgreich war.
Mit der Depression kam das Ende der Memphis-Blues-Szene, und Rachell ging zurück nach Brownsville, wo er heiratete und für die Eisenbahn arbeitete. An Wochenenden machte er weiterhin Musik. Bei einer solchen Gelegenheit traf er Sonny Boy Williamson, mit dem er von da an häufig zusammen spielte. 1938 gingen die beiden nach Chicago, um dort Aufnahmen zu machen. Ihre Zusammenarbeit endete erst 1948 mit dem Tod von Williamson.
Rachell zog nach St. Louis, 1958 dann nach Indianapolis. Anfang der 1960er setzte ein Blues-Revival ein, in dessen Sog auch Rachell, Estes und Nixon wieder zusammen auftraten. Kurz vor seinem Tod 1997 nahm Yankell ein letztes Album auf, Too Hot For The Devil (1996), womit die Zeitspanne zwischen seinen ersten und letzten Aufnahmen rekordverdächtige 67 Jahre erreichte.
Yank Rachell hatte einen nicht unbedeutenden Einfluss auf andere Musiker. B. B. King soll ihm gesagt haben: „Leute wie du machten Leute wie mich erst möglich." Zu den Songs von Rachell, die später von anderen Musikern aufgegriffen wurden, zählen unter anderem Loudella Blues (ein Hit für Jimmy Rogers) und Gravel Road Woman (aus dem Blind Boy Fuller I Don't Want No Skinny Woman machte). Und der Divin' Duck Blues gilt als Blues-Klassiker erster Güte.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yank_Rachell

James "Yank" Rachell (March 16, 1910 – April 9, 1997) was an American country blues musician, dubbed an "elder statesman of the blues."[2][3]
Career
Born James Rachell, his career as a performer spanned nearly seventy years, and was often teamed with the guitarist and singer Sleepy John Estes. He grew up in Brownsville, Tennessee, but in 1958 moved north to Indianapolis during the American folk music revival. He recorded for Delmark Records and Blue Goose Records. Though a capable guitarist and singer, he was better known as a master of the blues mandolin; he had bought his first mandolin at age 8, with a pig his family had given him to raise.[3] "She Caught the Katy," which he wrote with Taj Mahal, is considered a blues standard.[3]
In his later years he appeared in filmmaker Terry Zwigoff's 1985 documentary about fellow musician Howard Armstrong, and was a featured performer with John Sebastian and the J-Band.[4]
By the mid 1990s, Rachell and Henry Townsend and were the only blues musicians still active active whose careers started in the 1920s.[5] In later years he suffered from arthritis which shortened his playing sessions, though he still recorded an album just before his death, Too Hot For the Devil.

Yank Rachell and Homesick James 5-28-93 Chicago Blues Fest 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfYMsRzVFXQ 







Butch Cage Geb. 16.03.1894
+1975


https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B004JW6NDS?ie=UTF8&keywords=Butch%20Cage&qid=1456734141&ref_=sr_1_cc_3&s=aps&sr=1-3-catcorr

Fiddler James "Butch" Cage was one of the last exponents of the 19th century black string band tradition, and his wild, kinetic playing represents a world that is all but lost in the current century. Born on March 16, 1894, in Hamburg, MS, Cage's first real instrument was a cane fife, and he also became a credible guitar player, but his musical soul mate was to be the fiddle, and his wild, energetic lines on the instrument had a truly African feel. He moved to southwest Louisiana following the devastating Mississippi floods of 1927, eventually settling in Zachary, where he worked a succession of menial jobs while playing string band music at house parties and church functions, often in conjunction with guitarist Willie B. Thomas. Musicologist Harry Oster heard the pair playing in Zachary in 1959, and Oster's field recordings of Cage and Thomas became a wonderful glimpse at the pre-blues black string band tradition. The duo was also a huge hit at the 1960 Newport Folk Festival, no doubt appearing to most of the audience as if they had stepped right out of the haze of a vanished era. Many fans and reviewers have called Cage a Cajun fiddler, but his approach was really from an older tradition, the African one that led to the Mississippi string band. This marvelous and haunting fiddle style can be heard on the phenomenal Country Negro Jam Sessions (Arhoolie 1961), Raise a Ruckus Tonight (Flyright 1979), and Old Time Black Southern String Band Music (Arhoolie 2006). Butch Cage died in Zachary in 1975.  


