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Why aint they no blues thread?

I was talkin bout Blind Boy Fuller a while back, and his connection to Brownie and Sonny. Fuller went blind at around age 20, and died of kidney failure, probably due to drinkin too much canned heat, at age 33. His career was short-lived, but productive. Although he was said to have a bad temper (he was once jailed for shootin his wife) he was generally loved among bluesmen. Brownie McGhee wrote a nice tribute to him after he died (below). According to wiki:

"Over the next five years [beginnin in 1935] Fuller made over 120 sides, and his recordings appeared on several labels. His style of singing was rough and direct, and his lyrics explicit and uninhibited as he drew from every aspect of his experience as an underprivileged, blind Black person on the streets—pawnshops, jailhouses, sickness, death—with an honesty that lacked sentimentality. Although he was not sophisticated, his artistry as a folk singer lay in the honesty and integrity of his self-expression. His songs contained desire, love, jealousy, disappointment, menace and humor...Fuller's repertoire included a number of popular double entendre "hokum" songs such as "I Want Some Of Your Pie", "Truckin' My Blues Away" (the origin of the phrase "keep on truckin'"), and "Get Your Yas Yas Out" (adapted as "Get Your Ya-Yas Out" for the origin of a later Rolling Stones album title), together with the autobiographical "Big House Bound" dedicated to his time spent in jail."

"Some of your pie," (with Sonny Terry on harp) follows, then Brownie's tribute to Blind Boy, from whom he learned a whole lot, about both guitar-pickin and integrity, after lightin out from home at age 19. Brownie claims Blind Boy gave him his guitar on his deathbed and told him that he (Brownie) now had to carry his (Blind boy's) business on. Always practical, after noting in the song that Blind Boy had a "million women friends," Brownie advises them all to "tell it to Brownie now, I'm tryin to carry Blind Boy's business on."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=468XodYBFBc

ROCKS, eh!?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FUV5a3hW84
 
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Boogie, Chillinz!

Piano boogie woogie was a big influence in the blues. Played at a fast pace, generally in 12/4 time, it had a driving bass beat and bluesy riffs. During parts of the 30's and 40's Boogie woogie instrumentals on piano were quite popular. Three of the biggest and best known boogie woogie pianists were Pete Johnson (who later played with Big Joe Turner, doin such numbers as the original "shake, rattle, and roll") for years, Meade "Lux" Lewis, and Albert Ammons. For a while, the 3 toured together as the "boogie woogie trio." Without these guys, there would be no Jerry Lee Lewis or Fats Domino, not to mention a lot of other musical innovations now taken for granted. Here's a tune from each:

In lookin for some tunes, I seen a video called History of Boogie Woogie, which includes all three, and better yet, throws in a major predecessor, the great Jimmy Yancey from Chicago, so I'll just slap it up, and follow it up by Ammon's original Swanee River Boogie, later covered by Fats Domino, Dr. John, and many others, howze dat?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okRcTAlR5S4&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtcPHr2yJ8A

Then I gots to thinkin this post really wouldn't be complete without an example of boogie woogie with vocals over it--so here's a great Big Joe Turner/Pete Johnson collaboration, called "Roll em Pete." I notice that the "history" says many consider it to be the first rock and roll tune. It was recorded in 1938, so that's how far back rock and roll goes. It differs from blues in that it has a straight eight-to-the-bar bass, like most rock. Blues has it's "shuffle rhythym," basically a triplet form with the middle triplet missing, also called "tied triplets" because the first note was held for 2/3 of the beat, rather than just 1/3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud6OhLFkPNk
 
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New Challenge, not for the lazy, though

One of my favorite blues artists is J.B. Hutto. J.B. was the son of a preacher-man and was born in South Carolina in 1926, but moved to Augusta, Georgia when he was three. After his Pappy died in 1939, the Hutto clan moved to Chicago, when J.B. was 13. J.B. had no prior interest in blues, but the Maxwell street scene fascinated him and he decided to learn to play himself. First he tried drums, which seemed simplest, then piano, then guitar, and of course singing, and he was performing on Maxwell Street himself (with Porkchop Hines) by the mid '40's.

After he met the great Elmore James in 1950, he knew it had to be slide guitar that he would master. For years he studied Elmore closely, going to a lot of his club performances. He never played guitar without a slide again. He soon got good, and cut some records in 1954, but quit the music business shortly thereafter when a woman in the crowd got into a fight with her boyfriend, grabbed J.B.'s guitar, and bashed it over his (her boyfriend, that is) head. That was kinda the final straw for J.B. and he took a janitorial job at a funeral home after that.

But after Elmore died in 1963, J.B. felt that he, and the blues world, had lost something it needed and he started playin again. He became good friends with another Elmore protege, Hound Dog Taylor, who I have already posted quite a bit about back on page 2 of this thread. You may recall that Hound Dog shot his rhythm guitar player, Brewer Phillips, shortly before he (Hound Dog) died. Brewer (who was taught how to play by good ole Memphis Minnie) finally forgave Hound Dog on his death bed. After Hound Dog died in 1975, his "band" (consisting of Phillips and drummer Ted Harvey), joined up with J.B. They were great, but before too long J.B. and Brewer Phillips had an argument serious enough that they both drew guns. Luckily, no one got smoked, but J.B. fired both of them and they went their separate ways after that. Brewer seemed to get into a lot of scrapes. His own wife had to stab him in the throat, but of course they made up later. Phillips was the kinda guy who would tell Hound Dog that he knew his wife before he did, back when she was a two-dolla ho on 31st street. Anyway....back to J.B.

I already put up one post about J.B back on page 3. where he was coverin an early Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell tune he called "too much alcohol." A lot of people have never even heard of J.B., but he was inducted into into the blues hall of fame only 2 years after he died in 1983, and his influence has been widespread. He taught his nephew Ed Williams, of Lil Ed and the Imperials, and two of it's members (Ed's brother, Pookie, and Dave Weld) how to play slide and they have been carrying on the Elmore/J.B. tradition for over 25 years. For you, Blood: Jack White of the White Stripes plays a JB Hutto airline model guitar.

I can't find some of my favorite J.B. tunes (such as Hip Shakin, That's the Truth, Somebody Loan me a Dime, and Pet Cream Man) on youtube, for some reason, but I did run across one I hadn't heard before called: "Leave your Love in Greater Hands." One thing about J.B.: Virtually nobody ever knows what he's sayin because of his unique delivery. Even some of his biggest fans have no clue, but they don't even care, because the music is so great. Thing is, it's always twice as good once you figure out what he sayin because he's also a very skillful songwriter. I usually have to listen to his tunes 5-10 times, carefully, before I fully know what's he's sayin.

So, here's the challenge: See if you can decipher the lyrics in this tune, if you feel up to it.. If ya can't get it all, see what, if any, ya can get. Can you even tell what the song is about? Later I will post the lyrics (as I hear them anyway), but in the meantime, just post in here what you think he is sayin, if you care to. For example: "in the 3rd verse, second line, he's sayin....). Hint (not that it will probably help much): Although J.B. "repeats" the first line of a stanza, he usually makes some slight variation in the wording the second time. Another hint: J.B. tends to dispense with pronouns/subjects, they don't add nuthin. Whether you can figure out what he's sayin, or not, I hope ya will enjoy the tune. It ROCKS, eh!?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7ZOxaBnS04&feature=related
 
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Dave Weld remembers J.B.

Here's a couple of excerpts from the introduction to, and an article written by, Dave Weld (the white boy on the left in picture below, that's Brewer Phillips on the right) about J.B. Hutto:

weld_houserockers_380.jpg

Intro:

"Blues guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and bandleader Dave Weld got his start on Chicago's West Side in the late ‘70s. At the 1815 Club on Roosevelt Road, Dave was in the house band with Chico Chism, Shorty Gilbert, Hubert Sumlin, Detroit Junior and Eddie Shaw. Dave played there with Otis Rush, Guitar Junior, Tail Dragger, Little Arthur, Johnny Littlejohn and more. Weld was under the tutelage of Grammy winning slide guitarist J.B. Hutto. J.B introduced Dave to his nephew, Lil’ Ed. They started the band Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials and played every joint on the West Side for ten years. Burnin' Love is Weld's Delmark debut and it features Li’l Ed on guitar and the legendary Abb Locke on saxophone."