Me And My Chauffeur - James 'Butch' Cage & Willie B. Thomas 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2DfvY1ITms 






Alec Seward  *16.03.1902 

alias Guitar Slim, Blues Servant Boy, King Blues and Georgia Slim

 

http://www.sitesbydawn.com/Blues24Seven.com/SewardAlec.html


Alec Seward (March 16, 1902 – May 11, 1972)[2] was an American Piedmont and country blues singer, guitarist and songwriter.[1] Some of his records were released under pseudonyms, such as Guitar Slim, Blues Servant Boy, King Blues and Georgia Slim.[1] His best remembered recordings were "Creepin' Blues" and "Some People Say".
Seward, one of fourteen siblings, was born in Charles City County, Virginia.[1] Similar to Gabriel Brown, Ralph Willis and Brownie McGhee, Seward relocated from the Southern United States to New York, in his case in 1924.[3][4]
Seward befriended Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry, and retained his Piedmont blues styling despite changes in musical trends. He met Louis Hayes (who later became a minister in northern New Jersey) and the duo performed variously named as the Blues Servant Boys, Guitar Slim and Jelly Belly, or The Back Porch Boys. During the 1940s and 1950s Seward played and recorded with Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, McGhee and Terry. Around 1947 Seward, Guthrie, and Terry, recorded several chain gang related songs including "Chain Gang Special", and some other older songs adapted to having chain gang themes. They were later released on the compilation album, Best of the War Years.[1]
Under his own real name, Seward issued Creepin' Blues (1965, Bluesville) with harmonica accompaniment by Larry Johnson. Later in the decade Seward worked in concert and at folk-blues festivals.[1]
Seward died at the age of 70, in New York of natural causes, in May 1972.[1]
He is not to be confused with Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones, Guitar Slim, Jr., James "Guitar Slim" Stephenson nor Norman "Guitar Slim" Green.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Seward

 
Guitar Slim And Jelly Belly - Working Man Blues
Alec Seward and "Fat Boy" Hayes 







Udo Lummer  *16.03.

 



https://www.facebook.com/udo.lummer


http://www.loopahead.de/index.php


1963 - The Thimbles Skifflegroup : Jörg Weigel, Michael Brinkmann, P.G.Lange, Günter Dolezal
1963 - Klaus Reinhardt Swing Combo : Klaus Reinhardt, Ernst Schröder, Helmut Richter, Lothar "Killer" Dombrowski, Günter Dolezal
1962 - 1964 - Bielefelder Jazzer : Mike Bennewitz , "Flöhchen" Weber , Hans-Joachim "Tötter" Hillenkötter, Hubertus "Monk" Kreutner , Hannes Wader, Jürgen Dohse, Benny Stremmel
1964 Green Onions : Fred Brachmann, Peter Kindermann, Paul Gerhard Lange, Manfred Matser, Chris Dennis, Claude Houarie, Heinz Pelleter, Edgar "Eddie" Köhler, Wolfgang Knörzer,
1968 MGs : Edgar "Ete" Rischmüller, Dietmar Carl, Uwe Holtz , Rainer Erbel, Fuzzy Ziszewski, Wolfgang "Buddy" Mandler
1968 1.Bielefelder Pop Orchester : MG's plus Mike Warner, Monk, Tötter, Benny Stremmel
1969 British Army Band : Ronnie Nicoletti, Jürgen Müller, John Cresswell,
1972 Brachmann & Lummer : Fred Brachmann, Klaus Brachmann
1973 Kakadu Combo : Werner "Ente" Vogt, Carlo Dewe, Stefan Denninger, Achim Meier uvm.
1972 Blue Phoenix : Mike Warner - der Altmeister und Pionier des Rock 'n Roll
1975 - 1976 Skyline : George Kochbeck, Mickie Stickdorn, Werner Vogt, Reinhard Glowatzke
1982 Ente Vogts : Werner "Ente" Vogt - mein langjähriger Begleiter bei KLANGMIX, Green Onions und Skyline
2005 - 2006 Klangmix : Werner "Ente" Vogt
Revival-Bands : Steve Haggerty, Karl-Heinz Hausmann, Armin Grants und viele mehr ..
Studioprojekte mit : Jean-Jaques Kravetz, Dicky Tarrach, Tissy Thiers, Dieter Dierks, Manfred Rürup, uvm

Diskographie :
Skyline : Louise for one night, Umsonst und draussen 1976, Vlotho * Brachmann & Lummer : Brachmann & Lummer * Ente Vogts : Stumm wie ein Fisch, NDW Sampler * Udo Lummer : Sit down, have a glass of wine and listen * Klanggmix : Mach mal Licht * Verschiedene Studioprojekte
http://www.loopahead.de/profil_ul.php?count=%27$count%27 










Son Bonds  *16.03.1909

 


http://www.allmusic.com/album/complete-recorded-works-in-chronological-order-1934-41-mw0000882677

Son Bonds (March 16, 1909 – August 31, 1947)[2] was an American country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a working associate of both Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon, and was similar in his guitar playing style. According to Allmusic journalist, Jim O'Neal, "the music to one of Bonds's songs, "Back and Side Blues" (1934), became a standard blues melody when Sonny Boy Williamson I from nearby Jackson, Tennessee, used it in his classic "Good Morning, School Girl"."[1] The best known of Bonds's other works are "A Hard Pill To Swallow" and "Come Back Home."[2]

Biography

Born in Brownsville, Tennessee,[1] Bonds was also billed on record as "Brownsville" Son Bonds, and Brother Son Bonds.[3][4]

Sleepy John Estes earlier recorded work had used backing from Yank Rachell (mandolin) or Hammie Nixon (harmonica), but by the late 1930s he was accompanied in the recording studio by either Bonds or Charlie Pickett (guitar).[5] Bonds also backed Estes at a couple of later recording sessions in 1941.[6] In reverse, either Estes or Nixon played on every one of Bonds's own recordings.[1] In the latter stages of his career, Bonds played kazoo as well as the guitar on several of his tracks.[7]

According to Nixon's later accounts of the event, Bonds suffered an accidental death in August 1947. While sitting on his own front porch late one evening in Dyersburg, Tennessee, Bonds was shot to death by his short-sighted neighbor, who mistook Bonds for another man with whom his neighbor was having a protracted disagreement.


Son Bonds 80 Highway Blues (1941) 











R.I.P.

 

Bobby Smith  +16.03.2013

 



Robert "Bobby" Smith (sometimes spelled Bobbie; April 10, 1936 – March 16, 2013[1]) was an American R&B singer, the principal lead singer of the classic Motown group, The Spinners,[2] also known as the Detroit Spinners or the Motown Spinners, throughout its history. The group was formed circa 1954 at Ferndale High School in Ferndale, Michigan, just north of the Detroit border. The group had their first record deal when they signed with Tri-Phi Records in early 1961.
Smith had been the group's main lead singer since its inception, having sung lead vocals on The Spinners first hit record in 1961, "That's What Girls Are Made For" (which has been inaccurately credited to the group's mentor and former Moonglows lead singer, the late Harvey Fuqua). Smith also sang lead on most of their Motown material during the 1960s, such as the charting singles like "Truly Yours" (1966) and "I'll Always Love You" (1965); almost all of the group's pre-Motown material on Fuqua's Tri-Phi Records label, and also on The Spinners' biggest Atlantic Records hits. These included "I'll Be Around",[3] "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love",[4] "They Just Can't Stop It the (Games People Play)".[5] In 1974, they scored their only #1 Pop hit with "Then Came You" (sung by Smith, in a collaboration with superstar Dionne Warwick).[6] Despite the fact that Smith led on many of the group's biggest hits, many have erroneously, and unfairly,credited much of the group's success to its other lead singer, the late Philippé Wynne.[7]
Wynne was many times inaccurately credited for songs that Smith actually sang lead on, such as by the group's label, Atlantic Records, on their Anthology double album collection (an error corrected in the group's later triple CD set, The Chrome Collection). Throughout a succession of lead singers (Wynne, Jonathan Edwards, G. C. Cameron etc.), Smith's lead voice had always been The Spinners' mainstay.
With the 2013 death of Smith, from pneumonia and influenza, as well as fellow Spinners members C. P. Spencer in 2004, Billy Henderson in 2007, and bass singer Pervis Jackson in 2008, Henry Fambrough is now the last remaining original member of the group. Fambrough is still performing with a current day line-up of Spinners.