Dave Weld:

"Years later in 1975, I walked into the Wise Fools Pub on north Lincoln in Chicago, and there was a short guy, in a suit with a broad infectious smile, onstage playing the sweetest slide I had ever heard, with a booming voice and a style different from Hound Dog's, both clean and dirty at the same time. I was touched inside, where joy meets harmony, as in the dream I’d had years earlier, and on the break I walked up to introduce myself... I hung out with J.B. that night and he extended a hand, helping as a mentor and friend, teaching me guitar, both lead and backup. I spent years at his home in Harvey IL, and he introduced me to my first band, Hound Dog Taylor’s Houserockers, Ted Harvey and Brewer Phillips. They had ended up with J.B. after Hound Dog’s death in 1975... He was a humble, perceptive and receptive man, and I was surprised at how friendly and open he was.."

LINK
 
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So, what is it then? Nobuddy has any clue what J.B. is sayin, and don't even wanna take no stab at it, or just nobuddy gives a damn? I figure nobuddy cares, which is kinda too bad, cause, if ya don't cares bout no J.B., then ya just don't care bout no blues, I figure. And if ya don't cares bout no blues, well, then, yo just missin out, like BIGTIME, see? Each to his own, I spoze.
 
I'm not really into blues, never really gave it a chance or anything. It's well before my time and I'm not really in the target demographic anyway. But damn, Hopper, you really know a thing or two about it, eh?

You plannin' on writing a book about the blues or somethin'?
 
Naw, just sumthin I've always got a great deal of enjoyment outta, that's all, eh, Game? Hard to find many people who like blues these here days. But chances are, if they like music at all, the kind they like developed out of the blues. Unfortunately, for the most part it all seems to just get watered down, instead of improved.
 
Sound quality in this here clip aint none too good, but it kinda shows that Elmore and his boyz was bustin out the rock n roll 60 years ago, in 1951, eh? First pic also has Muddy Waters (lightin smoke) and Lil Walta (on right) innit (Elmore on left).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6kRK2Xdkug
 
Imma sends my Baby a brand new twenny-dolla bill...

If that don't fetch her, I sho this here trusty ole shotgun will.....


(Sonny Boy, 1937)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23Xv7VdEH3Y
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwHDD2DRZo4

There was some incredible music coming out of Japan in the last 70's. Fo sho.
 
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Jerry Lee, the cracker-*** country boy from Ferraday, Louisiana, born in 1935, doin some ole blues toons by Jimma Reed and Big Maybelle in 1972 with some pasty, candyass limey boys, eh? Whoever does it, it ROCKS, eh!?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc4A4exidbQ&feature=related
 
Wolf, ruffin up his homeboy, Son House, all on accounta a few drinks here and there, eh?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUVZtGdFMMc&feature=related

Accordin to one of the posters at youtube:

"he was upset a former hero had sunk into the failings of alcoholism. I was Wolf's close collaborative friend. He was not slamming Son House.... He wss being VERY kind in a tough love style so very much him. Unless he reallllly didn't like you .... another matter"
 
One of my favorite Ellington tunes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP12RhmBIRw
 
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I remember going to Spaceland (which will be closing its doors soon...) to see Holly Golightly play. It was the first time I had seen her live and I was pretty ecstatic. While I knew there would be opening acts, I had no idea that I was going to see a talent that would blow my mind.

Enter Frank Fairfield. A 23-year old Frank Fairfield.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YTZegTMVsw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lefJBwJhQ6E
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R35zco2Cy0k&feature=related

One of my favorites. Stacy is a regular in BB Kings in Nashville. Puts on a great show. Hard to find much video of him other than interviews and such, this is not his best but you get the idea.
 
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Ya takes a couple weeks off, to serve time, come back, and this there excellent thread has done slid clean down to page 3, eh? Zup wit dat, I ax ya?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORJ6i1OQfyk&feature=related
 
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