T-Bone Walker   +16.3.1975



T-Bone Walker, eigentlich Aaron Thibeaux Walker (* 28. Mai 1910 in Linden, Texas; † 16. März 1975 in Los Angeles), amerikanischer Bluesgitarrist, Sänger und Songschreiber, war einer der einflussreichsten Bluesmusiker des 20. Jahrhunderts und Pionier der elektrischen Gitarre. Er hatte afroamerikanische und Cherokee-Vorfahren.
Walker wurde in Linden geboren und wuchs in Dallas auf. Dort lernte er schon als Kind, Banjo, Fiddle und Gitarre zu spielen. In Anspielung auf seinen zweiten Vornamen Thibeaux erhielt er bald den Spitznamen „T-Bone“. In Dallas lernte Walker den blinden Gitarristen Blind Lemon Jefferson kennen, mit dem er als eine Art Blindenführer durch die Straßen von Dallas zog und das Geld einsammelte, das Jefferson bei Auftritten einspielte. Durch ihn beeinflusst, trat Walker mit 15 Jahren selbst als Bluessänger und Tänzer auf und lernte schon früh, durch spektakuläre Live-Einlagen (wie beispielsweise das Banjo-Spielen im Springen und Tanzen) das Publikum zu faszinieren. 1929 nahm Walker seine erste Schallplatte Wichita Falls Blues/Trinity River Blues (Columbia Records) auf, allerdings nicht unter eigenem Namen, sondern als „Oak Cliff T-bone“. Mitte der 1930er spielte er in der Territory Band von Chester Boone und traf in Oklahoma City auf Charlie Christian.
1936 kam Walker nach Los Angeles und begann seine kalifornische Karriere als Tänzer. 1939 wurde er von Les Hite für die Band „Les Hite Cotton Club Orchestra“ als Sänger engagiert. Von nun an begann Walker, sich mehr und mehr auf die Gitarre zu konzentrieren. So baute er diese immer öfter in seinen Gesang ein, bis er schließlich als Gitarrist gefragter denn als Sänger war. Dabei bestach er durch seine artistisch anmutenden Bühneneinlagen, wobei er auf Knien und die Gitarre hinter dem Rücken spielte.
1942, mittlerweile war Walker wegen besserer Einnahmequellen nach Chicago gewechselt, nahm er beim neu gegründeten Capitol-Label seine ersten Soloplatten auf. Er veröffentlichte I Got a Break Baby/Mean Old World, wo er populäre Musik und den Blues auf seine mittlerweile elektrisch verstärkte Jazzgitarre übertrug und damit eine Revolution im Spielen des Blues auslöste.
Legendär ist die Produktion von T-Bone Walkers Call it Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just As Bad) für das Black & White-Label (#122), die in Los Angeles am 13. September 1947 mit Produzent Ralph Bass entstand. Bei der Aufnahme wirkten mit: Aaron “T-Bone” Walker (Gesang/Gitarre), John “Teddy” Buckner (Trompete), Hubert “Bumps” Myers (Tenorsaxophon), Lloyd Glenn (Piano), Arthur Edwards (Bass) und Oscar Lee Bradley (Schlagzeug). Der Titel erreichte einen fünften Rang der R&B-Charts und gilt nicht nur als einer der einflussreichsten Songs der Musikgeschichte, sondern auch in der Geschichte der Gitarre. Weitere Klassiker folgten, wie zum Beispiel der T-Bone Shuffle.
Trotz dieser Erfolge konnte Walker nie das Teenager-Publikum, wie beispielsweise zu dieser Zeit Chuck Berry oder Fats Domino, erreichen, sondern spielte überwiegend in Nachtclubs, bis er 1955 aufgrund von Magenbeschwerden zusammenbrach und operiert werden musste.
In den 60er Jahren wurde Walker international bekannt, als er 1962 für die von Horst Lippmann organisierten American Folk Blues Festivals in Europa engagiert wurde und unter anderem mit Memphis Slim auftrat, allerdings gehemmt durch seinen Gesundheitszustand.
Während seiner Karriere begleiteten ihn die Musiker Teddy Buckner (Trompete), Lloyd Glenn (Klavier), Billy Hadnott (Bass) und Jack McVea (Saxophon).
1971 gewann Walker einen Grammy Award für die Platte Good Feelin’ (Polygram Records 1969). Beim American Folk Blues Festival 1972 spielte er mit Big Mama Thornton zusammen. Diese Konzerte sollten die letzten Auftritte der beiden in Europa sein. 1973 produzierten Jerry Leiber und Mike Stoller mit ihm und Musikern wie Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan, Herbie Mann, David „Fathhead“ Newman eine späte Hommage an den großen Bluessänger und Gitarristen Walker („very rare“, 2 LPs, Reprise Records). Dort erzählte T-Bone Walker auch, dass seine Mutter eine Cherokee war und wie er zu seinem Spitznamen kam.
Tod
T-Bone Walker starb 1975 an einem Schlaganfall und wurde auf dem Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood bei Los Angeles beigesetzt. Er wurde 1980 postum in die Blues Hall of Fame aufgenommen.
Spätere Gitarristen, unter anderem Chuck Berry[1] und Jimi Hendrix, übernahmen von Walker Teile seiner spektakulären Auftritte. Auch das Spiel in artistisch anmutenden Körperhaltungen (auf den Knien, Instrument hinter dem Kopf gespielt usw.) wird Walkers Einfluss zugeschrieben.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Bone_Walker 



Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was an influential pioneer and innovator of the jump blues and electric blues sound.[1][2] In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at number 67 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".[3]
Biography
Early years
Walker was born in Linden, Texas, of African-American and Cherokee descent. Walker's parents, Movelia Jimerson and Rance Walker, were both musicians. His stepfather, Marco Washington, taught him to play the guitar, ukulele, banjo, violin, mandolin, and piano.[4]
Walker began his career as a teenager in Dallas in the early 1900s. His mother and stepfather (a member of the Dallas String Band) were musicians, and family friend Blind Lemon Jefferson sometimes came over for dinner.[5] Walker left school at the age of 10, and by 15[3] he was a professional performer on the blues circuit. Initially, he was Jefferson's protégé and would guide him around town for his gigs.[4] In 1929, Walker made his recording debut with Columbia Records billed as Oak Cliff T-Bone, releasing the single "Wichita Falls Blues"/"Trinity River Blues". Oak Cliff was the community he lived in at the time and T-Bone a corruption of his middle name. Pianist Douglas Fernell played accompaniment on the record.[1]
Walker married Vida Lee in 1935; the couple had three children. By the age of 25, Walker was working at clubs in Los Angeles' Central Avenue, sometimes as the featured singer and guitarist with Les Hite's orchestra.[5]
Newfound style
By 1942, with his second album release, Walker's new-found musical maturity and ability had advanced to the point that Rolling Stone claimed that he "shocked everyone" with his newly developed distinctive sound upon the release of his first single "Mean Old World", on the Capitol Records label.[3] Much of his output was recorded from 1946 to 1948 on Black & White Records, including his most famous song, 1947's "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)".[1] Other notable songs he recorded during this period were "Bobby Sox Blues" (a #3 R&B hit in 1946), and "West Side Baby" (#8 on the R&B singles charts in 1948).[6]
Throughout his career Walker worked with top-notch musicians, including trumpeter Teddy Buckner, pianist Lloyd Glenn, Billy Hadnott (bass), and tenor saxophonist Jack McVea.
Following his work with White and Black, he recorded from 1950 to 1954 for Imperial Records (backed by Dave Bartholomew). Walker's only record in the next five years was T-Bone Blues, recorded over three widely separated sessions in 1955, 1956 and 1959, and finally released by Atlantic Records in 1960.
By the early 1960s, Walker's career had slowed down, in spite of a hyped appearance at the American Folk Blues Festival in 1962 with Memphis Slim and prolific writer and musician Willie Dixon, among others.[1] However, several critically acclaimed albums followed, such as I Want a Little Girl (recorded for Delmark Records in 1968). Walker recorded in his last years, from 1968 to 1975, for Robin Hemingway's Jitney Jane Songs music publishing company, and he won a Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording in 1971 for Good Feelin′, while signed by Polydor Records, produced by Hemingway,[4] followed by another album produced by Hemingway: Walker's Fly Walker Airlines, which was released in 1973.[7]
Walker's career began to wind down after he suffered a stroke in 1974.[1] He died of bronchial pneumonia following another stroke in March 1975, at the age of 64.[1][8]
Legacy
Walker was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980,[9] and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.[8][10]
Chuck Berry named Walker and Louis Jordan as his main influences.[11] B.B. King cites hearing Walker's "Stormy Monday" record as his inspiration for getting an electric guitar.[12] Walker was admired by Jimi Hendrix who imitated Walker's trick of playing the guitar with his teeth.[5] "Stormy Monday" was a favorite live number for The Allman Brothers Band.

T-Bone Walker - Stormy Monday Blues (Live!)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5lokLq6fY4 


T-Bone Walker - I Want A Little Girl (Full Album) 
Here is a nice classic gem from 1968. This is T-Bone in the R&B era, I think this album in general proves that he was also a very good singer as well as a guitar player (he plays Piano on this one too!) This is an original vinyl rip, it is not the CD release.

1. I Want A Little Girl 0:00
2. I Hate To See You Go 5:10
3. Feeling The Blues 8:50
4. Leaving You Behind 15:00
5. Baby Ain't I Good To You 19:14
6. Someone's Going To Mistreat You 23:44
7. Ain't This Cold, Baby 27:00
8. Late Hours Blues 33:31









Arthur Gunter  +16.03.1976


http://www.allaboutbluesmusic.com/arthur-gunter/

Arthur Gunter (May 23, 1926 – March 16, 1976)[1] was an American blues guitarist and musician. He was best known for his song "Baby Let's Play House", which was later a hit single for Elvis Presley.
Gunter was born in Nashville, Tennessee,[1] a musician from an early age; as a child, he was in a gospel group with his brothers and cousins called the Gunter Brothers Quartet. In the early 1950s he played in various blues groups around Nashville, and began recording for Excello Records in 1954.
In November 1954, Gunter recorded "Baby Let's Play House" for Excello (2047),[2] which became a local hit. It became nationally known later that year when Elvis Presley recorded a version for Sun Records. "Elvis got that number and made it famous. But I didn't get a chance to shake his hand," Gunter would later say. His first royalty check, received that same year, was for $6500.
Gunter continued to record for Excello until 1961. His regular band broke up in 1966 and he moved to Pontiac, Michigan, performing only occasionally thereafter.
He died of pneumonia in 1976 at his home in Port Huron, Michigan.


Arthur Gunter - Baby Let's Play House - Blues After Hours 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUxru2Hrrjo 



Andy Fraser  +16.03.2015



Free in Amsterdam (1970). V. l. n. r.: Paul Kossoff, Andy Fraser, Simon Kirke, Paul Rodgers & Steve Winwood

Andy Fraser (* 3. Juli 1952 in London) ist ein britischer Musiker. Er war als Bassist Teil der Erstbesetzung von Free, gründete danach weitere Bands und trat außerdem solo in Erscheinung.
Kindheit und Jugend (1952-1967)
Fraser wurde 1952 in London als Sohn eines Plantagenbesitzers aus British-Guyana und einer Schottin geboren. Seine Eltern ließen sich scheiden, als er gerade 7 Jahre alt war. Bereits im Alter von fünf Jahren begann er mit dem Klavierspielen. Mit 12 Jahren entdeckte er zunächst die Gitarre, die er nach kurzer Zeit in einen Bass umwandelte. Er spielte ab dem Alter von 13 Jahren in mehreren lokalen Bands unterschiedlicher Genres, wie Rhythm & Blues, Ska und Soul. Als Einfluss gab er zu dieser Zeit Binky Mackenzie an, der eine Zeitlang der feste Freund seiner älteren Schwester und eine lokale Jazz-Größe war. Mit 15 Jahren entdeckte er die Beatles für sich und näherte seine Frisur an die seiner neuen Idole an. Dadurch geriet er mit den Autoritäten seiner damaligen Schule St. Clement Danes aneinander und wurde schließlich rausgeworfen. Er wechselte an das College of Further Education in Hammersmith. Dort lernte er Sappho Korner, Tochter von Alexis Korner kennen, die ihn mit John Mayall bekannt machte.
Free (1968-1972)
Er spielte ein Jahr als Bassist in Mayalls Band Bluesbreakers, wurde dann aber ersetzt. Zusammen mit Paul Kossoff, Simon Kirke und Paul Rodgers gründete er die erfolgreiche Band Free. Fraser war unter anderem Co-Autor des Megahits All Right Now. Bis 1972 spielten Free insgesamt sechs Alben ein. Fraser stieg 1972, ein Jahr vor der Auflösung von Free, aus. Als 1976 Kosoff an Herzversagen verstarb, machte dessen Vater Fraser für den Tod verantwortlich, außerdem wurde er nicht zu der Beerdigung eingeladen. Diese Vorgänge belasten Fraser noch heute.[1]
Sharks & Andy Fraser Band (1973-1975)
Fraser gründete nach dem Split von Free die Band Sharks, stieg aber direkt nach der Veröffentlichung des Debütalbums First Water wieder aus, um die Andy Fraser Band mit Nick Judd (Keyboard) und Kim Turner (Schlagzeug) zu gründen. Das selbstbetitelte Debütalbum und In Your Eyes erschienen beide 1975. Dann jedoch lösten sie sich auf.
Weitere Karriere (ab 1975)
Er zog 1975 nach Kalifornien und lernte in dieser Zeit seine spätere Frau Henrietta („Ri“) kennen. Mittlerweile sind die beiden geschieden. Sie haben zusammen zwei Töchter.
Nach den missglückten Bandversuchen arbeitete Andy Fraser als Studiomusiker und Songwriter für Künstler, wie Robert Palmer, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan, Rod Stewart und Paul Young. 1984 schließlich veröffentlichte er sein drittes Soloalbum Fine, Fine Line. Er übernahm bei diesem Projekt den Gesang.
Kurz nach den Aufnahmen wurde bei ihm Krebs diagnostiziert und er musste sich in behandeln lassen. Die Krankheit brach immer wieder aus, insgesamt musste er sich 29 Mal in Therapie begeben. Dort wurde später zusätzlich Aids diagnostiziert.
Während dieser Zeit machte er sich krankheitsbedingt sehr rar. 1994 war er auf dem Woodstock II-Festival zu sehen. Dort begleitete er Paul Rodgers am Bass.
Mit der Veröffentlichung des Albums Naked … and Finally Free outete sich Fraser 2005 als homosexuell, die er seit den 1980ern auslebte.[2]
Im April 2006 war Fraser das bisher letzte Mal live zu sehen, als er zwei Solokonzerte in Temecula, Kalifornien spielte.
Musikstil
Free hatte mit Paul Kossoff nur einen Gitarristen. Daher musste Andy Fraser durch seine außergewöhnliche Spielweise den fehlenden zweiten Gitarristen mit entsprechenden Bassläufen ersetzten. Obwohl Free eindeutig Blues-Rock spielte, sind viele Bassläufe eher dem Jazz entlehnt.
War der Bass bis Mitte der 60er Jahre ein reines Rhythmusinstrument, so zeigten Bassisten wie Andy Fraser und John Entwistle vollkommen neue Wege auf und machten den Bass zu einem eigenständigen melodieführenden Instrument.
Sein Hauptinstrument war ein semi-akustischer Gibson-EB2 Bass, der über eine s.g. Bass-Boost-Schaltung verfügte (Baritone-Switch). Aber auch der solid body EB-3 von Gibson gehörte zu den von ihm bevorzugten Instrumenten.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Fraser 

Andrew McLan "Andy" Fraser (3 July 1952 – 16 March 2015) was an English songwriter and bass guitarist whose career lasted over forty years and includes a notable period as one of the founding members of the rock band Free in 1968, at age 15.

Peak years (1960s and 1970s)

Fraser was born in the Paddington area of Central London and started playing the piano at the age of five. He was trained classically until twelve, when he switched to guitar. By thirteen he was playing in East End, West Indian clubs and after being expelled from school in 1968 at age 15, enrolled at Hammersmith F.E. College where another student, Sappho Korner, introduced him to her father, pioneering blues musician and radio broadcaster Alexis Korner, who became a father-figure to him. Shortly thereafter, upon receiving a telephone call from John Mayall, who was looking for a bass player, Korner suggested Fraser and, still only 15, he was in a pro band and earning £50 a week, although it ultimately turned out to be a brief tenure.

Korner was also instrumental in Fraser's next move, to the influential band Free, which consisted of Paul Rodgers (vocals), Paul Kossoff (guitar) and Simon Kirke (drums). Fraser produced and co-wrote the song "All Right Now" with Rodgers, a #1 hit in over 20 territories and recognised by ASCAP in 1990 for garnering over 1,000,000 radio plays in the United States by late 1989. In October 2006 a BMI London Million-Air Award was given to Rodgers and Fraser to mark over 3 million radio and television plays of "All Right Now".[1] Simon Kirke later recalled: “All Right Now was created after a bad gig in Durham. We finished our show and walked off the stage to the sound of our own footsteps. The applause had died before I had even left the drum riser. It was obvious that we needed a rocker to close our shows. All of a sudden the inspiration struck Fraser and he started bopping around singing All Right Now. He sat down and wrote it right there in the dressing room. It couldn’t have taken more than ten minutes.”[2]

Fraser also co-wrote two other hit singles for Free, My Brother Jake and The Stealer.[3] Free initially split in 1971, and Fraser formed a trio, Toby, with guitarist Adrian Fisher (later with Sparks), and drummer Stan Speake.[4] Material was recorded but not released, and Fraser re-joined Free in December 1971. He left for the second time in June 1972.

After leaving Free, Fraser formed Sharks with vocalist Snips (later Baker Gurvitz Army), guitarist Chris Spedding plus drummer, Marty Simon. Despite being well received by the critics, especially for Spedding's tasteful guitar work (Crawdaddy Lead Review, Bruce Malamut Vol. 27, 1973) Fraser left after their debut album, First Water (1973).

He then formed the Andy Fraser Band, a trio with Kim Turner on drums and Nick Judd on keyboards. They released two albums, Andy Fraser Band and In Your Eyes, both in 1975, before that too folded. Attempts to form a band with Frankie Miller came to nothing, and Fraser re-located to California, to concentrate on songwriting. He crafted hits for Robert Palmer, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan, Rod Stewart and Paul Young.

Fraser's most famous compositions remain "All Right Now" and "Every Kinda People", which Robert Palmer recorded in 1978 for his Double Fun album.

Later period (post–1970s)

In 1984, Fraser released another album of his own. Fine, Fine Line featured ex-Back Street Crawler drummer Tony Braunagel, Bob Marlette (keyboards), Michael Thompson (guitar) and David Faragher (bass), with Fraser contributing vocals.

Having been diagnosed with HIV, he was later diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma, a form of cancer that had been very rare until the onset of the AIDS epidemic. This time-line was called into question by Fraser's subsequent revelation that he was homosexual.[5] He played bass with former Free colleague, Paul Rodgers, at Woodstock '94, but otherwise kept a low profile until 2005, when a new release, Naked and Finally Free, appeared. At the time of the new album’s release, Fraser was interviewed by Dmitry M. Epstein for the DME website and revealed: “To be quite honest, I never thought of myself as a bass-player. I actually only used the bass-guitar because the other kids in our school-band wanted to be the singer, or drummer, or guitarist. I have always thought of myself as doing whatever was necessary to make the whole thing work. I’m happy adding piano, or tambourine, or anything that helped”.[5]

In early 2006, writing for Vintage Guitar magazine, Tom Guerra conducted a comprehensive interview with Fraser, covering his career, influences and instruments and, in April, Fraser responded to the revival of interest in his music by announcing two rare live shows at Southern California's Temecula Community Arts Theatre on 4 May. The shows, highlighted by an eight-piece band, were his first live performances since the 1994 Woodstock reunion.

In 2008, Fraser wrote and sang the song "Obama (Yes We Can)", to support the campaign to elect Barack Obama as president of the United States.[6]

Founded by Andy Fraser, Mctrax International is incorporated as Mctrax International Corporation in California, USA, 2005. Headquartered in Southern California, Mctrax International, and its subsidiaries MctraxMedia, MctraxMotion and MctraxStudios were originally created as an outlet for Fraser's prolific song-writing material.

In May 2010, Andy Fraser was interviewed for BBC2's documentary series titled Rock 'n' Roll. The project includes a five-part documentary, narrated by British music show anchor-man Mark Radcliffe plus online and radio content. "The documentary aims to explain the success of some of the greatest bands of the past 50 years, including the Who, the Police, the Doors, Bon Jovi and the Foo Fighters".

In mid-2013, Fraser played a supporting role as bassist in the band of protege Tobi Earnshaw for a short series of UK dates. Accompanying Earnshaw and Fraser was a veteran ally, guitarist Chris Spedding. Fraser has produced and mentored Earnshaw on a number of album releases.

Death

Fraser died on 16 March 2015 at his home in California.[7] He had been battling cancer and AIDS. The cause of his death is under investigation. Fraser is survived by his daughters Hannah and Jasmine Fraser.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Fraser


Joe Bonamassa, Andy Fraser of Free and The Petty Breakers